Alix (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #1) (11 page)

“No way, you’re not paying for the car,” Alix said, as she followed him. “That’s too much.”

He stopped and looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. “Too much of what?”

She almost said money, but the look in his eyes seemed to ask another question. Alix pursed her lips. “You’re a tricky man, Mr...” she faltered, realizing she didn’t know his last name.

Troy offered his hand. “Sullivan. Troy Sullivan.”

“Alix Morgan,” she said, gently taking his hand. The tingling sensation from their touch drove her building headache away instantly.
God, he’s like a feel-good drug
.

Troy squinted, and put a hand to his temple. “Ow! Man, that was sudden.” He released his grip on Alix’s hand to rub both sides of his head.

Once contact with Troy was broken, the headache that had so graciously disappeared came rushing back, but not nearly as intense as it had been.

“I think I need an aspirin,” Troy said.

Alix blinked as she looked from her hand to Troy. Had she just transferred her headache to him?
What the hell
. Panic skimmed the fridges of her mind.
This shit ain’t happenin’.
It just wasn’t possible, not in a million years. But she’d said the same thing about her gift over a decade ago. She was beginning to consider that maybe anything was possible. She just hadn’t really pushed herself hard enough to find out. “I think I need a drink.”

“That could work too.” Troy started walking again. “Oh, and nice to meet you, Alix Morgan.”

“You too, Mr. Sullivan.” Alix decided to keep her little revelation to herself for now. She’d done enough to the poor man. No need to pile it on. “So, about the car. We have to give you something...”

“Oh, you will,” he grinned.

Alix never thought herself the blushing type, but she was just then. “You’re a bad man, Mr. Sullivan.”

“Call me Troy,” he said over his shoulder. “My
closest
friends call me Troy.”

She laughed. “Really? How close of a friend am—”

A dark pickup truck skidded into the car lot. The tires screeched, as rubber burned on the pavement. Clouds of smoke filled the cool air.

Sam had almost made it to the new car, but froze in place right in the path of the barreling truck.

Alix cried out to her friend. It wasn’t in time.

The pickup slammed into Sam, just as she started to jump out of the way. Her slim body flew through the air, and landed hard on the concrete a dozen feet away from the truck.

“No!” Alix and Troy yelled in unison, as they ran toward their friend.

The truck came to halt not far from Sam’s body. The doors kicked open, and three men hopped out. They were dressed in black long-coats just like the guys that had invaded her apartment the other night. The black topper covering the truck bed exploded as the scaly, ape-like creature, tore its way free.

Alix didn’t slow her sprint at sight of the monster. She didn’t hesitate, or dive for cover, when the mysterious men pulled out their weapons. She continued on, tears streaming down her face, as she got closer and closer to Sam’s motionless body.

One of the black-clad men had brandished a long, curved dagger. He walked over to Sam, and straddled her, lifting the blade high over his head with both hands.

“NO, you bastard!” Alix screamed, running as hard as she could.

The dagger fell, plunging deep into Sam’s chest. Her body convulsed from the blow, and then trembled before going completely still.

Alix barely heard the clap of gunfire over her own screaming. Bullets crashed into her shoulder and chest, knocking her over the hood of a red car. She rolled across the pavement, coming to a bone-jarring halt against the wheel of another car beside the red sedan. She tried to get back on her feet, but the strength in her arms and legs had evaporated.

More gunfire filled the air, accompanied by Troy’s battle cry, and the monster’s roar.

Alix continued to claw groggily at the objects closest to her in an effort to raise. Pain surged through every nerve on her right side, but she remained conscious, which was better than the last time she’d gotten shot. She caught a glimpse of her right arm and saw that is was bare. The tattoo’s power used up.

One of the dark-cloaked attackers ran around the side of the little sedan, and pointed a pistol at Alix. “Stay down, bitch!” he yelled.

Alix didn’t listen.

The guy rushed over, and slammed a booted foot into her in gut. “I said, stay down!”

The pain was almost as bad as the gunshot. She could see the tattoo on her other arm start to fade, as the black-clad bastard repeatedly rained kicks into her midsection. Out of desperation, Alix punched blindly into the air.

Her second swing connected with the guy’s crotch.

A gurgling cough escaped from her assailant’s throat, as he stumbled away holding his groin. He slammed against the car, then slid down to the pavement.

Alix cradled her stomach. The taste of wet iron washed over her tongue, and she spat blood onto the ground.
Asshole
. With a grunt of pain she managed to push herself into a sitting position.

Still moaning, the guy cupped his balls with one hand, and tried to raise his pistol with the other.

Images and thoughts flipped through her mind, like a video playing in fast forward. From the multitudes of possible outcomes, one image stood out from the rest: an explosion, triggered by a plunged gun barrel. Using what remained of her strength, Alix lunged toward the gunman, and slapped the pistol. The envisioned imprint flew from her mind onto the weapon, as she continued to fall forward, landing beside the black-clad attacker. She squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the worst.

The gun went off just as Alix’s head smacked off the pavement. A thunderous explosion rocked the two cars, she, and her assailant. Flames engulfed her, singeing exposed skin, and clothing. She was propelled out into the lot, and came to a skidding halt on her stomach, not far from Sam’s body.

Pain rifled through Alix’s entire body. She gasped from the shock of it, and then cried out incoherently. The acrid scent of charred hair, and flesh filled her nostrils. Her skin felt about five sizes too small and stung when she moved, but she rolled onto her side with another cry of pain. She had to keep moving if she was going to survive this nightmare.

