Seeing is Believing Page 4

  “Now?” Ian whined. “Just come back to bed. I have something for you.” His wicked smile told me exactly what he had for me.

  “Really? Again?” I looked at him shocked. I could barely stand as it was, let alone go another round with his towering behemoth self.

  “Always.” Ian lifted his eyebrow in my direction, causing flutters to begin deep in my stomach.

  “No.” I stomped my foot, reminding myself, more than anything, I had something that needed to be done. “Your charm isn’t going to work on me, mister. I have stuff I need to do. In case you’ve forgotten, the world is falling apart around us. Stop trying to distract me.”

  “You’re a buzz kill, you know that, right?” Ian rolled over on his back exposing his abdomen, tempting me even further. Closing my eyes, I pulled on my clothes the rest of the way before moving to a chair in the corner.

  “Why are your eyes closed?” Ian snickered.

  “So I’m not tempted to ignore my responsibilities.”

  “You’re going to run into something if you walk around like that.”

  “Then put some clothes on. Clearly, you are a hazard to my well-being.” I smiled, peeking to see if he made any motion to move. Of course he hadn’t.

  “Do you need any help?”

  “What?” Blush stained my cheeks. I wasn’t sure what he meant.

  “Getting into the dreaming. Do you need any help getting into the dreaming?” Ian closed his eyes as if he were trying to concentrate himself. If his question hadn’t shocked me into opening my own, I would have missed it.

  “No, I think I’m good. If you could just, you know, stop distracting me with your hotness.”

  “No promises.”

  Lowering myself into the chair, I began to clear my mind. Forgetting the past few hours would be harder than anything I’d had to do lately. The more I tried not to think about Ian the more he was all I could think about. Stop thinking about him, Molly! Izzy still needs you! With that sobering reality, thoughts of pleasure faded to those of fear. It was time to focus on something other than myself. It was time to sack up and embody Izzy.

  My senses blurred as the dreaming came rushing in. Trying my best to remember what Uriel had said, I struggled to gain my bearings. The dreaming wasn’t all that welcoming when it came to me. It seemed it actively tried to push me out. Not for the first time, I wondered if I were the only Seer with this problem. Maybe it was my half-human heritage the dreaming rejected. Either way, I was determined to make it bend to my will. It wouldn’t defeat me. No siree, Bob!

  “Aberto? Where are you?” I shouted, letting the echoes traverse the fog.

  “The light.” A strained response came echoing back from far off in the distance. Awesome, why couldn’t I have dropped into the dreaming closer to them? Stupid dreaming.

  Moving through the dense fog, I sought out the light. As my feet carried me, the ridiculousness of the past few days finally began to sink in. My life in the lab had been downright luxurious compared to everything that had happened. Oh, for simpler times. Alas, an easy life didn’t seem to be in the cards, so I would take what I was given and make the most of it. By heading toward the light.

  “What message do you bring?” Aberto ground out each word, as if each syllable took an inordinate amount of effort to speak.

  “I come with a message, but it isn’t one that makes sense. Hopefully you’ll understand it!” I shouted back, knowing full well I would never be able to push through Izzy’s defenses to reach him. He’d been struggling to regain ground the entire time I’d been gone.

  “What. Is. It?” Each word was clipped, laced with irritation.

  “Sacrifice and love!” I yelled.

  “Sacrifice and love.” I heard the resignation in his voice as if the message was all he needed. So Uriel did know what needed to be done, and how to get Aberto to act upon it. At least one of us understood the cryptic message.

  “What should I do now? What can I do?” Helplessness crashed in as the realization I could do nothing more to help Izzy overwhelmed me.

  “Return and bridge the divide.” So, Aberto was going to be as cryptic as Uriel, super!

  I quit fighting the dreaming and let it reject me, allowing reality to embrace me. Adrift, I struggled to make sense of what he’d said. The only divide I could understand was that of Ian and the Order. At least I could maybe do some good. Opening my eyes, I looked over to find Ian staring at me. He’d gotten dressed at some point and seemed to be awaiting our next move.

