“What is the matter?” Luther asked sharply.

“Halfling,” Devon answered, turning swiftly away from the body.

“Wait! What?” Chris sputtered. “One of those monster things? One of those things that you were scared Cassie might become?”

“Yes.”

Luther paled as he took a step back. Devon moved toward them, shoving them out the door. Melissa was still huddled outside, her cheeks red from the cold, her eyes shadowed, dark, and haunted. She didn’t need to go inside to know the horror that lay within.

Devon studied the dark night, his senses on hyper alert as he watched for any sign of movement. “Come on, we can’t stay here.”

He hurried them forward, practically shoving Chris toward the car. Throwing open the driver’s side door, he slid swiftly in, and waited until everyone was settled before he locked the doors and pulled out his cell phone. He swiftly dialed Annabelle’s number, keeping his eyes on the night as he waited impatiently for her to answer.

“Where are you guys?” he demanded when she picked up.

“Not far from you,” she replied.

“You need to get here.”

She was silent for a moment. “What’s wrong?”

“You have to get here and be careful.”

“Ok, we’ll be there soon.”

Devon hung up, gripping the steering wheel tight as he waited impatiently. The wind howled around the vehicle, shaking it slightly. “What is going on?” Melissa asked quietly.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you think Cassie is near?”

He remained silent as he pondered the words, afraid to acknowledge the fact that it may very well have been Cassie that had done this. He couldn’t think about it though, didn’t even want to acknowledge it. His Cassie never could have done this, but there was no way to know what had been done to her. He could not acknowledge the fact that his Cassie may no longer even exist.

“Yes,” he admitted.

Annabelle and Liam appeared at the edge of the parking lot, they moved rapidly across the snow and asphalt. Devon hit the unlock button, letting them into the backseat on a blast of cold air. “What’s going on?” Liam demanded as soon as he was settled.

Devon quickly filled him in on the condition of the hotel as he pulled out of the parking lot. His headlights spilled over the oddly silent woods, splashing across the snow. “Where did the people staying in the motel go though?” Annabelle asked quietly.

Devon was wondering the same thing as he made his way toward town. “I don’t know, but hopefully we find some answers soon.”

CHAPTER 19

Cassie hurried to the window; she knelt upon the bed as she eagerly peered into Julian’s room. He was already lying on his bed, his arm tossed over his eyes as he tried to block out the harsh light in his room. There were fresh burn marks viciously marring the pale skin of his arms, and his hair was singed at the edges. She didn’t know what they had done to him today, but it had been far more than a taser, and Dani.

She gaped at him in horror, noting more burn marks along his hard jaw line and cheeks. Her heart constricted, anguish filled her at the obvious signs of pain he had endured. And she didn’t even know how long ago the burns had been administered to him. These marks could be hours old, which meant he would have had hours of healing behind him already, and yet he was still marred and wounded.

Cassie swallowed heavily; fresh tears stung her eyes as she pressed her hands against the glass. She wanted to touch him, to soothe his hurt and suffering, to help ease the pain that radiated from his body. His clenched jaw twitched, a muscle jumped in his cheek. “I’m ok princess.”

She started at the sound of his hoarse, strained voice. “How did you know I was here?” she asked softly.

“I would know you anywhere.”

Cassie hastily wiped away the tears streaming down her face. She knew that he would hate them. He would especially hate the fact that they were for him. Her chest constricted with the strain it took to keep her sob silent. “What did they do?” she breathed, unable to keep the hitch from her voice.

He did not lower his arm to look at her, did not even turn toward her, but she knew that her tone had affected him. Cassie rested her forehead against the glass, wishing that he would talk to her, wishing that he would at least look at her. He seemed beaten, defeated, and she needed him to be strong, sure, positive that they would escape this alive.

Finally, ever so slowly, he turned toward her, but he did not lower his arm from his eyes. “I’m fine,” he mumbled.

“Well you don’t look fine,” she retorted, hating the burns marring his perfect skin and face. “What did they do?”

He had not been in his room when she had been returned to hers. And though they had actually taken it somewhat easy on her today, it appeared that they had not been so kind to Julian. In fact, it seemed that they had been twice as brutal on him. He sighed softly, lifting his arm a little to peer up at her. Cassie gasped in horror at the sight of his blood red, swollen, wounded eyes. He squinted up at her, his normally lively blue eyes blank. Cassie’s hand flew to her mouth as she realized that he could not see her. That he was blind.

“Julian,” she breathed unable to hold back her tears in the face of his obvious pain and torture.

“Don’t cry princess.”

“You can see me?” she gasped in relief.

He shook his head, dropping his arm back over his tortured eyes. “No,” he mumbled. “Not for a few more hours. I can smell your tears though. Don’t cry over me though, I’m not worth it.”

Cassie’s breath hitched even harder, pain bloomed through her chest. “Yes you are,” she whispered. “You really are Julian, and don’t you ever doubt that.”

He remained unmoving for a moment, and then his head turned slowly back to her. He didn’t lower his arm to look at her, but she knew that all of his attention was focused upon her. “I’m glad you think so.”

Cassie rested her head against the glass, unable to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. She knew that he hated them, but his torment was more than she could bear at the moment. “I know so,” she whispered. “What did they do to you?”

He stiffened for a moment and then relaxed visibly. “They just wanted to make sure that I hadn’t picked up Devon’s nifty trick for surviving the rays of the sun.”

