Ignoring my request, Kieran smiled triumphantly and shoved me back onto the throne before ordering me to calm down. Then he introduced Ash to the Ray-pacs, naming him as a traitor – one who’d betrayed Kieran and joined the Guardians. The noise level rose quickly as the Ray-pacs jeered.
“You didn’t tell me you were on your way here,” I criticized Ash.
“Thought there’d be a better chance you’d look surprised if I didn’t warn you.” We stared at each other, and tears started accumulating in my eyes. “Hey, don’t cry.”
“Trying not to. I’m so sorry about everything, Ash.”
“Me too. But hey, at least you look drop-dead gorgeous for the occasion.”
“Very funny,” I said almost cracking a smile.
Once Kieran had everyone quieted down again he called for Rafe and Rose to bring in the next guest. Only this time I didn’t have to act surprised, I was totally stunned and beside myself with terror and insanity. As Rafe and Rose dragged a struggling, bound and gagged Jason across the floor with a rope, I went hysterical and flew out of my seat.
Jason was here. The love of my life was here in this hellhole. And he was going to die with me. Screaming, I tried to run toward him, but Kieran caught me and wrapped his arms around me possessively, holding me tightly, almost intimately. I wanted to kill him right then. Right there. With my bare hands.
Ash must have seen the look of murder on my face, because I faintly heard his voice. “Not yet, Lexi. Not yet.”
Soon enough, Rafe had Jason roped into the chair. I could tell by looking at Jason, that he was no longer linked. He was completely defenseless. I ignored the cheering voices and stomping of feet that filled the room around me. For one moment in time, I shoved aside my desire to kill Kieran, and I ignored his evil Essence flowing into me as he pressed his body against mine. Instead, I fixated solely on Jason. When my eyes met his, I wanted to weep. Weep for the enormity of emotions I saw there. I wanted to touch him, hold him, love him, explain myself to him. I could read his fear, sense his anxiety, and feel his pain. But more importantly, his eyes expressed the deepest of all emotions: love. And they did so with honesty and vulnerability. Those beautiful aqua-marine eyes were windows to his inner soul, revealing the true nature of his heart. In spite of my lies and everything that had happened, he still loved me. Thank God he still loved me.
Tears rolled down my cheeks. And I mouthed the words, I love you. He blinked and nodded.
Kieran must have felt the drops splattering on his arm, because he whipped me around so fast, I felt the effects of whiplash. Angry beyond belief, he stared at my tear-stricken face and tightened his fingers around my skin like talons. Shaking his head, he looked ready to explode or ready to kill someone. No, not someone. Jason. I started trembling at the thought. He brushed his hand over my face, wiping away the tears. “Oh, Lexi. Tut, tut, tut,” he said in a condescending tone. “You must learn to hide your emotions. Ray-pacs don’t give anything away.” His face relaxed and he actually smiled. “Don’t cry over him or him.” He glanced at Jason, then Ash, and then back at me. “You know I’m going to kill them both. Seeing you this emotional hurts me, Lexi. It really does.” He was ludicrous – a freak of nature. “Don’t worry. I’ll make them pay. I promise. But I’ll wait until after we’re linked. They won’t want to miss it. That’s the least I can do for you, my love.”
“Now?” I asked Ash. “Can I kill him now? I could strangle him so easy.” I could barely contain the need, the desire to destroy. It scared me. There were parts of me – in that dark side of my nature – parts I didn’t want to admit to, and they were begging to be released. There was a beast inside of me, too.
“No! Not yet. We don’t know who he’s bringing to the third chair. Hold on.”
My blood was boiling, and my breaths were short and choppy. “Why is Jason here? This is my worst nightmare come true.”
“I know, Lexi. I’m sorry. We’ll figure something out.”
But I knew we wouldn’t. We were doomed. As Kieran sat me back down, I played out the only likely scenario. I’d kill Kieran. Ash would kill a few Ray-pacs. And then they’d descend, ripping us to shreds. Someone, probably Aiden, would step up and become the new leader of the pack. If I was lucky I’d already be dead. If I wasn’t he’d make me die a slow, tortuous death.
