See How She Falls (The Chronicles of Izzy #3)(36)

“Oh! There’s a message?”

“Yeah, oh.” Sena looked at me impatiently. “I need you to grab my hand. You have to flip through my memories to find it. She said that you would know it when you saw it and to let go and find her.”

“But, she was trapped there all those years. She’s finally moved on. Won’t this just pull her back to this plane?”

“No, this is an echo. She made a permanent recording in our collective memory so that you would know what she knew in the end.”

“Just be careful not to touch the runes, okay?” I held my hand out towards Sena, almost afraid of what awaited.

“Are you ready? Focus on Cait, and you should find it pretty quickly.”

Sena’s cold hand entwined with mine sending me spiraling through her history. Not just her history, but her whole family’s collective history. It was the most bizarre thing I’d ever experienced while trying to memory sift.

“Izzy," I heard Cait’s voice call out. I stopped sifting and immediately walked toward where she stood on the scorched earth. “It has taken you far longer to find me than I’d hoped.”

“Wait, I thought you were just a memory.”

“I told them that so they would not fret over me. The gods bid me to tell you of what comes. You can defeat it, if you wish.” Cait cocked her head to the side as if questioning whether or not I would stand against the darkness.

“Of course I want to defeat it.”

“You misunderstand me. The power to defeat the beast comes from within you. If you believe that you can destroy it, then you will. I believed my sacrifice would stop it, and it did.”

“So you are telling me to have faith that I am enough. What if I believe that I can stop it without dying? Will that also happen?”

“All things have a price, Izzy. You must be willing to pay the price for what you seek. The price for the eternal end to this darkness is that you must fall. If you do not, if you fail to do what you are called to do, then the darkness will once more return to reign eternal. You need to look within yourself and find what is most important to you. Is it your life that matters, or the life of those that you love? What are you willing to do to protect them?”

“Everything," I breathed out. “It has to be this way then? I must sacrifice myself to save everyone I love?”

“You must be willing to sacrifice yourself to end the darkness.” Thanks cryptic Cait. These people could seriously write books on how to be evasive.

“Is that all you have for me? Believe it and it will happen?” It sounded like some absurd self-affirmation bologna.

“I have one more piece of advice before you go. Try not to let what is coming pull you into the darkness. It is tempting to let it overtake you. You are much stronger than I ever was, you must fight it. If you roll over now, you will never again get up.”

“Okay, so drink some water and suck it up. Anything else?”

“Tell Conall to be nice to my Sena. She hasn’t had an easy road.” Cait smiled softly as reality came crashing back in.

Sena broke contact abruptly, sweat drenched her brow.

“Are you alright? Did I hurt you?” I was worried that I somehow did something wrong. I wasn’t exactly an expert at any of this yet.

“I heard everything while you were there. That was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever been a part of. And what the heck does she mean about Conall being nice to me?” Sena paused for a moment and then her eyes grew as large as saucers. “Oh no! No. No. Just no. This can’t be happening. Not dog boy.” Sena stood and started pacing the floor. Her hands shaking as she looked up towards the sky. “Really, him? It couldn’t have been a nice, normal, Order Guardian?”

“For what it’s worth, he isn’t that bad. You could always dress him up like a pirate on Halloween. That would be a perk.”

“Oh, you’ve got jokes, do you?” Sena plopped heavily back in the seat, her hands shaking. “Well, what am I supposed to do now? He doesn’t even like me, for crying out loud. I always thought I would end up in some romantically charged match like you and Kennan have. Are you telling me that I am cursed to the platonic playground for the rest of my very long life?”

“I’m saying that you probably need to talk to him and figure it out. I wouldn’t exactly write it off just yet.” I remembered Conall’s face when he’d first seen her and I knew, undoubtedly, the feelings brewing beneath the surface were far from platonic. The look he’d given her was definitely not of the familial persuasion.

“Talk. I can talk. Not well, and not with a filter, but I can do it. Now, back to the other parts. How was she there? It was just supposed to be a recording of a memory.” Sena pinned me with her gaze, effectively redirecting the conversation.

“My visions are funky. They never are simple.” I pulled myself up in the bed doing my best to shake off the exhaustion pulling at me. “I need to get up and get dressed. Can you help me?”

“What, like a nursemaid?”

“Or a friend?” I suddenly missed Molly. Had she been there with me, she’d already have me up and moving to get dressed.

“I think I can handle that.” Sena smiled brightly. I wondered just what had happened to her to leave her in such a state. “Are you even up to moving about though? I’m pretty sure your Guardian is going to give me a royal beat down if I come out of this room with you.”