Authors: Jill Campbell
“Kallisto, I got into those trees because I’m an Amazon. Just because I was raised in the palace doesn’t mean I didn’t learn my own heritage; my father taught me about it. I knew I wasn’t a royal. He didn’t want me to lose my heritage just because I was being raised as their daughter. He had an Amazon warrior come and teach me all that I knew...or know...or...I don’t know, but I climbed those trees like an Amazon warrior does, by scaling them quickly. As for Kalan it would serve to say that he probably levitated like you since he’s your twin.” She was flustered and out of breath after her rant. She lay back on the pillows, breathing hard and grasping Kalan.
“That’s true, I did levitate to the trees, but I haven’t been able to do it in this life, so I don’t know if I could have,” he spoke, looking at Ramina lovingly.
“That’s it–we can train you again to levitate and then you can pick Ramina up. I was able to carry that man who stabbed Ramina, so surely you can carry her.” Kallisto was grasping at anything, desperately trying to recover their friendship. Ramina jerked her head over to look at Kallisto and flinched from the pain it caused.
“What do you mean, you picked up the guy and carried him?” Ramina asked, a little less angrily.
“I got to him before Kalan could; I carried him up pretty high and threw him into a pile of broken wood, but he lived.” Kallisto said quickly. Ramina smiled then.
“I’m sorry Kallisto, I should have known better then to think you’d hide and let the rest of us get beat up. Come here.” She raised her arms up. Kallisto went to her and they hugged. When they pulled back Ramina started to laugh. “Wow, I wish I could have seen you flying around. Then again, I probably would’ve been laughing too hard to fight. Kallisto flying around like Peter Pan–now that’s a sight,” she continued, still laughing, and Kallisto could tell she was better because she laughed loudly. Kallisto glanced at Kalan, who was smiling brightly at the life returning to Ramina.
“Actually I was more thinking I was Superman, or maybe Supergirl. Either way, I rocked,” Kallisto said smugly. They all laughed. Gabriel and Keira came in. Kallisto only learned her name after they had everyone checked out in the hospital. Gabriel, Keira and Kallisto, being the only ones uninjured, had a chat about everything. Kallisto found out Keira was clairvoyant and could see where they needed to go and the object they needed to obtain. Gabriel took in a sharp breath and Kallisto about choked on her water when she told them what it was.
“Who are you?” Ramina questioned Keira.
“I’m Keira, and I’m the only reason you’re all alive, so please don’t be rude.” Kallisto’s mouth dropped at the polite way she rebuffed Ramina. Ramina stared at her for a moment and started laughing.
“Oh, I like her!” Ramina said, still laughing. That made them all laugh again, even Gabriel, who’d been in a strangely good mood since Keira had been accepted, no matter how reluctantly, into the group. Kallisto found it strange that she seemed to know just what to say to get everyone to like her almost immediately.
“Has Kallisto told any of you about me yet?” Keira asked.
“Not yet–I was waiting for the right time, and now that Ramina’s awake I think this is the right time. Everyone, Keira is a clairvoyant; she can see the future, the past, and objects that we need to obtain, including the one we need now. Everyone who’s standing needs to sit down right now.” Kallisto waited until everyone took a seat. Gabriel and Keira didn’t need to, and Kalan and Ramina were already down. William tried to fight it by saying that he could handle it, but a sharp look from both Kallisto and Gabriel changed his mind. “Alright everyone–time for the moment of truth–the object we need to obtain here in Egypt is...” Kallisto paused, looking at Gabriel. William was about to bounce out of his seat.
“What is it Kallisto? If you want the dramatic affect it’s there now; come on and tell us!” William spouted. He nearly fell out of the chair he was bouncing so hard. Just for that Kallisto paused some more. Ephiny bowed her head, hiding a smile. Talus laughed. Ramina and Kalan acted uninterested, but Kallisto knew the suspense was getting to them. Gabriel smiled his proud wolfy grin, and Keira smirked knowingly.
“
Kall-is-to
.” William drew the name out like an impatient child.
