Obernewtyn

  But now I saw that dislike had made me attribute him with black motives. Once the hate was gone, I saw that there was little to base it on. Still, I did not trust him as I did Dameon and Matthew, and I determined to be as careful as ever.

  Remembering that he was Enoch's friend, I considered asking him about Maruman. I had grown steadily more , concerned about the old cat, and I missed him badly, despite my relationship with Cameo and the two boys. I was frightened he would take it into his head to come to Obernewtyn—if he had not already tried, I reflected, remembering the mysterious rumor of a cat searching for a funaga.

  If I had dared to farseek, I would have tried to reach across the mountains, though I had never tried communicating over such a distance.

  For a moment I seemed to see his tawny gold eyes, staring at the mountains...

  XXI

  The final weeks of harvest passed swiftly as we worked hard to complete preparations for Obernewtyn's long bitter wintertime. In the Lowlands, the season of rains would have begun. Jes's death faded too quickly; it was as if a memory had died rather than a person, because I had already accepted that I would never see him again. I was nervous that Rosamunde would reveal all to Madam Vega but whatever story the Council had sent, the girl did not arouse any interest.

  Rosamunde and I had no more to do with each other. She did not want it and had retreated into a shadowy world of memories and regrets. I told Matthew and Da-meon what had happened to Jes, but they, like me, felt the final incident was too unbelievable. What could Jes have done? We thought the horror and fear of the moment had made her misjudge what she was seeing and dismissed the matter.

  More important was the way the Council had reacted to the discovery of people like us. There was no doubt in our minds now that we would be interrogated and burned if we were discovered. Their reaction also proved they would go to great lengths to have one of us; and if they did discover my existence, and looked at my records in light of what had happened with Jes, they might guess I had similar powers.

  My biggest fear was that I would be forced to tell them about Matthew and Dameon. I had seen the horror on Rosamunde's face when she spoke of what had been done to Jes's friends in the course of an "interrogation." I did not doubt that they would be able to make me talk. I had no illusions about my courage or my ability to bear pain.

  Matthew tried to argue that I would never betray them, but in the end, I think he was as worried as Dameon and myself.

  "If we organize our escape to coincide with the end of wintertime, just before the pass thaws, they will have no way to contact the soldierguards," Dameon said. "We will only have Ariel and his wolves to contend with. Madam Vega won't be too concerned over our disappearance since they think we are ordinary Misfits, and they will think we are trapped. They might not even bother sending Ariel out at once. Of course when the pass thaws, there is every chance the Council will send someone up looking for you, Elspeth, to find out if you are like Jes. Alexi would hunger for you then, but if we can find a way through the mountains that avoids the main road, or even some place to hide for a time, he and the Council will have a cold trail to follow."

  "If they lost Henry Druid with dozens of soldierguards after him, they can lose us," Matthew said eagerly.

  They would not listen to my protests that having me with them would endanger them far more than if they went alone. Dameon closed the matter by saying as our appointed leader, he refused to accept my withdrawal. They would take the risk of having me with them, for it would not in any case be an immediate risk.

  I thought them foolish, but deep down I was touched by their steadfast loyalty. Yet I promised myself that if by chance the Council did send someone after me before wintertime cut us off from the rest of the Land, I would go at once, and alone.

  I had intended to return quite soon to the Doctor's chamber to find the map and arrowcase, but something had happened that seemed to make it impossible. A rumor had spread that someone had broken into Madam' Vega's chamber. Nothing was said of lie Doctor's chamber but they would know of that break-in if they knew of the other. Where had I slipped up? They must have found the letters I shoved under the steel cabinet

  Selmar moved about Obernewtyn like a gray wraith, unsmiling, silent, and pale. Nobody took much notice of her and, as before, she was permitted to wander freely. The Norselander twins had disappeared, their mysterious escape attempt forgotten. We would never know what really happened.

  Preparations had begun for the escape; we were stealing and hiding whatever we managed to find under a hole concealed by a loose board in one of the barns. We had two good knives and some coats and blankets.

