they were talking about her - her father kept pointing in her direction across the fire and gesturing excitedly at the man.
Kiera shivered with apprehension, wrapping her arms about herself. Trying hard to lip-read, she found it very difficult to understand what was going on. Without warning their voices became clearer. It sounded like they were seated right next to her. Her father explained what she could do. Tingles of fear trickled down her back and despite the fire, she felt cold. The man seemed very interested but hope rose as he seemed skeptical.
She could almost swear that she heard more than they were actually saying. It was impossible but she knew that if she couldn’t to do what they would ask her, that man would happily kill her father - for wasting his time just as easily as if she just refused to do it.
They wanted to test her first, so the first job had been easy. They were checking to see if what her father had said was true. They picked her up the following night when the rest of the camp was asleep. It was too dark to read the number plate or even see the color of the car clearly, but she suspected that they would not be the real plates anyway.
There were four men already in the car. She squeezed into the remaining space in the back. They all wore black suits and looked like bouncers she’d once seen in Dublin. The cramped two-hour drive was excruciating - no one spoke, not even to introduce themselves.
She had no idea where they were going and she wasn’t told what to expect. When grilled about the journey later by her father she could only describe the outside of the house they had arrived at. For all she knew they had been driving in circles for the two hours she was gone.
They pulled up outside a large detached town house, passing a Ferrari shining silver-grey in the moonlight. Three men got out quietly and signaled for her to follow them. At the door she was surprised to find that they already had a key. The tallest man fitted the key in the lock but it didn’t work. Unperturbed he tried another similar key from the ring. It wasn’t until the third key the door opened. Everyone piled inside, eager to get away from any prying eyes. One of the men spoke in a whisper.
“Right, Campbell said you were good. The owners have gone on holiday for a week but we still have to be quiet. There should be some diamonds here. Can you find them?”
Kiera frowned. Standing still, she let her awareness gradually spread out from her body, seeking that special resonance that only a diamond has. There was nothing on the ground floor. Climbing the staircase she let her awareness spread out further as she moved. There! She felt it. The vibrations were tighter upstairs. With helping her aunt’s friends, she learned early that the higher quality jewels always vibrated faster.
Her whole body resonated on the same level as the stone. She nearly laughed out loud. It was too easy. She was almost running along the corridor. Her feet trod silently on the plush carpet. At the third bedroom on the right she stopped abruptly and confidently opened the door. Standing at the center of the room, she pointed under the bed.
“Down there, under the bed.”
The men were directly behind her and the closest nodded. Inclining his head at the others, they picked up the bed and shuffled it across the room. Placing it in the corner without a sound, they rolled the rug away from the polished wooden floor. Underneath Kiera saw a small hatch cut in the floorboards. As she watched, the first man opened a black doctor’s bag he was carrying and carefully pried open the hatch with the tool he took from it.
Out of the way in the corner, she couldn’t see clearly how he opened the safe. He listened hard while turning a dial and within moments, it was open. The man beckoned her to sit beside him.
Reluctantly she moved closer, kneeling by the open hatch. She looked at the man who nodded in response. She reached out and took out three
Kiera shivered with apprehension, wrapping her arms about herself. Trying hard to lip-read, she found it very difficult to understand what was going on. Without warning their voices became clearer. It sounded like they were seated right next to her. Her father explained what she could do. Tingles of fear trickled down her back and despite the fire, she felt cold. The man seemed very interested but hope rose as he seemed skeptical.
She could almost swear that she heard more than they were actually saying. It was impossible but she knew that if she couldn’t to do what they would ask her, that man would happily kill her father - for wasting his time just as easily as if she just refused to do it.
They wanted to test her first, so the first job had been easy. They were checking to see if what her father had said was true. They picked her up the following night when the rest of the camp was asleep. It was too dark to read the number plate or even see the color of the car clearly, but she suspected that they would not be the real plates anyway.
There were four men already in the car. She squeezed into the remaining space in the back. They all wore black suits and looked like bouncers she’d once seen in Dublin. The cramped two-hour drive was excruciating - no one spoke, not even to introduce themselves.
She had no idea where they were going and she wasn’t told what to expect. When grilled about the journey later by her father she could only describe the outside of the house they had arrived at. For all she knew they had been driving in circles for the two hours she was gone.
They pulled up outside a large detached town house, passing a Ferrari shining silver-grey in the moonlight. Three men got out quietly and signaled for her to follow them. At the door she was surprised to find that they already had a key. The tallest man fitted the key in the lock but it didn’t work. Unperturbed he tried another similar key from the ring. It wasn’t until the third key the door opened. Everyone piled inside, eager to get away from any prying eyes. One of the men spoke in a whisper.
“Right, Campbell said you were good. The owners have gone on holiday for a week but we still have to be quiet. There should be some diamonds here. Can you find them?”
Kiera frowned. Standing still, she let her awareness gradually spread out from her body, seeking that special resonance that only a diamond has. There was nothing on the ground floor. Climbing the staircase she let her awareness spread out further as she moved. There! She felt it. The vibrations were tighter upstairs. With helping her aunt’s friends, she learned early that the higher quality jewels always vibrated faster.
Her whole body resonated on the same level as the stone. She nearly laughed out loud. It was too easy. She was almost running along the corridor. Her feet trod silently on the plush carpet. At the third bedroom on the right she stopped abruptly and confidently opened the door. Standing at the center of the room, she pointed under the bed.
“Down there, under the bed.”
The men were directly behind her and the closest nodded. Inclining his head at the others, they picked up the bed and shuffled it across the room. Placing it in the corner without a sound, they rolled the rug away from the polished wooden floor. Underneath Kiera saw a small hatch cut in the floorboards. As she watched, the first man opened a black doctor’s bag he was carrying and carefully pried open the hatch with the tool he took from it.
Out of the way in the corner, she couldn’t see clearly how he opened the safe. He listened hard while turning a dial and within moments, it was open. The man beckoned her to sit beside him.
Reluctantly she moved closer, kneeling by the open hatch. She looked at the man who nodded in response. She reached out and took out three
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