Maetha’s eyes travel over Hasan’s body, examining the bulletproof vest and its inability to stop the large caliber bullet that was used by Deus. I wonder to myself what Maetha feels as she views yet another long-time friend’s dead body. Her memory doesn’t provide that detail.
Deus answers her phone, obviously irritated. “How much longer?” She paces around in a circle as she listens to the voice on the other end. She says, “I already tried—yes, I have one, but it’s personal size, not enough to counter the powers.” Her fingers travel up to her necklace, grasping the small obsidian. “No! I don’t have a bigger one!” Deus dramatically holds the phone at arm’s length and looks to the sky, exhaling an exaggerated sigh, then she brings the phone back to her ear. “Listen, . . . no, you listen! I want a Hunter, Seer, and Reader to go with the Runner and Healer Travis is bringing me.” She pauses while the other person speaks, then says, “What do you mean he won’t allow that? You’d better tell the general that if he won’t let me have any of the special crystals, then he’d better supply me with the walking talking version. You of all people should understand what I’m up against here, Rolf!” She ends her call and pockets her phone. Then she begins practicing her karate moves on an imaginary opponent.
The scene jumps forward. I can’t tell how much time has passed. A car pulls into the parking lot and comes to a halt near Hasan’s body. I recognize the driver. It’s Travis from the college party! What’s worse is Beth and Anika are in the backseat. They appear scared but otherwise unharmed.
Travis gets out of the car but before he closes his door, he says to Beth and Anika, “Don’t even think about running or your parents will die.”
Maetha’s voice sounds out in a different way. She issues a telepathic order: Amenemhet, Merlin, Fabian. Anika Evanston and Beth Hammond have been kidnapped. Their families are in danger. Do what you can.
Deus turns to Travis, “It’s over there.” She points to the bloody heart. “You better not be thinking of trying anything foolish or I will hunt you down and kill you.”
Travis lowers his chin and with angry eyes replies, “Don’t threaten me.”
Deus remains by the car while Travis walks over to the heart, bends down, and picks it up without so much as a flinch. Then his body slumps over, and he falls to his knees, still clutching the diamond.
I hear Maetha’s telepathic voice saying, Put it in your pocket so it’s not touching your skin. The sensations will be easier to deal with.
Travis looks at Deus and asks, “What did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything. Hurry up.”
He pauses and then stutters, “Just give me a minute to figure this out. Toss me your water so I can wash this thing off.” He points to the bottle of water Deus has in her utility belt.
Deus lets out a huff and pulls out her water and tosses it to Travis. Then she opens the back door and removes a pair of handcuffs from her belt. She says to Beth, “I know you’re thinking of running. Let’s just put a halt to that right now.” She hands Beth the cuffs. “Put those on your ankles.”
“What if I don’t?”
Deus pulls her hand gun, cocks it and presses the barrel on Beth’s temple so fast Maetha almost misses viewing it. “Not doing as I say would be a bad choice.”
Maetha looks over at Travis while Beth clamps the cuffs to her ankles. Travis is attempting to separate the diamond from the heart tissue. He has to actually tear the muscle from the stone because it’s so firmly attached. The effort reminds me of opening a clam or oyster and having to cut the muscle that’s attached to the inside of the shell. Once Travis has removed most of the flesh, he rubs the diamond in the grass and splashes water over the stone.
Maetha speaks to him again. Put it in your pocket, Travis.
“How do you know my name?” he asks the voice in his head.
“What?” Deus responds, not realizing he isn’t talking to her.
I know everything about you, Travis. Don’t worry. I’m trying to help you. Put the diamond in your pocket, now.
He pushes the large stone into the front pocket of his blue jeans.
If you take the diamond back to General Harding, he will kill you. This girl is very powerful, and you need to get away from her, but you only have one shot at it. You have to follow my instructions perfectly. Can you do that Travis?
“Okay.”
Deus says, “Let’s get out of here before someone calls the cops. I’m driving.” She climbs in the driver’s seat and starts the car. Travis jumps in the front passenger seat.
Maetha says, I’ll be with you even when you’re driving. Try not to speak aloud when you talk to me. Use your mind to communicate so Deus doesn’t hear. She is going to kill you once she no longer needs you. I want to help you get away from her.
Travis says, I don’t understand what’s happening. I was only told to pick up the package and bring it back. I feel so much going through my body. What’s happening to me?
Try to ignore these sensations. Focus on your legs and your muscles. When I tell you to run, you need to access the running power that is inside the stone in your pocket.
The what?
No time for answers. Just focus on your legs and muscles and be ready.
“Are you kidding me?” Deus shouts. “You brought me a car that’s out of gas? You better have money to fill it up!”
Beth chuckles. “What, are you broke Deus?”
“I have more money than you’ll ever have,” Deus snips back.
“Left it in your other utility belt, huh?” Beth laughs.
“Shut up!”
Travis interrupts. “I have a debit card. Don’t worry.”
Maetha exclaims, That’s it, Travis. That’s how you’ll escape. You’ll have to go inside to pay for the gas.
No I won’t. The card works at the pump.
