The Agrista (Between the Lines Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

Is this what she’d seen when she first started losing her mind? It wouldn’t be that odd for a parent to pass on their mental condition to their offspring, but to have the same visions at the same age? Surely, that was unparalleled.
      Marie must have seen this creature as a child for her to be able to draw it. That is, providing the creature actually existed. No. That was much too far-fetched. Was I always this crazy? She scoffed. She wasn’t sure of anything anymore. She peeled out of the parking lot, wanting to put as much distance as possible between her and what was most likely her future abode.
      When she finally arrived home hours later, she saw Amelia’s car in the driveway, but she didn’t see her anywhere in the house. She figured that she was probably holed up in her room studying, especially since she didn’t do anything last night. Amelia was a devoted student, almost obsessively so.
      Marie went straight to her bedroom, clutching the drawing tightly in her hand as she threw herself onto the bed. She stared at the picture for a little while, eventually flipping it over just for kicks. There was something written on the back. It read: My frend, Alicks, spelled terribly wrong, of course, and barely legible.
    Alex… Marie tapped her chin speculatively. I’m pretty sure people would’ve noticed if I had a friend that looked like that , she laughed to herself in an attempt to bring some levity to her own mood.
      She suddenly stiffened, feeling as if someone had entered the room and was watching her silently. She turned to see, but there was no one there. The fine hairs at the base of her skull sprang to life as a cold sweat trickled down the back of her neck. It was as if she could actually feel someone’s eyes on her, slithering across her skin and leaving a trail of gooseflesh in their wake. She felt naked; stripped of the privacy of her own thoughts as they were pulled to the surface and written clearly on her face.
      “I can’t take this anymore!”
      She violently shot up out of bed and headed straight for the backdoor. She stormed out through the kitchen in a huff, not even realizing that she’d left the door wide open behind her.
      “Who or whatever you are, just show yourself already!” Marie shouted at the top of her lungs; a luxury she could afford living in the country. “I can’t stand this anymore!” She couldn’t believe she was actually confronting her fear, though it was more out of frustration than bravery. “Just…” Marie was interrupted by the sound of crackling tree limbs just several feet away. Something big was coming her way.
      Finally! She felt victorious and horribly frightened at the same time. I have to know!   She was determined to stand her ground, and face whatever was out there.
      She trembled as she listened to the brush underfoot amplify the creature’s footsteps as they steadily grew closer. She began second guessing herself as the noise grew louder, knowing whatever was out there would emerge into the clearing at any second. She wanted to run away, but she was too scared to move. Cemented to the ground, she stood frozen in fear, barely breathing as her heart hammered in her chest.
     

 
    THE UMBRA
     
      T he creature slowly stepped into the patches of moonlight streaming through the trees, revealing its massive form in a hazy silhouette . Marie had never seen anything so beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
      A lush bluish-black undercoat covered in sparkling silver stripes and rosettes clung to its sleek, muscular, catlike frame. Its facial bone structure was similar to a fox’s, but its paws were as big and powerful as a wolf’s. Both were surrounded by a thick mane of silver fur that gleamed as if it contained fractured moonbeams.
      Its wings, made up of multitudes of the same kind of feather she’d found the other day, had a span of nearly twenty feet. One feather was beautiful enough. To see so many of them together gave