"Chris..."

"The Elder's will come after the children," Chris continued as he stepped away from the window. "But they won't be able to stop Cassie."

Devon's non-beating heart hit the floor, Julian's mouth dropped. Luther inhaled sharply as his hands clenched before him. "Christopher," Luther admonished.

Chris shook his head. "You didn't see her in there Luther, none of you did. She thought she was weak, nearly beaten, and she couldn't even see herself. I saw her. I was the one that was there to see the strength and power that she radiated, and it is far more than any of us had originally thought. Don't forget that she believes Devon's death is what will set off Matthew's vision. Do you doubt for even an instant that she wouldn't level this building, this entire town, to keep that from happening? Do you really doubt she has the ability to do so?"

Chris looked at all of them before focusing on Luther again. "Because she does," he answered when no one else did.

There was a knot of stone in Devon's stomach; his legs weren't able to support him as he slumped onto the couch beside Luther. "Chris..."

Chris tugged at his hair as he turned back to the window. "I know that she can be outnumbered and beaten, but it will take quite a force for that. I know Cassie is still with us though, even after what happened today. She lost it in that room, but when Anne attacked again it was Melissa she was most concerned about. I have more faith in her than she has in herself right now, but we all have to be aware of the fact that she can level us if she is pushed to the brink of her endurance."

Devon could hear the frantic pace of their heartbeats in the chillingly silent room. "We'll get out of here as soon as possible," Devon said. "We'll take the children and we'll leave tonight. The Elders have lost Matthew; it will be difficult for them to track us without him."

"What are we going to do with seventeen children?" Julian asked.

"Keep them safe," Luther answered.

"There were only ten children from Cedarville, where did the other seven come from and what are they?" Chris inquired.

"From what I can gather they are orphans of Guardians that have died since The Slaughter. There are no Hunters amongst them," Julian answered. "The only three Hunters in the group came from Cedarville; one of them is that boy that seems so attached to Cassie."

"They all need our protection though," Devon said as he rose to his feet. "And we're going to need more vehicles."

"There's a van in the garage," Chris supplied.

"One that can't be traced to three missing adults and seventeen missing children would be preferable," Julian replied dryly.

"It will be good enough to get us out of here tonight," Devon told him. "We'll find another vehicle as soon as we can. It's best if we get as far from here as quickly as possible though. We'll head further north into the lesser populated areas."

"Colder areas," Julian muttered as he scowled at the window.

"We'll find a Caribbean Island for you next year. I'm sure you'll enjoy all the daylight hours," Devon retorted.

Julian glowered at him but refrained from saying anything more. "I think Melissa will be ok to move tonight," Luther said.

"Good, the sooner we're out of here the better off we'll be." Devon rose to his feet and stretched his cramped muscles. He knew The Elders would have to be dealt with eventually but he hoped to put the battle off until Cassie was a lot more stable, and he was certain of what she was capable of.

He turned and left the room, he was at the stairs when Julian caught up with him. "Devon, the Elders won't underestimate her again."

"I know that," he grated through clenched teeth.

"If she's ever to be safe this has to end."

Devon took his foot off the bottom step and nudged Julian toward a small side room full of toys. He closed the parlor doors before turning to his friend. "We have to get her somewhere safe until she's stable enough to control whatever is inside of her. Until we can keep her away from the killing."

"There is no keeping her away from the killing Devon. There never has been. She's been a killer for the past four years."

"She wasn't killing humans then Julian."

"The humans she killed today weren't decent human beings and they deserved what they got. If either of us had been in that house we would have done the same thing," Julian replied fiercely. "Have you stopped to think that perhaps the reason she is so confused is because we are so confused around her. We're the ones that can't accept what she is now; we're the ones that keep trying to make her something she's not. We were going to kill the vampire in the woods anyway. She just used her teeth instead of her fists. If she was still human the fact that she killed him wouldn't have made any difference. She lost control, we've all lost control, but she's only killed those that are a threat to her, and to us.

"You need... we need to realize that she is not the human girl we fell in love with. She's one of us now, and whereas we would rip someone's throat out for her, she is willing to do the same for us."

Devon wanted to tell Julian that he was wrong, but he couldn't. He'd seen inside of Cassie, he'd seen what had happened in this house. She'd done what had come naturally to her and though it was terrifying she was still alive because of it, as were Chris and Luther.

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't fear her. I'm not saying that there isn't a chance she'll destroy us all, but I am saying that she hasn't done anything that either of us wouldn't do. She hasn't killed an innocent. We might end up being the ones that push her over the edge if we're not careful Devon. We have to stop fighting what she has become and start accepting it ourselves. It may be the only thing that saves her."

Devon was speechless in the face of Julian's words. "When did you become so insightful?" he finally managed to get out.

Julian's gaze drifted to the parlor doors. "When I realized that I am not the most important being in this world."

There was a strange twisting working its way through Devon's stomach as knowledge bloomed like a black rose inside of him. "You understand her better than I do."

Julian frowned as his eyes slid back to Devon. "You understand her just fine; you're simply waiting for the girl that she was before to come back. But that's just it Devon, that girl died and that is what you are having such a hard time coming to terms with."

"She was brutally murdered by my brother," Devon grated through clenched teeth.




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