by C.M. Owens
"Mary!!" She blinked in startled surprise at the man before her, the man that had just handed her the children, John. He was her husband, but she now realized that she didn't know him at all. That she had never known him. The thought sent a fresh wave of cold dread down her spine. Goose pimples broke out on her flesh; she could barely breathe through the anxiety clutching at her chest.
"Mary, you must get them to safety."
She began to shake as she clung to the children who had yet to make a sound. "Take them?! Take them where?" She had to battle against the tears that were quickly filling her eyes and clogging her throat.
Jessie, the girl's mother, nudged John out of the way as she stepped forward. Her dark blue, almost violet eyes were turbulent, and her unruly golden hair tumbled around her face. "To my mother in Florida, she'll know what to do. She'll keep you safe."
"Safe from what?" Mary hated the hysterical note in her voice, but her body hummed with panic.
"She'll fill you in when you get there," Derek, Jessie's husband, informed her. "You must go Mary." Unlike Jessie and John, Derek was relatively calm. Exceptionally calm considering the fact that he was telling her to take his daughter and flee to Florida. Flee from what, Mary didn't know, but they seemed adamant that she go. "If you stay, you will die. They will die. Now go!"
Mary gaped at him as her heart hammered. "I don't understand," she cried. "I don't understand any of this!"
"I'm sorry for that honey, but you must listen to us. You must get yourself, and the children, to safety," John insisted.
"What about you? Why don't you come with me?" she demanded. She wanted to grab hold of his arm and shake some answers out of him, but the children within her grasp stopped her from doing so.
"We can't, they'll only follow us. We'll meet you later," Jessie informed her, though Mary realized with heart wrenching certainty that Jessie was lying. They would not be meeting her later. In fact, Mary was beginning to realize that she would never see any of them again.
"The police, we must go to the police," she whispered.
"They're useless," Brent said harshly. Mary's gaze shot to the man that had been mute until that moment. Mary didn't know Brent well and he had never seemed to approve of her much for some reason. However, he had been friends with Jessie, Derek, and John for years even though he was a good twenty years older than them. Mary had never understood their strange relationship, but they were extremely close, and often kept her in the dark as they whispered with each other. She had always resented their relationship, and her exclusion from it, but she had kept her bitterness hidden, unwilling to upset or annoy her husband. "If you involve them you will only get them hurt, and yourself killed."
"They're coming." John's body tensed as his lip curled into a sneer. "Go!" He dropped a kiss quickly on her head before shoving her toward the door. "Go now, before it's too late!"
Mary stumbled as he shoved her out the back door to the waiting car. A car that she hadn't started, but was already idling at the ready, and appeared to have bags shoved into the back. "Wait!" Mary froze as Jessie snagged hold of her arm; tears shimmered in her eyes. "Take care of my daughter. Please Mary, I am begging you to keep Cassie alive!"
Mary stared back at the frantic woman she had considered her best friend. She'd never been more wrong about someone; Jessie was alien to her now. Mary managed a small nod but her mouth was dry and her throat clogged. "I will," she vowed.
Jessie released her and took a step back as tears rolled down her cheeks. Mary had no idea what was happening, but their distress spurred her into action. Fleeing down the back stairs, she hastily strapped the children into their car seats and jumped behind the wheel. Her hands were shaking as she shifted the car into reverse and pulled out of the drive as calmly as her thumping heart would allow.
She glanced back at the home she had shared with her husband and his friends. People she now realized she knew nothing about. Nor, she realized with bone shaking certainty, did she know her own son. She glanced at the eerily soundless children in the rearview mirror. The girl was usually fussy in the car seat; she was immobile now and didn't fight against the straps. Her son was usually fast asleep the minute he hit the car, but he was staring at her. With their blond hair, and wide unblinking eyes, Mary was suddenly reminded of the Children of The Corn. A chill ran down her back as she choked on the tears that burned her eyes.
Shrill screams pierced the night. Mary jumped in surprise, her eyes flew back to the house as the sound of splintering wood shattered the air. For a moment she couldn't move as more shouts, and the sounds of an ensuing battle, rent the silent night.
