by ID Johnson
“Cutter, I want to believe you. I really do. It just all seems impossible, you know?”
“Absolutely,” he replied. “But Ru, we’re here to show you what you are capable of. And once you see that you’re part of this, that you belong with the rest of us, that you’re a Keeper, not only will you be able to do a lot of good in this world, we can also help you find your mom.”
Her eyes brightened at the mention, but then it faded. He wondered if she’d been so ingrained with the idea that her mother didn’t love her that she felt that any search would just end in more heartache and disappointment.
“What if I choose not to accept it?” she asked, not meeting his eyes. “What if I choose to continue to believe my reality is the only one there is?”
“I’m afraid that won’t be an option much longer, Ru. You might somehow convince Rider, Ivy, Lyric, and I to leave you alone, but the Archs would just send others to try again where we have failed. Not to mention, Nat isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
She ran a hand through her hair again, causing the loose locks to cascade around her face. “I didn’t ask for this.” The phrase was emphatic, though not loud. She seemed exasperated well beyond what one might’ve guessed if they were observing the conversation from a distance.
“I know you didn’t, but it’s your lot, Ru.”
“My what?” she asked, as if she hadn’t understood completely what he meant.
“Your hand, your fate, what providence has dealt you. You are destined to be a Keeper, and probably one of the most powerful ever to walk the Earth. And I am honored that I was chosen to help you fulfill that destiny. I just hope I can make you see that you can trust me to do it. I promise, Ru, I will always protect you. I will always keep you safe. And most importantly, I will go wherever we need to go in order for you to find your mother. But while we are doing all of that, we also have a war to fight. And we need you. Thanatos needs to be stopped. I think you’re the key to doing that, to helping us find the portal in Reaper’s Hollow and banishing him to Hell, once and for all.”
Ru was silent after he finished talking, holding his gaze for a long moment before slowly looking away, out the window again, and Cutter assumed that, once again, he’d said way too much. He was contemplating whether or not to apologize when she took a deep breath and turned her attention back to him. “Well, you’ve certainly given me a lot to think about.”
He managed a small smile but was afraid to say anything else for fear of muddying things even more.
“I don’t suppose there’s a chance I can do all of that and continue to teach fourth grade?”
Cutter slowly shook his head. “I wouldn’t see how. And it could be dangerous. For your students.”
Ru’s eyebrows arched again, but no further information was needed. She nodded. “If you don’t mind, I think I should head home. See if I can sort all of this out in my head a little bit.”
“Of course,” Cutter replied. “I’m sure it’s overwhelming, and I apologize for having to dump it all on you at once.”
She didn’t say anything, only nodded again.
“If… if you happen to have any questions, you know you can call me or text me at any time. Right?”
“Sure. Okay. Thanks.” She reached around the back of her chair and grabbed her jacket. “You were in my dream last night? So… are you hanging around my house or something? How did you know Nat was even there?”
“It’s hard to explain. We aren’t invading your privacy, though. We are taking turns checking in on you briefly, just enough to know if you’re asleep, and once you fall asleep, well, we watch a little more closely.”
Ru froze with her arm half in one sleeve. “That’s creepy. How about you guys don’t do that anymore?”
“We were just trying to keep you safe.” Cutter didn’t mean to sound defensive, but he knew it came out that way.
“I understand that, but it isn’t necessary. I’m not about to go gallivanting through the forest with Thanatos, okay? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
Cutter was hesitant to agree to anything. He might trust Ru not to make any poor decisions when it came to the demon that sought her out, but Nat could not be trusted. Still, she’d asked for them to stop their surveillance. He couldn’t ignore the request. “Fine,” he said quietly as she finished putting on her jacket. “But… don’t trust him, Ru. At all. He’s calculating. Your best bet, if he shows up in another one of your dreams, is to wake yourself up immediately or else he will try and convince you of who knows what. If you ever see him in your home in spirit form, get out immediately and call me. In his human form, he’s more or less… human. Although he has powers just as strong as ours, if not stronger.”
“Like what? Can he use fire and electricity, too?”
“No, only Keepers of the Light, like you and I, and Rider, can do that. He uses something much more sinister.”
Ru’s eyes widened for about the hundredth time in the half-hour or so they’d been speaking. “And what’s that?”
“Pain.”
Chapter 15
Ru sat on her sofa in lotus pose, attempting to connect with her inner-self. She’d always made fun of her sister, Danielle, when she talked about her yoga, but after she’d returned from the coffee shop, she’d begun to contemplate everything Cutter had said. As she graded stacks of papers and lesson planned for the next few weeks, the back of her mind was running through the possibilities of everything he had disclosed. If Cutter and Nat were able to take on a spirit form and somehow jump into her dreams, shouldn’t she be able to do the same thing? Of course, thinking that she could would mean she bought into Cutter’s fanciful stories about her origins, and even though she wasn’t quite sure she accepted any of it, how else could she explain the fact that he knew what she’d dreamt the night before? She hadn’t called him and recounted the vivid dream, after all.
