Dentelle (11 page)

By the time 20 people had finished, the new time
to beat was six minutes and thirty-eight seconds. Two competitors had been
injured falling off the steep, rocky slopes but had quickly been attended to by
a couple Amethysts who remained on the course at all times. I wondered if
participants felt emboldened and took greater risks just because they knew
Amethysts were on site.

 
Somehow
managing to maneuver their way through the jam-packed bleachers, Michael and
Sienna appeared. “Got room for two more?” Michael asked breathlessly, as if
he’d just run several miles to get here.

“Sure we do,” Laci said. “Madison, come sit up
here and then Michael and Sienna can slide in next to Trevon and Shelby.” As
she said this, she slid away from Ash and made room for Madison between them.
Reluctantly, Madison stood up and moved, looking none too pleased with the new
seating arrangement. Laci looked at me and winked, and I pressed my lips
together to prevent myself from laughing out loud.

All of a sudden, the announcer said, “And our
next contender is Jason Walker from the Bellingham Circle.” Instantly, we were
on our feet, cheering just as insanely as the Circles before us had done. My
heart was pounding, and a mess of emotions shook me to the core as the
vibrating bleachers kept me fighting to maintain balance. I was excited and
optimistic, yet scared and nervous all at the same time. In my heart, I truly
believed he’d do well, but that didn’t stop the nerves from ravaging my
stomach.

A single shot was fired into the air, signaling
the start, and Jessica grabbed my hand. Without hesitation, Jason shifted into
a mountain lion and tore into the forest. My breathing evened out. This was
what I knew; this was what I understood. How many times had I seen him as a
tawny mountain lion careening around tall evergreens, leaping over boulders, or
tackling rocky areas with sure-footed grace?

“What do you think he’ll change into for the
caves?” Izzy shouted over the roar of the crowd.

“Whatever small animal is the fastest,” I
guessed.

Madison flipped her head sideways and yelled,
“Jackrabbit, of course.”

“Which isn’t even a rabbit; it’s a hare,” Ash
interjected.

Tossing her hair, practically in his face,
Madison made some comment I couldn’t hear.

As soon as Jason emerged at the edge of forest,
he bounded to the flagged off area specifically designated for shifting. Sure
enough, while in mid-air, his huge, muscular body transformed into a small,
brown-spotted, big-eared jackrabbit. Entering the bouldered area, he leaped a
good ten feet from boulder to boulder and then disappeared down a crevice and
entered a dark tunnel. For a moment I forgot to breathe, and my heart hammered
away at my chest. Painful, like a sledgehammer. I could almost feel the
tightened space closing around him…and therefore, closing around me, like a
noose tightening around my neck. Even though Jason and I weren’t linked, I felt
as if we were bonded in other, deeper ways – our hearts and souls were
connected.

My eyes popped open when Ash bumped his hip into
mine and said, “Hey, did you know baby jackrabbits can run immediately after
being born?”

I gave him a sideways glance. “Where do you come
up with this stuff?” Turning, I glued my eyes to the screen and watched as
Jason maneuvered effortlessly through the curved, narrow burrows.

“It’s true,” Laci said, reaching across Madison
to slap Ash on the knee. “You really are a smart guy, aren’t ya? Guess we’ll
want to keep him around for a good long time, huh Madison?”

Maintaining a forward gaze, Madison said, “Don’t
encourage him!”

Ash slipped his hand onto Madison’s thigh and
said, “Hey, I’m smart, sexy, and I come with a sense of humor. Laci’s right.
You better keep me around. Besides, what more could you possibly want in a
man?”

“Don’t touch me,” Madison said, swiping his hand
off her leg. “You obviously have a very convoluted view of yourself. And a
woman, first and foremost, wants a man who is honest.”

Ash couldn’t respond, because the crowd started
yelling louder as Jason emerged from the burrow and vaulted into the next
designated shifting area. A collective gasp went up as Jason changed into a
peregrine falcon and soared over the mud flats. None of the other competitors
had chosen to fly over the muddy area. In fact, several players had lost
valuable time trying to move forward through the sludge. Certain land animals
were fast, but they were heavy, and that mud was seriously nasty. It was almost
as if someone had intentionally flooded the area – which knowing the Guardians,
someone probably had. Choosing to fly over the mud flats was an interesting
strategy. Since the home stretch was also the longest leg of the course, most
of the players had chosen flight during that segment, counting on a strong,
speedy finish to improve their time.

