Chapter Four – “Careful what you wish for.”

Jamie told herself that this was just to make sure Aaron was gone – that was the only reason why she was going to pretend to visit Ma. She picked up the Fay’s favourite hot buns and biscuits, placing them neatly in a basket. Her movements were quick and she kept glancing at the door that led to the back of the bakery, not wanting Richard to catch her.

One look at her and she knew he would know what she was up to.

She had just wrapped the top of the basket in a pretty white napkin aligned with red rose patterns when the front of the shop opened and there he was.

She froze like a thief caught in the act and then bolted for the back door.

“Jamie!” Richard yelled in frustration.

“It’s just a quick stop dad!”

“Jamie we talked about this!”

“You should know by now that I never listen!”

He yelled something else but she was already out of the store and running towards the little Fay habitat. When she was far enough, certain that her dad wouldn’t follow her, she stopped running. She sighed, balancing the basket of goodies on one hand and shoving the other through her springy curls. She was not going to sit down idle in the house when there was finally a human in Aethereus – she was not going to let him die.

The least she could do was warn him and then send him back home. He didn’t belong here. She was a little peeved that Richard wasn’t doing anything about this. What about Harley the Great? It seemed like ever since his father had passed away, Richard had shut that part of his life out.

Didn’t he feel the need to protect? Couldn’t he feel the passion like his father? She sighed and decided not to think about it.

*

Beatrice knew that it was only a matter of time before the other Fays started to notice that something was amiss. She and Ma have hidden it for several weeks now and even though they both knew the risks, they still continued with this persevering game and she was tired of waiting. All this patient goddamn dilly-dallying was going to kill them one day!

 She was inwardly panicking because of her behaviour at the Parade a few days ago. Why on earth had she reacted like that towards Jamie? She should have just pretended like everything was okay and Aaron was a distant nephew or something. One thing almost everyone knew in Aethereus was that Jamie was a stubborn mule and to top that off she was as curious as they come and would stop at nothing until her curiosity was satisfied.

If Jamie had continued talking to Aaron, no doubt he would have spilled something and everything would be ruined. Thankfully, not everyone in Aethereus knew the value of the human soul, the sheer power it could bring to Aethereuthians and Beatrice was eternally grateful that she and Ma had picked up on the studies.

The first time the humans had appeared in Ma’s house, she’d freaked out. Of course, she’d handled the situation brilliantly – giving them food and shelter until Beatrice had come up with a solution.

She’d researched and learned about humans, about how to consume the pure life energy that was their souls. She and Ma could live forever if they were able to get this energy – it seemed so unreal but there they were, right in front of them like a dish just waiting to be cooked.

But now, she’d panicked and probably ruined everything. Hopefully, that stubborn ghost girl would just let this go and her curiosity wouldn’t get the better of her.

But perhaps Beatrice should have told Ma of her worries because in keeping them to herself, she had unwillingly let this delicious meal slip through her fingers like hot, melting butter.

Their first mistake was lying about who Jamie really was to Aaron and it was a mistake that cost them nearly everything.

*

As Jamie approached Ma’s humble abode, she could hear the sound of music. Her eyes became half-lidded from the passion in the music, the beauty of it and her heart began to pound. God, it was beautiful. It was when she was a few meters away from Ma’s house that she recognized the instrument to be a piano and the soft tinkering of the keys – whoever was playing it – was creating the most delicious melody.

As she got to the front door, she could see the colourful musical notes floating out of the open window, dancing out into the houses of the surrounding neighbours. The flowers and grass seemed to sigh dreamily before instantly blooming prettier, as if the music was acting like a source of life.

Wow, Jamie thought, her hand briefly tightening around the handle of the basket of goodies she was holding before she reached up with her free hand to ring the doorbell.

Her hand froze however when she heard a voice – his voice.

