The Diamond Bearer's Secret

by Lorena Angell

  “We’ll see, now won’t we?” My father smiles. “Even though our plans for tomorrow are posted on the calendar on the fridge, and you could have checked the weather to see if it would rain tomorrow, guessing the exact time the downpour will hit our car is pretty specific.”

  “Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” I smile.

  My father changes his line of questions. “How do you use your power of healing? What are you able to do?”

  “It’s not so much what I’m able to do, as much as it is what I should or shouldn’t do.”

  “Well, in what ways have you used the power?”

  Chris scoots forward in his seat, with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. “The first time I witnessed her using the power was to extract two bullets from fellow Runners’ bodies with her mind. That was the most incredible thing to see.”

  Both my parents’ eyes widen with disbelief and the inability to comprehend. I know all too well their minds are deep-seated in scientific fact, and my healing ability doesn’t fall in that range.

  Chris takes my hand. His voice drops. “Another time, she healed my broken legs and infused me with strength.”

  I’m feeling quite uncomfortable. I don’t like being bragged about, because I don’t feel what I did was extraordinary. Anyone with a diamond could have done what I did. I ask, “Can we change the subject?”

  “This is fascinating, Calli,” my dad says. “I wish I could experience it or even have that power.”

  “You actually do, Dad. Only it’s not as strong. How many times have you guessed correctly about a diagnosis before the results came back?”

  “That’s just learning and training.”

  “Next time you’re examining a new patient, analyze what you’re feeling. You may find your gut instinct is speaking more than your knowledge.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  We go on to talk about my mother’s patients over the years who were most likely people with powers. She hasn’t wanted to believe in the possibility of supernatural powers. But now that I have the abilities, she says she’ll be more aware.

  She says, “I still can’t believe Charles Rhondell is dead, and that you witnessed the shooting.”

  “Chris was there as well.” I nod my head in his direction.

  “Oh my. You two have been through a lot together.” She continues in her thoughts, I hope she doesn’t think experiencing crisis and leaning on one another for support equals love. Those types of relationships don’t last.

  I purse my lips together, biting my tongue, then change the subject. “The little girl, Sasha, was a Mind-Reader. She was afraid of the Shadow Demons in the dark. She had every right to be afraid.”

  “Oh dear. Good thing I didn’t encourage her mother to take her outside.”

  Chris says, “The Demons are gone now. Calli figured out how to kill them.”

  “Not exactly, Chris. They’re still there, I just took their power.”

  My parents glance at each other with confused expressions.

  I glance at the clock on the wall. “Oh, wow, look at the time. I need to get a few things from my room and then we’ve got to go.”

  I run upstairs and grab the items I wanted to pick up, mostly clothing, then come down and meet everyone outside. After dumping my things in the backseat of my car, I give my mom a hug and say, “If the journalist calls back, asking about you-know-what, please let me know as soon as you can.”

  “I will.”

  I hug my dad. My parents give Chris a cordial goodbye with handshakes and partial hugs.

  My father says, “It was nice to meet you, Chris. Please take care of our daughter.”

  “I will.”

  Chapter 8 – Working Out the Kinks

  I drive away, my parents framed in the rear-view mirror, and let out an exhausted huff. “That went well.”

  “Your mom doesn’t think very highly of me.”

  “You heard that, huh? Thanks for not saying anything.”

  “It wasn’t my place. Besides, I probably won’t go so easy on the first guy who comes knocking for our daughter.”

  His casual mention of “our daughter” brings the sensation of butterflies swarming in my stomach.

  Jonas connects with my mind. Calli, I need to talk to you.

  Give me a second to pull over.

  I slow the car down and turn into a large parking lot.

  “What’s going on,” Chris asks.

  “Jonas needs to talk,” I say, as I stop the car and turn it off.

  “Why didn’t he speak to both of us? Why only you?”

  The jealous tone in Chris’s voice doesn’t go unnoticed by me. “I don’t know, Chris.”

