Beth asks, “Do you think it’s possible to eliminate the Demons worldwide so we won’t ever have to worry about entering the shadows?”
“We’re sure going to try! But unless you are with Brand, me, or some other Diamond Bearer, you won’t be able to know if the shadows are still dangerous. So I’d keep your Pulse Emitter on at all times.”
We return to the room, and I tell Crimson about our successful experiments.
Crimson says, “We’ll have a gathering soon, and you can tell everyone about your findings.”
Jonas says: Man, Calli, this is huge! I am so glad to know you personally.
What? You’re acting like I’m a superstar or something.
Well, you are! You should hear what Mary says about you.
What does she say?
That you are filling the shoes Maetha always said you would.
Okay, now you’re freaking me out.
“Calli, what is it?” Chris asks.
I look around to find everyone staring at me.
Chris voices his assumption. “Jonas is speaking to you, correct?”
“Yes.”
Chris lets out a slight sigh. I know he’s frustrated with the private conversations Jonas and I share and that they bring on twinges of jealousy, but he doesn’t need to be worried. I don’t know how to tell him that, though.
Crimson says, “Jonas and Mary will not be part of the gathering because Avani is about to drop off Anika into their care.” Crimson speaks to Jonas through my mind: Jonas, Anika needs to be with strong supporters—you and Mary—when she’s told about her parents. Please help her through the emotional turmoil she’s about to experience. You’ll be able to hear our gathering through your mind connection with Calli, but don’t let it distract you from the responsibility I’m giving you now. Take care of Anika. Crimson speaks out loud to our group: “We will gather in a half hour.”
* * *
I’m surprised Beth, Brand, and Chris are included in the Diamond Bearers’ gathering. Crimson sits in the far corner at the table by the window. The four of us sit on the bed closest to the door, near the bathroom. The Diamond Bearers begin bi-locating to our location a few at a time. Amenemhet, Duncan, and Avani arrive first. They are followed by Yeok Choo, Kookju, Jie Wen, and Chuang. They stand along the wall, in front of the television and dresser, and anywhere else they can crowd in. All assume reverent, submissive positions in the presence of Crimson.
A knock comes on the door, and Brand says without looking, “It’s Maetha.”
I turn around, excited to see Maetha. Beth lets her in. Maetha smiles at me as she walks across the room to Crimson. In that short amount of time, Alena, Merlin, Ruth, Aernoud, and Fabian materialize. They stand in front of the window. The room is quiet as we wait for the final two Bearers who will be attending to arrive. Amalgada and Marketa appear and sit on the other bed.
Crimson begins the meeting.
“Welcome. We’ve reached a milestone in the world of powers. A solution to the threat of the Shadow Demons has been discovered by Calli Courtnae. She will now explain the process so it can be replicated worldwide.”
Oh, the pressure. I straighten my posture and take a deep breath, then address the group. “The Yellowstone obsidian cancels the Demons’ power the same way it affects ours. When used properly, it alters their forms from animal to human—well, more like decomposed humans. Once they are altered, they’re no longer drawn to people with powers, and as far as I can tell they don’t change back to animal form.”
Heads nod and quiet gasps are heard around the room. I continue. “It’s not enough to confront Demons with obsidian. You have to catch them by surprise as they’re about to attack.” I go on to explain exactly how we performed the cleansing of the shadows and add that without a Repeater like Brand, cleansings will need to be performed through doorways or windows for safety. I recommended that they have a person with powers stand by an open window of a house. As long as someone doesn’t cross the threshold or reach outside, they will be fine. The Bearer then should wait to spring the obsidian on the Demons just as they are ramping up in energy.”
Jie Wen is the first to respond. “I disagree with the idea of altering the Demons. The Demons keep people with powers under control by limiting the amount of time they can use their powers. Imagine if the Death Clan had been able to roam freely after dark, killing more people. If controlling the Shadows was a good thing,” he points to Crimson, “she would have done it long ago.”
