Air (2 page)

As soon as I lifted myself from the ground, thoroughly soaked, I thought of Micah. Whatever, or whoever it was might be going after him too. The trail leading up to the cliff was steep and full of loose rock, causing me to slide most of the way down. Once my feet hit solid earth, I took off running. The forest was dense, but I avoided the protruding roots and clawing branches easily enough. There was only one thing on my mind. Without thinking, I opened up the telepathic connection and screamed his name,
Micah!
 

There was no answer. I ran faster. The forest opened up into a small, circular clearing. As I entered it, I spotted Micah clearing the trees on the opposite side in a dead run toward me. We met in the middle, coming to a stop a few feet apart, both hunched over with our hands on our knees. A cursory scan of each other while still gasping for air was enough until words came to us. He was out of breath, but he was unscathed and handsome and dry – and I hated him for it.

Before he could say anything, I went first, in between breaths, “Well – was there anything in the cabin?” I didn’t bother keeping the bite out of my voice.

He held up a piece of paper in his hand, at least having the mind to look sheepish. “I found a letter.” He folded it up and put it in his pocket. “What happened to you?”

I fixed him with a stare as cold as the wind, “I found trouble.” Then, because I couldn’t help it, I shivered.

He sighed, taking off his jacket and wrapped it around me, “I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from you, Kaitlyn.”

Chapter 2

Dark Moods

I had barely left my bed in the two days since we had returned from Pennsylvania to Simeulue Island, and the Chakra compound. Three thick blankets were almost enough to keep away the bone numbing chill that seemed to creep in and take residence during our half hour stint in the pine forest. Blankets also provided good cover for the swell of my belly – an inevitable consequence of pregnancy.

I was starting to outgrow my clothes. I was just frumpy enough to look silly in my usual garb, but not quite big enough to warrant an entire wardrobe change. It was a wonder they didn’t take me to the nearest stream and drown me in a burlap sack like a litter of unwanted kittens.

“I have bad news.” Micah entered the room, face drawn. His consistently gloomy mood mirrored mine as of late.

“No burlap sack?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

“Nothing.” I waved it away, annoyed.

He looked at me for another moment before continuing, “The letter I found at the cabin is coded – it’ll take some time to work though it and figure out the next step in finding Shawn.”

“Oh, darn.” I rolled my eyes.

The Seven had ceased all operations in order to thwart Shawn’s efforts of creating his own, parallel organization.
More than likely, they are playing into Shawn’s plan perfectly
, I thought.

“There were too many P’s in that sentence,” I mumbled.

“What?” Micah looked at me, more hopeless than confused this time.

I flinched, realizing I had spoken aloud. I was starting to lose it, and was going to lose Micah as well, if I hadn’t already.

“We need to talk.” I put aside all sarcasm, attempting to sound serious.

Micah sat down on the bed next to me, rubbing his eyes then scratching the stubble at his chin. Lately, he constantly had that five o’clock shadow, like his chin’s hair growth was suspended in time. “I’ve been trying to
talk
ever since we left the hospital in San Diego. I know you’ve been to Hell and back-”

“Am I back? Can’t be sure.”

He ignored me. “But we can’t go on like this forever.”

At ‘forever’ I closed up again. Beyond telling him I was pregnant, and didn’t know if the child was his, there was the issue of what happened to Gaias, a role I currently played with the Seven.

“There is no forever with us,” I spat. He didn’t know Shawn had shared the fact that once another, stronger Gaia came along, it was Micah’s job to send me to greener pastures.

It was Micah’s turn to flinch. “Kaitlyn, stop. Can’t we just—”

“No.” I cut him off. “I don’t think we can. Not yet, anyway.”

Micah’s face fell. He backed up, turned, and attempted to leave the room. In the process of stomping out, he almost bumped into his sister, Susan, who was bringing me a tray of food.

“Watch it!” she exclaimed, frantically juggling the tray, food sliding dangerously.

“You watch it!” He barely glanced at her, disappearing to wherever he spent most of his time these days.

Susan watched him go, sighed heavily, then entered the room and set the tray down next to the bed. “You’re certainly doing a number on him. I’ve never seen him like this.”

My jaw dropped. Of anyone here, she should be siding with me. She was fully aware of my condition. I couldn’t very well hide the balloon of water growing inside me from the Nerina, whose powers were to sense, manipulate, and interact with the element of water.

Seeing the look on my face, she added, “You need to tell him.”

I rolled my eyes and looked away from her. “If he hasn’t figured it out by now, he will soon enough.”

Susan flipped up my oversized t-shirt and laid her hand on the slight swell before I could stop her. “How could he know? You walk around in baggy clothes and you two probably haven’t spent more than ten consecutive minutes together since we found you.” She removed her hand, giving me a glass of water and my daily prenatal vitamin she kept discreetly hidden in her own belongings.

