A Reckless Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,85
trouble magnetizing stuff.
Lauren tugged on Sierra’s sleeve, tape measure in her hand. “Save us!” Devin grinned from behind her, both of them covered in wet, goopy glitter. “Apparently water magic is no match for floaty red stuff.”
Sierra’s laughter broke free. “You’re not supposed to drown it, silly.” She magnetized Lauren’s tape measure and winked at Devin. “She’s armed. You’re hopeless. Stay close.”
He snickered as Lauren swept her weapon through the air. “Been in any swordfights lately?” And then grinned as she pulled it out to four feet long. “Never mind. I take it back.”
Sierra watched them dive into battle, elbows linked, armed with their long and bendy sword, and marveled. Every person in this room carried big responsibilities. And every person in this room had jumped into an all-out glitter fight, badly armed—just to have some fun. Devin was right—you could be a serious witch and a playful one.
Grinning, she reached behind her and grabbed the ladder. There was a lot of glitter in the upper two feet of the room—and it was all hers. The red menace was about to attack from above.
~ ~ ~
Breathe in, breathe out. Nat concentrated on the familiar flow of air and energy, and waited for the quiet of meditation to soak into her soul.
She was afraid.
Afraid of the building energy in her belly, carrying the beat of a very different drummer.
Afraid of the whispers and careful eyes of the witching community and what they meant about the girl nestled beneath her heart.
Afraid of all the faith in Natalia Sullivan’s ability to breathe through anything, move with serenity in the midst of a storm.
What if they were wrong?
Because there was a storm coming. She could feel it. And the drummer in her belly reveled in anticipation.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
And then, gently, Nat pushed beyond. Beyond the fear, beyond known and unknown. Beyond herself.
She wasn’t alone anymore. The strength of Natalia Sullivan no longer needed to come entirely from inside her own soul. Jamie loved her with a fierceness she was only beginning to comprehend—and he would stand, as man and as witch, for her and for their little girl.
And oh-so-many would stand beside him.
So why was she really afraid?
With the automatic bravery of years of practice, Nat swam toward the roots of fear deep in her soul. And found her mother.
Her mother—faced with a child she didn’t understand. Two souls, so very different. And so much damage done trying to mold the child in the mother’s image.
Nat let sorrow flow on the waves of her breath. She was not her mother. But she, too, awaited a child who was very different.
And that was okay.
Be who you need to be, child of mine.
She let the words settle into her heart—and trusted that the mindreader in her belly would hear them too. Be who you need to be, small girl.
Slowly, the fear ebbed. It usually did, if you could just find the root. Nat released one last breath and opened her eyes.
It was almost time. And her baby girl wasn’t going to come easy into this world.
She rubbed her belly. It’s okay, little one. You come any way you have to. We’ll be right here waiting.
~ ~ ~
Devin settled into the new couch in his brother’s basement. It wasn’t The Monster, but it would have to do. He looked over at Jamie and prepared to start a difficult conversation. “You got room for one more on the Realm team?”
Jamie stopped digging through his snack cupboard. “What?”
“Seems like you’re pretty busy right now, so I thought I might stick around for a while and help out. You got any Doritos in there?”
“You want to help with Realm?” Jamie tossed over a bag, grabbed one for himself, and then plopped down in the overstuffed chair next to the couch.
They matched. It was disturbing—man caves weren’t supposed to match. “Pretty much.”
“Your coding skills are kind of rusty, dude.”
Sadly. And they’d never held a candle to Jamie and Nell’s anyway. “You’ve got plenty of coders. Not so many organizers, from what I’ve seen.”
“Devin Sullivan, organizer.” Jamie pretended to think for a second, then snorted. “Okay, what’s really going on here?”
They’d hit the difficult part faster than he’d hoped. “I have some reasons for wanting to be here. That little girl of yours, for starters. I figured while I was here, I should make myself useful.” That sounded weak, even to his own ears.
Jamie stared. Then he busted up laughing. “Damn you, Dev. I owe my wife a whole month of