Julian held her close and rocked her as he rested his head against her hair and whispered reassuringly to her. "Good Cassie, good," he murmured. "Take whatever you need."

Chris tried to object to that statement, he needed his blood too, but he couldn't seem to find his voice. He wouldn't deny Cassie what she needed, not if it helped her survive, but he was terrified that whatever was growing inside of her, whatever power was swelling through her wouldn't allow her to stop. He knew she could kill him but he still couldn't bring himself to separate from her.

Cassie released him suddenly and shoved his arm away from her body as her eyes flew open. Chris instinctively recoiled from her as her fiery red eyes blazed back at him. He'd seen the angry and ravenous eyes of a vampire many times before, but he'd never seen anything as shocking as Cassie's red eyes. There was no white to them anymore; her entire eye was completely red except for the black pupil right in the center.

Chris couldn't move; his muscles locked into place as he breathlessly waited for his best friend to spring forth and rip his throat out. He wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she did. She focused on him briefly before her head shot toward the window. He was surprised she could focus on anything with those devil eyes.

Shock had caused Julian's grip on her to ease and she easily broke free of his lazy hold. She leapt to her feet with the grace of a jungle cat. Chris stared after her as she bolted to the door and flung the chair aside to rip the door open. He remained frozen, numb with shock as Cassie escaped the store.

"Well, that was a good sign," Julian muttered.

Chris turned toward him. "Good sign? Good sign!?" he croaked. "Did you see her eyes!?"

Julian's eyes were somewhat dazed as he met Chris's gaze. "They were definitely strange, but I think it's a very good sign that she didn't kill us." Chris tried to find some reassurance in Julian's words, but he found none. Those eyes! No one could find reassurance after seeing those things. "Come on."

Julian grabbed hold of his arm and hauled him to his feet. Chris worried that his legs wouldn't support him, but they found the strength to keep him up as Julian pulled him toward the door and whatever nightmare awaited them outside.

CHAPTER 4

Annabelle stood in front of the others, trying to keep them behind her as Devon steadily advanced on them. He was stalking them, hunting them as he backed them up. She could only pray that her presence in the front might deter him a little, but she didn't hold out much hope for that. "He's going to kill us," Dani whispered.

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Annabelle wanted to argue with her, but there was no denying the truth. He was going to kill them, and there would be no stopping him. Her heart shattered as she met Liam's tender gaze. She wished that she could make this all better, but there was only one person that could do that, and God only knew what was going on with her right now. Annabelle held out some small hope that they would be spared in time, but she was acutely aware of the fact that they were running out of ground, and that Devon was gaining it.

"What do we do?" Melissa demanded.

Annabelle shook her head; she was completely out of ideas. Then, she felt the rumbling within the ground again, the earth shifting and changing. Her gaze flew to Robert, her eyes narrowed as the earth heaved up. It would be Robert that went for Devon, Robert that would attempt to destroy him while he was distracted by other prey. The Elders made no attempt to help, instead they just stood back, their gazes intent as they watched the first boulder fly up. It crashed into Devon's back and roughly knocked him forward but he managed to remain on his feet.

Ire flashed hotly through Annabelle as she took a step toward him with the objective of defending her friend. Liam grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back. "Annabelle, no."

"They're going to kill him!" she retorted.

"He'll kill us!"

Annabelle shook her head as she tried to tug her arm free of Liam's grasp. "We have to bide some time!" she cried in frustration.

Liam stared at her in surprise and confusion. "Time for what?" he demanded. Annabelle longed to tell him, but she knew that The Elder's would storm into the store and kill Cassie if they overheard her words. "Annabelle?"

"We have to help Devon!"

The earth around Robert heaved up as it flew forward. Devon bellowed as he tried to push through the storm of rocks, but was continuously knocked back. Dani shook her head forcefully and took a small step back as Annabelle turned on her. "Do it again!" she commanded.

"She can only use her ability once!" Melissa stepped in front of Dani as she tried to protect the smaller girl.

Annabelle's eyes fixed on Dani, who looked a little too frightened. "Dani?" she demanded.

They all turned to her as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. "My ability has gotten stronger," she admitted on a whisper.

Annabelle grabbed hold of her arm and pushed her forward as Devon was knocked to his knees. "Robert, go for Robert!"

"If we attack The Elders...!"

Annabelle shot Luther a look that silenced him instantly. "Go for Robert."

"You're declaring war," Luther told her.

She glared at him. "Robert killed Cassie, they already declared war. Now it is essential that we save Devon."

"I don't know how strong it is on the second blast," Dani mumbled.

Blood bloomed across Devon's forehead as a rock bounced off of him. "Just stop Robert," she whispered fervently. "It will be ok."

Annabelle hoped that was a promise she could keep. Devon was struggling back to his feet when another rock hit his shoulder and knocked him back again. The ground pulsed and began to vibrate as Dani drew power from it. Annabelle kept hold of her shoulders, trying to give her courage and strength. The blast shot out of her and hit Robert forcefully enough to push him back a few steps.

The rocks Robert had been gathering to throw at Devon clattered to the ground as his power was temporarily squashed. As one, creepy unit, The Elder's turned scorching, ruby eyes upon all of them. Terror curdled through Annabelle as a small whimper escaped Dani. Annabelle shoved the smaller girl behind her, prepared to take the blunt force of their attack, but Liam stepped in front of her.

"Liam!" she cried.

He turned toward her, but froze in mid movement. No words escaped his gaping mouth as his eyes locked on the door of the store. Annabelle felt the hair on her arms and neck rise as a chill crept down her spine. She knew instantly what had riveted Liam to the spot but the look on his face didn't bode well for their future, not at all. If Cassie had emerged from this ok, then he wouldn't look as if he'd just seen the devil himself step forth upon the earth. He wouldn't look as if he was about to grab Annabelle and flee from here.




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