Luther hadn't realized the children had followed him through the tunnel until a small hand slid into his. He jumped and looked down into the large chocolate eyes of Cassie's family. The boy's youthful features were aglow in the red and orange flames as he opened and closed his extended hand. Luther bent down and hefted the child into his arms. He wondered if there would be enough time to get the children out of here before everything turned to cinder around them. Before Cassie turned to ashes right in front of their eyes.

The boy leaned forward in his arms and pressed his hands against the glass. "Angel," he whispered.

That was one way to look at it, Luther thought. He didn't happen to agree with the kid as the fire around Cassie increased. She may not be able to go out in the sun anymore, but he was beginning to think it didn't matter; she was becoming her own sun as the ground around her began to burn.

Anything or anyone that got too close to the sun would be burned.

* * *

Power seemed to come from everywhere. It swelled up from the ground, from the vampires trying to escape her, and the flames increasing in intensity around her. The heat of it was blistering, but she didn't feel as if she were burning as another trail of fire slid across the landscape. The fire split the earth in two as Robert's ability mixed with Adon's to leave a jagged canyon where before there had only been solid ground before.

Some of the creatures tumbled into the freshly made gorge. She was sure they screamed, but she couldn't hear them over the deafening inferno engulfing her. She was dimly aware her feet no longer touched the ground. A strange exhilaration filled her as she continued to draw from the earth, taking into herself all of the power and energy it had to offer her. Taking into herself all the power and energy her victims had to offer. She couldn't get enough of it and she craved more.

She dimly realized she'd misinterpreted Matthew's vision. It had nothing to do with Devon's death, or with the loss of one of her friends, and everything to do with her. She was the catalyst, she was the reason for the vision, and though she thought there was a chance she could stop herself, she didn't want to. It felt good to let everything she'd kept pent up all of these years finally have reign to fulfill its desires.

She thought of the legend of the phoenix and wondered if there would be anything left of her to emerge from the ashes when this was over.

Tree branches above her head snapped and crackled, Chris and Julian scurried out of the way as some of them broke free and plummeted to the ground. She brought her hands about a foot apart before her. A ball of fire spun as it twisted and flowed before her. She took a moment to cherish the beauty and strength of it before she sent it out in a massive ball that split into pieces to relentlessly hunt down its victims.

More vampires burst into flames as they were unable to escape the fire chasing them. Her eyes narrowed, fresh anger ripped through her as she spotted Zane trying to escape with some of the others. Her nostrils flared as she strode forward, the fire carrying her more swiftly across the ground than her feet would have.

"Zane!" she shouted. He wouldn't hesitate to take her out from behind, but she wanted to see his face when she destroyed him. "Zane!"

He split into three as he spun toward her, but she knew exactly which one he was. All of her torment and rage surged to the forefront and burst out of her in a bolt of lightning the color of the sun as it zinged across the ground. Zane tried to lunge out of the way, but he couldn’t escape it.

She felt his surprise as the bolt hit him, but he didn't burst into flames or explode like the new vampires around him did. He was too strong and powerful for that to happen. A long wail escaped him, he was lifted from the ground as the bolt encircled him and electricity continued to zap into him. Cassie felt no remorse, no pity, as a jagged crack appeared at the top of his head and slowly began to make its way down his body. His wail reached firehouse frequency. His body began to split apart; the electricity sizzled and boiled his organs.

Smoke started to curl up from within him, his body had become charred remains that continued to feebly struggle against the bonds holding him. His howl was finally silenced as a burst of fire raced over his skin. His smoldering remains hit the ground with a dull thud.

Some of the wrath went out of her as the flames beneath her feet vanished and her toes hit the ground once more. The fire continued to spark around her, but the flames weren't as intense as the power she'd been leeching from the earth had been drained. Sparks of electricity crackled over her skin as she sought some other way to replace the energy she had drained. She could almost taste her desire for more as the heady flavor of blood filled her mouth. Sparks sizzled over her fingers as she rubbed them together.

Her legs felt like rubber as she took a shaky step forward. She focused on her friends; there was power in them. They would feed her more, and she could take it so easily from them. Her knees threatened to collapse as she took a shaky step toward them. She wouldn't be shaky if she could simply touch them. A part of her knew it was wrong, but the other part, the hungry part didn't care.

