by Jen L. Grey
"Oh, thank God." Melody rushes over to me and grabs my arm. "That ogre is back. Tide just alerted me. He's going down there to head him off, but having you here makes me feel better."
I'm sure it does. The ogre likes me since I helped him out. "Did that fan already break again?" Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it did. It's not like I knew what I was doing.
A loud commotion comes from that direction. Charlie turns and shakes his head. "It looks like we're about to find out, and he brought someone with him."
"This could be bad." Dax sets down the items and heads over to me. "If he threatens her, we're going to take him down fast and hard."
"Damn straight we are." Charlie moves in front of me and stands next to Dax. "No one is going to hurt her with me on watch."
Oh dear God. First they were at each other's throat and now they're bonding over protecting me. What the hell? And like I need protecting.
As the ogre and his wife get closer, Tide is frowning and mashes his lips into a straight line. When he notices me, he shakes his head and glares.
Great, I must have screwed something up royally. If he knew me well, he wouldn't be surprised.
"Why did he let them pass and come here?" Melody's voice shakes, and she rubs her hands together.
When the ogre's eyes land on me, he smiles. "There she is." He points to me and laughs. "She's the one I was telling you about."
Now that they are closer, I can tell that the person with him is a little shorter and has long, green hair that blends in with their skin. Her face lights up.
I glance at Charlie. I don't know what's going on, but this isn't what I was expecting.
The woman with him runs over to me and wraps me in a large hug. "Thank you so much."
What in the world is going on? Her arms crush me, and I struggle to breathe. "Uh... you're welcome." It comes out more like a question than statement.
"Oh, honey, ease up." The ogre comes over and tugs her away from me. "You don't know your own strength now."
Dax relaxes and takes a few steps away. He chuckles and sits on the edge of the table.
Now that I'm not in danger, he's going to watch the whole show and see what happens. I wish I could be on the sidelines like that.
"Can you please keep it down a little?" Tide glances around at the other tables, and his tone becomes stern. "We're making a scene."
"Oh, if you think this is bad... wait." The ogre glares at him and then steps out away from us.
"What’s he doing?" Charlie whispers and takes a step closer to me.
"I wish I knew." Whatever is about to happen, I'm thinking it's going to involve me.
"Can I have your attention, please?" The ogre claps his hands and steps out away from everyone so he can be seen. "I have something I want to share."
"You said you wanted to speak with her for a moment," Tide hisses, and his jaw clenches. "What are you doing?"
The ogre ignores him and puffs out his chest. "I want everyone to know that this lady," he says as he points to me, "helped me when she didn't have to. My wife had a severe disease that causes our kind to die in six months. We found out about your world and how you might have a spell that could extend her life. We came here and bought it but shortly after going home, the fan that disbursed the water into the air failed." He walks over to the lady with him and kisses her on the cheek.
Wait. Wasn’t his wife sick? This lady has bright eyes and seem energized. Could that be possible?
"After she helped me fix the contraption, I took it back home, and it ran perfectly." He laughs and pulls his wife over with him so everyone can see. "Not only did the new spell help slow her disease, yesterday the doctor said she was cured. He's never seen anything like it before, but my wife is healthy once again."
How in the hell did I do that? My power took control and did it on its own accord.
The market breaks out in cheers, but Ria steps out with a large frown on her face. Her eyes land on me, and she scowls.
Tide walks over to me and whispers in a very low voice. "What have you done?"
Everyone here is happy. The ogre, his wife, and most others are enthusiastic with the news. However, I just pissed off the two people in charge. I'm sure this isn’t going to go well for me.
14
As we head back to the house for the day, I can't keep a smile from my face. People were accepting of me. That never happened back on Earth. Maybe this really could be my home.
"A penny for your thoughts." Charlie bumps shoulders with me.
"Oh, just thinking about how maybe we could really stay here." He mentioned he would be okay with it a few days ago, but I don't know if he was humoring me. I couldn't stay here without him.
"As long as I'm with you, I don't care where I am." He winks at me and taps my nose.
"It's just earlier today felt nice." Am I being crazy? "Maybe I finally found where I fit in."
"You know you can fall from favor as fast as being graced with it." Dax lets out a long sigh and rolls his eyes. "Don't be naive."
Shit, he's right. Am I being unreasonable? The thought of making this place home and then something happening where I feel like an outcast doesn't sit well. I don't want to make such a huge change for it to be just like living back home.
"Oh, stop it." Charlie frowns and scowls Dax's direction. "She's happy here. Why are you trying to ruin it?"
"I'm not." Dax lifts both hands up as if in surrender. "I'm just trying to make sure you look at the whole picture. Yes, you saved a woman with a spell you didn't mean to do, but what if you cause a huge earthquake and ruin part of the city. They could just as easily dislike you again."
Dammit, I wish he'd quick talking. I don't even know how I saved that woman. You'd think to do it, I'd have to know the spell, but my powers did it all. They persuaded me to take the machine and fix it.
