“It says you’ve joined the billion other species that instinctively know what most humans are too dumb to figure out. Running from a fight is the best way to survive.”

Linda raised a brow. “You don’t look like the type who runs from a fight.”

Ruby yawned. “I didn’t say I was any smarter than the average human.”

Linda smiled at that. Leaning forward, she covered Ruby’s hand, gave it a quick squeeze. “I’ll yammer at you half the night, so you just tell me when you need to go to bed. I know you’re done in. Per your instructions, I’ve set it up so the coven won’t come until tomorrow at dusk. You can sleep in, recover from your drive, and then I’ll help you with any setup you need for your teaching strategy. Today was my last day at work for the next couple weeks. I’ve taken my vacation time to dedicate myself fully to this, and the other women who could do so have done the same. The full coven will be here every night and on the weekends.”

Ruby nodded. “Good. It sinks in better that way, like a language immersion course.”

“That’s what we figured. Now, would you like me to freshen your tea, so you can take it to bed with you?”

“In a minute. Just a couple more questions. I want some things to mull over tonight, get a head start on tomorrow.”

Despite her exhaustion, Ruby knew other things would kick in and stir when she went to bed. It was best for her to have something to occupy her mind, distract it, so she could slip past that darkness, escape to oblivion. Only of course it was never oblivion. Her dreams were getting more and more surreal, disturbing, leaving her with the acrid taste of nausea when she woke.

“Your coven is all women. But you said the guy who owns this place is a priest. Is he not a joiner?”

“Justin actually was a part of our coven. Or, rather, is a part, whenever he can be here. He’s a very powerful witch, a very good man. He got married, and as you know, that can change some things. His wife, who is our sheriff, had a commitment to help out with a task force in Chicago for six months, so he closed his shop for the next two seasons to be with her there.” Linda gave her a mischievous look. “Justin runs an erotic boutique for women.”

“In Lilesville?” Ruby thought of the sparse, eclectic, but mostly conservative populace she’d seen when she’d driven into town late afternoon.

“Women come all the way from Tampa to shop there.” Linda winked. “He could have left it open while he was gone, but he’s tried employees before and they just…. Well, women come as much for his understanding of their needs as they do for what the shop has to offer. He says you can’t really teach that kind of intuition. They come for the full experience. Though he won’t be there, I’ll take you through it if we have time. I have a key so I can check on the place. If you see anything you like, I’ll just deposit the money in his account.”

The planted suggestion, as well as the fading effects of the caffeine high, stirred that heated need the exertion of the drive had blissfully quelled. Ruby managed to stifle a curse as it swept low through her vitals. It was Derek’s fault. She’d had it leashed down, and he’d gotten it all worked up again, like a bronc goaded with an electric prod in the chute.

How is it a guy a jillion years old still likes sex so much? Shouldn’t you be beyond such earthly cares by now?

She remembered teasing him about that once. While she’d been cooking them dinner, she’d extended a wooden spoon for him to sample her sauce, and some of it had dripped on his hand. Quickly putting her mouth on his flesh, she’d given him a playful lick to soothe the burn. That was all it took to have him carting her off to the bedroom.

He’d brought that sauce with them, dropped it on her like hot wax. He’d done just as she had, sealing his mouth over each place, licking her slow, making her imagine where else he’d put it before he was done. But when she’d asked the question again, much more breathlessly, he’d lifted his head, stared into her face that way he did, as if she were the eighth wonder of the world.

Do you know, in a jillion years—his lips quirked—I’ve never seen the sun rise in exactly the same way? The colors, the clouds, it’s always different, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, but always different. And I never get tired of the pleasure of it. Earthly pleasures were meant to be enjoyed for all eternity, Ruby. Else it’s an insult to the Powers that made them.

Yeah, immersing herself in a store full of sex toys and lingerie would really help with this burning need. While she was sure Derek would approve wholeheartedly, there was no chance in hell she was going to that shop. “We’ll be pretty busy, but thanks.” She managed to inject dry humor into her voice rather than whining, resentful regret. From Linda’s odd look, she wasn’t entirely successful. “So does Justin know what’s going on this week?”

“He said he could come back for this, that Sarah could spare him, but I could tell he was torn. He loves her so much, and the task force she’s on is a dangerous one. Derek talked to him, though. He told Justin he could handle the Great Rite or any other areas where male energy was needed, so Justin reluctantly agreed to stay in Chicago and let me call him if I need anything. Men. They can be so overprotective.”

