Oculus

by S. E. Akers

  “Is that why you wear one?” I posed. “To amplify your senses?”

  A tiny flicker of light sparked in his eyes, though I couldn’t quite tell if my question had genuinely surprised him or made him uneasy.

  “Who wouldn’t want to feel more out of the things they’ve grown accustomed to?” he countered. “Being human is all about the experience and the interactions. I’ve roamed this earth for many years and hope to for many more. Sometimes it’s refreshing to experience things like you would for the first time.”

  I couldn’t imagine ever getting tried of seeing a blazing fall sunset bursting with color or tasting a sweet & juicy slice of watermelon come the middle of every summer. Then again I supposed it was possible, especially if I’d been around since Father Time hammered out his first sundial.

  “That makes sense,” I replied. Sort of, I mulled silently. I still couldn’t shake the name Arabella out of my head. She sounded like a total Angelina to green-eyed and curious me.

  First “Maria” and now “Arabella”… An uncomfortable realization hit me like a Mack truck. It wasn’t the random names that were bothering me as much as the blanks they left. Every one of them rattled me with doubts about whether or not Tanner had the slightest romantic feelings towards me…or possibly someone else.

  This is why women turn crazy, I nodded quietly. Ambiguous men. They’re the ones who need a daggone manual. Black and white — My ass!

  “I keep it locked away most of the time,” Tanner added. “I only wear it when the need strikes.”

  Even that admission hinted at a few sentimental recollections. Well that’s what the finger-pointing mouthy voice in my head was saying. Whether I agreed or not, I was going to have to change course for my own sanity. Who didn’t have past involvements, honestly? Aside from me?

  “Do a lot of Talismans use them?” I asked.

  “The ones who’ve been granted one do.”

  That served to settle my insecurities — somewhat. See… It’s not like Tanner has the only one, idiot!

  “So it’s like a tiger’s eye,” I surmised. “The stone’s powers can only be issued to an individual.”

  “Precisely,” Tanner nodded. “And it’s only bestowed to men.”

  Only men? “I see. It’s exclusive and sexist.” Humph… Maybe Arabella’s halo “pings” to the pitch of HO?

  Tanner fanned his arms and shrugged. “I didn’t make the rules,” he grinned and then started to step away.

  Considering I’d just unfairly deemed a Talisman I knew nothing about a supernatural-slut, I should have ended my pursuit right there, but I couldn’t stop myself. My red-suited devil had already hooked up with the green-eyed witch in my head. Needless to say, I had it on good authority that my white-winged savior was writhing nearby, helplessly gagged and hogtied.

  “Does it have any mental abilities?” I asked, going off a feeling bubbling deep inside me. Surely there had to be more to the stone than strictly that. At least that’s what I was hoping.

  “Just one,” he revealed, without the slightest glance. “It gives you clarity.”

  “Like a peridot?” I questioned, pointing out the lime-green cabochon four totems to the right.

  “No. A peridot helps a person find their purpose in life. A larimar gives your soul clarity with respect to the world. It helps you process things more accurately, like filling a mind that’s hollow . . . It floods you with the insight you’re lacking.”

  “Oh . . . So it enlightens,” I said, recalling the exact way he’d described it last Christmas Eve.

  “That it does,” Tanner acknowledged with a curious hum. I started to ask him another question when he abruptly announced, “I think we’ve covered enough gemstones for one sitting.” Then he walked off straightaway, headed for the door. “I’ll be waiting downstairs.” And with that, he was gone.

  I glanced at the time on my watch. Oh, I was more than right. He’d cut my lesson off twenty-five minutes early. I stared at the empty doorway, completely bewildered. Whatever the heck had just happened, I was planning on finding out. This one was getting filed under, “If it’s the last daggone thing I ever do”.

