See How She Falls (10 page)

“You
have always been the one the prophecy spoke of. Nothing that I have done could
change that. I am beginning to believe the gods knew I would interfere long
before I did.” Aberto perched on the edge of the couch pushing me back in the
process.

“Fine,
okay, so we are going to get nowhere with that whole line of questioning. Let’s
move on. What about the dreaming? Why was I there as a child?” I curled on my
side to give him more space as he settled in to tell me more.

“The
first time you showed up in the dreaming, you were so small. You were
terrified. There has never been a Seer born that could travel to the dreaming
before they came of age. I felt it, the first day you came. The fog warmed and
shifted revealing a bright spot in the haze. I followed it, to find you crying
out. That was the first day we played. Entertaining you became the highlight of
my existence. You would show up every few days and ask to play a new game. You
would teach me things you’d learned from outside of the dreaming. I believe you
thought I was your imaginary friend. But things started to change, you started
to have visions as a child. Visions that would surely drive you mad. Your
mother asked me to intercede. That was the night that you dreamt. The last
night we played before I had to make you forget.”

“Why
didn’t my mother stop me from going to the dreaming sooner?”

“Everyone
tried. We tried to block you from the dreaming, but it was to no avail. You
continued to seek it out, to find your friend. We had no idea that you were
trying to find me, until I severed the memories. Then you stopped coming.”
Aberto’s face clouded with loss. I sat up on the couch trying to take it all
in. Sitting so close to him that nothing could separate us, the man that had
been such a huge part of my life, the man that had been my sanctuary as a
child.

“Aberto,
why…” I couldn’t find the words I wanted to speak. I didn’t know how to ask him
everything I longed to know. As I struggled to find the words, he reached out
to entwine his fingers with my own.

“Izzy,
I did what your family asked of me, to protect you. Had I known that I was the
reason you kept returning to the dreaming, I would have blocked you much
sooner. As for your mother and aunt, how could they know what would become of
everyone yet do nothing to stop it? They knew that the darkness that coming was
far bigger than any one life. Your life was a precious gift, one they did not
want to release, but the gods spoke. Sacrifice is not meant to be an easy
thing, and the heavens ask much. They knew, that if you were indeed the one
that could stop the darkness, then they must protect you.”

I
leaned my head against Aberto’s shoulder, trying to take in everything he’d just
told me. Mister tight-lips had been downright chatty and I wasn’t sure how to
process everything he’d just said. “So you took the memories of you. My mom and
aunt stayed in contact. I have an aunt that is an identical twin to my mom. Oh,
and I could walk in the dreaming from pretty much toddlerhood. Is that
everything?”

“The
important stuff.” Which was Aberto for “I’m not telling you everything.”

“Fine,
so that’s been handled. Now we should probably address the whole you getting
mad and throwing hissy fits thing. I’m the one that is barely keeping my head
above water here. I’m the only one that is allowed to throw crazy emo fits.
You’re supposed to be the stoic, grounded one of this duo. No more abandoning
me, got it?”

“I
shall try to endure your endless questioning without losing my head.”

“I
guess that is good enough. I really need to see Eleanor this morning. Do you
think she is awake yet? Oh, and I think Kennan and Conall, heck, why not, the
whole gang should be here. I feel a plan coming on, and I think I know just the
crazy woman to help us.”

“Your
plans are not always well thought out, Izzy. Are you sure that you wish to move
forward?”

“That’s
why I am bringing in the committee. I do learn from my mistakes, you
know?”  I pulled my hand from his, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I
shall go and gather everyone. You stay here and rest.” Aberto looked completely
unfazed by my mini-tantrum.

“You
know I still have questions.”

“Has
there ever, or will there ever, be a time when you don’t?”

“Fair
enough, now scoot. Oh, and bring me some coffee back when you come, Abe.”

Aberto
cringed at the name as he got up from the couch.

“Your
wish, my command.” Aberto raised his brow in my direction as he left the room.
Well played, Aberto. Well played.

Chapter
Twelve

A
small eternity passed as I waited for Aberto to return with the others. The
silence crept in, causing my mind to drift to thoughts of Aberto. His motives
were still unclear where I was concerned. His reasoning was unfathomable, his
desire to protect me unclear. The only thing I was certain of was his
sincerity. Deep within my soul, I knew that I could trust him to keep me safe.
Every doubt that had wriggled its way through my mind disappeared. Regardless
of how confused I was about everything else, at least that was clear.

The
door slowly opened, pulling me from my thoughts of Aberto. The people I loved
most in the world walked into the office, one after another. They were my posse,
my family. It wasn’t two years ago that I’d felt so alone with no one but
Kennan to call my own. Now, as I looked out at the people filling the room, an
overwhelming feeling of comfort swept through me. I was blessed to have people
that I could depend on through the worst possible moments in my life. I was
blessed beyond compare. No matter what the heavens had in store for me, at
least I’d been given some amazing people to help me through it all.

“Why
do you look like you’re about to cry?” Molly asked lowering herself down next
to me on the couch.

“I’m
just so thankful for all of you.” Tears started to leak from the corners of my
eyes.

“Oh,
geez. This isn’t going to be one of your sap fests, is it?” Ian groused.

“No,
it’s not.” I shook my head trying to pull my attention back to everything else
that was going on. “I have a plan.”

“May
the gods have mercy on us all," Conall muttered.

“Why
doesn’t anyone have faith in me? A girl screws up once and she is never trusted
to come up with a good plan again. Fat lot of good y’all are doing.” I crossed
my arms, glaring at the people in the room causing them to chuckle. “Fine, you
guys figure out this darkness business on your own.” 

