“What are they doing to them?”
Julian shook his head. “From what he knows, nothing. They are just being held. Some of them are actually future Guardians. There are a couple of Hunter’s amongst them, and the rest are human. There are ten of them still alive.”
Relief filled her, her shoulders slumped. As soon as they were free of here they would find the children, rescue them, and keep them safe. They would never again know the kind of terror that they had so recently experienced. “And how many of those monsters are here?”
Julian shook his head. “They have been moving people steadily out of this town for the past year. They’ve been buying up land and pushing the people out in preparation of the experiments they wanted to perform. Including the children, there were only sixty people left in this town by the time they were done. The ones at the motel that weren’t killed outright were brought in. Some of the others have already been killed off, but he believes there are still at least twenty five to thirty left.”
“What?” Melissa croaked.
Julian glanced around the room. “We have killed off six of them.”
“How the hell are we going to kill twenty or so more of them though?” Chris demanded.
“We’ll figure that out,” Luther replied. “For now it is more important that we keep them in this town.”
“How?” Melissa asked.
“Bait,” Cassie whispered.
Devon’s hand tightened on her, his nostrils flared as he turned slowly toward her. His eyes were narrowed and fierce, his body thrummed with tension. “Absolutely not.”
Cassie ignored his growled warning. “It’s the only way to draw them out, especially since their food supply is running low. We have to have bait. They will come to us then.”
“And I know who we can use,” Julian said softly.
Cassie’s head snapped toward him, she glared at him. “No!” she hissed. “That is not going to happen. I will go out there.”
“Like hell!” Devon exploded; his hands were almost painful upon her as he spun her. “That is not going to happen.”
“Devon…”
“You are not going out there.”
“If you would just listen.”
His eyes flared red, his jaw clenched tight. “For once you are going to listen to me!” he snarled. “You are not going out there. If you want to use bait then I will personally carry that man and Joey outside, but you will not be that bait.”
Dani let out a strangled cry of horror as she lurched from the shadows. Liam grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her back a step. Cassie gaped up at Devon, unsure how to respond or react. She had seen him furious, she had seen him on the brink of losing all control, but she had never seen him like this. He had never ordered her about so fiercely before. And she had never thought that he would so willingly offer up someone for death.
“Devon,” she breathed.
His eyes flickered briefly for a moment. “Your safety is first,” he said softly.
“I know, but…”
“No buts,” he growled. “You will not be the bait, no matter what you want.”
She nodded, swallowing the heavy lump that was lodged in her throat. What was wrong with him? What was going on here? Her gaze darted questioningly to Julian, he stared silently back at her, his icy eyes unwavering. He nodded slightly to her, a subtle movement of his head that left her trembling.
“I’ll do it,” Chris said softly.
“No!” Cassie shouted at him, shock at his statement causing her to forget her worries about Devon. “No Chris, I’m faster than you, and stronger.”
He quirked an eyebrow as he folded his arms over his chest, taking affront to her statement. “It won’t be either of you,” Luther said flatly, his gaze intent on Devon. “Will it?”
“No,” Devon answered in response to his question. “It will be Julian and I.”
Cassie spun on him, her eyes narrowing as she glared fiercely up at him. “Oh, so it’s ok if something happens to you?” she demanded. “We’re going to need you to stop them from spreading out of this town. You and Julian are the strongest, you are the most needed!”
Devon bent closer to her, his eyes blazed fiercely into hers. “And if something happens to you, I will be an even bigger danger to everyone in this room than those things out there. Do you understand me?”
Cassie swallowed heavily, her shaking grew fiercer. “Devon I’m still going to be in on the fight. Once they come, you will need our help, we’re going to be out there no matter what.”
Cassie had to fight the urge to take a step back as he leaned even closer to her. Her heart flipped wildly as pressed his face nearly against hers. For the first time, she was actually a little afraid of him, and the intensity that blazed from him. She had never seen him like this, she didn’t know what had brought it about, but she sure as hell didn’t like it. She hated to be intimidated, but she was, and she had never thought that Devon would be the one doing the intimidating.
“Not you.”
Cassie’s mouth dropped, strange sputtering noises escaped her. “Like hell!” she snapped.
“None of you will be out there.”
“What!? Are you kidding me! Of course we will!” everyone exploded at the same time.
“No,” Devon replied crisply. “Julian and I will take care of this.”
Cassie gaped at him, shock and horror leaving her immobile. “Devon, you can’t handle them all. That’s a suicide mission, why would you want to do that?” Cassie whispered.
He moved slightly away from her, allowing her to breathe a little easier. “They won’t all come at once; we can handle the ones that do.”
Tears burned her eyes, her hands clenched and unclenched in frustration. She wanted to argue with him, wanted to fight him, but she knew that it would be pointless, knew that he would not budge. Devon gently grasped her chin, tilting her head so that she had to meet his gaze. “We will be fine.”
A single tear slid down her face. He wiped it lightly away, bending close he pressed a soft kiss to her trembling lips. When he pulled away his eyes were emerald again, dark with uncertainty and concern. “You will stay inside.”
Cassie couldn’t bring herself to speak, she would not lie to him, and she could not make that promise. He released her before stepping away. Cassie watched as he moved stiffly toward Julian. She was suddenly hit with the realization that she did not know just exactly what he was capable of, especially when it came to her.