See How She Fights (5 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

We made our way up the stairs to
the dorm area. I was seeing red by the time we reached our room. I walked into
the room silently, trying to tamp down my rage. The moment the door closed I
could not contain it anymore. I thought we were past keeping secrets

“What in the hell, Kennan? You have
been talking to Isadora this whole time without telling me. That whole ‘You
need to call Isadora’ bit was a load of bull wasn’t it? What’s going on,
Kennan? And don’t you dare bullshit me or try and wrap me in some protective
bubble, because it didn’t work the last time and it sure as heck won’t work
now,” I said throwing my body down on the end of the bed. I didn’t even want to
look at him I was so mad.

“I just didn’t think there was any
urgency to the situation. Apparently, I was wrong. And of course I talk to
Isadora. All Guardians report to her. I just assumed you knew that.” He paused
rubbing his hand down his face.

“You know what assuming does,” I
said snidely.

“Funny. Listen, I would have told
you. You have to believe that. I wasn’t trying to keep you in the dark. I just
wanted you to have a few months of peace before everything got shifted again. I
wanted you to be free from this world for a while. Maybe give you time to
adjust. Hell, maybe I was just being selfish. Maybe I wanted to keep you to
myself for a while. Whatever the reasons they will never be enough to you. I
know that and I know that Isadora was right, I should have told you the minute
she knew.” He finished, falling to his knees in front of me. His face was
pleading.

“What is it?” I whispered. I didn’t
want to hear the words that were about to come out of his mouth. I knew
somewhere deep in my soul I would never be the same again.

“You will be replacing Isadora
soon.”

I didn’t give him any time to
explain. I didn’t hear the next words out of his mouth.

I got up and walked out of the room
with a ringing in my ears. It was all too much. The dead Seer, Kennan keeping
secrets, and not just any secrets but that I was going to have to take over the
Council. The world spun around me as I fled our room. I wanted to be as far
away from Kennan as I could get.

I didn’t know where I was going. I
just headed in the opposite direction of his deceiving arse. He had promised me
he would never to lie to me again. Yet here we were. I couldn’t understand how
he had kept something like this to himself. How did he think that was okay?

I couldn’t fathom being responsible
for all of the other Seers out there. Hell, I was doing well just to keep
myself in check. My stomach churned as I tried to find my way out of the house.
My mind became a jumble of unanswered questions.

I ran out of the back door, almost
stumbling over the paving stones leading out into the garden. I slowed myself
down and tried to wrap my head around what was happening. Was Isadora going
into retirement? Would I have some sort of training period before I had to take
over? Was Kennan keeping anything else from me?

I wandered through the garden maze
until I was out of sight of the house. My head was still spinning when I found
a bench to sit on. My vision blurred as tears began to stream down my cheeks.
How could Kennan have kept this from me? He had promised no more lies, yet here
I was with the world crumbling around me once more. He could have warned me and
instead he chose to let me walk into this blind.

My tears continued to flow, part
desperation, part anger. Would I ever have any control over my future, or would
the rest of my life be a series of events set before me that I was expected to
fulfill? Ever since Kennan ripped me away from Chicago last year my life had
been nothing but a constant whirlwind of chaos and upheaval.

I stared down at my shoes trying to
regain my composure when I heard movement to my right. I looked up to find
Conall approaching me slowly.

“What’s wrong, lass?” he asked
lowering himself beside me on the bench.

“The man I am supposed to trust
most in the world is keeping things from me. My future is never going to be my
own again. Someone is murdering Seers. Just the usual,” I sniffled, hastily
trying to wipe away the evidence of my pity party.

“So what are you going to do about
it?” he asked in his rich brogue as he lifted the brow over his good eye.

“I have no idea. But wallowing
seems like a good plan for now,” I said, lowering my head into my hands. I was
shocked by the sudden presence of a warm hand resting against my back. I looked
back up to find Conall staring at me thoughtfully. “Um, what are you doing?”

“Trying to comfort you,” he smiled
devilishly. He was dangerous for so many reasons. None of which I was
interested in. I might have been mad at Kennan but it didn’t change how I felt.

“Um, do you think you could stop?”

“Your every wish is my command.”

“How did you lose your eye?” I
blurted hoping to change the subject.

“You are not at all how you are
supposed to be,” he laughed.

“No, I suppose not. But if you
wouldn’t mind telling me, I could really use the distraction.”

“It’s really rude to just ask
someone how they lost a part of their body. You know that, right?” I could tell
by his tone that I had not offended him. From everything I could tell it would
take a lot more than that to do the trick.