“Cause all I need, is the love you breathe…

Put your lips on me and I can live underwater…”

It was really quiet and a bit shaky but Jamie knew talent when she heard it and god, he was brimming with it. She suddenly didn’t want to ring the doorbell so that she could listen to that heavenly raspy voice forever but she knew it was only a matter of time before the neighbouring Fays saw her and thought she was going mad, so she reluctantly pressed the little white button.

The music stopped and Jamie felt her heart jump in her chest at the sound of Aaron’s voice yelling, “I’ll get it!”

She froze and didn’t even realize she’d gone invisible for reasons she didn’t really understand until the door opened and Aaron looked right through her and around. He frowned at the seemingly floating basket before biting the corner of his lower lip and glancing into the house, presumably to call for Ma.

“Hi!” her voice came out like an ugly screech and Aaron jumped in surprise, looking back around and jumping again when he spotted Jamie, all blue and see-through.

Aaron clutched the handle of the door, ready to slam it in her face as he remembered Beatrice’s and Ma’s warnings to stay away from the blue ghost girl.

Her parents used to hunt people like us and feed on our souls…

Aaron’s eyes darted from her bright smile down to the obvious basket of goodies clutched in her right hand and back up to her face. She really didn’t look like she ate people’s souls for a living but this wasn’t his world – this was his dream world and he hoped as hell this wasn’t turning into a nightmare.

“Uhm…” he began but she interrupted, holding her hand out.

“Jamie?” she asked questioningly with a raise of her eyebrow and a teasing smile on her face, “you can’t have forgotten me so soon, can you?”

Jamie’s heart was slamming against her ribcage and even though only her skin was see-through, so that instead of seeing her organs, you just saw through her to the surroundings behind her, she felt like Aaron could see her rapidly pounding heart.

“What do you want?” Aaron asked and it was only then that Jamie took note of the way he was standing protectively behind the door, ready to slam it in her face.

Brief hurt flashed through her. “Uh, just because I’m a ghost doesn’t mean I’m some evil monster. I don’t hide in people’s closets or under their beds,” she said and winked, hoping Aaron would get the human reference.

If he did, he showed no sign and his mouth opened to say something when the door was suddenly shoved open wider.

“Who are you talking so discretely to?” Ma asked cheerfully and Jamie felt her pounding heart stop at the look the Fay gave her when she realized who it was. She yanked at the back of Aaron’s shirt, shoving him into the house behind her before rounding on Jamie with a look of absolute murder, “what the devil are you doing here?”

“I brought your favourites?” she said tentatively, holding the basket up.

“Don’t you dare come back here again, ever, or I will skin you alive, dear girl.”

Jamie gasped, her eyes widening with shock. She had never seen Ma act like this in her life before and before she could react or say something, the door slammed so hard in her face that the hinges rattled.

And then she felt it, an inkling of dread creeping up her spine. Her hand clutched at the basket in her hands like a life-line. This was bad. This was really, really bad. First Beatrice and now Ma was acting hostile? This just meant that they were up to something! She turned and fled, knowing that if anyone had the answers, it would be Richard.

She didn’t understand it – weren’t Fays peaceful, loving creatures? They loved earth and life and seeing Ma and Beatrice acting so out of character made several chills rush up and down her spine.

Halfway down the street, it suddenly hit her like a brick in the face – the main reason why she’d even gone to Ma’s in the first place.

Aaron was still here!

She finally got to the little bakery opposite Nicholas’s Hut and slammed the front door open, the bell jingling, “Dad, you wouldn’t believe –” her voice cut off at the scene before her.

Richard was standing behind the counter, his face as red as a ripe tomato, ears so flat on his head they might as well have blended with the silky blonde locks of his hair and his brown eyes were adorably big behind his big glasses. The reason for Richard looking like sex just walked into the bakery was standing right opposite him – Nicholas. He stood like a proper businessman, his dark brown hair cropped short to his head, dressed in the revealing garments of the Fays.

He turned to smile warmly at Jamie, “hello princess.”

