Free Shadow Girl by R. L. Stine Page B

shook her head. “I’m your enemy—remember? You must find your own way.”
    “But—I don’t—”
    She shoved me into the secret room. “You’re so pitiful, Selena, I’ll give you one hint,” she said. “The power is in the pendant.”
    “Huh? What does that mean?” I demanded.
    She shut the door behind me. I heard the hum of the bookcase as it slid shut.
    Hey—I’m locked in here, I thought. But then I remembered the window.
    Before I pulled on the costume, I studied the pendant carefully. My photo stared out at me through the dark glass.
    Why did Jada say the power was in the pendant?
    I squeezed the cool glass between my fingers. I expected it to give off a burst of heat or a flash of light. But nothing happened.
    With a sigh, I lowered the pendant around my throat. Then I pulled on the rest of the costume.
    I raised the shade and tugged open the window. A blast of cold night air greeted me. I edged off the windowsill onto the tree branch.
    Don’t look down, Selena, I warned myself. I reallyhave a problem with heights.
    I started to make my way down the fat trunk. “Ow!” I cried out as I scraped my hand on a patch of rough bark.
    Not a good start.
    I landed hard on the ground, twisting my ankle. Pain throbbed up my leg. I gazed at the back door. I wanted to go back inside and forget this superhero craziness.
    But I knew Jada would never let me.
    The wind swirled my cape around me. I straightened the mask so that I could see better. Then I made my way to the empty lot at the corner.
    The lot was cluttered with rocks and fallen tree limbs.
    I’ll save the flying for last, I decided. I already know I can fly. The question is, how do I do it?
    I decided to test my strength first. I remembered the amazing strength I had when I fought those four boys.
    Would I always be that powerful when I wore the Shadow Girl costume?
    The moon drifted behind the clouds. A heavy darkness rolled over the empty lot.
    I bent down to lift a large, round rock from between a tuft of weeds. “Oh.” I strained with both hands, but I couldn’t budge the rock.
    I decided to try a smaller one. This one was jagged and sharp. Gripping it in two hands, I raisedit waist-high. And heaved it.
    It plopped to the ground a foot in front of me.
    What happened to my amazing strength? I wondered.
    Jada’s words repeated in my mind: “ The power is in the pendant .”
    I picked up a small rock in one gloved hand. And squeezed the pendant with the other. Then I tossed the rock as hard as I could.
    It sailed a short distance, then dropped into a clump of tall weeds.
    “This is not working,” I said out loud.
    Maybe I have super speed, I thought. I kicked a clump of dirt out of the way. Then I took off, running across the lot.
    I didn’t get far. My twisted ankle hurt. And the cape tangled itself around a fallen tree limb.
    What am I doing wrong? I wondered. The costume let me fly home. And it worked perfectly against those four creeps at the gas station.
    I tried a few more times. I turned and stared hard at the house across the street. No. I didn’t have X-ray vision.
    I leaned all my weight against a telephone pole at the curb. No. I couldn’t make it tilt.
    “ Use your powers well ,” Aunt Janet had said.
    That meant that I had powers. Why had they vanished tonight? What was I doing wrong?
    I glimpsed a white church on the corner of thenext block. It stood high on a hill overlooking the street. Beside the church, the pointed steeple rose up into the black night sky.
    “I can fly. I know I can,” I said out loud.
    Sweeping the cape behind me, I hurried across the street. The back door to the church was open. I climbed the narrow, curving stairs to the top of the steeple.
    It opened onto a small deck. I stepped outside. The wind blew so hard, it made the steeple tremble. I looked out on the trees and houses sloping down the block.
    My legs were shaking so hard, I could barely stand. My stomach lurched. I started to feel really