Clara silently straightens a pencil that lies next to her phone. “Chris, do you know why I trust you? Because I’ve been tracking your letters to your father. I already know you don’t tell him everything. Stan Schlater has been watching you, reading your mind, and he says you are an honest boy who is stuck in a bad situation.”
“What? Stan has been reading my . . . wait, how have you tracked my letters? They’re written in code.”
“Your code-key isn’t hidden very well in your room, Chris.”
“You’ve been in my room?”
“Yes.”
“I . . . don’t know what to say. I think I should be mad that you’ve been spying on me, but you’re the one who should be mad at me for spying on you. Why haven’t you kicked me out of the compound?”
“Because Stan says your intentions are good. I’ve only double-checked your communications with your father to be current on what you’re telling him.”
“Are you going to kick me out now?”
“Do you think I should?”
“I don’t know.”
Clara pulls out a blank piece of paper from her drawer. She begins writing on the paper. Chris doesn’t know what to think. She completely surprised him with her revelation.
“Okay, Chris, I want you to tell this to your father in your next communication.” She hands him the paper. Her message says: The Seers clan is dividing. One group is heading to Oregon, the other to southern California.
“Is this true?” Chris asks.
“No. It’s a test. I want to see if your father is paying attention to what you tell him. Chris, this isn’t the first time the government has tried to infiltrate our compound. We’ve just never had someone like you who could work both sides.”
“Both sides?”
“Yes. I’m asking that you continue to feed information to your father, but that you do so under my direction. If you learn something from your father that you think would be of benefit to the clan, I would hope you’d pass it on.”
“Of course. One thing I know is the government is satisfied hearing we are not training to rise up against them. They like hearing there aren’t many of us and that we keep to ourselves. We are not a threat to the United States. In fact, I overheard my father talking to someone on the phone, telling them the government campaign to discredit psychics and fortune tellers, with the help of the media, was effective.”
Clara scoots forward in her chair. “The government is involved in actively discrediting metaphysical powers?”
“I guess. That’s what I heard my father say.”
“Well, that makes sense. They’re helping the clans stay hidden from the general population, probably out of fear. The government knows the people would panic if they knew they were surrounded by people with powers. They behave the same way with UFOs and aliens. To prevent mass panic, sightings are quickly disproven and individuals who claim they’ve been abducted are discredited.”
“So, is the government really hiding the existence of UFOs?”
“I’ve personally never seen one, but considering how the government is handling the existence of superpowers, I have to figure they are hiding UFOs as well.”
Chris’s memories zip ahead to when he learns how his father reacts to the news of the Seer’s clan splitting up. Chris receives a letter written in code from his father stating “where Seers live is of no concern” to him. Yet, Clara interprets this to mean Chris’s father is quite interested in everything Chris has to tell him.
I sense within Chris’s mind a bitter-sweet emotion. He realizes he’s attained his father’s attention and possibly his respect. Except it has taken Chris being a secret agent to reach this point. Betraying his friends and slipping potentially deadly information to the enemy is what it has taken to win his father’s love—if this is considered love.
Chris’s memory jumps further ahead. He is barely sixteen and has participated in several delivery missions. The information he feeds his father is carefully constructed, with the help of Clara, to protect the clan.
Chris asks the Reader, Stan Schlater, how to protect secrets. Stan’s answer is simple: “Don’t tell anyone anything you don’t want other people to know.”
“You mean, except for people you trust, right?” Chris smiles.
“No Chris. No one can be trusted one-hundred percent. A secret spoken aloud is no longer a secret. I was able to read your mind more easily, simply because you’d spoken things about the clan to your father. The memories lingered in your mind right on the surface. They were easy to locate. I can teach you more effective ways to block other Readers from entering your mind.”
“Please teach me.”
Chris’s timeline leaps by a large stride. He is now seventeen, going on eighteen. He has just broken up with a girlfriend from the compound, Shay Gibbons, because she “can’t be with someone who won’t open up.” He is a locked box, and she “needs more from a boyfriend.”
If girl-troubles aren’t enough, Chris’s father presses him for more information about other clans and their leaders. The increased pressure is brought on by Agent Alpha. Chris is tired and exhausted, so he decides to take a break and return home to Kansas. On his way, a woman intercepts his path. Chris knows she has powers simply because she was able to spot him during his run.
“Young man, my name is Maetha. I am a Seer. I knew you would be running this way. I need you to lend me your running ability so I can get to Oklahoma quickly and undetected. In exchange for helping, I’ll offer to show you a vision of your future.”
“Show me? How would you do that? It’s not pos-sible.”
“I have the ability to project my visions into your mind.”
“Are you a witch?”
“No, dear. I’ve been affected by the cosmic rays differently than other Seers.”
“All right, take my hand and I’ll deliver you to Oklahoma faster than the wind.”
They begin their run.
I note that Chris trusts this woman without any good reason. It’s reckless, in my opinion. But then I consider that maybe Maetha used her mind-control on him. I can’t detect anything from his memories indicating he is under her control, though.
