The Magical Christmas Cat

  angrily.

  Marielle's eyes hardened. "Then so am I."

  Too late, again too late! Twice before since the founding of the Brotherhood they had come close to stopping the taking of a soul, but both times they had arrived too late. In each case the sacrifice had taken place, and the Brotherhood had lost members to II Colletore. They had once managed to kill the demon's solid form, but only after he had taken his chosen soul. On one other occasion they had arrived in time to save a child—an orphaned Welsh boy who was ultimately taken in by Zane's own ancestors—but in saving the boy they had allowed the demon to escape to wipe out an entire village in the hours he had to feed.

  This was why Zane had fought so hard to avoid getting personally involved with the woman across the street. He should be concentrating only on killing the demon, and yet he was distracted, thinking only of saving Ruby—a task that was likely impossible. He hadn't fought involvement as hard as he should've. When he'd kissed Ruby, he had not been fighting at all. In truth, he had barely been thinking.

  Three other men had gathered in Zane's living room. Those in charge still believed that the collection would take place north of London, where the Order had gathered. Would four men be enough to stop the demon? During the night these warriors had parked on a nearby street and walked through backyards and climbed over fences to reach Zane's back door secretly. They couldn't know who might be watching.

  Marielle had been in Ruby's house all night. Was she the one, the servant of II Colletore? Likely. It had been foolish of him to think one of her neighbors had been the one. That was too simple, too damn easy. Still, one or more of them could be with the Order, so they had to be careful.

  Though he was itching to rush across the street now, they would wait until nightfall before making their move. Zane did not like it. He was so tempted to rush across the street, break down the door to the little yellow house, and kill the girl who held Ruby hostage. But the research was indisputable. If he saved Ruby now, the jade cat would disappear. It would reappear in another house on another vortex, somewhere in the world where another servant to the demon would be waiting. Another vulnerable woman would die, and the demon would take its form—forever, this time.

  The other men in his living room were, like him, members of the Brotherhood through family connections. Their fathers, their grandfathers, their great-grandfathers and in some cases ancestors much farther back, had dedicated their lives to researching and planning for this night. If they succeeded, there would be no more need for a Brotherhood, thank the heavens. If they failed . . . well, they could not fail.

  The latest research suggested that there would be a moment— just a moment—after the cat took form that he would be vulnerable. He would not be easy to kill, but he would not yet be indestructible. One of Zane's own ancestors had killed the body of the living demon, some two hundred and eighty-seven years ago. It could be done.

  This was the time they had all waited for, if their records were correct. II Colletore was about to take his last soul, the soul that would give him eternal and terrifying life. Would the opportunity to kill the demon come before or after he had taken Ruby's soul? Why did it have to be Ruby?

  "We have always been told that the timing has to be precise," Zane said to his companions as he once again parted the curtains and peeked out the window. Ruby's yellow house looked as it always did, offering no outward hint that a true darkness lurked within it. "If we can stop II Colletore from taking the ninth soul, and if we can keep him from transporting to another vortex until it's too late, then it will be over. His chance for immortality will pass until another two hundred and eighty seven years have gone by."

  "I'd like to get my hands on that jade cat and destroy it," Terence said softly.

  "Aye," Aiden agreed.

  "Ruby is a good person," Zane said, revealing more than he should to these Brothers.

  "So were they all, I imagine," Julio responded darkly. "And so will be those the demon takes if we do not stop it tonight."

  Chapter 7

  The passing of the day was too fast to suit Ruby, as she realized that it might very well be her last. A couple of times she tried to go to sleep, hoping for more instruction from the women she had begun to think of as one very-strong entity. Marielle, however, wouldn't allow Ruby to sleep. Did that mean there was a way to stop the plans? Why else would Marielle work so hard to keep Ruby from making contact?

  The eight were inside that piece of jade as surely as the demon was. Perhaps together they were stronger than anyone knew. Perhaps they could communicate with Ruby when she was not asleep if she got her head in the right place.

  She should've taken one of Zane's classes, she supposed. Or at least not laughed at him.

