Ashes (Book 2 The Kindred Series) (25 page)

She had known that there were women in
his past, there had to be. But this woman, this woman! Cassie
trembled slightly as she looked back at the stunning doll before
her. This woman was something Cassie had never even remotely
fathomed. She was exceedingly beautiful and radiated a raw
sexuality and poise that Cassie could never possess. How could she
possibly compete with her? Her confidence shaken, her world a
crumbling mess, Cassie simply tried to breathe through the tight
constriction in her chest.

Struggling to stay composed, she met
Isla’s feral gold eyes once more. From the gleam in those eyes
Cassie knew she had already let too much of her emotions
slip.

CHAPTER
16

Devon felt the tremor that rocked
through Cassie, the anguish that tore through her body. His hands
tightened around her as he cradled her head tighter against him. He
wished that he could take her away from all of this. Take her
somewhere that she would be sheltered from the hurts and cruelty of
the world. Somewhere she would be sheltered from the mistakes and
wrongs of his past.

But there was no escaping this, and it
seemed as if his past had come to a head with his future, in of all
places, the hallway of a freaking high school. Hatred blazed
through him as he met Isla’s malicious golden gaze. Merriment and
fury radiated from Isla as her small smile widened and she tilted
her head slightly to the side.

“You were right Julian, she is
delicious,” Isla purred, licking her lips. Devon stiffened, a small
growl escaped him. “Such a little innocent though, how could she
possibly satisfy your twisted needs Devon?”

Self hatred and fury tore through him
as Cassie trembled again, her fingers dug briefly into his back. He
had done this to her, he was causing her this pain. Isla took a
step closer; hunger throbbed out of her in rolling waves. Chris and
Melissa instinctively moved closer, their eyes darting briefly,
frantically toward him. Devon kept his gaze focused upon Isla, but
with his mind he monitored Julian’s movements, which were still
none. He had been injured, but Devon was not fooled into thinking
that he was incapable of fighting.

Devon didn’t know why Julian was not
rushing into the fray, or why he had been studying Cassie so
intently. There had been no desire in his gaze, no bloodlust as he
had watched her keenly, apparently trying to decipher something
about her. What that something could be Devon didn’t know, but
Julian’s hesitance and scrutiny were unsettling. Just what was
Julian’s plan, and why was Isla here?

“What are you doing here Isla?” he
demanded coldly.

She shrugged an elegant shoulder,
tossing her long hair over her shoulder with a flick of her blood
red nails. “When Julian called I just had to come and see if what
he was saying was true.” She glanced briefly at Chris, Melissa and
Cassie. “I had to see for myself that The Hunter line had survived,
that they were here, and that they were thriving. How could I turn
down the offer of so much power? Such a tempting treat?”

She licked her lips again. Melissa
moved even closer, her shoulder brushed up against Cassie’s. “I
also had to see her.” The deep purr left Isla’s voice as her gaze
once more locked upon Cassie with an intense hatred that infuriated
him. He would have attacked her, destroyed her, but he could not
bring himself to release Cassie when she was so shaken.

Devon’s hands tightened upon her,
pulling her as close as he could to him. The worst thing that he
could have done was show Isla how much Cassie meant to him, but it
was already too late for that. All he could hope for now was to
keep Cassie safe, and to convey his fierce love for her with his
touch. Cassie’s hurt, and the danger she was in, was his fault and
he would deal with it later. For now, he had to get her out of here
alive.

He could not go on without
her.

“What’s the matter Julian can’t fight
your own battles?” Devon hissed, glancing briefly at him. Julian
had moved slightly away from the lockers. His face was twisted in
pain, and his skin was far paler than normal. He would not die from
his injuries, but it would take him a little while to completely
recover.

Julian’s lip twisted in a sneer. “Oh,
but why would I deny Isla the pleasure of this?” he inquired
softly.

“Coward.”

