Once Upon a Haunted Moon (The Keeper Saga) Read Free

paper flipped itself back into its original place. The three of us stood gaping at the yellowed, sixties-style wallpaper with a small glowing corner.
    “That’s what it did last time. The exact same scene, except that last little bit,” Nikki’s voice sounded stronger than it had before, though it still shook a little, “But I think I ran out of the attic before she got that far. What do you guys think?”
    “I think I don’t know what to think,” I answered, and shook my head, “But for the record, I’m glad your grandma didn’t take any help. She was strong to the end.”
    “I’m wondering who Wynter was talking about when she said, ‘she will come again.’ Whoever it is, she seems afraid, and that’s really weird. Wynter isn’t afraid of anyone, and for some reason she wants you here,” Adam stared down at Nikki who was biting her lip as she watched the wall. “And the Death part doesn’t make me happy at all.”
    “I wonder what happens if one of us flips the page?” I mumbled under my breath as I stepped forward to grab the glowing corner.
    Just as my finger touched, it sparked, and an electrical jolt sent me flying backward into a stack of boxes.
    “You all right?” Adam pushed a trunk out of the way as I crawled out of the fallen heap.
    “Yeah, but I guess the house doesn’t like anyone but Nikki messing with it,” I looked over at the wall, and then grinned at him, “You want to give it a try?”
    “Nope,” he smiled, “I like to learn from other people’s mistakes.”
    “So what’s the plan, then?” I asked, knowing Adam always had a plan. And as always, as dependable as ever, he didn’t disappoint.
    “We go to the Res and get the rest of the guys, and see if my grandfather knows of anything that can help. Then we confront Wynter, see who she’s so afraid of, and why she wants Nikki here.”
    ***
    Zue
    Round Mountain Forest
     
    She sat atop a huge stone that jutted out from the mountain. It came out so far it defied gravity, hovering in the air like a giant, gray angel — and on the very tip she sat, swinging her legs back and forth. From far away, she looked like an adventurer — one who would climb to the highest peak of the mountain to crawl out on the edge to admire the breathtaking view below of the small, sleepy town nestled in the midst of the forest.
    Well, adventurer, she surely was, though not one to amuse herself with such folly as simply climbing a mountain to say she could. She thought of the three boys she found so conveniently nearby just a short while earlier. She smiled, amused with her day thus far. Her razor-sharp teeth gleamed red in the mid-day sun as she thought of the things she had done. She pushed her shoulder-length hair back, a habit she’d had for centuries, and it fell in thick, cascading waves, sparkling as red as blood in the sunlight.
    A soft wind brushed her face, as her fathomless, black eyes kept their search of the town below. Behind her, several pairs of beating wings interrupted her concentration. She turned, watching as the crows landed a few feet behind her in a dead oak, squawking their arrival. One flew to the ground where a dead, crumpled rabbit lay. It pecked at the small, lifeless body. She stood, shooed the bird away, and picked up the carcass. The crow squawked in protest.
    “Be still,” she said quietly in a soft, musical voice as she sat back on the rock and turned her attention back to the town. She absently stroked the mangled fur of the rabbit, mumbling to it and the village, as much as to herself, “Come now. Show me thy dead.”
    A few moments passed as she and the flock of crows sat in near silence, but for the swinging rhythm of her bare feet bumping against the rock. She smiled again — a ferocious, pointed smile, and the giant, black birds beat their wings.
    “There you are,” she said happily, setting down the rabbit which had begun to twitch. She got to her feet and brushed the loose bits of stone from her