Cassie gasped loudly, her gaze rapidly scanning his burned, marred body. It was more than apparent that he had not learned how to survive the sun’s rays as Devon had. It must have been exceptionally painful for him. She wondered how long they had tortured him before realizing that he was not like Devon, that Julian was incapable of moving about in the daytime. “I’m sorry.”

His jaw clenched tightly, his nostrils flared. “I don’t want your pity princess,” he grated out.

“I know that, and I’m not pitying you, I’m sorry that you had to go through that today. How long did they keep you outside?”

Julian shook his head slightly, shifting a little on the bed. “Didn’t go outside, they had one of those UV lamp things.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled.

Cassie’s gaze raked over his long body. Though he wore scrubs, she knew his legs would be as burned as the rest of him. She didn’t know how the UV lights worked, but she imagined that he had been subjected to its rays for a long time. Sighing heavily, she dropped down on the bed, and rested her head against the glass.

“How was your day dear?”

Cassie couldn’t help but smile as she shook her head at him. Though he was in obvious pain, he still had not completely lost his sense of humor. “Just peachy,” she told him. “I think my veins are going to collapse.”

His mouth quirked in a small smile. “Hmm, I bet. Did they give you another shot?”

Cassie braced herself before looking down at her arms, frightened by what she might see. But there was no discoloration today, her arms remained pale, and needle puckered. “No.”

“Hmm,” he grunted again. “That’s good.”

She leaned up against the window, pressing her hand to the glass, missing the imaginary feel of his hand pressed to hers. Resting her cheek against the glass, she stared down at him, worried by the pain etched onto his face. Rioting emotions tore through her, they pounded through her chest and made it hard for her to breathe.

She hated his pain, longed to take it away from him. She hated this place, she wished that she could get the two of them out of here, but they had been here for so long, and neither of them could figure out a way to escape. Cassie glanced at the vents, knowing that was half the battle. If she could figure out some way to clog them up then maybe they would have a shot at escape, but she couldn’t reach them, and neither could Julian.

There had to be some way out of here, but she had yet to find a chink in their captor’s armor. “Cassie.” She turned slowly back to Julian, stifling a yawn. His arm was still draped over his eyes, but the burns on his arms looked slightly better. “We need to get the hell out of here.”

She was silent for a moment before nodding slowly. “I know. They’re going to kill us soon.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “And one thing I will not survive is the loss of your life.”

Cassie bowed her head, trying hard not to cry at his words. She would only bring him pain, but he seemed set in his feelings for her, no matter how much she didn’t want them. Or at least she told herself she didn’t want them, repeatedly. She cared for Julian greatly; he had made his way into her heart, making her love him in a way that she had never thought possible. He was her friend, her rock, and she needed him. She loved Devon, she really did, but her feelings for Julian were new and strange and confusing.

And she did not have time to sort through them. Not in here anyway, not until they were free of this hell.

Cassie bit on her bottom lip nervously; her gaze darted toward the bigger mirror. She was always afraid that they were listening to them, laughing at them for their stupidity at thinking they could escape. But she needed to think of a way to get them both out of here, before there was no chance of escape anymore.

She turned back to Julian, wincing at the sight of his wounds. His pain was her pain; she felt it as acutely as she would have felt her own burns. She needed to get him out of here before they destroyed him. She would not survive his loss either. He owned a piece of her heart now, and he always would. She would be broken without him.

Confusion and fear tore through her. She didn’t want to hurt Julian, and she didn’t want Devon to be hurt. She loved them both too much to be the cause of their pain. Unfortunately, she feared that there was no longer anything she could do about it. One, or both of them, would be hurt. And she would be the cause.

Cassie shuddered; she wrapped her arms around her legs as she pulled them against her chest. She hugged them tightly to her, hating the situation that had caused her this confusion and misery. That had caused Julian this misery. Tears rolled down her face as her thoughts turned to Devon. She ached for him constantly; she missed him more than she would miss the loss of her own arm. And yet she was sitting here, confused, uncertain, and in turmoil because of her growing feelings for Julian. Biting on her bottom lip, she tried hard to keep her sobs down, tried hard to keep her tears from Julian, but she knew she had failed miserably when his palm suddenly pressed against the glass.

Cassie knew that she shouldn’t touch it. She knew she should start to sever the tie between them, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so, not now. Not when she was so alone, and frightened, and in need of his strength and love. And not when she knew that he needed this even more than she did. She was being selfish, and she hated herself for it, but she couldn’t stop herself from pressing her hand to his.

She buried her face in her knees; her tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she pressed her hand tighter to the glass. She needed to get them the hell out here before she destroyed all of their lives by crossing a line she had never thought she would. She knew where her heart belonged, knew who owned her soul, but things were so different in here. They were confusing, scary, and she had grown to love Julian in a different way than Devon.

Julian was going to be hurt if they ever made it out of here, and Devon would not understand her strange new feelings for a man that had been their worst enemy, before she had been thrown in here. No, Devon would not understand it at all, and he may never forgive her for it.

She didn’t know if she could forgive herself for it.

She curled up against the wall, keeping her hand tight to the glass. She allowed the drugs to pull her under, grateful for the escape from the world she so desperately needed. An escape from the hell she had been forced into and could not escape while awake.