Phoenix Rising

by Erica Stevens

  He yearned to take this away from her, but there was nothing that he could do. Unfortunately all of them had to suffer through the torture of what was done to their bodies, and their insides, in order to gain immortality. She bucked again and continued to scream against his hand as her whole body arched off the floor. Chris recoiled as she flopped limply onto the ground.

  The scent of her assailed him as Julian buried his face in her hair. It was such a mixture of himself and Devon within her that he could barely sense her own essence anymore. But then, there hadn't been much of her blood left within her after Robert's brutal assault.

  "Please forgive me," he murmured against her ear as he cradled her. "Is there anything you can do?" he asked Annabelle.

  She shook her head as she gripped Cassie's legs. "No, I can only heal physical wounds; I cannot take a person's internal pain from them."

  Chris's head turned slowly away from them as he focused instead upon the window. His eyebrows drew together as he frowned. Leaping to his feet, he dodged the debris on the floor as he raced across the room. Cassie screamed against Julian's hand again as she twisted to the side. Her cheeks were florid, sweat poured down her face and coated her clothes. Chris skidded to a halt by the window and roughly pushed the curtain aside to gaze out at the road.

  "I didn't realize Devon had given her so much blood," Annabelle murmured. Julian met her troubled gaze. "He has to know that she's still alive, right?"

  Is she? Julian wondered though he managed to keep the words to himself. This was a bad enough mess without adding his doubts to it. Cassie screamed again and kicked her legs with enough force to knock Annabelle's grip free from one. Annabelle winced and shook her hand before she seized hold of Cassie's leg again.

  "He has to, right!?" Annabelle demanded.

  Julian adjusted Cassie and kept her pinned down as he bit into his wrist again. Fresh blood spurted into his mouth. Before she could attempt another scream he shoved his wrist into her mouth. "Julian!" Annabelle hissed disapprovingly.

  "We have to make sure it's enough," he reminded her.

  He knew Devon would be infuriated that he was sharing his blood with Cassie, but they had to make sure that she got through this transition, that she wasn't trapped in between. For a second there was no reaction from Cassie, and then she grabbed hold of his arm and bit down.

  Julian started in surprise as fangs she'd never had before sank into his wrist. Fangs that never should have been present this early in the transition, but were. Just what would she become?

  Matthew's vision of her had revealed a monster, a creature surrounded by blood and reveling in the destruction that she rained down upon them, a creature that Cassie would never want to become.

  He almost pulled his arm away from her, almost took the flow of life from her lips, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was terrified of Matthew's vision but he was even more terrified of losing her. It was probably one of the most selfish things he'd ever done, but nothing was going to stop him. He had just found her, he'd just realized that there was some humanity left in him and that he could truly love someone else; he couldn't lose it all now. He just couldn't.

  They would deal with the consequences of his actions later, no matter what those consequences might be. He just hoped that he wasn't helping to create a monster that couldn't be destroyed. But if he didn't do this it was likely that Devon would destroy them all anyway, or that she would get caught in between and really become a monster.

  Julian shoved that thought away. Visions had been proven wrong over and over again. They were only a glimpse of the future, not a guarantee, and he was determined that Matthew's vision wouldn't come true. All that mattered right now was that she survived the transition.

  She drank with hungry, pulling gulps that left him shaken and lost. He struggled against the waves of pleasure that surged up and tried to bury him beneath the endless joy that filled him. He could sense her anguish and thirst, but even more than that he could sense the endless joy she took in consuming his blood, in having it fill and sate her.

  Unable to stop it, a small moan of delight escaped him. It was the first time he had allowed his mind to open to another vampire during the blood exchange process. He was unable to let go of her, unable to break the precious connection between them, even if she'd already taken enough blood to ensure her safety through the transformation. An intense sense of possession began to build inside of him. Though she didn't belong to him there would always be a connection between them and in those few seconds he chose to pretend that he could keep her.