  Before Chris can respond, Jonas bi-locates to the tiny space between us. At the same time, Mary appears in the backseat.

  Jonas says, “Oh, good. I caught you before you rented the car, Chris. With my web searches and the help of Mary, I found out you two are still persons of interest in Tennessee. However, don’t panic just yet. The authorities are looking for the wrong people. They’ve conveniently been given a tip pointing them in the wrong direction. So that’s the good news. The not-so-good news is the future shows you will be outed as the two on the surveillance video from the truck stop/gas station.”

  Chris says, “I haven’t been able to see anything about it.”

  “I know,” Jonas says. “Me neither. But Mary said she’s foreseen you being questioned.”

  Mary leans forward. “It’s true, Chris. I don’t know how far in the future the questioning takes place. Maetha says once you get to the Pentagon you should try to hold a few interrogations of former compound workers before everything escalates.”

  “Okay, thanks,” Chris says.

  Jonas holds his hands up in front of him. “Wait, there’s more bad news. Calli, your name is on the TSA’s no-fly list.”

  “What?”

  “You boarded a flight bound for New York but disappeared before the plane landed. The Transportation Security Administration gets a little freaked out when something like this happens.”

  Chris looks over at me with parted lips.

  I’ll tell you about it later, Chris.

  Jonas continues. “I don’t know how you did it, but you and Janice Johnson are flagged.”

  “How can that be? I’ve been flying around on Maetha’s jet since then and haven’t been caught.”

  “All those flights were within U.S. airspace. Private planes don’t have to submit a flight manifest for flights departing and arriving in U.S. airspace, so the TSA didn’t know you were flying. Now, if you’d tried to fly to Bermuda that would have been another story.”

  “Well, I don’t plan on taking any commercial flights anywhere, Jonas.”

  “At least not until I can get your name removed from the list.”

  “You can do that?” I ask.

  “I have high hopes.”

  Mary sighs. “Things were so much easier before technological advancements.”

  “I bet,” I say. “Jonas, don’t break your back over this. Crimson advised me to avoid public transportation.”

  “Yeah, but if you ever plan on flying to this island, your name will have to be put on the manifest.”

  “Work your magic, Jonas.”

  “Anything for you, Calli.” Jonas and Mary vanish.

  I stare into the space between Chris and me, then meet Chris’s stormy eyes.

  He repeats Jonas’s last statement. “Anything for you, Calli?”

  “What can I say? He’s a fan.” I try to downplay the comment to help dissipate the dark clouds of suspicion that have formed over Chris. I turn the car on and maneuver back into traffic.

  We arrive at the car rental store. I accompany Chris inside and wait with him. An uneasy feeling settles in my gut as I realize we are about to head in different directions. I don’t want the last thing on Chris’s mind to be doubts about my feelings for him, so I say to his mind, I don’t want you to go. I’ve
been dreading this moment, Chris.

  Me too.

  I’ve gotten used to being with you over the last little while. I playfully bump him with my shoulder. I think I might have developed a severe crush on you.

  “Next,” the rental associate hollers.

  Chris moves forward to the desk while saying to me, A crush? Do crushes say ‘love you?’ He looks at me and smiles, then sets his ID and credit card on the counter. “I’d like to rent a car.”

  * * *

  Chris drives away in his “grandma car” as he called it, heading back to the Pentagon. I feel like a huge piece of me is leaving. I keep his taillights in view, wishing he’d turn around and come back, knowing he can’t. I miss him already.

  Crimson addresses me. Calli, you should run to Denver instead of driving. You’ll get there faster.

  I’m not going to fly in the plane this time?

  No. Maetha needs it.

  Why didn’t Chris run back to D.C.? Wouldn’t that have been faster, too?

  Chris is heading into denser population where it would be more difficult to stay out of sight. In the end, his trip would take twice as long if he ran. You on the other hand are heading toward less and less population.

