Air

by Terra Harmony

  "Enough!" Sarah shouted, pushing me back down into the cave once again. "I'm going to put an end to this right now." She reached into the blanket, still fastened around me like a cape, and withdrew the athame. A smile lit up her face; I could feel my lips cracking as they were stretched impossibly wide, as she slowly lowered the knife to my stomach.

  "No!" The cry was so loud, it echoed through my little cave, and throughout the valley. I realized, with sudden clarity, that it wasn't an echo. It was my cry combined with Micah's, but also Shawn's.

  Sarah looked at him in shock. "Losing the baby would break her. It's the only way to ensure she doesn't come back. Don't worry, baby, you can heal the scars later."

  "It's not that, Sarah." Shawn stumbled. "The baby…it might be mine."

  Sarah's eyes widened even further, and he corrected himself, "Ours. The baby could be ours. Yours and mine. You will finish carrying it and we could raise it together, just like we always talked about."

  "You…and her?" She took a step away from him, holding the knife in front of her.

  "No. It wasn't like that. It was…"

  "Rape," I answered. I managed to sneak in for a split second, just in time to get out that word.

  "What?" Shawn frowned; he didn't know who was speaking.

  Sarah was back now. "You raped her? Why? We had a plan. Even if I couldn't carry it out – something like that was never part of it."

  "It wasn't necessarily like that," Shawn said.

  "Necessarily? Tell me, Shawn - did you enjoy it? The feel of another women? Did she give you something me and my limp leg never could?" Sarah practically shook with anger.

  Quickly I started relaying instructions to my circles. "…and after you do that, if she comes down do not detain her. Leave her loose."

  They hummed in confusion.

  "Do it. I'm going to need her. Okay, get ready. Here we go."

  The elevation this time was rapid. Quicker than it ever had been before. And the takeover was easy. Sarah didn't fight it.

  I blinked, adjusting to my body.

  Shawn was still trying to talk Sarah down. As soon as I felt the Shades pulling apart the weaves of his shield, I rushed forward. I still held the athame Sarah pulled out. The hole was still forming, and it was small. It was a lot for the Shades to handle such an intricate and difficult weave, especially since they hadn't seen how it was accomplished.

  I would have to be exact. One step, a lunge, and I thrust my hand out, through the hole, and into Shawn's stomach. I would have preferred his chest, but the angle was too awkward, and I'm not sure I had enough force to make it through, especially not without Micah's shield.

  Right before the knife entered his body, I felt a surge of power. The final thrust incapacitated Shawn instantly. I knew it was Sarah. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. It was just a matter of putting that scorn to good use.

  Inside, the Shades understood what happened, and immediately moved to block Sarah should she change her mind or do anything else.

  Shawn and I collapsed together on the ground. The hilt of the knife dug into my side and inevitably pushed the blade further into him.

  I clutched my side; it hurt but no skin was broken. To make matters worse, my back was acting up again. The pain there was arching around my sides and to my front, sending cramps all throughout my lower stomach, intense enough to blur my vision.

  I pushed myself to my feet, and was face to face with Vayu. He peered into my eyes. There was no fooling him; Sarah was gone and I was back. Immediately I made a net in front of him, pushing it toward him and wrapping it around. He managed to unravel it quickly. Before he could completely finish the job, I called the rolling ground from Micah and sent it toward Vayu. The Shades inside were helping; their magic flowed freely through my hands.

  Vayu looked in fear at the wave of earth barreling toward him, and it got us both. We went flying. I slammed into a fire element. Grabbing a knife from my blanket, I shoved it into his throat before he could react. I threw another at a fire elemental, charging me. The earth elementals were busy battling the still rolling ground. I heard Alex's rounds whizzing by me. One caught a fire elemental as he threw a small fireball my way. I managed to duck under it, but it singed my hair. I looked back at Alex, still shooting and running down the hill toward me. He left several dead guards behind, but plenty more were chasing him. Things were not looking up for our small team.

  I felt the water Shades inside of me joining their power with Susan. The wall of water appeared in a flash, looming over the valley.

