Talisman (85 page)

“What are you doing?” Katie asked.

“I need to contact him,” I answered as I waved the stone in the air.

Katie looked puzzled.  “What? 
On that?
”

“Yeah.  I can
speak to him with it and send him my thoughts.”

“
Really?
How’s the reception?” Katie quipped.

I jabbed her with my elbow. 
“Funny,” I laughed dryly.  “I’m really dreading this.  I’m sure he’s way past furious right about now.”

“Don’t worry about it.  Tell him ther
e wasn’t a tower where you were…or better yet, that you went over your minutes,” Katie teased.

My eyes narrowed as I shrugged off her crack
s and directed my thoughts to Tanner.  I felt the overwhelming need to express a deep feeling of regret as I apologized to him.  I let him know I was “
okay
” and would be heading back to the cave “
pronto
”.  I ended the transmission with another apology.  I figured it couldn’t hurt, but I doubted it would help.

Suddenly, the store’s doorbell started buzzing.  We both jumped in unison.  Seeing how silly we looked, we st
arted laughing uncontrollably.  Katie hopped up.

“I put the ‘closed’ sign in the window.  It’s probably UPS.  The driver called earlier to make sure someone was
going to be here to sign for a delivery.  It’s an engagement ring that Charlie Fisher ordered.  I think he’s going to give it to that waitress, Naomi.  I’ll just be a second.”

As Katie headed off to the front of the store, I sat there
grinning. 
I knew there was something going on between those two
…

Katie charged
back into the room in a huff.

“It’s
not
UPS! 
It’s Lazarus! 
And some creepy, pale guy with long black hair!” Katie blurted frantically.

I sprang to my feet. “
SHIT!
  They have to know I’m
here
or can at least feel something.  That Ferrol guy’s a hunter!”

I looked at the clock on the wall.  I
’d been here for almost a half-hour. 
No one saw me leave the guesthouse…Something must have led them here?  But what?  My energy?

Katie ru
shed me over to the backdoor.

“Go, S
hi!” Katie urged.  “I’ve got this.  I’ll distract them, so you can get a head start.”

“
No,
Katie!
  They’re too dangerous!  Lazarus already killed Daddy.  Who knows what he’ll do if he finds out that I’ve been here and thinks you’re trying to trick him. 
NO WAY!”

“Didn’t you say he killed your dad because he saw
the rough diamond around his neck?” my BFF posed with a gleam.

I
reluctantly nodded back.  “Yeah. 
So?
”

“Well, I don’t have a diamond from Adamas
…
or you
.  See…I just have this one.”  Katie held up the little cut and polished diamond pendant that she’d had for years.  “I’ll tell him that we closed up early for the day and go straight home. 
Simple
.”

“
NO!
  I can’t let you do that!” I protested.

Katie put her hand on my cheek and smiled.  “You’re not
letting me
do anything.  I’m doing it because I
want
to help my bosom friend, because I know in my heart…she would do the same for me.”  Katie kissed my forehead and pointed to the backdoor.  “Now, shut up and get out of here.  Just call me later, so I’ll know you’re safe.”

I nodded back as she headed for the front of the store.  If she was
dead set on helping, I couldn’t let her go out there defenseless.

“
Wait
,” I called out.  “Come here and let me see your diamond.”

“
Why?
” Katie asked, confused.

“I’m going to try to transfer some of my protection to it.  Lazarus will never suspect it, since its didn’t originate from a Talisman.”
I took hold of her diamond pendant and closed my eyes.

“Can you
do that?
” Katie asked.

“Tanner said ‘I
shouldn’t
do it’, because sometimes they were unpredictable — he never said I
couldn’t
,” I affirmed confidently.  “
Hell
, I’ve got to at least try.”

“Okay, but
hurry up
,” Katie pleaded.  “The longer I keep them waiting, the more suspicious they’ll be.”

