Devon hissed as one of the newbies sank their fangs into his neck and clamped down. He grabbed hold of its hand, snapped it back and yanked the vamp around his side. His neck was sliced open as its fangs tore through his flesh but he barely felt the pain. The creature's back shattered as he drove it into the ground. Another one sank their fangs into his forearm as yet another clawed its way up his back.

He spotted Zane trying to wade his way out from the growing bodies piling on top of him. Blood streaked his face and matted his hair to his forehead. The new vampires seemed to sense that he and Zane were the most powerful as their attention had become focused upon them. Zane split himself, but the new vamps weren't fooled as they stayed away from both of his apparitions to focus on the one that had the blood they sought.

Fury and frustration spread through Devon as another one latched onto his bicep and yet another managed to catch the back of his hand. Devon was beginning to feel like he'd stumbled into a beehive as he beat at the increasing horde. He was shoved onto his knees again as another one leapt onto his back.

The group encircling him briefly cleared apart to reveal a new figure emerging from the woods across the way. Matthew glided across the snow, his hands folded before him and his head held high as he strode forward with unerring purpose. Devon blinked as he tried to decide if what he was seeing was real or not, but the more he blinked the clearer Matthew became.

Devon wouldn't have been more shocked to see a shark sprout legs and walk across the snow as he was to see the crazy Elder still alive and here.

He shook off another one of the leeches as the first trail of fire shot past him, followed by vampires that were fully engulfed in flames. He managed to shake off enough of them to turn and search for Cassie. His mouth dropped, he almost fell over as his gaze landed upon her. She seemed to be floating, and then he realized that the flames had lifted her a good three feet off the ground. Fire licked up over her face and caused the red of her eyes to blaze even brighter as lightning bolts erupted from the palms of her hands.

The monsters engulfing him fell back as some of their brethren exploded into a plume of ashes before more fire erupted from her. Devon could only stare helplessly as he tried to figure out a way to keep those flames from destroying her too, from destroying all of them.

CHAPTER 24

Luther hadn't realized that the children had followed him through the tunnel until a small hand slid into his. He jumped and looked down into the large chocolate eyes of Cassie's family. The boy's youthful features were aglow in the red and orange flames as he opened and closed his extended hand. Luther bent down and hefted the child into his arms. He wondered if there would be enough time to get the children out of here before everything turned to cinder around them. Before Cassie turned to ashes right in front of their eyes.

The boy leaned forward in his arms and pressed his hands against the glass. "Angel," he whispered.

That was one way to look at it, Luther thought but he didn't happen to agree with the kid as the fire around Cassie increased. She may not be able to go out in the sun anymore, but he was beginning to think it didn't matter; she was becoming her own sun as the ground around her began to burn.

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Anything or anyone that got too close to the sun would be burned.

***

Power seemed to come from everywhere. It swelled up from the ground, from the vampires trying to escape her, and the flames increasing in intensity around her. The heat of it was blistering, but she didn't feel as if she were burning as another trail of fire slid across the landscape. The fire split the earth in two as Robert's ability mixed with Adon's to leave a jagged canyon where before there had only been solid ground before.

Some of the creatures tumbled into the freshly made gorge. She was sure that they screamed but she couldn't hear them over the deafening inferno engulfing her. She was dimly aware of the fact that her feet were no longer touching the ground. A strange exhilaration filled her as she continued to draw from the earth, taking into herself all of the power and energy it had to offer her. Taking into herself all the power and energy that her victims had to offer. She couldn't get enough of it and she craved even more.

She dimly realized that she'd misinterpreted Matthew's vision. It had nothing to do with Devon's death, or even with the loss of one of her friends, and everything to do with her. She was the catalyst, she was the reason for the vision, and though she thought there was a chance she could stop herself, she didn't want to. It felt good to let everything she'd kept pent up all of these years finally have reign to fulfill its desires.

She thought of the legend of the phoenix and wondered if there would be anything left of her to emerge from the ashes when this was over.

Tree branches above her head snapped and crackled, Chris and Julian scurried out of the way as some of them broke free and plummeted to the ground. She brought her hands about a foot apart before her. A ball of fire spun within her grasp, it twisted and flowed as it built in front of her. She took a moment to savor in the beauty and strength of it before she sent it out in a massive ball that split into pieces that relentlessly hunted down its victims.

More vampires burst into flames as they were unable to escape the fire chasing them. Her eyes narrowed, fresh anger ripped through her as she spotted Zane trying to escape with some of the others. Her nostrils flared as she strode forward, the fire carrying her more swiftly across the ground than her feet would have.

"Zane!" she shouted. He wouldn't hesitate to take her out from behind, but she wanted to see his face when she destroyed him. "Zane!"

He split into three as he spun toward her, but she knew exactly which one he was. All of her torment and rage surged to the forefront and burst out of her in a burst of lightning that was the color of the sun as it zinged across the ground. Zane tried to lunge out of the way but there was no way for him to escape it.

She felt his surprise as the bolt hit him, but he didn't burst into flames or explode like the new vampires around him did. He was too strong and powerful for that to happen. A long wail escaped him, he was lifted from the ground as the bolt encircled him and electricity continued to zap into him. Cassie felt no remorse, no pity, as a jagged crack appeared at the top of his head and slowly began to make its way down his body. His wail reached firehouse frequency as his body began to split apart and the electricity sizzled and boiled his organs.

Smoke started to curl up from within him, his body had become charred remains that continued to feebly struggle against the bonds holding him. His howl was finally silenced as a burst of fire raced over his skin. His smoldering remains hit the ground with a dull thud she heard even from her distance.




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