"I'm drunk." Chris didn't look even a little ashamed at this admission. He rested his elbows on his legs and went to prop his chin in his hands but his arms slid off the side. He jerked forward and grinned as he shook his head and retrieved his bottle.
"What the hell were you thinking Julian?" Devon demanded.
Julian shrugged as he took another chug of beer. "You left me!" Cassie accused, her voice a little slurred as she poked him in his chest. He seized her finger and held it against his chest as she tried to tug it back. Giving up on retrieving her finger, she returned to glowering at him. "You left me here even after you knew what I thought about Matthew's vision!"
"Cassie..."
She jerked her finger back and frowned at him before she turned toward the others. "Where are Dani and Joey?" she demanded. Luther glanced out the door and nodded toward where Joey and Dani hovered outside. "Is everyone ok? Did you... did ya see anything?" Devon tried to steady her as she wandered away, but she batted his hands back. "I'm mad at you."
Julian snorted with laughter and Chris lifted his head to grin at them. Annabelle, Liam, and Melissa were trying to keep their amusement hidden, but they were failing miserably. Luther looked just as unhappy about the situation as Devon felt. Cassie moved to the door and poked her head out.
"Come on in!" she called cheerfully.
Devon shook his head and glared at Julian as he continued to snicker happily. He'd almost forgotten just how infuriating Julian could be. "Who knew she couldn't handle her liquor?"
"Anyone with half a brain," Devon retorted.
Julian's grin only widened. "Come now Devon, I've never been known for my brain. My looks most definitely, but never my brain."
"You're an ass," Devon growled and headed toward Cassie.
Liam grabbed hold of her and righted her as she bumped against the door. Cassie seized hold of his hand and smiled at him. "Thank you."
"You should know better Cassie," Luther scolded.
She shrugged absently and grabbed hold of Annabelle as she leaned out the door. Annabelle shot Devon an apologetic look as Cassie continued to sway. Dani appeared in the doorway; she glanced around but didn't step into the room. Joey folded his arms and stared at Cassie like she was a two year old that had just stolen a cookie.
"Did you find any more vampires?" Cassie demanded as she freed herself from Annabelle.
"No there doesn't appear to be any more within the town," Luther answered.
"Awesome!" Cassie announced cheerfully. "Come on in Joey, we don't bite. Well, actually, we do." Julian snorted and Devon rolled his eyes as Cassie giggled. "Get it? We bite!"
"We get it Cass," Melissa placated.
Dani took a small step back as Cassie leaned closer to her. She flung her arm around the tiny girl's shoulders and drew her in to hug her. "Dani I'm glad you're back on our side, though I'm still a little mad at you!"
"Cassie..."
"And you Joey. You may be one of us now, but should we trust you?"
Joey seemed to be contemplating bolting down the walkway as he eyed up the walkway. "Ok Cass, I think it's time for you to get some sleep," Devon said gently.
"I'm not tired!" she protested.
"Cassie..."
Devon tried to grab her but she was already lunging forward. Joey took a startled step back as she seized hold of his hands and nearly fell into him. Devon expected a fight from her as he grabbed her shoulders, but she released Joey. The drunken smile slid from her face as her eyes flashed the color of blood. It wasn't the red that they became when she turned, nor were they like any kind of red he'd ever seen before. It was a circle of red that flashed around the edge of both her irises before disappearing.
Disbelief filtered through him as icy tentacles ran down his spine. Julian had stopped grinning at him like a drunken fool. Instead his eyes were as cold as the arctic on a winter's day. He lifted the bottle to Devon and tipped it forward in a salute before he drank deeply. Chris took another swallow of whiskey; there was a wealth of sadness and resignation in his eyes that frightened Devon.
He fully realized that she now possessed all of their abilities, and Chris and Julian had known that it was going to happen. He pulled Cassie further away from the others. It took everything he had not to take her as far from here as possible and hide her from herself. He fought the urge to punch Julian and Chris for allowing her to do this, for helping her to do this.
He led her to the bed and sat her beside Chris. He was unable to meet either of their gazes as he took a moment to steady himself. "I'll take care of this," he told the others.
"Devon..."
"It's fine Luther, we can't do much until they sleep it off anyway."
Luther hesitated before nodding and herding the others out the door. Julian had the decency not to try and escape with the others, but he remained standing by the window with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the ground. Devon closed the door behind them and threw the locks. They didn't look at all repentant as they stared back at him.
"What have you done?" he asked quietly.
"What needed to be done," Cassie said flatly.
Devon's jaw clenched, he didn't know what to say to that. He could only stare at her as he tried to dislodge the knot festering within his chest.
***
The snow coated the trees and ground in a blanket of white. Cassie closed her eyes and tilted her head back to catch the flakes upon her tongue. She hugged herself as goose bumps broke out on her flesh. Lowering her head she blinked away the snow sticking to her lashes as she frowned at the serene landscape. Where was she?
A branch cracked loudly behind her and she braced herself as she waited for something to explode out of the woods at her. Only the subtle flow of the wind continued to disturb the trees. "What the hell?" she whispered.
She took a step forward but froze as she looked down at the flimsy gold and white dress that floated freely about her ankles. She didn't own a dress like this, and she sure wouldn't be wearing it in this kind of weather. It took her a minute to realize that she was in some sort of bizarre, frighteningly realistic dream. She could feel each flake of snow as it hit her skin; feel the caress of the wind on her numb cheeks. She was beginning to speculate if there were icicles forming on the end of her nose.
Perhaps she and Devon had connected again and he had pulled her into one of his dreams, but even as she thought it she knew she was wrong. He would be here with her if that had happened, and she would probably recognize the landscape. But there was no familiarity here, no feeling of serenity and love like she had encountered when Devon had accidentally pulled her in before.