Akasha 4 - Earth (14 page)

"That…is new," said Captain Carl. He
put the binoculars hanging around his neck to his eyes. "There are
people manning the decks."

I straightened, body going
tense.

He lowered the binoculars and put a
hand over mine on the rail. "Just relax. They are probably
observing us, too. As long as we act natural, there won't be any
problems."

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath
and opened up to the energy in the area. No Elementals in that
direction; or at least no one using their powers. Still, we
attracted some attention; the number of bodies on the decks of the
boats doubled. Their movements remained steady; they weren't
panicking.

We passed without incident.

Captain Carl scanned ahead. "I was
going to pull over soon. What say we wait until the next dock, just
to be on the safe side?" He winked at me.

The next dock turned out to be another
abandoned facility; this time it was a ship storage warehouse –
without the ships. The captain pulled 'The Spirit of Evansville' up
to the dock and several people jumped off to tie it up. We waited
until the ramp was lowered and then there was a mad scramble to
find the best camping spots.

"We leave two hours after sunrise –
with or without a complete body count!" Alex shouted after
them.

"Hopefully everyone has watches," I
mumbled.

Alex shrugged. "I've heard potato
clocks are a thing again."

I stepped to the side with Bee,
unwilling to thrust her into the melee of people leaving the boat.
As we hit dry ground, dusk was approaching. I walked through the
small pockets of campers already starting their fires and pitching
tents.

"Hey, Kaitlyn!" Margie called,
standing on the outskirts of the forming circles. "You and Bee can
spend the night near us. Robert found a clear spot, no roots or
rocks—"

"Margie! We need dry wood!"

Her shoulders sagged at Robert's rough
voice.

"Thanks, we'll be okay." I smiled at
her.

"He's not all bad you know, he's
just—"

"Margie!" Robert shouted
again.

"I'm coming, hold your horses!" She
walked away, turning back to send an apologetic grin.

I walked to the opposite side of camp,
stopping no less than ten minutes after I saw the last of the
tents. Bee had fallen asleep on my shoulder, and stayed asleep when
I laid her down on our blankets. As soon as I had a fire going with
canned baked beans and corn heating over it, Susan and Alex came up
behind me.

"It's about time." I scooted over on
the large log to make room, "I think I have enough wood for the
night but did you guys bring something for breakfast?"

They exchanged glances.

"What?" I asked.

Alex cleared his throat, "We were sort
of hoping…well – if you don't mind…maybe we could—"

"Spit it out, Alex," I
said.

"We're going to branch off for the
night," Susan said.

"Oh, okay." I tried not to look
disappointed. Truth was, I was looking forward to it just being the
three of us again.

"We won't go too far – you'll be
alright?" She glanced at Bee, still fast asleep.

"Oh, yeah, we'll be fine." I swallowed
and forced a smile. "Have fun. Oh, and can you leave the Chalice?"
I gestured to the cup tucked into her belt.

She hesitated. "You're going tonight?
Maybe we should stay…" She glanced up at Alex as disappointment
flickered across both their faces.

"No, no. Just hand it over and go do
your…thing." I stood up and held out a small blanket for her to
wrap the cup in.

She obliged. "Be careful."

"Yes, mother." I winked at
her.

They disappeared into the woods;
Susan's giggles floating back to me.

I sighed, and held the
wrapped cup up in my hand.
It's just you
and me, and our male harem. You'd think I'd be more
excited.

Bee snored, then
sleep-laughed.

And you too, of
course.

I passed a few hours by overcooking my
food, eating it, tending the fire, checking on Bee, and pacing our
campsite. I wasn't ready to visit the men again. They wanted me to
release one of them, and I had no idea how to do it.

Eventually, I found a large boulder
jutting out of the hill leading up from our campsite. I clawed my
way up to find the top smooth and mostly flat. Below, I had a
perfect view of Bee. Above, I had a perfect view of the full
moon.

I sat, taking off my boots and socks,
stretching my bare feet out in front of me. Memories of my saining
with Cato, then my handfasting with Micah flashed in front of me.
Both had been done in bare feet with a full moon.

The full moon allows us
better control over our powers
, Cato had
once told me. I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to work out
the kinks in my shoulders – those days were so easy compared to
this. I took off my pack; something inside thumped against the hard
rock. I searched through our spare clothes to take out the culprit.
I found it in a small pocket on the side of the pack. It was the
rock Micah and I had used in the cave on Reunion Island. I had kept
it with me all this time; our own personal, inconspicuous sex
toy.

I squeezed it in my palm remembering
that night. An ache ran through my chest, and I quickly put the
rock down beside me. I busied myself with the rest of the bag's
contents, folding and refolding our clothes. I brought out my
mother's charms, the ones that had protected Bee during our fight
at Mammoth Caves. I lay them down beside me, opposite the rock. I
unwrapped the Chalice in front of me, standing it
upright.

And that was it. There was nothing
else left to distract me. With the moon large and bright above me,
its light enveloping me like a warm blanket, the tears flowed. I
grabbed the rock again, holding it to my chest as if it alone could
fill the hole and stop the pain caused by Micah's absence. My
blurry view of Bee only caused me to cry harder. He should be here
with her, not out gallivanting around, trying to save the world
from Shawn.

The rock grew warm in my hand. I
placed it against my cheek, drawing strength from its heat. Hiccups
replaced tears and memories of that night in the cave with Micah
raced through my mind. It had to have been the most gratifying
sexual experience of my life, enhanced with elements as it was.
Wind blew in, tousling my hair, enticing me. The rock vibrated in
response.

Oh, no
, I thought, glancing down at Bee.
I
couldn't.

