Alix (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #1) (13 page)

Rhea and Hannah were the beginning of that rebuilding. Miranda hoped the spell they had worked together would reach out to more women of power. It was too dangerous for a witch to be on her own, history had proven that time and again. Unfortunately, large numbers wasn’t a guarantee of safety either. But, it was a hell of a lot better than being alone, and Miranda had learned from the mistakes of the past. Her coven would be strong, and prepared.

A sudden sense of urgency tickled the back of Miranda’s mind. She wasn’t sure what caused the feeling, but it became more intense every passing second. The urge to do something or go somewhere was so strong that she closed the photo album, got to her feet, and headed toward the door.

That’s when the vision hit.

Miranda stumbled forward, and managed to grab hold of the doorframe before she fell. She slid to the floor slowly, as a young woman with black and purple hair filled her sight. The woman was driving, and talking to a red-headed man who sat in the passenger seat snoring softly. Whether the girl knew the man was asleep or not didn’t seem to matter, as she continued to jabber away. An aura of sparkling gold surrounded her, and Miranda knew without a doubt, that the young woman was a witch. The auras of normal folk didn’t have that kind of saturated color, and they sure as hell didn’t sparkle.

Miranda’s heart hammered so hard she thought it would burst from her chest. She’d never had a vision before. She’d seen her old matriarch experience several back in the day, but she had no idea that it would be so immersive. She clawed at the doorframe, trying to catch her breath, as she watched the young woman and her companion drive along.
Why is this happening to me? Who is that girl?
And then a thought came to her. When Octavia had experienced her last vision, it had been just before Silvia had arrived. The dark-skinned girl had been the last of the witches to come, completing the coven. Octavia had been given warning of Silvia’s coming.

Miranda wet her lips, and focused on the surroundings that passed by outside the car. They looked somewhat familiar. The pair were traveling on a highway heading south. No, not just a highway, they were on 35 in Moore, Oklahoma. They were coming up on the Warren Theatre that she, Hannah, and Rhea, had been to on so many occasions. It was on the west side of the highway, not too far from Coven’s Grove in Norman.

“She’s close,” Miranda whispered. Her heart continued to race, and hope surged.
The summoning spell! It worked!

The young, purple haired woman went silent, and peered around. “Hello?” she asked with a frown.

Miranda held her breath.
Did she just hear me?

“That was weird,” the young woman said with a shiver. “I must be more tired than I thought. I need some caffeine in a bad way.”

Miranda gazed in disbelief. She really had no idea what was possible within a vision. But before she could experiment further, the purple haired girl exited off of 35 onto 19th street, and the vision abruptly stopped.

Miranda scrambled to her feet, as her sight returned, and then rushed to the front door. She knew where the girl was, roughly anyway, and that she had to reach her.
It must be the spell,
she thought while stepping out into the cold.
It’s driving me toward her
. She quickly stripped out of her clothes, and tied them together with her belt.

All witches had an innate power. Something only they could do that was above and beyond the incantations that any witch could perform. There was one exception to this rule however: the matriarch of a coven could possess more than just a single, inborn power. She could inherit the abilities of all the witches in her coven while retaining her own.

Miranda used one of those inherited abilities now as she shapeshifted into a golden-headed eagle. She hopped onto the pile of folded clothing. Her clawed feet clamped around the belt, as she flapped her wings, and took off into the night sky.

The city lights spread out below. Highway 35 was easy enough to find, as it glowed brightly, snaking its way north and south. Although 19th street was harder to find, once she saw the twinkling lights of the movie theatre, Miranda knew where to go.

The purple-haired girl had exited 35 going east on 19th, away from the theatre. There was only one gas station in that direction close to the highway. That’s where Miranda would start looking.

T
he highway stretched on, as twilight approached. They had been on the road all day, stopping to trade cars in Knoxville, Tennessee before noon. The salesman had been a real dick. He’d picked up on Alix’s urgency to be gone, and ended up tacking on an extra five hundred bucks for the “rush.” Alix had been tempted to tat a case of the crabs on the dude’s crotch, but decided against it. Other than getting the new wheels, the pair stopped only when they needed gas, switching drivers as they did. Troy had slept for the better part of the day, and currently snored lightly in the passenger seat.

Alix tightened her grip on the steering wheel, as she pondered the loss of her friends in New York, Sam’s tragic demise, and her budding relationship with Troy. So much had happened within the span of a couple of days, and Alix was having trouble believing it was even real.

Tears welled, blurring Alix’s vision. She sobbed quietly, as she wiped her eyes with the back of her coat sleeve. Dammit Sam, she thought in frustration.
It should have been me
. She felt as if her soul was being torn to pieces. Everything was gone. All of the friendships she had built, even the stupid car, had been destroyed. Her situation always seemed to come out with the same results: alone and homeless. She had the sinking feeling that people like her didn’t get homes or family.
Stop it
. She clenched her teeth in anger. She knew it was pointless to beat herself up about what had happened, but knowing didn’t make it any easier, or help her feel any better. Her friends were dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Alix glanced at the passenger seat. A trickle of hope seeped through the gloom, and she smiled despite her tears. At least part of her recurring hopeless scenario had proven false. She wasn’t alone. Seeing Troy there, in that moment, made Alix realize that he could be the man she’d been hoping for all her life. He was caring, attractive, and strong. Maybe not such a great judge of character, hanging out with her an’ all, but his other traits more than made up for that. She couldn’t believe he was still here, helping her—No, more than just helping. He was saving her.