She smiled and walked inside to stand beside Richard behind the counter, “Good afternoon Mr Nicholas,” she said politely, giving Richard a pointed glance and to her surprise, her dad blushed even harder, his tail curling with pleasure around his thigh.

“Uhm,” Richard began, hands clenching and unclenching on the counter.

“We’ll continue this discussion later,” Nicholas said, looking hard at Richard, his light blue eyes leaving no room for argument, “if you need anything – anything at all, Richie, just call me.”

“Yes, right, okay,” Richard babbled with a soft blush, licking his lips, ears twitching and flying backwards, like someone was petting him.

Nicholas beamed at him, nodded briefly at Jamie before he was out of the bakery.

There was a brief silence where the both of them didn’t say anything. The sound of Richard sighing dreamily brought them both out of the trance with Richard blushing like a newly wedded bride and Jamie raising her eyebrows questioningly.

“What was that about?” Jamie asked suddenly, walking up to Richard, “Dad, what was that?”

“Nothing,” Richard snapped at her but his sharp voice was betrayed by the blush still lightly tinging his cheeks as he turned away and began busying his hands with arranging the goodies beneath the glass that really didn’t need arranging.

“So…are you guys talking now?”

Richard sighed, “Jamie, leave it alone.”

She giggled and walked into his line of vision to wiggle her eyebrows, “you gonna get some, eh dad?”

“Oh my goddess,” he groaned, palming his face, “you’re ridiculous, you know that?” and then he noticed the basket she hadn’t yet dropped and his expression immediately changed to one of an angry, concerned father, “seriously Jamie, are you ever going to listen to what I say to you?”

“Dad, look, I’m sorry but he’s still here,” she hissed seriously as Richard turned away to go to the back of the shop.

She jogged after him, bouncing on the soles of her feet, “dad, he’s still here,” she repeated, like saying it over and over again would tell Richard how dangerous it was, “Weren’t there some stories that the humans went back on their own, that Harley didn’t have to save them?”

“And that’s all they were Jamie,” Richard growled, “Stories.”

“They weren’t just stories, dad and you know it!”

“Jamie, this is way beyond you and you know that.”

“Well I want to know more. We need to do something. Dad, Ma said she would skin me alive if I ever showed my face at her doorstep again. She said she would skin me alive!”

Richard turned to face her, his frustration finally bubbling to the surface, “Jamie, you don’t know stat about what’s out there. You don’t know how dangerous this could get if you got involved. You are not equipped for this!”

“But I want to be! What about all your dad’s adventures?”

“My dad is gone!” he bellowed and Jamie felt like the room vibrated just a little bit. She stared at him in shock. He’d never yelled that hard at her before.

Richard sighed, “Jamie, you don’t know everything. You only know the soft, toned down versions of what used to happen when humans came here. So my dad was kind of like their hero but that died when he died. I’m not cut out for this and neither are you. This is not an adventure with sunshine and butterflies Jamie, for god’s sake; I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Jamie licked her lips, “we can’t just do nothing. We can’t just turn a blind eye.”

“Why?” he asked suddenly, turning to face her, “why do you want to save him so badly? Is this some self-righteous act or what? Your thirst for adventure? Why exactly is this so important? Why can’t you let it go?”

“Oh I don’t know,” she replied snarkily, “Why don’t you ask your dad why he did it?”

It was a low blow and she knew it but before she could apologize, he was holding a hand up, the hurt clearly visible in his eyes.

He licked his lips, looking like he was about to say something but then changed his mind, sighing and shaking his head. Nothing he said was going to change her mind and that hurt more than it usually did. He looked at her sadly before making his way to the front of the shop.

“Dad,” she whispered but the sound of the bell jingling cut off anything she was going to say as he greeted the new customer.

Jamie sighed. She could take his yelling and his anger but she could never stand his silence. She sighed again and stared down at the basket she was still holding. Maybe this was way beyond her. He was right too, why was she doing this? Why was she trying to help Aaron? It’s not like it was going to affect her life in any way.

