Inferno

by Erica Stevens

“You’re more human than not.”

  “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Cassie jumped slightly, turning in surprise as Devon emerged from the darkness. He strode purposely forward, the shadows hugging his powerful frame. Her mouth went dry, her heart thumped loudly at the sight of him. He was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen, and he was hers. She glanced swiftly away, her eyes focusing on the floor as she tried to get her body under control. Julian may understand where she belonged, but she didn’t want to rub her relationship with Devon in his face.

  Devon’s arms encircled her, wrapping around her waist as he pulled her against his chest. He stared hard at Julian for a moment before bending to drop a gentle kiss on top of her head. Apparently he didn’t care what Julian thought, or how it affected him. “You should be asleep.”

  “I slept all day,” she reminded him.

  “Hmm.” He nuzzled her gently for a moment before pulling slightly away. “Has there been anything out there?”

  “Not in a long time,” Julian answered.

  Devon turned toward him, his hands tightened on Cassie’s waist for a moment. She could feel the tension humming through him as he watched Julian. Devon was still uncertain what to make of him, uncertain how to handle this change in events, or if he should trust him. Cassie wanted to tell him once again that he could trust Julian now, but Devon had to come about this in his own way, on his own terms. They had once been good friends; she hoped that they could get that friendship back.

  Minus the murder, destruction, and women that had once bonded them, of course.

  Cassie shifted slightly acutely aware of the fact that she was now surrounded by two of the most powerful men on the planet. Men that could destroy each other if she wasn’t careful. Sensing her distress, Devon pressed tighter against her, gently rubbing her back as he tried to soothe her.

  “You can get some sleep if you want,” he said to Julian.

  Julian shook his head, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “I’m good.”

  Cassie turned back to the window, pulling the curtain aside. Devon leaned over top of her, his chin resting on her head. “How long are we going to stay here for?” she asked quietly.

  “We’ll gather things tomorrow, leave tomorrow night,” Devon answered.

  Cassie shifted uncomfortably, hating the idea of being cooped up in here for that long. “Why so long?”

  “Everyone needs a rest, including you.” She chose to ignore the censure in his words, and Julian’s soft chuckle. She wanted them to be friends she didn’t want them gaining up on her though. “Plus, we need to formulate a plan, and exhausted overwhelmed people do not think well.”

  “The same with vampires,” she retorted.

  She felt his smile as he rested his cheek against her hair. “Yes, and vampires.”

  Cassie leaned into him, savoring in his strength. She was never going to leave his side again, it didn’t matter if he thought it would be best for her, she would not do it. “You can’t send me away again,” she said softly. “Even if it is for my own good.”

  He body tensed against hers. “I won’t,” he promised.

  “Ever.”

  “Ever.”

  She turned slightly toward him, searching his intense emerald eyes. She saw the sincerity in his gaze, read the determination in the hard lines of his face. “Good.”

  He smiled wanly at her, kissing the tip of her nose. Cassie grinned back at him, wishing that she could kiss him for much longer than that, but knowing that she couldn’t. Her gaze darted to Julian, a momentary wave of guilt crashed over her. Whenever she was around Devon, she forgot all sense of reason, and everything around her. Including Julian. And although his face remained impassive, she could sense the strain in his body. The last thing in the world she wanted was to hurt him further.

  She turned slowly back to the window, guilt eating at her. Devon rubbed her back gently as he leaned around her to pull the curtain back further. “Where are they all?” he murmured.

  “Somewhere up to no good,” Julian answered.

  They continued to watch the road, the moon moving over the horizon as an hour slipped past. Cassie’s feet began to ache; her back grew sore from standing for so long. She leaned harder against Devon, needing to ease some of the pressure on her already wounded feet. “Want me to get you a chair?”

  She shook her head, not wanting to move out of his arms for even a moment. She was opening her mouth to speak when Devon stiffened against her, just as Julian’s head whipped to the right. Cassie tensed in anticipation, leaning forward to pull the curtain back further. Devon seized hold of her hand, stopping it in mid air.

