Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
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.