  Ruby stared out of her bedroom window. Once during the day Marielle had allowed her to go to the bathroom, but her ankles had remained tied together, which made for short, awkward steps. Her hands were free, and maybe she could try to fight. Maybe she could get away, but whatever drug Marielle had given her last night still had Ruby woozy, and she knew a failed escape attempt would get her more tightly bound. She did not want her hands trussed as her ankles were! Maybes were not enough.

  She sat up, her back against a thick stack of pillows, and stared out of the window. It was a cool day, but the sun shone through the thin curtains. Ruby focused on the light. She tried to dismiss everything else—Marielle, the jade cat, the possibility that this day would end very badly. If she did have a gift of some sort, if she could hear the demon's previous victims in her dreams, then why could she not hear them now?

  Deep, even breaths lulled her, and in her mind she did her best to picture the women who had come to her. She remembered their faces. She had not dreamed of all eight, but there were five she could remember very well. Five victims. Five souls who only wanted to help her. Had those five been a touch clairvoyant, as she apparently was? Was that why they had been able to reach her in her dreams?

  In her mind she asked, How can I fight? For a long while there was nothing. Not an idea, not a word, not a shimmer of light to hint that someone—or something—heard her. She asked again, How can I hurt the demon? What was it about that totem that made the demon's flunky snatch it away? She remembered the shape of a crescent moon, and something else that dangled there. What was she searching for? What did she need?

  A single word finally came to her. Silver.

  Ruby blinked hard. Of course! In every horror movie she'd ever seen, silver did the trick. Vampires and werewolves. Silver crosses and silver bullets. She didn't know why, and at the moment she didn't care. It was something to work with.

  She turned to look at Marielle, who was staring at the jade cat with a dreamy expression in her eyes. "I have a request," Ruby said.

  Annoyed to be interrupted from her admiration of the demon's current home, Marielle snapped her face around to glare. "Why should I care what you request?"

  "Because no matter what, we were friends. Good friends, Marielle." She reached back into her dreams for more, she asked for guidance from the eight. "Besides, I suspect a happy soul is tastier and more filling than an unhappy and hungry one."

  "You want something to eat," Marielle said.

  "There's a Death by Chocolate cake in the fridge, and double chocolate chunk ice cream in the freezer."

  "You want both?" Marielle asked, her blue eyes widening.

  "I don't exactly have to worry about how many calories I'm getting today, now do I," she snapped.

  Marielle relaxed. "That's true." As a precaution, she quickly bound Ruby's hands and tied them to the headboard.

  "Since this is my last hurrah, let's do it right," Ruby called before Marielle left the room. "I want the cake and ice cream on Aunt Mildred's best china, and I want a good fork and a good spoon. I feel like such a putz, saving all that stuff for special and never using any of it."

  Marielle huffed a little, making Ruby wonder if she'd get what she'd asked for, but then the girl asked, "Will I find a
ll that in the dining-room buffet?"

  Ruby nodded, trying not to give away the surge of hope that filled her. Marielle couldn't be allowed to see even a hint of that blessed hope.

  Maybe she couldn't stop what was coming—maybe she couldn't kill the demon that was coming for her. But she wouldn't go easily; she was going to fight.

  * * *

  The sun set, and the four soldiers of the Brotherhood armed themselves to the teeth, said a prayer, and positioned themselves by the door to Zane's house, waiting for the correct moment. The moment of attack had to be precise—not too soon, not too late.

  They had always known that even if all went well, they could end up dead or behind bars for the rest of their lives. Four men rushing into a house armed with guns and swords was bound to call attention. They would probably have to kill the demon's servant, and no one would know—or believe—that a pretty young girl like Marielle was actually an evil bitch who deserved killing.

  Not that deserving killing was a defense. In that respect, the old days had been much better. Now there were fingerprints, telling fibers, blood evidence—all that CSI shit. Still, if Ruby was saved, it didn't matter. He would happily spend his remaining days in prison if she could be safe.

  "Now," Zane said, reaching for the doorknob.

