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Apprehensively,
I complied but offered him nothing more than a cold, hard stare.

“So
good to be able to touch you this time without getting burned,” he added and
ran both of his tainted hands down my arms. Everything about him was foul, but
his Essence was the most heinous. “Tell me, have you been awaiting our second
encounter with as much anticipation as I have?”

I drew
one shaky breath, but I didn’t speak or move. I wouldn’t give him the
satisfaction.

He
cleared his throat and smiled. “Ahh, you’re so delighted with our reunion
you’re speechless. How endearing. What fun this is going to be – you and me
together again. And your Essence, which is even more incredible than last time,
I could just drink it up – how delectable.”He leaned in closer, sniffed around
my neck and continued grasping my arms.

“I’m
going to kill him,”
Ash growled.

“Not
yet. Calm down,”
I shouted back at him.
I wondered if my words came
across as a scream in his mind.

“Just
think, this time you won’t have to share willingly. I can just take your
Essence when I want it. Who knows, sooner or later, you might even grow fond of
my touch.”

Voices
arose outside. “Oh, my friends have been patient long enough. They’re dying to
meet you, and touch you,” he chuckled. “I’ll call them in, but don’t be
nervous, Alex, I won’t let them smack you around like Melanie did.” Gently, he
touched my face. “She’ll answer to me for this.”

He
whistled loudly, and several more Ray-pacs charged through the doorway and
crowded into the small cabin behind him.

Several
sets of eyes scrutinized me with great interest, like a group of art virtuosos
examining an original painting for authenticity. I could tell by all the
skeptical looks that judgments on my healing abilities and Essence were still
out, and appraisals of my high value were unlikely until further evidence was
gathered. All this was just fine with me.

As a
whole,
they
were a daunting group. I felt like I’d taken a wrong turn
down a dark alley and just met up with the worst kind of back alley criminals.
Chills edged up my spine as I realized that wasn’t far from the truth. One
blonde girl, with a short pixie-cut and a nose ring, was glaring at me with a
murderous look. Yeah! I knew that look.

“Must
be Kieran’s girlfriend?”
I said to Ash.

He
followed my gaze. “
Yep, that’s Alayne. The short, squatty dude on her right
is Jaden; he’s the self-replicator. Next to him, the Asian girl with the messy
black hair and star tattoos all around her left eye is Morgan – the tracker.”

“So
Alex, how about I introduce you to my friends?” Kieran said cheerfully. His
laughter was accompanied by several chuckles from the nefarious group standing
behind him.

“It’s
Lexi,” I snapped.

“Ohhh,
still feisty I see. That’s good,” he said, wiggling his fingers in the
air.“Whatever makes you happy. Everyone, meet
Lexi.”
He winked slyly
before turning and nodding at the group behind him. “And Lexi, meet everyone.”

“The
tall dude with the punk hairstyle and eyebrow piercings is Kole, the wind
manipulator. Kiesha, the black girl whose built like a body builder, is his
partner and very skilled with telekinesis. I’ve never officially met the girl
with long red hair, but I know she is Evelyn, and her specialty is flight.”

Blinking
rapidly, I tried to control my heartbeat when my gaze stopped on a pair of all
too familiar, glowing amber eyes. The eyes from my snapshots. They were
dead-locked on me, and for some reason they made me more nervous than any look
Kieran had ever thrown my way.

“That’s
obviously Kieran’s brother.”
I said with a shudder.

“Yes,
and although I’ve never met Adrian,”
Ash replied,
“I’ve heard his
ability to imitate another person’s ability makes him quite dangerous.”

“Just
like Jason,”
I murmured.

The
color of Adrian’s eyes was completely unnatural; the yellow hues seemed to
glow. He had the same buzz cut as Kieran but no goatee. Quarter sized, silver
hoops hung from each of his ears. If I had to guess, I’d say he was probably
younger by a couple years. The sight of him in his tight charcoal gray, vinyl
pants and black glossy trench coat made my skin crawl.

Kieran’s
gaze traveled between us. “Ah ha. I see you’ve spotted my brother Adrian. I
suppose our strong family resemblance and striking good-looks can be rather…”
he laughed, “intimidating.”

