Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (31 page)

 
“Well it’s all boring crap,”
Chris muttered
defensively
.

   Luther’s
jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed
slightly. “Well you just learned something new, and important
,
from that boring
crap
!” Luther snapped. Chris finally had the grace to look
discomfited
as he ducked his head. “So that is why I believe that we are dealing with an
E
lder now.”

  
“The thing in the woods,” Cassie said softly, looking wildly at Melissa and Chris. “That’s what was out there tonight, and at the beach the other day.”
 

   “How could it have been at the beach? It was daylight,” Chris argued.

   Cassie shook her head, hopping off the counter as she began to pace rapidly. “It was overcast
though, probably cloudy enough for them to come out at that point
of the day
.”

   “What are you talking about?” Luther demanded fiercely. Melissa quickly filled him in on what had happened the other day, and the strange feeling they had all experienced
again
tonight. Luther’
s face was grave and thoughtful, his eyes distant as he studied the far wall. “We may never know exactly what an
E
lder is capable of. The scope of their powers may be far beyond anything we can even imagine.”

   Cassie’s stomach rolled over again, and she was
very
fearful that she was going to throw up her strawberry shake before this night was over. “
If
it is watching you
, then it
’
s likely that this creature knows what you
truly
are
.
It is also likely that
the
three of you
may have drawn
it
here. It may have sensed your powers, and abilities, and it also may have noticed the deaths of its brethren
do to you
.
That’s why
we
must
leave. It will hunt you until it destroys you.”

  
Cassie abruptly stopped pacing;
she
nearly tripp
ed
over her own feet as she stared at him in disbelief. Mel
issa slid limply off the island;
she
rest
ed
her hand against it as her legs buckled slightly. Chris took a step forward, his eyes turbulent, yet blazing with a fiery determination.

   “No,” Cassie said softly, swallowing heavily as she tried to wet her parched throat. “No, I am not leaving,” she managed more firmly.

   Luther looked at her in surprise, his eyes blink
ed
rapidly behind his Lennon
style
glasses. “What do you mean no? You don’t understand Cassie…”

   “I understand that you think this thing will kill us, and you may be right. I also understand that we may have led this thing
here; I will not abandon the town
,
and the people I have known since childhood
,
to this monster. It may kill us, but we are also the only defense
that
they have against
it
. I will not leave them to be slaughtered because of us.”
   “Neither will
I
,” Chris said firmly.

   Melissa wet her lips nervously
before
straightening her slender shoulders. “We can’t Luther. Cassie’s right, this thing may be far more powerful than us, but we are the only defense
here
. We can’t abandon them; it would be like leading
the lambs
to the slaughter.
”
   Luther stood silently for a moment, disbelief and something akin to pain bloom
ed
in his eyes. “I understand your desire to stay, and I commend it, but I cannot allow that to happen. There are not enough Hunter’s left to risk your lives. I
must
keep you safe. You cannot stay here.”

   “I will not allow innoc
ent people to die because of us!
”
Cassie retorted fiercely.

   “They die every day. Your lives are more valuable, you do far more good alive than you do dead.”
Cassie stared at him in surprised disbelief, she
felt as if she
had been slapped. She could not believe that he had just said that. “I
’
m sorry
to sound
cruel
, but it
’
s true. If you are killed, then even more innocent people will die, you must weigh everything before
coming to
this
decision
. Sometimes we
have to
do things that we do not want to
in life.”

   Cassie took a step toward him
as
fury blaz
ed
through her. “I am already doing something that I don
’
t w
ant
to do
every single day
!
I did not ask for th
is, but I will
not
run from it!
Not now. I am staying, if you wish to flee then do so, but I will not!”

   Pain and anger flared through Luther’s gray eyes, making them even brighter behind his glasses. “I do not
wish
to flee! It is the best for you. My only charge in life is to see that you are prepared to fight
,
and to keep you safe.”

   Cassie’s anger melted in the face of his anguish and hurt. “You cannot keep us safe forever, it
’
s not possible. You have done
your best to train us Luther; you have
to have
faith in that.”

   He glanced at their determined faces.
His eyes
were
troubled and wide behind his glasses, his hands fisted tightly at his sides.
Heaving a sigh, his set shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Fine, but
you
cannot
go
hunting
alone
anymore.
T
he three of you must stick together, and you must wait for me
to go with you
. No more running off on your own. Also, I want to know every time you have the same feeling that you had tonight.” He turned to Melissa, his eyes intense and fierce. “Have you had any premonitions about this?”