  “Don’t move,” he hissed.

  Cassie froze, her heart thumped loudly, her breath froze in her lungs. Julian and Devon were as still as stone, their eyes focused outside. Cassie was afraid to speak, but she was dying to know what was going on. Devon released the curtain slowly, pulling it back into place with barely any movement. He pulled her back a step, his arms tightening around her.

  Then she heard it. The breath exploded from her as her heart leapt wildly in her chest. All three of their heads tilted back as a scurrying noise rattled across the roof, coming from the back to the front. It paused halfway across the roof. She waited tensely, adrenaline coursing through her as she waited to see what the thing was up to, what it was going to do.

  A loud crash echoed from above, it reverberated through the room. Cassie jumped in shock, Liam jolted awake his eyes were wide as he searched the darkness wildly. The lantern she had set on the shelf vibrated toward the edge, tilting precariously. Julian moved silently and swiftly, catching hold of it before it clattered to the floor.

  Cassie stared at him in wide eyed amazement as he settled it on the floor. Another crash reverberated through the building, causing Cassie’s breath to hitch in her chest. The windows shook loudly. Devon’s arm tightened upon her, pulling her back another small step as the scurrying resumed toward the front of the building.

  He glanced sharply at Julian, nodding toward the back. Julian moved as silently as a wraith toward the back of the store. Liam took a step toward them, his hands fisting as his gaze remained focused on the roof. Another loud bang echoed from the back of the store.

  Cassie jumped as Devon pulled her back another step. “Move slowly,” Devon whispered in her ear, his voice just barely audible, even to her.

  The three of them crept toward the back as something scurried loudly over the roof again. A series of loud grunts and shouts echoed forth. Though they had once been human, Cassie could not help but see the creatures as anything more than apelike monsters now. She hated herself for it, but she knew that she was going to have to keep that attitude if she was going to be of any use against them.

  They finally reached the back room. Liam hurried to Annabelle’s side, wrapping her in his arms. Everyone was awake and on their feet, staring up at the ceiling as another thumping crash shook the building. “Do they know we’re here Chris?” Cassie asked softly.

  He shook his head, his eyes dark and troubled, his face pinched in concentration. “There’s no reason to them,” he whispered. “There’s nothing but confusion and hunger and destruction. I cannot tell what they do and do not know, or what they want, other than blood.”

  A shiver worked through her at his words, her mouth parted slightly as she glanced wildly around the room. She wanted to bolt out of there, yet she remained frozen, her legs unwilling to move. Julian emerged from the shadows, four crossbows tucked under his arm. Cassie reluctantly pulled away from Devon as he handed each of them one and tossed the other to Liam.

  “Do not hesitate,” Julian hissed to her.

  She frowned fiercely back at him. “I won’t.” He raised an eyebrow questioningly at her, his eyes pointed and harsh. Cassie swallowed heavily. “I won’t.”

  He nodded briskly before turning away, moving to stand by the doorway to the main room. Devon squeezed her arm gently before taking a stance opposite Jul
ian. Another loud thud rattled the building. Cassie glanced sharply up as one of the things began to jump up and down on the roof, its loud squeals echoed throughout the building. Cassie winced against the harsh sound, wishing she could cover her ears against the strange animalistic noises, but the crossbow stopped her from doing so.

  Another loud thump rattled the windows. There were four of them on the roof now, with no way of knowing how many more might come. Straightening her shoulders, Cassie held the crossbow tightly with both hands as she moved toward the back windows. She heard Devon’s soft hiss of displeasure, but she did not stop.

  Pausing at one of the windows, she slowly pulled back the curtain. The night beyond was dark, but it took only moments for her eyes to adjust. She could see nothing in the back yard, nothing moved amongst the mangled corpses of animals. A shadow suddenly jumped from overhead and another bang echoed throughout. Though it had startled her, Cassie did not move, did not even flinch. To do so very well might have meant the death of all of them.

