Ruin's Lot

by ID Johnson

  As a red light emanated from the two women’s palms, Zu scrunched his hideous face up in pain, and beneath him, the ground gave way. He began to fall down into a dark tavern, disappearing with a loud roar. In an instant, he was gone, the dream realm silent save the sound of the pedestrians picking themselves up off of the ground where Lyric had blown them.

  The beams dissipated, and Ivy turned to Lyric, opening her arms. Lyric scooped her up, “Well done, friend!” Ivy said, squeezing the other Keeper tightly. “I’m so glad you found me.”

  “I’m just glad we got him. He should have some valuable information about what’s going on with Nat. Perhaps he’ll be willing to talk once he’s spent a day or two in the depths,” Lyric replied, releasing her friend.

  “I hope so,” Ivy agreed. Even though she’d only met the woman once, Ivy was nervous for Ru. She had a feeling things were more complicated than Cutter was telling them, and if it was true that Zu had been one of the Reapers stationed with Nat near Reaper’s Hollow, then he might be able to tell them about Nat’s plan. It would be difficult to get a Reaper as seasoned as Zu to talk, but they had experts on the inside who would help facilitate that.

  “You tell Uriah, and I’ll let the guys know,” Lyric suggested as they prepared to reenter their bodies.

  “Will do,” Ivy agreed, altering her state just slightly so she was out of the dream realm but would be able to maintain contact with the spirit world, including the Archangels. She was a direct descendent of Uriah, and he was almost always available to aid her as much as possible. He would be happy to hear of their successful mission. If only he could help them find Nat or the portals, but he simply could not. It was up to the Keepers to track the Reapers and close their portals, not the angels or Archangels. Ivy began to feel a tingling sensation and knew she would soon be in the presence of the Archangel. A smile spread across her face as she relished in the pure light of Heaven. This was her favorite part of her job.

  Cutter lay wide awake in bed, even though it was well past midnight, and he knew he’d need plenty of rest for school the next day. Being a teacher was taking a toll on him, and he was seriously considering finding his own replacement and bowing out before he even secured Ru. Now that he knew where she was, it seemed logical to do so, but that would mean he wouldn’t get to see her every day, and he wasn’t willing to give that up, not yet at least.. Perhaps if she revealed she was in a relationship with this grocery store guy, he’d rethink it.

  She was the one keeping him up now, anyway. Try as he might, he just couldn’t seem to get her out of his mind. The idea that she would rather spend her time with some guy who’d picked her up in the produce section, or wherever, made him nauseated.

  The sound of footsteps in the hall gained his attention. It sounded like at least one of the girls was back from their expedition. He sat up at about the same time there was a knock on his door. “Come in,” he said, quietly, rubbing at his eyes.

  Lyric opened the bedroom door, her silhouette backlit by the light at the end of the hallway. “Sorry to bother you,” she said, her voice tinged with excitement. “We just wanted to let you know we got Zu.”

  Cutter’s eyebrows shot up. “What’s that?” he asked, not sure he’d heard her correctly.

  “Zu! We got Zu!”

  As the news sunk in, Cutter couldn’t help but smile. He hopped out of bed and wrapped his friend in his arms. “Lyric! That’s amazing!”

  “I know! Ivy found him and was able to call me in to help.”

  “What’s all this racket? Some of us need our beauty sleep.” Rider’s hair stuck out all over the sides of his head as he scrubbed at his bristly face.

  “Damn right some of you do,” Lyric muttered, turning to face him. “We got Zu.”

  He was awake now. “Zu?” Rider repeated. “Holy shit! You kidding me?”

  As Lyric broke into a fit of giggles, he picked her up and swung her around, stepping into the hallway so as not to hit her legs on the doorway. “That’s awesome!” Rider exclaimed.

  Once Lyric was back on the ground, Cutter asked, “Where’s Ivy?”

  “Letting Uriah know. She’s going to ask permission to have contact with the insiders so that, if he should let out any information, they will let her know.”

