Bloodstone (Talisman)

by S. E. Akers

  Kamya grabbed my shoulders and took a soulful deep breath. “I need a flame…and I need it right now,” she stressed.

  “But…I don’t know if—”

  “I’m not asking you,” Kamya clarified as she raised her arm. With one flick, flames shot out of her fingers. Kamya reached for my hand.

  I shied away, confused. “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Give me your hand,” Kamya ordered.

  “Why?” I demanded, standing my ground.

  “Because I need to contact Helio. But he needs to feel my emotion, every ounce of it. Not just hear my voice. It’s more effective if I do it with a flame. So please, give me your hand…so I don’t have to break it off,” Kamya directed with a serious-though-sweet grin.

  “Well, since you asked nicely,” I replied and extended my arm.

  Kamya locked her fiery hand with mine straightaway and clenched it tightly. “I know you can feel me, Helio. I don’t understand why you’re keeping quiet, but I implore you hear my pleas and grant my request. Do this one thing…for me. You sense what’s going on, and you know I am not accustom to begging.” With that, the Ruby Talisman lifted her head and took a step back.

  “Do you think he heard you?”

  “We will see.” Kamya turned towards a bush and proceeded to set it ablaze with a graze of her fingers. “It’s your turn.”

  “Turn for what?” I asked.

  Kamya pointed across the canyon, to a bush well on the other side. “You need to set that shrub on fire.”

  I stared across the canyon cluelessly. “Why?”

  “Because the other end of the portal must be from another’s flame. I can’t use my own,” Kamya declared.

  My mouth cracked open. Portal? “How am I supposed to do THAT? Helio hasn’t helped me one bit today and trust me, there have been PLENTY of times when he could have!” My rant had barely winded down when a wicked hot flare shot out of my hand and soared across the dark canyon. Kamya grabbed me before I fell and steadied my arm, aiming it at the bush. It ignited and became engulfed with flames in an instant.

  “Thank you!” Kamya praised, though I doubted any of her gratitude was directed to me. She instructed, “Now, you need to concentrate on the fire burning on the other side when you jump into the flames. It’s easy, but you have to be quick about it,” she warned. “Don’t waste any time. Your speed is imperative.”

  I tilted my head, desperate for more info.

  Kamya rolled her eyes. “So you won’t end up naked,” she remarked matter-of-factly and then started to take off.

  “WHAT?” I gasped and grabbed her arm. “What about yours?”

  “The ruby shields mine. Helio might protect yours too… Maybe?” she encouraged with a grin and then dove into the burning shrub. I spotted a flash of light exploding from out of the blazing bush on the other side. There she was — safe, sound, and fully-clothed.

  Kamya cupped her hands around her mouth. “Hurry up!” she hollered.

  I clenched my fists as I stared at the flames. Now I wished I’d packed the ruby tracksuit Bea had given me months ago. I shook my head. That’ll learn me!

  “Move! Your! ASS!” Kamya barked.

  Ugh! I took off running into the flames and closed my eyes. I focused on the bush, but my mind decided to spin its own tune of, “stop, drop, and roll”. I emerged on the other side within less than a second and most important, without the slightest singe to my clothes.

  “Good. Now we don’t have to waste time scrounging up fig leaves,” Kamya teased. “Come on.”

  I crept through the jungle behind her, mimicking her every twist and turn. She stopped abruptly at the edge of a clearing. The hunter in her had locked onto something.

  “Who do you sense?” I questioned. I caught a glimpse of some pretty intense swirls of crimson in her eyes. Ferrol, I confirmed without having to hear a response.

  “He’s close,” Kamya whispered. She pulled me behind a cluster of boulders. “Stay here. I’ll go and check it out.”

  I arched my brow. “Are you watching me or ditching me?”

  “I’ll be right back,” Kamya assured. “And you need to stay out of sight until your powers return anyway.”

  “I thought you wanted to ‘get my blood pumping’?” I posed.

  “I do…but from right there,” she grinned and took off into the jungle with her crooked ruby knife leading the way.

