Bloodstone: Written in Stone

by R. J. Ladon

  “Kevin, dessert is done,” Grandma shouted up the stairs.

  He closed the book, left it on his bed, and went downstairs.

  Grandma left the hot pan of brownies on the stove. “Would you please cut a couple of slices and put them on plates? I’ll get the ice cream.” She opened the basement door, turned on the light, and disappeared down the stairs.

  Kevin cut the brownies into squares and placed the warm treat on the plates. They puddled chocolate sauce. The oven clicked on. Kevin turned it off, then looked toward the basement door and the sound of footsteps.

  Ruby carried a plastic gallon bucket of ice cream.

  “Grandma, you left the oven on.”

  “Did I? Wouldn’t be the first time.” She laughed. “It’s never been a problem. I always notice sooner or later.” She set the ice cream on the countertop and pulled off the lid.

  “The brownies aren’t done.” Kevin pointed to the pooling sauce on the plates.

  “That is the way it is supposed to be, dear.” Grandma placed a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the dessert. “Try it. You might like it.” She pushed a plate and spoon into Kevin’s hands, then took one and sat at the table.

  The ice cream melted, joining with the chocolate sauce at the bottom of the plate. Kevin sat at the table. Reluctantly he ate a bit of brownie and ice cream. The chocolate combined with the vanilla well. Kevin was surprised by how delicious it was.

  Grandma cleaned her plate, set it in the sink, then took the ice cream back to the basement.

  “Ruby, I forgot something at home. I’m going to run over there.” Kevin placed his empty plate into the sink and then left out the back door.

  Chapter 7

  I nez sat at the dining room table, completing her homework, grumbling. Mina and Tess sat at the other end of the table with a chessboard between them. Mina was winning, of course, but Tess didn’t care. She pushed her pawns at Mina. It appeared that she was trying to pin Mina’s pieces, not take them. Mina slaughtered the pawns with no sign of mercy. Tess rolled her eyes at Kevin as if begging him to save her.

  “Where’s Mom and Dad?” he asked the triplets.

  “Dad’s in the den. Mom’s—around,” Inez said, shrugging. “Wanna see some magic? I can make her appear if I stop doing my homework.”

  “Don’t you dare, young lady.” Mom swept into the room.

  “It was an empty threat, Mom. Kevin’s looking for you.” Inez smiled and blinked at her as if to say, “I would never do such a thing.”

  Mom looked at Kevin. “What’s wrong?”

  “Grandma made a dessert…”

  “You got dessert? Not fair! Where’s mine?” Erupted the complaints simultaneously from the triplets.

  “Would you hush? I’m trying to talk to Mom.”

  Mom used her hand to indicate that Kevin should continue.

  “Well, I think the brownie was underdone. It oozed all over the plate. And she left the oven on.”

  “Did you eat it?” Inez asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did it taste bad?” Tess asked

  “No, it was quite good.”

  “Then it was her lava cake, not a brownie.” Mina finished. “She loves to make that recipe. Bring some over next time.”

  “What about the oven?”

  “I’ve left the oven on too.” Mom shrugged. “Especially if something distracted me. Did she get a call or email or something that might have bothered her?”

  Kevin nodded. The death card messed with her, but he knew better than to mention Grandma’s Wiccan practices. Not to Mom.

  “This is why we wanted you to help with her. I can’t help your grandma; I have the girls and their after-school activities. Plus, we can’t afford a caregiver.” Mom smiled apologetically. “We’re going to pay you to help Ruby with little things around the house and to keep her safe. You did well, telling me about the oven, but all by itself, it doesn’t mean much. Hopefully, between you and her medications, we can keep her out of a home. I think once you get into the rhythm of living with her and her crazy habits, it’ll be like having your own apartment.”

  “Yea, I suppose,” Kevin said, feeling like he tattled on Grandma over nothing. “That’s why I agreed to this idea from the beginning.”

  “Good, good.” Mom looked from Kevin to the girls. “Why don’t you and Ruby come over for supper every night? I don’t think the girls are ready for you to move out. And it’ll give you a chance to keep me apprised of what is going on.”

