Dentelle (41 page)

We only had a few moments to devise a plan.
Kieran was still talking about what a remarkable day it was for all Ray-pacs.
Standing on his soapbox, he vowed to unite all Ray-pacs and promised they would
destroy Guardians all across the country by either killing them or linking with
them. He promised that someday the Ray-pacs would rule the world, and his
supporters who were present today would be the leaders. For once, I was happy
about his neurotic jargon; it gave me time.

Briefly, I wondered if I was a Ray-pac. I didn’t
feel any different, but once a Ray-pac, you were supposedly forever a Ray-pac.
Smugly, I crossed my arms. I would never be a Ray-pac. I was a Dentelle and
could throw all previous rules out the window. In fact, with the ability to
multi-link, I’d just found out I had more potential than I’d previously
thought. I also had a new fear – being powerful beyond measure. If I was a
different kind of person, I’d be the one talking about destroying an entire
race – only it would be the Ray-pac race. I couldn’t imagine this much power in
the wrong hands. Kieran’s hands. If I remained under his control, I was like a
nuclear weapon he could launch at will.

As Kieran spoke to his rapturous fans, I worked
back and forth with Ash and Dakota, forming a plan. It wasn’t easy, because we
were still so shell-shocked about the triple-linking business.

“Hey, do
you have a Flair from your link with Dakota?”
Ash asked.

“Yes.”
I smiled.
“Invisibility.”

“Damn,
woman. That’s some serious artillery. You can anticipate an attack, throw
things around, and disappear. With all that – you’re the only one who stands a chance
at saving both Madison and Jason, so I get Kieran.”

I protested but knew we had to do what made the
most sense. We’d make our moves; however short-lived and minutely successful
they might be when Aria attempted to link with Dakota, who’s new Flair was
flight. Dakota would go for Aria and Aiden while Ash focused on Kieran, which I
wasn’t overly satisfied with because I was ripe for revenge. But if there was
any possibility I could save Jason and Madison, then it was worth forgoing the
pleasure of killing Kieran. Ash also worried that if I took out Kieran, I’d
kill myself in the process. That’s where we left off in our planning when
Kieran announced it was time to commence.

Dakota screamed, kicked, and tried to resist
because that’s what everyone expected her do. Sounding like a broken record,
Kieran threatened her loved ones if she didn’t accept her fate. As Aria and
Dakota stepped in front of us, and locked hands, I glanced at Kieran. Seizing
my hand, he whistled as his glowing eyes traveled across my body. “
Nice dress.”
He
followed that comment up with a condescending chuckle, and my skin
crawled.

Minutes before, I’d discovered I could speak
telepathically to Dakota and Ash at the same time while excluding Kieran. They
couldn’t speak to each other, but that didn’t really matter. When Dakota’s
forehead touched Aria’s, I started counting so only my two allies could hear
me.
“One…two…”
I smiled at Kieran,
and his eyes enlarged.
“Three.”

“Let’s
rock-n-roll,”
Ash shouted, barely able to contain his elation at finally
breaking free.

“You’re about to be dethroned,” I spat in
Kieran’s face. In the coolest move ever, I disappeared in front of his face.
“Out of sight but not out of mind,”
I
taunted. I had the pleasure of watching his ugly square jaw drop to the floor
and his unnatural amber eyes nearly pop out of his head.
“Bad tie,”
I added, winding it tightly around his neck until he was
gagging and gasping for breath. That was right before I lifted my dress ever so
slightly so I could kick him in the groin. Still clutching his neck, trying to
loosen the tie, he grunted and doubled over.
“That was for Ellen,”
I seethed. By speaking in his mind, he
couldn’t locate me. It was boss!

“That old
bag. Killing her was a pleasure,”
he said, still bent over.

I had to jump and dodge about because he started
firing his energy spheres. They flew helter skelter, and I hopped around like I
was competing for the world championship in Double Dutch jump rope.
“You’re gonna pay,”
I screamed at him.

“Hey, get
out of there. I’m on my way,”
Ash said.
“Go
get Madison and Jason. Now! Before everyone realizes what’s going on.”

“I’m
going.”
But I was so angry, and I felt so much hatred for Kieran, that I
had to hurt him one more time. I pulled off my three inch heels, and swinging
for the grand salami, I twirled all the way around and slugged the shoe into
his gut. It stuck, and he howled like a madman.
“That’s for Kohana,”
I hissed.

