Inferno (Book 4 The Kindred Series) (22 page)

He moved slightly away from her,
allowing her to breathe a little easier. “They won’t all come at
once; we can handle the ones that do.”

Tears burned her eyes, her hands
clenched and unclenched in frustration. She wanted to argue with
him, wanted to fight him, but she knew that it would be pointless,
knew that he would not budge. Devon gently grasped her chin,
tilting her head so that she had to meet his gaze. “We will be
fine.”

A single tear slid down her face. He
wiped it lightly away, bending close he pressed a soft kiss to her
trembling lips. When he pulled away his eyes were emerald again,
dark with uncertainty and concern. “You will stay
inside.”

Cassie couldn’t bring herself to speak,
she would not lie to him, and she could not make that promise. He
released her before stepping away. Cassie watched as he moved
stiffly toward Julian. She was suddenly hit with the realization
that she did not know just exactly what he was capable of,
especially when it came to her.

She turned toward the others, feeling
helpless and lost. Liam and Annabelle had moved over to join Devon
and Julian; they conferred in soft whispers by the doorway. Luther
was staring at the still half open window, his expression
thoughtful and distant. Dani had retreated back into the shadows,
terror evident on her features.

Chris and Melissa stared silently back
at her. They were her best friends, her rocks, the two people she
had relied on the most, until Devon walked into her life. But even
they looked just as confused and frightened as she felt.

CHAPTER 12

Cassie stood silently, frozen by the
window. Immobile with terror. Devon moved swiftly toward the center
of the road. The timed streetlights spilled across the street,
creating shadows on the hard pavement. The skeletal trees moved and
swayed with the breeze that shook them. Cassie shuddered,
foreboding filtered through her.

She was barely able to take her gaze
away from Devon to look at Julian. He stood by the door, his hand
resting upon the handle, his powerful body hard and unmoving as he
waited for the attack to come. “You know I won’t stay in here once
you go out,” she told him.

His gaze darted to her, his eyes
skimmed swiftly over her. “I know you will try to go out
there.”

Cassie licked her lips as she glanced
at Liam and Annabelle. They were standing by Julian, their arms
folded over their chests as they stared at her. They would also try
and stop her, she knew that, but when it came to Devon she knew
that she would be capable of doing anything. Even if it meant
plowing through Liam and Annabelle, which she was apparently going
to have to do.

“Cassie.” Her attention was drawn back
to Julian. “I will tie you down if I have to, but you are not going
out there.”

Indignation flared through her. “I am
one of the strongest fighters you have, you will need me!” she
retorted sharply.

Julian’s eyes narrowed, his hand fisted
harder around the handle. “And Devon is the strongest fighter that
we have, and if you keep pushing him he is going to
snap.”

Cassie shook her head forcefully.
“No…”

“Yes!” Julian interrupted harshly.
“Open your damn eyes Cassie! He’s unraveling right before you, and
if you keep throwing yourself in danger, and if you keep pushing
him he is going to lose it. He will change you, whether it’s for
the best or not, he will do it, and he’ll hate himself for it. Is
that what you want?” Cassie could only manage a small shake of her
head in response to his angry, heartfelt words. “And if something
were to happen to you, there will be no stopping him. Ever. Do you
understand that?”

Cassie opened and closed her mouth, no
words would come out. Her throat was clogged, her eyes burned.
“He’ll kill us all Cassie, so for once, please just do as he
asks.”

Liam remained immobile, his face a hard
mask. Annabelle’s sea colored eyes were heavy with sadness and
fear. Cassie buried her frustration and heartache as she turned
away from them, focusing her attention fully on Devon again. He had
reached the center of the street, where he stopped. Her heart was
heavy as it labored to push blood through her veins; her chest was
tight from lack of air.

“He can’t fight it anymore?” she
whispered, finally beginning to understand the distance and
hardness that now encased Devon.

