Finally, the conversation lulled, and Deva turned to me. “Do we want to talk about it now?”
My whole body tensed, but I couldn’t get the words out.
Deva continued, “What happened with Alice? Do you know who’s coming for your powers?”
I released a slow breath, remembering the nightmare that had haunted me the night before. “Alice didn’t see much. But—” I hesitated. “Last night I had the craziest nightmare. One that felt real.”
The women exchanged glances.
“It was like I was reliving the moment I got my powers, only everything was scary. When the older woman turned around, when Karma turned around, she didn’t have a face. She said that she was coming back for her powers, and I’d lose everything important.”
“It was just a dream, right?” Beth asked, followed by a nervous laugh.
“I don’t know,” I said. “My dreams aren’t usually that real. Some deep part of me feels like Karma is coming back for her powers, but she’s not as good as I remember.”
Deva reached out and took my hand. “Listen, you’re a witch now, at least on the deepest level, even if your magic is different than ours. Dreams are powerful for witches. They can be a warning of what’s to come.”
Breathing wasn’t so automatic and easy anymore. My dream had been real. Crap.
“Sometimes they’re just dreams,” Carol pipped up, giving me a reassuring smile. “Even witches have nightmares on occasion.”
I didn’t know about that. For some reason, I'd thought this conversation would end in them telling me I was being silly. The fact that none of them had laughed off my nightmare meant that it worried them too.
All that I knew for sure was that someone, or something, wanted my powers, and I’d do whatever I had to in order to protect them. Because without my powers, I was no one. Just Emma and I never wanted to go back to that.
3
EMMA
We'd almost finishedbreakfast when Deva learned her cook had slipped and fallen. One of the other staff members had to drive him to the hospital to get his ankle checked out. "Sorry, girls. Gotta go back." Deva gave us a rushed wave and headed back to cover for him in the kitchen. I wanted to offer her some words of comfort to reassure her that things would be okay. She felt like everything kept going wrong, but I knew Deva, the best thing to do right now was stay out of her way. Let her handle her business.
We paid and headed out. Carol joined us as we went down the street to our office. We climbed into Beth’s car, so we’d have it parked outside of Private Psych when we needed it later. The car engine didn't have time to warm up before we were pulling into the driveway of our new business location. Purchasing the house had been a bit of a risk, but I was glad every day that we’d taken the chance. The shower, space to sleep, and the kitchen had been helpful more times than I could count.
Beth killed the engine, and we got out. The wind teased the sign with the words, “Private Psych” making it dance a little over our heads. Beth hummed a little as she unlocked the door, and Carol launched into another story about how cute Bryan was, which was nice to hear. He hadn’t been going out much since the thought of running into his parents terrified him. "He took me to a movie and even dinner the other night." She sighed in the sort of contentment only new love brought on. "I'm hoping that means he's starting to feel safe in Mystic Hollow again."
“Oh, you brought the talkative one,” Buster’s voice cut through Carol’s words as we entered the main room. The tabby cat stood on top of one of the cat trees in the main room and stretched his long, striped legs. The sassy tabby's eyes were half-closed, but that didn’t mean anything. Buster had a mind as sharp as his tongue.
“Be nice, you rotten kitty,” Beth said, “Or maybe I won’t let you talk anymore.”
I wasn’t sure Beth would actually do it or could do it. She’d never exactly explained her powers, but this was part of their morning routine, and I was pretty sure they both loved it. Animals could talk around her or maybe she gave them the power to speak? Buster had spoken to me while Beth wasn't in the building.
Heck, I had no idea.
Buster glared and stretched again. “The litter box is full.” He sounded a little too pleased with himself.
Beth rolled her eyes. “I changed it last night, you big diva.”
He did the closest thing I can imagine a cat doing that looked like a shrug. “If it’s too full, I could end up missing the box altogether.”
“Ass,” Beth muttered, but there was humor in the word.
“Useless human,” he said, but then he leaped down from the cat tree and rubbed against her leg. She petted him. “How are the others?”
“Python is scared. Buster threatened to eat him,” Marble, a tortoise-shell cat said, emerging from the stairs.
“Buster,” Beth scolded, stopping her pets. “You know how shy Python is.”
“He’s not shy,” Buster said, angrier than I’ve ever seen him. “That mouse has you all fooled. He’s a dark and terrible creature with the soul of a demon.”
