The Seers

by Julianna Scott

  But to my immense relief, instead of stopping, his breathing simply transformed from the shallow puffs of exhaustion, to the long, deep draws of sleep.

  With my fear subsided and my adrenaline pumping, I couldn’t get back to reality fast enough. My only thought: getting into that bed knob. I plunked the Iris down on the desk, instantly snapping the heightened strength of my ability and shattering the scene around me, hurling me back in to the present day. As I stumbled backward from the force of the transition, Jocelyn caught my arm at the last second, keeping me upright as I got my bearings once again.

  “What happened?” came the first of the tumult of questions that were all too jumbled together for me to even put names to the voices.

  “What did he tell you?”

  “Are you all right?”

  “You’re not hurt, are you?”

  “Did he really know you were there?”

  Back in control of my motor skills – though still blinking somewhat spasmodically – and momentarily ignoring the other five people in the room, I hurried over to the bed and began twisting the round post head off of the frame. It was tight at first, but quickly gave way and began to spin, up, up, up, until it teetered and fell off into my hand. Holding my breath, I peered down into the small threaded hole at the base of the knob, praying that the tiny piece of paper would still be in there.

  “What in bloody hell is going on?” Anderson asked, everyone else in the room having fallen into a confused silence.

  “What’s going on,” I answered with a smile, as I stuck my finger into the hole and pulled out the folded coil of paper, “is that I am getting us what we need.”

  “How…” Bastian whispered through the line of stunned faces, “how did you know that was in there?”

  “Ciaran told me,” I said, tossing the knob onto the bed. “I watched him put it in there for me to find. He told me that he didn’t know what it said, but that it was what I wanted.”

  “He’d known you would be there?” Jocelyn asked, sounding impressed though not entirely surprised.

  “Yes,” I nodded as I walked over to join the group and began slowly unrolling and unfolding the note. “He said he’d had a vision months before where he’d seen me use the Iris and time walk back to see him, and he said that this,” I paused, finally getting the paper open, “was what I had come for.”

  I passed the note off to Jocelyn who read it aloud. “Look into the shew and find the origin…”

  “That’s all?” Anderson asked.

  “That’s all,” Jocelyn answered. “If this is the first portion of the prophecy I saw him complete in the memory, then the entire thing would read: Look into the shew and find the origin that will pierce the shroud of my sight.”

  “Great,” I grumbled, “can’t just be easy, can it?”

  “Actually,” Bastian shrugged, “it’s more straightforward than Seers’ prophecies usually are.”

  “Straightforward? How is that straightforward? And what’s a shew? Not like… you know,” I raised my foot, “a shoe, right?”

  “No,” Bastian chuckled, to which I glared. “It’s a shew stone, or seer stone. Seers use them to help see certain visions more clearly. Think of it like an antenna.”

  “So,” Alex cut in, “if I’m understanding this, it sounds as though all we need to do is find this shew stone, and it will tell us how to read Ciaran’s notes?”

  “Hang on now,” Anderson said, rubbing his head. “How do we even know that this is actually what we were after? I thought you said that he wrote the first part of the prophecy earlier the day he died?”

  “That was simply my suspicion,” Jocelyn said. “I was never certain. If Ciaran knew Becca would be there to hear him and he went to all that trouble to leave this where he knew she would find it, then he had to know that this is what we need.”

  “The two parts do make sense as a whole,” I allowed, though I still wasn’t thrilled with the riddle-esque structure of it.

  “But then,” Anderson continued, “when did he write that second bit that you saw? And how could he possibly not have known what was written on that scrap of paper if he’d wrote it himself?”

  “The portion of the prophecy I saw him write must have come to him later on that day, or perhaps that night. As for why he didn’t know what was on this,” he lifted the paper, “it’s hard to say.”

  “It could have been a trance,” Bastian suggested. “Ciaran went into a trance at least once a week all in the time that I knew him.”

