Phoenix Rising (Book 5 The Kindred Series) (27 page)

Her vision started to clear as heat seeped into her body. The throbbing in her head eased and she was able to blink Chris into focus as the throbbing in her head eased. ""I'll be fine," she assured him.

Chris nodded and turned away from her as another wave of newer vamps closed in on them. He hefted his crossbow to his shoulder and took aim. "I wish we still had that handy little arrow launcher thing Joey had."

"So do I," she muttered.

She wiped the blood from her eye as she shoved herself to her knees. The vampires she'd buried within the avalanche were already starting to pull themselves free of the mounds of snow. Annabelle, Liam, Melissa, Dani, and Joey were having trouble fighting off what seemed like an endless wave of monsters that Zane had created for this battle. She still couldn't see Devon and Robert amongst the snow and chaos. Julian was struggling to his feet as Bernard hefted the tree and went back at him.

Cassie didn't think there was anyway Julian could fend off the mountain of a man narrowing in on him. Drawing on her telekinesis she managed to lift a small rock Robert had dislodged and heaved it at Bernard. It caught the giant in the temple, momentarily distracting him as he swung the tree at Julian again.

Julian grabbed hold of the tree and punched the giant in the face. Staggered by the force of Julian's blow, Bernard released the tree. Julian spun the tree around and drove it through Bernard's chest. The massive man howled as he clawed at the tree and fell backwards into the snow.

Julian's eyes were the color of glowing embers as they met hers. Chris released a rapid fire of arrows from the crossbow as the newer vampires rushed at them. Over the horde she finally spotted Devon and Robert as they tumbled across the ground toward a newly formed gorge in the earth. She didn't think Devon was aware of its existence, but Robert surely was.

Dani let out a shriek that caused Cassie's hair to stand on end as the vampires breached the small circle of protection they had all formed. Joey was the first to go down, buried beneath the crowd that mobbed over top of them. Cassie's head spun, she tried to take in everything at once, but it was all happening too fast.

A scream tore from her as she lurched forward and drove her shoulder into one of the creatures closing in on them. An apparition of Zane appeared before her. The light of the moon gleamed on his extended fangs as he wagged his finger at her. "Now now princess, let's leave the brother's alone so we can have some fun of our own."

She snarled at him as she hit the apparition with enough force to send it spiraling into the snow. She didn't stop to finish it off though, that version of Zane was completely useless to her and she had to help
someone
. Devon and Robert were getting perilously closer to the edge of the pit, Julian and Chris were being pushed back by a fresh wave of vampires, and her friends had disappeared beneath the swarm.

***

Robert's eyes widened as Devon's fingers dug into the flesh of his throat. Devon knocked Robert's fist away when Robert tried to drive it into his face. He snapped Robert's arm back, shattering bone and destroying muscle as he drove it to Robert's side. Robert howled, his fingers clawed desperately at Devon's face as he sensed his impending demise.

Around them the world began to rock as Robert tried to draw on his power. Devon released Robert's arm and jerked his brother toward him before he could gather enough strength to bury him under a pile of rocks.

Images of Cassie bleeding, of Cassie dying filled his head as his lips skimmed back to reveal his throbbing fangs. This was something that he should have done years ago. But even so, as his eyes met his brothers rolling ones, he had a moment of hesitation. They'd never been friends, there had never been any love between them, but there was blood. They were
brothers
.

It was that moment that allowed Robert to catch him under the chin with a right hook before he slammed his fist into Devon's chest. A loud roar tore from Devon as his ribs fractured and Robert's fingers scrambled to rip out his heart. He may be hesitant to kill his own brother, but Robert most certainly wasn't.

Cassie, if something happened to him...

He broke the thought off as renewed strength surged through him. He couldn't allow anything to happen to him, not now, not
ever
. He grabbed Robert's good arm with both of his and smashed his forehead off of Robert's. Blood exploded over both of them from Robert's shattered nose. Robert relinquished his pursuit of Devon's heart as he took a staggering step back.

