“No,” he said simply.
She snorted slightly in surprise, her eyes sparked with amusement once more. “Good.” She said flatly. “Cassie went home.”
He frowned in surprise as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Why?”
“Not feeling well.”
“She ok?” he demanded, surprised by the wealth of worry and concern that filled him.
“She’s fine, just hasn’t been sleeping well.”
Devon frowned as he recalled the strange dreams plaguing him, dreams that Cassie was always a part of; dreams that haunted him throughout the day. Dreams that he did not want to have, but looked forward to every night.
He hated what Cassie was doing to him, knew that he should leave this town, but he also knew that he wouldn’t. Not yet anyway.
***
“Cassie come on! Pay attention!”
Sighing in aggravation, Cassie tossed aside the stake she had been holding and stormed over to the bench. Grabbing a water bottle she squirted it into her mouth, trying to drown the annoyance consuming her. She was exhausted, she could barely function, and she had been completely blowing all of her training for the past week. She was doing awful, and Luther was not about to let her forget it.
“You are so very lucky that things have been quiet this past week!” he barked at her, his gray eyes narrowed angrily. “You wouldn’t survive five seconds in the field!” Cassie was struggling to control her temper, he was right after all, but she was just as frustrated as he was with her inability to do anything right. “What is wrong with you?”
Cassie closed her eyes, shuddering as she thought of the many things that were wrong with her lately. And they were all centered on one very disturbing, frightening man. “I’m tired,” she mumbled, knowing that although it was the truth it was also a very poor excuse.
“Tired! Tired!?” he demanded sharply.
Cassie hung her head, peeking up at him from under lowered lashes. She deserved whatever she got, but it was still killing her to keep from defending herself. Luther sighed angrily; pulling off his Lennon style glasses he cleaned them briskly on his shirt as he tried to gather his patience. He slid them back on, relatively calmer as he studied her wearily.
“Alright.” He tugged on his graying brown hair; he paced briefly away before he turned sharply on his heel and coming back. “Maybe I am working you to hard. Maybe you need a break, you all do. We’ll take the rest of tonight off.”
Cassie wanted to protest, taking time off wouldn’t help her. She knew that. Just as she knew that none of them could afford to lose time practicing their fighting skills. “Luther…”
“No, no.” His English accent became slightly heavier the more discombobulated he became. “A night off will do us all some good. But you need to come back refreshed and rested Cassie. You are the best fighter we have, if you don’t get your act together than we’re all in danger.”
Cassie bit on her bottom lip as she struggled to keep hold of the anger and shame threatening to consume her. Tremors rocked her, tears burned her eyes, but she would not allow herself to shed them. She had to get her act together, and she had to do it soon. She was overtired right now, that was her whole problem. She just needed some sleep.
Fighting to keep hold of her wildly swaying emotions, she glanced around the converted garage. It was packed full of weapons, punching bags, and exercise equipment. Luther had added onto the two car garage a couple years ago, making it twice as big as its original size. She had spent a lot of time in this room, poured a lot of sweat, and shed more than a few tears along with some blood.
And she hated it, she hated everything that this room represented and the change it had brought to her life. She kept her hate hidden though, kept it locked away, buried beneath the fear and terror that she didn’t allow to show. Turning away from the metal swords and crossbows strapped to the wall, she focused her attention on Luther, Melissa, and Chris.
“It’s time to go home,” she said softly.
“Yes, yes,” Luther agreed. “Rest for the next night and then we’ll hit it hard again tomorrow.”
Cassie nodded, though the last thing she wanted was to ever have to come back here. However, she didn’t have an option. She would have to come back over and over again until they left town, or she died. Both options sucked.
“Will you be ok after tonight?” She nodded in response to Luther’s question. His aggravation had been replaced with a deep worry that rattled her. He was the closest thing to a father she had, and right now he looked completely terrified for her. She didn’t like it one bit. “Are you sure?”
“Cassie.” She turned toward Melissa, hating the knowledge in her onyx eyes. Though Cassie had not mentioned her dreams to anyone, or her bizarre attraction to Devon, Melissa saw far more than Cassie wanted her to. But then, she always did. “Maybe a sleeping pill would help you.”
Cassie hid her surprise, nodding briskly as she turned toward Chris. He offered her a wan smile as he held his arm out to her. Though she loved them both dearly, there were times when she wished they didn’t know her so well, or possess such probing gifts. Hiding her irritation, she slipped her arm into Chris’s, squeezing it briefly as she leaned against his side.
She had always hated taking any medicine, but maybe she should take a pill tonight, she was so damn tired she could barely see straight anymore. And if she didn’t get some sleep soon, she was scared that she would break completely.
CHAPTER 7
“Is this a dream?”
Cassie stood across the clearing from him, her golden hair tumbling in a riotous mass about her bared, creamy shoulders. The white dress she wore billowed gently about her bare feet. She was stunning, breathtaking, and he knew that if his heart could still beat it would have stopped at the sight of her. The soft breeze pushed strands of hair around her delicate features. She reached up, pulling it back as it drifted across one of her eyes.
Her eyes drifted away, a small smile played over her mouth as she stared at the pristine lake in the middle of the field. Her toes curled into the thick grass beneath her bare feet as her smile widened. “Beautiful,” she breathed.
He completely agreed, but his gaze did not stray from her. She turned slowly back to him, her head tilted to the side as she studied him questioningly. “You’re everywhere,” she whispered.
He started slightly, his hands fisted at his sides. His own bare feet curled into the springy grass he stood upon. The long blades tickled slightly, but he ignored them as he took a small step toward her. For a moment fear flashed through her eyes, she didn’t move away from him though. “Am I?” he inquired softly, his entire body aching to touch her, to hold her, to pull her close to him.