The calm moment is short-lived and replaced with the sensation of falling. My hair flies upward, strands whipping my face. We are definitely falling.
I scream, “Crimson! What’s happening?”
We’re landing. Don’t worry, I have you. Just stay invisible. We’re coming down in the middle of Nashville.
I’m freaked out to be falling without a parachute, but at least I’m not in pain . . . yet.
As we near the ground, I feel Crimson slow us down. By the time the ground connects with the bottom of my feet, we’re barely moving. Never before have I wanted to sprawl flat on the ground and kiss it all over. If this experience is what flying is all about, then that’s a big, fat, no-thanks in my book!
Are you good? Crimson asks.
I’m not going to puke again, if that’s what you mean.
Come on. She leads me around a corner to a couple dumpsters. You can become visible again. I will remain unseen. We are going into the police station where they will ask you questions about the robbery. I’ll guide you through the proper answers. Remember, clearing your name is imperative.
Where’s Chris? I ask.
He won’t be joining us. He’ll come down tomorrow.
I let go of my invisibility and walk around the corner. The police station is another two blocks away. I was really looking forward to seeing Chris. After observing him dump Kikee, I’ve wanted to be near him.
We come to the civilian entrance of the station. I open the door and watch Crimson walk in, knowing I’m the only one who can see her.
“Can I help you?” says a portly man with dark-rimmed glasses at the information desk. The nameplate says, “Officer Rodriguez.”
“Yes, um, I need to talk to the detective overseeing last month’s convenience store robbery.”
Officer Rodriguez stares blankly at me. “Which one?”
I lean a little closer to the desk and lower my voice. “The unexplainable one. I was there.”
“Oh, you were, were you?” I sense he doesn’t believe me. “Have a seat.” He points to the folding chairs behind me, then walks away to the desks and cubicles in the back. I use my intensive hearing, along with my connection to his mind, to listen. After a few seconds, he says “I have a young lady saying she was at the truck stop robbery. She’s out front in the chairs.”
A female wearing a navy pants suit, white shirt, and feminine tie walks toward me with Rodriguez. I read her lips, “Yes, that’s her. Get Dixon in here. Hurry,” she orders. She pushes open the swinging, counter-level door and approaches me.
“Hi, I’m Detective Judy Webb.” She extends her hand.
What name should I give, Crimson?
Your name.
“Calli Courtnae.” I shake her hand.
“Officer Rodriguez said you were at the robbery.”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to ask you some questions. Would you come with me?”
“Am I under arrest?”
“No, no, I just need to ask you some questions about what you witnessed.”
I stand and follow her into the back area. She takes me into an interrogation room, which I’d figured she would. Crimson slips into the room before I do.
Detective Webb says, “I’ve been looking for you for a while now. How come you haven’t come forward till now?”
I put on my best act of scared, college-age girl. “Sorry, I was afraid. Then today, somebody put a video online and my friend pointed it out to me.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that as well. What can you tell me about what happened in the gas station?”
“Well, I was traveling with my companion and we stopped for a bathroom break. We didn’t know we were walking into a robbery.”
The door to the interrogation room opens and a tall, lean, handsome man walks in. He has wrinkles around his eyes and a few gray hairs.
“Calli, this is Detective Dixon. He’s my partner on this case.”
I extend my hand to shake his before he does so. I also read his mind. He’s a Runner. It hadn’t dawned on me to look into Judy’s mind to see if she has powers. I do so and find she does not, however she was close to a cosmic blast containing the Hunter power which explains her interest in finding people.
“Pleased to meet you, Detective Dixon.”
I read his mind again.
She doesn’t look like a Runner, like the male, he thinks. “Ms. Courtnae, what can you tell me about this young man?” He slides a paper across the table—a still shot of Chris and me at the front doors of the gas station.
Oh, why didn’t I listen to Maetha and stay off camera? I could have peed behind a bush, or tree, or mile marker. “He’s someone I know from when I attended an Olympic training facility about three years ago. Sometimes it helps to be a fast runner.” I point to the picture. “That was one of those times.”
Judy protests, “You did more than just fast. You disappeared, according to the officers on the scene.”
“I can’t explain why they missed us running away. We are pretty fast sprinters and our outfits were dark, so I imagine we blended into the shadows fairly quickly. Perhaps something from the other direction distracted everyone momentarily while we fled.”
Dixon thinks, What about the Shadow Demons? Two Runners fleeing into the shadows, I think not.
Judy points to Chris in the picture. “What is his name?”
“Chris Harding.”
“Do you have an address or phone number for him?”
“I don’t. We parted ways soon after that. I don’t know exactly where he lives.” That’s actually true.
“How did you manage to hide from the police and roadblocks? We had the area locked down pretty tight.”
“A group of motorcycle riders gave us a lift. When we got to the roadblock, we were waved through.”
Dixon asks, “Who are these individuals?” He slides another paper to me with Maetha and Freedom and the four robbers. Three of whom are lying on the floor.
