lost consciousness first, and Armantaro felt himself joining them. Vixa tried to reach out to the colonel, but before she could do more than contemplate the action, her sword dropped from her nerveless hand. Van had likewise drawn steel. But finally, even the stalwart Vanthanoris, skilled hunter and warrior, could fight for breath no longer. His sword fell from fingers suddenly gone numb, and he knew no more.
Chapter 4
Vixa was very surprised to open her eyes and find herself alive.
Her head pounded as if all the smiths of Thorbardin were busy inside, and with a groan, she sat up. Captain Esquelamar and the warriors remained unconscious, scattered around the shrunken cavern. The walls still glowed a dull red. Vixa massaged her aching temples.
Armantaro stirred. He sat up slowly, clutching his head. A smear of blood stained his upper lip.
“Ahhh,” he moaned. “My head feels as if I drank a barrel of nectar.” He winced, and added, “Very bad nectar.”
“Your nose bleeds, Colonel.”
He dabbed at it, and they spoke in whispers because the throbbing in their heads wouldn’t allow anything louder. This strained quiet was suddenly shattered by a skull-piercing roar. Captain Esquelamar had fought his way to consciousness with a great bellow.
“For mercy’s sake, Captain!” Vixa hissed. “Be quiet!”
“Astra have mercy, I’m dying!” he roared, heedless of her entreaties. He thumped his head with the heel of one hand. The captain cried, “I’d give my right arm for a beaker of nectar!”
Armantaro muttered, “I’d give mine if you’d lower your voice.”
Esquelamar stood, reeled about, and blundered against the glowing wall. Vixa expected him to cry out, but he did not.
Armantaro asked softly, “Captain! Are you not burned?”
“Burned?” The captain lifted one eyelid and took in his surroundings. Frowning, he stepped back from the wall and said, “Nay, nay. ’Tis no warmer than a maiden’s cheek.”
Vixa regained her feet slowly, waited a moment while her knees trembled, then walked carefully to the wall. She placed one hand against it. Esquelamar was right. It was only mildly warm, but yielded to her touch, like living flesh.
Harmanutis and Vanthanoris awoke at nearly the same instant. The corporal croaked for water, but they had none to give him. The small store of food and water they’d brought with them had been swept away in the tumult of the earthquake.
To take her mind off her own thirst, Vixa studied their prison. She dropped to one knee and scraped away debris. Soon, she had exposed more of the odd ridges they’d seen deeper in the cave. Between the ridges was the softer material Vanthanoris had described. Like the walls, it was spongy and gave easily to her touch. Suddenly, the myriad thoughts chasing around her aching head coalesced into a single idea-an idea so startling, she gasped aloud.
“Your Highness?” Vanthanoris had come to see what she scrutinized so carefully on the floor. He dropped to one knee beside her.
“This is not a cave!” Vixa exclaimed.
Vanthanoris and the others regarded her blankly. “What, lady?” whispered Armantaro.
“This is not a cave,” she repeated slowly and carefully. “I believe-I believe we are inside a living creature!”
All their faces registered puzzlement. The colonel frowned, trying to marshal his scattered wits. “What?” he demanded in a low voice.
Vixa looked at each of them in turn. “This island is no island,” she stated, forcing her voice to remain calm. “It is some sort of creature.”
“Your Highness has injured her head,” Harmanutis blurted.
“Mind your tongue, Corporal,” Armantaro said absently. “Lady Vixa, how do you know this?”
“Captain,” she replied, “the other night, when we saw the fish fleeing on the surface-had you ever seen such behavior before, in all your years at sea?”
“No, lady. Never.”
“And the soundings that changed, deep then shallow then deep again-ever experienced that before?”
“No.”
“The sea was stained with mud for miles, right in our path, yes? And
During her recital, doubt had crept into the faces of the other elves. When she finished, worry appeared, as the logic of her words sank in.
“How can it be?” asked Vanthanoris, standing by Vixa. “The monster would be more than a mile wide. How can the gods permit such a creature to exist?”
Armantaro shook his head, dazed. “The gods do as they see fit.”
“This cave,” Vixa continued, “must be inside the creature. The walls are made of flesh. That’s why they’re so soft and warm.”
Vanthanoris’s head snapped around, and he stared at her in horror. “I roused it,” he whispered. “When I dug into the floor with my dagger, I roused it from its slumber!”
Silence reigned for long minutes as each of them digested the implications. They contemplated their surroundings, trying to recognize this place as the inside of a living beast and not a natural rock formation. A cave that was no cave.
“What shall we do?” Harmanutis asked at last. “Will we ever see dry land and sunshine again?”
Vixa straightened her shoulders staunchly. “There must be hope. We don’t seem to have been devoured. In fact, judging from the wind that tore through here just before the beast went under, I’d say we’re in the creature’s nose or spout-hole. The principle danger, as I see it, may occur when the beast next draws breath.”
“We could get out then,” Vanthanoris said, hope dawning in his hazel eyes.
“If it breathes only air, yes. But if it breathes water-” Vixa’s voice trailed off.
Captain Esquelamar ran his hands through his long, sand-colored hair. “I forced the guards to stay on duty,” he said softly. “I left them out there. When this monster submerged, they must have-” Armantaro put a hand on his arm. However, there was no comfort to give. When the sea creature had submerged, certainly the elves left outside on guard must have drowned.
“But the ship is probably all right, Captain,” offered Vixa, as much for her own comfort as for his. After all, she’d left her own soldiers aboard the vessel.
Esquelamar forced a smile, saying, “Aye, lady, she’s a good ship. The best I ever served on.” The smile vanished. He swallowed hard.
“There’s a legend I heard once,” he murmured, “a long time ago, when I was a lad not yet gone to sea. It told of a creature called a kraken, a beast so huge it could drag down a ship entwined in its tentacles. Now and then a ship would be lost in fair weather, or on an easy run to Hylo or Balifor, and the old salts would say, ‘They’re food for the kraken now.’ ”
This vignette did little to lift their spirits. Armantaro finally stood and declared, “We’ll never get out by sitting here. We should explore farther down the passage. Perhaps there is another way out.”
“Don’t forget, the ones who attacked the captain and killed Theleran must be in here with us,” Vanthanoris
