Talisman (38 page)

“
Funny
,” Mike replied with a smirk.  He shifted in his seat and sat up a bit straighter.  “I was being
serious
.”  I watched Mike stare out at the icy, snow-covered road ahead.  He seemed melancholy.  “I didn’t want him to sell it,” Mike added in a low, somber tone.

I found that puzzling.  Surely,
he
didn’t want to stay in Welch for the rest of his life, destined to run a coalmine.  If anyone had the means and resources to get the heck out of Welch it was Mike Riverside.

Why on earth wouldn’t h
e want his dad to get rid of it and be richer for it?

“Why not?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Mike replied, shaking his head.  “This deal came from out of nowhere, and well…there’s just something about Lazarus Xcavare that I don’t like.  He’s been staying in our guesthouse for the past few days.  I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something, I don’t know—”

“
Strange
, about him?” I interrupted.

Mike pointed his finger and nodded.  “Bingo,” he replied.  Apparently I wasn’t the sole opinion of d
issent in town.

I watched Mike as he continued down the road.  He was looking ahead, like he should of course, but I could tell his mind was on something other than keeping his car from s
pinning off the road.  He was deeply engrossed in his thoughts about something.  I felt a little prying was in order.

“I don’t get his interest in
Welch
.  The mine
yes
, but this whole adopt-a-town-thing is pretty hard to swallow,” I remarked, praying he took the bait.

“Yeah,”
Mike agreed.  “He’s totally different…
behind closed doors
.”

Abruptly, Mike appeared anxious
and then cut himself off.  If my curiosity wasn’t piqued before, it sure was then.

“What do you mean,
‘behind closed doors’?
” I probed.

Mike leaned on the brake a bit and
pretended to be more focused on the curve ahead, trying to brush me off.

“
Nothing
, Shiloh. 
Uhh
… Just forget what I said. 
Okay?
”

Mike didn’t realize he’d just told probably the most stubborn girl in the county to “forget abou
t it”.

I chuckled. 
“The cat’s almost free now.  I’ll drag it the rest of the way out, if I have to,” I challenged with a stubborn grin.

Mike noted the same look of determination in my eyes
I had when we were little, and I’d given him a beating over trying to steal my lunch.  He hesitated and took a deep breath.

“Promise me yo
u won’t tell anyone, Shiloh. 
Really
promise
…
Okay?
  Not Chloe.  Not Ty.  Your friend, Katie.  I mean
N-O-B-O-D-Y!
”

“
I promise
,” I replied in my sincerest of voices.  “After all, you can tell
your drinking buddy
anything.”  I thought I’d put him at ease with a little humor.

Mike
hesitated for a moment and then sighed compliantly.  “There are some cameras
hidden
in the guesthouse,” he revealed.  “My mom had a secret security system put in a few years ago when our housekeeper, Flora, was staying out there.  She spared no expense.  It’s actually pretty high-tech.  The wireless cameras are motion activated, and their hybrid batteries last for thirty years.  She thought my dad was cheating and wanted proof.  Dad doesn’t even know about them.  The monitors are stashed behind a panel in the back of my closet.  She had it installed one week when he was in Canada on a hunting trip, and she gave Flora and her sister an all expenses paid trip to Myrtle Beach…He
wasn’t
having an affair, by the way.”

Mike seemed more at ease. 
Apparently he’d been dying to tell someone,
anyone
about his exploration into voyeurism.

“
So
, you’ve been
spying
on Lazarus Xcavare?” I grilled.  I couldn’t blame him. I’d have done it in a heartbeat.

“Yeah,”
Mike answered with only a hint of shame.  “He’s really weird…and
extremely volatile
.  You can’t ever get a read on him.”

Mike had a glazed look in his eyes as he spoke about Lazarus’s demeanor.
  I’d already had the pleasure of venturing through the lying bastard’s mind, so I knew exactly what he was talking about.

“
Like how?
  What do you mean?” I inquired.

