He completely forgot about Chris and Melissa until the car doors closed. Cassie jerked slightly before pulling away from him. She grinned at him as her cheeks colored and she bowed her head. He pulled the glasses from her face; he had to see her eyes again. They sparkled back at him, warmth and love radiating from them. Whether Hunter or vampire, she was spectacular and she was his.
She gave him every bit of herself that she had to give, and more. She'd given up her entire world for him, even if it had been sooner than planned and in a far more brutal way than he had planned for. He would have eased her into the change, he would have tried to take some of the pain from the transition from her, and he would have been there for her. But if there was one thing he'd learned in his lengthy existence it was that life never went as planned.
He would have given anything to take back the traumatic death she'd experienced. When he saw his brother again, Devon was going to make him pay for what he'd done to her. "I think we embarrassed them," she murmured.
He stroked her silken cheek and bent to kiss the tip of her nose. "They'll survive. I love you."
Her grin widened. "I love you too."
He reluctantly pulled away from her and was careful to only open the door a crack as he climbed out. "Lock the doors."
"We will," Melissa assured him before climbing back into the passenger side.
Devon could feel their eyes following them as he and Chris made their way to the small house. He led the way around the back when he discovered the front door was locked.
CHAPTER 8
Cassie's hands twisted together as she watched Chris and Devon disappear around the side of the house. She hated the fact that she couldn't be with them, that she was now practically useless during the day hours. She pressed her fingers against the tinted glass as she strained to see more. But no matter what she was, Hunter or vampire, she couldn't see through buildings.
"Do you think they made it in?" she asked.
"I hope so."
"Why doesn't this house frighten you?"
Melissa shrugged and barely glanced at Cassie before she turned her attention back to the farmhouse. A Farmers Porch wrapped around three sides of it and the red color was cheerful even in the dreary winter landscape. Bird feeders hung from the beams, even from this distance she could hear them creak as they swayed in the wind.
A curtain in the living room pulled back and Devon waved at them before he dropped it back down. "It feels more alive than the others," Melissa said. "It's not a premonition or anything, there's just something about this one that feels safer. But things are so screwy now Cass that I could be completely wrong."
The hairs on the back of Cassie's neck stood up, a chill raced down her spine. "Melissa," she breathed as she fought off the panic trying to engulf her.
"But I don't think so," Melissa rushed on when she realized what she'd said. "They'll be fine Cass."
Cassie's hands fisted as she turned her attention back to the house. She was more powerful now, stronger than she had been as a Hunter, yet she'd never felt so weak. If she had a heartbeat she knew it would be racing. Instead, her body was oddly unresponsive to the apprehension that was sliding through her.
The SUV heaved up on its side as something slammed into it. Cassie let out a startled cry; she tumbled against the glass across from her as the two driver's side tires were lifted off the ground. Cassie and Melissa were shoved up against the passenger side windows and thrown off balance as the vehicle was dropped down and then heaved up again. For a second Cassie was certain that it was going to go over, but then it was dropped again. It roughly bounced back and forth on its tires as the shocks and struts groaned in protest.
Cassie strained to right herself, but the incessant jarring had caused the layers of blankets to become tangled around her. Her right hand was pinned behind her back, her legs were all caught up, and her right eye was completely covered. Melissa let out a shrill yelp and scrambled back against her seat as something thudded against the windshield. Aggravated with the copious amounts of cloth encumbering her, Cassie gave up on trying to right herself and began to rip off the layers.
Something scuttled across the roof and then returned to perch in the center. Freeing herself of the blanket covering her face, she looked up as the roof bowed beneath the weight of the person on it. No, not a person, it was most certainly a Halfling. It had either followed the vehicle the entire way, or it had spread into this outer area of town in search of food.
The creature scrambled off the backside of the vehicle as another one jumped onto the hood. How many were there? Cassie wondered frantically as she scrambled to sit up. The car lurched up again, but this time it came from the passenger side and heaved her forward. Pain jarred through her hand and wrist as she slammed into the opposite window.
Melissa sprawled inelegantly across the console, half upside down. Anger flared through Cassie as she scrambled back up. Kneeling, she braced herself between the two headrests of the front seats. She steadied herself as the car violently rocked back and forth. Struggling against the sway of the vehicle, she tried to get her bearings as she searched for the Halflings stalking them.
Red eyes flashed hungrily in the back window as the face of something not entirely human peered in at them. Their eyes met and Cassie understood everything that drove it as something in her own body empathized with the creature in response. For a short time they were one being, one monster, and they both coveted one thing.
Death.
Cassie shook her head as she tried to rid herself of the awful knowledge, and the awful certainty that accompanied it. She was not like these things. She still loved and had respect for life. She wasn't a monster.
Cassie shuddered, but she remained trapped within the creatures gaze as a new realization dawned over her. She wasn't like them yet, but if things went wrong, if Matthew's visions came true she would be. She was certain of that.
A small sound of terror escaped her throat, but it had nothing to do with the increased rocking of the vehicle. A loud crash finally brought her attention away from the creature in the back. She turned just in time to see the passenger side window on her right spider web. A different sort of horror filled her as the cracked pieces of tint allowed the suns UV rays to filter through.
Recoiling instinctively, Cassie threw herself against the driver's side of the vehicle as she scrambled to recover one of the blankets. Melissa had also righted herself and was leaning against the driver's side door as she panted heavily. "We have no weapons," she gasped.