Black dawn (6 page)

"The Night World.
It's like an organization. For all of
them, you
know." When Maggie just looked at her, she went on, "Them. The ones
that aren't
human."

This time what Maggie felt was a plunging in her stomach, and she honestly didn't know if it was because she was locked up in here with a loony, or if some part of her already accepted what the loony was saying. Either way, she was scared sick, and she couldn't say anything.

The girl with red hair flicked a glance at her, and the malicious pleasure came back. "The vampires," she said distinctly, "and the
shapeshifters
and the witches--"

Oh, God, Maggie thought.
Sylvia.
Sylvia is a witch.

She didn't know how she knew and probably part of her didn't believe it anyway, but the word was thundering around inside her like an avalanche, gathering evidence as it fell. The incense, those strange purple eyes, the way Miles fell for her so fast and hardly ever called the family after he met her, and changed his whole personality, just as if he'd been under a spell, bewitched and helpless, and, oh, Miles, why didn't
I guess....

I'm not smart, but I've always been a good judge of character. How could I screw up when it counted?

"They don't normally have places of their own,"

the
redheaded girl was going on; and the words
were somehow finding their way to Maggie's ears
despite the chaos going on inside her. "Mostly they
just live in
our
cities, pretending to be like us. But
this valley is special; it's been here in the Cascades for centuries and humans have never found it. It's all surrounded by spells and fog
and those moun
tains. There's a pass through them, big enough for
carts, but only the Night People can see it. It's
called the
Dark
Kingdom
."

Oh,
terrific,
Maggie thought numbly. The name
was strangely suited to what she'd seen outside. Yellow sunlight was almost impossible to imagine in this place. Those filmy wraiths of mist held it in
a shimmering silvery-white spell.

"And you're trying to say that we're all ...
slaves now? But how did you guys get here?"

When the redhead didn't answer, she looked at
the little blond girl.

The girl shifted her slight body, gulped. Finally
she spoke in a husky little voice.

"I'm P.J. Penobscot. I was-it happened to me
on Halloween. I was trick-or-treating." She looked
down at herself and Maggie realized she was wear
ing a tan cable-knit sweater and a vest. "I was a
golfer. And I was only supposed to go on my own
block because the weather was getting bad. But my
friend Aaron and I went across the street and this
car stopped in front of
me...."
She trailed off and
swallowed hard.

Maggie reached over and squeezed her hand. "I bet you were a great golfer."

P.J. smiled wanly. "Thanks." Then her small face hardened and her eyes became distant. "Aaron got
away, but this man grabbed me. I tried to hit him with my golf club, but he took it away. He looked
at me and then he put me in the car. He was
strong."

"He was a professional slave trader," the
redhaired
girl said. "Both the guys I've seen are pros.
That's why they looked at her face-they take
pretty slaves when they can get them."

Maggie stared at her, then turned to P.J. "And
then what?"

"They put something over my face-I was still
fighting and yelling and everything-and then I
went to sleep for a while. I woke up in this ware
house place." She breathed once and looked at her
thin wrists. "I was chained to a bed and I was all
alone. I was alone for a while. And then, maybe it
was the next day, they brought in
her."
She nodded
at the girl sleeping in the corner.

Maggie looked at the still form. It didn't move
except when the cart shook it. "Is she all right?"

"She's sick. They left her there for a long time, maybe four days, but she never really woke up. I
think she's getting worse."
P.J.'s
voice was quiet
and detached. "They came in to give us food, but that was all. And then yesterday they brought
you
in.

Maggie blinked.
"To the warehouse."

P.J. nodded solemnly. "You were asleep, too. But I don't know what happened after that. They put
the cloth over my face again. When I woke up I
was in a van."

"They use those for transport on the other side,"
the red-haired girl said.
"To get up to the pass.

Then they switch to a cart. The people in this valley
have never seen a car."

"So you mean I slept through all that?" Maggie
asked P.J.

P.J. nodded again, and the redhead said, "They
probably gave you more of the drug. They try to keep everybody too doped up to fight."

Maggie was chewing her lip. Something had oc
curred to her. Maybe Sylvia hadn't gone climbing
with Miles at all. "So,
PJ.,
you never saw any
other
slaves besides that girl? You didn't see a boy?" She fished in her jacket pocket and pulled out the photo
of Miles.
"A boy who looked like this?"

P.J. looked at the photograph gravely,
then
shook
her head. "I never saw him before. He looks like
you.

"He's my brother, Miles. He disappeared on Halloween, too. I thought maybe
... ."
Maggie shook
her head,
then
held the photograph toward the
red
haired
girl.

"Never seen him before," the girl said shortly.

Maggie looked at her. For somebody who liked
to talk about scary things, she didn't say much that
was helpful.
"And what about you?
How'd you get
here?"

The girl snorted. "I told you. I was getting
out
of
the valley." Her face tightened. "And I almost made
it through the pass, but they caught me and stuck
me in here. I should have made them kill me
instead."

"Whoa," Maggie said. She glanced at
Pi.,
mean
ing that they shouldn't frighten her unnecessarily.
"It can't be
that
bad."

To her surprise, the girl didn't sneer or get mad.

"
It's
worse," she said, almost whispering again.
"Just leave it alone. You' l find out."

Maggie felt the hair at the back of her neck stir. "What are you saying?"

The girl turned, her green eyes burning darkly.
"The Night People have to eat," she said. "They can
eat normal things, food and water. But the vam
pires have to drink blood and the
shapeshifters
have to eat flesh. Is that clear enough for you?"

Maggie sat frozen. She wasn't worried about
scaring P.J. anymore. She was too scared herself.

"We're slave labor for them, but we're also a food
supply. A food supply that lasts a long time,
through lots of feedings," the girl said brusquely.

Maggie ducked her head and clenched her fists.
"Well, then, obviously we've got to escape," she said
through her teeth.

The redhead gave a laugh so bitter that Maggie
felt a chill down her spine.

She looked at P.J. "Do
you
want to escape?"

"Leave her alone!" the redhead snapped. "You,
don't understand what you're talking about. We're
only humans; they're Night People. There's nothing
we can do against them,
nothing!"

"
BUt
--2)

"Do you know what the Night People do to slaves
who try to escape?"

And then the red-haired girl turned her back on
Maggie. She did it with a lithe twist that left Mag
gie startled.

Did I hurt her feelings? Maggie thought stupidly.