Water by Terra Harmony Read Free Book Online

have incredible wildlife sanctuaries."
    A low grumbling of thunder sounded in the distance.
    Cato cocked his ear as if judging the intensity of the oncoming squall, but his eyes were on me.  "A storm is moving in.  Time to batten up the hatches."  He gestured to the open windows.  "We should continue our conversation another time."  He took my arm in his, leaving no room for argument as he pulled me back toward the door.
    "Beautiful tigers.  The locals loved them.  I stayed with a family who had a young son.  He liked to paint the tigers.  They speak English pretty well there, you know."  I was babbling, acutely aware of the fire inside me, growing with the approaching storm.  The thunder got louder and rain began to fall.  "That little boy, Adil, he was killed by the cyclone."
    Cato retrieved a walkie-talkie that was clipped to his back pocket, never letting go of my arm.  The walkie-talkie clicked.  "Get Micah in here, quick."
    "Adil means 'sincere'.  That’s what his mother told me."  The wind picked up outside and the rain fell harder.  "At the funeral."
    I stopped walking, breaking free of Cato's grip, "He would be alive now if I never took that assignment."
    Cato reach for me again, "It wasn’t your fault."
    "I know."  I slapped away his hand.  The storm softened a little outside and everything went silent.  I whispered, "It was your fault."
    My insides hummed with energy as grief turned to anger.  I focused, making an effort to channel the power and tune in to the storm.  It was chaotic; waves buzzed out and were pulled back, like the surf on a rocky coastline, only not nearly so predictable.  Manipulating the energy came easy to me, as if I'd done it my whole life.  Probably have, just not so…intentional.
    I raised my pitch and synchronized with the elements of air and water.  The storm raced in at full force.  Windows blew all the way open, shattering against the walls.  Hair whipped around my face, impeding my vision, but my gaze never left the old man.  He tried side-stepping around me, looking anxiously at the door.  He wasn't getting off the hook that easy.  I closed in on him, grabbing his arm.  A twist of his wrist at a painful upward angle turned him around.  I stepped on the back of his knee, forcing him to the floor.  "Why didn’t you get me before now?  All of this could have been avoided!  You knew, and you just let me float from place to place, destroying lives!"
    Cato yelled into the walkie-talkie with his free hand, "Hurry!  Send Micah!"  He looked up at me, still yelling over the noise of the storm, "Control yourself, Kaitlyn!  Calm down!  We weren't sure until a few years ago.  A Gaias powers don't come until later in life.  I can explain it all!"
    "Explain?  It’s too late for explanations!  It won’t bring Adil back, it won’t bring my parents back, it won’t help anything!"  The hard rain pelted our faces, pouring through the open window.  Loose papers took off, flying everywhere.
    Suddenly the wind shifted.  I looked over my shoulder to see the large double door fly open.  Micah stood in the entrance.  I let loose a growl so shocking that deep down I thought it had to be the thunder.  "I’m not finished here."  My voice boomed in his direction.  He just looked at me, stunned.  I expanded my frequency, matching that of the wind, and forced it toward the intruder.  It shifted again, slamming the door in Micah’s face.
    Cato was still bent over in front of me.  Hail fell now.  The large room echoed with each piece of ice that hit the roof.  Wind came through the open windows and skylight, powerful enough to send glass and the smaller books soaring across the room.  Adrenaline raced through me at a level I hadn't known existed.  I was swept up in a cycle of more and more anger, more energy, more power.  I let go of Cato and he stood unsteadily, facing me.  The storm picked up larger books now, making them dangerous missiles shooting