Ashes (Book 2 The Kindred Series) (7 page)

At the moment he didn’t know if he
wanted to force her to leave, or taste her more. No, he did not
simply want to taste her he wanted to change her, possess her. He
wanted to make her immortal, he wanted to keep her safe, keep her
with him, and alive, for eternity. As a Hunter she was far too
vulnerable to the dangers and hurts of the world. She was far too
susceptible to death. A shudder ran up his spine, his eyes closed
briefly as a surge of bloodlust rippled through him.

Being around her was a constant battle
with his darker, more twisted side. But it also brought out the
best of him, drawing him into a light he had never expected to
find, completing him in a way that he had never thought possible.
Her love and unwavering faith in him, even after the events of the
night, were far more than he deserved from his life, and something
that he had never expected to find. Now that he had her though, he
was not letting her go. When it came down to it, he would do
anything to keep her with him, and safe. Even if it meant that he
had to drag her from this town and risk earning her
wrath.

Eventually his feelings would cause
problems between them. Somewhere along the way their relationship
would come to a dangerous head, and he would have to make a
decision she may end up hating him for. But now was not that time,
and he was not willing to dwell on such unpleasantness. Now was a
time for strategizing, and learning as much as he could about the
people around him. If they had abilities that would aid him in his
hunt for Julian, then he would use them in every way he
could.

He would do whatever it took to keep
her safe.

Melissa licked her lips nervously,
Chris still looked doubtful. “I have premonitions,” Melissa said
softly. “Some are inconsequential, foolish, and vague. Others,
well, others are awful, detailed, and almost consuming. They don’t
always come true though, like tonight.” Her glance slid pointedly
to Cassie, her onyx eyes were hurt and wounded. Though he had
exceptional sight, even he could barely tell the difference between
the black of Melissa’s pupil and the near black of her iris. The
effect was startling, especially against her smooth olive
complexion and raven hair. “Devon’s intervention tonight stopped my
premonition from coming true, but I didn’t see him in it. I only
saw Cassie, wounded, bleeding, dead.”

Cassie gasped loudly, the color drained
from her face, as her astonishing violet blue eyes widened in
surprise. The light of the room flickered off of the bright violet
flecks in her questioning, fearful eyes. “You saw my death?” she
choked out.

Devon stiffened, anger and fear coiling
through him. Melissa nodded slowly, her gaze darting to the wall
behind Cassie. “Yes, it was awful. Awful.” Melissa shuddered as she
wrapped her slender arms around herself; she took a deep breath to
steady herself. Chris draped an arm around Melissa’s shoulders,
pulling her gently against his side. “I never want to see anything
like that again, but unfortunately, I don’t have a
choice.”

“I have no control over my
premonitions, when they come, or what they are.” Though horror
still filled her gaze, there was a steel rod of strength running
through her. “I had a premonition a couple years ago of your
arrival Devon. I knew that you would come for Cassie, and that you
would change things. Make her whole again, so to speak.”

Cassie’s face flooded with color as she
turned away from the eyes that swung toward her. “I’ve seen nothing
else of you though. I had no idea what you were, or when you would
come, I didn’t even know what you would look like, but I have been
waiting.” Melissa sighed, her dark head bowed slightly. “Somehow,
maybe because of what you are, you keep us blocked out. I don’t
know why that one premonition of you slipped through, but I have a
feeling that no more will come.”

Devon frowned as he puzzled over
Melissa’s statement. He knew why she didn’t receive visions about
him, but he didn’t understand why she had even gotten that one.
Melissa’s gaze was questioning, her dark eyes eager. She wanted to
know why she saw nothing about him, but he wasn’t ready to spill
yet. At least not until he knew more about them first.

Though premonitions were a handy thing
to have for a lot of things, they would not help him. Not now. She
would have no visions about Julian either, maybe some of his
actions, but not Julian. “And you?” he asked Chris quietly,
ignoring the crestfallen look on Melissa’s face. He liked the girl,
he didn’t want to keep her in the dark, but he wanted to hear
everything they had to say before he laid all of his cards on the
table.

Chris shifted slightly. He was still
not completely relaxed, tension hummed through him, but at least he
didn’t look as if he were going to attack anymore. “I can read
people.”

“And?” Devon asked quietly.

Chris’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I know
what they are when I meet them. Good, bad, indifferent to life. I
know what they are inside. I know what they are feeling,” he said
defiantly.

Devon chose to ignore his tone, tired
of bickering with the kid. It wasn’t getting either of them
anywhere, and it was upsetting Cassie. “And what am I inside?” he
asked quietly.

Chris shook his head. “I don’t know,”
he admitted slowly. “I never really picked anything up from you.
There was always a sort of blank surrounding you, except for when
it came to Cassie.”

Devon frowned fiercely; his gaze darted
back to Cassie. She sat stiffly upon the couch, her hand clenched
tightly on the throw pillow she had retrieved; her golden hair
shielded most of her delicate features from him. “What did you
sense then?” Devon asked softly.

Chris shifted again. It was apparent
that he did not want to divulge everything either. Then, with a
small shrug, he seemed to decide that it was not all that important
anyway. “I could sense how much you cared for her, how much she
meant to you.”

Devon’s frown deepened. Bowing his
head, he began to rub the bridge of his nose, trying to puzzle
through what they were telling him. They shouldn’t have been able
to get anything off of him. But where Cassie was involved, they
were somehow able to pick things up. She was staring up at him, her
astonishing eyes wide and questioning as she studied
him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked
softly.

He shook his head, dropping his hand to
take hold of hers once more. “And what can you do?” he asked
softly.

Her frown deepened, a strange flicker
passed through her eyes. “Nothing. I have no abilities.”

