"I imagine they're still alive," he said, gesturing at the cave mouth toward which Tarch had been climbing. "We'll find them somewhere in there."
"I will find them," said the Sannyasi. "You must rest and prepare yourself for your journey."
With that, he spread his wings and flew up to the cave, leaving Atreus and his companions alone with the two girls. Atreus watched the Sannyasi disappear into the dark cavern and turned to stare out over Langdarma. The red web already stretched over as much of the valley as he could see.
"Maybe the Sannyasi is right," Atreus said, shaking his head sadly. "I only hope we haven't destroyed this little world already."
"Us?" Rishi snorted. "This is not our fault It was Tarch who killed, not us."
"Tarch wouldn't have found Langdarma if we hadn't been looking for it," said Atreus.
"And Seema would've been some devil's bed slave by now," Yago said, and smothered Atreus's shoulder beneath his heavy hand. "Don't go playing What if. This is a big valley. If you want to stay, we can hide out until after the storms start. The Sannyasi won't send us off till next summer, and maybe he'll change his mind by then."
"Thanks. I know what a sacrifice that would be for you," said Atreus, "but no good can come of defying the Sannyasi. It would only harm Langdarma, and we'd still have to leave."
Seema raised her brow, then her eyes grew glassy. She turned to the girls Tarch had kidnapped and asked them, "Will it be okay for Rishi and Yago to take you back to your mother? They helped rescue you, and I believe you know you can trust them."
The oldest girl nodded, and the younger one said, "Rishi is nice."
"So is Yago," said Seema, "and very brave."
"And where will you be taking the good sir?" asked Rishi.
Seema turned to Atreus and said, "There is something I would like to show him before he leaves."
"And this is something we are not permitted to see?" Rishi leered, then gestured at himself and Yago.
"I fear not," Seema blushed. "Besides, you saw much of Langdarma while Atreus was recuperating. I think it only fair that he gets to see something special."
Atreus bit his Up, torn between his desire to spend his last few days with Seema and to continue his search for the Fountain of Infinite Grace. "How long will this take? Perhaps we could meet Rishi and Yago after they return the girls."
Seema winced, clearly stung by Atreus's suggestion.
"You do not wish to spend your remaining time with me?"
"Of course I do!" Atreus exclaimed, realizing what a mistake he had made. "It's just that… we all had our plans, and I didn't want to let the Sannyasi's decision change them."
"Oh, you must not concern yourself with Yago and me," said Rishi, patting Atreus's side. "We will see to the girls and continue on as before, but I think you should go with Seema and see this special sight"
Atreus felt something small and light drop into his cloak pocket Guessing that it was probably the empty vial Rishi had taken from Seema's kitchen, Atreus realized the Mar was right. Perhaps Seema had decided to show him the Fountain of Infinite Grace after all. Atreus turned to Seema and took her hands.
"I would enjoy nothing more than spending all my remaining time with you." Though he was speaking the absolute truth, he could not escape the hollow feeling in his stomach as he added, "I hope you'll forgive me for being as foolish as I am ugly."
There is nothing to forgive." Seema smiled. "I am glad you find my company inviting. Besides, in the weeks to come, I am sure you will be seeing more of your friends than you like."
Too much of us? He's the ugly one!" joked Yago. The ogre took the youngest girl's hand and turned down the mountain. "Well see you back at the hut?"
"Yes." Seema smiled mischievously. "Sometime."
She led Atreus along the base of the Turquoise Cliff toward the brink of the upper basin. Soon, they drew close enough to the edge to see down to the mottled floor of the main valley. Along the crimson web of streams and rivers stood scattered clusters of tiny figures, gesturing excitedly and peering toward the upper basin. Only a single stream, cascading down from someplace hidden around the shoulder of the Turquoise Cliff, retained its natural silver.
Atreus stopped and looked down the length of the immense valley, his eyes silently tracing a dozen scarlet waterfalls into the mouths of a dozen hanging basins like this one.
"Will the stain ever fade?" Atreus asked. "Or now that Langdarma has seen bloodshed, will its waters run red forever?"
"There is bloodshed in many lands, and their streams are not red. I think it will not take long for the beauty of Langdarma to wash the stain away."
Seema guided Atreus to an immense fir growing along the cliff face. Beneath the crisp smell of sap hung the odor of musty stone, and there was a dampness to the air that suggested the cool breath of a cave. Seema ducked under the tree's low-hanging boughs and disappeared on her hands and knees. Atreus followed, his huge shoulders and humped back scraping the branch thickets somewhat clumsily. Soon, he found himself sliding down a muddy chute into the mouth of a small cavern.
Seema took his hand and led him into the dank-smelling darkness. The floor was sometimes soft and level and other times hard and steep, but it was always slick. Several times Atreus slipped and nearly fell, and once the ground completely disappeared beneath his boot. Seema always seemed to know exactly where she was, cautioning him to duck when the ceiling grew low, or warning him not to trip over some unseen boulder lying in the path. He was beginning to wonder if this was another mystical Passing when they finally rounded a corner and he saw a faint circle of light fifty paces ahead. When the passage grew bright enough to see clearly, Seema released his hand and led the way out onto a narrow ledge.
Atreus found himself standing many thousands of feet above the valley floor, staring down the length of the broad canyon at a hazy blue cloud he took to be the mountains at the far end. The tiny figures he had seen standing along the river banks earlier were mere specks, discernible from the boulders and trees around them only because they moved. The streams and creeks had become a mesh of red threads, and the main river was a scarlet rope snaking back and forth across the valley floor.
"You are not afraid of heights, are you?" asked Seema.
Atreus glanced down and found himself looking at a mot-tied carpet of green woods. He could discern nothing about the forest except its color-not the shape of the individual trees, nor whether their crowns were pointed or billowing, nor even whether they were conifers or deciduous.
"It's too far down to be afraid."
"Good," Seema laughed. "I would not like having to blindfold you on this trail."
She started along the rocky shelf. Atreus followed as quickly as he could, keeping one hand on the cliff and his eyes on his feet. The ledge had a disconcerting downward slope and an alarmingly smooth texture, and he had the constant feeling his boots were about to slide out from beneath him. If Seema felt the same way, she showed no sign, walking along as comfortably as on the balcony of her own stone hut At length, Atreus grew relaxed enough to tear his gaze away from his feet He saw that they were curving along the valley wall toward the head of the canyon, where a glistening tail of water fell to the valley floor in a series of step-like cascades, plummeting from one pool to the next until it finally plunged into a small, gleaming lake. It was the outflow of this lake that Atreus had glimpsed earlier, a single silver stream in the web of scarlet
"That stream is the source of Langdarma's beauty," said Seema. "It will wash away the stain of Tarch's murderous heart."
"But those are the sparkling waters," Atreus said, pointing at the cascades. "I thought it was forbidden to bring me here."