Unaltered #2_A Diamond in my Heart (11 page)

“Yeah, this is very interesting Brand.
I can see their shapes just outside your door, but they aren’t
entering. Let’s go look through your house.” I entered and took his
hand and noted right away he was trembling. This experiment was
testing his resolve and bravery. I imagined he hadn’t been this
afraid since his power first emerged and he accidentally walked
into the shadows.

We did a quick walk through of his
home bumping into a few corners and opened doors but found no
Demons whatsoever. We even opened a couple windows to see if they’d
come in but they didn’t. I deduced that this must be the reason the
people of powers of centuries past weren’t killed. My mind
completed the thought that perhaps Maetha, who can also see the
Demons, told the villagers that they were safe inside their homes
after dark. It didn’t answer ‘why’ they were safe,
though.

“Alright, Calli, go turn the lights
back on please.”

I did so and we moved on to the next
experiment. “Brand, go get me one of your old shirts, one you don’t
care about.” He did so and I retrieved the shirt I’d brought with
me. We walked to the side of the house where the porch light
created the exact line of darkness and where the small dog yapped
with vigor. “Have you ever tried throwing some of your clothing
into the shadows?”

“No,” he answered.

“My introduction to the
Shadow Demons was done this way; by throwing shirts into the
shadows.” I bundled the two shirts together and tossed them up and
beyond the corner of the house. I’d seen this before, but it still
amazed me how the two shirts were torn differently. Brand’s lay in
little pieces on the sidewalk and mine was only ripped a little.
However, it
was
ripped. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that when Mrs.
Winter threw my shirt it was torn into long strips and now, looking
at my ripped shirt it made me realize that my close association
with a person of powers was enough for the Demons to take a mild
interest in me. I came to the conclusion that if I’d held Brand's
hand when he walked into the shadows, I’d have been attacked
also.

“Holy crappola!” Brand laughed out
loud. “That was cool! Let’s do it again.”

“Alright, but this time, I don’t want
you standing nearby.”

“But I want to watch.”

“I want to see if it makes any
difference if you are nearby.”

“Fine, I guess I can watch my shirts
shred any day of the week.” His comment dripped with sarcasm, but
he turned and went to retrieve another shirt. I bent down and
picked up my torn shirt.

He returned after a couple
minutes.

“What took you so long?”

“I like my clothes, Calli. It took me
a minute to find one I could live without.”

“Brand, I want you to go
inside the house to the opposite end while I do this experiment,
and I want you to repeat
with me
so we can try a few different variations. Give me
thirty seconds, then repeat back to now, alright?”

He grunted some kind of
complaint and walked away. Once I heard the front door close, I
looked into the shadows and found the Demons crawling around the
sides of the house, following him. I tossed the shirts into the
dark and as I expected nothing happened; none of them moved from
their chosen spots in the backyard.
Hmm,
I thought,
they are attracted to his presence and his smell.

The dark and the light swirled
together in a dizzying array and I found myself holding both shirts
with Brand beside me. “Well? What’s the verdict?”

“Nothing happened. The Demons were
gone. I tossed your shirt but it landed on the ground untouched.
Let’s do it again but this time you stay by my side.” He smiled a
seductive grin and I remembered, as if I could forget, he’s just a
typical teen boy who finds double meaning in everything.

I threw the shirts into the freshly
gathered Demons and once again Brand’s shirt was shredded in
midair. I turned to him and said, “Repeat.”

The swirling effect almost nauseated
me. We were back to the starting point once again and this time I
had a new idea pop into my head. “Brand, go get your cologne. I
want to spray my shirt to see if it is enough to attract the
Demons.”

He did as instructed and soon we’d
already repeated back because the Demons hadn’t attacked my shirt.
He said, “Maybe it’s only my natural scent they are attracted
to?”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. I think
we’ve done enough for tonight. Let’s pick this back up tomorrow
night.”

“Alright,” he yawned.

Chapter 7 - A Kiss for
Good Luck

I went home and looked up light meters
on the Internet and learned that I didn’t know much about the
subject. I would need to do some research before I’d be ready to
test light levels, but I didn’t worry about it because my dad’s
friend, Chuck Stowley, owned a photography studio and I figured I
could glean some information from him. On a different topic, I
needed to figure out some ways to test the Shadow Demons against
the sound of a heartbeat; preferably my own heartbeat. After Mrs.
Winter brought it to my attention that my heartbeat was much louder
than a person of powers, I wondered if it would be a factor in
pushing them back or creating a disinterest.

The next day I went to my father’s
office and entered through the staff entrance.

“Hey, Calli. I haven’t seen you in a
while, you’re all grown up.” My father’s secretary, Mabel
Lilenquist, gave me a half a hug with her one free arm as she tried
not to drop the files in the other. Her short height and round
midsection made it difficult for her to do much of anything but sit
at the computer and take calls.

“Hi Mabel, is my Dad busy
today?”

“Always, but I know he’ll make time
for you. Have a seat in his office, there’s a cheese and olive tray
in the fridge, dear.”

I went into the lounge area and peeked
in the fridge. The Rodgers Pharmaceutical representative had been
by at lunch break and brought food and snacks so my dad could eat
while the rep talked up his company’s latest drug. I grabbed a
plate and put a few olives and cheese slices on it along with a
small meat and cheese sandwich. I also took a bottled water and
went into my dad’s office to wait for him.