  “Good idea,” Kevin admitted.

  “You ought to get back home. The girls need to get to bed.”

  “Wave to us from your new bedroom, Kevin,” Inez requested.

  “Yea,” agreed Tess and Mina.

  “Take your toothbrush; I’m sure you forgot it.” Mom narrowed her eyes, knowing well that her son would prefer his teeth fall out than be minty clean.

  Kevin stepped into the kitchen. The house was quiet and dark. The television's glow brought Kevin into the living room where Grandma sat in a recliner watching a drama. Rapscallion slept on a shelf behind the couch, his white fur capturing the colorful flashes.

  Grandma hit mute on the remote. “What did you forget?”

  Kevin shook his toothbrush and a bottle of shampoo. “I’m going to take a shower then go to bed.”

  “Well, goodnight then.” She clicked the remote, and sound filled the room.

  Kevin kissed Grandma Ruby on the head and went to his room. He opened the heavy curtain and waved to his sisters. They waved back excitedly. He closed the curtain, gathered the shampoo and toothbrush, and left his room to take a shower.

  Upon returning, he began to box the books and items on his bed. But curiosity got the better of him. He examined everything more closely before packing them away.

  Inside the Book of Shadows, there seemed to be an organization of color to the comments. Green ink was used for healing spells. Beside them were notes and initials and dates, usually followed by another comment and year. The second notation indicated the usefulness of the incantation or herb.

  Ruby used red ink for love and purple ink for protection spells. Purple seemed to be on every page, followed by the initials M.I.T. Mina, Inez, and Tess? Kevin wondered. He decided that it was impossible. The date following the initials would have made them weeks old. Some of the dates were before they were born.

  Kevin finished clearing the bed of Wicca objects, stuffing everything back into their boxes. Something tugged in his subconscious mind. He returned to the purple comments written in the margins. Stretching out on the bed, he flipped through pages. Gradually his eyes glazed, and he fell asleep, holding the Book of Shadows.

  Kevin strolled to Annie’s house and knocked on the door. After a moment, the door opened. Annie’s mother wore a bathrobe and had a cup of coffee in her hand.

  “Good morning.”

  “Morning,” Kevin said. “Is Annie home?”

  “You just missed her. She left for school about fifteen minutes ago. She was distraught, saying someone was supposed to call her last night. That wasn’t you, was it?” Annie’s mother narrowed her eyes, studying Kevin.

  “Oh, no!” He turned, jumped down the porch steps, and ran toward the school. Before Kevin completed a block, he was panting. He slowed to a walk, feeling embarrassed. He was young; running shouldn’t be difficult.

  Kevin arrived at school before the first bell. Annie was outside in Commons Square, a park-like area with benches, tables, and trees. She wore a short skirt and ruffled shirt, the one that opened and showed off her cleavage if she wanted. She talked with Tony, her ex-boyfriend, who leaned against a maple tree. A portion of the leaves had turned flaming red, reminding everyone that it was October.

  Tony stared at Kevin while talking to Annie. Her face was in profile. He nodded in response to a question. She smiled, then rubbed his chest. Annie turned to look at Kevin as if she knew he was there. She laughed and leaned into Tony.

  Kevin turned away from the sc
ene, entering the school. “I know she wants to piss me off. But why, Tony? He’s such an ass.” Randomly he punched a closed locker.

  “Kevin Arkis, to the office, now!”

  Kevin jumped, then looked to the voice. Principal Walters stared at him from under his bushy eyebrows. “Yes, Principal Walters. I’m sorry, Principal Walters.” Kevin walked to the office and waited impatiently.

  The first bell rang. Everyone entered the front doors and walked toward the office before going left or right down the halls to their classes. Kevin was on display in the glass-encompassed waiting room.

  Principal Walters removed his sports jacket and stood in front of Kevin. “Are you having a bad day?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “That is no reason to destroy school property.”

  “I didn’t destroy anything.” Kevin tried to defend himself. “I just punched a locker, instead of punching…a fellow student.” His shoulders fell.

