"No, sir. This is my mother, Stefania Donohue. I'm Gina and this is my sister Rita. My mother would like to apologize to your daughter, sir."

Daughter? Femi and I exchanged a smile. They must have learned that the Mirage was family owned. I angled my head to catch Hawk's response.

"My sons and nephew would also like to apologize to your daughter as well, sir," a man said instead. "They behaved terrible toward her."

I recognized the voice of the gray haired man who'd come to the store last week with a picture of his wife. He'd mentioned framing the smaller pictures for his sons. Must be Sebastian's sidekicks.

"I'm afraid Lorraine is busy at the moment, but I will let her know that you came."

This was stupid. I wasn't a coward, and the sooner they apologized, the faster they'd leave. I didn't want them cornering me when I was alone. I started for the door.

"Raine, let Hawk handle this," Femi warned and gripped my arm.

I shook my head. "No, I started this when I agreed to help those girls. I must finish it."

"What are you going to tell them? Remember, your identity... Our identity must be kept a secret at all cost."

"Even when one of us is evil?"

She blinked as though I'd slapped her. "We don't hurt people, Raine. The Valkyries are very particular about who they select to make Immortal."

If only she knew. There was Maliina and now Madam Bosvilles. "I'll explain later. Right now, I'll tell the witches in there that I'm a novice and their presence is interfering with my training." I rubbed my arms. "Can you feel that?"

"Powerful magical energy. Is the girl you told me about out there?"

I nodded.

"Okay, go." She indicated the door.

"I'm here," I called out as I pushed the door open. My jaw dropped. I'd expected Rita and Gina, and their mother, the old man and his twin sons, and a sulky Sebastian in tow. Instead thirty or so pairs of eyes stared at me. No wonder the air sizzled with magical energy.

CHAPTER 16. BAD WITCHES.

They watched us with varying expression. Curiosity. Gratitude. Anger. No, actually, only Sebastian looked pissed. What did he have to be angry about? Did Blaine and Ingrid smack him around a bit? I hope so.

I returned smiles and nods. My eyes widened when I spied a shaman in full regalia in the back by a black woman in a big ceremonial hat. I didn't know what to think or say. It was as though people of different ages and from various parts of the world had walked into my shop at the same time.

The robes. Long, white beards and hair. Wooden staffs. One of them was so old, he leaned heavily on his crooked wooden staff. It was a wonder people weren't gawking at them through the store window.

I focused on the familiar. Rita and Gina.

Their uncertain smiles said they weren't sure how I'd react. The twins looked genuinely contrite while Bash still glowered. Unlike the old geezers, most young people in the group were dressed like me in jeans and T-shirts.

I glanced at Hawk to see how he was taking all this. He wore a disapproving expression. No wonder the people were focusing on me and not him. He really needed to smile more. Something changed when I faced the witches again. The traditional and witchy clothes were gone. No long hair or beards, and regular walking sticks and umbrellas instead of staffs.

How was that possible? Did they use magic to hide who they really were? I didn't realize Femi had moved to my side, until she took my hand. I squeezed it.

Color me coward, but I felt a whole lot better having her by my side.

The man who'd brought the wife's portrait cleared his throat and said. "Seeress, my sons and nephew-"

"Uncle Ignacio, the Noma," Sebastian interrupted.

What the heck was Noma?

The man mumbled some words and pointed his fake walking stick at something to my right. I whipped around just as poor Jared's head lolled to the side. Ignacio gently lowered him to the floor.

"I beg your pardon, Seeress," Ignacio said. "In my haste to apologize for my sons' and nephew's deplorable behavior, I forgot there was a non-magical person in the room. We try to shield ourselves from people until we know they are practitioners of the Old Religion. He will not remember seeing us here." He glanced at the twins. "Come on, boys. The Seeress doesn't have all day."

The twins apologized and sounded sincere. Sulky Sebastian didn't. His uncle added a long winded speech about showing respect to someone of my caliber, which was totally embarrassing. I even started to feel bad for the twins.

Rita's mother stepped forward with Rita and Gina, "I want to thank you for what you did. You exposed an evil Witch and saved my daughter's life." Her voice broke. "I was a student of Madam Bosvilles' and she stole my powers too. They are coming back." Her chin trembled.

