Inferno

by Erica Stevens

  She bit her bottom lip, her eyes darkened as delicate frown lines marred her forehead. “It’s a small price to pay.”

  “Cassie…”

  She shook her head as she propped her chin on her hands to stare down at him. “I want this Devon, more than I have ever wanted anything. I want nothing more than to know that I will spend eternity with you.”

  He groaned as he closed his eyes, fighting against his baser urges. Fighting to stay under control while her wonderful words echoed loudly in his head. “And if things go wrong?”

  “We will deal with them then.”

  He sighed, cupping her cheek gently with his hand. She leaned into him, smiling softly as she stared innocently down at him. “What if I lose you?”

  “You’ll lose me anyway if I stay mortal. I think my body can handle this Devon, I’m almost positive that it can. You won’t lose me, I won’t allow it.”

  He couldn’t help but smile at the fierce conviction in her voice, the intensity in her face and eyes. “I’m sure that you will do whatever you can, but…”

  She shook her head; her eyes twinkled as she grinned down at him. “No buts, we’ll get through it, look at how much we’ve already gotten through. This is a small hurdle compared to the others.”

  He smiled at her in amusement, tugging lightly on her hair as he wrapped it around his finger. “Is that so?”

  “Very much so.” His grin faded as he stared at her beautiful features, and bright, hopeful eyes. He wanted nothing more than to keep her by his side forever, but he didn’t want to risk the danger such a thing represented to her. “Besides, since I am your mate then everything has to be completed right?”

  His hand stilled on her, his chest constricted. “That is the way that it is supposed to be, but this is a special case Cassie. We may never be able too.”

  Her eyes darkened, her eyebrows drew tightly together as she frowned at him. “We will,” she said forcefully.

  “Are you willing to give up children? A family?”

  She snorted softly as she shook her head. “I gave up hopes of children years ago Devon, when I found out what I was. And my family is here, with us. Just because we don’t share blood doesn’t mean that they aren’t my family. Hell, the one I do share blood with is the one that I don’t consider family.”

  Pain and anger resonated in her voice, but there was also a steel rod of strength hardening her jaw and resonating from her eyes. “But you could have children; you don’t have to give up that dream.”

  She shook her head forcefully, her frown deepened as her eyes narrowed. Her jaw clenched slightly, her nostrils flared as she eyed him angrily. She was one of the most stubborn people he had ever run across, and right now that streak was blazing brightly. There would be no talking her out of this right now he knew that, just as he knew that he didn’t really wish too. He only had her best interests at heart, but he also wanted and loved her more than he had ever loved or wanted anything.

  “No,” she whispered. “I would rather have you.”

  He managed a sad smile for her, knowing that she deserved to have children and a normal life, but a normal life had never been her destiny. Even before he had walked into it, her life had been chaotic and uncertain. But she still could have children, and she would make an amazing mother. “You share my blood,” he said, trying to distract himself from his turbulent thoughts.

  Cassie shivered, her lips parted slightly. He recognized the desire that blazed fiercely through her and reacted to it instantly. “Yes,” she whispered.

  He tugged on her hair, pulling her down to him. He claimed her mouth savagely, wanting so much more, wanting all of her. Taking her blood on a regular basis helped to keep the beast within him under control, but he wondered if it would always stay that way. Or if eventually the beast would want more, as the man did.

  A loud crash downstairs tore him away from her. Wood splintered as glass shattered. Devon tossed the blankets from them, leaping easily to his feet as a cry of surprise and horror echoed up the stairs. “Stay here!” he ordered briskly.

  He didn’t have time to make sure she obeyed his command as he hurried swiftly forward, easily dodging the low ceiling. He ignored the stairs as he jumped down, landing gracefully upon the floor. The front of the store was still secure; Cassie’s father was tied to the chair, his eyes wide with terror. Another crash sounded from the back as Devon bounded forward, oblivious to the fact that he wore no shoes, or shirt.

