See How She Runs (23 page)

“Sorry, don’t know how to help you," I said,
my voice strained and sounding like someone driving over an old
gravel road. Well, that was new. I wondered if the affectation
would be a permanent one.

“Now, be reasonable. I can make your life
very easy, or I can make it very uncomfortable. Your mother gave me
too many problems and chose the latter for herself. Will you be
smarter than she was? Sorry for your loss by the way," he said
flippantly.

I raged against my confines. I wanted so
badly to wrap my hands around his stupid throat and squeeze until
his face resembled a blueberry. I had never hated anyone before,
never wanted to in fact. Yet there I was. I wanted nothing more
than to destroy the man. I yearned to see him burn for all he had
done to my family and even his own. I pulled as far forward in my
seat as I could.

“I need you to listen very closely, Xavier.
You will kill me before you ever get me to submit to you. I will
fight you every second I am breathing. Make no mistake, my mother
may have come to you willingly, but I did not. The funny thing
really is I am damn near useless with all of these wards up," I
said, nodding my head back. “So, good luck with that," I snarled
before he shoved me back in my seat pressing hard against my breast
bone.

He towered over me. Rage burned in his eyes
and I could tell that it had been a very long time since Xavier had
been denied any request. It really was a pity no one ever taught
him to play nicely. Someone should have been put in a time out a
long time ago.

“Let me help you understand your position,
Izzy. You will submit to me. I am a patient man. I have no scruples
about doing anything necessary to get what I want. I have no grand
sense of morality. So you can push and you can taunt all you want.
Your blustering won’t save you in the end," he said, releasing
me.

He walked to another part of the jet,
leaving me alone with my musings. I looked out of the window with
my blood boiling. I was angry at him, I was angry at myself and I
wanted nothing more than to be free so that I could inflict some
sort of damage. I thought about every step I had taken that led me
to this point. The only thing I knew for certain was that if I ever
got the chance, I would kill Xavier or die trying.

We landed about an hour later, coming into a
city I knew all too well. I was back in Chicago. I looked as the
city I once loved passed by the windows. I glanced back toward
where Xavier was sitting to find him looking directly at me. He
wore a knowing smirk, as if to laugh at some joke I was not in on.
I tore my eyes away from him. I refused to ask what it was about.
In fact, I had decided not talking might be the best thing for
me.

All I had to show for my back talk was a
sore throat and lump on my head. Oh, and let’s not forget the
bruise forming on my breastbone where Xavier had tried to make the
seat and I one entity. Ugh, I was so over this. I just wanted to
know what the evil mastermind had planned. Then I could get in
touch with Kennan.

Well, if he were lurking in the dreaming at
any rate. I sure hoped he was there, because this plan was total
crap otherwise. Not that any of my former plans had turned out so
well. But this one seemed solid. And, well, it was the only one I
had.

Xavier stood and approached me. He unlocked
the cuffs and I rolled my wrists trying to release some of the
soreness. He looked down at me expectantly. I just sat there,
waiting for my next command. I could play the affable captive if I
needed to. Look at me, I am a model prisoner. Hey, I wondered if
there was some sort of early parole for Seers who did the bidding
of the Corporation without giving a fuss. I started to ask Xavier
and then thought better of it. I did not think my body could take
any more abuse this day.

“Would you get out of your seat already?"
Xavier asked, exacerbated.

I nodded and did what he asked. I had so
many clever retorts, but I feared he would not appreciate them the
way Kennan and Ian did. God, I really missed Kennan. I felt myself
in really grave danger of caving and opening myself up to Kennan
before I found out anything of use. I knew that I couldn’t, but not
having him with me made me feel like I had phantom limb syndrome. I
kept starting to ask him something and then I would remember I was
alone.

We deplaned and headed toward yet another
black limo. We took the car straight into the city. I wondered why
I was not being blindfolded. Just as the thought passed through my
mind, a black rag was tied around my head. I tried to fight it off
only to have Xavier "tsk" me again.