  “Good plan,” Cutter nodded. Hopefully, they could make him speak, and Nat’s intentions would soon be revealed, though something told him it wouldn’t be that simple.

  “Well, as exciting as this is, I was having a very interesting dream about a certain Victoria’s Secret model, and I’d like to get back to it.” Rider shuffled off, seemingly half-asleep again.

  Lyric shook her head in disbelief at his retreating form. Cutter couldn’t help but chuckle at his cousin who was perhaps a little more honest than he needed to be.

  “You okay?” Lyric asked, and Cutter turned back to face her. “You look like you’ve been tossing and turning all night.”

  “I have been,” Cutter admitted. “I just can’t seem to sleep anymore.”

  A sympathetic expression captured her face. “I’m sure. Ru?”

  Cutter nodded, not willing to say more.

  “Tell her how you feel,” Lyric suggested with a shrug. “You never know. She might not realize. And once she does, she could feel the same way.”

  “It’s not that simple,” Cutter reminded her, leaning back into the doorway. “She’s seeing someone now. And besides, hopefully, we’ll be working together soon. You know how hard it is to date someone you work with.”

  Once again, Lyric was shrugging. “That doesn’t make it impossible. What do you mean she’s seeing someone now. When did that happen?”

  “I’m not sure. She just said she met him at the grocery store.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “What’s that mean?” Cutter asked, suddenly a bit alarmed at Lyric’s apparent concern.

  “Nothing,” she replied. “I just think it’s a little odd that, as far as we know, she hasn’t been seeing anyone in recent history, and then we show up into town, and now she’s got a boyfriend.”

  “She never said it was a boyfriend,” Cutter corrected. “But you do have a point. What are you thinking? Do you think she made him up because she doesn’t want to see me?”

  “No,” Lyric answered, quickly. “I don’t think it’s that at all. I mean, she might not want to come out here to your haunted house and talk about demons and angels all night, but I don’t think she’d invent a guy to get out of dating you.”

  “What then?”

  “I don’t know. But… I think it might be worth keeping an eye on.” She had her hand against her neck, like she was either thinking or not telling him something, and Cutter’s eyes narrowed in on her pretty face. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing. She’ll probably go out with him once and never want to see him again. That’s how all of my dates go.”

  Cutter nodded, but he wasn’t so sure. Now, not only was he upset that Ru didn’t seem to have the same feelings for him as he had for her, he was fairly certain there was something going on with this grocery guy, whoever he was. Perhaps he needed to do a little investigating into this guy.

  As Lyric disappeared into her room, Cutter decided to do the same. As much as he wanted to congratulate Ivy, he knew she might be with Uriah for several hours. It was her favorite place to go.

  He dropped down on his bed and considered Lyric’s words carefully. Was he just being nosey wanting to ask Ru about her date? It really was none of his business, after all—as much as he wanted to make it so. Cutter closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind so that elusive sleep might finally take over, but all he saw was Ru’s beautiful face. He was in for a long night.

  The warmth from Kyle’s hand radiated throughout her entire body, sending little shock waves and tingles that enveloped her. Even though she’d only known him a week and usually didn’t have so much trouble controlling her own emotions, as Ru sat in the passenger seat of his BMW, she couldn’t keep her mind from wondering what
it might feel like if those hands were placed elsewhere.

  She’d sat through an entire movie and had no idea what the plot was about and probably wouldn’t have even noticed it was over if the lights hadn’t come up. So absorbed was she with the man who sat next to her, she couldn’t even remember who the lead actors were, and for her, that was saying something. Normally, she was very engrossed in any movie she watched, regardless of genre. She thought this one had been some sort of an action movie, but she couldn’t remember a single chase scene.

  Dinner had been another story. He’d taken her to an Italian place on the way to the movies, and Ru had enjoyed her eggplant parmesan, but that had been before he’d reached over and taken her hand when they were walking into the movie theater. From that point on, she was nothing but putty.