  “Then that’s likely it,” Jocelyn agreed.

  “Wait, what’s a trance?” I asked.

  “Seers often put themselves into a trance state to receive more concentrated and powerful visions. That is when they would also make use of their shew stone,” Jocelyn explained.

  “Ciaran would stare into the thing for hours on end, while one of his hands wrote continuously, almost working separately from the rest of his body. He would often fill whole pages of his journal in just one sitting.”

  There was a long pause, then finally Jocelyn folded the paper back up and tucked it into his pocket. “I believe Alex is right,” he said. “We need to find Ciaran’s shew.”

  “I have it,” Bastian said, “or, rather, my parents do. They kept it after he passed, as they considered it to be an artifact of Bhunaidh history. It is locked in the vault at our family estate. I could have it delivered to Adare in a day or two tops, though,” he grimaced, “for that I will need my father’s permission...” He sighed, brushing off his sudden worry. “But not to worry, I can come up with something to tell him without rousing suspicion.”

  “Good,” Jocelyn nodded slowly.

  “But will that do us any good?” Alex asked. “I thought that shew stones only worked for the Seers they were made for. Even another Seer shouldn’t be able to see anything in his stone.”

  “It’s true,” Bastian agreed, “I’ve seen Ciaran’s stone myself, and I’ve never seen anything.”

  “Well, Ciaran seemed to believe that there was something there to be seen, and in any case, it is still the most natural next step for us to take. Perhaps all that is needed is a clear idea of what we are looking for, which,” he patted his pocket, “now we do.” Did we? I certainly had no idea what he’d meant by “origin,” but I let it go. “Or,” Jocelyn continued, “maybe there is in fact nothing, and this will all turn out to be no more than a dead end. I don’t have the answers, but I do know that the only way to get to them is to have a look at this shew for ourselves and see what there is to see.”

  He looked as though he was going to say more, but it was at that moment I felt the faintest tickle of two new abilities against my mind. They were abilities that I knew didn’t belong to anyone in the room, and they were growing stronger by the second. Sucking in a sharp breath, I snapped my head toward the window, every nerve in my body on edge. “Someone’s coming,” I said, and immediately every eye in the room flew to me then the window, then back to me.

  “This way?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Can you tell who they are?”

  “I don’t see anything.”

  It was Jocelyn’s calm but pointed voice that finally cut through the nervous chatter. “How many are there?”

  “There are two of them,” I told him.

  “And you’re sure they are headed this way?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I answered, “but I’m not sure who they are. One I think might be that McGary guy, but the other I’m not sure.” Damn it, why hadn’t I been paying better attention?

  “I’ll bet they followed us,” Bastian said.

  “But they are only arriving now?” Alex countered.

  “It can’t be a coincidence,” Bastian insisted.

  “We can’t be seen here,” Anderson said, “not all of us together like this.”

  “What do we do?” Chloe whispered, her hands fidgeting nervously as she looked from face to face.

  Jocelyn quickly stepped over to th
e desk and picked up the Iris, stowing it safely in his inner jacket pocket. “Anderson is right, we can’t be seen here. We will have to find a way to get out without them seeing.”

  “They are too close and there is only one road,” I said. “They will see us drive away.”

  “She’s right,” Alex agreed, “and even if I hid us, I wouldn’t be able to mask the sounds of our cars.”

  “They’d figure it out for sure,” I finished, my heart rate picking up as I felt them growing closer.

  “There they are,” Anderson said, pointing toward the window, “coming round the bend, just down the way. We’re running out of time.”

  “Everyone away from the windows,” Jocelyn ordered. “Alex, hide the cars.”

  Alex glanced out quickly at the three vehicles parked out front. “Done,” he nodded a moment later.

  “Good,” Jocelyn said with a short breath. “If they can’t see the cars, then they shouldn’t know that we’re here. We will let them come, wait for them to leave, then we can follow behind.”