With that, I closed my eyes and focused on my psychic powers of protection and sent them into Katie’s sparkly diamond stone.  All I could think about was making sure Lazarus stayed out of her head and keeping her precious soul safe. 
However I did notice it felt a little
different
this time.  I sensed the diamond being charged and the powers transferring, but the gemstone vibrated in my hand — the others born from my flesh never did that.  Once the light had faded, Katie threw me my jacket, gave me a hug, wished me luck, and hurried off to the front of the store.

As I
headed out the backdoor, I thought,
I hope that worked…If not, she’s going to be the one needing all the “luck”.  Please Katie…Just get them out of there quickly!

M
y head started to throb as I headed down the alley.  I pressed my hands into my temples to force the pressure to subside.  The next thing I knew, the sound of Tanner Grey’s voice calling out my name, over and over, flooded my head.  I whipped around in all directions to look for him, but he wasn’t there.  Immediately, I realized he was “returning my call”.

His message was short & sweet. 
“Little girl
…Get your
ass
to Beatrix’s house…
NOW!”

The angry grit in his tone jolted me straight into a cringe.

I knew it…Definitely “livid”. 
Once all my muscles had relaxed, I was off and on my way — apprehensively headed for Bea’s.

Chapter  25  —  Uninvited

As fate would have it, Tanner and I both arrived in front of Beatrix’s house at precisely the same time.  My predic
tion was correct.  No “warm welcome” awaited me at the foot of her walk.  All of those blissful effects were being blocked —
on purpose
.  Straightaway, he snatched my arm and jerked me along the winding path that led to Bea’s front door.

Tanner stopped
abruptly halfway up the walk.  “Well, that message you sent was the perfect ending to my day!” he barked.

I could tell Tanner had only released me from his grasp so he could make full use of his arms throug
hout his theatrical hissy-fit.

“I’ve spent the entire day attempting to locate the whereabouts of the hilt, while trying to find Lazarus and Ferrol, just so I could keep an eye on them —
to protect you
— who by the way, was supposed to be safe and sound
BACK IN THE CAVE!
  Instead, I spent the day being ATTACKED!  Every time I turned around, there was another one of Lazarus’ guys bombarding me with carnelians or trying to mow me down with iron bullets.  I went by the guesthouse about an hour ago.  I thought I might catch them there.  Do you know what I found instead?”

I pursed my lips and gazed at the cobblestone path under my
feet.  I knew full well what he’d asked wasn’t a question.

Tanner let out a laugh. “Of
course you do…It was Karl. 
DEAD ON THE LAWN
and traces of
YOUR BLOOD
, which by the way, leaves a diamond residue when it dries out.”

Wide-eyed, I stared at Tanner. 
“That” I didn’t know
.

Obviously frustrated, Tanner raked
his fingers through his brown mane aggressively.  “
Then
,” he continued, “I get this vague image of you
SHOT
, bleeding, and extremely weak.  You didn’t tell me
WHERE YOU WERE
.  I didn’t know what the Hell to think or do,
BECAUSE YOU NEVER RETURNED MY MESSAGES!
”  Tanner let out a sharp laugh.  “Oh,
‘I promise’…
‘I
won’t
leave the cave’…‘Only if it’s an
EMERGENCY’!”
he mocked and then jerked me towards the front door.

I knew I would
be treading on thin ice, but I had to defend my actions.  I didn’t want him thinking I was some irresponsible, untrustworthy brat who couldn’t care less about following his orders.  My own father had never chewed me out like this before.
Nobody had!

I planted my feet fir
mly on Bea’s front stoop.  “It
was
an
EMERGENCY
, Tanner!  I wouldn’t have left if it weren’t!”  I could tell by the dubious expression on his face that my “simple answer” wasn’t going to scratch my name off his shit-list anytime soon.

I grunted back at him.  “You aren’t the
only one
who’s had a
CRAPPY DAY!
  After you left the cave, a blast rocked the whole mountain, and I found out there had been several explosions at the mine.  I had to check on Samuel.  He was trapped in one of the tunnels.  That’s
the only reason why I left the daggone cave in the first place!”