The rock vibrated harder.
If it could talk, it would convince me –
Why not? What do you think Susan and Alex are doing this very
moment?

Heat blossomed in my
stomach.

The rock tried harder, and so did the
elements. The wind brought in a female moan from the distance. My
womb clenched in response, remembering what it used to feel like to
be loved.

A male groan answered, "Hold
still."

His mouth was on
something.
Her lips? Her
breasts?

My hand automatically moved to my
already hard nipples, pinching them. My body sparked to life with
the sensation. I lay down flat on the rock allowing my knees to
fall apart. I placed the rock in between my legs. Even through the
material of my cargo pants, the vibrating rock was strong enough to
cajole my hips into movement.

"Mmmm, faster!" the female voice
said.

I obliged, pressing the vibrating rock
against me, over and over again. My lips parted in shock as I
already felt my climax building. I turned my head to the side. The
charms were glowing bright. I squinted then looked away. No time to
think about that now.

"Yes, yes!" the man yelled.

Yes
, I thought. My muscles tensed, and the skin on my shoulder
stretched, then split. Shawn's mark was tearing open. I ignored the
pain because the pleasure building was greater. Besides, I didn't
want to think about Shawn just then.

Elements raged, swirling above me in
blue, gold, red, and shimmering brown. My legs straightened and my
hips thrust up as the rest of my body was paralyzed with waves of
pleasure. The climax lasted forever, straining my muscles to the
point of snapping.

I dropped the rock before I hurt
something, and my palm involuntarily closed around something hard
and cool. When I realized what, it was already too late.

The Chalice.

I shot up, still riding waves that
propelled me even faster. Within seconds I had arrived at the
pinpoint of light that was all too familiar to me now. Only this
time, I was a giant compared to the men. They turned toward me,
caught off guard and in shock.

I lifted my arm and waved my hand
across a small group standing closest to me. Each man disappeared
in a tiny poof of smoke. Not murder; release. Mouths opened, the
rest turned to me. Everyone paused; aftershocks still rocked my
body. I squeezed my eyes closed, riding them out. When I opened
them again, it was my turn to let my jaw drop. They were all bowing
down to me.

The leader was the first to rise, a
smile on his face. He nodded once to me. I nodded back, then
returned to my body before I could do anything wrong. For once, I
had managed to do something right.

I sat up on the rock, gasping for
breath. I set the Chalice down and looked around me. The charms
were losing their glow, and the elements above were dispersing.
Still, energy hummed throughout my body.

I slowly lay back down with my hands
behind my head when the notion hit me. "Damn, the Great Rite really
does work." I rolled to my side, flush with contentment.

Chapter
21

Pieces

"Easy there, princess."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.
"You again?" The sleep I was getting wasn't worth this.

He smiled, his gun aimed at my chest.
"Where is the baby?"

I stepped forward so that it pressed
against my shirt. I closed my fist, reared it back, and then
forward. I connected with Shawn's jaw. His head lurched to the
side, but he kept his balance. He rubbed his jaw and looked at me
again. "Kaitlyn, the baby is mine."

I threw my hands up in frustration and
stepped around him. Stopping Akasha wasn't the right decision, but
nor was releasing it. Killing Shawn outright wouldn't have an
effect; he was just a figment of my imagination – part of the
dream, just like the landscape.

The wall of fire seemed real enough. I
held my hand up to it. Searing heat greeted my palm, but the skin
didn't blister. I bit my lip, then stuck my arm all the way
through. After a few seconds, I pulled it back. My skin was
unmarred.

I took a deep breath, stuck my foot
straight out in front of me, and stepped forward. Two large strides
with my eyes closed. On the other side of the wall was a gray,
desolate landscape as far as I could see. I walked around the wall,
still blazing with flame. The sky outside the wall was a dull blue.
I kicked at the chalky dirt. A vast desert of nothingness. This
wasn't where I belonged. I stepped back through the wall of
flame.

* * *

Susan and Alex joined me by the fire
the next morning. Still unsure if they were the pair I heard last
night, I avoided eye contact anyway. At least until Alex said, "We
have to tell you something."

I locked eyes with Susan. With what
had occurred last night, I jumped to conclusions. My eyes traveled
down to her midsection, looking for telltale signs of pregnancy. I
hadn't noticed her morning sickness yet, but some women didn't get
it – the lucky ones, anyway. I could definitely see Susan falling
into that category.

Susan flinched, then turned to Alex.
"We need more wood, would you mind?"

He looked confused; this obviously
hadn't gone the way he expected.

"And take Bee with you?" Susan asked,
fixing him with a pointed look of raised eyebrows.

"Come on, peanut, let's see if this
state has any honeysuckle." He held out his hand for her and she
hopped up, tempted by promises of dessert for breakfast.

After their voices were out of
earshot, she turned back to me. "I'm not pregnant."

"Oh," was all I could say.

"If you must know, I have an
intrauterine device for birth control, put there before Daybreak.
The relationship between me and Alex has obviously…escalated." Her
cheeks went red. "And we have definitely discussed kids; at least
after this whole 'Shawn' thing is over. But there haven't exactly
been any gynecologists running around the woods, or on gambling
steamboats, and I'm too afraid to remove it myself." She took a
deep breath and looked at me, "Satisfied?"

I nodded quickly, like I had just
barely escaped a chastising. Time to change the subject. "I'm…so
sorry, Susan. I had no idea. I haven't had my period since – well,
since before I met The Seven. I'm not sure I can even get pregnant
anymore." I dug out a small divot of dirt with the toe of my boot.
"I guess that's a good thing."