A Diamond in My Pocket (8 page)

“What do you mean you’ve watched me
for some time?”

She handed me the magnificent
diamond, “You will understand all answers in due time. Take a long look child,
as you won’t lay eyes on the diamond again till the delivery.”

I held the stone with both of my
hands together. I reverently studied the intense fire of the facets as they
reflected the light. On one of the facets, I saw a word etched near the bottom
point; Sanguine.

“What does Sanguine mean?”

“Don’t you sense what it means?”

I felt so many things racing
through my body; hope, optimism, certainty, awareness, strength and power. I
met her eyes and my mind opened up like a scene to a dream. Several groupings
of people gathered in a clearing of the forest a crowd of people lined a circle
of indistinct figures dressed in white robes that I recognized to be the Death
Clan. The diamond was presented and hostages were freed. The vision switched to
destruction. The Death members withered away, crumbling to nothing. The vision
changed to my team members; they all followed me as if I was their leader. How
could that be possible? My mind caught sight of an enormous glittering circle
coming down out of the sky encircling the several groups, the decaying Death Clan
and myself. Outside the giant ring, the face of the woman who had given me the
diamond spoke strange words and waved her hands high above me. I pulled out of
the trance.

She smiled at me as I blinked to
refresh my eyes. I entered her mind and heard her say,
“You’re protected,
Calli. You’re mind cannot be read, and your vision is now sealed with the
circle of light. No other Seer will envision this nor will they be privy to any
additional visions you may have on the subject so long as you never pull the
diamond out of this pouch lest the spells protecting it be broken.”
She
slipped the diamond into a leather pouch and pulled the strings together. My
mind closed instantly. She chanted some words over the small bag and handed it
to me, which I placed in my jacket pocket and closed the zipper. This seemed a
rather precarious place to put something so priceless, but I trusted in the
protection she’d placed upon the stone; upon me.

“You’ve seen the future as it can
become, now make it so. If the diamond is not delivered, your vision will be
nullified. The Hunters seek you even now,” she stood and replaced the chair
she’d been sitting on.

“What do I do? I don’t know
anything about this world.”

“You already possess everything
you’ll need. Just follow your leader and never tell a soul you carry the
Sanguine Diamond. You’ll know when the time is right to disclose possession.”

She turned to Justin, who had been
staring at us with his mouth hanging open, and placed her fingertips on his
forehead, “You will forget all you’ve seen and overheard concerning the
Sanguine Diamond and Calli.” She gently pushed his head back and let go and walked
away as Justin came back to his senses.

The door to the office opened and
an older gentleman invited the two of us inside. Justin shook his head and
rubbed his eyes as he stood. I carefully watched him for recognition about what
had just happened, but he didn’t show anything.

As I stood to walk into the office,
I glanced down at my pouch wondering if the diamond created a bulge. I felt the
diamond resting against my stomach, but my jacket didn’t protrude at all. Interesting.

The man introduced himself as
Harold Bates, master gem cutter. Then he started in on his explanation of the
task at hand. “One of my gems needs to be delivered to the Death Clan and I
cannot trust this to the standard delivery companies. This particular stone is
a diamond. The rough diamond was found in the center of a crater formed by an
explosion of some kind. Members of all clans died in the blast and somehow
their respective powers collected inside this stone. The diamond was brought to
me by a Death Clan member and I was ordered to cut it into a round, brilliant
stone. As I did so, I couldn’t help but acknowledge all the feelings and powers
racing through my body every time I lowered the stone to the cutting wheel. I,
myself, have no special powers; however I did while handling the stone. I was
never able to kill anyone, not that I wanted to, but I did try and was
unsuccessful. I believe this stone will limit the Death Clan’s killing ability.
The diamond will give them all the other powers, but take away their ability to
kill by thought.”

Harold pulled out a small box from
his jacket pocket and opened the lid for all to survey. Inside, on a black
velvet cushion, sat an identical diamond to the one in my pocket. So which one
was the real diamond? The one in my pocket or the one held by the diamond
cutting master?

