"No." Jeid shook his head. "We will not charge rashly into death."

"But you said we'd—"

"We will find another way out," Jeid said. "We'll dig our way out."

Dorvin and Bryn stared at him, eyes wide.

"Dig?" said Bryn. "The walls are mostly granite. Our blades can't cut them. Even if we had room to shift into dragons, our claws would be too weak." She tapped one wall with her sword; the bronze clanged against the stone. "How will we dig?"

Jeid walked around them, motioning for them to follow. They walked through the coiling labyrinth, moving past other survivors, until Jeid stopped at a curve where blood stained the walls and floor. He pointed at the ceiling.

"A hole," he said. "This is where the creature emerged. This is where it slew the boy." He drew his sword, reached up, and tapped the hole's rim. "Solid granite, yet whatever that creature is, it dug through it like a groundhog through soil. Its claws are sharper than our blades, sharper even than dragon claws. It can dig a way out for us."

Dorvin blew out his breath, fluttering his lips. "Grizzly! By the stars. First of all, that hole's smaller than your head. Secondly, even if the creature could dig us a tunnel out, how are you going to convince it? Invite it for a drink of wine, give it a few kisses, and then ask to borrow its claws? Don't think that'll work."

Jeid tapped the hole again. "It'll work or it won't." He looked back at Dorvin and smiled thinly. "It's worth trying; we have nothing to lose. Now let's hunt a demon."

They got to work.

There was no day or night in the tunnels, but Jeid felt like they labored for most of a day. Bryn moved through the tunnels, collecting belts, spears, leather straps, ropes, and axes. She returned the items to Jeid and Dorvin, who sat on the floor, snapping the shafts off axes and spears, tying them together into long sticks, and weaving belts into harnesses.

"Do you really think this can work?" Dorvin said. He thrust out his tongue as he tied two wooden shafts together.

"Probably not." Jeid tested a leather noose, tugging it between his hands, unable to break it. "Almost certainly not, in fact." He smiled up at Dorvin. "But when has Requiem ever had more hope?"

Finally their work was done. Jeid stared down at the contraptions—long wooden shafts, each ending with a leather harness.

"You do realize the creature can dig through granite," Dorvin said. He bit his lip. "It'll smash through leather and wood like dragonfire tearing through mist."