The Children of Fear Read online

  Mrs. Green pulled the door open. She smiled brightly. “Luke, you don’t have to knock. This is your home.”

  “I’m still not used to it,” he said as he stepped inside, Corey close on his heels. “I was wondering if we could have some lemonade.”

  “Certainly. Leah, will you please pour your brothers some lemonade?”

  “Certainly,” Leah said, cocking her head and imitating Mrs. Green’s voice. But she didn’t smile like Mrs. Green did.

  Leah wore a yellow dress with ribbons and bows sewn over it. Luke knew she hated the frilly dresses that Mrs. Green chose for her.

  Leah took two glasses out of a cabinet and set them on the counter. Then she lifted the pitcher of fresh lemonade and began to pour.

  The pitcher slipped through her fingers and crashed to the floor. The lemonade spilled over the waxed hardwood.

  “Oh, no!” Mrs. Green said as she fell to her knees and began to pick up the shards of glass. “That was my favorite crystal pitcher.”

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Green,” Leah apologized. “It was an accident.”

  “I know,” Mrs. Green replied wearily. Then she cried out. She opened her hand and Luke could see a jagged piece of glass embedded in her palm. Blood dripped onto the floor.

  “Please take Corey outside,” Mrs. Green said. “I don’t want him to get hurt.”

  Leah smiled, took Corey’s hand, and led him outside. Luke watched helplessly as Mrs. Green pulled the glass from her palm. “I’ll clean this up, Mrs. Green,” he offered.

  She sighed heavily. “No, you go help Mr. Green. I can take care of this.” She smiled and patted his knee. “It’s such a joy to have you here. Now, get about your chores.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Luke stepped onto the porch. He was certain Leah had dropped the pitcher on purpose. He knew she wasn’t happy living with the Greens. He needed to talk with her. He walked around the side of the house. He couldn’t see Leah or Corey anywhere.

  He ambled into the barn. He saw Mr. Green standing beside the first stall. “Mr. Green, have you seen Leah?” he asked.

  Mr. Green turned around and smiled. “She’s right in here.”

  Luke approached the stall and peered over the slats. Leah sat inside the stall beside a large hog. Corey held two tiny piglets in his lap. Luke watched in amazement as Leah rubbed her hand over the hog’s belly while another piglet was born.

  Luke felt a knot of apprehension in his stomach when he spotted the dirt all over Leah’s pretty yellow dress. He knew Mrs. Green would be displeased and scold Leah. But Mr. Green didn’t seem to mind.

  “Never seen anything like it,” Mr. Green exclaimed. “Matilda was having a hard time of it. I could see that she was frightened, but I couldn’t get her to relax enough to bring those babies into the world. Leah just sat down beside her and talked to her. Matilda calmed right down.”

  “Leah’s always had a way with animals,” Luke told him as Matilda gave birth to her fourth piglet.

  “A gift is what she has,” Mr. Green replied. He shook his head in amazement. “A natural gift.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  That night Luke stayed awake in bed and listened. When he was sure everyone else in the house had fallen asleep, he crept down the hallway until he reached Leah’s room. He tapped lightly on her door and waited.

  She opened the door and rubbed her eyes.

  “I need to talk to you,” Luke whispered. “Come sit on the porch with me.”

  Together they tiptoed through the house. Quietly, Luke opened the front door. Leah slipped through. Luke followed and closed the door behind him.

  Leah sat on the steps, drew up her knees, and wrapped her arms around her legs. Luke dropped down on the step beside her. He listened to the night sounds—the crickets chirping, the hogs snorting sleepily in the distant pen, and the newborn piglets squealing for their milk.

  How should he begin? He felt his pulse quicken. Once, he felt able to speak freely to Leah, to tell her anything on his mind. His deepest worries, his brightest dreams. Now he felt different.

  He feared her. He feared making her angry. Feared what she might do to him.

  He gazed up at the stars. “Remember when we were little, and Ma used to make us wish on the first star every night?” Luke asked Leah finally.

  “Yes,” Leah hesitantly replied.

