Witch Hearts (6 page)

“My source says that Courtney was the third woman to be an active participant in Wicca. I have met with the High Priest and Priestess of the two covens the other victims were part of and they told me the women were quite powerful within the group.”

“It’s been only females?” Vivian, another witch, spoke up.

“So far,” Michael said. “Ruby and I thought it best to tell everyone tonight at the meeting.”

Ruby raised an eyebrow at him; he lifted a shoulder ever so slightly in apology. She shook her head an inch in either direction. She didn’t want his apology or to be included in any of his coven business. She refused to be dragged back in.

“Courtney didn’t trust everyone she met,” Cooper reminded them. “She was careful with who she talked to, especially about witchcraft and her power. He must have been watching her. I have no idea how someone could overtake her; he would’ve had to surprise her.”

“I would strongly suggest no one here mention anything about his or her abilities. If you’ve talked about them in public before, make a list of those you’ve told. They could be possible suspects,” Ruby said.
 

“Where were the other two victims found?” someone asked.
 

“Courtney and another were from here; the other from two towns over. They were all, however, found in or near the river,” Michael answered.

“He favors water,” Ruby said without thinking. The others looked at her and she caught herself. “Uh, I mean, that’s my guess. Whatever he’s doing, it requires some sort of water element.”

“He’s not drowning them, is he? I mean, before or after the…heart thing,” Lacy asked, her voice faltering on the last part.

“I don’t know,” Michael said with a frown. “I can ask my source and see if they know or at least have checked for it. That might show us something more if you’re right, Ruby.”

An older woman named Pearl spoke up. “I was wondering, what do you think about a séance to call Courtney's spirit? Perhaps she can give us details to help.”

Silence coated the circle; the group looked from Michael to Ruby to Cooper in question.
 

Ruby saw the look on Cooper's face and pulled the attention back on her. “We’ve been part of séances before and quite frankly, those never seem to work out the way we want. I would rather not, to be very honest. I don’t want to see Courtney like that and I’d really appreciate it if no one else tried.”

She kept her voice light, but everyone nodded in agreement. When a séance brought a spirit back, it was as that spirit had died. Under no circumstances did Ruby want to see Courtney with her heart cut out, plus she was afraid it might send Cooper over the edge. She could already see the struggle he had with being here, with hearing these things about his dead sister. She couldn’t bear to allow such a terrible sight.

Cooper reached for Ruby's hand and gripped it tightly. She laced her fingers with his and squeezed to let him know they were almost done. She noticed both Rebecca and Michael’s eyes on their clasped hands. She took that as their exit cue.
 

“I think I’ve had about enough tonight. I’m sorry to bail on everyone, but it’s been an exhausting few days.”
 

Lacy nodded fervently in agreement and the others also seemed eager to be done with the circle for the evening.
 

“That’s probably for the best. If everyone else is ready to go, please feel free. If you’d like to stay and practice, that would be all right, too,” Michael said.
 

Every single person stood up and got their things together to leave. Ruby realized this new information freaked everyone out; they’d come expecting to support Ruby and Cooper about Courtney's death and instead were leaving with a potential threat hanging over their heads.

“Can I say one more thing?” she called to the group as they put their jackets on and gathered their bags. They all stopped to look at her. Ruby cleared her throat.

“I hope…I don’t wish for anyone to be scared. We do need to be careful, though. Please lock your doors, stay with a partner, keep quiet about your talents, that sort of thing.”

“And for the love of god, protect your Book of Shadows,” Cooper added darkly. “I can’t find Courtney's.”

Ruby looked at him in shock; he hadn’t told her that part. Perhaps that explained his seriousness in his earlier comment about her safe space and book. He looked down at her and half-shrugged.
 

“Put protection spells on everything you own and make sure you’re immune to others’ spells. Whoever this person is, they’re powerful. Watch your surroundings and don’t be too predictable with your routines. If you feel like you’re being watched or followed, call someone that very second and get the hell away,” Ruby finished. “I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

Everyone nodded at her; some gave her hugs as they walked out. She received several weak smiles and “hope to see you soon” comments as everyone left. Ruby and Cooper loaded into the elevator with Lacy and a handful of other people after the first ride went down. Once they exited, they walked out of Michael’s building to their cars.

