Phoenix Rising (Book 5 The Kindred Series) (20 page)

Her eyes widened on the stake the man held. They somehow knew what she was, or at least suspected it. The man lunged at her and grunted as Cassie swung out with the metal leg. She didn't get a solid hit in, but she did knock him back a step as the glancing blow bounced off of his chest.

The man regained his balance and prepared to come at her again. There was a growing hum of power flowing through her as she shifted into a fighting stance. It didn't appear that the man had any real training but thought he could take her down on brute strength alone. His far superior size and strength may have been enough to take down other people before, but he'd never come across someone like her.

His lunge was awkward and off balance as he rushed at her again. Cassie twisted to the side and clasping her hands together she slammed her fists into his back with as much force as she could. The loud cracking of ribs rebounded off of the sterile walls.

A small gasp escaped him as he plummeted to the ground. The stake fell from his hand and clattered across the tile floor. His fingers jerked on the ground, he lay for a breathless moment before he rolled to the side and back to his feet. Instead of trying to get away from her, he came back at her with a furious bellow that reminded her of a charging bull.

Cassie hadn't been expecting that maneuver and didn't have enough time to get out of the way before his hand seized the tangle of sheets. He jerked her off of her feet as he pulled down on the cumbersome material. Her knees and palms thwacked off the tiling. The man clawed at her, using the sheets to gain better access as he tried to get at her face. Cassie strained to get free but her legs were entangled in the mess that she had created herself. His hand grabbed hold of her shirt and roughly jerked her forward.

For some strange reason panic didn't fill her, she didn't fear for her safety or her life. Instead, everything seemed to slow within her as something else rose up to take over. Something that craved blood and death, and wouldn't be satisfied until it got it. A low growl escaped her as she punched the man in the cheek hard enough to knock his head to the side.

With his jugular exposed, she launched forward, seized hold of his hair and ripped his head back. She didn't hesitate, didn't even think as she dove forward and sank her fangs into his neck. The man howled as he clawed at her in a useless attempt to pry her free. She wasn't giving up her meal; she was
not
going to allow this monster to live, and he
was
a monster. As his blood flowed into her she saw every horrendous act this man had ever done, and the great pleasure that he'd taken in torturing and murdering innocent children and people.

It was more than just righteousness that drove her now. It was also the sweet rush of the blood that eased the fiery hunger that seemed to be ever present in her veins now. She felt the lessening of his life as his essence drained away, but unlike the vampire she felt no grief, no guilt over the murder she had just committed. Instead, she felt a sense of justice that rattled her even more. The man had gotten what he deserved, but it wasn't her place to judge or decide that. Unfortunately, right now, it didn't matter as they were still in danger and she was still willing to rip out the throat of the next person that attacked them.

She pushed the man back and grappled to get out from underneath his dead weight. She tore at the sheets to rid herself of the nuisance they created now. Finally free she glanced around the hall, her senses and thirst on high alert as she searched for the next attack. With the man's blood pumping through her she felt stronger and less lightheaded as she pulled Luther up with far more ease. She felt almost high and giddy with the sensations coursing through her.

She wrapped Luther's arm around her shoulders and held his hand as she hurried him down the hall. Cassie's heart sank when she spotted the door at the end of the hall. Just as she'd suspected, her jacket was gone and the door was firmly locked. She cursed loudly and bit back a scream of frustration as she slammed her hand against the steel door.

She placed Luther on the ground and propped him against the wall. Keeping one eye on the hall she began to search for the mechanism that had to be hidden somewhere within the wall. Panic started to fill her as her movements became more frantic. What if there was no switch on this side? What if the opening for this door was somewhere else within here? She glanced around the hall, expecting another attack, but it remained still.

Why hadn't they come after them yet? With better weapons and more people they would be able to take her down.

Then, she felt it. A strange sensation began to creep through her veins, an almost numbing feeling that caused saliva to rush into her mouth at the same time that her body began to feel heavy. She'd felt this before, when she'd been at the mercy of The Commission.

