by S. E. Akers
“Did you get a hold of her?” Beatrix asked uneasily.
“I couldn’t,” I confessed as I held up Gallia’s lightning-charged diamond gemstone.
“Oh my,” Beatrix replied. She picked up right where she left off with the pacing, but this time she packed a heck of a lot more anxiety in her twitchy stride. “Something must be wrong.”
“What do you think it is?” I queried, sensing her trepidation.
“I have no idea, but I do know one thing… We’re stuck down here until sunrise.”
“WHAT?” I gasped. “Why?”
“That green light you saw is a camouflage spell,” Beatrix revealed. “She’s made a point to conceal the shaft’s entry. I’m guessing there’s someone up there she doesn’t want to see or enter it.” Beatrix walked around the cave and pressed on its walls in several different spots. Each time, they all flickered a subtle green glow. “She’s also enchanted the cave with a containment charm. Nothing may enter or leave until dawn.”
“But, wh—”
“For our safety, I have to assume,” Beatrix replied as she scanned the ground in search of a comfortable spot. Like watching a bulb illuminate, Beatrix’s eyes twinkled as soon as they fell upon Katie’s coffin.
“Dibs!” Beatrix exclaimed triumphantly, like she’d scored the last doughnut out of a box.
“Wh—What are you doing?” I blurted.
“Turning in, my dear. There’s really nothing else we can do,” Beatrix announced as she hopped into the vacant casket.
“Not in there!” I protested with a cringe.
“Katie’s not using it,” Beatrix pointed out as she wiggled around, making herself comfortable. “And her parents paid good money for this little baby.” She gave the casket a couple of trusty knocks. “Very nice. Top of the line, indeed. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. Someone needs to get some use out of it.”
A shiver ran down my spine. “Ewhu!” I gagged.
“Be an angel an close the lid for me.”
“But, Bea…what about—”
“Ugh!” Beatrix grunted as she raised her arm to close the lid herself, ready to end this round of Twenty Questions, but I blocked it with my arm.
“Bea, Gallia does claim an earth stone. You don’t think she’s helping the On—”
“Absolutely not!” Beatrix protested as she rose from the coffin. “I’d stake my own life on it. You need to reign in any doubts you may have about Gallia, Shiloh. She would never, ever betray any member of The Guild…especially you,” she vowed wholeheartedly. “What does your gut tell you? Not your mind or even your heart, but your gut?”
“No,” I answered quickly and with a confident pitch, not thinking twice but just repeating what burned from within. “I’m sorry to even think for a second that she would,” I apologized, picking up on Bea’s disappointment.
“That’s quite all right, dear. You haven’t known Gallia for very long. It’s only natural to assume something like that. You’ll learn soon enough whom you can and cannot trust. Just always stay true to one thing. Trust your gut, above all else. Your mind can deceive you by twisting your thoughts, and your emotions will force your heart to lead you astray. But your gut will always set things aright.”
“Understood,” I replied with a nod and then lowered the coffin’s lid, conceding to put both Beatrix and the matter to bed. Only a soft glow of golden light from my ring illuminated the dark, earthen room. The only thing left on my shortened to-do list was to tell the guest-of-honor that her homecoming had been put on a temporary hiatus. I pulled the pendant out of my pocket and simply watched the diamond’s facets sparkle as it dangled in front of me, catching a few stray beams of light. One long, deep breath later, I fastened it around my neck, plopped myself down on the ground, and began to form my heart-wrenching thoughts into well-conceived words.
“K—Katie?”
“IT’S ABOUT TIME! You shoved me in your pocket! Didn’t you?” Katie yelled.
“Yes,” I admitted. “I’m sorry about that. I had to—”
“Had to what? WHAT is going on, Shi? I’m in the dark, physically and mentally… And you just treated me like a damn TV that you had to turn off! I’m a HUGE part of this supernatural mess! You can’t just tuck me away when need be! I don’t care about Bea or Gallia, or all the hush-hush secrecy about Talismans. I NEED to be a part of this!” Katie ranted.
