"A time to mourn, a time to laugh. A time to gather stones and a time to cast them..." the priest read the same verse that he did at every funeral, but he still needed to read the words from the worn Bible in his hands. Jason stood with Piper and their kids, stood in a black suit as he watched them pray over his mother's casket.
A soft wind blew over the cemetery, creating a rustle of flower petals and the occasional complaint from one of the mourners. Tears frozen on their faces, umbrellas ready for the next snowfall. Burying in the winter was never fun.
Jason shifted his weight to his right foot, his hands deep in his pockets. Piper was holding Nicole, keeping her close for the sharing of body warmth. His other two girls stood in front of him, their black dresses curling around their knees. He was stuck staring at his mother's casket for awhile, stuck staring at that wooden box.
It was a tap on his elbow that got him to turn around, a tap on his elbow that changed his life yet again.
"Jason, we need to talk." Nico's low voice came from behind him, sent shivers down his spine. "We really need to talk."
Jason turned to face Nico so fast he had whiplash. "Wha-?"
"Don't make a scene." Nico hissed. He wore a black suit, the same suit he had died in, and looked mostly alive. Pale skin, dark hair, a scarf to cover his wounded neck. "Stay quiet."
Staying at the back of the crowd, Jason moved so he was standing by Nico. They kept their voices low, kept their conversation to just each other. "What are you doing here? How are you here?"
Nico shrugged. "Dunno. Let's talk about something else, like this funeral, for example."
Jason's face darkened. "I don't want to talk about it."
"We need to." Nico looked up at the sky, smiled. "It's so nice to be outside."
"What's there to say? She's dead, Nico. There's no saving her." Jason buried his hands in his pockets. "No saving her..."
"But you can still save the rest of your family." Nico moved a hand to Jason's shoulder. "I'm...I'm sorry for what happened."
"What did happen?" Jason asked, his voice thick with sadness. "What happened? We heard her scream and came in to... The hospital said a heart attack, but I know that wasn't it. I know it wasn't."
"Because it wasn't," Nico replied darkly. "Nothing about her death was that innocent. It was my father. He scared her to death, literally. It was his fault that her heart stopped beating."
"Your father..." Jason scowled. "So it is him that's haunting my house. My girls have been staying with Leo for a week, now. I don't trust them in there."
"And you shouldn't." Nico agreed. "He's dangerous, he's an ass. There's a reason I killed him."
"How'd he come back?" Jason wondered. "Where has he been for all these years? What made him decide to return?"
"My absence," Nico answered. "He was scared of me." He smirked, a feeling of victory short lived. "When I was gone, he started the constant prodding. He eventually got that girl of yours to play with an Ouija board with her friends."
"Which girl?" Jason looked to his family.
"Maddie," Nico muttered. "Corrupted her dreams and the dreams of her friends. They finally decided to do it in the basement. The next day, your youngest girl went down there and drew that pentagram."
Jason ran a hand through his hair. "Of course they did."
"There's only one way to get rid of him, and I'm going to come help." Nico's face was grim. "Tonight, be ready. We'll send that bastard back to Hell."
"We better." Jason also looked to the sky. "He deserves it for messing with my family, for messing with my kids and my mom. He deserves it."
