See How She Runs (18 page)

“I don’t know how," I admitted weakly. It
felt strange admitting to Ian something I could not even tell
Kennan. I was struck with the rightness of my mother sending him
once more. She might have not been a fighter, but her love shaped
me even now.

“Yeah, you do. Don’t get all emo baby on me.
Suck it up, set an objective and figure your shit out. No one can
do it for you," Ian said with finality. How about that for a vote
of confidence? But I knew he was right. I had to stop worrying
about how to do it and just start working at it.

“Alright then, what should I do? I mean, I
know what I would like to do, but I am not sure if it will work," I
said with caution. I had not even discussed my plan with Kennan,
afraid he would balk at it.

“Well, what do you have in mind Pip
Squeak?"

“I am not short," I said defensively. “I was
thinking that I want to take down Xavier. I know that he and Kennan
are brothers, but he seems like he is a key player in the whole
Corporation thing. The trick is to figure out how to get him. I can
summon him in dreams, but I am not really sure how to find him yet.
Then there is the other small thing. I really want to make him
suffer slowly before I take him down. I know it sounds horrible and
maniacal, but he does not deserve a quick fall. He deserves to feel
the pain he has inflicted on thousands of others. So we should hit
him where it will hurt the most, financially.”

“Mwahahaha," Ian said while rubbing his
hands together. “You are a dubious thing aren’t you? Well, you
ready to head on out?"

“Yep. I am ready when you are. Hey, did you
happen to grab the keys to whatever vehicle we are picking up?" I
asked, suddenly realizing my stupidity in not thinking of it
sooner.

“Ummmmm keys," Ian said patting his pockets
and making a big show of it. “You mean these?"

Utility kilts have far too many pockets.

I punched him as I passed checking the map
to make sure I was still heading in the right direction and
thanking God that Kennan plotted most of my escape routes to follow
hiking trails. We hiked on with the same lightness that accompanied
us that morning.

“I am glad you came Ian," I said, surprised
by just how true the sentiment was.

“Me too kiddo. We weirdoes have to stick
together," he said with a knowing look.

I shook my head at him and noticed the
concealed car a few hundred yards away with a very unhappy looking
Kennan leaning against it.

“Gone for a walk? Really, Ian?" Kennan
bellowed.

Instead of looking cowed, Ian looked like he
was about to laugh. I looked between the two of them. Kennan, ready
to rip Ian’s head from his shoulders and Ian, ready to die of
laughter. I turned toward Ian.

“You said you would leave him a note.” Ian
started to interrupt and stopped when I gave him a raised eyebrow.
“A note explaining where we were going, you jack in a box.”

“This is totally not my fault so don’t get
mad at me Kennan. I told him to leave a note." I suddenly felt like
a child explaining why the family heirloom was lying in pieces on
the floor.

“You, I will deal with later," Kennan said
to me before turning on Ian. “And you, you should know better.
Luckily there were only two trails she had not taken yet. And you
would have been at the last one hours ago which gave me time to
reach this one. I should bash your skull in. She is not a joke Ian,
not her. Do we understand one another?”

Ian finally looked serious. He patted Kennan
on the shoulder and said, “I got it man. I didn’t mean to scare
you, honestly. Next time I will leave a detailed itinerary.
Bathroom breaks and all. Now, let’s head home. Little Bit there did
not pack enough for me to eat and I am starving."

Ian, king of distraction.

Kennan shook his head and motioned for us to
get in the old beat Jeep that was parked behind the concealed car.
I supposed it would be better to take a car we had already used
instead of adding to our increasing collection. That many vehicles
might start to look conspicuous. Between Ian and Kennan’s cars and
the two we had brought down from the other trails, it was starting
to look like a used car lot. Maybe more of a junk yard, but I was
not going to harp. Fleers can’t be choosers, or something like
that.

“So guys, do you think that maybe we should
get my getaway cars back to where they belong? It won’t do me much
good to have them all parked in the same place." I looked at the
stock of cars and wondered, not for the first time, where Kennan
found such junkers.

