See How She Runs (The Chronicles of Izzy #1)(13)

“Do you mind if I sit down to explain this?” he asked as he moved my way.

I shook my head and he took the cushion next to me on the sofa.

“Okay, so, how to explain this? It is kind of like magic, but not. I can convince people that they see something that is not really there. It is a mind trick of sorts. Like at the gas station when no one noticed us go into the bathroom. I can project it onto other people as well. I sort of project myself in a way that is more socially normal than the way I really appear. I know I am not making any sense.”

“What are you?" I asked simply. The most complex question that came to my mind was "what are you?" Like he was going to tell me he was a werewolf or vampire. I needed to cut down on my novel intake it would seem.

“What I am is the same as you, just a little different. I am a Guardian, a sworn protector of the Seers. I am your Guardian to be more precise. I am sworn to keep you safe from those that would do you harm. Hence, I kidnapped you to a cabin in the middle of the Olympic National Park wilderness. I thought we were safe in Chicago. I honestly did, and then he found you. He has been looking for so long. But I am getting ahead of myself. Are you following me so far?"

I nodded in encouragement. I was afraid if he stopped I would not be able to get him talking again.

“Your mom is a Seer as well. She can predict the future outcome of events. She can even predict various outcomes of a situation based on the different choices that can be made. She is amazing. She can pick out when a natural disaster will happen within the second. She can even predict winning Lotto numbers if she really wants to focus her attention that way. I have never seen anything like her before. She is the best of all of the Seers throughout history, and you are predicted to surpass even her." He said this with a look of awe like it was a good thing.

“You keep saying she is. Kennan, she is dead. She has been for a long time," I said with an obvious air of confusion around me.

“No, she is not.”

With those four little words, he had successfully flipped my world on its ear. If my mom was not truly dead, then where had she been all of these years? Was she really talking to me in my dreams? Suddenly an immense panic began to wash over me threatened to pull me under. I felt like I was trapped in an elevator in between floors. I was unable to catch my breath as the cold sweat spread over my body. She was not dead. I could feel myself start to lose consciousness, as if my brain was not equipped to handle anymore crazy. Just as I started to fade I felt two strong arms scoop me up.





**********





“You can’t let him find you my love," my mother said to me somewhere in the fog.

“Who is he? Where are you? Are you even really talking to me?” I asked the fog, even as I realized I was dreaming once again.

“Kennan will watch over you. Trust him, trust no one else. And for the love of God do not come for me. Whatever you do, you run. I have tried for so long to keep him from you, but I am fading my love. So you stay alive, and don’t you dare let him catch you.”

The fog started to lift and I saw her, for the first time in more years than I could count. She was lying there in front of me. She was strapped to some sort of hospital bed with so many tubes coming out of her. There was something attached to her head like a crown. She was not the strong lithe woman I remembered. In her place there lay a frail, sickly looking woman bearing an expression of anguish.

The closer I got, the more horrified I was. How could I not look for her? How could I possibly leave her like this? Just as I approached the bed, she opened her eyes and stared at me. Then she opened her mouth and screamed.

“No, you can’t be here. You have to go. Please, go now!" She looked around her frantically as a dark shadow started to seep in from the background.

I heard another voice. It was not as clear as my mother's, and it seemed to originate from the inky blackness that now surrounded her body.

“Tisk Tisk, Little One. You can run, but you can’t hide forever. Tell that Guardian we are coming for you.”

I screamed as the inky splotch started extending towards my body.





**********





I was being shaken, and I opened my eyes to see Kennan. He was yelling my name and shaking me by my shoulders. I took a deep breath that felt like the first I had taken in hours. I stared into Kennan’s eyes as the tears start flowing.

“I’ve got you. I promise, I am not going anywhere," he whispered into my hair.

How was it that in the past week my whole life changed? My mother was not dead. My dreams were her, trying to warn me. There was someone after me for a reason I had yet to discover. I felt as though the past twenty-four years of my life had been a lie. I needed to know more. I needed to feel like I had at least a semblance of control over my life. And on top of everything, Kennan was being too nice. It was freaking me out. I took a steadying breath and sat up. It was time I got my head wrapped around all of this.

“Who am I, Kennan and what are you to me? I need to know everything. Is my dad alive somewhere strapped to a bed like she is?” He took a steadying breath and looked my face over as if he were searching for information.

“Izzy, there is so much I need to tell you. You are safe here. They can’t reach you. This is one of our safe houses. But first things first, I need to tell you the histories. I need to tell you about your parents. I need to tell you about your Grams, Mike, and me."