Inferno Read online

  Luther’s gaze briefly met Cassie’s before darting to Julian. “Because Derek had, has, psychokenesis too.”

  Luther’s tone was bitter, anger simmered in his eyes as they met Cassie’s startled gaze. Though Luther had never met her father, Cassie knew that he had always respected and admired him. They had believed that Derek had given his life in order to help keep Chris and Cassie alive. And there were only three things that Luther cared about and they were Melissa, Chris, and Cassie. To Luther, the fact that Derek was still alive, and a threat to the three people he cared about most was an ultimate sense of betrayal to Luther and their entire race. To Luther, Derek was already dead.

  Julian cursed loudly, his lip curled into a sneer as his hands fisted tightly. He wanted nothing more than to exact his revenge on Derek for everything that had been done to him. But if Julian and her father (no not her father, Derek) had the same ability, then they would cancel each other out. Julian would be useless against him.

  Julian swore again and slammed his hand onto a shelf. Cassie, Chris, and Luther jumped slightly as cans rattled across the floor. Devon swung down, scooping one of the cans easily up. He shot Julian a censuring look as he tossed the can to him. “Keep the noise down.”

  Julian’s head snapped toward him, his eyes narrowed fiercely as they flashed a violent red. Cassie inhaled sharply, greatly afraid that Julian would finally unravel. Greatly afraid that being denied his revenge would shove him right over the edge. Devon grabbed hold of Cassie’s arm, pulling her swiftly behind him as he braced himself for an attack.

  “Don’t!” Cassie cried, dodging Devon’s questing grasp as she jumped back in between them. “Julian stop!” She placed her hand on his chest as she spun toward Devon. His eyes were also now a fierce red as he reached toward her again, seeking to get her out of Julian’s range. “Stop Devon, it’s fine.”

  She allowed him to seize her hand in order to try and calm him down. He tried to tug her away, his red eyes darting fiercely to Julian as Julian’s fingers wrapped lightly around her hand, pressing it tighter to his chest. Cassie turned slowly back to him, hating the pain and need she sensed in him as his ice blue eyes met hers. His fingers squeezed briefly around hers before he released her slowly.

  Cassie stared helplessly back at him as Devon tugged her away, pulling her against his chest as he enveloped her in a tight hug. “Stop doing that!” he hissed low in her ear, his lips pressed close to her.

  Cassie shivered as she hugged him briefly. He hated it when she put herself in his way, or any vampire for that matter, but there were times when she needed too. Times when she had to step in to keep Devon from killing someone. Especially now, she could not allow him and Julian to kill each other simply because they were frustrated with the situation. As they all were.

  “I’m fine,” she assured him.

  He rested his lips against her neck for a brief moment as he struggled to regain complete control. Finally, he pressed a soft kiss against her skin before pulling away. Cassie turned toward Julian, but his attention was now focused upon Luther, his eyes still their beautiful ice blue color. “Are you certain of this Luther?” Julian’s voice was gravelly, harsh with his disappointment about not being able to drag the answers he wanted from Derek.

  Though he tried not to, Cassie felt his eyes dart to her. She smiled wanly at him, hating his pain. She truly did love him, and she wanted him to be happy, but unfortunately she was not the person that could give him that happiness. Maybe, when they all got out of this and Julian knew what he wanted for certain, he would find himself a wonderful woman that made him feel the same way that she felt for Devon.

  For a moment hurt lingered in Julian’s eyes, then they sparked with their usual amusement and he winked at her. Cassie grinned back at him, relieved to see her friend again.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Every Guardian knew what the other Hunter’s were capable of. It was recorded into the books, and the Guardians were informed of them in case they ever needed certain abilities from a Hunter. Especially Hunter’s with an ability like Derek’s, which is powerful and very handy, as you well know.”

  Julian smiled a little as he nodded. “Yes I do, except for now.”

  “Can you make him tell us?” Cassie asked softly, craning her neck to look up at Devon.

