Annabelle stood in front of the others, trying to keep them behind her as Devon steadily advanced on them. He was stalking them, hunting them as he backed them up. She could only pray her presence in the front might deter him a little, but she didn't hold out much hope for that. "He's going to kill us," Dani whispered.

Annabelle wanted to argue with her, but she couldn’t deny the truth. He was going to kill them, and there would be no stopping him. Her heart shattered as she met Liam's tender gaze. She wished she could make this all better, but only one person could do that, and God only knew what was going on with her right now. Annabelle held out some small hope they would be spared in time. She was acutely aware they were running out of ground, and Devon was gaining it.

"What do we do?" Melissa demanded.

Annabelle shook her head; she was completely out of ideas. Then, she felt the rumbling within the ground again, the earth shifting and changing. Her gaze flew to Robert; her eyes narrowed as the earth heaved up. It would be Robert who went for Devon; Robert who would attempt to destroy him while he was distracted by other prey. The Elders made no attempt to help, instead they just stood back, their gazes intent as they watched the first boulder fly up. It crashed into Devon's back and roughly knocked him forward, but he managed to remain on his feet.

Ire flashed hotly through Annabelle as she took a step toward him with the objective of defending her friend. Liam grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back. "Annabelle, no."

"They're going to kill him!" she retorted.

"He'll kill us!"

Annabelle shook her head as she tried to tug her arm free of Liam. "We have to bide some time!" she cried in frustration.

Liam stared at her in surprise and confusion. "Time for what?" he demanded. Annabelle longed to tell him, but she knew The Elders would storm into the store and kill Cassie if they overheard her words. "Annabelle?"

"We have to help Devon!"

The earth around Robert heaved up as it flew forward. Devon bellowed as he tried to push through the storm of rocks, but was continuously knocked back. Dani shook her head forcefully and took a small step back as Annabelle turned on her. "Do it again!" she commanded.

"She can only use her ability once!" Melissa stepped in front of Dani as she tried to protect the smaller girl.

Annabelle's eyes fixed on Dani, who looked a little too frightened. "Dani?" she demanded.

They all turned to her as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. "My ability has gotten stronger," she admitted on a whisper.

Annabelle grabbed hold of her arm and pushed her forward as Devon was knocked to his knees. "Robert, go for Robert!"

"If we attack The Elders...!"

Annabelle shot Luther a look that silenced him instantly. "Go for Robert."

"You're declaring war," Luther told her.

"Robert killed Cassie, they already declared war. Now it’s essential we save Devon."

"I don't know how strong it is on the second blast," Dani mumbled.

Blood bloomed across Devon's forehead as a rock bounced off of him. "Just stop Robert," she whispered fervently. "It will be ok."

Annabelle hoped she could keep that promise. Devon struggled back to his feet when another rock hit his shoulder, knocking him back again. The ground pulsed and began to vibrate as Dani drew power from it. Annabelle kept hold of her shoulders, trying to give her courage and strength. The blast shot out of her and hit Robert forcefully enough to push him back a few steps.

The rocks Robert had been gathering to throw at Devon clattered to the ground as his power was temporarily squashed. As one, creepy unit, The Elder's turned scorching, ruby eyes upon all of them. Terror curdled through Annabelle as a small whimper escaped Dani. Annabelle shoved the smaller girl behind her, prepared to take the blunt force of their attack, but Liam stepped in front of her.

"Liam!" she cried.

He turned toward her, but froze in mid-movement. No words escaped his gaping mouth as his eyes locked on the door of the store. Annabelle felt the hair on her arms and neck rise as a chill crept down her spine. She knew instantly what had riveted Liam to the spot, but the look on his face didn't bode well for their future, not at all. If Cassie had emerged from this ok, then he wouldn't look as if he'd just seen the devil himself step forth upon the earth. He wouldn't look as if he was about to grab Annabelle and flee from here.

Annabelle couldn't move; she couldn't look at the new presence she sensed behind her. Liam turned slowly toward her. "What have you done?"