Julian’s eyes flashed red, but he made
no move to come at them. He knew that he would not survive it. “I
think he might like this girl even more than the last one,” Isla
taunted. Cassie’s nails dug painfully into his skin. “What was her
name again?”

“Annabelle, beautiful, tempting,
Annabelle,” Julian answered amusement apparent in his
voice.

Devon stiffened at the name, silently
cursing himself as he felt the fresh wave of pain slam through
Cassie. He had wanted to keep her sheltered from his past, wanted
to keep it buried. He had simply wanted to focus on the here and
now, and her. He had wanted to forget about the mistakes, and
atrocities, that he had committed. He realized that he had been so
very wrong to try and bury it. If he had simply told her the truth,
she may have been upset and wounded by it, but she would not be
experiencing the distress she was now. He wanted desperately to
reassure her, but there was nothing he could now. Not here anyway,
but later, later he would ease her doubts as he tried to take away
her pain.

“Ah yes, Annabelle, she was a pretty
little thing.” Isla shifted slightly, tapping a nail against her
lip as she pretended to think.

Devon braced himself, knowing that Isla
was already well aware of what she wanted to say, but one thing she
had always loved was drama, and torturing her victims.
Unfortunately, her victim this time was Cassie. He was going to rip
Isla’s throat out for this, when he got his hands on her, he was
going to make sure that she could never speak to Cassie
again.

“You gave up human blood for your love
of Annabelle, and now you’ve crawled into bed with the enemy. You
will do anything to get into the pants of a pretty little thing
won’t you Devon?”

Cassie gasped softly, she went rigid
against him. “You bitch!” Devon spat.

Isla grinned at him as Cassie’s hands
slipped off his back. Devon fought back his panic. He needed to get
them out of here before Isla succeeded in tearing Cassie away from
him for good. “Did you not tell her about Annabelle?” Isla taunted.
“Oh honey, believe me, you aren’t the only girl he’s lost his head
over. Is she Devon?”

“First there was Elizabeth, then there
was me…”

“There was never you,” Devon growled.
Isla’s eyes flashed, narrowing slightly. “I never loved
you.”

A soft, cold laugh escaped her, but
there was no amusement in her tone. “And you love this
one?”

Devon’s nostrils flared, loathing
poured through him. He had allowed his anger to get the best of
him; he had walked right into Isla’s trap by doing so. She would do
anything in her power to destroy their love, to destroy him. “This
is not the place Isla. There are too many humans here.”

“I don’t see any humans; all I see are
three little treats. You know you want to try one too. I bet its
killing you not to taste that one.” She flipped a hand idly at
Cassie, her grin widening. “I can smell her power from here, and I
know that you were never one to deny yourself anything. You always
took what you wanted, when you wanted it. That’s why you were
always so exciting to be with. You were a vampire of worth, one who
matched my appetite in every way.” Her gaze fixed pointedly on
Cassie as she licked her lips hungrily once more. “Every way,” she
emphasized again.

Devon cradled Cassie’s head gently,
wanting desperately to block Isla’s words from her as she trembled
again, a soft gasp escaping her. She was too innocent, too good for
this. She deserved far more than what his life had to offer her.
The best thing he could have done for her was left her alone, the
best thing he could have done for her was to never have inserted
himself into her life.

If he had thought that it would help,
he would leave tomorrow, he would set her free to live the life she
deserved. A life that was filled with light instead of darkness.
However, he knew that it was too late now. He may be able to
separate himself from her, if it was in her best interest, but he
knew what she was to him now, and he knew that he would not survive
the loss of her life. He also knew that Julian and Isla would not
leave, not until the Hunter’s in this town were destroyed. They
were far too tempting for that to happen. And he could not leave
Cassie unprotected to face them alone.

Forgive me, he prayed silently to her.
Please forgive me.

“There are three Hunters here, and me.
Do you think you can win this battle?”

Isla grinned, sashaying her hips as she
took a step closer. “Oh honey, I did win the battle.” Her gaze
darted briefly toward Cassie. A grim smirk of satisfaction spread
across her mouth. “And I will win the war.”

