A Diamond in My Pocket

  * * *

  Later, when I come in off the roof, Clara sits down with me and we have a private chat.

  “Well, Calli,” she says, “I’m impressed with everything you’ve accomplished this far.”

  I suspect Clara hasn’t had a hand in the diamond plot. I can’t help but check. Her mind reveals I’m correct. “You heard about my many powers from Chris?”

  “Yes. I must say, I wondered about your ability as a Runner when I first picked you up. You weren’t as fast as the others, but I couldn’t tell you that. Also, and I’m not sure if you paid any attention, but the Shadow Demons didn’t tear your shirt the same way they shredded mine. The biggest difference though is your physical frame is not that of a typical Runner.”

  “I noticed.”

  “After what happened with your heart monitor, I certainly wondered about you.”

  “Wait, what about the heart monitor?”

  “Runners and all other people with abilities have quiet heart beats. You don’t. You have a regular human heartbeat. Yet you aren’t fully human anymore. When did your additional powers first emerge?”

  Not fully human? Ha! “In the late afternoon of the first day, at Cave Falls. They emerged one by one within a few hours.”

  “You’re the very first one to possess all these powers, Calli. It’s quite astonishing.”

  “Well, now you’re just embarrassing me.” I know the powers will be gone soon enough.

  “You’re young, Calli. Maybe that’s why nature gave them to you, because of your age and inability to grasp what you’ve got.”

  “I don’t know about that. I do have a lot of questions, though.”

  “I’ll answer as many as I can for you. But, I would like to ask you a question first. What will be the outcome of the delivery tomorrow?”

  “The hostages will be freed, and the Death Clan’s progress will be halted. However, some people will die.”

  “I don’t suppose you will tell me who will die.”

  “No. Telling you might change the outcome.”

  “Of course. I apologize. I don’t know how you’re able to see the near future, but I’m happy you can.”

  I change the subject. “Clara, I don’t understand why this clearing was chosen as the location of the delivery.”

  “Well, because you told Chris the clearing was the one from your vision.”

  “No, that’s not what I mean. I foresaw the delivery happening a few days ago before I located the clearing. I thought we were heading up to the Death Clan’s caves to do the transaction, somewhere in Canada.”

  “Originally, yes, the caves of the Death Clan were where you were headed—that is, until you found the clearing. It’s an ideal location for all the clans to meet, because it’s near a town, but far enough away to be secluded.”

  “But the clearing was not the original planned destination?”

  “There was no planned destination. Once your team reached the Death Clan’s caves, a location would have been selected at that point. The caves were not the destination, they were a scheduled stop. Remember when I told you our Seer couldn’t determine the future because it was too foggy? It’s still foggy to all Seers. Well,” she amends, “except for you. Yet, therein lies the beauty of everything: because you selected the clearing, we can be assured the site is safe and hasn’t been booby-trapped.”

  “You’re telling me I envisioned a location that I would eventually choose to be the location? That’s deep.”

  “What’s deep is you hold all these powers for a reason none of us can grasp.”

  I say nothing for a moment, then change the subject. “Are we going to have a memorial or candlelight vigil for the dead?”

  “Yes, we’ll gather tonight and remember our friends. Tomorrow this delivery will be behind us and we can begin to heal.”

  She is more right than she could ever know.