An Unlikely Witch by Debora Geary Read Free Book Online Page A

parents.
    Moira felt her instincts unfurling.  So much magic here.  So very much.  And she knew enough of rhythms and moons to know it was the time of Nat’s cycle when a tiny bean might need only a little more watering to plant and grow.
    Lauren’s hand slid into hers.  What do you need?
    Such trust.  A moment.  Moira dropped out of the magic for just a breath—just long enough to check in with her own heart.  It wasn’t always wise to mess with the natural course of things.
    And then, Nat, radiant, joined Devin and Kenna in their wild dance, and the old healer found her truth.  It might not work—but it was a fine idea to try.  She floated a thought Lauren’s direction.  If you might catch the attention of that husband of yours…
    She would try the very oldest of blessings.  A tiny magic, done in a maelstrom of power.  One seed, calling to another.  Devin needed only to hold them all steady.
    There is nothing tiny about your magic, sent Lauren fiercely.
    I know.  And on this day, she believed it.  Moira let her heart shine, warrior bright.  Join with me now. We are not entirely at the mercy of a hunk of glass.
    -o0o-
    There was a moment, in every yoga class, where they collected all the gathered energy and simply breathed.
    Nat floated onto her back, Jamie’s hand in her own, and felt the ocean join their collective exhale.
    Warm swells lifted them up and down, making her feel like a seed in the river of some great cosmic wind.  The sky was gray overhead, the top of their enormous cocoon.  A seagull flew by, peering at them strangely, and then continued on its quest.  And the songs of mermaids and creatures of magic danced in the between spaces.
    Flotsam on the waves.  Precious grains of sand rocked in the womb of the mother.  Nat felt all that was inside her opening to the magic.
    Words drifted over her mind, said by one, said by many.  A blessing and a wish.
    She wrapped the heart of love around her and the waiting space in her own womb.  Part of the flow.  Part of the great universe of love and energy and harmony and being.
    Calling a sweet, small boy into life.
    -o0o-
    The orb woke, feeling the tugging. 
    Not from the house—it was alone, except for the small furry creature who yowled and slept and had once been foolish enough to take a swipe at the orb’s surfaces. 
    The tug came again, the sense that the fabric of the universe had a tiny snag.  Something pulling. 
    It looked more closely.  The forces were well aware.  Watching.  Measuring.
    Water.  So much water.  An ocean of it, and floating on its surface, specks that the orb recognized.  Human ones, wrapped in the thing they called magic.  Humans it knew, holding tight to the minute string in the thread of time that led to the little boy who liked to play with snow.
    The orb froze, shocked.  The forces wouldn’t permit this, humans messing so brazenly in the strands of what needed to be.  They had humanity’s welfare to consider.  The greater good.  It waited, frightened for the specks.
    And felt nothing.
    The forces were silent, watching.  Allowing the tug.
    The orb felt a warmth slide into its center.  These humans—they were ridiculous, and they listened about as well as the silly cat creature.  They had not yet delivered the message to the one it was meant for.  And yet, the thread to the small boy shimmered.
    The orb stepped outside the edges of time, wanting to know—and felt the forces strike.  Hard.  Tools of magic weren’t permitted to push their limits.
    Only frail humans.  The orb watched the specks floating on the water.  Jealous.  Nursing the ringing ache in its middle.
    Wondering if they might possibly succeed.

Chapter 5

    Moira looked at the glass of green goo preceding its holder through her back door and sighed.  “I suppose that’s for me.  I’m not in need of it.”
    “That’s what they all say.”  Sophie closed the door behind her and handed over the glass.  “Drink, and