Daughters of Silence Read Online Free PDF Page A

all up tonight,” Jenna retorted.
    Hallie laughed. “Oh, come on, Jenna. Don’t you want to see inside the Fears’ house? I’ll bet no one from town has been inside there in years.”
    â€œAnd probably with good reason, Hallie,” Jenna retorted.
    â€œYou’re honestly not the least bit curious?” Hallie prodded.
    â€œNo, I’m honestly not,” Jenna insisted. Though shesecretly knew that she did feel curious. More than a little, actually.
    Hallie’s feather mattress rustled as she shifted position. “Jenna, you know I wasn’t exactly truthful when I said I liked it here. I haven’t made a single friend.”
    â€œOh, Hallie, you will.”
    â€œI’ve tried my best,” Hallie complained. “I’m an outsider here. The girls are polite, but none of them ever come to call. Sometimes I think I’ll never fit in.”
    â€œWhat has this got to do with the Fears?” Jenna asked.
    â€œLook, I’m not that eager to go there, either,” Hallie confided. “But I have to. You see, no one else in town has ever dared to even walk up to the front door, no less gone inside their house. If we go, then all the other girls will want to hear about it. This is my chance to make friends.”
    â€œOh, Hallie.”
    â€œPlease?” the other girl pleaded.
    Jenna wanted to refuse, but she couldn’t. Hallie was her best friend. If going to the Fear house would make it easier for her to make friends here in Shadyside, then Jenna had to help.
    â€œAll right,” she muttered. “I’ll go with you. But just this once.”
    â€œYou’re the best sister any girl could have,” Hallie vowed. “The very best.”
    â€œNow, please may I go to sleep?” Jenna begged.
    Hallie laughed. “I didn’t realize I was keeping you up. Yes, Jenna. Go to sleep.”
    With a sigh, Jenna closed her eyes. Slowly, the world began to fade away. She wasn’t asleep, exactly.Yet, hazy dreamlike images filled her mind. Pale shapes flitting through the night sky. Ghostly robes billowing out, drifting with the beat of wings.
    A faint noise outside pulled her back to wakefulness. For a moment she lay still, listening. She heard the noise again.
    What was that?
    She heard it once more. Louder. Closer. The soft rustling sound made Jenna sit bolt upright in bed. Jenna’s skin crawled as she realized what had made the eerie sound.
    Wings.
    Something big, taking flight. Swooping across the night sky.

Chapter
4

    â€œH allie!” Jenna whispered. “Hallie, wake up.”
    She heard her friend mumble. Then watched as Hallie rolled over and pressed her head deeper into her pillow. Jenna struggled to get up. She tiptoed over to the window. Beneath the sheltering branches, the woods looked dark and shadowy.
    Not a single ray of moonlight intruded there.
    Jenna stared intently at the woods. Nothing moved. Then a pale shadow darted out of the gloomy shadows beneath the trees.
    It rose, flying over the woods. Then swooped straight at Jenna.
    Pale, fluttering wings beat at the window. Claws screeched upon the glass. Jenna caught one horrified glimpse of round, staring eyes and a deformed mouth, opening and closing. Opening and closing.
    With a cry, she jerked backward. Her knees caughtthe edge of the bed, sending her down to the floor with a thump.
    â€œWhat is it?” Hallie cried, surging up in bed.
    â€œThe … the window!” Jenna gasped.
    Hallie rose and went to the window. “I don’t see anything,” she murmured sleepily. “Oh! Now I see it!” she added in a startled tone. She took a step back from the window and looked over at Jenna.
    It took every bit of Jenna’s courage to get up and return to the window. But she had to see. She had to know. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she looked out.
    A white shape floated on the breeze. The long feathers of its wings splayed out as it spiraled