  He would always love her and it killed him that she would never be with him, never be his. His fingers curled into her silken hair as he drifted into the ecstasy she emitted, and the love that she had for him. Even if it wasn't the same as the love she had for Devon. He allowed himself to be lost to the woman that had claimed his heart.

  He could keep her. His hands tightened in her hair, he closed his eyes as the thought flitted across his mind. Human's were vulnerable during the transition, he could seize hold of her mind and make her think that it was him she loved, make her stay with him. He so desperately yearned to, and yet he knew that he never could. It wouldn't be real and he loved her too much to abuse and manipulate her in such a way. He could keep her, but he would hate himself forever if he decided to do so.

  "Julian! Julian!"

  His eyes flew open and he blinked Annabelle into focus. "Julian stop! She has enough for the change. She is not yours!"

  Anger and hurt tore through him as a small growl escaped him. He knew that she wasn't his. He knew that. It didn't mean that he had to like it though. Gradually he got enough control over himself to pull away from her. She moaned and her eyelids briefly flickered up to reveal the striking amethyst azure color of her eyes.

  She was still alive, even if she couldn't be his she was still here with him. She wasn't dead as they had all feared and that was all that mattered even though they didn't know what this change would do to her. No Hunter had ever been changed, and Cassie had already been an oddity amongst The Hunter race. She was volatile and extremely powerful as a human, as a vampire she could become something truly unstoppable.

  He knew that he couldn't keep the apprehension from his face as he met Annabelle's gaze. Cassie's cries and screams increased in intensity, he covered her mouth again as he tried to keep her as silent as possible. No one outside of these walls could know she had survived; The Elders would try to destroy her if they did.

  "It's essential we keep her quiet. They'll come in here if we don't," he told Annabelle.

  Annabelle nodded; she held Cassie's legs more firmly to the ground as Julian tried to stifle her cries without harming her.

  "We have a bigger problem."

  Julian had completely forgotten about Chris. Now the boy's hushed words drew their attention to him. What could possibly be a bigger problem than this? Chris's eyes were as big as saucers; his face had taken on the hue of a corpse. A crushing sense of impending doom settled over Julian. He'd never seen the kid look like that before and they'd been in some pretty crappy situations.

  "What is it?" Annabelle whispered.

  "Devon doesn't realize that she's not dead, well not completely dead anyway."

  Annabelle exchanged a confused look with Julian. "That makes no sense," she mumbled. "They have shared blood, Devon should know that she's not truly dead."

  "That may be so." The hoarse tone of Chris's voice scared Julian more than the terrified look in his eyes. "But as I told you before, that thing outside is not Devon."

  CHAPTER 3

  They remained unblinking as they stared at him. Chris was once again reminded of the fact that they were feral and savage as their eyes seemed to shimmer with a strange inner gleam. But even at their worst, they could never be as savage as that thing out there was. Chris shuddered at the word thing, but that was exactly what it was. Devon wasn't out there anymore; Chris couldn't sense his essence amongst the vengeance that consu
med him.

  "How bad?" Annabelle breathed.

  Chris refused to look back outside; there was nothing there that he cared to see again. "He's trying to get to Robert, I think."

  "Yes," Julian said. "Robert's all that he'll want now." Julian's attention was drawn back to Cassie as a series of convulsions rocked her off the floor. Chris's hands fisted at his sides, he hated feeling so impotent but he didn't know what to do to help either her or Devon. The force of her seizures was enough to shake the floor, and he was surprised when he didn't hear the cracking of her bones accompanying them.

  She limply fell back to the floor, her hands uncurled at her sides. Her eyes began to move rapidly behind her eyelids as a small moan escaped her. For now she was calm, simply because it appeared that she had been broken beyond repair. A new concern boiled up inside of Chris as he stared at her unmoving form.

  "Is she going to survive this?" he inquired.

  "Yes," Julian said briskly. "We all went through this. Annabelle, you must go outside."

  Annabelle gawked at him as her hands tightened on Cassie's legs. "You need my help in here."

