Elements, We Invoke You
“Toward. Not away,” I whispered my newfound mantra. With a deep breath, I let it settle into my muscles. I strolled onto the green.
The sun had set, leaving Firefly covered in a soft orange glow.
With nothing planned on the green, the town appeared deserted.
For a moment, it didn’t feel suffocating.
Without the people covering the sidewalks or the hushed conversations, it had its charm.
I don’t know if I could ever call it home, but like this, my animosity faded.
In the distance, a car backfired, sounding like a gunshot.
It jolted me back to reality, almost dumping my precious cargo.
As Lacie instructed, I carried a Tupperware container filled with dirt.
I didn’t believe that some otherworldly creature had cursed Nick.
I believed the event had created a landslide in his life, and he carried that forward.
Was it a self-fulfilling prophecy? Perhaps.
If a ceremony would help him shake the cloud hanging over his head, I could show up with a pile of dirt. I don’t know if it would make any difference, but I had gathered earth from around the campfire. Somehow it felt more appropriate than soil from Mum’s rose garden.
Even in the quiet hush, I couldn’t shake what happened earlier.
Seeing Johnny had rekindled an insecurity I thought long buried.
On the hike out of the woods, I forced myself to confront the situation.
As anger filled my stomach, I would slow down, trying to brush aside a knee-jerk reaction to get to the bottom of my issue.
I still didn’t have an answer, but I felt I was closer to a resolution.
I wanted to let go of the anger… of the pain.
“Dammit,” I muttered. For years, I focused on revenge, but as soon as it happened, I knew Pops would disapprove. What was the alternative? Even as the word forgiveness popped into my head, I shoved it aside. I wanted to move forward, but I wasn’t prepared for that, not yet.
I wandered through the green until I spotted the glow of the fire pit.
Lacie waved. Beside her, Nick… damn. Seeing him bathed in the fire's flicker, I couldn’t help but think of his body pressed against me, the soft snoring as he fell asleep.
It had only been a few days since I met him, but a night by the campfire had propelled us forward.
I might not know facts about his life… other than his favorite color.
But I felt like I knew him. A night under the stars revealed more than any coffee date.
“Did you bring it?”
Nick and I hadn’t spoken… really spoken since the night at Valhalla.
I had been so wrapped up in my exchange with Johnny and the gremlins that I didn’t think to text him.
Okay, that was a lie. I had been too nervous to text him.
I tried to imagine what words would explain how much it meant.
It had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with knocking at that door.
At Seamus’s suggestion, I ignored my instincts.
I pushed through his personal space. The more I thought about it…
It hadn’t been just for him. On the other side of that door, I found the connection I had been craving.
“I said,” Lacie asked again, the annoyance slipping into her voice. “Did you bring it?”
I lifted the Tupperware for inspection. “Why am I carrying around dirt?”
Lacie rolled her eyes as if the answer should be obvious. I had neglected to read How to Remove a Curse. It took a moment before I figured out what was off about the woman. She had replaced the flannel and hunter’s cap with a dark red dress with black lace. Did Firefly open a goth store?
“It’s for the elements. We’re going to summon the four elements to break Nick’s curse.” He offered a shrug at the statement. I think he bought as much into Lacie’s solution as I did. “Virgo is Earth. I’m obviously a Libra.”
Neither Nick nor I commented.
Lacie let out an exasperated sigh. “Come on, big guy. How many zodiac tramp stamps have you done?” She had a point. At this point, I should be an astrological expert. “I’m air. Nick here is a Sagittarius. You might not see it yet, but we’ll get that fire in him burning again.”
In response, he held up a lighter. With a flick of the thumb, he had fire.
His confused expression left me with a grin.
I had seen that fire. Nature had warded off the curse long enough for me to meet his authentic self.
I hoped that whatever this did would bring that man back. I hadn’t finished getting to know him.
“Wait, what about water?”
“Girl.” I spun toward the unfamiliar voice.
While I wore a hoodie and cargo shorts, our newcomer looked as if she were heading to the Oscars.
The sequins on the black dress shimmered in the light of the fire.
Her face shone, from the perfectly razored head down to the hoop earrings.
“You can’t have magic in this town without Mabel. ”
Even in high heels, she moved across the grass with supernatural grace.
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she floated.
When she reached the fire, she kicked off her heels.
She buried her feet in the grass, and the look of ecstasy on her face made me fall in love.
Anybody who craved that connection with Earth earned my respect.
“Everybody, meet Mabel. Let’s be honest, Firefly is the greatest place on Earth.
” I bit my tongue as she threw out her arms and spun about.
Lacie had drunk the Moxie, and there was no turning back.
“But Mabel is the icing on the cake. When she heard about our little dilemma, she offered her services.”
“Services?” Nick asked.
“Oh, he is cute.” She flicked a finger across his nose. “Plenty of men get on their knees and worship at this altar.” With hands on her hips, she struck a pose. “Now, how can I be of service? I hear we’re here to banish some bad juju.”
Something about our gathering struck a chord.
Two gay men. Two flatlanders. A drag queen.
Me covered head-to-toe in tattoos. I had come here expecting to be the outsider in a town that refused to change.
Our presence… our existence in Firefly said something.
How many outsiders did it take before it normalized?
Maybe I hadn’t been looking hard enough for the subtle ways the town grew.
Or maybe it was me who needed to catch up?
“So, tonight we’re going to call the elements and ask them to remove the curse.”
Mabel nodded as if it were just another night in Firefly. It wouldn’t surprise me if the quilting guild turned out to be a cult.
“Why couldn’t you do this in Vanguard?” I asked.
