Moonless Read Online Free PDF Page A

dozing in the balmy church, and what followed:
    The rush of wind tugged at her hair. She sprinted toward the road, heart thundering, needing escape, knowing the futility of her effort. She froze. Terrible red eyes circled her, burrowing into her from the wooded shadows of twilight . . .
    She had jolted awake. Occupied pews staggered toward the pulpit, filled to their limit. She glanced up at the preacher—who stared directly at her. The center of his pupils blazed in ravenous crimson.
    She screamed and fought to escape. Embarrassed, Father set her free and sent Sarah after. Alexia couldn’t have explained the fear, nor would Father have listened. They never returned to that church—though she certainly had his pride to blame.
    Why did incidents like that haunt you until your dying day, resurrecting every so often to inspire the guilt and stupidity of a mistake?

9
    Vigil
                   
    Kiren unlatched the balcony door with a thin metal hook and slipped inside. He refastened the catch, gut twisting at the moonless sky beyond the glass. How long would his luck hold?
    Alexia lay on her back, one arm lost beneath her dark hair, the other tucked across her chest. A foot dangled off the edge of the mattress, tempting him to slip it back beneath her blanket.
    He grinned, envying her carefree abandon. Her latest read lay on the bed beside an extinguished candle. He lifted it. Fanciful words danced back at him. They too made him smile. She wanted adventure. He could supply that.
    His eyes landed on the card he’d given her father and his smirk died. It had been shredded and reconstructed. His chest tightened. “Oh Alexia . . .”

10
    Thrown
                   
    A stormy night raged. Wheels rattled as a carriage pulled away from an enormous estate. A whip came down. The horses bolted. The driver reeled drunkenly as the conveyance wobbled. It weaved dangerously across the drive.
    Lightning.
    The carriage flipped and the driver launched upward . . .
    Alexia shot awake, heart racing.
    Another dream. They came with growing frequency, and she dreaded every one. Would this one come true, or did her subconscious merely weave another story? Surely her mind had begun fabricating fantasies to keep her away from the terrors she’d experienced.
    She reached for her candle, fingers landing atop his card.
    A cool breeze swept across her hand. The balcony door hung unlatched, again . Father needed to have that thing fixed.

11
    More Death
     
    The chime rang.
    Rain spattered the windows, wind whistling at the panes as Charles reviewed receipts in the study. The door creaked inward and he looked up as the butler poked his head in to announce a caller.
    A lawyer bustled past the servant and handed over his card. “I represent Earl Henry von Faber and his wife, Sarah, your sister.”
    Charles scowled. “I know who the Earl is, sir.” Though he hadn’t heard from his sister since her wedding day.
    The man pulled back his hand and cleared his throat. “It was the fate of your near-kinsman, on the twenty-seventh of last month, to pass out of this world.”
    A gasp rang from the hall. Alexia. Of course.
    “Dead?” Charles lifted a brow. “You must be mistaken—”
    “No mistake. I have here your invitation for the funeral which will proceed one week hence.”
    He rose and took it from the messenger. An undertaker’s seal verified the story. “What was the cause?”
    “Carriage accident.”
    Charles reached for his desk, tipped, and steadied himself, unwilling to ponder the implications. It could be a coincidence. It must be a coincidence!
    That dreadful day seventeen years ago resurfaced in his mind: the letter announcing his parent’s death by carriage accident as it shook in his new bride’s hand. Sarah had survived, an orphan and only four. She needed her brother. Rosalind had agreed to raise the child, and they’d left for his home.
    The lawyer tugged at his collar. “At my parting, your sister