by Liz Long
“No, Ruby, don’t do this!” Cooper shouted. “I love you, remember?”
“She doesn’t love you,” Michael snapped at him. “She wants to be with me and we’re going to use your heart to be the greatest witches in history.”
“Can we even do this without the symbol?” Ruby asked to divert his attention. She sat up, rubbed her wrists and winced. Looking down, she saw no more cuts, felt no more pain on her chest that had been ripped open. The blood everywhere should’ve said otherwise.
Michael finished the ropes and she stood up on her bare feet, careful to move slow. “If I have another witch to help, yes. You conduct the spell and I’ll absorb his magic. I’m the tool.”
“You sure are,” Ruby muttered, but he didn’t hear her. His hand on the small of her back, he pushed her forward to Cooper. She met his eyes, shook her head a fraction of an inch.
“Cooper, wouldn’t you like to calm down?”
“Not the time or place,” he replied with a furious expression.
“I think you should calm down. Maybe have a seat or even lie down on that table over there,” she said, widening her eyes at him to understand. The more Michael’s guard was down, the bigger their chance of survival. Cooper understood and froze, stood to his full height and waited for her next “suggestion.”
Michael chuckled. “There’s a good lad. I wonder Ruby, have you ever used your magic on him before?”
“You’re the only one I haven’t used it on and you know it,” she lied. Michael grinned in satisfaction and she cringed at the blood on his teeth.
“Come to the table, Cooper,” she said. He responded by taking a few steps forward.
With no idea if Cooper would indeed lunge out for Michael’s throat, Ruby’s stomach ached with anxious nerves. Michael prowled out of reach in case of a trap but a long six seconds later, Cooper made it to the table.
“Make him lie down. He will not move no matter what,” Michael demanded.
Ruby repeated the command. Cooper went flat on the surgery table where she’d been tortured not ten minutes ago. Blood smeared on his arms and shirt. Ruby took a couple steps back to keep Michael’s trust, felt his eyes on her every move. The cool air made her skin prickle with goosebumps and she looked down at her bare skin, hadn’t even realized she was still half-naked.
Michael sidled up next to her. “Might want to close your eyes, love. I don’t want you to see all the blood. I’ll tell you when to start the spell.”
She snapped her mouth shut to prevent the retort that bubbled to her lips, kept her eyes on Cooper rather than make an obvious gesture to the blood all over her. No point trying to explain logic to a crazy person. She tensed as Michael’s hand lifted the scalpel. Light winked off silver as he went to claim another witch’s heart.
Before he could plunge it in, however, Cooper rolled away and off the table. Without hesitation, he lunged at Michael, knocked him to the ground. Ruby went down hard on the ground for the crossbow, skinned her knees and elbows as she closed her hand around the weapon. She hoped it was ready to shoot. Lifting the device to aim at the wrestling match, she swayed with fear as fists flew.
“Shoot him, Ruby!” Michael shouted underneath Cooper. He grunted as a blow met his stomach.
“I’ll shoot the wrong person!”
Michael fought Cooper off him, used his magic to throw him into a nearby column. Cooper’s back hit hard and he fell to one knee, struggling to stand up. They both gave her a deer-in-headlights look and after a second’s hesitation, she pulled the trigger. Three bolts left the machine and hit their broad-chested target.
Michael stumbled backwards, clutched both hands to his chest in disbelief. “Ruby…”
“I’d say it beats getting sliced and diced, but you said it yourself: this weapon is for a different kind of witch. I hope it burns all the way down to hell.” Her hands refused to put down the crossbow and she didn’t take her eyes off him for a second.
His back to the wall, Michael slid down next to X, winced at the poison eroding his system. He lifted his hand as though to perform magic on her, but it was too late. He kept his glassy eyes on Ruby, his gasps shallow and fast.
“I l-loved you…”
“You always loved you the most,” she replied.
