more than the rest of the wrecked ship, and the thought of slipping off and actually touching the pinkish innards of this godless monster was too awful to bear.
"Sorry about the smell," Dylan said, "but this is the beastie's digestive tract."
"Digestive tract? Are you taking me to be eaten?"
Dylan laughed. "We could probably use your hydrogen!"
"Now, now, Mr. Sharp. Don't give me any ideas," Dr. Barlow said. "I simply want to show Alek how easily we can find his family."
"Aye," Dylan said. "And there's a Huxley now!"
Alek squinted into the gloom. He saw a tangle of ropes ahead of them. They stirred slowly back and forth, like willow branches in a breeze.
"Look higher, you daft git!" Dylan said.
Alek forced his eyes to follow the swaying ropes up the awful pink walls. A shape floated there in the gloom, bulbous and indistinct.
"Oi, beastie!" Dylan cried, and one of the ropes seemed to move in response, curling like a cat's tail.
They weren't ropes at all... .
Alek swallowed. "What is that thing?"
"Have you not been listening?" Dylan said. "It's a Huxley, a sort of jellyfish full of hydrogen. Looks like it's had a growth spurt too. Watch this!"
He dashed toward the dangling ropes - or tentacles? - and grabbed a handful, pulling his feet up to swing along the catwalk. The other tentacles curled and flailed, but Dylan climbed higher, pulling the bulbous object down toward himself. Alek could see its piebald skin all too clearly now. It was covered with bulges - like blisters, or the warts on a frog's skin.
And yet, despite his horror, Alek found himself fascinated by the alien grace of the tendrils. The beast was like something from the deep ocean, or a dream. Watching it left him half disgusted and half hypnotized.
Tazza ran beneath Dylan as he swung, nipping at his boots and barking. The boy laughed, still climbing, dragging the swollen creature down until he was almost touching its horrid skin.
Finally he let go, landing with a clang on the metal walkway. The angry tentacles slithered around him as the creature shot back into the upper reaches of the beast's innards.
"That one's getting strong," Dr. Barlow said. "It'll be ready soon."
"Ready for what?" Alek asked softly.
"To carry me." Dylan smiled. "The big ones can take an airman up a mile! We've got a few adult Huxleys living deeper in."
Alek stared up at the creature. A mile ... more than a kilometer and a half. From that height they'd easily spot the castle's rectangular shape, or even glimpse the Stormwalker standing in the courtyard.
"I see you understand, Alek," Dr. Barlow said. "We'll find your family soon enough. Perhaps you should save us the bother."
Alek took a slow breath. "Why should I help you?"
"You already tried to help us," she replied. "And, yes, I know you've been treated abominably in return. But you can't blame us for being suspicious. There is a war on, after all."
"So why make more enemies than you've already got?"
"Because we need your help - your family's help. Without it we may all die."
Alek stared hard into the woman's eyes. She was completely serious.
"You can't fix the ship, can you?"
Dr. Barlow shook her head slowly, and Alek turned away.
If the Darwinists really were stuck here, the only way to save them was to give up the castle and all its stores. It was that or let them starve. But could he trade his own men's safety, maybe even the future of his empire, for a hundred lives?
He needed to talk to Volger.
"Let me go," he said. "And I'll see what we can do."
"Perhaps if you took us to your home?" Dr. Barlow said. "Under flag of truce, to prevent any unpleasantness."
Alek thought for a moment, then nodded. They were going to find the castle anyway. "All right. But we don't have much time."
"I shall talk to the captain." She snapped for Tazza. "Mr. Sharp, I believe you have duties in the machine room."
"Aye, ma'am," Dylan said. "But what about Alek? Shall I lock him up again?"
Dr. Barlow looked at Alek. "Bella gerant alii?"
Alek nodded again. "This isn't my war to wage."
The woman gave him a smile, and turned to lead Tazza away. "I think we can trust Alek not to run amok, Mr. Sharp. Feel free to take him to the machine room with you. He's a very well brought-up boy."
She and Tazza disappeared into the gloom, the dangling tentacles of the Huxleys swirling in their wake.
"You understood what she said?" Dylan asked.