Glory Alley and the Star Riders (The Glory Alley Series) by C.DEANNA VERHOFF Page A

side , at least the barn was toasty dry , but even with the lights on the place was scary at night . The unseen feet of nocturnal animals made scratching sounds as they scurried through the straw . The mice were cute, but coons and foxes could be menacing if caught unaware . She’d learned the hard way t hey were especially fond of the loft, so s he took a rake down from a peg, just in case, thinking how s he’d much rather be in bed …but thanks to my loser brother I’m out here in the middle of the night, looking for a friggin’ flashlight in order to find a friggin’ flashlight .
    Rake in hand ; s he headed for the wooden ladder, which leaned against the loft. An attached rail made for a sturdy handhold . The loft was rarely used these days. She had turned it into h er own private retreat for doing girl things like sorting through rocks, reading sci-fi books and playing with her Glam Dolls —a pastime she should have outgrown long ago .
    Unfortunately, Brandon had recently discovered the spot and had taken up smoking and looking at dirty magazines in h er sanctuary . Glory began to climb the ladder . Halfway up , something rustled in the loft .
    “No luck,” a gravelly voice sounded from above . “There’s nothing but useless Tullah n junk up here.”
    A bosomy Glam D oll with a tiny waist, fashion boots , and a sequined mini skirt , fell out of the lo ft , almost hitting Glory on the way down . Tiffany ? S he noted in alarm . A second later a nother doll dropped . There goes Ashley — w hat the heck !
    Suddenly, an old face peered down out of the loft’s opening, but it wasn’t Grandpa . The head was too big and the skin way too pink . He wore a gray fedora with a white feather on the side . Saggy cheeks spilled over his fleshy worm -like whiskers, while he glowered at her with black bottle-cap eyes.
    The man seemed as surprised to see Glory , as she was to see him .
    Another voice below cried out, “This is the soul ! This is the soul!”
    Glory looked down and nearly lost h er balance . The intruder on the floor below looked exactly like the man in the loft , except in place of the feather in his hat there was a curved bone . He was squat and short, but his fingers were thick as sausage links. The short old guy stood at the bottom of the ladder peering up at Glory .
    “ Oh, crap !” she cried out. “ Midget bums at 12 and 6 o’clock ! ”
    Remembering what they did to the squirrels, h er throat dried in an instant.
    The bum below s tepped up onto the first rung and grabbed one of her ankles . She yelped and kicked him away, then climbed up more rung s . Sh e couldn’t go up and s he couldn’t go down. But s he had the rake . Glory swung it up and down to keep them at bay. “Come any closer ya varmit-munching-bums and I’ll stick ya! ”
    The man at the bottom grabbed hold of the ladder and shook it . Good thing it was bolted to a crossbeam . CRACK! One bolt snapped . The wood around the second bolt began to splinter .
    “ Dad ! ” Glory wrapped an arm around a rung of the ladder and screamed . “Anybody! Help! ”
    “ Tullah n,” the man in the loft hissed . Glory ’s head jerked up and s he swung the rake in h is direction .
    The stranger held up his palm and blew . A cloud of sparkly blue dust flew at Glory ’s face. The grinning old bum began to blur . Sleep became Glory ’s only desire . Fight it . So woozy ...
    S he lost h er grip and started to fall.
     
     
     

Chapter 6
     
     
     
    Glory woke at the foot of the ladder groggy and disoriented . Morning sun poured through the diamond-shaped window way up under the pitch of the roof. S tiff all over, head stuffed with cotton , she stretched and groaned. “ How ’d I fall asleep in the barn? ” Oh, yeah, looking for t h e flashlight .
    A cold draft swept over h er feet , w riggling her toes , she looked down to see they were bare . T he sound of the barn doors creaking open made her jump . A large burly figure stood silhouetted in