See How She Falls (19 page)

“Yes,
I would," I promised before heading to the corner and donning the dress
behind a screen. I tried my best to shake of the image of Cait and face
whatever torture the old hags, I mean Eleanor and my aunt, had in store.

“Are
you ready to get started?” I nodded at my aunt who motioned for me to lay on
the cushions stretched across the floor. “You can’t go on a walkabout. You have
to stay and the let the binding stitch together on both planes.”

“I
know the drill," I sighed, trying to find my center. All I needed was to
fricassee the people I cared about as they tried to fix me. I sucked in a deep
breath as I felt the heat of the first coal approach.

 “Son
of a donkey butted, biscuit eating, bastard!” I cursed as the pain radiated
from the rune. It was as if the rune was protecting itself against the binding.
It hurt worse than anything I’d ever experienced. “I can’t do it. I
can’t," I sobbed trying to yank my arm away from the oncoming coal.

“Hold
her down!” My aunt shouted. “You must do this, Izzy. Otherwise you won’t have
the strength to defend yourself. So suck it up, buttercup. This is
happening.” 

I
felt strong arms press me back down into the cushions. My shoulders were braced
so that I couldn’t move and inch. I looked up expecting to see Kennan, instead
it was Aberto holding me down. I looked across the room to find Kennan slowly
backing out of the room, his jaw clenched and his face green.

“He
can’t bear to see you suffer. It is better that he is not here," Aberto
whispered. “Now focus on something. Center yourself.”

I
looked up into his unfathomably blue eyes and let myself get lost in them. I felt
the part of his soul that resided in me leap at the recognition. The smoldering
coal came into contact with the first rune, causing me to arch up and close my
eyes. The pain was unbearable. How was I supposed to get through more of this?

“Izzy.”
Aberto’s voice sounded so far away. “Izzy, open your eyes and look at
me.” 

I
opened my eyes as tears leaked through the corners of my eyes. “I can’t do it.”
I sobbed.

“You
must," Aberto said calmly. “Would you like to hear a story?”

“Now?
You want to tell me a story now?” I was incredulous. Of all the times for
Aberto to be in a sharing mood, this seemed the least convenient.

“I
do.” He smiled softly. “Keep your eyes trained on me as I tell my tale. If you
close your eyes, I stop talking. Do we have a deal?”

“Okay.
You have a deal.” I stared up into his eyes, his hair cascaded around his face,
forming a curtain between us and the outside world.

“This
is the story of when I saw you again for the first time after many years.”

“But
you said you had always been there," I interrupted causing Aberto to arch
a brow.

“No
interruptions. I was always in the dreaming, waiting for the day you found your
way back. Remember when I told you that I took away your memories of me and the
dreaming? Well, as they faded, you did as well. You quit coming to the dreaming
and you forgot about me altogether. Then, one day, you showed back up. It was
right after your Grandmother died. You came into the dreaming, weeping and
lost.” Aberto paused looking down into my face as another coal came to rest on
a rune.

“Story,
more story," I pleaded, anxious to think of anything but the pain
radiating through my extremities.

“I
came to you that day, only I wasn’t sure it was you. The last time I’d seen
you, you were a child. What I found was a woman. I was surprised at the time
that had passed, unaware that so many years had slipped through my fingers. You
came stumbling into the dreaming, the same blinding beacon you’d been on the
day you were born. I knew, the moment I saw the light appear that you’d come
back. Your time was drawing near.” Aberto looked sadly into my eyes. “But that
was the day that I knew it was you. I’ve known you my whole life, Izzy. From my
first breath, I saw you coming. I didn’t know who you were, I didn’t know when
you were; I just knew that you
were
. After thousands of years, I’d
forgotten. The memory of you had been covered by countless years and countless
struggles. But the moment I saw you, with your tear stained face standing in
the dreaming, it all came back.”

“What
did you remember?” I winced as they pulled the coal away from my arm. I knew I
had more to go, and I needed the distraction.

“I
remembered the vision I’d been born with. The vision of a Seer that was loved
by many. She was a bright light in a time of darkness. She caused men to rise
up in her wake, to fight for her, to battle the darkness and bring the light.
She was, is, loved beyond compare.”

“Well,
that wasn’t true at all. I just got ejected from the Council," I half
yelped as another coal made its way toward my leg and the rune tried to fight
back. I tried to look toward my aunt, whose face was covered in sweat as she
pressed hard on the coal, fighting against the rune’s power.

“Izzy,
look at me. Focus on me.” I turned back to Aberto, trying to erase the image of
my glowing flesh.

“What,
what did you remember?” I barely muttered.

“I
remembered that I loved you. From my first breath.”

“Aberto.”
I began only to have him shake his head.

“No,
you mistake my meaning. I do not mean love in that way, although over the time
I have known you that love has emerged. You know I will never press my feelings
upon you. I know where your heart lies, and I will honor that until my dying
breath. The love I speak of is of a different sort. Wherever you are, whatever
nonsense you get yourself into, I knew the day I took my first breath that I
would always be there. I would protect you, I would guard you, and I would keep
you from harm. You have taught me what it is to be selfless.” Aberto’s eyes
misted over as he continued. “Seeing you again reminded me of the selfish man
I’d become. I knew that you needed me to be more than I’d become. Kennan and
Conall are right to be angry with me. I should have interceded years ago with
Cait. I was lost then. I was consumed by my hate and disgust with what the
world had become. I didn’t see any light left in it, and then you came back.
You reminded me that even in the darkness, there is still light. You saved me,
Izzy.” 

Those
were the last words I heard before I lost the battle and succumbed to
unconsciousness. The pain had become too unbearable, my mind gave in. Aberto’s
words echoed through my mind as I drifted.  

