"In my office," Holiday answered.

When Kylie stopped at the door, Holiday swept her palms over her cheeks. She was crying. Or she had been.

Her eyes were still washed with wet sadness, and her face looked red. Angst and sorrow filled Kylie's chest. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing." Holiday waved a hand in the air. "Burnett and I just had ... words."

"I know," Kylie said, deciding the best approach was to come clean. "I heard."

A frown appeared on Holiday's lips and Kylie wasn't sure if it was because she thought Kylie had been intruding or if the expression stemmed from her lingering frustration with Burnett.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Kylie said quickly. "When I stepped up on the porch and heard arguing, I wanted to see if you were okay, but then I moved off the porch, but I could still ... hear. So I moved farther.

And I could still hear." A little of her panic crept in Kylie's voice. Holiday's frown deepened. "Were we that loud?"

"No. And that's what's so freaky. I shouldn't have been able to hear you. I kept getting farther back and I..."

Holiday's eyes widened. "And you could still hear us? Are you sure we weren't just loud?"

"Positive," Kylie said. "I was at the beginning of the trail."

"Wow," Holiday said.

"Yeah, wow!" Kylie dropped down into a chair. Her gaze shifted to the bills strewn out over the desk. Holiday's emotion and frustration still filled the room. Kylie looked at Holiday. "Are we really in financial trouble?"

Holiday eyed the stacks of bills. "A little bit. But it'll work out in the wash."

"Are you going to take Burnett's money?"

Holiday's eyes tightened in worry. "I will before I let Shadow Falls suffer.

But this issue isn't important right now. You're important. Are you okay with ... this?" She studied Kylie. "I mean your sensitive hearing."

"Do I have a choice?" Kylie batted back a bad mood. "If I say I'm not okay with it, will it just stop?"

Holiday shot her a sympathetic smile. "I can only guess how hard this must be on you. I mean, I grew up knowing certain things would happen and expecting there to be some surprises, but I'm sure for you, it's really a shock. These last few weeks have been a real eye-opener for you, haven't they?"

"Just a little bit," Kylie said sarcastically, and pushed her palms into her eye sockets. When she looked up, Holiday studied her. "I just want to know what I am. If I knew that, then ... I think I could deal with it. I'm so tired of thinking I'm this, and thinking I'm that." She gripped her hands together. "I've been ... so moody lately. A real bitch. I grew a cup size, half a shoe size, and added an inch to my height overnight, and now I'm hearing things I shouldn't be hearing. Do you think this means I'm werewolf?"

Holiday chewed on her bottom lip as if considering. "Sensitive hearing is one of the gifts of being werewolf, but it's also part of being vampire- though I'm told they each have different types of hearing."

Kylie hung on Holiday's every word, hoping she would tell her something Kylie didn't know. But some of it she already knew.

"Like I told you," Holiday continued, "when you mix human with supernaturals, or different species mix, sometimes the offspring are born with different abilities, but they always inherit the DNA and the main gifts from the dominant parent. And they fit into one pattern of a species.

I'm sure your pattern will emerge soon. With all the changes happening to you so quickly, it's bound to become apparent any time."

Kylie struggled to understand. "But you also said if I was werewolf or vampire you thought I'd already have experienced some of the basic transitions."

"I did say that," Holiday admitted. "But I also said I've never seen a case like yours."

"I'm just a freak."

"No. You are unique."

"I don't want to be unique." Kylie sighed. "Do fairies ever have sensitive hearing?" She looked at Holiday.

A smile whispered across Holiday's lips. "Not commonly." She continued to study Kylie as if reading her disappointment. "You want to be fairy?"

"Yeah. I mean, if I have a choice, I'd go with that or a witch. Something that doesn't ... you know ... change me or my body temperature."

Kylie thought of Della and how she'd feel if she knew Kylie felt this way.

"Am I terrible for wanting that?" Kylie asked. "I love Della and I don't want to hurt her feelings, but I just ... I'd rather be witch or fairy. I mean, most of the gifts they get are not so complicated, not so hard to live with."

Holiday chuckled. "Are you forgetting about the ghosts? That's mainly seen in fairies or elves. And believe me, most supernaturals would die before wanting to deal with spirits."

"True." Kylie blinked. "I did sort of forget about that. And yeah, it's a royal pain in the ass. At first, it terrified me, but now that I've had some time to deal with it..." She paused and remembered the ghost's little visit this morning and the nightmare from the other morning. "Okay, it sometimes still terrifies me and frustrates me. But at least now I'm almost used to it."

Holiday leaned her elbows on her desk. "Whatever you are, whatever gifts you end up getting, you'll find that time will make those changes less scary as well. Whatever happens on Monday, I know-"