Ashes

Marcy sighed softly, and then very indiscreetly sat next to Devon. He shot a dark look at her as she squiggled slightly, trying to push him over. He refused to budge. Her leaf green eyes narrowed, but it was obvious that she was not moving.

Resting her hands on her knees, she perched precariously on the edge of the seat as a few other girls began to make their way toward the booth. Apparently the absence of Cassie and Melissa was an open invite to them. One that Devon desperately wanted to close. Chris’s jaw locked, his eyes darkened as he briefly met Devon’s gaze once more.

Devon shook his head, unsure what to do. He didn’t want to dump Marcy on her ass, but when Cassie came back she was going to be hurt by what was going on. And if it came between the two, Marcy was going to end up on the floor. The other girls hovered around them, grinning and whispering to each other as they giggled softly.

Chris lifted an eyebrow, as he shook his head at Devon in disbelief. “Amazing,” he muttered.

“Venus flytrap,” Devon reminded him.

“What is?” Marcy asked, indiscreetly pressing her br**sts against his arm.

Disgust boiled through Devon as he jerked his arm away, his eyes narrowing fiercely. “Don’t,” he growled in warning. Marcy’s eyes widened in surprise and she moved back a little, but she did not remove herself completely. Instead, she turned her attention to Chris, who was eyeing her like she was some kind of disgusting insect he wanted to stomp.

A blur of motion caught Devon’s attention, his mouth dropped as shock hammered through him. He watched in horror as Cassie darted past the group of students by the table, moving with agility and grace, and a speed that left him frozen in disbelief as she raced down the road. The cold stone of his heart seemed to lurch and twist as terror and anger tore through him.

“Son of a bitch!” he snarled, slamming his hand on the table with such force that it shuddered, threatening to break. Chris glanced at him sharply, fear evident in his eyes. He turned to the window, his mouth dropping. “Move!”

Marcy’s eyes widened in shock, but she didn’t move out of his way. Unable to wait, and tired of the tiny girl, Devon shoved his way out of the booth. She stumbled, nearly falling to the ground, but somehow managing to keep herself upright. She gaped at him, people stared at him in surprise, but he paid them no attention as he shoved his way through the thick crowd, ignoring all of their startled protests.

Melissa was waving at them, jumping high to be seen over the top of the crowd. “Hurry!” she cried before turning and rushing out the door.

She didn’t need to tell him that. Grasping hold of the banister, he swung himself over the side of the stairs in order to avoid the group gathered upon them. Landing gracefully, he shoved past the few remaining people in his way and bolted out the door. Cassie was disappearing into the woods already, barreling her way through the trees and ground cover.

Terror tore through him as she disappeared from sight. Fighting back the fierce, almost consuming urge to bolt after her at full speed, it took all he had to keep his powers under control as he burst free of the restaurant. Though he was powerful, he could not alter all the memories of the human’s within, and they could not afford to let the humans see him. Racing past the startled group by the picnic tables, he chased after Melissa. He could hear Chris behind him, right on his heels as their feet slapped over the sidewalk.

As soon as he got free of prying eyes, he would catch her, and he very well might kill her himself when he did.

CHAPTER 9

Cassie ignored the briar that caught hold of her hair, ripping it out. Wincing slightly, she continued to bolt forward. Tearing past a large elm, relief filled her as Dani’s dark head came into view. “Dani! Dani!”

The girl turned in surprise, her large hazel eyes widening as she caught sight of Cassie racing toward her like a crazy banshee. In the light of the full moon the red in her hair was the color of blood, it was an omen that caused Cassie to shiver. Leaping over a rotten log, she halted before the girl, panting slightly from her rapid sprint.

“Cassie? What are you doing?” Dani demanded in surprise.

The beam of her flashlight splashed across Cassie’s face, momentarily blinding her. Blinking rapidly, Cassie knew she looked ridiculous, but didn’t care. She inhaled deeply, letting the air rush gratefully into her tortured lungs. “I saw you walking and thought I’d walk with you,” she lied poorly.

Dani lifted a dark eyebrow questioningly, her gold flecked eyes doubtful. “You ran all the way here to walk with me?”

Cassie took another breath. “After the animal attacks last week I didn’t think you should be alone.”

Dani tilted her head to the side, a small smile quirked her full lips. “That’s nice of you, but I walk this way every night. And I can take care of myself.”

Cassie didn’t doubt that she could, at least with normal things, but Dani had no idea what hunted these woods now. Glancing nervously around, Cassie searched intently for any sign of something lurking within the shadows. She used every ounce of her power to search the dark night, trying to pick up waves of Julian’s evil. Though she came up empty, she was not fooled into thinking that he was not around. He was powerful enough to keep her blocked out if he chose.

“Still thought it would be better if you had some company.”

Dani shrugged a dainty shoulder, turning slightly away. “Well come along, the path is better up here. I’m surprised to see you without Devon.”

Cassie glanced over her shoulder, hoping that he wasn’t far behind. He was going to be infuriated with her, but that was a wrath she was willing to face. “I’m sure he’ll be here,” she mumbled softly.

Dani shot her a questioning look as they stepped onto a well worn, much easier to traverse path. Cassie carefully studied each direction of the trail. As far as she could see, it was clear. “Cassie are you ok?”

“Fine.”

She glanced back down the path, her eyes narrowing as they moved steadily along. Dani kept the beam of her light focused a few feet before her, but Cassie relied more on the light of the moon as she wearily watched the pathway. Turning to look behind her, she was dismayed to see that Devon, Chris, and Melissa were still nowhere in sight. She had no doubt that they had come after her, but had they somehow lost her in the woods?

Eyes narrowed, she turned back, keeping a fierce look out. A chill swept down her spine as shadows danced and swayed over the path. The skeletal branches clicked in the night, their noise cold and desolate sounding. Cassie’s heart hammered, panic tore through her as a crushing sense of impending doom settled over her. She could hear nothing but the creaking of the branches. It was too quiet; no animals scurried through the woods, nothing moved within the underbrush. There was a far bigger predator out there tonight, hunting the woods.