by Debora Geary
Marcus: Is Warrior Girl putting you up to this?
Jamie: Huh?
Marcus: You all keep grabbing me into chat as she skulks around and prepares whatever nefarious tricks she’s going to throw out next.
Jamie: Got you on the ropes, has she? That glitter’s definitely scary stuff—I can see why you’re worried.
Marcus: She’s the mistress of multi-layer spells. I’d bet half my weapons stash that while everyone in Realm is pointing at the pink clouds and glittery castles, she’s poisoning our water supply or something. It’s embarrassing. She’s nine, for crying out loud.
Jamie: Yeah. Be glad her two sisters don’t have magic. They code just as well as she does.
Marcus: Someone’s keeping them on the straight and narrow, right? They’d make marvelous hackers.
Jamie: Fortunately, that job is up to Daniel. But that’s not why I paged you. Let me fill you in on what’s happened with our Net power experiments.
Marcus: I’ve been hearing rumbles in Realm. Sounds like you haven’t found any Net witches old enough to drive yet.
Jamie: Well, we have people who can use Net power to spellcode, but the only ones who can take it further than that so far are Ginia, Aervyn, and Elorie. It’s like anyone who has done significant spellcoding has hardwired their magical paths, or something.
Marcus: Fascinating theory.
Jamie: I’m not in love with it, since my brain is one of the ones that are apparently too old to adapt. If I’m right, yours is too.
Marcus: Well, we shall see. I trust that one of your crew can walk me through the basics and see if I can break the mold.
Jamie: Aervyn should be able to show you. With your mind powers, you’ll be useful monitoring the testing of others, as well.
Marcus: You’re thinking that we electronically challenged witches on this coast won’t have so many hardwired brains.
Jamie: Let’s just say I’m guessing you’ll find more raw talent to work with. And if Elorie’s potential is any indication, the genes may run stronger in your branches of the family tree.
Marcus: Ah, the irony.
Jamie: Tell me about it. However, you might be interested in the new piece we’ve worked out. Let’s go find Warrior Girl.
Jamie dropped out of chat and flexed his administrator muscles again, pulling Ginia and Marcus into an empty Realm level. He activated three-way video chat, a brand-new addition courtesy of Shay and Mia.
Marcus looked around in approval. “Nice. Not quite so pink.”
Ginia waved. “Hey, Uncle Jamie. Did you like my redecorating job?”
“You realize I’m going to have to send your sisters to clean it up, right?”
Ginia raised an eyebrow. “Tell them good luck with that. It’s booby-trapped.”
Punk witchling. He’d taught her well. “Want to show Marcus your new trick?”
She nodded, always ready for something new. “Sure. Which one?”
“The one where you use Net power to join two spells. I’m thinking we could try that in virtual space.”
Marcus leaned forward, suddenly intent, but said nothing. Ginia’s eyes got big. “Oh. Because it’s kind of a virtual power, right? You think we can do magic in Realm without spellcoding?”
Jamie grinned and headed his Realm avatar over to a nearby virtual flower garden. “I think maybe you can. Marcus and I probably aren’t so lucky. Let’s do some really simple magics first. Marcus, do you have a firelighting spell in your bag of tricks?”
“Of course. And a light globe, if that would be preferable.”
It might be. He didn’t really want to scorch Realm if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Mia and Shay already had enough cleanup to do. Not all coding work was glamorous.
Jamie realized he was going to have to code a flower-opening spell. No self-respecting witch warrior had anything that soft in their stash. Or maybe one did. “Hey, Ginia, you got a blooming spell already coded that I can borrow?”
His message box pinged almost instantly. Warrior Girl has gifted you a spell.
“Cool. Thanks, cutie.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Look it over carefully. It’s probably got a couple of mercenary fighters hidden inside.”
Ginia giggled. “No way. I sent Uncle Jamie the safe one.”
And this was the girl who had Realm trembling. Hopefully it kept her out of bigger trouble, at least. “So, Marcus, this is pretty straightforward for us. Trigger your spell and hold the power flow as steady as you can. I’ll do the same, and we’ll see if Ginia can join our magics.”
