A Modern Witch Read online

  Lauren was stunned, and more than a little puzzled. “I’m not sure exactly what happened. Aervyn, what spell did you do?”

  Apparently she was very funny. Nell, Jamie, and Aervyn exploded with laughter. Jennie hushed them. “Lauren’s new to magic. Look down, child.”

  She looked down, and clutched Jamie’s hand much tighter. They were floating about five feet in the air. Holy shit. “Aervyn floated us?”

  “I flewed you!” Aervyn shouted.

  “Didn’t you feel us fly, Lauren?” Nell asked.

  Lauren nodded slowly. “I did, and it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt. But why are our bodies are up in the air?”

  “I flewed them.” Aervyn looked ready to lift off again at any moment.

  “I thought it was just in my head.” Lauren suddenly had a clearer memory of the sky-blue haze. Still clutching Jamie’s hand, she looked down at the ground. “Wait, our bodies flew? For real? Did we get higher than this?”

  Nell, Jamie, and Aervyn all collapsed in laughter again. One more time, Jennie hushed them. “Lauren, you felt us flying, right?”

  “Well, yes, but I thought it was our minds flying, or our souls. It was really beautiful.”

  Jennie beamed at her. “It was beautiful. Sometimes we witches can separate our souls from our bodies, but that kind of astral travel is difficult and dangerous.”

  Oh, holy God. “I think I need ice cream.” Then her very slow brain really computed what Jennie was saying. “Wait a minute. Wasn’t that awfully dangerous? What if we fell?”

  Aervyn settled them all gently to the grass and looked very worried. “Lauren, did I scare you? I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought it would be fun to fly together.”

  It had been the most amazing moment of her life so far, and the person responsible was getting a quivery lip.

  “Oh, sweetie.” Lauren swept Aervyn into her lap and cuddled him. “It was the best thing I’ve ever done. It was just really big, and I don’t know what to think now. But you didn’t scare me. Thank you for flying me—it was the best magic ever.”

  Fortunately, small boys are very easy to comfort.

  She could see the other three exchanging glances. “What’s going on, guys?”

  Jennie spoke first. “Lauren, we wanted to do some circle work today, a much smaller version of what will happen on Monday night.”

  “Right,” Lauren said. “So Aervyn could practice, and I could see what a circle does.”

  “Yes,” Jennie said. “And so we could test your channeling talents.”

  “Isn’t that what we did? If he could fly us, obviously something worked pretty well.”

  Nell laughed. “Lauren, that was the most amazing magical experience of my lifetime.”

  Jamie nodded in agreement. “We held more power than I’ve ever felt, even in a full circle. A large part of that was from Aervyn. It really juiced the circle to add his power as well.” He rubbed Aervyn’s head. “Buddy, how did you pull that off?”

  “I had the power, but I needed her to hold it so I could cast the spell,” Aervyn said. “I didn’t know where else to put it, and Lauren’s web was really pretty.”

  Nell looked at Lauren. “Most spellcasters can barely spare enough magic to hold themselves upright, never mind grab a power source to feed the circle.” She lifted Aervyn’s chin. “Nicely done, sweet boy. Just don’t forget to keep what you need to close the spell. Lauren’s right—we don’t want to crash in mid-flight because you ran out of energy.”

  Aervyn rolled his eyes. “I know, Mama.”

  Jennie tickled his toes. “Judging by how long you kept us in the air after the circle broke, you had plenty of energy left. However, you aren’t the only one who did something pretty impressive.” She looked at Lauren. “That was the most creative bit of channeling I’ve ever seen.”

  Something in her tone had Lauren feeling suddenly unsettled.

  Jamie nodded. “You had a crazy amount of power to handle there, Lauren. Looking back, we were insane to do that without circle monitors, but none of us expected a fraction of what happened. Only about one in three who have channeling talents can handle a full circle. I’ll eat my shoes if you aren’t one of them.”

  Nell jabbed her brother in the ribs. “You’ll eat anything, brother mine. However, I agree with you. Between us, we’ve been spellcasters for hundreds of circles. Lauren, you handled a whopping amount of power, and very cleanly. I’ve never seen it done anything like how you did it.”

