While Shura may not be all that interested in the thump, Daud isn’t intent on being overlooked, given what he has to say. He signs at Billie quickly and awkwardly, muscles aching with pain — wait, steady — and finally gathers his voice enough to speak.

“It was being controlled,” he says, raising his voice to be heard by both of them, heaving for breath. “There was something in its head — I’ve heard it before. It’s been tainted with a curse that needs to be cleansed .”