See How She Fights

by Michelle Graves

  “I am not keeping anything from you, Izzy. There are rumors, or rather prophecies, that center around the regeneration of the soul walker. Since you can soul walk, Aberto seems to think they are about you. But it is not certain, so it is nothing that you should think about right now. Right now, we need to eat so that you can go and save those Seers,” Kennan smiled brightly. I knew there was something he was afraid to tell me, just as I knew I would be doing everything in my power to find out just what these prophecies said.

  “You’re right. I need to focus on one thing at a time. No sense in worrying about something that may or may not be about me. I need to run by and see if Eleanor can help me with the ritual to separate Xavier from the Seers. If she can’t, then I will have to call on Aberto for help tomorrow. Whatever is going on between the two of you needs to be put aside until this is over, okay?” Kennan looked at me steadily for a moment as if he was weighing every possible option.

  “I don’t like it, but I promise not to interfere. I want to keep you safe, Izzy. Sometimes I get a little crazy thinking about the danger you throw yourself into. I wonder if you ever stop and think before dashing into the middle of things. I don’t want to wake up and find you gone again.” The haunted look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

  “I know. I also know that I don’t have a choice in all of this. Not a good choice at any rate. I either put myself in the middle of it, risking it all to save the Seers, or I sit back and do nothing. You know that the last one is not an option I can live with. I promise that I will be as careful as I can be. That is why I put up with Aberto yelling at me all day. I won’t go in unprepared. Plus, you will be there to keep me safe this time.” I smiled up at him, trying to lighten the mood. I needed to eat and forget about what the next day might hold.

  “Let’s get you something to eat.” Kennan wrapped his arm back around me and led me into my second favorite room in the house, the dining facility. The smells of dinner pulled me in. I was absolutely famished.

  “So, how goes the training, Pip Squeak?” Ian startled me.

  “Fine,” I muttered.

  “Soul walker, who woulda thunk it?” he snickered as he made his way over to sit down next to Molly. He looked down at her with a mixture of fear and love. I could hardly begin to guess what was going on with the two of them. I wished they would just get together and be done with it.

  “Food,” I said to Kennan. He laughed causing his body to shake. I loved the way his laugh rumbled around inside of him like tiny thunder claps. It seemed like an eternity had passed since I had heard it.

  “Yes, let’s feed you,” he smiled.

  We sat down and ate our dinner in companionable silence. Mostly because I was, once again, trying to suck down my food as quickly as possible. I was sure I looked quite ridiculous, but this whole soul walking thing left me famished. By the time my plate was cleared, Kennan had only made it halfway through his meal.

  “Hungry?” he asked with a raised brow.

  “Yep, but not for food anymore.” I eyed him steadily. I needed him tonight. It had been too long since we’d been able to be together. Far longer than we should ever have to go.

  “I think I am full,” he said, standing up. He moved towards me and pulled me from my seat before tossing me over his shoulder.

  “I just ate Kennan. I am going to puke all over your back,” I giggled.

  “Better not,” he said as he swatted my butt.

  We made our way up to the room, turning several heads along the way. I really didn’t care what anyone thought of me at the moment. I was tired of worrying about everyone else’s needs. For tonight, I would just worry about Kennan and me. I could get back to saving the world in the morning. Kennan put me down outside of the door and reached for our key.

  “You sure you don’t want to talk to Eleanor tonight?” Kennan’s voice had dropped to a deep rumble and every word spoke of unimaginable delights that had nothing to do with the actual words he was saying.

  “It can wait,” I said, pulling him into the room.

  “Thank the gods.” He picked me up so that I could wrap myself around his body. He carried me into the room and threw me on the bed, settling himself between my legs before thoroughly ravishing my mouth. I was breathless and felt the most alive I had felt in days. I threw all other thoughts aside and submersed myself in the moment. I breathed Kennan in. I needed more. I needed it all.

