“They die every day. Your lives are more valuable, you do far more good alive than you do dead.” Cassie stared at him in surprised disbelief, she felt as if she had been slapped. She could not believe that he had just said that. “I’m sorry to sound cruel, but it’s true. If you are killed, then even more innocent people will die, you must weigh everything before coming to this decision. Sometimes we have to do things that we do not want to in life.”

Cassie took a step toward him as fury blazed through her. “I am already doing something that I don’t want to do every single day! I did not ask for this, but I will not run from it! Not now. I am staying, if you wish to flee then do so, but I will not!”

Pain and anger flared through Luther’s gray eyes, making them even brighter behind his glasses. “I do not wish to flee! It is the best for you. My only charge in life is to see that you are prepared to fight, and to keep you safe.”

Cassie’s anger melted in the face of his anguish and hurt. “You cannot keep us safe forever, it’s not possible. You have done your best to train us Luther; you have to have faith in that.”

He glanced at their determined faces. His eyes were troubled and wide behind his glasses, his hands fisted tightly at his sides. Heaving a sigh, his set shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine, but you cannot go hunting alone anymore. The three of you must stick together, and you must wait for me to go with you. No more running off on your own. Also, I want to know every time you have the same feeling that you had tonight.” He turned to Melissa, his eyes intense and fierce. “Have you had any premonitions about this?”

She glanced over them quickly, her dark eyes sad and distant. “No.”

“Have you had any lately?”

She shook her head. “Nothing to do with vampires. I knew we would win the game tonight, and I know that tomorrow, at lunch, Marcy is going to announce the nominee’s for homecoming queen. Congratulations by the way,” she added with a wary smile at Cassie.

Cassie lifted her eyebrows, but refrained from commenting. The last thing she cared about was homecoming, or being queen. Maybe at one time she would have, but no longer. Her entire life had become focused upon her friends, her survival, and Devon. Her heart gave a mighty thump as her attention returned to him once more. They had left him at the side of the woods, within close proximity of that thing!

Panic tore through her as she whipped out her cell phone, sliding it open she frantically dialed his number. She turned her back on them, pacing swiftly away as she listened to the endless ringing. It clicked over to his voicemail; she did not leave a message. Sliding the phone shut, her hand shook with the terror suffusing her. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm herself as she texted him quickly, asking him to call her as soon as possible.

Turning slowly back to them, she knew she was unable to keep the horror from her face. “What is it?” Melissa asked softly.

“We left Devon standing there, and he’s not answering his phone,” she answered tremulously.

Worry flitted over their faces as they quickly exchanged looks. “He’s fine,” Melissa assured her gently. “I’m sure of it.”

“How can you be so sure?” Cassie demanded. Panic tore through her, nearly choking her as she struggled to remain somewhat calm. “If that thing is stalking us, wouldn’t it go after him if he saw us together?”

“It’s ok Cassie.” Chris grasped her arm gently; his touch only slightly soothed her tumultuous emotions.

She turned from him, pacing rapidly back and forth, her fingers still clenched around her phone. She had left him there, she had involved him in this, and she had left him there. She had been too selfish to set him free, and now she may have cost him his life. Pain and anguish tore through her nearly crushing her with the ferocity of it.

She didn’t think she could survive without him. In such a short time he had become a part of her, she needed him even more than she needed her own extremities. She couldn’t lose him; she would lose the best piece of herself if she did. She would hunt that thing down and destroy it if it hurt him, even if it meant destroying herself in the process.

Her phone went off; the ringing jarred her as she jumped in surprise. Relief flowed through her at the sight of his name and number. Opening her phone, she walked swiftly away from them. “Is everything ok?” he demanded immediately.

Cassie took a deep breath, fighting the tears of relief that burned her eyes. “Yes, yes I... uh I just wanted to say hi,” she lied badly, feeling like a complete idiot as her face flamed red.

He didn’t speak for a moment, and she could hear the wind rushing past his car as he drove. “Are you sure?” his voice was still fierce, the tension in it unmistakable.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Are you still with Melissa and her father?”

“Yes.”

“How are you getting home?”

“Chris will take me.”

“I could pick you up.”

Cassie licked her lips nervously, she glanced briefly at everyone but they were engrossed in their own conversation. She desperately wanted to see him again, to make sure that he was safe and that he stayed that way, but this was going to be a long night, and it would be better if he went home. Where he would be safe until morning.

She sighed heavily. “No, that’s ok; we’re going to be here awhile.”

There was another long stretch of silence. “Ok, let me know when you get home safely.”

She frowned at the command, surprised to hear him so worried about her safety again. She suddenly recalled his strange reaction earlier, the tension in his body as he had turned toward the woods. She recalled him still watching the forest intently after she had walked away. With a sudden jolt of surprise, she realized that he had sensed it to, that he had felt the evil and hatred that had permeated the air around them.

Her hand tightened around the phone. She knew, of course, that there were humans with their own special gifts. There were those with ESP, telekinesis, telepathy, and many other strange abilities that manifested in them. She suspected that perhaps Devon was one of them. She didn’t know exactly what his ability was, but it seemed to be somewhere along the lines of Chris’s talent.

What surprised her most was the fact that Chris had not picked up on it. He had sensed no power inside of Devon, no special gifts. He would have told her if he had. She thought that Chris would have recognized it immediately, especially if Devon’s gift was similar to his own. Instead, he had felt nothing except for a strange darkness. Maybe that darkness was Devon’s gift. Maybe because their abilities were so similar that Devon’s acted as a block against Chris’s own power.