  He bit on his bottom lip for a moment, his gaze briefly meeting Julian’s hard one. Julian’s eyes gleamed; a small spark lit them as he lifted an eyebrow at Devon. Cassie tensed as she glanced questioningly between the two of them. It was more than obvious that there was something she was not getting here.

  “He will fight it Cassie,” Devon replied slowly.

  “So?”

  “If he fights it, it will be painful. Very painful.”

  Cassie swallowed heavily, hating the idea of causing pain to anyone, but it was necessary to find out what Derek knew. “Ok, well that’s not good, but…”

  “If he fights it and I still burrow in, he could go mad.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened, her mouth parted in horror as her heart flipped over in her chest. Go mad? Devon could actually drive him insane? Cassie shuddered at the thought, and the sheer strength of his power. “But will you still be able to find out what we need to know?” Chris asked.

  “Chris!” Cassie hissed in disapproval, shock shooting through her.

  “It needs to be done,” Liam stated flatly.

  Cassie glanced wildly around, searching for someone that would agree with her. Unfortunately, she seemed to be the only one that found something wrong with this scenario. She turned toward Devon, hoping to find some support from him, but she knew there would be none. He would do whatever it took to keep her safe, even if it meant destroying her father’s mind.

  “Devon…”

  His eyes were hard, his jaw set as he met her gaze. “We need to know Cassie. Everything. I can make him tell us all of it.”

  “Even if it drives him crazy?” Annabelle inquired softly. Cassie’s head snapped toward her, grateful for someone with a little reasoning. “Can you live with that Devon?”

  “Yes.”

  Annabelle hesitated for a moment before she nodded; her strawberry curls bounced around her shoulders. “Ok then.”

  “Devon…” Cassie started.

  He grasped hold of her shoulders, silencing her protest. “We’ll give him the choice to tell us, or not, but either way he will reveal what he knows. It will be his choice if he survives it, or not.”

  “Survives it?” Cassie croaked.

  “It will not kill him, but it won’t leave him the same.”

  Cassie looked wildly around. She hated the man for everything he had done to her, and to her friends, but she could not do this to him. “No, we cannot do that. We are not these people! We are better than this. We are better than him!”

  “The children Cassie,” Melissa said softly. “We have to find those children before any more harm can come to them. Think of all they have lost so far, we must save their lives.”

  Cassie shook her head, hating their reasons, hating the fact that she knew they were right. Pulling away from Devon, she straightened her shoulders and turned to storm back into the room where her father was tied. His head was bowed, but he lifted it as he heard her approach. She studied him carefully, trying to find something she could relate to in him, some spark of humanity, but she found none.

  Why on earth did she feel bad about hurting him when he’d felt no compunction about hurting her?

  “We need to know what you know,” she told him crisply. He simply stared at her, his face emotionless, his eyes flat. “I know that Julian is useless against you.” His hard mouth quirked to one side in amusement. “But Devon’s not.”

  The smile slipped from his face, his eyes darted worriedly behind her as the others filtered further into the room. “I will fight it.”

  “And he will destroy you if you do. You will either tell us, or you won’t be the same afterward. Those are your only choices. You have until tomorrow to dec
ide.”

  She turned away from him, suddenly needing to escape. Needing to get as far from this monster as possible before she snapped completely. Her skin itched, her heart beat rapidly in her chest; her need to escape became almost frantic. Devon came swiftly toward her, seeming to sense her intense desperation. “Come on.”

  Taking hold of her hand he led her into the small side room. Cassie was surprised to find a ladder door pulled down into the middle of the room. She frowned at it, her gaze darting up the ladder to the dark space beyond. “What is that?”

  “The attic. Luther found it while we were gone.”

  He helped her up the ladder, staying behind her as she climbed swiftly up the rickety stairs. She stepped into the small attic space, glancing around at the wooden beams that ran across the ceiling, and the old curtains that covered the tiny windows. It was slightly colder up here; she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to fight off the chill.

