The Diamond Bearer's Secret

by Lorena Angell

  Beth asks, “Why didn’t you extract one of their minds?”

  “I couldn’t in the presence of obsidian. Plus, I don’t think it would be a good idea. Imagine him running to the blogger and telling him about that power. We’d be reading about it in the morning.”

  “Yeah, but who would believe him?”

  I sit down on the couch. “It doesn’t matter if people believe him or not. Look at how much traction this silly blog has gotten. Trevor and Robert are flooded with orders for obsidian because of it. We don’t want to give any reason to encourage more posts. I’ve already raised their suspicion because Fang could see me. I can only imagine what that must have looked like to see Fang being dragged down the sidewalk.”

  * * *

  Later, I open the footlocker and examine the vests. The green quartz is eerie. For each quartz sewn onto the vest, some person with powers died. I study the green stones and realize they aren’t quartz at all. The striations are wrong. They’re vertical, not horizontal, to the axis. I remove my topaz from my chest and compare stones. My topaz also has vertical striations. I conclude the green ones are topaz. Thanks, Uncle Don, I think, grateful for his tutelage.

  I can’t wait to tell Chris about everything. I try to communicate with his mind, but don’t get a response. I check the time and figure, being almost noon, he must be working. An idea comes to mind. What about using my invisibility while bi-locating? I haven’t tried that yet. But I don’t dare experiment with this power on Chris. What if I failed and Chris was exposed as a double agent? I decide to try bi-locating to Jonas. How much trouble could I possibly get into?

  I close my eyes and imagine I’m invisible. Then I feel for Jonas’s diamond like I did last night. The office materializes in my mind and I feel as though I’m there. I find Jonas, relaxed in a reclining desk chair with a keyboard on his lap, typing away. His bare feet are up on the desk. I’m in clear view. If I was visible, he’d see me, but he doesn’t. I make a slight squeak sound, startling him. He brings his feet down to the floor, sits upright, and swivels his chair. He looks right past me.

  Excellent.

  I open my eyes and end my connection. My invisibility is still activated . . . so, without pausing to consider the consequences, I try to connect with Chris’s diamond.

  I hear voices and the clinking of silverware against plates before I see the setting where Chris is located. He’s at a restaurant. From the looks of it, a very nice one. He looks good. No, better than good, he looks spectacular. I didn’t know he owned clothes this nice. He’s slouched in his chair, elbows on the arm rests, with a distressed expression. Another place setting is across from him with food that looks to have been partially eaten. Chris’s plate is finished.

  Without warning, he straightens his posture and sits forward in his seat. I follow his gaze to an approaching female who’s dabbing her red, swollen eyes with a napkin.

  I’m devastated. I look back to Chris and want to strangle him. Kikee? Really?

  Chapter 11 - Crimson’s Preferred Method of Travel

  Chris hasn’t even taken me out to a fancy restaurant yet. Is this his first date with Kikee? Or has he been with her already? Is this why he couldn’t visit me last night? I need to calm down. I’m breathing too rapidly and am afraid he’ll hear me. I move a couple steps away. The Blue shard within my heart would allow me to hear what he’s actively thinking about or what he wants to say next, however his mind is blank and well controlled. I have to suppose this kind of control comes from years of training as a spy.

  Kikee sits down. “Why couldn’t you tell me over the phone so I could cry in the privacy of my room?”

  Chris says with a level voice, “I wanted to let you know in person.”

  “Well, you could have warned me. You could have told me sooner before I packed up and came to New York.”

  The more she gripes, the more my mood lightens.

  “You were already planning your trip before you ever met me.”

  “Toying with the idea, not planning. I really felt like we had something special. You told me so. Your own words, Chris.” She throws him a pleading look, as if maybe she can get him to change his mind. I anxiously observe Chris to see how he responds to her persuasive words and behavior. When his facial expressions remain unchanged, she changes direction with her attempts. “You can’t tell me someone could have that kind of power over your thinking. I mean, if what you said is true, and you’d forgotten you had a girlfriend, does that mean you were tricked into thinking you liked me?”

