Talisman (60 page)

She continued, “
But your diamond is
special
, my dear.  It was specifically crafted to magnify all the other stones.  And, it is the only stone to reign as a storm element, which allows you, just like in nature, to command all the earthly elements and borrow some of their capabilities.  That’s a very powerful asset.  It’s another strength that makes you unique and so desirable to others.  Yes, in deed.  Extremely powerful and pure…but
very tempting
,” Beatrix announced with a raise of her brow.

When Beatrix
shifted to reposition her legs, I spotted a shiny chain peeking out from the bottom hem of her pants.  It turned out to be several bands of intertwined gold that had a rather large golden topaz fashioned to it.

I pointed to the ankle bracelet. 
“That’s quite beautiful, Bea.”

“That’s
my
original
golden topaz, dear,” Beatrix beamed.  “I haven’t worn it in years.  Not since I started wearing the ring I gave you.”  I looked down at the still dormant, round golden topaz on my finger.  Beatrix nodded to my ring.  “I made that for you the second you were born.  I’ve been waiting all this time to give it to you.  I had to hide it the other day when Lazarus showed up.  Stones have memories, Shiloh, as well as minds of their own.  Always keep that in mind, dear.  Even though my tiger’s-eye helps to conceal my identity from Lazarus’ mind, if his lapis lazuli were to have, by chance, picked up on my golden topaz,” Beatrix paused and appeared a little red-faced.  She smiled and added, “It might have revealed some, let’s say…
emotional memories
of Gahiji’s to Lazarus, and my cover would have been blown.”

I observed a sense of longing in her eyes as she gazed at the
golden topaz on her ankle.  It was now more than evident that she and this Gahiji shared something special.

Beatrix composed herself quickly.  “Just remember…
You can’t always control the memories of a stone.  Sometimes they can just pop-up.  But they’re not always
bad ones
.  Most of them are quite helpful, and you can learn from them,” she added with a smile, trying not to sound so foreboding.  With that warning lingering in my head, I
attempted
to finish my lunch.

Our picnic ended in about an hour.  The meal was e
xcellent, a real gourmet spread — roast beef sandwiches on buttery croissants, assorted cheeses, and plenty of fresh fruit.  I made the mistake of reaching for a bag of sunflower seeds in the picnic basket, only to have my hand smacked away.  She politely informed me that those were “for the birds”.  I should have figured as much.

“By the way, Bea…do
you have a cell?” I asked.

“Why’s that, dear?” Beatrix asked somewhat puzzled.

A bit startled by her answer to an obvious reason why I would ask, I announced, “
Um
…So I can
call you?
”

“You can do that now…
with the golden topaz I gave you.  Even though it still needs to be charged, you can still use it to talk to me,” Beatrix revealed casually as she tossed the scraps from my plate over to some nearby squirrels.

My brow furrowed.  “How’s
that?
”

“Didn’t Tanner
already tell you about this?”

“Tanner doesn’t tell me a lot of things,” I replied flatly.

“That doesn’t surprise me.  That’s Tanner.  Oh, well.  I’ll tell you.  It’s simple.  All you need is a stone from the Talisman you need to reach.  You hold their stone in your hand tightly, and then you send them your thoughts, words, or images.  Whatever you want to tell them.  They receive it immediately.  If they have one of your diamonds, then they can talk back to you…
if they choose
.  Tanner has a really bad habit of screening his messages.  It takes him
awhile
,” Beatrix revealed with a heated roll of her eyes.  “It’s a very convenient way to communicate.  And the best thing about it is
no dropped calls
,” she added with a wink.

As I lowered my head to hide my grin,
a thought popped into my head.  “So, if
you
want to talk to
me
…I need to give you a diamond.  Is that right?”

“That’s correct, dear,”
Beatrix confirmed nonchalantly.

I found her candor a bit strange.  Tanner flat out told me
that I was giving him one of my diamonds, but Beatrix seemed very blasé about it.

“Bea
,
um
…would you
like
one of my diamonds?” I probed delicately.

Beatrix
casually placed the remaining containers in the picnic basket, but by the time she had finished, her eyes were as dewy as a field of grass on an early spring morn.  She reached over and patted my cheek.  “I’d like that very much, dear.  More than you’ll
ever
know.”

Why didn’t she just say so
, I thought as I smiled back at her.

I repeated the magical process in the same manner I’d carved out the first diamond.   For some reason I thought it wouldn’t hurt as bad this time around — but I was wrong —
WAY WRONG!
  It hurt far,
far
worse!

Beatrix isn’t the only one tearing up
, I noted as I severed the rough diamond from my skin and yanked it out of my arm.  Once I’d used one of my pant legs to clean the blood off the stone (if it stained, I figured it wouldn’t be
that noticeable
since it was “red”), I closed my eyes and gave the diamond a firm squeeze.  As soon as I felt the warmth from the glowing light the stone was radiating, I infused it with all the same abilities I’d given Tanner’s — both the capability to boost another’s powers and all of my psychic skills.  When the process was complete, I laid the stone in her hand.

“What are your plans for this one?  Another ring to put on your bare finger?”

Beatrix shook her head.  She lifted up the bottom of her shirt to reveal a small piercing in her navel, already fitted with a funky charm that held a tiny diamond.

“I’ll remove the one that Adamas gave me years ago and repla
ce it with yours.  It’s fitting…
I think
.  Since you’re the wand’s owner now.  But I’ll keep his in a special place.  Thank you, Shiloh.”

