I Read Indie: All Hallows Eve Indies Blog Tour {WITCH HEARTS by Liz Long Scary Scene/Giveaway}

Today I have the oh so talented Liz Long on the blog. She is sharing a super scary, rarely seen before scene for her part in the ALL HALLOWS EVE INDIES BLOG TOUR. Enjoy! Join all the fun at the official blog tour FACEBOOK FANPAGE.

Ruby stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the note on her door. Cooper would’ve gone straight to the bookshop to talk to her or at the very least texted her about leaving the apartment. She knew without looking that this was a second note from Courtney’s killer. Ruby’s wards were all still in their proper place, it seemed, so at least he hadn’t broken in again. She walked to her door and read the spidery handwriting.

Dearest Ruby,

While we’re still not quite ready to meet, I wanted to extend an offer of good faith. I believe you’re missing something and as it is no longer of use to me, I want to give you a chance to get it back. Perhaps you might even find something valuable with it. Go to 324 Broadway View; inside you will find Courtney’s Book of Shadows. Come alone or I’ll know we can’t trust one another and you’ll never see her book again. -X

Ruby’s stomach fell somewhere around her knees. That psycho wanted to get her alone? Cooper and Officer Marshall would never agree to it. Ruby had to get Courtney’s magic book back; Cooper had his copy passed down from his father, but Ruby still felt she owed their family both copies. If this was the only way to get it back, she didn’t have much of a choice.

She turned on her heel and went back down to her car before she could change her mind; Cooper might be inside her apartment and she couldn’t risk him finding out the plan or he’d go berserk. Ruby appreciated his protective nature, but after three years of Michael’s behavior, she would no longer be told what to do by anyone.

Broadway View wasn’t too far from Michael’s. His historic district was nice, but eight blocks past that, the money stopped. Ruby used to pass the area on the way to work and knew it was an older, worn-down neighborhood. On her way out, she spotted Cooper’s bike sitting in her parking lot and she hurried to get out of the vicinity.

Fifteen minutes later, she sat outside of 324 Broadway View, a dilapidated house on the corner. Peeling paint and broken shutters were the least of its problems; half the porch roof was falling in and Ruby might need a machete to get through the yard. She grimaced, thinking she might just need a machete, period.

Courtney’s Book of Shadows is in there, she told herself.

Then another voice chimed in: What if it’s not?

A chill went down her spine at the thought. She could very well be stepping into the killer’s trap, practically serving herself up on a silver platter to him by showing up here alone. She took a deep breath, Courtney’s face coming to her mind. She needed to get that book back.

“What if it really is in there? You’d risk losing it forever because you’re a wuss?” she wondered aloud. The price for her cowardice was too steep.

Ruby shook her head and got out of the car, steeling herself for whatever may happen. She walked up to the front door, careful to avoid the roof debris. A note stuck to the door read Leave your things in the car, but Ruby had already locked them in the trunk and so she pushed forward.

The front door opened with a terrible creak and she stepped inside. She couldn’t see much of anything, thanks to the covered up windows. What little she could make out was covered in thick layers of dust. The air felt stale with rot; animals had come in at some point to stink the place up and Ruby said a small prayer to the goddess that no creature would pop out and scare her to death. She’d stashed a crystal in her pocket, but the house had no electricity to borrow. Without even her phone to light the way, Ruby would have a difficult time locating Courtney’s spell book.

She thought hard for a second, letting her eyes adjust to the light. After another moment, she lifted up her hand, breathing into her palm as she whispered:

“To find an object in darkest day,

One must simply light the way

Give me flame so that I may see

And once it’s done blessed be.”

A large, glowing flame appeared in Ruby’s hand as though her palm itself were the lighter. Ruby smiled, rather pleased despite the circumstances and crept her way forward using the firelight.

Things seemed warmer in the golden glow, but the place was still a wreck. Ruby admitted she was glad not to see much around her, as her need for cleanliness might kick in otherwise. Pieces of furniture were strewn about and Ruby could see the crawl space below the broken wooden floor in more than a few spots. Making her way around each table or chair in every room, she gave a thorough look at everything, but no book appeared.

Ruby heard a rattling noise coming from the back area that at one time must have been a sun room. Twilight peeked through some of the boarded up windows and she held her flame farther out to see better. Still nothing moved and Ruby had almost given up when she heard a fluttering sound. She crept forward to the back door, held her breath to listen for any footsteps. A door to her left lay ajar and she put her hand on the knob and pushed it open.

A shape came at her, flying and flapping around her head and Ruby yelped, swinging her hands around her head to deter her attacker. Gasping for breath, she saw the culprit, a lone pigeon that had gotten stuck inside the large, empty closet. He now strutted on the floor, ruffling his feathers and glaring at her with beady little black eyes. Hand over her pounding heart, Ruby sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm down.

“Lucky I didn’t catch myself on fire, damn creatures popping out of crevices.” She turned to head into another room, still grumbling to herself. “Where’s Aziza when I need her?”

The floor groaning beneath her weight, she continued her search on the first floor. After completing the front rooms and kitchen, Ruby looked up at the decrepit steps in doubt. It seemed unlikely anyone could get up those, much less get back down and have another person be successful too. Surely this nutjob didn’t mean for the steps to collapse in and kill her before he could, right?

A noise from behind Ruby made her pivot, throwing her hand out in front of her to see better. She held her breath and only silence replied. Walking forward in the hallway, she saw a door she missed earlier. Using her boot, she swung it open, bracing herself for more pigeons or bats or other awful things. Nothing flew out at her, so she leaned forward to see.

Her heart dropped. It was, naturally, the basement. The dark and creepy basement of a house about to implode on itself. This seemed way more the psycho’s speed.

“Easy pickings. Just bury me alive and come back later for the heart,” Ruby muttered.

She didn’t try to hide her annoyed sigh and began the slow decline. She was surprised to find a relatively sturdy staircase and made it to the bottom without any broken steps or limbs. Even with the bright glowing flame in her hand, the pitch black basement gave her the ultimate creeps. She waited for her life to flash before her eyes since part of her expected the killer to jump out and grab her.

She took a few more blind steps forward. Finally, her foot bumped into something. Pausing, Ruby brought her flame out, but there was nothing in front of her. Confused, she looked around, still finding nothing. When she lowered her hand, however, the flame caught a light that winked at her and her body froze. She had to force her palm downward and found the shiny something was the glittering silver pendant on the front of Courtney’s Book of Shadows.

Relieved, Ruby reached down to grab it and discovered it was sitting on something. She picked the book up and her hands felt sticky. Curious, she brought the flame in for a better look and her breath caught in her throat. The back of the spell book - and now her hand - were covered in a congealed red substance.

“Please be paint. Please be paint.” She squeezed her eyes shut as she whispered, knowing she was wrong.

Taking a deep breath, she lowered her hand to see where it had come from. Dots swam in front of her eyes as they adjusted to find red blood all over naked, stark white skin.

A whistling noise, like wind sweeping through the room, sounded and she distinctly heard a whisper that floated through the darkness to her. Her hair ruffled as the breeze called out her name. “Ruby…help.”

You can read my review of WITCH HEARTS by going HERE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Liz Long is lucky enough to have a dream career in magazine publishing as an editor and writer, yet still have time to create adventures on the side. If you catch her staring off into space or talking to herself, don’t worry – it’s just her imagination at work.

Liz graduated from Longwood University with a BA in English, though her professors might be disappointed to hear she reads more fantasy fiction than literary novels. She also loves action and thriller genres. Her books might not change your life, but she hopes they steal you away from reality for a while.