“Pick one,” I offered.

She took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, then reached to the dash and clicked the controls to dual-duty-vent and defrost. The warm air slowly started clearing the fog that had formed on the inside of the windshield. “I’m not going to throw up if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That’s a start.”

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’m fine.” I shrugged, rolling my head back to face out the window. I watched as the arc of clarity inched its way up the glass from the bottom. “Still have the headache, but I expect that will be with me for a while.”

“Any worse yet?”

“Yeah. Still tolerable, but it’s ramping up.”

She reached out and laid the palm of her hand across the back of mine. After a moment she spoke, “Aye, you’re well-grounded for a change. And without my help.”

My ability, or lack thereof I should say, to center my energies and maintain a solid connection with the Earth had been a concern as of late. In the psychic realm, grounding was your first line of defense and one of the most basic of all abilities. During the past year, Eldon Porter’s attempt on my life had taken its toll, leaving me just about as grounded as a runaway helium balloon. It was only recently that I had recaptured the simple ability.

“Can’t stay dependent on you forever, can I?” I shot her a tired grin.

Our impending moment was interrupted by a sharp rap on the passenger-side window. I turned to see my friend’s face staring back at me. Even though the frost had all but completely cleared from the windshield, I hadn’t noticed his approach. His brow was entrenched in a deep furrow and his jaw clenched so tight it made my headache worse just to look at him.

I quickly rolled down the window. “What’s the story?”

“Don’t ask,” he returned with a curt shake of his head. “You don’t wanna know. So, listen, you think you can come up with somethin’ off this scene?”