The thought of a swarm of giant ants had sent a
chill straight through her.
'Insects?'
'Crawling things with many legs.'
'Of course not,' he said, shaking his head at her ignorance. How
could she have lived so long and still know so little of the ways of the
Valley? But he was no longer angry with her. The intensity of the pain
dying down, he had actually begun to derive some new sort of pleasure
from hearing the sound of her voice.
'Except for the spider and the mantis,' he continued, 'They
rarely grow to be much longer than your hand.' Though the answer was
hardly reassuring, at least she sensed that he meant well, something she
had not been at all sure of before.
'Come,' he said, feeling unusually benevolent. 'There is a
small cave just ahead. We will be safe there.' Taking her by the
hand, they climbed the remaining distance carefully, coming at last to
the wide, shoulder-high cavity that had given him refuge once before.
He searched it quickly before letting the girl enter. But finding it
uninhabited, he helped her up, then lay down and basked in the first
real safety he had known for several days, seeming to take no further
notice.
But Sylviana could find no such release. Crouching on one knee in the
light of the smaller cave's entrance, she could think only of her
friend, the gentle wolf, trapped beyond all help in the lower cave.
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