Hello ladies and germs. Not much for this author's note, except the disclaimer and the thankyous to my great reviewers. Thank you a lot. Oh, and I don't own RotG. I wish. Then I'd own Pitch, and who knows what I'd do then!
It took him ten minutes to get to the address Seraphina had given him. There was a light on the front porch but none on in the house. Sounds emanated from behind the thick curtain over the living room window and he guessed that the parents were up late, watching a movie.
He sauntered towards the door, conscious of the Beware of Dog sigh clumsily taped to the gate. He didn't know they had a dog. He detested dogs. All animals, really, except horses. One of his many quirks.
Kozmotis reached the front porch without incident and, after taking a few minutes to calm his nerves, knocked sharply on the door. What was he going to say?
"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, could you please wake your son? I have some questions for him regarding a dying boy I found on the street, by name of Jack Frost. You haven't heard of him, by any chance, have you?"
"Right." he muttered under his breath. "Like that'd work."
The door opened and, for a second, Kozmotis found himself looking at thin air.
"Ahem." he said, peering into the dark gloom of the house's interior. Then a light flicked on and the hallway was illuminated. It was a typical hallway. A flight of stairs led up at the end and several doors led off the hall to other rooms. Several feet along, on the right side, there was a four-foot gap in the wall that he assumed was for a counter. Kozmotis strained his neck, looking around for the adult that had flipped the lights, but he saw nothing.
He was just about to turn around and leave when he caught a glitter out of the corner of his eye and he looked down. There was a sleepy-looking little girl with wild blonde hair and a pair of fairy wings tied clumsily over her pink unicorn pajamas staring up at him. The wings were bent and they looked like they'd been stained with a thousand different things that day. The girl's hair was sticking out at weird angles and her wide, green eyes stared at him with such a blank curious look that he felt a bit uncomfortable.
The little girl stared at him. He stared at the little girl.
"Ahem." he said again, clearing his throat.
"What you want?" the little girl asked.
"My name is Kozmotis Pitchner, little girl." he answered without realizing why. Maybe it was the way she was just staring at him with those bright green eyes. "What about you?"
The girl's sleepy look suddenly evaporated and she straightened up with a smile. "Uh uh uhhhh." she said, waving her forefinger like teacher. "Momma said I not supposed to give my name to strangers!"
Kozmotis nodded. Good girl. Clever girl. "That's very-" he started to say, but the little girl interrupted him.
"But you no stranger Boogeyman, so you know my name Sophie!"
Kozmotis blinked, bewildered. "Boogeyman?"
"Yep." the little girl chirped. She couldn't have been more than five. "You try to take over world, but my brudder stopped you! He named Jamie! He and Jack Frost beat you up! He told me!"
Kozmotis blinked again. Take over the world? Brother? Jamie?
Then it clicked.
This must be Jamie Bennett's little sister! He thought, smiling. He remembered his own daughter at that age. She'd been a bubbly, bouncy literal ball of energy, always running around asking questions. Just like this little girl.
Then something else clicked. She'd said something about Jack Frost, hadn't she? Did she know the boy?
"Sophie," he said, bending down until he was at her level. "Do you know Jack Frost?"
"O course I so!" she said, laughing as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world to ask. "An' so do you! He beat you up, Boogeyman! Remember?"
Kozmotis frowned. "Sophie, I am not the Boogeyman." he said. "My name is Kozmotis Pitchner."
"No it not!" She said stubbornly, sticking her lip out in an endearing little pout. "Your name Pitch Black! You Boogeyman!"
Kozmotis's mouth creased in a flat, grimacing smile. It was obvious what had happened now. Jamie Bennett had told his little sister stories about him and 'Jack Frost' having adventures together and apparently Jamie had used him as a model for the bad guy. He had no idea why, having never even met the boy. Well, no matter. He thought. I'm sure I do strike a terrifying figure. The Boogeyman or, Pitch Black, as Sophie called him, must've tried to take over the world in one of his stories and now the little girl couldn't tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
In short, she thought he was the Boogeyman. Which he certainly was not!
"Sophie-" he began but a young boy's voice interrupted him.
"Soph! Where are you, Munchkin?"
Kozmotis straightened up. That was the voice of Jamie Bennett, no doubt about it. But where were his parents? And shouldn't the boy be in bed by now? In fact, shouldn't they both be in bed by now?
