Lou lifted his hands as he readied himself to punch or kick anything that emerged from the shadowed interior. Luther stepped in front of him, prepared to take the brunt of the attack if someone did emerge from the passage. When nothing stirred he crept closer to peer into the gloom.
"I'm going to see where it goes. Stay with the children," Luther told him.
Lou nodded and handed him a crossbow. "Be careful."
***
Cassie wrapped her arms around Devon's waist as he cleared the bodies lying in the snow and captured her in his embrace. She inhaled his scent as she savored in the feel of him pressed against her. Her hands encircled his biceps; she pressed her lips briefly to his neck. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was it as his hand entwined in her hair and he pulled her head from his throat to kiss her.
"Group together!" Julian shouted.
She reluctantly tore herself from Devon's embrace as she turned to face the new influx of enemy. She'd sensed them out there, but she hadn't expected this many of them as they raced across the snow. The Elders were more desperate to win this fight than she had realized if they'd risked bringing this many new vampires together.
The discarded arrows from the weapon Joey had fired were still sticking up in the snow. Cassie seized hold of Joey's arm. Fresh power surged from her and she began to realize that it wasn't just their powers she was absorbing from them, but also some of their strength. As long as she could keep touching people, preferably The Elders, she wouldn't burn out. At least not anytime soon.
She thought perhaps it was Anastasia's power helping to fuel her, but she sensed it was also something within her; something that had been instilled within her upon her unnatural birth, as a powerless Hunter, and enhanced by her unheard of change into a vampire.
"Help me," she commanded.
She kept hold of Joey's arm; drawing on his strength and ability as together they lifted the arrows from the snow. She released his arm as she lifted her hands and flung them across the snow. Octavia tried to dodge the projectiles but she was unable to avoid all of them as they slammed into her chest. She screamed as she was lifted off her feet and flung backwards by the force of the impact. Three of the newer vampires were also brought down by the arrows.
The loss of some of their brethren didn't slow the horde as at least thirty of them barreled down upon them. Cassie braced herself as the fire licked up her arms to her elbows again. She lifted her hands and caught the first vampire beneath the chin with a ball of fire. He howled as the fire engulfed him but three more of them rose up to take his place. She managed to catch another one before the third dove at her.
His arms encircled her waist to drive her backwards into the snow. Devon's bellow echoed across the land as he seized hold of the one that had tackled her. He ripped him off of her and heaved him across the yard at two of the other ones. Their bodies collided with a loud thwack that reminded her of a car wreck she'd once witnessed.
Devon grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her to her feet as Julian staggered over to them. Blood stained the front of Julian's shirt from where an arrow protruded out of his chest. She dove at him, pulling him down as another arrow was shot at him from the pack of vampires. Devon and Chris knelt beside her as she yanked the arrow from Julian's chest.
"I'm ok Buttercup, don't fret over me," Julian told her as he pushed her hands away. "The others."
Devon threw himself onto her, pushing them all back to the ground as a massive boulder soared over their heads. A startled cry escaped her as it crashed into the ground a few feet away with enough force to shake it. "I really dislike your brother," Chris ground out through clenched teeth.
"Join the club," Cassie assured him.
A piercing scream caused her head to jerk up as Melissa and Dani were inundated with new vamps. She tried to disentangle herself from the heap as she felt the earth begin to vibrate. "Dani," she muttered before the blast shot out.
A crack reverberated through the air as the current knocked a few of the newer vamps back. The hair on Cassie's arms stood on end; she placed her hand on the ground and drew upon the energy that vibrated within the earth. "Cassie, hurry," Chris murmured.
She lifted her hand and slapped it off the pile of snow as she sent a bolt of electricity into the vampires piling on top of Annabelle and Liam. As the vamps fell back she allowed the molecules in her body to flow like water to the tips of her fingers. She could almost feel a part of herself seeping out to join with the particles of water that flowed within the snow. It lifted up around her, a wave of white that reminded her of the crashing waves of the ocean as they crested toward the shore, except this wave barreled toward the vampires with the relentless pursuit of an avalanche.
It crashed into their backs and rolled over them as it buried them within its chilly tomb. She didn't have time to enjoy the small bit of victory though as Zane's apparition appeared before them. She was distracted enough by him that she didn't see Robert's charge until the arrows hit the ground before her. One of them managed to catch her in the bicep as she scrambled to get out of the way.
Cassie's non-beating heart leapt into her throat as Devon released a ferocious snarl, launched to his feet and rushed his brother. Robert tried to dodge his attack but Devon grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him into the snow. "Devon!" the raw scream tore from her as they disappeared from sight.
She was about to go after them when Julian grabbed her forearm and jerked the arrow free of her flesh. A small cry escaped her as her arm throbbed from the abuse.
Bernard appeared as suddenly as a ghost as he loomed over top of them. The massive man swung what appeared to be a small tree at them. She tried to jerk Julian back but neither of them was able to completely avoid the tree.
It caught Julian in the side of his chest and knocked him a good three feet back before cracking against the side of her head. Stars burst before her eyes as she was spun around and thrown to the ground. Blood flooded her mouth, she tried to blink the world into focus but it was shadowed as it blurred and shifted before her eyes.
"Cassie." Chris's arms wrapped around her and lifted her from the snow. Unable to keep weight on her legs they gave out, she pulled Chris fell into the snow beside her. Chris fumbled with her hair as he shoved it back from her face. "Jesus."
She could feel blood trickling down the side of her face and she found she couldn't open her right eye anymore. His hand came away coated in her blood as he scooped up snow and tried to press it against her battered face. She waved him back as she placed her hand over her broken cheek and the massive lump already forming on her temple. She didn't know how this was going to work, and she thought she might just catch herself on fire as she worked on pulling up Annabelle's gift of healing. She had to do something though; she couldn't see anything right now.