Eleven

"Are you okay?" I asked. Because I knew what he was about to say. Our abilities came at a price, and my empathic abilities weren't just inherited. They were activated after I'd nearly drowned.

"Yes, son, it was a long time ago. But my experience was very similar to yours. I fell into a coma and was unconscious for weeks."

"How could you avoid taking the power?" Bran asked.

"It was a strange experience. Even though I was unconscious I can still recall every moment. One minute I was driving to work, and the next moment I was wandering through a forest. At first, I didn't realize what had happened and thought I was losing my mind. But then I realized this was all a test, and the fates that be were making sure I was worthy of so much power." My dad's eyes glassed over as he remembered that time. Mom slid off her stool and draped her arms over his shoulders.

"We knew he would be tested, and we also knew our friend could help. So, before that happened, we created a safe place for his spirit to go while it was tested. This way he could decide what he wanted to do without the chance of his spirit going to the other side. You see, no one in our lineage has gotten their power without nearly dying. By touching death, we are blessed," Mom said.

"How long were you out?" Bran asked.

"For me it felt like months, but it was actually a few days more than three weeks. That whole time I was stuck in the forest, but I wasn't alone. It was supposed to be a safe place and in a way it was. It was cut off from the veil preventing my spirit from crossing over, but wandering spirits were allowed to enter and torment me. They tried everything they could to get me to relent and become the seer. But I didn't want to do that. I missed Emilia, and I wanted to see our son grow up. So, I fought. I fought with every part of me until finally I woke up. I wasn't the seer, but I'd survived." His hand reached up and covered Mom's over his chest. She kissed his neck and whispered something too low for me to hear.

"I don't want Jordan to risk dying to inherit this power," Bran blurted out. A look passed between Mom and Dad that I couldn't interpret.

"You understand now why I made sure I couldn't inherit? My family was too important."

"Dad, surely the ancestors would have understood," I said.

"Once you're chosen there is no changing your mind. All that saved me was the spell that closed off the veil."

"Jordan—" Bran was stunned. His voice shook with emotion as he stared at me wide-eyed. It was one thing to claim an ability, but it was another thing entirely to have to nearly die to inherit it. I wasn't sure my heart could handle any part of knowing everyone I loved was witnessing me going through that battle while they were helpless to do anything other than wait.

"I'm not going to do it. If it means I need to nearly die again, I won't do it." I fell into his arms and clung to him while I tried to stop the quiver that ran through my body. "I can't go through that again, and I can't put you through it."

"You won't have to," Bran said.

"You can't promise that. I've been trying to tell you. He's in danger. He is to be the seer," Edith said, startling me. But it wasn't only her voice this time. She stood in the center of the living room glowing so bright I forced myself not to flinch away from the light. I wasn't sure why I was able to see her without Bran's help, but before I was able to question it, my blood ran cold. Something more was happening.

"Oh no," I managed to say before I lost consciousness. I sensed movement nearby, but I couldn't tell what it was or who. Bran was close, I could feel his warmth, but then I found myself face down. My eyes were clenched shut but as my hands opened and I made to push myself up, I realized I was no longer inside.

"You may not be chosen as the seer, but you do not get to choose if you will be chosen," a voice not much louder than a whisper said close to my ear.

My eyes shot open. I definitely wasn't in the kitchen where I'd been just a moment ago. I was outside, and I was alone. Scrambling to my feet, I looked around. Everything was strange but somehow familiar. There was a dense forest made up of trees I didn't recognize, that were so close together it would be nearly impossible to walk between them. I was in a small clearing that had barely enough room for me. At the edge of the clearing was a path.

Cupping my hands around my mouth, I yelled as loud as I could. "Bran!" And waited, hoping he would hear me. It was then I realized how quiet it was. There were no bird calls or the sounds of insects buzzing around. Everywhere around me was completely silent.

"He can't help you," the voice said again but I couldn't locate where it came from. It floated over to me like a breeze and disappeared just as fast.

"Who are you?" I yelled, my frustration building by the second.

"That doesn't matter. All that matters is what you choose to be."

I was frantic as I looked everywhere expecting to see someone hiding behind a tree or at the edge of the clearing where the brush was so thick I couldn't see past it to where the path led. "Please help me, where am I?"

"You'll know soon enough," it said, and once again faded away.

"Bran, where are you?" I said to myself before pushing through the thick brush and following the path.