Talisman (45 page)

“How’s that workin’ for you?” I quipped.

Tanner Grey’s violet eyes darkened.  “Cute,” he replied with a grin.  He took my hand once more, in a soothing way.  “Shiloh, I think you need to head home.  That’s everything you need to know…
for now
.  I can feel every emotion that’s churning inside you.  Go home and face your grief today and surround yourself with your loved ones.”

Now that I knew about his influence over my emotional state, I quickly
jerked my hand from his grasp.

“My ‘
loved ones
’
?
” I questioned.  “I’m about to bury my loved
one
.”

I grabbed Ty’s tuxedo jacket and sto
rmed off, headed for the intricate, winding stone stairs in a huff.  I would rather be anywhere else than at home, facing my father’s death and having to deal with my so-called, “loved ones”.  Still curious, I halted and spun around.

“
Okay
.  Let’s say I totally believe everything you’ve just told me.  What about the diamond’s powers?  What are they
exactly?
  I know I just ran 50 miles in about 15 minutes, and I waylaid two of Welch’s finest officers with no effort whatsoever.”

Tanner Grey approached me as I waited at
the base of the cavern steps.  “Don’t worry,
little girl
,” he assured me with a steely look.  “You’ll soon have
plenty
of toys to play with.  Now, go home —
Straight home
,” he ordered, pointing his finger up to the mouth of the cave.

“
Ugh!
” I grunted as I stomped up the steps in a pouty, child-like manner. 
I’d like to drop kick his ass into a curio cabinet when he calls me “little girl” like that
.

“And Shiloh
…” Tanner called up to me from below.  I stopped just before I’d reached the top.  Frustrated, I turned and looked back down at him.

“
WHAT?
” I hollered.

“One more thing…
Stay away from Lazarus Xcavare.  You’re not to go near him and don’t even think about touching him. 
No questions
…just heed my warning.”

For some unknown reason, Tanner’s decree didn’t strike me as odd, but I was definitely intrigued.

“Why
not?
” I posed.  Lazarus Xcavare was creepy for sure, and I was the unfortunate person who’d felt every raw and sinister emotion he carried inside him, as well as listened in on his thoughts.  His royal-blue stone ring came to mind.  “Is he a Talisman, too?”

“
Yes
…He is,” Tanner Grey replied reluctantly.  “But he’s
not
like us,” he added gruffly.

“What do you mean, ‘not like us’?”

“Not all Talismans are about
peace
, Shiloh,” Tanner Grey stressed.  “Lazarus came here in search of the wand.  I know for a fact that he’s been heightening his search for the stone over the past few months.  Why or how he ended up here, in the very spot where it was hidden, I haven’t figured out yet.  Lazarus can somehow sense the diamond’s presence through the earth’s soil…
I think
, but I’m not sure how he’s doing it.  I’ve only known of one other Talisman who can sniff out a stone’s energy like that.  Its more than just a coincidence.”

Tanner
sighed and continued his lecture.  “Your powers are evolving, even as I’m speaking to you.  Lazarus Xcavare’s stone is the Lapis Lazuli, and it bears a tremendous amount of psychic abilities.  The diamond wand that your strengths and abilities emanate from will also make other Talisman’s powers a hundred times stronger when they’re in your presence.  That’s one of the things that make the wand so irresistible and turns
wanting
its powers into a
maddening obsession
.  If Lazarus even suspects you now rule over the diamond, he’ll kill you without thinking twice about it.  If your powers haven’t fully culminated, I’m afraid you won’t stand a chance. 
So
, I’ll repeat…
Stay away from him!
” Tanner growled.

I studied both Tanner Grey’s words and
the tone in his voice.  If what he’d said was true, then staying away from Lazarus Xcavare was the prudent thing to do.  But something inside me suspected that he wasn’t being entirely truthful. I couldn’t help but think about how the ring on his finger was similar in color to the handprints around my father’s neck.  My suspicions were more than roused.

“Is that the
only reason
I should steer clear of him,” I probed, “or is there
something else?
”

Tanner said nothing.
I lowered my eyes and let out a sharp grunt as I turned to walk out of the cavern.  Suddenly, I was startled as my exit came to a halt.  Tanner Grey had whisked up the winding rock stairway past me, in the form of a purple mist, and was now hindering my departure.  His sultry, yet stern eyes stared into mine like a teacher would a disobedient student.

“I
mean it
, Shiloh,” Tanner Grey warned as he hovered in front of me.  “Stay away from Lazarus.”

I glared at
him, pausing to note that the heat radiating from his eyes matched my own, and then pushed past him to exit the cave.  Once I was well out of his “influential” presence, all of my anguish and despair swiftly returned.  Thunder was still rolling through the skies above me, and it hadn’t stopped pouring rain.  Defiantly, I headed back down the mountainside and never glanced back.  I didn’t feel like going home — not yet.  There were too many memories that were sure to haunt me.  I knew I would have to deal with them eventually, but I wanted to delay my misery for as long as I possibly could.  My body was numb, but I could feel a dull and dismal ache churning inside me, welling in the pit of my stomach like a sickness that had no cure.  An inconsolable heartache tortured me now.  There were no predators stalking me, or any excruciating injuries ravaging my body, just wretched emptiness where my heart used to be.

Before long, I
’d reached the tree line and heard the roar of several cars whizzing by as I emerged from the tall pines. I decided to wander over to the mine for a while, instead of heading home to my “loved ones”.

What a crock!

