"It won't do us any good to find the tunnel if it all falls on top of us," Lou muttered.
Luther was more concerned about the people up there, three of which he considered his own children. He should have stayed with them, but even as he thought it he knew that this had been the right choice. He loved the people above but these children needed him more.
"They won't allow that to happen," Luther assured him as he went back to searching the walls. There was some way out of this place and he was going to find it.
***
"Beautiful." Cassie hated the purred word that slid from Zane's mouth as they spread out across the snow covered yard. The snow she'd melted from the backdoor had already refrozen to create a sheet of ice on the porch steps. "Just beautiful princess."
The fire licked across her fingertips and up to her elbows. It was the only source of heat she had against the cold enshrouding her. She didn't know how long the others would be able to keep moving before they turned into solid blocks of ice. She hadn't expected the, 'I'll freeze my enemies,' method of attack but she was frightened that it was going to turn into a rather effective one.
The Elders seemed to almost float over the snow as they came steadily closer. They appeared unaffected by the cold, or the fact that they were outnumbered. Devon stood close by her side, his back rigid as his chest brushed protectively against her shoulder. She was half afraid she was going to catch him on fire, but he was able to avoid the flames licking over her.
"Just remember, no matter what happens I love you," she told him. "I've never regretted one minute of our time together and I never will."
She glanced briefly at him as his fingers caressed her cheek. "And I'll always love you." Tears burned her eyes as his lips brushed briefly against her temple. "There is nothing in this world, or my lengthy lifetime, that I have loved as much as you."
Cassie had to tear her gaze away from him as The Elders stopped only twenty feet away from them. "They're too calm," Chris muttered.
"There are others out there," Cassie told him.
"Others?"
"Not Elders, but there are other vampires in the woods," Cassie said. "Waiting for us."
"Well let's get this party started before I turn into Frosty the Snowman." Chris took a step closer to her as he hefted a crossbow and aimed it at Robert. "I'd love to kill that son of a bitch."
"Get in line," Devon informed him. "But I will take care of my brother."
More shadows began to emerge from the woods; their eyes were the most vibrant thing about them as they drifted across the snow toward The Elders that had recruited them. Strands of Cassie's frozen hair blew behind her as the wind began to pick up. No matter what happened, she would make sure that none of them made it out of here alive. These monsters wouldn't be able to spread their misery around the earth anymore.
She could feel the chill in her friends as they pressed closer against her side in an attempt to briefly defrost themselves before they were inundated by a wave of monsters. There was a thrumming sensation running up and down her spine, her fingers tingled from more than just the fire licking out of them. She didn't know what was keeping her charged, but she could feel her power level amping up as her body began to pulse with adrenaline and excitement. She welcomed the battle, welcomed the thrill of the fight as her fangs pressed against the inside of her lip.
"Brace yourselves," she breathed.
Before anyone could even blink, she knelt swiftly and slammed her hand upon the earth. Unlike the hall where she'd seen the electric charge slither across the floor like a snake toward her enemies, this shot out of her like a lightning bolt. She barely even saw it seconds before it sizzled into the creatures standing across from her and knocked them back. The younger vamps that emerged from the woods were thrown backwards. Some of them didn't rise again as the tops of their heads had been blown off by the electrical blast.
She didn't give The Elders time to react but leapt back to her feet and raced across the snow at them. Elspet, she reminded herself as she veered off course from Zane and at the small girl with the startling ability to control water. Elspet sensed what she intended though as she dodged out of Cassie's way and straight into Julian's arms.
Julian was grinning savagely as he overtook the smaller girl. His smile faded and he grimaced as his skin came into contact with Elspet's. She screamed and squirmed in his grasp but he held firmly to her as he sank his fangs into her neck. An inhuman howl ripped from Elspet and echoed across the landscape as Cassie lurched forward.
Julian jerked back as he tore his fangs free of Elspet's neck. "No!" he shouted at her.
But it was already too late as Cassie's hands came into contact with the eccentric vampire's chilly skin. She felt like she'd been kicked in the chest by a horse as horrific images exploded in her head. She'd touched Devon and Julian, she knew what they had done, knew what they could be capable of, but this woman, this woman was something entirely different. This woman had bathed in her evil, she'd relished in the blood of innocents, and there had been so many innocents. Elspet hadn't been drawn here to capture her, or as part of Zane's crazy mission. She had come here for the children.
Cassie didn't realize she was on her knees until Chris grabbed hold of her and yanked her back. She didn't know she was screaming until snow fell into her open mouth and choked the sound from her. "Cassie!" Chris leaned over her as he pushed the hair back from her face. "Cassie!"
She dazedly stared up at him as she grappled to get past the horrible images still careening around her brain. She was still struggling to rid herself of the images when Bernard loomed over them with a massive wooden pole.
Snow shot up around them as Cassie threw her arms up and blasted it into his face. Bernard staggered backwards, but even though she now had the ability to control water, it hadn't been worth it. Seeing into Elspet, seeing what that thing had done over the years, had not been worth the new power surging through her. Cassie managed to turn herself over and push herself onto her hands and knees. She was brought up short by a pair of legs she instinctively knew were attached to Zane, and not the right Zane.
"What's the matter Princess can't handle a little insight?"
Fury tore through her as she launched herself forward and tackled him around the waist. Heat flared through her arms and into her fingertips. It didn't matter if it was the right Zane or not, she was going to make him burn. His clothes lit on fire, she briefly smelt burning hair before he vanished beneath her.