“I love you,” Cassie whispered, seconds before they were besieged.

CHAPTER 20

Power surged through her; Cassie felt the influx of it as the thrill of the fight, the eagerness for the kill descended upon her. The fear inside of her was buried as adrenaline pulsated to the forefront. Her body surged with the rushing strength that filled her veins. She felt the change come over her, knew when her eyes turned red.

She braced herself, bending slightly in preparation to launch herself at them. The others had already descended upon The Elder’s who eagerly embraced them in battle. Before the monsters could reach them, before Cassie could leap eagerly into the fray, Julian spun on Devon. Grabbing hold of his arm, he pulled Devon roughly toward him.

“Matthew is insane,” he hissed. At Devon’s wide eyed, confused look, Julian hurriedly continued, trying to get it all out before the fight was upon them. “He has seen what could become of Cassie, but he has not told anyone yet because he almost hopes it will happen.” Cassie’s mouth went dry, her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Julian looked crazed, terrified as his gaze darted toward her. “It’s not good, none of it is good. In fact, if what he saw comes true it could be very bad Devon, we need to get out of this somehow. We need to get Cassie away from them.”

Cassie gaped at him in shock, she forgot briefly about the creatures rushing toward them as Julian’s words sank in. The broken, crazed man had seen something that had to do with her! Something that had terrified Julian, something that put her in danger, put all of them in danger. Something that sounded as if it was going to stop her from being able to make the change.

Her gaze darted toward Devon, panic tore through her. They had finally gotten here. The decision had been taken out of both of their hands; the choice had been taken away from them. Consequences be damned, she was going to join him finally, because that is what The Elder’s had decided for them. But now, whatever Julian had seen from Matthew had left him so torn and horrified that he was shaking before them.

Cassie wanted to reach out to him, wanted to touch him and assure him that Matthew was wrong, that not all premonitions came true. Melissa was living proof of that. But she could not do that here, not now when they were about to be attacked.

“Julian…” Cassie broke off as Julian’s ice blue eyes swung slowly toward her. She could see the love in his steady gaze, but she could also see the stark terror that filled him. His hard, handsome face was pinched tight with worry; his platinum blond hair fell around his chiseled features. “Oh,” she breathed.

Her heart hammered; disbelief and pain filled her. She had wanted to join Devon so much, and for so long it had been constantly denied her. And now, now that it was almost upon them Julian had seen something from Matthew that had completely unraveled him. And it was because of her.

“We will discuss this later,” Devon interrupted sharply. “Now is not the time.”

Cassie was torn away from the horror of what Julian was saying, and back to the horror of what was unraveling rapidly before them. The fight was upon The Elder’s already, the creature’s eager to destroy and feast upon them.

Cassie braced herself; she widened her stance as her hand tightened around the stake in her hand. The weight of the crossbow strapped to her was reassuring. Watching the rushing horde barreling toward them, Cassie decided to sheathe the stake and go immediately for the crossbow. She loaded it swiftly, and with the ease of someone that had done it hundreds of times. Lifting it high, she took aim at the one in the lead, the one closest to Chris.

She squeezed the trigger. The arrow let loose with a reassuring rush of feather and air that sped swiftly toward its target, hitting home with a reassuring thud. The sound of it all and the resulting satisfaction of the kill would have made her smile, if it hadn’t been for the monsters that scrambled easily over their fallen brethren.

Cassie swiftly reloaded as the first one reached Annabelle and Liam. They fell back slightly from the weight of the creature as it clawed and spit at them. Cassie had attributed more reason to them, but they appeared now to be in the midst of a blood frenzy that made them crazed and volatile.

Raising the crossbow, she took aim at the one barreling toward Luther. She fired, but was slightly off target as it slammed into the creature’s collarbone, knocking it back and slowing its progress but not stopping it. Cassie swore as she scrambled to grab another arrow, but it was too late. They were on top of them; there would be no more clear shots. She tossed the crossbow aside and grabbed hold of her stake.