The boy was coming towards him, calling out for his sister. "Soph!"
Sophie jutted out her chin. "See, my brudder's here and he gonna stop you Boogeyman! JAMIE!" the last word was shouted at a volume that made Kozmotis cringe.
"Sophie!" Jamie said, coming around the corner and, catching sight of his sister, heading straight towards her with exasperated anger on his face. "What are you doing? Why is the door open? Mom's gonna be really mad when she comes back and you're not in your bed like a good-" the boy stopped about three feet away from his sister and his voice cut off short.
Kozmotis looked up from the triumphant little girl, wondering why the boy had suddenly gone silent and when he caught the gaze of the brow-eyed, brow-haired eleven-year-old, he was surprised to see a glimmer of fear in his eyes. His hands started shaking and Kozmotis saw his inching towards his sister, ready to grab her and make a run for it. Smart boy. It as never safe to have a younger sibling near a stranger.
Jamie gulped. He was obviously terrified of something, and Kozmotis thought he knew what. Poor boy. He thought, trying to look gentle and kind. Imagine how scary it would be if a strange man turned up at your doorstep and your parents weren't home. You'd be at his mercy.
The boy gulped again and when he finally opened his mouth to speak, Kozmotis heard the fear and uncertainty lacing the words. "He- hello Pitch." he said shakily.
Kozmotis cocked his head. "Pitch?" he asked, trying to sound amused. "My boy I have already explained to your lovely little sister, I am not some mythical monster that hides under beds. My name is Kozmotis Pitchner." he paused, noting the doubtful look on Jamie's face and the defiance in Sophie's. "Perhaps you know my daughter? Seraphina? You are in her grade, after all."
Jamie frowned. "Seraphina?" he repeated. Then his eyes glowed with recognition. "OH! You mean Coal. Wait, she's your daughter?"
Kozmotis frowned. He'd never heard his daughter referred to by a nick-name before. Why Coal? Probably because of her hair, he decided. She had his same hair, long and black and nearly impossible to comb out, as his wife would attest.
"Yes, Seraphina is my daughter." he said. "But that's not why I'm-"
"Oh." Jamie said, taking a few steps forward and smiling apologetically. "I'm really sorry about the Pitch thing." he coughed. "I had a run-in with the Boogeyman a few years ago and I guess it's made me a little jumpy ever since." He smiled. "Do you want to come in, Mr. Pitchner?"
Kozmotis sighed. The boy was obviously going along with his sister's assumption to humor her. "Yes, thank you." he replied. "You wouldn't believe how cold it is out here, despite it being April."
Jamie gave him one last apologetic smile and, picking Sophie up and balancing her on his hip, led the way through the hall and into the living room.
As he passed the doors that led to other places in the house, Kozmotis was struck by how homely this place was. Not full of ornaments like vases and pillows or pictures and photographs There was a report card taped to the fridge that he caught a glimpse of, (three B's and a C in math,) but no drawings by little Sophie or photographs of Jamie and his parents. There were papers scattered all over the kitchen counter which looked into the hall and as Kozmotis passed them, he caught the words mortgage and over-due several times.
Huh. So the rest of the family isn't as happy as Jamie and Sophie are. He thought, looking at the bouncing little girl in Jamie's arms who turned every few minutes to give him a playful glare.
He smiled and stuck his tongue out in a childish gesture that no one else would be able to bring out of him, except a little girl. Be it his daughter or the sister of his daughter's friend, he just couldn't help it.
"You can sit down in here." Jamie said as they entered his living room. It was small, with a two-foot television and plenty of books covering the shelves. The seat Jamie was indicating with the arm that wasn't wrapped around his sister was a black three-person couch in the center of the room. "Ummm, I've got to put Sophie to bed first, then I'll be right down. Do you want anything?"
Kozmotis took a seat and shook his head. "No, thank you Jamie. I don't have time to sit and chat."
Jamie gave him a quizzical look.
Kozmotis nodded at Sophie. "You'd better put your baby sister to bed. She's drooling on your shoulder."
Jamie recoiled, shifting Sophie to the other arm. "Eww! Gross Soph!"
