Chapter 7
“Get away from me!” Jaden screamed. He twisted and strained, but the woman held tight.
“Stop struggling,” the woman said. She was shorter than Damon or Jaden. She wore a black cloak with its hood up over her head. The shadow it cast made seeing her face difficult.
Damon didn’t dare try to pull away. “Who are you?” he asked.
The woman laughed. It sounded like a crow cackling.
Finally Jaden stopped squirming. “Let us go,” he said, “or I’ll scream so loud the police will come and arrest you!”
“The Ravens Pass police department?” the woman said. She laughed. “They’re a joke. Where were they seventy years ago when Aaron Moone disappeared?”
“Aaron?” Damon repeated. “That must have been my grandpa’s friend.”
The woman peered at Damon. Then she threw back her hood. She was older than Damon would have guessed possible.
“I know your face,” she said. “But it’s not possible, it can’t be you. You’re too young!”
“I’ve never seen you before in my life,” Damon said.
Jaden looked at the woman, then back at Damon. “She must think you’re your grandpa,” he said.
The woman nodded. “Yes, the grandson,” she said. “That’s why you little brats are here tonight, isn’t it? You seek the treasure, just like that night seventy years ago.”
“You know about the treasure?” Jaden asked.
The old lady gave Jaden a cockeyed glance. “You should not be here at night,” she said. “Do not go to Esther Smith’s grave. It will only bring death.”
Jaden didn’t speak for a moment. He just stared into the old woman’s eyes. Damon saw that Jaden’s face was stern and hard. His jaw was set. His eyes were narrow.
For an instant, Damon thought that Jaden was the creepy one — not the old lady.
Finally Jaden spoke. His voice was surprisingly calm. “You won’t hurt us?” he asked.
The woman smirked. “You don’t need to worry about me,” she said. “There is great evil here among these graves.”
“Well, we’re not leaving,” Jaden said. “So you might as well tell us where Esther Smith’s grave is.”
The woman shook her head sadly. She slowly raised a crooked finger and pointed at a crooked gravestone in a clearing not too far away.
Without another word, Jaden rushed toward the clearing.
Damon glanced at the strange woman and then chased after Jaden.
“Wait for me!” Damon cried.
“Please!” the woman called out. “If you must go inside Esther Smith’s grave, don’t take the other one with you!”
Jaden and Damon ran faster.