He went to where a ridge of bone emerged from the wall and kicked it as hard as he could. For a moment it didn't look as if it was going to give, but then a hairline crack ran up its surface and Silus redoubled his efforts until the bone gave way. He then tore at it before turning to his companions, holding a vicious looking shard.
'It's not much, but it's better than nothing.'
The crew of the Llothriall pulled and kicked at the walls until they had variously armed themselves with scimitars of bone and thick cords of flesh. Only Emuel refused to arm himself. 'If it comes to a fight, and it is my time, then it is my time.' He reasoned.
'And I'd argue that you were being a stubborn idiot if we actually had any time,' Silus said, 'but for now I think that we should start running.'
Behind them the walls of the passage had begun to close up. As they ran Silus had a moment to wonder whether the collapse was as result of their damage to the walls, whether the organism through which they fled was trying to limit the harm they had inflicted upon it.
They turned a corner only to find that the passage came to an end. Behind them the corridor continued to contract.
Father Maylan closed his eyes and began to pray.
'Maylan, shut up! That's not helping.' Silus said.
Silus pushed against the wall blocking their escape and it gave easily under his fingers. When he tapped it, it thrummed like the taut skin of a drum. Using his bone fragment, he cut into the barrier and it tore with a hiss of escaping air.
'Follow me,' Silus said, before pushing his way through the gap.
He fell to the floor on the other side and, for one vertiginous moment, he thought that he would keep on falling. All that separated him from the surrounding sea was a thin, translucent membrane. The whole room was made of the same clear substance and Silus barely heard his companions tumbling into the chamber behind him as he stared in wonder.
The clear hemisphere in which they now stood protruded from an expanse of dark, scaled flesh. Through the side of the chamber and far to his right Silus could see a vast tail slowly fanning from side to side and he realised, with shock, that he was looking down the flank of an enormous creature.
Kelos ran his hand over the wall, a look of excited confusion on his face.
'Extraordinary. Thin as a bubble but utterly resilient'
'I think that we're in the thing that attacked Morat,' Silus said.
'And I think that you may be right. Gods, I thought that the leviathan we encountered on the Llothriall was big, but this is something else entirely.'
'There really is no hope then is there?' Dunsany said.
'What do you mean?' Silus said.
'We can't cut our way out of here because we'll drown and we can't stay where we are because the Chadassa will find and eviscerate us.'
'I think that if they were going to eviscerate us they would have done so already.' Kelos said.
'And what about Win?' Dunsany said.
As they stood in uneasy silence, Silus began to search about them for another exit, but it was a futile gesture.
'What is that?' Father Maylan said, from where he was crouched near the floor.
Silus dropped down beside him and saw a large shadow directly beneath them. As it unfolded a lance of green fire erupted from it and slammed into the flesh just beyond the chamber wall. A great cloud of blood immediately boiled into the water. In it, they could see the corpses of several Chadassa. Another lance of energy punched into the flesh further to the right and this time the floor of the chamber shook as a screech of pain rang through the walls.
'What is that thing?' Father Maylan asked.
'I don't know,' said Silus.
And he was no closer to knowing as it suddenly lurched out of the darkness and pressed itself against the chamber walls.
Katya awoke to find herself lying on a strange, spongy bed with two Chadassa females standing over her. One of them held Zac to a pendulous breast and she was horrified to see him greedily tugging at the teat, his face flushed with the warmth of the milk he was drinking. When she snatched him away from the creature he began to cry. Katya tried to calm Zac by holding him to her own breast, but he refused to drink and instead beat against her chest with his tiny hands.
She tried to run then, but the room she found herself in had no door and when she started scrabbling around the moist, fleshy walls, desperately trying to find an exit, one of the Chadassa females grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back to the bed.
The thing pulled Zac out of Katya's arms and his cries were silenced as he began to feed once more.
Katya closed her eyes and refused to open them until one of the Chadassa hauled her from the bed and marched her from the room. Mercifully Zac was placed back in her arms then and he had looked up at her with a happy little smile.
As they entered a large chamber that looked out onto the sea, Belck turned to greet them. He reached out for her son and Zac was soon crying again as one of the Chadassa took him from her and placed him in the ancient creature's arms. Zac squirmed, his face wrinkled in a red grimace of distress. The Chadassa chuckled and cooed at the infant, increasing the volume of his cries.
Katya looked on helplessly as she was restrained by one of the Chadassa females. Her claws dug painfully into her wrists and she could feel her hot breath on the back of her neck.
'Ah yes,' Belck said, 'the bloodline may be even stronger in this one. It is a pity he is not of an age where he could be useful. Still, he is something of a prize. You may take him now.'
The other Chadassa female took Zac from him.
'Leave him alone!' Katya screamed.
'And so to the mother,' Belck said. 'What to do with you I wonder?'
'You harm Zac and I will — '
'You'll what? What can you do Katya?'
It was true of course, she could do nothing but watch. Tears welled in her eyes and she quickly blinked them away, unwilling to show these foul creatures any sign of weakness.
'Yes, I thought so,' Belck said. 'Still, I believe that you can be of some use and Zac is still an infant. It would be wrong to separate mother and child at this delicate stage, don't you think?'
The Chadassa female came over to them, Zac curled against her breast, his eyes closed and his chest calmly rising and falling as he slept.
'If we give him back to you Katya,' Belck said, 'will you be more cooperative?'
She made a grab for her son and the Chadassa stepped away, Zac stirring briefly as he was jolted by the motion.
'No Katya,' Belck said. 'I asked you a question. Now, will you cooperate?'
A vicious, jealous hatred burned in her as she looked at her child sleeping in the arms of the creature, and she swore to herself that if she broke free she would kill the mongrel bitch that held him. But for now, her fury was of no use to her son, and so she held out her arms.
'Yes, I'll cooperate.'
'Good. That was what I was hoping you'd say.'
Zac was placed back in her arms and Katya was relived that he did not wake or struggle against her.
'What have you done with my husband?'
'Silus is being prepared for our Queen.' Belck said. 'His seed will be the herald for a new age. Aren't you proud to be even a small part of that?'
'Silus isn't one of you.'
'So you have told us.'
A sudden tremor shook the room and sent Belck stumbling away from her. Katya would have laughed at the look of confusion on his face if she weren't so preoccupied with keeping her own feet.
Across the room a door dilated open and a Chadassa male raced in.
