Chapter 1

tony DIJERLIZZI &ÆOLLY BLACK BOOK THE FIELD GUIDE

Chapter One IN WHICH the Grace Children Get Acquainted with Their New Home If someone had asked Jared Grace what jobs his brother and sister would have when they grew up, he would have had no trouble replying. He would have said that his brother, Simon, would be either a veterinarian or a lion tamer. He would have said that his sister, Mallory, would either be an Olympic fencer or in jail for stabbing someone with a sword. But he couldn't say what job he

would grow up to have. Not that anyone asked him. Not that anyone asked his opinion on anything at all. The new house, for instance. Jared Grace looked up at it and squinted. Maybe it would look better blurry. "It's a shack," Mallory said, getting out of the station wagon. It wasn't really, though. It was more like a dozen shacks had been piled on top of one another. There were several chimneys, and the whole thing

was topped off by a strip of iron fence sitting on the roof like a particularly garish hat. "It's not so bad," their mother said, with a smile that looked only slightly forced. "It's Victorian." Simon, Jared's identical twin, didn't look upset. He was probably thinking of all the animals he could have now. Actually, considering what he'd packed into their tiny bedroom in New York, Jared figured it would take a lot of rabbits and hedgehogs and whatever else was out here to satisfy Simon.

"Come on, Jared," Simon called. Jared realized that they had all crossed to the front steps and he was alone on the lawn, staring at the house. The doors were a faded gray, worn with age. The only traces of paint were an indeterminate cream, stuck deep in crevices and around the hinges. A rusted ram's-head door knocker hung from a single, heavy nail at its center. Their mother fit a jagged key into the lock, turned it, and shoved hard with her shoulder. The door opened into a dim hallway. The only window

was halfway up the stairs, and its stained glass panes gave the walls an eerie, reddish glow. "It's just like I remember," she said, smiling. "Only crappier," said Mallory. Their mother sighed but didn't otherwise respond. The hallway led into a dining room. A long table with faded water spots was the only piece of furniture. The plaster ceiling was cracked in places and a chandelier hung from frayed wires. "Why don't you three start bringing things in from the car?" their mother said. "Into here?" Jared asked. "Yes, into here." Their mother put down her suitcase on the table, ignoring the eruption of dust. "If your great-aunt Lucinda hadn't let us stay, I don't know where we would have gone. We should be grateful." None of them said anything. Try as he might, Jared didn't feel anything close to grateful. Ever since their dad moved out, everything had gone bad. He'd messed up at school, and the fading