by S. E. Akers
“Where did you find this Tat-ka?” Federo inquired, unimpressed. “I have never heard of him around these parts.”
“Catemaco, of course,” Kamya replied with a doubtless wave. “That’s why I’m a little late.”
“How did you get back with him so soon?” I asked. It had only been an hour. She could probably run the distance, there and back, but I wasn’t sure if a witch could. Maybe a nitrous-fueled broom?
Kamya flashed me a sly grin and winked one of her blazing crimson pupils. “We took the Red-Eye.”
One thing was certain, even the latest addition to my Talisman crew stayed true to one thing when it came to details…AMBIGUITY. I was starting to think they all got together to pinky-swear with their piggies dipped in blood when it came to answering any questions from me!
Kamya strutted through the lush atrium and stopped beside a wingback chair. “Come along, Tatka. We’re ready,” she informed the mystery man concealed behind the towering seat.
We watched as a tiny, half-cocked head poked around for a quick peek. The little brunette-haired boy stared at each of us curiously and then darted back behind the chair. In one swoop, the young Latin boy (who looked no older than five) sprang down out of his seat in a winded grunt and toddled towards us. I had to admit I was taken aback by his youthful appearance, but after meeting Gallia, I knew first impressions were often deceiving. Kamya and Tanner seemed fine, so that was good enough for me. Federo, however, strummed a completely different tune.
“Surely this is a JOKE,” Federo announced aloud with a boisterous laugh. Kamya and Tatka exchanged looks as they headed for the front door, tuning out the Talisman’s crack.
“He is no bigger than a button,” Federo grumbled to Tanner, loud enough for all of us to hear. And it didn’t stop there. He questioned and bashed the pint-sized brujo’s competence throughout our entire wait on the Jeep. Tatka merely held his head up high, taking the jabs in stride.
“Can he even tie his shoes?” Federo chuckled.
“I would watch what you say if I were you,” Kamya hummed. “He does not speak, but that doesn’t make him deaf.”
The valet pulled up with our vehicle, not a gut-cringing minute too soon. Tanner instructed him to give Federo the keys.
“Since you know the way,” Tanner insisted.
“But of course,” Federo replied with an obedient nod. He pointed to the bag on Kamya’s side as he headed around the front of the Jeep. “I hope you packed plenty of diapers in there.” Just as Federo started to turn, the engine roared and the vehicle charged forward — all on its own. The Jeep rammed the Amber Talisman with its front grill, smacking him down onto the pavement, and then rolled over top of him in two cringing “thump-thumps”. It idled a couple of feet away while Federo caught his breath.
“Cheap parlor trick!” Federo grouched, not conceding to any regret. Suddenly, the gear slipped into reverse. Sitting on the ground, Federo threw his arms out, but the back chrome bumper plowed right into his face. I didn’t know which was louder? The “bang” of the bumper or the “crack” of his head when it whacked the road?
Tanner issued a rigid, “Give it up, Federo. I think he’s earned his apology.”
“He doesn’t have to,” Kamya insisted with a devilish laugh. You couldn’t pry the smile off her face with a daggone crowbar.
Just as the back wheels began to spin out a taunting screech, Federo yelled, “ALL RIGHT! I am sure he is powerful enough. Forgive my narrow judgment.” With that, Tatka axed the rumbling engine and climbed up inside the Jeep. He plopped himself down in the middle of the backseat with an innocent smile stretched wide, swinging his little legs back and forth.
Federo huffed towards us. Kamya gave her arms a haughty fold and gloated, “Satisfied?”
“I could not sense his power. Not a trace!” Federo exclaimed, seeming dumbfounded. “Kamya, that is not a normal brujo.”
“No,” Kamya admitted in a patronizing voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think one of those would do, so I decided to hedge my bet by going with something better… A sorcerer,” she revealed with a proud swagger towards the Jeep.
Federo’s glare followed her slide into the passenger-seat. “Always resourceful,” he grumbled.
“Are you two going to be at each other’s throats the entire time?” Tanner groaned.
“Not if you give me your belt, my friend,” Federo hinted.
