Unaltered #2_A Diamond in my Heart (3 page)

This boy couldn’t be more average
looking. His height was probably five-feet-eight and was neither
fat nor muscular. His hair was reddish brown, short and curly and
his eyes were hazel. His eyelids seemed inflamed a bit and he had a
few noticeable acne splotches. His one redeeming trait was, at
least in my opinion, his dimples when he smiled. Apparently he knew
it because he smiled all the time.

Entering Brand’s mind was an assault
on my senses sending me this way and that way to which I had to
immediately remove myself. I shook my head and tried again. This
time I only looked for the outermost edges of his current thoughts
but again I was bombarded with confusion like turning on fifty
different radios to fifty different stations. What the hell? I
decided to simply read his lips and leave the powers of the diamond
alone. The conversation was difficult at best to watch because of
all the passing bodies so I gave up.

I looked over at Suz and entered her
mind with ease. I turned my attentions to one of the other girls by
Brand, Deb was her name, and entered her mind with ease. Eww, had
to get out of that one quick, she was a bad girl with designs on
Brand; well, designs on any upright walking male. Still, I easily
entered her mind, and Suz’s mind, but Brand was different. A sudden
thought entered my mind; I wondered what Sasha would say about
Brand’s mind? She’d probably say he has a crazy mind, and she’d be
right.

The group of girls was pathetically
falling on their faces trying to catch his attention but he seemed
more interested in the time of day as he continuously checked his
watch. Maybe he had someone to meet? He stood and said goodbye and
left.

“What, he’s leaving?” Suz asked. “At
least he didn’t take anyone with him. Let’s follow him, Calli! Come
on!”

“No. I’m not doing that.”

“Come on, your Cooper is perfect for
tailing someone. Pleeeease?”

“Alright.” I caved; not merely to
satisfy Suz’s curiosity, but to satisfy mine as well.

We hurried out the large doors and
spotted him walking at a fast pace through the parking lot to his
vehicle. Mine was located nearby, fortunately, and following him
was made easier because of it. We tailed him straight to his home
and watched him park his car inside the garage.

“That’s it? He was going home?” Suz
asked exasperated.

“I guess so.” I drove past his house
and to the next main road. “Suz, do you want to walk around town
with me?”

“Walk? It’s almost dark. Why not drive
around town?”

Good point. “Yeah,
alright.”

We drove all over the place, up to the
heights where all the rich people lived and down to the tracks but
not beyond; no sense in placing ourselves in danger. Suz chatted
the whole time and I searched for Demons. All I had to do was add
a, “Uh-huh”, or “Really?” every now and then to satisfy her need to
be heard. Not once did I spot a Shadow Demon in the dark. What a
let-down.

Later I dropped her off at her house
and reminded her of my birthday party the next night. She told me
she wouldn’t miss it for anything. I entered her mind, almost
accidentally, and found a most disturbing fact; Suz was the one who
set the firecracker in the girl’s bathroom in middle school. When
she realized how badly she’d hurt me she became my friend out of
guilt; and she still held onto our friendship because of
it.

Well, that sucks!

I drove home to my house in a state of
shock with so many memories rushing through my head. Suz was the
least likely person to befriend me while at the hospital. That
should have been my first clue. I remembered feeling thrilled that
I had made a friend, a popular girl to boot, but it was all a
lie.

The next day, August seventh, my
birthday, came and went without much of the over the top, cheesy
ridiculousness that so often accompanies a birthday.

My parents gave me a new
laptop computer to help with my studies, plus a few other smaller
gifts, Suz gave me a gift card good for any merchant in the mall,
that was nice, but most likely given out of her perpetual guilt,
and a bouquet of roses arrived late in the afternoon from an
anonymous friend. Suz was excited for me thinking it might be a
boy, and I have to admit, it was a nice idea that maybe Chris had
sent them, but I dismissed the notion upon reading the message in
the card:
You are perfect, Unaltered in
any way.

I knew it must be Maetha who’d sent
the flowers. She must be announcing her arrival in a few days.
Finally, I could ask her some burning questions and the first on
the docket would be about Freedom.

Chapter 3 -

Not everything bad in this
world is evil,

and just because something’s
good doesn’t make it right

Three long days went by without
contact or even a message from Maetha. I was beginning to think she
wasn’t coming at all. Evelyn the receptionist was back from
vacation so I wouldn’t need to help at my mother’s office
anymore.

After my parents had left for work, I
stretched out on a chaise lounge chair in the backyard enjoying the
warmth from the morning sun. I closed my eyes and listened to the
sounds of nature around me. A Meadowlark sang its beautiful song
not far away, a bumblebee bounced from flower to flower near my
head, and the leaves of the maple tree rustled with a gentle gust
of a breeze.

“Hello, Calli.”

I bolted upright knocking over my
glass of lemonade. Maetha stood next to me with a smile on her
face. “Maetha! You startled me, sorry, I’ve got to clean this up.”
I was glad I’d chosen a plastic cup or I’d have had an even bigger
mess to clear.

“When you refill your glass, bring one
out for me, dear.”

I nodded my head and entered the
house. My heart was still thumping with the adrenaline from
Maetha’s arrival. I poured her a glass of lemonade and refilled my
own, and then gathered my thoughts of what I wanted to talk
about.

Maetha had positioned herself in the
shade of the umbrella topped table. I placed her drink in front of
her and set mine down. Maetha looked the same as the day I met her
in Harold Bates' office; immaculately modest clothing, perfectly
in-place short blonde hair, beautiful nails and in excellent
condition for a fifty-ish year old woman. I remembered her saying
she’s lived several thousand years so I guess she looks amazing for
a multi-thousand-fifty-year-old.

