Seeing is Believing (2 page)

“Where are we?” I stepped out into the dense air, slowly surveying my surroundings. Cypress trees sprouted up from the water in all directions. I looked up to the canopy of trees and watched as Spanish moss danced eerily in the wind. Wherever this was, it was creepy, and swampy. I was pretty sure an alligator was going to rush out of the water at any moment to chomp me to tiny Molly bits. I was so not going out that way!

“We’re in the Okeefenokee swamp. It is the latest headquarters of the Order,” Bruce supplied, pulling our bags from the helicopter.

“What do you mean latest?” Unable to pull my attention away from the strange calmness of the black water, I hoped at least one of the men would answer me.

“The Order moves frequently to avoid detection. They are a mistrustful lot and have been living on the outskirts of the Council for thousands of years.” Bruce handed Ian our bags and motioned for us to follow him.

Trying to carry my own bag would’ve been a useless endeavor, so I didn’t even offer. I’d learned over the past few months to pick my battles with Ian. Otherwise, we would be fighting continuously.

Bruce led us through the swamp on a rickety old boardwalk comprised of what looked like three pieces of rotting two-by-fours hastily nailed together. The water sloshed around my feet, causing the alligator fear to resurface. I really didn’t want to be eaten by a scaly dinosaur-looking critter. It was on the top of the ways I absolutely did not want to go out; right up there with drowning and fire. Reaching forward, I grabbed onto Ian’s shirt to steady myself. I could swallow my pride and let him help me this once.

“You okay?” Ian’s normally playful voice was strained. Tension radiated from his every pore, and I cursed myself for being so self-involved. Ian was about to return to the people he had not seen in thousands of years. Well, most of them were probably gone, but some surely remained.

“Are you?” I asked in return, hoping he would give me an honest answer for once.

“Fine,” Ian gritted out. Yep, that was totally believable. One of the things I loved about Ian was that he was a terrible liar. Okay, not loved. I absolutely did not love Ian. Nope. Just strongly liked. Yeah, one of the things I strongly liked about him. That sounded better.

“Molly, you are gripping my shirt a bit too tightly,” Ian murmured, turning my attention to my white-knuckled grip on his t-shirt.

“Sorry.” The apology left my lips as we came to a dilapidated house in the middle of the swamp. How this place had even gotten here was beyond me. The fact it hadn’t been swallowed up by the swamp years ago was a miracle. Everything about the house screamed “I’m haunted, don’t come in here” or “Must have a current tetanus shot to enter.” Either way, the place wasn’t inviting at all.

“Brother.” Conall, still caked in blood, came out to embrace Ian. Tears fell silently from his eye that gleamed with both sadness and ferocity. Something wild lingered there. Something I’d never seen in his eye before. “There was nothing any of us could have done. He knew. He told me as we entered the battlefield not to interfere. He made me swear an oath.”

“But why?” Ian’s voice choked in his throat.

“There is much to be discussed. Much that you must know.” Conall pulled back, holding Ian by the shoulders. The two men looked at one another, a silent conversation passing between them before nods were exchanged.

“So, this is the Order?” I asked awkwardly, unsure of what I should be doing. Ever since I’d left the lab, I’d felt like a fish out of water.

“It is. We should go in, everyone has been waiting for you.” The way Conall leveled me with his stare sent chills rushing down my spine.

I looked to Ian for help, but all I got in return was a look of trepidation. It seemed neither of us wanted to take the first step into the house. This wasn’t my first rodeo, though, so I would bite the bullet and take the plunge.

The house bombarded me with despair as I entered. The loss felt by all of the Seers and Guardians coalesced and threatened to topple me. Gasping for air, I bent, trying to block out all of the emotions, but failing miserably.

“Sena!” Conall shouted to the house.

A sudden rush of calm washed away the fear, pain, and despair. I looked up into the eyes of a Seer I’d never met. Her face betrayed no emotion.

“Thank you. I don’t know what you did, but thank you.” I wiped tears from my face, attempting to stand upright once more. Somehow, in the span of a few seconds, I’d begun impersonating Quasimodo.

“If it ever becomes too much, just let me know. I can help,” she said, turning to walk up the stairs. “If you would please follow me, we have been waiting.”

“Who is she?” I whispered to Ian, hoping he would know what had just happened.

“I don’t know,” Ian replied, his entire body rigid.

“Are you all right? If we need to leave, we can. You say the word.” Threading my fingers in his, I hoped I could give him what little strength I still possessed.

“We can’t leave. They deserve better from us.” Ian’s reply was despondent, as if there were no other choice but to face what he’d been running from for thousands of years.

“He wouldn’t have asked this of you, and neither would she.”

“Perhaps not, but I should have been here. I shouldn’t have turned my back on them when they needed me the most.” Ian’s choked reply was interrupted by a woman that looked shockingly familiar.

“Welcome home, my love,” the woman said, wrapping her arms around Ian.

“This has not been my home for many years, Mona.” Ian tried to pull away, but the woman held firm.

“Nonsense, this has always been your home. You left because you needed to. You were always destined to return.” Mona pulled back, resting a hand on Ian’s cheek. Her gaze turned toward me, and I saw something in her eyes I’d never seen in her sister’s. This woman channeled unimaginable power. “You must be Molly.”

“Yes,” I squeaked out, again unsure what I should be doing. Maybe a curtsy would be appropriate?

“It is an honor to finally meet you.” Mona reached for my hand to hold it tightly in hers.

“Finally?” I asked. The whole situation had knocked me off balance from the moment I stepped foot in the door.

“There is much to be discussed. Some questions will have to wait, while others can be addressed now. First, let’s get you settled. Sena will show you to your room, then we will review what has transpired and what is yet to come.” Officially dismissed, she turned and walked back into her room, shutting the door behind her.

