A Diamond in My Pocket

  * * *

  Later that night I wander the halls of the compound looking for Chris. He didn’t attend dinner, not surprisingly, and no one has seen him—I know, I’ve checked their minds. I walk around a corner and find Justin at the end of the hall. He didn’t come to dinner either. He catches a glimpse of me out of the corner of his eye while he talks with some boys. I think for sure he’ll run the other way, instead he excuses himself and starts walking toward me.

  My mind-reading abilities are so advanced now because of the diamond in my heart I only need to be in someone’s mind for a split-second, and that tiny moment in Justin’s head is all I need to get the information I want concerning Chris.

  “Hey, Calli,” Justin calls out, “remember when we ran into each other on your first night and I called you a muck?”

  “Vividly. Do you know where I can find Chris?”

  “Funny thing, though, you weren’t a muck after all. You are just a pathetic, plain human who doesn’t belong in our world. How does it feel to have it all, then lose it?”

  One thing I could count on throughout the whole ordeal would be Justin remaining a jackass. I reply with the intent to irritate him. “Hey, remember when you and I sat outside Harold Bates’s office after Chris went inside? The secretary had the real diamond and tried to give it to you, but you wouldn’t take it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That’s when I received the diamond, right in front of you, because you were too scared to take it. When she handed me the stone, your mouth fell open, sort of like it is right now. She put a spell on your mind to make you forget the whole thing. When we passed the fake stone around inside the office, I already had the real one in my pocket. Up until that point I believed myself to be the slowest Runner, a muck, but I learned then I’m merely a human. And that’s fine. Have you seen Chris?”

  “Yeah, I have. What’s the matter? Can’t you read minds anymore? You’re pathetic.” He walks away laughing.

  No way am I going to tell him I still have most of my powers. I will admit, I’m quite tempted to make him run to the bathroom again, but I restrain myself. I leave the hall and walk toward the front foyer. Justin’s mind showed me Chris’s location: Frank Kinsington’s cabin, the clan’s Healer.

  I exit through the main doors into the bright floodlights and inhale the crisp Montana air. I catch a whiff of Chris’s unique smell as I round the corner and see Frank’s cabin along the edge of the property. The darkness of night brings me comfort because I will be alone on my walk. As I approach the Demons who linger beyond the bright lighting, I notice new forms: white snakes. That gives me something to ponder. I’ve started to wonder if there’s a way to eliminate the threat of the Shadow Demons. I’ll be sure to ask Maetha when she comes to visit.

  Frank’s cabin has ill-fitting curtains in the windows which allow me a clear line of sight to Chris. I decide not to knock and make my presence known. He wouldn’t be able to run because of the Demons and would be forced to talk with me, and as I know he doesn’t want to see me, I choose to remain outside his vision. I peer through the window and note right away the sadness in his eyes. His hair is disheveled from the many times he’s run his fingers through it. Instead of reading his thoughts, I use my intensified hearing to listen to his conversation.

  “I recognized her immediately, Frank, the first time I saw her, but it was all wrong and nothing like the vision shown to me. She was supposed to be a Healer, not a Runner. Of course once her multiple powers emerged, I was relieved. But now . . . now she’s powerless. In fact she never had any powers to begin with. You know, after everything went down and Maetha addressed the crowd, the whole thing made sense. Maetha was the one who gave me the vision of Calli in the first place. I thought she was a Seer, not a witch.”

  Frank asks, “Are you going to ask another Seer about your future?”

  “Why would I want another Seer messing with my head like that? Maetha tricked me with my vision of Calli. She used me, and she used Calli. We were just little players in her game.” He runs his fingers through his hair again. “It got me thinking. Wiping out the Death Clan was a good thing, but who monitors Maetha?”

  “No one I’ve spoken with knows much about her,” says Frank. “We all agreed her intentions were for the betterment of mankind, but I do wonder the same as you: who does she answer to?” He shifts the conversation. “You are aware Calli’s leaving tomorrow, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, are you going to say goodbye?”

  “No. We were never meant to be together, and she knew it. She even tried to tell me before she . . . anyway, I need to fix my own situation. I’m going to see my father and resign.”

  “What will you do after that?”

  “Disappear for a while and get my head back on straight.”

  “You know, I’m not a Reader, but even I can tell you have feelings for the girl.”

  “Of course I do!” Chris slams his palm down on the table. “But they were placed in my head as part of an overall plot or goal. Maetha took advantage of my desire to find out if there was anyone out there for me.”

  “Yes, but perhaps this is your ‘how did you two meet?’ story.”

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, really. She’s too young and I’m too messed up.”

  “For the moment, but given time, she just might be your one and only whether Maetha tricked you or not.”

  “I don’t want to think about that right now.”

  I step away from the side of the building feeling dejected. I think about the vision on the stone altar and feel reassured to know we do, in fact, have a future together. He is right, though, I am too young . . . for now.

  He refers to himself as “messed up.” I wonder why, exactly. Knowing I can perform a mind read in a split second, I use the knowledge about Chris being a spy to enter his memories. Images and scenes fly by, showing a younger Chris, maybe twelve, being studied like a lab-rat by his father after his running power surfaced. Once Chris became “certifiably abnormal,” as his father put it, he was used to gather insider information on the clans. Apparently, General Harding didn’t know that at some point Chris turned on him and became a double agent, working for the Runners’ Clan.

  This is what Chris feared I would find if I read his mind—that he’s a double agent. Chris knows his father would retaliate in a “take no prisoners” kind of way. Keeping his secret was, and is, of utmost importance. It’s the only way he’ll be able to resign without his father coming after the Runners.

  I have a better understanding of why Chris feels the way he does.

  Even though Maetha warned me about looking into my own future, I make the decision to look anyway. I only want to find out when I’ll see Chris again. I peek through the curtains and feel for his future. A vision opens up to me, revealing a small room similar to a hospital room. Chris lies in the bed with two broken legs. He looks to the door, and a beautiful woman enters. She walks to him and places her hands on his legs, healing them, and then she hugs him. Chris whispers, “I knew you’d come, Calli.”

  I pull out of his future in shock. That woman is me!

  In the cabin, Chris scratches the top of his head with a confused look on his face. I turn and begin my slow walk back to the compound.