“He may talk a good game to my dad and the town, but when he’s around some of his guys,
in private
, he’s totally
TRASHING
Welch and all its people.  But he’s so set on purchasing the mine and even the property around it.  His guys are constantly coming in with samples of dirt for him to check.  He keeps telling them, ‘IT’S
HERE
’ and demanding that they ‘keep searching’.  Every guy who brings him a sample he doesn’t like, gets the shit kicked out of them.  He almost choked a guy to death the other night.  He throws some pretty violent fits too and breaks things.”  Mike looked over at me and shook his head.

I figured I should reciprocate with a little information, since
Mike was being so forthcoming.

“I ran into that Professor Grey
out on Shiloh Ridge the other day.  He’d been collecting samples, but I really don’t know why?”  That was puzzling.  “Mike, what does he think is
HERE?
”

“I don’t know…
The only thing around here is
coal
, and
more coal
.  He’s buying a coalmine.  Hell, what does he expect?  He called somebody this afternoon and ordered them to ‘wrap up whatever they were doing’.  He needed them in the, and I quote,
‘bowels of West Virginia’
, as soon as possible.  Then he made everyone leave the room and started chanting.  I’d never figure him for a man of religion…
of any kind
.”

My eyes widened.  “
Chanting?
  Like a Buddhist?”

“I don’t think so,” Mike answered doubtfully.  “He spoke i
n some kind of foreign language…and he’s got this chest he keeps a silver cross in.  He chants to it and then waves it over the samples of dirt, like some crazy religious ritual.  He even talks to the thing, or he’s talking to himself…Who knows with that guy?  What’s really freaky is when he rolls his eyes back into his head and douses himself with
salt
.”

Salt
, I thought to myself curiously. 
What’s the deal with salt lately?
  The coincidence was vexing.

“What kind of salt?”
I asked.

Mike let out a laugh. 
“I don’t know, Shi?  Does it matter?”

I sighed and thought,
Well, yeah…It kind of does from what I’ve been told
.

I noticed we’d finally reached the fork on Highway 52.  The tracks in the oncoming lane had originated from the mine.  They crossed over our path and trailed down into the parking lot.  My thoughts shifted.

I hope Daddy hasn’t left yet.  Mike will have a heck of a time getting this car of his up the mountain
.

Mike hugged the freshly plowed tracks
leading down to the parking lot.  We both spotted Daddy’s navy Ford pick-up truck sitting alone in the lot.  He was still here, but there were a few tracks around his vehicle.  His truck was in the same spot, so he hadn’t left to go anywhere.

“I thought Daddy was the only one who was supposed to be working tonight.  Did your father have to come by for something?” I asked.

“No.  As soon as he heard Mom was going to be at the dance helping out, he set up a poker game with some of his buddies over in Beckley.  I didn’t think anyone was supposed to be here this late, other than Caiden.  Maybe your mom stopped by?”

I grunted and laughed.  “Not a chance.  She does a
‘happy-dance’ every time he goes into work.”

“Why don’t you just ask your dad when you see him,
Sherlock
,” Mike joked, rolling his eyes as he pointed over to the security entrance.

T
he frigid air hit me as soon as I got out of the car. I pulled Ty’s tuxedo jacket tighter around my shivering body as I trudged through the snow.  I loved the outfit Daddy had surprised me with, but right now — I just wished there was a little more of it.

T
he snow had finally stopped, but the air was still whipping around us.  We reached the security entrance, only to find it locked.  I’d forgotten I would need to ring him to come and let me in.  I turned to Mike.

“No key?” I
hinted.

Mike
stepped back and gave me a doubtful look.  “
No
…Not on me.”

“Let me call him.”  I reache
d into the black-beaded clutch, which Katie had packed, and pulled out my phone.  “
Crap
.”  I’d forgotten to plug it in after I got home this afternoon.  My cell was so run down it wouldn’t even turn on to illuminate a “Low Battery” message.  “Mike, you have yours,
don’t you?
”

He nodded his head and smiled.  “It’s back in the car.  I’ll go get it.”

While Mike strode over to his car to retrieve his cell, I paced along the front security gate.  The scene was so still and eerily quiet.  The crunching sounds my feet were making as they trudged through the soft, pillowy snow sounded like thunder.  I stared at the building where Daddy would be working.  It looked dark and empty.  There weren’t any lights shining from any of the windows.

