Witch Hearts

by Liz Long

  Ruby didn’t bother hiding it anymore, instead gave her an exaggerated sigh. “You don’t even like men that much.”

  “I like pretty men and hot damn, he is fine.”

  Miranda cackled at the expression on Ruby’s face. The door bell jingled as a customer walked in, saving Ruby from any story telling. Miranda darted off to greet them and Ruby went to the back to put down her things.

  She went about her normal duties: dusting shelves, reorganizing books, and helping customers at the front as needed. She occupied her mind with work, not even realizing how fast the morning passed. Miranda snapped her out of it around one o’clock, pulling her back to reality.

  “You wanna go to lunch?”

  Ruby looked up in surprise. “Already? I could skip today, make up some of my hours.”

  “I meant with me, silly. Let’s go next door for a quick sandwich. The beauty of owning the place and all.”

  Miranda didn’t seem as though she’d take no for an argument so Ruby grabbed her wallet. They locked the door behind them, Miranda’s bright “BRB - Lunch” sign visible in the window.

  After they ordered and had a seat in the cafe one door over, Miranda wasted no time. “So how was it?”

  Ruby busied herself with unfolding a napkin and sipping her water. “How was what?”

  “You know what. The sex. Naked Cooper. Is he huge?” Miranda winked at her as she took a huge bite of her veggie on rye. Ruby almost choked.

  “Maybe we discuss something less shocking while we’re out in public,” she replied.

  Her boss rolled her brown eyes, used to Ruby’s shyer tendencies. “Okay, then. In all seriousness, how are you doing since I saw you at the memorial?”

  Ruby half-shrugged, slowly chewed and swallowed a bite of her turkey wrap. “I’m getting through it - and no, not because of sex with Cooper.” Miranda flashed a grin but waited for Ruby to continue. “It’s still weird, you know? I tried to call her yesterday out of habit. Got all the way to her voicemail before I remembered she won’t be picking up again.”

  Miranda became serious, patted Ruby’s hand. “I’m so sorry, honey. It’s hard to lose anyone, but to have it happen like this…any new developments on the bastard that got her and the others?”

  Ruby snorted. “If you mean by actually catching him, no. And believe me, it’s better you don’t know the rest.”

  Miranda quirked her pierced eyebrow, but continued eating without another word. A flash of guilt came over Ruby; Miranda had done nothing but be there for her and shouldn’t be left in the dark. She didn’t want to share such awful problems, though, not when Miranda could safely remain outside of the situation. Ruby bit the inside of her cheek; she knew how to change the topic and keep Miranda happy.

  “So, about Cooper’s manhood…” Ruby gave her a sly grin and Miranda instantly lit up, her pixie appearance giving her a mischievous glow. Sandwich forgotten, she put her hands together, touching the tips of her fingers together as a cartoon villain would.

  “Tell me everything!”

  Miranda’s constant feedback as they talked had Ruby in stitches, her stomach aching from the most laughter she’d had in days.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The first day back at work a relative success, Ruby was happy to head home and maybe even figure out a plan for dinner for her and Cooper. She parked her car and swiped her key fob to get into the building, trying not to run up the stairs in her excitement to see him. She didn’t want to act like a lovestruck schoolgirl, after all.

  Ruby stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the note on her door. Cooper would’ve gone straight to the bookshop to talk to her or at the very least texted her about leaving the apartment. She knew without looking that this was a second note from Courtney’s killer. Ruby’s wards were all still in their proper place, it seemed, so at least he hadn’t broken in again. She walked to her door and read the spidery handwriting.

  Dearest Ruby,

  While we’re still not quite ready to meet, I wanted to extend an offer of good faith. I believe you’re missing something and as it is no longer of use to me, I want to give you a chance to get it back. Perhaps you might even find something valuable with it. Go to 324 Broadway View; inside you will find Courtney’s Book of Shadows. Come alone or I’ll know we can’t trust one another and you’ll never see her book again. -X

  Ruby’s stomach fell somewhere around her knees. That psycho wanted to get her alone? Cooper and Officer Marshall would never agree to it. Ruby had to get Courtney’s magic book back; Cooper had his copy passed down from his father, but Ruby still felt she owed their family both copies. If this was the only way to get it back, she didn’t have much of a choice.