"I'm happy I could help." Then I did what any compassionate person would. I reached out and gripped her hand.

Bad idea.

Scenes flashed in my head. A younger Stefania with the same Madam Bosvilles cooking potion. The older woman looked younger. She had to be an Immortal. She probably faked aging using makeup and disguises.

Standing in the shadows was a man. All I managed to glimpse was long black hair and his broad back before he disappeared. I shivered. Something about him was so familiar. I let go of her hand and stepped back.

Silence followed. The stares said my eyes were glowing.

"This is not time to cry, Stefania," a voice cracked like a whip from behind her and she stepped aside to reveal one of the wizened men. He was the one with the crooked staff.

"My name is Carlos Alberto De Los Parlotes De Vaca. For thirty years, my son couldn't practice magic because of what that woman did to him. Today, he called me with the good news. His magic is coming back. May I shake your hand?"

"No," Hawk barked. "The child is a novice and is still learning to control what she sees. They might be overwhelming."

The old man's crestfallen face had me saying, "It is okay. I can handle it."

Someone should definitely slap duct tape on my mouth because that was the wrong thing to say. He clasped my hands and visions followed. The old man was going to die a violent death. I barely let his hand go when someone else took my hand. Another grabbed my arm. Scene after scene flashed in my head. People's pasts and futures. So many deaths it wasn't normal. I became overwhelmed fast.

"That's enough," I thought I heard Hawk say.

I tried to move toward the office, but the crowd followed. Since they weren't asking questions, I assumed they just wanted to touch me, which was really creepy.

I was so focused on escaping I almost missed a vision taking place in my bedroom. I'd never had a vision of me before.

I stood near my bed laughing. A male voice came from the bathroom, but it wasn't Torin's. Then a man wearing a duster came into view. The duster was like Echo's, long, black and heavy, but he wasn't Echo. The dirty blond hair was like Eirik's but he didn't sound like him. His voice was deeper, his shoulders broader and more buff. He stopped in front of me, reached out and stroked my hair, my cheek.

Please, let it be Eirik.

Panicking, I tried to see his face. As though my thoughts controlled the vision, the scene changed angles. Eirik. He looked different. Older. More handsome. But his eyes were cold, like a guy who'd been to hell and back. My eyes volleyed between my happy, laughing face and his. I couldn't tell whether he was happy or not.

Eirik pulled me up and wrapped his arms around me. I wound my arms around his neck. Okay. He was going to come home in some near future and I'd be happy to see him. That was good news.

Then he kissed me. Not a peck or I've-missed-you kind of kiss. He pressed his lips against mine in a deep, tongue in the mouth, soul blending kiss. Even worse, I laughed, grabbed his head and kissed him back.

"No!" I yelled, my eyes focusing on the faces around me. None of them was Eirik's. I pulled back, frantic to get away. Why was I kissing Eirik? I mean, why would I kiss him in the future?

Someone grabbed me from behind. I looked over my shoulder, expecting to see Eirik. Relief was sweet when my eyes met Hawk's. He was furious. I hope it wasn't with me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice flat.

I shook my head.

"Get her out of here," he said, practically shoving me into Femi's arms.

"Leave now," Hawk told the gathered witches. "The child is tired and needs to rest."

"Why did the young Seeress summon us here, sir?" Ignacio asked. He seemed to be the spokesperson of the group.

"I didn't," I called out without stopping. The vision of me and Eirik was my first priority now. I was going to kiss him in future. What did that mean? Where in Hel's Mist would Torin be for me to be kissing Eirik?

"Did you make the Call, sir?" Ignacio asked.

"No, I did not," Hawk snapped. "And we most certainly don't need your help."

"You may not need our help, but someone wants us here," Ignacio said stubbornly. "There've been a dozen dead Seeresses across the globe and your daughter might be next."

Thoughts of Eirik became secondary and I ignored Femi's attempts to pull me into the office. I couldn't tell these people the Seeresses weren't really dead, but Ignacio's "someone wants us here" had me thinking of last night's meeting with Torin and the gang.