Then, her survival instincts kicked into gear. Shifting into drive, she stomped on the gas. The tires spun on the asphalt and squealed loudly before finally grabbing hold. The smell of burning rubber followed her as she sped down the road toward Florida. It was almost a ten hour drive, but she had a feeling she would make it there in record time.
She never looked back; she knew there was nothing but death behind her. In fact, she was certain that whatever had killed them would be coming for her next. The fact that she had lost her loved ones wasn't nearly as unnerving as the fact that though she squealed through turns, raced through red lights, and people blared their horns at her, the children remained hushed, and knowing.
***
Twelve years later
Sorting through the change in her hand, Cassie hastily picked out the nickels and dimes, and absently shoved aside the pennies. She glanced at the unattainable soda machine before digging into the pocket of her cutoffs once more. All she wanted was a cold drink, was that too much to ask? Apparently it was, as all she pulled out were a few pieces of lint, a gum wrapper, and dirt.
Cassie fought the urge to kick the machine in frustration; it wasn't its fault that the price of soda had gone up fifteen cents. It was the stupid, greedy, owner of the store. Glancing past the machine, she peered into the dingy windows of the Five and Dime. Mr. Lester was watching to make sure she didn't do exactly that. She fought the urge to stick her tongue out at the man, but then she would be banned from the store, and he did have the best selection of baseball cards, candy, and comic books in town.
Glancing regretfully back at the bright red machine, Cassie shoved her change back into her pocket and turned away. She would just have to drink from the water fountain during baseball practice. She scrunched her nose, already dreading the taste of the metallic water fountain.
Grabbing her mitt from the store windowsill, she turned back to the main thoroughfare. She didn't make it one step before she was brought to an abrupt halt by a tall, thin man, with a hawkish nose, and pale gray eyes that studied her. Cassie's hand clenched on her glove as she took a small, instinctive step back. She was not some five year-old who would wander away with a stranger, but she didn't know what the odd man's intentions were.
Glancing briefly over her shoulder she was relieved to find Mr. Lester still watching. Though he liked to squeeze as much money as possible out of the kids, he wouldn't allow anything bad to happen to her. She turned back to the strange man. His eyes were still fixed upon her, but she saw no ill will in his steady gaze. Instead, there was an odd sense of relief in his eyes.
A slender girl stepped beside him and slipped her hand into his. Cassie's tension eased at the sight of the black haired girl who was so trusting of the strange man. The girl studied Cassie from exotically slanted eyes that were as dark and shiny as a gleaming onyx. Those eyes pierced Cassie, pinning her to the spot as they seemed to see straight into Cassie's soul.
A little unnerved by the girl's intense gaze and scrutiny, Cassie turned her attention back to the man. Though he seemed to be in his late thirties, maybe forties, and was old enough to be the girl's father, they looked nothing alike. His hair was a light brown that was going gray at the temples. His eyes were far from dark in color, and unlike the girls smooth olive complexion, he was very fair.
"Are you Cassandra Fairmont?" he inquired, the faint hint of an accent in hi
s tone.
Cassie didn't understand how this man knew who she was, let alone her full name. Her stance shifted as she prepared to bolt into the Five and Dime. "Do I know you?" She was proud of the fact that her voice didn't waver.
"No, but I may have known your parents."
Cassie's heart leapt into her throat, her arm dropped limply to her side. Her fingers eased their grip on her glove to the point that she nearly dropped it. Other than her grandmother, and Chris's mother, Cassie knew no one that had ever met her parents. Though Cassie often asked questions about her parents, her grandmother rarely spoke of them. Once in awhile, she would share stories of Cassie's mother when she was a little girl, and her father, as her grandmother had also known him as a child.
However, Chris's mother never spoke of them; she hated any mention of Cassie's parents, or Chris's father. She used the mere mention of them as an excuse to retreat deeper into her drunken stupor, or to hit the bars in search of a new conquest. It was a fact that had once bothered Chris, but lately he had taken to ignoring his mother as easily as she ignored him.