Ruby and Cooper meandered to his bike with Lacy trailing behind them. Ruby couldn’t quite see her breath in the chilly night air yet, but fall grew colder by the minute.
 

“Thank you for coming tonight,” Lacy said to them. “I’m so terribly sorry about what’s happened. I can’t even imagine…I’m just plain sorry.”

“Thanks,” Cooper said. “I appreciate it. Courtney loved the coven.”

“We loved her. We hated that you both left,” she said, addressing Ruby. “We really miss you; it’s been a tough few months with everything and now it’s getting worse.”

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked.

“The witches being killed, for one. And I guess it’s not that big of a secret,” Lacy lowered her voice to a whisper, “but we don’t really care much for Rebecca.”

Ruby couldn’t catch her laugh in time. “I’m sorry, really I am. I don’t mean to laugh; I agree that it doesn’t seem very well hidden. The contempt in that room for her was pretty palpable.”

“She’s not a talented witch. Some of us are afraid she only participates because of Michael, that he only lets her stay because it’s his girlfriend. She doesn’t have any special talent and some of the comments she makes, it’s like she’s making fun of us. I’m always afraid one of our spells will backfire because she isn’t putting her all into it.”

“That’s a damn shame. But Michael, for what it’s worth, is a great witch and coven leader. If he really thought she could damage the circle, I don’t think he’d allow it. I know my judgment was a bit off about him,” Ruby said as Cooper hid a snort, “but I don’t think he’d put the coven at risk.”

“You always had such great focus. I wondered…” Lacy trailed off, looking at Ruby nervously. Ruby waited patiently for her question; Lacy had always been a little hesitant in her assertiveness. “Well, I wondered if maybe you’d like to get together to practice sometime? Without the coven, I mean?”

Ruby hid her surprise. It had been months since she’d done witchcraft with anyone else other than Courtney; once she left the coven, she’d kept to herself, too full of self-pity to look for another group. Now that Courtney was gone, however, perhaps she should branch out to keep pushing herself.

“Sure, Lace. You’ve got my number, right? Text me with a few nights that work best for you and we’ll work something out. That would be great.” Ruby gave her a big smile, genuinely pleased at the idea.
 

Lacy nodded and gave them a small wave as she went to catch up with another witch and walk to their cars.
 

Ruby watched her walk away, pleased that she might be able to practice magic again with friends. Cooper caught her expression.

“Two down, eleven to go,” he said in a low voice.
 

She jumped, gave him with a confused look. “What?”

He smiled at her as though it were obvious. “You need thirteen to make a great coven. Looks like you’re already on your way.”

Ruby waved the suggestion off. “I’m not leading any covens. It’s only so she can practice without Rebecca whispering nasty things in her ear.”

“Uh huh. Something tells me once word gets out you’re helping others with the craft, you’ll have a few more inquiries.”

As Ruby and Cooper stood there talking, they noticed Michael had come downstairs to see everyone off. He and Rebecca stood at the doorway of the building, him waving to the coven with Rebecca clutched to his side. She practically oozed arrogant satisfaction, as though she’d made the point to Ruby and everyone there that Michael was hers. Ruby bit back a snort at the sheer stupidity. Rebecca could definitely have him; it could only be a matter of time before Michael treated her as he’d treated Ruby.
 

Ruby didn’t miss the curious look Michael gave her and Cooper standing together at the motorcycle. She ignored Michael and Rebecca both, turned her back on them. Cooper stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and cleared his throat.
 

“I’m thinking about grabbing that beer now,” he said. “If you don’t mind putting up with me for a while longer.”

Without even thinking, Ruby’s face lit up with a smile. Cooper returned it, relieved that he had company.
 

“I could use a beer,” she said. “Lucky’s Bar okay with you?”
 

“Sure, that’s only a couple blocks away. It’s been a while since I’ve been there.” They began the walk over.
 

