Vayu finally forced a smile. “A little unorthodox, but I think he got the message.”
“Um, Kaitlyn,” Susan asked hesitatingly. “What was the message?”
“Yellowstone National Park – near Yellowstone Lake. I think he’ll be able to figure it out. There are only two backcountry trailheads near there. They are accessible by road but completely private.”
“Good choice.” The excitement bubbled from Susan. “Yellowstone Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in the world above 7,000 feet. I’ve always wanted to go!”
“Hmmm,” Vayu and I said in unison, failing to share her same enthusiasm.
She had the good manners to look abashed.
“Come on, let’s go brief everyone else,” Vayu said, a certain self-importance puffing out his chest.
“Hmmm,” Susan and I said, mimicking the same unenthusiastic tone.
“You go ahead, I need to talk to Kaitlyn a minute.” Susan motioned Vayu to run ahead.
Which he did without hesitation.
As soon as he was out of earshot, I looked at Susan. “What about?”
She put on her best scolding face. “About you, your powers, and your baby.”
Here we go again.
“I’m sorry to have to say this, Kaitlyn, but if you don’t tell Micah soon – I am going to tell him for you.”
I stopped. “Don’t you dare. That would turn out worse than you think.”
“Perhaps.” She motioned for me to keep walking. “But each day that they don’t know makes the entire situation worse. They will continue to do things like put you in the middle of one of the largest wildfires Australia has had in a long time.”
I grumbled something incoherent even to my own ears and changed the subject. “What about my powers?”
She looked at me, as if making up her mind if she was going to let the last issue slide. She sighed. “I’ve never seen someone tied so emotionally and physically to their powers as you. Maybe that’s a part of what makes you so strong, but I worry about you. I think that you also take more damage than normal because of it. Coming back from Australia, you were much worse off than Micah and Vayu – and knowing Micah, he probably took care of you better than himself out there.”
She gave me a chance to interject but I kept silent. “Would you consider, only temporarily, not using your powers until we have a doctor check you out?”
I pressed my lips together tightly, and fixed her with a stare. “Fine, on one condition. You refrain from telling Micah anything until I do.”
She hesitated to accept the condition but ultimately gave my health, and perhaps the baby’s health, priority. “Deal.”
“Pinky swear?” I held out my right pinky finger.
We walked into the house shaking our pinky fingers in a truce worthy of any two childhood girlfriends.
Chapter 8
Better Plans
I was the outcast…again. Several times in the days before our trip and once on the way to Wyoming, I walked into the middle of a discussion and the speaker was quickly hushed. They were planning for our meeting with Shawn, anticipating his moves, working in weapons, spells and when and where to use elemental magic. I was the wildcard; no doubt the majority of their planning was based around my reactions.
Yellowstone was no better. Although I understood the precautions, I didn’t like them. To top it off my stomach was in knots due to three days of travel. At least it was almost over. I hoped. Micah drove Susan, Vayu and me down a dirt road toward one of the Yellowstone Lake hiking trailheads. Micah gritted his teeth, trying to focus on the curvy road over the music Vayu insisted on blaring. Susan ignored both men, leaning in to coach me. “No powers this time. Not until we can figure out how to deal with it in your current…state.”
Like I have a disease.
She continued, “If Shawn deciphered our message, it’ll be you he wants to talk to, but don’t worry, we won’t let anything happen to you.”
I bit down the retort, “You mean like last time, when you didn’t let anything happen to me and Shawn had me for months?” It wasn’t worth the effort of arguing over Vayu’s music.
The car pulled into a dusty, deserted lot meant as a starting point for hikers on the thick forest trail. Micah put the car in park and turned off the music, to Vayu’s annoyance, but he didn’t kill the engine. They all turned to look at me.
“What?” I frowned, looking between each of them in turn.
“This is your stop, honey.” Vayu smiled.
I continued to look between them. “By myself?”
Vayu nodded. “Oh, you know it.”
Susan and Micah looked away from me. It suddenly sunk in. “I am the bait?!”
“We need Shawn to think you’re by yourself.” Micah didn’t seem able to look at me. “He may reveal more that way. Hopefully we’ll catch him off guard. But we’ll be right there the whole time. You won’t be alone. I promise.” He finally looked up, his deep green eyes boring into to me, willing me to accept the plan.
Disgusted with them all, I got out of the car without another word, slamming the door behind me.
“Oh no she didn’t,” Vayu’s muffled voice followed me, and Micah hesitated before he drove off. But he did, leaving me behind to wait for Shawn, alone.
Minutes crept by. I made symbols in the dirt with the edge of my shoe to occupy myself while I stewed in my anger. I’m the bait am I? Well where the hell is the catch? I began to mimic a chirping cricket. It didn’t work. Shawn was bigger than a fish. Maybe imitating a lamb would work.
