Inferno

by Erica Stevens

  He turned back to his brother, bile and hate rising up in crushing waves. They had never gotten along in life; in death it had been even worse. He knew that Robert had come here specifically for Cassie, specifically to take her from him. But it was not Robert that Devon wanted, it was not Robert that he needed. And Robert knew that. As did the others.

  And then he saw them, shadows emerging slowly from the woods, but not all of them came forward. It did not matter though; they were close enough now that he could feel the edges of their minds. Close enough to seize them. He drew on Cassie’s blood, drew on his far vaster strength as an Elder. He shoved gently forward with his mind, being careful not to make waves that Adon could pick up on and alert the others to.

  Gently, slipping silently within their barriers, slithering as slowly and stealthily as a snake in the grass, he seized hold of two of their minds. Taking control, he twisted them to his will so smoothly that their facial expressions didn’t even flicker, their eyes never even moved. With gentle coercion, he instructed them to remain the same, to continue to act as they normally would.

  He did not need them now, but he would need them soon, and when the time came they would have no choice but to join his side and help him protect Cassie. He could take more of them if he wanted, but with just the one mind alone, he could bend the most powerful amongst The Elder’s to his will. He seized the other mind only as a precaution, but it was a precaution that he was not willing to let go of.

  With firm control over that one mind, Devon turned toward Zane, the man he had learned a lot from, the man who had been a mentor of sorts to Devon. A mentor from hell that was filled with nothing but hatred, vengeance, and bloodlust, and at one time Devon had savored in it all. Devon had spent a fair amount of time with Zane many years ago, but unlike Julian, they had never grown to like each other. They had never been friends. The two of them had simply respected and learned from each other, simply savored in the ability of the other to one up each other in savagery. Devon had not seen Zane in nearly four hundred years, but his capability for cruelty and torture was still very fresh in Devon’s mind.

  Anger and hatred blazed through Devon at the thought of what Zane would do to Cassie if he got his hands on her. He would make her time with Patrick beneath the school look like a vacation. Zane would torture her until there was nothing left of her, bleed her almost to death before bringing her back to do it over and over again. He would make sure that she stayed alive for years in order to continue doing so.

  Devon gazed upon Zane, the oldest Elder, and the one that ran the show. The one that mistakenly believed he still possessed more power than Devon. The one that had no way of knowing that Devon already controlled him like a puppet. A small, cruel smile curved Zane’s mouth as he turned his gaze ever slowly from Devon to Cassie.

  “Delicious,” Zane purred.

  Devon pushed her back a step, squeezing her tight between him and Julian. Between the two of them, Zane would never get at her. Hopefully.

  CHAPTER 15

  Cassie could barely breathe against the two bodies pressed tight to her. But then she thought she wouldn’t be able to breathe anyway through the shock, horror, and fear rolling through her. She was no dummy; she knew who these people were, knew what they represented. She knew what they had come here for, and what they would do to all of them. Devon and Julian may be Elders, and there may be two other vampires, four Hunter’s, (if they could untie Joey there would be five of them, but she didn’t think they would make it to him in time), and a Guardian present, but she knew that they would not be a match against eight Elders.

  They were no match against eight of the monsters that had killed her parents. Hatred and anger tore through her; she trembled with the ferocity of it. Ever since she had learned the truth of what she was, ever since she had learned that The Elder’s had organized a large group of vampires to destroy the Hunter line, she had desperately wanted revenge. And now was finally her chance for revenge, but there were so many of them and they were so powerful. At least they would be able to take a few of them out (of that she was certain, because she would be sure to do so), before they were completely overrun.

  “Delicious.”

  Cassie’s eyes narrowed on the one that had uttered the word with such reverence. Disgust rolled through her, but so did anger. She studied the man carefully. He radiated power, hunger, and maliciousness even more so than the others. He also sported a bit of a tan. She recalled Devon telling her that he had known one other vampire that could walk about in the sun; this was most definitely that man.

  His eyes were light ochre brown, so light in fact that they appeared almost golden in the moonlight, like honey. His dark blond hair was streaked with natural lighter blond highlights. The highlights had been caused by the light of the sun, a light that he never should have known again, that Devon never should have known again, but did. He looked like a Californian golden boy with his wavy hair falling over his forehead and his clean cut good looks.

  His dark nature was very evident, as his was his thirst for blood, and it was more than apparent that he was no golden boy. He was not as tall as the other men about him, but he bore an aura of power that made him appear even larger, even stronger. Even more formidable and intimidating.

  “Zane,” Devon murmured his beautiful eyes hooded and dark as he stared hard at the other man.

  Zane, somehow that name fit the man perfectly. It was wild and untamed, yet strong, deceiving, mischievous and dangerous. Everything she knew that he was. He appeared a little older than Devon, as if he had been turned in his mid to late twenties, maybe even early thirties instead. Not like it mattered when they had been turned, they were all over five hundred years old now, she realized with dismay.