“I know you do…and I promise, no matter what, I’ll always keep you in the loop,” I pledged. “Okay?” Even though Katie remained silent, I could feel her emotions settling. After a minute of reflection, my bosom friend acknowledged my vow.
“Good,” Katie sighed. “Now… Tell me exactly what is going on?” she demanded.
“We’re trapped underground, we can’t get out until morning, and we can’t find your body,” I revealed in one breath, before my thoughts drove her surroundings into another major emotional blackout.
“Come again? Did you say…you can’t FIND my body?” she asked, her words flowing as slow as molasses.
“Yes, but we know where it is,” I insisted on a forced, upbeat note. “Well, more like we know who has it,” I rephrased humbly. The silence coming from Katie was deafening. I wanted desperately to scream out to her to “say something, anything”, but the words never came. The only thing Katie eventually mustered was a stream of faint whimpers followed by the sound of sniffle-retracted tears.
“Who?” Katie cried, sounding just as defeated as I felt. “Please tell me WHO has it?”
“The Onyx,” I replied dismally. Katie’s whimpers shifted into wails without skipping a beat.
“What does HE need with MY BODY?!?” Katie screamed.
“What do you think?” I posed, reeling with guilt.
“But, how did he know? Who told him?” Katie cried.
“No one, Katie. Tanner said he would be watching me. I guess I should have been more careful. I’m sorry.” A tear cascaded down my cheek. “This is all my fault.”
“NO! It’s Gallia’s! She had to have told him. You said she claims an earth stone, just like the Onyx. I bet they were in cahoots this whole time. Where is that little bitch!?!” Katie roared.
“Katie, No! I thought so at first too, but…Gallia wouldn’t. She’s still up top. She’s the one who trapped us all down here with a containment spell. That’s why we can’t get out. The enchantment won’t release us until dawn. Bea said she must have done it to protect us from something.”
“From what? The Onyx?” Katie asked, anxiously.
“Possibly, but we don’t know. She won’t answer any of Bea’s messages, and I have her diamond, so she can’t respond to me either. I’m afraid we’re as in-the-dark as you…so to speak,” I corrected somberly.
“So what happens now?” Katie asked.
“You’ll have to stay in the diamond a little while longer, but just until the next full moon,” I added quickly.
“Because?” Katie submitted. Without delay, I picked up on her classic tongue-in-cheek tone.
“Because we have to find your body,” I proclaimed. “And we will. I promise, Katie, by the time the next full moon rolls around, you’ll be back in your body, ready to hit the mall for their late-winter sales,” I insisted confidently.
“Okay. At least we’re all on the same page…this time,” Katie replied. “Shi, you have to tell me everything.”
“I will,” I assured my bosom friend.
“And above all… NO LIES. No matter what,” Katie pleaded.
“No lies. No matter what,” I promised.
“Shi, will you do one more thing?”
“Anything,” I offered eagerly.
“Take me off and let me have some time to myself. Please? I really need to be alone right now and I know you.”
“Sure, Katie,” I murmured. Sensing her disappointment, I did as she asked and unhooked the clasp.
“It’s not your fault, Shi,” Katie urged.
“Thanks, Katie-Kate.”
“Don
’t be too hard on yourself,” Katie added. Those were the last words I heard from my bosom friend before I tucked her inside the pocket of my jeans. Katie knew me like the back of her hand. With my jacket now crumpled and wedged under my head, I was bound for a long, sleepless night that included self-loathing, playing a few rounds of the blame game, and topped off with one restless guilt-trip from Hell.
I knew my night had exceeded grueling when minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days — especially every time I glanced over at Katie’s coffin and thought of Beatrix curled up in a ball, sound asleep and purring like a kitten. Ugh! I thought the night I’d spent in the cave under Shiloh Ridge was rough, but there was no comparison. The notion of tunneling through the walls to grab one of those diamond-dusted spikes and using it to poke out my eyes sounded awfully tempting. At least it would put me out of my misery. My body ached with exhaustion, but I couldn’t sleep. Frustration consumed me. How could I have underestimated a supernatural rogue who was dead set on seeking my diamond wand and apparently, revenge? I had no idea where Gallia was, what she could be doing, or why she would lock us away like this, but mostly, I was grieving for Katie. I’d not only given her the worst news since I accidently sat on her gerbil and killed it when we were eight, but I’d neglected her feelings and treated her like a child, shunned and ordered to stick their nose in the corner until I was ready to address them. She may have forgiven me, but she was really hurt. I could tell. Maybe subconsciously, my sleep deprivation was a way of punishing myself? I spent the entire night thinking long and hard about my actions (and stifled inactions), concluding that whenever the chance to find Katie’s body arose again that I wouldn’t allow Bea to stop me. This would be the ONLY time!
