Akasha 4 - Earth (40 page)

Shawn's shoulders sagged. "I take it
that's not Lucy."

"No." The Fire stepped up beside him,
eyebrow raised. "Lucy won."

Shawn swallowed, glancing at Dragon,
still rocking back and forth on the floor, mumbling about
sand.

"Alright." Shawn pointed to the Water
and Earth. "You and you help him. Get him to medical."

A radio crackled to life. The Fire on
duty pulled out his handheld. "I think it's one of the patrols, but
I can't get a good signal down here."

"So go up—" Shawn cut himself off.
"What is that?"

"Well, that’s Channel 9, what you told
us to—"

"Not that! Can't you feel
it?"

Both Fires behind Shawn exchanged
glances. By the time they looked back, Shawn was racing out of the
room.

They followed him up the steps, one of
them passing along information as they went, "One of the patrol
groups found a cluster of Elementals east of here. Near some
underground silo."

Shawn burst out of the Tivoli Center,
scanning the northern skies. As soon as the Fires and the Air
caught up with him, he asked, "What's over there?"

"The amusement park," said the Air.
"What happened? I didn't feel anything."

"No, you wouldn't," said Shawn. "It
was Akasha."

Shawn squinted into the dark,
pinpointing the tall observation tower. Moonlight glinted off the
top. "Are those people?"

"Here, use these." The Air handed
Shawn a pair of binoculars.

The Fire took his ear away from the
handheld. "They've engaged, Sir. Do you want prisoners?"

Shawn ignored him, focusing the lenses
just in time to see someone running toward the edge of the tower.
"Holy shit!"

The dark form jumped off.

"I think someone just committed
suicide. Was it our Lucy?" Shawn's gaze went back to another person
still on top. That was definitely a man.

"No – wait for it. I feel air being
used." The Air pointed a short distance away from the
tower.

Shawn followed with his binoculars.
"Yes – there!" The dark form rose into the sky, wavering to get
control. The body hung from a not-so-stable-looking miniature hang
glider. It was definitely a woman. She kipped up, face disappearing
into the apex of the glider.

"Can't be Lucy," said the Air. "That's
an Air."

"No," said Shawn, lowering his
binoculars. "That’s a Gaia. She went east." He turned to the Fire
with the radio. "Is that where the patrol is?"

The Fire nodded.

"Tell them to get out of there!" Shawn
took off at a sprint toward his headquarters. "And call in the
alarms! We're going west; initiate project red!"

"Sir?" the Fires asked in unison,
trying to keep up with his sudden sprint.

"And don't call me sir!" Shawn yelled
over his shoulder as he picked up speed.

Chapter
60

The Mark

I began the long trek up the stairs to
the observation tower, resisting the urge to use air to push me up.
Even after the fight, I had plenty of energy left, but maybe I
could give it back to Micah. No need to hold onto it for
nothing.

I halfway hoped Natasha and her group
was still working on him. It would give me some satisfaction
kicking them all out.

You shouldn't think like
that. Natasha has done nothing but help you.

I reached the top of the tower, barely
breathing hard. The tower was dark, and void of people. There
weren't even any guards. I made a full loop just to be sure,
tripping over pillows along the way. I lit a small ball of Akasha
for light, looking for a clue as to where everyone might be.
Nothing.

Quick, panicked footsteps moved across
the roof above me.

Shit, I forgot about the
guard up top.
I sighed.
Better go talk to him
.

I climbed the short ladder to the
roof, and pushed open the hatch. The hinges squeaked and it fell
open with a clank. A hand extended to help me the rest of the way
up.

"What was that?" the guard asked. "I
felt something…weird."

I shrugged. "I was just practicing –
my powers have been a little off lately. Do you know where Micah
is?"

"Natasha brought him up a few hours
ago, he wasn't looking too good. Whatever they were doing wasn't
helping, either. She left this note for you."

I took the piece of paper he handed
me.

Micah not responding well.
Had to go underground.

Underground? Why would they have to do
that? I thought of the quick-healing mud concoctions at the Chakra.
Was there energy-giving soil nearby?

The map drawn underneath her note
indicated a missile silo just east of Denver. I dropped the note,
turning east. I didn't need a map – I had my own built-in radar to
locate Micah. But first, I needed something else. I picked up a
long iron bar that had been pried loose from somewhere on the
structure, probably by a bored guard.

"Brr, it's chilly up here." I rubbed
my bare arms from shoulder to elbow.

When he didn't say anything, I gave
him a pointed look.

"Oh, right." He jumped to take off his
floor-length leather duster jacket to drape it over my
back.

"Thanks." I grabbed it before he could
help me put it on. I slipped the bar through the inside of one
sleeve, then the other.

"What are you doing? You can't stretch
it – it won't go back into shape."

I didn't answer, taking quick steps
toward the other end of the tower.

"Wait, slow down!" the guard called
behind me. "You don't want to fall off."

"Oh, yes I do." I sped up my final few
steps, then took a giant leap off the 250-foot tall tower. For
several, heart-stopping moments, I was in a free fall. The long
coat twisted around me. I feared the stench of leather would be the
last thing I ever smelled.

Air came to me. It was easy when
surrounded by the element. I pushed it up, forcing the coat into an
even surface. The transition was so sudden, I almost lost my grip
on the bar.

"Whoa…" As soon as I had a sure hold,
I kipped my body up, settling the bar underneath my armpits.
"That's better."

