Free The Magnificent Lizzie Brown and the Devil's Hound by Vicki Lockwood Page B

said Dru.
    â€œDigging a new grave, maybe?” Lizzie suggested.
    â€œIn the middle of the night?” Malachy shook his head. “Unlikely. Get down. We’ll hide behind this tomb.”
    They all pressed themselves up against the cold marble and moved as close as they dared. The sound of digging was very close. They must be right on top of it now. From behind the tomb, a ghostly light was flickering.
    Lizzie peered around the corner. By the feeble light of a shuttered lantern dangling from an angel’s hand, she saw two shadowy figures. Were they even human? She strained to see closer.
    From the bushes, something howled. It moved. Lizzie glimpsed dark fur, a flash of yellowish eyes, and the glint of snarling teeth.
    Lizzie couldn’t move. Sheer terror had locked every muscle in her body.
    The creature loped out in front of the lantern, and a massive shadow loomed before her. If it was a dog, and not some kind of wolf, it was the largest one she’d ever seen. It looked like something from prehistoric times, a hideous memory surging back to life.
    The animal howled again, then turned its head toward where Lizzie was hidden. It bared its teeth and crouched, ready to spring.
    Much too late, Lizzie knew Erin and Nora had been right. The thing that haunted the cemetery, the beast they’d tried to warn her about, was real. And now she was face to face with the Devil’s Hound!

CHAPTER 8
    Dru grabbed her hand. “Lizzie, run!”
    She ran. Together they sprinted through the cemetery, leaping over the graves and ducking beneath tree branches. Lizzie glanced back to see if Malachy was following and saw him hobbling along as fast as he could, gasping as he struggled to get away from the beast at the graveside.
    Behind him, the monstrous dog emerged from the shadows. It howled again.
    That’s three times , Lizzie thought. If Ma Sullivan’s right, it’ll come for my soul. “We should never have come here!” she cried, clinging tight to Dru’s hand. “There are things here we shouldn’t have stirred up!”
    â€œSave your breath for running!” Dru replied.
    They ran alongside a long hedge, past marble monuments and urns on pedestals. For a moment, Lizzie thought they’d escaped the hound. But then, from close behind, came a long rattling snarl and three sharp barks.
    Lizzie didn’t dare to look around again. She just ran for her life.
    â€œThis way!” Dru shouted. He pulled her to the left, and then they were running downhill, past the low burial plots they’d seen before. Lizzie’s chest ached, and her throat was raw from the chilly night air.
    â€œThere’s the gate,” said Dru. “That’s where we came in. We’re nearly out!”
    The hound barked again, much closer this time. It was coming for them. Heavy paws pounded on the gravel path.
    â€œKeep running!” Malachy yelled. “Don’t stop!”
    Dru let go of Lizzie’s hand. Putting on a burst of speed, he ran toward the wall like an athlete approaching a high jump. In a single leap, he grabbed the top of the wall with both hands. He hauled himself up with the strength of his arms until he was able to swing a leg over the top and sit securely. “Lizzie, jump!” he called, reaching out to her. “I’ll catch you.”
    â€œWell I hope so,” Lizzie gasped. The downhill sprint meant she was half running, half falling. She tried to speed up as Dru had done, thinking she’d launch herself at the wall. But her legs were suddenly a confused jumble, and the next thing she knew, she’d tripped over a pot of roses someone had left on a grave.
    Lizzie stumbled and fell forward. Her arms came down on sharp gravel and her knee on the rough ground. She tried to stop, but she was rolling over and over, helpless as a rag doll, as she tumbled down the hill.
    Stunned and dizzy, Lizzie struggled back to her feet. She’d landed at the