Germaine Grey

A Tale from the Book of Mendelora

A missing mother. A little boy tormented by an unknown force. And a book of fairy tales that is more than it seems.

Something terrible had happened. I remember vividly the day Mama met Dad at the door of our house, her face pale and her hands shaking with horror. Even for a woman who could cast out demons, she’d been shaken to her core.

Two days later Mama left us, but not before earnestly pressing a gilded, leather-bound book into my hands. The title on the cover said The Book of Mendelora.

“Promise me you’ll read these stories to your brothers and sisters?” Mama had asked softly, touching my cheek. “Read these stories to them at bedtime? And when they’re scared at night, or during storms? Promise me, Germaine?”

I had promised. And then she’d vanished.

That was a year ago. I'm the eldest, almost sixteen now, and I haven't broken my promise. I almost wish I could, though, because some dangerous and terrifying things have begun to happen around that book of fairy tales…