Moonlight Secrets (11 page)

Nikki, Shark, and I laughed.

“For sure,” I said. “That's perfect. Officer, a girl in our class is a witch, and she's been casting horrible spells on me. Could you arrest her and take away the evil pendant she's been using?”

Lewis let out a long sigh. “Okay, okay. You're right. That wouldn't work. But count
me out. This whole plan . . . it's too dangerous. Totally. After my accident last year . . . well . . . I don't want anything to do with magic pendants or the Fear family.”

“The
amulet
is too dangerous,” I said. “You know me, Lewis. I usually try to talk Shark out of these crazy schemes. But this time he's right. Candy . . . she almost drowned us. You weren't there, Lewis. Jamie was barely breathing. It was the most terrifying day of my life.”

“And no one will believe us about the amulet,” Shark said. “We just have to do it ourselves. We have to take it away from her and hide it somewhere it will never be found.”

“Well, I'm outta here,” Lewis said, climbing up. “Good luck, guys. I really mean it.”

We watched him walk out of the bar. He kissed the plaque on the wall on his way out. For extra luck, I guessed.

The three of us fell silent. I glanced at the Budweiser clock behind the bar. Nearly three-thirty. Ryland sat hunched on his tall stool, his back against the wall, half asleep.

I suddenly wanted to be home too. I didn't want to be breaking into Candy's house and stealing that evil amulet.

I didn't even
believe
in evil amulets!

Finally Shark turned to Nikki. He placed his hand over hers. “Are you coming with us?”

She hesitated. “I guess,” she replied finally. “But I'm really frightened.”

“Let's go do it,” Shark said.

We said good night to
Ryland and walked to Shark's car. It was a cold, damp night. No stars or moon in the sky. The wind kept gusting, and I felt light raindrops on my face as we walked.

I was shivering as I climbed into the back seat of the green Saturn. Shivering from the cold? From my fear?

I wasn't sure.

Nikki climbed into the front seat. Shark turned the heater up high as soon as he started the engine.

Of course there were no other cars on the street. By ten o'clock, all of Shadyside is closed up. They don't even have a midnight show at the Cineplex at the mall.

Shark drove slowly, his eyes straight ahead.
None of us said a word. I knew we were all thinking about what we were about to do.

Could we take Candy by surprise?

If we didn't, she might use the amulet on us.

I pictured Galen's swollen mouth, the lips stitched up with black thread. I pictured the bright red blood shooting from my ears, spraying the walls, the floor—and everyone.

I swallowed.

I hugged myself to stop the shivers.

Angelica Fear had used that amulet. A hundred years ago, she had used that same amulet to
kill
people.

And now Candy had it.

And she
hated
me.

Shark cut the headlights about half a block from Candy's house. The car slid silently to the curb and stopped at the driveway.

I peered up at the house through the car window. Completely dark.

I saw Candy's BMW parked in the drive at the side.

We climbed out of the car, closing the doors silently and quickly so the roof light would go out. A strong gust of cold greeted us as if trying to push us away.

The three of us huddled together at the bottom of the drive, gazing up at the dark house. Trees shook and rattled in the wind. The rain began to patter down harder.

Nikki leaned against Shark. She had her arm tucked around his. Her hair blew behind her in the gusting wind. I saw that she was shivering, too.

She turned to Shark. “Are we really doing this?”

Shark pulled away from her and took a few steps up the asphalt drive. He wiped rainwater off his forehead. “Look. It's going to be easy,” he said. He pointed.

Squinting into the darkness, I saw the canvas tarp over one side of the house. Their house-painting job was still underway.

“Why is it going to be easy?” I asked.

Then I saw the ladder, and I answered my own question.

A tall ladder leaned against the side of the house, tilting from the driveway up over the slanting roof.

“It's a piece of cake!” Shark declared, suddenly excited. “They left a ladder for us. A piece of cake! Let's go do this thing!”

Nikki held back. “Are you just going to climb into her bedroom? Won't she wake up?”

