A Birth day

"Hole?" Edward frowned. It didn't register with him at first. Angus was all raw energy once he had adjusted to living with Edward and Caprice. He had been all over the estate and in and out of everywhere.

Anise continued to look at her vision of little Angus in the hole.

"He's covered with something sticky. He's been eating something sticky," she told Edward.

"The peach tree," Edward said, the memory rushing back at him. "There's a white peach tree near the vineyard. "Angus was up in that damned peach tree all the time, eating the peaches, and he'd come home covered in peach juice from head to toe. I remember I told him over and over not to do that because the tree was right next to an old dried up well, and it was covered with boards. I was afraid he was going to fall into that well and as it happened, one day he did.. It's deep and dark, and I"m sure it isn't structurally safe anymore.

"Michael!" Robert asked. "Did you bring Hiss?"

"Always," Michael shouted from some distance away."

"Ruby, you and Jack and Michael see if you can't find those kids and get them out. You might need Jack's strength to help bring them up. We still have to find Evan's wife. Anise, you come with me. Let's see if we can't find his wife," Robert said.

Ruby turned to Robert as Edward spoke of the peach tree and the well close to it. Hearing Robert she nodded and ran with Jack towards the direction Edward had indicated , " Jack go left I'll go right that way we cover twice as much ground" she called to Jack . Jack nodded and walked together but apart into the area looking for signs .

It was Jack who called out first " I found the tree and the well" he called moving to the covered well and shifting some of the boards but waiting for Robet and Anise to join him along with Ruby. " hey any one down there?" He called hoping to get an awnser .

Michael apparated over to where Jack was calling from and nearly landed right over the well hole himself. Hiss snapped tightly around Michael and also around Jack so that Michael couldn't fall in. Michael got his balance and looked at Jack.

"Sorry, Mate," Michael said. "Hiss, go anchor onto that tree. I'm going down to look for myself." Hiss untied himself from Jack and tied itself tightly onto the tree, and Michael rappelled down into the well. "Not bloody safe. Don't send anyone else down here, Jack. Wall isn't holding. It's all caving in. Its one thing if we loose an old fart, but we're not going to lose one of you lot." He kept going.

"I see them, but they've been tied and gagged," Michael said. "That's why they couldn't call back. I'm working against time here so I'm sending them up one at a time. You can untie them up there." He tied the rope to the oldest kid and tugged on the rope to send the oldest, a boy, up first. "Get him off, and send Hiss straight back down. This is going to go any second."

Jack paused and felt a tightnes around his wast as he saw Michael appear on the rim of the well " wow mate don't need to lose you too" he said and held onto Hiss he heard Michael but just shrugged as hiss moved to a tree next to the well " got ya" he said and watched Micahel head down. at his words he watched as the first child came to the top of the well Ruby ran over and grabbed him lifting him out and untying hiss who Jack dropped back down " back at ya mivhael" he called and waited again for the next.

Meanwhile Ruby gently took of the gag from the boy and untied him. " Robert were over here" she called hoping he would find them quickly so they could be assesed.

"Hold on," Robert called. "We're on something else. If it isn't life threatening, give me a little."

Michael tied the second child. a girl who looked about six, onto the rope securely and picked up the third and tugged on the rope to signal Jack to pull up the second child. He tried to see if he could climb up the crumbling stone wall, but all he ended up doing was bringing a stone down on his own head. Blood ran down his face, but it wasn't anything serious, Michael knew, and he had done it to himself. Still it had been worth a try. This child was only little more than a toddler. Just a bit older than Abbey, by Michael's guesses.

"Robert!" Kate shouted. "There! Up there!" She pointed to the roof of Edward's house. There on the roof was Evan's wife, and she started to laugh, but it was Reginald's voice that came out, and layered with that voice was a shrill woman's voice on top of it, like two voices at once.

"Bring. Him. Here!" The voice demanded loudly. Anise looked up at the same time Robert did and saw the woman on the roof.

"Rachel!" Edward shouted. "I'm coming!"

"Don't move!" Anise shouted at him. "It's a trick!"

"What do you see?" Robert asked Anise as they hurried over towards Kate.

"She sees what I do, I think," Kate said. "She's being possesses by two energies. Reginald's and a much darker, more powerful energy. I don't think that energy has ever been human. I think it's something Reginald came in contact with when he jumped Suzanne."

"Bring him to me!" the voices shouted.

"Why?" Robert called.

"Bring him!" the voices bellowed. The voices started to cast some sort of a dark spell, and Robert recognized the words.

"Its' collapsing the well. Get Michael out of there now, Jack!" Robert shouted.

Ruby heard Robert and checked the boy over " stay here I'll be back"she told him then moved to Jack where he was puling on Hiss " sorry His" he said as he heaved the second child up and over the lip of the well , again untying the child Ruby dove in and took her away from the well to be with her brother and Jack dropped Hiss back down " your next mate" Jack said " bring the littel one with you" he called down. Ruby did the same to the girl being carful of her hair as she took off the tape , the boy held her in a hug.

"your okay" she said to him holding both children close. She watched as she ehard Robert call out to a woman stood on the roof she heard the shouting and covered the childrens ears while Jack groaned and pulled hard to bring Micahel and the last child up out of the well.

Michael brought the last child up with him, and using his feet against the crumbling well walls to help him up sooner, and he was trying to shield the child from the rock being thrown down on top of them as they were being hauled up. He was being struck with them, but he was more focused on this toddler. When they were finally on the surface, he handed the toddler to Jack, and he sat down on the ground to catch his breath.

"Why is he important to you?" Robert was bellowing at the woman.

