He ignored me and slammed his foot on the accelerator, eyes as wide as marbles.
“Bryan, slow down.” My heart thumped away as we skidded past the church. “What’s going on?”
I squinted at the strange scene in front of me, my heart beating just a little bit faster.
Little girls in flowing white robes with red sashes swarmed from the church doors. Two nuns glided among the white-on-red huddle. One placed electric candles in the girls’ red-mittened hands, while the other plunked holly wreaths on their heads. The candles flickered like real firelight.
Then I saw it—a giant banner next to the chapel. St. Lucy’s Day Parade Entrance.
Dread slammed me, right in the pit of my stomach.
I gasped, a choking breath that stilled my lungs. Automatically, I flipped my left wrist over. The tiniest scar still singed my skin. Remnants from the last time I stepped into a St. Lucy’s church in Harlem, where a lunatic member of the Watcher Corps tried to brand me with a hot iron to mark me as the Seer. Breathe, it’s over now, I told myself. But the memory flashed back, clear as day.
Bryan snatched my hand, like a lifeline desperately yanking me back to reality. “Sweetie, I’m sorry. They do this stupid parade every year. I totally forgot it was today.” He sucked in a breath. “We’re not Catholic, so we don’t celebrate it. But any event that goes on in this town is a big deal. They make a production out of everything.”
My hands trembled as his words crackled in my ears like radio static. White-gowned girls floated toward me in two perfect lines. Almost as if they had one mind synced together by the cold. A little blonde girl locked her eyes on me.
My heart pounded with new speed, and suddenly I could see. All the visions of St. Lucia I’d ever envisioned lined up one after another—like a playlist of terror.
St. Lucia appeared before me with creepy jeweled eyes of diamond and topaz, her long hair blowing behind her as she stretched a pale hand toward me. My pulse kicked into high gear as I tried to blink the image away.
But the image didn’t go away. St. Lucia morphed into the version of her I’d seen in the Nexis book, with hollowed eyes. Her face contorted as if to warn me. All my breath seized in my lungs. Would I share the same fate, and have my eyes gouged out by the Watchers?
I shut my eyes against the horror as my stomach curdled. The darkness faded into light, as a new vision of St. Lucia emerged from the shadows. This time she had eyes of light surrounded by the rays of heaven. A warm, peaceful feeling enveloped me, washing away all remnants of terror. St. Lucia stretched out her arm again, this time to beckon me closer. I shook my head. I didn’t want to hear her warning, whatever it was. With my refusal, she faded into nothingness.
My vision cleared, and the world righted itself. I was back in Bryan’s sedan, stopped in a line of parade traffic.
I turned to him. “Can we get out of here already? Doesn’t this hunk of junk have four-wheel drive or something?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get us out of here. Right now.” Bryan’s jaw hardened into a stony line as he spun the wheel hard to the right to escape the traffic jam.
The tires slipped in the slush and the car fishtailed as he peeled out. I wrapped my fingers around the seat and held on tight, my stomach churning even as I silently urged him to go faster. With a few deft maneuvers, he righted the car and slid onto a desolate two-lane highway. Soon we were headed in the right direction. Away from this sick celebration.
I didn’t care where this country road took us. At least I could breathe again.
Bryan’s palm encircled my scarred wrist. “I’ll never let something like that happen to you again.”
“I know.” The trembling stilled, my heartbeats slowed.
“I’m not just a Guardian,” his fingers laced through mine, “I’m your Guardian now. I’ll do anything to protect you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. Leaning over, I planted a kiss on his cheek.
His body went rigid, except for a lone muscle twitching in his cheek. And that’s when it hit me. He was just as scared as I was. Only he was afraid for me.
My heart curled in on itself. Angling my face to the window, I watched as pines blanketed in white buzzed past the window. I never wanted this. Never asked to be the Seer. The gift could’ve been given to many more worthy people, like my brother James. This so-called power was taking over my life and hurting the people I loved. Being the Seer felt more like a prison than a privilege. Even so, I would never trap anyone else in this prison.
So, I pasted a smile on my face and let three empty words tumble from my mouth. “I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” He didn’t look at me, just flicked on his blinker and turned his car onto a snow-packed road that coiled like a slinky through the forest, winding and curving for miles.
“I’m hardly ever sure of anything.” Except one thing. I couldn’t put this burden on anyone else’s shoulders. It was my cross to bear. I needed to learn to be the Seer and figure out how to use that gift. Bryan said his family would train me. Now more than ever, I hoped he was right.
“I’m not naive.” Gulping in a major breath, I clenched my fists. “I know you can’t protect me from everything. That’s why I’m here. To learn how to fight. To stand up for myself. So bring on the Seer training. I’m ready for it.”
“That’s my girl.” He squeezed my hand. “You’ll be awesome at this.”
I closed my eyes against the whiteness, but the truth still smacked me in
