See How She Fights (The Chronicles of Izzy #2)(70)
“It seems you have protection from on High. He won’t be able to stop what is coming. None of you will,” the man said slowly.
“I can.” I knew the moment the words left my lips that it was the truth. I could stop whatever was coming. I had to do it. It was what I was born to do.
“We shall see.” The figure moved away in the fog suddenly.
“Izzy, no!” I heard Aberto scream from my side. I turned to look at him confused and then down at my leg. I couldn’t understand it. The robed man had not touched me at all. How was there another rune carved on my body? What the hell good was that stupid protection tattoo doing?
Aberto came towards me quickly wrapping his arms around me and pulling me from the dreaming.
**********
I lay on the bench with my leg on fire. I could hardly breathe. I looked down at the leg of my pants to see it blood soaked. This stupid group of people owed me a new wardrobe. They were ruining all of my favorite clothes. I stared down at my leg and my resolve hardened. This would not be the end of me. I would be the end of them. Prophecy or not I wouldn’t sit idly by while they screwed with my world. I tried to sit up only to fall back to the bench.
“I think I might need some help getting back to the house,” I said to Aberto. I seemed to be completely drained of all energy.
He moved toward me, lifting me up into his arms.
“Hold on tight,” he said before darting back to the house. He moved so quickly my head was left spinning. The world passed us in a blur of green. We got to the office door and Kennan burst through it, accusations burning in his eyes.
“I tried to keep her here. Their pull was too strong. She needs to have it treated,” Aberto said, moving past Kennan into the office to lay me on the couch.
Kennan rushed over to me. “I should have been there. I should have been with you. When I saw Aberto with you I thought you would be safe.” He brushed my hair from my face.
“I’m fine Kennan. It’s just another mark. I will be okay. I promise.” I smiled up at him before a wave of pain rocked my leg. I grimaced, closing my eyes tightly. With each new mark I got the pain grew. “What did I get that stupid tattoo for? It doesn’t seem to be working,” I griped, causing Aberto to laugh.
“This is not funny, Old One,” Kennan snapped at him.
“Perhaps the circumstances are not humorous, but she is. Izzy, that tattoo is keeping you alive right now. If it weren’t for that mark on your back you would be in a comatose state, and your soul would be residing in the dreaming. It takes a great deal of force to pull you into the dreaming as they did last night and today. I can give you additional marks that will prevent them from pulling you there altogether. I am sure they will find a way around them eventually, but they should protect you for a time.” Aberto looked at me thoughtfully.
“I’ll take them,” I said as another wave of pain racked my body.
“First, we must clean and treat your wound. You need to remove your pants,” Kennan said, looking around the room at Aberto and Conall.
“I’m not all that worried about anyone seeing anything Kennan. I’m wearing granny panties,” I whispered to him, causing him to snicker.
“Okay. You will have to clean the mark yourself. The more you get the more the bridge is formed and they are able to siphon energy from them. We think they were using the souls of the Seers to feed their bridge as well. Since you cut off that energy source they have upped their game with you.” Kennan looked down at me thoughtfully as Conall moved towards us with the medical kit.
“It’s happening again, isn’t it?” He looked down upon me with fear in his eyes. I could tell he was seeing Cait as he looked at me. I couldn’t handle the pain written there. I reached up to grab his hand.
“It will all be okay. It won’t happen again,” I promised. I knew there was a very real chance that I would not be able to keep that promise, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him having to relive those memories again.
“You’re damn right it won’t happen again. I won’t let it. They aren’t going to take you,” Conall swore, tossing the medical supplies on the table and walking away.
“We need to treat your leg, Izzy,” Kennan said, looking down at my now red jeans. I nodded lifting my hips up off the couch to slide my jeans down. My thighs now had matching marks. At least it wasn’t a new one. Well, an unknown rune at any rate. I swallowed deeply and resolved myself to clean the gore away so that I could bandage it. I tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness struck me, knocking me back to the couch.
“Permit me?” Aberto asked Kennan. Kennan looked to me and then back to Aberto nodding once.
“Won’t you feed it though?” I was sure that whatever power made up Aberto’s existence was much stronger than anything else in the room at the moment. He was over five thousand years old after all. Yeah, that hadn’t passed my notice. I just hadn’t really a chance to properly process the information. I wondered if he would finally tell me what an Old One was. He had promised no more secrets.
“I exist on a different plane than you. My power is made up of a different sort of substance. It cannot be taken, only given.” Aberto leveled me with his gaze and I knew what he meant. He had chosen to give me part of himself. Part of his power now rested inside of me. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant.