The last place Luther felt like being was in the bowels of this building, in a place that still had Cassie's blood staining the floor, and two charred bodies in the middle of the aisle. It sure wasn't the place he would like to have a bunch of kids. "Put the younger ones in there, I'm going to need help getting these bodies out of here though," he told the older boy.

The teen herded the children into the first side room and closed the door. Luther stared at the still ajar steel door they'd entered through. He was half tempted to leave it open, but he knew The Elders could be in this room before he heard them enter the basement. He took a steadying breath and slid the heavy door shut.

The teen had reentered the hall when Luther turned around. His light brown eyes were suspicious as he eyed Luther. "I'm not one of them. I mean I was, I am a Guardian, but that duty means something entirely different to me than it did to these people. I'll die before I let anyone hurt you again," Luther said honestly.

"You killed Anne."

Luther straightened his shoulders as he met the teens unwavering gaze. He appeared fifteen at most, but his eyes were those of an old man. "I did."

"Thank you."

Luther didn't know how to take that. He hoped one day they would be able to offer these children some sort of a normal life, but he wondered if they'd ever be able to ease the damage that had been done to them. "Do you feel comfortable helping me with the bodies?"

"Completely."

Luther didn't know how to take that either. He found some discarded sheets on the floor, sheets he suspected contained Cassie's blood as he lifted them up and tossed one to the young man. He knew it was the young man who had been in the kitchen when he'd first arrived in the orphanage, but he couldn't recall his name. "My name's Luther."

"Lou."

Luther wrapped the first body up in one of the sheets before nodding to Lou to grab his feet. Luther tried to ignore the feel of the charred remains as they carried him into the room Lou indicated. If he hadn't just gotten a clean bill of health from his doctor he thought he might have had a heart attack when he spotted the hideous contents in the small bathroom.

"What were they doing?"

He hadn't realized he'd spoken aloud until Lou responded. "Nothing good."

Luther didn't feel one bit of remorse about unceremoniously dropping the man on the floor. They hauled the woman into the room next and Luther slammed and locked the door. He dropped the remaining sheet over Cassie's puddle of blood on the floor. He found the vision of that far more disturbing than the charred marks on the floor.

"Do you know where the exits are out of here?" Luther inquired.

"I only knew some of the children that came down here never came back."

A shiver ran down Luther's spine, he thought he might become violently ill. "You never came down here?"

"They only brought The Hunters here."

"And you're not a Hunter."

"No, the little ones are The Hunters. They're the only ones left," Lou couldn't meet his gaze as he focused on the floor.

"It wasn't bad enough that the vampires hunted us to near extinction, but these madmen were helping them to destroy us too." Luther simply couldn't wrap his head around it, everything he'd always known had been a lie, and yet he still firmly believed in what he did and what he was. If they managed to make it out of this, he would continue to do what he believed in, but this time there would be no madmen left to undo it all. "We'll start in that room and work our way through them. We have to find out how Anne escaped here."

Lou nodded, he was paler than he'd been before when they entered the first room off the hall. Luther tossed the cot aside as the house above him gave a shudder. He held his breath, his head tilted back while he waited to see if the crashing bang of the house collapsing would accompany the shudder.

"It won't do us any good to find the tunnel if it all falls on top of us," Lou muttered.

Luther was more concerned about the people up there, three of which he considered his own children. He’d wanted to stay with them, but this had been the right choice. These children needed him more.

"They won't allow that to happen," Luther assured him as he went back to searching the walls. There was some way out of this place, and he was going to find it.

* * *

"Beautiful." Cassie hated the purred word that slid from Zane's mouth as they spread out across the snow covered yard. The snow she'd melted from the backdoor had already refrozen to create a sheet of ice on the porch steps. "Just beautiful Princess."

The fire licked across her fingertips and up to her elbows. It was the only source of heat she had against the cold enshrouding her. She didn't know how long the others would be able to keep moving before they turned into solid blocks of ice. She hadn't expected the, 'I'll freeze my enemies,' method of attack, but she was frightened it might be a rather effective one.