Enter the PIN number wrong so the pump tells you to see the cashier. You need thirty seconds away from Deus to escape without a hitch.
Okay, I guess.
Deus pulls up to the gas pump and orders Travis to fill it up. He gets out and swipes the card and selects debit. Like clockwork, he enters his PIN number wrong and the screen on the pump instructs him to go inside the building. He steps up to Deus’s window and tells her he needs to go inside to prepay.
“Fine.” Deus rolls her eyes and adds, “Grab some more water for everyone while you’re in there.”
Travis walks nervously to the doors and enters the convenience store. Maetha stays by his side and issues exact instructions about where to walk. She directs him to the back storage room. He stands in front of a door marked “Emergency Only.”
“Hey, you can’t be back here!” a male worker says as he walks toward Travis.
“I’m leaving in just a few seconds, sir,” Travis replies in a calm voice.
“You’re leaving right now or I’ll call the cops.”
Maetha instructs him: Once you push that door open, an alarm will sound and Deus will know you’ve fled, but she won’t be able to do anything about it. She won’t even be able to drive far because she’s almost out of gas. You’ll need to run as fast as you can for at least five minutes before you stop. I will find you.
How?
No questions right now. It’s time. Go!
“That’s it, young man, we’ll let the cops deal—”
Travis pushes the door open, activating the alarm, and runs. Maetha’s memory doesn’t follow him, only watches him disappear in a flash. The angry employee is slow to stop yelling threats to the empty space where Travis stood moments before. Maetha hurries out the door and around to the front of the building, using her power to stay invisible. Deus appears to have just realized she’s been tricked and runs into the store to try to find Travis.
Maetha uses the opportunity to speak to Beth’s mind. It’s Maetha. You two need to run!
“Run, Anika!” Beth encourages her.
“Not without you.”
Beth points to her ankles. “I’m cuffed.
I won’t get far. Go!”
“Where am I supposed to go?”
“Anywhere but here! Go! I’ll be fine.”
Maetha’s view of the girls begins to fade. She speaks to Anika’s mind. Run across the street to those bushes. You should be able to make it. I’ll meet you there.
Anika looks at Beth one last time, not wanting to abandon her friend. Then she takes off running and makes it across the street before Deus comes out of the store.
Don’t worry Beth, Maetha says. We’ll get you out of this. I can’t help you right now in the state I’m in. I’m about to lose connection.
Deus comes running out to the car, cursing up a storm. She climbs in the front seat, retrieves her cell phone from her belt, and dials a number. “Where’s the next one? This one got away.” Deus’s face is so red with anger, she looks as though she could literally explode. “Let me talk to the general—I don’t care what he’s doing. Just get him!” She waits anxiously. She turns in her seat and looks at Beth. Then she leans over the back seat, eyes searching for Anika. Her eyes shoot back to Beth.
Beth shrugs nonchalantly and says, “She took off when you did.”
Viewing Deus’s meltdown through Maetha’s memory is rather gratifying, I have to say. Deus turns her attention to the phone call. She takes a deep breath and speaks in a controlled voice, nothing to indicate her actual level of aggravation. “General Harding, I apologize for interrupting you, but we have a problem. Rolf isn’t telling you everything. I don’t think you can trust him. Rolf recommended I use Travis to pick up the diamond, which Travis did, but now he just ran away with it. Rolf either planned that or he knew that might happen. He should have warned me.” She pauses. “I still have the Runner, but the Healer got away . . . Yes, I’ll do that . . . I need the other powers as well, sir. Do you have anyone else? All right, I’ll see you then.”
Deus ends the call and dials another number. Maetha’s memory fades all the way out as Deus says: “The Healer escaped. Kill her family!”
Maetha’s memory shifts to a park where she sits across from Travis at a picnic table. “You did well, Travis.” Maetha becomes visible, causing him to jump up and step away.
“What . . . who are you?”
“I’m the guardian of the stone you hold, and I want to help keep you alive. You only have a few minutes before the enemy arrives to seize it. They will kill you.”
“I don’t want to die!”
“Then you need to get rid of it. You see the woman walking on the path over there?” She points to a lady in a green Runners’ suit. “Take the stone to her and say, ‘I’m giving this stone to you to take care of.’ She’ll probably ask why, and you say, ‘I’m relinquishing it to you.’”
“What?”
Two men in dark suits walk into the clearing nearby and stand still.
“You’d better hurry, Travis. You see those two men?”
Travis jumps up and runs to the woman. I recognize her as Avani, a Diamond Bearer, even though she isn’t wearing her bejeweled head scarf and colorful clothing. She has long wavy black hair and light brown skin. The green Runner’s suit compliments her expertly lined brown eyes. Travis says the words as Maetha instructed, and Hasan’s diamond is relinquished into Avani’s possession.
Avani extends her hand to shake Travis’s. As she grips his hand firmly, she says, “Do you want to learn more about this stone? Or have you had enough for the day?”
Travis looks at Maetha questioningly. He answers, “I want to know more.”
Avani responds, “Then we have to leave now.”
