Page 25 - Fables volume 2

Leviathan’s Revenge

Something tumbled down the trench and bounced off one of
Leviathan’s fourteen eyelids. He awoke, irritated. Pairs of eyes
swiveled, seeking the source of the disturbance.
“Trepang!” he rumbled, and half a dozen of the nearest servants
snapped to attention. “Is it feeding time?”
“No, Your Malevolence,” squeaked the nearest. “Still 384 years
before breakfast. Do you want a snack?”
“Bah! I want to know why my slumber has been interrupted.”
The tiny creatures wriggled in consternation and discomfiture.
“That thing got past us, Excellency. It won’t happen again.”
Leviathan uncoiled a head and nosed at the offending object.
“What is it? I sense intelligence behind its odd symmetry and inner
pulsations.”
A senior trepang was already crawling over the device, for such it
was. After circling it several times, he paused and addressed the
waiting monster of the deep.
“O Great Serpent, it is an instrument of war, a human mechanism
of espionage.”
“Down here?” Leviathan was incredulous. “Are they looking for
me?”
“Unlikely, Mighty Demon. It is attuned to detect an enemy’s
underwater craft.”
Leviathan twitched, scales rippling down his neck. “Then they have
progressed. How close are they to my lair?”
“Several thousand fathoms. This apparatus was not intended to
descend to your depth. It is already failing. I conclude the makers
either do not know this trench exists or cannot create vessels strong
enough to withstand the pressure here.”
“This must be addressed, my minions. Send an expedition to
disable every similar sort of surveillance system on the ocean floor.”
No one moved.
“Is there more?” The massive reptile’s basso profundo increased in
volume to biblical proportions. The trepangs clutched the rocky walls
until the sound wave passed.

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