Devon stepped back as Luther thrust his door open, dropping his keys. Devon bent swiftly, instinctively grabbing hold of them before they hit the ground. Luther’s eyes widened, his mouth parted slightly as he met Devon’s gaze. Fear briefly flashed through his eyes. Though Devon was slightly wounded by the fear, he understood it. He was frightening, and without Cassie he was highly unstable, and Luther knew that. Luther also had no way of knowing why Devon had arrived on his doorstep. Devon slowly handed the keys back, managing a small, reassuring smile in an attempt to ease the man’s fear.

“Thanks,” Luther murmured.

He slid from the car, moving swiftly down the brick walkway. Balancing the screen door open, Luther unlocked the door and thrust it open. “I hope you don’t mind if I pack a few things while we talk. I think it best if Melissa and I stay with Cassie for a bit.”

He said all of this as he disappeared inside, flicking on light switches as he moved swiftly down the hall. Devon stopped at the doorway, unable to go further as Luther disappeared around the corner, still talking. Leaning against the door jam, he wondered just how long it would take the distracted man to realize that he was not behind him.

Not that long as Luther’s head reappeared in the hallway, a questioning look on his features. “I can’t come in unless I’m invited,” Devon reminded him softly.

Luther looked completely flustered as he hurried back down the hall. “Oh of course, where is my head? Come in, come in.”

Devon stepped easily through the doorway as Luther went in the opposite direction he had gone in before. Devon shook his head, slightly amused by the scatterbrained way Luther darted about. He followed Luther down another hall as he threw on more lights before stepping into a large study that was stacked floor to ceiling with books. At least twenty bookcases lined the walls, but even they were not enough to hold the vast quantity of books. The excess books had spilled onto the floor, parts of the couch, and the large desk in the middle of the room. Devon could not even begin to guess at the number of books that filled the room.

Most appeared to be rather old in age, their bindings faded and their pages yellowed. They had a musty scent that was neither pleasant, nor unpleasant, but simply hung heavily in the air. Other than the light on the desk, and one overhead, no other light spilled into the room. That was largely due to the thick drapes drawn over the two windows behind the desk. Drapes that probably stayed closed at all times in order to keep the books protected from the light of the sun.

Seeing the room, Devon knew that he had come to the right place. If Luther didn’t know what was happening, then surely one of these books could explain it. “I just need to grab a couple of volumes.” Luther was searching the shelves as he spoke, his finger running swiftly over the bindings. “What’s on your mind?”

Devon would have preferred to have Luther’s full attention, but it was more than obvious that the man was disconcerted and out of sorts at the moment. Besides, he didn’t think it would be long before he did have Luther’s undivided attention. He began to speak, telling Luther about all the bits and pieces that he had picked up about Cassie. The better than normal hearing, the above average eyesight, her exceptional healing ability. The immense speed and strength she possessed that far surpassed that of Chris and Melissa, or any other Hunter Devon had ever seen.

All of which had been explained by the fact that she didn’t possess special abilities, like most Hunter’s. Whereas most Hunter’s powers had been filtered into extrasensory powers, Cassie’s abilities were more centered upon fighting and killing. It was a fact she hated, but could not deny. And though the others were also above human in their strength, speed, and healing, they were not nearly as strong as Cassie’s. In fact, Cassie’s abilities were so acute, they almost bordered on being as finely honed as his. Something that should not have been possible considering that she was very much alive, and he was not.

And then, finally, there was the red he had seen in her eyes at the morgue, the red that had brought him here. It was a flash of red that never should have been present in her amazing eyes. Not unless she was a vampire, or unless there was something else going on within her. Something that none of them knew about, maybe even something that had never occurred in the history of Hunter’s before.

And the thought of that scared the hell out of him, even more so than living without her for an eternity. He could keep her safe from the dangers of the outside world, but he was greatly afraid that there may be something he could not keep her safe from.

And that was herself.

“What are you saying?”

Luther had slid onto the corner of his desk, one of the few spots not covered in books. Clutched loosely in his hand, seemingly forgotten, a book dangled from his fingertips. Devon had been right; he did have Luther’s full attention now. “What happened to the other Hunter’s like Cassie, the ones that didn’t have any abilities?”

Luther frowned as he slipped off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. “I don’t know. There were only a handful of them over the years. I suppose, like all Hunter’s, they met their end while fighting. Do you suspect something different?”

Devon ran his hand through his hair as he began to pace restlessly. There was far too much pent up energy inside of him, he didn’t know what to do with it all. The more he paced the more restless and caged he felt. “I suspect that somewhere along the way something did happen to at least one of them.”

Luther sat silently for a moment, unmoving on the edge of the desk. “Like what?”

“Her eyes were red Luther.”

“The lights maybe.”

“I know what I saw,” Devon growled. “Something is not right; she’s not like the others.”

“No, she’s not, but that doesn’t mean…”

“None of the others,” he interrupted harshly. “I’ve come across many Hunter’s in my time, but none like her. You need to find out what happened to the others that didn’t possess any abilities. I think the extra power that should have gone into developing an ability like Chris, Melissa, and Dani’s has gone somewhere else.”

Luther gaped at him for a moment before sliding his glasses on. His eyes were wide behind the lenses as he blinked rapidly at Devon. “You think it’s manifested in a different way?”

“Yes.”

Luther dropped the book on the desk, leaning slightly forward as he pinched the bridge of his nose tightly in thought. “I think you may be right.”