Tanner’s purple eyes darkened
as a scowl set onto his face like stone.  He threw open the front door and pushed me inside.

“I went to the hospital, to make sure he was okay, where —
just so you know
— I was arrested by a steroid-pumping cop!  Apparently he was pissed because I took out our team’s star quarterback right after he’d placed a huge bet on Welch to win next week’s game.  Then, after I waylaid him —
again
— I headed over to the Riversides’ guesthouse to find the hilt.  All I found was its empty chest.  Well that, and a pistol packing Son-of-Bitch who —
‘SHOT ME’
— with a freaking diamond-dusted iron bullet!  He had Daddy’s diamond pendant around his neck protecting him from my compulsion. 
Finally
, I managed to escape, after I realized the daggone copper roof wouldn’t let any of my lightning bolts pass through the house.  I was too weak to make it back to the cave,
but luckily
I ran into Katie.  She removed the bullet from my shoulder and patched me up.  I passed out right after I sent you that first message.  I’m sorry I couldn’t answer you.  I was unconscious…
MY BAD!
”

“
Wait a second
,” Tanner replied with a suspicious glare, “You mean your friend, Katie,
knows
what you are?”

My mouth dropped
open, but I didn’t say a word.

Tanner smacked his hands together.  “I take it back. 
THAT’S
the perfect ending to my day!”  He grabbed my arms and insisted, “I told you how dangerous it is to reveal your identity to anyone…Especially to people you
care about!
”

I jerked out of his grasp and turned away from his gla
re.  I looked around at the now practically empty house.  The room felt just as cold as the emotionally charged words flying between us.  I couldn’t stand him looking at me like I was a child in need of reprimanding.  I turned my gaze to a spot on the wall where a small nail hole remained and attempted to tune him out, even if only temporarily.

Beatrix entered the room.  “You two need to keep it down and control yourselves,” she scolded.

“Oh, I’m going to
take control
all right,” he declared to Beatrix.

Well that’s awfully presumptuous
, I thought as I threw him a blistering scowl.

I couldn’t he
lp but notice that Tanner, whose attitude now seemed arrogantly calm, started unfastening his woven silvery belt.  Stunned by his strange behavior, my brow furrowed with apprehension. 
Why is he doing THAT?

“I should’ve done this before I left her this morning,”
Tanner announced as he used one of his hands to whip off his belt.  A harsh
“crack”
jarred my senses as it rang throughout the room.

Beatrix shushed him.  “Tanner, put that thing away,”
she ordered in a whisper.

Now, I was
alarmed
. 
OH NO HE’S NOT
, I thought as my eyes lit up with disbelief.

Tanner
directed his gaze to Beatrix while his finger pointed dead at me.  “This
little girl
is going to have to realize that disobeying orders could get herself killed, not to mention,
endanger others
.  She’ll control those impulses one way or
another
.”

I flinched as soon as Tanner hurl
ed his woven metal belt my way.  I threw my hands up to block it when suddenly, I felt the belt magically wrap around my left arm, locking itself securely in place.

“What is
THIS?
” I demanded as I tried my best to loosen the silvery strap that wouldn’t budge.

Tanner appeare
d more relaxed.  “It’s a belt…A
tin
belt,” he stated casually.

My eyes narrowed as I looked suspiciously at the pliable, woven metal belt.  “
And what exactly does
tin
do?” I probed angrily.

Tanner grinned.  “It’s a physical restraint really.  It doesn’t work on your mind, but let’s just say that it will make you more
…
compliant
.  You’ll have to do everything I say, or it’ll
immobilize
you
.”

I’m eighteen, not a damn three-year-old
, I raged to myself.

“Get it off me…
NOW!”
I protested.

Tanner approached
with a bold swagger and looked at my tin-clad arm.  He raised his hand, only to give the woven band of metal a brash
“flick”
with his fingers.  With a brazen smile, he leaned into my face.  “Not even if you said, ‘
pretty please’
.”