“Oh, alright; jeez, can’t you take a joke? The object we need to obtain...is the first wedding necklace. Can you believe it? We’re nearly there! Celeste said it was almost over, and now we’re going to have the first necklace. This is so exciting!” Kallisto was jumping up and down as she said the last. At first they all stared at her in shock, and then all at once they stood up and ran over to her. Kallisto was picked up, hugged, and passed around like a rag doll. Ramina started to cry, but it was excitement that caused it. Kalan laughed and held her close. Eventually, after Kallisto was finally sat down, they ended up around the bed in kind of a group hug. Even Keira was brought in. They held each other in a moment of bliss and the power started to flow. It seemed to hesitate at Keira as though it didn’t know her, but eventually it went through her and completed its circle. As the circle closed and the power was flowing fully, Kallisto realized she could see everyone’s hearts. There were no bad intentions in anyone. The whole flow was full of love, and that’s when she knew for certain that Keira was one of them. She had a pure heart, untainted by any serious sin; just the normal run of the mill offenses that all humans encounter. Kallisto found something she didn’t expect. Keira was supposed to be a part of God’s plan for them. Any doubt she had about Keira was gone, and she welcomed her into their little family without prejudice.
Chapter 17
The next day Ramina was freed from the hospital. The doctors were completely amazed by her miraculous recovery. Keira took everyone to her house, a beautiful cabin-type dwelling on the outskirts of town. They went in and were greeted at the door by a Siamese cat. William looked from the cat to Gabriel and back again.
“Uh oh, better hide the puddy-tat. There’s a dog here that just might chase and eat him.” William laughed at his own joke while the rest rolled their eyes. Gabriel just smiled and sat in the closest chair. The cat ran right up to him and jumped in his lap. Gabriel started petting him and the cat purred. William stopped laughing and looked at them both, shocked. “Wait a minute. Can’t cats sense when danger’s around? Shouldn’t that cat be hissing and running away? I mean, come on. Gabriel killed a bobcat and fed it to us,” William griped. Gabriel just kept smiling and petting the cat. Kallisto started to open her mouth and received a fierce glare from Gabriel.
“No not dear; deer like the animal,” Kallisto giggled. William looked astounded and turned to Gabriel, who looked like an evil genius from a James Bond movie, petting the cat and smiling. Everyone else turned to look at Gabriel, astonished, then started laughing as they shook their heads. They weren’t surprised he’d do something like that.
“Seriously?” William said disgusted. “You kept us thinking we ate a bobcat this whole time when it was just venison? You dirty rotten son of a….”
Keira walked over to Gabriel and started talking before William could finish.
“This is Six Toes; can you guess why I named him that?” Keira asked, smiling. Gabriel picked up one of the cats paws and was surprised to find the cat had opposable thumbs.
“That is awesome! I like this cat even more now,” Gabriel said and held up his hand. “Gimme six, cat.” Six Toes put his paw on Gabriel’s hand. William stood mystified as did the rest of the group, with the exception of Keira.
“Oh that’s nothing, watch this. Hey Six Toes...” Six Toes looked at Keira, “bring me the keys,” she ordered. He jumped out of Gabriel’s lap and ran into another room. In no time Six Toes came running in with keys in his mouth, but instead of dropping them in her hand he grabbed them with his paws and handed them to her.
“Thanks, guy. You can go play now,” she said, smiling. Six Toes rose up on his back legs and put his paw against Keira’s cheek; she bent down some more so he could put his nose to hers. “Aw, thanks for the kitty kisses,” Keira said, giggling. With that he got down, roamed back over to Gabriel and jumped in his lap. Gabriel started petting him again.
“You are the strangest cat I’ve ever met...I like it.” Gabriel was rewarded with his own kitty kiss, and then Six Toes curled up on his lap and started to purr.
“That is just wrong on so many levels,” William said as he sat down, still staring wide eyed.
“I’ll tell you, that cat has saved me from so many predicaments it’s not even funny. He’s not just my cat, he’s my friend. He’s very brave and would do anything he could to help me. It’s almost like he’s a small furry human. When I first brought him home as a kitten he picked up a piece of his food, threw it and chased it down. It was like he was playing fetch all by himself. That’s when I knew he could be useful, not just a lap cat. I started training him, but he didn’t really need it. I’d tell him what I wanted and show him once and he’d do it, and he did it every time after. I think he can be of use to us with this curse,” Keira said with a smile. Kallisto couldn’t believe a cat could do things like that but since she saw it she believed he could help.
