Phoenix Rising

by Erica Stevens

  "Give me your arm!" Julian commanded again.

  Chris stared at him in disbelief, unsure he'd heard Julian right. Before he could answer though, Julian snatched hold of his arm with such speed that Chris barely saw him move. As quick as a snake, Julian bit into his wrist. Chris winced as a startled cry escaped him. "What are you doing!?" he demanded. Alarm tore through him as he tried, and failed, to rip his arm free of Julian's iron tight hold.

  Julian gave him a look of disgust. "My blood calmed her before, and you know she'll require human blood to make the transition complete."

  Chris continued to gawk at him, too aghast to move as Julian shoved his wrist into Cassie's mouth. He jumped in surprise as she bit deep. He opened his mouth to protest, but became immobile as Cassie's pleasure swamped him instantly.

  He gaped at his friend, a person he had always relied on as she drank deeply from him. She wasn't a person, and never would be again. In fact, he didn't know what she was, or what she would become. Beneath her intense pleasure at the taste and feel of his blood, he could also sense a swirling well of power flowing through her and growing by the second. It was a power so intense that it robbed him of his breath, and any sense of reason.

  Looking at her now he was acutely aware of the fact that she would never be his Cassie again. She was forever changed, and something else was rising up to take her place. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, but her struggles had ceased. She was peaceful now as she took from him something that he was willing to give.

  Julian held her close and rocked her as he rested his head against her hair and whispered reassuringly to her. "Good Cassie, good," he murmured. "Take whatever you need."

  Chris tried to object to that statement, he needed his blood too, but he couldn't seem to find his voice. He wouldn't deny Cassie what she needed, not if it helped her survive, but he was terrified that whatever was growing inside of her, whatever power was swelling through her wouldn't allow her to stop. He knew she could kill him but he still couldn't bring himself to separate from her.

  Cassie released him suddenly and shoved his arm away from her body as her eyes flew open. Chris instinctively recoiled from her as her fiery red eyes blazed back at him. He'd seen the angry and ravenous eyes of a vampire many times before, but he'd never seen anything as shocking as Cassie's red eyes. There was no white to them anymore; her entire eye was completely red except for the black pupil right in the center.

  Chris couldn't move; his muscles locked into place as he breathlessly waited for his best friend to spring forth and rip his throat out. He wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she did. She focused on him briefly before her head shot toward the window. He was surprised she could focus on anything with those devil eyes.

  Shock had caused Julian's grip on her to ease and she easily broke free of his lazy hold. She leapt to her feet with the grace of a jungle cat. Chris stared after her as she bolted to the door and flung the chair aside to rip the door open. He remained frozen, numb with shock as Cassie escaped the store.

  "Well, that was a good sign," Julian muttered.

  Chris turned toward him. "Good sign? Good sign!?" he croaked. "Did you see her eyes!?"

  Julian's eyes were somewhat dazed as he met Chris's gaze. "They were definitely strange, but I think it's a very good sign that she didn't kill us." Chris tried to find some reassurance in Julian's words, but he found none. Those eyes! No one could find reassurance after seeing those things. "Come on."

  Julian grabbed hold of his arm and hauled him to his feet. Chris worried that his legs wouldn't support him, but they found the strength to keep him up as Julian pulled him toward the door and whatever nightmare awaited them outside.

  CHAPTER 4

  Annabelle stood in front of the others, trying to keep them behind her as Devon steadily advanced on them. He was stalking them, hunting them as he backed them up. She could only pray that her presence in the front might deter him a little, but she didn't hold out much hope for that. "He's going to kill us," Dani whispered.

  Annabelle wanted to argue with her, but there was no denying the truth. He was going to kill them, and there would be no stopping him. Her heart shattered as she met Liam's tender gaze. She wished that she could make this all better, but there was only one person that could do that, and God only knew what was going on with her right now. Annabelle held out some small hope that they would be spared in time, but she was acutely aware of the fact that they were running out of ground, and that Devon was gaining it.

  "What do we do?" Melissa demanded.