“I have never been known for my
tact. I’m surprised your mom didn’t tell you more about me if I’m supposed to
be taking over,” I groused. A look of pain flashed over his face for the briefest
of seconds. Before I knew it, he was back to his cavalier self.  “If you don’t
want to tell me, you don’t have to. I could just sift it from your memories.
Then again, prying is rude.”

“I would rather you not sift my
memories if it is all the same to you. There are things there that you aren’t
meant to know yet, events that have come to pass and those yet to be.” He
paused for a moment allowing the weight of his words to sink in. “I will tell
you how I lost my eye. It happened at the same time father got his scar.”  

“Izzy?” I heard Kennan call from
just around the bend.

“Looks like the story must wait for
another time. Until we meet again, fair Izzy.” Conall stood and gallantly
bowed. Oh brother.

“Conall,” Kennan said, part threat,
part greeting.

“Brother,” Conall said with a nod
as he disappeared into the maze of shrubbery.

“I really don’t want to talk to you
right now, Kennan,” I said, looking back down to my feet.

“But you will talk to him?” he
asked with anger.

“Don’t you dare treat me like the bad
guy here. I’m not the one keeping secrets. I came out here to be alone. I did
not ask Conall to sit down and I didn’t ask you to come out here. In fact, I
would have rather you stayed up in the room. To be quite honest I don’t know
when I will get over this, Kennan. You have to stop treating me like I can’t
handle the truth. You can’t protect me from this world any longer. I am a part
of it. So, yeah, I get that you are sorry. I get that you want to make up. But,
to be frank, I think you are sorrier that you got caught than you are for
keeping me in the dark,” I sputtered, never making eye contact.

Kennan lowered himself in front of
me and tilted my chin so that I was looking in his eyes. “You don’t know
everything. I am sorry that I didn’t tell you. I promised I would not lie to
you again. I did so by omission. You may be mad at me, Izzy. You can give me
the silent treatment if it makes you feel better. But know this, I’m not going
anywhere. There are still people here that cannot be trusted. You might not
believe me, but I love you. I’m sorry I gave you reason to doubt your trust in
me.” He pleaded with his eyes.

“I walked in here blind, Kennan,” I
said as I got up and moved away from his warmth. I didn’t want his apologies
right now. I needed the company of my righteous anger.

“Izzy,” he said, pleading with me.

“Please, Kennan. I just need some
time to sort this out. I need time to be mad at you. I love you, but right now
I don’t like you all that much. If you want someone to watch me you can get
someone. I don’t want it to be you for now.”

“Who, Conall?” he asked disgusted.

“Or Ian, or any of the other
Guardians roaming about. Cheese on a cracker, Kennan, this is not about me
replacing you with someone I just met an hour ago. This is about me trying to keep
my shit together. This is about me needing some time away from you so that I
don’t overreact. Some time to cope with the fact that I feel like you broke my
trust. I can’t do that with you in my face.” Anger vibrated beneath my skin
making it difficult to speak calmly. Tears began to fill my eyes anew. I needed
space and I needed it soon.

“Okay, you’re right. I’m being an
ass. At least walk with me until we find Conall again.”

I nodded my acceptance and moved
with him to find Conall. The very man appeared around the closest turn in the
maze just as we got up. I knew from the look on his face he had heard the whole
thing. I was really starting to dislike Conall. First impressions of trust be
damned. He was bad news.

“You beckoned?” he asked.

“Would you please escort Izzy in my
absence?” Kennan barely ground out. I wondered how, not two hours before, they
had been thick as thieves. Now Kennan seemed ready to take Conall’s good eye.

“It would be my honor, Brother,”
Conall said with a smile. There was history between these men. I knew that
Kennan did not readily let people in, so whatever the story was, it was a good
one. I also knew that the only reason Kennan was acting like an animal marking
his territory was because he was upset.

Kennan made his way back to the
house clenching his hands into fists. I wondered what he would do to reign his
anger back in. He had once told me how much he hated to lose control. He did
not readily unleash his rage. I had witnessed it this past year, all of that
tightly wound menace waiting to be uncaged.

I pulled myself back to the
present. I tried to convince myself that I didn’t care what he did to reign in
his anger. Unfortunately for me, it was a total lie. I did care.

“Eavesdropping isn’t polite,” I
said with a glare in Conall’s direction.

“Aye, but neither is having a
public spat with your lover,” Conall challenged.

