forward, crooking his finger conspiratorially. Wisp inched a bit closer, head cocked.
«Tunnels and tunnels that wind and twist,” Wil said. «Easy to get lost in those tunnels, Wisp.»
The furry Elf shook his head. «Not Wisp.»
«No?» he challenged. «What of the door made of glass that will not break?»
Wisp thought a moment, then clapped his hands excitedly «No, no, just pretend glass. Wisp knows pretend glass. Wisp serves the Lady.»
Wil was trying to decipher that answer when Wisp pointed past them. «Look. Pretty thing, hello, hello.»
The Valeman and the Elven girl turned around. Eretria was sitting up on the straw mat, awake at last, her black tresses falling down about her face as she rubbed the back of her neck. Slowly she looked up at them, started to speak, then caught Wil’s warning finger as it passed before his lips. She glanced past him to where Wisp crouched half a dozen feet from the bars of their cell, grinning broadly.
«Pretty thing, hello,” Wisp repeated, one hand lifting tentatively.
«Hello,” she replied uncertainly. Then, seeing Wil’s quick nod of encouragement, she flashed her most dazzling smile. «Hello, Wisp.»
«Talk with you, pretty thing.» Wisp had forgotten all about Wil and Amberle.
Eretria rose unsteadily, her eyes blinking with sleep, and came over to sit with her companions. She scanned quickly the stairs and the passageway beyond.
«What game are we playing now, Healer?» she whispered out of the corner, of her mouth. There was fear in her dark eyes, but she kept her voice even.
The Valeman did not look away from Wisp. «Just trying to learn something that will get us out of here.»
She nodded approvingly, then wrinkled her nose. «What is that smell?»
«Incense. I can’t be sure, but I think that it acts like a drug when, you breathe it in. I think that is what is making us feel so weak.»
Eretria turned back to Wisp. «What does the incense do, Wisp?»
The furry Elf reflected, then shrugged. «Nice smell. No worries.»
«Indeed,” the Rover girl muttered, glancing at Wil. She gave Wisp another broad smile. «Can you open the door, Wisp?» she asked, pointing at the bars.
Wisp smiled back. «Wisp serves the Lady, pretty one. You stay.»
Eretria did not change her expression. «Is the Lady here now, in the tower?»
«She looks for the Demon,” Wisp answered. «Very bad. Breaks all her stick men apart.» His wizened face grimaced. «She will hurt the Demon.» He rubbed two fingers together. «Make him go away.» Then he brightened. «Wisp could show you wooden statues. Little man and dog. In the box, pretty things like you.»
He pointed to Eretria, who went pale and shook her head quickly. «I don’t think so, Wisp. Just talk with me.»
Wisp nodded agreeably. «Just talk.»
Listening to their conversation, Wil had a sudden thought. He sat forward, gripping the bars of their cell.
«Wisp, what did the Lady do with the Elfstones?»
Wisp glanced at him. «In the box, safe in the box.»
«What box, Wisp? Where does the Lady keep this box?»
Wisp pointed uninterestedly toward the darkened passageway behind him, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on Eretria. «Talk, pretty thing,” he pleaded.
Wil glanced at Amberle and shrugged. He was not having much success coaxing anything more out of Wisp. The little fellow was only interested in talking with Eretria.
The Rover girl crossed her legs before her and rocked back. «Would you show me the pretty stones, Wisp? Could I see them?»
Wisp glanced about furtively «Wisp serves the Lady. Faithful Wisp.» He paused, considering. «Show you wooden figures, pretty one.»
Eretria shook her head. «Just talk, Wisp. Why do you have to stay here in the Hollows? Why don’t you leave?»
«Wisp serves the Lady.» Wisp repeated his favorite, response anxiously, and his face grew troubled. «Never leaves the Hollows. Cannot leave.»
From somewhere high within the tower, a bell rang once and was still. Wisp rose hurriedly.
«Lady calls,” he told them, starting up the stairs.
«Wisp!» Wil called after him. The little fellow stopped. «Will the Lady let us leave if I give her the Elfstones?»
Wisp did not seem to understand. «Leave?»
«Go out of the Hollows?» Wil pressed.
Wisp shook his head quickly. «Never leave. Never. Wooden figures.» He waved to Eretria. «Pretty thing for Wisp. Take good care of pretty thing. Talk some more. Talk later.»
He turned and darted up the stairs into the gloom. Wordlessly, the prisoners watched him go. Above them, the bell sounded a second time, its echo reverberating into silence.
Wil spoke first. «Wisp could be wrong. Mallenroh wants the Elfstones badly. I think she would let us leave the Hollows if I agreed to give them to her.»
They huddled down before the door of their cell, eyes drifting uneasily to the darkness of the stairway beyond.
«Wisp is not wrong.» Amberle shook her head slowly. «Hebel told us that no one goes into the Hollows. And he said that no one ever comes out, either.»
«The Elven girl is right,” Eretria agreed. «The Witch will never let us go. She will make wooden figures of us all.»
«Well, then, we had better come up with another plan.» Wil gripped the bars of the cell, testing their strength.
Eretria rose, peering guardedly into the gloom of the stairway. «I have another plan, Healer,” she said softly.
She reached down into her right boot, separated the folds of leather along the inner side, and extracted a narrow metal rod with a curious hook at one end. Then she reached into her left boot and pulled forth the dagger she had displayed to Wil when they had been surprised by Hebel on the rim of the Hollows. She held up the dagger with a quick grin, then slipped it back into the boot.
«How did Mallenroh miss that?» Wil asked her in surprise.
The Rover girl shrugged. «She did not bother to have the stick men search me. She was too busy, making us feel helpless.»
She moved to the cell door and began examining the lock.
«What are you doing?» Wil came over to her.
«I am getting us out of here,” she declared, peering carefully into the keyhole. She glanced back at him momentarily and indicated the metal rod. «Picklock. No Rover would be without one. Too many ill–advised citizens spend their time trying to keep us locked up. I guess they don’t trust us.» She winked at Amberle, who frowned.
«Some of those people probably have good reason not to trust you,” Amberle suggested.
«Probably.» Eretria blew dust from the lock. «We all deceive one another at times — don’t we, sister Amberle?»
«Wait a minute.» Wil dropped down beside her, ignoring the exchange. «Once you succeed in picking that lock, Eretria, what do we do then?»
The Rover girl looked at him as if he were a fool. «We run, Healer — just as fast and as far as we can away from this place.»
The Valeman shook his head. «We can’t do that. We have to stay»
«We have to stay?» she repeated in disbelief.
«For a while, at least.» Wil glanced momentarily at Amberle, then made his decision. «Eretria, I think this might be a good time to put aside a few of those deceptions you mentioned. Listen carefully»