Sophie giggled and Kozmotis chuckled. Jamie put his sister down, wiped the drool off his shoulder and tried to lead her towards the stairs across the room, but Sophie dug her little heels in and demanded that he stop.
"Jamie! We can't leave Pitch!"
Jamie cast an embarrassed look at Kozmotis, who smiled, and then he looked back at Sophie. "Sophie," he said gently. "That's not Pitch. Pitch is bad and mean and he hides under your bed. This is Mr. Pitchner, Sera's father."
"No!" she said stubbornly, trying to wriggle out of her brother's grasp. "That's Pitch! We gotta call Bunny!"
"Sophie!" Jamie said exasperatedly. "We only call the Guard-" he stopped, casting a wary glance at Kozmotis. "We only call the you know who, when something really bad is happening." he finished, keeping his eyes locked on Kozmotis.
"I honestly have no idea what you are talking about." Kozmotis said plainly. "But the matter for which I am here cannot wait, so if your sister continues being obstinate then by all means, let her stay, but I can't waste any more time. This is a matter of life and death, Jamie."
Jamie frowned and even Sophie stopped struggling.
"What? What's wrong?" he asked, fear creeping into his voice.
"I think you might want to sit down." Kozmotis said, gesturing to the floor before him.
Jamie nodded and Sophie plopped down right where she was. Jamie scooted over a bit until he was right in front of Kozmotis and followed suite.
Kozmotis took a deep breath. "Jamie, before I tell you why I'm here I need you to promise me two things. One, that you won't interrupt. I don't have enough time to answer a bunch of questions."
Jamie nodded and Sophie bobbed her head furiously, jigging up and down with anticipation.
"Two, I need you to tell me the truth. The whole truth, I mean. Even if you promised someone you wouldn't." he was assuming that the boy, Jack, had asked him to not tell anyone his real name. Well, that was a promise he'd have to break.
Jamie was about to nod, then he stopped in mid-nod raised his head. There was a suspicious glint in his eyes. "Why would I promise someone not to tell-"
"Just promise, Jamie. Please." Kozmotis said, leaning forward earnestly. The boy needed help and this Jamie Bennett might be his only chance.
"OK," Jamie said after a long pause. "OK."
"Thank you." Kozmotis took another deep breath. "Earlier this evening I was out on a walk near the old theater, near the corner of Dickens and Blithe. Do you know the place?"
Jamie nodded.
"Good. Well, while I was walking I saw a boy running from a wild horse. It was a huge, black horse with wild eyes. It chased the boy down and I tried to help him by taking the horse down. I succeeded."
Sophie cheered. "Yay Boogeyman!"
Jamie gave her another look but Kozmotis didn't notice. "The boy was severely hurt and he wouldn't give me his name or his address, so I took him to the ER. The doctors couldn't see him or they chose to ignore him."
Jamie frowned, but he didn't interrupt.
"After that I took him to the police station, but they didn't pay any attention to him either. They tossed me out."
Jamie frowned again and he was about to open his mouth, but Kozmotis raised a finger. "Bear with me Jamie."
Jamie closed his mouth.
"After that I took him to my house and called every orphanage I could think of, looking for someone who might've known him. Nothing." Kozmotis paused, Sophie had closed her eyes and was drooling again, but Jamie didn't seem to notice. He was too focused on listening to him. "Then the boy woke up for a few seconds. I tried to get his name out of him, but he either didn't know his real name or just didn't want to tell me. But he did give me a nick-name. Jack Frost."
Jamie's eyes lit up with excitement, then confusion as he tried to figure out what the older man was telling him. Jack was at his house? How could that be? Adults didn't believe in spirits. But, then again, Mr. Pitchner had said that the medics hadn't seen him, and neither had the police. It had to be his Jack Frost!
At the sound of his name, Sophie woke from her partial nap and blinked, looking sleepily around. "Jack? Where Jack?"
Kozmotis noted this. Apparently Sophie had played with 'Jack' as well as Jamie and his daughter. He wondered how many children around Burgess knew of the mysterious boy who called himself Jack Frost.
"Jack's not here." Jamie said soothingly, rubbing her blonde head gently. "Go back to sleep."
Sophie nodded and closed her eyes and, when he was quite sure she was asleep, Jamie looked back up at Kozmotis. "You said Jack was hurt. How badly?"