  "Too soon." Julio reached out and covered Zane's hand with his own.

  The cul-de-sac remained quiet, but in Zane's mind he could hear Ruby screaming. He could see and feel the soul being ripped from her body. His heart pounded too hard, his mouth was so dry he could hardly speak, and still he said—somehow knowing that he was right—"Now."

  "Accept, and this will go easier," Marielle said as she took the jade cat on her palm and began to chant, using sharp, decidedly unfriendly words Ruby didn't understand.

  Ruby's heart pounded hard, and beneath the sheet that covered her she clutched a fork in one hand and a spoon in the other. She was quite sure Aunt Mildred had never intended for her good silver to be put to use this way, but knowing all that she knew now—she didn't think her aunt would mind.

  Just as in the dreams, a darkness rose from the jade cat. It looked like a hole, a vast nothingness, and Ruby choked back a scream. The eight had warned her, and still here she was, tied to the bed and offered as sacrifice to a demon. Offered by a friend. A fork and spoon seemed precious little in the way of defense, but she would, by God, fight with all she had until she could fight no more.

  Just as in her dreams, the blackness began to take shape. The eyes were fiery red. Marielle was so excited, so overjoyed at the appearance of the demon who had seduced her with dreams of forever, that she trembled from head to toe and smiled like a woman on the verge of a big orgasm.

  "Wacko," Ruby muttered. Marielle either didn't hear or didn't care.

  The darkness drifted to the bed to hover over Ruby. More and more it looked like a cat. She gripped her weapons tightly.

  Not yet, a serene blending of soft voices whispered.

  The thing Marielle called II Gatto Nero began to look solid, not so much a hole in the world as a large, fierce cat. There were likely claws—she had seen the claws in her dreams—but at the moment she had eyes only for the face above hers. The eyes were hideous, red like fire and blood. The teeth were wicked, white and sharp and hungry. The fur was black as night, and did not look soft like a kitten's coat but was instead thorny and rough, as if it would cut like shards of glass if touched. Not that she wanted to touch.

  The image above her occasionally shimmered, shifting from almost real to insubstantial illusion and back again. Suddenly, Ruby could not resist the urge to open her mouth. She had seen this in her dreams, too, and knew what would happen next.

  Not yet, those comforting voices called.

  Were they kidding? She didn't have much time left!

  The cat placed its mouth close to hers, as if moving in for a kiss. Oh, what a horrible, rotten smell! She had not been subjected to the stench in her dreams. Her heart was pounding so hard and fast she could feel it. Her heart wanted to escape, but there was no escape, not that Ruby could see. Now? she thought.

  There was a pause, as the cat above her inhaled and with that breath began to draw Ruby's soul from her body. It hurt! She felt as if a part of her was literally being ripped from deep within her. Eight voices whispered, Now!

  Ruby swung her hands up as hard as she could, burying the fork and the handle of the spoon into the flesh of the demon. What she struck was not entirely flesh. There was no blood—but the thing howled as if in pain, and it drew away from her. Ruby took that opportunity to shift her weapons. She stabbed at the ghastly face, aiming for the eyes. The tines of the fork pierced the demon's left eye, while the spoon glanced off the side of its face.

  The thing growled and screamed, and Ruby was vaguely aware that Marielle was protesting, too, though not as loudly as the big, solid cat, which was now very annoyed. Great. She'd only made it mad.

  The door to her bedroom burst open, and four men rushed inside. One of them grabbed Marielle and pulled her away from the bed. Another snatched up the jade cat. Two moved toward the demon.

  One of them was Zane.

  "Silver!" Ruby shouted. "He doesn't like silver!"

  * * *

  The noise coming from Ruby's bedroom had drowned out the sound of four men breaking down her front door. Zane's heart had almost come through his chest, as again he had thought they were too late.

  They followed the unnatural din, and without hesitation Zane kicked in the door. Ruby was tied to the bed, offered as an unwilling sacrifice, but her hands were free. She clutched a fork in one hand and a spoon in the other, and when the demon cat turned toward the intruders, he had only one eye.