  Ever so slowly she dropped the curtain and backed away from the window. She crept to the middle of the room. “They’re coming from the roof of the bank,” she whispered, pointing toward the building next to theirs.

  Devon and Julian turned toward the bank, staring at the wall as if they could magically see through it. They stood silently for a long time, tense in anticipation as they waited to see what would happen. The noises and thumps continued, the grunts and squeals grew louder and more frantic before dying down. Two more thumps hit the roof, causing everyone to flinch in anticipatory response.

  After about an hour the shouts died down, and the noises drifted away. Cassie slowly began to relax, her shoulders eased but the muscles in them remained stiff and aching. She unfolded her hands from their tight grip on the crossbow, stretching them out in an attempt to get the cramps out of them.

  She gave Chris a grateful smile as he took the bow from her. Devon propped his crossbow against the wall, his attention still focused upon the ceiling. “Where did they go?” Melissa asked softly.

  “They’re hunting,” Julian answered, propping his crossbow on his shoulder. “And the food supply is getting scarce, so they’re going back through the areas where they have found food before.”

  “Why didn’t they come in here?” Cassie asked quietly.

  “Because they’ve never come in here; the place is in too good of shape for that to have happened. Next time they come back, they’ll come in. They’ll start to tear this town apart before they spread out of it,” Devon answered.

  Cassie inhaled sharply, Chris slid his hand into hers, squeezing it tightly. Relief washed through her as she clung to him, Chris had been distant ever since they had found her. But now, for the first time, she actually felt as if she had her friend back. He smiled wanly down at her, his hand briefly tightened around hers as he turned back to Julian and Devon. Julian was watching them intently, an odd express on his face.

  He turned slowly toward Devon, his shoulders tight as if he were prepared for battle. But if he was expecting one from Devon, he would not get it. Not when it came to Chris anyway, Devon understood and accepted their tight bond. In fact, he had become exceptionally close to Chris before Cassie had been taken, she didn’t know what their friendship was like now, but she suspected that it had not changed much. Julian looked confused, dazed as his attention focused on her again. She offered him a wan smile, wishing that she could give him more, but knowing that this was all stuff he would have to figure out on his own.

  “Why haven’t they spread out yet, if their food supply is low?” Chris inquired.

  “Because, no matter what they are now, this town is still their home. They may not remember what they had here, or maybe they do, but this place is still safe to them, reassuring on some level,” Devon answered.

  Cassie swallowed heavily; pity for the creatures swarmed her. She fought it rapidly back, she couldn’t have pity here. They would attack her, and if she hesitated because she sympathized with them, they would kill her. No there could be no pity here, there could be no thought about what the creatures had once been. Because they were no longer those people.

  “We can’t let them out of this town,” Luther said fiercely.

  “No, we can’t.”

  “We need to get out of here,” Melissa whispered.

  “And go where? We can’t leave this town until all of those things are dead. If they get out of this town all hell is going to break lose, they’ll destroy anything they come in contact with. We need to formulate a plan, we need to draw them out, and we need more weapons,” Devon told her.

  “We also need to fortify this place,” Julian said. “Get some boards on these windows. I don’t think those things have enough reason left in them to realize that the windows will be boarded up when they come back. And we need weapons, and blood.” He looked pointedly at Devon before glancing sharply at Cassie. “Unless you want to keep draining her.”

  Devon’s eyes narrowed, his hands fisted, a muscle jumped in his cheek as he grit his teeth tightly together. “Watch it,” he growled.

  Julian’s face remained impassive, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the doorway. “Ok, so we need to figure out how to get those things,” Cassie said quickly, hating the tension between them.

  “Yeah, because that’s an easy list,” Chris retorted.

  “Not helping,” she hissed at him.

