Inferno (Book 4 The Kindred Series) (30 page)

Cassie rolled her eyes in disgust.
“You’re the only other one sporting a tan.”

Amusement returned to Zane’s features,
a hint of respect shone in his eyes. Devon was not fooled though,
Zane may be entertained and impressed by Cassie, but Devon knew
Zane would still kill her in a heartbeat. “Very true my dear. The
change will wait until this ordeal is over, but the moment that it
is over the change will occur. Even if I have to do it
myself.”

Devon bristled, shifting slightly. He
may not agree with this, but no one else was ever going to touch
her. “That won’t happen,” Devon told him, his voice low and
deadly.

“Then make sure that the change does
occur,” Zane informed him coldly.

Devon’s jaw clenched, rage flared
through him. “I’m not one of your little followers Zane, I never
have been,” he snarled as his gaze raked disdainfully over the
people gathered around him. “Do not think you have any control over
me.”

“But I do,” Zane replied. “You will do
anything not to have her hurt, in any way. If you wish to push this
into a fight you both may survive it, but not everyone will. You do
not want her heart to be broken do you?”

Frustration filled him; he wanted
nothing more than to beat the smug look from Zane’s face. Cassie
touched his arm lightly, looking to soothe him. “How do we know we
can trust you not to turn on us anyway?” she asked
softly.

“How do we know we can trust you not to
turn on us once the change is complete?”

She glanced nervously around before her
gaze settled on Devon, seeking help. “You don’t.”

“And neither do you.”

“You could allow Julian to touch you,”
Devon said softly. “To learn the truth.”

Zane quirked an eyebrow. “Then you
would know the truth and we would not, that would put us at a
disadvantage.”

Devon glanced toward Julian. His jaw
was set, his hands fisted. His eyes burned with his desire to grasp
hold of one of them and learn the truth, but he remained restrained
and unmoving. “Bernard can tell if we are lying to you or not,”
Devon answered.

Bernard glanced over them all, his gaze
briefly settled on Chris before he nodded his agreement. “Yes, the
boy will not block my ability, he is not strong enough.”

“Excuse me?” Chris inquired
sharply.

Bernard turned away, apparently
deciding that Chris was not worth talking to. Chris continued to
glare at the massive giant of a man, looking completely affronted.
“Bernard’s ability is the same as yours; he can sense people’s
emotions and what they are truly like inside. He will know if we
are lying,” Annabelle told Chris gently, trying to ease his
anger.

Chris looked even more aggravated and
insulted by this response. Unfortunately though, it was the truth,
Bernard was far more powerful than Chris. In fact, The Elders were
all more powerful than most of the people in this room, it was why
Devon didn’t trust Zane. It would be a fierce battle between the
groups, but the outcome would more than likely favor The Elder’s.
Even though he knew that Zane didn’t want to lose any member of his
group, he still didn’t understand why they would be willing to back
down. And why did they want Cassie to change when they had no idea
what she would become?

“Then you will allow Julian to touch
you,” Devon commanded.

Zane’s eyes flickered with hostility
and resentment. He did not like being ordered around, it was why
Devon had made it more of a command than a question. He wanted Zane
rattled and angered, it may let some of his defenses drop enough
for Julian to slip in. Zane hesitated, his jaw clenched
tighter.

“Fine,” Zane finally
relented.

Julian broke into a wide grin, stepping
eagerly forward as he was finally given reign to set his powers
free. Devon seized hold of Julian’s arm before he went any further.
He wanted Julian to grab hold of Zane, wanted to know what Julian
would be able to learn from him. But Devon also knew that there was
a possibility that Zane had become powerful enough to keep Julian
blocked from anything that he didn’t want him to know.

Holding tight to Julian, he tried to
make sure that he learned everything that Devon wanted him to know.
Tried to make sure that Julian understood there was someone else
that he must touch. Someone that Devon now controlled, and who
would be unable to keep anything from Julian while under Devon’s
command. Julian’s eyes widened slightly upon his, surprise,
amusement, and admiration gleamed in his gaze. For a moment Devon
was sharply reminded of how things used to be between them, how
close they had been, how devious and cruel.

