Ashes

“Not funny,” Luther reprimanded softly, his face drawn and sad. “We could have used their aid, especially Dani’s. A Grounder,” he shook his head in amazement, running his fingers through his disordered hair. “Maybe he will come around.”



“No,” Chris said firmly. “He won’t be coming around. He radiated hatred and disgust; there were waves of it coming out of him.” He shuddered, huddling deeper into his coat as if he were trying to ward off the emotions that still clung to him. “He is set in his opinion, he will stick to it.”



Cassie was disheartened by Chris’s assessment, but she was not surprised by it. She took hold of Devon’s hand, trying to calm the anger that still radiated from him. He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, pulling her against him. “Let’s get you home,” he said softly. “Luther can explain about your powers there.”



Chris and Cassie groaned, not at all looking forward to a lecture from Luther. “Maybe we should just wait till tomorrow; it’s been a long day…”



“It’s about time you learned at least a little about your heritage,” Luther interrupted, shooting Chris a fierce look that dared him to continue protesting. “It will help in your fight against Julian. It will also aid in your understanding of where your abilities come from.”



“I have none,” Cassie reminded him, not holding out much hope that that fact would get her out of this.



“You do have abilities that a human doesn’t possess,” Devon reminded her. “You need to know where those come from.”



She made another face, her nose wrinkling as she realized that she had lost the battle.



CHAPTER 11



Cassie’s grandmother met them at the door, a strawberry eyebrow raised questioningly as she studied them. Holding the door open, she ushered them inside, making a sweeping gesture toward the living room. Crackers, cheese, bottles of water, and glasses of soda had already been set out on trays. The smell of shepherd’s pie drifted enticingly from the kitchen, reminding Cassie of the fact that they hadn’t had a chance to eat.



“Food,” Chris groaned, plopping himself on the couch as he grabbed a handful of crackers and cheese.



“You guys look like you’ve been through hell,” her grandmother said softly.



Cassie glanced over them, for the first time noting how dirty, bedraggled, bloodied, and exhausted they looked. “Hell came to us,” Chris muttered, his words garbled by the crackers he was chomping on.



Her grandma shook her head as she moved into the living room, shooing Chris’s feet off of the coffee table. He gave her a bashful grin, but it didn’t slow his chewing process. “Good thing Adam told me you were coming,” she announced, sliding easily into her favorite recliner. “Dinner should be ready soon.”



“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Chris asked, grinning brightly at her.



Her grandmother rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t stop the bright smile that spread across her youthful face. “Suck up,” Melissa muttered, slapping Chris’s hand away as she snagged a handful of crackers. He sulked for a moment before darting in again after her.



“Who’s Adam?” Devon asked softly.



Cassie’s smile was sympathetic. “He’s one of the ghosts she talks to; the other two are Caleb and Julia. She mentions them often.”



“So, who is going to tell me what happened?” her grandmother asked softly.



Cassie sighed heavily as she squeezed Devon’s hand gently and released it. Moving around the couch, she stopped to drop a kiss on her grandmother’s head before grabbing some of the few crackers left. “I will,” she said, sliding onto the loveseat as Luther took up his customary position by the fireplace.



In between munching on her crackers, Cassie swiftly filled her grandmother in on the details of the night. Her grandmother’s eyes grew darker, more troubled as she progressed. When Cassie finished her grandmother sat back in her chair, her eyes darkening to a deep brown as she began to converse with her ghost friends. It was a few moments before her eyes returned to their normal sky blue and instantly narrowed on Cassie.



“I can’t believe you ran into the woods on your own,” she scolded.



Cassie shifted uncomfortably, not even bothering to look for help elsewhere in the room. None of them were happy with her. “I was afraid that she was going to be killed.”



Her grandmother quirked an eyebrow. “I understand that, but you were reckless and you could have been killed.”



“Not to mention Dani was better able to defend herself than any of us,” Chris mumbled.



Cassie shot him a fierce look, not at all pleased with his interference. “Very true,” her grandmother agreed. “But none of you would have been able to know that. I have only ever met one Grounder before, it was a little frightening.”



Cassie, Chris, and Melissa nodded their agreement. Devon stood stiffly, though his gaze did dart down to his now healed arms. “It’s a lot of power for a young girl, especially if she does not have control over it.” Luther shook his head in disgust as he pulled his glasses off to rub the bridge of his nose. “I could have helped her with that if her brother would have let me.”



“Stubborn, foolish boy,” her grandmother whispered, her eyes dark and distant once more. “There will be no changing his mind though.”



“No, there won’t,” Devon and Chris agreed simultaneously. They shot each other an amused look before Chris’s attention was once more diverted by food.



Her grandmother’s eyes snapped back to blue as she pinned Devon with her intent gaze. “If you continue to hang out with our kind, I am sure that you will find that some of them will feel the same way. Though, there are so few left I doubt you will meet many more. It’s a miracle that they even moved into the same town as us. Imagine the odds.”



“They move frequently, it was probably only a matter of time before they stumbled upon Cape Cod,” Luther said softly. “But yes, the odds are astronomical. I do wonder what the brother is capable of, considering the power that his sister possesses.”



Cassie sat back, trying hard not to contemplate what that angry, hate filled man could do. Though she felt that if it was anything as destructive as Dani’s ability, he would have used it today, wouldn’t he? Her glance darted worriedly to Devon, he was exceptionally powerful, but Dani’s power had left him vulnerable and wounded. What if it happened again, but this time they weren’t there to keep him safe from someone that wanted to hurt him?



