The Diamond Bearers' Rising Read online

  I take a slow breath and say as innocently as possible, “Who’s that?”

  “That’s what Det. Webb wondered as well.”

  “There wasn’t anyone else besides the two detectives in the room.” I fidget in my chair and pick up on Det. Gardner’s thoughts that my body language says I know who the woman is. I turn to Brand and say, “Take me back to when he hands me the photo, please.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The room spins and comes to a halt as Det. Gardner passes the photo to me.

  “Who’s that behind me?”

  “That’s what Det. Webb wondered as well.”

  I let my mouth fall open as I look between Brand and Det. Gardner. “I don’t understand. Is this a . . . a joke?”

  “Do you recognize this woman?”

  “No. There wasn’t anyone else in the room.”

  “Well, there’s more. When your companion, Chris Harding, came in the next day for his interview,” Det. Garner slides another paper to me, “the mystery woman is seen standing behind him, too.”

  I open my eyes wide. “Okay, now I’m spooked.”

  “Det. Webb searched the surveillance archives for when you arrived at the station. The woman entered the building with you. She seamlessly slips inside the open doors without anyone noticing otherwise. The same happened with Mr. Harding. She arrived with him.”

  I shake my head and rub my temples. “This is, ah, freaky.”

  Brand startles me by whipping around in his chair to look at the space behind my seat. “Is she here right now? Are you recording?”

  “No, I’m not recording. I guess I should be.”

  Brand puts an arm around my shoulders. “And you said the police station was safe,” he says to the detective.

  I reach forward, making sure to have visibly shaking hands. “There must be a logical explanation for this. Would I be able to have a copy of this picture? That way if she shows up somewhere, we can report her.”

  “Sure. Take that one. I can print another.”

  “Thanks.” I carefully fold the paper.

  Detective Gardner says, “Has any of your contact information changed since you gave it to Det. Webb?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. I’ll use that information if I need to get in contact with you.”

  * * *

  We enter the house and I walk straight up to Crimson. I hold the printed photo up for her to see.

  She takes it from me and stares at it. “Oh dear.”

  Maetha takes the paper. “Didn’t you know, Crimson?”

  “I’ve never had to accompany one of my Bearers to law enforcement before.”

  Brand walks casually between us. “Crimson, you could totally cover this up, you know. Just go back there and haunt the security cameras. Toss some stuff around, leave some eerie messages, let out some blood-curdling screams here and there. Can you imagine how freaked out they would be? They’d easily dismiss you as a poltergeist and not related to Calli and Chris.”

  The thought of Crimson pretending to be a ghost makes me chuckle.

  “More proof of the supernatural would not be a wise use of my time and may create more problems. They’ll come to the ghost conclusion on their own. However, this is good information for you, Calli. Now you know you’re not invisible on camera either.”

  “What about bi-locating?”

  “I would assume that is not safe either,” Crimson says. “I recommend you stop short at producing a form and hold at hearing when you bi-locate.”

  “I’m not sure I follow.”

  Maetha says, “Remember when we flew from Florida to Washington D.C.? Freedom connected to my diamond and listened. He didn’t materialize, but I knew he’d connected.”

  “Is this different than when I speak to Chris through the diamonds?”

  “Do you feel like you’re in the room with him? Or do you only hear his responses?”

  “I’m not sure. I don’t remember anything about his location, just his responses.”

  Maetha says, “Try bi-locating to Jonas right now but don’t materialize.”

  Interesting she wants me to connect with Jonas when there’s so many other Bearers I could practice with. I mentally connect with Jonas’s diamond and go to him in my mind. My vision goes black and a slight whirling sensation tickles my senses. I hear waves crashing in the distance. Jonas comes into view. He’s sitting on the sand, shirtless, staring out to the distant horizon. He turns his head, jumps up, and faces me.

  “Calli,” he wipes his sandy hands down the front of his cargo pants. “What is it?”

  “Uh,” my eyes dart around, catching glimpses of his muscular form, but not wanting him to know I notice. “I’m practicing bi-locating but not materializing. I guess I failed.”