Onscreen, Marcus’s avatar walked over to the garden and lit a fire-globe on his palm. Jamie grabbed a random flower bud, and then triggered the blooming spell. Ginia stood between them in warrior stance, a look of fierce concentration on her face.
And then she held out her own hand, and a blooming ball of light slowly took form.
“Wow,” said Marcus reverently. “She’s going to wipe the ground with all of us, isn’t she?”
Jamie looked at Warrior Girl, power shining in her hands and glee on her face. “I suggest you find some Net witches, dude. You need allies, and fast.”
Marcus just put his head on his keyboard and groaned.
Chapter 10
Sophie: Aunt Moira, since I’m packing, do you need any more chamomile lotion? Crystals, anything? I have some new floral tea you might like, too.
Moira: Tea would be lovely, and another jar of your lotion. And perhaps you have something that would make a gift for my Elorie? It’s her birthday next week.
Nell: Glad you mentioned that. Do you have any ideas for what she might like?
Moira: I wish there were something we could give her to replace Jamie’s force-field gizmo. It’s an ingenious little device, but my poor granddaughter is not pleased about having to use it.
Nell: Maybe getting your mind witchlings fully trained is the long-term answer. I’m sure Lauren would be happy to help with that.
Moira: I’m sure Marcus will appreciate her assistance.
Nell: I’ll warn her :-).
Moira: My nephew is a bit brusque, but keep an open mind. I think your daughter is having an interesting effect on him.
Sophie: She’s about to kick his butt in Realm.
Moira: Sometimes men need to be taken down a peg or two before they can pay attention. Marcus is a bit old-fashioned, but he’s coming around.
Nell: I’ll believe it when I see it.
Sophie: I have some crystals that might help Elorie a little, but it sounds like she needs barrier training, no?
Nell: Lauren tried, but it seems like Net power has some important differences from mind magic. We’re in unknown territory. I assume we’ll figure something out eventually, but until then, Jamie’s gizmo is better than streaming out your every though to Marcus, a couple of ten-year-olds, and any other mind witch who happens to be nearby.
Sophie: Ouch. Amen to that. I need to go finish getting ready. I can’t wait to see both of you tomorrow. Blessed be.
Sophie put down her laptop, looked around the disarray of her bedroom, and sighed. Packing was one of her least favorite things. She wondered how the healers of old managed to travel with a rucksack of herbs and potions, and little else. They probably didn’t have five pairs of shoes to take.
She had a fragrant pile of salves, teas, and assorted goodies from her store. Other piles contained a stack of books to return to Aunt Moira, a small fraction of her shoe collection, and enough clothes to survive a week of beaches, witchlings, and potions brewing.
Cripes. She could really use a butler, or an apprentice, or whoever it was that used to pack your bags for you.
“Need some help?” asked a voice from the doorway.
Sophie whirled. “Mike! What are you doing here?”
He held out his arms and grinned. “Looking for more of a greeting than that.”
She stepped toward him, shock fading as delight blossomed.
Mike swung her up and kissed her tho
roughly. Like most earth witches, he knew how to sink into a moment in time. By the time he was finished, Sophie’s brain was gibbering mush.
He cuddled her in tight, and then looked over her shoulder and laughed. “I guess somebody’s happy to see me.”
Sophie followed his gaze. The flowerpot sitting in her bedroom window was a riot of flowers and blooms. They were practically dancing. Wow. She hadn’t lost control of her magic that badly since… well, since the last time Mike had visited, but it had taken a lot more than a kiss then.
Her poor plant was getting a lot of exercise lately.
She was really happy to see him. However, they had a small logistics issue. “I’m packing to head to Fisher’s Cove. I’m so sorry—I obviously forgot to tell you. The trip got moved up kind of last minute.”
He kissed the top of her head. “So Jamie said. I haven’t been to witch school in a while, so I thought I might tag along for the ride.”
