Free Witches' Waves by Teresa Noelle Roberts

was.
    Kyle said, “Do you have rope? Because if I’m not tied up, I’m not responsible for how much furniture I break. Not to mention skin. I’ve been craving this way too long, and you know otters get a little crazy during sex.”
    Deck had been convinced he’d never see Kyle again, but he’d still ordered bondage rope off the Internet.
    But when they walked into the huge, comfortably shabby former reception area of the Victorian hotel that had been converted to apartments for the single family members, they were forced into a change of plans.
    Deck’s grandmother Roslyn was waiting for them, along with Elissa’s mom, Jan. Roslyn was hovering over Portia, the most powerful telepath in the Donovan family. Portia was even paler than usual and looked queasy, and Grandma Roz was obviously working some kind of magic to keep her from passing out. Meaghan was walking on her own, but she looked pretty shaky too. Everyone’s auras bristled.
    Something bad was going on.
    â€œI thought Meaghan was going to hang out with Elissa,” Deck said, knowing how lame he sounded.
    â€œChange of plans,” Jan said briskly. “Elissa had left the baby with me, and when she brought Meaghan to see her, I figured I needed to see what was really going on. Best to take precautions when someone has a story like Meaghan’s.”
    Of course. He should have anticipated this.
    â€œYour friend’s telling the truth,” Portia said. Her voice was as pale and drawn as her face. “Meaghan’s been a prisoner of the Agency most of her life and the Agency’s been using her visions against Differents. They’d fed her some bullshit about helping duals and other Differents integrate into human society. She led them to Jude, but because of his connection to Elissa she finally saw what the Agency was doing and she’s been fighting as best she could ever since. She’s not sure how much she let them know about Jocelyn, and because her own memories are so foggy, I can’t tell either. She was willing to die to try to keep Jocelyn safe. But it may be too late.” She started to sway, then sat down abruptly on the nearest chair.
    â€œElissa says she senses Shaw’s magic lingering on Meaghan,” Elissa’s mother said, “Maybe some other sorcery as well. Meaghan agrees she wants it gone, so we’re going to lift it now, but we need help from both of you.”
    â€œMe?” Kyle raised his eyebrows. “How can I help with magic, Ms. Donovan?” He smiled as he said it. Deck was very busy trying to maintain his game face and not let the dismay he felt at Aunt Jan’s words show, but he couldn’t help noticing that smile.
    â€œWe’ll need to break down Meaghan’s shields, and the ones Deck gave her, to clear the spell trace. Meaghan’s a seer, so this is going to be traumatic even inside the house protections and surrounded by well-shielded witches. She’ll panic. You’re the only person here the poor girl has known for more than ten minutes. You can anchor her.”
    â€œHow?” Kyle sounded concerned, but at the same time eager. Finally getting to do something heroic, Deck thought. Poor furry bastard would find out soon enough that heroism left marks.
    â€œYou look like a clever lad,” Grandma Roz said quietly, turning up her Irish accent, as she always did when she needed to charm someone of the female-fancying persuasion. Never mind that Roslyn was over a hundred, she had enough red magic that it worked every time. “You and the lady take a few minutes to talk it out. We witches have some prep work to do. Declan, you’re with us. We’ll be prepping for the ritual in the grove.”
    Deck tried not to gape and failed. They knew his mind wandered during long rituals, and his combination of erratic powers didn’t exactly play well with others. Normally his relatives let him off the ritual-magic hook