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“What
are you doing?” she yelled. Flinging her arms and legs, she fought him wildly
as he held her in a solid grip.

He
gazed at me with an expression that begged my permission to snap her head off.
A gurgle escaped from the back of my throat as I tried to regain my sense of
balance, and somehow managed to shake my head in the negative.

Wincing
ever so slightly, he loosened his hold on Melanie and said roughly, “I just
want you to slow down. If you kill her, Kieran will kill you, and then he’ll
either kill me or I’ll be left with no linking partner.”

“I’m
not gonna kill her,” she said and glared at me. “She’s no good to us dead.
Besides, she’s a Healer and can take care of her own injuries, but I intend to
make sure she has some injuries that need healed. And I want her to feel the
pain.” She leered at me. “See this,” she yelled and traced a long, thin scar
that ran across her cheek. “This is because of you, and you deserve the same,
if not worse!”She planted herself before me.

Standing
behind her, Ash shook his head and clenched his fists, indicating he might bash
her head in regardless of my wishes. I could see that he was close to not
caring if it blew our chances of success with the Ray-pacs; he was not happy
with the beating I was taking.

“So
Alex, or Lexi – whoever you are,” she said, baring two very canine-like front
cuspids, “can you feel the pain yet?” I couldn’t find my voice but managed a
scowl. “Hmm,” she said, scoffing at my silence. Her long nose lifted a couple
inches, and she flung her greasy, black hair back out of her face. “I should
just rip your tongue out of your mouth. No amount of Essence would heal that
kind of damage, and I’d never have to listen to your voice again.” Folding her
arms, she dropped her head and scowled. Her eyes shimmered with mirth.

Tasting
the coppery blood as it dripped down the back of my throat, I simply smiled at
her. Reckless and foolish, I decided to push her to the limits. “You could
certainly try,” I patronized. Spit and blood roiled around in my mouth,
nauseating me, and I thought I might spew out whatever acids rested in the
bottom of my stomach. Instead, I mustered a deep breath. Putting as much power
as possible behind the huge ball of bitter phlegm in my mouth, I spit it at
her. I’d learned well from my brothers, who, when they were young, had numerous
loogie shooting contests.

They
would have been proud. I hit her smack between her savage, blue eyes. Shock and
horror followed by extreme loathing washed over her face. She reached up, and
with the cuff of her magenta sweater, wiped my spit off the bridge of her nose.
“Why you little witch.” She flew at me, her fist connecting high on my cheek.
Pain shot through my face, as I felt and heard my cheekbone splinter. Blood
roared in my ears and tears welled in my eyes at the intensity of the pain.
Gritting my teeth, I slammed my eyes shut and focused my mind.

Bypassing
the sharp throbbing in my face, I sifted through the hurt and centered my
attention straight on the affliction. I concentrated on my Essence, my own
strong and forceful energy. Compacting it like a hard-packed snowball, I sent
the powerful ball of energy hurtling towards my facial muscles and broken
bones. The impact was forceful, but immediately restorative. Relief emanated
through my body. Essence dispersed all around the injury, healing my bones,
reconditioning them to their normal state and eliminating any pain. This was
done with the same speed in which Melanie had sent her fist flying at my face.
It was fast and efficient.

Opening
my eyes, I couldn’t help but smile in triumph. This self-healing stuff really
worked. Being half Amethyst rocked! Maybe I wouldn’t need a plastic surgeon
after all. Melanie’s eyes burned with rage, and she shook with fury. I glanced
over her shoulder at Ash, whose gaping mouth slowly curved into an astonished
smile.

Feeling
confident, as well as sick and tired of being strapped down and confined, I
said, “You want to untie me and make this a fair fight, or,” I taunted, “are
you scared I might waste you for a second time?”

Raising
her sharp chin, she glared at me but knelt and began untying the ropes around
my ankles. “You’re no match for me physically,” she ranted.

Ash’s
eyes grew wide and we exchanged looks as she undid the knots. I smiled and
nodded once, and he looked at me in wonder while running his hand over his
head. A cell phone started ringing, causing Melanie to jerk backwards and let
go of the ropes at me feet. Sitting back, she yanked a phone out of the back
pocket of her faded jeans. “It’s Kieran,” she said clearly agitated. “Keep an
eye on her. I’ll be right back.” She stood and stalked out the front door,
banging it behind her.