The Amethyst Talisman declined his request with a consoling pat and pointed him towards the driver-seat. I hopped in directly, followed by Tanner, each of us taking a seat on opposite sides of Tatka.
Federo had no sooner cranked the engine when Kamya pulled a sawed-off shotgun out of her satchel and gave it a gruff cock in the air. She laid it in the bend of her arm with its sights on Federo and her finger locked around the trigger.
“What?” Kamya protested at his abrupt shirk. “I told you that I would feel safer this way. Did you think I was kidding?”
Federo threw the vehicle into gear. “That thing better not be loaded with what I think,” he growled.
“Now what’s a firearm without a little dragon’s breath?” she posed and turned to the three of us in the backseat. “Real dragon’s breath,” she added with a cutsie smirk.
We took off in a quick jerk with me thinking, I seriously hope that was a joke…
The drive started out pleasant. Well, for the three of us in the backseat. Federo and Kamya argued relentlessly every minute, every mile. I couldn’t blame him. I’d be a little on edge too if a trigger-happy badass was pointing a gun at me while I drove. Suddenly all of Bea’s incessant “backseat driving” didn’t seem so bad. I only hoped for Federo’s sake that he didn’t misjudge a sharp curve or hit an unforeseen dip in the road. I asked Tanner telepathically about all the drama between them. He assured me that it was one of those “love-to-hate” relationships, fueled by years of bickering and their own testy egos.
“It doesn’t help that Kamya has trust-issues with men,” Tanner revealed. “She has for a long time.”
My mind flashed back to the frisky way she acted when she’d picked him up in her Porsche. “But she likes you?”
“Yes,” Tanner answered. “I’m one of a few.” He wasn’t smiling, but I could tell he’d caught the gist of my interrogation by the subtle crinkle around his eyes.
I played off his response with a blasé, “Gotcha,” and turned my head away to hide my flushed face.
All of a sudden, Tatka took a hold of my hand. It was startling, but rather sweet when I noticed the childlike grin illuminating his tiny face. I assumed he was just being curious, or possibly trying to sense my energy. I humored him at first, until he tried to wrestle my purse away from me. I could tell by his puppy dog eyes that he knew it was something magical and responsible for blocking my power. After shooing his hand away for the tenth time, Tanner finally shot him a steely “NO” with his eyes. Tatka huffed and gave up, but then he went for my concealed moonstone ring instead. With a mischievous smile, the little sorcerer rubbed his finger over its golden veil. I gasped when I realized he had unmasked the stone. Back and forth we went, him impishly uncovering it while I mentally closed it back. Just as Federo started to glance back at all the commotion, I smacked Tatka’s hand and placed my other over the exposed stone. After seeing what had happened to the Amber Talisman, I started to rethink my aggressive tap.
It wasn’t THAT hard, I reassured myself. I slowly turned to Tatka, who was sitting there giggling — to my relief. He lifted his finger up to his mouth and made a shushing sound. I hope that meant he wasn’t ticked. I’d hate for him to suddenly take advantage of the roofless vehicle and install his own version of ejector-seats. He must have picked up on my uneasy vibe, because the next thing I knew, the little sorcerer had my hand locked with his and had placed it in front of him.
Tanner lowered his head and chucked. “I think he has a crush on you.” He’d barely gotten out his sentence when Tatka seized the cocky Amethyst Talisman’s too. The mys
tical child threw Tanner a warm smile.
“You too,” I grinned.
Tanner didn’t look thrilled about the maneuver, but to my surprise, his hand didn’t move. Before long, Tatka forced our hands together and then wiggled his way out from underneath our locked bond. He squirmed between the front seats and climbed into Kamya’s lap. She looked back at our hands and whispered something into Tatka’s ear. The little sorcerer let out a riotous laugh like a typical kid watching a couple of clowning monkeys at a zoo.
Tanner and I started to let go of our hands. That’s when we realized we couldn’t. Apparently the artful little trickster had spelled our palms together. I hadn’t been this stuck to something since I got Super-Glue on my fingers trying to fix one of Charlotte’s broken knick-knacks when I was nine. Talk about uncomfortable. I knew Tanner could feel every spontaneous and aroused tingle running through my body. I couldn’t even look at him, let alone my hand. Before I could even form my plea to end this torture, Tanner tightened his grip and gave my fingers a few tender strokes. It may have stomped out my embarrassment, but it stoked some unvented emotions deep inside me — the entire freaking time!
