Phoenix Rising (Book 5 The Kindred Series) (9 page)

Melissa shrugged and barely glanced at Cassie before she turned her attention back to the farmhouse. A Farmers Porch wrapped around three sides of it and the red color was cheerful even in the dreary winter landscape. Bird feeders hung from the beams, even from this distance she could hear them creak as they swayed in the wind.

A curtain in the living room pulled back and Devon waved at them before he dropped it back down. "It feels more alive than the others," Melissa said. "It's not a premonition or anything, there's just something about this one that feels safer. But things are so screwy now Cass that I could be completely wrong."

The hairs on the back of Cassie's neck stood up, a chill raced down her spine. "Melissa," she breathed as she fought off the panic trying to engulf her.

"But I don't think so," Melissa rushed on when she realized what she'd said. "They'll be fine Cass."

Cassie's hands fisted as she turned her attention back to the house. She was more powerful now, stronger than she had been as a Hunter, yet she'd never felt so weak. If she had a heartbeat she knew it would be racing. Instead, her body was oddly unresponsive to the apprehension that was sliding through her.

The SUV heaved up on its side as something slammed into it. Cassie let out a startled cry; she tumbled against the glass across from her as the two driver's side tires were lifted off the ground. Cassie and Melissa were shoved up against the passenger side windows and thrown off balance as the vehicle was dropped down and then heaved up again. For a second Cassie was certain that it was going to go over, but then it was dropped again. It roughly bounced back and forth on its tires as the shocks and struts groaned in protest.

Cassie strained to right herself, but the incessant jarring had caused the layers of blankets to become tangled around her. Her right hand was pinned behind her back, her legs were all caught up, and her right eye was completely covered. Melissa let out a shrill yelp and scrambled back against her seat as something thudded against the windshield. Aggravated with the copious amounts of cloth encumbering her, Cassie gave up on trying to right herself and began to rip off the layers.

Something scuttled across the roof and then returned to perch in the center. Freeing herself of the blanket covering her face, she looked up as the roof bowed beneath the weight of the person on it. No, not a person, it was most certainly a Halfling. It had either followed the vehicle the entire way, or it had spread into this outer area of town in search of food.

The creature scrambled off the backside of the vehicle as another one jumped onto the hood. How many were there? Cassie wondered frantically as she scrambled to sit up. The car lurched up again, but this time it came from the passenger side and heaved her forward. Pain jarred through her hand and wrist as she slammed into the opposite window.

Melissa sprawled inelegantly across the console, half upside down. Anger flared through Cassie as she scrambled back up. Kneeling, she braced herself between the two headrests of the front seats. She steadied herself as the car violently rocked back and forth. Struggling against the sway of the vehicle, she tried to get her bearings as she searched for the Halflings stalking them.

Red eyes flashed hungrily in the back window as the face of something not entirely human peered in at them. Their eyes met and Cassie understood everything that drove it as something in her own body empathized with the creature in response. For a short time they were one being, one
monster
, and they both coveted one thing.

Death.

Cassie shook her head as she tried to rid herself of the awful knowledge, and the awful certainty that accompanied it. She was
not
like these things. She still loved and had respect for life. She wasn't a monster.

Cassie shuddered, but she remained trapped within the creatures gaze as a new realization dawned over her. She wasn't like them
yet
, but if things went wrong, if Matthew's visions came true she would be. She was certain of that.

A small sound of terror escaped her throat, but it had nothing to do with the increased rocking of the vehicle. A loud crash finally brought her attention away from the creature in the back. She turned just in time to see the passenger side window on her right spider web. A different sort of horror filled her as the cracked pieces of tint allowed the suns UV rays to filter through.

Recoiling instinctively, Cassie threw herself against the driver's side of the vehicle as she scrambled to recover one of the blankets. Melissa had also righted herself and was leaning against the driver's side door as she panted heavily. "We have no weapons," she gasped.

