A Modern Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,81
reinforcement.
After that, connecting in the other three directions was child’s play. Jennie’s mind sent reassurance. The rest sent awe.
Tell him to turn it up, sent Jamie. Best we figure out now what we can handle. Aervyn didn’t wait for Lauren to pass on the message, but this time the hurricane forces traveled the lines of her web. Barely. She refused to think about what might happen if it didn’t hold. It was her job to make it hold.
You rock, sent Jamie. Now set him loose.
Aervyn grabbed the web of power with both hands. In that moment, it was stunningly clear. He had been born for this. The four-year-old witchling stood on the shoulders of magical giants and spun his spell. Lauren waited. The world waited.
Impossible light swirled and then dimmed. Her dome powered down.
Lauren opened her eyes and looked around. Heads were craning to see. What had happened?
She looked at Aervyn. “What did you do, sweetie?”
“I fixed it, the big crack.”
“What big crack?”
“The big crack in the earth, so it doesn’t make our house all wet.”
Sometimes talking to a four-year-old just made things more confusing.
“I think he stabilized the San Andreas Fault.” Sophie spoke from the edge of the circle, her voice dripping with tears. Lauren realized the entire earth trio looked hugely shaken up and white with exhaustion.
Silence rang as a hundred minds tried to digest the impossible.
Nell nodded slowly. “The fault runs right by here. It’s how the headlands were created. Aervyn, honey, what did you do to the crack?”
Aervyn didn’t look tired at all. “I fixed it so it won’t get too jumpy. I didn’t make it stop. That would hurt the earth, so she asked me not to do that. But she said it was okay if I kept it from getting too jumpy.”
He’d talked to the planet? Lauren was very glad she was already sitting down. She could hear the murmurs as word passed through the outer circle.
“I think the fault was getting ready to quake again.” Mike sounded just as teary as Sophie. “Not really sure of the time frame. Planets have a different sense of time than we do.”
Aervyn nodded vigorously. “It’s kind of like getting hiccups. When the earth gets a hiccup, it can make an earthquake. This one would’ve made our houses all wet from the big waves.”
He grinned at Nell. “Mama, it’s just like burping babies. I patted the earth, and she burped, so now she won’t get the hiccups. She says I might have to do it again one day, but not for a long time.”
Nell shook with incredulous laughter. “You burped the planet, sweetie?”
“I did, and she said thank you. Did I do good, Mama?”
Nell grabbed him up in a huge hug. “Love bug, it was a spell for the ages.”
The circle formations vanished as those in the center were swarmed.
Jamie handed Lauren cookies. “Eat while you enjoy your fame.”
“I will, but I feel fine.”
Jamie shook his head. “I have no idea how you and Aervyn do that without draining the both of you. The rest of us are ready to collapse, particularly anyone with earth talent.”
Lauren frowned. “So, how did he do all of that so quickly? It felt like a really short spell.”
Jamie nearly choked on his cookie. “Lauren, it’s almost midnight. He spellcast for hours.”
It had seemed like moments.
Jamie wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You held the power steady for him for hours. He talked to the freaking planet, and you held steady for him. If you’ve got any energy left, pop into Nell’s head for a moment.”
Lauren saw Nell holding Aervyn in her lap. Her mind beamed only one thing. Gratitude.
Someone called to Jamie, and with a last squeeze of her shoulders, he moved off. Lauren looked around for Nat, and saw Ginia in her arms, Mia and Shay hovering. Ginia looked awfully still.
Lauren hurried to her friend’s side and realized Ginia was unconscious. Unable to find anyone in the milling throng, she reached for Jennie’s mind. Jennie! Something is wrong with Ginia.
Jennie flew out of the crowd. “Child, what is it?” She looked down at Ginia, and smiled. “Oh, my. We have another witchling, do we?”
She touched Mia’s arm. “Find your mama, sweetie.” Mia darted off into the crowd.
“Did the circle harm her?” Lauren asked. Neither Nat nor Jennie seemed at all troubled by Ginia’s stillness.
“Oh, no, love—quite the opposite. A full circle can be a very powerful catalyst. It often awakens latent talents. She’s not the only one.” Jennie nodded toward