The Diamond Bearers' Rising Read online

  “Excuse me, Rodger.” Maetha leaves her seat and walks to the back of the plane and sits down. I notice how wobbly she is on her feet—so unlike Maetha.

  I get up and go back to her. “What’s wrong, Maetha?”

  “I need to communicate with Jie Wen. Give me a moment.”

  I sit nearby and wait while she connects with Jie Wen.

  “We have to land in Guangzhou in Guangdong, China to have the plane searched before we can continue to Jie Wen’s personal landing strip.”

  “Searched?”

  “Yes. A bit of Mind-Control will be needed to rush the search.” She nods at me. “Come on, let’s go relay the message to Rodger.”

  After speaking with Rodger, with Duncan, Brand, and Jonas overhearing, Jonas asks, “Is it cold there, where Jie Wen lives? I mean, it is January.”

  Maetha answers. “Not really. It’s a subtropical climate. Your Runner’s jackets will keep you warm enough. If all goes to plan, we’ll be there less than twenty-four hours. We still have a few hours of flying. I recommend all of you practice your meditation and clear your minds. Rescuing the scientist and his family is risky. I want you to be mentally ready.

  Chapter Four - China

  I’m guessing this isn’t Capt. Rutherfield’s first time in China. The Cantonese chatter on the radio is impossible for me to decipher, but Rodger handles it well. Who knew he was fluent in Cantonese?

  Another surprise: Duncan speaks Cantonese, too. He effortlessly translates some of the conversation for the rest of us one-languagers. I guess I should have already known. He told me Jie Wen trained him long ago. Jie Wen probably taught it to him.

  Jonas says to Brand and me, “We’re probably going to have to learn other languages at some point.”

  “Yep,” Brand says.

  Guangzhou International Airport is busy, busy, busy. Constant streams of planes are lined up in the sky to land and several are in line for takeoff. The flight traffic controllers are obviously skilled with the high volume of flights rolling in and out.

  Capt. Rutherfield receives instructions of where to drive the plane once we’re on the ground. The location appears to be a checkpoint where several people in official-type suits stand waiting.

  Duncan says to me, Brand, and Jonas, “You three need to remain quiet during the inspection.” His order has a let-the-adults-handle-this feeling.

  Maetha speaks to my mind. I’ll tell you what you need to do to speed this up.

  Okay.

  Capt. Rutherfield unlocks and opens the door then lowers the steps. He steps outside and begins conversing with the officials.

  Duncan translates for us. “They’re asking about the cargo . . . he needs to open the hold . . . they want us off the plane while they conduct their search for illegal items.”

  “Do we take our bags with us?” I ask.

  “No.”

  Capt. Rutherfield enters the plane. “Everyone off.”

  Brand mutters as we exit, “Good thing I left my exotic animals and fly-infested fruit back home.”

  Duncan places a hand on Brand’s shoulder. “Keep your sarcastic attitude to yourself. It will only make things harder for Maetha to control if they suspect we’re smuggling.”

  “Sorry.” Brand hangs his head.

  We step off the plane and find several armed guards with the officials. The hatch is open and the captain and an official are inside the cargo hold. Three officials move forward and enter the plane. We stand still. A woman approaches us and points to Maetha’s neckline where some medical tape holding her topazes is exposed. The woman says something to which Maetha responds in Cantonese.

  No surprise, she’s fluent as well.

  Maetha’s voice in my head says, Calli, she wants me to take off the bandages so she can see my injury. Tell her mind she doesn’t need to see.

  I don’t speak Cantonese.

  You don’t need to. Just think about the action and stop her from doing it.

  I try to control the woman, but I don’t know what I’m doing.

  The woman raises her voice slightly and sounds bothered by Maetha not following orders.

  Maetha slowly raises her hand to her neckline. Now Calli! Tell her she doesn’t need to see.

  I’m trying! I focus intensely on the woman, willing her to stop wanting to see what’s under the bandage.

  Maetha grasps onto the tape and pulls it off slowly, no doubt hoping I’ll be successful before she removes it.

  I’m not.

