See How She Fights (15 page)

“The last time I did this I was in
a lot of pain. Could you punch me?”

“I will not injure you,” he said
with no trace of humor. It seemed Old Ones didn’t come with a sense of humor.
“Clear your mind, Izzy. Center it on your soul. Think only of your soul.
Picture your soul in a separate space from your body. They are two halves to a
whole. Remove the ties that bind the two together.”

His voice held such a pleasant
cadence that I found myself working to comply with his commands. I sought out
the ties holding me together. I mentally tried to untie them and for a brief
second I stood just outside of my body, looking down before I was pulled back
in. I felt as though a bungee cord had snapped me back into place. As I opened
my eyes a wave of nausea threatened to pull me under.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I
mumbled, sitting up so that I could put my head between my knees.

“Again,” Aberto said, not giving me
a moment to regain my composure.

“Can I have a second?”

“You do not have the luxury of
wasting time, Izzy. Now do it again,” he commanded. At least his eyes weren’t
sad anymore. Now they held the focus of a man used to having his commands acted
out. I certainly would not be the first to mutiny. I swallowed down my nausea
and lay back once more.

“Separate your two halves, Izzy.
Focus on the differences between the two. One half of you lives on this mortal
plane. The other half is meant for larger purposes. The soul half of you has
been ordained to carry out the will of the gods.”

“God,” I muttered. No matter how
many of these guys tried to get me to change my stance, it was not happening.

“God, gods, what have you. Your
purpose is clear, Izzy. Your failure to master this will result in the
sacrificed Seers being eternally trapped between planes.”

Way to put it into perspective.
Ugh. I laid there trying to do what he asked of me. I found myself repeatedly
being pulled back into my body. By the fifth attempt, I was near tears. My head
was spinning and I felt like the bagel I had eaten for breakfast was about to
resurface. Each time I failed, Aberto would yell, “Again!” I didn’t think I
could do anymore.

“Enough,” I barely wheezed.

“For now. You must eat. Where can
you find nourishment?” Aberto asked, placing his hand on my cheek. He looked
down at me with so much intensity, it made my stomach feel even worse. I
lowered my head between my knees and tried to breathe deeply.

“Could you talk like you are from
this century please?”

“You find fault with my manner of
speaking?”

“See, right there, a normal person
would have said, ‘what’s wrong with the way I talk?’ But you say that.” I
peeked up to find him looking down at me with a crooked smile. It was the first
time I had ever seen anything resembling happiness grace his face.

“Perhaps you can teach me how to be
more of current times in return for my teaching you how to soul walk?” he
snickered, knocking me fully off kilter. Surely the world was coming to a
complete end if Aberto was cracking jokes.

**********

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Aberto stuck out his hand to help
me up from the couch. I hesitantly reached out and grabbed it, allowing him to
pull me to my feet. I felt the same deep pulling in my soul that I’d felt the
first time I’d met him. I wondered if Old Ones had this effect on everyone they
were around.

“Let us eat, then we must return to
your practice.  If you wish to save these Seers, you must be able to sever the
connection easily.” Aberto moved ahead of me to open the door.

“Yeah, I got it. I kind of feel
like I am about to toss my cookies right now, though. I am not sure eating is
such a good idea.” I felt quite green around the gills. The thought of food was
not at all appetizing at the moment.

“I assume you are referring to the
fact that you feel unwell. You must eat in order to replenish the energy you
exerted in trying to separate yourself. You will feel better once you have done
this. On my honor.” Aberto bowed deeply as we made our way into the hall.

Conall stood straight as we left
the room and stared openly at Aberto. There was a look of adoration and fear on
his face. I really wanted to know what a freaking Old One was and why they
garnered that sort of a reaction from the Guardians. First Kennan had
admonished me for not being more proper with the guy, now Conall looked like he
would do whatever Aberto commanded. It was ridiculous. Aberto looked to be the
same age as the other Guardians I knew. I could not figure out what the
difference was. Maybe he could shoot lightning bolts out of his butt. I looked
over to find Aberto with a crooked smile on his face.

“Lightning bolts?” he asked.

“Mind reading is rude,” I said,
blushing crimson. I hoped he couldn’t read everything that passed through my
mind. That would just be embarrassing.

“I apologize. I will do my best to
not pry into your mind. There was such a look of consternation on your face
that I could not help myself from seeing what had caused it. I will not do that
again.” Aberto had such a serious look on his face I felt kind of bad for a
split second. “We must get her fed, Guardian,” he said to Conall.

“This way please.” Conall led us to
the dining facility. We got strange looks the entire way. I wondered if Old
Ones were really rare. The way people reacted to Aberto was unnerving. Then
again, they were all reacting the same way I did. There was just something
about him that screamed “I’m not like you.”

“How goes the practice?” Conall
asked me, pulling me from my reverie.