Devon stopped pacing, turning sharply toward him. Shock coursed through him, he had wanted Luther to believe him, but he now realized that he had fully expected to be turned away. “You do?”

Luther nodded. “Yes, the power inside of Cassie is far stronger than the others. It’s much stronger than even she realizes. I’ve feared for awhile that it may be too much for her to handle, though it never occurred to me that it might manifest in the way that you are suggesting. But we can’t be positive that your theory is correct either. Not until we find out about the others like her, and then we’ll go from there.”

“You want my help in this?” Devon asked, unable to keep the shock from his voice.

Luther managed a wry grin. “Well I doubt that you’re going anywhere until Isla and Julian have been taken care of.”

“No,” Devon answered firmly.

“Good. She may not want to admit it right now, but Cassie needs you, and hopefully by the time this is all settled she will come to her senses about that.”

Devon frowned, folding his arms over his chest as he studied the smaller man. “You don’t blame me for bringing Julian and Isla here?”

“No.” Luther slid off the desk, pulling his glasses off to clean them again. “I don’t blame you; the three of them would have come up against monsters such as these eventually. The only difference is that they would be dead without you. This wasn’t your fault, Cassie will realize that soon.”

Though Luther said the words, he did not sound convinced of them and neither was Devon. They both knew that she was stubborn, and right now she was also lost and angry and devastated. “Until that happens, I have a feeling that you will need something to keep you busy.” Luther gestured around the room. “We’ll start here; I know a fair amount of these books, but certainly not all of them. If the answers aren’t here, then we’ll look elsewhere. I don’t want the others to know about this though. There’s no need to worry them when we’re not certain if there’s even anything to find.”

“I understand.”

Devon glanced at all of the books; they would definitely keep him preoccupied. Even if they didn’t keep his mind completely off of Cassie, at least he would have a mission, something to do, something to accomplish. He needed answers soon, he had a feeling that it wouldn’t be long before they ran out of time and the answer slapped them all in the face. Hard.

CHAPTER 23

Chris sat stiffly in the chair, his head slightly bowed, his hands clasped firmly before him. His knuckles were white, he wasn’t even sure he could open his fingers he had been holding them tight for so long. But he was greatly afraid that if he unclasped them, he just might fall apart. His head was killing, throbbing with the pulsating emotions pounding against him.

The worst of which was Cassie and Devon. Cassie remained immobile beside him; her head held high, her chin tilted slightly up. The large, dark sunglasses she had taken to wearing were firmly in place. He would like to think that they were hiding her tears, but he knew better. She had not cried yet. Not in front of them, and he was fairly certain not at all.

The solid wall of anger and hate she had erected around herself did not allow room for tears. It did not allow room for anything else. Especially not grief. He turned his head slightly toward her. He wanted desperately to reach out to her, but knew that he would be rebuked again, just like he had been a hundred times over the past few days.

She didn’t want comfort, she didn’t want love. She simply wanted revenge. And she wanted not to feel, not to care anymore. Fortunately, at heart, Cassie was a caring, giving person. And that was part of what was destroying her now. She didn’t know how to deal with her anger, her hatred. It was eating away at her, driving her deeper into her hole, making her hide from the world once more.

And it was destroying Chris that he could do nothing to help her. This was not the Cassie who had hidden from the world before, trying to keep her heart safe from hurt and pain. That Cassie may have kept people at arm’s length, but she had never radiated this fury. This hate. Chris couldn’t even tune out her emotions, he had tried, but the force of her rage broke through all of his barriers, beating against him. Beating him down.

Chris shuddered. He was losing his best friend, and there was nothing that he could do about it. She didn’t want his help, she didn’t want anybody. And it was killing him.

Devon wasn’t helping him either. He could feel Devon, somewhere nearby, probably in the woods, watching. Chris could feel his sorrow, his pain, his heartbreak. He was also impossible to block out. Between Devon and Cassie they were killing him, and there was nothing that he could do to stop it. With everyone else he had always been able to keep their emotions, and inner personality blocked out if he didn’t want to feel them. But not these two. Not right now anyway. He didn’t know what he was going to do if something didn’t change soon. Hell, he couldn’t even sleep at night anymore.

He shuddered again, his hands tightened to the point that it was painful. His grief over the loss of Lily was being weighted down by their emotions. He had loved Lily; she had been like a grandmother to him. She had raised him when his own mother had retreated into an alcohol induced stupor, unable to handle the life that had been handed to her. Unable to handle the truth of what her husband and son were. Unable to love her son anymore.

Lily had been his surrogate parent; she had fed him, sheltered him, and loved him. A tear slid down his face as his own pain momentarily became more overwhelming then Cassie and Devon’s, allowing him a brief reprieve from them. He lifted his head as the minister’s prayer ended. His attention immediately focused upon the gleaming mahogany casket draped with wreaths of flowers. It hovered above the hole, Lily’s permanent resting place.

He shuddered again at the harsh reminder that Lily would never again walk amongst them, loving them, caring for them. A sob choked his throat; he could hardly breathe through the constriction in his chest.

It was chilly for November, but he could not feel the cold through the emotions swamping him. Grief enshrouded the people surrounding him, some were openly crying, others stood silently, stoically. Even his mother had come, and though her breath reeked of booze and cigarettes, she appeared to be only hung over and not intoxicated. Not yet anyway. She stood on the other side of the coffin, her head bowed, and her sandy blond hair spilling across her shoulders. At one time she had been a beautiful woman, but years of hard living had aged her far too early.