Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (20 page)

   Instead, there was
only a hollow, lonely pit
growing ever wider
inside of her. A pit she was beginning to fear would never fill up; a pit she worried might just swallow her w
hole with its rage and emptiness.

   Taking ragged, pain filled breaths
,
she
shoved Isla’s corpse off of her. Though
Isla
was dead weight now, Cassie barely felt her weight against her trembling arms. S
lowly
she
rolled to the side, digging her hands into the snow as she managed to
lift
herself onto her knees. Her muscles and bones shook, her whole body trembled and quaked.
She was numb with shock and horror; there was no feeling of justice or vindication in her.
There was suddenly nothing inside of her, but the empty pit, and a growing sense of something else, something wrong and very out of place. Something that did not belong in her body at all, but was growing inside of her, taking her by force.

  
Consuming her.
 

  
Cassie
moved one hand forward, placing it back into the snow
as she attempted to crawl away from the monster she had
just
killed because of pure hatred
.
A hatred the likes of which she had
n
ever experienced before and hoped to never experience again. She couldn’t sh
ake the lingering remnants of the hate
, couldn’t rid herself of the feeling
. Couldn’t get away from whatever was inside of her.

   Pain exploded through her
. It pulsed through her muscles, tightening them, convulsing them. Cassie gasped, her fingers clench
ed
in the frigid snow.
A frigid snow she
could
no longer fe
el
the cold of
because of
the pain tearing through her.
A fresh wave of agony washed
over
her
. It locked her extremities in place at the same time that
all her bones
seemed to
shatter. It felt as if the fragments of
her shattered
bone
s
were ripping through her veins, muscles, and skin
.
She
was
being torn
apart from the inside out
. The
pain engulfed her, consumed her.
It
rocked
through her with an intensity that left her broken, hollow.

  
Wheezing for breath,
a low
, ragged
groan
escaped
her
. She heaved, shook, yet she remained
completely
locked in place in the snow.
Snow skidded up around her, plowing outward as Devon s
l
id to a stop in front of her. “Cassie,” he whispered, grasping hold of her shoulders.

   His touch, normally so soothing, only sent
fresh
fire
through her overly sensitized
, traumatized
skin.
It burned through her. Unable to stop it
,
a scream of pure
torture
ripped from her throat.

***

   Devon skidded to a halt in front of Cassie, panic pulsing through him
as he took in her unyielding form
.
She was bent over, gasping for breath, her muscles rigid. Her pain beat against him, her terror and disorientation radiat
ed
outward. “Cassie.”

   He gripped hold of her shoulders, knowing instantly that he had made the wrong choice. A scream ripped out of her, echoing through the silent night. She recoiled from him, but didn’t get far as her body was
frozen in pain, her hands curled into tight
fists
. He released her,
a feeling of
helplessness
rolling
through
him
.

   “Cassie, Cassie
look
at me.”

   Her head
remained bowed, her body curled
in on itself. He knew this feeling, vividly recalled what it felt like to die. Vividly recalled the pain that had encompassed him
,
it had
swamp
ed him and
driving him to the brink of madness before blessed release
finally took
him under.
E
xcept
,
she wasn’t dying, not
c
ompletely.
No, what she wa
s doing was something even
worse
.

  
“No,” he moaned softly,
hating the vulnerability of his situation. He needed to reach her, needed to stop this before he couldn
’
t bring her back. “Cassie.”

   He reached for her again, this time
barely
grasping hold of her chin. He felt the inflexibility of her muscles
as he gently lifted her chin. Dread filled him as her eyes met his. The normal
ly
bright, beautiful violet
blue
of them was gone. It had been replaced by a violent, malevolent shade of red. His breath froze in his lungs
, she didn’t seem to see him, didn’t seem to focus as she stared unblinkingly.

   “Cassie, you need to focus on me,” he said softly, reaching out with his mind to try and grasp hold of hers. He had never
knowingly
exerted his power over her, had never intended too. Even when she had left him
,
he had never
seriously
considered
taking control of her
mind. But now… well now he had no choice. She could not make the change completely, not without his blood, and he was not willing to do that to her.

  He w
ould
n
ot condemn her to his life unless she made the choice willingly.
Something that she was not doing
right
now.
Now it had been forced upon her by
birth, and by who she was.
This
was not a choice that she had made,
this
was a cruel twist of fate,
and he could not allow it to continue.

