See How She Falls (The Chronicles of Izzy #3)(60)

“Okay, fine, but I need to make some calls before I am even able to return. This isn’t going to be as easy as you hope," Ian sighed, pulling out his phone.

“We have to try. If there is anything we can do to find her, we have to. She would do it for us.” I paused for a moment, letting reality sink in. Izzy was gone. Well and truly gone from this world. She’d been like the sister I’d never wanted, but was super happy to have. I couldn’t lose her, not after everything we’d been through. It wasn’t fair for it to end this way. It couldn’t end like this, with her gone and Kennan dead. If I had any say in the matter, it wouldn’t. Damn it.





Chapter Thirty One


Molly



Running up to my room to throw a bag together, I tried to formulate a plan. Sure we should go to the Order to be with everyone, but what then? I had a terrible feeling about what was going on. It felt unresolved, like this wasn’t the end of the story. Prophecy or no prophecy, something was off. Shaking it off, I ran into what used to be Izzy’s room to put the last touches on my bounce bag. I hadn’t gotten out of the habit of keeping one packed, and the last few months had taught me more than anything that it was a worthwhile practice.

“Molly, someone wishes to speak to you.” Ian held his phone out to me as he stood in the doorway. He’d started respecting the whole “my space” rule after the hair dye incident. I think the ten deadbolts I’d installed also had something to do with it.

“Who?” I questioned, unsure of who might be calling me.

“Just take it, please.” Ian tossed the phone towards me. Not waiting to see if I would catch it.

“Hello?” I was hesitant.

“Oh good, Molly, thank goodness.” Eleanor’s voice came from the receiver.

“We’re coming your way. Ian has some reservations that he won’t be allowed back. So, tell the Order that they can shove it if they think we are staying away at a time like this.” I plowed ahead, still channeling Izzy.

“Molly, I presume?” an entirely new voice said.

“Yes, and you are?” I asked, probably more abruptly than was necessary. I just didn’t want to play the whole mask of mystery game that Seers seemed so prone to like to play.

“I’m Mona, Izzy’s aunt and the Grand Seer of the Order. Tell our Ian he is welcome back anytime he would like. There is much that we would like to discuss with him upon his return. Have no fears, you will both be welcome here. But I fear you must hurry. Things are moving more quickly than we had hoped.”

“Aunt? Izzy has an aunt?” Okay, so I probably should have gotten more out of all of that, but I’d thought Izzy had no family left. I thought about her and how she must’ve reacted to that news. Then it dawned on me, Ian had known all along.

“Yes, dear. You are losing sight of what is important. We are going to send the helicopter to retrieve you. Please be at the airfield as quickly as possible. See you both soon.” Without so much as a goodbye, she hung up.

“She has an aunt?” I turned toward Ian, shocked.

“Yes. Before you start shrieking at me, let me explain, woman.” Ian held up his hands in placation.

“I don’t shriek. I’m shrill.” I narrowed my eyes up at him.

“That is debatable.” Ian ran a hand over his surprisingly tame hair. “When a person leaves the Order they are not permitted to speak of it, or the people within. It is part of the oath you take upon separation. Even had I wanted to tell her, it wouldn’t have done any good. She’d chosen to lead the Council.”

“But that is like taking a choice away from her, Ian. Don’t you see that? She had a right to know.” I threw a pair of balled up socks at him. “Go get packed. We have a chopper to catch.”

“A chopper?” Ian asked with a raised brow.

“You know what I mean. We have to be down there within the hour. So hustle, mister. Stop lollygagging. I want to find Izzy and figure out what really happened back there. Aberto’s half-assed attempts at explaining it aren’t working for me.”

“Alright, I’m moving.” Ian paused before moving on. “She’ll be okay, you know? She’s tougher than she thinks.”

“Yeah, but right now she thinks she is alone, Ian.” I had to choke down a sob as I thought of Izzy out there by herself dealing with everything that had happened.

“We’ll find her," Ian promised.

“Not if you don’t go pack, we won’t," I admonished.

“I’m going, stop nagging me, woman.”

I plopped down on my bed thinking of Izzy, of what she must be going through right this moment. It was all too much. To feel so alone. I couldn’t imagine life without Ian, not that I’d admit that to him. Izzy and Kennan, they were what little girls dreamed about when they were young. Their love was supposed to end in a happily ever after. Instead it just ended, abruptly.

“Alright, I’m ready.” Ian pulled my bag from my hands as I headed to the door.

******

We rode to the airport in relative silence. I knew this wouldn’t be an easy trip for Ian. After all, he hadn’t been back to the Order in hundreds of years. Ian was a good man, though, and I knew without a doubt he would do whatever it took to bring Izzy back. If not for my sake, then for his friend’s. Kennan had taken him in when he left the Order with no judgments. He’d tolerated him throughout the years, even with his horrible fashion sense. There was nothing Ian wouldn’t do for Kennan. Even if that meant interceding on Izzy’s behalf.