See How She Fights (17 page)

“You must get dressed and eat
something, then we will prepare you for the ritual. Guardian, I need you to get
this Eleanor woman. Izzy said she knew the steps necessary to sever the
connection. I would like to look over her notes to ensure that she is correct
in her assessments,” Aberto commanded. I stared at Kennan as he clenched his
jaw before moving to follow Aberto’s orders. As soon as Kennan left the room,
Aberto turned toward me. “Are you sure this is the future you seek?”

“Please do me the courtesy of
staying the heck out of my head. You don’t like it when I try and tromp around
in yours. What makes you think you have the right to know any of what I just
thought?” I looked at him heatedly as I gathered the blanket around me. I
wrapped myself up and moved to my suitcase, grabbing clothes on my way to the
bathroom.

“My apologies. You are right to be
angry. It will not happen again,” Aberto said as his blue eyes clouded over
with a mixture of anger and helplessness. It was a strange thing to see such a
strong man look so defeated but I would not waver in my resolve. I didn’t know
what his motives were. Why he held such a vested interest in me was a complete
mystery. Even more so, I was unsure what made me want to confess everything to
the man. Deep down, I was always fighting to keep myself from him. It scared
the pants right off of me.

“See that it doesn’t,” I said, slamming
the bathroom door. I knew that anger was the only way to keep myself in check.

My back felt completely fine by the
time I got into the bathroom. I looked at it in the mirror trying to see if it
looked any different and noticed a few extra lines swirling within my tattoo.
It looked as though it were almost a living thing. I blinked my eyes, trying to
focus and realized that it was actually moving. I was eternally grateful that I
couldn’t feel the movement. That would have seriously skeeved me out.

I got dressed slowly, trying to
wait until Kennan returned before making my exit. I didn’t want to be alone
with Aberto. There were too many unanswered questions where he was concerned
and the fact that Kennan didn’t like him set me on edge. Kennan liked everyone.
I realized I was being a coward and left the confines of the bathroom.

**********

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

I walked out to find Aberto sitting
in a chair. His bag was nowhere to be seen. I walked past him and was pulled to
an abrupt stop as he ensnared my hand.

“I am sorry, Izzy.” He looked up at
me with those stormy-sea eyes and I swallowed back my angry remark. I could see
the remorse written in his eyes.

“Please, just don’t anymore.
Respect that some things are not meant for you to see and I will do the same
for you.” I pulled my hand from his grasp and moved to sit down as the door
opened.

Kennan walked in with a worn
Eleanor close behind. She looked over at Aberto for a moment before turning her
head back to me.

“Is there any hope?” she asked me.
I knew she wanted to know if I had figured out how to make myself soul walk. I
hadn’t seen her since the previous morning.

“She will be able to do what you
ask of her. May I see your findings?” Aberto stood, towering over Eleanor. She
held out an old piece of parchment with a shaking hand.

“This is all I have been able to
find. I believe it will work.” she looked to me and back to Aberto. “So, it is
her.”

“We don’t know that,” Kennan said
quickly. I stared at the three of them and knew that they were referring to the
prophecy I had yet to find. There really wasn’t enough time in my day. If
people could stop trying to take over the world, or maybe other people could
stop revealing cryptic possible prophecies, or maybe if one would just happen
singularly, that would be super.

“Ritual, breaking the bond
ceremony, focus people,” I said. As much as I wanted to know what in the heck
everyone was going on about, I wanted to put a stop to Xavier and Molly’s mom
even more.

“You are absolutely right, I am so
sorry dear,” Eleanor said, patting my hand as she sat next to me.

“It appears you have the right
ritual. I will walk you through the steps, Izzy. In this you will find the
answer to your question from earlier.” Aberto leveled me with his gaze. Gone
were the warring emotions from earlier. Now a warrior looked back at me. I
inwardly cowered at the resolve shining in his eyes.

“Yea,” I squeaked. I really did not
do well in stressful situations. I thought back to last year when I had been
kidnapped. I had kind of snapped then as well. Maybe my reactionary system was
off-line. I should get that checked. Maybe that head-shrinker from last year
was still around somewhere.

“We should eat first. If we don’t,
she won’t have the strength to do anything.” Kennan reached out and grabbed my
hand pulling me up from the bed. As I stood the bandage on my leg pulled
causing me to wince. Everyone paused staring at me.