She didn’t drop the crossbow until many minutes later when Cooper checked for a pulse and confirmed Michael’s death. The anger she’d held on to in order to kill him dissipated, exhaustion and sadness taking its place. The mood swing made her woozy and she heaved a sigh of relief. Instead of looking at the two dead murderers, she turned to find Cooper.
“How did you find me?” she asked, gladly accepting the invitation into his open arms. She hugged him tight, breathing in his scent. She took a second to listen to his heartbeat and thanked her stars they were alive.
“When I woke up and felt like I’d been hit by a bus, I found the mess in the kitchen, put two and two together. Used the tracking spell in your book since you left your key on the nightstand. Sorry to touch your things, but I knew it’d be faster with something that close to you.”
“You can touch anything of mine you want.”
“Is that right?” Cooper said with a hint of a smile, that mischievous twinkle that Ruby used to know appearing in his eyes.
She didn’t bother with a protest, too tired to move or think or do anything except be. She almost didn’t believe the nightmare was over, that Courtney’s true killer - make that killers - had been caught. Considering her ex had in part killed her best friend, she was tempted to find a therapist soon.
Ruby hardly noticed when Cooper pulled out his cell phone to call the police, could barely move with the shock. Detective Phillips, Officer Marshall and the rest of their department sped into the lot, which turned out to be a small old warehouse down a back alley of a bad part of town. Even if someone had heard Ruby’s screams, they knew better than to go looking for trouble in the area.
“I thought you were under some sort of spell,” Cooper admitted, putting his arm around her to kiss her forehead. “When you broke the silver, I thought something had happened to you.”
“It did,” she said. He looked surprised and she chuckled. “It gave me my power back. Times four other witches, I suppose. I’ve never done that to him. I couldn’t have controlled him otherwise. ”
“I guess in a way, Courtney helped you get him.”
For the first time all evening, Ruby smiled. “Yeah, I guess they all did. Maybe now she can move on.”
“Hope so. She’s probably been giving you all kinds of crap about us.”
He raised an eyebrow at her and she bit back a grin. Detective Phillips and Officer Marshall arrived to save her.
“I’m so sorry,” Ben tried to tell her, but Ruby held up a hand to stop him.
“He took me from my apartment. You had no way of knowing.”
“Still, I wish I could’ve done something.”
“You did everything you could and quite frankly, it’s better you didn’t face that kind of magic. Cooper only got around it because he’s a witch, too. Michael would’ve torn you apart.”
Ben couldn’t hide a grimace at the thought and Ruby changed the subject, addressing both policemen.
“Thank you both again for helping save me.”
“We should’ve caught it before you were taken,” Phillips said, surprising them. He shook his head. “The crime didn’t fit the MO and Michael’s apartment smelled like a setup. I’m truly sorry we didn’t act sooner.”
Ruby didn’t take Phillips to be the apologetic kind and nodded at him. “I’m alive and that’s what matters. Thank you for being here now.”
“If you don’t mind, we have several questions for you. It’s best if we go to the precinct and get you away from this…” he paused, glanced around with a grimace, “situation.”
“We’ll tell you the truth, but you’ll have to get around some details,” Cooper warned him.
The detective’s bushy mustache twitched. “I’
m pretty sure I don’t want to know everything.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
After telling Detective Phillips the entire story, including the truth about Gary and the garage magic fight, he decided to come up with a much more believable one. Many hours and a long shower later, Ruby and Cooper were finally able to relax and let their guards down. Worried she would have nightmares of Michael or X, she accepted Cooper’s sleeping potion that kept the monsters out of her dreams. They slept most of the next two days away. When she felt like dragging herself out of bed, Ruby took several hours to clean her apartment (including rearranging her kitchen cabinet contents), install a new front door, and assure Miranda she was alive.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Miranda told her over the phone. “And bring Cooper with you next time you come in. I’d like to thank him in person for saving you.”