Shark pointed again. “That's her room up there. The one in the front. We'll climb into a room in the back. Then we can sneak into Candy's room quietly.”

My breath caught in my throat. I suddenly had doubts. Lots of them.

I suddenly didn't want to be here.

“Shark, we didn't bring a flashlight or anything,” I whispered, my eyes on the dark house. “How will we find her room?”

“I've been up there before. We can figure it out,” he said.

“But . . . how will we find the amulet in the dark?” Nikki asked.

“No problem,” Shark told her. “She wears it every day. So she probably leaves it out somewhere. We'll find it.”

He snickered. “She'll wake up tomorrow morning, and it'll be gone. And when she comes to school, she'll see the big grins on our faces. And she'll know what a loser she is.”

Was Shark really that sure of himself? Was he really that confident?

Or was he saying all that to cover up the fact that he was terrified too?

No time to think about it.

My jacket was soaked through. The cold rain pattered down harder.

Shielding my eyes with one hand, I followed Shark and Nikki up the driveway.

Shark and I each grabbed a side of the ladder. Luckily, it was aluminum and light enough for us to carry. We made our way to the back of the house.

No lights on back here, either. I spotted a partly open window on the second floor.

We carefully lowered the ladder to the back wall near that window.

Shark brushed raindrops from his hair. His expression was grim. His eyes were on the half-open window. “Here goes,” he said softly.

He grabbed the sides of the ladder and started to climb.

I followed Shark up the
ladder. My legs felt rubbery and weak. I'd never broken into a house before.

I took a deep breath and held it, trying to slow my racing heart. Candy is all alone in there, I told myself. Her parents are away. We have her outnumbered three to one.

But she has the amulet.

My hands slipped on the wet metal ladder. I grabbed on tight and kept climbing. I glanced down and saw Nikki right behind me.

Above me, I saw Shark struggling with the window. He shoved it open and disappeared inside the house.

A few seconds later, I swung a leg over the windowsill and stepped inside. I turned and helped Nikki climb off the ladder.

The three of us stood very still. We were all breathing hard. My clothes were soaked through from the rain.

“Where are we?” Nikki whispered.

I glanced around, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. The room was hot and smelled kinda musty. After a few seconds, a bed came into focus, and a low dresser beside it. Cartons were stacked against one wall. I took a few steps forward and stumbled over an exercise bike piled high with folded clothes.

“Must be a spare bedroom or something,” I whispered.

Shark made his way quickly to the door and pulled it open. Dim, yellow light flooded into the room. We tiptoed into a narrow hall. A ceiling light had been left on at the far end. It sent a dull, yellow glow over the dark-wallpapered hall.

We kept our backs pressed against the wall and moved silently, keeping close together. We passed a tiny room, probably a bathroom, and then closed double doors. A linen closet?

My chest ached. I could barely breathe. My eyes darted from side to side, alert to any movement.

We passed a framed photograph of a small cabin overlooking a lake. A small, square table with a tall flower vase on it. Another closet. We were walking away from the light. The hall grew darker.

We reached the stairway. Across from it—an open door.

“This is Candy's room,” Shark whispered.

He didn't wait for us to react. He turned and disappeared into the room, moving silently. Nikki hung back. Even in the faint light, I could see the fear on her face.

“Wait out here,” I whispered. “In case there's trouble.”

It didn't make any sense. What could Nikki do if there was trouble? But I could see she was grateful for an excuse to stay in the hall.

I stepped into the doorway. The room smelled sweet, kinda flowery. It was pitch black. Just a little gray light slipping through the window curtains.

I swallowed hard. I had a huge lump in my throat that I couldn't swallow away. I took another step, then stopped when I saw Candy's bed.

I heard soft, steady breathing. It took me a
long moment to see Shark. I tiptoed over to him. The floorboards squeaked under me.

I stopped and turned to the bed. I heard Candy let out a sigh. Shark and I both froze.

Candy shifted in the bed. I could see the quilt move.

