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you and freeze you to the canopy of her throne."
Abashed, the bird stuck its head beneath one wing.
From overhead, Anansi said, "Danielle wears stone against her throat."
Mother Bea looked at Danny. "My lucky stone," Danny said, putting a
hand to her neck. "I found it on the beach."
"Let me see it."
Danny gathered the thong in both hands and lifted it over her head.
Mother Bea held the stone to the light. She turned it in her fingers.
She smelled it. At last she touched it with the tip of her tongue. "Anansi,
what think you?" she said.
"It will do," said the spider. "It's a thing of earth; it's strong."
Mother Bea turned to Danny. "Danielle, will you permit Susannah to take
your lucky stone and wear it through Dreamland?"
Danny scowled.
Quickly Susannah said, "I don't need anything. Danny should keep the
stone. It's hers."
Anansi said, "Danny has the axe."
Danielle s scowl grew stronger; it made her eyebrows point down and her
lips twist. Her lower lip bulged out. "No!" she said. "It isn't fair for me to
have two things. You take it." But she did not look at Susannah as she said
it.
"You are sure," said the witch.
"I'm sure."
"Good." Mother Bea dangled the stone over the cauldron. Dipping the
stone into the pot, she spoke in that strange harsh language. Then she lifted
her hand. "Take it," she said, extending the stone to Susannah.
Susannah took it. It was dry as bone, and seemed unchanged. "What'll it
do?" she asked, putting it over her head.
"It will help you gauge whom to trust," said the witch. "If you doubt
the motives or truthfulness of any you meet in the Hill, watch the stone. In
the presence of falsehood it will change color."
Susannah closed her hand around the stone. "Thank you."
"Are you ready to go?"
"Now?"
"Right now," Mother Bea said.
"I'm ready," said Danielle.
Mr. D was observing her from his perch on the table top. "You want to
come with us, cat?" Susannah said softly. It had worked before in the
grasslands. But the cat turned his head and pretended to be looking out the
window. Susannah made her spine stiff. It was too late to be scared.
"Ready," she said.
"Sarah will guide you to the door into the Hill. There is only one way
into the Hill and one way out for mortal folk, and they are the same. The
dreamfolk serve their empress; be careful to whom you reveal your errand! And
remember, only your own desires can trap you. You must want to come back!"
* * * *
"That is the Hill," Sarah said.
They stood at the edge of the forest. Behind them lay shadow. In front
of them a bright green strip of lawn lay bathed in sunlight. It was brighter
than the grass on a golf course. Susannah had never seen a color so bright. On
the other side of the lawn stood a bare hummock, a smooth arching mound of
earth. It was covered with a soft gray mist. As the girls followed Sarah onto
the grass, the mist seemed to retreat from them.
Sarah pointed to a blot of darkness on the mound. "That's the door."
Susannah squinted. It looked like the entrance to a cave. "How big is
the Hill?" The Hill might be much bigger than it looked. They could get lost.
"It's big," Sarah said. "But time works differently under the Hill. If
you keep to your errand, you can find your brother and be back in your world
before the moon has set." She raised a hand. "I wish you luck."
"I wish you could come with us," Susannah said.
Sarah shook her head. "I will watch you in the mirror."
"Hey." Danny joggled Susannah's arm.
Stalking purposefully across the grass to them was the big orange cat.
"You coming with us, Mr. D?" said Susannah when he reached them. He
rubbed his head on her knee and purred. "Good."
"Why? What can he do? He's only a cat," said Danny.
"There's no such thing as 'only a cat.'" Susannah bent to rub Mr. D's
nose. "Cats are magic." I hope they are, she thought.
"Good-bye," said Sarah. She walked toward the pines. The instant she
stepped off the lawn, the mist began to advance from the Hill. Soon Susannah
could barely see the lawn or the mound or the trees behind her. Only the brown
top of the mound showed through the soupy mist.
Danielle stared at it. "I don't like this stuff," she grumbled.
"It's just fog, like at home." But they both knew this fog was nothing
like San Francisco fog.
"Well," Danny said, "let's do it." Rubbing her arms, she marched toward
the dark shadow on the mound. Bravely she poked a fist into the darkness.
"Ugh," she said. "It's just empty."
There was no going back.
"I'll go first," Danny said.
"No. I will," said Susannah. "He's my brother." They glared at each
other. At that moment Mr. D, tail held high, slipped between them and padded
into the dark.
"Come on!" said Susannah. She held out a hand.
Danny grabbed it.
The entrance was so low that they had to duck their heads. A grown-up
would have had to bend double. One hand in front of her to feel for edges and
bumps, Susannah moved cautiously into the tunnel. It was so dark that she kept
squeezing her eyes shut just to see the pinwheeling colors form on her
eyelids.
Something warm and soft brushed her reaching hand. "Hello, magic cat,"
she said.
The tunnel made her voice sound spooky. "Where's the cat?" Danny asked.
"Right in front of me."
"Cats are good in the dark," Danny said hopefully.
Susannah doubted that even a cat could see in this thick darkness, but
she wasn't sure. She shuffled forward a few steps. The tunnel roof lifted; she
could stand. The flat smooth floor was easy to walk on even in the dark. The
air smelled old.
Danny was gripping her hand very hard. "You okay?" Susannah asked.
"Yeah," Danny said. She sounded as if she was trying not to cough.
"Let go of my hand and hold on to my waist. Then I can feel ahead with
both hands."
"Okay," Danny said. "Stand still." Susannah stood. Danny released her
hand and grabbed one of her belt loops. "How's that?"
"Better." Susannah worked her cramped hand until the blood tingled
through it. She reached out. The tunnel wall was gritty on her palms. "I
wonder how long this lasts."
"Me too."
Danny's voice still sounded tight. She's scared, Susannah thought. How
come I'm not scared? I guess it's because I've read more stories.
"It can't last too long," she said. "I'm sure Mother Bea would have
told us. It's not so bad. I always thought caves were cold, but this is warm."
"Yeah," said Danny. "It's not so bad. Want to switch?"
"Okay." They changed places. Danny got in front. Susannah tucked her
fingers into the stiff leather of the enchanted belt. It was hard to move
without bumping into Danny or stepping on her heels. It didn't seem to matter
whether her eyes were open or closed. She closed them experimentally. Then she
opened them. Stupid, you didn't close your eyes in an Adventure! If you did,
something came from behind a rock and ate you.
"Hey," Danny said, stopping suddenly. "I see lights."
--------
*Chapter Seven*
Susannah peered around Danny's shoulder. "See?" Danny said. "They look
like Christmas lights."
Susannah rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I don't see
anything," she muttered. She stared. She did see something: points of light
which gleamed orange and red and blue. She wondered if they were real. "Keep
going. Maybe they'll disappear."
"You think so?" Danny shuffled forward.
The sparkles did not vanish. They grew brighter. "I can see my hands,"
Danny whispered. "Wow, look at that!" They had reached the sparkles. Blue,
red, and amber jewels glittered in the rock walls of the tunnel. The walls
were not dark but swirling with colors. The colors' names -- sandy ocher and
carmine red and indigo -- rolled into Susannah's mind as if she were reading
them off her paint box. Pillars of rock, big as the trunks of trees, jutted
from the smooth rock floor. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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