Unaltered #2_A Diamond in my Heart (5 page)

“I’m going to find a way to eliminate
the Demons, Maetha.”

“Calli, I believe you will try, but I
don’t see it in your future.”

“Well, things can change.”

“Yes, they can. For now, I want you to
try to enjoy your childhood, enjoy your youth.”

I couldn’t help myself from laughing.
“What? Are you serious?”

“I’m completely serious. You need to
go out with your friends and go on dates with the young
men.”

“I’m not interested in any of the boys
around here.”

“Calli, I’m not telling you to forget
about the vision you saw concerning Chris, I’m simply telling you
to broaden your horizons and experience life for what it is. You
have several years before fate intervenes; get out there and be a
kid.”

“I don’t know. I’ll try but I’ve never
really fit in.”

“That is the purpose behind my
encouragement. You need social interaction to learn how to blend in
better, to learn the social conventions of the age, to keep up with
the trends. Before you knew how old I really am would you have been
able to guess that I wasn’t from ‘your’ time?”

I shook my head.

“Some of the other Diamond Bearers are
not as cultured and up to date with the world and they are actually
handicapped by their refusal to press forward with advancements. I
don’t want that to happen to you and social interaction on the
basic level is the first step to staying current.”

“Alright. I’ll hang out a little
more.”

“Good. I’ll visit you again down the
road.”

She left me sitting in my chair under
the giant umbrella pondering everything she’d revealed. What would
it be like to be Maetha and watch the world change and evolve over
her lifetime? What would it be like in my own lifetime? Even if I
only lived five-hundred years, what kind of changes and
advancements would I witness? The idea boggled my mind and I put it
out of my head. The issue of hanging out with other kids my own age
had my stomach in knots. I simply didn’t relate with the kids from
my school and the other day at the mall with Suz was proof enough
of that.

Chapter 4 - Brand New
Power

I’ve gone out several different nights
looking for the Shadow Demons but found nothing in all the places
I’ve looked. I’d like to investigate them further but how can I
when they’re nowhere to be found?

School will be starting soon, thank
God; I’m tiring of Suz constantly whimpering about Brand and why he
won’t pay her any attention. I’ve tried on multiple occasions to
read his mind only to be perplexed at the mess he has inside his
mind. Looking for his future is worse; I don’t quite know how to
describe what I see. For one thing, I can’t actually see what he’ll
do next because there are too many possibilities of where he’ll go.
Never before have I actually seen possible outcomes in someone’s
future; I just see their future. Needless to say, Brand has become
my new project because I don’t like things I don’t
understand.

School has been in session for one
week now and everything is just as I left it in the spring; no one
pays me any attention. Even the teachers look right past me to the
point I’m beginning to wonder if Maetha has something to do with
this; but I’m torn. I don’t care for attention, yet I’m missing
it—somewhat.

In my English class, Brand sits on the
other side of the room surrounded by girls who are all doe-eyed and
stumbling over themselves to win his affection. I just don’t
understand it! He’s not even that good looking! Recently I heard he
has a different girlfriend just about every day, yet everyone keeps
vying for his attentions. An even more confusing fact is the girls
he dumps still like him.

Today, I’m even more confused. It
would almost appear that Brand can read minds. As I sat in the
cafeteria at lunchtime, I had a clear view of Brand as he charmed
his table of girls. He looked at each girl and told them what their
favorite colors were. Then he pointed around the table and named
off their favorite movies. It was a sickening display. I checked to
see if he was a Reader; no, he’s not.

“Hey Calli,” Suz sat beside me.
“Watching Brand again, I see. Do you like him?” Her voice had
surprise and suspicion in it.

“What? No. He intrigues
me.”

“He intrigues everyone. It’s like he
can read minds. He’s like the David Copperfield magician guy that
every girl wants, but he doesn’t want every girl.”

“That's because he’s
already
had
every
girl already, Suz.”

“Not you.”

“Nor will he. I’m not attracted to his
type; he’s a player manipulating the system somehow. He’s getting
his information from somewhere and using it to charm ditzy girls.”
I knew I probably had just offended Suz with that comment, but at
the moment I didn’t care. Suz was a cute girl and could have any
number of handsome guys, yet she was fixated on Brand. Besides, I’m
not quite over the fact that Suz felt obligated to become my
friend, like I’m some kind of deformed throwback. Guilt can be a
funny thing.

“I heard Blake Simmons is going to
beat him up after school because Brand stole his girlfriend,
Tiffany.”

“Blake Simmons… you mean black-belt
Blake?” I choked out my question.

“The one and only. It serves Brand
right for moving in on Tiffany; she was someone else’s girl.” I
could hear the jealousy in Suz’s words but also the longing. If she
had her way, she’d be Brand’s girl.

“Well, this I’ve got to see. Where’s
the fight going to be?”

“My guess is the parking
lot.”

It wasn’t hard to find Brand after
school; I only had to follow the worried girls. Blake Simmons stood
out in the parking lot at the far edge by the chain-link fence with
a large crowd of boys nearby. No doubt Brand had offended nearly
every one of these boys with his overzealous flirting. Brand was
leaning up against the fence popping his knuckles. The expression
on his face seemed almost bored as he waited for the fight to
begin. Apparently Blake was waiting for his other friends to arrive
before beginning.

Blake was as tall as Brand but ripped
with toned muscles. Tiffany was speaking to him, trying to convince
him not to fight but her pleas were falling on deaf
ears.

The crowd had grown so large that Suz
and I had to jump into the bed of a nearby truck in order to see.
Tires screeched in the distance as a car rounded the corner at a
high rate of speed. The black sports car came to a halt nearby and
five males exited. I entered one of their minds and found these
boys were fellow black-belts from the same dojo as Blake. This
wasn’t looking good for Brand, but he didn’t appear
worried—strange.

