Page 43 of Karma's Source
With one final burst of pain, the magic exploded around me like an earthquake. As though a massive wave smashed me onto the ground. I hit the sand, gasping for breath, and stared at the broiling sky, terrified of what had happened.
The pain stopped. The tightening around my chest faded away to nothing. Above me, black dots sprinkled down like otherworldly confetti as the storm clouds disappeared into nothing.
Every inch of my body ached, but I forced myself to turn around and climb to my knees. I looked at my porch. All of my loved ones were sprinting flat out toward me, but I lifted a hand, telling them to stop. Daniel threw out his arms, making them all freeze. He wasn’t happy about it, but he'd done it. I nodded and climbed to my feet, then turned to Alma.
She was on her knees, looking lost, confused, and feeble.
I stretched my powers out, and immediately wished I could pull them back. They told me this woman was bad from her skin through every atom in her body. She was almost toxic, so vile that I wondered how she'd ever been a good enough person to be Karma. It hit me. The spell I'd thought was part of my powers, the spell I'd thought would punish my friends, the tightening of my chest. It wasn’t what I'd thought at all. It had been a spell meant to hide this woman’s true nature from me.
“You don’t deserve these powers,” I spat.
Her gaze met mine and narrowed. “You made the wrong choice today, Emma. Maybe I lied about you having to give me your powers because of the way Karma works, but I didn’t lie that you would have to give me your powers. As you see, I’m strong. I might not be Karma, but I was left with incredible abilities. From this moment, you have an enemy. An enemy that will follow every step you take. Who'll hurt you. Who'll hurt your friends. I'll throw them in front of cars. I'll break their bones and make them suffer. I'll make certain every child I’m near chokes on their snacks, cracks their heads on hard surfaces, and knows a pain so deep no amount of therapy will help them. I'll kill your loved ones. I'll burn down their homes. I'll make Mystic Hollow my own personal playground. A Hell on Earth." She smiled as though nothing would make her happier.
I didn’t smile as I said, “No, you won’t.”
Lifting a hand, I let my powers rush toward the woman. Without the binding on my chest, my powers flowed out, almost gleeful to do what they'd been invented to do.
Alma only had a moment to widen her eyes before they hit. In silence and a little bit of horror, I watched as she began to shrink and shiver. Her scream rose until I was certain all of the neighbors could hear her, but I didn’t care. I watched, feeling nothing as she transformed inch by inch into a slug. Okay, maybe I felt a little satisfaction. I mean, come on. She was turning into a slug.
I wouldn't say it was easy to watch. Many of my spells were painless. This was not one of those. Karma had deemed this woman worthy of a full-blown painful experience, and she’d been given it.
My friends appeared at my side, and Daniel grasped my shaking arm.
“What—” Beth said.
“Quiet,” I whispered. “It’s not done.”
From one blink of an eye to the next, a seagull dove out of the air. It took less time for him to toss the slug into the air and eat her than it had for her to turn into a slug.
This kamikaze seagull didn't finish Alma-slug off in one bite, oh no. It chewed on her for an impossibly long time before swallowing and flying away. I couldn't be sure, but— "Did it wink?"
I looked at Daniel in shock. "Did it...?"
He mouthed wordlessly. "I think it did."
Sucking in a deep breath, I dusted my hands off and let the tension roll off my back. “It’s done,” I said. “It’s finally done. She was worse than we ever imagined, and Karma gave her exactly what she deserved.” I shivered. “If I ever get that way, if I abuse my powers, tell me. I mean it.”
“We’d never let you turn into that,” Deva said, and her tone held a promise.
The walk to the house took an eternity and the whole way I was pretty sure my legs would give out, but I did it. Daniel offered twice to carry me, but I refused. I wanted to leave that beach on my own two feet. I felt good. I felt right. Like the world had been put back the way it was supposed to be. As the wind whipped by, I inhaled, wondering if what she said about karma being all around us was true.
As we reached the porch, a cell phone rang. I looked at the others. Deva looked embarrassed but grabbed her phone. “Sorry, it’s the restaurant.”
“Go for it,” I said. We had all night to discuss what happened.
She answered, but her expression changed from a calm one to one of shock. “I’ll be right there.” When she ended her call, she looked at all as if in disbelief. “The restaurant was on fire. They put it out, but there’s been damage.”
“Let’s go,” I said.
She seemed surprised, but she shouldn’t have been. Alma had been handled, now Deva needed help, so we’d help her. “Okay, but I realized something recently, and I need you to know before we go.”
“What?” Beth asked, sounding confused.
Deva took a breath that was so deep her whole chest rose and fell. “All of these accidents at the cafe, I don’t think they’re accidents. I think I’ve been cursed. That curse seems to extend to the building and everyone in it, so before you go, you should know that.”
A curse? I curled my hands into fists. “Let’s go. We’ll handle the fire, and then we’ll handle this curse. May Karma find anyone foolish enough to curse my friend.”
