Ashes (Book 2 The Kindred Series) Read Free

shove back. Chris slid down the wall,
stumbling slightly forward before regaining his balance. He leveled
Devon with a fierce glare as he rubbed his bruised throat, but he
didn’t attack again. Devon moved slowly back to the bed, planting
his body in between them and Cassie as he folded his arms firmly
across his chest. Though he knew that they would not hurt her, he
couldn’t shake the insane urge to protect her from them.
    Chris took another step toward him,
bristling over Devon’s protective behavior. Luther grasped hold of
his arm, holding him in place. “What did you do to her?” Chris
nearly bellowed, shaking with the rage that flowed through
him.
    Devon glared fiercely at him, but to
his credit, Chris did not back down. Though he was annoyed by
Chris’s condemning tone, he did admire the boy’s pride and
determination. “If I had done this to her, she wouldn’t be here
right now.”
    Chris sputtered, trying to shake his
arm free of Luther’s grasp, but he would not release him. “And what
the hell does that mean!?” Chris exploded.
    Devon took a step closer to him, his
arms falling back to his sides. “It means that she would not be
here. It means that I would have kept her for myself,” Devon
snarled.
    Disbelief and horror radiated from all
of them, their eyes darted swiftly to her prone form. Devon
bristled slightly, but he did not move. “How is she?” Luther asked
quietly, apparently deciding to ignore Devon’s comment.
    Devon’s gaze darted briefly back to her
pale, frail form. “The doctor said she will be fine.”
    Melissa began to cry. Devon blinked in
surprise as the normally calm, stoic girl, burst into loud heart
wrenching sobs. She moved slowly around Devon, her tear filled eyes
wary upon him as she hurried to the other side of the bed. “I was
so scared,” she whispered, her voice mournful and lost. “I thought
she was dead, I thought that we had lost her. When I saw
it…”
    Her voice trailed off as tears choked
her. “Saw it?” Devon inquired sharply, his hackles rising over her
statement. She had seen something that could have prevented all of
this, and she had done nothing to stop it?
    Melissa glanced at him, her onyx eyes
bright with tears. She did not answer as she turned her full
attention back to Cassie. “What the hell is going on here?” Chris
demanded fiercely. “He’s a monster! We should be destroying
him!”
    “I’d like to see you try. You have
never come up against the likes of me boy, you will not win this
battle,” Devon muttered in a low growl.
    Chris’s eyes spit blue fury, but he did
not make another heedless charge. Apparently he was a quick
learner. “I think it’s safe to say that Devon is not one of the bad
guys,” Luther muttered softly, his eyes narrowed and questioning
behind his Lennon style glasses. The soft hint of his English
accent was even more pronounced due to his stress and
confusion.
    “Is that possible?” Melissa asked
quietly, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
    “Anything is possible, I suppose,”
Luther replied with an easy shrug, though his eyes were intent and
inquisitive upon Devon.
    Devon bristled slightly under his
scrutiny, but he remained where he was, mainly because he was not
going to release Cassie’s hand again. “Who did this to her then?”
Chris demanded sharply.
    Devon hesitated, not sure how much he
wanted to tell them. But he knew that the anger in the room would
not be diffused if he refused to tell them anything. And though he
would prefer to keep some things to himself, Cassie’s happiness was
by far more important to him than his pride. “Julian
did.”
    They exchanged quick, confused looks
before focusing upon him once more. “Who is Julian?” Luther asked
softly.
    Devon shook his head, not wanting to
get into a detailed explanation of that just yet. “He’s a monster,”
Devon answered simply.
    “That’s the pot calling the kettle
black,” Chris retorted.
    Devon’s head snapped up, his