  According to Louis, things were increasingly unsettled in the Highlands. He told us there were even rumors diat the ghosts of the Oldtimers had been stirring restlessly on the Beforetime ruins at the edge of the Blacklands. That made me nervous because our escape plan would take us very near to Blacklands. I would almost rather face the Council than a ghostly Beforetimer.

  Cameo still disappeared occasionally at night, but as the incidents were becoming isolated, we hoped Alexi and the Doctor were losing interest in her. A shy relationship had begun to develop between Cameo and Matthew that gave us all delight

  Perhaps the strangest thing of all, though, was the relationship that arose between Rushton and myself. I could not like him exactly, but his gentleness about Jes's death made me wonder why I had ever thought him a sinister figure. I had even found out from Louis that he was a paid overseer who had been given the job by Madam Vega when he came to the mountains after his mother died. But what was the purpose he had spoken of so fiercely?

  On his part, Rushton no longer sneered at me whenever the opportunity arose and he even stopped warning me about associating with Dameon and Matthew. I no longer felt any real urge to probe his mind.

  Ariel was another matter entirely. There was something frighteningly unstable about him. He had a queer mania that made him hurt people and see them cringe— as though he wanted proof of his superiority. As the days shortened, his temper increased and everyone stayed out of his way as much as they could.

  Yet it was a tranquil end to the good weather and my fears that the Council would come soon faded. I even began to hope they might not find out about me.

  But the tranquillity was shattered as the wintertime began in earnest. Cameo's nightmares recommenced and once more, she was often absent from her bed at night. I was still unable to get through to her and did not force it, in fear of the machine that had caught me before. Matthew tortured himself with what they were doing. He could not bear even to look at Selmar, now that he had heard what she had once been like.

  One night, Cameo woke me with her mental cries, but when I went over to her she was wide-eyed.

  "You'll never find where I hid the map," she whispered, her eyes again that strange color. Somehow, Cameo was mixed up in Vega and Alexi's search for the maps. All at once I remembered that Selmar had muttered something about a map that day in the hall. But what map?

  "Lukas said it was dangerous, but I found it. You won't find it. I hid the map," said Cameo. I looked into her eyes and realized whom Cameo's altered eyes reminded me of—Marisa Seraphim. Was Cameo possessed by a ghost? She suddenly fell back into a natural sleep.

  The next day I told the others what had happened.

  "It could be something she overheard them talking about. If she was being hypnotized at the time she would be very suggestible," said Dameon.

  That sounded plausible enough, but I reminded them of her eyes. "You didn't see her face," I insisted. "It didn't even look like her. And her eyes looked yellow!"

  "Are ye tryin' to say she's being haunted by the shade of a long-dead mistress of Obernewtyn?" Matthew asked bluntly. I stared at him, knowing that this was exactly what I did think.

  "I don't know. It sounds ridiculous. But I've seen her. You'd know why if you saw her when this happens. But whatever it is they're doing, it's got something to do with some map Mari
sa Seraphim hid."

  "A map to what?" Matthew wondered.

  I looked at him helplessly.

  Cameo's decline accelerated rapidly after that, and she lost weight and color. It was impossible to talk to Matthew about it because he was too emotionally involved. Both Matthew and Dameon thought I was wrong about her being possessed. Dameon was afraid Matthew would do something desperate.

  But one day Matthew said, "Every time we talk about Cam, ye shake yer heads an' look worried. But we're nowt doing anything. I say we shouid get away from Obernewtyn now, before the wintertime sets in proper. If we don't, we'll be stuck here for the whole season. It might be too late for Gam by thaw, an' maybe for all of us."

  His words heightened an unease we all seemed to feel but had feared to express. Deep down, I had felt a growing urgency to get away. The only time I felt safe was when we were talking about the escape.

