He smiles, says, “Yes,” then follows me into the kitchen. “Calli, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable just now.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I fill the tea kettle with water and put it on to boil. Brand sits at the counter. I turn to him and ask, “Are you going to become a Bearer?”
“Eventually, probably, most likely . . . I think.”
“Is there something in particular that’s bothering you?”
“I don’t know. I guess I realize just how long forever is. It’s exhausting doing all those repeats, Calli. And I know you understand how repeating makes my day seem more like a week, and a week more like a year. I feel like I’ve already lived a lifetime.”
“Every time you pull me with you, my mind takes a little while to adjust to reality. It is exhausting, but I use the Diamond’s healing power to calm my body and restore my energy.”
“Why do I need a whole diamond just to use the healing ability? Why don’t I just carry a Healer’s quartz?”
“That’s a good idea. But what about the running ability? You’re Unaltered now. You can’t have the power passed on to you.”
“Runner’s quartz.”
“Hunter abilities?”
“I don’t want to smell people.”
“Mind-Reading?”
“Not interested.” He gets up and walks to the cup-board, removes two cups, and sets them on the counter.
“Seer?”
“Now that one I’m most afraid of getting. I don’t know what would happen if I could see the way I should resolve an issue.”
“Maybe it would prevent you from having to repeat so much.”
“Huh. I didn’t think of that.”
“Don’t forget the Diamond connection we all share. We can communicate with each other’s minds from around the world, view memories, bi-locate, and extract memories.”
“Well, I seem to always be around a Bearer, mainly you, so why would I need those extra powers? Just get me a Healer’s quartz, and maybe a Runner’s, and I think that will be good.”
“Okay. One more thing, Brand: until you have the Repeating quartz inserted in your body, you could die.”
“Yes.”
“The diamond’s Seer power could help you keep an eye on your own safety.”
Brand grabs the tin of tea bags and pulls the lid off. “Calli, I have my whole life to decide if I want to be a Bearer. Once the quartz is in my head, I’ll be just fine.”
“True, but once the unowned diamonds have owners, which they will, you’ll have to wait till someone surrenders one or gets killed. You might die of old age before that happens. I don’t think you can repeat out of a heart attack, can you?”
“Hmm, good question. But if I had a Healer quartz, I could repeat and heal the problem.”
“True, I suppose. But here’s one last thing to consider: Sanguine Diamonds hold powers originating from the cosmos 5,000 years ago. The powers were stronger then. The Bearers are able to keep their appearances because of this. You never got to see the Death Clan. They were Healers from only a couple hundred years ago who used the modern power to heal their heart attacks and other deadly diseases. They looked like aliens. The Healer quartz you want was made recently, extracting modern power and putting it in the quartz, the same power the Death Clan used. The power is dramatically weaker than what’s in a diamond. Just something to think about.” I pat him on the shoulder as the tea kettle whistles.
We pour our tea and sit in silence at the counter. I’m not sure why I feel I need to convince Brand to become a Bearer, but maybe it’s because I understand how powerful he is and I believe he would enjoy it. Plus, he’s kind of grown on me. I’ve watched him mature and come into his own over the last few years. He’s a good guy, a good guy with an amazing power.
Crimson’s voice enters my mind. I’m arriving at your location. Tell Brand so he doesn’t attack me when I enter the door.
Okay. Why would he do that?
To protect you.
Oh. I turn to Brand. “Crimson is almost here.”
The words barely escape my mouth when the front door opens and Crimson enters the house. She comes into the kitchen and after greeting us says, “I’m taking Chris’s uncle, Don, to Bermuda so he can help Jonas and Dr. Tod decipher the schematics and narrow down manufacturers of the different machine parts.”
“You’re not ‘flying’ him are you?” I ask.
“Goodness no. He’ll fly on a plane. Would you tell Chris his uncle is going to the island?”
“Yes.”
Brand jumps in with a sarcastic chuckle in his voice. “Maetha will be pleased. Now she’ll have to buy more toilet paper.”
Crimson pours herself some water for tea. “Maetha only discouraged you from going to the island to keep you with Calli.”
Brand and I look at each other, both of us with admittedly surprised expressions.
“So Maetha could have inserted my quartz now?”
“No. That part was true. She didn’t want Calli to be alone.”
“She could have just told me that. I would have stayed with Calli, no problem.”
“Not everyone is as comfortable at sharing their exact thoughts and emotions as you, Brand,” Crimson says with a smile. She turns and addresses me. “You will travel to meet with Clara Winter next week to discuss a clan gathering. I’ll let you know travel details later.”
Chapter Six - Clara’s Apprentice
When Beth found out I was going to meet with Clara, she begged to come with me. I looked to the future to see if this was a good idea and saw her hugging her brother Nate with Clara standing nearby. To see how happy Beth will be to be with her brother again tugged at my heart and helped me make my decision. With the many different doomed outlooks potentially coming our way, Beth should be able to see Nate as often as possible.
