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Oh
well, I couldn’t think clearly and I didn’t feel much of anything anyways…

“Just
do it! She needs mouth to mouth, and you’re the only one that can touch her
right now.”

“Okay,
but don’t attack me. Remember, I’m only trying to save her life.”

“She
trusts you, so I’ll do the same, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“That’s
reassuring.”

“Just
go already. Come on Alex. Can you hear me? Come on baby. Wake up.”

Was
that Jason and Ash? Where were they, and who were they talking about?

“She
looks blue! And she’s stiff as a board. Are you sure she’s breathing?”

“Calm
down man. I promise, she’s breathing. But she’s ice cold and her pulse is
faint.”

Mmm….that’s
nice. Someone’s warm hands on my face and their warm breath sweeping over my
cheeks.

“I
can’t believe her skin can be that cold, and yet I still get burned when I
touch her. This is crazy. We’ve got to find Jessica.”

“Listen,
we’ve got to get her back to the cabin, and get her out of these, wet clothes.
Then we need to warm her body up slowly. She has severe hypothermia.”

“I
know that! Stop explaining everything to me. I’ll get Madison here and have her
use telekinesis to get Alex back to the cabin.”

“No.
She needs body heat, and right now I’m the only one who can give that to her.
I’ll carry her back to the cabin. I can get her there just as fast.”

“Fine.
Fine. Let’s stop talking and go. I’ll take the lead in case we run into any
more trouble.”

“Lexi?
Come on Lexi. If you’re not ready to wake up it’s okay. But please talk to me.”

“Ash?”

“That’s
it! Come on. You’re gonna be okay. You crazy girl! I need you to wake up,
otherwise your boyfriend here is gonna knock me senseless. We’ve got to warm
you up; you’re hypothermic.”

“Ash.
No, I’m not. I feel good.”

“You
are not good right now; Jason and I just pulled you out of the lake. You
swallowed a lot of water, and you’re freezing cold,”
he said sternly.

“I
took a little dip in the water. No big deal.”

“Lexi,
you’re confused and semiconscious – both symptoms of hypothermia. Just relax.
Use your Essence to warm your body.”

“Your
touch feels good Ash. Your Essence is strong.”

“Shhh.
Just rest.”

“I’m
going to get these wet clothes off her now. Why don’t you grab as many blankets
off the bed as you can?”

“Look
man, step back. There is no way I’m letting
you
take her clothes off.
You go get the blankets.” That was Jason’s voice.

“But
what about—”

“Look
Ash, I’ll deal with whatever pain I get from touching her, but I am the only
one who will be undressing her. I don’t care how much it burns.”

“Fine.”

“And
look the other way, will ya? Go make yourself useful.”

My
body jerked as someone tugged at my clothes. Something soggy brushed over my
face, and my eyes snapped open just in time to see my shirt slipping over my
head. I gazed down at my trembling, blue-tinged body, which appeared to be
wearing only wet jeans and a bra. I cringed.

“Alex,
thank goodness,” Jason said hurriedly, throwing a blanket over me.

“Why
are you taking my clothes off?” I asked angrily.

“Listen
baby.” He leaned in close until his beautiful eyes were only inches away. “I
need to get you into something dry, and we need to warm you up. I’m gonna take
your jeans off, okay?”

“No!
Don’t touch me.”

“Lexi,
listen to Jason; he’s trying to help you,”
Ash said sternly from somewhere
in the depths of my mind.

“Ash?”
I whispered aloud.

Anguish
spilled over Jason’s face, but he turned and said harshly, “Ash, she wants
you.”

“I’m
right here,” Ash said appearing at my side, placing one hand against my cheek.

Jason
growled when Ash touched me.

“Please
let him get you out of these wet clothes Lexi,” Ash pleaded and brushed my hair
away from my forehead. “You are still in serious danger.”

“No!”
I snapped.

“You
want Ash to do it?” Jason asked wide-eyed, suddenly very unsure of himself.

“No.”I
tried to shake my head, but my neck felt stiff. “Leave. Me. Alone. There’s
nothing…wrong…with…me.”

A look
passed between the two of them.

“She’s
out of it.” Ash mumbled. “I’ll hold her arms down, you take her pants off.”

