too. Every body who lives here is inside the castle gates; it's really like a little town. And it's exactly the place you shouldn't go."
Maggie blinked. "How come you know so much? Are you an escaped slave like Jeanne?"
"No. I heard about it a year or so ago from some one who had been here. I was coming here for a reason-it was just bad luck that I got caught by the slave traders on my way in."
Maggie wanted to ask her more about it, but a nagging voice inside her said that this wasn' t the time. It was already getting very cold. They couldn't be caught on the mountainside overnight
"That road the cart was on-does it go all the way to the castle? Do you know?"
Cady hesitated. She turned her face toward the valley, and Maggie had the strange sense that she was looking out.
"I think so," she said, at last. "It would make sense that it does, anyway-there's only one place to go in the valley."
"Then we've got to find it again." Maggie knew that wouldn't be easy. They'd run a long way from
Bern
and Gavin. But she knew the general direc tion. "Look, even if we don't get to the castle, we should find the road so we know where we are. And if we have to spend the night on the mountain, it's much better to be in the forest. It'll be warmer."
"That's true. But-"
Maggie didn't give her a chance to go on. "Can you stand up? I'll help-put your arm around my neck . . . ."
It was tricky, getting Cady out of the nest of boul ders. She and Maggie both had to crawl most of the way. And although Cady never complained, Maggie could see how tired it made her.
"Come on," Maggie said. "You're doing great." And she thought, with narrowed eyes and set teeth, If it comes to that, I'll carry her.
Too many people had told her to leave this girl. Maggie had never felt quite this stubborn before.
But it wasn't easy. Once into the woods, the can opy of branches cut off the moonlight. In only min utes, Cady was leaning heavily on Maggie, stumbling and trembling. Maggie herself was stum bling, tripping over roots, slipping on club moss and liverwort.
Strangely, Cady seemed to have a better sense of direction than she did, and in the beginning she kept murmuring, "This way, I think." But after a while she stopped talking, and some time after that, she stopped even responding to Maggie's questions.
At last, she stopped dead and swayed on her feet.
It was no good. The taller girl shivered once, then went limp. It was all Maggie could do to break her fall.
And then she was sitting alone in a small clear ing, with the spicy aroma of red cedar around her, and an unconscious girl in her lap. Maggie held still and listened to the silence.
Which was broken suddenly by the crunch of footsteps.
Footsteps coming toward her.
It might be a deer. But there was something hesi tant and stealthy about it. Crunch, pause; crunch pause. The back of Maggie's neck prickled.
She held her breath and reached out, feeling for a rock or a stick-some weapon. Cady was heavy in her lap.
Something stirred in the salal bushes between two trees. Maggie strained her eyes, every muscle tense.
"Who's there?"
CHAPTER 11
T he bushes stirred again. Maggie's searching fin gers found only acorns and licorice fern, so she made a fist instead, sliding out from underneath Cady and holding herself ready.
A form emerged from the underbrush. Maggie stared so hard she saw gray dots but she couldn't tell anything about it.
There was a long, tense moment, and then a voice came to her.
"I told you you'd never make it."
Maggie almost fainted with relief.
At the same moment the moon came out from behind a cloud. It shone down into the clearing and over the slender figure standing with a hand on one hip. The pale silvery light turned red hair almost black, but the angular face and narrowed skeptical eyes were unmistakable. Not to mention the sour
Maggie blinked. "How come you know so much? Are you an escaped slave like Jeanne?"
"No. I heard about it a year or so ago from some one who had been here. I was coming here for a reason-it was just bad luck that I got caught by the slave traders on my way in."
Maggie wanted to ask her more about it, but a nagging voice inside her said that this wasn' t the time. It was already getting very cold. They couldn't be caught on the mountainside overnight
"That road the cart was on-does it go all the way to the castle? Do you know?"
Cady hesitated. She turned her face toward the valley, and Maggie had the strange sense that she was looking out.
"I think so," she said, at last. "It would make sense that it does, anyway-there's only one place to go in the valley."
"Then we've got to find it again." Maggie knew that wouldn't be easy. They'd run a long way from
Bern
and Gavin. But she knew the general direc tion. "Look, even if we don't get to the castle, we should find the road so we know where we are. And if we have to spend the night on the mountain, it's much better to be in the forest. It'll be warmer."
"That's true. But-"
Maggie didn't give her a chance to go on. "Can you stand up? I'll help-put your arm around my neck . . . ."
It was tricky, getting Cady out of the nest of boul ders. She and Maggie both had to crawl most of the way. And although Cady never complained, Maggie could see how tired it made her.
"Come on," Maggie said. "You're doing great." And she thought, with narrowed eyes and set teeth, If it comes to that, I'll carry her.
Too many people had told her to leave this girl. Maggie had never felt quite this stubborn before.
But it wasn't easy. Once into the woods, the can opy of branches cut off the moonlight. In only min utes, Cady was leaning heavily on Maggie, stumbling and trembling. Maggie herself was stum bling, tripping over roots, slipping on club moss and liverwort.
Strangely, Cady seemed to have a better sense of direction than she did, and in the beginning she kept murmuring, "This way, I think." But after a while she stopped talking, and some time after that, she stopped even responding to Maggie's questions.
At last, she stopped dead and swayed on her feet.
It was no good. The taller girl shivered once, then went limp. It was all Maggie could do to break her fall.
And then she was sitting alone in a small clear ing, with the spicy aroma of red cedar around her, and an unconscious girl in her lap. Maggie held still and listened to the silence.
Which was broken suddenly by the crunch of footsteps.
Footsteps coming toward her.
It might be a deer. But there was something hesi tant and stealthy about it. Crunch, pause; crunch pause. The back of Maggie's neck prickled.
She held her breath and reached out, feeling for a rock or a stick-some weapon. Cady was heavy in her lap.
Something stirred in the salal bushes between two trees. Maggie strained her eyes, every muscle tense.
"Who's there?"
CHAPTER 11
T he bushes stirred again. Maggie's searching fin gers found only acorns and licorice fern, so she made a fist instead, sliding out from underneath Cady and holding herself ready.
A form emerged from the underbrush. Maggie stared so hard she saw gray dots but she couldn't tell anything about it.
There was a long, tense moment, and then a voice came to her.
"I told you you'd never make it."
Maggie almost fainted with relief.
At the same moment the moon came out from behind a cloud. It shone down into the clearing and over the slender figure standing with a hand on one hip. The pale silvery light turned red hair almost black, but the angular face and narrowed skeptical eyes were unmistakable. Not to mention the sour
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