Alix (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #1) (14 page)

Alix gaped at him. “Oh my god. You’re such a whore.” It’s not that she was mad or anything, his answer just screamed “douchebag.” Twenty women was no small feat, and kind of made her feel a little inadequate, having only had a handful of boyfriends by comparison.

Troy blinked, his eyes bloodshot from the coughing. Then he laughed, deep, and loud. He drew looks from the attendants, and a few of the customers. Alix couldn’t see if the mysterious beauty was watching, but could only assume that she was. He spread his hands out on the table, and continued to wheeze.

Alix snorted in spite of herself, and started giggling as well. “What I meant to say was,” she managed. “Wow, you really get around.”

Troy laughed even harder. Eventually he held up three fingers, as he tried to say something, but couldn’t through the laughter. “Three,” he finally gasped. “I’ve only had three.”

“You jerk!” she swatted his hand. “I totally thought you were a manwhore.”

“The look on your face...”

“Shut up.” She grinned. He’d totally gotten her. Lesson learned, she would have to be smarter about how she got answers from him—And she
would
get answers. His trickery lightened the mood. A surge of hope lifted her spirits, strengthening her resolve that they would make it out of this mess.

They finished off their dinner, and then Troy said, “We should get going.”

“Yeah, but I gotta go to the ladies’ room first,” Alix replied.

“You also need to reapply your tattoos,” Troy whispered. “Make ’em stronger if you can.”

She nodded. “And yours too.”

“Yep, but wait till we’re in the car for mine.” He glanced around. “Too many eyes.” Troy finished his coffee and got up. He paused, looking down at Alix when she didn’t follow.

Alix was looking for the masterpiece of sculpted woman that had come in just before Troy, but didn’t see her anywhere. She could have sworn that the woman hadn’t left.
I must be losing my freakin’ mind
.

“Hey,” Troy’s voice cut through her baffled thoughts. “What’s up?”

Alix glanced up at him.

His eyes scanned the room warily, while his powerful body tensed, ready to burst into action.

“Nothing,” she said. “Just thought I saw something.”

“What did you see?” he asked, continuing to look around the room.

“The woman that came in before you,”—she pointed at the door—“She just vanished. I know I didn’t see her leave.”

Troy’s gaze followed her pointing finger. “Babe. There wasn’t a woman at the door.”

A chill went down Alix’s spine. “What do you mean?”

“There was no one there when I came in,” Troy answered. “You sure you’re okay?”

Alix got up. “Let me do my thing, and then let’s get the hell out of here.”

Troy gave her a concerned look. “Okay,” he said slowly. “I’ll start the car.”

She rushed to the bathroom, and assumed the hover position. After washing her hands, Alix imprinted herself again, picturing the thickest walls, the strongest steel, and the tallest mountains she could imagine. The petals of her purple flowered tat were broader than usual, with vines that sported thorns, similar to what Sam’s had been before she... Alix closed her eyes. “Keep it together, girl,” she said to herself, fighting back the tears that suddenly blurred her vision. She took a calming breath, checked herself in the mirror, and stepped out of the restroom.

Alix quickly noticed that the service attendants were no longer chatting among themselves, and that the deep-fryer had ceased to boil in the kitchen. In fact, everything had gone eerily quiet. She peeked out of the little hallway where the bathrooms were stowed.

The place looked as it had when she left, only minus all the people. All save for one. The woman who personified one of Michelangelo’s greatest creations leaned against the counter, staring at Alix with a small smile. “Hello,” she said. Her voice was deep, and as smooth as her skin.

Alix’s nerves eased at the sound. “Hi,” she replied, waving stupidly.
Jesus, have I always been this dumb?
Alix jerked her hand down, and narrowed her eyes. “Do I know you?”

“No, but I know a little bit about you,” the woman said. “My name is Miranda.” She stepped away from the counter, but didn’t come toward Alix.

“What do you think you know about me?” Alix readied herself for trouble. Images of fire and lightning flashed in her mind.
Where the hell is Troy?

