A Hidden Witch

chapter 3

Elorie shook her head at Kevin. “Nope. My favorite color’s not blue.”

Kevin scowled. “I think your brain looked a little blue.”

Elorie handed him a bowl of blueberries, still wet from a quick rinse after picking. “Maybe you’re just hungry. Why don’t we wait until Uncle Marcus gets here, and then you can try mindreading with someone who can help you?”

“I read about it all last night, ever since that computer test said I might have mind powers.”

There was just no keeping secrets from witchlings. “And how do you know that’s what the computer said? Weren’t you in the back yard eating cookies?”

Kevin shrugged. “I dunno. I just knew it.” Then his eyes got big. “Wait, I just knew it. Isn’t that a sign of developing mind powers? Picking up things you’re not supposed to know? I was just reading about that.”

He scrambled into his backpack for a book, but Elorie didn’t need a reference guide. Gran had known the results of the computer scan—and as a non-sensitive, she wouldn’t have the barriers to keep out an emerging mind witch.

Kevin looked up from the page in his book, one of Gran’s old, dusty ones. “It’s true, Elorie!” He squinted his eyes and stared at her. “Think of your favorite color again.”

Elorie focused as hard as she could on red. Strawberries. Fire engines. Blood. Eww. Back to strawberries.

He stared silently for a moment longer and then shrugged. “Your brain still looks blue. Huh—I wonder what I’m doing wrong.”

Probably eating too many blueberries. She closed the book gently before he could dive back in. “Fortunately for you, there’s a real mind witch coming over for tea, and you can ask him all the questions you like.”

Kevin looked crestfallen. “I can’t read the book?”

“Of course you can. You just can’t read it all day long. I’ll bet you fell asleep reading under the covers again last night, too.” She grinned at his look of surprise. It didn’t take a mindreader to know that, given the dark circles under his eyes, but she liked to keep her little secrets.

Elorie refilled his glass of milk. “Now remember, Uncle Marcus is a very skilled witch, but he’s not used to working with children.”

“You mean he doesn’t like us.”

Close enough, but since he was the strongest mind witch in their little corner of the world, he was the right person to test Kevin. He just lacked a fair amount in the bedside manners department.

“He lives alone, Kev. Some witches like to be very solitary, and Uncle Marcus is one of them. Sometimes that makes it hard to know how to be around people. Just use your best witchling manners, and it will be fine.”

And this visit, she wouldn’t be leaving the room. The last time Marcus had tested one of her students, he’d left behind a wake of tears and misery. Powerful witch or not, he had no right to make small boys cry.

Elorie tried to clear any acrimonious thoughts out of her head. When the witch in question could mindread, it was better to be thinking about milk and berries when he arrived. Judging from the voices outside, that event was imminent. She patted Kevin’s hand and went to the door to greet her guests.

“Hi, Gran. Hello, Uncle Marcus, and welcome to my home.”

“Blessed be.” Uncle Marcus scowled and peered past her into the house. “Where is this student you want me to test? You can bring him out—I’ve promised Aunt Moira I won’t eat him for afternoon tea.”

So much for small talk. However, if Gran had given him a stern talking-to as well, maybe they could get through this testing without tears.

Elorie remembered how scary Uncle Marcus had seemed when she was a little girl and he’d threatened to throw her in his cauldron. Since—unlike most witches she knew—he actually had a cauldron, she’d kept her distance for a very long time. In hindsight, that had probably been his intent.

She stepped into the kitchen and gently closed Kevin’s book again. “Uncle Marcus, this is Kevin. He’s my nephew, and a big reader, as you can see.” The two had actually met before, but Uncle Marcus was awful with names and relationships, even though that was a basic life skill in Nova Scotia.

Marcus sat down at the kitchen table and studied Kevin. Elorie put out a plate of treats and several cups of tea, and tried to be invisible. She didn’t want to disrupt the testing, but she had no intention of leaving the kitchen. Since Gran was making herself very comfortable with a cup of tea and a cookie, it looked like Uncle Marcus was just going to have to cope with some observers.

Kevin tended to the quiet side of things, but he wasn’t shy. He met Marcus’s gaze for several moments, and then asked the important question. “So, do I have mind magic?”

Marcus raised an eyebrow. “What is my favorite color?”

Kevin concentrated.

“No, no, no.” Marcus slammed his hand on the table. “You’re trying far too hard. You need to relax your mind, not clench it up like a fist.”

Elorie rescued her fallen spoon. No one was going to be doing a lot of relaxing if he kept pounding on the table. Well, except for Gran, who was stirring her tea as if nothing had happened. The gentle, calming scent of chamomile wafted over the table. Hmm. Perhaps Gran was doing a little more than just stirring.

