by Celeste Raye
Chapter Three
It had been a week since the old witch started taking care of Abel and Samuel, and everything seemed to be going to plan. It was hard for Jack to see how it worked, but the kids were actually calmer than they had been in a long time. He wasn’t sure what Mona was doing; he’d even asked Fran to assure him that whatever she was doing was okay.
Jack was getting back in the swing of work, and he was starting to feel more like himself again. It is strange to think of how one little thing could change everything. It was like a whole other world and all he wanted to do was get back in step. The boys were happy; his customers were happy that he was actually taking the time and energy that he needed for his job; everything seemed to be going to plan.
It was Friday and Jack was coming home for the night. He usually had to be home earlier, because the kids would be by themselves, but now things were different. Now he was able to take the time that he needed and get everything done.
So, when he got home that evening, all he was thinking about was what he was going to do that weekend. For once, they could have some fun together instead of always arguing about what they had done to the nanny.
He was almost in the house when he noticed that there was a light on in the basement. No one ever went in there, especially because the main entrance to the house had been closed off. The stairs were unsafe, and it was one of many things on his to-do list to fix.
The only way to get to the basement was to go through the side door on the backside of the house. He walked back there, just to see that it was slightly ajar, and he had to go forward to investigate. Jack had not been in there for a long time, and his first thought was that the kids had recently been down there. He wanted to take a peek in there, just to make sure that they hadn’t made a colossal mess.
When he got to the door, it was impossible to see in because of the way the basement was set up. It was dark right at the entrance. He waited a moment, his hands searching in the dark for the lantern. All he had to do was spit out a little fire, and then he would be able to see what sort of damage his ‘angel’ children had made.
Fire breathing was part of his specialty, and he didn't even have to shift all the way into his dragon form to do so. It had taken him some time and practice, but he could do it mainly human. He could manage to create fire right as he was shifting and then stop himself from going all the way. He was trying to teach his sons that kind of control, but he knew that it was going to come with years of experience.
When he got the light on, he looked around the basement, and it was pretty well cleaned. That was a little surprising, considering that he was so sure that he was going to find a big mess when he got there. But there was an eerie quiet, and then he heard a sound that broke it.
It was the sound of a young woman. There was supposed to be nobody down there, and even though Jack couldn't see her, he could now sense her. There was another witch in the house.
When he got around one corner of the brick wall that separated the rooms, he was rather shocked at what he found in there. He set the lantern down and stared at a dirty woman with a tattered dress.
The witch was young, with ratty hair and hollow eyes. She looked scared and rather wild when she looked at him. She was bound and gagged, and he was frozen in place for a time. He hated that he hadn’t already helped her. The blue eyes pulled him in. They were the bluest eyes he’d ever seen, and set against her dirty face, they were even more brilliant.
What he didn’t know was why she was there. She had come from nowhere, and it took him a minute to unfreeze and move forward to help her. She was gagged, so obviously she couldn’t say a word. He had to take the rag out of her mouth and find a glass to put some water in. He could only imagine how dry her throat was.
After she had drank her fill, the tiny woman thanked him. “You can’t imagine how happy I am to see you.”
“What are you doing down here?”
“I came here to be a nanny in the house, for the two young sons that were having a little trouble. The next thing I know, there's an older witch that put some kind of spell and threw me in the bushes. I could hear you talking to her, but there was nothing I could do about it. She was too strong for me. Very old, very strong.”
“Mona?”
“Yes, that's my name.”
Jack just looked at her for a moment because he wasn't sure what to say. If what she said was true, that meant that his kids had been with some weird, random old witch that, for some reason, wanted to take care of them. That made no sense to him, and he needed to know what it all meant. It was too confusing.
“So, you were the one that was supposed to be the nanny?”
She agreed, and he was speechless for a moment, his mind racing with the idea of what was this all meant.
“So, who is the woman that is taking care of my kids now?”
“I really don't know. I wish I did. She came out of nowhere, and for one reason or another, she wanted this job. I didn’t realize nanny jobs were that hard to come by. Do you have any enemies, maybe?”
It was hard for Jack to even imagine. Instead of yakking about it anymore, he moved forward to find his kids. He was thinking that they were in the house, but now he wasn't sure. Now that he knew that there was some crazy witch that had left another witch tied up in his basement, he wasn’t sure about anything. Jack had to find his boys, now.
He helped her up before he ran upstairs to the house. “I am sorry to do it like this, but I have to check on my kids.”
She waved him off before he left. “Don’t worry. Go.”
There was a warmth that came over him talking to her, and he would have imagined that she was the one that Fran had met. If he would have met this Mona, he would have felt the same way about keeping her around.
