Phoenix Rising (Book 5 The Kindred Series) (15 page)

"You
got her drunk. You got them
both
drunk! That was your answer to this mess?"

Julian shrugged absently as he twirled the beer bottle between his fingers and grinned annoyingly at Devon. "Hey it kept her calm and it kept her here. Hell it kept me pretty freaking entertained to be honest with you."

Devon glowered at him as he fought the urge to punch the arrogant smirk off of Julian's face. "I swear Julian..."

"I am
not
drunk!" Cassie protested a little
too
loudly. She clung to his side; her eyes sparkled as she grinned up at him. He would have smelled the tequila on her from a mile away and held her up when she stumbled. "Well maybe a little," she admitted happily.

Chris was sitting on the bed, his hair a tussled mess as he placed a bottle of whiskey on the nightstand. Not only had Julian gotten them drunk, but he'd gone straight to the high test with them. He was a little amazed that Cassie was still standing, even if it wasn't that well.

"I'm drunk." Chris didn't look even a little ashamed at this admission. He rested his elbows on his legs and went to prop his chin in his hands but his arms slid off the side. He jerked forward and grinned as he shook his head and retrieved his bottle.

"What the
hell
were you thinking Julian?" Devon demanded.

Julian shrugged as he took another chug of beer. "You left me!" Cassie accused, her voice a little slurred as she poked him in his chest. He seized her finger and held it against his chest as she tried to tug it back. Giving up on retrieving her finger, she returned to glowering at him. "You left me here even after you knew what I thought about Matthew's vision!"

"Cassie..."

She jerked her finger back and frowned at him before she turned toward the others. "Where are Dani and Joey?" she demanded. Luther glanced out the door and nodded toward where Joey and Dani hovered outside. "Is everyone ok? Did you... did ya see anything?" Devon tried to steady her as she wandered away, but she batted his hands back. "I'm mad at you."

Julian snorted with laughter and Chris lifted his head to grin at them. Annabelle, Liam, and Melissa were trying to keep their amusement hidden, but they were failing miserably. Luther looked just as unhappy about the situation as Devon felt. Cassie moved to the door and poked her head out.

"Come on in!" she called cheerfully.

Devon shook his head and glared at Julian as he continued to snicker happily. He'd almost forgotten just how infuriating Julian could be. "Who knew she couldn't handle her liquor?"

"Anyone with half a brain," Devon retorted.

Julian's grin only widened. "Come now Devon, I've never been known for my brain. My looks most definitely, but never my brain."

"You're an ass," Devon growled and headed toward Cassie.

Liam grabbed hold of her and righted her as she bumped against the door. Cassie seized hold of his hand and smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You should know better Cassie," Luther scolded.

She shrugged absently and grabbed hold of Annabelle as she leaned out the door. Annabelle shot Devon an apologetic look as Cassie continued to sway. Dani appeared in the doorway; she glanced around but didn't step into the room. Joey folded his arms and stared at Cassie like she was a two year old that had just stolen a cookie.

"Did you find any more vampires?" Cassie demanded as she freed herself from Annabelle.

"No there doesn't appear to be any more within the town," Luther answered.

"Awesome!" Cassie announced cheerfully. "Come on in Joey, we don't bite. Well, actually, we do." Julian snorted and Devon rolled his eyes as Cassie giggled. "Get it? We bite!"

"We get it Cass," Melissa placated.

Dani took a small step back as Cassie leaned closer to her. She flung her arm around the tiny girl's shoulders and drew her in to hug her. "Dani I'm glad you're back on our side, though I'm still a little mad at you!"

"Cassie..."

"And you Joey. You may be one of us now, but should we trust you?"

Joey seemed to be contemplating bolting down the walkway as he eyed up the walkway. "Ok Cass, I think it's time for you to get some sleep," Devon said gently.

"I'm not tired!" she protested.

"Cassie..."