  As the tape comes off, the topaz are exposed, stuck to the backside of the tape. The woman points and says something, to which Duncan responds. The woman holds her hand out, most likely wanting to confiscate the topaz.

  My heart sinks even though it’s racing like crazy. I’ve failed. What’s worse is the woman will probably want my topaz as well. I send my thoughts to Brand. Repeat with me back as far as you can.

  The ground spins and I soon find myself at the moment just before Capt. Rutherfield opens the door to let the stairs down. Maetha is about to tell me she’ll instruct me on what to do, but I cut her off. Maetha, I can’t control the woman’s mind. She’s going to seize your topaz and probably mine.

  You repeated?

  Yes. I can’t control her actions.

  In the background, Duncan translates what’s going on outside the plane. I know the captain is about to tell us to deplane. Time is running out.

  Maetha reaches up and strips off her bandage. The topazes are stuck to it. She crumples the mass into a small ball and tosses it in the trash located by the galley. She nods in my direction, indicating I do the same thing with the Mind-Control topaz on my body.

  Won’t they find these? I ask as I rip the sticky tape off my chest and wad it up like Maetha did.

  I don’t know, but at least they won’t be on our bodies.

  “Everyone off,” Capt. Rutherfield orders.

  We stand to exit the plane and I toss my “garbage” into the trash. The normal garbage bin is now equivalent to a treasure chest with healing and mind-controlling stones for the taking. I sure hope no one thinks to go through the trash.

  Outside the plane, I watch as the scene plays out, only this time I don’t need to control the woman. A couple of men enter the plane and rummage through bags and cupboards. I focus on their bodies and press my thoughts their direction, thinking, You don’t need to search. You don’t need to be concerned, over and over again.

  Our bodies are scanned with a handheld metal detector and we’re told to empty our pockets, which we do. No alarms are raised, no concerns are expressed, and other than Brand giggling and wiggling when he’s being patted down, claiming he’s ticklish, we are given the all-clear to proceed to our destination.

  We board and my eyes are immediately drawn to the upside down garbage can, the contents scattered. I throw a glance at Maetha and find her concerned eyes directed to the pile of trash too. I bend down and right the can and begin searching for the two wads of stones. Maetha stops me and speaks to my mind, Wait till the door is closed. They’re watching.

  But, did they find the topazes?

  No. They’re safe. I can see both bandages.

  After the door closes and Capt. Rutherfield locks it down, we all breathe a sigh of relief. Maetha helps me retrieve the two bundles from the garbage pile, and together we clean up the mess.

  * * *

  Our plane lands on Jie Wen’s private air strip with a slight bump. I stare out the small window trying to take in the natural beauty.

  After stepping off the plane at Jie Wen’s private estate and being driven to the main buildings, I’m blown away at the majesty of his estate. Beautifully manicured gardens with koi ponds and waterfalls are bordered with pathways of precision-laid rock. Carved wooden statues of dragons accent several outbuildings and covered sitting areas which are painted in gold and deep red tones. Everything matches the breathtaking architecture of the main house that could be suitable for royalty. I guess I figured he’d live somewhere
stark and extremely clean, lacking in anything natural. Instead, his estate reflects an unknown personality I wouldn’t have guessed. Maybe I’ve misjudged him.

  Chuang meets us as we step out of the car. He wears an ornate robe deep blue in color with a perfectly tied band around his middle. He walks with controlled fluid motion.

  “Maetha, Duncan,” he says, with a slight bow. His eyes move in Brand’s, Jonas’s, and my direction then back to the others. “Jie Wen is meditating. Come, I’ll take you to him.”

  Brand looks at me and rolls his eyes. Then he rubs his upper arms with his hands as if he’s cold. I know he’s communicating his dislike of Chuang’s cold greeting and I try not to chuckle.

  Jonas speaks to my mind. It’s like we’re back in high school and we’re not in the cool crowd.

  Let’s just try to stay focused on the mission. I’m not impressed with Chuang’s behavior either.

