A Modern Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,76

I’ve known him forever. He’s a good guy, and very experienced handling a circle trio. We’ve decided for tonight to put a mind witch at each direction, and then two elemental witches. That blend of energy seemed to work very well for you and Aervyn.”

“Will you be part of the circle?”

“Yes, and so will Nell, Sophie, and Jennie. We’re trying to use witches familiar to both of you as much as possible. You met Tabitha, right? She’ll be in the circle, and so will Aervyn’s older brother, Nathan. Come on, I’ll introduce you to some of the crowd in the kitchen. At least a few more of the circle are in here somewhere.”

Lauren blessed her realtor experience as they did a whirlwind tour of witch central. Matching names to new faces was a requirement of the job, and today she’d clearly better get it in high gear.

Taking a quick break to snag some more food, Lauren looked around. One thing was obvious—tonight was going to be big. The odor of excitement beat out even the onions and garlic Nat had heaped on the omelets.

Lauren glanced over at her friend, happily playing short-order cook to a herd of witches. Ginia, radiating an advanced case of hero worship, stood beside Nat, getting a lesson in the fine art of cracking eggs with one hand.

Aervyn and two other small boys were attempting to juggle eggs. Aervyn was currently teleporting all the misses before they hit the ground, but even wonder-boy super-witch couldn’t keep that up forever.

Jamie snatched a couple of eggs in mid-juggle and snuggled in between Ginia and Nat. A brief exchange earned Ginia a high-five and Nat a seriously steamy kiss. They must have agreed to feed the guy.

Nell stuck her fork in Lauren’s second omelet and grabbed a bite.

“Hey,” Lauren said. “I’ve been told I need to keep up my protein intake. Get your own breakfast.”

“I don’t have Jamie’s inside track, and Aervyn’s too busy teleporting raw eggs to send his Mama some cooked ones.”

Lauren relented and shared her plate. If there were any eggs left at the end of the rampage, she was pretty sure she could call in some best-friend chips and score more breakfast.

Nell looked over to the trio at the stove. “They’re both totally stuck on Nat, my girl and that brother of mine.”

And that, thought Lauren, was going to cause some big heartache when Nat left tomorrow and Jamie followed her. It was a big move he was making, and not just in terms of the miles involved.

Lauren saw Jennie on her way over and tried to think only about eggs. Keeping Jamie’s secret with all the mind witches around was going to be no small task.

…

Jennie kicked the last of the small children and stray witches out Jamie’s front door. Lauren and Aervyn had been less than pleased to be ushered out as well, but she needed to pull the rest of the circle together for a chat.

Knowing witches, it wasn’t going to be an entirely smooth one.

Jennie paused a moment, pushed feelings of calm and authority into her outer mind, and entered the living room. She scanned the room, meeting the gaze of each of the eleven sprawled on the furniture and carpets.

“We are a fortunate few,” she said. “Tonight we will be part of one of the most momentous circles of our generation.”

“We’re all aware of Aervyn’s power,” said Edric, the oldest witch in the room, and her great-uncle. “But is it wise to use an untested channeler the first time the boy spellcasts for a full circle?”

Tread carefully, Jennie reminded herself. Edric was a powerful channeler and the most likely choice to partner Aervyn until a couple of days ago.

“She’s very new, I’ll grant you that, but she’s not untested. She held a hurricane of power in a training circle two days ago and did it beautifully.

“And as you know, Edric, we’ve always been concerned about finding a partner for Aervyn. Our strongest channelers are getting on in years, and we don’t want him to have to find a new partner as he grows into the peak of his power. Lauren is young, and I believe more than capable of handling a full circle, but the only way to be sure is to let her try.”

Edric’s harrumph and looks of concern from others in the room meant she needed to go to Plan B.

Watch, Jennie broadcast silently to the room. She pushed out her memory of the training session—the fumbling first