Her vision blurred when she pushed herself to her knees, and looked back at the cars. The gunman had been blown in the opposite direction, and laid motionless, as flames devoured what remained of his body. She struggled to get to her feet.

Another black-clad attacker kicked her square in the chest.

Alix fell back to the ground in a heap. The wind rushed out of her lungs, and she gasped for breath. Her eyes bulged, as she caught sight of her new attacker.

The man that had killed Sam stood over her, and straddled her as he had done her friend. The same dark dagger, now drenched in blood, raised over his head in a two-handed grip. “Your power is mine, witch whore,” he snarled.

Alix was powerless to defend herself, as the blade began its descent. She was spent. A useless sack of charred skin. Memories of her childhood, and the day she turned sixteen flashed before her eyes. The bloody stain on the pavement where her mother had been stabbed to death, clear as if it had happened yesterday.
I hope I find you on the other side Mom
.

Troy’s battle cry interrupted her thoughts. He was just a blur of motion, as he rushed Sam’s killer. He threw a savage punch at the man’s face. The tat Alix had imprinted onto his arm glittered with life, just before the blow landed.

Oh, hell,
Alix thought.
More fire
.

A deafening sound like that of a thunderclap echoed throughout the car lot, as Troy’s fist connected with the side of the murdering bastard’s cheek. Flames erupted from Troy’s hand, swallowing Alix’s attacker, as if he were an oil-soaked log. The dagger-wielding fool suddenly exploded into a flash of glowing embers. All that was left of Sam’s murderer was a scattered pile of smoldering ash.

Alix breathed a sigh of relief.

Troy grabbed what little remained of her jacket. “C’mon!” He then hauled her to her feet.

The agony that jolted Alix’s scorched body caused her to screech. “Jesus, I’m hurt bad!”

“I know, but we have to get outta here,” Troy said, continuing to pull her along. “That gorilla thing is still alive.”

“Sam,” Alix wept, as they came up next to her friend’s body. “We can’t leave her.”

“We have to!”

“No!” Alix tore free of Troy’s grasp, and collapsed onto Sam. The pain was excruciating, as a portion of skin slid free from her arm like meat off of a well cooked bone. Alix cursed as more tears fell. She had to try and help her friend, regardless of the pain or threat.

Alix placed her palms on her friend.

Sam vacantly gazed up at Alix, in a terrible parody of her former self. Her brown eyes had started to glaze over, while her skin was already pasty white. Thick lines of blood ran from her little boxy nose, and full lips, to pool underneath her head. A gaping hole had been trenched into her chest, between two well-formed breasts. The imprint that Alix had given her was gone.

Alix forced herself to focus on thoughts and images of life and rebirth.
Anything is possible
. An image of blinding light appeared in her mind’s eye, and she clung to it desperately. She molded the thought and released it through her charred hands onto Sam’s exposed, pale flesh.

Nothing happened.

“Work, goddammit!” Alix screamed, pounding on Sam’s chest.

Still, nothing.

“Enough Alix!” Troy yelled, grabbing hold of her firmly. “We have to go.”

The world began to spin for Alix. “I can’t leave her...” Then the words left her, and darkness closed, taking with it all of the pain and sorrow.

“Stay with me dammit!” Troy yelled, as Alix’s eyelids slid closed again. “Just a little farther!” He had been forced to wake her once already, when they first got into the car. He was terrified that if she lost consciousness, he’d lose her for good. There hadn’t been time for him to administer aid at the scene. The creature that hunted them had started to stir, even though Troy had planted a devastating uppercut, containing one of Alix’s fire tats, on the thing’s jaw. The last remaining “human” that had paired up with the scaly beast, ran once Troy had laid the monster low. He had hoped to hit the beast with his other flaming tat, but Alix’s situation had become dire. Troy had been forced to use it on the twisted, knife-wielding bastard, trying to kill her.

“I’m okay,” Alix mumbled. “For a baby-back-rib, that is.” She snorted, and then winced in pain. Her head lolled dangerously to the side for a moment, before snapping back at attention.

“You’re gonna be fine babe,” Troy lied. “We just have to put some distance between us, and whatever the hell those things are.”

Alix was in trouble. Troy had seen those kind of burns before, and he knew it was bad, real bad. When skin came off the muscle, there was no salvaging the nerves, and possibly the skin itself for that matter. Her only real hope of recovery was her gift, but she had to be awake to use it.

Her eyes closed again.

“Alix!” Troy shouted.

She blinked. “I’m sorry I got you into all of this.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Oh, Sam...”

“Don’t do that to yourself,” Troy said. “Those assholes are responsible for all of this shit, not you.” He glanced over at Alix, and realized he was going to have to stop the car whether they were far enough away from their enemies or not.

Her head dipped again, and bobbed, as if she had lost consciousness.

Troy whipped into one of the long, private drives that peppered the sides of the small highway he had gotten onto during their escape. He came to a screeching halt and rushed out of the driver’s seat. He ran to the passenger door and jerked it open.

Alix fell from the car. Her eyes rolled back to white.

Troy caught her, and lowered her to the ground. His hands touched her charred skin, but the warm tingling sensation that usually accompanied such contact, remained dormant. He felt nothing coming from her. “Alix, I know you can hear me,” he said, as moisture blurred his vision. “You’ve got to wake up. Wake up!”