When they reach Oklahoma, I recognize the town as the same one where Brand and I had exchanged cars with the dying man, Wendell, on our way to California.
Maetha directs Chris to a coffee shop and sits with him in a private corner of the building. “Close your eyes and let the vision fill your mind, Chris. When you open your eyes, I’ll be gone. But if you ever need me in the future, you can find me in the same place as you found me earlier.”
Chris closes his eyes and the vision fills his mind. He sees that after visiting his mother in Kansas, he will go to Washington D.C. and meet a powerful Spell-caster named Merlin. Merlin will help him build impenetrable walls around his memories, protecting the damning secrets he possesses. Chris also sees he will become the fastest Runner in the compound when he turns twenty years old.
The vision ends and Chris opens his eyes. Maetha is gone. Chris leaves the shop and begins his run home to Kansas, wondering how and when he’ll go to Washington D.C.
Chris’s memories jump to Jo Jo’s kitchen. Jo Jo is always a good listening ear, and she has great advice about Chris’s ongoing girlfriend woes: “Stop trying so hard to find love,” she says.
“What else is there in life?” he asks her.
“Everything! Seek out the beautiful qualities of the world and love will find you.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll figure it out, Chris. Hey, I want to show you something.” Jo Jo leads Chris out to her garage and opens the door. Inside, a sparkling new Harley Davidson rests on its kickstand.
“Whoa . . . is this yours?”
“Who else’s would it be?”
He laughs and walks to the bike and runs his hands over the smooth leather seat. “Have you ridden it yet?”
“How do you think I got it here from the dealership?” she chuckles.
“Would you take me for a ride?”
“Sure. I can teach you how to ride it if you’d like.”
With an ear-to-ear grin, he simply nods his head. I conclude this is where Chris learned to ride a Harley.
Chris’s memory moves to dinnertime, sitting at the table with his mother and father.
“You’re going with me to the east coast tomorrow, Chris,” General Harding announces.
“Pardon?” Chris coughs on his fork-full of food.
Chris’s mother says in her usual quiet, timid voice, “Stanley, Chris was going to take me shopping tomorrow.”
“You can take yourself. He and I have business to attend to.” Stanley’s uncaring mannerism toward his wife unnerves Chris. He’s seen this behavior all his life, but now after having relationships with girls, his father’s rudeness brings a different type of irritation toward his father and sympathy for his mother.
“I came home to visit both of you,” Chris says to his father. The knowledge Maetha gave him, telling him he would take this trip lingers in the back of his mind.
“This is more important that any shopping your mother has planned.” General Harding turns to his wife. “Go with Jo Jo. She seems to have nothing better to do than ride around on her new toy. Which, by the way Chris,” he swivels his head in Chris’s direction, “I don’t want you riding that thing.”
Chris meets his father’s eyes in contempt. He knows better than to question his father.
Chris’s mother bravely says, “Come on, Stanley, there’s nothing wrong with riding a motorcycle.”
“If you want to die, perhaps. Those things are nothing more than donor-cycles. After you crash and die, they donate your good organs to smarter people.”
Chris flies to D.C. with his father the next day and attends several meetings with him at the Pentagon. At one point, Chris is asked to wait out in the center courtyard while General Harding goes to a top-level meeting that Chris is not permitted to attend.
Out in the fresh air, Chris finds a bench with a man sitting on the far end. Chris sits down. Thoughts about his mother skip through his mind. He hopes she was able to get her errands done. Chris imagines his mother riding on the back of Jo Jo’s motorcycle to the grocery store and a smile lights up his face.
“Beautiful day today, wouldn’t you say?” the man at the other end of the bench says.
Chris casts a glance in his direction and nods.
“You look like someone who has a lot on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?”
Chris shakes his head and then reaches up and scratches his scalp. He freezes with the eerie feeling his mind has just been read, then lowers his voice and says, “Why would you ask me if I want to talk about it when you can just find out for yourself?”
The man cracks a sly grin. “Young man,” the man lowers his voice to match Chris’s. “I think you should learn better mind-blocking abilities, especially when you’re around these people.”
“Who are you?” Chris demands.
“You may call me Merlin, Chris Harding.”
Chris reasons that Merlin would have found his name while reading his mind. Chris says, “I’ve seen a vision of you, Merlin.”
“How? You are a Runner, are you not?”
I find it interesting that Merlin is genuinely surprised when Chris announces he had a vision.
“A Seer named Maetha showed me a vision.”
“I’ve heard of her. What did you see?”
“That you’ll teach me better ways to block my mind.”
“From what I can see, you are doing the best job possible. What I will do for you is place spells upon your mind, blocking the sensitive information that could mean the death of your friends.”
“Are you a wizard? I mean, with a name like Merlin, one might jump to that conclusion.”
“I’m a Spell-caster. I use spells with nature’s will in mind. I can sense nature’s balance is threatened by what you know.”
“Wait, how did you read my mind if you’re just a Spell-caster?”
