As it snapped loose he felt the ground underfoot tremble. The rhythmic rush of the leviathan’s breath halted mid-inhale, the silence sudden and absolute. Stone cocked his head thoughtfully, listening. Esom and Chime were wide-eyed in alarm, while River’s spines twitched nervously. The moment stretched, then the creature’s breath whooshed out in a long sigh.
As the breathing resumed, Chime said, “It felt that. I don’t know what happened, exactly, but it felt that.”
Moon weighed the metal piece in his hand. “Good. Maybe Ardan felt it too.”
They went back down the Thluth tunnel, and took one of the vertical passages upward. The Thluth didn’t appear to demand tribute again.
The passage worked its way up through the leviathan’s hide along a narrow and twisty path. After a short distance it turned into a vertical shaft, too steep for Esom or for Stone in his groundling form.
Esom groaned but didn’t otherwise protest being carried by Chime again. River hesitated, looking dubiously at Stone. Stone hissed in annoyance and turned to Moon.
Moon supposed that if Stone had to be carried, he would rather it be by another consort, no matter how awkward. So they started up with Stone’s warm weight hanging on to Moon’s neck, and it was just as awkward as Moon could possibly have imagined.
The pocked surface was slick and pieces chipped off under their claws, but the leviathan’s breathing grew steadily louder, a welcome sign that they were nearing an opening to the surface. River, unencumbered, got a little ahead. They climbed in silence for a while, until Stone muttered, “I remember why the Arbora hate this.”
“It’s not like we have a choice,” Moon answered, concentrating on feeling for the next good claw-hold.
There was another long silence, broken only by whispers from somewhere below, where Esom seemed to be interrogating Chime about mentor abilities. Chime’s answers were tinged with irritation. Then Stone said, “I don’t kill solitaries just because they’re solitaries. And I would never have killed you.”
It was so unexpected, Moon’s claws almost slipped off the wall. Stone waited until he recovered, then continued, “If I’d decided you were crazy, or lying to me, I would have left you behind. I wanted you with me at Sky Copper so I could watch your reaction, make sure you’d never seen a court before. But by the time we got there, I’d already made my decision.” He added, “You little idiot.”
Moon hissed reflexively. After a moment, he said, “Sorry.” Deeply reluctant, he admitted, “I’m still not… good at this.”
“You’ll get over it,” Stone told him.
Above them, River hissed to get Moon’s attention. He looked up and realized they were very near the top. The space above them was dark, and the hole through the last layer of hide was small. A little ahead of Moon, River stopped just below the opening. He pointed to himself, then up. He was saying he should go first, since he was the only one not carrying someone. I hate it when he’s right. Moon nodded for him to go ahead.
River climbed to the lip of the opening, stopped to peer out, then scrambled over the edge.
After a tense moment, he leaned back down to whisper, “Come up.”
Moon gave Stone a boost, then followed him. As he climbed out, he knew where he was by scent and sound before his eyes adjusted to the dim green glow from the phosphorescent molds. They were in the underground space below the city, the stone of its foundations high above, supported by giant pillars and columns. The foundations were much lower here than in the area below Ardan’s tower, which was closer to the midpoint of the leviathan. The highest supporting arch was barely fifty paces above their heads.
Esom scrambled out with Chime right behind him. Chime stood and looked around, his spines flicking uneasily. Esom collapsed on the lumpy leviathan hide and said in relief, “I never thought I’d be glad to see this place again. Now it looks homey and welcoming.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Moon said. He turned to Stone and pointed north, toward the leviathan’s head. “The mortuary temple is back that way.”
Stone’s mouth twisted in an ironic grimace. He said, “Let’s hope Ardan’s not expecting us.” Then he shifted.
Stone’s larger body flowed into being so fast that Esom yelped and bumped into Chime as he flinched away. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m just not used to it when he does that.”
Chapter Sixteen
Moon led the way across the dark space, finding the