Now, this strange man was standing before her telling her that he may have known her parents, and quite possibly, Chris's father. It was a lifeline, a level of hope that she had never experienced before. This man, this stranger, could be their one chance to get to know their parents better.
"My parents?" she managed to choke out.
The man's eyes were gentle as he nodded. "Yes, if they were Derek and Jessie Fairmont?"
The man blurred as Cassie's eyes filled with tears. She rarely heard their names spoken, rarely had the chance to acknowledge that they had ever even lived. It was as if everything about them had ceased to exist when they were killed in the car accident. Not just their bodies, but their memories, history, their entire lives had been buried forever.
Now, they were being openly acknowledged, openly conversed about, and it was by someone she didn't even know. Cassie glanced at the slender girl, surprised by the wealth of caring and understanding in her warm onyx eyes. Swallowing heavily, Cassie rapidly blinked back her tears as she tried not to completely fall apart in front of the strange pair.
Taking a deep breath to steady her pounding heart, and raw nerves, she turned back to the man. "Yes," she answered. "Those were my parents."
Relief filled him; his shoulders slumped as he broke into a brilliant grin. The girl squeezed his hand as she did an odd little jump step and beamed happily. "I told you," she said excitedly.
The man shook his head at her, but there was no censure in the gesture as he continued to smile. He thrust his hand out to Cassie. "My name is Luther Long; I've been looking for you for a long time Cassandra."
Cassie stared at his extended hand as confusion swirled through her. Though she sensed no ill will from them, they still scared her a little. Then again, the strange man did claim to know her parents, and best of all, he actually spoke about them. The temptation was more than she could withstand.
Thrusting her hand out, she grasped hold of Luther's warm, well calloused one. His grin broadened as he shook her hand briskly.
In that moment, when their hands joined, her life was irrevocably changed. The course of her destiny forever altered. Over the years that followed, Cassie often wondered if she would have run screaming from him, and the changes that he would bring to her life if she had known.
Though, she eventually came to realize that there was no outrunning destiny. It was very much like the Reaper in that way, and like The Reaper, destiny could be cruel and indiscriminate. Though these were things that Cassie later learned, she was still ill prepared for her life to be forever changed, her innocence to be shattered that day.
Nor was she prepared for the day when he walked into her life four years later, forever altering it, and her, once again.
CHAPTER 1
Cassie ducked low and spun as she threw a rapid roundhouse kick. Her foot connected solidly with the twisted creature, catching it beneath its chin and knocking it back a good five feet. The creature's startled grunt of surprise and pain was music to her ears. The man/monster got caught up on a headstone and flipped backward over top of it. The monster sprawled out on its back in the thick grass with its legs momentarily caught up over top of the headstone. Cassie sprang gracefully to her feet and slipped the stake easily from her belt loop. The creature's eyes turned crimson as his face twisted into an animalistic snarl of fury.
The rage that blasted from him pounded against her but didn't slow Cassie down. She had grown accustomed to the hatred over the past few years. However, she didn't know if she would ever become accustomed to the bloodlust that poured from the monsters in nearly suffocating waves. It was daunting to know that something yearned to rip out her throat and drain the blood, and life, from her.
Though the thought was a little overwhelming, it didn't make her hesitate. There was no room for hesitation here. The smallest distraction could get her, and her friends, killed. No, her entire focus had to be on destroying the creature. She couldn't allow human emotions to slip in here. Here, there could only be the fight.
And the imminent death of someone or something, preferably not her.
Though she had the creature down, she was not fooled into thinking that she had him beat. Bracing herself, she leaned back on her left foot as he threw his hands behind his head and thrust himself elegantly to his feet. Cassie eyed him with amusement; he was so predictable.
With a ferocious growl, he raced across the ground with the grace inherent to his kind. Cassie didn't kick out at him again or throw another punch. She simply ducked low and spun around as he raced past her. Thrusting the stake out, his forward momentum was enough to drive it deep into his chest cavity and pierce his deadened heart. His face contorted as she twisted and pushed the stake deeper.
