Robert, watching EJ scratch himself, said. "Where did you get that?" Pointed to the wound on his arm? EJ shrugged his shoulders, with everything still a blur in his mind, trying to decide if it was just
a dream as he scratched it some more. It had to be a dream, he thought because dead people don't come back to life. He thought to himself.
Ma yelled up to them. "Come on, boys, breakfast is getting cold." "Yes, Ma," they replied as the boys hurried to get ready for the day
and school. They dressed quickly as they all ran down the stairs. "Morning, Ma," kissing her on the cheek.
"Good morning, boys," she said as she leaned over and patted each on the head. "Your breakfast is getting cold," pointing to the table.
"Thanks, Ma," they each replied.
Pa glanced at the weary faces of his sons seated at the table as they stifled their yawns. "Did you have a long night, boys?" he inquired, casually turning the page of his newspaper. He refrained from dwelling on the truth that it was not an ordinary storm, knowing that it would only worsen their anxiety. This was just the beginning of something much bigger.
"I suppose so, Pa," Robert replied, aware of the gravity of the situation, as he and his brother Will exchanged a knowing look. They had chosen to keep the truth from their younger brother EJ, hoping to shield him from the grim reality for as long as possible.
"Yes, quite the storm, I hear," Aunty M said as the boys all turned, watching Aunty M down her second cup of hot joe for that morning and pouring a third one. Aunty M knew this was not an ordinary storm and tried to avoid the topic. Meanwhile, EJ was scratching a mark on his arm at the table when Ma and Aunty M noticed a new scar on his left arm. "EJ, where did you get that?" Ma asked as she pointed to the scar.
EJ shrugged. "I don't know Ma," looking at the mark on his arm. "It
just itches, that's all," scratching it again.
Ma examined his arm closely, shaking her head. "Hmm, this looks like an old wound," she said as she applied some ointment to it, noticing the beginning of an infection.
"Thank you, Ma," he said gratefully.
"That should help," she replied, rubbing the ointment, and kissing his cheek. "Just make sure to stop scratching it now."
"I'll try Ma," he replied as she leaned over to kiss his cheek again.
Storms are like bad dreams, as the boys watch the shadows on the walls, but some are nightmares as the boys look at each other silently at the table and Aunty M helping Ma with breakfast. Giving them each careful glance before they go off to school and one last look up the stairs. Aunty M said. "You mind if I take the boys to school this morning, Wayne?" she asked, drinking her fourth cup of old Joe. "There is something I need in town anyway."
"No, that will be fine," Pa looked up from his paper then turned towards Aunty M and glanced towards the boys. ''Alright, boys, go ahead and get your chores done," Pa said, turning the page on his morning paper. "Yes, Pa." the boys replied. Aunty M and the girls put a list together of the things they need from town while she is there.
Aunty M makes one last phone call before heading out the door as she carefully glances at the shadows on the wall.
"Hello, Reggie. Is everything alright down there?" she asked as she turned her head towards the kitchen window on the farm. "I see all quiet. Almost too quiet, you say. "Yes, everything is fine down here, a couple of bumps here and there, nothing to get excited over," she said, quickly gazing over at Martha, trying to keep it casual. "No, she's fine," Aunty M whispers over the phone. "Reggie and the boys say hello, dear," she smiles back. "I am glad yes. I just wanted to check; thanks, dear; I'll see you in the spring. Bye now, give my love to my grandson, all right."
She hung up the phone, thinking of Morgan's untimely visit from last night and threats to her own life and the ones she loves. Then her mind jolted back hearing Martha asking. "Aunty M, everything alright?" Martha asked while watching her pour another cup of joe, making it her fifth cup and draining the entire pot.
"Humm, what did you say dear?" "Everything alright?" Martha asks again.
"Fine, Martha, everything is just fine." Trying to smile, "They are better than fine. Reggie says your cotton is doing so well that they barely have enough room to put it all. Thinking of which dear," Aunty M said, looking out the window towards Wayne. "Wayne, how are you and the boys doing with that shop of hers? Now that things have settled down some," Aunty M asks.
