“Where is safe around here?” Octavia inquired. Her liquid brown eyes were intent as she studied Devon with distaste. She had once tried to pursue him, but he had spurned her advances as she had also been with his brother at the time. And Devon wanted nothing to do with anything that Robert had touched, ever. Apparently Octavia had decided that she wanted nothing to do with him either, now that he was no longer a monster. Octavia was not a pretty girl in the classical sense, but she was one of the most sensual, curvaceous women he had ever seen. She was also one of the cruelest and most vindictive.

“The bank has a safe; you will be fine inside there. No sunlight will get in, and there is a way to let yourselves out from the inside,” Devon told them.

He could feel Cassie’s gaze upon his back, but he didn’t look at her. He didn’t want her to know that he had attempted lock himself in there in order to stay away from her. The discovery of the release handle inside had prevented him from being successful however. She had already been exposed to far too much evil for his liking, he didn’t want her exposed to anymore, especially not his own.

“And what will we do if they come for us during the day?” Octavia asked softly.

“They will not,” Matthew answered. “The battle does not begin today.”

Everyone focused their attention upon the slender man with his hands folded peacefully before him. His shock of orange hair puffed out around his face in unruly wisps. The orange freckles spattered across his face stood out sharply against the deathly pallor of his skin. Matthew had been fair in life, but in death it seemed that all of the color had drained from his body, and into his orange freckles and hair, making them stand out far more vividly than they had before. Though the rest of his features were perfect, sculpted even, the shock of orange color around his head completely distracted from that fact.

“When will it begin?” Julian inquired softly.

Matthew shrugged his slender shoulders, unfolding his hands as he spread them wide. “Your guess is as good as mine; you know my visions do not reveal everything. Just as I do not know who will win, or what her change will bring. There are some things the world keeps me in the dark about. These are a few of those things. Though perhaps, if I was allowed to touch the girl…”

“Absolutely not!” Devon interrupted sharply, knowing how deviant Matthew was. He would take too much pleasure in being allowed to touch Cassie, and Devon would be damned if he let any of them get close enough to touch her.

“Well then,” Matthew continued in his melodic, soothing voice. “We will have to remain in the dark about those things, unless the young seer has anything to tell us.” Melissa shook her head in response to the inquisitive looks cast her way. “It is best to have some surprises in ones future anyway, makes life all that more exciting.”

The last time Devon had seen Matthew, he had been fairly certain that the man was losing his mind. But now, listening to the cadences and nuances within his tone, Devon was certain of it. He did not know what had finally driven Matthew over the edge, whether it was his numerous visions, and his knowledge of things that were not supposed to be known; or his unending cruelty, and maliciousness, that had finally done it. Whatever had caused it, it now appeared that Matthew had more than just a few screws lose, but a few hundred of them, and was probably more twisted and cruel than he had ever been.

“But the battle will come to us during the night, not during the day,” Matthew continued.

Julian shook his head. “I guess they aren’t as smart as we were giving them credit for.”

“And why do you say that?” Matthew inquired softly, his light brown eyes inquisitive and merry.

Julian studied him for a moment, seemingly unable to figure out the strange creature across from him. “Because they would know to attack during the day, when we are far more vulnerable.”

“Perhaps they are too; perhaps though they can walk about in the day, they prefer the darkness of the night to hide the evil inside them. Perhaps they feel it best not to expose themselves to the good of the sun’s rays; they feel they are undeserving of it. That is the way it was always intended. Then the abnormalities rose up amongst us to taint this earth with their presence during the light. In return for immortal life, we are denied the pleasure and warmth of the sun’s rays, it is the way things are supposed to be. The way they have been for millennia.”

Devon lifted an eyebrow as he studied Matthew in surprise. Yep, the guy had finally flipped his nut, and apparently he was not as enamored with Zane as he had once been. Now it seemed as if Zane was an abnormality tainting the earth, as was Devon. Julian cast Devon a surprised sideways glance, his eyes wide and questioning.

“If our kind were meant to walk amongst the light, then we would not burn upon entering it. Their kind, even the ones that roam the day, may still feel the pain of redemption upon their skin. As they should. For us to not feel the sting of the warmth is a disgrace, an affront…”

“Enough Matthew!” Zane hissed.

Though Matthew grew silent, it was more than apparent that he had more to say, more things to prattle off. Julian circled his finger beside his temple, making the crazy gesture as he mouthed the word cuckoo. Devon nodded his agreement. They both received dark looks from Zane, but Matthew seemed oblivious to them as he refolded his hands piously before him.

“We’ll see you at nightfall then,” Elspet said softly.

Devon’s eyes were drawn to the slender girl, who stood behind the other Elder’s. She was the youngest amongst them at barely over five hundred years old. Devon had met her a few times many years ago, after she had first been changed. It wasn’t until recently, when she had reached the prime age of five hundred, that she had been drawn into the ranks of The Elder’s. When Devon had known her, she had been a pretty girl with delicate features and fine light brown hair that flowed down to her shoulder blades. She had worn simple dresses and stayed mostly in the background. She had not displayed overt acts of cruelty, but had simply fed when the time and need struck her. At the time he had never thought that she would make it this long, that her lack of cruelty would eventually get her killed. He had never imagined that she would be an Elder, let alone fit in with the elite group that she was now a part of.

