See How She Fights (4 page)

“But what just happened? Izzy, wait
up!” Molly yelled as she sprinted toward me.

“I will tell you when we get to the
house. I don’t have time.”

I knew the events had to have
happened long ago, that the vision wasn’t something that could be stopped, but
it didn’t change the sense of urgency it had induced. I knew undoubtedly that
the meeting I had just witnessed was the first piece of a much larger puzzle.
Whatever was coming, whatever new, horrible thing we were about to face, it all
started with that woman. Whoever she was, she was the catalyst that had set
this newest nightmare into motion.

**********

By the time we reached the house
Molly was out of breath.

“Jesus, woman, have you been
training for the Olympics or something?” she wheezed.

“No, but I have been running with
Kennan. So, it is pretty much the same thing. You should start training,” I
said with a smirk.

As soon as we got in the door,
Kennan folded me into his arms. He had a worried expression etched over his
brows.

“What took you so long? I was about
to come and find you,” he said as he buried his face in my hair. I barely had
enough room to breathe.

“I almost had to sit on him, Izzy.
Seriously, what did take you guys so long? You were gone for almost two hours,”
Ian said with a similar look of concern. I always forgot how long the visions
lasted.

“Izzy had a vision,” Molly wheezed.
She was still having trouble catching her breath.

“Are you okay, Molly?” Ian asked as
he moved towards her. He wore an expression so serious it made me want to
laugh. Whatever Ian might have done to Molly, I knew in that moment he cared
more deeply for her than she realized.

“Fine, we need to train it seems.”
She plopped down on the floor with her knees bent trying to catch her breath.

“The vision, what happened?” Kennan
asked with the same authoritative tone he had used in the cabin those many
months ago. His face had gone all serious Guardian again.

“It was of the past. I was in the
Badlands and Xavier was there. It was some sort of meeting. Why they met there
I am not sure, but that’s beside the point. There was a woman but I could not
make out any of her features. She was, or perhaps is, important to Xavier. I
have never seen him tolerate much of anything but he seemed to accept her
affections even though they disgusted him. She seemed like she was completely
in love with him. I can’t be sure, but I think whatever is going on now all
leads back to her. My biggest fear is that Xavier was right, whatever is coming
is far worse than anything he has done to us.”

I looked up to find Kennan taking
in everything I’d just said. He seemed to be trying to make sense of Xavier’s
actions much as I had.

“Why did they meet there, of all
places?” I was genuinely curious. It seemed a very out of the way place to plan
a clandestine meeting.

“There are certain places on this
Earth that are protected. Places that are harder to get a read on by Seers and
Guardians alike. Most of them are sources of great power. The Badlands just
happens to be one of them. You said she seemed like she was in love with him.
Did you recognize her from the lab? Do you remember anything else about her?”
Kennan asked with concern etched in his brow.

I looked over to find Ian rubbing Molly’s
back as she finally slowed her breathing. She elbowed him in the stomach
causing him to topple over. The two of them needed some couples therapy.

“I told you everything I know.
Well, she did say something about getting the Seers to bring in to the lab. So
I know she helped him set up the operation in Chicago. That is all I remember.
She was surrounded by a weird haze. It makes no sense, but deep down I know
that whatever is coming is going to suck, and big time.”

Kennan released me and moved down
the hall to make some calls. He had mentioned something about calling in
reinforcements. I was not even sure what that meant. I looked at Molly sitting
on the floor holding on to her bag of hair dye.

“Right, well, let’s get your hair
fixed. We might be heading to the Council sooner than we thought.” I reached
out to help Molly to her feet.

We made our way upstairs where I
helped Molly get her hair covered in the dye. If we were going to fight, at
least she would look good doing it. By the time we finished, she looked as good
as new. The dark color suited her. It made her eyes stand out in stark contrast
to the rest of her features.

“Not bad, what do you think?” I
asked.

“I kind of like it. I may just keep
it this color for a while. The change is nice,” she said thoughtfully, running
her fingers through her waves.

“Well, you better go get some stuff
packed. It sounds like the natives are getting restless.” I smiled as we made
our way to her room. As soon as we got in, I noticed the multiple deadbolts in
various stages of assembly in her room.

“I told you I was making some
changes. I wasn’t about to risk him sneaking in and doing something else to me
while I slept. I don’t mean like that. I just mean that I didn’t want to wake
up with missing eyebrows or with a Sharpie mustache. I don’t trust the man,”
Molly said with a scowl.

“I am surprised you didn’t do this
sooner. I would have,” I said laughing. I could just imagine Molly drilling
holes and installing the locks, cursing Ian the entire time.

“Alright, I think I’m ready,” she
said, pulling her bag up her shoulder.

“Well, that was fast. I didn’t
think you would be ready for a while.”

“I learned to always have a running
bag ready. I had plans to escape the Corporation long before you came along.
Then you showed up and brought the cavalry.” She smiled brightly as we made our
way back downstairs.

“Ready to hit the road?” Kennan
asked.

“Yup, I think we are good to go, if
Ian would pick his jaw up off of the floor,” I snickered.

