Ruin's Lot

by ID Johnson

  Lyric pulled into the driveway and got out of his truck. He was hopeful that she’d report she’d also had a discussion with Ru and now she was much more willing to believe, but he could tell by her solemn expression that wasn’t the case. “Well, that didn’t go as expected,” she muttered, tossing his keys back to him.

  Cutter caught them and shoved them into his pocket. “You think?”

  Offering him a small smile, she crossed and sat down next to him on the swing. “I don’t think you could’ve done anything differently, though. All of that information at the same time has to be hard to accept. Especially the part about who she is and what she’s supposed to do.”

  “I hardly even got into any of that, though,” Cutter replied, exasperated. He ran both hands through his hair and leaned forward, doubled over, his elbows embedded in his knees.

  “Just give her a few days. Let her come back to us.”

  “And what if she doesn’t?” Rider stepped out onto the porch and crossed it to hoist himself up on the railing.

  “I think she will,” Lyric replied, her voice much calmer than Rider’s.

  “But if she doesn’t….” Rider wasn’t willing to let his contention go.

  “Well, we can’t do anything about it right this second. At least we found her. That’s the most important thing.” Lyric caught Cutter’s eyes, and even though he still felt like he’d messed everything up, she did have a point.

  “So has Nat, apparently,” Rider reminded them. “What do we do if he takes her?”

  “She won’t go with him.” Lyric seemed sure of herself, but Cutter had his doubts. If anyone could lure someone away, it was Thanatos.

  “Yeah, well, no one thought Seraphina would follow Larkin either, but we saw how that went.” Rider hopped down off of the railing, causing the porch to shake a bit.

  “She’s not her mother,” Cutter interjected, not sure how he knew Ru would be any different than the wayward Keeper that gave birth to her. “The circumstances are not the same at all.”

  “No, Seraphina completely understood what she was doing and chose to do it anyway, whereas Ru is clueless.” Rider had his arms crossed, his expression showing his disposition was just as cross.

  “We don’t know what happened with Sera for sure,” Ivy reminded them, speaking from the doorway, her voice serene. “And we won’t know until we can find her. Now that we have Ru, we might be able to.”

  “We don’t have Ru, though,” Cutter replied. “And, thanks to my colossal mess up, I don’t think we ever will.”

  “We will.” Lyric nodded once slowly.

  “We better.” Rider stormed off, back inside, stepping around Ivy. Cutter could hear his loud boots echoing up the stairs even from out here.

  Lyric patted him on the back. “Like I said, just give her a few days. Don’t say anything to her about it at work. She’ll grow curious and try to find out more information. In the meantime, Nat won’t be able to take her. She’s too strong for that.”

  Cutter nodded his head, as if he were agreeing, but he had no idea if Lyric was right or not. If anything happened to Ru, he didn’t know what he would do. “Maybe… maybe I should go to her house, in spirit form, and keep an eye on her.”

  “You can’t do that every night,” Ivy reminded him, stepping out onto the porch. “You have a job to do, and you’ll have to rest some time.”

  He knew she had a point, but if it meant keeping Ru safe, he’d find a way. She was growing more and more important to him each day, and he realized not all of it was because she was the lost Keeper.

  “We could take turns,” Lyric suggested, glancing from Cutter to Ivy and then back.

  “That’s a good idea,” Cutter replied. “And since I don’t have school tomorrow, I’ll go first.”

  “Well, just be careful. You don’t want her to know you’re there, and if she has honed her abilities any at all, she’ll sense you. It seems like whatever cloaking device her mother used to hide her must have dissipated once we found her because we can feel her now.” Ivy’s warning was reasonable.

  He knew what she said was true. The closer he got to Ru, the more he could sense her whenever he reached out with his mind. “I’ll be cautious,” Cutter assured her, rising. He would need a dark, quiet place so that he could concentrate. His bedroom would work sufficiently, so he headed that direction. Hopefully, this would work, and he could keep Ru safe from Nat while she tried to come to grips with her own understanding of everything he’d told her. She’d have to come around eventually, wouldn’t she?

