Inferno

by Erica Stevens

  She punched another hard in the cheek as it reached for her. He fell back from the force of the blow, but the one with the crossbow in its chest continued to claw and swipe at her. They may have had the sense to plan this silent ambush, but when it came to fighting, the bloodlust took complete control of them. They had no reason, no sense, as the desire to murder and destroy overtook them. Cassie slammed the crossbow harder, shoving the thing further back as the other one launched at her again.

  A pain filled cry rent the air. Terror filled Cassie, but she could not take her eyes off of the creatures attacking her in order to see how Melissa was doing, or how badly she had been hurt. Chris shouted, and then another monster went flying by Cassie, its hands clenching at the knife buried deep in its chest.

  Continuing to use the crossbow as a shield, she focused her attention on the other one that kept coming back at her. Its reddened eyes were narrowed with fury as it clawed and flailed in unnerving silence. Trying not to let her panic and terror overcome her, she swung another punch at it.

  The thing ducked at the same time that it grabbed hold of her fist. A strangled cry escaped her, but she could not tug her hand free of its grasp. Her hand tightened on the crossbow as she continued to fend the other one off while trying to tug her hand free. The creature’s eyes spit red fury as it tugged her closer; its grip on her hand was painful.

  “Why do you get to be normal still?”

  Cassie froze, her eyes widened as horror filled her. She gaped at the thing, frozen in startled surprise by the fact that it spoke. That it could speak! She had not associated speech with these half crazed, wild things. She would have thought it was impossible, but it was speaking to her, and it was making sense, even if its voice was the most horrid thing she had ever heard. It was low and grating as it slithered out of him like a snake crawling out of a hole. The sound of it sent chills down her spine, it made her blood run cold as terror pounded across her.

  It could speak, and its thought processes were far more advanced than she had thought! Shaken, confused, disoriented Cassie could not move. And its question, its question! Why did she get to be normal? How did this creature know what had been done to her? How did it have enough reason to understand any of this?

  The world seemed to slow, Cassie’s eyes narrowed as she studied it. The features of it were a mangled blur of human and monster. Its red eyes were filled with hate and hunger. But there was something oddly familiar about it.

  Then, she remembered. She had been locked in her cell still, before Dani had rescued her. One of the creatures had peered into the window, tried to get into her cell, hoping to kill her, wanting to destroy her. It (no not it, this thing before her), had been chased off by Dani’s power.

  But now it had returned. It knew that she had been in that laboratory too, knew that she had emerged, not unscathed, but certainly not the same thing that these monsters had become. It knew that she had emerged much better off than they had, and it hated her for it.

  “Why!?” it snarled.

  Cassie had no answer for it, she could not think of one. It was not fair that she had come out almost normal after what had been done to all of them, but that was not her fault. She had not done this to them, she had not done this to herself. It should not blame her, but it did.

  Cassie opened her mouth, but before she could respond it ripped her forward. Having been shocked into immobility, Cassie was thrown off balance by the sharp tug. She staggered, trying to keep hold of her crossbow at the same time that she tried to regain her footing. A hand entangled in her hair, causing a sharp cry of pain to escape her as her head was ripped roughly back.

  She swung her fist up, hoping to connect with something, anything but coming up with nothing but air. Panic rose up to drown out her stunned surprise. She was surrounded, and at the moment they had the upper hand. Using the crossbow, she slammed it hard into the chest of the one she had been fending off, knocking him back a good five feet. Using the brief reprieve, she turned toward the one with its fingers entangled in her hair.

  Before she could do anything, it jerked her hair back and struck with the unnerving speed of a cobra. Her terror, confusion, and disbelief were swiftly buried by the pain that rushed up to swamp her. A scream rose in her throat, but it strangled there, unable to break through the agony that seared through her veins.

  Devon had said that it was painful to have blood drained against your will, but this was far worse than anything she ever could have imagined. Her muscles froze; her lungs stopped working, her veins burned as the blood was unwillingly, and greedily, sucked from it. Her skin fired with pins and needles that poked her more rapidly than any tattoo gun. She felt as if a million fire ants were crawling over her, nibbling at her, tearing at her flesh as they ripped it away from her.

