"And the final darkness is the end of the world,right?" she said. "So you can see how important itis for me to change Delos's mind. Not just for theslaves, but for all humans." She looked at Jeanne asshe spoke. Laundress and Old Mender didn't knowanything about the world Outside, but Jeanne did.
Jeanne gave a sort of grudging nod, to say that, yeah, putting off the end of the world was important.
"Okay, so we have to try it. We'd better findout which slaves are allowed in his room, and thenwe can go up and hide. The big chambers havewardrobes, right?" She was looking at Old Mender,who nodded.
"We can stay in one of those-"
"That's a good idea," Maggie interrupted. "Everything but the we. You can't go with me this time.This is something I have to do alone."
Jeanne gave an indignant wriggle of her shoulders. Her red hair seemed to stand up in protest and her eyes were sparking. "That's ridiculous. Ican help. There's noreason"
"There is, too, a reason," Maggie said. "It's too dangerous. Whoever goes there might get killedtoday. If you stay here, you may at least have afew more days." When Jeanne opened her mouthto protest, she went on, "Days to try and figure outa new plan, okay? Which will probably be just as dangerous. And, besides, I'd like somebody towatch over P.J. and Cady for as longaspossible." She gave P.J. a smile, and P.J. lifted her head resolutely, obviously trying to stop her chin fromquivering.,., Ido need to do it alone," Maggie said gently, turning back to Jeanne. Somewhere in herown mind, she was standing back, astonished. Whowould have ever thought, when she first met Jeannein the cart, that she would end up having to talkher out of trying to get killed with Maggie?
Jeanne blew air out pursed lips, her eyes narrowed. Finally she nodded.
"Fine, fine. You go conquer the vampire and Illstay and arrange the revolution."
"I bet you will," Maggie said dryly. For a momenttheir eyes met, and it was like that first time, whenan unspoken bond had formed between them.
"Try to take care of yourself. You're not exactlythe smartest, you know," Jeanne said. Her voice was a little rough and her eyes were oddly shiny.
"I know," Maggie said.
The next moment Jeanne sniffed and cheered up."I just thought of who's allowed up into the bedrooms in the morning," she said. "You can helpher, and shell lead you to Delos's room."
Maggie looked at her suspiciously. "Why are youso happy about it? Who is it?"
"Oh, you'll like her. She's called Chamber-potEmptier."
Chapter 15
Maggie shuffled behind Chamber-pot Emptier,heading back toward the castle. She was carryingpiles of folded linen sheets given to her by Laun dress, and she was doing her best to look like a slave. Laundress had smudged her face artisticallywith dirt to disguise her. She had also sifted ahandful of dust into Maggie's hair to dull the auburn into a lifeless brown, and when Maggie bowedher head over the sheets, the hair further obscuredher features. The only problem was that she wasconstantly afraid she was going to sneeze.
"Those are the wild animals," Chamber-pot Emptier whispered over her shoulder. She was a bigboned girl with gentle eyes that reminded Maggieof the calves tethered by Laundress's hut. It had taken Laundress a while to make her understandwhat they wanted of her, but now she seemed tofeel obligated to give Maggie a tour.
"They're brought in from Outside," she said. "And they're dangerous. Maggie looked sideways at the wicker cageswhere Sylvia and Gavin had walked earlier. Fromone a brown-gray wolf stared back at her with afrighteningly sad and steady gaze. In another a sleek black panther was pacing, and it snarled asthey went by. There was something curled up inthe back of a third that might have been a tigerit was big, and it had stripes.
"Wow," she said. "I wouldn't want to chase that."
Chamber-pot Emptier seemed pleased. "Andhere's the castle. It's called Black Dawn."
"It is?" Maggie said, distracted away from theanimals.
"That's what my grandpa called it, anyway. Helived and died in the courtyard without ever goingin." Chamber-pot Emptier thought a moment andadded, "The old people say that you used to be ableto see the sun in the sky-not just behind theclouds, you know. And when the sun came up inthe morning it shone on the castle. But maybethat's just a story."
Yeah, maybe it was just a story that you couldsee the sun in the sky, Maggie thought grimly.Every time she thought this place couldn't surpriseher anymore, she discovered she was wrong.
But the castle itself was impressive ... awe inspiring. It was the only thing in view that wasn't dusty brown or pallid gray. Its walls were shinyand black, almost mirror-like in places, and Maggie didn't have to be told that it wasn't built of anyordinary human stone. How they had gotten it tothis valley was a mystery.
Delos lives here, she thoughtasEmptier led herup a stone staircase, past the ground floor which was just cellars and storage rooms. In this beautiful, frightening, impressive place. Not only lives init, but commands it. It's all his.
She got just a glimpse of the great hall, whereshe'd seen slaves setting a long table yesterday. Chamber-pot Emptier led her up another floor andinto a series of winding corridors that seemed to go on for miles.
It was dim in this internal labyrinth. The windows were high and narrow and hardly let any ofthe pale daylight in. On the walls there were candles in brackets and flares in iron rings, but theyonly seemed to add wavering, confusing shadowsto the twilight.
"His bedroom's up here," Emptier murmured finally. Maggie followed her closely. She was justthinking that they had made it all the way withouteven being challenged, when a voice sounded from a side corridor.