Later in the day they encountered a giant land serpent. The creature lifted its head, hissing hungrily—only to discover itself bracketed by two arrows that thudded into a tree on either side of its body. It gazed at Cheiron, whose bow remained in his hands, and decided to hiss at some creature far away. In a moment it was gone.

Jenny had assumed that the flying centaurs escaped threats by flying away from them. Now she saw that this was not always the case. Cheiron had not missed the serpent, he had warned it. A centaur's arrow went as true as his word.

They came to a stop beside a pleasant pool. Jenny suddenly realized how thirsty she had become. "Oh, I could drink half of it right now!" she exclaimed.

"Me too!" Gwenny agreed.

"Caution," Cheiron said. "One must never take an unfamiliar pond for granted."

Jenny remembered the hate spring of the horde, and shuddered.

Cheiron looked around, and found several ladybugs being pestered by several gentlemenbugs. He caught two of the latter in his hand and carried them to the pool and dropped them in. They splashed, then began swimming for the bank. Cheiron lifted them out and looked at them. Both were wet, but otherwise unharmed.

He set them down beside a pennypede. They ignored it, instead scrambling back toward the ladybugs, eager to pester them some more. "This water appears to be neutral," Cheiron remarked. "No love, no hate, no poison."

So it seemed. Nevertheless, they sipped it cautiously at first. It was sweet and good.

It occurred to Jenny that Cheiron had known the character of the lake before coming to it. But he had wanted to make a point, so that children excited about being able to see did not take foolish risks. This was part of centaur education.

Che had remained silent throughout. He must have known.

"Dear," Chex said, "I believe I would prefer to spend the night in our own cottage, rather than in the field. It has been a wearing occasion."

"Very well," Cheiron said. "Girls, we shall need your help. Che can not ride readily, and can not yet fly, so you will have to hold him while we fly."

"But—" the two said together.

"In this manner," Chex said. "Get on us, and take his hands."

Baffled, they did so. Now each girl was riding a centaur, reaching down to hold one of Che's hands.

Then Cheiron flicked Che with his tail. Che became so light that the pull of their hands on his drew him into the air. "Don't let go!" he exclaimed.

The two centaurs flicked themselves, spread their wings, and jumped together into the air. Suddenly they were flying, perfectly synchronized, with Che floating between them.