Miriam leveled me with a classic mom-look, which must be taught to all females at some point.

Spence ignored my interruption and Miriam’s annoyance. “Yes, well, a male Seer never lives past the age of twenty either. It seems I can be quite exceptional when my life depends on it.” He clapped his hands together and turned on the ball of his foot. “Enough of this dreadful True Blood wannabe stuff. Elizabeth, how do those boots feel?”

It took me a second to realize he was talking to me. I lifted one knee chest-high and then the other.

“Heavy.”

“Are they too tight?”

“No.”

“Too loose?”

“No.”

“Can you move your toes?”

“Yes.”

“Then quit being a whiner. If a ninety pound backpacker can walk in those, so can you.”

I ended up getting that pair of boots, although Miriam and Spence made me try on five more pairs. I also got three sets of what Miriam called thermals but my family always referred to as long johns, and a package of really expensive socks. Spence refused to let the conversation return to anything Sifter or Seer related. I think Miriam felt sorry for him, but she gave up with less of a fight then I expected. Then, as we were leaving, he reached out to me telepathically again.

“Don’t let them give you any of that ‘greater good’ shit,” he said. “You’re too young to be a sacrifice in an unwinnable war.”

“But what if we can win? What if you’re wrong?”

His eyes dropped to my stomach. “I’m not.”

***

“How does he do it?” I asked once we were back in Miriam’s Saab. The day had turned overcast and a cool dampness clung to my clothes. I found it a bit annoying, but not overly so. Miriam, on the other hand, cranked the heater all the way up and was holding her hands over the vents, waiting for them to de-thaw. “How does Spence suppress his Sight?”

Miriam flexed her fingers. “With a great deal of effort.” When I continued to wait for an answer she went on. “Seeing is a gift, but sometimes it is also a burden. For Spence, it was more than he could handle. Couple that with being a male Seer and…” She shrugged. “Seeing requires a certain amount of openness to work. We have to connect ourselves to other people, especially Shifters, and be willing to let in whatever it is the universe wishes us to See. However, if you cut yourself off from the world, stay away from others like us, with enough will power you can choke your Sight and hinder your ability to See.”

“But Spence runs a store and hangs out with you guys. That doesn’t seem very reclusive to me.”

Miriam turned down the heat one notch, an action which was met with a silent “Hallelujah” from me. “Spence owns the store, but he runs the business from his home. All the day-to-day operations are handled by his managers. And this was the first time I’ve seen him in… five? Six years?” She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it had really been that long. “He only came today because I called in a favor.”

I had been more than a little annoyed with him back at the store, but now I felt my agitation giving way to sympathy. Spence didn’t seem like a natural hermit. Hiding himself away, cutting himself off from everyone and everything just to keep himself from Seeing had to be torture.

“What does he See? What could be that bad?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Miriam replied. “Death.”

“Like that kid on that movie? The one who sees dead people?”

“No, not like that. It’s a variation of a Future Seer. When he looks at a person, he can See their moment of death.”

My hand automatically covered my stomach, the scars tangible even through my shirt.

“All people?” I asked. “All the time?”

She nodded. “Every person he comes in contact with. Everywhere he looks, all he Sees is death. He knows if you will be young or old. He knows the pain and the peace.” She pulled the car into the garage. “Can you imagine what it must be like for him to have that burden on his heart all the time?”

No, I couldn’t, nor did I want to. I was with Spence; it was too much for a person to bear. It angered me that Miriam had forced him to open himself up to all that horror just to run a practice test on my weird abilities.

“Spence said most male Seers don’t live past twenty. Is that because they all have macabre powers?”

Instead of getting out of the car, Miriam turned to me. “Why are you one of only a handful of female Shifters in the world?”

“Because the Alpha Pack kills all the little girl Shifters so there isn’t a threat to the Alpha Female’s position.”

“So, why do you think male Seers don’t have a long life span?”

Good grief. No one told me there would be an oral exam. “Can male Seers challenge the Alpha Female?”

“No, think about it. What does the Alpha Pack claim to value above all else?”

Crap. I really hate not knowing all the answers. “Shifter unity?”

“Tradition.” Miriam leaned in. “They rule the Shifter and Seer world with the oppression of tradition.”

“Like the whole turning people who don’t go through with a mating ceremony into exiles.”

“Exactly.”

“So… What does that have to do with male Seers?”

“Our entire political structure is based on male Shifters and female Seers. When evolution introduces female Shifters and male Seers in the mix, things start getting confused. The traditional way of picking our Alphas becomes invalid, and when it does, a new way will have to be adopted.”

I started to understand. “A way that will take power away from those who currently hold it.”

"I knew you were bright."

“But I still don’t get it. How do they kill off the male Seers?”

“Most of them they don’t kill. Instead, they convince them they’re crazy. Those whose Sight can’t be refuted usually find themselves involved in some horrible accident before they can get old enough to start causing too much of a ruckus.”

In my head I saw Nicole as a human child standing on a street corner, watching a car heading straight towards her.

“This can’t go on,” I said despite the nausea I was fighting. “This can’t keep happening.”