Talisman (64 page)

Tanner nodded.  “
Good point
,” he acknowledged and then jerked me into the eerie old shack.

“See if you can shed some light on this situation, will you?”
Tanner asked as he pointed to the golden topaz on my finger.

Only a tiny amount
of light radiated from the ring, and not a sad second later, it was gone. That, I feared, was the last speck of magic it held.  I gave it a couple of vigorous and hopeful shakes, just to be certain.

Tanner grabbed my wrist.  “It’s not a
flashlight
, Shiloh.”  He raised my hand for a closer inspection.  “Yeah.  You’ll have to wait a couple more days to restore its powers,” Tanner divulged.  Even with what little light there had been temporarily, Tanner managed to locate an old kerosene lamp.  Once lit, the tiny shack was more visible, but looked even creepier than it had in the dark.

The entire space
was dirty and reeked of a foul stench.  It smelled like something rotten with a dash of raw sewage. 
Yuck!
  I scanned all around.  We were standing on a worn-out, nasty-looking shag rug.  On one side of the room, a tattered mattress was lying on top of a dirt-covered floor and a filthy, makeshift kitchen was sitting on the other.  A metal washtub filled with grimy dishes and rotting food caught my eye (and my nose).

I don’t know what makes me want to puke more, the sight or the smell?

“Can we go
now
,” I begged.  “He’s obviously not home.  Maybe he’s out in search of a maid.”

Tanner
became extremely still and shushed me.  “Do you hear that?” he whispered.

I focused intently on the sounds around me.  My ears sensed some sort of faint rhythmic vibration.  In unis
on, we looked down at the dirty old shag rug.  It sounded like it was coming from underneath us.  I stepped back as Tanner knelt down and whipped back the rug.  To Tanner’s sheer delight and my complete dismay, we discovered a wooden trap door that had been concealed by the covering on the floor.  He lifted up the secret hatch. A faint glow radiating up from under the ground illuminated a set of wooden steps that led down into some sort of basement.

Tanner tapped
his hand on his chin.  “I can’t remember.  Is it women or
children
, first?”

I gruffly pointed at him.  “Actually, I think it’s the
elderly…
Old man
.”  I motioned him towards the trap door and grunted.  “You first.”

As silently as possible,
we started our descent down the rickety wooden steps. Tanner led the way, while I trailed close behind him.  I cringed as every step was met with an alarming creak from the shoddy old staircase.  Tanner shushed me again.  Even with all of my newfound balance training from earlier today, the steps were entirely too wobbly.  I braced myself against the sidewalls of what appeared to be a cave-like basement.  I held on to them the entire way down.  That helped me steady my weight and also worked to subdue any additional sounds coming from the noisy, rotting wood steps.

As we reached the bottom, I started to feel sluggish and kind of weak.  Tanner called for me to follow, but I motioned for him to wait.
  I was leaning against one of the rough, stone covered walls of the basement when Tanner placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t chicken out on me now,
” he cracked.

I remained where I was, propped up against the
earthy wall and mumbled, “It’s not that.  I don’t
feel
very well.”

“Suck it up,
little girl
.  You’re not
alone
down here.”  A curious look appeared on his face.  “How do you feel,
exactly?
”

“Not frightened, just exhausted…and nauseous,
” I replied. My body began to slump, and I started to slide down the bumpy stone-covered wall.

Tanner notic
ed something.  His eyes widened, and then he swiftly pulled me into his arms.

“Shiloh, you
can’t touch
the walls down here.  Do you hear me?”

“Okay…
Why?
” I asked.

“Remember when I told you that
iron
is toxic to Talismans?  Except for those who claim an earth stone?”

“Yes.”

Tanner pointed to the walls and ordered, “Look at them.”

I visually inspected the peculiar
terracotta stones lining the earthy basement. Oodles of dark-gray, shiny metallic deposits were scattered sporadically all along its rugged surface and reflected what little light was down here.

“What is it?”
I asked.

“That’s
hematite
,” Tanner declared.  “It’s a source of—”

I finished his assessment, “Let me guess
…
Iron?
”

Tanner confirmed my assumption with a stern nod.
  “You’ll feel better in a few more seconds, just whatever you do—”

“I know. 
Don’t
touch the walls,” I repeated.

Tanner’s brow began to furrow.
“You’re not as familiar with the iron’s effects as I am.  Maybe you should wait for me outside?”

“I’ll be
fine
,” I insisted. “If
you
can do it, so can
I
,” my competitive voice rang out.

T
he sounds of distant chanting pierced the air and turned our gazes towards a doorway up ahead.  The muffled groans and wailing calls led us to an open passageway.  Tanner and I crouched down and cautiously crept inside the confined tunnel-like corridor.  A bright light coming from up ahead illuminated our path.  The hematite walls that lined our route had been carved with strange symbols, unlike any I’d ever seen.  The markings appeared crude in nature and reminded me of ancient hieroglyphics.  Only one symbol was easily identifiable — a snake.

Oh yeah, we’re definitely on the right tra
ck
.

The soft glow
intensified the farther we crept.  Tanner halted abruptly and motioned me down further to the ground.  We were about to enter a room where our passageway was coming to an end.  As we crept inside, I glanced up to spy a serpent that had been carved into one of the stones arching over the door.  Repulsed by the image, I shook my head. 
Well, at least his décor’s “theme” is consistent
.

