Curiosity Killed the Cat–Part 8
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Wrapped in a net, carried by jeweled crabs, Srivasi and his companion traveled through dark passageways. They angled down for a ways—then up, in what felt like tight spirals. Once, the whole bunch swayed like seagrass in the tide, clicking loudly, then the journey resumed—back the way they’d come. No turning, just walking the other way. “Can we just get this over with?” Dasid groaned. “Be careful what you wish for,” Srivasi said, as the crabs picked up speed in their new direction, though the longer they went unharmed the more he was inclined to believe the creatures meant no harm. Why else capture them in a net, after all? “To feed us to their crablings,” Dasid said when Srivasi pointed that out. He was so young to be so cynical! A few crabs brought out glowing rocks, and Srivasi and Dasid were carried through a corridor that caught and split the light, refracting and multiplying, until the colors danced and swam about them and even Dasid gasped in wonder. Then they passed through a grey stone arch into a tunnel so low that Srivasi’s whiskers brushed the roof. It was remarkably uncomfortable until he turned his head. His nose, luckily, was not as long as the whiskers. From the close tunnel, they passed into a great chamber of rock and columns and connections, arches and spirals. The crabs headed straight for the edge of the rock, for…