Witch Hearts (2 page)

Ruby closed the door behind her and froze when she saw the apartment. Cabinets and drawers were open, papers lay everywhere. The place had been ransacked.

“Cooper?” she called out. She took a cautious step into the living room. Warmth bumped against her leg; she jumped in surprise, but looked down to see Courtney's beloved cat.
 

“Hi, Aziza,” she said. She picked Aziza up, cradled the cat to her chest. Ruby buried her face in Aziza’s warm fur and soft purring returned her affections. Courtney had so loved her beautiful, well-mannered companion. Named for the Egyptian word “precious,” Aziza fit the description well, with short, silky gray fur and bright green eyes.
 

“Sorry about the mess,” a voice came from the back bedroom. Cooper, all six feet, three inches of lean muscle, entered the room and walked over to give Ruby and Aziza a hug.
 

“Hey Rubes. It’s good to see you,” he said as he enveloped her. “It’s been too long.”

Ruby's head came to his neck and she smelled his cologne when they touched. She pushed back the flood of memories that came with Cooper, tried to ignore the long scar on his throat. She bit her tongue about his comment. Aziza purred between their body warmth; Ruby pulled back and looked up at Cooper's short blond hair and stoic expression.
 

“How are you?” she asked him.

She could read the pain in his green eyes even as he shrugged. “I’ve been better.”
 

“Why did you tear the place apart?” Ruby asked. She set Aziza down, much to the cat’s discontent, who leapt onto the couch arm and perched elegantly to watch them.
 

Cooper rubbed his jaw and looked around at the chaos. “I guess I thought maybe I’d find something. That she’d written something down to warn us or say she knew what might happen.”

“Didn’t find anything?”

“No. I have no idea why this happened to her. I guess she didn’t, either.”
 

“What did the police tell you?” She set her bag on the cozy reading chair next to her.
 

He shrugged. “They called me this morning, told me there’d been an incident and I got to their station around noon. I, uh…I was already on my way here to see Courtney, actually.”

Ruby raised an eyebrow as he ruffled his hair, rubbed the back of his neck in that way that said he was uncomfortable. He looked everywhere but at her and the full impact of his statement hit her. She knew that haunted expression.

“You had a dream?”

“Yeah. I was trying to find Courtney. Just when I thought I’d found her, all I could see was blood on the ground, in the water. I woke up in a panic, packed a bag, and got on the road.”

Cooper had dreamt of Courtney's death. Ruby didn’t want to acknowledge the dream’s actual substance.
 
She took a step towards the couch to pet Aziza so she didn’t have to look him in the eye at her next statement.
 

“So even after all this time gone, you haven’t found a way to control them.”

“I was never arrogant enough to think I could,” he said, clearly affronted. “You know as well as I do some power can’t be completely caged. The dreams have always sort of…come to me.”

“I know. I guess I thought you left to try and get away from all of it.”

“Well, I did, sort of. Family ties are strong, so I thought if I put some distance between me and Courtney, it would lessen my power. And it worked, for a while anyways.”

“It lessened hers, too, then. Maybe…” It spilled out of Ruby's mouth before she could stop it and she immediately wished she could take it back. She risked a glance at Cooper's face to find it cold, hard lines forming around his narrowed eyes.
 

“Say it, then. Maybe she’d still be alive if I hadn’t left.”

“I’m sorry, Cooper, I didn’t mean it. I don’t know what I was thinking…” Ruby’s face scrunched up as she fought back tears.
 

Cooper's face softened. “We shouldn’t turn against one another. This is going to be hard enough.”

Ruby nodded, swallowing hard. “What else did the police say?”
 

“No suspects yet. I had to go to the coroner’s office to confirm it was Courtney. They were really careful to only show her face.”

“Did they say…?” Ruby trailed off, feeling a little woozy as she pondered her next question.

“Yeah, they told me about her heart. Fucking bastard. I’ll rip his own out after a little black magic.”

Ruby restrained herself from giving him a warning look. “Michael says the police are worried about witchcraft, that we might be the targets.”

