And he would arrive, she was certain of that.

***

Devon sat stiffly in the booth, agitated that he could no longer see Cassie. Melissa had volunteered to keep an eye on her, citing that her favorite gumballs were by the front door so it might not look as obvious if she went. Chris had added that Cassie would be angered and upset if she felt she was being babysat. Devon hadn’t wanted to care about that fact, her safety did come first after all, but he found himself unwilling to upset her in anyway.

So in the end he had relented, but he was not happy about it. They had sent Melissa up with two dollars and seventy five cents worth of quarters, plenty to keep her occupied for a little while. Slipping her first quarter in, Devon watched as the red ball made its way through a series of ramps, dips, traps, and holes in the intricate machine. He had to admit it was interesting to watch and he could see why Melissa liked it.

If it had been at any other point in time, he wouldn’t have minded watching the thing for awhile. But right now all he wanted was Cassie back at his side, where he knew that she was safe. He shifted uncomfortably, his gaze darting briefly to the window at his side, but he couldn’t see her from this angle. He could see a group of teenagers gathered around two tables. They were dressed in dark clothes; their hair was dyed different colors, and they had an array of piercings covering them.

The group glanced back toward the doorway, confirming that Cassie was still there as they bent close to each other, whispering softly before glancing at her again. Devon sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as he fought the urge to stand up and storm out after her. If she wanted to be outside, fine, but he wanted her within eyesight, and where he was within arm’s reach of her.

“She’ll be fine,” Chris said softly.

Devon shot him a look, not relieved by his reassurances. He knew Cassie, she didn’t think before she acted. She just reacted. It had almost gotten her killed a couple of days ago, and he was not willing to take that chance again. Chris chuckled softly, drawing Devon’s ire and agitation back to him. “What?” he asked irritably.

Chris lifted a dark blond brow, his sapphire eyes twinkled with amusement. “It’s a relief to have someone else helping to watch over her, and to share in my frustration. I’ve been watching over her for the past seventeen years and it hasn’t been fun.”

Devon scowled at him as Chris grinned merrily (annoyingly) back. “She is stubborn,” he mumbled.

“Ha!” Chris barked loudly, chuckling softly. “That’s the understatement of the century!”

Devon found himself grinning back at the boy, amused by his easy going nature and cheer. He liked Chris, but since his vampirism had been revealed, there had remained a fierce tension between them. Mainly from Chris, as he tried to figure out if Devon could be trusted. Now it seemed as if Chris had decided to throw caution to the wind, either that, or he was going to rely on Cassie’s instincts.

“Hey guys.” Devon and Chris’s smiles faded, they exchanged a pointed look as Marcy appeared at their side. Smiling brightly, she tossed back her long, coffee colored hair. She had made a full, speedy recovery from Julian’s attack. “How are you tonight?”

Stony silence followed her question, and then Chris heaved a soft sigh. “We’re good Marcy, you?”

Marcy shrugged a dainty shoulder, her leaf green eyes scanning them. Desire radiated from her as she leaned closer. “I’m feeling better after that attack, but it was still the scariest thing ever.” She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. “Someone should kill that animal.”

Before they had left the hospital, Devon had altered Marcy’s memory of the attack, leaving her with a foggy recollection of a wild coyote rather than Julian. “Yes, they should,” Devon agreed his attention fully focusing on Melissa again. He really did not want to encourage more conversation with Marcy, but she was right, someone should destroy that animal. And he was going to be the one to do it.

Marcy sighed softly, and then very indiscreetly sat next to Devon. He shot a dark look at her as she squiggled slightly, trying to push him over. He refused to budge. Her leaf green eyes narrowed, but it was obvious that she was not moving.

Resting her hands on her knees, she perched precariously on the edge of the seat as a few other girls began to make their way toward the booth. Apparently the absence of Cassie and Melissa was an open invite to them. One that Devon desperately wanted to close. Chris’s jaw locked, his eyes darkened as he briefly met Devon’s gaze once more.

Devon shook his head, unsure what to do. He didn’t want to dump Marcy on her ass, but when Cassie came back she was going to be hurt by what was going on. And if it came between the two, Marcy was going to end up on the floor. The other girls hovered around them, grinning and whispering to each other as they giggled softly.

Chris lifted an eyebrow, as he shook his head at Devon in disbelief. “Amazing,” he muttered.

“Venus flytrap,” Devon reminded him.

“What is?” Marcy asked, indiscreetly pressing her breasts against his arm.

Disgust boiled through Devon as he jerked his arm away, his eyes narrowing fiercely. “Don’t,” he growled in warning. Marcy’s eyes widened in surprise and she moved back a little, but she did not remove herself completely. Instead, she turned her attention to Chris, who was eyeing her like she was some kind of disgusting insect he wanted to stomp.

A blur of motion caught Devon’s attention, his mouth dropped as shock hammered through him. He watched in horror as Cassie darted past the group of students by the table, moving with agility and grace, and a speed that left him frozen in disbelief as she raced down the road. The cold stone of his heart seemed to lurch and twist as terror and anger tore through him.

“Son of a bitch!” he snarled, slamming his hand on the table with such force that it shuddered, threatening to break. Chris glanced at him sharply, fear evident in his eyes. He turned to the window, his mouth dropping. “Move!”

Marcy’s eyes widened in shock, but she didn’t move out of his way. Unable to wait, and tired of the tiny girl, Devon shoved his way out of the booth. She stumbled, nearly falling to the ground, but somehow managing to keep herself upright. She gaped at him, people stared at him in surprise, but he paid them no attention as he shoved his way through the thick crowd, ignoring all of their startled protests.

Melissa was waving at them, jumping high to be seen over the top of the crowd. “Hurry!” she cried before turning and rushing out the door.

