Cassie's hands twisted together as she watched Chris and Devon disappear around the side of the house. She hated she couldn't be with them, that she was now practically useless during the daylight hours. Pressing her fingers against the tinted glass, she strained to see more. But no matter what she was, Hunter or vampire, she couldn't see through buildings.

"Do you think they made it in?" she asked.

"I hope so."

"Why doesn't this house frighten you?"

Melissa shrugged and barely glanced at Cassie before she turned her attention back to the farmhouse. A Farmers Porch wrapped around three sides of it; the red color was cheerful in the dreary winter landscape. Bird feeders hung from the beams, from this distance she could hear them creak as they swayed in the wind.

A curtain in the living room pulled back and Devon waved at them before he dropped it back down. "It feels more alive than the others," Melissa said. "It's not a premonition or anything, there's just something about this one that feels safer. But things are so screwy now Cass that I could be completely wrong."

The hair on Cassie's neck stood up. "Melissa," she breathed as she fought off the panic trying to engulf her.

"But I don't think so," Melissa rushed on when she realized what she'd said. "They'll be fine Cass."

Cassie's hands fisted as she turned her attention back to the house. She was more powerful now, stronger than she had been as a Hunter, yet she'd never felt so weak. If she had a heartbeat she knew it would be racing. Instead, her body was oddly unresponsive to the apprehension sliding through her.

The SUV heaved up on its side as something slammed into it. Cassie let out a startled cry; she tumbled against the glass across from her as the two driver's side tires were lifted off the ground. Cassie and Melissa were shoved up against the passenger side windows. They were thrown off balance as the vehicle dropped down before being heaved up again. For a second Cassie knew it was going to go over, but then it dropped again. It roughly bounced back and forth on its tires as the shocks and struts groaned in protest.

Cassie strained to right herself, but the incessant jarring had caused the layers of blankets to become tangled around her. Her right hand was pinned behind her back, her legs were all caught up, and her right eye was completely covered. Melissa let out a shrill yelp and scrambled back against her seat as something thudded against the windshield. Aggravated with the copious amounts of cloth encumbering her, Cassie gave up on trying to right herself and began to rip off the layers.

Something scuttled across the roof and then returned to perch in the center. Freeing herself of the blanket covering her face, she looked up as the roof bowed beneath the weight of the person on it. No, not a person, it was most certainly a Halfling. It had either followed the vehicle the entire way, or it had spread into this outer area of town in search of food.

The creature scrambled off the backside of the vehicle as another one jumped onto the hood. How many were there? Cassie wondered frantically as she scrambled to sit up. The car lurched up again, but this time it came from the passenger side and heaved her forward. Pain jarred through her hand and wrist as she slammed into the opposite window.

Melissa sprawled inelegantly across the console, half upside down. Anger flared through Cassie as she scrambled back up. Kneeling, she braced herself between the two headrests of the front seats. She steadied herself as the car violently rocked back and forth. Struggling against the sway of the vehicle, she tried to get her bearings as she searched for the Halflings stalking them.

Red eyes flashed hungrily in the back window as the face of something not entirely human peered in at them. Their eyes met; Cassie understood everything driving it as something in her own body empathized with the creature in response. They were one being, one monster, and they both coveted one thing…

Death.

Cassie shook her head as she tried to rid herself of the awful knowledge, and the certainty accompanying it. She was not like these things. She still loved and had respect for life. She wasn't a monster.

Cassie shuddered, but she remained trapped within the creature’s gaze as a new realization dawned over her. She wasn't like them yet, but if things went wrong, if Matthew's visions came true, she would be. She was certain of that.

A small sound of terror escaped her throat, but it had nothing to do with the increased rocking of the vehicle. A loud crash finally brought her attention away from the creature in the back. She turned just in time to see the passenger side window on her right spider web. A different sort of horror filled her as the cracked pieces of tint allowed the suns UV rays to filter through.

Recoiling instinctively, Cassie threw herself against the driver's side of the vehicle as she scrambled to recover one of the blankets. Melissa had also righted herself and was leaning against the driver's side door as she panted heavily. "We have no weapons," she gasped.

Cassie pulled the blanket over her and dropped the sunglasses down as the window shattered inward. Safety glass splayed across the seat as the suns deadly rays spilled inward. She pulled her legs against her chest as she tried to right the blankets. Though she was mostly covered, she could feel the influx of the sun's rays acutely, especially against her bared hands. Heat blazed through her and she suddenly understood what a lobster felt like before hitting the pot of boiling water.

Anxiety filled her as she recalled Devon's words about her being more sensitive to the sun, at least for a little bit. Though she didn't burn, perspiration soaked her as she felt the rays all the way to the marrow of her bones. If more windows were broken, she wouldn't survive it. The thing she’d once loved so dearly would be the thing that destroyed her.

The creature reached in the window. It wasn't the one who had been in the back window, for this one was female, but she was just as hungry and just as unpredictable. Melissa gestured for her to climb into the front seat, but Cassie shook her head. She couldn't scramble up there without crossing the sun's rays first.

Grasping hold of the blanket, Cassie managed to get her legs further under her. In one very ungraceful motion she thrust herself over the seat. She tumbled into the cargo area and rolled against the back door. Pain lanced through her shoulder, but she shot back up and quickly looked around the vehicle.

