by S. E. Akers
I stared vacantly at her. Far be it for me to argue with a woman on her deathbed, so I kept my stunned and totally whipped trap shut.
“You’re still the same willful young lady that crossed the threshold of this cave tonight, or did that part bleed out of your veins?” my mentor posed.
I looked deep into her eyes. “I can’t kill him,” I insisted with a despondent gaze.
“You’re right about that, and he’s destroying the doll as we speak… So, you’re just going to have to get him out of here.”
“I can’t do that…alone,” I mumbled and turned my head away. I couldn’t even stand the thought of Bea leaving me when it ultimately came time, but to acknowledge it “out loud” sent my heart into a turbulent tailspin.
“You are far from alone, my dear,” Beatrix vowed as she reached into her bag and pulled out of all things, the sunstone, alluding to my “sit on the sidelines” spectator.
“He knows I’ve been getting my butt kicked all evening and he hasn’t made a peep. Why would he ever choose to help me now?”
Beatrix laid her little gold lighter in my hand and guided my fingers to a close. “It never hurts to ask.”
“I know,” I mumbled skeptically as I took a hold of the dull stone. “But the answer sure can come back to slap you in the face.”
“You won’t know until you try,” Beatrix urged.
I lowered my head and took a deep breath. There was really nothing left to do. The Onyx was right. Only one of us was going to walk out of here tonight. And if Helio would grant me this one simple request, it was going to be me.
But would he?
“I’ll still be here…WHEN you get back,” Beatrix vowed, trying to muffle a grimace.
“You’d better be,” I ordered as I rose to my feet and then took off like the wind.
I scanned for any trace of the Onyx as I slid down the side of the cave. It wasn’t long before he emerged from behind a large cluster of rocks.
“THAT WAS MEANT FOR YOU!!!” the Onyx roared. His voice rattled a few stalactites loose, sending them crashing down around the cave. He threw the remaining shredded pieces of the voodoo doll on the ground. “And no amount of magic will stop me from claiming that diamond TONIGHT!”
I extended my gleaming blade, drove it into the ground in front of me, and backed a couple of steps away. “There it is,” I announced. “If you want it…Come and get it!”
The Onyx began his approach with a wary stride, but the closer he came, the more his greed guided his movements.
One flame and I would have my answer soon enough. Helio knew what I needed, just as certain as he sensed the Onyx’s increasing proximity to attaining his prize. With my charging assailant merely feet away, I flipped open the top of little gold lighter and rolled my thumb down hard on the wheel. I swept my fingers through the flickering flame with a hopeful eye and a humble plea. My stance remained resolute as I extended my hand towards the Onyx. He was now close enough to where I could make out a lustful gleam radiating from his spectral face. My eyes creased from the heat of the flame, but their fiery gaze stayed true to the evil approaching with great speed.
Please, Helio… Please hear me…
Not even a second before the Onyx’s hazy hand reached for the hilt, Helio’s essence shot out of my body in a powerful blast that knocked me off my feet. The shimmery golden light shrouded my supernatural assailant, enveloping him with its energy. Then like a switch being flipped, the two of them vanished without a trace into a monstrous blaze exploding out of the lighter. Within seconds, all that remained was an insignificant flame rolling off little gold lighter’s wick as it lay on the ground. No mystical lights leaving a glistening trail… No verbal contact with my savior… Not even the slightest swirl of dust. But the Onyx was gone…finally.
I grabbed my wand and clambered back up the rocks as fast as I could to get back to Bea. I fell to my knees when I saw that almost half her body had already turned to stone. I took hold of her hand, struggling for the right words to say. Sadly there weren’t any. Even telling her that Helio had answered my plea felt trivial compared to what was happening to her, but I could tell by the unfailing know-it-all look dancing in her eyes that she already new.
Beatrix patted my hand. “I’m afraid you’ll have to find someone else to rub in how right they are after I’m gone. But not Tanner. He enjoys it too much.”
I wiped my eyes. “No one could ever enjoy it more than you,” I assured her with a tender sweep across her brow.
Beatrix roused the most contented smile I’d ever seen. “I’m so very proud of you, dear.”