  “And if they come up here?” Chloe asked, her voice smaller than usual.

  “Aye,” Anderson said, “if they are here for the same thing we are, then they’ll end up in the same place we did.”

  “I can hide us,” Alex tried to assure them.

  “No,” Bastian said, raising a hand, “there is no way that will work.”

  “I can handle it,” Alex said through his teeth.

  “I’m sure you could keep us hidden to the eye,” Bastian allowed, talking quickly, “but there is only so much you can do. Even if they don’t come up here, what if someone sneezes, or moves even slightly and the floor creaks? Or if, heaven forbid, they do come in here, there is no way we can possibly fit in this room with the addition of two more people without bumping into something or someone.”

  “Do you have something better in mind?” Alex asked with a burn in his eyes like I’d never seen before.

  “I do,” Bastian nodded, walking quickly to the door. “Are they in sight of the driveway yet?”

  “No,” Alex said, squinting out the window, “but nearly.”

  “Keep all the cars hidden except mine, I’ll need it,” Bastian said, to which Alex nodded, though I could see his jaw was still locked tight. “I can take care of this,” Bastian continued, turning to Jocelyn, “just wait here and keep watch.” After only a second of hesitation, Jocelyn gave him a nod, followed a moment later by the crunch of tires on the gravel driveway. “Everyone stay out of sight and as silent as possible,” he whispered, then without warning, he looked over at me and took my arm. “Not you,” he said, pulling me out of the corner I was prepared to hide in and taking me with him toward the door. “I need you with me.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Before I could put my confusion into words, Bastian had towed me out of the room, down the hall and to the stairs.

  “Hey,” I whispered sharply, pulling my arm free before he could drag me down the steps. “Do you maybe want to fill me in on what the hell we are about to do?”

  “We,” he paused, leaning down the staircase and listening for a moment, “are going to scare them.”

  “Scare them? Are you kidding?”

  “No,” he said, then hurried quickly down the steps.

  I followed behind him as quietly as I could. “Seriously? That is your big plan? Jump out from behind a wall and say ‘boo’?”

  “There are many different kinds of fear,” he said as we reached the first floor. “We are simply going to exploit the kind that stems from not wishing to be caught doing something you shouldn’t be.”

  “What do you need me for?”

  “You are my excuse for being here.”

  “What does that–”

  “As much as I would love to fight with you,” he cut me off sternly, but still with the shadow of that smirky grin I hated, “there really isn’t time for this at the moment. What do you say we save it for the ride back, and for now you zip it and trust me, hmm?”

  I was about to let him have it, but when I heard the sounds of car doors shutting and realized that our visitors had arrived, my rant stuck in my throat. We were out of time, and like it or not, as I had no plan of my own, I knew I was stuck with his. God damn it, why did he always have to be right?

  “Ass,” I growled under my breath.

  “Thank you,” he said, recognizing the compliance under my fury.

  God, what I wouldn’t give to rip that smile right off his face…

  “What are we going to do?” I asked, trying to curb my more violent thoughts.

  “We just have to let them know we’re here. Ah, good,” he added almost to himself as he stretched to look out one of the windows at the end of the hall where the hood of a green car was just barely visible. “They parked along the side. They won’t have seen my car.”

  “OK,” I said, not sure what we were waiting for, “so let’s go confront them.”

  I took a step toward the main door, but Bastian stopped me before my foot hit the floor. “No,” he grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back, “not yet. We need to wait for them to come in.”

  “You really think they would just break in?”

  “Probably. Though as it stands they won’t have to. I didn’t lock the door.”

  “Why not?”

  “Why would I?”

  Mumbles at the door ended our argument, and I held my breath as I heard the handle wiggle then the door gently click open.

  “Look here,” a voice said, blowing in through the door with a puff of cool, misty air, “wasn’t even locked.”