"Mr. Stringham and the boys just installed the counter last week, Aunty M. I believe," Wayne said, putting down his paper. "That I should be done with those shelves by the end of the week."
"Good," Aunty M rubs her hands together, "because I am tired of sitting around here waiting," she laughs, slapping him on the back. ''And poor Martha," staring at her stomach, "is about to pop."
Martha laughed. "You can say that again," rubbing her stomach and sitting back in the chair.
Wayne leaned over and kissed his poor wife, whispering how much he loved her as she squeezed his hand. "I know, dear," he said as he tried to smile.
Martha said. "I just wish that the baby was here now," rubbing her stomach. "Looking at all the work we still have to do," she said as she gazed out the window looking down the road.
Wayne rests a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry dear, there's still time," and sighs, looking at the clock above the fireplace. "Well, Aunty M, if you are going take the boys to school," pointing to the clock, "you better get cracken."
"Oh my!" Aunty M grabbed the list and her coat and yelled for the
boys. "Come on, boys, we got to go."
As Aunty M drove the kids to school, Ma waved goodbye to them from the door and was left wondering what was going on. She asked Wayne for answers, but he shrugged and returned to the house, trying not to think about it again. However, the incident was a constant reminder that things were not always as they seemed on the surface. Wayne had four children, and all four of them possessed unique abilities. One of his daughters, Julie, was dragon-born, meaning she had the power to transform into a dragon. The other daughter, Anna, had the ability to make flowers bloom wherever she walked and communicate with animals and small creatures, some of whom were not from this world.
Wayne knew that life is not always straightforward, and things can be complicated. Nevertheless, he loved all his children equally, including his two sons, Robert and Will. Robert had the ability to see alternate futures and control elements of time, while Will had the gift of languages and rune magic. Wayne appreciated and valued his children's unique talents and wouldn't change anything about them. Sometimes, he wondered if he would go back to the way things were before his son EJ arrived if he had the chance. However, as he looked around the farm, he chuckled and said, "No, I wouldn't change a thing." Life was now more fascinating, and he was content with that, for now at least.
Wayne felt that things would soon spiral out of control and that everything he loved was changing before his eyes. He thought of his four older children but remembered EJ and the prophecy he had read from Margert's late husband, Mike. The prophecy spoke of the White Solon and the Dark Prince, and Wayne feared that EJ could be either or both. He prayed to the Gods, or whoever was listening, not to let his son become the Dark Prince. He would do anything in his power to prevent that from happening.
He yelled into the sky, "No, Morgan! He will not become your Dark Prince! I will fight you tooth and nail for his very soul! I will shed my own blood, if need be, to prevent you from taking him. You hear me, you Gods above us all? I will give you my very life and soul to prevent that from happening!" He waited for some time for some mystical answer before going into the house but got nothing but the wind.
Unbeknownst to Wayne, the Gods heard his plea, and Derrick nodded, saying, "So let it be done." The Council of Light stood and pointed to Wayne, a simple farmer whose life and destiny were about to be forever changed. He was about to be awakened, and the question was whether others would follow him as he led them into battle as one of their New Generals of Light.
****
Morgan shook his head in disappointment and disbelief as his mirror cracked, watching Wayne Downing being removed from his sight covering this man a once a simple farmer, but no longer his to control. He was so close to gaining his soul and screamed in anger, knowing it. Morgan and his entire family must die, and soon. Before they can undo all their plans he and his Master Hess have worked tirelessly on for centuries. Yes, they all need to Die. Where is Jim Stuart? Yes, he could do it. Morgan chuckled to himself, as a dark, wonderful plan formed in his mind. After all, he has his soul and soon his two daughters as well as their mother Linda; oh, how wonderful it truly is to take an entire family. He could just taste the blood and the mindless killing he and they could cause.
