Alix (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

call the police?”
    “I was about to just before you knocked,” Alix replied.
    “I’ll call,” Troy said. “We can meet them at the hospital.”
    “Okay. Let me change clothes.”
    Troy got to his feet, and pulled out his cell. He called the police, and then the hospital. Within a few minutes, he was able to find out who was on duty. He didn’t know the guys, but that didn’t matter for this deal.
    Alix came back into the room with a bag and a set of keys. She had a long, dark gray scarf with skulls on it, wrapped around her neck. Her shapely torso was covered by a skin-tight shirt and a heavy, leather jacket—both as black as her hair. Blue jeans hugged her curves all the way down to her black, knee-high boots. A multitude of straps and buckles ran up the outer sides of the thick heeled stompers.
    Troy’s gaze lingered on her hips, and the gaudy belt buckle.
    “What?” Alix asked after a moment.
    Troy jerked his gaze away from Alix’s lower half, and locked eyes with her, only to find himself at a loss for words.
    “We’re too late,” Sam mumbled.
    Alix’s frown joined Troy’s, as they both looked down at Sam, and then followed her gaze to the door.
    Shadows, cast from the light under the door, danced across the floor. A low hissing sound echoed from the hallway, just before the door exploded, showering them with splinters of oak.
     

 
    A lix hit the floor and rolled. Shards of wood streaked through the air like a volley of tiny arrows. Her leather jacket absorbed most of the sharp debris, but the back of her right hand stung from the impact of a dozen or more splinters.
    Sam screamed, and Troy cursed.
    Alix jumped to her feet. A sudden oily feeling slithered over her nerves. The unclean sensation, as well as the accompanying headache, was almost familiar. She choked back the urge to puke, and glanced around.
    Her friend hadn’t moved other than to curl up into a ball. But Troy had been blown over the sofa, and currently scrambled to his feet. Splinters lined his shoulders, and a trace of blood dotted his cheek.
    “Fire escape?!” Troy demanded when their eyes met.
    Alix knew what he was getting at, but she couldn’t leave Sam. “Get up!” she cried, as she raced to her friend. She didn’t know if Sam had heard her, or if the terrified girl was even in the condition to do anything about it if she had. Not caring which, Alix took two handfuls of bloodied sweater, and yanked the girl to her feet.
    A horrid wailing came from the hallway.
    “Get out of here!” Troy yelled, as he ran toward the door.
    Alix hauled Sam over to the window. She fumbled with the lock, her fingers stiff from fear. The latch finally popped open. She grabbed hold of the sill, and yanked upward with all of her might, until the window came free with an ear numbing screech.
    Cold air poured into the room. The railings and steps of the fire escape where already covered in snow a couple inches thick. Streetlights illuminated the pavement below, their shimmering beams of light visible against the sheet of falling snow.
    Another monstrous cry sounded from the hall, answered by Troy’s roar of challenge.
    “Dammit Sam, move!” Alix shoved the catatonic girl through the window.
    Once Sam had stumbled onto the metal platform just outside, Alix followed, pushing her friend toward the snow-covered steps. Sam staggered down the stairs, like a drunkard.
    Alix risked a glance into her ruined living room.
    Two silhouettes battled at the broken entrance to her apartment. Other figures darted across the hallway behind the grappling pair, but were lost to sight, as Alix’s favorite softback chair shattered against the head of whatever Troy was fighting. The massive, shadowy figure cantered to the side from the blow, exposing proportions that weren’t entirely human. The arms were too long, and its head and neck sloped like that of a gorilla. Heavy ridges protruded from and covered its broad body, similar to a suit of scale armor from the