A pat on the back was the last thing my heart needed. Bea was knocking on death’s door because she had saved me. I took her hand in mine and sighed, “I don’t deserve any praise. It was all Helio.”
“That’s not true. Helio was a tool you called upon, not unlike your sword. You didn’t know if he would answer you, but you stood your ground anyway. That took an immense amount of courage.” Beatrix’s eyes began to glaze. “It’s hard to believe that my time with you has come to an end.” She stroked her hand down the side of my face. “But I shall always remember the precocious little girl who used to sit on my lap and played with all of my rings.”
My gaze fell upon her left hand, where I was doing that very thing, unbeknownst to even me. I could already feel the merciless empty ache in pit of my stomach building. And I knew the weight of its lingering hold from losing Daddy.
Beatrix squeezed my hand. “My chance for children was taken from me well over a century ago, but I’ve never felt cheated,” Beatrix insisted. “Not once knowing I had you.”
My anxiety clamped my chest like a vice, forcing my insides to buckle into a squeamish fit. “Isn’t there SOMETHING we can do?” I begged. “W—What about my diamond? Can’t it—”
Beatrix stroked the side of my face to calm me down. “No, dear. Not this time. The only thing that will reverse the magic is another white chalcedony…and we’re short on those.”
“But I don’t want you to leave me.” My watery gaze drifted down to the floor while a parade of loved ones flashed before my eyes. “Everyone I love has.”
“This is the way it must be, my dear.” Beatrix rubbed away several tears streaming down my cheek. “The only way,” she added in a whisper as she picked up the diamond wand and handed it to me, aiming it towards her chest. The unyielding look on her face let me know there would be no sway in her request.
I retracted the blade and threw down my hilt. “NO!” I protested.
“If you don’t, Dunamis will claim my golden topaz. You must do it…before the stone finishes me off.”
“I can’t,” I pleaded, searching for a shred of sympathy in her aimless eyes. How could I run my blade through the woman who has been more of a mother to me than my own?
“Where is that courage I witnessed this evening?” Beatrix posed. “My dear girl, know that though I may not walk this earth again, I will always be with you.” Beatrix pulled the lapis lazuli ring out of her pocket and handed it to me with a passionate gaze. “And through you, I’ll be reunited with Gahiji’s soul. Please, Shiloh? If for no other reason you can truly fathom right now, I ask you to do this for me.”
The ill-fated magic of the white chalcedony was reaching her torso, and her legs had already begun to crumble away. From out of nowhere, an image popped into my mind — the one of the distraught man holding a sword in each of his hands depicted on Padimae’s card, the very one that had shot out of the deck on its own. This was it. This is what the card was warning me about, preparing me for. This was “the burdensome choice” my heart would be forced to make. I propped Beatrix up against the rocks and ran my fingers through her hair. At that moment, I knew why she wouldn’t cut it. She’d done it for me because she knew what was coming.
“How long have you known?” I asked in a murmur.
Beatrix grinned. “Since New Year’s Eve…but I wasn’t sure when at the time.” Beatrix ran her hand ov
er a dangling scrap of midnight blue fabric. “Not until I saw this dress. It was the same one you were wearing in my vision.” The corners of Beatrix’s mouth rose slightly. “That’s how I knew when it would happen. I consider myself fortunate. Most people aren’t afforded that opportunity.”
I shook my head like a played fool. All this time… Now I truly knew how Katie felt when I’d left her in the dark to protect her.
Beatrix winced as the petrifying magic coursed its way up her body. “Shiloh, you must hurry. I can’t stave off the stone’s effects much longer.”
I picked up my hilt, searching for some strength as I gazed at its cross-like shape.
“Be strong, dear, as strong as I know you’re capable of…and know that every time you draw upon the powers from the golden topaz, you’re touching a piece of my soul,” she vowed. “You can feel it… I swear.”
