Kat & Ruby

Chapter 7

That night I slept on the couch. Billy was still in my room and I couldn't bring myself to do anything about it. I didn't want to bury him because my neighbors would probably see me. I didn't want to drive somewhere and dump his body because well that's bad.

I did, however, wrap him in a few bed sheets and cleaned up the blood on my floor. I didn't want to slip and fall. Ruby woke me up at 8 o'clock and told me to start getting ready to head out. 

So that was that. I went to the post office and sent the letters. My car had a full tank of gas since I haven't used it in a long time. I drove to the three closest people that were here in this city, Lynwood. Niky and Ariam were the first I visited.

The complex was very nice and I assumed they were going to be nice. As I knocked on their door, it swung open immediately, almost as if they knew I would be coming and they stood next to the door to await my arrival.

"Hi, I came to give you this letter." I said and handed Ariam both envelopes.

Niky was behind Ariam so she handed his to him. They both opened the letters at the same time and read them. I took that time to admire how much they looked like Ruby. Ariam however was short and very petite. She had long straight hair and bright brown eyes. She had a very beautiful face. 

She had that look of innocence that you only find in a small child. I was afraid of what she was capable of. Niky was tall, however. His hair was grown out to have a shaggy look to it. There were white highlights in it that I assumed were natural. He had a mean look on his face, kind of like Ruby's. 

They were both wearing black I realized then. And the interior of their home looked similar to Ruby's room. They both looked up from the letters and stared at me. They hadn't said a single word since they opened the door. As they continued to stare I realized they were waiting for me to leave. 

"Guess I'll be going then…. You're welcome." 

Still nothing. I walked away and I heard the door shut. Well, I knew for certain they were related to Ruby now. There was one more that was in the city before I had to go to Long Beach and Manhattan Beach. 

As I drove to the girl's, Yaslin's, house, I kept thinking about what kind of reunion Ruby was gathering them for. I couldn't imagine Ruby having a normal picnic with her extended family. I pictured something along the lines of a sacrificial ceremony than a happy picnic at the park.

When I arrived at Yaslin's house, it looked just as normal as Niky and Ariam's apartment complex. She even had a white picket fence. As I walked up to the door, I saw one of the curtains inside flutter. Before I reached the door to knock, it swung open. 

A fairly young girl of about 14 opened the door. She eyed me suspiciously.

"Are you Kathryn?" She asked.

"Yes, I have a letter for you." 

"…Right... Well hand it over." She said, anxiously.

"Uhm… sure." I handed her the letter as she snatched it from me.

She did the same thing Niky and Ariam had. She ripped open the envelope and read the letter while standing by the open door. She had a small cute face with high cheekbones. Her hair was naturally curly and puffed up for a dramatic look. It reminded me of cotton candy. She was short but not petite like Ariam had been.

At one point, she looked up at me from reading the letter but she didn't say anything. Once she finished reading it, she gave a big sigh.

"What a drag." Was all that she said and walked further into her home without closing the front door.

"Can I ask you something?" I said and walked into her living room after her.

"Sure. What?" She said curtly.

"What does the letter say exactly?" I said, not exactly expecting a response.

I noticed the inside of her house was dim and realized she had dark curtains up. She walked to a lamp and turned it on. Her expression changed to something I couldn't read.

"Ruby made it clear that she's still alive. Since we're all being hunted, it's hard to figure out who's dead and who's not without exposing ourselves. We're all still in hiding." She stated as she sat down on the couch.

"Why are you being hunted?"

"Well, Billy Harris found out about us. And is now an acclaimed Witch Hunter. He's keeping it on the DL but rumor has it that he's gathered an army of Witch Hunters. Ruby told us she knows exactly where they are. She was going to tell my mother but she ended up getting in that crash. I figured she wasn't dead because she used the spell our aunt gave to us."

"What spell was it?"

"I can't tell you that," She smiled, "It would ruin the fun. Besides your good buddy will tell you soon. She's almost ready to leave the mirror anyway."

"Who made the spell? And why?"

"Our Aunt Ginger made it. The spell is good to use during an emergency. When we heard witches were being hunted, she warned us all to cast the spell before it was too late. Ruby took the precaution along with most of our cousins. However, that meant some people were going to die."

"So you took the liberty of taking peoples lives to save your own??"

"Listen, Kathryn, we didn't force anybody. Most agreed because they thought it was all fake. Besides, they only die if…. Never mind."

"What??"

She sighed and stayed silent. She stared at me a bit, sizing me up. I knew I had a lot of questions, but if I was going to die, I wanted to know. 

"The ones we cast the spells on only die if we died….. It's hard to explain. The spell is only a precaution. A safety net. If we were to die in an accident, we technically aren't dead as long as the other person is still alive. I'm not saying anything else."

"Hmmm…. Why are you telling me all this? The other witches were quiet and didn't say anything to me."

She thought for a second.

"Well to be honest, I haven't left this house for months. My mother is really sick and wasn't of any help. I guess I just wanted to talk to someone……….Now get out." She said with a very scary look on her face. 

"Or I'll cast a spell on you." 

Then she burst out laughing. 

"No, seriously get out." 

And with that she got up and walked towards, I assumed was a bedroom after I heard a door open and shut. 

I looked around the living room and noticed a picture. Niky and Ariam were in it along with Yaslin, Ruby and 3 people I haven't met. They all wore black and had the same expression. They were smiling but I could tell from their eyes that it was forced.

I shuddered and left the house. Yaslin gave me a lot of information. Hopefully, the idea I got from it will work to my advantage. As I sat in my car, I smiled. I might actually be able to get rid of Ruby.