  I turned him over so that I was atop him. I looked down into his face and was struck by the love I saw there. I knew undoubtedly that I would never love anyone again the way I loved him. I bent down and brushed my mouth against his. Whispering, “I love you,” between kisses. I left all else behind and surrendered myself to Kennan. For one night, I could be just his.

  I inhaled deeply as he flipped me back over on the bed, brushing his lips down my neck as he went. He ripped my shirt from my top with little effort. My pants were yanked off in a similar fashion. Kennan devoured me. There was nothing sweet in that moment. He took what he needed and I took it all back in turn. We were greedy, and by the end, we were both left empty. We’d both given everything we had until neither of us had anything left to give.

  I lay there, breathing hard, trying to bring myself back down. I looked over to find Kennan staring at the ceiling. His jaw was clenched and it seemed like he was about to say something.

  “What is it?” I whispered. I could hardly speak.

  “I don’t like this. Any of it,” he said, rubbing his hand down his face. I suddenly felt self-conscious. I didn’t understand. I moved to grab my clothes and get dressed. I wasn’t sure what was happening but I suddenly felt very exposed. As I started to get up he pulled me back to the bed. “Where are you going?”

  “Well, you said you didn’t like it.”

  “Izzy, don’t be ridiculous. You know I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about what is happening here. I don’t like that I can’t be there to keep you safe. I don’t like that once again the fate of the Seers is on your shoulders. I just want to protect you. Aberto is right, if I could keep you from your destiny, I would. If I could keep you to myself, I would in a heartbeat. I know it is selfish and I know that it goes against everything I was raised to believe, but I don’t want to lose you. Almost losing you last year nearly killed me, Izzy. I can’t do that again,” he swallowed deeply.

  I looked down into his shimmering eyes and wanted to take that pain away, but I couldn’t. We both knew that there was absolutely nothing either one of us could do to stop this. I lifted my hand to his cheek and brushed my thumb across his cheekbone.

  “I love you more than I have or ever will love anyone. You know that right?” I looked down at his lips as I lowered my own to kiss him. That was all it took to pull him back to me. We spent the next few hours slowly exploring one another’s bodies. There was no anger this time. There was no urgency, just love.

  We lay there exhausted, entwined in one another as I struggled to keep my eyes open. I wanted that night to last forever. I didn’t want to fall asleep and miss a single second I had with him.

  “Sleep, Iz,” Kennan whispered, his lips across my forehead as I fought to keep my eyes from closing.

  “I don’t want to,” I mumbled against his chest as he finger combed my hair.

  “Neither do I, but we must,” he smiled against my forehead, causing my heart to skip a beat. I knew that smile by heart. I could picture it even with my eyes closed. That was the last image I had before I fell into the dreaming.

  **********

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  I looked around me, confused for a moment. I knew that I was in the dreaming but something felt different. I moved forward trying to figure out what had changed. It was still the foggy landscape I had grown accustomed to. I tried to decipher what was different and realized it was the feeling emanating from the fog. There was something malicious lurking there.

  “Be very quiet, Izzy. Please don’t make him come back,” Ren whimpered from be
hind me. I swirled around and my breath caught in my throat. Her runes were now glowing under her blood caked skin. She was covered in gore.

  “What happened?” I whispered as tears formed in my eyes. Had I been too late? I had spent the night fulfilling my selfish desires and this is what it cost her. Aberto was right, I couldn’t just think of myself anymore.

  “If you don’t hurry all will be lost. Not just for us, but for you. It is coming. Leave, Izzy. Leave now. Get out of the dreaming.” Ren was panicked. She shoved me out of the dreaming.

  **********

  I sat up screaming in my bed, drenched in sweat. My leg felt like it was on fire. When my eyes finally made sense of what they were seeing I wanted to scream. There, on my thigh, was another bloody rune. When I finally got myself under control, I looked over to find Kennan staring at my thigh in abject horror.

  “Get Conall,” I said. I knew I needed to get something on the wound quickly. It burned from within. I needed to end this quickly. It couldn’t wait another day. “What happened in the dreaming, Izzy? You blocked me out again.” Kennan got out of bed throwing his clothes on as he went.

