Talisman 01 - The Emerald Talisman

front of the old building. Frantic, I parked next to him, flung open my door and sprinted across the wet gravel to a nearby door. I tried to pull it open but found it locked. The presence of anger inside told me the fight still ensued, so I decided to try another door. It was locked too. I swore.
    If only I was a vampire, I could rip this door open!
    Not knowing what to do, I ran around to the back of the dilapidated building and looked for another way to get inside. I spotted a door cracked open, light spilling onto the wet cement. I ran to it and stepped into the vacated lobby at the same time the walls shook, flickering the lights. I heard angry voices coming from somewhere within the heart of the building.
    The air was thick with dust and I coughed as I looked around. On the anterior wall was a huge indentation that looked like the aftereffects of a wrecking ball, spilling crushed sheet rock on the floor in huge chunks. Another loud crash sent me scrambling to hide behind the front counter. I anticipated a filing cabinet or something large would come smashing into the room at any second. But all that came down was another spray of ceiling material which filled the air with grime, coating my throat with grit. I slowly stood back up and cautiously walked over the broken pieces on the floor and headed towards the door beyond the counter. My heart started to pound, not sure what I’d find on the other side as I felt wave after wave of incredible revulsion and rage.
    At least they’re still alive.
    “You need to give up! She’s mine! She doesn’t want you!” I heard Phil say loudly with a hiss.
    “There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you have her!” Nicholas growled.
    Another heavy crack told me something fell and crashed against the floor, breaking into tiny pieces. I cautiously pressed my ear to the door to figure out if I should open it. A string of obscenities followed a thunder clapping boom that shook the wall and dislodged a picture. I ducked as the frame shattered, shooting broken glass everywhere, then froze.
    “Not if I kill you first!” Phil retorted apparently not noticing the noise from the neighboring room.
    “Be my guest if you can!” Nicholas barked.
    Someone groaned after another resounding smash. I imagined the two of them hurling large industrial objects from across the room at each other.
    I put my trembling hand on the knob and pushed open the door to witness two interlocked bodies flying across the wide open space. My mouth dropped as they collided into the nearby wall creating another huge body-sized crater to match all the others scattered throughout the vast room. They didn’t hear me enter and proceeded to swear while trying to punch at each other. It was hard enough to see them fight with the intent to kill, but to hear they were fighting over me caused something to boil up inside. I refused to be treated like some sort of prize to be won at a carnival. As far as I was concerned, the honor to be my boyfriend was still mine to give.
    “Stop!” I ardently cried out.
    They froze and turned to look at me in surprise, but Phil took the distraction to his advantage. My mind registering he’d disappeared only after I felt my arms become pinned behind me.
    “NO!” I heard Nicholas scream from across the room, but Phil responded with a cackle, way too happy for my liking.
    “Ha!” Phil said with smug overtones. “Now you’ll do what I want, both of you!”
    Phil’s muscular body held me tightly as something cold pressed up against my throat. I held back my breath, taking only short gasps and tried to assess the situation. At the moment, I felt he had no intention to hurt me, but I couldn’t trust his emotions. One wrong move and the blade would easily slice into my jugular.
    “Take that ring and put it on your wrist, or she dies.” Phil threatened in a low voice, motioning to what looked like an oversized iron bracelet on the ground, close to our feet.
    Confused, I studied the rusty piece of jewelry and tried to understand how it would incapacitate anybody. As I shifted my body to get a better look at Phil’s face to judge his next move, he gripped me tighter.
    “Don’t move,” he hissed in my ear.
    “We don’t need to involve Julia. Let’s settle this like men,” Nicholas said as he stood motionless, fire burning behind his emerald eyes.
    I knew the cuff was a trap and I was the bait. I had to call Phil’s bluff.
    “Don’t listen to him. He won’t hurt