o.O.o
Chapter
2
"Ay, Dios, another were-creature? Jerry, you deal with this. I'm going to back to bed." When she received no response from her family, Theresa rolled her eyes and waved them off, exiting onto the main floor.
J.B. adjusted his posture. He attempted to maintain an interested look, but his expression suggested otherwise: annoyance. He cleared his throat. "Please believe me when I relay to you the truth."
Justin eyed him warily. "If so you wouldn't mind us placing a truth spell on you, right?" Justin tried to appear intimidating in his Aqua Avenger pajamas, but to no avail. He came off looking ridiculous as he deepened his voice.
"By all means," J.B. gritted.
Truth be still, truth be heard,
Let J.B. stay true to his word.
Justin waved his wand at him. A golden light shot out from Justin's wand and enveloped J.B.'s body. "State your presence, intruder. Do you come in peace?"
"Did you have to phrase it that way?" Alex asked in a monotone voice.
Justin shrugged. "I always wanted to say that."
"I mean no harm by my presence, whether in human form or not."
Harper took this opportunity to offer her input. "If you really come in peace, then what were you doing in my room?" Harper narrowed her eyes.
"Lodging, of course. Max happened to find me lurking behind a glove-shaped chair. He took to my shifting surprisingly well; strangely enough he thought nothing of it. Occasionally, he provided interesting meals during my stay. Quite hospitable if you ask me."
"Figured ya might be hungry. After all, you needed your strength since you're Justin's Boogeyman," Max explained.
Alex pulled him aside. "What are you talking about, Max? Mantooth is Justin's boogeyman," said Alex.
Max replied, "No, it's definitely J.B. I mean, that's what his name stands for."
Justin's ears perked at the mention of his former magical tormenter. He approached his siblings who were standing by Harper's bed. "Max, I would know my own boogeyman, and Mantooth fits the bill," Justin said. He cringed as he imagined Mantooth's bulging eyes and horrifying scare tactics while he silently prayed to Captain Jim Bob as a child. "I could never forget the scariest ghost from the wizard world."
"Whatever, all I know is J.B. stands for something."
Their father interrupted, "Hmm, it's not unusual for were-cats to live in the mortal realm." Jerry crossed his arms, studying the boy. He looked about Justin's age, perhaps a few years older. Jerry couldn't really tell because of the dirt smudges on his face. His attire was somewhat aged; the white top and stockings had a discolored yellow tint whereas his trousers were a faded black. He exuded a harmless appearance, but it was too early to tell. After all, he attempted to run away when the family arrived. Yet that could be attributed to animal instinct.
Justin faced the intruder again. He mimicked his father in posture, but arched his eyebrow as he examined J.B. Period clothing? How old is this guy really? "What do you think attracted him here?" he inquired.
Alex answered, "I highly doubt he came here for a New York taco."She wondered if he retained any animal traits when provoked like Mason. Curious, Alex tapped him on the arm soon regretting it. "Ugh, his skin is so cold."
"Cool let me try." Max recoiled instantly. "Wow this is the same pain I get whenever I touch the ice that covers the fish in the deli. Nice!"
Jerry pointed at Max. "You? You're the fish toucher Sal keeps complaining about?"
He smiled. "Yes, yes I am."
Jerry gave him a good look over then shook his head. "I'll deal with you later." He turned to J.B. "Of all the basements in New York, why stay in ours?"
"I was drawn to a familiar magical presence, a strong one at that." J.B. met the expectant eyes of the Russo children. "By the looks on your faces, you all are still confused. Let me start from the beginning.
"For 319 years, I roamed the country in search of a ghost. She has a tendency of possessing mortals you see. Eventually she led me to New York. Unfortunately, I lost her during an incident in a subway tunnel; she vanished along with an enchanted subway car."
Justin caught on smirking at Alex before saying, "That enchanted subway car was your ticket here?"
