Dentelle (34 page)

Despite her long black hair being a tangled mess
and her clothes in total disarray, she was still beautiful – in a wild way. Her
naturally tanned Native American skin was even darker than the last time I’d
seen her – it was a flawless bronze. Her big black eyes stared at me, and her
mouth continued flapping, but I had no idea what she was trying to tell me. I’d
never been any good at lip reading. If her body language was any indication
though, I’d say she was trying to give me a warning. But it was possible she
was swearing at me because she thought I was part of the Ray-pac clan. Either
way, I couldn’t decipher her message.

I tried mouthing a few words of my own, but she
just shook her head with agitation and pointed. It seemed like she was pointing
to the end of the corridor rather than across at the other room with the guy in
it. Sizing up the rest of the hallway, I noted nothing other than long
stretches of wall with no doors or windows. Eventually, the hallway ended with
two doors side by side. Disturbed at what I’d found so far, I wondered where
they went and what other horrors I might find on the other side. Did Dakota
want me to go down there? Was that what her wild antics were all about?

I looked at her, pointed at myself, and slowly
mouthed the words, “Me? Go down there?”

She nodded frantically, and mouthed back, “Yes.”
Talking with her hands, I could tell she was trying to tell me something else,
but I was clueless.

Just as I was about to follow her directions, a
thought hit me. I held up my index finger, indicating to Dakota I’d be right
back. I darted back to the other room across from hers and stared hard at the
guy on the bed. He hadn’t given up; he was still struggling against the chains.
I studied him closer. He looked stocky and a little on the short side. With his
dark hair, I concluded he must be young Kohana, Dakota’s linked partner. I
looked back at her and mouthed his name. She nodded despairingly but pointed
down the hallway again.

Obviously something else was tormenting her –
something even more ominous than her and Kohana being locked in these cells.
The fact that she wanted me to abandon her so I could go investigate this
something else, was terrifying. What could possibly be worse? With my pulse
pounding, I finally acquiesced. Even though she couldn’t hear me, I said
quietly, “I’ll come back. I promise.”

She gave me a fretful smile, which I returned,
and then I turned and hurried toward the double doors. The one on the left was
locked, and as expected, my key card didn’t work. Before jamming my card in the
slot for the other door, I took a chance and jiggled the door handle. Shocked
beyond belief, I almost fell over when it turned. But this door was even
heavier than the one at the front entrance. I pushed on it slowly because I had
no idea who or what I’d find on the other side. Propping the door with my foot,
I cautiously peered around it. When I saw no one, I carefully slipped inside.
But I didn’t pull the door completely shut just in case I needed to make a
quick escape.

Almost instantly, I heard loud laughter and
voices. I also sensed several strong links. There were Ray-pacs close, and
there were a lot of them. For the first time since cascading down the
balconies, I considered turning around and running. By the sound of things,
something big was definitely going down. Aside from the laughter and jeers, I
thought I heard someone crying out for help, but I couldn’t be sure.

Dreading every step, I hugged the wall and
scooted down the hallway – ready to react. If I felt threatened in any way, I’d
attack. I was prepared to dish out the death blow I’d learned from Jason – a
quick blow to the
carotid
artery in the side of the neck was all it took.
I noticed a room up
ahead on the left and could see there was an open door from which all the noise
was escaping. Before the door though, was a row of good-sized windows. When I
made it to the first window, I crouched with my back against the wall and
covered my mouth. My heart pounded like a jackhammer and my breathing was fast
and uneven. I didn’t want to look. But I did. The laughter and cheering
continued, and the pleas for help were almost drowned out. But I could hear
them. This was worse than any scary movie because everything I was about to see
would be completely real.

Through a momentary lapse in laughter, a female
voice sobbed, “Please, please stop. Let him go. Let me go, and I will give you
my Essence. I promise.”

At that point I knew there was an Amethyst on
the other side of the wall. Unable to prolong the inevitable a moment longer, I
turned around and raised my head – just high enough so I could peek inside. The
scene that greeted my eyes was so disturbing and so horrific; I couldn’t stop
myself from crying out, “Izzy!”