  She wanted to scream, but she could not get the air into her lungs to do so. She wanted to cry, but her eyes were also on fire and they burned away the tears that formed in them. She wanted to fight back, to move, but her limbs had locked into place, her muscles were as unbendable as rocks. She wanted to do many things, but all she could do was stand in shattering agony as she listened to the disgusting, slurping sounds of her blood being ripped from her.

  The one she had shoved back came at her again. Her arm had frozen with the cross bow up, her fingers clenched tight around the trigger. It knocked the crossbow aside, snapping her arm back, but she still did not release the crossbow. Even when it snatched hold of her arm and sank its teeth deep.

  A groan finally escaped her, or at least she thought it did, but she couldn’t tell beyond the explosion of pain that seemed to shatter her skull. Red and white lights blazed before her eyes, she wanted to fall, wanted to curl up and die, wanted to do anything that would get her away from this.

  She barely heard the small cry before she felt the small rumble in the earth, the power being sucked from it. She dimly realized that Dani had arrived, that she was drawing energy from the ground, getting ready to release it. Cassie felt a small amount of relief, it would be ok now. But before Dani could release her power on a blast that would have rocked the earth, shook the walls, and rattled the glass within the windows, one of the creatures pounced upon her. Dani fell back with a startled cry as the wave of her power was abruptly cut off.

  Cassie’s vision blurred, darkness pulled at her, trying to draw her under, trying to pull her away from the pain that held her within its iron tight grasp. Horror filled Cassie, she tried to gather enough of her wits past the pain in order to try and regain some kind of control of herself. But she could not push the pain away enough to do so. Terror filled her as she realized the darkness was going to win, and she knew it was a darkness she would never wake from.

  CHAPTER 13

  Devon’s head snapped up as he felt the strange pulsing electricity within the earth. He knew what that pulse was; knew what the familiar rumble in the earth meant. He braced himself for the jolt that inevitably followed it, braced himself so as not to get knocked on his ass. But the earth did not rock, the jolt did not come.

  Confusion filled him; he stood for a moment, his attention fixated on the store as the electricity swiftly receded from the air. Julian was kneeling beside him, his brow furrowed as he stared at the store in confusion. He rose slowly from the wreckage of the creature before him. Liam stepped forward, stopping beside Devon as he searched the silent storefront.

  There was no sound, no movement that he could see within the interior, but something was wrong. He knew it. He had become so focused on the kill, the thrill of the hunt, the murder and blood. So focused on the release of his anger and frustration, and his desire to feed and appease the demon inside of him, that he had shut himself off to Cassie, shut his mind away from hers. He knew that they had grown so close that there were times that she knew him better than he knew himself. He didn’t want her to even have an inkling of the joy, and pleasure, that he had taken from the death of the things scattered about him.

  “Something’s wrong,” Ju
lian said softly, tilting his head as he studied the silent store.

  Devon strained to hear anything, but the night remained completely silent, still. Devon’s eyes narrowed as he opened his mind to the night, searching for Cassie’s mind. He came up against a wall of blackness, a dark cloud that left him startled and confused. The wall was thick, heavy. It encompassed her entire mind.

  Panic filled him, his hands fisted as he struggled through the wall, pushing at the edges as he tried to make his way through the thick haze. Then her mind gave way. Pain exploded through him, searing into his skull as it slammed wildly against him. The pain was numbing, freezing, completely encompassing as it wrapped through him, over him, into him.

  Devon retreated swiftly, before he was sucked into her agony. Retreated before he was trapped within her pain, and unable to escape from the iron tight hold it had over her. He blinked, trying to bring the street into focus as he fought against the lingering remnants of her pain clinging to him. The street snapped back. He cursed loudly, terror pouring through him as he bolted forward, he moved with more speed than he had ever thought possible.

