See How She Awakens (The Chronicles of Izzy #4)(4)

“We must get inside.” Aberto’s voice interrupted my thoughts as he opened the door, doing his best to get me into the old rickety house.

Memories rooted me in place, turning my feet into lead. Necessity pushed me; the promise of returning to the void the only thing that propelled me to move. As I took the first steps toward the house, I knew. If I took these steps, everything would change. The moment definitive, there would be no going back. I’d tried that and failed, so I would move forward. Perhaps there I could find the peace I sought.

As my foot crossed the threshold, the house fell into an eerie silence. All eyes seemed to turn toward me at once. I wasn’t sure what they saw. I searched the faces for someone—anyone—that might be feeling the same loss I felt. Conall came into view, his shoulders slumped, defeat etched across his face. But when his eye connected with mine, his posture straightened and determination replaced defeat. He would be disappointed; they all would. I couldn’t help them. My very presence brought nothing more than pain and destruction. I would hurt every last one of them.

They don’t deserve your help. What did they do for you? They took you from your life and made you soar before stealing everything you held dear, the darkness whispered. The truth of the statement echoed in my mind. I’d lost so much, and all of it because of what I am, what I was.

“Izzy?” My aunt’s half-choked sob pulled me from the dark words.

“Hello, Mona.” I turned to face my aunt as she moved towards me. Everything about the way she moved said she wanted to embrace me. Panic welled within me. What if the darkness fled from me only to take root inside of her? I couldn’t let that happen. Just as she moved to wrap her arms around me, I sifted myself backward, reappearing a few feet from where I’d been seconds before, the action an unconscious reflex to my fear. I didn’t even know I was capable of doing it.

“Izzy?” Mona’s question was filled with hurt.

“Please. I don’t want to be touched.” I pleaded with my eyes. If Aberto didn’t believe me about the darkness, how would she?

“I understand.” Mona’s demeanor shifted. All emotions fled as her back straightened and her face morphed into a black mask. “Molly is this way.”

In less time than it took to take a single breath, Mona had changed from my aunt back into the leader of the Order.

She doesn’t really want you here. She thinks you will take her position. If she truly loved you, why didn’t she come for you when your mother died? The darkness came, more audible this time. It was growing stronger, expanding within me. I could feel it searching for chinks in my armor. With each breath I took, it grew inside of me, learning me. Its words growing teeth as the truth of them sank in. The darkness was right, she never came for me.

We made our way through the house, everyone giving me a wide berth. The looks on their faces a mixture of horror and pity. What did they see when they looked upon me? Was I truly so altered?

A closed door was all that stood between us and Molly. Just beyond the wooden barrier, I could hear anguished pleading. It cut through me as I realized it was Ian’s fearful voice coming from within.

“Molly, stay strong. Don’t let them get to you again. You can’t go back into the dreaming,” Ian pleaded.

“But Izzy is there. If she doesn’t come back then all is lost. She knows something, Ian. Something that will stop this.” Molly’s voice sounded weak.

The doors opened to an unspeakable horror. My eyes refused to believe what they were seeing. Molly lay stretched out on the bed, altered almost beyond recognition. Her arms and legs were coated with black crackled skin, turning them into nothing more than charcoaled waste. Her beautiful face was twisted in agony as trails of blood traced maps down her face.

There was something familiar about the horrific image. I’d seen this. In the void. This wasn’t supposed to be real.

“The darkness is coming. Act now, or all is lost. The war rages on.” The words escaped my lips as my feet began to carry me around the room. Unease settled in my bones as the voices continued their assault. All I wanted was for this to be over. It was supposed to be over. My hands lifted to either side of my head, trying to block them out. This wasn’t real. Maybe I was still in the void.

“Izzy? Izzy is that you?” Molly questioned hopefully.

“This isn’t real,” I murmured, unable to look at Molly.

“I assure you, Izzy. This is quite real.” Aberto’s voice seemed to pull me back to the room.

“What is this? Is this some kind of ploy to keep me here? Did you do this so that I would stay?” I turned on Aberto as the darkness swelled within me.

“Izzy, STOP!” Ian shouted. His face told me everything I needed to know. This was really happening, and it was my fault. She’d said she had to go back into the dreaming to find me. She’d been there, and I’d pushed her away.

“How?” I choked, falling to my knees. The realization of knowing I might have been able to prevent this from ever happening threatened to pull me under. Everyone I loved ended up hurt because of me. My love brought with it a death sentence. My mother, Kennan, now Molly.

It is better to not love at all, the darkness whispered.

“She is an Empath,” Eleanor spoke from the doorway, moving towards me. “When she first arrived here two months ago, the bleeding started. With each trip into the dreaming, it has gotten significantly worse.”