If anything, Shawn learned his lesson on the Galapagos. Forcing people to do his bidding wasn't very effective. When the shit hit the fan, they scattered like marbles, no matter what threats Shawn promised.
And Kaitlyn had managed to get away. Next time he had her, it would be different. With the islanders, plus the powers from the Athame, Kaitlyn wouldn't have a chance. Even with the few Elementals he knew Susan managed to recruit.
Receiving information from his sources had been difficult while traveling with Micah and Alex. They’d watched him like a hawk. Thankfully, Shawn had rich customers with neat little toys, whose bottom line profits did not fare well when Shawn was completely absent from One Less.
"This is a nice table." Shawn said, glancing at the hand-carved legs. "Solid."
"It is brand new from—" Ahi cut her sentence short. The fact that her knuckles were turning white around the coffee mug she held did not escape Shawn.
Andrés told him her mom had been killed during the battle. What this woman needed was sympathy. He shuddered internally. Shawn didn't do sympathy very well. He closed his eyes, trying to envision it was Sarah sitting in front of him.
"I'm so sorry…" his voice cracked. "For…everything."
He opened his eyes to find Ahi scrutinizing him. Convincing her was going to be more difficult than Andrés. Women were always more difficult. He never had understood the whole balance thing between the Gaia and her Ardwyad. Women were a lot of things, but never balanced.
Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. Shawn tried to concentrate. Even now Kaitlyn was coming between him and Sarah. "I didn't mean for things to turn out this way."
Ahi finally looked away, bringing the mug to her mouth. She took a sip, took a deep breath, and asked, "Who are you to Kaitlyn?"
Here was where he had to be careful. He had no idea how much Kaitlyn told her. It couldn't have been much, considering the fact that he was sitting here at all. "I'm her child's father."
It just slipped out. He had been excited about the prospect, once. He had done all his research on birth and raising an infant; had all the necessary supplies and then some. He was ready to take Kaitlyn with him when she was pregnant, willing or not. Then Kaitlyn ran off with what might be his child. His rightful property – his blood. His sources told him a paternity test had been sent out from the Chakra, but no results yet.
Ahi studied him. "She does have eyes similar to your own."
An unexpected pang coursed through Shawn's chest.
"But why was she running from you?" Ahi asked.
Shawn looked down at the wood table, running his finger against the grain, choosing his words carefully. "She told you about our organization – the Seven?"
Ahi nodded.
"They have…" Shawn cleared his throat. "I mean to say they had the policy of disposing of one Gaia when a stronger came along." He paused, dusting off the table with his palm. "With two magical parents, the likelihood of the baby becoming a Gaia is somewhat strong. Obviously Kaitlyn wouldn't want that kind of life for her child. So she ran. Even after I swore to her I would be getting rid of that practice."
Ahi leaned back in her chair. "You're aware of our people's abilities?"
"After last night, yes." Shawn took a sip of his coffee.
"Despite generations and generations of producing Elementals, we've never had a Gaia. We know of them through songs passed down from our grandparents and parents." Ahi stopped, drinking from her own mug, her eyes wandering from Shawn. "I never understood the line 'a child cannot have two mothers'…until now." She fixed her gaze on Shawn once again.
Shawn remained silent.
"But it still doesn't make it right," Ahi's voice grew stern. "Kaitlyn did what any mother would've done. Any good mother." Ahi pressed her lips together.
Shawn thought she might be holding back tears. He looked away, giving Ahi the privacy to compose herself.
"Anyway, Andrés mentioned you wanted to help. How?" Ahi asked, briskly brushing at her eyes.
"Yes," Shawn said, setting his mug on the table and leaving his hands in plain view. "I want to help the island rebuild their main street. Maybe even add in a few improvements, if you wish. I have the resources."
Ahi didn't look impressed. Money was not her motivator.
"Also, I hope you excuse the presumption, but I've already given Andrés funds to pay for application fees to have your mother honored according to the old ways." Shawn held his breath.
