“You used the Force, didn’t you?” Anakin asked Sannah, breaking the awed hush of the room. Sannah turned toward Anakin, still breathless from her battle.
“I don’t know how I did it,” she replied. “I just felt it.”
“You did it well,” Anakin said with a small smile. Then he turned and followed Tahiri back to Lyric, whom they helped the young Melodies lift. The tunnel curled upward for several more minutes, then suddenly ended. It emptied out into an enormous cavern filtered with light from small holes in the sides and top of the rocks. The late - afternoon sun played off the deep crystal blue waters in the center of the chamber. The Melodies moved to the side of the waters that gently lapped at the rocks. They slid the changelings into the liquid darkness. Then the elders surfaced and called their greetings to the children. Their bodies moved swiftly along the surface of the water as their hands reached for the changelings, held them as parents embrace their children.
Children who are finally home. Anakin and Tahiri watched as the elders celebrated the changing of their young. They leapt into the air and twisted and somersaulted before diving back down into the waters again. They splashed delightedly, their tails shimmering. Several elders perched at the edge of the pool and spoke with the children who had not yet been changed. They caught up on what had happened, eyed the Jedi candidates, and offered shy smiles. Anakin sensed that the elders yearned for the day when the next changelings would come safely into their depths. Because until that moment, they couldn’t truly protect their young.
“Will they be safe now?” Tahiri asked Sannah when she came over to speak to her and Anakin.
“Yes,” Sannah said with a sweet smile. “They are safe in the high waters. The raiths and the purella cannot swim, and the reels do not come this high in the mountain,” she explained.
“Anakin, Tahiri,” a voice bubbled from the waters. Lyric floated behind the Jedi candidates. She smiled happily at them, and swam to the side of the pool.
“Thank you,” Lyric said. “I have heard how you fought the raiths and a reel. Are you okay, Tahiri?” she said with concern.
“I’m fine,” Tahiri replied.
“You saved not only my life, but the lives of several other Melodies,” Lyric said. “The elders wish to reward you for your bravery. They asked me what would be suitable, and I suggested that you be allowed to come beneath the surface of these waters to speak with an old one who we call the keeper of legends. He may know something about your strange symbols. Would you like to do that?” Lyric asked.
“Would we?” Tahiri cried. “Wild banthas couldn’t stop us!”
Tahiri leaned forward and took one of the trico filters that lay on Sannah’s lap. Anakin stared in surprise at his friend.
“I haven’t forgotten that I can’t swim,” Tahiri explained. “But there’s no way I’m going to miss this. Anyway, as long as I can breathe underwater, it doesn’t matter that I can’t swim. You and Lyric can help me. ” Tahiri took out her multitool and cut down the filter Sannah had handed her until it was the right size for her small face. Then she let Sannah tie the algae-filled filter over her nose and mouth. For a moment, Tahiri couldn’t breathe and a feeling of dizzying panic clutched at her throat. She forced herself to relax, just as she’d seen Anakin do. When she could finally breathe, she moved to the edge of the crystal blue waters. Sannah handed Tahiri and Anakin several large rocks to place in their pockets before they entered the water.
“You will need the added weight,” Sannah explained. “You are going deep.”
“I’ll help you,” Lyric sang up to Tahiri, and beckoned her friend into the waters with her pale, graceful arms. Tahiri dipped her toe into the warm water. She sat down on the rocky edge of the pool and slowly lowered herself until the water swallowed her body. Lyric floated by Tahiri’s side, her arm around the girl’s waist, her powerful tail fin keeping Tahiri’s head above water. Anakin slipped into the water and moved to Tahiri’s other side. He, too, wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Ready?” Anakin said to Tahiri.
“As I’ll ever be,” Tahiri replied with a nervous smile.
“Do not be frightened,” Lyric called to Tahiri. “We will be traveling deep within the waters to the place where the oldest of my species live. There, I hope, you will find the answer to your questions.”
Tahiri allowed herself to sink below the surface of the crystal blue water. Anakin and Lyric kept hold of her as they descended into the depths. At first Tahiri felt panicky and breathed through the filter in ragged gasps. Her eyes rolled wildly from side to side. Once, she tried to struggle out of the arms of her friends, but they held her steady until she relaxed. Tahiri saw hundreds of elder Melodies swimming around them as Lyric pulled her friends deeper and deeper with swift, powerful thrusts of her tail fin. The elders were so beautiful and graceful, Tahiri thought as they traveled through the crystal waters. Strange, Tahiri pondered, as she studied the underwater world, it was light beneath the surface of the water.