Instantly, I slapped my hands over my mouth, but
they were shaking so badly it felt like I was hitting myself in the face. I
couldn’t believe my friend Izzy was the Amethyst tied down to a table and
surrounded by about ten Ray-pacs. Even more distressing, was how she was lying
flat on her stomach with her arms outstretched. She was opposite another guy,
who was bound, gagged, and also lying face down on a table. Both their arms
were extended far above their heads, but then their hands met and were tied
together. In fact, their fingers were interlocked, almost like they were trying
to link. The Ray-pacs weren’t clustered around Izzy, but they were hovering
around the guy. Each Ray-pac had two hands pressed against him, like…like they
were extracting his Essence but doing it all at once. The guy, from what I could
see of him, appeared to be unconscious and his skin was a strange shade of
blue. If he wasn’t already, he’d be dead soon.

Izzy, who had stopped talking, looked weak and
shattered as well. Bile rose in my throat, and I could taste the blood from
biting my tongue. While I had no real explanation for what was happening, my
imagination worked it out. The rumors must be true. The Ray-pacs had found a
way to extract the Essence from an Amethyst. Well, at least Kieran’s group had,
because here they were – this group of vile creatures doing just that. They
couldn’t touch Izzy without getting burned, so they were using an Innocent as a
go-between. From the looks of it, all the Ray-pacs needed to work together in
order to steal Izzy’s Essence. They pulled it through the guy and straight out
of Izzy; they were drinking it in with rapture.

“Keep it going,” Kieran’s voice boomed through
the room. “Everyone keep pulling. This one’s Essence is strong and powerful,
but we’re doing it.” His eyes were glowing, and while he looked euphoric, the
tension in his forehead and the way his jaw was locked, indicated it was also a
strenuous workout. Throughout it all he continued smiling, and I wanted to
carve it off.

How grisly and completely mortifying for Izzy, I
thought. Her Essence was her life-force – part of her being. And hers was
exceptional – it defined who she was and allowed to her save people. I figured
if they drained her of her Essence, she would die. That might explain what had
happened to other Amethysts who’d been rumored to be kidnapped and had never
returned.

Fate was cruel, wreaking havoc and playing games
with people’s lives. People I knew, like sweet, innocent Izzy. Then again,
maybe it wasn’t Fate. Maybe it was some evil life-force – one that empowered
the Kierans and Neos of the world. After all, Neo had tracked Izzy twice and
had even been successful the second time around. Had he followed her all the
way to the Ranch? No way. Too many Guardians. Then I remembered I’d heard
something about Dakota going back to Maine with Izzy. She was going to help
Izzy pack her things and then help her get settled with the St. Louis Circle.
That could explain why Dakota and Kohana had been captured along with Izzy and
were now Kieran’s prisoners. As for the Innocent, well, he’d probably just been
in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Watching the Ray-pacs suck the life right out of
Izzy was too much. I didn’t know what I could do against a room full of
Ray-pacs, but I knew I couldn’t just sit there and watch it happen. I was too
late to stop the brutality that had already been inflicted upon her and the
Innocent, but I could still intervene before they killed her. Without another
thought or moment’s hesitation, I sprang to my feet and all but flew into the
room.

But rather than rush in and attack the swarming
Ray-pacs with physical force, I took a completely different approach. I had one
weapon – my Essence. And I intended to use it. Once inside the room, I
immediately latched onto Izzy’s ankles. And like a tornado that had been
threatening to touch down and finally did, I sent the biggest burst of Essence
into Izzy. Knowing they were sucking the Essence straight out of her, I figured
my blast would travel right through her and into them. Breathing deep and
centralizing my focus, I sent everything I had. By lambasting them with a dose
so powerful and overwhelming, my hope was that it would knock them off their
feet, and they would experience no immediate gratification. The blast would be
momentarily debilitating and devastating. Of course, after a few seconds the
Essence would sink in, saturate their bodies, and give them incredible energy.
But that didn’t matter. What I needed was a short window of time, enough to get
them away from Izzy and the Innocent.

