See How She Falls (8 page)

“But,
you look,” I struggled to breathe, barely getting the words out, “just like
her.” Tears flowed down my cheeks. Nothing made sense.

“We
were twins, dear one.” My supposed aunt lifted her hands to cup my face, before
gently placing a kiss on my forehead. “There will be time for answers later.
For now, you must know the warning we were given. A warning meant for you
alone.”

“Just
tell me. I really feel like I need to get back to my body soon.” The exhaustion
pulled at me. My emotions were in turmoil as a thousand questions raged inside
my head. But, much like Aberto, this woman seemed all too willing to let me
wait them out.

She
nodded once before she blankly stared ahead. In a matter of seconds she became
nothing more than a mouthpiece. It was the creepiest thing I’d ever seen, and
I’d seen some pretty creepy crap over the past year. Her voice came out
booming, a voice that in no way could ever belong to her.

“Stop
the darkness, or the world shall fall. Seer, you have been changed beyond
recognition. You were never meant to be, yet always meant to be. For the price
of what you’ve been given, you must pay. You will fall, but in your fall, you
will save them from darkness. Seek out your strengths, use your allies, and
wage the war that must be waged.” There was an audible snap as my alleged aunt
came back to herself.

“That
is the worst. I hate when the Big Guy does that.” She shook herself as if
trying to brush off whatever remained of the message.

“Umm,
so was that God just talking to me?”

“One
of them. Or maybe it was one of the chief angels. I’m never really sure who is
going to use me as a mouthpiece. It is a most unfortunate talent to be blessed
with," she said the last part loudly towards the sky, as if the gods cared
what they did with her.

I
was beginning to resent them. It felt as if we were nothing more than pieces in
their grand game of chess. And endless cycle played out between heaven and hell
with no real winner. I didn’t want to play anymore. I didn’t want to be locked
in a stalemate with no hope to escape. I began to panic.

Reality
slipped through my fingers like so many grains of sand snapping me out of my
corporeal form. I needed to get back. I needed to be in my body, away from
here. My mind raced in a panic. I looked up at Aberto, breathing out once,
before I felt myself pulled into the dreaming. I heard him shout my name as I
slipped back, pulled by some invisible string into the fog. I couldn’t tell if
I’d done it in my panic, or if it was something altogether different.

Chapter
Nine

“ABERTO!”
My panicked voice rang out, echoing eerily through the fog. “Fantastic, just
freaking awesome. How in the hell am I supposed to get back now?” I mumbled,
making my way through the fog.

An
overwhelming sense of oppressions swept over me as I ran through the fog. Every
moment of the past few years played out in my mind as I sought my way back
home. Moments of fear and pain, moments of sadness, they all coalesced, forming
an impenetrable wall. It was too much; the changes happening within me, the
secrets, the terrifying truth of what my future may hold; and as my strength
depleted, I began to fall. My resolve fled me in an instant, leaving me to the
unpardonable truth. My death beckoned me, pulling me deeper into the darkness.
Lost to the world, I fell to my side. The truth settled around me like a
cocoon. I would never be enough.

As
I let the inevitability sink in, I heard it. A familiar voice called out of the
fog. A voice I hadn’t heard for two months, yet there he stood. The culmination
of nightmares and fears wrapped into the body of a cloaked figure. My future
cradled in the palms of his crushing hands. Motionless, I was rooted to my
place. The unchangeable darkness, the coming storm, it all pushed down upon me.

He
moved towards me, cutting a path through the fog to stand above me like some
sort of centurion. The robe covered all but his sneering mouth. The mouth that
housed the words that would end me. “Do you see it now? The inevitability? This
world will burn for its sins, Izzy. These people, they don’t deserve the grace
they are given, or the protection of our kind. Why not just join us? Fighting
really is futile.” 

The
hopelessness pushed against me, prodding me, taunting me. Swallowing deeply, I
rose to my knees. I’d never been a quitter, I wouldn’t start now. I’d been
warned that the darkness would call for me, that it would tempt me. Strength I
didn’t know I possessed rose up within me. Whatever this person was doing, I
could fight it. I could fight him. Taking a deep breath, I stood on shaking
legs to face the robed figure.

“I
will do everything in my power to protect this world from whatever it is you
are trying to bring.”

“Look
down at your leg, Izzy. Do you really think that you can stop us? Just two more
runes and the bridge will be complete. Your fight was lost before it began.”

At
his words, the burning began on my calf, ripping deep into my soul. I knew that
when I awoke, I would have another mark. I wondered if this one would be my
undoing. My rubbery legs failed me, and as I began to fall I heard a laugh.

“I
will die before I let you do this.”

“Yes,
you will. But really, your death won’t do anything to stop the darkness. It
shall end all.”  He paused, turning back towards me as the fog engulfed
him. “Not even Aberto can save you from this.” His voice dripped with distain,
his words echoing through the fog as he faded away.

“Yeah,
fat lot of good he’s done me lately," I muttered miserably. I sat there,
thinking about the man that had been there. I needed to get back to my body.
Eleanor and I had some more searching to do. I thought about my body, laying in
the office. Breathing deeply, I closed my eyes. “Please let this work.”

The
dreaming spun around me quickly as I was thrown out into the office where my
body rested. Conall, Kennan, and Aberto were all there shouting at one another.
As I made my way on unsteady legs back to my body, Aberto turned towards me.
The fear in his eyes was unmistakable.

“She
has returned," he said, moving towards me as I mended my battered soul
back into my body.

“Izzy,
what happened?” Kennan knelt by me as I struggled to open my eyes.

“Another
rune, I have an aunt, Aberto is a giant liar face, secret keeping, butt
munch," I muttered almost incoherently.

“Milady,
you are speaking in riddles. What happened? Have you been marked again?” Conall
assessed me, trying to find where I’d been marked.

