A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 8 Ahleena

       

Chapter 8 Ahleena           

Callin blinked at Ahleena. She cast such an extreme contrast of body language and tone that he had zero idea what she might do at the very next instant. It was extremely disconcerting. Staring at her, hearing her welcoming introduction, her words, and seeing how balanced and ready she was, how she was standing just outside their strike zone, and not being able to even slightly guess what she might do or say next, was making his heartbeat ratchet upwards by the second.

He realized then how much he relied on reading others body language. He instinctively watched body language every time he was talking to anyone. He used it to always be prepared for whatever someone may do, because body language always forecast intent, well before action. For everybody he had ever met, except for Ghost, his martial arts instructor at the lab, and now Ahleena.

"I think I saw you at the lab office. After I killed the Flayer, right before I passed out." Callin said, edging away from her.

Ahleena saw him edging away, and her eyes twinkled in amusement. "You did not kill that creature. You hurt it badly, but it escaped. I was not concerned with chasing it, I was there to find you. To bring you here. We've been looking for you for years."

Callin was not pleased to hear the Flayer had lived. And he didn't know what to make of her statement that she had been looking for him. As he stared at her, she smiled slowly. He couldn't help but react, her full lips entrancing him, and he growled at himself and pulled his focus back, studying her intently.

He guessed her to be in her mid twenties, maybe five foot five and just over a hundred pounds. Her Asian background was evident in her fine-boned features, pale skin, and those intense, almond-shaped eyes. Her hair was silky, raven-black, and piled on top of her head in some extravagant fashion that reminded him of a flower. Images from a nature documentary he had seen of a panther stalking its prey flashed across his imagination as he watched the smooth, lithe pattern to her every movement. She was beautiful, confident, and obviously highly trained. A lethal combination.

"You brought me here?"

Ahleena nodded. "Yes. Jacob and I have sensed your unique power in momentary bursts over the years. We've been searching for you, but it seems you very rarely use your power to any real extent."

Callin narrowed his eyes at her as she took one step closer to him, closing the gap he had widened.

"The lab telepaths put blocks on my powers. And my memories." He said, taking another step away from her. He gritted his teeth when she took another step closer to him.

"And why, exactly, are you stalking me?!"

Ahleena smiled. "Stalking you? Interesting word choice. I'm simply trying to have a normal conversation with you, without standing twenty feet away."

The air currents in the room shifted, and Callin's eyes widened in shock as he realized he couldn't catch her scent. It was as if she wasn't here, right in front of him. Or like he was seeing a ghost, or some telepathic projection of her, not an actual person. All living things had a scent, and people had especially interesting, and intense, scents. It was simply not possible for someone to not have a scent!

"Are you...are you somehow blocking your scent?!" Callin asked, his surprise and his curiosity combining with his inability to read what she may do next making him momentarily forget his wariness.

He thought he saw the barest flicker of surprise in her eyes. "How sensitive is your nose? Are your other senses heightened, as well?"

Callin knew that answering a question with a question was just a basic evasion. It annoyed him. He leaned towards her and pulled in a deep breath through his nose, focusing intently on the swirls of scents riding the air. Finally, he caught something different. Something extremely subtle, but definitely there. The scent of a telepath.