  I issued the cosmos a firm nod. Without a doubt…

  Tanner could tell I wasn’t focusing on any of his creature lectures that followed. I’m sure he picked up on my trail of suspicions as well. And I couldn’t have cared less until he made the unsetting announcement that I would be tangling with the chimera this afternoon. Nothing like a vicious three-headed beast to put your attention (and attitude) in-check. I was really starting to resent his emotional radar. His choice of baddie-beasts did have me raising the question of whether or not it was some sort of punishment for my inquiry. Seriously? He’d been so against scheduling a rematch with the chimera for the past two weeks, so why today? Far be it for a student to question her mentor about a stone and its missing page that he’d supposedly “forgotten to mention”. Beatrix was the one who’d returned his larimar. Tanner seemed undeniably grateful to get it back too. I remembered him claiming that he’d “misplaced it”, but Beatrix had eluded that it was “purposely lost” — and in my book, that meant “thrown away”. The last thing I’d chucked was Lazarus’ lapis lazuli ring when I threw it across my bedroom. But I never trashed it permanently, and I hated that reminder to the depths of my soul. What could have led Tanner to pitch his stone? Make him never want to see it again? The stone’s abilities were simply enhancing in essence, nothing earth shattering by any means. Here again I’d been slapped with something else I was dying to know, though I didn’t think it was wise to ask him. Who knows what scolding he would serve up? That made my desire to tap into Beatrix’s memories rage like an inferno.

  She would know the story . . . and then so would I.

  Tanner opted to go with something a little less mutilating for our battle after lunch — bo staffs. The way I saw it, that afforded the chimera a pristine canvas of flesh to bite, buck, and burn. Considerate. We each retrieved our choice of staves from their rack. He selected one fitting for any water elemental, a frost bo, which upon contact delivered a nip that was ten times icier than a case of Arctic frostbite. Seeing how we had been on opposite ends of the spectrum all week, I snatched up the fire bo to counter his blows.

  Tanner’s stare bounced between my selection and his shirt. “This is one of my favorites.”

  My eyes burst with disbelief as scores of ruined shirts and jeans paraded through my head. “Next time wear play clothes,” I suggested and then strutted towards the center of the room, gliding my staff back and forth on my shoulder like it was an actual violin bow.

  Tanner trailed my steps and then within a few seconds our staves clashed with a deafening “CLACK” rattling the air. Out of all the bouts we’d had this week, this one felt different. More intense. More focused. My thrusts and strikes couldn’t have been more flawless, almost like a fierce determination was guiding my swings. Pride may have had a lot to do with it. Then again, maybe I was just the right shade of angry.

  We’d been tirelessly swinging our staves for roughly thirty minutes when the willful little girl inside me decided it was her turn to come out and play.

  “So why the chimera?” I asked. “Today, of all days?”

  It was obvious from his pause that I’d thrown him off guard. And I took full advantage of it too with a hard drive straight into his ribs.

  He sucked in his grunt and took a step back, trying to look unfazed as he stared at yet another charred line singeing his shirt. “Simply its turn,” he assured and then blocked my next thrust.

  The next thing I knew, he’d wrenched my bo right out of my hands and sent it flying over my head. My stare returned to his only to catch the angle of his grin as he plowed his frosty staff into my gut. I landed hard on my butt, shivering from the frigid blow and knocking ice off my shirt.

  Tanner leaned against his staff and lowered his gaze. “Do you have a problem with my choice?”

  I looked over at my weapon roug
hly a few feet away and then up at him. I summoned a gust upon my rise that I aimed at the end of his staff lying closest to his head. It popped the side of his jaw and left a galling “crack” scoring the air. Though truthfully, seeing the icicles dripping from his ear to his chin was hands-down the best part.

  I swiftly commanded a stream to retrieve my weapon. “No problem,” I assured with an innocent grin and a fierce grasp on my staff. “It was just news to me. I didn’t realize you thought I was ready enough yet.”

  Tanner raked the ice off his face. “Oh, you seem ready enough to me,” he smirked, eyes gleaming.

  Suddenly my right arm started to tremble, all the way down to the tips of my fingers. I’d no sooner looked over at my hand when it pried itself loose from the staff all on its own and then smacked me across my face — pretty hard too. My bottom lip dropped like an anchor.

  “The human body is over fifty percent water, even your diamond-hide,” Tanner laughed. “Controlling it is tricky, but it can be done . . . So keep that in mind.”

  All I could see was red through the narrow slits of my lids. “Aren’t you full of surprises today.”

  “I find it’s always best to keep a little off the table,” he bragged.