Devon seized hold of his brother's throat and lifted him up before slamming him back into the ground. "You shouldn't have touched her," Devon snarled as he drove his fist through his brother's chest. Robert's eyes widened, his broken arm flopped uselessly at his side but his good fingers encircled Devon's wrist in a vice grip. Devon leaned closer to his brother, his lips curled back in a ferocious sneer as his hand wrapped around the deadened lump within Robert's chest. A lump that had been dead long before Robert had died even. "You'll never touch her again."

Devon yanked the heart from his brother's chest and kicked his body into the pit Robert had been trying to angle him into. He watched his brother fall backwards until he disappeared from view. He didn't have time to savor in the sight, or get his bearings, as ten newly created vampires pounced upon him. Their hunger beat against him as their fangs snapped at his throat. He was able to wrap his mind into two of theirs and drive them off, but he was unable to do it to any more as there were too many of them.

He caught a fleeting glimpse of Zane going down beneath a sea of hungry new vampires. They no longer cared that they'd been brought together by The Elders and were supposed to be fighting
for
The Elders. All they craved now was power and blood, and the most powerful blood belonged to The Elders, and Cassie. Worry for her safety reinvigorated him as he managed to get himself back to his feet beneath the pig pile.

Devon seized one of the vamps by the neck and ripped it over his head, but for every one he brought down five more rose up to replace it. He was driven back to his knees beneath the weight of them.

CHAPTER 23

Cassie
didn't know which way to go first, didn't know who to try and help first as she raced across the snow. Dani screamed again, a piercing cry that made her decision for her. She veered toward her friends as Devon tossed Robert's body into the pit. She had a brief second where she thought he would be ok before he was inundated with a fresh wave of vampires.

Time seemed to slow, she skidded to a stop in the snow as the world blurred and everything inside of her became a frenzy of crashing molecules and turmoil. It reminded her of Gabriel's strange ability but she knew no one else was affected by it. Adrenaline coursed through her as a protective urge unlike anything she'd ever known rushed to the forefront. These were her friends, her family, the people she loved the most and she wasn't going to lose them all.

She didn't know exactly what caused it but fire burst from her fingertips, circled around her wrists and flashed up her arms. It didn't stop at her elbows though but continued onward as it rushed up to surround her shoulders. She didn't try to stop it, wasn't scared of it or frightened by the fact that it slid down her back, and around her chest. The heat of it engulfed her as it propelled her onward.

The thought briefly crossed her mind that this is what she had looked like in Matthew's vision. That Matthew had seen her engulfed in fire, destroying those nearest to her as she greedily sought out more power and more
death
. She didn't pause to think about it, or attempt to stop it as the fire slid down her stomach, encircled her thighs, and reached her toes.

In fact, she welcomed the feeling of invincibility it brought to her as the fire crackled and popped before her eyes. She could take over the world, and she was going to start right here.

A smile spread across her lips as she lifted her head to take in her enemies.

***

Luther's breath was trapped in his chest as he took in the mayhem unfolding outside. He rested his hand on the kitchen sink and leaned closer to the window. Anarchy, complete and utter anarchy reigned as more vampires emerged from the woods in a bloodthirsty wave bent on death.

"What did they do?" Luther muttered as his heart leapt into his throat. The Elders had come here in the hopes of destroying them, of forcing Cassie to their side, and instead they had unleashed Hell on earth. Instead they had lit the catalyst that would most likely end their own lives, and could very well alter the course of history as these creatures had no care for anything other than death and mayhem.

These were not controllable vampires. These were not creatures that respected the old ways and The Elders that had forged the history of their race. These were creatures that would destroy them all.

A glimmering flicker pulled his attention away from the invading pack. He'd thought that he'd seen it all, thought that he couldn't be surprised anymore, but he'd been completely wrong as his heart plummeted into his toes and a cold ice began to encase his body. The glittering spark became a raging inferno as the blaze spread from Cassie's hands, over her arms, and around her chest.

