Chapter 8
The winter solstice witch party was a success.
They might have all drank too much, but they’d devised a rough scheme to meet after the holidays prior to the passing around of the wine.
Maddox and Red might have also gotten a few good laughs over the stories Sky had told about the tree.
It was clear they didn’t entirely believe the tales, but they would soon enough.
Christmas Day was a blissful event with his sweet boyfriend surprising him with some of the best gifts.
Sky couldn’t begin to figure out how Nolan had gotten his hands on an actual spell book from an old necromancer who’d lived in the area more than a hundred years ago.
So far, Nolan wasn’t saying a peep, but Sky had ways to wringing the truth out of Nolan.
In addition, there were more books, soft sweaters, and random weird gifts exchanged that had earned belly laughs.
Both Sky and Nolan had also made sparkly ornaments covered in glitter and sequins for the little tree. It seemed a safe assumption that the tree liked its gifts, considering how it moved its branches to get the lights to bounce off its new, flashy swag.
Grammy had appeared to share in their fun for a few hours, and then her ghost was off to cavort with her friends, giving the young, living couple time to cuddle in front of a fire and eat way too much delicious food.
After Christmas, when the United States fell into a sort of sated, sluglike state where people were content to live off of leftovers and binge endless amounts of TV until they were forced to return to work at the start of the new year, Sky gathered his coven mates Redstone and Maddox for some magic and mischief.
Former blood witch Moon had already left for his new home in China with his vampire mate, but he’d promised to make regular visits to see them.
Nolan had wisely chosen to remain out of the way and make margaritas, because midnight margaritas were a necessary thing for magic and mayhem with Sky and his coven.
The doorbell rang, and Sky hurried to let in his friends. He cast an eye toward the tree as he passed the living room. This was going to be the first time his companions had seen the tree in person. All their get-togethers in December had been held at Red’s or Mad’s homes.
“Holy fuck, it’s cold!” Red complained as soon as Sky opened the door. “Has anyone looked into whether earth witch magic is stronger in tropical climates? I’m over this winter shit.”
“Like your pale skin could handle that much sun,” Mad muttered. He stomped on the welcome mat twice to knock the snow off his boots and then entered the house.
“I would rather spend time slathering on sunscreen than freezing my nuts off,” Red replied. He pulled off his knit hat to reveal a wild mop of fiery red hair. The pale skin in question was tinted pink from the kiss of the cold winter wind.
“Sky, I put the tree you wanted me to find on the porch. Would you rather I brought it inside so we can—”
“No!” Sky shouted, and Nolan echoed it from the kitchen. Red and Mad froze, eyes wide as they stared at Sky.
“Ummm…” Red began, seeming hesitant to continue beyond a single syllable after that emphatic response.
“Please leave it outside. Our new tree is territorial and doesn’t like other trees in the house,” Sky stated.
Red snorted. “You were serious about that?”
“Yep. It totally trashed the artificial tree Sky tried to put up. I’m still finding fake pine needles in weird places,” Nolan stated as he strolled down the hall from the kitchen. “I’ve got strawberry margaritas all lined up. Do you want a drink before or after you start casting?”
The three witches didn’t need to discuss it. They answered in unison, “Before.”
After shedding their coats and gathering up the spell-casting supplies they’d brought, the trio of witches wandered into the living room while Nolan returned to the kitchen.
“Whoa,” Red whispered. “It looks even bigger than the pictures you showed us.”
“Agreed. It appears to be a common Spartan juniper tree, and those are relatively fast growing, but that rate slows significantly during the winter,” Mad said.
He ran a landscaping company as his day job, and right now, Sky couldn’t be more grateful for his expertise.
Mad and Red were both earth witches, but it was Mad who’d come through with finding the right tree during the dead of winter.
“Unless it’s kept inside and receives a regular dose of death magic from an out-of-control necromancer,” Red teased.
“Hey!” Sky cried. “I’m not out of control. It’s the fae. When they were here, they screwed with all the magic in the area. They’re the ones that broke down your protective barrier and woke this little guy up.”
Nolan crossed from the kitchen, carrying a tray with four large glasses holding frozen margaritas. “And I’d like it if you could make it so that nothing else woke up from our neighbors’ yards.”
Red snickered as he grabbed a glass. “What? Afraid your house is going to be overrun?”
