Chapter 2
Fifteen-year-old Ezra Standish was walking home from school one very warm day, when he stopped walking and sniffed the air. Evil was close; he could always sense it because of his demon-half. Beside him, his younger brothers - Vin and JD - stopped and watched Ezra, unaware that their brother could sense evil. Ezra always walked to their elementary school that wasn't far from his, so that he could protect them from evil all the way home.
"What's wrong, Ez?" asked Vin, who was ten, looking at the older boy with puzzlement. He'd never seen Ezra sniffing the air before.
"Evil!" answered Ezra, thinking that the one word was a clear answer.
"Evil?"
"I can sense an evil presence near to us. We must get home quickly. Vin, you take John home; I'll meet you there."
Vin grabbed eight-year-old JD's hand before the smaller boy could protest being called John - Ezra didn't seem to like calling him JD much. Then Vin orbed himself and his younger brother to the Potter house.
Turner, the red and black colored demon, blinked in, in front of Ezra. "I have only come to warn you; not to harm you. There is a female warlock plotting to destroy all of your family..."
"A demon? WARNING me about an imminent attack by the Underworld? Has the Underworld gone insane?" asked Ezra, not taking Turner seriously. He was amused that a demon was actually warning him about an impending demonic attack. It was nothing new for his family to be in danger from demons, but it was for an actual demon to warn them.
"She is only doing it to gain favor with the current Source, then take his place as our ruler."
"And you are opposed to it because she's a woman and you are so old-fashioned that you look down upon women in positions of power?"
"NO!" answered Turner, becoming frustrated with the boy. "She decides too easily to kill other demons. If she was the Source, the Underworld would be losing demons to her temper too often. Then there would be more witches than demons and the balance of power would be unbalanced."
Ezra smiled. "Then we would have the upper hand."
"If she was the Source, she would make the whole world bow down to her. With the Source's powers, she could do that. She does not respect that there must be some good and evil in the world, and she would drastically upset the balance if she could."
"Why did you come to warn ME of all people?"
"You are part of her plan. You are in danger when you walk outside. You must stay inside until Gaines has been vanquished."
"Gaines? ELLA Gaines?" asked a shocked voice.
Ezra and the demon turned around to face Chris Larabee, Ezra's twenty-year-old brother, and Nathan, the Potters' Whitelighter.
"You must be Chris Larabee," assumed Turner, quickly piecing things together. "She spoke of your name in her plan also. Most witches do not know her real name - only those she has chosen to tell. And your Whitelighter sensed your younger brother, another of his charges, and brought you here."
"Why is a DEMON talking to WITCHES?" asked Nathan, sounding very suspicious of Turner.
"There is a revolt against Ella in the Underworld, as we do not trust her. She will be the ruin of good and evil, for the balance would be upset by her if she became the Source. The world would be changed into one that neither good nor evil would like."
"That makes sense to me. There have been occasions in history where good had to join with evil to stop another evil unbalancing the world. After all was put right, good and evil would break their connection and fight once again." Nathan thought back to when he and his peace-keeper friends in the old west had been captured by the men threatening the Seminole villagers. One of the bad men had changed sides, as he didn't like what his boss was doing to unarmed people. Having that man on their side had helped the peace-keepers in the end.
"We should go home and tell Mom and Dad about this," decided Chris. "I guess you'll have to come in after we've spoken to them and tell us everything you can."
"Okay, when you're ready for me just call 'Turner' and I'll be there," agreed Turner and blinked himself away.
Chris and Nathan orbed to the Potter house and Ezra closed his eyes to blink there. He found it easier to focus on his destination with his eyes closed.
He started to disappear from the street, but suddenly his blinking power was stopped. Ezra tried blinking again, but nothing happened. "Damn it!"
To be continued…