Akasha 4 - Earth (33 page)

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Run away?
Why?" Despite the frown, his hand slipped around my waist, pulling
me into him.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we
should try it again – at least not this soon." I removed his hand,
intertwining my fingers with his.

He stopped walking, pulling me back
into him. I tried to avoid looking in his eyes, but he lifted my
chin up.

"I think we should. You have more
control over your powers because of it, don't you?"

My eyes floated away. "Yes,
but—"

"And you will not take an army to the
fight with you…" his sharp tone caused my eyes to snap back to him.
"Although you claim to know you need all the help you can
get."

I ripped my chin away from his hand.
"What about you? You insist at being by my side, but if we do this
– you won't even be able to make your way back to camp."

His hand fell. "Why is it so difficult
for you to let people do things for you?"

I laughed. "Let them?
I
let
your sister
take Bee away from me. How much more 'let' do you need?"

He shook his head. "That's not what I
meant."

"Well that's how it was taken." I
clipped my words short. I crossed my arms over my chest, but in my
own way, heaved a huge sigh of relief. We were finally arguing, and
it felt good.

"What if I…" Micah trailed
off.

I stayed silent.

"I mean, I might know a way for me to
pass along the energy, then gain some for myself."

"How?" I asked, narrowing my
eyes.

"We can ask for the help of some of
the Elementals. And I think I've identified another Medwin; other
than Shawn."

"Who?"

"Natasha." He took me by the arm,
walking again. "Tomorrow is a free day at the One Less camp. I
thought we could take it off and stay here. We'll do an energy
exchange tonight then I'll try to recover some of it with Natasha
tomorrow."

"Why don't we try the recovery first,
to make sure it works?"

"I don't think we would truly know if
it works – unless I was in a condition to really need it." He
lifted an eyebrow at me, waiting for my answer.

I floundered, almost out of excuses.
"But what if I need you? What if something happens and you can't
even stand?"

I risked a glance at him. One corner
of his mouth tipped up, but his shoulders drooped. For a moment, he
looked like a heartbroken man. "The thing is…you don't need me. You
seem to be the strongest when I am not around. We can't separate
again – I won't do it. But, if I'm at least incapacitated, I figure
you'll keep stepping up."

I shook my head and mumbled, "That's
stupid." But was it really? I thought back to each of the times we
were separated. Galapagos – I hadn't done much there. Though I had
managed to send messages to Susan and Micah. And I had
pseudo-escaped; who knows what would've happened if Micah hadn't
found me lying unconscious on the rocks.

Then my time at the Chakra with Alex,
when Micah traveled the world like a madman hunting down Shawn.
What did I accomplish then? I tapped into the Athame…that was a
power increase like no other. Then I left, right in the middle of
childbirth. Hell, if I could do that on my own, what else could
stop me?

"Fine." I leaned in to Micah. "We'll
try it again. But we'll take it slow this time. I could use the
energy to visit the Shades in the Chalice."

"The Chalice?" Micah asked.

"Like the Athame, but it keeps the
Shades of men. Their blood filled the cup during the initiation
ritual."

Micah nodded. "Banned before my
time."

"But not before Cato's
time…"

"He's there?" Micah's head snapped
back to me.

"Yes…he's, well, I think he's on our
side."

I let Micah run through the
possibilities in his own head.

"Is there something you want me to
tell him? Or ask him?"

Micah nodded slowly. "Yes – ask him if
the mission of The Seven, according to the doctrine, supersedes
family ties."

"Okay…" I wasn’t sure if I really
wanted to know the answer to that.

We made our way through the gates; I
noticed Micah had doubled the guards. We stopped for dinner, then
began the trek up the stairs. "You know, there is probably an
easier way to do this. Like, with air, in the elevator
shaft."

He laughed. "Maybe next time – look,
we're almost to the top."

I sighed, pulling myself up the rest
of the way with the railing.

Micah helped by pushing on my
backside.

I laughed. "Get your hands off my
butt."

"It's such a fine butt." He spun me
around, pulling me close and keeping me there with a firm grip on
my gluts.

He leaned in, nibbling at my ear as he
walked me backward to his pillows. I giggled.

Someone cleared their throat from the
other side of the room. We both jumped apart like teenagers caught
in the act.

"Does this mean my shift is over?" One
of the guards looked from me to Micah.

"Yes." Micah smoothed out his shirt,
trying to recover some dignity. "Is the watch up top in
place?"

The guard nodded. "Been there for an
hour. Shift change goes at midnight." The guard glanced at me.
"There isn't really any insulation between you and upstairs,
so—"

"So keep the noise down," Micah
finished for him. "Got it."

My hand went to my cheeks, they were
hot.

What am I so embarrassed
about? I am an adult for Christ's sake.

"Very well, then. Have a good night
you two." The guard took his exit.

As soon as his silhouette disappeared
down the corridor of stairs, I erupted in laughter.

Micah put his finger to his lips, then
pointed up with his other finger, as if to remind me.

"Oh, please – like you wouldn't want
to give them something to listen to." I put my hand on my hip,
taunting him.

"Is that a challenge?" He stepped
closer again, bending down so his lips were inches from mine. He
lowered his voice, whispering, "Or a promise?"

I closed the rest of the distance,
sealing the deal with a kiss. It was slow and reassuring and
grounding.

This is what Micah does
for me; he grounds me. He is my rock, my Micah.

