Branded (The Branded Series) (24 page)

My heartbeat
sped up to a rapid run. Did I want this? Could I do this? If I was only going
to be mediocre, was it worth giving up Anna for? It wouldn’t be. I’d rather be
with her and live a normal life than have to give her up for this mediocre
“gift.”

Claudia
lowered her head and squeezed Nick’s hand. He looked in her direction, then
quickly in mine.

“You alright,
man?” he asked.

“I don’t
know,” was all I could say before I heard my name being called . . . “Jacob Rovert.”
Jacob Rovert.
Did I want this? Was it worth it?

Claudia leaned
over, “It’s your choice, Jake. But trust me, you are meant for great things.”

James Chisholm
called my name again, this time searching the crowd for me. “Jacob Rovert?”

But then I
noticed Matthias hurrying onto the stage. He took the microphone from James and
found me in the crowd. “Jacob,” he said. “Please come up here for a moment.”

As
uncomfortable as it was, what was I to do? Maybe if I went up there and told
James and Matthias in person about my uncertainty, I could buy myself more
time. I quickly, and uncomfortably, made my way to the stage. My heart still
racing, now it ached for Matthias and his loss.

When I reached
the stage, Matthias reached out and gave me a strong embrace. I reacted with a
tight squeeze.

“Thank you,
Jake,” he choked through tears.

I pulled away
and looked at him, then at James, who was smiling proudly. “For what?”

Matthias held
the microphone to his lips and turned to face the crowd, with his one arm still
wrapped tightly around my shoulders.

“I have had
the greatest honour in mentoring Jacob this weekend. He is one heck of a healer
and I feel so privileged to know him.” He turned to witness my tormented expression.
Then he whispered in my ear, “Those test results were the ones I ordered last
week. The new results just came back and you did it, Jacob. You did it!” He
turned to the crowd and shouted, “Jacob healed Becca Jean!”

Cheers erupted
from the whole campground. My mouth fell open as my eyes wandered through the
crowd and gathered all the elated expressions. Did they know Becca Jean? Was
this something everyone had been praying for?

Everyone was
on their feet now. Cheering. Matthias was still clinging to me, and James was
patting his face with a handkerchief. It finally hit me. Becca Jean was alive
and she was going to live a long and healthy life because of me. I did it! I
was a healer! I turned and hugged Matthias again. “Congratulations, man.”

“It was all
you, Jake. All you.”

That settled
it. I shook hands with James Chisholm and took my place next to the other
graduates to prepare for the branding ceremony.

There were
thirty-three
of us in total, ranging in age from seven to fifty-seven. James showed us the
mark of the Gifted Ones, which was a small tattoo, a little bigger than a
quarter, placed on the inside of the left wrist. Noah made me go ahead of him
so he could delay it that much longer. Nick and Claudia watched from their
seats, giving us a thumbs up any time we looked in their direction.

“Jacob, you're
next,” James said in a comforting, and almost proud tone. “Come sit here, my
boy.”

Just as I sat
down in the chair across from James, a loud clap of thunder sounded and a dark
cloud billowed through the previously cloudless sky, covering the bright and
powerful sun.

James seemed
amused by this as others in the crowd gasped and murmured to each other.

“Do not be
afraid,” James began before turning his lowered voice to me. “The enemy is
tormented over this. He knows the power that lies within you.”

James held his
hand toward the sky and commanded, “You have no power here. Your efforts are
futile. Be gone and let the sun of man shine down on us!”

Instantly, the
clouds vanished and the sun seemed to shine even brighter than before. James
brought the tube down onto my wrist and turned the glass toward the sun. I
closed my eyes, feeling the heat on my flesh, smelling the aroma of my burnt
skin, and hearing the cheers from the crowd. I opened my eyes and saw the
beautiful rainbow painted across the sky.

It was Noah’s
turn. I stood up and gave him my seat and watched as he steadied himself and
practised his slow breathing. I ran my fingers over my new tattoo and felt the
rough indentation of my skin. The mark was unfamiliar to me. Not a shape, and
not a word.

“What does
this mean?” I asked James before leaving to take my seat.

 “These are the
letters “G” and “O” in ancient Hebrew writing. It has two meanings. It stands
for Gifted One, and also, the acronym “GO” is a reminder to us that we must go
out into the world and fight evil. Never rest. Always be on your guard,” James
explained.

“Hmm, I like
it,” I said as I pulled my sleeve back down over my mark and patted it gently.

After the ceremony
we sat around
the edge of the field while Noah nursed his arm. Most of the campers had
already left for home but Nick wanted to wait a half an hour so we could avoid
the parking lot congestion. It gave us a chance to let all the events of the
weekend soak in before we had to say goodbye to the place.

Rachel
stretched and laid back on the grass with her hands behind her head. “What a
great weekend.”

“Yeah, I have
to say, I was not expecting it to be that much fun,” I admitted.

“Told you,”
Nick added.

“So that's
great news about Becca Jean,” Claudia said. “Bet you didn't see that one coming.”

“No, that was
a complete surprise. I'm really happy for Matthias. He's been through a lot.
This is good for him.” I smiled as I thought about Matthias sharing the news
with his family.

“Becca Jean is
one cute kid,” Nick said. “She was at camp the last two years.”

“Matthias took
her here with him?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah,”
Claudia said, “because she's a Gifted One too. Didn't you know that?”

“No, I had no
idea,” I said as I sat up straight. “What's her gift?”

“She has
Wisdom,” Nick answered. “Smartest little six-year-old I ever met.”

“Didn't see
that one coming,” I said, scratching my head.