Jason
nodded. “You’re right, she sounds delusional.”

“What
the –” My mouth fell open when I heard a zipper, and then I watched as Jason
ripped off my jeans. I wanted to tell them they were making me really mad, but
my mouth refused to cooperate. They were the crazy ones. Trying to fight back,
I found that Ash had me tightly secured, and my body wasn’t responding to my
commands anyways.

“Okay
they’re off,” Jason called out and threw more blankets over the top of me. “Let’s
slide this bed closer to the fire.”

For a
moment, I closed my eyes and shook my head. I tensed as the bed slid,
screeching all the way across the floorboards. Looking around, I realized the room
was eerily familiar. After a few minutes I managed to ask, “Where are we?”

“We’re
in the other cabin,” Ash said calmly. “It’s identical to the one we were in
earlier, the one that burned down,” he paused and studied me, “only this one is
a little bit bigger.”

“The
yellow paint…” I complained. It reminded me of Adrian’s evil eyes.

They
exchanged worried looks again. Since when had they become best friends?

“Ash,
why don’t you look around in any closets or dressers; see if you get lucky and
can find some extra clothes and a pair of extra socks or something,” Jason
suggested.

“Good
idea.” Ash disappeared, and seconds later drawers were opening and slamming.

Gazing
at Jason, I smiled. After a few minutes I found my voice again. “You know
you’re totally sexy when you’re ordering people around.”

He
shook his head at me. “Alex, use your Essence. Use it to warm up your body.
Better yet, use it to focus and clear your mind. You’re all mixed up right
now.”

“No,
I’m not,” I huffed and studied the flames flickering behind the glass of the
old, black wood stove. After a minute, I looked up at him and raised one
eyebrow. “Do you know what a square point is?”

“What?”
His eyes popped open a little wider. He was sitting in a chair, leaning against
the bed with his chin resting against his hands.

“Do
you know what a square point is?”

“Alex,
why do you want to talk about shovels?” He looked bewildered.

“Good,”
I said.

“What’s
good?” he asked with exasperation and dropped his head onto the bed.

“My
dad always said he wouldn’t approve of any boyfriend I brought home who didn’t
know what a square point was.”

Covering
his face with his hands, he shook his head and looked at me again. “Alex, I’m
gonna put my arms underneath the blankets with you. I want you to hold onto me,
draw from my Essence. And I want you to close your eyes and rest. Will you do
that for me? Please.”

I
looked at his lips. If those lips would just…

“Alex!
Please…”

“Okay.
Okay.” I placed my hands on his arms and smiled. “I love your Essence. It’s
unique and feels intimately familiar,” I said dreamily. “Like it belongs to
me.”

“That’s
good baby. I’m all yours. Draw from my Essence and rest now.”

I
sighed and counted the knots in the pine ceiling for awhile before my eyes
shuttered closed.

A door
bursting open, trampling feet, voices…I opened my eyes and watched as my
friends rushed into the cabin. Jessica, Laci, and Madison were supporting Max
as they escorted him over to a chair. Behind them, Trevon walked in leaning
heavily on Shelby, and she helped him sit down. Everyone was talking all at
once, chairs were scraping and people were barking orders. The room was
complete disarray for a couple minutes as everyone settled in.

I
couldn’t help but stare at Max. Looking at him was painful, because he was
bruised, scratched, and bleeding from head to toe. Laci gathered towels from
the kitchen area and ran them under the faucet before returning to his side.
Dabbing his wounds carefully with the damp towels, she worked gently and
lovingly, cleaning him up.

Sitting
up in my bed, I swung my legs around until they were dangling over the edge.
Wiggling my toes, I saw that my feet were covered with big, black wooly socks.
My legs felt heavy but seemed to be working just fine, and the skin on my legs
appeared to be a normal shade of pink again. I felt stronger and warmer, which
I should, because I was bundled in a winter coat as well as several blankets.

“Hey,
wait a minute. Don’t even think about getting up. You need to stay put,” Jason
said, rushing to my side at the bed.

Jessica
hurried over and pulled me into a big, bear hug. “Thank goodness you’re all
right!” she exclaimed. Grabbing my hands, she took one step back and sized me
up. Your Essence feels strong, but you look horrible.”