As soon as I heard Beatrix bumping around inside her comfy quarters, I glanced at my watch through a set of tired, droopy eyes. 6:25 AM. Before she could even pop the coffin’s lid open to utter out a “rise ’n shine”, I sprang to my feet and hurried over to the hole. Impatiently, I used as much force in my leg muscles as I could to leap up to the cave’s ceiling. The maneuver proved successful as I grabbed onto the rocks sticking out from the shaft and began climbing towards the surface. Though a gust whipped up by Bea would have been a lot quicker, I managed to scale the vertical passage in twice the time.
I reached the top to be greeted by the intense rays of sunlight streaming from the dawn. Though my eyes were struggling to adjust to the blinding light, I caught a glimpse of something. Something I thought was a small figure draped in a lilac-colored dress.
“Gallia!” I yelled as I raced over to her, curious why she didn’t turn around. “Gallia,” I called again as I watched the skirt of her dress and her pigtails whipping in the wind. I reached her in an instant and grabbed her arm.
“Gallia, what happened?” I cried as I attempted to turn her around. Suddenly my eyes exploded, not knowing how to process the sight that stood before me. I positioned myself in front of her. The only color on the bright-eyed little girl was coming from her hair and clothes. Her face was more than ashy. It was cold and eerily rugged. Gallia wasn’t moving, nor was she able to. The Serpentine Talisman was as rigid and hard as stone.
I stared at her, completely baffled by her transformation, and called out to her several more times. She never responded. When I released her arm, thousands of tiny grains spilled from my hand effortlessly, like I’d just grabbed a tower crafted on a sandcastle. Unbeknownst to me, I’d caused a disfiguring chain reaction. Abruptly, her body began to disintegrate right before my eyes. Horrified, I watched every inch of her now gritty flesh as it crumbled away and fell to the ground like dominos. When the frightful spectacle had finished, there was nothing left but a mound of dirty clothing, topped off with a dusty mane of woven blonde hair.
Oh, Gallia…
Chapter 4 — Opportunity Knocks
The pounding in my chest accelerated as I lowered myself to the ground. My heart’s thumping beats drowned out everything around me. Helplessly locked in a surreal daze, I found myself hovering over a leftover pile of intimate things. I picked up the lilac-colored dress and clenched the dusty garment to my chest. My other hand sifted lethargically through her coarse remains, desperate to feel something. Every cell in my body was numb, too numb for even tears to fall. Though I hadn’t known the little Serpentine Talisman for very long, another person I cared about was gone. Not a second later, a sharp gust blew across the leftover blonde mane. Paralyzed with grief, I couldn’t turn to acknowledge the Talisman who reigned over the air. Beatrix would discover this tragedy soon enough.
“Where’s Gallia?” Beatrix asked as she approached, still unaware. I remained where I sat on the ground and listlessly lifted up Gallia’s dress. Beatrix reached me in time to witness the gritty grains spilling through my fingers. Without making a sound, her eyes followed several specks that had been seized by a random breeze. Beatrix fell to her knees, now fully aware. “She can’t be —”
“Dead,” I whispered hoarsely as the grating reality of the word’s meaning bore a hole in my heart.
The always-poised, Golden Topaz Talisman showed only a flash of visible sorrow. Though it left just as soon as it had come, I could feel the heat from her despair. After all, Gallia had been a close comrade of Bea’s for centuries. The news had to be killing her, mentally. That golden topaz of hers may help protect her body from a physical death, but it offered no safeguard to her humanity — none whatsoever.