I waited an hour before he was able to
get away for a moment to talk with me, but first he had to make a
few calls and record a couple patients’ notes from their visits. I
waited patiently but listening intently as this type of work
fascinated me. Apparently someone had just been diagnosed with a
brain tumor and the prognosis was dismal, and another patient was
suffering chronic migraines but the medications weren’t helping so
she was being referred to a pain management specialist.

I considered for a moment that with my
powers I could help these individuals, but then I shook my head in
an effort to toss out the notion of saving everyone.

“So, what brings you by,
Calli?”

“I was wondering if I could record the
sound of my heart beating on your ultrasound machine.”

My father chuckled and sat forward in
his high back leather chair. “Why?”

“I’m conducting an experiment, that’s
all. You’ve always encouraged me with my scientific
experiments.”

“Yes, I have. But you don’t know how
to operate the machine and the tech doesn’t come in till
Friday.”

“You know how to operate it, Dad. Just
flip a few switches for me and I’ll do the rest. I don’t need an
ultrasound, I only want to hear and record the sound. I can wait
till you have more time.”

“Now is as good as any other time;
your mother and I have a charity banquet tonight so I won’t have
time after work to help you. Come on. Do you have a recording
device?”

“My Mp3 player can upload the
recording from your machine.”

“Alright.” He led me down the hall to
the room and had me climb up on the bed. “You’ll need bare skin so
the wand will be able to do its job.”

I unbuttoned my blouse a few notches
and he applied a small bit of lubricant. Then he turned on the
machine and positioned the wand. “Let’s just take a look while we
have you all hooked up, shall we?”

I bolted upright instantly. “What?
Why?”

“It doesn’t hurt Calli,” he chuckled
again, “come on, I know what I’m doing. Lay back down.”

I couldn’t have him looking into my
heart, what if he saw the diamond shard? “Never mind, I changed my
mind, Dad.”

He must have sensed my frustration and
changed his approach. “Calli, I’m sorry. Here, I’ve turned it on,
there’s no picture only sound. When you’re done, plug your USB cord
here and move your file over.” He smiled hesitantly and turned to
leave the room. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he said over his
shoulder, “Again, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were still
traumatized from your accident.”

Accident?

I entered his mind and found Maetha
had told my parents that I’d been in a vehicle accident while in
Montana and windshield glass was pushed inside my chest. It was a
plausible lie to explain the small scar on my skin. She told them
that I panicked in the hospital and they had to give me a heavy
sedative to calm me down. My father figured that I must have had a
moment of PTSD and it upset him that he’d brought it on.

“Dad, it’s alright, don’t worry about
it.” I lay back on the bed with the ultrasound wand in my hand and
listened as my father gently closed the door. Then I pressed the
wand into the goo and located my heart. The gentle pumping,
swooshing and silent stretches sounded through the speakers and I
experimented with different locations to see which would yield a
better sound. When I’d completed, I cleaned the wand and myself and
uploaded the file to my player. Now I was ready for
tonight.

The sun had set and my parents were
still not home from their banquet. I wrote a note to explain where
I was and left it on the counter where they would see it and left
the house and drove to Brand’s.

When I arrived, I pulled out my
father’s fishing jacket; the kind with many pockets on the front.
“Brand, I have something for you to wear.”

He looked at the jacket and then at
me. “What the hell is that for?”

I unfastened one of the pockets and
removed my Mp3 player for him to see. Then I showed him the two
small external speakers I’d attached at each shoulder. I pressed
play and watched his face to see what his response would be. His
eyes widened and then narrowed in question. I said, “My heartbeat
is significantly louder than other people of powers and I have a
hunch that it’s an important factor in what we’re doing.” I helped
him into the jacket and at one point our faces were very close
together. A warm smile spread across his face and I stepped back
from him cautiously.

“Man, you’re stubborn. You react the
same way every time,” he said quietly.

“You should know me by now, Brand.
You’ll have earned my respect when I see you using your power for
good and not for gratification. Even then, you won’t be successful
in your attempts with me, but I’ll see you with better
eyes.

“Huh… let’s do this experiment
already.” He walked away from me and over to the corner of the
house. “Turn me on, Calli.”

I rolled my eyes and walked over to
him and pressed the play button. “Ok, you’re all set. Good
luck.”

“Can I have a kiss for good luck? You
know, I’m about to suffer more pain here all in the name of
science.”

“No.”

“Can I kiss
you
then, as a thank
you?”

“A thank you for what?”

“It works, Calli. The heartbeat works,
Watch.”

Brand stepped forward beyond the line
of light and into the darkness. His feet were still on the ground
and his body not injured. The Demons had moved out of the way but
were still present. They seemed confused, ears perking up while
sniffing the air around him; as though they knew instinctually both
to attack and not to attack. They seemed just as drawn to his smell
as they were repulsed by the fake heartbeat.

I was elated! I stepped into the
shadows as well and walked a circle around Brand watching the
Demons glide to and fro out of my way. “This is amazing, Brand!”
Before I knew what he was doing, he grabbed me by the waist and
pulled me to his body and kissed me on the lips. I was completely
shocked he would do this and allow me to remember it when he didn’t
have to.

He let me go and said in a different
tone of voice, “Thank you, Calli. I haven’t been able to be in the
dark for so long, but now, because of you I can be! Oh, and don’t
read too much into that kiss. It was strictly platonic.”

“Platonic? That was platonic? In what
universe?” I answered sarcastically in an effort to lighten to
mood. “Come on, let’s try some different settings.”

We stepped back into the light and I
pressed the volume button down a notch. “There, try
that.”