Talisman (68 page)

Tanner gave my hand one more squeeze
before he headed off to room number three, tossing his new serpentine stone in the air as he strutted across the parking lot.

“Hey…
Bea’s a good teacher, isn’t she?” Tanner called back.  “She taught me everything I know,” he revealed as he unlocked the green metal door to his room.

“Everything except
responsibility
,” I hollered.  “I wouldn’t have given you another one.”

Tanner
grinned as he disappeared behind the door.  I was still a little ticked about the “topaz thing” and felt the need to air my feelings, officially. 
It could’ve come in handy tonight!

Emotionally exhausted
, I hopped into my car and puttered home.  I had to admit I didn’t feel as apprehensive about the unconventional path “my destiny” was dragging me down.  All the reservations I had earlier today, when I’d discovered that the wand was actually a sword, swirled around in my head and kept me company during my drive home.

Maybe I can do
this?

I arrived home about twenty minutes later to find the house lit up
so brightly you could’ve landed a plane beside it. 
Great…I wonder what fresh Hell is waiting for me on the other side of the door?

As predicted, Charlotte and Chloe were wearing out the carpet in the living room, pac
ing back and forth.  Apparently they were waiting up for me, but I was certain it wasn’t my “safety” that was on their mind.  No sooner than I’d closed the door, Charlotte let out an over-exaggerated sigh.

“Oh,
thank goodness
you’re finally home!  We’ve been
so worried
about you, Shiloh.  We both feel awful about the way things went earlier, and how you ran off like that.”

Charlotte was really laying it on thick tonight.  If I
hadn’t felt so mentally drained from my adventure in Jolo, I would’ve thrown some popcorn in the microwave and sat down to watch the show unfold.  I couldn’t bring myself to respond to any of her empty words or fake emotions, so I threw her a blank stare.

“I’m tired…
and it’s
late
.  I’m going upstairs to bed.  I can’t afford anymore
unexcused absences
,” I remarked dryly as I headed up to my room.  I was already halfway up the staircase when Charlotte rushed to the bottom of the steps.

“Lazarus Xcavar
e stopped by to see you,” Charlotte announced eagerly. I stopped dead in my tracks.  “He left a check for us…I mean,
you
a check.”  I whirled around to see my mother pulling a small slip of paper from her pocket.  She held it up proudly and squealed, “It’s incredibly
generous
, Shiloh.  He offered you
FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS!
  And that’s just for the
mineral rights
.  He said you could keep the title to the land and understood why you may have been resistant to the offer, in light of Caiden’s passing. 
So?
  What do you think?”

I walked slowly back down the steps and looked at the figures scripted on the light-blue
slip of paper. 
I’ll never see something like this again
, I thought confidently.  I sighed and locked my eyes with Charlotte’s as I ripped the check in two.  I threw it in the air as I turned to head up the stairs.

Charlotte
snatched my arm.  “
PLEASE
don’t do this, Shiloh!  Can’t we get past our differences?  Be mother and daughter again?” she begged.

I
jerked my arm away and stood there with a look of sheer disbelief.  I’d always wanted that.  There was never a question in my mind about wanting or needing my mother’s love.  But it would be a cold day in Hell before I would ever believe that her “sudden change of heart” was because she
truly
meant it.

Charlotte pulled something
out of her pocket and held it up.  Dangling in front of my face was my little gold locket.  The one she had given me years ago.  The one I had treasured blindly for so long, simply because it was a gift from her.  The one that I now knew was cursed and had been watching over me all these years like a wicked evil-eye.

“You know
…
The way we use to?
” Charlotte added with a coercing grin.

Skittishly, m
y eyes flared as I took a step backward, away from the ill-fated trinket.  I couldn’t stand the sight of it,
especially now
.  Automatically, I smacked it out of her good hand and watched it land on the Oriental rug at the bottom of the stairs.

“
NO!
  We
can’t!”
I replied point-blank and ran the rest of the way up to my bedroom.  I gave the lavender-painted door a solid slam and locked it quickly.

“You’re either
CRAZY
, or you’re
PUSHING YOUR LUCK
,
SHILOH!”
  I could hear Charlotte as clear as a bell.  “He may not make another offer!  I swear I’ll make your life
A LIVING HELL
if you don’t sell him those rights and give me
MY
MONEY!
 
DO YOU HEAR ME?!?”

I reached for m
y iPod and threw in my earbuds, attempting to tune out her muffled screams.  Once I’d changed into my pajamas, I pulled out Daddy’s shirt.  My phone was charging on my bedside table, so I gave it a quick check before turning in.

No new messages
.  Sadly, none from Ty and even more disappointing was none from Katie.  As I clutched my father’s shirt and took a whiff of its scent, I wondered,
What will tomorrow bring?  Maybe Tanner’s right about being “normal” for one more day?
  Considering all the events of the past week, “normal” was now an unfamiliar concept to me.  In fact, it felt more uncomfortable than the oddities that had kept me distracted over the past few days.  One lonely tear trickled down my cheek as I cuddled Daddy’s shirt underneath my blanket.

