Kindled

by Erica Stevens

  She looked like a lost child, out of place amongst the laughing, giggling girls gathered in a large group twenty feet away from her. His heart ached for her, his fingers itched to touch her, comfort her. Melissa said something, catching her attention for a brief moment. Cassie looked up, nodding once before ducking her head again. A shrill whistle pierced the air. Devon turned as the two PE teachers entered the gym carrying bags laden with softball bats and balls.

  His eyebrows furrowed as frustration and anger spurted through him. He hated being stuck in this school, hated being around these people. He was almost eight hundred years old and he was standing in a gym with a bunch of hormonal teenagers. His gaze darted back to Cassie, some of the anger melting away. For her, he could do this. For her, he could do anything. Even play softball inside, which was apparently what they intended to do.

  They were shuffled around, divided into teams. Somehow he ended up on the same side as Marcy and Chris, well Cassie was relegated to the other side with Melissa and Mark Young. Devon watched Mark, waiting for him to make any inappropriate move or comment to Cassie. Mark had stayed away from her since their last encounter in the cafeteria, but Devon didn’t trust him. And though Cassie didn’t want his help, Devon would take any excuse to beat Mark into a bloody pulp. He had been aching to do it ever since he had first met the bastard.

  “Cassandra Fairmont!” everyone turned as the girl’s gym teacher barked Cassie’s name loudly. Cassie lifted her head; her eyebrows drew sharply together over top of her sunglasses. “You know the rules, no jewelry, no loose articles, take off those sunglasses.”

  Cassie hesitated a moment; he could feel her gaze darting swiftly around the gym in a fleeting moment of panic. Then, her shoulders slumped with defeat; she reached slowly up and pulled the large glasses from her face. Cassie blinked rapidly before closing her eyes against the lights that blazed down on her. Devon took a step forward, wanting to go to her, wanting to shelter her. He knew how painful such exposure could be and he wished to protect her from it.

  Chris grabbed hold of his arm, shaking his head as he held Devon back. “She’ll be fine,” he said softly. “She has to face the world eventually.”

  Devon’s head snapped toward him, anger briefly surged forward. Devon tried to remind himself that Chris didn’t know, that he didn’t understand, that he couldn’t know the pain the lights could cause, but it did little to ease the anger wracking through Devon. He turned back to Cassie. Her head was bowed, her eyes barely open to the harsh glare that pounded off of the gym floor.

  “Damn it!” he hissed, futility and frustration tearing through him. “Damn it!”

  Chris stared questioningly at him as Devon turned away. He grabbed one of the gloves from the bench and stormed into the outfield, to take his position in left. Marcy moved into center, Chris beside her, and Kara on the other side of him. Folding his arms over his chest, Devon waited impatiently for the game to commence.

  They moved swiftly through the first inning, and the second. Devon thought his team was winning, but he couldn’t be sure. The only sport he had ever been interested in was hunting, and he had excelled at it.

  Switching again, Devon was in the outfield once more as Melissa came up to the plate. The ball cracked off the bat with a resounding thud that echoed throughout. Devon ran for it, pulling up short as Marcy collided with him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she laughed loudly as she clung to him. Chris retrieved the ball, throwing it in time to stop Melissa at second.

  Devon tried to extricate himself from Marcy’s arms, but she was laughing happily, her leaf green eyes twinkling merrily as she grabbed his ass. “I’m sorry,” she said brightly, her arms tightening briefly.

  Devon scowled at Marcy, grabbing hold of her petite shoulders he pulled her forcefully away from him. She continued to grin up at him for a moment before turning on her heel and sashaying away. Chris was staring at him with wide eyes. Then, Chris’s shoulders stiffened, his face turned ashen and he turned slowly toward Cassie. She stood at the plate, the bat resting loosely on her shoulders, her eyes narrowed against the light as she focused on Devon.