Ash
glanced at the door before rushing to my side. He knelt down and ran his hand
across my face. “Lexi, are you okay? I’m so sorry.”

“I’m
fine,” I reassured him, tilting my face into his hand.

“When
she tracked me down last night, I almost had a heart attack. I realized I’d
have to bring her with me when I came to get you at the marina, and I was seriously
worried about how that was going to play out.” His eyes blinked, and he paused
to wipe his brow. “I’m sorry I knocked you out this morning – it was the only
way to keep you safe from her bloodlust. With you unconscious, I didn’t think
she’d lay into you as much.”

“I’m
okay, really. And I know this sounds crazy, but I’m grateful you knocked me
out.” I chuckled. “I really needed the sleep.”

“Listen
to me Lexi,” he said urgently, each word growing sharper. He stole a glance at
the door and grabbed hold of my legs. “We have a serious problem.” His
effervescent, green eyes studied me hard. “You cannot try linking with Kieran.
No matter what. Do you hear me?”

“What?”
I asked incredulously. “What are you talking about? I have to link with Kieran
first, that’s our only hope.”

The
doorknob wiggled.

“Ash,”
I whispered, nodding to the right.

The
door squeaked and swung open as Melanie trounced in.

“You
have a nasty little mouth on you,” Ash barked loudly in my face, for Melanie’s benefit,
no doubt. He flung his head sideways, and his long brown hair whipped across
his face. He jabbed a finger into my chest with such force, the chair and I
went sliding backwards a few inches. “Melanie could tear you apart any day, and
I have half a mind to let her. Screw Kieran,” he said angrily, but winked at
me. Shaking his head, he stood up and pretended to be tempering his anger. He
looked at Melanie, who was staring at him with something akin to awe, and he
brushed me aside with a wave of his hand. “What’s up?” he asked her.

As if
in a daze of her own she handed him the phone. “Kieran wants to talk to you.”

He
grabbed the phone and listened intently for quite awhile. Eventually, he looked
at me and mumbled, “Well, I wouldn’t take her out in public looking like she
does. I’d probably be arrested for spousal abuse or something. But hey, she
didn’t get anything she didn’t deserve.” Turning back to Melanie, he smiled and
gave her a nod of approval. After a short time he said, “Yeah sure, whatever you
want. But don’t blame Melanie. This little witch has quite a mouth on her, and
frankly, I think she likes the pain.” He leaned against the counter and looked
at the floor. “Yeah, I can do that.” Ash handed the phone to Melanie and said,
“He wants to talk to you again.”

She
trembled and took the phone. Apparently, she
was
afraid of something –
or
someone
rather. Kieran had her shaking in her ridiculous, white
furry, wedge boots. “Fine,” she said with a scowl. She listened for a minute
and then huffed, “Yes, I understand.” She snapped the phone shut, jammed it
into her pocket, and pulled Ash outside. For several minutes I could hear their
muffled voices carrying on, but I couldn’t understand a word of the
conversation. Just when I thought they’d abandoned me, Ash stomped back in and
kicked the door closed behind him.

He
leaned against the door and flashed me a wide grin. “By some small miracle, we
are in luck.”

“Why?
What happened?”

Hurrying
over, he started untying the ropes around my wrists. “Kieran has ordered
Melanie to stay away from you, and she has been instructed to stay inside the
other cabin. I’m supposed to watch over you, closely, until he arrives – which
will be sometime within the hour. I’m responsible for making sure Melanie
doesn’t come near you again. He’s more than pissed off that she snuck off and
arrived here last night, but he’s even hotter about the fact that she’s been
taking swings at you.”

“Why
does that psycho even care?” I muttered and rubbed my red wrists where the rope
had burned my skin.

“We’re
not out of this yet. Not by a long shot,” Ash said, bringing a bunch of warm,
damp paper towels with him from the sink. He started cleaning off my face, and
I grimaced. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Lexi, we need to toss out plan A and go with
plan B.”

I
raised my brows. “Plan B?”