What if the person after me had summoned the witches? To what end? No, that didn't make sense. They would have to know who I was and where I lived to do that. Whoever made the call lived here in Kayville and either was trying to help me or they were working with the people after me. The fact that the killing had stopped kind of confirmed it.

"Miss Lorraine is not my daughter," Hawk said. "We," he waved to indicate Femi, "are her guardians. I'll say it again. We didn't make the call and we don't need your help."

I turned to face the witches and Femi groaned. My head was pounding and even worse, the scenes I'd seen when the witches had touched me were on a loop inside my head. "Has anyone seen the people killing these Seeresses?"

There were murmurs and head shakes.

"He has a British accent and long black hair," I added.

That generated some excitement but no takers, until Stefania asked, "Does he have blue eyes?"

I frowned. "I think so. Why?"

"Madam Bosvilles has an older brother, or a cousin, who looks like the man you just described. He kept in the background when I was her student."

"I've never seen him either," Rita said. "He comes and goes at night."

"My son mentioned a man too," the old man with a crooked staff said. "He never described him. How do you know him?"

"I've seen this man and his friends in my visions," I said. "He was the one hurting the Seeresses. Where can we find Madam Bosvilles? Maybe she can lead us to him."

"She was gone by the time my coven went to her villa," Stefania said. "She's a powerful Witch and probably knew they were coming."

"We'll stay until we know for sure she and this brother of hers are not headed this way," Ignacio added and the others nodded.

Torin was so not going to like this. From Femi's expression, she didn't either. As they filed out, she planted herself in front of me, neatly blocking them from my line of vision. "They can't stay."

"What if we need them? We're dealing with evil witches, possibly evil Immortals."

"Immortals are never evil," she practically snarled. She jerked her head to indicate the witches. "They can be. You can't trust them."

I sighed, the effect of the seance-if what just happened with the witches could be called that-still messing with my head. "What do you want me to do? I don't have power over them."

"But they'll listen to you. We must come up with a reason to send them home. Even though we were once part of their community, we don't mix with them. They're powerful enough to tell we are different. We have to send them packing or we leave."

Leaving was out of the question. It was time to consult the Norns. Surely, they must know what to do in a situation like this. Heck, they could even erase minds.

"Can I just go home now?"

Hawk was staring at the still unconscious Jared. They'd forgotten to wake him up.

"He'll be okay," Hawk said when he saw me stare at Jared. "He'll come out of it soon enough. It was a simple sleep spell. And yes, you can go home."

"Use the portal," Femi said. "I'll bring your car home."

In other words, she wanted me safe at home. I didn't understand how she could mistrust witches when she was once a witch. I grabbed my things and headed to the office.

The house was quiet, but my head still buzzed with all the visions I had seen at the shop. I was putting that in the never-to-be-repeated category. I was mentally and physically drained. Then there was the vision of Eirik. That didn't make sense. He wasn't even there, so how could I have connected with him?

I dropped my backpack by the mirror and went to the kitchen to get a snack. Femi must have shopped because the fruit bowl was full. I grabbed a Pink Lady apple and rubbed it against my jacket. Transferring it to my left hand, I grabbed the knob to Dad's room and turned.

My eyes widened at the scene. Dad wasn't alone. He was asleep, but Torin stood by the head of the bed, peering at him. Andris stood on the other side of the bed while Echo rested his arms on top of the headboard.

They didn't hear me open or close the door. It was so sweet of them to check on Dad. That was one thing about these guys. They might deal with the dead, but they were very loyal and respectful of the living.

I started across the room, intending to hug Torin from behind.

"Can't we just snap his head?" Andris asked. "All our problems would be solved."

I froze, my jaw hitting the ground. What kind of crazy thing to say? They wouldn't dare. Torin would never let them. I opened my mouth to rip Andris a new one, but Torin spoke.

"You are right," Torin said, smirking. "I should never have healed him or talked Echo out of reaping his soul. He's been nothing but a burden ever since. The Norns wouldn't be punishing us if it weren't for him. Raine will never know we did it."

My breath got lodged in my throat, tears rushing to my eyes. "Torin," I whispered, but I didn't think he heard me.

"As long as I take his soul straight to Hel's Hall, she won't know," Echo chimed in. "Do it or I will. I don't have time."