She stared at her hands, as if contemplating whether or not to answer.

"A few months," she whispered.

"Did you tell your mom?" She had to have inherited the ability from somewhere. Wanda had told me it could come from either parent, and could even skip generations.

"No way. She wouldn't want to hear about it and...I'm too scared to tell her."

"So your mom isn't like you?"

She returned her attention to her hands again, and started picking at her already short nails.

"No," she mumbled. "I thought maybe something was wrong with me and that she might leave me for good if I told her."

"There's nothing wrong with you," I said. "What about your father? Is he like you?"

Her thin body tensed at my question. "I never met my dad, he left after I was born."

Okay, maybe it was time for a different topic. "What's your name?"

"Emily."

"Nice to meet you, Emily." I smiled.

She returned it with a weaker version.

"Do you want to know what you are? I could help." This wasn't the time to be taking on lost little girls, but not offering might be worse. I really didn't want to think of the danger she was in while living in this town.

"I don't know." She pulled at some loose threads on her pants. "My mom will get mad if she finds out I'm talking to you. She likes for us to keep private since we moved up here." Her voice came out low and nervous.

I drew my knees up and leaned back against the post behind me. The move seemed to relax her. "Where did you come from before?"

Emily's lips curved up, as if she had recalled a fond memory, but then her face hardened. "Dallas. We lived there my whole life until we moved here a year ago. I hate this place. My mom changed since coming here and I don't like it."

"I'm sorry," I said. "What do you think made her change?"

Anger filled her eyes. "That man she came up here for, Robert. He made her into something else. I knew she changed, but since these new...."

She paused, as if unable to find the word she wanted.

"Senses?" I supplied.

Emily nodded. "Yeah, senses. Since they started, I figured out she ain't like other people. She's like him."

My fingernails dug into my palms. I suspected what she meant. Our kind tended to categorize anything inhuman as something else. Something different. We did it without thinking, as a sort of reflex.

"What do you mean by like him?"

She took a deep breath and blew it out, making the longer strands of her bangs fly up. She brushed them away. Her next words came out low.

"I never did like Robert or his friends. But when these senses came, I figured out my mom and those guys feel different from everyone else."

"What do they feel like?"

"Cold, some more than others, and I feel scared to be around them. Like I know they don't like me. There are other kinds too. They feel hot and...wild, maybe?"

I nodded. "Do you know what you are describing?"

"I think so," she said in a small voice. "Are they what I think they are?"

"You tell me."

She bit her lip. "Vampires and werewolves? I sense other kinds too. They feel different, but I can't figure out what they are."

I nodded. "You described how vampires and werewolves feel exactly. The others we can figure out together. For being on your own with no one to help you, you're doing pretty good."

She cocked her head to the side. "You think so?"

"Of course, though you have a lot more to learn. Do you have any plans this morning?"

She shook her head. I needed to get on with the hunt for Aniya, but giving Emily a couple hours of my time wouldn't hurt my search too much. Most of the businesses I wanted to stop by wouldn't be open for awhile yet, so it wouldn't be too big of a sacrifice.

Besides, the girl needed to learn the basics and there was no one else to teach her except me. If her mom was in deep with the sups, Emily could get herself killed if she gave her abilities away. I'd hate myself if something happened to her because I didn't help.

"Good." I leaned forward. "Let's start with any questions you have."

She gave me a shy look and scooted a couple of feet closer to me. Her voice came out low when she spoke next. "Can you tell me what it was like for you when your senses first started?"

I held back a grimace. My senses awakening was a dark time, but then again, she could say the same. I needed to tell her something about myself to earn her trust.

"Well, I was about the same age as you, so we have that in common."

She nodded. "What was it like the first day?"

I snorted. "Sex and screaming witches."

"Huh?"

My eyes drifted to the blue sky beyond the porch. "My parents were having sex in their room next to mine. I woke up to sensing waves of lust rolling off them. The faint squeaks of their bed pretty much told the rest of the story. At least it explained why they always slept in on Saturday mornings."

Emily shuddered. "Glad my mom hasn't done that to me."

