The Underneath

The Alligator King watches Gar Face each night; he knows that the man is trying to kill him, and the Alligator King thinks that it’s a good game—he knows that Gar Face will eventually make a mistake. He remembers a time when villagers tried to catch him; their mistake was walking across the quicksand between the bayous.

Puck is pleased with his new skills but he continues to dwell regretfully on his mistake in leaving the Underneath, which led to his mother’s death and his current predicament. He continues to feel lonely for Sabine and Ranger and to consider how he might cross the creek. He wishes that Ranger would bay, so that he’d know which direction he needs to go.

The copper-winged bird circles above. Puck hisses at it in fear and returns to his den.

The trees know that Night Song is dying when she returns to her serpent body. Once she learns that she wouldn’t be able to return to her human body and her human family, she climbs into the branches of a cypress above the bayou. Night Song turns from blackish blue to a purplish and yellow color.