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."You're saying Prince Delos saved your life? With the blue fire? You're saying he didn't turn you over to the hunting party?" She said it as if she were talking about Dracula."It's the truth." Good thing I didn't tell her about the kiss, Maggie thought."It's impossible.Delos hates everybody.He's the most dangerous of all of them.""Yeah, that's what he kept telling me." Maggie shook her head.The way Jeanne was looking at her made her uncomfortable, as if she were defending someone unredeemably evil."He also said at one point that he killed my brother," she said slowly."But I didn't know whether to believe it.""Believe it." Jeanne's nostrils were flared and her lip curled as if she were looking at something disgusting."He's the head of this whole place and everything that goes on here.There's nothing he wouldn't do.I can't believe he let you go." She considered for a moment, then said grimly, "Unless he's got something special in mind.Letting you go and then hunting you down later.It's the kind of thing he'd enjoy."Maggie had a strange feeling of void in her stomach that had nothing to do with hunger.She tried to speak calmly."I don't think so.I think-he just didn't care if I got away.""You're fooling yourself.You don't understand about these people because you haven't been here.None of you have been here." Jeanne looked at P.J., who was watching with wide blue 'eyes, and at Cady, who was listening silently, her head slightly bowed."The Night People are monsters.And the ones here in the Dark Kingdom are the worst of all.Some of them have been alive for hundreds of years-some of them were here when Delos's grandfather founded the place.They've been holed up in this valley all that time.and all they do is hunt.It's their only sport.It's all they care about.It's all they do."Maggie's skin was prickling.Part of her didn't want to pursue this subject any further.But she had to know."Last night I noticed something weird," she said."I was standing outside and listening, but I couldn't hear any animal sounds anywhere.None at all.""They've wiped them out.All the animals in the wild are gone."P.J.'s thin little hand clutched at Maggie's arm nervously.'But then what do they hunt?""Animals they breed and release.I've been a slave here for three years, and at first I only saw them breeding local animaLs-cougars and black bearswolverines and stuff.But in the last couple of years they've started bringing in exotics.Leopards tigers and things."Maggie let out her breath and patted P.J.'s hand.`But not humans.""Don't make me laugh.Of course humans-but only when they can get an excuse.The laws say the vampires can't hunt slaves to death because they're too precious-pretty soon the food supply would be gone.But if slaves get loose, they at least get to hunt them down and bring them back to the castle.And if a slave has to be executed, they do a death hunt.""I see." The void in Maggie's stomach had become a yawning chasm."But-2'"If he let you go, it was so he could come back and hunt you," Jeanne said flatly."I'm telling you, he's bad.It was three years ago that the old king died and Delos took over, okay? And it was three years ago that they started bringing new slaves in.Not just grabbing people off the mountain if they got too close, but actually going down and kidnapping girls off the streets.That's why I'm here.That's why P.J.'s here."Beside Maggie, P.J.shivered.Maggie put an arm around her and felt the slight body shaking against hers.She gulped, her other hand clenching into a fist."Hey, kiddo.You've been really brave so far, so just hang on, okay? Things are going to work out."She could feel Jeanne's sarcastic eyes on her from beyond Cady, daring her to explain exactly how things were going to work out.She ignored them."Was it the same for you, Cady?" she asked.She was glad to get off the subject of Delos, and she was remembering the strange thing Cady had said last night.I was coming here for a reason."No.They got me on the mountain." But the way Cady spoke alarmed Maggie.It was slowly and with obvious effort, the voice of someone who had to use all their strength just to concentrate.Maggie forgot all about Delos and the slave trade and put a hand to Cady's forehead."Oh, God," she said."You're burning up.You're totally on fire."Cady blinked slowly."Yes-it's the poison," she said in a foggy voice."They injected me with something when they caught me-but I had a bad reaction to it.My system can't take it."Adrenaline flicked through Maggie."And you're getting worse." When Cady nodded reluctantly, she said, "Right.Then there's no choice.We have to get to the castle because that's where the healing women are, right? If anybody can help, they can, right?""Wait a minute," Jeanne said."We can't go down to the castle.We'd be walking right into their arms.And we can't get out of the valley.I found the pass before, but that was by accident.I couldn't find it again"I could," Maggie said.When Jeanne stared at her, she said, "Never mind how.I just can.But going that way means climbing down a mountain on the other side and Cady can't make it.And I don't think she'll make it if we leave her alone here and go look for help."Jeanne's narrow green eyes were on her again, and Maggie knew what they were saying.So we've got to give up on her.It's the only thing that makes sense.But Maggie bulldozed on in determination."You can take P.J.to the pass-I can tell you how to get there-and Ill take Cady to the castle.How about that? If you can tell me how to get to it.""It stinks," Jeanne said flatly."Even if you makeit to the castle with her hanging on you, you won't know how to get in.And if you do get in, you'll be committing suicide-"She broke off, and everyone started.For an instant Maggie didn't understand why-all she knew was that she had a sudden feeling of alarm and alertness.Then she realized that Cady had turned suddenly toward the door.It was the quick, instinctive gesture of a cat who has heard something dangerous, and it triggered fear in the girls who were learning to live by their own instincts.And now that Maggie sat frozen, she could hear it, too, faraway but distinct.The sound of people calling, yelling back and forth.And another sound, one that she'd only heard in movies, but that she recognized instantly.Hounds baying."It's them," Jeanne whispered into the dead silence of the shack."I told you.They're hunting us.""With dogs?" Maggie said, shock tingling through her body."It's all over," Jeanne said."We're dead."CHAPTER12No, we're not!" Maggie said.She kicked the heavy cover off and jumped up, grabbing Cady's arm."Come on!""Where?" Jeanne said."The castle," Maggie said."But we've got to stick together." She grabbed PJ.'s arm with her other hand."The castle?"Maggie pinned Jeanne with a look."It's the only thing that makes sense.They'll be expecting us to try to find the pass, right? They'll find us if we stay here.The only place they won't expect us to go is the castle.""You," Jeanne said, "are completely crazy-" "Come on!""But you just might be right." Jeanne grabbed Cady from the other side as Maggie started for the door [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]