"A broken arm, a few cuts and bruises, and a cracked rib. Maybe more than that." Kozmotis replied. "Listen-" but he was cut off.
"Did he have his staff with him?"
"Staff?" Kozmotis repeated, frowning.
"A long, thin piece of wood that has a natural curve at the end, like a hook." Jamie elaborated.
Kozmotis frowned, thinking. "No, I don't think there was a staff like that. Why-" but he was cut off yet again.
"He doesn't have his staff?" Jamie exclaimed. His eyes were wide with fear. "Oh no. Oh nonononono! That's really bad. Jack told me he never goes anywhere without his staff! Anywhere!" The boy was working himself up into a panic. "Where could it be?" Jamie looked up at him as he might have an answer. "Did you see it? Please tell me you saw it!"
Kozmotis shook his head. "No, I didn't see a staff anywhere." he said, bewildered for the second time that night. "Why? What's so important about his staff?"
"This is really bad." Jamie said again, ignoring his question. "We need to get to him. Now, before he melts!" Jamie scrambled up and, before Kozmotis could ask him what he meant by melt, asked, "You came by car, right?"
Kozmotis nodded blankly.
"Good. Because I can't drive and it's a bit dark for walking." a smile flashed across Jamie's face, then it was re-molded into a nervous grin. Then the grin fell away to be replaced with teeth-clenching worry.
Kozmotis just sat there, trying to figure out what all this meant. His mind was buzzing with questions. Why was the boy so afraid now? How much did he know about Jack Frost? And why could he practically smell the fear coming off of the boy, like sour milk.
Jamie picked Sophie up and slung her over his shoulder. She dribbled drool on his shirt. "I've got to bring Sophie with." he explained when Kozmotis gave him a confused look. "She's only five, so she can't take care of the house."
He nodded. Yes, they couldn't leave Sophie all alone. She was only five-
Wait a minute!
"Where are your parents, Jamie?" he asked sharply. Jamie had his back to him and was making his way to the hall. "I heard you say something to your sister about them being gone. Is that true?"
"Oh yeah." Jamie replied offhandedly as he headed into the kitchen and set his baby sister down on the counter top. "My mom's gone for the night, but she'll be back in the morning. OK, so where is..." Jamie started getting out a few boxes from unseen cupboards and stacking them on the counter next to Sophie.
Kozmotis frowned. "Isn't that a little irresponsible?" he asked, walking over to the area where the hall melded with the counter-top and there was a four-foot gap in the wall where someone could reach through and grab something without having to go all the way around. "You're only eleven, after all."
"Twelve in two months," Jamie replied peevishly, picking up another apparently heavy cereal box and setting it on the floor beside him. "and besides, I already took the baby-sitting course at the local Red Cross and know all the home safety rules. Where is that blasted thing?!"
Kozmotis allowed himself a small smile and leaned against the other wall. "Like letting your sister answer the door?"
Jamie's brown head popped up from beneath the countertop's sight range. "That was an accident." he said. "I was right there anyway."
"True, but you were several seconds behind her." Kozmotis said. "If I had been the Boogeyman as she suggested I was, I probably would've eaten her."
"No, if you'd have been Pitch you would've taken her and tried to use her as leverage for Jack's staff." Jamie replied without looking up. "That's what he tried to do with Baby Tooth, and it worked. Jack gave him the staff and he broke it. He told me so. I can't find it! Ugh!" Jamie set down a heavy box and Kozmotis heard a kick being delivered, then a yelp of pain. "I've got to hurry!"
Kozmotis smiled. "That is an interesting bedtime story Jamie." he said. He didn't want to ruin this boy's childhood by ordering him to tell him the boy's real name. If he wanted to believe the boy was Jack Frost, then he guessed he could allow that for a little while longer.
"What are you looking for?" he asked instead, peering over at the boy. He was surrounded by cereal boxed and chip bags.
"The spare key!" Jamie said exasperatedly. "It was here last time I checked!"
"In the cereal cupboard?" Kozmotis asked, surprised. He kept his spare key in a wooden box buried in the flowerbeds, though if his wife ever found out she'd kill him. She loved those begonias.
"Yeah. Don't ask me why. It was my mom's idea. I can't leave without it, otherwise I'll be locked out!"