  “She has very strong and flexible barriers,” Jennie said. “I believe she used them as a surface to transmit the circle’s power.”

  Lauren could feel the conversation heading somewhere, but she had no clue where that might be. Her sense of unease was growing, however.

  Apparently Aervyn knew what was coming. “Will she be my channeler?”

  Jennie nodded slowly. “That’s what we’re all wondering, sweetie. The two of you certainly work well together. You’ll need to learn to work with other channelers as well, but I think we should pair the two of you on Monday. That certainly wasn’t the plan, but I’d say that with today’s little display, you’ve earned the chance to work together.”

  Lauren was fervently glad she was back on the ground. “You want me to channel for a full circle?”

  “Yay!” Aervyn bounced in her lap. “Lauren, maybe we can turn the whole sky into Cat Woman.”

  “Now there’s a spell worthy of history,” Jennie said dryly. She looked at Jamie. “You might want to brainstorm a few options there.”

  Jamie shrugged. “What, you don’t like Cat Woman?”

  Lauren’s stomach was curling up into knots. She was coming to terms with being a witch. A nice, ordinary, run-of-the-mill witch. Channeling Aervyn’s first full circle wasn’t remotely run-of-the-mill. She’d been around long enough to know that nothing to do with him was ordinary.

  Jennie touched her shoulder and spoke quietly. “You’re not at all ordinary, as a woman, or as a witch. You have a strong mind gift, and now we know you also have the makings of a very fine channeler.” She smiled gently. “Of course, we probably should have figured that out with Cat Woman.”

  “I wasn’t a witch until last Wednesday,” Lauren said. “I don’t know how to handle this.”

  “You’ve always been a witch, sweetheart. You just didn’t know.”

  Chapter 16

  Nell stood outside Lauren’s bedroom Thursday morning bearing a pint of ice cream and three spoons. She hoped it was adequate price of entry to the conversation inside.

  She knocked, and Nat answered the door.

  “Nell’s here bearing gifts,” Nat said, stepping aside to let her in.

  “Do moms believe in ice cream before lunch?” Lauren asked.

  Nell handed out spoons. “I have three daughters—there’s no bad time for chocolate ice cream. There’s another pint in the freezer downstairs. It’s safe; I hid it under some peas.”

  Lauren eyed her. “You must want something.”

  More than one something. “I wanted to check up on you. How are you doing after the circle yesterday? It wasn’t exactly normal first-week witch training.”

  Lauren contemplated her spoon for a long moment. “It’s still overwhelming. A couple of weeks ago, I was showing nice condos to newlyweds. Now, I’m flying around in the sky powered by a four-year-old on elemental power steroids.”

  Nell nodded. “That was overwhelming for all of us.” She paused. “I didn’t expect you to be Aervyn’s channeler, but it looks like you may be. I’d like to tell you the ride will calm down some, but it probably won’t. Not if you’re that connected with him.”

  Lauren frowned. “I thought Jennie said something about him working with other channelers, as well.”

  “She did, and he will. It’s possible he’ll work as effectively with someone else, but honestly—after what happened yesterday—not all that likely. Most spellcasters prefer to work with one channeler.”

  Lauren looked decide
dly uncomfortable, and Nell debated whether to go on. The mother in her won. Newbie witch or not, if Lauren was going to be her son’s channeler, there were things she needed to know.

  “Spellcasters rely on channelers to keep the power flow steady, and that’s no small responsibility. If you’d faltered yesterday, we might have fallen out of the sky, and Aervyn’s channels could have been seriously damaged, or worse.”

  Lauren turned white, but that was nothing compared to Nat’s fury. “I thought it was a training circle. What the hell were you all doing?”

  Nell had some mad of her own. “My baby was at risk. You think I would have done that on purpose? Ever agreed to that? We had no idea, Nat—none.” It had been a miraculous experience, but also one that would give her nightmares for weeks.

