His voice was tense, insistent. Something important seemed to have happened.
When I rejoined Pearce, he pointed silently down the ascent, in the direction from which we had come. His features were startled, bewildered, a little frightened. My own face must have registered similar feelings at what I saw.
Beyond the boulders at the foot of the ascent, one of the tiny deer-like animals that we frequently saw lay sprawled on the ground. Several butterfly-creatures rested motionlessly upon its body. A short distance away stood another of the deer-like animals, literally surrounded by the butterfly things. It was as still as though frozen, its great eyes distended and staring. And the wings of the butterfly-creatures hovering about it were moving in a slow, hypnotic rhythm. I thought of the snakes of Earth which captured birds by charming them through similar movements, and realized that somewhat the same thing was happening here.
As I watched, the deer-like animal abruptly fell on its side and lay without moving. Like vultures swooping down on a victim, the butterfly things settled upon it. They seemed in some obscure way to be ... feeding.
I glanced in consternation at Pearce. "What do you suppose it's all about?"
He moved his shoulders uneasily. "I don't know any more than you do. But I think we'd better look into this. And it might not be wise to let those things get too close."
Presently, the butterfly-creatures rose once more into the air and fluttered away. The deer-like animals, though, lay very still.
Pearce gestured, and I followed him to the scene. Only a short examination of the two deer-like animals was necessary to show what had happened to them. They were dead. There wasn't so much as a mark upon the sleek skin of their bodies—but they were dead.
Pearce and I stared at each other. And then a chilling thought struck me.