  He shot her a rueful look as he shrugged his shoulders. His shaggy blond hair fell into one of his bright sapphire eyes. “I know where we can find weapons and blood,” Dani said softly, her voice oddly choked.

  Cassie turned toward her. She was standing off to the side, a haunted look in her eyes as she stared at them. “Where?” Luther demanded.

  Dani licked her lips as she nervously began to ring her hands again. “In the compound. There is plenty of blood, and a room full of weapons. ”

  Cassie inhaled sharply, feeling as if she had just been kicked in the gut. There was a moment of stunned silence before Julian cursed loudly, spun on his heel, and disappeared into the dark store. Cassie stared after him, knowing exactly how he felt. She knew all he wanted to do was destroy something, but unfortunately, they couldn’t make any noise with those things around. The last thing that either one of them wanted was to go back into that hell hole.

  But it seemed they weren’t going to have a choice in the matter. Chris squeezed her hand gently, holding tight to her as her skin began to crawl.

  CHAPTER 6

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  Cassie glanced up at Chris, shaking her head slightly as she stared at the ominous school. Her stomach cramped tightly at the mere thought of entering it. Shifting, she tossed the crossbow higher up on her shoulder, clinging to the strap. “I’m not letting you guys go in there alone,” she whispered.

  “We’re not alone.”

  She glanced over at Devon and Julian; their heads were bent close together as they talked softly. At least they were being cooperative, and getting along with each other about going in there. Devon had done everything short of tying her up to keep her from coming with them, but she was here, and she had no intention of leaving. Dani stood slightly off to the side, her arms wrapped around her to ward off the chill. Though this had been Dani’s idea, she had not wanted to go back into the school. However, she was the only one that knew where the weapons and blood were, the only one that knew her way around the compound.

  “Cassie,” Chris said softly.

  She glanced sharply up at him, shaking her head firmly. “It’s too late anyway, I’m already here and I’m not going back alone.”

  “One of us can take you back.”

  “No, I’m going in there with you.”

  He sighed loudly, shaking his head at her. “Fine.”

  Devon and Julian stopped conferring; their attention came back to the rest of them. “Ok, Julian is going to take the lead with Dani behind him, then Chris, Cassie, and me.” />
  Devon’s eyes were hard as they met hers. She nodded slowly, hating the tension and anger in him, hating the fact that she knew it was because of her, but she couldn’t let them do this alone. She was one of the strongest fighters, they may need her in there, and if something happened to any of them she would never forgive herself if she hadn’t been there to help.

  “Come on,” Julian said coldly, his eyes bright in the light of the moon as he glanced disapprovingly at her. He hadn’t wanted her here either, but in the end it hadn’t been his decision to make.

  Cassie bit nervously on her bottom lip, trying to calm her fear and panic at the thought of going back in there. At the thought of being trapped within the bowels of that hell once more. Devon came slowly toward her, his jaw clenched tight as he held her back for a moment. “You are to stay close to me,” he ordered gruffly.

  Cassie nodded, wrapping her hand gently around his. “I will,” she promised.

  He studied her for a moment, and then shook his head. “You should have stayed with the others.”

  She squeezed his hand. It had been decided that it was better if they separated. If something happened to them down there, Liam, Annabelle, Luther, and Melissa would be needed to make sure that the monsters did not spread out of this town. They would be needed to try and stop the flow of evil slowly seeping out from this school, and this town.

  “I’ll be fine, but I couldn’t stay with them Devon, and you know that.”

  He nodded briskly, his hand gently caressing hers before he released her. Cassie fell into line behind Chris. She struggled to keep herself calm and steady as they moved toward the school, she knew that Devon would have no problem with taking her back if he felt that she was too distressed to go on. Julian held the other crossbow tightly, his hair a bright beacon in the light of the moon that spilled across them. The moon’s beam ran over the snow in a bright path that led straight to the double doors of the school. Though it should have looked pretty, and inspiring, it was gloomy and threatening to her.