  Annabelle shook her head; she was completely out of ideas. Then, she felt the rumbling within the ground again, the earth shifting and changing. Her gaze flew to Robert, her eyes narrowed as the earth heaved up. It would be Robert that went for Devon, Robert that would attempt to destroy him while he was distracted by other prey. The Elders made no attempt to help, instead they just stood back, their gazes intent as they watched the first boulder fly up. It crashed into Devon's back and roughly knocked him forward but he managed to remain on his feet.

  Ire flashed hotly through Annabelle as she took a step toward him with the objective of defending her friend. Liam grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back. "Annabelle, no."

  "They're going to kill him!" she retorted.

  "He'll kill us!"

  Annabelle shook her head as she tried to tug her arm free of Liam's grasp. "We have to bide some time!" she cried in frustration.

  Liam stared at her in surprise and confusion. "Time for what?" he demanded. Annabelle longed to tell him, but she knew that The Elder's would storm into the store and kill Cassie if they overheard her words. "Annabelle?"

  "We have to help Devon!"

  The earth around Robert heaved up as it flew forward. Devon bellowed as he tried to push through the storm of rocks, but was continuously knocked back. Dani shook her head forcefully and took a small step back as Annabelle turned on her. "Do it again!" she commanded.

  "She can only use her ability once!" Melissa stepped in front of Dani as she tried to protect the smaller girl.

  Annabelle's eyes fixed on Dani, who looked a little too frightened. "Dani?" she demanded.

  They all turned to her as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. "My ability has gotten stronger," she admitted on a whisper.

  Annabelle grabbed hold of her arm and pushed her forward as Devon was knocked to his knees. "Robert, go for Robert!"

  "If we attack The Elders...!"

  Annabelle shot Luther a look that silenced him instantly. "Go for Robert."

  "You're declaring war," Luther told her.

  She glared at him. "Robert killed Cassie, they already declared war. Now it is essential that we save Devon."

  "I don't know how strong it is on the second blast," Dani mumbled.

  Blood bloomed across Devon's forehead as a rock bounced off of him. "Just stop Robert," she whispered fervently. "It will be ok."

  Annabelle hoped that was a promise she could keep. Devon was struggling back to his feet when another rock hit his shoulder and knocked him back again. The ground pulsed and began to vibrate as Dani drew power from it. Annabelle kept hold of her shoulders, trying to give her courage and strength. The blast shot out of her and hit Robert forcefully enough to push him back a few steps.

  The rocks Robert had been gathering to throw at Devon clattered to the ground as his power was temporarily squashed. As one, creepy unit, The Elder's turned scorching, ruby eyes upon all of them. Terror curdled through Annabelle as a small whimper escaped Dani. Annabelle shoved the smaller girl behind her, prepared to take the blunt force of their attack, but Liam stepped in front of her.

  "Liam!" she cried.

  He turned toward her, but froze in mid movement. No words escaped his gaping mouth as his eyes locked on the door of the store. Annabelle felt the hair on her arms and neck rise as a chill crept down her spine. She knew instantly what had riveted Liam to the spot but the look on his face didn't bode well for their future, no
t at all. If Cassie had emerged from this ok, then he wouldn't look as if he'd just seen the devil himself step forth upon the earth. He wouldn't look as if he was about to grab Annabelle and flee from here.

  Annabelle couldn't move; she couldn't look at the new presence she sensed behind her. Liam turned slowly toward her. "What have you done?"

  Annabelle could only shake her head as she tried to form coherent words. "Not. Me. Devon. Julian." She sounded like a caveman, but they were the only words that could escape her constricted throat.

  Liam's eyes came back to her. "Annabelle..."

  "I love you," she whispered.

  A blur drew her attention away from Liam's beautiful silver eyes. She swallowed heavily and braced herself as she finally focused upon the new addition to the group. Cassie moved swiftly across the ground, so fast in fact that Annabelle could barely follow her. Her knot of apprehension nearly doubled in intensity. No new vampire should be able to move like that. Hell, she couldn't even move that fast yet.

