Free See How She Falls by Michelle Graves Page B

the last thing I
felt before I slipped into oblivion.
     
     
    Chapter
Ten
     
    Was
this the dreaming? No, it couldn’t be. After all, Kennan had blocked me. I took
a wary step, unsure of where I may be. The surroundings drew me in like a warm
blanket, a reassuring weight. The fog drifted around my ankles as I moved
through, growing ever closer to the source of comfort, the beacon that drew my
soul. The voices grew louder as the fog parted, revealing my mother and aunt.
Leaden feet pulled me to a stop as I struggled to gasp for air. It was a
memory, a glimpse at something long past.
    “Why
must it be her? Surely there is some other way. Some way for me to take her
place," my mother pleaded.
    “Look
at her, you know it must be this way. You’ve been with her since her first
breath, surely you knew that her life would not be like that of any other Seer.”
My aunt pointed out into the fog at a child playing. I looked more closely at
the joyous figure until the truth finally settled in my bones. “She’s been
jumping into the dreaming since she first began to dream. More time will pass,
more memories will form. Her sanity is set on a precarious ledge. You must
protect her. You must protect yourself. She must come of age.”
    “Oh,
stop being a mouthpiece. This is my daughter we are talking about. How can you
ask me to sacrifice my only child?”
    “We
ask that you sacrifice so much more. You must give her a life separate from
your kind. Raise her in ignorance of what she is, yet protect her. When the
time comes, you must leave her. This is not a choice. If you do not do this,
the world will fall to the darkness. She will either be this world’s savior or
downfall. Failure to do as we ask will result in a world filled with chaos and
destruction.”
    “But
why?” Sobs racked my mother’s body as she struggled with words that refused to
sink in. Broken, my mother sobbed, unable to keep the hurt from her face,
unable to be strong. I looked at her, wondering how she could’ve written me
letters hoping for a good life, a life separated from this when she knew. She’d
always known. Perhaps it was denial, perhaps fear, either way I resented the
hope they represented and the life that might’ve been.
    “Why
is not for you to understand. It must be so.” My aunt shook herself as if
trying to get rid of the last bit of whatever had been speaking through her.
“I’m so sorry.” Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
    “Promise
me, promise you will protect her. If I must leave her, then you be there. You
find her, and you take care of my baby for me.”
    “I
promise. But I don’t think that she will be friendless in this world, my dear
sister.” My aunt nodded towards the little girl. There, playing
ring-around-the-rosie, was Aberto. “I do believe that the Old One will guard
her well.”
    “But
why? Why does he show such an interest? Can he be trusted?” Score one for mom,
at least she wasn’t as accepting of him as everyone else seemed to be.
    “I
will never understand the reasons of the Old Ones. Can he be trusted? I suppose
we will have to let time tell. We must go now. People mustn’t know that we are
still in contact.”
    “I
know. I miss you. Just know that I will haunt your ass if you don’t take care
of my baby when I’m gone.”
    “I
said I promise, now go get the Old One to wipe her memory. You know what the
big chiefs said. She can’t know what she is.”
    “Will
I see you again?”
    “I
don’t know. I pray that the gods allow it.”
    “As
do I.” My mother hugged her sister tightly. Hesitant to let go, she finally
closed her eyes and pulled away to move towards Aberto. “I need you to erase
any memory she may have of the dreaming or what she is. She can’t know until
she comes of age. Can you do this for me?”
    “I
can. She will resent what has been stolen.” Aberto’s face looked forelorn.
    “It
is the will of the gods, God, whoever is using my sister as a