  Chapter 12

  “And then, Steve said to follow him, so I did. But we forgot the potion, so I went back and got it. And Rupert was with us, but later, he died. And I was really sad about that. So I researched that if you keep the healing potion, you can save him, so I’m going to restart when I get home and see if that works.”

  Ira was standing next to her desk, telling her a story about Minecraft, and Ru was nodding along, even though she had no idea what he was talking about. “Wow, Ira, that sounds interesting. Can you tell me one more thing and then save the rest for recess?”

  “Sure,” he replied. The young boy continued to talk, but Ru was no longer listening at all. She caught a glimpse of Cutter over his shoulder in the hallway. He glanced in her direction and then looked away, taking his class down the hall, likely headed toward lunch, which is where Ru would be taking her friends in just a few minutes. Returning her attention to Ira, he said, “but I don’t like that Villager, so I think I might lock him up.”

  “Right,” Ru nodded. “That sounds like a plan. I would love for you to tell me more at recess, okay?”

  “Okay.” Ira didn’t seem particularly excited about the possibility, but Ru knew that didn’t mean he wasn’t looking forward to it. It was difficult to judge his emotions based on his reactions, just as he struggled with understanding the emotions of others.

  “Class, class?”

  “Yes, yes?”

  She had everyone’s attention now, and Ira was settling into his seat. “Go ahead and put your writing journals in your desks, and let’s line up for lunch.”

  The students did as she directed, and Ru waited until the line was perfectly straight and quiet before she gave the signal for the lead student to walk out into the hall. The rest of her class followed along behind, and Ru walked in the middle of the line so she could see everyone.

  Out in the hall, she heard Candice’s class behind hers. They were loud and unruly. Even though Candice was a great teacher, she really was struggling this year. Ru wished she could give her some pointers, but she knew her previous mentor probably wouldn’t appreciate it, even if they were friends.

  Once they reached the cafeteria, Ru got her class in line behind Cutter’s. He was walking back toward the exit and he paused to smile at her for a moment but didn’t speak. It’d been almost three weeks since their not-a-date fiasco, and Ru had only spoken to him when she had to, at team meetings and things like that. He was still dutifully turning her lights on and off and keeping her door open and shut when needed, but he seemed to be giving her some space.

  Ru looked at the support staff who had lunchroom duty and made sure it was safe for her to leave. She had copies to make and needed to grade a test, so she planned to eat at her desk, once she had the papers she needed. Luckily, she’d remembered to bring the originals and thought she could stop by the copier on her way back to class. She had her fingers crossed that there wasn’t a line and she didn’t break the copier.

  Walking in to the copy room, she saw that Jane was already there. She tried to stifle her sigh and took her place in line. “I’ll be done in a few,” Jane said, her voice sounding almost friendly. She looked over at Ru sympathetically, something she’d been doing a lot of lately, and Ru wondered what she’d heard. Maybe Cutter was telling everyone he had turned Ru down or that she’d done something embarrassing when they went out.

  Even though she thought it was best to let it go, Ru asked
, “Jane, why do you keep looking at me like that?”

  “Like what?” she replied, feigning innocence.

  “Like I’m a wounded puppy,” Ru said, trying to keep the sharpness out of her voice.

  “I’m not sure what you mean.” Jane was concentrating on her copies.

  “I think you do.”

  With a loud exhale, Jane said, “Okay, fine. It’s just… I heard about the situation with you and Cutter, and I feel bad for you, that’s all. It’s gotta be rough having such intense emotions for a coworker and finding out he’s not interested in you at all.” Her words had an air of nonchalance about them, but that didn’t lessen the sting.

  “I think you may’ve gotten some misinformation,” Ru replied, keeping her voice even. “Who in the world told you that?”

  “Oh, honey, please,” Jane said, gathering her documents up from both the return tray and the tray where the originals ended up. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. He is very attractive.”

  “Seriously,” Ru said, stepping forward. “Who told you that?”

