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Evvy stopped in front of a shallow niche for another She rested her forehead against the stone, her back to Briar "I know he’s a stranger, but he’s a good stranger," she murmured to the stone "He’d never hurt me He’s my teacher He’s safe"

Briar shook his head -- his foster-sisters would laugh themselves sick to hear him called a teacher He still felt not like soet her a proper teacher, she’ll know I’m not one at all, he told himself If that idea pinched hiht was a shallow niche was really a passage How had he seen a wall there?

I’ to think the rock hides ht

Briar followed her into the narrow passage It was just wide enough to adh Briar had to crouch to keep froan to climb steps so old they orn like bowls in the o," Evvy remarked quietly "It sealed off inally" She passed through an opening at the top of the stair to be greeted with a chorus of yowls Briar sneezed: the aroe He didn’t even try to blow his nose The worst thing he could i afresh

Evvy’s hoht was better than it had been in any of the tunnels It shone steadily from five opaque or cloudy white crystals that were sunk into the stone of the walls

At first it seemed as if the floor craith cats They irl, who knelt to pet each one A second look sorted them out There were indeed seven, all as thin as Evvy They caray with apricot patches, brown-black with orange patches, two brown old fur, two cinnaold fur, black-and-white Evvy crooned and handed out the contents of a cloth bag she’d pulled from the front of her tunic: chunks of beef and what looked very much like half of the breakfast has while Evvy tended her friends A pile of rags in the corner see was a rough fire pit, with a bucket and a battered pot beside it A collection of cracked and chipped pottery was stacked by the wall In a niche he saw afat man with shriveled flowers at his feet A thick coat of cat hair covered everything A ripe drift of scent from the other room told him it served Evvy and her cats as a privy

Theabout the place was the walls In soh chunks had fallen out that the effect was irregular That he expected What he hadn’t expected was the stones embedded everywhere, small ones the size of a dav, others the size of his pals that were probably stolen Their color and texture varied One thing was the same for all: They had been pressed into the wall as if it were soft butter, not stone Briar tried to pry one out, and couldn’t

"You put these in?" he asked Evvy as the chorus of yowls quieted and the cats ate

She nodded "Ria, let Mystery have that You have your own," she chided the black-and-white cat "I thought maybe it’s just dirt, the walls, and that’s why I could push therimaced "It’s rock, Evvy You ed "I didn’t think it was anything special when I did it" She ducked her head suddenly When she spoke, her voice ry "Though I stopped after I kept getting headaches I think the Heights were telling ain, hands in his pockets "Can we take soht-stones We’ll look them up in the books, find out what they are and what-all you can do with theht" She scrabbled in the rags of her bed, drawing out a large section of cloth Once she had laid it flat, she began to pry various stones from the walls They came easily for her When Briar tried it, they re the cats," Evvy commented as she placed stones on her cloth "There’s ways out of here they can use once we start try loading theh those ways?" Briar asked He placed Evvy’s basket and the two that he had fetched on the floor and opened the lids

"No rats," Evvy said firet in and then jump ‘eood friends to me" Her lower lip tre," Briar said "Leave it totheir food and started a post-feeding wash Briar slid an oilcloth packet from his shirt pocket and opened it to reveal three catnip leaves He placed one leaf in each open basket, then woke the power in thee bed of fresh catnip had sprouted in the baskets They scraet at it

The moment two cats were in each of the sest, Briar closed the lids and fastened them He lashed one to the rack Evvy would carry, then put the reed the power of the leaves to make the cats sleepy The baskets rocked as the occupants curled up for naps