Everyone waited for another minute, watching the wall, before Odris spoke to Milla in her Storm Shepherd whisper, which could probably be heard through the wall as well as by all the Icecarls and Graile.
"Is something supposed to happen?"
"Yes," said Milla.
As she spoke, she felt a rumbling underfoot.
All the Icecarls shifted nervously. It felt like breaking ice, and their instinctive reaction was to run away from it as fast as possible.
"Um," said Ebbitt. "Perhaps it was the floor--"
He jumped back as the floor suddenly slid away under his feet, revealing a deep hole. Two Shield Maidens caught him and rushed him back still farther, joining the general dash to the other wall.
When the rumbling stopped, almost a third of the floor had slid away, revealing a ramp that led down into a dark and stagnant pool of water.
"Damp," said Ebbitt. He started down the ramp, his Spiritshadow easing out from behind Graile to glide along at his heels. The old man paused at the edge of the water, pulled his breastplate away, and spoke down, apparently to his own chest. "I advise you to hold your breath through here."
Before anyone could ask him what he was doing, his Sunstone shone brightly and a globe of green light formed around his head. His Spiritshadow went first, then the old man followed it confidently farther down the ramp. Both of them disappeared underwater.
"Oh, Ebbitt," sighed Graile. "There's probably a perfectly easy and dry way out of here, but he has to choose the dirtiest and most difficult."
She started to get up, but even with her Spiritshadow's help she would have fallen if Milla had not caught her elbow.
"Thank you," gasped Graile. "I am still… very weak. Perhaps you could help me with a globe of air?"
"That is what Ebbitt made just then?" asked Milla. "To breathe under the water?"
"Yes. It is Green magic, not difficult. Air is compressed into the light. I don't think I could hold my breath at all, so I will need it."
"How do I begin?" asked Milla tentatively. She remembered the Violet wave all too well. What if she made a mistake and formed a globe around Graile's head that had no air in it?
"I will show you with my Sunstone," whispered Graile. "You need only follow what I do, but with more power. You regulate power with will--it is a matter of how fiercely you think it. I am sure you can do that."
Milla nodded. But before Graile could begin, Saylsen interrupted. All the Icecarls had been suspicious of Sunstone magic in the first place. Milla had only made it worse with the Violet wave. It made her feel strange deep inside to know that not only did she have the ability to use Sunstone magic, but that the Icecarls feared her for it.
"We should send someone through the water to take a look," the Shield Mother said. "To see that there is air on the other side, and that the way is clear."'
"Odris can go," said Milla.
"The shadow does not breathe," said Saylsen. "We need to know that we can make it through without magic."
"Milla could make you each a globe of air," said Graile weakly. "It would not take long."
Milla saw the resistance on every Icecarl face, but no one spoke. If she ordered it, they would accept. But she would not order them, and once again she felt a pang in her heart, as she was reminded how distant she now was from the Shield Maidens and hunters who stood before her.
"Send who you will," Milla said. "But tie a cord to them first, in case of trouble."
She turned back to Graile.
"Show me," said Milla. "I will make a globe of air for you, but we will cross the water without magic. That is the Icecarl way."
CHAPTER TEN
After three attempts to cross one of the major colorless corridors to get to an essential stairway, Tal was forced to accept that he would have to ask Crow to show him an Underfolk way to the Violet levels. Every time they were about to run across, large groups of armed Chosen, usually led by a guard, would appear at one end of the corridor, hurrying along. It was clear that the entire adult population of Chosen, including some older children, was being mobilized against the Icecarl invasion.
Many of them would be killed or injured, Tal thought sadly, all of them fighting for a lie. They were not defending themselves, but were simply dupes of Sushin and Sharrakor. The Aeniran plan to destroy the Veil and take over the Dark World had long been in action. Even the Empress had been controlled by Sharrakor.
"Go, don't go, back, stop," grumbled Adras. "This is a silly game."
"It's not a game, Adras," said Tal. "Crow, do you know a way we can get up through Orange and Yellow?"
"I know a way to get right up to Violet One," said Crow with a slight smile. "But it's not pleasant or easy."
Tal didn't like the look of that smile. It reminded him of the old Crow, the one who had hit him on the head and stolen his Sunstone.
"What is it, then?"
The smile disappeared and Crow grew more serious. "You know the laundry chute?"