   “Cassie,” he said softly, pushing through the waves of agony washing over her. “Focus on me, look at
me
.”

  
She shuddered again, a soft mewl of pain escap
ed
her. Her muscles contracted tightly, her teeth clenched together. It took everything he had not to drag her against him
to
sooth
e
and comfort her. But his touch would only hurt her more. Frustration filled him, but he continued to reach out to her, probing gently against her mind
, trying to force his way in
. She was awash in the
painful
sensations consuming
her;
reasonable thought
was
all but gone.

   “What’s going on? What’s wrong with her?”
Chris demanded.

   Devon spun
defensively
as Chris and Melissa raced toward them
.
T
heir hair
was
still standing slightly on end
, the smell of burnt hair and fl
esh radiat
ed
from them.
Devon’s
lips pulled back, his teeth elongat
ed
.
A
snarl ripp
ed
from him
as his protective urges sprang forth
. If they came any closer they would hurt her, they would ruin
everything. If they came any closer they would see her like this, something he knew she would hate.
And he could
not
allow that.

   “Stay back!” he sna
rl
ed.
They skidded to a halt
a few
feet away from h
i
m;
their eyes
were
wide in shock
as they took him in
. Dani slid to a halt beside
them; her mouth parted slightly, her eyes widened
on Devon. “
Get away from her
!”

   They remained frozen in the snow, unmoving as their eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Cassie
moaned again, a tremor wracked
through her. Devon moved closer to her, trying to shelter her
from their worried eyes
without touching her.
Luther appeared suddenly, his face hard, his eyes knowing and sad as he met Devon’s gaze.

   “Get inside,” he ordered the others.

   “Luther…
”

   “I said get inside!” he interrupted
Melissa
sharply. “There is nothing that you can do here. You’re only making it worse. Get inside!”

   He pushed and shoved at them, turning them forcefully when they still would not move. “What is going on?” Chris asked softly.

   “I’ll explain later. Go.”

   “The boy,” Melissa reminded them.

   Devon turned his full attention back to Cassie
as Luther and Chris lifted the prone boy from the snow, hurrying with him toward the house.
Devon would have to take care of the child later, but
for now his attention was focused upon Cassie.
She was still staring unseeingly at him, but she had wrapped her arms around her stomach and was curling into the fetal position.

 
“Listen to me Cassie, you can beat this. You are
strong enough to beat this
. You can
do this Cassie. I know you can,
”
he urged.

   His fingers tightened on her chin. He fought against he
r
pain;
it
threatened to consume him as he took complete control of her mind. He whispered soothing words to her, trying to find the flicker of her spirit
that
he knew had to be buried beneath all of the pain, fear, confusion
, fury, and hatred
.
It took longer than he would have liked, but eventually he found it.

   Seizing hold of it, he wrapped his presence around hers,
attempting to
shelter
her
from the changes trying to take
her
over. He comforted her, nurtur
ing
her
as he
block
ed
the emotions bea
t
ing down on her.
H
e felt her coming back, his strength helping her to fight against the centuries of blood and heritage that had pushed her to this point.
To this brink of insanity and anguish.

   “You can do this,” he whispered aloud.

   Slowly, subtly, the pain began to subside, her muscles began to ease. She blinked, her eyes flickering between the volatile red and the beautiful violet
blue he loved so dearly
. Blinking again, her eyes locked on
to his, recognition bloomed
within them. Tears sprang forth, spilling swiftly down her reddened cheeks.

   “Devon,” she whispered.

   He caught her as she collapsed into the snow, unconsciousness dragging her under.

C
H
APTER 10

  
Devon kept Cassie on his lap, the blanket wrapped tightly around her. Though she had showered
,
she
was still chilled, her skin abnormally pale. It was not the lingering effects of the snow that held her in its grasp, but the lingering remnants of pain. He shifted her slightly, pulling her more firmly against him as he cradled her gently. She rested her head in the hollo
w
of his neck
;
a small shiver worked
its way through her.

   Kissing the top of her head softly, he rubbed her arms gently, trying to return some heat to her body. She wiggled slightly against him, trying to get even closer. He wondered how long that would last once she heard what he and Luther had to say. He glanced up at Luther, uncertain where to start, or if they should start at all. They had all been traumatized tonight. Chris and Melissa
jerked involuntarily
every once in awhile, the effects of Isla’s electrical current still
affect
ing
their bodies. Dani just looked plain terrified as she glanced rapidly between him and Cassie.