by S. E. Akers
The silence that filled the room was stifling. How on earth am I going to explain this?
Samuel let out a sigh. “I told you, Shiloh. Your father and I didn’t have any secrets.”
I slowly turned my head around to face him. Samuel’s gentle eyes looking back at me was all that was needed to break down the wall of secrecy I’d been hiding behind. Relieved I could finally confide in someone close to me, I became overrun with a myriad of different emotions. Without thinking, I disregarded Samuel’s injuries and hugged him around his neck while tears of joy and heartache poured from my eyes.
If he was in any discomfort, he never showed it. My surrogate father just patted my back with the only limb he had that wasn’t broken and kept telling me, “Everything will be okay.”
I spent the next hour revealing everything that had happened over the past eight days. Samuel knew about the diamond’s existence through things Daddy had disclosed, but insisted he had never actually “seen” the wand in person. The only thing Daddy had shown him was the rough diamond stone he wore around his neck for protection. He also knew Beatrix Sutherland’s secret identity. Samuel had promised Daddy he would never let on to her, or anyone else that he knew she was a “supernatural”. My surrogate father’s suspicions about me were confirmed when I roughed up Chief Roberts and Officer Ryan at the house last Sunday morning. He wanted to say something to me then, but he hated to “interrupt the show”.
I asked Samuel if he thought Daddy was crazy when he first told him about Talismans and the Wand of Adamas. Samuel answered with a heartfelt but stern, “I never doubted him for a second.” When I asked him how he knew Daddy was telling him the truth, Samuel simply stated, “I saw it in his eyes. That’s what true friends do, and then they listen with their heart. What you choose to believe will come from your soul.”
It felt good to finally get this burden off my back. Thankfully, I was able to let someone from my old life into my new one, without the fear of them trying to have me committed. Most assuredly, Daddy would have done his damnedest to keep me safe from beyond the grave. He knew Samuel loved me like his own daughter and would protect me, just the same. I knew in my heart he had confided in Samuel for a reason. That was one of the things fueling my desire to surrender to my “destiny”. This was something that was important to him, too. Daddy had died for it, and for me. Even in his death, I couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing him.
“You don’t have to leave, Shiloh. You can stay with me. I’ll protect you and keep you safe,” Samuel insisted. I smiled and raised my brow as I scanned his wounded body from head to toe.
“Really?” I questioned humorously. He acknowledged my reservations with a laugh of his own.
“Oh, Samuel…That’s reminds me. Speaking of protection…I want to give you something that will keep you safe.”
Samuel’s eyes followed me around the room curiously as I walked over to the window to close the blinds and then proceeded to lock the door. I sat back down beside him, pulled off my jacket, and rolled up my sleeve. I grimaced as I dug my nails deep into my skin. Once the pain had subsided, I pulled the rough diamond from my arm and cupped it in my hands. With my eyes closed, I did what Tanner had instructed. Since Samuel was a human, I blessed the gemstone with the only ability allowed — protection — for his mind and soul. As soon as the light radiating from the stone had faded into a soft glow, I knew the incantation was complete.
I laid the diamond on the tray table in front of him. He stared at the rough little stone in silence for a moment.
“You’re giving this…to me?” Samuel questioned curiously.
I nodded.
“It looks just like Caiden’s,” he added somberly while traces of tears in his eyes glistened like fresh morning dew.
“Please keep it with you at all times, Samuel.” I stared at his weakened, crippled body. “The Onyx has already possessed Mike and Coach Hayes to get to me. It’s just a matter of time before he hops into the body of someone I care about. I don’t ever want that to be you.”
Samuel looked up at me and grinned. “Will do,” he promised.
We were startled by several loud “bangs” on the door. I snatched the diamond off the tray and tucked it in the drawer of his bedside table.
“It’ll be safe in there, for now. Don’t ever let anyone see it or know you have it,” I warned him.
Samuel nodded. With that taken care of, I threw on my jacket to cover my bloody arm and ran over to open the door. There in the hallway stood one seriously ticked-off lab technician.
“We don’t lock doors around here!” he barked, like I was three. The grouchy lab tech stormed into the room and practically slammed his carrier of collection tubes and vials down on a nearby table.