  We follow Chuang along the immaculate stone pathway away from the landing strip. He turns to Maetha and asks, “What does the future show as far as our success with this mission?”

  “I can’t tell. Whenever Brand is involved, I can’t determine the outcome because there are so many. Plus, there will be obsidian.”

  “Good thing we have the Mind-Control topaz then. It is ready, I assume.”

  “Yes,” she says. “The group needs to experiment with the invisibility ability before attempting the extraction, and without using too much of the power stored.”

  Duncan asks, “How long will a topaz last?”

  “I don’t know the exact length of time. If the power is used for invisibility, then you should get several uses out of it. However, if it’s used to control someone’s actions, perhaps one or two uses. Altering perception is easier than controlling actions. We also need to distribute the Healing topaz Calli charged on the way here. Calli,” she turns to me as we walk, “may I?” She extends her hand for the topaz I’ve charged.

  I hand her the bundle of topaz, knowing the whole “show” is for the sake of maintaining the secrecy of the Blue Diamond. I have the sudden realization I’m in the same situation as when I carried the real Sanguine Diamond and Chris had the decoy. I almost feel like I’m protecting the Blue from would-be takers, but not quite. This time around, I’m helping expose dissenters.

  We arrive at the main building and find Jie Wen waiting. He also wears an ornate robe with the knot of perfection around his middle. His robe is deep red and gold, like the color of his estate I have to wonder, since I haven’t seen him in anything else, how he fights in that kind of attire.

  Customary bows are made and the younger members are ignored once again. Oh well.

  Jie Wen leads us inside his home. Rude or not, this man has impeccable taste. His decorations are probably antiques like Maetha’s and most likely have an interesting story behind each one. Too bad we have neither the time nor the camaraderie to delve deeper.

  Maetha sits on a floor pillow and separates each of the two bundles of topaz. She then performs a switch-up to confuse anyone watching, namely Duncan. By intermixing the stones on the floor and then separating them into groups of two, one for healing, one for mind-controlling, then giving each person in the extraction group a set, she’s able to keep him in the dark.

  But why? Should I be concerned with Duncan being a dissenter?

  Brand clears his throat and says rather un-ceremoniously, “So, Jie Wen, tell us about the people we’re going to rescue.”

  The look on Jie Wen’s face is priceless. He seems shocked by Brand’s lack of manners, yet I know he requested to have Brand on this mission, so it would seem he needs to adjust his normal uptightness. Jie Wen motions to other floor cushions, indicating for us to sit. “Two scientists and their daughter,” he says.

  Brand moves his hand in a circular motion to encourage Jie Wen to continue. “And . . . what makes them so special?”

  “Dr. Toddkhuslan—he goes by the name Tod—and his wife, Mishell, are developing healing blankets using quartz. Their daughter, Sarangerel, is a computer genius and has been hacking the bunker’s system little by little.”

  Jonas clears his throat and scoots forward in his spot. “You don’t say. How is she doing that if they’re captives? I mean, if we’re going to rescue them, I’d assume they’re captives.”

  Jie Wen seems bothered. “Dr. Tod joined the group so Sarangerel could get in behind the facility’s network firewall, and, as a family team, spy on the workings of the facility.”

  “Doesn’t sound like she’s as good as me, if she couldn’t get behind the firewall.” Jonas sits back, grinning.

  “She’s the best in all of China, believe me.”

  “I’m excited to meet her and compare notes.”

  Brand says, “Sounds like you’ll be taking notes, dude, not comparing.”

  My mind is still processing Jie Wen’s words. I ask, “Are you saying the parents aren’t as important as the girl?”

  “Not at all. The parents are deeply involved in the science behind charging powers into quartz. Their research, coupled with the information Sarangerel is able to get from the computers, will help the Bearers immensely.”

  I press further. “How long have you known about this group empowering quartz?”

  “Long enough.”

  I glance over to Maetha, wondering if she knew about this. She doesn’t look at me. I ask Jie Wen, “Longer than, say, five months?”

  Chuang jumps into the conversation. “Our research is not your concern.”

