See How She Falls (The Chronicles of Izzy #3)(17)

“Where exactly are we going?” I asked Aberto as he reached for my hand.

“Right now, they are shacked up somewhere in the Okefenokee Swamp. Hold tightly, this journey will not be a pleasant one for you.”

“Shacked up? Really Aberto? Did you start reading the urban dictionary online or something?”

Aberto stared at me coldly. Right, I’d forgotten, he was still pissy with me. No jokes today, nope, not gonna happen.

I entwined my fingers with his, my hand swallowed inside his massive one, almost disappearing. The dreaming spun past us in a flurry of images, some real, some imagined. Places, times, they all seemed to merge and divide so quickly I was left reeling by the time we came to a halt. I fell to my knees, trying to breathe deeply to chase away the nausea.

“We’re here. We must leave the dreaming to speak with them. For that, you will need to make yourself corporeal. Will this be a problem?”

“Can I have like two seconds here? I feel like my stomach is trying to climb its way out of my body at the moment.”

“I thought we agreed that you would not call on me until you were done feeling sorry for yourself.” Aberto’s cold voice rang in my ears making me want to throat punch him. He was really starting to grate on my nerves.

“Listen here, Old Man. I’m not used to doing some weird time tunnel vortex through the dreaming. I’m sorry if I’m not as up to speed as you would like me to be, but trying to have a second to catch my bearings is not feeling sorry for myself. It’s called self-preservation, you asshat.” I stood, glaring at him. The green pallor of my skin probably took away from the overall affect, but I was sticking with it. At least my fingers were getting zappy, that was a bit intimidating.

“I have no time for your ridiculous rantings. Calling me illogical names will do nothing to solve our current predicament, Izzy. Now, can you do what I asked of you, or not?”

“I’ve never tried it before, so I. DON’T. KNOW!” I shouted. I was so tired of his mood swings. I was worn to the bone, nauseous, and unsure of what I was about to walk into. The least he could’ve done was be supportive.

“My apologies. We will try it now, and see if you are able to do it. Just imagine yourself becoming whole as you enter the next realm. It will be a projection of the real you. If you are unable to do it, I can pass messages between you and the Order.” Aberto threw his hand out in my direction. I reluctantly grabbed it and allowed him to pull me through to the other plane, somewhere in the swamps of Georgia.

I mentally tried to feel myself forming a whole being as we passed into the next plane. As the last of the dreaming faded behind me, I could hear a loud “Pop.”

“Well done, Izzy.” Aberto released my hand, and I opened my eyes to find a whole room of women gawking at me.

“Umm, hi?” I stammered.

“Well, that was fast," Sena said with a smirk. “How’s it cooking, Abe? Learned any new tricks? Thrown any more wrenches into the Big Man’s plans?”

“It is always a pleasure, Sena.” Aberto ground each word out through gritted teeth.

“Don’t mind Old Abe, he is just a grump. I think it is all of the years he’s spent in the dreaming not getting laid," Sena stage whispered.

“Umm, okay?” I wondered when I would stop stammering. These women probably thought I was a poor excuse for a savior if they’d ever seen one. They were right.

“I guess you want to talk the Grand-Seer, right?” Sena had started speaking slowly to me, as if I were having trouble catching up.

“Yes, the Grand-Seer, right. That would be awesome. Knowledge is power and all of that.”

“Well, follow me then.” Sena moved off hollering at everyone to stop gawking as we went.

I finally began to take in my surroundings. We were in what amounted to some sort of old house that had been left to the elements for God only knew how long. The floor boards creaked and moaned beneath my feet as I went, sending out yells of anguish. We made our way towards a dilapidated staircase, which Sena began climbing immediately. She moved fluidly up the stairs with Aberto close behind. I eyed them warily, taking my time to carefully place my feet the entire way up. I wasn’t about to let a rickety staircase be my demise. No way, no how.

When I finally reached the top, Sena was busy yapping at an exasperated Aberto. I thought it served him right. In all honesty, it seemed like Sena was doing it to intentionally annoy him. She seemed to like getting a rise out of people.

“Right this way, if you don’t mind.” Sena led the way down the hall to what must’ve once been the master bedroom. “She’s been waiting for quite a while.”

I walked into the room and froze. Sitting before me alive and well was my mother. My knees threatened to buckle as my stomach churned. I blinked rapidly, doing my best to erase the image. Surely this was a mistake. This couldn’t be. My mother was gone. She was dead. What sort of hell had he brought me to?

“Oh, dear. You didn’t tell her, Aberto?” The painfully familiar voice moved towards me in a flash, steading me as the world tried to flip upside down and shake me off.

“Izzy, I didn’t think. I apologize. This is the Grand-Seer. She also happens to be your aunt.” Aberto’s voice was muffled inside of my ringing ears.

“I’m sorry, my what? My aunt?” I paused trying to get the air to return to my lungs. I was sure my body was going to feel this when I got back. “I don’t have an aunt. Especially not one that looks just like my mother. What kind of game is this?” I pulled away from the woman trying to embrace me. I was tired of surprises, tired of tricks, and more importantly tired of everyone keeping secrets.