“You talked to Michael?” Cooper shot her a curious glance; she looked away to Aziza, who also seemed to give her a disapproving stare.

“Couldn’t ignore all his messages. He told me about Courtney right before you called.”

“I wondered how you’d heard. What did he have to say about it?”
 

Ruby shrugged. “That he was sorry. His source told him that it’s not the first victim to be murdered like this. What if the killer really is attacking witches?”

“I hope he does come for me. I’d love for him to try. I’ll give him fire and brimstone, all right.” Anger flashed in his dark green eyes.
 

“We should be prepared. Michael’s coven is meeting this weekend.” Ruby picked at threads on the blanket over the couch, not meeting Cooper's look. “Maybe we should go.”

“Are you kidding? After what he did, you want to go back there and play nice?”

“If witches really are in danger, then we should have a plan. We don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

“He made you leave your own coven.”

“I left of my own free will.”

“Yeah and I got this scar from razor burn. Ruby, he cheated on you with that slutbucket of a witch and then paraded her around the group in front of you until your breaking point. I know you’re a good person, but damn, there’s only so much a person can take.”

“If lives are in danger, I want to make sure we are safe.” Her voice stayed level, but the flickering lights betrayed her anger. Her ex’s poor choices were a sore subject.
 

Cooper raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t worried what they’ll say?”

“I know most of them were unhappy about what he did, but our personal business has nothing to do with our craft. I left to keep the peace. They either know that or they don’t, but like I said, we need to be safe. I don’t want anyone getting hurt by this psycho, not even Michael or his whore.”

Cooper hid a smirk at her choice of words, but nodded. “All right, we’ll go together.”

“I thought you didn’t practice with covens.”

“I don’t; they slow you down and you usually end up doing most of the work anyway. I’m not talking about practicing, though. I want to go with you and see what everyone knows.”

Ruby nodded. “Okay. What do we do until then?”

“You and I bury Courtney.” Cooper's face became all business. “She and I made our wills together with our lawyer. I’ll meet with him tomorrow to discuss her wishes.”

“Do you need me to go with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine. When we lost our folks, we made sure to take care of each other.”

“She and I didn’t really talk about it. How are we saying goodbye to her?”

“A small memorial service for friends. She and I were the only family left,” he said.
 

Ruby noticed that whereas Courtney had always shrugged off this piece of information about being alone, Cooper sounded bitter. She kept silent as he continued.

“We agreed to keep the other out of debt if we could. Both of us chose cremation. She wanted her ashes spread out in the woods. You probably know the exact area.”

Ruby nodded. Courtney wanted to be back with nature, where she, Ruby, and other witches held rituals under the moon and stars. There was a particular area they frequented away from hikers or intruders. It made perfect sense for Courtney's remains to rest there.
 

“We’ll put a protection spell on the area to make sure no one can mess with her,” Ruby said.
 

Cooper nodded and looked at the gray cat still perched on the couch. “Courtney would want you to take Aziza.”

“Are you sure you don’t want her?”

“No, she belongs with you now.” Cooper looked down at his shoes and closed his eyes. Ruby's throat closed up at the sadness on his face.
 

“Are you all right? I mean, really?” She raised a hand to him but quickly lowered it, unsure if he’d want her sympathies.
 

“To see her like that…all lifeless, without any more of her power, it was worse than my parents on those slabs. We had our differences and I know we hadn’t seen each other in a while but Courtney was my little sister. I can’t see a life without her right now.”

Cooper looked straight at her; his eyes grew brighter and Ruby realized he was trying not to cry. Usually she’d drop her head in embarrassment to give him space, but this was Cooper, crying over their Courtney. He opened his arms to hold her; she buried her face in his chest and together they let their tears fall.

The second that Ruby got to her apartment, she locked the door behind her. She set her bag in the reading chair by the television and put Aziza’s carrier down. When she opened it, Aziza exited gracefully and took a curious look around. While she got herself acquainted, Ruby went straight into her bedroom, for her armoire that contained her Wiccan materials.