   She glanced
o
ver
them
quickly, her
dark
eyes sad and distant. “No.”

   “Have you had any lately?”

   She shook her head.
“Nothing to do with
vampires
.
I knew we would win the game tonight, and I know that tomorrow
,
at lunch
,
Marcy is going to
announce the nominee
’s for homecoming queen. Congratulations
by the way,” she added with a w
ary smile
at
Cassie.

   Cassie lifted her eyebrows, but refrained from commenting. The last thing she cared about was homecoming, or being queen. Maybe at one
time
she would have, but no longer. Her entire life had become focused upon
her friends, her survival, and Devon. Her heart gave a
mighty thump
as her attention returned to him once more. They had left him at the side of the woods, within close proximity o
f
that
thing
!

   Panic tore through her as she whipped out her cell phone, sliding it open she frantically dialed his number. She turned her back on them, pacing swiftly away as she listened to the endless
ringing. It clicked over to his voice
mail; s
he did not leave a message
. Sliding
the phone shut, her hand sh
ook
with the terror suffus
ing
her.
Taking a deep breath she tried to calm herself as s
he text
ed
him quickly, asking him to call her as soon as possible.

   Turning slowly back to them, she knew she was unable to keep the
ho
rror from her face. “What is it?” Melissa asked softly.

   “We left Devon standing there, and he’s not answering his phone,” she answered tremulously
.

   Worry flitted over their faces as they quickly exchanged looks. “He’s fine,” Melissa assured her gently. “I’m sure of it.”
   “How can you be so sure?” Cassie
demanded
.
P
anic
t
o
r
e
through her
,
nearly choking her as she struggled to remain
somewhat
calm.
“If that thing is stalking us, wouldn’t it go after him if he saw us together?”

   “It’s ok Cassie.” Chris
grasped
he
r arm gently;
his touch only slightly soothed
her tumultuous emotions.

   She turned from him, pacing rapidly back and forth, her fingers still cl
enched
around her phone.
She had left him there, she had involved him in this, and she had
left
him there. She had been to
o
selfish to set him free, and now she may have cost him his life
. Pain and anguish tore through her nearly
crushing
her with the ferocity of it.

   She didn’t think she could survive without him. In such a short time he had become
a part of her
, she need
ed
him even more than she needed her own extremities
.
She couldn’t lose him; she would lose the best
piece
of herself if she did.
She would hunt that thing down and destroy it if it hurt him, even if it meant destroying herself in the process.
 

   Her phone went off;
the ringing jarr
ed
her as she jumped in surprise. Relief flowed through her a
t the sight of
his
name and
number.
Opening h
er phone
,
she walked swiftly away from them. “Is everything ok?” he demanded immediately.

   Cassie took a deep breath, fighting the tears of relief that burned her eyes. “
Yes, yes
I
... uh I just wanted to say hi,” she lied badly, feeling like a complete idiot as her face flamed red.

  
He didn’t speak for a moment, and she could hear the
wind
rushing past his car
as he drove
.
“Are you sure?” his voice was still fierce, the tension in it unmistakable.

   “Yes, I’m sure.”

   “Are you still with Melissa and her father?”

   “Yes.”
   “How are you getting home?”

   “Chris will take me.”

   “I could pick you up.”

   Cassie licked her lips
nervously, she
glanc
ed
briefly at everyone but they were engrossed in their own conversation. She desperately wanted to see him again, to make sure that he was safe and that he stayed that way, but this was going to be a long night, and it would be better if he went home.
Where he would be safe until morning.

   She sighed heavily. “No, that’s
ok;
we’re going to be here awhile.”

   There was another long stretch of silence. “Ok, let me know when you get home safely.”

   She frowned at the command, surprised to hear him
so
worried about her safety
again
. She
suddenly
recalled his strange reaction earlier, the tension in his body as he had turned toward the woods.
She r
ecalled him
still
watching the
forest
intently after she had walked away.
With a
sudden jolt of surprise
,
she realized that he
had
sense
d
it to, that he
had
fel
t
the evil and hatred that had
permeated
the air
around them
.