by S. E. Akers
I turned the brunt of my stare to Helaine. “Oh, I understand completely,” I assured. The White Topaz Talisman still wouldn’t look at me. For a second, I swore I felt Beatrix bubbling with rage somewhere deep within my subconscious. “You ladies came all this way for an answer, and I won’t hear of you leaving without one. I truly hoped things would have gone differently. I thought Guild members extended respect to each other, but it seems my wishes were a bit naïve. Beatrix wouldn’t want her stone going to someone so vindictive and self-serving.” My gaze lowered as I inhaled a deep breath of air. I raised my head quickly, now positioned above theirs, and slammed my hilt down on the table. “And if you want the diamond, Helaine, then I suggest you head on up here and pry it out of my hillbilly hands — ’cause that’s the only way you’ll ever get it!”
A haze of tension swarmed the air. I’d never seen so many nervous women shifting in their seats. You could actually hear the frames of their chairs squeaking out a chaotic tune as their feet dug into the rug under the table.
“Shall I start serving?” Silas interjected gleefully.
“I’m not sure if everyone still has their appetites,” Tanner replied. “Ladies?”
Helaine’s only response was to hint a nod towards her sisters and lower her gaze. She may have looked more submissive, but then again even bitches take breaks. I’d learned that from Charlotte.
“There’s no need for any further arguments,” Abigail stated. “We’re already here.” She grumbled a sigh. “We may as well eat.”
“Then let’s kick off this gathering appropriately, shall we?” Tanner suggested. “It’s been centuries since the diamond has seen the light of day. I think a proper toast is in order.”
Abigail threw Tanner a curt nod. “I think we can all agree to that,” she replied.
Tanner picked up his water goblet and held it in the air, waving everyone to do the same.
Simone burst out, “Wait! Shouldn’t we round up some flutes and toast with a nice champagne instead?”
My mentor tilted his head disapprovingly and pointed my way. “She may be the Diamond Talisman, but she’s still technically underage,” he remarked matter-of-factly.
Simone’s gaze fell to her lap. “Of course,” she replied, sounding painfully disappointed.
I was the last to raise my glass. The whole thing just seemed so awkward and fake, and I had to wade through at least a solid hour of this ridiculous stomach-churning crap. A good dose of Pepto-Bismol was what I really needed to be downing.
“To the Diamond Talisman,” Tanner toasted.
Six of the seven raised their glasses. “To the Diamond,” they clarified.
I thought my eyes were going to tip out of my head when I threw back my glass. Silas had better keep this thing under five freaking courses, I grumped and placed my goblet back down on the table.
All seven sisters sat in their seats silently watching me, even Helaine, which was rightfully irksome. Truth be told, I kind of preferred her not looking at me. The white gleams circling her retinas were increasing, spinning wildly. I was actually starting to feel dizzy watching the whirling light churn so vigorously.
I leaned forward and nodded to Helaine. “Is there something you want to say?” I posed without a shred of graciousness.
All of a sudden, the table shook in a jolting rattle. My stare shifted to Simone, whose mouth was hanging open while she struggled to clear her windpipe. She was heaving and gasping so hard, I honestly felt a good smack was in order. But oddly none of her sisters were coming to her aid. They all sat there nervously staring at her in their chairs while they struggled to hold on to their restraint.
Helaine rolled out a fierce grumble and then turned her turbulent stare to me. “Kordthistle,” she growled under her breath just as snarly as a rabid dog and then slammed her hand down hard on the tabletop, rattling it further. A cloud of royal blue smoke exploded from the spot where she was sitting and then not a second later, she was gone. There wasn’t a trace of her wretched hide left within the dissipating haze.
My eyes blinked curiously. Kordthistle?
Tanner threw Silas a stern nod. The house steward rushed over to Simone, but instead of lending a little assistance, he gave the back of the two sibling’s chairs beside her a firm “tap”. The rear of the chairs cast a sharp glow just before two silvery straps whipped around and locked at their chests. Prudence and Raewyn were now inescapably tethered to their seats. I looked to my left to see a flash of purple light rematerializing back into Tanner’s human form. He’d bound Charleane, Talsa, and Abigail in the same fashion. The sheen of the metal was a dead giveaway. These bitties were bound helplessly in tin while Simone sat free, still choking.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
Tanner’s fiery stare never left Simone. “Just wait for it,” he instructed.
