Chapter 2
At the large, old house owned by Gloria and Terrence Potter, Chris and Josiah led the young boy they had just rescued to the dining room to meet their waiting, adoptive parents. Their mother and father were waiting to meet their latest innocent. Chris had recently received another premonition of the boy and had shared it with the rest of his family. Then he and Josiah had gone to rescue the boy, after easily working out from Chris's description where he would be.
Ever since Chris had first got premonitions of Ezra, the Potters had been tracking the boy and his mother. Then one morning Chris had suddenly received a premonition of Ezra looking like the age he would be then. Then Chris and Josiah had gone to rescue the boy. Nathan was busy with other charges, so was unable to orb the boys to the warehouse; so Josiah had driven them both in his car instead.
Unfortunately, no-one had known that Ezra was half-demon, so they'd been surprised when the boy had threatened to throw a fireball at Chris. Neither the Underworld nor the Elders would approve of beings that were half-demon and half-witch.
"Did you see his mother there?" asked Terrence, as he stood in the kitchen eyeing the young boy. "We can't just take him away from her - we only need to make sure demons don't kill him."
"There was no sign of her, Father," answered Josiah. "Perhaps Chris can get a premonition if he touches him."
"We did find out that he is half-demon though," revealed Chris, remembering when the boy had threatened him with a fireball. They hadn't suspected that the boy had any powers; they had just known that he would be surrounded by demons who probably wanted to kill him for no reason. Chris made no move toward the boy to get a premonition – he didn't trust anyone who had even one drop of demon blood.
"Please trust me when I say that I am not evil," said Ezra, as if he'd just read Chris's mind. "My mother was a good witch and I was bought up by her and my grand-parents to always be on the side of good."
Chris felt braver and stepped toward the boy, ready to try for a premonition.
"Stay away from me," shouted the younger boy, nervously backing away from Chris. He clearly didn't understand what Chris wanted to do and thought that the blond might hurt him.
Josiah spoke, knowing that the boy needed reassurance that he was safe with them. "We don't wish to harm you. We are good witches who only want to protect you from harm. Chris can receive visions by touch and wishes to try and find out where your mother is so we can take you back to her."
"Witches?"
"Josiah, we don't even know his name, it's proper etiquette to begin with introductions. Let us introduce ourselves to him before we go any further," advised Terrence. "Son, my name is Terrence Potter."
"I am Ezra P. Standish," said the six-year-old boy, pronouncing the name perfectly. These people certainly weren't like those demons and he felt he could trust them. "My mother is a good witch named Maude Standish."
"My name's Josiah Sanchez and I have been Terrence's adopted son since they rescued me from a strict boarding school." They might as well share some background information with the boy since Ezra had just told them a bit about his mother. Also knowing more about them might put the young boy more at ease around them.
"My name's Chris Larabee," introduced the blond boy. "My parents were killed by demons when I was two and I was rescued by Terrence and Josiah, then bought here. I've been living here ever since."
"That explains your distrust of demons. I am so sorry for your loss, and yours also, Josiah. I am aligned to the side of good because my mother was good, and my father was also, and I inherited their loyalty to the side of good. My demonic father was turned good by a witch's spell before he met my mother. Those demons were after me and my mother because it is against the rules of the Underworld for a demon to take a witch as a mate, and especially to father children with her. "
The Potters, Chris and Josiah were shocked by how well the six-year-old spoke – they'd never heard of a child that young who used so many words. But then was not the time to ask him about it.
"Ezra, I believe everything you just said, and I'm sorry for distrusting you without knowing the facts," said Chris apologetically, beginning to trust Ezra.
"My mother has been searching for my absent father, who disappeared when I was very young. We were led into that ambush you rescued me from, by a demon claiming to know the location of my father. My mother had already left when you arrived, to try to discover if that demon really knows my father's whereabouts."
Terrence's wife stepped toward Ezra then. "My name's Gloria - I'm Terrence's wife and both boys' adoptive mother. We'll find your mother, Ezra; but for now we'll look after you. Would you like some cookies? I just baked a batch while I was waiting for the boys to return with you."