“Brilliant,” Ash muttered.

Madison cranked her head side-ways, her
over-sized sunglasses unable to mask the look of disdain on her face. “Really?
I think that was the obvious choice. Anyone with half a brain would have
figured that out; Frankly, I’m surprised no one else has tried it. But you can
bet Max already has that in his plan.”

Noticing my confused expression, Jessica touched
my shoulder. “The competitors don’t have any TV screens to watch, so they only
see their opponents as they come down the final stretch and cross the finish line.
That way they don’t have an idea of the strategies used by the players before
them. So, if Max uses the same strategy, it won’t be because he saw Jason do it
first.”

As a hovering camera zoomed in on Jason, I got a
good look at him as a peregrine falcon. Powerful and fast-flying with his long
tail and pointed wings, he was a sight to behold against the cobalt blue sky.
With a blue-grey back, a white barred underside, and a black head, I could
still tell it was Jason, because the eyes were large pools of aqua-marine.
Incredible …but they didn’t look quite right on a falcon.

“Did you know peregrine falcons can fly around
200 miles per hour?” Ash said.

“I know. So amazing,” Laci responded.

Madison snorted. “We don’t need a history lesson
here,
Kurzon
.”

“Just proving my intelligence level for anyone
still in doubt,” Ash said good-naturedly, ignoring the despised nickname.

Madison huffed out her cheeks, choosing not to
comment further. Sienna turned around, eyeing Ash and Madison with a curious
expression.

Tugging excitedly on Sienna’s arm, Michael said,
“Hey, you’re gonna miss it. Time for Jason to shift again. No doubts on his
choice this time, though.”

Just as ninety percent of the previous players
had done, Jason shifted into a thick, sturdy mountain goat. Sure-footed,
powerful, and nimble, he shouldn’t encounter any problems while scaling the
rugged terrain. His aqua-marine eyes looked stunning against the dazzling white
fur coat, and his black horns were impressive. I giggled to myself; I’d have to
tease him about the beard later.

“Mountain
goats can jump 12 feet in a single bound,”
Ash said directly to me.
“Do you think little Miss Pretentious knows
that?”

I smacked him in the head
. “Be honest. Do you have a thing for Madison? And if so, have you’ve lost
your freakin’ mind?”

“I don’t
have ‘a thing’ for that mouthy little wench. I just…I just… She drives me
crazy.”

“Yeah,
right. Well, you better hide your crazy for a while, because people are gonna
start noticing.”

Ecstatic for Jason, I stomped my feet on the
bleachers. Scaling the steep, rocky ledge with ease and grace, traction was not
an issue, and he was killing the previous times. Before long, he was descending
the other side and nearing the final shifting area.

“Hey you guys,” Trevon shouted, his white teeth
gleaming against his smooth, black skin. “Let’s get down to the finish line, so
we can be there when he crosses.”

“Good idea,” Michael called out.

 
So, with
a mass exodus we scurried down the bleachers and out into the hot, blazing sun.
Holding my hand across my forehead as a visor, I looked up at the monitor just
in time to see Jason make his final shift – into a cheetah – the world’s
fastest land animal. No longer watching the screen, I gazed out into the open
grassland. His beautiful lean, spotted body burst through the tall, pristine
prairie as if he was flying across the tall blades of grass.

Jumping up and down, I screamed as loud as I
could. But so did everyone else around me, and I had to cover my ears, because
I thought my eardrums might explode. As Jason crossed the finish line, I
glanced up at the time just as the announcer said, “Wow! What an incredible run
by Jason Walker. At six minutes and eighteen seconds, he slides into first
place.”

Chaos ensued as we clustered around him. He barely
had time to shift back into his natural form before finding himself at the
bottom of our huddle. Once he rose from the bottom of the pile, he found my
eyes and smiled broadly. “Wow! That was intense! What’s my time? Anybody know?”