Jack tried to tell himself that everything was going to be fine. He couldn't deal with the idea that it wasn’t going to be. He went into the house quickly and called out his sons’ names. A big part of him thought that everything that he was thinking of at the moment was just ridiculous. Of course, they would be there. They were in their rooms, playing video games or something of that nature. There was no way that they were gone.
That wasn’t reality. He called their names several times before he got up to their rooms, and he found that they were both gone. Not only that, he couldn't find the nanny either. His worst nightmare was coming true. Someone had taken his kids. Mona wasn’t Mona.
“Are you okay?”
He’d forgotten all about the real Mona, and he shook his head that he wasn’t okay. He didn’t feel like he was ever going to be okay again. Something had happened to Abel and Samuel, and he was never going to forgive himself. This was all his fault. He knew that something was off, but he hadn’t wanted to believe it.
He didn’t know if anything was ever going to be okay again.
Chapter Four
Mona saw that the man she was supposed to be working for was distressed. Nobody would blame him for that. He had just found out that his kids were gone and considering that she had met the witch that had done it, she was a little worried about it as well. While Mona had no idea why she had been taken hostage or why the other woman had taken the kids, there were very few scenarios that came to her mind that ended well.
Jack, even though he was upset, was still a sight to behold. He was rather attractive and muscular. His eyes were almost black, and his skin was tanned. Though he was tall, he didn't overwhelm her at all. He held himself rigid, but at the same time, there were so many emotions in his face that made him soft.
“Anything I can do to help, I will. I feel horrible about all of this.”
“None of this is your fault. Why don't you go in there and take a shower? I'm sure that you want to get cleaned up. I will find you some clothes and get you something to eat.”
She wanted to tell him that he didn't need to do any of that, but she could see that he needed to move. If he didn't, he was going to freeze. She had seen that kind of worry
and stress in people before. It was good to keep them moving and keep the mind occupied as much as possible.
“Thank you, that would be wonderful. I need to talk to Fran. Have you called her yet?”
He came out of his daze for a moment and said that he hadn't even thought about it.
“Well, why don't you give her a call and see what she says. Maybe she'll have some idea of what is going on.”
Mona wanted to give him some sort of hope. Give him something to go on to get him moving.
After he took off in the other direction to find a phone and call Fran, she directed herself towards the bathroom. Considering she had been locked up in the basement or rather tied up on the basement floor almost a week, she had thought about taking a shower a lot. Mona had never been so dirty before, and the idea of getting fresh and clean was too much to pass up.
She started the shower and let it steam up the room a little bit before she slipped in. The hot water was like heaven, and Mona could not think of anything that had felt so good in her life. She could've stayed underneath the stream of water forever, but she heard the door open in the bathroom, and she stuck her head out.
“I just wanted to bring this to you. I doubt that it will fit that well, but it will be better than nothing.”
“Did you get ahold of Fran?”
“No, I left a message. She is supposed to call me back.”
She wanted to say something to make him feel better, but at the time, it was already a strange situation because she was standing naked with just a tiny curtain between the two of them.
“I will be out in just a minute, and I will help you with whatever you need.”
He thanked her and stood there for a moment, leaning against the sink. His eyes were fixed on something towards the ground, and she wanted to give him a hug. He looked like he could use one.
“It's going to be okay, Jack. Just give me a minute, and I'll be out. We will figure this out together.”
That seemed to help him out a little bit, and he was at least able to get the wherewithal to leave the room. She finished her shower, washing her hair, watching dirt come out into the water. Mona was happy to be clean. It was like being reborn all over again.
Mona did her best to pull herself together. She had been through quite an ordeal, but at the moment, she needed to give hope to somebody else. She could feel the man's pain, and it bothered her. She had never felt such emotions before in her life. It was hard to imagine how he could be standing up and walking.
When she got out, she was drying her hair, and he stopped her with a look.
“I didn't expect that.”
“What?”
“You, red hair. Beautiful.”
It made her cheeks turn about as red. She couldn't imagine what was going through his mind, but what came out of his mouth was more than she could handle at the moment.
“Yes, well, I can imagine that I looked a fright when you got me out of the basement. I hate to think about what would have happened if I would have stayed there longer. That is quite an awful place.”
“I keep meaning to renovate. It's just been hard to get anything done with the number of nannies that I go through. I don't know if I should be worried about my boys or worried about the old witch. She must have been putting some kind of spell on them. I have never seen them so quiet before in my life.”
“There are many ways to tame a child. I'm sure that spells are one of them. That is a shame really because it doesn't lead to anything long term.”