I didn’t have to wait too long. Within seconds, Simone leaned over the table and started clawing at her throat ravenously. Then a streak of blood shot out of her mouth and straight across the table, smacking Talsa right in her face. And that wasn’t all. Her eyes had turned as red as the velvet dining room drapes and then started melting from her sockets in two thick gory streams. My hand flew up to my mouth. Her entire body was dissolving like some freakish supernatural science experiment — blood, flesh, bone, hair, and all. In the end, Simone’s chair looked like a bloody chopping block.
Silas scooped up Simone’s hat with a sneer. He turned to Tanner, shaking his head. “You promised it wouldn’t make too much of a mess.”
Suddenly a whirl of glittery sky-blue light rose from Simone’s former spot and then fashioned a telling silhouette of the fallen supernatural right before our eyes. The sparkling spectral mass careened towards me not a second later and then thrust itself straight into my chest, driving my frame against the back of the chair. My eyes swelled when I heard Simone’s voice desperately pleading for my forgiveness. Her cries only lasted for a moment, but the remorse lingered like a lazy thundercloud drenched in grief. It was one of the saddest sensations I’d ever experienced — someone else’s pure, sorrow-fueled pain. Not just their painful thoughts or bad memories, but their actual gut-churning emotions and heart-wrenching agony.
I took a deep breath. “W—What happened?” I muttered, hoping one of the two beings sporting a Y chromosome would fess up.
“They poisoned you,” Tanner announced and then swaggered around the table, glaring at my five remaining conspirators. He stopped beside Talsa, picked up her napkin, and then swiped it down her blood-covered face. The Amethyst Talisman leaned close to her ear. “And I’m guessing you attempted to do the same to me too?”
“Poisoned?” I repeated, puzzled. “But I don’t feel any different. Did she drink it by mistake?”
Tanner approached me and picked up my goblet. He held it in the air like a trophy. “No. Simone put it on the rim of your glass.”
“Then why did she . . .” I stopped and pointed to the blood-drenched chair, “die?”
“Kordthistle,” Prudence grumbled. “It’s a very rare magical herb blessed by Gaia herself. It reverses the effects of poisons and transfers its fate back onto your assailant.” She let out a huff. “You can drop the dopey act, girl. You obviously have it in your system,” Pru-ella growled, “ . . . or at least, on your lips.”
I ran the tips of my fingers across my mouth while my eyes locked on Tanner. The sweet ache I’d been clinging to washed away immediately and now all that remained was a nettling sense of stupidity. I rolled in my bottom lip, fighting off a tremble. I’d finally gotten my answer. Silas had been in my room earlier, obviously lacing my lipstick with some magic-infused, herbal anti-venom. Then when I’d failed to take the bait, my mentor had come along at the ready with his backup plan — swooping in lips blazing.
Another “medicinal” kiss, I affirmed. Son-of-a-Bitch…
Tanner returned to his chair and picked up his untouched goblet. “I’ve never played Russian roulette with something like t
his before, but I’ll give it a go,” he grinned.
“Let’s NOT!” Abigail roared, clearly showing her red-hand.
“I’m hurt, Abby,” Tanner remarked with the goblet inches from his lips. He eventually set the tainted vessel down on the table after a few volatile seconds. “I never thought you would be a party to such treachery.”
Tears began welling in Abigail’s eyes. “I didn’t want to!” she shouted, “but Helaine vowed that if we didn’t help her get the golden topaz and the diamond that she would kill us each, one by one.”
“That’s what happened to Gwendalyne,” Raewyn revealed. “Helaine gathered us all, instructed us as to what she wanted us to do, and then sliced off Gwen’s head not a second later.”
Confusion crinkled Tanner’s brow. “I thought Helaine favored Gwendalyne the most?”