“Now, now Izzy. I thought we were finally
getting along. If you start fighting again, we will have to put you
back in shackles. You don’t want to mar that pretty skin of yours
do you?" he asked, running his fingers over my wrist.

It took everything in me not to physically
cringe away from his touch. Something that should have been soft
and seductive was turned into something twisted and frightening. I
sat as still as I could and held my breath. I knew that if he saw
how bothered I was at his touch, he would just use that against me.
"Show no weakness." It was the motto that Ian had drilled into me
for the past four weeks. So instead I put my bravado back in place
and nodded toward Xavier.

He stopped touching me immediately. So he
had done it just to throw me. I supposed there would be many more
tests just like this one. I hoped none of them included confined
spaces. I don’t think I could fake my way out of that. I sat there
with my blindfold on and wondered where we were heading. Each part
of the city had always felt different to me. It all pulsed with a
life of its own, and I wondered if I would still be able to feel
it, even blindfolded.

We stopped, and I was pulled from the car by
what I assumed was a Lurch. Being blindfolded, I could not tell if
it was one, two, or three. I just knew it wasn’t Igor. He was not
tall enough to fit the bill. I was dragged into a building, and I
immediately knew where I was. I was in the building I had delivered
a package to almost two months ago. Time flies when you are on the
run. I waited with the goon squad at what I was hoping was not an
elevator. But my hopes were soon dashed when the telltale ding
announced the death box’s arrival.

I took one last deep breath as discreetly as
I could, fearing my little secret would be discovered. Hell, the
blindfold was about to send me into conniptions as it was. I just
tried to keep it together. It could not be that far up in the
building. I waited as the seconds ticked by. After what seemed like
an eternity later, we arrived on our floor. I was escorted off of
the elevator and the blindfold was removed.

**********

TWENTY THREE

I stood in what looked like a doctor’s
office, or perhaps a lab. Only instead of doctors, there were
ridiculously tall men. Instead of patients, there were women of
various ages. I looked to my left and saw a bay of windows. Inside,
there rested five Seers hooked up to the same machines my mother
had once occupied. I looked away as the tears threatened to spill
over and I took in the rest of my surroundings. To the right there
was a corridor with a sign that indicated dormitories were located
in that direction.

I stood still, not knowing what was expected
of me. I certainly did not want to end up hooked to a machine. If I
got hooked up, I would never be able to find Kennan without being
discovered. So, I decided to continue with my nice captive charade.
My momma always used to say that you attract more flies with honey
than you do vinegar. I never understood why anyone would want to
attract flies, but now it was starting to make more sense.

Xavier motioned with his hand that we were
to move forward into the doctor’s bay. He led me to a physician’s
table and had me climb up and sit. I was growing nervous that they
would be able to lift the wards without my help. Kennan had assured
me that the ones we had used had not been used in over a thousand
years and were far more difficult to break than the ones most Seers
used today. The ones he had me use took a great deal more time and
focus to put in place. So I was counting on his word, and my ward
ability to keep me safe.

I looked around and saw a woman approaching
me. She was followed closely by two more Lurches. Seriously, would
it kill these people to add a little color to their wardrobes? I
mean, didn’t they know that black suits were kind of cliché. Maybe
they bought them in bulk for a discounted price. I pulled my mind
back into focus and looked back at the woman.

She was amiable looking. She had crinkles
around her eyes that spoke of long ago easy smiles. Her hair was
graying around the temples and was plated neatly. The thing that
struck me most was her eyes. They were a brilliant blue, the kind
of blue I had always wanted instead of my indecisive hazel. But
these eyes told of great sadness. She carried so much history in
her eyes that I wanted to weep. I could not imagine what horrors
she must have witnessed to end those easy smiles and replace them
with the grief that now sung out of those beautiful, blue orbs.

