When Maisie again voiced her confusion, Terra was forced to speak, "I'm sorry for all this commotion, Mrs. Jones," she said apologetically, "you see, Charlie and I know each other from school and he's a bit upset because he just found out about my abilities to-"

"Manipulate people!" Charlie interjected loudly, giving his uncle a pleading look.

"Er, I suppose if I were to let it get out of hand then there could be consequences, or something of the sort…" she said guiltily, looking determinedly at the floor.

"You used your emotion thing on me! In the café so you could get away!" Charlie said angrily.

Paton stared at Terra, long and hard, then said finally, "Miss Darkwood, I'm going to take it you're the new endowed student at Bloor's that my sisters have been talking about, since they found out you were attending?"

The blonde girl looked back and replied, "If your sisters are three women who work closely with Dr. Bloor and the old man, then yes. They've been stalking me for a while, now…mostly watching my house. I hate being there alone, though …"

"You live alone?" Charlie asked, forgetting his hysteria about her endowment and feeling a tinge of sympathy.

Terra nodded and said quietly, "Yes, I do. Its not like I spend a lot of time there, anyways. I have a house up in the heights, near where Gabriel said he lived. I'm sorry about the whole endowment thing, its just…you're a very nosy boy, and I didn't think it was any of your business."

Paton spoke quickly, as not to let Charlie turn the remark into an argument, "Miss, I don't want to pry, but Charlie said that you 'used your emotion thing' on him? And if I know my sisters, you can bet that's why they're following you."

Her cheeks turned a pale pink and she responded shyly, "Um, well, yes…but I only used it to get away…I'm an Empath, you see, Mr. Paton. It is possible that's included in their motives…" her expression was hard to read, but Charlie had an odd feeling they weren't getting the whole truth from Terra.

Paton's eyebrows rose a bit and he said in mingled awe and distrust, "You're en Empath, are you…?"

Terra gave a slight nod and shifted uncomfortably, before turning to Charlie, "I'm also sorry about using my endowment on you…it was wrong of me to do that, but you kept asking me about it and I felt trapped…"

Charlie also shifted, though guiltily, "Yeah, I suppose I was a bit pushy about the whole affair…and you being an Empath just made me more suspicious because I didn't know what was going on with you around, so I, er, uh…yeah…" he finished his sentence stupidly as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

It was Grandma Bone, standing there in a hideous brown dress with her wispy hair pulled back into a tight knot at the back of her head. She was frowning distastefully at all of them, looking as though she had swallowed something sour.

"What is going on down here? We have company coming, tonight!" She exclaimed angrily, glowering in turn at everyone in the kitchen, her eyes finally coming to rest on Terra, "Wait…who are you? I don't recognize you, at all. Speak, girl."

Nervously, Terra got to her feet and gave a polite curtsy, "Hello, you must be Mrs. Bone," she said, her voice not letting on to any of the fear that she obviously had, "I've heard so much about you."

She had almost a flattering look in her eyes, and Charlie would've thought she was using her endowment on Grandma Bone if he hadn't seen the confused expression on his grandmother's face, which was followed by a look of triumph.

"Well, now, this is a first," Grandma Bone said with an unladylike snort, "one of your little friends with manners. Who would've thought it possible…"

Charlie felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. She didn't know who Terra was after all. This running through his mind, he was incredibly shaken when he remembered Grandma Bone mentioning 'guests' coming. That word always—always—meant Charlie great-aunts, Grandma Bone's sisters: Lucretia, Eustacia, and Venetia.

As if on cue, there came a rap on the door. Charlie's heart was pounding so loudly that he was sure everyone in the room could hear it. Paton caught his eye and they both shuddered. This was the worst possible scenario they could've imagined.

Terra, however, seemed unfazed by all of this. It was as if she wasn't scared at all. Maybe this was because she'd had the three aunts stalking her, or maybe it was that she had faith in her own abilities. Charlie didn't know, but he was sure she wouldn't be a fountain of courage after meeting the three Yewbeam aunts.