See How She Falls (6 page)

“You
owe me answers, Aberto.”

“I
owe you nothing, Izzy!” Aberto’s tone grew cold, rooting me in place. “I have
given you everything of myself, yet you still question me. What answers do you
want? What is it you think that I am keeping from you? I have told you my
darkest secrets, I have told you who I truly am. I can’t fathom what it is you
think I am not telling you. Do you believe me to have some ulterior motive? I
can ensure you, my only motivation on this plane or any other is you.”

“Why?
Why do you want to protect me? Why have you always been there? What’s in it for
you? That’s what I don’t understand. How can you say you have no ulterior
motives when you have been there my whole life, protecting me? Surely there is
something you want, something you hope to gain from all of this. Otherwise, why
even do it? The prophecy says I will fall Aberto, and fall I will if it means
protecting the people I care about.”

“My
motivation has always been you. Someday, you will understand why. But this is
not that day. This is not the time.”

“Damn
you and your ’this is not the time’ bullshit. You pulled that on me when we
first met, and look where it is gotten me.” I lifted my rune covered arms to
him as sparks began igniting down my arms once more. “I’m changing into
something I don’t understand, yet you still won’t tell me everything. I can’t
hide this forever, and when the Council finds out, God only knows what they
will do. You do owe me answers, because you did this to me. You changed me, and
while I am eternally grateful to still be alive, I don’t know what the hell I
am now. Because, I’m not human any longer. Not the way I was before.”

“I
don’t know what you want from me.” Aberto’s voice edged on anger as he closed
the gap between us. “I have given you everything of myself. I am cursed to this
existence for all of eternity because I interceded. I can never move beyond
this existence now for what I did. Quit acting like a spoiled child and act
like the Seer you are meant to be. Stop whining about the lot you have been
given and embrace it; it may just save your life again. I am through answering your
questions. When you are done wallowing in your pit of self-pity, I shall
return. Until then, do not call on me.” 

Just
like that he was gone. Poof. The bastard. My anger died a swift death as his
words rang in my head. He was cursed to an eternity of what he had been living
because of me. I still wanted answers, but I knew deep down that he was right.
I had been spending so much time focusing on what was happening with me that
I’d once more lost sight of the bigger picture. In the grand scheme of things,
lightning fingers weren’t that big of a deal. I plopped down into the closest
chair, allowing his words to wash over me. I still had no idea how I’d ended up
in the dreaming, or why Aberto was there for me. It had not escaped my notice
that he was still avoiding the biggest question of all, why he wanted to
protect me so badly. But he was right, as he always had been, I needed to pull
my head out of my butt and start doing my job.

Chapter
Seven

Anger
fled my body only to be replaced by the inescapable bone aching exhaustion. I
curled into the chair, hoping to find some sort of reprieve from my current
lot. I let the dreaming sweep me away, and for the first time I didn’t care
what I would find there. I went willfully into its foggy embrace, not fearing
the runes that may come.

“Fuckskittles,
there you are!” A voice rang out from the fog. “Do you know how long we have
been trying to find you, but do you make it easy? Of course not.”

I
turned to find a cloaked figure standing in front of me. She was around my
height, but the strength she radiated made her presence imposing to say the
least. There was something about her that unnerved me, not just her demeanor.
The chaotic power pulsing from her set me on edge.

“Ummm,
sorry?” I wasn’t sure why she’d been looking for me. For all I knew, she was
with the bastards that were summoning the darkness.

“Not
cool, I’m so not with those asshats. Bureaucratic bullshit, if you ask me.
Nope, I’m part of what your people call the Abominations. Which really, when
you think about it, is just plain mean.”

“Abominations?”
Okay, that handbook I’d been meaning to write since all of this happened, it
was going to have to be extra-long. I was constantly learning new things. This
Abomination business didn’t sound too promising. In fact, I wasn’t sure talking
to someone that was considered an abomination of any sort was a good idea.

“Yeah,
the group of Seers and Guardians that choose to use their abilities for what
they were meant for, instead of seeking the approval of the Council before
moving forward with their actions. You know, Seers that operate outside of the
regulations? I guess you could call us rogues for the side of good.” 

“I
didn’t even know there was another group of Seers. I thought that this was
pretty much it.”

“Where
have you been? Seriously? We don’t have time for this. You need to come to us,
we have information for you. We’ve been trying to find you for weeks, but
something has been blocking us. So talk to your Guardian, or whoever you trust,
and come find us.”

“Who
are you?”

“I’m
Sena, the Grand-Seer’s messenger. Find us, Izzy. You’re gonna need our help.
Until then, protect yourself, because not everyone is who they seem to be.”

“Yeah,
I pretty much figured that one out already. Where can I find you?”

“Your
Guardian will know, and if not, ask your Old One. He can certainly bring you to
us. Oh, and tell old Abe I said hey.”

“Ummmm,"
I said as I stared at the empty spot where Sena had just stood. Had she
seriously just called Aberto “Abe”? I couldn’t see him liking that at all. And
what in the heck did fuckskittles even mean? Whoever Sena was, she sure had a
foul mouth, but I liked her.

I
walked around the fog for a while, aimlessly. I wasn’t sure what I was looking
for, perhaps it was Aberto. Perhaps, I just wanted to find the bastards that
kept marking me up with runes. I let my mind wander and memories wash over me.
Things would never be easy for me again, of that I was sure. Aberto had been
right, it was time for me to stop wallowing and accept that some things just
were. Waiting for him to explain anything was rather fruitless at any rate. He
wasn’t exactly the most open person. I thought about Sena as I walked. I
wondered if she was just another trap, or if her people really had information
for me. Ultimately, there was only one way to find out, and I wouldn’t find it
in the dreaming. At least this was something proactive for me to do.

