Golden Box Book Publishing One Picture: Thousands of Words | Page 68

whore. It only makes sense that she would spawn a murderous heathen like you-” “I said ENOUGH!” the Guardian bellowed, firing a mass of white energy at the old woman. The blast picked her up off her feet and flung her down into the still open portal of the ring. Grandmother's screams echoed and faded into the pit, until finally there was just silence. The Guardian waved her hand over the open grave and mumbled an incantation under her breath. Slowly her mother’s corpse lifted out of the ground, hovered a moment, then lowered down into the portal. With the body safely inside, the ring portal began to shrink back to its normal size. “Loose ends?” her father asked. “It all ends tonight,” she replied with a nod. “no more ghosts, no more secrets.” Her father nodded then bent down and picked up the gold band. Taking her hand in his, he gently slid the ring onto her finger. “As you wish, great Guardian,” he replied. Together, father and daughter climbed the creaky steps of the basement, then walked hand in hand out the front door of the family home. As they descended the porch steps, the old grandfather clock in the house struck midnight. Its gong-like chime echoed through the brittle walls and catching the wind like a scent. Above them, the sky opened up. The moon, brighter than usual, illuminated a long-forgotten foot path leading off into the woods. “We should be on our way,” Father said, motioning to the path. “The ceremony has probably already started.”