The front door swings open, and there are footsteps hurrying up the stairs. "Don't move from your places. I don't want her to try to sneak out."
Great, I was hoping I’d be more under control before she got here, but that's not freaking happening. Any chance of making this a permanent home has now probably been thrown out the window.
Ria steps through the door that Dax left open, and her lavender eyes find me. "What the hell is going on?"
If I don’t get this under control, it’s going to go from worse to worst. An image of a jack in the box springs in my head randomly. Maybe that’s the key. I concentrate and push the powers down back inside. They resist but lose some of their momentum. The walls stop shaking, but the ground is still quivering.
"Don't you get it yet?" Charlie's face hardens, and he sneers.
We can't let her know we still need the artifact. I want to interject, but when I try, the magic pushes against me harder. I can't break any of my concentration from it.
"Charlie..." Dax's warning is low.
But Charlie doesn't listen. He lifts his chin in the air and stares her down. "Not only is she at risk without the artifact, we all are. She needs to find it and fast."
"Oh, are we back on that again?" Ria crosses her arms and snarls. "After everything I've done for you all?"
"Like keeping us in your house so you can monitor and control our every move?" Dax arches an eyebrow and stands beside Charlie.
At least they are showing a united front. I wasn't so sure Dax would after he tried to keep Charlie from confronting her just now.
Her mouth drops open, and she huffs. "How dare you?" Her hands quiver, and she balls them into fists. "You all agreed that you would stop seeking the Water Artifact. That's why she got the medallion to protect her."
This is not how this is supposed to go down, but I ruined that tonight. We should have focused more on finding the artifact, but we wanted to give the appearance of settling in. Why did my powers have to go wonky tonight?
"Oh, please. You don't want her to implode in the middle of the square." Dax rolls his eyes. "Don't play the innocent act right now."
And now, Dax is making it worse. Apparently, we are letting it all out now.
"Well, I've never heard such blatant disrespect before." Ria takes a step back and finds me again. "If you're going to push this, there will be consequences."
"I'm not going to stand by and watch her die." Charlie's face turns a light shade of red. "We will find the artifact to save her and keep everyone safe on this island."
"You think we'll be safe?" She laughs hard and takes a step toward the door. "If this is how it's going to be, you leave me with no choice."
Something needs to be done to salvage this. Why can't I get these powers contained? I push harder inside me, trying to smush it all inside my core like a box.
"Well, then I guess you'll have to do what you need to do." Charlie stands beside me and scowls in her direction.
"Then so be it." She turns on her heels and walks out the door.
16
Each step toward the door rings in my ear before Ria slams the door behind her.
I'm not sure what she's planning to do, but I can guarantee it won't be anything good for us. Times like these, I feel powerless even though my magic is ramped up and causing problems. I don't have any control, and I'm not sure how I'm going to make it out of this situation in one piece.
"Well shit, that could have gone better." Dax hits the wall with his fist and runs a hand through his short black hair.
"She's just trying to scare us." Charlie sounds almost desperate, but he holds his head high.
Maybe not if I can't get my shit together. At this point, she knows we are going to go after the artifact. I'd hoped to be a little more discreet, but my stubborn ass had to go investigate tonight, and it's a good thing I did. Earlier today, I was freaking considering spelling some water since I healed the ogre. That dream has set sail.
"Dammit, Chris." Dax walks over and gets in my face, placing both hands on my shoulders. "The ground’s shaking hard again. You need to get it together, or you're going to kill us all."
"Hey, back off her." Charlie comes up and pushes him on the chest, making him step away from me. "She's struggling. Give her space."
Their fighting isn’t going to help me any. I step back against the wall and force myself to take deep, slow breaths. Dax is right, and I need to figure out how to rein it in. I picture the lake back on Earth near Charlie and Beth's home. It’s a unique spot because it’s where the stream meets the lake. It's the place she and I used to hang out when we were in school and she was alive. I visualize the water running and the sounds the stream makes. This is where I felt safe and comfortable growing up, so I'm hoping it brings me peace now.
The walls around me stop rattling once again. Yes, it's working. Thank God, but I’ve got a lot further to go. Once again, I concentrate on the image in my head. One of my favorite things to do there was to lay down on a blanket and let the sun warm my entire body. I so often felt cold from either my reaper magic or being around other reapers that it was nice to feel toasty warm on those days.
Charlie's fingers caress my cheek. "You're doing it baby. It stopped."
What? I did it? I come back to the present and realize the ground underneath me isn't shaking