"I love you," I whispered, even as our
lips still touched.

"I love you too, Kaitlyn." He pulled
away, looking into my eyes. "Let's get married."

That one took me by
surprise.

"I'm sorry," he continued. "That just
came out. Do you still want to?"

"Get married?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Yes. I mean, that's what we were
supposed to do in the States. Will it be legal?" My hands squeezed
his arms.

He shrugged. "There really isn't a
defined 'legal' anymore, I don't think. I'm not concerned about the
paperwork. Let's do it for us."

I smiled. "The winter solstice is
coming up…"

"When the dark half of the year
relinquishes to the light half," he said. "It’s
perfect."

"Next week then."

"It's a date." He took my hands,
kissing them both at the knuckles.

I turned, leading him to the pillows.
I made myself comfortable, folding one pillow in half and propping
it under my arm.

Micah still stood. He took off his
boots and socks, throwing them aside. Then he lifted the hem of his
shirt, baring first his abdomen – then his chest.

"Turn around," I said. He
obliged.

Last time, I hadn't gotten a chance to
really look at him. He was much thinner than I remembered, but then
again, everyone was these days. He had a few new scars. An angry,
red welt ran from his shoulder to his hip. "What’s that
from?"

He turned the rest of the way to look
at me, scratching his shoulder. "Ran into a small mob; somewhere in
Missouri. Their weapon of choice was whips."

"Oh my God." I had never imagined what
it must have been like for him, alone.

"I managed to get away, mostly intact.
The couple I ran into down the road didn't, though." He shrugged
and shook his head, as if trying to rid himself of the
memory.

I do the same
thing.
"And that one?" I gestured to his
shoulder where a patch of rough, pink scar tissue
resided.

"Tried to convince a Fire to join us.
He didn't agree." Micah unzipped his pants, turning to face me.
"Let's not talk about my scars."

"Well." I toyed with the edge of a
pillow. "I have to know what kind of man I am about to
marry."

He removed his pants the rest of the
way.

"Oh," I breathed.
"
That
kind of
man."

He was already hard, the evidence in
the intimidating bulge of his boxers.

"Your turn," he said.

I shook my head, my smile teasing.
"You're not finished yet."

One of his eyebrows went up. "Fine."
He took off his boxers, throwing them at me.

I caught them right in front of my
face. "So sexy." I laughed.

He dove onto the pillows,
bouncing half of them up into the air. "
Now
it's your turn."

"Oh, I don't know." I rolled on top of
him. "I think we can have some fun – even with my clothes
on."

"Prude," he said, smiling.

I leaned down and whispered in his
ear, "Slut."

He shivered.

My tongue darted in and out as I
nibbled at his neck and down the length of his chest. Not breaking
contact, I slipped out of my own clothes.

With his hands on my hips, he turned
us both over. His body weight pinned me. "Let me take the lead, at
least for tonight…"

He put both my arms above my head,
pinning them down with only one of his. "Let me in,
Kaitlyn."

I spread my legs. He didn't hesitate.
I bit my lip, holding in my moan, until he was all the way in. He
bent his head to my ear and began whispering. It was a foreign
language; I couldn't comprehend anything he was saying. But it had
a rhythm to it. Sounds rolled off his tongue effortlessly, and the
low hum of his voice was mesmerizing. Something in my memory
flashed. Men in grass skirts, doing groin thrusts back and forth in
time to drums.

"A warrior's challenge," I
whispered.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing…keep going," I murmured. The
pain was a welcome distraction. I was on the precipice of a
nightmare.

He pulled back, just slightly, then
pressed in. I held my breath, trying to concentrate on his foreign
words. I lost myself in their tune. His chant washed through me,
penetrating deeper, encouraging me to give myself to
him.

He moved faster, and I raised my hips
to meet him.

"Now," he said. I almost missed his
switch to English. "Do it now."

I nodded, losing myself in his words
again. As his whispers started to die off, I focused in on them,
grabbing hold and refusing to let go - like I was stealing his
breath. As he climaxed, I absorbed the energy. Ten seconds, then I
released him. His body collapsed over me in an impossible
weight.

He heaved in deep, slow breaths. Even
with my help, he barely managed to roll himself off me.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded his head, grimacing at the
movement.

"Should I get Natasha now?" My mouth
turned down at the thought of running to another woman to fix what
I had just done.

"No." He licked his lips, laying his
head back down on the pillow. "Wait till morning, just…" He drifted
off.

"Just stand watch." I finished the
sentence for him. I kissed him on the forehead, stood, and
stretched out my arms. I walked over to the windows, where my
backpack was laying, and retrieved the Chalice. I sat cross-legged
on the floor, staring at my wrapped package. I sighed – I wasn't in
the mood for Cato. "Let's just get this over with."

Chapter
51

A Threesome

I was there before I knew it. The
route was familiar to me now, and with the high I was riding, the
netherworld bent to my will easily. Cato and Ted stood, waiting for
me, the remaining men behind them.

"You've been gone awhile," Ted
said.

"I've been busy." I walked toward them
on firm ground.

"You've found Shawn," Cato concluded.
"And you've found more power."

"Yes to both." I stopped in front of
them. No need to divulge details. "Shawn is releasing the Shades in
the Athame, as I am doing here. How will that affect his
power?"

"He will be missing the knowledge they
could otherwise provide. But his power will become more pure and
controlled. He will be able to wield Akasha." Cato held nothing
back.