A Hidden Witch (A Modern Witch Series: Book 2) (23 page)

He’s doing beautifully. Marcus connected in
with quite the thunderbolt—he’s not used to having Aervyn in his
trio
.

Kevin reached his arms to the sky, and moments
later, so did Mike. Hand off. Now the power was in Mike’s hands,
and he could go to work moving the algae further out. Finicky but
straightforward work for an experienced spellcaster.

Elorie waited with quiet patience. She was so
very proud of her two witchlings.

They’re very well trained,
Lauren sent.
Lizzie held steady, and Kevin handled the channeling absolutely
beautifully. Mike’s almost done, I think
.

Done? Surely not. The last circle they’d done to
move the algae had taken almost an hour.

Moments later, Mike dropped his arms, and the
shimmering energy hanging over the circle dimmed and disappeared.
He lifted Kevin to the sky and spun him around. “That was some
superb channeling, my young friend. I’ll work with you again—any
day, any time.”

Then he looked toward Marcus with a half grin.
“Were you trying to blow us all up there?”

Marcus flushed. “My sincere apologies. I asked
Aervyn to push me more power, and I couldn’t fully control the
surge.”

Aervyn looked dismayed. “Did I do too much? I’m
really sorry. Lauren says I have to be carefuller about that.”

Marcus rubbed his head. “You did exactly right,
my boy. You should always do exactly what your trio point asks, and
you did. It was my fault for not remembering how much power you
have.”

“It was all to the good,” Mike said. “Kevin
handled it cleanly, and thanks to Aervyn and Miss Lizzie over
there, we finished the spell in record time.”

The circle broke formation as everyone moved to
hug the various witchlings.

Lizzie beamed as Elorie walked over. “Did I do
good?”

Moira leaned down and kissed her head. “Child, I
haven’t had that much energy in my trio in a very long time. It was
a beautiful thing.”

Lizzie grinned and wandered off in the direction
of her parents. Moira reached out for Elorie’s hand. “I think she
should take point in the trio this evening. She’s well used to
working with our Sean, and I’ll be right at her shoulder, should
she need me.”

Gran was passing the baton. Elorie’s heart ached
at the thought. Then she realized Gran’s face shone with something
akin to joy. “I’ve waited all this time, darling girl. And now
there’s a child of my heart, young and strong, ready to stand in my
place.”

Elorie hugged her tightly. She wasn’t sure she
could accept the change with nearly so much grace, but she would
try. For Gran’s sake, she would try.

~ ~ ~

Lauren snuck into her room at the inn and
quietly closed the door. The place was overrun by witches and their
families, and privacy was at a serious premium.

She grabbed her laptop and debated one last
time. It wasn’t that long ago that
she’d
been a new witch,
fighting to accept the change and responsibility that came along
with her power. Smoothing out a bump in Elorie’s road wasn’t
necessarily the best way to help her.

Then again, it wasn’t always necessary to leave
obstacles in place when they could be easily fixed. At least she
hoped it would be easy. Only one way to find out. She pinged Jamie
on instant messaging.

Jamie:
You called?

Lauren:
Hey, you got a
minute?

Jamie:
I do. Shay and Mia
took Nat shopping for gooey baby things, so as long as you don’t
need me to shop, I’m your guy.

Lauren:
Ha. You’ve bought
more cute baby things than Nat has.

Jamie:
I buy necessary
things. She buys frills.

Lauren:
Really. iPods are
essential for babies, are they?

Jamie:
Music is good for
their brain development. I read it somewhere. Besides, I think Mia
may have co-opted the iPod. She can’t resist anything red.

Lauren:
Speaking of iThings,
I need a favor. So far, Elorie has been stuck with a laptop to
access Net power, and it’s restricting her freedom.

Jamie:
Not a lot of Wi-Fi
hotspots in rural Nova Scotia?

Lauren:
Exactly. But Ginia
used Nell’s iPhone when we first got here. I wondered if we could
set up something like that for Elorie.

Jamie:
By “we,” I assume you
mean “me.”

Lauren:
Pretty much. I’ll
bake you cookies.

