Phoenix Rising (Book 5 The Kindred Series) (6 page)

Zane took another staggering step away and roughly bumped into Anastasia. Though he tried to hide it, Cassie could see the apprehension in his eyes. "
What
are you?" he demanded.

Cassie tilted her head to the side as she eyed him. Good question, she didn't know what she was, but she did know that she didn't like the look in his eyes. She briefly recalled what he'd said about her eyes as terror slid through her body. At heart she felt
almost
exactly the same, but what if something was fundamentally wrong with her?

Her fingers fluttered back to the corners of her eyes but she couldn't feel any difference. She held her hands out before her as she turned them back and forth. They appeared no different either, but she knew somehow they were. They were no longer hands that only had the power to beat and maim and destroy. These hands held power, these hands could do things that her mortal hands hadn't been able to do.

Her gaze flitted over the now stilled crowd. The fight had stopped at Zane's words, at the trepidation they felt from the strongest vampire amongst them. They all turned curious eyes upon her. Devon was still holding his brother's arm as he watched her. Cassie could only helplessly stare back at him with her hands held out before her, and her body thrumming with the current of power that seemed to run through her now.

"What am I?" her words echoed Zane's but it was all she could think to ask. The uncertainty in Devon's gaze caused her stomach to drop. He
had
to know, Devon had to know what had become of her, what she
was
now. He had to know that she wasn't a monster, because right now she wasn't so sure. "Devon?" she breathed.

"A Phoenix." Cassie turned as Matthew glided toward her from the shadows. "A Phoenix rising from the ashes." She numbly stared back at him as he stopped before her. "A Phoenix," he whispered again. "Rising up to destroy us all."

Cassie recoiled from the strange man. "No, I..."

Before she could react, Matthew grabbed hold of her hands. Her cells absorbed his ability as eagerly as a plant absorbed sunshine. She tried to jerk her hands away from him, but he refused to relinquish her. Cassie's hands clenched upon him as Matthew's previous premonitions slammed into her head.

She bowed beneath the force of the visions that filled her, visions that ran so rapidly through her head that she could barely grasp hold of them. Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. Tears filled her eyes as she saw herself as Matthew had seen her. A force unlike anything they had ever come across, and someone that could destroy them all. Someone that may very well lose control of everything she had awoken with.

Or she could become someone that could save them all, someone that could bring salvation to those in need if she didn't become corrupted, if she didn't become a vessel for evil. If she could keep control of the baser urges that craved
more
power,
more
blood,
more
death. Urges she could feel slithering beneath her skin even now.

"Let her go!" Devon roared.

Cassie lifted her head as Devon arrived at their side. His fangs were fully extended and his eyes a brilliant red as he reached for Matthew. "No," Cassie managed to whisper. "Devon, no." Devon turned toward her, but he kept hold of Matthew's arm. "It's ok, Devon. It's ok."

Though Devon's hold had to be hurting him, Matthew showed no signs of it as he continued to watch Cassie. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely," Matthew murmured. "It will be your choice which path you take, but tread carefully child for the path is treacherous."

A muffled sob escaped Cassie. Matthew was right; she didn't know what would become of her, which vision of herself she would become. Whether, she would become the monster that destroyed everything in its path, or the vampire that aided those in need of help. Everything was so uncertain, so unclear. The fact that Matthew had received two separate visions about her told her just how thin the precipice she stood upon was.

"Do you understand what you are?" Matthew inquired.

Cassie swallowed heavily as her head bowed low again. She understood that she was still an oddity. As a Hunter she'd been abnormal because she had possessed no powers. As a vampire she was peculiar because she possessed more power than any of them had ever seen, and at such a young age. Power that she wasn't sure she could control, but knew that she somehow must.

"No, but I will," she told him.

Matthew's hands squeezed hers as he bent low to her. His mouth brushed against her ear and he whispered so low that she knew only she could hear him. "Savior."