  He could feel the anger radiating from her, the hate. The sense of betrayal. But there was something more. There was a shaking inside of her, a whirl of confusion that shivered through the bond that connected them, that would always connect them. A shattering of spirit radiated from her, leaving Devon motionless. Chris turned deathly white, his mouth parted slightly. A shiver of foreboding crept through Devon; judging by Chris’s reaction to her this was not going to be good. Devon wanted to go to Cassie, to hold her, to feel her. To get her the hell out of there before she exploded, which he was certain she was about to do.

  She blinked, her attention once more returned to the game. Her eyes were narrowed, squinted against the glare. He could feel the hurt that the light caused her, but beneath it he could feel the hurt in her soul, the anguish, the rage. She connected with the ball, a solid crushing blow that sent it soaring over their heads, before it crashed against the back wall with a resounding thud that echoed throughout the gym. It was a blow that no normal human could have delivered to the ball, let alone a girl. No one moved to retrieve the ball as it bounced over the floor before rolling under the bleachers with a soft clinking sound that was exceptionally loud in the still room.

  Cassie stood unmoving, the bat dangling loosely from her fingertips. The clatter of the bat hitting the ground snapped everyone’s attention back to her. She didn’t run the bases, she didn’t move. She simply stood there, looking lost and confused, and heartbroken. “Freak!” Mark’s hiss was soft, but it reached Devon’s ears.

  Cassie turned slowly toward him; she stood stiffly, her shoulders back, her eyes narrowed. “Yes, yes I am,” she agreed softly.

  Walking away from the plate, she grabbed her sunglasses before striding out of the gym. The teacher didn’t bother to stop her as she remained standing in shocked silence. Melissa turned toward them, her eyes wide with horror. Then, she turned swiftly and fled the gym after Cassie. Devon had had enough of pretending to be a high school student, of pretending to be human.

  He’d had enough of being alienated from the only person he had ever truly cared about.

  Marcy snorted loudly, rolling her eyes in disgust. “What a drama queen.”

  “Shut the hell up Marcy!” Chris snarled. Devon lifted an eyebrow, surprised by the fury in his voice. Chris was always good natured and easy going. “Just shut the hell up.”

  Devon strolled out of the gym, leaving behind the kids and the game. The boy’s gym teacher opened his mouth to protest, but one fierce look from Devon caused him to snap it quickly shut. He hurried into the locker room, not bothering to grab his clothes as he broke into a swift trot, running past the lockers, blurring as a sense of urgency drove him faster. He could not shake the tumultuous emotions that had radiated from Cassie, emotions he had never felt from anyone before.

  Bursting free of the boys locker room, he quickly searched the abandoned hallway before turning and darting into the girls locker room. He had a feeling that he was already too late. He skidded around a corner, halting as he came across Melissa. Her dark head was bowed, her hand tightly clenched Cassie’s shirt before her. Her eyes were closed, her breathing even and slow.

  Then, she shook back her hair and her eyes lifted to his. “She’s gone.”

  “Where?” he demanded sharply, fear gripping hold of him. “Where?”

  Melissa shook her head, hopelessness radiated from her as she held the shirt out. “I don’t know, I can’t see it. I can’t see it! What good are premonitions if they do nothing for me when I need them!?” Frustration filled her voice as she glanced down at the clothing in her hands.

  Devon turned away from her, ignoring the shocked looks of the girls filtering into the room as he bolted past them and slammed out the back door. An alarm ran loudly but he ignored it. Scanning the snow covered fields; he searched for any sign of her. “Not here, she’s not here anymo
re.”

  Chris pulled up beside him, his breath hung heavily in the crisp air. “I know,” Devon growled. “I’ll find her.”

  Devon took off across the field, not feeling the cold against his skin. There was only one thing he cared about at the moment, only one thing he could feel, and that was Cassie. Tuning out the rest of the world, he focused his attention on her. Scanning through all of the minds around him, he searched rapidly for the only one that mattered to him. The few drops of blood he had savored from her when he had closed the life threatening wounds in her neck, and the fact that she was not far from him, allowed him to latch onto her mind quickly. Though he could not pinpoint her location, he hoped to be able to track her. He could feel her out there, running, fleeing, trying to escape. Trying to do the impossible and outrun herself. Panic pushed her further, faster; harder.