And for once, she wanted to please her dad. Just once, Jamie, listen to your father.

She nodded as if to strengthen her resolve, before dumping the basket on one of the ovens and heading out of the back of the bakery, winding her way through the forest at the back to the homey cabin she shared with Richard. There were a few other cabins scattered loosely around this part of the forest which housed some of the Canidaes of the community.

Jamie got inside and went to her room, picking up one out of the several volumes of The Adventures of Harley the Great that lined across her dresser. She was going to occupy her time reading this and forget all about Aaron.

*

Richard was waiting patiently. He knew it was only a matter of time before Jamie cracked. He wanted desperately to ask for advice from somebody – anybody, but he was too ashamed. He didn’t want to seem like a bad father and right now, he felt horrible. He really didn’t know how to handle this situation.

So he thought maybe the first step was to tell Jamie some things about the humans, tell her the real gory stories of their arrival in Aethereus and then…and then he was going to do the most difficult thing.

He was going to let her make her own choice. She was old enough, wasn’t she? And she could take care of herself too, right?

She’s only sixteen, Richard, the fatherly part of him whispered, and besides, she’s your daughter. Your job is to take care of her.

He worried his lower lip, walking around his room and reaching under the bridge of his glasses to pinch his nose. If he couldn’t stop her, then the least he could do was help her, right? His dad always believed in the greater good, always followed the rules and loved to keep the peace. That was why he made it his sole duty to protect the humans from danger in Aethereus even though the humans weren’t even of Aethereus.

He slowly released his lower lip, swollen now from his teeth constantly worrying at it as he headed to his wardrobe. He picked up the red hardcopy of Harley the Great, fingers gently stroking the spine. His forefinger brushed against something hard and he felt the spine of the book pop open with a soft click. His ears twitched and his tail swished excitedly behind him as he plucked out the silver key lining the inside of the spine of the book, cradled in a perfectly key-shaped hole embedded in the spine of the book.

He closed the spine, dropping the book on his bed and walked into his wardrobe, fingers tracing over the walls. When he felt the slight bump, he pressed against it and a crack opened in the wall. He tugged a little at the crack, pulling out a huge chunk of stone in the process to reveal a medium-sized red treasure chest hidden in a hole in the wall.

Richard pulled out the chest, dumping it on his bed and dusting his hands because the chest itself had gathered a lot.

His blood was suddenly pumping with excitement. Was he really going to do this?

Oh goddess, he really was. He was going to do this. He inhaled deeply and prayed to the gods that he was doing the right thing before he headed for Jamie’s room.

He knocked lightly.

“Yup? Come in!” she called and he opened the door.

She was sprawled on her bed, hands clutching Volume VI of The Adventures of Harley the Great in her hands. When she noticed the excited twitching of his ears and swishing of his tail, she quickly sat up to ask questioningly, “dad?”

“Could you come to my room for a second?” he asked, barely containing his excitement.

Jamie quickly marked the page she was on and bounced off her bed, following Richard to his room. Her confusion only grew at the sight of the red chest with intricate gold designs but along with it, grew her curiosity.

Richard was biting his lower lip as he pushed the silver key into the required hole and the chest came open. They both peered into the chest, eyes darting around at the simple items – some worn rope, a journal and other trinkets that really didn’t look like they cost or were worth much.

Richard picked up the journal, a thick book covered in yellow cloth which was almost dark brown now with age, the once white pages now yellowed and frayed around the edges.

Richard swallowed as his thumbs fingered the soft worn covering of the journal. Goddess, please I hope I’m doing the right thing.

“This was your grandfather’s,” he said, turning to face Jamie as he sat on his bed, patting a space for her to sit beside him. He inhaled deeply and decided to take the plunge, “it has everything on all the species in Aethereus and if they’re dangerous to humans.”

Jamie felt like she couldn’t breathe. She was staring at Richard like he’d grown two heads.

