FOLLOWING THE FUNERAL FEAST, YABBER headed off alone. He needed to think after watching the frogs' vote to lower the Veil. He agreed with the decision—trust came first—but he'd seen the Rainbow Serpent with his own eyes, while the village frogs relied on nothing but faith.
That impressed him, but it also scared him a little. King Sergu's death had left Yabber responsible for protecting the frogs with dreamcasting. But with the Veil down, he wasn't sure if he could. He lowered himself onto the riverbank, trying to force his stubby legs into lotus position.
"Ooooooom," he breathed, closing his eyes. "I am the lotus, and the lotus is me. My shell unfurls like the petals of the flower—"
He meditated for a long time before he heard the patter of frog feet approaching. He cracked one eye and watched Darel flop down into lotus position beside him. Of course it was easy for a wood frog—they were mostly leg anyway.
"I can see you peeking at me," Darel said.
Yabber closed his eye. "I'm not peeking. I'm attaining inner peace."
"How long is it going to take?" Darel asked.
"To attain inner peace?"
"To tear down the Veil!"
Yabber opened his eyes. "'Tear down the Veil.' It sounds easy when it's just a bunch of words, like 'Tickle a shark' or 'Lick the moon,' but how am I supposed to undo King Sergu's greatest casting? I'll admit I was his star pupil, but—"
"How long, Yabber?"
Yabber sighed. "Unraveling the Veil will take time and preparation."
"How much time and preparation?"
"And I don't think I can do it alone."
"Who else do you need?"
"Plus, the whole thing is … uncertain."
Darel frowned. "What does that mean? 'Uncertain'?"
"The Veil is big and complex …" Yabber scratched his neck thoughtfully. "Imagine you're chopping down a tree. It takes a long time to chop, but the tree will fall—whooom!—in the blink of an eye."
"How long before that happens with the Veil?"
"There's no way to know. At least a week, I would think, perhaps more."
"And then whooom," Darel said.
"Very whooom," Yabber agreed.
Darel sighed. "Then you'd better start chopping."
"Are we ready?"
"The Rainbow Serpent didn't say, 'Tear down the Veil whenever you're ready.'" Darel rubbed his face. "It said, 'Tear down the Veil.'"
Yabber exhaled softly. "Start now?"
"Start now," Darel said.
