Kindled (Page 45)

“Only so far,” Devon answered. “They’ve taken her beyond that point, and it’s been so long…”

Devon broke off, shuddering as a trace of humanity slipped through the fear and rage boiling inside of him. Chris sensed his overwhelming pain, the terror that was consuming him. Without Cassie, Devon would not survive, and yet Chris sensed no fear for Devon’s own life, or his own survival. He only cared about Cassie’s. For a moment his eyes turned green again, and then the red shuddered back into place and the fury blasted against Chris once more.

“There has got to be a way!” Melissa cried. “There has to be! We can follow her trail until Devon loses it and then we’ll just have to…”

Melissa broke off, looking helplessly at Chris as tears slipped down her face. Chris understood her helplessness, her complete and utter lack of power. “Liam, what ability do you have?” Luther demanded.

Hope spurted through Chris as he turned swiftly to Liam. They didn’t know what he was capable of, what ability he may possess that could be of use to them right now. Liam shook his head; his gaze darted briefly to Devon. “I can communicate with animals, which does us little good in this situation.”

Chris started in surprise, it seemed like a handy little gift to him. “Can’t we just talk to them; won’t they be able to tell us where they took her?”

Liam frowned, shaking back his brown hair. “They may be able to tell us for a little bit, but to find enough of them that have seen something…”

“Would take far too long,” Devon interrupted sharply. “We need something quicker and easier.”

Devon emitted a low growl as he paced to the door and then back again. Chris stood silently, trying to piece everything together, trying hard not to let his panic, and Devon’s emotions, get the best of him. He needed to think, they had to figure something out before it was too late.

“Julian,” he said softly.

“What?” Melissa asked in surprise.

“Julian,” Chris rushed out, hope blazing through him. “Julian can find where she is. All we have to do is give him something of Dani’s, and he will know everything that she knew! He can tell us where to find them!”

Stunned silence met his eager outburst. “Why would he help us though?” Annabelle asked quietly.

“Because we’re going to make him,” Devon grated out, his hands fisting, his eyes still the color of blood. “We need to gather some of Dani’s things.”

Before anyone could respond Devon turned and bounded rapidly up the stairs. Chris listened as he threw open doors before finally finding Dani’s room. “I’ll go help him before he tears the place down,” Liam said softly, swiftly disappearing from the room.

“What if this doesn’t work?” Melissa inquired.

“It has too,” Luther answered. “It’s all we have.”

“Did Devon run the whole way here?” Chris asked, more to divert the conversation away from the doubt than out of any real curiosity.

Luther shook his head. “He got out of the vehicle about thirty miles back. That’s probably where he picked up her scent.”

“If we don’t find her, this will get ugly,” Annabelle whispered. “And I’m fairly certain that all of us together will not be enough to take him down.”

“No, we’re not,” Chris said softly.

Melissa squeezed his arm gently, her dark eyes worried and lost as he met her gaze. “We’ll find her, I don’t care what it takes we will find her. Julian will help us.”

Chris nodded, wanting desperately to believe her, but unable to bury the doubts blazing through him. He listened as Devon and Liam pounded back down the stairs. “Let’s go,” Devon ordered briskly.

“Wait, Devon.” Luther held up a hand, taking a step forward to intercept Devon before he could leave. “I think that we should split up. Liam and I should stay here; we should search for the animals. It may be a long shot, but it is one that we need to pursue.”

Luther broke off, his unspoken words hanging heavily in the air. If they could not find Julian, than Liam may be the only hope they had, no matter how small it was. Devon remained silent for a moment, his shoulders stiff with fury. “Fine.”

Annabelle looked about ready to protest as her eyes darted longingly toward Liam. Liam gave a brief shake of his head, halting her words. “It will be for the best,” he said softly. “Luther can drive while I search the forest, and he can find us places to stay during the day.”

“It’s settled then, let’s go.”

Before anyone could say anything more, Devon stormed out of the house. “Liam,” Annabelle whispered.

He shook his head; he reached out to seize her hand and squeeze it tight. “You must stay with him Annabelle, you may be one of the only people that can keep him calm, that can reach him, and I must go. We have to find her before he begins to truly destroy things, and people. I will be fine, now go on.”

Tears shimmered in Annabelle’s eyes as she stood on her toes to kiss him softly. Chris turned away, leaving them to enjoy their brief goodbye. He followed silently out the door behind Melissa and Luther. Devon had already disappeared into the forest, leaving them to follow behind.

CHAPTER 15

Cassie woke slowly, a soft moan escaping her. Her entire body ached; her mouth was as dry as a bone. She could hardly get her eyes open, and once she did, the light burned them so bad that she instantly clamped them shut again. Her groggy mind struggled to process what little bits of information she could pick up on. She was lying on a bed, a small one, probably a cot. The sheets were cool, there was only one pillow.

She knew she was far from where she was supposed to be, and that was about all she did know.

Slowly she forced her eyes open again, blinking against the bright light that flared harshly from the fluorescent light in the ceiling. The walls were concrete, white. Half of the wall across from her was taken up by a giant piece of one way glass. She blinked at the glass, her skin crawled at the realization that there was probably someone on the other side, watching her.

Gathering her shaking arms beneath her, she managed to shove herself into a sitting position. Her eyes darted swiftly around the small, sterile room. Her heart lurched painfully in her chest; her skin was coated in a thin layer of sweat. She realized almost instantly that she was in a prison room and that she was the prisoner.

Turning slowly, Cassie’s heart thumped even harder at the sight of another, smaller window behind her. There would be absolutely no privacy in this room. Her attention darted to the door next to the glass across from her. She knew it would be locked, but she wasn’t about to just sit here.