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Their plans settled, the witches grabbed their bags of spell ingredients and goodies and headed out to their cars. Nolan offered to drive Sky in his car, as it gave the necromancer the chance to focus on the dogs and magic rather than the road.
“Sky, question,” Nolan said after they drove out of their neighborhood and headed across town to the golf course.
“Nolan, I’ll give you all the answers you could want. Especially if the answer is ‘I do.’ ”
He could only shake his head at the flirty man. Completely incorrigible. “Why don’t you summon up those two giant minions you used to scare off the vampires?”
“Kevin and Bob?”
“Walking buildings with chains and horns? Like sightseeing?”
Sky nodded. “Yes, that’s Kevin and Bob. They are an option, but not the most effective one. While they’re big, they’re also slow. They could capture a dog if it was unconscious or trapped. I’ve never dealt with dandy dogs myself, but from the stories I’ve heard, they’re fast.”
“And would run circles around Kevin and Bob.”
Sky grunted in agreement. “I don’t want to hurt Kevin’s and Bob’s feelings like that.”
“Do you know of any minions who could catch the dogs?” Nolan asked. Earlier in the day, he’d watched as Sky had Frank bring him this thick leather tome that listed all the minions of the underworld. But Nolan had first made a quick grocery run for Sky, so he could keep his minions in sandwiches.
Sky braced his elbow on the car door and rested his head on his hand. “I have a couple of options, but they aren’t great. I’ve never worked with them, and that always makes me nervous.”
“Why? You don’t think they’d turn on you?”
Nolan brought the car to a stop for a red light and glanced over to see Sky give a halfhearted shrug. “It’s possible. Not all minions are the best behaved. They don’t all listen to instructions, or they don’t listen well. I’ve got a reputation in the underworld among the minions, and I’m sure it’s spread that I’m now friends with their king. That would keep any new minions in line, but I’m always hesitant.”
And if Sky needed to summon a minion to handle something as dangerous as a dandy dog, that meant the creature brought a different kind of danger to the table. One Sky had to be able to handle.
“Don’t worry.” Nolan pressed the gas as the light turned green. “I’m sure we can handle this.”
Sky slouched in his chair, filling the car with wave after wave of laughter. “I can’t…I can’t believe…”
“What?”
“You!”
Nolan blinked and looked over at Sky for a second before jerking his gaze to the road. “What?”
“It hasn’t even been three weeks!” Sky sat up a little higher in his chair and leaned forward so Nolan could see his wide grin. “Less than three weeks ago, you were in my kitchen freaking out about vampires.”
Nolan nodded. “And Frank. You surprised me with Frank and that you’re a witch.”
“Exactly. Less than three weeks ago, fate tossed you into the deep end of the magical world. You’ve been hit with witches, vampires, demons, minions, and shifters. And now you’re all, ‘Let’s summon up some minions and hunt some dandy dogs!’ I think most people would be curled up under their beds. At the very least, I’m surprised you didn’t immediately put your house up for sale and start packing.”
Nolan could only shrug. “I like my house.”
“Nolan!”
“What? I adapt to things fast. Owen was always throwing my life into chaos, so I learned to adapt and think on my feet. I was also working on my own. No one was out there to help me.” He flashed Sky a warm smile while tightening his hands on the wheel. “But with this stuff, you’ve been at my side every step of the way. How could I not learn to go with the flow?”
“You’re amazing.” Sky sighed, and heat seared the tips of Nolan’s ears. He didn’t feel amazing. Sky was the amazing one with his magic and interesting friends.
Thankfully, they arrived at the meeting spot a couple of minutes later, and they moved away from talking about who was amazing and how.
Maddox parked his truck behind Nolan’s car a few seconds later, and they all climbed out. Old trees filled the block, their dark-green leaves nearly blotting out the streetlamps. The houses were a mix of small cottages and ranches that appeared to be at least seventy years old. Lights glowed warmly from the windows as people were settling behind the TV and children were being sent to bed ahead of another school day.
“Sky, can you tell if the dogs are here?” Red inquired as they all gathered near the edge of the woods.
“Yes, definitely here,” Sky replied, each word sharp and tight.