She didn’t need to tell him that. Grasping hold of the banister, he swung himself over the side of the stairs in order to avoid the group gathered upon them. Landing gracefully, he shoved past the few remaining people in his way and bolted out the door. Cassie was disappearing into the woods already, barreling her way through the trees and ground cover.

Terror tore through him as she disappeared from sight. Fighting back the fierce, almost consuming urge to bolt after her at full speed, it took all he had to keep his powers under control as he burst free of the restaurant. Though he was powerful, he could not alter all the memories of the human’s within, and they could not afford to let the humans see him. Racing past the startled group by the picnic tables, he chased after Melissa. He could hear Chris behind him, right on his heels as their feet slapped over the sidewalk.

As soon as he got free of prying eyes, he would catch her, and he very well might kill her himself when he did.

CHAPTER 9

Cassie ignored the briar that caught hold of her hair, ripping it out. Wincing slightly, she continued to bolt forward. Tearing past a large elm, relief filled her as Dani’s dark head came into view. “Dani! Dani!”

The girl turned in surprise, her large hazel eyes widening as she caught sight of Cassie racing toward her like a crazy banshee. In the light of the full moon the red in her hair was the color of blood, it was an omen that caused Cassie to shiver. Leaping over a rotten log, she halted before the girl, panting slightly from her rapid sprint.

“Cassie? What are you doing?” Dani demanded in surprise.

The beam of her flashlight splashed across Cassie’s face, momentarily blinding her. Blinking rapidly, Cassie knew she looked ridiculous, but didn’t care. She inhaled deeply, letting the air rush gratefully into her tortured lungs. “I saw you walking and thought I’d walk with you,” she lied poorly.

Dani lifted a dark eyebrow questioningly, her gold flecked eyes doubtful. “You ran all the way here to walk with me?”

Cassie took another breath. “After the animal attacks last week I didn’t think you should be alone.”

Dani tilted her head to the side, a small smile quirked her full lips. “That’s nice of you, but I walk this way every night. And I can take care of myself.”

Cassie didn’t doubt that she could, at least with normal things, but Dani had no idea what hunted these woods now. Glancing nervously around, Cassie searched intently for any sign of something lurking within the shadows. She used every ounce of her power to search the dark night, trying to pick up waves of Julian’s evil. Though she came up empty, she was not fooled into thinking that he was not around. He was powerful enough to keep her blocked out if he chose.

“Still thought it would be better if you had some company.”

Dani shrugged a dainty shoulder, turning slightly away. “Well come along, the path is better up here. I’m surprised to see you without Devon.”

Cassie glanced over her shoulder, hoping that he wasn’t far behind. He was going to be infuriated with her, but that was a wrath she was willing to face. “I’m sure he’ll be here,” she mumbled softly.

Dani shot her a questioning look as they stepped onto a well worn, much easier to traverse path. Cassie carefully studied each direction of the trail. As far as she could see, it was clear. “Cassie are you ok?”

“Fine.”

She glanced back down the path, her eyes narrowing as they moved steadily along. Dani kept the beam of her light focused a few feet before her, but Cassie relied more on the light of the moon as she wearily watched the pathway. Turning to look behind her, she was dismayed to see that Devon, Chris, and Melissa were still nowhere in sight. She had no doubt that they had come after her, but had they somehow lost her in the woods?

Eyes narrowed, she turned back, keeping a fierce look out. A chill swept down her spine as shadows danced and swayed over the path. The skeletal branches clicked in the night, their noise cold and desolate sounding. Cassie’s heart hammered, panic tore through her as a crushing sense of impending doom settled over her. She could hear nothing but the creaking of the branches. It was too quiet; no animals scurried through the woods, nothing moved within the underbrush. There was a far bigger predator out there tonight, hunting the woods.

Hunting them.

Swallowing heavily, Cassie tried to push down her rising panic. She had to keep her wits, if they were going to survive this. She took a step closer to Dani. Dani shot her a questioning, confused look as she shook her head slightly. “You seem awfully jumpy tonight, are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yes.”

A branch snapped loudly. Cassie jumped as it crashed through the woods, tearing more branches free as it hurtled to the ground. Instinctively she grabbed hold of Dani’s arm, pulling her closer as she studied the forest. “There’s someone out there,” Dani said softly, her voice wavering slightly.

Cassie pulled her back a step, she wanted to turn and flee, dragging Dani through the woods with her. She would have too, if she thought there was any chance of them being able to get away. “Just stay by me,” she whispered.

A flurry of motion on her right caused Cassie to spin. A blur raced at them, so swiftly that it nearly blended in with the trees. Nearly became imperceptible to the human eye. Terror tearing through her, Cassie shoved Dani aside. Dani cried out in surprise as she fell to the ground, rolling away on the path. Cassie had only a moment to react as she swung out, slamming the palm of her hand upward.

Julian’s head snapped back, blood burst over her, spraying across her face as his long teeth bit sharply into his lower lip and his nose shattered. Cassie jerked back in surprise as the warm liquid washed over her. Julian grunted slightly, but his attack did not slow. Arms wrapping tight around her waist, he jerked her to the side as they fell to the ground in a tumbled heap.

A startled cry escaped as they rolled over, bouncing hard across the path. Reacting on pure instinct, Cassie pulled her legs up against her chest and wedged them against Julian’s hard body. Terror and adrenaline washed through her as she pushed up with all her might, trying desperately to dislodge him.

Julian growled with rage as he was flipped off her. Rolling away, Cassie bounded gracefully to her feet. She darted away, heading back toward Dani, desperate to escape, desperate to survive. Dani stood at the edge of the path, her mouth parted slightly, her eyes wide with fear. “Run!” Cassie screamed at her.