“Yer think so? Don’t tell anyone; they all think I’ve kissed loads of girls! Got a reputation to live up to, yer know.” Mucum let go of Ark, plucked up his courage, and slipped an arm around Flo. She snuggled in closer to him in response.

Ark looked around at his newfound friends. There was good food, lively music, and, above all, companionship here. But a thought darker than any mealworm kept gnawing away at him. Maw would not mine this earth gently. Their huge machines could rip the very roots from their harbor. Joe and his kin would become slave labor, if they even survived the assault on their home.

Ark slowly edged away from the party until he was lost in the shadows of the cavern. It was time to go. He thought about Mucum and the adventures they’d had so far. But Mucum was safe down here. If Ark could face a monster worm, surely he could find a way to the King? He was alone again, like always.

“Where be yow off to?” Joe sprang up out of the shadows like an elongated dream.

Ark nearly fell over with fright. “Oi be off to … explore.” Crazy. He was even starting to talk like them. “I mean, I’m off to explore.” The explanation sounded lame. He waited for Joe to grab hold of him.

“Good for yow!” The quizzical look left Joe’s huge, round eyes. “If yow keep going arf in that direction, yow’ll find the ore cars! Plenty to see, and glad yow loike our humble home. Yow’re part of it now!” He patted Ark on the back and loped off toward the music with a spring in his step.

Ark felt terrible. No one lied down here. It was a place of trust. But if he told the truth, Joe wouldn’t let him go, ever. “Thanks,” he whispered at the departing figure, “for everything.”

Ark quickly nipped into the room he’d slept in to retrieve his bag and plumbing belt. Keeping to the darkest corners, he headed away from the music and out toward the ore cars. All that crushed ore had to go somewhere. From down at the roots, that could only mean up. He spotted the train track and a few cars slowly trundling along with no driver in evidence. The train appeared to be heading toward a tunnel in the far side of the cavern.