“Not as well as he could, and not for
much longer,” Julian said flatly. Cassie swallowed heavily, trying
hard not to let her panic get the best of her. “If it wasn’t for
his concern about what would happen to you, it would have happened
by now.”

Cassie hastily wiped away the tears
that slipped down her face. She ached for Devon, for the struggle
nearly consuming him. Ached for the man that she loved and needed
more than anything. Ached for the man who was slowly losing control
to the demon inside of him, and it was all because of
her.

She shuddered; her hand clenched the
curtain she had pulled slightly back. “You will stay inside,”
Julian said softly. “Because there is no way of knowing how he will
react if you don’t.”

She nodded slowly. Though she hated it
and rebelled against it, she would do anything for Devon, even if
it meant leaving him out there alone. “They’re coming,” Chris said
softly.

He walked over to stand beside Cassie,
his hand rested upon her shoulder. He squeezed her gently, bending
forward to stare out the window. “Where?” Julian
growled.

Chris shook his head; his shaggy hair
fell around his handsome face. “I don’t know yet, but I can feel
the confusion and hunger that usually precedes their arrival.” They
all remained unmoving; barely breathing as they waited for the
creature’s to emerge.

“How many?” Cassie
whispered.

“I don’t know,” Chris breathed. “It’s
impossible to differentiate one from another; they’re too far gone
for that.”

Terror filled her. They were too far
gone to tell anything about them, and they were heading straight
for Devon. Panic slammed into her like a locomotive, helplessness
swamped her. She glanced wildly at Julian, fighting against the
urge to bolt out the door, tear across the street, and join Devon.
She would rather die with him then live without him.

“Stay!” Julian hissed
softly.

A soft sob escaped her; she pressed her
fist to her mouth, biting down to stop the scream that wanted to
rip from her. Devon turned; his shoulders stiff, and his eyes blood
red. He knew that they were coming, he was ready for them. Please,
she prayed fervently, please let him be ok.

The creatures burst out of the woods
behind Devon. Horror filled her; she grasped hold of the curtain,
pulling herself closer as the three monsters hurtled across the
street at him. “No,” she breathed.

Devon braced himself as the first one
launched itself forward leaping a good ten feet off the ground at
him. Its face was distorted, its fangs extended as its face twisted
into an animalistic snarl. Devon seized it by its throat, flinging
it over his head as another one came at him. He grabbed the second
one, but the third slammed into him, spilling blood as it clawed at
his back. Chris slammed his hand over her mouth as a scream escaped
her. Cassie struggled against him; fright pummeled her as she
fought to contain the terror threatening to suffuse her. Chris
wrapped his arm around her waist, trying to pull her back, but she
refused to release the curtain, refused to be torn away.

“Stay quiet!” he hissed in her
ear.

Cassie managed a small nod. Tears
streamed down her face. She did not realize that Julian had left
until he emerged on the street, pounding across the concrete in a
blur that would have been nearly indiscernible to the human eye. He
grabbed the first one that Devon had tossed aside, slamming it hard
into the concrete. The creatures skull caved as it bounced off the
ground, but its arms and legs still flailed wildly
about.

Nausea and disgust twisted Cassie’s
stomach, she couldn’t move, she could hardly remain standing. Chris
held most of her weight, his arms wrapped tightly around her as he
slowly removed his hand from her mouth. Liam emerged from the
alleyway, racing forward as he moved to join the fight.

Cassie glanced only briefly at
Annabelle. She remained by the door, her eyes wide with terror as
she met Cassie’s gaze. Though Annabelle wanted to be in the fight
as badly as Cassie, she would stay by the door in order to ensure
that Cassie didn’t escape. Cassie briefly contemplated trying to
get past her anyway, but she would not do that to Annabelle, not
unless it became completely necessary.