“Yeah, probably. Ian and I can move them
back tonight after dinner," Kennan said as he grabbed the packs
from the car handing me my own.

“Hey, how did I get volunteered to be a
valet?" Ian asked. “I am just here for the beautiful scenery and
spectacular meals." He finished with a wink in my direction.

Kennan smacked him upside the head and said,
“You better not be enjoying the scenery bro.”

**********

SEVENTEEN

We walked back up to the cabin in
companionable chatter, discussing what we could do as a memorial
for my mother. Something, which I was ashamed to admit, had slipped
my mind. We all agreed to hold a ceremony of sorts the following
day. Each of us would say our fondest memory of my mother and we
would wish her well in the afterlife. Kennan told me that
whispering the memories into fire was part of a tradition that went
back many generations. I wondered what other traditions I had
missed out on growing up apart from other Guardians and Seers.

When we reached the clearing Kennan and Ian
stopped abruptly. They pushed me back into the cover of the forest
and turned me into an Izzy sandwich.

“Something feels off man. I am not sure what
is going on here," Ian said in a tone I rarely heard him carry.

“You stay here and keep her safe. Do you
understand me? You make sure she is safe, or I will kill you
myself," Kennan said drilling Ian into the ground with his
stare.

“Where are you going?" I all but
squeaked.

“Down to the house to see what is wrong.
Something feels off. The wards have been tampered with. I need to
make sure nothing is down there waiting for you." Kennan said
before sprinting across the clearing in a blur. I would never get
used to how fast these guys could move. Quicker than I could track
he was back with us.

“So?" I squeaked. I was suddenly a bundle of
nervous energy. Since I was still blocked off from the outside, I
had no way of searching for an answer. I wondered if I were still
connected to the visions if I would have been forewarned about any
impending doom.

“Everything is clear. The wards are down
though," Kennan said.

“Umm,” Ian said sheepishly, “I think that is
my bad, dude.”

I looked at him with confusion in my
eyes.

“Why would you take the wards down?" I
asked, hoping that he was not about to come out and tell me he was
really a bad guy sent to bring me down.

“Well, you see, the thing is, well, maybe I
am not so good at the whammy. I think I accidentally unwhammied the
cabin when I put the block on you. It is all old magic that is not
used very often, okay. And I haven’t had much practice seeing as I
am without Seer.”

Kennan and I just gawked at him. I was more
amused than alarmed. Kennan looked ready to throttle him, which was
nothing new.

“I swear you are a walking disaster, man.
Let’s get back to the cabin and I will show you how to properly put
the wards in place," Kennan said as we walked.

“Sorry," Ian said, looking down at me.

“Hey, you protected my head from outside
interference. That is a start," I said hopefully. I didn’t want Ian
to feel badly about leaving the cabin without wards. After all, I
was not even inside of the thing, so no harm done as far as I was
concerned.

He looped his arm over my shoulder and we
made our way inside.

“I like you, Little Bit," Ian said before
squeezing me into his side.

“I like you too, even if your sense of style
would insight a riot at Fashion Week," I said, pulling myself out
from under his shoulder fearing retribution.

“They would drop their jaws in amazement at
my bold choices," Ian said haughtily.

“You two are ridiculous. Get over here and
let me show you how to put a proper ward in place. And please let
me take the one off of Izzy. I am afraid you might permanently
scramble her brain and she is already unbalanced enough," Kennan
said with a smirk in my direction.

“Hey, don’t the two of you start ganging up
on me. It isn’t fair!" I said as I moved with Ian toward
Kennan.

“It is all part of the training. Now come
here so I can open your brain back up," Kennan said.

I moved toward him, stopping about three
feet away. I was afraid of getting too close. After last night, I
was not sure how to be close to him without jumping on him. He
looked down into my eyes with a heated stare. It was a look that I
was becoming well acquainted with. He grabbed my hands and pulled
me so that my body was practically flush with his own. He looked
down at me and raised his hands to my face, gently brushing his
thumbs over my cheeks.

