Unaltered #2_A Diamond in my Heart Read online

  I looked at the business card closely. It said: Top Jobs Consulting, and listed a phone number. I figured I’d try to call the number at a later time just to see who answered. For now, I needed to calm Brand down. I said, “I used my Healing ability to feel inside his body, and yes, he’s a person of powers. You were wise to turn down his offer.”

  “I know, I repeated several times once he began asking about the dark. One time he asked me about my relationship with you. He didn’t use your name he only referred to you as ‘the girl I arrived with’.”

  So, he had noticed me.

  “Brand, the Shadow Demons are the common denominator in the world of powers. They bring everyone down to equal footing. I think he was trying to determine if you were just a good fighter or if you had an ability that was strong enough to attract Demons. I think he was only interested in you if you had powers and because you didn’t seem to be afraid of the dark, he probably assumed you were normal. His last questions about your skills and if you’d had any formal training were-”

  “How did you know he asked me that?”

  I looked over at him feeling more than a little sheepish for slipping up like that and I made an impromptu decision. “Brand, when Suz set the firecracker in middle school, it blasted my eardrums apart. I was deaf for many months and in that time I was taught how to read lips. I’m a lip reader. I saw Freedom’s side of the conversation.”

  “Holy cow!”

  “No one knows, not even Suz. My mother encouraged me to keep it quiet or else my classmates might take advantage of my ability. I don’t think she had any idea how wise she was to give me that advice. I need you to help me keep my secret, Brand.”

  “Ditto, I don’t want Suz knowing about my feelings for her.”

  “Deal.”

  “You know, Calli, you’ve slipped up more than a few times. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I could tell you knew more about me than anyone else.”

  “I used to read your lips across the cafeteria.”

  “Hey, is that how you are able to match so many people up?”

  “It’s part of it. There’s more to me than just that, but now’s not the time to go into it. I’m going to call this number later from a secure phone line and check it out.”

  “Let me know what you come up with.”

  We drove back to town. Brand chatted the whole way about all the many repeats he did to win the fight, how many times he was hit and other testosterone infused bragging. My mind was troubled with the fact that Freedom was involved with this whole deal. I needed to tell Maetha somehow, but how? She really needed a cell phone.

  A couple nights later I found my opportunity to call the number on Freedom’s card. I was in the Biology lab completing my studies and asked the professor if I could use his phone. I went into his office and dialed the number.

  A cheerful female voice answered. “Top Jobs Consulting, how may I direct your call?”

  “I was given this number by a man; I didn’t get his name.”

  “Hold, please.”

  I waited for a moment not sure if I should hang up or not. Then Freedom’s voice sounded on the other line, “I was beginning to wonder if you’d call at all, Calli.”

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “Because the card was meant for you, not your happy-go-lucky friend.”

  “Why are you interested in Brand?”

  “I was, but am no longer. I’m worried for you, Calli, concerned that you are being manipulated into a life you wouldn’t choose for yourself.”

  His comment confirmed what Maetha had told me about him; he felt she’d forced a life on him that he didn’t want. “Where did you find that many unaltered guys to fight Brand?”

  “Unaltereds are a dime a dozen where I come from, the question you should be asking is why did I do what I did.”

  “I already know why.”

  “No, I don’t think you do.”

  “You’re free to think what you want, Freedom.”

  “So, Calli, you understand what I have to offer you? You won’t get the same offer from Maetha; only an eternity of servitude.”

  “Tell me how your offer would differ.”

  “I can remove the shard from your heart and return you to your natural state where you can live your life the way nature intended; not in the way Maetha intends for you. You’ll be spared from having to watch all your loved ones die, knowing you could save them but not allowed to do so. You’ll be free to grieve properly not forced to become cold hearted as Maetha would prefer. You can be freed from this terrible future and regain your identity as a human being living life to its fullest.”

  “What do you get out of it?” I asked.

  “Simply the satisfaction of knowing I saved a young girl with her whole life ahead of her from the pain, anguish and horror that I’ve been forced to live because Maetha decided otherwise.”

  “That’s not the reason and you know it. You only want my shard and could care less about me. If you felt that your life Maetha forced you to take on was so horrible, you’d surrender your diamond and be done with it. I think you like your power too much and you want more.”

  “Calli, I’m impressed with your level of understanding. I have a better offer for you then because I sense that you also like your power too much to part with your shard. Join me, Calli, and I can help you live life as a fully independent Diamond Bearer answering to no one.”

  “Would you teach me how to block out everyone the way you do?”

  “Of course, but only once I believed you were committed to me.”

  “What happened to ‘fully independent Diamond Bearer answering to no one’?”

  “I can’t very well teach you my methods just to have you take them straight to Maetha. So what do you say?”

  “Let me think about it.” I hung up the phone and turned to leave the office only to find my professor staring curiously from the doorway.

  “What is a Diamond Bearer?” he asked.

  “Just a club.” I walked past him and out the door.