I glared at him for a moment before
making my way back toward the house. I wasn’t quite ready to deal with the
implications of taking over the psychic throne or Kennan’s betrayal, so it was
a good thing I had a distraction. I just wished it weren’t in the form of dead
Seers.

I tried to remember everything that
had been said an hour ago. I’d been so busy trying to decipher the subtext of
the conversation that I’d missed huge chunks of information. I needed to talk
to Isadora, preferably without a huge entourage.

“Can you take me to your mother
please?” I asked, putting a cap on my emotions to deal with the bigger problem.
Throwing a tantrum about things to come would not protect people from the
things happening now.

“It would be my honor, lass,” he
smirked before stepping in front of me to lead the way.

“Don’t call me that,” I huffed.

“Oh, but Kennan said you liked it
so much.”

“I am starting to really dislike you.
I hope you’re aware of that,” I mumbled. Not that he cared.

“Aye, but it is not my desire to
make you like me. It is my desire to keep that pretty head on your shoulders in
one piece. With your eyes still encased.” He smiled and moved to hold the door
open for me.

As we entered the house there was
more bowing and simpering. It was driving me mad. Bah, focus Izzy. Dying
people. Crazy rituals. There were more important things than my relationship
woes and future title at stake. We walked back to Isadora’s office to find her
in the exact spot she had been in when we first arrived. It felt like déjà vu.

“Well that took less time than I
expected. Come in dear. I am sure you have some questions,” she said, patting
the seat beside her.

“I would like to look through the
file again if that would be all right. I do have some questions but they are
about what is going on now. I really don’t want to talk about the other stuff
yet. I, well, I’m not ready yet,” I said, hoping that my cowardice was not as
apparent to everyone else as it was to me.

**********

CHAPTER SIX

I sat there, embroiled in the
mystery of the killings. Isadora had told me they had found three bodies so
far. In each case the evidence had been the same. The Seers had the same runes
carved in their flesh, the same sort of white dress, and they were all missing
their eyes. I couldn’t understand what would drive a person to do such a thing.
I had thought Xavier to be the epitome of evil. This took it to a whole new
level. I wanted to know if it was Xavier behind the killings. Perhaps he’d gone
mad from losing everything. For all I knew, he was dead and this was an
entirely new sort of evil lurking in our midst. I needed answers and I knew one
place I could go to find them.

“Isadora, do you mind having
Breanan or Conall put me to sleep?” I knew that trying to seek out a man that
may or may not be dead was far reaching.  It was all I had at the moment.

“Wouldn’t you like for Kennan to be
here?” she asked, confused.

“Ma, I think that she would prefer
not to see him at present. They have had a lovers quarrel,” Conall stage
whispered. Yep, totally did not like him.

“Oh, but they will make up
tomorrow,” she said with wild eyes. I sometimes forgot how disjointed Isadora
could be. She saw so much. I wondered how she’d kept it together this long.
“With the help of Breanan my dear. The same way Kennan will help you.”

Well, that was just peachy, she
could read my friggin mind. Why had no one told me about that little trick?

“Because you didn’t need to know,
my dear.”

“Could you stop doing that?” I
blurted. I knew that I should show more reverence toward her. She somehow
always threw me off kilter and I could never control my reaction.

“Oh, right, sorry. I forget
sometimes. Don’t worry dear. We will set you to rights. Would you like to lie
down here on the couch or go to one of the rooms to conduct this experiment?”

“Here would be fine,” I muttered,
trying to calm myself and center my mind. I was far too antsy at the moment to
accomplish anything of real consequence. Focus, Izzy, people were dead.

“If you lie down I will lift
Kennan’s block,” Breanan said, startling me. I had forgotten he was in the
room. He barely talked or moved. It was super creepy.

“Alright.” I lay down and did my
best to focus on my objective. I needed to keep my internal chatter to a
minimum. Luckily, I’d been practicing meditation and focus techniques for the
past few months.

Breanan’s warm hands clasped on
either side of my forehead. He began whispering words that I had come all too
acquainted with over the past year. I felt my grasp on the dreaming snap back
into place. He moved one hand to the center of my forehead and the other to the
back of my head before whispering a phrase I’d not yet heard. Suddenly the
world started to slip away. I was swallowed by the oblivion of the dreaming and
dumped into the foggy miasma where nightmares became realities.

**********

“Hello?” I yelled. Even in the
dreaming I knew this was a half-baked idea. I heard moaning in the distance. I
moved forward through the foggy oblivion, the sound my only guide. The eerie
noise echoed and bounced until I could not find my way. I was lost.

