Talisman (17 page)

“I
do
live nearby!  I just don’t come out here…
very much
.  But I’ll find my way back,” I snapped.

“
I see
.  Well, I have a compass if you need it, or I could accompany you home.  You really shouldn’t be out here
alone
in the woods…seeing how the light is beginning to fade. 
Little girls
tend to be scared of the dark,” he quipped.

My eyes narrowed.  “
Humph!
  I’m not
alone
—
You’re out here
,” I replied like a smart-ass and smiled.

He grinned.  “
Good point
…But I’d feel better if I saw you home, and I won’t take ‘No’ for an answer.  No matter how stubborn you are . . .
little girl
.”

Even though his “little girl” reference was starting to piss me off,
his persistence was comforting.  After all, I’d just been running for my life a few minutes ago. 
Maybe whatever attacked me would steer clear of two people walking through the woods?
 
Safety in numbers
, I thought.

He grabbed his backpack and motioned that he was ready to go.  I noticed
he hadn’t packed up his drill.

“Are you just going to leave that out here?” I asked as I pointed to the piece of machinery that had gotten me into this mess in the first place.

“My core drill?  It’ll be fine.  It’s a pain to disassemble…and anyway, I’ll be back to collect more samples tomorrow.  There’s nothing out here that could bother it,
now is there?
” he inquired suspiciously, staring at my neck.

I consciously tugged my sweatshirt up closer
to my chin.  “
No
.  There’s
not
,” I insisted with my best poker-face.

He
stood there scrutinizing me for a moment, head firmly cocked with one of his brows arched high enough to scrape a daggone cloud.  “Well, you are quivering,” he remarked as he removed his weathered leather jacket.  “So you must be
chilly
,” he added with a subtle grin and then draped it around my shoulders.

The beautiful stranger
was right about my “shaky” appearance, but it certainly wasn’t from the temperature.  As soon as I felt his arm around my back, that euphoric feeling started to pulse through me again.  I didn’t know what it was about him, but I felt like nothing could harm me with him around.  As we walked through the woods, I found myself getting lost in every peaceful thought I could imagine.  When I gazed over at the stranger, I noticed a slight twinkle in his eyes and for just a moment, I could have sworn that I’d seen a few flecks of purple sparkling in the midst of the two hazel pools, like facets on a gem.  Instantly, I felt blood rushing to my face.  I quickly looked away, before it became apparent that I was blushing.

How embarrassing
.

It didn’t take long for my surroundings to become more familiar.  With
in minutes, we were at the tree line that bordered my backyard.  He pushed back several pine limbs.

“Is this it, Miss?”
he asked.

“Yes.  Thank you,”
I replied, grateful for the stranger’s kindness.

All of a sudd
en, something buzzed over our heads.  We ducked in unison.  Soaring in the sky above was the brown and golden falcon that had fended off my demonic attacker.  I was more than relieved to see that it was okay.

“
Thank goodness
,” accidently slipped out of my mouth, right along with my sigh.

“Friend of yours?”
the stranger quizzed.

I shook my head as I hopped over the fence and proceeded to walk towards the house.  “
No.  I prefer my friends not so
feathery
,” I teased.

“Hey, I didn’t catch your name?” he called out.

I realized I was still wearing his jacket, which I quickly peeled off and hurled over the fence to him.

“I didn’t
throw it
,” I cracked with a grin.

I looked towards
the house to spot Daddy blazing a hot & heavy trail straight for me.

“Who was that, Shiloh?” Daddy asked, his eyes never leaving the stranger
receding back into the trees.

“Some guy who works for Xcavare.  He surveys or does something like that for them.  He was out on the ridge collecting soil samples.”

“What were
YOU
doing out on Shiloh Ridge?” Daddy asked, seeming flustered.

“I heard a noise coming from out there, so I went to check it out.”

“Shiloh, that’s
dangerous!
  Anyone could’ve been out there.  Where’s your head at today?” Daddy fussed.

If you only knew the half of it
, I pondered to myself.

“You’re right, Daddy.  I’m sorry.  I got a little lost, and that guy was
nice enough to walk me home.”  I saw no need in telling him about being strangled by the big, black cloud of death that had attacked me out there.  My intention was to stay the Hell away from there and
NEVER
go back!

Daddy
gave me a lingering hug as we walked towards his workshop.  “You were really hard at it, weren’t you?” he asked proudly as he peeked inside.

“You told me to clean it up.  I still have to bag some of the scrap wood and sweep up,” I added.

“Just leave it…It looks great,” Daddy praised.  “I didn’t expect you to get this much done.”

I
finally spied some delight on his face.  I hadn’t seen that old cheeky smile of his since this morning at breakfast.

“Let’s go inside,” Daddy ordered with a playful nudge.
  “It’s getting kind of late, and you’ve worked really hard today.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice.  I wanted
back inside more than he could have ever known.  I still wasn’t sure what that “thing” was out there in the woods, or why “it” wanted to hurt “me”. 
Just get me the heck inside!

“Did you show them a
round the mine?” I asked coolly as we stepped into the house through the back door.

“There’ll be plenty of time to talk about Xcavare Enterp
rises, Shi.  I really don’t want to jaw about the mine…
Not tonight
.  I just want to relax and enjoy my family this evenin’,” Daddy insisted as we sat down at the kitchen table.   He took my hand in his and gave it an affectionate squeeze.

