Red Rider's Hood Read Online Free PDF

them if you saw them again?” I asked.
    Grandma sighed. “Thirty years changes people. I can’t say I would.”
    Marissa stood and began to pace the room. “If we don’t even know what they look like, how can we find them?”
    â€œThe medallion,” said Grandma.
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œOne of them wore a medallion—very scarred, very old. Bronze, I think it was. Find the medallion, and you’ll find them.”
    â€œYeah, like that’s gonna happen,” I said. “How are we going to track down a medallion?”
    I reached to pour myself another cup of tea, but Grandma stopped me.
    â€œCareful,” she said. “One cup is plenty. As long as it stays in our blood, it should keep the werewolves away.” Then she turned to Marissa. “Tell me, dear, how did you come by the skull of Xavier Soames?”
    Marissa glanced around as if the walls might have ears, then spoke in a low whisper. “It was my uncle who got it,” she said. “He’s the one who told me about Xavier Soames, and how the Wolves had terrorized the neighborhood. It made him a little bit crazy, I think. For as long as I can remember, he’s been very superstitious—carrying rabbit’s feet, avoiding ladders, that sort of thing. He taught me all he knew about werewolves. He had read that the best way to keep evil spirits from coming back was to make mischief with their bones.”
    â€œWhat kind of mischief?” I asked.
    â€œMoving the bones around in the grave, that sort of thing.”
    I swallowed hard. Digging up a grave, opening a coffin, and shifting bones was not the kind of mischief I’d ever want to get into.
    â€œMy uncle snuck into the graveyard late one night, just before the moon rose, and dug old Xavier up. It had been only a year, but there wasn’t much left of him but crusty bones.”
    â€œMakes sense,” Grandma said. “The earth is quick to consume the flesh of things that ain’t natural.”
    â€œAnyway,” continued Marissa, “he began to do what he came there to do, moving the bones and all, and then the moon rose. At that moment, right before his eyes, the bones began to change. Every single human bone transformed into the bone of a wolf. It scared him half out of his mind—he thought the bones themselves would reassemble and attack him. But they didn’t.”
    â€œSo not even the bones of a werewolf can resist the call of a full moon,” Grandma said with a shiver. “That’s more than I ever wanted to know.”
    â€œBefore he closed the coffin and filled in the grave, he took the skull. He’s kept it locked in a chest ever since, afraid to take it out, but afraid to get rid of it, too.”
    â€œWhere’s your uncle now?” I asked. “Maybe he can lead us to the hunters.”
    Marissa shook her head. “Once he realized that Xavier’s grandson was also a werewolf and was gathering a new gang, he left town. He gave me the skull before he left to warn me. The first time I saw the change myself, it scared me half out of my mind, but pretty soon I realized I could use the skull kind oflike a wolf clock. All I have to do is look at that skull to know when the werewolves are out. And of course, I can use it to put people like Red here to the test.”
    â€œVery clever,” Grandma said, but before Marissa could feel too proud of herself, she added, “but you’re a fool for carrying it around so people can see. All it takes is one member of the pack to report back to Cedric, and they won’t even wait for the full moon to put you on the menu.”
    Marissa was a little hurt by the reprimand. “My brother looks out for me.”
    Grandma tossed a sour look toward her. “Marvin? He’s one of them! He was right there next to Cedric when he threw me in the basement.”
    â€œAnd stole the money from me,” I added.
    â€œNo. If he was