"Chris..." Melody's voice sounds far away.
She needs to leave me alone. How am I supposed to go on without him? He's my rock, my constant, the one who never judged me. I... I can't fathom...
Someone grabs my hand and pulls it away. "Stop, you're bleeding."
I glance down at my arm, and blood is dripping onto the ground from where I pinched myself. Why the hell is she bugging me about this when Charlie is up there? Doesn't she realize he needs us? "We’ve got to help him." I push past her to get to the door the others went through.
"No, Chris." Melody's tone is loud and frantic.
Like hell I'm stopping. Maybe I can heal him? It isn't his time, and I need him. I just have to get to him. I break into a run when I'm grabbed by the waist.
"You aren't going up there." Dax throws me over his shoulder and marches me back over to where I was standing
Oh, hell no. This is the wrong direction. I kick his stomach and claw at his back, trying to get away. He's manhandling me, and I don't like it. "I know you don't like him, but I've got to save him." The purple strand of the Flame flairs and pulses through me.
"Shit." Dax flinches, and soon I'm slipping off of his shoulder. He groans and stumbles back a step. "You just burned me."
I glance up at the balcony again, and it's bare. Not even Charlie is there anymore. Where the hell did he go? "I've got to get to Charlie. I can't wait much longer. He needs to be healed." I take off toward the door again, but someone grabs my arm.
"Stop it." Dax tugs me to him and grabs my face with his hands. "He's dead. You can't save him. Don't go in there and sacrifice yourself when there isn't anything you can do."
A bright light glares in my eyes, and I blink a few times. Once it clears, my heart breaks. Shit, Dax is splintering too. There is a large crack now. No wonder his personality is changing. No... everyone I brought back is chipping away.
A sob racks my body, and I fall onto the ground. I can't get any air. My world fades to gray, and Charlie's face haunts my vision. Just this morning, we were cutting up and kissing, and now he’s been taken away in the blink of an eye.
What have I done to deserve all of this? I'm doing the best I can, but it doesn't seem to be enough. It seems every step of the way, I'm losing someone. Why did I have to be the one able to touch these damn artifacts? Why not someone else? Charlie's life was worth more than all of them put together.
At the end of the day, I could bring him back, but what's the point if he's going to be fractured? I can't watch him turn into a stranger, but isn't that better than not having him at all?
Maybe I can find a way to fix him, but hell, even Dax is fractured, and Luke brought him back.
"Chris, please stop." Melody's scream pierces my ear, and something hard crosses my face.
Oh, no. Are they after her? My cheek stings from the contact, and I focus back on my surroundings.
Melody is now next to Dax and her hair is blowing wildly. She bends down and places her hands on my shoulders. "You need to stop."
"How? I lost him." As soon as the words leave, I want to lay on the ground and just cry.
"But you're going to hurt a lot more people if you don't get it together." Her hands quiver despite her firm grasp, and her eyes crinkle. "Look at what's going on." She looks around, emphasizing our surroundings.
The ground is shaking, and the wind is now spiraling out of control and filled with lightning. A section of houses have now been leveled, and another tornado has formed just a few feet away.
Lightning crashes down and then catches another section of houses on fire. It blazes within seconds, syncing with my wrath and pain within. I glance at the balcony where Charlie was killed, and it's on fire, blazing high with revenge.
"You're going to hurt innocent people." Melody shakes her head, and a tear falls from her eyes. "Be better than them."
A bitter laugh escapes me. "Innocent?" I stand and push her hands off of me, and the ground cracks next to me. "They had guns and were going to attack me. They let her kill Charlie."
"But they don't have a choice." Her eyes plead for understanding, and she faces off with me. "Ria gives the illusion of freedom, but it's a lie. If we don't follow her, she makes our life hell so we can't survive."
"So they let mine become that way instead?" Why are they more important than Charlie? He didn't get to survive.
"Chris, this isn't your way." Dax's voice is soft, and his eyes reflect fear.
"Maybe I should change." It feels as if my heart doesn't beat anymore, like it died with him. My hands catch fire, and I close my eyes, relishing the chaos of my magic. I hadn't noticed it until now, but my power is going crazy, and it's pushing through my body. Maybe I'll be with Charlie soon, the pressure is building, and this has to be the end of me.
"Don't you want to get even with Ria?" Melody stumbles a few step backs, trying to stay clear of me. "You can't do it if you implode."
"I'm going to take her house down with me." The tornado begins moving, and lightning strikes every few seconds, torching the ground. That witch is going to pay for what she did.
"No, I mean really get back at her." She glances behind her, and her eyes