In their brief ride up here, Shawn had quizzed Andrés on the old woman that died, trying to find out what her wishes might be.
Ahi gasped. For a split second, Shawn thought he might have said the wrong thing.
"It is exactly what she would have wanted." Ahi trembled, in a good way, he imagined. "We didn't have the money to do that ourselves."
Shawn let out a sigh of relief, slowly, under his breath.
"Thank you," Ahi said.
Shawn nodded, standing. "It's the least I could do. I'll be staying at Hotel Hangaroa for the next few weeks while I get the reconstruction efforts underway."
"I tend bar there almost every night," Ahi said. "We should talk more. I can help with the city permits – I have a cousin on the board. And one of his friends owns the island's commercial construction company."
Shawn smiled to himself as he walked out the front door. She was almost in his pocket. Almost.
Chapter 33
Taking Sides
I walked into the library. The books were dwindling, but there were several more computers. A fire extinguisher sat by each one. Given Bee's newfound powers, as well as my own iffy past with the element, the red canisters were a welcome sight.
Susan greeted me, "Does Micah have baby duty?"
I nodded. "Alex is with him – between the two of them, they might be able to handle it."
We laughed together.
"Seriously, though," I said, "I don't mind working out a schedule for the four of us, but I have to insist that Bee is not left alone with anyone else."
"Okay, mommy. Agreed."
"Oh, and one more thing." Heat crept up to my cheeks as I thought about the previous day. I took a step closer to Susan and lowered my voice, "I need some form of birth control – the more permanent the better."
Susan nodded, "What were you thinking?"
"Well, to be honest – I was thinking about a surgery," I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt.
"We don't have that expertise, or equipment, here. But maybe I can arrange something the next time we go stateside."
"Okay. What do I do until then? Can you get pills?"
"I could…" Susan frowned.
"What?"
"Birth control pills aren't very environmentally friendly. The progestin and estrogen get released into the water supply when they pass through the body via urine. They can't be filtered out of the water supply and they disrupt wildlife. It affects their sex organs and capacity for reproduction." She returned to the one of the tables, sorting through notes as she spoke. "It's prescription drug pollution. Sex hormones are being detected in the drinking water of millions of people. Synthetic estrogens found in wastewater have already been shown to feminize male fish."
"So condoms – even with all the plastic packaging, are a better choice?"
She turned back to me, "Sterilization is the best choice, and after that – an IUD. But we can't do either of those here."
I nodded, "Condoms it is."
I said it a little too loud. One of the workers nearby glanced up, eyes wide. We returned his gaze. He cleared his throat, picked up the stack of papers he was working with, and moved to another table across the room.
Susan returned to her own papers, "Do you need me get some for you?"
I shook my head, "No. Micah seems to have that covered."
"Okay – don't want to know the specifics. Just let me know if you need anything."
Her brother's safe sex practices probably were not high on her list of things to talk about today. Time to change the s
ubject. "Tell me what you've been up to since I've been gone."
Susan took me by the arm and led me to a long table. "Well," she cleared her throat. "You've seen the bulk of it. Recruiting and training Elementals."
"Training them to use their elements as weapons," I emphasized, grabbing the chance to discuss the issue. It had been bothering me ever since I watched the Fires at target practice.
"I know, I know. And trust me; it won't be our modus operandi. But right now, our focus is Shawn. We've gathered some intel on his organization. He’s out for depopulation, Kaitlyn."
I swallowed. "Is he succeeding?"
Susan nodded. "You've been keeping up with the news?"
"Not really," I admitted, "But I've heard of some of the events on the way here."
She turned to a computer, opening a file. "Earthquake in New York, Indian drought, African mass asphyxiation…but it is not just that. There is an alarming increase in the melting of glaciers and a new worldwide flu epidemic. We think Shawn's organization is behind it all."
