“Look up!” Robert hissed in her ear. Cassie couldn’t look anywhere but at the hideous knife causing so much agony inside of her. She could not look at anything except for the hated weapon protruding from her skin. “Look up!”

At this command, Robert shook her roughly, causing more pain to rip through her. She gasped, her head snapped up as tears filled her eyes. She would do anything to make the pain stop, anything to make it better. Then she realized exactly what it was that he had wanted her to see, and she knew instantly that she would have taken the pain a thousand times over rather than have listened to him.

Her gaze locked instantly on Devon’s fiery red one. He had frozen amongst the fray, oblivious to the battle that continued to rage around him. Hopelessness, loss, and longing tore through her as she fully realized that she would not be walking away from this. That there would be no escaping this time. That Robert was going to kill her.

Devon’s eyes flickered briefly, their beautiful emerald green shone through as love blazed fiercely from them. Tears, that had nothing to do with her pain, spilled down her face. “Don’t worry; you’ll see my brother again, in hell,” Robert whispered in her ear before kissing her roughly again.

Cassie gasped; her body bucked wildly as Robert ripped the knife upward, breaking into the bones of her ribcage, tearing it through organs and skin, before pulling it roughly free. A gurgled scream of pain ripped from her, her hands clawed at her gouged chest, uselessly trying to close the gaping, spurting wound. Robert shoved her roughly away.

Cassie stumbled before falling to her knees and slipping soundlessly forward. This was it, this was the end, and though she had always known that it would come at a young age, she hadn’t expected it to be this young. All she wanted now was more time with Devon. She wished that she could have been there for him, and her friends, they would not take well to this. Emotional pain swamped her, burying the physical agony beneath the wave of loss that consumed her.

Devon’s roar of fury filled the air. She managed to turn her head enough to see him amongst the creatures. Though he tried to get free enough to reach her, they had taken his hesitation, his moment of inaction, as an excuse to pounce upon him. She caught one more glimpse of him, his eyes were more than on fire they were pure molten lava as rage grasped hold of him, burying him within its tight grip of insanity.

She suddenly understood why Zane had yelled at Robert, why Zane had not wanted her to be killed just yet. They didn’t want her down until they at least had Devon under control in some way.

But now… Well now, he was going to kill them all. Including her friends.

The thought caused her to tremble, but she could not move as weakness seeped into her muscles, as her life poured out of her veins. She could feel her life draining from her, pulsing out in endless waves of her warm, necessary blood.

“Cassie! Cassie!” Chris skidded across the ground toward her.

Grasping hold of her shoulder, he pulled her attention away from Devon. Chris’s eyes widened in horror as he gazed at the blood spilling from her. The sapphire depths of his much loved eyes bloomed with tears as knowledge slammed into him. “It’s ok, I think this was meant to be,” she managed to whisper.

His eyes snapped back to hers, determination blazed through them. “Like hell it is.”

He was bending over to scoop her up when Julian swooped down upon them. He grasped hold of her, pulling her easily and gently into his arms. Cassie groaned; the movement caused fresh fire to burn through her body. “Hold on, just hold on,” Julian snarled.

He curled Cassie against his chest, using his shoulders as battering rams he slammed into whatever creatures came at them. Chris ran beside him, shoving and punching his way through the crowd. Cassie clung to her wound, but she could feel the weakness seeping into her, and the pain was not so bad anymore. It wasn’t bad at all actually. She felt oddly numb, slightly cold, but more and more pain free.

“Annabelle!” Julian bellowed. “Annabelle I need you! Now!”

Cassie caught a glimpse of the small girl, fighting to get free of the crowd. “Julian.” His ice blue eyes came down to hers, wide and terrified with worry and despair. “Julian it’s ok.”

“Yes, you will be ok,” he barked, breaking free of the melee.

“No, Julian, it’s ok. It’s ok. I always knew…” a rough coughing spree broke through her; suddenly the pain was back in sharp shooting waves. She gasped, clinging tighter to her wound as she tried to breathe through the agony. Julian’s eyes widened in horror, and though he was terrified for her, tormented at the thought of losing her, his pupils dilated in hunger at the sight of the blood she coughed up. “I would not live long,” she finished on a hoarse whisper.

He tore his gaze away from her as he bolted across the street. “You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine. Annabelle!” he bellowed again.

Cassie touched his arm lightly, sensing the impending end of her life, sensing that she did not have much time left. “Julian, you can’t let him die. Promise me that you won’t let him die, not because of me.”

“Cassie…”

“Please Julian,” she pleaded. “Please. My life is not worth his too.”

This time when his eyes met hers, there were tears spilling down his cheeks. He may want to deny it, he may still wish that Annabelle would be able to help her, but she saw now that inside he knew the truth. She would not survive this. “I will do everything I can to keep him alive,” he promised softly.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “And yourself too?”

He hesitated a moment before nodding sharply. “And myself too.”

“Thank you.”

Cassie’s head slumped against his chest as he shoved into the store door, crashing it off of the wall. Darkness seeped slowly over her; a strange sense of peace embraced her. She thought she would be scared in the end, but she wasn’t, not for herself anyway. A strange warmth seeped into her outer limbs, it replaced the cold chill that had been there before.