Just a little taste, she didn't have to take it all, just a little.

She began to shake as she fought against the pull for what her friends possessed. No, she couldn't take it from them, she simply couldn't. A fracturing began to start within her as both sides fought to take control, as they battled against each other. She felt as if she were beginning to shred her from within as an anguished moan escaped her.

Devon's face was bloody and bruised as he appeared before her. Fresh rage surged within her when she spotted his blood. "Cassie, no."

A jolt shot through her as he seized hold of her arms. She felt the strength inside him and something inside of her surged forth, seeking to drain him, seeking to fill the nothingness she had been born with as a Hunter.

That's what this was, she realized. She had been given nothing as a Hunter except the ability to be a stronger and faster fighter. As a vampire that ability had manifested to make her stronger and faster by allowing her to remain a blank sort of sponge. A sponge that could soak up the energy others radiated and absorb it within herself.

She wanted nothing more than to keep on absorbing it too. But this was Devon, she could never hurt Devon. The only problem was she didn't think she could control it, not anymore. She had opened Pandora's Box by feeding it and instead of sating its appetite she had only made it more ravenous.

"Let go," she managed to croak out.

His jaw locked, the scent of his burning skin filled the air, but he refused to release her. "Cassie."

"There's something wrong," she breathed. "More, I want more. Let go, please Devon."

She could feel the wrongness in the marrow of her bones. It felt as if every molecule in her body was firing in a hundred different directions at once. Most of those directions were trying to go toward him, trying to seek out what it was he possessed.

A low moan of anguish escaped her. She tried to pull away from him again, but he refused to relinquish her as he tugged her a little closer. "I'll kill you," she breathed.

The tips of his fingers were turning pink and raw as he continued to hold her. "Stay with me, Cassie. You can control this, please just stay with me. You won't kill me."

"Let go. You can't know that, I'm hurting you," she choked out.

"I do know that. I have absolute faith in you, as much faith as you've had in me all this time. All those times you trusted me not to hurt you, now you must do the same. Trust in yourself, trust in me, trust in us. You can fight this."

The tears filling her eyes evaporated before they could spill. She shuddered and shook as more sparks shot out of her. She felt like Frankenstein's monster as electricity crackled over her body. Devon released her arms and seized hold of her face.

"You can beat this," he whispered.

She didn't know what he had in mind until his mouth pressed against hers. She squiggled against him as she tried to get away before she killed him. The pain had to be excruciating, yet he kept his mouth pressed against hers as his tongue ever so lightly flickered against her lips. She continued to struggle, certain she would kill him as his tongue slid into her mouth.

A small moan escaped her, the fight went out of her as her shoulders slumped. She gave herself over to him. He invaded her senses as he tasted her with a reckless abandon that, although it caused her toes to curl, somehow soothed her body. He made her forget about the quest for more power as the infinite bond between them surged up to enfold them both within its calming depths.

Cassie smelled burnt cloth and hair as she fell into him, but he still refused to release her. The tears didn't evaporate in her eyes anymore as they slid down her face and dripped onto his skin. His hands slid into her hair as he drew her more firmly against him to deepen the kiss. She clenched his forearms as she sought something to stabilize her, not from the influx of power, but from the influx of him.

Slowly she began to understand there was only one thing that could push her over the edge completely, but it was also the one thing that could bring her back. Love. Not just Devon's love either, but the love of all the people she cherished and cared for so deeply. For all of them, she could do anything, including controlling the voracious beast within her. She didn't think of it as her enemy anymore though, but as her ally. It had helped her to destroy all of their enemies tonight, and she knew if she ever needed it again, it would be there for her. However, it did not rule her and it never would.

Devon's emerald eyes filled her vision as he broke away from her and rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks. The tips of his fingers began to heal as they brushed away her tears. His lips, nose and cheeks were burnt, but he didn't seem at all affected by it as he looked at her with such love and yearning that it made her cry harder.

"Shh Cassie," he whispered. "It's all right now. You're still with me. It's ok."

She kissed him again; she was unable to get enough of the feel of him as her lips brushed over his, and her fingers ran through his hair. "I'm still here?"

"You're still here," he assured her. "You're still here."

