See How She Falls

See
How She Falls

Book
Three:

The
Chronicles of Izzy

Michelle
Graves

See
How She Falls

Kindle
Edition

Copyright
© 2014 Michelle Graves

Published
by Michelle Graves

Georgia

All
Rights Reserved

Edited
by: Neeley Bratcher Editing

Cover
Art by: Syd Gill of Syd Gill Designs

Without
limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of
both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents
are either the product of the author's imagination or are used
fictitiously.  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and
trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which
have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is
not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

This
book is available in print and ebook format.

Dedication

For
Susan Pszczolkowski Baxter.

May
your eternal garden be filled with cozy reading nooks

and
brilliant stories.

You
are missed.

Acknowledgments

           
To my husband, the innovator of bad guys, and brilliant story-teller in his own
right.  My books would be impossible without his love, patience, and
advice.  Even if I never take it.  I love you more than you will
ever, ever know!

           
Wendy, I shall never be able to convey how much I love you.  Fate
certainly brought you into my life, and I can honestly say, you take my breath
away.  (See what I did there?)  In all seriousness, my books would
never be as amazing without all of your guidance, support, honesty, and
help.  You are more important to me than you can even imagine!

           
Ali, you are just, well, there aren’t enough words.  I am so blessed to
not only call you friend, but to have you be a part of my writing
process.  I know that I can always count on you for honesty, support, and
angry messages.  Your enthusiasm for Izzy keeps me motivated!

           
Charissa and Shawn, for some reason when I think of one of you, I think of the
other.  The two of you are like the book sisters I never knew I could
have.  I am so blessed that the past year and these books have brought us
closer together.  What started with books has led to two beautiful and everlasting
friendships.  I love you both BIG, HUGE even!

           
Regina, even when life gets super busy, just know that I love you and I am so
thankful that you keep on reading.  Even if you will never love
Aberto.  (But you will, someday!)

           
Dianne, you mean the world to me.  I love you to bits and it is more than
just the help you so willingly give me, it is your optimism.  It is
downright contagious.  I never have to worry about a thing with you. 
I know you will be honest and loving and gentle!

           
To my new sisters at Dauntless Indies, thank you so much for all of the advice,
the help, and the guidance you have given a newbie like me.  You are three
of the most amazing women I’ve ever known!

           
Syd Gill, you are a saint!  No seriously, you are so amazing.  There
aren’t enough good things I can say about what you do for The Chronicles of
Izzy.  The book covers are brilliant and I know without a doubt, you will
always come through for me!  You, my dear, are one talented genius!

           
Neeley Bratcher, I want you to know how much I appreciate you taking the time
to give my books the love they deserve.  Even with all you have going,
working full time and writing your own brilliant books, you still take the time
for me…. It means more than you can know!  I love you to bits!

           
Michelle’s Mafia, you people are the best Street Team, support, friends a girl
could ever ask for!  Thank you for all of your hard work and
pimping.  I’d be nothing without all of you!  Love you to bits!

           
And to you, the person that picked up The Chronicles of Izzy and have stayed
with me, thank you.  You mean, well the world to me!  Without you,
this would just be a computer file hanging out in my laptop.  The
enthusiasm and excitement of each of you has propelled me to keep on doing
this!  So thank you for taking a chance on Runs and sticking with me!

Prologue

And so it was, the gathering of Seers,
the last of the soul walkers. They came together to bind the future so that the
darkness may never prevail. Their pleas went out to the gods both old and new,
to the Guardians that they may raise themselves up to protect the one to come,
and to the Old Ones to anoint her path.

The cries went up to the heavens and
the heavens heard. An oath was made from the gods to the keepers of man. There
would be a Seer when time came to pass. A Seer unlike any other before or
after. The assurance of the gods echoed with an oath to the soul walkers that
there would be signs.

 There would be signs anointing
the Seer’s path so that she may be known to those that knew to look. The Seer
to come shall be the last of the soul walkers, but the first of her kind. She
will traverse the planes, both in present and past. Her powers will manifest
tenfold and her path shall be anointed so that she may fight the darkness.

And while the promise of the one to
come brought great comfort to the Seers, the last of the soul walkers, the
binding of the oath left them to doubt. The gods promised to provide the Earth
with a great protector, but as in all things, the protector must choose. The
Seers did not understand and began to question the gods.

The gods responded, and it is their
answer that set flame to the fears that the darkness may well prevail. The Seer
to come must choose to face the darkness coming. Her path will be filled with
turmoil and her soul marked by loss. Though she will have the strength to fight
the darkness, she must be willing to surrender all.

To end the darkness, the Seer must
fall.

