Though her thoughts had been focused upon Devon during training, she found all of her doubts, worries, and concerns melting away. Years of breeding and training took over as adrenaline coursed through her, and anticipation for the fight consumed her. The monster went for Chris first, running in a headlong charge. Chris braced himself, turning slightly to dodge out of the way as the monster reached him.

Swinging out, Chris caught hold of him as he slammed a fist into the things shoulder. The young vampire, a man, grunted loudly as he staggered forward beneath the force of Chris’s blow. Though he was off balance, and caught by surprise, he was still hungry, and volatile. His reddened eyes latched upon Cassie, his lips pulled back in a snarl as he caught scent of what he thought would be the easier prey.

Cassie grinned at him invitingly, welcoming the fight, needing to rid herself of her pent up, frustrated energy. It snarled as it lunged at her, its hands curled into claws as it aimed for her neck. A small chuckle escaped her; the thing was stupid that was for sure. It did not stop to think that it might be outnumbered and that a retreat should be considered. Instead, all it could think about was blood and feeding, and destroying life.

It launched itself at her, leaping into the air, its hands outstretched as it looked to devour her. Thrusting her hand up, she used the palm of her hand to smash upward. His head snapped back, his blood red eyes rolled back in his head as his teeth bit into his chin. Blood spilled down his face, but he did not completely slow in his rush. He seized hold of her arms, his hands tightening in a painful grip as he dragged her eagerly forward.

She did not panic, did not even feel a spurt of fear as his lips pulled back. His fetid breath washed over her, causing her gag reflex to react instantly. Lifting her leg, she slammed her knee into his groin. He howled as he bent over, the pain finally breaking through his bloodlust as he released her. Fisting her hands, she drove them hard into his back, knocking him to his knees.

The attack was so fast that Chris, Melissa, and Luther had not had a chance to react. Now they moved swiftly, converging on the creature that was trying to get off his knees. He stumbled up, but Chris got to him first. Driving the stake deep into its back, the creature grunted in surprise as Chris twisted it deeper and harder.

Cassie winced, trying to turn off her guilt as the creature mewled in pain and fear. Shock coursed through her as it met her eyes for a moment. They were no longer red, but a soft brown. They pleaded for mercy, but it was already too late, and no mercy could be given in this situation. Cassie swallowed heavily; remorse filled her as the young man released another low moan before collapsing before them. She should not feel remorseful; he would have killed her instantly if he’d had the chance. It was survival of the fittest after all, and luckily this time they had been the fittest.

But as they moved the body into the woods she couldn’t stop herself from thinking that before he had become a monster, he had been someone’s son, maybe even someone’s brother or husband. She could not stand to think about the hurt that his family had gone through. Could not stand to think about the fear and pain the man had probably suffered before he had been killed the first time.

Cassie inhaled shakily, trying to rid herself of the lingering remnants of shock and remorse that clung to her. She had to shake them off, had to lose them. It would eat her alive if she didn’t. She could never allow herself to glimpse the man behind the monster again. She couldn’t do this anymore if she was unable to separate the two, and if she didn’t do this than people would die.

Cassie shuddered, she felt hollow and shattered. She desperately needed to see Devon; she knew that only he could ease the aching coldness permeating her bones. Even if he couldn’t know about this aspect of her life, he could help to ease the choking loneliness and guilt clinging to her.

She sighed heavily, now that they were done all she wanted was to escape the cemetery and return home as soon as possible.

A chill shot down her spine, the hair on the nape of her neck and arms stood on end. Fear and disbelief crossed Chris and Melissa’s faces as they turned slowly toward the area where the evil suddenly seeped from. Turned toward the area where they had just left the body of the defeated young man.

Luther stepped closer to them all. “It’s out there,” Chris whispered.

“Yes,” Luther agreed. “Let’s go. We need to get you out of here. Now!” he snapped, when none of them moved right away.

“Why doesn’t it just come after us?” Cassie asked softly.

“I don’t know, but let’s not tempt it. Come on, we have to leave now,” Luther urged fervently, pushing at Chris and Melissa as his gaze worriedly scanned the forest.

Cassie’s eyes narrowed as she stared hard into the shadowy interior. She could make out the different elms, oaks, tupelos, and locusts, but she could see nothing hidden amongst the trees. Not even an animal stirred, apparently scared away by the evil in their midst’s. “Do you see anything?” Chris asked softly.

Cassie shook her head; frustration caused her hands to fist. “We need to go!” Luther hissed.

Though Cassie did not want to turn tail and run from the monster in the woods, she found herself moving swiftly along as they hurried toward Luther’s Toyota Camry. She slid limply into the backseat, her gaze instantly turned back to the window. She half expected to see it standing at the window, its face twisted into a hideous snarl, ready to pounce, eager to slaughter them all.

But there was nothing there.

Searching the night beyond, she tried to pick out as many details as she could. Cassie’s teeth rattled as ice encased her once more. Though Luther started the car, they did not move. She felt pinned beneath the wave of hostility and malevolence enveloping them.

“It’s playing with us,” Chris said softly.

Cassie turned slowly toward him, shocked by the paleness of his complexion, and the hollowness his cheeks and eyes had taken on. “Chris?” she asked worriedly.

His hand trembled as he lifted it toward her. He desperately needed to touch her, to connect with something other than the evil overwhelming his ability. He was shaking when he clasped hold of her hand, his fingers dug tightly into hers. His shoulders heaved as he inhaled a sharp breath. He looked sickly in the glow of the dashboard lights.

