Oculus

by S. E. Akers

  I nuzzled my head on Tanner’s shoulder. The deafening silence that rocked the air let me know Silas was standing behind me, at the ready. Now it was only a matter of time.

  “Use some of your power. Bliss me or something,” I begged in a whisper. “Anything to take my mind off this.”

  Tanner ironed the side of his face against mine with a tender glide. “It’s a lot harder to pass along bliss than what you think,” he muttered. “Especially when all I can feel is your pain.” The ache in his voice sent my chest into a sharp heave. “Staying in control isn’t always possible, even for me.” Tanner’s lips grazed my earlobe as he pulled me closer. “I lied last night,” he whispered into my ear. “I didn’t take a drink because the only thing left on my lips was you.”

  My breaths came to a swift halt, just as the tip of the diamond wand sliced into my back. A banshee couldn’t have wailed louder or for as long as what I had. Tears gushed out of my sockets, raging like a waterfall after a week’s worth of steady rain. The muscles in my arms tightened around Tanner’s frame, mostly to keep my back as still as possible (and curb my need to bite down on something). It worked, too well. The sound of his bones cracking like fiery embers echoed in my ears. Tanner stifled his grumbles, trying his best not to alarm me. Both our hearts were beating wildly against each other’s chest. I finally had to focus on the thumping rhythm to distract me from the vicious stabs of pain that surged every time that damn diamond moved. I pressed out another steady squeeze and bitched silently about why the over-particular house steward who always thought of everything hadn’t brought up the first shred of layria bark to knock me out.

  I felt Silas’ fingers trawling under my skin. The house steward may be “handy”, but right now his nimbleness bore the grace of a bulldozer. I couldn’t take much more. The pain felt so excruciating I feared I might never wake up again if I allowed myself to pass out.

  “Done!” Silas finally announced.

  Tanner and I collapsed onto the couch reeling from our injuries — his broken and mine bloody. With neither of us able to move our arms, we lay entwined in our positions until the jarring numbness had worn off.

  The Amethyst Talisman eventually lifted his head. “Silas, draw Shiloh a salt-bath,” he urged and started to lift me along with him.

  Silas nodded. “Right away, Professor. I’ll see her downstairs.”

  Tanner secured me in his arms with a grimace and headed for the door of the study. “I’ll carry her.”

  Silas hurried ahead of us because our descent was so markedly slow and unsteady. Once false move would surely send us rolling the entire way down, but I didn’t care, not as long as I was still able to feel his heart pounding out its fervent beats. Our intimate proximity clued me in on just how many of his bones my death-grip had broken — a snapped clavicle and seven cracked ribs from me pressing against his chest so hard. Now I really was surprised that we weren’t tumbling down the stairs. Strapping supernatural muscles or not, he had to be in far more pain than he was letting on.

  I noticed my bed had been pieced back together when Tanner laid me down. Considering what a major role Silas had played in saving my life only minutes ago, I let the invasion slide right off my back and started drafting mental coupons for more blind-eyes and deaf-ears to come — several more.

  I grabbed Tanner’s hand. “I’m so sorry. You need my moonstone,” I insisted with a wince. After what I’d put him through, my guilt needed him healed ASAP.

  “In a minute,” he replied, his smile hinting some amusement through his anguish.

  Silas stepped out of the bathroom. “The tub is filling, Professor Grey. I think I’ll fetch a more potent salt from downstairs to add.” His lips puckered with a thoughtful twitch. “Maybe some of the Pink Himalayan and a dash of Dead Sea? That blend might speed things up a smidge.”

  “Yes. Thank you, Silas,” Tanner nodded.

  The house steward approached the bed and held up his hand. With a purposeful pinch, he pressed the stone between his thumb and index finger. There it was, both the bliss and the bane of my existence. A tiny reminder that what fueled all of my strengths could just as easily take them away. The diamond may have only been a fraction of a dime, but rest assured it felt like a baby porcupine clawing its way out. That realization stung the most.

  “Tiny little troublemaker,” Silas remarked and tossed it down on the bed.

