A Hidden Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,60
isn’t the smoothest of fits either, especially first thing in the morning.”
“Indeed,” Moira said. “And young Sean needs to watch this first circle, not participate. We’ll want him to pay close attention to Mike’s spellcasting.”
“So that takes care of all our trio leaders,” Sophie said. “We could add Ginia on earth, too—has she done a full circle yet, Nell?”
“No, but she’s ready, and she loves working with you.”
It was coming together well. Elorie loved this part of readying for a gathering, all the behind-the-scenes work of effective witchcraft. “Kevin can join you on fire, Nell. He and Sean have done a couple of full circles, and he’s very steady.”
Moira beamed. “So many young ones in the circle. What a lovely thing that is.”
Sophie nodded. “Add Lauren as monitor, and I think we have everyone covered.”
Elorie debated a second scone as she ran through the trios one more time in her mind. “Aaron has a big breakfast planned, so I’ll let him know to give us time for that initial circle first. What did you have in mind for the other two, Gran?”
“One for Kevin and Sean to work as channeler and caster. Nell, if you’d act as Sean’s backup, and we can get Lauren to support Kevin.”
Elorie nodded. It was always smart to have experienced witches ready to step in and help if things got hairy. “We should be able to leave most everyone else in their same roles from the morning. Sean’s best at night, so perhaps his should be the final circle of the day.”
“We’ll need to make sure some witchlings get naps,” Nell said. “I have two that will get grumpy otherwise. That leaves your circle for the afternoon, Elorie.”
Her brain slid to a halt. “I’m going to be in a circle?”
Moira smiled. “Of course you are.”
And how exactly were they going to pull that off? Laptop cords didn’t extend to the beach.
Gran must have read her face. “I have an idea, my girl. But I need Lauren’s thinking. Does anyone know if she’s up yet?”
Lauren stumbled into the kitchen. “Just barely. Coffee. Begging.”
Elorie got up to pour a cup, her mind whirling. Forget the issue of Internet on the beach. Circles were at the core of witch tradition, and every circle began with a call to the four elements. Net power wasn’t one of them. What on earth did Gran have in mind?
She wasn’t the only one who was curious. “Why don’t you fill us in,” Nell said. “We can always run back over it when Lauren’s brain wakes up.”
“Well, I wouldn’t normally rush a new witch into a full circle this quickly, but I’d like to do it while we have so many Net witches present. It’s new ground we’ll be breaking, and more heads will make that lighter work.”
Gran was calling for change in one of the core traditions of witchcraft? Elorie frowned, feeling very unsettled.
Lauren grinned in sympathy. A little strange, isn’t it?
Elorie slapped her hand down onto her computer mouse. Not that Lauren was an impolite intruder, but jeebers, she was tired of having people breezily comment on the thoughts in her head.
She realized Nell and Gran were having a conversation, and she’d missed a good chunk of it. Sophie seemed to approve, whatever the idea was.
“My brain’s moving forward now,” Lauren said. “Can someone give me the short version?”
Moira set down her tea. Elorie hid a smile. Gran wasn’t particularly good at summaries—they went against her Irish instincts. “Well, just like we used mind witches in each trio for your first circle, Lauren, we’re going to use Net witches at each element for Elorie’s circle.”
Lauren nodded. “So they can blend elemental power with Net power, right? Makes sense, and it worked well for me.”
Elorie remembered that Lauren’s first full circle had been groundbreaking in its own right. Which should have been comforting, but it wasn’t. California witches were more… adventurous. Gran had always kept the Nova Scotia witching community firmly traditional. It was a heritage Elorie loved and was deeply committed to preserving.
She had no idea why Gran sat there nodding happily as the very foundations of circle work were undermined.
“So for Net witches, we’d have Ginia on earth, Moira on water, Kevin on fire, and that would leave Aervyn on air?” Sophie ground to a halt. “Wait, we need Kevin channeling. What am I missing?”
“Well,” Nell said, “we’re hoping it will work to include those of us who have the spellcoding variety of Net power. So you, Marcus, and I