CHAPTER TWO
We finished
up breakfast and I headed upstairs to get dressed and make a call. At least some good would come out of the
whole situation. I would get to see
Molly and Ian. They had become two of my
best friends. They had kept me
relatively sane during my time at the lab and the council. It wasn’t an easy feat. I pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt
and picked up the phone.
“Hello?” Molly’s voice sounded sleepy. I looked at the clock again and knew it was
late enough in the morning that she should be awake.
“Hey,
Molly. It’s Izzy. Did I wake you up?”
“What? No.
Well, okay. Yeah, you woke me
up. But it’s cool. What’s going on? Are there some wedding plans we have
forgotten? I thought my dress
appointment wasn’t until next week.” She
mumbled sleepily.
“The
wedding is postponed indefinitely.” I
said.
“WHAT? What did that low down good for nothing
bastard do to you Izzy? I will come down
there and beat the crap out of him myself.
There is nowhere he can hide!”
Molly was fully awake now.
“No, it is
nothing like that. We are fine. Kennan is still as perfect as ever. Something bad is coming. I keep having nightmares so I finally called
Isadora this morning and she requested that we come to the council. By requested I mean demanded. So, I was wondering if we could come and
crash with you guys in Chicago for a day before we head up to the council. We are going to leave here today from the
looks of Kennan shoving everything into bags right now.” I sighed in Kennan’s direction.
Kennan was
in the middle of imitating a tornado swirling through our bedroom. He shoved everything he could find that we
might need into two suitcases. I was
surprised he had not packed scuba gear.
After the way he had prepared for our last unexpected jaunt it would not
shock me. The last time we had made a
trip like this I had been kidnapped and forced to wear hiking clothes that I
had not purchased for myself. I shook my
head at him and tuned back into what Molly was saying.
“That’s
fine. Just, you know, expect some
changes to the house.” She said
hesitantly.
“Molly, it
is your house. You know you can do
whatever you want to it.” I said
confused. Why was she concerned that I
would be upset?
“Yeah,
well. When you get here you will
understand why I made the changed. If
Ian was not my Guardian I would have killed him already. Just so you know. Well, enough of that. Will we see you guys tonight or in the
morning?”
“Probably
in the morning. It is too long of a
drive to get there by tonight. Even if
we drive all night we will just get there in the morning. Plus, she said we had until the end of the
week to get there. So I am voting for
taking all of the time we can. I am not
ready to be thrown back into the fray just yet.
I was getting comfortable in my domestic bliss. Bah, okay enough whining. We will see you guys tomorrow morning
sometime. Love you babe.”
“Love you
too girl. Call me when you are close so
that I can wake up his crankiness.”
Molly said before hanging up.
I got up
and headed over to peer into the suitcase Kennan was still shoving stuff
in. There was all manner of clothing
from workout clothes to hiking apparel.
I wasn’t sure where we would be hiking in Illinois. Cornfields did not
exactly lend themselves to hiking expeditions.
I looked up at Kennan with a raised brow.
“What? I like to be prepared. I don’t know how long we will be gone. I’m not even sure where we will be
going. Don’t judge me woman.” Kennan threw a balled up pair of socks at me
before he went back to shoving more in the bags. I laughed and headed into the bathroom to
finish getting myself ready.
When I was
finally put together, I took my bag of toiletries and put them in my
suitcase. I looked through what was packed
briefly to make sure my sweater was there.
I had a feeling I would need my security blanket in the days to
come. After double checking the
contents, I zipped the infernal thing up.
I so did not want to be doing this.
Ugh. I headed toward the stairs
with my bag in tow when Kennan intercepted.
My knight in shining armor.
“Allow me
my dear.” He said with a gallant
bow. I wanted to fight. Women’s independence and all that, but
honestly the thing was too heavy for me to carry. I’d always thought I packed to much crap when
I went somewhere. It paled in comparison to what Kennan could
shove into a suitcase. Sheesh.
I followed
him down to the car staring back at my sad dead garden. Kennan was right, I really couldn’t grow
anything to save my life. I sighed as I
hauled myself into Kennan’s old beat up SUV.