  Leaping forward, he turned sideways as he threw himself at one of the boarded windows. Glass shattered inward, the board caved easily against the force of his weight. He plunged into the store. Falling to the floor, he rolled swiftly before leaping back to his feet. Fury exploded through him, encompassing him as his attention was immediately drawn to the two creatures beside Cassie.

  At his entrance they had both stopped feeding from her, but her blood still stained their mouths, and the smell of it hung heavy in the air. A fierce snarl of rage ripped from him. Her blood, blood that was only supposed to be tasted by him, had been ripped from her, causing the agony that he had sensed radiating from her.

  One of the creatures released her, causing her to stagger slightly forward as it abruptly dropped her arm and spun toward him. Devon stormed forward, a bellow ripping from him as the other one continued to hold her, pulling her along with him as it tried to escape. Cassie tripped, her legs collapsing beneath her as weakness suffused her.

  He grabbed hold of the other one that had been feeding from her. His hand encompassed the things face as he slammed it backwards, pounding its skull off the wall until he heard the reassuring sound of it caving in. Devon tossed him easily aside as another window shattered inward. Julian landed inside the store, Liam close on his heels.

  Devon paid them no attention as he stormed after the one still trying to drag Cassie with it. He was going to tear the creature limb from limb when he got a hold of it. The creatures red eyes widened before narrowing fiercely upon him. It hauled Cassie against its chest, pulling her up by her arm when her legs proved too weak to support her weight.

  A small moan escaped her; Devon could sense the weakness in her, the life just barely thrumming through her veins. Terror and fury motivated him as he leapt forward. The creature’s eyes widened in horror, it tried to keep hold of her as Devon slammed into it, shoving his arm up under its throat. The creature squealed loudly, its red eyes flared as it realized that it was about to be destroyed.

  A moan of pain escaped Cassie; she tugged on her arm as the thing continued to cling to her. Devon seized hold of its arm, squeezing down until he heard, and felt the bone snap within his grasp. The creature squealed in pain, it didn’t immediately release Cassie though. Instead it clung to her, spilling her blood as its fingers grasped wildly at her arm. Wrath pounded through Devon, his vision blurred as a fiery haze of red exploded in front of him. He had never been so infuriated, never been this far out of control.

  Dropping his arm down, he seized hold of the creature’s throat. Its eyes bulged, a wild cry escaped it as his fingers clenched down, digging into the things throat. With one violent tug, he ripped its throat out. Wild sounds of terror escaped the torn hole of its throat, but Devon ignored it as he shoved the creature aside.

  Cassie staggered, nearly falling as its grip on her was finally lost. Devon scooped her easily up, holding her tight against his chest as he turned back to the store. Her hand curled into his shirt, clinging to him as she struggled to lift her head. Panic thrummed through him as he met her dazed, unfocused eyes. He could feel the lingering remnants of pain that clung to her. Her fingers twitched in his shirt, her mouth was pinched tight, and her jaw was clenched.

  “Devon,” her voice was a bare whisper.

  His eyes flew wildly around the destroyed store. Bodies were scattered about the floor, blood was splayed around the room, wood and glass littered the ground. The creatures that had not been killed outright had fled the room the minute they had arrived. Liam was helping Annabelle back to her feet, her shirt had been torn, and a deep cut marred her delicate face. Though it was deep, it would heal quickly, and would not leave a scar. Luther’s glasses hung askew on his face, his hair was standing straight up as he rose slowly to his feet. He was holding his arm, blood dripped down it, plopping off his fingers onto the floor.

  Chris was leaning against the wall, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He appeared uninjured. Melissa however, was unmoving. She was slumped against the wall, her breathing shallow, and her skin unnaturally pale. Blood had pooled beneath her, it poured down her side from the jagged wound that had sliced her. Julian knelt before her, turning her head as he checked for a pulse.

  “Annabelle get over here,” he said crisply.

  “Hold on,” she mumbled, kneeling beside Dani who was also unmoving upon the floor. “Just knocked out.”

