Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks so much for the reviews, they were very helpful. I was in a big hurry last night, and probably shouldn't have posted, hence the errors. I've tried to fix most of the errors I could find, unfortunately once I've read something over and over, I tend to stop noticing the mistakes, so a lot probably got a away from me. I've just started chapter 2, and now I have time to edit while I write, so it should be much better, I expect that it will be out around Wednesday.
Circe le Fey
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In the next room, Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' was blaring, so loud that it nearly drowned out the sound of two children screaming at each other. Jesse Miller, his twenty-month old baby brother hanging loosely in his grasp, stormed down the hall, and attempted to enter his bedroom. The door was locked, and as Jesse began hollering threats, one of his younger siblings on the other side burst into tears. "Erin, Luke, open up immediately, or I'm going to break it down, you hear me?" on the other side of the door the music stopped, and it sounded as if four year old Luke had been hurled into the radio. "Oh my God" Jesse groaned. "Erin cut it out, now" Luke's screams rose in pitch. "Erin! Erin, I'm calling mom." Erin didn't respond, continuing to pelt her little brother with stuffed animals and occasionally harder objects. All of the Miller children, down to baby Anthony, knew that their mother would never interrupt her work to come back, unless it was an absolute emergency. Luke was now sobbing and yelling at the same time. "Shit." Jesse leaned back against the door, his dark hair falling in his eyes, which had circles from lack of sleep and exhaustion. In his arms, Anthony burst into tears, waving his fists and struggling to be put down.
"Erin, if you don't open this door immediately, I'm going to leave you with Eric next time". That did it. Luke stopped screaming, and after a pause, Jesse could hear Erin fumbling with the lock. Eric, nineteen years old, was the epitome of a bullying older brother. It wasn't until Jesse had turned sixteen, on his last birthday, that he had finally outstripped Jason's 5'10, and been able to hold his own. But Erin and Luke still hated being left with Eric, and would beg Jesse to babysit instead. The door finally opened, and Jesse glared down at eight year old Erin, who looked the picture of innocence, but for the stuffed bear she was wielding like a club in one hand. "He's such a sissy" she said, glancing scornfully at Luke, who was still sniffling a little, but thankfully looked largely unharmed. Anthony, however, was still sobbing. Jesse set him down on the carpet, and grabbed the stuffed animal away from Erin. "He's four years old, and you scare the hell out of him. And you've skipped my Michael Jackson CD. God, Erin, you're more trouble than you're worth. Go downstairs and watch TV or something. Luke, I'll get you guys dinner, as soon as I've given Anthony a bath and put him to bed. No more fighting" he added through clenched teeth. Erin swept downstairs, followed by Luke, who was still rubbing his eyes.
Jesse waited until he heard the TV safely on before turning on the bath water. Anthony was deathly afraid of water, which was why Jesse had avoided giving him a bath for the past three or four days. But now there was oatmeal beginning to cake in the little boy's dark curls, and Jesse was feeling guilty. The bath took over forty minutes, because of how Anthony was thrashing and screaming, and the baby was apparently so traumatized by the whole affair that he refused to go to bed afterwards. Erin and Luke's TV program had ended, and it had started raining by the time that Jesse finally tip-toed out of Anthony's room, and downstairs, to order pizza.
He was just getting off the phone with the pizza place, when Erin snuck up behind Luke, who was sitting at the table drinking, and yelled 'Boo' in his ear. Luke jumped, and shrieked at the top of his lungs. Jesse jumped as well, and then clenched his fists, counting silently in his head. . . one, two, three, fou- Wah!! "Anthony" Jesse said quietly, and then his voice rose "why can't you just go to sleep. Why can't you all just be quiet!" he growled at Erin and Luke, who just looked at him, their eyes wide.
As Jesse raced upstairs, thunder sounded outside, and words from an old book that he had been given by his father's best friend, Toby Williams, came back to Jesse. It was more of a girl's story, but it still had some adventure in it, and he'd always liked the part where the goblins took unwanted children.
Anthony was still crying when Luke and Erin started fighting again downstairs. With a groan, Jesse left Anthony still wailing, and was on the top step when he spoke without even realizing it. "I wish the goblins would come and take you away" he said, "right now". For a half a step, nothing happened, and then, a current ran through the house.
There was another bolt of lightning, and suddenly the power went out. Downstairs, Luke and Erin were yelling something to him, something that sounded like 'big owl', but Jesse was concentrating on something else. In the bedroom Anthony and Luke shared, Anthony had stopped crying. But not gradually, as if he were slowly falling asleep. His sobs had been abruptly cut off. And as he turned back to the room, Jesse felt a part of him go cold.
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