Page 2 of Professor and the Seer

My mother, not an exactly warm woman to start with, did try to assuage my misery. “You’re special, Frieda. What you have is a gift.”

Didn’t feel very gift-y to me. Try more like a curse. Turned out the future wasn’t set in stone, and I got to see the possibilities, so many of them at times I wanted to scream.

Mom tried to help me rein it in. She hired people to teach me how to meditate and relax. Hard to relax when I knew Lydia, a cat-hoarding lady in her fifties, would die and get eaten by them. Her reply when I tried to warn her? “My angels would never.”

Another tried to get me to do yoga. I only did two sessions before telling my mom I couldn’t handle the depraved orgies involving more than just people the instructor had in her future.

To her credit, Mom did try to find people with my variety of power to teach me. Charlatan after charlatan applied. Only one applicant had a similar ability, but in the end, she couldn’t handle the level of my supposed gift.

As time passed, I became more and more reclusive, keeping my visions to myself unless they involved my sisters—usually Enyo, who seemed to attract trouble.

Despite my many glimpses of the future, I never forgot my first of the man I’d yet to meet. A man who would make me happy. A man who would die at my feet.

It became one of the few predictions I had that involved me, and it seemed easy to avoid. If I ever encountered him, I’d simply not get involved. My heart couldn’t be crushed if we never fell in love.

A great plan that fell apart the moment I met John.

1

How I met John…

The pounding on my apartment door didn’t last long. I knew who stood on the other side, and I had no interest in chatting. Not when I already knew what Dina planned to say.

She growled inside my head. Let me in.

Busy, was my mental reply. Did I mention us triplets could feel and hear each other? Great for doing tests in school or when a blind date when to shit. Not so great when a chance encounter in a night club led to my sister getting railed into screaming bliss.

This is important, Dina insisted.

I chose to not reply. Not that it mattered. The problem with having a witch for a sister? She could always get inside no matter how many locks I used.

With her magic, she undid my many deadbolts and stomped inside—as I’d known she would—waving her hands. “Enyo’s been kidnapped!”

“No shit.” I lounged on my couch in pajamas—of which my home-based ass owned many—and sighed. “Let’s skip the part where I act surprised. Yes, she was taken unwittingly by magic, and, no, I do not want to go on a trip with you to get her back.”

“I fucking hate it when you do that.” The beautiful Dina pursed her perfect lips and scowled.

It should be noted we looked almost identical but for the hair and makeup. Dina had a stylish cut and perfectly rouged lips and smoky eyes. Me? I’d not used a brush in days and didn’t even put moisturizer on my face.

“I’m aware you hate it. Do you know how many times I’ve seen you flipping out over it?” I rolled my eyes.

“Aren’t you worried at all about our sister?” she countered.

“Yes.” I’d already predicted that the choices Enyo made today would affect not just her future but mine as well. How could I tell? I saw nothing. Nothing but murk when I tried to peek ahead. I gave myself a headache trying to see past it. That kind of cloudiness was usually a strong indicator I’d be involved. Ugh. “If you’ll recall, I told her to say no to whatever deal she’s offered by the Warden.” Warden being the title held by a man who had to guard a dangerous place and had arranged for my sister’s kidnapping.

“And in how many future threads does she say no?”

My lips pursed. “None.” But I kept hoping I’d just not seen that branch. While rare, sometimes I could be surprised. After all, free will did exist even as some outcomes could never be changed.

Dina wagged a finger at me. “This is your fault! You should have never told her that this Warden she was going to meet would end up being her lover.”

“I’m aware I should have kept that part to myself,” I mumbled. At the time I’d blurted it out, I’d wanted to annoy Enyo. Instead, it made her determined to be contrary. If I said no, she said yes. It had been like that since we were kids.

“Did you know she’d be kidnapped? Because you neglected to mention it.”

“I wasn’t sure how she and the Warden would meet,” I admitted. My visions sometimes lacked details.

“We have to rescue her,” Dina declared.

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