Let Me Find Your Omega - Ashe Moon Page 0,15

to become one when she grows up. It’s the first time she’s expressed such an interest in anything, and I want to make sure I foster it right. I figure you’re the man to ask about it.”

“That’s wonderful,” I said, delighted. “She’s a very bright kid. Very intuitive.”

“She is,” Markos said proudly. “I know she’d kick ass at whatever she wants to do—which is kind of the problem. She has a tough time staying focused at school. I think it’s because she’s smarter than her teachers, but you know, I’m sure every dad thinks that about their kid.”

“A normal classroom can be a frustrating environment for someone who isn’t being challenged,” I said. “It was for me.”

“How did you deal with it? How’d your parents deal with it?”

“I was moved into an academy for divination arts at a very young age. My parents were in the field, so it wasn’t much of a step when they knew I had a gift for it.”

Markos looked surprised. “I didn’t know there were schools for kids her age for that stuff.”

I nodded. “They’re rare, but there are.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the café. “Crap, I need to get back in there. I have so many questions. Can we meet again to talk?”

“Of course,” I said. “I usually stay at the shop for a couple of hours after I close. You can come by.”

“Sounds good,” he said. “Thank you. I really appreciate it. I’ll see you later, then.”

“Yes,” I said with another nod.

Markos went back inside, and I turned back to my tea. What was this feeling I had? Jittery, fluttery, a little dizzy and shaken… happy? I was smiling to myself. Why was I having this reaction? It wasn’t the first time I’d agreed to meet with someone interested in my work, not even close to it. But this felt so entirely different.

I was… looking forward to his company?

Yes, that was certainly it. Not that there was anything unusual about looking forward to someone’s company—I had friends. But this still felt different, and I couldn’t understand why.

With the day over and my last client out the door, I set to work cleaning up the place and doing my usual daily upkeep. The herbs and crystals needed to be organized and checked, the old divination papers burned, and I had to change out the floor cushions that had gotten soiled by my last customer, who’d had a bout of nausea during their reading.

When I went outside to toss the garbage bags with the pillows into the dumpster, Elise trotted around the corner in her wolf form, her school bag slung around her body. She shifted when she saw me and waved excitedly.

“Did I make it in time? Have you burned the papers yet?”

“Not yet,” I said with a laugh. “Come on, I’ll show you how to do it.”

“Yay! You remembered!”

I brought the stack of papers out and handed half of them to her, explaining the process of setting up the little pyre of veckwood sticks and other pieces of incense. She listened carefully, intently watching every single thing I did and then repeating it with her pyre. We ignited our matches, lit the pyres, and then let the papers smolder.

“Cool,” she murmured, and then gave me a huge grin.

“Good job,” I said, straightening my glasses. “You learn very quickly.”

Any larger and her smile looked like it would fly off her face. “Can you show me how to use the divination crystal? I read all the chapters about it in the book you gave me but I still can’t get it to light up.”

“You read all the chapters?” I said, surprised. It was an introductory book, but it wasn’t normally used until high school.

“Uh-huh.”

She got the divination crystal out from her backpack, held it out in the palm of her hand, and shut her eyes. A moment later, the crystal emanated a faint glow. She was channeling her energy to the crystal, using it as a conduit to view the spectral realm—it was the first skill you learn as a reader, and she was picking it up really fast.

“I can see, like, a shining stream. Like what it looks like when the sun is on a river.”

“That’s the spectral realm,” I said.

“Does that mean I’ll be able to do readings soon? Really easy ones?” She was bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.

“It takes a lot of practice to be able to do proper readings. A lot of study. You have to learn