See How She Falls (17 page)

“I
haven’t kept you from food," I mumbled under my breath as we made our way
over the boardwalk toward the house.

“Your
lack of an appetite interferes with my grazing schedule. So, it sort of is your
fault. You confuse me by not eating. It isn’t normal.” Kennan raised a brow,
challenging me.

“Neither
are the gluttonous amounts of food you consume, but you don’t see me
complaining.” I needed sleep, I was getting seriously crabby.

“Keep
it up and I will toss you to the gators, woman.” Kennan swatted my butt,
causing me to jump.

“Hey,
invalid here. Remember?” I yawned loudly, the adrenaline of the day wearing off
as we approached the house. “I think I’m too tired to eat. Can I just sleep
instead?” 

“No,
you need energy.” Kennan wouldn’t budge on the whole food issue.

“Fine,"
I grumbled as we approached the house. A chorus of cicadas and tree frogs
resounded loudly around me, announcing the coming night. I wondered, as we
entered the house, if this would be my last night; if these were the last
sounds of the South I would hear before the darkness fell, taking me with it.

“That’s
enough.” Aberto appeared at my elbow, pulling me to a stop. “You will not be
able to stop this if you keep succumbing to such morose thoughts. You are not
who you were when the prophecy came into existence. I’ve changed you, therefore
there is a chance that the prophecy has also changed. Do not give up this fight
so readily.”

“Do
you think that I want to feel this way, Aberto? This isn’t a vacation for me,
but you’ve said it yourself, my choices are all bad. I either lay down now and
let it consume me or I fall trying to defeat it. The word fall doesn’t exactly
give me any hope of survival. I don’t have any plans of coming out of this
thing intact. Just let me mourn the loss of things, let me deal with this how I
must. I’m not as strong as you seem to think I should be. I’m not you, Aberto.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks as my fear came rushing to the surface. I was
barely strong enough to stand on my own two feet, let alone defeat the demon.

Aberto
grabbed my shoulders and shook them, making me look him in the eyes. “You are
strong enough, do you understand?”

“Just
because you wish it to be does not make it so.” I turned, and walked into the house
where a concerned Kennan was waiting.

“What
was that about?” Kennan looked between a furious Aberto and me.

“Nothing
important.” I walked passed Kennan toward where my aunt and Eleanor were
talking.

“So,
what’s the verdict?” I asked the women.

“The
verdict is, you need to eat, and we will discuss her ideas after you have had
some sleep. You must rest, Izzy. Do not let yourself get worn down," my
aunt admonished.

“But
all of this inaction is not doing a durn thing to help me feel like I have any
control over what is coming. Everyone keeps telling me to be strong, but just
waiting around for this demon to come chomp at me is not my idea of a good
time. I’m not hungry, I just want to sleep.” The electricity began to flicker
down my arms, causing tears to well in my eyes. “And why does this keep
happening? I can’t even control it. Gah!” I shouted as I made my way towards
the room Kennan and I had occupied the night before. I just hoped it was still
ours.

Aberto
started to move towards me, but Kennan pulled him to a stop. “Give her some
time. She needs to be alone right now, otherwise she won’t come back to
herself. Sometimes we have to let her go.” Kennan’s last words before I
disappeared into the room peaked my interest. “So, perhaps you and I can
discuss that secret that you would not divulge in the helicopter.”

“Now
would suffice," Aberto replied.

I
stormed into the room, wallowing in my own misery. The secrets that had brought
me to this point swirled around in my mind, pulling me in a thousand directions.
I threw myself on the bed, my head spinning, and I couldn’t take it any longer.
I ripped my soul from my body and ventured out to find Kennan and Aberto. I
wanted to know what they were saying. I wanted the truth, for once. Directives
be damned, I was so tired of being in the dark.

I
turned a corner, searching for them, and came to an abrupt halt when I finally
spotted them. They were on the back porch, sitting on the stairs, staring off
into the swamp.

