Joey’s look of disgust was enough to let Cassie know that was never going to happen. “My sister and I will have nothing to do with you. Ever!” Tears continued to stream down Dani’s face as she stared helplessly at them. Cassie gazed sympathetically back at her, wishing that she could help the girl, knowing that she couldn’t. “We will be leaving this town.”
“No!” Dani cried sharply, her eyes wide with horror. Cassie’s heart lurched, she took a step forward but Devon shot her a fierce look that froze her in her steps. He was close to losing it, and she could not push him further. “I don’t want to leave!”
“Too bad,” Joey growled.
Tears streamed down Dani’s face as she stared hopelessly back at him. Devon pushed Cassie back a step when Chris, Melissa, and Luther reached the doorway. “We will be sad to see you go, but if you feel that is best…” Luther started.
“It is,” Joey said briskly, stalking across the room as they stepped out of the apartment.
Cassie jumped in surprise as the door slammed forcefully shut; the echo of it reverberated throughout the small, dingy hall of the apartment building. “Well he was pleasant, we should invite him over for tea and crumpets sometime,” Chris quipped, rolling his eyes as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Not funny,” Luther reprimanded softly, his face drawn and sad. “We could have used their aid, especially Dani’s. A Grounder,” he shook his head in amazement, running his fingers through his disordered hair. “Maybe he will come around.”
“No,” Chris said firmly. “He won’t be coming around. He radiated hatred and disgust; there were waves of it coming out of him.” He shuddered, huddling deeper into his coat as if he were trying to ward off the emotions that still clung to him. “He is set in his opinion, he will stick to it.”
Cassie was disheartened by Chris’s assessment, but she was not surprised by it. She took hold of Devon’s hand, trying to calm the anger that still radiated from him. He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, pulling her against him. “Let’s get you home,” he said softly. “Luther can explain about your powers there.”
Chris and Cassie groaned, not at all looking forward to a lecture from Luther. “Maybe we should just wait till tomorrow; it’s been a long day…”
“It’s about time you learned at least a little about your heritage,” Luther interrupted, shooting Chris a fierce look that dared him to continue protesting. “It will help in your fight against Julian. It will also aid in your understanding of where your abilities come from.”
“I have none,” Cassie reminded him, not holding out much hope that that fact would get her out of this.
“You do have abilities that a human doesn’t possess,” Devon reminded her. “You need to know where those come from.”
She made another face, her nose wrinkling as she realized that she had lost the battle.
CHAPTER 11
Cassie’s grandmother met them at the door, a strawberry eyebrow raised questioningly as she studied them. Holding the door open, she ushered them inside, making a sweeping gesture toward the living room. Crackers, cheese, bottles of water, and glasses of soda had already been set out on trays. The smell of shepherd’s pie drifted enticingly from the kitchen, reminding Cassie of the fact that they hadn’t had a chance to eat.
“Food,” Chris groaned, plopping himself on the couch as he grabbed a handful of crackers and cheese.
“You guys look like you’ve been through hell,” her grandmother said softly.
Cassie glanced over them, for the first time noting how dirty, bedraggled, bloodied, and exhausted they looked. “Hell came to us,” Chris muttered, his words garbled by the crackers he was chomping on.
Her grandma shook her head as she moved into the living room, shooing Chris’s feet off of the coffee table. He gave her a bashful grin, but it didn’t slow his chewing process. “Good thing Adam told me you were coming,” she announced, sliding easily into her favorite recliner. “Dinner should be ready soon.”
“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Chris asked, grinning brightly at her.
Her grandmother rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t stop the bright smile that spread across her youthful face. “Suck up,” Melissa muttered, slapping Chris’s hand away as she snagged a handful of crackers. He sulked for a moment before darting in again after her.
“Who’s Adam?” Devon asked softly.
Cassie’s smile was sympathetic. “He’s one of the ghosts she talks to; the other two are Caleb and Julia. She mentions them often.”
“So, who is going to tell me what happened?” her grandmother asked softly.
Cassie sighed heavily as she squeezed Devon’s hand gently and released it. Moving around the couch, she stopped to drop a kiss on her grandmother’s head before grabbing some of the few crackers left. “I will,” she said, sliding onto the loveseat as Luther took up his customary position by the fireplace.
In between munching on her crackers, Cassie swiftly filled her grandmother in on the details of the night. Her grandmother’s eyes grew darker, more troubled as she progressed. When Cassie finished her grandmother sat back in her chair, her eyes darkening to a deep brown as she began to converse with her ghost friends. It was a few moments before her eyes returned to their normal sky blue and instantly narrowed on Cassie.
“I can’t believe you ran into the woods on your own,” she scolded.
Cassie shifted uncomfortably, not even bothering to look for help elsewhere in the room. None of them were happy with her. “I was afraid that she was going to be killed.”
Her grandmother quirked an eyebrow. “I understand that, but you were reckless and you could have been killed.”
“Not to mention Dani was better able to defend herself than any of us,” Chris mumbled.
Cassie shot him a fierce look, not at all pleased with his interference. “Very true,” her grandmother agreed. “But none of you would have been able to know that. I have only ever met one Grounder before, it was a little frightening.”
Cassie, Chris, and Melissa nodded their agreement. Devon stood stiffly, though his gaze did dart down to his now healed arms. “It’s a lot of power for a young girl, especially if she does not have control over it.” Luther shook his head in disgust as he pulled his glasses off to rub the bridge of his nose. “I could have helped her with that if her brother would have let me.”