Magic Spawn Origins

Magic Spawn: Chapter 3

by Meredith Skye

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Mom always baked cookies on Halloween.

Rian, now 17 years old, always looked forward to that. Lots of cookies, all different kinds, but his favorite was chocolate chip. Basic, but still the best.

The downside to Halloween was the sadness. His father, Corey, had died on Halloween night, ten years ago. He'd fallen off a cliff near the cemetery, but they'd never found the body. That was the night that his little brother, Kyran, had been born—strange little Kyran.

There were times Rian wanted to strangle him, he could be so dense, and other times he felt like protecting him. Kye had a helpless sort of innocence about him. Rian couldn't count the times he'd had to stick up for his little brother at school. Just ten years old, Kyran was small for his age. And his albino white hair and grey eyes could be disturbing.

No one liked him at school and Kyran made no effort to find friends. He didn't like people. Most of the time he wanted to be alone, or with his family. He liked to study or go for walks. He was smart; there was no doubt about that. He just wasn't passionate about anything.

The windows of the home were bright with lights. A jack-o-lantern with a crooked smile shining through sat on the porch. Kyran followed Rian into the house. Their mother heard the door and hurried in from the kitchen surrounded by the smell of home-made chocolate chip cookies. The aroma cheered up Rian and he remembered the big plans for Halloween—if mother didn't sabotage them.

"There you are," said his mother, Lauretta, smiling as she gave him a hug.

"Hi Mom," said Rian.

Just then, Kye entered the house.

Mom gave Kyran a tense smile. "Hello, Kye," she said.

"Hello Mom," his little brother responded with as much warmth as a robot. Mom gave him a hesitant glance for just a moment. "Did you see, Anya's here." Mother said. "You're supposed to take her trick-or-treating," she said, as she headed for the kitchen.

"What, mom—no!" he called after her. Great, that would ruin everything!

At least Aunt Aldena was here, that was the good news. She was nearly as good as Rian was at sword-fighting. She was a member of the Gondorian Warrior Circle but not very active. She only liked the sword-fighting. She had spent a lot of time training him while Rian was growing up, especially after his father, Corey, had died. She was Corey's sister. Anya was her new foster daughter, kind of a strange kid. She'd been with Aldena for less than a year.

As their Mother disappeared into the kitchen, Rian thumped Kye across the head. "See, why don't you ever give Mom a hug?" he demanded, displeased.

Kyran looked up at him with those big, worried eyes. Frightened. "I ... didn't know she wanted a hug," he objected.

"She's your mother; of course she wants a hug," Rian insisted. How dense could he be?

The boy just stared at Rian. "She didn't say she wanted a hug."

"She's your Mom, she shouldn't have to! That's what families do! You love her, don't you? Then you have to show it," said Rian.

Kyran stared back at him, as though the idea had never occurred to him.

When Kyran didn't respond, Rian stepped closer. "You do love her, don't you?" He didn't say it in a necessarily threatening way, though Kyran scared easily. The boy fidgeted as he glanced at the kitchen, looking uncomfortable at the direction the conversation was going. Explaining things to Kyran often took an excessively long time and had scant results.