Storm of Visions by Christina Dodd Page A

scar at her ear left by a chin lift.
    It didn’t matter. She was magnificent.
    Taking her hand, he kissed the fingers. “It is good to see you again, Zusane.”
    “Charm is such a rare thing in an American.” She placed one hand on his chest over his heart. For a long moment, she looked into his eyes, and he felt almost light-headed, a fly caught in a spider’s seductive trap. “But in your business, it is a necessity, is it not?”
    “One of many,” he said.
    “You will do very well,” she said.
    “Thank you.” He supposed.
    She lifted her hand away, and at once he was freed from her spell. He watched in curiosity and amazement as she turned to Charisma and offered her hand. In a brisk, businesslike tone, she said, “Hello, dear, how are you doing today?”
    Charisma took the pale, slender hand. “I’m thrilled to meet you. You’re a legend, the most famous of them all.”
    “Do not be misled by the glamour.”
    “I’m not.” Charisma’s enthusiasm was boundless. “I read about you in When the World Was Young: A History of the Chosen Ones .”
    “You are having a wonderful time at the Gypsy Travel Agency, are you not?” Zusane took possession of Charisma’s wrists, stones and all, and held them.
    “Oh, yes!”
    “Will you be ready for the challenges ahead?” Zusane’s smile disappeared, and she looked almost grieved. “For you will be greatly challenged.”
    “I’m going to study. I’m going to prepare. And when it’s my turn, I’ll do what has to be done.” Charisma was so young, so sure of herself.
    “You will be afraid, and in the dark.”
    Charisma stared into Zusane’s face, closed her eyes so slowly, she might have been falling asleep, then opened them again. When she did, Aaron was startled to see the irrepressible Charisma’s eyes fill with tears. “Yes. I see. I am such a coward.”
    “No. A coward you are not.” Zusane kissed Charisma’s forehead, then turned to Aleksandr. In a voice like a whiplash, she said, “Look at me, Mr. Wilder. My eyes are up here!”
    Aleksandr yanked his gaze from her cleavage to her face, and blushed scarlet.
    “Let me see your hands, both of them!” she said.
    He showed them, palms up, then on her signal, turned them so she could see the backs.
    She slid her cupped hands beneath them. Whipping around, she glared balefully at Martha. “This boy would be better in college.”
    “Yes, Zusane,” Martha said. “He is in college.”
    She turned back to Aleksandr. “Where? What are you studying?”
    “Fordham. Engineering.”
    Aaron didn’t have to be a psychic to know what Zusane was thinking. The kid was no dummy.
    “Good.” She nodded. “Sometimes life doesn’t turn out like we wish, and we need something to fall back on.”
    “So you don’t see a gift?” Aleksandr whispered.
    “No. But there’s something here. . . .” She slid her gaze from Aleksandr’s left shoulder and across his chest. “The tattoo?”
    “It’s there.”
    “It came at adolescence.” She sounded certain. “Does it resemble your father’s? Your grandfather’s?”
    “The colors, yes, but the pattern has never been seen before.” Aleksandr shifted awkwardly. “Or so my grandfather says.”
    “He would know.” Zusane patted his cheek. “All right. Don’t worry. Study hard. Make your family proud.”
    “I always do,” Aleksandr said.
    Zusane smiled at him and headed toward the others in the circle.
    In an undertone, Aaron asked Charisma, “Zusane is the most famous what ?”
    “Psychic.” Charisma really did know everything. “She’s the current psychic for the Gypsy Travel Agency.”
    “And the psychic is always a woman?” Aaron watched as Zusane approved Isabelle Mason.
    “Not always, but the guys never seem to quite get it right.” Charisma watched, too, all her attention focused on the drama playing out before them. “The guy who’s here—Tyler Settles—calls himself a psychic. Zusane has always been very vocal about her