by S. E. Akers
“Everything is going to be fine. You did what you were supposed to do . . . what Beatrix asked you to do, remember that. Whatever happens tonight, it’s all on them. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I fibbed, but I made it sound convincing.
“Is that guilt-ridden head of yours feeling any clearer?”
I gave my shoulders a shrug. “As clear as it can. I just wish I had a morganite to ride shotgun.” I let out a light laugh. “Stress-free and going in with rose-colored blinders on couldn’t hurt.”
Tanner stepped closer. “I already know what you’re going to say, but I’m going to ask you anyway . . . Do you want me to get your amethyst?” he posed with a rustle.
I kept my lids firmly closed. I didn’t want him to see just how much my will was wavering. It was shameful enough knowing his offer probably came from what he could already sense.
“No,” I declined, wrestling a lump out of my throat. “I’m afraid your amethyst isn’t powerful enough to mask what I’m feeling.”
“Well then,” Tanner began and took a slight pause. “Since you seem so certain about that, maybe I can offer something besides a stone.” His hands worked their way up to the nape of my neck with a gentle graze and then the next thing I knew, he had pulled me straight into his soft awaiting lips. I shied against the paneled wall automatically, thrown completely off guard. Then the sweetest ache began to slowly free me from its coil. Every inch of my dazed frame was left powerless in its wake. I couldn’t believe what was happening. My hands pressed against the wall harder. I desperately feared this moment wasn’t real, but the wood shavings my fingernails had gathered soon cleared the murkiness from my mind. My mentor always seemed to know what I needed…and my heart was applauding the exactness of his assumption with passionate pounds. He continued consuming my mouth with tender mint-laced strokes, easing over them like delicate ripples fueled by the most refreshing stream. I was drowning in their caress helplessly, never wanting their swell to stop taking me. Just as my hands sought out the shelter of his arms and not a moment before my lips could settle into an awakening rhythm of their own, our embrace suddenly broke just as swift and out of the blue as his smoldering hold had begun. I stood there, eyelids fluttering over a befuddled gaze. Tanner didn’t say a word before he headed off, despite the sly crook I caught shadowing his lips.
What. The. HELL? A warm tingle singed the heavy pout plumping my lips as he made his way down the hall. Without a doubt, he’d left me completely dumbstruck. My emotions rolled with confusion while the hollowness in my heart longed for his touch even more.
My feet finally began their shuffle towards the dining room. Oh yeah… I’m totally cleared NOW.
I paused to take a deep breath, still feeling the trail of mint his lips had left, and then centered myself in the entryway of the dining room. Well, Tanner leave-me-panting-yet-again Grey was right; all these elderly chatterboxes needed were a pack of printed cards, some jumbo stamps to mark them, and a noisy cage churning out lucky wooden balls.
I stood in the doorway and quietly absorbed the scene. All the women were dressed to the nines in their finest attire. It was obvious that Bea’s impeccable taste didn’t fall far from her family tree. Some donned tailored dresses in a variety of eye-catching colors while others sported more trendy outfits that looked like they’d been plucked straight off the pages of Vogue. A few of their heads donned fussy hats, which I’ll admit coordinated with their ensembles flawlessly, and two of them modeled matching gloves. Trepidation had my nerves already teetering on intimidated, and well now I just felt like an underdressed bum (and my label screamed DVF). Each of the sisters was wearing an ornate golden brooch that highlighted their respective birth-stone. Clearly the little beauties were more symbolic than anything, like a decorated honor bestowed by a tight-knit secret society. Seeing them did prompt a smile. It kind of made me wonder if they’d brought one along to officially pin me into their club. My eyes locked on the woman most likely to do the stabbing at the ceremony. Helaine was the easiest to pick out, though the puffy aura wafting all around her would have given me enough of a clue even if this happened to be a blind-date. Yep. That puckered up teakettle looked just about ready to spout. I panned the flock of sisters one last time. They appeared pleasant for the most part, though the decorum of their chit-chat seemed rather subdued — more civil if anything. I couldn’t help but wonder exactly how hard these nuts would be to crack?