How odd
…
Where could he be?  His truck’s still here
.

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.  I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold air whirling around my body or the peculiarity of Daddy’s elusive whereabouts.  I hurried over to Mike
, who was rummaging through his car.

“I don’t thin
k he’s in there,” I remarked.

“Not in the
main office?” Mike posed and glanced back at the security gate.

“
No.
  I’m going to check his truck.”

I ran over to
Daddy’s old truck and peered through the windows.  Strangely, his keys were dangling in the ignition.  I pulled on the chrome handle and it popped right open.  I climbed up inside and threw my clutch onto the passenger-seat.  My eyes scanned all around its interior.

He wouldn’t have left his keys in
the ignition like this or his truck unlocked
.  I was completely baffled.

“I’ve got my phone,” Mike y
elled out.  “What’s his number?”

After I
’d called out Daddy’s number, I sat there struggling with an uncontrollable restlessness while I clutched the steering wheel and stared out the window.  It didn’t make sense. I thought I heard a slight
“bump”
and turned towards the bed of the truck.  There was nothing back there but one of Daddy’s weathered tarps and some old wood boards sticking out from underneath it.  As I turned around to ponder some more, a horrible ache rose from the pit of my stomach.

Where
could he be?

Chapter  11  —  A Tale of Two Mikes

From out of nowhere, an unexpected sound pierced the eerie silence like a knife
.  The tune was muffled, but it was coming from somewhere close. I instantly recognized the melody. 
Daddy’s cell
.  Frantically, I searched every inch of the cab before it stopped ringing, pausing only to process its direction.  I whipped around in my seat to spot a faint light glowing under the canvas tarp.
I burst out of the cab like a shot and raced to the rear of the truck.

“
Shiloh
…Come here,” Mike called out in a peculiar voice.  I ignored his request as I lowered the tailgate, then I untied my shoes, kicked them off, and climbed up inside the bed of the truck.

I scrambled to throw back the tattered canvas tarp.  To my horror, I found Daddy lying
there,
barely moving
.  By the way he was grimacing, he was in a dreadful amount of pain.

I panicked. 
“
DADDY!
  What happened?  WHAT’S
WRONG?
”

His eyes opened slightly at the sound of my voice.  He
was somewhat conscious, but as he tried to move his body, he started to convulse.

“
Call 911! 
NOW!”
I screamed to Mike.

Daddy grabbed my arm.  He attempted to pull me closer as he flailed about the bed.  From the direction
Daddy was guiding my hands, I could tell he wanted me to look at something.  Immediately, I ripped open the top of his shirt.  Smudged on his neck, I spotted what appeared to be a set of faded handprints, one on each side.  They were light, almost translucent, and a strange blue color.  All the visible veins in his body were pulsating and pressing against his skin, colored in the same eerie hue.  I didn’t know what it was — or what to think!

Daddy started mumbling something in a strained, low voice.  “
Shi
…
Shiloh,
” he gulped, struggling to speak.

I hovered over him. 
“
I’m here, Daddy
.  I’M RIGHT HERE!  Mike’s calling an ambulance.  Just hold on! 
Please
,
HOLD ON!”
I pleaded, my eyes never leaving my father’s face.

“Did they say when they’d
be here?” I hollered to Mike.

D
addy attempted to speak again.  “Shi…
Shi, PLEASE GO
.”

“I’m staying
RIGHT
HERE!
” I cried back.

He squeezed my hand and made a horrible face.  My heart raced at the possibility
that my father’s life could very well end within a matter of seconds.  He pulled me closer.

“
Ada…Adamas,” Daddy whispered.

“What?”
I asked, baffled by the strange word he had mumbled.  “Is that who did this to you?  Who is…
ADAMAS?
” I questioned.

“Shiloh, I said come over here…
NOW!”
Mike yelled, sounding agitated.

I’d heard Mike calling me, but I tune
d him out.  If it wasn’t a siren blaring from an ambulance, then I wasn’t interested.  As I sat hunched over Daddy, I stared anxiously at his eyes.  On any given day, I could count on their special twinkle to warm my soul.  But tonight, their light seemed to be fading with each and every blink.  A pool of darkness was slowly devouring any traces of the blue-green hue like a fiendish black plague.  Watching them grow dim was unbearable.