  “I totally agree,” I simpered as I readied my stance.

  Tanner shook his head. “I know . . . You practice that like a religion.”

  I broke my pose and propped the staff on the ground with a sharp slam. “What are you talking about?” I demanded.

  “Thunder — for starters,” Tanner revealed.

  “The thunder that woke you up last week?” I questioned.

  “I’ve heard it all week,” he revealed.

  Well that I didn’t know. I’d assumed the thunder wasn’t a problem anymore since he hadn’t said anything else about it. My bad.

  I gave my shoulders a blasé shrug. “Why don’t you try a slumber spell? Or you could go old-school and get one of those sleep machines.” I prepared the staff and leaned into my striking stance. “Tell me . . . Are the sounds of nature still soothing or do you need a larimar to savor them?”

  Okay, that crack was more than direct, but I was still a little pissy about that sneaky slap.

  “What’s your infatuation with the larimar?” Tanner demanded.

  I threw up my palm in defense. “I’m not infatuated with it, just its missing page.”

  “So the core of your obsession is basically because something was misplaced?” he countered.

  His shift was so blatant I ended up tossing any hesitant thoughts about additional punishments to the wind and decided to rock his boat right back. “So did you ‘misplace’ the page when you ‘misplaced’ your actual stone?” I proposed, air-quotes flying.

  Silas stepped into the room, suspiciously on cue. “Pardon me, Professor. Might I have a word with you?”

  Tanner leaped on his request. “Of course — We’re done here.”

  Frustration inevitably got the better of me. Then again, it could have been that proud swagger he was sporting that tipped my scales. I gave my fire bo a series of heated twirls and hurled the flaming circle straight at him, back turned. Since he was so hell-bent on a duck and run, I was more than willing to donate a legitimate reason.

  The water-whisperer sensed its approach. He turned around and snatched it with a pretty impressive flip.

  I strolled past him without casting the slightest glance. “See you guys downstairs.”

  “Sure thing, Kamya,” Tanner shouted.

  Oh, I knew what he was really calling me. He didn’t need to dress it up so pretty. “I’m taking that as a compliment,” I hollered back and then strutted out the door.

  The tension between us hadn’t improved by the time my rumble in the dungeon rolled around. With my eyes glued to the chimera’s cell, I positioned the oculus in the center of my chest and waited for Tanner to collect some layria bark.

  He removed the lid and propped it against the wall. “You’re facing the imp,” he directed.

  “No — The chimera,” I scowled and pointed to the door. “You already said so.”

  “I’ve changed my mind,” Tanner glared.

  “Changed your mind?” I questioned. He was never going to let me face that thing to begin with. He’d only said it to distract me. Knowing his plan had worked made me want to face it that much more. I shook my head. “No. I’m battling the chimera today. You said it was ‘its turn’.”

  “Absolutely not,” he reiterated.

  “Because I’m not ready?” I posed. “Because based on my past performances you think I’ll crash and burn, again?”

  Tanner’s agitation was awkwardly evident. “You’re not going in there . . . not today.”

  “Watch me,” I grumbled and then blew open the silver door with a gust. I bolted inside before he could stop me. A few of his choice curses howled in my head, but I didn’t care. I was doing this. I only hoped teaching the professor a lesson didn’t come back around to bite me in the ass three times as hard.

  The diamond shot out of my hilt as soon as I came to a stop. A vile chill raced down my spine while my eyes panned the murky chamber. There wasn’t so much as a faint rustle coming from anywhere within the shadows it looked that eerie and lifeless. The creature had to know I was in here, especially after reading that a chimera’s senses were exceptionally fine-tuned. I took a few more steps needing to scope out the scene. Gritty earth and ash blanketed the ground, rising and falling across the stark terrain. I trailed the scorched surface up to a harrowing ridge that stretched endlessly in both directions, littered with jagged rocks. Black holes punched its face, adding to the unsettling chaos painting the craggy scene. My eyes locked on one of the dark caves and then heedfully peered at the rest of them. It could be inside any one of them, waiting me out like a roast in an oven and testing my fear until it signaled that I was done. The way my brow was starting to sweat, my buzzer was just about there. I took a deep breath to abate my nerves. The brimstone tainting the air pricked my senses immediately. It smelled exactly like the savage wasteland the diamond kept whisking me away to night after night. A wretched feeling began churning in my gut. After witnessing the barbaric nature of the Darklands’ creatures and knowing precisely what this particular beast was capable of, this was honestly the last place I wanted to be. This wasn’t an apparition, and I wouldn’t be immune to its wrath like in the visions. My muscles locked with fright. This thing was real, brutally real. No. I was far from ready for this. I may hold a diamond wand in my hands, but that was where the similarity ended. I wasn’t Adamas, and as terrified as what I felt right now, I didn’t know if I ever would be.