I respond to Jie Wen, “The idea of eliminating the Shadow Demons is to protect peaceful, innocent individuals. The government is already launching attacks on cosmic-power individuals and clans. Those who aren’t killed are taken and subjected to horrible experiments. If these people could flee into the night, lives could be saved.”
Kookju argues the same line of thinking as Jie Wen. “Who’s to say this isn’t nature’s will in play? Perhaps it’s time for people with powers to be eliminated.”
I noticed Beth is wiggling anxiously in her spot.
Kookju continues. “It may be time for a reduction of the population again.”
Duncan retorts, “Diamond Bearers have no interest in controlling any people or powers. And we’re certainly not charged with reducing the population.”
“We weren’t charged with maintaining it, either,” Jie Wen replies back. Kookju, Chuang and Yeok Choo nod their heads in agreement.
Beth can’t contain her feelings any longer. She directs her emotion-laced question to Jie Wen: “So what does a Diamond Bearer actually do all day long? Sit and wish that no problem will ever come your way? Blow off everything as ‘nature’s way?’ And then go home and work on your fantasy football team while families are torn apart by forces against nature? I thought you were the protectors! The Death Clan was eliminated because they were using their powers to kill people. Well, now regular humans are using stolen powers from Demons to kill people, my people, my family, and you just want to turn your back? If I had a diamond, I would jump at the chance to personally travel the world to eliminate Shadow Demons. You don’t deserve your diamond!”
The room is still. I sure don’t want to be the first person to speak after that tirade. I glance around at the other Bearers, wondering what they are thinking. Jonas’s thoughts ram into mine, sharing his approval of Beth’s harangue. Brand’s mind is readable again. He’s in awe of Beth and her sharp tongue. Chris’s thoughts reveal the respect he has always had for Beth and her perspective. Beth’s mind is heavily cluttered with everything else she wants to say and wishes she had said.
Jie Wen’s voice enters my mind as he telepathically projects his thoughts to the other Bearers. Why is she allowed to be at this gathering? She’s nothing more than a human trying to sound important. Does she not realize who we are?
I wonder why Crimson isn’t contributing to the conversation until Maetha speaks. I figure Crimson and Maetha have been communicating through their quantum entanglement, and now Maetha is about to speak for the both of them.
Maetha says, The human girl is here at Crimson’s request along with her two male companions. Do you wish to question Crimson’s thinking, Jie Wen? Kookju? Maetha then says aloud, “Beth, your feelings are fully understandable. I do believe you would make a perfect Demon hunter under different circumstances.” Maetha turns her attention to the rest of the group and says, “Sometimes when one becomes exhausted with the duties and responsibilities of being a Bearer, they must be relieved of their burden. At Crimson’s request, I ask that if anyone is feeling tired of their responsibilities to step forward so your diamond may be retrieved and reborn.”
Jie Wen sticks his chin in the air, but keeps his eyes on Maetha. His defiant body language is nothing short of confrontational. Other Bearers dip their chins to their chests out of respect for Crimson.
Crimson stands and glances around the room. Her piercing eyes quietly rest momentarily on each Bearer, one at a time. Finally she speaks. “Throughout the history of human bei
ngs, certain things have survived the test of time: the need to congregate and rely on each other for life’s basic physiological needs; empathy and compassion to reduce suffering; and the need for love. When an individual feels they are above any of these needs, they are then considered a threat to everyone else. Before any of you became Bearers, you were Unaltered humans, and each of you displayed the proper amount of compassion to qualify for the opportunity to choose this path. Every one of you in this room chose to follow nature’s way. Every one of you now has a choice to make. Either continue being an agent of nature or withdraw from your responsibilities and surrender your diamond. I know there are several of you in the group with conflicted thoughts running through your minds. That is why I have selected and approved several new candidates for diamond rebirth. If it is truly impossible for you to continue in the duty you accepted so long ago, I will personally replace you. The choice is yours.”
