Seer (The Seeker Series Book 3) (4 page)

Wait, what?

The two women stared at each other for
a full moment longer before Kate moved forward to throw her arms around Fionnuala, who remained stiff and unyielding for a few seconds before melting into her sister’s arms. I turned to Rémy, my mouth hanging open like a fish. “Wha—?”

Geneviève appeared between the two of us, squealing, “Oh my goodness! Can you believe it?”

I shook my head, disbelieving. “Rémy, did you have any idea?”

He said nothing, shaking his head as I had, apparently speechless.

The two women finally disengaged and turned to us as Kate spoke. “Fionnuala, I want you to meet my grandson. Rémy, come and greet your Aunt Fionnuala.”

I stood in the background, watching as Rémy met his long-lost aunt and Fionnuala and Phillipe got reacquainted. I tuned back in when Kate turned to peer behind Fionnuala, asking, “Are you going to introduce your friend?” I had been so focused on the events unfolding in the center of the room I hadn’t noticed the other guest. We all turned to look now; the young woman standing off to the side appeared embarrassed at the sudden attention.

“Of course.” Fionnuala reached out to pull the girl forward. “This is my young protégé, Mina Addair. She is showing signs of great power, much like Ally, and we are working with her. I thought it would be a good idea to bring her with me.”

I experienced a sudden feeling of something like jealousy: Mina was beautiful, with long, black hair and piercing blue eyes. And she was powerful, too? Even as I chastised myself for my unreasonable, instant dislike of this new girl, I felt relief that maybe there was another contender for the Oracle title. I watched her flush becomingly as Rémy lifted her hand and kissed the back, murmuring, “Enchanté.”

I must have vocalized my disgust, because Geneviève leaned in, whispering, “What? She is lovely, don’t you think?”

“If you like that obvious sort of beauty,” I said and sniffed.

“Well, Rémy apparently does. You’re not jealous, are you?”

I gave her a look that hopefully said I found her remark ridiculous. She just laughed. I rolled my eyes and stepped forward to interrupt the mutual admiration society between Rémy and this new girl, Mina. I reached my hands simultaneously to pull Rémy’s hand away from Mina’s, touching both of them at the same time. What happened next took the snarky comment I planned to make right out of my mouth. My hands felt instantly glued to their arms as the room faded away and a loud buzzing engulfed me. The word ‘Jessamine’ appeared in my mind, as it had months ago when Rémy first kissed me, and I’m not sure if I said it aloud or if I only thought it. I heard glass shattering as if it were from a great distance, accompanied by screams. That brought me out of the trance, or whatever it was, to see the room was much darker than it had been and the curtains were blowing in at the windows.

“What happened?” I asked as I dropped Rémy and Mina’s hands. They both shrugged, looking around in confusion.

“Kate!” Phillipe cried as his wife collapsed on the sofa. Fionnuala and Francoise rushed to Kate’s side as I looked around the room at the others. Arnaud attended to Geneviève, brushing pieces of what looked like glass out of her hair. I noticed others doing the same.

“Aw, crap! What did I explode this time?” I sighed.

“I’m not sure it was you this time,” Rémy said as he and Mina looked around the room. “Or that it was
only
you, Ally. I think all three of us may have had a hand in this.” He turned to address his cousin. “Geneviève, what happened?”

“I’m all right, Arnaud. Thank you,” she assured him. For someone who felt he was too old for her, Arnaud certainly rushed to her side when things got dangerous.
Very interesting.
Geneviève approached the three of us, still brushing bits of glass from her hair. “When Ally touched you and Mina, the lights flickered and then burst. Then the windows exploded and there was a sort of glow around you three. That’s when Grand-mère started speaking a new prophecy, right before she fainted.”

“I’m fine!” Kate interrupted, sitting up on the sofa. “I did not faint. I felt a little weak. That’s all.”

Rémy walked over to the sofa and knelt in front of his grandmother, taking her hand between his. “Grand-mère, can you tell us the prophecy?”

