Oculus

by S. E. Akers

  I grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards the middle of the bed. “No one’s telling you to do that!” I pressed my lips into a pucker. “I would miss him . . . I think.”

  Tanner nestled back down into his original spot. “All right,” he sighed sternly. “But I’m letting him know just how close he was to getting shipped off to The Darklands and that you were the voice of reason.” Tanner tapped the tip of my nose with his finger. “As well as being the one who questioned his right to stay here in the first place.”

  “You can’t say anything to Silas,” I blurted. “He’s just starting to warm up to me.” I didn’t want to think about the retaliation he would hurl my way after hearing that tidbit.

  “That’s why your treachery will fall on his heart that much harder.” He ran his fingers through my tresses, slow and silken, while a suggestive gleam emerged in his eyes. “You’ll have to convince me to keep my mouth shut better than that.”

  My cheeks felt feverish. “What do you want?”

  His gaze lingered on my lips for a moment and then shot down to my wrist with the tug of a magnet. “Take off your ruby.”

  Yeah, that wasn’t happening. I shook my head. “Sorry,” I said. “I kind of like not feeling so emotionally naked.”

  His brow arched quizzically. “Well then, if threats won’t work, maybe I can persuade you another way?”

  I was already going to have to soak my lips in salt-water for a week after only a few hours; they might not see the light of day until Halloween with the amount of convincing it was going to take to get me to rip this little emotional condom off my wrist.

  I covered my lips with a section of the bed sheet. “Seductive attempts won’t work either,” I maintained. Though I think we both knew I was lying my ass off. “And don’t even think about sending any bliss my way.” I gave my cuff an endearing cuddle. “I’m immune.”

  “You may be,” he grinned, “ . . . but Silas is still in charge of the meals around here. And I’ve officially switched my last plate.”

  “He wouldn’t do that again,” I insisted, fingers mentally-crossed. “And besides, I think he’ll forgive me.”

  His brow bounced with disbelief. “You really think that? Even after all the taunts and pranks you had to endure from him this summer?” Tanner let out a laugh. “And that was him going easy on you. His claws are a lot sharper — Trust me.”

  “Maybe,” I pondered. “But I think we kind of bonded while you were gone, and he even told me about you ordering him to grant me anything I needed this summer. Who would admit something as golden as that to someone they didn’t like?”

  “Possibly,” he hummed. “But that order was meant to last longer than just the summer — whether you’re here or not,” he admitted. “Though truthfully, I never dreamed how much my generosity would come back and bite me in the ass.” His gaze sharpened astutely. “I’m thinking about rescinding it.”

  “You’re not still mad at him, are you?”

  “I’m furious,” he assured and then rolled me over and pinned me to the mattress. “But you should be more concerned about my sentiments towards you. You used my phantom crystal against me — again,” he sighed. “And that’s just for starters. There are plenty more complaints rounding out the long list I’ve compiled since yesterday . . . the worst of them being you stripping this bed of the sugilites I had him plant here so you could traipse off to The Darklands.”

  “Uh, you spanked me,” I asserted. “I think that makes things even.”

  “No. I struck you with a whip during a bout,” he corrected. “There’s a difference.”

  “Well anytime I’ve ever seen someone receiving lashes, they’ve been tied to a post and were getting them higher up on their back,” I contended, my stare fiery. “Maybe we should call an expert to get a ruling? I’m sure Kamya could settle this for us.”

  Tanner looked down at my cuff and ran his finger across the ruby. “I’m never speaking to that loudmouth snitch again.”

  I circled the stone with the tip of my finger. “I wish I knew what it does,” I admitted.

  “All rubies will engulf anything that threatens its wielder in flames,” Tanner assured. “But as to how or in what form, I have no idea. Though knowing Kamya, what comes out of there may make the Chicago Fire of 1871 look about as harmless as a Sunday evening marshmallow roast.”