Brand pushed off from the fence and
approached Blake. “Are we doing this or what?”

“Yeah!” Blake yelled to the crowd,
“This son-of-a-bitch thinks he can steal anyone’s girl. It’s time
to show him otherwise.”

The crowd was a mix of shouting and
cheering with basically the girls cheering for Brand and the guys
rooting for Blake.

Blake rushed Brand with a series of
swings, kicks, and jabs all of which Brand moved ever so slightly
and avoided being hit. Brand’s movements weren’t skilled or
mastered; he just appeared to have faster reflexes than black-belt
Blake. Could Brand be a Runner?

I tried to feel inside Brand using my
Healer’s senses but didn’t detect any evidence of him being a
Runner. The volume of the crowd increased as the girls cheered
louder for Brand, and Blake’s groupies shouted, “Kick his
ass!”

I looked into Blake’s mind just out of
curiosity. I mean, really, what must a guy like him be thinking at
a moment like this? His mind opened up revealing his astonishment
at Brand’s maneuvers and ability to predict his next move. Blake
was clearly aware that Brand had some advantage over him. However,
Brand had not tried to land any punches to Blake. Blake was also
not used to fighting the air; none of his strikes were making
contact. Normally in a spare his moves were countered by his
opponent, but this was more like shadow boxing. I saw in Blake’s
mind what he intended to do next; bring in his five other dojo
members.

I quickly looked into Brand’s future
to try to see the outcome only to be assaulted with possibilities;
thousands of moves, all of which Brand got his ass kicked. Some of
his injuries would be serious. At least I think so; it was so hard
to tell what I was looking at.

I looked for Blake’s future and saw
that he would concede and accept Brand's offer to call off the
fight. He would shake Brand’s hand and slap him on the back. Brand
was unhurt but the five friends lay on the ground.

What?!

Before my very eyes, I watched the
five other black-belts join Blake and attempt to pummel Brand. Not
one of them could land a successful strike on Brand, but Brand was
able to eliminate each fighter systematically by kicking them in
the family jewels. One by one each fighter doubled over in agony;
some vomited on the pavement. Blake was the last standing, his
chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to regain his air. The
look on his face was priceless.

“Blake,” Brand said calmly. “Let’s
call this, alright? I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already
have by taking your girl. I’m sorry.”

Blake stared at Brand for a long
second and then extended his hand out to Brand. Brand was hesitant
to take it, but finally did. The girls cheered and screamed with
delight, the male onlookers were in a state of awe. Blake patted
Brand on the back.

I watched the scene unfold exactly as
I’d seen it only moments earlier and the confusion in my mind upped
another notch. I decided to stick to Brand like white on rice until
I figured out what his secret was. I’d start by tailing him
tonight.

Later that night, my mother sat in her
favorite recliner with a glass of wine watching the ten o’clock
news. I mulled over many different phrases in my head trying to
decide which one my mother would accept as a good enough reason to
leave the house this late at night to follow Brand. I decided to
use the diamond’s powers on my mother and this marked the first
time I’d tried to enter another Unaltered's mind. It was strange at
first and the process was slightly different but the results were
the same. In my mind, I systematically went through each scenario
and then viewed the future to see how my mother would react.
Mothers can be so overly protective. I had a difficult time
discovering the perfect line to use to achieve the right
response.

“Mom, is it alright if I drive to
Suz’s house to drop off a book?”

“It’s late, Calli.”

“I know, but it will only be a few
minutes and she needs the book tonight to study for tomorrow’s
test.”

“Alright, hurry back.”

I left feeling a bit more than guilty
for manipulating and lying to my mother.

I drove to Brand's house pondering
about his different abilities. Did he have the Seer ability? I’d
just manipulated my mother with it, is it possible he used it to
dodge those top-notch fighters today? No, I was certain he didn’t
possess any of the powers I was familiar with. Perhaps he was an
Empath; able to influence others with their emotions. It would
explain how he keeps landing new girlfriends and why his
ex-girlfriends still like him. It would also explain why Blake so
quickly shook his hand. However, it doesn’t explain how Brand won
the fight. No, Brand had some kind of skill or perhaps multiple
skills that were undetectable by me, a Diamond Bearer.

I rounded the corner and parked
several houses away from Brand's and decided to walk the remaining
distance. As soon as I opened the door and stepped out, my nose was
filled with the all too familiar stench of the Shadow
Demons.

Sure enough, the shadows around
Brand’s home were filled with Demons. I wasn’t surprised to see
them, not shocked that Brand was wielding some sort of superpower,
but still unsure what the power or ability was. I wandered into the
shadows and watched as the Demons floated out of my way. The
neighbor’s tiny dog barked at me with his little yappy-yap voice.
Clearly the dog didn’t sense the Demons nor did the Demons seem
bothered by the dog. If I had an article of clothing from Brand,
these Demons would shred it with the hopes of absorbing his power,
but I didn’t and I doubted Brand would be very accommodating to my
request for such.

Well, now I’d figured out where the
Demons could be located so I could try to experiment with them, but
the proximity of the nearby homes had me a little concerned; they
might call the police if they saw me wandering around in the
shadows. I could always escape by running, but what if they got a
description of me?

As I drove home a thought came to me;
if I could lure Brand out after dark, the Demons would follow him.
I could take him to a location where it wouldn’t raise suspicions
and experiment with the Demons there. Now all I had to do was
figure out how to get him outside after dark.

My answer came in the form of a sport;
football. Brand was the quarterback and football season had begun.
Normally I don’t care for football, but I was curious to find out
how Brand handled himself out on the field. More than anything, I
was dying to find out how he coped with the looming sunset. Further
into the football season the sun would be down before his game even
started; yes, this would be interesting to watch.