A Hidden Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,40

one you’ve fought hard for, child. You stand at the very heart of this community, and you do wonderful work. We’re richer because of who you are. All the computer parts in the world won’t change that.”

She saw that idea land in her granddaughter’s heart and deeply hoped it would be true. Sometimes magic rooted in what was already there and added to the beauty. Sometimes it turned the whole garden upside down, and you had to start from scratch. For now, they’d try the easier way. It was a rare witch that took the easier path, but they could surely try.

Her eyes misted as Elorie’s arms wrapped around her neck. “Thank you, Gran. It’s good to be home.”

~ ~ ~

Jamie sat down at his computer and logged into the admin panel for Realm. His niece and Marcus were both online, so he watched the action for a few minutes. She was laying some kind of spell trail, but even with his all-access eyes, he couldn’t figure out exactly what she was doing. Tricky little witch.

He laughed as moments later, everything in Realm turned pink and glittery. Trust a nine-year-old girl to waste that many game points redecorating. Feeling some sympathy for crusty old Marcus, he sent out an administrator instant message.

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