  Devon appeared behind her, crouching down to avoid the beams that ran across the ceiling. Moving slowly along, he was bent nearly double as he tugged a group of sleeping bags from behind a few old boxes. “I put these up here earlier. I thought you might need some time alone.”

  Cassie nodded, tears of gratitude burning her eyes as he laid the sleeping bags swiftly out. He made a makeshift bed quickly before turning back to her. She could only stare at him for a moment, admiring the play of shadows across his magnificent face, and the glow in his emerald eyes. Her heart swelled with love and pride. He was hers and there was nothing that she wouldn’t do for him, nothing that she would not give him.

  “You know they have already given me vampire blood, and I am no different than I was before.”

  He looked slightly taken aback by her words. His mouth parted in surprise, his eyes widened slightly. But she could also sense the spark of hunger, want, and need that shot through him. The hunger and need that he would never admit to, and tried to keep as hidden from her as much as possible though she knew that it was always present. “Cassie…”

  “I want this Devon,” she whispered.

  He stared at her for a moment, hesitant and worried. “As do I,” he groaned in a hoarse voice. “But there is no way of knowing what would happen if you were changed.”

  She bit her bottom lip nervously, hating the fact that he was right, hating the fact that she could not be with him completely right now. It had taken her awhile to even decide that she wanted to join him. And it seemed that from the moment she had decided she wanted it, everything had gone to hell, everything had aligned against them ever being together completely. She didn’t want to think that it was some sort of omen, didn’t want to think that the fates had aligned against them, but it was hard not to sometimes. She just had to remind herself that it was not fate that had aligned against them, but horrid men like the ones tied up below.

  Taking a deep breath, Cassie decided to try another route, one that would give them both what they wanted. “Then don’t change me, not yet anyway. Not until all of this is over, and I won’t be needed for the battle as much...”

  “Cassie!” he hissed, his hands fisting. “This has nothing to do with needing you in battle, and everything to do with my fear over what could happen to you.”

  Cassie sighed softly as she nodded. “I know that Devon,” she whispered, hoping to ease the tension radiating from him. “But I want to be with you forever, and once this is over I want you to change me, consequences be damned.”

  “Cassie…”

  “But until then, I just want to know what it is like to taste you, to have your blood inside of me.”

  He inhaled sharply, his hands fisted so tight that the corded muscles of his arms stood out starkly. She could see the fierce war he was waging with himself, the struggle for control that he was trying to maintain. She thought that he would deny her again, that he would argue with her. Instead, he bent to pull the sleeping bags back, holding his hand out as he beckoned welcomingly to her. Cassie’s heart leapt into her throat, excitement tore through her. She desperately needed this, desperately needed him. She did not hesitate as she hurried forward, slipping her hand easily into his.

  He helped her between the blankets before sliding in next to her and wrapping it tightly around them. Cassie savored in the strength of his hard body, pressing herself closer to him as he enveloped her. She could feel the excited hum of tension radiating from him as she rested her cheek on his hard chest.

  He ran his hand over her hair and face, caressing her gently. She lay with him for a long time, relishing in him, and his love. She lifted her face to his, kissing him gently, losing herself to the feel of his hard lips against hers, losing herself to the wonder of him. His hand tightened on the back of her head, pulling her tighter, deepening the kiss. Cassie’s body thrummed with excitement, her heart hammered wildly in her chest as she opened her mouth to his invasion.

  His tongue swept in, caressing her, loving her. Cassie sighed softly, going limp against him as she gave herself over to his touch, smell, and taste. There was nothing as wonderful as he was; nothing as all consuming and needed. And she did need him, desperately. She needed every aspect of him.

  He rolled her slowly over, pressing her into the sleeping bags as he continued to touch and caress her. Unlike the other times when things had become this passionate and intense, she felt no panic, no sense of self consciousness. She did not think about the many women in his past, but only of him and everything that he was to her, everything that he would always be.

  “Cassie,” he breathed in her ear.

