Daughters of Silence Read Online Free PDF

down in a long glide. Then it swooped up again, something small and limp clutched in its claws. Tufts of feathers stood up like ears.
    â€œThat must be the biggest owl I’ve ever seen,” Hallie remarked as she stumbled back to bed. “Looks like it caught a mouse for dinner.”
    Jenna’s breath went out in a sigh of relief. A barn owl! Hunting down a field mouse. How silly could she be? She trembled with sheer relief as she climbed back into bed.
    After the day she’d had today, a visit to the Fears should be easy as pie.
    â™¦Â â™¦Â â™¦
    The hulking Fear mansion stood at the top of a low rise. Three stories tall, it rested on a foundation of blackish-green stone. A blanket of thick, dark ivy crawled over the stone, and up and over rows of dark-brown bricks. Curling around the arched windowsand doorways, the ivy crept nearly to the second story.
    A long, curved stone stairway and two tall turrets on either side of the house reminded Jenna of a castle in a fairy tale. A castle under an evil spell. A peaked gray roof and a tall, spindly chimney added to the unsettling impression.
    A huge oak tree in the front yard hung low over the house. It was dying. Its leafless, skeletal limbs stretched towards the slate roof like bony, outstretched arms. Almost as if it wanted to drag the house into death with it.
    â€œThis place is creepy,” Hallie breathed.
    â€œI’ll say. Are you sure you want to do this?” Jenna asked.
    Her friend shot her a glance with dancing blue eyes. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
    Jenna’s legs felt rubbery as she climbed up the stone steps to the shadowy porch. A brass knocker hung in the center of the front door. Jenna couldn’t tell what it was supposed to be. An animal of some kind, she thought. A lion or a tiger, maybe?
    Then she saw that the tongue was forked like a snake’s. It curled out from between long, pointed fangs. Jenna’s stomach churned with distaste.
    â€œGo ahead and knock,” Hallie whispered.
    â€œYou,” Jenna countered.
    â€œYou’re closer.”
    Jenna took hold of the knocker and tried to lift it. For a moment, it felt as if it resisted her touch. She lifted harder. Then it came loose, so suddenly that she banged her knuckles on the creature’s forehead.
    Bongggg. The metallic clatter echoed through the house. Jenna let the knocker fall back into place and rubbed her skinned knuckles.
    Suddenly, the door swung open.
    Jenna could see nothing but shadows within. Dark. Thick.
    She took a deep breath. Her throat had gone tight, and her skin felt cold despite the warm summer air.
    Who had opened that door?
    A pale oval appeared in the dimness. A face, Jenna realized. A man’s face, hard and sharp. And ugly. Almost grotesquely so, Jenna thought as a wave of revulsion coursed through her body. Two black pits for eyes, jutting cheekbones, a slash of a mouth … She jumped in alarm as Hallie grabbed her by the arm.
    â€œJenna, who is that?” Hallie whispered.
    Jenna could only shake her head. The face came closer. Two smaller patches of paleness seemed to float out of the shadows. His hands, Jenna realized with a shock.
    Soon she could make out the vague outline of his body. Her breath went out in a gasp. Oh, so that was it! His dark clothing had blended with the shadows, making his face and hands seem disembodied.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” His voice boomed down at them.
    A feeling like sharp-clawed mouse feet scampered up Jenna’s spine. She wished she could see the man’s eyes, but they held the darkness like pits of shadow in his face. Terror winged its black way through her heart, and she forgot about Hallie’s painful grip on her arm.
    â€œAnswer me,” he commanded in that same deep, dead voice.
    â€œUh, we’re here to visit Mrs. Fear,” Jenna ventured.
    Those dark pits turned to her. “No one visits here.”
    â€œSimon,