  Jane shrugged. “Everyone,” she replied. “Everyone knows.”

  Since there were only two people in the building, other than herself, who even knew she’d gone out with Cutter, Ru felt like she needed to track down the source of the misinformation. Jane walked out of the room, and Ru started her copies, not sure whose head she should rip off. Would Candice talk about the situation even though she’d promised she wouldn’t? Not likely. Perhaps Cutter was telling everyone she had fallen for him, and he wasn’t interested.

  Once she had her copies, Ru grabbed them and headed down the hallway, fuming. Despite having promised herself she wouldn’t speak to him again unless she absolutely had to, she decided she’d had enough. After she dropped her copies on her desk, she crossed the hallway. His lights were off and his door was closed. She wasn’t surprised. Cutter usually ate in the teachers’ lounge because Coach Clark also had this lunch period. She headed back down the hallway.

  Opening the door, she heard the PE coach adamantly talking about stuffing someone on the basketball court. Jane had joined them and was eating a salad, and Candice sat next to Cutter, finishing up a microwaved lunch. “I’d hate to interrupt, but Mr. Michaels, could I speak to you for a moment. In private?” She said it with a sugary sweet smile, and she watched as Jane’s eyebrows shot up, as if she wasn’t expecting Ru to actually address the situation.

  Cutter raised both eyebrows as well. “Certainly,” he replied, wiping his hands off on his napkin and temporarily abandoning his sandwich. He excused himself and stepped out into the hallway.

  Ru looked around, wondering if there was a more private area somewhere she should take him, but since she didn’t see one, she stepped away from the door to the lounge and cleared her throat. Still smiling, in case anyone might walk by and see them and wonder what was going on, she said, “It has been brought to my attention that everyone thinks I am in love with you, but you’ve thwarted my advances. Would you happen to have any idea where this information might be coming from?”

  “Not from me,” he replied, his wide eyes showing innocence. “I definitely wouldn’t say anything like that.”

  “Really?” Ru asked, not sure she believed him, even though he did appear to be telling the truth. “You wouldn’t say something like that to Jane or anyone else?”

  “No, of course not. I wasn’t even aware that anyone knew we’d seen each other outside of school.”

  Ru pursed her mouth, not sure what to say. “Well, I should hope if anyone says anything to you about it, you would set them straight. It wasn’t even a date.”

  “I know…”

  She cut him off. “I mean, it was dinner, but then it was just a whole lot of crazy talk.”

  “So you’ve told me.”

  Memories from that night came flooding back to her. She’d done her best over the passing days to keep it out of her mind, but speaking to him now, she remembered how she’d felt sitting on that sofa, listening to him try to convince her she was some sort of a hybrid, mythical creature. “I have done some research, by the way,” she continued, thinking back to the next day, after Lyric had driven her home, how she’d spent hours trying to find any trace of Rune Ronobes, “and I don’t know where you got that birth certificate, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.”

  “No, it was very hard for Lyric to track down. I don’t doubt you couldn’t find it.”

  She hadn’t expected him to agree with her, nor had she expected to learn that it was actually Lyric who had found it. She didn’t let him dissuade her. “And I did see how you made that hologram thingy in your hands. There’s a device you can buy that can do that.”

  A smirk broke across his face. “There are devices that can make holograms, but none that can do this.” Looking around to make sure they were alone, he held up his hand and ignited his own fingertips. Orange and yellow flames quickly grew from each finger on his right hand, warming her even though she was a few feet away. He let the embers burn briefly before putting them out.

  Ru’s eyes widened. “What are you doing? You’re going to set the smoke detectors off.” She could think of nothing else to say. While the blue light had been amazing, she was fairly certain that was fake. She had no explanation for the blaze he’d just shown her, and her mind was having trouble processing it.

  Looking up at the small wisps of smoke that dissipated into the air, Cutter shrugged. “Not any more smoke than burned popcorn, which is a daily occurrence around here.”

