Kat & Ruby

Chapter 3

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

I woke up to the sounds of someone banging on my front door. The clock on my nightstand showed that it was 3 a.m., far too early for anyone in their right mind to come knocking on my door. Reluctantly, I got up and put on my bunny slippers. 

Yawning, I made my way down the hall to the front door and the banging got louder. 

“WHAT?!” I angrily shouted as I swung open the front door. 

No one was on the other side. Sighing, I closed the door.

“Maybe it was a secret admirer?” Ruby chimed from the dining wall mirror. 

“Did you see who it was?” I asked her.

“No, I don’t always stay in this mirror you know.” She sassed at me.

“Right.” Was all I could manage.

I sat down at the dining table and put my hands in my hair. 

“What?” She asked.

“Nothing…."

She glared at me silently. I could feel her eyes burning holes into my skull as I avoided looking at her. My phone vibrated at that moment. Meet me outside right now. I’m waiting at the park bench. Don’t tell Ruby. Don’t ask.... I know.

My friend, Billy, texted me. I hadn’t seen or talked to Billy in a long time. He’d disappeared shortly after we started high school. Rumor had it that he moved to New Mexico. Ruby had the biggest crush on him. It was the only time she ever expressed any feelings toward anyone, including me.

I got up from the table and grabbed my jacket from the hall closet.

“Where are you going, Kitty? Who was that text from?” She asked, nonchalantly.

“No one, I’ll be back later.”

With that, I put my jacket on and slammed the door behind me.

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"Hey, Kat…it's been a long time…"

"Billy, what are you doing here!? How do you know about Ruby? Do you know what's going on?"

"Kat, how about a "how are you?" first?"

"How are you doing, Billy?" I reluctantly gave in.

"Not as good as you would think…" He said as he sat back down on the bench.

I sat down next to him and we watched the stars above us for awhile before he spoke up again.

"Kat… Ruby told me her secret back then…. 8th grade. She told me what she was and said she wanted to be with me. She called herself a wiccan… but a wiccan is peaceful. She's a witch. But a different kind. She's evil. Wiccan's believe the rule of 3. It states that anything you put out will come back to you in threefold. Witches however don't believe in that. Which is why they do these evil things to people. I disappeared because she threatened to kill me because I knew her secret. I've made it my responsibility to learn everything I can about witches. There's thousands of them, more than you would think. I've been hunting and killing every single one I could. I've recruited a lot of people to help me. I practically have an army. Apparently, they found out and warned each other."

Billy surprised me. I thought I was the only one that knew about Ruby's secret. What was more surprising was that he took it upon himself to kill witches. But what he said about the warnings…. It reminded me of the time Niky came and talked to Ruby. He was probably warning her. 

That must have been the trigger that made her tell me her secret and bond us then and there. She knew I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I was so naive.

"I guess," Billy continued, "I was late on saving you." He shook his head and looked away shamefully.

"What? Wait what are you talking about? Ruby's dead!"

"No, she's not. You see her in the mirror, right?"

"How did you know?" I gasped.

"It's part of a spell she put on you. Can you remember ever being in a casting circle? Surrounded by candles and she mixing ingredients with a mirror?"

"Yes…." I recalled the moment I entered the clearing surrounded by candles.

"When was it?"

"9th grade. Right after her cousin showed up and talked to her." I responded.

"I'm guessing he was warning her about the witch killings. Listen, Kat. She's been dead for 3 months. I've done my research, she died in July. She's really strong right now. You should have gotten rid of her when you had the chance."

"I didn't know! Besides what does that spell she did do?"

"It's called various things, "Mirror Spirit Spell," "Reanimation Spell", "Reflection Spell". Nonetheless, they all do the same thing. She basically tied her soul with your mirror reflection. In the event of her death, her spirit would take refuge in the mirror as your reflection. As time passes, she would slowly gain control of your reflection, eventually morphing as her true form. Because you are her best friend, you didn't suspect her true motives. She plans to leave the mirror fairly soon and trade your place in the world of the living to the world of the dead. Your soul will belong to the devil."

"What?!" I said, freaking out.

"It's true. Has she tried to do anything…out of the ordinary?"

"Like what?"

"Like…isolating you from your friends?"

"Well….I kind of did that on my own… but she did want me to get more privacy from my brother…"

"Hmmm…." Billy thought, "She might not be as strong as I think, but I could be wrong. There's something we could try. I have a few materials with me to cast a spell."

"Wait, you can cast spells?"

"Kat, I had to learn a few dark magic tricks if I'm going up against true witches. I'm only human, but some of these have come in handy. I'm going to try to break your bond with her with a spell I have."

"What exactly do you plan to do?"

"Well, I need to be in your house, that's her base. She can probably appear on reflecting surfaces now, but I think we would be better off there. Can you trust me to help you?"

"….What will happen to Ruby?"

"She's already dead, she's just going to go where she belongs."

"But..she's my best friend."

"No…She's a monster….a monster that wants to take your soul."