Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“Oh, that.” Nolan threaded a finger under the leather thong and brought the strange blue stone out from under his shirt so Sky could see it. “One of the witches gave it to me while you and the others were preparing the trap for the dogs. It was weird. After she gave it to me, she disappeared. I didn’t see her with the others at the barrier.”
“Whatcha got?” Moon inquired as he and Red wandered over with Audrey.
“An amulet and necklace given to me by a witch on the soccer field,” Nolan replied. “There’s something inscribed on the stone, but I haven’t looked at it yet.”
“It’s powerful,” Sky murmured as he continued to inspect the stone.
“She said it was to help improve my luck.”
“Not protection?” Red asked.
“Powerful indeed,” Audrey sniffed. “Luck is far trickier to improve than a protection amulet. I wonder who gave it to you. I don’t know of any witches who are comfortable fucking around with luck.” She crossed her thin arms over her stomach and shook her head. “If that spell isn’t just right, it’ll backfire on you and stick. No witch wants to scrub bad luck off her. Damn near impossible.”
“There is something inscribed here, but it’s hard to make out.” It felt like Sky was twisting the stone toward the firelight as the leather thong tightened on Nolan’s neck. “Lots of circles…and a—holy shit!”
Sky dropped the stone and leaped a full foot away. He pointed a finger at Nolan. “Z! There’s a ‘Z’ inscribed on the stone!”
“What? Are you sure?”
Audrey stepped up first and grabbed the stone, inspecting it the same way Sky had, pulling him by the throat to the fire to improve the light.
“Are you serious? You saw a Z?” Red demanded.
“Nolan, what did the witch look like?” Moon asked him.
“Umm…it’s hard to say. It was so dark at the picnic tables. She was short and thin. Long dark hair in a braid, but there was some gray in her hair. Dark eyes. She didn’t say her name. We talked for a while.” Nolan turned his gaze to Sky and smiled. “It was pretty clear she thought I was crazy for dating a witch.”
“You are crazy,” Sky countered seriously, but his face broke into an answering grin. “But it’s a good crazy.”
“Welp, you’re right.” Audrey laid the blue stone on Nolan’s chest and stepped away. “There is a Z on that amulet. That’s a gift from the Zelda.”
That pronouncement sent Sky, Moon, and Red into near panic attacks of excitement. Audrey’s voice was also loud enough to carry over the crackling flames, bringing almost all the witches over to where they were standing. One by one, they lined up to inspect the amulet. Nolan tried to take it off so they could see it better, but that only sent them into more of a tizzy. They pummeled him with admonishments to never take it off.
It was nearly twenty minutes before the loud chatter dissolved and the group broke up. The witches trickled out in small clusters with excuses of needing to get home to feed their cats, water the plants, go to bed.
When he and Sky were alone, Nolan plopped down next to his new boyfriend. He threaded their fingers together as they watched the last of the smoldering embers die away.
“Did you have a good night?” Nolan inquired.
Sky smirked at him. “I’m assuming you mean after we sent those bad puppers to the underworld?”
“Yes, I’m talking about the shindig here, where you were surrounded by evil witches and swapping muffin recipes.”
The necromancer snickered. “Heard that, did you? Yes, I had a great night. Mad, Red, and Moon had a good night too,” Sky shrugged, his fingers tightening on Nolan’s. “The four of us are so accustomed to being hated. We’ve been outcasts for our entire lives, and most of it comes down to our gender. Well before people even immigrated to this country, they believed that a man couldn’t be a witch. He could never cast a proper spell. A man would taint this beautiful art.”
“You guys proved them wrong tonight.”
Sky grunted. “True. I think most of them were coming around already, but they were dragging their feet. I get it. Women have been forced to fight for a place in all things other than being a mother or maid. For a long time, being a witch was their thing.”
“But it’s not fair if this is how you’re born,” Nolan argued.
“True, but I empathize. I’m glad it seems a lot of the old baggage has been put aside. I’m not saying I believe we’re going to be meeting up for tea or BL binge nights, but I’m not as worried about one of them killing me now.”
Nolan could only smile at his sweet, soft-hearted man. “I’m guessing I shouldn’t worry about this witch Zelda trying to curse me?”