He was coming to Nova Scotia? With her? Sophie gulped. That was serious. She tipped up her head to look at him, a question in her eyes.
The answer in his was clear. Yes, this was a big deal—and he knew it.
~ ~ ~
Elorie grabbed the vase just before it tumbled off the table. “Sean James O’Reilly, since when does dusting involve knocking things on the ground?”
“It’s okay,” Lizzie said, popping up the last two stairs. “He’s getting pretty good at repair spells. I bet he could fix it just like new if it broke.”
“That’s no excuse,” Elorie said, trying not to grin. She whacked Sean on the head with a pillow and winced as she barely missed the vase herself. It was hard to model good housecleaning behavior when she really just wanted to goof off too. It was her first full day back home, and vacuuming hadn’t been in her plans.
However, the witch deluge was descending tomorrow, and Aaron would accept no less than perfection in each and every guestroom. Not that she disagreed with him. She just wasn’t thrilled about leading the commandeered cleaning crew.
“Have you finished fluffing all the pillows, Lizzie?”
“Uh, huh. And Kevin is bringing some nice books over for everybody. Aaron only has books for old people, so we’re sharing some of our kid books.”
True—with Ginia and Aervyn coming, the inn would likely end up full of kids. Elorie shrugged and picked up the flower vase. They might as well start witchling-proofing now.
Aaron came up the steps with a fresh set of linens. “Small change of plans, troops. We’re going to need one more room set up—apparently Sophie is bringing a guest, so they’ll be staying with us, too.”
Usually Sophie stayed in Gran’s tiny guestroom, but that wasn’t what attracted Elorie’s attention. “Sophie’s bringing someone?”
Aaron winked. “Some guy named Mike.”
“Sophie’s bringing a guy?” That was hard to imagine. There had been no end of matchmaking efforts over the years, but Sophie had always been far more interested in her plants and potions. “Does Gran know?” Gran’s sense of propriety was a little old-fashioned, and she loved Sophie dearly.
“She does.” Aaron grinned. “She says to make sure they have a bottle of her special cider waiting.”
Elorie felt her jaw hit the floor. Gran made only a few bottles of her bespelled sparkling cider each year, and it was a major occasion when one got opened. Not only did she know of Sophie’s guest, but clearly she approved.
Fascinating.
Elorie took the linens from her husband as Kevin arrived with an armful of books. “We’ll take care of this. Sheets are hard to break.” She signaled to her witchlings. Time for a magic lesson.
“Okay, you three. I want you to put the new linens on this bed.” She waited a beat, just long enough to see Sean’s scowl forming. “No hands. Show me how your circle work is coming.”
Sean grinned. “Easy, peasy.”
Elorie doubted it, but one of the first rules of being a witch trainer was to lay down the rules and then get out of the way. “No spellcasting, either. I want you to do this as a team. Spell out loud so I can tell what you’re doing, but no other talking.”
She watched as they called power and linked together with ease. That much, she expected. It was the next part she thought might challenge their teamwork.
Judging from their configuration, Kevin and Lizzie had automatically defaulted power to Sean. That alone would probably dig them into trouble. Sean sailed into his first spell:
“I call on Air of wind and breeze
Lift this sheet, free of fleas
Hold it high over my head
Then drop it down onto the bed.
Perfect sheets for all to see,
As I will, so mote it be.”
Elorie tried not to giggle. It was a good thing Aaron hadn’t been around to hear the “free of fleas” part. Making up rhyming spells on the fly could be tricky for the younger ones, but Gran insisted on it. Not all witches needed rhymes, but for most, they were a nice power boost. And for Gran, they were a matter of tradition and discipline as well.
She watched her team at work and sighed. Picking Sean as leader had been the first problem—the second appeared to be that he didn’t make a whole lot of beds. The sheet was upside-down and sideways. Lizzie glared at him and tried a spell to flip the sheet over.
Tension rose as Sean kept trying new spells to get the sheet to settle back down on the bed, and Lizzie kept trying to turn it over. The result was a really impressive sheet tangle and two frustrated witchlings. Kevin just leaned against the wall and watched. Which was probably smart, but not particularly helpful.