Well, excuse me, I thought with a cock of my head.
“You’ll have to step outside while I collect Mr. Clark’s blood for his lab work,” the man snapped.
“That’s okay,” I replied sweetly as I looked at the clock on the wall. “I have to be going anyway.” I returned to Samuel’s bedside and gave him a peck on his cheek. “Bye, Samuel. I hope to see you…soon?” I announced uncertainly.
“You will. You can’t get rid of me that easy,” my surrogate father insisted playfully.
“Take care,” I called back as I stepped into the hall and closed the door behind me. The look on his face was comforting. It was like any other time we’d parted — no more and no less emotion.
I hope he’s right, I thought quietly as I headed for the elevator. A week ago, you couldn’t have kept me in Welch, not even if someone had glued my feet to the floor or tied me to a chair. Now, it was all I could do to keep from going. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that leaving this small hick-town, nestled in the mountains of southern West Virginia would be tearing at my heart in such a way. My one and only desire was to stay.
I pressed the “down” button on the elevator as I emerged from my thoughts. After about a minute of waiting, I glanced back up at the lights above the shiny stainless-steel door. The elevator hadn’t moved. It remained parked on the first floor. Impatiently, I resorted to the old “two-punch tap” and waited a few more seconds. It still didn’t budge. It’s only three floors, I thought, so I turned to head for the stairs.
As soon as I spun around, I found myself face-to-face with Officer Pete Ryan, one of Welch’s finest that I’d roughed up the other day. The corners of his mouth turned down into a nasty scowl.
“Just the person I’ve been lookin’ for,” Officer Ryan announced arrogantly.
By the look on his face and the tone of his voice, I knew this wasn’t a “happy coincidence”.
“Why’s that?” I asked curiously. Samuel had said that Chief Roberts wasn’t going to press any charges for the other day. Surely he hasn’t changed his mind? Crap! Maybe he found my purse at the football field?
Officer Ryan swiftly removed his handcuffs from his belt. I stood there and watched, totally stunned by his brash move. The next thing I knew, the officer had grabbed my wrist and hurled me around, slamming my face into the wall beside the elevator. The blow didn’t hurt, but he had shoved my face into a large metal cross hanging on the wall and it was pressing into my cheek. I was willingly pinned, simply because there were too many people around for me to “resist” like I wanted.
Officer Ryan leaned over and grunted into my ear, “You’re under arrest for the assault on Mike Riverside.”
Well, part of my first assumption was correct. Right charge, wrong victim.
“Coach Hayes has already punished me. I’ve been suspended,” I replied defensively. He’s lost his freaking mind.
“You’re eighteen now…Right?” Officer Ryan questioned snidely.
I froze instantly and my eyes widened. Damn!
Immediately, he slapped his cold nickel cuffs around my wrists. When he pulled me back towards him, the large metal cross fell off the wall and hit the floor. A loud “clank” echoed throughout the hall.
&n
bsp; A hospital security guard came running up the hall towards us. It was Jack Patterson.
“What’s going on here, Pete?” Jack Patterson demanded.
Officer Ryan straightened his back. “This doesn’t concern you Jack,” he bellowed. “She’s wanted for assaulting Mike Riverside — a minor — at school the other day.”
A minor? I could feel my eyes rolling. That’s a bit of a stretch, to say the least. As soon as Officer Ryan had announced officially “who I was” and “what I’d done”, the entire staff of nurses and technicians who’d been watching erupted in cheers for my apprehension. Several of them clapped, and one little witch even came over to shake Officer Ryan’s hand.
Jack Patterson seemed a bit skeptical. The stocky security officer scratched his head. “Did the Riversides’ press charges against her?” he asked.
“No,” Officer Ryan snapped. “I’m an honorable officer, and I have to uphold the law. I can’t just let a violent crime like this go unnoticed. Especially when there was a room full of witnesses who will attest to what she did.”
Jack Patterson stood there shaking his head. “That’s WHY you’re arresting her? It wouldn’t have anything to do with the ‘honorable’ bet you placed on the last game, now would it? I heard you gave Terry Cobb an even grand the other day.”
