The insect circling my head landed suddenly, square on my nose, discharging a small shock of static electricity. I stopped, looked at it cross-eyed, and realized it was a butterfly. Just as suddenly as it had landed, it took off toward the sound of the waves breaking.
"Well, you’ve managed to scare off my entire crew," Shawn grumbled, coming up behind me. "Come on." He grabbed my upper arm, pulling at it sharply.
I twisted it away, making a large circle with my entire arm, and the wind picked up slightly. "I’ve decided to leave now. You can let me go, or I will tear this island apart, and you and I will be caught in the middle."
Shawn grabbed my throat and pulled me into him. "You get an ‘A’ for creativity. But make no mistake, my strength still exceeds yours, and your little walkabout ends, now."
I met his eyes, but didn’t fight his hold. "No."
He eyes narrowed. "No?"
"No!" I pushed him square in the chest.
He didn’t let go of my throat but his mouth opened, forming a small circle, like he was surprised. He squeezed tighter.
I closed my eyes and conjured images of a tornado. I thought of trees being ripped up by their roots and thrown through the air. I imagined the deafening sound, then sent it all out with a short burst of energy on the same wavelength I use to communicate with Micah. Shawn would not be able to block it. The wind around us picked up. It was no tornado, but it was a start.
I moved the tornado image to the back of my mind, and conjured new images of an earthquake. The shaking and rolling of the ground beneath our feet, and the earth being ripped apart. The island lurched in response.
"What are you doing?!" Shawn yelled above the sound of the wind. The moving ground forced him to take a few steps back to catch his footing, but my feet remained solid on the ground. He had to let go of my throat. I opened my eyes and smiled.
Shawn finally caught on and I felt him give a mental push back. But my momentum was too strong. I barreled through his block easily. I moved the earthquake to another part of mind. Both natural disasters were picking up momentum on the island and were now self-sustaining. I don’t think I could have stopped them if I tried. Next, I thought of the phosphorous and sulphate I searched for with the team at the bottom of the ocean floor in Spain. Conjuring oxygen as fuel, I fused the three reactive compounds together with energy – and there was a huge explosion off in the distance. We both looked toward the rising smoke.
"You’ve just erupted the volcano," Shawn shouted.
Pride was overtaken by panic.
"You stupid bitch! We’re on a freaking island!"
"I didn’t mean to—"
"I didn’t mean to," Shawn mimicked me in a high-pitched voice. He hobbled toward me, then stopped dead in his tracks. "What is that?"
I followed his gaze but saw nothing. "What?"
"That energy, it's like sparks." Shawn leaned away, cautiously. "You know what? I'm not gonna even bother killing you. The island will do it for me. I'll come back and dig your burned little ass out of the lava. I'll just have to find a way to extract elemental powers from a corpse." He turned, hopping inland, away from the shore.
I turned to follow the now long gone butterfly. Although the images of fire, tornados, and earthquakes had left my mind, the island continued to roar and rumble. It was reacting to me, wanted to target me but didn’t know where I was. Lava was slow-moving, right? I tried to convince myself but picked up my pace. My outfit worked well to mask my presence from the island, but I hadn’t taken into account the physical drain the island still had on me. As I made my way through thick shrubs, my legs felt like 40-pound weights. Each step was increasingly more difficult. My breathing hard, I started doubting whether I could make it to the shore. Wind lashed at my face and soon the ash that had spewed out from the volcano reached me, burning my throat and lungs. Pushing through a large patch of shrubs, the shore came into view. My vision was blurred from fatigue and ash. I couldn’t tell if there were any boats or not. My best bet was to get as close to the water as possible and hope someone saw me. I took a few more steps and tripped over something. I hit hard stone instead of sand.
Oh, yeah
.
Rocky shore
.
I didn’t have the strength to push myself back to my feet. I started to crawl over the rocks, half-dragging, half-rolling myself to the sound of the waves. A spray of icy-cold salt water greeted me. I collapsed in triumph.
Dirty Work
I don’t know how much time went by before I heard the clunk of boots jumping from rock to rock, toward me. I didn’t bother moving – I was too tired to do anything else but lay there, hoping Shawn would take mercy on me. The boots took one last jump and landed hard next to me. They were wet and dirty. My eyes turned upward, squinting into the sun. The light hurt. And the man’s face was a dark shadow.
I gave up and looked away. "Why such dirty boots?" I whispered, recalling a conversation had during one of the happier times of my life.
The shadowy man kneeled beside me, blocking the sun with his head.
"Because saving the girl is dirty work."
My eyes slid back. "Micah?"
"Come, on. Let’s get you out of here." He began putting his arms under me and lifted me off my bed of rocks.
"Oh, no. You can’t just come trotting in here like some hero. I’m saving myself this time. Go away!"
"And let me just say you were doing a fine job lying there on your back."
"I’ll lay you on your back!" I threatened as he effortlessly hopped the boulders, with me in his arms.
"Are you drunk or something?"
"No," I slurred, oblivious to my current state. "Can’t you see I’m at a fashion show?"
Everything faded away but the beautiful green eyes looking down on me.
Water of Wonder
Water, Waters of Life
Gentle Rain, Soft Mist, and Tidal Pools
Hot Beating Blood- Cool Ocean Deeps
Water of Wonder, Mystery of our Hearts
"Water of wonder, mystery of our hearts. Water of wonder, mystery of our hearts." The soft hum of words brought me out of my sleep. A familiar face came into view.
"Micah?"