“You already know that witches and wizards can mimic the cosmic powers to a certain extent. Now, hold still while I fulfill the vision you saw.”
Through Chris’s memory, I feel the solid, impenetrable walls go up within his mind. I remembered what it felt like to run into these walls from the outside when I tried to read his mind a few years ago. To be in Chris’s mind and to feel the inner side of the wall is amazing.
Merlin says, “You’re all set. You can add memories behind this wall at any time and they’ll be protected too. But, I’d caution you to not make everything an unshared memory. You don’t want to close yourself off like that.” Merlin stands from the bench and says while slightly bowing, “Until next time.”
Chris bows his head ever so slightly in response and watches Merlin walk away. The overwhelming sense of relief Chris feels, knowing his mind is protected and his friends’ lives are as well, boosts his spirits.
I pause for a moment to absorb the magnitude of Chris’s situation. At sixteen years of age, he’s a double agent, helping keep the government at bay to protect the clans. What an incredible responsibility for his young shoulders to carry. Then again, I had some pretty big responsibilities on my sixteen-year-old shoulders once upon a time.
His memories jump to a time when he’s nineteen. He’s assigned to go pick up a recently discovered Runner in New York. I feel his excitement, as he understands he’s being considered an adult or leader within the clan. This signifies a huge jump for him. Plus, if what the Seer promised him comes true, he’ll soon be the fastest in the compound.
Clara puts Chris’s itinerary together with carefully selected flights that arrive before sunset, and with sleeping arrangements at nearby hotels.
On his journey to New York Chris decides to check in with his father from the Bozeman, Montana airport.
“Hey, Dad,” Chris says when he’s connected with his father’s office.
“What have I told you about addressing me?”
“Excuse me, I forgot. Hello, sir.” Chris emphasizes the “sir.” He chastises himself for thinking he and his father could ever have a normal father/son relationship. “I’m checking in, sir.”
“Good. Did you get the information I asked for?”
“Yes.”
“When will you bring it to me?”
“I have an errand to do first, then I’ll deliver the package.”
“No. Bring the package first.”
“I don’t have enough time to do that . . . sir.”
“I don’t care what else you think you have going on! I want that package ASAP or I’ll storm the compound and gather the information myself.”
Chris considers his flight plan and says, “I’ll drop the package in Denver.”
“I’m not in Denver. Bring it to my office at the Pentagon.”
Chris begins to panic. He knows the detour will cost him time, but he has no other choice. “Yes sir.”
General Harding disconnects without saying good-bye, leaving Chris holding a phone in his hand and wondering if he’ll ever get out of this situation. He should have called his father before he left the compound. If he’d done so, other arrangements could have been made to pick up the new Runner. Better yet, he shouldn’t have called his father at all.
He considers calling Clara to alert her, but decides not to. She may never again give him another assignment if she feels he’s too unreliable. He decides to surprise her with his ability to multi-task.
Once his airplane arrives at J.F.K International in New York, Chris deplanes and hurries to the ticket counter. He purchases a round-trip ticket to D.C. that will allow him a short amount of time at his father’s office, yet still give him enough time to be able to be back in time to pick up the new Runner.
Chris arrives at the Pentagon and clears security, only to find out from the receptionist his father is in a meeting.
The receptionist says, “Your father left instructions for you
to wait until he returns from his meeting.”
“When will that be?”
“I don’t know.”
“I can’t wait. I have an appointment to keep. I’ll just have to leave this package with you.”
“I cannot accept it. You know your father better than I do. He will only want the package delivered from your hand to his.”
“I can stay for thirty minutes. After that, I have to leave. Is there any way to get a message to him?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Chris grumbles in frustration and sits down on a chair against the wall. He checks the time. In his mind he reviews the location of the boy he’s supposed to meet. The Seer foresaw a boy super-speed running down the sidewalk and crashing into a vegetable stand in lower Manhattan. Chris’s memory of his own clumsy power emergence comes to mind.
Thirty minutes pass and Chris stands to leave. General Harding enters at the same time.
“Chris. Good. Come with me.”
“I can’t. I need—”
His father doesn’t listen and walks to his office door. He opens it and looks back at Chris. “What are you waiting for?”
Chris exhales in frustration and hurries into the office. “I don’t have much time. Here’s the package.”
“Sit down. I want to go through this with you.” General Harding motions to a chair while he takes his seat behind his desk. “You’ll be interested to know your flow of information is paying off.”
“That’s good. Now if we can discuss—”
“My soldiers were able to intercept a group of Seers. We captured all ten of them.” General Harding lets out a proud chuckle. “You should have seen the look on their faces. I have it on video from the soldiers’ helmet cams.”
“Dad, um, sir, I have to go now. If I fail in this errand, I might lose my standing in the clan. Here’s the package. The names and locations of the people you requested are in there.”
Chris stands from his chair and hands the manila envelope to his father. General Harding takes the envelope without comment. Chris doesn’t wait to be excused. He turns and leaves the office, knowing his father will view his sudden departure as insubordinate.
The Diamond Bearers' Destiny Page 4