The Elders seemed to almost float over the snow as they came steadily closer. They appeared unaffected by the cold, or that they were outnumbered. Devon stood close by her side, his back rigid as his chest brushed protectively against her shoulder. She was half afraid she was going to catch him on fire, but he was able to avoid the flames licking over her.

"Just remember, no matter what happens I love you," she told him. "I've never regretted one minute of our time together, and I never will."

She glanced briefly at him as his fingers caressed her cheek. "And I'll always love you." Tears burned her eyes as his lips brushed briefly against her temple. "There is nothing in this world, or my lengthy lifetime, that I have loved as much as you."

Cassie had to tear her gaze away from him as The Elders stopped only twenty feet away from them. "They're too calm," Chris muttered.

"There are others out there," Cassie told him.

"Others?"

"Not Elders, but there are other vampires in the woods," Cassie said. "Waiting for us."

"Let's get this party started before I turn into Frosty the Snowman." Chris took a step closer to her as he hefted a crossbow and aimed it at Robert. "I'd love to kill that son of a bitch."

"Get in line," Devon informed him. "But I will take care of my brother."

More shadows began to emerge from the woods; their eyes were the most vibrant thing about them as they drifted across the snow toward The Elders that had recruited them. Strands of Cassie's frozen hair blew behind her as the wind began to pick up. No matter what happened, she would make sure none of them made it out of here alive. These monsters wouldn't be able to spread their misery around the earth anymore.

She could feel the chill in her friends as they pressed closer against her side in an attempt to briefly defrost themselves before they were inundated by a wave of monsters. There was a thrumming sensation running up and down her spine, her fingers tingled from more than just the fire licking out of them. She didn't know what was keeping her charged, but she could feel her power level amping up as her body began to pulse with adrenaline and excitement. She welcomed the battle, welcomed the thrill of the fight as her fangs pressed against the inside of her lip.

"Brace yourselves," she breathed.

Before anyone could blink, she knelt swiftly and slammed her hand upon the earth. Unlike the hall where she'd seen the electric charge slither across the floor like a snake toward her enemies, this shot out of her like a lightning bolt. She saw it seconds before it sizzled into the creatures standing across from her and knocked them back. The younger vamps that emerged from the woods were thrown backwards. Some of them didn't rise again as the tops of their heads had been blown off by the electrical blast.

She didn't give The Elders time to react but leapt back to her feet and raced across the snow at them. Elspet, she reminded herself as she veered off course from Zane and at the small girl with the startling ability to control water. Elspet sensed what she intended though as she dodged out of Cassie's way and straight into Julian's arms.

Julian grinned savagely as he overtook the smaller girl. His smile faded; he grimaced when his skin came into contact with Elspet's. She screamed and squirmed against him, but he held firmly to her and sank his fangs into her neck. An inhuman howl ripped from Elspet and echoed across the landscape as Cassie lurched forward.

Julian jerked back as he tore his fangs free of Elspet's neck. "No!" he shouted at her.

But it was already too late as Cassie's hands came into contact with the eccentric vampire's chilly skin. She felt like she'd been kicked in the chest by a horse as horrific images exploded in her head. She'd touched Devon and Julian, she knew what they had done, knew what they could be capable of, but this woman, this woman was something entirely different. This woman had bathed in her evil, she'd relished the blood of innocents, and there had been so many innocents. Elspet hadn't been drawn here to capture her, or as part of Zane's crazy mission. She had come here for the children.

Cassie didn't realize she was on her knees until Chris grabbed hold of her and yanked her back. She didn't know she was screaming until snow fell into her open mouth and choked the sound from her. "Cassie!" Chris leaned over her as he pushed the hair back from her face. "Cassie!"

She dazedly stared up at him as she grappled to get past the horrible images careening around her brain. She still struggled to rid herself of the images when Bernard loomed over them with a massive wooden pole.

