"We finally caught up to her when she was down on her knees screaming. Her sister was already dead." She closes her eyes and places her hands over her face. "We tried to get to her, but the earth began shaking. It ripped the ground underneath the humans of the town and they all fell in the cracks to their deaths."
She's that upset over the humans dying? I don't buy that. There has to be more to this story. I wait in silence waiting for the rest of the story to come out.
Taking a deep breath, she lowers her hands and stares me straight in the eyes. "Then when they were all gone, the earth stopped shaking. She said an incantation and exploded right in front of us." She huffs out a hard laugh. "And the Earth Stone vanished. You'd at least think she'd let it stay for us."
Wow, poor girl. Not only did she have to deal with all the craziness of what came with taking in that power, she had to deal with losing her sister and the witches trying to keep her away. She felt betrayed and alone. I know what that feels like. "I'm sorry you had to live through that, and she had to experience that."
"It's been a similar story for each one." She runs a hand through her hair and then pushes it behind. "Have you heard the tale of King Arthur?"
"Yeah." Who hasn't and why is she bringing it up now?
"What your little reaper textbooks may have left out is that he was a sort of artifact collector and for a reason." She raises an eyebrow and pauses.
"Are you saying?" No, he couldn't have been like me. That's crazy.
"He was a seeker and got his hands on the Angel's Breath." She shakes her head. "It made him a little egotistical and it got to his head. When he passed away, he didn't know how to send the artifacts back to their original spot and that's the real reason why their history went dark for a while."
Whoa, these artifacts have gotten in the wrong hands before. Why have I assumed they haven't? "So, there is a way to send them back and not have them gather in that one spot. But wait ... how was I able to find the Angel's Breath in the Angel Realm?"
"Because eventually a few angels made it down to get it." She snickers and crosses her ankles. "Remember time up there is slower than down here so what seems like years to us is only days to them."
Well, at least they did come and get it. I'm assuming everything leveled out once they took it back to where it belonged. "So, you mentioned an incantation. Do you know it?"
"Of course, I do." She flips her hair and stands. "If I didn't know it, I wouldn't be here. This whole visit would be futile."
Okay, so we have a plan. She knows what I should say. "All right, what is it?"
She takes a deep breath and blows it out. "All right, I'm not supposed to share spells outside our coven, but hell, I've been on my own now for over fifty years. But this is still a big deal." She places both hands on my shoulders and locks her gaze with mine. "Now you better remember this because one day you will need this. Do you understand?"
Does she think I'm a freaking idiot? I bite my tongue, because I don't want to piss her off. "Yes, I get it. Even if I'm not killed, I will die one day and need to deal with this."
Her eyes narrow at me. "Here it is:
Death is upon me, like a moth to a flame. Now is the time for my past to define me and my powers to go back like they were before my existence. Expel from me now to your original resting place."
I repeat the words over and over in my head. The magic inside flairs to life as if it even knows this is important information and swirls inside me. It beats to the rhythm of the words and it inscribes it into my chest. Whenever my mind glosses over that area, the words reveal themselves to me. So even if I forget them, I won't ever be able to. "Got it."
"Are you sure? That was awfully fast." She tilts her head and takes a step back.
"Don't worry. I have it." I don't want to let her in on what my magic did. I still don't trust her and will research what she just told me.
"You do understand if you don't get the chance to repeat that or mess any part of that up, the people closest to you will know and have access to those artifacts." She grins for a second before she smashes her lips together and turns away.
That's what I figured. A little of her facade just broke through. Is she after the artifacts too? I wonder if that incantation is even right, but for my power to react that way, it has to be. "Maybe I'll refuse to get anymore. I mean, I don't want to go to the next location anyways." I'll call her bluff and maybe she'll leave me alone again.
She turns back around her eyes wide. "No, you can't do that."
Hmmm.... is that so? "Why? That would seem to be the safest bet. That way no one gets all four elements."
"You'll implode if you don't get them all, so either way, you're sitting on a death sentence." She raises both hands up and licks her bottom lip. "Haven't you felt unbalanced and almost not in control of your powers at times?"
How does she know that? I haven't told anyone that and figured it was everything going on.
