Cassie (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #3) (13 page)

“Like I said, I like it all. Go ahead.”

Caleb grabbed the shrimp scampi, leaving Brody the lasagna rolls. The three of them devoured their food without another word.

“You know it’s good when nobody talks during dinner,” she mumbled around a mouthful of pasta. “I’d weigh a ton if I worked at this place.”

“Yeah, man,” Caleb said. “This is awesome.”

“No problem.”

After cleaning up, Caleb asked Brody, “You gonna be around for a while?”

“Yeah. Why, what’s up?”

“I need to pick up a few things. You mind if Cassie hangs out here?”

“I’m not going?” Cassie asked a bit surprised.

Caleb looked her up and down. “In those clothes?”

Oops
. She’d totally forgotten that the outfit she was wearing wasn’t hers, and that it really wasn’t an outfit anyway. “Oh, yeah, kinda not appropriate.”

Brody chuckled. “If you want her to stay here. Alone. With me. I’m fine with that.”

Caleb raised a brow at his friend. “Well when you put it
that
way...”

“I’ll be fine,” Cassie said with a giggle. It was nice to have boys fighting over her, even if it was just for fun. “Don’t forget to pick up something for me to sleep in.”

“Will do.” Caleb grabbed his coat, and rummaged through the inside pocket. He pulled out a handgun. “I want you to take this.”

She put her hands up, “I don’t want that.”

“I would feel safer if you had it with you.”

Brody stepped forward, and held his hand out. “I’ll make sure it’s close by. Go run your errand. I’ll look after her. I promise.”

Caleb handed Brody the gun. “Thanks. I won’t be long.” He went to the door, and glanced back as he stepped out. “No funny business.” He pointed his fingers at his eyes, and then at Brody and Cassie.

She laughed.
Foolish man
.

Brody locked the door behind Caleb. He turned to Cassie. “You must be in some serious trouble. Caleb wouldn’t leave without his gun otherwise. You want to tell me what’s really going on?”

“You seem nice, Brody,” she said. “It’s probably better if you don’t know.”

“To hell with that. Caleb and I grew up together. He’s my friend, and if he’s in trouble, then I’m going to help.”

“Maybe we should wait until Caleb gets back...”

Brody smirked. “He’s not going to give me a straight answer. I know he’s trying to protect me, but he should know ignorance isn’t a very good shield.”

“You’re not gonna let this go are you?”

“I was serious about knowing what I was getting into,” he replied. “Tell me. And none of that garbage Caleb gave me over the phone. I want the truth.”

Cassie took a seat on the couch, and folded her legs underneath her. She nibbled on her lower lip in indecision. Brody’s argument about ignorance being a poor shield was pretty compelling, and he more than deserved to know the truth. The problem was: would he believe it?

Brody sat in the recliner across from her.

Still struggling about what to say, Cassie said, “Why don’t we start with what Caleb told you about me.”

“He said you killed your English teacher about five years ago. He said the guy tried to rape you, and that his death was an accident. That sound about right?”

She swallowed, “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Caleb also said that you were young and scared at the time, so you ran.”

She nodded.

Brody leaned forward, looking her straight in the eyes. “People make mistakes. I get that. If Caleb thinks you’re solid, that’s good enough for me. But that story doesn’t explain why he gave you his gun, and why he’s so damn jumpy. Something else is goin’ on.”

“What he told you is true,” Cassie paused. This was the point of no return, and she still had no idea what to do.

“And?”

Fuck it,
she thought. “What he didn’t tell you is that when I killed that piece of shit Mr. Carson, I kicked him across a twenty-foot room.”

Brody blinked, “What does that mean, exactly?”

“I literally kicked a grown man twenty feet away from me. He hit the wall with such force, it shattered his skull.”

Brody stared at her blankly. He wasn’t getting it.

“I’m stronger than your average bear.”

He frowned, “So much for the truth.”

“Look, I can prove it. Do you have something really heavy I can lift without breaking?”

Brody rolled his eyes. “We don’t have to do this. Just tell me—”

“I’m serious,” Cassie interrupted. “Give me a chance, okay?”

“Okay, fine.” He got to his feet, opened the door, and pointed outside. “See that big ass rock over there. Pick it up, Super Girl.”

Cassie got up, and peeked out the door. “Rock” was an understatement, though “big ass” was a fitting description for the freakin’ bolder Brody had singled out. The thing must have been five feet in diameter, and partially buried.
I had to go and open my big mouth
.

“Let me guess,” Brody snarked. “Your super strength only works on Saturdays, right?”

Cassie pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at him. “Okay, smartass.” She stomped out to the bolder. Her power was already coursing through her veins by the time she got there. She slapped her hands on either side of the monstrous rock. Her fingers dug into the hard, stone surface, as if it were dried clay. Planting her feet, she heaved on the boulder with all her might. Inch by inch the rock came up from the ground, until it finally tore free. She lifted it over her head, and turned to face Brody with a smile.

The only thing visible in the doorway were the bottoms of his shoes.

