As soon as I got close to the altar, I saw that they were not the same. My stomach dropped, yet I was still relieved to know that whatever was happening now was different from what transported the beast from a separate plane to ours. I gazed down at the Seer and my eyes filled with tears. I longed to reach out and comfort her somehow.
She locked eyes with me stubbornly and spoke directly toward me. I couldn’t understand. I was just sifting through memories. There shouldn’t be any way for the things involved to interact with me. First the beast and now the Seer.
“You must not be here,” she spoke in a whisper. I was suddenly ripped away spiraling through a barrage of meaningless images.
**********
I broke contact with Kennan, trying to take deep breaths. I felt sick and wanted to get out of there. I needed air. I needed space. I jumped up out of the bed and threw on clothes as quickly as I could before heading for the door.
“What the hell, Izzy? What just happened?” he asked as he raced after me in just his boxer briefs.
I made it down the stairs and out into the garden before I was able to find my voice. “She talked to me. She talked to me and the beast looked at me. What the hell is happening to me, Kennan?” I asked as I bent over and put my head between my knees. The world wouldn’t stop spinning. Why couldn’t it just hold still for a moment while I got myself back together?
“What did you see? Why won’t you talk to me? I told you that I had to be someone I don’t like back then,” Kennan said worriedly. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized he had no idea why I was freaking out. He thought I was upset with him. The fact was, I had not seen anything of him except when he fought the beast and even then it had been hazy.
“It isn’t you, Kennan. I really didn’t see much of you. You were weird and hazy with angry eyes. But that’s it. That felt more like a vision than memory sifting. Except then it was sort of the dreaming at the same time. It was as if the beast monster thing and the Seer could both tell I was there, yet no one else could. What is happening to me?” I lowered myself to the damp grass, trying to keep my world from fully spinning out of control.
Kennan squatted down in front of me taking my face in his hands. He looked hesitant, as if he did not want to say what must be said. “I promised I would not lie to you again. I think that your powers are growing faster than they normally would because you are going to take over for Isadora. Remember earlier, how you had a vision inside the dreaming? I think the same sort of thing happened when you went tromping through my memories. Only this time, the things that were no longer of this plane could recognize you as not belonging. There was a Seer, one of the first, who could traverse the planes. She could see things that were beyond our own realm. If what Isadora suspects is true, then you are the same.” He finished before giving up and plopping down next to me.
Tears began to fall down my cheeks. I was not prepared for this. A year ago I was just a simple bike messenger in Chicago. Now, here I was with the fate of the Seers, and thus the world, resting on my shoulders. I couldn’t take it. I was just one person. One, completely ill-equipped, person. I wanted my life back. I wanted to be normal. Yet, it seemed the universe had a different plan for my life. I thought that fighting Xavier would be the hardest thing I ever had to face. It seemed God had more faith in me than that. It seemed He believed I could handle far more.
“Why am I like this, Kennan? Why are there Seers at all?” I asked. It wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed my mind. It was just the first time I’d dared to verbalize it.
“Can we maybe go inside? I am not exactly dressed for a dawn outing,” Kennan said, looking down at his bare skin. I nodded as he pulled me to my feet and we made our way back inside. He began telling me theories that had been passed down for generations. “When the world was created, the gods needed something here on this plane to assist in keeping things in balance.”
“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 ma
gnet,” 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.
See How She Fights Page 7