Chris turned toward him. "There's nothing," he said softly.
"Excuse me?"
"There's nothing. I feel nothing from there."
Devon stopped moving as his gaze turned back to the building. "What does that mean?" Melissa demanded as she stalked toward them.
"I don't know," Devon answered as he walked toward the door.
"What are you going to do?" Julian demanded as hurried to catch up with him.
"I'm going inside."
"You're not invited," Julian reminded him.
Devon cursed ferociously as he swung back toward Chris and Melissa. "Get up there!"
They scurried forth and leapt up the front steps in graceful bounds. Chris was the first to get to the screen door and throw it open. He rang the doorbell but when no one came he pounded on the hardwood door. "Go in," Devon growled.
Melissa and Chris exchanged a guarded glance, Chris grabbed the knob but it wouldn't turn. He shoved his shoulder into the heavy wooden door as he beat loudly against it. "Son of a bitch!" Chris yelled as he threw himself forcefully into the door again.
"Chris!" Melissa grabbed hold of his shoulder as he prepared to launch himself at it again. "Chris stop!"
Julian roughly elbowed Chris aside as he threw himself forward. The door shuddered beneath the force of his impact, but remained solid and in one piece. Devon spun on his heel and raced toward the back of the building. He bolted up the back steps and wasn't at all surprised to find that door locked also. He didn't bother to try and break it down; he knew he wouldn't succeed. Whatever the door was made out of, it was solid enough to withstand him and Julian. He suspected the wood was a façade and that the door was actually solid steel.
Of course it would be, as he realized now that they had been wrong about The Commission not being involved here, and they had Cassie again. Julian skidded around the corner of the building with Chris and Melissa close behind. Devon leapt over the railing of the porch and bolted across the yard to a massive garden statue. He easily swung the two hundred pound stone angel up and heaved it onto his shoulder as he ran back to the building.
He launched it at a window next to the door. It hit the pane, but instead of going through the glass, it merely caused a small crack. "What the..."
Chris's voice trailed off as they all stared at the window. Devon's muscles and the veins in his arms stood out as he lifted the statue and heaved it at the window again. If it could crack, it would eventually break. He just wasn't sure it would be in time.
***
Cassie frantically searched for Luther and Sister Anne, or whoever she was. "Luther! Luther!"
There was no response, no sound. She glanced toward the front door, but no matter how preoccupied she'd been with the young boy, she would have heard it open and close. That only left the stairs. She turned and dashed up the stairs two or three at a time. She reached the second floor hall and began to frantically thrust doors open as she moved but she found no one. She turned the corner in the hall and came across another set of stairs. These ones wound their way up and disappeared in a curve that blocked the view of the third floor.
She didn't hesitate, didn't pause as she used the railing to propel her up the stairs. "Luther!" she was practically screeching now as she stumbled/flung herself into the third floor hall. It was as dark and empty as the second story one.
She threw doors open with enough force to shatter the plaster in the walls behind them. She couldn't think straight as she spun around in the hall. Where had that bitch taken him!? Her canines lengthened as her lips curled back in a snarl. She wasn't ashamed by the bloodlust that thrummed to life within her; instead she welcomed the power it gave her.
Cassie bolted back down the stairs, thankful for the agility that being a Hunter had given her, and the immortality that being a vampire had afforded her. Otherwise she definitely would have tumbled down the stairs and broken her neck.
She slammed off the wall in the second floor hallway and bounced off of it as she fled forward. It had been far too long since she'd last seen Luther. She took the next flight of steps in two large, silent bounds. She slid to a halt feet before the front door. She was about to shout Luther's name again when she snapped her mouth shut. She'd been bellowing throughout the house alerting Anne, and anyone else here, to where she was at all times. Silence was the best way to go now.
She stalked down the hallway, her footsteps hushed due to her nimble step and the thick rug beneath her sneakers. The children were now perched upon the couch in the living room; their hands were folded demurely in their laps. Cassie didn't find them cute and pitiful anymore, now they creeped her out. She'd seen Children of the Corn, and though they weren't all blue eyed and blond, the serene expressions on their faces and their immobile postures were unnerving.
She turned the corner, leaving the living room behind as she steadily crept forward. From somewhere in the back of the house she could hear something banging. She had no idea what it could be, but it added an ominous note to the already sinister home. She contemplated going for the others but she could practically hear the seconds of the clock ticking away Luther's life in her head. Besides, she still wouldn't be able to get Julian and Devon into the house, and she would only be placing Chris and Melissa in danger.
She wasn't surprised to find the playroom abandoned as she passed it. She was almost back to the kitchen when she saw a door she'd missed before. It was tucked beneath the stairs, barely visible except for the thin glow of illumination that shone from beneath the door crack. Light she was certain hadn't been there before. Tiptoeing to the door, she turned the knob slowly to ensure that it didn't make a sound.
She poked her head into the doorway, her forehead furrowed as she took in the spiral stairs before her. She couldn't see the bottom of the stairs or the floor of the basement. Beneath the pungent scent of mildew and disuse she caught the scent of the mice and rats that inhabited the building. She imagined this is what the little explored areas of the subway system smelled like.
