The water around him swirls. Thaumaturgic tides wash dissonant up from the hole. There is a sudden spasm of water pressure, and then a very faint sound of pounding reaches Tanner’s ears. Uncertain, he strains to hear. It is a faint, regular beat that he feels in his innards. A ponderous smashing stroke. His stomach pitches. He hears it only for an instant, a quirk of space and thaumaturgy, but he knows what it is, and the knowledge stuns him. It is a heart the size of a cathedral, beating far below him in the dark.
