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saying?"

"I can't catch it all. It's not like the German I learned," Audrey said. Seated between two admirers, her cool porcelain beauty contrasted with her flirtatious lashes. "I think it must be archaic. But that one is saying that you're like Sif. It's a compliment-Sif was a goddess with shining golden hair."

"Oh, give me a break!" Dee backed up to sit on a rock.

There was an instant stirring among the German boys. Several pulled Dee away from the rock pile, shaking their heads. Dee barely allowed them to move her, not at all placated by the way they marveled over her dark skin. And she only snorted when one offered her a garland of flowers to wear.

"Oh, put it on," Jenny said, flicking a small bug out of her own wreath. She was starting to enjoy this. The young men were nice, even if they did smell a bit

like sweat, they were about the most strapping youths she'd ever seen, but several of them had braids in their hair, and they didn't seem to think weaving garlands was sissy.

"It's a ceremony to greet the spring," Audrey said as one of the blonds cried, "Ostara!" and poured beer on the ground. "Ostara's the goddess of spring-that's where we get 'Easter.'"

The young men began to chant.

"It's something about life being renewed," Audrey said. "There's something else-something I can't quite make out. They're ... asking? Petitioning?"

All the German boys were on their feet by now, urging the girls to rise. They were facing the huge pile of boulders.

"Dokkalfar," they chanted.

"That's dark-something. I don't-oh, my God." Audrey's voice changed completely. She tried to pull away from the circle, but two of the German boys grabbed her. "Dark elves," she said wildly. "That's what they're saying. They came here to ask favors from the elves-and we're the yielding."

Jenny had never heard Audrey's voice like that before-bordering on hysteria. "The what?" she demanded. Suddenly the white, even smiles around her didn't look so friendly.

"The gift to the Otherworld. The sacrifice!" Audrey cried. She was trying to get away again, but it was no good.

We're outnumbered more than two to one, Jenny thought. And they've all got muscles. She looked at Dee-and felt shock ripple over her. Dee was laughing. Snickering, actually. Chortling. "Elves?" she

gasped. "Little pixies in bluebells? Little guys who sit on acorns?"

"No, you idiot," Audrey said through her teeth. "Dark elves-Outdwellers. Oh, you don't understand-"

Jenny heard rock scraping. One of the huge stones in front of her was moving. It swung out slowly, pushing a ridge of dirt along in front of it. A black, gaping hole was revealed in the pile. A tunnel leading down.

Dee's laughter was dying-but it was too late. The girls were pushed forward into the hole. Jenny tried to turn, but her Capezio flats slithered on dust and grit, and she felt herself falling.

Chapter 8

Mock scraped on rock and the moonlight was cut off above them. Audrey was lying in a ball beside Jenny near the bottom of the slope. Dee had been shoved in backward and was sprawled at the very bottom, legs higher than her head. In those first moments Jenny didn't stop to wonder how she could still see either of them. She said, "Are you all right?" to Dee and then wrapped her arms around Audrey comfortingly.

Audrey was shaking. Making little moaning sounds.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry____" Jenny said, hugging

her.

"It's not your fault." Dee was picking herself up, her fine-boned face contemptuous. "What's her problem, anyway?"

Jenny twisted her head to snap at Dee, but the words never got out. She could now see the reason they weren't in pitch darkness. There was a semi -

circle of lanterns around the bottom of the slope, and holding the lanterns were people.

Dee had fallen silent. The lantern light reflected off faces that were disturbing to say the least.

The elves were very pale, very beautiful... but very strange. Their eyes were slanted in a way that reminded Jenny of the Visitors'. Their cheekbones were almost too high and sharp. And they stood oddly.

They didn't look as if they had any sympathy to appeal to.

One of them said something. Jenny thought it was the same language that the young men outside had used, but the elf's voice was more liquid-and more cold. It was obvious that he was ordering the girls up.

Jenny didn't want to obey. She was irrationally frightened by these pale beautiful people. Then she saw that maybe her fear wasn't so irrational.

They were like animals-or