A Hidden Witch (A Modern Witch Series: Book 2) (24 page)

Layering the containing spells around the final
shape was quick and easy. Elorie paused for a few seconds,
appreciating. This moment would never come again.

Each trio had included a trigger in their spell,
and Elorie began the release. For this, at least, she had insisted
on tradition—her very first rhyming spell.

“
Fire, water, air, and wind.

Shaped and melded, bent and twinned.

Guide our magic to its place.

Form a gift of earth and space.

With our magic, four times three,

As we will, so mote it be
.”

As she finished, she let go the hold on her Net
power and pushed. This would take everything she had.

No longer was she sitting in the eye of the
hurricane. She was the hurricane. Power blew around the circle,
through her and Kevin in the center, and into the gigantic
spellshape that connected them all.

Fourteen witches held steady and created a gift
from their hearts.

The spell dimmed, and Elorie felt herself
swaying. Uncle Marcus’s gruff voice came in her ear. “Next time,
save enough to keep you standing.” She might have been irritated if
his hands, holding her steady, hadn’t been so very gentle. Slowly,
she opened her eyes and looked at Aervyn. Had they done it?

His eyes closed for a moment, mindspeaking with
Lauren, who was at the site where their spell should have formed.
When he levitated in glee, it was all Elorie needed to know.

Thirteen witches looked entirely delighted.
Moira was utterly mystified. “Whatever did you do, my sweet
girl?”

Elorie laughed. “It’s a surprise, Gran. The best
surprise ever. But we can’t tell you until tonight.”

“Well,” Nell said, “this qualifies as my oddest
hot-tub experience.”

Sophie handed down sandwiches and lemonade into
the empty, rock-lined pit. “You just need to have a little
imagination.”

Nell grinned. “It’d have to be pretty active to
turn you into a steamy guy.” She nudged Elorie. “You’re going to be
sneaking over here at night with Aaron.”

“So he tells me. I hope Gran will enjoy it.”
Elorie frowned, looking around. “Do you think it’s going to work? I
don’t want to put too much pressure on Sean.”

It was Sean’s job, in the last circle of the
day, to turn the empty basin into a beautiful, magically
hot-springs-fed natural pool.

Nell laughed. “Relax, girl. You did most of the
heavy lifting with your circle earlier this afternoon.”

Sophie nodded in agreement. “Totally. Gran and
Lizzie are up taking a nap together, Aervyn passed out on the back
porch, and Ginia’s snoring in the hammock.”

Nell patted the rock beside her. “My fire punk
did nice work melting these rocks together, but it’s the earth trio
who did the really heavy lifting. Why aren’t you sleeping too,
Soph?”

Sophie leaned back, appreciating the sun-warmed
smoothness, and grinned. “Apparently, pulling a nice layer of rocks
to the surface of the earth is an aphrodisiac for some.” And how.
They’d burned off plenty of energy, and then Mike had gone out for
a run with his leftovers.

“Dang,” Nell said. “Next time I wanna be in the
earth trio.”

Elorie giggled. “Then you’d better bring Daniel
with you.”

Sophie quirked an eyebrow, glad to see Elorie in
a nice, uncomplicated moment of happiness. “How about you,
spellmistress? I bet Aaron’s a pretty happy guy right about now,
too.”

“He was, until he discovered several witches
trying to cook potions in his kitchen. Now I think he’s busy making
‘Keep Out’ signs and trying to convince the twins to cast hexes for
him.”

Sophie wondered lazily whether she might talk
Aaron into giving Mike some cooking lessons. For some reason, all
her potions on the stove tended to make him a little nervous. Silly
witch. She almost never got them mixed up.

Nell looked over at Elorie. “Yup. She’s a
goner.”

Sophie blinked. “Who—me?” When they both
grinned, she laughed ruefully. “Well, yeah. But I was mostly
thinking about potions, actually.”

“Yeah, right.” Nell snorted. “However, speaking
of potions, how’s it going with that girl of mine?”

“She’s got the patience and precision.
Yesterday, we mixed up a nice batch of belly butter for her to take
back to Nat. We embedded a calming spell to help the baby
sleep.”

“Awesome. Nat will appreciate it as those baby
arms and legs get longer and start keeping her awake at night.”