“I’m not sure.” I point to Maetha. “I saw her before when I was at the training facility with Chris.” I put my fingertip on Freedom’s chest. “This one knew her. I didn’t know they were following us, I mean, they must have been following us to end up inside the same store at the same time.”
“Where did they go?” Dixon asks.
“I don’t know. They were still inside when Chris and I left.”
Det. Web thinks, Her story matches the cashier’s story.
I add, “If you’d like verification, you can call Clara Winter at High Altitude Sports in southwest Montana. She probably has a website or something. She can confirm some of what I told you.”
Judy asks about the dead robbers. “How did these two die?”
“Heart attack maybe? I’m not sure. I’m not a doctor.” I point to the other female. “This one was pushed down by that robber. She hit her head pretty hard.”
Detective Dixon says, “One more question, Ms. Courtnae. Why did you two run? Why didn’t you stay put and let the police sort everything out?”
“I was scared. Two people had just died right in front of me. The creepy guy was waving a gun everywhere and knocking out his own companions. I was afraid for my life. I ran.” I shrug my shoulders, hoping my explanation is good enough.
“Okay,” Dixon says and stands. He reaches his hand out to me. I shake it. “In the future, Ms. Courtnae, when you are involved directly or indirectly in a crime, you should stay put. It looks bad when you run—in more ways than one. Judy will take down your personal information in case we need to get in touch with you again. Good day.” He leaves the room.
After signing my life away and giving up way too much private info, like my address, phone, parents’ info, and a copy of my driver’s license, I’m allowed to leave.
Once outside, Crimson directs me to hail a taxi. I do.
I’ll follow you, Calli. Tell him to take you to the nearest hotel.
Chapter 12 - Twelve Thousand Years Ago
Today has b
een one seriously stressful day! First the pictures of me and Chris show up on the Internet. Then I go flying—literally flying—across several states so I can tell most of the truth to the Tennessee state police. Now, Crimson and I wait in an upscale hotel in the middle of Nashville for Chris to bi-locate to us.
Jonas just left after bi-locating to tell us he’s working on getting the host server to dump the blog. He thinks he’s found a way to make that happen. We’ll see how that turns out.
The memory of flying creeps back into my head. I don’t ever want to do that again. Now I know how Crimson gets around so quickly. Brand will love hearing about Crimson’s ability.
“Just so you know, Calli,” Crimson says, having read my thoughts, “I traveled slower with you today than I normally travel. I knew you’d be in too much pain as it was.”
“So, how fast can you go?”
“After I leave the pull of the gravitational field and am above 50,000 feet, I can go pretty fast. I don’t really know how fast, though. It’s all relative.”
“Do you break the sound barrier?”
“I can, but I try not to. Even though I can separate myself from Earth’s gravity, the atmosphere is still moving. I use the Primal Stone’s atmospheric control ability to divide a path through the air. If I travel at lower altitudes, I don’t split the atmosphere because of the effect that would have on aircraft, which means I have to keep my speed just below the sound barrier. I prefer to travel in the high altitudes, above aircraft traffic lanes, where the air is thinner. By the way, this is all information you’ll need one day, Calli. Atmospheric control and gravity manipulation will be present in the upcoming cosmic blast. If we succeed at capturing the power, you’ll need to learn how to use it.”
“What? I’m going to have to fly?”
“Yes.” Crimson walks to the window and peers out at the city ten stories below us. “You know, the first time I realized I could control gravity was shortly after I found the Primal Stone twelve-thousand years ago.”
Twelve-thousand?
She continues in a soft-toned recollection, “I couldn’t control the many powers within the stone. I was a Healer, which is why I survived the insertion of the stone into my body. I healed myself with the added powers. But I’d developed many powers and my tribe was threatened by me. They tried to force me off a cliff about as high as we are now. I was heartbroken at the time. My love, Kirkuk, had turned against me and led the pack to end my life. I remember not really caring if I died. I was destitute. They’d taken my spears and blades. My skins and leather straps. My fire-making tools. Without these simple possessions I would surely die in the harsh elements, against the beasts and other exiles. I allowed Kirkuk to run me off the cliff because I didn’t want to live without him. All because I listened to the intoxicating hum of the Primal Stone and picked it up.”
Chris bi-locates beside me. I put my finger to my lips and speak to his mind, She’s talking about her past. He nods his head.
Crimson doesn’t seem to realize Chris has joined us. She continues, as she stares blankly out the window. “As I fell from the cliff, the Primal Stone burned within my chest. I wanted to rip it out and be done with it. The ground rushed up to me and I put my forearms in front of my face . . . I’m not sure why. I guess I wasn’t ready to die. My body stopped inches above the rocky earth. The smell of the dirt just below my nose is still engrained in my mind as if it were yesterday. The amazement of realizing I stopped myself from hitting the ground took a little longer to sink in. That was the first time I faked my death. The connection I still had with Kirkuk’s mind revealed he thought I hit the ground, and because I wasn’t moving, he figured I was dead. I decided to let him think that.
“Learning I could control gravity meant I could defend against beasts and enemies by simply rising higher than they could. Of course, harnessing invisibility came soon after and that saved my life many times over.” Crimson turns to look at me and seems shocked that Chris is in the room. “I didn’t know you’d arrived, Chris. Let’s get to work.”