  She took a deep breath and tried to explain. “Aervyn added power to the circle, which is supposed to be impossible. It meant the three of us —Jennie, Jamie, and I—weren’t really in control of how much power was flowing.”

  She turned to Lauren. “The two of you were new to your roles, so you had no idea we were riding a dragon. Those of us who knew could only hold steady and go along for the ride. Interrupting the spell would have been riskier than letting it go on.”

  And dammit, her boy had twisted that spell around his little finger and made it sing. Pride made her almost defiant. “Aervyn had it totally under control. Jamie and I have spellcast for hundreds of circles. We would have known if he was losing the spell.”

  She ground to a halt. Where had the sob in her breath come from? “He never even came close. He’s my little guy, but what he did yesterday was the most impressive display of spellcasting I’ve ever seen.”

  Nat sat beside Nell on the bed and hugged her shoulders. “You must be so proud of him.”

  Nell leaned in for a hug. “And scared as hell.”

  She looked at Lauren. “I don’t want to pressure you, but I thought you needed to know. If you are Aervyn’s channeling partner, it will come with immense responsibility for his safety, and that of others. You need to practice your craft and practice it well. There are many who will help you, but the commitment can only be yours.”

  Lauren looked incredibly frustrated. “Nell, how can I do that? I live in Chicago. My life is in Chicago. I’ll come here for training when I can, but I’m barely getting my mind-witch powers under control. Who the hell would put a new witch in a position of that kind of responsibility?”

  Nell debated and went with honesty. “It’s not the choice I would have made, but it wasn’t mine to make.”

  Lauren had an impressive temper when she got rolling. “It sure wasn’t mine. I didn’t ask for this.”

  “I know.” Nell took a deep breath. “I’m sorry; I didn’t come here to scratch at you. You did exactly right by Aervyn yesterday, and with no preparation.”

  “You came to warn me.”

  “I came because I thought you needed to know. Most channelers would find this a huge honor.”

  “Nell, I’ve only known I can channel for a couple of days. And exactly one-half of my channeling experience involves cute Cat Woman illusions at the dinner table. I’m not ready for this.”

  Nell handed Lauren the ice cream. “I’m not trying to panic you. I don’t mean you need to learn everything by next week. We know you have a life elsewhere, and we’ll respect that as well as we can. Come when you can, train when and how you can. Training takes time, and no one will ask you to do what you’re not ready to do.”

  Lauren’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, really?”

  She had a point. “Well, not on purpose. One of the challenges of working with Aervyn is that he steps outside the limits of possible on a fairly regular basis.”

  “And no one thinks that might happen again at full circle tomorrow night?”

  Nell tried not to let her fear show. “It might.”

  Lauren looked at her very seriously. “Then why are you—why is anyone—considering putting me in that circle tomorrow as channeler?”

  Nell searched her heart. “Two reasons. One, the two of you made the best partnership I’ve ever seen, trained or not.” She paused. God, this was insanity to lay at the feet of a new witch.

  Nat took her hand. “What’s the other reason, Nell? She needs to know.”

  Nell gulped. “Because you love him. As his mama, I want Aervyn working with those who will give their utmost to keep him safe.” Please, God.

  Lauren straightened up as if she’d heard Nell’s last thought. “The risk is biggest to him, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. In history, a lot of our most talented witches led some of the shortest lives. If there’s anything I can do to prevent that, I’ll do it—even if it means scaring the shit out of a newbie witch.”

  Lauren was silent for a moment. “I’ve been sitting here feeling sorry for myself. It’s good to remember I’m not the only one this hits pretty hard.” She took both of Nell’s hands. “I do love him. I’ll do the very best I can for him.”

  It was so hard to share your children, but Aervyn had chosen well. Time to let Lauren out of the pressure cooker. “Thank you. For that, I’ll even share my other pint of ice cream.”

  “I’ll get it.” Lauren stood up and grinned. “Don’t start the second portion of your program yet, though. I want to be here when you scare the shit out of Nat.”

  Nat looked at Nell suspiciously. “What does she know that I don’t?”