Kevin shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“Most people have very messy minds. They leave their thoughts hanging out where anyone can see them. Your Aunt Elorie here is worried I’m going to make you cry.”

Kevin looked fascinated. “What else can you see?”

Marcus sat silent until Moira raised her eyebrow. Twice. “You’re curious about why her mind looks blue today. It likely means you have some empathic talent.”

Kevin cocked his head. “Empathic witches see feelings as colors?”

“Isn’t that what I just said, youngling?”

“So Elorie’s sad, then.”

“Obviously.” Marcus didn’t sound the least bit perturbed about her emotional state, and Elorie was rather dismayed her privacy was that easy to invade.

Moira’s spoon clinked in her tea and she spoke pointedly. “Polite mind witches don’t read the thoughts or feelings of others without their permission.”

Marcus grunted. “I’ve never been a polite witch.”

The sound of a giggle shocked everyone. Kevin seemed mortified to discover it had come from his mouth.

Elorie held her breath as Marcus’s scowl deepened, but when he spoke, his tone was relatively civil. “With all these messy minds around, you don’t need to work hard to hear what people think. You only need to open your mind a little, and their thoughts will come to you. Unfortunately.”

Elorie started walking through the steps to bake oatmeal cookies in her mind. Perhaps that would keep her more embarrassing thoughts quiet.

Kevin considered for a moment. “But your mind isn’t messy, so how can I hear your favorite color?”

“You’re a thinking witch.” Marcus nodded grudgingly. “That’s good. You can’t hear my mind unless I want you to. Right now, I’m sending that thought out toward you. I want to see if you can open your mind enough to hear it.”

“How do I do that?”

“It will require some actual effort on your part. Magic is hard work.”

Kevin scowled. “You just told me not to work so hard. Training’s hard work, too, and I need your help.”

Elorie looked on in shock, wishing she’d ever shown that kind of guts, and Gran hid a smile behind her cup of tea.

Marcus nodded shortly and tapped the book on the table. “Pretend you’re reading, where your brain is focused, but ready to learn something new.”

Kevin thought for a moment, and then closed his eyes. Moments later, they popped open. “Orange!”

Elorie tried not to let her disappointment show. Marcus never wore anything but black. There was no chance his favorite color was something as bright and cheerful as orange.

“Not bad. Perhaps you’ll make a decent witch one day.”

Uncle Marcus’s favorite color was orange?

Marcus picked up a handful of berries. “Now, tell me what else you heard.”

Kevin blushed and looked down at the table. “I didn’t mean to.”

Marcus snorted. “My mind isn’t messy. This is a test, my young witchling. A decent mind witch should have picked up more than just a color.”

Straightening his shoulders, Kevin answered. “You have an itch on the back of your neck. You wish Elorie put raisins in her cookies.” He paused, and then spoke in a voice full of soft sorrow. “And you miss your brother.”

Dead silence. Elorie could see Gran’s face pale as a very dark moment of family history got yanked into the light.

Marcus’s voice was very husky, and probably not as gruff as he thought it was. “Aye. I do. And it’s hazelnuts her cookies need, not raisins. You need to practice.”

Kevin stood up and wrapped his arms around Marcus’s neck. “You’re not as mean as they said.”

Elorie wondered when she’d landed on the alien planet where Uncle Marcus tolerated hugs from children. Then his deep voice spoke inside her head. I’m not quite as old and crotchety as you think, my dear. And you keep forgetting the flour in those mental cookies you’re making.

Marcus touched Kevin’s back awkwardly. “Enough. Go find someone else to bother.” He looked at Moira as Kevin raced out the back door. “He’ll need training, and clearly no one else here is competent enough to handle it. Now, tell me about this new scan that found his powers.”

Uncle Marcus was going to help with training? Elorie looked around for flying pigs.

Moira sniffled and wiped her cheeks. “It’s something Nell did with her fancy spellcoding. I don’t pretend to understand it. The children each held my computer mouse, and Nell got a reading on their powers. Most we already knew, but it suggested Kevin might have mind talents.”

“It shouldn’t have taken a computer to see that.”

“And it wouldn’t have, if our best mind witch wasn’t a hermit.” Oooh, Gran was steamed. “When was the last time you bothered to come check the young ones for talent?”

Marcus’s face could have been made of stone. “You know where to reach me, and you know how to do a basic scan.”

Now it was Elorie’s temper bubbling. “It’s never any one witch’s job to monitor all the young ones.” She hurled her next thought—if her mind was as leaky as all that, he should hear it well enough. I can’t, and she’s getting old.

She thought he looked a little pained, at least. “It’s good his talent was found, one way or the other. And now we need to test Elorie as well, do we not?”

Gran looked horrified. A sick feeling slid into Elorie’s gut. “What do you mean?”

Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Kevin’s been mindreading more than you all realize.” He looked at Moira. “What in tarnation is going on here?”

Gran picked up Elorie’s hands. “I’m sorry, child. I was trying to keep you from getting hurt, and I’ve truly messed this up. You know that Nell’s fetching spell pulled you into Witches’ Chat the other day.”

Elorie nodded. “Sure, but wasn’t there something wrong with Nell’s code?”

Marcus snorted. “I doubt it. Nell’s a very talented witch.”

“How would you know?” Elorie’s temper was spiking again. “You’ve probably only seen her twice in the last five years.” And if you were your usual friendly self, she ran screaming the other way. She no longer cared if he heard that or not.

I’m not deaf. And you’re having a temper tantrum better suited to a witchling. His face was back to imitating a statue. “Nell and Jamie do some impressive spellwork for the witch-only levels of Enchanter’s Realm.”

Elorie had that alien planet feeling again. “You know about their video game?”

“I’m the third-highest ranked witch in Realm.”

Uncle Marcus played video games? He was good at video games?

“Yes, quite good, in fact.” Marcus raised an eyebrow. “But let’s get back to what Nell’s little scan said about you, shall we?”

Gran’s voice was gentle. “What you picked up from Kevin’s mind isn’t entirely accurate. We haven’t scanned Elorie, but Nell would like to. She and her girls built the scan to give better readings than the fetching spell.”

Moira looked down for a moment, and then met Elorie’s eyes. “You don’t know this, my beloved girl, but I scan you myself quite regularly. I’ve always hoped you would come into the powers to match your witch’s heart.”

Elorie reached out to ease the sadness and guilt. “I know that—it always makes your eyes sad when you test me.” She took a deep breath, trying to ease the turbulence in her stomach. “I’m not a witch. I don’t know what’s wrong with Nell’s spells, but I can’t believe they could see something you can’t.”

“I’m not as sure of that anymore, child. I missed Kevin’s mind powers. Perhaps I missed something in you as well.”

The slick in Elorie’s gut was almost overwhelming. “What are you saying?”

Gran took her hands. “Let Nell test you, sweet girl.”

Elorie would have raged at anyone else who asked. As it was, she struggled to contain the anguished fury of the thirteen-year-old girl who had begged and pleaded with the universe for a shred of power and been denied.

Marcus reached for a cookie. “Alternatively, I’d be happy to do the honors.”

Over her dead body. She wasn’t a child anymore. If she had to be tested, she could at least choose how. Trying to tamp down her roiling emotions, she looked straight at Gran. “Arrange the test. And when I fail, I want this to be the last. No more scans, and no more sad eyes. I am what I am, and it needs to be enough.”

~ ~ ~

Nell slid her chair over to let Ginia fit in beside her. “Remember, kiddo—this is probably going to be hard for Elorie.”

“Because Aunt Moira doesn’t think she’s a witch?”

Murky waters. “Well, none of us really knows the answer to that question right now. We have two ways of knowing that are giving us different answers, and that’s a bit tricky.”

“Our code’s right, Mama.”

The trouble was, Nell agreed with her middle triplet. “One step at a time. Let’s see what the scan says, and then we’ll have more data to work from. Go ahead and spell us into video chat.”

Nell had commandeered Jamie and spent all day working with the three girls, refining and testing the scanning code. In addition to mind and elemental powers, it now took a reading on healing and spellcasting talents. They could distinguish between active, trained power and untrained potential, and even get a decent estimate of magical strength.

It was a sweet piece of coding, and they’d tested it on practically every witch in California who owned a computer mouse.

Mia and Shay were at Jamie’s place, working to integrate the scans into Enchanter’s Realm. Ginia, who had the deepest attachment to Moira, had asked to stay for Elorie’s test.

Nell hoped that wasn’t a really bad idea.

Ginia bounced on the chair beside her. “Hi, Aunt Moira!”

“Hello, sweetling. And hello to you as well, Nell.”

Nell could see Elorie’s face. Her eyes were full of sadness and dread.

Her empathetic witchling could see it, too. “Don’t be scared, Elorie. The scan is really easy, and we worked hard all day to make it a lot better.”

A face Nell recognized, but couldn’t name, came onto the screen.

“This is my nephew Marcus,” said Moira. “I think you’ve met him a time or two, Nell, but it’s been a while.”

Marcus spoke in a kind of arrogant growl. “She’ll know me better as Gandalf.”

Ginia gasped and stomped her foot. “Oooohh! You locked me in a high tower yesterday and gave the key to the evil sorcerer’s apprentice!”

Marcus raised an eyebrow. “You’re Warrior Girl?”

Nell thought he should look a little more impressed. Ginia, having just displaced Sophie, was now the number-four-ranked player in the witch-only levels of Realm, and hot on Gandalf’s heels. Her girl had some mad gaming skills.