  “Conall and his medical skills first, then an explanation, please!” I was struggling to keep it together. I was tired of being marked up. I thought the tattoo on my back was supposed to protect me.

  “You’re right. I’ll be right back. Don’t move,” Kennan said in a rush. His eyes mirrored the panic in my own.

  I stood there, looking down at my leg as tears started streaming down my face. I wanted to end this. Had I not spent the night worrying about just myself I would’ve been closer to a solution. No more. Until this was over, my only focus would be severing the connection between Xavier and the Seers.

  I rushed to throw some clothes on before the guys came back, leaving my legs bare so that Conall could treat my newest mark.

  Conall came rushing into the room, followed closely by Kennan. He looked down at my leg and back at Kennan. A silent conversation passed between the men and I knew that they saw in me something they had seen long ago. They wanted to put a stop to this as much as I did.

  “Sit down on the bed and let me treat it.” Conall motioned for me to sit down. His voice was steady and calm but his eye told an entirely different story. There was barely masked fear staring back at me.

  “What happened?” Kennan asked, moving to stand behind Conall as he fixed my leg.

  “There is something wrong with the dreaming. It feels wrong. Ren was there and she was terrified and covered in new blood. Her runes were glowing. Something is really wrong, Kennan. We have to stop this now. We can’t wait any longer. I need his help,” I said, looking up at Kennan. I pleaded with my eyes. I didn’t like the thought of depending on Aberto any more than Kennan probably did. If I wanted to put a stop to this quickly he was the best bet.

  “She’s right, Kennan. He is the best chance we have of stopping this. He seems to have a vested interest in Izzy’s well-being. We should use that to our advantage,” Conall said with all the pragmatism of a well-trained soldier.

  “That’s what bothers me so much. He has not surfaced in over three hundred years. Why now? Why her?” Kennan looked at me as if I held the answer to his question.

  “I have no idea. I’m seriously just trying to keep my head above water here. I’m doing good just to follow along,” I said, looking down at my freshly bandaged leg. Conall’s dark, tanned skin stood out in stark contrast to my pale leg as he finished taping the bandage down.

  “Whatever it is, we can use it to our advantage now. We cannot continue on this course, Brother. We both know how this ends if we do not stop it now.” Conall placed his hand on Kennan’s shoulder before turning to leave. “I won’t see you suffer my fate, Brother.”

  “Summon him,” Kennan said as Conall shut the door.

  “What?”

  “Aberto, summon him, Izzy. We don’t have time for this,” Kennan said through gritted teeth.

  “He isn’t a genie Kennan, I can’t just rub a lamp and make him appear.” I once again wondered if he did have a lamp somewhere that he was hanging out in.

  “Call on him, I guarantee he will come.” Kennan’s tone held so much animosity it made me afraid to do as he asked. I looked down at my bare leg and decided to throw on some pants before summoning Him of the Oldness. I pulled on a fresh pair of sweats and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “Come out, come out wherever you are,” I said half-jokingly. I honestly had not expected him to just pop in whenever I called. Boy howdy, was I ever wrong. Just as the last word left my lips, he appeared, wearing a pair of jeans and form fitting green thermal. I wanted his magical wardrobe abilities.

  “Told you,” Kennan grumbled.

  “Are you spying on me?” I wanted to know. I knew there were more pressing matters at hand, but the thought of him just drifting around watching me gave me the heebie jeebies.

  “No. I am not, as you say, spying on you. You have to want me to be here to pull me to this plane.” Aberto looked incensed by my question. As far as I was concerned it was a perfectly legitimate one. I still had no idea what he really was. He looked me over as I stared back at him and his gaze stopped on my thigh where the newest rune had appeared. I looked down to make sure I had really put on a new pair of pants.

  Aberto moved more quickly than I had ever seen anything move, Guardian or otherwise. He had Kennan lifted by the throat against the wall.

  “HOW?” he raged.