  They were approaching her house, and Ru was both disappointed that the evening was coming to an end and excited to see if Kyle would kiss her goodnight. While she wasn’t certain he was feeling quite the same way about her as she was about him, she saw the way he looked at her. Not kissing on a first date was one rule she intended to ignore this evening.

  He pulled into her driveway and placed the car in park before turning the ignition off. The porchlight glinted off of his dark hair, and Ru couldn’t help but think how sexy he was even in the dim light. “I had a really great time tonight, Ru,” he said quietly. Their entwined hands had been sitting on the console between them, but now, he slid them over to rest on her thigh.

  “Me, too,” she replied as the heat from his hand spread throughout her leg.

  “I really hope we can do it again. Sometime soon.”

  “Yes, definitely,” she replied, thinking perhaps he would lean over and kiss her right now. She’d let him.

  Kyle smiled and popped his door open, squeezing her hand gently before he let it go. Ru attempted to regain her breath. He had her feeling so light headed, she thought she could float to the house.

  Opening her door, Kyle offered his hand to her, and Ru took it, immediately losing herself again at his touch. He led her to the porch, and Ru couldn’t even feel the ground beneath her feet.

  Standing next to her on the small front stoop, Kyle looked into her eyes, and Ru felt lost in his hazel ones. He licked his bottom lip, and Ru followed the tip of his tongue, finding herself biting her own lip in return. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but instead, he brought his lips down to meet hers, and Ru surrendered to his kiss, her hands rising to wrap around his neck.

  For days, she’d been wondering what it would feel like to have his mouth pressed to hers, and she was not disappointed. A slight nudge for her to part her lips, and Ru let him in, tasting cinnamon and inhaling his musky cologne. If it weren’t for his strong arms around her, she felt that her knees might buckle. Thankfully, Kyle had a firm grasp around her waist, his hands caressing her as he continued to kiss her with a passion that matched the fire Ru felt burning inside her soul. She ran her thumb along his jawline and tangled her fingers in his hair.

  Eventually he pulled away, and she allowed herself to take the first deep breath she’d taken in hours. He smiled down at her. “Sorry. I might’ve gotten a little carried away there.”

  Ru could find no words so she only giggled.

  “I guess I better go before… I can’t.” Kyle took a step backward, but before he even approached the porch steps, Ru flew at him, finding his lips with her own and pressing against him. Like a magnet, he had drawn her in, and she felt powerless to escape his pull.

  “Ru…” he whispered into her ear as she began to softly kiss his neck. “If you want me to stay, I’ll stay. Just say the word.”

  Something about his phrasing caught her attention for a moment, like an alarm going off somewhere deep inside her, though she couldn’t place it, and Ru was able to regain her composure. She took a step back. “Oh, Kyle. I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into me. But… I… you should go.” She resisted the urge to remind him she was an elementary school teacher and took her responsibility as such very seriously. Not to mention, she just wasn’t the type of girl who slept with a guy on the first date, as much as she had thought she might be just a few minutes ago.

  He nodded in understanding. “Don’t apologize,” he replied, his crooked smile sending shivers down her spine. “I understand.” He took a step backward onto the top step. “Can I call you tomorrow?”

  “Yes.” She didn’t hesitate to answer him.

  “Have a good night, Ru.”

  “You, too,” she somehow managed as she followed him down the steps with her eyes. She fumbled for her keys, which were somewhere in her jacket pocket, still watching him. He waved to her right before he pulled open the car door and slipped inside. Ru waved back and then turned to unlock her house, thinking how polite it was that he waited in the drive for her to get inside before pulling out and disappearing into the night.

  Chapter 19

  “You’re awfully quiet,” Lyric surmised as she drove Cutter’s truck toward Angel Grove. “You haven’t said more than a couple of words since you got in.”

  Pulling her eyes off of the trees in the distance, which littered the ground with the fleeting remains of what had once been autumn revelry, Ru said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about… something.” It had been so hard for her to get Kyle off of her mind. Even though she’d spoken to him just a few hours ago, she wanted to see him again. Instead, she was being hurried off to a meeting at a place that gave her the heebie-jeebies with a group of people she was pretty sure might be certifiably insane.

