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.
He spotted Zane trying to wade his way out from the growing bodies piling on top of him. Blood st
reaked his face and matted his hair to his forehead. The new vampires seemed to sense that he and Zane were the most powerful as their attention had become focused upon them. Zane split himself, but the new vamps weren't fooled as they stayed away from both of his apparitions to focus on the one that had the blood they sought.
Fury and frustration spread through Devon as another one latched onto his bicep and yet another managed to catch the back of his hand. Devon was beginning to feel like he'd stumbled into a beehive as he beat at the increasing horde. He was shoved onto his knees again as another one leapt onto his back.
The group encircling him briefly cleared apart to reveal a new figure emerging from the woods across the way. Matthew glided across the snow, his hands folded before him and his head held high as he strode forward with unerring purpose. Devon blinked as he tried to decide if what he was seeing was real or not, but the more he blinked the clearer Matthew became.
Devon wouldn't have been more shocked to see a shark sprout legs and walk across the snow as he was to see the crazy Elder still alive and here.
He shook off another one of the leeches as the first trail of fire shot past him, followed by vampires that were fully engulfed in flames. He managed to shake off enough of them to turn and search for Cassie. His mouth dropped, he almost fell over as his gaze landed upon her. She seemed to be floating, and then he realized that the flames had lifted her a good three feet off the ground. Fire licked up over her face and caused the red of her eyes to blaze even brighter as lightning bolts erupted from the palms of her hands.
The monsters engulfing him fell back as some of their brethren exploded into a plume of ashes before more fire erupted from her. Devon could only stare helplessly as he tried to figure out a way to keep those flames from destroying her too, from destroying all of them.
CHAPTER 24
Luther hadn't realized that the children had followed him through the tunnel until a small hand slid into his. He jumped and looked down into the large chocolate eyes of Cassie's family. The boy's youthful features were aglow in the red and orange flames as he opened and closed his extended hand. Luther bent down and hefted the child into his arms. He wondered if there would be enough time to get the children out of here before everything turned to cinder around them. Before Cassie turned to ashes right in front of their eyes.
The boy leaned forward in his arms and pressed his hands against the glass. "Angel," he whispered.
That was one way to look at it, Luther thought but he didn't happen to agree with the kid as the fire around Cassie increased. She may not be able to go out in the sun anymore, but he was beginning to think it didn't matter; she was becoming her own sun as the ground around her began to burn.
Anything or anyone that got too close to the sun would be burned.
***
Power seemed to come from everywhere. It swelled up from the ground, from the vampires trying to escape her, and the flames increasing in intensity around her. The heat of it was blistering, but she didn't feel as if she were burning as another trail of fire slid across the landscape. The fire split the earth in two as Robert's ability mixed with Adon's to leave a jagged canyon where before there had only been solid ground before.
Some of the creatures tumbled into the freshly made gorge. She was sure that they screamed but she couldn't hear them over the deafening inferno engulfing her. She was dimly aware of the fact that her feet were no longer touching the ground. A strange exhilaration filled her as she continued to draw from the earth, taking into herself all of the power and energy it had to offer her. Taking into herself all the power and energy that her victims had to offer. She couldn't get enough of it and she craved even more.
She dimly realized that she'd misinterpreted Matthew's vision. It had nothing to do with Devon's death, or even with the loss of one of her friends, and everything to do with her. She was the catalyst, she was the reason for the vision, and though she thought there was a chance she could stop herself, she didn't want to. It felt good to let everything she'd kept pent up all of these years finally have reign to fulfill its desires.
She thought of the legend of the phoenix and wondered if there would be anything left of her to emerge from the ashes when this was over.
Tree branches above her head snapped and crackled, Chris and Julian scurried out of the way as some of them broke free and plummeted to the ground. She brought her hands about a foot apart before her. A ball of fire spun within her grasp, it twisted and flowed as it built in front of her. She took a moment to savor in the beauty and strength of it before she sent it out in a massive ball that split into pieces that relentlessly hunted down its victims.
More vampires burst into flames as they were unable to escape the fire chasing them. Her eyes narrowed, fresh anger ripped through her as she spotted Zane trying to escape with some of the others. Her nostrils flared as she strode forward, the fire carrying her more swiftly across the ground than her feet would have.
"Zane!" she shouted. He wouldn't hesitate to take her out from behind, but she wanted to see his face when she destroyed him. "Zane!"