“Normal” was laid to rest several days ago
…

That night, as I lay
in a deep slumber, I had a dream unlike any other.  I found myself in an unfamiliar place.  It was opulent and seemed almost ancient.  Glistening mosaic tiles, of all shapes and colors, adorned every wall.  Majestic, sweeping arches flowed throughout the room, supported by massive stone columns.  Regal-hued fabrics framed the windowless openings and danced gracefully along with a warm breeze that drifted into the room.  A subtle scent of flowers with a hint of spice filled the air.  Lit torches cast a soft glow illuminating the serene space.  I looked down and found myself standing in front of an elaborate table where the diamond wand was resting on its surface.  I stood there spellbound, stroking it with my fingertips back and forth, while I watched its brilliant light flow underneath my hand.  It was no longer imprisoned by its rocky cradle and was just lying there, waiting for me to take hold of it. Before I could seize the wand (which was
my
destiny), a hand suddenly emerged — a
man’s
hand.  Soon, two hands wrapped themselves around the wand, one on each of its ends.  They swiftly lifted the diamond from off the table where it lay.  Quickly, I turned to see the face of the man who had taken the wand that was only mine to bear. 
Was it Lazarus? The Onyx?

A
stranger stood before me, whose muscular frame couldn’t have looked more chiseled and rugged if he’d been carved from a block of marble.  The man’s lustrous brown hair flowed down in soft waves to his shoulders, and his facial features were strong, like that of a warrior’s. Everything about the striking stranger commanded my attention.  Even his eyes were the most piercing shade of blue that I’d ever seen.  I watched as he flourished the wand with several precise, sweeping motions.  The diamond was now fully illuminated and shining with the same intensity I’d seen on the night I had first discovered it.  After giving it a thorough inspection, the strange man looked at me or through me.  I really couldn’t tell.  His eyes were now glistening with white streaks, like bolts of lightning that danced around his pupils.  My instincts assured me that even if he were aware of my presence, he genuinely meant me no harm.

He pulled something
out from a leather holster strapped to his side.  When the object came into my view, I noticed it was made of a metal that cast a silvery-blue sheen and a substantial clear stone lay embedded on the tip of its base.  He gripped it snugly in the palm of his hand, and then with one forceful move, the man thrust the long diamond wand into the metal object.

The hilt
…

Brilliant rays of light s
hot out instantly from the wand.  Its vibrant glow had now engulfed me.  I looked over to acknowledge the stranger, but he was gone and unfortunately, so was the diamond wand.  Hastily, I awoke from my dream to the sound of the alarm clock blaring in my ears.  I rose up in bed thinking,
Adamas
. 
That had to have been him
.

The dream lingered in my thoughts while I
got ready for school.  Now I had a face to go with the name.  As excited as I was, I still felt somewhat disappointed by the fact that he hadn’t spoken.
Not one word
.  Even though I knew the dream was actually a memory the diamond had chosen to reveal, it would have been comforting to know if Adamas was “truly proud” that I possessed the thing he treasured most, just as Gallia had implied.

I placed my three little stones inside the pocket of my jacket, grabbed my purse, and made a mad dash out the door.  Within seconds, I was
sitting in my Charger and cranking up its engine. Charlotte came running out of the house as I pulled out, waving a frying pan full of eggs in her hand and yelling something about eating.

Don’t tell me
that she made breakfast!
  I shook my head.  It was going to take a lot more than burnt scrambled eggs to forgive her for all the harsh words and cruelty she’d inflicted upon me over the years.  However, what Charlotte failed to see was that nothing she could ever do would get me to reverse my decision about the land. 
Especially selling off the mineral rights!
  I’d overheard Chloe telling her last night that she would stay home from school today to “comfort her”. Realistically, my little sister probably couldn’t face the embarrassment of returning to school after she’d shot off her mouth about how “SHE” was going to be “RICH”.

When they finally get it in their heads that nothing will change my mind, I may have to add a few more names to t
he growing list of “People Who Want Me DEAD
.”

I checked my watch.  It was only six o’clock, but I had to get to school early, so I could report
for “morning detention” —
thanks to Charlotte!
I still had plenty of time to grab something to eat before it started in thirty minutes.  The Kwik-Serve was up ahead on the right.  My stomach let out a long, rolling rumble as I pulled into the busy parking lot.  The small convenience store was packed with miners filling their thermoses to their brims with coffee, buying sacks of doughnuts, and fixing their sausage biscuits, which were stacked in a warming cabinet located at the rear of the store.  I managed to squeeze through them and snatch one for myself before they were all gone.  After I’d grabbed a small container of orange juice, I pushed my way up to the front register.  The crowd standing around waiting to pay for their food was even rowdier than the masses back at the biscuit counter.

While I waited my turn, I
heard the sound of the store-bell ring out, announcing the arrival of yet another customer.  A brisk rush of air flooded the store.  Normally, the burst would be chilly and tend to feel somewhat stimulating in the morning.  But it felt oddly
warm
to my surprise, and a wave of anxiousness came over me, unexpectedly.  It was subtle, but still noticeable.  I turned to the door and peered around the huddled group of miners to locate the source of my uneasiness.

My eyes shot
open.  A man had just walked in, and by his appearance, he was definitely not from around here.  His hair was long, down past his shoulders, and so jet-black that it flashed hints of blue under the store’s fluorescent lights.  His pale skin looked like it hadn’t seen the sun in years.  You could actually count the individual hairs from the black stubble on his face because of how it contrasted with his whitish skin tone.  The steely, rough man reeked with an intimidating aura as he surveyed the interior of the store.  He was draped in a long, black leather coat and donned matching knuckle-less riding gloves on his hands.  A cord tied snugly around his neck held a muted reddish-orange stone that pressed firmly against his Adam’s apple.  He removed his shiny aviators to reveal a pair of eyes so brown they were almost black.  As he approached the crowded counter, I spotted streams of gray light swirling within their dark-brown cores.

I ducked down behind one of the miners and listened quietly.

“I’m looking for the Riverside-Pocahontas mine.  How far is it?” the gruff-looking stranger asked in a deep, raspy voice.