Halfway up the slope they paused beside one of the pools to rest, and
Nicholas used his hat like a fly-swatter to stun a brown and yellow
grasshopper. He tossed the insect on to the surface of the pool, and as
it kicked weakly and floated towards the exit a long dark shadow rose
from the bottom. There was a swirl and a mirrorlike flash of a scaly
silver belly, and the grasshopper disappeared.
'Ten'pounder,'Nicholas lamented. 'Why didn't I bring my rod?'
Tamre was crouched near Nicholas on the pool bank, and suddenly he
lifted his hand and held it out. Almost at once one of the circling
butterflies settled upon his finger.
It perched there with its velvety black and yellow wings fanning gently.
They stared at him in astonishment, for it was as though the insect had
come to his bidding. Tamre giggled and offered the butterfly to Royan.
When she held out her hand, he gently transferred the gorgeous insect to
her palm.
'Thank you, Tamre. That is a wonderful gift. Now my gift to you is to
set it free again.' She pursed her lips and blew it softly into flight.
They watched the butterfly climb high above the pool, and Tamre clapped
his hands and laughed with delight.
'Strange,' Nicholas murmured. 'He seems to have a special empathy with
all the creatures of the wilderness. I think that Jali Hora, the abbot,
does not try to control him, but lets him do very much as his simple
fancy dictates.
Special treatment for a fey soul, one that hears a different tune and
dances to it. I must admit that, despite myself, I am becoming quite
fond of the lad.'
It was only another fifty feet higher that they came to the source.
There was a low cliff of red sandstone, from a grotto at whose foot the
stream gushed. The entrance was screened by a heavy growth of ferns, and
Nicholas went down on his knees to pull them aside and peer into the low
opening.
'What can you see?' Royan demanded behind him.
'Not much. It's dark in there, but it seems to go in for quite some
way.'
'You are too big to get in there. You had better let me go in.'
'Good place for water cobra,' he remarked. 'Lots of frogs for them to
eat. Are you sure you want to go?'
'I never said that I wanted to.' She sat on the bank while she unlaced
her shoes, then lowered herself into the stream. It came halfway up her
thighs, and she waded forward against the flow with difficulty.
She was forced to bend almost double to creep under the overhanging roof
of the grotto. As she moved deeper in, her voice came back to him.
'The roof gets lower.'
'Be careful, dear girl. Don't take any chances.'
'I do wish you wouldn't call me 'dear girl'.' Her voice resonated
strangely from the cave entrance.
'Well, you are both those things, a girl and dear. How about if I call
you 'young lady?
'Not that either. My name is Royan.'There was silence for a while, then
she called again. 'This is as far as I can go. It all narrows down into
