Talisman 2 - The Sapphire Talisman (27 page)

Nicholas laughed hysterically as if feeding off my pain. “That’s right, call out for dead mommy.
Mommy. Mommy
,” he wailed, mocking me.

I waited for a rescuer in vain.

“Love will set him free,”
I heard a woman’s gossamer voice reverberate in my mind. The one that had always been my mother’s in my dreams at night.

“
Mom?
” I thought, figuring maybe I’d already started to die and crossed over into the next world.
“Is that you? Help me, Mom.”

“Love will set him free, Julia,”
she said again, the voice fainter this time.

“No, please don’t leave me. I can’t. He hates me,”
I said in a whimper, stubbornly unwilling to open myself up to his cruelty, wanting her to take me away instead.

“Love
. . .
will set
. . .
him free.”

The voice echoed away like a mist, leaving me there to die. In a helpless heap, I lay drowning in Nicholas’ laughter as grimy sand pressed into my mouth. The knowledge that the secret in my pocket was all that prevented him from taking my life and his mother from taking over the world, stole the breath from my lungs. How could I possibly give him love?

With the little strength I had left, and in utter desperation, I opened my mouth, spit out the sand and breathed the words anyway. “I love you.”

At first nothing happened, but Nicholas’ sickening cackle caused me to angrily delve into my imagination and try harder. I imagined our first kiss, his lips soft on mine, our arms intertwined with one another, his hands gently caressing my che
e
k and mine nestled within the back of his soft hair. I pushed these memories onto him like others always pressed their feelings upon me.

Suddenly, Nicholas stopped laughing and his voice actually hitched. I took a deep breath once the weight
left
my chest, and felt my arm tingle from the lessening of his hold.

He fought back, radiating out hate, greed, selfishness, and destruction. I ignored the attack and with greater courage, I imagined a beam of feathery light flashing into the dark cave of his being, focusing all my love towards him, illuminating the humanity inside.

I remembered back to the night when he’d plucked me out of the night sky, saving me from the vampire that stalked me in the woods when we first met. And followed with the time he’d defeated the three in the alley. Then the dates at our beach and the weekend in the suite. I played them all like a movie, everything we’d experienced together—the kindness, goodness, and selflessness he’d given freely to me—and poured it upon his clouded soul.

The words “I love you” began to escape from my lips, over and over growing with intensity. And with each reiteration his grasp on my body weakened.

Nicholas began to bellow, still calling me ugly names mixed with foul words. I ignored my natural reaction to reciprocate the insults and kept the conduit of goodness flowing. I began to sense the real Nicholas clawing to the surface, silently calling out to me, begging me to continue.

The last flash-back I radiated was the happiness my family felt when Emma was born just a few days ago, the memory the clearest of them all. I shined out the tropical oasis of love we’d all shared, flowing outward from every cell of my body onto his. He finally let go, crumpling down next to me, kneeling into a ball.

My heart burst into elation as his sweetness trickled forth, followed
by
incredible thankfulness. I sprung up and crushed his neck with my arms, crying madly, nuzzling my face into his sweaty mop of hair. I just wanted him to lift his head once so our lips could touch and I could know he was back for real. He groaned, breathing shallowly.

“I’m here,” I repeated over and over, still continuing to bathe him with goodness and love.

I wasn’t cognizant of what or who surrounded us, or even the time, but I didn’t care. Nicholas was back. We could be together again. And once he recovered a little more, we’d release Phil and escape back to his place. Then together the three of us would make plans with
Scarlett
to bring down Alora and all would be right with the world again.

But like a wayward gunshot, I heard someone snap their fingers and looked up. And as if a rift opened in the ground between us, we were swiftly separated with the help of Tony and Aden.

I clawed my arms forward, just aware Nicholas—weak and debilitated—had been drug away, handcuffed next to Phil’s cage. His abused body slumped to the ground in exhaustion. Tony had corralled me and forced me towards his queen.

Trying to keep a constant stream of goodness flowing towards Nicholas with my new secret gift, I buried my own fearful feelings underneath Phil’s aura, who gave off plenty to share. My rapt concentration made speaking difficult though.

“Why hello, Julia,” Alora said with a syrupy smile, tracing a line across my cheek with her finger. “Still in the thick of my business, I see.”

I wanted to say horrible things, but couldn’t without losing my triangular freeway of extrasensory protection. Forced to listen, I kept my lips shut.

Tony stretched my hand outward towards Alora who grasped it gleefully. Within my mind, I felt her tentacles clawing at the edges of my subconscious, trying to gain entry. Ever so slightly, her eye twitched as she futilely attempted to read my mind.

After a minute, she cursed and dropped my hand.

“Figures,” she mumbled. “I’ve underestimated you.” She looked over my shoulder to the cage behind me. “Phil? What’s going on here?”

“Mother, my queen,” he said with a bow. “Could you please get me out of this cage? My brother seems to think I’m a threat.”

“How ever did he get you in there?” she asked with a chuckle.

“Long story,” he said with a blush. He simulated jocularity but anxiously awaited freedom.

To my surprise, Alora didn’t move, or send anyone to fetch the keys. I removed myself from Phil for a moment to feel out the scene.

Fiery mad, Alora
stayed
composed while she surveyed the setting. She’d probably assumed, though she couldn’t see the necklace, that I was still its rightful owner since she couldn’t read my mind. My heart leapt at my perceived invincibility, understanding that she’d avoid hurting me
because she was
still afraid of the repercussions. This gave me a tremendous advantage. Once I freed myself from Tony’s Herculean grip of course.