The muggy heat inside felt like I had stepped straight into a
sauna. Luckily it was cooler in Illinois
this time of year. I sat with the door
open waiting for Kennan to load his suitcase so that we could leave.
As I waited
I pondered everything that I was leaving behind, the sense of security that had
surrounded me the past months, the plans for my future, all to be left right
alongside the dead garden. The symbolism
was a bit much for me. I really needed
to start looking ahead and not back.
There was a reason Isadora had called me in.
“Ready?” Kennan asked as he reached over and grabbed
my hand. I looked back at the old
farmhouse once more before closing my door.
“Ready as I
will ever be. Where are we stopping
tonight?” I asked as I looked up into
his eyes.
“How about
Nashville. I hear they have an accurate
replica of the Parthenon. I would like
to see it. I wonder if their statue of
Athena is a close facsimile.”
I just
nodded in agreement. Sometimes I forgot
how old he was. He had told me he had
seen the Roman Empire rise and fall but that he was older than even that. I could not imagine living for that
long. It seemed like it would get boring
after a while. I was dreading having to
live to be three hundred. That seemed
unnatural.
“Hey
Kennan, why can’t we get a new car?” I
asked looking around the old beat up SUV.
“Because
this girl is reliable and she has character.
Don’t you hurt her feelings, Red. I may just have to leave you on the side of
the road.” He said giving me one of his
lopsided smiles.
“It isn’t
like you don’t have the money to get a decent vehicle.” I mumbled.
Comfortable seats and a decent stereo system would be nice.
“I heard
that. If we survive whatever mayhem is
coming our way I will let you pick out our next vehicle. Not that you will be able to drive it.” He finished dashing my other hopes.
“I drove up
in Washington and was just fine. When
are you going to lift this ridiculous no driving ban?” I groused.
“When you
stop having visions that could end up getting both of us killed.” He said with a raised brow.
I knew that
logically it made sense for me not to drive.
It would be terribly difficult to fill out an insurance claim for an
accident caused by a vision. Cause of
accident: Magically transported to a
different disaster in my head. I was
pretty sure even full coverage didn’t cover that. I sighed and settled into the seat for the
long drive.
At least on
this trip I would get to see the countryside.
Our last cross country jaunt I was drugged and bound half of the
trip. I wondered where this new
adventure would be taking us. If only I
could control my visions, maybe then I could conjure up some information. This whole flying blind thing was for the
birds. Not that those metaphors make
much sense together.
“Izzy, what
are you thinking about?” Kennan pulled
me from my mindless rambling.
“I was
mixing metaphors poorly again. Flying
blind is for the birds.” I giggled. It really was a funny thing to envision. A bunch of blind birds flying into one
another.
“You are
ridiculous. So, are you going to tell me
what Isadora said other than get your butts up here?”
“She got on
me for not calling sooner about the nightmares.
I know, you don’t have to say I told you so. She also said you need to block my nog for
tonight. No dreams for me. I am to be well rested when I arrive. I have a feeling I am not going to like what
she says in our meeting. This whole thing
is making me feel icky.” I said trying
to shake it off.
“Icky? What are you a kindergartner? Do I have cooties?” Kennan snickered.
“You do, in
fact, have cooties. I just happen to
like your particular type of cootie!
Icky is just the best word I could come up with. You want to paper rock scissors to see who
has radio control?” I challenged. Being a Seer had some advantages. I had figured out how to predict what his
moves would be and I won almost every time.
I couldn’t let him know the truth or the jig would be up.
“Fine. With one stipulation, if you win none of your
depressing slow music. It is a long
drive and you woke me up early.”
“Eleven,
Kennan. I woke you up at eleven. In no world is that early. How did you survive your early years when you
had to be up with the sun?”
“I didn’t
have you keeping me up all night.” He
said with a sly smile.
“Don’t act
like you don’t like it. Now stop
stalling. Paper, rock, scissors time!”
“Best out
of three?” He asked with a sparkle in
his eye.