I glance around the room, wondering who in this group Crimson has identified as conflicted.
She continues, “We now know how to eliminate the Shadow Demons. Every Bearer will comply with the cleansing efforts, unless he or she chooses otherwise. I will be delivering obsidian to those of you who do not have any yet. That is all for now.”
The bi-located Diamond Bearers vanish, leaving our small group alone in the room. No one speaks for several long seconds.
Crimson extends her hand toward Maetha, who places a leather pouch in Crimson’s hand. Crimson makes eye contact with me and breaks the silence. “Calli, come with me.”
Chapter 10 - Crimson’s Liaison
I stand up and walk over to Crimson. She leads me out of the room and into the night. We walk away from the motel and across the busy street until we reach a vacant city park. Crimson points to a nearby bench, and we take our seats.
I want to ask her questions about what just happened, but decide against it. Instead, I sit quietly and wait for her to speak.
“Calli, would you tell me about the vision you saw concerning Chris?”
Her question catches me off guard. “Oh, um, well, I saw Chris and his father standing in a room. They both had auras of Unaltereds. Chris was holding a diamond in his hand, and he handed it to his father. That’s it.”
“Hmm. Distressing.” She turns away and stares in the direction of the playground equipment.
“I think I’m developing a greater understanding of future visions,” I say.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I’ve begun considering several different possible reasons why Chris would hand a diamond over to his father. First, I wonder about the diamond. Whose is it? Whose heart will be blown out? Or is the diamond one of the two without owners? Second, I wonder about the machine Travis talked about. I think we’ll find that the machine does indeed create Unaltereds . . . and it will be used on Chris and his father. As for the reason why Chris would hand over a diamond to his father, I haven’t come up with anything plausible.”
Crimson looks at me again. “Yes, I think you’re getting the idea of how to interpret visions. Your young mind isn’t cluttered with age-old wisdom. It’s still operating with youthful questions and curiosity.”
“What? I thought wisdom was a good thing.”
“Wisdom isn’t a curse, but it tends to slow down a person when they take on a ‘been there, done that’ attitude. I’ve observed that the older someone becomes, the less likely they are to ask questions or get themselves in precarious situations. Not that it’s a bad thing to protect one’s life, but to protect one’s routine or way of life by figuring they’ve seen and done it all . . . well, I think you understand what I mean. Jie Wen doesn’t want to upset his routine. He doesn’t like change. But being a Diamond Bearer comes with a heavy responsibility.”
“I was wondering about him . . . but you already knew that, didn’t you?”
Crimson smiles and sets the leather pouch Maetha gave her on my lap. “Maetha charged a topaz with the invisibility power you used to view Neema’s death. Where is that topaz?”
“In the vial in my pocket.”
“Does it still contain any power?”
“Yes.”
The dim lighting from the street lamps is enough that I can see a warm smile on Crimson’s face. “My dear, that’s all I need to know. Please open the pouch.”
Bewildered, I untie the strings that secure whatever is in the pouch. I expect to find another topaz inside. Instead, a brilliant blue glow meets my eyes. I tip the pouch enough for the small stone to tumble out into my hand—the Grecian Blue Diamond!
“Is this Maetha’s?” I whisper in awe.
“Yes.”
Crimson takes my elbow and helps me stand. With one hand, she clasps my hand—the one that holds the Blue Diamond—and places her other hand on my back between my shoulder blades, just like Maetha did when she was about to shove the Sanguine Diamond into my heart.
“What are you doing?” I ask, as nervous excitement races through my body.
“Calli, I’m asking you to take Maetha’s position as my liaison with the Diamond Bearers. You’ve already proven yourself by not misusing the invisibility topaz, and before that by not imposing your will on others. With this stone, you’ll have the ability to control others’ actions and speech. You’ll be able to alter other people’s perceptions and memories of events, like when Maetha helped your hometown forget you had broken the world record. Of course, you’ll have the ability to become invisible because that power is included in the power of altering perceptions. Maetha didn’t actually become invisible. She only altered people’s perceptions of her.”
