Inferno (Book 4 The Kindred Series) (37 page)

The force of the things momentum
carried them both back before they tumbled to the ground in a
scattered heap. Cassie’s breath rushed out of her, she just managed
to keep her head from slamming off of the pavement. For the first
time all of her terror and confusion was burned away as the
comforting surge of rage rushed to the forefront. The woman clawed
at her, blood sprayed across Cassie’s face as the woman’s jaws
snapped loudly.

Clinging to her stake, Cassie used her
anger and strength to brace her legs. The woman tried to cling to
her, her claws scraped across Cassie’s chest, but Cassie was able
to toss her off. Cassie’s fury escalated as the scent of her own
blood hit her. Using her arms and legs she sprang easily off the
ground. The woman had not quite recovered yet, she was just trying
to get back to her feet.

Cassie leapt on her, driving her back
to the ground. The woman howled, trying to claw at Cassie, but
unable to reach her. There was a time when Cassie’s guilt over
killing something, even if it was a monster, would have made her
hesitate, may have even cost her her life. But those days were
gone. There was no hesitation, there was no remorse anymore. She
needed to do what had to be done, she had people to protect, she
had Devon to think of now. Without her, he was nothing. Without
him, she was nothing. Neither of their lives could be lost. And no
matter the fact that this creature had once been a woman, she may
have even had a family, Cassie did not hesitate.

She drove the stake into the woman’s
back, plunging deep. Bone shattered, the woman screamed an inhuman
mewling sound that caused Cassie to recoil slightly. Though there
was a tug of pity for the poor creature, she did not regret it. She
had done what needed to be done. This may have been a woman at one
time, but she wasn’t any longer, and if she was allowed to run free
the destruction she would cause to innocents would be on Cassie’s
hands.

Cassie jumped to her feet, spinning
quickly, knowing that she could not let her defenses down for a
moment. Though bodies were strewn about, the battle was still in
full swing. She jumped forward as another creature leapt onto
Devon. They seemed determined to take him down. They must have
sensed his power, must have felt him to be their biggest conquest
that they wanted to destroy. Panic tore through her, she could not
lose him. She would not lose him.

Arms suddenly wrapped around her. A
strangled cry of surprise escaped her as the arms squeezed tight,
knocking the breath out of her. Cassie gasped for air as she
struggled against the iron hold crushing her against a hard chest.
She kicked back, her legs flailing but coming up against nothing as
whoever held her braced their legs apart.

“I’m going to enjoy this.”

Terror and hatred tore through her as
she recognized Robert’s voice. She kicked back hard and swung her
head back, she came up with nothing as he moved swiftly out of her
way. She was preparing for a different method of attack, when she
felt it. Whatever breath she had left rushed out of her as the
stabbing pain tore through the center of her stomach, just beneath
her rib cage. She choked hard, trying to get some air into her
lungs but receiving none as the fiery pain tore through
her.

“Robert no!” Zane bellowed.

Cassie was briefly confused by his
command. Didn’t Zane want this? Weren’t they going to turn on them
anyway? And just what had Robert done to her?

A rush of something warm and liquid
against her skin suddenly punctured through the pain. She glanced
down, her mouth gaping, her eyes widening as she stared in horror
at exactly what it was that Robert had done. A silver dagger handle
jutted out from her belly, the warm rush of liquid she had felt was
her own blood pulsating out from the wound.

Terror tore through her, her pain was
forgotten as the struggle for her life was renewed. “Such a little
fighter,” Robert purred. Then, to her utter disgust and horror, he
leaned forward to brush a kiss against her cheek; his tongue
flickered lightly over her skin. Though he had just stabbed her,
this was a far worse atrocity as she shrank away from his hideous
touch. He chuckled softly in her ear, running his tongue over it.
“Oh what I would have loved to have done to you, what I would have
loved to make my brother watch me do to you. But, just in case I
never got that opportunity, I took this one.”