I shrugged. "Sometimes I'd get up and go outside so I wouldn't have to sense them. At least you have to be really close to feel people's emotions, especially humans."

"Yeah." Emily's eyes lost their focus for a moment before her head snapped up. "Wait, didn't you say something about screaming witches?"

"Oh, the screaming witches." I paused to scrutinize the yard and street, as if spies might be nearby. Emily scooted a few inches closer. "A huge family of them lived next door. They got up early every morning. I could always sense their anger or excitement as they played around with each other. It felt like screaming in my head. Gave me awful migraines until I got used to it."

"Did you have any problems with them?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

"Nah," I shook my head. "Their oldest daughter, Kristen, was my age. Later we became good friends until I had to move away when my parents died."

Emily's eyes dropped down. "Oh, I'm sorry."

I reached over and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry about it. As you can see, I survived."

Her head lifted. "So what happened after that?"

"A sensor like us took me in. She taught me most everything I know about our kind. It wasn't the kind of life I'd hoped for, but sometimes you have to go where life leads you."

She sighed. "I figured that one out already."

I started to ask another question, but a werewolf heading in our direction grabbed my attention. Emily's eyes rounded at the same time. She stood up.

"You have to go," she said, eyes panicked. "He can't catch you here."

I jumped up to my feet. "Who?"

"One of the guys who hangs out at the same place as my mom."

My heart leaped in my throat. "Has he done something to hurt you?"

She shook her head and let out a short laugh. "No way. Derrick wouldn't do anything like that. Since I stopped going over to that house a few months ago, he started coming here to check on me. He worries cuz I'm here alone all the time."

"Okay," I said, still not comfortable with the idea of leaving her with a werewolf. "You sure you'll be okay?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, he's a nice guy, not like the others. Are you gonna come back?"

He was two blocks from us. I started inching my way down the sidewalk, but gave her a reassuring smile. "Tomorrow. I'll come by and bring some cheeseburgers."

She grinned. "Okay."

After a short wave, I made my way to the street. Once there, I sped up to a light jog and managed to get two houses down before the werewolf passed in an old truck. I didn't even glance in his direction. He hadn't seen me come from the house so there was no reason for him to be suspicious. I didn't sense any emotions coming from him either. Not wanting to take chances, though, I headed straight back to the motel. At least no sups were close by there.

Chapter Five.

Later that afternoon, I found myself in Pioneer Park, formerly known as Alaskaland. The travel brochures had boasted of it being a great tourist stop, but it also had a more important feature. Many locals ran shops in the park. It made the place ideal for questioning a wide range of people. It was doubtful Aniya had been here herself, but maybe someone had seen her around town or near their home. I couldn't rule out any possibilities.

Most of the buildings inside the park were old-style log cabins, painted in shades of green, brown, and other assorted colors. They came in a variety of shapes and sizes as well. Not every place was a cabin, though. Some structures were outfitted with white siding and probably built sometime around the WWII era.

I stopped by several galleries, museums, and other attractions along the way. Between those and the shops, I often found myself distracted while gazing at the various selections on display. They made me think of my missing friend and her love of shopping for unique things.

Aniya wasn't the type of woman who wanted the name brand stuff. She liked unusual jewelry, locally designed clothes, and hand-crafted knick-knacks. Malls were never her style and a place like this would have appealed to her. Too bad she probably didn't get the chance to visit.

Each time I asked the proprietors about her no one recognized the picture I showed them. The chances of her being alive and well were sinking by the minute, but I refused to give up hope yet. She had dreams and deserved a future where she could live them.

Toward the end of my rounds through the park, I came across a tarot card reading place. The older woman who ran it had a healthy amount of magic thrumming through her. Not the dark kind or I wouldn't have considered entering, but a tinge of gray was mixed in with the light. She felt warm, with an electric charge sparking out. Static raced across my mind as I recognized her as a mystic.

There weren't many more of her kind than mine. Mystics and witches didn't get along well and had been fighting each other for centuries. It had something to do with their magic clashing. I didn't know the specifics, but there'd always been more witches around, giving them the greater advantage.