Cassie pulled the blanket over her and dropped the sunglasses down as the window shattered inward. Safety glass splayed across the seat as the suns deadly rays spilled inward. She pulled her legs against her chest as she tried to right the blankets. Though she was mostly covered, she could feel the influx of the sun's rays acutely, especially against her bared hands. Heat blazed through her and she suddenly understood what a lobster felt like before hitting the pot of boiling water.

Anxiety filled her as she recalled Devon's words about her being more sensitive to the sun, at least for a little bit. Though she didn't burn, perspiration soaked her as she felt the rays all the way to the marrow of her bones. If more windows were broken she wouldn't survive it. The thing she had once loved so dearly would be the thing that destroyed her.

The creature reached in the window, it wasn't the one that had been in the back window, for this one was female, but she was just as hungry and just as unpredictable. Melissa gestured for her to climb into the front seat, but Cassie shook her head. She couldn't scramble up there without crossing the sun's rays first.

Grasping hold of the blanket, Cassie managed to get her legs further under her. In one very ungraceful motion she thrust herself over the seat. She tumbled into the cargo area and rolled against the back door. Pain lanced through her shoulder, but she shot back up and quickly looked around the vehicle.

The woman was trying to wiggle her way through the window. The remaining glass sliced her hands and stomach as she slithered across the sill. Cassie was surprised by the low hiss that escaped her as her fangs sprang free. She grasped hold of the woman's head and twisted it sharply to the side.

It was a move she'd seen Devon and Julian do before, but she'd never done it. Now, however, it seemed natural, but also completely repulsive. She almost gagged as she felt bones crack, almost retreated as the woman began to make awful gurgling noises as she flopped about in the car. The idea of sinking her fangs into the woman crossed her mind more than once.

Instead she settled for grasping hold of the woman's twisted face. Cassie was careful to avoid her still snapping teeth as she shoved the woman back out the window. A cry escaped her as the sun's rays burst over her exposed skin and burned into her flesh. Cassie recoiled and scuttled back into the relative security of the cargo area. Though she was back in the shadows, she still felt exposed within the car, still felt as if she'd been flayed open and the monster revealed to the world.

Even if that world was only Melissa.

Melissa scurried away from the driver's side window. She leapt over the console, and hopped into the backseat before flinging herself into the cargo area. "Are you ok?" she demanded as she knelt before Cassie.

Cassie was surprised Melissa was willing to come anywhere near her, not after what she'd just done. Hadn't Melissa seen it? "Am I a monster?" she whispered.

Melissa quirked a dark eyebrow and her head tilted on her delicate neck. "Depends on who wrote the story," she responded.

A small, harsh laugh escaped her. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"But no, you are not a monster."

"Not yet."

"Not
ever
," Melissa insisted. "We have to get out of here though."

Cassie nodded her agreement and rose onto her knees to peer out the remaining darkened windows. She stared at the house but nothing moved within and she didn't see anything moving around outside. Where were Devon and Chris? The woman slammed up against the back window, Cassie and Melissa recoiled as she flopped uselessly against its side. A scream welled up inside of Cassie, but it was Melissa who released one first as three more Halflings launched themselves at the car.

They didn't attack the vehicle however, but pounced upon the creature that Cassie had broken. Cassie slammed her hands over her ears as the woman began to release shrill, inhuman screams. Apparently it didn't matter to them that she was one of their own, they simply sought the blood, the kill. They'd deteriorated since Cassie had last seen them, starvation or perhaps just desperation had turned them into the mindless monsters she'd wrongly assumed they were in the beginning.

She could never be like that.
Never
. She told herself this over and over again as she tried to drowned out the horrendous sounds. There was no kinship between her and these creatures. There never could be.

Another sound filled the air, a ferocious roar that reverberated deep into the core of her soul. Cassie's eyes flew open as Devon charged across the snow covered ground in a nearly indiscernible blur. Cassie darted upright and scrambled forward in the cargo hold. There were three Halflings out there and only him and Chris.

