We left the building the way we’d entered and ran out into the trees by the lake and stopped. Maetha promptly sat on the ground with her legs crossed and instructed me to join her.
“Calli, do you understand why I brought you with me?”
“I’m not sure now. At first I thought it was because you were rounding up the amulet wearers… I figured you were the one behind the disappearances.”
“Calli, as I told you, once a splintering takes place no one can alter the destiny of the diamond. I am not responsible for the missing amulet wearers. I am also not concerned with them for this is all part of the reuniting. This cycle repeats itself every time a diamond is extracted and reborn and I am not worried about it… and neither should you. It must play out as nature intends.”
“Did you bring me along so I could learn about Brand?”
“Yes. I wanted you to learn with me. I didn’t know what Hans had discovered, I only knew he’d stumbled into a pit of vipers. I also brought you along with me in case I needed help.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Maetha thought she might need help, and she thought I’d be able to give it to her?
“Calli, I’m not all-powerful. I’m a human being with increased abilities and that is all. So much of what I do and decide is done by following my gut instinct and often it is decided on the fly. My wisdom and experience from living as long as I have guides my decisions as well. However, times are changing. Freedom is changing the times around us and where you’ve had personal interaction with him I figured you could shed some light on the situation. Your mind holds many clues to this big puzzle and I needed it near when Hans divulged his findings.”
“What do you think about Brand’s father fathering all the Repeaters?”
“I’m not concerned with it. Brand’s emotional rollercoaster is inconsequential in the big picture. I am challenged with why unaltereds are being bred and what type of weapon is being made. Calli, I must alert the others and I need you to be my protector while I do so; wake me if there’s danger.”
I watched as she closed her eyes and relaxed. She appeared so serene and beautiful and I marveled at how peaceful she was even with the disturbing news we’d just received. Brand was not an authentic person of powers, he was created, and yet the Shadow Demons were drawn to him. Interesting. She’d said the people following us at the airport were government men and just the thought made my hair stand on end. By far, the information that I couldn’t clear from my mind was that Chris’s father was working with Freedom on some kind of weaponry.
I took in my surroundings watching two swans out on the lake gracefully glide through the water, the sound of chirping crickets brought my attention to the position of the sun and the realization that nightfall was only a couple of hours away. We wouldn’t be able to get back to Brand for several hours and his safety worried me.
Maetha pulled out of her trance and said, “Calli, someday your mind won’t be hampered by such details. Brand is being moved to a secure location in Fort Wayne.” She stood and I followed. “Let’s go.”
*****
We arrived at a hotel in Fort Wayne and approached the designated room but even before we reached it I could hear Brand yelling at someone.
“Where is she? You said she’d be here!”
Maetha knocked on the door. Footsteps could be heard and the door opened revealing a tall man dressed in a policeman uniform, but I could tell right away he was a Hunter. My experience with Hunters in the past wasn’t one I liked to remember and this guy seemed to not be any different. He immediately struck me as a shady character. Maetha told my mind that he was a mercenary; a hired thug.
We entered the room and Brand rushed to my side. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, Brand.” I glanced over at Maetha and the Hunter who were speaking quietly in the corner. The Hunter handed Brand’s broken Demon device to Maetha.
Brand abruptly yelled and pointed his finger at the Hunter. “That bastard lied to me and brought me here; he took my Mp3 away. He knew how to do it, Calli, he tricked me by stalling long enough that I couldn’t fix it.” Then Brand turned his anger to Maetha. “You told him, didn’t you? Why would you do that?”
Maetha calmly walked to Brand and said, “Your life was in danger, Brand. I did what I had to do to ensure your safety.”
Maetha’s voice filled my mind. “Calli, tell him that government agents were present when he fought by the river and were about to seize him. Tell him that this officer did as ordered but has no idea Brand has powers and if he wants it to remain that way he better repeat back and shut his mouth.”
I turned to Brand and stated exactly what Maetha told me to say and Brand actually listened to me. He repeated back to the moment he asked me if I was alright. I presented my thoughts to Maetha and told her he understands the situation a little better.
The Hunter handed Maetha the broken Demon device as I’d seen before but this time Brand was silent. Maetha pulled a small amount of cash from her zipped pocket and handed it to him and the man departed from the room.
After the door closed and the three of us were alone, Maetha sat on the bed and turned to face us. “Brand, you will be coming with me for the next while until it’s safe for you to return.”
“What? No, I’m not. I can handle myself just fine.”
“Clearly you cannot.”
“Hey, he tricked me, plus he had insider information.”
“Do you think those coming after you wouldn’t try to trick you or use insider information? You’re lucky he got to you first.” Maetha turned her attentions to me. “Calli, you will return to your dormitory and continue on with your Spring Break plans. Keep a vigilant eye out for danger.”
Brand strutted in the direction of the door. “I’m leaving with her.” Before he reached the door, Maetha was instantly blocking his way. “Whoa! How… I thought you were just a Seer, Maetha.”
