Talisman (93 page)

Kara was
rightfully stunned as well, but she quickly used his newfound amnesia to her advantage.

“Oh,
you know,
Shiloh
.  She works at the Drive-In with me, but she’s more of a classmate, than a
friend
.  You really
don’t
remember her…
sweetie?
” Kara probed eagerly (and I could tell, full of hope).

Ty seemed embarrassed.  “
Um
…No.  No, I don’t.”  He looked at me directly.  “I’m real sorry, but I don’t.  Maybe it’s the medication?  But thanks for stoppin’ by.”

Ty
smiled graciously and then headed back to his room.  Kara managed to flash me a victorious, shitty grin before she hurried to catch up with him.  I was honestly surprised the conniving, pom-pom waving bitch didn’t cartwheel down the hall.

Beatrix was still standing beside me.  She tightened her grip and slowly turned me around. 
The next thing I knew, Beatrix and Tanner were guiding my dazed body towards the elevators. 
They had to
— I was practically a freakin’ catatonic zombie!

I finally
recovered my ability to speak while we stood there waiting for the elevator to arrive.  “What in the Hell was
THAT?
”

Neither one of them a
nswered me or even cast the slightest glance my way.  I looked back and forth at them.

“You
knew
this would happen,” Tanner replied casually.

I whipped my head around
and probed, “
What
was that you said?”

Tanner turned and looked me dead in t
he eyes.  “I said, ‘YOU KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN’,” he repeated somewhat harshly.  Tanner placed his arms on my shoulders as I stared at him cluelessly.  “The memory loss?
 
From healing anyone
other
than a supernatural?  Remember the man outside the café the other day?”

Blindsided, I jerked away from his grasp.  The color began to drain from my face as I recalled the
incident,
now in perfect detail
.  I’d completely forgotten about the little defense mechanism to guard against a Talisman’s identity after healing a human.

“You’ve gotta be
kiddin’!
” I huffed under my breath as I fell back against the wall.  Hastily, I turned to Beatrix.  “Bea…you mean
he won’t
rem—”

Gently
, Beatrix interrupted my question with a swift hug.  “Not a thing, dear.  I’m so sorry.  Like I said, the healing is the
easy part
.”

Still locked in her compassionate embrace, m
y eyes drifted over to Tanner.

“Shiloh, it’s for the best
…
really
.  The fewer people who know about us the better.  You should understand
that
,” the Amethyst Talisman declared rather boldly.

My blood began to boil after hearing his words
, which were so brazenly cavalier.  Eyes flaring, I pulled away from Beatrix.

“
Yes, Tanner!
  I understand it, but that doesn’t mean
I have to LIKE IT!
” I yelled as I turned and stomped off down the hall.

I couldn’t stand to look at him —
NOT RIGHT NOW
— not when I was still reeling from the harsh sting of Ty’s unforeseen memory loss.  I stormed around the corner thinking,
I bet he’s tickled that he doesn’t have to worry about Ty knowing what I am anymore.  I’m surprised his damn eyes didn’t shift from purple to pink!

When I’d finally stopped raging, I found myself close to Samuel’s room.  I walked over to his door and knocked, but there was no answer. 
I quietly opened the heavy door and stepped inside.  There he was, sleeping like a baby and resting comfortably.  I heard the door
“creak”
and spun around to see Beverly Rhodes entering.

“He’s been out all evening, Shiloh.
  But he’s not in a bit of pain,” Beverly vowed.  “They’ve got him so loaded up with meds, honey, I wouldn’t be surprised if he slept all night, and right through the doctor resetting his bones in the morning.  I’m sorry he’s not awake.”

“Oh, that’s okay.  I just wanted to peek in on him.  I’ll come back by tomorrow afternoon to visit with him,” I replied.  “Do you mind if I just stay here for a second?  I won’t be long.”

Beverly flashed me a sympathetic smile.  “Take all the time you need.  He’s not
going anywhere
,” she joked and then closed the door.

I walked over to Samuel’s bed
side and sat down in the same chair from earlier.  It was still right where I’d left it.  Strangely, as I looked around at all the monitors and medical paraphernalia, I found myself feeling thankful.  Uriah finding me down in the mine had prevented me from healing him.

How awful would th
at have been?  To heal Samuel, only for him to forget all about me?
  I could barely stomach the thought. 
And there I was feeling guilty about not being able to do it.  That was a blessing in disguise
.

As I rose from the chair, I gently eased open the drawer of the bedside tab
le where I’d placed the magical rough diamond. 
Still there
.  I closed the drawer, gave Samuel a soft peck on his forehead, and headed out the door.

The harsh fluorescent lights hit my eyes as soon as I stepped out into the hallway.  I reached in
to the pocket of my jacket for Daddy’s pendant, the one I’d retrieved from Karl, but it wasn’t there!  Frantically, I untied the arms and turned it inside-out searching for my treasured keepsake.

IT’S GONE
!  Who knows where it fell out?  The cave?  The woods?  The railroad tracks?
  I knew I would probably never see it again.  I stomped my foot on the floor and thought,
Can this day get ANY shittier?

Listlessly
, I wandered back to the elevators to find Beatrix and Tanner exactly where I’d left them.  I arrived just as the stainless-steel doors were opening. 
My luck sure is on the crappy side, but at least my timing’s improving
.

Without saying a word, Beatrix extended her hand and led me into the elevator
.  That’s exactly what I needed —
silence
.  I felt Tanner staring at me the entire ride down.

