See How She Runs (The Chronicles of Izzy #1)(15)

I unloaded everything that had passed between my mother and I, and the inky shadow that skirted around the edges of the vision. I told him the warning that was meant to be passed on, and the overwhelming since of desperation and fear that I felt coming from my mother. By the time I finished retelling my vision I felt like an empty husk of what I once was. My optimism replaced by fear and uncertainty.

“Can we make some coffee or something Kennan? I need to hear the rest of this, but I am running on like zero right now. I need something to fuel this insanity."

I started to stand up and move back toward the living room, not really knowing how we had gotten to my bedroom in the first place. My legs felt like jelly the minute I put my weight on them. Kennan steadied me with his strong hands. The hands I assumed were calloused from opening beer bottles, but now I was not quite so sure. Hell, if I was being honest, I wasn’t real sure of anything at this point.

“Come on Red, let’s get you caffeinated. There is still a long story to tell. You still need the histories."

He smiled warmly down at me, but somehow it lacked the electric charge that his smiles normally held.

I found comfort in the fact that I was still seeing the real Kennan. He had not placed himself back under the illusion he had been carefully maintaining for so long. He still had that funny lilt to his accent that I had never noticed before. But somehow I knew all of the answers were coming. There was more that was yet to be revealed.

After the coffee was made, Kennan added more wood to the fire, poking it with the metal stick once more to stoke the coals. He grabbed a quilt from the end of the sofa and brought it to me. I instantly recognized the patchwork quilt as one that my mother had made. He draped it over my bent knees and sat down close to me, seemingly afraid to let me stray too far. For the millionth time tonight he steeled himself. I sipped my coffee as he started in with the cadence of a story teller.

“We have been here for as long as the world has had people, Izzy. We have been called many things throughout history. We have been called sorcerers, magicians, shifters, soldiers. We have populated all corners of the world, living with people and blending in. We have been mistaken for Druids many times over as well. Our origins come from the same area, but we are much older. At least the first ones were. Our purpose is to protect those that have the ability to predict and shift the fates, to make sure you do not fall into the hands of those that would abuse the power. Back then it was so much easier to find the Seers. Now, with the world being as big as it is, and all of the hype about psychics it is hard to find a true Seer. But it runs in the female blood line. The minute your mother found out she was carrying a female child she put a protection plan in place for you. Are you following so far?”

“Sort of, as best I can I suppose. But I don’t understand the whole Guardian and Seer relationship. You say my dad was a Guardian and that you were friends when you were children. How is any of that possible?”

“Guardians are very old, unmentionably old beings. Part of our makeup is engineered so that once we meet our Seer, the one we were sent here to protect, we start to age at the same rate as the Seer. So when your father met your mother, he began to age. We all grow to be about 30 years old, and then we stay at that age until we meet our Seer. Our purpose is to help you in any way we can. We are here to physically protect you as well as guard you from the madness that can become a problem in some Seers.”

He looked at me as if he did not want to reveal my parent’s story.

“Your mother and father were unlike any other match I have ever seen. The love they shared is the sort the bards used to dream up. I was jealous at first, but once I met her I understood. Your mother took me in like part of the family. Even as I watched my best friend age, I knew that she would never make me part with him. I was there for all of the big moments of your life when you were young as well. I know you don’t remember, and it is probably just as well. The older you got, the more I felt a peculiar pull towards you. So I left when you were about five. I stayed away after that. I didn’t understand that you were who I was sent here to protect. You are mine.”

“So how old are you exactly, Kennan? And what does it mean that I am yours? I don’t really like the idea of being a thing that someone can own you know." I said the last with a hint of sarcasm. I could not stand how heavy everything was starting to feel. There was some kind of subtext that he was trying to intone, but I was just too overwhelmed to understand.

“I don’t know how old I am. My memories are so long and full that sometimes I even forget when I was first born. I can tell you that I was alive for the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. I was born as a Celt, hence that lingering accent I can’t quite rid myself of. Some days I have wished that I could die in some freak accident, but then I would stop myself. I knew I could not betray my calling.”

He hesitated before continuing on, as if he were weighing his words carefully.

“I don’t own you, Izzy. I don’t think you will ever let anyone truly own any part of you. There is a reason you never let anyone in. All Seers are born with a sense of self preservation. I was shocked when you agreed to let me move in with you. I did not even have to influence you that much.”

There were so many things in there that I was just not ready to face. He had manipulated me. He had maneuvered me so that he could live with me. He believed I did not let anyone close to me. I felt like I had let him in, but was everything we had together a lie that had been engineered to gain access. How could I trust him now? Were all of our times hanging out together based on his sense of duty, or did he really see me as a friend?