Mona stopped herself. Of course, he wasn't worried about disciplining or the right way of doing things right now. All Jack was worried about was getting his kids home. She wanted to kick herself for saying such a thing out loud.
Fran called back, and she was just as shocked as Jack was about it all. She wanted to come over. Mona agreed that they should all meet.
The call ended, and the two waited for Fran, hoping that she would have some kind of answer for them. Mona hoped so. She was just about as confused as she could be.
Chapter Five
Once Fran got to Jack’s house, he started to feel a little better. She agreed that Mona was in fact who she said she was, and for the moment, that was all he needed to hear. Fran came in like a whirlwind, and she made it clear that she was taking it on as her personal responsibility. Something had obviously happened that was beyond her control. Jack knew that she had very little to do with it.
“So, what do you think has happened?”
“Well, I won't bore you with all of the theories that have run in my head, but there is a certain organization that would do something like this.”
“Organization?”
That sinking feeling that he had with the impostor, the same feeling was now coming back to him now. The Organization told him that it would be humans. And most of the time when humans were involved, the paranormal world payed for it. They had to keep themselves as secret as they possibly could, but there was a lot of them, and a lot of mistakes had been made.
“Yes, I just know them as the Franklin Organization, but I am not sure if that is their real name. It was named after the founder, Jackie Franklin. She was quite a witch hunter back in her day. Many centuries ago. And now not many people think she is human anymore. Obviously, if she were, she would be dead.
But for one reason or another, she has made it a point to take out every last paranormal creature that she can. The reasons why happened centuries ago, but I have heard for certain that she hates anyone who is not human. And anyone who is not human does not deserve to be on Earth, as far as she is concerned. You can see why this can be a problem.”
He hated the idea of his children with such people, who would seek to destroy them just for what they were. They were innocent.
His sons were too young for their powers. That might be the very reason that the two of them were taken. He just couldn’t wrap his head around it. Why his kids?
“None of that sounds good.”
“It isn’t.”
He blew out a breath, unsure what he was supposed to say.
“So, what is the plan? I mean, we can't just let this go.”
“Of course not, Jack. I am just trying to get a good address or location on these people. I am so sorry this is happening.”
He tried to assure her that everything was fine. He didn't want her to be hard on herself. Jack knew exactly who to blame. Whoever had taken his children, were going to pay dearly for it. No one else needed to pay for their crimes.
The problem was that Jack wasn't sure how he was supposed to react. As much as he wanted to believe that it was going to work out, it was hard to think that way. If it was The Organization that Fran was talking about, how was he supposed to believe that they were going to be okay?
He was worried that his boys were hurt or scared. His mind ran wild with the possibilities. There were too many unknown variables, too many ways his children could be hurting.
“What do you want to do about this, Fran?”
“It doesn't look like we have many options. We have to figure out who this organization is, and what they really want to. I can't believe that somebody hates us that much, that they are willing to kill for no reason. There has to be someone that I can talk to about this.”
“I know that you are used to dealing with this sort of thing, Jack. Your family has been in worse situations, but this time, waiting is our only option. We have to figure out where they are before we are going to be able to do anything about it.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“You have to. These witches are not going to be easy to find or contend with. We need a united front, and it may not be that bad to think about what else we can do. I know that you want to be diplomatic with them, Jack, but I don’t think that it’s possible.”
While Jack didn't want to think that way, he knew that it was a very real possibility. He told her that he would do whatever was necessary to get his kids back. He just needed to be pointed in the right dire
ction.
Someone was going to pay for this, probably more than one someone. That much he promised.
There was no plan formulated because planning would require more information stuck to it. Even though they knew in a way what the Franklin Organization was, there was a lot more that needed to be figured out. Mainly, the location would be helpful, as well as more members that were part of it. Jack wanted to believe that if people knew there were children involved, they would be more likely to help.
He found it impossible to imagine that people would be okay with harming children.
The real Mona was very quiet. He asked her if she was okay and she said that she was fine.
“You can't be fine. I don't think anybody would be able to be, after what you went through the last week. I am worried about my children, but I can see that you have been through a lot as well.”
“It's fine, really. I just hope that everything turns out well. The children shouldn’t have to pay for other people’s mistakes.”
“Do you think that this is because of me personally?”
“I can't say for sure anything, whether it is personal or not.”
Jack had to agree. He was trying to imagine how he could have changed the scenario, but he hadn’t come up with anything yet.
He wished that he had some reason, and then at least he would know why. It might not change much, but at least then it would settle his mind.
Chapter Six
Mona was outside on the balcony when Jack came up to her. He had the same look that she did: one of confusion and pain.
She saw him coming and smiled at him. She wanted to make him feel better but didn’t know what to say.