  II Colletore. He was solid, and Ruby was alive.

  Julio grabbed Marielle and dragged her toward the master bathroom, throwing her into the windowless room and closing the door on the hysterical blonde. Terence grabbed the jade cat and placed it in a leather sack, which was tied to his belt. This time it would not hide!

  With Aiden beside him, Zane faced the demon—and Ruby shouted, "He doesn't like silver!"

  Zane shifted his sword to his left hand and drew a silver dagger that was hanging from his belt. He heard the others making adjustments, as well. Julio fired a bullet at the demon, but it had no effect. Surely no one had thought to bring silver bullets. In all their research, there had been nothing about silver!

  Research or not, silver made a difference. In the demon's one red eye, Zane saw frustration and confusion. Time was running out; his ninth soul was fighting; and for once, for once, the Brotherhood was not too late in arriving.

  Zane used the silver dagger to swipe out, aiming for the place where the heart should be. The demon's shape was that of a panther. Did that mean the heart was in the same place? Was there a heart? The demon screamed, emitting a loud, catlike shriek that cut through Zane's brain like a hundred burning needles. A mere four warriors of the Brotherhood fought against II Colletore with whatever silver they had available. Knives, mostly, though while the demon howled in protest, Julio jerked the silver cross from around his neck and threw it into the gaping, tooth-filled opening.

  The cross flew into the demon's mouth, and while II Colletore howled, Zane took careful aim and swung his sword with all his might. With the head and body separated, the black cat fell to dust. It had not taken a soul this time, and so was weakened. The demon had not retreated into the jade, where it would be frustrated but safe until the proper moon came again, but was destroyed. As what was left of the terrifying thing fell, several bits of bright light rose, separating from what remained of II Colletore, rising to the ceiling of Ruby's bedroom.

  Zane looked to the bed, where a bound Ruby sat still clutching her silverware. She used the fork to gesture to the streaks of light, and he realized that she was counting. She counted twice, then breathed what seemed to be a sigh of relief as she looked at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Eight," she said. "All eight are free, now."
And with that, she collapsed onto the bed.

  Ruby took a deep breath and tried to calm herself while Zane untied her ankles. Everything had happened so fast! She was alive, she had her soul, and Zane wasn't one of the bad guys. He was a good guy. A very good guy.

  She had just fallen into his arms when the doorbell rang. One of his friends went to answer, and after a loud argument, a handful of neighbors rushed into the bedroom.

  Hester was in the lead. "What's wrong? What was making those awful sounds? Who are these men?" No one paid any attention to the innocuous and almost invisible sprinkling of dust on the bedroom carpet.

  Zane and his friends remained silent, and in the bathroom, Marielle cried hysterically. The neighbors watched and waited.

  The truth was impossible. "I can't believe my screaming sounds awful, but I was scared." She sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed but not trying to stand. Not yet. "In a nutshell, Marielle murdered my Aunt Mildred. Poison." Her lower lip trembled. That part of it was so unfair. "She planned to kill me tonight."

  One of Zane's friends, the big blond, opened the bathroom door and dragged Marielle out. She looked at the dust on the floor and screamed in pure agony.

  "Thank goodness Zane and his friends heard me. They were just about to start a poker game, but they rushed right over."

  "With swords?" Todd asked, scratching his head.

  "Zane's collection," Ruby explained. "They scared Marielle sufficiently, I'm happy to say."

  "I called the police!" Hester said, and at that moment Ruby heard the distant wail of sirens.

  Zane and his friends stiffened, but Ruby found herself patting Zane's arm in offered comfort. This could all be explained away, and Marielle would end up in jail. "Good," she said.

  "They'll kill me," Marielle said softly. "I failed, I screwed up, and they'll kill me."

  The neighbors all kept a distance from Marielle. Anyone could see that she wasn't quite right. The good people of Holland Court just didn't know how out of her gourd the pretty blonde was. She yanked away from the man who held her and dropped to the floor to run her hands through the dust—all that remained of the demon who had seduced her with dreams and promises.