I remembered the instructions of
not telling or showing anyone I had the stone, so I kept my mouth shut. Justin
seemed to have no memory of seeing the stone and I fully realized at that
moment what had just happened. The woman was a witch and she bewitched Justin’s
mind to forget. She cast spells on my mind too for both protection and strength,
and the power of the diamond emanated through my being. I foresaw a vision of
the future. I read her mind.

I realized I had delved deeper into
the woman’s mind than I first thought. Her name was Maetha and she’s a well known
witch. Some call her a sorceress or evil spell-caster; both of which carry a leery
connotation. Her mind had opened and the experience was like sitting in front
of a giant jumbo-tron screen watching her speak to me with all these other
little screens positioned around showing other memories. One of those memories
was of my mother.

I saw Maetha watching her when my
mother was a girl. My mother had once been considered to carry out this mission
but things weren’t completely in line for success. After my birth Maetha
started watching me too. She bewitched me that fateful day at the district
track meet. My speed was an enchantment so I’d get recognized by Mrs. Winter
and be brought here. I’d be fast enough to be spotted, but slow enough to be
the weakest member of the team to ensure I met with Harold Bates. Maetha had cast
spells on my parents also. That explained why they didn’t pitch a fit about me
going away. They were being controlled.

I’m human—an enchanted human. What
a letdown! And yet, not much of a surprise.

“Do you want to hold the diamond?”
Chris pulled me out of my thoughts with his unusual pleasantness. Apparently they
were taking turns holding the simulated diamond, inspecting the masterpiece.

I took the beautiful stone into my
hands like I’d done in the reception area with Maetha. Nothing was special
about this one; in fact, the stone looked more like cut glass than a real
diamond. It was the same dimension and weight and had the same inscription on
the bottom, but was obviously a fake. Chris and Justin were completely
enthralled, thinking they were viewing an extremely valuable prize. I handed
the faux stone to Mr. Bates who placed the stone back in the box and closed the
top.

Mr. Bates leaned forward in his
chair, “If the Death Clan believes for a second you are not going to deliver
the stone, well, I don’t think I need to tell you how horrible that would be. The
three of you must be together when the stone is delivered,” he faced me
directly and said, “They will need to trust they are not receiving a
counterfeit diamond.”

Chris asked, “Why would they think
we’d be giving them a fake?”

“The Sanguine Diamond possesses unimaginable
powers, and the idea someone might try stealing it is perfectly plausible. Your
clan is respectable and reliable, and your reputation as a whole is clean,
everyone knows this. But this is an assignment like no other and the Death Clan
understands all too well the temptation inherent with this delivery.”

“How do we convince them it’s not a
counterfeit?” Justin asked.

“Sometimes, the weakest can be the
strongest. All three must be present at the delivery of the diamond otherwise
the clan will suspect treachery between you. Treachery equals greed, greed
equals counterfeiting for gain. Three Runners, one weak, one average and one
strong must answer to each other and in doing so, ensure honesty. In this sense
you are all equals. Speed doesn’t matter when it comes to trust. Keeping your
trio together will convince them of the authenticity.”

His statement, ‘the weakest can be
the strongest’, made my heart pound in my chest. He knew! He was in on the
witch’s plan. Neither one of them trusted these boys; should I? I decided to be
careful with my trust account.

Justin asked in his arrogant tone,
“Why didn’t they just come pick the diamond up themselves?”

I couldn’t focus on what Mr. Bates
said because my mind filled with the real reason. First, the Death Clan leaders
had already tried unsuccessfully to harness the powers of the uncut stone. Their
Seers told them the future showed a round brilliant cut stone and an enormous
gathering of all the clans to witness the absorption of powers. They needed the
diamond cut, but realized they wouldn’t be able to touch the stone once it was
completed. So, to ensure they would get the cut stone back, they kidnapped
members from each clan and were currently holding them in exchange for the
delivery of the diamond.

Secondly, the diamond had to be
delivered this way because, as a cut stone, it’s lethal for any person of
powers to touch. I am just a regular human. I can handle the stone, wear it
close to my body and not die. This also explained why Maetha was able to hold it;
she’s a witch, not a person of powers, and Mr. Bates had admitted he was
powerless.

