Witch Hearts

by Liz Long

  “I don’t believe that. You would’ve gotten tired of it sooner or later.”

  “You’re right that he’s a prick. The cheating was bad enough, but to parade her around the coven…a relationship might be one thing, but our craft is our life. Looking back, I realize how stupid I was, that he was a major control freak. It was going to hurt us in the end no matter what. All I really miss now is the group.”

  “You don’t practice with any of them?”

  She shook her head. “Thanks to spending all my time with Michael, I never got close with any of the others and sometimes I regret not opening up more. That said, I haven’t minded doing magic without them. It’s been nice not having to wait on others to learn and catch up.”

  Cooper sat back and gave her a knowing smile. “I can agree with that. I’ve never been big on covens myself.”

  “Well aware.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. She knew they would talk about his absence sooner or later. It would be better to clear the air but Ruby feared if she pushed too fast, Cooper would get offended and leave again. They hadn’t talked like this in ages and she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until his reappearance. She bit her bottom lip and tried to sound casual.

  “So how long do you plan to stick around?”

  He shrugged and glanced down at his coffee cup. “I figured I’d hang around town long enough to get Courtney's murderer.”

  “You sound confident.”

  “I don’t think the police will get him or could handle him if they did.”

  “What if someone else finds him before you do? Like Michael and his coven?”

  Cooper bit back a laugh. “Michael’s little group isn’t going to go looking for a witch killer.”

  Ruby had to admit he had a point. They were probably more afraid than anything. “Maybe you should include me in your plans so I don’t make my own.”

  “All right.” He splayed his hands across the table, his long fingers nearly touching hers as he gave her a serious look. “You and I should find Courtney's killer.”

  “What makes you even think we can?”

  “I know some shady enough people to find something out.” His smile was anything but cheerful.

  “Even if you hear something, what do we do? How do you know we can handle him?”

  “We’ll put protection spells on ourselves so his magic won’t affect us.”

  “I always have one of those on me. That only helps with a few things, though,” Ruby pointed out. She and Coop could perform self-protection spells to avoid being affected by other witches’ magic, but there were plenty of ways to work around it if a dark witch was determined enough.

  “I’m not so bad at my magic, but you’ve always been better at it than most.” Ruby waved him off but he shook his head. “I’m serious, Ruby. You can come up with a spell for him if we need to have one.”

  “What happens once we find him?”

  “We take care of him.” Cooper's hands curled into fists on the table.

  “You don’t think he should be brought to justice.” Ruby’s flat voice made it clear it was anything but a question.

  “I want him to suffer before I end his life.” Cooper's green eyes burned into hers and she felt a fear creep up her spine. He would never let Courtney's murderer live to see a prison cell.

  “I’ve been wondering…what if he’s like us? What if he’s got magic, too?” Ruby asked.

  “It makes sense. Courtney wasn’t lazy with her practice; that’s why I searched through her apartment. She wasn’t exactly lax with her safety, either, which makes me wonder if the guy used magic on her.”

  “Plus her heart…” Ruby trailed off, afraid to upset Cooper. He half-shrugged, flexing his fingers back out around his coffee mug.

  “You can say it. He cut out her heart. What if he’s using it for his own rituals?”

  “What kind of awful rituals is he doing that needs a human heart?” Ruby wondered.

  “Not just a human heart. A witch’s heart,” Cooper reminded her. “That’s why I want your help. We can stop him if we know what we’re up against, but I can’t do it without you.”

  Ruby fell silent, not yet wanting to continue on that particular path of conversation. She switched topics. “Where will you stay? What about your job?”

  A rueful smile crossed his face. “Well, bartending isn’t exactly a career. I can do that anywhere. Besides, Courtney and I had insurance policies taken out. Not that I want to use it, but I’m serious when I say we made sure neither of us would go in debt if the other died. We learned a few things when our folks kicked the bucket. I stayed in a motel the last couple nights, but I guess I can stay at Courtney's. I’ll have to figure out what to do with her things anyways.”