The boisterous room came to a swift hush when Tanner cleared his throat. “Ladies . . . May I present Shiloh Wallace,” he boomed like an announcer at a debutant ball. “The Diamond Talisman.”
The only official “hello” I could muster was to merely flash a quick smile — nothing more. No one else returned the slightest courteous gesture, but I felt every stab of the daggers they hurled, particularly Helaine’s. All the women kept a silent hold on their tongues while they sat in their seats, looking like mannequins posed and propped around a table at a wax museum. The eeriness of their fixed stares baited my reservations the most. They alone could have tracked even the stealthiest of souls straight to their grave and back. Someone needed to say something quick to extinguish the daunting vibe.
Maybe I should yell out “Bingo”?
Tanner approached me with his hand extended like a life preserver. I took it, though my head didn’t lift higher than his neck. I couldn’t look at him, not after he’d taken me so off guard in the hall.
I’ve wanted that kind of affection from him for weeks and then he fire-bombs me out in the foyer? And then leaves me standing there like a daggone spotlighted doe in the middle of the road? This was the second time he’d split and run after an intimate moment. Three if you counted our first sobering kiss in Mexico. Does the ass even know how to cuddle? The only time his arms have worked their way around me is whenever I’ve been injured or in pain. Ughhh… Teachers were all about questions and information, and this one was going to answer a few of mine before the evening ended!
We stopped at the sister sitting in the first chair to my right. “This is Prudence,” Tanner announced.
Prudence, the Black Topaz Talisman, appeared in her mid-sixties the same as Bea. But unlike my dearly-departed mentor, this woman had an undeniable harshness about her, possibly from the chunky mixture of jet-black & blinding-white tendrils bursting out of her head. The image of a skunk ran through my mind. Her tresses were undeniably the trigger, but the hairy eyeball glare she was throwing sure cinched it. I nodded to her with a smile and extended my hand. Hers remained situated in her lap. I took that as a bad sign from old Pru-ella De Ville.
“She’s always like that,” Tanner assured telepathically, sensing my unease.
Though I was relieved to get the tidbit, I would have preferred an explanation for his lip-lock out in the hall.
Next in line was a woman named Simone. She was attired all in a robin’s egg blue from her pillbox hat straight down to the pumps on her feet. Even the dainty gloves on her hands were drenched in a soft tint of the innocent hue. She clearly matched her birth-stone. Despite the sister’s finicky appearance, Simone was much friendlier. In fact, I practically had to pry myself loose from the death-lock the perky little white-haired woman had on my rigid frame (though her tackle did iron out a few of my bundled nerves). She definitely got a check.
Tanner finally pulled her off me. “That’s enough, Simone. Even though she claims two air stones, there’s no need to deprive her of any.”
“I’m very sorry, child,” Simone insisted and then turned to Tanner. “I haven’t felt my powers get a boost in some time now. Pardon me for saying so, but it’s sort of like supernatural Viagra,” she gushed.
The Amethyst Talisman’s look turned somewhat surly. “Well, I wouldn’t know about that,” he assured, head shaking, “but I get your point.” Then we traveled down the table to my next guest, a woman named Raewyn who immediately rose from her chair. The orchid-colored stone on her brooch stood out against the pale ivory backdrop of
her strategically tied scarf. I lifted my gaze to the tall and slender silver-haired woman. Though Raewyn’s smile was gracious, she didn’t extend her hand either. This was a tough crowd.
A woman named Charleane was the next to make my acquaintance, though there were enough muscles pouring out of her sleeveless dress that “Chuck” seemed a more appropriate fit. Her earthy green sheath matched her topaz as well. Charleane was mannerly, though curt. Her hand popped towards me for one speedy shake and then coiled back like a compressed spring. If I didn’t have diamond joints to go along with my bones, she would have pulled my arm slick out of its socket.
The next Topaz Talisman to greet me was Talsa, and the color of her hair was just as orange as her stone. I fought desperately to hold back a tear. Out of all the sisters, she looked the most like Bea. Talsa smiled and started to get up, but froze on the spot when the sister to her right let out a foul, “Humph!”