I turned to run but was greeted
with a new nightmare. I looked down at almost a dozen bodies. Each one more
gruesome than the last. They reached out for me with blood crusted arms. Their
wails shredded my soul. I couldn’t breathe. Everywhere I looked, there were
eyeless
figures, begging me for help. I wanted to save them. I wanted to
make them whole again. I tried to remember that it was just the dreaming. It
was not real. This was not reality. I closed my eyes and tried to steady my
breathing.

“It isn’t real,” I shouted into
the fog. I opened my eyes to find them moving towards me. The sightless mob
closed in around me and as I began to scream, I heard him. I heard Xavier
whisper.

“Oh, but it is real. This is
what shall become of you all.”

I screamed out as their cold
fingers brushed against my skin.

**********

“IZZY!” I heard Kennan shout.

I opened my eyes to find Isadora
staring down at me with a worried expression. Kennan looked furious. Conall and
Breanan both seemed utterly perplexed.

“Is it always like that, Brother?”
Conall asked with the first hint of seriousness I’d heard from him.

“Like this or worse. The visions
are hard to pull her back from,” Kennan answered, never taking his eyes off of
me. “I know you don’t want me here now, but they couldn’t get you awake.
Isadora saw what you were seeing and she tried to pull you out. They came and
got me.” He started to pull away and leave.

I reached up and pulled him back as
the tears gathered in the corners of my eyes.

“Don’t leave,” I whispered. Part of
me was not ready to trust him just yet, but the bigger more urgent part of me
needed the comfort of his presence.

He picked me up and slid me onto
his lap in one smooth motion, effectively cradling me like a small child. I
often forgot how big he was. I allowed myself to melt into his arms. I sank
into the comfort of his warmth and got myself back under control.

“We have a problem,” Isadora said,
stating the obvious. Well, obvious to me.

“Why were they there? Were they
real?” I asked as the vision of those sightless faces danced in my mind.

“They are trapped,” she said,
placing a hand against my cheek.

“Would someone explain what she
saw?” Conall asked with a trace of annoyance.

“Give her time, son.” Breanan
calmingly placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“There were at least a dozen of
them. If they were real, then how have you only found so few?” I asked,
suddenly feeling nauseous.

“My dear that is what is to come if
we do not stop what has been set into motion. You just had a vision inside the dreaming,”
Isadora said as she sat back in her chair.

“How is that even possible? I
didn’t think you could have visions inside the dreaming. I thought they were
two separate things.”

“For most Seers they are. There
have only ever been three Seers in our histories that have been able to meld
their abilities. As you grow, so do your powers Izzy,” Kennan said. “Isadora is
one of the three.”

“So, now I have super, super
powers? Seriously, no more surprises people. If there is anything else I need
to know, please tell me now,” I said, trying to move to sit beside Kennan. I
realized being held like a child sort of ruined my credibility. It certainly
took the edge off of my threats. Kennan was having none of it though. His arms
allowed no room for movement.

“I will walk you through it
tomorrow, Izzy. For now we need to focus on what you saw,” Isadora said calmly
before looking at Breanan. Something unspoken passed between them. Moments
later he and Conall had left the room so that only Kennan and I remained with her.

“There are rituals from our past,
rituals that have not been spoken of or done in over a thousand years. They are
dark magic so we have done our best to destroy all knowledge of them. About
five years ago a manuscript was stolen from our private collection here at the
Council. We have no way of knowing who did this. There was no footage on the
security films, no alert. In fact, it may have been missing for far longer than
five years. It is not a manuscript we reference often. Within this manuscript
were rituals involving sacrificial magic. Rituals in which you bleed the soul
out of the body. Those souls can’t move on, they are forced to walk between
worlds for as long as the spell is being cast,” Isadora said as she stared into
the distance. I wondered what phantoms lingered in her mind.

“So they are trapped in some sort
of purgatory? What sort of ritual would do this? What is the objective?” I knew
that we would never be able to figure out who was doing it unless we knew why.

“That is the problem. Without the
manuscript, we do not know. There are over one hundred sacrificial rituals
involving soul bleeding. Without the manuscript, we have no way to solve this
mystery. I have brought my son here because he has some knowledge, as do Ian
and Kennan. There was a group of Seers and Guardians about a hundred years past
that split from the main Council. They wanted to use their powers for gain much
like Xavier had done with his Corporation. He had involved himself with the
group until he realized their objectives did not suit his own.”