“I’m fine. Really. Totally and
completely good. Did someone mention food?” All of the serious stares were
starting to give me a migraine. Or was it the lack of sleep? Maybe it was the
tattoo currently doing a jive on my back.

“I hear the chef is making biscuits
and gravy this morning,” Eleanor said a little too cheerfully. Seemed she
didn’t do well with stress either. I entwined my other hand in hers. I wondered
at her strength.

“How are you doing, Eleanor?” I
asked. She looked taken aback by my question.

“Fine, why do you ask?” She seemed
genuinely confused by my interest.

“Well, you’ve been through a lot
with your daughter and then Isadora. Then there is the whole you tirelessly
researching old documents thing. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” She was
the only Seer I had left to help guide me through whatever the future may hold.
Well, the only Seer with any experience that I knew I could trust.

“I am managing,” she said squeezing
my hand. “Thank you.”

“Well, it is for purely selfish
reasons, you know? I need your help figuring all of this stuff out.” I smiled
at her causing her to break into the first smile I had seen light her face. She
may have been quite old but she was still stunningly beautiful.

“Food,” Kennan said, pulling me
down the stairs behind him.

“It appears your Guardian is
hungry,” Aberto said from my side.

“He is always hungry,” I snickered.

We moved down the stairs to the
dining room and sat down to the promised biscuits and gravy. I knew that he’d probably
made them for me. Everyone seemed aware of my likes and dislikes. Things seemed
to be shifting to suit my needs since Isadora’s departure. It weirded me out,
having all of these people working so hard to make me happy. I sat there eating
and trying not to think of the people counting on me to lead them. I felt
queasy as the weight of the responsibility fully settled on my shoulders.

“You shall endure,” Aberto said. I
glared at him. “It is written on your face. I did not pry,” he said calmly.

“Still prying. If I don’t say it
out loud it is off-limits. Understood?” I asked, taking an angry bite of my
gravy soaked biscuit. This was the second breakfast I had eaten angrily. Poor
breakfast, it didn’t deserve such a fate.

“What’s going on, Izzy?” Kennan looked
between Aberto and I trying to figure out what sort of secrets we shared. Which
were honestly none.

“I’m freaking out over the whole
leading the Council thing. Totally normal. I will be fine in a minute.” I
shoveled another bite in my mouth and glowered at Aberto.

“You still have a choice, you
know?” Kennan asked. Right then I knew for sure he was still holding on to our
future in Alabama. The future that could never be.

“I know,” I replied. Now was not
the time to confront him about it. I needed to get back on task and stop what
was happening now.

**********

We finished eating and made our way
to the office. It seemed a much better meeting place than our room. There was
more space at least. As Aberto entered, he shut the door behind him and motioned
for me to take up residence on the couch once more.

“I will be coming onto the other
plane with you this time. Eleanor will make sure no harm comes to your body.”
Aberto looked to Eleanor and Kennan to make sure they were in agreement with
his plan.

“Are you positive she is ready for
this? If any harm comes to her, I will hold you responsible. Any oath I swore
will be broken.” Kennan’s hackles were up and I couldn’t begin to understand
what sort of oath he was talking about.

“Do not toss your words around so
lightly, Guardian. That oath cannot be broken. You know she is ready. She was
created for this.” Aberto’s tone was filled with reproach.

“So be it,” Kennan said, moving
towards me. He lowered himself down and kissed my forehead lightly. “Be safe,
Red. Don’t do anything reckless.”

“Wait, this is just the practice,
right?” I looked up at Kennan, my eyes filled with fear.

“Tell her,” Kennan said, moving to
stand.

“No, you will only have one shot at
doing what must be done. If you go in more than once, you will be discovered.
So, this is it,” Aberto said.

“But, I thought this was just a
practice. You people led me to believe we were just doing a dry run.” I was
starting to freak out.

“Calm yourself, Seer,” Aberto
scolded, causing me to get angry.

“You calm yourself, Old Man. I
don’t even know what I’m supposed to be doing. What if I mess this up?” I sat
up and dropped my head between my bent knees.

“I will be with you every step of
the way,” Aberto promised.

“I thought I had to do this on my
own,” I mumbled from between my legs.

“You must be the one to perform the
ritual, it does not follow that you must do so alone,” Aberto said as he knelt
down beside the couch. “I will not leave you, I swear it.”