  Yet Cassie covered the hundred and fifty feet, and was by Devon's side, in the mere blink of an eye. "Cassie," Melissa breathed as she eagerly stepped forward.

  Liam held his arm out to keep her from going any closer. "Stay back."

  "But..." Melissa's mouth parted as her hand flew up to cover it. "Cassie?"

  It was the question in Melissa's voice that terrified Annabelle most. Gathering her strength, she turned back toward the creature that knelt by Devon's side. Her hand was on his shoulder, her gaze locked on his as he gazed up at her.

  "Cassie?" Devon's voice was choked with awe and disbelief as his gaze scanned her face. His hand trembled as he reached up to cup her cheek with his hand. "Cassie?"

  She didn't respond to him as she took hold of his hand and squeezed it. Luther's feet scraped across the ground as he took a step forward. Cassie's head turned toward the sound. Luther froze, Melissa staggered back a step, and Dani let out a small moan. Annabelle's hand clenched around Liam's, but she found her legs locked in place as those horrifying, alien, completely inhuman eyes blazed out at them. They were far brighter, and far more terrifying than anything Annabelle had ever seen before.

  Cassie didn't seem to recognize any of them as she stared forward unblinkingly. Liam pulled Annabelle closer to him as he tugged her back a step. "As it was meant to be, so has she risen."

  Matthew's whispered words pierced the oddly still night. It was only then that Annabelle's attention was brought back to the startled Elders who stood frozen at the edge of the woods. She suddenly realized that the remaining creatures had fled into the woods to escape from the newest presence. The knot in her stomach twisted even tighter at this realization. Those creatures didn't fear much, they had attacked the Elders without hesitation, but they feared Cassie.

  She was pretty certain that wasn't a good sign. In fact she would lay money on it being a very bad omen.

  Cassie touched Devon's face tenderly once more before slowly rising to her feet. Her golden hair was a wild tangle that blew around her in the chilly winter breeze as she faced The Elders. Her shoulders were stiff, her eyes intense as her gaze slid over them. Though blood still covered her skin and shirt, the gash in her stomach had healed during her transformation.

  Her gaze finally locked on Robert and the glow of her eyes intensified. "How about you throw one of those things at me?" she inquired.

  Annabelle shuddered as she took another step away from Cassie. She didn't know what had awakened in Cassie's place, but even she could sense that it was something that none of them had ever seen before.

  ***

  Devon stared up at Cassie, unable to believe that she was here, unable to believe that she wasn't dead. She wasn't lost to him.

  Or was she?

  She had touched him with all the reverence and love that he so dearly cherished. Her touch had been the same, but even he could tell that she wasn't. Her eyes, those damn strange eyes that had blazed so hotly yet seemed almost unseeing as she'd met his gaze.

  Her clothes were still bloody, there was so much blood, but the gaping wound that had torn through her beautiful skin was gone, healed during her transition. But transition, how was that possible? He shook his head as he recalled their last encounter. He'd given her a lot of blood, but it couldn't have been enough to get her completely, and safely, through all of the changes.

  His head turned as movement caught his attention. Julian and Chris were emerging from the store to stand at the edge of the sidewalk. Devon's nostrils flared, anger sizzled through him as he caught the scent of their blood in the air. Suddenly, he understood. His blood may not have been enough to see her through the transition, but if Julian gave some of his too it would have been. Chris's blood had brought her back completely.

  The thought of Julian's blood inside her sent his temper spiraling nearly out of control again. She was his, or at least she had been. He wasn't even certain what she was anymore.

  But that didn't matter; none of it mattered, not as long as she was still here. She was still with him, and she was alive again. Sort of.

  She didn't turn to look at him as he rose to stand behind her. The Elders remained unmoving as they studied her. For the first time since he'd met the man, Devon saw true worry in Zane's eyes, in all of their eyes. Though Cassie hadn't possessed any of the extra Hunter or vampire abilities when alive, there was no way to know what she could do now. What she may might be able to do to them all.