“Brand, your world is about to become larger. Over the next few weeks I’ll teach you more about the world of powers and introduce you to others like yourself. You need to understand though; I am deadly serious when I said your life was in danger.”
“What about school? What about my family?”
“Don’t worry, it will all be taken care of,” Maetha said.
I watched Brand’s body visibly relax and I knew Maetha was using her diamond powers on him; like an instant sedative.
“Calli,” Maetha spoke to my mind, “you need to go now before you’re missed. I will come to you at a later time.”
I left the hotel room feeling a bit more secure knowing that Brand had settled down and was in good hands. Two hours later I arrived back at my dorm and grabbed my already-packed bags and then drove my car home to my parents' house; the time was two o’clock in the morning. After checking in with my parents I snuggled into my comfortable bed and drifted off to sleep.
The next day I began helping my mother sort through boxes of memorabilia and old clothing. My mind, however, was fixed on other pressing matters and I found it hard to focus. The next few days played out the same, but the pile of boxes was shrinking so I figured my mom was probably happy. She wondered what was on my mind and she assumed correctly; a boy.
I returned to school following the break prepared for negative remarks or speculations concerning Brand only to find that no one really missed him. I scanned over the minds in the cafeteria and couldn’t find a single mind that was wondering about his absence and just as I was about to feel sorry for Brand for not being missed, I realized this was Maetha’s doing. She’d done the same thing when I returned from Montana.
The next few weeks leading up to finals was uneventful, almost boring; well, except for receiving the box of Demon devices that I didn’t even open. There really wasn’t any point in it because I didn’t have anyone to test them for me. No sign of Freedom or any unaltereds, Suz’s friends no longer gave me the time of day, and the building’s entire occupants seemed to have calmed down to the po
int of seriousness—which it was really strange to see serious Freshmen. I didn’t even hear from Beth, then again, I didn’t contact her either.
Just before college let out, I found a job at the Public Library for the summer. The job was tedious and boring but it paid me money and constituted my very first job. I gave it my best effort and was a model employee.
In the middle of July, I took a week off to go to Hawaii with my parents. I thoroughly enjoyed the vacation even though it wasn’t the first time I’d been to Hawaii. Two things to note while in Honolulu, one, I came across an older female Seer who was a street vendor selling seashell jewelry. I looked into her mind and found she was of Hawaiian descent and when her powers emerged in her adolescent years, Curtis Schultz personally taught her about the Demons. Her family embraced her ability and praised her for it; they also helped protect her through the years.
The second noteworthy occurrence happened on the beach down from our condo. I saw a man who looked exactly like Chris. Blonde hair, deep blue eyes, toned muscular body and a smile to melt every nearby girl's heart. The guy was with a poufy blonde haired, bikini-clad girl with unnaturally large breasts which her tiny bikini top struggled to hold. When she turned her backside my direction, I came to the conclusion that she must be extremely proud of her buttocks because she wore a thong bottom.
My mind recalled the vision I’d seen of Chris on my last night at the Runner’s compound. Through his eyes I saw myself enter his hospital room although at first I didn’t recognize myself because of my matured appearance. I was older looking, filled out, even dressed differently than I normally dress… almost professionally dressed, like how one would dress for their office job.
Looking back at the man and nearly naked female, I understood better that my body still needed to change dramatically before the events in the vision could take place. I certainly didn’t own any dressy clothing, or thongs, not that I’d have to own a thong for the vision to happen, I guess my mind was a little preoccupied with thongs as I watched the busty blonde readjust her ‘butt-floss’. Yeah—no, thongs were not for me.
*****
Once we returned from Hawaii, my day to day activities were quite limited and mundane. I worked, I ate, I slept and lived on my laptop in the evenings researching DNA, medical advancements and medications. This went on for three weeks, until August 7th rolled around again; my birthday.
My parents were coming to take me to dinner at a fancy restaurant and I knew I’d better go shopping because nothing in my closet could even be remotely considered fancy. I called Pamela; she met me at the mall to help me pick out something special to wear.
“Calli, is that you?” Pamela said as she approached me in the courtyard.
“Hey, Pamela.”
“Whoa! You’ve changed!”
“Huh?”
“Haven’t you looked in the mirror lately? Sheez, how long has it been since I saw you last?” Pamela walked a full circle around me which made me feel embarrassed. “We need to dress that ‘bod’ of yours in something stunning. Come on,” she grabbed my arm and dragged me to the most expensive store in the mall, naturally.
Three hours and a maxed out credit card later, I had a new wardrobe. The outfit I’d be wearing for the birthday dinner was a green jewel-toned, belted-waist, v-necked, short sleeved, silk dress that stopped just above my knees. The dress was accentuated by green and brown heels. Pamela referred to the heels as the pièce de résistance and all I could say was, “They better be the highlight of the outfit; they cost more than all my shoes put together!”
Pamela recommended I pull my shoulder length hair up and wear dangly earrings to complete the look. She really had a classy way about her. I told her she should become a personal shopper.
I arrived at the restaurant and was escorted to my parents who were already waiting at the table. As I approached, I noticed a third person, a female, sitting with them. It was Maetha.