“Wait. Is that how she altered her appearance when she met with my parents?”
“Yes. The Blue Diamond takes the same power a step further and allows you to create the effect of being invisible.”
“So basically, the Blue Diamond is the ultimate mind-control stone?”
“Correct. Now, Calli, will you serve as my liaison?”
“What about Maetha? How does Maetha feel about having to surrender her Grecian Blue?”
“She’s pleased her fate isn’t the same as Neema’s.”
I glance down at the blue stone, feeling less guilty about taking possession of Maetha’s property. “Will I be able to control the powers right away, or will I need to be trained? I mean, I don’t want to accidently make someone run out in front of a bus or something.”
“You’ll be able to use the powers immediately. Your own mind and the intentions that lie inside are what power the stone. You’ve always had good intentions and a good heart.”
“Then, yes, I’ll accept the Blue Diamond.”
With that declaration, Crimson gently presses my hand to my chest. I uncurl my fingers from around the stone and feel it heat up against my clothing. Yet the diamond doesn’t blast into my heart. Crimson controls my movements, causing my hand to rise up toward my face, and my mouth opens. It seems I am about to swallow the stone.
“Relax, Calli. This diamond will not choke you. Once it reaches your stomach, it will travel through the stomach wall and enter your heart. Your pain will be significantly less than what you’ve experienced before.”
I place the glowing diamond in my mouth and swallow. She’s right. Even though the size is larger than any pill I have ever taken, it slips down my throat with ease. I double over clutch my chest when a sharp jab in my stomach, followed by intense sting in my heart takes my breath away. I instinctively heal my pain, which is much less than I’ve experienced, and turn my head toward Crimson.
Her mind speaks to me, almost the same way Jonas’s does, except I have more liberties within Jonas’s mind. Crimson’s mind is barricaded off. I can’t read her mind, only hear her thoughts, and her thoughts tell me a changing of the guard is taking place.
“Calli, I’ve decided that when Chris returns to his father’s compound tomorrow, you and I will accompany him invisibly. Tonight, I want you to wear your invisibility topaz so it can be completely charged. We need to
be pre-pared for any obsidian when we approach the building.”
“Will Chris know we’re going with him, or will we be invisible?”
“Chris will know. You can tell him privately that you are the Grecian Blue Bearer. Jonas knows, naturally, due to your quantum entanglement.” Crimson pauses and then says, speaking to Jonas through me, “If you’ll keep this information secret, I’ll remember that when I’m making my final decision on whether or not you get to keep a diamond.”
Jonas responds in my head, I understand completely.
“I’m still deciding who else will be privy to this change,” she says, looking beyond me. “We’re going to go test your invisibility and mind-control.” She points down the road to an illuminated business sign. “Come on.”
We begin walking toward the lighted sign. Crimson says, “Become invisible, Calli.”
“How?”
“Well, how did you do it when Maetha gave you the topaz?”
“I’m not sure. I knew the stone was charged with the power, so I just held the stone and hoped no one could see me.”
“Your instincts were right and it worked. This will come natural to you. Simply think about any possible person in the near vicinity not seeing you.”
“Okay.” I close my eyes and imagine being invisible.
“Good job, Calli. You’re invisible to others. Now, keep that in mind. If we were walking on a busy street, it would look as though I’m walking alone. People walking in my direction wouldn’t know they need to avoid walking into you. You’ll need to remember that when you’re invisible.”
We near the sign, which reads “Finer Diner” in big, bold red letters. The building is well illuminated, revealing several customers inside. A large man in overalls approaches the door from inside as we near the entrance from the outside. I can tell he’s going to hold the door open for Crimson, like a gentleman.
Crimson speaks to my mind. Remain invisible and see if you can get by him without being detected.
How hard can it be? I think.
The Diamond Bearers' Destiny Page 17