See How She Fights (7 page)

“God,” I said. It was an argument
we had quite frequently. I guess when you come from hundreds of years in the
past your views are a bit different.

“God, gods, it makes no difference
in the story, Izzy. So, on this plane there are other things. Things that come
from the darkness to alter the course the gods have set forth. That is why the
Seers are here. They can predict the things that have been altered and set them
right. Haven’t you ever wondered why you have visions of things that can’t be
changed and visions of those that can? Those solidified visions are the acts
that the gods have set forth. Those are the things that must happen in order
for the course of the world to stay on track. The others, well they are not of
heavenly domain.” He finished as we made our way back into the room.

“So you are telling me I am some
sort of guardian angel warrior person? Just when I think I have it all figured
out you throw a wrench at me.” I threw myself onto the bed, dew-damp clothes
and all.

“If you can dodge a wrench…,”
Kennan said with a chuckle.

“That movie is so dumb,” I griped.
“So, now not only am I a Seer, I am some sort of guardian sent from God. This
just keeps getting better and better. Now I really feel as though I have
absolutely no control over my own destiny.”

“That is not entirely true. You can
decide to leave here and I would go with you. You don’t have to take over for
Isadora. You still have a choice, Izzy,” Kennan said gently.

“No, I really don’t. Not if I want
to be able to look myself in the mirror every day. If I walk away what happens
to the Seers? What happens to the future of the Council? If this is where I am
meant to be, how can I turn my back on that? No matter how scared I am, I can’t
let Seers die if there is something that can be done to stop it. So no, I don’t
have a choice.”

“You did just choose, you know?”

“Shut up, I am not talking
semantics with you,” I snickered. He had a way of pulling me out of my own head
that came in handy at times like this.

“I’m just saying, technically it
was a choice,” he said tickling my ribs.

“Stop it, you. I’m trying to be
deep and thoughtful. Don’t distract me with your tickles and devilish grin. I
have important things to do,” I said trying to pull myself back to reality.

“You can take a break,” he breathed
against my skin, distracting me in an entirely new and delicious way.

“I suppose that a few minutes
distraction would be acceptable,” I moaned.

“I had a little longer in mind, if
you don’t object,” he said, moving his mouth down the planes of my body,
causing all other thoughts to disappear. I deserved a break, right? I mean, the
fate of the world wasn’t going anywhere in the next hour or so.

**********

CHAPTER EIGHT

By the time dawn finally broke, I
was beyond exhausted. Between the visions of the previous evening, and Kennan’s
lovely distraction, I was done for. I thought about falling back asleep and
then disregarded the idea. I had no desire to run into Ren again nor did I want
to face Xavier and the pile of dead Seers. I opted to get up and go for a run.
If the past two days had been any indication of what was coming, I needed to
stay in shape. I crawled out of the bed, afraid to wake the dozing Kennan. He
reached for my arm and pulled me back against his body.

“Where do you think you are going?”
his sleepy voice rumbled against my body.

“For a run. I don’t want to go back
to sleep and risk more visions so I thought it would be a good idea to get out
and do some training.” I pulled out of his arm cage and went back to finding my
running gear.

“Fine. I am coming with you,” he
said, getting up drowsily to find his stuff.

“You don’t have to, Kennan. I can
get some of the other Guardians to go.”

“When will you get it through your
head that I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again?” he said pulling on
his shoes.

“That seems a bit extreme,” I
mumbled as I pulled a hoodie over my head.

“Well, with your track record I
think it’s a perfectly normal reaction. You, my love, are a trouble magnet,” he
said kissing the top of my head. I punched him in his side.

“This is so not my fault. I have
good karma, you know?” I asked, skipping just out of reach of his hands as he
made a grab for me. I knew if he had really wanted to get me he would have used
his super speed.

“Sure, Red. Whatever makes you feel
better,” he said snickering. I turned to smack him again but he used his super
speed landing a good swat on my tush.

“I am so going to get you for that,”
I said, chasing him down the stairs.

“Come and get me, babe,” he threw
over his shoulder playfully.

“Are we playing a game?” Conall
said appearing suddenly.

“Nope, just going for a run,” I
said as I started to do some warm up stretches. I’d learned long ago not to go
running with Guardians unprepared.

“Well, considering I am now on your
detail, Milady, I shall join you as well,” Conall said with a slight smirk.
“Good morning, Brother,” he threw in Kennan’s direction.

“Good morning, my arse. You know how
tired I am?” Kennan groused playfully. It seemed whatever issues had transpired
the previous day had rolled off of his shoulders.

“Well perhaps if you had slept
instead of keeping the whole house up with your moaning, you would not be so
worn,” Conall said earning a punch from Kennan. The two erupted in a brawl as
soon as we stepped outside. I was beginning to think I needed to intervene when
I noticed they were both laughing. I decided to ignore them and start my run.
They could catch up when they were done being ridiculous.