This can’t be happening! 
IT CAN’T!  Please let this be a vision…A horrible, horrible dream!
  The face of the man who’d loved me unconditionally since birth was starting to become blurry from the tears welling in my eyes.  I was desperately trying to wipe them away when I heard Mike clear his throat.

“
THAT WASN’T A
REQUEST!”
Mike roared.  The ferociousness in his voice echoed through the darkness with a commanding and formidable air.  His tone enraged me, but I had to keep it together for Daddy’s sake.  He still needed my help, and seemingly Mike’s, too.  I paused over my father’s body to take a calming breath before turning towards Mike.

“Look,
Mike
—,” I began as I whipped my head around.  I was instantly taken aback and unable to speak.  Mike was standing on the edge of the tailgate with the most menacing look about him.  The cocky jock had a scowl on his face and a look in his eye that could crack a mirror. 
I gasped
.  His presence was so alarming that even with Daddy struggling for his life merely inches from me, I couldn’t help but become flustered, and my mind went blank.

“Mike…Did you call
for an
ambulance?
” I questioned in a slow and skeptical voice.

The gruesome expression had set onto his face like stone. 
Mike never replied.  He just held up the cell phone to where I could see it and then pitched it off into the snow. I watched in utter disbelief as it sank into one of the icy drifts that had formed from the harsh wind.  All I could think was,
Why in the Hell did he do THAT?

“Are you going to make this
difficult?
” Mike growled as he crossed his arms.

Mike’s bizarre demeanor
had me completely stunned.  My father was lying here, dying in my arms, and I didn’t have one freaking clue as to why he was acting like this?

“What are you
talking about
, Mike?” I asked cautiously.  “Where’s the ambulance?  My dad is
DYING
…Can’t you see that?” I cried.  Mike paid no attention to my pleas.  A frightening glare flashed in his eyes as he lowered his body into a crouch.  Watching him rear back with that kind of hunger jerked me straight into a flinch.  His aggressive posture was impossible to ignore or deny.  It was just like I’d seen mountain lions around here pose — right before they pounced on their
prey
.

Quickly, I grabbed Daddy's cell as I rose
to my feet.  My instincts forced me to take a defensive stance while I waited for his next move.

I didn’t have to wait too long.  Mike dove at me
not a second later.  He knocked the phone out of my hand and shoved me against the cab of the truck.  I felt the metal caving around my back when I struck it.  The next thing I knew, he’d thrown me down onto the hard bed and was on top of me.  I tried to hit him, but he had me pinned before I could even attempt a swing.  I knew Mike was strong from watching him wrestle in gym, but he seemed almost
freakishly strong
— unnaturally strong.  I tried kicking, but to no avail.  My legs were just flailing about underneath his.  Mike then pressed my squirming body down against the bumpy grooves of the bed.  The cold metal was stinging the backs of my legs.  Somehow I had to get free…

We wrestled around for a few more seconds.  I hoped
that maybe someone off in the distance could hear us.  The stillness of the night would surely carry a voice even farther without any other sounds, so I screamed as loud as I could.

Mike growled and released one of his hands, only to muzzle my mouth.  I jumped at the vulnerability of his free hand.  As soon as it touched my lips, I bit down on it, hard.  He grimaced and then backhanded me across the face with his other one.  The initial sting of the blow had left me shaken for a moment. 
Pain
brought me back around. My cheek was stinging, and my jawbone was throbbing.  Ironically, the frigid air that was burning my skin was also numbing some of my suffering.  He clutched his hands around my neck and began to squeeze relentlessly.  I couldn’t believe this was happening to me,
at all possible times
. I was going to die here, alongside my father.  My only consolation — I wouldn’t be
alone
.

The next thing I knew, a strange
light was flickering under my chin.  Then flames started shooting out from my neck,
unexplainably
.  I felt his hands suddenly release.  Mike let out a blood-curdling scream as he held his hands up in the air.  To my complete shock, they were all ablaze!  Bright red flames engulfed his hands and raced halfway up his arms.  He fell on top of Daddy, who still lay unconscious or dead in the back of the truck.

