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 even 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 as she spotted that 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 that 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 that 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 clenched, 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 that 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 onto 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 Cassie, 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 that filled 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 as he cradled it within his grasp.

"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 and 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 even as his tongue slid into her mouth to savor her.

A small moan escaped her, the fight went out of her as her shoulders slumped and she gave herself over to his heady invasion. 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 that 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 now that 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 even harder.

"Shh Cassie," he whispered. "It's alright 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 and 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.




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