I began at a slow pace, getting my
muscles warmed up. I looked around the surrounding countryside, trying to
recall the path I’d taken the last time I was here. I set out in the direction
I remembered the path being and found a solid pace. I was totally in my zone
when something zipped up on either side of me causing my instincts to kick in.
The training that Ian and Kennan had been drilling into me for the past year
took over. I twirled and brought my leg out and down causing one of the
oncoming figures to topple while I struck out with my arm at the other figure.
I stood and looked down upon the damage I’d just caused in the matter of
seconds.

“Who has been training the lass?”
Conall wheezed from the ground.

“Ian started her training, but it
seems her instincts have gotten sharper along with her other talents,” Kennan
moaned while he rubbed his back down by his kidney.

“It is your own faults, you know?
It is really rude to sneak up on a girl,” I muttered before continuing my run.
If I stopped to think about what I’d just done I would start freaking out
again. I had just taken down two highly trained Guardians single-handedly.
There was only one other time I’d felt that same sense of focus. The day I
killed Xavier. Well, the day I thought I’d killed Xavier. The jury was still
out on that one.

“Wait up!” Kennan yelled running
after me.

“Ugh, I think she broke me, man,”
Conall said as he hobbled to catch up.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I
huffed as I picked up the pace. I wanted to see if my stamina had grown along
with my instincts. Two miles later I realized that was not the case. I paced
through the field trying to catch my breath as Kennan and Conall taunted one
another.

“So, Izzy, done already?” Conall
smirked.

“Shut it, Eye Patch,” I wheezed.

“Keep calling me that and I will
call you Lass,” Conall said.

“Fine, I won’t call you Eye Patch
and you won’t call me Lass or Milady. Oh and stop with the bowing business as
well would you?” I said, finally catching my breath.

“We have an accord,” he said
starting to bow. He stopped half way into it laughing. “Sorry, old habits and
all that.”

“Do you want to practice some of
your forms, Iz?” Kennan asked, reading my mind.

“Yeah, that would be great. I
wonder if that whole fast instinct thing only works when I really feel
threatened,” I said as I moved to take my first stance.

The three of us spent the next few
hours going through several forms. My speed had increased significantly. I
wasn’t as fast as I’d been when I took them down earlier, but my speed had
definitely improved. I wondered about the feeling that had accompanied the
speed earlier. That strange sense of numbness I had only felt once before. I
didn’t allow my mind to linger on it. I wanted to get back to the house and
wash off the gallon of sweat that was trying to drown me.

**********

We made it back to the house and
said our goodbyes. It seemed that Conall and I had come to some sort of truce.
I just hoped it would last for more than a day. There was something about him
that I couldn’t put my finger on. I didn’t want to ask Kennan about it because
he was obviously close to Conall. It wasn’t that I thought he was a bad guy
exactly, there was just something off.

I shook the thoughts aside and
headed into the shower. Kennan tried to join me but I shooed him away. I had no
time to spend on my desires this morning. Plus, I was flat exhausted from
everything that had happened since I awoke from my nightmare. I got ready in
record time and headed down to the dining facilities with Kennan. When we got
there, I noticed Ian and Molly sitting at a table. We got our stuff and headed
toward them.

I looked at Ian and started to
laugh. He had given up on the whole dressing to match thing it would seem. He
had on a pair of plaid Bermuda shorts and a yellow Hawaiian shirt with hibiscus
flowers plastered over every available inch. I shook my head and sat down,
turning toward Molly.

“How are you this morning?” I
asked. I had almost forgotten about her coming to the room the previous night.
It seemed like so much had happened since then.

“Fine. I am more worried about you.
Why didn’t you tell me you were going to take over the Council?” she asked,
raising her brows impatiently.

“Um, maybe because you had more
pressing matters on your mind when you paid me a midnight visit. Or maybe
because I only found out yesterday,” I said, giving Kennan a pointed stare as
he tried to look anywhere but at me.

“I take it he knew,” Molly
grumbled. “Stupid Guardians with their stupid know it all selves thinking they
know everything.”

“Something you want to talk about,
Molly?” Ian asked with a sour smile. It seemed something had transpired between
the two of them. Obviously he had given up trying to impress her by showing her
he could match his clothing. I honestly didn’t have the energy to dedicate to
their problems at the moment. Besides, I was sure both of them would eventually
spill the beans and try and get me to fix whatever was going on. Molly would
ask me to make Ian be more reasonable and Ian would try and get me to make
Molly loosen up. It was the same sort of circular fight they’d been having
since we left the Council almost six months ago.

