On a sigh, Riley took the phone from him and returned to the kitchen.
“It’s nice to see you too, Grandma.”
“You may dispense with the pleasantries,” Elanora snipped. “Gabriel tells me you are unable to read a subject.”
Either Gabe hadn’t realized that she’d fried her own powers or he was protecting her from the Wrath of Elanora.
“A person,” Riley interjected. “I was having trouble reading someone and was worried they could be in trouble.”
Elanora lifted a glass mug filled with steamy gray liquid and sipped. “You will tell me everything.”
Briefly, Riley filled her in on the psychic flu and Sesame’s situation.
When she finished, Elanora tut-tutted. “Given your location, I’m shocked you haven’t vomited your way around the city.”
Her grandmother never missed an opportunity to take jibes at any number of people, places, and things. “Yeah, yeah. You don’t like Harrisburg. Why should I be vomiting everywhere?”
“Urban areas by definition contain larger populations. Larger populations mean more crime, more garbage, and more nefarious motives.”
Riley was going to need a second cup of coffee if she was expected to translate that.
“This woman you describe is a liar.”
“Well, obviously.”
Elanora shook her head, sending the black feathers in it fluttering. “No, not just someone who is untruthful about their age or tells outlandish stories to improve their standing. She is a gifted liar who is able to believe her own lies. She’s rewriting reality to better suit her. You are reacting to the rewrite.”
Riley blinked and thought about Happy Tommy morphing into Villain Tommy. It made a bizarre kind of sense. “But she’s so nice. Genuinely nice.”
“Oh, grow up, granddaughter. Everyone lies. Some for nefarious reasons. Others for selfish reasons. Controlling one’s own mind is the highest enlightenment a non-gifted human can aspire to. With a controlled, focused mind, anything is possible. Of course, you’ll have to take my word for that, seeing as how you have no control over your own.”
“So how do I hang on through the merry-go-round of lies to get a read on her?” Riley asked, ignoring the insult.
“Try harder.”
“Care to be more specific? I dragged in psychic backup in the form of Gabe, Mom, and Wander and still couldn’t break through the lies.”
Her grandmother’s gaze shifted off-screen. She gave an imperious nod and returned her attention to Riley. “Then find someone or something who can’t rewrite the answers you seek.”
“That’s actually…very helpful,” Riley mused. Or it would be if she had spirit guides and psychic powers.
“Of course it is.”
“Hey, if you’re not doing anything for Halloween, I’m throwing Nick a surprise birthday party. Fred’s been asking about you,” Riley said, changing the subject.
“Birthday parties are a waste of time. And I made it clear to Fred that I wasn’t looking for a relationship.”
“I guess once you get a taste of fine wine, there’s no going back to boxed,” Riley teased.
“I must go. I am very busy and important, and this conversation has become trivial.”
“Love you too, Grandma,” Riley said. “Thank you for your help.”
Her grandmother paused and stared hard from the screen. “I believe you are old enough to dispense with such a ridiculous title. You may call me Elanora.” With that, she disconnected the call.
Riley handed the phone back to Gabe. “Well,thatwas a fun way to start the day.”
“I am very sorry,” Gabe said again. “I only thought to seek Elanora’s counsel as to why we could not see inside Sesame’s mind clearly. She demanded to speak with you immediately.”