“You look completely different,”
Ian said in awe.

“I am incognito thanks to your
hijinks. I am calling a ban on all pranks that involve my appearance. My
clothes, my body, and my hair are all off limits, do you understand me?” Molly
leveled a deadly stare at Ian.

“I solemnly swear never to do
anything like that again.” Ian held his hand up like a boy scout.

We made our way out to Kennan’s old
SUV with Molly griping about its dilapidated state. He needed a new car. We
piled in and made our way out of the city to the Council headquarters. The closer
we got, the worse I felt. I didn’t think I was prepared for what was about to
come my way. I knew from Isadora’s tone on the phone that whatever she knew was
something I was not prepared for.

**********

CHAPTER FOUR

We arrived at the Council to find
two Guardians waiting outside for us. One stood at least a head taller than
Kennan and had a wicked scar bisecting his right eyebrow. His graying hair hung
long down his back with the top section pulled back by a leather strap. He
reminded me of an elf from “The Lord of the Rings.”

The other Guardian looked to be
about Kennan’s age. He had russet-colored hair that waved down to his square
jaw which was clenched tightly. His face resembled the elder Guardians with its
scars, only this Guardian wore an eye patch covering one eye. Whatever these
men had been through had marked them. I stared into his good eye for a moment,
shocked at how utterly green it was. I had never seen anyone with eyes that
color in my entire life.

We got out of the car and Kennan
and Ian rushed to embrace the men, leaving Molly and I standing there staring.
The men finally dropped their grim expressions in favor of comradely smiles. It
was in those smiles that I realized the two men were related.   

“Izzy, come here. I want you to
meet some people,” Kennan said, waving me over. Ian motioned for Molly to join
me.

“It is an honor to meet you,” they
said simultaneously and bowed holding their right hands over their hearts. I
was suddenly overcome with the desire to curtsy. They were treating me like a
queen. It was unnerving.

“Likewise?” I said, half question,
half statement.

“Izzy, this dapper gentlemen is
Breanan. He is Isadora’s Guardian and husband. This young rogue is their son
Conall. Gentlemen, meet the future Mrs. O’Malley,” he said with a beaming
smile. The guys looked shocked but clapped him on the shoulder in
congratulations.

“And who might you be?” Conall
asked Molly with some interest.

“She is mine,” Ian practically
growled. Molly punched him in his stomach before sticking her hand out to
introduce herself.

“My name is Molly. Tell me, is
there some sort of trade in program for unwanted Guardians?” she asked with a
glower in Ian’s direction.

“Unfortunately, no lass. Otherwise
I would be sweeping you up for myself.” Conall gave Molly a wink before moving
aside. Ian’s glowers did nothing to dissuade him.

“Well, this is lovely and all but I
would really like to speak with Isadora if I could. I have some new, or rather
old, information that might be pertinent,” I said, trying to get everyone back
on track.

“Of course, right this way.”
Breanan gestured for me to go ahead of him. He left me with the impression that
he was a man of few words. I imagined anything he did say was taken seriously
and immediately carried out. At least I knew I would do pretty much anything he
asked.

Aside from their slightly dangerous
appearance, I felt I could absolutely trust the two men. Well, at least Breanan
for certain. Plus, there was the fact Kennan had introduced us. I knew he would
not allow people he did not trust implicitly into my life. He was far too
protective for that.

“Awesome,” I muttered as our posse
made its way inside.

 The moment I stepped foot over the
threshold, all motion stopped inside the house. People began bowing to me as
Breanan and Conall had. It was really starting to freak me out. I looked over
to find Kennan wearing a strange expression. It was part serious Guardian and
part “Oh crap she is gonna kill me.”  He had some explaining to do.

I arched my brow at him to which he
shrugged his shoulders. We walked into what must be Isadora’s study and found
her seated by a great fireplace in a high wingback chair. She looked up from
her book with a beaming smile. She rose with the grace of rippling water and
moved towards Kennan and me. When she was before us, she reached up and brushed
a hand down each of our cheeks.

“I am so glad you could make it. I
just wish it could have been under happier circumstances. I had wished your
next visit would be for the ceremony,” she smiled before motioning for us to
sit down.

“Molly, Ian, if you will go and get
settled in I would appreciate it. I need to have a word in private with Kennan
and Izzy.” Isadora always said things in a way which made you believe you had
the choice but really there was no room for argument. I wondered how she had
developed such a talent.

As soon as they left the room, I
turned back to Isadora and Kennan. They were exchanging a knowing glance. I
looked over to Breanan and Conall, neither of which gave anything away.

“Alright, what gives? Why is
everyone treating me like royalty? What ceremony? More importantly, why
couldn’t Molly and Ian stick around?” I asked, unsure of what was going on. The
moment I felt like I had a foothold in this bizarre world things shifted again.
It was really bothersome.

“You have not told her anything,
have you? Really, Kennan I am disappointed. How many more conversations must we
have?” she said shaking her head.

“I didn’t think it was the right
time. I wanted to wait until after the wedding. I wanted to give her some
normalcy. At least for a while,” Kennan muttered.