Her sentiment overwhelmed me.  I found myself
clutching her tightly, but it wasn’t a typical hug.  It was
special
— one usually reserved for mothers.

“You’re welcome, Bea,
” I said lovingly.

Funny…
I never would have figured her for a “belly ring”
.

After a
good minute, Beatrix blotted her misty eyes and announced, “That’s enough of that.  We still have more practicing ahead of us this afternoon, and I don’t want you thinking my tears will in any way sway me during our duel later…
So let’s go
.”

W
e collected the wooden swords and got right to it.  For the next several hours, Beatrix had me show her (on my own) the skills and techniques she’d taught me down in the cave.  To her delight (and my surprise), I recalled all of her teachings without any difficulty and executed them to perfection.

“Excellent, dear!  You did marvelous
today.  Better than I could have ever expected.”

Pleased by her praises, I tossed my sword onto the ground and plopped down on a low-lying rock.  Though I had supernatural strength and endurance, I thought a quick break was in order.

“Shiloh? 
What
are you doing?” Beatrix questioned.

Awkwardly, I inquired wide-eyed, “Taking a little
break?
”

Beatrix threw m
e one of her disapproving looks.  “Evil
never
rests, dear.  Anyway, it’s time for our little duel. 
If
you think you’re…
up to it?
” she added in a taunting tone.

She hit the right button
, I thought as I grabbed the sword and rose to my feet.

W
e strolled over to the center of a grassy field near the old mill.  With only a sword length between us, our duel commenced before I barely got my weapon drawn.  She tried to knock it out of my hands, almost successfully.  Beatrix struck her blows zealously as she moved around quick and guided — just like the wind.  Every time I thought I had an advantage, it fell by the wayside.  It wasn’t long into our swordfight that I realized how STUPID I was for assuming she would be easier to take than Tanner.

I guess that laugh’s on me
.

There wasn’t one inch of the cle
aring we didn’t touch.  We must have run across it, back and forth, a hundred times.  Still confident, I carried on throughout the match, executing every one of the moves she had shown me to perfection.

To Beatrix’s dismay,
I managed to catch a lucky break.  She stumbled slightly while she was trying to maneuver backward up a large cluster of rocks by the edge of the water.  When Beatrix leaned down to adjust her footing, I went in for one swift and hopefully, final strike.  Sadly,
I missed
.  I should have learned by now that Beatrix Sutherland plays
a little dirty
.   She had anticipated my move, so to counter it, she swiftly hurled herself backward and propelled her body through the air, where she landed on the bridge that connected to the old grain mill.

“HEY!”
I yelled crossly. “I thought you weren’t supposed to do any
‘crazy, acrobatic moves’
when you’re sword fighting?”

“That only applies to
you
, dear,” Beatrix replied as she stood on the bridge, whisking her hair.

Feeling artfully deceived, I looked down at the water that separated us.  Beatrix, who was now waiting patiently on the bridge, stood there provoking me with a smug grin while she flourished her sword.

What the heck
, I thought as I jumped from the boulders and landed on a small platform attached to the side of the mill.  I took a deep breath and hopped on the water wheel, balancing myself as I climbed its paddles.  While the mist from the water rose around me, I assured myself,
She’ll be the only one getting wet today…Not me!

Once I’d reached
the top of the wheel, I jumped down onto the bridge where Beatrix was waiting to pounce.  Our fight continued on, neither of us willing to surrender.  Just when I was about to lose hope that a clear victor would emerge, fate dealt Beatrix another unlucky blow or rather, one of the boards on the bridge did.  Her right foot cracked one of the old wooden planks and dropped her down to her knees.  I lunged towards her proudly with my play sword aimed at her throat.

“So, Bea…
Do you
yield?
” I asked, just to gloat.

Beatrix
lowered her head for a moment and then quickly raised it, revealing her third-eye (which made me jump —
again).
“NO,” she declared, now looking as proud as a peacock.  With a swift wave of her hand, Beatrix summoned a blast of air that knocked my weapon right out of my grasp.  My mouth dropped open, shocked by her unexpected and brazen maneuver.  Beatrix sprang to her feet and dug the tip of her sword into my chest.  I shook my head at her.

“That’s dirty, Bea…
Really
dirty
.”

Beat
rix cocked her head to the side.  “Using your other powers while you’re sword fighting is an
advantage
.  One you must use, every chance you get.  It’s
not
dirty.”  She grinned slyly and announced, “Now
this
is
dirty
,” right before she puckered her lips, and with one swift gust of air, blasted me off the bridge.  Down I went, crashing into the shallow, chilly water below.

“I think we’ll stop
here for today,” Beatrix announced triumphantly.

I retrieved my sword from a nearby cluster of river rocks
as I rose from the water.

“
Why?
  Because I’m finally
WET
,” I griped as I wrung out my jacket.

Beatrix looke
d down at her watch.  “No, dear.  Because it’s almost 4 o’clock.  You getting wet was just a
bonus
,” she giggled.  “You’d better run home now and get ready for this evening.  Oh, and take the swords with you, so you can practice.  And the picnic basket too, if you don’t mind.  There’s a bottle of sea-salt & water in there.  You can put some on your arm and clean up your wound.  It should be healed by the time you get home.  I think I’m going to take the scenic route back.”

“Am I going somewhere?” I asked cluelessly
as I trudged through the water and climbed up on the bank.