Guardians of the Diamond Book One: The Rose

Chapter Seventeen

I don't remember what happened after I blacked out. I knew I must have fainted because when I woke up I wasn't in the hidden room off the passageway anymore. I was in my bedroom. I was lying on my bed, with an ice pack laid across my forehead and with my family, plus Jonathan, surrounding me. I had a horrible headache. I moved the ice pack away from my face and felt a huge bump on my head close to my temple. I closed my eyes and remembered hitting my head when I fainted. I opened my eyes and rubbed my bump again knowing that all the makeup in the world wouldn't be able to hide it.

People don't faint from panic attacks, I thought, remembering what I had learned in health class. I put my hands over my eyes. It must have been the lack of food combined with stress. My stomach growled to confirm part of my theory and my thought filled head confirmed the rest of it.

"Kate," Jessica said when it was clear to them that I was awake and semi-functioning, "you fainted. Do you feel alright?"

I groaned. "Food would be a wonderful blessing for you to bestow on me, but that's not actually the most important thing right now. Didn't you see that book lying on the ground next to me? Didn't you read it? Didn't you see what it said?" I asked quickly.

Matt shook his head slowly back and forth. "There was no book on floor, Kate." Matt turned his eyes to Dad. "I don't like this, it doesn't sound good. Because if there was a book─"

"There was!" I protested.

Matt turned his attention back to me. "Okay. I believe you. Still, the book should have been there, though. It couldn't have disappeared, right? It doesn't make sense that it could be there one second then have vanished the next," Matt said.

"It might have. We can't rule anything out," I objected. "It was a magical book. I know it was."

"What do you mean by 'magical book'? You mean it had spells in it, like a book of witchcraft?"

"No, it's just... I saw writing just appear at the bottom of one of the pages."

"Kate," Matt said carefully, "I think you may have hit your head a little too hard on that floor."

"I'm not making this up! And what do mean by 'too hard'? Is there specific level of hardness that is appropriate for head banging?" I paused and took a breath. "I didn't just imagine what I saw. If you would just let me explain what was in the book, you'll believe me."

"Tell us what you saw in the book!" Ashley said excitedly. I could tell she thought it might be good news.

"Well," I started, "the book had the weirdest name. Raisers of the Dead. Which, I guess the title basically tells what the book is about." I paused then continued quietly, "And our names, Matt, Ashley, Jessica, and I, are under the list of who can raise them. Oh, and on top of that, we're the only ones who are currently alive. Everyone else either hasn't been born or is dead."

"We can raise the dead? That is so cool!" Jessica shouted.

"It's not cool. Don't you understand how bad this could get?" I asked, as I tried to explain the seriousness of this to my sister. "It's black magic. R. K. could use this against us."

Ashley nodded. "He needs us to raise an army of the dead so he can rule the world."

I squinted at her. "Um, possibly? I guess that every bad guy's master plan."

Jonathan and my dad exchanged a look. Ten bucks says this is what every fifth generation inherits from my mother's family.

"Kate's correct," Jonathan said. "You should never attempt to mess with raising the dead. They never come back the same way they were when they were alive. Their souls no longer inhabit the bodies that come back meaning that all you're getting is an empty body. It is very fortunate for us that the book Kate found disappeared. That book is the only way you would ever learn how to actually use your power."