“I believe in facts, as well,” Hollybeth answered with a nod.
“Then you’ll understand why I demand proof of your abilities.” Her alien knew nothing about Earth, or the scams people often attempted on unsuspecting, vulnerable individuals. If this woman truly was the kind of sorceress he sought, she was going to have to prove it.
“Of course I understand. Sit, sit.” With a delicate wave of her hand, the Englishwoman waved them past the beads and into a bigger room with a table in back. “Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Tea? I even have a wonderful herbal elixir that promotes mental clarity.”
Such as weed? “No, thanks,” Katie answered, shaking her head. She would not be consuming anything that had the power to screw with her head.
Jorlan ushered her to the table. They sat side by side, even though he had to squeeze the long length of his legs underneath the too-short surface.
Hollybeth claimed the seat just in front of them. “Give me your palm,” she said to Jorlan.
He sliced his gaze to Katie. “Do all the women here command a warrior thusly?”
“Oh, yeah. Now give her your hand, Jordie.”
With the sigh of a man who carried all the world’s burdens, he did as instructed, offering his free hand while maintaining a tight hold on Katie.
As Hollybeth hunched over his palm, she traced each line with a long, oval-tipped nail. “You wish to find a way home, but you cannot do it alone Am I correct?”
The observation surprised Katie. Until she recalled the things she’d said outside, before entering the shop. If Hollybeth had mics out there, she could have listened to every word.
“Aye,” Jorlan said, squeezing her fingers.
“All you need is…a guide. Yes. Someone to guide you.” Hollybeth peeked over at him. “Do I still speak the truth?”
A muscle ticked beneath his eye. “Aye.” The hardness of his tone made his voice an audible hammer, the single word like a physical blow. And yet, Katie’s toes curled. Such intensity. She imagined him poised above her, totally focused on her pleasure…
Enough!
As Jorlan and Hollybeth continued to interact, Katie forced herself to focus on the situation and not the man. Every time the Englishwoman spoke, Jorlan shifted uncomfortably in his chair and appeared both furious and sad. He’d already accepted that this wasn’t going to work, hadn’t he, but he was holding on anyway, just in case a miracle occurred.
“There is someone who can help you,” Hollybeth said next. “Someone who will help you. Someone whose name is… I’m getting an impression of the letter K. Yes, yes. Someone whose name begins with the letter K. A woman. She will guide you home. Do you know someone whose name begins with K?”
“Aye.” Hammer strike. Chair shift.
Another thing the woman could have overheard, since Jorlan had called Katie katya.
“Good, good.” The self-touted psychic continued to study his hand. “I predict much—”
“I do not need your predictions.” His irritation overcame his sadness and obliterated his hope. “I need to know if you can open a vortex into another world.”
Hollybeth’s brows furrowed together. “Why do you need someone else to open a vortex? You have the power within yourself to go wherever you wish.”
Huh. The fact that the woman had responded as if Jorlan wasn’t a total whack job, well, she had to be the real deal. Or super committed to her persona.
I’m leaning toward committed.
Jorlan glared at her. “The power I have is unstable. Unusable. Try again.”
“You are wrong. If properly nourished, can gain control.”
His hope revived, glowing in his eyes once again. “How do I nourish my power?”
“I have a powerful elixir able to—”
“Let me stop you there.” Katie had heard enough. There was no way Jorlan would be drinking anything this con woman had prepared. “What you’re looking for isn’t here, Jorlan. Trust me. Please.”
His only answer was a slight, almost undetectable nod.
“Now, wait a sec—” Hollybeth began.
Katie smacked the table, the loud boom silencing her. “I’ve had enough bull shi—crap, thanks. You’re a fake. A phony. You can’t help him any more than a Keebler Elf could. Just admit it.” Katie didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but damn it, she hated that Jorlan was so upset.
Hollybeth’s lips thinned, the upper one curling in. Her weathered cheeks bloomed with color. From embarrassment or anger, Katie didn’t know. “Everything I said is true,” the psychic ground out. “Only the heart can guide a man home. With the help of my potion, of course.”
Argh! Katie jolted up, fist clutched tightly. “You can take your potion and stuff it.”
Another sigh from Jorlan. “We are done here.”
Katie and Hollybeth quieted. Never had he used such a sad tone.
Head high, he pushed to his feet and strode out of the room, out of the building, the bell tinkling.
Tossing a twenty on the table, Katie said, “Thanks for nothing.”
Hollybeth shrugged, unconcerned. “The price is usually fifty, but I’m feeling generous.” Holly tucked the bill inside her bra. “So generous I’ll even give you a freebie. It doesn’t take a seer to know that one is a heartbreak waiting to happen. If I were you, I’d run and never look back.”
CHAPTER SIX
FEAR HAD NO PREJUDICE. It attacked male and female, young and old, without distinction. Today, it attacked Jorlan. He felt as if he stood at the brink of madness. If he failed to break the cure, if he failed to find a way home, he would be trapped in stone, trapped in this world—forever. He’d known the possibility existed, aye, but now it seemed likely.
He had a mere thirteen days of freedom left, which meant he was free but imprisoned.
The sun warmed his face as he stood outside the “psychic’s” dwelling, his legs braced apart, his arms locked behind his back and his muscles clenched. The stance of a warrior before battle, as plans and strategies were cemented.
This was the greatest battle of his life.
His first instinct had been correct. No magic had resided in the House of Mysticism. Yet he’d foolishly clung to hope with the vise-grip of a desperate man. He’d clung all the way to the end, when Hollybeth had offered the elixir. The Druinn did not use elixirs. Nor did they use potions, toxins or poisons. Unlike sorcerers, who did, the Druinn preferred to derive their power from the stars.
Now the truth could not be denied. All Earth psychics might be as fake as Katie suspected.
The irony was that the fraud inside this shabby building had actually spoken a kernel of truth. He should have the power to go home. Magic dwelled inside him, so much magic, but how could he tame it after all this time?
Curse this world! And curse himself! He need only cast a simple spell anyone with magic tendencies learned as a child.
As he waited for Katie, Jorlan decided to try to open a portal. Mayhap this particular skill had been honed over time?
He closed his eyes, raised his arms, and uttered the necessary words. Air swirled around him, faster and faster. It was working! Just a few more—
The wind died down, and his hopes crashed. Still, he tried again. Nothing. Again. Nothing.