See How She Falls Page 10

  “I miss her.” I hadn’t thought about my mom much in the last months. I’d been trying to keep my attention on everything but her absence. But now, in the presence of the only living family I had left, the reality came like an unwelcome slap to the face.

  “I know, I do too.” Mona moved from her seat to engulf me in a familiar hug. “But, we must move forward. Dwelling in the past will do nothing to save us from what is coming. I need you to be a strong girl now. Okay?” She pulled back, leaving her hands on my shoulders to assess me.

  “I know. I just haven’t thought much about her and seeing you brings it all back to the surface.” I wiped my eyes and nodded, grounding myself in the present. If the prophecy was right, I would be seeing her again soon at any rate.

  “We need to discuss what I’ve been seeing.” Mona moved back to her seat and stared at me gravely. Gone was the kind aunt that I’d just seen. The woman sitting before me was a leader, a force to be reckoned with.

  “Well, let’s get it over with shall we?” I didn’t see any point in postponing the inevitable.

  “One moment.” My aunt closed her eyes and shook out her shoulders, when she began speaking again, it was no longer her words. “Guard yourself Seer, the darkness shall arise soon. Look not for answers in the fog, for they lie within you. There are enemies at your gates, trust not what you see, but what you feel. The time has come for you to pay the price for the gifts that have been bestowed. Fail and all of your struggles will be for naught.”

  It would be super awesome if the Big Guy would just give me a simple road map instead of sending me riddles that were impossible to decipher. Or better yet, not just telling me what I already knew. And the whole bit about me paying for the gifts, it wasn’t like I’d asked to be born a Seer. As far as I was concerned they could just take their gifts back.

  “What am I meant to do? Why won’t you just tell me who you are and be done with it?”

  “You are meant to fulfill the prophecy. That is both your blessing and curse. As for who I am, when the time comes, all shall be revealed.” And just like that my aunt was back to herself, mumbling curses about being used as a loudspeaker. The name Mona was beginning to make more sense.

  “Well, did you get anything useful?” My aunt asked.

  “Just more riddles, like always," I yawned loudly, trying to suppress my exhaustion.

  “Let’s find you somewhere to sleep. I won’t have my niece falling over from exhaustion. That just won’t do!” My aunt got up from her seat, leading me half-asleep, to the door.

  “What did you find out?” Kennan asked as we exited the room.

  “I found out that the people running the heavens are even more elusive than you lot. So, pretty much, a whole lot of nothing.”

  “Are you telling me that we have journeyed all this way for nothing?” Aberto’s incredulous voice brought more of my attention back to my surroundings.

  “I’m not sure yet. Honestly, I’m so tired I could fall over right now. So, my suggestion is that I get some sleep, and maybe just maybe I will have some answers in the morning.”

  “You and your Guardian can use this room. Conall and Aberto may share the room next to that. These rooms are reserved for our visitors. Sena will answer any questions you may have.” With that, my aunt disappeared back into her room to be replaced by Sena.

  “Alright, let’s get you interlopers settled, shall we?” Sena opened the door to Conall and Aberto’s room, gesturing for them to enter.

  “Sena, is there a place where we may discuss something privately?” Conall looked nervous as he addressed her.

  “Not a chance, dog boy. You Council lot are always trying to stir up trouble. So, get this in your head real quick like, it ain’t happening.” She eyed him steadily as if he had just propositioned her to give up her maidenhood. “Now, go on in and get Abe settled, he looks a bit restless.”

  “I did not mean…” Conall trailed off, completely confounded by Sena’s response.

  “Whatever. In with you. I’ve got other business to handle and you are wasting my time.” Sena turned her attention to us as a befuddled Conall disappeared into the room. “As for the two of you, you will be here.”

  “Why did you call him dog boy?” Out of everything she’d said that one had stuck with me. It brought me back to the bizarre vision I’d seen on the plane.

