A Modern Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,78

power. I can do that. Heck, I’m a way stronger mind witch.”

“Right,” Jennie said. “We’ve put you in a trio where you have at least a little of that element’s power, so you can hook in smoothly, but it’s mind power we need you to contribute. Take it easy on your wattage—volume doesn’t seem to matter, and we’re short on monitors for this circle, since all the mind witches we have will be participating.”

Caro nodded in agreement. Jamie sighed in resignation. He was by far and away the weakest of the four mind witches, and he would have to offer up air power as well to properly handle his role as point for the air trio.

Jennie patted his head. “Jamie’s not thrilled to be our fourth mind witch.”

Tabitha laughed. “I think we’d have to go to Louisiana to find someone to replace you, Jamie, so man up.”

Jamie rolled his eyes. “Can I at least get some more food first?”

Taking that as a sign, the circle meeting ended in a mass exodus toward the kitchen.

…

Lauren reached for a third piece of fried chicken and handed a piece to Aervyn as well. If she needed to protein load, so did he.

The witch horde had disappeared, and they were having a ‘small’ family dinner with the Walker family, Sophie, Nat, Jamie, and Jennie.

Aervyn ignored the chicken and stared at Jamie’s head. Lauren tried to follow his gaze. In honor of something—she’d been afraid to ask what—the triplets had decorated crowns for everyone at the table. Their love affair with glitter glue and sparkles was eye-catching, but not enough to distract a four-year-old boy from food.

As Lauren frowned at Jamie, the letters on his headwear shimmered and changed to spell ‘CtWumin’. Lauren giggled and pushed the correct spelling into Aervyn’s head. Jamie’s crown changed to ‘Cat Wunem’. Lauren giggled harder and pushed the spelling at Aervyn again, more slowly this time. Apparently “spelling prodigy” wasn’t on his list of talents.

Ginia was the first to figure out the cause of Lauren’s giggles, and soon a case of contagious snickers worked its way around to everyone except for Jamie.

“What?” Drumstick halfway to his mouth, Jamie finally realized everyone else had stopped eating. Clearly he was an old hat with witch pranks, however. One quick glance around the table and he’d honed in on Aervyn, possibly because the child in question was grinning with unholy glee.

Nell, evidently more than happy to dig her baby in deeper, handed Jamie a mirror from her bag. Jamie’s lips quirked, and he shot a look at Lauren. “He’s only four. What’s your excuse?”

Lauren tried for an innocent look. “I don’t know why you think I had anything to do with it.” Being an only child had not prepared her adequately for this kind of subterfuge.

Jamie smirked. “Aervyn couldn’t spell Cat Woman if his life depended on it.”

The table erupted in giggles again. Lauren looked around quickly, and then pulled her own crown off. “Robin.” Aervyn grabbed her arm and held out his own crown. “What’s it say, what does it say?”

Lauren didn’t even have to look. She sent an image of Batman to Aervyn, and a second idea.

Jennie intervened before they managed to pull off their revenge. “Save it for tonight, you two.”

Lauren looked at Jennie just in time to see ”my favorite aunt” flash on Jennie’s tiara and then disappear. Apparently when you grew up the youngest of seven, you learned how to sneak in the last word. It was a world away from the cozy, but very quiet, dinners she’d shared with her parents growing up.

A world away from someone else’s family dinners, too. Lauren looked down the table at Nat. Her friend was drinking up every moment. With Ginia on one side and Jamie on the other, she was literally bookended with people who loved her.

Lauren knew her life was back in Chicago, but she suddenly wasn’t so sure Nat’s was. A week ago, she’d have said Nat’s studio was her everything. Watching her friend now, surrounded by a family that had adopted her without even trying, Lauren was pretty sure Nat’s everything was rapidly changing shape.

As she tried to imagine life in Chicago without Nat, she remembered Jamie’s precog. He’d been building snowmen with Nat and Aervyn’s lookalike, and that surely wasn’t going to happen in Berkeley.

In any case, it wasn’t hers to figure out. Jamie would get on a plane with them tomorrow, and the steps after that were up to him and Nat.

Chapter 19

Moira sat