Chapter 11 - Missing Persons
“Calli,” my mother exclaimed as she put her hands to her mouth in shock.
My father stood as I approached and embraced me in a warm hug. “There’s the birthday girl, you look spectacular, Calli.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Calli, I want to introduce you to Dr. Janice Johnson. She’s a neurologist who studies the brain function of proclaimed psychics and she has a job offer for you.”
Maetha stood and extended her hand for me to shake. I stared at her in confusion. My parents had already met Maetha so why was my father referring to her as Janice Johnson? Maetha’s voice filled my head. “Calli, to them I appear to be a different person. Just play along. You look great, by the way.”
I reached forward and shook her hand and said, “Nice to meet you, Dr. Johnson.”
Everyone sat back down and the waiter arrived with the menus. His nametag said ‘Cody’ but his mind revealed his name was actually ‘Sven’. His eyes were on me as he introduced himself and asked for our beverage choices. My mother ordered a glass of wine and the rest of us asked for water at which ‘Sven’ departed.
There was something very strange with the way ‘Sven’ conducted himself and I wasn’t the only one who picked up on it. My mother said with a smile, “He’s smitten with you, Calli.”
“I don’t think so, Mom.”
My father began discussing the job ‘Dr. Johnson’ was offering. Maetha’s voice filled my head again. “It’s time to take Brand to meet the other clans. He needs you, Calli. His progression is stunted without your influence. He’s actually waiting nearby in a secure location and once we are finished here, you will leave with him. I want your parents to believe you are working an internship with me, that way they won’t worry and we don’t have to reveal your abilities yet. Your parents aren’t ready to accept it.”
Sven arrived with our drinks and took down my father’s order for hors d'oeuvres. I placed my thoughts on the front of my mind for Maetha. “Something is amiss with this waiter but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“He’s an enemy, Calli, but tonight he is not to be feared.”
“What?”
“He’s under my control and cannot harm you.”
My father had been asking me if I was interested in ‘Dr. Johnson’s’ offer and I acted enthusiastic and said yes. Over the next hour, our dinner was served and we all enjoyed pleasant conversation… and I marveled at how Sven was trying to follow his orders to harm me, but absolutely could not do it. What exactly he was trying to do, I didn’t know. How he knew where I’d be, I didn’t know. At one point I asked Maetha’s mind if my parents were in any danger and she said no.
The evening wrapped up and I hugged my parents and told them that I loved them because, honestly, I couldn’t tell if I would ever see them again. The thought frightened me a little but at the same time, I felt reassured all would work out well in the end.
Maetha accompanied me to my dorm and issued instructions of what I should pack and what I should leave. After packing, I changed into some of my new clothes that were not as fancy but comfortable. I showed her the box of new Demon devices and she ordered that I take one for Brand. The box would then be repackaged and mailed to her place in Indiana. If the new device was ineffective, Brand and I would have to alter the way in which we traveled; hopefully that wouldn’t be the case.
Maetha helped me load my bags in my Cooper and gave me additional instruction concerning the journey. I asked her, “Should I be on the lookout for Sven?”
“No, he has forgotten all about you.” She smiled at me.
“When I have the complete diamond will I be able to do what you do?”
“We’ll see. Calli, I want to remind you to avoid looking into your own future. You will eventually possess all pieces of the diamond but sometimes the course in which that takes place is disturbing to view. Remember that small incidences create larger situations which precipitate the overall outcome of you attaining the diamond. Do not look to your own future lest you be tempted to
behave a certain way or attempt to alter a situation as you already have done.”
“What? I’ve already done what?”
“Calli, you altered your physical appearance. That is a power I have, and it is what I used on your parents tonight. The diamond gives you that power and you’ve unconsciously caused your body to change to match the vision you saw concerning Chris. Someday when you have the whole stone you’ll be able to alter the way others perceive you without actually changing your physical appearance.”
“That’s what you did tonight, right?”
“Yes. I would teach you how to do it now if it was possible as that would help disguise you from your enemies, but I cannot.”
“Because I need the whole stone.”
“Correct. The changes you’ve already made will help in one way, and be a detriment in others. Calli, I choose to look this age of fifty because I was the happiest at this age long ago. By looking older, it reduces the amount of suitors that I have to deal with. You have willed your looks to an extreme level and this change will bring about new difficulties as you will soon discover.”
“So, I’m too beautiful?”
“There is no such thing, Calli. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and not everyone will see you as being beautiful, in fact, many will see you as a threat. Be careful with your beauty and do not use it to achieve what you believe to be your future.”
“What?”
“That is all the time we have to discuss it. You must go now and pick up Brand.” She handed me a card with an address on it. “He is waiting for you.”
I drove to the address Maetha had given me; a diner on the outskirts of town. Brand sat in a booth by the large window and the first thing that ran through my mind was, ‘This is what is considered a secure location?’ The second thought that went through my mind was, ‘Brand looks older, more mature, a bit defeated and tired.’
Unaltered #2_A Diamond in my Heart Page 13