  She rose swiftly to her feet and hurried over to where Melissa lay. “Melissa?” Cassie whispered, straining against his hold on her. Fear widened her eyes as clarity began to clear the pain from them. She squirmed slightly, and then collapsed against him; weakness took hold of her body. Her eyes flew wildly to his. “Devon?”

  For a moment he couldn’t move as she stared questioningly up at him. The demon in him was in control right now, and it wanted her. It wanted her badly. It needed her blood, blood that was supposed to be only his, because she was his. Blood that had just been stolen from her, from him. His fingers trembled as he brushed her hair back. His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched at the sight of the jagged wounds that marred her perfect skin.

  “Devon?” she breathed, her eyes wildly searching his face. Her heart hammered, flipping wildly in her chest as she stared up at him, her mouth parted in surprise. He didn’t know what she saw on his face, but he did know that it was terrifying her. And the last thing he wanted to do was scare her, especially right now.

  “Cassie.” She trembled in his arms as he bent over her. He could smell the creature upon her; smell its fetid breath against her skin. He grit his teeth against the urge to bite deep in order to renew his mark upon her, in order to reclaim his stake upon what was his. Instead, he nuzzled her neck gently, relishing in the smell of her delicious scent. Ever so lightly, he licked the jagged wounds, savoring in the blood that lingered upon her skin as he closed the marks. He pulled slowly away from her, took hold of her hurt arm and also licked those wounds closed.

  He pulled slowly away from her, trembling as he fought to control himself. She was still weak, still beaten down from the blood that had been drawn forcefully, painfully, from her. Without thought, he turned away, sheltering her from the view of the others within the store. Though, none of them were paying him much attention as they knelt by Melissa’s side, trying to keep her alive.

  He bit deep into his wrist, not feeling the pain as his blood rushed forth. She stared questioningly up at him, her beautiful eyes wide and questioning as she watched him. Shifting her slightly, he held his wrist out to her, knowing that his blood was the only thing that would help her recuperate from her ordeal faster. She hesitated, her eyes latching onto the blood dripping from his wrist.

  She moved slowly, her small fingers wrapping around his wrist, drawing it closer to him. He moaned softly, ecstasy filling him as she brought his wrist to her mouth and bit down. His hand clenched upon her, hi
s body thrummed with the pleasure her drinking brought to him. If his heart still beat it would be pounding wildly now, if he could still breathe he would not be able to do so.

  Her eyes drifted slowly closed, she clung tighter to him as she bit deeper, taking more of his blood into her. Her joy suffused him, her weakness and need thrummed from her body into his. Devon bent closer to her, inhaling her scent as his blood flowed into her, slowly replacing the scent of the monsters that had fed from her.

  Cassie bit deeper, squirming closer to him, her fingers clenched upon him. Her need for him radiated outward, he could feel her desperate desire for more, her fervent want to be with him, to join him, to be everything that he needed her to be. But over it all he sensed her terror over the fact that she might never be able to join him; that they may never be able to be together forever. She drank deeper, pulling his blood into her in large gulps as she tried to take as much of him as she could into her. He was overwhelmed with her need for more, overwhelmed with her longing to join him, and end both of their suffering. Overwhelmed by her fierce love and desire for eternity with him.

  “Devon, Devon.” He turned further away, sheltering Cassie from Julian as he came at them. “Devon stop.”

  A low growl escaped him as Julian’s hand seized hold of his shoulder, trying to pull him back. He huddled closer to Cassie as she clung tighter to his wrist; she was as unwilling to part as he was. Julian’s hand tightened on him as he jerked Devon back. “Stop this. Devon you could destroy her!” he hissed, his voice low yet frantic with urgency. “Stop this!”

  Devon shuddered, he wanted to ignore Julian’s words, wanted to thrust Julian away, wanted to kill him for the interruption, but he couldn’t. There was only one thing that he wanted more than for Cassie to join him, and that was for her to be safe. If he continued this, she could end up being neither one of those things. She had sustained enough blood loss to make the consumption of too much of his blood dangerous to her.