"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?"
It wasamazinghow good that irritable, acerbicvoice sounded to Maggie. She laughed shakily. "No, Cady's not dead. Bern's dead-you know, the bigslave trader guy. But - "
"You're joking." Jeanne's voice sharpened with respect and she moved forward. `"You killed hunt'
"No. It waslook, I'll explain later. First, can youhelp me get her to somewhere more protected? It's really getting freezing out here, and she's completely out."
Jeanne leaned down, looking at Arcadia. "I toldyou before I wasn't going to help you if you gotin trouble."
"I know," Maggie said. "Can you sort of pick herup from that side? If we both get an arm under her shouldersshemight be able to walk a little." .
`Bull," Jeanne said shortly. "We'd better chaircarry her. Link hands and we can get her up."
Maggie clasped a cold, slender hand with calluses and a surprisingly firm grip. She heavedweight, and then they were carrying the unconscious girl.
"You're strong," she grunted.
"Yeah, well, that's one of the side benefits ofbeing a slave. The road's this way."
It was awkward, slow work, but Maggie wasstrong, too, and Jeanne seemed to be able to guide them around the worst of the underbrush. And it was so good just to be with another human being who was healthy and clear headed and didn't want to kill her, that Maggie felt almost lighthearted.
"What aboutP.J.? Is she okay?"
"She's fine. She's in a place I know-it's notmuch, but it's shelter. That's where we're going."
"You took care of her," Maggie said. She shook her head in the darkness and laughed.
"What are you snickering about?" Jeanne paused and they spent a few minutes maneuvering arounda fallen log covered with spongy moss.
"Nothing," Maggie said. "It's justyou're prettynice, aren't you? Underneath."
"I look out for myself first. That's the rule aroundhere. And don't you forget it," Jeanne said in a threatening mutter. Then she cursed as her foot sank into a swampy bit of ground.
"Okay," Maggie said. But she could still feel awry and wondering smile tugging up the corner ofher mouth.
Neither of them had much breath for talkingafter that. Maggie was in a sort of daze of tirednessthat wasn't completely unpleasant. Her mindwandered.
Delos...she had never met anyone so confus ing. Her entire body reacted just at the thought ofhim, with frustration and anger and a longing that she didn't understand. It was a physical pang.
But then everything was so confusing. Things had
happened so fast since last night that she'd neverhad time to get her mental balance. Delos and the incredible thing that had happened between themwas only one part of the whole mess.
He said he'd killed Miles....
But that couldn't be true. Miles couldn't be dead.And Delos wasn't capable of anything like that....Was he?
She found that she didn't want to think aboutthat. It was like a huge dark cloud that she didn'twant to enter.