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“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 fromtheZelda.”
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 wastheirthing.”
“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?”
Sky shot upright from his deep slouch and leaned into Nolan. “No! Absolutely not! You’ve been given the most amazing gift.”
“Okay, now that we’re alone, can you tell me who this Zelda is? Why did everyone lose their mind as soon as they said her name?” Nolan shifted in his seat as well, resting his forearms on his knees.
“Zelda…wow, that’s the crazy thing. Until I met Fox Varik, I thought she was a myth. I think most people thought she was a myth,” Sky mumbled, appearing to talk to himself for a moment. He beamed at Nolan. “Zelda is an old and powerful witch. Some people say that she’s hundreds of years old. Older than a lot of vampires.”
“Witches live that long?” Nolan gasped.
Sky scrunched up his face as he held up one hand and wobbled it. “Eh…depends on the witch. Necromancers don’t. We live a very average human life span. Grammy was eighty-two when she passed away. Earth witches can live longer. Most get past one hundred, assuming they don’t pick fights with a lot of other witches.”
“Blood witches?”
Sky shrugged. “No clue. Moon is the only one I’ve ever known. His mother was one, but she died in a car accident with his father, so we’ll never know.”
“So, Zelda is an earth witch.”