Travis glances over to Maetha, who says, “Go with her, Travis. She will help you. I’ll meet up with you later.”
With Travis’s hand still in hers, she leads him away. Maetha turns and faces the black-suited men, whom I now recognize as Merlin and Amenemhet. Merlin looks her in the eye and says, “Anika’s family members were already taken three days ago.”
Maetha looks at Amenemhet and says, “Go to Anika. She’s going to need comforting. Take her to Jonas and Mary.”
Chapter 7 - Death by Deus
The vision ends, and I shake my head a little and blink my eyes. The rushing water sensation settles down, and my body begins to feel normal. I instinctively glance at the front seat where Maetha had been only moments before.
Hasan’s death has everyone rattled. What’s going to happen to his body? How was Deus able to kill him without anyone hearing? How was she able to kill him period? We may never know.
I ask, “Crimson, what is going to happen to Anika’s family? Will they be found in time?”
“They’re already dead. That’s what Merlin was telling Maetha.”
“So is Beth’s family dead as well?”
“I’m afraid so.”
My eyes instantly mist over at the reality of the situation. What if Deus finds my parents? Or Chris’s mother? How would I feel if I found out they had been killed ? I wonder how Beth and Anika will handle the news.
Jonas’s sympathy and grief for Anika enters my mind. He feels horrible for her and wishes she could be with him before she gets the news of her parents’ deaths. That way he could give her healing comfort to help ease the incredible shock wave her body will go through.
Crimson must have read my thoughts because she states, “Calli, death is something that a Diamond Bearer can’t avoid. It’s unfair and unjust that these girls have to deal with this now, but we have to stay the course and understand that many more will die if we don’t find a way to put a halt to Deus and the government. Situations like these make or break people. As a Diamond Bearer, you need to push aside your emotions and clear your mind. In a couple hundred years, when you no longer personally know those who are suffering from loss, it will be easier to stay focused. You will never lose your compassionate side, though.”
I ask, “Is there any way to hold off giving Anika the news of her parents’ death until she makes it to Jonas?”
“That’s a good idea, Calli. I’ll tell Maetha.”
Jonas thanks me, and I feel his peace, but also his anxiousness. I don’t envy being in his position. I respond back, alerting him to the possibility that Anika may blame herself for their deaths because she ran.
* * *
A few hours later, we arrive in Brand’s neighborhood. Crimson decides to park several blocks away to avoid being seen by Deus, should she arrive.
I get out of the car and run most of the way to Brand’s house. As I get close, I slow to a brisk walk up to his front door. Before I can reach the door, Brand opens it.
He says, “No, I don’t want to go.”
He has repeated, obviously.
“Come on, let me explain.”
“You are still the most stubborn girl I know, Calli. Come in.” He opens the door wide enough to let me inside. I walk to the nearest couch and sit down. He launches into the conversation, making it clear to me he has repeated several times to gather most of the information from me. “So, if I understand you correctly, Deus is on a rampage shooting out Diamond Bearers’ hearts with the aid of General Harding, and you want me to help kill my half-sister? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean, after all, I was tricked into killing my biological father.”
“He had to die, and you know it. If you’re going to repeat with me, at least take me with you so I know what I’ve already told you.”
“You’ve told me enough. I don’t want to go.”
“I’m not going to force you, but let me ask you a question. What do you want, Brand?”
“I want a normal life. I want to feel accepted and loved. I wanted to try a relationship with Suz, but I don’t think that’s going to work.”
“Really? Why?”
“I already met with her. She can’t get past the idea that I’m a hypnotist. Remember, that was what I told her in the dorm. I think finding out that her mother had an affair messed up her mind, and she’s still trying to figure things out. Not only did she prove her dad was not her dad, she lost her f
ather figure because of the divorce. Her mother resents her, her biological dad doesn’t want anything to do with her . . . not that I’m surprised to find that out. My dad is a real piece of work, too . . . well, the man who ignored me most of my life, I mean. I thought about repeating with Suz to show her I have a superpower, but decided against it. She needs time to figure herself out.”
“Well, Brand, why don’t you come with me and help save the world while she figures her life out. She’ll still be around when we’re done.”
“That’s just it, Calli. I don’t think Suz and I will ever work together. We’re both too needy, and our situations are too closely related for either of us to really be able to grow. How could either one of us heal when we’re too busy trying to make the other person feel better?”
“Listen, if Deus is able to successfully kill off all the Diamond Bearers, there won’t be much of a world for you anyway. Diamond Bearers help ensure that humans continue living. They guard and protect humanity, and right now they’re being picked off one by one. Beth and Anika were kidnapped, and their families were killed.”
That gets his attention.
“You can stay here and bury your head in the sand, or you can come with us and help set up a better future for us, our children and grandchildren.”
“I won’t kill anyone.”
“What?”
“I’ll come, but I won’t be used to kill anyone else.”
“Okay, I guess.”
Brand pauses and slightly tips his head to the side. “What does that mean, Calli?”
“I’m not sure. When you say you won’t kill anyone, are you going to leave if we have to take a life?”
The Diamond Bearers' Destiny Page 12