Lacie’s eyes narrowed as if I had interrupted the ceremony. “Ambiance. Obviously.” Oh, right. That made perfect sense.
Without explaining, Lacie grabbed me by the waist, pulling me into place.
She repeated it with Mabel and then with Nick.
My heart went out to him. He had fallen into himself, a reluctant version of the man I met in the woods.
It didn’t matter what I thought about the curse.
If this helped him shed that weight, I’d do what was needed.
“What do you want us to do?” I spoke to Lacie, but flashed a smile at Nick.
“Simple. I’m going to invoke the spirits, and then we’ll do our offerings.”
Of course. Simple. I wanted to scoff, but it’d be hypocritical.
On the first camping trip with Pops, we had passed a hiker in distress.
Walking the Appalachian Mountains, she had lost her water purification tablets.
Pops pulled off his rucksack and gave her a bottle of iodine.
She claimed it had been trail magic. If I believed in nature’s miracles, then maybe Lacie knew something I didn’t.
“First, we purify.” Reaching into the fire, she lit something on fire. Walking around the circle, she waved it about as if she were chasing away mosquitoes. Sage. When she reached Nick, she gave him a couple extra rounds and only stopped when he bent over in a coughing fit.
“I think we’re good.” She eyed me, then Nick. The smirk on her face said everything. My cheeks turned hot. “Well, as pure as these two are going to get.”
“Scandalous,” Mabel hissed before giving a slight, “Rawr.”
Lacie gave her shoulders a quick shake. Now that she had ensured we’d smell like sage for the rest of the night, she readied herself for the ceremony.
“Elements, we invoke you to help lift a curse.” I followed her eyes to the dark sky. A cloud lit up. It wasn’t warm enough for heat lightning. I eyed Lacie. Did our social butterfly have a supernatural secret? “We summon you.”
She pointed at Nick. He pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket, lighting its corner. Dropping it into the fire, the paper vanished almost instantly. She followed, dropping a fistful of feathers into the flame. When she pointed at me, I struggled to pull off the lid.
“Hurry up,” she barked.
I tore off the lid and dumped the dirt around the edge of the fire.
When she pointed at Mabel, the woman pulled out a spray bottle.
First, she gave herself a few spritzes, then unscrewed the top and poured the rest onto the flame.
Hissing filled the silence before the flames resumed their usual crackling.
As smoke bellowed, Lacie continued her ritual. “Spirits, we ask you to remove the curse from Nicholas Johnson.”
She froze in place, arms raised toward the sky.
It dragged on long enough that Mabel and I swapped concerned glances.
Were we supposed to join? Is this where the chanting started?
Or perhaps we’d strip naked and dance? Nobody wanted to see my dance moves.
I eyed Nick to see if anything had changed, but he didn’t look any different.
“Huh,” Lacie said. “I expected something more shock and awe.”
“That’s it?” I asked.
“Girl.” Mabel’s lips pursed as she read Lacie up and down.
“It’s fine,” Nick said. “I’ve—”
It sounded like thunder as Mabel slapped Nick.
His eyes widened, similar to mine. Had she just smacked the poor guy across the face? She moved closer, grabbing him by the shoulders, shaking him. I didn’t know if I should separate them or let the scene play out. When Lacie wrapped a hand around my arm, we took a step away.
“Consider this your exorcism, Nick Johnson.”
“But—”
She drew back her hand. Nick flinched. “These two beautiful people are standing in the middle of the park. For. You.” She accentuated each word.
“Curse? Ha!” This time, she patted him on the cheek.
“If you ask me, and you should, cause I know things.” Mabel shot us a wink. “You’re pretty damned lucky.”
Her fingers pinched his cheeks, making his lips purse. Mabel leaned in close enough that I thought they might kiss. I hadn’t been sure what to expect tonight, but a slap and tough love from a drag queen had been nowhere on the list.
“Mabel wants to know,” she whispered. “Is the curse gone?”
Nick’s eyes flickered before eyeing Lacie as she clutched my arm. Was she scared of Mabel? Or excited about what might happen next? Someday, I’d figure her out. For now, she remained a conundrum.
Our eyes met. Nick bit his top lip, unsure of what to say. I wanted to help, to wrap him in a hug and say everything would be okay. Maybe that’s why Lacie held my arm, a reminder that only Nick could make this decision.
I smiled as his back straightened. My pulse quickened as his shoulders widened. I wanted to cheer as he nodded. His eyes returned to Mabel as she continued squeezing his cheeks.
“It’s gone.” His voice shook.
Mabel didn’t relent. “What was that? A little louder for the folks in back.”
“It’s gone.” There was no more shaking.
Mabel threw her hands into the air, stepping back. “The curse has been lifted.”
For some reason, I thought the universe would crack some lightning or extinguish the fire. I didn’t expect it to send us a drag queen with attitude. Whatever got the job done.
“Did it work?” Lacie dragged me closer to him.
“Of course it worked,” Mabel said. “He has more good juju than he thinks.”
Lacie let go of me and wrapped her arms around Nick’s neck.
Coming tonight had been the right decision.
Yes, I hoped I had helped lift the curse, but it was just about that.
We were the outsiders, yes, even Mabel. We might not live in Firefly, but the town had been what brought us together.
I wanted to grumble at the admission, but it was true. The damned town had worked its magic.
While Lacie squeezed hard enough to strangle Nick, he held his hand out, pinky extended.
I had spent so much time running away, I wasn’t sure what would happen when I ran toward something.
Nick was something worth the risk. My pinky hooked alongside his.
Still no answers, but at least I had company while I figured it out.