I pressed my lips firmly against her forehead as I readied the hilt and then locked my gaze with the golden eye above her brow. I didn’t want her to see it coming. I only wanted her to see the love I felt for her blazing in my eyes. I located the spot on her chest where her heart pounded the strongest and then positioned the hilt over its resonant thumps. With a remorseful and teary jerk, I extended the gleaming diamond blade. It shot right through her body and pulverized the rocks at her rear into tiny grains of rubble. Frozen, I watched her body slide to the ground and slowly vaporize into a luminescent golden mist. The glittery haze drifted through the air towards the ankle bracelet where her birth-stone now lay on the ground, along with her remaining effects. Once every last glistening speck had been absorbed, a bewitching light began to sparkle inside the stone. I picked up the bracelet and cupped the stone that was swirling with life. I forced my swollen eyes to close. I could actually feel her in there. She was happy…and at peace.
“She will always be with you, my child,” a male voice called out.
Startled, I jerked up to see Helio standing there in his human form, actually speaking to me.
“Where’s the Onyx?” I asked as I scanned the cave.
“I took him far away…where I knew a flame would be burning.”
“The discus,” I said with a thoughtful gaze. “The one you made Tanner and Kamya seal inside the mountain.”
He pulled the flat circular portal out from behind his back. “Yes,” Helio confirmed as he handed it to me. “Be sure that this finds its way back into her hands. I fear she thinks I am punishing her for its theft, but I needed it to remain there, sealed in the mountain…to grant you some precious time. It will take Dunamis awhile to return, and that young one, he most certainly will do.”
I ran my fingers over the warm metal on the discus. “Why did you help me? Tonight?” I asked. “You’ve been inside me for almost a month without a word. Why now?”
“I would be remiss if I pretended it was simply my own curiosity about the young woman who now claims the most powerful weapon ever forged…though getting to know you has been intriguing. But my intentions rested with what I saw when you entered the vortex, a glimpse into your future that your distracted mind could not see. It revealed what would transpire in this cave tonight. And one is always best served if they keep something up their sleeve, don’t you agree?” Helio posed. “Dunamis never saw what was coming…and I knew that strategy would keep him at bay. From this moment, his keen and cunning eyes will forevermore be on you, child…whether you feel them or not. Never forget that,” he warned.
“Why couldn’t you have helped sooner?” I questioned, thinking only of what he could’ve done to prevent Bea’s demise.
“It was not a part of fate’s plan,” Helio replied. “I understand you questioning my judgment, but even Beatrix knew that.”
“So what happens now?”
Helio bent down to pick up the sunstone and rose with a smile. “Now it is time for me to return to my stone. I am entrusting it to you, and I urge you keep it safe. When the time comes, you will know what to do with it.” Helio stepped closer. “Oh, and this I believe is yours,” he announced as he waved my moonstone ring in front of me.
“You got it back,” I mumbled and slipped it on my finger immediately. I never thought I would see it again. Not ever.
Helio nodded. “That is a very special stone Seraphinia crafted for you. I have only witnessed one that matches its abilities only one time before.” He placed the sunstone in my hands. “I see a lot of Adamas in you. His strength, his stubbornness, and even his reckless choices in regards to loved ones,” Helio added with a frown. “I hope the sway of your heart never comes back to haunt you. His ended up costing him dearly.”
Ughhh… I knew he was talking about the diamonds.
“I had to—”
Helio held up his hand. “As they say, ‘what is done, is done’.”
His tone made me cringe, but he was right. Even Daddy used to say, “You can’t unscramble an egg.”
“But I beseech you to take heed and learn from your mistakes,” Helio added.
“So you’re not going to punish me?”
“No,” Helio replied. “If the sum of those ever find their way back to you, that child will be punishment enough.”
Noted, I thought with a respectful nod. Just as he began his mystical transformation, I placed my hand on his shoulder and whispered, “Thank you, Helio.”
“You are welcome, child,” he replied with a smile as his eyes fell to a close. Helio opened them only for a second and added, “For both.” Then, just like I’d seen in my dream, he began to shimmer until his body morphed into a fiery golden light. Within a matter of seconds, the last traces of the mesmerizing spectacle had streamed back into the now brilliantly sparking sunstone.
I questioned, Both?
As I stared at the scintillating facets on the stone, pondering what he had meant, a pair of dirty feet peeking out from under a billowy white gown appeared before my eyes. My head shot up in a loud “pop”.
