Page 24 of He Is Jensen: Part Two

“I can’t be certain, but I don’t think so,” Caleb says, leaning back on one foot, settling his arm on his knee. “Emotions create a type of energy wired to the brain. That energy leaves a residue that lasts for a short period of time. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. He’d need another strand of her energy to attach to. And the good news here is that Layla, in essence, has the same ability to shield herself as a full GTECH, minus the help of a lifebond.” His eyes meet mine. “Not even a Tracker could find her should she ever be marked.”

I inhale with this stunning revelation. Caleb is telling me that I can be intimate with Layla without consequence.

“Is this because I’m using ICE?” Layla asks.

“I don’t think so,” Caleb replies. “After the connection we shared, my feeling is that this has to do with a natural ability you possessed without awareness before using the ICE. Or maybe before combining the cancer treatments and the ICE. I don’t think your abilities can be recreated in another person without the same dormant skills present before those elements are added.” He shrugs. “The whys, whens, hows, and mights—those are questions for you scientists.”

“This is all so…surreal,” she murmurs, tilting her head to study Caleb. “You look so much like Julian, but yet, you are nothing like him.”

“I consider that a compliment,” he responds, and while I can tell he intends a nonchalant tone, he fails. I know Caleb’s secret fear of becoming like Julian one day.

“You don’t communicate with wolves?” she asks.

Caleb shakes his head. “No. That is my brother’s ability.” His tone darkens. “Who was he, Layla? That boy who attacked your mind?”

“Dorian,” she whispers, then firms her voice. “It was Dorian. I hate even saying his name. He’s Julian’s son.”

My brows shoot up. “Come again? Julian’s son is six months old. How would he attack your mind?”

Grimly Layla explains, “Dorian is only six months old, but he’s aging at the rate of two years per month. He’s the DNA source for ICE. And let me tell you, he is the epitome of evil, beyond Julian, and he’s getting stronger and more dangerous every day.”

“Holy mother of Jesus,” I murmur, my eyes meeting Caleb’s troubled stare.

“You can say that again,” Caleb agrees. “I felt that boy’s energy. If he’s this powerful at six months old, what will he be at a year? Or five?”

“He’s pure evil,” Layla repeats. “I can’t stress that enough. He’ll kill just to watch someone die, because it entertains him. I saw him in action. And that’s the kind of evil these Clanners are ingesting daily.” Her lips thin as her face pales. “That I’m ingesting every day.”

Chapter seventeen

Julian

The parking garage is a scurry of activity as police try to get to the car that has been reported as stolen. Zodius soldiers hold them at bay.

Meanwhile, in the exact spot that stolen vehicle had once been, the spot where Layla Walters experienced the pain Dorian is now using to connect and hopefully kill her, I watch as Dorian’s eyes roll from the back of his head and come into focus. “I have met my uncle, Father,” Dorian says. “You were right. He is very powerful. He has defeated me. He has saved the woman’s life.”

I inhale a bittersweet breath. Caleb’s abilities, his strengths, however cumbersome at present, will be immensely useful when Caleb assumes his role as a leader by my side.

“He does not wish to join us, Father,” Dorian says. “But I know that you wish him to. He is concerned for the humans. Why not kill some of them? He will join us to save them.”

“Because killing humans scares the other humans,” I explain. “Until we control enough of them, we must cater to their many sensitivities. We do not want to scare people away from using ICE before its use becomes a national epidemic of sorts. Which will be soon.” I’m already hard at work planning an expanded distribution.

I redirect to matters most urgent. “Do you know where the woman is, Dorian?”

“I know only what I saw in her mind. She’s still in the city—not far, I think. In a lab with the one they call Jensen. He was in her mind, too. Jensen is fond of the woman. She could be used against him if need be.”

I smile at the way Dorian instinctively finds weakness and turns it into a strategy. I snap my fingers at Tad who stands nearby. “Find Jensen. Follow him. He’ll lead you to Layla Walters.”

She’s introduced Caleb to Dorian, the source of the ICE creation. That screwed up my plans to use Dorian as a secret weapon when he reaches his prime. I ball my fists at my side. I should have killed that bitch myself when I had the chance.

I cut Dorian a look. “Give the humans something to think about besides us.”

Dorian’s eyes fill with a mixture of menace and excitement. “Thank you, Father,” he says, obviously pleased with this new assignment. “I so enjoy playing with the humans.”

A moment later, flames shoot from a nearby car, then another. And another. I laugh as voices lift in the air, people scrambling to safety.

My entourage and I fade into the strands of wind whistling through the screams.

Chapter eighteen