See How She Falls (The Chronicles of Izzy #3)(46)

“You know I’m going to do go through with whatever this is.” I paused looking at the coals hesitantly. “I just wasn’t exactly mentally prepared for the whole being grilled like a brisket thing. A little heads up next time would be super awesome.”

“Do not be melodramatic, young lady. We intend to do no such thing.” And there it was, my mom’s ‘You’re in trouble’ voice right out of my aunt.

“Fine," I huffed, sitting heavily on a floor pillow. “What do I need to do?”

“You will need to change into this.” Aberto handed me a dress that eerily resembled the one Cait had died in. I tried to tamp down my panic but it got the best of me. Sena yelled something from across the room that managed to bring my angst into check.

“Do you come in pill form?” I asked Sena, only half joking.

“You wish. You wouldn’t need me around if that were the case," Sena said, causing me to wonder what her story was. She seemed terrified that I would fade away at a moments’ notice. I just hoped that I would be around long enough to show her she was wrong.

“Yes, I would," I promised before heading to the corner and donning the dress behind a screen. I tried my best to shake of the image of Cait and face whatever torture the old hags, I mean Eleanor and my aunt, had in store.

“Are you ready to get started?” I nodded at my aunt who motioned for me to lay on the cushions stretched across the floor. “You can’t go on a walkabout. You have to stay and the let the binding stitch together on both planes.”

“I know the drill," I sighed, trying to find my center. All I needed was to fricassee the people I cared about as they tried to fix me. I sucked in a deep breath as I felt the heat of the first coal approach.

“Son of a donkey butted, biscuit eating, bastard!” I cursed as the pain radiated from the rune. It was as if the rune was protecting itself against the binding. It hurt worse than anything I’d ever experienced. “I can’t do it. I can’t," I sobbed trying to yank my arm away from the oncoming coal.

“Hold her down!” My aunt shouted. “You must do this, Izzy. Otherwise you won’t have the strength to defend yourself. So suck it up, buttercup. This is happening.”

I felt strong arms press me back down into the cushions. My shoulders were braced so that I couldn’t move and inch. I looked up expecting to see Kennan, instead it was Aberto holding me down. I looked across the room to find Kennan slowly backing out of the room, his jaw clenched and his face green.

“He can’t bear to see you suffer. It is better that he is not here," Aberto whispered. “Now focus on something. Center yourself.”

I looked up into his unfathomably blue eyes and let myself get lost in them. I felt the part of his soul that resided in me leap at the recognition. The smoldering coal came into contact with the first rune, causing me to arch up and close my eyes. The pain was unbearable. How was I supposed to get through more of this?

“Izzy.” Aberto’s voice sounded so far away. “Izzy, open your eyes and look at me.”

I opened my eyes as tears leaked through the corners of my eyes. “I can’t do it.” I sobbed.

“You must," Aberto said calmly. “Would you like to hear a story?”

“Now? You want to tell me a story now?” I was incredulous. Of all the times for Aberto to be in a sharing mood, this seemed the least convenient.

“I do.” He smiled softly. “Keep your eyes trained on me as I tell my tale. If you close your eyes, I stop talking. Do we have a deal?”

“Okay. You have a deal.” I stared up into his eyes, his hair cascaded around his face, forming a curtain between us and the outside world.

“This is the story of when I saw you again for the first time after many years.”

“But you said you had always been there," I interrupted causing Aberto to arch a brow.

“No interruptions. I was always in the dreaming, waiting for the day you found your way back. Remember when I told you that I took away your memories of me and the dreaming? Well, as they faded, you did as well. You quit coming to the dreaming and you forgot about me altogether. Then, one day, you showed back up. It was right after your Grandmother died. You came into the dreaming, weeping and lost.” Aberto paused looking down into my face as another coal came to rest on a rune.

“Story, more story," I pleaded, anxious to think of anything but the pain radiating through my extremities.

“I came to you that day, only I wasn’t sure it was you. The last time I’d seen you, you were a child. What I found was a woman. I was surprised at the time that had passed, unaware that so many years had slipped through my fingers. You came stumbling into the dreaming, the same blinding beacon you’d been on the day you were born. I knew, the moment I saw the light appear that you’d come back. Your time was drawing near.” Aberto looked sadly into my eyes. “But that was the day that I knew it was you. I’ve known you my whole life, Izzy. From my first breath, I saw you coming. I didn’t know who you were, I didn’t know when you were; I just knew that you were. After thousands of years, I’d forgotten. The memory of you had been covered by countless years and countless struggles. But the moment I saw you, with your tear stained face standing in the dreaming, it all came back.”

“What did you remember?” I winced as they pulled the coal away from my arm. I knew I had more to go, and I needed the distraction.