As soon as Kate turned off the car engine, the voice in her head stopped talking as if switched off. The silence that followed seeped through the car with the cold evening air, seeped through her body. She shivered.

Her telepathic lover had warned her about the danger here, had warned her that it wouldn't be safe to talk with her here, but the cut off had been so immediate that she hadn't had time to say good-bye. The fact that they were in each other's thoughts, could communicate telepathically, was still new to her. He's only made himself known recently. She didn't even know his name, she nicknamed him Sy just to have something to call him. She couldn't explain how, but the sense that they were destined for each other was strong.

She sighed and checked the mental wall she'd learned to erect against the other telepath out there, the one who invaded her nightmares, the one who frightened her. The wall still held.

The ticking of the cooling engine reminded her that she'd reached her destination. She couldn't wait to see Rosa, her best friend from college. It had been years and so much had happened to both of them since then.

The ranch house rambled across the open space in front of her, a lone light on the front porch the only concession to the early darkness of a spring evening in the Rocky Mountains. She was aware of looming trees all around and boulders sitting like lawn ornaments, but all she really focused on was the house. A tendril of unease made its way down her back.

It was foolish to feel this way. Rosa had wanted her to visit for ages. Had said the welcome mat would always be out. Even so, Kate admitted that this was a surprise visit. She'd emailed Rosa only two days ago, from a cyber cafe in Oklahoma, that she was on the way.

Surprise.

The sharpness of the air shocked her as she got out of the car. Rare and cold, it sucked her breath away while at the same keened around her and made the tall trees sway. It buffeted her as she made her way to the house, pushed at her.

The porch step creaked as Kate placed her foot on it. The hairs on the back of her neck tightened as she imagined that the sound was a protest of her arrival.

"Don't be an idiot, a house can't hate," Kate muttered.