“Me, too. After I moved out, I stopped hanging out there. The last time Courtney and I tried to go, we saw Michael and Rebecca. It was easier to avoid all the drama.”

“Well, you’ve already dealt with them once tonight. I think we can have a drink without any of that crap. And even if they came by, so what?”

“Agreed. The hard part’s definitely over for the night.”

He casually draped an arm around her and her stomach gave a nervous little jolt. She shook it off; this was Cooper, practically a big brother to her. She had no reason to feel awkward around him.
 

They arrived at the bar, brightly lit and busy with the Saturday night crowd. The guy at the door checked their licenses and allowed them passage. The small bar was packed to standing room only and Ruby practically smacked her face into Cooper's back when he stopped. He grabbed her hand.

“Hang on,” he ordered. “I’m about to drag you through this to the bar.”

She didn’t even have time to nod before Cooper yanked her through the crowd. She apologized her way through as she bumped and stumbled into people, but within a minute they had a tiny space against the wall at the bar to themselves. Cooper raised his hand to the bartender, who ignored them and went to wait on the bachelorette party that had squeezed their way through the line.

“Oh, c’mon,” Cooper grumbled.
 

“I had no idea it would be this busy,” Ruby marveled.

“Saturday night, I’m not surprised. You’re a girl, maybe you can work your magic on him?”

“I assume you mean T&A and not actual magic,” Ruby said to him. He laughed while she adjusted her jacket and leaned over the bar, making sure her sweater was just right. “Excuse me! I would love a drink please.”

She managed to catch the bartender’s eye and he gave her an interested look. He began to walk over to her but a loud, drunken customer managed to intercept him. Ruby looked at Cooper, frustrated. He gave a half-shrug.
 

“Well, you clearly had his attention, if that counts for anything.”

“Yeah, now I’m determined on principle,” Ruby mumbled. She looked around to make sure no one was watching her and deemed it far too busy for anyone to notice something out of the ordinary.
 

She focused her gaze on the drunk guy who’d caught the bartender and let a wave of energy roll off her towards him. She narrowed her eyes, mentally suggested the man get a cab. A second later, the man paused mid-conversation, blinked as though waking up from a nap. He cut off the bartender, shaking his head, and walked out the door without another word. Ruby could see him through the window as he hailed the first banana yellow taxi down the block.
 

Then she turned her eyes on the bartender, who’d taken the opportunity to grab a sip of water. As soon as he felt Ruby’s eyes on him, he dropped what he was doing and looked around the area until he found her. Like a moth to a flame, he headed straight over, ignoring all the others who tried to flag him down for a drink.

Witch magic was powerful, but not nearly what the movies made it out to be. Humans could explain away most of their subtle magic. A witch’s magic was more natural with potions and rituals, no wands required. Each witch’s strength was different. Ruby could make lights flicker or west winds pick up, but lots of witches could do that. One of her specialties was mind control, usually reserved for telepaths. While rare, it wasn’t as powerful as some thought. Most with the gift could only give suggestions in a thought or give people headaches. This occasion aside, Ruby couldn’t remember the last time she’d tried it; Michael had hated worrying she’d use it on him when they were dating.
 

“And what can I get for you?” The bartender’s silver lip ring winked in the light when he grinned at her.
 

She leaned in a little, quite aware of her current posture. Hey, she figured, whatever it took at this point, or they’d be there all night. “Two beers, please.”

He quickly retrieved her drinks; she made sure to tip well when she paid. When she returned it, his gaze became a little more interested in her than the money.

“I get off at midnight if you’re still around,” he said.

Whoops. Ruby hadn’t meant for her little trick to get that far. Before she could speak, Cooper leaned in to grab his bottle that sat on the wooden bar.
 

“Sorry, man, she’s spoken for tonight,” he said with a good-natured smile. “But I can totally understand why you’d speak up.”

The bartender backed away with a chuckle, his hands up in defeat. “Sorry, bro. Enjoy your night. Let me know when I can bring you another drink, gorgeous.”