She cupped her hand against his face and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. “Oh, my dear boy. Ally, Mina, come here, please. You all need to hear this.” We both followed Rémy’s lead and knelt on the floor in front of Kate. The rest of the Conseil gathered close, although they had already heard the prophecy while Rémy, Mina, and I were in our trance, or whatever it was. Kate held on to Rémy’s hands as she spoke:

“
The binding is before you. The time of the Seers is at hand. Before you stands the Oracle, the Shield, and the Heart of the Oracle. Behold the power of the three.”

We were all silent for a moment before Geneviève broke in. “What is ‘Jessamine’? Rémy and Ally said it at the same time.”

Mina spoke for the first time. “It’s my name.”

***

While
the Conseil began to debate all the possible meanings and ramifications of the new prophecy, Rémy pulled Mina and me aside to a corner where we could talk quietly. It was nearly impossible amidst the increasing volume and rancor of the older Seers in the room.

“Tell us, Mina, please. We have been hearing the word ‘Jessamine’ in our heads for months now. You say it is your name?” Rémy began.

“Jessamine Elizabeth Addair is my full name. I go by Mina. What do you mean you’ve been hearing my name for months? I didn’t know you two existed until today; Fionnuala and the rest of the Council told me nothing.” In addition to being extremely pretty, she had an enchanting lilt to her voice. Ughh!

“Well, when Rémy and I found out we were both Seers—” I began.

“How did you find out? Did you know when you met? How long have you known each other? I don’t know any other Seers, except the Council,” Mina broke in, grabbing my hands. She seemed so alone and confused, but I hardened my heart, determined to dislike her. I know—I’m a horrible person.

“We’ve only known each for about six months. Rémy went to the United States to find me because of a vision his grandmother had, but we didn’t know about each other being a Seer until he, w-well, um, actually, w-when we—” I stuttered.

“I kissed her and we were instantly inside each other’s mind, both of us hearing the word ‘Jessamine,’” Rémy finished. I rolled my eyes at his brusqueness.

“Oh. Ohhhh,” Mina said, looking between the two of us and dropping my hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were together.”

“We’re not,” I said firmly. “It was a mistake. Rémy is like a brother to me. An annoying, much older brother.” It was his turn to roll his eyes at me. “But I didn’t read anything from you, Mina, when we touched. Did you, Rémy?”

He stared at her, an intense look on his face. “I did. I felt you in my mind, as well. Did you feel me?” he asked her.

She nodded, smiling slightly at him. “I did. I couldn’t tell anything really specific, just a general presence. But Ally, what I felt from you was just, well, power. It was quite shocking.”

Her comment made me feel more of that unreasonable dislike toward her and I turned away. “What does this mean, Rémy? What does this ‘binding’ mean? What is ‘the power of the three’?”

“I don’t know, chérie, I don’t know. Perhaps we—”

Luc’s shouting interrupted him. “You can’t be serious! She can’t leave! None of them can! We must keep them close to find out what this prophecy means!”

The three of us stared at each other, wide-eyed, before returning to the rest of the group.

“Did you not hear what the Oracle prophesied?” Luc continued. “
The time of the Seers is at hand.
This is what we’ve been waiting for. This is our call to action. Do you not see that these young people are developing more powers than our kind have seen for a thousand years? This must be a sign! A sign that we are meant to rise up and claim our true place in this world!” The entire room listened to his rant as if under a spell. “Ally, Rémy, and this Mina are clearly the key to a new day for Seers. We must keep them here in Rouen, to test them, to find out what they can do together. That demonstration of power they just gave may be just the beginning. Think of the possibilities!”

“I can’t stay here!” I objected, breaking away from the charisma of his voice. “I have to go home! My mom and my grandma need me there. I need to be back when my boyfriend gets home from boot camp.” I looked frantically around at the Conseil members to see if anyone might be sympathetic to my plight.

