The Eye of the Moon Read Online Free

asked.
    Her handsome scarecrow friend knew the other boy well.
    ‘That’s Marcus the Weasel,’ he said. ‘Total perv. Lord only knows what he’s got in store for your friend Ulrika.’
    Unbeknown to the two youngsters, the unpleasantness that Marcus the Weasel was about to inflict upon Ulrika Price was nothing compared to the horror and suffering they were both about to endure on this most evil of nights.

Three
    Beth and the scarecrow strolled along the promenade with the waves lapping up against the harbour wall to their left. A blue moon shone brightly above them in the night sky. It was surrounded by dark rain clouds that looked ready to burst, yet as if out of respect, they stayed clear of the moon, as though not wishing to block it from the view of those below.
    In all her life Beth had never felt this alive, this excited. Her stepmother had succeeded in scaring off any boys that had ever come near her, so she had never been able even to hold a decent conversation with a young man before. After being tutored at home since her early childhood she had acquired a decent education, but virtually no life experience until recently, when she had joined the school. And now for the first time in her life she had a boy with his arm around her shoulder, walking her along the promenade. If the dark clouds above them had had numbers on them then it’s fair to say she was heading for number nine. Chatting with the scarecrow hadn’t been anywhere near as difficult and nerve-racking as she had feared it might be. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, barely able to control itself due to the almighty adrenalin rush she was feeling. It was a warm fuzzy sensation that felt like it would never end, and she dearly hoped that it wouldn’t.
    ‘So come on, Mr Scarecrow, are you going to tell me your name, or what?’ she asked, squeezing his waist playfully.
    ‘ You don’t know my name? ‘ he asked, surprised.
    ‘No. I only know you as the guy who helped me up from the ground when someone tripped me over once.’
    ‘Wow. You know, I made a point of finding out yourname the day you joined the school. And yet, you’ve been there now for – what? Two months? And you still don’t know my name?’
    ‘No. But don’t feel bad. I don’t know hardly anybody’s name. No one talks to me.’
    ‘No one?’ he sounded surprised again.
    ‘Yeah. All the other girls ignore me, because of that Ulrika Price. She’s had it in for me since the day I started, so no one else will talk to me.’
    The scarecrow stopped walking and removed his arm from where it had been resting around her shoulders. He stepped in front of her to stop her from moving on ahead, and then, when they were close enough to each other that they were almost touching and she could feel his breath on her face, he ran his left hand through her long brown hair.
    ‘JD,’ he said.
    Beth raised an eyebrow. ‘Pardon me?’
    ‘JD. That’s what my friends call me.’
    ‘Oh, right. What’s it stand for?’
    ‘You’ll have to guess.’
    ‘Okay,’ said Beth smiling. She took a look up at the moon and tried to think of an interesting name that used the initials J and D.
    ‘Got it yet?’ he asked her.
    ‘Joey Deacon?’
    JD stopped stroking her hair and gave her a playful shove.
    ‘This is why no one talks to you!’
    Beth smiled back at him. Chatting with JD was actually good fun and surprisingly easy. It didn’t seem to matter what she said, she knew he would ‘get it’. Maybe guys weren’t so complicated after all. At least, this one seemed to be right on her wavelength. She’d never had a connection like this with anyone before, let alone a boy. He seemed to understand her, and for the first time ever she wasn’t in the least bit terrified of saying something stupid. In fact, she was beginning to feel a sense of confidence flowing through her. This was new.
    ‘I’ll tell you what, Beth,’ said JD taking a few steps backas he spoke. ‘If you can find out