“She did,” Raewyn concurred. “That’s why she offed her first. So it would leave us with no doubts about her doing it to any of us.”
“Sounds like foolproof motivation to me,” Tanner agreed with a quizzical grin. “But I already knew Gwendalyne was dead.”
“How?” Raewyn demanded, looking as stunned as all the other sisters.
“Fate,” Tanner grinned. “Shiloh noticed her totem extinguishing several weeks ago. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Abigail shot me a glare. “Aren’t you a lucky girl.”
I reflected on that particular day vividly. Ugh… Why didn’t he just tell me the truth? Why lie and say that the Pink Topaz Talisman needed “recharging”? Between that and the gut-punch I was still reeling with over his prescriptive kiss, I was ready to end this revealing evening — before I needed a real drink.
“But here’s what I want to know . . . Exactly how did Helaine get her hands on a sapphire, allowing her to teleport out of here?” Tanner interrogated.
“Her ring,” Talsa admitted, hanging her head shamefully. “There was a blue sapphire hidden in one of her rings. Solomon gave it to her right before Adamas imprisoned him. She’s kept it all these years.” Talsa directed her gaze to Tanner. “She adored him.”
My mentor roused a curdling grimace. “That’s why she wants the diamond, isn’t it?” he posed. “To free Solomon.”
All the sisters nodded, confirming his suspicions. Prudence submitted, “This was never about the golden topaz. She made Simone poison the girl’s cup. We all knew you would have some protections in place, so Helaine had our sister surrender the amethyst you’d given her years ago, and then she fused it with the poison. Helaine was confident that blending it with your essence would muddle your wards enough that the threat couldn’t be detected. She told Simone she could keep the topaz as her reward, and then used the same charm on her that she did on Beatrix when she bound their deal. Simone would have to relinquish all rights to the diamond and bestow the power directly to her . . . or be stripped of her last breath.”
“My wards were never muddled nor compromised,” Tanner seethed. “I purposely lowered enough of them to humor your predictable plans.” He hurled his glare around the table like a boomerang. “I knew Helaine would try something cowardly.”
“What are you going to do with us?” Charleane groused.
“Seeing how you’re helplessly bound in the tin’s restraints, the thought of Shiloh whipping out her sword does come to mind. Hacking you into a million pieces does have a nice ring,” he bragged. “Now there’s something that might feel like Viagra.”
I floated my stunned glare towards Tanner. He didn’t have to feel out my emotions. Reluctance frosted my blue eyes enough that waving a white flag wasn’t needed.
The Amethyst Talisman turned back to Beatrix’s sisters. “But I don’t want her marring her soul over the likes of any of you,” he assured mercifully. “And Silas has enough of a mess to clean for one evening.”
“I quite agree, Sir,” Silas sighed. “Though the room does need refreshing. I wouldn’t mind seeing a nice crimson coating the walls for a change. If we positioned them around the room at the right angles, it would spare me a trip to the hardware store.”
The callousness behind the house steward’s joke rocketed straight through me. I couldn’t look at any of them right now. My hands gripped the edge of the table as I shot up out of my seat. Then I snatched up my hilt with a shaky squeeze.
“I’ll be downstairs. The two of you can have your fun at your own expense,” I declared and pushed my chair under the table. I couldn’t have cared less how weak I sounded. I had to get out of there before any bloody walls started closing in on me, though I didn’t make it too far down the hall. A nervous curiosity planted my frame within earshot. Surely they weren’t going to butcher them all.
It wasn’t long before I heard the tin belts releasing the women with a series of whip-like “cracks” and then the sounds of lungs heaving relief-fueled gasps pounded the air.
“You are all free to go,” Tanner stated. “And I suggest you ladies hurry before I change my mind.”
“She’ll kill us!” Talsa exclaimed.
“I have no doubt,” Tanner replied coolly.
“Give us access to the Veil weapons,” Charleane pleaded.
“Please?” a couple more begged.
It was obvious from Tanner’s stark silence that he hadn’t found their request the least bit swaying.
“They won’t lose an ounce of their power, and we’ll return them as soon as she’s dead,” Abigail vowed.