“Your silly teenage romance is unimportant.” Luc waved his hand dismissively. “We are talking about changing the power structure of nations! You are the next Oracle and should be above such petty romantic entanglements!”

“You have no right to say anything about my love life!” I sputtered.

“What can a child possibly know about love?”

“Luc, that’s enough!” Kate’s voice shook as she rose from the couch. “We don’t know for sure that Ally is the next Oracle. We don’t know anything for sure yet. What you are saying is crazy! Seers have always kept to themselves, stayed behind the scenes. Changing the power structure of nations? What are you talking about?”

“Oracle, can you not see the future? Your short-sightedness will be our downfall,” he sneered.

This clearly made her angry. “No, Luc. Your blind ambition may be, however.” They stared at each other, eyes narrowed, until Luc turned abruptly on his heel and left the room. Kate stared after him.

“I want to go home,” I whispered.

She turned back to me, clasping my hand in hers. “Of course you do, my dear.”

“So, you won’t keep me here?”

“Of course not! You are free to leave whenever you like. However, I think Rémy should go with you. I believe the prophecy means that you are the Oracle and he is the Shield. I think it is important that the two of you remain close, for your protection.”

“What about Mina? Is she the Heart of the Oracle? What could that mean? Should she stay close, as well?” Rémy asked.

Kate shook her head. “I don’t know. That is the confusing part of the prophecy. I don’t understand it at all. Perhaps it would be better for the three of you to remain close to each other.”

“So, we’re all going back to Albuquerque? Does Mina have any say in this? What about her parents? Is she in school? What about her friends? What if she has a boyfriend? My God, what if she’s married or something?” I started to blather as I panicked.

Mina stepped forward and put her hand on my shoulder. “It’s all right, Ally. You have family and friends back home that you need to return to. I actually don’t. I can go wherever I need to go. After what happened earlier, I think it might be a good idea for us to stay together.”

She had been nothing but nice, and I realized that my unreasonable dislike of her had to go. How old was I, anyway? I was acting like a bratty child. And since it looked like we were going to be together for a while, it would be a whole lot easier to be friends.

***

We
spent two more weeks in France, dividing our time between training with Kate and exploring the countryside around Normandy. We spent much of our time practicing reading each other’s thoughts. Rémy was unstoppable, clearly the most talented of the three of us, but Mina came in a close second, able to read anyone with only a few seconds of intense concentration. It took me much longer, and when either Rémy or Mina really tried to keep me out, they were mostly successful. It really made me feel like a complete loser compared to the other two, let me tell you. I was supposed to be the next Oracle, and here these other two were exhibiting more mental powers than me! Neither of them had anything like my ability to break things, however, which made me feel nominally better. Kate worked with me to concentrate and focus my power without me having to be completely pissed off. She was still baffled by my ability since there was no evidence that any Seer had ever had anything like it.

Luc skulked around the estate, staring at me and making me feel extremely uncomfortable. He had apologized to me the day after his outburst, but I could tell Kate had forced him to do it. He seemed to come and go from the estate frequently and Rémy told me he lived in Rouen, as did many of the other Seers. I kept hoping he would go back to his home and leave us alone, but he always returned.

One afternoon, as I paced in the back garden, trying to work off the frustration of a particularly difficult training session, I stumbled upon Luc and a man I had never seen before, deep in conversation. Although I understood nothing of the French they spoke, I got the unmistakable feeling it was secretive, a feeling reinforced by the fact that they stopped as soon as they noticed me. The strange man melted away into the garden as Luc came forward to talk to me.

“All alone, Mademoiselle Moran? Your guard dog dares to leave you alone for even a second?” He obviously attempted to tease, but I didn’t like the undertones. This guy seriously gave me the creeps.

“You know, I don’t really think I need a guard dog. If someone tried to hurt me, I could always explode something,” I answered and walked away. I didn’t have time for his crap. I returned to the living room where we had been working earlier to find Rémy and Mina sitting together on the couch, laughing quietly, and Kate missing.