  “It’s okay,” Lyric shrugged. “I don’t mind just listening to the music. I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

  One of Ru’s favorite songs, “Revelations” by Audioslave, was playing, and she hadn’t even noticed.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, forcing a smile.

  “You know, listening to the lyrics of this song, it’s kinda fitting,” Lyric half laughed. “Especially the part about knowing what he’s dreaming and holding the keys and the rules. I guess I never thought about that before.”

  Ru happened to know all the words by heart, but she’d never listened to them with the intention of relating them to her current situation. “That’s true. And here I was thinking Blue Oyster Cult was the official rock band of the National Keeper’s League.”

  Lyric laughed so hard, she actually snorted, which made Ru laugh as well. “Now, that’s funny. Seriously, you and Rider with the pop culture references. You two are going to be fast friends in no time, I just know it.”

  Ru got her laughter under control and wondered how that could be possible. Ever since she’d met Kyle, she’d been thinking less and less about actually going through with this Keeper gig. She didn’t want it, had never asked for it, and didn’t really see Nat as a threat at this point. The last time she’d spoken to him, he’d been sitting in the middle of a flower garden crying, so really, how much of a menace could he be? But she kept her thoughts to herself.

  “Cutter mentioned you had a date last night?” Lyric said. Ru could tell she was trying to keep it nonchalant, but the slight lilt in her voice gave her away. She was asking for a reason beyond being polite or mere curiosity.

  “Uh, yeah,” Ru replied, not sure what else to say.

  “That’s nice,” Lyric said, turning her head slightly to smile at Ru. “What’s he do?”

  “Graphic design.”

  “Cool. Live in Reaper’s Hollow?”

  “Just moved here from NYC.”

  Lyric nodded. “Did you have a nice time?”

  “Yep.” Ru could tell she wasn’t going to stop asking questions any time soon, so she thought volunteering a bit of information might pacify her. “We’re going out again tomorrow. Just for a walk. But it should be fun. I could use the fresh air.”

  “Yeah, and tomorrow’s supposed to be nice. Just like… a hike in the woods or something?”

  “I think so,
” Ru replied. “Not exactly sure. He mentioned wanting to explore Rockefeller a little bit, so I guess that’s where we’ll go.” Ru absently wondered where her hiking boots even were. She’d need to find them.

  “Well, I’m glad you had a good time. Seems like a nice guy.” Once again, Lyric smiled at her, but Ru could tell it was fake. Why Lyric would pretend to be happy for her was beyond Ru.

  The sun was beginning to set as she made the turn off of the country road into the narrow path between the trees. As the truck bounced over ruts, Ru was glad Cutter had sent Lyric to get her. Not only was she certain she would’ve missed the turn off if she’d tried to drive out there herself, it was better than riding in a vehicle with Cutter. Right now, she couldn’t really stand to be near him without feeling the intensity of how badly he wanted her to join their team. Even at school the last few days, it seemed every time they were in the same vicinity, he was boring holes through her with his eyes. As much as she liked him and thought he was a great guy, she sort of hoped they’d all move on soon. If they were going to try and find Seraphina, they should get to looking for her and leave Ru alone. Maybe then she could settle back into her ordinary life.

  The house was lit up well against the backdrop of dark trees. Ru wondered how far away they were from the forest she’d be hiking in tomorrow. It couldn’t be too far. While this land was privately owned, Rockefeller trees blended in with lots of other properties. Maybe this one was attached as well.

  As Lyric brought the truck to a stop, Ru unfastened her seatbelt and popped the door, jumping down to the ground a good two feet below her. She was ready to get this over with. Before the night was over, she’d have to tell these people she was out. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long, and maybe at least one of them would be nice enough to give her a ride home. She knew she could call Kyle to come and get her if need be; something told her he’d be able to find her if she were a sugar cube in a hailstorm.