Wrapping his arm behind him, his fingers entangled with hers. For a brief moment he allowed himself to savor in the wonderful touch of her skin against his, in the wonderful peace that she brought to him. The beast inside him was too focused upon the upcoming battle, and the necessity to keep her alive to allow himself to drift into her too much. The man was terrified that he would lose her, and could barely bring himself to release her hand. His fingertips lingered against hers for a brief moment before he let her go.
He turned back to his brother, bile and hate rising up in crushing waves. They had never gotten along in life; in death it had been even worse. He knew that Robert had come here specifically for Cassie, specifically to take her from him. But it was not Robert that Devon wanted, it was not Robert that he needed. And Robert knew that. As did the others.
And then he saw them, shadows emerging slowly from the woods, but not all of them came forward. It did not matter though; they were close enough now that he could feel the edges of their minds. Close enough to seize them. He drew on Cassie’s blood, drew on his far vaster strength as an Elder. He shoved gently forward with his mind, being careful not to make waves that Adon could pick up on and alert the others to.
Gently, slipping silently within their barriers, slithering as slowly and stealthily as a snake in the grass, he seized hold of two of their minds. Taking control, he twisted them to his will so smoothly that their facial expressions didn’t even flicker, their eyes never even moved. With gentle coercion, he instructed them to remain the same, to continue to act as they normally would.
He did not need them now, but he would need them soon, and when the time came they would have no choice but to join his side and help him protect Cassie. He could take more of them if he wanted, but with just the one mind alone, he could bend the most powerful amongst The Elder’s to his will. He seized the other mind only as a precaution, but it was a precaution that he was not willing to let go of.
With firm control over that one mind, Devon turned toward Zane, the man he had learned a lot from, the man who had been a mentor of sorts to Devon. A mentor from hell that was filled with nothing but hatred, vengeance, and bloodlust, and at one time Devon had savored in it all. Devon had spent a fair amount of time with Zane many years ago, but unlike Julian, they had never grown to like each other. They had never been friends. The two of them had simply respected and learned from each other, simply savored in the ability of the other to one up each other in savagery. Devon had not seen Zane in nearly four hundred years, but his capability for cruelty and torture was still very fresh in Devon’s mind.
Anger and hatred blazed through Devon at the thought of what Zane would do to Cassie if he got his hands on her. He would make her time with Patrick beneath the school look like a vacation. Zane would torture her until there was nothing left of her, bleed her almost to death before bringing her back to do it over and over again. He would make sure that she stayed alive for years in order to continue doing so.
Devon gazed upon Zane, the oldest Elder, and the one that ran the show. The one that mistakenly believed he still possessed more power than Devon. The one that had no way of knowing that Devon already controlled him like a puppet. A small, cruel smile curved Zane’s mouth as he turned his gaze ever slowly from Devon to Cassie.
“Delicious,” Zane purred.
Devon pushed her back a step, squeezing her tight between him and Julian. Between the two of them, Zane would never get at her. Hopefully.
CHAPTER 15
Cassie could barely breathe against the two bodies pressed tight to her. But then she thought she wouldn’t be able to breathe anyway through the shock, horror, and fear rolling through her. She was no dummy; she knew who these people were, knew what they represented. She knew what they had come here for, and what they would do to all of them. Devon and Julian may be Elders, and there may be two other vampires, four Hunter’s, (if they could untie Joey there would be five of them, but she didn’t think they would make it to him in time), and a Guardian present, but she knew that they would not be a match against eight Elders.
They were no match against eight of the monsters that had killed her parents. Hatred and anger tore through her; she trembled with the ferocity of it. Ever since she had learned the truth of what she was, ever since she had learned that The Elder’s had organized a large group of vampires to destroy the Hunter line, she had desperately wanted revenge. And now was finally her chance for revenge, but there were so many of them and they were so powerful. At least they would be able to take a few of them out (of that she was certain, because she would be sure to do so), before they were completely overrun.
“Delicious.”
Cassie’s eyes narrowed on the one that had uttered the word with such reverence. Disgust rolled through her, but so did anger. She studied the man carefully. He radiated power, hunger, and maliciousness even more so than the others. He also sported a bit of a tan. She recalled Devon telling her that he had known one other vampire that could walk about in the sun; this was most definitely that man.
His eyes were light ochre brown, so light in fact that they appeared almost golden in the moonlight, like honey. His dark blond hair was streaked with natural lighter blond highlights. The highlights had been caused by the light of the sun, a light that he never should have known again, that Devon never should have known again, but did. He looked like a Californian golden boy with his wavy hair falling over his forehead and his clean cut good looks.
His dark nature was very evident, as his was his thirst for blood, and it was more than apparent that he was no golden boy. He was not as tall as the other men about him, but he bore an aura of power that made him appear even larger, even stronger. Even more formidable and intimidating.
“Zane,” Devon murmured his beautiful eyes hooded and dark as he stared hard at the other man.
Zane, somehow that name fit the man perfectly. It was wild and untamed, yet strong, deceiving, mischievous and dangerous. Everything she knew that he was. He appeared a little older than Devon, as if he had been turned in his mid to late twenties, maybe even early thirties instead. Not like it mattered when they had been turned, they were all over five hundred years old now, she realized with dismay.
Devon’s gaze snapped toward the others as they all shifted amongst the shadows. They moved eerily together like one smooth, flowing unit. A unit that was acutely in tune with each other, as acutely in tune as a hive of bees or a flock of birds. They had been together for so long that they no longer needed to speak in order to communicate with each other, but simply picked up on the others motions and movements.