He split into three as he spun toward her, but she knew exactly which one he was. All of her torment and rage surged to the forefront and burst out of her in a burst of lightning that was the color of the sun as it zinged across the ground. Zane tried to lunge out of the way but there was no way for him to escape it.
She felt his surprise as the bolt hit him, but he didn't burst into flames or explode like the new vampires around him did. He was too strong and powerful for that to happen. A long wail escaped him, he was lifted from the ground as the bolt encircled him and electricity continued to zap into him. Cassie felt no remorse, no pity, as a jagged crack appeared at the top of his head and slowly began to make its way down his body. His wail reached firehouse frequency as his body began to split apart and the electricity sizzled and boiled his organs.
Smoke started to curl up from within him, his body had become charred remains that continued to feebly struggle against the bonds holding him. His howl was finally silenced as a burst of fire raced over his skin. His smoldering remains hit the ground with a dull thud she heard even from her distance.
Some of the wrath went out of her as the flames beneath her feet vanished and her toes hit the ground once more. The fire continued to spark around her but the flames weren't as intense as the power she'd been leeching from the earth had been drained. Sparks of electricity crackled over her skin as she sought some other way to replace the energy she had drained. She could almost taste her desire for more as the heady flavor of blood filled her mouth. Sparks sizzled over her fingers as she rubbed them together.
Her legs felt like rubber as she took a shaky step forward. She focused on her friends, there was power in them. They would feed her even more, and she could take it so easily from them. Her knees threatened to collapse as she took a shaky step toward them. She wouldn't be shaky if she could simply touch them. A part of her knew it was wrong, but the other part, the hungry part didn't care.
Just a little taste, she didn't have to take it all, just a little.
She began to shake as she fought against the pull for what her friends possessed. No, she couldn't take it from them, she simply couldn't. A fracturing began to start within her as both sides fought to take control, as they battled against each other. She felt as if she were beginning to shred her from within as an anguished moan escaped her.
Devon's face was bloody and bruised as he appeared before her. Fresh rage surged within her as she spotted that blood. "Cassie, no."
A jolt shot through her as he seized hold of her arms. She felt the strength inside him and something inside of her surged forth, seeking to drain him, seeking to fill the nothingness that she had been born with as a Hunter.
That's what this was, she realized. She had been given nothing as a Hunter except the ability to be a stronger and faster fighter. As a vampire that ability had manifested to make her stronger and faster by allowing her to remain a
blank sort of sponge. A sponge that could soak up the energy that others radiated and absorb it within herself.
She wanted nothing more than to keep on absorbing it too. But this was Devon, she could never hurt Devon. The only problem was she didn't think she could control it, not anymore. She had opened Pandora's Box by feeding it and instead of sating its appetite she had only made it more ravenous.
"Let go," she managed to croak out.
His jaw clenched, the scent of his burning skin filled the air, but he refused to release her. "Cassie."
"There's something wrong," she breathed. "More, I want more. Let go, please Devon."
She could feel the wrongness in the marrow of her bones. It felt as if every molecule in her body was firing in a hundred different directions at once. Most of those directions were trying to go toward him, trying to seek out what it was that he possessed.
A low moan of anguish escaped her. She tried to pull away from him again but he refused to relinquish her as he tugged her a little closer. "I'll kill you," she breathed.
The tips of his fingers were turning pink and raw as he continued to hold onto her. "Stay with me Cassie. You can control this, please just stay with me. You won't kill me."
"Let go. You can't know that, I'm hurting you," she choked out.
"I do know that. I have absolute faith in you Cassie, as much faith as you've had in me all this time. All those times you trusted me not to hurt you, now you must do the same. Trust in yourself, trust in me, trust in us. You can fight this."
The tears that filled her eyes evaporated before they could spill. She shuddered and shook as more sparks shot out of her. She felt like Frankenstein's monster as electricity crackled over her body. Devon released her arms and seized hold of her face as he cradled it within his grasp.
"You can beat this," he whispered.
She didn't know what he had in mind until his mouth pressed against hers. She squiggled against him as she tried to get away before she killed him. The pain had to be excruciating and yet he kept his mouth pressed against hers as his tongue ever so lightly flickered against her lips. She continued to struggle, certain she would kill him even as his tongue slid into her mouth to savor her.