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at it—her hands were frozen like the expression of fear on her face.
    â€œWho are you?” Jesse asked, still not convinced the Roaric in front of him, for that must be what he is, was not a ghost.
    â€œMy name is Bern, of the hunter clan,” he replied tersely. “And you are my prisoners. You will follow me.”
    He yanked Rae forward, still holding his spear close to her.
    â€œWhere are we going?” Jesse ventured. Silas glared at him, clearly not wanting him to irritate their captor.
    Bern looked at him in disbelief, as if it should be obvious. “To New Urad, of course.”

 
Chapter 4
    Tunnels cut through the dark stone of the cave like a maze. It reminded Jesse, strangely, of the lair of a giant worm, burrowing deep into the ground. We would have been able to lose Captain Demetri and the Patrol easily down here , he thought.
    As he watched Bern the Roaric march Rae forward at the end of his spear, Jesse decided it was better to be in his hands than in the captain’s. Maybe he’ll let us go when he discovers we were only taking shelter in the cave.
    As they stooped through another fork in the tunnel, Jesse asked, “Where do all these tunnels lead?”
    Bern did not look back at him. “Many places. Wine-presses. Grain storage. Wells. Blacksmiths. Weavers. Most of them abandoned now.”
    â€œBut so many tunnels?”
    â€œAll of the Deep Mines are like this,” Bern said. “That is what I have heard. I have never traveled from this cave.”
    Although his words were clipped and gruff, he seemed perfectly willing to talk to his captives. Almost as if he hasn’t had anyone to talk to for a while.
    The thought had occurred to Jesse that Bern might be the lone survivor of the massacre Silas had talked about, or perhaps one of a few. The Patrol couldn’t have killed everyone, not with so many places to run.
    Again, he wondered what the Roarics had done to deserve such a harsh punishment. “Some kind of treason,” Silas had said. That explanation did not predict good things for them. If the Roarics rebelled against the king, how will they treat members of the Youth Guard, the king’s special fighting force?
    The more they walked, the more convinced Jesse was that Bern wouldn’t need to hold Rae hostage. We would never be able to find our way back anyway .
    After they passed an archway carved with strange symbols, Jesse notice a kind of path, marked with glowing stones. He stooped to look at one of them. Gray stone with white flecks. “Silas,” he said, excitedly, “this is the same rock your Rebellion stone was made of!”
    Silas just pulled him up. “Come on,” he hissed. “He’ll think you’re trying to run away!”
    â€œI just wanted to….”
    â€œRae could be hurt because of your foolish dawdling!” Silas shoved him forward, making Jesse scrape his head on the rock.
    â€œWhat are these stones?” Jesse asked, hoping Bern would know the answer.
    This time, Bern stopped and glanced back at Jesse. “You Above-grounders ask many questions.”
    â€œNot all of us,” Silas said dryly.
    â€œWe in New Urad rarely ask questions,” Bern said. Jesse didn't think Bern was being critical; he was simply stating a fact.
    â€œWe used to mine these stones for the king before the Fall,” he continued. “In New Urad, they are the only light at all.”
    Jesse frowned. Imagine living life in a stone prison, with only glowing rocks for light .
    He knew he would hate it. It was hard enough for him to walk in the near-darkness of the cave, and he had only been there for one day. The problem is not being able to see where I’m going , Jesse decided. I don’t like stepping out into the dark.
    All of a sudden, Rae gasped, and Jesse jerked his head up. But Bern hadn’t brought the spear closer to her. She had merely stepped through another archway, this one twice