Chapter 9
Darkness congested every inch of the tunnel as Yofune descended deeper and deeper underground. The surrounding blackness mattered little to the sea dragon, whose blindness only made his other senses more acute. Tanuki could see well enough in the dark, although he whispered to David that there was not much to see other than dirt and a few twisted roots in the tunnel walls. David felt suspended in the darkness, and this made their descent feel as if it was killing hour after hour, although he knew in reality that perhaps twenty minutes or so had passed.
A faint glow flickered down below them, a warm ripple that teased them to come closer. David poured all of his focus onto that light, both grateful for a reprieve from the darkness and anxious about what the light would reveal.