Cassie grasped hold of the handle of
the knife, trying to pull it free, but failing miserably as his one
hand still remained tightly locked upon it. Her hands clenched
tight, trying to keep her blood in, trying to keep her life from
pulsating rapidly out of her. Robert spun suddenly with her in his
arms. Her legs spun out from under her, and a new wave of fiery
pain scorched through her entire body. The pain left her numbed,
immobile as it took fierce hold of her.

“Look up!” Robert hissed in her ear.
Cassie couldn’t look anywhere but at the hideous knife causing so
much agony inside of her. She could not look at anything except for
the hated weapon protruding from her skin. “Look up!”

At this command, Robert shook her
roughly, causing more pain to rip through her. She gasped, her head
snapped up as tears filled her eyes. She would do anything to make
the pain stop, anything to make it better. Then she realized
exactly what it was that he had wanted her to see, and she knew
instantly that she would have taken the pain a thousand times over
rather than have listened to him.

Her gaze locked instantly on Devon’s
fiery red one. He had frozen amongst the fray, oblivious to the
battle that continued to rage around him. Hopelessness, loss, and
longing tore through her as she fully realized that she would not
be walking away from this. That there would be no escaping this
time. That Robert was going to kill her.

Devon’s eyes flickered briefly, their
beautiful emerald green shone through as love blazed fiercely from
them. Tears, that had nothing to do with her pain, spilled down her
face. “Don’t worry; you’ll see my brother again, in hell,” Robert
whispered in her ear before kissing her roughly again.

Cassie gasped; her body bucked wildly
as Robert ripped the knife upward, breaking into the bones of her
ribcage, tearing it through organs and skin, before pulling it
roughly free. A gurgled scream of pain ripped from her, her hands
clawed at her gouged chest, uselessly trying to close the gaping,
spurting wound. Robert shoved her roughly away.

Cassie stumbled before falling to her
knees and slipping soundlessly forward. This was it, this was the
end, and though she had always known that it would come at a young
age, she hadn’t expected it to be this young. All she wanted now
was more time with Devon. She wished that she could have been there
for him, and her friends, they would not take well to this.
Emotional pain swamped her, burying the physical agony beneath the
wave of loss that consumed her.

Devon’s roar of fury filled the air.
She managed to turn her head enough to see him amongst the
creatures. Though he tried to get free enough to reach her, they
had taken his hesitation, his moment of inaction, as an excuse to
pounce upon him. She caught one more glimpse of him, his eyes were
more than on fire they were pure molten lava as rage grasped hold
of him, burying him within its tight grip of insanity.

She suddenly understood why Zane had
yelled at Robert, why Zane had not wanted her to be killed just
yet. They didn’t want her down until they at least had Devon under
control in some way.

But now… Well now, he was going to kill
them all. Including her friends.

The thought caused her to tremble, but
she could not move as weakness seeped into her muscles, as her life
poured out of her veins. She could feel her life draining from her,
pulsing out in endless waves of her warm, necessary
blood.

“Cassie! Cassie!” Chris skidded across
the ground toward her.

Grasping hold of her shoulder, he
pulled her attention away from Devon. Chris’s eyes widened in
horror as he gazed at the blood spilling from her. The sapphire
depths of his much loved eyes bloomed with tears as knowledge
slammed into him. “It’s ok, I think this was meant to be,” she
managed to whisper.

His eyes snapped back to hers,
determination blazed through them. “Like hell it is.”

He was bending over to scoop her up
when Julian swooped down upon them. He grasped hold of her, pulling
her easily and gently into his arms. Cassie groaned; the movement
caused fresh fire to burn through her body. “Hold on, just hold
on,” Julian snarled.

He curled Cassie against his chest,
using his shoulders as battering rams he slammed into whatever
creatures came at them. Chris ran beside him, shoving and punching
his way through the crowd. Cassie clung to her wound, but she could
feel the weakness seeping into her, and the pain was not so bad
anymore. It wasn’t bad at all actually. She felt oddly numb,
slightly cold, but more and more pain free.