We stayed that way, entranced with one
another until we heard Ian clear his throat. Kennan shook his head
slightly, as if to pull himself back to the objective. He closed
his eyes and bent his head forward whispering, “
srianta a
tharscaoileadh.”

As soon as the final word was out of his
mouth, I felt the world rush in around me. I didn’t think I would
ever become accustomed to the feeling of my brain being reconnected
to the fog or whatever it was.

“Can I do that to myself? And just what did
you say?" I asked, wondering if I would be able to protect myself
if I ever needed to cut the mental ties.

“You can. It takes a lot of practice, but
mostly it is all about intention. The wards are a fickle thing. The
slightest fluctuation and they won’t work. Hence, there are now a
lack of wards on the cabin," he said with a sharp look in Ian’s
direction.

Ian was performing a thorough examination of
floor.

“So how do you put the wards up again? What
language are you using?" I asked, suddenly curious.

“It is Gaelic. It is not so much the words
or phrases either. The most important thing is focus and intent.
When I lifted the protection from your mind what I said literally
translates to lift restrictions. The ward is put up with the words
‘in safe keeping.’ You have to mentally bend the words to your
will."

“So kind of like faith then. If you believe
you can heal someone, then they are healed. That sort of thing? If
I believe these words will protect me, then they will?" I was
getting excited at the prospect of learning a new trick.

“Something exactly like that. I want you to
mentally reach out as I put up the next ward and see how it feels.
See if you can find the intent and then see if you can find where
the intent and the words coalesce. This is for you as well Ian, so
get over here. One day you will need all of this stuff, so the more
you practice the better equipped you will be," Kennan said, with an
air of haughtiness about him.

“Hey, be nice to Ian. He protected my brain
today," I said with a look toward Ian, affirming my solidarity.

“Fine, my apologies, I did not know you had
Red here to defend your precious honor," Kennan said.

“And don’t you forget it, bro. She is
totally on team Ian," Ian said with a smirk before I smacked him.
The two of them were worse than being housed with a set of actual
brothers.

“Alright, are you paying attention?" Kennan
asked us as though we were petulant children acting out in
class.

“Yes, sir," we said simultaneously with mock
salutes.

Kennan just shook his head with a smile, and
turned his concentration back to the task at hand. I focused as the
Gaelic words poured from him, rolling out a pleasant cadence. I saw
something shift in my mind’s eye. It was as though a blue wall
shimmered into place all around the cabin. It was only visible in
the periphery of my mind.

“That was so cool!" I said as I tried to see
the ward again. But once it had snapped into place, it disappeared
from my vision. “How does this work though? I mean, I can still
have visions while I am in the cabin. So this isn’t like the shield
you put on my mind."

“This is to keep you safe. It is used to
keep the Corporation from being able to track you when you aren’t
aware. It keeps out anything wishing to harm you. Your visions are
not actively trying to hurt you, so you are still able to have
them. You can still walk through the dreaming as well," Kennan said
as he moved toward the kitchen. Ian was fast on his heels.

“FOOOOOOOOD," Ian drawled out like he had
not eaten just a few hours before.

The rest of the evening was spent with me
asking a zillion questions about wards and protections. Kennan
launched into an extensive history lesson on wards and protective
spells, to which Ian fell asleep. Apparently, he did not find it
nearly as interesting as I did. Around eleven, I started to yawn
and realized that I was exhausted.

I looked at Kennan as he wrapped up the
lesson, and was struck by how grateful I was to have a neutral
topic to discuss. As long as I focused on training, I would not
have time to worry about the hot and cold relationship Kennan and I
seemed to be having. I got up and started moving toward my room
hoping to escape into its safety.

I made it about three feet from my door
before Kennan intercepted me. He blocked the path between me and
the door like an immovable mountain. Well, I had wanted to climb
him earlier. Mountain climbing was good training, right?

I looked up into his face and said, “Good
night Kennan," hoping that would bring an end to whatever insanity
he was bringing to my doorstep.