Jamie:
That’s a suitable
bribe. I can probably soup it up a little, too, so it has a wider
range than normal. Give me a couple of days.

Lauren:
Any way I can talk
you into sending it for tomorrow? It’s her birthday.

Jamie:
Taskmistress. That’ll
cost you more cookies.

Lauren:
Deal. And thanks. I
think all the technology is getting in the way of her sense of
belonging.

Jamie:
She lives on the wrong
coast—most witches out here spend half their life online. But yeah,
she’s not used to leading a wired life. An iPhone in her pocket
should be a lot less intrusive.

Lauren:
Exactly. She’s
casting for a full circle in a couple of hours, and the front lawn
looks like a gamer convention. Ginia’s having a blast, but I don’t
think Elorie’s going to find it quite so cool.

Jamie:
She was raised in
Moira’s world. Tradition’s going to matter a lot to her. And
speaking of full circle, you’re going to need more than one phone
to truly free Elorie from her Wi-Fi jail. Net witches don’t work
alone.

Lauren:
Crap, I didn’t even
think of that.

Jamie:
That’s what I’m here
for. I’ll send a dozen or so overnight express so you can equip
everyone, and then I’ll go buy a new freezer for all the cookies
you’re going to bake me. Make some of them a kind Nat doesn’t like,
okay? She’s on a bit of a food rampage right now.

Lauren:
You’d think a
teleporting witch could manage to hide a cookie stash.

Jamie:
Nope. I swear she can
smell them, even in the attic.

Lauren:
It’s only another six
months. You’ll live.

Jamie:
Maybe. In the
meantime, it sounds like I get to go shopping today after all.

Lauren:
Stay away from the
iPods. You’re on a mission. iPhones—focus.

Jamie:
When did you get to be
such a bossy witch?

Lauren:
Ha. I was always
bossy. Only the witch part is new, and that’s your fault. Gotta go,
I’m being paged. Thanks, Jamie. I owe you.

~ ~ ~

Elorie sat on the grass behind the inn and
wished she hadn’t eaten quite so many of Aaron’s pancakes. Or
sausages. Or berries and whipped cream. None of it was sitting
gently in her stomach at the moment.

Sophie sat on the grass beside her.
“Nervous?”

That didn’t seem like an adequate word to
describe the state of her insides. “And then some.”

“As I’m sure you’ve reminded many a witchling,
that’s totally normal. It’s your first full circle, and you’re
spellcasting, no less.”

She didn’t need to be reminded. “Is everyone
straight on their spells?” Unlike normal spellcasting, where the
caster shaped the spell, Elorie needed the right spells in place to
blend for the final result she wanted. That meant each member of
her circle had a really specific job to do.

Sophie nodded. “Mike’s walking the young ones
through it one more time, but yeah, I think everyone’s got it. Lots
of mind witches in the group, too, so we can adjust in mid-circle
if necessary.”

Elorie frowned. “Maybe I should have tried
something a lot simpler.”

“Absolutely not.” Sophie reached for her hands.
“A caster’s first spell is supposed to be a memorable one, and it’s
such a wonderful gift you’ve planned. It’s a truly beautiful idea,
Elorie. Aunt Moira will be so proud.”

“She doesn’t know what we’re doing, right?”

Sophie shook her head. “Nope. The witchlings are
sworn to secrecy, on threat of kitchen duty if they fail, and
Lauren will make sure she doesn’t figure it out during the
circle.”

“You’ve sorted out where to put it?”

“Yes, and where to move all the flowers. Fitting
something that big in her back yard will be no easy task, you
know.”

Oh, but it would be so worth it. Elorie hugged
her knees and smiled. It had taken a lot of careful thought to come
up with a spell special enough for her first full-circle
spellcasting.

She was really proud of her idea. She’d
considered the unique strengths of her circle, and split the tasks
into manageable parts neatly matched to the power of each trio. The
only one she was suddenly doubting was herself.

Ginia spoke up from behind her. “The network’s
all connected and ready to go.” Elorie took a deep breath before
she turned around. She’d been trying to avoid looking at the sprawl
of laptops and cables all over their lawn. They were a stark
reminder that she was about to conduct the first full circle in
Fisher’s Cove’s history that hadn’t happened down on the beach.
While most witches could pull their power from anywhere, Net power
required a Wi-Fi bubble—and even Ginia and Nell couldn’t make that
reach to the ocean. They’d tried.