“Are
you certain?” Kennan’s strained voice asked.

“I’ve
known my entire life. I saw it the day I was brought into existence, and I’ve
seen it every day since.” Aberto looked off, trying to mask the sadness in his
eyes. I knew that if I so much as breathed, I would be caught. I held as still
as I could, waiting for what they may say next.

“Swear
to me that you will protect her, that you will not leave her side.” Kennan
looked to Aberto, grabbing his shoulder as he pleaded. “Swear it to me,"
he choked out.

“You
need not even ask it, but I shall swear it all the same.” Aberto grabbed
Kennan’s elbow and looked him in the eyes. “I swear I will guard and protect
her all of my days, no matter how many they may be. She will never be alone
from this day onward.”

“See
that she is not. If you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone for a while.” Kennan
looked back out into the swamp as a tear threatened to fall down his face. I
didn’t understand. What had they said before I’d gotten there? What was
happening?

I
rushed back to where my body lay on the bed, mending my halves together. I
longed to go to Kennan, but I knew that I would be found out if I did. The
implications of their conversation made my stomach roil. Was Kennan leaving me?
Did he have to go in order to protect me? I never should’ve gone. I never
should’ve listened to a conversation that wasn’t meant for my ears. Fear welled
up inside of me at the possibility of living the rest of my life without him. I
couldn’t fathom it.

Just
as I’d made my mind up to go find him, the door opened and he entered as if
nothing had happened. His eyes held the same playful brightness they always
did. In his hands he had a plate of food he intended to force me to eat. I
looked back at his face, searching for any sign of what I’d just witnessed.

“Why
are you looking at me like that?” Kennan smiled crookedly.

“Nothing,
it’s just,” I paused trying to understand, “nothing.” I shook it off. Maybe the
runes were playing tricks on my mind. Cait had warned me that the darkness
would do everything to pull me under. I wondered if that also meant deceiving
me and making me believe horrible things.

“Are
you sure? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost. What’s going on, Izzy?”
Kennan set the food on the dresser and lowered himself down to sit next to me
on the bed.

“I
think my mind is playing tricks on me. Maybe the exhaustion is just getting to
me. I’m okay, really," I lied, wondering if I would ever be okay again.

“Promise?”
Kennan asked.

“Promise,
promise.” As the words left my mouth, I wondered if the lie was all that white.
We’d never gotten anywhere good by keeping secrets from one another, but I had
no idea how I was supposed to ask him about what I’d heard. How could I? After
all, I shouldn’t have eavesdropped to begin with.

“Well,
in that case, it is food time. No arguing.” Kennan reached over to grab the
plate as an idea struck me.

“What
did Aberto have to say?” I waited for a reaction, something that would make me
believe I’d really seen what I had but there was not so much as a shift in his
demeanor as he answered.

“He
wanted to talk strategy. Nothing serious. Honestly, I don’t know why you
couldn’t have been there for the discussion. Sometimes, Aberto’s reasoning
makes no sense.” Kennan put the plate on my lap giving me a firm look. “No more
stalling, eat. I’ve got to go check in with Conall, but when I get back that
food better be gone.” He raised a brow before kissing me on the head.

“Aye,
Aye!” I mock saluted.

I
guess I’d imagined the whole thing. With everything we’d been through over the
past year, I’d learned to read Kennan really well. Unfortunately, he showed no
signs that anything was amiss at all. Instead, he seemed completely fine. That
damned darkness was going to drive me mad before I even had a chance to stop
it. I should do more research on what I was up against. Maybe then I would
understand what I was facing. I knew the demon’s name, now I needed to know
what he was capable of.

I
stared at the food for a moment as if just looking at it would be enough to
absorb the nutrients. Giving up, I began to shovel in the food, which happened
to be some of the best gumbo I’d eaten in years. I hoovered it in, bite after
bite, filling up my empty stomach until I was left with warm soup belly. I was
ready to drift off to sleep and forget the day altogether. No more fights, no
more drama, just the sweetness of sleep. It wasn’t until it was too late that I
knew I was being pulled into the dreaming. I shouted for Aberto as I faded from
the mortal plane into the dreaming. 