Without saying a word, Beatrix respectfully rummaged through Gallia’s remains. She folded her dress carefully, collected her dainty little shoes, and then placed what now looked eerily like a cheap costume wig on top. She removed both ribbons from the end of her braids, giving one to me and tying the other around her finger. After a long exhale that could knock down a tree, Beatrix placed her arm around my shoulders and locked me in a sturdy embrace.
“I can’t believe she’s gone… Just like that,” I mumbled.
“This is the way of the world, my dear…especially for us,” Beatrix reminded. “I know you had grown quite fond of Gallia. You’ve had to deal with so much grief in such a short amount of time…more than most people experience in a lifetime. Take comfort in knowing that she loved you enough to protect you last night.”
“From who? The Onyx?” I asked gruffly. “Bea, there were three of us here last night. Three against one,” I asserted, still confused. “I don’t understand why she—”
“Gallia was a wise girl, Shiloh. She wouldn’t have come to her decision lightly,” Beatrix insisted. “For whatever reason, she felt our safety took precedence last night.”
“But why wouldn’t she want us to help her?” I questioned.
“Only time can reveal,” Beatrix replied, equally bewildered. “Now, all that’s left is a final send-off.”
“Yes,” I agreed with a sigh.
Beatrix straightened her back and raised her arms. “I call upon you, Gaia, guardian of the earth… Reclaim our beloved friend and take her into your arms. Allow her soul to be at peace,” Beatrix pleaded. With a wave of her hands, Beatrix lifted all of Gallia’s ashy remains from the ground. With somber gazes, we watched the fragments float randomly until they magically reorganized into a shadowy outline of a little girl. The muddled, human-like cloud of dust separated into four parts. When Beatrix pushed out her hands, the pieces went sailing off in various directions, en route to the four corners of the earth. Captivated, I scanned the countryside while they sped off into the horizon. When the last speck had flown out of sight, I turned back to Beatrix, who seemed to be inspecting something lying on the ground. An odd-looking, green vine had been lying under Gallia’s ashes. I’d never seen this type of vegetation before, not around these parts and certainly not this time of year. Its coloring was intense, bordering on fluorescent, like a plant that would bloom in early spring. Beatrix gave the plant a few cautious taps, almost like she was checking a pot on a stove.
“What is it?” I asked. She didn’t respond. Beatrix was locked in a
suspicious trance, which deepened the longer she stroked the edges of the plant’s vein-like branches. “Um, Bea?”
“Nothing, my dear,” Beatrix announced quickly and pitched the vine off to the side. “Just a wretched old weed. The wind probably carried it here from an arrangement off someone’s grave. Nothing more,” she assured with an adamant nod.
Her tone seemed a little too forceful, in my opinion. My radar was picking up on something. My head reasoned, “possibly,” but my gut roared, “straight-up lie”. Within an instant, Bea rose to her feet and dusted herself off.
“Shiloh, we need to go,” Beatrix stated as she scanned the cemetery. “We’ve suffered a great loss this morning, but our perspective must remain clear.” Beatrix checked her watch. She then swiftly scooped up some dirt with a funnel of air and covered the hole in front of Katie’s grave. “The groundskeeper will be here soon, so gather Gallia’s things. You can bring them by my house later. Be quick about it. You don’t want to be late for school.”
Sitting through a seven-hour stretch of classes was the last thing on my mind. My perfect-attendance record had already been shattered, so I didn’t see the need in going through the motions, especially on a tragic day like today.
“I don’t think I’m go—”
“Yes. You’re going, my dear,” Beatrix ordered. “Though you may want to consider hitting the showers at school,” she added as she pulled me to my feet and dusted some debris off my shoulder. “Do you have a change of clothes?”
“Yeah,” I groaned. “In my gym locker at school.”
“Ah, splendid. In the meantime, cover yourself up with this.” Beatrix handed me the biker jacket I’d left down in the cave.
“Great,” I mumbled as I shook any loose dirt off my clothes and slipped on old Mad Dawg.
“Just go to school and try not to dwell on recent events,” Beatrix urged.