  When I arrived back at my dorm, I crashed on my bed with so much running through my mind. The Mixer I attended at the beginning of the semester exposed me to Travis, and Travis was one of Freedom’s thugs. Freedom has been following me this whole time. He’s been placing individuals in my path to try to sway me to his side or at least get me to willingly give my shard to him. If he wanted my shard bad enough, why didn’t he simply kill me and take it? I deduced he really did want me to join his side. He must feel I’m still impressionable enough to change allegiances. Well, he’s wrong.

  How could I be certain Maetha wasn’t the ‘bad guy’ he implied? The more I thought about it the more I realized that if Freedom was more on track than Maetha, the other Diamond Bearers would join forces with Freedom, and since they hadn’t I came to the conclusion that Freedom was the one off balance.

  I stared at the ceiling feeling at peace with my conclusion when a vision filled my mind. I saw a young boy’s running ability surfacing in a town on the New York border. He would be in P.E. class competing on an indoor track when his super-speed would reveal him as a DNA altered individual in need of protection from both Demons and evil clan members who would kidnap him to use his powers. A representative from the Runners Clan would come for the boy and that person would be Chris. He would be punctual and the boy wouldn’t be taken by those who would do him harm.

  I rolled over in my bed and hugged my pillow. My mind revisited the day on the bank of the river while on the journey to deliver the diamond to the Death Clan. Chris would have died in any other normal situation, but he begged me to save him and I did. Freedom had made a point when he said I wouldn’t have to watch the ones I love die when I knew I could save them. I tried to imagine what that would be like but I didn’t have to imagine too long, I’d already experienced it with Chris.

  On that day by the river, I felt his deep love for me and I’ve often wondered how he could have felt that way abo
ut someone he’d only met just a few days earlier. However, since handling the whole Sanguine Diamond and experiencing the feelings within other people when I read their mind or view their future I have a much deeper sense of understanding. When I looked into Chris’s mind in the Healers' cabin before I left for home I felt his emotions when he saw me enter his hospital room. I experienced them with him.

  Maetha had said that without the love between Chris and I, and my desire to alter the outcome to ensure he lived, the delivery wouldn’t have resulted in success meaning I wouldn’t have become a Diamond Bearer. The fact that I possess the proper traits of self-sacrifice makes me qualified to be a Diamond Bearer.

  Suddenly it hit me like a 300mph train; Freedom was after Brand, not me. Freedom already knows I have the proper traits to be a Diamond Bearer and that my allegiance cannot be altered. He knows that someday the other diamond shards will reunite within my heart making me his equal and when that happens I’ll have as much power as him… but I’ll have Brand by my side making me more powerful than Freedom. Freedom has these unaltered thugs who are immune to Readers, Healers, Seers and so on, but I have a guy who can render Unaltereds incapable within seconds and is immune to Readers and Seers.

  I reached over for my phone and called Brand.

  “Hello,” Brand answered.

  “I called the number, Brand.”

  “Did you talk to the guy?”

  “Yes, he’s a psychopath. He arranged the fight just to watch you in action. I’d go the other way if you see him again.”

  “I planned on it anyway. He made my skin crawl.”

  The holidays came and went and the arrival of the New Year was celebrated with my parents and their friends. My first semester grades were all 'A's and my parents couldn’t be prouder. I had to admit I was quite pleased with myself as well. However, I was looking forward to Maetha and Beth surprising me again like they did at Thanksgiving, but not this time.

  A big bombshell was dropped the day before my return. My mother came into my room and sat on my bed and asked, “Did you know Suz’s parents were getting a divorce?”

  “No,” I answered and sat next to my mom.

  “Apparently Suz purchased one of those over-the-counter paternity tests and tricked her father into giving a swab when she arrived for Christmas break. She sent it off priority mail and got her results within a few days showing he wasn’t her biological father. He left that night and Suz’s mother drove her back to her dorm and packed up her stuff. Apparently, Suz had been dating her half brother.”

  “Who?”

  “Brand Safferson. Did you and Brand break up?”

  “No. I mean, we’re just friends. I overheard the fight back at Thanksgiving time.” I went on to tell my mom most of the details of what had happened, of course, leaving out the Repeater parts and the, ‘oh, and I have a diamond in my heart, Mom,’ particulars. It made me wonder when I’d be able to tell my parents about my secret.

  I hugged my parents before I left to return to college and told them I’d see them on Spring Break in late March.

  When I arrived back at my dorm, a small package was waiting for me. My new Demon devices were completed and they looked great; I just needed to find Brand so we could test them. I went to his room but he wasn’t back yet from his vacation. I wondered if his vacation was as bumpy as Suz’s due to the fact that some secrets were revealed.

  I left a note on Brand’s door to come see me when he returned.

  Later a knock came to my door, but it wasn’t Brand, it was Beth. I gave her a hug and invited her in.

  “How is everything going, Beth?”

  “Not well. The amulet has divided the clan even further and I fear animosity and jealousy will tear us apart. I hear it isn’t any different in the other clans.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought it would turn out like this when the amulets were first handed out. I doubt the witch, Maetha, knew it either. Some people say that she knew all too well what would happen and that was why she gave them out.”