"Bring him here!" the spirit wasn't giving in.

"It wants something it thinks he has," Anise said quietly to Robert. "I can't see what, though."

"If he doesn't know what it is, he can't bring it!" Robert shouted. The spirit fired a spell at Robert, and it started to choke Robert. Kate and Michael simultaneously fired spells at the woman on the roof, knocking her unconscious and the woman fell. Edward cast an Arresto Momentum to keep her from hitting the ground. Robert fell to the ground, coughing, trying to catch his breath. Anise crouched beside him. The woman started to move, to wake, the entity growling deeply, and Anise had had enough. She sprang, in a purely werewolf fashion and she backhanded the woman. The entity tried to attack Anise, and Anise wasn't having it. She instinctively lashed out just as Fenrir had taught her.

"Uh oh. Someone let the pup out of its cage. You'd better go get her, Jack, before the Squirt has that demon for lunch," Michael said.

Jack watched what happened and then saw Anise go for the woman He also heard Michael let him know to get her " Anise ! " he growled moving quickly to grab her and hold her against him " stop and think, you were told to listened to Robert and hes fine, Kate and Michael got her " he told her turning her to face him " you want to be human stop and cool it" he said facing her letting his voice and his alpha pheeramones tell her she should back down or he would stop her. Ruby took the toddler from Maichael and looked at his face.

"Here " she said handing him the emergancy med kit. she then walked over to Anise " have you taken your wolfbane?" she asked accioing her vila and holding it out to her. "you remember Roberts words , do as he says, he is the lead, he is Alpha, never forget that, no matter what happens, especialy regarding my ex father." she spoke calmly but also saw Jack not let her go .

Anise was angry and confused and frustrated. In her pack, they'd have been proud of her for defending the alpha. Here, she was wrong for doing it. In the moment Robert had been attacked, it was her affection for him that had made her lash out at the woman on the roof, the same way she would have gone to Fenrir's defense. Now, here it was wrong, and they were thinking she hadn't taken her wolfsbane. She yanked herself away from Jack, She didn't need the wolfsbane. She walked away from them and sat down several feet from any of them but within eyesight of Robert, still trying to obey his order to stay with him.

Michael bound the woman with incarcerous spells. Kate did try to drive the spirits out of the woman, but they weren't going.

"I have an idea," Robert said, regaining himself, "but I'm going to need your help, Anise. You still with me?" She nodded. He got up to his feet. "Come on, then. You lot try not to let that beastie get away. We'll be back." He reached for Anise's hand and they ported back home.

When they landed, Robert took Anise to the duplex, and Marcus and Andrew had Angus back in the house. Marcus had brought Angus a glass of lemonade, and Angus was sipping at it.

"What's going on?" Angus could tell something was amiss.

"We're in a bit of a skirmish," Robert told him. "Think carefully because its important. Have you ever gotten anything from Suzanne or any of the dark arts people she's hired?"

"No, not that I...Well, there were some things on that old crone in the Forbidden Forest. And...there was some old rock that I swiped in the tunnels below the Tyler house. It was a weird colored thing, and I took it when I escaped.

"That's it!" Anise said, brightening. "Its something like that! Where is it?"

"No, now, wait. I don't think you should touch it. Sometimes bad things happen to seers when they touch dark things," Robert said.

"Where is this skirmish?" Angus asked getting up slowly. Marcus flew to hold him up. Angus walked a few paces to the bookcase and drew one of the books out and opened it to reveal a hollow book with some odd bits in it.

"None of those look like anything I'd want in my house," Marcus frowned. "Why would you keep this dark crap, Mate?"

"Where is this skirmish at? And why aren't you telling me, Robert?"

"Its in Tuscany," Robert sighed.

"And you didn't tell me!" Angus exploded.

"You can't possibly go," Robert said firmly.

"This is my family!" Angus said. "Why Tuscany? Because Suzanne is luring me out? Is that it?"

"Near enough," Robert said. "If you do this, you play right into her hand..."

"Maybe that's what I need to do!" Angus shouted. "I'm supposed to come and bring this dumbass box, aren't I?"

"Yes," Robert said quietly.

"I'm going," Angus said. "You can patch me later." He accio'd his portkey, and Marcus managed to grab onto Angus just before Angus ported out.

"Damn," Robert sighed. "Andrew, stay with Ginger and the baby. We're going to try to keep Angus from buggaring himself up. Make sure we have a suture kit here just in case."

"On it," Andrew replied. Robert and Anise ported back to Tuscany.

Angus and Marcus ported in, and Angus smelled the smoke and knew there had been a major fire here somewhere. Evan was unconscious on the ground, and his wife was bound in an incarcerous and was growling with some unhuman noises.

Michael and Kate saw Angus arrive, shirtless, barefooted, and in only pajama trousers and his magic wrap and a sling, with Marcus holding him up.

"What the effing..." Michael began, scowling. "Now, I am positive that is not anything Robert wanted to happen."

Ruby watched as Anise pulled from Jack and wa sported away by Robert leaving them stood with the children. she sighed and looked to Jack who motioned for her to just stay with the children. Jack went to Evans wife and unbound her moving her over to Ruby and the kids where Ruby gave them to her and looked at the house . It was now she saw Angus and Marcus arrive and she frond looking to Mihael and nodded " I agree, this is exactly what he wants." she said and moved to stand beside Angus. #

Jack moved to wait for Robert to arrive staying with Evan and his wife and children making sure they were out of danger. He also cleaned up Michael's face placing some small plasters on his grazes to stop the bleeding so it would not get infected.