The blurred face kept on chanting. I squinted and forced my eyes to clear. It wasn’t Micah, it was Susan. She held my hand tightly.
She stopped chanting and smiled at me, "Sorry if I woke you. Just trying something that always works for me. It calms me more than anything. And you didn’t look like you were doing too well." She motioned to our hands. One of mind held hers. It was squeezing so tight her hand had turned white. I loosened my grip, but didn’t release her.
"Please don’t let go." I searched her face, pleading with her. I didn’t want this to be a dream. I was going to hold on for all it was worth. Any minute it could all slip away and I would be back on the island, in Shawn’s prison.
"I’m not going anywhere." Susan stroked my hair. "You’re safe now, Kaitlyn."
I did my best to smile back at her but my lips cracked in protest. The rest of the room began to come into view. I was in a hospital; not just one of the medical rooms at the Chakra, but a real hospital. I cocked my ear, a machine beeping with my heart rate by my bed, nurses chattering about the cafeteria food in the hall, the squeaky wheels of a gurney being pushed past my door.
Definitely a hospital
. "Where’s Micah?"
"He is getting some rest at the hotel. He has been by your side for two days straight." Susan continued to stroke my hair.
I couldn’t move much. There were wires hooked to me, and tubes going into several places there just shouldn’t be tubes.
"You guys found me?" It was a half-question, half-statement.
"We heard your calls," Susan said, "or sensed them, anyway. Each of us might have ignored them if we hadn’t both felt it. You were smart to call for us both. Something, by the way, that you will have to show me how to do… when you are feeling better of course. We’re in San Diego. We had to bring you here. You were so dehydrated, and the cuts on your shoulder were infected. Everything’s being taken care of."
I shook my head as best I could. "You don’t understand, Shawn—"
"We know. And he will be dealt with. But for now you need to just concentrate on getting better. Kaitlyn, I’m going to get you a bottle of water – over there, see?" She gestured across the room to a table. "I need to let go of your hand, but only for a moment."
I nodded, but only squeezed tighter, still afraid to lose this new reality. She forced her hand out of mine, looking to make sure I wouldn’t have a panic attack. Satisfied I wouldn’t, Susan walked across the room to get the bottle and was back before I could track her with my eyes. She helped me sit up to sip the water.
"Kaitlyn, if you don’t mind me asking, when was the last time you had your period?"
The question caused me to choke on the water. "I honestly don’t know." I cleared my throat, "Before I was even brought to the Chakra, I guess. It tends to disappear when I’m under stress."
She hesitated.
"What?" I asked.
"I think you’re pregnant."
"What?"
"Let me rephrase that. I
know
you are pregnant. I can sense the amniotic fluid in your belly. It is water after all." She laid her hand over my belly as I watched, shocked. "All life comes from water."
I tried to digest the information, working my jaw a few times before I could form words. "Can you tell how far along I am?"
She laughed. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, but I’m not that good."
I didn’t share in her laughter.
She tried to put on a more serious face. "Did you and Micah…?"
I nodded my head yes before she could finish.
She cleared her throat and asked the tougher question, "Did Shawn…?"
I nodded my head again, slower this time.
"I see," she said.
I released a shaky breath. "Does Micah know?"
"No," Susan said. "No one else knows, I wanted to discuss it with you first."
"Okay – let’s keep it that way, for now. Please."
Susan nodded with a tight smile.
I had a lot of thinking to do.
A lot of thinking and a lot of healing.
After a while, Susan convinced me to let her go and stepped out to inform the nurses that I was awake. From my bedside phone, she called to let Micah, Alex, and Cato know too. They were all now on their way from the hotel.
I looked out the window of my hospital room to see the setting sun. It was the same sunset that I saw numerous times from my island prison. It calmed me somehow, then as it did now, even with the knowledge of new life growing inside of me. I laid my hand over my own belly, and almost felt the warmth inside. I let the warmth spread, at first cautiously, then hastily, up to my heart. I repeated Susan’s words to myself, "All life comes from water."
Excerpt from
Air, Book 2 of the Akasha Series
:
There was no one in sight, no landmarks in sight, just endless trees. My stomach twisted. I knew Shawn. Shawn didn’t give up easily. The longer I looked for Micah and the others, the longer I gave Shawn time to look for me. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the sounds around me. Besides my slightly labored breathing and pulse, I heard nothing. Not even birds chirping. No twigs cracking under the weight of a human body. No wisp of leaves brushed by an arm. I tensed, sensing a body. Not ten or twenty feet away, but right in front of me.
I should’ve known he was able to do that. Even I had underestimated Shawn – I should have kept running. Sighing at another inevitable fight, I lashed out, hitting him in the nose before even opening my eyes. A small trickle of blood ran down his face. My other fist, even with open eyes, wasn’t so successful; he caught it in mid-punch, and twisted. I was forced to face away from him. He kept a tight grip on my wrist, locking my arm behind my back. I kicked my leg back, aiming for his stomach, a futile move so close to him.
Knocking my leg down, he pulled me close, wrapping his free arm around my body and holding the knife up to my face. The chill crept out of his body into mine. My marked shoulder stung, stronger now, as if it had been freshly cut. The only thing that kept me from shivering was his familiar body against mine. As much as I detested him, at least I knew him. I survived our last encounter. I could survive this. I closed my eyes and began to reach out for the energy of the forest. Shawn would be able to block it, but I might have a chance if I did it quickly.
“Let her go, Shawn.”