It wasn’t ok that she was leaving everyone; she wished that she could stay with them forever. But she was not afraid, there was something else waiting for her, and in the end she had always known that fate would never be denied. That it could never be changed. And this was her fate. It always had been.

She heard Julian screaming for Annabelle’s healing ability again, and then she heard nothing more.

***

Chris was numb with horror and terror as Julian burst into the store, nearly breaking the door off its hinges as it slammed against the wall with enough force to shatter the plaster behind it. Chris had heard Cassie’s whispered words; he could feel the strange sense of comfort and peace that had settled over her. And he hated it.

He could not lose his best friend, he could not lose her. And she was ready to be lost. Please, he begged silently. Please just hold on.

“Annabelle!” Julian yelled again, his voice so loud that the windows in the store rattled but Annabelle was already racing through the door. Her strawberry colored curls were a mess, blood smeared her cheeks, but she appeared unharmed as she bolted toward Julian. Chris shut the door, propping a chair against it as its bent frame wouldn’t allow it to close properly.

“Hurry,” Julian pleaded his voice a hoarse whisper.

Julian knelt on the floor; he placed Cassie gently upon the ground. Her hands slid limply away from her stomach, falling upon the ground. Chris got his first good look at the hideous wound. His eyes widened, bile rushed up his throat as he stared in horror at the jagged, vicious tear that had ripped deep into the inside of his friend. The strong pulse of her blood had slowed to a near stop, her shirt was torn open but her flesh was covered by the deep red color of her life.

A small moan of despair escaped him. Cassie was a fast healer, but even with that ability, and Annabelle’s powers he couldn’t see how they could do anything to heal that. It was too deep, too long, too brutal and cruel to ever be healed. Terror pulsed through him, full blown panic took over. They were going to lose her, he was certain of it; he was going to lose his best friend.

Tears clogged his throat, making it impossible for him to breathe. “What are you waiting for? Do something!” Julian snarled at Annabelle. She remained frozen, her sea green eyes wide in horror, her hand over her mouth as she gazed at Cassie. “Annabelle!” Julian barked, causing them all to jump in surprise.

Annabelle shook her head as she turned toward Julian; her shoulders slumped in defeat, her posture was sad as she huddled in on herself. There was a hollow look to her eyes that made her appear somewhat shrunken. “I cannot heal the dead Julian,” she whispered forlornly.

Chris felt as if he had punched, he took a staggering step back. Pain clutched at his chest as tears instantly sprang forth. “No,” he moaned.

He took a step toward Cassie, determined not to believe it, unable to accept the fact that she could be gone so easily. Unable to believe that she could be so swiftly and cruelly ripped from their lives. Unable to believe that her inner light could so easily be doused. He froze though, unable to go forward as his gaze landed upon her face. Cassie’s eyes were halfway open, her pupils dilated as she stared unseeingly at the ceiling. Her mouth was parted slightly, her face lax. Knowledge slammed into him, strangling him with its intensity as he turned away, gasping and choking for air as pain and loss engulfed him.

Julian and Annabelle remained silent, unmoving, but he could feel their sadness and loss even through his own grief. Julian swore loudly, turning away he slammed his fist down on one of the metal shelves. It crumpled beneath the blow, spilling its contents across the floor. Before Chris could even blink, he lifted up one of the cases and heaved it across the room as if it weighed no more than a feather. Glass and materials shattered across the room. Chris wrapped his arms around himself as he took a step away from the cans that rolled toward him. Julian bellowed in rage before lifting another shelf and heaving it across the room.

Fresh agony swamped Chris, but this time it was so fierce, so intense that it knocked him to his knees. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see as his vision blurred and his head pounded with the torment pulsing through him in never ending waves that nearly caused him to pass out. He bowed down; his forehead nearly touched the floor as his heart exploded, shattering into a million pieces, destroying everything that was good and right inside of him. Burning away the humanity that had been in him, and leaving only scattered pieces of nothing that were quickly buried by a rage so intense that Chris feared his head would explode. The blood in his ears was a loud rush that blocked out nearly all other sound.

Rage and a thirst for vengeance, for destruction and brutality, swamped him. Chris couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think through it. Both of the emotions were so intense that physical pain twisted through him as he struggled to breathe, and tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Julian stop,” Annabelle whispered pleadingly.

Julian froze, his shoulders heaved as he stared at the back wall. His hands were fisted at his sides, his body shook but he seemed to have regained some control over himself again. “Devon cannot know about this, not yet. Not until we can contain him in some way. I promised her he would not die, and I am going to keep that promise,” Julian said softly, his voice choked with emotion.

“How are we going to do that?” Annabelle whispered.

“I don’t know.”

Chris gasped for breath, he tried to find his voice, tried to rise up against the tidal wave of emotions crashing over him. He was afraid that if he couldn’t get control he would be forever buried beneath the debris of Devon’s rage and grief. Forever caught up within the whirlpool that now controlled the vampire. For Chris was keenly aware of the fact that there was nothing left of the man within Devon. The man had been destroyed by Cassie’s death; the monster inside him had finally burst free of its cage to take Devon’s place.