Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (18 page)

   Devon froze
as
shock
slammed
through him
. “What?” he asked softly, his voice choked.

   “Before Gertrude there was at least one Hunter every few decades with no abilities. Afte
r, there were none. I think The Commission
began to kill them off in order to limit the liability that the
se
Hunter’s
represented
to them
.”

   Devon’s legs almost buckled, he had to lean against the door jam in order to keep himself upright. “Are you serious?” he croaked out.

   Luther sighed softly
as he
pull
ed
his glasses swiftly off. “I believe in what I do
,
Devon. I believe that I help in the
world, that I am part of a
good
cause. But I know that The Commission was full of a bunch of very old fashioned, uppity individuals that would not allow any imperfection
, and to them these Hunter’s were a liability. They would fear whatever happened to Gertrude, what could happen to Cassie
…”

  
Luther broke off, his unspoken words h
u
ng heavily in the air. Devon knew what he had been unwilling to say though.
If
The Commission
somehow
did know what Luther had been digging for,
and why he had been digging for it, then they might come for
Cassie
. They
would not
take any risks with
the
Hunter
bloodline. They would want to cover up any
proof that there might be faults within the
line
, and Cassie was that proof. H
e
needed to get
Cassie out of this
damn
town;
there was far too much danger here
for her
.
Unfortunately
,
it was s
omething
that
she
absolutely
refused to do. Cursing violently, Devon spun and began to storm back the other way.

 
They might try to take her away from him
if she
stayed
in this town
, and
if
they knew where she was
.
They would not want a living reminder of the genetic abnormality in the Hunter line
, and that was all they would see Cassie as
.
They would see her as
dangerous, volatile,
and
unstable
. And although the Hunter and Guardian line had been decimated, she
w
ould be
considered
a liability to them
,
and
T
he
Commission
wo
uld not want that.

   “Cassie is not an imperfection,” Devon growled.

   Luther nodded as he slid his glasses on. “I know that,” he said softly. “But to them she would be, and it c
ould
not be allowed. If they thought that the other Hunters like her were a danger
,
or
a
threat to
The Commission
in any way
,
then they would
have
destroy
ed
them.”
   Devon stood in stunned silence for a moment longer, barely able to form a coherent thought. Fury boiled through his veins at the thought of those men sitting back
,
idly deciding who would live
,
and who would die. “So
,
The Slaughter may very well have saved her life,” Devon said softly.

  
Luther was silent for a moment, his thoughts focused on the massacre that had robbed many Hunter’s and Guardian’s of their lives.
“As ironic as that is, yes. The Slaughter
may
very well
be
the reason that she
is
still alive.”

   Anger surged through
Devon
.
“They’ll come for her, if they know what you were looking for, they’ll come for her.”

 
“There aren’t enough of them le
ft to bother her Devon,” Luther didn’t
sound completely convinced himself.
“And we don’t even know if anything will come of
what I uncovered.”
   Devon wasn’t completely convinced. “Do we tell her?”

   Devon’s phone went off, the default ringer loud in the oppressive room. He fished it out
of his pocket
,
h
is chest tightened a
t the sight of
Cassie’s name. He didn’t know what to say to her right now, he didn’t know if he could keep the stress out of his voice. He almost slipped the phone back in his
pocket, but she would only worry if he didn
’
t answer
, and the last thing he wanted was to cause her anymore stress
.

   He held up a finger to Luther as he walk
ed
a few feet away. “Hello.”

  
“Devon!
Devon! You need to get back here as soon as possible!
Now!”
A voice rushed over the line.

   He froze, blinking as he tried to place the strange voice on the other end of his phone. It certainly wasn’t Cassie’s. “Dani?” he asked in surprise.

   “Yes, yes,” she replied impatiently. “You need to get back here now! Isla’s outside, and they’re outside w
ith her, I have to go help them!”

   Devon stood for a stunned moment after the line went dead. Then panic
and terror tore through him. Dropping the phone, he raced past a startled Luther, throwing the door open.
“Devon!”
Luther shouted in surprise.

   “Cassie’s!” he yelled back at him.

   Leaping into the storm, Devon drew on every ounce of power that Cassie’s blood had given him as he raced into the night.

  
No matter how fast he moved, h
e
was terrified that he
would
not
get t
o
her in time.

