Ashes (Book 2 The Kindred Series) (12 page)

A shiver ran down Cassie’s spine, the
hair on the nape of her neck stood on end as her thoughts returned
once more to Dani. Turning in the other direction she studied the
darkened sidewalk that led to the outskirts of town, the cemetery,
and the woods. Her eyes narrowed as she strained to see as much as
possible through the thick night.

Her vision blurred slightly from the
pounding in her head, then suddenly snapped into sharp focus. At
the far end of the sidewalk, moving slowly along, she could just
barely make out the form of someone taking a right into the dark
woods. A perfect target for Julian. Cassie’s heart leapt into her
throat, her chest constricted as panic tore through her.

Spinning back to the restaurant, she
was not surprised to see Melissa lurking by the door, trying to
look preoccupied with the gumball machine. It was a machine Melissa
hit up every time they left B’s and S’s, but they weren’t ready to
leave. In fact, Cassie was willing to bet their food hadn’t even
arrived yet. However, she could not find the energy to be annoyed.
She was far too relieved to see Melissa for that.

She banged swiftly on the glass,
gaining more attention than she wanted. Melissa’s eyes darted to
her, widening slightly and then narrowing sharply. Cassie pointed
toward the sidewalk, but didn’t wait to tell Melissa more. Turning,
she sprinted past the group gathered by the picnic tables, heading
swiftly toward the road.

“Hey, stay away from her you freak!”
one of the boys yelled after her.

Cassie fought back a bitter laugh, they
weren’t worried enough about Dani to stop her from walking home on
her own, but they were worried that Cassie would bother her. She
reached the sidewalk; she skidded around a corner as her sneakers
briefly lost traction on the dew dampened surface.

Regaining her balance, Cassie kept her
eyes locked on the woods, trying to pinpoint the exact spot where
Dani had entered. A small path made its way into the forest; a few
freshly broken branches snagged her attention. Bolting into the
forest, Cassie tore down the path, shoving branches out of her way
as she easily avoided obstacles.

A chill of apprehension raced down her
spine causing goose bumps to break out on her flesh. She had placed
herself in danger, she knew that, but she needed to get to Dani.
She had to find the girl, she had to protect her. She had to make
sure that Dani was safe before Julian arrived.

And he would arrive, she was certain of
that.

***

Devon sat stiffly in the booth,
agitated that he could no longer see Cassie. Melissa had
volunteered to keep an eye on her, citing that her favorite
gumballs were by the front door so it might not look as obvious if
she went. Chris had added that Cassie would be angered and upset if
she felt she was being babysat. Devon hadn’t wanted to care about
that fact, her safety did come first after all, but he found
himself unwilling to upset her in anyway.

So in the end he had relented, but he
was not happy about it. They had sent Melissa up with two dollars
and seventy five cents worth of quarters, plenty to keep her
occupied for a little while. Slipping her first quarter in, Devon
watched as the red ball made its way through a series of ramps,
dips, traps, and holes in the intricate machine. He had to admit it
was interesting to watch and he could see why Melissa liked
it.

If it had been at any other point in
time, he wouldn’t have minded watching the thing for awhile. But
right now all he wanted was Cassie back at his side, where he knew
that she was safe. He shifted uncomfortably, his gaze darting
briefly to the window at his side, but he couldn’t see her from
this angle. He could see a group of teenagers gathered around two
tables. They were dressed in dark clothes; their hair was dyed
different colors, and they had an array of piercings covering
them.

The group glanced back toward the
doorway, confirming that Cassie was still there as they bent close
to each other, whispering softly before glancing at her again.
Devon sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as he fought
the urge to stand up and storm out after her. If she wanted to be
outside, fine, but he wanted her within eyesight, and where he was
within arm’s reach of her.

“She’ll be fine,” Chris said
softly.

Devon shot him a look, not relieved by
his reassurances. He knew Cassie, she didn’t think before she
acted. She just reacted. It had almost gotten her killed a couple
of days ago, and he was not willing to take that chance again.
Chris chuckled softly, drawing Devon’s ire and agitation back to
him. “What?” he asked irritably.