Her gaze drifted toward the man lying motionless within the hall. Dead, because she had drained him dry. Her mind tripped back to when she and Julian had been locked beneath the school and their food had also been drugged. She couldn't move, she could barely even think as the world lurched before her. They had pumped the man full of drugs and sent him after her as bait. She wondered if he'd known their intentions when he'd attacked her or if he'd been as in the dark as her when she'd fed from him.

A shiver worked its way through her as goose bumps broke out on her flesh. She turned back to the door and desperately searched for the switch. She fought to remain calm but her mouth was beginning to feel like she'd been sucking on pennies and her legs were turning to rubber.

She turned back to the rooms lining the hall. None of them appeared to be a control room, but there had to be one that stored all of the supplies and more than likely held the key to their exit. There had to be a way to escape here but she didn't have time to find it.

Cassie fell before Luther and grasped his shoulders as she shook him roughly. He didn't so much as moan in displeasure. "Luther!" she hissed. "Luther you have to wake up! Luther!"

Cassie shoved herself up and staggered to her feet. She almost fell back to the ground but managed to steady herself by bracing her hand against the wall. The drugs were wrapping her within their tentacles and trying to draw her into the dark depths of a sea she wouldn't awaken from. She tried to remember how long she'd been able to stay awake when she'd been drugged before, but she couldn't quite recall. There had been nights she and Julian had stayed up talking for hours before drifting to sleep, but that didn't mean anything. The Commission could have decided not to drug them on those days, or they could have given them those hours in order to manipulate them and watch their relationship grow.

The night they'd escaped, Julian had been far more drugged than she had. But he'd also dealt with a fair amount of torture that day. They may have given Julian more that night in the hopes that he would recover faster and they could renew their games, or he may have just been more susceptible to the effects of the drugs in his weakened state.

Either way, it didn't matter, if she didn't get them out of here soon than they weren't going anywhere.

Cassie wracked her brain for some solution to the problem but either the drugs, or the panic, were keeping her from processing thoughts properly. She was at the first door before she realized she'd traveled this far. Before realizing she had no idea where she was going, or what she was trying to do. She shook her head as she tried to clear her cloudy mind but she failed miserably at it.

She retreated toward Luther, determined to keep him protected for as long as possible. She may have failed him, but she wouldn't let them take him without a fight. She crouched before him and had to steady herself with both hands in order to keep from falling over. She was starting to see double as stars began to burst before her eyes.

Her thoughts turned to Devon. This would destroy him, he wouldn't survive it. Tears built in her eyes, she fought to stay awake, but she could feel her lids drooping as they became heavier. Luther stirred but she wasn't surprised when he remained unconscious.

Cassie wished that he would wake up if only so she could say goodbye. She heard the sounds of people moving about before she spotted them creeping out of their hiding spots, coming for them already.

She pressed herself against Luther as she strained to keep her bleary vision focused.
Sister
Anne stepped into the hall, but her caring, open persona had been discarded, along with her phony nun attire. Now her dark eyes were cold and malicious. A muscle twitched in her cheek as she glared at Cassie. A fully loaded crossbow was pressed against the side of her thigh.

Another man and woman stepped out from behind her. They also bore weapons but Cassie knew it would be Anne that came for her, if that was even her real name. Cassie seized hold of Luther's hand as she tried to draw strength and comfort from his warm touch.

She still had Dani and Joey's powers, something that these people had no way of knowing. However, she wasn't sure how well either of them would work right now. Zane's astral projection would have been handy, but she already felt as if she were splitting apart without actually doing it. There was Adon's fire power, but that would be a last resort. She was a little nervous that she may kill them all if she used it in these tight confines.

She could feel the pulse of life that signaled the electrical pull of the earth surging into her hand. She didn't know if she should make the first move, but she did know that she couldn't simply crouch here and wait for them to attack her. Anne took a step toward her and raised the crossbow as Cassie slammed her hand off the ground. Though it wasn't the way that Dani released her power, it felt right to Cassie.