After Crimson gave me the final travel details, Beth and I boarded Maetha’s private plane, headed for Bozeman, Montana. When we arrive, we head to the car Clara sent for us. The sliding doors of the airport open, creating a wind tunnel, whipping snow and bitterly cold air in our faces.
Exiting the building, I see a man in a Runner’s suit jump out of an SUV and run around to the sidewalk.
“I guess that one’s for us.”
Beth grabs my arm and squeezes. “Do you know who that is?”
I peer at the man. “No.”
“That’s Will. Justin’s friend . . . uh, I mean, he was Justin’s friend.”
I hear the slight panic in her voice and instinctually look to my future to see if I’m in danger. I see myself giving my parents hugs, which if everything goes according to plan, I’ll be visiting them after Clara. I say to Beth, “You don’t need to be worried.”
“I didn’t say I was. I just haven’t seen him since he left the compound after Justin was kicked out.”
Will waves and grins, motioning us to him. He opens the back door for us.
Beth says, “Hi Will. You’re our driver?”
“For today. Good to see you, Beth.” He looks at me and smiles warmly. “Calli.”
I nod my head. “Will.”
We get in the car and are soon traveling down the familiar roads toward the compound. Will asks many questions, most directed to Beth. I listen to them catch up about all things “Runners’ World” but notice Will dances around the subject of Justin, the deceased clan leaders, and the missing amulets. At one point I slip into Will’s mind and find he’s always had a crush on Beth and views her as available. I direct my attention out the window to avoid prying into any more of his thoughts.
After rounding the last corner on the road, the huge building complex comes into view. Nothing seems to have changed at all other than everything is covered in a couple feet of snow. A carved out trail leads to the leaders’ cabins near the wood line, the basketball courts are covered with snow, the once manicured lawn is now a pristine white field, and the ever present floodlights are already turned on even though dusk is several hour
s away and the Shadow Demons haven’t been a threat for several months. I guess old habits are hard to break.
Will parks the car and escorts us inside the front door. Several Runners walk the halls and stand on the stairway talking. Will says, “Clara is expecting you. I’ll talk to you later, Beth.”
We turn and head to Clara’s office but before we reach her door, I hear female voices behind us.
“It is too her. I know it.”
“Calli?”
I turn to see Shanika and Ashley from the delivery team.
Ashley waves. “Hi.”
Shanika asks, “Calli, what are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to Clara.”
Ashley rubs her hands together. “My friends are going to be so jealous I saw you and they didn’t.”
I don’t know what to say. My mouth falls open a bit.
“Mmm hmm.” Shanika nods. “Did you really steal the amulets?”
There it is. “No.” I want to excuse myself and move on to more important business with Clara, but I remember why I’m here in the first place: to have Clara set up a clan gathering so I can clear my name over the stolen amulets and the Readers, Seers, and Hunters leaders’ death. Yet, here are two Runners who still believe I stole the amulets. I think I can use this opportunity to feel out the mis-understood sentiments I might encounter at the gathering. I respond to Shanika’s question, saying, “Justin orchestrated the whole thing.”
“Mcintyre?”
“Yep.”
“No way.” Shanika’s voice trails off in disbelief.
“You hadn’t heard that before?”
“His name came up but more like he was helping you.”
Oh great. “No. You can ask Chris. He was there.”
Ashley puts her hands on her hips. “Wasn’t he helping you too?”
Shanika adds, “Yeah, he just walked out of the compound with the amulet to go meet you.”
“This is why I’m here. I’m going to have Clara schedule a Clan Gathering so I can explain what really happened. If you’ll excuse me, I need to—”
Shanika presses, “Where are the amulets?”
“They’re safe.”
“So, you do have them?”
Beth jumps in. “Ladies, we have to go now. Leave Calli alone.” She doesn’t wait for them to respond. She wraps her protective arm around my shoulders and directs me down the hall.
I think this small verbal exchange indicates I’m in for a long haul in trying to get the clans to understand what happened. I’ll have to give up more details than I thought, if these two girls are any indication of the common sentiments.
Clara sits at her desk talking on the phone. She sees us through the windowed door and waves us inside. We enter the office. Beth sits in a chair across the desk from Clara. I choose the soft couch I sat on once upon a time. Sinking into its buttery leather, I close my eyes and inhale the scent and remember the day Chris walked into my life.
The scene plays out behind my eyelids. I’ve witnessed and experienced his confusion through his own memories. I know what he thought and felt the moment Clara told him I was a Runner, not a Healer. He’s been through so much. I’m glad I came here and remembered this.
“Calli,” Clara hangs up the phone and greets me. She stands and comes around the desk to me. I get up from the couch. She opens her arms for a hug and I accept. “It’s good to see you here again.”
“Thanks.”
She lets go, turns to Beth and hugs her. “Come with me. I’d rather we wait to discuss anything until we’re in my private quarters.”
I ask, “Do you have a cabin like the others?”
“No. Follow me.”
We walk out into the hall and turn left. Good thing, too. To the right is a large gathering of Runners, with Shanika in the front, all wanting to see if she was telling the truth.
