Akasha 4 - Earth (45 page)

One final push, and Akasha burst out.
The huge, monolithic cliffs of Red Rocks only contained the blast
for so long. The intense inner core of Akasha rolled across the
Rockies and the plains toward downtown Denver. Explosions shook the
Earth. A deep cracking sound echoed across the Amphitheatre. I
looked up – the cliff to our right shifted.

Akasha was a magnet,
attracting pockets of power. The increased energy sent Akasha
further, miles and miles across the Earth. I recalled a spell I’d
used to cleanse Shawn's Athame. I chanted, mixing the spell with
the power of Akasha. "
I consecrate you
with Earth; the Great Mother shall provide you protection." This
hills rumbled as the avalanches started up again. Shawn's hand
squeezed my own. I squeezed back, willing him to stay.

My voice was louder now, "I consecrate
you with Fire, so that you are empowered with the strength of the
Fire that burns in the core of the Earth." A surge of heat shot
through Akasha like a wave. I adjusted the other three elements to
maintain balance. Micah's breathing grew shallow. Still on one
knee, I looked up at Akasha in a panic. I had to finish
it.

"I consecrate you with Air
so that you may obtain the knowledge of infinite places." My energy
began to wane, and Akasha flickered above us. What light left
Akasha was balanced by the signals of Elementals. They were
scattered, many behind the walls I left for them, but the
blue, gold, red, and brown telltale signatures
were strong. One by one, they began to send their own energies,
contributing to the strength of Akasha. As a result, Akasha reached
further. This, plus a surge of Air extended my power, covering
entire states now. I felt the Chakra Centers join the surge. First
Denver, then the one in Evansville. There were others along the
way.

A large boulder smashed into the stage
of the Amphitheatre. All three of us looked up. The cliff hung at a
precarious angle. It had to be the momentum of Akasha alone keeping
it from falling on us.

"Hurry, Kaitlyn!" Micah coughed
out.

I nodded, continuing with
the last element,
"
I consecrate you with Water so that understanding and wisdom
of great mysteries will be yours." It was as if the oceans of the
world became conductive. Our power combined with
another.

"Galapagos," Shawn whispered, glancing
at me.

I could almost taste the ash from the
volcano that had erupted when I was trying to escape.

"And the Chakra," Micah countered
through pasty, cracked lips.

He was right, the Galapagos had
reached for its balance halfway across the world. The rest of the
Earth's points of power were quick to respond. Our forest in
Indonesia and its counter, Easter Island. Then Heard and McDonald
Islands and back to us. Six of the chakra points along the body of
the Earth were accessed. There was just one left.

I glanced at Micah. He nodded in
encouragement.

I finished the spell, chanting, "I
consecrate this Earth with Akasha; cleanse it with my magical
energy."

My whole body went stiff, then shook
with uncontrollable spasms. I threw my head back, mouth open and
eyes wide. My veins sizzled on the inside, taking my breath away.
The rising tide washed through me and into the sky, powering Akasha
and enveloping the world.

I sank back onto my heels
as Akasha fizzled away, absorbed by the atmosphere, the oceans, and
the Earth. The
two hands I held went limp.
I released Shawn's. He fell to his knees as I hovered over
Micah.

Micah's eyelids fluttered, then he
looked up at me. "Do you know what tonight was?" he
asked.

I shook my head, not trusting my
voice.

"The Winter Solstice." He turned his
head east. The sun had just begun to rise. The brilliant orb
crested the horizon. In a brief flash, its rays reached out,
touching the Earth. I raised my hand, shielding my eyes. Then the
whole of the hilly plains before us, and the Rocky Mountains behind
us, were bathed in light.

I looked down. Micah's hand had gone
limp. His light flickered out and his eyes fluttered
shut.

The world went gray. I stepped back,
away from Micah and Shawn. My heart hitched in my throat. I
couldn't breathe. I turned away from Micah's limp body to the sun,
closing my eyes, soaking in its heat, forcing away the cold that
took hold of me.

I stepped onto the rail, balancing
myself on top. I cleansed myself, willing the negative energy to go
away.

This is all just a bad
dream.

The sun's rays wrapped me in warmth,
like Micah always had. But when I opened my eyes and turned, he was
still lying there, turning whiter by the second. There was no more
warmth.

Shawn was pumping Micah's chest. "Come
on, come on." Shawn paused to check for Micah's pulse, then tilted
his head back and breathed into his mouth. He resumed pumping,
glancing up at me. "Help him!" Shawn's eyes were glossy. It was the
second time I'd ever seen him cry.

Shawn didn't hear the subtle crack
above us. And with his eyes glued to Micah, he didn't see Creation
Rock begin to tip. I didn't call out. I didn't attempt to
move.

The whole of the cliff smashed into
the ground. Dirt and debris sprayed out. I shielded my face,
missing the final few moments of the pair of brothers before me.
They were both crushed. The entire Earth seemed to
shake.

When the dust cleared, I jumped down
from the rail. I splayed my hand across the monolithic cliff. It
was warm but cool at the same time. I stepped forward, and hit
something that clattered across the ground. I bent down to inspect.
The Chalice.

Chapter
74

Moving Forward

Susan turned off the
computer.

"Eat!" exclaimed Bee.

Alex laughed. "Just a snack, don't
ruin your dinner."

"Otay." Bee was already rooting
through the pantry.

"Well, that went better than
expected," Susan said, gesturing to the computer. They just
finished their first video conferencing session. Power was growing
to be more consistent and stable, though they still had to deal
with their fair share of blackouts, even on the hybrid power
station.

"Give it some time," Alex said. "It'll
get better." He wasn't referring to the power.

Susan sat, fiddling with the frayed
edges of her shirt. "Do you think she made the right decision?
Could it have been done any differently?"

Alex always treaded carefully around
the subject. Susan still broke down at the loss of her brother from
time to time.

Alex sat down beside her, kissing her
on the cheek. "You've said yourself that since Akasha, the pH
balance of the oceans have evened out. Acidification is a
non-issue; something Daybreak didn't even fix."

Susan nodded.

Alex continued, "Whatever happened in
the days after Akasha…well, let's just concentrate on doing what is
best for Bee, and make sure her mother's sacrifice remains
justified."

"Right." Susan swallowed hard then
patted Alex on the knee. "I'll get dinner started."

Chapter
75

One More

During the videoconference, I had
taken more than a dozen screenshots of Bee. I stared at one now,
tracing her outline with the pad of my finger until the screensaver
came on, fading my daughter to black.

At one point during the session, when
she had turned and I’d seen that her brown curls had grown past her
shoulders, I almost lost it. It was elating yet crushing all at the
same time. Most likely, I would never see her in person again; not
if the Earth were to survive it.

"Excuse me, ma'am…"

I retracted my hand from the screen at
the voice behind me, and turned. "Please don't call me
‘ma'am’."

David cleared his throat. "I know you
have designated a second, but…" he trailed off, again, as my
second-in-command, Erika, entered the room. David rubbed the back
of his neck and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "It's just that
– I'm not sure this was the way Shawn meant things to be
run."

"Shawn is dead," I reminded him, my
voice cold. David was becoming annoying. He protested when I began
using the aurora borealis to transfer nuclear energy to population
centers, even though the underwater transfer cables had years’
worth of development to go until they were safe.

Alex and Susan were hard at work on
one of the hybrid power stations, dubbed Advanced Hybrid Industrial
Units. AHI Units, named for all of the sacrifices made in the fight
over power. But AHI Units also had years' worth of development
ahead of them before they could support the new world. In the
meantime, the Chakra Centers set up by governments around the world
would help sustain our populations.

"Let me ask you, David, how do the
carbon dioxide levels look?" I glanced at him, my finger tracing
the spiral of life on the tabletop. It was our new symbol,
plastered on almost everything the organization owned.

He opened his notebook. "Almost down
to the preindustrial level."

I crossed my arms. "And Earth's
temperature?"

"Also down – almost by .5 degrees
Celsius." His cheeks went crimson.

"The Earth is fixing itself, David –
thanks to Akasha."

Shawn had been right about one thing;
nuclear was the most ready. But unlike him, I knew it wasn't the
long-term option. Powerful, dangerous, convenient, necessary.
Easter Island had already volunteered to serve as a site for a
second nuclear station, and floating Russian nuclear reactors were
being brought back online. All three would exist on sinkable
islands, in case of emergency. All three wouldn't be activated
until Gaias were found, and volunteered, to run them.

Coming to Shawn's plant in McMurdo
Power Station on Ross Island in Antarctica was really my only
option. It was almost exactly halfway around the world from Bee.
Hopefully, whatever energy we each were manipulating would balance
out. Besides, cold numbed the constant feeling of pain in my
stomach, in my head, and in my heart.

"One Less doesn't—"

"And I've changed the name," I
interrupted David. "To One More."

Both Erika and David arched their
eyebrows.

"As in one more plant. We're going to
plant things. Tell the Chakra Centers to get their shovels
ready."

Erika did a fist pump.

David's other eyebrow went up.
"Ma'am?"

I sighed. "I'll be in my room – do not
disturb for an hour." My hand brushed the lump in my side cargo
pocket, ensuring the Chalice was still there. "And David? Don't
call me ‘ma'am’."

Chapter
76

Our Solstice

I landed on the platform. My toes
tingled as they touched down on glowing, not-so-solid ground. I
looked up. The two men I had left last time were there: Cato and
Ted.

"It is done then?" Cato
asked.

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my
throat.

"And not without its sacrifices…" Cato
drifted off.

I looked up at him. The men glanced at
each other, then slowly stepped aside. From behind them, two green
eyes looked back at me.

A smile opened up my face as I walked
toward Micah. I paused in front of him, stretching out my hand. He
did the same. My solid to his translucent. He made an effort, and
was able to solidify his extended limb. Our fingers
intertwined.

I looked up into those deep pools of
jade, sucking me in just as they always did.

"Hey," I said.

He smiled. "Hey, yourself."

"Shall we begin?" Cato interrupted the
moment.

Micah moved to stand next to me as
Cato began, "Dearly Beloved, as we gather here today…"

About the
Author

Terra is author of the eco-fantasy novels in
the Akasha Series, 'Water', 'Air', 'Fire' and 'Earth'. Terra was
born and raised in Colorado but has since lived in California,
Texas, Utah, North Carolina, and Virginia. Terra has served a 5½
year enlistment in the Marine Corp, has earned her bachelor's and
master's degree and presently runs the language services division
of a small business.

Terra currently lives in a suburb of
Washington, DC with her husband of 14 years and three
children.

Connect with Terra:

E-mail:
[email protected]

Facebook:
http://facebook.com/terraharmony

Blog:
http://harmonylit.wordpress.com

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/harmonygirlit

Discover other titles by
Terra:

The Kindred Curse
Anthology