See How She Fights (13 page)

“What is lost in the sauce?” he
asked without a trace of humor in his voice.

“It means I have no clue what is
going on. Up until this point, I have kind of been bumbling about blindly. So
if you could explain what an Old One is, I would appreciate it,” I said, lying
back against the pillows. “Besides I am sure I could use a distraction while
you do this.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot explain it
while I mark you. That requires my entire concentration. I swear to you that I
will someday explain what I am. You have my word. There are more important
matters lying at your feet at the moment. Are you ready?” he asked, placing his
hand on my cheek once more. I really wished he would stop doing that. It felt
far too personal.

“Yes,” I stammered, not at all sure
that I was.

“Let us begin. There are seven
marks that must be made. They will not go as deep as the one on your back and
the ink will vanish after a month’s time. If you have not found her by then, I
must reapply the marks.”

“What are these marks? They don’t
look like the Celtic knots or the runes that I have seen.”

“That is because these are neither.
The marks you have shown me are from the First Ones. There are very few left in
existence with the memories of such marks. They hold great power which is why
they were hidden away from man. I trust you will not use these marks for ill
intent.” He moved towards me with the tattooing implement.

“I swear I will not.” It sounded
corny, but if I wanted to get the show on the road, I knew I had to promise
him. The fact was, I had no idea how to even use the marks he was about to put
on my body. I didn’t even know what they were. In hindsight, I probably should
have done a little more research. I trusted that Molly and Aberto wouldn’t do
anything that would harm me. I hoped that trust held.

“Then we shall begin.” The moment
the words left his mouth, I felt the burning begin to build. Only this time,
there was no outlet. There was no one there to help me endure the pain. I
gritted my teeth as the pain threatened to pull me under. Fire spread beneath
my skin until it escalated into a raging inferno. Every bit of my body screamed
out to have the pain stop.

“You must find a place where the
fire is cooled to a burning ember. Concentrate.” Aberto’s voice broke through
the pain.

I tried to let his words wash over
me. I needed to look inside of myself and find the place he was talking about.
The pain was starting to rise as he moved on to the second mark. I wasn’t sure
I would be able to endure much more. I cried out and began to lift myself off
of the bed. As I moved Aberto pinned me to the bed by my shoulders.

“You must endure.”

I thrashed against him. I wanted to
run. The pain was too much.

“Look at me,” he commanded.

My gaze was drawn to him and I
stilled. As my eyes locked with him a momentary peace swept through my body.

“You must endure,” he said with
finality.

I nodded once.

My body was drenched in sweat as he
began the torment once more. I wondered how much pain a person could endure
before it became too much. My soul felt as though it was being branded by what
he was doing. I drew into myself and sought out a place that made me feel safe.
I thought of Kennan and our home in Alabama. I surrounded myself with that
image and allowed it to comfort me. I let the memories of Kennan chasing me
around the farm house lull me into a state of relaxation. I could get through
this. I could do this and I could rid this world of his brother once and for
all. I breathed deeply and allowed the memories to carry me through the pain.
It was still there, burning in the background, but as Aberto had said, it was a
mere ember.

“It is done,” he said, moving away
from me. He paused, putting his instruments away as I gazed down at my arms.
Like before, he’d made the marks beautiful. I felt as though I was his walking
canvas. He breathed deeply before continuing. “You truly love him, don’t you?”
he asked and the sadness in his eyes startled me.

“Who? What are you talking about?”
I was utterly confused by what was transpiring.

“Your Guardian, he is your home is
he not?” Aberto reached for me and cupped my face with his large, calloused
hand once more.

“He is. I love him more than I ever
thought I could love anything or anyone.” It was the truth. I would be lost
without Kennan. He was my home. He was my refuge. He was my world.

“As it should be.” The sadness in
his eyes made a thousand questions spring to mind. As always, I was not exactly
eloquent, so I just shouted out the first one that came to mind.

“What’s your deal? Why does that
upset you?” I moved away from his hand once more. If he kept doing that I was
going to break the durn thing.

“That is a story for another time.
For now I must go. Just read the inscription on the paper and you shall lift
the veil. May the gods be with you in your quest.” With that he was gone once
more. Poof. Stupid Old One. Whatever that was. I didn’t have time for his
mysteriousness.

