Grimmstone

Chapter 8

39

Around four in the afternoon Aiden walked up to the Mansion Sera's family owned. It was a rose-gold colored with gold trimming. The front door was a rusty wood color with a stained glass hummingbird and flower in it. He rang the doorbell and waited. 

Their butler, Quintin, answered, "Hello, can I help you?" He was in his early sixties and spoke with an Italian accent. 

"Hey, can I please talk to the Maclaine's? You remember me don't you? I was Sera's boyfriend."

"One moment." Quintin hurried off to speak to his employers. 

Aiden felt awkward standing in the doorway. "Come in, sir." Quintin said from a distance. Aiden came in and shut the door. He followed the butler into the dining area. 

"Oh my!" Myzela said and stood up. "Aiden, what brings you here?" 

"Hello, good to see you." Keith offered his hand and Aiden shook it. 

"I'm sorry to interrupt your dinner." Aiden saw a large layout of salad, grilled chicken, creamy potatoes and green beans. 

Myzela gestured for him to sit. "Would you like anything? We have plenty since Shawn is at work for the evening." 

Aiden smiled. "I'm good, but thank you. I just really wanted to go down memory lane with you both." 

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"Why?" Keith now sounded suspicious. 

Aiden dug up emotions and made himself start to cry. "I miss her so much." 

Myzela handed him a napkin. "Oh, dear boy, we miss Sera too." She hugged him and started to cry too. "I know you loved our little girl." 

"More than you can imagine." Aiden said and wiped real tears away. "I wish there was some way to bring her back. A lamp with a genie or a spell." 

Keith took a drink of his wine. "We all wish magic were real. At least Louie survived. He was considered critical for days, but we got a miracle with him. If I had a stone or ring, something to bring her back with I would too." 

Myzela patted Aiden's hand. "There are people out there that believe in black magic. It's just too risky to try and raise anyone or anything that's departed." 

Aiden met his eyes with hers. "I'm a believer in many things." He said and caught a glimpse of someone watching them. "May I go wash up?" 

They said it was fine and he went sadly into the kitchen. A hand went over his mouth from behind and he began to struggle. "It's Cora. Be quiet, Aiden, don't let her parents know anything. Don't trust them!"

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Aiden turned in surprise, but said nothing. "Hurry and wash up." Cora said whispering. "I will meet you tomorrow morning around ten at the middle school. It's a five minute drive from here. We can talk then." 

Aiden wiped his face off quickly and went back to sit down. 

"What took so long?" Myzela inquired, lifiting her well manicured eyebrows. 

Aiden let out a sigh. "Memories came flooding back. I know we didn't have a long relationship, but it still felt like we'd been together for years." He watched them for a minute and tried to smile. "It was dumb of me to come here." He pushed his chair out and stood up. 

"Wait." Keith said to him. "You came for closure, right?" 

"How do you really get closure on someone you loved?" Aiden said. He felt their hearts open in shock and awe. 

"It's eating us up too. Every single day we grieve for her." Myzela started to cry. 

Aiden pushed in his chair. "I swear I'll call next time if I need to talk. I'm so sorry. I'll see myself out." 

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Keith walked with him to the door. He opened it and said, "We do need a proper call and we can pray and discuss my daughter at a later time. Take care." 

Aiden nodded and left. He felt like he was being watched. He got into his car and drove away without looking back at the house. 

Keith turned to his wife and crossed his arms. "Should we believe him?" 

"I felt his pain." Myzela said and went to sit on the couch in the living room. "I need to wake mother from her nap and see if she's famished." 

Keith felt uneasy. "This was strange, Myzela. All of a sudden he just comes over to chat?" He sighed heavily and went back into the dining room to eat. 

Myzela got lost in random memories of her daughter and stared into the distance. 

"Is something wrong?" Quintin asked in a concerned tone. 

She looked up and jumped in place. He'd scared her a bit. "Just thinking, no, but thank you." She walked in the direction of her the guest room her mother was in. 

A few soft knocks and she twisted the door handle to open the door. "Mother?" 

43 

Cora looked up from the book she was reading. "Hello, dear." 

Myzela went to sit on the bed. She took a hand of her mothers and held it. "I feel empty without my girl. If there is anyway we can get the stone please find it. Molly Burke was the last to own it. I need it, mother. I have to bring her back." 

"I spoke to her and she sold it at a yardsale." Cora told her. "Don't worry about it. I'm searching the town for it." 

Myzela hugged her mother and left the room not knowing Sera was already back. 

What Myzela didn't know was that Cora was working against the family. She knew better than to resurrect anything. It had been done in the family's past a long time ago in Greece. The person came back, but after months it crumbled into itself and passed from lack of soul feeding. 

To keep a soul alive a kiss must happen for the resurrected to keep living. The Grimmstone has to be destroyed for the victim to stay alive. 

Why would Cora choose anyone over her grandchild? All because she'd witnessed this before with her father's side of the family. It ended it badly and more hearts were broken. More souls were damaged by the second passing of the family member. She did not want this to happen yet again.