She focused on the road again. The sun had dropped below the horizon, painting the sky with layers of golden-orange, magenta, and deep blue. The headlights stood out against the growing darkness, leading the way to a new home, or so Alix hoped.
Maybe Mexico,
she thought.
That clear, blue water is callin’ my name
. She had been wanting to travel south for the past few months now. Though “want” wasn’t really the right word. It was more like a yearning to be elsewhere, as if she were missing out on something. She just hadn’t found the time or money to make the trip. She had plenty of time now, and the money would workout somehow. Unfortunately, Troy’s relatives were in Oklahoma, so Cancun would have to wait a little longer.

Another full day of driving had brought them well past the Oklahoma state line. They were currently driving through the middle of a suburb of Oklahoma City called. Moore. Alix had been talking to herself for the better part of an hour, when a tingling sensation set the hairs on the back of her neck on end. She couldn’t say what brought on the feeling, but it sure didn’t seem right.

The hint of an indecipherable whisper echoed throughout the car.

Alix clamped her mouth shut and glanced in the backseat. “Hello?”

Nothing.

What the hell?
She shook her head. “I must be more tired than I thought. I need some caffeine in a bad way.” She looked down at the gas gauge, and it was looking pretty low. A gas station sign glowed yellow and red up above the street lights, providing the last excuse Alix needed to get off the highway.

Troy jolted awake when the car came to a stop by the fuel pump. He rubbed his eyes groggily. “Where are we?”

“Oklahoma,” Alix answered. “Also known as ‘the middle of nowhere’.”

“Hey!” A chuckle bubbled out of Troy, as he stretched. “I use to live here remember?”

“My sympathies go out to ya.”

Troy yawed. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. You?”

“Right as rain,” he answered. “Sleep does wonders.”

“Good.” Alix nodded. “You hungry?”

“You bet.” Troy gestured to the station/restaurant, as he handed her a couple of twenties. “Why don’t you pay for the gas, and get us a seat. I’ll take care of the pump.”

Alix didn’t need to be told twice. She hopped out of the car, and headed for the double-glass doors. A gust of cold wind reddened her cheeks, urging her to quicken her pace. She hurried through the doors, and up to the counter. As she paid for the gas her eye caught a steaming pot of coffee brewing in the back. “I need two cups of coffee too.”

Once she had the drinks, got some food, and found a booth, Alix wrapped her hands around the warm cup to let the heat soak into her chilled skin. The weather wasn’t as cold being this far south, but there was enough wind to cut through her clothing to make it seem far colder. She shivered, and took a sip while scanning the store.

Overall, the place was pretty typical of a roadside quick-stop. Junk food and drinks on one side, ugly industrial seating on the other. Not many people were on the restaurant side, but a few lingered in the snack aisles.

The doors opened with a gust of cold air, and a woman walked in that made Alix choke on her coffee. She was tall, and her long, auburn hair framed features so smooth and ethereal, that they didn’t seem real. Perhaps one of those sculptures from the history books she’d seen in Hank’s office had escaped, and decided to make a pit-stop in Moore, Oklahoma—The woman was that kind of beautiful. Her fiery brown eyes locked with Alix’s for a brief moment.

Alix gulped. The woman seemed familiar, in what way she couldn’t say. But, there was something comforting about the way those brown eyes took her in, like a mother finally laying eyes on a child that had been lost.

Troy came in the other door and slid into the bench-seat across from Alix, blocking her view of the beautiful woman. “We’re all filled up and ready to go.” He rubbed his hands together, and eyed the steaming cup of coffee, pretzel, and hot dog. “You really do care about me, don’t you?”

“I suppose,” Alix replied, snapping out of the weird woman crush she was experiencing. She smiled at Troy. “I owe you my life, twice over. The least I can do is get ya a hot cup of joe.”

“Any time.” He took the cup in his hands, and took a few sips, “Much appreciated.”

His words brought more warmth to her than a hundred mugs of coffee ever could. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’re here,” she blurted. “Facing this thing alone... I don’t think I could do it.”

Troy set his mug down, and placed a hand over hers. His touch tingled with that familiar warmth, despite having braved the harsh wind outside. “I get that. I know what being and feeling alone is like,”—he gripped her hand firmly—“I’m here for the long haul, don’t worry about that part. Just keep yourself alive, okay?”

Alix nodded, and wiped the sudden moisture from her eyes.
Yep, he’s the one,
she thought with no more doubts. Troy was the one Alix had been waiting for. The guy she had been hoping for. No more broken boyfriends. Troy was fully functional, and with the added benefits from her power, he was pretty much invincible.

She chuckled.

“Well, I’m glad you’re taking life so seriously.” Troy gave her a wry grin.

“It’s not that. I just...trust you, and I don’t even really know anything about you.”

He leaned back with his cup, still grinning. “What would you like to know?”

Alix looked down at her hands. “Everything,” she said softly. “But for now, I’ll settle for how many girlfriends you’ve had.”

Troy almost spit coffee all over himself, and her. He coughed a few times before answering, “That’s fair, I suppose.” He wiped his ginger beard with a napkin. “I’d say twenty or so.”