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he caught only flashes as they went deeper. Ridged red walls like a gaping maw. A
tunnel as pale and twisted as guts. Yellow handprints that flared, then faded in the
gloom. And always the echoing drip, drip of water.As he stumbled on, the folly of
what he'd done sank in. When the Soul-Eaters saw his face, they would know he
wasn't the White Fox boy. Maybe, too, they would detect some trace of his father in
his features. Or maybe they already knew who he was, and this was all a
trap.Down, down they went. An unclean warmth seeped145from the rocks and
clung to his face like cobwebs. An acrid stink stole into his throat."Breathe through
your mouth," muttered the Soul-Eater.Fa used to give him the same advice. It was
terrible to hear it repeated by the enemy.Above him, Torak saw thin sheets of
reddish stone hanging down like flaps of bloody hide. In their folds, unseen
creatures shrank from the light.His head struck a rock and he fell, crying out in
disgust as his fingers plunged into soft blackness seething with thin gray worms.A
strong hand grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. "Quiet!" said the Soul-
Eater. "You'll startle them!" Then to the darkness, "There, there, my little ones." As
if in answer came the squeak and rustle of thousands of bats."The warmth makes
them wakeful," murmured the Soul-Eater. Laying her palm on the tunnel wall, she
made Torak do the same.He recoiled. The rock had the lingering warmth of a fresh
carcass. He knew only one reason for that. The Otherworld."Yes, the Otherworld,"
said the Soul-Eater, as if she'd heard his thoughts. "Why do you think we came all
this way?" -He didn't dare reply, which seemed to irritate her.146"Don't let the bats
see your eyes," she snarled. "They go for the glitter."Abruptly, the tunnel widened
into a long, low cavern the color of dried blood. It had the eye-watering stink of a
midden in high summer, and Torak's gorge rose.Then he forgot about the smell.
The walls were pitted with smaller hollows, some blocked with slabs of stone.
From inside one he caught the hiss of a wolverine.His heart quickened. Where there
was a wolverine, maybe there was also a wolf.He gave a low grunt-whine that Wolf
would be sure to recognize. It's me!No answer. Disappointment crashed over him
like a wave. If Wolf was still alive, he wasn't here."Stop whining," growled the
Soul-Eater, "and keep up! If you get lost down here, we'll never find you
again."More tunnels, until Torak's head whirled. He wondered if the Soul-Eater had
chosen a winding route on purpose, to make him lose his bearings. Behind that
sharp face, he sensed a quick mind. Twisted legs and flying thoughts. That was
what the Walker had said.They emerged into a vast cavern--and Torak faltered.
Before him loomed a forest. A forest of stone.Shadowy thickets reached upward,
seeking sunlight they would never find. Stone waterfalls froze in an147endless
winter. As Torak followed the lurching torchlight, a sickly warmth made the sweat
start out on his brow. He heard a furtive trickling; glimpsed still pools and twisted
roots. He caught nightmare flashes of figures draped in stone: some crouching
above him, some half hidden in water. When he looked again, they were gone, but
he felt their presence: the Hidden People of the Rocks.The Soul-Eater led him to a
massive trunk of greenish stone that looked as if it had been hacked to a stump by
some act of unimaginable violence. He heard movement, and knew he was being
watched.His foot caught on a root, and he tripped and fell. Laughter rang through
the cavern."What's this, Nef?" said a woman's mocking voice. "Have you brought
us your fosterling at last?"Torak's heart began to pound. He'd managed to deceive
one Soul-Eater. He'd need all his wits to deceive the others.Groveling where he lay,
he began to whine. "No, no, don't make me look upon the face of power!""Not that
again!" grunted Nef. "He won't even dare look at me!"Torak felt a flicker of hope.
If they hadn't seen the White Fox boy's face ...A cold finger slid down his cheek,
making him flinch. "If he daren't look at Nef the Bat Mage," a148woman
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