Read The Beast of Blackslope Online

Authors: Tracy Barrett

The Beast of Blackslope (8 page)

BOOK: The Beast of Blackslope
4.84Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
“Maybe he was trying to keep people from finding out about his dogs.”
“That would be weird, but possible, I guess,” Xander said. “He did seem awfully protective of the stable.”
They were silent. None of the other suspects made much sense, and neither Xander nor Xena could see where to go next. Then something occurred to Xander. “The sale at the manor is in four days. We're going back to London right after it.”
“So we have got to find the Beast before we leave,” Xena said. “Otherwise we'll fail Sherlock.”
“I know.” Xander's voice was troubled.
“What's wrong?”
“Well, it's great that there's no real beast out there. But there
is
a real person pretending to be the Beast and terrifying the whole town. He or she is repeating the pattern from the past. A sheep has already gone missing. Which means Mrs. Roberts is right about one thing: A person could be next!”
T
he next morning was fresh and cool—a perfect day for the tour of the ruined castle the Holmes family had planned.
The castle wasn't enough to take Xena and Xander's minds completely off the case, but it helped. There were some walls left standing, so they could tell what the different rooms were with the help of signs posted on the dark gray stones. Exploring it was like climbing around a giant jungle gym. Xena scaled one of the shorter walls using her rock-climbing skills and pretended to pour boiling oil on Xander, who was pretending to be an enemy soldier besieging the castle. They had a good time, but both were itching to get back on the case.
They stopped at a restaurant in the country for supper and got back to the B and B late. As Xander was climbing into bed, Xena appeared at his door carrying two flashlights. “Take one of
these. I found them on the end table in the sitting room. Nobody will mind if we borrow them. And keep your shoes next to your bed. We have to be ready to go at a moment's notice.”
“What makes you think we'll be going somewhere tonight?” Xander quickly switched the flashlight on and off again, then put it under his pillow.
“I don't know,” Xena admitted, “but we have to be ready for anything.”
“All I'm ready for,” Xander mumbled into his pillow, “is sleep.” Xena could be so bossy. He knew she was right, though, and tried to stay awake. But all that climbing in the fresh air had exhausted them, and first Xander and then Xena fell asleep.
But not for long. A howl rose through the night, reaching a pitch so high it sounded like a woman's scream, and then sinking to a long, low sob that lingered in the air.
Xena and Xander met at the front door of the B and B, each clutching a flashlight.
“Which way did it come from?” Xander asked. His heart was pounding. It's not really the Beast, he tried to tell himself.
“That way!” Xena gestured with her flashlight and clicked the On button. Finally a chance
to get a sighting of the Beast! But no light appeared. “Darn!” she said, and took off running. She wasn't going to let it get away. “Turn yours on, Xander!” she called behind her.
“I'm trying!” he said, trotting after her while pressing the button. Weak yellow light came out the front of the flashlight but faded seconds later.
“I don't believe this!” Xander said. “It worked when I turned it on before.” He shook the flashlight and tried again. No luck.
Xena turned back. There was no point—the darkness was as thick as a wall. Unless the Beast was standing in the middle of the road waving its arms, they'd never see it. She stopped and waited for her brother to catch up with her.
“Xander, stop messing with the flashlight. The battery's dead.”
He looked up. “How do you know?” He smacked the flashlight against the palm of his hand.
She took it from him. “You'll just break the bulb. There's no point.”
Xander followed her back to the B and B. He was secretly relieved that their mission had to be postponed until daylight. Even if the Beast was a person in a costume, he wasn't eager to meet that person in the middle of the night.
Xena, though, was genuinely disappointed. “The way Mr. Whittaker described the Beast, it didn't move very fast. I bet I could have caught up with it if I was able to see where I was going.”
“I always thought it was just a saying that your hair stands up on your head when you're scared.” Xander rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, which still felt tingly. “But it really happens!”
“I was a little spooked too,” Xena admitted. “I wonder if Mom and Dad heard the howl.”
“I don't think so. They're on the other side of the house. And they'd probably be out here by now if they had.”
The only light on was the one left burning all night to light the way to the bathroom. The sitting room, the kitchen, everything else was dark. Xena and Xander tiptoed up the stairs, and as they passed Trevor's room Xander noticed that his door was ajar. It had always been shut tight before, so this was odd. Xander pushed the door with his fingertips, and it moved a little. He gave it a good shove and it swung all the way open.
The light from the hall was weak but their eyes were accustomed to the darkness by now, and they could see that Trevor's bed was empty.
“Strange,” Xena mused. “Where could he be in the middle of the night?”
“Bathroom?”
Xena looked down the hall and shook her head. “Door's open and nobody's in there.”
“Maybe he went outside to see what the howling was.”
“Maybe,” Xena said, “and maybe not. He could be the one out there howling and making footprints!” They locked eyes, a combination of certainty and excitement growing inside them.
“Let's try to catch him when he comes back,” Xander said. “We'll have to stake out his room.”
Xander took the first watch. “If I hide in the linen closet with the door cracked, I'll be able to see if anyone goes in or out without being seen.”
“Just don't fall asleep in there,” Xena cautioned. “I'll come in a few hours.”
Xander made himself a kind of nest out of pillows and blankets. He sat bolt upright and stared at Trevor's door until he thought his eyes had dried out. He blinked and rubbed them, fighting the urge to sleep.
Why was it that time went so fast when you were having fun and so slowly when you weren't? The sounds of the house around him were cozy as little clicks and creaks reached him every
once in a while. He heard the sitting-room clock strike the hour, then again, and again. Surely Xena would come for him soon.