He fell back, his body convulsing as he clawed at the stake. Though he tried to rip it free, it was more than obvious that the damage had already been done. There was no reversing this death. Cassie waited until he stopped struggling, and his eyes clouded over, before she ripped the stake free. In life, he had only been a year or two older than her, barely a man yet. Though Cassie felt a twinge of regret about killing him, she quickly buried it.
There could be no regret in her life. It would only eat her alive, and she hadn't been the one to originally end his life. She couldn't question the where's and why's of her life. It was simply her duty, her birthright. Though she didn't always enjoy it, and often resented it, she was good at killing, and she helped to keep people safe and protected by doing it. Even if people didn't know that she was helping them.
She turned her attention back to Chris and Melissa. Chris was struggling back to his feet after he had been knocked flat. The vampire they were fighting rushed past Chris, focusing on what he apparently (and wrongly) thought was the weaker female. Melissa grinned back at the creature in amusement, her stance widened as she braced herself for his attack. Her dark eyes twinkled merrily in the moonlight.
In their lives it was just another night in paradise, Cassie thought.
Shaking her head, Cassie moved toward them. Unlike herself, Chris and Melissa relished in the fight, the hunt, and the kill. They both loved what they were, and eagerly embraced their heritage. Then again, Melissa had been raised with the knowledge of what she was and Chris was a teenage boy; anything he could beat up, punch, kick, and maim was fun for him. However, Cassie had been oblivious to what she was until Luther and Melissa had walked into her life at the age of thirteen. She had never learned to relish in the fighting, or the killing.
Well, that was not entirely true. There were times when she loved the thrill of the fight, times when she loved the fact that she was making the world safer one murderous vampire at a time. She did not like the fact that this life had been forced upon her by birth, or that her life expectancy had been drastically lowered by a flip of the cosmic switch. She chafed against the bonds that had confined her to a life she'd never even imagined could exist.
<
br /> However, she had no choice. She couldn't turn her back on what she was. Innocent people would die if she did. She may hate her role in life, but she couldn't live with herself if people were killed because she wasn't there to protect them. She couldn't live with the fact that Chris or Melissa might be injured, or killed, because she was too selfish and scared to accept her birth right, her destiny.
Destiny, she had learned, was a cold bedfellow. One that left her chilled to the bone, and hollow inside. Destiny had left her vulnerable to the more brutal side of life, and it would likely destroy her before she ever saw her twenty-fifth birthday.
A loud grunt shifted her attention back to the battle Melissa was still waging. Chris had regained his feet, but Melissa was wearing the trademark grin she displayed when she already knew the outcome of a fight. Cassie wiped her hands on her jeans as she joined Chris.
"I don't see how it can be any fun when you already know what's going to happen," he complained.
"Just think about how much fun it will be if she ever foresees a battle she loses," Cassie retorted dryly.
Chris shrugged, shoved a strand of sandy blond hair off his forehead, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, that would suck."
Melissa lunged suddenly and shoved the stake forward in a killing blow. With a satisfied grin she ripped her stake free, flipped it in the air, and caught it easily before shoving it into her belt. "I'm never going to lose!" she announced proudly.
Cassie bit back her retort. There was no reason to remind them that that was probably what every Hunter had believed, until the Grim Reaper had called for them far too early.
Cassie wrapped her arms around herself, not understanding the strange melancholy that lately seemed to stick to her like a second skin. She couldn't seem to shake the ominous feelings, and she knew that her funk wasn't a good place to be; becoming worn down by her life would only get her killed sooner.
"Of course not," Chris agreed.
"Yeah," Cassie mumbled absently.
Melissa's onyx eyes focused on Cassie, her pretty face scrunched as she studied her. Cassie prickled under the scrutiny, but she had grown accustomed to Melissa's fixed stares. It was a look Melissa often wore when she was trying to decipher the future paths a person might take. Cassie never asked about her future, she didn't want to know, but she was certain that Melissa had already glimpsed some of it. Although, Melissa never let onto whether it was good or bad, and that was the way Cassie liked it.
