Gorge -

The hum laughed, a gravelly cascade of stones. “He is here. He is... comfortable. He asked for a story, and I am a patient teller.”

Behind them, the depths were silent.

A low, agonized groan rippled through the gorge. The hum became a screech, then a whimper, then a sigh—not of grief, but of a full stomach forced to eat something bitter. The hum laughed, a gravelly cascade of stones

“Give him back,” Lena whispered, her anger crystallizing into something sharp and clear. The hum laughed