I glared back at
him.  “Tell him to take it off me, Bea!”  I could feel my emotions seething and sensed the white-hot streaks swirling in my eyes as my temper flared.

“I think both of you need to stop,” Beatrix advised curtly.

Tanner leaned closer.  “I can
make
her stop,” he assured Beatrix with a smug twinkle in his eye directed at me.

My glare intensified.
“Do it,”
I taunted.

“For the last time, you
two need to
SHUT UP!
” Beatrix yelled.

T
he tension between us must have been more than what Beatrix could stand.  Though both our eyes were fiercely locked onto each others, we couldn’t help but be a little stunned by the obviously aggressive and rattled tone coming from the little old lady who never lost her cool.

Simultaneously, we
shifted our stares and both asked, “Why’s
that?”

Beatrix looked antsy and perturbed.  She
uncrossed her arms and pointed to the front door as she let out a disgusted sigh.  “Because we’ve had
company
for the past minute,” she revealed.

Tanner and I whipped our heads around to see Ty standing in the doorway of the living room, wide-eyed and motionless, holding
my purse that I’d left at the football field last night.

“F
ANTASTIC!”
Tanner scoffed.  “You know we still have time to gather up all of your friends so you can reveal yourself to them at the same time.”  He looked back and forth at us.  I could tell he was reading our emotions.  He shook his head peevishly.  “I would
make you
compel him,” Tanner whispered as he glanced down at the tin belt still locked around my arm, “but something tells me it wouldn’t work, even if you tried.”

Beatrix took Tanner by his arm.  “Let’s step outside, Tanner.  I think they need a moment and the fre
sh air will do you some good.”

They
both walked past Ty, but the handsome high school jock’s stare never broke. His eyes remained solely focused on me.

The silence was
nerve-racking, and the tension I sensed between us was only making it worse. I didn’t know exactly how long he’d been standing there, but I felt pretty confident I was about to find out.

“
I, um
…I’ve been trying to find you,
all day
.  Someone locked me inside the locker room last night…and when I finally broke out, the stadium was wrecked, someone had beaten up Coach Hayes, and you were
gone
.  I found your purse under the bleachers, so I went by your house last night to give it to you and to see if you were okay…but you
never
showed up.  I waited outside your house
all night
.  I didn’t even go to school today.  I’ve been too worried, but I see you’re
fine
…
Apparently
…
Well
, with the exception of your eyes lighting up like you were trying to signal a lost ship when you were arguing with that guy from Ms. Fitz’s class.”

This was the most inhibited I’d ever seen the confident Tyler Smith in my
entire life. Ty stepped close enough to place the purse in my hands.  Before he could walk away, I grabbed his arm and held onto it tightly.  Supernatural force wasn’t needed. Ty didn’t seem to want to move.

Tanner and Bea re
appeared.

“You need to wrap this up,” Tanner ordered bluntly.  “We have to get you out of here.  You’re leaving with Bea
…
Remember?
”

Ty looked even more confused.

I turned to Tanner.  “Can we go back to the cave?  Let me try one more time, before I have to go. 
Please?
” I begged.

Tanner
shook his head.  “No, it’s
too
dangerous.  You couldn’t pull it out this morning.  What makes you think you’ll be able to do it now?”

“When I was unconscious, Adamas
appeared to me in a dream,” I insisted.  Tanner and Beatrix looked at each other curiously.  “He spoke to
me
…about my bond with the wand.  It couldn’t have been
just a memory
. Adamas actually spoke
to me
and called me by name.”

Tanner
shook his head and started to speak, but Beatrix cut him off. “If she says Adamas spoke to her,
then he did
,” she affirmed with a stern nod.

Tanner looked mindful at Beatrix.  “
All right
.  We’ll stop by the cave, but if it doesn’t work, you’re out of here,
TONIGHT!
Do you understand me?”