Adrian
raised his bushy eyebrows, and a look passed between him and Kieran. Once
Kieran nodded, Adrian advanced until he was close enough to touch me. I
recoiled when his hands settled around my neck. His Essence was pure evil. I
started to pull back, but he gripped tighter, and I had no choice but to
relent. This wasn’t the time to start a fight.

“Ahhh,”
he moaned in a deeper voice than Kieran’s. With his head tilted up towards the
ceiling, he closed his eyes and said, “I can see why Kieran wanted you so
badly. Your Essence feeds a need – that desire to feed. But it’s something more
than that too, isn’t it brother?”

Kieran
grunted, but he was eyeing his brother warily.

“He
thinks he owns you,”
Ash roared.
“And by the looks of it he doesn’t want
to share you even with his brother. I’m ready to rip his-”

Startled
at that comment and glad that no one else could hear his thoughts, I quickly
glanced his way.
“Calm down Ash,”
I shouted back.

He
remained poised against the counter, but his arms were crossed and he was
grinding his teeth.
“Lexi, I can barely stand it myself. It’s all I can do
to refrain from blasting them through the walls. But if I did, the others would
link so fast we wouldn’t stand a chance. Let’s just hope your friends get here
soon,”
he said with frustration.

Adrian
dropped his head and stared straight into my eyes. In a frenzied voice he said,
“Your Essence satisfies more than a physiological need. Forget eating and
sleeping. Forget self-actualization. I might have to find a whole new place for
you on the pyramid. Or make a new pyramid. You are absolutely delicious,” he
said smoothly.

I
found him completely repelling – the worst of all psychopaths.

“Oh
yes, I think you could satisfy several different needs,” he grinned, displaying
a set of perfectly straight, white teeth. “Your skin is soft and your neck so
fragile.” He pressed a little deeper. But it wasn’t his smooth fingers
squeezing my neck like a clamp that made me gasp for air. It was the long
tattoo creeping up from under his ‘Resistance is Futile’ t-shirt – the one that
wrapped around his neck. A barbed wire tattoo.

My
mind flashed back to June and a certain conversation that had taken place
between customers in my grocery line. A lady had talked about the heinous
Barbed Wire Serial Killer in Wyoming. My eyes crossed slightly as I glanced
down trying to get a look at the markings around his wrists.

“What
is it?”
Ash asked.

“You
said you hadn’t met Adrian. Do you know where he’s been?”

“I
don’t know – Utah? Wyoming? I can’t remember for sure. Why?”

I
didn’t respond; my body just froze in terror. A sick, numbing sensation spread
from my feet all the way to my scalp. The sight of matching, barbed wire
wristband tattoos sent me over the edge. I gagged and gasped for air. Between
Ash’s words and the tattoos, I was convinced I was standing face to face with
the Barbed Wire Serial Killer – the Hannibal Lecter of Essence killings.
Shaking violently, I wondered how I was gonna outsmart him.

Kieran
stepped forward and gave his brother a hard shove – one that caused Adrian to
drop his hold on me and step back. I reached my hands up to my neck; it was
such a relief to have him away from me. To have his Essence cut off from my
body. As I rested my hands on my knees, I took short, choppy breaths until I
could stand again with equanimity.

Giving
Adrian a savage look, Kieran said loudly and viciously, “I want everybody out
of this cabin right now.” He grabbed me by the arm. “Alex…I mean Lexi,” he
corrected himself and shot me a crooked grin, “and I need some time to get
reacquainted. When I’m ready, I’ll call you all back in and we’ll proceed with
our plans.”

Adrian
growled, and Alayne started to protest, but Kieran snarled and bellowed,
“Everyone out, and I mean now.” For whatever reason, he apparently held some
sort of power over them, because they all filed out. Albeit, they did it
angrily and with a lot of choice words. Adrian scuffed his shoes against the
floorboards, and even went so far as to pound his fist against the door as he
tromped outside. I, on the other hand, was happy to see them go and felt
confident I could take on Kieran if I had him one on one.

“Lexi?”

“Ash,
I can handle this. I might find the right time to take him down. I can’t
believe I’m saying this, but right now I’m stronger and faster than he is.”

“I’m
not happy about this.”