  “PUT. HIM. DOWN!” I yelled, pulling Aberto’s attention back to me. He lowered his arm and Kennan with it, his jaw clenching the entire time.

  “The dreaming,” Kennan choked out. I could tell he wanted to throttle Aberto but something always held him back. Whatever an Old One was, it commanded a great deal of respect.

  “When?” Aberto, ever the wordsmith.

  “Listen, I just woke up and it was there. I blocked Kennan out of the dreaming again, or something did. We still aren’t sure on that one. At any rate, something is wrong there. Ren is covered in glowing runes and blood and the fog feels, well it feels wrong. Malevolent almost. She shoved me out saying something was coming and I woke up with this. Conall came in to patch it up and then we called for you. End of story.” I looked between the men, hoping that they could both cool their tempers long enough to deal with what really mattered.

  “We need to strengthen your protections,” Aberto said, moving toward me. He kneeled in front of me and brushed his hand along the rune that had surfaced on my leg. He closed his eyes as if to seek out some hidden message in the mark. I wasn’t sure how he was seeing anything through my clothes and the bandage, but once again, I knew nothing about him.

  “Right, but now we should probably focus on the Seers being sacrificed and how to sever that connection,” I said, standing up so that I could move away from both men. The room was feeling uncomfortably small with the two of them there.

  “You need protection before you can go in there again. Your soul is being marked, Izzy. I will not allow you to do this ritual if you do not abide me in this.” Aberto stood and moved to tower over me. I glanced over at Kennan to find him staring back at me. He didn’t look angry at all. In fact, he looked like he agreed with Aberto for once. Of course he did, the traitorous bastard.

  “Fine, but it better be a faster process than the first marking ceremony,” I huffed.

  “It is. I am just going to strengthen the mark I already forged,” Aberto promised. “I shall return. In the meantime, prepare her for more markings. We can do it here or out on the platform. It matters not. The sooner we start, the better.”

  “Here is fine. I don’t want the others to know what is going on,” Kennan said, moving to stand next to me.

  “So be it. I will return as quickly as I can.” he bowed deeply before vanishing.

  “Where does he go when he does that?” I asked. I knew I probably wouldn’t get an answer. Some things just needed to be said out loud.

  “You need
to take your shirt off and lie on the bed, Izzy.”

  Yep, no answers from him.

  “Can’t I get a robe or something like last time?” I hated the idea of lying there so exposed.

  “No, it would raise too many suspicions. We can move the covers so that you are guarded but we need to move quickly. He will be back soon.” Kennan gave me a hard look that set me into motion. Nothing like a tattoo to finish off such a pleasant evening.

  I stripped my shirt off and lay down on the bed with my face on the pillow. It was completely uncomfortable. I missed the enclosed chair. Just as I got myself settled, Aberto reappeared, with the top of his hair tied back and a leather bag in hand. He moved toward my back looking it over slowly. I felt naked being laid out for his eyes, and tried to pull the covers up around me to hide at least a portion of myself.

  “It seems whatever force is working to sacrifice these Seers is stronger than we had anticipated. I will endeavor to reinforce the shield so that nothing else may break through.” Aberto brushed his fingers over the tattoo that covered the entirety of my back. I shivered at the contact causing him to pull his hand away quickly.

  “Make it quick, Old One,” Kennan all but growled.

  “I will do what must be done in the time it must be done, Guardian,” Aberto replied.

  “Right, so, could someone please tell me what I am about to do? Is this going to hurt as bad as last time?” I was getting sick of their manhood measuring contests. It seemed like they were always just two seconds away from breaking into an all-out brawl with one another. I knew it was not just me that made them this way. Something had passed between the men before. If I wanted to, I could just sift the memories from one of them.

  I thought about the two men together, and reached out to Aberto with my mind. Somehow I didn’t feel so guilty sifting through his memories. Just as I latched onto the frenetic buzzing of his mind, the connection was severed. Aberto leaned down next to my head so that his lips were a breath away from my ear.