That was the good news. The bad news was they were large. Very large. In fact, to Annja’s perception, they could have barely fit inside the cave at all, let alone come through the narrow opening. This puzzled her. If they hadn’t entered that way, then where had they come from? She and Tuk had been working at the only part of the cave that might conceal something. But now it looked like they had missed entirely another possibility up near the cave’s entrance. Something had been, in effect, hidden in plain sight. Annja flexed her muscles as the energy from the sword ran throughout her body. It felt good to have it back in her hands again. It warmed her and energized her at the same time. She could sense Tuk behind her and he didn’t seem overly panicked. She marveled at the little man and what he’d been able to accomplish. If he hadn’t been afraid then, she doubted he would fear much now. But the question still remained. Who or what were these things in the cave with them? And where did that floral smell come from?