She grasped hold of the window only to recoil as the sun seared into her skin. A strangled cry of rage and frustration broke from her as she released the window and fell away from the scorching rays. Melissa dove over the backseat and crashed against the passenger seat. She fumbled with the lock before flinging the door open and bounding free of the vehicle.

Cassie felt helpless as she spun to watch the ensuing battle. Devon seized one of creatures by the back of the neck as he heaved it off of the mutilated woman beneath it. Chris and Melissa pounced upon that one as Devon turned his attention to the other two. They both snarled as they launched at him. He managed to knock the one back but the other one leapt onto his back. Grabbing hold of the blanket, Cassie scurried over the seat, careful to avoid the rays of the sun as she grabbed hold of another blanket and her mittens. It would be difficult to fight with the mittens on, but she could still punch.

Wrapping the blankets around herself, Cassie slipped the annoying mittens on and scrambled forward. The material was binding, but she didn't care. Jumping out of the vehicle, she tried to ignore the flaring heat of the sun, but it burned against her instantly. Her body heated as she bolted around the back of the SUV. She could almost feel the smoke coming off of her.

Devon dispatched of one and turned toward the other. His ruby eyes burned even hotter as he looked up and spotted her. He tossed the Halfling aside and raced toward her. The creature bounced across the ground, but was quick to rebound to its feet. Devon was too busy trying to get to her to realize that the monster had found easier prey in Chris and Melissa.

"Look out!" Cassie cried as the monster zeroed in on them.

Without thinking, she threw up her hands as fear and frustration fueled something inside of her. Fire shot out of her in a trailing inferno that slammed into the creature. The Halfling shrieked and flailed about as fire engulfed its body. Cassie had only a moment of pity before agony burst over her.

The fire had burned her mittens away, leaving only charred cinders of material behind. She gawked as flames burst from her exposed fingertips and scorched across her delicate skin. Devon grasped hold of her and knocked her to the ground as he covered her body with his. His hands closed around her burning ones and buried them within the snow as he smothered the flames. Though he had to have been burned by her, he showed no signs of it as he remained over her, blocking her from the day as the fire on her hands burned out.

The awful screams of the creature continued on before a blessed, profound hush descended. Cassie remained unmoving, limp beneath Devon. The sting in her hands was intense, but it was nothing compared to the distress she felt over what had just happened. She'd thought that she could only absorb and hold one power at a time.

Apparently she'd been wrong. Adon's ability for fire was still accessible somehow. She didn't know what had triggered it. Whether it had been her frustration over her inability to help, or her concern for her friends, but right now it didn't matter. Right now all she could think of was Matthew's words.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Lifting her head, she gazed up into Devon's much loved emerald eyes. What she saw there scared her almost as much as the understanding rocking through her. Devon had just realized the same thing that she had.

CHAPTER 9

Cassie
stood within the shadows of the small home, well out of the way of the rays filtering through the curtained windows. She held two ice packs between her hands; she was actually able to watch as her skin healed itself. Even fingernails were beginning to reappear on her charred fingertips. Lifting her head, she stared around the cluttered living room.

It was easy to see why Melissa had been attracted to this place. A crystal ball sat in the middle of a card table, beside it was a tarot card layout. There was a bag of runes beside a large silver chalice still filled with water and tea leaves. Candles and books lined the shelves, along with statues of magical creatures, incense, and jars of herbs. Though they didn't know if the previous owner could actually predict the future or not, Melissa had been drawn here by the remnants of warmth and power.

"Cassie," she tilted her head to meet Chris's inquisitive gaze. "Thank you."

She turned away from Chris and wandered over to one of the shelves. She focused on an old book on astrology. She wondered if the book could tell her what the stars had in store for her. Devon appeared before her, his hands were gentle as he took away the now warm ice packs. "They're healing well."

Cassie nodded but her gaze lingered upon his charred shirt. He'd discarded his winter coat; it was ruined now that there was a giant hole in it. Her fingers flitted over the remnants of the burns healing upon his rigid abdomen.
She
had done that to him, even if she hadn't meant to, it had been her hands that had caused such damage.