Beyond the Gates of Evermoore - Page 50
“Then where… what...”
She looked again, and then she saw. Small, faded stones jutting up from the earth. Some rounded, some squared off. Some even broken, like stained white teeth.
“Oh my God!”
Eric nodded his head. He looked suddenly uncomfortable.
“This is Evermoore’s graveyard.”
27
A chill shot through her as Melody stepped barefoot among the ancient tombstones. The earth felt soft and spongy here. It could’ve also just been her imagination.
“Why would they come here?” she asked Eric. “And where did they go?”
She could tell he knew little more than she did. They stood together for a moment, looking from stone to stone. Unconsciously Melody found herself reading the names of the deceased. Their epitaphs. Inscriptions from loved ones.
And all the while… keeping a sharp eye on the living, breathing mist.
“I see dates from the 1720’s,” she said. “Up to the middle of the 1800’s.”
Eric nodded. “This is place is old,” he said. “It predates the manor.”
After a minute or two of looking, Melody stumbled on a series of fresh prints. Multiple footprints, from people in a group.
“They went this way,” she said. “Over here.”
She walked softly, picking her way through the graveyard. Trying not to step on ‘people’, but not exactly doing a very good job of it. There were just too many stones, set at too irregular of angles. Some were missing too, yet in those spots Melody could tell that someone was obviously buried.
“Here. They were standing right here, and—”
Melody’s voice died in her throat. She was looking down at a single stone, a newer stone. One that was only recently set into the earth:
SANFORD
Beneath the surname were two first names, one on each side of the arched tombstone:
ANABELLE & EMILY
Oct 21 1811 — Apr 18 1840
Jan 2 1831 — Feb 11 1840
Melody’s heart ached. She thought of the little girl, missing from the table last night. Of her mother, all forlorn and despondent.
“It’s them, isn’t it?”
Eric said nothing, and his silence was wholly unnerving. There wasn’t a single sound from any direction. There wasn’t even any wind.
“How can this be?” she asked. “These dates are months apart. And I just saw them! We just saw them!”
She backed away from the stone, but never took her eyes from it. The whole time, Melody kept thinking she’d find a mistake. That the names or the dates would change. They never did.
“I… I don’t get…”
The ozone smell was back in her nostrils, and now it was stronger than ever. Melody stiffened as she realized she’d backed up against the wall of mist. It was just behind her now. Roiling. Surging…
“Don’t move,” said Eric.
Source: readsnovelonline.net