Nodding,
he threw away the bloody paper towels and filled a cup with water. I grabbed
the mug greedily and gulped several times. Recharged, I sighed and looked up at
him gratefully. Standing there in his bright yellow, North Face jacket and
black Foursquare cargo pants, he looked more like he should be snowboarding on
Mt. Baker rather than getting ready for a deadly confrontation with the
Ray-pacs.

The
unease in his face overwhelmed me, and I flew into his arms. I was happy he was
here with me and that I wasn’t alone. “Okay, what’s this all about? Why can’t I
link with Kieran? And what do you mean by plan B?” Frustrated but curious, I
plopped back down on the chair and stretched out my legs.

He
grabbed one of the mismatched chairs, a blue one, and placed it directly in
front of mine. Leaning forward, he grabbed hold of my knees. “Lexi,” he said in
a worried voice, “I had a premonition earlier.” Fear flashed behind his eyes.
“A premonition about you…linking with Kieran, and…” It was hard for him to
speak.

“Yes?”

He met
my eyes. “The link worked.”

“That’s
good if the link worked.”

“No!”
He gripped my knees even harder. “The link worked, and you both lived through
it.”

“What?”

“In my
vision you were alive and well, as was Kieran. Then the images flashed forward
to the summertime, and you were still linked with him. I don’t know how to say
this…” he snarled, “but you were
WITH
him. His arms were around you,
like he had some sort of hold over you.”

“Impossible!”
I blanched and cried out, “I would never allow that monster to touch me…”

“I
know. I know you wouldn’t do that intentionally, but I’m just telling you
that’s what I saw.” He pushed my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my
ear. “Then I saw you tied down on a table, with a whole group of, I don’t know
who exactly, I have to assume Ray-pacs, but they were surrounding you, closing
in. And then my next image was that of a cemetery.”

I drew
a sharp breath. “What?”

“Tell
me, have your visions ever misled you?” he asked.

Trembling,
I shook my head anxiously. “No.”

“Well,
neither have mine. And Lexi, I’m not sure what exactly would happen if you
linked with Kieran, but I’m afraid you’d both live through it and it would
change who you are. But worse than that, I’m thinking he’d be able to take your
Essence or even control you. I just don’t know.” He slammed one fist on the
table. “We can’t take that chance.”

“What
are we going to do?” I said barely above a whisper, more scared than I’d ever
been before. The thought of being linked to Kieran was beyond my worst
nightmare.

“Plan
B.”

“What’s
that?” I grabbed onto him. “Please tell me you really have a Plan B. This can’t
all be for naught. Somehow, we’ve got to destroy them.”

Drawing
back, he looked at me intensely, but his expression was unreadable. And then he
said something absolutely crazy. “You and I are going to link,” he said
resolutely and added, “and we’re gonna do it right now!”

Dumbfounded,
I stared at him. For several seconds I was swept away by the recklessness of
his words. He nodded his head ever so slightly, and his eyes penetrated mine,
which had to be round with shock. Barely breathing, I couldn’t stop the
feelings of foreboding sweeping over me as the absurdity of his words sunk
deeper. I broke out in a cold sweat of fear. He couldn’t be serious.

“Not
possible,” I said quietly, looking around in alarm.

“Why
not?” he said angrily. “I’m certain you’re going to live through linking, but
under no circumstances can it be with one of
those
Ray-pacs. Besides
that, you need to link now. Even though you’ve tried to hide it from me, I know
your headache is getting worse. It’s time.”

I
gaped at him. “How—”

Seizing
my face, he said, “Listen, we’d have the element of surprise on our side, and
hopefully some kick-ass abilities that would allow us to take them on before
they even have a chance to re-link.”

“What
if it doesn’t work? What if I end up killing you?” I said, wrestling with my
doubts.

“That’s
not going to happen. Besides, we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
Think about it. When Kieran arrives he and everyone else will be unlinked, so
they won’t even be able to sense our link. That would give us an immediate
advantage.”

My
mind started spinning. “Yeah, I suppose.” Fretting at my lip, I tried to bury
my objections deep inside.

“Anyways,”
he said quietly and drew a deep breath, “there’s more.”

I
narrowed my eyes as he jumped out of the chair. He focused on the fire, and
refused to look at me. “Ash, what do you mean there’s more?” I said quietly,
apprehension evident in my tone.