Chapter
Twenty Two
 

I
assessed the fog, hoping to spot any dangers before they could reach me. All I
could hear was the sound of my own breathing and the crackling of my skin as
electricity ran up and down my arms and legs. The electricity seemed to be
spreading, leaving behind a burning sensation as it went. If I didn’t learn to
control it, I was sure it would consume me.

 “Neat
trick," Emmanuel said as he emerged from the fog. “Where’d you learn to do
it? You aren’t supposed to have that power.” His scarred face curled up in distain.

“It
was one of the many gifts ABERTO gave me.” I shouted his name, hoping he would
get the hint and show up. I wasn’t ready for the last mark yet. I wasn’t in any
shape to fight off this asshat, either.

“Don’t
worry, he is already here. He won’t let his precious girl come to harm. But he
won’t always be there to protect you. I will sneak in, I will find the chink in
your armor. It is only a matter of time, and that I have in abundance.”
Emmanuel faded back into the fog as I fell to my knees.

“It
will consume you if you let it, Izzy. You must let your anger go.” Aberto
towered over me as I struggled to get myself under control.

“Why
is it burning? It didn’t do that before?” I looked up at him as my stomach
churned.

“Because
it is getting stronger. This is a power not meant for any mortal to bear. I
should’ve known that something like this may happen.” Aberto swore in the old
language he sometimes used. I still couldn’t place what it was.

“What
does that mean, Aberto? Is this going to kill me?” I looked down as the blue
electricity faded into my skin.

“I
do not know.” He pulled me to my feet turning my arms over in his hands to
check for any marks.

“He
didn’t get to mark me again. He knew you were here.” I pulled my arms back down
to my sides. “What will happen to me if this keeps getting stronger?”

“It
will consume you.”

“So
now I have to worry about causing my own death with my lightning bolt arms and
the darkness. This day just keeps getting better. If someone could just go
ahead and put me out of my misery now, that would be awesome.”

Aberto
grabbed the back of my head forcefully, making me look in his eyes. “Do not be
so fickle about your well-being. This is no joke. I will not listen as you
taunt death, practically inviting it to your door step. It is time to grow up,
Izzy. This is no game. This is not a joke. If you fail, then so do we all.”

I
pulled away from him, tears running down my face. “Don’t you think I know
that?” I shouted. “Every single day that I wake up with these marks is a
reminder that my life is no longer my own. Every breath I take is a reminder
that the darkness is coming and if I don’t stop it, everything I love will
disappear. I know this isn’t a game. I never said it was.” I sat heavily on the
ground, deflated, tears coursing down my cheeks. “I’m so very tired.”

“Izzy.”
Aberto began, but paused before he could say anything else.

“No
one can help me. I’m alone in this, and that scares me more than
anything," I choked out.

“You
aren’t alone, Izzy. Nor shall you ever be.” Aberto sat on the ground next to me
and grabbed my hand in his. “You will survive this.”

“Do
you know that, or are you just trying to reassure yourself as much as me?” I
looked down to our entwined hands and felt a pang of guilt. I knew how he felt
about me, but he had not pushed his feelings. I knew that any small act of
encouragement I gave him was unfair so I pulled my hand away.

“A
little of both, perhaps," he said, resting his hands behind him.

“Can
you do the lightning thing?” I asked, anxious to change the subject. Dwelling
on my demise was not going to do anyone a bit of good. It would depress me and
piss Aberto off.

“I
can.” Aberto lifted his hand to show me a ball of blue fire burning. Only the fire
was more an amorphous ball of frenetic energy. It wasn’t fire at all. I looked
up at his face in surprise to find that his eyes were once more glowing.