I guess he’s not upset about my behavior anymore, and if he doesn’t wan
t to talk about Lazarus Xcavare…fine by me
.

Suddenly, Chloe burst into
the kitchen with Charlotte trailing behind her, sipping on her half-empty glass of wine.  By the looks of it, I’d say she was on her fourth.

“Daddy, do you like my dress?  Isn’t it beautiful!”  Chloe was clearly making a statem
ent of fact and not a “general inquiry”.

“You look
lovely
, honey,” Daddy bragged.  “Those seniors on the court had better watch out.  The students might just give the crown to you at halftime.”

“I know
, Daddy.  That’s
sooo
true
,” Chloe beamed.  “I can’t wait for Mike to see me in it!”

I found myself rolling my eyes, knowing
Chloe’s vanity was about to get the best of me, yet again. Unfortunately, Charlotte noticed my gesture, so I had to adjust my expression
immediately
.

Charlotte sneered
at me, covertly.  “Shiloh,” my mother announced in a sugary tone, “Why don’t you go try on
your dress
for your father?”

“I’m a sweaty mes
s,” I sighed.  “Chloe, just go get it and bring it in here.  It’ll be on me soon enough.  Daddy can see me in it then.”

Chloe threw our mother “a look”, almost like she needed
her permission.

“W
ell, go get it for her, sweetie,” Charlotte urged with a nod.  Chloe bustled out of the room not a second later.

At that moment, a
ll I wanted was to take a long, hot bath and wash the stench of Shiloh Ridge off my body.  I could still smell a hint of sulfur around my neck.  I rubbed my hand across the areas where the black fog had grabbed me.  My neck was throbbing, but thankfully it wasn’t the excruciating pain I’d felt earlier.

Chloe emerged without delay, carry
ing a long black garment bag.

“Are you ready?”
my sister asked.

“Yes,” I mumbled indifferently.

“Here it is,” Chloe announced as she unzipped the bag and whipped out the mystery dress.

My right eye began to twitch,
uncontrollably
.  My jaw dropped as a sinking feeling set in the pit of my stomach. 
She’s done it…She’s really done it this time!
 
I’ve never seen a more hideous dress in all of my life!
  It was yellow —
puke yellow
— with some sort of black cording for straps, and a band of black trim around the bottom. 
I have no remnants of a summer tan left, and she would have me show up to a school dance looking like a daggone washed-out, sick-ass bumblebee?

Charlotte
cast a smirk my way as she sipped on her Zinfandel, waiting for me to announce my discontent.  “I think it’s
charming
.  Shiloh, what do you think?” she probed.

“Is that,
um
…
in style
, Chloe?” Daddy asked uncertainly.

“Oh, Daddy.  Something like this
never
goes out of style,” my little sister simpered.  “You don’t know fashion like
I do
.  She’ll look classic and timeless.  After all, we were kind of
limited
in our selections.  Shiloh tends to lean a little more on the conservative-side when it comes to clothes.  She said
‘nothing slutty’
,” Chloe added with a crafty grin.

I could see Daddy’s expression from out of the corner of my eye. 
Even he was skeptical, but after what I’d put him through earlier, I didn’t want to initiate a big argument in the middle of his downtime.  Thoughts of touring college campuses filled my head, not to mention, the special birthday dinner on Sunday that had been planned.  I swallowed my discontentment and quickly spoke up.

“
It’s fine
.  Thanks, Chloe.  You really put a lot of
thought
into this…
selection
.”  I jumped up from the table and headed for the hallway.  “I really do need to take
a bath
,” I declared as I glanced back at the heinous glob of yellow fabric.

“Do what you need to
,
sweetie
.  You’ve worked
so hard
today,” Charlotte replied with a witch-like twinkle in her eyes.

The blank stare I
shot my mother was all she needed.  She would revel in my disheartenment all evening. 
I’m sure that’s better than any “buzz” she could ever get from any old bottle of wine
.

I ran upstairs and drew my bath.  Seeing how I was still in a funk over that ugly yellow dress, I decided to use some of Chloe’s bath salts (she owed me that much).  I dumped the whole container of Sea Island Salts into the
old claw-foot tub.  I sat on its lip and watched the water as it rose, pondering the events of my bizarre day.  It had been filled with oddities, each more shocking than the last.  I was leaning over to shut off the valves when the thought of checking my messages popped into my mind.

After
I’d retrieved my phone, I wandered back into the bathroom and placed it on a stand beside the tub.  Once my dirty clothes had been tossed in the hamper, I slowly guided my tense body down into the steamy, aromatic water.  It felt so soothing on my sore neck.  I’d noticed that it looked awfully red when I’d taken off my sweatshirt.  Surely there would be the beginnings of a bruise by morning.

I hope this helps
.

I dipped my washcloth into the warm water and
laid it on my brow.  My head was throbbing, and I found myself still restless.  A million questions were racing through my mind, but answers were what I really needed.

I tried to shut everything out,
but to no avail.  I reached over and grabbed my cell phone.  Katie had left 2 voicemails (that I didn’t feel like listening to) and numerous text messages.  A gabfest was the last thing on my mind, so I sent her a quick text.

In the tub…Can’t talk

Within seconds Katie replied.