I listened quietly while Mr. Patterson accused Officer Ryan of placing an illegal bet with Terry Cobb, a shady dirt-bag who was a notorious small-scale bookie and moonlighted as the town’s resident pimp.
Officer Ryan’s brow rose. “You don’t know jack…Jack! I’m taking her in!” Not even a second after Officer Ryan pressed the button, the elevator began to rise towards our floor.
Oh, NOW it comes! I lowered my head, disgusted by the recent turn of events. I wasn’t so much concerned about Officer Ryan, or even the fact that I was being hauled in to jail. The only thought gnawing at me was placing my “one phone call” with a magic purple rock.
Ughhh! He’s going to be SO pissed…
While we waited for the elevator, my gaze casually drifted down to the large metal cross lying on the shiny terrazzo tiles in front of me. Jack Patterson picked it up off the floor. He handled it in a rather unusual way — grabbing it by its small tip, rather than by its much longer end. Almost involuntarily, I tuned out all the sounds around me while a strange feeling overwhelmed my mind. My eyes were fixated on Jack Patterson as he presented the large metal cross to one of the women at the nurse’s station. The way he was holding it upside down, it looked like…a sword. Suddenly, a memory surfaced about what Mike had revealed when he’d driven me to the mine after the dance…About Lazarus chanting to some sort of cross that he kept in a chest. The “ding” from the arrival of the elevator mirrored the bell that was going off in my head. My eyes widened at the revelation that had surfaced.
The HILT! It did resemble a cross! Tanner was right. That had to be what Lazarus was chanting and talking to…It makes perfect sense. It did lead him here. It’s been here all along!
As soon as the stainless-steel door opened, Officer Pete Ryan shoved me into the elevator. I crashed into an empty stretcher sitting idly inside.
Jack Patterson rushed over and began to chastise Officer Ryan. “You don’t have to be so rough with her, Pete!”
He snarled back at Jack Patterson. “Trust me…She can handle it.”
I have to find that hilt, but first…I need to take care of a little “police business”, I noted quietly as I watched him enter the elevator.
“This will be an arrest I won’t forget,” Officer Ryan announced smugly as the elevator doors closed.
Not if I can help it…
“Alone” arrived a lot quicker than I’d anticipated. No one else was in the elevator, so Officer Pete Ryan whirled me around and pinned me down, just for kicks, digging my hips into the stretcher.
“I have to frisk all the violent criminals,” Officer Ryan guffawed.
As he patted me down, I could tell he was taking a lot of enjoyment in this standard procedure. In fact, his “enjoyment” was pressing against my rear.
Ugh! I’m gonna puke…Mental note — Change of plans.
Officer Ryan paused and tapped several times on the front pocket of my jeans. “What do we have here?” He reached in and pulled out my two little stones — the tumbled amethyst, which Tanner had given me, and Gallia’s rough serpentine. He held them up in the air. “Hmmm…Rocks could be considered dangerous weapons.”
You have no idea, I thought as I turned around, glaring.
Officer Ryan was standing there casually, tossing my stones up and down in the air like a reckless fool.
“I’m surprised,” he chucked, “I figured you just had ’em in your head. I didn’t expect to find ’em in your pants, too.”
“You’re an asshole,” I replied flatly.
The cocky officer grinned. “Sticks and stones.”
This time I laughed with him — sarcastically, of course. I waited until his eyes were looking up at the stones in mid-air, then I used my head to cold-cock the arrogant bastard. One quick blow to the front of his skull was all it took for him to drop to his knees. Though it was hard (mentally), I did manage to keep a lid on 99% of my strength. I even caught my stones behind my back before they landed on the floor. Quickly, I snapped the chain connecting the handcuffs. I bent down and felt his wrist for a pulse. I shook my head and giggled. What do you know? He does have a heart after all.
I glanced up at the digital numbers above the elevator door. We were almost at the first floor. Without a second to lose, I hoisted him up and threw him on the vacant stretcher. The broken cuffs were dangling like bracelets from my wrists. I’d succeeded in yanking one of them off, but I had to stop abruptly when I heard the sound of the elevator “dinging”, announcing the arrival to our destination. Not knowing whom, if anyone, would be standing outside when the doors opened, I quickly yanked the loose white sheet over Officer Ryan to conceal him from anyone’s sight and tucked my stones back inside my pocket.