  She turned on her heel and went back down to her car before she could change her mind; Cooper might be inside her apartment and she couldn’t risk him finding out the plan or he’d go berserk. Ruby appreciated his protective nature, but after three years of Michael’s behavior, she would no longer be told what to do by anyone.

  Broadway View wasn’t too far from Michael’s. His historic district was nice, but eight blocks past that, the money stopped. Ruby used to pass the area on the way to work and knew it was an older, worn-down neighborhood. On her way out, she spotted Cooper’s bike sitting in her parking lot and she hurried to get out of the vicinity.

  Fifteen minutes later, she sat outside of 324 Broadway View, a dilapidated house on the corner. Peeling paint and broken shutters were the least of its problems; half the porch roof was falling in and Ruby might need a machete to get through the yard. She grimaced, thinking she might just need a machete, period.

  Courtney’s Book of Shadows is in there, she told herself.

  Then another voice chimed in: What if it’s not?

  A chill went down her spine at the thought. She could very well be stepping into the killer’s trap, practically serving herself up on a silver platter to him by showing up here alone. She took a deep breath, Courtney’s face coming to her mind. She needed to get that book back.

  “What if it really is in there? You’d risk losing it forever because you’re a wuss?” she wondered aloud. The price for her cowardice was too steep.

  Ruby shook her head and got out of the car, steeling herself for whatever may happen. She walked up to the front door, careful to avoid the roof debris. A note stuck to the door read Leave your things in the car, but Ruby had already locked them in the trunk and so she pushed forward.

  The front door opened with a terrible creak and she stepped inside. She couldn’t see much of anything, thanks to the covered up windows. What little she could make out was covered in thick layers of dust. The air felt stale with rot; animals had come in at some point to stink the place up and Ruby said a small prayer to the goddess that no creature would pop out and scare her to death. She’d stashed a crystal in her pocket, but the house had no electricity to borrow. Without even her phone to light the way, Ruby would have a difficult time locating Courtney’s spell book.

  She thought hard for a second, letting her eyes adjust to the light. After another moment, she lifted up her hand, breathing into her palm as she whispered:

  “To find an object in darkest day,

  One must simply light the way

  Give me flame so that I may see

  And once it’s done blessed be.”

  A large, glowing flame appeared in Ruby’s hand as though her palm itself were the lighter. Ruby smiled, rather pleased despite the circumstances and crept her way forward using the firelight.

  Things seemed warmer in the golden glow, but the place was still a wreck. Ruby admitted she was glad not to see much around her, as her need for cleanliness might kick in otherwise. Pieces of furniture were strewn about and Ruby could see the crawl space below the broken wooden floor in more than a few spots. Making her way around each table or chair in every room, she gave a thorough look at everything, but no book appeared.

  Ruby heard a rattling noise coming from the back area that at one time must
have been a sun room. Twilight peeked through some of the boarded up windows and she held her flame farther out to see better. Still nothing moved and Ruby had almost given up when she heard a fluttering sound. She crept forward to the back door, held her breath to listen for any footsteps. A door to her left lay ajar and she put her hand on the knob and pushed it open.

  A shape came at her, flying and flapping around her head and Ruby yelped, swinging her hands around her head to deter her attacker. Gasping for breath, she saw the culprit, a lone pigeon that had gotten stuck inside the large, empty closet. He now strutted on the floor, ruffling his feathers and glaring at her with beady little black eyes. Hand over her pounding heart, Ruby sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm down.

  “Lucky I didn’t catch myself on fire, damn creatures popping out of crevices.” She turned to head into another room, still grumbling to herself. “Where’s Aziza when I need her?”