I met Kieran’s eyes, which were wide with
surprise, just before the high-velocity shockwave of my Essence reached him.
Incredibly, the whole thing worked just like I’d envisioned. It was a total
domino effect. The rush of Essence reached each one of the Ray-pacs, Kieran
first since he was closest to Izzy. They were each blown off their feet.
Fragmenting backwards with unbelievable force, they looked like they’d been at
the center of a bomb explosion. One by one like projectiles, they smacked into
the shiny iron walls and tumbled to the floor. Momentarily stunned, they
remained in small heaps on the floor.

That gave me enough time to attend to Izzy. My
Essence hadn’t damaged her in the least, in fact, the opposite was true. Even
though she was still strapped down, she was completely awake and aware,
suddenly full of energy and life again.

“Lexi, you’re here!” she exclaimed. “But how?”

“Hi,” I said, quickly untying the ropes at her
wrists. “Are you okay?” I asked as she sat up.

She acted alert, but a haunted, far-away look
clouded her eyes. “They were…they were…” she tried to say.

“I know. It’s okay now.” I hugged her and
reached for the Innocent on the table. But his skin was stone cold. His Essence
was gone, and he was dead. My heart ached. I hadn’t been in time to save him.
There was no time to dwell on his loss, however; because at that moment, I
caught sight of Kieran rising from the floor. Fury and murder flashed in his
eyes but also in mine. My first instinct was to protect Izzy, so I shoved her
under the table and told her to stay there. Before long, I’d be facing an
all-out Ray-pac assault, and I didn’t want her in the crossfire.

Kieran launched himself at me. I knew he was
coming, but since I was still ensuring Izzy’s safety, I didn’t have time to
block his foot which smacked me right across the face. Before I had time to
respond, his fist came around and hit my face from the other side. I heard and
felt a bone crack, and I dropped to the floor. The pain was excruciating. My
cheekbone felt broken. As I fought to control the woozy feeling passing over
me, my eyes fluttered, and I saw black dots.

 
“Heal
yourself and get up,” Kieran commanded in a booming voice.

And I did just that. Not because he told me to,
but because I could and I needed to. The unbearable throbbing in my cheek
disappeared completely when I doused the area with Essence. The healing was
instantaneous, so fast I couldn’t even feel the restoration process taking
place. Usually I could feel it; not this time. Anger and Essence raged within
me, apparently making me stronger – or numb.

I jumped to my feet, noting out of the corner of
my eye that the other Ray-pacs were starting to rise. I stared Kieran down as
my hands shook ever so slightly. Probably from wrath. “I will never link with
you,” I spit out. “You are a repulsive, evil being who enjoys killing people,
and I hate you,” I screamed, rushing him. When I was close enough, I kicked him
in the groin. He growled but it didn’t seem to faze him. He came back swinging
and kicking. He was fast, but so was I. And my Flair was spot on, protecting me
from a succession of powerful punches.

We stood at an impasse, both of us in defensive
stances with fists up and knees bent. But he wasn’t the one who made the next
move. Detecting something incoming, I glanced away from Kieran and spotted a
fast-moving ball of orange and red flames. Dodging to my right, I dove and
rolled across the floor, narrowly avoiding the string of fireballs Aria was
launching. They pelted the window above me and then disappeared. I shook my
head. Fireproof glass apparently. All of a sudden, Rafe was on the ceiling
above me, crawling like he was Spiderman or something. Madness lurked in his
smile. “You’re mine,” he shouted.

Noting an object in his hand and sensing that he
was about to drop from the ceiling and stab me with it, I rolled over backward
and slid out of the way. He plunged from the ceiling and hit the floor on all
fours. Anger twisted his lips into a bitter frown. Before he could pounce
again, I swept my legs out in a 180 degree circle as if performing some kind of
break-dancing move. I made contact, scooping his hands and feet out from under
him. He landed on his stomach with a thud and bellowed profanities, spit
spewing from his mouth. Extremely enraged, he jumped back to his feet and waved
his hands around. He rocked back and forward like he was going to pounce.
Unfortunately for him, I sensed he had no intention of tackling me; instead, he
intended on hurling the object in his hand. When he finally did, I was in rare
form. Feeling confident, strong, and a little bit arrogant, I reached out and
caught it – with both hands – just to be safe. He foamed at the mouth and his
rapid eye-blinking tick tripled in speed. Under normal circumstances he was a
total creeper. Now, he was ten times worse.

