Family Secrets (Young Adult Edition) (Davenport Manor (Young Adult Edition)) by Melissa Zaroski Page A

remembered how to ride
the minute he got in the saddle. They rode through the property and
around the land that they hadn’t explored on foot during his first
tour. Todd would occasionally watch Emma, hardly hearing her speak.
She looked so divine while riding Phantom, like something out of a
film. They made their way around the property, past the cottages,
and found themselves at the entrance of the cemetery once again. By
this time, the sun had begun to set on the horizon, giving the sky
a deep, orange hue. The shadows had already engulfed the area,
which gave Todd an ominous feeling as they approached the
graveyard. He got a chill up his spine and had the overwhelming
urge to turn back, but Emma seemed completely comfortable and he
didn’t want to seem like a sissy. There were no crickets or
nightlife sounds as it was now November, which made the complete
silence even more unsettling.
    Emma heard Todd’s heart rate increase,
letting her know that he was afraid. For some odd reason, she
enjoyed the fact that he was uncomfortable there and continued to
ride on. Todd had slowed the pace of his horse, feeling hesitant
about moving forward.
    “Something the matter, Todd?” Emma
asked as she turned her body around the face him.
    He gave her a nervous smile and
replied, “Ahh, no. I just…I’m just a little uneasy about being in a
cemetery at night.”
    “Oh come on, you have nothing to worry
about here. No one is going to get you! I like to come here when I
need some distance from people, I find it very serene. I like to
visit my family.”
    He sped up his pace to catch up to her
since he certainly didn’t want to be left behind. Family or not,
all he could think about was that he was surrounded by dead
people.
    Emma dismounted from her horse and
motioned for Todd to follow. She sat down on a bench located across
the path from the Davenport family tomb. Todd dismounted and
hesitantly walked over to join her while his nerves were beginning
to get the best of him. He sat down next to her and she took his
hand.
    “See? Nothing to be afraid of, they
won’t hurt you,” she smiled.
    Todd closed his eyes and listened to
the quiet breeze—trying to convince himself to relax. They sat in
silence for several minutes while holding hands; he was
concentrating on listening to the breeze and she concentrated on
listening to his heart. She heard it slow while he clearly made
himself relax, then it would speed up a little, then slow again.
Suddenly, his heart jumped and began racing while he abruptly sat
up straight, becoming rigid with his eyes wide open now.
    “Todd, what is it?” Emma asked with
concern.
    “Shhh, do you hear that?”
    Emma sat silent for a moment,
listening intently. Certainly if he heard something, she would hear
it 10 times louder. “I don’t hear anything, love.”
    “It sounds like a woman
weeping…faintly.” His breathing was fast and shallow while holding
perfectly still to listen.
    Confused, Emma shook her
head and looked around, “I don’t hear anything, Todd.” And trust me, I would.
    “It sounds like it is coming from the
crypt there…dang, I’m freaking out, please let’s get out of here,”
he pleaded with anxiety in his voice. He wasn’t sure if it was real
or if his mind was playing tricks on him. But, fear had gotten the
best of him and the only thing he knew was that he wanted to be as
far away from that cemetery as possible. After the odd encounter
with what he believed to be a ghost the night before, he remained
edgy all day.
    She gently rubbed his back and agreed
to leave. She felt bad that he was so frightened, but honestly
couldn’t understand why humans were often so afraid of dead people.
If only Todd knew what she was, he would have realized that he
would have been protected by the most dangerous predator on Earth
and that he had nothing to be afraid of.
    It was dark out when they finally
walked into the house. Todd had relaxed and felt like a complete
fool for being such