“Never mind them, Calli,” Clara motions over her shoulder. “You’re kind of a legend around here.”
I squirm inside.
We walk to the end of the hall and climb a smaller staircase that leads to two doors at the top. She pulls a key from her pocket and opens one of the doors. She holds it open, motioning for us to enter.
I walk into her room and look around. I feel like I’ve just walked into Maetha’s Lake Patoka residence. The walls are covered with shelves holding similar collectibles and oddities. Bookcases are lined with old, well-read books and new titles, side by side. Antiques and old photographs hang on the walls. I say, “I didn’t peg you as a collector, Clara.”
“How did you ‘peg’ me?”
“I don’t know. I guess my first impression of you was that you walked off a soap opera film set, of course that was a shallow assessment based on your appearance. If I’d known what your interests were, I’d have thought differently, I suppose.” I walk further into the room and examine some of the book titles. “Did you inherit these?”
“No, they’re mine.” She closes the door and locks it.
“Is this where you keep your Spellcaster journals?”
“No.” She waves her hand for us to follow and walks toward the hallway. “Come with me.”
I feel for her thoughts and find she’s not comfortable discussing the journals at this time.
She knocks on a closed door. The door opens and Beth’s little brother, Nate, appears.
“They’re here,” Clara says.
Nate has dark brown hair and Beth’s light eyes. He’s young, too young to have gone through the misery he’s already endured.
“Hi Calli,” he says, beaming ear to ear.
“Hi Nate.”
Beth steps forward.
“Beth!” he exclaims, running over to her. The two of them embrace in a tender moment.
Clara turns away and says to me, “Let’s go into the lab and give them a moment to talk.”
She opens the next door over and we enter a room that looks completely different from the living quarters. The lab is all white, with a large square machine the size of a clothes dryer humming softly along the wall. A computer screen displays what looks like a recipe.
I wander around the room, observing and taking it all in. This is where Clara makes her magic juice.
Nate and Beth come in and Nate walks over to the humming machine and pushes a button on the front. “Twenty more minutes on this batch, Clara.”
“Are the bottles ready?” Clara asks.
“Yes. They’re still in the sterilizer.”
Clara turns to me. “We have a little time to talk then. Have a seat.”
I look to where she’s pointing and see a couple chairs pushed under a table. I pull one out and sit. Beth sits beside me.
She says, “Nate, would you bring us cold juice?” He nods, opens a refrigerator on the wall, and pulls out four bottles and hands me one. I open mine and take a sip.
“Mmm. Good and refreshing as always.”
Nate beams with pride and I read his mind. This batch was made completely by him, without Clara’s help. He sits down and opens his juice.
Clara opens hers as well. “You need me to line up a Clan Gathering. Am I correct?”
“Yes.”
“Well, first of all, the clans don’t like to group together, so you’ll be lucky to get a few from each clan to show up.”
“How come?”
“In the past, there was a falling away. Clans in other regions of the world get along, or so I’ve heard. But here there seems to always be a struggle for power. The Death Clan was a good example of that. For the mythical Sanguine Diamond to surface, successfully bring about their end, and then get divided between the clans, the clans were reminded that larger forces are at work. Unfortunately, everyone became defensive with their amulets. The clans turned inward, relying on their amulets for direction.”
I interrupt. “And then I go and run off with the Healers’ amulet.”
“Exactly. Getting any of the clans to listen to you isn’t going to be easy. However, I do think that if
I set up the gathering and let them know I’ll be bringing you—basically, I’ll be in charge of you—then maybe they’ll agree to show up.”
“In charge?”
“Like your parole officer, so to speak.”
“Oh.”
Clara takes a sip of her juice, then continues. “Secondly, with the first being they don’t like to gather, they wouldn’t want to do it just anywhere. I think the gathering should take place at the Hunters’ village.”
“Where’s that?” In my mind I picture the Pacific Northwest as the perfect location for the Hunters to have a compound. Perhaps I feel this way because the Runners are based in Montana, and the Healers are in California.
“In South Carolina.”
“The East Coast?
“Yes, they have a protected, hidden location.”
Beth asks, “But aren’t the Hunters dangerous?”
Clara looks at Beth. “Not these ones. Every group has their rogue members or dissidents. Hunters seem to have more than the rest. The ones living in the Hunters’ village are peaceful. When we need to hire a Hunter for a task, we always recruit one of these members. I’ll contact their leader and ask if they’d be willing to host a gathering.”
I ask, “When do you think the gathering will take place? I need to plan for it.”
“Not for a few months. That’s assuming the Hunters are okay with hosting the event. The other clans will have to be softened to the idea.”
Nate says, “Is there anything we can do to help the clans agree?”
I ask, “What do you mean?”
Clara smiles. “Nate is referring to Spellcasting.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know, Nate, I’m not entirely familiar with what Spellcasters can do.”
Nate says, “Well, when Clara and I were held captive at General Harding’s compound, we helped everything work out for the good.”
“You did, did you?” I’m not sure what to think and I don’t know how to react to his words.
The Diamond Bearers' Rising Page 11
