Okay, his reaction isn’t helping. It's as bad as I feared. "It is. I found her when she was coming back from another realm. Between that and my powers healing her, I had to kill her and bring her back." My heart races, and power begins swirling in sync with it. "Shit, what am I going to do? I can't tell them what happened, but her soul is already splintering." The ground begins to shake underneath me.
"Hey." He walks over and cups my cheeks with his hands. "It's fine. We've got this. It's not like they'll know what happens. And if they figure it out, I won't let them touch you."
Yeah, right. Like he can make those promises. I'm not stupid.
A loud bang echoes against the door. "What the hell, Chris?" Dax's tone is rough from sleep. "Let me in."
Charlie drops his hand and opens the door. "She's freaking out and having an episode."
Shit, and I thought it was just my nerves that caused the shaking. Great, now I'm causing a freaking earthquake in the middle of the night. That is going to draw some attention.
Dax enters the room, and his jaw tics. "You're in the house now?"
"My power is getting more unbalanced." Maybe bringing her back has something to do with it or just stress. I mean it was only a matter of time anyway, but I figured it would be more gradual. Ha, that's stupid. It's not like anything has made sense, so why would it now?
"We're going to have to find that damn artifact fast." Charlie’s hands rub my arms. "There is no way in hell I'm going to chance losing you."
It may be too late. The magic inside me clashes and fights with the artifacts. The colors are separate, but it's as if they are attacking themselves as well. Somehow, it's as if they had been behaving and suddenly decided to act out. The ground shakes in rhythm with each inner pulse. "Well, I'm not sure how much longer I have."
"This isn't going to bode well for us." Dax glances out our window and shakes out his hands. "We have company."
What the hell does he mean? I stumble next to him and find several guards running down the road.
"It's getting stronger here." One shouts and waves the others over. "I think it's coming from over here somehow."
Holy crap. They are able to locate me. How far is this earthquake going?
"We need to get her out of here." Charlie pulls me toward the door, almost causing me to fall on my face.
"What good will that do?" Dax turns toward us and lifts his arms out. "They'll just follow us, and she'll be without the protection that the house holds. It'll just make it worse."
Dammit, I'm screwed in all ways. If I stay, they're going to find me, and if I run, it might get worse. It seems no matter what I do, I'm going to cause problems.
"It's coming from Ria's house." One of the other guards runs over and bangs on the door. "Open up!"
"I'm calling her. We know who's doing it if it's from here." One guard grabs some sort of communication device, lighting the side of his face as he places it to his ear. "Hello, Ria. The earthquake is coming from your house."
Well, the cat is out of the bag now. I'm sure this is going to be a pleasant encounter.
"Yes, we will wait outside to make sure she doesn't leave before you get here." The guard hangs up and turns to the others. "Go around back to make sure they don't skip out the back entrance."
Hell, I didn't know there was a back entrance. "Shit. How long has Ria been gone?"
"She left shortly after you snuck out." Dax leans his head back against the wall and closes his eyes. "I heard the door shut and went to peek to see who left. I figured it was her, but before I could go follow, Ria was walking down the hallway. That's when I knew it was you who snuck out, but I was stuck here. She paced for a while and then left after a few minutes mumbling about needing to figure out where you went." He rubs his eyes and shakes his head. "Obviously she hadn't found you since you made it back and the guards are looking for the source. She was probably hoping it would lead her somewhere other than her own house."
Of course she did. I'm always one step behind everyone. My heart races, causing my powers to become even more frantic.
"Baby, you need to calm down." Charlie's tone is full of worry, and he pulls me into his arms.
For some reason, it doesn't bring me comfort. Everything seems to be pressing against me, and being in his arms makes it worse. It's as if the walls are beginning to close in around me. "I'm sorry, but I can't..." The magic flairs even harder, and the walls begin to shake.
"Dammit, give her space." Dax grabs Charlie's shirt and yanks him back from me. "She's freaking out. She needs air."
That's an understatement. I already have the Air inside me. I need the Water Artifact and soon. "I'm so sorry."
Charlie grimaces and reaches out before stopping. "Don't you dare apologize right now. You've done nothing wrong."
I hate that I've hurt him even though he's being understanding. But I can’t think about it right now. I've got to figure out a way to control this storm brewing inside me. My insides are raw, and the claws just keep digging in and hitting me throughout.
"Chris, lock it down. Ria's here." Dax’s tone is harsh, but there is a hint of worry in it.
"Don't you think I'm trying?" What does he think I'm doing over here? Having fun? I don't know what's gotten into him, but he's becoming more of a jackass each day. I don't know why the air around him is changing, but the darker