He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until another sound woke him. He sat up, feeling the insides of his ears tickle. It wasn't a howl, and it wasn't footsteps. It was a regular and highpitched
beep-beep-beep
. What could it be?
Then he recognized it—Xena's alarm clock. She must have set it before she went back to bed so that she could relieve him on time. Good. He stood and stretched, aching for his bed.
Why wasn't Xena turning off the alarm? And why wasn't she relieving him? If she didn't shut off the alarm soon, it was liable to wake one of the adults. Then a worse thought came to him—what if something had happened to her? What if whoever was pretending to be the Beast had gone into Xena's room and snatched her away? Xander jumped to his feet in a sudden panic. Wait a minute, he told himself. He took a few deep breaths. Why would it come for Xena? He had to be logical about this. Then Xander's fear level shot back up as another question occurred to him: What about Trevor? After all, his grandmother had said the Beast might come for him!
Cautiously, Xander pushed open the linen-closet door. No light, no sound aside from that annoying beep, no motion. He forced himself not to run but to take long silent steps as he moved toward the bedrooms. He reached Trevor's door and glanced in. Still nobody.
He let himself into Xena's room. For a moment he couldn't tell if the bundle on the bed was a pile of bunched-up sheets or his sister's sleeping form, but then he heard a light snore and a grunt.
Phew. It was Xena. He turned off the alarm and shook her shoulder.
She rolled over. “Leave me alone,” she muttered into her pillow. “'S not time to get up yet. 'S still dark.”
“Xena!” He shook her again. “I'm not Mom! I'm Xander, and you were supposed to take over the watch.” He yawned hugely. “Get up!”
Xena sat up, her hair messy, her eyes half-open. She glanced at the window. The sky was a light charcoal gray. “Look, it's getting light,” she said. “Did Trevor come back?”
“Nope. Let's go look for him!” Maybe now that the sun was rising they would be able to see something.
Xander got their sweaters while Xena
dressed, and then they went out together. Birds were twittering in the trees, and the dawn air was cool.
“Look!” Xander said. “We're in luck!” He pointed at the dew that lay on the grass. Someone—or something—had walked over it, leaving a clear trail.
“It will burn away as soon as the sun's really out,” Xena said. “Come on!”
They took off running. The trail led through the garden and down a slope. They had to climb over fences and let themselves through gates, and once Xander nearly ran into a drowsy sheep. Every time the trail faded they took their best guess as to where it would lead; every time they managed to pick it up again.
When they paused to catch their breath Xena said, “You know, you can tell where it's going.”
Xander nodded. “Straight into the woods.”
“Right. And this means … ?”
He knew what she was getting at. “It means we have to go into the woods after it.” Even if the Beast wasn't really a beast, even if it was a human, there was something weird going on. And who knew what other animals might be lurking in the shadows? Nocturnal animals with
sharp eyes that could see him when he couldn't see them. He shivered and glanced behind him. Nothing.
“Xander.” Xena's voice was quiet. “I have to tell you something.”
“What?”
She looked him right in the eye. “I know this case scares you, but you've never backed off. I think you're really brave. And we'll keep together the whole time, okay?”
“Okay.” Xander took a deep breath, tried to smile, and ran off with his sister. Soon they were surrounded by trees. They paused, wondering where to go next.
“There isn't anything here,” Xander said. It didn't
look
like there were any wild animals nearby, but still—
“Wait!” Xena grabbed her brother's arm. “What's that?”
Xander strained to hear, and thought he caught the sound of rustling leaves and cracking branches behind them.
Then an unmistakable sound reached their ears. It was a howl, and as it rose and quavered in the air they realized it was close. Very close.
“Climb a tree!” Xander said. “The Beast is right on top of us!”
But before Xena could move, a voice came from somewhere in front of them. “I
thought
there was someone following me! What are you two doing out here?”
It was Trevor.
But Xena had a different question. “If you were in front of us, what made the noise?” She pointed to her left.
For a second all three looked at one another, and then they said simultaneously, “The Beast!”
Xena said, “Come on! It's getting away!” and they took off. They couldn't run fast, since they had to push their way through branches and climb over fallen logs.
Xander fell into step beside Trevor. “So what were you doing out here?” Xander asked. “Why did you sneak out? Weren't you afraid your grandmother would think the Beast got you?”
“She and my grandfather sleep till seven,” Trevor said, panting as they hurried after Xena. “I'll be back before then. And I'm doing the same thing I bet you're doing—tracking the Beast.”
“Come on!” Xena called. She had pulled way ahead. “There's a path over here.”
The two boys pushed their way through the underbrush. Xena was already running down the trail. They pounded after her but even at top
speed they couldn't catch up. She rounded a turn and they lost sight of her.
It was getting lighter as the dawn spread across the sky, but Xander felt a sudden prickle of fear. In this thick forest anything seemed possible. Could they be wrong? Was there really a Beast of Blackslope? He pushed the thought away.
The path forked and the two boys slowed down. Which way had Xena gone?
Trevor held out an arm to keep Xander back, and bent down close to the dirt. He straightened. “This way!” They started running again. Xander had a stitch in his side, but he gritted his teeth and kept going.
Then, from straight in front of them, came the beginnings of another howl. Straining to see through the trees, Xander made out a bright light shining not too far away. The howl stopped abruptly. There was silence for a moment, then someone screamed and the light went out.
“Xena!” Xander called. “Where are you?”
BOOK: The Beast of Blackslope
4.84Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

A Spoonful of Poison by M. C. Beaton
Saint Intervenes by Leslie Charteris
Road Fever by Tim Cahill
Rock the Viper by Sammie J
Rag and Bone by Michael Nava
La cicatriz by China Miéville
Darkness Bound by J. T. Geissinger
Stirred: A Love Story by Ewens, Tracy