Page 11 of City of Stone and Silence

“Talk to the ship?” I give an aggravated sigh. “Apparently not.”

“So now rotting what?” Zarun says.

The others look at me. Again.

“For now we stay here,” I say. “Hunker down and wait until morning.”

“That’s not much of a plan,” Shiara says.

“It’s a rotting lot better than blundering around a forest in the dark,” I say. “When the sun comes up we’ll be able to see what we’re walking into.”

“Assuming the sun does come up,” Zarun mutters. “We’re inside some kind of dome, remember?”

“We can see the moon and the stars,” Meroe says reasonably, “so I think we can assume we’ll be able to see the sun as well.” She glances at me. “I agree with Isoka that we should stay put until dawn. We’ll have to move pretty soon after that, though, to find fresh water.”

I nod. “For now, make sure nobody wanders off. I don’t want anyone outside our cordon.”

Zarun glances over his shoulder. “You think there’s something dangerous out there?”

“I’m just going to assume everything is trying to kill us until we prove otherwise.”

Shiara actually smiles, pale and vulnerable-looking without her face paint. “I can get behind that.”

The pair of them turn away, heading back to join the others. I step closer to Meroe, who’s staring off into the jungle.

“Hey.” She blinks and looks at me, and I take her hand. “You okay?”

“I’m okay.” Meroe takes a deep breath. “Just … trying to think.”

“You’re doing great.”

She looks a little embarrassed. “Everyone knows what they need to do. I’m just reminding them.”

I squeeze her hand, and she squeezes back, returning to her study of the forest. I follow her gaze.

“So what are you thinking?”

“You saw buildings, right? When we were coming in.”

I nod. “Just shadows, really, but that’s what it looked like.”

“I’m wondering if there’s people here.” She looks back at the ship. “The Scholar said that Soliton empties itself out every twenty years or so. We figured that was because every so often it went close enough to the Rot that everybody died.”

“If anyone survived, though, it looks like the angels force them off the ship here.” I frown. “Why?”

“Why does Soliton do anything?” Meroe shrugs. “But if there’s buildings, maybe someone’s living here. They might be able to help us.”

“Or try to kill us,” I say. “Or the buildings are as old as the docks, and full of crabs.”

“You’re such an optimist.”

“Just trying to keep you grounded.”

I look up at Soliton again, a dark thought forming in my mind. While the ship showed no signs of activity, obviously it won’t wait here forever. Unless it’s changed its usual pattern, eventually it will return to its yearly cycle, gathering fresh sacrifices from around the Central Sea. If Meroe is right, and it won’t return for twenty years afterward, then that would be the end of any chance of getting back to Kahnzoka before Kuon Naga’s deadline. If the ship leaves and I’m not on it, my sister will be kidnapped and sold to a brothel, or worse. I imagine her wide, innocent eyes as Naga’s thugs break down her door—

No. The thought makes my heart beat louder, echoing in my ears. I won’t let it happen.

Something moves, up on the deck. An angel? For a moment, I think I see the dog-thing again, silhouetted against the starry sky. And then—did it jump off?