  I didn’t want to look at it, not with its slap so fresh. I turned my gaze to Tanner. “Get the moonstone,” I insisted.

  Tanner shook his head. “Tell me what happened first.”

  I breathed a compliant sigh. The sooner I confessed my latest blunder, the quicker he would tend to his injuries. “I’d just healed a lady from her stuttering,” I began.

  He shot me a stunned look. “Really?”

  “Yes,” I huffed. “What are the odds?”

  A scowl cracked across his face. “Did she do this?”

  “No. After I’d healed her, I found a bench and sat down to wait for you.” I placed my hand over his, hoping to diminish the flame of regret I spied burning in his eyes. “A gardener gave me a rose . . . and I smelled it.” I paused to take a breath. I’d already figured out what had happened and why I’d had those hallucinations: the anthers of the rose had been laced with onyx powder — that was the rancid scent. The flower’s fragrance had altered it enough that I didn’t question the aroma until it was too late. I should have known better, but I was too stuck in my gleeful mood to think about any potential threats or possibly even care on some level. I would always have to be mindful about what I put inside my body, scents included. But who would’ve ever thought that could happen? There, of all places? Today?

  What a difference one sniff and thirty freaking minutes makes…

  “Onyx powder,” I grumbled as I thought about the poor teen longing to bring her father home. “And he’d tailored my vision perfectly. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”

  Tanner raked his hands through his hair. “This wouldn’t have happened if I’d been there.”

  “We both knew it was only a matter of time,” I argued. “Dunamis is obviously out of that cave.” I let out a harsh huff. “The goon that attacked me said ‘he was always watching me’.” Repeating it rocked my entire body with a wicked cringe. I hadn’t seen Katie in over a month. Surely this revelation was going to squash any chances of visiting her. I hadn’t broached the idea of a BFF holiday just yet, and now I knew better.

  Tanner stroked my hand. “Then my eyes will stay truer,” he vowed and shored up his promise with a stirring squeeze. And there went my hopes of a vacay. However the sultry and strapping Talisman providing some staunch security-detail was definitely a silver lining.

  I smiled, my eyes sparkling. “Okay.”

  “Silas’ as well,” he added.

  I had to pretend my mouth was floating in a pool of water so it wouldn’t sink into the sheets. “Even better,” I remarked, fending off the shadows falling over my sunny window like the draw of a dark shade.

  Silas marched back into the room with two buckets of healing crystals in tow and headed straight into the bathroom. You could hear the “plop” they made smacking the water, right along with a boisterous “BOOM” that shook the entire room.

  My skeptical stare broke from the crystal wall sconces “clinking” their delicate notes and then rolled towards Tanner. A sly grin puckered his lips. “That’s the Himalayan salt,” he assured. “It packs more of a punch.”

  “Gotcha,” I laughed, which unfortunately added more gape to my wound.

  Tanner collected the diamond from off the bed, scrutinizing it suspiciously. “Hold out your hand,” he asked.

  Something about his request struck me as odd. “Why?”

  “Because I asked you to hold out your hand.” His stone-cold demeanor was as serious as his tone.

  He dropped the diamond into the palm of my hand no sooner than I’d raised it. The colorless stone cast a quick spark within its core and
then waned into a flicker that glowed on and off like the beat of a pulse.

  “That’s what I thought,” he mumbled.

  I felt Silas’ presence beside my bed, simply standing there while he watched Tanner roll the glowing diamond around in my hand.

  “You called again, Professor?” he finally posed.

  Tanner collected the diamond and rose to his feet. “Help Shiloh into the bathroom, would you?” He smiled back at me, but it was particularly forced (I would know).

  A fishy-looking arch bent Silas’ critical brow. “But of course,” the house steward replied. “Come along, Ms. Wallace.”

  Tanner’s strides were long and noticeably brisk. “I’ll be back down to check on you later,” he called back. After a few more swift steps, I was staring at nothing but an airy doorway.

  What the hell? My stare shifted to Silas. He had obviously ordered his butt in here telepathically so he could make his speedy getaway. But why?