A vehicle coming down the road shook me from my thoughts. I craned my neck, watching the road attentively, hoping it was Micah coming back to me to apologize and instead go home and make sweet, sweet love.
No such luck.
A mud-covered blue jeep rolled into the parking lot and stopped on the end opposite of me. A car door on the far side opened then closed, and the Jeep rolled away, back up the road.
Through the dirt cloud kicked up by the jeep’s tires, I could make out a silhouette standing in the parking lot. I didn’t have to wait for the dirt to settle back down to know who was there. Shawn. I could sense it. A constant chill blew in from his direction. I tucked my arms in closer to my body, drawing as much warmth to my center as I could.
Where is Micah? I felt out for him and sensed him too far away, directly through the thick forest.
Shawn sauntered toward me, a friendly smile on his face. I stood my ground but still released a happy breath when he stopped several feet away.
He looked me over slowly. “You read our doctrine?”
I studied his expression, careful not to give anything away with mine. His hair had grown out to where it almost rested at his shoulders. It had a relaxed curl to it, something most women spent hours in the morning trying to achieve. Rough, patchy facial hair and thick eyebrows along with new tattoos down his arms darkened his appearance. His shadowy facade only accented his bright blue eyes.
“I scanned it,” I commented, pulling my arms in even tighter. Still no Micah, and our surroundings were strangely quiet, even with a lush forest surrounding the barren parking lot on three sides.
“Good. I left it specifically for you.”
“Why?” My question was dry, as if I didn’t care about the answer.
Shawn, never one to beat around the bush, said, “I want you to join us.”
I smiled, remembering his resolve to replace me as soon as possible when he held me captive on the Galapagos Islands. “What’s the matter Shawn, can’t do any better than me? Maybe you’re not trying hard enough.”
His smile disappeared and he furrowed his eyebrows, but before he could respond, I continued, “Thanks but no thanks. I have better plans for myself.”
I slowly turned toward the forest, in the direction I sensed Micah. Shawn didn’t speak. I moved, finally sending a cautious look back, wondering if Shawn’s offer was just that, or something he wasn’t prepared to negotiate. He stood his ground, ev
en as I began walking.
Just as I began to pick up my pace toward the trees, he shouted after me, “How is the shoulder?”
I stopped in my tracks, frozen for a long moment before I turned to see he had lifted his shirt. His sheathed athame was visible, hanging from his belt. He didn’t need to show me the blade for me to know it was the same knife he had used to carve that damned symbol into my shoulder. The wound stung, as if reminding me that it had never fully healed. I looked toward the tree line and judged the distance to be maybe fifty feet.
Skids on the loose gravel snapped my attention back to Shawn. He came toward me at a dead sprint, anxiously closing the distance between us.
Shit, was my first thought and run was my second.
I took off for the safety of the tree line, awkward from weeks of inactivity. Thirty feet, twenty feet. My breath came hard and fast but I fell into my stride. I had a chance. Ten feet to the tree line. He had closed the distance fast. I could hear his footsteps behind me, the crunching gravel getting louder, uncomfortably close. Half turning my head I saw the glint of metal directly behind me. At the tree line, I stopped suddenly and crouched. He didn’t have time to dodge me and stumbled, falling more gracefully than not, like he had meant to go down. He rolled right back onto his feet, knife still in his hand.
I attacked, hoping to catch him off guard. I grabbed the nearest, thickest fallen branch I could find, swinging it brutally at his head. His forearm blocked it easily. Using the momentum of his block, I swung my body in the opposite direction, and my foot connected with the other side of his head. Off balance, he caught himself before hitting the ground on a tree trunk, bracing himself with both hands. I swung the branch again, connecting with the back of his neck. The crack echoed through the forest. Half the branch flew off, shattered from the half I held. Not waiting to see the hit’s effect, I ran. After what seemed like a good ten minutes, my lungs felt on fire. Convincing myself I had lost him, I stopped, one hand clutching my protruding belly, the other went to the painful cramp in my side.
Slowly, I caught my breath, and was able to straighten again. I looked around, trying to regain my bearings. There was no one in sight, no landmark 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 crackling 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.”
The booming voice interrupted my concentration. My eyes flew open.
Micah appeared from nowhere, just as Shawn did, several yards in front of us.
Shawn ignored Micah and put his lips to my ear. “Come with me.” The whisper was as much a demand as a plea. I winced. He gripped me tighter.
I closed my eyes tight and forced a quiet, “No.”
His breath turned hot with anger.
I felt a sharp pain below my left eye where the knife rested.
He tried again, more forceful this time, “Come with me. I don’t have to give you a choice.”
Warm blood trickled down my cheek.
Micah saw it too and took a few steps forward, body tense.
