Black dawn (24 page)

Jeanne was rubbing her forehead. When she
spoke, Maggie knew she'd been thinking along the
same lines. "Look, dummy, are you sure this is a
good idea? I mean, he's-"

"A Night Person," Maggie supplied.
"And you're='

"Just an ordinary human."

"She's the Deliverer," P.J. said stoutly, and Mag
gie paused to smile at her.

Then she turned back to Jeanne. "I don't know
if it's a good idea, but it's my only idea. And I know
it's dangerous, but I have to do it." She looked awk
wardly at Laundress and Old Mender. "The truth
is that it's not just about you people here. If what
Jeanne told you about Hunter
Redfern
is right,
then the whole human world is in trouble."

"Oh, the prophecies," Old Mender said, and cackled.

"You know them, too?"

"We slaves hear everything." Old Mender smiled and nodded.
"Especially when it concerns our own
prince.
I remember when he was little-I was the
Queen's seamstress then, before she died. His
mother knew the prophecies, and she said, 'In blue fire, the final darkness is banished.
In blood, the final price is paid."

Blood, Maggie thought. She knew that blood had
to run before
Delos
could use the blue fire, but
this sounded as if it were talking about something darker. Whose blood?
she
wondered.

"And the final darkness is the end of the world,
right?" she said. "So you can see how important it
is for me to change
Delos
's mind. Not just for the
slaves, but for all humans." She looked at Jeanne as
she spoke. Laundress and Old Mender didn't know
anything 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 find
out which slaves are allowed in his room, and then
we can go up and hide. The big chambers have
wardrobes, right?" She was looking at Old Mender,
who nodded. "We can stay in one of those-"

"That's a good idea," Maggie interrupted. "Every
thing 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 shoul
ders. Her red hair seemed to stand up in protest and her eyes were sparking. "That's ridiculous. I
can help. There's no
reason"

"There is, too, a reason," Maggie said. "It's too dangerous. Whoever goes there might get killed
today. If you stay here, you may at least have a
few more days." When Jeanne opened her mouth
to protest, she went on, "Days to try and figure out
a new plan, okay?
Which will probably be just as dangerous.
And, besides, I'd like somebody to
watch over P.J. and Cady for as long
as
possible."
She gave P.J. a smile, and P.J. lifted her head reso
lutely, obviously trying to stop her chin from
quivering
.,.,

I
do need to do it alone," Maggie said gently, turning back to Jeanne. Somewhere in her
own mind, she was standing back, astonished. Who
would have ever thought, when she first met Jeanne
in the
cart, that
she would end up having to talk
her out of trying to get killed with Maggie?

Jeanne blew air out pursed lips, her eyes nar
rowed. Finally she nodded.

"Fine, fine.
You go conquer the vampire and Ill
stay and arrange the revolution."

"I bet you will," Maggie said dryly. For a moment
their eyes met, and it was like that first time, when
an unspoken bond had formed between them.

"Try to take care of yourself. You're not exactly
the 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 bed
rooms in the morning," she said. "You can help
her, and
shell lead
you to
Delos
's room."

Maggie looked at her suspiciously. "Why are you
so happy about it? Who is it?"

"Oh, you'll like her. She's called Chamber-pot
Emptier."

CHAPTER
15

Maggie shuffled behind Chamber-pot Emptier,
heading back toward the castle. She was carrying
piles 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 artistically
with dirt to disguise her. She had also sifted a
handful of dust into Maggie's hair to dull the au
burn into a lifeless brown, and when Maggie bowed
her head over the sheets, the hair further obscured
her features. The only problem was that she was
constantly afraid she was going to sneeze.

"Those are the wild animals," Chamber-pot Emp
tier whispered over her shoulder. She was a
bigboned
girl with gentle eyes that reminded Maggie
of the calves tethered by Laundress's hut. It had
taken Laundress a while to make her understand
what they wanted of her, but now she seemed to
feel obligated to give Maggie a tour.

"They're brought in from Outside," she said. "And they're dangerous.

Maggie looked sideways at the wicker cages
where Sylvia and Gavin had walked earlier. From
one a brown-gray wolf stared back at her with a
frighteningly sad and steady gaze. In another a
sleek black panther was pacing, and it snarled as
they went by. There was something curled up in
the back of a third that might have been a
tiger
it
was big, and it had stripes.

"Wow," she said. "I wouldn't want to chase that."

Chamber-pot Emptier seemed pleased. "And
here's the castle. It's called Black Dawn."

"It is?" Maggie said, distracted away from the
animals.

"That's what my grandpa called it, anyway. He
lived and died in the courtyard without ever going
in." Chamber-pot Emptier thought a moment and
added, "The old people say that you used to be able
to see the sun in the sky-not just behind the
clouds, you know. And when the sun came up in
the morning it shone on the castle. But maybe
that's just a story."