I
lifted my right leg and pointed lazily at the calf that was now caked in blood.
I was so tired of these jerks ruining all of my clothes. I’d only packed three
pairs of jeans, and this was the second pair they’d ruined.

“It
must be treated," Aberto, the obvious, said.

“Where
were you?” I looked at him, struggling to stay conscious. “I called for you.”

“I
couldn’t find you, Izzy. You were blocking again, or they were. I am not
certain.” His eyes filled with remorse and unuttered apologies. “Rest now,
there will be time for answers later.” 

“There’s
no time for rest.” Tears filled my eyes as I choked back the reality. “It’s
coming, there are only two runes left before it is here. Whatever they are
summoning, it is meant to make people pay for their sins. They don’t believe
the world is deserving of protection, so they mean to punish it. We can’t let
that happen. There isn’t time to sit here and rest. Something has to be done, a
price must be paid. You heard what she said, Aberto. The cost of what you did
is that I must fall.” My panicked voice rose to a pitch.

“No.”
Aberto stood abruptly. “NO!” His shout rang through the office, shaking the
walls. “It was not her doing. Why must you always ask the impossible?” Aberto’s
voice echoed, reaching the heavens themselves.

“Enough.”
Kennan brushed the hair out of my eyes. “This isn’t helping anyone. Izzy, you
need to rest. I know that you want to get moving, that you think if you take
any time for yourself that people will be hurt. I’m here to tell you, if you
don’t take some time for yourself, you won’t be strong enough. One night will
not hurt you. Rest now, and in the morning we will search for answers.” 

“Forgive
me," Aberto said as he faded into nothing.

“Izzy,
you need to treat this.” Conall’s voice dragged me from my fuzzy thoughts.

“Bring
me the stuff.” I looked up at Kennan. The worry in his eyes broke me.  

Conall
brought the first aid kit, well the Guardian’s version of one, over to me. He
pulled out everything I would need to treat the wound as I rolled up my pant
leg. There on my leg was a rune I hadn’t seen before. If only this one had
appeared two months ago. Then maybe we would’ve known that whatever was
happening to me had nothing to do with the other Seers dying. Hindsight was for
the birds.

I
got busy cleaning my leg as Kennan pulled Conall to the side. Their faces were
somber as they discussed the transpiring events. They’d seen this before with
Cait, and I knew that watching me go down the same road was tearing both of
them apart. Seemingly forgetting my new super senses, they carried on a
conversation they seemed to believe me unable to hear. Doing my best to act as
though I couldn’t hear every word, I smoothed on the healing cream.

“She
is fading fast. We must act soon.” Conall’s voice was strained.

“She
doesn’t know about any of that yet. She doesn’t need to know. Not now. It won’t
do her a bit of good. When the time comes, we will do what we must.” Kennan’s
hand lifted to his face as he turned to look at me. It seemed I wasn’t that
great at eavesdropping after all. Multi-tasking had never really been my thing.

“Izzy,
you need to rest now.” Kennan moved across the room to smoothly lift me from
the couch.

“Okay.”
I knew he was right. I needed to sleep in a bad way. The rune could wait until
the morning. The explanations could wait for a few hours. I would be absolutely
no good to anyone if I didn’t take better care of myself. “I’m ready. Can you
block me, please?”

“Of
course.” Kennan’s lips moving soundlessly against my hair was the last thing I
felt before I slipped into oblivion.

Chapter
Ten

Was
this the dreaming? No, it couldn’t be. After all, Kennan had blocked me. I took
a wary step, unsure of where I may be. The surroundings drew me in like a warm
blanket, a reassuring weight. The fog drifted around my ankles as I moved
through, growing ever closer to the source of comfort, the beacon that drew my
soul. The voices grew louder as the fog parted, revealing my mother and aunt.
Leaden feet pulled me to a stop as I struggled to gasp for air. It was a
memory, a glimpse at something long past.

“Why
must it be her? Surely there is some other way. Some way for me to take her
place," my mother pleaded.

“Look
at her, you know it must be this way. You’ve been with her since her first
breath, surely you knew that her life would not be like that of any other Seer.”
My aunt pointed out into the fog at a child playing. I looked more closely at
the joyous figure until the truth finally settled in my bones. “She’s been
jumping into the dreaming since she first began to dream. More time will pass,
more memories will form. Her sanity is set on a precarious ledge. You must
protect her. You must protect yourself. She must come of age.”

“Oh,
stop being a mouthpiece. This is my daughter we are talking about. How can you
ask me to sacrifice my only child?”

“We
ask that you sacrifice so much more. You must give her a life separate from
your kind. Raise her in ignorance of what she is, yet protect her. When the
time comes, you must leave her. This is not a choice. If you do not do this,
the world will fall to the darkness. She will either be this world’s savior or
downfall. Failure to do as we ask will result in a world filled with chaos and
destruction.”

“But
why?” Sobs racked my mother’s body as she struggled with words that refused to
sink in. Broken, my mother sobbed, unable to keep the hurt from her face,
unable to be strong. I looked at her, wondering how she could’ve written me
letters hoping for a good life, a life separated from this when she knew. She’d
always known. Perhaps it was denial, perhaps fear, either way I resented the
hope they represented and the life that might’ve been.

“Why
is not for you to understand. It must be so.” My aunt shook herself as if
trying to get rid of the last bit of whatever had been speaking through her.
“I’m so sorry.” Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

“Promise
me, promise you will protect her. If I must leave her, then you be there. You
find her, and you take care of my baby for me.”

“I
promise. But I don’t think that she will be friendless in this world, my dear
sister.” My aunt nodded towards the little girl. There, playing
ring-around-the-rosie, was Aberto. “I do believe that the Old One will guard
her well.”