  I sit up a little straighter and respond to Chuang. “You know, a whole lot of stuff happened not too long ago that your knowledge might have helped with.”

  His chin rises with his lips clamped together.

  I continue. “People died over experiments with quartz. Good people.”

  “Good people die every day, Calli,” Jie Wen says, as if I didn’t know. “Our place as Diamond Bearers is to prevent groups like the one at the facility from becoming too powerful. You accomplished that with your team six months ago when you prevented General Harding from rising in power. Imagine how many more would have died if you didn’t act when you did.”

  I find myself frustrated with his redirect, but I calm my mind and ask, “How did you discover this group?”

  “Local clan members were being abducted, held for medical testing, then released with threats against their families if they retaliated in any way. They all reported seeing various quartz crystals while in captivity.”

  My attention is piqued. “What kind of medical testing?”

  “A scan of some kind and blood work. The clan members all report their cosmic powers disappeared after being inside the bunker and having the tests performed.”

  I scoot a little closer as my stomach drops, loaded with dread. “They have one of General Harding’s power-removing machines.”

  “Perhaps. Or maybe Harding had one of theirs.”

  “Whoa! I hadn’t thought of that. Who designed or invented the machine? Freedom or someone else?”

  Maetha finally enters the conversation. “If you go far enough back, everything we’re fighting against today originated with Freedom. He either enlisted others or joined in others’ cause. We don’t know for sure. We’re hoping the remaining files Sarangerel needs to get will reveal more information.”

  Jie Wen says, “My informant says the bunker has a security system that will wipe the computers if the alarm is sounded and not deactivated in a short amount of time. Because of this, we need to enter the bunker in two waves. The first will be Brand and me. We will take out the front guards, enter through the main door, find the security room, and unlock the front doors. At that time, the rest of you will enter the compound, using invisibility. We don’t want anyone sounding the alarm. Dr. Tod works in Lab 1, and the two females are either with him or in their living quarters in room 8. We will be swift, concise, and armed, leaving as little evidence of our presence as possible.”

  I choose to ignore his obvious blow-o
ff of the females, and say, “Wait, armed?”

  “Yes.”

  “No.” I shake my head. “We’re Diamond Bearers, plus we have Brand who can repeat us out of anything, Right Brand?”

  He shrugs his shoulders.

  I continue. “We’ll be invisible, quick, and they’ll never know we were there. Gunfire would raise alarms.”

  Chuang jumps in. “Weapons give us protection and speeds up the process. I vote we take them.”

  Jie Wen asks me directly, “How do you propose we enter the bunker if not with force?”

  Brand suggests, “Knock on the door?”

  Chuang scoffs and shakes his head.

  Brand continues, “I say we try it Calli’s way first. If it’s not going to work, I’ll repeat and we’ll try something else.”

  Maetha says, “Yes. I agree with Brand. I also agree taking weapons can offer protection. Perhaps weapons should be used as a last resort.”

  I look at Brand, then Chuang. I turn my head to Maetha. “I agree with Maetha. Only use weapons as a last resort.”

  Everyone nods in agreement and I feel we’ve made it across our first hurdle as a team.

  Maetha says, “Now, we need to practice harnessing the perception-altering power of Mind-Control.” She stands and issues everyone a set of topazes. “Keep these in your pocket, not against your skin, until you’re ready to use them. That way you won’t accidentally drain the power.” She tosses a box of four-by-four, self-adhesive bandages to Duncan. “Use these when it’s time to attach the stones.”

  She goes on to give instructions concerning how to use the power. I already know, so I don’t pay much attention and push the topazes into my pocket.

  My mind is preoccupied with what-ifs. What if we’d had more knowledge going into General Harding’s compound concerning quartz? What if we’d known about Healers quartz before I carried Freedom’s pocket watch? Things would have been different. But how different? Would Brand still have his power in his body, not in a loose stone?

  I notice him and Jonas practicing Invisibility with each other. Because I have the Blue shard, I can see everyone whether they’re invisible or not. Brand is especially fun to watch as he masters the art of manipulating perceptions. I imagine he’d love to have this ability full-time.