  “I wished on a star tonight,” Luke told her. “I wished that you would be happy, and that Corey would talk again.”

  “If I’m happy, you’ll leave,” Leah answered.

  “No, I won’t,” Luke assured her. “What makes you say that?”

  “You said you would,” she reminded him. “You said you’d stay with us and make sure we were happy.”

  Luke sighed. “But I’m happy here, Leah. I don’t want to leave. I want you to be happy.”

  She rested her chin on her knees. “I felt happy today, working with Matilda. I’d be happy if I could be with the animals, but Mrs. Green wants me to be a lady. I don’t want to be a lady. It’s boring.”

  “Maybe if you tried—”

  “I am trying,” she snapped.

  He heard the shrill note in her voice. The sure sign of her anger rising.

  “I’m sorry,” Luke told her. “I know you’re trying. I know the past few months have been hard on all of us. Hardest on Corey. Leah, we need to find a way to get Corey to talk again.”

  She picked at a loose thread on her gown. “I’ve talked with him, but I think his voice is just trapped inside him.”

  “But he laughed. On the train, he laughed. Do you remember?”

  “Yes, I do. That seems so long ago now,” Leah added. She looked up at the sky. “Which star did you wish on?”

  “All of them,” Luke told her.

  She squeezed his hand. “Let’s close our eyes and wish again.”

  Luke closed his eyes. Together, he and Leah said, “I wish Corey would talk again.”

  Luke opened his eyes and stared at the night sky.

  “I miss the way things were,” Leah said with a sigh.

  “Me too,” Luke confessed.

  And one of the things he missed most of all was the way things had been between him and his sister. Before he began to suspect her of such vicious madness… .

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  With Corey tagging along behind him, Luke strolled to the large oak tree that grew beside the front porch.

  Mrs. Green and Leah sat in the rocking chairs on the porch. They each held scraps of linen and embroidery thread in their laps.

  “Mrs. Green, can I hang this swing from the tree limb?” Luke asked.

  Mrs. Green glanced up from her stitching. “Certainly, Luke.”

  Luke looked at Corey. “Would you like a swing?”

  Corey nodded.

  “Can you say yes?” Luke asked his brother.

  Corey pressed his lips together. Luke’s heart sank, but still he smiled at Corey before he climbed the tree. He edged out onto a thick high limb and began to tie the ropes around the limb.

  “No, no, no,” Luke heard Mrs. Green scolding Leah. “You must make the stitches smaller.”

  “I can’t make them any smaller,” Leah shot back. “My fingers are too big.”

  “Nonsense. You simply aren’t trying, and you must. A young woman’s stitchery should be as dainty and delicate as she is.”

  Luke tied the other end of the rope to the limb. Corey stared up expectantly at him. Luke tightened the knots, then shifted his gaze to Leah.

  He noticed her lower lip jutting out, her brow furrowed in an angry pout.

  The previous week, Mrs. Green had given Leah cooking lessons. After five burned meals in a row, Mr. Green had suggested that Leah’s talents might reside elsewhere.

  With a sigh, Mrs. Green had agreed.

  The week before that, Mrs. Green had made Leah walk through the house with a book balanced on top of her head. The book had toppled off Leah’s head as she passed Mrs. Green’s treasured china figurine c
ollection. It had smashed the delicate pieces.

  Mrs. Green wants only what is best for Leah, but Leah won’t try to learn, Luke thought.

  “Sit up straight,” Mrs. Green admonished Leah. “A lady should always—”

  Leah jumped out of the rocking chair and threw down the embroidery. “I’m not a lady!” she cried. “I don’t want to be a lady. Being a lady is boring. You’re boring!”

  Leah dashed off toward the barn.

  Luke watched as Mrs. Green rose, her back stiff and straight. She stomped down the steps.

  Luke dropped the wooden bench of the swing so it dangled from the tree limb. “Mrs. Green?”

  Mrs. Green glanced up, her lips pressed into a straight line. “Your sister is being very difficult, Luke. She refuses to listen to a word I say. If she does not cooperate, Mr. Green and I will have to send her away.” She shook her head. “We don’t want to send her away, but I cannot abide a willful child in my house.”

