Air (18 page)

“Yeah – where is everyone else? The smell of this sausage would wake a bear out of hibernation.” Alex stuffed an entire patty in his mouth.

“I put up wards to block the smell,” Cato said, “but it won’t last long. We are all going to inspect each other first. I don’t expect to find anything – it is just so we can disregard any biased comments from the rest of the staff. Kaitlyn, we are already aware of your mark and how it came to be, so it won’t be necessary to strip.”

“How kind of you,” I said sarcastically.

“I am not stripping in front of my brother,” Susan said.

Alex began to raise his hand, but Micah slapped it down quickly, grumbling at him.

“Of course not, no. Kaitlyn can inspect you. After each other, we will call in the security patrols first. Next will be the medical staff. Then the ground personnel, and then anyone else we might have missed. Everyone will be sequestered in the living room pre-inspection and be moved to the library post-inspection. Except for those that are suspect. They will be escorted off the island under heavy guard immediately. After the personal inspections, we can move to their rooms while they are still in the library.”

I raised my hand. “Question. Don’t most know about my mark? Won’t it look bad to fire people while I get to stay? Also, don’t you think Shawn may have thought of this? Once one was discovered, surely he anticipated we would look for the rest. Maybe he planted a few of his minions here that don’t have the mark, hoping we have a false sense of confidence once some were booted.”

“Very good, Kaitlyn.” Cato smiled at me and I felt like I should get a gold star sticker. “We’ll just have to be extra cautious even after these inspections are done. We can do them on a regular basis and perhaps get more cooperation from the staff if they are told that.” Cato paused as if listening to something the rest of us couldn’t hear. “The wards have worn off. We should begin.”

Susan finished her breakfast and motioned for me to join her in another room. “Here goes nothing.”

Micah stopped me. “Just don’t go too far, and stay connected to me. Call out if you need anything at all.”

I kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t worry; I am a pretty capable girl.”

“That, my dear, is what worries me. The phrase ‘too capable’ comes to mind.”

“Whatever that means,” I huffed, following Susan out of the kitchen.  

Chapter 16

Coursing Through my Veins

Once in private, Susan stripped and I quickly glanced over her nude body, feeling more awkward than she probably did. She was free of any markings, scars or even scratches, and I couldn’t help but notice its soft glow.

I coughed, looking away. “Nice skin.”

“Thanks.” She put her clothes back on. “Water does wonders for a body.”

“Yeah, so does coffee.” In all the excitement we hadn’t made a pot, and being up for the last seven hours was beginning to have its effects on my caffeine-addicted brain.

“Let’s get some before we see the other women.”

Susan led me out, apparently just as anxious to get to the warm, sweet liquid as I was.

Ten minutes later we entered the living room, hot cups of coffee in hand. The room was packed and I realized these poor people hadn’t had a chance to eat or have their own coffee yet. Half were still in their pajamas with bed head.

Micah pushed his way through the crowd toward us. “We’re still waiting on a couple more, but the three women are here if you want to start with them.”

“Alright, here goes nothing.” Susan took charge and I was happy to let her. She called the three women, only two of whom I recognized, and led them into the kitchen. Hanging in the background with my face buried in my mug, I let her do the inspections and answer their questions. Susan handled it well.

Inspection completed, we led the women to the library, hands full of muffins and fruit to set out for everyone coming in after being inspected. One of the women also brought in mugs and a carafe of coffee. Not to would be cruel.

We stayed with the women until enough of the security guards were done being inspected and Cato gave the okay to leave the library under their watch. The men filtering in post-inspection made themselves as comfortable as possible in the dusty room. At least there wasn’t a lack of reading material.

At Cato’s suggestion, Susan and I moved on to inspecting the women’s rooms. With two of the women being roommates, we moved through the two rooms quickly but thoroughly, careful to leave things as they were. Hopefully the guys would have the same respect when they did their inspections.

In going through a dresser, I found a small, tightly wrapped bag of white powder. “Umm, Susan?” I held up the bag with facial tissue, careful not to get my fingerprints on it. “What should we do with this?”

Susan took it from me. “Well, we can stop treating it like its evidence in a crime scene.”

I threw the tissue in the trash. “It kind of is.”

She rolled her eyes, stuffing the bag into her pocket. “Kaitlyn, this is Sumatra – not California. Probably cocaine. This comes in handy as justification for doing these kinds of inspections. Alex will make sure word gets around that this was found. He is good at gossip.”

When we entered the living room that still had a few lingering souls waiting for inspection, Alex greeted us, “Thank God. These guys are edgy and it is only getting worse. Can you do something to lighten the mood?”

“You mean, besides our mere presence?” Susan floated by him touching his chest lightly. Alex just rolled his eyes. She moved to the windows and threw them open. She looked at me across the room and made a slight gesture with her head. I stood staring at her, befuddled. She tried again by jerking her head to the side a little less subtly. My dazed look and her epileptic motions were beginning to attract attention.

Alex cleared his throat, looking at me. “I think she wants you perform a little voodoo and, you know, bring in a breeze.”