He was reminded of the fun they had
once shared, not only while killing, fighting, and hunting for
women, but also just with each other. They had shared many laughs,
many drinks, and many nights simply enjoying each other’s
friendship. They had been closer than brothers, far closer than
Devon and Robert had ever been, and that was one of the reasons
that Robert hated Julian so much.

A pain tugged at Devon’s heart, and for
the first time he actually found himself wishing that they could go
back there, that they could share that again. But he knew that it
could never be that way again, not with everything that had passed
between them, and not with Julian’s feelings for Cassie. Julian’s
eyes glimmered briefly, something slipped across his features as he
sensed Devon’s change of thought.

“I want to know why they want her to
change so badly too,” Devon said aloud to explain his halting of
Julian to The Elder’s, though Julian already knew this.

Julian’s gaze slid to Cassie, pain and
longing bloomed briefly in his iced eyes. Then, to Devon’s complete
and utter surprise, he grasped hold of Devon’s arm with his free
hand, squeezed it tightly, and nodded to him. Though Julian didn’t
say the words, Devon knew that he had just released any resentment
toward him. Julian would not stand in their way, and he accepted
what he couldn’t have, no matter how badly he wanted Cassie. In
that moment Devon knew he had his friend again, that he didn’t have
to worry about any of Julian’s intentions, and that he could rely
upon him again.

Cassie turned toward him as Julian
strode across the room. Tears glimmered in her eyes as she slid her
hand into Devon’s, squeezing it reassuringly. He studied her,
amazed by her strength and beauty. Touched by her unwavering love
and understanding, no matter what he kept from her, or did to her.
He was acutely reminded of the fact that she was too good for him,
that she deserved better than this life. And yet this was all that
he could give her.

One day he would make this up to her.
When this was over, he vowed he would give her everything that she
deserved, and more. His hand tightened around hers as he clasped it
within both of his.

Julian reached Zane, grinning wildly as
he stopped before the oldest Elder. They were the golden boys of
The Elders, both fair and bright with disarming good looks. But
that was where the similarities between them ended. Zane was
refined, elegant, and thin with expensive clothes and even more
expensive tastes. There was never a hair out of place, never a
speck of dirt upon him. Julian however was wild, preferred beer to
champagne, had never worn anything more expensive than cotton, and
was never happier then when he was rolling around in the dirt
getting drunk and causing a raucous. Their completely different
personalities were only some of the reasons they hated each other.
There were far more. One of the main reasons being that like Devon,
Julian had never fallen into line with the rest of The Elder’s. He
disdained their way of life, much preferring to be out in the
world, reveling in it, instead of hiding and slinking through the
shadows.

Zane had never allowed Julian to touch
him before; in fact he had gone out of his way to avoid it every
time they’d met. From the look on his face, he would not allow it
now if it weren’t for the fact that he didn’t have a choice. And
there was no choice; if Zane didn’t allow Julian to touch him then
he would be admitting that there was something to hide. But if Zane
did allow Julian to touch him, then there was also the possibility
that he could somehow keep it hidden from Julian.

“This is to be quick. You get one brief
chance to find what you are looking for and that is all,” Zane
sneered.

Julian’s mouth quirked, distaste
flashed through his eyes. “Don’t be afraid Zane, it doesn’t hurt.
Much.” Julian taunted.

Anger sparked from Zane, but before he
could retort or react, Julian grasped hold of his arm. Zane jerked
back instantly, his arm flying up as he knocked Julian’s hand
aside. “Thanks for the insight,” Julian murmured.

Zane’s eyes flooded red with fury, his
jaw clenched tight, but he did not swing at Julian like he
apparently longed to do. Julian moved down the line of Elder’s
examining each one of them before stopping before Adon. Though Adon
had one of the strongest abilities, he was also one of the two
younger than Julian, and therefore unable to resist Julian’s
probing. He was also under Devon’s firm control, and would be
unable to withhold anything from Julian.

