Words of Wisdom Read online

  “Ten years on the streets, Moon. I’m crafty,” she bragged.

  “Well bring that crafty butt upstairs and I’ll get started on dinner.”

  Daisy grinned. “Don’t need to tell me twice.”

  Daisy took off, and I followed at a more sedate pace. I met Daisy years ago when I first moved in. The previous owner had abandoned their couch behind the building rather than bother with movers and Daisy had taken to sleeping on it. She was thin from being denied regular meals, and a hard life made her appear older than she was. Her skin was stretched and sun-weathered. She managed her long red hair by keeping it in a single braid down her back.

  It took Daisy a while to warm up to me, but we became firm friends when I chased off a group of boys harassing her by threatening to give them all erectile dysfunction with my psychic gifts.

  I trudged up the back stairs, inserted my key into the lock, and shoved open the door. I was greeted with a deafening assault on my eardrums.

  I groaned as Daisy stepped past me and inside.

  “Kali!” I shouted over the music.

  I closed and locked the door behind me and then stormed into the living room, switching off the stereo with a firm click.

  “Hey!” a voice said from somewhere inside the apartment. “I was listening to that.”

  “You’ll never listen to another thing again if you keep blasting your music so loudly,” I retorted. “Where are you?”

  “I’m in the kitchen.”

  I left Daisy to get comfortable on the living room couch and padded into the kitchen. My sister was standing over the stove stirring a pot of something that smelled delicious.

  “It’s my turn to make dinner,” I said mildly.

  Kali looked up and favored me with a mischievous grin. “I know. But for all our sakes, I decided it was best I take this one instead.”

  There was a bark of laughter from the living room.

  “Et tu, Daisy?” This resulted in both of them laughing at me. “I’ve been known to create successful dishes. Just ask Arnie.”

  Kali snorted, “You can make a decent dish but only after you’ve studied the recipe like it’s on the final exam. And Arnie loves you. You could feed him a plate of rocks, and he’d say it was delicious.”

  “What is this?” I threw my hands up as they both collapsed into giggles. “Dump on Mari Day?”

  Kali stopped her teasing to give me a hug that I grumpily returned.

  “Of course not, big sis,” she said, then she pulled back and drew two circles on her forehead. I repeated the gesture.

  “How was your day?” I asked. She went back to the stove and I hopped up on the kitchen counter. “You were careful, right? Had your pepper spray and took a Safe Ride back to your car after class?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mari, I did. Like I always do and like I always will. You don’t have to ask me every day.”

  “If you don’t like my overprotectiveness,” I said, unrepentant, “you shouldn’t have taken it upon yourself to move into my apartment. Uninvited.”

  Kali cocked her head at me. “Uninvited? But I told you I got accepted to Florida University. Where else was I going to live?”

  “In a dorm,” I cried, “like thousands of other students.”

  She laughed in that way someone does when they think you’re highly amusing, but also slightly ridiculous. “I wasn’t going to live in a dorm with a bunch of stunted. We’re Family. Family stays together.”

  I gave up.

  Kali’s and my upbringing were vastly different. My twenty-year-old sister shared my empath father but we had a different mother. Her mother was an empath too, but my mother wasn’t. Kali grew up in an empath community where being surrounded by people who knew your every feeling resulted in a culture of openness (bluntness), sharing (lack of boundaries), and forming deep, lasting emotional connections with everyone around you.

  Whereas, I grew up with my mother who could be described as a lot of things, but open, sharing, and emotional were none of them.

  Kali and I have lived together since she showed up one day with half a dozen suitcases and our authoritative grandmother ready to brush away all my protests. Three years of her driving me absolutely crazy were the result, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy every minute of it.

  I loved my beautiful baby sister with her long dreads, playful grin, and the dark brown eyes that we both got from our father. I loved when she called me just to talk and came home early to make dinner even when it’s my turn. I loved her to bits, which is why I was suffocatingly overprotective. I would never let anything happen to her.

