Talisman (91 page)

It was a direct hit.  Within a second, the Onyx was engulfed in the ruby’s fiery red flames and screaming in terror.  This time, the flames were
much fiercer.  I jumped out of the tree and landed beside of the now, cloud-like inferno.  Knowing I couldn’t get burned, I reached for his hand that held the wand and forcefully yanked it from his frail grip.  With the wand now in my possession, I gave it a quick twirl and started to swing it towards the Onyx.  As I watched the blade whirl around to strike him, the Onyx swiftly vanished down under the ground in a cloud of fire, earth, and snow.  I stared down into the deep hole that he had bore into the earth’s crust.  The light from his fire-engulfed body was starting to vanish from my sight.

I contemplated going after him, but before I could decide
, a familiar voice called out, “Let him go, Shiloh.”

I turned around to see a battle-
worn, but still undeniably dashing, Tanner Grey trudging through the snow.

“That’s
his
domain down there,” he warned sternly.  “He would have the advantage, even injured and without his powers.  He won’t be back…not anytime soon, at least.”

I ran over to him, happy to see he was still alive.  Carelessly, I started to throw my arms around him with the wand still drawn.  He stepped back to dodge
its blade.

“
Watch it
.  That’s not a toy,
little girl
,” Tanner scolded as he lowered my weapon and shook his head.

After hearing those “two words” I hated so much, t
he thought of greeting him with an affectionate hug left just as soon as it had arrived.

“
Nice to see you’re still in one-piece,” I announced coolly as I spied several cuts on his face and body, as well as his extremely singed clothes.  I noticed his belt was missing.

“Where’s your
tin belt?
” I asked curiously.

“Destroyed,”
Tanner announced with a grin, though he seemed clearly displeased by the fact.

I couldn’t contain my giggles.  “
Sorry
,” I replied sarcastically.  “Where’s Ferrol?  Is he
dead?
”

Tanner’s brow furrowed.  “
No
.  The bastard ran off, and it was either go after him or look for you…but now, after seeing this scene, I think I made the wrong choice.  Of course, you could’ve helped me make that decision,
if you had returned my messages
.”

I hesitated.  In light of leaving the cave’s entrance open all day, I’d also destroyed the amethyst stone Tanner had given me.
  I was sure to get an earful.

“
I don’t have the amethyst
anymore
,” I confessed. 
So much for being responsible
, I thought quietly.

“Why not?  Did you
lose it?
” Tanner posed.

“No.  I de
stroyed it…
accidently
, when I dropped it in Charlotte’s bottle of wine…right before I got to the cave.”

To my surprise, Tanner grinned.  He seemed amused by my reckless act and didn’t question my intentions. 
That’s a relief
…

“So, how did you know where I was?”
I asked.

Tanner gently brushed back my hair, leaned in, and sniffed my neck.
“I just followed the scent of
freesias
.”

I shied away from him, still clueless as to why I couldn’t smell anything.  Ta
nner spotted my golden topaz glowing.

“I’m glad to see you finally got that thing charged, and not a minute too soon I’d be willing to bet.”

I nodded back.

Tanner eyeballed me curiously.  “Come to think of it, you really don’t look a bit worse for wear, considering when I saw you last, you were
dripping in blood and having a rough time fending off Lazarus.  Then I show up here to discover that you’ve driven away the Onyx?”  Tanner tapped his finger against his chiseled chin for a moment.  “Let me see your
hands
,” he demanded.

I
smiled proudly as I revealed my perfectly-healed hands to him and wiggled my fingers.  He was stunned.

“A simple moonbeam couldn’t have done this so quickly
, even one from a blue moon,” he announced frankly with an air of suspicion.

“
No
, but I think a
special healing moonbeam
could,” I replied coyly and pulled the white pearlescent stone from my pocket. “Or possibly…a
moonstone
.”

Tanner took the stone from my hand and
held it up to the moonlight.  His eyes shined brighter than the smile illuminating his face.

“
So
,” Tanner began, “Seraphina healed your injuries with one of her personal stellar beams
and
granted you a moonstone?”

“
It appears so,” I confirmed.  Well now I knew the name that belonged to the enchanting voice who had saved me.

“Do you know how
fortunate
you truly were?” Tanner posed.  “She doesn’t personally heal just
anyone
, nor does she hand out her stones frivolously.  Moonstones are
extremely
rare.  She’s only allowed to give one stone away on the night of a blue moon.  She has thousands, upon thousands of supernaturals to choose from when she grants one of her stones…Those who are only allowed to roam the earth under the moon’s light, or find themselves at the mercy of its ominous power…Even those who cast their magic under its mystical glow…and of all these creatures she turned her gaze on
you
.”

I became overwhelmed with
a deep appreciation for the stone, as well as the Moonstone Talisman’s generous, selfless act.  I knew her special moonbeam had been instrumental in healing me, but I had no idea of what an honor “choosing me” to receive one of her moonstones actually was.

“There’s typically an order of succession she follows when bestowing one of her sought-after stones,” Tanner revealed.  “Trust me, Shiloh…Whoever was originally slated to receive this moonstone tonight is right about now furiously foaming at the mouth,” he warned and then tossed it back to me.