Elorie intervened just before Lizzie exploded. “Stop and freeze.” She’d learned the hard way not to intervene in a working circle. The three dropped their circle connection and retreated to their respective corners.
“One at a time, I want you to tell me the biggest problem in what just happened. Just one, and no name-calling.”
Lizzie was fastest off the mark. “Sean doesn’t know how to make a bed.”
That was a good start. Elorie looked at Sean, who was red-faced and mad. “No one was helping me. Lizzie was doing something stupid, and Kevin wasn’t doing anything at all.”
That came precious close to name-calling, but she’d let it slide for now. It was more insightful than Sean usually managed. “Kevin?”
“We picked the wrong leader.”
There we go. Now to dig one step deeper. “A good start. Now tell me one thing you did that wasn’t helpful for your team.”
Sean looked blank. “I didn’t tell Lizzie to stop?”
Elorie sighed. Why were all the mind witches in her part of the world so dense? “Lizzie, any ideas?”
She crossed her arms in an excellent unconscious imitation of Gran. “I could have said no to working in such a disorganized circle.”
Youch, but not entirely incorrect. “Kevin?”
He looked down at his shoes. “I could have mindsent a plan to Sean. Lizzie knows how to make a bed, and we kinda don’t. I could have made him listen.”
Ah, now they were getting somewhere. “And why didn’t you?”
Kevin looked up, oozing frustration from every pore. “Why does Sean always get to be the leader? Even when he doesn’t know what to do, and his magic isn’t always the best for the job?”
She touched his shoulder gently to drive her point home. “Because you always let him.”
Sean looked flabbergasted. “You want to lead the magic, Kevin?”
“Sometimes.” Elorie hurt for Kevin as he tangled with his inner demons. “But Lizzie is the smartest person for this one. She knows how to make beds, and she has the strongest water power. Sheets are kind of flowy like water. So she should lead, and you and I should mindread and follow what she wants us to do.”
That was a lot of growing up in thirty seconds. Elorie squeezed his shoulder in approval.
Lizzie stepped up to the bed, all business. Kevin and Sean moved to where she pointed, with Sea
n still looking utterly confused. Poor boy. With his spellcasting talents, they’d spent too much time training him to take the lead, and not enough time on being a supporting circle member.
After assessing the tangled mess on the bed for a moment, Lizzie closed her eyes. Given the look of concentration on the twins’ faces, she was visualizing the process for them.
Kevin cast a spell to lift the sheet into the air, and Sean fluttered a small wind to untangle it. It didn’t go entirely smoothly, but within a few minutes, they had a basically untangled sheet. Ironically, it was still sideways and upside-down.
Lizzie did something nifty with the air to push on the sheet in waves, eventually getting it oriented in the right direction. Then she closed her eyes, clearly sending guidance, and called her element one more time.
“I call on Water of ebb and flow,
Put this sheet where it should go.
On waves of air, lay it straight,
Corners ready where we wait.
Neatly done by we three,
As I will, so mote it be.”
Lizzie could rhyme like nobody’s business.
The sheet floated gently toward Kevin and settled an edge down around the first mattress corner. They got the next two corners on in quick succession, but the last one was tricky. After a couple of attempts, Lizzie abandoned ship and switched focus to the duvet.
Swift teamwork settled the cover on the bed over the errant sheet corner, and added two pillows.
Lizzie opened her eyes and grinned. “There, we did it!”
Elorie laughed. By six-year-old standards, that was probably an acceptable solution. She’d fix the last corner later.
Aaron arrived in the doorway. “There are scones and milk in the kitchen, if anybody’s hungry.” He got out of the way of the stampede, grinning at his wife.
“There’s got to be a joke in here somewhere about how many witches it takes to change the sheets on a bed.”
Elorie laughed and held up the corner of the cover so he could see Lizzie’s shortcut. “Don’t hire them just yet.”