  “You don’t know? Oh, this is going to be a riot when you figure it out. Priceless.” She was near the point of hysterical laughter. “In with you now, go on. I’ll explain everything later, if your Guardian lets me.”

  I walked into the sparsely furnished room, with what I was sure was a similar expression to Conall’s, utter confusion. My exhaustion pulled at me, there was no way I would be able to think about anything else. I needed to sleep, and quickly. Before Kennan could even utter a word, I collapsed to the floor, never making it to the bed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Apparently my protection marks were no longer doing me a lick of good. I could feel him in the fog, the bringer of the darkness. I’d been summoned yet again, and I knew when I awoke I would have another mark. I hoped that I would at least be able to find out who was behind the marks. Perhaps then I would have a better chance of stopping what was coming.

  “That would be a helpful bit of information, would it not?” The robed figure emerged from the fog with a grotesque monster following in his wake. The demon was in the dreaming, which meant it was even closer to reality. I watched it flicker in and out of existence; there and gone again. Never settling on this plane completely. It made me nauseous, as if I were staring straight at a strobe light.

  I swallowed deeply, fighting the nausea. Tired of the games, the mystery, I ran full-force toward the robed figure. Enough was enough. I used every ounce of the power that I’d gotten from Aberto to make it to him in time to rip his hood down.

  His hand shot out sending me flying backwards to land painfully on my back. The man moved to stand over me, a snarl gracing his ruined face. A crescent shape scar dissected his eyebrow and extended downward to culminate at the corner of his mouth, turning the corner up in a constant sneer. Surrounding the scar were a network of spider web-like scars. Lowering himself, he pinned my stomach down with a knee, simultaneously encircling my neck with an iron grip, threatening to cut off my life.

  “You should be grateful that we need you to form this bridge. Otherwise, I would have ended you long ago.”

  I tried to fight the tears flowing down my cheeks as he pulled a stylus out and began to dig deeply into my arm, forming one of the last runes. I thought of Aberto and wished more than anything that he could be there, to somehow protect me from this man they way he’d protected me from my bad dreams. Just as the robed man finished up the mark, Aberto appeared.

  A bright light shone as the man was thrown from me in a force unlike any I’d ever seen. Aberto moved toward the fallen man, paying no heed to either me or the demon.

  I looked upon the solidified demon. One more mark- that was all it would take for it to break through to the corporeal plane. The smell of the demon’s charred skin coated my nostrils as I looked up and up in abject terror. I was frozen, unable to move as it lumbered toward me.

  “It cannot be stopped.” The demon’s voice, like metal grating against metal, sounded in my mind. Hate and fear welled up inside of me instantaneously, causing my stomach to roil. I struggled to find air as the voice echoed through my mind, bringing forth the visions of the burning city and the man with blackened eyes.

  I swallowed down my fear, pushing it aside to stand on shaky legs. I turned my attention toward Aberto, no longer able to stomach the demon. Aberto moved towards the sprawled man, a brilliant blue glow surrounding his body. The look in Aberto’s eyes terrified me.

  “Hello, brother," the man sneered. Betrayal and shock quickly replaced the anger upon Aberto’s face.

  “It cannot be. Why? Why would you do this? Why bring this destruction down upon the earth we were sworn to prote
ct? We are not meant to interfere! Do you not understand the penalty for what you do?”

  “Nothing could be worse than this accursed existence," the man snarled. “Had I acted all those years ago, perhaps I would not be here now. I will bring this world to justice, the justice it deserves. No longer will I protect these undeserving people. Instead, I will make them earn their forgiveness, earn their place in the heavens. The darkness will come and it will purge the earth. Nothing can stop it.” He disappeared into the fog with the demon, his words left to echo through the emptiness.

  Aberto turned and came towards me slowly, a look of dismay upon his face.

  “You came," I croaked. My throat felt bruised from where I’d been held down.

  “I will always come.” Aberto reached his hand out to help me to my feet.

  “Who was he?”

