Hawthorn Read Free

Miss Janeway’s just before coming to school, spending extra for the fine French lawn and the pearl buttons. She was going to be terribly out of sorts—I gave her another good shake—the moment she woke up.
    She moaned.
    A feeling of relief washed over me. Helen’s eyes struggled open, their whites startling in her muddy face.
    â€œAva, whyever are you covered with mud? And why are you crying? What’s happened?”
    â€œWe fell down a hole!” I exclaimed, streaking more mud over my face when I tried to wipe away my tears.
    â€œYou needn’t make it sound such an accomplishment . . . ow!” Helen moaned as she sat up, rubbing her elbow. “You’re not Alice and this hole doesn’t look a bit like Wonderland. And what do you think all those crows are looking at?”
    I swiveled around. The rim of the cavern was lined with crows now, their black eyes fixed on Helen and me. “They’re shadow crows,” I said as quietly and calmly as I could. “They came out of the trow—that’s why it was acting so strangely. It was possessed by the
tenebrae
.”
    â€œAll those crows couldn’t have come out of the trow,” Helen said. “They must have been waiting . . .” Helen looked around the muddy pit. “Like they wanted something in here. What do you think they want?”
    To rip our eyes out and burrow inside us until we’re theircreatures
, I thought. But to Helen I said, “You’re right. There must be something here they want. We should tell Gillie . . .”
    â€œYes, we’ll give him a thorough report typed up in triplicate . . . but, um, Ava,
how exactly
will we get past those crows?”
    â€œRemember how Miss Sharp mesmerized them with her dagger? I think I can do that.” As I reached for my dagger the crows cocked their heads at the same angle at the same moment as if they were ruled by the same mind. They were controlled by Judicus van Drood, the Shadow Master. He had sent them . . . but what could he want in this muddy pit? Well, we’d have to worry about that later. My hand closed on the sheath—and found it empty.
    â€œI don’t have my dagger! It must have fallen.”
    â€œWell, I have mine, but even if we mesmerize the crows, we’d have to keep them mesmerized while climbing out of this pit. And I’m not sure I
can
climb on account of my ankle, which I believe I’ve sprained.”
    I looked back at Helen, who had lifted her skirt to inspect her ankle. It was swollen and was turning as blue as the trow’s face had been.
    â€œHelen, that looks painful.”
    â€œYes, it is rather. I will mesmerize the crows while you climb out and go for help. You can bring our friends back to get me out—”
    â€œI’m not leaving you alone here,” I said, looking around at the muddy pit. Even with the last of the golden light shining into it, it was a gloomy place. Once the light was gone it would be terrifying. Those tangled roots would assume monstrousshapes—leering faces, looming monsters—even now I could see pictures in them.
    â€œHelen,” I said, “do you notice anything about the walls?”
    â€œI notice that they’re very steep. Now help me remember Miss Sharp’s spell.” She drew out her own dagger. A ray of sunlight glanced off one of the gems encrusted in its hilt and sent a beam of ruby light arcing through the gloom. The crows rustled their feathers above us but I didn’t look up. Where the light struck the wall a pattern had emerged.
    â€œKeep the dagger just like that,” I told Helen as I got up and moved stealthily toward the wall. The crows cawed over my head and I felt the skin on the back of my neck prickle as I imagined the bite of their sharp beaks. I concentrated on the bit of wall I could see through the roots—it was a wall, a proper stone wall with