  “I see. Do you have your temper under control, Mr. Arkis?”

  “Yes, I believe I do,” Kevin said.

  “Good.” Principal Walters looked at the clock. “The second bell hasn’t rung. Get to your first class.” The principal turned to leave, then paused. “Let’s not meet in the hallway like that again, Mr. Arkis.”

  Kevin nodded. He entered Psychology in a rush, just as the second bell rang. Tony sat in the front row, flanked by Chad and Vin, his best friends. The last thing Kevin wanted was to be in the same room as Tony.

  Vin and Chad laughed, punching Tony’s shoulder as if congratulating him.

  Kevin moved to the rear of the class.

  Mrs. Anderson came into the room and announced, “We have a section review, short answer test today.” She pulled a stack of papers and handed them to the head of each desk row. “Please take one and pass the rest back. You’ll have the entire hour to finish. Take your time and be sure of your answers. This test will be weighed heavily on this semester’s grade.”

  Kevin rolled his eyes. All he had on his mind was Annie, not Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, or Friedrich Nietzsche. He pulled out a pen in preparation but doubted he would do well.

  Chapter 8

  M egan parked her blue Honda in front of Bonnie’s house. She turned off the engine, walked onto the porch, and rang the doorbell.

  Bonnie opened the door. “You know I walk to school. Why pick me up?” She backed up and waved Megan in. Bonnie was blonde and almost a foot taller than Megan’s five foot four. She wore a flower print shirt and tight-fitting jeans.

  “I wanted to make plans to work on the English assignment.”

  “I have a phone.” Bonnie shook the phone, as emphasis, then put it in a small purse that hung from her shoulder.

  “I wanted to see you. Talking on the phone is so impersonal.”

  “That sounds like something your father would say.”

  Megan shrugged. “The apple doesn’t fall far.”

  Bonnie laughed. “It sure doesn’t,” She picked up her book bag from the counter and headed out the door. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m free most nights between five and seven, except this Wednesday,” Megan said. They climbed into her car.

  Bonnie sat in the seat and leaned into the center console, popping it open. She pushed the passenger seat back to give her long legs space. “Tonight works for me.” She shrugged. “Thursday and Friday are open, too, as far as I can remember.” Bonnie closed the center console and shoved the exposed items back under the seat. “Sorry about that. My legs are too long.” She smiled sheepishly.

  Megan licked her lips, her eyes darted to the floorboards under Bonnie’s long legs, then to the keys. “Tonight, it is.” She started her car, and they drove the three blocks to school. If Bonnie saw the bugout bag, she didn’t recognize what it was. But what if she had? Megan parked the car, and they walked toward the school together.

  The first bell rang. They entered the school side by side, surrounded by a mass of students. Kevin Arkis was in the office, sitting in the fishbowl. Bonnie elbowed her in the ribs. Megan couldn’t help but smile. He sure was cute.

  Principal Walters seemed to enjoy showing off his latest naughty child by leaving him or her in the widow-enhanced lobby. As if Principal Walters could instill good behavior by putting bad on display.

  Megan shook her head. “We are in high school, not grade school; I wonder if he knows.”

  A few nearby students snickered.

  Bonnie whispered in Megan’s ear. “What happened? He doesn’t get into trouble.”

  Megan shrugged.

  They often compared notes on Kevin. It was silly to behave like a lovestruck freshman when they were seniors, but for now, they only had other seniors to occupy their free time.

  “Bathroom,” Megan said as she slipped out of the stream of students. Bonnie followed.

  Annie Brown leaned on a sink, getting as close as possible to the mirror, putting on eyeliner.

  Megan’s lip curled involuntarily. She shot a glance at Bonnie, who nodded. They each took a stall, out of sight of the mirror, and closed their doors stealthily. Hopefully, the bitch would leave soon.

  Annie’s phone rang. She looked around the bathroom then answered it. “Yea?” there was a pause. “No, I didn’t.” Pause. “Yes, I know. Soon, I’ll have him.” Pause, then a sigh. “Yes, the sisters. Look, I got it, okay?” She turned off her phone, checked her lipstick, and left.

