Of course she did.
What was I getting into with this oracle?
“I’ll show you the area where the incident with my younger brother happened first,” I said as we approached the main doors of the manor. I felt like a Katy Perry song about rapidly vacillating temperatures because I was back to doubting things again.
It wasn’t because I was any less impressed with the display Cherry had put on in her business, but because she hadn’t stopped talking theentirecar ride until we’d reached the manor. Apparently, her abilities extended beyond giving helpful readings to humans, as she spoke at length about the buildings we passed—Look! That place is over a hundred years old. There’s that brick you have an affinity for! (What?) Oof, that couple there is having a fight. Looks like someone has been texting someone she shouldn’t! See that ice cream vendor? This is their first day back after their honeymoon. Somewhere tropical, obviously! Ooh! Look at that cat! It’s polydactyl!—and now I found myself longing for peace and quiet.
Except there was nothing all that peaceful about showing a stranger the scene of the crime that had completely changed my life, so that would have to wait.
“Incident with your younger brother?” she asked, and I had to remind myself that while her powers seemed to cover a broad scope, it didn’t necessarily tell her everything.
Although I couldn’t be sure, I’d feltsomethingwhen our hands had touched back in her office. Not quite like sticking a fork in a socket, but there had definitely been a crackle. I figured she had to rely on the fates to tell her some things and could focus it with physical connection, but other than that, she couldn’t always control what she saw.
I supposed I could just ask her for a thorough explanation, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
“Yes, a support beam nearly crushed him to death after the detectives cleared out. In fact, I believe it would have if he had not been physically removed from the space right before it fell.”
“I hope you guys didn’t clear out the beam already, did you?”
“No, the crew that’s supposed to take care of it is coming this afternoon. I believe they’ll be here within the hour.”
“Fortuitous timing, then. It’ll be easier if I can get a direct read from it.”
Ah, I hadn’t thought of that. I was indeed glad that the timing had worked out, because I didn’t really want to explain to Chris and the others why I’d had to postpone the crew coming to take care of it. Somehow, I didn’t think they would find “I had to wait for this random psychic to get a reading of the scene” to be a valid reason.
“I guess we’re lucky then,” I said.
She looked over her shoulder and winked at me, her blue eye catching the light. “Lucky is my middle name.”
“Isn’t that a little on the nose for an oracle?” Why was talking to this rather eccentric woman so easy? Maybe it was a manifestation of her abilities?
“Maybe, but let’s hear yours before you go casting stones.”
I paused, then let out a short sigh. I’d played myself. “Fenris.”
“Ha!Pot meet kettle. Anyway, let me get a look at this near-death site.”
It was interesting. Some moments, Cherry’s levity lifted my mood, helped me cross the turbulent wave of emotions in me, but then, suddenly, it seemed entirely inappropriate. Like she was experiencing the situation entirely different from me, or that she didn’t understand the gravity of it at all. As someone who was accustomed to reading people pretty much instantaneously, I definitely wasn’t used to being on such uncertain footing.
“Here it is,” I said, leading her to the transitional hallway where the fallen wooden rafter still took up most of the floor area. “Exactly as we left it.”
“Shame about wasting that expensive whiskey,” she murmured as she walked past me, her gaze locked on the errant beam.
“How—” Right. Psychic. I needed to get used to that, or I was going to make a fool of myself.
I stood back to watch as the woman did her thing. And apparently, her “thing” was staring at the beam without blinking.
Was she being possessed by the fates again?
It was hard to say since I didn’t know the woman, but she went so unnaturally still, which seemed antithetical to her normal state of being. Really, it was fascinating. As a wolf shifter, I’d grown up within the magical community. Sure, I had a few human friends, but I’d mostly interacted with other shifters, witches, sorcerers, cryptids, and the like.
I found myself both puzzled and charmed by this psychic. Her unpredictable nature made me nervous, and the ordered side of my brain warned me that she was dangerously chaotic, but also… Ilikedthe uncertainty. The newness.
Maybe it was the trauma. Maybe it was just an extension of her power. Who was I to say?
So, I waited. I waited and studied her as she studied the scene. The minutes stretched on, a rubber band building more and more tension, until suddenly she pressed her hand to the beam.
Ah, so I was right. Touch was involved in her abilities. Was that a benefit or a hindrance?