I looked up at Kennan. The concern
on his face did nothing to ease my unsteady nerves. I looked to Eleanor and she
looked equally as terrified. Hadn’t someone given them a pamphlet on pep talks
or preparing Seers for soul espionage? I was pretty sure they should look
calmer. The only person in the room that had a semblance of ease about them was
Aberto. I looked back at him and breathed deeply.

“Alright, then. Better get it over
with. If something goes wrong, just know I love you, Kennan,” I said before
lying back against the pillows once more.

“Nothing better go wrong,” Kennan
said in Aberto’s direction.

“I will protect her, Guardian. I
swear it.” Aberto bowed his head toward Kennan before turning back to me. “It
is time.”

“Wait, what about raiding the
factory? Shouldn’t we be doing that at the same time?”

I was not sure that this
half-cocked plan would succeed if we didn’t hit from all fronts simultaneously.

“No. We must first ensure the Seers
have been separated from Xavier. If you do not succeed in this first, then all
else will be for naught. Once we are sure that the ritual has produced results,
we will return. They will have a more precise area to target once we have
finished,” Aberto said calmly. “Now, no more delays. It is time,” he said as he
faded from my eyes.

“See you soon?” I looked at Kennan
and my stomach dropped. I was terrified to do this without him. I didn’t even
know what it was I was supposed to do. When this was done I was having a long
chat with everyone about keeping things from me. I wanted answers and I would
not take no for an answer. Kennan, Conall, and Aberto all had some explaining
to do.

“See you soon.” Kennan bent over me
and placed a kiss on my forehead. I lay back against the pillows and split
myself apart. Aberto was right, it was time.

**********

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

I stood, looking down at my
still body. I looked up to find Kennan kneeling down next to my prone form with
my hand tightly clasped in his. I could see the fear in his eyes more clearly
than I had before. It did nothing to calm my already unsteady heart. I turned
to find Aberto watching Kennan as well.

“We must go,” Aberto said,
reaching for my hand.

“Before we go anywhere, I need
to know what we are doing. No more vague explanations about this. No more
secrets. I need everything. Now.” I would not back down from this. I refused to
walk into this thing blind.

“You are going to brand the
souls. You asked me before if it was possible to apply a mark just to someone’s
soul. The answer is yes. Before you question why I did not do this to you, you
must understand that this is a dark magic. It requires the person inflicting
the marks to sacrifice a portion of their spirit. You are right in wanting to
know what is coming. We are asking a great deal of you. If you go through with
this, there will be unfixable damage done to your soul.”

Aberto eyed me steadily waiting
for me to freak out.

“What kind of damage are we
talking about? Will I end up in hell if I do this?” I could not see the God I
loved so much punishing me for trying to save these girls.

“Nothing quite so dramatic. Your
soul will be weakened. Part of the energy that creates you must be used to
break this bond. Therefore, your soul is left open to more attacks. I
strengthened your protection mark so you should not be in any immediate danger.
I will also be there to make sure no harm comes to you.”

“Why can’t you do this? You seem
to know everything that needs to be done. I don’t understand what you need me
for.” It was something that had been bugging me since he said he would help.

“I am not like you Izzy. I have
no ties to the mortal world.” He paused for a moment looking at me steadily,
“That is not entirely true. I have not had ties to the mortal world for
hundreds of years. Now, it seems, things are shifting.” He moved towards me
slowly and put his body as close to mine as space would allow. He reached his
hand up to my cheek slowly and looked down into my eyes. “If I could do this
for you I would. If I could protect you from your fate, I would. The most I am
permitted to do is guard you and keep you so that you may live on to fulfill
your purpose. Now, we must hurry, Izzy. Take my hand.”

I was left speechless. Whatever
Aberto was, he wasn’t quite human. I had known it for a long time, but hearing
it confirmed from his mouth was a bit unnerving. Even though I was unsure of
his motives, I knew he spoke the truth. I could count on him to keep me safe. I
reached my hand out and grabbed the hand that was not still cradling my face.

“Okay,” I sighed. It was time. I
glanced back to Kennan as we tunneled away into the dreaming.

The pressure built up inside my
soul, causing me to feel as though I was being ripped in half. By the time we
came to a stop, I fell to my knees. I had never been nauseous in the dreaming
before. This was a new one for me.

“It gets easier,” Aberto
promised before pulling me back to my feet. “We must find Ren and the other
Seers. Once they have been marked, we can move on to Xavier.”