Devon tried to grab her but she was already lunging forward. Joey took a startled step back as she seized hold of his hands and nearly fell into him. Devon expected a fight from her as he grabbed her shoulders, but she released Joey. The drunken smile slid from her face as her eyes flashed the color of blood. It wasn't the red that they became when she turned, nor were they like any kind of red he'd ever seen before. It was a circle of red that flashed around the edge of both her irises before disappearing.

Disbelief filtered through him as icy tentacles ran down his spine. Julian had stopped grinning at him like a drunken fool. Instead his eyes were as cold as the arctic on a winter's day. He lifted the bottle to Devon and tipped it forward in a salute before he drank deeply. Chris took another swallow of whiskey; there was a wealth of sadness and resignation in his eyes that frightened Devon.

He fully realized that she now possessed
all
of their abilities, and Chris and Julian had known that it was going to happen. He pulled Cassie further away from the others. It took everything he had not to take her as far from here as possible and hide her from herself. He fought the urge to punch Julian and Chris for allowing her to do this, for
helping
her to do this.

He led her to the bed and sat her beside Chris. He was unable to meet either of their gazes as he took a moment to steady himself. "I'll take care of this," he told the others.

"Devon..."

"It's fine Luther, we can't do much until they sleep it off anyway."

Luther hesitated before nodding and herding the others out the door. Julian had the decency not to try and escape with the others, but he remained standing by the window with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the ground. Devon closed the door behind them and threw the locks. They didn't look at all repentant as they stared back at him.

"What have you done?" he asked quietly.

"What needed to be done," Cassie said flatly.

Devon's jaw clenched, he didn't know what to say to that. He could only stare at her as he tried to dislodge the knot festering within his chest.

***

The snow coated the trees and ground in a blanket of white. Cassie closed her eyes and tilted her head back to catch the flakes upon her tongue. She hugged herself as goose bumps broke out on her flesh. Lowering her head she blinked away the snow sticking to her lashes as she frowned at the serene landscape. Where was she?

A branch cracked loudly behind her and she braced herself as she waited for something to explode out of the woods at her. Only the subtle flow of the wind continued to disturb the trees. "What the hell?" she whispered.

She took a step forward but froze as she looked down at the flimsy gold and white dress that floated freely about her ankles. She didn't own a dress like this, and she sure wouldn't be wearing it in this kind of weather. It took her a minute to realize that she was in some sort of bizarre, frighteningly realistic dream. She could feel each flake of snow as it hit her skin; feel the caress of the wind on her numb cheeks. She was beginning to speculate if there were icicles forming on the end of her nose.

Perhaps she and Devon had connected again and he had pulled her into one of his dreams, but even as she thought it she knew she was wrong. He would be here with her if that had happened, and she would probably recognize the landscape. But there was no familiarity here, no feeling of serenity and love like she had encountered when Devon had accidentally pulled her in before.

Her skin prickled as the sensation of being watched slid through her. She could almost feel them standing over her shoulder, breathing against her neck. "Hello!" She was uncertain if she actually desired an answer or not.

It was a dream, it had to be, and she had the presence of mind to realize that it had to be
her
dream. Therefore she should be able to get herself out of here, put herself somewhere warmer at least. Shouldn't she?

She rested her hand against the bark of one of the trees. It scraped against her skin as bits of it broke away beneath her weight. "Oh," she breathed as she ran the coarse bark between her fingers. This was so completely
not
normal.

Her head shot up as a tree branch plummeted to the ground. There was something stalking her, something
playing
with her. Cassie pressed her back against the tree and surveyed the forest as she waited for whatever was out there to make an appearance. She didn't have to wait long as a figure emerged through the shadows and trees.

Lighter blond highlights within the dark golden head became visible first. His honey hued eyes gleamed in the radiance of the moon. His head tilted to the side, his white teeth flashed in his tanned face as he smirked at her. "Zane."

He winked at her. "Hello gorgeous," he purred.