I wasn’t even paying attention when Kieran had Milo bring in the last person. My eyes were closed, and I was praying it wasn’t going to be Ava Rose. Dakota I could deal with. I expected her. But if it was Ava Rose, I would lose that last ounce of self-control and retaliate regardless of the consequences or of any plan Ash was concocting. But when Ash came unhinged and started yelling, I knew, without a doubt, Kieran’s last victim was Madison. The passion and raw emotion in Ash’s voice matched my feelings for Jason. I opened my eyes, and sure enough, looking savage, beautiful, pissed off, and scared all at once, was Madison.
Ash looked like he was about to break through the ropes that were supposedly holding him down. “No, Ash!” I yelled. “You wait. You can’t do anything anyways, and I get to take out Kieran before you make any moves.” He didn’t respond right away so I said fiercely, “Do you understand me?”
Because he’d become so violent at Madison’s entrance, Aiden slapped him around then gagged him. Ash allowed it. But barely. Finally, he looked away from Madison and stared at me. “Fine. But we’ll do it together. He’s not walking out of here alive.”
Kieran, standing next to me, motioned with his hands for the Ray-pacs to settle down. Many of them were out of their seats, crowding each other, trying to get a good look at the Guardians. Grabbing me by the hand, Kieran pulled me to my feet. His eyes were wide with excitement, and he was breathing hard and fast. Rubbing my hands in between his, he could barely contain himself. He flashed a bright white smile. “Surprise, surprise, surprise, huh?” he said, tilting his head toward Ash, Jason, and Madison. “I hope you enjoy getting surprises as much as I like giving them. But right now,” he said, rocking back and forth on his feet, “it’s time to forget them. You will focus only on me. On us. It is time for us to link and become one.”
No, I thought. It’s time for you to finally die.
CHAPTER 22 – DENTELLE
Grabbing my hands eagerly, with his grimy sweaty ones, Kieran leaned forward and rudely – possessively – shoved his face against mine. Our foreheads and noses connected, and his lips were painfully close to mine. I loathed his touch. The feel of his ruddy skin against mine. The smell of his menthol-stinking breath. The heat gathered around our fingers, eventually spreading through my wrists and up my arms. Just like it had when I’d linked with Ash. I’d waited so long for this moment, and now that it was here, I felt totally unprepared. Anticipation, anxiety, and anger were just a few of the emotions pulsing through my nervous system.
I thought of Ellen, Kohana, and the countless Innocents Kieran had killed during his lifetime. I thought of how he was going to slaughter my friends – most specifically, Jason – and I knew with one hundred percent certainty, killing Kieran and all Ray-pacs was the right thing to do. They were soulless monsters, and by ridding the world of them, I was not taking lives, I was saving them.
Throwing my shoulders back, and lifting my chin ever so slightly, I said, “Get ready, Ash. I’m going to slice through his neck with my hand and take off his head.”
“You’re gonna do what?”
A split second later, the contact between Kieran and I was burning hot – barely tolerable. I was about to let go of his hands and rip through him like a chainsaw, when suddenly, his voice came crashing into my mind. “Oh, Lexi, my queen! We’ve done it. How extraordinary. We are one.”
What?
No.
This was not happening.
I had to be hallucinating.
“I’m on fire. I could do that again right now.” Kieran sounded charged.
I stood frozen. Shocked and appalled. How could Kieran’s voice be in my mind?
“Talk
to me. I want to hear you.” His voice was impatient and imposing.
“What? What happened?” I could barely breathe. I pulled away. My face had to be whiter than snow and my body temperature just as cold.
Frowning, Kieran grabbed my face and sunk his fingers into my skin. “We linked. What’s wrong with you?” After a moment, he dropped his hands to my waist and started nodding, like he’d just solved a puzzle. “It’s the Ray-pac Essence,” he said knowingly. “It’s potent but different than Guardian Essence.”
You mean impure, I thought.
“It’ll take some getting used to, but you’ll adapt. We’re together now, Lexi. We’ll be unstoppable.” With that, Kieran turned toward the crowd, opened his arms wide, and raised his palms high, like he was royalty and his loyal subjects were anxiously awaiting his words. He flashed a brilliant smile and shouted in a boasting tone, “It is done, and we have successfully linked. You have all been lucky enough to be here so you could witness this miraculous history-making ceremony. From this day forward we will…”
He continued addressing his audience, but I was so dazed and unsteady, I heard not another word. How could this be? What had happened?
