See How She Awakens (The Chronicles of Izzy #4)(44)
“I’m sorry?” I wasn’t quite sure what to say. As far as I knew, I wasn’t supposed to be able to die to begin with. It wasn’t like I knew what had happened. “Wait, for two months? Why wasn’t there a ceremony? Why was my body left down here in this damp cellar?”
“We tried,” Ian coughed from the stairs. I hadn’t even noticed him descending. “It didn’t work.”
“Um, come again?” Panicked I started to look over my body for scorch marks.
“The flames engulfed you, but then something weird happened. The flames changed. They turned purple, encasing you in a shield before snuffing themselves out.” Ian paused scratching his head as he looked anywhere but at me. “We tried a few times, none of them worked.”
“A few times?” my voice came out a shrill squeak as I imagined them trying, and retrying, to burn my body. “A few times?” Anger replaced the fear, and I could feel the fire burning within me. My temper was different now. More than just my mortality had changed. The darkness.
Panic flooded me as visions of the office came back. I’d absorbed the darkness into myself completely. It was as much a part of me now as the light. The dark room was closing in around me, I needed air, room to breathe.
“Perhaps we should adjourn to a more suitable location?” Aberto rose to his feet, his head almost brushing the ceiling as he did.
“Please.” I was still propped against the stone slab that I’d awoken upon. I had no clue where we were.
Aberto held out his hand to me, and for once I did not hesitate. I clung on to him for dear life.
He paused, looking down into my eyes. It was hard to read his expression in the dark, but something told me he had a lot of questions, and I wouldn’t be able to escape them.
Ian and Molly climbed the stone steps ahead of us. As we reached the top of the stairs, I finally figured out where I was. Much to my surprise, this was the Council headquarters. Though looking a little worse for the wear in a few places, it was still standing.
Mona was waiting at the top of the steps, tears pouring down her cheeks. Releasing Aberto’s hand, I moved toward my aunt, hugging her tightly the moment my arms could fully engulf her. We stayed that way, clinging to one another as we both tried to adjust to the fact I hadn’t died. Well, I was adjusting to the fact I could never die. I don’t think I’d ever fully comprehended that before. Damali had found some sort of loophole to kill me with. I still needed to find out what happened.
I pulled out of my aunt’s embrace slowly, reluctant to leave her warmth. Somewhere between the time I’d climbed the steps and finished hugging my aunt, the hall had filled with Seers and Guardians. Some that fell under the Council, and others that followed the Order. They were all there, intermingled, and I was struck by the rightness of it. This is what they were meant for, not to be divided, not to bicker about their roles, but to fight the good fight, side by side.
I wondered if they had been one entity, if the darkness ever would’ve had a chance to weasel its way in. Perhaps that was the great Divine plan in splitting them into two factions, so that not all would be pulled under and tainted. Or perhaps there was no plan at all, just utter chaos. After Uriel had made it so blatantly clear we were on our own, I really didn’t hold much faith the heavens had any sort of plan.
My body felt weak under the gaze of so many. There were countless unspoken words written on each face. Questions, fears, hopes—they all bombarded me. I searched the crowd for Aberto. I needed help to take this all in. In truth, I was terrified. I wasn’t sure what they wanted from me, what they expected I could do.
“Um, is there somewhere we can go?” I said, finally finding Aberto among the mass of people.
“The Seer will speak when she has rested.” Aberto’s voice boomed through the crowd as he ushered me in front of him towards the office.
Dread pulled me to a stop. I didn’t want to go back into that room. Darkness had fully taken me there. I’d been stabbed in that room. My breathing hitched as I looked for an escape, any direction but that.
“Be calm. No harm will come to you.” Aberto was using his stupid compassionate voice on me, like I was a scared animal. Okay, so maybe it was fair, but it riled me, which spurred me into action. I hated when he used that tone.
Clenching my teeth, I stepped through the doors of the office. Aside from the scorched carpet and a boarded up window, not much seemed to be amiss.
One by one, my friends entered the room.
“I am happy you have recovered,” Conall whispered as he walked passed, as if I’d just had a minor cold.
“Can someone please tell me what happened? How did I die? And what happened to Damali?” I looked around the room, waiting for someone—anyone—to tell me.
“The blade was made of an ancient stone in which there was a curse. Not to kill, but to send the soul into the chasm,” Eleanor murmured from behind a stack of books strewn across the desk. I smiled, finding her there felt right somehow. Surrounded by countless books, Eleanor was in her element. Of course, she’d be the one to know what had happened to me.
“What exactly is the chasm? Oh, and how did it work on me? I thought I wasn’t supposed to be able to die before? I mean, I know I’m not now. Uriel pretty much told me that.” I couldn’t seem to shut-up. My mouth just kept working as everyone’s expressions slowly changed. There it was, the same look Aberto had given me.