  Devon’s gaze snapped toward the others as they all shifted amongst the shadows. They moved eerily together like one smooth, flowing unit. A unit that was acutely in tune with each other, as acutely in tune as a hive of bees or a flock of birds. They had been together for so long that they no longer needed to speak in order to communicate with each other, but simply picked up on the others motions and movements.

  They were completely freaky, and utterly frightening.

  Cassie wanted to press tighter to Devon as her skin began to crawl, but she would not reveal her fear to them. She would not give them the satisfaction of knowing that they had unnerved her. She glanced over the rest of the group. They were staring hungrily forth, their eyes as bright and eager as wolves. Cassie met their gazes, not backing down from their ravenous, nerve racking stares.

  “Devon.” Zane’s full mouth curved into a half smile, his long fangs flashed in the dim moonlight. Cassie briefly wondered where all the Halflings had disappeared to; they almost would have been handy to have around right now. She had a feeling they would go after this crew with a vengeance.

  A cool breeze drifted through the trees, the clicking of their skeletal branches was eerie in the oddly silent night. No one moved as each group sized the other up. “Sleeping with the enemy?” Zane inquired softly.

  Devon shifted again, his muscles rippled as he bristled with anger. “You know I won’t let you near her,” he growled.

  “Then we have a problem,” Zane said softly. “Their kind kills ours. Their kind was never meant to walk this earth; they are an abomination that should have been eliminated years ago. It is only fate and misfortune that spared a small percentage of them.” Zane’s head tilted to the side as he studied her like a bug, but with an air of confusion. “We cannot continue to allow these creatures to roam the earth.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened, her mouth parted slowly. Julian’s hand brushed against her waist, touching reassuringly upon her for a brief moment. “It doesn’t matter what you want Zane. It never has, not to me, not to us, in case you have forgotten. You never ruled over us.”

  Zane’s honey eyes narrowed slightly as anger flashed briefly through them. “You think you’re all grown up, but you’re forgetting that you’re playing with t
he big boys again now.”

  “You think that there aren’t enough of us to take you down Zane?”

  Zane’s gaze darted disdainfully over everyone. “No.”

  Cassie’s pride prickled, her shoulders straightened. She went to step out from around Devon, but Julian grabbed her shoulder, holding her firmly in place. “Stay,” he growled in a low voice.

  She turned to glare at him, but he would not meet her gaze as he remained focused upon the strangers still half hidden within the shadows of the forest. Devon subtly backed her up even tighter against Julian. “You know there is a good chance that I can take you, and we will take at least some of you with us. Are you willing to risk losing a few of your cronies?” Devon snarled.

  Zane’s mouth quirked in a small smile. “Temper temper Devon, you never learn. You still won’t listen to me, you just do what you want to do, and believe what you want to believe. You would think a half a millennium years might have tempered that tendency a little. It will get you killed one day.”

  Cassie bristled over his words. No one was going to take Devon from her. No one. “What do you want Zane?” Julian growled.

  “I may want them all dead, like they deserve to be, but we are not here to fight you. Not unless, or until, it becomes necessary.” Zane’s gaze came back to Cassie, his head tilted slightly to the side as he studied her carefully. “Without her, there is no you.”

  Devon’s hand snaked back, he seized hold of her arm so fast that she didn’t see him until he had already grasped her. A small gasp of surprise escaped as he pulled her firmly behind him, burying her against him. She blinked in startled surprise at his broad back, the only thing she could see now. Her nose was smashed against him, she could hardly breathe. “You’ll never touch her!” he snapped, his tone so fierce that the hairs on Cassie’s neck stood up at the same time that her blood turned to ice.

  A trembling took hold of her; terror began to creep through her. But she was not frightened for herself, or even for her friends right now, she was scared for Devon. Scared that he would snap and do something reckless and dangerous. Frightened that he would do something that she could not stop him for doing. “Devon,” she whispered, her fingers curling into his shirt as if that would stop him from doing something crazy, as if she could hold him back if he went after Zane.

  His only acknowledgement of her was a small tightening upon her arm. “Easy Devon,” another murmured from the shadows. “Though Zane is not making it clear, we are not here for that.”

  Cassie turned toward the man that had spoken, her eyes widened upon his overwhelming, burly figure. He was by far the largest man she had ever seen, even though he had to be over five hundred years old, and people were shorter back then. She could only imagine what people had thought about him back then as this man was massive! He was well over six and a half feet tall, with shoulders so broad that they blocked out the trees behind him. His legs were the size of full grown tree trunks, his arms nearly as big.

  His unruly brown hair curled around his broad, heavily bearded face. Though his hair was brown, his beard was a bright red. His eyes were some strange mixture of his hair and beard, a deep brownish red that shone in the light of the moon. In fact, those eyes looked almost kind, almost impish. Though she knew what he was, and what his presence here meant, she could not envision him being cruel or vicious. In fact, if that hair and beard ever went gray, and despite his massive size, she could easily picture children sitting upon his lap telling him what they wanted for Christmas.

  “Then what are you here for?” Devon demanded.

  The giant of a man glanced at Zane, disapproval obvious in his gaze. “To make sure the Halflings within this town do not escape, and that they do not become known amongst the world. They’ll endanger us all if they do.”