  “Let me talk to her,” Luke offered as he scrambled down the tree. “I’m sure if I explain things to her—”

  “We don’t want to send her away,” Mrs. Green repeated, interrupting him. “But we will have no choice.”

  “I understand,” Luke replied, his stomach twisting with frustration.

  If only Leah would try, he thought, we could all be happy here. It will break Corey’s heart if she’s sent away. And I promised them both I’d keep us all together.

  “Please let me talk to her,” Luke begged.

  Mrs. Green nodded. “Perhaps you’ll have more luck with Leah than I do,” she remarked. Then she looked at Corey. “Would you like to try out your new swing?”

  Corey stared up at her wide-eyed. Then he nodded and she held out her hand.

  At least Corey is happy, Luke thought as he watched his brother climb onto the wooden seat of the swing. Mrs. Green gave him a gentle push.

  Luke trotted over to the barn. Although the morning sun glared outside, inside, the dark barn felt cool. Luke peered into the shadows, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. Dust motes waltzed through the sunlight streaming through the cracks.

  Something did not feel right. Luke felt icy fingers of apprehension crawl up his spine.

  A horse whinnied nervously and kicked a stall.

  The barn cat hissed and arched its back. As Luke walked by, it clawed viciously at the empty air.

  Leah is talking to the animals, he thought with dread. They know she’s upset. So they are upset.

  Gazing around cautiously, he kept walking through the barn.

  He heard the flutter of wings. He ducked his head and covered it with his hands just as a barn owl swooshed down on him. Luke felt the owl’s sharp claws graze his hand before it soared out through the door.

  He looked down at the long scratch across his hand and fingers that suddenly started to bleed.

  “Leah?” he whispered hoarsely, his heart thudding in his chest.

  The shadows swirled like smoke and seemed to reach out from the corners.

  Luke shivered as he felt the air grow suddenly cold.

  What are you doing, Leah? he wondered.

  A thud echoed through the barn.

  A crash.

  A shriek.

  Holding his breath, Luke crept to the last stall and peered around the corner.

  Leah punched and kicked a big bale of hay, a wild expression on her face.

  “I hate her, I hate her, I hate her!” Leah screamed.

  Chapter

  19

  Luke tried to forget the rage he’d seen on Leah’s face the afternoon before. The previous night, Leah had been very polite at supper and quiet. Eerily quiet.

  Luke shuddered with the memory as he headed down the stairs and toward his first chore of the day.

  As much as Luke enjoyed living with the Greens, he hated taking care of the hogs.

  As dawn eased over the horizon, Luke stepped onto the back porch and picked up the two large slop buckets. Last night’s leftovers assailed his nostrils, and he almost gagged.

  “How can hogs eat this stuff after it’s been sitting out here all night?” he wondered aloud.

  He heard the door behind him open. He glanced over his shoulder at his brother. Corey tugged up the strap up on his overalls.

  “ ’Morning, Corey,” Luke greeted him.

  Corey only nodded.

  “Are you going to help me with the hogs again?” Luke asked, pleased that his brother was spending more time with him, helping him with his chores.

  Corey nodded again.

  We’re on our way to becoming a family, he thought with a smile. If we can just find a way to make Leah happy… .

  “Come along, then,” he told Corey. “The hogs are waiting, and I’m a little late this morning with their breakfast.”

  Luke lugged the buckets toward the hog pen. As he rounded the corner of the house, he saw Mrs. Green kneeling before her flower bed, selecting the flowers she would put on the table before breakfast.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Green,” he said as he passed by her.

  “ ’Morning, Luke. ’Morning, Corey.”

  Luke watched as Corey bobbed his head.

  I know he’s happier here, Luke thought to himself. I just wish he would talk.

  Luke neared the wooden pen. The hogs were grunting and shoving one another aside more than usual.

  “They must be hungry this morning,” he told Corey as he set one bucket down and poured the other bucket into the slop trough.

  The hogs squealed and grunted louder.

  Luke picked up the remaining bucket and walked to the side of the fence, where another trough waited.

