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Probably
getting hungry? I buried my face in my hands and shook my head. This was one
appetite that nothing in the kitchen was gonna satisfy.

Grinding
my teeth, I leaned against the footboard of the gigantic bed and steadied
myself. I slammed my foot into the floor. Damn he was so infuriating! Not to
mention impossible to understand. After a little self-psychotherapy, I pulled
myself together and pushed off from the bed. In need of a little cheer, I
opened the blinds and relished in the warmth that seeped into the room. Beyond
the slider was a nice outdoor living area with gorgeous western views of the
ocean and outlying islands.

Sunlight
flooded the bedroom, highlighting the oak, antique furniture. Two queen sized
sleigh beds with headboards that stretched almost to the ceiling were placed on
adjacent walls to each other. The footboard I’d been leaning against rose about
three feet above the mattress as well. I’d never seen anything like them
before. They were magnificent, as were the matching antique, oak vanities and
dressers. Beautiful hand-stitched quilts covered the beds and layered a quilt
rack. The walnut colored walls held several framed pictures of real pressed
flowers like pansies, irises, and clematis. One, a huge, yellow Gerbera daisy
was truly spectacular.

Considering
I felt like I’d stepped back into the Victorian era, I felt strangely at home.
I busied myself unpacking, and shortly thereafter, shoved my suitcase into the
closet. After setting my iPod and a couple books on the nightstand, I texted
Ally and let her know I’d be at the Nelson Retreat for the rest of the week.
She still didn’t know a thing about the hike, which was good. No reason for her
to worry during the next several days.

I
decided to take Jason’s advice and tour the house. The rooms just down the hall
from mine were all tastefully done in different themes: Mediterranean, Tuscan,
and nautical. I found Jason’s things in the Tuscan-themed room, where oddly
enough, I could almost smell the grapevines of an Italian vineyard. He was
nowhere to be seen, and since my stomach was growling, I decided it was time to
explore the kitchen.

After
raiding the fridge, I made ham and havarti sandwiches for two and was snooping
around for salsa when I heard Jason slide into a barstool.

“Hey,
is one of these for me?” he asked in an easy-going tone, as if our little incident
earlier had never occurred.

“Sure,”
I said just as neutrally and turned around with salsa in one hand and chips in
the other. “Success. Now, I just need to find some fruit to counter balance the
bad.” I slid the salsa and chips across the never ending countertop, and he
caught them.

“Try
the other refrigerator.” There was a loud pop as he ripped open the bag of
tortilla chips.

I
found some red grapes and rinsed them in the sink. “So, I’m still wondering
about a lot of things; things I didn’t get a chance to ask when we were all on
the boat yesterday. I’m thinking its interrogation time. Can you handle it?”

“Go
for it,” he said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

“You
said the link between Guardians breaks on the day of a full moon. Is that also
true for the Ray-pacs?”

He
nodded. “Works the same, and they need to re-link within a few days like us.”
He swallowed. “The way our lives run in cycles is rather convenient I suppose.
When a Seer is finally ready to link it always correlates with a full moon as
well.” He dumped some salsa on his plate and scooped some chips through it
before shoving them into his mouth.

“Is
there any other way to break a link? Like if you wanted to, could you?” I
asked.

His face
became grim. “No. The only way I know of is if the Guardian you’re linked with
dies. Apparently, it’s supposed to be very painful when the link snaps.”

“Sounds
awful.” I shuddered. After taking a small bunch of grapes for myself, I passed
the bowl over to him, which he greedily accepted. “Another thing,” I said,
“even if you have several days to link, why would you wait at all? I mean, as I
understand it, you don’t gain your special abilities until you link. Plus, if
you wait that would make you vulnerable…make you like an ordinary person. Seems
to me like you’d want to re-link immediately.”

He
stopped chewing and looked at me. In all seriousness, he said, “We usually do
re-link right away. But sometimes…it feels good to be…to be free and normal for
awhile. A day or two without Madison screaming in my mind is peaceful.” He
swirled a chip around in the salsa. “Then there’s Jessica.”

“What
about her?”

