Cassie (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #3) (17 page)

Caleb did as he was told. The truck popped out of the ditch, as snow and mud flew everywhere. “Get in!”

Cassie scrambled into the back while Caleb floored it. They weren’t fast enough.

The U-Haul slammed into them, driving the pickup forward. Luckily the gates to the grounds were already open, otherwise the old truck would have been grated like Swiss cheese through the metal bars.

Caleb spun the wheel in a desperate attempt to keep the car from turning sideways, but his efforts were in vain. The pickup teetered back and forth, until spinning out of control. The barreling U-Haul sent them off the road, and Cassie was thrown from the truck bed. She landed hard, and rolled to a stop against a large tree.

Numbing pain rifled across her shoulders from the impact. Doing her best to ignore the injuries, she struggled to her feet, and scanned the surrounding area. Not more than twenty yards off, the pickup lay on its side, wrapped around a large oak. One tire still spun uselessly, and dark columns of smoke spiraled up into the canopy. “Caleb!” She staggered toward the old truck, praying that he wasn’t dead.

Something slammed into her side, sweeping her off her feet. Claws raked down her front and back, tearing through layers of jacket and flesh, with equal ease.

Cassie screamed, as she tumbled to the ground. Pain surged through her body. She lay on her stomach, stunned.

“You will never escape me, Sweetling,” the demon said, as it walked up beside her.

She blinked, trying to focus on Carreau’s inhuman feet. She managed to look up at the monster, and spit a mouthful of blood at him.

“You have run for far too long,” the demon hissed. Its face looked even less human, as the giant mandible rotated in irritation. Drool oozed between jagged teeth, to dribble down its skinless chin. “Let’s see how far you run with a broken back!” The demon raised both fists over its head.

Cassie tried to roll as the monster’s club-like arms came crashing down, but her body had seized up from the pain. All she could do was watch in horror.

The roar of some feral animal interrupted the timeless fall of the demon’s fists. Out of nowhere, a huge grizzly bear barreled into the demon. Dark tattoos covered large swaths of its thick fur. The intricate patterns wove in and out of each other, to dizzying effect. The bear’s savage assault ripped chunks of muscle and bone from the demon, and drove it back into the woods.

Cassie couldn’t believe it. “What in the hell was that?”

“She’s a friend,” a woman’s voice answered. “Just like us.”

Cassie craned her head around to see a young woman about her size, dressed in purple winter wear. A large portion of the girl’s shoulder-length hair matched the color of her outfit, while the rest was jet black. Her smile was warm and broad. Two men stood with her: a stocky redhead, and an athletic looking black guy with dreads. Both dressed in dark shades of green and brown, but there was nothing winter about their outfits. They wore tight fitting t-shirts and cargo pants. Tattoos covered their arms, and the fringes of their necks. Cassie just stared at them, not sure what to do or say.

“I’m Alix,” the girl in purple said. “This is Troy and Dominic.” She motioned to the redhead first, and then the guy with dreads. “We’re here to help.”

Cassie tried to frown, but it turned into a grimace of pain. “I don’t understand.”

Alix raised her brow and said, “Brody told us you’d be coming...”

“Ah,” Cassie said, finally putting it together. “You guys own a bear?”

Alix smiled, “Sort of.” She knelt down. “You’re hurt. I think I can help.”

“It’s okay, I just need a minute,” Cassie replied. The pain had already begun to subside, and her flexibility was returning. “Caleb,”—she pointed to the mangled pickup—“he might be in trouble.”

“Boys,” Alix said. “Would you mind helping Mr. Caleb?”

“On it,” the redhead said.

“There’s more than just the demon,” Cassie said, as she rolled onto her side. “There are a few sickos that came with it.”

“The warning is most appreciated,” Dominic said. He nodded to the other guy, and then the two of them trudged off toward the truck.

The roar of the grizzly, and the wicked screams of the demon, echoed through the trees. Alix held out her hand. “C’mon. We’ve got a demon to kill.”

“But Caleb—”

“If this demon is half of what Brody told us about, then it’s gonna take all of us,” Alix interrupted. “Your boy’s in good hands. I promise.” The woman’s pale green eyes held nothing but truth.

Cassie glanced at the pickup, and the two men jogging toward it. She took the purple-haired girl’s hand. “Okay, I’m ready.”

C
aleb’s entire body felt as if it’d been put through a meat grinder. How he’d survived the crash he had no idea. The world had tumbled, and then the lights went out. He groaned, as he opened his eyes. The pickup was on its side, and he was laying on his back with his legs pointing straight up toward the passenger side door. The windshield had so many cracks in it, it looked like a sheet of spider webs.

His shoulder ached more than anything else, which was saying something. He looked down at his shredded jacket, expecting the worst. Instead he found the once torn skin already scabbing over, as if the wound was over a week old.
What the hell?
he thought.
That’s not right. I should be bleeding out
.

“Caleb?” someone called. “You okay, man?”

Caleb didn’t recognize the voice, but figured the guys chasing him wouldn’t be asking if he was okay. Not to mention, he was pretty sure they didn’t know his name. He was about to respond when a thought came to him like a bolt of lightning.
Cassie!
She’d been in the truck bed when they flipped.