  “He is Emmanuel. He is an Old One.” Apparently, that was all Aberto would be divulging. With the shock of it all, I wasn’t interested in pressing. All I wanted to do was sleep, to actually sleep and rest for more than five minutes.

  “Can you help me sleep?”

  “I can.” Aberto placed his hands on either side of my face to whisper a binding that would prevent me from dreaming, but allow me to rest.

  Thankfully, all that remained was the beautiful oblivion.

  Being pulled from sleep by Kennan’s voice startled me. I felt like I hadn’t slept at all and my throat and arm felt as though I had been beaten. Oh yeah, I had. I tried to sit up but fell back against the pillows abruptly.

  “Izzy, hold still. The Grand Seer is trying to treat your rune.” Kennan pushed gently against my shoulders to hold me in place.

  “Which one was it this time? Which rune?” My voice came out a strained rasp.

  “It is Kalc," my aunt muttered, doing her best not to touch my skin directly.

  I was so tired of being unable to touch anyone but Aberto. It had been months since I’d been able to have my naughty way with Kennan. I missed him. I missed his touch. If anything, I wanted to end all of this just so that I could get laid again. Was that so wrong?

  “What’s it mean?” I whispered.

  “It roughly translates to chalice or offerings.” She paused for a moment, finishing up my bandage, “There, all finished. Now, we should get you some food. I will have it brought here because you don’t seem exactly mobile at the moment.”

  “Thank you.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly before she left the room.

  “What happened in the dreaming? Aberto came back furious and then disappeared once he saw you were safe.” Kennan gently stroked my forehead, careful to avoid contact with any of my other skin.

  “Aberto knows the man orchestrating whatever this is. He’s an Old One, Kennan.” My throat felt as though it were lit by fire. I honestly didn’t think I would be able to talk much more.

  “Explain this.” Kennan pointed toward my neck and what I was sure was a gnarly bruise.

  “I foolishly tried to figure out who we are up against. He didn’t like being unmasked.” Swallowing back any further words, I winced.

  “Just rest. If you can bring Aberto back, that would probably be a good thing. We need to know what he knows.” Kennan rose to his feet and walked to the other side of the room to lean against the dresser. I could see the tension rippling through his back as he stood there. He knew that time was running out, and he was doing everything he could to hide his concern.

  “We are going to make it," I promised, as much for myself as for him. I needed to hope that the prophecy could be rewritten.

  “You better be right. I can’t do this without you, Red. You’ve been my life longer than I can remember. No more dying, no more risky stunts, no more rushing into the fray. Got it?” Kennan returned to sit next to me on the bed as the door opened.

  “I have some grub for you.” Sena came in and stopped wide-eyed. “Holy crap! What happened to your neck? Is he beating you? Because, I’ll totally kick his ass if he is.” She nodded toward an incredulous Kennan.

  “Happened in the dreaming," I wheezed.

  “Ah, so they pulled ya back in again. Do you mind if I take a look at your protection marks?” Sena moved towards me, setting the food down on the dresser as she came.

  “Umm, no?” It didn’t seem wise to argue with her at any rate. She was the sort to just plow on through without a second thought.

  I sat up slowly, lifting my shirt so that she could see my marks.

  “Well, if those aren’t working, then nothing will. Does Abe know they aren’t working?”

  I nodded, afraid to speak much more.

  “Hmm, fat lot of good his skills are doing for you. Well, eat up. If what they say is true, this could be one of your last meals.” She paused for a moment, surprised by her own words. “Oh, I am so sorry, that was so rude. Sometimes I just don’t have a filter. Everything that passes through my head comes out of my mouth. Just forget what I said. We are going to try and do everything we can to keep you safe. Yeah, well. I’m gonna go now.” She rushed from the room causing me to snicker.

  “She’s interesting," Kennan muttered.

  I nodded in agreement, doing my best to inch my way towards the food, only to be pushed down by Kennan.

