Free The Sign of Fear by R.L. Stine

door slammed shut in her face.
    â€œNo!” Christina gasped. Her knees felt weak. Her whole body too heavy to move.
    The moaning filled her head. Jabs of pain shot out from the center of her brain. She couldn’t think.
    â€œWhat do you want? What do you want from me?” she screeched.
    Then she caught sight of a tall, narrow bookcase. Its shelves were filled with tiny vials. Christina took a step toward it.
    The moaning stopped abruptly. Christina moved closer to the bookcase and stared at the vials.
    They were empty. A rust-colored sediment stained their sides. Each vial had been carefully labeled with a name.
    Christina noticed a full vial behind the others—with her name neatly printed on the label.
    Christina snatched the vial up. It was filled with bright red liquid. Christina knew at once what it was.
    Blood, she thought. My blood!

Chapter
19

    C hristina hurled the vial to the floor.
    Her blood ran out in a thin, red stream. It stained the floor of Emily’s room.
    No, Emily! You are not going to use my blood for your evil. And you can clean it up yourself. I’m leaving this horrible place.
    Then she turned and bolted to the door.
    The door would not budge. She couldn’t move it at all.
    I’ve got to get out of here! Away from this evil. If I don’t, my heart will surely explode!
    Heat spread over her chest. The skin growing hotter and hotter.
    Christina’s breath rasped inside her throat. She tugged on her bodice.
    Tight! It’s too tight!
    Her fingers found something round and hot. Christina pulled it out.
    The silver pendant.
    It glittered in the dim light. The blue stones sparkled so brightly Christina could hardly bear to look at them.
    Dazzled by the blue stones, Christina turned the pendant over. For the first time she realized that an inscription covered the back.
    The words were in Latin. Christina could just make them out.
    Dominatio per malum.
    What does that mean? Christina wondered.
    Her father had been a scholar. He had taught her some Latin.
    Think! You know those words! Christina thought. You know what they mean!
    Dominatio.
    Dominatio meant power.
    Malum.
    Malum meant evil.
    Dominatio per malum. Power through evil.
    Piercing pain lanced through Christina. She felt as if she had taken a bolt of lightning straight to the head.
    Fire roared all around her.
    For an instant, a grinning skull appeared in the flames.
    It’s the pendant, she thought. I’ve got to put down the pendant.
    But she couldn’t do it. Her fingers were locked around it.
    Christina swayed on her feet. The room around her went black.

PART THREE

Revenue

Chapter
20

The Old World Britain, A.D. 50
    F ieran choked on the black smoke that poured from the head of the Roman leader. He sat up, gasping and sputtering.
    I did it! he thought. I released the full power of the head. And I’m still alive!
    He staggered to his feet. The black smoke swirled around his ankles.
    He stared over at the head. It still sat on its spit above the brazier. No flesh remained on it. The bones gleamed, clean and white.
    But the eyes sockets.
    They glowed green. An unearthly green.
    What have I done? Fieran asked himself. Have I brought some evil to life? What if I do not have the strength to control it?
    A voice filled Fieran’s head.
    Why have you summoned me?
    Fieran screamed. He pressed his hands against his temples. The voice repeated the question over and over. Pain slammed through Fieran’s head.
    I must bear this, he thought. I must become the master of this pain. This is the first step toward achieving my power. I must be able to answer when the head speaks.
    Fieran forced himself to take his hands away from his head. He lowered them to his sides. His hands clenched into fists—as if that could help him control the pain.
    â€œPower,” he said in a low voice. “I want all the power you have.”
    What kind of power?
    â€œThe power of revenge,” Fieran answered.
    The