Aden obediently stood by Nicholas, bored and tired. I’m sure being a henchman didn’t leave much free time. Nicholas was still out for the count, slowly recharging his battery as I flooded him with continual goodness the best I could.

“What happened to Nicholas?” she asked in bewilderment.

Phil looked towards Nicholas, then back to his mother and shrugged. “Heck if I know. He attacked Julia but ended up falling beside her. I thought she might have staked him, but
. . .
” He held out his hand in disappointment as if to say “here he is unscathed
.
”

I glared at his despondency.

“I see.” Alora approached the cage. “Your hand?”

Phil smiled back playfully. “The keys?”

“Of course,” she said in a lie, waving towards Aden. “Go get them, Aden.” Phil fully believed she intended to free him and willingly reached out his hand, until Aden floundered.

“Where, my queen?”

“You know where.” She shot Aden an evil glare, flicking her nails towards the building.

He cowered and indecisively walked around the corner and stopped right out of Phil’s view but still within mine. He shrugged at Tony.

“She’s lying,” I called out. “Aden’s right over—”

“Shut
up
!
” Tony put his rank hand over my mouth.

My warning was too late to stop her anyway. Alora already had Phil’s hand and mind within her grasp. I felt his intent to try the experiment on his own, his face tense and fear evident. But Alora sent out something soothingly peaceful that fluidly washed over him and made him feel drunk. The fear stopped.

“
Scarlett
, now would be a great time to show up,”
I screamed inside.

The give and take between Phil and Alora was like before. As Alora discovered what had transpired the past few days, the mixture between surprise and betrayal bounced back and forth like a ball at a tennis tournament. Helplessly and wordlessly, I assumed she finally read all the little secrets about us.

A smug smile crossed her face when she turned and glared at me. “Interesting,” she said, her teeth gleaming.
“Phil?”

His half-lidded eyes moved to focus on her face. “Yes?”

“So, you took Julia to L.A., did you?”

“Yeah,” he
said with
a snort. “And ran into those bad guys again.”

“And they almost killed you?”

“No, not me. Julia, yes, but not me. I flew away from them.”

Her smile hit me like a freezing ice ray
and locked
my body into a statue. She knew I wasn’t keeper of the necklace anymore. I was a goner.

I braced myself for what would happen next, when Alora and Phil both fell to their knees and wailed. Tony dropped me and ran to his Queen, unsure what to do, wringing his hands.

I let go of everyone’s aura in the nick of time before the cesspool of Hades spun around and enveloped me into its toilet bowl. Off to the side,
Scarlett
stood in the shadows, body ridged and eyes locked on Alora.

“Get her good,” I told
Scarlett
with a laugh, until I heard Phil cry out in pain.

I ran over to the bars and focused on staying within my own emotions while I changed my beam of light to include him and Nicholas, enveloping them at the same time. Somehow I hoped it would help.

“It’s okay, Phil,” I cried, wanting to touch him, but afraid of what would happen if I did. “It’s not real. I’m here. I am with you. Hang in there.”

Unable to open up and gauge if my words were helping at all, I trembled as the cacophonic symphony of distress played its hateful tune. With a quick glance, I noticed Nicholas staring back at me, a hurt expression covering his face. I went to him and interlaced my hand with his.

“What’s happening?” he asked, his voice hoarse, concern engraved into his face.

“It’ll be over soon
.
” I
put one hand
over my ear and my other nuzzled into Nicholas’ chest as the chorus of groans repeated the horrid chorus. “
Scarlett
’s doing a mind meld with Alora. She’s using Phil’s memories to give her a dose of her future.”

“We should go while we can,” he said
while
petting my hair, urging me to get up
and
finding his arm cuffed to the cage. “Who?” Nicholas let out a low growl. “Aden,” he barked weakly, “Give me the keys now.”

Aden backed away with his hands up, terror covering his face. His eyes darted between Nicholas and Alora, his loyalty waffling. He shook his head, evidently speechless. Tony stood with him. They looked prepared to bolt at any moment.

“Look in her pockets,” Nicholas said, visibly trembling. I knew whatever we did, he needed to be free of the negative environment and fast.

Alora pawed the ground, shredding anything that got close to her fingernails. Careful to avoid her tentacle-like arm, I patted her left hip pocket, scared stiff while searching in it. Nothing inside resembled keys.

“Check the other side,” he whispered.

I waited for her to shift and strained over her body to feel the right hip, finding the treasured keys. Against my better judgment, I fished inside and formed my hands around a silver ring. When I pulled them out, she shifted back and pushed me over with her body. Her hand snatched a handful of my hair.

I shrieked and held onto my head while she tossed me back and forth. Nicholas somehow forced her to let go before slumping against the cage. Alora continued to thrash about as if she was trapped in a violent dream, unaware of her actions.

I sat out of her reach, panting violently. The raw sections of hairless skin on my scalp burned, distracting my concentration. Quickly the tension in the air caught up in my throat, feeling like I was choking on bile. The distraction burst my bubble and I could no longer sustain the good-waves channel towards the guys, which was also a buffer for myself.

Nicholas, no longer receiving the benefit of my help, hunched over and the evil quickly gained a foothold, receiving tons of nourishment from the environment.

I closed my eyes, recentered myself and chose the only one I knew who could help. Scooping up the keys off the ground, I burst into Phil’s cage.

“Phil, hang on,” I s
hrieked
, hugging onto his neck anyway, smoothing back his wet hair. He shook violently, his poor body tensed and his
back
arched.

“Stop,” I screamed to
Scarlett
, who still stood poised a few yards away, her blue eyes fiercely focused in a trance.