Free Phoenix Rising (Book 5 The Kindred Series) by Erica Stevens Page B

apprehension that was 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 and thrown off balance as the vehicle was dropped down and then heaved up again. For a second Cassie was certain that it was going to go over, but then it was 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 and Cassie understood everything that drove it as something in her own body empathized with the creature in response. For a short time 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 awful certainty that accompanied 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 creatures 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