  “Why?”

  “Security cameras can see us. I’m going to try again. You should feel my presence but not see me. I should feel that I’m here but not materialized.”

  “Why don’t you use Invisibility?”

  “Crimson was captured on film invisibly, so that won’t work. I’m going to try again.” I let go of my connection to his diamond and open my eyes in Denver.

  “Well?” Maetha asks.

  “I need to practice. I materialized.”

  “Yes, it does take some practice. I stop pursuing a connection once I can hear surrounding sounds associated with the Bearer I’m connecting to.”

  “Oh, I’ll try that.” I’m wishing I didn’t need to master this right away. I don’t want to see Jonas’s half-naked body again. Wait, maybe that would help me stop pursuing. I close my eyes and try again.

  After a moment, I hear Jonas say, “I sense you are connecting, Calli.”

  I can’t hear the waves yet. Jonas comes into view. “Ugh.” I disconnect. Images of his body flow through my mind. I send him a mental message. Jonas, would you please put a shirt on?

  He chuckles. Of course.

  I try again and connect carefully, methodically, until I hear waves. Jonas speaks, “I don’t see you but I sense your connection. It’s stronger this time.”

  Did you put on a shirt?

  “Yes.”

  He comes into view, shirtless. “Jonas!”

  A broad smile lights up his face. “If you’d stopped at auditory, you wouldn’t have known I lied.”

  I drop connection and open my eyes. “I’ll practice more later,” I say, frustrated with my inability and even more upset with myself for being bothered by Jonas. I blame Chris for this. If I didn’t know Jonas is the backup guy, I wouldn’t have been bothered by his overexposure. At least I think so.

  * * *

  The next day Anika arrives. I notice how Brand is on his best behavior around her. After Crimson’s talk, I feel much needed light has been shed on the reality of our situation. As I struggle to figure out how to save the most amounts of lives in Portland, I’m relieved to hear Anika will play a big role in the endeavor.

  I approach Anika privately after lunch. “I charged you a Seer topaz.” I extend my hand, holding the golden piece of crystal.

  “Oh, thank you.” She takes it and twists it between her fingers. “What should I look for?”

  “That’s up to you.”

  She puts the topaz in her pocket. “I think I’ll wait till I figure out something important.”

  “I’d love to hear what you end up using it for,” I say, hoping the Seer topaz will help her to better understand the power of being able to foresee things ahead of time.

  She and Beth will remain behind here in Denver while Brand and I go to China. At first I thought Brand was going to be my protector, but then Crimson revealed Jie Wen wants Brand on this mission.

  The plans are set for China. Brand and I will leave Denver tonight on Maetha’s private plane and stop off in Washington D.C. to pick up Duncan. It feels wrong that we’ll pass through Chris’s area without seeing him, but we just saw each other and honestly, I’m all right with a bit of a break to let my head clear. From D.C.,
we’ll fly to Bermuda to pick up Jonas and Maetha, then we’ll continue on to China with fuel stops along the way. Barring any unforeseen maintenance, we’ll be in the airplane for close to thirty-five hours.

  I start packing my things in my bag. The good thing about a Runner suit is it has microbial prevention properties. They don’t stink even after a few uses. Plus, the material is thin and folds into a small size, leaving room in my bag for more things. I put a pouch of Imperial topaz crystals in the side pocket of the bag. I’ll be charging these with Mind-Control while on the flight.

  This is the only reason Maetha is coming with us. She needs to appear as if she’s the one charging the topaz to keep up the ruse she still has the Blue shard. Instead, she’ll charge topaz with the Healer power. I don’t know how long we’ll have to keep up this pretense, but I think this is for Jie Wen’s sake alone as I know not many Bearers know she even has the shard in the first place.

  Jie Wen sure isn’t happy to hear I’m coming along. At least that’s what I gathered when he spoke with Crimson. I wonder if Jie Wen or anyone else for that matter will ever see me as an equal in terms of our abilities. I understand I need to go because Crimson will be able to view events through our Blue Diamond connection. Not while I’m around obsidian, of course, but later she’ll be able to connect to my mind. However, as she told me earlier, she won’t be intruding much in my decisions or thoughts anymore. So, I’m not quite sure how this will all work out.

