“What we see are possibilities, potentials, Nell. Nothing is absolute. Nothing, good or bad, is guaranteed. You were given this vision, and you acted to protect.”

“Isn’t there a way to stop whoever will try to hurt him? A spell?”

“Spells aren’t a cure for every circumstance, or shouldn’t be. And remember, what you send out can come back to you or yours, threefold. Attack one thing, unleash another.”

She didn’t say what went through her mind. Stop the knife, Mia thought grimly, and you may load a gun.

“A storm’s coming,” she repeated. “And more than the lightning is going to slash through the sky this afternoon.”

“You know something.”

“I feel something. I can’t see it clearly. Perhaps it’s not for me to see.” That was a frustration, this barrier. And the knowledge that she, so long a solitary witch, couldn’t do what needed to be done alone. “I’ll help you all I can, that I can promise.”

Even as she worried it wouldn’t be enough, she saw Ripley standing on the edge of the sand. “Call Ripley down. She’ll come for you. Tell her what you’ve told me.”

Nell didn’t have to call, only to turn and look. In her practical chinos and sensible boots, Ripley strode toward them. “You’re going to get wet if you stay out here much longer.”

“Thunder,” Mia said, and a dull rumbling of it rolled above the sea. “Some lightning.” And it burst like a firewall toward the west. “But no rain for a half hour or so.”

“You forecasting the weather now, Glinda?” Ripley said pleasantly. “You ought to get yourself a job on TV.”

“Don’t. Not now.” Nell expected the sky to break open any second, but she didn’t care. “I’m worried about Zack.”

“Yeah? Me, too. I’ve got to worry when my brother starts wearing girlie jewelry. But I have to thank you for giving me the opportunity to razz him.”

“Did he tell you why he’s wearing it?”

“No. And I hesitate to repeat just what he did say to me in such polite company. But it got our day off to a fine start.”

“I had a vision,” Nell began.

“Oh, perfect.” In disgust, Ripley started to turn away, stopping when Nell gripped her arm. “I like you, Nell, but you’re going to piss me off.”

“Let her go, Nell. She’s afraid to listen.”

“I’m not afraid of anything.” And it burned her butt that Mia knew exactly which button to push. “Go ahead, tell me what you saw in the crystal ball.”

“I wasn’t looking at a crystal ball. I was looking at Zack,” Nell said, and told her.