I ran my fingers over the edges of the keyboard, trying to be careful about what I had to say next. "What happens to everything else while we hunt Shawn?"
She didn't say anything. She had taken my side when I made the same argument to Cato, after all. I named off our other projects, "What about your phytoplankton? Aerial reforestation? Water conservation?"
She finally fixed me with her stare. "What about human life?"
I didn't answer. We were at an impasse.
She sighed, "I guess it's a matter of protecting the population versus protecting the Earth. Right now, the Seven is choosing the former while Shawn is choosing the latter. Which do you choose, Kaitlyn?"
I sighed too, "It doesn't have to be that black and white, Susan." I hesitated, considering. Maybe it did, I don't know. Maybe I was doing everyone an injustice by not fully committing to either side. "I am a Gaia."
"You are the Gaia," Susan corrected.
"Right. I am the Gaia. I bring balance to the Earth's ecosystem for humanity. So that is what I'll do. I will take both sides, Earth and the population, and bring balance to it all."
Susan narrowed her eyes, and I instantly felt like a traitor. By not completely pledging myself to the Seven's goals, I was saying there was some merit to Shawn's ideologies.
"Oh – quit with the eyes!" I started pacing. "If you want me to leave, just say it."
The other workers in the room went quiet. No one was going to interrupt this showdown. In fact, I was pretty sure some started angling their bodies toward the door. I held my breath.
Why can't I just keep my mouth shut?
Susan's glare softened, and the corners of her mouth turned up. "Kaitlyn, let me just admit we spared no expense in searching for you. Therefore, you officially represent a significant, and costly, investment of the Seven. I most certainly will not be telling you to leave anytime soon."
My smile came back, "You’re beginning to sound like Cato."
She laughed, and the tension in the room dissipated.
"Okay, so tell me what you need me to do." I glanced around the table at the last remaining boxes of books, afraid I'd be relegated to the tedious job of scanning the books, page by page, into electronic files.
"First, I want to teach you our cataloging system so you can find your way around for anything you need."
"Okay," I winced.
"Then, I need your help training the Elementals."
"Oh." That meant I would be outside. Being outside was a good thing. But it would also mean I'd be participating in something I believed to be fundamentally wrong.
What to do, what to do.
I glanced at the boxes again. "Okay, I'll do it."
At the very least I could be teaching the Elementals what I thought they should know. A little bit of firepower and a little bit of eco interaction. Balance.
After two hours of showing me what must have been the bulk of her work in the past few months, I had to admit I was impressed. Research would be a dozen times faster, way more efficient and effective.
Take that, Shawn.
Susan moved on to introducing me to the workers in the room, then said to me under her breath, "There is no guarantee that they aren't part of Shawn's crew. So we watch them carefully. Not everyone here is an Elemental, but many are friends or families of the Elementals that did come. It was a good way to convince Elementals to stay and train. Besides, we could use the extra help."
I looked around the room and for the first time recognized a few guards I knew from when I had been here before.
Susan leaned into me, lowering her voice, "I planted them here to keep watch on the workers. Our secret – okay?"
I winked at her. "When will more Elementals be arriving?"
The light in Susan's eyes was effectively snuffed out. "I'm not sure there'll be many more."
"You mean there are no more?"
"Oh no, there are definitely more. I just don't have the funds to bring them here. I can only really support everyone here for another few months as it is." She shrugged, looking down and smoothing her skirt. "It’s kept me up nights. I have started having to ask people to delve into their personal funds."
"Too bad Bill Gates can't wield the flame."
She laughed, as did a few others nearby that overheard. I was making friends already. Susan took me by the arm. "Come on, money isn't your concern. Elementals are. And it is time to begin training."
My chest throbbed. It was the familiar, painful engorgement when I went too long without feeding Bee. "Of course. I will teach them how to turn air and water and even the Earth itself into weapons of mass destruction. Right after I breastfeed."