Snow shot up around them as Cassie threw her arms up and blasted it into his face. Bernard staggered backwards from the impact. She now had the ability to control water, but it hadn't been worth it. Seeing into Elspet, seeing what that thing had done over the years, had not been worth the new power surging through her. Cassie managed to turn herself over and push herself onto her hands and knees. She was brought up short by a pair of legs she instinctively knew were attached to Zane, and not the right Zane.

"What's the matter Princess can't handle a little insight?"

Fury tore through her as she launched herself forward and tackled him around the waist. Heat flared through her arms and into her fingertips. It didn't matter if it was the right Zane or not, she was going to make him burn. His clothes lit on fire, she briefly smelt burning hair before he vanished beneath her.

Staggering back to her feet, she spun toward The Elders at the same time Octavia used her telekinesis to throw her back a good ten feet. She barely had time to right herself before she spotted the massive tree branch coming at her like a missile. Cassie flung her hands up and sent the branch spiraling away seconds before it would have impaled her through the chest.

Joey leapt in front of her and lifted the flame thrower looking thing to his shoulder as Cassie regained her footing. Hundreds of arrows exploded from it in a puff of smoke that trailed above him. They shot through the air on a deadly trajectory with Octavia. One of the versions of Zane leapt forward to block some of them, but the rest crashed into Octavia and a grouping of the newer vamps The Elders had brought with them. Octavia didn't receive a killing blow but a handful of other vampires kicked and squirmed in their death throes as they fell into the snow.

"Thanks," Cassie muttered.

Joey nodded as he tossed the weapon aside and broke out a crossbow. "I owe you more than that."

Cassie wasn't going to argue with that statement, but she didn't have time to agree with him either. She plunged back into the fray, aiming for the weakened Octavia as she spotted Devon honing in on his brother.

* * *

Devon dodged the first boulder Robert threw at him and managed to avoid the crack in the earth Robert started to open. He leapt over the growing crater and collided with his older, and yet strangely younger, brother. Seizing hold of Robert's throat, he propelled him backward as they crashed into the snow and tumbled over top of each other. Images of Robert stabbing Cassie exploded through his head as the demon within him burst free. He would enjoy every moment of this.

"Miss me brother?" he growled as he lifted him up and smashed him into the snow. Robert clawed at Devon's hand as he tried to break Devon's hold upon him. Skin broke beneath his grip; blood trickled around his fingers as he dug into the flesh and sinew of Robert's throat.

Robert seized hold of his arm. Devon only dug in deeper as his brother tore at his forearm. He gave up on trying to knock Devon's grip free and began to wildly strike at Devon. Blood spilled from broken skin near his right eye. It didn't deter him as he dodged Robert's next punch. His lips skimmed back to reveal his fangs as bloodlust and pleasure pulsed through him. He no longer saw his brother, but the man who had murdered Cassie, the man he would enjoy destroying.

A boulder crashed into his back, pitching him forward over Robert. His hold was knocked loose enough that Robert was able to get his legs in between them. Devon tried to right himself, but he was unable to do so before Robert flipped him over his head. He spun in the air and landed on his feet in a crouch in the snow.

Devon didn't hesitate as he launched back at him. He didn't see Zane, or at least a version of Zane, until the oldest Elder hit him in the side. Devon tumbled into the snow and bounded back to his feet. Red filled his vision as a bellow ripped from him. He leapt forward and managed to grab hold of Robert again as the ground beneath him began to open up. He leapt over the massive pit, but instead of trying to take Robert down again, he picked him up and heaved him across the ground.

Robert flew a good fifty feet through the air before crashing into a tree. His entire body jerked from the impact; his arms flailed as he plummeted to the ground. Devon froze in mid step when he picked up on a fresh scent wafting through the air. He turned away from his brother as he sought Cassie amongst the fray. She stood near Julian and Chris. Elspet's remains littered the ground by Julian's feet. Octavia was trying desperately to escape Cassie's relentless approach.

Cassie became rigid, her head shot around as her eyes met his across the clearing. Devon abandoned the pursuit of his brother as he raced across the snow covered field toward her. He was almost to her when the woods erupted with motion and a fresh horde of newly created vampires spilled forth.