Kozmotis sighed. "You're going to have to, Jamie. Jack won't last much longer."
Jamie looked up. "How bad is he?" he asked, that touch of fear back in his voice.
"Bad." Kozmotis replied. "He was feverish when I left."
Jamie moaned. "Oh forget the stupid key! I've got to get to him! He's probably half-melted!"
Jamie grabbed Sophie and charged for the door, but something stopped him. Kozmotis watched the boy's eyes widen, his face screw up in concentration, then all emotions drain from his face to be replaced by frustration and a hint of hope.
"Jamie?" Kozmotis asked, taking a step towards the boy.
Jamie jerked and came back. "Drat!" he yelled. Kozmotis flinched at the loud exclamation. "Keep an eye on Sophie for a second, will you? I've got to go grab something important." he set his little sister back on the counter and ran towards the stairs. "Just make sure she doesn't fall over!" he called down after him.
Kozmotis barely had time to say, "What? Wait-" before Jamie was gone running up the stairs, pounding like a two-ton elephant in a bad mood.
Kozmotis sighed and walked around the counted until he was on the same side as the snoozing toddler. She was leaning back against the corner of the counter top, snoring away like a tiny sawmill. Kozmotis smiled. He remembered when his little girl fell asleep like that, leaning against his shoulder or snuggled into his arms. It made him feel warm and happy inside.
Kozmotis sighed again and leaned against the counter-top, thinking about what Jamie had said. Tabulating information. According to him, Jack Frost or whoever the boy really was, had a staff that he had lost. Well, that was neither helpful nor relevant Not many boys ran around with staffs unless they were playing Harry Potter, true, but in today's culture most kids would be pick on for carrying a staff. Actually, the way the boy described it made it sound more like a Shepard's crook than a staff.
A Shepard's crook. He thought, frowning with concentration. That's got to narrow it down somehow.
Several minutes passed and still Jamie did not come down.
Kozmotis began thinking of other things. The boy's parents. Would they be back before the boy got home? Would they be angry at him, the adult? The supposedly responsible one? And what about Jack? From what Jamie had said, he firmly believed this boy to be some kind of spirit and while this would explain the medic not being able to touch the boy and the fact that no one could see him, it didn't explain why he, Kozmotis could see him.
According to popular myth, adults couldn't see spirits. Only children could and children latched on to this idea with a vigor, making up stories about magical fairies that came in the night and fat men who climbed down chimneys. His own daughter believed in them all. The Tooth Fairy, Santa, Sandman, the Easter Bunny, and now, apparently Jack Frost too. It was almost as if these mythological figures were in the same category. What had the boy said earlier?
"We only call the Guard." Kozmotis whispered. Who are the Guard? Another story Jamie spun for his sister? And what was that about the Boogeyman, Pitch Black, holding a baby tooth hostage?
Kozmotis shook his head. "I'd better stop before I start to hurt my head. Children have much more vivid imaginations that adults do and to try and understand the way a child's mind works is like trying to find a grain of sand in an ocean of rocks. You keep finding something you don't expect and it throws you off before you can find what you're looking for."
Kozmotis heard several bumps, yells of annoyance, crashes and frantic muttering from the room above them, which he assumed was Jamie's room. He chuckled when something loud broke against the floor and Jamie swore, "CHEESE AND RICE!" and Sophie was still snoring on the counter five minutes later when Jamie came pounding down the stairs, narrowly missing the wall and rounding the corner with a flurry of limbs as he slid forward.
"Whoa!" He said, coming to a halt right in front of Kozmotis. He put out a hand to steady Jamie. "Thanks."
"No problem." Kozmotis said. "I must say, you care a lot about this boy."
"He's my best friend." Jamie replied, tugging on the back of his jeans.
Jamie had changed his clothes while he was upstairs, exchanging his blue pajamas for a sturdy gray sweatshirt, jeans and black boots. He was even wearing a pair of of aviators glasses around his neck.
"The glasses?" Kozmotis asked, smirking.
"A gift." Jamie said. "I don't go anywhere without it. Just like I don't go anywhere without this," he added, turning his back on Kozmotis and pulling something out of his pocket. Kozmotis tried to see what is was, but the boy refused to show him and instead wrapped dropped it into a backpack hanging nearest to him. He zipped the pack up and slung it over his shoulder. "Ready." he said.