He laughed lightly at her expression, “Look,” he sighed, “I-I know it’s only a matter of time before you get bored and decide you want to pursue this and I know nothing I say is going to change that – so I might as well help you.”

Jamie felt a pang in her chest and she bit her lower lip, “dad, you don’t have to –”

“I want to,” he interrupted and then whispered softly, “My dad believed in the balance of the universe. He believed in peace and harmony, no matter where you came from. And when he discovered the humans, he made it his sole duty to keep the peace by sending them back to where they came from. I think he believed that if too many people on Aethereus knew about this, they would try to go to earth and that would cause all kinds of madness. I don’t know much about the subject because I was far too young and…and perhaps a little scared,” they both managed a short laugh, “but I think, I think this is the right thing.”

Jamie smiled and then suddenly flew into his arms, hugging him tightly. “Grandpa would be so proud of you.”

“Yes, well,” Richard blushed, feeling his eyes get hot. He blinked rapidly to prevent the tears from dropping before quickly pulling away and looking up at Jamie, gripping the journal tightly in his hands, “we need a plan.”

“Okay,” Jamie replied, sounding excited and breathless, “okay, first off, we need to get Aaron away from the Fays – or at least away from Ma and Beatrice. I think…you were right about me meddling – they’re probably weary now and whatever plans they have must be moving quickly now.”

“So get Aaron away as soon as possible. How are we going to do that? They know you’re related to me and they know my history – they must know about Harley. They probably have Aaron under lock and key.”

“I can get him.”

Richard’s eyes widened briefly, ears flattening with displeasure. His nose wriggled a little to shift his glasses and then he stiffened his spine, “that’s…that’s going to be really dangerous. And how are you going to do that? He’s not a ghost like you. He can’t walk through walls…”

“It’s going to take a lot of concentration, but…I think I can teleport.”

“Jamie,” Richard hissed, sounding just a tad scared and frustrated, “I won’t. I won’t allow it.”

“Dad, there’s no other way!”

His hands tightened around the book even more, “this was a bad idea.”

“Dad, come on! No backing out now. I’ll be careful. You know I will. I promise.”

“Jay…”

“I know you’re scared for me because you love and care for my safety, but dad, trust me. I can do this.”

Richard licked his lips, his heart pounding frantically in his chest, “have you teleported before? Are you sure you can do it?”

Jamie nodded frantically, “I’ve been practicing. Ironically, I find it easier than going invisible.”

And before he could argue further, she suddenly disappeared with a sudden crack, a mist of sparkly silver spoke left in her wake. Richard grabbed his heart with shock.

“See?” Jamie yelled from somewhere in her room, “completely fine.”

He gasped, nearly jumping off the bed when she suddenly reappeared right where she was sitting previously, swaying just slightly before righting herself and beaming at him.

“Okay, so that’s one option,” Richard huffed out, his heart still pounding with a little bit of fear for his girl while she giggled softly, “I think we should try at night first – Harley says sometimes the humans go back on their own at night when they close their eyes.”

“Dad, when I went last night he was there. And he was still there this morning,” she said softly, “I’m pretty sure he’s not leaving anytime soon – at least not until we warn him about what’s going on.”

Richard suddenly paled a little. “How on earth are you going to convince him to leave?”

“I’ll do everything – I’ll talk about his world, this has to be some kind of dream for him, right? That’s how he got here. So if I can convince him that this is real, then maybe he’ll come with me.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“I’ll have to force him.”

Richard shivered and licked his lips, “Jay…”

“I’ll be fine dad,” she said, carefully patting his arm, “I promise. He’ll thank me later.”

“Okay,” he whispered, removing his glasses and scrubbing a hand over his face, “okay, first line of action is to bring him here. No detours and don’t start anything on your own. Bring him straight here and we can figure out how to send him back. Talk to him about his family or something…there’s always something bad going on at home that makes them come here – if we can tell him not to worry, maybe that’ll do the trick and he can go back.”

“So, we have a plan,” Jamie said excitedly, “what about Beatrice and Ma? What if they’ve done something?”