We all started laughing, and Michael pointed to
the scoreboard. “You’re at the top right now, little brother. That was
awesome.”

At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson pushed their
way into the center of our crowd and congratulated Jason. “I am so proud of
you, son,” Mr. Nelson said, ruffling Jason’s hair.

Giving him a hug, his mom said, “I was
breathless the entire time.” After she stepped back, we all took turns giving
him hugs. I guess we all wanted to be part of his win. When it was my turn, I
noticed his face was bright red and he was still breathing hard.

“You sure you want to hug a sweaty guy like me?”
His smile was infectious and my heart skipped a beat.

“I’ll take you any way I can get you,” I said,
wrapping my arms around him. Closing my eyes momentarily, I relished in the
closeness of his body, the thudding of his heart, and the dampness of his skin.

His breath tickled my ear as he whispered, “I
miss you, Alex.”

When I realized our hug had probably exceeded
the normal time limit and could raise a few eyebrows, I quickly infused him
with my Essence and took a step back. I giggled as he lost his balance.

“Thanks, I think,” he teased, putting his arms
out to gain equilibrium. “By the way, you were awesome in the archery contest.”
In a quieter voice, he added, “I wish I could have been the one down there
hugging you.”

“Me, too.”

Wistfully, we stepped further away from each
other. And then it was back to the stands for our group, so we could watch Max
and the final contestants. Jason didn’t join us since there was a designated section
for the participants. In the end, Max had an amazing run and beat Jason’s time
by a few seconds. The final contestant, Brittney, a buff girl from Detroit,
flew through the course with a time of six minutes and eight seconds and won it
all. If Max and Jason were bummed, they certainly didn’t show it. In fact, they
both seemed happy for Brittney. I guess it was the first year a female had ever
won the shapeshifting event.

The rest of that day and all of Tuesday flew by quickly.
Ash and I held our own in the 10K but did not medal. I really didn’t want to
compete six different times, so I chose to have my personal scores from the 10K
and archery contest with Ash apply to my individual events, as well. Besides,
I’d still see plenty of action in the group events where participation was a
must. But honestly, watching my friends compete was much more enjoyable than
competing myself. More importantly, a side benefit from observing, was seeing
Jason more often. Even if it was from afar, I’d take it.

Emotionally exhausted from playing charades, I
started counting down the days until our departure. My psyche was shot from
always having to think about my words and actions rather than just being
myself. Not to mention, I was starting to agonize more and more about my
upcoming showdown with the Council. Oftentimes, Rob and Ryan, the identical
twin Amethysts, would join Jessica, Izzy, and me as we cheered on our friends.
Jessica and Rob were definitely sweet on each other, and I noticed Ryan and
Izzy hitting it off, as well. I couldn’t have been happier with the whole
situation, especially for Izzy, who needed a little pick-me-up. I’d noticed
she’d been spending quite a bit of time with Dakota, but that changed when she
and Ryan took an interest in each other. Her meeting with the Senior Council
had gone as we’d predicted – with instructions for her to move. Luckily, the
Council wasn’t as hard-nosed as I’d thought they’d be, because they’d granted
her permission to join any Circle that did not already have an Amethyst. She
was seriously considering St. Louis, because her aunt, uncle, and cousins all
lived there.

Late Tuesday afternoon, we found ourselves
highly entertained at one of the individual events which Madison, Ash, and
Sienna had all entered. Essentially, it was a target-hitting contest based not
only on accuracy but also speed. Guardians who had an offensive Flair that
allowed them to hurtle things in the air were encouraged to join. Madison with
her telekinetic abilities, Ash with his energy spheres, and Sienna with her
lightning strikes were prime candidates.

Sitting in a set of uncovered bleachers, I
welcomed the rolling white clouds and the light breeze. The hot Montana sun had
me applying sunscreen every 30 minutes, so I was happy about a day with
moderate temperatures and shade. I marveled at a red-tailed hawk flying
overhead, and then wondered if it was a real hawk or possibly a shapeshifting
Guardian. One could never be too sure in this company.

“I can’t believe I’ve never thought to ask
before,” I said aloud to no one in particular, “but how many different kinds of
Flairs do you suppose there are?”