Wolf Moon Rising Read Online Free PDF Page A

would never be tormented
    by jealousy again.
    Th
    e picture was quivering with life, yet as threadbare as an
    ancient tapestry, and Barnabas lifted it, his arms trembling,
    feeling the power of a magic talisman radiate through his body.
    Its force was like an electrical shock, and in a sudden rage he
    raised the painting above his head and slammed it against the
    edge of the stone crypt. Th
    e canvas split, and the portrait gaped
    open in two halves that hung lifeless in the frame.
    With that, it changed back into a faded old oil without
    luminosity, resembling so many hanging in dingy museums
    around the world, and it seemed drained of its power. As he
    clung to the ruined artifact, Barnabas realized that he had been
    deceiving himself all along. He had never meant to return the
    painting— he no longer felt any sympathy for Quentin— and
    now he had destroyed it. What would become of his rival? Would
    age catch up with him? And what of the werewolf curse? Barn-
    abas shrugged off any concern he might have felt, and, without
    needing any further proof, he knew that he possessed— as a
    vampire once again— a heart of stone.
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    David stepped out of the shed where he had been working on
    the snowmobile, and stretched his cramped muscles. He
    had been tinkering with the engine for hours, and he was
    tempted to go for a quick ride before picking Jackie up at the bus stop. Th
    e storm had dumped several feet of new snow, and he
    could see that it was as light as the air, held in crystalline suspen-sion, and all the trees, benches, and walls were draped with heaps of spun sugar frosting. Th
    e garbage cans wore lopsided hats, and
    huge cakes of snow sat on the stone pilasters.
    He jumped on the sled and pulled the start cord, pleased
    with the smooth sound of the engine. Beyond the drive, the
    drifts were perfect for carving turns, and soon he was fl oating
    over the dips and rises or fl ying through the trees, sending up a
    high curving plume of powder as the engine roared beneath his
    legs. After a couple of gnarly turns— leaning way over until he
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    could brush the snow with his knee— he settled down and
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    drove more cautiously along the path toward the highway.
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    Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising
    Meeting Jackie at her bus after school was the highlight of
    David’s day, and he always caught his breath when she appeared,
    her blue scarf wrapped around her dark hair, her pale eyes
    brightening when she saw him. After a tentative “Hi” and “Hi,”
    they usually trudged down the path together, close enough for
    him to inhale her woodsy fragrance. She was often quiet and
    thoughtful, and sometimes he walked backward in front of her
    so that he could look at her while he talked to her. Today he was
    bringing her home on the snowmobile for the fi rst time, and he
    was looking forward to her snuggled up behind him on the seat,
    her arms around his waist.
    When he was with her, he always felt light- headed, and
    everything his eye fell upon he saw for the fi rst time. A bird
    against the sky, the curve of a tree branch, the dew- lit web of a
    spider: all seemed miraculous, and he struggled to fi nd the words
    to describe things to her. But it would come out, “Hey, look at
    that bird!” or “See the moon?”— words so inadequate they left
    him feeling embarrassed. Still, whenever they were together, he
    felt he moved in a cloud of enchantment, his whole body buzz-
    ing with happiness.
    When he looked back, David always believed that his life
    began the day Jackie and her mom moved into the Old House.
    He had been curious when the moving van drove up to deposit
    their belongings, and he wandered over to see the progress when
    the workers began the restoration. Th
    en one day he saw her
    walking back and forth from her mom’s car carry ing lamps and
    rugs, small tables and chairs. It