"Cady." Her fingers found warmth and cloth. Itmoved and she heard another little sigh. "Cady, areyou okay? I can't see you."
And then the darkness seemed to lighten, andMaggie realized that she couldsee the shape shewas touching, dimly but distinctly. She glanced up and went still.
The moon was out. In a sky that was otherwisecovered with clouds, there was a small opening, a clear spot. The moon shone down through it like asupernatural white face, nearly full.
"Maggie." The voice was a soft breath, almost awhisper, but it seemed to blow peace and calm into Maggie's heart. "Thanks for letting me rest. I feel stronger now."
Maggie looked down. Silver light touched thecurves of Cady's cheek and lips. The blind girllooked like some ancient Egyptian princess, herdark hair loose in crimped waves around her shoulders, her wide, heavy-lashed eyes reflecting themoon. Her face wasas sereneasever.
"I'm sorry it took so long. I got some water,"Maggie said. She helped Cady sit up and put thewater bag to her lips.
She doesn't look as feverish, she thought asCadywas drinking. Maybe she can walk. But where?Where can we go?
They would never make it to the pass. And even if they did, what then? They'd be high on a moun tain-some mountain-in the dark and cold of aNovember night.
"We need to get you to a doctor," she said.
Cady stopped drinking and gave the bag back. "Idon't think there's anything like that here. There might be some healing woman down there in thecastle - but. .She stopped and shook her head. "It's not worth it."
"What do you mean, it's not worth it? And, hey, you rereally feeling better, aren't you?" Maggieadded, pleased. It was the first time Cady had gottenout more than a few words. She sounded very weak,but rational, and surprisingly knowledgeable.
"It's not worth it because it's too much of a risk. I'm too much of a risk. You have to leave me here, Maggie. Go down and get to shelter yourself."
"Not this again!" Maggie waved a hand She really couldn't deal with this argument anymore. "IfI left you up here, you'd die. It's going to get freezing cold. So I'm not going to leave you. And ifthere's a healing woman down at the castle, thenwe're going to the castle. Wherever the castle is."
"It's the place all the Night People are," Arcadiasaid, unexpectedly grim. "The slaves, too. Everybody who lives here is inside the castle gates; it'sreally like a little town. And it's exactly the placeyou 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 someone who had been here. I was coming here for a reason-it was just bad luck that I got caught bythe slave traders on my way in."
Maggie wanted to ask her more about it, but anagging voice inside her said that this wasn't thetime. 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 theway to the castle? Do you know?"
Cady hesitated. She turned her face toward the valley, and Maggie had the strange sense that shewas looking out.
"I think so," she said, at last. "It would makesense that it does, anyway-there's only one placeto go in the valley."
"Then we've got to find it again." Maggie knewthat wouldn't be easy. They'd run a long way fromBern and Gavin. But she knew the general direction. "Look, even if we don't get to the castle, weshould 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. "Canyou stand up? I'll help-put your arm around myneck... ."
It was tricky, getting Cady out of the nest of boulders. She and Maggie both had to crawl most of the way. And although Cady never complained, Maggiecould 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 carryher.
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 canopy of branches cut off the moonlight. In only minutes, Cady wasleaning heavilyon Maggie,stumbling and trembling. Maggie herself was stumbling, tripping over roots, slipping on club mossand liverwort.
Strangely, Cady seemed to have a better sense ofdirection than she did, and in the beginning shekept murmuring, "This way, I think." But after awhile she stopped talking, and some time afterthat, she stopped even responding to Maggie'squestions.
At last, she stopped dead and swayed on her feet.
It was no good. The taller girl shivered once, thenwent limp. It was all Maggie could do to breakher fall.
And then she was sitting alone in a small clearing, 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 offootsteps.
Footsteps coming toward her.
It might be a deer. But there was something hesitant and stealthy about it. Crunch, pause; crunchpause. The back of Maggie's neck prickled.
She held her breath and reached out, feeling fora rock or a stick-some weapon. Cady was heavyin her lap.
Something stirred in the salal bushes betweentwo trees. Maggie strained her eyes, every muscle tense.
"Who's there?"
Chapter 11
The bushes stirred again. Maggie's searching fingers 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. Maggiestared so hard she saw gray dots but she couldn'ttell 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 frombehind a cloud. It shone down into the clearingand over the slender figure standing with a hand on one hip. The pale silvery light turned red hairalmost black, but the angular face and narrowed skeptical eyes were unmistakable. Not to mention the sour expression.
Maggieletout along, shuddering breath. "Jeanne!"
"You didn't get very far, did you? The road's justover there. What happened? Did she drop deadon you?"