I knew my mother would throw a fit if
I didn’t clean up the spilled lemonade so I used her hand-held
nozzle that was already hooked up to the faucet for watering the
flowers and bushes to spray the stone patio.

“Thanks for the flowers, Maetha.” I
angled the water puddle toward the grass line.

“I thought you’d like them. How are
you feeling?”

“Fine.” I finished my
clean-up and hung the nozzle back on its hook and then walked over
to Maetha and sat adjacent to her in the shade. “Maetha, I had a
run-in with a man who called himself Freedom.” I watched her
expression for any sign of acknowledgment but saw none. I
continued, “He was a telepath and spoke into my mind.” Still
nothing from Maetha to indicate recollection; boy, she was a tough
nut to crack. “He advised me to stay away from
you
. Does Freedom have a diamond
shard too? Do you have a diamond, Maetha? Should I trust you? And
why doesn’t he?”

“You’ll have to come to your own
decision whether or not you can trust me.” Maetha took a long drink
of lemonade and inhaled deeply. “Not everything bad in this world
is evil, and just because something’s good doesn’t make it right. I
wasn’t planning on going into this much detail with you but seeing
how he has forced my hand, so to speak, I suppose now is the time
for you to learn the history of the Sanguine Diamond.

“I’ve been alive for several
millennia. I’m actually from present Egypt, Calli. I was born in
2480BCE in the latter part of the forth dynasty of the old kingdom
during King Menkaura’s reign. The great Pyramid of Giza had been
completed only about eighty years previous and the Sphinx was new.
It was a beautiful time to be alive. It was common knowledge and
generally accepted that the pharaohs or kings and different varying
priests had the powers of gods. They were the mortal gods of this
world delivering the will of the great gods and goddesses and the
people bowed down and revered them. However, they were no different
than the clans of today with similar powers and
abilities.

“The priests learned how to create a
stone that would capture the cosmic beams assaulting the planet and
contain them within. Like the people of powers today, the ancients
only had one power each. The thought of being able to possess all
the powers was a tantalizing temptation that ultimately led to
their undoing. They created the Sanguine Diamond on the top of the
great Pyramid of Giza. Once they had created the most powerful
stone, they couldn’t decide who should be the possessor of it. The
conflict was made even greater by the fact that anyone who touched
it died. They began forcing individuals to attempt to pick up the
stone, yet were met with failure every time.

“I was labeled as soulless because the
priests couldn’t see into my mind, future or body. One priest
decided that a soulless individual should try to touch the stone,
and that perhaps the stone would not be able to kill ‘she who has
no soul’. They were correct. I could hold the stone and not die. I
was ordered to take it to the pharaoh, which I did. I thought that
would end my involvement at that time, but sadly I was wrong. I was
quickly ordered to death because now I was a threat to the safety
of the powerful stone. I hid myself to protect my life thinking
that it was the best course of action but it only resulted in my
family being murdered during the search for me. Out of anger and
destitution, I stole the stone and ran away.

“The stone was large, much larger than
the one you carried, and looked more like a milky crystal than a
diamond, yet the powers emanating from it infused my body the same
as you experienced. I felt invincible. The priests found me after a
few years and tried to physically remove the stone from my
possession; they died and I ran. It took several years for more
priests to locate me again. This time I knew they were coming and I
knew I would die because I’d witnessed it in a vision, and yet, I
allowed it to happen because I felt that it was the only way to
stop the endless pursuits. Plus, I’d witnessed in the vision the
stone would be destroyed.

“The priests arrived and attempted to
withdraw the powers of the stone without touching it. The scene was
almost identical to what happened with you and the Death Clan. The
priests died, the stone exploded and a piece entered my chest and I
died.

“Calli, do you remember what I told
you following the Death Clan’s destruction?”

“Most of it,” I answered.

“I told you that the diamond had to be
delivered by a human, an Unaltered, and that the Death Clan didn’t
fathom the significance of it. The reason was because you could not
be killed by Healers. The Death Clan didn’t understand the other,
even more significant reason their plan would fail; I had
relinquished the stone’s ownership to you in Harold Bates' office
and unless you had willingly handed it over to them, they would die
in their attempt to ‘steal’ it from you. It wouldn’t have mattered
if the Death Clan were actually a group of Unaltereds, as long as
they were trying to take what you had not given willingly they
would have died as well.”

“So you’re saying that if I’d actually
handed the diamond to the Death dudes things would have gone
differently?”

“No, people of powers cannot handle
the stone. If you’d handed the stone over, it would have killed the
first person who accepted it. The remaining clan members would not
have been able to heal the deceased either.”

“But, wait, I saw in one of my vision
outcomes the Death Clan rising up and becoming empowered and
murdering many people.”

“What you saw were the repercussions
of the Death Clan realizing I’d duped them. If you’d watched that
vision play out, you’d have seen their destruction by my own hand.
You have a lot to learn about interpreting the visions you see. The
Death Clan was always going to be destroyed Calli, but I coupled
their end with your beginning. You asked if I have a shard, yes, I
have a diamond in my heart. I received mine in the same manner as
you.”

“The diamond shard stopped my heart
and killed me. If that happened to you too, who healed your heart
and brought you back to life?”

“A mysterious being revived me
following the priest’s destruction. I don’t know who she was or
where she came from but she had far greater powers than I have ever
seen. My beliefs of the time labeled her as the goddess Isis. Isn’t
it interesting how our culture and belief systems can influence our
minds? She gathered the pieces of the stone and divided them into
twenty equal sized pieces and instructed me on the will of nature,
charged me with maintaining a balance forever. She instructed me to
seek out candidates who would also respect the will of nature and
empower them with one of the Sanguine Diamonds. Freedom was one of
my choices; he and I do not see eye to eye. Freedom lost the desire
to continue being an agent to the will of nature and has gone
rogue.”