Cassie lifted her head as a new vision swam into her head. This one didn't show her covered in blood, sadistic, and deadly. Nor did it show her amongst the lost children, surrounded by her friends and Devon. This one was more imminent. This one didn't come from Matthew, but swam out of her mind and took her over in the way that she had seen many visions take Melissa over.

"Move!" she breathed.

She roughly jerked Matthew forward. Devon, thrown off balance by her sharp tug, stumbled back as Robert and Zane lunged forward at the same time. Though she had pulled Matthew mostly out of the way, the knife that Zane wielded still caught him in the back. Matthew fell forward and toppled onto her as his back was sliced open from shoulder to mid spine. Cassie watched in horror as Zane bore down upon Matthew, determined to kill one of his own entourage in an attempt to silence him. Cassie shoved Matthew aside and rolled out of the way seconds before Zane drove the knife into the pavement where they'd been standing. The knife slammed into the road so hard that the blade shattered upon impact.

Zane's face twisted in fury, but he didn't come after Cassie again as he whirled away. Cassie lurched back to her feet. She was acutely aware of the fact that it was Matthew's power running through her. It was a handy power to have but it did little to help her against a group of Elder vampires that all had abilities that could physically manifest to destroy her.

Zane and Robert stood behind the giant hole that Robert had created to try and kill her, before he'd actually stabbed her. Cassie glanced down at her shredded, blood stained shirt. Uneasiness twisted in her stomach, her hands instinctively drifted to the place where she'd been stabbed. The place where her blood had run swiftly from her and her life had been extinguished. The cut was healed now, but she could clearly recall the feel of her life pouring from her and the distress that had engulfed her. She was consumed with what it had felt like to die.

"Cassie?"

She lifted her head and tried to blink Devon into focus as she fully realized that she had
died
. That she was no longer breathing, that she could no longer feel her heart beating in her chest. Panic shot through her, terror consumed her as she staggered backward. She nearly tripped over her own feet as strange noises escaped her.

"Cassie!" Devon grabbed hold of her as Zane and Robert charged at them. Devon enfolded her as he turned her away from them. But they didn't come back at the two of them, instead they blurred as they split off at the last second. Zane seized hold of Anastasia and dragged her with him for a few steps. She remained wooden in his grasp, her feet immobile and her face still blank as Devon kept control of her mind. Zane grimaced as he released her and fled into the woods with his minions. Anastasia remained at the edge of the woods, staring blankly into the forest.

"What? Why?" Cassie panted as The Elders disappeared amongst the trees. Cassie was baffled by their sudden retreat, they might not understand what she was, but the odds were still in their favor, still on their side. "Dev..."

She didn't get his name out of her mouth before a searing pain shredded her back. A scream boiled up her throat, but came out only as an awful gurgling noise that barely escaped her. She felt as if her skin was being seared off of her back. Agony tore through her as her legs gave out; the smell of smoke hit her at the same time that a scream finally tore from her throat.

Devon cursed loudly, and swung her easily into his arms as he began to run. Cassie slumped against him, too engulfed in agony to attempt to escape from it. Devon ate up the ground toward the store in rapid strides that barely jostled her. Over Devon's shoulder she spotted Matthew unsteadily climbing back to his feet. His back was flayed open and blood covered him as he staggered toward the woods and fell over again. She attempted to shout at him to run, but the words choked in her throat as he crawled out of sight.

A loud wail filled the air. Over Devon's shoulder she spotted Anastasia still standing by the woods as the first rays of the sun hit her. Though she continued to scream, she didn't move as the sun turned her body to ash.

Cassie's head tipped back against Devon's shoulder as coolness suddenly embraced her. She was immediately enveloped by dismay and grief as she realized that the awful torment she'd felt on her back had come from the rays of the sun.

CHAPTER 6

Devon
stood by the window as he stared at the vibrant glow of the day. Cassie was still asleep, lying on her stomach on a roll of blankets that Luther had gathered. Devon, Melissa, and Chris had gathered snow from outside and packed it onto the burn marks that had marred her delicate skin. Julian, Liam, and Annabelle had managed to flee to safety before the sun hit them, but he stupidly hadn't realized that Cassie would also have to escape the sun now.

