See How She Falls (13 page)

I
started to follow her, but caught Conall in my periphery staring at her,
aghast. I’d only seen that look on one Guardian before, and I knew exactly what
it meant. Conall had just found his Seer.

“Really?”
I sighed. “Her? It couldn’t have been a tame, mild-mannered sort?” I huffed,
grabbing his hand to pull him in my wake. I had no time for these shenanigans.

“I
can’t belong to someone in the Order, Izzy. Something must be wrong,"
Conall whispered as he dropped my hand. He continued to follow me with a look
of terror on his face.

“The
universe is a mysterious place," Kennan muttered, leading the way behind
Sena.

When
we finally arrived, after what seemed like miles of hiking through swamp, I
finally got a good look at the house I had previously visited in spirit. The
house was some strange hybrid of cabin and plantation home that had been
weathered. Grayed wood rose up out of the swamp on a peninsula that looked
ready to sink into the water at any moment. The rusted tin roof would surely
crumble at the slightest touch. I wondered how a bird hadn’t just fallen
through upon landing, yet. Even with its dilapidated exterior, the house was a
bizarrely beautiful place. The ruin had a life, and that life spoke to
something deep within me. If there was ever a haunted house, this one would be
it.

“Hey,
Aberto, when we walk in, can you say ‘Boo’?” I was sticking with the whole Aberto
was a ghost train of reasoning. Sena snickered, making me like her instantly.
Maybe she wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“I
will not," Aberto muttered, passing me without a spared glance.

“Well,
just ruin all of my fun.” 

“One
of these days, he is going to turn you into a frog, Red," Kennan
snickered, bending to kiss me on the head.

“Can
he really do that?” I asked with wide eyes, to which Kennan shrugged.

“Keep
messing with him, and you may just find out.” He smiled his half smile before
disappearing into the should-be haunted, swamp house.

I
followed reluctantly, worried that I might begin sprouting warts at any moment.
At least I was in the swamp, frogs liked the swamp. I heard a holler for
everyone to move out of the way as we entered the house. It seemed my alleged
aunt had been told of our arrival.

“Finally!
We need to talk, niece.” She didn’t hesitate, grabbing my arm and pulling me
behind her swiftly.

“Okay,
maybe a little slower?” I was struggling to keep up with her long strides up
the stairs to her room. The house seemed vastly different than the last time
I’d been there. The colors were somehow brighter, and the smells were more
prominent.

“We
have no time for slow, it is coming, and fast. You must prepare or perish.
Those are your choices. If you wish to blindly fall into the whole “Prophecy
chosen one” thing, then so be it. But, I made your momma a promise, and I
intend to keep it.” This woman was a whole ball of crazy if she thought we
could stop the prophecy.

Where
my mother had been calm, serene, and well-put together, this woman was a hot
mess. She was buzzing with frenetic energy that seemed to bounce and zap around
her as she moved. It was as if my mother and aunt were balancing the different
ends of the spectrum. It made me wonder if my mother’s death had thrown off the
balance somehow.

“Of
course it did, my dear.”  ’d always wanted a crazy aunt. I guess I
should’ve been more careful what I wished for.

“Please
don’t do that, or if you do eavesdrop, just pretend you aren’t. It creeps me
out.” I flopped into the first chair I saw once we entered the room. The near
crash of the helicopter, fine the landing, and the hike had done me in.

“Oh,
sorry. I forget sometimes. I’m sure you know how it is. After two hundred
years, things can get a bit fuzzy. Well, of course you don’t know the two
hundred years part. I’m rambling, aren’t I?” She smoothed her dress down,
lowering herself into a chair directly in front of me.

“What
should I call you?” I had yet to figure out the woman’s name, and calling her
Grand Seer seemed a bit too formal for family.

“Mona.
That’s what your mother called me.” She smiled brightly.

“Is
Mona your name?” The way she’d phrased it confused me.

“No.
I honestly don’t remember what my given name was. When we were young, your mom
used to call me Moan-a all of the time. It started after I became a speaker box
for the heavens. I would whine and moan about the headaches afterward. So, to
take my mind off of the pain, she used to call me sad little Moan-a.” She
smiled fondly at what I thought a very strange memory.

“Well
that wasn’t very nice of her.” I was confused how a name like that could bring
on fond memories.

“No,
she was baiting me. You see, I was always the competitive one between the two
of us. Your mom knew that if she made it seem like she was the stronger Seer it
would drive me to be better, and handle my gifts more efficiently. She was
taking care of me, like she always did.” She paused looking down at her hands
for a moment before looking into my eyes. “What started as a joke, became a
constant reminder from my sister that I was strong enough to endure this.”

“I
miss her.” I hadn’t thought about my mom much in the last months. I’d been
trying to keep my attention on everything but her absence. But now, in the
presence of the only living family I had left, the reality came like an
unwelcome slap to the face.

“I
know, I do too.” Mona moved from her seat to engulf me in a familiar hug. “But,
we must move forward. Dwelling in the past will do nothing to save us from what
is coming. I need you to be a strong girl now. Okay?” She pulled back, leaving
her hands on my shoulders to assess me.

“I
know. I just haven’t thought much about her and seeing you brings it all back
to the surface.” I wiped my eyes and nodded, grounding myself in the present.
If the prophecy was right, I would be seeing her again soon at any rate.

“We
need to discuss what I’ve been seeing.” Mona moved back to her seat and stared
at me gravely. Gone was the kind aunt that I’d just seen. The woman sitting
before me was a leader, a force to be reckoned with.

“Well,
let’s get it over with shall we?” I didn’t see any point in postponing the
inevitable.