“Go!”

“You
keep me updated, and you call me when you need help. I’ll be right outside and
can blast through the wall at any time.”

“Okay.”

Ash
was the last one out the door, and Kieran rushed to lock it behind him.
Wheeling around, he approached me. “They’re dying to get a piece of your
Essence, but they’re just gonna have to wait.”

Standing
in the center of the room, I glowered when he came over and placed two fingers
under my chin. “At last, some alone time.” He rubbed his lips together and wet
them with his tongue. “I do believe you and I have some catching up to do. If
you care what happens to you – you’ll keep quiet about what happens between us.
You’ll find that Alayne is a jealous woman. But,” he said, running his filthy
finger over my lips, “what she doesn’t know, can’t provoke her.”

He was
cocky, and arrogant, and in my face. Disgusted, I brushed his hand away,
shifted my stance and waited. Fear was ever present, manifesting in my stomach
and coiling into knots. I didn’t dare speak yet, mostly out of concern my shaky
voice would reveal my terror. So I met his eyes squarely and kept my face stone
cold.

He
sniffed the air and dropped his nose closer to my sweater. His head shot up
angrily. Splitting his lips apart, he snarled, “Take that repulsive thing off
right now.”

“What?”
I uttered, completely taken aback.

“You
heard me,” he reached out and started tugging on my sweater. “Take it off. I
can’t stand the stench coming from it.”

“I’m
not taking off—”

“Take
it off right now,” he roared.

“Fine,”
I barked. Not in a good position to make my move yet, I complied and threw
Jason’s sweater across the room. Thank goodness, I’d thought to wear my Under Armour.
The only down side was that it was very snug and form-fitting which left me
feeling rather exposed.

“Are
you okay? What’s all the yelling about? Talk to me?”

“I’m
fine. Give me a little more time,”
I responded to Ash.

“That’s
better,” Kieran said and ran a finger down the center of my shirt. “I couldn’t
take another moment of that smell. His smell. All over that sweater. All over
you.” He was talking about Jason. “I can’t help but wondering what else Ash has
missed though,” he pondered, more to himself than to me, and rubbed his goatee
in thought. “He’s been reporting that you haven’t been hanging with that
worthless Guardian who ran and hid on his boat. You so convincingly bargained
with me to spare his life, but I should have killed him then. Tell me, why is
his scent so thick around you?”

I
needed to change the subject. “What are you planning on doing with me? Now that
you’ve got me, you might as well tell me. I fear boredom is setting in,” I
added in a lazy voice just to annoy him.

As he
shook his head, a slow grin spread across his face. “Come on Alex. You’re
smarter than that. We’re in for some good times.” I winced, and he continued,
“I can’t begin to tell you how often I’ve dreamed of this. Imagined you and me
together.” He stared hard at my mouth, and I felt myself blanching. “Just
think, a Ray-pac and an Amethyst. Consider the possibilities of a union…”

My arm
moved with astonishing speed, and I slapped him hard across the face.
Adrenaline rushed through me, but it was anger and loathing that motivated me.
I’d heard enough of his sick thoughts. It was time for him to get what he
deserved. “I’ll die before I ever let you touch me,” I raged.

His
hand flew up to his jaw, and his eyes rounded very subtly; he was astonished. A
spasm of hatred flashed across his face. “Why you…”

But I
wasn’t done with him yet. Not by a long shot. “I’m not going to be the one
dying today you vile freak of nature,” I screeched and charged. Amazed at my
own speed and strength, I smashed into him forcefully, like a seismic drilling
rig at full power. Barreling backwards, he crashed into the cabin wall and
knocked his head. Eventually, he rose and upon regaining his balance, cast me
another disconcerted look, but it was my turn to smile wickedly.

That’s
when the insight or sensation descended over my subconscious with astounding
precision. With keen understanding, I realized that Kieran was going to attack
me, and I knew exactly what moves he was going to make. The image was crystal
clear in my mind. I knew without a doubt he was going to come at me with his
fist and fake left, all while really intending to go right; he’d follow it up
with a kick to my left side. Okay, this might not be the most exciting Flair in
the world, but from a ‘staying alive’ standpoint, I’d take it.