Generation Gem

The Diamonds

Mel sprang into action and dragged me over to the cart, pushing me in first. By the time she got in and closed the door, things were a little cramped. I had to swallow my shyness down as I realised my leg was touching Jamie's. He gave me a little wink before starting the engine up.

"This is cosy."

I giggled.

"You would think as all these worlds are so magic, they would have made a bigger cart."

His hands rested lightly on the steering wheel as he looked out of the front window.

"They probably didn't bargain on me using the blood cart to help a Sapphire and her friend escape their chosen generation."

I nodded glumly, the realisation of what we were about to do hitting me all over again. Jamie sat up straighter and revved the engine harder, as if convincing himself this were the right thing to do.

"Right ladies, we need a plan before I just transport us all somewhere else. First of all, Mel...you need to deactivate the necklaces like you said. It will buy us some time."

She nodded, then turned to me.

"Cassie, this is going to hurt you. Your ruby will burn up but you have to just copy what I do OK? It won't affect me as much because I belong in the Rubies, but it's going to be painful for you."

I took a deep breath and gave a slight nod. I watched as she very carefully tapped the top of her pendant three times, then twisted it quickly to the left before blowing on it. Her ruby darkened instantly and she smoothly took it off, a satisfied grin on her face.

As soon as I even touched my ruby, it started burning. It felt as though I were holding a naked flame in my hand. It was better to hold it away from my neck though, the pain was better on my hand than on my chest. I copied all of what Mel had just done, biting on my lip to stop the pain searing through my hand. After what felt like an hour of solidly holding my hand in a burning fire, I managed to take it off. Mine took a lot longer to go dark than Mel's had, but it was off and hopefully deactivated.

I sat back in my seat, breathless with pain. I flinched slightly as Jamie lifted my right hand, the one that had taken all the pain, and examined it. I saw him wince. I chanced a quick look, noting that some of my skin had actually burned off from my palm. It was red and angry. I had to look away. The sight was making me feel nauseous.

"You coped really well. It was hard to watch. Here, let's fix you up."

I sat in silence as he pulled a wand out of a little compartment in the cart. A grey wand embellished with a W. The same wand that all The Emeralds had. It reminded me that a Sapphire had powers from all three worlds. A soothing balm sprinkled out of the wand and on to my sore hand. Then with one more flick, a bandage. Jamie wrapped it around my hand gently, making sure all the sore bits were covered. He smiled at me apologetically.

"I wish there were a way I could make your hand better instantly, but we need to try and lay low for a little while. If I start doing complex healing spells, the authorities will catch on straight away and come even sooner than we expect."

I noticed that he was still holding my bandaged hand as he spoke. I shrugged lightly, my hand felt much better now it was wrapped up.

"It's OK. And thank you." He let go now, flashing me with a smile so dazzling it made my insides flutter. "Anyway, now the necklaces are deactivated, I have a plan. What if we go to the other worlds before we go to The Sapphire Generation?"

Mel scoffed.

"That's a ridiculous idea. It's one thing busting out of The Rubies world to go The Sapphires. You are a Sapphire and I don't mind helping you get there. But going to the other worlds...the only people that get to go between the three are the authorities and the few Sapphires left and that's only because they work for them. The Pearl Eds authorities will work with the Mayors and have us killed instantly if we go marching off to other gens. My guaranteed year on the Rubies will count for nothing if we break the law."