She remained immobile as he took a few more steps forward. How was this possible? Zane had the ability to astral project, but she didn't think he would be able to control dreams in this way. Was she somehow doing this? Did she somehow create this world with Devon's power, and bring Zane here by accident?

"What have you done?" she whispered.

His eyes sparked with merriment. "Oh this one wasn't me freaky eyes."

The bark bit under her nails as her fingers dug into the tree. "I see," she murmured.

"
Do
you see Cassandra? Do you really? I'm sure you know the meaning behind your name." Cassie watched him like a mouse watched a cat as he moved through the woods. He didn't come any closer to her though as he weaved in and out of the trees. "The story of it."

"Yes." She was well aware of the story of Troy.

He stopped moving and turned toward her. His cat that ate the canary grin made her yearn to drive a fist right into his pretty boy face. "Poor, doomed,
Princess
Cassandra."

The way he purred the word princess let her know that he was somehow aware of the fact that it was how Julian often referred to her. Cassie's skin started to crawl, she didn't know where he was going with all of this, but it felt like he was spinning a web in order to entangle her. "Cassandra could foretell the future, but no one would believe what she had to say. Did Melissa ever have that problem?"

"Did Matthew?" Cassie retorted.

Zane shook the snow from his head as he began to weave through the trees once more. Cassie's uneasiness grew as she watched him. He was planning something, he was tormenting her for some reason that she couldn't foresee. Then again, maybe that was his point, that she couldn't foresee what it was he had in store for her.

That thought did little to ease the cold encasing her body.

"I bet you always believe Melissa, that you never doubt her visions, even when they don't come true." He'd circled back before her again, but this time he was holding a tree branch in his hand. He tapped it against his open palm as he studied her. "Just as I have always believed what Matthew has told me about his visions, even when they
do
go wrong, or don't come to fruition."

She remained silent and wary as he circled her like a shark. "I bet that when you go back and tell them about this, they will find it difficult to believe, but that they
will
believe you," he continued.

He began to tap his hand a little faster with the tree branch as he stopped circling. Cassie eyed the foot long, two inch wide piece of wood. She dimly recalled it was rumored that if a person died in their sleep than they died in real life. She didn't know if that was Zane's intentions here, but she had no weapons, and she wasn't sure her abilities would work or if she should use them. She wasn't ready to reveal to Zane what she may be capable of.

"They will," she agreed.

His fangs flashed in the light. "Of course they will. You aren't doomed in the same way as
that
Cassandra, but you
are
doomed princess. Your whole race is."

Cassie became aware of a new set of eyes watching her from the shadows. She kept one eye on Zane as she searched the forest. "Unless, of course, you choose to join my side."

Cassie spotted a smaller shadow within the woods, its head poked out as it watched the two of them from behind a rock. "You know that is never going to happen."

"Not willingly, no. Matthew had told me some interesting things about you Cassandra. He couldn't see it all of course. No one can ever know
everything
, right?"

"Of course," Cassie agreed.

Just what had Matthew revealed to Zane about her? The stranger darted out from behind the rock and slithered through the trees. "Of course there are those that have more power than they should," Zane continued. "And we must find other weapons out there to help us keep them in check, to help us protect ourselves. Right princess?"

Cassie didn't answer him as the stranger approached. She wouldn't have been less surprised if an alien dropped out of the sky before her than she was to see the little boy emerge from the shadows. "Weapons we can twist and shape the way that we require them to be shaped."

Her confusion mounted as the boy stopped thirty feet away from Zane and studied her with large, remorseful eyes. There was something about the boy that drew her in, something that she recognized and sympathized with. "What is going on Zane?" she choked out.

"You're not the only one with power. You're not the only Hunter." Cassie turned back to the boy as realization trickled through her. Cassie had never wanted to wake up so bad in her life, but she didn't know how to escape, didn't know the magical words that would free her from this place. She had created this world, and she was finally beginning to understand why, but now she felt as if she was stuck in quicksand. "It's a war princess, and from what Matthew has told me, it is a war for
your
soul."