  He shook his head and gathered Cassie close as she began to stir again. "Annabelle, you have to get out there, and you have to stop him from killing Robert."

  Annabelle recoiled as she sneered at him. "Why would I do that?"

  Julian's eyes briefly flashed red as he leaned forward. "Because if he succeeds in killing Robert his mission will be completed. If he kills Robert, he will gladly hand himself over to the others to be destroyed. We can't let that happen, if it does then all of this is for naught." When Annabelle remained mute, Julian leaned forward. "Cassie will lose it after."

  Annabelle paled visibly as she glanced toward Chris. Julian didn't say what they were all thinking, if Cassie snapped she may very well make the massacre that Devon was creating outside look like a picnic in comparison. "How do I stop him?" she breathed.

  Chris shook his head, there was no answer for that question, he wasn't sure there would be any stopping Devon. Not now. Not with what was going on out there. "I don't know," Julian admitted. "But you have to Annabelle, somehow. You can't let them know what is going on in here."

  Cassie bolted upright and her eyes flew open. Julian slammed his hand back over her mouth as she opened it to scream. He held her as she savagely fought against him. Her golden hair was a tangled mass that adhered to her sweat soaked face as convulsions seized her again. Chris took a step back as her suffering beat against him in pulsating waves. Julian grabbed hold of her arms as she tore at him and spilled more of his blood.

  "Chris!" Julian barked.

  Chris jumped into action. He rushed forward to take Annabelle's place by her feet. "Annabelle, go," Chris assured her as Cassie fought against him with an inhuman strength that surprised even him.

  Annabelle remained frozen for a moment. "I'll do what I can," she promised.

  "Do better than that!" Julian retorted.

  Annoyance flashed across Annabelle's face but she leapt to her feet. Chris watched as she raced to the door with incredible speed and agility. "Close the door," Julian told him when it banged uselessly against the jam.

  Chris was reluctant to release Cassie's flailing legs but he did as Julian ordered. Leaping back to his feet, he ran to the door. He didn't look back outside as he propped the chair against it again.

  ***

  Annabelle's hand flew to her mouth as she took in the destruction that littered the ground around her. Though there were still a few Halflings left most of their bodies littered the ground around her. Bile rushed up her throat, the brutality and ferociousness of the atrocity around her left her shaken and stunned. She'd always known that there was a cruelty within Devon she had never witnessed before. She was witnessing it now, and it was far worse than anything she'd ever seen before.

  He had not only destroyed a good chunk of the Halflings within this town, but he had ripped them to bits and left their remains scattered about. It looked as if a bomb had gone off, and that bomb was Devon. She tore her attention from the savagery as she instinctively sought out Liam amongst the dwindling crowd. She had to be reassured of his health and well being, at least for now.

  His gaze met hers; his beautiful silvery eyes were filled with revulsion and disbelief. He'd been pushed to the other side of the hole that Robert had created yesterday during his first attempt at killing Cassie. Melissa, Luther, and Dani stood by his side looking just as distraught and disgusted as Liam. Though they appeared to be in no danger, not right now anyway, Annabelle knew that wouldn't last. Julian believed Devon would hand himself over to The Elders once he killed his brother, but Annabelle didn't think he would. Especially since she now understood that Chris had been right in his assessment. There was nothing left of the Devon they knew.

  Devon was in the throes of a bloodlust so severe and destructive that attempting to stop him seemed futile. Even after he destroyed Robert, there was no way to know if Devon would stop, or if he even could stop. Not without Cassie, and there was no way to know if she would make the change in time to make any difference. No way to know if she would even come through the change with any resemblance to the person she had once been.

  Devon tore the head off of one of the Halflings and used its body to ram another one that rushed at him. Annabelle winced and fell back a step as the thing broke in half. Devon was oblivious to the fact that his hair and clothes were caked with blood and his eyes were the same color. The Elders had fallen back beneath his savage advance, too astonished by it to react quite yet, but that wouldn't last much longer.