Luther could feel the heat from the blaze even from this distance as the fire beat against the window and illuminated the kitchen. He couldn't shake the feeling that Hell on earth had just been unleashed, and that it wasn't in the form of the vampires.

***

White powder skidded up around him as Julian slid to a halt on his knees beside Chris. "Give me one of those," he snagged hold of one of the crossbows lying on the ground by Chris's feet.

"How many are there?" Chris demanded.

"I don't know."

"Where are they all coming from?"

Julian lifted the crossbow and fired it at one of the newbies barreling down upon them. "I don't know. They may all be from this town. The Elders created them but Zane's lost control."

"He never had control of them." Chris fired two crossbows at once in an attempt to fend some more of them off. "I lost sight of everyone else. Melissa..."

"We can't worry about that now," Julian interrupted briskly.

"The Elders?" Chris inquired.

"Only Zane is still alive." Julian aimed at and took out another new vampire. "I think. His creations might have torn him apart by now."

"One can only hope," Chris muttered as he fired both crossbows again.

Julian was working on reloading his crossbow when he noticed the flicker of red spreading across the snow. Chris froze beside him, his hands stilled as he lifted his head. Julian heard the lurch of Chris's heart as it kicked up a notch but he had stopped breathing. The color warmed him as it seeped over his chest and melted the snow around him.

Julian didn't have to lift his head to look because he already
knew
. He'd already seen what was before him through Matthew and Cassie's eyes. He was unable to lift his head to face it, unable to take in the reality of what was happening right now because he knew that it could very well signal the end of everything he had come to care about.

Bracing himself, Julian finally forced his head up. The firelight flickered over his face as it spread around Cassie in a growing blister of heat that encircled her like the sun. The newer vamps fell back as the flames crackled around her and sparks shot into the air. Grass started to show through as the snow beneath her feet melted away. The conflagration surrounding her increased to the point where he thought he might be getting blisters on his cheeks and his frozen extremities warmed rapidly.

Chris made a small noise in the back of his throat as he fell back. Cassie seemed to actually be floating above the ground as flames scorched the earth beneath her. Then Julian realized that she
was
off the ground. The flames propelled her upward as her hands spread out from her sides. Fire crackled around her as she moved; even her beautiful honey hair had flames rolling off of it as it blew back from her face.

"Oh," Chris breathed. "Oh no. This is what Matthew saw, isn't it?"

It took everything Julian had to form a single word, "Yes."

"It's horrifically beautiful," Chris muttered.

Julian thought that described it perfectly. The newly created vampires tripped over each other like cockroaches scurrying from the light as they attempted to get away from her. Cassie was now a good three feet off the ground as the blaze surrounding her continued to increase in intensity. He spotted the others as the vampires that had been on top of them fell back, but he still didn't see Devon and Zane amongst the fray.

Please let Devon be alive
, Julian prayed silently. Devon was the only one that could stop this from becoming a complete massacre for them all.

Fire didn't shoot out in a ball like it had before, but lit a pathway across the snow as it erupted from her fingertips in a flaming trail that streaked after the new vampires. Screams from the new vampires rent the air as the blaze caught hold of a group of them. Cassie's palms pressed together in front of her before she pushed them outward. More screams erupted as jagged bolts of lightning shot from her hands. They lit the night in a strobe of white light that exploded the vampires it hit. Their ashes stained the snow as they floated lazily back to the earth. A mixture of awe and horror filled him at this strengthening of Dani's power within Cassie.

"She's going to kill us all." There was an odd note of reservation in Chris's voice that caused Julian's hair to stand on end.

"It's a good possibility," Julian admitted as five more vamps burst into flames.

***

Devon hissed as one of the newbies sank their fangs into his neck and clamped down. He grabbed hold of its hand, snapped it back and yanked the vamp around his side. His neck was sliced open as its fangs tore through his flesh but he barely felt the pain. The creature's back shattered as he drove it into the ground. Another one sank their fangs into his forearm as yet another clawed its way up his back.