Inferno (Book 4 The Kindred Series) (27 page)

“She’s a fine little piece.”

A low hiss escaped Devon, his muscles
rippled beneath his shirt. Cassie thought he was going to lunge
forward, but instead he pushed her back a step. “I’ll destroy your
mind and rip your throat out before I ever let you near
her.”

The stranger’s amusement did not wane
at the threat. Instead, he seemed even more intrigued by the notion
as his head tilted to the side, trying to get a better look at her.
Cassie stared in disbelief at the back of Devon. Even against
Patrick he had not wanted to use his ability. But now, not only was
he threatening to wield it, he was also threatening to destroy this
stranger with it. She did not know how to process this strange turn
of events. Cassie started in surprise, jumping slightly as Julian
suddenly appeared beside her, his arm firm against hers as he boxed
her in. She tilted her head to look up at him, her confusion
evident as she met his electric eyes.

He gazed briefly down at her; the
hatred in his gaze leaving her breathless. She knew that hatred was
not for her, even when he had wanted to kill her he had never
looked at her like that. There had always been an air of amusement,
curiosity, and admiration about him when it came to her. There had
never been hatred. In fact, even when he had claimed to hate Devon,
she had never seen this look in his eyes. This was absolute
abhorrence, and it was apparent that it was for the man standing
across the street from them.

Who was he? She wondered again, her
gaze darting back to the stranger. He had to be someone bad if they
were both reacting to him in such a way.

“And if it isn’t the venerable
sidekick,” the man purred, his eyes lighting upon Julian. “I
thought you two parted ways when Devon went vegan on us. Imagine my
surprise when Matthew informed us that you two had reunited, and
for this girl no less. Our enemy.” Devon stiffened even more at the
name Matthew, while Julian hissed a soft curse. Cassie glanced
wildly between them, sensing that the name, and this man’s
presence, was far worse than she had even begun to
fathom.

“How are you not killing each other
over her?” The man continued. “Or are you sharing her like you’ve
shared so many others before?”

Cassie winced involuntarily; the words
were a stabbing reminder of Devon’s past that she did not want to
hear. A past that she had so recently come to terms with. “Enough!”
Devon roared his hands fisting as he took a step forward, bracing
for an attack.

“Easy,” Julian warned, grasping hold of
Devon’s arm. “It’s what he wants Devon, and that cannot be
good.”

Though Devon did not lunge forward, his
tension did not ease. “Still a good sidekick, always sticking by
your leader’s side,” the man commented lightly, pinning Julian with
a disgusted look. “Always second best, especially now.”

Julian quirked an eyebrow, amusement
flitted over his features. It was a look Cassie recognized well,
but the amusement didn’t reach his eyes. “Oh Robert, even after all
of these years your jealousy has not eased. You were never best,
second best, or even third, how pathetic and sad.”

Cassie’s forehead furrowed, her eyes
narrowed as she glanced toward the stranger.

Robert.

For the first time, he seemed
aggravated by the situation, and not as in control. Julian’s words
had affected him, rattled him, and annoyed him. But even more than
that, the name rang a bell in Cassie’s memory. She had heard it
before, she couldn’t recall where, but she was fairly certain that
Devon had been the one to mention it.

She glanced back at the man, taking in
his features and build. Her mind spun, running through everything
that Devon had ever told her. “What are you doing here?” Devon
demanded.

Robert’s gaze darted to her, his eyes
lit, his mouth pursed as his eyes raked her. Cassie felt as if her
skin had just been flayed from her body, as if she had just been
ripped open and exposed to the very marrow of her bones. Her arms
wrapped involuntarily around herself as she took a small step back.
It was more than apparent that this man wanted her dead. Devon
growled in low warning, Julian stepped closer to her.

Her hands trembled, she wanted to reach
out to Devon, to touch him, to hold him, but she couldn’t bring
herself to move. Her spinning mind had just clicked into place. She
suddenly knew instantly who this strange man was. She also knew
that Devon had not told her about what he was. That he had
purposely kept it from her. Her eyes landed on Devon’s broad back,
betrayal spun through her, but she couldn’t bring herself to be
angry, just shocked and dismayed. And completely confused and
lost.

Why had he not told her about this?
What had happened between them to cause such animosity and
hatred?

She glanced back at the strange man,
but even before he spat the word with such vehemence, she already
knew the answer, already knew who he was. “You know why I’m here,
brother.”

***

Devon could feel the turmoil rolling
off of Cassie, the shock and horror that vibrated from her in
waves. He did not feel shock from her though when Robert revealed
what they were to each other. So, she had already figured it out,
he realized. She knew his worst secret now, the worst part of him,
the one thing that he had never been able to bring himself to
reveal to her. The one person he had never wanted her to
meet.

And now he wanted her the hell out of
here before Robert came at her again. Robert would do everything in
his power to take her from him. Robert would do everything he could
to destroy her, in order to destroy Devon. “Matthew sent you here?”
he inquired in a low rumble, barely able to get words out through
the constriction of anger and terror tightening his
chest.

Roberts grin, and the wicked gleam in
his eyes should have warned him, but he was still unprepared for
what he said next. “Oh no dear Devon, Matthew escorted me here. I
mean imagine our surprise when he revealed that there are Hunter’s
still alive, and one of our own fancies himself in love with one of
them. Plus, from what I’ve been led to understand, we are standing
in what is now a ghost town, with a bunch of miscreants that never
should have existed running around. All of our lives are on the
line if they escape here; all of our safety is in jeopardy. Do you
think that any of us would miss this fun?”

