by Nova Nelson
The queen yelled her frustration. And then she disappeared.
Right into Welling.
The largest bell, Duna, rang in the first of twelve hours.
And then Queen Naifa’s words issued from Welling’s lips. “Will your hellhound kill him? Can you justify that act?”
Doooom…
“If you made him attack me,” Ruby said, “I can’t think of a more justified reason. But you wouldn’t do that, would you? You loved him.” She considered inching away from the pillar again, but with the edge of the tower behind her and the yawning chasm of the bells ahead of her, she decided it safer to simply keep her back against something solid.
Doooom…
“He was a lover,” the fairy queen replied. “But I didn’t love him.”
Wow. Poor Welling. What a way to find out. For his sake, Ruby hoped he’d been pushed too deep into the recesses of his own mind to make room for her spirit that he wouldn’t remember that unfortunate confession. Although, wait. He’d been the instigator in all this. Well, then it served him right!
“But he’s served you well,” she said, stalling, hoping Sheriff Bloom could hear some of the scuffle amidst the ear-numbing sound of the bells and might deign to join them and save the day. If not, she need only hold off the brutal tyrant until the end of the bells. “He got you here so you could have— “
Doooom…
“—your revenge.”
“He was the one who trapped my soul in the bell in the first place! It was his revenge he wanted, not mine.”
Doooom…
“And he’s failed at it,” she continued. “I would be doing him a favor by killing him.”
Doooom…
Ruby’s objective tonight wasn’t merely to survive a few minutes in the ring with a deranged entity. She’d come to put an end to things without allowing any more deaths. And Welling’s odds of survival were looking slimmer with each word that was forced through his hijacked mouth.
She could try to exorcise him, but not from this distance. If she could lay a hand on him, she might be able to banish the queen once and for all…
Doooom…
Could she do it quickly enough to avoid injury?
But the question became moot the instant Welling sprinted for the edge of the tower.
He was trying to escape, to fly off and—
But the fairy never spread his turquoise wings. Instead, he ran off the side and dropped like a rock.
Doooom…
“No!” Ruby shouted, reaching out.
Clifford had made a lunge for him as well, trying to snatch the fairy back as soon as he’d realized what Naifa had in store for her former lover. But Clifford, no matter how agile, never stood a chance.
Doooom…
Then suddenly, Queen Naifa was back, hovering just by the bells, her intense glow lighting up the night.
But Ruby was ready for her now. She hadn’t wanted it to come to this, but it was the only viable option to end this once and for all. The deadly queen would never return to that bell. It was time for her to go.
Ruby closed her eyes, opened her arms, and summoned the fairy spirit inside of her.
The invitation was readily accepted.
Cliff had her arms and legs pinned to the ground in a heartbeat, keeping the queen from taking over her body and injuring her in the time it took to finish the banishment.
You’re a fool, the spirit spoke inside her head.
Then suddenly they were somewhere else. No longer surrounded by the unforgiving stone of Fallia’s Eye, Ruby had brought them to the in-between place. A place in her mind she’d crafted meticulously, where she could reach out to wandering spirits at will.
Or bring a restless one who had overstayed her welcome.
They were on Ruby’s turf now.
Over years of practice, Ruby had created this spot from memories of her life long ago, before she came to Eastwind. And now she stood in the shamrock-green grass by the sparkling pond, the perpetual sunset ahead of her…
And the vengeful spirit beside her. The fairy no longer looked like a spirit, though. She had her color back, and her substance.
After a moment of shock from finding herself in this incongruously peaceful setting, the queen lunged at the witch in whose head she now resided.
That was all Ruby needed. Her age was of no consequence here. In this in-between place, she was ageless. Her movement was limited only by her imagination, but she’d never had a shortage of that. No one who read as much fiction as she did could be lacking in that department.
She ducked, and as Naifa flew over her, she grabbed the fairy’s hands. It was all the contact she needed.
She blasted her energy outward through the connection. The queen shuddered, then screamed as she was ripped apart, torn into smaller and smaller pieces until each bit of her became no larger than a speck of spring pollen and blew away on the wind.
Ruby collapsed onto her back, panting in the grass, gazing up at a blue sky.
Wait, no. She wasn’t panting. She didn’t need to pant. She couldn’t be physically exhausted here.
But someone was definitely panting.
Ruby opened her eyes and found herself staring into her familiar’s hairy face. His stifling breath blasted her with each of his heavy, nervous pants.
“You can get off me now, Cliff,” she said politely.
He did, and she was glad to get a lungful of fresh air following it. She crawled to her feet and dusted herself off. “Thanks.” Then she gave him the head scratch he deserved.
“Any time.”
A gust of wind made her turn, and she found Bloom beating her wings in long strokes as she landed on the tower’s edge. “You okay?”