Chapter
One

It
was finally time. Molly’s mom had been held captive for over two months while
we tried to pry information from her. Unfortunately, Elaine wasn’t the fount of
knowledge we had hoped she’d be. I looked over to where she sat, all prim and
proper as though her world wasn’t about to be completely upended. The lack of
remorse in her eyes sickened me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t
understand how Elaine could so dispassionately slay Seers, betray her daughter,
and feel nothing akin to regret. Something in her had broken at some point.
Maybe Molly had been right, maybe it had been when she lost her husband. No
matter what she’d gone through, I couldn’t excuse what she’d done. Not to
Molly, not to the Seers, and not to me.

“Izzy,
the time is upon us."  Aberto’s solemn voice startled me out of my
reverie.

“Alright,
I’m ready.”  I stood and walked to the center of the platform, the same
one used during my protection mark ceremony only months before. I rooted myself
in place, gathering my courage as I thought of the ceremony that was about to
take place. Elaine would be stripped of her powers for the rest of her long
life, something that wasn’t to be done lightly.

 
“I call the Council to order.”  My voice echoed through the massive group.
Aberto nodded his head almost imperceptibly, encouraging me to continue. “We
are gathered to strip the Betrayer of her Gifts. She has forsaken all that our
people hold to be true. Elaine has turned her back against her fellow Seers and
walked the path of darkness. For this, she shall be stripped of her powers and
be banished from the Order forever. There will be no shelter from Seer nor
Guardian found. From this day forward she shall be nothing more than a memory
in our collective.” 

Aberto
turned toward Elaine, leveling her with his gaze. “Do you wish to say anything
before we begin?”

“You
think you know what is coming. You think you know where the threat lies.
Everyone here is going to die.”  Elaine’s maniacal laughter sent chills
rushing down my spine. Her words only reinforced the fears that had been
building since we’d captured her months ago. “Oh, and Izzy, you can’t hide
forever.”  Looking into Elaine’s eyes, I finally understood. No sanity
remained there. Whomever she’d once been was there no more.

Elaine
smiled at me, ready to incite more fear at any moment. In a split second,
Aberto rushed toward her, wrapping his hand around her mouth violently to cut
off her unsaid words. Brutally pulling her head back, he whispered in her ear,
“We will hear no more, Betrayer.”  He leveled her with his stony gaze. I
had only been on the receiving end of that look a few times. It made my knees
shake just thinking about it. For a second, I almost felt sorry for Elaine.
Aberto could be truly frightening when he wanted to be.

“Let
us begin.”  Aberto tossed Elaine’s head roughly to the side and moved to
retrieve his tattoo implements. He pulled out a stylus and moved towards her
body. Her face was an immovable mask as he approached her. Not a trace of
remorse shone behind her eyes.  He placed the stylus against her skin and
made the first mark.

Elaine’s
scream tore through the crowd, sending a shockwave that reverberated against
everything in its path. For a moment, I wondered if we were doing the right
thing. Surely there had to be some other way to keep her from using her powers.
Just as the thought danced across my mind, I remembered Ren and everyone else
that had perished because of this woman’s selfishly callous behavior. She
deserved a far worse fate than the one she had been given. If it were up to
Molly, she would already be dead.

I
scanned the crowd looking for Molly. Things had been in such an upheaval since
this all began that I’d hardly had any time to spend with her. I wanted more
than anything to be by her side right now. But, I had a place. I was the leader
of the Council now and that meant I was not at the liberty to follow my own
whims any longer, a lesson I’d learned the hard way only weeks before. My life
no longer belonged to me. Molly sent a sad smile in my direction and turned her
attention back to where her mother sat, still screaming bloody murder. Someone
should shove a sock down the woman’s throat. I was getting sick of hearing her
yelps.

I
watched Aberto as he moved around her marking her so that she would be unable
to use her powers. He muttered words both foreign and familiar as he carved
into her skin. These marks were not the beautiful ones he had bestowed upon my
body. They were crude lines that gouged into her skin so deeply there was no
doubting their permanence. He looked up to catch my eyes momentarily before
turning back to his work.

The
look in his eyes in that moment spoke volumes. Ever since he’d life breathed
me, or whatever the hell he’d done, we shared a weird connection. I was always
cognizant of his presence and whenever we were near one another, I found myself
drawn closer to him. I rationalized that it was just the part of his spirit
living within me that called to him. Yep, that was it. His soul inside of me
longed to be back with its other half. That was my story, and I was sticking to
it.

“NOOOOOOOOO!” 
Elaine’s scream snapped me back to the present, just as another shockwave
ripped through the gathered Council members, Seers and Guardians. An audible
snap sounded that left no doubt about what had just happened. Elaine’s powers
were gone.

“Just
kill me," she whimpered.

I
saw Molly start toward the stage. She’d been trying to kill her mom ever since
Ian had brought her back from the old factory. Before she even made it a step
from her seat, Ian pulled her back and whispered something in her ear. She sat
rigid in her seat clenching and unclenching her fists. I drew her attention and
shook my head slightly. I wouldn’t have her doing something that she would
regret the rest of her life. No matter how mad she was at the woman, she was
still her mother.

