I turn around and lock it and then we head down the stairs.
At least I know she wasn't lying about my powers being out of balance. Granted, I've been feeling off for a while, but that was way more intense. It almost felt as if someone was trying to override my powers with how they combined and were tearing down my reaper one. But what do I know? All I know is it's getting worse and I need to get the flame before I implode.
He walks over to a black Jeep Cherokee and opens the door for me. "Here you go."
Why is he opening the door for me? I guess it's because I just had an episode, or his parents raised him to be a gentleman. Who knows?
When he climbs in and pulls out of the apartment, he turns to me. "Spill it."
Great, I don't know how much I can trust him, but he needs to know, especially if he's going to be going to Hell with me. There is no telling how often I could do that or when. "Well, she dropped by to tell me a few things and one of which is that I need to find the third element fast because my powers are becoming unbalanced."
"What do you mean, unbalanced?" He shifts gears and turns onto the main road, leading to the mansion.
"It means that my powers are fighting one another, and if I don't get the third element soon, I'll implode." I want to laugh or cry. I'm not sure, but this keeps happening. Shit keeps getting thrown my way and I don't find out the repercussions until later.
The rest of the ride is made in silence. I'm not sure what to make of that. Maybe he already knew and was upset I found out. Who the hell knows?
When we get to the house, he pulls off to the side next to the garage.
He gets out of the car and stands in my way so I can't head to the front door. His dark eyes narrow at me and his hands clench into fists. "How could you be so willing to do something like this?"
Okay, this is sincere. Maybe he didn't know. "First off, I didn't know this would happen with the artifacts. I wouldn't have willingly taken this on if I had." Does he think I'm that crazy? Yes, I want to help our people and even the world, but I do have some self-preservation in there.
"Ugh, you're right. I'm sorry." He moves out of the way and we make our way to the front door. He turns at me and winks. "Just know I've got your back like you had mine."
At this point that's all I can ask. That's more than a lot of people have offered, but he's in the hand of the council so I can't trust him which sucks.
We walk down the hall and enter Luke's office. As soon as we are in the door, Luke's up out of his seat and heading my direction.
"Is it true that you had a witch in your apartment?" His breathing is ragged, and his face is a tad white.
"She showed up at my door." What the hell can I do people? She's a witch. She doesn't have to be invited in. "What was I supposed to do?"
He jabs his finger in my direction and grunts. "You cannot be so reckless with your life. This is unacceptable."
"I didn't seek her out." At this point, I'm a broken record. Maybe I should press record, so I don't have to keep going over and over this point. My magic begins stirring deep inside me once again.
"But you turned our driver away and didn't even hide that you weren’t alone." His nostrils flair and his finger is shaking. "Your life is too precious, and you are to take the seat as the next council member. We cannot lose you and our access to the artifacts and have an unbalanced council."
Like back at the apartment, my black reaper magic separates but so does the artifacts. All three different strands of magic are now fighting against one another and it's increasing in strength.
But in his rage, Luke must not see because he continues. "If we lose you, the horrid version of the future we saw exists."
Not able to stand it any longer, I stumble and fall. I stumble and fall to my hands and knees. I’m at the mercy of my powers. A vision fills my head. It's of a black silhouette in hell reaching for the flame. Something pops out and attacks them, but they are so close to the artifact. No, this can't be happening.
When the vision clears, my power has stopped fighting against one another for a minute. I have to get down there now and get it before someone else does. I lean back on my legs and wipe my brow that's now covered in sweat.
"Hey, here. Let me help you up." Dax grabs my arm and helps me stand.
"What just happened?" Luke takes a step toward me and scans me over. "Your magic is all over the place."
"The flame." I clear my throat. It's still hard to speak. "My magic went crazy. I think someone is either heading to Hell or there already there trying to get the artifact. We need to go there now and get it before someone else does. I had a vision."
"All right. Then we will go." He glances around and looks at Dax. "What do we need to take this time?"
"Well, swords and knives would be good." Dax scratches the back of his head. "And water and snacks. Guns weren't helpful because we were in a cave a lot of the time."
"Okay, let me go change and I'll tell the butlers to get us some snacks." He walks over to the wall and opens a side compartment. It flips open with a keypad. He enters numbers and soon a wall flips over. It's filled