Annabelle could only shake her head as she tried to form coherent words. "Not. Me. Devon. Julian." She sounded like a caveman, but they were the only words that escaped her constricted throat.

Liam's eyes came back to her. "Annabelle..."

"I love you," she whispered.

A blur drew her attention away from Liam's beautiful silver eyes. She swallowed heavily and braced herself as she finally focused upon the new addition to the group. Cassie moved so swiftly across the ground that Annabelle could barely follow her. Her knot of apprehension nearly doubled in intensity. No new vampire should be able to move like that. Hell, she couldn't move that fast yet.

Yet Cassie covered the hundred and fifty feet, and was by Devon's side, in the mere blink of an eye. "Cassie," Melissa breathed as she eagerly stepped forward.

Liam held his arm out to keep her from going any closer. "Stay back."

"But..." Melissa's mouth parted as her hand flew up to cover it. "Cassie?"

The question in Melissa's voice terrified Annabelle most. Gathering her strength, she turned back toward the creature kneeling by Devon's side. Her hand was on his shoulder, her gaze locked on his as he gazed up at her.

"Cassie?" Devon's voice was choked with awe and disbelief as his gaze scanned her face. His hand trembled as he reached up to cup her cheek with his hand. "Cassie?"

She didn't respond to him as she took hold of his hand and squeezed it. Luther's feet scraped across the ground as he took a step forward. Cassie's head turned toward the sound. Luther froze, Melissa staggered back a step, and Dani let out a small moan. Annabelle's hand tightened around Liam's, but she found her legs locked in place as those horrifying, alien, completely inhuman eyes blazed out at them. They were far brighter, and far more terrifying than anything Annabelle had ever seen before.

Cassie didn't seem to recognize any of them as she stared forward unblinkingly. Liam pulled Annabelle closer to him as he tugged her back a step. "As it was meant to be, so has she risen."

Matthew's whispered words pierced the oddly still night. It was only then that Annabelle's attention returned to the startled Elders standing frozen at the edge of the woods. She suddenly realized the remaining creatures had fled into the woods to escape from the newest presence. The knot in her stomach twisted tighter at this realization. Those creatures didn't fear much, they had attacked the Elders without hesitation, but they feared Cassie.

She would lay money on that being a very bad omen.

Cassie touched Devon's face tenderly once more before slowly rising to her feet. Her golden hair blew around her in the chilly winter breeze as she faced The Elders. Her shoulders were stiff, her eyes intense as her gaze slid over them. Though blood still covered her skin and shirt, the gash in her stomach had healed during her transformation.

Her gaze finally locked on Robert and the glow of her eyes intensified. "How about you throw one of those things at me?" she inquired.

Annabelle shuddered; she took another step away from Cassie. She didn't know what had awakened in Cassie's place, but she could sense it was something none of them had ever seen before.

* * *

Devon stared up at Cassie, unable to believe she was actually here, and she wasn't dead. She wasn't lost to him.

Or was she?

She had touched him with all the reverence and love he so dearly cherished. Her touch had been the same, but he could tell she wasn't. Her eyes, those damn strange eyes had blazed so hotly, yet seemed almost unseeing when she'd met his gaze.

Her clothes were still bloody, there was so much blood, but the gaping wound that had torn through her beautiful skin had healed during her transition. But transition, how was that possible? He shook his head as he recalled their last encounter. He'd given her a lot of blood, but it couldn't have been enough to get her completely, and safely, through all of the changes.

His head turned when movement caught his attention. Julian and Chris were emerging from the store to stand at the edge of the sidewalk. Devon's nostrils flared, anger sizzled through him as he caught the scent of their blood in the air. Suddenly, he understood. His blood may not have been enough to see her through the transition, but if Julian gave some of his too it would have been. Chris's blood had brought her back completely.

The thought of Julian's blood inside her sent his temper spiraling nearly out of control again. She was his, or at least she had been. He didn’t know what she was anymore.