  I turned to head for the chamber door when something hacked into my shoulders like an ax blade, carving straight down into my muscles. I knew what it was before it had carried me off in its grasp. I swung my blade at the chimera frantically, but its lock hindered the range of my strikes. Only a few of them made any contact, and they’d barely nicked its chest. I didn’t know exactly what the chimera had up its wing—seeing how it had chosen not to roast, gore, or bite me first—but I knew it wasn’t good.

  The chimera secured its hold with several feisty jerks. I cried out in pain, only to hear it mock my misery with an ear-splitting round of its own throaty roars and hisses. The creature veered from its circular path and was now heading for one of the shadowy niches within the walls of the ridge. I readied my sword, gripping it with both my hands. As soon as I felt its claws retracting, I held my breath and thrust the diamond blade straight up into the air. Fortunately, it proved a well-thought-out move when I landed, knowing I’d pierced the snake-head part of its tail that was just about to sink its fangs into me.

  I stayed crouched on my knees as I took a deep breath to fight off the stabbing throbs. The chimera was rounding back for another strike. I rose to my feet as the lion-head roared out a wicked blast of fire. I blew away as much as I could until the speed of the creature’s charge forced me into the cave for cover. Flames blas
ted into the hollow with the drive of a locomotive. I peeked out the opening as soon as they waned. The chimera was nowhere to be found, not on the ledge nor flying anywhere close by as far as I could tell. I turned to my rear and used the sword as a flashlight. The niche wasn’t that deep. Now I really felt like I was trapped in a daggone oven. I hadn’t heard anything from Tanner since I’d run in here. Surely he wasn’t purposely hanging back out in the hall to teach me a lesson. My current plight was a far cry from a little girl sticking her finger in a damn electrical socket. This was full-on running out into major rush-hour traffic. My pulling away should be of no consequence, but I would gladly take any punishment just as long as it was at his merciful hands and not from a set of unforgiving hooves or claws.

  I stared at the edge of the ledge, fully aware that I only had one trick to pull out of my bag. This thing could out-fly me with clipped wings and an elephant strapped to its back, but it was the only possible way to get my butt closer to the chamber door — even if I did end up crashing. I removed the oculus and opened it up. With the mystical portal shining its good-to-go status, I fanned my fingers and seized the device between its points. I kept my hilt extended and firmly locked in my other one. If I was actually doing this, I was going out heavy.

  I lunged into a psyched stance and then rushed towards the ledge. Just as I was about to run out of track, I conjured enough of a gust that I used to rocket me into the air. I glanced back with a wobble to check for the chimera. It was trying to catch up to me, despite its erratic track. It had to be avoiding the open oculus. I spied the cell door not too far up ahead. With an unsteady glance, I checked on my assailant one more time, only to discover it wasn’t there. No sooner than I’d turned my attention back to the approaching cell door, the chimera swiftly shot into my peripherals and then flanked me with a sneaky attack, goring its horns into my side. My wind fizzled out straightaway, sending my aching frame on a high-speed nosedive. Both the oculus and my blade bounced out of my grasp when I struck the ground. There was so much ash swirling around I couldn’t catch either of their gleams. The chimera’s tail darted out of the haze and snatched hold of my ankle. It coiled around my legs and had me cocooned up to my chest within a matter of seconds. I pressed against it with all of my might, but to no avail. It matched my strength effortlessly and then began tugging me towards its trunk. The two ferocious heads stopped growling and flashed their fangs, both dripping wet with a vengeful taste for my blood.