A Celtic Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,23

food, fire, and curious villagers downstairs any time you want."

She laughed. And, indulging her inner six-year-old girl, made a leap for the bed.

The landing was as soft as she imagined.

Relaxation in full progress. The man in the teal sweater and the rocks that thought he might be hers would just have to wait.

She had a nap to take.

For the first time in months, Marcus had no idea what to do with himself.

And a slightly crazed need to do something. He'd grown used to his nice, predictable days. Ones that didn't involve strangers with green eyes and a mental signature that was still haunting his head.

He glared at his daughter, sound asleep in the corner. Abandoned in his time of need.

And then his brain caught up with its own ridiculousness. Morgan was fed and sleeping and his house was mysteriously empty of visitors, swarming children, or little old ladies looking for a cup of sugar or the latest gossip.

A miracle of major proportions.

Tiptoeing a tad belatedly, he made his way over to his easy chair and settled in with a very satisfied sigh. Peace. Silence and a new library book.

And an enormous, flashing icon on his laptop screen. A neon-pink one.

Marcus groaned - very quietly. It had clearly been too good to be true. He leaned over and squinted at the flashing pink. Urgent! Duel Issued!

He hadn't visited Realm in months. Gaming was not designed for people with mobile babies. In the time it would take him to plan a decent invasion, Morgan could probably eat half the plant life in Fisher's Cove.

He typed a quick reply. Go away.

Ginia's preteen grin popped up on his chat screen. "Can't. I need you."

He hastily turned down the volume. "I don't have time for duels, Warrior Girl." Especially ones with the world's best ten-year-old programmer. "Isn't there anyone else left for you to pick on?"

She snickered. "I don't want to duel you. I need you to be my partner. Realm's having a tournament."

He knew better than to take innocent looks at face value. "And why exactly would that be happening?"

"We planned it." She shrugged. "It's winter and all. Witches are bored. Besides, you can't be a parent all the time - Mama says that would make anyone crazy."

He wasn't certain a trip to Realm was the cure for that. And he was most decidedly not bored. "Well then, how about you go find a partner who needs some excitement in their life and let me get back to the only hour of relaxation I will probably get all winter?"

Her eyes lit up. "You have a whole hour?"

"You aren't listening to me, youngling." He added a growl, expecting it to be entirely ineffectual. Nell Walker's daughters didn't scare, any of them. "Go find somebody else."

"Can't." She tapped the pink spellcube. "We've already been challenged."

He had no desire to spend his one free hour trampling over some dumb gamer silly enough to challenge Realm's top two players. "I'm sure you can crush the upstarts without my assistance."

"Not a chance."

He frowned - Warrior Girl had wicked gaming skills, and she knew it. "Who issued the challenge?"

"Kevin."

The boy was developing a nice game - but he was no idiot. Marcus felt disquiet creep into his gut. "And who's his partner?"

She looked at him sideways. "The Wizard."

Disquiet landed with both feet. "Your mother's in the tournament?"

"Yup." Ginia grinned and added a shine spell to her sword. "She said Kevin made her an offer she couldn't refuse. And she has a right to wrong. Something about librarians and bushes."

Demon wings and bat dung. "Your father's playing too?" The Hacker's exploits were legendary in any gaming era.

"I told you. Everyone's playing." She glared at him down the full length of her sword. "And I don't intend to lose."

He made a brief wish that one day Morgan might have a fraction of Ginia's confident grace. And then gave in. A duel might even keep his mind off of green Irish eyes.

He raised an eyebrow at his screen. "Well then, we'd better formulate a plan. Your keep or mine?" The pub would be far too full of spies and eavesdropping spells.

"Mine." Her eyes danced a happy jig. "Yours is full of pink bunnies."

He kept the curses inside his head.

Mostly.

Moira watched their guest from the hallway a moment - it wasn't everyone who could sit so quietly. Or look like they could lift off into the sky at any moment. A wanderer, this one was. "It's turned into a stormy day out there." The