  “Oh, Cooper, no, that’s way too much.”

  He cocked an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”

  “That would be too painful. All her stuff, the memories there…that’s too much for anyone, even you.”

  “Even for me? I thought you were the tough one out of Courtney's circle.”

  “I have no idea where you got that notion.”

  “Well, with your family and that whole ordeal with Michael and…oh, I don’t know, Courtney always talked about all the shit you went through and how well you handled yourself. Plus you’re tough to read.”

  “I’m tough to read?” Ruby couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. “Well, that’s the pot calling the kettle black.”

  Cooper nearly snorted into his coffee. “I guess I deserve that.”

  “You up and left without so much as a goodbye.” Her tone came out colder than she’d wanted or even expected. Cooper hesitated before responding.

  “I called Courtney once I got out of town. I had to leave, to get out of here for a while. I never expected to live here forever, but after that night…it needed to happen.”

  “I still don’t understand.”

  Cooper kept his eyes on his coffee cup and half-shrugged.

  “I’ve changed, Ruby. The dreams may still come, but I don’t act on them anymore.”

  “Do you still practice?”

  “Of course I do.” He gauged her reaction and she merely stared back at him. When he continued to stare, she got flustered.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You’re not going to judge me, tell me I should stop altogether?”

  Ruby shrugged. “You said yourself that power can’t be totally caged. If you bottle it up, it could explode into something terrible. As long as it’s not quite as…dark as it used to be, you should be practicing. Your dreams are a gift. You should be using it to help people if you can.”

  “Thanks,” he said, looking relieved. “I don’t go chasing after them anymore, not unless I think they’re serious. Like the dream about Courtney.”

  “You were right to head straight here. I’m sorry you couldn’t…” Ruby choked up, tears threatening to spill over. She cleared her throat. “Sorry, I’m not usually this emotional.”

  “I think if you’re going to cry about anything, this is a good enough excuse.”

  “I’m sorry you didn’t get to say goodbye to her.”

  Cooper reached out to put his hand over hers. “I am too, sorry for both of us. I’m still not sure it’s real yet. I don’t know if it ever will be, the idea that I can’t call her up to see how her day went or bullshit with her.”

  “She said you two still talked once a week or so.”

  “Yeah, I could never cut her out of my life. My leaving had nothing to do with her. I mean, I left thinking it would diminish my power, but it didn’t stop it. I felt so guilty about skipping town, but I couldn’t risk it.”

  “Did Courtney know why?”

  “After Nate died…” Cooper averted his eyes, hesitated enough for Ruby to know he was uncomfortable, but he pushed forward. “She knew enough to understand why I left. She agreed I should’ve left, even told me I should stop practicing altogether. That�
�s why I’m surprised you don’t care.”

  “Oh, I care, but it’s not something you simply quit. Witches who run away can get nasty surprises when they least expect it. They think they can stop without problems. It’s never that easy to escape who you are.”

  “Tell me about it,” Cooper mumbled into his cup.

  “So? Are you going to tell me or choose to remain all mysterious?” Ruby asked him. She took another sip of tea to try and seem casual, but she burned to know the answers.

  Cooper pressed his lips together and thought for a moment. Finally, he sat back against the booth cushion, cleared his throat and looked at her. “What did Courtney tell you? I’ll fill in the blanks.”

  “Nuh-uh. You tell me your version.”

  His gaze went past her shoulder to the front door then to the barista cleaning up behind the register. Evidently satisfied they were alone, he sat up and huddled over his coffee, not looking at her.

  “You remember Nate?”

  She nodded - she’d met him a couple times several years ago. All she knew about Nate was that he had been Cooper’s friend since high school. They’d gotten into some deep shit after they went into business together and now Nate was dead.