****
"Alright, boys." Aunty M said as she turned off the road, looking at EJ. "We have a problem, don't we?" she asked, stopping the car to turn around and face the boys. Robert and Will looked out the window towards the farm and nodded in agreement. "But the question is, Aunty M, how do we solve it? Who is going to believe us?" Robert asked, looking at Will. "Your folks might, for one, consider what you two boys and your two sisters have done lately. Among - let's say, upon your many travels off - not daring to say more without breaking some godly rule of trust and silence," Aunty M said as she started the car and headed towards the school. "And there's me, but I'm just an old woman by some standards. But right now, I think your Ma has enough to worry about. Your Pa, on the other hand, might be able to help to provide," she paused, seeing Derrick in the mirror watching and shaking his head at her. She then glanced at Robert and Will. She said, "Best to keep what we know to ourselves for the moment,
which is not very much, I'm afraid," trying to put a smile on EJ's face. "So, what are you suggesting we do?" Will asked.
"Start gathering information and be on the lookout for anything strange. Well, in our case, strange is not the right word, but you boys know what I mean," Aunty M replied, glancing towards the mirror, and watching Darrick tap his fingers to his lips. ''And maybe we can head it off. Now then, I have a lot to do and have some friends and contacts of my own," she said, pulling into the school parking lot and tapping her purse. "For now, we will be on our guard," squeezing EJ. "You see, my boys, your Aunty M is not as dumb as they think," she nodded, gazing into EJ's eyes, and smiled. "Now then, you boys keep a close eye on him, and we'll chat later," she said, leaving them waving by the wayside.
"Robert?" EJ asked.
"Yes, EJ?"
"What contacts is she referring to?" he questioned, trying to make sense of her statement. Apart from the ghost element, the firsthand accounts of two individuals he knew who had surpassed the boundaries separating life and death shattered his preconceived notions of possibility.
Remarkably, how both his grandfather and great Uncle Mike materialized before him, their presence seeming just as genuine and tangible as when they were among the living. No, to him, being Dead took on a whole new significance. Uncertainty filled his mind as he pondered what awaited him, at least for the time being.
Robert shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea, EJ," putting his arm around him."But I do know one thing," looking down the road and over at Will. "We are not leaving your side. Not for a minute."
"Amen to that, brother," Will said, putting his arm around the other side and picking up their schoolbooks. Classes resumed as expected, except for a few minor changes, as the boys picked their seats closer to EJ and near the back of the room, like most boys do. Peter and the boys join them throughout the day. "Man, that was some storm last night," overhearing Frank and Mark talking.
"Yeah, Pa said it blew down a couple of trees in the south pasture and tore through some of the fences, too," Mark says, agreeing with his brother Peter.
"What about your place?" Peter asks Will and Robert.
"Just a few shingles and blew a couple of our chickens around . That's all we could see," Robert tried to make light conversation.
"More noise than anything, I reckon," Will said, looking at EJ's concerned face.
"Robert, did you hear that?" EJ asked.
They both nod, "Probably nothing but ordinary storm, EJ, which happens all the time around these parts." EJ remembered the trees and bushes he was hiding in. That couldn't be. Na. Thought the place looked to be the Whitmore's place, but couldn't be anywhere he was guessing, looking over his shoulders and scratching his arm.
"EJ," Robert notices it too.
"I know, but it itches," he said, looking at the long red mark against his skin, seeing a slight discoloration and maybe a little pus starting to form around the long scratch itself.
The storm was the school's topic of the day as the boys continued their classes. Some had broken windows and falling tree limbs, but other than a few missing shingles, nothing too exciting, just something to talk about other than boring school and talking about winter break.
The boys filed to their seats in the music room one by one. The room was all abuzz as they entered, seeing the note on the board telling them their regular teacher, Mr. Jayden Faith, would likely not be teaching for the rest of the week.
Aunt Lizzy walked into the classroom. "Good afternoon, boys and girls," she said, passing out the music folders down the row. "My name is Mrs. Lizzy Dragren. I will be subbing for Mr. Faith this week as he attending to some urgent business and has been called away at the last minute."
Lizzy smiles, seeing the boys, and nods to them."So then, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me after class, and I will do my best to answer them." Taking Jayden's wand and standing in front of the class behind the music stand, with a quick nod to the piano and a tap on the stand, the class began as usual except for. The boys wondered what kind of business Mr. Faith had to attend to.