Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (15 page)

   “Come on Marcy, you know they’re just friends,”
Kara interjected, leaning forward as she rested her chin on her hands.

   “He sleeps in her room Kara,” Marcy retorted sharply. “You can’t tell me that nothing has
ever
happened between them!”

   Kara shook her head as she rolled her eyes. She turned toward Devon, her pretty face softening from irritation to kindness. “They’ve been friends since they were little. Cassie’s parents
,
and Chris’s dad
,
were killed in the same car accident when the
y
were only a year old.” Devon kept his shock over this revelation hidden as Kara turned narrowed eyes on Marcy. “So yes, I believe that nothing has happened between them.”

   Marcy rolled her eyes
but tried to keep her irritation hidden from Devon. She failed miserably. “Cassie’s parents are dead?”

   Kara nodded;
sadness crep
t
over her delicate features. “Yes
,
and so are Melissa’s.”

   Devon started in surprise. The three of them either had no parents
,
or were missing at least one. It was a strange coincidence, but it also explained the strong bond that the
y
seemed to
share. Though they were all popular
, always surrounded by people,
yet
they
still
remained aloof, separate
from everyone but each other
. And when they were together they were like one unit. A unit that was able to communicate with
out a word, but with a simple
look
or
a touch.

   He had been amazed, impressed, and a little confused by the tightness of their bond. But
the fact that
they had all
experienced the
los
s
of a
parent
explained the closeness they shared. Unwillingly his gaze went to the windows, but he could not see Cassie amongst the crush of students that had finished eating and
m
oved outside. A
whiffle
ball and bat had been brought out and
a
pickup game was starting.

   “That’s awful,” he muttered.

   The intense desire to be free
of this room
,
and
to see her, suffused him. Though he could not understand, or relate to her pain, he was beginning to get a better understanding of the hurt,
loneliness, pride, and strength that surrounded her.
A h
urt and loneliness that he was determined to help ease, whether she wanted his help or not.

   He rose suddenly, ignoring
the startled looks that
Marcy and Kara shot him. “Excuse me,” he mumbled
before
moving swiftly through the crowd toward the glass double doors.

   He stepped outside, the excited sound of laughter and chatter suffus
ed
him. He scanned the crowd, but did not spot Cassie amongst the mass. He did spot Melissa though. Winding his way through the students, he made his way steadily toward her. Melissa turned toward him, a dark eyebrow
lifted
a
s
her mouth quirk
ed
in a small smile.

   “Hey stranger,” she greeted
warmly, her onyx eyes gleaming with amusement. He hesitated for a moment,
briefly puzzled by the startling amount of knowledge within
those
dark eyes. He was certain that she knew
exactly
why he was here
,
and she was happy about it. “
How is everything going
?”

  
“Fine.”
His gaze darted over the crowd
as he
search
ed
for Cassie
,
but he didn’t see her,
and he couldn’t smell the delicious scent that she emitted in waves.

   “You seem to be making a lot of friends.”

   “I suppose.”

   Her smile widened, her smooth olive complexion shone in the bright light of the sun. She
knew why he was here, and she
was enjoying every moment of torment she was handing to him. He didn’t know if that fact pissed him off, or if he wanted to join in with her
obvious
amusement
.

   “Not interested in friends?”

   Only one, he wanted to tell her, but he bit back his words. “Of course,” he said softly. Though Melissa was enj
oying this conversation, he was tired of being toyed with.
“Where is your friend Cassie?”

   Melissa quirked her head to the side, her exotic eyes slant
ed
as her hair fell forward. “Having most of the female population chasing you around isn’t enough for you?”

    Though he knew she was trying to be playful, Devon’s patience was at a snapping point. He wanted to know where Cassie was, and he wanted to know now. Melissa seemed to sense this as
her
smile slipped away and a strange sadness crept over her.
That dark look passed over her eyes again as they seemed to pierce straight into
h
is soul.

   “No,” he said simply.

   She snorted slightly in surprise, her eyes sparked with amusement once more. “
Good.
” She said flatly.
“
Cassie went home.”

   He frowned in surprise as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Why?”

   “Not feeling well.”
   “She ok?”
he demanded, surprised by the wealth of worry and concern that filled him.

  
“She’s fine, just hasn’t been sleeping well.”

   Devon frowned as he recalled the strange dreams plaguing him, dreams
that
Cassie was always a part
of;
d
reams that haunted him throughout the day. Dreams that he did not want to have, but look
ed
forward to every night.

   He hated what
Cassie
was doing to him, knew that he should leave this town, but he also knew that he wouldn
’
t. Not yet anyway.

***

   “Cassie
come
on! Pay attention!”