  Chris leans forward, pushes his plate aside, and puts his elbows on the table with his arms folded. “I remember thinking you’re attractive and that you obviously liked me. At that time, I liked everything about you. But once my mind cleared, I realized what I’d done. I’m so sorry, Kikee.”

  She lets out a breath in defeat. “Yeah, well, I guess I should have known when you didn’t return my calls.” She picks up her water glass and drinks several swallows, then sets the glass down. “You know, I think your breakup line will go down in the books as the most creative.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “No guy has ever used the excuse of having their mind controlled as a reason for breaking up with me.”

  “You make it sound like you get dumped all the time.”

  I snicker and quickly slap a hand over my mouth. Chris’s spine straightens, and he looks right at me, and then his eyes move side to side, up and down. I drop my connection to his diamond as fast as I can, hoping he can’t see me. I open my eyes—back in Denver—and see Brand walking toward me. He freaks out when I appear out of thin air.

  “Holy crap-o-rama. Calli! You can’t do that to me. I’m too young to die of a heart attack.”

  “Sorry.”

  “What were you doing, anyway?”

  “Just boosting my mood.”

  * * *

  I wait till the evening to send Chris a mental message to come to me when he can. I don’t want to be too obvious or he might figure I was at the restaurant. Nor do I want to come across as being too clingy.

  I’m sitting on my bed when Chris appears in front of me. “Hi Chris,” I say, trying not to express my emotions.

  “Hi. I’m really sorry I never got back to you last night. I had something come up with work.”

  “That’s okay. How was your day?”

  “Busy. Oh, by the way, I told Kikee I don’t have feelings for her.”

  “You did? How’d she take it?”

  “She was mad. And disappointed.”

  “I bet. Well, let me tell you about my day.”

  After laying out the events of the day, locating Trevor and Robert, retrieving the vests, and wrestling with a Rottweiler, Chris compliments me on my natural investigative instinct. I wish we could talk all night long, but he has work in the morning. We say our goodnights and goodbyes.

  I lay in bed, contemplating my conversation with Chris when I hear Jonas in my mind. Calli, come visit me again. I have news.

  I close my eyes and connect with his diamond. He stands in his office, waiting for me, with a big smile plastered across his face. “I did it, Calli! I got you off the no-fly list.”

  “That’s great, Jonas,” I reply. “How did you accomplish that?”

  “Trade secrets, sweetheart, trade secrets.” He uses his best Humphrey Bogart impression.

  “Really? You’re not going to tell me?”

  “It’s kinda boring stuff to non-nerds, but if you really want to know—”

  “Never mind, Jonas. I just wanted to know whether you would tell me. What’s the latest on the blog?”

  “I have a program tracking the activity on each page of the blog, so I know everything that gets added, even comments. Something new shows up every day, but nothing noteworthy has been added lately.”

  “That’s good, at least. Well, Jonas, it’s late my time which means it’s even later your time.”

  “No worries, Calli. With the diamond, I’ve found I don’t r
eally need much sleep. Besides, I’ve got to keep my eye on the blog.”

  “Thanks again for your help, Jonas.”

  “It’s the least I can do to show my gratitude for you, Calli. Once upon a time, you tried to save my life. Remember?”

  “Yes, but you don’t have to repay a debt or anything.”

  “I’m not, I’m showing my thanks. Goodnight, Calli.” He waves.

  I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling for a while before drifting off to sleep.

  * * *

  “Calli.”

  I’m awakened by Jonas’s voice. Sunlight streams through the window, causing me to squint. Then I realize he’s bi-located and stands next to my bed.

  “Is Mary helping you bi-locate?”

  “No, this is all me.”

  I’m about to congratulate him, but he cuts me off.

  “Calli,” I note his serious tone. “The blogger posted video news reports of the Tennessee convenience store robbery as evidence ‘these people’ are among us.”

  “Uh-oh.”

  “Uh-oh is right. You and Chris are clearly identifiable to anyone who knows you.”

  “I better talk to Crimson about this. I’ll get back with you, Jonas.”