I shook my head at them as I saw
Conall approach the table. I really hoped he didn’t stir the pot with Ian and
Molly. They had a hard enough time without any external forces poking holes in
their fragile truce. Conall lowered himself across from me next to Ian. He
smacked Ian on the back in way of greeting, causing Ian to almost choke.  I
rolled my eyes in their direction before turning back to Molly.

“So, yeah. In an effort to be more
open, I apparently have developed some kind of super speed power and can have
visions while in the dreaming. Yay me,” I said, taking a bite of my bagel. I
chewed as Molly’s eyes became the size of saucers.

“But, there have only been like
three others in the history of time that could do that. That is so… amazing.”
She started to vibrate with her excitement. I always forgot how into the whole
Seer thing she was. Where I felt forced into my situation, she felt honored to
be chosen. We made a fine pair, her longing to be in touch with her powers and
me wanting to give up mine.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get too excited.
I don’t know what is happening. Maybe it is just some sort of fluke. Oooh,
maybe I have some sort of Seer flu that causes powers to get out of whack,” I
said as I took a big drink of coffee.

“Not likely, Shorty. You have been
a weird one from day one. It would make sense you would get the extra whammy
powers. Plus, your mom saw you having them a long time ago,” Ian said as Kennan
kicked him under the table. “I mean, I thought I heard someone say it sometime.
I’m sure Kennan had no previous knowledge of this.”

I glared in Kennan’s direction.

“She made me swear an oath,” he
said around bites of food.

I looked around the table at the
four people sitting with me.

“From now on I expect each and
every one of you to tell me anything I might need to know about past or future.
Things like ‘Hey you are going to be the super Seer of our time’ or ‘You will
have to take down an evil empire someday.’ This is all information that I
require. Do you all understand? No more of this ‘I swore an oath’ nonsense. If
it is about me, I want to know,” I said, glaring at my friends. They all
sheepishly looked anywhere but at my face.

“There is more, isn’t there?” I
asked.

“What more we know is not only of
you. It is for this reason I asked you not to sift through my memories. There
are things that I can’t tell you now,” Conall said, bowing as he rose from his
seat. I glared at him before he mumbled a “sorry.”

“Do it again and the nickname comes
back,” I hollered after him.

He nodded imperceptibly as he made
his way from the dining facility.

“Oh yeah, I forgot. I am totally
calling him that later,” Ian said, laughing around bites.

“Don’t you try and change the
subject buddy. What more did my mother say? You better spill the beans.”

“She just said that you would be
the best of your kind in generations. She said that you would face great
hardships and that you would be equipped to handle them. There was also talk
about you developing some of the same abilities Guardians have. But that is it.
I swear.”

“Way to be vague, Ian. And you,
what do you know about all of this?” I asked, poking Kennan with my fork.

“Ouch,” he said rubbing his arm. “I
don’t know any more than that. She told us at the same time. She also made us
swear an oath. You don’t break an oath to a dead person. It brings what you
call bad juju,” he said, glaring at Ian.

“Well, look at the time. I think
Molly and I are going to go do some training,” Ian said, trying to pull Molly’s
tray away from her.

“What training? What are you
talking about?” Molly looked completely confused as she followed after him.

“So, what would you like to do with
the rest of the day?” Kennan asked, trying to change the subject.

“You are so not off of the hook for
this buster. Just yesterday you promised no more secrets. I’m pretty sure you
were there for that whole conversation. As to what I plan to do today, I’m
going to go talk to Isadora and try and figure out what in the heck is going on
in my noggin,” I said, getting up and taking my tray. I wasn’t as mad at Kennan
as I had been the day before, but he’d once again kept something from me. I
understood how he felt about oaths, though. He had sworn a few to me and I was
glad to know that he would not break them.

As I reached for the tray return
cart I was struck by a vision. My tray toppled to the floor along with my body.

**********

I was standing in an abandoned
building. I knew this place well. I was standing inside the Lawndale Theater in
Chicago. The place had been out of use for as long as I could remember. But
there I stood, watching the same shady figure of a woman that had been in my
previous vision. I looked around and noticed that there were three other
figures wearing robes. From their sizes, I would guess them to be Guardians.
They swayed back and forth in a circle chanting something. I was struck by the
strangest sense of déjà vu.

I moved closer to see what was
going on. I found a sight I had never wanted to see again.

“Pretty gruesome, huh?” Ren
asked from behind me. I jumped and barely contained my scream.

“What are you doing here? This
isn’t the dreaming,” I whispered harshly.

“No, but that poor Seer is about
to be ripped from her body and tossed to this plane so I came to help her. I
had the ability to see spaces with my eyes closed while I was alive. I just
figured out I could still do it now. It comes in handy when you don’t have any
real eyes left,” she said staring toward the stage as if she could see what was
happening as easily as I could.