  Oh. Should I take my car back home?

  Yes. There should be a running suit in your bag from Maetha.

  I turn the car around and drive home, passing the mall where Suz and I used to go watch people. I wonder what Suz is up to. Discovering Suz’s betrayal was the first time I learned something about my life was not as I’d thought. Boy, I sure have topped that experience many times over. Now, if I were to find out someone pretended to be my friend because of feeling guilty, I’d laugh it off.

  My world has become so much larger and more complex.

  When I arrive at home, I find my parents have left. I call my mother’s cell phone and leave a message, letting her know I decided to take other transportation and have parked my car at home.

  After changing into my Runner’s suit, I begin my solo run to Brand and Beth. Having a full diamond in my heart allows me to run even faster than before. Exhilarating! At this speed, I’d have worn friction holes in my jeans in no time.

  As I run, my mind thinks back to the day at General Harding’s compound when Clara Winter was brought in with Beth’s brother. The two guards from the truck were wearing vests with quartz and obsidian. Of course, I think, they might be the guys responsible for the blog. Who are they? Where are they? Are they also the murderers of Beth and Anika’s parents?

  As I run, I use my future sight to keep an eye out for situations where someone might see me pass by, like what Duncan did when we ran to Martha’s Vineyard. Some of the time I slow down to a jogging pace to keep my disguise as a regular runner and to avoid raising alarms. After everything I’ve gone through in the last month, I don’t want to bring the government’s attention back to the Diamond Bearers or the clans.

  I run for about three hours, then have an “ah-ha” moment and come to a halt in a farmer’s field. I can appear freakin’ invisible! Why am I wasting time running slowly? I look around to make sure no one is nearby, then activate my invisibility and take off running.

  Sometimes I forget how many powers I have. I guess because I’ve been a regular human longer than I’ve had a diamond, my brain isn’t used to utilizing my abilities. I’m still doing things the hard way.

  I stop somewhere in eastern Nebraska after the sun goes down. I notice altered Shadow Demons following me. At first, I’m alarmed. They look like zombies. No longer the leathery demon-animals as before. They aren’t dangerous, but they seem to be drawn to me when before they’d move out of the way.

  Interesting.

  I take off running again and a while later arrive at the Denver house, invisibly. I’m about to connect with Beth’s mind when I notice the same Demons from Nebraska. At least some of them are the same. Why are they following me?

  I send my thoughts to Brand. Hey, can you let me in the back door? I need to keep invisible. Be careful, there’s altered Shadow Demons out here.

  He opens the door and cautiously steps out on the lighted porch to allow me time to enter. Then he steps back inside.

  I stop being invisible in their eyes and materialize in front of Brand, Beth, and Anika. Brand wraps his arms around my body and hugs me right off the floor.

  “Calli—you can go invisible?” Beth exclaims.

  Brand lets go and I face Beth and Anika, who both have open mouths. I put my finger to my mouth. “Crimson wants this to remain a secret. Can you keep my ability a secret?”

  “Mmm hmm.” Anika and Beth nod their heads together.

  Brand asks, “Can you control minds, too?”

  “A bit.”

  Beth clears her throat. “Did you run here?”

  “Yeah, from Ohio.”

  “Calli told me there are Shadow Demons out there,” Brand says, pointing to the door.

  I nod. “They’re altered from the obsidian, but they are here. They seem to be following me.”

  Anika says, “That’s weird.”

  “I just checked. We’re safe,” Brand assures everyone.

  Beth points out, “Yeah, but you’re Unaltered now. They wouldn’t want you anyway.”

  “I know. That’s why I took you with me.” He grins wide, exposing his teeth.

  “Where’s Chris?” Beth asks.

  “He’s back east.” I turn to Anika. “How are you doing?”

  “Good. I got here earlier today.”

  She seems to be emotionally solid. “How are your grandparents doing since the funeral?”

  “I helped them heal as much as I could. The rest is up to God.”

