Soulstice (The Souled Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

one sound I really, really didn’t want to hear. My hands were thrust out in front of me, waving them in a threatening way, but I had no idea what I was waving at.
    A low-pitched growl came from the left. I spun and shielded myself against a slight movement of space to my right.
    Shit ! The air in my lungs was caught in my chest and I couldn’t work up the scream that sat behind it. Something brushed the back of my legs, almost making them buckle. I spun around again. There was no way I was going to down without a fight. Closing my eyes cut out the distraction of the things I thought were out there and I focused instead on the shifting air for any movement. There was an unrest, mirrored in the tiny whimper that carried on the breeze. Adrenaline found its way into my bloodstream and filled my leg muscles. I turned to the sweet, clear, lyrical song of the rushing water, hoping like hell these dogs or wolves weren’t going to jump on my back.
    L anding in thigh-deep water sent an instant numbing shock through my body and stiffened my joints. The water dropped to my shins, then my ankles as I splashed across. My toe caught on a rock and sent me sprawling on the other side, but I got up and kept running, keeping my ears open and my palms out, every so often stopping and listening for any sound besides the thudding of my heart. But there was nothing to guide me, nothing to force me to make a decision.
    I slowed my pace . The ache in my chest eased up and my breaths found a steady pattern. From the looks of the lightening sky, I’d been wandering around for, what, seven hours, maybe? Where did the night go?
    “ Alyx.” My voice was loud in the predawn silence. “You’re up the creek without a bonfire.” The stars were probably having a great laugh at me. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I said, looking to the sky.
    Heading up a gentle slope, motivation and energy drained out my soles and left an imprint in the grass beneath my steps. I closed my eyes and again asked for help. What I really wanted was the bus to take me back to the castle, but I’d settle for a safe place to lie down.
    Letting my lids take their time to open, I took in the most welcome, breathtaking sight, one I swore I ’d never forget. A large willow tree, its branches silhouetted against the pre-dawn light, that broadened as I walked closer. The drooping branches dipped over me like an umbrella and seemed to point to a clearing at the base of the trunk.
    My safe place.
    Sinking down into the dirt, I pulled my legs close to my chest and pressed my forehead against my knees. I thought I could do this. I wanted to beat this and prove to Mom I had learned, that I had matured. I wanted to know if I had the connection and insight. Tipping my head back, I closed my eyes against the stars that blinked with fading strength through the branches and leaves of the willow.
    Please let them find me soon.
    The familiar hum of energy connected with my feet and my toes responded by digging deep into the earth, releasing the sweet smell of the fertile soil into the growing dawn.
    There will be another time . Another chance to prove myself, as long as my mom had faith in me. Right now, though, I was too tired to care.
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Taylor snapped her phone shut and reached for her jacket. “We’re going to the old shack with Jake and everybody.”
    She hadn ’t been at my house for more than ten minutes before she’d texted around and started making plans. I stayed focused on the magazine I’d been flipping through so she wouldn’t see my eyes roll. Whenever we hooked up with “everybody,” Jake and Todd in particular, things usually got a little whacked out. Like when they picked a fight with a tourist at the bowling alley, for no apparent reason, and got us kicked out. Or the time they pulled the “fire-in-the-hole” prank at one of the fast-food restaurants. Todd and Jake thought it was hilarious when Jake ordered a soft drink and tossed it back at the