  “We are also here for the girl,” Zane interjected sharply, shooting the giant a dark look. Cassie’s fingers dug uselessly into Devon’s shirt as the rage within him notched up a little. She could not stop him; she would not reach him if he went after them.

  “Zane!” the giant hissed, obviously becoming aggravated by his friends hostile attitude.

  “Enough Bernard,” Zane ordered briskly. “Devon must know the whole reason why we are here, and what must be done.”

  Devon’s one hand was fisted, and though he still held her arm, she was able to twist herself slightly away from his back. His eyes were a fiery red as he glanced toward her before trying to push her behind him again. Before Devon could successfully shove her aside again, she managed to turn and meet Zane’s amused expression head on.

  “And what must be done?” she demanded, tilting her chin defiantly.

  He grinned at her, his long fangs flashing brightly in his tanned face. “You must be changed, of course.”

  Cassie’s breath exploded out of her, she nearly fell over from the shock the words caused her. The silence that followed was so profound that she could hear one of the few rabbits left in the woods scurry back into its hole. The silence was so profound that she could hear the soft breaths of the people behind her. Even Devon, who had seemed so close to the edge, remained frozen, unmoving, paralyzed by the words that Zane had just issued.

  Cassie was the first to recover her aplomb, the first to know how to respond. “Ok.”

  Whereas Zane’s words had stunned everyone into silence, her single word caused an explosion of flurry and reaction so intense that she almost covered her ears to block out their protests. The only ones who did not start shouting their disapproval were Julian and Devon. They remained completely silent as they stared at her as if she had sprouted two heads, as if she were some alien from the planet Jupiter.

  The Elders remained silent, watching intently as everyone that had been standing near the store completely forgot about The Elders. They rushed forward, their voices jumbled loudly together in their urge to be heard over everyone else. They approached steadily, each voicing their opposition. The only one that held back was Luther, he was also not screaming as he moved slowly toward them. His gray eyes were sad; the expression he wore was resolved, and slightly frightened. Throughout everything they had been through, she had never seen Luther frightened; she had not thought that it was possible.

  Cassie could not tear her eyes away from his face. She could not look away from the man who had been like a father to her for the past four years. He looked as if he had lost her, or was terrified that he was about to. Cassie knew what her decision meant, knew what the consequences of it could be, but she no longer cared.

  She had always known that they would come to a crossroad, that one day the choice would be forced upon them. But lately she had begun to fear that it would happen because Devon could no longer control himself and took her by force. If that happened he would always hate himself, even if she did come through the transformation unscathed. But if the choice was taken from them, if they were forced into it, then he could not blame himself, and the tension, misery, and instability he had been living with could be eased.

  It would be ok, she would be ok. She firmly believed that, no matter what anyone else said. She would survive this, she would come through it. She had survived far worse and she was still intact. She would make it through this.

  “It is settled then,” Zane declared. He folded his hands before him, as his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

  “The hell it is!” Devon exploded.

  Cassie flinched slightly. She wanted to move away from the wrath that blasted from him, but she would not back down from this. “Devon…”

  “This will not happen!” he interrupted fiercely.

  “This will happen!” she retorted just as fiercely. “It has to happen Devon. It finally has to happen.” His eyes narrowed fiercely, the blood red color of them more than a little disturbing. “The choice has been taken from us. We can do this, I can survive this.”

  His black hair fell across his forehead in a tumbled mess as he shook his head fiercely. “No, I will not take the chance…”
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br />   “The chance that you will snap and do it by force!? The chance that I will be killed and it will destroy you anyway? The chance that I may very well just grow old and die? What chance is it that you are unwilling to take Devon?”

  “The chance that I will turn you into a monster!” he roared.

  Cassie’s heart broke, pieces of it scattered about her feet. She understood his fear, his anguish, his terror, but he didn’t understand that this must be done now. She turned toward Zane, hating the smug look on his face. “If this happens, you will leave us all be?”

  “Of course,” he purred.

  “You can’t trust him Cassie,” Devon moaned.

  She knew that, she was not a fool. But she also knew that The Elder’s would need them as much as they needed The Elder’s if they were going to take down the Halflings. The creatures in this town were far smarter, and more powerful, than any of them had realized. They needed help in order to thwart this problem. And so would The Elder’s, no matter how powerful they thought they were, they would not all survive the creatures in this town. They would lose a few of their own in the process, and that was a chance that Cassie didn’t think they were willing to take. There were too few of them left to risk losing any more of them.

  “I know that,” she whispered. “But we cannot trust you either anymore.” Devon looked as if she had slapped him. She hated to hurt him, hated driving the knife deeper in order to get her own way, but it needed to be done. He needed to realize that this was the end of the road. Needed to realize that there was nowhere else for them to go. “And you can’t keep taking off whenever you feel yourself unraveling. I need you Devon, and if this continues on, I am going to lose you.”

  His eyes flickered, pain radiated from him, but she saw a softening in his features. “Cassie…”