The Captive Page 0,33

scuffle.

They're not really scary after all, Cassie thought, a little dazedly. They're more like the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. Peculiar, but sort of cute.

"It's all right," she said, to stop their fighting. "We can stay. I'll just sit down on the stairs."

Out of breath, they sat down too, Chris massaging the toe of his boot.

Cassie leaned against the wall and shut her eyes. She could hear voices from above, someone talking about the Salem witch trials, but only snatches of the lecture got through to her. She was drained from everything that had happened today, and this dreadful place made her feel sick and fuzzy. As if she had cobwebs in her brain.

A woman's voice was saying, ". . . the royal governor, Sir William Phips, established a special court to deal with the cases. By now there were so many accused witches..."

So many fake witches, Cassie thought hazily, half listening. If that woman only knew about the real witches lurking in her dungeon.

". . . on June tenth, the first of the convicted witches was publicly executed. Bridget Bishop was hung on Gallows Hill, just outside of Salem.. ."

Poor Bridget Bishop, Cassie thought. She had a sudden vision of Jeffrey's swinging feet and a wave of nausea passed over her. Probably Bridget's feet had been swinging when they hung her, too.

". . . by the end of September eighteen other people had been hung. Sarah Goode's last words ..."

Eighteen. That's a lot of swinging feet. God, I don't feel well, thought Cassie.

". . . and a nineteenth victim was pressed to death. Pressing was a form of Puritan torture in which a board was placed on the victim's chest, and then heavier and heavier rocks were piled on top of the board ..."

Ugh. Now I really don't feel well. Wonder how it feels to have rocks piled on you till you die? Guess I'll never know since that doesn't happen much today. Unless you happen to be caught in a rockslide, or something ...

With a jerk, Cassie sat up straight, the cobwebs swept out of her brain as if by a blast of icy wind.

Rockslide. Avalanche. Mr. Fogle, the high-school principal, had found out what it was like to have rocks piled on you till you died.

Weird coincidence. That was all it was. But...

Oh, my God, Cassie thought suddenly.

She felt as if her entire body were plugged into something electric. Her thoughts were tumbling over each other.

Rockslide. Pressed to death. Same thing, really. And hanging. The witches were hanged... just like Jeffrey Lovejoy. Oh, God, oh, God. There had to be a connection.

"... never know how many died in prison. In comparison to the conditions there, the swift oblivion of a broken neck may have been merciful. Our tour will now take you-"

Broken neck. A broken neck.

Kori's neck had been broken.

Cassie thought she was going to faint.

Chapter Nine

The voices from above were getting nearer. Cassie couldn't move; a gray blanket seemed to have enfolded her senses. Chris was pulling at her arm.

"C'mon, Cassie! They're comin'!"

Faintly, Cassie heard from above: "If you'll line up in single file, we'll be going down a narrow stairway ..."

Chris was pulling Cassie off the narrow stairway. "Hey, Doug, give me a hand here!"

Cassie made a supreme effort. "We have to go home," she said urgently to Chris. She drew herself up and tried to speak with authority. "I have to go back and tell Diana-something- right now."

The brothers looked at each other, perplexed but dimly impressed.

"Okay," Chris said, and Cassie sagged, the grayness washing over her again.

With Doug pulling in front and Chris trying to prop her up from behind, they led her rapidly through the dark, winding corridors of the dungeon. They seemed as comfortable in the darkness as rats, and they guided her unerringly through the passageways until a neon sign announced exit.

On the drive north, the pumpkins thumped and rolled in the back seat like a load of severed heads. Cassie kept her eyes shut and tried to breathe normally. The one thing she knew was that she couldn't tell the Henderson brothers what she was thinking. If they found out what she suspected about Kori, anything might happen.

"Just drop me off at Diana's," she said when they finally returned to Crowhaven Road. "No-you don't have to go in with me. Thanks."

"Okay," Chris said, and they let her off. Then he stuck his head back out the window. "Uh, hey-thanks for getting that mutt off me," he said.

"Sure," Cassie