1
Gareth
Beth’s voice echoes off the cold obsidian walls that rise on either side of me. I maintain my hold, wedging myself between the rock and moving slowly, painstakingly toward my target. I can feel how cold she is, how scared.
The Abyss drops away below me, nothing but air and death beneath my dangling feet.
“Okay, sure, but what if instead of eating me, you let me go?” Beth is so close now that I can hear the tremor in her voice despite her bravado.
“But if I let you go, what will I eat?” The voice is low and hard like the stone wilderness that surrounds me.
“I’m sure we have enough food for you in our packs. I mean, you’re not a big guy. You couldn’t possibly eat more than—”
“Four changelings.”
“Huh?” Beth’s voice squeaks a little.
“I need four changelings. If you can bring them to me, I’ll eat them and let you go.”
She laughs, the distress in it sending chills down my spine. “I can’t bring you four changelings. But what about some beans? We have those and—”
“Then you’ll have to do.” Something scrapes, the sound ugly as I continue my journey into the depths of the Abyss.
“Wait!” Her shriek is coated in panic. “What about something else?”
The scraping stops. “Like what?”
“Something other than food. You can get food any time, right?”
“Whenever the slaves pass by, yes. I feast on them, their tired bones and sagging skin. Maybe I’m a kindness. Death in my maw is better than one at the mines. But no one has ever accused me of being kind.” The unmistakable sound of snapping teeth cuts through the air.
“And there’s no reason for that to stop, so maybe you and I could make a deal for something else.” Clever changeling. There’s no reason for the creature to know that Cranthum has fallen to the slaves, which means no more food for it. No more victims.
A bit of stone falls away beneath my hand, and I scramble to maintain position in the narrow band of rock. The falling rubble bounces off the side of the wall before dropping into nothing.
“What about—”
“Shh.” The cold voice seeps closer through the blackness.
“What?” Beth trills.
“I heard something.”
“I didn’t hear a thing. Now, let’s get back to our negotiation.”
It growls, the sound raising my hackles. “I’m tired of talking. I don’t talk. I eat.”
“That’s a boring sort of life.”
“I’m hungry.”
“So am I, but I don’t go around eating changelings.”
“Enough talk.” The scraping sound comes again. I don’t know what it is, but something about it has me moving faster, my muscles straining harder as I maneuver closer to my mate.
“Come on. We can make some sort of deal.” Her terror rises, the taste like acid on my tongue. “You don’t have to do this.”
“No deal.” Something clangs. “And Iwantto do this. I’m so hungry.”