But the worst was the lingering scent of putrefaction that permeated the air.
***
Julian had found a concrete block and was hammering at the window in between times that Devon crashed it with the statue. But what had started as a small crack wasn't getting much bigger. In fact, it was only a jagged line running across the glass now. It had to give at some point but he wasn't sure that it was going to be in time.
"What is this made of?" Chris panted.
"Bullet proof," Melissa muttered. "Or something close to it."
Devon felt as if there was a feral animal clawing at his chest as he bashed the statue into the window again. They'd been inside for far too long now, any number of things could have happened since they'd disappeared. If it wasn't for the fact that he could still feel Cassie, and knew that she was alive, he would have completely lost it by now.
"Useless, this is useless." Julian's frustration and exasperation were palpable as he heaved the block at the window. He didn't go to retrieve it but instead turned away as his gaze rapidly scanned the building. "Do you think the upper windows are the same?"
Devon's arm halted in mid throw as he studied the windows. "Only one way to find out."
Repositioning his arm, he aimed the statue at the window and let it fly. It slammed into the glass and bounced back off of it. Devon caught it before it hit the ground; a brutal bellow tore from him as he whipped it at the glass with all of his might. "Son of a bitch!" he roared as the statue rebounded before them.
Devon spun away from the window, determined to find some way into the house. "Devon! Devon wait!"
He almost ignored Melissa's frantic cry, but there was something in her voice that halted his movement. He turned back to her but none of them were looking at him. Their gazes were focused upon the back door, a door that was now open.
Devon took a step closer as a small boy appeared in the doorway. His golden curls and chocolate eyes were enhanced by the muted illumination filtering a
round him. Devon ran back to the porch and bounded up the stairs. He pushed through Julian, Melissa, and Chris to kneel before the cherubic child. The child met Devon's stare with an unwavering directness that was a little unnerving for someone so young.
"Can you let us in?" Devon's voice was harsher than he had intended but the clawing in his chest had spread into his throat.
The boy scanned him from head to toe. Devon's fingers flexed as he rested his arm on his knee and fought the urge to grab the child. It would be a useless attempt anyway as the child remained safely within the home. Those dark eyes focused on Chris and Melissa. "They can come in," he murmured before his gaze slid back to Devon. "But you can't."
Devon froze as he stared at the strange boy across from him. He appeared no more than four years old but his soul was far older. Chris and Melissa's heartbeats kicked up a notch as they pressed closer to Devon's back. "We'll come in," Chris agreed.
***
Chris hesitatingly stepped into the kitchen with Melissa close on his heels. Julian and Devon hovered in the doorway, their eyes a bright red and their hands fisted in futility at their sides. No wonder the boy hadn't let them in, though their eyes hadn't been that color until the boy said no. Chris was tempted to shut the door on the demons outside himself, but it was the strange boy that pushed it closed.
The boy's hands were folded before him as he turned toward them. Chris was beginning to realize that he'd rather deal with creepy killer clowns than this strange little creation. "Where are they?" Melissa inquired.
The boy didn't say a word as he pointed down the hall. Past the kitchen the world seemed to disappear, falling off the edge of the earth much like they had thought ships would thousands of years ago. "Stay here," he said to Melissa.
"Chris..."
"Stay here," he commanded. "Show me where they are. Where!?" Chris demanded harshly when the boy remained mute.
The boy tilted his chin up but his small mouth remained pursed. "Chris," Melissa warned.
He felt like an idiot for yelling at the child, but his frustration and trepidation was getting the better of him. He glanced toward the shadowed hall and quickly nodded toward Melissa before making his way forward.
He came across more children sitting upon a couch in the living room. They watched him, but didn't move and didn't speak. His skin started to feel like hundreds of tiny spiders were running up and down it and he hurried on. He turned the corner and glanced up the stairs, but that didn't feel right to him. He could sense Cassie and Luther somewhere within the home, but it wasn't up there, he was almost certain of that.
He turned the corner and slinked down another hall that led to the kitchen. Melissa remained by the door with the boy at her side. Two more children had joined them; they were a little older, but just as mute. He didn't miss the fact that they had positioned themselves in between Melissa and the door.
Chris's heart beat a staccato against the inside of his ribs as his hands began to shake. Where were they and what had they all walked into? "Chris?" Melissa whispered.
He held up a finger to her before turning back down the first hall. It was like being in a demented game of hot and cold as he strained to take in something that he may have missed.
That he had to have missed.
He focused all of his ability forward as he forced himself to open up even more to Cassie and Luther. He stopped as he spotted the door beneath the stairs. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he realized that this was it. This was where they were.
He pulled the door open and peered into the murky depths of the basement. Lifting his arm to his nose he struggled not to inhale through it. He glanced toward the kitchen but he couldn't see Melissa anymore. Chris checked his back pocket and was reassured by the weight of his stake and knife before he slipped down the wooden stairs.
