Kindred (Page 31)

Staring silently at the ocean, the strength within her began to grow. It slipped out to her limbs and dried the remaining tears on her face. Her parents had died to keep her safe, had died to protect her, and the world. She could not deny her heritage any longer; she could not deny what she was. And with the strength finally came a calming peace that she had not experienced in a very long time. For the first time in four years there was serenity inside her, a sense of true tranquility. By finally beginning to accept what she was, her path seemed to unfold swiftly, winding easily along instead of being broken and fractured.

A car door slammed, Chris and Melissa appeared at the top of a sand dune. Chris’s face was drawn tight with worry, Melissa looked aggravated. Cassie sighed softly, turning her attention back to the deep blue sea. Dark clouds had begun to roll in along the horizon, but it would be awhile before the storm hit.

“What are you doing?” Melissa demanded; her black flip flops appeared next to Cassie.

Cassie didn’t look up at her as she patted the sand at her side for Melissa to sit. “Thinking.”

“Thinking will get you in trouble,” Chris remarked, trying to sound light, but the tension in his voice betrayed him.

“Are you ok?” Melissa asked softly.

Cassie glanced at Melissa as she settled beside her, drawing her legs up Indian style. “Yes, better actually.”

“You’ve been crying.”

“I have.”

“I’ve never seen you cry.” Chris knelt beside her; his eyes were worried as he scanned her face. “Never.”

Cassie smiled reassuringly at him and squeezed his hand gently. “Once it started I couldn’t stop,” she admitted. “But I feel better now, different somehow, stronger and more peaceful. It’s weird, but it’s ok.”

He nodded, but his eyes were still troubled as he searched her face. “Tears can be soothing.” Melissa rested her hand lightly on Cassie‘s arm. “Are you sure that you’re alright?”

“Yes. You’ve had a premonition about Devon?” It was a question but came out more as a statement.

Melissa blinked in surprise, the pupils of her dark eyes dilated slightly. “Do you really want to know?” When Cassie nodded, she continued on. “Yes, I had a vision about him arriving here; I knew he would touch something within you. I just didn’t know when, or how deeply, he would touch you.”

Cassie was silent, her gaze focused on the ocean as the tide continued to roll slowly in. Her mind clicked along, recalling the night when she had first seen Devon at B’s and S’s. “When you said that it was “about time” that first night he arrived, you weren’t talking about time to leave were you?”

Melissa gave her a small smile as she shook her head. “I’ve been waiting over a year for him to arrive.”

Cassie and Chris both frowned at her, their brows furrowed in confusion. “Why were you waiting for him to arrive?” Cassie demanded.

“To wake you up of course.” She grinned at Cassie, leaning lightly against her side. “I knew that he would shake you up, make you come alive again.”

Cassie stared at her in surprise, confusion flowed through her. “Well, that he did,” Cassie whispered. “I think I have to give him up.”

“Cassie…”

She shook her head fiercely. “It’s too dangerous for all of us, for him. I cannot bring him into this life, cannot put him, or us, into that situation. I’ve been distracted, luckily only in training so far. If I’m distracted in the field I could get us all killed. This is our fate, our heritage; he can’t be a part of it.”

Melissa sighed softly, her hand tightened on Cassie’s arm. Cassie turned slowly toward her, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. “There was a reason that I saw him coming Cassie, and I think that it was more than just to wake you up,” Melissa said softly.

“What then?” she whispered.

Melissa shrugged, shaking her head slowly as her black eyebrows drew tightly together. “Unfortunately I only catch glimpses of the future, not the whole plan Cass. I don’t know why it’s important for him to be here, but it is. And I believe that it is very important for him to be in your life.”

Cassie squelched the hope that bloomed momentarily in her chest. “So you think that I shouldn’t push him away?”

Melissa shook her head as she bit nervously on her bottom lip; her face was composed in thought. “He’s only been in your life for a week and already you’re happier than I’ve seen you in years. You need that, we want that for you. We’ll find a way to keep him safe Cass. The three of us can do anything together. Give it some time; you don’t need all the answers right now. You just need to focus on being happy.”

“And if something does happen to him?”

“We won’t let it,” Chris vowed.

Cassie fought back the tears of gratitude and love that filled her eyes. She was so very lucky to have two such wonderful friends in her life. “Should I tell him? Shouldn’t he know about this danger?” she whispered.

Chris stiffened; her question touched a very sore spot in him. His mother had never known about his father. She had been human, and Chris’s father had thought it best not to tell her what he was, and the danger that he faced every day. Mary had simply thought that Chris’s father was working a second job at night in order to support his wife, and young son.

The harsh truth had not been revealed to Mary until the night she’d fled with Chris and Cassie. Over the years, whether due to the fact that she had lost her husband and feared losing her son, or to the fact that she could not handle the reality of everything she knew, Mary had retreated further and further into an alcohol induced stupor. And further and further away from Chris.

“You know my feelings on that,” Chris said softly.

Yes, she knew that Chris would never keep such a secret from someone he loved; he believed it was what had destroyed his mother. Chris felt that Mary’s resentment at being lied to, and cheated of the dreams she’d possessed, were what had made her the cruel drunk she was now. And he was very likely right. But Cassie wasn’t in love, she couldn’t be in such a short time, she hardly knew Devon.

“I think that you should tell him one day. But maybe you should get to know him a little better first.” Melissa released her grip on Cassie’s arm, needing her hand to clamp back her hair as the wind began to pick up.