  The floor groaning beneath her weight, she continued her search on the first floor. After completing the front rooms and kitchen, Ruby looked up at the decrepit steps in doubt. It seemed unlikely anyone could get up those, much less get back down and have another person be successful too. Surely this nutjob didn’t mean for the steps to collapse in and kill her before he could, right?

  A noise from behind Ruby made her pivot, throwing her hand out in front of her to see better. She held her breath and only silence replied. Walking forward in the hallway, she saw a door she missed earlier. Using her boot, she swung it open, bracing herself for more pigeons or bats or other awful things. Nothing flew out at her, so she leaned forward to see.

  Her heart dropped. It was, naturally, the basement. The dark and creepy basement of a house about to implode on itself. This seemed way more the psycho’s speed.

  “Easy pickings. Just bury me alive and come back later for the heart,” Ruby muttered.

  She didn’t try to hide her annoyed sigh and began the slow decline. She was surprised to find a relatively sturdy staircase and made it to the bottom without any broken steps or limbs. Even with the bright glowing flame in her hand, the pitch black basement gave her the ultimate creeps. She waited for her life to flash before her eyes since part of her expected the killer to jump out and grab her.

  She took a few more blind steps forward. Finally, her foot bumped into something. Pausing, Ruby brought her flame out, but there was nothing in front of her. Confused, she looked around, still finding nothing. When she lowered her hand, however, the flame caught a light that winked at her and her body froze. She had to force her palm downward and found the shiny something was the glittering silver pendant on the front of Courtney’s Book of Shadows.

  Relieved, Ruby reached down to grab it and discovered it was sitting on something. She picked the book up and her hands felt sticky. Curious, she brought the flame in for a better look and her breath caught in her throat. The back of the spell book - and now her hand - were covered in a congealed red substance.

  “Please be paint. Please be paint.” She squeezed her eyes shut as she whispered, knowing she was wrong.

  Taking a deep breath, she lowered her hand to see where it had come from. Dots swam in front of her eyes as they adjusted to find red blood all over naked, stark white skin.

  A whistling noise, like wind sweeping through the room, sounded and she distinctly heard a whisper that floated through the darkness to her. Her hair ruffled as the breeze called out her name. “Ruby…help.”

  Then the basement lights cut on, bright as a football field, temporarily blinding Ruby. She swung around wildly to see, panic making her adrenaline skyrocket. A shape came at her, some unidentifiable dark blur that went straight at her face. Ruby’s yelp slipped from her mouth as she fell backwards, tripping on what she’d seen a moment ago but didn’t want to actually admit yet.

  Ruby landed hard on her back, the fall knocking the wind out of her. Heart ricocheting around in her chest, her attention totally diverted, the flame from her palm disappeared. When Ruby sat up to look for the strange shape, all she saw was an empty dirt basement, unnaturally bright in a house like this - a light designed with magic to turn on her at the right moment. Then she looked down at what she’d fallen over.

  Ruby screamed, a bloodcurdling, terrified sound that she thought for sure could be heard across the city. Denise, the witch from the coven who she’d seen at the meeting Saturday, lay naked and dead on the ground. Her pale white skin was mottled with dark bruises around the wrists and ankles, her blank brown eyes seeing nothing. Ruby had tripped on her legs, lifeless on the dirt floor. Ruby clutched Courtney’s book to her chest, smearing her jacket with Denise’s blood. When she looked down past the neck, she struggled not to vomit.

  As all the others, this poor girl’s heart was taken, ripped out of her body by crude surgery. Ruby’s eyes welled up with tears, the shock of the mess everywhere too much to comprehend. Blood pooled around her, the gaping hole in Denise’s naked, pale chest making Ruby’s stomach turn.

  She could do nothing but stare at the body, unable to look away from the awful bloody image. A full ten seconds passed and still she did nothing, unable to move in her fear. Loud, sudden footsteps above her head made her jump in terror.