  The cleansing effect of the tsunami took us all out. By the time I made it back on my feet, I could spot several people out at sea, pulled away by the water. I searched frantically for Micah and Alex. They coughed and sputtered, luckily still with us. Unfortunately, so were Vayu, Shawn, and three other elementals. The knife still protruded from Shawn’s stomach, blood leaking out to replace what had been washed away. He gurgled, conscious, but he wasn't going anywhere.

  With most of his army carried away, his shield was down. I reached out for earth again, and the ground rolled and pitched at my beckoning. But before it could affect Shawn, Vayu and the three remaining elementals joined powers and formed a protective circle around him.

  Twin tornados, identical in size and intensity, formed on either side of the valley. They sucked in snow, ice and rock from the island, turning them an eerie silver color, shining almost unnaturally. Ice and rock shot out from each tornado, making deadly missiles.

  "Look familiar?" Vayu yelled at me.

  I furrowed my brow in confusion, trying to imagine what he was talking about…until a certain newspaper clipping I kept hidden in a box under my bed came to mind. It was a tornado that had taken my parent’s life; the tragic story of a couple gone, and the daughter they left behind. It was a freak storm. Two twisters merged to form a super tornado; a whirlwind force that took everything in its path, including my parents.

  "It was too easy, catching them by surprise like that." Vayu turned back to study his fabrications. He began to direct them together.

  I stared at the creation that killed my parents, and worse, the man that created them.

  "They were on to us, working to take apart the organization while it was barely in its planning stages. They knew too much. Had to go."

  I looked at Shawn. He moved his lips as if to speak, then leaned forward, toward me, but pain won him over. He grimaced and fell back onto the ground, curling around the weapon Sarah and I shoved into him.

  Micah, I called telepathically, I need you.

  Alex and Micah ran to join me.

  "Shoot him!" I shouted at Alex. He was taking aim before the words were out of my mouth, but the wind elemental was faster. Alex went flying back, caught up in a vortex of wind; his sniper rifle flew off in another direction.

  Vayu conjured more wind, making it difficult for Micah and me to stay upright.

  "Kaitlyn!" Micah yelled, his voice barely discernible above the wind tunnel.

  I shook my head to indicate I didn't understand. He made a circling motion with his hands. Finally, his words got through to me, "Create your own circle!"

  Susan was north, Cato south. I nodded and immediately ran for the east side of the valley – Micah ran west. Using their magic, with the help of the Shades inside me, I could create my own circle. We had the entire battlefield covered.

  I stopped, turned and raised my hands. My flows joined with Micah, and then we reached out to Susan. Thankfully, she was quick on the uptake. The Shades help was fading noticeably. I was too far from the athame. But they did their best to compensate fire for Micah. Next, the three of us sought a connection to Cato. Hopefully he was conscious.

  He was less than conscious. He wasn't even there.

  Chapter 33

  Found and Lost

  Our flows wavered in confusion. The circle was not complete. I lowered my arms and looked at our enemy. Vayu, understanding what happened, smiled in triumph. Our last chance f
ailed.

  Another round of cramping had me holding my sides in distress. The wind still raged all around us; whipping my hair in front of my face, making it difficult to see, but something caught my eye. Cato, half-crawling, half-dragging himself toward Vayu and Shawn. He had made his way into the valley undetected until now.

  Vayu started to direct the wind to overtake Cato, but the old man was obviously no threat. Micah and Alex started toward Cato. No – let him. I directed my thoughts toward Micah and he put one arm up to stop Alex as well.

  Why? Micah asked.

  Shawn is his son. His birth son.

  With our telepathic communication, I was hoping Shawn could hear, like he could on the Galapagos.

  He heard. Shawn lifted himself up on one elbow, grimaced, looked at me, then to Cato. With his slow crawl, Cato finally made his way to Shawn.

  Cato began fiddling with the blanket I had left; still wrapped around him. I took a few steps closer but Vayu blocked my path with his strongest winds. I eased off. I wasn't looking to attack with Cato in the thick of the enemy.

