See How She Falls (The Chronicles of Izzy #3)
MIchelle Graves
Dedication
For Susan Pszczolkowski Baxter.
May your eternal garden be filled with cozy reading nooks
and brilliant stories.
You are missed.
Acknowledgments
To my husband, the innovator of bad guys, and brilliant story-teller in his own right. My books would be impossible without his love, patience, and advice. Even if I never take it. I love you more than you will ever, ever know!
Wendy, I shall never be able to convey how much I love you. Fate certainly brought you into my life, and I can honestly say, you take my breath away. (See what I did there?) In all seriousness, my books would never be as amazing without all of your guidance, support, honesty, and help. You are more important to me than you can even imagine!
Ali, you are just, well, there aren’t enough words. I am so blessed to not only call you friend, but to have you be a part of my writing process. I know that I can always count on you for honesty, support, and angry messages. Your enthusiasm for Izzy keeps me motivated!
Charissa and Shawn, for some reason when I think of one of you, I think of the other. The two of you are like the book sisters I never knew I could have. I am so blessed that the past year and these books have brought us closer together. What started with books has led to two beautiful and everlasting friendships. I love you both BIG, HUGE even!
Regina, even when life gets super busy, just know that I love you and I am so thankful that you keep on reading. Even if you will never love Aberto. (But you will, someday!)
Dianne, you mean the world to me. I love you to bits and it is more than just the help you so willingly give me, it is your optimism. It is downright contagious. I never have to worry about a thing with you. I know you will be honest and loving and gentle!
To my new sisters at Dauntless Indies, thank you so much for all of the advice, the help, and the guidance you have given a newbie like me. You are three of the most amazing women I’ve ever known!
Syd Gill, you are a saint! No seriously, you are so amazing. There aren’t enough good things I can say about what you do for The Chronicles of Izzy. The book covers are brilliant and I know without a doubt, you will always come through for me! You, my dear, are one talented genius!
Neeley Bratcher, I want you to know how much I appreciate you taking the time to give my books the love they deserve. Even with all you have going, working full time and writing your own brilliant books, you still take the time for me…. It means more than you can know! I love you to bits!
Michelle’s Mafia, you people are the best Street Team, support, friends a girl could ever ask for! Thank you for all of your hard work and pimping. I’d be nothing without all of you! Love you to bits!
And to you, the person that picked up The Chronicles of Izzy and have stayed with me, thank you. You mean, well the world to me! Without you, this would just be a computer file hanging out in my laptop. The enthusiasm and excitement of each of you has propelled me to keep on doing this! So thank you for taking a chance on Runs and sticking with me!
Prologue
And so it was, the gathering of Seers, the last of the soul walkers. They came together to bind the future so that the darkness may never prevail. Their pleas went out to the gods both old and new, to the Guardians that they may raise themselves up to protect the one to come, and to the Old Ones to anoint her path.
The cries went up to the heavens and the heavens heard. An oath was made from the gods to the keepers of man. There would be a Seer when time came to pass. A Seer unlike any other before or after. The assurance of the gods echoed with an oath to the soul walkers that there would be signs.
There would be signs anointing the Seer’s path so that she may be known to those that knew to look. The Seer to come shall be the last of the soul walkers, but the first of her kind. She will traverse the planes, both in present and past. Her powers will manifest tenfold and her path shall be anointed so that she may fight the darkness.
And while the promise of the one to come brought great comfort to the Seers, the last of the soul walkers, the binding of the oath left them to doubt. The gods promised to provide the Earth with a great protector, but as in all things, the protector must choose. The Seers did not understand and began to question the gods.
The gods responded, and it is their answer that set flame to the fears that the darkness may well prevail. The Seer to come must choose to face the darkness coming. Her path will be filled with turmoil and her soul marked by loss. Though she will have the strength to fight the darkness, she must be willing to surrender all.
To end the darkness, the Seer must fall.
Chapter One
It was finally time. Molly’s mom had been held captive for over two months while we tried to pry information from her. Unfortunately, Elaine wasn’t the fount of knowledge we had hoped she’d be. I looked over to where she sat, all prim and proper as though her world wasn’t about to be completely upended. The lack of remorse in her eyes sickened me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t understand how Elaine could so dispassionately slay Seers, betray her daughter, and feel nothing akin to regret. Something in her had broken at some point. Maybe Molly had been right, maybe it had been when she lost her husband. No matter what she’d gone through, I couldn’t excuse what she’d done. Not to Molly, not to the Seers, and not to me.