  “Two or three years ago, he came to me with an unbelievable offer. A group had approached him, offered an opportunity to make a lot of money. We got in over our heads.”

  Ruby’s brow wrinkled in question and he shifted in the booth seat, his face looking pained as he spoke.

  “It, uh, involved dark magic, which I guess you know. We got caught up in it, wanting to use it all the time for our own purposes. Huge no-no in the witch community, obviously. Anyways, we didn’t exactly follow through on what our employers wanted. So they uh, well, they killed Nate and left me for dead.”

  Ruby swallowed hard, not sure if she wanted to press for details. Courtney and Ruby had known about the dark magic, assumed that it killed Nate. Not some pissed off coven who ran their group like the mafia. A shiver ran through her.

  Cooper’s mouth twisted in a grimace and he raised a hand to rub his face, a scratchy sound of his palm against his stubbled chin and mouth.

  “Sorry, Rubes. I haven’t talked about this with anyone, not really. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you - you deserve to know - but I’m not comfortable doing it in a coffee shop.”

  She agreed, not wanting to hear any more until they were in a safe place. Her reason was two-fold, both to prevent Cooper’s discomfort with a terrible story and to avoid any long-reaching magic that might allow someone to overhear. Ruby briefly wondered if Cooper was dangerous to be around.

  “I better get you home,” Cooper said. He took their empty mugs and gave them to the barista, who smiled at him in thanks. Ruby followed him out and they got into her car; neither spoke during the drive. Only when Ruby dropped him off at his rental car did he get out and speak to her.

  “I’m going to follow up on a couple leads about the murders,” he said, leaning over to talk to her over the lowered window. “I’ll call you when I know something.”

  “Call me even if you don’t.”

  He nodded, leaned in to kiss her on the cheek before standing upright. “I’ll see you tomorrow for the meeting anyway. They still practice in the same place?”

  “Yeah, nothing’s changed except the girlfriend.” Ruby’s voice hardened and Cooper gave her a stern look.

  “You’re better off without him.”

  “Oh believe me, I know, but it doesn’t make me feel better. I’m not excited about going into the lion’s den.”

  “That’s why I’m going with you.”

  He gave her a brief smile before turning to get into his car. They waved goodbye and Ruby headed home, her stomach already in knots at the thought of tomorrow night.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Saturday evening arrived and Ruby was trying not to act like a crazy person. On the one hand, she was going only to reinforce everyone’s safety and she should remain calm and rational. On the other hand, she was going into her old space with her ex and his new girlfriend; she wanted to look like a million bucks without looking like she cared at all.

  She took one look at the plain jeans and blazer ensemble she had originally selected and her vanity won out. She would not—could not—go into the coven meeting looking like a slouch. She rummaged through her closet until she found her favorite low cut blue sweater that brought out her blue eyes and skinny jeans paired with gray suede boots. She topped it with a gray, buttery soft leather jacket. Not wanting to look like she tried too hard, she left her dark hair in natural waves over her shoulders, with a touch of peach blush on her cheeks and a hint of mascara. She checked herself out in the mirror and was quite pleased with the result.

  Her reflection became nostalgic. She and Courtney had often joked there must be some witch families with vain ancestors who’d insured good looks for their future generations. Then Michael had discovered that some descendants of powerful lineage often attracted others with their magic - the more powerful the witch, the more attractive they appeared. No doubt this included Ruby and Courtney’s families, as well as Michael’s and a few others she’d met in the past.

  She and Michael, that had been their beginning. There’d been an instant physical attraction, both of them strong in their powers. There were many witches whose family legacies kept them beautiful and they were desired by both humans and witches. Courtney liked to say it’s how they got invited to all the good parties in college.

  A loud knock snapped her back into reality. She walked to her door and snuck a glance through the peephole to see Cooper standing outside.

  She opened the door. “Hi. How’d you get through the building entrance?”

  “Some guy leaving held the door open for me. I know we were going to meet there, but I figured I’d just pick you up and—wow, you look great.” He gave her an appreciative once-over.