Shock coursed through him. She
possessed the most powerful blood he had ever tasted. From just a
few precious drops he was stronger, faster, his senses sharper. He
felt like he could conquer the world. She had to possess some
abilities, her blood was too impressive and wonderful not
to.

It made no sense.

A wounded look crossed her features; he
could feel her starting to withdraw from him. “Are you sure about
that?” he inquired, unable to believe it was true.

She gave him a dark look. “Yes, I’m
sure,” she said flatly.

“Cassie is an outstanding fighter,”
Luther interjected quickly. “Maybe the best to ever come out of the
Hunter line.”

She quirked an eyebrow as she studied
her Guardian. “Being able to kill well is not a gift, or
ability.”

Luther’s gaze was sad and sympathetic,
but his jaw was set in determination. “It is. It’s just a different
one than what Chris and Melissa have.”

“Killing, being fast and strong with
enhanced senses is a natural ability of all Hunter’s, not just
me.”

Luther sighed softly as he gave a brief
nod. “True.”

She turned back to Devon, a strange
hopelessness in her usually bright eyes. “I’ve seen what Chris and
Melissa go through though. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with the
burdens that they do.”

Devon nodded slowly, his mind spinning
as he tried to place all the pieces of the puzzle together. She had
no abilities but she was powerful, he could feel that, he had
tasted it. But no matter the power he could sense pouring out of
her now, he had not been able to detect it until her blood had been
spilled. Somehow he had been unable to perceive what any of them
were until he had been slapped in the face with it.

Though, he suspected that he had been
too blinded by his feelings for Cassie to realize that they were
Hunter’s. He had not wanted to see the truth, for if he had, he
never would have gotten the chance to know her. To love her. The
thought was shocking, he had never loved before, and yet the
realization was not a surprise.

He had loved her since the first moment
he’d seen her, he suspected that he had loved her before he’d even
met her. If Melissa had received a premonition of him, then it was
quite possible that he had been destined to find her, and although
he had never believed in that kind of thing before, it felt right
in this situation. It felt right with Cassie.

No, he had not wanted to see the truth
about them, even though all the evidence had been laid out before
him. It would have been rather easy to put it all together, he had
simply chosen not to.

“Why can’t we read you?” Melissa
blurted unable to bite her tongue any longer.

Devon couldn’t help but smile as he
shook his head at her. “My power, and abilities, keeps you
blocked.”

Melissa frowned at him, her eyes
narrowing fiercely. She apparently felt that he was not answering
her question. “What do you mean?” Cassie asked softly, her delicate
eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

He couldn’t help but smile down at her,
loving her puzzled expression. “My powers are much stronger than
any of the vampires that you have come across. I have learned to
keep people blocked out, especially Hunter’s. It’s an ability that
has helped to keep me alive for a long time.”

“But I had a premonition of you!”
Melissa insisted. “I saw you!”

Devon’s gaze darted to Cassie. “I don’t
understand exactly how it all works, but I have a feeling your
premonition probably had more to do with Cassie than
me.”

“With me?” Cassie inquired.

“When it comes to you, my guard is down
more; my humanity is stronger and more intense.” Cassie’s eyes
softened, she relaxed slightly as she gazed silently up at
him.

“But that vision was two years ago,”
Melissa said softly.

Cassie’s mouth dropped, she blinked in
surprise as she spun toward Melissa. “Two years!?” she squeaked.
“You kept this from me for two years!?”

Melissa nodded absently, drumming her
fingers along the mantle, her expression thoughtful and distant.
“Yeah, you wouldn’t have wanted to know anyway.” Cassie was still
frowning fiercely, but she nodded her agreement as she settled back
slightly. “Why would I receive that one two years ago, when you
didn’t even know Cassie then?”

Devon shrugged, shaking his head as he
met Cassie’s startled gaze. “I don’t have all the answers. Maybe it
was fate that I was supposed to meet her, maybe something happened
two years ago that allowed a vision to slip through. I simply don’t
know.”

“What could have happened?”

He grinned down at Cassie, brushing a
strand of her golden hair gently off her face. Her eyes melted,
warming as they filled with love. Love for him. His hand stilled on
her cheek, he was lost to the beauty and wonder of her. It was not
only her outer beauty that entranced him, but also the pure wonder
of her soul. She was the strongest, most giving, and loving person
that he had ever encountered, and he had encountered far more
people than he would have liked in his long life. And far too many
of them had not been good.

She leaned into his touch, her silken
cheek nestling against his cupped palm. Dark lashes curled against
her cheeks as she closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of him.
Devon had to force himself to recall the other people in the room,
for he wanted nothing more than to take her upstairs and curl up
with her, holding her tight as he kept her safe. But he could not
do that, not now.

“Like I said, I don’t have all the
answers. There are many mysteries in life that are never
explained.”

Cassie’s eyes fluttered open, her long
lashes brushed against the palm of his hand. A shiver of want raced
down his spine, leaving his control and restraint shaken. The demon
in him wanted nothing more than to drain every drop of her
spectacular blood, and the man wanted nothing more than to know her
in every possible way.

He shuddered, struggling to retain
control of himself. “It’s still very strange,” she said softly, her
husky voice washing over him.

“Yes,” he managed to grate
out.

“That’s also about the time that Cassie
really started to withdraw,” Chris pondered.

“Yes,” Melissa agreed, folding her arms
over her chest, her eyebrows drawn tightly together.

“Hey,” Cassie said sharply. “I’m right
here.”

Melissa focused on her, her frown
intense. “I think I had a vision of Devon because I was afraid that
we would lose you. I think I was granted that vision to ease my
fears about you, and your future. And it did help.”