  CHAPTER 9

  Cassie leapt down the stairs behind Devon, landing silently upon the hardwood floor. Her father’s eyes were bulging out of his head, panic evident on the hard lines of his face. “Let me out of here!” he gasped.

  “Stay quiet!” she hissed.

  She moved swiftly forward, her blood pumping fiercely, a strange thrill of power pulsing through her. She was primed for this fight, ready for it, determined to win. A loud crash resonated from the back, shaking the floor beneath her feet, but she hardly felt it as she honed in on her enemy, her prey. Passing by the racks of hunting equipment, she grabbed one of the knives they had placed there earlier. It was a wicked looking foot long Bowie, with a gleaming, well honed blade.

  She felt oddly tranquil, oddly focused as she strode toward the chaos she could hear radiating from the back room. She stepped into the fray, her mind and instincts rapidly taking in the scene. Five of the creatures had burst through two of the back windows, glass lay scattered across the floor amongst the broken bits of wood that had been used to try and blockade the windows.

  Annabelle and Liam were fighting off one, Julian was engaged with another. Devon had one, and Chris and Melissa were methodically beating on the fourth, while Luther and Dani were battling the fifth. Cassie strode into the fray, aiming straight for the one that Chris and Melissa were struggling with. Another one leapt through the window, squealing with delight as it spotted her, Cassie lifted her eyebrow as it raced at her. She braced herself for its attack, eager to take out some of her frustrations on something.

  The fight was short and brutal. Cassie ducked away from its initial rush, thrusting the blade upward as she drove it into the creature’s chest. It howled in pain, falling back as it clawed at the wound she had just delivered. Cassie felt no sympathy, held no remorse as she pulled the blade free and drew it swiftly across the monsters throat, driving it deep.

  Her mind seemed to turn off as she moved swiftly away from the mutilated monster, heading for her next victim. She barely heard Devon calling her name, trying to reach her through the red haze of annihilation pumping through her as she turned toward the next monster. However, her world was no longer filled with thoughts of the living, and the people she loved; it was consumed with death and destruction once more.

  She moved easily, flowing swiftly through the motions of battle, drawing on her training and abilities to help push her through. To keep her going, fighting, moving. She blocked out everything else as she drew on thousands of years of intuition and breeding as she hunted down her next victim.

  ***

  Devon shoved aside the creature he had been fighting with, struggling to get at Cassie as she spun beautifully, moving with the easy grace of a ballerina as she slit the monsters throat. For a moment he was mesmerized by her beauty, her grace, the speed and confidence with which she struck.

  But it was only for a moment, and then he realized that it was not natural. The way she was moving, the speed of it, Christ she was almost as fast as he and Julian. And she seemed to be twice as deadly at the moment. Devon snapped out of his stunned daze as one of the creature’s grabbed hold of her arm. Terror took over him as she battled the last creature within the room. He hardly had time to move before she slammed her elbow into its jaw, snapping its head back. With the things throat exposed, Cassie drew the blade swiftly across its neck before plunging it deep into the creature’s chest.

  She flinched slightly as blood splattered over her. Devon’s chest clenched tightly, terror filled him as she reached up
with trembling fingers to wipe some of the blood from her cheek. The room was eerily quiet after the battle, the hushed silence thick in the night. Cassie held her hand in front of her, staring at the blood on her fingers as she rubbed it slowly back and forth between her thumb and index finger. Melissa flinched at the sharp sound of Cassie’s knife clattering onto the wooden floor.

  She spun suddenly, her hair flailing around her as she stormed out of the backroom. Devon burst into motion, pushing Liam aside as he bolted after her, greatly afraid of what she might do. She did not flee outside like he had half expected, but instead turned the corner toward her father. Devon cursed loudly, shoving a shelf out of his way in order to get to her faster. He no longer cared about noise as it bounced loudly off the ground, its contents crashing and rolling across the floor.

  Devon caught up to her as she stopped before her father, her eyes a vivid red, her body shaking as she lifted her blood stained fingers toward him. Devon froze, his body going numb with horror.

