Cassie glanced quickly over them, noting the inquisitive looks that Chris and Luther gave her. Heaving a big sigh, she tossed away the remaining blades of grass she had picked and climbed swiftly to her feet. Though she felt as if she might be betraying Devon by talking with them, she knew that Melissa and Chris were the two people that would have the most insight into him.
She paced slowly back and forth, not sure how to begin. Finally, she just decided to jump in. “What exactly have you seen about Devon?”
Melissa stared at her in surprise, her dark eyes becoming turbulent and distant. Shaking back her black braid, her eyes focused on Cassie once more. “Aside from his arrival, I’ve seen nothing else about him.”
“What did you see about that then?” Cassie demanded, a sense of urgency filling her.
Melissa tilted her head curiously. “Not much Cass, I just saw him coming, and I saw brief glimpses of the two of you together. I knew that he was coming for you.”
Those last three words caused a chill to run down Cassie’s spine. Coming for her, he was coming for her. But why? What did he want with her? Cassie shuddered, feeling like a turtle as she tried to pull all of her exposed skin into her jacket. It was a poor attempt at trying to hide from the world. “You saw nothing wrong with him though?” she asked softly.
The three of them exchanged surprised, wary looks, before focusing their attention on her once more. “No Cassie, not at all. I would have warned you if I had. Why are you asking this?”
Cassie chose to ignore the question as she turned to Chris. “And what did you feel from him?” she asked softly.
Chris looked briefly confused before shaking his head. “Not much,” he admitted slowly. “I told you I can’t really read him.”
Cassie absorbed this information slowly, not knowing what to make of it. Chris could get a glimpse of everyone. He was one of the main reasons she had never dated Mark. Chris had sensed something off about him, although Mark had never done anything wrong, never acted badly in any way before today. His doubts about Mark had been spot on though.
“Why is that?” she asked softly, the chill in her becoming an ice storm that seemed to freeze the blood in her veins.
Chris shook his head, looking thoughtful and distant. “I don’t know Cassie, I really don’t. For the most part there is an impenetrable wall around him that I can’t pierce, and believe me I have tried. That guy is a challenge that I would love to master, but I can’t.”
She swallowed heavily, trying to huddle deeper into her jacket, but there was nowhere for her to go. There was nowhere for her to hide anymore. Chris’s words only caused her doubt, and confusion, to escalate higher. What did that mean? How did a human keep Chris at bay? Unless, of course, he really did possess the same ability as Chris, and somehow it did keep Chris blocked out.
Then, she caught something that he had said. “For the most part?” she inquired softly.
He nodded, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned against a white oak. The leaves were still mostly green in the tree, almost black in the dark night, but a hint of color had made its way into the outer leaves. That hint of color was now the shade of blood. Cassie’s stomach rolled with that realization.
“There is one thing that he can’t keep blocked out.”
“What’s that?” Melissa asked eagerly when Chris did not continue.
Chris’s gaze pierced Cassie. “His feelings for you. He can’t keep those hidden, they radiate out of him like a lighthouse beacon calling home the ships. It’s why I kinda like the guy. I know that he cares deeply for you, and he would do anything for you. I have to like someone like that.”
Warmth swept through Cassie, slightly melting the iceberg that had enshrouded her. “Really?” she whispered hopefully.
“Yes.”
Tears burned the backs of her eyes, but she would not shed them. Not here, not in front of them. Her doubts and fears lingered, but Chris’s words had warmed her to the tips of her toes. “Why are you asking this Cassie?” Luther inquired softly.
“I was just wondering,” she tried to bluff.
It was more than obvious that he didn’t believe her. “You never just wonder, now what is going on?”
She paced restlessly back and forth, not sure how much she wanted to say. Sighing heavily, she spun to face them. “Didn’t you find the incident in the cafeteria today odd?”
Chris’s face darkened with anger, Melissa nodded eagerly. “I cannot believe Mark said those things to you! I was going to punch that guy myself if Devon hadn’t got there first!” Chris spat.
“He was wicked quick to defend you.”
Melissa’s eyes took on a dreamy look. Cassie sighed loudly; apparently Melissa had decided to jump on the “I love Devon” bandwagon also. But that was not what frustrated her right now. Was she the only one that had noticed something off about what had happened today? And just how quick had Devon been? The last time Cassie had seen Devon, he had been across the cafeteria, and then suddenly he was there, tossing Mark around like a rag doll.
“Another reason I like the guy,” Chris muttered.
Luther studied them all carefully before piercing her once again with his intense gray eyes. Nothing ever slipped past Luther, and he often saw far more than she wanted him to. “There is more, isn’t there?”
“Yes.” Taking a deep breath, Cassie decided to just plunge in. She needed to unload some of her confusion, doubts, and burdens on someone. And she trusted these three with her life. “I’ve come to care for him, a lot.” That was the understatement of the year, but she did want to keep some things to herself. “And I realize that I know nothing about him.”
“Well, he’s new,” Melissa defended. “It takes time to get to know someone.”
Cassie licked her lips nervously, turning she began to pace again. “I know that, I understand that. What I don’t understand is how he sensed that evil presence the other day…”
“What?” Melissa interrupted sharply.
“He knew that it was there, even before we did. I felt it in him, felt the tension that took hold of him moments before we even felt it. He knew it was there…”
“There are humans with special abilities,” Chris interjected.
“Yes, I know that, but this was different Chris. I don’t know how to explain it, but it was. It got me thinking about how little I really do know about him. Then today, in the cafeteria, the strength he displayed. What human could do that?”