“I know that you have power beyond anything a normal person could hope to possess. I know what you are, even if you don’t.”

Thoughts of Troy fled, as Alix looked at the woman in shock. “How?”

Miranda took a few steps closer. “Because I’m like you. I have power, just as you do.”

“Like me?”

“Not the same, but alike,” Miranda said. “I seemed familiar to you, when you first walked in. And even now?”

Alix couldn’t deny that the woman put her at ease. As if she were a long-lost friend or relative. “Yes, you do.”

“That is my power. I can alter memory,” Miranda continued. “I placed a subtle imprint of myself in your mind, in hopes that you wouldn’t bolt when we spoke.”

Alix’s stomach dropped. “Seriously”—anger crept into her voice—“You messed with my mind?!”

Miranda held up her hands in surrender. “Not to harm. Just so we could talk.”

“Well start talkin’ or get the hell out of my way.” Alix was getting tired of all the surprises, and she was pretty sure this chick was a wackjob.

“There are more of us,” Miranda said quickly. “I have a sanctuary for those who are special like you and I. I’m here to offer you an invitation, to join my coven.”

Coven?
Alix thought perplexed. “That’s a vampire thing, isn’t it?”

Miranda shook her head. “Witches.”

At this point Alix was more than positive the train had left the cuckoo station. Granted, Alix’s gift/power was something she couldn’t fully wrap her head around. But, some hot broad at a filling station, spouting stuff about witches was too much for her to handle at the moment. “Look, I’m sure you’re nice and all, but I’m gonna have to pass on the whole witch-club-for-disturbed-women thing. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to be going...”

The throbbing headache that had chased Alix across a multitude of states returned with the force of a sledgehammer. She winched, and put her hands to her temples. “Shit!” She went down to one knee, holding her skull together. The pain had never been so intense, and threatened to push her past the point of consciousness. Then the surge of pain vanished, as suddenly as it had appeared. Leaving Alix breathless, and on her knees.

Miranda had stumbled back to the counter holding a hand to her temple as well. Her eyes were wide with surprise, as she looked at Alix. “Is something chasing the two of you?”

Before Alix could answer, the front windows shattered from a thunderous explosion outside. Shards of glass pelted the two of them like hail from an ice storm. Bright light filled the room. A huge funnel of flame from the fuel pumps jetted up into the night sky. Miranda, and everything else in the convenience store, lit up with an orange glow.

Alix scrambled to her feet, fear pulsing through her veins. “Troy!” She ran to the shattered doors.

“Wait!” Miranda yelled, her auburn hair disheveled from the explosion.

Alix ignored her, as she continued to run outside.

Flames engulfed the parking lot, radiating skin-drying heat that could be felt from the doorway. Their car was a twisted hunk of burning metal. It sat some twenty yards from the fiery jets that were once fuel pumps. Three men stood between Alix, and the melting car. The shapes of long-barreled guns protruded from the outlines of their silhouettes. Circling the burning car was the scaly gorilla-beast, roaring in triumph.

Alix clenched her teeth in rage.
Enough of this shit
. She had lost so much to these bastards, and now, possibly even Troy. Images of death and fire entered her mind. She tore her shirt open, and touched the exposed skin on her belly to imprint the thoughts of carnage. Black lines depicting heinous images of tortured souls traced along her body. If her pursuers were looking to cause pain and death, then that’s exactly what she would bring them.

“Witch hunters,” Miranda said from beside Alix. “I shouldn’t have been surprised.”

Alix paid the woman little mind. Fury had taken hold, and nothing but the death of these murderous men mattered to her. Alix sprinted toward the three silhouettes and the beast, not caring which she encountered first.

As Alix charged, the gorilla-like creature turned to face her. Huge fists hammered against its heavily plated chest, before it lunged forward on all fours. The three witch hunters spun toward Alix, as she raced at them. They took aim, but didn’t fire. Instead, the trio began firing upon themselves. One fell instantly, while the other two scurried for cover.