Oh my God. I'm a reaper. A terrible thought occurs to me. Yes, I have the artifacts inside me, but at the end of the day, my black power merges with the others. What if I didn't heal her? What if my reaper magic killed her and my healing powers brought her back. Just like Becca.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Charlie's eyes fill with concern, and he tugs me close. "Don't let what Dax is saying get to you. He wants to go back to Earth when it's all said and done."
"Oh, stop it." Dax groans and runs a hand down his face. "That's not it. I'm looking out for her."
"Guys, stop it." Just when things felt like they were settling down, now I'm freaking out. "It's just... how did I save her?"
"You have three powerful artifacts inside you as well as the magic you were naturally born with." Charlie takes my hand and squeezes it. "You just knew what to do."
"But what if I didn't?" I can't admit to him my fears right now. Not out here in the public and not until I'm sure. Maybe Dax is making me paranoid now. But what if it's true? "Maybe we should go talk to her. After all, Tide offered them a place to stay here for a little while to relax and make up for any misunderstandings."
"You do realize it's because he wants to monitor them." Dax pulls out the keys to Ria's house and opens the door.
Oh. Why didn't I realize that? I'm becoming too complacent and not paying attention to people's motives. "That's probably true, but it doesn't hurt to talk to her when we know he's preoccupied."
"Let's go inside and relax." Charlie pulls me into the house and kisses my forehead. "We've been at the market all day, and you didn't sleep that great last night. I'll make some dinner."
I want to fight him, but he's just trying to take care of me. "I'm fine. I think a conversation would put me at ease some."
"First off, your stomach was grumbling the entire way here." Charlie raises an eyebrow. "Secondly, you've been pushing yourself to prove yourself to these people. I get you're trying to build a place for us here, but you're going to cause your powers to go haywire if you don't calm down and rest."
How can I say no? "That sounds great. I'm starving."
Dax enters the den with us a
nd flops down on the cushions. "I'm all for Charlie cooking dinner tonight. Maybe we can find a way to make it taste a little less bland here though."
"Well, I'll do my best, but it's hard with fish and algae. They can't really grow anything much more than that here since ninety-five percent of the world is covered in water." Charlie heads to the kitchen.
"You do realize that he coddles you, right?" Dax picks at his fingernail and snorts. "I have no idea why he does. You could destroy this world if you wanted to."
Each day, Dax seems to get a little more opinionated and judgmental. I hate that he just throws out what I could do. Doesn't he realize I'm very uncomfortable with that? "Thanks, Dax. If you keep saying stuff like that, I'm sure people will be wary about me. Can't we just pretend I'm normal?"
"Isn't that what got you into this mess to begin with?" He places both hands behind his head and stares up at the ceiling. "Pretending you were normal."
If he was trying to make me feel as if he slapped me across the face, he succeeded. "You know what? You can kiss my ass."
"Stop being so sensitive." He turns his head toward me and purses his lips. "I'm trying to keep your head in the game. They're lulling you in with fake promises. I need you to focus."
Maybe he's right. Ria and Tide frown at me, and Ria stays away from here as much as possible. Maybe they are pretending just to ensure I don't take the artifact. Maybe they hope I’ll combust before it becomes a problem.
"Good. I've got you thinking." He places his arms behind his head and stares at the ceiling. "Remember, this isn't over yet."
"Are you still harping on her?" Charlie walks out and kicks Dax's shoes. "Leave her alone and come eat some food."
Lying in bed, I find my mind running wild. I've been tossing and turning the last few hours, but my brain won't shut off. It's so bad that Ria has been home for over an hour, and I'm still staring up at the ceiling.
Charlie’s lying next to me, breathing deep and with his arms wrapped around my waist. His breath is warm against my neck, but not even his musky scent brings me comfort.
What if I messed up with that woman? It's taunting me... haunting me. Did I bring her back after death? I hope I’m just worrying over nothing, but what if it's not? Damn those what ifs. Can't they just leave me the hell alone?
There is no way I'm going to be able to rest until I know for sure. Dammit, I have to find out. This is ridiculous. If what I fear is right, then I do need to focus.
Taking a deep breath, I slip out of Charlie's embrace, placing a pillow where I was, and pause.
His breathing remains steady, and he wraps his arm around the pillow.
Should I take offense that cuddling with the pillow doesn't alert him that it's not me? Am I that cushiony now?
I place my feet on the ground, and as slow as possible, I stand. I don't want to make any sudden movements that would cause him to wake.
Within a few minutes, I'm out of the house and standing outside under the purple moon in the empty streets. It's so quiet that a shiver runs through me. It's kind of creepy out here.
The first thing I need to do is locate her. I close my eyes and picture her in my head, and just like the Water Artifact, there are multiple images of her at once. What the hell is going on? However, unlike the artifact, the area around her comes into view. I pull back to get an outside view and finally manage to see something distinguishable. There are waves crashing right in front of the building. It's got to be on the same side of the island where we rented that boat the first day.
It still doesn't make sense why every time I try to locate something, there are at least twenty of the same images staring back at me. I never had this problem before now. Maybe I should try locating something again on Earth and see if I run into the same issue.
I pull up the image of my apartment back on Earth, and one single image of it appears. Huh, maybe it has something to do with the water around here. There was a video I watched when I was younger that talked about how water can refract an image. I bet that's what's going on here.