  “Can I meet with Anika before we break connection?”

  “Sure, go ahead.”

  “Well, I can’t really . . . er, exactly . . . without you.”

  I realize he needs to be in the same room with Anika to see and hear her.

  “Give me a second, Jonas. I’ll call for you when I’m ready.”

  He vanishes. I get up and change my clothes and run a brush through my hair. Then I go out in the front room where Brand and Beth are already responding to the news of the blogger. Jonas evidently emailed Brand.

  Brand throws a troubled frown my way as I enter the room. “You’re not going to like this.”

  “I already know. Jonas visited me.”

  Anika’s ears perk up. “Jonas came here?”

  “Sort of. He bi-located.”

  “But he didn’t even say hi to me.”

  “He will,” I reassure her and then realize she’s jealous of Jonas’s and my connection. Funny. I hadn’t even thought how she must feel about that. “I’m calling him right now.”

  Jonas appears and Anika runs over to him, and then right through him, forgetting she can’t hug his form. They laugh and talk animatedly for a few minutes, catching up on the last few days.

  I walk a few paces away, over to Brand and Beth.

  Beth watches Anika and Jonas and she comments, “Bi-locating is cool. It’s like watching a hologram in real life.”

  Brand says, “All those sci-fi movies with teleportation and projected images, right here in the living room.”

  I turn to Brand. “Show me the bad news, Brand.”

  He plays the uploaded video segments showing the surveillance footage.

  Beth’s hand flies to her mouth as she watches Chris get hit by one of the robbers. “That must have been terrifying, Calli.”

  The video moves forward in jerking motion showing the gist of what happened that day, with one shot for every four seconds. A lot can happen in three seconds, I muse. Maetha and Freedom appear instantly and I point to the screen. “Stop, go back.”

  “How far?” Brand asks.

  “Just before the diamond kills the girl.”

  Beth’s mouth hangs open in shock. “Is that how she died?”

  “Yeah, and the guy, too.”

  Brand starts the video again, but this time advances the screen slowly. I watch closely for the diamond. Frame after frame pass by.

  “What a relief,” I say. “The diamond wasn’t captured in the footage.” I take a deep breath and send my thoughts to Chris about the blog.

  He doesn’t answer.

  I sit down on the couch and think about the current situation. Anika and Jonas continue to talk to each other. Anika has moved onto religious topics with Jonas. I take my focus off them and return my thoughts to the blog situation. Even though the video cameras never caught a glimpse of the diamond, the cashier still saw it. Maetha and Freedom were captured as well.

  Crimson’s voice enters my mind. It’s a good thing Jonas removed you from the TSA’s database. However, ‘Janice Johnson’ is doubly flagged. They cross-referenced her face with their facial recognition software with the FBI. Now she’s known for disappearing from two locations.

  Is Maetha going to have to change her appearance?

  Yes.

  How does that power work? I haven’t tried it yet, well, on purpose, I mean.

  The power from the Sanguine Diamond that’s used to dramatically change physical appearances is draining on energy levels. It’s best used in short spurts, not for long durations. I’d recommend you don’t try it out until you’re in a safe location. The Grecian Blue’s power to alter other’s perceptions would be the better option for Maetha, but—

  I interrupt. She doesn’t have a Blue shard anymore.

  Correct.

  I could give it back to her, Crimson.

  No, dear. Maetha will have to reduce her visibility through the use of Imperial topaz and by simply staying out of sight.

  I ask, What happens next? Do Chris and I have to go into hiding too?

  You two need to go to the Tennessee State Police and submit to questioning to get this cleared. I’ll go with you.

  Mary saw something like this in a vision, I think.

  Yes. Pack a few things. I’m arranging immediate transportation for you.

  Okay.

  I bring my attention back to the room and find Jonas and Anika are butting heads over beliefs. Brand and Beth are observing, rather rudely in my opinion.

  I call out, “Jonas, time to go.”

  He makes eye contact with me and nods his head. “Anika, we’ll have to talk about this later. Think about what I said, okay?” I like the gentle tone he’s using.

