A Reckless Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,10
was exceedingly hard, especially if a child had been left orphaned as a result.
“Amelia was a weather witch?” Nell sounded pensive. “Sierra might be as well. Given her desire to live by the ocean, I assume she’s a water witch. She’s definitely got air talents—she duplicated my soundproofing spell with impressive ease.”
Jamie frowned. “Your layering one? That’s pretty tricky spellcasting, sister mine.”
The room was silent as the implications sank in. Sophie winced and shifted as a foot poked up under her ribs. “It sounds like we need to assess her, no? And figure out where her training is at?”
“Aye.” Moira leaned forward, every inch the witch matriarch. “If she’s been taught by Amelia’s hand, we need to know how much power she has, and how much respect for doing magic safely.”
Nell shook her head. “I don’t mean to disagree with you—I think that’s important. I don’t want a dangerous witch on the loose any more than you do. But first we have a lonely teenager who needs a job and a place to go in three days. Let’s get her down here. Then we can worry about any holes in her training.”
Every head in the room was nodding when she finished.
“A job’s not a problem.” Jamie shrugged. “With regular Realm stuff and WitchNet, we’ll find her something to do. If she might be a weather witch, and she’s a decent coder…” he trailed off, clearly thinking the next steps through. “Maybe we should hook her up with Govin. He could use some help on the basic weather-spells library, and that might give us a good sense of her skills without being too intrusive.”
Sophie nodded. Govin was a very smart witch, and one of the nicest guys she knew.
Nell snorted as Jamie looked her way. “What—I suppose you want me to tell him he’s getting a teenage apprentice?”
“You were his college roomie.” Jamie held up half his cinnamon bun. “I offer compensation.”
Nell grabbed the tray, still holding half a dozen of the sticky treats. “It’s him we need to bribe, brother mine. Not me.”
Sophie was feeling a bit like a fifth wheel. “Is there any way we can help?”
Nell started to shake her head, and then stopped. “Yeah, actually. Sierra’s going to need a place to live. She can stay with us for as long as she wants, but I’m guessing she’s going to want her own space. Eighteen and finally free of foster care and her caseworker…”
She needed a nest. Sophie grinned. “Can Lauren find her an apartment? I’ll head up the decorating team.”
“I have three assistants for you.” Nell stood up, getting ready to transport back home. “Keep her warm. Water witches get chilly during our cool nights here.”
“She’ll be needing a nice throw, then.” Moira nodded happily. “Elorie brought me some lovely blue yarn from Halifax last week. I’ll get right to work.”
Sophie tried very hard to keep a straight face as Nell’s wink sailed right over Moira’s head. Knitting was excellent physical therapy, and she’d been trying to get Aunt Moira to pick up her needles for months now. Nell Walker was a very sneaky witch.
~ ~ ~
Devin looked out the car window as they reached Nell’s neighborhood. He always thought of home as wherever his feet were, but there was an easy familiarity to these streets he appreciated. “Still no neighbors freaking out over Aervyn’s magic tricks?”
“Nope.” Nell shrugged. “People really do see what they want to see. Although if he gets this broomstick-flying thing down, we might have to have a little chat about daytime displays of magic.”
He tried to picture his nephew flying down the street on Nell’s kitchen broom and chuckled. “They’d probably just think they were having Harry Potter flashbacks or something.”
“We can always hope. So what held Matt up?”
His overgrown sense of responsibility. “He’s got a couple of teenagers in labor. We weren’t expecting them, and his relief doc doesn’t know a whole lot about delivering babies in the rain forest, so he’ll stay until they’re done and come in with Mom and Dad.”
Nell frowned. “Mom can deliver babies in her sleep.”
“Yup. But Matt was worried she might have to leave soon, if Ginia says Nat’s gonna pop.”
“Trust me, nothing about Natalia Sullivan is going to pop, even when she gives birth.”
Devin shrugged. He liked Nat, but he had no idea how his brother had hooked up with someone so… calm. “They still doing okay?” Marriage was a rocky road for some, and they’d gotten married in kind of a hurry.
“Not