  “Here we go,” Bastian breathed at my ear. “Act natural and follow my lead.” Then, without giving me the chance to complain or protest, he placed a hand on my back and pushed me forward, wrapping his arm around me in a more-than-just-friends kind of way. My first instinct was to push him away, but as we rounded the staircase and came into view, my nerves got the better of me and I tensed up.

  “Mr McGary?” Bastian said, feigning surprise as we approached the two men frozen in the doorway, looking at us the same way one might look down the barrel of a shotgun.

  “Bastian,” McGary said, recovering quickly though still visibly on edge. “Do forgive the intrusion…” he paused, blinking a bit too fast. “I was not aware anyone would be here.”

  “Yes, well,” Bastian said, perfectly assuming the flippant and haughty demeanor I’d not seen on him since our meeting in the hallway the morning before. “I found it simply horrid that Rebecca had yet to see the sunrise over a proper Irish countryside, and thought she might enjoy a morning away from… the crowds,” he finished with a strange inflection in his voice.

  “Ah,” McGary nodded, a reciprocating tone in his own voice. “One does need privacy from time to time.”

  “Indeed,” Bastian agreed.

  Privacy? What were they…

  Then suddenly my brain started assembling all the pieces: the hand around my waist, the excuse to get me away, the privacy comment – were they implying that Bastian and I had come out here… romantically? Oh, was he going to get it for this one…

  “Again, so sorry to interrupt,” McGary continued. “I simply wished to show Mr Ryan,” he motioned to the other man with him, “your lovely cottage. We were out for a drive and he mentioned that he would like to look for a let this spring.”

  Please. He was so full of it…

  “Of course, of course,” Bastian said easily. “No trouble at all!”

  “We will be on our way,” McGary said, stepping backwards preparing to flee, “and again, do forgive our intrusion.”

  “Not at all,” Bastian assured him, “and by all means, do not go on our account.”

  McGary turned back with a squint. “Pardon?”

  Yeah, pardon?

  “Becca and I are due back to Adare for lunch and were just leaving ourselves, so by all means feel free to look around.”

  “That is most generous of you, but we couldn’t impose,” Mr
Ryan said, speaking for the first time.

  Impose… right. Because breaking and entering is fine, but imposing is crossing the line.

  “It’s no imposition,” Bastian told them, leading me over to the door. “Just remember to lock up when you leave,” he added, shaking McGary’s hand.

  “Well… that is very kind of you, thank you,” McGary answered, obviously shocked.

  “It’s nothing,” Bastian assured them, sounding as though he was barely interested. “Are you ready my dear?” he asked, looking at me.

  I nodded with my best try at a smile, so lost and confused that I was afraid to speak for fear I’d say something I shouldn’t.

  “Good day, Miss Clavish,” Mr McGary said as I turned to go.

  I nodded again to both Mr McGary and Mr Ryan, then walked out the door and toward Bastian’s – apparently – lone car in the front drive, hoping my confusion and irritation was somehow reading as simple embarrassment. Bastian said goodbye once more, then jogged up behind me, still a picture of smooth ease. When we got to the car, he reached around me and opened my door, playing the part of the perfect gentleman.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed out from between my teeth.

  “Trust me.”

  He shut the car door behind me, waved one last time at the two men still standing in the doorway of the cottage, then climbed into the driver’s seat and drove us off down the road, not looking back once.

  “What was that?” I screamed, the second we turned the bend around the small hill in the meadow. “You just left them there! I thought you were going to scare them, not invite them to stay! What about everyone still hiding upstairs!”

  “They won’t go upstairs, I would stake my life on it. Trust me, the only thing they want to do now is get back to Adare as soon after we do as possible, be seen by as many people as possible, and make sure that no one starts talking.”

  “You don’t know that!”

  “Yes, I do,” he said, entirely confident. “And second, they were scared, so as I see it, both missions were accomplished brilliantly.”

  “What was the point of scaring them if it wasn’t to make them leave?”