Ruby grinned at Miranda’s devilish tone, knew she’d ogle Cooper openly and unapologetically in the shop.
“What on earth will Ally think?” she asked Miranda, referring to her girlfriend.
“Ally will understand. She knows he’s gorgeous.”
They talked and laughed for a few more minutes before a customer came in and Miranda had to go. She promised to check on Ruby the next day and encouraged her to come in now that all was safe. Thirty seconds after they hung up, a loud knock on the door startled Ruby. She peeked through the peephole and relief flooded through her as she opened the door.
“Hi, Officer Marshall,” Ruby greeted him.
He gave her a small smile. “Actually, it’ll be detective now, thanks to you.”
“I had nothing to do with it,” Ruby countered. “It was all of your hard work and smart thinking.”
“Well, if it weren’t for you, I doubt I would’ve gotten promoted.”
“And if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be alive, in several instances. So we’re even. Congratulations on your promotion.”
“Thank you,” he said. He cleared his throat, shuffled his feet as he pulled something out of his inside jacket pocket. “I wanted to return this to you.”
He handed her Courtney’s Book of Shadows. Ruby accepted it, running her hands over the smooth leather and shiny silver pendant.
“You got most of the blood off. Thank you,” she said, relieved. She hadn’t really wanted to clean it herself.
“We kept it in evidence, but it was difficult to make anything of it without knowing what to look for,” Marshall admitted. “We had no real way of knowing if the killer added or took anything out of there. Detective Phillips convinced the captain it should be returned to you since…well, everything worked itself out.”
“I’ll flip through it to make sure there’s nothing in there that shouldn’t be,” she promised. “If I find anything out of sorts, I’ll hand it over as evidence.”
“Sounds good. I better get back to the precinct. Meeting my new partner this afternoon,” Marshall said. A nervous grin flashed across his face, but it was gone as soon as it came. “By the way, let me know when you become a High Priestess. I’d like to have another coven as an ace up my sleeve.”
Ruby looked at him, astonished. “Another coven? You were Michael’s inside contact?”
He nodded, gave her a sheepish look. “We’d…grown apart the last year. He seemed different; I couldn’t trust him as much. It wasn’t until Courtney died that I put the witch theory together and went to him for help.”
“But why talk to Michael at all before? Where do you fit in here?” Ruby was puzzled and he seemed to understand what she meant.
“Aunt on my mom’s side, she’s a witch. I don’t know much,” he said, shrugging, “but I know enough to understand it can be a powerful resource.”
“Does anyone else know about you? I mean, Phillips or a captain…?”
He shook his head. “No, I’ve managed to keep it quiet. I know several signs of magic; my aunt kept me when my mama worked nights at the hospital. I liked to watch her practice because I thought it was cool, but I don’t have any magic in me.”
“Where does hers come from?”
“My great-grandmother, I think. Does that matter?”
“Just curious.” Ruby suspected his great-grandmother at least had a hand in Ben’s handsome features. She hid a grin and distracted him. “I figured it would be a detective or something.”
“It is now. Thanks for helping people trust me with valuable intel. It’s helped me move up and maybe after a few years of solving cases, I can publicly state my sources.” He grinned at her, his straight white teeth bright against dark skin.
He surprised Ruby with a hug, but she gladly returned his warm embrace. He stepped back, his hand still on her shoulder.
“You take care of yourself, okay? And if you ever need anything, I’m only two floors down.”
“I can’t thank you enough. But I might try with some homemade cookies on your doorstep later this week.”
“Looking forward to them. Tell Coop I said hey.” He gave her a little wave and walked away. Ruby took a second to admire his tall, muscular body (and backside) as he headed into work as the new detective on the block.
Ruby returned to the couch with Courtney’s book still in hand. Curling up on the couch, she flipped through a few dog-eared pages. As she continued to glance through spells, she heard a key unlock her new front door.
“Guess who called?” Cooper said from the foyer.
“Who?”