But the attack did not come from the way that she had been expecting, the way that she had been prepared for it. Instead, it burst free of the woods on their left hand side. Cassie caught the flurry of movement at the last moment. She spun wildly, terror pounding through her as she realized that no matter how prepared they were, or how strong they were, they were outnumbered and nowhere near as crazed and frenzied as these creatures were.

The first one from the attack on the left was upon her immediately. Red eyes filled her vision; the stench of putrid flesh filled her nostrils. She wanted to recoil from the monster that filled her senses, rocking her with its repulsiveness. Hands seized hold of her, claws curled around her upper arms as it jerked her forward. It had once been a man, but clearly was not anymore. Years of training took over as she managed to rip one arm free of its grasp. She drove her fist straight into its nose, snapping its head back as its nose shattered beneath the force of her fierce blow. Blood spurted over the both of them, but it did not slow Cassie as she slammed her fist into its cheek, staggering it backward.

Taking advantage of the fact that it was off balance, Cassie leapt forward, knocking the creature back even more. She twisted the stake in her hand, spinning it around as she drove it forward. The creature howled, its fingers clawed at the wooden protrusion jutting out of its chest. Cassie ripped it free, shoving the creature back. It fell upon the ground, withering and making strange gurgling noises until all its movements finally ceased.

She didn’t have time to study the creature, didn’t have time to take in what she had just done as another one grasped hold of her, knocking her back. She stumbled beneath the force of its weight, nearly falling over. Devon’s shout of anger filled her ears as the creature managed to claw one of her arms open, spilling her blood. Its eyes widened upon her, its nostrils flared as the scent of her blood caught its attention, exciting it completely.

Its frenzy increased, its misshapen jaws snapped eagerly as it pulled her closer. She was distinctly reminded of the shark from Jaws as it snapped at her again, the flesh stuck in its teeth clearly visible. Cassie staggered, trying hard to keep her balance against its eager, frantic aggression.

She kicked out, not finding much satisfaction in her connection with its shin. There had not been as much force behind the blow as she would have liked. It lurched at her again, shoving her back. Devon was suddenly behind it, his eyes a fiery blaze as he seized hold of the things head, jerking it roughly to the side. The loud snap of its neck echoed through the night. It howled; its arms flailed as it tried desperately to claw at its distorted head. Devon’s ruby eyes briefly met hers; she turned away, not wanting to watch what happened next. She tried to block out the sickening sounds of bones breaking further as flesh was torn from body.

Her eyes rapidly took in the scene before her, anger boiled swiftly up. Her friends were being pushed back, herded further away from the store. Chris’s nose was bleeding, his shirt was torn open to his belly button, and more blood marred his chest. Melissa’s hair had been ripped free of its braid; it hung in a tumbled black mass around her shoulders. Liam and Luther had been swamped by a group of three creatures, they were fighting them off, but Luther was bleeding from a cut on his cheek, and Liam was losing ground. Annabelle and Julian were just finishing off two of more of the Halflings. Chris, who was closest to her, was braced to defend himself against one that was advancing upon him.

Cassie looked rapidly around, but none of them seemed to have noticed that she was standing alone. Not yet anyway. She spun toward Devon, who had been swamped by three of them. It was him that seemed to need her help the most right now. She jumped forward, clinging to her stake as she threw herself back toward the fray.

One came charging out of the mass. It was a woman, or at least it had been. Her mouth was wide; her jaws snapped up and down so hard that her long fangs sliced into her lower lips. Blood trailed down her chin, soaking what was left of her shirt. Cassie spun, slamming her fist hard into the woman’s cheek. Her head snapped to the side, but she dove forward, wrapping her arms around Cassie’s waist.