So, with the lights dimmed, and the sun setting, she sat on her sofa and concentrated, her upturned hands resting on her knees. After about an hour or so of trying, all she had was a stiff neck and sore shoulder blades. Piper rubbing against her knee the whole time had been a bit of a distraction, but she didn’t think that was her only problem. Clearly, she had no idea what she was doing and wasn’t even completely convinced she was able to do it. Even if her mother was a half-angel and her father was a half-demon, wouldn’t that make her only a quarter of each? Cutter seemed to think her lineage would make her more powerful, but even by fourth grade math, Ru thought those numbers were diluted. Why would that make her capable of anything greater than what a full half-of-anything could do?
“I’m sorry. I’ve been neglecting you, haven’t I, kitty?” she said, rubbing Piper’s head. “Come on. Let’s go get you some dinner.” Ru uncrossed her legs and stretched them for a moment before she headed toward the kitchen. She flipped the light switch carefully and headed to the pantry to get the bag of cat food.
As soon as she picked it up, she remembered she’d meant to buy some more. There was hardly enough in the bag to fill Piper’s bowl halfway. “Sorry, Pipe,” she said, taking what she did have and dumping it into her bowl. While there was some kibble, most of it was powder. “I’ll go get you some more.”
It wasn’t quite 7:30, but Ru really didn’t want to get out. Sitting on the couch watching a movie with Piper was about all she had in mind for that evening. Nevertheless, she had to feed her companion, and it might be a good excuse to pick up something sweet for herself, too. All this turmoil with Cutter and his clan was starting to stress her out.
Grabbing her jacket and her keys, Ru started her car and then bent down to scratch Piper’s ears one more time. “I’ll be back.” She grabbed her wallet and headed out the door.
The grocery store was only a few blocks away, and she wasn’t surprised to find the lot mostly empty when she pulled in. Most people had better things to do on a Saturday night than shop for food, even in Reaper’s Hollow. Ru turned the car off and ran inside. With
only two things on her list, it shouldn’t take her long.
She hurried to the cat food section and picked up a bag of Piper’s favorite food. Only a few older people wandered the aisles as she headed to the frozen foods. Off in the distance, she heard what sounded like a stressed out mother giving a warning to her kids, and she absently hoped it wasn’t anyone she knew. Most of the time, she didn’t mind seeing her students outside of school, but today, she wanted to remain anonymous.
Ru found the area she was looking for. Ben and Jerry’s lined the shelves behind the glass doors. It seemed like there were even more choices than there had been the last time she’d allowed herself to consider such a treat, which had to have been months ago. Her mother always told her she was a little chubby, so Ru avoided sweets like the plague. It didn’t matter that no one else ever made any such remarks and that she easily fit into size four jeans. Liddy Brown’s words had imprinted on her mind.
She stood and contemplated the selection for quite some time, narrowing it down to three choices before she even opened the door. Once she pulled it open and picked up the Phish Food variety, she spun it around to read the ingredients. Dark chocolate fish, caramel, and marshmallow. That sounded good. But what about the one with the peanut butter?
“Excuse me. I’d hate to interrupt. You look like you’re really concentrating there. But… would it be all right if I just….”
Ru turned to see a very tall, attractive man standing behind her. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said, holding the door open still and stepping out of the way.
“No, it’s fine. It’s just… if I come home without this,” he indicated the carton of Cherry Garcia in his hand, “my sister will send me right back.”
Giggling like an obnoxious teenager, Ru was having trouble pulling herself away from his hazel eyes. He had dark, wavy hair and a perfectly sculpted face. He smelled like pine and leather and all things masculine, and she had to stop herself from leaning in to take a deeper whiff. Had something leaked into the water supply that suddenly Reaper’s Hollow was teeming with attractive men? First Cutter and Rider, and now this guy. “I’m sorry,” she muttered again, shaking her head to clear it. “I’m just having a hard time deciding.” Looking down at the carton of ice cream in her hand and remembering her mother’s words, she suddenly seemed embarrassed. “Although, I don’t even need this.” She put it back on the shelf.
“I don’t think it’s about needing ice cream, is it?” he asked, his tone light. “I mean… I don’t think Jessie needs it either, but she’s a little stressed out right now, so hey, why not? Eat the ice cream!” He reached in, pulled out the container she’d been holding, and handed it back to her.
Once again, Ru couldn’t help but laugh, although this time it sounded more genuine than it had before, and possibly even less annoying. “I guess you’re right. Sorry your sister is so stressed out.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks. New job, new town. She’s… she’ll be fine.”
It seemed to Ru like he wanted to talk to her about it, but also didn’t want to dump his issues on a stranger. “I was going to say, Reaper’s Hollow’s pretty small, and I don’t think we’ve met.” She’d definitely remember if they had.
“No, we just moved here. Yesterday, actually. Jess has been looking for a teaching job forever, and she finally got one. It’s in Tarrytown, but we weren’t able to find a rental over there. Luckily, one opened up here, so we moved in. She’s very nervous about starting her new job on Monday, but I keep telling her it’ll be fine. That, coupled with moving from the big city out here, well, you can imagine… it’s stressful.” Ru nodded along as he continued to talk. With a crooked grin, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload all of that on you.”