  I decided to risk another trip to the Doctor's chamber. It had been some time since the last. If we did decide to go suddenly, we would need the arrowcase and the map for the wintertime snows. Matthew had begun to press seriously for Dameon to bring the escape forward, but Dameon opposed the notion of an early escape.

  "If we go now, wintertime will catch us even before we get to the mountains. The wolves will be growing hungry and daring, and Lud knows what other beasts would be on the prowl. We would be up against the cold, the snow, hunger, wild animals, not to mention pursuit. The mountains themselves would be nearly frozen solid and the snow would keep us from being able to tell where the ground was tainted."

  I was of two minds. On the one hand, I had a growing fear that it would be too late for us to get away if we delayed, but what Dameon said made sense. There was no point in flying from one dangerous situation into an-other.

  Unlike him, though, I could not just wait and see what happened. I had to do something, and this and my desire to understand what it was Madam Vega and Alexi were after prompted me to return to the Doctor's chamber.

  Somewhere there, I was convinced, I would find the answers to all my questions.

  XXII

  The next day there was a story circulating that someone had tried to break into Obernewtyn. One of Ariel's wolves had been shot and someone had been wounded. No one had any idea, though, who the attackers were. It seemed incredible and insane. Whoever would want to attack a home for Misfits? Surely there was not enough of value to entice robbers over the badlands.

  I asked Louis about this that afternoon, but he was unusually reticent. I was sure he knew more than he said, but one always felt that with him. Someone told Matthew the attackers had been the Druid's men. I thought of Daffyd and his uncle's visit. Was it possible that the two events were connected?

  That night, I ventured out into the halls. It was freezing cold now and though I was shivering violently, I dared not hurry. I relocked my bedchamber door, having this time taken the precaution of arranging my bed as if I were in it. Cameo was inside, sleeping normally for once, and the other girls slept as soundly, one snoring loudly. Yet again, I was lucky I had such indolent roommates. It would have been far more dangerous if they had been light sleepers, or informers anxious to gain favor from Ariel.

  I had gone right into the circular entrance hall before I noticed a strange pungent smell in the air. I had just about reached Madam Vega's outer chamber when I stumbled clumsily, and realized the smoke contained some insidious new kind of sleep potion. My eyes felt leaden and I stumbled again.

  Stopping, I dredged up the merest bit of power to hold on to my consciousness. I probed ahead, then entered Madam Vega's room, farseeking to be sure the way was clear before letting myself into the dark hall and finally into the Doctor's chamber.

  Fortunately, the smell had lessened in the hall and there was no sign of it in the Doctor's chamber. I was relieved because it took some effort to fight off its effect. Obviously Obernewtyn used it as a security backup when the temporary guardians went back to their homes in wintertime. The fire was burning quite brightly. Someone had been here not long ago, and I hoped they wouldn't return.

  This time I ignored the books. There were simply too many of them. Working on the assumption that Alexi would need modern maps with which to compare the Beforetime ones in an attempt to orient them, I was convinced he must have some somewhere. I decided to work methodically from left to right, checking all the tables and drawers.

  In the second drawer I found a pile of arrowcases. There were some very old and some quite modern ones. Quite a few were useless and full of the red-metal decay. I chose a very small one with a cracked case, thinking it would not be missed. Heartened, I slipped it into my pocket and began to search anew, not letting myself become as distracted this time.

  Finally I went back to the table and took one of the maps. There were dozens of them, and unless I was unlucky, its absence shouldn't be noticed for some time. I folded the map carefully and turned to go.

  Impulsively, I crossed to the hinged shelf and went into the small arbor containing the cabinet of old papers. Kneeling, I reached under—and pulled out the two letters I had thrust there in a panic.

  I sat back on my heels, confused but relieved that I had not given myself away. But if the report about someone breaking in had not been caused by- the letters, then what? There was nothing else. Was it possible that someone else had broken in on the same night? I remembered the voices and wondered now if they had belonged to other intruders.