Chris lifted a dark blond brow, his
sapphire eyes twinkled with amusement. “It’s a relief to have
someone else helping to watch over her, and to share in my
frustration. I’ve been watching over her for the past seventeen
years and it hasn’t been fun.”

Devon scowled at him as Chris grinned
merrily (annoyingly) back. “She is stubborn,” he
mumbled.

“Ha!” Chris barked loudly, chuckling
softly. “That’s the understatement of the century!”

Devon found himself grinning back at
the boy, amused by his easy going nature and cheer. He liked Chris,
but since his vampirism had been revealed, there had remained a
fierce tension between them. Mainly from Chris, as he tried to
figure out if Devon could be trusted. Now it seemed as if Chris had
decided to throw caution to the wind, either that, or he was going
to rely on Cassie’s instincts.

“Hey guys.” Devon and Chris’s smiles
faded, they exchanged a pointed look as Marcy appeared at their
side. Smiling brightly, she tossed back her long, coffee colored
hair. She had made a full, speedy recovery from Julian’s attack.
“How are you tonight?”

Stony silence followed her question,
and then Chris heaved a soft sigh. “We’re good Marcy,
you?”

Marcy shrugged a dainty shoulder, her
leaf green eyes scanning them. Desire radiated from her as she
leaned closer. “I’m feeling better after that attack, but it was
still the scariest thing ever.” She shuddered, wrapping her arms
around herself. “Someone should kill that animal.”

Before they had left the hospital,
Devon had altered Marcy’s memory of the attack, leaving her with a
foggy recollection of a wild coyote rather than Julian. “Yes, they
should,” Devon agreed his attention fully focusing on Melissa
again. He really did not want to encourage more conversation with
Marcy, but she was right, someone should destroy that animal. And
he was going to be the one to do it.

Marcy sighed softly, and then very
indiscreetly sat next to Devon. He shot a dark look at her as she
squiggled slightly, trying to push him over. He refused to budge.
Her leaf green eyes narrowed, but it was obvious that she was not
moving.

Resting her hands on her knees, she
perched precariously on the edge of the seat as a few other girls
began to make their way toward the booth. Apparently the absence of
Cassie and Melissa was an open invite to them. One that Devon
desperately wanted to close. Chris’s jaw locked, his eyes darkened
as he briefly met Devon’s gaze once more.

Devon shook his head, unsure what to
do. He didn’t want to dump Marcy on her ass, but when Cassie came
back she was going to be hurt by what was going on. And if it came
between the two, Marcy was going to end up on the floor. The other
girls hovered around them, grinning and whispering to each other as
they giggled softly.

Chris lifted an eyebrow, as he shook
his head at Devon in disbelief. “Amazing,” he muttered.

“Venus flytrap,” Devon reminded
him.

“What is?” Marcy asked, indiscreetly
pressing her breasts against his arm.

Disgust boiled through Devon as he
jerked his arm away, his eyes narrowing fiercely. “Don’t,” he
growled in warning. Marcy’s eyes widened in surprise and she moved
back a little, but she did not remove herself completely. Instead,
she turned her attention to Chris, who was eyeing her like she was
some kind of disgusting insect he wanted to stomp.

A blur of motion caught Devon’s
attention, his mouth dropped as shock hammered through him. He
watched in horror as Cassie darted past the group of students by
the table, moving with agility and grace, and a speed that left him
frozen in disbelief as she raced down the road. The cold stone of
his heart seemed to lurch and twist as terror and anger tore
through him.

“Son of a bitch!” he snarled, slamming
his hand on the table with such force that it shuddered,
threatening to break. Chris glanced at him sharply, fear evident in
his eyes. He turned to the window, his mouth dropping.
“Move!”

Marcy’s eyes widened in shock, but she
didn’t move out of his way. Unable to wait, and tired of the tiny
girl, Devon shoved his way out of the booth. She stumbled, nearly
falling to the ground, but somehow managing to keep herself
upright. She gaped at him, people stared at him in surprise, but he
paid them no attention as he shoved his way through the thick
crowd, ignoring all of their startled protests.

