Chapter 14: Strange Voices

Being a prisoner in a cell that was only fifteen paces in any direction was very boring, especially when no one was in the mood to talk. As the initial terror of being flung in a dungeon faded, Miranda started to feel listless. Elinor and Darius had dropped off to sleep again, and Meggie was telling Alvino a story, but Miranda didn't want to listen. She walked around the room again. Sixty paces.

As hard as she tried, she couldn't keep guilty thoughts from invading her mind. She could see her father's face, that night in the garden, warning her about this world. It is not a good world. That was what he had told her, and he had been right all along. This was a terrible world, a loud, fast world, exactly as he had said, and now it was holding her prisoner, too. How long would it be before she got back? Ten years, like her father? She could not even imagine herself in ten years. What if she never got back, never was able to run to her father and beg him to forgive her for not believing him? She mentally promised herself never to doubt him again.

Another sixty paces took her the circuit of the room again. The murmur of Meggie's voice had ceased, and it was very quiet in the dark room. But not completely silent. At first, Miranda did not notice the voices, but as she stopped pacing, she gradually became aware of them. They were either too far away to hear distinctly or were speaking in a whispering murmur. Miranda listened to them and thought she caught the sound of strange words.

She looked around, puzzled. None of her companions were speaking, but she could have sworn that the voices were coming from close by, speaking her name, whispering things to her. I'm going mad, she thought. I've only been here two days and I'm already going mad.

Miranda, the whispers came through her desperate thoughts. Do not fear us. Will you speak to us, daughter of our friend?

"Meggie," Miranda said loudly to block out the voices. Meggie looked up at the sound of her name, and Miranda hurriedly continued. "Did you say my name? Please, say you said my name."

Meggie looked puzzled. "No, I'm sorry, Miranda. No one said anything." She leaned forward. "Are you okay? You look dreadfully pale."

"There are strange voices," Miranda said shakily. "Can't you hear them?"

Their voices awoke Elinor who grumbled, "Hmph, hear what? I can't hear anything other than you two and the growling of my poor stomach."

"Miranda says she can hear someone," Meggie replied, her eyes still fixed on Miranda. "Can you tell where they're coming from or what they're saying?"

"They're saying my name," Miranda whispered. "They want me to talk to them."

Meggie made a sign for everyone to be silent and for a minute they all listened. Finally, Elinor spoke. "I don't hear anything," she said grumpily. "There's absolutely no voices that I can hear, I assure you. If it's anything, it's probably some trick of Orpheus's anyway. All I can hear is the crackling of that torch up there."

The crackling of the torch. Miranda's head whipped around to stare up at the torch in the wall sconce. The flame flickered against the wall, casting its pale light over the cell, and Miranda heard the voices again, but this time she realized they were speaking a different language, one she had heard on her father's tongue, but had never been able to quite understand until today. Are you speaking to me? She asked, but without moving her lips or making a sound.

We know you, Miranda Fire-Dancer's daughter, the fire replied in its crackling language. We have waited long to speak to you as we speak to the Fire-Dancer.

I don't understand, Miranda answered, I've never been able to speak to you before. I couldn't in Inkworld, but my father couldn't speak to you here.

It is different now, the fire said, the blood that was given the Fire-Dancer by the White Women flows in your veins. We had not spoken to you before, but now you are his heir. We speak to you now.

"Miranda?" Meggie's voice was frightened, and Miranda realized that she had been staring unmoving and silent up at the torch for some time now. She managed to tear her gaze away from the fire to look at Meggie.

"It's the fire," she said quietly. "I can talk to it."

Alvino stared at her in amazement and admiration, and Elinor looked doubtful, but Meggie didn't look surprised. "I suppose it's only natural that one of Dustfinger's children would inherit his gift. Can the fire help us, Miranda?"

Miranda felt dizzy with the possibilities of what she could do. She had seen what her father could accomplish with a single glance at the fire, and the very thought that she might be able to do the same astounded her. Looking back up at the fire, she spoke again. Is there a way out of here? Can you do anything for us?

The flame wavered, sending dancing light across the room. You are the Fire-Dancer's daughter, not the Fire-Dancer himself. Our brothers and sisters will not obey you as swiftly as they obey him, and you cannot direct us as he can. But perhaps we may be able to help you, although you would have to burn and flicker as fire to go from here, we think.

Please, see what you can do, Miranda answered. Once again, the fire flickered, then it went out.

There were immediate protests, all from Elinor. "Oh, wonderful! It's gone now and we have to sit here in the dark with nothing but a slit in the wall to see by. We were better off before."

Elinor's complaints woke Darius, who sat up, blinking owlishly. "What's going on? Is it night again already?"

"Miss Matchsticker-eater over there seems to have her father's talent of playing with fire," Elinor huffed. "All she's accomplished is putting out our only torch. You know what they say about playing with fire. Well, maybe no one's been burned, but no good certainly has come from it."

Meggie came to Miranda's defense. "Don't be hard on her, Elinor. We're still in a dungeon, regardless of whether we have light or not. And we don't know what Miranda asked it to do. Maybe it's helping us in some way."

"I asked it to see if there was a way out," Miranda put in sheepishly, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry it went out."

Meggie put an arm around her. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I, for one, am happy to know that we have someone who can control fire in here with us. You'll be as good as your father in no time, I'm sure."

Instead of cheering her up, the talk about fire and her father only depressed Miranda more. She continued to look up at the dark wall and unlit torch, wondering if she would ever be able to tell her father that she could talk to fire, too.

