The Forest Witch's Home for Magical Creatures

Chapter 16: Brothers

The car door squeaked as it opened. Wren flared his wings out, blocking her view. She stood on her tiptoes but couldn't see over his shoulder or around his wings.

It was a tense moment of silence before Wren's wings suddenly sagged and a voice called out.

"Please, we need help." It wasn't the voice of someone looking for a fight or even the voice of a man.

It was the voice of a child.

Massie hurried around Wren and saw a boy. He was standing by the opened car door. He didn't look old enough to be driving, he was skinny with a little bit of boyhood fat on his cheeks. She could see stains on his clothes and the way they hung off his frame. The sleeves on his dirty sweater hung past his fingertips

He was just a boy. All that fear and panic came from this young boy.

Massie opened her mouth to talk but Wren walked past her towards the boy. She shot her hand out to stop him, but he brushed him off.

"Wren!" She called his name, but he made quick work of the distance separating him from the boy. She hurried after him.

The boy flinched back when Wren reached for him. He looked so small when Wren gently cradled his face in his hands.

"Where are you hurt?" Wren asked the boy, softly tilting his face up.

The boy looked up at him in shock.

The passenger side door flew open and a smaller boy ran out and immediately charged at Wren.

"Let him go!" His small fists battered Wren.

Wren stared down at him with an amused twist to his lips, his hands still holding the other boy's face.

"Stop that!" Massie said, grabbing the boy by the shoulders. She pulled him away from Wren. The boy kicked out his legs and caught Wren in the shins.

She pulled him back against her and wrapped her arms across his chest. He was just as dirty as the older boy with clothes that were too big.

"Let go of my brother, ya monster!" He yelled and squirmed in Massie's hold.

Wren dropped his hands and grinned at the violent child, his fangs visible.

"Jace, knock it off!." The older boy scowled.

The younger boy did not stop. "Leave 'im alone, you ugly, stupid monster!"

Massie rocked the boy slightly and shushed him. "He's not hurting your brother. "

Wren's grin grew and showed off more of his pointy teeth. He looked at Massie. "We're keeping them."

She laughed. The whole situation was absurd. "We can't keep random children. That's kidnapping."

"I see no sire. We can keep them."

The boy had stopped fighting and was now slumped against her, his breath heavy. She ran her fingers through his dirty hair. She looked at the older boy. "What do you need help with?"

Wren didn't give the boy a chance to speak. "They need a home."

She sighed deeply. "They are not lost puppies. They are human boys. We can't keep them."

"You can keep us." The older boy said. He had a little twang to his voice.

Wren looked ecstatic. It was unnerving.

She gave the boy a gentle smile. "We can't keep you, but we can help you get home."

The boy in her arms started to cry.

"Please," The older boy begged. "We won't be much trouble. We can work around the house and we don't need a lotta food!"

Wren wasn't smiling anymore. He was watching the boy closely.

" If you can't keep us both, at least take Jace! I promise he's good and smart."

The boy in her arms cried harder as his brother started to cry. Wren made a wounded noise and pulled the boy into a hug. The boy continued to beg against Wren's chest. "Please don't make us go back."

"Don't make you go back where?" Massie asked.

The boy in her arms brought his arm up to wipe at his face. His long sleeve pulled back at the motion and she gasped.

She reached out and gently took his arm and pulled his sleeve back more. His wrist was a mess of red burns and scar tissue. Sitting on top of the damage was a thick, metal cuff.

She turned the boy to face her and got on her knees in front of him. She pulled up his other sleeve and found the same.

"What are these, Jace?" The boy sniffled but didn't answer.

She looked at Wren and his face was hard. His eyes were trained on the little boy's wrists.

"Who did this to you?" She asked. His tears had left streaks on his dirty face. His eyes were the color of honey and filled with pain.

"Witch."

Massie looked over at Wren. He had the older boy's sleeves rolled up. His wrists had the same damage, the same metal cuff. She saw blisters on his fingers too.

She looked back at Jace. She wiped the tears off his cheeks. "Tell me what happened."

He looked back at his brother before meeting her eyes.

"I'm a good boy." He said.

"I'm sure you are," Massie responded.

"I don't bite or nothin'. I'm a good boy."

Massie wasn't sure what he was trying to say so she said nothing.

"I don't know why Daddy chained us up."

Massie felt sick to her stomach.

"We're good boys, our mama said so. Even when were not boys, were still good."

He said with conviction and her heart broke. Of course, he's a good boy. He's just a child and his father chained him up.

"I'm sure you're a very good boy. What your dad did was wrong." She took a deep breath.

"We can call the police and show them. They will take you somewhere safe."

Both boys started shouting at once. Jace grabbed her shirt and begged.

"Please don't call the cops! They will give us to the dog catcher and kill us!"

Massie was confused.

"They don't help people like us." The older boy explained. "They would hurt us too."

Massie was confused.

Until she wasn't.

She took a few deep breaths with her hand on Jace's chest to encourage him to do the same.

"These are silver cuffs, aren't they?"

He looked up at her with big, scared eyes.

"You're dad chained you up because you're werewolves."