“Ooohhh.” I gave Susan a thumbs up that I finally understood. “She and I really need to work on our communication skills.” The air element was becoming easier to command and within seconds I had a cool northern breeze blowing amongst the room’s inhabitants, lifting the heat off their necks and easing the tension considerably. I felt my weaves waver with a touch of Susan’s power and realized she was infusing the incoming air with tiny water particles, making the breeze all that more refreshing. I looked at her while she stood by the window catching many of the tiny water particles on her face, her skin absorbing them. I suddenly wondered if she and I might be able to have the same sort of mental communications as I did with Micah, or even the less desirable type of dream connections I had with Shawn.

I tried by sending out a short message.
We need to work on our communication.

I was almost immediately answered.
What?

Micah. The same path wasn’t going to work with Susan.

I shook my head.
Never mind
.

We talked, or rather shared thoughts, back and forth for some time while he did his inspections. The room was beginning to empty rapidly and soon only two men were left besides the guards, Susan, Alex, and me. Through the open path, I felt a sudden rush of Micah’s heartbeat.
What happened? Are you okay?

He responded with grunts and curses, something I was sure he meant to say out loud. I just hoped he wasn’t trying to relay the situation to those around him instead of sending it telepathically. Finally I heard a strained,
send the rest of guards in here but keep Alex with you
. I relayed the message as ordered.

I did my best to keep up, prodding Micah’s mind without distracting him from the struggle. Finally he answered my unasked questions.
One of the groundskeepers didn’t want to be inspected, tried to make a run for it. Not one of Shawn’s, seems to do with drugs.

Susan and Alex relaxed as I repeated the information. Who would have thought such a rampant drug problem would have been considered good news? I looked at the last two men waiting for inspection and wondered if we would have any more problems. They certainly didn’t look like drug users, though one looked considerably worse for the wear. He paced the room, emitting a nice film of sweat that covered his entire body.

“Withdrawal?” I asked Susan who had moved to stand beside me.

“No, not so soon,” she said hesitantly. There was something almost certainly wrong with him. “Let’s try to calm him down before sending him to Micah.”

We moved toward him, trying to look as innocent as possible. It didn’t help. As soon as he saw us, he met us halfway in the open area of the living room; feet shoulder width apart and crossed arms.

“Calm down, dude. It’s just a standard inspection – nothing to worry about.” Alex coaxed him from across the room.

“There is nothing standard about it! They are searching for the same mark this one here has, but I don’t see her being forced to strip down.” He glared at me.

The medical team, I placed his face. Of course he knew my body inside and out. They all did.

Susan stepped to his side. “The women went first, she was already inspected.”

“Bullshit!” He reached underneath his shirt and produced a gun. It was cocked and pressed against Susan’s forehead before any of us could move. “Get on your knees. Arms up and out to the side.”

Susan did as she was told, moving slowly, looking the part of a perfect sacrificial lamb.

He glanced at me next. “What, no lightning strikes?”

I gritted my teeth. “Word travels fast.”

“That would be my fault.” Alex said, raising his hand in confession from across the room. I gave him the best accusatory glance I could muster. “What? There is nothing else to do around here.”

“Hence the drugs,” Susan piped up.

“Shut up! Everybody shut up!” His finger tightened slightly around the trigger.

I looked at the only other man in the room for support, but he was more useless than any of us, huddled behind a large armchair.

I felt Micah just outside the door.

Stop!
I commanded.
He has a gun to Susan’s head and an itchy trigger finger.
Micah didn’t respond but I felt him ease off the door handle.

Despite the jokes, heat crawled up my neck. There was no way I could let Susan get hurt - again. My emotions fed the weather outside and more wind crept in along my weaves, following the already established path.

The gunman allowed a small smile to creep onto his face. “I was warned about you; about some kind of power that is a part of you; runs in your veins. But I don’t see it. I think there is nothing but fear there.”

“You have no idea what is coursing through my veins.” I was slowly stepping toward him as we spoke.

A strong gust of wind made him step forward to keep balance. His face lost all its confidence, his eyes widening. “It doesn’t matter. I was also told to use this to bring you back to him.” He produced a knife, the athame Shawn used to scar me. “I wasn’t planning on doing it just yet but it looks like my plans have changed.”

I was just within reach for him to scrape the point of the knife along my neckline. The sensation sent chills down my spine and Shawn’s smell, his taste, everything that was Shawn invaded my senses, overpowering them. I was too scared, too helpless to do anything but stand there and shake.

My body froze, locked in a block of ice. Through blurred vision I could see the wind picking up dangerously inside the room. If it weren’t for the non-existent ice I would have been knocked over. A muted choking fought its way through the wind. I blinked the forming tears away and realized it was the gunman. Still managing to hold the knife and the gun, his mouth worked furiously trying to expel something that wouldn’t come up. As he slowly sank to his knees, Susan rose, chin lifted and eyes narrowed, concentrating on the man. She was drowning him; forcing the water particles carried in on my wind down his throat and into his lungs.