  I absorbed the unfamiliar sounds and eerie darkness of the jungle as I crouched behind the towering rocks. There were too many hazy clouds stretching across the sky for the moon to offer any functional light, and I didn’t have my golden topaz to use. A shiver beat a trail down my spine after one of the stone’s other powers popped into my mind — its invisibility — and who else possessed that ability all on his own. Crap! My rocky cover seemed useless now. Damiec could be watching me this very second. The only thing I lacked was a red arrow pointing at my head and a big black “X” slapped on my butt.

  An abrupt “crackling” sound catapulted me to my feet. Normally I would grab my wand at a time like this, but that was moot. I gave the muscles in my hands a quick stretch, straight to the tips of my fingers. A little more of the diamond’s power had returned. Eagerly, I threw them up to the night sky, hoping to hail a bolt. Nothing! I shoved my fizzled out hands into my pockets like I’d just checked on a jiggly cake in an oven. Not done yet, I grumbled.

  I caught a speeding flash of light approaching from the corner of my eye. I dove out of its path swiftly and into some shrubs, knowing full well what was heading my way. Oh, SOMEONE was able to cast THEIR lightning, just fine! I sprang to my feet, unscathed, and took off through the jungle. My speed was decent, all things considered, but it paled in comparison to what the diamond’s full power granted. I came to a stop in a much denser area and hid behind a clump of banana trees.

  Surely Kamya heard that. My back rolled into a cringe. Or Tanner. I slammed my foot on the ground. I hated feeling this vulnerable! I wanted my power back — all of it! Granted, I still had the lapis lazuli, but it wasn’t the same. In my pouty little mind, all I could do for the time being was poison someone in my face, possibly spit out some snow, and blow some little piggy’s house down. Though I had to admit, the whirling lava tornado was pretty impressive. I couldn’t have done that with a bolt. After a quick but needed attitude adjustment, I resigned myself to the situation.

  I just have to work with what I’ve got. I gave my hands another encouraging stretch. The corners of my mouth lifted slightly after I sensed that even more of the diamond’s energy had returned. At least for now…

  With a wary eye, I ventured deeper into the jungle. Something about staying in one spot made me antsy. Better a moving target than a still one. I started to turn right when my gut tugged me in the opposite direction. I followed its inexplicable pull to a thick cluster of reeded plants. I noiselessly pushed a few of them back. To my delight, low and behold, there was my purse hanging on the shoot of a small palm tree. There was just one problem. The “too good to be true” scene screamed, “TRAP”.

  Exactly how STUPID does he think I am?

  My meticulous survey didn’t yield a thing. Why would it? Mr. Invisible could be standing beside the daggone thing for all I knew. I only had one option — snatch it and then run like the blazes. I gave my tense muscles a good stretch as I eyed my trophy. Screw it.

  Just as I was about to make my mad dash, something tingled inside my head. I paused to focus on it. My eyes flared. More of my power had retuned. I sensed what felt like brainwaves coming from somewhere close. I started to form a smile when something suddenly jumped on my back. I shirked around to find a cute capuchin monkey frolicking at my feet. It turned out that they weren’t human, but it was still something.

  A thought crossed my mind as I stared at its fuzzy white face. I didn’t have an organ to grind, but I sure was praying I could get him to dance to my tune. I concentrated on sending the little creature a mental image — one where it, not
me, retrieved the purse. Its dark grey pupils glazed over within an instant. Not a second later, the charmed monkey began scurrying towards the palm tree. I kept my eyes peeled for any signs of movement, particularly the aggressive kind. I’d feel awful if something happened to my little helper. I rolled my eyes. PETA’s Most Wanted.

  The monkey reached the base of the palm without any incident. So far so good. Then it scaled the trunk, snatched the purse off the shoot, and started its climb back down. My chest collapsed on the spot, fueled by relief. The monkey was now back on the ground and scuttling my way.

  In an odd twist, my little helper stopped in its tracks, which forced my crouched frame up to my feet. It was just standing there, not even looking around. I sent the monkey another image, but it remained right where it was. I repeated the visual over and over, but the duty-bound primate dropped my purse on the ground and squat beside thing like it was on a daggone break.

  What the heck? My powers hadn’t faded. In fact they felt even stronger, like they were almost back. I figured I would give it one more focused try. And I did — only to watch the mischievous bugger pick up my bag and see a twitchy, white-tipped tail swinging from its butt as it bolted into the brush.