Following my brief stint in the hospital after a rescue from Shawn’s camp on the Galapagos Islands, the whole crew returned to the Chakra, headquarters of the Seven. Cato, the leader of our rag tag bunch, gave Susan a room so she could stay while we regrouped. It may have been smarter to let us go our own separate ways. Forced to stay together, even in a place as large as the Chakra, darkened everyone’s moods as well as the weather. There were steady, gray clouds covering the island that hadn’t broken up in weeks. They threatened rain, but it never came. As if to emphasize my point, a low rumbling of thunder erupted in the distance.

Susan looked out the window, but before she could comment, I interjected, “Can’t you do something about that? Draw the rain out or something and send the clouds on their way?”

She shook her head. “That has more to do with the air and wind. Besides, it wouldn’t help. Once gone, more clouds would form in a matter of hours. The weather is reflecting the mood of everyone here. It’s sort of fitting. Now, take that.” She gestured to the small vitamin still in my hand.

I downed it just before Cato entered the room. Susan and I exchanged a glance that said, ‘that was close’.

“Ah, my two favorite women.”

“Cato, we’re the only two women you know,” Susan said. She briefly blocked his view of me while I pulled my shirt down over my belly and covered up with thick blankets.

 “That’s beside the point.” He waved her off, moving to stand next to the bed, and grabbed one of each of our hands. His wrinkly hands held on tight. “You two have been spending a lot of time together.”

I looked sideways at Susan, hoping she would come up with an explanation. She didn’t disappoint.

“We have a lot to learn from each other. Kaitlyn has a different perspective on the element of water, and has shown me things I’ve never encountered before.”

Cato peered at me. His eyes had gone a dull, almost translucent blue with age, but I could almost hear wheels turning behind those eyes.

I looked down, purposefully avoiding his gaze.

That may not have been the best idea.

“I believe there’s something else you’re not telling me; something that involves all of us, or at least more than just you two.” He said.

I chanced looking at him. Cato stared me down, one eyebrow raised.

I glanced at Susan again and she nodded in encouragement. No way was I going to tell
him
before Micah. “Perhaps there is something, Cato, but now is not the time. When we’re ready, we’ll let you know.”

They both looked disappointed, but Cato nodded, reluctantly. “Well, let’s just hope the truth is revealed soon. I am going rather pale from the lack of sun.”

Susan and I murmured in agreement while scrutinizing the color of skin on our arms.

Cato let go of our hands and sat next to Susan on the bed. “You’ve heard of our recent failure?”

“Hmmm,” Susan acknowledged. She liked their targeting of Shawn even less than I did.

Cato went on, “He must have found out we were coming. The cabin was cleared out before Micah got there.”

“Maybe you need to forget about Shawn and concentrate on more important things, Cato,” I interjected.

“We need to discover his intentions. He could interfere with all of our successes in maintaining a balance.” Cato said.

I exploded. “He already has! You’ve put everything else aside in order to find him. You’ve halted all operations, all of your studies, all training – everything! If and when a final showdown occurs, we’ll be completely unprepared.”

More thunder rumbled in the distance as Cato disagreed, “We’ll find him before that’s necessary. It won’t be long now; we get closer every time.”

My shoulders sagged. “It’s just an illusion, Cato. Don’t underestimate him. He lets you get closer so you are enticed to keep trying.”

I could have been mistaken, but I thought a flicker of pride crossed Cato’s face. It was covered up quickly with that warm, fatherly smile he was so good at giving. “If that’s the case, maybe we can fight back with our own illusion.” Cato pat my hand as he stood up. “Let me know if you come up with any ideas.”

He walked toward the door, paused, then turned in the doorway and announced, “Almost forgot why I came. I wanted to let you two know we have a visitor arriving tomorrow.”

“Who?” Susan beat me to the question.

“Our Shu, Vayu.”

I waited until Cato left, and then looked at Susan. “Who is Arshuvayu?”

She laughed. “No, Cato meant our Shu. S-H-U,” she spelled out for me. “One who can manipulate the element of air. His name is Vayu.”

“Vayu isn’t much better,” I defended my mistake.

“Self-named after the Indian God of wind and air,” Susan explained. “He thought it was more fitting than John. He is a very…interesting character,” Susan said delicately. “A bit of a diva. But, who knows? Maybe he’s exactly what we need to lighten things up around here.” She glanced at the window. “Literally.”

Chapter 3

Diva

Having spent the entire previous day in bed, I woke to see the clouds turn lighter as the sun reached its apex. At twinge of expectation had dragged me from sleep. I had to think hard to remember why.
Oh yes, our guest, Vayu.
Feeling a sense of purpose for the first time in a long while, I dragged myself out of bed and through a shower. I picked out clothes that made me feel like a functioning human, while still concealing my slightly bulging belly. After drying and combing my wild hair, I brushed my teeth and broke into my makeup drawer. I could’ve sworn there was dust on a few items. I even plucked my eyebrows. Satisfied with my appearance, I emerged from the room.