  “How is everything else going?” I tried to sound innocent.

  “Chris is doing much better. He’s cheered up a little and every now and then I see him smile.”

  We were interrupted by Brand knocking on my door. He looked absolutely horrible. I guess life at his home had been rocky as well. “Oh, sorry,” he said, “you’re busy. I’ll come back later.”

  “Hi Brand,” Beth jumped to her feet with a mile wide grin.

  “Come on in, Brand,” I said.

  He shrugged his shoulders and entered the room.

  I knew what would cheer him up, but I didn’t know if I should show the Demon devices to Beth. I looked into Beth’s future and saw the same vision as before that she would lead a task force to eradicate evil clan members. I looked to see if I should give her a Demon device and what I saw flabbergasted me; someday she’d be leading the task force and would be searching for me! Well, I definitely wouldn’t be giving her a weapon she could potentially use against me in the future. Instead we carried out pleasant conversation with the down-in-the-dumps-Brand and before the evening came Brand was feeling better. Beth left before darkness settled in and then I was able to show Brand the new and improved devices.

  We went outside and found a good location that would allow him to return to a safe place should the device be faulty in any way.

  “I like how small they are, Calli.”

  “They’re a little different than what I imagined them to be. Don’t you think they look like a top?”

  “A what?”

  “You know, a top, a spinner, you flick it between your fingers and it spins for a while.”

  “Oh, yeah, I suppose.” Brand turned on his device and attached it to his jacket. “It doesn’t make any noise, Calli.”

  “Hmmm, I hope it works for your sake.”

  “I’m used to being ripped to shreds.” He attempted to sound as if he was joking but I could tell there was a double meaning. “Alright, here I go.” He looked around to make sure no one was watching and stepped beyond the line of light. His body rose off the ground and his head flew backward as his throat ripped open causing blood to spurt all over.

  The world began to spin wildly as Brand repeated the scene and I found myself back to the point where he was about to walk into the dark.

  He spoke wryly, “Well, that’s the perfect way to end my perfect day.”

  “I’m sorry Brand, I don’t know what-”

  “It doesn’t matter; you’ll get it right the next time. By the way, my other device is missing. Did you take it?”

  “No.”

  Brand turned around and walked back inside the building leaving me standing out in the cold wondering exactly what went wrong with the new device, what happened at Brand’s house over the holiday break, and who would have taken his other device?

  *****

  The new semester kicked off with basically the same class lineup and that was nice; that meant I wouldn’t have to adjust my schedule too much. The failed devices had been on my mind since the day Brand tried one out. I’ve concluded it was a manufacturer’s defect and I’ll search for a different manufacturer with a higher reputation.

  Suz’s friends have taken over the job of shooting daggers at me whenever I see them and I guess that’s alright. Sticks and stones, right? The news spread rapidly that Suz had been pulled from college by her mother, but it was fueled mainly by the juicy information that she and Brand were half brother and sister. Of course, the misinformation about Suz being pregnant had found its way into the rumor mill as well.

  As I’d suspected, Brand’s lie about being a hypnotist had spread like wildfire following the Thanksgiving fight by the river, adding it together with impregnating his half sister and it made for top-notch talk show fodder. For the first little while I tried to calm the rumors but soon found I couldn’t very well explain anything without revealing information that shouldn’t be revealed.

/>   Brand wasn’t even trying to clear his name.

  I suspected he’d sunken into depression and I debated every day whether or not to heal his brain chemicals. One good sign was that because I couldn’t read his thoughts I knew he hadn’t given up entirely; he was still repeating. He was not, however, dating or seducing girls. The whole ‘Suz’ thing had really affected him along with discovering more about his own mind and his need for approval from his father.

  The latter part of January was spent in matchmaker mode helping unfortunate souls find each other, for better or worse, as Valentine’s Day was just around the corner and being a single girl was something that weighed heavily on many minds. I’ve never understood that aspect of the female mind; even before the diamond was in my heart. Then again, I’ve never understood many aspects of the female mind. This caused me to wonder if it was possible that being unaltered somehow kept me from all the drama that most girls seem to go through. Perhaps a regular slightly altered female suffers more because of the cosmic energies that assaulted her DNA while in the womb. My mother didn’t seem to be burdened with pettiness and paranoia, but I’ve always attributed that to her age and maturity. It was a fascinating possibility but one that I’d have to wait until I met other female unaltereds to explore it further.

  After Valentine’s Day, I found a different manufacturer for my devices and emailed the specifics of the device to the designer. I used the credit card my parents gave me to pay for the prototypes figuring once they saw the charge I’d be hearing from them; maybe by then I would have figured out a good excuse for dropping $1,200 to a design shop in Texas.

  Three days before Spring Break began, Brand caught up with me as I walked to class. “What are your plans for the break, Calli?”

  “I’m going back home to help my mother sort through boxes in the basement.”

  “Oh, well, have fun with that.” He quickened his pace and positioned himself in front of me and turned around and walked backward while he asked, “I was wondering if we could make another device. I’ve been going nuts these last few weeks without my other one.”