Net power training this morning.” Elorie yawned. “Kevin’s fallen asleep on the couch, and I’m thinking about joining him.”
“That sounds tempting. How is it going, being on the trainee end of things?”
“I have a lot more empathy for how hard it is now. I used to wonder why an hour of training usually had my witchlings racing for the nearest exit.”
Sophie grinned, delighting in the comfortable rekindling of sisterhood. “At least you don’t have to take witch history.”
“Don’t tell Gran,” whispered Elorie, “but I hope I make it at least a little more exciting than she used to. Not that Sean would agree, but he’s never had to sit through the lectures we used to get.”
Sean. Uh, oh. Sophie scanned the garden.
Elorie obviously recognized the look. “Lost one, did you? Try the beach—that’s usually where I find him when he’s gone AWOL.”
Sophie frowned. “He’s supposed to be doing mind-witch practice with Marcus this afternoon. Maybe they’re working together.”
“I don’t think so. Uncle Marcus is asleep in the hammock behind the inn.”
“What is this, siesta time?” Sophie finished her lemonade. Time to go on a witchling hunt. “Ginia, Aunt Moira—have you seen Sean lately?”
“Check the beach, dear,” Moira said without looking up.
Elorie hooked her arm through Sophie’s. “They’re in plant-magic stupor; they’re not going to be any use. I’ll help you look.”
They wandered over to the back yard of the inn. Sure enough, Marcus was snoring in the hammock. It brought back sharp memories of an afternoon, long ago, and a rather memorable witchling prank. Sophie grinned at Elorie. “Do you think we can pull it off twice?”
Elorie’s eyes gleamed. “If you let me go get Gran’s computer and Lauren, I bet we can pull off something even more glamorous this time.”
The giggles struck as Sophie waited. It was like being ten again and finding cranky old Marcus napping on the back porch.
Elorie came back out, computer in hand.
Lauren trailed just behind her. “It’s usually Aervyn getting me in trouble.”
Sophie winked. “It’s only trouble if we get caught.” Corrupting innocent witchlings was a tried-and-true witch school tradition. Time they got Lauren caught up on a little more of what she’d missed growing up a non-witch.
Well, that might not be entirely accurate. Elorie had grown up a non-witch, and she’d been involved in plenty of witchling antics.
“So what’s the plan?” Lauren asked. “I owe Marcus one.”
He did have a gift for rubbing people the wrong way. “Well, last time we did this, we cast a princess illusion spell and left him holding a bouquet of flowers. We need to step it up for a repeat performance, though.”
Lauren snickered. “I can make him think he’s a princess—will that do? And I can visualize your mind for Elorie so she can work with whatever nefarious spellwork you have in mind.”
Now they were getting somewhere. Sophie grinned. “I can grow him a bed of flowers that would make Sleeping Beauty proud.”
Elorie started to speak, and then stopped. “Huh. I don’t know what I can do. You guys don’t need me for your spells.”
Newbie witch, thought Sophie fondly. She looked at the computer in Elorie’s hands. “Oh, I think we can come up with something.” She grabbed the laptop and logged quickly into her private Realm costume stash. “Here. Princess gear. Can you pull that out here and dress our dear Uncle Marcus? If you meld that together with Lauren’s mind magic, and my floral décor, he’ll look and feel rather convincingly royal. And girly.”
Sophie knew it was a heck of a challenge. Only Ginia had tried blending more than two spells at once, and one of these was in virtual reality.
Elorie looked at the screen and considered. “Have you got a prince in there?”
Damn. Sophie eyed her with serious respect. “That would be a tricky piece of magic, sister mine. Are you ready to try something that fancy?”
Elorie’s eyes twinkled, but there was steel behind the humor. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Some quick cut-and-paste coding, and Sophie had a full set of princess gear and a handsome prince avatar all ready to be ported to real life. From Lauren’s state of concentration, she was readying whatever mind magic was needed to convince grumpy old Marcus that he really was Sleeping Beauty.
Facing Elorie, Sophie pulled earth power, activated the spellcode, and nodded. Ready. Today she would do magic with her sister.
Elorie took a deep breath and laid her hand on the mouse, focusing. Sophie could see nothing but her blooming spell.
Sorry about that, Lauren