The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series (21 page)

As he raised a hand in the air, she reached out with both hands and took the intruder into her invisible grasp, constricting him with every ounce of power that her gift could provide. Her eyes caught movement beyond, and she quickly glanced up to see Test hurdle the porch railing and begin running towards her. She could hear his shouts, but her adrenaline filled ears kept her from understanding.

Just as she looked back down to her victim, she felt a massive impact on her right side. Her feet left the ground and then the world went dark.

***
*

Test saw the albino woman exit the tree line to Lauren’s right as he’d jumped the por
ch railing.
She looked almost like a movie rendition of a ghost; frail
;
thin frame
; long, silky white hair;
and pale chalky flesh.
He tried to warn
Lauren
, and when she didn’t seem to hear him, he threw his arms forward and pulsed in an attempt to stop the woman. The moment he released his pulse, the woman disappeared and then reappeared just outside of the wave of energy Test had sent at her. He watched helplessly as the albino released a pulse of her own when she was only feet away from Lauren, sending her careening through the air and onto the ground some twenty feet to the side.

Knowing that going to help Lauren would do nothing but get them all killed, he squared himself to the woman
with
his arms splayed to his side. He let the rage within him run rampant and felt the energy swell inside him. The pulses of red light running down his arms were now racing so fast that they nearly appeared to be a solid ribbon of light, and the
red
from his palms was so intense that it had begun to choke out the
blue
on the back side of his hands.

He stood tense and motionless as the male intruder
lifted himself
from the ground and took his place beside the woman. He was obviously shaken and unsteady, but stood at the ready none-the-less. The woman appeared to be completely relaxed and calm, though her energy shown through her pasty white flesh more brilliantly than Test had ever seen.

“You must be Test,” said the woman, her voice smooth and relaxed. It was almost hypnotic.

With nostrils flared, Test replied. “I am. Where’s Isaac?”

The woman smiled at him tenderly, and in the moment, it was the most frightening thing that Test had ever seen. He watched her lean down to her companion and whisper something in his ear. As she began to turn towards Test, she disappeared with a flash of white light and reappeared in the same breath only feet in front of him.

“We’re not acquainted with Isaac,” she replied softly. “Though in a way, we are here for you.”

Once again the woman smiled. The sight of it sent chills throughout Test’s body.

“What do
you
want with me?” he asked, ready to strike depending on her response.

She looked him over quickly. “My dear, we don’t want anything. I said that we are here for you.”

The intensity of light from Test’s palms grew stronger yet. “Explain yourself,” he demanded.

“It’s quite simple,” she replied taking one step closer to him. “You need our help. It’s just as I said, we are her
e
for you.”

Test couldn’t come to grips with what the w
oman was saying. “How?
” he began. “I don’t need…
.
”

“Yes, you do,” answered the woman. “You need us as badly as the world needs you.”

Something in the woman’s voice rang sincere to Test, and he found himself relaxing slightly.

“Who are you?” he asked.

The woman’s eyes,
yellowed white with pink pupils, glimmered
eerily
in the overcast light of the clearing. “My name is Kirsten Jenz,
but I’ve been known simply as Jenz for some time now,
” she replied as she turned and motioned to her companion. “This is Nathaniel Primus Shockley, but friends call him Prim.” The woman offered her hand formally for Test to shake, but he remained poised and cautious.
She
nodded her head
and smirked
. “I can understand your hesitation, Test, but I assure you, we mean you no harm.”

Though he was focused on Jenz, his peripheral vision noticed movement on his right side. He turned his head slowly, keeping his eyes on Jenz until focusing on Lauren’s body as she brought herself to her knees. Her arms shook under her own weight, and her hair hung in tatters around her face as she looked up.

“You okay?” asked Test, his posture relaxing just a bit more.

Lauren groaned. “I think so.” She lifted her torso and glanced back and forth between Prim and Jenz. “So, I see we’re not dead,” she
sighed
. “How much trouble are we in?”

“My dear, you’re in no trouble at all,” replied Jenz as she turned from Test. “Please accept my apologies, but I couldn’t let you continue
to
attack Prim here.” She motioned a hand toward the young man.

“No trouble, huh?” replied Lauren as she strained to stand. “Well lady, why are you here then?”

“They say they’re here to help,” answered Test.

Jenz turned her head and gave an approving nod.
Suddenly cocking her head at a curious angle, she turned to the house.

“You needn’t be concerned,” she shouted as she looked past Test and towards the porch.

Test turned and realized that he could feel Alyssa and his mother walking towards them. He spun back to Jenz, and was surprised as she held out her hand, offering her energy to the spirits. Behind him, Alyssa and Maggie materialized in stride and came to stand on opposite sides of Test.

“Hello, my name is Kirsten Jen….
”

“We
heard,” answered Alyssa rudely, followed by Maggie giving her shoulder a slight push.

Jenz tucked her hair behind her ears. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, whatever your name is,” she replied calmly, though a hint of bitterness was present.