I smiled back at Talsa, letting her know I wasn’t the least bit offended. In fact, I was eager to move on up the line. I wanted to see what rude little stunt Helaine was about to pull.
My brainwaves started to shift like they always did right before a telepathic message came through. My eyes flared at the male voice taking shape because it was so not Tanner’s.
Silas began, “I’ll give you a pass on conditioning for an entire week if you hold out that golden topaz ring and order her to kiss it.”
I KNEW IT! I directed a glance over to where he was attentively standing beside the breakfront buffet. “Only if you pepper her salad with some layria bark,” I countered mentally, aiming my offer towards the innocent-looking pot stirrer. The tilt of Silas’ head was modest, though thoughtful. Oh, he was definitely chewing on it.
“And you’ve already had the pleasure of meeting Helaine,” Tanner remarked. The White Topaz Talisman never looked up. She never moved her hand. She never said a word. And I seriously doubted that she’d even taken a solitary breath since I’d landed in her crosshairs. Oh yeah… That corncob was wedged up her rear mighty high & tight. The painful pucker clenching her mouth didn’t need the first explanation. She was simply holding the damn thing in.
The last sister in attendance was the one who claimed the brown topaz. “Abigail,” the woman said with a nod. “It was very wise of you to meet with us.”
My bottom lip fell into some trouble trying to form a hospitable smile. Wise? I mulled quietly. Not “kind’? Or even “good”? She quickly turned her head away and commenced with straightening her sleeves and positioning the silverware to her liking. Her fudge-colored eyes may have been mirroring her stone, but I suspected they were brown for another reason.
Tanner pulled out my chair. I lowered myself down into the seat, silently sneaking in breaths of his woodsy musk fragrance while my thoughts remained haunted by the delicious mint I could still taste on my lips. Of course I didn’t linger in my reflection for long, not with the tribe of eyes boring holes straight through me and into the back of my chair.
“Why didn’t Gwendalyne make the trip?” Tanner broached as he headed towards his seat at the opposite end of the table.
None of the sisters offered up the first excuse. In fact, they seemed uncomfortably mum.
“Gwendalyne refused to come,” Abigail finally admitted. Her stare turned frigid. “She’s very distressed.”
“That’s understandable,” Tanner concurred. “Death tends to dictate our emotions . . . as well as our choices. I’m sure Beatrix’s passing was rough on her.” He eyed all the sister’s faces as he lowered himself into his seat. “And on all of you as well.”
“I assure you it’s more than grief,” Abigail vowed.
Apparently the absent Pink Topaz Talisman had as much of a bug up her butt as Helaine. Since the elephant was already out and running about, I figured I would go ahead and say what needed to be said — at least take a stab at caging the thing before its tusks took any more pesky pokes.
“I’d like to say something,” I began. “I need to clear the air about what all of you may be thinking.” I directed a glance towards Helaine. “I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but I promise whatever comes out of my mouth will be the absolute truth.” At that moment, all eyes but Helaine’s were on me, glowing with their respective stones’ hues.
Oh yeah… Their curiosity was good and piqued.
“Beatrix drank some Emerald Eyes this past New Year’s Eve,” I said. “She saw what was going to come . . . the Onyx and the white chalcedony.” Several of them looked down at their plates with solemn gazes. “I didn’t know anything about it until it was too late, when she asked me to . . .” I stopped and took a deep breath as I pictured the words coming out of Bea’s mouth in vivid detail. “ . . . to claim her stone. I didn’t want to do it, but there was no other alternative.” A tear streaked a cold path down my cheek. “I loved her dearly.”
The silence that followed was stifling. I panned the table. All the women’s heads were hanging low towards their place settings, full of sorrow for their sister, except for Helaine’s. Her nose remained propped high in the air, practically scraping the ceiling, and her face had bloomed one of the most shameless smiles I’d ever seen.
What a heartless hag…
Helaine cleared her throat abruptly, which almost jolted Raewyn right out of her seat.
“So our sister knew she was going to die,” Raewyn voiced.
“Yes,” Tanner interjected. “I knew too . . . and so did Kamya.”