  Cato chewed a bit of the blanket, mixed it with dirt and began applying it to Shawn's wound. Cato was healing him.

  As soon as Micah and Alex realized what was happening, they rushed in. But Vayu was on top of his game. They flew back, well clear of the group.

  Micah reached out to me mentally. We have no chance.

  I looked at Shawn. Cato withdrew the knife. Shawn grunted in pain. A small, half-smile lit his face. He had heard Micah too and knew he was right.

  No, I thought. I had come too far. I had recruited and trained an army. I had increased my magical ability with months of hard training; all the while fighting off Shawn’s dream attacks. I had done it all without my one true partner, Micah. And I had done it all pregnant.

  Shawn began to lift himself to his feet. Cato, exhausted as he was, still lying prone on the ground, turned his attention to Vayu.

  Vayu didn't miss a thing. With military precision, he sent out an air net, scooping up a stray pistol and brought it back to him. It fell into his hands, the safety came off, and he shot Cato through the head. Blood splattered over Shawn and Vayu. Shawn looked at Vayu in shock.

  Vayu laughed, his gleaming white smile looking oddly misplaced on his blood-streaked face.

  NO! The word screamed in my head, the mental push strong enough to command the attention of Micah and Shawn. I looked again at Cato's frail, withered body. Vayu had been responsible for my parent's death, and now my Godfather.

  NO! I screamed again, louder this time. Everyone in the valley cowered, covering their ears, unsuccessfully blocking out the shriek that rang inside their heads.

  With everyone incapacitated, the Shades inside pushed me to act. I closed my eyes, asking the earth Shades for help. We needed to reveal the caves underneath us; all of them. My trusty friends obliged. Together, we sent our weaves into the earth, finding the air pockets and expanding out until the large caverns revealed themselves. We forced the energy upward.

  Large chunks of ground burst open. Shawn and his circle, who stood over one, went flying up, and then back down into the cave. Unfortunately, so did Micah.

  With the wind now non-existent, Alex and I ran to the open mouth of the cavern that swallowed Micah. He was maybe only twenty feet down; I hoped Shawn had fallen further. Micah moved, calling out to us; he seemed to be fine. I was about to call back when a sudden burst of pain shot through my mid-section. It caused me to sink to my knees, clutching my round belly.

  I was broken, sapped of energy. The fight took everything out of me. The Shades inside were not using their own energy for weaves; they were using mine. It was more than my body could bear. I searched for energy in the land, in the water, in the air and even from the sea, but the ecosystem had little to offer. With so much magic and energy-hungry souls, the battle had robbed the entire area.

  Alex pulled a rope out of his backpack, but it wasn't long enough to reach Micah. It would be some time before we could get him out. The blast of pain eased out of my midsection, but it was coming in cycles now. It would be back.

  If I was going to follow through with my plan, it would have to be now.

  Chapter 34

  Fair Winds

  Two hours. Alex probably had Micah out of the hole by now, and Susan would be joining them. I tried to stop thinking, but images of Micah's face when he emerged from the hole, anxiously looking for me, assaulted my brain. He would be worried, then perhaps shocked that I had disappeared. Hopefully they would have enough sense to ensure Shawn was gone before they came after me. That would give me at least a little extra time.

  More than 2,000 miles away lay my first destination, Cape Leeuwin, Australia. There was a bank waiting for me, where I arranged to have enough cash in a security deposit box to get me underground, and to stay there for a long time. I had to be off the grid; undetectable not only to the international and federal connections Alex had, but also to the magical connections of both Shawn, if he survived, and Micah. No one would have the chance to touch my daughter.

  I had expected to use the same wind tunnel Vayu and Shawn used to extract Vayu from the Chakra, but I had not expected to be completely void of energy, and in intense pain. Plan two consisted, oddly enough, of Shawn's escape. Of course he had a backup plan, or at least an escape plan. He always did, that coward. He probably anticipated our arrival from the west, and so he would have been prepared to leave east.

