A Modern Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,74
old and at her first sleepover. She, Nat, and Sophie were all crowded into Nat’s room. Arriving guests for the circle tomorrow had taken up every inch of floor space in Jamie’s house.
Nat had won the coin toss for the bed, but at the moment they were all tucked into sleeping bags on the floor, eating pizza. They’d missed dinner because of Sophie’s delayed flight, and Lauren had decided, with some remorse, that they shouldn’t jump straight to ice cream.
Sophie laid out Lauren’s crystals, then pulled a velvet bag out of her luggage. “I brought you a couple more that will help with channeling, since we didn’t know about that talent of yours when I sent the first package.”
Nat sighed over the beautiful colors. “Sophie, they’re so lovely. This pink one is almost alive.”
Sophie beamed. “That means it’s yours. It’s a pink tourmaline, wonderful for heart opening and balancing the chakras. It makes sense that it would call to you.”
“I thought you brought these for Lauren,” Nat said.
“I did, but crystals tend to have a mind of their own. This one speaks to you. I don’t often get a chance to match people with the right crystal in person, since I mostly sell them online.” Sophie reached into her bag one more time. “Here, I have a lovely chain for it. A local artist makes them for me.”
Nat slid the pendant over her head and touched it to her heart. “It’s warm.”
Sophie cocked her head. “Jamie’s sure that you don’t have power?”
Nat blushed. “He says he’d know by now.”
Sophie laughed. “Yes, good sex with a witch will flush out even quite latent talents. You clearly understand and accept energy flows, even if you can’t create them.”
Nat blushed harder. “Jamie says that, too.”
I wonder what else Jamie says, Lauren thought, and then mentally whacked herself for being childish. Seriously, girl, be happy for your best friend. And be very glad she’s not moving several thousand miles to be with him.
Sophie looked over at Lauren. “Is the lapis still working well for you?”
“It is. Jennie says it’s a wonderful crystal, although she still doesn’t let me wear it for practice. I was wearing it when we did the circle yesterday, though.”
“Then it’s a darned lucky pendant, if it got to go flying with Aervyn. That must have been spectacular.”
Lauren wondered if it was too late to make up a handout of frequently asked questions and pass it out to all new arrivals.
“I’m sorry,” Sophie said. “You must have answered that a lot, already.”
Lauren sighed. “It’s not you. I’m just grumpy, and I’m not sure why—it’s not like me. I feel like a sulky teenager.”
“I could maybe help a little with that. Will you let me scan you?”
“I thought you weren’t a mind witch.” Lauren was having trouble keeping witches and their talents straight.
“Not even a tiny bit. I’m asking to do a healing scan—I do have some talent with that. Mostly physical healing, but I can also help soothe power channels, things like that. The scan will give me an initial reading, and I won’t take it any further than that, for now.”
Anything that might fix her cranky mood was worth a try. Lauren nodded, and Sophie reached for her hands. She began to hum quietly, something Nat obviously recognized. Lauren listened more closely and realized it was a track Nat used often in her yoga classes. Terrific—she was being scanned by a new-age witch with a penchant for crystals and potions.
Sophie opened her eyes and smiled gently. “We’ll get you believing in crystals and potions yet.”
Lauren’s felt her face flame. “Oh, cripes—I’m sorry. It’s not very nice to be rude in my own head, but at least I could not broadcast it.”
“Well, I know why you’re out of sorts. Brace yourself—it involves some more new-age mumbo jumbo.” Sophie handed Lauren a slice of pizza. “Eat first. One of the problems is that you haven’t been properly fueling yourself.”
“I eat like three hungry teenagers.”
“Cookies and ice cream don’t count. You need protein.”
“I’ll make smoothies in the morning,” Nat said. When Lauren grimaced, she laughed. “And omelets.”
Lauren turned to Sophie. “That’s it? I just need to eat protein?”
“Proteins are the building blocks of all the little chemicals in your brain that keep you happy. Your serotonin is crashing, which makes some people depressed. Apparently you just get cranky. It’s a fairly common side effect of circle work.”
Lauren laughed. “That’s the new-age mumbo jumbo part?”
Sophie shook her head. “No, that’s my biochemistry degree.”
“So, how