Free The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause Page A

drugstore.”
    â€œOh, I’ll wait here, then,” Zoë said, stopping outside the bookstore. “They’ve got a new display.”
    â€œOkay.”
    Lorraine trotted up the sidewalk to the drugstore on the other side of the alley that divided the row of shops into two sections. There were fewer people on the street now. Everyone was going home for dinner. The autumn wind was picking up, and Zoë thought she felt a drop of rain on her cheek. There was a hint of woodsmoke in the air. It always made her feel vaguely lonely to smell someone’s cozy fire when she was out in the night.
    She examined the contents of the window. She loved bookstores: they were an addiction. Even books she would never read held a fascination when arranged in a bright display. A book called
The Secret Life of Vegetables
caught her eye. It made her unbearably curious. She was wondering if it was about recent botanical discoveries, or a kinky sex novel, when she heard Lorraine’s voice.
    She looked up to see her friend talking to a small pale child with white hair who stood at the alley mouth. From his left hand dangled a shabby teddy bear. He looked fragile. He must only be about six, Zoë thought. What’s he doing here alone at this time? She walked to join them. The child said something. Lorraine held out her hand, and he gave her a dazzling smile. Then he saw Zoë. The smile faded.
    â€œS’all right,” he said in a piping voice. “I ‘member now.” And he took off running down the street toward Chestnut.
    â€œAppealing little monster,” said Lorraine, although she looked puzzled. “Said he was lost. Albino, I think. He wanted me to help him find his mother down there.” She pointed down the alley.
    Zoë peered into the dark. “Why would she be down there?”
    Lorraine shrugged. “Beats me. I almost felt like humoring him, though.” She stared gloomily through the bookstore window. “Yuck! Hey, that reminds me, Dad sent me a reading list from this school I’m supposed to be going to.Great, huh?” She rolled her eyes. “It’s supposed to help me fit in. I wonder what it’ll be like.”
    Zoë tensed. “Listen, why don’t you go on home? The bookstore’s open late tonight. I want to browse for a while.” She was appalled to hear the words come out stiff and remote.
    Lorraine glanced sharply at Zoë, but her voice remained neutral. “Bookstores make me break out.”
    â€œI know.” Zoë’s tone was carefully gentler. “So go on. You’ve got to get ready for Naughty Neil.”
    Lorraine took the cue. “Well, okay. I’ll call you tomorrow and tell you the juicy details.”
    â€œSpare me.”
    â€œIt’s the only way you’ll find out anything at this rate,” Lorraine yelled over her shoulder as she took off for home.
    Zoë waved her on with mock impatience. “Get outta here.” Her voice was meant to sound jolly but, I don’t want to hear about your shitty new school, she thought. I don’t want to hear about your stupid date, and I don’t want to go home.
    It won’t work. It’s not magic, Zoë told herself as she entered the store. Just ‘cause you’re not there to hear of it, doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Nevertheless, it felt better to put off going home for now. She headed straight for the window display, but the intriguing title turned out to be merely a cookbook. She looked around for half an hour anyhow, until screaming sirens pulling up outside brought her and the other browsers to the front of the store.
    She panicked for a moment. Lorraine. But, of course, Lorraine was long gone. How Zoë hated sirens. They howled to the scene of an emergency like ravenous banshees and left behind emptiness.
    A bald man came pushing into the store, white-faced, babbling with shock. “They found a body in the alley. Briggs