All right, it's time to be productive. I've got a house to find somewhere near the ocean side of the island. I get moving and notice that most of the houses are dark. Most of this world must be asleep by this time.
It doesn't take long for me to get to the beach. As soon as I get there, a section of houses comes into view that I hadn't seen. That's got to be it. I need to hurry so I can just let go of this worry. I'm sure it's just paranoia kicking in.
When I get to the side of the building, right before I step out in front of it, a large portal comes into view. It's multicolored and about twice the size as the ones I've seen. I stop dead in my tracks and hide right at the side.
A green arm and leg appear out of it, and all too soon, the ogre and his wife appear.
Oh, shit. My legs are heavy and my heart is beating so fast it may just burst from my chest. "Oh, my word." The lady ogre claps her hand and laughs. "I've always wanted to see Earth before."
"Shhhh, Barbara." The ogre places his finger to his lips, but a wide smile fills his face. "We don't need to wake anyone up."
"Don't be a fuddy duddy." She rolls her eyes, but her tone is quieter. "They are kissing your ass right now because of what went down the other day. I can't believe that I was able to take us to Earth."
"How were you able to?" He glances back at where the portal was. "I mean, you've never been able to do that before."
"I have no clue." Her eyes are wide, and she places a hand on her chest. "I was reading something and saw an image. And my fingers started tingling and something inside me knew what to do." She grabs his arm and smiles. "This is amazing. We can go anywhere."
Shit. What does this mean? Could her soul splinter like Becca's? My worst fear has now been confirmed, and there isn't anything I can do.
How come whenever I try to do something good, the opposite seems to happen? Am I doing more harm than good? Fate must have made a mistake when they gave me these powers.
Barbara throws her arms around her husband and gives him a large kiss on his lips. "I can't believe it. We can now go visit anywhere our hearts desire." She pulls back and places her hands on his chest. "We can even go to that waterfall you've always wanted to see. I can take us there."
Huh, Becca never acted like that. She was always scared or worried about herself, but Barbara is thinking of her husband and where he would like to go. Maybe Becca was some sort of exception since I didn't have the artifacts and had no clue what I was doing. Maybe everything will be okay after all.
My powers begin pulsing inside me, the vibrant purple of the Flame burning bright. It swirls and then flashes as if energizing my mind. I blink, and when I open my eyes, my senses are on overload.
The couple begins to walk toward the house, and I take one last glance at them before they make it inside. My heart stops in my chest. With the Flame coursing through me, I can see the woman's soul as clear as day. And it's cracked with light spilling through. Oh, shit. Her soul is already cracking.
15
The couple enters the house, leaving me outside and all alone with my thoughts. I can't believe that my worst fears were confirmed.
My power is pulsing inside me now even with the amulet on. Dammit, I better hurry up and get back before this gets out of control, too. The last thing I need to do is have an episode right after what I found out.
I turn around and head back in the direction of Ria's. The power swirls inside me almost as if it knows that it screwed something up. My feet move faster and faster until I'm almost in a jog. The only thing that keeps me steady is the sound of the waves crashing. It seems to calm my nerves even if it's just a little bit.
Now isn't the time to freak out and think irrationally. I'll figure out what my next steps are when I get back in bed.
Turning the corner, I pace myself so I can get back as fast as possible but without hurting myself. My power is clawing me from inside once again. The colors separate from one another, and it's alm
ost as if they are attacking each other. It would be a pretty light show if it weren't so painful.
In what feels like hours but is just a few minutes, the door comes into view. I open the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. I don't want to wake anyone up. My goal is to sneak inside with no one the wiser.
When I enter the den, I almost shriek when Charlie appears right in front of me.
His blond hair is a mess, and his body seems tight. "Where the hell have you been?"
Yeah, we aren't talking about this out here in the open where Ria could overhear. "Let's go to our room. I don't want to talk out here."
"Oh, don't worry." Charlie's tone is rough, and he lifts an eyebrow. "Ria left a few minutes after you."
What? How is that possible? "What do you mean? I heard her come in."
"And we heard you leave." He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "She got up and tried to follow you, but thankfully, you were already out of sight when she got out the door."
Shit, obviously I'm not meant to be a spy. "I couldn't sleep.
“Why didn't you take me with you?" He tightens his hands, rubbing his fingers together. "I thought we had gotten past this and we were finally a team."
Great, now I've hurt his feelings again. "I'm sorry. It wasn't that. You were sleeping so well, and I wasn't realm jumping. Nothing bad was going to happen. I just wanted to check on the ogre’s wife. I was afraid and panicking."
"About what?" He takes a few steps toward me and frowns.
My power is picking up in intensity even though I'm inside and protected. What the hell? It should be calming down. "Well, the ogre said she was healed, so that made me think of Becca."
His forehead wrinkles, and he stares off. "I'm not following."
"Well, being a reaper is part of me just like the artifacts now." So he's making me spell this out. I lower my voice to a whisper. "What if I killed her and brought her back?"
"No..." He inhales sharply, and his mouth drops open. "Please, tell me it isn’t true."