I’m let down a little. I want to hear more about her life. Learning how old she is and what kinds of advancements she’s seen over her life makes me feel unworthy to be in her presence. I had no idea.
“Chris,” she says, “You met with Max?”
“Yes.”
“Project your memory so we can see what happened,” Crimson orders. She’s back in business mode. “Sentimental Crimson” is locked up tight. I’m really glad she told me a little about her life, although I wish I could have viewed it the way I’m about to view Chris’s memory.
I close my eyes and feel for his projected memory. I see through Chris’s eyes he’s in an elevator with Max.
“Chris, this is you, isn’t it?” Max points to his cell phone which has a frozen frame of the convenience store robbery.
“Where did you get this?” Chris grabs the phone, feeling horrified.
“It’s on that blog you told me about.”
“What?”
Max snatches the phone away and holds it up near Chris’s face. “That’s you and Calli. What’s the deal, Chris? I thought I could trust you.”
Chris lets out a huff of air. “Yes, that’s me and Calli. I was doin’ my job and we stumbled on to a robbery in progress. We ran.”
“Was that before or after you told your father you were against them?”
“Before. Actually, right before.”
“Why didn’t you turn yourself in?”
“Why didn’t Agent Alpha turn me in? He’s the mystery guy in the next frame. Did you know that?”
“What?” Max forwards the video to the limited shot of Freedom and Maetha. “No it’s not.”
“Anyway,” Chris tries to downplay the whole thing, “why does this even matter? The clerk vouched for our innocence.”
“Yeah, but he thought he’d lost his mind because you disappeared in a flash and the other two vaporized. This is the perfect type of video to be on a blog like this. Unexplainable.”
“Everyone with a logical brain knows videos and pictures can be altered. This would be easy to dismiss.”
“Except you just admitted to me this is you.”
“Did you record me just now or something?”
“No, but I wish I had. The bloggers are offering rewards for useable material.”
“Really? Too bad it all disappeared from the compound. We could have been rich.”
The memory ends and I open my eyes, meeting Chris’s.
“He’s headed your way, Calli. I overheard him buy a plane ticket for Nashville,” Chris says.
“I’ve already met with the detectives,” I tell him.
“You have? How? Didn’t you just get there?”
“No, we’ve been here for a few hours. I got to fly with Crimson, Chris.”
He turns to Crimson and says, “You can carry people?”
“Yes.”
“Can’t you come and get me instead of having me get on Maetha’s plane?”
“No. It’s faster the way I’ve arranged it. You’ll be here soon enough.”
I ask, “When will he get here?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
What a letdown. I ache to wrap my arms around him and be held in his arms.
Crimson says, “Chris, tomorrow you and Calli will interview Bearers here in Nashville. I want you to meditate in the meantime. You need to be as much at peace as possible. Calli will be doing the same.” She throws a knowing glance my way.
I wave bye to Chris. “Hug you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” His one-word answer is laced with anticipation. His form vanishes before me.
* * *
Chris visits Detectives Dixon and Webb before coming to the hotel. He and Crimson enter the hotel room. She walks to the other side of the room, but Chris stays by the door. His presence changes the energy in the air dramatically. I don’t feel I can breathe until I touch him. My heart leaps as I rush over and practically throw myself into his arms
, wrapping my arms around his body, pulling him completely against me. He holds me tight, as if he’s been waiting anxiously as well. His body feels so good. Not even a whole week has gone by since I saw him last, but I feel like our understanding of each other has skyrocketed. I tilt my chin upward and meet his lips with mine. He’s ready for my kiss and takes control.
Crimson clears her throat, interrupting our private moment. “Come here, you two. You’ll have time for that later. We need to stay focused so we don’t lose the upper hand.”
Chris cups the back of my head as he slides his lips over mine one more time before breaking apart. “I missed you,” he says against my cheek. Then he takes me by the hand and walks to Crimson. We sit on the end of the bed.
She says, “I had to use Mind-control on Detective Webb during Chris’s interrogation.”
Chris turns to me. “I know Detective Dixon. He was the ‘big shot’ at the Runner’s compound when my powers came out. He slipped up and admitted he knew me and, well, Webb kinda freaked out. Especially when he admitted Max arrived yesterday evening and tried to get information out of them about you.”
Crimson says, “I calmed her mind and helped her to dismiss you two as people of interest. I don’t normally like to interfere, but we were too close to failing. Dixon was none the wiser.”
Chris chuckles. “He shook my hand and told me Olympic athletes have to watch each other’s backs. I have to admit, I’m really glad he’s a Runner.”
“Okay,” Crimson says. “On to the next situation. I had Maetha arrange for a few Bearers to meet with you two today. You’ll discuss the upcoming blast and get their commitment to helping you on the project.”
“Piece of cake,” I say. Sarcasm exposes my concern.
“I’ll be with you invisibly. But don’t rely on me to solve any verbal battles. I’ll be watching the behaviors of all involved.”
The Diamond Bearer's Secret Page 17