Abhorrence rose up in him, a small
snarl escaped. “I’ll kill you for this,” he vowed.

She lifted a delicate eyebrow, laughing
softly as she shook her head. “I doubt it; it is my bed you always
return to after all.”

Pain did not wash off of Cassie
anymore; instead numbness seemed to have descended over her as she
remained limp in his arms. “Not in a very long time, and never
again Isla, never again.”

She seemed nonplussed by his response.
“When she is dead…”

“If you finish that sentence I swear I
will make your death pure torture!” he snapped. “I will make you
beg for mercy Isla; I will make you wish that you had never
survived this long. You want the old me back and you will have it
if you touch her. If you come near her, I’ll destroy
you!”

Isla shifted, fury radiated from her as
her eyes flashed the color of rubies. It seemed as if his words
were finally sinking in. Worry filled him, his hands tightened
around Cassie. Isla’s gaze found its way to Cassie once more,
hatred pulsated from her.

Cassie seemed to come alive again as
she clung to him once more, trying to bury herself against him in
an attempt to avoid the loathing directed at her. Until recently
she had not been used to people hating her, but the dislike that
her schoolmates had for her was nothing compared to the abhorrence
that radiated from Isla.

Chris shifted slightly, his feet taking
up a fighting stance. Beside him, Melissa reached into her purse,
her hand wrapped around something. It was not only Cassie he had to
see safely out of here, but them also. If they did not all survive
this, it would destroy Cassie. Devon’s head snapped around. Julian
had moved a couple steps closer. Blood had formed at the corners of
his mouth, but he seemed to be doing better already.

He leveled Julian with a fierce glare.
“You take one more step and I will rip your throat out!” Julian
froze, but his eyes darted about, calculating the odds. “Three
Hunters and me,” he reminded Julian coldly.

“They’re not armed,” Isla
purred.

“We can still fight, and we’re still
dangerous,” Cassie said softly, her spine straightening defiantly,
her jaw clenching tight. Though he was proud of her for standing up
for herself, he was also terrified that her defiance would only
enrage Isla further.

Isla laughed coldly as she tossed her
hair over her shoulder. She moved suddenly, blurring as she charged
at them. Devon braced himself, turning slightly as Isla barreled
past Melissa, shoving her aside before slamming into his back. The
force of the blow staggered him, pushing him forward. Cassie cried
out as she was shoved against the locker, his body slammed
forcefully against hers. He tried to absorb most of the impact, but
he knew that Cassie had been hurt by the blow.

Isla tore at him, her claws raking down
his back. Pain radiated through him as his blood spilled forth, but
it was not him that Isla was after. Cassie ducked her head, turning
away from the raking claws that sought to destroy her. Rage
suffused him, turning his vision a murky red. He would rip Isla
limb from limb before he ever let her get her hands on Cassie.
Bellowing with fury, he swung back hard, his fist and shoulder
connecting hard with Isla.

Isla was flung back, she skid across
the floor before hitting the lockers with a loud thud. Releasing
Cassie, he spun around, keeping her firmly pinned behind his back.
His lips pulled back as a harsh hiss escaped him and his teeth
elongated. Isla shook her head, staggering as she got back to her
feet. Chris pulled Melissa up, a bruise was already beginning to
form on her cheek, but she appeared otherwise unharmed.

Voices filled the hall, laughter
trailed ahead of the students making their way toward them. Isla
and Julian moved closer together, communicating silently with their
gazes. To expose themselves to a bunch of humans would be reckless,
dangerous. They would not be able to kill them all, and to do so
would leave a trail of bodies that would only get the authorities
involved.

Vampires preferred to remain hidden by
nature; it was something that was bred into them upon their
awakening. They did not want the world to know of their existence,
it would only bring more people forth to kill them. For fear of the
unknown did strange things to humans. They often sought to destroy
that which they did not understand, and no vampire could withstand
a massive mob of angry, frightened humans on a rampage.