Little Red Gem (24 page)

What’s more, I was really
confused about everyone’s mistrust and hatred of Leo. Nobody had
ever said anything bad about him to my face, yet they all seemed to
have plenty to say about him behind my back. I could no longer deny
that I had begun to sense that everyone was turning against
him.

“
Why does everyone hate
Leo Culver so much?” I asked.

“
Nobody hates him,” Teri
said.

“
You do. I heard you and
Dad talking about him. What has he done that’s so wrong? He loved
Ruby. He never did anything to hurt her. There are boys at school
who steal cars and do drugs and get into fights.”

“
Those boys aren’t dating
my daughter.”

I stood up. “We’re not
dating. We’re just friends. And friends look out for each
other.”

No longer hungry, I
skipped the rest of dinner to be alone in my room. In the past I’d
only needed to hear Leo’s voice and I was instantly soothed. Seeing
him would transform sadness into joy and I’d forget all about my
troubles, unless he was the cause of them. Yet it wouldn’t be long
before I found solace in his smile.

I needed cheering up.
Badly. If only I could see him.

The revelation was
shocking. I
could
see Leo. In her weird way, Audrey had shown me
how.

Madly searching through
every drawer in her bedroom, I located her journal and there on the
first page were her notes on astral projection. The first note at
the top was an explanation on this unseen realm:

The ability to be in two
places at once is known as bibliocation. A double of you can go out
into the world while your actual body remains behind in a state of
deep meditation. Bibliocation is a very advanced technique and
usually takes many years of practice to master.

As a spirit, I’d mastered
moving objects in less than a day. As a flesh and blood girl,
surely I could master the art of bibliocation in less time.
Audrey’s notes further stated:

Incense helps achieve a
mental state necessary for the astral journey
.

So I lit a dozen sticks of
incense.

To help improve the odds,
I also lit a candle and focused on the flame the way Teri had
taught me to do when I’d cast my love spell. Plus I switched on all
the lava lamps just because it added to the ambiance. I’d have had
a rose oil bath to further increase the odds of this working
tri-fold except that I didn’t have time.

Lying stretched out on the
bed I summoned the memory of the golden light breathing exercise,
breathing deeply in and out until the sense of calmness washed over
me. I’d once sipped red wine, okay more than once, and this warm
spread was similar to red wine hitting my stomach and buzzing my
insides.

I imagined myself moving
between worlds. To do this, I pictured myself walking across a wide
lawn, and when I came to a large bush with flowers the size of
small dinner plates I peeled aside the branches and searched for a
crack in the universe.

I stepped through this
crack.

All of a sudden I stood in
a world that appeared washed of its vibrant colors. This world
struck me as old and fragile, yet somehow I sensed it was strong
and powerful. I was frightened but comforted at the same time. The
dark sky had a milky hue and the moon bobbed gently along the
horizon like a giant grey ball. The air shimmered, and what at
first looked like dust mites, upon closer inspection were tiny
fireflies.

Closing my eyes, I wished
myself into Leo’s bedroom, and when I opened them again I sat
beside him on his bed. He had a guitar around his neck. In my state
of astral projection I was able to get so close I could stroke his
cheek; something I’d been dying to do for weeks. Leo hummed and
strummed his guitar. The notes rang out long and mournful, like
wolves howling. I willed him to play something light and
upbeat.

I stepped in close to
whisper in his ear. “Play
Love Me
Tender.
”

We used to practice Elvis
Presley’s big hit together because, although I was brilliant on
piano, I was only average on the guitar.
Love Me Tender
I could
manage.

The small amplifier buzzed
and I reluctantly moved away a few inches, thinking it was another
symptom of being dead – William sent off alarm bells in hospitals
and I drained cell phone batteries – but it was just the amplifier
emitting feedback. I leaned in closer to wrap my arms around his
neck.

Leo strummed a few chords
of the guitar yet I could tell his heart wasn’t in it the way it
used to be.

I planted a kiss on his
cheek—

Something grabbed a hold
of me and dragged me out of the room.

It was William.

“
Ruby, stop this,” he
hissed. “You’re torturing him for no good reason.”

I was too furious to
speak. My chest heaved and my nostrils flared. I punched him in the
chest, but as an astral spirit I might as well have punched thick
jelly, yet without the splatter.

“
He’s in pain,” I
wailed.

My breathing slowed down
enough for me to register we were sitting in the tree outside Leo’s
bedroom window. Through the window I saw Leo place his guitar on
the floor, after which he curled up on his bed the way he had done
a few days ago. To know he was crying crushed me.

“
He aches for something he
cannot ever have,” William said, “He aches for Ruby. But she is
gone and you are only tormenting him by pretending to be
her.”

“
I
am
Ruby. This isn’t permanent. You
said so yourself.”

William shook his head.
“It is not permanent. But to him, and to me, and even whilst I
detect Ruby’s aura, you are most definitely the image of
Audrey.”

The light flicked off in
Leo’s bedroom. Darkness concealed him, but I knew he was there. Not
sleeping or dreaming or resting, just there.

“
I’ll find a way to come
back as Ruby,” I vowed.

“
Impossible.”

“
Why? Close your eyes and
picture the last thing you saw through the window.”

William fixed me with an
angry stare.

“
Close your eyes,” I said
sternly.

“
What will this prove?” he
asked, yet at least he did as I’d asked and closed his
eyes.

“
What was the last thing
you saw through the window?”

“
I know what you are
thinking.”

“
Really? Enlighten
me.”

He opened his eyes and
turned to stare at me. “You are thinking, darkness does not mean
Leo isn’t there, because clearly we know he is.”