“Yes. We’ll stand a better chance against her,” Prudence implored. “You don’t know what she’s capable of!”
“No,” Tanner refused with a biting snap.
“Then you’re sending us out to die!” Raewyn bellowed.
“No, you ladies chose that course all on your own when you caved to Helaine. You could have resisted cowing to her demands and ended the problem yourselves, but you chose to follow another path. And now, when Shiloh does kill Helaine, she’ll have all nine of the topaz air stones. I’m simply exercising my choice in making things easier for her.”
Upon that alarming disclosure, I swiftly beat a path to the triptych. Those women were going to die—one way or another—and from the perspective of my guilt-ridden guidance system, I bore some of the blame. I was the Diamond Talisman. I had the stone Helaine needed to free her love, and I was still alive. Regardless of the comforting lecture that Tanner had issued me earlier, my heart refused to see it any other way.
My steps slowed the further I descended. I didn’t want to go to my room. I really didn’t know where I wanted to go down in this earthy stone hole. Everything around me just felt that cold and dismal. My body halted on its own when I arrived at the floor where the chamber of totems lay. I found myself drawn there inescapably. It was the most tranquil spot within these walls any other day. Maybe I hoped it could mystically cleanse a little of my grief? Simone had tried to back out at the last second. I was certain of it. Then she forced her essence directly into me instead of allowing it to be absorbed by the stone on her brooch. She wanted me to feel all of her regret, like some sort of mystical apology. Then again, all she had to do was shout out a “Helaine is making me poison you”, or something along those lines.
My somber stare fell to the floor. Something that could’ve possibly saved her neck, I pondered and then breathed out a sigh. And the rest of her. She was a small part of me now, a part that my guilt desperately wanted to ignore.
I entered the room feeling the same as any other time, awestruck by the chamber’s traveling radiance. Each and every one of its graceful floating beams could carry you away, completely. I found the perfect spot and stretched out on the stone floor. With all of my heart, I wished every aspect of my life could be just as peaceful and carefree. My eyes trailed one of the brilliant streams to its source. It happened to be shining out of the center of the larimar. The totem looked particularly beguiling this evening, almost as lively as Tanner’s actual stone when I’d stroked its face the other night. I eyed the larimar for a moment
and then moved on to several others throughout the chamber. Frankly, all their glows seemed more alive this evening. A thought crept over me that prompted a humorless smile. For me to be in a room where I could talk to hundreds of others like me, I honestly felt the most extraordinary sense of loneliness right now. Kind of painful, yet soothing. But I didn’t think for a second that its strange serenity would carry me away, not with my luck and karma watching. Neither wanted me that cozy for too long.
It wasn’t long before I sensed a blissful energy building behind me. There wasn’t a need to shift my gaze. I knew who was back there.
Tanner positioned himself within my view, eyeing me suspiciously. “What are you doing down there?” he asked.
“Just thinking,” I answered sluggishly.
He sat down beside me straightaway. “About what?”
“About how wicked people were ever chosen to be Talismans,” I said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“The answer’s probably hiding in the same spot as ‘why bad things happen to good people’ . . . So when I find it, I’ll let you know,” he assured.
“I’m serious,” I said. “I don’t understand why The Veil is so unfeeling.”
“It’s not. It’s indifferent,” Tanner asserted. “It simply exists, and at no time has The Veil or any Guardian ever granted the right of being a Talisman to someone who was evil at that given moment. How a soul turns out is their own doing, supernatural or not.”
It was really hard to believe that Helaine was ever good. Even picturing her playing dolls with Bea was more than a stretch. Braiding her hair? No. Fashioning a noose with her locks or chopping them off? Heck, yeah. And then what about Lazarus and Malachi? Or The Onyx? Lorelei? Damiec? Federo? And freaking Ferrol? Indifferent or whatever, The Veil needed to seriously raise its bar.
I sighed out a deep breath like any other person would when giving someone a courteous warning that something was brewing. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, my eyes only on the lights dancing along the walls. “They came here to kill me, and you didn’t say a word.”