Daughters of Silence Read Free Page B

like wings.
    Jenna laughed and fended Hallie off. She felt glad that the other girl’s silliness had chased away her heart-stopping terror.
    â€œCome on, let’s see the inside of the mausoleum, and then we’ll go,” Hallie suggested. “Then, when people in town start their wild Fear stories, we can tell them how we walked straight into that crypt and came out again.”
    Jenna tried to ignore the shudder that raced up her spine. She’d let her imagination run away with her once. She wasn’t going to let it happen again. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to look up at the angel. Its eyes remained closed. It didn’t look back at her.
    Of course. It was a statue, after all. Only a statue.
    She took a deep breath and followed Hallie into the crypt, feeling only the faintest twitch of dread as she walked under the angel.
    Hallie’s candle sent yellow light dancing around the room. The walls, floor, and even the single bench in the center were carved from black marble. The soft sound of their breathing bounced back at them from the stone.
    â€œWhere are they?” Hallie whispered, stopping just inside the door.
    Jenna could see that two bronze squares had been set in the far wall of the crypt to mark the resting place of the Fear girls. Dampness had turned the metal blue-green.
    â€œThose plaques say something,” she replied as curiosity overtook her misgivings.
    She took the candle from Hallie and raised it high as she walked closer to the plaques. The smell of decayed flowers grew stronger. Finally, she could see the lettering.
    Julia Fear. Hannah Fear. The names had been etched deeply into the bronze, as though someone had wanted to make sure they’d never disappear. Poor girls, Jenna thought. They’d been so young. That terrible story about them couldn’t be true.
    â€œI wonder what really happened to you,” she murmured. “Poor Hannah. Poor Julia.”
    Some impulse made her lay her palm on the plaque marking Julia’s grave. She hadn’t planned to do that. But the urge had been too strong to ignore, and she’d moved before she realized what she was doing.
    The metal felt warm. Warm as … her own skin. Strange, when the rest of the crypt felt so chilly and damp.
    Startled by a faint rustling sound behind her, Jenna whirled around.
    A tall, thin figure filled the doorway. Dressed all in white. Shadows hid its face. As it took a slow, single step forward, the breeze billowed in the fabric of its long, flowing gown.
    Jenna’s legs went numb.
    Unaware, Hallie stood unmoving. Behind her, the apparition seemed to float on the wind.
    â€œHallie!” Jenna whispered.
    â€œWhat is it now?” the other girl impatiently replied.
    Jenna opened her mouth to speak. But all that came out was a strangled, choking sound. She raised her trembling hand and pointed.
    â€œBehind you!” she croaked.
    Hallie stared at her for a moment, then turned. Jenna saw the candle drop from her hand. The light sputtered out, plunging the vault into total darkness.
    Jenna heard her friend’s deep, rasping gasp.
    Then an earsplitting scream.

Chapter
3

    â€œH ow dare you!” the apparition growled in the pitch-black gloom.
    Silhouetted by the moonlight, Jenna watched breathlessly as the apparition slowly raised long, bony arms, its clawlike hands stretching out from the shadows to grab her.
    Jenna squeezed her eyes shut and clung to Hallie’s trembling body. The angel, she thought. I desecrated the graves it protected, and now it’s come for me.
    â€œLook at me!” the apparition demanded. Jenna slowly opened her eyes. In the silvery moonglow, Jenna could see the phantom pointing directly at her. A wild gust of wind swept into the crypt and the apparition’s long, unbound hair swirled around its head.
    She stared at the long, skeletal finger, expecting lightning to stab out and burn her to ash. Hallie clungto her and whimpered.