See How She Fights

by Michelle Graves

  “I know she is dear,” Eleanor said, reaching for my hand. “Do you mind if I see what you saw?” she asked. I knew she wanted to sift through my memories to see our interaction.

  “I don’t mind, but it is all a bit ghastly. Are you sure you want to have that sort of memory of your daughter?” I asked, knowing if I was in her place I would want to remember her happy and alive.

  “It is not about wants, sweet girl. It is about needs. Perhaps there is something in those memories that would make more sense to me,” she said sadly before continuing. “I need you to center your mind. Think back to the vision and replay it in your mind.” I did as she said, and as soon as she latched on, I could feel her moving in my mind. She flipped through the images like an old movie replaying sections as she went. When she was finished, she looked at me, astounded.

  “Well, that was disturbing,” she said, looking a bit green. “Who was the other girl there?”

  “Ren. Apparently I see dead people now,” I muttered before I realized it was an entirely inappropriate time to make such a joke. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”

  “I understand. You did nothing to offend me my dear.” She patted my hand before settling back in her chair. “So, this Ren was also a victim of the sacrifice?”

  “Yes, ma’am. She showed up in the dreaming last night, urging me to solve this mystery,” I said just as my exhaustion decided to settle over me.

  “Well, I do believe we should head out to the Council, don’t you?” she asked before moving to the door where a packed bag awaited her. As she passed her daughter’s picture, her hand unconsciously rose to brush a finger across the image. She may have appeared put together, but I knew she was a hair’s breath away from breaking down completely.

  “That sounds like a brilliant plan to me,” I yawned, following her out.

  We made our way back down to the garage quickly. The elevator didn’t try and kill me this time. Thank God for small favors.

  We began to pile in the car, and the image I was struck by caused me to giggle. I imagined a clown car stuffed to the gills with Guardians. Everyone stopped to stare at me as though I had finally gone mad. It was the second time that day I had found humor in an inappropriate situation.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled as I crawled into the middle of the backseat.

  “I thought it would take her longer to crack than that,” Ian said, snickering as he climbed in. I reached up and smacked him upside his head as he sat.

  “I am not going crazy. I was just thinking of clown cars.”

  “I rest my case,” Ian said as we began to pull out of the garage.

  **********

  CHAPTER TEN

  When we arrived back at the Council building, Isadora and Breanan were waiting for us. The moment Eleanor got out of the vehicle, Isadora folded her into a tight hug. I was struck by the similarities in the two women. They could be sisters. Isadora pulled a now crying Eleanor under her arm and motioned for the rest of us to follow. Just as we reached the door, Molly came flying out toward Ian.

  She ran toward him and leapt, throwing her arms around his neck. He as almost toppled over from the impact. Suddenly, she leaned back and slapped the daylights out of him. We all stood stunned by the drama playing out before our eyes.

  “Don’t you ever scare me like that again! Why didn’t you come back with the others?” She climbed down from him in a huff.

  “It is so good to be missed,” Ian said, rubbing his cheek. “Would you have wanted me to leave Izzy?”

  “That is not the point and you know it. I am burning that stupid suit,” Molly said before whirling around and stomping back into the house. She paused next to me adding, “I am glad you are safe.” She walked in the house, leaving us all gaping at her back in stunned silence.

  “Ian, I think your presence may be required elsewhere this afternoon. I will have Conall fill you in on what you miss,” Isadora said before moving the rest of us toward her study. Ian bowed and left in search of Molly. I wondered when the two of them would get their act together. It was starting to get ridiculous.

  We walked into Isadora’s study and stood around the group of chairs. Isadora and Eleanor sat on the couch next to one another and Breanan took the seat across from them. I glanced down at my arm and winced. A sharp pain had started to pull around my bandage. I had noticed it back at the theater but not since then.

  “Are you well?” Conall asked, his eyes full of concern.

  “Yeah, my arm just hurts a little. It isn’t important,” I replied, trying to turn my focus back to Eleanor and Isadora’s conversation.

  “I would like to take a look, if it is all the same.” Conall began moving toward me with purpose, which made me pull my arm into myself.

  “Let him look, Izzy. He is a certified healer,” Kennan said as I started to decline.

  “Fine, but don’t we have more important things to worry about right now? I mean, her daughter just died,” I whispered to Kennan.

  “Nothing is more important than your safety,” Kennan said, putting his finger under my chin so that I met his eyes. “Ever.”

  “Fine. But don’t take too long,” I said as I moved toward a seat on the opposite side of the room.

  Conall began to unwrap my bandage and my arm felt like it was lit on fire. I remembered it starting to hurt a little at the theater, but since then I had not had time to notice. I looked down as he unwrapped my injured arm and I gasped as the bandage fell to the floor. Kennan and Conall looked at each other, having some sort of silent conversation as my mind tried to make sense of what my eyes were seeing. Where the stitches had been earlier in the evening, there was now a rune. It felt as though a raging inferno had combusted just below my skin. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. I looked at Kennan as the panic started to take over. I couldn’t breathe.

  “Slow down, Izzy. I have you. I have you,” Kennan murmured against my skin, trying to keep me calm.