His eyes were downcast. "It was my only lead. Cassie follows magic any chance she gets. She thinks it will bring her back." He sighed. "Luckily, I read the Waverly Substation sign on the car before it disappeared."
"That still doesn't explain how you managed to get past us to get into our house," said Justin.
"The window in the corner makes the process extremely easy."J.B. shrugged, but winced while doing so. "Cats have amazing flexibility."
"You're like a real cat?" Alex looked skeptical. "With our experience, I wouldn't be surprised if you transformed into a catman beast."
"Sorry to disappoint."
"I'm almost certain you can't be a familiar," stated Jerry. "You're cursed, aren't you?" J.B. responded with a slight nod.
"If so, he would have to be of the domestic kind, right?" Justin questioned.
"Animal by day, human by night. Well, that's new."
"No it isn't," said Harper. "I've seen this in a movie before." Justin guessed Ladyhawke. Harper nodded in agreement. Alex rolled her eyes.
"What's a familiar?" Max asked.
"Familiars are magical beings that remain in one form as they serve young witches and wizards, guiding them as they grow into their powers. And once their master matures or dies, the service of a familiar is no longer needed. But that doesn't seem to be the case for J.B. here." He scratched his head. "It's the only plausible explanation I can think of."
"You learn to live with it, I suppose." J.B. shifted uncomfortably.
"Professor Crumbs might know something, right?"
Jerry replied, "I don't know, Max. Curses can be tricky depending on how powerful the caster is."
"This Cassie girl must be pretty powerful then," remarked Alex.
"Cassie is not the reason why I am cursed; my existence is!" J.B. smiled grimly. "Unfortunately, the wrong people caught wind—" Max snickered, but J.B. continued, "of my existence and thought it necessary to make my life extremely difficult."
"Why didn't they just kill you?" Justin furrowed his brows. "Why go through the trouble of turning you into a cat?"
"Amusement. Irony. Gratification. The list could go on."
"Typical reactions from an evil wizard," said Alex.
"Of course, you would know," said Justin.
They stuck out their tongues at each other. "Nyah."
Jerry looked at J.B. with pity. "I don't know how much help Professor Crumbs would be seeing that you were never supposed to exist in the first place." He scratched his head in thought. "Perhaps Justin could look into the ancient texts stored in the wizard world archive. There might be some relevant cases, particularly dealing with evil wizards from over 300 years ago."
"You mean you're going to help him? You're going to trust him just like that?" asked Harper incredulously.
"He's under a truth spell, Harper," Alex stated as a matter of fact.
"He can't lie. Duh, even I know that," said Max.
"That may be true, but nothing is absolute." Harper briefly glanced at Justin, possibly for reassurance, possibly for an entirely different reason. Justin wasn't quite sure. "My experience with you all has taught me that you can't accept anything at face value; identity runs deeper than that. Now I may not be equipped with magical powers, but I have enough common sense to know not to trust someone who hides in my bedroom without my consent. You just can't go around naively thinking everything is going to be okay."
J.B. suddenly felt her stare bore into him. He guiltily looked down. "What you are proposing is not in my nature," he said quietly. "Max suggested I visit the cemetery; he figured Cassie might have been in contact with other ghosts there. The magical presence I initially sensed upon my arrival remains, but there is not much I can go on. My best option was to take my search underground and return with any new information. I left before you renovated the space."
"You know, after what happened today at Harper's driving test, a lot of what she is saying is starting to make a little sense," said Alex. "I'm with Harper on this."
"In fact, we all should be," said Justin. "We don't want to experience another Alex Tells the World fiasco."
"Or Wizards vs. Werewolves situation."
"Dude, you also exposed magic."
"Shut up, Alex and Max. I'm trying to have a moment here."
"Well, you're failing miserably, Justin."
"Cut it out, you three," ordered their father.
"Dad, it's getting late. Who knows how long this interrogation can go on for? Let's take a vote."
"Sporticus dorkus has a point for once. Sleep is crucial. I for one say we ditch him and J.B. in the wizard world while I hit the sack."
