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He grunted without taking his eyes off the darkness ahead.
We walked in silence. The sounds of the mech's hydraulic steps and the crunch of leaves and sticks beneath our feet.
Holden held up a hand, and the entire group halted. The shifters turned to face something to our right, and I followed suit, searching the darkness for whatever had them on edge.
There, just at the edge of a mech's lantern light, an unnaturally tall gremlyn stood frozen, staring back at us. The tufts atop its ears were the size of my hand, and it was nearly as tall as a man.
Its ears twitched, turning one way, then the next, and my heart lurched.
But no one moved, and after a moment, the beast darted off into the night.
Sighing, I shook out my arms and rubbed at the scar on my brow. The little ones had dangerously sharp claws. I couldn't imagine the havoc a big one could cause!
The mech operators and mages seemed to have the same reaction … but not Holden and the shifters. They remained tense, sharing glances as they searched the forest for something I couldn't see.
And then I felt it.
A faint rumbling beneath my feet.
It was growing louder …
"Where's it coming from?" yelled the mech operator from earlier.
"All around us," ground out Holden as he and the other shifters adjusted their stances.
Fuck! I needed a weapon!
Panic twisted in my stomach as the sound grew and grew until a massive shape rumbled by us, just outside the lantern light. I could see glimpses of a thousand chittering feet carrying the massive creature, and it sent a shiver down my spine.
Another one passed us from the other side. And another chattered along further out.
Holy hells! We were surrounded by dozens of the things.
Holden grabbed my wrist so hard it hurt. "Which fucking way?" he hissed.
"I — I don't know!" I tried yanking my wrist free, but his grip was hard as stone.
Something slithered across my foot, and I jumped back, barely suppressing a scream.
"Look out!" called a shifter. "There are vi —"
A scream filled the air as a nearby shifter was violently yanked off his feet and pulled out into the darkness. Then a collared mage screamed and disappeared … and then another shifter.
"Group the fuck up!"
"They're everywhere!"
"It's got me. HELLLP —"
I reached out and searched in the Korra Realm, but that was almost worse. Dozens of massive korras moved around us, taller than a horse and longer than the airship. Small, thin korras snaked and slithered across the ground, searching and reaching for us. Even the korras of the trees seemed to be leaning in, reaching for us.
I pushed that sight away and searched for refuge.
There!
Just ahead was a small copse of bushes.
Before I could step closer, three long pale skulls emerged from it, each with intricate horns. The body of the beast, disguised as a bush, rose up, its many large red eyes screaming danger.