  “We have to bridge the divide,” I grumbled.

  “What about Izzy?” Ian’s concern radiated throughout the room. He’d felt almost as responsible for Izzy as Kennan had, and the loss of them both simultaneously ate at him.

  “Aberto has that taken care of. We have to fix what’s going on here. I need to meet with Mona and Eleanor, and you need to come along.”

  “I have nothing to say to her.” Ian looked down at his hands, his jaw clenching in frustration.

  “Tell me.” We’d been dancing around the truth for so long, it was time I finally understood just what was going on with him and the Order.

  “My mother died and they banished me. What more do you need to know?” Anger flared behind his eyes.

  “Don’t you think there was a reason for their actions? Perhaps someone had seen your destiny and knew remaining with the Order was counterintuitive to what your future required.” It was time to stop tiptoeing around the truth. Something ugly was coming our way and if Ian didn’t resolve his issues, they could get in the way of us stopping it.

  “Stop trying to reason with me. You don’t know what it was like, Molly. I had no idea what I’d done to deserve banishment. I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of years trying to make sense of it, only to be left with the certainty I’d done nothing. They just didn’t want me anymore and kicked me to the curb, like I was nothing more than refuse to be disposed of. In the back of my mind there is a constant voice reminding me I’m unwanted; I’m unworthy. That isn’t something I can just forgive.” Ian’s eyes were glossed over as he looked up.

  “But they welcomed you back as if they were expecting you. We can’t keep going like this. We aren’t welcome at the Council, so this is the only place we have left. Please, for me, try to talk to them. Find out the truth. Bridge the divide.” My voice edged on whining as I begged Ian to attempt to be reasonable.

  “I can’t promise anything.”

  “Please try, Ian. If we’re going to make whatever is happening with us work, I need to know you’re at least willing to compromise. Otherwise, what we did last night will be a one-time thing.” So I was resorting to bribery. I figured the best way to get him to hop to it was give him an ultimatum.

  “We already established you were mine last night. Don’t think I won’t walk through fire to keep it that way.” Ian’s eyes lit with determination as he stood and moved toward the door.

  “Oh, so we’re going now?” I mocked.

  “Onward and upward. Let’s get this over with. I’m verging on insanity as it is, might as well push me the rest of the way in.” His crooked smile told me everything I needed to know. He wasn’t doing this for any reason but me, and I was all the reason he needed. If I’d known it would be that simple, I probably would’ve just asked him to do it for me.

  “Okay then. Let’s hope Mona knows we’re coming back. Something tells me she will be waiting, though. Speaking of, has she always been that creepy?”

  “I only knew of her. When I left the Order, she hadn’t been born yet. But, Izzy’s mom was pretty creepy with her Seer abilities, so it isn’t really a surprise.”

  Walking down the hall, a sense of déjà vu descended upon me. I felt like all we’d been doing since our arrival was bounce between our room and Mona’s. Surely there was something else we could do, or see.

  “Come in, come in.” Mona stood, motioning us in her room. We entered to find Conall, Sena, and Eleanor all awaiting our arrival. “Take a seat. I understa
nd you have some questions?”

  “Why was I exiled?” Ian spat, unable to summon an ounce of cordiality.

  “So you may be put upon the path you needed to walk. Your home has always been here, your path just needed to guide you in another direction for a time. Some journeys require difficult sacrifices, yours was such a journey.” Mona gracefully lowered herself into a chair as she spoke the last word.

  “Why was I not at least told?” Ian’s brow furrowed as he moved further into the room, away from everyone else. “I deserved at least that.”

  “Your mother said you could not be told, that it would influence your actions and change the course of your destiny. She is the one that decided upon your dismissal from the Order. We never questioned her decision, but we did keep an eye on you. You have always been one of ours and we would do anything to protect you. Surely, you do not think us to be so heartless?” Mona’s brow creased as the realization finally sank in of what those actions had done to Ian.