“Yeah, she was
quite the little celebrity at camp being the youngest, cutest and smartest
Gifted One,” Claudia recalled with a smile.

“Well,” Nick
said as he leaned in for a kiss, “I don't know about the cutest.”

Claudia smiled
and tickled his nose with hers. I couldn't help the memories of Anna from
flooding my head. I turned away from them and saw Rachel and Noah laying on the
grass next to each other. I couldn't get away from it. I stood up and dusted
off my pants.

“Let's go,”
Claudia announced. Thankfully.

Soon we’d be
on our way back and I'd be in the comfort of my own home. I reached into my
pocket and felt the folded-up piece of paper tucked away safely. Squeezing it
gently, I wondered if Anna had thought about me at all over the weekend. I
wondered if she had given up on me yet.

When I got home
I walked
through the front door and dropped my bags on the floor. It was four thirty in
the afternoon and I could smell supper cooking in the kitchen. It was clear
that Mom was cooking and not Dad because the smoke alarm was dismantled and the
batteries were sitting on the floor.

“Hey, Mom, I'm
home!” I shouted down the hall.

Mom poked her
head around the corner and smiled. “Hi, darling. How was it?” She skipped back
to the stove and grabbed the top off the overflowing pot.

“It was good,”
I said. “A lot of fun.”

“That's good,
dear,” Mom mused as she continued to prepare supper. “Tell me all about it.”

“Maybe later?
I’m kind of tired.”

“Sure, honey.
Why don’t you go unpack and supper will be ready soon.”

“Sure.” I
picked up my bag and stood in the hallway for a few seconds. “So, uh, did anyone
call?” I asked as I held my breath.

“No, sorry,
darling. It was a quiet weekend.”

My hopes were
dashed and I was a little disappointed, but I knew it was for the best. I
turned and made my way up the stairs. As I passed Abby’s room, I poked my head
in. She was sitting on her bed playing with her horse figurines.

“Hey, Abs,” I
said as I threw her a smile and a wink.

“Hey, Bubba,”
she responded with a big smile.

Abby started
calling me Bubba when she was first learning to talk, like, eight years ago.
She couldn't pronounce my name, so that's what she came out with—a shortened
version of “brother.” It sort of stuck over the years, but I liked it, and on
the odd occasion when she did call me Jake, it sounded weird. Only from her
though.

Just as I was
turning to go into my room, Abby said, “I saw Anna when I was out for a bike
ride earlier.”

My heart
stopped and I froze in place. “Did she say anything?” I asked.

Abby put her
horses down and looked up. “She said to say ‘Hi’ and that if you got in before
four o’clock to give her a call, otherwise she’d just see you at school
tomorrow.”

“Are you
sure?” I asked as I looked at my watch, confirming that it was well past four
o’clock.

“Yes, I'm
sure,” she replied, slightly sarcastic.

“Cool. Thanks,
Abby.” I called over my shoulder as I went into my room, closed the door and
fell onto my bed with satisfaction written all over my face.

Abby was a
blessing in disguise. I don’t think she realized it, but she had helped me out
more than she knew. My memories took me back to a time when I was eight years
old, playing baseball in the front yard. I hit the ball right through Mom’s car
window. I would never forget the horrible, angry look on Mom’s face when she
came to the front door and stared at me in horror. I cringed in complete fear,
but then she gasped, spun around and ran up the stairs. Thankfully, Abby saved
my butt by falling out of her crib. Poor kid, but it worked well for me. Mom
was so upset by Abby nearly breaking her neck, that she was almost thankful
that all I did was break her window.

Another time,
when I was eleven and Abby was four, I was coming in the front door about to
unveil my disappointing report card to my mom. Abby was on her way down the
stairs when she lost her footing and tumbled head over heels all the way down
the stairs from the top. She gashed her head open, but saved my neck once
again.

There were
plenty of instances like this. Abby always, in one way or another, contributed
to my easy upbringing. She was a built-in klutz, and I owed her for it. I just
wish I knew I was a healer back then so I could’ve taken some of the pain away
from her, because she undoubtedly took a world of pain away from me on several
occasions.

And again,
today, lying on my bed, smiling at the ceiling, I had Abby to thank for going
for a bike ride and running into Anna. Life was good. So I thought.

We pulled into
our parking
spot and Noah took a deep breath, looking anxious.

“Just ask her,
man. What's the worst that could happen?” I encouraged as I slung my bag over
my shoulder and headed for the school.

“She could
reject me?” Noah pointed out as he jogged to catch up.

“So what? So she
rejects you. At least you know where you stand. It's better than not knowing,
right?”

“I don't
know,” he mumbled.

I reached out
to open the door and saw Anna and Eric inside talking. I instinctively became
protective and could feel a growl brewing deep in my chest. Regaining my composure,
I walked toward them, with confidence.

“Hey, boys,”
Eric called as he waved us over.

“What's up?” I
said with a nod. I locked eyes with Anna, who was looking exceptionally
irresistible. I winked and she smiled.

“Noah,” Anna
began, “Rachel was just here asking if we saw you.”

Noah's head
snapped up and he looked a little too excited. “Which way did she go?”

Anna laughed,
“To the principal's office for something.”

Noah thanked
her and left without another word. I shook my head with a chuckle as I watched
him race toward the office after Rachel. When I looked back at Eric, I noticed
he was looking Anna up and down. The growl started brewing again.

“Can I talk to
you for a sec?” I asked Anna, pulling her aside.

Eric was
annoyed. Good. I led Anna over to the stairwell and cornered her against the
wall. I leaned into her with my hands braced on the wall behind her.

“What are you
doing?” she asked, confused.

“What are
you
doing . . . with Eric?” I snapped.