"Good." Kozmotis said, appraising the clothes. "At least you had the sense to change your clothes. The weather is going ballistic, I swear." he turned around and headed down the hall, towards the closed door. Jamie picked Sophie up and followed.
"What about your sister?" Kozmotis asked as they filed out through the door. "Won't she be cold?"
"Sophie's tough as nails." Jamie replied, but all the same he took his sweatshirt off and, holding Sophie close to him, slipped it back on again over his and Sophie's heads. He let the sleeves hang limply at his sided as he held onto his younger sister beneath the coat, keeping her warm. He didn't want to take the chance that be might slip.
"Can you get the lights?" Jamie asked. The wind had picked up since Kozmotis had gone inside, even if it had only been twenty minutes ago, and there was a nasty, bitter chill on the wind.
Kozmotis nodded and flipped the switch on the inside of the house, bringing the lights off and plunging the house into darkness. The porch light was still on and Jamie and Kozmotis used that to clumsily navigate to his car. Kozmotis opened both doors with the flick of a button and Jamie dove in, not even bothering to take the coat off. He reached for a seat belt and, with some fiddling and a hand from Kozmotis, finally got him and Sophie belted in.
"That can't be comfortable." Kozmotis commented as he revved the engine, nodding to Jamie's position. The boy was sitting in the passenger seat with Sophie on his lap, her little bare feet sticking out from underneath his sweatshirt and her little arms clasped around his chest. She was sitting like one would sit on Santa's lap at the mall, feet dangling off one side. The belt held her close to him and since she was there, he could barely move.
"It isn't, but I notice you don't have a car seat." Jamie replied.
"The belts tighten quite a lot." Kozmotis said. I have a daughter and she likes to wiggle out of her seat, but the belts tighten so that she can't. It doesn't hurt thought."
Jamie shook his head. When we're in a car, I like to have Soph near me. That way I can keep her safe."
"That's a good thing for a big brother to say, Jamie." Kozmotis said, putting the car into reverse and backing out of the Bennett driveway. When he was clear to turn, he flipped the lights on and then accelerated forward, heading off towards his house. "And what if you aren't there with her?"
"I'll always be there with her." Jamie said firmly. "And if I'm not, well, I only trust Sophie with two people, and one of them is me."
"Who's the other?" Kozmotis asked.
"A very good friend." Jamie replied. "If he's not there to protect her, then. . ." the boy trailed off.
They drove in silence for a bit. Jamie looking out the window, Kozmotis driving, Sophie sleeping. It was all peaceful and quiet and, for a bit, Kozmotis felt calm again. He wasn't worried about the boy or anxious about his wife a little girl. He could even imagine them here, now, sitting in the seat beside him instead of Jamie and Sophie.
His little girl giggling as she followed the moon with her finger through the glass and his wife telling her stories about the man in the moon.
Kozmotis was so enthralled with his memories that he almost missed Jamie's quiet, tentative question.
"The horse, did it look kind of. . . shadowy?"
Kozmotis blinked. "What?"
"The horse that kicked him- Jack. Did it look like a shadow, or sand?"
"Sand?"
Jamie nodded.
"Ummm, I don't know." Kozmotis admitted. The night had been dark, no moon, and he hadn't been paying attention to the horse. No, he'd been more focused on the bleeding boy in his arms.
"Never mind." Jamie looked out the window at the snow-less streets flying past them.
"So," Kozmotis said after a long stretch of silence. "How much do you know about Jack Frost, Jamie?"
Jamie shrugged. "Not a lot. He's a good friend and he keeps me and Sophie safe. We met three years ago. Jack started a snowball fight and we- Monty, Cupcake, Claude, Caleb, Pippa and I, didn't notice him at first. Then, a few days later, we met him again and actually talked to him."
Kozmotis nodded. "Yes, and? What did he say?"
"Not a lot." Jamie said again and repeated the shrugging motion. "He said that he was glad that we believed in him and that we should always believe."
"Always believe." Kozmotis repeated, mulling the words over. "Do you know what that means?"
Jamie didn't answer.
They drove in silence for another period of time, then, as the road to his house was coming up, Kozmotis slowed and spoke. "Do other people not see Jack? Like you didn't see him at first?"