Katie.
She yanked off what was left of her ribbon-laden headpiece and shook the dried-out flower petals from her head.
“Did I get MARRIED?” Katie cracked as she gave her nightgown-like garb a huffy fluff. “Humph! Favorite suit, my ass.” I leapt at her, clenching her walking and talking body like it was a dream about to fade.
“How did you? Who? It’s not possible!” I cried. “We hadn’t finished the spell and we needed the light from the full moon…”
“I think it was a man,” Katie revealed. “But I don’t know who he was or how he did it in here, without the moon? I just saw a bluish-white beam of light and then I woke up.”
I smiled as I glanced down at my moonstone ring. “Helio,” I replied. He had the mystical power of the moon right at his fingertips. He was right. This is a special ring.
Katie dangled her diamond pendant in the air. “I’m keeping this,” she grinned. “And this,” she added as she held out her hand to reveal a tiny pebble. “I found it on the ground when I woke up.”
I pinched the teensy orange grain between my fingers. “This is a piece of the fire opal,” I said. “I figured all of it would have disintegrated.”
“Was it supposed to?”
“It should’ve, ” I replied as I handed it back to her. “It’s an earth stone…but I guess this one is special.”
“It is…and now it’s my lucky little stone,” Katie beamed as she gave her souvenir a playful toss and then held it up, squinting her eyes. “Well, my lucky speck.”
“I can’t argue with that,” I insisted as I hugged my bosom friend again, thrilled that her nightmare had finally come to an end. But as joyous as what her earthly return was, it couldn’t fully heal my broken heart. She sensed it too.
“Shi, what’s wrong?” Katie asked as she stared at my swollen eyes, suspecting correctly that my tears hadn’t fallen just for her. She anxiously panned the cave. “Where’s Bea?”
With a shaky wave, I pointed to the clump of hair and clothes lying on the ground. Katie wrapped her arm around
me as we walked over to her remains. We both knelt down together and stared somberly at the haunting space. Despite all the ill will Katie had felt towards the Golden Topaz Talisman and the harsh words she’d bellowed many times about her in my head, Katie’s tough stance melted into a pile of rue and goo. Head in her hands, she cried almost as hard as I did, and every tear was genuine. She blocked my hand when I tried to gather her mane, not ready to finish her barrage of tears just yet. I couldn’t stand looking at the spot any longer, knowing what I’d been forced to do. And I wasn’t ready to tell Katie about it, not yet. I swiftly grabbed Beatrix’s hair, her now useless clothes, and placed all of her precious jewelry inside her left-behind pouch.
“We need to go,” I urged as I picked up the discus, feeling like the walls of the cave were smothering me whole with grief. Katie sniffled and passed me a confirming nod. With our mournful gazes low to the ground, we both walked hand-in-hand at a listless pace back to the opening of the cave. And every agonizing step scarred my heart with even more pain and sorrow.
“I’ll give you a boost,” I said as I pointed up to the ceiling.
“Okay,” Katie agreed as she stepped into a bewitching moonbeam streaming into the cave from the hole above. I conjured a gentle gust of air, but not from the lapis lazuli. Instead, I summoned the energy from the golden topaz, just to feel Bea’s essence. With a mystical whirl, a dazzling golden funnel appeared and gently cocooned Katie in its breezy arms. I watched as it lifted her up, twirling her around like a graceful ballerina, and carried her safely out of the cave.
I knew I needed to make my exit, but I found myself not wanting to leave. Maybe it was the silence that kept me grounded? The calm I needed after the storm. Then again, this was one gravesite I didn’t plan on returning to ever again, so a part of me felt obligated to stay and grieve.
“Are you coming?” Katie yelled down.
“Give me a second.”
“Don’t take too long,” Katie urged. “It’s creepy as Hell up here! I think I heard something. Seriously!”
I shook my head, knowing there was nothing but despair to wallow in down here. My moonstone had already recharged a great deal of my powers, so after a solemn sigh, I held on tight to the discus and jumped up to the mouth of the cave. Someone grabbed me before my feet touched the ground.