“So, what’s our next move?” Talus said, cutting to the chase.
“The door’s in a tomb far in the desert. We’re going to need some camels and lots of water to take with us. I know it’s hot but we’re going to need to be covered completely because it will help to keep you cool, and have our faces covered; you do
not
want to get caught in a sand storm without something to cover your face. We may also need a type of tent and blankets to stay under during the storm. Hold on, I’ll check.” Keira put her wrist to her temples like she had during the fight. They started to glow and the green light flowed into her head. She opened her eyes and they were like green glowing orbs. She looked blind. Kallisto wondered if that’s what she looked like when Gabriel was putting visions in her head. Talus had said she looked blind. “Yes, we’re going to run into a sand storm on the way. If we have a tent and blankets we’ll be safe. We’ll still need to cover our faces too, and all will be well. The camels know how to live in sand storms, so they’ll be just fine.” Her eyes stopped glowing and cleared. She pulled her wrists from her head and looked at the group.
“That is so cool!” William said excitedly. Keira grinned at him.
“Seeing visions is great, most of the time. But when you see something unpleasant it can be a burden. I saw my death with you and it was…very unpleasant. I’m not looking forward to it, but I know it must be done,” Keira said sadly. They stared at her in shock.
“Did you see how and where you die?” Kallisto asked, hoping she could give them a clue as to who the traitor was.
I can see a forest around me and I know I’ll be killed with a knife, but I’m sorry, I don’t know by whom; they stabbed me in the back.
The others didn’t hear it because she spoke to Kallisto’s mind. Kallisto forgot that she’d know their powers and how to use them to her benefit. Out loud she said. “No, I’m sorry, that vision is particularly blurry. Certain events can change how I see things and that part is not clear. There must be something that needs to happen first before I’ll be able to see it clearly.” Keira knew that some of the others weren’t supposed to know about the betrayal. She was very discreet in the way she spoke.
“Well then, I guess it’s time for us to gather supplies for the trip. How long is it going to take us to get there?” Kallisto asked without pause. Keira didn’t give the others time to question her acceptance.
“About two days, so we need plenty of water and food for the trip,” Keira answered.
“Hey, if we run out of food, Gabriel can go and catch us some desert rabbits or something,” William said craftily, effectively ending any question to Kallisto’s quick acceptance of Keira’s answer.
“I guarantee I’ll find us something to eat in the desert, but I won’t guarantee it’ll be rabbit,” Gabriel laughed. William stopped laughing and stared at Gabriel, horrified.
“Well, that’s it then. We find some camels to rent, buy lots of water jugs, and food. Let’s get to it,” Kallisto said, avoiding the subject of what Gabriel might find in the desert to eat. Everyone got up and headed for the door.
The first thing they did was find the camels and buy satchels for them to carry the supplies in. Kallisto could just imagine all of them with their arms full of stuff walking around town; at least with the camels they had a place to store the stuff, and they could be discreet since there were many others with them, whereas people with arms full of stuff would attract attention. They blended in as much as they could. They found a shop that had a big stock of water skins and bought all they had; the owners were very happy by the time they left. They filled the water jugs up in the fountain. Keira said it was a pure spring that the founders of the town dug when they settled there. The water had a sweet taste and was very cold, which amazed Kallisto since the air temperature was about eighty-four degrees; not the hottest it could get, but still pretty hot. Keira said it would get to be about fifty-two degrees in the desert at night, so the blankets would be a necessity. Compared to temperatures in Oklahoma it seemed weird to Kallisto. The temperatures in Oklahoma might drop about ten to twenty degrees at night, but she didn’t remember them ever dropping thirty degrees or more. They found a grocer and bought tons of canned food and other food that wouldn’t spoil in the heat. William found some jugs of Gatorade while they were there and bought them out.
“To bad we didn’t have this the morning after our little drinking binge–the electrolytes would’ve helped with the hangovers. Although the fight seemed to do that rather well also,” William said happily. Kallisto looked at him soberly.