Chapter 34
Turnip Guardian
After I had lunch, Susan took over babysitting duty.
Micah retrieved me for more introductions. "Come on, Kaitlyn; let's go meet the Earths."
I half-jogged to keep up with his quick stride. Micah briefed me on the group dynamics, "We've designated a team lead for each element – determined by a demonstration over control of their powers. They can be challenged at any time. Susan is the team lead for the Waters, but she has appointed a deputy since she can't be around them all the time. No one has challenged her for the position. The Fires are a different story. There is practically a new team lead every day. I've given up trying to keep track. They are going to be your biggest challenge."
"And the Earths?" I asked.
"The Earths agreed to just work together until more Elementals show up. There are only two of them."
We left the building. "They stay outside, too?" I asked.
Micah nodded. "They have become rather infatuated with their plants; don't leave them much."
The garden came into view. Crops sprung up over the top of the fence, and vines covered almost the entire perimeter that was ten times larger than I remembered. Leafy greens protruded from a deep brown soil in neat rows. "You've done a lot of work here."
Micah looked at me out of the corner of his eye, "The Earths have done a lot of work." He held open the gate for me.
I entered, my eye immediately drawn to the bright red tomatoes. Their color matched a small tent on the other side of the garden.
"So the Airs are the only group to take up rooms in the Chakra?" I asked, bending over to inspect the vines. Mama would have loved to see these.
"Actually, the Airs help to maintain a moderate temperature inside the building."
"Wave of the future," I mumbled, still bent over. "An Air Elemental inside every home and office. Just add food."
Micah smirked, "Totally not cost effective if you start using Gaias. Kaitlyn will eat you out of house and home."
"Hey!" I straightened and punched him in the arm. "I'm still eating for two here."
He caught my fist and twisted. "Two what? Elephants?"
Rather than retorting, I swept one of his legs with my own. Micah went down, pulling me with him. I landed on top of him, hard. The soft dirt
would have been preferable.
He grunted, "Yep – has to be elephants."
I elbowed him, laughing. "You want elephants? I'll give you elephants."
I lifted off of him, enough to twist and throw myself back down over his stomach. He grunted again, but wrapped his limbs around me holding tight. We rolled, laughing and sneaking in playful jabs, spraying dirt everywhere.
"Watch the turnips!" An alarmed voice grew louder, its owner stomping toward us. "Watch. The. Turnips!"
We untangled ourselves in front of two very dirty, very large feet. The toenails were long, cracked, and black underneath. We stood, brushing dirt off as best we could. After deeming myself appropriate for introductions, and possibly a good tongue-lashing, I straightened then turned to meet the turnip guardian. No one was there. I looked right then left, and back at Micah. He twitched his head toward the ground.
I turned and looked down. Thick, bushy eyebrows, or rather – eyebrow, lifted then furrowed at my obvious faux pas.
"Micah, we've asked that no one enter the gardens." A mustache, so long as to completely conceal his mouth, moved in time to the words.
"Sorry about the turnips, Clay." Micah said, brushing dirt off his shirt. I still couldn't take my eyes of the mustache.
"And the potatoes." Clay motioned.
We turned around, surveying the damage.
I pulled a leafy green from Micah's wrinkled shirt, "And the cabbage."
Micah's lips pressed tight together were enough to tell me to shut it.
So, of course, I didn't. "I'm Kaitlyn, you must be one of the Earth Elementals."
I stuck out my hand. He turned his steady gaze to me, then to my hand. My arm wavered, uncertain if it would be received. Just as I was about to pull away, he grasped it, making a slow up and down motion. He certainly wasn't in a hurry to do anything, unless someone was wrestling on top of his turnips.
"Our Gaia," said Clay. It was a statement, not a question, so I didn't respond. "We've been looking forward to your arrival. We – me and Zola, that is – are anxious to finally learn more about our element."
Forget the earthquakes, give this man an axe. The dwarf in him was strong.
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