But that didn't matter; none of it mattered, not as long as she was still here. She was still with him, and she was alive again. Sort of.

She didn't turn to look at him as he rose to stand behind her. The Elders remained unmoving as they studied her. For the first time since he'd met the man, Devon saw true worry in Zane's eyes, in all of their eyes. Though Cassie hadn't possessed any of the extra Hunter or vampire abilities when alive, there was no way to know what she could do now. What she may might be able to do to them all.

"Bet you wish you hadn't jumped the gun now Robert." Cassie's hushed voice carried easily through the still night. Robert's eyes flickered, exasperation blazed from him as he shifted, but he didn't make a move to attack her. Not yet. Cassie's gaze latched upon Adon and Anastasia, the two people Devon could still control. He hadn't thought to do so during his craze. "Bring them to me," she whispered.

Devon started as his gaze swung to her. How did she know he had control over those two when he'd never told her, and just what did she plan to do with them? He remained frozen, unable to do as she asked, he wasn't certain that he wanted to do what she asked. He didn't know what had become of her, and he was loathe to see her harmed again. He was afraid she would reveal herself as some monster that would have to be destroyed.

That was something he could never do.

She turned toward him. "You have control over them so I can't take it from you. Bring them Devon."

He refused to break her gaze as she stared at him. Just what kind of abilities had she awakened with? He sensed her power was more than mind control, sensed it was far more than anything anyone had ever possessed. "Cassie..."

Her eyes were like molten lava as they focused upon him. "It's ok."

Though the words were meant to reassure, they didn't. He still didn't know what he was dealing with, but he'd never been able to refuse her anything. She hadn't given him a reason to distrust her, and if there was one person he'd always had faith in it was Cassie. She just wasn't a person anymore, but he wasn't going to give up on her now, not when she may need him the most.

Seeking with his mind, he reopened the pathways he had already established within Adon and Anastasia's brains as he took control. With a simple command, he drew them forward, separating them from the group. Zane tried to grab Anastasia, but she had already moved out of his reach, and Zane seemed reluctant to get any closer to Cassie.

Devon smiled in amusement as Zane shot him a bewildered look that quickly faded to anger. Though Devon's power had always been the strongest, and most debilitating, Zane hadn't thought him capable of taking control of two minds at once, at least not two Elder minds. He had greatly underestimated the power Cassie's blood had given to him.

"Amazing what happens when you feed upon a Hunter," Devon murmured.

Zane's eyes blazed a ruby red as his gaze fixed on Anastasia. Frustration and helplessness radiated from him, but he made no move to go after her. If it had been Cassie who had been pulled away from him, Devon would have done anything he could to get her back. Devon realized he'd greatly underestimated the oldest Elder's attachment to Anastasia. Yes, their relationship had lasted centuries, but love didn’t keep them together. Their twisted pleasure in how vile and cruel each of them could be did.

Devon's gaze narrowed as Anastasia and Adon stopped before Cassie. Their faces were slack, their eyes glazed as Devon kept complete control over them. Though he sensed a deep wealth of strength within Cassie, he wasn't going to take the chance of her getting hurt by them.

"I underestimated you," Zane said.

"And I you," Devon replied, unable to tear his gaze from the oldest Elder. Zane's golden good looks appeared to darken in the radiance of the moon as fury poured off of him in waves. Though Devon controlled two of Zane's group, he didn't appear overly concerned about it.

Zane grinned at him. "You can keep her."

Cassie's head came up and she stared Zane down. "I don't need her for long."

Zane frowned at her words as confusion marred his brow. Though Devon didn't like it, he knew exactly how Zane felt. What did she mean by that, and what was she going to do with Anastasia? Devon didn't like the woman; he never had. He'd never liked any of The Elders. However, he wasn't going to stand by and allow Cassie to do something to them that may cost her a piece of her soul, if her soul remained intact.

