See How She Fights (The Chronicles of Izzy #2)(34)
“Do I know you from somewhere?” I couldn’t brush off the feeling of comfort and familiarity as I looked into his eyes. It was unsettling.
“It is possible.”
Great, another cryptic person in my life. Would it be so hard for someone to just give me a straight answer for once? I shook off the feeling and decided to focus on the matter at hand. No need to get all angsty right now.
“So, what do I need to do?” I tried to break his gaze, but found myself unable to look away.
“I need you to change into those robes and have your friends do the same with the robes located around the circle. Then you will come back here and I will prepare you for the marking. Are you absolutely sure this is the path that you must take? Once this is done it cannot be undone.” The gravity of the situation weighed heavy in his words.
“I’m sure.” I was afraid the shaking in my voice betrayed my doubt. He smiled wanly and sent me on my way to change.
We gathered up our robes and headed to the outbuilding to change. It was closer to the platform than the house, and seemed a better place to do it. I didn’t feel like having everyone in the house stare at me more than they already were. Kennan helped me fasten my robes so that my back was left bare. The others had robes that covered the entirety of their bodies in different, earthen colors. Kennan’s was the color of the sea during a great storm. Ian wore the deep green of summer just before the seasons began to shift. Molly wore a robe the color of rust or leaves that were about to blow from the trees. Conall wore a robe made of the deepest crimson I’d ever seen. It conjured images of flames and effigy. I looked down at my simple brown robe and wondered what it all meant.
“Kennan, why are the robes different colors?”
“I have no idea. This ceremony has not been performed in a very long time. For all I know, these were the only robes lying around,” he said.
We made our way back into the garden and I snickered at the thought that we looked like a muted pack of crayons. My sense of humor needed to work on its timing. I shook my head, pulling myself back to the present.
Night had begun to fall. The sounds of the world getting ready for sleep guided my feet to the now torch-lit circle. I swallowed down my fear as Kennan led me up to the platform.
“I am with you all the way. If you need to stop just say so. Got me?” he asked as he squeezed my hand.
“If you need to chat just let me know. I have loads to distract you with,” Molly added.
I nodded as I headed toward Aberto. I had a feeling this night was going to be long and unendingly painful. I wondered if I would pass out for any of it. The thought of Ren’s company was enough to make me fight for consciousness. I looked at Aberto, waiting for directions. After all, I had no idea what the ceremony consisted of.
“If you would please lie face down on the table, we will get started. The rest of you I need to form a circle. Whichever chair you grabbed your robe from is the one in which you will need to sit the remainder of the evening. Distract her from the pain. Help guide her through this. That is your purpose.”
He looked around the circle trying to ensure everyone understood. As I glanced around the circle, I noticed two robed figures that had not been there before. I looked more closely and saw that it was Breanan and Isadora. She looked upon me with a mixture of pride and fear. I tamped down my own fear once more, and settled into the table.
I could do this.
I had to do this.
“So it begins. If for any reason you need to rest say the word. This will not be an easy task for either of us,” Aberto said as he moved away from my prone form to the table of instruments. His words echoed in my head. I knew it would be painful for me, but I was unsure why it would be difficult for him.
“I’m ready,” I said with finality. I was glad Isadora had been able to arrange this all so quickly. If I had been given any time to think about what I was about to do, I would’ve backed out. Just like I’d done every other time I had thought about getting a tattoo.
Aberto started to chant something in a language both familiar and completely foreign to me. It was as if everything the man did reminded me of something just out of reach. The memories hanging just out of reach.
I felt each word as it was spoken. They settled into my body and reached into the depths of my soul. His words weighed and judged me in the same manner his eyes had earlier. As soon as I opened myself to the words, a wave of serenity washed over me. In that instant, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.
Just as I accepted the words into my soul, a fiery pain began to rip through my back. I wanted to cry out, but like the words before me, I felt that the pain was judging me. I would not be found wanting. This needed to happen. I accepted the pain. I absorbed it and let the fire burn to my very core. I felt myself separate from my body. There was two halves of me in that moment; the mortal half that was to walk along this plane and help to keep God’s plan intact, and the other half of me that could traverse the planes.
**********
I stood in a place that was neither here nor there. I was not on the plane of reality, nor was I on the plane of the dreaming. I felt as though I was in a place similar to where I’d been at the theater, watching the Seer die. I looked around and noticed I could still see myself, lying on the platform and my friends around me, looking on with a great bit of concern. Kennan’s eyes shone with anger and fear. It looked as though he wanted to jump up and break Aberto’s hand for hurting me. I wanted to soothe his anger to tell him I no longer felt any pain, but I couldn’t.