How in the H
ell his hands caught on fire was beyond me, but I saw my chance for a getaway.  I crawled to the tailgate, as best a girl in an evening dress who’d just gotten a beat-down from her date could.  I looked back to see Mike writhing in pain as he tried to extinguish the flames.  I hopped off the back of the truck.  Mike noticed my attempt to flee and started creeping closer to the edge.  As soon as he reached the end of the bed, I let out a grunt and then forcefully slammed the tailgate back up to cold-cock him in the head. 
“Thump!”
  He howled in agony from the powerful whack.

I ran over and jumped in Mike’s car.  My eyes scanned down to the ignition a
nd then all around the seat.

I hit my fists on the dashboard.
 
Shit!  He’s got the keys
, I huffed in a fit of panic and then hurried out of the car.  I took a deep breath to assess the situation.  Mike was still trying to extinguish his burning hands, but the unearthly red flames were starting to dwindle.  I looked at the road.  Not one car had passed the entire time we’d been here, and the chances of flagging one down were next to none.  I could go back to the fork and run up the mountain to head for the house, but that was several miles, uphill all the way.  Mike would surely hop in his car and run me down to finish the job.  It was evident — this was no mere rape attempt.  He wanted to
kill me
.  But
“why”
I had no freakin’ idea!

I turned toward the tree line
across the road.  If I trekked through the trees and ran through the forest that had a more gradual slope up the mountain, I could take the short cut…across
Shiloh Ridge
.  That was my
ONLY
viable option.  I looked back to see the flames diminishing from Mike’s hands as he tried to rise out of the truck.

“Damm
it!”
I growled as I shot across the road and disappeared into the trees.  I’d vowed I would
NEVER
step one foot on that ridge again, but it was my
only
chance for an escape — regardless of whatever “supernatural creature” had tried to kill me the other day and still may be lurking up there.  The only comfort I took was thinking that maybe the demonic black fog might set its sights on Mike,
instead of me
.  I was running barefoot.  I was cold.  I was fearful for my life, as well as the unknown fate of my father’s, but assuredly most of all —
I was on my guard
.

I ran as fast as my frozen, bare feet would allow.  They
radiated a constant throbbing pain up my legs as I weaved through the rugged landscape, but at least it reminded me that I was still
alive
.  And I felt every sharp branch scraping my legs as well, even though they were bordering on numb.  My dress ripped several times when it got caught up on some of the jagged limbs.  As cold as I was already, I couldn’t afford to lose much more of it.

I ran for what seemed like an eternity before I
stopped to get my bearings.  I thought I’d come to a somewhat familiar small clearing when I heard a voice cackling in the distance.  The sound was chilling.  I didn’t know who I was hoping it was more —
Mike
or
the monster
.

I didn’t think the base of the ridge was too much further, but I needed a diversion to buy some time.  Swiftly, I removed Ty’s tuxedo jacket and threw it on some bushes, in the opposite direction
I would be running.  I made sure it was visible, but not too noticeable that would raise any flags of a possible ruse.  I carried on for several more minutes through the shadowy forest.  The fiendish laughter seemed to be growing louder and closing in on me fast.  The light from the half moon served as my only guide amid the surrounding darkness.  It had been so long since I’d ventured through here, and I was unsure of my exact location with every step I took.

Any doubts
regarding my location passed after I tunneled through some bushes.  I spotted one of the ridge’s high cliffs and rallied a second-wind as I scrambled toward its base.  I tried to jump up and grab several of the rocks embedded in the side of the rugged cliff, but I couldn’t reach them.  Even scaling its side was out of the question, what with all the snow that had saturated it.  I scanned down along the base of the cliff in both directions.  It was even higher no matter which way I would attempt a go at it.  This spot was my best chance.  It was the lowest, but unfortunately it wasn’t low enough.  There weren’t even any trees around that I could use as a ladder to climb it.  Shiloh Ridge was right there, but it may as well have been a million miles away.

A heinous cry called out
, “SHILOH…
SHILOH
…”  If my bones weren’t already chilled, they were then.  The voice was Mike’s, and he was close —
too close
.