For the next hour, we rattled along gravel-covered roads, plowed through miles of jungle, bounced up and down a couple of mountains, and trudged across several flowing streams. The Jeep finally slowed to a stop in the middle of an eerie clearing. A thick layer of hazy-white mist blanketed our surroundings. That was the last thing I wanted to see. But hey, at least it wasn’t black and spitting out possessed, pissed-off biker dudes.
Before Tatka climbed out, Tanner lifted his arm, raising our intertwined hands. The little sorcerer grinned and retracted the spell straightaway.
With his touch disappointedly absent, I swiftly turned to exit the vehicle. Tanner grabbed my arm. “I can’t have you going in with me,” he explained.
“I understand,” I muttered.
The scene didn’t look anymore promising with our feet planted on the ground. There was nothing but a sea of chilling fog and silence to be found. Definitely nothing that screamed “impressive” or anything remotely “supernatural” about our locale.
“This is the place?” Tanner questioned.
“Yes. This is where I was told that one of the last vortexes lays hidden,” Federo vowed.
“This is a trap,” Kamya alleged to Tanner with a nod.
“Oh, ye of little faith,” Federo sniped as he pushed past her. The three of us followed him, with Kamya’s shotgun right on his heels. The mist dissipated the further we trekked. Within a few minutes, we ran out of the fog and straight into a dead-end, where the flat side of an impassable mountain blocked our path.
“What did I tell you!?!” Kamya growled. Tatka gently lowered Kamya’s weapon as he stepped towards the towering wall of rock and earth. The little sorcerer raised his hands curiously, seeming to be engrossed in something auspicious. His eyes fell to a close as he knelt down to the ground. Violent-looking storm clouds seized the clear blue sky. If I didn’t already know it was almost 4 o’clock, I would swear night had officially fallen.
A howling gale tore through the blackness and whipped everything in its path. Tatka was even shaking, though his jerkiness seemed induced by something other than the hurricane-force winds that were whipping all around. The mountain let out a loud rumble, which forced the landscape around us to quake. A small crack began to score the face of the mountain, tearing a section of it slowly away. Then a blinding light flashed before our eyes that forced us to briefly look away. Soon, the small fracture was growing in size and spilling with intense spectral rays. Something was building and trying to break free. A burst of energy suddenly came flying out of the rugged mountainside. It scattered debris in all directions and blew Tanner, Kamya, and myself back on our rears. Within a few seconds, the unearthly commotion ceased. We looked up to find Tatka, standing in front of a gaping, frightful-looking crack. The jagged opening that had been forged resembled an animal’s stretched and heavily fanged mouth. It actually looked as if it was roaring out a grave warning to us all.
Federo was leaning casually against the side of the mountain, exactly like he was merely seconds ago. He turned to Kamya. “I would demand an apology, but I am not that proud.”
Kamya rose to her feet seeing more red than just the crimson streaks spinning in her eyes. She kept them locked on Federo while she slung her shotgun up and into her awaiting palm. She quickly fired off a single round in the air. One insanely long and intense streak of flames shot out of the barrel while the sound of an animal’s screech-like cries echoed all around. The heat from her dragon’s breath shell was astoundingly hot. I wasn’t anywhere close the shot’s line-of-fire and even I had to check to see if my clothes were burnt.
“There’s your apology,” Kamya claimed. She propped the smoking barrel on her shoulder. “I’ve just upped your odds of making it out of here alive.”
Federo eyes widened. “Generous,” he mocked with a flippant bow. He turned to Tanner. “Here it is, my friend. One of the few places left on this planet where wishes really can come true.”
“Stop trivializing this, Federo,” Kamya scolded. “This is a risky quest. It’s not a damn amusement park.”
“How risky?” I asked her while my eyes remained glued to Tanner.
“Why don’t we let our tour guide answer that,” Kamya barked and flashed a flinty grin Federo’s way.