Derek could handle the Great Rite. Yeah, sure he could. Remembering the catty comment she’d made to Raina, Ruby knew being married did, in fact, change things for some couples. While the Lord and Lady were channeled into the priest and priestess during the Great Rite, it didn’t change the fact two earthly bodies were coupling. A man and woman needed to achieve some level of intimacy and pleasure, some familiarity and trust with each other, to give the energy a free flow. And the practical facts of life— that birth control and disease protection had to be used— underscored that “sacred” or not, it was real sex between two real people.

If she were this Sarah, married to the remarkable Justin, she wouldn’t be thrilled about him doing a Great Rite with another woman. After all, Ruby wasn’t married to Derek, and she was having a hard time quelling an ugly, unpleasant tide toward Linda, her warm face and soft body. Ruby knew she was too skinny right now, had seen it in Derek’s assessing look. According to medical professionals, Dr Pepper and M& M’S weren’t the world’s best diet, but what the hell did they know?

“So no other guys practicing in the area?”

“Not to my knowledge.” Linda grimaced. “I wish it was different, but you know how it is. Modern-day Wicca, where most of us have landed, attracts far more women than men. As the Craft has always done. Of course, we have a good mix. Three of our ladies are actively Wiccan, and four are churchgoing Christians, who recognize this path reinforces the mystical side of theirs. The others have chosen not to categorize their faith, but they believe in what we do here.”

A good mix of belief systems, and from what Linda had told her about the women, they were well-meshed friends. That would be helpful. It was important in this type of teaching situation to be working with open minds, willing to learn and confident enough to tolerate new paradigms.

“Derek said you used to work in a Wiccan store out in California? And now you run a gun shop? That was quite a switch.”

“It was time for me to move on.” Ruby shrugged. “I’m not one of those witches who looks down her nose at the mundane practitioners. I know we all have the personal power within us to connect to the Lord and Lady, use energy. But the shop in which I worked…. I had some life changes, ended up in a different place. I didn’t fit there anymore.”

Linda digested that. “Would you like some wine?”

“Did I just give the impression I needed some?” Ruby asked wryly.

Linda smiled. “I thought it might also help you sleep. Sometimes when you’re as exhausted as you are now, you lie down to sleep and end up staring at the ceiling.”

“All right. But if I end up sacked out here, you’ll just have to live with my snoring.”

“I’m sure it’s no worse than Theo’s.” Linda poured her a glass, settled back down across from her. “So what was it about the people at the arcane shop that no longer fit with your perspective? I don’t want to pry into anything too personal, but I’m the curious type.”

After an hour of being quizzed in detail on her own life, and that of her friends, as well as being told there was a real element of danger involved, Ruby suspected Linda felt it was quid pro quo to seek more information about the woman to whom Derek had entrusted her coven. Ruby didn’t blame her a bit.

“At Witches R Us, they saw the world as a matter of Light battling and overcoming Dark. Really, it’s about Light balancing Dark. Human beings will always have killers, megalomaniacs, sexual predators, because all of us have the capability for that darkness. Our circumstances or genetics will manifest it. Saints and Good Samaritans happen the same way. To pretend that we’ll one day have this peaceful world where there’s no war and no money, that we’ll all live in this happy bubble hugging one another, is not only faintly nauseating, but it completely overlooks what human nature is. Hell, it overlooks Nature itself.”

Linda blinked. “So it’s wrong to hope for world peace?”

“No more wrong than it is to strive to lose those ten vanity pounds. It helps you keep it from becoming fifty, right?”

The woman chuckled. “I’ve never heard it put in quite such…. applicable terms. That must be why you’re such a good teacher.”

An opportunity to teach always unfurled a certain private pleasure inside of Ruby, a sense of ease and satisfaction that helped keep other things at bay. A small form of balance, even though Ruby knew it was like tossing a marble on the scale across from an anvil.

“And thank you for being kind,” Linda added. “These hips carry about twenty extra pounds.”

Ruby shrugged. “They’re nice hips. What I’m saying is this. If world peace suddenly happened, and we did have the big happy bubble, something would be wrong. The fault line is a scale, equally weighted. What if the Darkness disappeared tomorrow, and it was the counterweight to the Light? The Light would flip over, spin, fall, break; you name it.