Free Cassie (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #3) by Virginia Hunter Page A

Just a friend.”
    “I guess that will have to do.”
    “I know you’re concerned,” he said. “But we need a place to figure out what to do and where to go.”
    She nodded in agreement. “And to figure out how to take that thing out if it shows up again.”
    “Yeah, since Miss Muscles and her trashcans couldn’t,” he snarked.
    “Oh really, Mr. I-had-to-use-a-car,” she scoffed. “Like you did any better.”
    “That was just a practice run, and payback for stealing my car.”
    Cassie rolled her eyes with a laugh, letting him have his victory. “Thanks, for not walking away. This really isn’t your problem.”
    “Yeah it is,” he replied. “I know things are moving quickly between us, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t genuine. I won’t be leaving you to deal with all of this on your own.”
    Relief and hope filled her, pushing back the pounding headache that the aspirin had failed to do. “That means a lot. I’ve been running since I was seventeen. Trust is a new thing for me.”
    “We’ll take it a step at a time.” Caleb took her hand. His electric warmth rolled into her. “I don’t think it’s even possible for me to walk away at this point. Promise me you won’t run again. Not from me at least.”
    She smiled, “I think I can promise that.”
    He practically glowed with that grin of his. “I guess that will have to do.”
    Cassie kissed his hand. She was enjoying the tingle tickling her lips, when the car suddenly lurched forward from a jarring impact from behind. The sound of metal on metal was deafening. Her head whipped back against the headrest, summoning the headache back tenfold.
    Caleb turned the wheel madly back and forth trying to get the car under control, but the Mustang went into a spin, despite his best efforts. The car was struck again as it spun, this time on the driver’s side. The world flipped upside down again and again. Broken glass and debris floated through the air, suspended in flight by some force of nature that only a master in physics could explain. The car rolled for what seemed like an eternity, and then came to a grating halt against a tree.
    The last thought Cassie had before darkness took her was, Caleb .

 
    T he forest was thick with undergrowth, and deep green moss covered the ruddy trunks of massive trees. A heavy mist made it hard to see more than thirty yards ahead, but the golden glow of the stone dais Cassie had seen in her previous dream was easy to make out.
    She pushed her way through vines, ferns, and various other floral to reach the clearing. The grove felt like home in a way no other place had, and she knew without a doubt, purpose could be found here. She could find meaning to her life.
    When she came into the clearing this time, there was a robed woman praying at the altar. She was sensual in the way women possessing great beauty always seemed to be. Auburn locks covered her shoulders, while a few strands strayed across her elegant features. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be at total peace.
    Cassie tip-toed closer for a better look. A branch snapped under her foot just before she reached the mysterious beauty. The woman’s eyes snapped open, revealing two orbs of fiery brown. Her gaze froze Cassie in her tracks, and when she spoke, her voice was like thunder echoing from a distant storm. “You must awaken!”
    Cassie gasped, as she awoke from the dream. Pain encased her battered body like a cocoon of needles. It was cold, and the sound of a diesel engine hummed from underneath her, as the trailer vibrated. She groaned and blinked her eyes open. It was dark, too dark to see anything, except for a few lines of daylight peeking through the narrow cracks in the walls and doors. She tried to move, but found that she was bound by some sort of heavy chain. They never learn . She called upon her power.
    Someone tisked in the darkness. “None of that.”
    A lantern style light clicked on, forcing her to squint.
    “Your friend will die if