Ruby smiled pleasantly and tried to pat her hair back into submission. “Totally. Everything is fine here. Nothing at all strange or dangerous. What about Welling?”
Bloom nodded toward the edge and Ruby, cautiously, glanced over.
The fairy was hogtied on the ground, shining gold ropes casting a soft glow over him. His wings were bound as well. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“I flew up to check on you when I heard the shouting, but suddenly a fairy was falling from the sky, and I became slightly preoccupied tending to him.” She paused. “It wasn’t Bitania.”
“Nope. We were both wrong.”
Bloom frowned, unconcerned. “I’d say our wrong was still pretty right.”
“It worked out in the end, at least.”
Bloom nodded. “You want a lift down?”
Ruby opened her mouth to decline, but her heart was still racing in her chest, craving more adrenaline. She’d crash later, maybe even sleep until noon. Oh! What an indulgence! “Why not?” she said.
Bloom scooped Ruby into her arms and leaped off the side of the tower.
There seemed to be a lot of that lately. Too much.
But with any luck, Ruby thought, this would be the last of it.
Epilogue
Ruby awoke to bright sunlight streaming through a small crack in her thick curtains. What time was it? Cliff probably needed to use the bathroom outside.
She blinked and sat up, holding the quilt close to her.
Her familiar was still snoozing on his bed, emitting light, rhythmic snores.
She looked at the clock. It was nearly eleven in the morning.
She’d crawled into bed after one that morning, after having settled on a plan with Bloom for wrapping up the loose ends of the case. The angel had insisted she could take it from there and that Ruby would be smart to go home. And besides, Bloom didn’t need to sleep. She preferred only a few hours of deep meditation to process things each day, but it was by no means mandatory for her survival. Obviously.
Ten hours of sleep, Ruby had enjoyed. What was she, a teenager?
If only, she thought sleepily, before remembering she’d hated her teen years. So much excess angst, so little wisdom. No, forty-six was a much more pleasant age, all creaky joints and unexpected
internal temperature fluctuations aside. Slightly less angst, and slightly more wisdom.
The possession was the likely culprit for that morning’s long doze. Spiritual battle always took it out of her.
She glanced at Clifford again. Watching him sleep only made her want to go back to bed. And why not? She’d earned it.
But then she remembered. She had plans. Once Bloom had left her cottage the previous afternoon, Ruby had arranged to meet with Zax up at Treetop Lodge on Fluke Mountain for lunch to make up for her sudden departure from the Emporium the day before.
The thought of it made her groan.
Wait, why had she groaned? She liked Zax.
She chalked it up to the exhaustion.
After pulling on a warm robe and her favorite slippers, she fixed herself a light breakfast and downed the strongest tea she had, wishing she had some coffee instead. Sure, the stuff made her a bit blunt and wired, but it was also the perfect elixir to help her recover from a night like the one she’d just had.
She checked the clock. She was supposed to be at the restaurant in fifteen minutes. She was hardly ready, not even properly dressed, and the walk alone took her twenty unless she was really hustling. But she was in no condition to hustle. Not this morning.
It all seemed like a lot of effort. Maybe she ought to send an owl his way asking to relocate it somewhere nearer to her house or push back the time. That wasn’t asking too much.
But still, it felt like more effort than she had to give today. He would want to talk about the case, and she would feel inclined to fill him in, rehashing events she hadn’t yet wrapped her own head around.
It wasn’t his fault, of course. She would have asked the same questions if their positions had been switched.
Zax was a wonderful man and good company.
And yet…
She turned to Clifford, who had relocated with her downstairs only to fall right back to sleep belly-up on the rug by the fireplace. “What do you think about a meat pie?”
His head jerked then he flopped onto his side. “I think yes. Same as always.”
She nodded. It was settled then. But first, she had to write two letters. The first was to Zax. It said, “Feeling under the weather today. Afraid I have to cancel. Sorry about the short notice. I hope you treat yourself to a delicious meal regardless.”
And then the second letter: “A New Leaf at noon? I could go for a coffee.”
She sent both off, and by the time she’d cleaned her breakfast dishes and changed clothes, she had two replies waiting in her inbox below the owl’s perch. The first was from Zax.
She unfolded it and read, “I heard you had a big night. Rest up. We’ll enjoy a steak together soon.”
Of course. Leave it to him to be unnaturally understanding. He was a good man. She set that slip of parchment aside and unrolled the second response: “Perfect. I could use a chat with the bluntest witch in Eastwind.”
Ruby grinned.
“Come, Cliff.” She patted her thigh and he met her at the door. “We have a coffee date.”
* * *
The bell above the entrance to the tearoom chimed airily as Ruby held the door open for Clifford. Moving from sunshine to the dim space made her pause as her eyes adjusted.