  “Don’t lay there looking so clueless, Ms. Wallace. It’s not very becoming,” Silas scolded and then with a jolting heave he hoisted me out of the bed. “He knows it was one of your diamonds.”

  WHAT? I straightened my stance before any anxiety could clamp down. “All diamonds glow when I touch them,” I contended, announcing that fact like I was prepping for a debate against a brainiac know-it-all.

  “Yes,” Silas agreed. “But that particular stone was playing your tune, literally . . . to the sound of your heartbeat. Only one of your uncharged diamonds has the ability to do that, especially if it’s been lying dormant for some time.”

  I dropped rear first back onto the bed, not caring about the pain shooting through my wound. My receptors were too busy fielding the bite of that hellacious sting.

  “My, my . . . It seems I’ve won the bonus-round,” Silas said dryly. “Hooray for me.”

  He started to help me back up when I halted his hand. “No,” I objected. “I can make it in there myself.”

  Silas backed up and studied my expression for a moment. Then he strutted over to the vintage phone, swiped it off the stand, and brought it straight to me. “You should really start soaking those wounds as soon as possible,” he insisted.

  I stared at the phone resting in my lap, knowing he had just read my mind. “Silas,” I muttered, never looking up. “Did you know about the diamonds?”

  His pause didn’t last too long. “Yes,” he answered, confirming my suspicions.

  I lifted my stare, fighting off my wince. “But you didn’t tell Tanner . . . Why?”

  “There are just some things that no one wants to be the bearer of,” he replied. Silas started to leave when he paused and directed a glance to the canopy over my bed. “By the way, my compliments on your dreamcatcher. Nicely crafted.” I followed his steps across the room, simmering from his latest exposé. “Though you might want to round up some more black tourmalines before your next dalliance with The Darklands . . . if you plan on keeping the Boogie Man away,” he added and then pulled the creaky door to a slow and disturbing close.

  I stared at the bronze slab in a nauseous daze. Despite hearing an official confirmation that the black tourmalines were responsible for keeping me safe, my fears stemmed from the impending confession I had to cough up to Tanner more than anything The Darklands could ever throw my way. I’d prayed this moment would never come, and it felt worse than I’d imagined. Wrapping myself up in a tin bow or even kowtowing at his feet wouldn’t make a difference; I may get his forgiveness, but his confidence in my judgment was shot.

  I whirled my fingers around the dial as fast as its draggy return allowed. As soon as I heard the phone pick up, I blurted, “Samuel, I need you to do something for me!”

  “Shiloh, honey, what’s wrong?” he fired back, having sensed the pounce in my tone.

  I had to tell him. I’d already hinted to him that selling all those diamonds wasn’t the safest of things—after the fact—but I’d skirted around the specifics. Hell, I didn’t even know the true ramifications at the time, not even after Helio added his two cents. Though honestly, it wouldn’t have stopped me. I couldn’t let Daddy’s house go up on someone’s auction block. That was one gavel my heart couldn’t afford to let fall.

  “Are you gonna tell me what the hell is goin’ on, or do I need to make a trip up there myself?” Samuel warned.

  “The diamonds you sold for me,” I muttered.

  I could hear the regret in his sigh. “What about them?”

  “Do you know if you were followed?” I asked. “Did you get any weird feelings or run into anyone strange?”

  “You told me to be careful, and I was. I kept an eye out, wore my diamond, and brought one of my handguns . . . What happened?”

  “One came back around,” I admitted.

  “What do you mean?” Samuel questioned hesitantly.

  “A guy stabbed me with it,” I said, already guessing what word he would cuss out first.

  “Damnit, Shiloh!” he fussed. “Honey, are you hurt?”

  “Yeah, but I’m alive . . . thanks to Tanner and Silas,” I said. “They had to cut it out of me.”

  “What can I do, honey?” Samuel asked, sounding eager enough to move a mountain. “Anything . . . just name it.”

  “I just need you to contact the guy who sold them and see if he can’t tell you who bought them. I need to know how many the Onyx rounded up.”

