Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (45 page)

   Dani’s mouth parted on a small gasp as she searched Cassie’s face. Cassie stared fiercely back at her, meaning every word she had just said. This girl was the cause
o
f her misery, and she had no problem returning Dani’s betrayal with death. Hatred burned in Cassie’s stomach, racing through her veins as her grip on Dani’s shirt tightened. She knew she was on the verge of losing all control, but she didn
’
t care.

   “Now Dani!” she barked.

   Dani licked her lips nervously as she managed a small nod. “Yes, ok
, come on.”
Cassie hesitated for a moment, loathe to put her faith in the girl again, but knowing that she had no other choice. Dani grabbed hold of her
hand, squeezing it briefly. “You can trust me Cassie.”
   Cassie quirked her eyebrow, a small snarl curved her upper lip. “I doubt it.”

   She released Dani, pushing her slightly back. They stared at each other for a moment before Dani turned
and
head
ed
in the opposite direction of the way she had been trying to lead Cassie. Cassie followed silently behind, her attention riveted on the hallways. Though the only sound now was the blaring of the siren, she knew that there was evil out there, hunting them. Dani broke into a slow jog, Cassie stayed right on her heels, terrified that Dani was going to
deceive
her again.
Terrified that she would not get to Julian in time
,
and
that they would all die
in
here.

   Dani skidded around a corner, coming to an abrupt halt
in front of a door
. Her hands fumbled with the keys
, nearly dropping them on the ground as she struggled to pull out the right one. Finally, she slid a key in and turned it. The door swung open to reveal a darkened room. Cassie pushed Dani forward, not trusting her enough to leave her in the hall
alone
.

   The red lights flashed over the room, pulsating as they lit it in
disconcerting
flashes. Her heightened
sight
picked out Julian’s prone form lying upon his bed. “Give me a hand,” she ordered briskly.

   “Cassie…”

   “Now!” she snapped.

   Dani jumped slightly but nodded briskly. Cassie hurried toward the bed
and
grabb
ed
hold of Julian’s arm. It was a surprise
to actually touch him after all the nights they had spent with
a piece of
glass
between them
. His skin was soft and firm beneath
her
palm
;
the fine hairs covering it
were
slightly bristly.

   He was cooler to the touch,
and radiated power
like Devon.
But unlike
when she touched
Devon
,
she did not feel
a
rushing sense of
rightness by
grasp
ing
hold of
Julian
.
S
he did
however feel a rushing sense of relief that nearly choked her. Touching Julian did not make her
feel whole like
Devon did, but it did give her a sense of comfort
that
helped soothe the hurt and loneliness
that had encompassed her in here
. Touching him helped to ease all of the hurt and fear she had been living with
for
so very long. 

   He groaned softly as Cassie pulled him up, keeping a tight hold on his limp form. Readjusting him, she draped his arm over her shoulder, using all of her strength to
lift
him to his feet.
“Help me,” she growled to Dani.

   Dani hesitated for a moment;
her
terrified
eyes dart
ed
to the door. Taking a deep breath,
her shoulders slumped as
she hurried to Julian’s other side
and
drap
ed
his arm around her. “We need to hurry!” she said urgently. “They’re coming!”
   Cassie tried hard to hear anything above the roaring siren, but it drowned out all other sound. She thought of that monster outside of her room and knew that they needed to g
et out of here,
now
. There was not much time left for them. Dragging Julian forward, she hurried from the room as swiftly as his dead weight would
allow
her
to
. She let Dani lead
them
through the maze of halls, winding swiftly through the twists and turns
with an ease that only infuriated Cassie more
.
The girl was very comfortable in this hideous place, very at home.

 
Julian’s hand twitched in hers, but he showed little signs of rousing. The alarm cut off su
ddenly, the blaring sound ended
as abruptly as it had begun. Cassie froze; the sudden quiet
was
even more unnerving then the lo
ud blaring had been. Dani glanced at her, her mouth parted slightly on a small gasp of surprise.
“How much further?”
Cassie asked quietly, hating
how
loud
her voice
sounded
amidst the sudden quiet.

   “Not much,” Dani whispered back, licking her lips nervously. “Come.”

   Cassie winced as Julian’s feet
squeaked across the floor;
the sound seem
ed
as loud as a gunshot in the unending qui
et. Another scream rent the air;
it was
blood curdling in its intensity. The hair on Cassie’s neck stood on end as she glanced behind her. The scream broke off, and then a seri
e
s of shorter ones began to reverberate through the hall.