I clapped him on the back.
“And that is why my plan will work. Leo will close his eyes and
he’ll see Ruby, not Audrey. He knows my spirit, my soul, my heart.
I’m more than a physical form. Love is two hearts connecting. Love
does not recognize hands and feet and eyes and ears. It only
recognizes the pulse of its mate. A soul doesn’t look for a
familiar face. It searches for its soul mate.”

“
That is
absurd.”

“
No, it isn’t.”

“
Yes, it is.”

“
Like you’d understand
anyway. You’re a guy.”

“
And therefore I am
incapable of romance, is that what you think?”

I nodded. “Pretty
much.”

He reached for my hand and
tenderly stroked it. I thought he was showing me his romantic side,
until his hand tightened around mine.

“
I can see you are not
going to give up on this,” he said. “Therefore I must do everything
in my power to put a stop to this nonsense.”

Before I could protest, a
ball of light surrounded us and when it disappeared we stood on the
cabin patio. The door was wide open. Anne sat inside, nervously
twisting her hands together. She leaped up from the couch when she
saw us. I pulled myself out of William’s grip and raced into the
cabin. Anne was my friend. Maybe I could request she have a harsh
word to William about his unfair treatment.

Except that she doesn’t
recognize me.

“
Anne, it’s me,
Ruby.”

She shook her head. “You
are the young girl who visited us the day of Ruby’s funeral. You’re
the witch.”

“
I’m Ruby. I’ve borrowed
Audrey’s spirit so I can spend time with Leo.”

Anne looked frightened,
and disappointed. “If you have borrowed this other girl’s spirit,
then where is yours?”

It was at this point I
realized I had pretty much cemented my place in eternity alongside
William and Anne because I had acted selfishly and disgracefully,
and selfish and disgraced people didn’t get burdened with the
reward of happily ever after. They got burdened with curses. It was
at this point that I also realized there had to be more to Anne and
William’s story than they let on, because if they were cursed then
they were obviously selfish and disgraced, too.

Their fate wasn’t my
immediate concern. I slumped down into the armchair. “My spirit is
trapped in the hollow with Audrey. But it’s only temporary,” I
added when Anne’s hands flew to cover her mouth. “I promise to
release her the minute I’m done.”

She glared William. “You
knew about this?”

William hung his head. “I
told her of one possible way to be with Leo. In truth, I did not
conceive it would work. And now the time has come to undo the
damage.”

Anne got up and circled
the room like a caged beast. When she stopped she stomped her foot.
I was glad she was directing her wrath at William instead of
me.

“
William, you used magic.
How many times have I warned you that spells and enchantments only
lead to trouble?”

“
How can I get better if I
don’t practice?”

I almost choked. “Wait.
You used me to practice magic?”

“
The spell worked, didn’t
it?” His eyes beseeched Anne to listen. “Think of it. We could be
one step closer to breaking our curse.”

“
What about me?” I cried.
“What if it had backfired?”

He shot me an exhausted
look. “You wanted it to work, so it did. That is the basis of all
magic.”

Anne returned to pacing
the room. “Everyone is acting poorly today. It seems as if love is
to blame for this crazy behavior.” She stopped and faced the wall.
“William, I am disappointed.”

“
Yes, William. You’re a
disappointment,” I chided.

Anne spun to face me and
there was hostility in her eyes. “You are not better. You are
supposed to accept your fate. We are all supposed to accept the
consequences of our actions. We are certainly not supposed to defy
the laws of nature and steal other people’s spirits. Ruby, your
actions are irrational and dangerous. Although, I really should
call you Audrey because that is who you are to me and that is who
you are to Leo.”

“
Admittedly, that is the
giant flaw in this plan. But I’m so close to achieving my goal. I
can’t stop now.”

William, who up until now
had hung around in the doorway, spun on his heels and started down
the steps. “If you refuse to release Audrey, I will do it
myself.”

Watching my best chance at
winning Leo’s heart disappear, I lunged at William and landed on
his back, half expecting to fall through him, but astral spirits
and ghosts could connect which was how I’d managed to trap Audrey
so I really shouldn’t have been surprised that I piggy-backed
William down the stairs.

“
Don’t do this,” I shouted
so loudly it was a wonder I wasn’t heard in the real world. “You
can’t do this to me.”

“
You did it to
yourself.”

“
At least let me undo the
mess I’ve made of Audrey’s life first. She can’t return to the
world I created for her.”

William stopped abruptly
and stood erect. I slid down off his back. “You make a compelling
argument. It would be a shame if the poor girl returned to the mess
you created.”

He returned to the patio
where Anne stood in the doorway with her arms folded across her
chest. Her foot tapped in annoyance. All of a sudden the cozy cabin
didn’t seem so welcoming anymore.

“
What do you say, Anne?”
William asked. “Should we give Ruby one more chance?”

“
She releases this poor
girl from her bind after she has reversed the damage and what
then?” Anne asked.

I leaned against the
doorframe, suddenly deflated. “I’m not sure. I only know I have to
do everything I can to make sure Leo is okay. He’s dying without
me.”

“
He’s dying with you,”
said Anne. “It’s the way of all things. And you’re torturing this
poor girl by trapping her in the underworld. If you are to sort out
this girl’s affairs you must do so quickly then immediately return
here. Is that understood?”

I surveyed the inside of
Caper’s Cabin. It was as lovely as the brochures presented, with
its oak paneling on the walls, plush rugs on the floor, and shelves
in the corner holding dozens of well-worn paperbacks. It also had a
TV none of us could switch on, a hot tub none of us could sit in,
and the promise of an eternity spent watching people coming and
going. Watching people grow old and die while we did
not.