From out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the doors were now open. I looked over to see Beverly Rhodes standing there, staring wide-eyed back at me. She stepped into the doorway of the elevator.
“Shiloh? What are you doing?” She spotted the shiny handcuff still locked tightly around my wrist. I’d tried to hide my hand behind my back, but I was too late. Beverly gazed at the stretcher suspiciously and then whipped back the crisp, white sheet.
“Pete Ryan?” Beverly questioned, confused. She glanced down at the dangling cuff on my hand. “Did YOU do this?” Before I could say anything she waved her hand in the air in a “shushing” motion. “Don’t tell me,” Beverly insisted and grabbed his wrist to check his pulse. Once she had discovered it, Beverly leaned over him and gave his forehead a hard “flick” with her fingers.
“Shiloh, honey…I’m going to show you what cocky ‘big pricks’ get,” she announced with a devious look in her eyes.
Beverly motioned me out of the elevator as she covered Officer Ryan back up with the sheet. While she guided the stretcher out into the hall, I whispered to her “why” he was arresting me. She was instantly outraged. Beverly hurried over to a nearby desk where she grabbed a chart and began jotting something down on it.
Beverly hugged me and instructed, “Run along now, Shiloh. I have to take our patient down the hall. You wouldn’t want him to be late for his procedure, now would you?”
“What procedure?” I asked curiously.
Beverly flipped the chart around. “His colonoscopy, of course…and don’t worry…After I pump him full of Rohypnol, he won’t remember a thing,” she replied with a wink and then shooed me away with her hands. “Bye, Shiloh.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched Beverly Rhodes bounce down the hall with a noticeable “pep-in-her-step”.
Thank you, Beverly, I thought as I ripped the other cuff off my wrist and tossed it in a nearby trashcan. I’d planned on compelling the good officer, but her plan had a nicer
ring.
I’ve always liked her, I thought as I bolted out the door and dashed into the woods, headed in the direction of the Riverside estate. My next stop — the guesthouse…
Chapter 24 — A Girl’s Best Friend
Colorful, fresh fallen leaves swirled around me as I barreled across the mountainside. I couldn’t help but notice what a particularly beautiful fall day it had turned out to be. It made me wonder where Bea would be taking me. Would there be an autumn? We could be going to some deserted island for all I knew, or worse — another cave. Tonight’s fall sunset may be my last. I’d better drink it in before we leave this evening, I noted when I spotted the Riverside estate up ahead and reduced my speed down to a light jog.
I approached the palatial estate with the same sense of awe I always did. An intimidating, wrought iron fence wrapped around all eighty-four acres of the wooded and secluded grounds. Towering brick columns connected the sections of iron and gave the stately property the appearance of an impregnable fortress.
I know what part I’ll be scaling, I thought confidently.
As soon as I spotted the automated entry gate, I veered to the right and followed along the perimeter of the landscape, staying well hidden amongst the bushes. I could see the main house off to my left. It was just as grand as I remembered from the countless company parties and events my family had attended over the years. Though there weren’t any festive decorations hanging or white lights twinkling, the house was still impressive nonetheless. The massive Neoclassical home had been custom built by Harper Riverside about ten years ago. A timeless, deep crimson brick covered its façade while a decorative copper roof sat atop the magnificent mansion like a shiny crown. The entrance welcomed its visitors with a pretentiously embellished portico supported by eight colossal, fluted columns that I swear were bigger than most of their trees. Ornate pediments topped rows and rows of meticulously framed windows — and I would bet my right hand that the elaborate black shutters flanking them had never swung the first daggone inch. As always, the grounds of the estate looked just as immaculate as the home. Its landscaping was constantly being updated by their gardeners. Today, I could see a variety of colorful mums placed in every fancy planter and sprinkled in all the surrounding beds. It was truly breathtaking. I could stand here all day and fantasize about what it would be like to live in a house like that, but there were other sights to be seen. Particularly, another grand but smaller building located on the property — the guesthouse.