Dentelle (2 page)

A few seconds of strategizing, and then
everything happened fast. Max, Jason, and Michael had Flairs that would get
them to our destination first, but I worried they might be outnumbered. But
they showed no signs of fear. Max shape-shifted into a cheetah, his animal of
choice – when speed was a critical factor – and he tore into the woods. Jason,
being an Imitator, followed right behind, but shifted into the animal he
preferred most. With esteemed appreciation, I watched his body transform,
growing in length and size, becoming slender and elongated, until eventually he
was pounding the earth on four, soft-padded paws. My familiar, tawny-colored
cougar swished his powerful tail and disappeared into a dense weave of trees.
While I still marveled at his abilities, I no longer experienced shock every
time he shifted. Michael, with his teleportation Flair, faded from sight soon
after his brother.

The rest of us took off at record pace, relying
on our linked powers of speed and agility to move us quickly up the mountain.
Laci, who’d recently been successful in expanding her shield to protect several
Guardians at one time, took lead position with shield up. I felt safer knowing
she was protecting us from any number of things. Since we didn’t know what kind
of Ray-pac abilities we were dealing with, other than the deep sleep business,
it was important we proceed with some caution.

As we raced through the Pitch Pine forest, the
salty sea mingled with an evergreen scent. I could almost taste the nearby
Atlantic Ocean with each breath. The forever-changing terrain during our quick
elevation climb would have been challenging for the average person, but I’d had
six months to become comfortable with my linked abilities. One minute we were
sliding dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, and the next we were
leaping over giant boulders or tearing through boggy wetlands. After running
through a flat-opened rock area, we suddenly merged into a spruce-fir forest.
The darkness caught me off guard, and a couple tree branches brushed roughly
against my cheek as I flew by. I must have inadvertently spoken telepathically
to Ash, because even though he was in front of me and couldn’t have seen me, he
was suddenly in my mind.

“What? Did
a little branchy-poo hurt Miss Almighty Dentelle?”

“Of course
not,”
I replied testily.

“
Need a
kiss to make it better?”
He laughed.

“Very
funny,”
I responded. Coming up fast behind him, I leaped and then used his
shoulders like a springboard. Flying high, I landed a good twenty feet in front
of him, right behind Laci, Madison, Hannah, and Sienna. As we dodged in between
trees, I glanced back at him. His shoulder-length hair flowed behind him, and I
thought maybe he was shaking his head. I smiled. While I definitely wasn’t in
love with him, I did love him. He’d become one of my best friends, and
secretly, I think we both enjoyed the mental sparring. I guess if I couldn’t be
linked with Jason, Ash would be my next choice.
“Need some tips on how to keep up with the ladies?”
I teased.

“You
better stop checkin’ me out and watch where you’re going, or a bigger, more
brutal branch is gonna knock you right onto your cute little…”
The last of
his words were interrupted by sudden loud booms, which reverberated throughout
the forest. Even the ground began shaking under our feet, bringing our small
group to an abrupt halt. Quickly, we gathered around Laci.

In a quiet voice, she said, “Okay. This is it.
Max says they are more than ready for some help. There are at least seven
Ray-pacs blocking the path between us and Izzy.”

Sienna jumped in. “Yes, Michael just told me he
overheard a Ray-pac conversation as he was teleporting in between trees. They
plan on keeping us busy while giving the other three guys’ time to escape with
Izzy. As we speak, those three guys are moving Izzy down the other side of the
mountain.”

Laci tucked a strand of unruly curls behind her
ear and said, “Okay, good information. Just a sec.” She was silent for a moment,
relaying that information to Max. A moment later she nodded her head and said,
“Max wants Madison, Ash, and Sienna to join them. He doesn’t realize you’re
with us, Hannah. You were supposed to stay down below.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Hannah interjected.

“Your call,” Laci said with a shrug. “Lexi, you
and I will go after Izzy. Everyone got it?”

“You know it,” Ash said impatiently. Nudging me
in the side, he spoke only to me,
“Good
plan. We don’t want the Ray-pacs figuring out you’re an Amethyst, and they
easily could. This way no one has to worry about you.”
Glancing at the
group, he spoke aloud, “Laci, you and Lexi shouldn’t have any trouble
clobbering three unlinked idiots and rescuing Izzy. Just keep your eye on this
one.” He smacked me lightly on the side of the head.