  Anika says, “You think about what I said, too.”

  “I’ll try. I’ve got a lot to do here.”

  “If I mean anything to you, you’ll make it a priority.” Anika’s insistence puts the hair on my neck on end.

  Jonas takes a breath and says, “Well, you know, I’m trying to help save the world and all that jazz, so . . . ”

  Yeah, Jonas isn’t liking where this is going.

  Brand and Beth look at each other with wide eyes and silently mouth the word “oh.”

  “I can’t be with a guy who doesn’t share my beliefs,” Anika states firmly, issuing what might be the relationship death-kill.

  I speak to Jonas’s mind. Maetha needs your magic fingers to erase her from the system, otherwise she has to go into hiding from the FBI, TSA, CIA, HLS, IRS, well, maybe not the IRS. Say goodbye, Jonas.

  “Goodbye, Anika.” He waves and vanishes, having not properly answered her ultimatum.

  Anika walks to her bedroom with her head hanging low.

  I glare at Brand and Beth, who are way too entertained with the drama. I say, “Knock it off, you two. I’m leaving.”

  “Where are you going?” Beth hurries to follow me.

  “Chris and I have to turn ourselves in for questioning because of that video. I need to pack.”

  Crimson arrives at the house before I finish gathering up my things. She points to my bag. “No, Calli, you can’t take all of that.”

  “It’s not much.”

  She grabs my bag and starts tossing things out onto the couch. A change of clothing and basic necessities is all you’ll need. We’re flying, she adds.

  Flying? Like, flying-flying?

  I throw a worried glance at the others as I pick up my mostly empty bag and walk out the front door.

  Beth waves goodbye as the door closes.

  Outside, Crimson says, Are your topazes charged?

  Yes, with running power and mind-control.

  Activate your invisibility and focus on your healing power. You might get a little nauseous.

  I focus
on invisibility and Crimson wraps her arms around me like she’s hugging me. I can tell we’re both invisible. Hold tight, Calli. This might hurt a little.

  What? We begin to rise off the ground slowly. I tighten my hug, with my head just below her chin. She also strengthens her hold on me. Why couldn’t we use the plane? I ask.

  Rodger couldn’t get a flight plan that would get us there soon enough. We don’t have time to waste. The future depends on it.

  We are now well above the rooftops. A brisk wind blows past us. I don’t feel like I might fall, or that gravity is so strong I can’t hold on. I feel like I’m hugging Crimson tightly while standing in the living room. If I close my eyes I might be able to convince myself otherwise. I can see for miles in all directions as we continue to rise like a gentle hot air balloon. I twist my head a little to get a better look, relaxing my grasp on Crimson.

  I wouldn’t do that, Calli. Hold tight. Here we go.

  I follow her directions and strengthen my hold. In a blink, my brain gets crammed into my toes as we launch head first to the east. I scream in agony from the excruciating pain, but I don’t hear any sound. It’s as if the sound leaving my mouth isn’t able to reach my eardrums, like maybe we’re flying faster than the sound can travel. Then I realize I can’t hear myself because of the deafening roar within my head. The pain is almost unbearable. I think every cell in my body has exploded. At least it feels that way. I use my healing ability to try to ease the severe discomfort, but I don’t know what to heal or even how to do it.

  I don’t know how long we maintain the painful position before slowing down. The loud roar lessens, then stops altogether. Our feet lower so that we’re upright. I open my eyes and look around. We’re so incredibly high in the air, flying forward in a standing position.

  Crimson says, How are you doing?

  Are you kidding? I’m just peachy.

  Well, if you need to vomit, please turn your head to the left, not the right.

  Huh?

  We’re about to reenter the gravitational field. The first time can be a little jarring.

  What do you—

  My body feels like a burning meteor just slammed into it. I don’t know how else to explain the abrupt burning pain consuming the entire right side of my body. It feels like I’m on fire, or maybe a huge invisible branding iron is being pressed against my right side. Then the nausea hits. I turn my head to the left, just in time to hurl my stomach over the lattice of farmers’ fields below. The pain stops and my tummy feels better. Finally.