  One thing bothering me is we won’t be wearing Runners topaz. I’ve made an effort to always have one of these topaz with me at all times in case I need to escape the effects of obsidian. The reasons given are that we’ll already be wearing Mind-Control and Healing topazes. Adding a third would confuse the powers or at least confuse the wearer. I don’t know if that’s true. All I know is I’m a little uncomfortable without mine, especially after searching the future and finding we’ll encounter obsidian in China.

  * * *

  The voice of Rodger Rutherfield fills the plane after our obvious descent. “Buckle up, folks. We’re landing in Bermuda.”

  I find myself wanting to go see Maetha’s island, but she and Jonas are already waiting at the airport. Capt. Rutherfield helps Maetha and Jonas with their luggage and greets Maetha as Ms. Lightner.

  Maetha’s appearance has been altered. Her skin coloring is the same, but her bone structure is different. All these changes made with the purpose of throwing off facial recognition software looking for Janice Johnson.

  Duncan says to Maetha, “Staying with your Egyptian heritage, I see. Good choice.” She smiles and joins the captain up front.

  Now that both Jonas and Brand are on the same flight with me, I’m able to look at them and compare my feelings to that of what I hold for Chris. I’m sure of what I want. And besides, all Brand and Jonas can talk about are Beth and Anika. Neither one is hitting on me or trying to capture my attention.

  I take a deep cleansing breath and relax. We have many hours of flight ahead of us. We are, after all, flying to the other side of the world.

  Somewhere over Western Europe, I have the opportunity to chat with Duncan. I’m hoping to learn more about Duncan’s history as a Diamond Bearer.

  “What was your life like before you became a Bearer, Duncan?”

  “Well, I was a mercenary in my mortal years, back in the age of muskets and cannons. I became a “vampire slayer” when the clan grew large enough to terrorize small towns. Vampires were much smarter than the Death Clan and weren’t as easy to trick. I had no idea I was an Unaltered until I was approached by Maetha, whom I believed was a witch.”

  “Were witches viewed with the same hesitation back then?”

  “Absolutely. But they were far and few between. I realize now they were all Spellcasters. That’s what Maetha is.”

  Brand and Jonas lean closer to join in the conversation.

  Duncan continues. “Me and my group of slayers hit a dead end concerning how to kill Vampires. They outsmarted every technique we had, almost as if they were being counseled by a Spellcaster. Maetha presented a new option—luring the leaders of their clan to accept a valuable peace offering: The Sanguine Diamond.”

  I add to his story. “They were under Freedom’s control. I saw it in his mind before he died.” My eyes meet Brand’s and his clenched jaw. I’m filled with immediate regret for bringing up his biological father’s death.

  Duncan doesn’t seem to be aware of Brand’s inner conflict and continues. “Maetha gave me a diamond with the instructions to arrange a peacekeeping meeting where the legendary diamond would be given in exchange for harmony and safety of my village. I followed her instructions against my wife’s wishes. My wife felt the Vampire clan wouldn’t honor the peace treaty, but I knew without it she and our children would be slaughtered. I had to try.

  “In a scene similar to what you experienced with the Death Clan, the Vampire clan arrived and among them was my wife.”

  Jonas gasps. “Was she their hostage?”

  “No. She was a member. She’d been one of them all along.

  My mind envisions Maetha. She would have known his wife was part of the evil group, yet she set him up to inadvertently kill her. A deep, roiling anger within me heats up another notch and I feel immense pity for Duncan.

  Jonas says, “That’s horrible!”

  “Yes. It was. Following the destruction of the Vampire clan, I became the recipient of a shard from the exploded diamond. Maetha offered me the opportunity to become immortal and join her clan that serves the will of nature or return to life as a mortal. Obviously, I accepted the diamond. After a while, I was taken under Jie Wen’s arm and taught everything he knows about battle and tactical ingenuity. He learned from the best. He personally knew Genghis Khan.”