  "Bet you wish you hadn't jumped the gun now Robert." Cassie's hushed voice carried easily through the still night. Robert's eyes flickered, exasperation blazed from him as he shifted, but he didn't make a move to attack her. Not yet. Cassie's gaze latched upon Adon and Anastasia, the two people that Devon could still control but hadn't thought to do so during his craze. "Bring them to me," she whispered.

  Devon started as his gaze swung to her. How did she know he had control over those two when he'd never told her, and just what did she plan to do with them? He remained frozen, unable to do as she asked, he wasn't certain that he wanted to do what she asked. He didn't know what had become of her, and he was loathe to see her harmed again. He was afraid she would reveal herself as some monster that would have to be destroyed.

  That was something that he could never do.

  She turned toward him. "You have control over them so I can't take it from you. Bring them Devon."

  He refused to break her gaze as she stared at him. Just what kind of abilities had she awakened with? He sensed her power was more than mind control, sensed that it was far more than anything anyone had ever possessed. "Cassie..."

  Her eyes were like molten lava as they focused upon him. "It's ok."

  Though the words were meant to reassure, they didn't. He still didn't know what he was dealing with, but he'd never been able to refuse her anything. She hadn't given him a reason to distrust her, and if there was one person he'd always had faith in it was Cassie. She just wasn't a person anymore, but he wasn't going to give up on her now, not when she may need him the most.

  Seeking with his mind, he reopened the pathways he had already established within Adon and Anastasia's brains as he took control. With a simple command, he drew them forward, separating them from the group. Zane tried to grasp Anastasia, but she had already moved out of his reach, and Zane seemed reluctant to get any closer to Cassie.

  Devon smiled in amusement as Zane shot him a bewildered look that was quickly replaced with anger. Though Devon's power had always been the strongest, and most debilitating, Zane hadn't thought him capable of taking control of two minds at once, at least not two Elder minds. He had greatly underestimated the power that Cassie's blood had given to him.

  "Amazing what happens when you feed upon a Hunter," Devon murmured.

  Zane's eyes blazed a ruby red as his gaze fixed on Anastasia. Frustration and helplessness radiated from him, but he made no move to go after her. If it had been Cassie that had been pulled away from him, Devon would have done anything he could to get
her back. For the first time Devon began to realize that he'd greatly underestimated the oldest Elder's attachment to Anastasia. Yes, their relationship had lasted centuries, but it wasn't love that kept them together. It was a twisted pleasure in how vile and cruel each of them could be.

  Devon's gaze narrowed as Anastasia and Adon stopped before Cassie. Their faces were slack, their eyes glazed as Devon kept complete control over them. Though he sensed a deep wealth of strength within Cassie, he wasn't going to take the chance of her getting hurt by them.

  "I underestimated you," Zane said.

  "And I you," Devon replied, unable to tear his gaze from the oldest Elder. Zane's golden good looks appeared to darken in the radiance of the moon as fury poured off of him in waves. Though Devon controlled two of Zane's group, he didn't appear overly concerned about it.

  Zane grinned at him. "You can keep her."

  That was when Cassie's head came up and she stared Zane down. "I don't need her for long."

  Zane frowned at her words as confusion marred his brow. Though Devon didn't like it, he knew exactly how Zane felt. What did she mean by that and what was she going to do with Anastasia? Devon didn't like the woman, he never had. In fact, he'd never liked any of The Elders. However, he wasn't going to stand by and allow Cassie to do something to them that may cost her a piece of her soul, if her soul was even still intact.

  He was terrified that it wasn't as he watched her with growing apprehension. She was staring at Adon and Anastasia, who had instinctively shied away from her in their approach to Devon. Cassie's forehead furrowed, she appeared confused as to why they were avoiding her. Maybe she didn't realize that she was radiating power like a lighthouse beacon. Or that her eyes were the strangest thing that any of them had ever seen, and they had all seen some pretty strange things in their extensive lives.

  Devon heard Julian and Chris approaching and felt them as they stopped a few feet behind them. "Cassie..." Devon started.

  "Shh," she whispered her eyes still on Anastasia and Adon.