Chapter 6

Chapter Six IN WHICH the Stones Speak Jared and Simon ran, half dragging Mallory, through a series of hallways and narrow, dim rooms. Once, they passed through an overhang high above a central cavity where the Korting oversaw dwarves laboring to stack weapons onto carts. The barking, at first far off, became closer and more frenzied. They continued on, through chamber after chamber, ducking behind stalagmites when they heard dwarves nearby, and then creeping on.

Jared stopped in a cavern with pools where white, sightless fish darted. Tiny rocks were balanced atop the points of all the stalagmites, and the sound of water droplets echoed through the space, along with a strange tapping rhythm. "Where are we?" "I'm not sure," Simon said. "I would have remembered those fish, but I don't. I don't think we came this way when they brought us in." "Where are we?" Mallory moaned, swaying slightly as she stood.

"We can't go back," Jared said nervously. "We have to keep going." A small, pale figure jumped out from the shadows. It had huge, luminous eyes that shone in the gloom. On its forehead, two long whiskers quivered. "Wha—what's that?" Simon whispered. The creature tapped on the wall with one long, multijointed finger, then pressed a large ear against the stone. Jared noticed that the creature's nails were cracked and broken. "Thestones. Thestonesspeak. Theyspeaktome." It had a small, whispery voice, and Jared strained to pick out individual words. The creature tapped again. The sound was like some demented Morse code. "Hey," Jared said. "Um, do you know the way out of here?" "Shhhhh." It closed its eyes and nodded its head in time with something Jared couldn't hear. Then it leaped into Jared's arms, wrapping a strong hand around his neck. Jared stumbled backward.

"Yes! Yes! Thestonessaytocrawlthroughthere." It pointed into the darkness, past the pools of white fish. "Um, great. Thanks." Jared tried to peel the creature off. Finally it unlatched, scrambled to the wall, and began tapping again. "What is that?" Simon whispered to Jared. "A really weird dwarf?" "A nodder or a banger, I think," Jared whispered back. "They live in mines and warn miners of collapses and stuff." Simon made a face. "Are they all insane? It's worse than that phooka." "Foryou, JaredGrace." The creature pressed a smooth, cold stone into Jared's hand. "Thestonewantstotravelwithyou." "Uh, thanks," Jared said. "We have to go now." He moved toward the dark place that the nodderbanger- thing had indicated. As Jared got closer, he thought he could make out a crevice.

"Thestonesspeak."

"Wait. How did you know Jared's name?" Mallory asked, moving slowly behind her brothers. Jared turned back, suddenly confused. "Yeah, how did you know my name?" he demanded. The creature rapped on the cave wall again, an uneven series of taps. "Thestonestellme. Thestonesknowall." "Riiiight." Jared continued on. The creature had actually pointed them toward a small opening in the wall of the cave. They had overlooked it before. The hole was low to the ground and very dark. Jared got on his hands and knees and started to crawl. The cave floor was moist, and sometimes he thought he could hear a slither or a rustle just ahead of him. His brother and sister shuffled along behind. Once or twice he heard one of them gasp, but he didn't slow his pace. He could still hear the barking of the dogs echoing through the caverns. They emerged in the hall of the ironwood tree. "I think it's that way," Jared said, pointing to one of the hallways.