He was terrified it wasn't as he watched her with growing apprehension. She stared at Adon and Anastasia, who had instinctively shied away from her in their approach to Devon. Cassie's forehead furrowed, she appeared confused as to why they were avoiding her. Maybe she didn't realize she radiated power like a lighthouse beacon. Or that her eyes were the strangest thing any of them had ever seen, and they had all seen some pretty strange things in their extensive lives.

Devon heard Julian and Chris approaching and felt them as they stopped a few feet behind them. "Cassie..." Devon started.

"Shh," she whispered her eyes still on Anastasia and Adon.

As much as he loved her, he had to admit she had started to frighten him a little too. When this ended he feared he would realize he really had lost her, and that this miracle he'd been granted would be cruelly ripped away from him when she turned on them all.

"Honey, I don't know what you think you're doing, or what you think you might be capable of, but no matter how freaky your eyes are I can still snap you like a twig," Zane sneered.

Her brow furrowed, her gaze darted to Devon. "My eyes?"

He nodded as he studied her carefully. "They're a little different." That was the understatement of the year, but he didn’t want to upset her anymore than he had to.

Her fingers flitted up to the corner of her right eye. "I see," she murmured as her hand fell away. Her attention returned to Zane as a small smile flitted across her face. "Bring it."

Zane and Devon both bristled over her challenge. Zane took offense to it, while Devon had the urge to throw himself in front of her to shield her from Zane's imminent attack. However, before either of them could react, Cassie dashed to the side faster than he'd ever seen her move. She grabbed hold of Adon, who remained as unmoving as a scarecrow within Devon's control.

Devon opened up his mouth to shout a warning to Cassie as Zane separated himself. Using his ability of astral projection Zane created two identical versions of himself, each one capable of fighting just as well as the original. Devon burst into motion, rushing toward one of them as Cassie spun away from Adon as gracefully as a woodland faerie.

Zane's projection missed grabbing hold of her. "Robert!" Zane shouted.

Cassie spun toward his brother, beckoning him with her hands to come forward. "Care to try again Robert?" she taunted.

"Cassie!" Devon and Julian yelled at the same time.

She may not be mortal anymore, but Devon realized she would still be the death of him. Dying had done nothing to curb her recklessness. He tried to grasp hold of her, to keep her out of Robert's way, but before he could get to her, Robert heaved a boulder from the ground mere feet from Cassie. She was fast, but not fast enough to completely dodge it.

"No!" Chris yelled.

The boulder clipped her shoulder and shoved her back. Turning to the side, she maneuvered easily out of the way of another boulder as she threw her hands out. Devon stumbled back as fire shot from her palms. It blasted across the open space, lighting the remains of the asphalt as a trail of flames blazed over the ground.

He could only stare at her in astonishment. His gaze shot to Adon, the only other person he had ever met with pyrokinesis. That highly deadly ability was the reason he'd chosen to take control of Adon in the first place.

Robert screamed and fell back when the fire caught at the edge of his pants and rapidly licked its way up. Bernard swung his coat off as Robert fell to the ground and rolled frantically in an attempt to smother the flames. Bernard wrapped him within the coat and beat out the flames. Robert's screams stopped, the night became eerily hushed as all eyes focused upon Cassie once more.

"Devon has Adon and Anastasia, he can make them stand here until the sun comes out and destroys them, or he can turn them against you. I'm sure Anastasia feels quite strong now that she’s been soaking up all the misery and pain from everyone."

Devon's head shot toward Anastasia and then back to Cassie. How did she know about Anastasia's ability to draw strength, and feed off of emotions? Just how many abilities did Cassie possess now, and would she be able to keep control of that strength enough to not let it rule her?

Power went to people's heads.

Robert sat up, his face twisted into a sneer as his hands fisted. Scraps of his pants stuck to his blistered legs. Devon pulled Cassie out of the way and enfolded his body over hers to shield her from the rock Robert heaved at them. It smashed into his back and pushed him forward. Julian jumped over them and deflected the next rock thrown at them.