As soon as
the doors opened, I stepped out and spun around on my heels.

“
WHAT?
” I snapped at him.

Tanner
never said a word.

No sooner than
I’d turned back around, I caught the backsides of two people directly in front of me, hugged up and about to exit through the main doors.  The tall, brunette woman who towered over her gray-headed partner looked strangely familiar to me.

“Mr. and Mrs. Stowell?” I called out.

Sure enough, Ron and Julia Stowell turned around, both looking disoriented and misty-eyed.  Slowly, they approached me.  An unsettling feeling came over me when I noticed a listless and shaky teeter to their gait.  Julia Stowell said nothing.  I’d never seen her like this before.  She was always chatty, just like Katie, and the epitome of perky.  But tonight, she just stared at me through a set of weary eyes stained with the streaked remnants of harsh mascara-tinted tears.  She quickly extended her arms and yanked me into a serious embrace.  Mrs. Stowell squeezed me
tightly
.  Even though I knew my bones couldn’t break, I wasn’t willing to make any bets on it at that moment.

Before either of them could say a word,
erratic waves of sadness and twinges of heartache engulfed me.  She was in so much pain, she wasn’t thinking straight. I couldn’t get a clear image to connect with her emotions.

“Mrs. Stowell? 
What’s WRONG?”
I asked as I pulled back from her.

Julia Stowell covered her mouth and stepped away wailing.  Ron Stowell walked over and started
to wrap his arm around me.  No sooner than his hand had landed on my back, a tear shot out of my eye and coursed down my cheek.  His feelings were evident as well, however unlike his wife,
his images
were crystal clear.

Katie
…

Frantical
ly, I hurried over to Mrs. Stowell.

“
WHAT HAPPENED? 
WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?!?
”  I waited for her response, but all I got was more tears.  Every time she opened her mouth, the only thing that came out were streams of steady wails fueled by pain and sorrow.  I turned to Ron Stowell.

“
NO!
  I don’t understand! 
HOW?
” I demanded hysterically.  My brain repeated,
This CAN’T be true!  IT ISN’T TRUE
, over and over.

This time, it was Ron Stowell’s turn to lose control.  He rushed over and wrapped his arms around us, but he couldn’t speak either.  Julia Stowell
mustered some strength and spoke first.

“We found her when we
…
got home
.”  The soft-spoken mother of my best friend got choked up again and struggled to continue.  “She’d had
an accident
,” Julia Stowell moaned, her voice broken-hearted and reeling with sheer disbelief.

My brow furrowed.
“What kind of…
accident?”

Julia Stowell couldn’t continu
e, so her husband interjected.  “Shiloh,” Ron Stowell began, “she must have tripped and fell.  She hit her head on the corner of…
my desk
…down at the store.  The doctors said she had an acute subdural hematoma.  They said it was pretty massive…There was too much blood that had pooled.  The doctor pro—
pronounced her
…as soon as she arrived in the ER.”  Ron Stowell’s efforts to reveal the horrific details were just as shaky as his wife’s.

“A freak accident took
MY BABY!
My only child!
We should have
been there!” Julia Stowell cried out angrily and slid down to the floor.

I knelt beside her.  The more I rocked her in my arms, the more unsettling the “nature” of Katie’s accident felt, especially knowing who’d been knocking on the door when I’d left her.  Those words echoed in
my head.

W
hen “I” had left “HER”
…

I looked over at Tanner.  Even he had a
n apprehensive look about him.

“Where is she?” I begged.  “I
have to
see her, Mrs. Stowell.”

Julia Stowell couldn’t answer.  She tried to catch her breath as she wiped her tear
-stained amber eyes.  I couldn’t help but think sadly as I looked into them,
Katie’s eyes
.

“They have her in a room near the ER,” Ron Stowell replied.  “They put h
er in there for us to say our…
our
good-byes
.  I’ll take you back there, if you want.”

I sprang up from the floor.  “
Yes
,” I announced as I looked over at Beatrix and Tanner, who both had a look of “no” in their eyes.

Julia Stowel
l stood up and grabbed my arm.  “Ron, you take her back.  I just can’t do it.”  He nodded to his wife.  Julia reached for my hand and placed a small velvet pouch in it.  “Shiloh…Katie would have wanted you to have this.  She knew you were fond of it…and always wanted one of your own.  Please take it, for
Katie
…
and for
me
.”

I knew what it was before I opened the pouch.  I peeked inside and quickly closed it. 
Her diamond pendant
.

I hugged Julia.  “
I CAN’T…
I just
can’t
,” I objected.

“
Please
,” she pleaded, “
for Katie
…You were like a sister to her, Shiloh. 
Please, do it for her
.”

Reluctantly, I took the gift and gave her a firm kiss on the cheek.  Ron Stowell took
my arm and led me down to the room where Katie’s body lay.  Tanner and Beatrix followed behind us.  Once Mr. Stowell had cleared our visit with the nurses, he gave me a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek (just like I’d seen him give Katie a million times) and then left to comfort his wife.

As soon as
he was out of sight, I turned to face the door and grabbed a hold of its cold metal lever.  A fleeting memory of Katie sleeping peacefully in her bed during one of our countless sleepovers throughout the years shot through my mind.  I was really praying that “THAT” was what I would find once I’d opened the door.  With my muscles firmly locked, I took a deep breath as I pressed down on the handle and flew inside.