“Don’t worry, Mama,” Ginia whispered behind her hand. “He’s toast—he just doesn’t know it yet. Nobody locks me in a tower and gets away with it.”

Marcus held up his mouse. “Okay, Warrior Girl—run this scan of yours on me. I want to see how it works.”

Nell leaned forward and hit a few keys. “I’ve sent a screen-share so you can see the readouts we get.” She nodded at Ginia to start the test.

The trio of heads on the Nova Scotia end all squinted at the screen. Marcus read aloud. “Mind powers at moderate to strong levels. That’s right.”

Elorie pointed at the screen. “Strong air elementals, weak in water and earth.”

Marcus snorted. “Someone needs to double-check their code. Air and water are correct, but I don’t have earth power.”

Ginia glared. “You do so, Gandalf.”

Nell elbowed her witchling. “This is real life, daughter mine, not the game. No trash talking—show some manners.”

Moira chortled. “You might keep that in mind yourself, Marcus.”

Still mutinous, Ginia eyed her archnemesis through the screen. “Have Aunt Moira test you, then. I bet you do so have earth power.”

The tone of her delivery earned another elbow, but Nell couldn’t fault the idea. Marcus raised his eyebrow again. “That’s not necessary. I’m a trained witch; I can pull any power sources available to me.”

Ginia crossed her arms. “So pull earth power, then.”

He gave an arrogant shrug and reached off-screen, coming back with a closed flower bud in his hand. Nell smiled. Moira always had flowers nearby. Marcus closed his eyes for a moment, and then focused on the bud.

Ginia was the only one not the least bit surprised when the flower very slowly bloomed. Moira gave a delighted laugh. “I guess you can teach an old witch some new tricks.”

Marcus studied the flower a moment longer. “That’s some nice coding you’ve done, Nell.”

Nell grinned. “Wasn’t me. Warrior Girl and her two sidekicks did almost all the work.”

Marcus scowled. “There are three of you?”

“Yep,” Ginia said. “But if you wanna take on all three of us, you have to leave the witch-only levels. Fight us code-to-code. My sisters aren’t witches.”

He almost cracked a smile. “I think I’ll stay where I have magic on my side, little fighter. I have no doubt the three of you could take me down coding with one hand behind your backs.”

It took a moment for Nell, caught up in the banter between her daughter and Marcus, to notice Elorie’s white face.

Oh, shit. They had more important things to do than schedule a Realm take-down. Time to end the agony of waiting. “Okay, Elorie, you’re up next. Grab the mouse, and let’s see what we’ve got.”

Elorie sat frozen. Marcus shoved the mouse in her hand with an impatient arrogance that had Nell gritting her teeth.

Ginia ran the test, and the numbers popped up on both screens.

Moira was the first to speak. “I don’t understand this.”

Nell shook her head. “I don’t either. It says Elorie has significant power potential, source unknown.”

“Speak English,” Marcus growled.

Ginia stepped into the breach. “It means she’s a witch, and probably a strong one, but we don’t know what kind. It’s not any of the types the test can read.”

“So, what can’t your primitive test read?”

Nell growled. No one insulted her kiddos.

“Chill, Mama. He’s just a grumpy old man who wishes he could code half as good as me.” Ginia ticked off on her fingers. “It can do elemental, mind, and healing. So that leaves precog and animal magics.”

Moira shook her head. “Those talents always develop very young and very hard. We’d hardly have missed Elorie communing with the spirits or flying with the seagulls.”

Marcus crossed his arms. “Use of those power sources still leaves traces we should be able to detect. I’ve scanned Elorie myself. There are no traces.”

“The code hasn’t been wrong yet,” Ginia said firmly. “And it says Elorie’s a witch.”

Moira’s helpless shrug was a perfect reflection of how Nell felt. How could you prove the existence of power only a computer could see?

Marcus was still in arrogant-king-to-peasant mode. “Are you saying my testing is wrong, little girl?”

Ginia laid her hands on the table in full Warrior Girl form. “Maybe Elorie is an extra-special kind of witch we’ve never seen before.”

“Maybe your nine-year-old imagination is overriding your logic.”

“Maybe your imagination got drowned in a moat and eaten by crocodiles.”

Steam was going to come out of her daughter’s head any minute, and Nell wasn’t in any mood to stop her. Hell, she was a hairsbreadth away from stepping up and holding her cloak. Pompous old witch.

“Enough.” Elorie started to speak, eyes anguished. Then the screen went blank. Ginia dove under the desk to troubleshoot. When she didn’t surface quickly, Nell went down to help. Ten minutes later, she called Moira’s landline.

No one had any idea what had happened, but Moira’s computer was entirely cooked.