She approached the bed slowly. I was getting
tired of being treated like a caged animal. I had not bit anyone,
yet. I looked at her, patiently awaiting whatever my next test
might be. I tried my best to school my features into a blank,
friendly expression, but from the look on her face I didn’t think I
achieved it. The way she stared at me, I was wondering if I more
resembled a deranged chimp. She cocked her head to the side in
question.

“Are you Moira’s girl?" she asked, with a
thick southern accent.

“Yes."

Short and sweet, that was me.

“You look just like her, you know? Well,
close enough that anyone could tell you were kin at any rate. Well,
Baby Doll, I need to check you out. Make sure nothing is broken and
all that. It shouldn’t hurt." She said the last with a sigh, like
she wanted to be doing anything but this.

“What are you going to do?" I asked, knowing
that this was no ordinary physical.

“Well, I need to check your brain out and
see if those wards you put up can be taken down. I also need to
check and see if you are getting any information from the outside."
She looked down at the chart in her hands and nodded. “Ready?" she
asked before putting her hands on either side of my head.

I could feel a pressure building in my head.
I knew that she was unable to penetrate whatever wall she was
trying to push down. Suddenly, I heard her voice in my head. I had
to school my features so as not to show my surprise.

“I am so sorry about your momma. I wish that
I could have done more to help her. I wish I was strong enough to
help you. But they have my Molly. I can’t let any harm come to her.
I am sorry." She breathed out heavily, as if she was taxed by what
she was doing.

“How can I hear you, are my wards broken?
Can all of the Seers jack into my head like this?" I asked,
terrified. I did not know any other Seers, for all I knew we were
all hooked up to the same wavelength.

“Your wards are safe sweetheart. Good strong
strapping ones at that. And no, not all Seers can jack into your
head. That is just something my Molly and I can do. We all have our
own talents you know." She finished and dropped her hands.

“These wards are unlike anything I have ever
seen. They were done with very old magic. Stuff that has not been
used in at least a thousand years. If you want a crack at what is
in this girl’s head, you better get your scholars working," she
said to Xavier, before sending an apologetic look my way. I knew
she had her daughter to protect, but dang it, I wanted someone in
my corner.

Molly, where had I heard that name before? I
knew her. She was the one that had lied to cover my tracks. She had
known exactly where I was and she had saved my skin. Well, at least
until I had served myself up on a platter. I should have shoved an
apple in my mouth while I was at it.

“So, what now chief?" I asked Xavier. For
once, I did not add any heat to the question.

“Now we get you situated in a room. If you
behave, you will be allowed to socialize with the other Seers. If
you act out, we will hook you to a machine and see if it can’t sort
out those pesky wards of yours," Xavier said with a nod toward some
of his men.

They moved toward me and each grabbed an
elbow. I wondered if I was to be dragged to my room or carried. The
way they lifted me from the table looked like some sort of Broadway
parody. I was tired, if they wanted to carry me the whole way, I
would not have objected. I looked back to where Xavier stood, a
questioning look in his eyes.

“I will be keeping an eye on you, so don’t
start any more trouble. Am I understood?" his voice the same cold I
had come to hate.

Where Kennan was all warmth and comfort,
like a warm fire and good book, Xavier was like the frozen tundra.
I was glad to be rid of him, but wondered at his warning. How would
he be watching me? Would I get a Lurch of my very own? Oh happy,
happy, joy, joy. It was just what I had always wanted. I looked
skeptically at the men on each of my elbows.

Both men were gorgeous. I wasn't sure they
came any other way around these parts. Well, if they were of the
Guardian variety at any rate. I let them walk/drag me down the hall
where the dormitories were. I kept a close eye on all of my
surroundings. I knew that if I ever wanted to escape this place, or
be busted out, I would have to be able to relate as much
information as I could.

We made a turn down another hall and I was
greeted by at least twenty doors on either side of me. It looked a
whole lot like that hall in the movie
The Shining
. All that
was missing were the twin girls at the other end. I breathed a sigh
of relief when I was unceremoniously dumped into the equivalent of
a cheap motel room.