“I don’t want an army of vegetation following me across the street to work every day.”
Sky nodded. He also didn’t want to fight more plants for privacy each time he wanted a sexy moment with his boyfriend. But no way in hell he was admitting to his coven mates that a tree had cockblocked him.
Everyone snagged their drinks, and Nolan set the tray aside.
They enjoyed their adult beverages and began pulling out their magical supplies.
Sky knew he had to keep his distance, because death magic and earth magic didn’t always play well together.
More than once, Sky had attempted to help the earth witches and made their spells go haywire.
He’d found that his powers were slightly more in tune with Moon’s blood magic.
Of course, Moon’s magic could also work with the earth witches occasionally. Blood magic was more versatile.
“Does it really move around the house on its own? You’ve seen it happen?” Red asked, his voice full of skepticism.
“Oh my God,” Nolan groaned, dropping into one of the chairs.
“Of course we’ve seen it,” Sky replied. “How do you think it got in here? It didn’t magically appear. It knocked on the front door.”
Maddox looked up from where he was digging through his big canvas black bag and narrowed his eyes at the tree. “In Red’s defense, it does look to be an ordinary tree. Like you dug it up from the yard and dragged it inside as some cheap Christmas tree knock-off.”
The tree did not appreciate being called cheap or a knock-off. It suddenly poofed up its branches and raised nearly a foot on its roots. It chittered at Red and Mad angrily, its limbs trembling and the ornaments softly jingling.
Mad and Red shouted and scrambled on their hands and knees away from the trees, crossing to the adjoining dining room before they stopped. Sky cackled, almost falling off the sofa, while Nolan snickered softly.
“We might have forgotten to mention that the tree is sensitive,” Nolan interjected.
“And it can clearly understand English,” Sky added.
“No shit!” Red barked, which sent Sky into more peals of laughter.
“Is…is it safe to go in there?” Maddox inquired.
Nolan lifted his glass and took another deep drink. “Yeah. But don’t insult the tree. I’m not fighting it off for you.”
The two earth witches crept into the living room, still keeping a suspicious eye on the tree as they returned to their prep work.
“I was thinking we’d do the standard barrier with Silvery Moonlight Aura to strengthen it,” Red murmured.
“I think the Guardian of the Dead charm would work better than Silvery Moonlight,” Mad stated.
“Yeah, who wouldn’t want to do that charm? But it requires a lot of witch hazel washed in the first full moon of the winter solstice. You got that much prepped witch hazel to toss around?”
“No, but the alternative is the Disrupt Magic Jinx, and the smell from the nettles soaked in cat urine always gives me a headache.”
Red shook his head, nose wrinkled. “That’s the worst, but I’ve found you can also use corn silk braided with iron shavings in place of the nettles.”
“But the corn silk has to be fresh. Where the hell are we going to get fresh corn silk this time of year?” Maddox glared at Red. “You didn’t say we needed to stop at the grocery store to pick up corn still in the leaves.”
“Fine. Then let’s scrap the standard barrier and go with the Seal of Tranquility.”
“Have you lost your fucking mind? The only way to cast that spell effectively is to be buck-ass naked. The windchill is minus three tonight.”
Sky held in a giggle, finally tearing his eyes away as Nolan moved to cuddle up against him on the sofa. His boyfriend’s glass was empty, and there was a nice flush to his cheeks. Sweet Nolan was a lightweight when it came to drinking, and it was adorable.
“Are they always like this?” he asked in a loud whisper.
“It’s usually worse because Moon likes to toss in bullshit nonsense to get them arguing more.”
Nolan kissed his temple and nuzzled his nose along Sky’s neck. His grumpy man was so cuddly when buzzed. “Have your magic and Grammy’s magic always leaked around the neighborhood?”
“Yes, but she had a witch friend who helped to seal the leaking magic off so that it didn’t affect more than her own yard.
After a while, Grammy would drain it off and take it to the graveyard to give the dead a night to dance and play.
After I moved in, we had to strengthen the barrier.
We kind of let it go after she died because we were back down to one active necromancer. ”
“But the fae fucked things up,” Nolan chimed in.
“So it would seem.” Sky sighed. If there was anyone his magic wasn’t compatible with, it was definitely the fae.