  “She did say this one was special,” I confirmed, my fingers tracing the faint star-like white mark within its core. My peripherals caught Tanner glaring at the stone. Now there was something hotter than any backyard barbecue. “You really don’t like this thing, do you?”

  “No. I miss feeling your emotions,” he admitted.

  “It’s not fair that you can feel mine, and I can’t sense any of yours.”

  Tanner rolled onto his back. “It’s not impossible,” he interjected. “You could if I channeled them to you.”

  I sat up in bed as eager as a kid about to rip the paper off a jumbo-sized present. “Would you?”

  His head fell to the mattress with a teasing grimace. “I’m afraid not. Those are private.”

  Suddenly that other shoulder was starting to look awfully tempting. I could already see a shiny hilt sticking out of it, and the gleam from its handle looked a lot more platinum than silver this time around.

  “You’re kidding?” I posed, my eyes heavy.

  He shook his head looking sinfully unabashed and then shifted his stare to the ceiling. He tapped his finger against his chin for a moment. “Though if someone were to take off their ruby and leave it off for the next several days, I might not feel as vulnerable.”

  I wrapped my hand around my cuff, only to tease him with a stall. “How do I know it’s worth taking off?” I submitted, my eyes glaring shrewdly. “Describe what it feels like.”

  “Your emotions or mine?” he asked.

  “Yours,” I clarified.

  “I can’t say how they’ll come across to you, but I can tell you what they feel like to me.”

  “That’s acceptable,” I nodded.

  Tanner leaned against the headboard with a pensive stare. “I suppose in my mind it starts off as a typical day and all the mundane normalcy that surrounds it,” he began. “Then something exciting crops up from out of the blue and showers me with so many unforeseen blessings to the point that I can actually feel the weight of fortune’s hand on my shoulder. I feel so invincible, and my excitement keeps building with every second that passes. Then it’s not long before my chest feels like it’s going to explode from the swell. I even find myself questioning the idea of such perfection because I’ve never known it outside my imagination. Every sight and sound intoxicates my heart in a way I never dreamed possible, and the feeling is so invigorating I wish the hands of time would stop so I could be eternally trapped in the moment.” He scooted closer to me, his eyes glistening their lavender hue that blazoned his utmost sincerity. “And physically it feels like I’m taking my first few sips from a cool stream that has magically appeared after withering in the scorching heat for so long. It refreshes my insides . . . It soothes my heart . . . And it graces me with life just before my body turns to dust.” Tanner slid his hand around my neck and guided me close. “The limits of my powers render me incapable of rapturing my own heart, but believe me, the emotions I feel for you supply me with all the bliss I’ll ever need.”

  “Oh,” I breathed.

  “And then when I feel your emotions, they magnify what I’m feeling beyond my wildest dreams.” He stopped to let his lips envelope mine for a single heated kiss that felt so galvanizing I could have sworn I heard the crystal on the chandelier rattling. “I’m surprised I can even keep my faculties half the time because I find myself so stolen by the sensation.”

  Needless to say after one quick twist and a steady glide, that ruby cuff was off my wrist like a dirty shirt and lying on the bedside table. I’d survived without it this far. Not wearing it for a little while longer wouldn’t kill me. But I planned on taking
this to my grave before ever fessing up to Kamya about how easily I’d succumb to the Amethyst Talisman’s ploy. With or without the blessing of a shaman’s stone, I wasn’t that death-wish crazy.

  Tanner laid my hands on his chest and held them there firmly. My eyes fell to a close as the sweetest sensation swept through me, tingling all of my senses to the point where I felt myself being carried away. It truly felt like bliss, but in another form…kind of cool and warm at the same time and undeniably seducing. My own mind conjured images of breathtaking sunsets and fireworks exploding on the starriest of nights. I wouldn’t let a feeling like this slip away either if I could help it.

  Silas rapping on the door startled me right out of my bewitching trance. “Lunch is out here,” he bellowed. “In the hall . . . If either of you even care . . .”