She pulled a chain from under her shirt to get the attached key to unlock the armoire. Rummaging through her materials, she found what she needed. She took her white chalk and walked back out to trace the outline of her front door, then crushed herbs into a small cast-iron cauldron. Once she finished, she put the bowl in front of the door and set it on fire. White smoke curled around the doorknob, snaking its way around the entire frame.
 

“Goddess hear me, heed my pleas
 

Keep me safe against enemies

Even when I am not in this space

It must remain a sacred place

Protect me now, my blood to thee

I thank the goddess, blessed be.”

Ruby poked her forefinger with the tip of her athame, squeezed a drop of blood into the cauldron. A shimmery light draped itself over the entrance and she dropped her arms, satisfied at the soft glow that emanated from the doorway.
 

After cleaning up, she changed clothes and flipped the television onto the news, keeping the volume low. She poured herself a glass of water, then curled up on the couch. Without thinking, she glanced at the framed photo on the table next to her: Ruby and Courtney, in a bone-crushing hug at a previous New Year’s party as confetti fell around them. She picked it up to stare at it, tears welling in her eyes. They both had this favorite picture framed; glitter sparkled in Ruby's dark hair while Courtney looked like a blonde angel, with her giant smile and green eyes shining with happiness.
 

She and Courtney had been best friends for ten years, since freshmen year of college. They’d known right away their friendship was meant to be. Ruby watched Courtney bury her parents after the car accident. Courtney was there when Ruby's father drank himself to death, when her mother remarried and denounced Ruby and the witchcraft they’d shared her entire life.
 

Ruby’s eyes overflowed with tears that streamed down her nose, dripped onto the photo. The frame in her hand shook; her entire body trembled and she cradled the photo to her chest. Aziza silently leapt up next to her and nestled her way into Ruby’s lap. Ruby wept until she grew exhausted and dragged herself to bed.
 

*********************************************

Ruby, an assistant manager at a small but popular independent book store called Book Nook, called late the next morning to take a sick day. She hadn’t slept much and feared she might break down in front of customers if she went in. Her boss Miranda, who had met and hung out with Courtney on several occasions in past years, was somber over the phone.

“I’m so sorry,” Miranda said. “When is the funeral?”

“With the police investigation, it’s too hard to schedule it. Courtney wanted to be cremated anyway, so there’s going to be a memorial service instead.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I wanted to use a sick day, actually. I only found out early last night. I’m sorry to call in like this—”

“No, no,” Miranda interrupted, “you stay out through the rest of the week. We’re a book shop, not the government. Richard and I will cover it. I know Courtney was like your sister; come back next week if you feel up to it.”

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. We’re going to scatter her ashes as soon as possible.” Ruby took a sip of coffee.
 

“I can’t believe she’s gone. I don’t understand how someone could do that. How on earth can someone be so sick as to cut out a person’s heart?”

Ruby froze, her coffee cup only halfway back to the table. “How do you know that?”

“So it’s true?”

She pulled the phone away to stare at it for second, confused, then returned to the conversation. “What do you mean?”

“They’re saying it’s only a rumor right now, but Ruby, honey, it’s all over the local news. They’re warning women to be extra careful with this psycho on the loose.”

“I don’t disagree with that on any occasion, but I think you might be safer than you think.”

“Why do you say that?”

Ruby reached for her remote as she tightened the phone against her ear with her shoulder. “I don’t guess the news will tell anyone this part. He’s killing witches.”

Miranda gasped. “What? Why?”

“Not sure yet. I’m meeting with Michael’s group on Saturday to give them a heads up.”

“Awfully nice of you,” Miranda said. Ruby could practically hear Miranda’s pierced eyebrow shoot up in curiosity. “I hope you’re taking precautions yourself.”

“Of course. All the same, don’t go anywhere without someone. Don’t let Richard leave without getting you to your car.”

“No problemo. So I guess Cooper's back in town? How’s he holding up?”