  I sighed. “Not everyone has such nice views of family.” Kali looked at me questioningly. I glanced into the living room and lowered my voice. “A woman came in early this morning...” I told her about Mrs. Breyfogle and the threat to her life.

  Kali whistled. “The mayor’s wife?” She shook her head. “I think you should try again to convince her to go to the cops. If nothing else, if she does turn up dead, they’ll know he’s responsible.”

  “Her turning up dead is what we want to avoid.”

  “But you’re a psychic,” she said with air quotes that were accompanied by an eye roll. “Not a bodyguard. What are you supposed to do to help her?”

  I bit my lip. “Kayla asked the same thing.”

  Kali stopped mid-stir.

  “Kayla?” she said slowly. “You saw Kayla?”

  I nodded.

  “But,” she began carefully, “you haven’t seen her in a year. Why is she coming around now?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Look, I shouldn’t have brought her up. Don’t worry about it.”

  I yelped when Kali swatted me with a wet dish rag.

  “Of course you should have brought her up. You can tell me anything.”

  I smiled at her. “I know. I know.” I hopped off the counter. “I’m going to take a shower.”

  “Dinner should be ready when you’re out,” she called after me. I hummed an affirmative.

  I showered quickly and changed into a t-shirt and pair of shorts. I took a look at myself in the fogged-up mirror. It was nice to be me again. No deep voice or dim, purple-painted rooms. No trying to navigate on the edge of people’s pain while attempting not to fall in. No Madame Moon. Just Mari.

  As promised, dinner was ready and served when I came out. Daisy was digging into her gungo pea soup with gusto, while Kali sat patiently waiting for me.

  I joined them at the dining table, picked up my spoon, and used it to cut my yam. I popped it in my mouth and hummed.

  “This is delicious, Kali.”

  Daisy nodded vigorously in agreement. “So good. And I want to thank y’all for having me over and feeding me and stuff. You’re good girls.”

  We waved away her thanks.

  “Think nothing of it, Daisy. You’re a friend.”

  She shook her head firmly. “I do think something of it, and I want y’all to know I’m going to start paying you back for everything you’ve done. I’ve got a job lined up, and I’m going to be coming into some money soon. Next time, I’m going to take you both out to dinner.”

  She looked so happy at the prospect that we didn’t have the heart to tell her we didn’t need payback. Instead we smiled, thanked her, and went back to dinner.

  I took another bite of yam before asking, “How does someone who grew up with a private chef get this good at cooking?”

  “Easy,” Kali said. “Mrs. Porter showed me a few tricks.”

  I snorted. “When I asked her for cooking advice, the only thing she showed me was the door.”

  Kali almost choked laughing. “Mrs. Porter is nice. You guys just got off on the wrong foot.”

  “You just have a knack for finding lifelong friends wherever you go.”

  Kali shrugged. “You had that knack too.”

  The smile melted off my face. Kali realized immediately that it was the wrong thing to say, and she mouthed an “I’m sorry.”


  I nodded, but lowered my head and became overly interested in my soup.

  For a few minutes, the only sounds in the room were Daisy’s slurping and the clinks of metal spoons against ceramic bowls.

  Kali cleared her throat.

  “Dad called today,” she said hesitantly.

  “Dad calls every day.”

  “Yes, but he didn’t catch you this time, so he said he’s going to call again before bed.”

  “Okay,” I said simply.

  “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

  You see? Blunt.

  I shook my head. “No, Kali, I’m not mad at you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “But you look distressed,” she plowed on, “and you―”

  “Kali Moon,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m not mad. Let it go.”

  Her shoulders slumped and she pouted.

  “You’re definitely mad.”

  I groaned.

  A COUPLE HOURS LATER, with the dishes washed and put away, Daisy was gone and I was lying in bed moments away from being claimed by sleep.

