Milla snorted, though Tal wasn't sure if this was because of the nightmare-filled Sunstone or because Ebbitt had called her charming. She'd found her charred armor and put it back on. She had also reclaimed her Merwin-horn sword.
"I have seen enough of your Castle and enough of its shadows," she announced. "Give me the Sunstone, Tal, so I may return to the clean Ice."
Tal looked at the ring. He could understand why Milla wanted to take it and go, but he still needed it.
"What about the thirteen sleeps?"
"Twelve now," said Milla sternly. "I will wait if I must. But I am asking you now as a friend of the clan, Tal. The clan whose blood you share."
Tal looked at the ring again, then at Milla. He did feel that he owed her something. It was his fault she'd gotten captured and been taken here, to the Hall of Nightmares. She was also clearly at risk in the Castle. Perhaps he should give her the Sunstone. It might even be easier for him to not have to worry about Milla…
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
"I can't give it to you," Tal finally said. "Not yet."
He met Milla's gaze, but saw no sign there of what she would do. Surely she wouldn't try to take the stone by force?
His shadowguard felt his tension and stood up beside him, stretching into the shape of a small Borzog. Ebbitt's Spiritshadow watched from the door, but rose up on all four legs and tensed to spring.
"What's all this fuss?" asked Ebbitt. "Give me that Sunstone, Tal."
"This is my business, Uncle," Tal snapped. It was the first time he had ever spoken in such a way to a full, adult Chosen. If he had done it in public, he would have earned deluminents from everyone around.
"Give it to me," Ebbitt repeated. He held out his bony hand. His Spiritshadow padded over and stood next to Tal, and tilted its head to look at him.
"Whose side are you on?" Tal asked. He took off the ring and angrily put it in Ebbitt's hand. Tears of rage were forming in his eyes, but there was nothing he could do. If Ebbitt wanted to take the Sunstone and give it to Milla, Tal would just have to put up with it. He could climb another Tower, the Orange one, and do a better job of stealing one. He would steal half a dozen Sunstones!
Ebbitt didn't hand the Sunstone to Milla. He held it up to his eye and flashed a rainbow of light at it from his own Sunstone. Then he threw it up in the air and a sharp white beam lanced out at it from the ring on his right hand. There was a spray of sparks and the old man caught the ring again.
Tal blinked, and then he saw that Ebbitt was holding two rings now. The old one had been perfectly sliced in half.
So had the Sunstone.
"One each," said Ebbitt, handing Tal and Milla smaller but still perfectly functioning Sunstones, judging from the glow in the depths of each stone.
"Is it strong enough to be a Primary?" asked Tal as he slid the thinner ring on his finger. He'd had no idea that Sunstones could be split.
"Easily," said Ebbitt, sniffing. "That's a strong stone. One of the originals, I'd say. Not one of these modern imitations, with hardly ten years' sunlight in them. That's a three- or four-century stone. Besides, it was two stones to start with. Someone put them together long ago, when frogs still had legs."
"You can put Sunstones together?" asked Tal.
Why hadn't he been taught any of this Sunstone lore? He would be finished at the Lectorium in a month, and he knew there were no more classes on Sunstones. Perhaps the lectors didn't know themselves?
Ebbitt was an eccentric, but Tal had always known he was a very learned one. He hadn't suspected that this learning would include the secret ways of the Castle, or the nature of Sunstones, or anything like that.
"The Far Raiders thank you," said Milla. This time, she did knock her knuckles together for Tal as well as Ebbitt. "Now, how do I return to the heating tunnels?"
"Tricky," said Ebbitt. "They'll be looking for Tal now, and for you soon, Milla. What with
,spiritshadows searching you out, it could be very hard to get back down."
"Searching us out?" asked Milla. "How? Like a Wrack Hound, by smell?"
"Wrack Hounds?" asked Ebbitt, brightening. "What might they be -"
"Spiritshadows, searching," interrupted Tal, to hasten the old man along. He glanced nervously at the door.
