"Do you think I enjoy this?" The ogre throws his hand not holding the gadget up as if in surrender and then rubs it down his face. "I need this. I have to have this."
"But why?" I come right up to him despite Charlie's grumbles. "I just want to understand. There's more here than meets the eye."
A tear forms in the corner of his eye; he brushes it away. "It's my wife. She needs the spell in order to survive."
"What?" Charlie steps up beside me so close our arms brush.
"What kind of spell is it?" Now this makes more sense to me.
"I'm not sure." But the ogre points at the merchant. "But she sure does. She sold this to me just a few weeks ago and said it should last at least two years."
"And it should have, but he broke the fan." Her voice is stern and her face indifferent.
"All he has to do is buy a new spell." Tide glares at me and points to the vapor machine. "She has plenty." Then he motions toward her cart.
"I think that's the problem." Dax moves so that he’s still in between the ogre and the water world people.
"Yes, we had to sell our land in order to afford this." The ogre rubs his eyes, and he shakes his head. "But with it leaking, it only lasted a few weeks. I can't afford another spell; we have nothing left to sell."
So that's what this all comes down to. Not only does the artifact power their own water source, but this is how they make their living. However, the greed in their eyes reminds me of the council back home. Maybe this place isn’t so different after all.
My powers, still churning inside me, are telling me something. I glance at the spelled vapor machine. Hmmm... I wonder if I could help them out in some way?
"Chris, what are you thinking?" Concern shines deep within Charlie's eyes, and he reaches for my hand.
I’m not sure what to do or what I’m thinking, but the artifacts are tugging me toward the contraption.
"Do you mind if I hold that for a moment?" I reach out my hands toward it, but force myself to stop. For someone reason, an overwhelming urge to grab it from him courses through me. What the hell is going on?
"What do you think you're doing?" He jerks away and cradles it. "I won't have this ruined."
The power rises inside me, and the amulet burns on my chest. I don’t understand. Charlie takes a step my direction, and I hold up a hand. Something isn't right with me, and I'm not sure what would happen to him. "Don't. I'm afraid you'll get burned."
"What is she talking about?" Tide scoffs and shakes his head. "Is she going to cause the ground to quake again?"
"She needs to get back inside Ria's." The merchant's tone is loud and full of alarm.
"This is ridiculous." Dax stomps over to the ogre and glares. "Give her the damn machine."
"Hell no." The ogre shakes his head and tightens his grip. "This is all I have left to save my wife." His tone is desperate, and he balls his hands up in a fist.
A vibrant flash inside me now courses through from the Flame and mixes with the other two elements. Now's the time if I'm going to do something about it. Using Dax's intervention as a distraction, I rush forward and grab the bottle out of his hands.
"What—" The ogre turns toward me, fear bright in his wide eyes.
As soon as the machine is in my hands, my white healing power mixes with the three artifacts, and my insides begin to warm. It pulses through my body and into my hands.
The dark emerald water begins to glow from the power leaking out, and the glass begins to warm under my touch. It gets hotter and hotter, almost the same temperature as the Flame that burns inside.
"I don't understand." The ogre heads my direction, but Dax stands in front of him.
Moving in between the ogre and me, Dax faces him. "Let her finish. She's trying to help you."
The wind picks up, and a cooling breeze seems to focus right on me... on my hands. My power continues to pulse into the bottle in my hand. The Water Artifact connects to me somehow; it’s a dark shade of emerald and flows through the fan and into the bottle. It infuses the water so it doesn’t boil or lose the spell from the fire. After several minutes, the glow begins to fade.
My power recedes, and the amulet stops burning. I don't know what happened, but I hand the bottle back to its owner. The fan then begins to run, and a small mist blows into the air.
A laugh bubbles out of him. "You fixed it." His eyes shine, and he smiles at me. "Thank you."
The merchant and Tide stand still, their surprise apparent on their faces.
Now, this is going to be fun to explain.
11
"How is that possible?" The merchant gasps and narrows her eyes at me.
At this point, I realize that we have spectators. Two people are stopped dead in their tracks; they must have seen the whole thing go down. Shit, maybe doing this out in the open wasn't the best idea.
The man, only a few feet away, steps around his cart and shoots daggers my way. The lady next to him grabs his arm, pulling him back. "Don't get to close to her. She can't be trusted."
Tide takes charge. "You two