Harley Hardtime’s face was the first one she spotted, mostly because she knew exactly where to find him behind the counter.
“Usual?” he called.
“No. Coffee, please.”
He lifted his eyebrows in apparent astonishment. “You must’ve had an even crazier Saturday night than I did.”
“For your sake, I hope so.”
She scanned the room and located her date without any trouble. Yes, these plans suited her much better than the previous ones.
Clifford marched straight to the hellhound bed in the corner and fell asleep. She couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t a fan of coffee or tea, so he had no crutches after long nights.
Gabby Bloom looked up from a book as Ruby reached the table. “Ah, there you are. I was worried you’d simply go back to bed and skip out.”
Ruby went with honesty. “I almost did.” She looked down at the sheriff’s book. “What are you reading?”
Bloom flashed the front. The Lonely Vampire Widower. There was no mistaking the genre once Ruby glimpsed the pale, shirtless man on the cover. Perhaps in her earlier years she would have blushed or scoffed at such a thing. But no more. She’d decidedly dropped that taboo as soon as she’d discovered how pleasantly one could while away the afternoon in a comfortable chair by the fire with such a companion as was found between those covers.
“Romance?” she said, lowering herself into her chair. “I didn’t peg you as the type.”
“Yeah, well,” Bloom said evasively, “maybe you’re rubbing off on me.”
“All the better for you. That’s a good one.”
“You’ve read it?”
“Three times.”
Bloom held up a palm. “Don’t spoil the ending.”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Spoil it? It’s a romance. You know how it ends.”
“The main characters end up together. I know, I know. But don’t tell me how it happens.”
Ruby gasped dramatically, hand to her heart. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Harley set a giant mug of coffee on the table in front of her. “No offense,” he said, “but you looked like you could use a large one.”
“None taken… so long as you get my familiar here your freshest meat pie.”
Harley laughed. “Already heating it in the oven.”
Ruby took a tiny sip of her coffee. It was still too hot to drink, but the smell alone invigorated her.
As Bloom marked her page with a silky silver ribbon and set the book aside, Ruby said, “Loose ends tied up?”
“For now. Welling is in jail awaiting his trial. I checked in on Dalora and Magnus this morning, too, let them know the worst was over and they could relax.”
“Are you going to arrest them?” She lowered her voice. “After all, they did murder a monarch.”
Bloom waved it off. “Out of my jurisdiction. And it was hundreds of years ago. I have enough to handle in Eastwind now.”
“Did they tell you why they murdered her?”
Bloom shrugged. “Sure, but take it with a grain of salt, you know? They said she’d been systematically murdering the leaders of the other fae races. Growing paranoid, et cetera, et cetera.”
“You don’t believe them?”
“You can’t believe anything people say about something that happened that long ago. Everyone wears down their memories over time, smoothing the rough edges of their own actions and motivations. It’s possible they’re telling the truth. But one thing is certain: I don’t care. As long as they’re not going to cause problems around here, they can stay cloistered up in Tearnanock Estates all they want. Like I said, out of my jurisdiction.” She held up her hands to show how done she was with it.
“Sounds like you have it all tied up, then.”
Bloom grinned. “Not yet. I still have one important thing left to do.”
“And that is?”
“I have to pay a visit to the High Council and let them know Mayor Periwinkle was responsible for hiring a lunatic for the sake of saving a copper or two.”
“Ooh…” Ruby said. “Who needs to read romance when you have real life fantasies like that to look forward to?”
Bloom laughed, and it was a glorious thing to behold. The weight of the very air around them seemed to lift whenever it happened.
Already feeling more energized, Ruby ventured another sip of her coffee. The angel watched her closely and then said, “Let me know when you’re feeling properly caffeinated.”
Uh-oh. Ruby recognized that tone. “Okay, why?” She cocked her head to the side, eying the sheriff with suspicion.
“Because” said Bloom, reclining in her seat and slinging an arm over the back of the chair, “I have another case I could use your help on.”
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While you’re waiting for the next True & Bloom mystery to release, have a free read!
The Missing Motive follows a murder that takes place two years before Nora arrives in Eastwind.
With Sheriff Bloom by her side, Ruby True attempts to figure out who killed the insufferable druid who has taken up residence in her home.
Enjoy the divine duo of True and Bloom, and visit some of your favorite Eastwind townsfolk in this humorous caper!
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About the Author
Nova Nelson grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie novels. She loves the mind candy of cozy mysteries and has been weaving paranormal tales since she first learned handwriting. Those two loves meet in her Eastwind Witches series, and it's about time, if she does say so herself.
When she's not busy writing, she enjoys long walks with her strong-willed dogs and eating breakfast for dinner.