  I heard the squeak of my bedroom door opening. Then my mattress dipped, and Kali slipped under the covers snuggling into my side.

  “Kali,” I said, “you’re twenty years old now. When are you going to stop popping into my room for unannounced sleepovers?”

  “I’ll let you know,” she said cheekily.

  I sighed, but we both knew I wasn’t that bothered. Empaths craved closeness and connection. And I knew it was hard on Kali transitioning from being around empaths 24/7 to now having just me.

  “Are you still angry?” she asked softy.

  I shook my head even though she couldn’t see it in the dark.

  “No, because I wasn’t angry, not at you anyway. It was just...you were right. My life was so different when I went to Florida U. I was vice president of the most popular sorority on campus. I had dozens of friends, a great boyfriend, and everything was perfect,” I said roughly.

  Kali patted my back.

  “Seeing Kayla must have—”

  I shifted away. “Let’s not talk about Kayla. Please.”

  “Okay,” she said after a minute. “What about Dad then? What did he want to talk to you about?”

  “The usual,” I replied, jumping on the subject change. “He wanted to make sure I knew I was breaking Grandma’s heart by masquerading as a charlatan and peddling my abilities.”

  Kali chuckled. “Wouldn’t want you to forget that.”

  “Of course not,” I said, laughing. “He also wanted to say he was sending us presents and we should receive them tomorrow.”

  Kali nudged me. “Did you try to talk him out of sending us gifts?”

  “Yes.”

  “And did he ignore you?”

  “Yep,” I said with a pop on the p. “Like he suddenly didn’t understand English.”

  Kali guffawed. “You are so awful about accepting gifts.”

  “No, I’m not,” I said indignantly. “He just spends way too much money. Not only am I a grown woman who can take care of herself, but I also don’t need a big screen TV, bank-level security systems, or a purebred poodle.”

  “Ooh, I miss Snooty,” said Kali mournfully.

  “We don’t need all that stuff, Kali,” I said stubbornly. “We’re doing just fine with what we got.”

  “Sure we are, but he’s our father and we’re his only daughters. He gives us these things not because he thinks we need it, but because he thinks it will make us happy. And no matter how old we get, our happiness will always be most important to him.”

  I frowned.

  “Must you always be so reasonable and levelheaded?” I grumbled.

  “I’m afraid so,” she said cheerfully. “I’m an empath.”

  “Good night, Kali,” I said firmly.

  “Nite, sis!”

  Entry Two

  THE NEXT DAY WAS FRIDAY. Madame Moon’s hours were Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and by the time I saw my last client out the door, I had an hour and a half to get ready before I had to leave for the party at the mayor’s house.

  I hurriedly turned the open sign to “closed” leaving it swinging as I locked up the shop. I rush around to the alley and hiked up the back stairs. Bursting through my apartment door as I dove into the shower.

  I was mid-routine when I realized I was missing something. I turned off the water.

  “Kali!” I called out.

  No answer.

  “Kali?” I tried again. She should have been back by now. She didn’t have late afternoon classes on Fridays.

  Sopping wet, I climbed out of the shower and wrapped myself in a towel. I tiptoed out the bathroom, dripping water on my hardwood floors.

  “Kali, are you here? Where did you put the new pack of razors?”

  “She’s not here,” a male voice said from behind me. “But I’ll help you look.”

  I screamed and spun around.

  Behind me, smirking insufferably, was Paxon Knight.

  “What―” I clutched my towel even tighter. “What are you doing here?” I shrieked.

  “Waiting for you, of course. Your dad had some things he wanted to give you guys and you were on my way so I said I’d bring them by.”

  “How did you even get in here?” My heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest.

  Paxon reached into his pocket as he said, “I have a key.” He held it up to me as proof.

  My eyes bugged out.

  “How did you get that?” I demanded.

  He shrugged. “Your dad gave it to me.”

  “How did he get it?”

  “From Kali I suspect. She gave your whole family keys.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose.