  “Ruby!” a voice from the stairway shouted. She half expected Cooper to dart through the doorway, but was surprised to find Ben Marshall in plainclothes motioning at her from the steps as he talked on a walkie-talkie. He walked over to her and Ruby noticed he was careful not to disturb anything around them.

  “Ruby, are you okay? Oh, Jesus.” Marshall reached out and she flinched, finally looking away from the dead body. Ruby took his hand and he helped her up, cradling his arm around her so she couldn’t turn back to look at Denise. She felt him cringe at the sight.

  “Why are you here?” Ruby replied numbly.

  “I followed you to this neighborhood. What are you doing here?”

  “You…followed me?” All Ruby could hear was white noise, her head pounding from her screams.

  “I’ve been keeping an eye on you when I can. We couldn’t risk you getting taken so when I saw you go into our building and then immediately back out, I figured something was up. I was around the block when I heard you scream.”

  With the adrenaline leaving Ruby’s body, the cold washed over her. It left her shaking, felt like an internal earthquake and it was only when Marshall held her close in a tight embrace that she started to feel warm again. Ignoring Marshall’s chiseled chest and arms, she closed her eyes and tried to recount everything that had happened, as well as wonder what happened next.

  “I didn’t want to contaminate the crime scene,” Ruby muttered.

  Officer Marshall stepped back to look at her, puzzled. “What?”

  “I almost threw up when I saw her chest,” she explained. “I didn’t want to mess anything up for the police.”

  She put her forehead against his chest again and could’ve sworn she felt him almost smile at her consideration.

  “I hate to tell you this since it’s clearly important to you,” Marshall said in a low tone, “but I’m going to have to take that book in as evidence.”

  Ruby’s shoulders sagged, but she nodded, knew he was only following procedure. How on earth would she explain why she risked life and limb to get a book full of wonky symbols and rhymes?

  The next hour was a blur to her. Marshall called in the body and soon the house was full of policemen, detectives, the medical examiner, and media trying to worm their way through the door. Ruby answered all of the questions Detective Phillips threw at her, no longer bothering to hide her exhaustion. Phillips’ eyebrows only raised slightly when she gave him all the magic details, but she ignored it. He could do what he wanted with the information - it was the truth and if he thought her crazy, she wouldn’t be able to convince him otherwise. Finally, Officer Marshall led her out to the side of the house, away from prying eyes, and she collapsed on the sidewalk.

  Marshall sat next to her. “Can I get you anything?”
/>
  “A straightjacket. Or maybe a time machine.”

  “You don’t believe in time travel spells?” he joked.

  “They’re frowned upon. Witches who try can get in pretty big trouble, in more ways than one,” she said. He grimaced as though he regretted hearing her answer.

  “Officer Marshall-,” she started.

  “Call me Ben.”

  “Ben, I thought you were a regular police officer. How long have you been tailing me?”

  “Since I took your report down to Phillips at the station. He put me on special assignment since we live in the same building and I had access to you.”

  “You’ve been with me that long?” He nodded and she blushed. “Have you heard everything I’ve said?”

  A fervent shake of the head calmed her. He hadn’t heard her tell Miranda about Cooper’s…appendages. Thank the goddess.

  “Your boss is pretty cute.” A hint of a smile crossed his lips.

  “You’re not exactly her type.”

  For a split second, he looked offended. “Because I’m black?”

  “What? No! She’s bi, but mostly digs girls.”

  Despite the circumstances, he chuckled, pretty white teeth gleaming against dark skin. “Oh, I see. Story of my life.”

  A thought struck her as she thought back over the previous days. “That means you saw Cooper’s friend, right?”

  “The skittish guy in the coffee shop?”

  She nodded. “Did you happen to see where he went when he left?”

  “Actually, since Cooper was with you, I followed him. He shook me off between alleys, though, so I went back to our complex.”

  She sighed in frustration, looked up from her knees to see chocolate brown eyes on her. “I don’t understand how someone can do this to us.”

  “It’s not your fault,” he assured her in a gentle voice. “This guy is a full-on psychopath who happens to target young women who practice Wicca.”