Sophie held back a yawn. Maybe she really did
need a nap. “Aervyn’s sure there’s still just one in there?”

Elorie almost dropped her lemonade. “Aervyn can
see babies?”

Nell nodded. “Yup. He saw Nat’s little bean just
a few days after conception. It’s an awkward talent, though. He
popped the news to a total stranger in the grocery store last
month.”

Sophie watched Elorie try to get her expressive
face under control, and she knew. She leaned over and gently
touched her friend’s hand, hoping to offer without intruding. “So
can healers, with a scan. And we have a bit more discretion than
most four-year-olds.”

Elorie gulped and nodded. “Not yet. But soon, I
hope. And please don’t tell Gran. She’s already knit way too many
baby blankets.”

Sophie grinned and reached for one last
sandwich. She could keep a secret.

She realized Nell was watching her with a
suddenly calculating look. “That’s an impressive snack you just
ate, even for a witch. When’s the last time you scanned
yourself?”

Sophie stopped with the sandwich halfway to her
mouth. “That’s impossible.”

Nell laughed. “Not. Trust me—I know how babies
are made.”

Through her brain freeze, Sophie realized one
thing for sure. She had to know. Oh, God. Reaching for power, she
ran the basic self-scan that was every healer’s first lesson.

And she found life.

A tiny little presence nestled deep in safety.
Carefully she checked blood flow and oxygen supply, tissue health
and hormone levels, and the healthy division of cells. Then the
healer paused, and the brand new mama marveled. There was a baby in
her belly.

When she opened her eyes, their empty hot tub
was rimmed in daffodils. Nell and Elorie each plucked one, long the
witch community’s welcome for new life.

Elorie grinned and spoke through tears. “I know
where you can get a large supply of hand-knit baby blankets.”

Nell beamed and hugged Sophie tight, and then
handed her a daffodil. “Go tell Mike before Aervyn finds out and
spills the beans.”

~ ~ ~

Demon wings and bat dung, would the girl never
stop messing with him? Marcus glared at his laptop screen and the
top-secret location of his Realm high-mountain keep. Since all his
guards were currently sporting pink chest plates and fluffy bunny
slippers, it obviously was top secret no longer.

Were three circles in one day not enough to keep
Warrior Girl busy? He’d just seen her giggling together with Aunt
Moira in the garden, not a care in the world. Probably discussing
love potions or something.

He needed a break. When this day was over, he
was heading back to his nice, quiet home. Not quite a mountain
keep, but it was private, and an excellent place for a solitary
witch.

Elorie strolled into the parlor. Perfect—just
who he needed. “That was nice work earlier this afternoon. I trust
you’ve had time to rest and recuperate. I’ll be heading home
tomorrow, so let’s see if we can get a little more spellcoding
through that thick head of yours.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Such a lovely
invitation.”

Anyone who expected him to dither around with
being polite was going to die waiting. He was a witch, not a social
butterfly. “Just sit down, girl. We have bunny slippers to deal
with.”

“We have
what
?”

“The evil Warrior Girl and her minions have
attacked my keep, and cleaning up her mess is a challenge
appropriate to your spellcoding skills.” He hoped. Warrior Girl’s
spells tended to be fairly devious.

Elorie sat down, lips twitching as she caught
sight of his screen. “Sounds like serious business.”

They both looked up in astonishment at a loud
thud. Mike stood rubbing his forehead, having clearly just walked
into a wall.

Marcus only knew of three things that could make
a grown man forget where the walls were, and of those, he only
considered alcohol a reasonable excuse. “The door’s a foot to your
left.”

As Mike turned to face them, it was clear he
wasn’t drunk. Splendid. That meant the man was either bespelled or
stupid in love. Marcus reached out with a quick mental probe and
sighed. Witchling pranks could be reversed. That kind of
love-struck tended to be terminal.

One more decent man lost.

Elorie elbowed him and spoke under her breath.
“You can’t possibly be that big a curmudgeon.”

Marcus grunted and stretched a hand out toward
Mike. “Congratulations, son, and good luck. You’ll need it.”

Mike grinned, the dopey look of a man who’d lost
his way. “I’m having a baby. Well, Sophie’s having a baby. We’re
having a baby.”