Before anyone could stop him, Julian
seized hold of Adon’s hand. No one moved. Everyone remained frozen
until Damon instructed Adon to react as he normally would have.
Adon jerked his hand free of Julian’s grasp and delivered such a
speedy round house that Julian didn’t have time to dodge it. His
head snapped back, his teeth clattered loudly together as blood
exploded from his inner cheek, spraying across the
floor.

Releasing Cassie, Devon jumped forward.
He knew that Julian was going to react badly to this, and now was
not the time to fight. They were not prepared for it. Julian wiped
the blood from his mouth with his sleeve, but to Devon’s surprise,
he did not attack Adon. “That’s one, you won’t get another,” he
growled.

Adon glared back at him, his hands
fisted at his side. Devon didn’t tell Adon to back down, he
couldn’t. Adon had to appear normal; they could not suspect that
Devon now had complete control over one of their own.

“No Adon,” Zane said sharply. “We are
not here for that.”

Adon remained unmoving, his slender
five foot four frame as taut as a bowstring. Aside from Annabelle,
he was the smallest person in the room, and had what was now
commonly referred to as little man syndrome. His temper was
infamous and fiery, but it had supposedly been in check ever since
he had nearly been lynched by a mob two hundred years ago. The
humans had discovered what he was after he had gone on a drunken
rampage in a tavern. It was only the interference of Zane, and
Robert, that had kept Adon alive.

Devon was honestly surprised that Adon
had survived as long as he had, but he supposed living away from
society for long periods of time had probably attributed to that.
Though, Adon looked as if he still wanted to pounce upon Julian,
his eyes slowly returned to their dark mocha color as he took a
small step back. His dark hair fell across his cheek. Adon was of
Greek ancestry, but years spent out of the sun had faded his olive
complexion.

Julian turned slowly away, nearly
bumping into Devon. “Wasn’t expecting that,” he muttered, wiping
away the remaining blood that trickled down his lip.

“Nor I.”

“Did you find out what you wanted to
know?” Zane demanded, obviously irritated with the
situation.

Devon glanced toward Julian, who nodded
briefly. “I think we can trust them,” Julian said softly. “Though
they do not like this union, they are accepting of it because they
feel that Cassie will be a powerful ally, an asset.”

“Asset?” Cassie inquired
sharply.

Devon recognized, and disliked, the
rebellious fire in her eyes. “The Elders,” Julian said
disdainfully. “Mistakenly believe that every vampire created
belongs to them. That every vampire is meant to do their bidding,
and to serve them. They think that they will have ultimate power
over you.”

Zane smiled coldly at Julian. “We may
not control you, but we do have ultimate power over you. We all
serve the same purpose, we all want the same things in the long
run, and that is to keep our own kind safe. Cassie will be a great
aid in that.”

“And if things go wrong?” Cassie
demanded, obviously irritated that they thought they would have any
control over her. Her arms were folded tightly over her chest, her
eyebrows drawn sharply together as she tapped her foot
impatiently.

“Everyone in this room knows that you
will have to be dealt with if it comes to that. No one disagrees
with that fact.”

Cassie’s gaze came slowly toward Devon;
her eyes were hopeless and lost. Devon ached for her, but he could
not disagree with Zane’s statement. If something went wrong, they
would have to both be destroyed. There was no getting around that
fact.

“I want every one of your friends to
agree to this arrangement, aloud and separately so that Bernard can
read them. If there is no agreement, and if he feels any kind of
betrayal or lie from you, there will be consequences.”

Panic flared through Cassie’s eyes, but
before she could protest, Julian seized hold of her arm and bent
low to her ear. Though Devon could not hear what he said, Cassie’s
mouth clamped shut. Around the room people slowly responded. Julian
continued to hold her arm as Cassie bent her head, listening
silently as everyone gave a soft yes. Devon remained a few feet
from them, his eyes focused on Bernard as he read each response,
nodding slowly afterward.