“Fine.” I grumbled.
It looked like he might have caught on after all. I could only do one prediction at a time. There was no way I would be able to tell what
he was going to get on all three.
“Alright on
three. One, two, three.” I got paper and he got rock. “I win the first round.” Just like I knew I would.
“Ready?” He asked.
“One, two, three.” He got rock
and I put out scissors. “I win.” He preened.
“Alright,
last time determines the winner.” I said
trying to work up my Sseer mojo. It
seemed to be on hiatus though and refused to give me anything other than a
vague fog. “One, two, three.” I landed paper and Kennan had stupid
scissors.
“I knew you
were a cheater! See, you only ever win
when we go one round. You are such a cheater
face.” Kennan said as he poked me in the
ribs.
I looked at
him and stuck my tongue out. I refused
to verbally acknowledge his accusations.
Suddenly the sounds of oldies filled the car. It was going to be a long ride.
“Really
babe? Can’t you at least switch it to
country? That I can handle, this is just
plain mean.” I griped.
“Suck it up
buttercup. You lost. I will torture you in any way I please.” He laughed.
I thought
up some seriously delicious ways in which he could torture me. They did not seem feasible in our current
mobile circumstances. Well, maybe
feasible, but highly illegal. I sighed
and rubbed my hand down my face. That
was the second time today I had let my libido override my brain. I needed to get a handle on it or I would be
in the middle of some sort of serious situation with my mind on what Kennan
kept under his clothes.
“How far
are we from Nashville?” I asked with a
heated look.
“Entirely
too far, but we need to make it there.
So stop distracting me with your wily ways. I shall not succumb to your seduction.”
“That
sounded like a challenge to me. It is
ever so far, I think that I have the time to make you change your mind.”
“Seriously,
Izzy. I will pull this car over on the
side of this road and have my wicked way with you. Then Isadora will be all mad that we missed
our deadline. Molly will send out the
National Guard in search of you. Ian
will get all upset that his Seer is upset.
It will be a disaster. So stop
distracting me. If you had won radio
rights would you be doing this?” Kennan
asked suspiciously.
“Maybe.” I said with a snicker.
“Woman, you
drive me insane.”
“The
feeling is mutual K.O.” I leaned over
and kissed his scruffy cheek. I couldn’t
wait until we got to Nashville. The
Parthenon be durned, I wanted to get me a piece of that man.
The next
few hours passed with very little excitement.
The country roads passed by and we made it to the interstate. Montgomery and Huntsville were both rather
hectic. I was glad that Kennan was
driving and not me. I hated driving in
cities. I never drove when I lived in
Chicago. I always used transit or my
bike to get around. I supposed I had
never really had to do much of it.
According to Kennan I would not be doing much of it now either. Stupid Guardian with his stupid Guardian
rules. Oh well, it saved me from having
to drive through city traffic.
We crossed
the Tennessee border and I was taken aback at its beauty. It had been night the last time we drove
through and I had not gotten to see anything but the inky outline of
trees. The rolling hills and farms were
so picturesque I was wondering why I had not chosen to move here instead. We made our way up I-65 with me constantly
pointing something out.
The trees
were beginning to change colors into brilliant reds and oranges. Down where we lived the leaves just said ‘I
quit’ and fell off of the trees. It was
so hot they never really changed colors.
I sat silently in awe of it all as the sun began to set. We arrived in Nashville early in the evening
and Kennan drove us straight downtown. I
was surprised by how small it was compared to other cities I had seen. Seattle and Chicago made Nashville seem
downright homey. I looked up at the tall
buildings and wondered where Kennan was taking me.
We pulled
up outside some swanky hotel and got out.
I didn’t bother looking at the name.
I had more important things on my mind.
Like climbing my future husband.
We made our way in the lobby and he got our keys from the front
desk. I wondered when he had had time to
book the room. I thought back to the
morning and realized he had probably done it as soon as I called Isadora. The sneak.
I just rolled my eyes and followed him to the elevator.
Once inside
he pushed me against the wall and ravaged my mouth with his own. I was breathing heavily by the time we
surfaced on our floor.
