Read Online Finding Alice (Alice Clark Series) by Andrea DiGiglio - Free Book Online Page A

line of thirsty grass and dry dirt. I felt a thumping echoing in my eardrums, realizing it was a heartbeat racing…but not my own. I turned toward my car to find Cole running toward me in a frantic state.
    “Cole?” He moved across the field effortlessly. I saw his legs moving but it looked more like he was gliding across the field, like a magnet being pulled toward me. He stopped in front of me, looking out of breath; but you would never have known it when he spoke.
    “What are you doing here?” he demanded.
    I stood in shock, feeling his anger race under my own skin. I stuttered, attempting to remember what I was doing there. I watched him take a deep breath; his shoulders relaxed and I felt him begin to calm down. “I’m sorry, but we really should go,” he said as he reached out and grabbed my arm. I pulled it back, staring at this different version of him standing in front of me. He regained his composure again.
    “I needed to see if it was real,” I heard myself say.
    “We shouldn’t be here.”
    “I need to follow this through. Cole, I need you to let me do this,” I pleaded.
    “This is not a good idea. I mean the address alone is…” He bit his tongue.
    “It’s an address Cole. Why are you in such a panic? Have you been here?”
    “Anathema? Jeez, Alice! It means “accursed to evil.” Yes I have. Sort, of anyway.”
    I stood stiff staring blankly. Accursed to evil? Maybe this is a trap. Wait. What does he mean, “sort of?” I came back to myself and looked at him, realizing he in fact heard me questioning him. He ran his fingers through his hair in newfound frustration.
    “I’m sorry, Cole. I forget.” I tried to hide my embarrassment.
    “I remember this place from a dream after a story I was told about it.”
    “I had a dream about it too. I walked through the field into the darkness of voices and found you on the other side.” He grabbed my hands and placed them on his chest. Our heart beats raced each other’s but in a sense, raced to fall in sync. I could see him searching cautiously for the right words. He kissed my forehead, sending a beautiful electric current through me all the way down to my toes. He let go of my hands and regretfully signaled to enter the woods. I knew it wasn’t what he wanted but there he was, putting aside everything for me. I hoped he wouldn’t have to regret it. Do not let go of me , he demanded. I nodded and we entered the darkness.
    Stepping no more than ten feet in leaving the light behind us, we disappeared behind the trees. The ground was rough and with every step, I crushed small decaying branches under my shoes, which sounded more like bones breaking. At least, branches were what I was telling myself it was. I could feel Cole all around me like a blanket. Protecting me seemed to override his own desires for survival and safety. He just had this healing energy about him; it tended to make me feel indestructible. I didn’t think that was a quality I should have considered pursuing.
    A warning teased in the dark only to be silenced by the feeling that I was being pulled in different directions, all of which were not the way I wanted to go. Then it happened: the echo of the voices—singular at first, at a barely audible note. Cole’s panic flared, trembling the shield he wrapped around us. It was mere seconds before one voice turned into thousands of cries and pleading screams in our heads, almost dropping us to our knees. This time, I couldn’t follow the Cole in my dream’s voice to the river bank. We fell to the ground, groaning in pain. I did this to us. I may have just killed us. Our groans were loud and animalistic. I can’t take much more of this . No sooner as I heard our voices in unison did I feel Cole’s strong arms wrap tightly around my waist, pulling me back to his chest. He screamed in agony louder than all of the cries; I heard the faint sound of actual bones breaking and felt the vibration of it as it echoed through him and into