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A surge of triumph and relief courses through me, and I pull the other rodents back, directing them to the tunnel that leads to the new grave site.
Just as they enter the new tunnel, the ground shakes, jolting me out of my trance. My consciousness slams back into my body, and the disorientation of being human again hits me like a tidal wave.
Orianna lets out a startled yip from beside me and presses her body against my side, adding support and seeking comfort.
The officers around us shout in alarm as they drop to the ground, their eyes darting to the surrounding trees that rain leaves down on us. The earth continues to shake, the tremors growing in intensity for a heart-stopping moment before they stop.
Cautiously, the officers rise to their feet.
“We haven’t had an earthquake in Clearhelm in over a hundred years,” mutters Webb, one of the new officers, her voice trembling with fear.
“Then I’d say we’re due.” O’Hara plants a hand on the nearest tree trunk and pushes against it. “Don’t worry, the roots here run deep. This forest isn’t going anywhere.”
“That’s not what those moving roots implied earlier.” Troy touches the hooked chain attached to his belt. “Never fought a forest before.”
“And we’re not planning to fight one today.” Sharpe strides over to grip my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Heart still racing, I nod. “Yeah. Just a little disoriented.”
He squeezes my shoulder. “Have you found anything?”
“Yes.” Despite the lingering woozy sensation of only having one body, my voice rises with excitement. “I’ve located the bones.”
Cheers rise from the officers, and relief washes over Sharpe’s face. “Are they just buried now?”
“No.” I stroke Orianna’s head. “They’ve been moved deeper within the forest.”
Sharpe gazes at the trees, which grow closer together farther in. “Not sure we can get the trench digger that far without taking down trees, and that’s not getting sanctioned without proof.”
“Then I’ll get you that proof.” I slip back into a trance, my consciousness once again merging with the souls of the rodents.
They had scattered in panic during the earthquake, but I summon them back, directing them to return to the tunnels that lead to the new pit.
As their small bodies move through the earth, the sound of movement pricks my senses from dozens of ears.
Then the earth beneath us moves once more.
My first thought is another earthquake before I realize that it’s not the ground itself that’s shifting—it’s the earth around us.
Roots shoot out from the soil, reaching for the rodents with deadly precision. Their fear and pain fill me as some are grabbed and dragged squealing into the walls.
Intense, searing pain pierces through me, jolting me back to my body.
I gasp as I’m thrust back into reality once more, but I maintain a tenuous link with a few of the rodents. My vision becomes a strange, dual perspective, with the forest and the officers visible in one layer and the rodents deep within the earth in another.
Orianna’s presence fills my senses, and when I look down, I find her teeth latched onto my arm, her amber eyes filled with fierce determination. She growls in warning, her instincts kicking in to protect me from whatever threat lurks beneath the ground.
Settling a hand on her head, I firm my connection to the rodents who are still alive and push them to hurry.
We need that proof.
The rodents break into the new bone pit, and I direct them to grab whatever they can carry.
As we work, the mound of bones shifts, and I remember Pen and Darius’s description of a monster lurking beneath the surface, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Distantly, I feel Orianna’s grip on my arm, her pointed teeth a warning of the danger.
“What’s happening?” Sharpe’s worried voice sounds muffled in my ears, but I can’t spare the focus to speak.
