City of the Beasts

Alex visits his hospitalized mother in a vision and comforts her with his presence. Walimai tells Alex that he might be able to find the mystical “water of health” (240) to heal his mother and Alex vows to do so. Walimai, Alex, Nadia, and Borobá prepare to trek to “the sacred mountain where the gods live” (241), although Alex is confused about the purpose of their trip and believes it would be better to rejoin the expedition to help Dr. Torres with her vaccines and Kate with her article.  

The group walks for over a day until they reach the bottom of the tallest tepui. Walimai informs Alex and Nadia that only those invited by the gods can visit the peak and that each generation, the gods choose a messenger. Walimai is the current messenger and worries that he has not yet trained another to follow him. Alex and Nadia will be the first additional visitors “since the beginning of time” (248). 

Led by Walimai, the group navigates a labyrinthine passageway that climbs through the tepui. Along the way, they witness incredible wonders, including caverns full of crystals, exotic flora, flying fish, and even what appears to be a small dragon. Alex reasons that the isolated tepui must be “a kind of Galapagos Island, where the most ancient of species had escaped genetic mutation or extinction” (258).