  What could she possibly do to stop this?

  Her gaze fell on Dani as the small girl peeped out from behind Luther. Dani! Of course!

  Annabelle raced across the ground and leapt over the hole in the pavement. Liam grasped hold of her arms in order to reassure himself that she was ok. Annabelle understood his desperate need to touch her, but unfortunately she didn't have time for it right now.

  "Dani, I need you to zap them, especially Devon."

  Dani shook her head. "Devon told me to wait; he told me that they would turn on us and to save it for when the Halflings were dead!"

  Annabelle grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her away from Luther as she shoved her toward the hole in the pavement. "I don't care what Devon told you," she retorted. "That is not Devon out there, do you understand me? I am telling you that you have to zap him, you must stop him!"

  "Why on earth would you want me to do that?" Dani yelled back. "Robert killed her Annabelle! He killed her!"

  Annabelle ground her teeth as she tried to keep hold of her patience. Dani didn't know what she knew, but she wished the girl would just do what she said, while she still could. "I know, but if you don't do something to stop him, he will die also. If you don't stop him then we are all dead. The Elders will come for us when they are done with him!"

  Dani's eyes flitted back to the battle scene. The Elders seemed to be recovering now; Adon and Zane had taken up positions and were standing their ground instead of falling back. Octavia, Elspet, and Anastasia stood behind them, their eyes narrowed as they watched Devon. Robert was still backing up, but Bernard had edged toward the side in an attempt to circle around behind Devon. Matthew remained unmoving in the shadows with a serene expression on his face.

  Panic tore through Annabelle; they didn't have much time left. Bernard was getting closer, Zane looked furious, and Anastasia was basking in the emotions she was sucking into her. Emotions she would twist within her and use to build her strength and increase her speed.

  "Do it!" Annabelle's harsh command caused Dani to jump in surprise.

  "Are you crazy?" Luther demanded. "She can't take them down. Let Devon destroy them."

  Annabelle shook her head at Luther as she nudged Dani forward. "He can't beat them all, no matter how crazed he is. He must be stopped Luther. He must!"

  Luther gaped at her as Melissa took a step forward. Her onyx eyes were questioni
ng as she studied Annabelle. Beneath her feet, Annabelle began to feel the pulse of electricity that marked Dani's absorption of the power of the earth into her body. She took a step away and braced herself for any back flash that might be directed their way.

  Dani released her power on a burst that left even Annabelle staggered. The shockwave ripped out of Dani and knocked the group of Elders back a few feet. Devon was shoved to his knees, but he wasn't completely thrown off balance. His head swiveled toward them, his nostrils flared as his red gaze burned into them. Annabelle's chest clenched as she realized she had underestimated just how far gone Devon truly was.

  She grabbed hold of Dani's arm and pulled the girl with her as she took a few hasty steps back. They had succeeded in drawing his attention away from The Elders, but unfortunately they had directed it right to themselves. If the force of his stare was any indication, he wouldn't think twice before ripping them limb from limb.

  "Oh," Annabelle breathed. "Oh, no."

  "What have you done?" Dani moaned. "What did you have me do!?"

  Annabelle remained unmoving as Devon turned toward them. He was worse than any avenging demon from Hell, worse than any nightmare Annabelle had ever had. He was going to destroy them all, and for the first time she realized that even Cassie may not be able to connect with him right now. "Annabelle," Liam grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back. "We need to go. Now! He will kill us."

  Annabelle shook him off; she refused to believe that Devon was completely gone, and she wouldn't leave him here to fend for himself. "No, we will not abandon him."

  Liam's kind eyes reflected sadness by her stubborn defiance, but he couldn't know that their only salvation lay inside the store. She had to believe that Cassie would be able to reach Devon, she had to!

  She could only hope that their salvation arrived before it was too late.

  ***

  "Give me your arm."

  "What?" Chris asked in surprise as he labored to keep Cassie's legs pinned beneath him.