“I can handle myself,” I said with a sigh,
disappointed I’d miss out on the big action. Then again, my Flair was
defensive, so I wasn’t much help in a
real
fight. And rescuing Izzy was our top priority. “But you guys be careful.”

“Let’s go already,” Madison said, rubbing her
hands together. “I’m so in the mood to thrash some Ray-pac scum.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Ash said with the same
amount of eagerness.

Madison shook her head and blew air between her
lips. Under her breath, she said to me, “And Jason says no unnecessary risks.”
I nodded. “And no,” she whispered furiously, “I will not be passing on any more
messages, so don’t bother.”

We had a hate-hate relationship for sure. She
hated that Jason and I were in love, and I hated that she was linked to him and
could talk to him telepathically whenever she chose. I touched her arm and
said, “Don’t worry, I won’t.” She might have thought I touched her arm so I
could send her a nice little blast of Essence before the big battle, but I’d done
it for purely selfish reasons. I smiled when I was rewarded with Jason’s voice
saying to Madison,
“Tell Alex to be safe
and that I love her
.”

“I most
certainly will not,”
she snapped. As a passing cloud uncovered the moon, a
luminescent light exposed her smug expression. I just smiled and let go of her.
No one except Jason knew that I could hear linked Guardian conversations if I
was touching one of them. Actually, it was an inside joke between us.
Oftentimes he passed me messages through Madison, and she had no clue it was
happening.

Loud cracking noises warned us of branches
snapping high above. Before anyone had a chance to move, Laci declared loudly,
“I got this.” We all gazed upwards and watched as several large treetops plowed
into her invisible shield, not six feet above our heads. The kinetic energy
must have been colossal, because the limbs shot away from us like a bunch of
speeding projectiles, even clipping maples and toppling small spruce trees in
the process.

Once we recovered from the momentary shock of
that attack, our small group separated. Laci motioned for me to follow her. Our
plan was to circle around to the other side, bypass all the chaos, and reach
Izzy undetected. But before I made a move to follow, I watched in appreciation
as Madison performed a counterattack. With her arms outstretched, she lifted
sticks, stones and some of those broken branches off the ground and then
unleashed them back up the hill. Not about to be upstaged, Ash was quick to
join the party. A shimmering blue orb formed at his fingertips, growing larger
and larger until it was twice the size of a normal Frisbee. Once he launched
the first sphere, another immediately formed in its place. Shortly after, he
had a series of bright, hot energy orbs weaving through the trees and racing up
the mountain.

Impressed, I turned and hurried after Laci.
“Have fun, Ash. But don’t go getting
yourself killed,”
I told him.

“You know
I will…have fun that is.”

Laci might be small and petite, but the girl
could really move. She also moved with precision, which was more than I could
say for myself. Over the last several months, I’d been adapting to the extra
speed and strength I’d gained from linking, but I was still a novice. In time,
I’d be all expert like my friends. I was just happy I had friends with crazy
abilities. I’d finally found my place in this world, and I knew I belonged.
Fast cars and adrenaline-packed movies had always captivated me, but they were
nothing compared to the thrill of running a mile in minutes, leaping great
distances into the air, or lifting obscenely heavy objects. Granted, I was
fast, but I certainly wasn’t grace in motion as we darted between the trees and
bounded over boulders. Gnarled roots and pot holes still caused me to lose my
footing occasionally. Practice would never make me perfect, but it should
eliminate some of my imperfections.

A large mass of clouds covered the moon again,
casting dark shadows throughout the timber. Twigs snapped loudly underfoot, and
my heart pounded with excitement as we whizzed through the ever-changing
terrain. At the same time, I worried about the safety of my friends. There was
always a chance one of them wouldn’t survive this Ray-pac fight. And even
though my Essence was a force to be reckoned with, and I could heal any
injuries, I was powerless once someone died.

