The Veil Between

Chapter Nine | Blood And Water

Chapter Nine | Blood And Water

The journey the rest of the way to Tobias' family home was quiet and Tobias found himself unable to mention anything about what the tailor had said to him.

It was a heavy feeling upon his chest, and he was afraid that if he said anything, Jason would turn on his father before he even met him, without giving him a fair chance, simply because some of the evidence was stacked against him.

While it was true that his father had been acting increasingly strange the past year or so, Tobias knew that his father was no murderer.

Did he? Did he really know that, though? Did he honestly know his father as well as he thought, or could the man who taught him everything be truly hiding a sinister side such as that of a murder?

Tobias couldn't be sure, but he knew that he trusted his father to be a good man, and that was why he kept quiet and didn't inform Jason about what he had been told.

For the better part of an hour, the group journeyed once again through the city until they started to reach the outskirts of it, the cobblestone streets turning into smaller stone lanes that branched off in different directions into the woods and fields that surrounded them. This world was honestly beautiful, and no one much minded the long walk as they got to stare at such beautiful sights the whole time.

The magician led them into the forest down a path that he knew very well, and eventually, the trees opened up into a large clearing, in which stood a magnificent house, almost rivaling Edward's in size, which genuinely surprised the ghost. The house was stunning, surrounded by gardens of strange and foreign plants.

"Hello there, dear!" A voice called out, and Tobias' face lit up in a gorgeous smile as he saw his mother pop up from out of the garden, dusting off her hands and brushing a bit of dirt off of her lavender dress. "I was wondering when you and your friends would arrive!"

"Mother," Tobias greeted happily, leaning a bit to hug her tightly, earning kisses on his cheeks, and sighed happily, having really needed a bit of affection at that moment. "These are my friends. Edward, Jason, Anna, and Vano."

He turned to them and gestured to each of them in turn, smiling softly. They all greeted his mother kindly and cheerfully, complimenting her on her home and garden, which was the right thing to do, as it only made her like them all the more.

"Darling, you have such pleasant and kind friends, so charming, all of them," She smiled happily, before gesturing to herself. "Well, I am Catherine, it is a pleasure to meet you all. I would like to ask for forgiveness in advance for my husband, he is a bit... uncomfortable around mortals, but he should be polite all the same if he decides to join us. He has been awfully busy lately, so he may be unable to."

Tobias faltered a bit when he heard that, genuinely disappointed that his father might not be able to join them, as he had been looking forward to seeing him, and hopefully gaining approval of the things he had done in the brief time away from home.

Sadly, it looked like that might not happen, but he tried not to let it get to him that much.

"Come inside, come inside, don't be shy," Catherine waved her hands and gestured for them to all follow her inside. "I wish it weren't just little old me here to greet you, but sadly the house isn't very populated these days."

Tobias followed behind his friends as they all entered into the large entrance of the house. He glanced to his right and immediately lit up again as he saw the curl of white fluff in front of the window, laying in the sun, and immediately diverted from the group to go and greet the animal.