Seeing is Believing Read online

  “Thanks for that super clear message.”

  “Molly, think.” Kennan’s voice faded as the last word was uttered and my present came rushing back in with a vengeance.

  “Ugggghhhhh,” I moaned, rubbing my head. A splitting headache was ricocheting around my skull, making coherent thoughts near impossible. I knew there was something important. Something I had to remember. “Holy Shite!”

  “What is it? Are you okay, Molly?” Ian rushed to my side, fear blazing behind his eyes.

  “I just talked to Kennan.” My eyes widened as the truth finally sank in. “And I have something important in my brain that needs to get out.”

  “Do you know what it is? Are you sure you spoke to Kennan?” Mona looked concerned; obviously believing my jar of marbles was a few short.

  “Definitely Kennan. He was his same huffy self. He came with a message from the Gods.” I slowly sat up, taking in the room. Everyone was staring at me, eyes wide with anticipation. “So the thing in my brain, it is more of a feeling than anything else.”

  “What plagues you?” Conall asked from the background. Would he ever lose his formality?

  “Betrayal.” The moment the word left my lips, a weight lifted from my spirit. I gasped for air as relief struck me hard.

  “By whom?” Mona approached me slowly, looking back and forth between my eyes. She was searching for something, and from the emotions she was shedding she had her suspicions of the source of the betrayal.

  “I honestly don’t know. I wish…I wish I could help more.” Frustration gnawed at me, reminding me I hadn’t really been able to help at all. I knew in some small way I was providing information, but I wanted to do more. I wanted to bring Izzy back, to have concrete answers, to end this, yet I remained powerless to do any of those things.

  “We will figure this out. You are not alone in this.” Mona looked at me before leveling Ian with her gaze. I knew her words weren’t just for me.

  “What do we do now?” My question fell heavily on the room, no one rushing to answer.

  Why do I feel so lost? I was supposed to find solace in the void, but these voices won’t leave me alone. Kennan won’t leave me alone. He isn’t real. He died. Don’t forget, he’s gone. Forever.

  “GO AWAY!” I screamed to the fog, hoping the voices will fade.

  “Izzy, you can’t remain here. They need you. You must return. You promised me, Izzy. You promised you would live.” Kennan’s voice bounced through the fog heading straight towards my soul.

  “You promised we would have our forever!” My throat felt tight as his voice brought forth all I was trying to forget. My other half, my future, was gone.

  “I did what was necessary to protect you. Don’t let that be for nothing,” Kennan’s voice admonished. “Now live, damn it!”

  “Why would I ever leave when I have you here with me? If I go, I lose you forever,” I reasoned, my voice barely above a whisper.

  “The World will burn,” a voice called from the fog. I knew they were coming; it always started the same. I’d given all, and still it wasn’t enough.

  “Darkness will prevail.”

  “Act now or all is lost.”

  “You aren’t real!” Sparks ruptured from my center, sending a blinding light outward. I could keep them at bay. Nothing would ever touch me again.

  “Izzy?” A strained voice pressed against my barriers, summoning something in my soul. There was comfort in that voice. Familiarity. A home. No, my home was gone. He’d died.

  “Listen to him, Izzy. Let him in,” Kennan pleaded.

  “I won’t lose you, Kennan.”

  “If you stay, you will lose yourself. This is not where you are called to be. Why can’t you see that?” Kennan’s voice pleaded.

  Whispers echoed through the fog, another familiar voice. A message.

  “Love and sacrifice.” The voice of my home. No, not my home, the other one. The one my soul called to. The stranger in the fog. The memory from long ago.

  “No,” Kennan’s whisper cut through me, more plea than denial. “She’s not ready.”

  “It. Must. Be.” The other one, the one who made me this way, called.

  “So shall it be done. Goodbye, Izzy.” Kennan’s voice slipped through fog, slowly fading into oblivion.

  “No,” the whisper fled my lips before agony ripped through me. “NO!” He was gone and I had nothing left. It was over.

  Michelle Graves is a self-proclaimed nomad, moving every two to three years with her husband the Army man, her beautiful daughter, and a fat tailless cat named Torri. When she is not writing away trying to purge her mind of yapping characters she can be found entertaining her daughter, attempting to craft (whilst trying not to injure herself with the glue gun), baking yummy treats, or reading. She admits to having a restless spirit and forces her family to go out on adventures whenever possible. They lovingly play along.

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  About the Author