It was almost time.

A flood of witches came out the back door of the
inn. Scratch that; it
was
time.

Fortified by food and naps, the witchlings
bounced around, checking out the cool toys Ginia had set up. Marcus
scowled and tried to protect as much of the equipment as he could,
while most of the rest of the adults took the exuberant kiddos in
stride.

Moira walked over to Elorie. “I’m so proud of
you, my darling granddaughter. You’ll have this now.” She held out
her hand, a simple silver ring with hand-etched Celtic symbols
lying on her palm.

It was a ring Elorie knew very well. It had been
on Gran’s finger for as long as she could remember, a gift that had
been passed from witch to witch since time unremembered. It was one
of Gran’s most treasured possessions.

Another passing of the baton.

Her heart wobbled as Gran slid the ring on her
finger, but her resolve strengthened. However weird and modern her
powers might be, she would try to be the witch Gran’s legacy
deserved.

Gran nodded in approval at whatever she saw in
Elorie’s eyes, and turned to the group with the opening words of
ritual. “May the circle begin.”

Elorie watched as the circle—her circle!—took
shape.

Ginia, Sophie, and Mike on earth trio had the
heaviest lifting to do for her. Their spell was both complicated
and demanding. Aervyn had moved to the fire trio with Nell, and he
was supremely excited about what he would get to do.

The air and water trios had an easier job this
time, which was a good thing. Sean and Marcus were always a little
rocky together, and Gran needed a break after her hard work of the
morning.

Mike helped Moira settle at a chair and table,
and the rest of the group assembled on the grass, laptops and mice
in their hands. Jeebers. It looked like computer class, not a
working circle.

Doesn’t matter what it looks like, girl,
growled Marcus.
It only matters what you can do with it.

Elorie looked down at Gran’s ring. Traditional
or not, this was her circle, and they had a job to do. Raising her
head, she smiled reassurance at Kevin, and then nodded to Gran.
Ready.

Moira raised her hands, steady and confident,
and began the call to the elements. As each trio followed in turn,
Elorie felt power beginning to swirl. She nodded to Kevin and felt
his mindlink click into place.

And that’s when she truly realized the
difference between a prank with a couple of friends and a full
working circle. It felt like the eye of a hurricane—and they hadn’t
done anything yet.

She felt the magic inside her rise up to meet
the swirling power. There was no room for fear. This was her
birthright, and she intended to claim it.

The spell forming to her left was the earth trio
at work. She marveled at the intricate, patient work of three minds
shaping a literal bulldozer of a spell. Their spellshape oozed
confidence and power.

To her right sat a single, uncomplicated shape
of white heat. She didn’t doubt Aervyn could get the job done—Nell
had said the rest of the trio would just be holding on for dear
life. And she was very glad for the containing spells spun by the
air and water trios. Their job was to keep everyone safe. You
didn’t let loose the fire witch of the century without some
firefighters standing by.

Kevin nudged her mind. Earth was finally done
shaping their spell. Elorie studied the shapes one last time before
she began to work. With Kevin supporting and steadying the lines of
power, she very carefully reached out a tendril of Net power to the
earth trio’s spell.

She jumped in shock as tendrils reached out of
the spellshape, and then calmed as the questing fingers met and
easily linked. Ah, Ginia’s Net power. They’d hoped having her in
the earth trio would make power blending easier. This was
much
easier.

Next she reached to Uncle Marcus and Gran, and
the containing spells their trios had readied. No, wait. Those
needed to layer over the outside. Visualizing as clearly as she
could for Kevin, she backed the two containing spells away and
reached for the fire trio’s spellshape.

It’s not a bomb, she reminded herself. It won’t
go off until you tell it to. Still, she pulled it toward the earth
spell with infinite gentleness. When the two linked, the power jolt
was sharp and bright.

It’s just Aervyn again
, Kevin sent,
apparently an old hand at dealing with their super-witchling
now.