"There is a hollow, then?" Tamara ventured.
Bodicea raised an eyebrow. "There must be. Something in there is being protected."
The cries of the babies had lessened to one, lone, sobbing voice, a keening infant wail, and several others that were merely whimpering. They had no choice, now. They would have to enter the hollow tree, without the advance word that Bodicea could have provided.
Even as this thought crossed her mind she saw William glance anxiously around. "No sign of faerie women," he said.
Somehow, Tamara was not comforted by this.
"All right, then. Let's hurry," she said.
For a long moment William looked at her in silent recrimination, as though regretting that he was in front and therefore to be first inside the tree. Then he sighed and placed one knee up on the lip of that gap in the bark, and he crawled in. Tamara followed quickly, before her fear could grip her once more. Even if it had, however, it would only have delayed her. The lone voice of that crying infant would have pulled her onward.