  I clenched my fists. NO! I rounded the edge of the perimeter and took off after it, desperate and shamefully praying for some restraint. I trailed the sounds of its high-pitched screeches through the jungle, dodging coarse trunks and enormous leaves smacking me every step of my chase. I ran out of the brush and came to an arm-waving stop at the edge of a cliff. Now balanced, I scanned the rocks all the way down the gorge. I could still sense the slippery rascal, so it had to be around here somewhere.

  “Looking for something?” a voice beckoned from my rear.

  Damn, I mouthed silently. I dug my foot in the ground and commenced with an intentionally cross pivot. There stood Damiec, leaning against a dilapidated stone ruin and swinging my brown leather bag by its strap. And he wasn’t alone. The cute capuchin monkey was sitting on his shoulder. I should have known someone else was pulling its strings…and he does claim an earth stone. He’s an old hat compared to an amateur like me. It climbed down straightaway and scampered past me, headed back into the jungle.

  Little traitor.

  “I’ve never understood the possessive bond between a lady and her purse…until now. But then, this is no ordinary bag,” Damiec charged with a slick grin. “There’s only one question that remains.” The Bloodstone Talisman straightened his stance. “Does it still contain all of its contents?”

  I folded my arms. “It better,” I stated as sharp as the scowl chiseled on my face.

  “Come and see,” Damiec goaded. “I would check, but then that wouldn’t be very gentlemanly.”

  Gentlemanly? Now that’s amusing. I rubbed my neck. “Yeah,” I grumbled sarcastically. “I could tell that by the way you sucked.”

  “In my defense, you didn’t offer me a cup,” the brazen bastard quipped.

  I wasn’t sure if it was his crack, but something swelling inside me forced my hands into two throbbing fists. Without warning, Damiec’s cheeky grin started to fade. He glanced down at his hands, somewhat concerned. I highly doubted that the blood-sucking SOB was even the slightest bit intimidated. What is it? My question was answered when a shock began to roll through my body. My powers were finally retuning in full.

  Damiec knew what was afoot. Just as I threw my hand up to the night sky, he did the same thing too. I grabbed the white-hot streak and reared back at him, only to discover that he was doing the EXACT SAME THING. We both had bolts. Talk about “perfect timing”! We exchanged our dumbfounded glances and then waited for the other’s move.

  “Look at that,” Damiec remarked. “It seems even irony has symmetry.”

  I glanced at my bolt and then looked at his. “Well, mine’s bigger.” Without any further delay, I cast the lightning straight at him. He hurled his just a hair later. Instead of striking their intended targets, our bolts tragically collided into one another. The shockwave knocked him back on his rear, but not me. I pounced on him before he could get to his feet, seizing the opportune chance to snag my purse.

  No sooner than my hand had a hold of its strap, Damiec tugged it away. My right arm may have gone with it, but I drove my left into the center of his face. I snatched the bag in one jerk and scrambled to my feet. Unfortunately, I found myself face-first in the dirt and lying on top of it when Damiec sideswiped my leg as I was getting up. I kicked him repeatedly, trying to break free from his grasp. In one swift tug, Damiec flipped me over and pinned my arms beside my head. The wound from my neck was far from healed, so I shifted my head to the side, desperate to cover it. I’d just gotten my powers back. I didn’t need him draining them again.

  I took a deep breath to conjure some of the lethal lapis lazuli poison. Damiec quickly slammed my purse down on my head, smothering my face and forcing me to choke back every bit of it. We rolled around on the ground, back and forth for several minutes, each of us taking turns with our jabs. I’d finally had enough when I saw his shape starting to shift and ended our round with a knee to his groin. With him curled into a ball, shaking that one off, I jumped up and scanned around frantically for my purse. I spotted it straightaway, lying inches from the cliff. I hurried over and grabbed it.

  Finally!

  I turned as Damiec began to rise to his feet. I glanced back at the fearsome drop. It looked a heck of a lot higher than the bridge Tanner had knocked me off, so I abandoned that thought. I had a feeling he would end up following me down anyway. Damiec’s approach was slow and haughty, seeing I didn’t have anywhere to go but “through him” to escape.