“Lexi? What’s going on? What’s he babbling about? Why didn’t you kill him?”
“Ash?” I muttered, confused beyond belief. How was he still in my head? How could they both be in my head at the same time?
“If you’re too freaked out to kill him, you should have told me. I’ll come do it right now.”
“No!” I shouted to Ash. “No, you can’t. Not yet. What he said was true; I am linked with him.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re not making sense and neither is he.”
“I’m…I’m double linked. With you and with him.”
“That’s not possible,” Ash said, his voice rising, bordering on hysterical.
“Lexi, are you listening to me?” Kieran asked, roughly he pressed his hand into my waist.
Reaching up, I touched my forehead. “I feel shaky and dizzy, Kieran. Can I sit down?” I said aloud.
“Fine. Fine,” he said his tone a mix of irritation and concern.
“Just give me a minute,” I said. I was still so dumbfounded. I couldn’t manage a single coherent thought. In the meantime, Kieran continued speaking animatedly to his audience. A few people questioned why our link wasn’t detectable. To prove we were linked, he decided to demonstrate his new Flair, which turned out to be the same as Ash’s. Showing off, he sent a few flying energy spheres dangerously close to my friends. Meanwhile, I tried to rearrange my thoughts – get a handle on the situation. That wasn’t easy with Ash going off in my mind, barraging me with questions. The same ones I had. Only there were no answers.
Together, embroiled in chaos, Ash and I were at a total loss.
I chanced a glance at Jason, and my thoughts became even more chaotic. I could tell by his crinkled forehead and tightly set jaw he was Armageddon-mad, but he also looked confused. Probably trying to understand how I could be linked with Kieran. Probably thinking I was no longer linked with Ash. And if he was like me, he was wishing we’d tried linking before. But we never had. Who knew I could link twice? And what did that mean? Would one or both links break at the next full moon? Or was I forever-linked with both of them? Too many unknowns.
That last miniscule bit of hope I’d had, the unrealistic one that my friends and I might walk out of here alive – well, it had just been completely obliterated to smithereens. Now that Kieran and I were linked, and he had an endless supply of Essence, he was even more dangerous than he’d been before. I would not, and could not, stay linked to him. If killing him meant killing me, then that’s how it had to be.
“Lexi, stand up now,” Kieran said impatiently, running his fingers though my hair. “Why don’t you demonstrate your new Flair for us?”
Flair? I hadn’t even thought about that. Didn’t I still have the same defensive Flair? Yes, yes I did. I straightened and looked at Kieran with my mouth wide open. “Umm…”
“Get it together,” he said, violating my mind. His scratchy, evil voice inside my head, drove me insane. “You’re acting like a dumb blonde. You’re embarrassing me and yourself. Now do something impressive. You do know what your Flair is, don’t you?”
“Of course I know,” I said snidely, refusing to talk telepathically. And as I focused, searching for it, I found it. My new Flair was there, layered under my first Flair. My heart leapt. The only bright moment in all this – I was double-flaired. And this time I had something fun to play with. Wheeling around, I smiled ferociously and then raised my hands in the air, like I’d seen Madison do so many times before. I concentrated on the Ray-pacs standing next to my friends, and without warning, lifted Aiden, Zola, Rose, and Milo off their feet, spun them around like pinwheels, and then launched them into some steel culverts in the back of the room. For some reason, Rafe stayed put. My telekinesis hadn’t worked on him.
That brought the Ray-pac spectators to their feet. Some of them cheered, some of them looked aghast, and others remained silent, waiting to see what Kieran would do. I wondered the same thing. Slapping my hands together, I said, “Wow! What a rush!”
Although momentarily stunned, Kieran began laughing – loud blustery roars. They grew more obnoxious by the second, and other Ray-pacs joined in. But I could tell Kieran’s laughter was forced – all for show. He was livid. “That was not a wise decision.” His voice rumbled.
“I thought it was impressive,” I said aloud, angering him even more.