I
came back to the present feeling empowered by the thought of having something
to do. I had been spending countless hours with Eleanor going over musty old
documents with not so much as an idea of how to put a stop to the darkness to
show for it. I was tired of not being able to fix whatever was coming, and more
importantly of not knowing what exactly was coming. I knew one person that
could help me, but drudging up her ghost seemed cruel. Cait had suffered
enough, and if I could find a way to put an end to all of this without her
help, I would. I looked around the room and found Kennan standing next to the
door staring at me.

“How
long was I out?” My voice was raspy from sleep.

“Just
an hour. Aberto popped out in the hall before he left. What did you do to make
him so angry?” Kennan moved towards me slowly, questions lingering in his eyes.

“Nothing,
it was totally not my fault. He has his stupid secretive self to blame for
that.” I sat up straight then bent over stretching out the stiffness that had
settled in my muscles.

“You
were talking in your sleep. Were you in the dreaming, or was it just a normal
sleep?”

“The
dreaming. I honestly don’t remember what a normal sleep is like. But, I may
have some good news. Probably.” I paused looking up at him. Only hours ago
things seemed to be getting better between us, but I could tell that the rift
was still there. It was smaller, but it was not gone. My heart dropped for a
moment before I pulled my attention back to the bigger picture. I didn’t have
the luxury of worrying about myself anymore. It was time to get proactive. “Do
you know someone called the Grand-Seer? Or maybe where I can find the
Abominations?”

“Why
would you want to see them? They have forsaken our cause to fulfill their own
desires.”  Kennan spat. Apparently, he held the same view of these people
that everyone else in the Council did. As far as I was concerned, they were
just Seers doing what they were called to do. But what did I know?

“They
have some information for me. They told me to come and find them, and I intend
to.”

“You
can’t trust anything they say, you know that right?” Kennan moved to kneel in
front of me. “Anything they tell you will probably be misleading and just take
us on a wild goose chase. They can’t be trusted.”

“Have
you ever met them?” 

“No,
but that isn’t the point. I know of their kind. I’ve heard the stories.”

“So,
you’re telling me that in all of your years you have never interacted with them
at all, yet you can adamantly declare that they are up to no good? I find that
hard to believe from someone like you. What happened to the Kennan that thought
for himself and gave people the benefit of the doubt?”

“He
realized that he was naïve and foolish. You almost got killed by my brother
thanks to my forgiving nature. Pardon me if I am leaning towards the side of
caution these days.”

“I
have to find them, Kennan. If they can help me, then I need to go. I already
know that there are people here I can’t trust. Even if I have no clue who they
are. Isadora really could’ve given me a heads up on that one.” I paused looking
down into Kennan’s worried eyes. “We have to do whatever we can to make it stop.
Even if that means going to find people that y’all seem to think are going
against some sort of divine manifest. After talking to Aberto, I am starting to
think that none of y’all really know what you are here for. So, I’m not going
to pass any sort of judgment until I meet them for myself. Will you help me, or
not?”

“Of
course I’ll help you. Unfortunately, the Grand-Seer keeps them on the move. She
is notoriously untrusting of anyone outside of their Order. The last time I
heard, they were in South Dakota near the Badlands. They tend to hide
themselves in places that are hard to find. Ian may know more. He was sort of
raised inside the Order.”

“I
thought you and Ian had known each other for like, ever. What do you mean, he
was raised inside the Order?”

“I
mean, his mom was a member. They don’t demand that you stay there, they give
you a choice of where you feel you most belong. If nothing else will dissuade
you from finding them, just remember how weird he turned out.” Kennan rubbed a
hand down his face in exasperation.

“I’m
going to go find Ian. You coming?” I got up and headed towards the door, not
even waiting for a response. I was getting better at the whole Isadora question
thing.

“I
suppose I don’t have any other choice.” Kennan followed closely behind until we
reached Ian and Molly’s room. Well, Molly’s room that Ian had been camping out
in since her mom had been brought in. Ian didn’t trust Molly to go unsupervised
while her mom was in the same house. I was convinced that Molly would have
shanked her mom by now if it weren’t for him. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,
Izzy. Most of the stories I’ve heard came from Ian.”

“Yeah,
yeah. Stop stalling. I finally have something that I can do, and here you are
trying to keep me from it.”

“Woah
there, scrappy. I’m not trying to keep you from doing what you need to. I’m
just trying to be the voice of reason. Remember, I’m supposed to be keeping you
sane?”

I
glared at him a moment before turning my attention back to the door. Just as I
raised my hand to knock, it opened with Molly staring at me.

“Are
you going to stand out here yapping all night, or come in?” Molly huffed.

“We’re
coming, settle down.” I walked past her into the room, bumping her arm so that
she was thrown off balance. I snickered as Ian swept in to steady her.

“I
wouldn’t have fallen.” Molly sounded exasperated. I was sure the close quarters
with Ian weren’t doing anything to calm her already fragile nerves.

“No
harm in being careful," Ian replied steadily. Sadly, Ian had begun
dressing in more subdued clothes that matched. He’d forsaken his Hawaiian
shirts in favor of button ups, and his kilts in favor or jeans. These were sad
times, indeed.

“What
can we do for you? I’m sure this isn’t a social visit, with everything else
that is going on.”  Molly walked across the room and lowered herself to
the bed, patting the space next to her for me to come and sit. I felt a pang of
guilt as I moved towards her. With everything that had happened over the course
of the last year, she’d always been there for me. Yet, when she needed me the
most, I had to keep the rest of the world grounded and didn’t have time to be
there. It royally sucked. She never once made me feel guilty, she didn’t have
to. I did a good enough job of that on my own.