Between Heaven and Earth

Witch's Son

Chapter 6

Witch's Son

Jeremy knew from the time he could walk that he would never fit in any particular place. Mismatched eyes and platinum blond hair would always separate him from the crowd of everyday folks, and the utter lack of Talent kept him apart from his mother's associates. It hadn't been a fun discovery to make as a child, that day his aunt arrived at the door a proclaimed him a Runt. It had been a shock, though between his parents' divorce, his lack of full understanding and the rapid development of his curiosity the boy had quickly lost interest in such boring matters and moved on, toddling into the yard to find something to play with.

That something turned out to be Peanut Butter.

The house was big, an old Tudor styled structure with a deep basement and an open windowed attic. The outside was covered with ivy in some places, digging deeply into the brick and mortar and obscuring the perfect whitewash of the upper layers. The Cruck frame was faded with age but sturdy, small symbols carved in each at about mouse-height. The roof was steeply pitched and covered in slate, usually the resting ground to various forms of birds.

Outside the house, with its high first floor and more rooms than should be there, was a stretching lawn, perfectly preserved. The brick laid path between the street and the house was bordered on both sides with dark Iris's, fluttering Snapdragons and vibrant Lilly's. Pressed up against the house were shrubs and Lilac bushes, curved skillfully around the windows and offering a three year old any number of places to hide. It was in the shade of the hanging branches and small, shaken petals that stuck to his bare knees that he discovered his life long friend. His nose was stuffy from the pollen in the flowers, making him sneeze several times as he crawled along the wall. In a small crack in the foundation he found a tail sticking out, cream tipped in ginger. Pudgy fingers curled around it a he pulled.

There was no retaliation, but the movement did prompt a mew from further inside the crack. The boy had tightened his hold to as much as his small body could and pulled again. He had seen cats. His aunt La had one in the house right then, chasing the mouse that liked to sneak in the kitchen when no one else was awake.

This cat, however, wasn't trying to scratch him like Athena did. In fact the cat was incredibly cold. A few more tugs and the cat finally came out of the hole. What was left of it, at least.

The child's eyes grew wide with surprise and curiosity. And confusion. He stumbled to his feet, away from the partially covered body, eyeless sockets staring out into the world as insects swarmed the rest of the head. The sounds from further in the hole grew as the most desperate fingers of light reached for the gap.

Jeremy opened his mouth and shouted for his mother, loud as he could. His sneaker covered toe scuffed into the soft soil and the smooth fur of the animal was pulled out by his tight fist. It only took moments for his mother to find them, pushing apart the branches of the lilac bush.

Cassandra Fian had looked ethereal, young and beautiful. Perfect blonde curls had fallen in thick rings from her head, framing delicately bones features and perfectly blue eyes. The parting of the branches he brought forth the light of the sun, shining through pale locks and forming a halo around her face. Concern had shifted her features, brows pinching together and mouth twisting into an open curl.

"Jeremy?" she had asked, lowering herself to sit on her haunches. Her willowy form folded, thin drapes of her clothes falling to the floor and settling on the dirt and twigs.

"Mama, why's the cat acting weird?" he asked, pointing to the still form.

Her blue eyes slid over to the corpse, relief coloring her face when she saw the reason for her son's distress. She had crawled forwards with no regard to the damage the soil might do to her light apparel, pulling her son into her lap and placing a hand on the cat's chest.