The girl before him now was nothing like the girl he had known. She had shaved her head, and on one side she had a beautiful angel tattooed on her skull, on the other side was a vicious snarling devil with blood dripping from its mouth, and its claws curved over. Her lip, eyebrow, and nose had been pierced. She sported metal all the way up both sides of her ears. She was dressed in body hugging black that clung to her lithe figure. Though he could not see the tattoos on her arms, he could see the tail ends of them curling around her hands and wrists. Her hazel eyes were narrowed sharply as she met Devon’s questioning, slightly stunned gaze. Apparently becoming an Elder had greatly changed the quiet girl he had known.

Devon held her gaze as he nodded briskly. He just wanted them out of this store, and as far from Cassie as possible, for now. They said nothing more as they filed slowly out of the store. He was slightly amazed they were actually leaving. He was even more amazed, and stunned, by the fact that they were hiding Matthew amongst them when he had obviously lost his mind. Though Devon had never met an off the rocker vampire, he couldn’t imagine that they would be much fun to deal with, or keep under control.

“Does Matthew think he’s a freaking preacher or something now?” Julian demanded when they had disappeared into the night.

Devon shook his head, running his fingers wearily through his hair. “He thinks he’s something now,” Devon murmured.

“They only keep him alive for his visions,” Julian said softly. At Devon’s questioning look he elaborated. “I saw it through Adon, Matthew has been crazy for awhile now, but Zane needs him.”

“What made him that way?” Melissa was trembling, pale, her hands folded tightly before her as she rang them nervously. Her fear that it may have been his visions that had driven him mad was more than obvious.

Julian shrugged as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Some people are just not cut out for this lifestyle, no matter what. Matthew was always softer than the rest of us. You mix that with Zane’s constant torture and mental abuse, and apparently it made him snap. Matthew was Zane’s puppet, his play thing, and he has broken him. But he still likes to pull his strings once in awhile.”

They all gaped at him, horrified by his description of what Zane had done to Matthew. “It is not the worst thing Zane has ever done,” Julian murmured, unable to meet their gazes any longer.

Devon bristled, wishing that Julian would stop talking. They got the hint; they didn’t need to hear anymore. “Can we really trust them?” Luther inquired softly.

Julian nodded as he folded his arms over his chest. “Yes. They will abide by this truce because it suits their needs. I cannot guarantee they will stick to it if Cassie doesn’t survive the change, and we lose Devon. They will have no need for you then. Though, I cannot guarantee that any of us will survive if such a thing happens.”

Devon ignored their curious stares, determined not to think about that right now. He held his hand out to Cassie, breathing a sigh of relief when she clasped hold of it. She would never hold a grudge against him; never hate him for his past. It was impossible for her to. And for that he would be forever thankful.

Her hand in his was warm, soft, reassuring as she squeezed him tight. He bent to kiss her softly, his lips brushing lightly across her forehead.

CHAPTER 17

Cassie sat silently as she watched Devon make the bed, he moved with startling speed and agility. His grace was unparalleled, his good looks unmatched. Robert had been wrong when he had said he was the better looking brother, he had been very wrong. Devon fluffed up the sleeping bags, before unrolling them on the floor. Cassie realized that he was stalling as he set everything up, biding for time before facing her.

She sighed softly, her impatience getting the better of her. There were a million questions that she wanted to ask, the foremost of which was about his brother, but right now all she really wanted was Devon. She knew there were things he wanted to keep her sheltered from, things he never wanted her to know, and she understood that. But unfortunately, some of those things had walked into their lives again today, and thrown them even more upside down. However, for now, the time for questions could wait.

He finished fluffing the blankets/pillows. She could tell he was looking for something else to do, some other way to stall, but unless he planned on fluffing the down right out of the blankets there was nothing left for him to do. His shoulders were stiff as he turned toward her, his body braced for the onslaught he suspected was coming. His beautiful emerald eyes were wary as they hesitatingly met hers.

Cassie sighed softly. “Are you ok now?” she inquired. His dark eyebrows drew tightly together. “Can you stay around me?”

Guilt and anguish surrounded him as his gaze darted away. “Cassie…”

“It’s ok Devon, I understand more than you think I do, but I need to know.”

“And why is that?”

Cassie braced herself for rejection as she readied to hand herself over to him completely. “Because I want to spend the night with you, and I mean really spend the night with you.”

She fought back the red wash of embarrassment that crept up her cheeks, heating her skin. She didn’t want to seem childish and insecure right now, she wanted to sound confident and determined, but she couldn’t stop the flush in her face. Unfortunately her body did not want to react the way that her mind wanted it to.

His gaze snapped back to her, wide with surprise and wonder. She could feel the desire, the need that washed over him, but she could also feel his hesitance, his reluctance. “Cassie there is nothing more that I would want, but not here, not now…”

“Then when?” she interrupted softly.

“When this is over…”

“We may not survive this.”

He recoiled from her words, his eyes narrowed fiercely. “I will not allow anything to happen to you.”

Cassie sighed softly as she squeezed her hands tight in her lap. “I know that you will try Devon, but there are some things you can’t control. There are some things that you cannot stop. No one knows what will happen to me when this change occurs; no one truly knows what the outcome of this battle will be. All we know is that we have this moment right now. We have this, and I want to know, no I need to know what it is like to be with you. I need this night.”

Devon shook his head, but she could feel his wavering, his desire to crumble to her wishes. He glanced around the dusty, cobweb filled attic. Shaking his head he turned back to her. “You deserve better than this, you deserve so much more than this.” His arm swept around the room.