  “Father, I think you need to come see this,” Conall said, moving aside so that Breanan could look at my arm. Breanan approached and muttered an oath under his breath as he took in the mark.

  “Isadora, I believe we have a serious problem.” Breanan turned his head toward the now staring duo of women. They got up and made their way over to me. All the while, I sat there being examined like some sort of medical anomaly. Being prodded was becoming rather tiresome. It brought forth memories I had tried so hard to forget. After what felt like an eternity, I yanked my aching arm away.

  “You said there were books of Druid ceremonies. I want to see them,” I said to Eleanor. I allowed my fear to morph into anger. Whatever was doing this to me was somehow linked to the murders. I needed to solve this.

  “We should treat your arm, before it gets infected,” Kennan said, rubbing his hand down his face. I could tell from the look on everyone’s faces that whatever was happening, they’d seen it before. I just hoped that whatever it was, they were able to stop it.

  “Well, slap some salve on it and let’s get going. We aren’t going to figure anything out sitting around gaping at my arm.” I stuck out the arm in question, waiting for someone to move.

  I forced my eyes to once more look upon the mark. I tried to keep my breath calm as the despair ripped through my soul. There was something malicious living in the mark. I felt it writhing beneath my skin and I wanted it off. Conall moved toward me, holding a new roll of bandages and a jar of salve. It smelled similar to the stuff Kennan had used on my feet last year.

  “This may sting a bit,” he said before rubbing the salve into my arm. “This is not good,” He muttered.

  “What does it mean, Conall?” I whispered. Since Kennan was distracted with the others, I hoped that Conall would be honest with me.

  “Not here. I will tell you, but he won’t want me to,” Conall paused for a moment before adding, “Meet me tomorrow morning for training and I will tell you then. I will arrange it with Kennan.”

  I nodded as the others
moved back toward us. We sat down in a circle, discussing all that had transpired. After everything was out in the open, we headed toward the library in search of the books Eleanor had described. I didn’t care if it took me all night, I would find what was happening.

  I sat down at a long table as Eleanor and Kennan set about piling books in front of me. I had no idea where anything was in this library, so I thought it best just to stay out of the way. By the time they finished, there were ten large tomes scattered around the table.

  “I think we should start with the rune on your arm, Izzy. Perhaps that would tell us a little more about the ceremony being used,” Eleanor said before flipping through a book to some kind of codex that listed runes and their meanings.

  “Eleanor, why didn’t you come to the Council about your hunches?” I asked. I was confused about why she had waited until her daughter had died to help.

  “Because, my darling girl, some things just have to happen in a certain order. I saw these events play out in this order in perfect clarity. There was nothing I could have done to alter them. If I had, well, God only knows what might have happened,” she said before continuing to browse the list. “Well, this explains why I couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing. Someone is using Old Norse runes combined with a Druid sacrificial ritual. Whoever is doing this is combining some serious stuff,” she said, staring down at the pages.

  “So, what does this mean?” I asked, shoving my arm at her impatiently. I wanted answers more than I wanted a history lesson.

  “You have an inverted Uruz on your arm. It says here that it is the symbol of health or life force. When it is inverted, it means that something is using that force against you. In this situation, I believe it means that something is trying to steal your power.”

  “But how did it get here?” I was becoming hysterical. I realized I needed sleep, and badly. I lay my head on the table and wished that for once in my miserable adult life things could be simple. I knew that it was a waste of time. I knew that my life was never going to be simple again. I just wished that weirdness would stop happening to me. The second I adjusted to my life, another bizarre and seemingly random occurrence would come along and throw me off balance again. I was starting to feel as though I had a terrible case of vertigo.

  “I think we should call it a night and get you something to eat, Izzy,” Kennan said, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me up out of my seat. “Have you eaten since breakfast?” he asked.

  “No, but I’m not hungry. I just want to sleep,” I said as I waved a goodbye in Eleanor’s direction. Not that she noticed. She was furiously scribbling notes down on a pad of paper. I thought back to my resolve to stay up all night and solve the mystery. It seemed my body had other plans. I could barely keep my eyes open.

  “We can grab something on the way to the room. You need to keep your strength up,” he said, effectively shifting into the role of Guardian instead of soon-to-be husband.

  “Whatever. As long as I can shut my eyes soon,” I mumbled sleepily. I had never felt so tired before in my life. Zapping my powers indeed. I needed to revert this rune. Maybe if I held my arm up over my head it would reverse it and bring me energy. I raised my arm overhead trying to test out the theory.

  “What are you doing?” Kennan asked bemusedly.

  “Trying to reverse the rune so that it brings me energy,” I said as if I totally knew what I was talking about.

  “Izzy, it was carved with the intention of being inverted. You can’t reverse that. Besides, I don’t think that is making you tired. You have not slept well in months and the past two days have been a strain on you. I think it is only natural that you would crash. I expected it to happen much sooner,” Kennan said, pulling me toward the kitchen.