We completed our meeting with Mr.
Bates and emerged from the building to meet with the rest of the group. The apprehension
and embarrassment I’d experienced when leaving the compound had dissipated. Instead
I was infused with confidence and enlightenment. Could it be possible the
diamond was causing this metamorphosis?

Chris informed the group that our
delivery assignment would be to the Death Clan up in Canada. An audible gasp
could be heard.

“The DBTs? What’s in the package?” a
boy named Tyler asked.

Chris replied, “You know I can’t
tell you.”

Tyler placed his hands on his hips,
“No one told me this assignment would involve the Death Clan. I think we should
know what exactly we are risking our lives over.”

“Telling you would only put your
life in more danger. I will tell you this though; before we left the compound,
Clara told me that Dirk, John and Macey are three of many hostages being held
by the Death Clan to ensure this package will be delivered. Their lives are on
the line more than yours, Tyler. Let’s get moving.”

Chris went on to divide the group
into flank, tail and lead with the three of us in the center. He and Justin
would take turns carrying the diamond, but when I offered to help they laughed.

“You’ll drop or lose it,” Justin
sneered.

“I’m part of this trio too, you
know.”

“We’ll handle the package,” Chris
said and turned to begin the run.

“Who’s holding my hand?” I
demanded.

While the two of them fought about
which one would be stuck with me, like I’m a diseased miscreant or something, I
watched Kayla whisper to Beth. Her lips said, “Trade me spots, ok? I want to be
by Chris.” They reversed positions without Chris knowing better. I remembered
Kayla was the one in the lunch line who thought Chris liked her.

I cut the guys off with, “Neither
one of you is who I would choose either, but unless one of your oversized egos
gives in we’ll be running at my pace, not yours.”

Chris gave in and looked slightly
dejected, which perplexed me. Surely he wouldn’t care what I thought about him.
He took my hand and we began our journey.

Running with Chris’s power didn’t
seem the same as before. Instead of being dragged along, I ran beside him,
matching his ability. The speed and lithe was wonderful and exhilarating; if
only I ran this fast on my own. I looked over at him and smiled in spite of
myself. I felt equal regardless of how he perceived me. For once, the
expression on his face went blank. Perhaps he could tell I wasn’t as slow as
I’d been. Perhaps. He squeezed my hand a little more than before and I wondered
what he was thinking. If only I could read minds. I read the witch’s mind in
the gem cutter’s office, why not now?

Our group streaked north through
the Frank Church Wilderness of Idaho. The best way to remain undetected is to
stay to the uninhabited areas. Unfortunately, as evening approached, and the
shadows were lengthening, we didn’t have a safe place to sleep. We stopped at
the base of a waterfall to rest and maul over the situation.

Justin pulled out a map and
estimated where we were, “Nice going Chris, you’ve led us into a trap.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There aren’t any nearby towns in
any direction we can reach before nightfall!”

“Give me that!” Chris grabbed the
map.

Beth approached him, “Chris, you’re
wasting valuable daylight. We either need to run or we need to find a cabin or
something to hide in. Now!”

Justin turned to Beth and said with
a heavy sting in his voice, “This is the protected wilderness, there are no
cabins!” He may as well of slapped her in the face for his comment had the same
effect and I pitied her.

I questioned out loud, “Can we stay
in a cave? The Death Clan does and the Shadow Demons don’t get them.” No one
spoke for a moment. So I continued, “If we built fires to keep the Shadows at
bay, would that work?”

Chris spoke up, “How did you know
the Death … I think maybe, only … where’s a cave large enough to support
everyone?”

I pointed to the waterfall, “On the
map, this waterfall is called Cave Falls. Perhaps there’s a cave here.”

Chris looked at me with shock and
awe in his eyes. Kind of like,
how did you figure this out and I didn’t,
you’re just a girl.
“The three of us will check it out. The rest of you
stand guard,” Chris said and motioned to Justin and me to follow.