Nightwish (An Echoes of Eternity Novel Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

didn’t respond.
    In her right mind, Grams wouldn’t have overlooked my feelings so haphazardly, but Alzheimer’s had occurred, robbing Grams of her normal thought process, so despite my frustration I overlooked her disinterest. “Do demons exist? Do you know anything about that?” I only asked because I wanted her to explain why she decided not to tell me about their presence.
    “Yes.” Grams smiled, as though no further explanation was necessary. “And yes.”
    Despite her satisfaction with those answers, I waited for clarification that never came. “So demons exist. Great! Glad we clarified that. What do you know about them?”
    “They will go to any lengths to hasten your demise.”
    “Why? And how do you know this?”
    “Because they have attacked me as well.” Her smile made it obvious that she could expound on her answers, but she pressed her lips together, preventing that from happening.
    Her indifference annoyed me. Earlier this past week, upon coming home from the last class of my college career, she hadn’t recognized me and called the police, stating that an intruder had entered her house. With narrowed, distrustful eyes, she’d held a broom, directing me toward the front door as I verbally recalled memories from our past in a shaky tone while tears lined my cheeks. The Grams I knew before this terrible disease attacked her mind and removed her loving, albeit cantankerous personality, would have cursed her poor fortune for a few minutes before accepting her fate and saying, ’God has a plan for me. I just have to trust him.’
    Now, Grams’s freaky grin remained plastered in place. “I sense confusion on your part.”
    I needed to regain my composure, so I distracted myself by glancing at the words on her sweatshirt, “Property of the Chicago Bears,” and decided to delve into inappropriate territory, a realm that Grams would no doubt take great satisfaction in. “Come on, Grams. There are 53 players on the Bears team. I’m all for you being a cougar, but where do you get the energy?”
    She stared at me. No, it seemed more like she stared through me, as though she knew I stood there, so she recognized my presence, but Grams refused to expend any time or attention on me. I’d hoped that she’d fire back an insult. But no. Nothing. Except a blank stare.
    “One day, you shall grow up to be an adult,” she said.
    Hadn’t I just hit that milestone today? I looked away, unwilling to speak again, lest sadness creep into my voice. I’d gladly make a deal with the devil to have my real Grams back for one more day just so I could tell her how much I’ve loved and appreciated her time, energy, and sacrifice in raising me. But since her Alzheimer’s struck, I found it difficult to accept this stranger as the woman who made me the number one priority in her life.
    Grams’s grin widened even more, stretching across pointy cheekbones. She lifted her arm and pointed behind me. “Allow me to make salutations to your mother, as well as your sister and niece.” She clasped her hands. “Oh, what a joyous occasion!”
    It seemed like a different person had invaded her body. Her voice no longer sounded brittle, and she moved quicker and with more pep than anytime within the last two years. I considered Darius’s statements about demons inhabiting humans. The idea petrified me, but then an important question popped into my mind: who would want to take over the body of an elderly woman? Granted, she may have magical abilities, but she also sometimes believed she lived during the middle of the twentieth century and daily lost sight of her dentures. Besides, if a demon had possessed her, wouldn’t it have tried to kill me like the creepy dude in the alley?
    Therefore, I attributed Grams’s awkward behavior to the Alzheimer’s. She had probably recalled a conversation with a friend from decades ago and now adopted her speech pattern. While this was the oddest behavior she had displayed so far, Grams had