  Reaching the woods, Devon allowed his power and abilities to surge forth. Blurring with speed, he tracked her through the forest. Though there were still a few hours of daylight left, he knew that he had to find her soon. It would get dark early, and with the cloud cover there was a chance that Isla and Julian would wander out if they sensed her alone. She could not be by herself right now, not in her state of mind. He didn’t know what she would do, and it scared the hell out of him.

  Bursting free of the woods, he barely took in the cemetery as he dodged easily through the headstones. He was getting closer; he could feel her, sense her amongst the cold stones. And he knew exactly where she was. Veering sharply to the left, he darted over the ground, not feeling any exertion from his run.

  Coming over top of a hill, he spotted her amongst the rows of granite. She was kneeling before the grave, oblivious to the snow coated ground against her bare skin. A small moan of despair escaped him as her anguish washed over him, poured through him, suffused him within her pain. He slowed, not wanting to rush up on her, knowing that he had to approach her slowly. Walking silently up behind her, he simply stood back, waiting for her to need him, or to tell him to go. Which he would not do. He was not going to leave her out here in the cold, and he didn’t think he could handle being pushed away again.

  She kept her head bowed; her golden hair fell forward to shield her beautiful face. One of her hands was clenched upon her thigh, the other rested against the name on the grave as she leaned slightly forward. Her sunglasses rested beside the grave, tossed precariously aside. A subtle stiffening of her shoulders told him that she was well aware of his presence, but she did not tell him to leave, and he did not feel anger coming from her. He glanced briefly at the stone as she lovingly stroked her grandmother’s name, Lillian Rose Callahan.

  “Someone left her flowers,” Cassie whispered, her voice choked and broken.

  He glanced at the roses and lily’s that rested against the stone, some of them had gone past, but most were new. He had left a bouquet just yesterday. “Yes,” he said softly.

  A shudder raced through her, shaking her slender frame. Though she had to be freezing, he knew her shiver had nothing to do with the cold. Her hand slid away from the stone, falling limply to her thigh. “I haven’t been here.”

  He didn’t know what to say, so he remained silent, frightened that she would turn him away again if he did speak. She turned toward him, her violet blue eyes bright with unshed tears, her skin pale. Her full lower lip trembled slightly, making her appear far younger and achingly vulnerable. His hands twitched to hold her, to comfort her. It had been so long and he needed her so badly, but she had to come to him. She had to want him again.

  “It’s my fault,” she whispered. “It’s my fault that she’s dead.”

  A shattering radiated from her. A soul rendering devastation that ripped through her, pulsing out in waves that pierced deep into his soul. Her anguish was consuming, heart wrenching, overwhelming in its force. It staggered him. She bent her head, and for the first time since her grandmother had been killed, she began to cry.

  Heavy, fierce sobs shook through her. Her arms crossed over her chest as she rocked back and forth, seeking to comfort herself in some way. Devon wanted to stay away, wanted to give her the time she needed to grieve. However, he could not stand to see her in so much pain and not do anything about it.

  In two long strides, he was at her side, kneeling in the snow beside her. Though he was frightened that she would turn him away again, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her. She came to him, sobbing loudly, hardly able to breathe as her small hands curled into his shirt. Wrapping his hand around her head he held her tight to him.

  Rocking her slowly, he simply clung to her as she cried, kissing her head gently, burying his nose in the wonderful scent of her hair. Holding her again, he was able to feel the full extent of her weight loss. Her spine was hard beneath his hand, her shoulders sharp against his chest.

  He closed his eyes against the pain filling him as he gathered her closer. He wanted to cry from the intensity of her grief, and the force of the relief that filled him at being able to hold her again. Pulling her into his lap, he bent over her, trying to give her comfort and warmth as she trembled and shook against him. Her tears seeped into his shirt, soaking the front of it. Despite his relief at holding her again worry for her safety, and health, began to fill him. She had not been taking care of herself and the force of her sobs was draining her already weakened body.