  Corey tagged along.

  As Luke poured the other bucket of slop into the trough, Corey climbed onto the lower rung of the fence and peered through the wide slats.

  “Don’t get too close,” Luke warned Corey. “Those hogs have sharp teeth.” Luke had seen the large, pointed teeth inside the hogs’ mouths. He’d seen their long, powerful jaws snap thick meat bones in two in an instant. The sight gave him the chills.

  The hogs ignored the slop he’d poured for them and began to grunt louder.

  Then they began to run in a circle inside the pen, their short legs powerful. Luke was always amazed at how fast they could run even though they had small legs and big bodies.

  Luke stood back, watching them. He felt his pulse quicken. What was happening? Were they sick?

  They began to run faster inside the pen. Squeal louder.

  What is wrong with them? Luke wondered. Why are they acting this way?

  The largest hog pawed the muddy earth with his cloven hoof.

  He looked to Luke more like an angry bull than a hog. The hog opened its mouth wide. Luke saw the sharp teeth that looked like deadly tusks on each side of the mouth.

  Luke shuddered at the sight of teeth that could easily shred a person.

  Then the hog suddenly charged forward and crashed its huge body against the fence.

  Corey flew off the fence and landed on his backside, his eyes wide.

  Luke rushed over to Corey. “Are you all right?”

  Before Corey could nod his head, the hog crashed against the fence again. The wood splintered. Another hog rammed against the fence. The wood gave way and the hogs barreled through.

  Luke snatched Corey off the ground. Holding Corey tightly, Luke hurried toward the barn. “Mr. Green! Mr. Green! Help!” he frantically called.

  Luke heard a high-pitched shriek somewhere behind him and skidded to a stop.

  With Corey still clinging to him, he spun around. The horrible grunts and squeals of the hogs made his blood run cold.

  Then Luke spotted the pigs charging after Mrs. Green. She stumbled across the flower bed and raced toward the road. Luke saw the terrified expression on her face, her eyes wild, her hair falling loose from its pins.

  Luke set Corey on the ground by the barn. “Wait here,” he ordered.

  Then he turned and dashed after
Mrs. Green, after the hogs.

  “So-wee! So-wee!” he cried, trying to gain the hogs’ attention.

  But the hogs continued to chase Mrs. Green. Their short legs pounded the ground. Their loud, disgusting grunts filled the air.

  Luke’s breath caught when he saw Mrs. Green stumble.

  She fell to her knees.

  “No!” he cried, knowing he couldn’t reach her in time, knowing he would be too late to help her.

  He watched in horror as the huge hogs trampled Mrs. Green into the ground.

  His breathing labored, tears stinging his eyes, he glanced toward the house.

  Leah stood in her bedroom window … calmly watching.

  Chapter

  20

  A few nights later, when Luke closed his eyes, he could see them all.

  Mrs. Green lying in her coffin … just before Mr. Green lowered her into the ground.

  Mary, gasping her last breath, as he held her.

  He saw the black crows feeding on the matron.

  He saw the leeches, the dog attacking Mike, and the wolf bringing Leah food.

  He saw his father lose control of the horses. He heard his mother’s dying scream.

  His eyes flew open.

  Is that when it began? he wondered. Did it begin the day my parents died?

  He closed his eyes, trying to sleep. Leah’s victims floated through his mind, their faces contorted with pain, their eyes accusing, their voices whispering low.

  You knew! You knew! And you did nothing!

  And then Mary’s face came to him.

  “I saw the evil,” she whispered again. “You must kill …”

  Luke jerked upright. He felt his damp clothes clinging to his skin, his body bathed in sweat.

  “I can’t kill Leah,” he whispered hoarsely into the darkness. “She’s my sister. I know she’s evil. But I can’t kill her.”

  He dropped back down, his head sinking into the soft pillow.

  He stared at the shadowed ceiling.

  I know I have to do something. He balled his hands around the blankets on his bed. I will do something. I can no longer protect Leah.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  The next morning Luke gazed at Mr. Green standing beside Mrs. Green’s grave.