  “Give it to me,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “What, this?” He waved the key up in my face. “Why? What did I do?” he said with a laugh. “Besides have the great fortune of seeing you dripping wet in a towel.”

  I made a choked noise.

  “Key. Now,” I forced out.

  He sighed, “If you insist.” He advanced on me and I automatically responded by leaning away, my back scraping against the wall. The still wet skin glided readily along the rough plaster. He kept moving close to me until he was leaning over me, mere centimeters away from my face. He placed his hand over one of the hands that I had clutching onto my towel for dear life and gently tugged on it until I let go. I opened my hand as he pressed the key into my palm. His hand was impossibly soft and warm. I had to restrain myself from following that line of thought or else he may have picked up on it. “But you should know,” he whispered. “I made copies.”

  Of course he did.

  “Anything else you’d like me to do, Miss Moon,” he asked while standing up straight, my eyes level with his chin.

  My hand came up quickly to shove him, the force just enough to push him back and give myself some breathing room.

  “Some personal space would be nice,” I snapped. “And you could also get your stalker behind out of my apartment.”

  I darted around him and fled to my bedroom amid his laughter.

  WHEN I EMERGED A WHILE later, I was dressed and ready for the party. I stepped out of my room to find Kali and Paxon chatting on the couch like the old friends they were. The TV was on low, allowing the news channel report to be background to their chatter.

  Paxon was laughing at something Kali said. Head thrown back and amber eyes sparkling. I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t attractive. He had two inches on my five feet eleven. He was slim, lean but toned from years of running track. He kept his coarse hair cut close to the scalp and had sharp cheekbones with an all too charming grin. His pointed canines gleamed adding an air of mischief to that smile. Kali has known Paxon all her life, but I met him when we were both sixteen years old. We’ll get more into that later.

  “Oh, Paxxy,” Kali cried. “I’ve missed you so much. I haven’t seen you in forever.”

&n
bsp; “I’ve missed you too, Kalico.”

  I smiled at them. “You saw each other last month.”

  “Exactly!” they said at the same time.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Empaths,” I said under my breath.

  They both focused on me. I was wearing a floor-length emerald dress with an empire waist. I paired it with a simple black clutch and styled my shoulder-length hair into a bun.

  Paxon whistled. “Damn, girl, you look amazing.”

  I ducked my head and thanked every deity known to mankind that Paxon wasn’t close enough to me to sense my reaction to his compliment. The range of our abilities was limited. A person needed to be within arm’s reach for us to pick up on their feelings, although a well-trained empath had other tricks up their sleeves to get around this limit. And Paxon and Kali were indeed well-trained.

  “Oh, head ducked. Arms crossed,” Kali teased. “I think you’ve embarrassed her, Paxxy.”

  Paxon hummed. “Yes, but I noticed her lips slightly quirked and that little wrinkle appeared around her nose. My compliment has pleased her as well.”

  “Stop that, I told you two before: no reading me!” I cried and stomped over to the armchair and threw myself into it. “Jerks.”

  Kali giggled. “We can’t help it, sis. Daddy taught me to read micro-expressions before he taught me to use the potty. We can’t help what we see.”

  “Oh yes, I know,” I groaned. “You two are super empaths while I’m the untrained. A half-stunted outsider that still has trouble seeing past the seven main emotions.”

  A chorus of protests and denials followed that statement.

  “You know we don’t think that,” Kali cried.

  “Of course we don’t,” Paxon agreed. “And you also know you can restart your training anytime. Just because you left the community doesn’t mean you’re out of the Family. I’ll help, just say the word.”

  “Thanks, Paxon,” I said sincerely. “But it’s okay. It would be nice to sense the full range of human emotions like you guys can, but that takes years of intense study and I’ve got my hands full with my business and looking after this one.” I gestured at an indignant Kali.

  “I don’t need looking after,” she insisted. “I’m a grown woman. You’re just too protective.”