“What though?” he grated.
Annabelle stared helplessly back at him, her eyes watery and lost. Liam and Luther had made their way into Vermont, but they were not having much luck either. Though he had not said it, Devon knew that Liam feared the trail was growing cold. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
Devon nearly bellowed in rage as he slammed his fist into a large oak. The tree shuddered, its empty branches creaked loudly as it swayed slightly. He could feel the demon in him wanting to take over again, wanting to bury the man. He was greatly afraid that he was going to lose the battle shortly, and lose himself in the process. He couldn’t do that; if he did, he would never find Cassie. He would never be able to rescue her from whatever form of torture they had devised for her.
“What do we do?” he asked hopelessly, trying to regain control of his wildly unstable emotions. He had to find her, and he had to do so before he completely lost himself.
“We find another way, maybe there is another one like Julian out there,” Melissa said softly, her gaze wearily focused on the oak he had just punched.
“How do we find them?” Chris asked quietly.
“Luther will know,” Annabelle replied. “There may even be a Hunter out there that has Julian’s ability.”
“And we’re supposed to trust them to help us?” Chris retorted.
“Chris,” Melissa warned.
Chris shook his head at her, his eyes narrowed as he studied the night surrounding them. An owl hooted in the distance, its mournful sound set Devon’s teeth on edge. He paced restlessly away from the tree, tugging anxiously at his hair. He couldn’t take much more of this, his insides felt like something was clawing them to shreds, his skin was on fire, every muscle of his body was twisted and pain filled.
There was only one thing, one person, that could help to soothe the agony in him, and he had no idea where she was, or how to find her. He had sent her away to keep her safe, and instead he had put her right in the path of danger. He never should have left her side; he never should have let her out of his sight. This was his fault, and Cassie was the one paying for it.
When he found her, if he found her, he would never make that mistake again. He looked helplessly back at the rest of them, needing their help. He could no longer think straight, he needed them to do it for him. The owl hooted again. Melissa’s head snapped up, her gaze narrowed on the distant woods.
“Are you still unable to reach out with your mind?” Annabelle asked softly.
Devon shuddered, tugging at his hair. At one time he had always known where Cassie was, always been able to brush against her mind with his. Hell, he had even invaded her dream once before. But now, well now she was too far away. He was unable to locate her, unable to feel her, or find her. “The distance is too great, and I… I am…”
“Too unstable,” Annabelle finished when he could not.
Fresh anger spurted through him. Anger at her for her observation, anger at himself for not being able to control the beast inside of him better. “Yes,” he growled.
She sighed softly, pacing slowly amongst the trees as she tried to work things out. She appeared diminutive and sweet, but Annabelle had a spine of steel and a razor sharp mind. “I think we should join Liam and Luther. We may be able to help them; Melissa may even have a premonition. Hopefully,” she added softly. “And Chris may be able to sense something. Maybe if we all join together again we can find her, and if we get close enough to her, you may be able to connect with her again.”
Devon remained silent, staring intently at the three of them. Melissa and Annabelle stood proudly, defiantly. Chris looked completely lost and helpless. Devon felt his insides twist even more, agony surged through his gut. Fire burned his veins. It wasn’t much of a plan, they all knew that, but it was all they had left. He couldn’t admit defeat, because if he did it would be over for him, and for Cassie. He could quite possibly destroy every one of these people, his friends, if he didn’t find her. He would definitely find a way to destroy himself, even if it meant staying in the sun for days on end until his body could no longer take it, and he finally burned. Even if it meant staking himself.
“Let’s go.”
Devon turned and disappeared into the words, running rapidly toward Cassie’s house. He didn’t wait for the others, he needed to move, needed to try and burn off some of his excess energy and rage. He raced swiftly through the trees, easily dodging the branches and bushes that threatened to catch hold of him.
He broke free of the woods, darting across Cassie’s backyard he pounded up the back steps. Pulling out his phone, he hit Luther’s number as he slammed into the kitchen. “Anything?” he demanded the minute Luther picked up.
The man sighed softly. Devon could hear the regret and aggravation in that single breath. “No,” Luther reluctantly admitted.
Devon glanced up as Annabelle came through the back door, stomping her boots off, she blew on her hands. Her eyes were worried as she gazed sympathetically at him. Devon’s lip curled in a sneer, he hated the pity he felt radiating from her. The pity that they all felt for him now. Turning away, his hand tightened on the phone as he pressed it tighter to his ear.
“We’re coming to join you.”
“Excuse me?” Luther asked in surprise.
“We’re coming to join you. We’re leaving as soon as possible; meet you in Vermont by morning.”
Luther was silent for a moment. “All of you?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.”
Devon heard the rustle of his glasses as Luther slid them off. “We can’t leave the town unprotected.”
The front door opened and closed, Melissa and Chris eyed him wearily as they moved slowly toward the kitchen. “It won’t be unprotected; I don’t think Julian is here any longer. I don’t know why he moved on, but he has. The Commission will not come here; they already have what they want. If other vampire’s do arrive here, they will move on once they realize that there are no Hunter’s here anymore, and there is no power or challenge. We’re coming up there. Now.”
“Wait Devon, slow down.” Luther said quickly. “Are you sure that Julian is no longer there, or is he just in hiding?”
“I’m sure,” Devon growled.
“The town…”
“Will be fine,” Devon interrupted sharply. “This is the only hope we have. We need to find her. Are there Hunter’s out there that possess Julian’s ability?”