  I chewed at my lip but no answer came. It would be safer to go on assuming I had given myself away. It was just too much to think that someone else had been sneaking around that same night. Looking down at the letters, I decided to read them. I had not been in the chamber long and there was something about the history of Ob-ernewtyn and its masters that nagged at me. I felt certain the answers to the mystery of Obernewtyn were entrenched in the past, particularly in Marisa Seraphim's life.

  The letter from Marisa was brief and cold, a perfunctory inquiry after her husband's health, then a request for certain books and a long list of scientific materials. The other letter was only one page, but I gaped as I read it.

  My friend,

  I wish you would reconsider your notion to adopt young Alexi. Marisa finds him sly and I fear I must for once agree with her. She is a strange creature, and too preoccupied with books, but she is sttll your mother. I think she knows that you never loved Manda and regrets your unhappiness. Now that she is dead, you must make another life. What of the village girl you loved as a youth? Can you not seek her out?

  The page ended abruptly but there was no second sheet. Irritated, I thrust the letter back in its sleeve and replaced them both in the cabinet, my mind occupied with the revelation that Alexi was the adopted son of Michael Seraphim. I wondered why the melancholy writer of the letter to his lover had decided to adopt the child at all. A slight scraping sound alerted me and I slid quickly from the arbor, where there was no place to hide, and under a table in the darkest corner of the chamber.

  There was another scraping sound, then to my utter amazement, the entire huge fireplace suddenly swung open to reveal steps going down. A moment later, four people came out of the hidden passage. From where I was hidden, I could only see legs and hands, but I could guess whom they belonged to.

  They were warmly dressed and snow fell from their cloaks, so the passage obviously led outside. The fireplace swung back into place, and when they spoke, my guess was confirmed.

  "I could have sworn I heard something," said Ariel, rubbing his hands together.

  "Don't be a fool," came Alexi's deep voice. "How could anyone come through all the candles?"

  "Thank Lud we banked up the fire. It gets colder every time we go out," said Madam Vega. The fourth person, a woman, said nothing and I had no idea who she was.

  "What are you going to do about Druid?" Ariel asked. I gasped out loud, then bit my tongue so hard it bled, but fortunately no one had heard me.

  "He won't be any more trouble. You can put that bo
dy out for the wolves. If the Druid's men see it well and good. I don't know what he hopes to achieve. This place is like a fortress," Vega said sharply.

  Alexi laughed. "I expect they hope to achieve the same things we hope for. He always was fascinated by the past Not a good hobby for a Herder," he added.

  "We don't know for sure if the old man is even alive. It could be his followers," Vega said.

  "That's not what his man said. And I think he was too afraid to lie by the time I had done with him." Ariel laughed unpleasantly. "It's a pity we can't call the Council in to clear them up."

  "Impossible," Alexi said coldly. "Soldierguards up here would make our search impossible, and imagine if they found out what we planned. It is hard enough to keep those nosy Herders out."

  "Well, tonight was a waste of time," Ariel said. "I told you she would be useless."

  "I did not think to achieve anything. I merely wanted to try out that new machine. I don't want to ruin Cameo like this one," he added. I understood that the silent fourth must be poor Selmar.

  "I'm sick of these idiots," Ariel said petulantly.

  "They keep Stephen happy, and when the time comes to dig, they will be good labor. Marisa once told me she thought the things we seek would be buried and I have no intention of digging them up like a common farmer. It's just fortunate the Zebkrahn machine is as close as it is to Obernewtyn. I loathe walking. Besides it would have been impossible to suddenly stop purchasing Misfits without the Council wondering what was going on. And you must admit, the business of searching the orphan homes makes the perfect cover for our search for the right Misfit."

  Madam Vega paused thoughtfully. "You really think it was Cameo who set the machine off that day?"

  "It would have taken a high level of power to engage the machine, and then to escape it," said Alexi. "She had been dreaming about machines and crying out, according to that informant. It must have been her. She's been pretending to be defective. Very clever, but after tonight I don't think she'll resist too hard."