  Tanner hopped off the bed to answer the door, his head shaking in sync with his strides. “Thank you, Silas,” he beamed and relieved him of the serving tray. “Your hard work and consideration in regards to us maintaining our stamina is most appreciated — as always.”

  Silas stared at him crossly and then straightened his vest with a firm tug. “I don’t need to be coddled with praises, I assure you.”

  “Never,” Tanner grinned.

  “Are you still going out this evening?” Silas asked, which shot my ears straight into a point.

  “Yes,” Tanner confirmed.

  “Then I shan’t leave the lights on,” Silas stated with a hasty pivot and a click of his heels before heading off.

  I studied Tanner suspiciously as he headed to the table to deposit our lunch. “Did you get a call from Malachi?” I asked as I hopped off the bed. “Is he having another party?”

  The tray landed on the table with a rattle. “No. Malachi is in South Africa for the rest of the week,” he replied, amused. “We’re going out.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “It was going to be a surprise,” Tanner revealed. “I’d planned on telling you after our talk.”

  “You planned something?” I questioned.

  “Yes. Last night.” Then with an artful grin, Tanner made his way towards the armoire sitting in the corner. He swung open its doors, one by one, never breaking his gaze with mine. I quickly spied what appeared to be a long white dress hanging inside. I practically floated over to it I was so gripped by his gesture. It was one of the loveliest evening gowns I’d ever seen, from its sleeveless, tightly-fitted beaded bodice all the way down to the billowy chiffon layers flowing from the seam that circled its hips. A ravishing mixture of feminine and sexy.

  “I had Silas sneak that in here this morning,” he admitted proudly. “What do you think?”

  “It’s beautiful,” I murmured.

  Tanner handed me the dress. “It will be.” His smile deepened the longer his eyes swept over my frame. Then he headed to the table and collected his lunch off the tray. “I’m taking this to my room. You need some time to rest up and get ready for this evening. I’ll be expecting you upstairs at six sharp.”

  I bit my lip as I watched him head for the door. I still couldn’t believe where my morning had taken me considering how pissed off I was in this very room only a few short hours ago.

  “Don’t keep me waiting,” Tanner warned and then slowly pulled the door to a close.

  I hung the dress back inside the armoire, my heart pounding and feeling so giddy I needed a slap. Though in all honesty, I could have actually used two. Then before I knew what was happening, my divine delirium had sent me twirling a path towards my bed where I fell back on the mattress and sank into the sheets, grinning from ear-to-ear. Without a doubt, this was the most incredible I’d ever felt in my entire life — even better than all of yesterday’s monster-banishments combined…with the exception of the balegore, of course.

  And, if by some slim chance this actually turned out to be a dream, I feared the beating I would inevitably serve to the fool who was crazy enough to yank my blissful-butt out of it.

  I wouldn’t say the next several hours flew by, by any means. I was too excited to eat, so I only nibbled on my lunch. And I certainly couldn’t lay still long enough to score ten winks, let alone forty, even in spite of how tired I was from being up all night worried about Silas. The traces of a few under-eye circles had me racing downstairs to snag a green tourmaline. Not only could a dusting from one of them ensure I looked my best, but it would serve as an excellent precautionary pick-me-up as well. I had no idea where we were going or how late we would be out, and I’d be damned before I let my need-for-sleep to come crashing down on me smack in the middle of it.

  My elation took a tiny hit when I arrived at the library to find only ten tourmalines left in the jar. Ten. It was a good quarter full of stones when I was in here at 2:00 AM this morning. My hands fell onto my hips confused. Where the heck were these things going?

  Needing an answer, I called out to Silas telepathically.

  “Yes?” the house steward replied instantly.

  “Did Tanner collect any tourmalines early this morning?”

  “No,” Silas replied.

  “Not even to heal your vessel?”

  “No,” the house steward replied. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because the jar in the library is practically empty,” I remarked.

  “And there is a perfectly good explanation for that,” he assured.

  That was music to my ears. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know . . .” Silas hummed, particularly shady. “I think it might be wise of me to hold on to that juicy nugget, just in case any more thoughts of why I’m not serving out my sentence in The Darklands were to cross your mind again.”