  “What did you do to me?” she whispered in a hoarse, desperate voice that broke his heart and caused tentacles of ice to encase him.

  The man simply stared at her, his gaze focusing on the trembling fingers she held before him. A single drop fell from her tips; the soft splat on the wood was loud in the quiet that filled the room. The others shuffled in slowly behind him, remaining perfectly silent in the darkened room.

  “What did you do to me!?” Cassie screamed causing everyone to jump slightly in startled surprise.

  Her father lifted his head slowly; his eyes gleamed as a small snarl curved his lip. “What needed to be done.”

  Devon felt the snap that radiated out of her, the fury that blazed from her. The hatred that suffused her. It thundered through the room, filling it with the pulsating power of her rage. Her hands fisted tightly, and for a moment Devon thought she was going to hit him. Then, like a sucking vortex, the rage seemed to go back into her. The trembling of her body eased, her hands unclenched. “You’re not worth it,” she whispered. “You’re not worth anything.”

  He quirked an eyebrow, a small smile curved his mouth. “It seems you may be one experiment that succeeded.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Julian snarled, taking a step toward him.

  Cassie held up her hand, warding him away. “Maybe I am,” she agreed softly.

  She turned away from him, her red eyes landing upon Devon. There was a bleak hopelessness in them that tore at his soul. He took a step toward her.

  “If you won’t do it, I will.” Melissa stormed out of the shadows, striding easily across the store. Before Cassie could stop her, Melissa reached out and slapped Cassie’s father, hard. The slap resonated throughout the building, Derek’s head snapped to the side. “You deserve worse,” Melissa muttered.

  Shock filled Devon as Melissa took a step back; her hands fisted in anger as she glared at the man in the chair. Derek’s head came slowly back around, a trickle of blood formed in the corner of his mouth. Then the smell of that blood hit him. Cassie’s burst of rage was nothing compared to the one that instantly suffused him, and ripped free of Julian.

  CHAPTER 10

  Cassie gasped as Devon’s eyes flared a fierce shade of red and his fangs elongated almost instantly. Hatred blazed out of him as he took a step forward. Terror tore through Cassie, she had no idea what was going on, or what had caused such a violent reaction in him. She turned to Julian, who had the same stunned look on his face that Devon had had. Then that look also faded into murderous rampage as he snarled loudly.

  Cassie spun as Julian charged forward, picking up a shelf and heaving it out of his way. Melissa’s face was suffused in horror; she retreated swiftly away from the two of them. Derek’s eyes widened in terror, he bounced up and down on the chair, strangled sounds of panic escaping him as he tried to get away from Julian’s onward charge.

  Cassie cried out in fear. She didn’t know what had happened, what had caused this strange reaction, but Julian was going to kill him, and she couldn’t allow that to happen. She lurched forward, but Devon reacted faster than she did. He jumped in front of her, blocking Julian from killing her father.

  Julian reached out to push Devon aside, but Devon grabbed hold of his arm, holding him back. “Get out of my way!” Julian snarled.

  Cassie’s heart flipped with panic, her stomach felt as if it plummeted straight to the ground. She had no idea what was going on here, no idea what had set them off, but she was fairly certain they were going to end up fighting. That they may even kill each other. “Wait! Stop!” she cried.

  She took a step toward them, but Devon held up his hand, his furious eyes briefly snapping toward her. “Stay there!” he barked.

  Cassie started in surprise; he never talked to her like that, he never raised his voice to her. Her shock was short lived though as anger and frustration rose swiftly up inside her. She took a step toward them, refusing to be intimidated by either of them, even though they both looked about ready to rip her father to shreds. Though she knew that neither of them would ever hurt her, they were acting crazy right now and she had no idea why. Luther moved swiftly, grabbing hold of her arm as he pulled her swiftly back.

  “Luther!” she hissed.

  “Stay out of this one,” Luther said softly.