   Sighing in aggravation, Cassie tossed aside the stake she had been holding and stormed over to the bench. Grabbing
a
water
bottle
she squirted it into her mouth, trying to drown the annoyance consuming her
. She was exhausted, she could barely function, and she had been
completely
blowing all of her training for the past week. She was doing awful, and Luther was not about to let her forget it.

   “You are so very lucky that things have been quiet this past
week!” he barked at her, his gra
y eyes narrowed angrily. “You wouldn’t survive five seconds in the field!” Cassie was struggling to control her temper, he was right after all, but she was just as frustrated as he was with her inability to do anything right. “What is wrong with you?”

   Cassie closed her eyes, shuddering as she thought of the many things that were wrong with her lately. And they were
all centered
on
one very disturbing, frightening man.
“I’m tired,” she mumbled, knowing that although it was the truth it was also a very poor excuse.

 
“Tired!
Tired!?
” he demanded sharply.

  
Cassie hung her head, peeking up at him from under lowered lashes. She deserved whatever
she got, but it was still killing her to keep from defending herself. Luther sighed angrily; pulling off his Lennon style glasses he cleaned them briskly on his shirt as he tried to gather his patience. He slid them back on, relati
vely calmer as he studied her we
arily.

  
“Alright.”
He t
ugged on his graying brown hair;
he
pac
ed
briefly away before he turned sharply on his heel
and coming back
. “Maybe I am working you to hard. Maybe you need a break, you all do. We’ll take the rest of
tonight off
.”

   Cassie wanted to protest, taking time off wouldn’t help her. She knew that. Just as she knew that none of them could afford to lose time practicing their
fighting skills. “Luther…”

   “No, no.” His English accent became slightly heavier the more discombobulated he became. “
A
night off will do us all some good. But you need to come back refreshed and rested Cassie. You are the best fighter we have, if you don
’
t get your act together than we
’
re all in danger.”

   Cassie bit on her bottom lip
as she
struggl
ed
to keep hold of the anger and shame threatening to consume her. Tremors rocked her, tears burned her eyes, but she would not allow herself to shed them. She had to get her act together, and she had to do it
soon
. She was overtired right now, that was her whole problem. She just needed some sleep.

   Fighting to keep hold of her wildly swaying emotions
, she glanced around the converted garage. It was packed full of weapons, punching bags, and exercise equipment. Luther had added onto the two car garage a couple years ago, making it twice as big as its original size. She had spent a lot of time in this
room,
poured
a lot of sweat, and
shed
more than a few tears
along with some blood
.

   And she hated it, she hated everything that this room represented and the change it had brought to her life.
She kept her hate hidden though, kept it locked away, buried beneath the fear and terror that she didn
’
t allow to show. Turning away from the metal swords and crossbows strapped to the wall, she focused her
attention on Luther, Melissa, and Chris.

   “It’s time to go home,” she said softly.

   “Yes, yes,” Luther agreed. “Rest for the next night and then we’ll hit it hard again
tomorrow
.”

   Cassie nodded, though the last thing she
wanted was to ever have to come back here. However, she didn
’
t have an option. She would have to come back over and over again until they left town, or she died.
Both options sucked.

   “Will you be ok after tonight?” She
nodded in response to Luther’s question
. His aggravation had
been
replaced with a deep worry that rattled her.
He was the closest thing to a father she had, and right now he looked completely terrified for her. She didn’t like
i
t one bit.
“Are you sure?”

  
“Cassie.” She
t
urn
ed
toward Melissa, hating the knowledge in her onyx eyes. Though Cassie had not mentioned her dreams to anyone, or her bizarre attraction to Devon, Melissa saw far more than Cassie wanted her to. But then, she always did. “Maybe a sleeping pill would help you.”

   Cassie hid her surprise, nodding briskly as she turned toward Chris. He offered her a wan smile as he held his arm out to her. Though she loved them both dearly, there were times when
she wished they didn
’
t know her so well, or possess such probing gifts. Hiding her irritation, she slipped her arm into Chris’s, squeezing it briefly as she leaned against his side.

   She had always hated
taking any
medicine
, but m
aybe she should take a pill tonight, she was so damn tired she could barely see straight anymore.
And if she didn’t get some sleep soon, she was scared that she would break completely.

CHAPTER 7

   “Is this a dream?”

   Cassie stood across the clearing from him, her golden hair
tumbling in a riotous
mass
about her bared
,
creamy shoulders. The white dress she wore billowed gently about her bare feet. She was stunning, breathtaking, and he knew that if his heart
could
still beat it would have stopped at the sight of her. The soft breeze pushed strands of hair around her delicate features. She reached up, pulling it back as it drifted across one of her eyes.