“Did you come out the window?” Luke frowns and glances at my arms. “One is broken but I don’t see any cuts.”
“Yeah, I did.” That part is hazy, but I do remember the crash and pain. “But I’m sure my healing power fixed or did other things to cover the injuries up.” I sit up, wanting to see what they keep looking around at, but I’m not prepared for what I see.
The wind had taken me a good two hundred yards from the house, and everything even up to the mansion is charred or crumbled. The brown stone on the back side of the mansion now crumbles and falls to the ground, and the windows are cracked.
The ground is churned and broken as if an earthquake happened. All the grass is now gone. The large trees that covered the property for privacy are flattened as if they were never there to begin with. The only proof of them are the wide tree stumps that rise slightly out of the ground.
Shit, even the tree I was laying under is gone. What did I do? How is it possible that I caused this much destruction when I wasn’t even aware? “I… I did this?”
“Yes, but don’t worry. We can fix it in no time.” Luke steps in front of me.
“Did I hurt anyone?” Oh, God. I messed up the side of the house, which means I could have killed someone.
“Only minor injuries.” Dax places a hand on my shoulder and comes up beside me. “Nothing major at all. I think the worst one was a twisted ankle.”
Why does that not make me feel better? I mean, I’m glad I didn’t kill someone, but I still hurt someone. “What if this happens again? I might not be so lucky again.”
“You were so worried that you somehow managed to get yourself out here, saving a dozen people.” Luke lowers his head and stares me dead in the eye. “You have more control over yourself than you give yourself credit for. You’re stronger than you realize.”
He’s right. I managed to save myself and not destroy too much stuff at one time. That’s a win within itself.
“But you do realize this is going to continue to get worse until you find the fourth artifact.” Luke arches an eyebrow and crosses his arm. “This will be a pleasant memory if things don’t happen fast.”
As if responding to his statement, the powers inside me begin to collide with one another. Very similar to what they did before I got the Flame of Hell. “You’re right. Things aren’t feeling right again.”
“Wait… This is going to happen again?” Dax frowns, and his body tenses.
“Yes, if we don’t work fast.” Luke glances at him and then back to me. “But it’s the last one. Then, all four elements will be in your control and, thus, balanced. You won’t have to worry about any of this again.”
No matter how much I wish he was wrong, he’s not. I must get to the fourth artifact and fast. I need the balance, or otherwise I’ll implode just like the witch told me before I left to get the Flame from Hell. It’s now or never.
4
My throat feels as if it's been ripped apart by a sandblaster. In my mass of chaos, I swallowed a lot of dirt. "Then we need to..." I begin coughing and can't finish my sentence.
Dax frowns. "She needs water."
"Let's go back inside and get her something to drink while we figure out where this last element is." Luke grabs my arm lightly and tugs me toward the house.
I haven't told them that the artifact has been found, but in my defense, it hasn't come up. Between getting on the council and acclimating to my powers, this last week has been a whirlwind.
We walk around the debris and past the door that is partially ajar. Crap, I messed this place up.
"Don't worry about this." Luke motions to the side of the house. "This will be fixed in no time. Probably by the end of the day. We already have the emergency crew on the way."
Of course they do; the council couldn't have their mansion imperfect for long.
He leads us a little further down where there is another door. This section of the place is still intact except that the grass is a shade of light brown. He opens the door and motions us in. “Go on into my office and have her sit down. I’ll go get some water for her. The butlers are preoccupied right now.”
“I bet they are.” Dax murmurs close to my ear.
If I weren’t so uncomfortable, I’d snort, but I just stopped coughing not too long ago. "Let's just go." I head on in, not waiting for him at all.
As soon as I enter the room, I sit down on the couch in the corner. It's not the most comfortable seat in the world, but it'll do. The fabric is stiff since no one uses it and it's not broken in, but I'm still a little worn out from my accident.
"So are you really okay?" Dax stands in front of me and crosses his arms.
Dear God, my hand itches to smack him. "Yeah, I'm fine. We've been through Hell before, so it's not like this is much different."
"In Hell, you didn't almost implode." Dax's jaw twitches, and his tone lowers.
"The best thing to prevent it from happening again is to get the fourth artifact." I don't like how he pays attention to me half the time. We're friends, but there are times where it feels off. Is he developing deeper feelings for me?
"Now that is true." He drops his arms and runs a hand along the back of his neck. "Do you have any idea where it is? Don't you normally see it?"
"Yeah, it's in