“Darren!” He walked past the living room entrance carrying grocery bags. After he put everything away in the kitchen, he made his way back to Ruby, had a seat on the couch next to her. “After Gary and his guys caught up to him, he managed to slip away. He’s pretty pissed at me for the questioning - aka beating - they gave him, but he was glad to hear you were okay.”
Ruby smiled at him, her hand going up to her heart in relief. “That’s great news. Maybe we should invite him over for dinner or something.”
“He’d like the free food, but would spend the entire time searching the place for hidden cameras. Probably best we stick to public places where he won’t find your underwear drawer or be drawn to your spellbook.”
Ruby snorted and turned her attention back to Courtney’s book, held it up for him to see.
“Whatcha got?”
“Courtney’s book. Officer - I mean, Detective - Marshall brought it by, said the police couldn’t really use it as evidence.”
“Guess not. What would they know about it?”
Ruby touched her forefinger to her nose. “Exactly.”
“Detective, huh? Good for him.” Cooper pulled Ruby’s legs over his lap, leaning in to see the spellbook.
She handed it to him and he flipped through it. He took a few moments to smile at his sister’s handwriting on a particular page.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see it again.” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to miss her every day.”
“Me too. I thought once her murder was solved, we’d have closure. Now I know there’s no such thing, not really.” Ruby looked down at her hands.
He tapped her shin with the book in his hand to get her attention. “Hey. We did more than enough. We both sort of almost died and still managed to get Courtney’s true killers. I’d say that’s worth a lot.”
“Let’s never do it again, okay?”
Cooper chuckled, but quickly nodded in agreement. “Agreed.”
They kissed on it.
*****************
Later that night, Ruby dreamt of Courtney. The sunset in the dream shone a brilliant red, with streaks of pink and purple in the sky. The moment Ruby realized she was sitting at their spot in the woods alone, she heard Courtney’s voice behind her.
“About time, witch.” Ruby turned to protest, but Courtney’s familiar grin and teasing voice made her relax. Courtney sounded like her old self, minus that whole ghost thing. Her white shirt was clean this time, with no signs of bodily harm.
“Pretty sure this is the last time you’ll
be seeing me.” She sighed in a contented way, gave a last look at her surroundings. “I feel…pretty good, all things considered.”
“It doesn’t make it easier, but I’m glad for you.” Ruby breathed deep to keep back tears. “The police gave me back your book.”
Courtney snapped her fingers as though remembering something. “Excellent. By the way, if I were you, I might double check it for a new spell I wrote. Might help you find something that’s been lost.”
She shot Ruby a mischievous grin, a look she used to wear on her face more than a couple times a week. Ruby made a mental note to check her Book of Shadows when she woke up.
Courtney hadn’t flickered yet and Ruby took a chance. She reached over and put her arms around Courtney. Body met body in a real hug, surprising them both. Courtney returned her tight embrace and they held each other for a long moment. She pressed her lips to Ruby’s ear.
“Be happy, Ruby. I know it might call for therapy or something, but I’m serious. Move past this experience and live. For me, please be happy.”
Ruby nodded into her shoulder, blinked back tears and ignored a few that slipped away. Feeling Courtney begin to fade away, Ruby tried to hold on tighter.
Courtney gave Ruby a kiss on the cheek and they pulled back enough to look at one another. Ruby gave in, forgot about being brave and tears fell into her lap. Courtney, looking a little paler, also cried, though she had a smile on her face.
“Thanks for leaving my ashes here. I’m really glad it’s where I’ll stay.”
“I don’t know how I’ll do anything without you.” Ruby’s voice caught in her throat, the wall of tears choking her up.
“You’ll figure it out. Besides, you have Cooper now and while I’m annoyed I don’t get to be your hot maid of honor,” Courtney paused to grin at her and grew serious again, “I’m so glad it happened. You’re my two favorite people in the whole world and I want you to have the best life ever.”