Let the Dance Begin by Lynda Waterhouse Page A

own dancing. You must realise that dancing is very important – even more important than you already
think. You have a raw talent, but that alone is not enough. You need to practise. This is not simply for selfish reasons; sand sprites need to dance to survive. There are those who say that if we
stop dancing altogether and forget the secret dune dances, then disaster will strike.’
    Cassie nodded. She was mesmerised by the sight of her mother’s flickering image dancing on the fabric in front of her.
    Madame Rosa sighed. ‘She was beautiful. Look at the way she moves effortlessly from a Dart and Turn into a Dune Arabesque.’
    A knock at the door broke the moment.
    It was Calluna. She scowled when she saw Cassie. Then she curtseyed and said, ‘Madame Rosa, you are wanted urgently. Mrs Sandskrit has asked you to come and look at one of the young sand
dancers who has developed the shivers.’
    ‘I’ll be there in a moment.’ Madame Rosa blew out the lantern and guided Cassie out of the door. She smiled and said, ‘Never give up, Cassie.’
    Cassie watched Calluna and Madame Rosa hurry down the corridor. In her haste Madame Rosa had not locked the door behind her. As quickly and as quietly as she could, Cassie went back into the
room.
    The air was smoky where the lantern had been blown out. She felt uncomfortable sneaking in after Madame Rosa had been so kind in showing her the slides of her mother.
    ‘If I’m quick it won’t seem so bad,’ she said to herself as she looked around. She looked at Madame Rosa’s desk but, apart from the Day Book, the pot of squid ink
and a pen, there was nothing there.
    ‘The Day Books!’ Cassie’s heart raced as she turned towards the bookshelf and peered along the rows of books. What was it Madame Rosa had said? ‘All events in
the dance school must be recorded.’ The books were crammed tightly together on the shelf. Sand dancers were methodical, so Cassie knew they must be in some kind of order. There was a
space on the shelf for the current book, so the book beside it must be the one with the details of the Night of the Great Sandstorm in it, Cassie reasoned. After all, the dance school had been
closed since then.
    A sudden creak outside the door made her stop and try to still her heavy breathing, but luckily the footsteps passed by.
    She took the Day Book off the shelf and began to skim-read through the pages. She was just about to turn over a page when she saw her mother’s name and read about a dancing display she had
given. Her eyes prickled with tears and her hand shook as she turned over more pages and read about the inspiring lessons Marina had taught, the talks she had given and the concern expressed about
the health of the sand dancers. Hardly a day would go by without her involvement in the school. Cassie’s throat itched with sadness, but at the same time her heart glowed with pride.
    She realised she was getting distracted, and flicked through trying to find the pages relating to the Night of the Great Sandstorm. Towards the end she came to a new section with Pertaining
to the Night of the Sandstorm written on a blank sheet.
    Slowly and carefully she turned over the page. Her heart was beating with excitement. Might she find some answers at last? Instead she found a large gap where the pages had been neatly cut out.
Cassie was filled with dis- appointment and confusion. Who would have cut out the pages? And where could she find them, if not here? But just then another sound in the corridor made her stop and
freeze. She would be in huge trouble if she was caught snooping.
    Reluctantly she closed the book and placed it carefully back on the shelf and, making sure no one was around, tiptoed out of the room.

 
    Chapter Twelve
    ‘Three steps forward and two steps back
is the way to make true progress.’
The Sands of Time
    All Cassie could think about was those missing pages. What secrets did they contain? What answers to her many questions were lying