“If
it’s at all possible, Jessica likes to have a dinner before we all link again.
It’s the one time she can be with us and not feel different.”

“I
don’t understand,” I said in confusion, pulling all my grapes off the vine.

“Well,
it’s simple really.” He set down his sandwich and studied me. “When Guardians
or Ray-pacs are unlinked, they can touch an Amethyst and feel no pain. That is
the one time we can sit by Jessica, bump into her, or hug her and it doesn’t
hurt. She likes it that no one has to be on guard, but really, I think that’s
the one time she feels like she’s really part of the group.”

“Seriously?”
My thoughts were going haywire, and something jogged in the back of my memory.
I remembered Laci saying something similar, but I’d been to lost in my own
turmoil to stop and consider what she was saying. This was incredible news.

“But
Alex,” he said sternly and gazed at me with intensity, “those are the times you
are defenseless against the Ray-pacs as well. You will need to be very careful,
and you will always need to be aware from this day forward as to when the full
moon falls each month. Do you understand?”

Oh
yeah, I understood just fine. “Uh-huh,” I muttered. I realized exactly when I
would need to infiltrate the Ray-pacs or let myself be captured by them. That’s
when I could try and link with them. According to history, the few Dentelle’s
who’d existed before me had never been able to successfully link. When they
had, it killed the person they’d been trying to link with, and the Dentelle had
died soon after as well. My plan was coming together, piece by piece.

“When’s
the next full moon,” I asked excitedly, because I also understood that when the
moon was full Jason could touch me, and I wouldn’t cause him any pain. Now that
was something else to plan for.

Misinterpreting
my excitement, he said, “Alex don’t worry, we won’t leave you alone or exposed
to danger. We will protect you.”

“I
know, and I’m very grateful.” I smiled demurely. Guys could be so dense. “So,
when is it?”

The
lines on his forehead creased, and I could tell he was trying to figure out
what he was missing. “We just had one last week, but the next one is Friday,
September 4
^th
.”

“Good
to know,” I said quickly, taking a bit of my sandwich to suppress a smile.

“We’ll
probably all gather at the Nelson house for Jessica’s big dinner, and of
course, you’ll be there too,” he mused aloud. I wondered what he was thinking
as he stared at his plate.

Once
again feeling upbeat, I got up and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and
held up an extra one. He nodded, so I tossed it to him. “What about Seers?” I
began. “Laci said Western’s campus is a great place to search for potential
Seers. How can you spot one?”

“You
can’t literally spot one,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It’s all in the Essence.
A Seer’s Essence feels weak, like it has holes in it. Once you’ve felt it, you
never forget it. And a Seer’s eyes will have numerous gold specks reflecting
their lack of Essence. Golden Eyes we sometimes call them.”

“Weird,”
I said. “I can just imagine Laci walking around campus bumping into people
intentionally, peering into their eyes, or introducing herself with a handshake
– always on a quest to find a Seer.”

“Actually,
that’s pretty much what she does. Mr. Nelson also has ample opportunities to
meet potential Guardians since he’s the director of human resources for the
grocery chain. He meets a lot of people and shakes a lot of hands as well.”

My
brain lead my thoughts off on another tangent, and I asked, “How did you guys
get me out of the woods yesterday when I was unconscious if you couldn’t carry
me?”

His
smile trickled away. “You never should have been unconscious in the first
place. I told you not to come after me. Alex, you have to understand that your
life is more important. Amethysts are rare and can save lives. That makes you
valuable…indispensable.”

I
slammed my water bottle on the counter. “Just because you think that doesn’t
make it so,” I said angrily. “Your life is just as valuable. I couldn’t leave
you out there with that monster who wanted to suck your Essence dry. You needed
me, and I couldn’t stand the thought of…of…”

“Of
what?” he asked, his eyes dark.

“Of
losing you,” I shouted at him, tears welling in my eyes. I dropped my plate in
the sink with a “clang,” turned around and stared out the window at the front
grounds. Inside my chest, my heart was having trouble beating steadily. “I care
about you,” I whispered. “But,” I said a little louder, “if it makes you feel
any better, I would have done the same for anyone.”