***
Devon stalked around the building, looking for some weakness in its structure but finding none. His anxiety was spiking to epic levels as he spun and returned to the back door. Julian had his hands and ear pressed against the door. "Do you hear anything?" Devon demanded.
Julian frowned as he shook his head. "It's quiet, too quiet."
"There has to be a weakness."
Julian's red eyes turned toward him. "We can't get in anyway."
"If we can get the owner out I'll kill them."
"I don't think they're going to be stupid enough to step foot outside right now."
Devon bit back a shout of frustration, his hands clenched at his sides as he fought the urge to start ripping the outside of the house apart with his bare hands. He opened his body to the bond that linked him to Cassie as he sought out her mind. He was having a difficult time touching against her mind. He tried to search out Chris and Melissa's minds but came up against a solid wall of nothing.
A wall that was even more solid than the one surrounding the building. A growl escaped him, his fangs elongated as he leapt onto the porch beside Julian. "I can't touch her mind; I can't touch any of their minds."
Julian stepped back to survey the brick façade. "What is this place made of?"
"I'm guessing steel, perhaps iron, something solid and nearly impenetrable."
"Nearly?"
"I can still feel Cassie through our bond as mates."
"She's still alive then?"
"She's still alive, but I don't know for how long."
Julian rested his hands upon the door as he bowed his forehead to it. "Never should have let them go in there."
"You think I don't know that!" Devon barked.
Julian lifted his head to look at him. "I meant Chris and Melissa. We've just handed all of The Hunter's over to them."
"If we can get them to open the door again, I can take control of the child."
"I doubt he's the owner Devon," Julian retorted.
Devon sneered at him as he pressed his hands against the door. His fingers curled into the wood facade but it wasn't Julian he was infuriated with, it was himself and fighting with Julian right now wouldn't accomplish anything for either of them. "But he could bring me the owner or I could have the child kill the owner."
Julian's eyes gleamed. "No one would expect it. We'll just have to get them to open it up again."
CHAPTER 18
Cassie slipped as noiselessly as a wraith through the basement. She spotted a hot water heater and furnace, but there was nothing else within the shadowed interior. She found the back wall and ran her fingers across its cool surface as she desperately searched for Luther, for anything. Like a hound on the trail she followed the scent of death as she fought to bury the thirst that churned through her veins and caused her canines to tingle. She was going to find Luther, and she was going to destroy anyone that may have hurt him.
She paused at the end of the wall and twisted her head from side to side as she tried to pick up something. The increasing scent of death drew her toward the right. She prayed it wasn't Luther's death trail she was following, but there was a part of her that was growing increasingly convinced it was. She fought against the sorrow threatening to swell within her, now was not the time.
The wall didn't end as she'd expected but continued down a narrow hallway that ran beneath what she assumed was the ground. She was convinced there were tree roots dangling above her as she tilted her head back to study the gloom. Even with her enhanced eyesight though, she couldn't see the ceiling. The stench of death increased as she was drawn steadily onward.
The hallway ended in a wall, but she could feel the caress of barely flowing air against her skin. Cassie ran her fingers over the wall as she searched for something that would help get her past this. Her fingers picked up on a latch set above her head and to the left. She hesitated as memories of being trapped beneath the school, locked within a cell, and tortured for the pleasure of twisted men assailed her.
She didn't know what was beyond this wall, what secrets it held, or if she would be able to escape it again. She sensed that Luther was here though, that th
is is where they had taken him in order to lure her here. A trickle of sweat slid down her spine, her hand shook as she clung to the small switch.
She didn't know what was hidden behind this door, but no matter what she couldn't leave him there. Cassie pulled the switch down and stepped back as a small door swung open within the wall. Sickly radiance spilled around her feet, the stench of death caused her stomach to roll at the same time that exhilaration tore through her.
Her fangs sprang free as the coppery tang of blood wafted over her. She stepped through the door and grasped hold of it before it could slam shut on her. She hesitated in the doorway, there had to be a latch on this side that would open the door, but she didn't plan to waste time trying to locate it when they evacuated here.
She glanced around the dimly lit hall, but there was nothing within reach that could help her. Adjusting her stance she shivered as she slipped her jacket off. Balling it up, she propped it in the doorway and made sure that it was enough to keep the door from locking shut again. She moved cautiously down the hall but she had no doubt that they already knew she was here.
The hall reminded her of the setup beneath the school. The small rooms on the side of the hall held cots, but none of them seemed to be occupied right now. Another room held a contraption that resembled the room where she'd been repeatedly electrocuted. A shudder tore through her at the same time an impotent fury began to escalate toward higher and higher levels. This place was The Commission at work again, and if they had harmed Luther, or if they felt they were going to take her prisoner again, they had another thing coming.
She felt bad about what she'd done to the vampire, but here, now, she would not feel guilty. If she came across them in here, she wouldn't hesitate to rip out their throats. In fact, much to her disgust, she knew that she would take great pleasure in it. Cassie turned the corner and stopped as she came upon a large, glass window. The room behind the glass was hidden in shadows but Luther's scent was stronger here. She pressed her fingers against the glass as her enhanced eyesight began to pick up details of the interior.
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