Any man who repeated himself three times was
already underwater.

As Elorie jumped up to hug the father-to-be,
Marcus tried to hold on to his sense of superiority and ignore the
slide of fear in his heart. Most witchlings lived long, happy
lives. Almost all of them.

This was the problem with coming out of his
cave. Too darn many things tugging at his heartstrings.

~ ~ ~

Elorie held tight to Aaron’s hand as they
hurried down to the beach. An accidental after-dinner nap had the
two of them running very late for Sean’s full circle.

She couldn’t believe they’d actually made it to
the evening without Gran discovering the sizable hole in her back
yard. It would be a masterpiece of beauty and warmth when Sean was
done, but right now, it was a frightful disturbance in the
well-tended order of Gran’s garden.

She’d never seen several dozen witches keep a
secret for ten minutes, never mind an entire afternoon. Somehow,
Gran managed to bring out the best in people, even when she wasn’t
trying.

Kicking off their shoes in the sand, they ran
over to where everyone had gathered, inner and outer circles
already formed. Moira looked up and smiled. “And that’s all of us.
You look well rested, my dear. Let the circle begin.”

Elorie dropped into place in the outer circle
next to Lauren and picked up her flute. Breathing deeply, she began
to play the slow melody to the moon that had begun every evening
circle she could remember. Haunting and sweet, the notes rose over
all who gathered.

Other instruments in the outer circle added
harmony and quiet echo, an offering of peace and love, and an
invitation to belong—to the magic and to each other. Memory poured
in, of the first full circle when the flute had been hers to play.
Hesitant child’s fingers moving carefully through the notes Gran
had taught, and then pausing in wonder as those notes were picked
up and magnified.

Witch or not, this had always been her
place.

As she finished, Lauren reached for her hand.
That was the purest kind of magic. You weave hearts together as
beautifully as you weave spells
.

Elorie looked on the moon and the beach, the
familiar faces. She loved being a very small part of this great
whole.

And now her students would take their places,
too.

Her trainer’s heart beat proudly—they looked so
competent. Kevin and Sean, channeler and caster, ready in the
center. Lizzie on point for water trio, with Gran standing just
behind her. That one made Elorie’s heart lurch a little, but then
she saw the pride on Gran’s face. Some changes were happy ones.

Lizzie stepped forward, holding a bowl of water,
and Elorie gulped back the lump in her throat. Gran beamed as
Lizzie lifted the bowl moonward and began the call to water in her
young, clear voice.

“
We of the West call on Water,

Of life-giving stream and cleansing rain.

We of the West call on Water,

The ocean’s reach and drops under our feet.

We of the West call on Water,

With voices three.

As we will, so mote it be
.”

Many murmured the familiar words along with her,
and Elorie felt the breeze of gathering power. She also saw Gran’s
eyes open wide.

Lauren laughed quietly beside her.
She’s got
some serious power, that little one. Here, Aervyn has me linked in.
I’ll share so you can see.

Elorie felt Lauren’s link, and then she could
see the flowing spiral of water power for herself. Unlike previous
mindlinks, she could also still see with her eyes. No, wait—with
Aervyn’s eyes.

Yup,
Lauren sent.
He’s a tricky little
witch. You’re seeing what he sees, magic and non-magic.

Elorie watched in fascination as the other
elements were called, adding sparking fire, swirling air, and solid
earth flows to her field of vision. Then Kevin, steady and sure,
began to gather the power. After experiencing the hurricane for
herself, she could only applaud his quiet self-confidence.

When he had the energy streams neatly collected,
he threw a huge power line toward his brother.

Elorie sensed Lauren’s surprise as it was neatly
caught.
I guess they’ve done that before. He was a lot more
careful with Mike this morning
.

Everything seemed ready, and Elorie wondered at
the pause. Then she heard Kevin’s calm mental voice.
More
.

Water’s power stream suddenly quadrupled in
size. Then she felt Aervyn’s glee, and the walloping dose of power
he let fly toward Kevin. Mother of God!

Breathe.
Lauren squeezed her hand.
Your twins are handling it just beautifully. Can you sense
Kevin’s mind
?