  “Shiloh, if someone did follow me . . . honey, you know he probably has all of them.”

  “Most likely,” I confessed, “but I have to know for certain, okay?”

  “Okay,” Samuel agreed.

  “It’s not your fault,” I added, having sensed the ache in his tone.

  “I’m thinkin’ it kinda is,” he grumped. “Shi, I made sure I was careful.”

  “The guy who stabbed me said he was always watching me. Don’t forget, he swiped Katie’s body too. Samuel this is my fault, all of it. I’m the one who hacked out the stones in the first place.”

  “You did what you had to,” he said, trying to comfort me, “ . . . for Caiden’s memory.”

  “I don’t think Tanner is going to see it that way,” I said. “I never told him what I did.”

  “Oh . . . I see,” Samuel hummed. “Those silent lies will come back to bite ya in the butt every time.”

  “Yep,” I agreed.

  “Do you need me to come up there?” he asked.

  “No,” I said. “Believe it or not, there are some things even a stand-in father can’t gloss over.” The sting of the diamond’s trail was starting to become unbearable. “I need to get in the tub and soak for a bit, Samuel. I have to flush out my wound.”

  “All right, honey. You go and take care of yourself, and I’ll see if I can’t find out who bought them, okay?”

  “Okay,” I replied, acknowledging my long shot with a somber sigh. “Bye, Samuel.”

  “Bye, Shi . . . Good luck,” Samuel added.

  I couldn’t even utter a “thank you” before I hung up. The odds that I would get a blessing of any good luck in any of this was highly unlikely, like a million to one…or more. My jinxed butt would stumble into a vault stacked with bills to the ceiling before Tanner would leave my ears unscathed over this. And that wasn’t the worst part. This was a serious omission, on top of my bone-headed lack of judgment. I couldn’t stand the thought of what conclusions he was drawing about my character, regardless of my reasons. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. I’d shattered his trust like a brick through a plate glass window. I figured his faith in my abilities would be the first to wane. My mistake. And I still had two more big silent lies hanging out there, which made me feel even worse. I rose from the bed and shuffled a painful path to the bathroom. And I deserved every nasty shockwave my steps provided — and then some.

  I stayed in the tub for over an hour, partly because of my wound. Telling the truth may be cathartic, but that’s only after it falls off your tongue. The time leading up to it was gut-wrenching hell. I opened t
he door to find Tanner sitting on the chaise lounge patiently waiting. He smiled and held up some gauze. Neither of the soothing gestures loosened the first knot in my stomach.

  He patted the spot beside him. “I need to dress that wound,” he insisted. “It’s going to take several days to close up.” I headed towards him with a noticeable cringe, fighting off the nag of my steps, but mostly I feared his reaction to what I was about to reveal.

  I stopped shy of taking a seat. “What about your broken bones?”

  “All mended,” he replied and patted the spot again.

  “I want to—”

  “I’m well aware of how you’re feeling,” Tanner interrupted. “Just sit.”

  I remained standing with a fierce need to face him booming from within. “I know you are, but I think you need some words to go with them.”

  “All right,” Tanner conceded with a soft and courteous air.

  The graciousness his tone exuded made me feel even worse. I soon breathed out a sigh, painfully, and started at the beginning. “Charlotte had so many bills,” I said, more somber than nervous. “I found out that she’d missed several mortgage payments right after we got back from Veracruz. The bank was going to foreclose on our house. I couldn’t let that happen . . . not the house Daddy built. I couldn’t stand the thought of it being ripped from me too.” The silence in the air was deafening. “So I sold some diamonds . . . and I’m well aware of your feelings on the subject.”

  “Define some,” Tanner directed cautiously.

  Now I wished I had something to bear down on. “Around thirty,” I stated, trying not to wince.

  By the stunned look on his face, you would have thought I’d just punched him in the gut the same number of times. “That many?” he grimaced.

  I nodded and then watched his head fall straight towards his chest in a shake. I seriously thought he was going to need a trashcan at any second.

  I couldn’t stand seeing him like this, so silent and cut to the quick. “Say something,” I pleaded.