CHAPTER 9

   Cassie took a step closer to Melissa and Chris, fear rolling through her. Isla had not moved yet,
but there was a strang
ely
superior smile on her face.
In the air
,
Cassie could
suddenly
feel a strange, sizzling power
beginning to
build.
Terror froze her as she glanced worriedly at Chris and Melissa
,
who had the same horrified looks of realization on their faces she was certain was on hers.
She recalled belatedly that they had never
asked Devon w
hat Isla’
s power was.
What she w
as
capable of doing.
The backdoor slammed open moments before
Isla r
eleased
her power in a brutal rush
of electricity
.

   A terrifying jolt seemed to turn the world upside down. Cassie shook her head, trying to ease the accelerated beat of her heart. Her skin tickled strangely, her hair stood on end. She looked down, surprised to see
that the ends
of her arm hair
were singed.
The stench of burnt flesh and hair hung heavy in the damp air.

  
She glanced wildly around her, spinning in a circle when she realized that Chris and Melissa were no longer
standing
beside her.
Nausea and horror spiraled through her; she raced toward where they lay, unmoving on the ground.

   “No, no, no!” she cried, falling to her knees
in the snow
b
eside
Chris.

  
Grasping hold of his arm, she was horrified by the burns
that
marr
ed
his pale skin.
But she instantly felt the beat of his heart, the warmth of his skin. Glancing at Melissa she was relieved to see the subtle rise and fall of her chest. Thankfully they were alive, but they had been completely knocked out.

   Dani fell into the snow beside her, her gold flecked eyes wide with horror. Cassie recalled what Devon had said about the abilities of a Grounder. When a vampire and a Hunter met up, they cancelled each other out. That was why Dani was st
ill on her feet, but why was
she
?

   Cassie
glanced worriedly back at Isla
.
Apparently Isla had more practice at controlling her power than Dani did. She could control who she wanted to take out with he
r
blast of electricity, and w
ho
she did not.
Cassie shuddered
, terror crept
down her spine
; she
had to keep
Isla
at bay
.
She
had to keep Isla
from her friends, but
she had
no idea how she was going to do it. “You need to get them inside,” she whispered to Dani.

   Dani’s eyes widened
,
her gaze dart
ed
past
Cassie
to Isla. “I can’t leave you out here.”

   “She won’t let me get in
side
, she
might
let you.
You need to get them out of here.”

   “Cassie…”
   Cassie pulled the stake from where it had been tucked into the sleeve of Dani’s coat. “Go on,” she said softly.

   “But…”
   “Dani, the three of you need to live through this. You have to help them.” Dani still looked doubtful, her eyes troubled
and worried
. “It’s me she wants.
She’ll let you go, n
ow go.”

   Before Dani could protest
further
,
Cassie
s
cuttl
ed
back in the snow,
moving swiftly away from her. S
he hardly felt the cold
through the adrenaline coursing in
her veins.
No matter what happened
,
she had to keep Isla away from the three of them. They were the only hope for the town
,
if she did not survive this.
Which there was a good possibility she wouldn
’
t.
Isla was dangerous, spurned,
stronger,
and filled with hatred. She was going to be a battle
unlike any Cassie had ever experienced
.

   A brief tug of guilt and loss
pulled
at her heart as her thoughts turned briefly to Devon. They had just found each other again. This was going to destroy him. She shut the thoughts down before
she was
consumed
by
the agony that was trying to rise up. She still had a chance
to win this
, it was not over yet, and she was going to fight like hell to make sure that she did not lose him again.

 
Cassie
turned toward Isla as the beautiful
woman
came slowly forward, her hips swaying,
and
her long hair falling about her in thick waves. Cassie remained kneeling, her body tense as she tried to calculate Isla’s plan
. Her fingers clenched around the stake as Isla stopped mere feet away from her, her golden eyes narrowed as she studied Cassie distastefully.

   “What could Devon possibly see in you?” she mused softly, lightly tapping her teeth
with a long red nail
. Cassie refused to take her eyes from Isla, but she desperately wanted to know how Dani was making out. “You’re such a mousey little thing.”

   “Obviously
more than he saw in you,” Cassie grated.

   Isla’s eyes flashed ruby red, a small snarl curled her
full
upper lip. They remained silent for a few moment
s
watching each other, Cassie wearily, Isla with a small gleam of satisfaction in her eyes. Cassie shifted slightly, unable to resist glancing back as she heard a soft thump. Dani had managed to drag Melissa’s prone figure to the porch, she was struggling to
pull
her up the stairs.