We lived in the dark hole, and the abandoned mine on the hillside proved to be a very bad home ihat first winter, I went into a deeper hibernation than ever before, waking only every few days to eat or drink a few mouthfuls, then back to bed. Most of the others dwelt in the narcoleptic state, a haze that lasted from December through March. The darkness enfolded us in its moist embrace, and for many weeks not a peep of sun reached us. Snowfalls almost sealed us in, but the porous entrance allowed the cold to pee. The walls wept and froze into slick crusts that shattered under pressure.
In the springtime we slipped into the green world, hungry and thin. In the unfamiliar territory, looking for food became a daily preoccupation. The hillside itself was all slag and shale, and even in high season, only the hardiest grasses and moss g to a tenuous hold. No animals bothered te there. Béka cautioned us not to roam too far, so we made do with what we could sge nearby—grasshoppers and grubs, tea made out of bark, robins breast, a roast skunk. We imagined all we missed by not visiting town.
"I would give my eyetooth for a taste of ice cream," Smaolach said at the clusion to a mean supper. "Or a nice yellow banana."
"Raspberry jam," said Speck, "on warm, chy toast."
Onions chimed in: "Sauerkraut and pigs feet."
"Spaghetti," Zanzara began, and Ragno finished, "with Parmesan."
"A Coke and a smoke." Luchóg patted his empty pouch.
"Why dont you let us go?" asked Chavisory. "Its been so long, Béka."
The gangly despot sat above us on a throne made from ay dynamite crate. He had resisted granting liberties every time we had asked, but perhaps he, too, was brightening as the days were on the mend. "Onions, take Blomma and Kivi with you tonight, but be back before dawn. Stay off the roads and take no ces." He smiled at his own benevolence. "And bring me back a bottle of beer."
The three girls rose as one a without delay. Béka should have read the signs ahe ing ge in his bones, but perhaps his thirst outweighed his judgment. A cold snap rolled over the western hills to meet the warm May air, and within hours a thick fog settled into the woods and g to the darkness like the skin of a peach. We could see no farther than one giant step ahead, and the invisible cloak stretched betweerees created a general sense of unease about our absent friends.
After the others crawled into the darko sleep, Luchóg kept me pany at the miran a quiet vigil. "Dont worry, little treasure. While they ot see, they ot be seen. Theyll find a careful hiding place till the sun cuts through this gloom."
We watched and became oh nothing. In the dead of it, a crashing through the trees awakened us. The noise rose in a single frantic wave. Branches snapped and broke, and an inhuman cry resounded and was swiftly extinguished. We peered into the mist, strained in the dire of the otion. Luchóg struck a matd lit the torch kept at the mirahe twigs sputtered in the damp, caught hold, and burst into light. Emboldened by the fire, we stepped carefully toward the memory of the noise and the faint st of blood on the ground. Ahead through the mist, two eyes mirrored <>ui torchlight, and their glowing halted our progress. A fox ss jaws and carried away its prey, and we walked over to the killing spot. Fanned out like glass in a kaleidoscope, blad-white-banded feathers lay strewn on the fallen leaves. Struggling with the heavy tu