  Frustration boiled through her. Devon pushed Julian back another step, blocking his attempt to get at her father again. Julian snarled, lunging forward. A startled cry of horror escaped Cassie, she tried to jerk free of Luther, but he held her tight. Julian slammed hard into Devon, knocking him back a few feet but Devon managed to keep her father protected from Julian’s rampage.

  Julian went at him again, using his shoulder he slammed hard into Devon’s ribs. The loud cracking of bone echoed through the air. Panic and horror tore through her as Julian shoved Devon into the wall with enough force to rattle things off the shelves near them. Cassie lunged forward, determined to get to them, to stop them before they really hurt each other.

  Luther’s grip on her held momentarily, but then she burst free of him. She was darting forward when Liam stepped in front of her, his eyes narrowed. Cassie glared fiercely at him, but he continued to block her. A fierce shout snapped her head back to the fight. Devon had somehow managed to rotate their positions, he now had Julian pinned against the wall, his hand wrapped tight around his throat as he lifted him off the ground.

  Cassie squeaked in horror, Liam continued to block her as she tried to step around him. “Liam!” she hissed.

  “Stay back,” he warned.

  Julian swung out hard, catching Devon beneath his chin and snapping his head back. Devon staggered back a step, but he did not lose his grip on Julian. Devon lifted him easily away from the wall, acting as if Julian weighed no more than a feather as he slammed him back into the wall. Julian’s eyes rolled for a brief moment, but he quickly regained control of himself.

  Cassie dimly realized that they were not actually trying to kill each other. If that was the case this fight would be a lot more brutal. However, they were hurting each other. “Calm down,” Devon growled, placing his hand firmly against Julian’s chest.

  “He’s mine!” Julian spat, his face twisted with fury as his gaze briefly landed upon Derek.

  Cassie froze; her limbs went numb as Devon’s gaze came slowly toward her. She could see the hesitation in his face, the fierce want for something more, the fierce battle he waged with himself between making her happy, and satisfying the monster within himself. Those red eyes burned into her. For some strange reason, the unexplainable urge to cry seized hold of her. A lump formed in her throat, her eyes burned as she blinked rapidly. There was something in his gaze, something so lost and wounded, yet loving and protective that it left her breathless.

  Devon turned slowly away from her, focusing upon Julian once more. “Yes, he’s yours,” Devon relented. “But you can’t kill him until we know what he knows.”

  Cassie cried out in horror, she took another step forward but Liam bloc
ked her again. She glared fiercely up at him, her hands fisting at her sides. He was really starting to get on her nerves. “Fine,” Julian relented.

  “Wait!” Cassie cried, her eyes darting frantically to her father. Liam moved to block her again. “Get out of my way!” she snapped, frustration boiling rapidly through her as she fought the urge to punch him in the face.

  Liam hesitated for a moment, but finally relented and stepped slowly aside. Cassie bolted past him as Devon released Julian, letting him slide slowly back to the floor. Though his reddened neck had to be killing him, Julian did not raise a hand to it. He took a step toward her father, but Cassie instantly thrust herself in between them. “No!” she shouted, throwing her arms wide to block him.

  Derek was still making strange noises, his chair pounded up and down on the floor as he tried to hop it further away from them. Though it was strangely out of place in the pulsing tension of the room, the sudden thought of Chunk tied to his chair trying to get away from Sloth in The Goonies popped into her mind. She shook it instantly away, her father’s life was at stake here she had to keep her mind focused on the present.

  “Cassie…”

  “No,” she interrupted Devon sharply. “This is not going to happen. I know that you both hate him, but I will not let you kill him in cold blood. I know what a monster he is, but he is still my father!”

  “Cassie…”

  “No!” she screamed again, sick and tired of all the crap. Sick and tired of all the fighting and anger. Why can’t we all just get along flashed through her head, but she knew that it was impossible. And she also knew that she would not allow anyone to be murdered in cold blood. Not while she was around. “No!”