It's Too Late

Bolin snaps, "That was dangerously stupid!" I try to wiggle down off his lap, but he refuses to let go. I give him a dry look as I say, "Alright, I'm gonna need you to toughen up if you plan to hang with me big boy. This is just the beginning. Do you think you'll be able to handle it?"

This time he gives me a dry look as his whole face darkens and says, "If I wasn't here, that thing would have pulled you into the well. Then what?" I frown and say, "It wouldn't be the first time I was pulled into something creepy. I do stuff like this for a living."

We stare at each other in silence for a few minutes before he flips me off his lap! I quickly spin to catch myself from hitting the ground. I stand up and glare at him as he glares back at me. He gives me a sour look as he mumbles, "Would it kill you to act like a lady in need and lean on me a little?" as I fix my dress.

My eyebrows shoot up as a mocking smirk appears on my face. "A lady in need who leans on you? If that's what you're looking for, you should keep walking." Our gazes lock on each other as a strange power struggle silently takes place.

Bolin breaks the silence with a long sigh asking, "What the hell was that?" I smirk, knowing I just won whatever that was, and say, "I haven't the slightest idea. Something is happening here because of the Artifact but it seems accelerated and amplified. I didn't think this would happen so quickly."

Bolin's silent for a few moments before asking, "Accelerated?" I nod as I turn and glance around the nearly empty village, frowning when I notice that the black roots were still pulsing. I narrow my eyes on it as I say, "Yeah, Artifacts can be used to bring death and destruction, but it usually takes much longer before it's reached this stage. It's almost as if someone..."

Suddenly, I remember the ley lines. My eyes brighten as I connect the dots. That's why it feels as if someone had dumped steroids all over the damn things! The ley lines here were huge and untouched. They bleed over into this land with abundance.

I lift my hand, frowning as I think back to the black flames. What was that?

Bolin breaks the silence as he asks, "It's almost as if someone, what?" I look over at him before glancing back over to the well and saying, "It's like someone is pouring fertilizer all over it. Juicing it up but it's not someone. It's your world. It has large ley lines running through this entire land, giving it an endless power supply."

I frown in concern as I softly say, "It may be too late..."

Bolin frowns as he asks, "Too late for what?" I turn back to him and say, "Too late to stop the destruction of this world." I point to the black roots as I say, "Even though I've removed the source, it's already taken root and still growing. By the time I reach the others... I'm afraid to know what will be left."

Bolin narrows his eyes before asking, "But not too late for you to collect all the pieces, right? Then that's fine." I frown, looking at him like he had two heads. I rub the back of my neck before asking, "What's your deal?"

He frowns, confused as he says, "What?" My eye twitches as I reword it, "Why do you not care about YOUR world possibly coming to an end? If anything, it seems as if you're eager to see it." Bolin's dark eyes watch me without saying anything.

After a few moments of silence, I nod my head, looking away as I say, "You're right, why should it matter to me? Once I clean up this mess, I'll head back to my world." Without looking back at him, I walk back over to the well lifting my hand.

My magic gathers as I slam my hand down onto the ground. I push my magic into the ground, watching as it races towards the black roots. As soon as my magic touches the roots, they do the unthinkable!

Instead of withering and dying off, they grow!! I immediately pull my magic back, staring at the roots with wide eyes. It feeds off magic! When I think about the ley lines, it makes sense. I grit my teeth, trying to think.

Fire? I look around, feeling conflicted. I don't know how to make a fire from scratch... Bolin silently comes to a stop next to me as he asks, "What are you looking for?" I want to ignore him, but I don't feel like making things harder for myself, so I say, "Fire."

Bolin frown and asks, "You can't make a fire?" I lift my hand, red flames jump to life, nearly catching his hair on fire! He steps back and frowns at me before asking, "Then what's the problem?" I put the fire out and roll my eyes as I say, "It's made with magic. This thing seems to feed on magic, so I need it the old-fashioned way."

He arches a dark eyebrow before lifting his hand towards the roots. Flames ignite, burning the roots but instead of shriveling up, they almost seem unfazed! Bolin frowns, waving his hand again. The fire builds but just like before, the roots remain unfazed.

Bolin pulls his fire back with a look of displeasure. I tilt my head, thinking of what to do when images of the black flame that shot out of me earlier come to mind. I frown, silently looking down at my hand.

I don't have black flames though... the first time I saw them was when I met with the dragon. My eyes show all of my confusion and conflicting emotions as I try to understand. Black flames... I've read about them before!

It was when I first started reading about our witch history... What had it said? No matter how hard I try to remember, I can't seem to recall. I bite my lip with irritation, angry that I can't remember something so important.

In my defense, black flames aren't something any witch or warlock should have. I push it all away for now as I glance back down at my hand. The black veins on my hand were slowly disappearing as thoughts of the dragon and the Artifact circle around in my head.

I'm missing something... It feels like I have the answer but it's just out of reach or I'm missing a piece or two of the puzzle, making it impossible to see the whole picture. Maybe the Artifacts aren't the only thing being juiced up from the large ley lines?

I think back to the feeling I felt with the black flames, recalling what it felt like when my entire body was engulfed in them. Suddenly, the air around us drops causing Bolin to turn and look at me with a frown.

Our breath can be seen in the air as I slowly hold my hand out in front of me. My eyes stay focused on my hand as black flames suddenly jump to life! A bone-chilling cold overtakes the entire area, almost as if the black flames were sucking the very life out of the surrounding air.

Bolin subconsciously steps back, feeling as if his insides were trying to freeze over! He quickly calls his power to him, effectively buffering some of the effects but he still struggled. What the hell was that!? It was as if the black flames were the very definition of death, the absence of life.

I watch the flames with wide, shock-filled eyes. What the hell? When I hear a soft hissing, I glance over to the black roots to find them actually pulling back! A wicked smile pulls at my lips as I take a step forward.