  Ian had felt truly alone for so long, never belonging in either world. Perhaps that was why we were drawn to one another. Neither of us had a true home, but together we found a place to belong. Moving across the room, I slipped my hand into Ian’s. He wasn’t alone anymore, and he never would be again. I was determined to make him feel like he belonged somewhere, even if it meant spending the rest of my life being slowly driven mad by his antics.

  “How could I think any less? I’ve spent the majority of my life in limbo. The Council never fully trusted me. Well, Isadora trusted me, but the remainder of the Council members always made it painfully obvious I wasn’t a welcome addition to their ranks. So, yes, I do think you heartless. Perhaps not you, but the Order as a whole. I understand some things are meant to be kept a secret. However, that secret damaged any trust I might’ve been able to muster for you. I’m not sure what to believe,” Ian sighed, pulling me closer to his side to wrap his arm around me.

  “Well, that is something I will endeavor to remedy. Only time will convince you of the truth. I will not force the issue, all I ask is that you keep an open mind and try to put the past behind us. Do you think you can do that?” Mona looked steadily at Ian, asking, but not asking, all the same.

  “I will try,” Ian replied.

  Mona clapped her hands together as a smile lit her face, popping from one emotion to the next in the blink of an eye. “Well then, we should discuss what is happening in our world now. What progress has been made with Izzy?” Mona’s bright eyes locked on me, waiting for some sort of information. I wished I had more to give her; instead, I was left with very little.

  “Aberto seemed to understand the message, though he didn’t explain it to me. So I think he has that taken care of, whatever it is.” Ian’s arm squeezed my shoulders, reminding me I wasn’t alone.

  “Good. That’s good.” Mona paused, seemingly chasing thoughts through her mind. “What of the blood? Have you had any further incidents? Are you recovered?”

  “One, but it was minor. Here’s hoping they are done.”

  “Well, you must prepare yourself. If you need help blocking the emotions, come to Sena. She will help you.” Mona motioned to Sena who looked bored.

  “But what is happening, exactly? I mean, I thought with the demon being defeated the darkness would disappear. Instead, it seems like something worse is still on the way.” Breaking free of Ian’s grip, I made my way toward Mona. I wanted to be close enough that I didn’t miss anything. Any stray emotion she felt would tell me the truth of what was happening.

  “The demon was just a small portion. Izzy did not hear the entire prophecy.” Mona stilled, blocking me from her emotions, effectively cutting off my access.

  “Why didn’t you tell her everything?”

  “Because the Order believes in half-truths,” Ian muttered.

  “But that isn’t completely true, surely the rest of you knew the prophecy. Mona isn’t the only one. Aberto had to know, and Kennan. Wait, did you know?” Turning toward Ian, his emotions told me all I feared. He had known, yet he hadn’t warned her. “Why wasn’t she told? What does the rest of the prophecy say?”

  “There are two prophecies, my dear. She wasn’t told because we were unsure of how events would unfold.” Eleanor’s soothing voice calmed my escalating fears. “In one prophecy, the Seer fails to slay the demon and the world is plunged into a depraved darkness the likes of which none has ever known. Brother turns against brother, killing and destroying all that was ever good in the world. Those that survive wish they had not.”

  “But she did defeat the demon, so that isn’t relevant. What does the other one say? The one where she succeeds?” My gaze locked on Eleanor as she searched for the words in her mind.

  “It says that though the demon be defeated, the darkness shall still fall and the world will burn if not for the intervention of the Seer.”

  “But how? If the demon is gone then what is going to cause the world to burn?”

  “Whoever is the mastermind behind the attacks will find another way. There are dark rituals – rituals that can bring about great pain and suffering. If those that sought to bring judgment upon the earth are still acting, and your vision tells me they are, then this is just the beginning. I don’t know the details of how it will happen, I just know you are a key to finding the source. You are connected to the Revenants, and as such you are a mirror to the truth.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of your gifts.” Mona responded, doing nothing to ease the fear creeping up my spine.