I got up and moved to the door. I
found Ian and Kennan pacing nervously outside the door. As soon as the door
cracked Kennan pounced on me. He lifted my arms to inspect each mark and then
moved into the room to look for Aberto.

“He poofed again. Is there a bottle
lying about somewhere that he lives in?”

What? How was I supposed to know
what an Old One was? He could be a genie. It was possible. Ian thought it was
hysterical. As always, he was unable to take anything seriously.

“No bottle, although I wish I could
stuff him into one,” Kennan ground out.

“That’s nice, but I need to get
back into a vision. I need to think up this woman so I can find out who she
really is and find a way to put an end to this.” I patted Kennan on his
overprotective arm and headed back to the sheet of paper by the bed. I looked
down to see that Aberto had written something on the bottom.

Izzy,

As always, call for me in the
dreaming, and I shall come.

Aberto

Alright then, I hoped I wouldn’t
need him anytime soon. More importantly, I planned to do copious amounts of
research before calling on him again. I wanted to know what he was. Especially
since no one seemed to want to tell me.

**********

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I lay down on the bed with the
paper in my hands. I started to utter the words when Kennan interrupted.

“Don’t you want to wait a while to
attempt this? I mean, you just got the markings. How do you know they will work
right away?” Kennan wanted to protect me and I understood that, but if I was to
lead the Council the way I needed to, he would have to start trusting me more.
Granted my track record was not all that great. But that wasn’t the point.

“Trust me.” I reached up and
brushed a kiss against his lips. I pleaded with my eyes, begging him to believe
in me.

“I do.” He pulled me into a deeper
kiss.

“Barf.” Ian coughed into his hand.

“Right, no time for that. Evil
Empires must be brought to their knees.” I settled back against the pillows and
read the words from the paper. I had no idea what I was saying. For all I knew
I could have been cursing someone’s goat in Swahili. As the last word left my
mouth I was pulled back into the dreaming that wasn’t the dreaming. I was in a
vision.

**********

“They are all here. We should be
able to move forward, my love. It will all be right with the world once I have
you back. Then I can get her back and we will be a family again,” I heard the
woman say.

“Yes, that all sounds
wonderful,” Xavier responded coldly. Whatever feelings this woman had for him
were clearly not reciprocated.

“Everything is set for tomorrow.
I have brought them here so that we may move quickly. The others are waiting
for your call,” she purred.

I rounded the corner of the
building, finally making out the sign over the entryway. It was the old Brach’s
Candy Factory. It had been abandoned on the outskirts of Chicago for years. I
moved silently through the rubble seeking out the voices once more.

“Just make it happen quickly. I
grow impatient waiting in this broken form.” Xavier’s body came into view as he
paced back and forth in front of a woman. I drew closer to them, hiding myself
behind supports and rubble as I went.

“I can’t wait to be at your side
once more,” the woman said. I fell to my knees as the veil lifted and I could
glimpse her true form for the first time. I wanted to scream out, I wanted to
yell. I needed to get out of there as quickly as I could. Now I understood why
Molly had hesitated. It all made perfect sense. The woman helping to bring
Xavier back to life was her mother.

**********

I came to my senses violently.  I
ripped myself from the vision so quickly, it left me feeling nauseous. Well, it
was either that or the fact that my best friend’s mother was a psycho. I
swallowed hard sitting up in the process.

“Did you find out who it is?”
Kennan moved to sit next to me.  His face was etched with concern.

“I need to see Molly.” I tried to
stand up but my knees threatened to buckle.

“Ian, can you get her and bring her
here?” Kennan pushed me back to the bed.

“Yeah, I’m on it.” Ian darted from
the room. I had a feeling Molly would be waiting for him.

“Who was it, Iz?” Kennan asked,
wiping the tear from my cheek.

“I need to see Molly. I can’t say
until I see her.” My voice caught in my throat. How was I supposed to tell her?
How would our friendship survive this?

“I’m here.” Molly moved toward the
bed and took Kennan’s place beside me. “So it is true then. It is her.” The
tears ran down her cheeks, mapping their contours as they went.

“I am so sorry Molly. I don’t know
what I am supposed to do now. I can’t let this keep happening, but she is your
mom. How can I do this?” I grabbed her hand and wrapped it in my own.

“You can do it because you must.
She made her choice, Izzy. She chose him over me and the life we could have
had. So you end this. You put a stop to it and make sure that no one else gets
hurt.” Molly squeezed my hand and started to leave. I pulled her to a stop.

