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  “Ready to hit the road?” Kennan asked.

  “Yup, I think we are good to go, if Ian would pick his jaw up off of the floor,” I snickered.

  “You look completely different,” Ian said in awe.

  “I am incognito thanks to your hijinks. I am calling a ban on all pranks that involve my appearance. My clothes, my body, and my hair are all off limits, do you understand me?” Molly leveled a deadly stare at Ian.

  “I solemnly swear never to do anything like that again.” Ian held his hand up like a boy scout.

  We made our way out to Kennan’s old SUV with Molly griping about its dilapidated state. He needed a new car. We piled in and made our way out of the city to the Council headquarters. The closer we got, the worse I felt. I didn’t think I was prepared for what was about to come my way. I knew from Isadora’s tone on the phone that whatever she knew was something I was not prepared for.

  **********

  CHAPTER FOUR

  We arrived at the Council to find two Guardians waiting outside for us. One stood at least a head taller than Kennan and had a wicked scar bisecting his right eyebrow. His graying hair hung long down his back with the top section pulled back by a leather strap. He reminded me of an elf from “The Lord of the Rings.”

  The other Guardian looked to be about Kennan’s age. He had russet-colored hair that waved down to his square jaw which was clenched tightly. His face resembled the elder Guardians with its scars, only this Guardian wore an eye patch covering one eye. Whatever these men had been through had marked them. I stared into his good eye for a moment, shocked at how utterly green it was. I had never seen anyone with eyes that color in my entire life.

  We got out of the car and Kennan and Ian rushed to embrace the men, leaving Molly and I standing there staring. The men finally dropped their grim expressions in favor of comradely smiles. It was in those smiles that I realized the two men were related.

  “Izzy, come here. I want you to meet some people,” Kennan said, waving me over. Ian motioned for Molly to join me.

  “It is an honor to meet you,” they said simultaneously and bowed holding their right hands over their hearts. I was suddenly overcome with the desire to curtsy. They were treating me like a queen. It was unnerving.

  “Likewise?” I said, half question, half statement.

  “Izzy, this dapper gentlemen is Breanan. He is Isadora’s Guardian and husband. This young rogue is their son Conall. Gentlemen, meet the future Mrs. O’Malley,” he said with a beaming smile. The guys looked shocked but clapped him on the shoulder in congratulations.

  “And who might you be?” Conall asked Molly with some interest.

  “She is mine,” Ian practically growled. Molly punched him in his stomach before sticking her hand out to introduce herself.

  “My name is Molly. Tell me, is there some sort of trade in program for unwanted Guardians?” she asked with a glower in Ian’s direction.

  “Unfortunately, no lass. Otherwise I would be sweeping you up for myself.” Conall gave Molly a wink before moving aside. Ian’s glowers did nothing to dissuade him.

  “Well, this is lovely and all but I would really like to speak with Isadora if I could. I have some new, or rather old, information that might be pertinent,” I said, trying to get everyone back on track.

  “Of course, right this way.” Breanan gestured for me to go ahead of him. He left me with the impression that he was a man of few words. I imagined anything he did say was taken seriously and immediately carried out. At least I knew I would do pretty much anything he asked.

  Aside from their slightly dangerous appearance, I felt I could absolutely trust the two men. Well, at least Breanan for certain. Plus, there was the fact Kennan had introduced us. I knew he would not allow people he did not trust implicitly into my life. He was far too protective for that.

  “Awesome,” I muttered as our posse made its way inside.

  The moment I stepped foot over the threshold, all motion stopped inside the house. People began bowing to me as Breanan and Conall had. It was really starting to freak me out. I looked over to find Kennan wearing a strange expression. It was part serious Guardian and part “Oh crap she is gonna kill me.” He had some explaining to do.

  I arched my brow at him to which he shrugged his shoulders. We walked into what must be Isadora’s study and found her seated by a great fireplace in a high wingback chair. She looked up from her book with a beaming smile. She rose with the grace of rippling water and moved towards Kennan and me. When she was before us, she reached up and brushed a hand down each of our cheeks.

  “I am so glad you could make it. I just wish it could have been under happier circumstances. I had wished your next visit would be for the ceremony,” she smiled before motioning for us to sit down.

  “Molly, Ian, if you will go and get settled in I would appreciate it. I need to have a word in private with Kennan and Izzy.” Isadora always said things in a way which made you believe you had the choice but really there was no room for argument. I wondered how she had developed such a talent.

  As soon as they left the room, I turned back to Isadora and Kennan. They were exchanging a knowing glance. I looked over to Breanan and Conall, neither of which gave anything away.

  “Alright, what gives? Why is everyone treating me like royalty? What ceremony? More importantly, why couldn’t Molly and Ian stick around?” I asked, unsure of what was going on. The moment I felt like I had a foothold in this bizarre world things shifted again. It was really bothersome.

  “You have not told her anything, have you? Really, Kennan I am disappointed. How many more conversations must we have?” she said shaking her head.