“Is Isadora already here? Have
they gotten to her already?” I needed to prepare myself. It would be hard enough
to see her looking like Ren, but to see it and not be expecting it would be
unbearable.

“The sacrifices have all been
completed, Izzy. That is why we must move if we hope to put a stop to this.” He
stopped for a moment and conjured something from the dreaming. A stylus
appeared in his hand. It looked similar to the tools he had used to mark my
back. The end glowed a steady blue. I looked down at my arms and noticed the
marks he had placed there were the same color.

“Why do the marks you have given
me shine a different color than the runes that have shown up on my body?”

“Intent, Izzy. You will find
that all things of mal intent glow a sickly reddish yellow. Marks that are
meant to heal and protect will always glow blue. Now, I must show you how to
make the marking. You will practice it on me.” Aberto pulled his shirt from his
body. I stood gaping.

 Mingled in with the sharp
planes of his body were thousands and thousands of tattoos. They covered every
inch of his torso and arms. They came up to form a ring just below his collar
bones and stopped mid-way down his forearms. I did not recognize any of the
symbols on his body, but I could feel their power. Once I had taken in the
marks I noticed he had almost as many scars marring the surface of his skin.
They were thick, puckered lines that gouged his sides and his chest.

“What happened to you?” I
breathed barely above a whisper. I had thought Conall’s scars had been bad but
they were nothing compared to Aberto’s. What had this man gone through?

“That is a story…”

“That must wait,” I interrupted,
rolling my eyes.

“Yes. There will be a day when I
will no longer keep things from you, Izzy. I swear it. When that day arrives
you will wish you had never asked such questions. For now, you must practice
making the mark so that you won’t hesitate in marking the Seers. I will show
you how to make the symbol on my left arm and you will practice it afterward.”
He lifted the stylus to his arm and began to carve a symbol into his forearm.
He winced as the stylus dug into his arm. How was I supposed to do that to him?

“Now you.” He reached out the
stylus to me.

“Do you want me to trace over
it? Is there some sort of intent I should be putting into this? Or do I just
draw it?” I held the tool in my hand unsteadily. It felt heavy with the power
radiating from it.

“You must seek to separate the
Seers from Xavier. If you think of nothing but that while making the mark, it
should be successful. Your mind must be focused on nothing but this. Are you
ready?” His eyes held a kindness I had never seen there before. His gaze held
mine captive as I tried to prepare myself for what I was about to do.

“Now or never, right?” I said
with a little too much enthusiasm.

“You will be fine. Now make the
first line.”

I did as he instructed dragging
the stylus in a small straight line that looped slightly at the ends. The next
mark looked like a coiled snake wrapped around the first. I looked at the mark
he had made on his other arm and began to draw it.

“Stop,” Aberto said forcefully.

“What, what did I do?”

“You are focusing on what the
mark looks like and not the intent. It does not matter if the mark is a perfect
replica. If you do not ensure the mark has meaning it will be a pointless
doodle. Again,” he said, turning his arm slightly so that I had a blank space
to work with.

I looked at him for a moment
before concentrating on his arm once more. I could do this. I thought about the
Seers and their tie to Xavier. I wanted nothing more than to free them. If I
could do that, then perhaps all would not be lost. I began drawing the mark
again, not allowing my focus to waiver. I stared down at the finished mark and
then looked up to Aberto’s face to find him eyeing me.

“Again,” his voice echoed in the
fog, causing the vibrations to ripple in my own soul.

“Did I not do the last one
right?” I couldn’t figure out what I had done wrong that time. I had been
focused.

“The last one was perfect, but
you must be able to do multiple marks quickly. For that you need practice. Now
do it again, but faster.” He turned his arm once more.

I began to make the mark again
with the same focus as the last time. I worked through each of the lines as
swiftly as I could while maintaining the mark and intent.

“Again,” Aberto was really
starting to make me hate that word.

“I don’t like hurting you,” I
said with all sincerity. I could tell that each time I marked him took a toll
on his well-being. “Besides, isn’t this taking a toll on my soul?”

“I am using my life-force to
provide the binding of the marks. I will recover. Now do it again, Izzy.”

“Let me use my life force this
time. If I don’t, then I won’t know what it is supposed to feel like. If I’m
going to do this, I need to know how to do all of it.” I looked steadily at his
arm. I was determined not to fail. I felt my hair being brushed from my face
and looked up to find him staring at me with sadness.