  “Holy crap,” Brand exclaims.

  Duncan continues. “I have high respect for Jie Wen and see him as a strategic genius. In my opinion, he’s every bit as formidable as Amenemhet.”

  My ears perk up. “What about Amenemhet?”

  “He’s been a part of almost every major war since Ancient Egyptian times. He found Jie Wen and recommended him to be a Bearer.”

  “Amazing!” Jonas shakes his head and blinks his eyes. “I mean, I’ve tried to imagine some of what the Bearers have seen or been involved with over the thousands of years, but this is awesome.”

  Jonas, Brand, and Duncan continue to talk about different aspects of the Bearers. My mind replays the information Duncan told me about his wife when we were at my parents’ cabin and how he became obsessed with bringing her back from the dead. I noticed how he rushed past that part a second ago. I can’t say that I blame him.

  Crimson’s words echo in my mind that Chris may not become a full Bearer in the end. Even if he lives a full life with me, he’ll still die. I’ll have to let him die. But only if he doesn’t choose to have his diamond inserted. I don’t want to think about this right now. I’m still trying to pick through the revelation that he’s been carrying a prism, using it on me.

  I rub my temples and close my eyes to clear my mind. What I need to focus on is the upcoming Elemental blast. I need to think beyond myself and find a way to save as many lives as possible. I know what needs to be done, I just don’t know how to do it.

  Are you all right, Calli? Jonas speaks to my mind.

  Without opening my eyes, I reply, Yes. I have a lot on my mind, that’s all.

  You have so much responsibility on your shoulders. I wish I could help lessen the load.

  You already do, Jonas. I open my eyes, realizing Brand and Duncan are still talking. I’d blocked them out entirely. I meet Jonas’s worried gaze.

  With a subtle, barely noticeable smile he says, I’ll always be here for you, helping you accomplish your tasks.

  Thanks. I switch to verbal language and address Duncan. “I’m going to go in the back and lay down.”

  I walk to the bench seat, remembering I need to charge some topaz. I stop and open my bag and pull out
the six topazes and bandages. Charging these with Mind-Control for Invisibility seems counterintuitive since we now know cameras and video recordings can see us. Hopefully we’ll be long gone from the facility we’re going to by the time it’s realized we’re there.

  I strap on the stones and lay down to rest.

  * * *

  I wake up from my nap and am met with a startling, awful sensation. I’m nervous, paranoid, and hypersensitive for some reason. I feel like everyone is looking at me, noticing everything I do, almost as if I’m on stage in front of an enormous crowd. I walk to the front of the plane where Maetha sits with Capt. Rutherfield. I sit in a nearby chair.

  I speak to Maetha’s mind. I feel strange.

  Are you sick?

  I don’t know. I’ve never felt like this before. I explain my symptoms.

  She responds, I know the answer. You’re experiencing the exact opposite of Invisibility. Remember that you’re charging multiple stones with the same power. It’s not only draining on your body, it’s giving you a sense of reverse invisibility, one where it feels like everyone ‘sees’ you.

  I peer over my shoulder at the three guys, none of which are looking at me. As soon as I turn forward, the overwhelming feeling of exposed, vulnerable, paranoia invades my body. I squirm in my seat wanting nothing more than to rip the topaz off my body.

  Maetha says, I’d offer you some healing right now, but because I’m charging six stones with that power, my stores are drained, like yours. In fact, I’m experiencing flu-like symptoms. I haven’t felt like this since before I obtained the Sanguine Diamond.

  I hadn’t thought of that.

  She continues. Remember, you and I will need to exchange the charged stones prior to handing them out so everyone believes I charged the Invisibility topaz.

  I understand.

  Maetha turns to the captain. “Rodger, what is our estimated arrival time?”

  “We’ll land in Bangkok in three hours. From there we’ll have to wait till Jie Wen secures clearance for us to pass into Chinese airspace.”

  “He hasn’t done that yet?”

  “He’s only had two days. Normally it takes a week to get clearance. But he has connections.”