See How She Awakens (The Chronicles of Izzy #4)(53)
“What will become of you?” she asked, hesitantly.
“I have no clue.” I pulled back to look into her face. “What I do know is there is a yard full of people waiting to spoken to, and I’m supposed to start it off.”
“Don’t forget to come back later. I still need to give you something, but now is not the time.” Mona stepped back, rubbing her hands down her skirt as if that would somehow help her to regain composure.
“I’ll come back right after.” A smile played across my face as I looked her over, this woman that had been almost mercenary these past months. She was one of the strongest people I’d ever known.
Stepping back out into the hall, I was greeted by Ian and Molly. They’d waited for me so we could walk out and face the music together.
“Are you ready, Pip Squeak?” Ian asked, the nickname bringing a flood of memories rushing back. I knew he missed Kennan as much as I did, perhaps more, in a way. They’d been brothers, friends for centuries. Sadness flipped through Ian’s eyes as he read in mine what he tried to push aside.
“I’m ready. The real question is are you ready, Molly?” I turned to her, breaking the connection and pushing the memories back.
“I’m never going to be ready for this,” Molly half-heartedly laughed, clasping her hand inside of Ian’s. “But it is time. So, let’s get this over with. Hey, is Aberto coming?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged, unsure of where he’d been keeping himself the last few days. As we walked down the hall and out into the yard, I wondered just what he’d been doing. I’d been left to my own thoughts and fears in his absence. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to give me time to come to terms with all that had transpired, or if he was off doing something that had nothing to do with me.
As the platform drew near, memories of the first time I’d seen Aberto overtook me. It seemed like an eternity ago, when all I knew of him was that he was supposed to put a mark on my back to protect me. But I’d felt it, even in that moment, I’d known there was something more to him, to us. Images of him flashed through my mind. He’d always been there, always protected me, but allowed me to choose all the same. He had never prevented me from plunging head first into insanity, instead he’d done his best to equip me with the tools I’d need to overcome whatever I faced. And when all else failed, he’d breathed a portion of his soul into my own, cursing himself to be eternal. Aberto. The most confounding being I’d ever known.
“Izzy, are you ready?” Molly asked, as we ascended the platform to look out over thousands of Seers and Guardians. I’d had no idea there were so many.
The crowd fell silent as I moved toward the front of the platform. There was no podium, no microphone. Nothing but me and the confused faces before me.
“I know many of you have questions. A lot of you have no clue what has been going on here the past few years, and for those of you that do, you probably have only heard half of the truth. Before Molly comes up here to address you, I want to tell you a story. A story about a Seer, The Seer, if the prophecy is real,” I paused, unsure of where I should begin. As murmurs rose up in the crowd, I knew what I needed to say. Everything. They needed to know everything.
So I began at the beginning. The day I’d met Xavier. The day everything I’d known in this world came crumbling down. I told them of Kennan, and how I loved him. Every pain I’d endured, every obstacle unfolded as my story played out. Things even I’d forgotten in my struggle to regain sanity, memories that seemed somehow insignificant until now. My time at the lab, the fight to save the Seers, Ren haunting me, the demon, every step had led me to where I stood in that moment.
Time passed as my history unfolded, the crowd held captive by the tale. But something strange happened in those moments. As I breathed life back into the moments that had led me to where I stood now, I began to find peace. The words I’d spoken to my aunt earlier had become truth. I wouldn’t change a step I’d taken. No matter what it had cost me, the world—humanity—was safer now because I’d done something.
The last of my story played out as a gasp sounded in the crowd. The now knew the truth. The whole ugly truth of what had really happened, and what I’d become. But I wasn’t finished.
“You may not have been here for the majority of the trials. You may have heard rumors of me, of what I was. Now you have the truth of it. I implore you, do not forsake all that has been done by remaining as you were. Do not make the lives that have been lost meaningless sacrifices. We have a chance to truly fight this darkness. Not only to fight it, but to win. I may not be what I once was. I’m still trying to figure out what all of it means. What I do know is if we do not change course, the darkness will prevail.”
Silence fell over the crowd as Molly approached the front of the platform where I stood. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been talking, but I hoped what I’d said had helped her. Molly wrapped her hand around mine, squeezing it tightly before releasing it.
I was done. I’d played my part, now it was up to her.
“Izzy is right. We can’t remain as we are if we expect to win this war. It is time to change our ways. I know this won’t be easy. I’m not asking you to forget where you came from, or what your past has been. Your past helps to define you. What I am asking is that we forge forward as a united front. Let us combine our histories, and move into the future with that wisdom to guide us. No more can we play by the same rules we once did. The darkness is ever pressing, ever testing our bounds. This evil does not play by the same rules it once did. We can’t fight it if we don’t also change.” Molly’s voice rang out in the crowd. Faces stared back at her, some intrigued, others doubtful. “Who will stand with me? Who will help me to guide us into an age where we no longer wait for the darkness to strike, but we actively seek it out?”