When it was obvious that the excitement was over for then and nothing else was going to happen, everyone settled back down. Alvino came to sit by Miranda, who was still staring moodily up at the sconce. "You never told me you could do it," he murmured to her, not needing to say was "it" was.

"I didn't know until a few minutes ago," Miranda answered, running her fingers over the three scratches on her cheek. "Why didn't my father tell me? He must have known."

Alvino shrugged. "Maybe he didn't want you to worry about it until you were older." He looked suddenly embarrassed. "I've tried to do what Mo and Meggie can do before. Mo and Resa were furious when they found out, but it didn't matter because I couldn't do it. I'm surprised they told me about the ability at all, because they must have known I'd try it out sometime. Maybe your father didn't tell you to keep you safe until you were old enough to control the fire."

Miranda trailed her fingers over the cold stones. He was probably right, but she was too depressed to be completely happy with the answer. "Why did it go out? I just want to get out of here and go home, Alvino."

Awkwardly, Alvino put an arm around her shoulder. "Someone will come for us. And the fire will be back, too. You'll see."

She closed her eyes miserably and leaned back against the wall. "Maybe," was all she said in reply.

~o~o~

The fire was back an hour later. Suddenly, there were dancing sparks on the walls, sending glowing light over the five surprised faces that turned to them. For a second, no one moved, but then Alvino gave a surprised cry.

"Miranda, you're covered in them!"

Miranda looked down at her arms to find red sparks flickering on her skin and clothes. When she shook her hair, they rained down to the floor where they glowed for a few seconds longer before they went out. A soft warmth surrounded her, as if she were wrapped in a blanket, and a heat seemed to rise from within her to her skin. She felt no fear – she knew the fire wouldn't hurt her any more than it ever hurt her father.

She looked up at the torch and sensed the fire all around her. With her mind – or was it her heart – she reached out to it and spoke, feeling the strange fire words within her, summoning it into her presence. The torch flared up at her call and the other sparks faded around it.

What have you learned? She asked, feeling confidence in her new-found skill. Have you found a way out?

She heard the whisper of many indistinct voices around her, but when the flame of the torch spoke, she heard it clearly in her mind or heart. We have learned things you may find profitable, Fire-Dancer's daughter. There are but two ways out of this stone castle, for we cannot burn down stone. One is a great gate, guarded by men who cried out and tried to beat us out when they saw us. The other is a tunnel that leads into the woods behind the castle.

Miranda relayed this information to her friends. Meggie nodded knowingly. "Orpheus has read too many stories, I think. An escape tunnel, there's always one in the books. Is it guarded?"

We saw no men by the tunnel, the fire answered when Miranda asked the question.

"I think it sounds far too good to be true," Elinor said when they received this information. "What good does an escape tunnel do us if we can't get to it? After all, we're still locked up in here, and if Orpheus ever does decide to let us out of this blasted hole, you can be sure we'll be guarded. Whatever gave him the idea that he has the right to lock us up? I never had anything to do with messing up his confounded schemes."

Meggie seemed to sense that Elinor was going off into one of her tirades, so she quickly interrupted. "Sooner or later, Orpheus will take us out. I'm sure he'll be all too eager to explain his story and why he has us here. After he tells us, I imagine we'll be sent back down here, accompanied by perhaps a few guards. There are five of us. If we can distract them somehow, one of us could possibly make a break for it."

"And I suppose you have a brilliant distraction plan in mind?" Elinor answered sourly.

Meggie looked over at Miranda. "I think Miranda could provide a distraction with her fire." Miranda returned Meggie's gaze and nodded, feeling warm hope begin to creep through the frozen numbness of fear and despair.

"Who'll escape?" Alvino had been listening eagerly to his sister's plans.

Meggie shrugged. "That will be up to luck, I'm afraid. Whoever has the chance will have to go for it. Alvino and Miranda are the smallest and fastest, so if one of you two can get away, that would be best, I think. Whoever it is should go to the nearest town, get the police, any help they can find."

"With our luck, it will probably be me," Elinor snorted. "Hmph, running was never my forte."
"However, you could probably help with the distraction," Meggie said. "As soon as Miranda sets something on fire, we can all shout and make the guards as confused as possible. You can shout pretty loud, Elinor, when you want to."

Elinor's lips tightened in a suppressed smile. "Well, if I can do something to make sure we get out of here, I suppose I'll have to be satisfied with that."

There were voices at the door and the sound of a key in the lock. Meggie looked around franticly. "Miranda, put the fire out. Everyone, don't act too soon. Stay calm and wait for our chance."

Miranda had just put out the sparks that covered the walls when the door opened. Three men, all carrying guns, entered the dungeon room, and it was clear from the reactions of Meggie, Elinor, and Darius that all three recognized the man in the lead.

"Hello, Stumbletongue," the man said to Darius. "It's been quite a while since Capricorn's days, hasn't it?"

"F…Fulvio," Darius stuttered.

The former Black Jacket smiled nastily. "So, you remember me. Well, since Orpheus was so nice as to rescue me from that awful book Silvertongue sent me into, I've agreed to help him for a while, especially since he's promised me revenge on Silvertongue. Anyway, Orpheus wants to see all of you now."

The men began to tie the prisoners' hands behind their backs, but Elinor tried to strike out at Fulvio as he tied her. Meggie cast Elinor a meaningful glance though and with one final slap at the Black Jacket, Elinor allowed herself to be bound. As they were herded roughly through the door, Miranda cast one look back at the torch burning on the wall. It flickered and she heard its murmur. We'll be ready, Fire-Dancer's daughter.