“Chris, what is wrong?” she demanded sharply, fear tightening around her heart. She had never seen him look so awful, so shaken.

“Drive,” he ordered in a gruff voice.

Luther jolted slightly, shifted the car into drive, and slammed on the gas. Cassie was thrown against the seat, but she did not lose her grip on Chris’s quivering hand. Luther peeled down the road, kicking up a spray of dirt and rocks that rattled off the undercarriage of the car. They fishtailed, the back wheels lost traction as the car spun sideways. Cassie had a brief glimpse of headstones only inches from the car before the wheels finally caught on the road once more.

Luther sped down the loosely graveled road at speeds far beyond what was safe, but nowhere near fast enough for Cassie. He barely hesitated before he shot onto the main road. Chris shuddered again, but his eyes seemed to clear slightly, and his face had regained some color.

“Are you ok?” she asked sharply.

He nodded, inhaling shakily as he nodded again. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.”

He sounded as if he were trying to reassure himself as much as her. “What happened?”

Another tremor wracked through him, his hand convulsed upon hers. “I caught a glimpse of it. It let me inside for a moment, I think, on purpose. I wasn’t trying to probe it when suddenly I found myself sucked in. The maliciousness…”

He broke off, his gaze flew toward the window. “It was just awful. Whatever that thing is, it’s enjoying toying with us, playing with us, batting us around until it’s ready to pounce. It takes joy in the hunt, and it is hunting us, stalking us.” He shuddered again, his whole body heaved with the convulsions that wracked him. “We can’t abandon anyone,” he whispered.

“And we’re not going to,” Cassie assured him, trying to ignore the pain his clenching hand caused her.

“It’s playing with us for now, but when it’s ready, it is going to kill us. Before then though, it’s going to wreak a lot of havoc on this town.” He turned slowly toward her, his eyes oddly bright in the dim interior of the car. “It is going to destroy us.”

Though Cassie could not get words past the lump of terror in her throat, she knew that Chris was right.

CHAPTER 18

“Looks like you have company.”

Cassie’s mouth parted slightly at the sight of the sleek Challenger sitting in her driveway. At the vast amount of relief that filled her, she realized she had truly feared she would not see Devon tonight, or ever again. But there he was, sitting at her house, doing God only knew what with her grandma. “I’ll be,” she murmured.

Chris managed to give her a shaky smile, but it was nowhere near the normal, self assured, cocky grin that she loved. Nor was there the familiar, jovial light in his usually merry eyes. She was truly frightened that she may never see either again. His eyes looked older, more worn and tired than she had ever seen them. His confident aura seemed to have vanished, replaced by one that seemed beaten. She didn’t want this Chris to stay, but she was terrified that this was who he was going to be from now on. He seemed to have aged twenty years in the past hour.

For the first time Cassie was truly grateful that she had not received any of the “gifts” that had been bestowed upon Chris and Melissa. It had to be draining and painful to know far more about the world than one desired to. What Chris had seen tonight, what he had been drawn into, had wounded him badly. It was impossible to know just how deep those wounds went.

“Chris…”

“I had better get going,” he interrupted, turning away from her as he shut off the car.

“Are you going to come over tonight?” she asked worriedly, despairing over his abrupt dismissal of her.

He sat silently for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I had better stay with my mom. She may need my protection.”

Cassie glanced at his house. All the lights were on, music and loud laughter poured from the open windows. There were five cars in the drive that Cassie did not recognize. A party was in full swing. These were the nights that Chris always fled from.

“Did you tell her what was going on?”

He shrugged absently, his hand already rested on the door handle. “Yes, but you know her, if she can drink it away than it doesn’t exist.”

“Chris…”

“Go on Cassie, I’ll be fine. You have company.”

“After he leaves…”

He turned back to her, the haunted look in his eyes robbing her of her breath. “I’ll be ok.”

Before she could say anything more, he flung the door open and climbed swiftly from the car. Cassie was too stunned to move for a moment. Then, she threw her door open and joined him in the brisk fall night. She desperately needed the refreshing air as she greedily inhaled gulps of it. She could not rid herself of the worry that she was losing Chris. She feared that she had already lost the innocent, relatively carefree man he had always been. The best friend she had always known and relied on. She needed to reach him before he retreated farther into himself.

“Chris…”

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

He didn’t look at her as he shoved his hands in his pockets and hurried forward. She watched him disappear into the house, her heart breaking for him. Whether any of them wanted it, or not, they had been forced to grow up even more rapidly tonight, and Chris had received the blunt force of it.

Cassie closed the car door, tears slid silently down her face as she made her way slowly back to her house. She paused at the door, wiping away her tears as she valiantly tried to regain control of herself. It took her a few minutes, but eventually the tears dried up and she felt stable enough to enter. Taking a deep breath she shoved the door open, and stepped into the bright, airy kitchen. The warm aura of the room seemed out of place with the dark cloud surrounding her.

Her grandmother was nowhere to be seen. The wonderful scent of roasted chicken and banana bread filled the air. Cassie’s stomach rumbled eagerly in response. But she was far more ravenous to see him then she was for food. Moving swiftly through the kitchen, she eagerly followed the drifting voices coming from the dining room.

Stepping through the threshold, she blinked in surprise to find her grandmother and Devon sitting at the oak table. A plate of banana bread and a deck of cards sat between them. Her grandmother glanced up, a bright smile lit her pretty face as her eyes gleamed with amusement.

“Cassandra, you’re home!” The vast relief in her voice caused Cassie a twinge of guilt. “Your friend stopped by.”