Chapter
Twenty Four
 

Floating
in the oblivion of the pain induced insta-coma, I began to remember Aberto more
clearly. I’d been getting snippets of memories from my childhood, but I
couldn’t quite remember who he was to me, or why I’d trusted him so implicitly.
Then I saw it, the moment he’d just told me about. I watched as he approached
me. I must have been about twenty-three, right after my Grams died.

I
stood eyeing the fog warily as my mother yelled at me. Aberto approached me
slowly, as if he were a wild animal testing the water for crocodiles. As he
came closer, I tilted my head in recognition. Something in me remembered. He
lifted his hand to my face slowly and began to speak.

“Hello
again.” He smiled, sadly.

“Again?”
I stood stock still, afraid to move a muscle.

“Sadly,
and sadly the next time we meet you will not remember me either. You aren’t ready
to be here yet, Izzy. Your time will come. Go now, live your life, for much
will change soon.”

“What
will change? Who are you?”

“Everything
has its season," Aberto promised in his traditionally cryptic way.

And
just like that, the memory swept away. I could see the exact moment he’d
changed my memory. I began flipping back through my own memories, sifting them
until I found every single one. At every stage of my life he had been there,
watching over me. How was I ever going to repay him? More importantly, how
could he have kept quiet about it all of this time while I was being such a
snot to him?

As
I lay, drifting in my subconscious, I wondered how I even felt about all of it.
I knew that a part of me called out for Aberto. I could no longer deny that.
But my heart belonged to Kennan in a way that it could never belong to anyone
else. Kennan was my happily ever after. No matter what wayward feelings might
have cropped up for Aberto, my heart was sure where it belonged. I still wasn’t
even sure if the way I felt for Aberto was because of his soul residing inside
of my own, or if it was some sort of affection held over from my childhood, or
something else entirely. What I did know, was it wouldn’t change anything. No
matter its source.

Grasping
at reality, I pulled myself back to consciousness. I awoke with my skin feeling
as though it were on fire. Panic began to build inside of me, until I heard
Aberto’s voice again.

“You
are almost done. Stay with me," he whispered.

“Okay,"
I breathed, as the tears began tracing pathways down my face once more.

“Just
one more and we will be finished, Izzy,” my aunt’s reassuring voice promised.

As
the coal made its way toward the last rune, my body felt as though it were
ready to jump from the table and walk itself away. Whatever these runes were,
their protections were fierce. The only thought tracing through my mind was
that this whole mess better be worth it. If I came out of this room still
feeling drawn and exhausted, but with new and improved scars, I would be furious.

“AAAHHHHH!”
I screamed out, arching my back as they cauterized the last of the runes on my
thigh.

“All
done, Izzy.” Eleanor patted my arm gently.

“Kennan,"
I wheezed.

“I
will get your Guardian.” Aberto stood to walk away, but I grabbed his hand to
hold him in place.

“Thank
you, for today, and for every other day that you have been there.” Tears welled
in my eyes from the pain.

“It
has been my pleasure.” Aberto slowly released my hand and headed out to get
Kennan.

“Well,
you didn’t get all sparky. I think you should consider this a success,"
Sena beamed.

“Yay!”
I choked out.

“Izzy?”
Kennan asked as he entered the room. The strain on his face broke me. I knew
that he hated anything that caused me pain, but he knew that we had to try
whatever we could to stop the coming darkness.

“I’m
okay. I need some help back up to the room though. I feel like I need to lie
still for a bit.” I didn’t even get a chance to finish before he carefully
scooped me up in his arms, avoiding all of my runes. “Oh, but Eleanor, I have
some questions!” I shouted as we left the room.

“I’ll
come with you, then. You need to rest, so it is probably best that we just
discuss whatever this is where you will be comfortable.”

Kennan
carried me into our room, gently placing me on the bed. We were followed in by
a whole herd of Guardians, much to my chagrin.

“Can’t
they wait outside? I promise to announce the demon’s arrival when it happens.”
I looked to Kennan wide-eyed. There was no way I could get through the next few
days with twenty Guardians following me everywhere. I would go insane before
the demon could even show up.

“Gentlemen,
she would like some privacy," Kennan snickered.

“How
would you like it if you had to have everyone following you around?” I grumbled
to an amused Kennan.

“Well
cared for?” Kennan ventured.

I
responded with a glare, effectively shutting him up. I wondered if I was
getting better at my mean face. Or maybe my eyes were glowing again. Glowing
eyes seemed to shut everyone up.

“What
did you wish to discuss, Izzy?” Eleanor asked, wiping the sweat from her brow.
She looked like she’d just run a marathon through the depths of hell.

“The
demon, Sonneillon. I know that you have been doing some research, and I want to
know everything I can about him. If I learned anything from 80’s cartoons, it’s
‘Knowledge is Power’.”

“Well,
not much is known of him. He is the demon of hatred and is fourth in line for
the throne of hell," Eleanor supplied.

“Yeah,
but what is his deal. All demons have something they do to twist the world,
what does he do?” I longed to understand what I was up against. I just hoped
that Eleanor would have more information than what I already knew.

“He
turns men against one another, whispers in their ears things that will incite
violence. Friend will turn against friend, brother against brother, until the
world is covered in blood. His thirst for hate is unquenchable.” Eleanor’s fear
shone brightly in her eyes.

“But
why this demon? I don’t understand why they didn’t choose another one to come
and wreak havoc. There must be something about this one that makes it more
appealing.” I settled back against the pillows, mulling over the possible
implications of the choice.

“If
what you’ve said is true, then the Old One that seeks to bring justice to the
world intends to turn those he feels undeserving against one another.
Sonneillon only has power over the weak. Those that have broken spirits to
begin with will fall prey to him more easily. If it is a cleansing they seek,
then this is the demon that will provide.”