Free Dance of Death by R.L. Stine

side.
    She lifted her head—and looked straight into the ghost’s burning eyes.
    Madeline screamed and lost her hold on the treetrunk. She slipped down one side. She grabbed hold of one of the branches.
    Madeline’s feet dangled over the deep pit. The weight of her skirts pulled her down, down, down.
    She could hear the bones in her arm crack with the effort she was making not to lose her grip. With her last ounce of strength, she kicked up with her legs and wrapped them around the tree trunk.
    Madeline clung to the underside of the branch, totally exhausted.
    So close! I got so close to reaching my goal. But I’ll never be able to do it now.
    The tree branch she clung to began to break.
    This is the end. I’m going to die.
    The branch snapped off at the trunk. The wind whistled in Madeline’s ears as she swung through the air. She hit the side of the ravine with a force that knocked the breath right out of her body.
    Madeline’s legs began to slip off the tree trunk.
    She was falling.
    Ice cold hands reached out and grabbed her by the wrist.
    The ghost! It has me!

Chapter
    16

    T he ghost pulled Madeline out of the pit and into its arms. She stared up at it.
    Justin!
    It wasn’t the ghost. It was Justin.
    â€œJustin?” Madeline asked in a dazed voice. “Is it really you?”
    â€œHush, Madeline,” Justin instructed, laying a cold finger across her lips. “Everything is all right. You’re safe now.”
    It was Justin’s touch I felt. Not the ghost’s!
    â€œOh, Justin!” Madeline cried. She buried her face against his chest. “You saved me, didn’t you?”
    â€œOf course I did,” Justin replied. “You’re very important to me, Madeline. Even when you disappoint me.”
    Madeline lifted her face up. She knew she had toapologize. “Oh, Justin. I’m so ashamed of the way I acted earlier. I was on my way back to you, to apologize. To ask how I could make things up to you. Then this—accident happened.”
    Justin smiled. “I’m glad to know you were coming back to me,” he answered. “If you really want to make things up to me, you can do something.”
    â€œWhat?” Madeline asked, her heart beating like thunder. There was a special warmth in Justin’s eyes.
    â€œMarry me, Madeline.”
    Madeline’s whole body tingled. He wanted to marry her! Wanted her to be his wife! She felt so happy, she wanted to clap her hands with joy. She stared into his burning blue gaze as he awaited her answer.
    â€œJustin, there’s something you should know first,” she replied slowly.
    Justin’s expression darkened. “Are you making excuses? Saying you don’t want to be my wife?”
    â€œOf course not,” Madeline answered quickly. “I want to marry you more than anything in the whole world.”
    When she realized what she said, she blushed furiously. Justin only smiled.
    â€œYou’re so lovely when you do that.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Does that mean the answer is yes?”
    â€œJustin,” she said seriously. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. Before I give you my answer, there’s something about my past I have to tell you. You might not want me, once you know.”
    â€œI will always want you, Madeline,” Justin answered, his arms tightening around her. “Nothing will ever change that. But tell me your story, if it will make you feel better.”
    Madeline looked up into Justin’s beautiful sky-blue eyes.
    â€œMy mother went insane,” she confided. She took a deep breath. “Everyone thinks my parents died in an accident. But the truth is …”
    I can’t, Madeline thought. How can I tell him what really happened?
    â€œWhat?” Justin asked. “You can tell me anything.”
    â€œThe truth is my mother killed my father. Then she shot herself,”