When they werefinally at the top of the shaft,Maggie looked around and saw a small room thatseemed to be built directly into the castle wall. Everything was made of dark stone, with a cold and echoing feel to it.
"Don't make any noise," Jeanne whispered. Shebent close to Maggie, who was helping support Cady.
"We need to go down a passage and throughthe kitchen, okay? It's all right if slaves see us, butwe have to watch out for them."
"We've got to get Cady to a healing woman-"
"I know! That's where I'm trying to take you."Jeanne clamped a hand on P.J.'s shoulder and steered her into a corridor.
More stone. More echoes. Maggie tried to walkwithout her shoes squishing or smacking. She wasdimly impressed with the castle itself-it was grandand cold and so huge that she felt like an insect making her way through the passage.
After what seemed like an endless walk, theyemerged in a small entryway partitioned off bywooden screens. Maggie could hear activity behind the screens andas Jeanne led them stealthily forward, she caught a glimpse of people moving onthe other side. They were spreading white tablecloths over long wooden tables in a room thatseemed bigger than Maggie's entire house.
Another doorway. Another passage. And finallythe kitchen, which was full of bustling people. Theywere stirring huge iron cauldrons and turning meaton spits. The smell of a dozen different kinds offood hit Maggie and made her feel faint. She was so hungry that her knees wobbled and she had to swallow hard.
But even more than hungry, she was scared. They were in plain sight of dozens of people.
"Slaves," Jeanne said shortly. "They won't tell onus. Grab a sack to wrap around you and come on.And, P.J.,take off that ridiculous hat."
Slaves, Maggie thought, staring. They were alldressed identically, in loose-fitting pants and topsthat were like short tunics. Jeanne was wearing thesame thing-it had looked enough like clothes from Outside that Maggie hadn't really focused on it before. What struck her now was that everybodylooked so... un-ironed. There were no sharp creases. And no real color. All the clothes were an indeterminate shade of beige-brown, and all thefaces seemed just as dull and faded They were like drones.
What would it be like to live that way? she wondered as she threw a rough sack around her shoulders to hide the dark blue of her jacket. Without any choice in what you do, and any hope for thefuture?
It would be terrible, she decided. And it mightjust drive you crazy.
I wonder if any of them ever ...snap?
But she couldn't look around anymore. Jeanne was hustling through a doorway into the open air.There was a kind of garden here just outside the kitchen, with scraggly fnut trees and what lookedlike herbs. Then there was a courtyard andfinallya row of huts nestled against the high black wall that surrounded the castle.
"This is the really dangerous part," Jeanne whispered harshly. "It's the back, but if one of them looks out and sees us, we're in trouble. Keep yourhead down-and walk like this. Like a slave." Sheled them at a shufflingrun toward a hut.
This place is like a city, Maggie thought. A cityinside a wall, with the castle in the middle.
They reached the shack. Jeanne pulled the door open and bustled them inside. Then she shut the door again and sagged.
"I think we actually made it." She sounded surprised.
Maggie was looking around. The tiny room was dim, but she could see crude furniture and piles ofwhat looked like laundry. "This is it? We're safe?"
"Nowhere is safe," Jeanne said sharply. "But wecan get some slave clothes for you here, and we can rest. And I'll go get the healing woman," sheaddedas Maggie opened her mouth.
While she was gone, Maggie turned to Cady andP.J. They were both shivering. She made Cady lie down and had P.J. help her go through one of the piles of laundry.
"Get your wet things off," Maggie said. Shepulled off her own hightops and shrugged out ofher sodden jacket. Then she knelt to get Cady'sshoes off. The blind girl was lying motionless on athin pallet, and didn't respond to Maggie's touch.Maggie was worried about her.
Behind her, the door opened and Jeanne camein with two people. One was a gaunt and handsome woman, with dark hair pulled untidily back and anapron over her tunic and pants. The other was ayoung girl who looked frightened.
"This is Laundress." The way Jeanne said it, itwas clearly a proper name. "She's a healer, and the girl's her helper."
Relief washed through Maggie. "This is Cady,"she said. And then, since nobody moved and Cady couldn't speak for herself, she went on, "She's fromOutside, and she was poisoned by the slave traders. I'm not sure how long ago that was-at least a couple of days. She's been running a high fever andmost of the time she's just sort of sleepwalking-"
"What is this?" The gaunt woman took a step toward Cady, but her expression was anything but welcoming. Then she turned on Jeanne angrily."How could you bring this-thing-in here?"
Maggie froze where she was by Cady's feet."What are you talkingabout? She's sick-"
"She's one of them!" The woman's eyes wereburning darkly at Jeanne. "And don't tell me you didn't notice. It's perfectly plain!"
"What'sperfectly plain?" Maggie's fists were clenched. "Jeanne, what's she talking about?"
The woman's burning eyes turned on her. "Msgirl is a witch."
Maggie went still.
Part of her was amazed and disbelieving. Awitch? Like Sylvia? A Night Person?
Cady wasn't at all like that. She wasn't evil. Shewas normal,a nice, ordinary, gentle girl. She couldn'tbe anything supernatural....
But another part of Maggie wasn't even startled.It was saying that at some deep level she had known all along.