“One
moment.” My aunt closed her eyes and shook out her shoulders, when she began
speaking again, it was no longer her words. “Guard yourself Seer, the darkness
shall arise soon. Look not for answers in the fog, for they lie within you.
There are enemies at your gates, trust not what you see, but what you feel. The
time has come for you to pay the price for the gifts that have been bestowed.
Fail and all of your struggles will be for naught.” 

It
would be super awesome if the Big Guy would just give me a simple road map
instead of sending me riddles that were impossible to decipher. Or better yet,
not just telling me what I already knew. And the whole bit about me paying for
the gifts, it wasn’t like I’d asked to be born a Seer. As far as I was
concerned they could just take their gifts back.

“What
am I meant to do? Why won’t you just tell me who you are and be done with it?”

“You
are meant to fulfill the prophecy. That is both your blessing and curse. As for
who I am, when the time comes, all shall be revealed.” And just like that my
aunt was back to herself, mumbling curses about being used as a loudspeaker.
The name Mona was beginning to make more sense.

“Well,
did you get anything useful?” My aunt asked.

“Just
more riddles, like always," I yawned loudly, trying to suppress my
exhaustion.

“Let’s
find you somewhere to sleep. I won’t have my niece falling over from
exhaustion. That just won’t do!” My aunt got up from her seat, leading me
half-asleep, to the door.

“What
did you find out?” Kennan asked as we exited the room.

“I
found out that the people running the heavens are even more elusive than you
lot. So, pretty much, a whole lot of nothing.”

“Are
you telling me that we have journeyed all this way for nothing?” Aberto’s
incredulous voice brought more of my attention back to my surroundings.

“I’m
not sure yet. Honestly, I’m so tired I could fall over right now. So, my
suggestion is that I get some sleep, and maybe just maybe I will have some
answers in the morning.”

“You
and your Guardian can use this room. Conall and Aberto may share the room next
to that. These rooms are reserved for our visitors. Sena will answer any
questions you may have.” With that, my aunt disappeared back into her room to
be replaced by Sena.

“Alright,
let’s get you interlopers settled, shall we?” Sena opened the door to Conall
and Aberto’s room, gesturing for them to enter.

“Sena,
is there a place where we may discuss something privately?” Conall looked
nervous as he addressed her.

“Not
a chance, dog boy. You Council lot are always trying to stir up trouble. So,
get this in your head real quick like, it ain’t happening.” She eyed him
steadily as if he had just propositioned her to give up her maidenhood. “Now,
go on in and get Abe settled, he looks a bit restless.”

“I
did not mean…” Conall trailed off, completely confounded by Sena’s response.

“Whatever.
In with you. I’ve got other business to handle and you are wasting my time.”
Sena turned her attention to us as a befuddled Conall disappeared into the
room. “As for the two of you, you will be here.”

“Why
did you call him dog boy?” Out of everything she’d said that one had stuck with
me. It brought me back to the bizarre vision I’d seen on the plane.

“You
don’t know? Oh, this is going to be a riot when you figure it out. Priceless.”
She was near the point of hysterical laughter. “In with you now, go on. I’ll
explain everything later, if your Guardian lets me.”

I
walked into the sparsely furnished room, with what I was sure was a similar
expression to Conall’s, utter confusion. My exhaustion pulled at me, there was
no way I would be able to think about anything else. I needed to sleep, and
quickly. Before Kennan could even utter a word, I collapsed to the floor, never
making it to the bed.

Chapter
Sixteen

Apparently
my protection marks were no longer doing me a lick of good. I could feel him in
the fog, the bringer of the darkness. I’d been summoned yet again, and I knew
when I awoke I would have another mark. I hoped that I would at least be able
to find out who was behind the marks. Perhaps then I would have a better chance
of stopping what was coming.

“That
would be a helpful bit of information, would it not?” The robed figure emerged
from the fog with a grotesque monster following in his wake. The demon was in
the dreaming, which meant it was even closer to reality. I watched it flicker
in and out of existence; there and gone again. Never settling on this plane
completely. It made me nauseous, as if I were staring straight at a strobe
light.

I
swallowed deeply, fighting the nausea. Tired of the games, the mystery, I ran
full-force toward the robed figure. Enough was enough. I used every ounce of
the power that I’d gotten from Aberto to make it to him in time to rip his hood
down.

His
hand shot out sending me flying backwards to land painfully on my back. The man
moved to stand over me, a snarl gracing his ruined face. A crescent shape scar
dissected his eyebrow and extended downward to culminate at the corner of his
mouth, turning the corner up in a constant sneer. Surrounding the scar were a
network of spider web-like scars. Lowering himself, he pinned my stomach down
with a knee, simultaneously encircling my neck with an iron grip, threatening
to cut off my life.

“You
should be grateful that we need you to form this bridge. Otherwise, I would
have ended you long ago.”

I
tried to fight the tears flowing down my cheeks as he pulled a stylus out and
began to dig deeply into my arm, forming one of the last runes. I thought of
Aberto and wished more than anything that he could be there, to somehow protect
me from this man they way he’d protected me from my bad dreams. Just as the
robed man finished up the mark, Aberto appeared.

A
bright light shone as the man was thrown from me in a force unlike any I’d ever
seen. Aberto moved toward the fallen man, paying no heed to either me or the
demon.

I
looked upon the solidified demon. One more mark- that was all it would take for
it to break through to the corporeal plane. The smell of the demon’s charred
skin coated my nostrils as I looked up and up in abject terror. I was frozen,
unable to move as it lumbered toward me.

“It
cannot be stopped.” The demon’s voice, like metal grating against metal,
sounded in my mind. Hate and fear welled up inside of me instantaneously,
causing my stomach to roil. I struggled to find air as the voice echoed through
my mind, bringing forth the visions of the burning city and the man with
blackened eyes.