Daddy’s truck was gone.  Mr. Sheppard had towed it to our house, I presumed.  To my surprise, someone had thoughtfully placed a large wreath on the entrance gate.  Beautiful white lilies flowed around a circle of greenery and framed a simple gold cross that hung from its center.  My eyes began to tear up at the sight of the sympathetic gesture.  I noticed that several miners had just finished up changing the letters on the outdoor sign that usually announced their union meetings.  It now read:

OUR BROTHER, CAIDEN

YOU WERE DEARLY LOVED

YOU WILL BE DEEPLY MISSED

The compassionate act of the “brothers” from his local union forced even more tears to surface.  I stood there transfixed on the heartfelt message.  I was in such a daze that I didn’t realize someone was behind me until a hand landed on my shoulder,
gently
.  I turned to see Samuel standing by my side. No sooner than he’d opened his arms, I fell into his soothing embrace.

“Let it out, honey.  You’ve had a great loss
…
We both have
.  He was like my brother, Shiloh.”

My tears continued to fall. 
“I loved him so much, Samuel.  I feel
abandoned…
like I don’t have a father,” I sniffled.

“You still do, Shiloh.  He’s just in a much better place now.  But you still have me.  You’ve always been like a daughter to
me.  I know I can’t replace him, but you can count on me for anything, just the same.  I know he would have wanted that.”

I wiped m
y eyes and smiled.  “Thank you, Samuel,” I said appreciatively as I hugged him.

“
Now
,” Samuel grinned as he stepped back and lifted up my chin, “Let’s get you home and out of this rain…You’re drenched.”

I couldn’t argue with him on that point, but I really didn’t want him
to take me home.

“Do we have to go
there?
” I pleaded as he opened the passenger-side door and motioned me inside.

“
Yes
…But don’t worry about earlier,” I heard him say as I climbed into the Jeep.  “Turns out Chief Roberts and Officer Ryan aren’t pressing any charges against you.  I guess they want to keep the fact they had their butts whipped by an eighteen year-old girl ‘
under wraps’
.  I suppose that was little more than their fragile
egos
could handle.”  Samuel winked at me as he jumped into the Jeep.  “Congratulations…You’re not a
fugitive
after all.”

“
Yay for me,” I replied half-heartedly as Samuel cranked up his old Jeep.

“So, Shiloh…
What was that this morning?” Samuel asked with obvious concern and a searing hint of curiosity.

Undoubtedly, I was going to have to do some heavy explaining to all the parties who were present this morning. 
Well
,
maybe not to the officers.  I doubt they’ll want to bring it up ever again
.  An off-the-cuff theory came to mind.

“A freak rush of
adrenaline?
” I replied.  Samuel rolled his eyes and shot me a look of disbelief as we wound up the mountain.

“Try
another one
,” my surrogate father swiftly cracked back.

Fooling Samuel wasn’t going to be easy.  A lit
tle “creativity” was in order.

“I don’t know, Samuel.  It had to be some kind of
hormone surge
…Come to think of it, I’m about ready to start my—”

Hastily, Samuel interrupted me with a, “Okay, okay —
I got it
.”  I noticed he seemed a bit flustered.   I turned my head towards the side window to hide my grin.  I didn’t know if he’d truly bought it, but he sure didn’t bring it up again.

We were home in a flash,
regrettably
. We sat in silence for a moment.  The only sounds were from the raindrops hitting the windshield like a repetitive song.

“Do you want me to come in with you?”
Samuel asked.

“No,” I
declined politely as I directed a blank stare towards my father’s truck.   “I’ll be fine.”  Samuel could plainly see my emotions weren’t coinciding with my words.

“Shiloh, I’m here for you…
whenever you need to talk about anything…
Anything at all
.”  He smiled and lifted my chin.  “No matter how
crazy
.”

I
had to force a smile.  “
I know
, but I don’t feel like talking right now…not to anyone…
about anything
.”

That was partly true.
I didn’t want to talk about my father’s death.  The wound was still fresh and my emotions were too raw.  I didn’t want to be filled with constant reminders, like that I would never catch him downstairs in the morning making blueberry pancakes, or I would never be woken up to the sound of him sawing wood in his workshop during the middle of the night.  However with everything I’d uncovered today, I was bursting at the seams to tell someone about my discoveries, but I knew I shouldn’t, or rather couldn’t.  Samuel was very lax the other day when I’d told him that I could hear Lazarus Xcavare’s thoughts, but I didn’t think he would be as carefree with his rationale when it came to the subject of
Talismans
and
supernatural creatures
.

Samuel nodded.  “I understand…
Call me if you need
anything
.”  He paused to look at the house and then turned his worried gaze back to me. “Even if it’s a place to stay for a spell,” he added with a serious nod, fully aware of how horrible Charlotte and Chloe could be.

“Oh, I’ll definitely call you if I need
that
.”  I gave Samuel a hug, grabbed Ty’s tuxedo jacket, and hopped out of his Jeep.  Still not caring one iota about the rain, I wandered listlessly towards the front porch and waved to him as he drove off.

I turned the antique-
white ceramic knob on the front door. 
It’s locked
.  I shook my head as I stared up at the porch ceiling. 
Well, you did run off without your keys, idiot
.  I took my foot and flipped up the doormat. 
No spare under there
.  After one hellacious deep breath, I rang the doorbell.

I pressed it several times.  When no one answered
, I began to pound on the door.

Eventually, I hear
d someone sashaying into the foyer, and a shadow fell over the peephole straightaway.