“What does this have to do with the
book, or manuscript, or whatever it is?” I asked, trying to get Isadora back on
track.

“Patience, my dear,” she chided.
“There was a great deal of fighting in those times. There were lives lost on both
sides. Ultimately, the sect’s black magic was its own undoing. They performed a
sacrifice so dark, it brought forth something that never should have been
brought to this plane. It consumed them, and with them a great many of our own.
We were able to put things back the way they were meant to be.” She finished as
if she hadn’t just told me something from some other plane had been on freaking
walkabout on ours. I needed that durn handbook. Seriously, there had to be one
somewhere.

“I’m sorry, are you talking about a
demon or something?” I asked, not believing my ears.

“It falls more in the ‘or
something’ category, dear. Now quit interrupting.” She looked at me sternly and
continued with her story. “The problem we face now is that without the
manuscript we are unsure of what ceremony is being performed. Moreover, we
don’t know if the person responsible is trying to conjure the same beasties as
before. They could be up to all manner of no good, in fact. So, I implore you
my dear, anything you see, please tell me. No matter how incidental you may
feel it to be, I must know.” She leveled me with her serious gaze.

“I understand. But how are we to
find the manuscript? If it has been missing for over five years, how will we
even know where to look?” I begged.

“We know where there are several
other copies. Over the next few days, I would like you to assist the scholars
in searching. Perhaps sift through the memories of the books. They may tell you
if they were ever held with such a manuscript and who owns it.”

“I’m sorry. Did you just ask me to
talk to the books?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Books. Don’t. Talk,” I said as
clearly as I could.

“Well, not with that attitude they
won’t.” She looked at me before moving toward her door and opening it. “With
that, I will bid you a good evening. I have grown tired and need to rest.” She
waved her hand impatiently for us to leave.

I rose from my seat numbed by the
events of the day. I came here to discuss nightmares. At least that’s what I
thought I’d come for. Instead, I was now faced with a multitude of Seer murders
that would continue if I did not figure out where the manuscript was and find
the person responsible for the deaths. Oh, and then there was the pesky thing
about me taking over the council and ruling in Isadora’s place. Then there were
the monsters. Since she said they weren’t demons precisely, I figured it was as
good a term as any. I felt as though I had been living in the Twilight Zone for
the past year. The moment I got adjusted to my surroundings, “Thwack!” I was
smacked in the face with a whole different set of new and interesting problems.
I needed a drink. In fact, I needed several.

I made my way out of the room and
mumbled a goodnight. I looked over at Kennan and was struck by how much I
needed him. I was still upset with him, and if I was honest with myself, I knew
that I didn’t fully trust him to not keep withholding information. Yet, I also
knew he was my best bet to come through this latest disaster unscathed.

I swallowed my pride and made my
way up the stairs ignoring the bows and whispers. I was too caught up inside my
head to be bothered. I entered our room and headed straight for the bed
throwing myself down on it in the process. I rolled over to find Kennan
patiently waiting for me to say something.

“Well, this is a whole lot of
suck,” I said, burying my face in the pillow once more.

“Would you like me to leave? I can
stand guard outside the door so that I know you aren’t bothered.” The tone of
his voice left me raw and hollow.

“Um, could you stay?” I mumbled into
the bed as tears threatened to once more flow.

“Izzy, I’m not going to rush you. I
really don’t want to stay in here if you’re still upset. More importantly, I
don’t want you to forgive me just for the sake of having someone close right
now. If we ignore this, we won’t get better.” Kennan’s voice was strained with
things unsaid.

“I’m not over being mad at you,
Kennan. It will take a while for me to believe you are no longer keeping things
from me. I need to know everything, whether you think it is pertinent in the
moment or not. I’m tired of being blindsided. I know that this is hard for you.
I know you don’t want me to be in a situation where I could be harmed. Trust
me, I get that you are trying to protect me. But you can’t. Not from
everything,” I said, rolling over so that I could see his face. It was shrouded
and dark. He looked at the door and then looked back at me.

“Damn it,” he swore before moving
toward me with purpose. He threw himself on top of my body, pulling mine up the
bed beneath his own.

“What are you doing?” I whispered,
looking at his lips. Why did he have to have such perfect lips? It wasn’t fair.
I was trying to be mad at him.

“I am making up with you,” he said
before moving his lips down my neck to nibble on my collarbone.

“I am still mad at you. This
doesn’t change anything,” I said breathlessly. Damn those accursed lips.