The woman caught me hovering at the door and waved me inside. I took two steps in and stopped. She wasn't much of a threat, but coming near her still made me squeamish. The vampire from the night before had been a reminder of the dangers I faced with sups.

"You look lost, my dear. Are you searching for something?"

Once my eyes had adjusted to the dim interior, I saw she had kind hazel eyes, and a face framed by long silver hair. The wrinkles lining her skin accentuated, rather than detracted, from her appearance. My senses told me she was pushing seventy years old, but she had a small, nimble body that must have been more than capable.

The mystic must have been one of those types who got into the act of her profession because she wore a long, dark robe that flowed around her. Something I might have expected from a tarot card reader. Of course, she ran her business inside a major tourist attraction. She would want to cater to customers' expectations.

"Actually, I'm looking for someone." Pushing aside my trepidation, I pulled out my picture of Aniya. "Have you seen this woman?"

She leaned over the black silk-draped table she sat behind and squinted at the photo. After a moment, she shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry. She hasn't been around here."

"You haven't seen her anywhere?"

She smiled. "I don't get about town much these days. This is the one place I have a chance to see anyone aside from my family."

I supposed that made sense at her age, but this was the last place I had left to visit in the park and had hoped for better results. It was the only reason I'd been willing to take a chance on her. Vampires couldn't mesmerize her into forgetting like they could the humans around here. Not at her power level.

"Why don't I give you a reading? Perhaps that will help."

My body tensed. Sticking around a sup, any sup, for very long did not sit well with me. Never mind that I needed to work on getting past that particular problem if I was ever going to have any luck finding Aniya. I really didn't think she was with a human anymore.

The mystic cocked her head at seeing my reluctance. "If you're really worried about your friend, it could be worth a try."

Doubtful, but this was an opportunity to get a feel for the woman and see what she was made of. All the other readings in my past had been fake, done by people who had no skills at all. I went along with the show because it amused me to see how far they would go in their act. My ability to sense magic let me know they were doing nothing more than guessing. But this woman had magic-not that it would do either of us any good.

She took the twenty I handed her and stuffed it into a small opening in her robe. I contemplated asking her if she could do a spell with Aniya's picture to find her, but didn't feel ready to ask for that kind of help. One step at a time. I'd just set the photo down on the table. Maybe she'd make the offer herself.

She turned her back to get a deck of tarot cards after motioning for me to take a seat. My muscles cramped as they bent down into the chair, the kind of ache that came after too many hours on your feet. The run this morning must have taken a bigger toll than what I'd thought. I made a mental note to get myself into a better routine with my workouts. They were more important now than ever.

The mystic shuffled the cards and arranged them with care before laying them down. We both took an indrawn breath at what was revealed, or rather, not revealed. The woman's face turned ashen. I drew back in my chair. Every card she laid down came up blank-solid white, with nothing on them. It was the last thing I'd expected.

Her magic was trying to pull my information, but couldn't, so it wiped out the details of the cards. She mumbled under her breath as her hands began to shake. Guilt stirred inside me at seeing her so upset. From what I could tell, the cards had their normal illustrations on them until she laid them down, then they blanked out. She tried several times with no success. My very nature made me a void for magic, but I hadn't realized it went that far.

Our attention was so riveted on her trying a new deck that neither of us noticed the man who stepped in until he spoke.

"Those won't work on her, Yvonne." His rough voice carried over to us. I jumped.

A glance toward the open doorway revealed a man who most people would assume to be in his mid-fifties-about two hundred years short of his real age. He was large despite a slightly stooped back and he had black hair highlighted with streaks of gray. Most of it was slicked back, but a few fallen locks framed his face. I guessed his origin to be native Alaskan, based on the medium skin color he had. He was also a shaman.

I'd never met one of his kind before, but had heard of them. His magic was strong and of the earth. To my surprise, he didn't make me as nervous as many of the other sup races did. He had a sense of peace about him. His aura drifted through my mind like a cool breeze on a hot summer day, bringing relief from the overwhelming heat. I had to fight myself to not relax in his presence.