  The world began to go black as the terrifying truth sank in. I was connected to the Revenants, and they called to me, pulling me into a vision I’d hoped to never see again.

  “The darkness shall fall,” the charred Revenant called out.

  Voices multiplied in the fog as the bodies descended upon me. Every zombie movie I’d ever seen hadn’t prepared me for the horror of what my eyes beheld. I wanted to run, to flee their pleas, but my feet would not budge.

  “Save us!” the voices wailed.

  “Do not let us perish and fall.”

  “Act now or all is lost.”

  Voice after voice joined the dying chorus, making the sound unbearable. The Revenants reached out toward me, their touch igniting my skin. My soul burned. Excruciating pain traversed my body.

  “Please, stop.” I whimpered.

  “There is no end,” the Revenants replied, fading back into the fog, suddenly ripping me back to reality.

  “Molly, NO!” Ian shouted, as he lunged to catch me before my body could hit the ground.

  I looked down to where my flesh felt aflame, unbearable pain ripping through it, to find a hand shaped char mark encompassing my arm. Numb with fear, I lifted my hand to my face to see if it was just getting worse, or if I’d traded one affliction for another. My fears were realized when my hand came away red.

  “What’s happening to her? Someone help her. Please.” Ian shouted to the room.

  “She is the mirror to what is coming, and it is manifesting itself within her corporeal form,” Eleanor responded flatly, doing her best to block all fear.

  “Can it be stopped?” Ian struggled to keep his emotions in check.

  The fear bouncing around the room strangely didn’t affect me. All I could focus on was the blood on my hand and the pain in my arm.

  “Can I be marked?” My voice came out strange, even to my own ears.

  “It will help, but it won’t stop the transformation. The only hope we have to end the affliction is to put an end to the darkness permanently.” Mona lowered herself next to me. “Sena, could you come and help Molly, please?”

  “Of course. Sorry.” Sena hurried across the room to place a hand on my forehead. At her touch, peace flowed over me, washing away the fear and numbness that had been there moments before. Floating into a peaceful oblivion, I struggled to remember something important. Something the Revenants had made me feel. Blackness blurred my vision, relief imminent. All that remained were the v
oices floating around my head.

  “Is this the same thing that happened to Izzy? Will this weaken her the way those runes did?” a voice asked. Perhaps Conall? I was too numb to care.

  “No, it is not the same. This is a physical manifestation of a possible future. They will harm her, yes, but not in the way Izzy’s runes harmed her. Molly will slowly transform into a Revenant. The pain will be excruciating. Eventually she will no longer wish to remain,” a wise voice echoed.

  “How do we stop this?” Ian. That was Ian. I would know his voice anywhere.

  “We get Izzy back, we find out what she knows. We are clearly missing something,” the wise lady said.

  “I believe there are secrets that have yet to be revealed. Before I eased her fears, something tickled at the back of my mind. She knows something, something she didn’t get a chance to fully realize. It is there, echoing in the back of her mind. Droning on, and on, without end.” Hmm, what did that voice know? I didn’t have anything droning. Oh, wait. What was that?

  “Molly. Please listen.” Wait. Was that Kennan?

  “You’re dead. Please let me rest.”

  “I have a message. A message from the Gods.”

  “Tell the Gods they should come fix this mess. I’m too tired to help.”

  “MOLLY! This is serious. Pay close attention.”

  “Fine, grumpy pants. You’d think death would’ve lightened you up a bit. Hey, why aren’t you helping Izzy? If you can be here, why aren’t you there trying to talk sense into her?”

  “I’ve tried, I still try. Leave that. I need you to focus now. There is something amiss.”

  “You think?”

  “Molly,” Kennan sighed impatiently.

  “Okay, what do the Gods want me to know?”

  “Trust yourself. The answers lie within you. The dreaming wishes to push you away so you never learn what is to become of us all. Fight it, you are stronger than you know.”