Caleb scrambled into an upright position despite the pain. He put his back against the steering wheel, and kicked the back window out. It was in worse shape than the windshield, so it popped right out. He crawled through the opening, but was forced to place a steadying hand on the pickup once on his feet.

Two men approached him. One pale with red hair, the other dark as ebony, sporting thin dreadlocks. They came to a stop about ten feet away.

“I’m Dominic,” the black guy said, “and this is Troy.” He jabbed a thumb at the redhead. “Your friend, Brody, told us you were bringing some trouble our way.”

“Cassie,” was all Caleb managed say.

“She’s okay,” Troy answered. “A little banged up, but okay.”

Caleb nodded in thanks.

“She said the demon was not alone,” Dominic said.

Caleb shook his head, and cleared his throat. “No, it’s not. There are four others. Humans...or at least I think they’re human.”

“We saw the U-Haul, but no people,” the redhead said.

“They’ve been after Cassie for the past week,” Caleb replied. “Ever since Kansas. I don’t know how, but they keep finding us.”

The two exchanged looks. Some kind of unspoken understanding passed between them, but they didn’t share. Dominic stepped forward, offering a hand. “We need to head to the manor.”

Caleb hesitated, “Where’s Cassie?”

“Headed in the same direction,” Troy chimed in, as he kept watch on the surroundings. “She’s with my girlfriend.”

“If those men are after Cassie,” Dominic said. “Then they’ll be after the others as well.”

“What others?” Caleb asked.

“The other witches, man.”

Caleb blinked in shock, though it made sense in a twisted sort of way. Cassie had wanted to come here, as if the place had been calling to her. He’s already seen the impossible, so why not go a bit farther and believe that this place was home to a bunch of witches. Cassie couldn’t be the only one in the world that had special powers, right?

“Look, I know this is a lot to take in, but—”

“No, I get it.” Caleb took Dominic’s offered hand. “Let’s go.”

Cassie limped along after Alix. The pain from the demon’s assault had dwindled to a slight ache, but her muscles still weren’t cooperating. Nothing she wasn’t used to. She’d always recovered quickly after a beating, though it wasn’t an instantaneous process.

They followed the sounds of battle through a maze of trees and underbrush. Their trail was easy enough to follow. Broken branches and trampled shrubs provided evidence of the pair’s passing. There was blood smeared over every piece of broken foliage left in their wake, but no way to tell whose it was. She and Alix continued their pursuit, until Cassie began to think they may never catch up to them. “I’ve never seen a fight move around so much. I hope your pet isn’t wounded.”

“Rhea isn’t a pet,” the purple-haired girl replied over her shoulder. “She’s a friend, and a witch.”

That stopped Cassie in her tracks. “She’s a... are you one too?”

Alix didn’t stop, but glanced over her shoulder as she walked. The smile on her face was beyond any affirmation she might have spoken.

Hope filled Cassie, as she quick-stepped to catch up with Alix. “What can you do? I mean, what’s your power?”

“It’s a bit hard to explain, but you’ll see.”

“Holy shit, I can’t believe it!” Cassie was so excited to have actually found someone with the same affliction as her. She almost grabbed hold of Alix, and squeezed her. “Are there more of you?”

“Of us you mean?” Alix said, still smiling. “Yes.”

“How many? What can they do? Do you all live together?”

Alix chuckled. “You’ll see. I promise. But first we have a demon to handle.”

Cassie’s mood soured. “I don’t see how. I’ve thrown everything I’ve got at that monster, and haven’t been able to even slow it down.”

“Where you’ve failed on your own, we will succeed together.” Alix paused, and then rolled her eyes. “God, I’m starting to sound like Miranda.” She took hold of Cassie’s hand, and quickened her pace.

The name
.

“Who is Miranda?” Cassie asked.

“The matriarch of Coven’s Grove. A teacher and protector.” Alix stopped smiling, and glanced at Cassie. “A beacon of hope for people like us.”

Hope returned to Cassie once again. “What can I do?”

“We draw strength from each other.” Alix held Cassie’s hand up. “The details of how it works I’m not sure of myself, but I’ve seen what can be accomplished when witches share their power.” She rose a brow at Cassie. “Are you up to that?”

The question hung in the air, as the young woman’s pale green eyes studied Cassie. If it meant she would be rid of the demon, she’d try anything. “I’m in.”

Alix nodded with a grin, and began to run.

They charged ahead. Cassie’s limp faded, along with her fears. Finally, after five years of being on the run, she felt like she had a direction—a purpose—to her life than might lead to something more than just drifting from place to place.

The pair burst into a large clearing. Cassie was torn between gaping at the sprawling mansion that was nestled close to a hill on the far side of the glade, or the battling giants near the forest’s edge. Both were amazing to behold, but the monster, could not be ignored for mere sightseeing.

Grizzly and demon traded blows, claw for claw. The intricate tattoos that once covered the bear’s fur had mostly disappeared, or were stained with blood. The demon looked no worse for wear, but it was hard to say for certain since its natural appearance was akin to a freshly mutilated corpse.