“If you will follow me, I have your room ready,” Sena said, her eyes still glossed with tears.

“Thank you.” I reached out for her hand to squeeze it.

“It’s just a room, I’m not giving you a kidney or anything,” Sena responded.

“No, not for the room, for earlier. I don’t know what you did, but that was the first time in a long time I haven’t been overwhelmed by what everyone was feeling.” My talents had developed in a way not even Xavier had anticipated. They had all thought I would just be able to read minds, but instead, I was becoming an empath.

“Like I said, if you need me, let me know. Lord knows I’ve had to calm dog boy down enough.” Sena looked over to Conall who was glowering back in her direction.

“I thought we’d discussed the name,” he all but growled, giving credence to her nickname.

“Don’t be so sensitive,” Sena responded, stopping outside of a door. “This is your room. There will be a meeting in a couple of hours downstairs. If you need anything, just holler.”

She turned, patting her leg as she walked, leaving Conall to glower after her. I had no idea what was going on with the two of them, but I was sure it had something to do with the wildness I’d witnessed in his eye, earlier.

“Well, that was strange,” I muttered as I made my way into our room. It was surprisingly cozy, considering the house’s exterior looked as though the building should have been condemned a long, long time ago.

“This whole situation is strange,” Ian replied, closing the door behind him. “Are you okay sharing a room, or are you going to pitch a fit?”

“I don’t pitch fits, I express my opinions. There is a difference.” Shooting him the evil eye, I continued, “Besides, it doesn’t seem like there are that many rooms available here. I think we can manage to share a space for a few nights.”

“But will you share the bed?” Ian raised a brow in my direction, sending a tingling sensation down to my toes.

“Only with the requisite pillow divider between us,” I challenged.

“Fine by me.” Ian dropped our bags by the dresser and fell onto the bed, sighing deeply.

“How are you?” I sat down on the bed next to him, leaning my body up against the wall.

“I’ll survive.” Ian closed his eyes. The determination hardened his face as his resolve cemented.

“They didn’t seem like they don’t want you here. I mean they looked excited to see you.” The whole situation was making my brain hurt.

“I’m sure the worst is yet to come.” He mumbled.

The wrinkle between his brows made my fingers itch to smooth it, to ease the burden. It was getting harder and harder to resist his obnoxious charm. Especially when he wasn’t doing his best to annoy me to death. Right now, in this room, it was all I could do to deny the truth. Willfully keeping my hands in place, I surveyed the room. Distraction was key.

“So, why did you leave?” Me and my big mouth. Once again, good old brain decided to bypass the filter portion of the thought-to-speech process.

“I left because I no longer felt I had a place here. The Grand Seer of the time all but told me my destiny did not belong here, and I would be better suited to leave all I’d grown to know and love in search of something more. Basically, I wasn’t good enough,” Ian said bitterly. He opened his eyes, and the pain that hovered there made so many more questions bubble to the surface.

“Perhaps you needed to hear that in order to fulfill your purpose. Maybe they never wanted you to leave in the first place.”

“Don’t defend them, Molly. I was tossed from my home, my friends, into an unforgiving world. If it hadn’t been for Kennan, I would’ve been alone.”

“How did you meet Kennan?” The questions kept pouring from me. I couldn’t seem to help myself.

“What is this, twenty questions?” Ian sat up, moving to lean against the wall next to me. His warmth radiated against my skin, beckoning me closer. Nope, I would practice my statue impersonation. Resistance wasn’t quite futile, yet.

“There’s just so much I don’t know about you. You never tell me anything real. Between you jumping into the fray and playing practical jokes on me, I don’t really know much. I’m just trying to figure you out, I guess.” Looking over, I found Ian studying my face.

“I will answer any of your questions, except those about Kennan. I’m not ready yet.” Ian reached down to entwine his fingers with mine. The contact sent a wave of pain and loss ripping through me. Gasping, I tried my best not to pull my hand away. I could do this. Just breathe.

“What’s with the clothes?” I ground out, trying to balance my emotions with his.

A deep chuckle rumbled from him, shaking the bed. “The clothes? Really, that’s where you are going to start?”

“If you’d seen yourself when I first met you, you would start there, too.” For the first time in a small eternity, a smile graced his lips.

“It all started as a sort of defense mechanism, I suppose.” Ian’s lips twitched into a sideways smile as a memory danced behind his eyes. “When I first left the Order, I didn’t feel as though I belonged anywhere. I was a fish out of water. I didn’t fit in with the Guardians that had been brought up within the Council, nor could I contact my friends from the Order. I was lost. The only thing I felt I had control over was my appearance. It started as a joke, more or less. I thought if I am going to stick out, I might as well do it to the best of my abilities. It made me feel better.” Ian’s smile vanished, leaving him to stare at me, bracing for the next question.

“Do you miss it?” I wondered. I’d never given much thought to why he’d dressed that way. I’d just wanted him to change it.

“No, I haven’t needed it in a long time. The clothes are more of a habit, now, than the coping mechanism they once were. Then there is you. You seem to prefer me in matching clothes.”

“But you shouldn’t change for me. That doesn’t make any sense.” Guilt washed over me. I knew I’d been hard on him about the way he dressed. It was just the only thing I could find to pick on him about. Everything else about him was so damned perfect; it was unnerving.

“Clothes are just clothes; besides, one of these days, you are going to prefer me without them.” He winked in my direction, sending that warmth rushing through my body once more.

“On that note, I think they are probably waiting on us.” I hopped up off of the bed, putting as much distance between us as I could manage.

“Chicken,” Ian snickered, following me from the room.