“I...” Alix began, about to reassure him, but then realized she had no idea what could happen. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think so.”
Sam took a step away from Troy. “Man, that sucks.”
“Well it shouldn’t hurt you,” Alix directed at Troy. “Us maybe, but not you.”
Troy looked down at his chest where the symbol of protection was permanently etched into his skin. “Yeah, I guess not.”
Alix rubbed her temples in an attempt to stave off a building headache. “Just don’t hit anything too hard with your hands, okay?”
“I’ll take note of the warning,” he replied wryly.
“That’s just great,” Sam said sarcastically. “I feel better already.”
Troy laughed and got to his feet. “We need some new wheels.”—he looked at Sam—“Did you happen to see any car lots while you were out last night?”
Sam took another step back. “Actually yeah, I did.”
“Good.” Troy said, ignoring Sam’s paranoia and opened the door to the room. “Let’s get moving.”
“I’ll be sitting in back,” Sam whispered, as Alix stood to leave.
Alix leaned against her once beautiful car, torn between counting her freshly withdrawn cash, and eyeing Troy as he dealt with the used-car salesman. Cash was always fun to count, but Troy was eye-candy she couldn’t resist. Priorities girl. She tore her gaze from the man’s well-rounded ass.
“Good thing the bank transferred our dough, huh?” Sam murmured, as she counted her own pile of Benjamin’s.
Between the two of them, they had a little over fifteen grand, which was more than enough to buy one of the junkers off this lot. Their survival was Alix’s real concern though. Hell, starting a whole new life for that matter.
Alix nodded. “Yeah, lucked out on that one. It’s like the only thing that’s gone our way.”
“Not the only thing,” Sam said in her devilish tone, as she glanced at Troy.
Blood rushed to Alix’s cheeks. She was trying to forget that Sam had walked in on her and Troy having sex, but the cursed blonde wouldn’t let it go. “You’re a pain in my ass, ya know that?”
“Of course I am.” Sam smirked, as she pointed back and forth between the two of them. “That’s what makes this work.”
Alix barked a laugh. “I think you’re talking about my unbelievably high tolerance of a goober-headed flowerchild.”
Sam gaped with mock offense, and did her best impression of a haughty aristocrat. “Well, I never!”
Alix chuckled, stuffing the handful of cash in her pocket.
“You have some nerve girl.” Sam propped her fists on her slim hips. “I ain’t no freakin’ flowerchild.”
Alix glanced at her friend’s mangled hair. “Fine, ya wannabe rastie.”
Sam’s eyes got big with genuine surprise, as her hands went to her golden locks defensively.
They both cracked up. Alix snorted loudly, making Sam laugh even harder.
“What the hell was that?” Sam wheezed. “Porky!”
“Shut up!” Alix gasped, holding her sides, as she continued to laugh. “I can’t breathe.”
The volume at which the girls’ were chortling drew the attention of the used-car salesman and Troy. Fortunately, only a few seconds of puzzlement passed over their furrowed brows, before they turned back to their haggling, leaving the girls to their foolishness.
Sam straightened with a sigh. “You’re too much, girl.”
“You’re the one with the smart mouth, dear,” Alix replied, her gaze lingering once again on Troy.
“Why are you holdin’ back?” Sam asked out of the blue. “With Troy, I mean. He’s totally into you”—her hands went up in surrender as Alix turned to face her with narrowed eyes—“Seriously, no pun intended.”
Alix crossed her arms in thought. She knew Sam was being serious, she just wasn’t sure of the answer herself. “I don’t know...fear maybe? Everything is happening so fast, and it’s weird.”
“What’s weird?” Sam frowned. “Is he crooked downstairs or something? That can be a good thing sometimes.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Alix shook her head and laughed. “God, you’re such a perv.”
Sam shrugged. “I’m just sayin’...”
“Let’s get our minds above the waist for a sec.” Alix reached out, and gently took hold of Sam’s arm. “Whenever we touch, even like this, there’s this tingling sensation that goes all over me. It’s really intense, like unnaturally intense. The feeling makes me want to grab on to him and never let go.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“It’s freakin’ me out!” Alix exclaimed, releasing her friend. “I’m telling you this isn’t natural!”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” Sam held up a hand. “Maybe it’s got something to do with your ‘gift’ or whatever. Which by the way, you need to see a doctor or therapist, or somebody about that.”
Alix rubbed her temples. The slowly building headache from earlier had kicked into overdrive, and was threatening to burst out of her skull. “I need to be normal is what I need.”
Sam laughed. “Whatever. I’d kill to have your weirdness.”
“Yeah, it is kinda cool,” Alix shrugged. “But apparently has consequences.”
“That shouldn’t stop you from mackin’ on Troy,” Sam said. “Besides, he’s got his own ‘superpowers’ now. Thanks to you, of course.”
“That’s another thing bothering me.” Alix ran her hand through her purple bangs. “I have no idea what I did to him. So far so good, but who knows what will happen over time.”
Sam leaned forward, and lightly punched Alix in the shoulder. “Enjoy it while it lasts, stupid.”
Alix smiled. Leave it to Sam to preach about living in the moment. Her flighty friend wasn’t wrong though. I need to lighten up and enjoy the ride. She snickered at the pun.
Sam arched a sandy-brown eyebrow. “What?”
“Nothing,” Alix replied. She ignored Sam’s pleading stare, and looked over at Troy as he shook hands with the car salesman. “Looks like we’ve got a new car.”
Troy marched his way over to them. His expression was stern, but a slight quirk in the corner of his mouth relayed a smug satisfaction that Alix was becoming familiar with. Actually, there were several mannerisms she had become keenly aware of since their first meeting: His right hand twitched when he was uneasy, which he wasn’t doing now. He always had to rearrange himself when his gaze lingered on her for too long, and he strutted, just a little, when he thought she was watching him.
Alix smiled, noting Troy’s swagger as he approached. Those kind of details usually took her months to figure out after hooking up with a new boyfriend... Oh, shit, she thought in shock. Is he my boyfriend? Deep down she found herself hoping so, regardless of her reservations about their current situation, but she wasn’t sure if they actually were.
“I hope you girls like yellow,” Troy said, holding up a new pair of keys. He pointed across the lot at a two thousand six or seven, Dodge Charger; Canary yellow with two black stripes running down the middle of the hood.
Alix frowned. “Well, it’s not purple, but I suppose I can live with it.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Sam said, as she snatched the keys from Troy’s hand and made a break for the car. “Suckas!”
Troy chuckled as Sam bolted. “Like you know how to drive!” he called after her.
Alix kissed her fingers, and placed them on the windshield of her Volkswagen. “I’ll miss ya girl.” She tried to laugh, but her head was still throbbing, and getting worse by the second. She rubbed her temple again. “How much do we owe you?”
“You can pick up lunch,” Troy replied, as he began walking after Sam. “I got this.”
“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 alm
ost 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.
Alix (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #1) Page 7