Cassie's head was bowed beneath him; her golden hair tumbled over her face and shoulders. He felt the brief press of her lips against his neck as she spoke. "I'm ok," she breathed. "We have to fight them together Devon. I'm ok."

The last thing he felt like doing was releasing her, not when he'd just gotten her back; he knew he had to. He unfolded from her and reluctantly released her. She turned toward him, those strange eyes aglow in the dim light, but there was something else in them now. A new fire, a new light. Her hand was tender as she stroked his face. Devon took her hand and clung to her. He was desperate not to lose this connection, not to lose this human side of her once more.

Love briefly shimmered within her gaze as her hand curled around his, and then another rock was heaved at them. Her eyes darkened as rage took over. "Cassie," he whispered.

She shifted her gaze and focused her anger entirely on Robert and the rest of The Elders. "I will destroy them."

Devon reached for her again, but she'd already moved away from him. Zane had regrouped himself; his arms were folded over his chest as he perused Cassie with a lust that hadn't been there before.

He stepped forward to block her from Zane's rapt attention. "She is not Anastasia," Devon snarled.

Zane's mouth quirked in amusement, but his gaze didn't leave Cassie. "But she will be a fine replacement."

Cassie broke into loud laughter as her eyes scanned over Zane with utter disdain. "You couldn't handle me," she told him.

Zane's eyes sparked with annoyance, he shifted slightly, but no one heedlessly rushed forward. He was interested in Cassie, but he wasn't reckless or foolish. None of them were. Most of them looked as if they would prefer to retreat. Robert, having regained his footing, appeared to be the only one eager to renew the fight as he glowered at Cassie.

"I do not wish to destroy such a masterpiece, but I will if I have to," Zane purred.

Cassie's mouth curved into a cruel smile as her head tilted to the side. "I already told you, bring it."

Devon stifled a groan. "Cassie," Julian cautioned.

Her gaze didn't flicker to him as she remained fixated on Zane. For the first time, Zane didn't appear fearless. As the oldest, Zane had always fancied himself indestructible, but he'd never come up against anything like Cassie. Zane turned toward Robert, the burns on his legs had already begun to heal, but his clothes were charred and his hair singed at the edges. Robert's eyes were a malignant red as they returned to Devon.

"Do it," Zane commanded.

Before anyone could react, Robert leapt forward and cleared the hole within the asphalt in a single, flawless bound. Cassie and Devon lunged forward to stop him, but they were too late as Robert seized hold of Adon and twisted his neck abruptly to the side. The crack of vertebrae shattering rent the air. Under Devon's control, Adon had never had a chance to react to Robert's rapid and brutal attack.

Dani and Annabelle gasped loudly as they scrambled to get out of the way. Cassie got to Robert before Devon could, but it was already too late as Robert finished ripping Adon's head from his body.

Cassie recoiled in revulsion; her hand flew to her mouth as she took a staggering step away from the vicious assault. Devon realized he hadn't lost her as her humanity blazed to life in the face of such brutality. Devon snagged hold of his brother when Robert carelessly tossed Adon's head away. A sadistic grin spread over Robert's face as he turned toward Devon and braced himself for his attack.

The battle was renewed as everyone burst into motion. Satisfaction filled Devon as he smashed a fist into his brother's face. Robert's punch connected with Devon's cheek. A loud grunt escaped Devon, but he managed to keep hold of his brother. Robert swung at him again, but Devon seized Robert's fist and met his gaze straight on. He'd never thought he'd be the one to destroy his brother, he now felt it was only right, only fair.

He felt the demon surge forth again as the keen edge of bloodlust took him over once more. It wasn't like before though, he wasn't buried beneath the raging demon. Not while Cassie remained by his side again. It didn’t matter if she was different. She was alive, and that was all that mattered to him.

Robert's face twisted into a leering grin. "I've waited years for this little brother," he hissed.

Devon smiled back at him. "So have I."