“Elaine,
you will find no refuge from our kind from this day forward. You will live the
rest of your very long life alone in the world of humanity. Perhaps, in this
new life you will find some way to atone for your betrayal.”  Aberto
leaned close to her ear and whispered the rest. “May your judgment be
merciless. May the rest of your days upon this earth be a torment, for you
deserve no less.” 

With
that, Aberto poofed. I still didn’t really know how he did it. One second he
was there, then the next, gone. He would make an excellent magician. Perhaps we
could raise money for the Council that way. “The Amazing Aberto." It could
work. It would be an excellent Vegas show. I shook myself from my thoughts and
looked back at the crowd. Time to be the leader.

“The
Division will remove Elaine from the grounds. They will place her in a suitable
home, far from here. No one shall seek her out, none shall provide her with
comfort. If anyone is found disobeying this directive, they will also be
stripped of their abilities. We have been called to a higher purpose. We are
meant to provide stability in a world that is lost to chaos. While it may seem
more appealing to use our gifts in a way that will bring us fame or fortune
that is not what we were made to do. Our lives are meant to be lives of service
and sacrifice. If you feel you are not up to fulfilling this task, I am sure
the Old One can return and strip you of your powers as well. A darkness is
coming people, and we must pull ourselves together and fight. There will be no
refuge for traitors within this Council.”  I eyed everyone in the crowd
steadily, I wanted to see if there was a weak link that I’d missed. I was truly
tired of being blindsided.

The
gathered crowd stared back at me. Their expressions were part horror, part
pride. Two months ago I would have balked at the responsibility that now rested
upon my shoulders. Now, I would be damned if I let anyone else be hurt. I’d
grown tired of losing everyone I held dear; of watching people die and being
powerless to stop it. Enough was enough, and I was determined to put an end to
whatever darkness was coming. No matter what the cost may be.

“It
is finished, you are free to go.”  I watched as they moved back toward the
house. Only the four Council members remained. The last four people I wanted
anywhere near me at the moment.

I’d
been doing my durndest to hide the changes that were happening within me. It
had started with my eyes. Right after Aberto had breathed part of his soul into
me, my eyes became this churning miasma of blue and hazel. They never quite
settled on one color or another. Luckily, only the people I truly trusted had
seen them before I started to wear contacts. It wasn’t exactly a natural thing
I was experiencing. In fact, I was the first person that had ever been saved by
an Old One. No one really knew what was going to happen to me. Each day, things
changed a little bit more, and never at a time that would be convenient. Like
yesterday, I accidentally eavesdropped on Ian as he mentally undressed Molly.
Not something I wanted to ever see again, that’s for sure.

“Milady,
we have some questions if you are at the leisure to answer them,” one of the
Council members said, I think her name was Damali. Her skin was a beautiful,
dark tan denoting her Arabic descent. She was utterly stunning. I still wasn’t
used to these people answering to me. After all, they had been around far
longer than I had, and they probably expected to ascend to Council Leader when
Isadora passed on.

“I
have nothing else going on, would y’all like to go to the office and discuss
your questions? I think it might be more comfortable.”  As the words left
my mouth, I realized I’d just pulled an Isadora. I had posed a question that
really left no room for argument. They would come, of that I was sure.

“That
would be lovely," Damali’s Guardian bellowed. I was convinced that the man
was physically incapable of speaking at a normal decibel. Every word out of his
mouth threatened to burst my ear drums. I wondered if anyone had ever told him
about his voice modulation problem.

“If
you would follow me.” Kennan stepped forward, pulling me from my mental
inquisition in the process.

As
we moved toward the office I thought about my Guardian, the man I loved. Things
had been, in a word, tense between us. I hated it. There was a rift between us
ever since I started to change. It wasn’t exactly like I could fix this. I
didn’t ask for Aberto to breathe his life force into me and save me. In
reality, the changes just made it abundantly clear that our old life could no
longer exist. It was something I’d accepted months ago. He had not.

We
moved into the office and sat down to discuss whatever questions the Council
had. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be that close to them. Hiding my new talents,
and freakish physical changes, was not exactly easy.

Chapter
Two

I
gazed at the faces of the Council members, all four of them, and wondered why
I’d been so afraid of them last year. Before, they were an imposing force, but
now they just looked like a bunch of sullen children. Of course they were
paired off in their wonderful Guardian-Seer duos. I still couldn’t make heads
or tails of how this whole matching system worked. As far as I could tell, the
two sets would have done better with switching Guardians.

Pulling
myself from my musings, I found Damali sourly gazing at me. There was something
completely off-putting about her that I couldn’t quite explain. She had this
way of making me feel like I was always wrong, even when I was right. Then,
there was her Guardian, who had taken up a post, brooding behind her. I wasn’t really
sure what his name was, but it should be Brutus. In my mind, he was a Brutus. I
imagine all men that are unable to regulate their voices should be called
Brutus.