The force of the things momentum carried them both back before they tumbled to the ground in a scattered heap. Cassie’s breath rushed out of her, she just managed to keep her head from slamming off of the pavement. For the first time all of her terror and confusion was burned away as the comforting surge of rage rushed to the forefront. The woman clawed at her, blood sprayed across Cassie’s face as the woman’s jaws snapped loudly.

Clinging to her stake, Cassie used her anger and strength to brace her legs. The woman tried to cling to her, her claws scraped across Cassie’s chest, but Cassie was able to toss her off. Cassie’s fury escalated as the scent of her own blood hit her. Using her arms and legs she sprang easily off the ground. The woman had not quite recovered yet, she was just trying to get back to her feet.

Cassie leapt on her, driving her back to the ground. The woman howled, trying to claw at Cassie, but unable to reach her. There was a time when Cassie’s guilt over killing something, even if it was a monster, would have made her hesitate, may have even cost her her life. But those days were gone. There was no hesitation, there was no remorse anymore. She needed to do what had to be done, she had people to protect, she had Devon to think of now. Without her, he was nothing. Without him, she was nothing. Neither of their lives could be lost. And no matter the fact that this creature had once been a woman, she may have even had a family, Cassie did not hesitate.

She drove the stake into the woman’s back, plunging deep. Bone shattered, the woman screamed an inhuman mewling sound that caused Cassie to recoil slightly. Though there was a tug of pity for the poor creature, she did not regret it. She had done what needed to be done. This may have been a woman at one time, but she wasn’t any longer, and if she was allowed to run free the destruction she would cause to innocents would be on Cassie’s hands.

Cassie jumped to her feet, spinning quickly, knowing that she could not let her defenses down for a moment. Though bodies were strewn about, the battle was still in full swing. She jumped forward as another creature leapt onto Devon. They seemed determined to take him down. They must have sensed his power, must have felt him to be their biggest conquest that they wanted to destroy. Panic tore through her, she could not lose him. She would not lose him.

Arms suddenly wrapped around her. A strangled cry of surprise escaped her as the arms squeezed tight, knocking the breath out of her. Cassie gasped for air as she struggled against the iron hold crushing her against a hard chest. She kicked back, her legs flailing but coming up against nothing as whoever held her braced their legs apart.

“I’m going to enjoy this.”

Terror and hatred tore through her as she recognized Robert’s voice. She kicked back hard and swung her head back, she came up with nothing as he moved swiftly out of her way. She was preparing for a different method of attack, when she felt it. Whatever breath she had left rushed out of her as the stabbing pain tore through the center of her stomach, just beneath her rib cage. She choked hard, trying to get some air into her lungs but receiving none as the fiery pain tore through her.

“Robert no!” Zane bellowed.

Cassie was briefly confused by his command. Didn’t Zane want this? Weren’t they going to turn on them anyway? And just what had Robert done to her?

A rush of something warm and liquid against her skin suddenly punctured through the pain. She glanced down, her mouth gaping, her eyes widening as she stared in horror at exactly what it was that Robert had done. A silver dagger handle jutted out from her belly, the warm rush of liquid she had felt was her own blood pulsating out from the wound.

Terror tore through her, her pain was forgotten as the struggle for her life was renewed. “Such a little fighter,” Robert purred. Then, to her utter disgust and horror, he leaned forward to brush a kiss against her cheek; his tongue flickered lightly over her skin. Though he had just stabbed her, this was a far worse atrocity as she shrank away from his hideous touch. He chuckled softly in her ear, running his tongue over it. “Oh what I would have loved to have done to you, what I would have loved to make my brother watch me do to you. But, just in case I never got that opportunity, I took this one.”

Cassie grasped hold of the handle of the knife, trying to pull it free, but failing miserably as his one hand still remained tightly locked upon it. Her hands clenched tight, trying to keep her blood in, trying to keep her life from pulsating rapidly out of her. Robert spun suddenly with her in his arms. Her legs spun out from under her, and a new wave of fiery pain scorched through her entire body. The pain left her numbed, immobile as it took fierce hold of her.