Julian swore loudly, grabbing hold of
Cassie, he shoved her roughly in between him and Devon as he
stepped firmly behind her. Devon bristled at her startled cry, but
he did not protest Julian’s action, nor did he react to Julian’s
protective hold upon her. It was where she needed to be, and he was
simply grateful for the fact that Julian would protect her with his
life also. Something he greatly feared that Julian was going to
have to do very soon.

Devon took a step back, pushing her
tighter in between them. Her hands curled into his back, her breath
was warm even through the layers of clothes he wore. He would not
allow her to die, he would not allow her to be killed, but he had
no way to get her out of here right now. Not in time
anyway.

“I love you,” she whispered, her head
briefly dropping to his back.

Devon shuddered; raw emotion swirled up
to choke him. She had put her absolute faith and trust in him, and
even though he had omitted a big part of his life, she still loved
and forgave him. He could not let such a person be destroyed. He
could not lose her. He would do everything he could, do whatever it
took to make sure that she walked away from this. Even if it meant
doing things he had sworn he would never do again.

His gaze fell back to his brother; it
was not Robert that he wanted, not Robert that he could use. But
where were the others? He knew that they were all out there,
somewhere. He glanced toward Chris, who remained standing only a
few feet away, his face ashen, his eyes wide with terror. Chris
sensed them, sensed their power and intent, and he knew what they
were. Chris knew what else had come to this town, knew what else
had come to kill them.

Sensing Devon’s gaze, Chris turned
slowly toward him, but he simply shook his head in response to
Devon’s unasked question. Chris didn’t know where they were either.
Devon’s hands clenched, his fingers fisted in frustration. They
would do whatever they could to avoid Devon for as long as
possible, to hide from him. They thought that if they revealed
themselves together they would be able to protect themselves from
him.

However, they did not know that he had
been feeding on Cassie, a powerful Hunter, who had Julian’s Elder
blood inside her also. They could not know the power that she
possessed, the strength that had been flowing through her veins and
into his. They may have a vague inkling about it, or at least
Matthew might have foreseen it, but Devon didn’t think they would
be here if they knew it all. No matter what Robert said about the
Hunter’s, or the creature’s in this town, those things together
would still not be enough of an enticement to bring The Elder’s
here if they thought there was any chance they could lose this
battle. No matter what, above even risk of exposure, Elder’s valued
their own lives far more than they valued anything else. The
survival instinct in them was far deeper and fiercer than in
younger vampires.

Devon suspected the reasons for that
were partly because they had survived so long, and they had seen
and caused so much death in their long lives. Because of that, they
had a far firmer grip on how tenuous life truly was. Even an
immortals life. The Elder’s had a far firmer grip than a younger
vampire who suddenly found themselves with a vast amount of power,
vitality, and an immortality status they had never imagined could
exist, and they believed it never could be revoked. He suspected
the other reason was that The Elder’s had been around so long and
caused so much destruction that they feared death, and the
afterlife they may have to face. For there would be no heaven for
them, or for himself even, but a fiery pit of Hell that none of
them wanted to experience, but quite possibly could if they were
destroyed.

No, The Elder’s had come here fully
expecting to win this battle. Which meant that Matthew’s visions
had not revealed everything to The Elder’s and that gave them an
air of surprise still that The Elder’s would not expect. There was
still a chance he could get Cassie out of here. He did not kid
himself into thinking that he could get them all out of here. He
was not a dreamer, or an optimist, he never had been. He had always
been practical, and he knew that when this was over they would not
all be standing, but he was determined that Cassie would
be.

Wrapping his arm behind him, his
fingers entangled with hers. For a brief moment he allowed himself
to savor in the wonderful touch of her skin against his, in the
wonderful peace that she brought to him. The beast inside him was
too focused upon the upcoming battle, and the necessity to keep her
alive to allow himself to drift into her too much. The man was
terrified that he would lose her, and could barely bring himself to
release her hand. His fingertips lingered against hers for a brief
moment before he let her go.

He turned back to his brother, bile and
hate rising up in crushing waves. They had never gotten along in
life; in death it had been even worse. He knew that Robert had come
here specifically for Cassie, specifically to take her from him.
But it was not Robert that Devon wanted, it was not Robert that he
needed. And Robert knew that. As did the others.

And then he saw them, shadows emerging
slowly from the woods, but not all of them came forward. It did not
matter though; they were close enough now that he could feel the
edges of their minds. Close enough to seize them. He drew on
Cassie’s blood, drew on his far vaster strength as an Elder. He
shoved gently forward with his mind, being careful not to make
waves that Adon could pick up on and alert the others
to.

Gently, slipping silently within their
barriers, slithering as slowly and stealthily as a snake in the
grass, he seized hold of two of their minds. Taking control, he
twisted them to his will so smoothly that their facial expressions
didn’t even flicker, their eyes never even moved. With gentle
coercion, he instructed them to remain the same, to continue to act
as they normally would.

He did not need them now, but he would
need them soon, and when the time came they would have no choice
but to join his side and help him protect Cassie. He could take
more of them if he wanted, but with just the one mind alone, he
could bend the most powerful amongst The Elder’s to his will. He
seized the other mind only as a precaution, but it was a precaution
that he was not willing to let go of.

With firm control over that one mind,
Devon turned toward Zane, the man he had learned a lot from, the
man who had been a mentor of sorts to Devon. A mentor from hell
that was filled with nothing but hatred, vengeance, and bloodlust,
and at one time Devon had savored in it all. Devon had spent a fair
amount of time with Zane many years ago, but unlike Julian, they
had never grown to like each other. They had never been friends.
The two of them had simply respected and learned from each other,
simply savored in the ability of the other to one up each other in
savagery. Devon had not seen Zane in nearly four hundred years, but
his capability for cruelty and torture was still very fresh in
Devon’s mind.