Tanner’s backside was blocking my view, but he pulled me over to an
area where several large crates had been stacked by the door.  We scrunched down behind them and paused for a moment.  Someone in the room was chanting, and the sound of maracas shaking rattled the air around us.  Tanner rose up from behind the dusty old crates to get a closer look.  I was too absorbed with the room’s appearance at our rear.  The walls still had bizarre carvings scribbled all over its surface, but there were also odd-looking holes that had been bore into them.  Their placement was erratic, and they all stretched haphazardly across the back of the room.

Tanner tapped
my shoulder and signaled me up for a closer look.  My eyes started to swell from the spine-chilling scene.  A man, who judging by the mussed, wiry black and white hair was Mr. Estell, was standing in front of some sort of alter.  His back was turned to us, and he was dressed in a long, oversized black cloak.  His hands were violently flailing about in an odd ritualistic manner while he continued to wail and moan uncontrollably.  Despite being freakishly alarmed, I simply couldn’t turn away.  Mr. Estell appeared to be focusing on something resting on top of the altar that lay concealed under a red fabric drape.

We watched
him remove something from a metal box that sat on the altar to his right.  He cupped the small item in his hands and placed the object up to his face. Judging by the gagging and grunting sounds, Mr. Estell appeared to have shoved whatever it was into his mouth.  He let out a blood-curdling scream as he forced the object into place. Next, Mr. Estell picked up a small dagger and waved it in the air.  He then began to speak in an unfamiliar gibberish and proceeded to drive the sharp tip of the blade deep into his hand.  Blood flowed out of the wound and down his exposed arm, but he didn’t scream.  The pain seemed to excite him.  Not a second later, he lifted up the red drape covering the mystery object on the altar and threw it off to the side.

Tanner covered my eyes and jerked me back down behind the crates. 
Though I’d only caught a small glimpse of the object, I got the impression that he knew exactly what it was.

Tanner’s voice was rigid as he whispered, “Shiloh, this is
extremely
important. 
DO NOT
LOOK
at the mirror on the altar.  Do you hear me?  That’s a
black obsidian mirror
.  It’s a gift to him from
the Onyx
.  Not only does the mirror capture your reflection, but its gazer finds themselves locked in a trance.  Black obsidian pulls thoughts and visions from your mind…
your deepest desires
…and forces your eyes to play tricks on you.  There’s no
psychic
protection against it.  The Onyx is notorious for using them.  The black obsidian will spawn a dark curse.  It grants a gift to the person who gazes into it,
whatever they desire
…but you must surrender your soul voluntarily to the one who lays claim to the mirror.  That’s how it fools your free will into giving up your soul.  Mr. Estell will
never
get it back and will have to do whatever the Onyx commands…bound to him and under his spell, inescapably.  The
willing soul
of a human is a very powerful thing, Shiloh.  The Onyx
craves them
because a soul without resistance heightens his dark power.  We’ll stay behind here until the ceremony is complete.  He’ll have to place his blood on the mirror, and then the obsidian will shatter, binding their deal.”

“What kind of
gift
do you think he wants from the Onyx?” I whispered back, anxiously.

Tanner shook his head. 
“You should be more concerned about what the Onyx wants from
him
in return.”

There went that sinking feeling again. 
That wouldn’t be too hard to guess, considering how many times that bastard has already tried to kill me
.

W
hile we remained hidden behind the crates, Mr. Estell’s screams grew louder, right along with the strange sounds rattling around us.  They were emanating from everywhere, like some sort of supernatural surround-sound.  Mr. Estell’s wails heightened into one climactic scream and then stopped.  Even the rattling sounds suddenly came to an abrupt halt.  Not a second later, we heard something shatter.  It had to be the mirror.

Tanner slowly rose from behind the crates to take a peek.  He gestured that it was safe, so I stood up beside him.  We looked at each other and then back to the center of the room. 
Oddly enough, Mr. Estell was
gone
.  All that remained were fragments of the shattered black obsidian mirror and the dark cloak lying in a clump on the floor.  We both crept slowly towards the wadded up garment.  Tanner ran his foot along the edge of the black fabric.  His eyes scanned over to the altar.  Shards of obsidian covered in blood littered its surface.  As we stepped closer, I spotted the strange box from where Mr. Estell had retrieved the mystery item that he’d shoved into his mouth.  I picked up the aged metal box to get an idea as to what could have been inside it.

Tanner snatched
the box out of my hands.  “Give me
that!
  You don’t know what was in here.”  He cautiously opened the lid and looked inside.

I leaned over to see for myself. 
Nothing
.  It was empty.  A strange look appeared on Tanner’s face as he swiped his fingers inside the box and raised them for a closer inspection.  He was rubbing his fingers together when suddenly his eyes flared.  He shoved my hand down inside the box.  When I pulled it back out, I noticed a subtle, glittery dust on my index finger.  The tiny specks felt rough and oddly seemed to have scratched the tip of it in a couple of places.

“
Diamonds
,” Tanner announced. “There were diamonds in here.  I think we’d better go…
Now!”

Alarmed by Tanner’s declaration,
I started unconsciously walking towards the doorway backward.  I turned to run, but caught myself as I was about to trip on something.  I looked down and gasped. 
A rattlesnake!
  My instincts took hold.  Automatically, I kicked my foot, sending the scaly creature hurling across the room and turned to head for the doorway.

Like watching
a clown springing out of an old tin Jack-in-the-Box, my eyes flew open and I jumped back in fright. Tanner was still standing at the altar with his back to me, so I yelled for him to “turn around”.  Unbeknownst to us, the room had been filling up with snakes and was now crawling with tons of the vile, venomous creatures.  Plenty more were still steadily slithering into the chamber all around us through the holes bore into its walls.