Not ready to give up, he yelled, “I’m going to
shred you.”

“That’s enough,” Kieran shouted, his tone
lethal. “And I mean everyone.” For a moment everyone froze and stared at
Kieran.

Aria was first to break the silence. “What is
she, Kieran?”

“Yeah,” said a woman I’d never seen before. She
reminded me of a hardcore biker chick. “We all deserve to know what we’re
dealing with here. I’ve never had trouble reading someone’s mind, and I can’t
get into her head.”

 
“Storm’s
right. I want to know who she is, too,” Aiden yelled. “I can’t absorb her
Flair, and I want to know why.”

“That’s enough,” Kieran said between gritted
teeth. “This is not the time or place for this discussion. No more questions
right now. If anyone else says another word about it they’re out.”

That threat seemed to silence everyone.
Personally, I wished they’d keep on talking. I found the whole conversation
very informative. I was also very interested to learn why Kieran hadn’t told
them I was a Dentelle. Maybe he considered them all disposable, and therefore,
only kept them on a need-to-know basis.

I glanced at Storm, the apparent Mindreader; she
was a hard-looking woman with bleached yellow hair, probably no older than 30
but with her poorly done make-up and elastic-looking skin it was hard to tell.
Then there was Aria the Pyro, Rafe the Wallclimber, and Aiden the Spoiler. His
ability, which allowed him to disable an opponent by absorbing their Flair, was
very dangerous. The most fascinating bit of information, though, was that most
of their powers didn’t seem to work on me. I mean, they could physically hurt
me if I wasn’t fast enough when they attacked. But what an advantage that Storm
couldn’t read my thoughts and Aiden couldn’t absorb my Flair. Being a Dentelle
was proving to be quite exhilarating.

“We have other issues to address. Have I made
myself clear?” Kieran clarified again. I noticed he made eye contact with each
and every one of them, as if daring them to challenge. No one did. They just
nodded in submission. I had a feeling his strength and powers were formidable,
and they all knew it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he could have taken on at
least four of them and come out on top. His superiority was probably due to the
fact that he absorbed much of the Essence for himself. Not to mention I’d been
supplying him with extra Essence for days. And who knew how many other
Amethysts he’d done this to before?

He walked up to me, and one side of his mouth
curled upwards. In a low voice, so no one else could hear his words, he said,
“I’m strong, Lexi. I am strong because of your Essence and hers.” He turned and
pointed at Izzy, who was still crouching under the table, a terrified
expression on her face. “Storm, take that Amethyst back to a cell. We’ll finish
with her later.” He pointed and then, looking back at me, he continued quietly,
“We are going to be so good together.”

“Never,” I seethed, clenching my fists tighter.

He stood straighter, which didn’t make him any
taller than me, but must have made him feel more intimidating. Loud and clear,
for the benefit of all other ears he said, “What you fail to understand, Lexi,
is that I hold the fate of your friends and family in my hands. I’ll give you
credit for being clever and fearless – I mean you did find your way down here
after all – but you broke the rules. Now, there are going to be severe
repercussions.” He gazed at me with a punitive look and then grabbed the
walkie-talkie attached to his jeans. “James, bring Ava Rose to the compound
right now.”

In that instant, all previous confidence
disappeared. Fear snaked its way throughout my entire body. Panic set in, and I
started shaking and breathing heavy. I grabbed his shoulders, allowing my
Essence to flow softly and freely into him. The tone of my voice was a
desperate plea as I choked on my tears. “Please. Please don’t do this. She’s
only a child. And she…she…”

“She what?” he demanded, clearly not moved.

“She…loves you,” I sputtered. “How can you
destroy someone so innocent and pure who loves you?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Love is not an emotion I
care to understand.”

“Please, Kieran. I beg you. Do not hurt Ava
Rose. I will link willingly and do exactly as you ask. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
But you were hurting that Amethyst, and I didn’t think. I snapped.” I was
practically hanging from him. Buckets of tears fell down my face.