She didn't get up. The soft, steady breathing returned.

Shark hunched over a dressing table across from the bed. He picked up some items—cosmetics jars, I think—and silently moved things around.

A tall dresser stood beside the dressing table. The top drawer was half open. I turned to the dresser and peered inside. Sweaters and tops.

Shark pushed up beside me. “I've got it,” he whispered in my ear. He held up a fist. “Let's go, Nate.”

I stared at the closed fist. I froze for a moment. Shark had to give me a shove to get me going.

I stumbled into the hall. My shoes thudded on the wood floor. Shark came close behind. Nikki's eyes went wide with surprise.

Shark opened his fist and showed us the amulet.

Nikki gasped.

My heart pounded so hard, I couldn't say a word. All three of us stared at the amulet, the jewels glimmering in the dull light.

“Mission accomplished,” Shark whispered. A wide grin spread over his face. He pointed to the stairway. “Let's go out the front door.”

We were nearly to the stairs when a bright light flashed on.

I blinked and cried out.

Spinning around, I saw Candy in the doorway to her room. Her long nightshirt was twisted around her body. Her dark hair was tangled and matted wetly to her forehead.

“What are you DOING here?” she screamed. Her hands balled into tight fists. “Are you
crazy?
What are you doing here?”

Then her eyes stopped on the amulet in Shark's fist. Her mouth opened in a furious scream. “Give me that! Thief! Give it back!”

Nikki and I stumbled back from the stairway as Candy took a running leap. She grabbed the amulet from Shark's hand—

—and fell. Fell headfirst . . .

. . . headfirst down the stairs . . . screaming . . .

. . . screaming until her head smashed onto a wooden stair. I heard a horrifying
crack.

Her body thudded hard against the wall. She tumbled down more steps. Did a wild somersault. I heard another loud
crack
as her head hit again.

I pushed past Shark and Nikki and stared down the stairwell, trembling in horror.

Get up, I silently prayed. Candy—get up!

But she didn't move.

Her body was twisted in an unnatural angle. One leg bent beneath her. Her head tilted to one side. Tilted
too far.
Her mouth open, eyes open wide.

“Get up! Get up!” I didn't realize I was screaming. “Candy—get up!”

And then all three of us flew down the stairs. And bent over her. And stared at her blank, lifeless eyes. And the bone—her neck bone—poking out from her skin.

She wasn't breathing.

She won't get up.

“I . . . I killed her,” Shark stammered, backing against the side of the stairs.

“No—,” Nikki protested. “It was an accident.”

“You didn't do it, Shark,” I said in a trembling voice. “Really. You didn't. It was an accident. Nikki and I saw the whole thing. It . . . it was an accident.”

“It's so
horrible
!” Nikki cried, pressing her hands to her face. “But at least . . . at least she won't be able to do any more terrifying things to us. At least she won't be trying to kill us anymore.”

Yes! The amulet.

I gasped as I saw it beneath Candy's open hand on the floor.

I reached down . . . reached over her dead body . . . and grabbed it.

“Come on!” I shouted. “We're safe now. We've got it. Let's get out of here!”

I took a deep breath. Then I took off, running out the front door with Nikki and Shark close behind me. My heart pounded as I tore down the driveway clutching the amulet.

We're safe,
I told myself.

No more evil spells. No more evil magic.

Safe. Safe.

Then I stopped. Stopped at the curb. Gasping for breath.

Shark bumped into me. Nikki let out a startled cry.

“Nate—what's wrong?” Shark asked. “Hey, what is it?”

I held up the amulet. My hand trembled. “It . . . it . . .” I was panting too hard to talk.

Shark grabbed my arm. They both stared at the pendant in my hand.

At the
two pieces
of pendant in my hand.

“It . . . cracked in half,” I finally choked out.

I held it up to them.

“It cracked in half because it's plastic. Don't you see? It's just plastic. It's a fake. Candy never had the real amulet. It's just a cheap, plastic fake.”