Shawn only held me tighter, forcing my back to arch. It was in that precarious moment, with my slightly bulging belly forced out even more, that the wind blew. It circled our bodies and tousled our clothes. After playing for a few seconds, mixing the scents of the forest together with our own, it dipped toward my feet then up again. My loose shirt was forced up, exposing a truth kept hidden until now.
Micah’s eyes traveled down. They went blank, staring for a moment, and then his mouth dropped open. I swallowed. Not necessarily a reaction you hoped for from a father. Then again, I wasn’t positive he was the father. Shawn curiously followed Micah’s gaze down my torso with his hand. He couldn’t see my rounded belly from his angle behind me, but he felt it. His hand was too cold on my exposed skin, and I had an immediate need to protect the life inside me. Keeping my movements slow and controlled, I placed my hand gently over Shawn’s and pried it loose. I stepped away from his grip and turned to face the both of them.
It didn’t take long for them to find their voices.
“You’re pregnant?!” they exclaimed in unison.
I didn’t answer. I’d have thought that fact was fairly obvious by now. Instead, I looked from one to the other, trying to read their faces. No joy from either, but then again, no despair. No fear, no panic. Just shock.
Let them stew in their shock.
I waved them off and turned away, whispering, “Better plans.”
I didn’t get very far before I felt Micah’s hand on my shoulder. “Wait. Is it…” He swallowed hard. “Is it mine?”
I turned to face him again. Shawn still hadn’t moved. I looked from one to another, trying to hold back tears that threatened to flood my eyes. “I don’t know.”
My lip quivered. I turned and walked as quickly as I could toward what I thought was the parking lot. My vision blurred by tears, I clawed at overgrown branches, walking blind. With an occasional sob managing to squeak past my lips and the hiccups that developed, I wasn’t evading anyone. Those sounds gave away my location better than a tracking device would have.
Soon enough a pair of footsteps caught up, and I felt sturdy, strong arms wrap themselves around me. I didn’t know whose they were, and for a moment I didn’t even venture to guess. I was just grateful for the close contact that had been missing from my life as of late. I stepped into the embrace and hesitantly took a deep breath. I breathed in Micah. Relief flooded through my body as rampant as the tears were now. I shook, shivered and sobbed, relying on him to keep me upright. He didn’t say anything, and neither did I.
He led me to the road, where the car, Susan and Vayu were waiting. Micah and I sat in the back seat, still holding each other tight, until I managed to gain control over myself. “Why didn’t you just finish it – finish him? What happened to your plan?”
Micah looked down at me, “Killing him wasn’t part of the plan. I’ll explain later.”
I conceded, and placed my head back in the dip of his shoulder. Watching the pair in front of me, I realized Vayu had created the wind. And Susan probably convinced him to do it. I considered confronting them, but I was too emotionally drained for any more drama. Besides, it had effectively deterred Shawn, and Susan had kept her promise by not necessarily telling Micah. I suppose I should have been more specific. I closed my eyes, comforted by Micah’s hold and let myself drift off to sleep while I was driven away into the approaching night.
Chapter 9
Tonight
“Tonight.” Although it was just a whisper, Micah’s demand was loud and forceful in my ear. Dropping me off at my room at the Chakra, he left me gawki
ng after him like an idiot as he walked down the hall and turned a corner, out of sight. During the two days we spent returning from Wyoming; hardly a word was spoken between us. Now that he did speak, it was the first and last thing I wanted to hear.
The rest of the afternoon dragged by, half of it spent cleaning myself up and the other half was spent debating when ‘night’ officially fell. I dared not leave the room. With my luck he’d choose those few moments to come by and get all the wrong signals. What did he consider ‘night’ anyway? Sunset? Twilight? Complete darkness? Could evening hours qualify as night? Would he really force me to wait until dark?
As the sun slowly disappeared from view, streaking the sky in pink and orange hues, I sat on the edge of my bed, sufficiently worn out from pacing. The doorknob turned and Micah entered the room without preamble, shutting the door purposefully behind him. I jumped up off the bed, startled.
Damn, I rebuked myself. I look too anxious. I should’ve thought this through better. As if I hadn’t been thinking it through for the last five hours.
He didn’t look unsure of himself. No, he was quite sure of himself. Full of himself, almost.
Crap, I thought again. He wants answers. He wants dates, and he’s going to try to figure this whole thing out himself.
I tried a preemptive, “I don’t really feel like talking.”
“I’m not here to talk.” He took a few steps toward me.
Good and bad. My heart fluttered and I felt the need to go check myself in the mirror. I looked toward the bathroom.
Darn. Too obvious again.
I put my hands over my ears to drown out all my craziness. Without thinking, I blurted out, “You are driving me insane!”
He laughed out loud. “Kaitlyn, I have been there and back several times since I’ve met you. Welcome to the club.” A few more steps and he closed the distance between us.
Suddenly, the moment I’d been wanting for months had come too soon. I placed a hand on his chest to stop him. “Wait.”
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