Melissa was waving at them, jumping
high to be seen over the top of the crowd. “Hurry!” she cried
before turning and rushing out the door.

She didn’t need to tell him that.
Grasping hold of the banister, he swung himself over the side of
the stairs in order to avoid the group gathered upon them. Landing
gracefully, he shoved past the few remaining people in his way and
bolted out the door. Cassie was disappearing into the woods
already, barreling her way through the trees and ground
cover.

Terror tore through him as she
disappeared from sight. Fighting back the fierce, almost consuming
urge to bolt after her at full speed, it took all he had to keep
his powers under control as he burst free of the restaurant. Though
he was powerful, he could not alter all the memories of the human’s
within, and they could not afford to let the humans see him. Racing
past the startled group by the picnic tables, he chased after
Melissa. He could hear Chris behind him, right on his heels as
their feet slapped over the sidewalk.

As soon as he got free of prying eyes,
he would catch her, and he very well might kill her himself when he
did.

CHAPTER
9

Cassie ignored the briar that caught
hold of her hair, ripping it out. Wincing slightly, she continued
to bolt forward. Tearing past a large elm, relief filled her as
Dani’s dark head came into view. “Dani! Dani!”

The girl turned in surprise, her large
hazel eyes widening as she caught sight of Cassie racing toward her
like a crazy banshee. In the light of the full moon the red in her
hair was the color of blood, it was an omen that caused Cassie to
shiver. Leaping over a rotten log, she halted before the girl,
panting slightly from her rapid sprint.

“Cassie? What are you doing?” Dani
demanded in surprise.

The beam of her flashlight splashed
across Cassie’s face, momentarily blinding her. Blinking rapidly,
Cassie knew she looked ridiculous, but didn’t care. She inhaled
deeply, letting the air rush gratefully into her tortured lungs. “I
saw you walking and thought I’d walk with you,” she lied
poorly.

Dani lifted a dark eyebrow
questioningly, her gold flecked eyes doubtful. “You ran all the way
here to walk with me?”

Cassie took another breath. “After the
animal attacks last week I didn’t think you should be
alone.”

Dani tilted her head to the side, a
small smile quirked her full lips. “That’s nice of you, but I walk
this way every night. And I can take care of myself.”

Cassie didn’t doubt that she could, at
least with normal things, but Dani had no idea what hunted these
woods now. Glancing nervously around, Cassie searched intently for
any sign of something lurking within the shadows. She used every
ounce of her power to search the dark night, trying to pick up
waves of Julian’s evil. Though she came up empty, she was not
fooled into thinking that he was not around. He was powerful enough
to keep her blocked out if he chose.

“Still thought it would be better if
you had some company.”

Dani shrugged a dainty shoulder,
turning slightly away. “Well come along, the path is better up
here. I’m surprised to see you without Devon.”

Cassie glanced over her shoulder,
hoping that he wasn’t far behind. He was going to be infuriated
with her, but that was a wrath she was willing to face. “I’m sure
he’ll be here,” she mumbled softly.

Dani shot her a questioning look as
they stepped onto a well worn, much easier to traverse path. Cassie
carefully studied each direction of the trail. As far as she could
see, it was clear. “Cassie are you ok?”

“Fine.”

She glanced back down the path, her
eyes narrowing as they moved steadily along. Dani kept the beam of
her light focused a few feet before her, but Cassie relied more on
the light of the moon as she wearily watched the pathway. Turning
to look behind her, she was dismayed to see that Devon, Chris, and
Melissa were still nowhere in sight. She had no doubt that they had
come after her, but had they somehow lost her in the
woods?

Eyes narrowed, she turned back, keeping
a fierce look out. A chill swept down her spine as shadows danced
and swayed over the path. The skeletal branches clicked in the
night, their noise cold and desolate sounding. Cassie’s heart
hammered, panic tore through her as a crushing sense of impending
doom settled over her. She could hear nothing but the creaking of
the branches. It was too quiet; no animals scurried through the
woods, nothing moved within the underbrush. There was a far bigger
predator out there tonight, hunting the woods.