“Well,” Richard said with a grin, “that’s where this comes in,” he said and held up the journal.

They both got comfortable on the bed, sitting cross-legged beside each other as Richard thumbed open the journal. They both frowned in confusion at the sketches and symbols and words scattered around the yellowing pages.

“Uhm…well, this might be more difficult than I thought,” Richard mumbled and they both laughed. He flicked through the pages quickly until Jamie gasped, “wait, right there!”

He stopped and glanced at the top of the page. SPECIES was written all in capitals and underlined and Jamie licked her lips, using her finger to point at the other words underneath the obvious heading, these words only italicised and underlined, and some pictures – obviously hand-drawn with a pencil lined beside the words – like a Pictionary.

“Auries, Axes, Azoil…I recognize some of these as some of the species in Aethereus.”

“And it’s in alphabetical order,” Richard replied, “so Fays…”

He thumbed through the pages until he came to the one on Fays. A picture of a male Fay was sketched beside the word and description, a silver pen used to emphasize on the tattoos that were typical of the species.

Fays

Low level witch types – can only perform little spells and magic tricks.

They can feed off of the human soul using attachment and desire. This enhances their powers and prolongs their life – not to mention, the soul has the taste of the most delicious elixir to the Fays.

“What does that mean?” Jamie asked, feeling herself inwardly panicking, “attachment and desire…for what? For life? For food? And how exactly can they feed off of the human soul? Do they suck out his brains with their magic?”

“I don’t know,” Richard whispered back, reading the words over and over again, “it makes no sense to me.”

“So what does this mean for our plan? Do we act immediately or are we allowed to wait?”

Richard knew that his father wouldn’t have wasted time and he clenched his teeth and his fists, ears twitching slightly and tail stiffening with determination.

“We act immediately,” he whispered and stood up from the bed dragging Jamie with him and cupped her face in his palms, gazing sternly into her eyes, “you do this quickly. You talk to him – five minutes tops and if he’s reluctant or wants to call out, you teleport him back here. Can you do that?”

“Yes I can.”

“Don’t linger, Jamie, don’t get curious or try to play hero. You come straight home.”

“I will dad, I promise. It’s just down the neighbourhood; stop acting like I’m going to boarding school.”

Richard managed a small smile, sifting his fingers through her curls, “I trust you.”

Jamie felt warmth bloom in her chest, “I know you do. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Richard nodded and nearly had a heart attack when Jamie suddenly disappeared with a loud crack, a small mist of sparkly smoke remaining in her wake. He reached out towards the smoke and felt like his heart had stopped beating.

She’s okay; he tried to tell himself, she’ll be back in five minutes, no need to act like she’s walking the gauntlet.

*

“We need to speed this up and fast!” Beatrice hissed into Ma’s ears, her small, plump body walking back and forth in her room. Ma was seated on her bed, eyeing her nails with a bored look on her face.

“You know we can’t! The process takes a lot of time and effort – it’s like stirring stew – you stir too fast and too hard and you get it burnt!” Ma hissed back, clenching her delicate fists and glaring up at Beatrice who was surely going to run a hole into the floor with all her pacing.

“But Jamie,” Beatrice moaned in dismay, “I bet she suspects something now.”

“Honestly, Beatrice, I doubt that she’s educated on the humans. And besides, I’m more than certain that damned Richard would want to protect her so he wouldn’t tell her anything.”

“We can’t leave the house – that’s what this means. What if Richard wants to play hero?”

Ma laughed mockingly, “Richard is a coward according to the history books. He’ll probably just turn a blind eye to all of this. We’re safe, Bea. We just need to hide until the time is right. Trust me; it’s going to be worth it in the end.”

Beatrice licked her lips at the thought, “I sure as hell hope so.”

*

Aaron couldn’t stop thinking about this afternoon.

I brought your favourites?