  “That is the SECOND TIME you’ve done that!” Damiec grumbled.

  “Wanna go for three?” I egged, unleashing the scrappy redneck inside me.

  No sooner than I’d cocked my leg, I heard something rustling in the bushes. We both turned to see what it was. I don’t know whose curse rang louder when we realized it was Ferrol. His carnelian came at us so fast we didn’t have time to react. It struck the ground and missed us directly, but it did manage to score a section of the cliff. The ground crumbled under our feet and sent the two of us freefalling down the gorge.

  My only request was that fate kept its twisted sense of humor at bay. Just don’t let me hit a bunch of rocks!

  The harsh “smack” of the surface knocked the purse out of my grasp. I landed in water all right, but it ended up being a raging gush of rapids. The current rocked me swiftly along, up and down its unpredictable course. Even worse, I had no idea what had happened to my purse! Hopefully it was following the current, right along with me. Ugh! Damiec probably is too. Crap… This can’t get any worse.

  I didn’t think my wet ’n wild trip down the river would ever end, but the waters started to calm enough for me to steer myself towards the riverbank. Just as I waded towards a clearing, I spotted my purse floating near some rocks. All the sight lacked was a panoramic rainbow and a glistening ray of sunlight beaming down on it. The sound of a man coughing whirled my head around. There was Damiec crawling out of the water and onto the bank. I lowered myself down in the water and watched him as I quietly swam over to my purse. His eyes shot open abruptly. I thought he may have sensed me, but he started digging his hand inside his pocket. Damiec pulled out a stone pendant and expressed an evident sigh. The Bloodstone Talisman threw the necklace over his head as he stood up. Whatever stone was hanging on its end seemed to be casting a faint, mystical blue glow. I still couldn’t tell what kind it was at this distance, and I sure wasn’t going over there just to find out.

  I draped my purse securely around my body. “It sucks to lose something,” I teased dryly, now that my bag was back where it belonged. Damiec started to say something, but he froze before his words could come. He seemed to be looking my way, but oddly past me. I caught several ripples coursing past my hips, headed toward the shore. That, coupled with the direction of his stare, was all the persuasion my curiosity ne
eded. I turned around to see what I wanted and feared the most standing in the water.

  Lorelei.

  She had emerged in her human form, at least from the waist up. Something struck me as unusual about her stance. She didn’t utter a word while she stood there, red ringlets of hair shrouding half of her face, but you could hear the escalating volume of her heavy breaths. The fact that she hadn’t looked my way was eerie in and of itself. Lorelei had found me somehow — the diamond wand’s owner and the one she claimed had “her” moonstone — but her unhinged gaze remained glued to Damiec. I knew they shared a history, but this didn’t have the feel of a Hallmark greeting, not by any means. Surprise? Maybe? Whatever was going on between their exchange, one thing was clear — the longer she stared at him, the angrier she grew and the more her body trembled with rage. Her face was almost as red as the hue swirling in her eyes. Damiec’s demeanor seemed to shift as well. But by the way his brow furrowed as he secured the glowing stone pendant under his shirt, he struck me as “apprehensive” more than anything and definitely on guard.

  Despite my speedy attempt to wade to the shore, one of Lorelei’s scaly tentacles found its way to my legs and coiled around them. She locked the ghastly appendage in place halfway up my chest. I tried busting free, but her grip was unfailingly fierce. I couldn’t even bend my fingers.

  Damiec brandished his sword straightaway, which seemed to infuriate my captor. One of her tentacles shot through the water and bashed him into some rocks. She retrieved his weapon and pulled it towards her, eyeing it harshly.

  “So THIS is what it has come to!?!” Lorelei demanded as she pitched his bloodstone sword down the river. Damiec rose to his feet with an unrelenting glare. He said nothing in response. “ANSWER ME!?!” she raged. With his eyes currently distracted by the tentacle she was waving in front of him, the crafty Talisman used another one of her ghastly appendages lingering close by to scoop him up and pummel him into the rocks again. Lorelei swiftly yanked me towards her. Her sneer deepened when she spotted the wound on my neck.