“Oh, shit!” Cassie dropped the bolder back in place, and ran over to Brody’s sprawling body. She leaned down next to him, and patted his cheek. “Brody, are you okay? Wake up!”

He blinked his eyes open, and moaned.

She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Thank God!” She pulled him into a sitting position.

Brody rubbed the back of his head. “What happened?” He looked over at Cassie. His expression suddenly went rigid with fear, and he scrambled away from her. “Holy shit!”

Cassie held up her hands. “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. I know it’s a lot to take in, but you can trust me, please.”

“What the hell are you?” he blurted. “Some kind of alien?”

“I don’t think so, though I actually thought that for a while,” she answered. “My...affliction is more mystical, or so I’ve been told recently.”

“Magic?!” Brody shook his head. “Bullshit!”

“Well, you saw me lift that rock, right?”

Brody closed his eyes, as if he were trying to shut her out. “I don’t know what I saw.”

“You must have hit your head pretty hard when you fainted,” she replied, with no small amount of irritation.

His face flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry. I’m a little freaked out is all.”

Guilt punched Cassie right in the gut. She’d had five years to come to terms with her weirdness. Brody, and even Caleb, didn’t have that luxury. “Yeah, me too.”

They sat in silence for a while, until Cassie got up, and closed the door. “Good thing your neighbors aren’t too close.” All of the houses in this neighborhood were on pretty decent sized plots of land. No fear of peeping toms.

Brody chuckled, “Yeah, that could have been really awkward.”

She smiled and leaned against the door. “So, what now?”

He scratched his chin for a moment. “I’m going to take a shot in the dark here, and assume that what’s chasing you guys isn’t ‘normal’ either.”

Cassie tapped a finger on her nose.

“Well, at least that explains Caleb’s odd behavior.”

“And why we can’t stay for long.”

Brody got to his feet. “I told Caleb I would help, and I meant it.”

“You’re a good friend,” Cassie said. She’d never had anyone willing to look out for her in that way, except her dad. It was nice to know those kinds of people still existed. “What’s coming for us is too much to ask of you, Brody. We need to leave, and you need to go on vacation. Please, believe me on this one.”

“I’m starting to,” he said. “But I want to talk with Caleb before I decide anything.”

Cassie sighed, “Fair enough.” She knew she should argue the stubbornness out of him, but she just wasn’t up to it. No sense in making the situation any more awkward than it already was.

“Would you mind helping me move my refrigerator?” Brody asked. “It’s blocking the outlet, and it’s a real pain to get anything plugged in over there.”

She laughed. “Yeah sure, no problem. It’s the least I can do.”

C
arreau lifted his head into the howling wind, as he took a deep breath, inhaling as much of the crisp air as possible. He searched for his prey, though it wasn’t her scent he was after. It was the feel of her essence that came to him from the air and earth. Part of her was contained within him, he would always know how to find her. Unfortunately, the elusive witch had escaped again. Each time he failed in his task, the pain of being on this plane of existence intensified. It was a stinging fire that raged through his body, slowly eating away at his ability to reason. A low growl rumbled from his throat.

“Do you sense her?” the master asked.

“Yes,” Carreau replied. As much as he wanted to tear the heart from this frail human that had summoned him, he could not. The magic was too strong.

“Where?”

Carreau pointed south. The witch’s sweet essence urged—no, demanded—that he follow. If only he could devour her once she was caught. He could almost taste her flesh, the want was so strong. The man-bone that had been used to summon him wanted her too, but not to eat. Its wish was domination, and to fornicate with the seductive whore, but the man-bone would be denied as well. She was to be the master’s.

“Get in the truck,” the master commanded. He limped to the vehicle, and climbed into the passenger seat.

Carreau gnashed his teeth in frustration. He tore his gaze from the hobbled man, and lumbered to the back of the moving truck. This was the second time they had stopped to verify their path. They were getting closer. Soon the witch would be found, and the pulses of searing pain would come to an end. Soon he would be able to kill. Soon, he would be free.

Cassie waited patiently, as Brody added weight to the thick metal bar suspended above her. “Seriously, I just told you there are monsters chasing me, and you want to see how much I can bench press?” After the bolder incident and moving the fridge, she’d laid out the whole story for him: the run-in with the bounty hunters, the crazy cult guys who thought she was a witch, and worst of all, the demon.

“Humor me.”

She chuckled, “I am.”

The last plate clanked into place. “Okay, let ’er rip!”

She had no idea how much weight Brody had added, or what he thought to achieve by having her push slabs of metal into the air. But if it put him at ease, she was willing to try.

The bar was cold to the touch, and bit into her palms, as she tightened her grip. She willed her power into action with a few thoughts of how shitty her life had been before meeting Caleb. The familiar burning at the pit of her stomach spread out to her limbs like the warmth from a shot of whiskey. She popped the bar off the stand, and pressed it once. The resistance was akin to doing a push up, so she did a few more reps. “How many times do I need to do this?”