Free A Lost Witch (A Modern Witch Series: Book 7) by Debora Geary Page B

cheer me up.”
    Indeed there were.  But Nell still wasn’t putting her on the front lines.  “Why don’t you pack a sleepover bag and go to Fisher’s Cove.   See if Aunt Moira and Sophie have the chicken pox under control, and look at what the old books have to say.”  They needed to scan the texts and make them searchable—this wasn’t the first time in the last year they’d sent witches to scour the dusty pages.
    Or the first time in the last year she’d been unable to keep her children out of harm’s way.

Chapter 7

    Nell looked at the mostly packed suitcase on her bed and debated.  They were due in Fisher’s Cove in a couple of hours for some top-secret event Lizzie and Aaron were planning.
    And people she loved were in trouble here.
    “To go or not to go, that is the question.”  Retha leaned against the doorway, two pints of ice cream in her hands.
    Nell smiled.  “Ben & Jerry’s and Shakespeare?”
    “All smart guys.”  Her mother sat on the one mostly free corner of the bed.  “You’re sure that’s enough gear for five children for a week?”
    Not hardly.  “Daniel already shipped most of it—this is just the last-minute stuff.” 
    Retha laid her hand on the pile of pink and glittery on the top of the suitcase.  “Still trying to decide whether to leave?”
    Thinking too loudly, apparently.  “There’s a lot of stuff going on here.”
    “And there.”
    Yes.  And pink-and-glittery celebration mattered, no matter how much they poked gentle fun at Marcus and pretended otherwise.  “I could wait a couple of days.  The wedding isn’t until Saturday.”
    “Go.”  Retha closed the lid of the suitcase.
    Nell blinked.  Sullivans always had strong opinions, but that had sounded perilously close to an order.
    “I’m sorry.”  Her mother winced, followed rapidly by the mental apology to back up her words.  “You’re not the only one who’s been thinking about this.”
    Nell waited, the unease in her gut growing.
    “I was sitting at home just two days ago, watching the monkeys play on the back porch.”
    The monkeys had been joined by a small boy the last time he’d gone to Costa Rica.  Getting him back had been no small feat.  “Missed us, did you?”
    “Always.”  The smile was instant—and fleeting.  “And then this feeling hit.  A bit like nails on a chalkboard, but there was no sound.”
    Just like Jamie.  Their two witches with precog.  “That’s eerie.  A warning Hannah was coming, maybe?”
    “Perhaps.”  Retha sounded unconvinced. 
    Something was up.  Nell sat down on the bed, inner warrior waking up.  “What’s going on, Mom?”
    “I don’t know.”  Brown eyes met hers, full of worry.  “But the chalkboard hasn’t stopped.”
    Crap.  Nell knew better than to doubt her mother’s spider senses.  “That’s not good.”
    “It isn’t.”  Retha zipped the suitcase closed.  “Go.  Nat’s leaving with Kenna.  Jamie can hop back and forth.  I want Aervyn and Kenna clear of this, whatever it is.”
    Nell felt her panic igniting.  “You think they’re involved?  Or will be?”
    “No.”  Retha gripped her arms, tight and real.  “This isn’t precog, sweetheart.  Only a nervous grandma talking.  Those two have so much power—I just don’t want them close.  Or Ginia, either, if we can manage that.”
    Her healer daughter was already in Nova Scotia, reading dusty history books and honing her pirate sword-fighting skills.  “Moira will keep her busy.” 
    “Good.”  Eyes lost in thought, Retha stared out the window for a minute.  “Has Aervyn said anything about his head hurting?”
    “No.”  And now that she was finally catching up, Nell’s unease was blooming into full-fledged fear.  “You think he might have precog?”
    “I don’t know what to think.”  Retha’s eyes held some of her daughter’s steel.  “But Hannah has precog far stronger than anything I’ve ever known.  And the only two