"Oh, yes," agreed Ebbitt. "Any of the Spiritshadows that have touched you will remember the feel of your essence. They can sense that from quite a long way away. Very clever. I've had mine do it, to track down friends. I wouldn't be surprised if they're already on their way."
"Well, let's not wait for them!" urged Tal.
Ebbitt let out a sigh and looked back at the apparatus and the books. Tal steered him back to the capillary tunnel. Tal and Milla bombarded him with questions as they helped the old man up into the ceiling.
"What do you mean, they sense us?"
"How far can they do this sensing?"
"Can anything stop them from sensing us?" After Ebbitt was safely up in the capillary tunnel,
Tal suddenly stopped asking questions and said, "Ebbitt! The insect repellent! For Milla!"
Milla didn't ask what the yellow muck was. But she smeared it on immediately. She had just finished her face when the door to the Hall of Nightmares suddenly opened, letting in a rush of light.
Fashnek stood there, his Spiritshadow behind him, and two other Spiritshadows at his side. He gaped at the open globe, then saw Milla leaping up into what he thought was a solid ceiling.
"Seize her!" he roared. But he stepped back himself. He had been frightened by Milla and the Crones in her dream. Now she had escaped from the crystal globe, without a sunstone! She was clearly an even more dangerous and powerful an enemy than he'd thought.
Ebbitt sealed the hatch behind them, then put his sunstone down the front of his shirt. It was followed by his spiritshadow, which shrank down and curled around it. Tal and his shadowguard did the same thing. Milla's stone still shone from her pocket, until Tal dimmed it for her. In total darkness they would be safe from the pursuing Spiritshadows, who needed light to be able to do anything.
"Hold my leg," whispered Ebbitt. "Milla, hold Tal's."
Clutching on to one another, they began to crawl. Tal had to fight the urge to get his Sunstone out. It was just like the Veil, when he'd passed through it. The darkness seemed to press on him physically, and he found it hard to breathe. It got worse and worse, until he was panting very quickly and clutching Ebbitt's foot so hard that the old man yelped in pain.
Tal was even more afraid because he wasn't sure that Ebbitt knew where he was going. They could be crawling anywhere to the lair of the water spiders thousands of them, boiling over, a great pit of water spiders, which would find t
hat square of skin that Tal had missed putting repellent on, and their fangs would
There was something on Tal's leg. It had to be a water spider. It had to be! Or maybe it was Milla, holding on. He wanted to kick at it and roll over, but maybe it was Milla and he couldn't breathe and Ebbitt stopped.
"We should be far enough away," he whispered. "I'm going to try a little light."
Tal almost sobbed with relief, but he couldn't help himself craning his head back to be ready when the light came. Though he had no idea what he'd do if he looked back and found himself staring into the multifaceted eyes and piercing fangs of a water spider…
The light came. There was only Milla, holding on to Tal's leg. There were no water spiders.
Tal's expression must have given him away, because Milla quickly ran her fingers across Tal's knee, like a spider. He flinched, and Milla laughed. It was only the second time Tal had heard Milla laugh.
"There was a spider," said Milla. "It had eyes like ice crystals, but with a light inside, not a reflection. It waved its legs at me but did not move."
"Where?" croaked Tal, his throat suddenly very, very dry.
"Back in the cross-tunnel," said Milla, pointing at an intersection that was far too close for Tal's liking. "But there was nothing to fear. I would have slain it if it approached."
"They are hard to kill," warned Ebbitt. "We had best get on before the repellent wears off." "Where?" asked Milla.
Tal looked back at Ebbitt. The old man shrugged and smiled. The dreamy smile.
"If the Spiritshadows can sense us," Tal said, "it's going to be hard to hide anywhere and almost impossible to get you down to the Underfolk levels.
Even if we could make it there, I don't know where Crow and his friends found us."
"I'd find it," said Milla. "But I believe you. If we cannot go there yet, where can we go?"
"We have to let the Empress know that Sushin is doing things illegally in her name, and with her guards," said Tal. "Once she knows, she'll put everything right."
He hesitated, then added, "But I probably wouldn't be able to get to the Empress, either. Unless these capillaries go up to Violet?"