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maples were a blaze of scarlet, while the ginkgoes were radiant yellow.
Bonnie greeted them at the door with: "Everybody's gone! We'll have the whole house to ourselves
until tomorrow afternoon, when my family gets back from Leesburg." She beckoned them inside,
grabbing for the overfed Pekingese that was trying to get out. "No, Yangtze, stay in. Yangtze, no, don't!
No!"
But it was too late. Yangtze had escaped and was dashing through the front yard up to the single
birch tree, where he yapped shrilly up into the branches, rolls of fat on his back jiggling.
"Oh, what's he after now?" said Bonnie, putting her hands over her ears.
"It looks like a crow," said Meredith.
Elena stiffened. She took a few steps toward the tree, looking up into the golden leaves. And there it
was. The same crow she had seen twice before. Perhaps three times before, she thought, remembering
the dark shape winging up from the oak trees in the cemetery.
As she looked at it she felt her stomach clench in fear and her hands grow cold. It was staring at her
again with its bright black eye, an almost human stare. That eye… where had she seen an eye like that
before?
Suddenly all three girls jumped back as the crow gave a harsh croak and thrashed its wings,
bursting out of the tree toward them. At the last moment it swooped down instead on the little dog,
which was now barking hysterically. It came within inches of canine teeth and then soared back up
again, flying over the house to disappear into the black walnut trees beyond.
The three girls stood frozen in astonishment. Then Bonnie and Meredith looked at each other, and
the tension shattered in nervous laughter.
"For a moment I thought he was coming for us," said Bonnie, going over to the outraged Pekingese
and dragging him, still barking, back into the house.
"So did I," said Elena quietly. And as she followed her friends inside, she did not join in the
laughter.
Once she and Meredith had put their things away, however, the evening fell into a familiar pattern. It
was hard to keep hold of her uneasiness sitting in Bonnie's cluttered living room beside a roaring fire,
with a cup of hot chocolate in her hand. Soon the three of them were discussing the final plans for the
Haunted House, and she relaxed.
"We're in pretty good shape," said Meredith at last. "Of course, we've spent so much time figuring
out everyone else's costumes that we haven't even thought about our own."
"Mine's easy," said Bonnie. "I'm going to be a druid priestess, and I only need a garland of oak
leaves in my hair and some white robes. Mary and I can sew it in one night."
"I think I'll be a witch," said Meredith thoughtfully. "All that takes is a long black dress. What about
you, Elena?"
Elena smiled. "Well, it was supposed to be a secret, but… Aunt Judith let me go to a dressmaker. I
found a picture of a Renaissance gown in one of the books I used for my oral report, and we're having
it copied. It's Venetian silk, ice blue, and it's absolutely beautiful."
"It sounds beautiful," Bonnie said. "And expensive."
"I'm using my own money from my parents' trust. I just hope Stefan likes it. It's a surprise for him,
and… well, I just hope he likes it."
"What's Stefan going to be? Is he helping with the Haunted House?" said Bonnie curiously.
"I don't know," Elena said after a moment. "He doesn't seem too thrilled with the whole Halloween