  I strode east, as fast as my body would carry me, away from the setting sun. I kept the blanket pulled around me tight to ensure a good mask from the island, and to keep myself warm. Micah's shield had been blocking more than just energy depletion. He had been blocking the cold, too.

  I almost screamed in relief when a large boat came into view. A newly built, makeshift port jutted out into the sea. The boat was slightly smaller than our fishing trawler, but it looked faster. An extra strong cramp made me double over. I endured it, and then got up again. My escape was in sight. I had to keep going.

  Once on the boat, I ran for the captain’s deck. I became a tornado myself, a force flurrying to push buttons and pull levers. The engine roared to life. It was a beautiful sound. I bent over with another cramp. As it built up, climaxed, then faded, I suddenly realized – I was in labor, one month early.

  The pain was low in my stomach. I felt my muscles contract involuntarily in response to it. The scariest part was, I had no control over it. My body rode wave after wave, the same cycle each time. Swelling, peaking, flowing out. It was coming in regular intervals now; I counted 500 seconds in between. Roughly eight minutes. The doctor hadn't prepared me much for labor, planning to take care of everything himself. And now I was headed resolutely in the opposite direction of anyone that could help; Micah, Alex, Susan and even the Shades. I knew the exact moment when my link to them disappeared. The distance between me and the athame was too far, and our connection snapped like a piece of string pulled too tight.

  However, I did know I wouldn't be with the doctor during labor. I had planned everything out, right down to every hospital possibility on my route toward my ultimate destination. Easter Island. I had arranged for money in different currencies to be stored in safety deposit boxes in several banks, and of course had my parent’s fortune at my disposal; but that could be tracked. I had to stay off the grid.

  The guilt of tearing my daughter away from Micah tried to rip me in half, even more than the contractions, but it was the only way I could ensure her safety. Hopefully, Micah would understand. He would have to. I prepared myself to hide telepathically from him as well. No mental shout-outs, no dream connections, nothing. As if I had disappeared from the face of the earth altogether. Hopefully, that would be their conclusion. My plan was going to work.

  But now, I was in labor, in the middle of the Southern Ocean, alone and completely exhausted, about to give birth to a premature child. Another contraction was coming. They were still eight minutes apart, but becoming more intense.


  Aideen's voice, the Irish Gaia inside who taught me fire, rang in my head. Ye can only piss with the cock ye got. She was right. No sense in wasting time, I needed to prepare.

  I set the boat on course for the Australian city, and turned on the auto-pilot. Of course, I had planned on riding the wind there, not a boat, so I'd have to deal with port issues once I got there. At this rate, I'd be arriving in the middle of the next night anyway. Maybe I could sneak in undetected – that is if I didn't have a crying baby at my breast by then.

  I made my way below deck and started searching the rooms, frantic to find something; anything to help me before the next contraction came, and before the boat ran into an iceberg. I opened the door to one of the rooms and Shawn's odor hit me hard. I took a deep, calming breath and forced myself in. I rummaged through dresser drawers and boxes. Several copies of his manifesto, a few clothes, some knifes. That was it. I leaned down to look under the cot when I felt the waves of pain coming back. I buried my face in his bed spread, kneeling down, and endured. It was the worst yet, with everything 'Shawn' surrounding me; his scent, the feel of his bed, even the slightly salty taste of one of his pillows as I bit down. The contractions were starting to get difficult to breathe through.

  After it was over, I stumbled back into the hallway. Just opposite me was a very clean, white room. It had a bed, retractable at the feet; stirrups protruding from the end. On one wall were shelves lined with clean towels, antiseptic, and swabs. There was also a row of books. I walked over and ran my finger along their spines. Natural Childbirth, Labor and Delivery, Birthing at Home… I gasped. Shawn was planning on bringing me here, and delivering the baby himself. I pulled out a folder, full of notes. Scrawl in his handwriting filled each page. Information on how to handle delivery when the mother was unconscious, how to perform a C-section… I closed it quick and stuffed it back on the shelf.