“You can’t
kill me or you’ll kill yourself,”
he raged, his head swinging side to side
as he tried to locate me.

“I’m not
going to kill you,”
I said, every word I uttered growing sharper.
“That pleasure belongs to Ash. I’m just
gonna mess you up!”
I sounded crazed. I felt crazed. And I loved it. My
adrenaline and Essence were flowing as one. I was so energized I could have
powered a Category 5 hurricane. I swung the remaining three-inch heel straight
into his eye. He screamed bloody murder and wobbled about.
“Good-bye and good riddance.”

“Incoming!”
Ash yelled.

I didn’t stick around to find out if Ash hit his
mark or not, because I was already soaring – undetected – toward Jason and
Madison. Along the way, a loud piercing screech, like an industrial fire alarm
sounded. Great. Someone must have hit the panic button. All the Ray-pacs jumped
to their feet and started moving frantically about. There was yelling and
shouting with obvious confusion among the ranks. Abruptly, all the doors
connecting to the corridor burst open at the same time, and I sensed dozens
more links. “Oh, crap,” I said aloud. “There’s more of them.”

Instinct had me barreling towards Jason, but
when I saw Milo strangling Madison, I shifted gears. Eyeing a stack of huge
tires, I set one in motion. I aimed for Milo’s head and hoped I wouldn’t take
out Madison, too. Only in archery was I amazingly accurate. The rest of the
time I was 70/30 but improving. The tire swiped the side of his head, leaving a
nasty abrasion, and he crashed to the floor. Now that he was away from Madison,
I used my Flair to lift the big biker dude high in the air. I hurled him around,
and when I spotted a steel post jutting down from one of the metal grates
above, I knew exactly where Milo was meant to go. I didn’t watch but knew I’d
hit my mark when he howled. Seconds later, he ceased making any noise.

Quickly, I hurried over to Madison, pulled off
her gag, and began untying her ropes. “Who’s there?” she demanded in her usual
frosty tone.

“Sorry. Forgot I was invisible.”

“Lexi?”

“Yep!”

“But how…?”

“It’s a long story. Here’s what’s important.
Right now I’m triple-linked with Ash, Kieran, and Dakota,” I said hurriedly. A
colossal gust of wind swept over us, toppling Madison in her chair and blasting
me off my feet. I flew several yards and crashed into some piece of heavy
equipment. Having banged my head pretty good, I started seeing stars. For the
first time I realized just how loud it was in the building. Rock concert loud.
I sent my Essence to work, opened my eyes and really looked around. That’s when
I realized those weren’t more Ray-pacs entering the building; they were Guardians.
And the battle was just heating up. A couple fireballs whizzed overhead,
through some metal grates, and into the scaffolding-like floors above. Someone
screamed and fell over the railing. I didn’t look to see who it was, but I
heard the body splat onto the floor not too far away.

Energy spheres hurtled, clipping people and
exploding against walls. Chairs, tires, and other metal parts zoomed in all
directions as if self-propelled and battery operated. Included in the midair
performance were a few flying Guardians and Ray-pacs. Some because it was their
Flair and others because they’d been rocketed there by an enemy’s Flair.

“Lexi! What are you doing?” Madison called out
angrily.

“Just a sec. I need to check on Jason,” I
shouted. Worried, I looked over and could see he’d also been blown to the
floor. I breathed a sigh of relief. He was still tied up but no one was focused
on him at the moment. I squinted, his two guards, Rafe and Rose, were otherwise
engaged with… What the heck? Was that Miss Palo from the Houston Circle? That
sweet freckle-faced Senior Guardian who’d been one of my supporters at the
Council Meeting? I did a double-take, and reinforced my Essence, thinking maybe
my vision was still impaired. Yes, it really was her. She and another guy from
her Circle were giving creeper Rafe and bully-faced Jane a run for their money.
Thank you, Houston!

“Where are
you, Lexi? I’m coming for you.”
I flinched at the sound of Kieran’s voice.

“Gonna be
hard to find me with one eye, isn’t it?”
I countered. He kept talking, but
I stopped listening. I’d learned ways to tune out Ash, and now I did the same
with Kieran. Instead, I spoke to Ash.
“What’s
going on? I thought you had Kieran?”

