Free A Hidden Witch (A Modern Witch Series: Book 2) by Debora Geary Page A

witch fix-all. “So
bring me up to speed, daughter mine. What have you tried so
far?”
    Ginia squared her shoulders. “We know that the
computer is reading power traces for Elorie, and Uncle Jamie can’t
pick them up in a regular scan done at the same time.”
    “Okay.” Nell swiped the cookie Jamie was trying
to grab. “And have we checked anyone else for this power source
yet?”
    Jamie nodded. “Yup. When you passed on Marcus’s
idea, we headed to Realm and scanned everyone we could find in the
witch-only levels. That’s why we’re trying to refine the scans, to
see if we can find a common element in their readings and
Elorie’s.”
    Elorie frowned. This was a lot more information
than she’d been given up until now. “What idea of Uncle
Marcus’s?”
    “He thinks,” Ginia said, “that maybe you aren’t
the only one with this new kind of power.”
    Since when had Uncle Marcus stopped being a
hermit and started making up wild theories about new kinds of
magic?
    Nell touched Elorie’s hand. “It’s only a theory
right now, but Marcus thinks you may be accessing a form of power
that only registers in Internet space. He also thinks it might not
be just you.”
    Three exhausting days were catching up with
Elorie. “Let me get this straight. Uncle Marcus thinks there are a
bunch of witches running around the Internet with some kind of
invisible magic?”
    Nell shrugged. “Okay, it sounds a little
hocus-pocus when you put it that way. But it’s a good idea. He
thinks people like Ginia, who are good at spellcoding, might share
your mysterious talent.”
    Why was it so stinking hard for everyone to
believe she wasn’t a witch? Elorie shoved in the last of her
cookie. They could sit in dark basements and theorize all they
wanted. She was done.
    Ginia finished her milk as Elorie stood up. “We
tried scanning me, but nothing showed up.”
    Nell was silent for a moment. “What were you
doing when you got scanned?”
    “Holding the mouse, just like Elorie does…”
Ginia slid to a halt, her eyes opening wide.
    Jamie snapped his fingers. “Nell, you’re
brilliant. Elorie, two more minutes. Please.”
    Elorie stood and watched the sudden flurry of
activity in the basement, utterly confused. In moments, there was a
new computer setup at the table, and Ginia was typing madly into
her keyboard. Elorie could see the graphics for Enchanter’s Realm
on her screen.
    “Keep it simple,” Jamie said. “We just need a
basic spell to do the test.”
    Ginia nodded. “I’m coding an easy three-step
spell. That way, you’ll have three chances to get a reading.”
    Jamie nodded, watching over her shoulder. “Good
thinking, cutie.”
    If she had to stand here, the least they could
do was explain why. Elorie leaned over toward Nell. “I’m so
confused. What’s going on?”
    “We’re trying to figure out if Marcus is right,
and witches who can spellcode share your talent. You test for it
even with passive readings, but it’s trickier in witches with
multiple magics. We’re thinking that if Ginia has what you have, it
might be easier to read when she’s actively spellcoding.”
    That much made sense. Active magic was a lot
more visible—even she could sense the power flows sometimes when
one of her witchlings was doing a more complicated spell.
    Ginia looked up, all nine-year-old seriousness.
“Ready.”
    “Ready here, too.” Jamie intently watched his
screen.
    Elorie watched. Absolutely nothing happened.
    Suddenly a familiar voice spoke out of Ginia’s
computer. “You called, Warrior Girl?”
    Ginia giggled. “Hi, Gandalf. We’re doing a test
to see if I have the same power as Elorie. I needed to code a spell
to get the reading. I hope you like your new costume.”
    Nell leaned over to look at the screen and
clapped a hand to her mouth, snickering. She motioned Elorie to
look.
    Marcus’s gruff voice boomed out again. “It’s not
funny, Nell. I’ll be the laughingstock of Realm.” Elorie moved