  Nell laughed. “Sucks not to be a mind reader sometimes, doesn’t it? How does it feel to have your best friend suddenly turning into a witch?”

  “I’m guessing what you really want to know is how it feels to be falling in love with a witch.”

  The girl has guts. “That serious?”

  Nat nodded. “I think so. How do you feel about that?”

  It was a day for hard truths. “I really like you, which is convenient. I really hate that you live in Chicago, since if I read Jamie’s precog correctly, he’ll eventually follow you there.”

  Nat scraped the last of the ice cream from the first container. “We can’t be sure what will come to be.”

  “But your yoga studio is there.”

  “Yes, and that’s a big piece. Lauren’s there too.”

  Nell watched Nat for a moment. She was no mind witch, but mama instincts were a pretty good substitute. It wasn’t Nat’s work that would keep her in Chicago. It was Lauren.

  “She’s your family. I get that, and Jamie’s a big boy. Still, he’s my brother, and it’s hard to think of him far away.”

  “You might appreciate it more than you think,” Lauren said from the doorway. She handed Nell a note.

  Nice try, sister mine. And great ice cream—thanks!

  Dammit, Nell thought. I was sure he hated peas.

  …

  Jennie pulled her car up in front of a squat concrete building with a beautiful mural painted on the side.

  “This is your distraction?” Lauren asked.

  “It is. With you leaving in a few days, we don’t have much time left for training. I thought this visit might do double duty—take your mind off tomorrow for a bit, and introduce you to another mind witch and the work she does.”

  “Does it involve flying or any other high-risk activities I should know about?”

  Jennie laughed. “I don’t think so. A friend of mine runs this center. She’s a skilled empath.”

  Lauren studied the mural. It was fairly abstract, and full of color. “The mural—it gives me the feeling of a high swing on an early spring day. Did your friend paint it?”

  “No, she didn’t, but she would absolutely love that description; it’s the artist’s depiction of hope. I have several of his paintings in my house. He has an amazing gift.”

  “Is the artist an empath as well?”

  “Yes,” Jennie said. “If you like, I can arrange to visit him too. I wanted you to see how other mind witches use their talents as part of their life and work. I know it troubles you, thinking about how all thi
s will fit with who you are back in Chicago.”

  Lauren shrugged. “It’s still all so new, and it seems like there aren’t any clear rules for when and how to use what I have. I’ve never been someone who wanted a complicated life.”

  “It doesn’t need to be all that complicated, although it may take you a little while to find simple again. Come meet my friend Tabby, and see what her answers have been.”

  “She works on Sundays?”

  “Not usually, but some of her children need quiet, so she does special sessions with them outside of normal working hours.”

  “What kind of center is this?”

  “Tabby helps families—in particular, the families of children with special needs. When a child is born different, it can cause all kinds of cracks in how families love and communicate and function. She helps repair the cracks.”

  “I guess witches would understand a little bit about being born different.”

  Jennie hugged Lauren’s shoulders. “I guess we do.”

  The door to the center opened, and a model-gorgeous woman came out. This must be Tabby. “Jennie, so good to see you! I felt you arrive.” She gave Jennie an enthusiastic hug and turned to clasp Lauren’s hands. “I’m Tabitha, and I’m so delighted to meet you. Please, come in. I’ve been guarding some chocolate donuts for us.”

  They followed her into the center. They entered a large room, but instead of feeling like a warehouse, it more resembled a honeycomb. Furniture, plants, low walls, and shelves all combined to create a comforting warren of small spaces and child-sized play areas, feeding into a larger central space. A little boy spun happily in the center of the room.

  “That’s Jacob,” Tabitha said. “Spinning is one of his favorite things.”

  “Why?” Lauren asked.

  Tabitha gestured toward some low pillows. “Why don’t you look and see?”

  “Look in his head? Is that okay?”

  “Yes. The parents and families we work with know we use unorthodox means to understand their children. In particular, they know I have some empathic skills. Children with special needs are often very difficult for their families to understand. If we can discover a little about what their child wants and needs and feels, it helps to build stronger connections.”