  "I actually asked her out," Todd whispered to the nearest man. "Thank goodness she told me to ask another time. I might be dead right now!"

  The excitement over, Ruby's neighbors peeled away. More than one of them told her she had a scary-ass scream. She had a feeling that scream—the cat-demon's screech—would haunt her for a long time. Fortunately, she wouldn't have to face it on her own.

  Before all the onlookers had departed, Ruby fell into Zane's arms. "I want a cookie," she whispered. "No, that's not enough. Maybe a cupcake, one with really thick frosting." Frosting, that was an idea. She'd choked down a huge piece of cake and a bowl of ice cream not so long ago, but that didn't count. Choking down food in order to keep the silverware did not compare with snuggling beneath a blanket with a warm man and a sweet dessert. "No, wait, I want a cake. I want a whole chocolate cake with fudge icing. Nothing fancy. Aunt Mildred's recipe, the one she used to make when I was a kid."

  "You can have whatever you want," Zane said, smoothing her hair.

  "Can I?" she asked. "Can I really?"

  "Yes."

  She pulled away and looked up into fierce brown eyes. Life was too short for her to be so damn careful all the time. "Remember when I said I didn't want a man?"

  "I remember."

  "I've changed my mind."

  He gave her a tired smile. "Good, because I'm planning to ask you out."

  "On a date?"

  "Yes, on a date."

  "I'm a little rusty," she confessed. "I haven't dated in a while."

  "Neither have I."

  Ruby allowed her head to rest against Zane's chest. She held on to him more tightly than was necessary, and it felt good. She listened to his heartbeat, which was almost as fast and hard as hers. She took a deep and stilling breath, and when his hand settled on the back of her head she almost cried. It felt so right.

  "Get me out of here, Zane," she whispered, and without hesitation he slid his arms beneath her legs and lifted her.

  "I can walk," she said, resting her head on his shoulder and making no attempt to make him put her down.

  "Not tonight."

  The neighbors had not really left. They milled about in her yard and on the street. They all watched as Zane carried her to his house, and no one said a word, not even Hester Livingston. There were still police questions to handle, and Ruby had no desire to ever again set foot in that house—even though she knew the demon was gone. She didn't have any idea when she'd reopen her shop, and even though Marielle had turned out to be a fraud, Ruby had lost a friend today. And still, at this moment she was content.

  CHRISTMAS EVE

  Tomorrow there would be a big family Christmas celebration at the Benedict home place, a rambling farm-style house on a horse ranch in Tennessee, just past the Alabama-state line. Zane was looking forward to seeing his parents and his brothers, to introducing Ruby to them and celebrating the fact that II Colletore was no more. Since she'd moved in two weeks ago, he had not doubted for a moment that Ruby would celebrate the holiday with him. She was a part of the family, now. She was a part of him.

  Ruby had already made four desserts to take with them, as she was horrified at the very thought of generic lemon cookies or Twinkies for the holiday meal. He didn't think she was trying to bribe her way into his family's heart, but if anything would do the trick, it would be the English toffee cheesecake, or the Death by Chocolate Cake, or the Mile-High Lemon Pie, or the huge box of homemade cookies that would feed his brothers for a week.

  But tonight was for them alone, and he liked it. He liked it very much. With the demon destroyed and Marielle's assumption about the status of her safety having been proved correct—she'd been found hanging in the Minville jail two days after her arrest, dead from an apparent suicide—life was normal. For the first time since Zane had turned fifteen, he didn't have to worry about saving the world.

  He just had to take care of Ruby.

  That actually meant that for him life was no longer normal at all. He was going to have to get used to a different kind of normal. So far, that experiment was going very well.

  Ruby put a few finishing touches on the small Christmas tree they'd put up earlier in the day, then they settled together on the floor by the tree, entwined and comfortable. Dressed in a wonderfully skimpy Christmasy red nightgown, she fed him cookies and the most decadent apple pie he had ever imagined. If this was what most people considered normal, he would very quickly get accustomed to normalcy in his life.

  While a piece of a ric