"Oh sure, loads." Jamie said. "Or, at least, that's what he told me."
Kozmotis nodded. "Has he ever said anything to you about his parents?"
"They died." Jamie said. "Three hundred years ago."
Kozmotis frowned as he pulled onto the off-road that led to his house. "Three hundred years? Jamie, that's impossible."
"No, it isn't." Jamie said. "His parents died three hundred years ago when he did. He said that he saw them a lot when he was around his village but he didn't recognize them then because he didn't know who they were, but after he found his memories he recognized them and knew their names again. He even showed me their grave-stones. We put flowers, me and Jack and Sophie, there every year."
Kozmotis nodded. 'Jack' had obviously spun another fairy-tale to Jamie about being some kind of ghost and the poor boy believed it.
"Jamie," he said hesitantly but Jamie cut him off.
"See, Jack is the spirit of Winter." the boy said, sounding like he really believed in what he was saying. Kozmotis sighed. "He died three hundred years ago and was brought back as Jack Frost by the Man in the Moon. It's his job to bring fun and snow to the world. That's why the medic guy you called couldn't see him, because he's a spirit, and spirits can only be seen if they are believed in-"
"Jamie," Kozmotis said, pulling into his driveway. "I know about the story you tell your little sister, about Jack Frost and the Boogeyman, but that's all it is. A story. I just want the truth."
"But I am telling the truth!" Jamie protested. Unbuckling and getting out of the car was a bit tricky with Sophie dead asleep in his arms, but he managed it. "He gave us a snow-day and sent me on a wild sled ride through the streets and-"
"Jamie!" Kozmotis said sharply, wheeling around to face the boy. "I'm done playing games. This boy is going to die if we don't find his family and get some kind of help for him!" then he turned around again and headed towards his door. He could hear Jamie behind him, stumbling towards the front steps. He knew it was cruel to tell the boy about Jack's lying to him and making up stories, but he couldn't think of any other way to get the truth!
If the boy even knows the truth, he thought. Then a stab of guilt twinged his stomach. What if the boy didn't know? What if he didn't know anything real about Jack? Will I have ruined this boy's childhood for nothing? He wondered, sliding the key into the lock and turning it. The door swung open and he beckoned Jamie inside.
There wasn't a hallway leading anywhere in his house. Just a kitchen on one side and a living room on the other. The library was down the hall and his study, the place where they needed to go, was a door down from that. There was a small, black door that adjoined the two rooms, just like the door that adjoined his and his wife's room, and a cupboard at the far end of the living room where all the old board games he owned were kept.
Kozmotis made his way down the room and towards the study, where Jack would be.
If he hasn't escaped, his ever practical mind said.
"Where is he?" Jamie asked.
"In here. Come on." Kozmotis said, beckoning Jamie forward.
Three steps in silence except for Sophie's lumber mill-like snoring, then Jamie's small voice came from behind him.
"I wasn't lying you know."
"About what Jamie?" Kozmotis asked, pausing and turning around to frown at the boy.
"About Jack. He is a three hundred year old winter spirit and he helped save the world from the Boogey-"
"Jamie," Kozmotis said tiredly, raising a hand to stop the boy. "I thought we already went over this? All I need are hard facts to track down his family and get him home."
"But his family is all dead!" Jamie cried exasperatedly. "They died three hundred years ago! Why don't you believe me?"
"Because I only believe what I can see with my own eyes." Kozmotis replied sharply. "If you can give me proof that Jack is a three hundred year old winter spirit then I will believe it. If not, then that proves that Jack is just a sad, confused boy who needs help."
"He's not crazy and neither am I." Jamie said firmly. "Take a look in that room if you don't believe me."
Kozmotis nodded and turned the door handle, absolutely one hundred percent sure that there was nothing out of the ordinary behind that door.
Then he was nearly blinded by the blue and white light the burst from behind the door like a tidal flood, covering everything in blinding light. There was a musical sound accompanying the light, but Kozmotis couldn't make out the individual notes of even discern a familiar tune. It was soft and low, like the ringing of crystals and underneath the mesmerizing sound, there was a voice- no, a whole choir of voices lending their song to the melodious sound of the blinding lights.
"NOW DO YOU BELIEVE ME?" Jamie yelled.