“There are risks with everything. Wishes are no exception, especially when it comes to matters of fate,” Federo replied. “The vortex is a mystical realm that is said to reveal itself to each person that enters in its own unique way. What Tanner will find waiting for him inside, none of us can say? The legends speak of great challenges, but its prize is worth any risk.”
Tanner turned to Federo. “What about your—”
Federo cut him off. “I already know what you are going to ask, and the answer is no, I’m afraid,” he remarked flatly. “My amber will not work in there. The only thing I can offer you is much luck, my friend.” He gave Tanner’s back a firm smack.
Tanner rolled his eyes. “Yeah… That will get the job done all right,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What would an amber do?” I whispered to Kamya.
“Federo’s amber can both cause and counteract hallucinations,” she answered. “Anything that plays tricks on your mind. It helps a supernatural keep his wits and not surrender to any magical delusions. But aside from that power, it’s nothing more than a rock.”
“The only thing of use is your physical weapons,” Federo insisted, ignoring Kamya’s latest jab.
“If they’re just hallucinations, then why would he need any weapons?” I posed.
“The hallucinations are maddening, and they seek to destroy you. In there, even a bad thought bears the sting of a thousand knives. The vortex is the canvas and your mind is its medium. Like a painter, you are responsible for bringing them to life.” Tanner shot a curious glare at the very knowledgeable Amber Talisman, who seemed to know an awful lot about the goings-on in vortexes. “So the legends say,” Federo clarified.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I whispered. “We can still track down Lorelei and try to get the fire opal back.”
“I’m fine,” Tanner assured. “My only concern is you.”
“Me?” I posed.
“I meant what I said earlier,” Tanner stressed. “Whatever you hear coming out of that cave, under no circumstance can you enter. The vortex seeks to discover if you are worthy of such a coveted stone. Tampering with fate is a serious matter, that’s why those who enter are tested. This is my trial to deal with alone.”
“So all you have to do is suffer through some hazing?”
“It’s not that simple. The visions are test, but they’re also used as distraction. Fate must look into my future while I’m in there. If the cosmos decrees I am worthy, then I will be given a stone.”
Federo interrupted, “And know this, my friend…if you are granted a ston
e, you may never enter the vortex’s realm again, no matter where another may lay. It is forbidden. One Talisman, one stone. Fate does not take kindly to greed. If you ever attempt to recross its threshold, legend says that you must surrender your body back to the earth. That’s the only rule.”
“I hadn’t planned on making a habit of this,” Tanner cracked.
I pulled Tanner off to the side. “I still think I should be the one going in there.”
Tanner appeased my gesture with a laugh. “Really?” He brushed back my hair and whispered, “This from a little girl who frets about a royal blue stone?” Tanner took a hold of my hands. “Besides, I volunteered.”
I had no rebuttal, so I stayed humbly silent as I gazed at his charming, though cheeky grin.
“Just stay here and try to keep Kamya calm,” Tanner requested.
I looked back at the Ruby Talisman, who had apparently unrolled a long pouch full of sharp blades and pointy instruments. She was sitting there polishing them attentively while she eyed Federo’s every move. “Is that even possible?” I laughed.
Tanner grinned. “Probably not.” He nodded towards the harrowing jagged entrance. “It’s time I get in there,” he said.
I tightened my grip. “Wait,” I blurted, still conflicted. I was grateful for what he was doing for Katie, but I couldn’t bear what horrors he was about to face. I realized it wasn’t my guilt that didn’t want him to enter, but my racing heart.
I wrapped my arms around him. “Be careful… Please,” I whispered. I didn’t quite get the response I had expected, or rather wanted. Tanner barely returned my heartfelt embrace. He lowered his long face to the ground, purposely avoiding my gaze when I released him, and then charged toward the entrance of the cave. He paused just inside it, not even once turning around. Whatever look was lingering in his eyes, he certainly didn’t want me privy to it.
Kamya yelled to him. “She doesn’t want this,” she asserted. “Enough of this stubbornness! Turn around!”
Tanner stood motionless with his back to us and extended each of his amethyst swords. He kept his head down, barely glancing back my way before the darkness devoured him within the confines of the cave’s walls.