The power thrummed from her hand and sizzled across the ground in a bolt of electricity that she could actually see as it zigzagged toward her enemies. Shock and horror filled their eyes, apparently they hadn't known what she was capable of, or they'd thought that the drugs would keep her abilities locked away. Either way, she had the brief advantage of surprise on her side.

Anne fired the crossbow seconds before the electrical bolt hit them and knocked them off their feet. Cassie didn't have the reflexes or thought processes to react quickly enough. She fell to the side to get away from the arrow but it wasn't good enough.

A cry escaped her as she was knocked back from the force of the impact. The arrow drove into her shoulder, sliced through muscle and shattered bone before bursting partway out the other side. Cassie was briefly stunned by the pain tearing through her, and the fact that she'd just barely gotten out of the way in time.

She grabbed hold of the end of the arrow and grit her teeth as she broke it off. A low moan escaped her and she began to shake as a thin layer of sweat coated her body. She was wobbly and barely able to focus as she righted herself and sought out her predators. Closing her eyes she wiped the sweat from her forehead before forcing her lids open again. She didn't know how much time she had bought her and Luther, but she didn't think it would be much.

She was barely aware of the blood trailing down her shoulder, soaking her clothes, and dripping off of her fingers as she turned back to Luther. She was unsure what it was that she sought from him as she grabbed his arm. She just knew that she couldn't sit in this hall and wait for them to be picked off like fish in a barrel.

She managed to get Luther almost to his knees before she lost her footing in the puddle of her blood and they both sprawled onto the floor. Luther's head flopped to the side and his chin dropped to her shoulder. She grabbed his chin to try and wake him again but a fresh wave of agony tore through her. She looked down to find a stake protruding from her stomach. Her eyes shot back down the hall as the other man regained his feet. Thankfully, he was a crappy throw, but it was only a matter of time before one of them hit the mark.

He grabbed hold of another stake and took aim before whipping it toward them. Acting on pure survival instinct, Cassie threw her hand up. Joey's power burst free of her, it caught the stick in midair and deflected it from its target, her heart. Cassie struggled to get Luther's limp form behind her but her fingers were slippery from the blood coating them and it was difficult to grasp hold of him. A small whimper escaped her. She didn't want them to see her apprehension, didn't want them to know that they'd driven her to this level, but she couldn't hide it either.

She slipped in the trail of blood that she was leaving behind but she was able to get Luther's body firmly against the wall. The man hunting them was hesitant now of what else she could do, but the women were regaining their feet and three against a weakening one would eventually be enough to embolden them. Cassie winced and was unable to suppress a groan as she pulled the stake from her belly. It was a good thing her organs weren't necessary for her survival anymore.

She did question if she would eventually bleed out, if the cuts were more than her rapid healing ability could handle. Then she realized that it didn't matter. Her mind was growing foggier, her head was spinning, and she was fairly certain there wasn't solid ground beneath her hands and feet anymore.

That's why when the door began to open, she didn't immediately react and didn't truly believe it was happening. Even when she saw Chris's sapphire eyes she didn't try to warn him away because she was certain that she was imagining him there. She was into the hallucinogenic stage of whatever drug they had given her.

Cassie didn't hear or see the arrow from the crossbow until it whizzed past Chris, missing him by only a hair. "Holy..." the rest of his words cut off as he jumped back from the doorway.

Cassie tried to focus as she began to believe that just maybe this
was
real. Then Chris was back and kneeling behind the door as he reached for her. "Luther," she whispered. "Take Luther first."

Chris frowned at her, but he adjusted himself as he grasped for Luther's wedged body. Cassie managed to gather enough strength and wits about her to move away from Luther so Chris could get him free. Her stalkers were coming rapidly at her now, determined not to lose her to Chris's interference. Cassie didn't know what to do or how to hold them back anymore.