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“Let those emotions go,” Sapphire said, her voice seeming to come from somewhere in their non-physical connection. “Now.”
There was that authority again, triggering Emerald to surrender as her magic joined the other two. But it triggered the opposite of obedience from Ruby as her magic resisted. So did her body, growing rigid under her sister’s show of dominance and the threat of bigger combined energies before her. Red circled the three, poking but not joining. Black curled into the corners, wisps that had the red hissing and shooing them away.
“Ruby?”
Gently, Ruby cajoled the red toward the three, willing it to join. Her magic softened around the edges, thinning out to find its space in the group. Halfway in, the black wisps came back, dancing in waves. Then a bigger, darker shadow snuck in the peripheral of her vision, catching her off guard but ringing an alarm in her head.
The wisps attacked it first, the grunting sound signaling it was alive. Her red glow went for the next attack, separating from her sisters’ magic until she heard the satisfying crunch of bones. When she opened her eyes, she repeatedly blinked until her vision cleared, and she glimpsed the creature lying just beside their circle, unaffected by the glow. It had shriveled up as energy had eaten most of its insides, leaving behind the cloud of dust that used to be bones.
“Milos!” Pearl gasped.
A charred smell permeated the air, but Ruby ignored it and tugged her sisters’ hands, willing them to re-focus and forget the interruption. She gasped in turn when the melded energies were gone and the hands she held disentangled.
“You just killed it,” Sapphire said quietly.
Ruby shrugged.
“So? You said it yourself. This is more important.”
“Not at the cost of a life—”
Ruby flared.
“He is Silver! He is our brother! Is he not more important than any life?”
“This is Milos,” Pearl whispered. “He is—”
“I don’t care who that is. Let’s go back to the ritual.”
Silence.
“Ruby, I think you need to step out of the circle.”
Bewilderment hit her hard as Ruby peered at three faces and saw that they were looking at her strangely. Then the impact of their words hit, and she adamantly shook her head.
“What? I can’t. This is the only night we are getting. This is—”
“Step out of the circle, Ruby,” Sapphire boomed out, using magic to enforce her order. “You just killed a living being, and I suspect this isn’t the first. You can’t pollute the circle like this. You have to step back.”
Realization slammed that this was an opportunity lost and Sapphire would not change her mind about it. It crystallized what else they were accusing her of, and Ruby finally stumbled back, the utter disbelief making her dizzy. She peered at them again, waiting for someone to tell her this was a joke and they were just testing her patience. But no one did, as all that met her were sober, wary expressions…and three familiar energies acting on the defensive and waiting for her to strike.
“You are crazy,” she declared. “I had nothing to do with what happened in the forest. And you guys are giving up a once-in-a-lifetime chance. This is a mistake.”
“There will be other moons,” Sapphire countered firmly. “Other chances. There has to be. The mistake would be to proceed now and discredit what happened here.”
Their eldest pointed at the dead creature.
“But—”
“Ruby!”
Ruby jerked back as if slapped. Her heart sank when silence followed, her other two sisters supporting Sapphire without a word…giving up, just like that. She gave them one last pleading look, fighting the heartbreak of their backs turned on her so swiftly.
Then she stepped out of the circle and walked away, refusing to make a sound even while the tears fell freely on her cheeks.
Ruby walked Broom’s Isle in circles, unsure where to go and how to direct the turmoil happening inside her. The bar was a tempting option, but she decided against it in the long run, not in the mood to hear more insults or any excitement over tonight’s unique moon. The office was the next option, especially with Maddox there, but running into James was a risk she couldn’t take—not when the guy reminded her of the council, and the council reminded her of her brother and what didn’t occur tonight.
It tore her apart, knowing just how close they were. It made her ache, knowing the abrupt failure meant they had failed Silver, too, when he could have been saved with the truth tonight. Lost and confused—and still smarting over the accusations thrown at her—she dejectedly made her way to Maddox’s house, hoping his smell alone could erase every inch of misery that snapped in her bones.