“You really are her,” he said
with a sigh. “One more mark and you can do it as you choose, then we will move
on to find the Seers.”

“I am really who?” I asked
exasperated. “Okay, I get that you are about to tell me in your almighty
superior voice ‘Now is not the time,’ but when this is finished you owe me a
long conversation. Give me your word that you will tell me the prophecy when
this is resolved. Swear it.” I eyed him steadily.

He grasped my hand in his and
bowed deeply, brushing his forehead to my hand. “I swear it. I shall tell you
everything I know about the prophecy.”

“Okay then, let’s get this over
with,” I said, reaching out to draw the mark once more. I could feel the
difference as I made it. There was a painful tug originating where my heart
would be in my body. I felt the pull with each mark I made. When I was finished
I felt as if I had just gone on a run in the Alabama heat. I tried to steady
myself and a pair of bare strong arms shot out to hold me up.

“Are you well?” Aberto asked,
entirely too close.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s go find the
others,” I said, pulling away.

“As you wish. Come with me,” he
said, reaching his hand out for me to grasp. I entwined my fingers with his and
was once more pulled along with him. Only this time we traversed the dreaming.
I wondered if I would learn to do this on my own. It would make finding things
much easier.

We pulled to a sudden stop and
Aberto swore under his breath. Lying before us was a pile of Seers. They were
strewn about as they had been in my vision days before. It seemed an eternity
had passed since that vision, yet I stood in the midst of the very thing I had
set out to prevent.

“What happened to them?” I
asked, moving to look at each one of the Seers. They all looked as though they
had been torn to shreds. I looked for Ren in the carnage. I needed to find her.
When I could finally pick her out of the group of girls, I noticed she was
lying on top of someone. I moved towards them, ignoring Aberto’s pleas for me
to stop. I needed to see if Ren was still there. If she wasn’t, then this was
all for nothing. I couldn’t stop the tears that slid down my cheeks.

I reached out for her body and
bent to turn her so that her face was staring up at me. Her moan was a barely
discernable whisper.

“Ren, what happened?” I
carefully moved her and noticed that the other Seers were still moving. Not
well, and not more than a twitch here and there. Whatever had happened, their
souls were still clinging to this plane. I had to set them free.

“I am going to fix this,” I said
through my tears. I pulled the stylus out to begin the marks when I felt
Aberto’s hand on my shoulder stopping me.

“We must know what happened
before you free them. She was protecting Isadora. We must find out why.”

I looked to the body that had
been hidden under Ren’s. Isadora’s eyeless face stared into the distance. Her
mouth was set in a silent scream. I moved towards her, trying to see if she
moved at all. As soon as my hand touched her I recoiled. She felt like stone.

“What happened, Ren? Tell me
quickly so that I can free you,” I said, moving back to her side.

“It came again. It came and I
protected her. I put a petrification mark on her so she would be preserved. It
didn’t get her. I stopped it,” Ren gurgled, taking an eternity to get her words
out.

“What came?” Aberto asked,
suddenly at my side.

“You know what,” Ren said before
wincing in pain.

“We can’t leave them like this
Aberto. If you have everything you need I’m going to let them go. Enough is
enough.” My tears were starting to blur my vision but I could not sit idly by
while they suffered.

“I have all I need,” Aberto said
angrily. The heat in his words caught me off guard but I knew they weren’t
meant for me.

“Then I will begin. Can you undo
what has been done to Isadora?” I asked him as I started to draw the mark on
Ren.

“I can,” he said, moving toward
her body.

I went to work drawing the
symbol on the Seers that were strewn about the gruesome pile. With each mark I
drew, a relieved expression washed over the Seer’s face. I could see a glimmer
of the women they used to be before this all began. With each mark I grew more
and more fatigued, but I pushed on. I would not let these women down. They had
already suffered far more than they deserved and it had been my fault. If I had
finished Xavier the first time, none of this would have happened.

“She is ready,” Aberto said,
moving towards me with Isadora on his arm.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t stop it
in time.” I wrapped my blood soaked arms around her and cried into her
shoulder.

“My child, this is all as it was
meant to be. None of us could have stopped it. Before you mark me I must ask
you a favor. Tell Conall I love him and I am so very sorry for leaving him.
Take care of him for me, Izzy. Make sure he finds happiness,” she breathed into
my hair for a moment and pulled back. “It is time to finish this. Old One,
before she does this you must know that the darkness is coming.”