“It is all an illusion, my dear
Guardian. You know that in this world she will never be normal,” Isadora said
sadly.

“Sitting. Right. Here,” I said,
getting annoyed. Everyone was speaking in subtext and code again. If they
didn’t start explaining themselves soon, I was going to lose it.

“Yes, dear, we know you are here,”
Isadora said patiently. “First things first, tell me what you have seen. The dreams,
the vision, I need to know it all.”

I spilled everything, from the
first dream I had up until the vision that had occurred only hours before. It
might as well have been a lifetime for all that seemed to have happened between
then and now. As the memories flowed from my lips, the uneasiness settled in my
stomach. I knew whatever was about to happen, whatever Isadora was going to say
would leave me forever changed. I just hoped I would be able to survive this
time.

“Well, that makes some sense I
suppose. I have been unable to see her as well. It is most unfortunate,” she
said with all of the concern of someone who had asked for no ketchup on their
burger but got it anyway. She was as bizarre as she always had been. “I have a
picture that I need to show you dear. It will be quite unsettling, but I feel
you must see it. It seems that your time is coming sooner than we thought it
would and I must prepare you for the role you must play. Part of that is
keeping you completely informed. You must understand what I am about to show
you is not to be shared lightly. If you feel you must include Molly and Ian
that is fine, but I would rather keep it within this group.” She motioned to
the people standing in the room.

I didn’t like the idea of keeping
anything from Molly or Ian but if whatever she showed me was that disturbing, I
would. They had enough to deal with as it was. Especially Molly. She still
didn’t know where her mother was. I couldn’t heap anything else on top of that
stress.

Isadora moved over to her mahogany
desk and pulled out a file. She stared down at the folder in her hands for a
moment before looking up to lock eyes with Breanan. He nodded almost
imperceptibly in her direction, spurring her back into motion. She shook her
head lightly and smiled sadly. She walked back over to me and handed me the
folder. As soon as it hit my hands I felt a weight settle over me. I swallowed
deeply. Everything was about to change.

I hesitated a moment before I
opened the folder. I wished I had waited longer. The moment I opened it, my
head began to swim with what my eyes were now forced to witness. None of
Xavier’s nightmares, nothing that I had seen while held hostage in the lab,
could have prepared me for the photographs now staring me in the face. There,
in my lap, lay the most gruesome sight I had ever beheld.

My eyes didn’t want to believe what
they were seeing. There, in the photograph, was a young woman laid out in a
white, sleeveless gown. Carved up each arm were blood crusted symbols of some
sort. They looked deep and unpardonably painful. I took a deep breath praying
that she was dead before this had been done to her.

 I traced my eyes up her body to
rest on her face. When I came to it, my stomach recoiled. Where her eyes should
have been were two gaping chasms; a void of darkness where once there was
light. I couldn’t look anymore. I dropped the file to the floor spreading its
contents into disarray.

“What was that?” I demanded, trying
to regain my balance. As much as I wanted nothing to do with the contents of
the folder, I knew they somehow pertained to me. If the past year had taught me
anything, it had taught me that ignorance was not bliss in this world. The
sooner I faced whatever was coming, the better. No repression, no denial, no
trying to be someone I was not.

“What you are seeing is one of
three Seers that have been found similarly mutilated since our dear Xavier
disappeared.” Isadora’s tone showed no emotion.

I stared at her, trying to wrap my
head around how she could remain so distant from it all. She was supposed to be
the head of the Council, the person that protected us. How could she be so
detached when Seers were dying?

“Do you know who is doing this or
why?” I asked, pacing back and forth. Kennan had picked up the file and its
contents from the floor and was leafing through them with a rather grim
expression.

“We have some idea. It is some sort
of ritual sacrifice. Our scholars are working on deciphering the runes and the
exact ceremony. The problem is, our kind have not done a ritual sacrifice in
almost a thousand years. Even then it was normally done with animals, never
humans,” Conall said with disgust. I suddenly wanted to know how he had lost
his eye. Durn my easily distracted mind. I pulled myself back to the present.

“So someone is sacrificing Seers
and this is the third one? Where were the Guardians? Why weren’t these Seers
protected? What is being done to protect the rest of us from this madness?” I
demanded. I was growing more hysterical as the moments passed. Something inside
of me demanded that I protect the Seers. My very DNA screamed out that
something must be done. They were my sisters, my fellow travelers down this
miserable lot in life.

“And you doubted she was the one,”
Isadora said to Kennan.

“What is all of this subtext you
people are throwing around? Could someone please just spell it out for me? I
don’t have the mental capacity to deal with much more than that,” I said,
pointing toward the folder in Kennan’s hands.

“We should go so that we can talk.
We will meet with you again in the morning to discuss matters further,
Isadora,” Kennan said brusquely before bowing and nodding in Breanan and
Conall’s direction. It suddenly dawned on me that everyone bowed to Isadora
when she walked by. I had a sinking feeling that what Kennan was about to tell
me was really going to rate high on the suck scale.

**********