  I nod my head, not really knowing how to respond to her. Turning to Beth, I ask, “What do you guys have so far?”

  “We’ve kind of hit a brick wall. We’ve interviewed everyone on the list living in Colorado, but several are gone or moved.”

  “Chris is going to interview some who transferred to work at the Pentagon. I thought about something on my way here. There were two guards—” I explain what I saw when the prisoners were delivered to the compound.

  Anika puts a few papers in front of me. “Here’s the list of people on the payroll we couldn’t find. I should point out that Agent Alpha, or Freedom, wasn’t on the payroll.”

  Brand and Beth stare at me with question in their eyes. I quickly surmise these three have been speculating about the seemingly endless stream of money the Bearers apparently have. I ask Anika, “What’s your point?”

  The three of them share glances with each other. Then Brand says, “Where do the Diamond Bearers get their money? I mean, flying that jet is several tens of thousands of dollars each trip. The jet itself is probably worth many millions of dollars.”

  “I can’t believe you guys are worried about where the money comes from,” I chastise them. Although, I can’t say I haven’t wondered, too. “These people have been around for centuries—some for thousands of years. They’ve amassed gold, silver, jewels, antiques, you name it. If you three choose to be Bearers, you can start collecting stuff too. I bet your Hot Wheels collection will be worth a pretty penny someday, Brand. Same goes for you two,” I point to Beth and Anika. “Hang onto your treasures and someday they’ll fund your flights across the nation.”

  Anika says, “I noticed on the Internet that some items from the times of Alexander the Great were ‘found’ recently.” She uses air quotes. “Do you think maybe one of the Bearers staged a significant find to be able to cash in?”

  “Anything’s possible, Anika.”

  Anika takes a different stance. Her body straightens, and her chin rises a little. “If they have that much money collectively, they should be using it to help the hungry children in other countries. Not flying everywhere when they can drive or just run.”

  I’m floored by Anika’s statement. Is she implying I’ve caused many children to starve to death because of all my recent flying in Maetha’s plane? I
don’t quite know how to respond. I say, “Someday, when you’re a Bearer, you can run everywhere you go and use your money how you see fit.”

  Beth scratches her neck in an uncomfortable way. I read her mind.

  I’m so glad you’re here, Calli. Since she arrived, Anika has been on her soapbox trying to straighten out the world. I don’t think I can keep my tongue under control much longer.

  I smile at Beth and address everyone. “Are you guys aware of the blog about powers?”

  “No,” Brand and Beth say together.

  I tell them what I know and that Jonas is monitoring the activity.

  Remembering what Crimson told me about uniting the clans, I ask Beth, “Do you know how the clans feel about me and the amulets?”

  “They still believe you stole the amulets and killed their leaders. I’ve tried to explain as much as I can without giving too much away . . . you know, Diamond Bearers, Crimson, and everything else.”

  “I appreciate your attempts, Beth. Don’t be sorry.”

  Beth adds, “Clara believes me. She told me she knew you ended up with a diamond shard in your heart, so it made sense to her that you’d end up with the rest of the shards. I think she’s the sole reason the clans aren’t hunting you.”

  Brand interrupts with a rather abrupt change in his tone of voice. “Okay, I just gotta ask, Calli. Why doesn’t Crimson step in and straighten everything out?”

  “Because that’s not how she works.”

  “But she could do it.”

  “In order for her to straighten everything out, she’d have to reveal how she knows I didn’t steal the amulets. She’d have to reveal herself.”

  “Yeah, but you’re going to have to do the same thing.”

  “I’m not Crimson. If I’m hunted down after exposing myself, it won’t be as big of a deal as if she was sought after. Remember, the clans know the powers within the diamond are similar to the known powers that already exist. Crimson’s powers are so much more.”

  Anika says, rather confidently, “The reason Crimson can’t intervene is she can’t outdo God. Her limitations are set, and she knows it.”