Gaining her bearings and strength, Lauren
walked slowly,
limp
ing mildly,
towards Jenz and Test. As she did, Prim began to approach as well. He walked with his head hung low, almost as if he were shameful, and when he finally looked up for Lauren to see, she was instantly overcome with attraction.

Though his face showed the pains that she had inflicted, his
brown
eyes were filled with an innocence that melted her anger.
The two of them exchanged looks
back and forth as if they were in high school, each afraid to stare too long for fear the other would notice.
As they joined the others,
she caught his eyes one last time and
allowed the corners of her mouth the curl up while she
continued past and walked up to the porch.

“I’m going inside. I’m tired and thirsty,” she shouted, doing her best to ignore the spark that had just occurred between her and Prim.
As she opened the back door, she turned her back to them and continued.
“You guys can play outside as long as you want, or you can come inside. It’s up to you.”

“She’s charming,” said Jenz, her voice still smooth, but with
slightly
more bitterness seeping through.

Still not convinced of her sincerity, Test replied in
Lauren’s
defense. “She grows on you.”

He glanced to Prim and noticed him watching
with a strange look on his face as
Lauren disap
peared behind the closing door.

“Yes,” replied Prim, his gaze affixed on the now closed door. “I can see that.”

Test sat on the couch next to Alyssa, staring around the room. It was a strange scene. Jenz sat in the chair next to the spot where his outburst the night before had damaged the floor. Prim sat on the hearth of the fireplace and continuously glanced to and away from Lauren who sat on a table from the kitchen. She had flipped the chair so that the back was in front of her, and she straddled it while her chin rested on its curved top; her eyes catching Prim’s intermittently. Maggie stood behind Lauren, as if she was waiting for her to get out of line.

The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence and
, while
Test found himself wanting to ask questions,
he couldn’t do anything
but examine the strange looking woman
who
sat across from him. She wore a plain tan sundress that hung on her thin and bony frame
as if her shoulders were a clothes hanger. Her white hair was extremely fine and straight. Her most striking feature was her eyes. The pinkish-red pupil set against her pale and chalky white skin gave her stare a frightening quality. Still, Test found her to be elegant and graceful.

“Does my appearance bother you?” asked Jenz politely.

Realizing that he had been rude, Test quickly apologized. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…
.
”

“It’s okay,” interrupted Jenz. “After three hundred years, I’m used to being stared at.”

Alyssa gasped and leaned forward. “Three hundred years?”

Test put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder as he spoke to Jenz. “I can only imagine,” he replied. “All the same, I am sorry.”

Jenz bowed her head. “Apology accepted
.” She crossed her legs and rested an elbow atop her knee. “Now, we can deal with formalities later. The fact of the matter at hand is that Isaac will be coming. Should the truth be known, he could very well be on his way here now.” She turned her gaze to Lauren and spoke in a mildly condescending tone. “After what just occurred, I’m sure he sensed the immense use of power that was displayed.”

Lauren
sa
t up straight in her chair, but as she opened her mouth to counter attack, Maggie rested a
steady
hand on her shoulder.

“Excuse me, but that isn’t fair,” replied Maggie whose shaky voice told everyone that
she was obviously upset. “Lauren was trying to protect her family. If you hadn’t been sneaking around in the woods, none…
.
”

“Mom,” interrupted Test, holding up his hand. “I’m sure that Jenz didn’t mean it that way.” He turned to Jenz. “Did you?” he asked.

Jenz grinned devilishly. “Of course not, my apologies if I’ve offended anyone.” In the same breath she continued. “I think that it would be best to send Prim off to provide some sort of diversion—something that would lead them away and buy us some time.”

Test glanced to Prim who seemed to already know this would be his task.

“She’s right,” answered Prim. “I should go right away. I
already have a location in min….
”

“Hold on a second,”
 
Test interrupted. “I have a few questions that I need answered.”

Prim stood from the hearth. “I understand, but we don’t have…
.
”

“Prim,” interrupted Jenz as she motioned for
him
to retake his seat. “I think we can afford to answer a question or two.” She turned to Test. “Please, ask your questions, but understand that time is of the essence.”

Test leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair. “How did you know we were here?” he asked as he exhaled deeply.

“I felt you,” answered Prim. “Last night
I
felt a surge
of energy
come from this location.”

“So you must have been close by?” asked Lauren from across the room.

Prim shot her an admiring look. “Actually, we were in
Seattle
, taking a sort of vacation
.
We live
outside of
Salem
,
Oregon
.
”

Lauren’s face twisted with confusion. “
That’s pretty convenient, don’t you think?” she asked. “Besides, t
hat’s not possible
.
T
he only one with
the ability to sense another Shadow from anywhere near that distance would be Isaac
.”

Prim chuckled. “It would appear that your version of reality is somewhat different from the truth now
,
wouldn’t it,
M
iss Lauren?”

Lauren,
slightly
embarrassed, countered inquisitively. “You can sense a Shadow from that
far away
?”

“Not normally, no,” replied Prim as he glanced to Test. “Though I’ve learned my gift is much like that of Isaac’s, I do not have his range
. The source of the energy must have been unusually strong.”

The room fell silent as everyone waited anxiously for Test’s response.