“What happened today won’t happen again,” he told her. Cassie frowned fiercely at him as he grinned at her. “I don’t have to be able to read minds to know what you’re thinking, you wear your thoughts. Dani’s power knocked me and Julian out today because neither of us expected it. I was not prepared to defend myself against her, and neither was he. If I run into her or her brother again, I will be better prepared. She won’t knock me out next time, she may give me a good blow, but she won’t knock me out.”



Cassie sighed in relief. “I don’t think Dani meant to hurt you.”



“No, she didn’t,” Chris said emphatically. “She felt pretty bad about it. Her brother though, he wanted to hurt you. All of us actually.”



Devon bristled, striding forward he sat beside Cassie, taking hold of her hand. “They’ll leave,” Luther said. “Probably already packing their things now. What a waste,” he mumbled sorely disappointed that he was not going to have the opportunity to train Dani.



“I feel bad for her,” Cassie said softly. “She wanted so badly to stay, to be a part of something.”



“Maybe we’ll run into her someday in the future, but for now, she is not a part of this group and we must come to that sad realization.” Her grandmother rose to her feet, smoothing her pants as she looked them over. “This is a pretty powerful group here though.”



“Yes it is,” Luther agreed. “And I suppose it’s time that we finally have that conversation.”



Cassie and Chris exchanged sullen frowns. “Just let me get dinner out of the oven first,” her grandmother announced, breezing easily out of the room.



“I’ll help you,” Cassie offered.



Her grandmother waved her back, shaking her head firmly. “Sit, you need a break. I’ve got it.”



Cassie leaned back in the loveseat, resting her head on Devon’s shoulder. No one spoke as they listened to the noises coming from the kitchen. Silverware clinked, cabinets opened and closed as her grandmother hurried around. She reappeared in the doorway, carrying two big plates of steaming, delicious looking food. Chris and Melissa eagerly accepted their plates, Chris nearly salivating at the mound of meat and potatoes on his. Melissa had a big slice of vegetable lasagna on her plate.



“You drop any of that on my carpet and you’re going into the dining room,” her grandmother scolded Chris.



Chris nodded, but he didn’t respond as he dropped the plate to the table and began to wolf it down. “Could you at least eat like a human being?” Melissa asked quietly.



“I’m hungry,” he retorted.



Melissa rolled her eyes, refraining from eating until everyone else had been served. Chris finally caught sight of this and slowed his onward rush to choke himself to death. Her grandmother reappeared with two more plates, handing them out to Luther and Cassie. “Thank you,” Cassie murmured.



She dug into her dinner, savoring in the wonderful taste, the eager rumbling in her stomach quieted with every bite. Devon was studying her with shrewd, questioning eyes. “You haven’t eaten today,” he said, the quiet tone of his voice not reaching beyond her.



Cassie shook her head, her gaze darting briefly around the room, but no one was paying attention to them. “No, I had a headache.”



She was surprised to realize that the headache was gone, apparently having disappeared when fear for her life had taken over. “That is no reason not to take care of yourself.”



She couldn’t meet his fierce gaze again. Protectiveness and need radiated from him. She suddenly realized that it took more than just him staying well fed, and under tight rein, to be around her. She also needed to take care of herself, and try to stay out of trouble. These things triggered his protective urges and rattled his control. If she wasn’t going to take care of herself, then he would do it for her. He would keep her out of harm’s way by making sure that she couldn’t be hurt anymore. Ever.



Grasping hold of his arm, Cassie met his stern, unsettled gaze. “I promise it won’t happen again.”



Though he relaxed slightly, tension still hummed through him, causing a muscle in his cheek to jump. He turned slowly away from her. Cassie’s heart ached for him. It took everything he had to be around her, every ounce of self restraint he had to be with her every day. It was so very apparent that he wanted more, needed more than she could give him right now, if ever.



A tight knot formed in her throat as tears burned her eyes; her appetite vanished even though she had barely taken a bite. She loved him so very much, but it was not enough. It would never be enough, because she could not give him everything that he needed from her. For the first time she fully realized the finality of their love. Deep down she had still been holding out hope that they would somehow get through all of this without losing too much, and with her still being human.



She realized now that that was not going to be possible. She either joined him, or they ended this. At the moment she didn’t know which was worse.



Devon turned back to her, his eyebrows drawing questioningly together, his gaze darting to her barely touched food. Cassie swallowed heavily, dropping her head quickly before he could see the hopelessness engulfing her. Though she was no longer hungry, she forced herself to eat, not wanting to upset him more. She could not give him everything he wanted and needed, but she would give him as much as possible.



No one spoke as they ate. Chris helped himself to seconds before anyone else was even done. Cassie managed to choke down almost three quarters of her plate before putting it aside. Devon’s eyes were sharp on her, but he seemed satisfied with what she had consumed.



“I think everyone is ready Luther,” her grandmother said softly, drawing her small legs beneath her once more.



Luther nodded, pushing his glasses up on his nose. He rested one arm on the mantle, his gaze distant as he stared at the far side of the room. “About fifteen hundred years ago, vampires were beginning to run rampant in the world. They were not overly concerned about people knowing of their existence, why should they be when there was no one to stop them?



“At this time a group of humans gathered together, determined to hunt down the monsters and destroy as many of them as they could. They were determined to drive the vampires back in an attempt to try and regain some control of the earth.”

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