child. Hugs and waving hands as dad and daughter signed, one in overwhelming gratitude and one in ignorant bliss.
Lauren didn’t need a translation. The little girl had spied an oversized version of her favorite book, and followed someone into the store to get a closer look. The window was such a cozy place to sit and read.
Not to mention a great place to hide in plain sight. Lauren staggered in relief.
She realized that beside her, Jamie actually was staggering. She shoved him into a chair and pulled a chocolate bar out of her purse. He’d need more food, and soon. Fortunately, that was plentiful on the Mile.
Jamie smiled in gratitude and nodded toward the reunited duo. “Nice work you did there.”
“Nice work we did. I practically had X-ray vision.” Lauren studied Jamie. “How much did you push at me? You look pretty beat.”
Jamie shoved in the rest of the chocolate. “More than I should have. That was way more than either of us should have done without the safety of a circle.” He shrugged. She heard what he didn’t say. Sometimes magic can’t wait.
“I wouldn’t have found her without your power boost.”
“Someone would have noticed her in the window eventually. But yeah, we didn’t know she was somewhere reasonably safe. I kept picturing Aervyn a couple of years ago, when he would just wander out into the street with no warning.”
Jamie grinned. “Besides, I haven’t played with that much power since we got here.”
Lauren made a mental note to ask Jennie exactly how big a risk Jamie had taken. Then she grinned back. “Yeah. That totally rocked.”
For the first time since leaving California, she missed the magic. There was nothing quite like it.
…
Fortified by two servings of Pad Thai, Lauren trudged up the last of the stairs to her apartment. It had been a very long day, and her couch was calling. She made one detour to the kitchen for ice cream and collapsed into the nest of pillows.
She closed her eyes in bliss at the first spoonful of Half Baked. Not one of her usual flavors, but anything with brownie bits in it had to be good.
Okay, she was really tired, but pints of ice cream weren’t supposed to wiggle. Lauren squinted one eye open and discovered a second spoon trying to swipe a bite from her container. She grabbed the spoon, and her carton of ice cream disappeared.
Shock blew away as joy hit her heart. Since she’d left Jamie snuggled in with Nat, the list of possible ice cream thieves was very short. “Give back my ice cream, punk witchling.”
Giggles came from behind her couch. She should give Aervyn heck for porting halfway across the country. No way that was safe, even for super-boy wonder-witch. Instead, she leaned over the back of her couch and ruffled his head. Punk and runaway he might be, but she’d really missed him.
They could steal a few minutes before she busted him. “Come sit up here and share it with me, at least.”
Aervyn handed her the pint and squirmed over the back of the couch. “Can I have some more, please? I’m hungry.”
She cuddled him in tight. “I guess porting this far takes a lot of energy, huh? How come you landed behind the couch?”
Aervyn shook his head, mouth full of ice cream. “Dunno. I guess I missed a little. The couch is bigger in your mind.”
Lauren pictured the four-story drop outside her window and fervently hoped he never missed by more than a little. “So, why are you here, cutie? We’re coming to see you in just a couple more days.”
“I missed you. We did a circle today, and Mama said I had to practice with another channeler. I didn’t want to. And I have to train with a bunch of mean old witches.”
“I thought you were training with Aunt Jennie. She’s not a mean old witch.”
“Well, she’s not fun like Uncle Jamie. And she mind-yelled at me today, because I wasn’t con-cer-trating in the circle.”
Lauren tried to look stern. It was tough to do when faced with an upset and mutinous little boy. “It’s really important to focus in the circle, Aervyn, especially with big magic like yours. You know that, though.”
Aervyn lost the mutinous scowl and just looked sad. Lauren pulled him into her lap and grabbed her cell. She could at least give him cuddles while she turned him in.
Nell picked up her cell on the first ring. “Hey, Lauren. Do you have my boy child?”