“I do.
He’s in my sights. I’m just a little side-tracked since someone absorbed my
Flair.”

“Aiden,”
I muttered.
“Dakota, have you killed
Aiden yet?”

It took her a few seconds to respond, and then
she sounded breathless
. “No, but we’re in
the middle of it right now. He’s shooting energy orbs at me, and I’m still new at
this flying thing.”

“Ash, go
help Dakota get rid of Aiden. He’s the Spoiler who’s absorbed your Flair. Once
he’s dead, you’ll have your Flair back and can destroy Kieran.”

“Get over here and help me,” Madison barked. She
didn’t look very comfortable, all tangled in ropes with her feet tied together.
Her mass of black hair was sprawled all about her face and she was trying to
blow it out of the way as she struggled to break free.

“Bossy as usual,” I commented as I slid in next
to her and went to work.

“Center of attention…as always,” she quipped
right back. “Noticed earlier you’d even dressed for the occasion.”

“Very funny.”

“Trying to keep it light.”

Sensing we were in the path of mass destruction,
I yelled, “Inbound. Hold on.” I picked up Madison and the chair she was
attached to and leaped into the air, landing several feet away. We looked back
as a series of blue oil drums pelted the spot where we’d just been. They
crashed to the floor, and a couple lids flew off, causing black oil to ooze all
over the floor.

“Uh-oh. We don’t have long before a Pyro lights
that ablaze. Then we’re really in trouble,” I said. “I know you’re scared,” I
added, tugging at the knots, thinking Milo must have used the double
constrictor knot, which was almost impossible to untie. I let go of my
invisibility and came into full view. “But Madison, I’m scared too.”

“I’m not scared.” There was a dark fury in her
eyes. “Just uncomfortable when I’m not linked and surrounded by Ray-pacs,” she
huffed. Her gorgeous emerald eyes locked with mine, and we froze.

“That’s it! We link.”

“No way!” she said, biting her lip, her eyes
flashing a warning.

“Yes way!” I said, grabbing her hands. “Link
with me. Now. You’ll be able to break through the ropes. We won’t have to waist
any more time here, and I can go to Jason.”

“But I’ll need to link with him.”

I froze. “No,” I said adamantly, puffing out my
cheeks. “I’m linking with Jason. And if you don’t link with me, you’re
screwed.”

I hadn’t really thought about it until that
moment. But my heart started thudding heavily in my chest when I realized I
could link with Jason. We could be together. Well, us and a bunch of other
people. But as long as I was linked with him, I didn’t care about everyone
else. And the Senior Council would have no grounds for separating us or making
him move to Maine. Hope danced in my heart.

Madison’s eyebrows twitched in surprise. “I know
his heart belongs to you. I d-didn’t mean that h-he and I,” she stammered.

“I know, Madison. I love Jason and he loves me.
And from what I’ve gathered from Ash, you’re in love with him.”

“I’m not,” she said, blushing furiously, but we
shared a look that told me she lying.

“Madison, shut up and link with me. If we
survive, we’ll work it out later.” Within seconds we were linked. Almost
instantly, her smooth olive skin began rippling, her body stretched out,
growing longer, and her skin transformed into fur as dark as her lustrous black
hair had been. As she shifted from human to an exotic black panther, the ropes
snapped and slipped away. Black panthers were rare, fearless, and aggressive,
but then so was Madison. With her emerald green eyes set against that smooth
onyx pelt, she was magnificent, and I told her so.

She growled and dipped her head.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this. But
thanks, Lexi. I’ve always wished I could shift. This is amazing.”

“Go kill
some Ray-pacs. And watch Ash’s back.”

“Oh, I
will. Kill some Ray-pacs, that is,”
she announced as she leaped high into
the air, landed on the oil barrels, and pounced out of sight.
“Ash can take care of himself, though. You
go get Jason,”
she ordered.

 
“Just so you know, a Spoiler stole Ash’s
Flair so he’s a little helpless right now.”

“Oh, no!”
Now, she sounded panicked.
“As always, he
needs a woman to save his cute little...”
Her voice trailed off.

Unbelievably, in that moment, my head started
throbbing and I could feel a premonition coming on hard and fast. I closed my
eyes and the images flashed through my mind: