Earth(14)

I walked around the women and found Bee in front of them, squat-dancing in time to their music. She kept with the beat, but about the only dance move she had thus far mastered was bending her knees, then straightening them again. She'd mix it up a little by throwing her hands over her head for a few squats.

"Mommy, watch!" she squealed when she saw me.

"I see you, honey. Very good!" I began clapping my hands, joining the circle of the other women.

Bee looked up at me, a proud smile on her face that matched mine.

"Wait." Susan walked into the circle, raising her voice to be heard above us. "What is that?"

"It's our insane rhythmic beat," I said, stomping my feet now.

"You have no rhythm, Kaitlyn!" she shouted back. She wasn't teasing, her eyebrows were furrowed and lips pursed, the way she always did when she was concerned.

I stopped stomping and clapping, and noticed the ground vibrating beneath me. "Stop – stop!" I yelled at the women.

They abruptly stopped their routine, looking at me confused.

"Something’s happening."

"Earth magic," one of them said. "But not from me."

"Me either," the other two chimed in.

"No, no. It's from Bee." All of us looked down at her. She had given up her squat dancing and was now spinning in circles, expending all of her pent up energy from being stuck in a canoe for days on end.

"Bee, honey. Come here – give mommy a hug."

She ignored me, continuing to spin.

"Bee, stop it now." I used my stern voice, lowering it a pitch.

Bee stopped and looked at me. Her lower lip quivered, embarrassed to be chastised in front of an audience.

Crap, if she throws a fit now, the earth vibrations might get worse.

I took a step toward her, tripped on a tree root, and fell smack onto my face. Now I had the audience. I rolled over onto my back, groaning and feeling my nose to make sure it wasn't bleeding.

Bee laughed. "Stupid Bashterd!"

The rest joined in her laughter.

Susan helped me up whispering, "Nice save."

I raised my eyebrow at her. "That wasn't on purpose."

"Wasn't it?" she asked. "Sometimes I wonder about you."

Alex returned from relieving himself in the woods. "Come on ladies." He zipped up his fly. "Time to get moving." He took Susan by the hand and looked at me. "What happened to your face?"





Chapter 10





Afternoon Dip





We were back on the Ohio, in separate canoes, with a new game plan. Lots of shore leave to allow for Bee's 'energy breaks'. I hadn't really thought of it until now, but the past few years had to be exhausting for her. We had constantly been on the move, and as soon as she had learned to walk, she did a lot of the hiking herself. She expended her energy in a physical sense, and as soon as that wasn't possible, she’d found another outlet.

"Why Earth this time?" Susan was obviously mulling it over, same as me. "The last time this happened, at the Chakra, it was with fire."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she channels the magic of the people around her."

"Was there a fire around her in the library that time?" Susan asked.

I thought back – it was a long time ago. Almost two years. Bee had been only four months old. "I think so. But Fire may be her best element. The Elementals on Easter Island thought she was a Fire."

Susan pushed our canoes apart with a paddle, glancing at my boat's other occupant. "I'll give you some privacy."

On our way back to the boats, I worked out a riding plan with Susan and Alex. We would split up to take turns riding with different people in order to discover the extent of their powers, and to look for any signs to pinpoint spies from One Less. Bee would stay with me or Susan; I had yet to get her a life jacket. Right now she was sleeping.

I looked at the back of the head of the woman in front of me. Margie's hair was wrapped in a tight bun with hardly a stray hair. I looked around for her husband, Robert. He was in his kayak, sticking close to the food canoe. Constantly accusing people of eating too much, he cautioned the supplies wouldn't last nearly long enough. He was probably right, but in a world with no modern conveniences, the sooner we learned to live off the land, the better.

"She's a good sleeper," Margie said, looking back at Bee.

"It's the water." I smiled. "Practically puts me to sleep every afternoon."

Margie pulled her oar out of the water and laid it across her lap. Ahead of the pack, we could spare a break. I kept mine in just to steer.

She turned around so we were facing each other. "Had you been on the river long before reaching us?"

I shook my head. "Not really. We came from West Virginia. It has been quite the goose chase, looking for Micah."