Jasmine stepped into the stream and waded a little way along it to the right. She touched the violets often with her hands and let her hair tangle with the ferns that overhung the water’s edge. Then she turned, tucked her hair beneath her collar, flattened herself in the water, and crawled back, being careful to touch nothing.
‘That should lead him astray very well,’ she grinned. ‘Now, follow me. Keep in the centre of the stream, and very low, so that the ferns do not brush your backs.’
She set off towards the left, following her own advice. Lief and Barda crawled after her.
They moved through the cold water for what seemed like a very long time. Lief’s hands were numb, and his teeth were chattering, when Jasmine at last called a halt.
‘I think we have gone far enough now,’ she whispered, getting to her feet. ‘And see here!’
She pointed at the bank beside her. There, to his amazement, Lief saw a pathway of large, rounded stones winding away through the ferns.
‘It must be the bed of another stream that once joined this one,’ Jasmine said. ‘If our luck holds, it will at least lead us through the ferns—and perhaps all the way to the forest edge.’
‘Anything to get off our knees and out of this cursed water!’ muttered Barda, crawling to his feet.
Shivering, the companions waded out of the stream and began following the mossy path.
Soon it was as if they were moving through a soft green tunnel. Great, arching fronds met over their heads so they could not see the sky.
The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and rotting leaves. There was not a breath of wind, and no birds sang. They walked with their hands on the hilts of their weapons, not speaking, barely breathing.
Lief glanced down. He could not rid himself of the idea that there was something very odd about the path.
He tried to convince himself that Jasmine was right, and it was an old stream bed. Yet the stones were so large and so evenly placed—almost as if someone had gathered them and put them on the path, one by one.
But who would have done such a thing? And for what purpose, in this wilderness?
‘Oh!’
Lief’s head jerked up as Jasmine gasped, and his sword was in his hand before he realised that she was not in danger.
She was standing stock still, holding a feathery veil of ferns apart, staring at something ahead.
‘Look!’ she breathed.
Lief and Barda crowded in behind her and peered over her shoulder … at something that was like a picture in a book of fairy tales.
Beyond the ferns, countless small trees loaded with golden fruits grew in a broad pool of still, shallow water. They were perfectly reflected in the water’s mirror-like surface, their graceful trunks rising, their broad green leaves spreading, their fruits glowing like tiny, floating suns.
Jasmine moved forward.
‘Wait, Jasmine!’ Barda called urgently. ‘Wait! We do not know …’
But Jasmine had already stepped into the water. It barely reached her ankles. She turned her head, smiling.
‘It is warm,’ she said. ‘Oh, and see the fruit! Can you smell it?’
Lief could indeed smell the fruit. It was a glorious, rich, sweet scent. His mouth began to water.
Kree flew from Jasmine’s shoulder and perched on a bough of the nearest tree. Greedily he dug his beak into one of the golden fruits.
Juice dripped into the water, making circles of ripples where it fell. The delicious fragrance grew stronger.
Filli began to whimper and chatter. Jasmine splashed to the tree and let the little creature leap up beside Kree.
The golden fruits were as big as Filli himself, but that did not dismay him. He clutched one with his paws and began nibbling it eagerly.
This was too much for Lief. He stepped into the water and moved to Jasmine’s side.
‘Do the trees say the fruit is safe to eat?’ he murmured.
Jasmine shrugged. ‘These trees speak only to each other, and keep their secrets,’ she said. ‘But Filli and Kree seem sure that all is well.’
Lief stretched out his hand and picked one of the fruits. It was shaped a little like a pear, but much larger and heavier. In places its smooth golden skin was slightly flushed with pink.
He lifted it to his nose and breathed in the delicious fragrance.
Then, almost without intending to do it, he took a bite.
13 - Sweet and Sour
A glorious taste filled Lief’s mouth. Sweet, golden juice ran down his chin. Then suddenly he realised that something very bitter was mingling with the sweetness.
Quickly he spat what remained of the chewed skin into his hand, grimacing.
‘The skin is bitter,’ he said, wrinkling his nose. ‘Oh! It is disgusting! How can Filli and Kree bear it?’
Jasmine grinned and pulled out her knife. ‘They are not as fussy about food as we are,’ she said. ‘I am glad you made the experiment before me.’
She took a fruit from the tree and began to peel it. In moments she was sinking her teeth into sweet, gleaming golden flesh, murmuring with pleasure.
Lief followed her example. And after a few moments of watching suspiciously, Barda did the same.
Soon each one of them was silently absorbed in the blissful enjoyment of a rare feast. The water around their feet was littered with fruit skins and the long, flat seeds they found in the fruits’ centres.
Time passed. The sun was high in the sky. Lief, warm and full, crouched to rest his pleasantly aching legs.
He closed his eyes and began daydreaming of telling the hungry people in the villages about this rich supply of food growing at their very doorstep.
Once they know about it, they can come and gather the fruit each year, he thought lazily. Perhaps they can even flood a field or two, and grow their own trees from the seed. How wonderful that would be! How wonderful …
He became aware that Kree had begun squawking, and Filli was chattering shrilly. His brow creased in annoyance. Why were they disturbing him with their noise?
He opened his eyes, and it was then that he realised, with mild surprise, that he was not crouching any longer, but lying on his back in the water.
How strange, he thought. But he smiled, and did not try to move. The water was warm. There were a few large stones buried in the soft mud on which he lay, but they were pleasantly round and smooth
Like the ones on the path, he thought dreamily, pushing his hand through the mud to touch a stone with his fingers.
As he stroked its warm smoothness, it came into his mind that the stones on the path could have been taken from beneath this soft, warm water. They could have been taken and used by someone who wanted to mark a trail to this place, so that creatures great and small would come here, see the beauty, taste the fruit.
Someone. Or something …
The thought drifted into the golden haze of Lief’s mind like a small dark cloud.
He wanted to brush it away. He was so sleepy, so very comfortable …
But Filli was shrieking now. And he could hear Kree’s cries, and the beating of his wings.
Making an enormous effort to rouse himself, Lief turned his head towards the sound. He saw Jasmine and Barda lying motionless not far away. Their hair floated like weed in the water. Their eyes were closed, their faces peaceful. Their chests were gently rising and falling.
They were deeply asleep. But how was that possible? For Kree was flapping wildly around Jasmine’s head, screeching, his wing tips brushing her face.
He is trying to wake her, Lief thought dreamily. Poor Kree.
Then he lifted his eyes and saw something moving through the trees towards them.
It was a giant bird, as tall as the trees, with a snowy white chest, neck and head, and black wings.
Silently, unhurriedly, the bird stalked through the water on long orange legs, delicately lifting one foot then the other, barely stirring the mirror-like surface.
Its fixed, glassy eyes looked as if they had been painted on to its head. Its neck was like a smooth, white snake. Its orange beak was like a sword.