“Oh,”
I mumbled.  Tanner’s declaration left me feeling a little uneasy, but considering the graveness of my life-or-death situation, I honestly didn’t have a shred of guilt. 
Not a lick…

“As long as you have that
moonstone on you, none of your stones’ powers will never fade, and your body will heal itself
instantly
from anything — except a diamond’s sting, of course.  The moonbeam she generated actually healed your hands, not the stone.”  Tanner nodded to the moonstone and added, “She may have put some of her other powers in here, but you’ll have to discover that out for yourself.  You can to talk to her, of course…but since she doesn’t have one of your diamonds, she can only answer you on the night of a full moon.  Though it doesn’t have to be a blue one necessarily.”

“So, I can thank her,
Seraphina?  Right now?
” I asked as I pointed up to the moon.

Tanner nodded his head.

Without further delay, I held the moonstone in my hand and sent her the most heart-felt thank you that I’d ever expressed to anyone in my entire life.  I stood there, eyes closed for a few minutes.

Tanner nudged me.  “That’s a pretty long thank you.”

“Oh, I finished that a few minutes ago.  I wanted to see if she would answer,” I replied.  “Maybe she didn’t get the message?”

Tanner looked up at the moon and then back at me with a smile.  “I think she got it.”

Funny
, I thought to myself. 
This Seraphina was awfully chatty with the Onyx earlier.  She just saved my life, but didn’t want to answer me?  Then again, knowing what Tanner had said about having to “assume my affliction”, she’s probably bandaging her hands and puking up blue poison right about now
…
possibly regretting her decision
…
After feeling that crap running through my own body — I know I would!

I looked back up at the moon, which seemed to be noticeably more buoyant and now beamed brilliantly against the dark canvas of the night sky.  If the moon had actually been she
dding any tears earlier, you would never know by the way it looked now.

“Where’s Lazarus?”
Tanner asked as he scanned the woods.

I motioned
towards the railroad tracks with a proud sweep of my hands.  Tanner put his arm around me, but instead of turning to head towards the cave, he started leading me down to the bloody scene where the remaining bits and pieces of Lazarus Xcavare littered the ground.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You need to claim your stone,” Tanner replied frankly.

I didn’t take another step.  “What are you talking about?”

Tanner snapped his fingers in my face.  “The
lapis lazuli
.  Lazarus’ origin stone.  You killed him, so now it’s yours. 
You have to claim it
.”

Paralyzed by his announcement,
I stood beside the railroad tracks and watched while Tanner sorted through the tiny pieces of flesh in a nonchalant manner.

“It has to be around here
somewhere
,” Tanner remarked as he picked through the sinister Talisman’s remains.  “Nice to see you cut that pompous bastard down a couple of sizes.  Really more like a
million
,” he joked.

“Tanner,” I called out hesitantly.  I waited for him to answer, but he just kept rummaging th
rough the blood-drenched snow around the tracks.  In a much louder voice, I called out, “
Tanner
.”

He pulled
what looked like half of a finger out of the snow.  “Got it,” Tanner announced as he rose up.  “What were you saying?”

“I’m
not
claiming that stone,” I stated firmly.

Tanner shot me a testy look.  “
Yes
, you will.”

I glared back at him.  “
No
. I won’t.  Tanner I know what claiming that stone means, beyond its powers.  That stone harbors Lazarus’ memories.  It’ll haunt me with images of my father’s death. 
I know it will
.  I don’t want anything associated with that evil bastard, and I don’t want a mental DVD reminding me of how Daddy suffered.  You said yourself that, ‘
stones have a mind of their own’
.  I
won’t
risk it!  Let it be claimed by another Talisman. 
You
take it.”

“
Sorry, little girl
.  The rules don’t play that way in this game.  If you turn down this stone, it may end up one day being claimed by another evil bastard who would love to see you dead and claim the wand’s powers.  Trust me, Shiloh…the fewer Talismans there are in the world,
the better
.  Now claim this damn stone!”

“No!” I yelled back.  I shook my head and folded my arms.  “Too bad you d
on’t have your little tin belt…
What a shame!
” I goaded as the bell sounded in my head again.

Here goes
“Round Three”
.

Before Tanner could utter another word, we were distracted by a
“squawk”
echoing through the sky.  We looked up to see Beatrix swooping down for a landing.  She changed back into her human form as soon as she made her touchdown.

I hurried over to hug her,
relieved that Lazarus had lied.  “Bea, I’m so glad you’re
okay!
”

Nervously, she pulled from my embrace.
  “That’s nice dear, but Shiloh—”

Tanner interrupted her.  “Bea, tell her
that she has to claim Lazarus’ stone. She was responsible for his death, so she’s obligated to claim it.  End of discussion!”

Beatrix looked a little less anxious.  “Did you
REALLY
kill him, Shiloh?” she asked, sounding hopeful.

“
I did
, but I’m
NOT
claiming the lapis lazuli, Bea.”  I glared at Tanner.  “…and
no one
will
MAKE ME
,” I declared.

Beatrix grabbed my hand.  “I’m afraid
you must
, dear.  I’m sorry.”

I was taken aback by her announcement.  As I stared into her eyes, searching for a reason behind
why
she would agree with Tanner, I saw a sadness that set deep within them.  It was a look I’d seen there before, when she’d spoken about Daddy at his funeral.

“A
nd you must come with me quickly…
to the hospital
,” Beatrix implored in a dire tone.