  She shivered, her fingers curled into his back as tears of pure joy burned her eyes. His lips pulled back, his teeth brushed lightly over her neck as he scraped his fangs against her skin. Cassie clung tighter to him, shaking in anticipation of what was to come. She gasped, ecstasy filling her when he bit deep. Tears spilled down her face, her fingers dug into his hair as she cradled him against her. His contentment filled her; his hunger suffused her. He encompassed her completely, filling her with the golden warmth of his pure love and joy.

  He pulled slowly away from her, not closing the wounds in her neck as he bit deep into his wrist. Cassie winced at the pain it must have caused him, but he showed not even a flicker of response. He watched her intently; his eyes ablaze with desire and need as he lifted his wrist to her mouth.

  Cassie stared at him for a moment before grasping hold of him and bringing his wrist slowly to her mouth. His eyes widened and then narrowed with pleasure, his arm tightened around her as he pulled her closer. Cassie hesitated, it was blood after all, but it was the want in his eyes, the tension and desire in his body that drove her forward.

  He groaned when she bit down, his eyes closed in ecstasy as he pulled her against his chest, holding her gently. The blood was strange, metallic tasting and warm, but it was not unpleasant, and in fact it had a sweetness to it that she found surprising. Cassie drifted on the contentment that flowed through her, drifted as he filled her. She could stay like this forever, never changing a thing, never leaving the secure embrace of his arms.

  ***

  Devon watched Cassie as she slept soundly, curled up on her side, her hands tucked beneath her head. She was unbelievably beautiful and serene, her face lax, her features gentle and calm. It was the first time he had seen her at peace in so very long, even yesterday she had not slept soundly, but had tossed and turned and moaned as if she were in pain. Not today though, today she was an angel with no worries, no cares, and that’s the way he wanted to keep it. At least for a little while.

  He cradled her gently, unable to believe that she was his, unable to believe that she gave her love and her blood to him so freely. Unable to believe that he had been blessed with such a wonderful person, especially after everything he had done in his long, miserable life. He nuzzled her hair gently, savoring in the sweet scent of her. Though he could taste the lingering remnants of Julian’s blood in her, he did not smell Julian upon her anymore which was a good sign t
hat Julian’s blood was swiftly fading from her system.

  It was his blood he smelled upon her now, his blood that pulsed through her system, marking her as his own. Even though he wanted her by his side forever, for now he was more than content to hold her, taste her, and love her. He glanced around the cramped room, grateful for its distance from the others.

  When they were out of this mess, he would think about taking her completely. He might consider making her his forever, but not here, not in this place, and not with the horror haunting them outside of this building. And not with the uncertainty of what that change might do to her hanging over their heads. She deserved something special and wonderful, and she deserved the peace she had not experienced in years. And he sure as hell didn’t want her monster of a father anywhere near them when it happened.

  She stirred slightly, her long lashes fluttered open. Her violet blue eyes were groggy with sleep, but she smiled beautifully up at him. He bent to her, kissing her gently, tasting his blood upon her lips as he relished in her. His body tensed as he fought the intense desire to lose himself in her completely. But he couldn’t do it, not right now anyway.

  Pulling away, he caressed the silken curve of her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

  “Wonderful,” she purred, curling up against him. “Simply wonderful.”

  He couldn’t stop the satisfied grin that spread over his face. “Good. Are you hungry?”

  “Not hungry enough to leave here right now.” He chuckled softly, pulling her tighter against him as he rolled onto his back. She lay against his chest, her hair spilling across the both of them. “When will you change me Devon?”

  He stiffened beneath her, his hands clenched at her back. “Cassie, because you can handle vampire blood does not mean that the change would not have dire consequences for you.”

  She yawned before shaking her head forcefully. “It doesn’t matter.”

  He sighed softly, stroking his hand gently through her silken hair. He knew that it was what they both wanted, desperately, but there were more consequences than what might become of her. “And the fact that you will never see sunlight again?”