"Gloria's also a wonderful cook," said Terrence, as he walked to Gloria and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I wish my mother could cook. She has always made sure I eat properly though; she has never fed me food which is high in salt or anything else unhealthy for me," informed Ezra, who would really like something tasty but unhealthy while his mother wasn't there.
Terrence suddenly stood up and grabbed his car keys off the hook where he always hanged them. "Boys, we're going to McDonalds. Ezra needs to get a taste of something unhealthy for once in his life." Terrence didn't understand why he suddenly had the impulse to indulge Ezra with unhealthy food, but he put it down to wanting to make the boy happy while he was staying there.
"Dad, I think I'll pass on that. I'll try scrying for Maude instead," said Josiah, who had grown out of fast food.
Scrying was the process of holding a crystal hanging from a cord above a map to locate a witch, demon or other supernatural. The crystal would be pulled toward wherever the desired magical being currently was - but would be more effective if they had something relating to the being they was trying to find, such as some blood or skin which they'd wipe onto the crystal first.
"I don't think you'll be able to find my mother with magic. She is very good at hiding from magical radars when she feels the need," said Ezra - he had learnt a lot about magic from magical friends and relatives and even knew the meaning of scrying.
Josiah wondered if Ezra had been told that scrying was more effective if skin or blood from the person they were seeking was first wiped against the crystal. They unfortunately didn't have anything of Maude's to use. "Ezra? Did your mother tell you that scrying for someone is more effective if you touch their blood or skin to the crystal first?"
In answer, Ezra took a small penknife from his pocket and gently pricked his finger with it. "Where's the crystal?" he asked.
Everyone except Josiah was shocked by Ezra's sudden action. Gloria was worried in case the penknife wasn't sterile - then the boy could get an infection from it. Josiah wasn't shocked though - after enduring almost two years at a strict boarding school ran by abusive monks, it took a lot to shock him.
Josiah happened to always carry a scrying crystal in his pocket; he kept it as a good-luck charm; he took it out of his pocket and handed it to Ezra. Josiah was slightly upset that the boy had pricked his finger without even being asked - it was disturbing to see a child inflict a small wound upon themselves.
Ezra wiped a small amount of blood from his finger on the crystal, then handed it back to Josiah.
Then Gloria rushed forward and wrapped a clean handkerchief from her pocket around Ezra's finger. Ezra looked startled by the concern shown by the woman. "It's okay, I won't hurt you," she reassured him in a gentle voice.
"You're crazy," said Chris to the boy. He was glad their Whitelighter, Nathan, wasn't there - he hated it when children got hurt and would especially detest if one deliberately hurt himself.
Ezra smiled at Chris. "If it will find my mother, it will have been worth doing."
"You need to wash your finger before we go out for a burger, dear," instructed Gloria, then she led Ezra to the bathroom.
Josiah went to the dresser, opened a drawer and took out a folded map of the area. Terrence and Chris helped him lay it out flat on the dining table.
Gloria came out of the bathroom with Ezra, having washed his finger in very hot water to kill any germs. Ezra didn't like the very hot water, but had learned to endure pain because of the number of times he'd been abused by relatives and friends of Maude's. He felt very grateful to Gloria though - he could get used to having her care for him like a mother. He felt sure that his own mother would never have done anything if he'd pricked his finger in front of her.
Terrence looked at Josiah, who was now gently swinging the crystal over the map. "Josiah, you try scrying for Ezra's mother. The rest of us will go out for a burger." Terrence looked at Chris and Ezra. "Take some of the cookies, boys - you can eat them on the way," he told them, remembering Gloria's freshly baked cookies, still untouched on the plate.
Ezra picked up a cookie and looked at it. He had been told of cookies by another boy once, but had never had the chance to try one.
Chris greedily grabbed three cookies - he loved his mother's cooking - especially her cookies.
To be continued...