  “I’ll get it. You just save your energy. Who knows what random acts of insanity you will need to perform today.” He smiled brightly as he brought my food over. “After breakfast, you need to get Aberto here. We need to figure out what we’re going to do. I can’t just sit around any longer, Izzy. We need to do something.”

  “I know," I rasped. My throat was starting to feel better already, which brought a whole new concern to the foreground. If that was another change, then would I end up like Aberto? He could heal quickly, and if I were starting to heal like him did that mean that I would also end up stuck in between planes for the rest of forever? Terrified by the prospect of spending an eternity neither here nor there, I decided to turn my attention to something else. No sense in worrying about something that hadn’t even happened yet.

  “Well, eat now, and we’ll get everyone together to figure this out.” Kennan rubbed his hand down his face heading out of the room. Presumably, to gather everyone to formulate some sort of plan.

  I looked around the empty room and wondered how we were ever going to cram everyone in here. I wished that there was some way for me to heal the runes, the way my throat was healing. I brushed off the self-pity and delved into my food. Thank God it was something soft and familiar, grits. I shoveled them down thinking of Aberto, and his reaction to Emmanuel. Things had just taken a giant turn for the worse and I knew it. Whatever came next was going to be a whole heaping ton of suck.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I should not have abandoned you. Forgive me?” Aberto appeared in my room before anyone else was able to return, startling me from my food reverie.

  “Bells!” I rasped, startled.

  “What?” Aberto’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

  “You need to wear them.” I gave him a stern look before returning my attention to my deliciously buttery grits.

  “Is your throat not healing?” Aberto never would dignify my bells idea with a response. One of these days I was going to buy him one of those jingle bell anklets and strap it on him when he was unaware.

  “It feels better than it did when I woke up," I supplied between bites.

  “Perhaps your being unable to speak will work to our advantage. I may just be able to get through my story without your interrupting with a thousand unimportant questions.” Aberto gave me one of his rare half-smiles as he lowered into the chair closest to the bed. My arm acted of its own accord to smack him.

  “Ha. Ha," I wheezed. I figured sign language was probably going to be our best means of communication so I motioned for him to continue.

  “Emmanuel is one of the Old Ones, the first of our kind. I knew years ago that he had taken it into his head to bring forth a darkness, but he only had the help of some inferior
Guardians and Seers. Ultimately, Cait was able to undo his bindings by sacrificing herself for the sake of those she loved. Emmanuel disappeared after that. All that knew he’d been there had assumed that the gods had finally taken him under their judgment.” Aberto dropped his head into his hands. “I didn’t know, Izzy. I had no way of knowing that he had survived and still plotted to bring about this ridiculous scheme. Why did the gods not punish him for his acts? Why has he been left to do his bidding?” Aberto looked at me, pain lacing his eyes.

  “Because all things have their time, dear one.” Mona entered the room so quietly, neither of us had noticed her entrance.

  “Is this from you, or them?” Aberto asked, distain dripping from every word.

  “From experience. Do you not remember uttering those words yourself to my dear niece? All things have a season, do not lose your faith. If you cannot believe enough to stand, then we shall all fall.” My aunt rested a hand on his shoulder before turning back to me. “As for you, let’s get you propped up and a bit more presentable, shall we?”

  She moved toward me and pulled me up to rest more comfortably against the pillows. I was starting to feel like an invalid. After getting me resettled, she grabbed a makeup remover cloth from my bag and set out to clean my mascara stained face. I didn’t even remember putting it on in the first place.

  “There now, much better.” She left her hand resting on my cheek, the same way my mother had. Tears sprung in my eyes. I was grateful to have something of my mother back. Even if she wasn’t my mother, she was my blood.

  I nodded as the rest of the group filed in. Conall tried to move next to Sena, who abruptly shot across the room to stand next to my aunt. I’d thought Ian had trouble with Molly. It appeared Conall was in for way more trouble than even Ian had faced. It served him right to get someone as sassy as her though. Maybe she would make him less serious.