Reaching
up, I patted my hair. “Thanks a lot. It’s nice to see you too,” I mumbled but
smiled. “Actually,” I said and gazed at all their familiar faces, “I can’t tell
you how glad I am to see everybody – and to see that you’re all alive.”
Releasing a deep breath, I relaxed my shoulders. My fingers and toes tingled
with warmth.

“We’re
here all right,” Madison huffed, “but it was a nasty fight with too many
injuries and losses.” she glanced at Max and continued, “We lost a couple
Guardians in the process.”

“Who?”
I squeaked.

“Sam from
our Circle and Avery from Phoenix. At least those are the two that I know
about,” Madison said angrily.” Everyone was silent for a few minutes. Guilt
washed over me as I remembered Sam’s ready smile. I’d only met him a couple
times when we’d gathered at the Nelson’s home, but he’d always been friendly
and welcoming.

“They
will always be remembered and honored among the Guardians,” Laci said quietly.

“Yes,”
Max said gravely. “Right now our friends are sweeping the area and then they
are going to begin a clean-up, so we should have more information soon.” He
paused and ran his hand along his face. “At least the losses weren’t greater,
and we took care of business here.”

Jessica
stood between Max and Trevon, a hand on each of their shoulders.

“For
the most part anyways,” Jason added, and several pairs of eyes shot his
direction.

“What
do you mean?” Max said with a tense edge to his voice.

Jason
studied me for a moment and turned back to Max. “While chasing Kieran, I came
across Alex and Adrian standing out in the middle of a frozen lake. When the
ice cracked open, Adrian and…Alex…slipped into the water and…and disappeared
under the ice,” he stuttered, glancing at me anxiously.

“I’m
okay,” I assured him.

“That’s
when Kieran darted for the woods. I couldn’t risk losing Alex.” His lips
trembled. “So I let him go. Ash and I barely managed to pull Alex out of the
lake in time.”

Our
eyes locked, and I reached over and put my arm around him. “Thank you,” I said
quietly.

“Thank
God I didn’t lose you,” he whispered.

Groaning,
Madison tapped her foot against the floor. Still wearing her orange coat, she
placed her hands on her hips and said, “So, you think Adrian is at the bottom
of the lake?”

“He
is.” Jason’s head snapped up.

“Then
we’ve managed to annihilate at least six Ray-pacs here today. Exactly how many
were there?”

“Actually,
counting Melanie we got rid of seven of them,” Ash announced loudly as he
appeared from another room, probably the bathroom. “But there were at least a
total of nine that I knew about. Kieran was linked with Alayne, whose specialty
was invisibility, so they could have escaped together.” Walking swiftly in his
black cargo pants, he tore off his bright yellow jacket and tossed it over my
lap. Plopping himself down on the bed next to me, he patted my leg once and
then looked up to meet Madison’s cold stare. She took two steps forward and
glared at him, but he just flashed her that cocky, provocative smile.

“Jeez
Ash, keep your thoughts to yourself. I don’t need to know all the little
details going through your mind,”
I scolded.

“Sorry
Lexi. But you’ve been holding out on me. Why didn’t you tell me Madison was one
hot babe with an attitude bigger than yours?”

“Probably
because I knew she’d have you roasting over the fire and screaming in pain before
you could figure out how she’d managed to skewer you.”
I shot back.

“Sounds
like fun,”
he said wickedly.
“Although, I’d still rather try that with
you.”

“You’re
unbelievable. Thank God Jason can’t hear you right now.”

“You!”
Madison said fiercely, advancing on Ash. She jabbed her finger into his bright
green shirt. “Who are you? Or rather, what exactly are you?”

“Calm
down wildcat! Take a second and chill,” he said in a lazy voice, but his eyes
held amusement.

Placing
the palm of her hand flat against his chest, she shoved him hard. Hard enough
that he fell backwards until he was laying flat on his back. “My
name
is
Madison! And you still haven’t answered my question,” she said viciously.

He sat
up with a huge grin and said, “Well,
Madison
, feel free to push me
around anytime you want.” Crossing her arms, she huffed and pressed her lips
together, but he ignored her and said, “And since you’re insisting we be on a
first name basis, I’m Ash.” He extended his hand, but she swiped it away.