Free The Demon Rolmar by A. Griffin

the necklace on.”
    “How will I know when it’s time?”
    “The stone will begin to glow and emit a small tone.”
    “What about Grant?”
    “Him? He’s the source of your unhappiness, is he not?”
    “Well, I guess. But I love him…or I used to.”
    Ian leaned forward and his excitement began to build. “Don’t you wish that he were out of the picture for good?” he asked.
    “No, I wouldn’t dream of something like that,” she said. But Ian caught a touch of uncertainty in her voice.
    “I could erase him from your memory.”
    “I don’t know what my life would be like if I had no memory of Grant.”
    “It could be richer. I have very little knowledge of the human psyche, but it seems to me that you cannot miss what you have not known.”
    “I…I don’t know.”
    “Don’t worry about that now. Just remember to save yourself.”
    “OK.”
    “I must go now,” he said, and stood up. “Good-bye.”
    “Bye,” she said, trying to hold back tears.
    Before Linda could utter another word, Ian rose before her very eyes and vanished. Linda was left sitting at the table, her fantasy now truly at an end.

.
    C HAPTER 10
    A dam began to doze off as the endless highway stretched out before them. He could still remember how his friends had looked when they all met at freshman orientation. It seemed like such a long time ago, but it had transpired only two years earlier. Things were much simpler back then—before the whole incident with Rolmar had occurred. He could remember John’s punk hairstyle and Zelia’s long, curly hair. The two had since changed their image; John had chosen a more sensible haircut, and Zelia had cut her long waves and decided on a shoulder-length hairstyle. John was constantly sarcastic, even in those days. Zelia was always so studious. Adam had admired those qualities in his friends. He shuddered to think how he would have felt if his two closest friends hadn’t survived the amusement park tragedy.
    “We’re getting off at the next exit,” Zelia said sleepily.
    John was wide-awake; apparently the trauma of the past few hours had caused him to be a little jittery. Zelia noticed that his hands were shaking a little. “Why don’t you pull over, and I’ll take us the rest of the way,” she offered. John steered the car to the shoulder and put it in park. Zelia unbuckled her seatbelt and looked over at John, who was still gripping the wheel. She placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to be all right,” she said. John nodded, but the fear in his eyes indicated otherwise. John and Zelia switched seats while Adam started to stir in the back.
    “Have we reached our destination?” Adam asked. The first four words were clear enough, but a midway yawn made the last word completely unintelligible.
    John turned around and said, “We’re almost there.”
    “How long have you known this guy?” Adam inquired.
    “I’ve known Scott since freshman year. We were good friends up until this year.”
    “What happened?” Zelia asked.
    “I guess we both got busy, and he changed his major, so we weren’t in as many classes together.”
    “You said he lived on Lakeway Drive, right?” Zelia asked.
    “Yeah, we’re going to be making a right at the next traffic light,” John replied.
    Zelia turned onto the street and was surprised at the affluence of the neighborhood. The block was lined with mansions that had impeccable lawns. The homes boasted sculpted hedges and colonnades, and some were even enclosed in wrought iron gates. “Which one is it?” Zelia asked.
    “The one with the giraffe-shaped hedges,” John said. He was starting to feel apprehensive about the whole situation and wasn’t looking forward to speaking to Scott’s family.
    The stone-paved driveway opened into a beautiful courtyard with a triple-tier fountain at the center. “Well, here we go,” John said. He jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut in one fluid motion. The others followed behind John