His irises flared, and a low hiss rushed from his lips. Movement in the back of the room had me preparing for retaliation; Aiden and the others were on their feet ready to attack. But Kieran placed his palms outwards like a policeman directing traffic. “Stop!” he yelled as he sent one bus-sized energy sphere out in front of us. It hovered, as if awaiting his command to continue. All five of them stopped mid-stride, but that didn’t take away the resentment in their eyes. “I know you’re angry. And normally, vengeance would be expected and accepted. But Lexi is unfamiliar with Ray-pac etiquette. She will need to be taught, but I will be the one to teach her.”
He gripped my arms and trailed his hands down my bare skin all the way to my hands. Then he took a finger and ran it up my stomach, over my chest and up to my chin. “You belong to me. Every inch of you. I can bring you pleasure but I can also bring you pain.” He was toying with me, and I hated that I had to allow it. A woman should not have to be submissive to a man. But Kieran was no man. Soon, I would turn the tables on him.
I ground my teeth and braced myself. I knew what was coming next – a lesson. He needed his audience to see he controlled me. That he reigned superior. He kissed his fingertips, pulled his hand back behind his head and then slapped me. My head jerked, but I kept my face deadpan. His long fingernails had scraped my cheek, but I ignored the sting. Unamused, I brushed my hair back and stared daggers. He shook a finger at me and said loudly, “We don’t use our Flairs against each other unless we are attacked or if we’re involved in the games.”
I shrugged, which didn’t make him very happy. Turning back to the crowd, he raised a fist in the air and shouted, “You do have to admire how she’s bold and gutsy. That’s how we like our Ray-pac women. And telekinesis is a powerful Flair.” He put his arm around me, and I tried to step away, but he held me firm. “You’re more like me than you know. That’s something I would have done.” Eyes alight with humor and challenge, he smiled, and I wondered what he was planning. That’s when he did something totally unexpected and disgusting. He stuck out his big, flat tongue and licked my cheek all the way from the base of my chin to my eye, brushing my eyelashes in the process.
“Ugh!” I cried, jerking out of his grasp and wiping my face. “Don’t you ever do that again,” I yelled. He said something suggestive, and I considered ripping his tongue out of his mouth. He was so vulgar, and gross, gross, gross. I clenched my fists.
“Don’t do it, Lexi.
Turn your thoughts. Think about Jason,” Ash advised.
Following Ash’s advice, I looked at Jason in hopes of suppressing my temper. But that was the wrong move because it only enraged me more. Rafe was smacking Jason around, hitting him upside the head. I wanted to pick Rafe up off his feet and slam him against the floor, but it hadn’t worked on him before so it probably wouldn’t now. Besides, if I did anything I’d only make it worse for Jason.
Kieran’s voice boomed again, almost blowing out my eardrum. “Lexi will be invaluable to us because she also has the Essence of an Amethyst and the ability to heal like one, too.” That brought a new wave of gasps and a few challenging comments.
“How is that possible?” yelled a tall guy with an orange mohawk.
“Yeah,” called out another girl.
“You doubt me?” Kieran roared.
“No,” the guy called back nervously. “I’ve just never heard of such a thing.”
“Most people haven’t. It’s very rare. But I will have Lexi prove it to you.” He will? I thought. “Bring in the Guardian,” Kieran ordered and pointed to a corner door.
“What is he doing?” Ash asked.
“I have no idea,” I responded, watching the door where Aria and Aiden had just exited. They returned, carrying Dakota. She looked horrible. Weak and fragile like she hadn’t eaten in days. They laid her down on the floor and stepped away from her like she had the plague or something. I broke away from Kieran, or he allowed me to break away from him, and I sprinted to Dakota’s side.
“Don’t touch her, Lexi. Not yet,” he called out just as I started to reach for her. She was barely conscious. “I mean it.” His wicked voice invaded my mind. “You wait or I will dismember your Guardian friends one body part at a time.” I was so sick of his threats but did as I was told. I waited anxiously, as he explained to everyone in the room that Dakota’s partner had been killed and that’s why she’d grown significantly weaker over the last few days. Aria wanted to link with the Guardian but not while she was so weak. Kieran declared I would heal Dakota so everyone could witness my abilities, and after that, Aria would link with the Guardian.
Dentelle #3 Guardian series Page 37
