Nation

were. And they ran on, into better air, until the noise died away.
    Daphne was surprised when Mau slowed down, but he pointed to the white stone that stuck out of the wall, with the hunched Grandfather on it.
    “We can rest for a moment,” he said. “That one’s too high to be pushed over.”
    He propped up Ataba, whose breathing almost rattled. But the priest was smiling, even so.
    “I saw the gods,” he panted, “and you did, too, Mau.”
    “Thank you,” said Mau.
    Ataba looked puzzled. “For what?”
    “Not calling me demon boy.”
    “Ah, I can be generous in victory.”
    “They were made of stone,” said Mau.
    “Magic stone! The milk of the world! Have you ever seen so much of it? What human hand could carve it? What mind could imagine them? They are a sign. In the heart of darkness, I have found illumination! I was right!”
    “They were stone,” said Mau patiently. “Did you not see the slabs on the floor? There are your god stones! They were made to tread on! They fell into the sea, and you think they are holy!”
    “A man in darkness may be misled, it’s true. But in the stones we saw a hint of the truth. The gods made you their tool, boy. You scorned them and spurned them, but the faster you ran from them, the closer you came to them. You—”
    “We ought to move,” said Daphne to a distant background of crashing bones. “Even if they can’t get closer, that dust can. Move , I said!”
    They obeyed, as wise men do when a woman puts her foot down, and went on along the tunnel at the best speed that Ataba could hobble.
    But Daphne hesitated. The crashing tide of Grandfathers was nearly at the stone and, yes, it should be able to stop them, but Mau had sounded too confident, which to her mind meant that even he was not all that certain. He didn’t need to stop, but Ataba was suffering. He actually cares about the old man, she thought. A demon wouldn’t—
    Crash… The tumbling bones hit the stone and stopped.
    At least, all but one did.
    It was probably a rib, she thought later. It sprang out of the mess and into the air like a salmon, and hit the skull of the Grandfather who was perched on the stone; he rocked backward and fell onto the skeleton on the other side of the stone, which fell over.
    And that was it, like a trick with dominoes. Crash, crash, crash… the floor was more level here, and the bones rolled faster. Why hadn’t she been expecting something like this? The Grandfathers had been stuck in this moldy cave forever. They wanted to get out!
    She ran after the men, before the dust rose. She’d heard that when you took a breath, you breathed in a tiny, tiny amount of everyone who had ever lived, but, she decided, there was no need to do it all at once.
    “Run again!” she yelled.
    They were already turning to look. Daphne grabbed the old man’s other arm and used him to tow Mau until they had got all six legs sorted out.
    The entrance was a little white dot again, a long way off, and after only a few steps Ataba was groaning.
    “Leave the lamps here,” panted Mau. “We don’t need them now. I’m going to carry him!”
    He scooped up the priest and slung him over his back.
    They ran. The dot didn’t seem to get bigger. No one looked back. There was no point. All you could do was face the speck of day and run until your legs screamed.
    They only looked at the god statues, thought Daphne, trying to keep her mind off what was crashing down behind them. They should have looked at the walls! But of course they wouldn’t have known what they were looking at! It’s lucky I’m here…in a way.
    Something crunched under her foot. She risked a quick glance down and saw little bits of bone bouncing along, overtaking her.
    “They’re right behind us!”
    “I know,” said Mau. “Run faster!”
    “I can’t. The dust is going to get me!”
    “Does not happen! Give me your hand!” Mau shifted the weight of the old priest on his back and grabbed her hand, almost jerking her off her feet. Mau’s legs were pounding across the rock as if driven by steam. All she could do was kick at the ground whenever it came near, to stop herself being dragged along it.
    Now the circle of daylight was getting closer, and after having been so tiny for so long, it was opening fast. The ancient dust, which stung the skin and choked the throat, ran ahead of them across the ceiling, cutting out the daylight.
    —they burst into evening sunlight, suddenly and intensely bright after the