See How She Fights (The Chronicles of Izzy #2)(64)

The mark sizzled on his soul as it came to a rest. Kennan moved into the room just as the life support machine began to scream its alarm. Kennan moved towards his brother’s body and raised a sword I had not notice him having before. He looked down at his brother’s body with disdain.

“May the gods have no mercy on your soul, Brother,” he spat on him before drawing the sword down to sever Xavier’s head form his body. I cringed at the look in Kennan’s eyes. The ferocity there frightened me.

I looked back toward Aberto, hoping to find some sort of solace. Instead I found him staring back at me with such intent, I had to look away. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Molly’s mom trying to sneak out.

I started to yell out just as Ian reached her. She drew a knife from her pocket and moved to stab Ian. He reached out so quickly, my eyes could not track him and slammed her head against the wall repeatedly until she no longer moved. As her body sank to the floor, barely conscious. Ian pulled a zip tie from his pocket to bind her hands together. “You don’t deserve her. Thanks to her, I promised I would spare your life. Just remember that,” Ian snarled as he dragged her from the room.

I looked back to find Kennan still staring at his brother’s body.

“Burn it,” he commanded before turning to leave.

“It is time to go, Izzy,” Aberto reached for my hand and quickly pulled my soul back to where my body was waiting.

It was finally over. Xavier was gone and the Seers would be able to move on. I breathed heavily as I bound my body and soul back together before the rest of the men could return.

**********





TWENTY FOUR


I opened my eyes and shot up from the seat. Aberto stood outside of the car, staring at me with anger burning in his eyes. I couldn’t understand why he was so angry with me. I moved to get out of the car and he appeared in the seat next to me. He pulled my arm toward himself, violently ripping away the fabric to look for the first rune that had appeared on my body.

I tried to pull my arm back, terrified by how he was handling me and the anger in his eyes. Aberto had always been so even-tempered with me. Even when he scolded me he was calm. This was a side of him I didn’t know how to handle.

“What are you doing?” I asked, still trying to pull my arm away.

“Damn it. Why?” he screamed, staring toward the sky.

I looked down at my arm and saw the rune was still there. I didn’t understand. I ended it. I stopped Xavier from finishing his work. Hadn’t I? Maybe there was an explanation for it. Maybe it just hadn’t faded yet.

“Maybe it takes a while to go away.” My voice was shaking. The tears threatened to fall. It was supposed to be over. I was supposed to be safe. I looked up to find Aberto’s eyes burning with passion. He reached up and grabbed the sides of my face holding me still so that he could look in my eyes.

“I will not let them take you,” he said before disappearing before my eyes.

“Who?” I yelled at the air. “You owe me some answers, Old Man,” I muttered staring back down at my arm. I covered it as Kennan approached the car. I didn’t want him to worry about it. Not tonight. I would tell him tomorrow.

“Where’s the Old One?” Kennan’s voice sounded exhausted.

“He poofed again,” I said, shrugging. “So, it is over then?”

“Yeah, he is gone. You did it, Izzy,” he said, moving into the seat next to me. Conall jumped in the driver’s seat where Ian had been on the way over. I looked at him questioningly.

“Ian wants to spend some quality time with Elaine,” Conall answered my unspoken question.

“Ah. Well, can we go home now? I don’t feel so hot.” The truth was, I was drained. When I had marked Xavier something had been taken from me. It wasn’t quite like before, but I still felt an emptiness.

“Your wish, my command,” Conall nodded. Another Guardian climbed into the passenger seat and we drove away back toward the Council headquarters and hopefully some answers.

“Do you feel okay, Red? Want to tell me what happened?” Kennan wrapped his arm around me, pulling me as close as my seatbelt would allow.

What? I wasn’t going to risk getting taken out by something like a car crash after everything that I had been through.

“I’m fine. Marking souls like that just takes something out of me. I understand why he told me it was not something that should be done. It hurts too badly,” I muttered sleepily into his chest.

“Can you tell me what happened? When we got there Xavier was almost already gone,” Kennan kissed the top of my head causing butterflies to alight in my chest. I would never tire of that feeling.

“Nothing too terribly exciting. Well, I take that back. Aberto went all soul ninja on Xavier and ripped his soul right out of his body. It was insane. Then he pinned him to the ground with the wrath of God burning in his eyes. He called Xavier a Betrayer. Is that what all Guardians are called that forsake the purpose set before them?” My eyelids were starting to grow heavy. With everything that had happened today, it was a miracle I was still on my feet. I had died after all, well technically my body had died.

“Yes, those that forsake their purpose, whether Guardian or Seer, are known to the Old Ones as Betrayers. Close your eyes, Izzy, and rest. You are safe now,” Kennan muttered. I could hear the relief in his voice and I hated that I would be the one to take that away soon. I could give him tonight though. There was no harm in that.