Yeah, maybe it was just a story that you could
see the sun in the sky, Maggie thought grimly.
Every time she thought this place couldn't surprise
her 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 shiny
and black, almost mirror-like in places, and Maggie
didn't have to be told that it wasn't built of any
ordinary human stone. How they had gotten it to
this valley was a mystery.

Delos
lives here, she thought
as
Emptier led her
up a stone staircase, past the ground floor which was just cellars and storage rooms.
In this beauti
ful, frightening, impressive place.
Not only lives in
it, but commands it. It's all his.

She got just a glimpse of the great hall, where
she'd seen slaves setting a long table yesterday.
Chamber-pot Emptier led her up another floor and
into 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 of
the pale daylight in. On the walls there were can
dles in brackets and flares in iron rings, but they
only seemed to add wavering, confusing shadows
to the twilight.

"His bedroom's up here," Emptier murmured fi
nally. Maggie followed her closely. She was just
thinking that they had made it all the way without
even being challenged, when a voice sounded from
a side corridor.

"Where are you going? Who's this?"

It was a guard, Maggie saw, peering from under
her hair.
A real medieval guard, with, of all things,
a lance.
There was another one in the opposite cor
ridor just like him. She was fascinated in the mid
dle of her terror.

But Chamber-pot Emptier of the not-so-quick
wits reacted beautifully. She took time to curtsey, then she said slowly and stolidly, "It's Folder from
the laundry, sir. Laundress sent her with the sheets
and I was told she could help me. There's more
work because of the guests, you know."

"It's Chamber Maid's work to spread sheets," the
guard said irritably.

Chamber-pot Emptier curtsied again and said just as slowly, "Yes, sir, but there's more work be
cause of the guests, you see-"

"Fine, fine," the guard broke in impatiently. "Why
don't you go and do it, instead of talking about it?"
He seemed to think that was funny, and he turned and elbowed the other guard in the ribs.

Chamber-pot Emptier curtseyed a third time and walked on, not hurrying. Maggie tried to copy the
curtsey, with her face buried in the sheets.

There was another endless corridor, then a door
way, and then Emptier said, "We're here. And
there's
nobody.around
."

Maggie lifted her face from the sheets. "You're absolutely wonderful, you know that? You deserve
an Academy Award."

"A what?"

"Never mind.
But you were great."

"I only told the truth," the girl said placidly, but
there was a smile lurking in the depths of her gen
tle
cowlike
eyes. "There is more work when guests
come. We never had them before three years ago."

Maggie nodded. "I know. Look, I guess you'd bet
ter go now.
And um-Emptier?"
She couldn't bring
herself to say the entire name. "I really hope you don't get in trouble because of this."

Chamber-pot Emptier nodded
back,
then went to
reach under the bed and retrieve a ceramic con
tainer. She walked out again holding it carefully.

Maggie looked around the room, which was very
big and very bare. It was somewhat better lit than
the corridors, having several bowl-shaped oil lamps
on stands. The bed was the only real piece of furni
ture in it. It was huge, with a heavy wooden frame
and carved bedposts. Piled on top of it were quilts
and what looked like fur coverlets, and hanging all
around it were linen curtains.

I'm probably supposed to take all that stuff off and put the clean sheets on, Maggie thought. She
didn't.

The rest of the furniture seemed to be large
chests made of exotic-looking wood, and a few
benches and stools.
Nothing that offered a hiding
place.
But on one side there was a curtained
doorway.

Maggie went through it and found a small ante
room-the wardrobe Jeanne had mentioned. It was
much bigger than she'd expected, and seemed to
be more of a storeroom than a closet.

Okay. So I'll just sit down.

There were two stools beside a figure that
vaguely resembled a dressmaker's dummy. Maggie
dropped her sheets on a chest and pulled one of
the stools close to the doorway. Through the space
between the linen curtains she could see almost the
entire bedchamber.

Perfect, she thought. All I have to do is
wait
until
he comes in alone. And then

She stiffened. She could hear voices from some
where beyond the vast bedroom. No, she could
hear a voice, a musical girlish voice.

Oh, please, she thought. Not
her.
Don't let him come in with her. I'll have to jump out and hit her
with something; I won't be able to stop myself
...
.

But when two figures came in the room, she had
no desire to jump out.

It was Sylvia, all right, but she wasn't with
Delos
.
She was with Hunter
Redfern
.

Maggie felt ice down her spine. Now, what were
these two doing in
Delos
's bedroom? Whatever it
was, if they caught her, she was dead meat. She
held herself absolutely still, but she couldn't tear herself away from the curtain.

"He's out riding, and he won't be back for an
other half hour," Sylvia was saying. She was wear
ing a dark holly-green gown and carrying a basket.
"And I've sent all the servants away."

"Even so," Hunter
Redfern
said. He gently moved
the heavy wooden door until it was almost shut.
Not all the way, but enough to screen the bedcham
ber from anyone outside.

"You really think he's spying on our rooms?" Syl
via turned in a swirl of skirts to look at the tall
man.