Just as I was wondering about our game plan for
rescuing Izzy, several bolts of lightning lit up the sky and assaulted Cadillac
Mountain. Strong, gusty winds accompanied the multi-colored flashes, and the
surrounding trees rustled wildly. Dry lightning storm, I wondered? A brilliant
flash of light whizzed not ten feet away and ripped through a tree, generating
a spray of bark and splinters. Taken by surprise, and not realizing Laci had
stopped moving, I cruised right past her at full speed. Before I could apply my
own brakes, I skidded into a clearing where three guys, all built like Dwayne
“The Rock” Johnson, were escaping with Izzy. Sliding my way across a rather
large, flat granite surface, my grand entrance was neither quiet nor
controlled.

“What the hell?” one of the voices rumbled, and
they all turned around at once. Clouds cleared the moon at that precise moment,
giving me a clear vision of the three ugly dudes. Normally, I didn’t judge a
book by its cover, but the three ratty faces looking back at me were definitely
those of hard-core criminals. Death penalty candidates, for sure. And if I had
to guess, I’d say the guy with the squashed nose and closely-set eyes rejoiced
in his profession.

My thoughts, on an uncontrollable rampage,
conjured grisly images – ones with Mr. Squashy Nose pleasurably dismembering a
body with blunt instruments. I slapped my cheek and told myself to snap out of
it. “No more
Dexter
episodes,” I
mumbled under my breath. Drawing quick short breaths, I bounced on the balls of
my feet as if preparing for one of my Tae Kwon Do sparring matches. Luckily,
I’d re-enrolled in martial arts and had shot to the top of the class in
sparring techniques. Of course, in class I always held back – didn’t want to
hurt an Innocent – but not today. I was ready to kick some butt all over this
granite mountain. And with a defensive Flair that allowed me to anticipate my
opponent’s moves, I had an even greater advantage. I also had Laci. Speaking of
that girl, where was she? As if reading my thoughts, she waved from behind some
bushes. The guys couldn’t see her because their backs were to her.

The tallest guy, who had a comatose Izzy swung
over his shoulder, shook his head in annoyance and directed the other two,
“Take care of this little nuisance and then meet me at the van.”

“Do you want her dead or alive?” the one with
the fat face and protruding ears asked.

“Neo said no witnesses. So take care of her and
get rid of her body. Throw it over the cliff or something. But be quick about
it.” After he finished talking about me as if I was nothing more than a thorn
in the side, he turned and walked away. Straight towards Laci’s hiding spot.

Good, I thought. She’ll shut him up soon enough.
Laci might be dealing with the ringleader, but I’d be fighting in a two against
one battle. While that hardly seemed fair, I knew I could take them both with
my eyes closed. A chilly smile of satisfaction spread across my face; I was
pumped up and in rare form. As Ash would say, “It’s ninja time.” If he’d taught
me anything, it was that a little arrogance went a long way. And he would know.

Loud rumblings intensified from the mountain
top, but I paid no attention, because my two opponents were advancing from both
sides – ready to attack. My Flair kicked in, and with sudden clarity I knew Mr.
Fat Face was going to dive for my feet in hopes of knocking me to the ground.
Leaving my fighting stance behind, I shot several feet through the air,
pivoted, and executed a side-kick. My speed, combined with the force of my
kick, sent Mr. Fat Face sprawling backwards onto his butt. With his obscene
amount of body weight, he crashed to the ground with a loud thud. He looked
stunned. I could almost see the dizzy symbols rotating around his head like
they did in cartoon shows.

“Why you little…” Mr. Squashy Nose yelled and
then continued with a stream of expletives as he stalked towards me.

Knowing he was coming in with a left hook, I
ducked and then rolled across the ground – just for fun. Bouncing to my feet, I
stood tall and smiled at him. Grunting in frustration, he came at me
tight-fisted with both arms swinging. I side-stepped, jumped over a mossy log,
and laughed when he sliced nothing but the night air. Angrily, he turned on me.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that,” I
said in a cool, sardonic voice.

Anticipating his shock when I leaped several
feet straight up, I was not disappointed when his eyes grew large as saucers
and his jaw dropped several inches. Unfortunately for him, I came down with a
hammer fist and all but obliterated his already squashed nose. Upon impact
there was a horrific cracking sound, and then blood sprayed every which way.
Falling forward, he crumpled to the ground. Moaning, he clawed at the dirt,
creating a large dust plume around himself. After his initial outburst ended,
he crawled to his knees and grasped his nose while continuing to howl loudly.