That’s what the blue ghost girl – Jamie – had said when she’d brought the basket of goodies with her. He swallowed hard, something was not adding up. Ma and Beatrice had called her a thief, someone who devoured people’s souls and she was apparently bringing along Ma’s favourite goodies? It just didn’t make sense. The fact that Jamie knew whatever the favourites were meant that she must see Ma a lot.

If that was the case, then why would Ma act like she was a criminal?

He scrubbed a hand over his face, so much drama was happening in this damn dream already.

And he found it truly exciting. A sudden noise, like a slap sounded in his room and Aaron jumped a little, turning around to stare with shock at Jamie standing in the corner of his room.

His lights were off and the moons shining outside barely showed her, so she was more like a blue shadow. He watched her sway a little and then cling to his desk to steady herself before shaking her head lightly.

She looked up and their eyes met.

His eyes widened and he felt just a little inkling of fear crawling up his spine. What the –?

“No time,” she whispered, walking up to him and sitting on his bed and he really shouldn’t be thinking about how he had expected her to fall right through the bed, not land heavily on it, “Aaron, you’re not safe here. You need to come with me and I can help you get back home.”

Aaron stilled, his hands clenching into his sheets, “what the hell are you talking about? I am home.”

“We both know that’s not true. You think this is a dream and I’m here to tell you it’s not. You’re not safe with Ma and Beatrice –”

Aaron could feel his heart pounding almost painfully in his chest as his brain tried to process what she was saying. “W-What are you –?”

“This is not a dream,” she hissed, “this is dangerous. We don’t have time. You’re going to get killed.”

Aaron’s eyes widened a little at that and his heart beat a little faster with fear at the sound of those words. Oh God, this was really turning into a nightmare. Oh God, he wanted to wake up at home, right now.

“I –” Aaron began but then he heard the sound of footsteps.

Jamie heard them too and she suddenly grabbed his wrist, “I’ll explain in due time.”

“Wait –”

He felt like he was suddenly yanked like a fish – like an invisible rope wound itself around his waist and was abruptly wrenching him away from his bed. The room blurred and suddenly everything was spinning and he was soaring through the air in a whirlwind of colours. After a few seconds, the colours seemed to separate and clear. Houses made themselves visible, people walking down busy streets, a tarred road and he screamed, curling in on himself to prevent the impending impact on the concrete road beneath him but instead ended up freezing about a second before he hit the floor landing with a hard thump.

He glanced up and the sight of the oncoming truck made his heart fly into his throat and he very nearly soiled his pants as the truck drove right through him.

He got up from the road, instantly recognizing the buildings in the surroundings, the town’s central hospital, the people, the cars. He was in the city centre. He was back home – in the real world, standing in the middle of the freaking main road!

He gasped, his heart flying as another car zoomed right through him, making him stumble and feel light-headed. He rushed to the side of the road, staring at the cars and then at his body, the fear so intense it was bone-chilling.

He frowned a little when he spotted a jeep he recognized parking in front of the hospital.

“Mum?” he yelled when he spotted her leaving the car, locking it behind her. He knew he was going to have to explain how the hell he got in the middle of the damn road in the middle of the day, but now was not the time. He had to get home. He needed to get home.

He ran after her, yelling her name but she studiously ignored him.

His heart was pounding, like there was more impending doom ahead. Oh God. What the hell was happening? What was going on?

“Mum?” Aaron whispered uncertainly, heart stuttering nervously, wondering why the woman was ignoring him. He only then noticed that she seemed to be sobbing as she walked straight to a hospital room and Aaron prayed to God it wasn’t a distant relative of his on the bed or worse, his dad in the bed.

He walked closer, whispering, “Mum, what’s wr-?”

His voice cut off on a strangle as his eyes were finally given view of the person on the bed.

The person was him.

His lips parted and his eyes grew wide with shock and fear as he stumbled back, falling against the nearest wall. What the hell was happening? His hands flew all over his face and his body, as if to make sure he was really looking at what he was looking at. He blinked several times but the picture refused to change.