Tal nodded. Everyone knew the laundry chute. But you couldn't climb it--it was made to slide down. Besides, he'd used it to escape from Sushin before. It was sure to be guarded.
"There is another, similar chute," said Crow. "Except that it's a vertical shaft, without any turns. It runs from the Underfolk serving kitchen on Violet One all the way down--down to the heatways or even lower. It's called the slopdown."
"The slopdown?" asked Tal. That didn't sound too good.
Crow saw the look on Tal's face and nodded. "It's for the kitchen garbage from each level. So it smells bad, and it's pretty slimy. But there is a metal ladder that goes all the way. I think." "You've climbed it?" asked Tal.
"Only as far as Indigo Seven," said Crow. "That's why I don't know whether the ladder goes the whole way. But you can get out at any kitchen on any level. The main danger is the slipperiness, or hot slops."
"Slipperiness? Hot slops?"
"A lot of cooking oil and grease goes down, so the ladder is very slippery," explained Crow. "We'll have to climb with a grit bag and grit up every now and then. And sometimes the assistant cooks pour out things like hot soup."
"They might not be cooking with the Icecarl invasion going on," said Tal hopefully.
Crow shook his head at Tal. "They'll be cooking more than ever. Fighters need feeding. But the ladder is on the far side of the shaft from the kitchen hatches, so only a long throw or a lot of stuff coming down could get to us."
Tal thought about it for a moment. There didn't seem to be any alternative. He had to get to the
Violet levels as quickly as possible, and from there into the Violet Tower. This slopdown seemed the best and most secret way.
"All right. But you go first."
Crow nodded. "This way," he said. "There's an old kitchen back here somewhere."
Of course, Crow knew exactly where the old kitchen was. Like most places around the Hall of Nightmares, it had not been used in many, many years. The rows of ovens were cold, their Sunstones dead. The cupboards were empty, doors hanging open at odd angles, old hinges giving way.
Crow went to a gray iron hatch in one wall. It was hinged at the bottom, designed to be pulled open and down. Crow tugged at the handle, but it was stuck fast.
Tal and Adras came to help, and they pulled together. There was a
grinding noise, then a sudden snap. All three fell over backward, still holding the handle.
But the hatch was open a fraction. An awful smell came wafting out from behind it. The smell of years-old cooking oil, the odor of ancient, putrefied meat, and the newer but no less disgusting reek of rotten vegetables.
Tal gagged and held his nose. Crow shook his head as if he could shake the smell off. But Adras was affected even worse. He twisted up into a frenzied whirlwind, spinning round and round and roaring incoherently. Whatever he was saying wasn't clear, but his feelings were obvious. Adras was totally repulsed by the slopdown.
"Stop that!" shouted Tal as he ripped one of his sleeves to make a face mask, while Crow did the same with his new black robe. "It's… it's not that bad."
Adras stopped spinning.
"Yes it is," complained the Spiritshadow. "The air is dead and poisoned!"
"It's only food scraps and… and stuff," said Tal bravely. "And it's the quickest way to get to the Violet levels. We have to climb it."
"No," said Adras firmly. "I will go and find Odris."
"You'll get used to the smell," said Crow. "And there will be a bit of fresh air around each kitchen hatch. If they're open."
"Come on, let's get going," said Tal. He knew Adras would follow, no matter what he said. They were bound together. Adras could not go far from him, or vice versa. Tal thought his own willpower was stronger. Adras would give in and follow. "You go first, Crow."
Crow nodded. He tied his face mask on and climbed through the hatch. Then he climbed back in.
"Forgot the grit," he said, showing blackened, greasy palms to Tal. "The first few rungs of the ladder are really slippery just here. They usually keep some next to the hatch… "
He rummaged about in the cupboards near the hatch, and eventually found two moldy bags of chalklike powder. After testing that the bag was not too rotten, he plunged his hands into it and wrung them, so that he got a good coating of the gritty substance.
"You tie the bag to your belt like this, so that it can still be opened with one hand," he said, showing Tal. "We'll probably have to grit up every level or so."
Tal took the bag, checked it was sound, and copied Crow. In the back of his mind he couldn't help thinking that climbing a greasy ladder was the perfect opportunity for Crow to take his revenge. All he had to do was tread on Tal's hands and he'd fall for sure.