The woman was trying to wiggle her way through the window. The remaining glass sliced her hands and stomach as she slithered across the sill. The low hiss that escaped her startled her as her fangs sprang free. She seized hold of the woman's head and twisted it sharply to the side.

It was a move she'd seen Devon and Julian do before, but she'd never done it. Now, however, it seemed natural, but also completely repulsive. She almost gagged as she felt bones crack, almost retreated as the woman began to make awful gurgling noises as she flopped about in the car. The idea of sinking her fangs into the woman crossed her mind more than once.

Instead she settled for clasping the woman's twisted face. Cassie was careful to avoid her still snapping teeth as she shoved the woman back out the window. A cry escaped her as the sun's rays burst over her exposed skin and burned into her flesh. Cassie recoiled and scuttled back into the relative security of the cargo area. Though she was back in the shadows, she still felt exposed within the car, still felt as if she'd been flayed open, and the monster revealed to the world.

Even if that world was only Melissa.

Melissa scurried away from the driver's side window. She leapt over the console, and hopped into the backseat before flinging herself into the cargo area. "Are you ok?" she demanded as she knelt before Cassie.

Cassie was surprised Melissa was willing to come anywhere near her, not after what she'd just done. Hadn't Melissa seen it? "Am I a monster?" she whispered.

Melissa quirked a dark eyebrow; her head tilted on her delicate neck. "Depends on who wrote the story," she responded.

A small, harsh laugh escaped her. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"But no, you are not a monster."

"Not yet."

"Not ever," Melissa insisted. "We have to get out of here."

Cassie nodded her agreement and rose onto her knees to peer out the remaining darkened windows. She stared at the house, but nothing stirred within, and she didn't see anything moving around outside. Where were Devon and Chris? The woman slammed up against the back window; Cassie and Melissa recoiled as she flopped uselessly against its side. A scream welled up inside of Cassie, but it was Melissa who released one first as three more Halflings launched themselves at the car.

They didn't attack the vehicle however, but pounced upon the creature Cassie had broken. Cassie slammed her hands over her ears as the woman began to release shrill, inhuman screams. Apparently it didn't matter to them she was one of their own, they simply sought the blood, the kill. They'd deteriorated since Cassie had last seen them, starvation or perhaps just desperation had turned them into the mindless monsters she'd wrongly assumed they were in the beginning.

She could never be like that. Never. She told herself this over and over again as she tried to drowned out the horrendous sounds. There was no kinship between her and these creatures. There never could be.

A ferocious roar reverberated deep into the core of her soul. Cassie's eyes flew open as Devon charged across the snow covered ground in a nearly indiscernible blur. Cassie darted upright and scrambled forward in the cargo hold. There were three Halflings out there and only him and Chris.

She clutched the window only to recoil as the sun seared into her skin. A strangled cry of rage and frustration broke from her as she released the window and fell away from the scorching rays. Melissa dove over the backseat and crashed against the passenger seat. She fumbled with the lock before flinging the door open and bounding free of the vehicle.

Cassie felt helpless as she spun to watch the ensuing battle. Devon seized one of creatures by the back of the neck as he heaved it off of the mutilated woman beneath it. Chris and Melissa pounced upon that one as Devon turned his attention to the other two. They both snarled as they launched at him. He managed to knock the one away, but the other one leapt onto his back. Grabbing hold of the blanket, Cassie scurried over the seat, careful to avoid the rays of the sun as she grabbed hold of another blanket and her mittens. It would be difficult to fight with the mittens on, but she could still punch.

Wrapping the blankets around herself, Cassie slipped the annoying mittens on and scrambled forward. The material was binding, but she didn't care. Jumping out of the vehicle, she tried to ignore the flaring heat of the sun, but it burned against her instantly. Her body heated as she bolted around the back of the SUV. She could almost feel the smoke coming off of her.

Devon dispatched one and turned toward the other. His ruby eyes burned hotter as he looked up and spotted her. He tossed the Halfling aside and raced toward her. The creature bounced across the ground, but quickly rebounded to its feet. Devon was too busy trying to get to her to realize the monster had found easier prey in Chris and Melissa.

"Look out!" Cassie cried as the monster zeroed in on them.

Without thinking, she threw up her hands as fear and frustration fueled something inside of her. Fire shot out of her in a trailing inferno that slammed into the creature. The Halfling shrieked and flailed about as fire engulfed its body. Cassie had only a moment of pity before agony burst over her.

The fire had burned her mittens away, leaving only charred cinders of material behind. She gawked as flames burst from her exposed fingertips and scorched across her delicate skin. Devon grabbed her and knocked her to the ground as he covered her body with his. His hands closed around her burning ones and buried them within the snow as he smothered the flames. Though he had to have been burned by her, he showed no signs of it as he remained over her, blocking her from the day as the fire on her hands burned out.

The awful screams of the creature continued on before a blessed, profound hush descended. Cassie remained unmoving, limp beneath Devon. The sting in her hands was intense, but it was nothing compared to the distress she felt over what had just happened. She'd thought she could only absorb and hold one power at a time.

Apparently she'd been wrong. Adon's ability for fire remained accessible somehow. She didn't know what had triggered it. Whether it had been her frustration over her inability to help, or her concern for her friends, but right now it didn't matter. Right now all she could think of was Matthew's words.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Lifting her head, she gazed up into Devon's much loved emerald eyes. What she saw there scared her almost as much as the understanding rocking through her. Devon had just realized the same thing she had.