"What happened to the shelves?" Devon inquired.
Julian's electric blue eyes were vivid in the illumination that filtered from the coolers. The white bands around his pupils dilated. "She was dead Devon. She died in my arms."
Devon shuddered as he recalled the shattering that had radiated through him when he'd felt Cassie's life force vacate her body. He hadn't felt it return when she'd reawakened, either because he had been so engulfed by vengeance, or because what had come back wasn't the same Cassie that had left. That perhaps it wasn't the Cassie that his mind was connected to, that his soul was bound to.
He wasn't sure what had risen up to take the place of the Cassie he cherished, but no matter what he was going to keep her safe, and she was going to stay by his side. "I see," Devon murmured.
"It wasn't a pleasant moment. I lost my temper, as did you."
Devon snorted in response as he ran a hand through his distorted hair. "That's putting it mildly."
Devon straightened away from the wall as the door to the bathroom creaked open. The shirt was far too large on her; she had to roll the sleeves up multiple times in order to get them to stay off of her hands. She glanced between them as she fidgeted with the edges of the overlong sleeves.
"My eyes are no different," she stated.
"Not right now, no," Devon agreed.
She frowned at him as she chewed on her bottom lip. "They have been red before."
"Not like this Cass."
Her frown deepened as she fidgeted even more with her sleeves and glanced away from them. "I don't understand."
"Neither do we," Julian said softly.
Devon shot him an angry look. She was confused and flustered enough without Julian adding to her troubles. Julian shrugged in response, but he appeared sheepish as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "How are you feeling?" Devon asked.
Cassie still didn't meet their eyes as she stared at the ceiling, the shelves, and finally the floor. "Fine."
"Are you hungry?"
She finally met his gaze. "Hungry?"
Julian glanced nervously at Devon. It almost seemed as if she had a concussion. He knew that the change could be dramatic, frightening, and more than a little disorienting but he didn't recall being like this. "Hungry Cassie, hungry," Julian prodded.
Her attention turned to the rows of coolers; her eyes absently searched their contents. "No, I'm not hungry."
"Not that kind of hunger Cass," Devon said kindly.
Her eyes shot back to his and then her gaze cleared and a small laugh escaped her. "Of course," she breathed. She shook her head as she grinned up at him. Devon's heart melted, for the first time since she'd been changed, he didn't feel alarm over what she'd become. Because standing before him now was Cassie, his Cassie the one he knew and loved so very much. "I'm an idiot. No, I'm not hungry."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm not a child either. I'm not hungry." Devon's skin prickled. Her shoulders slumped as she ran her hand through her tussled hair. "Sorry," she murmured. "I'm fine, please stop worrying about me. I'm fine right now."
Julian quirked an eyebrow as he exchanged a look with Devon. Devon was fairly certain that Cassie knew she wasn't fine, but for now she was holding it together and that was all they could ask for.
"This was what I wanted after all." Her gaze came back to him, and for the first time he didn't see any confusion or doubt in her gaze. She slipped her hand into his and smiled reassuringly. "I wanted this, and I said that I would deal with the consequences of it."
Devon savored in the feel of her silken skin. Her hand was cooler to the touch now, but it didn't fail to send heat through his body. "Consequences?" Julian asked.
"There are always consequences aren't there?" Cassie inquired.
"Well yes, but what are those consequences?"
She shook her head as her eyes became distant. "I don't know. Matthew saw different paths, different things..." She broke off; her hand squeezed his as a shudder tore through her. "I don't think he made it."
Devon shook his head as he pulled her closer a step. He'd searched for Matthew with Chris, but though they hadn't gone far he'd seen no sign of the mutilated Elder, not even a blood trail. "I don't think so either," he told her.
She frowned as sadness crept over her features. "It's probably for the best. He wasn't like them; he was broken, and so sad. He saw so many things I could become."
"What do you mean?" Devon asked quietly.
Her forehead furrowed as she shook her head. "It was awful, all of his visions, all of them. They filled my head and I saw what he has seen, I saw it all."
Her gaze slid past Julian. For the first time Devon realized that the others had crept closer to listen to what she had to say, to learn what it was that she had become. "You might as well come closer," she told them. "All of you should hear this."
CHAPTER 7
"What did you see?" Melissa inquired. "And does this mean that you have visions now?"
Melissa's onyx eyes were hopeful, but Cassie couldn't give her the answer she hoped for, simply because Cassie didn't entirely know what she was capable of. Not anymore. Instead, she avoided the question and hesitatingly told them what she'd seen when Matthew touched her. For the first part, she was able to look them in the eyes, but when she began to speak about the blood and horror she'd seen she couldn't hold their gazes.
She began to roll and unroll the sleeves of her shirt as she looked around the store. No one spoke, no one moved, but she could hear the increased pounding of their hearts. The rapid beat of their pulses triggered a strange response in her. At first she couldn't place it, didn't know what it was, and then she felt a strange tingling in her mouth.
Searching for an explanation, she ran her tongue over her teeth. She was startled to realize that her canines had elongated, the points of them were sharp and aching as she experimentally pressed her tongue against them. The tingling increased as her mouth began to water. Closing her eyes, she shuddered as she curled her fingers into her shirt and tried to shut out the sound of their pulsating hearts and flowing blood. Her hearing and eyesight had always been exceptional, but she'd never heard hearts and flowing blood like this before.
She turned away from them as she fought against the burning growing inside her. "Cassie?"
She waved Devon away when he took a step toward her. Shuddering, she clasped her hands as she grappled to retain control of herself. Perhaps she should have answered differently when Devon had asked her if she was hungry, perhaps she should have realized that she wasn't as stable and in control of herself as she'd thought. She didn't know how she felt about anything anymore, which way was up and which way was down. She most certainly didn't understand the strange new urges and sensations that were driving her.