Lying in the bed, hale and hearty and looking like he was only asleep was Aaron, dressed in a hospital gown with a tube attached to his arm.

“Oh my God! Oh my God!” he gasped, his heart racing frantically with confusion and dread. What was happening? What the devil was this nonsense?

A doctor moved into the room and started talking to his mum but the words were blurred to his ears. He stood, frozen in astonishment as he stared at himself asleep on the hospital bed and at his panicked mother. It all seemed to click – why the cars had been able to drive right through him in the street, or why his mother ignored him all the way into the hospital like…like he wasn’t there.

“I can help you.”

He spun around at the sound of the voice and standing there in the corner of the room was the culprit, the evil witch that had brought him here. Her blue skin and blue clothes and blue everything just looked so odd in the room and her presence just made it all seem worse – seemed to make reality close in on him like a vice clamping tightly around his skull. He jumped off the wall and flung himself at her, holding her by the front of her blue shirt and slamming her against the door, gritting out through clenched teeth, “what the hell have you done you stupid witch?”

“Aaron, you need to stop panicking. I can –”

“You can’t do shit!” he yelled at her, turning to look at his sleeping body on the bed, his hands sliding up to tug at his hair in a gesture of helplessness, “oh God. This is not happening. This is not happening.”

The room suddenly shook violently, like there was an earthquake. Aaron grabbed onto the nearest surface as the room rocked and rolled. The ceiling began to fall apart in large chunks and Aaron just stared at his mum, who was wiping her eyes furiously with a handkerchief, staring down at Aaron’s sleeping body as she made her way to sit beside him, seemingly oblivious of the room falling apart right underneath her nose.

It took a second for Aaron to realize that the scene was changing. The chucks of wall and ceiling falling to the floor revealed a dark and dreary forest and in the blink of an eye, the hospital room was gone and he was standing in the middle of a forest he didn’t recognize. It was dark and cold and he was terrified.

He hugged his arms around his torso, fervently wishing that he could be back in his bed in Ma’s room, inside the warm silky sheets, waking up to the smell of toast and eggs.

Jamie was panicking but she refused to show it. They were meant to appear back in Richard’s room – she was sure she had imagined Richard’s room – she’d practiced.

But along the way, she knew something must have gone horribly wrong.

*

Nicholas put a pot of tea on the kettle, humming softly under his breath as he sprinkled spices and herbs into the pot brewing in the middle of the kitchen table on top of his very own hand-made and personally designed stove. He was trying to make a new recipe for his restaurant to attract more customers. He worked with utmost efficiency, like cooking was a sport as he diced onions and peppers, pouring them into the pot.

The aroma made him hum louder, the humming almost sounding like soft purrs. The kitchen was messy with different herbs, spices, vegetables, meat and other necessities to make the new brew.

He was brought out of his cooking reverie when he heard his doorbell ring. Frowning a little, he made his way to the front door, opening it a slit. He blinked in surprise as he recognized the light blonde silky hair and cat ears now drooped in…sadness?

“Richard?” he asked as he opened the door as wide as he could, “are you okay? What’s wrong?”

The concern in his voice must have set Richie off because the feline Canidae was abruptly flying into his arms and sobbing into his shirt, “I’m such a horrible, horrible father. Just completely horrible –”

“Richard, deep breaths; come on, breathe for me,” Nicholas said sternly, closing and locking the door as he led them to the couch. The Canidae pulled away from him and wiped at his eyes furiously, sitting up straight in the chair.

Richard sniffed and hiccupped and Nicholas tried to ignore the fact that his nose was now adorably red from his crying and his eyes were so freaking huge, big and wide and so damn beautiful.

Not now, Nick, the man’s in obvious distress.

“Are you ready to tell me what’s wrong?” he asked softly.

Nicholas expected to hear something like Jamie refused to leave the evil green lake alone and come home or she was being a stubborn pest to the neighbours as usual but what left the man’s lips was far from what he expected.