Stone Crest: Rise of a Raven

56. Chapter 56

Chapter fifty-six

Locke

T his can’t be right.

“And you’re positive this is the place?” I peer out the window at the run down shack.

“This is the address mom gave me.” Kingston checks his phone again.

“It’s been thirty years. You sure she’s even alive?” I shift my car in park.

“I guess we’ll find out.” Kingston kicks open his door, and steps out onto the dirt.

With heavy steps we climb the old wooden stairs that are warped and faded. Cobwebs cover the front door, along with the bay window to my left. Lifting my hand, I knock twice and step back. It takes a solid two minutes before I hear the shuffling of feet. The deadlock snaps, and the door slowly slides open. A woman with gray hair tied into a slick bun at the top of her head leers at us through the crack.

“Name,” she asks.

“Angeline Hale sent me.” I meet her hazy eyes that are rimmed with redness.

She squints, accessing me before looking over to Kingston.

“You have her eyes.” She points a finger at Kingston, then points to me. “Not you, though. You look like your father.”

“You knew him?” I ask.

She nods. “Handsome thing.” She waves a hand. “Come on in.”

I have to duck to walk through the doorframe, then follow her deeper into the dark space. It smells of honey and some kind of spice. The woman uses a cane as she slowly glides across the room to a chair with a crochet blanket draped across it.

“I’ve been wondering when you’d come find me.”

She lowers herself down, her hand trembling on the head of the cane. She must be in her late eighties, early nineties.

“Sit.” She motions.

We both pull a chair out from the dining table that’s cluttered with half melted candles and empty bowls.

“Ask your questions.” She nods her head.

“The curse.” I clear my throat. “Is there a way to remove it?”

“So, you’ve found her.” She smiles. “Your Raven.”

My heart hammers just at the mention of her name.

“I see the reaction in your eyes. You found her. Now you want to complete the bond, yeah? But the curse is still alive and strong.” She points. “Look at your wrist.”

I hold up my right wrist. “See the split,” she asks.

I glance at the two veins splitting off into a Y.

“You are one but will never be connected. The split separates. That’s the curse.”

“Is there a way to remove it?” I ask.

She glances at Kingston. “You feel regret. It’s why you’re here?”

Kingston doesn’t speak, just dips his chin.

“We regret many things in life. Some things we can alter, but there is always a price.” She clicks her tongue. “Only the bloodline can alter the curse.”

“Yes. Raven. She’s Charlotte’s granddaughter.” I lean forward. “She has the power to break it. Right?”

Her eyes blink, before she taps her cane twice on the wood floor. “No, my child. The curse can never be broken. Erased.”

A searing pain etches its way into my chest.

“No,” I growl. “There has to be a way.”

Her smile lifts again. “I said it could not be erased. But the curse can be transferred.”

“Transferred?” Kingston frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Like I said, everything has a price. You can be free, but someone else must pay.”

A deep cough echos through the small cabin as she clenches her chest.

“How does it transfer?” I ask.

She coughs again, before leaning on her cane, then pushing to her feet. Kingston and I both stand, watching her travel to the bookshelf on the far side of the room. Carefully she pulls out a thin black book.

“Here.” she hands it to me. “What she will need is within.” Her eyes water as she glances up at me. “Her role will be a heavy one. Both of joy and despair. She will need you.”

Her frail hand touches my arm. “Choose wisely, Sullivan.”

I never told her my name.

With that, the elderly woman walks to the door, opening it to cue our exit. “Good luck.”

“Thank you.” I step outside onto the porch. “Your name?”

“Giselle.”

“Giselle. Thank you. Sincerely.”

She gives one more nod, before closing the door behind us.

I make it to the car just in time for Kingston to stop in his tracts.

“What is it?”

“I need to get back to Stone Crest. Malikiah just asked me to meet him at the warehouse.”