  Megan and Bonnie exited their stalls simultaneously. Bonnie was laughing behind her hand.

  “Did you hear?” Megan asked.

  “Oh, yea. Annie’s got a new sucker on the line.” Bonnie rolled her eyes.

  “I wonder who’s stupid enough to date her? I thought she had the reputation of a black widow.”

  “Don’t forget succubus,” Bonnie added, frowning.

  “Exactly.” Megan shook her head. “How does she do it?” She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, using the mirror to catch the strays.

  “Must be magic.” Bonnie’s eyebrows furrowed in thought.

  “I know that look,” Megan said.

  “What?” Bonnie gave Megan an innocent expression.

  “You want revenge.”

  Bonnie smiled. “I do, oh God, I do. But how?”

  “You could steal this boy she has on the line,” Megan suggested.

  “No, that won’t work. Once Annie has her claws in them, they’re puppets. Look at Tony.” Bonnie swallowed hard. “And Chris.”

  Megan frowned, placing a hand on Bonnie’s shoulder. “I miss Chris too.” She dropped her hand. “And I used to like Tony. I remember when he was sweet.”

  “Exactly, we have to do something to Annie.” Bonnie cracked her knuckles. “Maybe we ought to break her pretty face.”

  “I like the way you think.” Megan nodded. “Come on. We're going to be late for first class.”

  Chapter 9

  B y lunch, Kevin was a wreck. He messed up the Chemistry Lab as well as the Psychology test. And he lost Annie, the one girl he thought he could love and marry.

  He sat alone at a table with his hardly touched pizza. He gazed at Jarrett and Matt, longing to sit with them and talk about the latest video game. Since Kevin started dating Annie and ignored their warnings, they refused to acknowledge his existence. Maybe he could win back their trust. Kevin poked the rectangular-shaped pizza with his fork, hardly interested in eating.

  Annie slid into the bench beside him. She touched his lips with her finger. “You know Kevin. You made me upset last night. You promised me that you were going to call, maybe even show up in my bedroom. But you didn’t. I felt awful falling for your empty promises.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I have all these new responsibilities, and I failed you. Grandma needs me.” Kevin sighed, feeling like his explanation was inadequate. “I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”

  “I forgive you, Kevin. This time.” She turned to face him, displaying her cleavage. The purple charm on her necklace nestled between her breasts.
She reached up and brushed his cheek with her fingertips. “Will you come to see me tonight?”

  Kevin felt a weight lift from his shoulders, and the pit of his stomach unclenched. “Oh, yeah, tonight, no matter what.”

  Annie smiled at him, looking through her lashes. Kevin was hers.

  After school, Annie and Kevin strolled to her house, hand in hand. They walked along the bike path at Miller Park. From the wooden bridge that spanned thirty feet across Miller Pond, they stopped to laugh at the antics of the ducks and geese.

  He fell into the depth of her eyes, pulling her close, he kissed her passionately. She ensnared his senses. He would do anything she asked.

  Annie pushed him away. “Not here, Romeo.” She looked towards the playground where children played, and parents watched. “Let’s go home.” She took his hand and guided him away from the busy park. Her determined stride and pace slowed at the sight of her house.

  Her mother sat on the porch. “Where have you been? You were supposed to be home thirty minutes ago. You forgot about your appointment, didn’t you? We have to leave now if we’re to salvage it. Hurry!”

  Kevin leaned in and hugged her with the unsaid promise of seeing her after dark. As he walked home, his backpack felt heavy, like lead weights slowed him down. Every step away from his true love was grueling. He mounted the porch steps to grandma’s house and opened the door.

  Grandma lay back in her recliner as usual, but something was wrong. Her face contorted in a grimace. Rapscallion sat in Ruby’s lap. His emerald eyes were transfixed on her as if he were trying to help.

  “Grandma, what’s wrong?” Kevin dropped his backpack by the door and rushed to her side. Thoughts of Annie fluttered from his mind like autumn leaves.

  “I fell, and I think I broke my wrist.” Her swollen arm had an off-putting purple color.

  “When? Where?”