  Ignoring that comment, Ru gritted her teeth and took a step forward. “Listen, I didn’t pull you out of lunch to get another display of your magical powers. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t the one spreading rumors about me.”

  “I understand,” he said. “It’s not me, Rune. I promise.”

  Her eyes widened. “Don’t call me that,” she said. “I told you the first day it’s Ru. Only Ru.”

  “Sorry,” he said, though she could tell from the twinkle in his eyes he wasn’t, not completely anyway. “Listen, Lyric and Ivy would like to get to know you better. Why don’t you come over and have dinner some night soon? I’ll even promise not to be there if it will make you feel better.”

  Ru crossed her arms. “Why would I do that? They’re just going to try and reinforce your mumbo jumbo. It’s not like I’m desperately in need of new friends.”

  “No, but they are. They just moved here, and they don’t know anyone. And they won’t try to convince you of anything.”

  Ru was shaking her head, but she did like Lyric. And Ivy seemed sweet. Still, she knew this was a trick, an attempt to get her to slide back into his web. She wasn’t falling for it. “I’ll let you get back to your lunch,” she said, turning to head back toward her classroom. If she hurried, she might be able to shovel a few bites of lunch into her mouth before she had to get her kids, although she’d have to choose between that and using the restroom.

  “Have a good afternoon, Ms. Roberts!” Cutter called as she darted away. She didn’t bother to look over her shoulder at him. She’d been wrong to even speak to him at all. Now, she felt like she had a few weeks ago when she’d first left his house; confused, bewildered, amazed, alone.

  Ru sat on her couch, her legs crisscrossed, her hands up, her eyes closed. She was doing her best to concentrate. If what Cutter said was true, and she really did have the same powers flowing within her, then she should be able to do what he had done. A little more research online, including the pages she’d found earlier where the kids were experimenting with powers like these, and she thought maybe now was the time to try it.

  Attempting to clear her mind, she concentrated on feeling her own energy flow freely through her body, visualizing a spark at her fingertips. Occasionally, she would think she felt something and opened her eyes to see—nothing. After a few hours, she collapsed onto the sofa, frustrated. “Gee, Ru, I wonder why you can’t make fire with your fingers? Maybe because everything Cutter said was mad
e-up bullshit?”

  Her phone rang, and she sighed, hoping she hadn’t somehow just summoned him. Picking it up, she turned it to see that the screen said, “Liddy Brown” on it. She sighed again. “Hello?”

  “Ru? What are you doing?”

  Glancing at the clock, she replied, “Getting ready for bed. It’s a school night.” It was almost 9:00, and her mother thought she still always went to bed at 10:00 as she had when she was in high school. Her mother believed that was the exact right time for everyone to go to bed regardless of what time they had to get up in the morning..

  “Well, I just wanted to tell you that one of the women at church, Nancy Coats—you remember her don’t you?—anyway, she said her daughter-in-law is a teacher at Thomas, and she told her that you were dating one of the other teachers on campus. Is that true?”

  Ru did her best to follow along. She had no idea who Nancy Coats was. “No, Mom. I went to dinner with one of the new teachers several weeks ago, but it wasn’t a date.”

  “What kind of dinner?” Liddy asked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Why would I?” Ru asked, trying not to get defensive. “It wasn’t a big deal. He’s new in town and wanted to spend some time with someone away from work.”

  “Oh, he.” Liddy’s voice sounded more relieved than it should’ve, and it made Ru angry. She didn’t know if she should be more upset that her mother didn’t know her well enough to know she wasn’t interested in dating women or offended that such an instance would’ve been problematic. “Well, you know you shouldn’t be dating coworkers, Ru. It’s always a bad idea.”

  “I know,” Ru assured her, swallowing her frustration.

  “I raised you better than that.”

  Once again, Ru’s ire was up. Ordinarily, this was the type of comment she would bury inside, but after hearing Cutter’s claims, curiosity got the better of her. “Yeah, about that,” Ru began hoping the caution she intended to last the length of the conversation would make it to the end, “What do you remember about my birth mom?”