“That was
an awesome distraction. Could you do
that for all future elevator rides?” I
asked as it dawned on me that I had not panicked at all while in the elevator. My fear of closed spaces was not getting any
better.
“I didn’t
do it for that, but any excuse to kiss you is fine by me.” He said as he brushed my hair behind my
ear. He slid the keycard into the slot
and rushed me inside.
Before the
door had fully closed I was wrapped around him. I kissed him deeply as if it
were the last time I would ever feel his lips on mine again. Ever since his almost demise I found I could
not merely kiss him. Every time it was
like it might be the last.
Kennan
consumed me. We became one as our
clothes magically melted to the floor in a blur of hands and lips. He trailed
kisses down my body leaving me writhing and breathless. I needed more of him. I would never get enough. I grabbed him and pulled him up my body so
that I could crush my lips against his.
He moved inside of me making me cry out.
I was lost to him.
We spent
the next hour devouring one another until we were both breathless and
boneless. I lay next to him
panting.
“This is
why I sleep until eleven woman. You
destroy me.” He said through breaths.
“Not my
fault.” I barely uttered.
“We should
go get some food. I think there may be a
PF Chang’s down by the Parthenon. You
interested?” He asked as he started to
get off of the bed.
“Do you really
need to ask?” I said as I hurriedly
reassembled my clothing. PF Chang’s was
my favorite Chinese food in the entire world.
Their double pan fried noodles were next to heaven in my book.
“I suppose
I really didn’t need to ask.” He said
with a smirk as he started to put his shirt back on. I walked over to him and rubbed my hands over
the ridges of his abdomen. His tattoos
standing in stark contrast to his skin.
I wanted to devour him once more.
“You keep
touching me like that and we won’t be going anywhere.” He growled.
My stomach responded with its own growl.
“Fine, but
only because my stomach wants to eat itself right now. I will get back to that later.”
We headed
out and made our way down to the Vanderbilt campus side of town. I realized on the way that Nashville was
bigger than it seemed it just didn’t have an over abundance of
skyscrapers. Just as Kennan had promised
PF Chang’s sat directly across the street from Centennial Park and the
Parthenon. We pulled into the parking
garage and made our way down to the restaurant.
My stomach growled the whole time.
Dinner was
delicious. I spent the entire time
shoveling food into my mouth like it was my last meal. I was convinced Kennan was going to leave me
one day just based on my horrible tendency to inhale my food. I looked up at him sheepishly as he laughed.
“You never
cease to amaze me at what you can consume.
How you stay so small is a wonder.”
Kennan snickered as he got back to his massive pile of food.
“I am only
small to you because you are so freakishly large.” I snickered.
“These
people don’t think so.” He said with a
sly grin.
“Yeah,
because you used your guardian mojo on their brains. For all I know you have made me appear to be
a seven foot Amazonian.” I
snickered. It would be really funny to
try that sometime.
We finished
our meal and headed over to the park.
Unfortunately we got there too late for Kennan to see the statue of
Athena. It looked as though we would
have to come back and see it again. Not
that I minded. Nashville was a gorgeous
city that was filled with uncommonly nice people. We meandered around the columns as Kennan
told me about the real Parthenon and how it exploded when a weapons cache
caught fire.
We walked
around the lake and sat in a swing overlooking the water. The ducks floated by aimlessly. I allowed the peace of the moment to wrap
around me. I knew that this was probably
the last peaceful evening I would have for a long time to come. After an hour or so I started to yawn and
Kennan called it a night.
When we
made it back to the hotel I was too tired to keep my promise of ravaging
him. Instead he put a block on my dreams
and we climbed into the bed. The king
bed was hardly big enough. I had to curl
into his body just to have some room.
Not that I minded. Being wrapped
up in Kennan’s arms was my absolute favorite place to be. He was my home and my safety.
“I love
you. More than anything else in this
world.” I whispered as I sank into
sleep. I felt Kennan’s lips brush my forehead
as the last of my awareness slipped away.