“Horribly. I am pretty sure I will
just end up puking all over Xavier instead of actually being able to save
anyone. This whole thing sucks,” I grumbled. I was tired. I was cranky. My head
felt like it was about to explode, and I was hungry.

“When did she last eat?” Aberto
looked at me concerned.

“At breakfast this morning,” Conall
said, looking at his watch. I looked over and noticed that the time had moved
forward quickly. It was already three in the afternoon.

“We must venture to take better
care of the Council leader, must we not?” Aberto looked over at me
thoughtfully.

“You are correct. It was my duty to
make sure she was cared for. I have failed in this.” Conall looked concerned.

“I’m not a pet, you know? Plus I’m
standing right here. Maybe ya’ll could talk to me like I’m a person. I can take
care of myself,” I huffed.

“Sorry Izzy. I feel as though I
have not fulfilled the promise I made to Kennan when he left you in my keep. He
won’t be happy.” Conall looked uncomfortable. I reached up and placed my hand
on his arm causing him to jump.

“It will be our secret. It isn’t
your fault I forget to eat. A normal person would remember that they were
hungry. Let’s just go get some food now, okay?” I moved past the men into the
dining facility. I hoped they had a pizza somewhere. I was craving some carbs
in a bad way.

“You are anything but normal,” I
heard Conall whisper beneath his breath. I looked back to find Aberto assessing
Conall steadily. Whatever was passing behind his eyes, I didn’t care about. All
I could think of was food and getting back to trying to save the Seers.

I headed toward the kitchen area
and found one of the chefs that the Council kept on hand.

“Can I help you, Milady?” he asked
with a deep bow.

“Do you by chance have anything
that I could eat? My stomach feels like it is about to eat itself.” I looked
around the kitchen and heard the chef pull in a sharp breath as Aberto entered
behind me. He stood entirely too close to my back. I felt his heat radiate out
and wrap itself around me. I wanted to move away, but in the tight quarters
there was nowhere to go.

“And you sir, is there anything I
can get for you?” The chef bowed even more deeply.

“I will have whatever she chooses
if it is no trouble,” Aberto said.

“It is no trouble at all. Shall I heat
up what we served for lunch? A Seer named Molly came down and told me to set
aside some portions for you. She said something about you forgetting to eat,”
the chef mumbled as he made himself busy moving around the kitchen.

“That would be amazing.” God, I
loved Molly. That girl was amazing. If I’d been in her shoes I would’ve been a
pile of snotty, blubbery mess right now. She was a pillar of strength. When
this was all over she and I were going to have some serious girl time.
Hopefully sans Guardians.

“I shall bring it out to you if you
would like to make yourselves comfortable.”

“Oh, Conall is with us. Do you have
enough to feed him as well?” I didn’t want my substitute Guardian to go hungry.

“Of course, Milady. I will have it
out to you shortly.” He bowed once more and I grumbled as I left the kitchen.

“Did he do something to offend
you?” Aberto’s eyebrows creased in confusion.

“No, I just don’t like the whole
bowing thing. Or the ‘Milady’s.’ Or the whole ‘you’re the new leader of our
people.’ I’m just not used to it. I need an adjustment period.”

“Much has been asked of you since
you came of age.” Aberto looked at me thoughtfully.

“Yep.” I was so not in the mood for
a serious conversation. I wanted to eat and get back to trying to separate my
soul from my body. Wow, that’s a sentence I never thought I would say. When did
my world get so weird?

“Was there food made available to
you?” Conall asked from a table that had a glass of sweet tea waiting on me.

“Yes, and thank you for the drink.
You are a prince. Truly.” I sat down and took a long drink of the sugary
delight. They’d started making sweet tea for me when I stayed after the lab
incident. I think they had wanted to do anything that might appease the crazy
person back then, but they’d gotten so used to making it that it was always
available now. I wasn’t complaining. I felt the sugar rush into my system
giving me a jolt. “He is bringing some food out for you as well.”

“You should not concern yourself
with my well-being.” Conall looked surprised.

“Yes I should. You’re my friend and
right now you are acting as my Guardian. So yeah, color me concerned. If you
don’t eat, you can’t protect me. So really, I’m just being selfish.” I smiled
at him, causing him to drop his guard a little.

The food arrived shortly
thereafter. It wasn’t the pizza I’d been longing for. Instead I found a plate
filled with roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. I guess
the chef was in a Thanksgiving sort of a mood. I wasn’t going to complain.
Although I was a little concerned I would be sent into a tryptophan coma.

I devoured my food hardly taking a
second to breathe. I looked up to find Conall and Aberto staring at me.

“What?” I mumbled around a mouthful
of mashed potatoes.

“Nothing, I just didn’t believe
Kennan when he said you could out perform a vacuum. Not until now,” Conall
said, earning him a kick under the table. He just laughed at went back to
eating.

I tried to slow down in my
hoovering but I was famished. Sometimes I didn’t realize how hungry I was until
I started eating. This was one of those times. I went back to ignoring the two
men and continued devouring everything on my plate. By the time I finished, I
felt completely sated. I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my stomach,
earning a raised brow from Conall.

