A bright light moving through the trees towards the Circle caught Elgar’s attention, and he had to suppress a smile: if Satu thought she was avoiding being seen in the darkness by sneaking up on them through the Forest, she was mistaken. A Pixie’s light shone like a beacon. In moments she reached the Circle and transformed.
‘There were only a few tonight, Elgar,’ she said, slightly out of breath. ‘Lux has taken them to rest. Four were wood-Nymphs. You never saw anyone so happy to see a forest!’
Elgar and the others smiled at this. Satu was one of the few whose life didn’t seem to have been marred as badly as most by some evil or misfortune, and her happy demeanour always lightened everyone’s mood. Bowing to her from the waist, he said, ‘Thank you, Satu. We are glad to hear of the wood-Nymphs. Those with us are few in number. The newcomers will be a welcome addition.’
Beaming, she transformed and soon disappeared into the forest.
Suvaii wasn’t sure he liked this news. ‘Do you think this means that our eastern forests are no longer safe?’
‘I think,’ replied Elgar, ‘this could well mean that nowhere is safe. Not even here.’