  “Oh, thanks,” she said. She touched her hair self-consciously. “It’s not much.”

  “And I’m sure Michael seeing you look this good never occurred to you?” The corners of his mouth turned up to let her know he was only teasing her.

  “It might have,” she admitted. “I have zero interest in dating him, but I didn’t want to look like an old maid.”

  “You succeeded then.”

  Ruby blushed. “Thanks. Come on in, I’ll only be a minute.”

  He stepped inside and Ruby snuck a glance at him as he looked around. He was wearing a worn black leather jacket, black shirt, and jeans. His blond hair contrasted nicely with the darkness around him; Ruby caught herself staring at the scar on his throat. He turned to meet her eyes and she shoved away her thoughts.

  “You know, I’ve never seen your place,” he commented. “One bedroom?”

  “Two, but the spare room is mostly filled with junk.”

  “What made you decide to get your own place? Courtney said she asked you to move back in after you left dumbass.”

  Ruby shrugged, turned away to straighten photos on a table. “Mom gave me some money after she remarried. I figured it was time to learn how to be a grown-up.”

  “I get that. It’s a nice place. I like the wall of books over there.” He walked further into the living room to the bookshelf that took up half the wall.

  “Thanks. I have a variety of interests, I suppose.”

  “And you have everything organized alphabetically by author. It’s like a bookstore in here.”

  Ruby laughed a little. “Since I work in one, I organized it for simplicity. I have everything from fiction to reference to spellbooks.”

  He gave her a sharp look. “You keep your Book of Shadows out in the open?”

  “Oh, no,” she replied. She pointed towards her bedroom. “I have a key to that, along with all my other supplies.”

  “Good. No need to risk it getting into the wrong hands.”

  “Where do you keep your book?”

  “In a safe spot.” He gave a glance towards the kit
chen and bedroom. “It’s cozy here; feels like home, with the big chair and books and candles everywhere. It’s nice.”

  “Thanks.” They looked at each other and for the first time Ruby could remember, she felt awkward, even a little shy around Cooper. He cleared his throat.

  “Shall we go to this coven meeting then?”

  “Might as well get it over with, I guess.” She grabbed her bag, made sure Aziza had food, and stepped out into the hallway. She put her hand on the door and felt unnatural warmth beneath her palm; a little golden glow encircled the doorway and she knew her wards were all in place.

  “How many security locks do you have on your place, anyways?” Cooper asked.

  “Counting the door into the building, at least three.”

  Their footsteps echoed on the metal steps in the exposed brick and pipe stairway. Cooper's arm brushed against Ruby's.

  “The wards aren’t as strong when we aren’t in immediate vicinity, though,” he said.

  “Yeah, that’s why I’m kind of a freak about safety. I’ll probably add another one before the week’s up, given the current circumstances.”

  “I’d feel better if you did.” Cooper held the door open for her and she stepped out into the cool evening.

  “Did you want to drive or do you want me to?” she asked.

  “I thought we’d take my bike over.”

  “You have a motorcycle? What happened to the rental car?”

  “I drove the bike here, got the rental in case I needed to move any of Courtney’s stuff. Since I’ll be here awhile, I decided to wait. I got this baby after I moved.” He motioned her over to the vehicle, an older but well cared for model.

  She stared at it for a moment before looking at him. “I’ve never ridden one before.”

  “Never?” Surprise crossed his face as she shook her head and he handed her a helmet. “Well, then c’mon, you gotta live it up a little. Here.”

  “Isn’t it dangerous?”

  “Ruby, aren’t you the same age as Courtney?”

  “Yes, we’re both twenty-eight. So?” They both ignored the present tense usage of Courtney's existence.

  “So you’re an adult and I can drive a motorcycle pretty well. It’s fine. Don’t be a stick in the mud.” He strapped his own helmet on and waited patiently.