“Izzy,
please tell us what you’ve found," Eleanor said in a slightly scolding tone.
She reminded me so much of Isadora. She was so important, and I was beyond
thankful that she’d stuck around after the events of the past months. I
would’ve been lost without her guidance.

“Well,
first things first.” I pulled up my pants leg to show the group my leg. “I got
another rune. This one is different from those that were on the Seers, so I’m
hoping that it may help us figure out what this group is trying to bring over.
The robed dude told me that there are only two more marks left before the bridge
is complete, so we really need to figure this out, and soon.”

“Cweorth,"
Aberto whispered.

His
voice reminded me of what I’d asked him to bring me back. “Hey, where’s my
coffee?”

“I
am not your errand boy," Aberto grumbled.

“Fine,
what does the rune mean?” I would just have to suck it up and go down to the
dining hall to get my own coffee.

“It
has several meanings. Fire, flame, and transformation are amongst the most
well-known.” Aberto looked at my leg as if he were studying some ancient text.

“Well,
since dude man said that they are bringing forth something to punish the earth
for its sins or whatever, it sort of makes sense," I said, pulling my
pants leg back over the rune so that Aberto would stop staring at it so
intently. The way he kept analyzing me was annoying. “What with the fires of
hell and all that. If it is anything like the beastie I saw with Cait, then a
demon would make sense. Will this help us figure out what they are trying to
bring forth?” I turned to Eleanor and saw that my question had sparked hope in
her eyes.

“Follow
me.” She hurried out of the office and headed to the library, where she’d been
spending all of her waking hours combing through books.

“Field
trip.” Molly’s chipper voice reminded me that she was still dealing with a world
of hurt. As we made our way out of the office, I pulled her to the back with
me.

“How
are you doing with everything?” I couldn’t keep the concern from my voice.

“It
is what it is. Ian has become less of a pain, at least.” Molly shrugged it off
as if her problems weren’t nearly as important as I was making them seem. I
knew better.

“I
heard that," Ian hollered.

“You
were meant to, bonehead," Molly threw back.

“What
about everything else? Are you sure you are up to helping with it?”

“There
is no way I’m gonna let you do this alone. We are a team! So, stop worrying
about me, and focus on you. After all, I’m not the one starting to look like a
doodle board.” Molly raised a brow looking down at my arms. The tops of my
shoulders and back were covered in the beautiful protection marks Aberto had
given me. Unfortunately, a bunch of unwanted runes were mixed in with the
purposeful ones.

“Some
of these were done intentionally," I mumbled. She was right, it was taking
me a long time to get used to all of the marks covering my body. I was starting
to look like Aberto and his many runic tattoos.

“Fat
lot of good they are doing you," Molly replied darkly.

“They
are serving their purpose. They have kept her from being marked for two months,
have they not?” Aberto sounded defensive.

“So,
how did she get marked this time, then? Huh?” Molly was starting to treat
Aberto the same way I did, much to Ian’s chagrin.

“I
believe that I informed all of you that the tattoos were a temporary deterrent.
They seem to have found a way around the bindings. Which is why we should be
focusing on the future and not what has already passed.” Aberto held the door
to the library open for Molly and me.

“How
are you feeling?” Kennan moved to my side, surprising me. He’d been lingering
in the background more and more lately. It sort of reminded me of the way
Breanan had always been with Isadora, all lurking in the back, but ready to
pounce at a moment's notice.

“Still
exhausted, but otherwise not bad. The runes hurt like a mother-trucker, but I
can live with it. I just hope that Eleanor can figure out what kind of big bad
ugly they are hoping to summon with them. It would be really awesome to not be
blindly stumbling about. Maybe with some answers we can finally start being
proactive instead of reactive.”

“We
will figure this out, Izzy. No matter what, you will survive this.” Kennan’s
ferocity was a thing of wonder. He seemed to either be living in serious denial
about the prophecy, or he was convinced that we could rewrite my future. I
wasn’t quite sure which it was.

“Here’s
hoping," I mumbled. I walked across the room to where Eleanor had set up
shop. She was furiously flipping through pages as we approached.

“Found
you!” she shouted as she poked the page.

“What,
what is it?” I was trying to look over the shoulders of the Guardians
surrounding her. I looked like a deranged jack in the box hopping up and down,
hoping to get a better look.

“It’s
not good is what it is," Conall sighed.

“Someone
care to share with the group?” I was growing anxious. Based off of the looks
Ian, Conall, and Kennan were exchanging, I wasn’t going to like what was about
to be said.

“They
are summoning a demon.” Kennan’s eyes were filled with terror.

“But
I thought Isadora said they weren’t exactly demons," I squeaked out.

“They
are and they aren’t. Demons aren’t the sort of creatures that are depicted in
the movies. They are harbingers of destruction and chaos, beings created by the
depravity of man. To call them demons is to say that they were in existence
before man. However, man brought them into fruition. They exist on another
plane and those that are unworthy are sent to suffer an eternity under their
dominion. It is the equivalent of what you believe to be hell," Eleanor,
the ever scholarly, provided.

“So,
what is it, what demon are they summoning?” I was far too tired to get a
history lesson in what heaven and hell really were. My only concern was what
was coming and how to stop it. I could worry about everything else later. If
there was a later.

“Sonneillon."
Kennan voice was barely audible as he uttered the name.

I
was ripped into a vision as soon as the name left Kennan’s lips.
Sonneillon,
the name, the promise. I looked down at the battle raging below me. The clouds
split revealing the demon with a clarity I’d never been afforded until now. I
moved down through the parting clouds towards the scene playing out before me.