Alix didn’t have the time or the inclination to ponder why the three hunters had turned on one another. She plowed forward toward the monster that had doggedly chased after her for the past several days. Her battle cry matched that of the creature, as they collided.

A blinding flash of light accompanied the colossal impact. Alix felt weightless for what seemed an eternity, lost in a void of helplessness, until she hit the ground with a mind-numbing crash. She rolled along the pavement, coming to halt on her back. Groggily she looked up to see that most of her clothing was gone or in tatters, and that all of her tattoos had disappeared. Tiny tendrils of smoke seeped from her exposed skin, to spiral upward into the cold, night air.

The beast lay on its stomach some twenty yards away, but its arms and legs began to twitch with life as the seconds passed. The two remaining gunmen continued to hunt each other, firing through the flames.

Miranda walked forward, moving her hands about like some exotic dancer, while chanting in a language Alix couldn’t understand. The air around the beautiful woman rippled, as if warping from the exhaust of a jet engine. Her arms jerked outward suddenly, and she finished her chant with a forceful shout. The shimmering air around her shot toward the creature that struggled to get up. Super-heated wind peeled scales off of the monster’s shoulder and face to reveal mottled skin underneath, that split and curled under the intense blast of hot air. The beast bellowed in pain and anger, as it rolled to its feet. The monster charged on all fours at Miranda, jaws snapping as it came.

“Get outta there!” Alix yelled, trying to stand on wobbly legs.

Miranda stood her ground, unfazed by the oncoming train of muscle and fury. Just as the gorilla-beast was about to crash into the dark-haired woman, she stepped to the side, letting the raging creature rush past. In that same moment Miranda transformed. In place of the statuesque beauty, stood a mimic of the beast that attacked them. The only difference was that the eyes glowed bright blue, instead of crimson.

Alix’s jaw dropped. Now she knew that she was one hundred percent losing her mind. “What the fu—”

The thing that use to be Miranda roared and leaped at the burnt gorilla-beast. She landed on its back, hammering her fists down on the monster’s head and shoulders. The beast slammed to the ground, knocked senseless. Jumping on its back, Miranda reached her thick, scaly hands under the gorilla-monster’s chin, and pulled upward. Heavy slabs of muscle rolled under Miranda’s transformed arms as they strained. The burnt beast’s body arched backward, and then a loud snap resounded as the creature’s spine shattered. Miranda continued to pull savagely, until the monster was folded fully in half. She roared and pounded her chest in triumph.

The gunmen no longer fired at one another. One of them laid on the ground near the pumps that spewed torrents of flame into the sky. A dark pool of blood spreading underneath him. His attacker was nowhere to be seen, which was just as well because Alix was in no shape to confront a gun-toting fanatic.

Alix tore her eyes away from the gruesome scene, and stumbled toward the mangled car. Her mind raced as she made her way. She knew Troy was tough, but wasn’t sure how much he could take. The flames that engulfed the car were still going strong. It was a long time for someone to burn, even for Troy.

The heat tightened Alix’s flesh, as she approached the car. She felt sick to her stomach watching the fire devour the twisted heap, knowing Troy was trapped inside. If she ended up losing him along with all the others, that would be it. The last straw. No more suffering from life’s humorless punches. She’d end it.

Images of water and ice came to Alix’s mind. Without thought she summoned the imprint, and laid it onto her battered body. Rectangular strips of soft blues, teals, and white covered her skin, as if she had become part of an arctic glacier. She swayed from the effort of using her power, but staggered up to the burning car despite her fatigue. She reached into the open gap where the driver’s side door should have been.

The searing flames did not harm her tattooed body, as they rolled and danced along her arms, chest, and face. Only the tingle of the tattoos evaporating under the intense heat touched her. She couldn’t hear anything over the roar of the flames, and she had closed her eyes to shield them from the heat. Her hand found something pliable but brittle, as she flailed around blindly.