They exchanged quick glances. “Some humans are very strong.”
“That strong Melissa?” Cassie demanded sharply. “He lifted Mark with one hand, and Mark is not exactly a light weight. One hand!” Cassie realized her voice had taken on a slightly hysterical pitch, but she could not rid herself of it.
Silence met her. Their gazes became distant. “What are you trying to say Cassie?” Luther asked gently. “Do you think he might be a Hunter also?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m talking to you guys about this. But wouldn’t you know if he was?”
Luther frowned, shrugging absently. “I don’t know. I would like to think so, but things are so different now. I can look for Hunter’s, but there is no guarantee that I will know them when I find them. Melissa had a premonition about yours and Chris’s location. You were easy enough to find as I had met your mother once, and you look a lot like her. However, even with the few premonitions Melissa’s had about other locations, I have never found another Hunter. I don’t know if I would recognize him if he is one.”
Cassie digested this slowly, she supposed that would make sense, but it still did not ease the anxiety clutching at her. “He said that his parents had been killed, but he didn’t say how, maybe they were actually killed during The Slaughter. But if he does have Chris’s ability, wouldn’t he be able to sense us? Wouldn’t he come to us? Wouldn’t he want to be with people like him, instead of on his own?”
“He may not know what we are,” Melissa said gently. “If he is keeping Chris blocked, then Chris may be doing the same thing to him.”
“Maybe,” Cassie muttered, still not completely convinced.
“I don’t understand where you’re going with this,” Melissa said gently. “What do you think he is?”
Cassie threw her hands impatiently up as she resumed anxiously pacing once more. “I don’t know!” she exclaimed in exasperation.
“You don’t think there is something wrong with him, do you?”
Cassie frowned, biting her bottom lip gently. “I… no… I don’t know,” she finished lamely.
They inhaled sharply, their foreheads furrowed with doubt and confusion. “No Cassie, I would have seen that,” Melissa said, though her voice was hesitant and not quite as confident as normal.
“And the way that he feels about you.” Chris shook his head, stepping away from the tree. “No. No one can feel that strongly about someone if there is something wrong with them. What he feels is very pure and it’s… well I have never felt anything like it before. I know that I’ve never felt that way about anyone. It’s amazing Cassie, that’s the only way I can describe it, and it’s the only thing that gets through.”
Tears burned her eyes again. “Really?” she breathed.
He gave her a lopsided grin, his shaggy hair falling into one of his sapphire eyes. “Would I lie to you?”
She managed a wan smile. Though they had managed to ease some of her fears, she could not shake the doubts that clung stubbornly to her. There were just so many things that she didn’t know. Though, she did know that all she really wanted was for him to come to her room again tonight. Maybe if she talked to him she would feel better about this whole situation.
A flash of movement amongst the trees caught her attention. Her head snapped to the left, her eyes narrowed as she searched the shadowed woods. Though Luther had not wanted them to come out here tonight, they had insisted upon it. Some of the stories in the paper had led Luther to believe that there was an Elder out there; today’s news had led them all to believe that there was also a young vampire on the Cape again. Two bodies had been found, mauled with little or no blood left in their system. It had taken a lot of persuasion, but Luther had finally conceded to let them come to the cemetery in the hopes that it would wander this way. The monster needed to be put down before it did anymore harm.
“It’s out there,” she whispered.
Luther straightened, his eyes narrowing sharply as he scanned the woods. “Is it The Elder?” he demanded sharply.
Cassie shook her head as Chris answered him. “No.”
Another flash turned Cassie to the left. She braced her legs, setting her shoulders as she prepared for the imminent attack. It did not matter that they outnumbered the creature; it would still come for them. It would wrongly think that they were easy targets, and a buffet that it would want to partake in.
The woods exploded in a flurry of violent motion. Leaves exploded outward, scattering across the grass of the cemetery. The creature rushed them in a blur of motion that would have been imperceptible to the human eye, but Cassie picked up on it instantly. She braced herself, clenching tighter to her stake as she bounced on her heels in preparation.
Though her thoughts had been focused upon Devon during training, she found all of her doubts, worries, and concerns melting away. Years of breeding and training took over as adrenaline coursed through her, and anticipation for the fight consumed her. The monster went for Chris first, running in a headlong charge. Chris braced himself, turning slightly to dodge out of the way as the monster reached him.
Swinging out, Chris caught hold of him as he slammed a fist into the things shoulder. The young vampire, a man, grunted loudly as he staggered forward beneath the force of Chris’s blow. Though he was off balance, and caught by surprise, he was still hungry, and volatile. His reddened eyes latched upon Cassie, his lips pulled back in a snarl as he caught scent of what he thought would be the easier prey.
Cassie grinned at him invitingly, welcoming the fight, needing to rid herself of her pent up, frustrated energy. It snarled as it lunged at her, its hands curled into claws as it aimed for her neck. A small chuckle escaped her; the thing was stupid that was for sure. It did not stop to think that it might be outnumbered and that a retreat should be considered. Instead, all it could think about was blood and feeding, and destroying life.
It launched itself at her, leaping into the air, its hands outstretched as it looked to devour her. Thrusting her hand up, she used the palm of her hand to smash upward. His head snapped back, his blood red eyes rolled back in his head as his teeth bit into his chin. Blood spilled down his face, but he did not completely slow in his rush. He seized hold of her arms, his hands tightening in a painful grip as he dragged her eagerly forward.
She did not panic, did not even feel a spurt of fear as his lips pulled back. His fetid breath washed over her, causing her gag reflex to react instantly. Lifting her leg, she slammed her knee into his groin. He howled as he bent over, the pain finally breaking through his bloodlust as he released her. Fisting her hands, she drove them hard into his back, knocking him to his knees.