Sighing softly, Cassie closed her eyes. She rubbed her temple as confusion and angst tore through her. This was one more thing that she simply could not deal with at the moment. There was already too much on her plate to even attempt to put the pieces of this puzzle together right now.

Pushing aside all questions and doubts, she focused upon her conversation with him once more. “I will,” she promised softly.

He was silent for a moment more, and she could almost feel the tension radiating from him through the phone. “Good night Cassandra.”

He purred her name, making her shiver in delight as she closed her eyes, savoring in the sound of his voice. “Goodnight Devon.”

She reluctantly hung up, hating the loss of connection between them. Slipping her phone into her pocket, she turned slowly back to the others. She had no intention of telling them what she had just discovered about Devon. They had more than enough to deal with right now. Besides, she wasn’t one hundred percent certain that she was right, and she didn’t want to divulge something about him that he probably preferred to keep private. Maybe he wasn’t even sure that he had such a gift.

“He’s fine.”

“Good,” Chris said briskly. “Now, do you think we should tell your grandma and my mother about this?”

Cassie sighed heavily as she was drug back into the harsh reality of her world.

CHAPTER 14

Devon stepped around the back of the tree, folding his arms over his chest as he watched Cassie disappear safely inside. He breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind her, the click of the lock reached him even at his distance of two hundred feet. Crossing his legs, he leaned against the tree, prepared to stay there for the entire night.

He was not going to leave her unprotected until he knew who it was that had been in the woods tonight. He knew what it was, as he had recognized one of his kind immediately. He also knew that they were angry, hungry, powerful, and power thirsty. It wanted blood, and Devon had felt its fierce interest in Cassie. He had also felt the intense desire the creature directed at her. For that reason, he was more inclined to believe that it was a male.

Anger bristled through him as he shifted slightly. He did not want anyone else looking at her, or wanting her in such a way. Let alone someone that wanted to hurt her. As soon as he found who was out there, he was going to destroy them. They could not be allowed to run free, not in this town, and not with Cassie present. They would go for her, and he could not have that. No one was going to touch her, no one was going to hurt her, and absolutely no one was going to taste her blood, or turn her.

She was his, she belonged to him, and as long as he was alive he would keep her safe from any harm. Including himself.

Hunger sparked in his veins, burning through him. His canines pricked, feeling heavier and sharper as his thoughts turned briefly to feeding. He’d had no time to hunt tonight, not food anyway, as he had been too busy trying to find the creature that was stalking the town. Now, with thoughts of Cassie on his mind, the hunger sparked to life with a vengeance. He ran his tongue over his teeth, surprised to find that they had lengthened on their own. He usually had control over such a thing, unless he had gone to long between feedings and was extremely hungry, or primed for the kill. He was neither of those things now. It was simply thoughts of her that excited him so.

Heaving a large sigh, he ran his hand absently through his hair. It was going to be a long night, as he had no intention of leaving in order to satiate his hunger. The light in her room flicked on. He waited, anticipation clutching at him as she moved in front of the window, her lithe body was outlined by the curtains. She peered out for a moment, her gaze scanning the woods. Though he knew that she could not see him, he slid into the shadows, hiding behind the large oak once more.

When he came back around, she had disappeared from view. He leaned against the tree, trying not to think about the fact that this was what he was doing at the moment. In all his seven hundred and fifty two years, he had never thought that he would be standing outside of a girl’s room, watching her, keeping her safe. Humans were only good to feed off of, to hunt, to stalk, and he hadn’t done that in over a hundred years so he had simply taken to avoiding temptation.

His gaze drifted back to the window. She was no longer in sight, but the knowledge that she was there soothed the aching loneliness in him. She was all that he needed to get through the endless days and nights of his solitary existence.

His thoughts turned to Luther. It was the first time he had seen the strange man that Cassie had spoken of in her dream. Confusion twisted through him as he recalled the strange, thin man, standing in the shadows of the restaurant. Why did Luther have such a pull over her, such an effect on her, on all of them?

Devon’s hands clenched on his arms as he recalled the confusion and slight fear that had eclipsed her in their dream, recalled the hesitance that had filled her when she had spoken of Melissa’s father. And tonight, the minute the man had appeared they had all swiftly disappeared to follow him back to his house. A house they all spent a fair amount of time at, a strange amount of time at.

What the hell was going on with them?

He dropped his head into his hand, he rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought over all of the strange things that seemed to circle around the three, no four, of them. A strange niggling began to take hold of him. It was all oddly familiar, and yet strangely unfamiliar. Frustration filled him; he was so close to putting a finger on it, yet the answer continued to elude him.

He lifted his head, frowning as the light in her room went out, though the flicker of the TV could still be seen. Glancing over at Chris’s house, he was surprised to find that he appeared to have no intention of leaving for the night. After a few minutes the light in his room also went out. Devon waited, leaning against the tree, but Chris did not emerge.

Devon shoved aside all of his doubts and questions as a fierce desire claimed possession of him. He slid from the shadows, moving swiftly across her open yard. Not fully understanding what drove him, he grasped hold of the tree he had watched Chris climb before. He made his way quickly up the branches, climbing with the agility and grace that only one of his kind could possess. He paused outside her window, not sure what he had been thinking, not sure what to do. He just knew that he wanted to see her again. He had to see her again.