He kissed her again, and when he pulled away, her tears slid over his lips to heal his scorched and blistered skin. She let Annabelle's healing power flow into her fingertips as she brushed them over his lips, across the charred marks on his cheeks, and the tip of his nose. His emerald eyes sparkled as he smiled at her and slid his arm around her waist.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the hollow of his throat as he lifted her from the ground. She would love to remain buried in his embrace for days, if not weeks, but that wasn't going to be possible.

She pressed a kiss to the base of his throat and reluctantly removed herself from him to survey the damage. Her friends were gathered around Joey's prone form. The snow around him had turned a deep shade of red. Dani's arm was bent at an odd angle as tears slid down her face, and she sobbed forcefully. The right side of Melissa's face was a large bruise already turning the color of a ripe plum. She was balancing like a flamingo as she hovered over Annabelle working on Joey.

Annabelle shook back her strawberry curls as she sat back on her heels. "There's nothing I can do."

Dani's shoulders shook; she struggled to breathe as she rested her hand on her brother's still chest. Julian and Chris gathered near them as Cassie hurried to help Annabelle with the healing of her friends. She knelt in front of Dani and tenderly took hold of her arm.

"I'm sorry," she told her as a familiar heat slid from the tips of her fingers and into Dani's arm. Joey had tried to kill her, but in the end he had come around to their side, and been an asset in the battle. Dani had betrayed them, but Cassie knew the girl wasn't evil at heart; she had simply been confused and misguided. Cassie meant the words as spoke them to the heartbroken girl. "I'm sorry for your loss, but we're still here for you."

Tears continued to slide down Dani's face; she bit into her bottom lip as she managed a small nod. Cassie rejoined the bones in her arm, squeezed it comfortingly and rose to her feet. Annabelle was working on Melissa's face when Matthew stopped a few feet away from them. Cassie knew why The Elder had come here; she could feel it radiating from him as he stared imploringly at her.

Cassie approached him cautiously, she didn't know if she was ready for this, but she didn't have a choice. "You know why I'm here," he said.

She swallowed heavily before nodding. "I do."

"A force of good," he breathed. "It was all I aspired to see in the end."

Her throat clogged as a single tear slid down her face. Even if she had chosen the wrong path, Matthew had wanted to be here to see. There was only one thing he sought from his life anymore.

He took hold of her hand and patted it between both of his. More images of her future filled her head, but these ones weren't frightening and overwhelming. These were kind and peaceful as they revealed to her a future so bright an eternity of having to live in the shadows couldn't darken it.

"Peace," Matthew whispered before he released her hand. "The sun is coming." Cassie looked toward the horizon as the night sky started to lighten at the far edges. A tendril of apprehension crept down her spine. "Go child."

Cassie hesitated, she didn't want to leave him here knowing what he intended, but this was his life and his choice to make. He'd had enough of it years ago, but it had been a vision of her, and of hope against Zane, that had kept him in this world.

"You can come with us," she offered.

Julian cursed as he shook his head disapprovingly. Matthew smiled indulgently at her. "No, my journey is done."

"Thank you." It seemed like such an inadequate thing to say, but she had no other words for him. No other solace to give to the tormented man.

Turning away from Matthew, she took hold of Devon's hand as he hurried her toward the house. He shepherded her inside as the first rays of the day broke over top of the trees. She turned to look out the window as Matthew held his arms out to the dawn. A halo of light encircled him; he was aglow in the aura of warmth he hadn't been able to enjoy for hundreds of years. His eyes closed as he tilted his chin up to silently embrace the rays that lit his body on fire and turned it to ash.

Gabriel tottered over to her and held up his arms. She bent down and scooped him up. The delightful scent of him, and the comforting feel of his chubby arms, caused more tears to slide down her face as she hugged him against her. Devon slid his arm around her waist and pulled the both of them against his chest. Smiling, Gabriel poked Devon's nose when he rested his chin on her shoulder and smiled at the little boy.

For the first time in four years a feeling of serenity crept through her. She'd found her home in Devon and everyone else gathered within this room. It would still be difficult, they would have to find a place to stay and raise the children, but they had each other, and she knew they could get through anything together.

She kissed Devon's cheek and smiled at him as his emerald eyes merrily twinkled back at her. Yes, this was where she belonged, where she always would belong. Barnacle cuddled up against her, rested his head on her shoulder, and closed his eyes.