He should have known better, she never should have been injured; her life
never
should have been in jeopardy. There were only two vampires that could withstand the daylight, himself and Zane. He should have gotten her to safety before the sun burned her so badly, but he still couldn't quite fathom the fact that she
was
a vampire. That she was with him from here on out, that she was
his
for eternity.

Or she would have been anyway, if things had gone right. But things hadn't gone right. He knew that, he could see it as clearly as the rest of them could. It was
far
more than just her eyes that were wrong and different. It was
her
. He just didn't know how fundamentally different she was, yet.

Devon moved away from the window as she stirred. Everyone's attention instantly turned to her, no one moved, no one even breathed. Devon knelt by her side and touched her shoulder carefully. Though her skin was still red, the welts and deep burn marks were already healed. Devon had slipped a flannel shirt onto her backwards so that if she sat up suddenly she would be covered, but her back was clear of all clothing.

She stirred again and a small moan escaped her. "Cassie." He brushed her hair back from her face and shoulders.

She turned toward him and her eyes opened slowly. His mouth parted, relief and joy filled him as
her
eyes met his; they were slightly unfocused but they finally settled upon him. He was unable to find words as he gazed into those beautiful eyes. The startling azure color, the one that reminded him of a perfect summer day was back. The deep amethyst flecks that were speckled through them shone brilliantly in the shadows of the store room.

"Cassie," he whispered.

She smiled sleepily up at him as her delicate hand curled around his. "What happened?"

Devon swallowed heavily as he wrapped both of his hands around hers. "The sun."

Her delicate brow furrowed in confusion. "The sun?"

"Yes love, the sun."

Realization dawned in her spectacular eyes as tears bloomed within them. "I see."

"Cassie..."

She shook her head as she rapidly blinked back her tears. "It's ok. It's ok."

Before he could stop her, she braced her arms beneath her and shoved herself up. Devon grasped hold of the edges of her shirt, careful to avoid the burns that still marred her skin as he held it in place. Though he knew that she was probably one of the most powerful beings he'd ever encountered, he was struck by how fragile and lost she appeared now.

"Cassie..."

"I'm fine, really."

"Let me help you."

He held the shirt and grasped hold of her arm as he helped her to her feet. She shuffled to the bathroom and disappeared inside. He waited impatiently by the door, his arms folded over his chest as he listened to the sound of running water. Julian appeared amongst the rows of shelves, some of which had been toppled over and destroyed. Their contents had scattered across the store and created a rattling symphony sometimes when people walked.

"What happened to the shelves?" Devon inquired.

Julian's electric blue eyes were vivid in the illumination that filtered from the coolers. The white bands around his pupils dilated. "She was dead Devon. She died in my arms."

Devon shuddered as he recalled the shattering that had radiated through him when he'd felt Cassie's life force vacate her body. He hadn't felt it return when she'd reawakened, either because he had been so engulfed by vengeance, or because what had come back wasn't the same Cassie that had left. That perhaps it wasn't the Cassie that his mind was connected to, that his
soul
was bound to.

He wasn't sure what had risen up to take the place of the Cassie he cherished, but no matter what he was going to keep her safe, and she was going to stay by
his
side. "I see," Devon murmured.

"It wasn't a pleasant moment. I lost my temper, as did you."

Devon snorted in response as he ran a hand through his distorted hair. "That's putting it mildly."

Devon straightened away from the wall as the door to the bathroom creaked open. The shirt was far too large on her; she had to roll the sleeves up multiple times in order to get them to stay off of her hands. She glanced between them as she fidgeted with the edges of the overlong sleeves.

"My eyes are no different," she stated.

"Not right now, no," Devon agreed.

She frowned at him as she chewed on her bottom lip. "They have been red before."

"Not like this Cass."