I peeked up and over the
coat. I caught one glimpse of the guard on top of the tower. He was
scratching his head. I smiled.
At least
it'll give him something to talk about.

I followed the river. Wind gusts were
a little more predictable above it, with trees blocking either
side.

The flight was short, compared to any
other option. Ten minutes later I veered toward the only large
group of Elementals I could find on the open plain. Access roads
created a large, misshaped circle. I released some of the air,
beginning my decent. I aimed for the Elementals.

My landing was not graceful, which was
unfortunate because I had an audience. I let the end of the trench
coat drag. It got tangled up in my feet just as the ground rushed
up to meet me. I rolled, involuntarily. My backside seemed to find
every rock jutting out of the hard, frozen ground.

I came to a stop and detangled myself
from the mass of leather. Several pairs of eyes stared at me. I
covered the distance, crossing a slab of concrete. It was cracked,
with weeds pushing up through the gaps. As far as I could tell in
the dark, there was nothing else around us, except for some sort of
access door, antennas, and masts. I wrinkled my nose; it smelled
like a farm.

Natasha stepped forward.

"Is Micah in there?" I asked as I
glanced around at the doors.

She didn’t respond.

My eyes went back to her.
"Well?"

"He was but…they took him," she
said.

"Who took him? And where?" I wanted to
stomp my foot.

"Look there." She pointed to the
double doors.

I walked around the group. In red
spray paint, taking up almost the entire height of the door, was
Shawn's mark. My scar began to itch while my blood ran
cold.

"One Less," I whispered. "Was Shawn
here?"

Natasha stepped up behind me, shaking
her head. "No. But there were a lot of Fires."

Someone else piped up from the back of
the group, "We are just a bunch of Earths. Rock doesn't stand a
chance against fire."

I pressed my lips together.

These people weren't at
the dogfight.

"Which way did they go? I didn't see
them on my way here." Of course I was further north, following the
river.

"Horseback. There are a few more
horses, if you want one." She glanced at the crumpled leather
jacket, and the bar hanging from my hands.

Hoofs and the sound of heavy breathing
confirmed it. A few sideways steps showed a pen of horses. One ran
in a circle; another threw up his front legs, kicking as if to ward
me off. "No thanks, I'll take my chances with the…" I held up the
leather. "…jacket."

"Wait," Natasha said, "you'll need
help."

"I need help? There will be four times
the amount of Fires than what were just here. What are your Earths
going to do then?"

"That's not what I meant." Natasha
crossed her arms, furrowing her eyebrows.

I stopped fiddling with the iron rod
and jacket.

She took a deep breath. "Micah
mentioned something about The Seven Chakras. We can help you access
them."

Chapter
61

Prisoners

Shawn urged his horse
through the mass of dead cars on 6
^th
Avenue. He refrained from
guiding the steed into a full gallop; it was still dark, and plenty
of debris cluttered the way. Shawn looked over his shoulder. David
was struggling to even stay on his horse.

Shawn growled, "Take everyone who has
fallen behind and dig in there." Shawn pointed to a large sign
signaling the entrance to a fairground. "If anyone else shows up,
stop them."

Shawn angled his horse for the onramp
of the interstate. Those still with him were much faster, keeping a
tight column. They merged with another group on
horseback.

"Whoa!" shouted the Fire, who had
replaced David at Shawn's side. "It's a patrol."

Shawn reigned in his horse, signaling
for the others to stop. He surveyed the patrol group. Several had
minor injuries; bandages over their head or blossoming bruises.
"What did you find?" Shawn asked.

"This, sir…" he motioned with his hand
and the group split, allowing a few riders from the back forward.
Each rider held a prisoner, bound and gagged, thrown across the
back of the horse.

Shawn swung his leg around, jumping
off his own horse. Three prisoners in all, a man and two women. He
went to the women first, not bothering to remove their blindfolds,
and checked each of their shoulders. He let out a disappointed sigh
at the last one.

That would've been too
easy
, he thought.

He walked past the man, preparing to
climb back into the saddle when something out of the corner of his
eye stopped him.

Shawn walked back around,
glancing at the prisoner's feet.
I know
those boots.

He removed the blindfold and blinked
in astonishment at the face that glared up at him.

"This will be easier than I thought,"
Shawn said.

Chapter
62

Air

It was too cold – even for the bugs.
But I preferred shivering over bug splatter against my face. This
time when I took flight I followed the same path as the horses
would've gone. Their trail led me down a main road through town. So
focused on what was ahead, I failed to take into account what was
behind me.

A gust of wind knocked me sideways.
Another forced me lower. I barely missed a tree branch leaning over
the road. I looked behind me; three Airs followed, using actual
hang gliders.

Another strong gust hit me from
behind. They were going to bully me to the ground, or into the side
of a building.

Hell if I am going to end
up like bug splatter.

I let go of the element keeping me in
flight. A moment later I was in free fall. For the second time in
one night; it wasn't nearly as terrifying. As the ground rushed up
to meet me, I spread the jacket back out, using a wind stream to
stay up. My toes scraped asphalt.

I stayed low for three quick breaths.
My splayed-out black leather jacket camouflaged me against the dark
street. I flew straight up behind them and smiled. They were still
searching the ground for me.

I let my fireballs fly, counting out
two per hang glider. It was all the energy I wanted to spare. Tears
in the fabric threw off their balance, and it didn't take long for
the gliders to tip. If they could gain control of their element
fast enough, they'd survive the fall, but it wouldn't be
pretty.