  Eavesdropping Son-of-a-Bitch… “I didn’t mean it!” I huffed. “I was merely pointing out why I didn’t have a choice in sending the balegore back.”

  He practically roared out a sniffle. “It sounded like you meant it to me.”

  “It wouldn’t have sounded any way at all if the NOSE of the house would stop sticking his in my conversations!” I fussed and terminated our connection immediately.

  I grabbed the only green one left and drifted out of the room, my thoughts spinning like a turbine. Someone had taken them. That was more than obvious from his “nugget” bomb. But who?

  Fortunately, I was forced to suspend my suspicions before too much longer, simply because the time had come for me to start getting ready. My first order of business was praying to the hair and make-up gods for luminous, bouncy tresses and the best paint-job my face had ever seen. A green tourmaline could do many things, but it couldn’t keep over-conditioned hair from hanging style-less and flat, nor could it ensure that my eyes didn’t look like two hairy spiders as a result of nervously-applied liner and too much clumpy mascara. In fact, I could see a high-demand for a quick & easy do-it-all spell to cut down the time and zap the pain of getting ready no matter what the occasion. But only for women. Guys already had it made in the shade with their time-honored Shower, Shave, & Go no-fuss ritual.

  I turned on the shower and stood there calculating every minute of the hour and a half I had ahead of me like a general crafting a plan of attack. Those lucky bastards…

  At the end of my stressful whirlwind of painting, styling, and dressing, I was staring at my reflection in the cheval mirror, and for the first time ever, I didn’t see even a hint of a little girl looking back at me. It could have been partly because of the grown-up way the Grecian dress hugged my silhouette or possibly knowing that my summer here was swiftly coming to an end. But despite all the logic behind those reasons, I suspected it had more to do with the man upstairs who was taking me out on our first date. And this wasn’t just our first date; this was my first date, my first real date — like ever. No wonder I’d been so blindly nervous and fixated on everything turning out perfect.

  My stare drifted over to the clock on my bedside table. After realizing I had five minutes to get upstairs, I went to tuck my hilt in the tiny clutch that was propped beside the new pair o
f heels I’d found inside the armoire. Of course it didn’t exactly fit. No matter which way I turned it, I still couldn’t get the clasp on the sparkly little clutch to close. I was hoping that proved the only snag in my evening. I could live with that, mainly because I didn’t want to have to strap on my holster. Wrapping it around denim was one thing, but the rub of its leather on a bare leg was downright irritating, even for one fused with the abrasive pushback of diamonds. So with that mental decree official, I quickly shoved my compact and lipstick inside (which only made the gap worse) and then started my jittery float up the stairs. I couldn’t imagine Tanner being nervous about tonight at all. That helped soothe a few of the butterflies midway up. Then again, I did have a legitimate worry between my long flowing gown, the height of my heels, and the craggy stones I still had left to ascend; one false move would send me rolling down the stairs and looking like a hot-mess of soiled chiffon. And though I breathed a sigh of relief once I’d made it to the top landing without incident, I ended up almost tripping through the doorway when I noticed the triptych wasn’t covering the entrance.

  Silas stepped into the foyer. “My, my . . . Don’t you look fetching this evening, Ms. Wallace,” he smiled.

  I set my clutch down on a nearby table. “Thank you,” I replied and gave the flowing layers a light fluff. “I feel rather fetching, too.” I nodded back to the doorway. “Where’s the triptych?”

  “In the shed out back,” he popped off casually and then started to walk off.

  I grabbed his arm with a nervous pinch. “Why isn’t it poofed back together?”

  “I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Silas stated. “A Djinn has limits to what we can and can’t correct. That piece held another Talisman’s magic . . . Sorry.”

  “So I really did destroy it?” I gasped, fearing I was merely a quick mental pen-stroke away from marking this one down as Bad-Thing Number-Two. Ugh… And it was a biggie.