  “I didn’t think it was the right time. I wanted to wait until after the wedding. I wanted to give her some normalcy. At least for a while,” Kennan muttered.

  “It is all an illusion, my dear Guardian. You know that in this world she will never be normal,” Isadora said sadly.

  “Sitting. Right. Here,” I said, getting annoyed. Everyone was speaking in subtext and code again. If they didn’t start explaining themselves soon, I was going to lose it.

  “Yes, dear, we know you are here,” Isadora said patiently. “First things first, tell me what you have seen. The dreams, the vision, I need to know it all.”

  I spilled everything, from the first dream I had up until the vision that had occurred only hours before. It might as well have been a lifetime for all that seemed to have happened between then and now. As the memories flowed from my lips, the uneasiness settled in my stomach. I knew whatever was about to happen, whatever Isadora was going to say would leave me forever changed. I just hoped I would be able to survive this time.

  “Well, that makes some sense I suppose. I have been unable to see her as well. It is most unfortunate,” she said with all of the concern of someone who had asked for no ketchup on their burger but got it anyway. She was as bizarre as she always had been. “I have a picture that I need to show you dear. It will be quite unsettling, but I feel you must see it. It seems that your time is coming sooner than we thought it would and I must prepare you for the role you must play. Part of that is keeping you completely informed. You must understand what I am about to show you is not to be shared lightly. If you feel you must include Molly and Ian that is fine, but I would rather keep it within this group.” She motioned to the people standing in the room.

  I didn’t like the idea of keeping anything from Molly or Ian but if whatever she showed me was that disturbing, I would. They had enough to deal with as it was. Especially Molly. She still didn’t know where her mother was. I couldn’t heap anything else on top of that stress.

  Isadora moved over to her mahogany desk and pulled out a file. She stared down at the folder in her hands for a moment before looking up to lock eyes with Breanan. He nodded almost imperceptibly in her direction, spurring her back into motion. She shook her head lightly and smiled sadly. She walked back over to me and handed me the folder. As soon as it hit my h
ands I felt a weight settle over me. I swallowed deeply. Everything was about to change.

  I hesitated a moment before I opened the folder. I wished I had waited longer. The moment I opened it, my head began to swim with what my eyes were now forced to witness. None of Xavier’s nightmares, nothing that I had seen while held hostage in the lab, could have prepared me for the photographs now staring me in the face. There, in my lap, lay the most gruesome sight I had ever beheld.

  My eyes didn’t want to believe what they were seeing. There, in the photograph, was a young woman laid out in a white, sleeveless gown. Carved up each arm were blood crusted symbols of some sort. They looked deep and unpardonably painful. I took a deep breath praying that she was dead before this had been done to her.

  I traced my eyes up her body to rest on her face. When I came to it, my stomach recoiled. Where her eyes should have been were two gaping chasms; a void of darkness where once there was light. I couldn’t look anymore. I dropped the file to the floor spreading its contents into disarray.

  “What was that?” I demanded, trying to regain my balance. As much as I wanted nothing to do with the contents of the folder, I knew they somehow pertained to me. If the past year had taught me anything, it had taught me that ignorance was not bliss in this world. The sooner I faced whatever was coming, the better. No repression, no denial, no trying to be someone I was not.

  “What you are seeing is one of three Seers that have been found similarly mutilated since our dear Xavier disappeared.” Isadora’s tone showed no emotion.

  I stared at her, trying to wrap my head around how she could remain so distant from it all. She was supposed to be the head of the Council, the person that protected us. How could she be so detached when Seers were dying?

  “Do you know who is doing this or why?” I asked, pacing back and forth. Kennan had picked up the file and its contents from the floor and was leafing through them with a rather grim expression.

  “We have some idea. It is some sort of ritual sacrifice. Our scholars are working on deciphering the runes and the exact ceremony. The problem is, our kind have not done a ritual sacrifice in almost a thousand years. Even then it was normally done with animals, never humans,” Conall said with disgust. I suddenly wanted to know how he had lost his eye. Durn my easily distracted mind. I pulled myself back to the present.

  “So someone is sacrificing Seers and this is the third one? Where were the Guardians? Why weren’t these Seers protected? What is being done to protect the rest of us from this madness?” I demanded. I was growing more hysterical as the moments passed. Something inside of me demanded that I protect the Seers. My very DNA screamed out that something must be done. They were my sisters, my fellow travelers down this miserable lot in life.

  “And you doubted she was the one,” Isadora said to Kennan.

  “What is all of this subtext you people are throwing around? Could someone please just spell it out for me? I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with much more than that,” I said, pointing toward the folder in Kennan’s hands.

  “We should go so that we can talk. We will meet with you again in the morning to discuss matters further, Isadora,” Kennan said brusquely before bowing and nodding in Breanan and Conall’s direction. It suddenly dawned on me that everyone bowed to Isadora when she walked by. I had a sinking feeling that what Kennan was about to tell me was really going to rate high on the suck scale.

  **********

  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.