whisper, “Up there. A Crystal Bat. Don’t move.”
“A what?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“A spy crystal? Someone I met mentioned them.”
“Same thing. The Pod People call them Crystal Bats.”
“How do you know what it is?” Jen asked.
“I saw a flash of light from the crystal in its claws.”
Kira had been quietly taking something from the pouch on her belt. Then she stood up. Around her head she was swinging a double-weighted thong. When she let go, it whizzed into the air directly above their heads. There was a squeaking, flapping noise, then a splash. More splashing. Then silence.
Kira said, “I hit it.” She was not boasting, just stating a fact.
Jen was awed. “Are there many of those?”
“More and more all the time,” she answered. “What they see, with their crystals, the Skeksis see, too.”
“How did you learn to do that, the way you brought it down?”
“The Pod People in my village taught me. They’ve had to learn it for their own protection. Otherwise they’d be in slavery by now. In many other Pod villages, all the people have been taken. The Crystal Bats are the only creatures they will kill. Except the Skeksis and their Garthim, of course. But they have no chance against them.”
“How do you know the spy crystal hadn’t already seen us?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t think it did. It would have hovered near us if it had. It didn’t seem to be hovering, did it?” Kira sighed. “What I ought to do is make sure it’s dead. I would if it were daylight. All we can do is hope.”
As they floated on, Jen told Kira about the crystal shard, and the torn and tattered words of bidding that urSu, and then urZah, had given him, and what had happened at Aughra’s house. He brought the shard out from his tunic to show to her. It gleamed in the twilight. “I know that what I have to do is… it’s something to do with the Skeksis. I don’t know what, though. And I don’t know who will tell me.”
Behind them, upriver, the Crystal Bat had dragged itself out of the mud, shaken off the thong, and was now cautiously gliding just above the surface of the black stream, on their track.
F ar away from the river, the urRu had closed up their caves. The time had come, at last, to leave the valley. In a long, plodding procession headed by urZah, one following another in their dusty garments, leaning on their sticks, they ascended the spiral path and started to cross the plain.
F izzgig was the first to sense that the boat was nearing the village. He became restless and started to make a little whining noise. Jen stared downstream. Soon he could see lights and hear the sound of busy voices. Then Kira used the pole to maneuver the beetle shell into the bank. Fizzgig jumped out and the two Gelfling followed, beaching the boat.
It was too dark for them to see that the Crystal Bat was hovering just a little way upriver, reflecting in its spy crystal every step they took.
They were making their way through the underbrush of the wilderness when two Pod People jumped up in front of them, holding out long staffs in a challenging gesture.
“It’s all right,” Kira cried out quickly in Pod speech. “It’s me, Kira. I have a friend with me.”
At once the Pod guards lowered their staffs and joyfully ran up to greet Kira. Jen clearly puzzled them but they were willing to take Kira’s word that he was a friend.
Preceded by the guards, Jen and Kira emerged from the bushes into a clearing. In the center of it were several long houses. The convex outer shell of each house was formed from the seed pod of some gigantic plant, split down the middle and laid flat to the ground, thus raising a striated dome. Doorways, windows, and chimneys had been neatly carved out and framed in wood. Through these apertures a cheerful firelight shone from each house. Everywhere, people could be seen bustling around, within and between their houses.
Notwithstanding the disguise of
“A what?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“A spy crystal? Someone I met mentioned them.”
“Same thing. The Pod People call them Crystal Bats.”
“How do you know what it is?” Jen asked.
“I saw a flash of light from the crystal in its claws.”
Kira had been quietly taking something from the pouch on her belt. Then she stood up. Around her head she was swinging a double-weighted thong. When she let go, it whizzed into the air directly above their heads. There was a squeaking, flapping noise, then a splash. More splashing. Then silence.
Kira said, “I hit it.” She was not boasting, just stating a fact.
Jen was awed. “Are there many of those?”
“More and more all the time,” she answered. “What they see, with their crystals, the Skeksis see, too.”
“How did you learn to do that, the way you brought it down?”
“The Pod People in my village taught me. They’ve had to learn it for their own protection. Otherwise they’d be in slavery by now. In many other Pod villages, all the people have been taken. The Crystal Bats are the only creatures they will kill. Except the Skeksis and their Garthim, of course. But they have no chance against them.”
“How do you know the spy crystal hadn’t already seen us?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t think it did. It would have hovered near us if it had. It didn’t seem to be hovering, did it?” Kira sighed. “What I ought to do is make sure it’s dead. I would if it were daylight. All we can do is hope.”
As they floated on, Jen told Kira about the crystal shard, and the torn and tattered words of bidding that urSu, and then urZah, had given him, and what had happened at Aughra’s house. He brought the shard out from his tunic to show to her. It gleamed in the twilight. “I know that what I have to do is… it’s something to do with the Skeksis. I don’t know what, though. And I don’t know who will tell me.”
Behind them, upriver, the Crystal Bat had dragged itself out of the mud, shaken off the thong, and was now cautiously gliding just above the surface of the black stream, on their track.
F ar away from the river, the urRu had closed up their caves. The time had come, at last, to leave the valley. In a long, plodding procession headed by urZah, one following another in their dusty garments, leaning on their sticks, they ascended the spiral path and started to cross the plain.
F izzgig was the first to sense that the boat was nearing the village. He became restless and started to make a little whining noise. Jen stared downstream. Soon he could see lights and hear the sound of busy voices. Then Kira used the pole to maneuver the beetle shell into the bank. Fizzgig jumped out and the two Gelfling followed, beaching the boat.
It was too dark for them to see that the Crystal Bat was hovering just a little way upriver, reflecting in its spy crystal every step they took.
They were making their way through the underbrush of the wilderness when two Pod People jumped up in front of them, holding out long staffs in a challenging gesture.
“It’s all right,” Kira cried out quickly in Pod speech. “It’s me, Kira. I have a friend with me.”
At once the Pod guards lowered their staffs and joyfully ran up to greet Kira. Jen clearly puzzled them but they were willing to take Kira’s word that he was a friend.
Preceded by the guards, Jen and Kira emerged from the bushes into a clearing. In the center of it were several long houses. The convex outer shell of each house was formed from the seed pod of some gigantic plant, split down the middle and laid flat to the ground, thus raising a striated dome. Doorways, windows, and chimneys had been neatly carved out and framed in wood. Through these apertures a cheerful firelight shone from each house. Everywhere, people could be seen bustling around, within and between their houses.
Notwithstanding the disguise of
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