“What?” I asked.

“Is there something we do not know
about?” Conall looked at my stomach.

“Oh, God no! It is just my food
baby,” I said, looking down at my now full stomach.

“What is a food baby?” Aberto looked
perplexed.

“My stomach gets really full after
I eat and I call it my food baby because it causes it to stick out a little,” I
said snickering. These men were all so literal.

“So, there are no babes yet?”
Conall asked.

“No, and none in the plans for a long
time. Being a mom is not exactly on my agenda right now. Maybe if the world
would stop falling apart I would have time to think about it. For now, I just
need to survive this latest catastrophe. If the world stops crumbling after
that, well, maybe.” I thought of little Kennans running around and started to
smile. I hoped he would return tonight. I missed him.

“If you are finished, I fear we
must return to the task at hand,” Aberto said, changing the subject. I looked
at him and found that the sadness had returned in his eyes. I wondered what had
caused the change.

“Alright,” I sighed, getting up
from the table.

“I shall wait outside the door once
more,” Conall said, following us out of the dining facility and back to the
office.

We walked down the hall and entered
the office, leaving Conall to stand guard outside. Aberto walked up to me,
putting his body so close to my own that we were almost flush with one another.
I tried to step back, but he grabbed me pulling me ever closer.

“Excuse me?” I placed my hands on
his chest and tried to push him away. I didn’t like it when he got that close
to me. It made me uncomfortable for so many reasons. Some of which I was not
willing to look too closely at.

“Please stop fighting me. I would
like to try something. It may help you to separate yourself. I will not do
anything untoward. You have my word.” He looked down at me with pleading eyes.

“Fine, but no funny business.” I
narrowed my eyes at him. I trusted him to help me but no further than that.

“Thank you. Now I need you to
relax.” He took his hands and placed them on either side of my face. He closed
his eyes, causing his long black lashes to fan out against his cheeks. It was
so unfair that he had such pretty lashes. He began saying words I could not
comprehend and I felt a strange sense of peace settle over my body. He stopped
and stepped away from me.

“Try now.” He nodded toward the
couch for me to lay down.

“What did you do to me?” I asked,
doing as he commanded.

“I eased your fears. You are
holding yourself back with your self-doubt. You are a soul walker, Izzy. You
have done this before, yet your fear of being unable to save the Seers is
holding you back. I eased some of that fear,” he said, moving to stand as far
away from me as the office allowed.

“Thank you.”

I laid back against the pillows on
the couch and let myself melt into the cushions. I did as I had that morning. I
thought of myself as two halves of a whole and I mentally began to untie the
binds that held me together. This time it did not feel forced. It felt like the
most natural thing I’d ever done. I pulled myself apart and found myself
standing over my prone body. I felt nothing pulling me back. I looked over to
find Aberto staring at me.

“Very good,” he said.

“How can you see me?”
I
asked.

“Now is not the time for those
answers. Put yourself back and do it again,” he commanded. He was so bossy and
vague. He could totally win a man of mystery award. It wasn’t nearly as
appealing of a trait in real life as it was in the movies.

I narrowed my eyes at him before I
pulled myself back into my body. I felt everything stitch itself back together
and I opened my eyes. I was once more lying on the couch. I breathed deeply and
thought of the Seers. I needed to get this right. I had to perfect this so that
I could save them. I felt a wave of nausea creep up and I tamped it down. I had
no time for it. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes once more.

“Do not try and force it. Let it
happen. This is not unnatural, Izzy. Like your visions, this is a part of you.
Accept it and it will no longer be a burden. Now, do it again.” he was
relentless. I wanted to throat punch him every time the word “again” passed his
lips. Stupid know-it-all.

We spent the next couple of hours
that way. I hopped in and out of my body like some sort of deranged
Jack-in-the-Box. I was exhausted and hungry. I wanted nothing more than to quit
and go sleep for the next five days.

“Now, we will try it without the
damper.” he moved toward me and pulled me up from the couch. My body was flush
with his, once more. The closeness drew that strange familiarity back to the
surface. I knew this man, but I the truth was, I didn’t know him at all.

  He lifted his hands to my face
and I kept my eyes staring straight forward. I did not want to see what secrets
were written in his blue eyes. I wanted to survive this and go back to Alabama.
I wanted to marry the man I loved and have a future that did not involve
eyeless Seers and death.

I felt my fears come rushing back
to the surface and instead of letting them drown me I embraced them. These
fears were not unfounded. I would take them and make them fuel I was determined
to get this right. Just as I resolved myself the door to the study burst open
and Kennan came stomping in.

I looked up to find his eyes
burning with a fire I’d only ever seen there once. I was afraid of what he
thought was going on. I felt like I needed to defend myself and then I realized
he was the one being unreasonable. I swallowed my explanation and moved away
from Aberto and towards him.