“I had a tree-octopus with me yesterday. It fell in the river right about here.”

Ghosteater waded into the water, passing his nose delicately over the surface.

“It is dead.”

“You can’t possibly know that!”

The great beast stood in the water, looking up at me in silence. Then he came back to shore and shook himself.

“Scent tells the story. There are great fish in the river. They eat small creatures.”

I stared at him, not wanting to believe it. He just looked back at me, matter of fact, emotionless.

I sat down. All the exultation I’d felt the night before turned to bitterness. I’d managed to save myself from my own idiotic decision to leave the rainforest, but I’d gotten my friend killed. It’d died trying to save me. With all the power it had, no fish could’ve gotten it if it hadn’t depleted itself fighting the plant-dinos.

Ghosteater sat nearby. For a time he watched me in silent interest.

“Big things eat little things,” he said at last. “Big things die. Then little things eat them.”

“It wasn’t just a ‘little thing.’ It was my friend. It sacrificed itself for me. It’s my fault it died.”

He pondered me, tipping his head to the side like a dog. He seemed to find my attachment to the ’pus mysterious and interesting.

“Can you tell if it was male or female?”

Ghosteater thought for a few seconds, seeming to roll the remembered scent over his tongue.

“Female.”

I nodded, feeling empty. I wished I’d known before.

My rescue may have been well in hand, but the next day and a half weren’t pleasant.

I didn’t really understand Ghosteater’s explanation of how Graham’s rock had brought me here. He could speak to me, yes, but communicating complex ideas seemed beyond him. I could only take his word for it that some of Cordus’s people were coming.

I wanted to leave for the coast immediately, but the beast refused. It would take me several days to climb back up the mountain, and we had no way to carry water. Furthermore, my wounds had left me weak and in a lot of pain.

So there we stayed, waiting for the rest of the party to catch up. Ghosteater caught fish. I watched. He ate them. I ate them. He drank water. So did I. I tossed and squirmed, trying to find a way to sit or lie that wasn’t painful. He sat and watched me, always silent unless I asked him something. At night, I curled up against him and tried to stay warm.

On my third day in the valley, I saw Zion, Kara, and Williams coming down the mountain. It was humbling. The walk that had taken me five days had taken them less than three.