“She was going to come back for
you. I heard her say she wanted to get her girl back. She still loves you,
Molly.” I knew that what I said would probably make this all the harder for
her, but I also knew that if I was in her place I would want to know.

“But that love wasn’t enough to
leave that sick bastard. She has always had an unhealthy obsession with him,
Izzy. This is not something new. This is not something that just developed
after his death. She’s the one who orchestrated most of the Seers being brought
in. I can’t begin to tell you how many times she threatened to disown me when I
would balk against the Corporation. So don’t worry about me. I’m disappointed,
the same as I have been my whole life, but I’m not heartbroken. I have no
problems with you putting an end to this.” Molly gave me a hard steady look
before getting up and leaving.

I looked up to find Kennan and Ian
staring at me with gaping mouths. I looked hard at Ian and he darted from the
room to find Molly. Regardless of how strong she’d been, I knew this wasn’t
easy for her. I also knew that she was right. Her mom had made a choice. She
had chosen to stand behind a man who would never love her the way she loved
him. She had tossed the love of her daughter aside in search of something that
would never exist. It was sick, it was twisted, and it had to end.

“I need you to gather some
Guardians. Men that you trust, Kennan. I know where they are and we need to
move quickly. I want this to end now.” I got up and moved to my suitcase. I pulled
out a pair of leggings and a long shirt and my green sweater. I didn’t have a
ninja suit like Ian, but I did have comfort clothes.

“You aren’t coming with us, Izzy.”
Kennan rubbed his hand down his face.

“Like hell, I am not coming with
you. There are things I can do now, things that may help. I have to be there.
You can’t lock me up in a protective bubble anymore, Kennan. If I’m going to be
the head of this Council it means I may be in danger from time to time. It
means I will have to put myself at risk for the sake of everyone else. I accept
that responsibility and I need you to do the same.” I wrapped my arms around
his torso. I needed the comfort of his warmth and I knew that he felt the same.

“I just want to keep you safe,
Izzy. You are all that matters to me. Not the Council, not these sacrifices,
not anyone else. Just you. If something were to ever happen to you…..” He
swallowed and pulled me closer to his body. He bent his head down and breathed
in my hair before kissing the top of my head. “I must move if I’m to find the
Guardians I need. But I am taking you to Conall and Eleanor before I go. You
are not to leave his side while I am away do you understand?”

“How long will you be gone?” I
hadn’t anticipated having to wait. I thought that he would have several
Guardians here that he trusted. I was wrong, it would seem.

“Answer the question, Izzy.”

“Fine, I promise not to leave his
side while you are away. Now you answer mine, buster,” I said, poking him in
the side.

“It may take a few days. The men I
need are rather scattered these days. In that time, you and Eleanor will be
able to form a plan on how to break the connection that has been put into place
during the sacrifices.” He pulled me against his body tightly and pulled away
to kiss me fiercely. His kiss was a promise of what would follow his return. I
threw myself into that moment. I took it all in. I needed this man the way I
needed the air I breathed. 

“Hurry,” I said, pulling away. I
knew that the sooner we acted, the better. I wasn’t sure if we would make it in
time as it was.

“You have my word. Now, let’s move
you down to the library. Don’t trust anyone here but Conall and Ian while I am
gone.”

“I got it. I don’t trust people so
easily after the debacle last year. So you have nothing to worry about. I’ll be
careful. Plus, I have this handy tattoo marking my back to keep me safe.” I
smiled up at him. I knew that he saw straight through my bravado but neither of
us acknowledged it. He pulled me under his arm and we made our way down to the
library.

We arrived to find Eleanor
frantically flipping through books as Conall struggled to take notes quickly
enough. She had papers strewn about her body. She worked with a ferocity I
envied.

“Conall, I need you to watch Izzy
while I am away. I must gather the Division.” Kennan moved to shake Conall’s
hand. He grabbed Conall’s elbow and Conall did the same. Their arms came into
alignment and I wondered what the motion meant. Everything these men did, they
did with a purpose. Nothing was incidental.

“So, it is time once more,” Conall
said, looking in my direction.