Max started, "As the family wizard—" but was momentarily cut off by his siblings, "Max, you're not the family wizard!" "I can't really explain it, but I have a strong feeling that we should help him. We crossed paths for a reason."
"A reason unknown to us," muttered Harper.
"Max, you have got to be joking," said Justin. He scanned Max's face, hoping his immaturity would spark at any moment. Justin had no such luck. "Oh my God, he is serious. Dad, when did Max get all serious? He's not supposed to be the serious intellectual one, I am."
Max shrugged, although he slightly embarrassed at the attention he was getting for exhibiting an unexpected sense of maturity. His ears began to redden and he could not stop smiling. "I dunno, a lot of people have been saying stuff about me, using words that are always associated with Justin or Alex. Not the bad words, you know, it was mostly the good ones. Something about having a lot of potential and all that junk."
Alex folded her arms across her chest. "Who was dumb enough to tell you that?"
"Conscience, Uncle Kelbo, Mom, Dad, Professor Crumbs," he listed.
Justin threw his hands in the air. "I can never catch a break, can I?"
"Whatever," said Alex.
Jerry raised his hands motioning them to calm down. "You all brought up valid points. However, as we all know Max is in the lead to become the family wizard so his opinion, I'm afraid, is weighed a lot more considerably."
"Really, Dad?"
"Well, this sucks."
"I'm sorry, kids, that's wizard protocol. And Max, try not to look so smug in front of your brother and sister. Frankly, it's weird."
"Sorry," Max mumbled, but the grin remained, his dimples were visible and his amber brown eyes glowed.
"Dad, when have we ever been conventional?"
"Take this as an opportunity to catch up to Max, Justin. Ancient texts are filled with information on old magic. Who knows? Maybe they will help you level up." Jerry held the back of his hand to the side of his mouth to try to make a conspicuous comment to Justin. "Meanwhile find out about this shady character and his ghost lady friend."
Justin scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I can do some investigating." Justin's gaze wandered to the boy sitting on the floor with his head down; his black hair blanketing his expression. Even with the given information, J.B. was still an enigma. How hard could it be balancing the roles of a teacher and a historian?
"You should do it," Harper said. Surprised, both Justin and J.B. looked at her. "You can't stay at the bottom rung forever, Justin. Although trust is still an issue, I think you can work around that and try to reap the benefits."
"Aw, look at you approving the means of using people for your own sake. I'm so proud of you, Harper. You're turning into a real Russo." Alex wiped away a fake tear out of her eye.
"Then it's settled," Jerry declared.
"Awesome, now I can go back to bed. Thanks for the loss of a precious hour of sleep…NOT!" Alex pushed Justin aside to climb the stairs. Once she reached the middle, she dragged Harper to the exit.
Before they were out of sight, Harper popped her head in. "Please avoid using my oatmeal dress as a litter box, okay? Thanks."
"Come on, Harper!"
Max stretched his arms over his head and exaggerated a yawn. "Well, I'm beat. See ya!"
"Not so fast, family wizard." Jerry grabbed him by the collar before he could run off.
"Aw, Dad."
"As your wizard mentor, it's my duty to guide you. You both are old enough to take on large responsibilities expected from the next family wizard. I'm going to leave J.B. in both your hands."
"That's your great mentoring advice?" Justin snorted.
"Also, don't do anything stupid or break anything. Now when I wake up in the morning, there better be some type of civil arrangement between you three. Got it?" Jerry yawned as he prepared to leave. Justin and Max nodded their heads in unison. "All right, goodnight boys."
They waited until Jerry was gone to circle J.B.
J.B. gulped at the Russo brothers' predatory gazes. Max crouched to his eye-level with a thoughtful expression gracing his features. "When do you change back into a cat?"
"Dawn."
"That doesn't give us much time then," said Max.
Justin looked at him curiously. "To do what?"
"Play Vortex Force 2! I need a second player to help me destroy an alien behemoth."
"Max!"