Dentelle Read Free Page A

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