“I fear it may be the start of
something, yes. Besides, I want men we can trust here.  Someone at the Council
betrayed Isadora and your father. Only they knew who it was. I will not leave
Izzy’s fate to anyone I do not trust.” He leveled Conall with his gaze.  I
could read in his eyes the promise he was asking Conall to make.

“With my life, Brother. I will
protect her with my life. You need not ask. I already swore the oath to my
mother. Now go, find the men, and return so that we may put an end to this
madness.” Conall nodded at Kennan as he moved back toward the table to take
notes for Eleanor once more. She hadn’t paused once in her furious search.

“I must go. I love you with all
that I am, Izzy. Please don’t run off into the fray without me this time. Don’t
act until I’m back. Swear it to me.” His eyes pleaded. I knew that after my
actions last year it was hard for him to leave.

“I swear it. I do learn from my
mistakes, you know?” I smiled up at him. I needed to lighten his mood. I didn’t
want him to leave with such a heavy heart. “I love you, big guy. Now, go get us
an army to save the day.” I kissed him quickly before turning away. I moved
toward the table. I needed to separate myself from him or I would never be able
to let him go. This would be the first time since the lab incident that we had
been apart. 

“I will return as quickly as I
can.” Kennan left and with him went a huge chunk of my heart. I’d been so
wrapped up in everything going on since we’d come here that I hadn’t taken the
time to think about us. Aberto was right, I loved that man more than I even
knew. He was my world.

“So, what have you found so far,
Eleanor?” I had to clear my throat a few times to get it out. Tears threatened
to break the dam in my eyes. Conall stood up and wrapped his arms around me. I
needed to be strong but sometimes it was harder than others.

“He will return, Izzy. There is no
danger out there for him right now. No one is seeking him. Have faith,” Conall
said, pulling away to hold me at arms-length. He stood staring down at me with
his one good eye.

“I do. I just miss him. I know it’s
lame. He left five seconds ago.” I shook my head. “I’m alright; I just need
something to do to take my mind off of everything. Give me a project.”

“Not a day has gone by that I have
not missed Cait, so believe me I understand. If you would like the distraction,
perhaps you could take notes for Eleanor. I fear my hand might break from the
use,” Conall said, flexing his hand.

“That sounds perfect. What do you
need me to do, Eleanor?” I asked, sliding into the chair.

“What…hmmm…oh, yes.” She was
befuzzled. I wondered how long she’d been going on like this. “If you could jot
down the information on this page, that would be wonderful. Oh, and this
chart.” She started piling stuff in front of me. I looked up at Conall with
widened eyes to which he laughed.

“I told you. Broken hand.” He
flexed his hand in my direction. I stared down at my own and began writing. We
stayed that way for some time when Molly came into the room.

“Can I help?” She was staring at
the floor.

“Are you sure you want to?” I did
not want her to be put in the middle of this any more than she already was.

“Yes, if you will have me. I need
to do something to stop what she is doing. She chose him over me, Izzy. Xavier,
a man that has never given her a second thought.” Molly’s eyes glistened with
the tears she refused to shed.

“Can I ask you something? I don’t
want to offend you with it, so you can say no.”

“Why do you always do that, Izzy?
Just spit the question out already.” She moved toward the table and took the
seat across from me.

“Is Xavier your dad?”

What? Stranger things have
happened.

“Thank God, no. My dad died when I
was young. He was a normal human so he did not have the same lifespan as us
Seers. But mom loved him. I think when he died, something in her cracked. She
was never the same. Then Xavier came along, promising her a grand future, and
she latched on with all her might. I’m kind of an anomaly. Everyone thought I
would be born normal but I ended a Seer like my mom.” She looked down at her
hands as if she wished she could take back the last statement.

“You don’t have to do this. We can
do it without you, Molly.” I reached across the table and grabbed her hand in
mine. I wished for the thousandth time that it wasn’t her mom behind this
madness.

“I have to do something, Izzy. I am
going crazy cooped up in that room. So please, just let me help.”

“Alright, if you’re sure? Eleanor
needs this chart copied.” I handed her one of the papers from my pile. I
wondered why we needed to copy it down when we had the information right in
front of us.

“Because, my dear, sometimes
writing it down can bring new things to light.”

Egad! I hated when old Seers did
that whole reading-your-mind thing. It was unnerving.

“Sorry, I forget to block when I am
distracted.” She continued frenetically searching the pages of the book she had
in her lap hardly sparing me another glance.