   Julian twitched again, his head lolled slightly. Cassie glanced worriedly at him, wondering how many drugs they had pumped into him to keep him knocked out through all of this
, and just how much the
UV light
had
hurt
him
.
Although she could only
see
a few darker burns still marring
the
skin along his hairline
,
and his eyes were no longer swollen,
she was
certain
there were still more
marks
on him
.
Cassie’s
attention was ripped away from him as Dani started down
another
hallway, briefly pulling Julian along behind her. Cassie found her feet again, fear spur
r
ing her forward even faster.

  
Julian’s hand tightened briefly on hers again.
“What’s going on?”
he
inquired his voice slurred and thick.

   “We’re getting the hell out of here,” Cassie answered softly.

   His head lolled toward her, his blue eyes widen
ed
upon her. “Cassie?” he
blurted
in surprise.

   “
Shh
, we have to be quiet Julian.”
   He continued to stare at her in wide eyed amazement for a moment, and then he shook his head. “No, this isn’t real. I must be dreaming, or they’ve figured out some new e
xperiment
.”
   Cassie’s heart clenched, pain for him filled her. She stopped abruptly, jerking Dani to a halt.
Grasping hold of his chin, she turned his head forcefully toward her. “This is
very
real Julian,” she whispered fervently, squeezing his chin ha
rd to reinforce her words. “I
am
real. And I need your help. You need to start walking otherwise we are not going to get out of this alive!”

  
He stared at her for a moment
, his dazed gaze
finally focused o
n her
completely
. “This is real?”

   “Very much so, and we need to get out.”

   He blinked again
and
his shoulders straighten
ed
. He seemed to realize that someone else was holding him as he turned slowly away from her. His body stiffened in shock, his grip tighten
ed
painfully on her hand as a feral hiss escaped him. Dani’s eyes widened in
terror
, her gaze flew wildly toward Cassie. For a brief moment Cassie contemplated letting Jul
ian do whatever he wanted to Dani
.
B
ut
no matter how much she didn
’
t like or trust the girl,
she couldn
’
t allow that to happen.
They needed Dani to get out of here, and no matter how much she hated the girl, her conscience would not let Julian kill Dani in cold blood.

   “No Julian,”
Cassie
said softly, tugging sharply on his hand. “We need her to get out of here.”

  
Dani’s nostrils flared as she grasped the unstated threat behind Cassie’s statement. Once they were free, there were no promises. Cassie stared hard at her. “Let’s go,” Dani said softly.

   Though Julian used his own feet, he still leaned on her shoulder as they continued forward. Cassie did not miss the fact that he had pulled away from Dani, but continued to watch her
wearily
. They reached a set of elevators, but Dani turned away from them, heading to the right. Cassie stared at the silver doors for a moment before Julian tugged her forward.

   “We need to use the stairs,” Dani explained in a hushed voice. “I don’t trust the elevator to stay working.”

  
They followed her down the hall until they reached a set of swinging doors. Dani
fumbled with the keys again, unlocking the doors with a shaky hand before
shov
ing
through them. Flights of stairs w
ound
their way
steeply
up. Cassie’s eyes widened as she stared up the twisting mess before them. She was exhausted, still slightly drugged, and every muscle in her body ached
from dragging Julian
, but she could do this. She
would
do this.

   Staggering sli
ghtly, she helped Julian forward as Dani quickly relocked the do
ors
. Her hand gr
asped hold of the banister as Julian
rested his other hand against the wall. Working together she was able to lead him swiftly up the first two flights before the strain began to truly weigh on her. She struggled up the next flight before tripping over a step.

   With a soft cry, she fell forward smashing her knees off of the landing. Pain lanced through her
,
but she shoved
it
aside
as she
tr
ied
hard not to let it get the best of her.
Julian grasped hold of her arm, helping to pull her back up. “You can do this princess,” he hissed in her ear.

   She glanced sharply at him, her eyes narrow
ed
slightly. “Don’t call me princess,” she hissed back.

   His familiar grin flitted over his
handsome
features, his eyes sparked
with amusement. “Come on,” Dani urged, hurrying swiftly back to them. “There’s only one more flight.”

   Cassie bit on her bottom lip, her hands clench
ed
as she shoved herself back to her feet, trying hard not to succumb to the pain threatening to engulf her.
Julian kept hold of her arm as they struggled up the last flight of stairs. Dani hesitated at the top
to
peer out the
window in the
large metal door that blocked their way.

   Taking a deep breath, Dani
set her shoulders as she fumbled to get the keys out of her pocket. Cassie watched
impatiently
as
Dani
shakily inserted them into the lock and turned the key. They waited breathlessly as she pulled the door slowly open, peeking out. “I think it’s safe,” she whispered.

  
Dani
opened the door more and slid through it,
she
wait
ed
for Cassie and Julian to join her
on the other side
. Cassie’s eyes widened, her b
reath
exploded from her in shock as she took in the locker lined hallways. They were in a school. “What the hell?” Julian demanded.