In an
instant, he was standing directly behind me. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m
not upset with you; I’m mad at myself. I thought Kieran had me for sure, and I
was going to die, and when you jumped down, all I could think about was him
hurting you. The thought of them capturing you while I lay there helpless…that
thought made me crazy. I was scared.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

I
wanted him to wrap his arms around me – to reach out and comfort me, but I knew
he couldn’t. Even if he could, I didn’t know if he would. Closing my eyes, I
nodded slowly to indicate I’d heard him and had accepted his explanation. But I
didn’t trust myself to turn around, because I was either gonna start crying or
start screaming. Frustrated, I stood perfectly still and gripped the cold,
granite countertops until my knuckles turned white.

Next
to my ear he said, “Madison used telekinesis to transport you while Jessica
guided you through the woods.” He walked away, and I heard him grab his plate
off the counter. Still rigid, I turned and watched as he rinsed both our dishes
and put them in the dishwasher. “I’ll make dinner tonight. Only seems fair
since you made lunch,” he said, trying to sound casual. “Give me a chance to
grill you that steak.” He turned around and I nodded. “Want me to show you
around the island?”

I took
a deep breath. “Sure.”

For the
next couple hours he gave me a tour of the island. We walked the gravel trail,
and I found out that he liked to get up early and run several miles. We kept
our conversation neutral and talked mostly about the islands, the Retreat, and
his family. Actually, I learned more about his brother who was attending
college in Maine. When we found our way to the big outdoor mats, I sat and
watched as he demonstrated some of his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu moves. After some
arm twisting, he persuaded me to come out to the mats and learn a few
self-defense techniques. He said it was more important than ever that I learn
how to defend myself against an attack.

Ally
and I had taken a few years of gymnastics, so I surprised him, and myself, when
I demonstrated some fast flying front flips. Back flips? Well, that wasn’t
happening any more. When I fell flat on my face, we found ourselves lying next
to each other on the mats, laughing uncontrollably.

“Hey,”
I cried out and pointed upwards. “A bald eagle.”

“No
matter how many times I see one, they never cease to amaze me,” he said.

“Their
wingspan in incredible.”

“Six
to eight feet,” he replied. “They soar over the islands with grace and an
authority. There’s an abundance of food, and the tall trees offer a safe place
to nest and roost. Bald Eagles in the San Juan Islands have one of the highest
breeding densities in the lower 48.”

Lying
on my back, I turned my head sideways and said, “Looks like I’m not the only
one who reads. Is it true they mate for life?”

He
tilted his face sideways, his eyes piercing mine. “From what I’ve read, they
remain faithful to their mate until death.”

I
studied his face. “Don’t suppose you wanna tell me how you got that scar on
your eyebrow,” I prodded.

Gazing
upwards, he considered my request. The tree tops lining the surrounding blue
sky quivered in the breeze, and the scent of fresh evergreens cleansed my
senses. Just when I was sure he wasn’t going to answer, he did.

“Really,
it’s Max’s story not mine.” His jaw locked. “But it’s not something he or anyone
else ever talks about.” I waited patiently until he began again. “About four
years ago we found a Seer up at Western. Max was supposed to link with her, but
he didn’t want to. He wanted to re-link with Maggie, who was his girlfriend at
the time. You probably won’t meet her, because she belongs to a different
Circle down in Florida now. Anyways, Max was pretty upset. He was a lot younger
and very hot-headed; it didn’t help that he thought he was in love with
Maggie.”

“I
didn’t know you were told who to link with,” I said with surprise. “Who
decides?”

He
looked at me and raised his eyebrows, as If I should know the answer to that.
“Oh,” I said quietly, “your dad.”

“You
got it,” he said trying to sound indifferent. He rolled his head from side to
side, like he was trying to undo kinks. “The Senior Guardian makes a lot of
difficult decisions.”

Spontaneously,
I reached over and rested my hand on his arm, more for moral support I guess.
He didn’t look at me cross-eyed or jerk away, so I relaxed and left it there.