Dark Before Dawn by Stacy Juba Page A

knock. I knew she was a fortuneteller and wanted to find out my future."
    "You finally knocked on the door?" Dawn asked.
    "Nope, I kept chickening out. Then, about six weeks ago, Candace came after me. I couldn't believe it when she invited me to meet Serina. I was nervous, but I finally went in. Serina read my palm for free, and I thought I'd faint."
    "What did she say?"
    "That I'd marry a wonderful guy in my twenties and have two girls," Jamie said with a grin. "Serina told me that I'd live in a huge house in the mountains. I hope she’s right. I’m pretty sure she is. She’s been right about everything else."
    Dawn found herself hoping along with her. "It sounds like Serina knows a lot. Maybe she can teach me to control my abilities."
    "She's done a lot for me. She told me that I was good at reading moods, which I guess is true, but I never thought of it as a psychic thing before. That’s the feeling sense Candace was talking about. Serina says you can do a lot with that sense once you know what you’re doing."
    "Do you think I should come tomorrow?" NO. The word echoed in Dawn’s mind, like someone calling down Jamie’s mountain.
    Dawn pinched her lower lip with her finger. Candace wanted her to come. Serina wanted her to come. Part of Dawn wanted to come, too. If she took precautions, she could keep the training a secret from her mother. So why was she uneasy?
    "I hope you do," Jamie said. "It’d be fun getting to know you better. I mean, I'm sure you won’t want to be seen with me at school."
    "Don't be silly. Besides, I'm the one everyone's calling a witch."
    "That's nothing. They call me Pan Fry." After a few seconds, Jamie giggled.
    Dawn giggled, too, casting her worries aside. She didn’t have to decide anything right this minute. She could sleep on it. "Pan Fry? What does that mean?"
    "Beats me. I still haven't figured it out."
    "Those kids are so stupid. I promise that I'll never be ashamed to be seen with you if you won't be embarrassed to be seen with me."
    Jamie beamed. "That's a deal."
    Dawn smiled, but her thoughts were racing. Serina sounded as if she spent a lot of time with Candace and Jamie. Palm readers couldn't make much of a living.
    How could she afford to help these girls for free?
     
     
    Chapter Six
    W hen Dawn got home, she found Ken sitting on the cement steps that led to their weather-beaten cape. Dawn froze with her hand on the railing. He was waiting for her. She knew it. "What’s wrong?"
    "It’s all over school," Ken said. "Renee’s telling everyone you predicted Scott’s death. She’s calling you a witch. Do you have any idea how many times I defended you?"
    "Thanks, but Renee’s being stupid." Dawn squatted beside Ken, her heart skidding into panic mode. All day, she’d had a feeling she should discuss the school rumors with her stepbrother, but she’d gotten caught up with Candace and pushed it to the bottom of her priority list. Big mistake.
    "Is she? Why didn’t you tell me you warned Scott before his accident?" Ken locked his penetrating gaze on her. He had pulled himself together from that morning, his bloodshot eyes the only sign of his grief.
    Dawn detected an undercurrent of fear rippling through his words. She pressed the bridge of her nose where tension had gathered in a knot. "I got a bad feeling about Scott and blurted it out to him. I humiliated myself and wanted you to think Renee was making up stuff. I couldn’t believe my premonition, or whatever it was, came true. That’s never happened to me before."
    "I’m not so sure about that. I was there, remember? I could have sworn you jumped out of the car, yelling, before Scott started across the street. That means you had another premonition. You did, didn't you?"
    "I ... I don’t know what you mean," Dawn stammered.
    "There have been other things, too. Like when you said that Gram and Gramps would be calling and a few seconds later, they did. Dad asked your mom about it. She looked nervous and said they