  “Shh love,” he whispered cradling her tight against him. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have stopped this. It is not your fault.”

  He soothed her hair back, kissing her gently as he held her head to his chest. Shivers began to wrack through her, goose bumps broke out on her flesh. He rubbed her arms and legs, trying to get some heat back into her frozen flesh. Her sobs abated, but tears still rolled down her face. He needed to get her out of here and he needed to get her somewhere warm.

  Lifting her gently, he groaned at the feel of her slight weight in his arms. Even if she didn’t accept him back into her life, he was going to make damn sure that she started to eat. Soon. She curled tighter against his chest, her hand clutched his shirt. The shivers wracking through her grew stronger as the wind began to pick up. The skeleton branches of the trees clicked louder as the wind howled through them.

  He moved swiftly through the snow, breaking over the top of the hill as Chris and Melissa rolled to a stop in Chris’s car. Apparently they had decided to come here in search of her. He was grateful for that as Melissa jumped swiftly from the passenger side, and grabbed a blanket from the backseat. She hurried toward them, her dark eyes questioning and worried. Devon took the blanket from Melissa and wrapped it gently around Cassie, pulling it firmly against her.

  He followed Melissa back to the car and eased Cassie into the backseat. Sliding in beside her, he gathered her back into his arms, unwilling to part from her for even a moment again.

  CHAPTER 5

  “You need to eat.”

  Cassie lifted her head as Devon appeared in the doorway of her room, a tray of food in his hands. She felt hollow, shaken, exhausted. But she did not feel the fury anymore. It was as if the tears had burned it all away, washing it clean, purifying it. She still felt the burning need for justice, for revenge, but the inner rage that had fired so brightly before did not flare anymore. She tried to find it, for it had been what was keeping her going, but she couldn’t summon the strength for it anymore.

  She watched as he moved slowly into the room. His shoulders were set; his body was tensed in preparation, as if afraid he would scare her away. Her heart flipped over, tears burned her eyes once more. Tears she would have thought had run dry by now, but seemed endless. She had been so cruel to him, so cold and unforgiving when there had been no real reason to be. And yet, despite all her cruelty he had been so loving to her today, taken care of her and now he was standing there with a tray full of food for her.

  She did not deserve him. She did not deserve many things, she realized. He moved slowly toward her, his eyes weary and watchful. Placing the tray on top of
her bureau, he turned toward her. “How are you feeling?”

  Cassie shrugged as she twisted the towel in her hand. She still felt cold, even though she had spent almost a half an hour in the shower. She was fairly certain that the chill was permanently in her bones, and she was certain that it was not about to go away anytime soon. She just didn’t know how she felt emotionally though, not anymore. She had been enraged for two weeks, now she was just empty. She didn’t know how to describe that to him. She didn’t even know how to figure it out for herself.

  “You went home?” she asked quietly, glancing over his clothes.

  He looked down at his fresh pair of jeans and deep green sweater. He hadn’t been wearing them before gym. “No, Chris grabbed some clothes for me.”

  Cassie’s eyebrows drew sharply together. Chris had been to his place? She had never even been to his place. A shudder wracked through her, she grasped her elbows in a vain attempt to warm herself. She had known all along that Chris and Devon still talked with each other, but it sounded as if they had become far closer than she’d realized. She didn’t know how to feel about that. Though, she knew that they had needed each other when she had so brutally shut them both out of her life.

  She rocked slightly forward, waves of self hatred crashing over her, leaving her shaken. “Cassie…”

  She held up a hand, holding him off as he approached. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I’m so sorry.” Tears rolled freely down her face, sobs rocked forcefully through her once more.

  “There’s nothing to be sorry for,” he said gently, the tone of his voice loving and longing. “Cassie, listen to me, you did nothing wrong.”

  She shook her head, wiping the tears from her face as she tried to stifle her sobs again. She had been crying for hours, how could there possibly be any tears left in her? “I treated everyone so badly, especially you. How can you even stand to look at me?”