“Annabelle!” Julian bellowed.
“Annabelle I need you! Now!”

Cassie caught a glimpse of the small
girl, fighting to get free of the crowd. “Julian.” His ice blue
eyes came down to hers, wide and terrified with worry and despair.
“Julian it’s ok.”

“Yes, you will be ok,” he barked,
breaking free of the melee.

“No, Julian, it’s ok. It’s ok. I always
knew…” a rough coughing spree broke through her; suddenly the pain
was back in sharp shooting waves. She gasped, clinging tighter to
her wound as she tried to breathe through the agony. Julian’s eyes
widened in horror, and though he was terrified for her, tormented
at the thought of losing her, his pupils dilated in hunger at the
sight of the blood she coughed up. “I would not live long,” she
finished on a hoarse whisper.

He tore his gaze away from her as he
bolted across the street. “You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine.
Annabelle!” he bellowed again.

Cassie touched his arm lightly, sensing
the impending end of her life, sensing that she did not have much
time left. “Julian, you can’t let him die. Promise me that you
won’t let him die, not because of me.”

“Cassie…”

“Please Julian,” she pleaded. “Please.
My life is not worth his too.”

This time when his eyes met hers, there
were tears spilling down his cheeks. He may want to deny it, he may
still wish that Annabelle would be able to help her, but she saw
now that inside he knew the truth. She would not survive this. “I
will do everything I can to keep him alive,” he promised
softly.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “And
yourself too?”

He hesitated a moment before nodding
sharply. “And myself too.”

“Thank you.”

Cassie’s head slumped against his chest
as he shoved into the store door, crashing it off of the wall.
Darkness seeped slowly over her; a strange sense of peace embraced
her. She thought she would be scared in the end, but she wasn’t,
not for herself anyway. A strange warmth seeped into her outer
limbs, it replaced the cold chill that had been there
before.

It wasn’t ok that she was leaving
everyone; she wished that she could stay with them forever. But she
was not afraid, there was something else waiting for her, and in
the end she had always known that fate would never be denied. That
it could never be changed. And this was her fate. It always had
been.

She heard Julian screaming for
Annabelle’s healing ability again, and then she heard nothing
more.

***

Chris was numb with horror and terror
as Julian burst into the store, nearly breaking the door off its
hinges as it slammed against the wall with enough force to shatter
the plaster behind it. Chris had heard Cassie’s whispered words; he
could feel the strange sense of comfort and peace that had settled
over her. And he hated it.

He could not lose his best friend, he
could not lose her. And she was ready to be lost. Please, he begged
silently. Please just hold on.

“Annabelle!” Julian yelled again, his
voice so loud that the windows in the store rattled but Annabelle
was already racing through the door. Her strawberry colored curls
were a mess, blood smeared her cheeks, but she appeared unharmed as
she bolted toward Julian. Chris shut the door, propping a chair
against it as its bent frame wouldn’t allow it to close
properly.

“Hurry,” Julian pleaded his voice a
hoarse whisper.

Julian knelt on the floor; he placed
Cassie gently upon the ground. Her hands slid limply away from her
stomach, falling upon the ground. Chris got his first good look at
the hideous wound. His eyes widened, bile rushed up his throat as
he stared in horror at the jagged, vicious tear that had ripped
deep into the inside of his friend. The strong pulse of her blood
had slowed to a near stop, her shirt was torn open but her flesh
was covered by the deep red color of her life.

A small moan of despair escaped him.
Cassie was a fast healer, but even with that ability, and
Annabelle’s powers he couldn’t see how they could do anything to
heal that. It was too deep, too long, too brutal and cruel to ever
be healed. Terror pulsed through him, full blown panic took over.
They were going to lose her, he was certain of it; he was going to
lose his best friend.