“No, not at all,” Ru assured him. “I just happen to be a teacher myself, so I understand. It’s a hard job, but I’m sure she’ll be fine. What grade will she be teaching?”
“Fourth,” he replied. “Sadly, one of the teachers passed away unexpectedly last week. It was terrible.” He looked at the floor, shaking his head slowly.
Ru hadn’t heard, which was odd since her mother usually kept her up to speed on anything that happened in Tarrytown. She’d have to ask about it. “I’m very sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, thanks. I mean… I didn’t know her or anything, but you can imagine Jess is a little anxious about taking over a class after such a situation.”
“Right.” Ru thought that would be difficult. “Now, is this her first teaching job?”
“It is. She just graduated in the spring. She’s been looking for a position, but it’s a lot harder than she expected.”
Once again, Ru found herself agreeing. Even though the nation was in desperate need of good teachers, it always seemed the openings were somewhere else or in a subject no one was certified to teach. “Well, I’m sure everything will be just fine. Did you move with her just to help her out?” She wasn’t sure why she asked; for some reason, she just wanted to continue the conversation with him. Something about him seemed familiar, like they’d known each other for years. His presence had a calming effect on her, one she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“I did. I do graphic design, so I can work from just about anywhere. So, I figured why not? I mean, we’ve always been close, since our parents passed away.”
“I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.” It seemed like he’d been through a lot. She could relate.
“Thanks. It’s been several years, but it doesn’t really get any easier. Anyway, to answer your question, yes. We just moved in, and we’re trying to get to know the area a little better. Still haven’t met a lot of people.”
“I’m sure you’ll find Reaper’s Hollow to be a friendly place to live,” Ru said, smiling. “If you want… if your sister has any questions, I’m happy to answer them for her. I know she’ll have lots of support from her teammates at her school, but I’m glad to help if you want to give her my number.”
“Do you mind?” His face lit up for the first time since the conversation had started.
“Not at all,” Ru replied, wondering if she was giving her number to the sister or to the handsome man in front of her.
He was holding one of the baskets from the store with a few grocery items in it, so he slung it over his arm as he dug his phone out of the inside of his jacket pocket. “Would you mind just putting it in my phone?”
Ru saw that he had a fairly thick case on his phone. “No problem,” she replied. She still had the cat food and the ice cream in her hands so she pulled open the door and sat the ice cream back on the shelf, thinking it was probably melting from being in her hand for so long. She dropped the bag of cat food next to her boot and let out more nervous laughter as she took his phone. He had it all set up for her. She entered her name and then her number and then handed it back, saying, “Here you go.”
When he took his phone back, his fingertips grazed hers, and the warmth she’d felt emanating from him seemed to shoot up her arm. It was much different than the electricity she felt when she touched Cutter. This seemed more like a magnet drawing her to him.
“Thank you so much,” he said. Glancing down at his phone, he apparently read her name. “Ru. What a beautiful name.” He caught her eyes, his smile genuine.
“Thank you,” she replied, feeling a blush creep up her face. Over the years, she’d heard lots of opinions about her name, but rarely that one, and never from anyone less than eighty-five and male.
“I’m Kyle, by the way. Kyle Dawson.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Kyle.” It seemed like a fitting name. He looked like a Kyle. She wasn’t even sure what that meant, but the thought filled her mind. He was offering his hand, and she took it, once again taken aback by the warmth that radiated from his touch. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” he replied, still smiling, and giving a little nod as he released her hand. “Well, I will let you get back to your shopping. And I have a few more things to pi
ck up before heading back to the house. You don’t happen to know if they have Hostess cupcakes here, do you?”
Ru laughed. “Aisle four, I believe. Not that I ever indulge in them myself.” It was true that she didn’t, even though she said it with a teasing tone, like maybe she did.
He chuckled, and Ru was pleased she’d gotten the desired reaction. “Well, you should definitely get the ice cream. Why not? We only live once. Life is short.” Something about his eyes caught her attention as he said those words, and Ru thought she saw pain there, likely from the loss of his parents. “Take care, Ru.” He patted her arm, like a long lost friend, and then headed down the aisle toward the back of the store.
“Bye, Kyle,” she said after a moment of watching him go. He turned and smiled at her, and she felt her face flush again. Once he was gone, she scooped up her cat food and grabbed a different carton of the same ice cream, thinking there was less of a chance this one was melted. “What are you doing?” she muttered to herself. Wasn’t her life complicated enough right now without making it more so by flirting with an attractive man in the grocery store? Still, Kyle didn’t seem like just any random guy. There was something about him, something special, and Ru was drawn to him. She didn’t know if she’d be able to fight him off even if she wanted to. And she didn’t. She wished she had his number, too. Even though she’d never called and asked a guy out on a date in her life, something told her she’d be willing to ask out this one.
Ru hurried to the checkout aisles, thinking Piper would be very angry at her by now. She dropped her two items down at a register where there were no other customers. Only two lanes were open, and the other cashier also looked bored out of her mind.
“Hi, Ms. Roberts.” Ru looked up to see her cashier was the older sister of a student she’d had a few years ago.
“Oh, hi. How are you Samantha?”
“Good. That’ll be $15.97. How are you?”