She turned her attention back to the
fight as two more monsters emerged from the woods. One of them went
straight for Liam, while the other pounded at Devon who was still
engaged with two of the first ones. Five on three. Cassie’s heart
hammered, she gripped the curtain tighter, pulling herself forward.
She could get away from Chris; she could make it out this window if
she had too. She didn’t give a rat’s ass what the glass or wood
would do to her, not if it got her free.

Devon flipped one over his back,
spinning he slammed his fist into the chest of another. The
creatures face twisted, not in pain but in rage as it was knocked
back a few feet. Blood exploded over its tattered and filthy shirt,
but it did not stop, did not hesitate as it launched forward.
Julian slammed his creature off the ground again, grasping hold of
its head and twisting it ferociously.

Cassie’s stomach heaved as its head was
twisted completely around. Its arms and legs continued to flail,
but their movements were slightly slower. Deciding that the
creature was momentarily not a threat, Julian leapt back to his
feet as Devon tossed his monster over his head and grasped hold of
the throat of the one behind it. He squeezed tight, snapping its
head easily to the side as the thing howled loudly. Its scream
echoed throughout the night, rattling the windows.

“Awful,” Melissa breathed taking a step
away from the window where she stood by Luther and Dani. Her face
was full of horror and disgust, but she did not turn away from the
fight before her.

And neither did Cassie, though her
stomach rolled with nausea. A gag escaped her as Devon grasped hold
of its head, twisting it with enough force to rip it off. Dani
heaved as she spun away from the window, racing toward the
bathroom. Cassie’s hand tightened on Chris’s, she needed his
support, his strength, his unwavering support as she tried to
assimilate the vicious killer out there now with the one that she
loved so completely.

Liam shoved his creature aside, leaping
forward to help with the two still trying to battle Devon and
Julian, but it was obvious that it was going to be a losing battle
for the hybrid monsters.

Deadly. That was the only thing that
Cassie could think and see now. Devon and Julian were deadly, cold,
blood thirsty, and so very good at destroying life. Though Liam was
out there with them, he did not have the murderous zeal that
obviously radiated from Devon and Julian. He did not seem to relish
in the kill the way that the two of them did, nor was he as good at
it.

She shuddered, wrapping her arms tight
around herself. From her little hole she watched as Julian and
Devon took the next one down. Julian pressed his foot tight to the
creature’s throat as it squealed and squirmed wildly. She couldn’t
watch anymore. Couldn’t take anymore, and yet she could not look
away, not until she knew that Devon was safe. Not until she knew
that the man she loved came back to her, but she was beginning to
think that would never happen. She was beginning to fear that man
would never return to her again.

The monster that Liam had been battling
scurried back to its feet, but it did not jump back into the fray.
Instead, it scurried away into the shadows. Cassie watched it, her
eyebrows furrowing as she leaned closer to the small hole, trying
to discern where it was going as it disappeared into the
night.

An uneasy feeling filled her. She had
never seen a Halfling back down from a fight, even when they were
losing. They didn’t have enough reason to realize that they were
going to be killed. Or did they?

A shiver raced down Cassie’s spine, a
chill filled her veins. Maybe these things had more reason and
sense then they had attributed to them? If that was the case then
things could become a lot more difficult, and a lot more deadly,
than they had anticipated.

She turned back to the window as Julian
and Devon easily removed the head of their victim. Cassie’s lip
curled in disgust. She took a step back from the window as the
three of them turned toward the remaining creature. It was still
squirming and squealing, trying to crawl away from the spot where
Julian had left it.

She shuddered, wrapping her arms around
herself as she took another step back. She couldn’t watch anymore.
Bowing her head, she tried hard to withhold the tears and nausea
boiling through her.

The hair on her neck and arms suddenly
stood up. A chill encased her. She glanced toward the front door.
Annabelle was standing on a chair in order to peer out through the
small glass window in it. The only window that had not been boarded
up. The only window that they had not made a change to. The others
had been boarded, or blocked, under the assumption that these
creatures would be too far gone to notice the
difference.