  I could barely keep my eyes open as we stopped in the kitchen and grabbed some food. Kennan made some sandwiches as I did my best impersonation of a bobble head. We made our way upstairs as I dutifully nibbled on my sandwich. By the time I made it to the room, my eyes felt unbearably heavy. I lay down in my clothes and let sleep take me.

  **********

  “It took you long enough to get here. I’ve been trying to get your attention for God only knows how long,” Ren griped.

  “Ugh! That was you? Please don’t ever do that again. I was in the middle of some important stuff, you know, like trying to free your spirit,” I said, glaring at her sightless face. Let’s see her use her powers to see how pissed off I was.

  “Well, this may be more important. I overheard them talking.”

  “Who did you overhear?” I had no patience for guessing games. Even in the dreaming I felt exhausted.

  “The foggy woman and Xavier. They were talking about the ceremonies and whether they were working or not. Xavier said something about feeling stronger. I think that whatever is going on it has to do with him. What’s that on your arm?” Ren gasped.

  “The same thing that is on yours,” I said staring at her matching symbol. I visually took inventory of all of her marks. Now that I had one, it seemed I could make out the rest. There were seven in all. I tried to memorize the simple lines of each rune. If I could tell Eleanor which ones were used, we might be able to form a better picture of what was happening.

  “No, yours is glowing like a freaking sun,” Ren said, turning her face away. I looked down at my arm and couldn’t see anything other than the mark.

  “What are you talking about? It looks just like yours,” I said, flipping my arm back and forth trying to see what she was seeing.

  “Hold on, don’t move,” Ren said before darting off in the fog. She came back an eternity later with Isabelle in tow. “Do you see it?” She asked her.

  “Holy cow, what happened to your arm?” Isabelle exclaimed.

  “Awesome, so only sightless people can see my magic, glowy arm. Why can’t anything be remotely normal?” I asked no one in particular. I was ready to take answers from anyone willing to give them.

  “There is some bad stuff in whatever did that, Izzy. You need to talk to Isadora about the protection mark and soon,” Ren said before looking over her shoulder. She looked back at me with a panic stricken expression before darting off inhumanly fast pulling Isabelle in her wake.

  “Where are you…?” I started to yell as I saw Xavier’s form approaching me.

  “I see you got my present,” Xavier crooned. His voice sounded more solid than it had in months.

  “Are you real?” I asked. It was time I finally found out if he was still alive.

  “Oh, quite. You didn’t manage to kill me entirely my dear. It was irresponsible of you not to make sure.”

  “It isn’t a mistake I will make twice,” I spat. I hated that he was still able to illicit such a vehement reaction from me.

  “It is unlikely you will get a second chance. You tried to take my life and now I will return the favor. Oh, but don’t worry, it won’t happen quickly. I plan to make this last as long as possible. I can’t wait to see the look on my dear brother’s face as he watches the last of the light fade from your eyes.”

  “So, you are using cowardice to come after me, then? Killing innocent girls as some sort of revenge doesn’t really seem like your style.” If I could keep him talking maybe I could get him to solve some of our unanswered questions.

  “Oh, you silly girl, I have nothing to do with that. Well, I suppose I do, but it is not of my making. I really must go. Visit often, Izzy,” he said as he strolled back into the fog. I wanted to run after him and rip his throat out with my bare hands. I wanted to demolish him until there was nothing left of him but a pile of viscera.

  I forced myself to breathe slowly and come back to my senses. I needed to get out of the dreaming and find those runes. I reached out for the present and allowed it to sweep me away.

  **********

  I sat up in the bed and looked over at the clock. It blinked a bright four, zero, zero at me. I turned over and kissed Kennan on the head before getting up and dressing in some workout cloth
es. Conall had promised me a story this morning. I just hoped he had cleared things with Kennan the night before. I got up and moved to the bathroom to finish getting ready. I stared at my reflection. Familiar purple marks formed under each of my eyes. I wanted so badly to cut myself off from the dreaming and sleep soundly for a night, but until this problem was solved I couldn’t do it. I might miss something.

  I headed out the door after leaving Kennan a detailed note. I knew he would want to know where I was, and I wasn’t about to pull an Ian and write ‘went for a walk.’ I opened the door soundlessly and slipped outside.

  **********

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Good morning.” Conall startled me, making me about jump out of my skin.

  “Cheese on a cracker, Conall, you scared me,” I said, trying to calm my galloping heart.

  “Sorry. I thought you expected me. We are supposed to train this morning, are we not?”

  “Yeah, but I need to go to the library first. I know the rest of the runes on the bodies.”

  We made our way to the library, talking about what sort of training Conall had planned for me. Apparently the whole training bit wasn’t just a cover for us having a talk. I wasn’t sure what I should be prepared for.

  “Have you done much sword fighting?” Conall asked.

  “Oh yeah. Totally. I just killed a few dragons last week. Oh, and then there was the fight over Kennan’s honor. I couldn’t let that trollop get away with calling him such foul names.”

  “I take that as a no,” he grumbled as we entered the library. We made our way over to the table we had been at the night before. Lying with her face mashed into the pages of a book, was a sleeping Eleanor.

  “Eleanor, wake up. I have some more information that might help,” I said, gently shaking her back.