A Dangerous Witch (Witch Central Series: Book 3) by Debora Geary Page A

needed fortifying before going off to make sure her own jewels were well and truly buried.
    -o0o-
    Lauren grinned.  It was a weird morning when you could go from flute music to waffle coma to tracking down miscreants in an imaginary world.  She looked over at Moira, resplendent in her favorite Realm get-up, walking up the path beside her into what looked like primeval forest.  “How come the two of us got enlisted for this mission?” 
    Ginia giggled from two steps ahead of them.  “Because Aunt Moira’s really devious and sneaky, and you can hear if there are any troublemakers lurking around.”  She raised her voice a little higher.  “Like ones named Mama or Uncle Jamie.”
    Mia, far sunnier than she’d been over waffles, picked up a rock and threw it at a bush barely big enough to hide a guinea pig.  “Or Kevin.  He’s smart, and he’s almost as sneaky as Aunt Moira.”
    Apparently an old Irish granny had a bit of a gaming reputation.  Lauren accepted her sidekick status and prepared to enjoy a walk through a virtual forest.  And then a flash of color caught her eye.  She peered down at something on the ground that looked like a lost billiard ball.  “What’s this?”  If they were supposed to be detecting magical intrusions into Ginia’s territory, a shiny purple ball in the grass looked pretty suspicious.
    Mia’s eyes danced with glee.  “Go ahead.  Pick it up.”
    Moira snorted and pulled something yellow and gloopy out of her backpack and laid it beside the purple sphere.  “No picking on players who only spend ten minutes a month in Realm, dears.”
    Busted.  Lauren leaned over, curiosity getting the better of her.  “What is it?”
    “Dragon bait.”  Ginia grinned.  “It’s full of every kind of spicy herb.  They love it.  It helps them make bigger dragon fire.”
    Only in Realm could that possibly sound like a good idea.  “Wait—aren’t we trying to hide your jewels from the dragons?” 
    “Yup.”  This time Ginia’s grin was dangerous.  “This isn’t near my cache—it’s The Wizard’s.”
    “Mama should know better than to help Uncle Jamie with any of his dumb ideas.”  Mia reached into the bag on her sister’s back and started pulling out more dragon-ball bait.  “These ones must be an extra good batch, they’re making my hands tingle.”
    “Really?”  Ginia was busy doing something mysterious with a thing in her hands that looked like a steampunk spider.  “Must be the Vietnamese cinnamon bark—I totally juiced it.”
    “Carefully, I hope,” said Moira, smiling at the girls as she planted more of her yellow gloop.
    Lauren reminded herself never to mess with these particular denizens of Witch Central.  She reached for two of the purple spheres in Mia’s hands.  “I’ll help—where are we supposed to be putting them?”
    “Anywhere.”  Mia’s voice was distant, her attention focused on the palm Lauren had just emptied.  “It still tingles.”  She looked up, eyes worried.  “Ginia, is it supposed to do that?”
    Her sister turned around—and dropped the spellcubes in her hands, eyes wide with fear.  “Lauren, get Mama.  Right now.”
    Lauren threw a mind yell at Nell—and then realized she was in Realm.  Mind magic only worked on people in-game.
    “It’s getting stronger.”  Mia’s head hammered with panic, and the temperature in their little corner of Realm had spiked a good ten degrees.
    “I got it.”  Ginia yanked out her game tablet and smashed her hand down on a huge red button.  “Full admin alert—everybody will come.”
    Lauren stepped toward Mia, trying to remember something useful from all of the magic lessons she’d sat in on over the last three years.  Grounding.  Centering.  Anything.
    And then she saw two things that turned her blood to pure ice.
    Mia’s blonde curls were turning red. 
    And behind her shoulder stood Moira Doonan, face death white, the anvil of terror in her head pounding out