Raewyn shook her head. “No. I mean, did she know the exact time? Did she know it was going to happen before the first spring moon set?” she clarified and then turned to me for an answer.
I nodded. “We were shopping . . . She noticed one of the dresses I’d picked out. It was the one I was wearing in the vision. My prom dress. So yes, she knew it would be that night.”
Helaine lent the air a grunt so coarse and triumphant Sherlock Holmes would have been proud.
Pru-ella swiftly took the reins. “You must understand that this puts you in a very awkward position with our sister, Helaine,” Prudence asserted and nodded in her direction. “Beatrix vowed to give her powers to Helaine in exchange for one of her stones. She deceived her — intentionally. You must understand why this needs to be rectified.”
My arms fell into a snug fold as I straightened my stance. “Did Helaine rectify taking Beatrix’s sight all those years ago?” I countered. Neither Prudence nor any of the other hens perched around the table made the slightest peep, and Helaine just sat there looking smugger than ever. “From my perspective, I think things are one-hundred percent square.” I glanced towards the opposite end of the table. Tanner couldn’t have looked prouder.
“Our sister is very upset,” Simone spoke up, despite her obvious quiver. “She feels cheated . . . and humiliated.”
“A slap does sting harder when it comes from beyond the grave,” Tanner interjected with a grin.
“But you don’t understand,” Raewyn huffed. “Helaine wants her stone. That’s why we came.” She cleared her throat and added, “to negotiate.”
Tanner boomed a hearty stream of chuckles. “This I have to hear. Please proceed.”
“It’s no laughing matter, Tanner,” Talsa chimed in. The nervous glare on her face prompted a foreboding feeling to swell in the center of my chest.
Raewyn pulled out a scroll and handed it to Tanner. His eyes remained locked on hers with a heated glare while he held the rolled slip of parchment in the air.
“Silas, would you be so kind,” Tanner requested, his eyes still pinned to Raewyn.
“It would be my sincerest pleasure,” the house steward professed and then took possession of the fancy scroll.
Silas postured himself to a more ceremonial stance and then unrolled the scroll like a court page. The parchment stretched between his hands about the length of a legal pad, though I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised to see the daggone thing tumbling to the floor like a roll of toilet paper.
The ho
use steward declared theatrically, “I, Helaine Von Lucien will receive the golden topaz and all of its powers by the next full moon . . .” Silas paused and shot Tanner a skeptical look. “ . . . along with the surrender of the diamond wand. Anything less will resort in the hillbilly’s head on a stake . . .” He stopped and turned to me. “That would be you, Miss Wallace,” he added helpfully.
I rallied a cute smile and twitched my brow. Naturally.
Silas nodded and continued, “ . . . along with her current mentor’s most favorite body part flavoring the flames of a bonfire the likes of which the Western Hemisphere has never seen.” The house steward looked straight at Tanner, his mouth puckered. “That sounds dreadfully hot.”
“Among other things,” Tanner scowled.
Simone twisted in her chair. “You shouldn’t mock this,” she urged to Tanner and then turned her stare to me. “Neither of you.”
“Along with the diamond,” Tanner repeated, directing his question to Helaine. “Why does SHE think she’s entitled to it?”
“As a peace offering,” Abigail defended, “for the trickery involved.”
“I didn’t ‘trick’ her,” I asserted.
“But Beatrix did,” Abigail contended.
Tanner leaned forward, the heat in his eyes nothing short of incinerating. “Then I suggest those of you who feel that way need to take that up directly with Beatrix. I’ll see to it that you get there quickly.”
Prudence picked up her fork and dinged it against the rim of her goblet, filling the air with a series of round-ending “pings”. “We have not come here to get into a fight,” she argued. “These are terms that need to be considered. None of us expected your final decision tonight.”
I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer, nor sit here and let Tanner fight this battle for me. “You’re not honestly suggesting I ‘sleep on it’, are you?” I submitted. “Tell me you don’t think I’m that stupid.”
Prudence’s eyes fell to half-mast as she let out a placating sigh. “No one’s implying a thing. We simply feel you don’t understand the gravity of the situation.”