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The Bone Yard is overrun, but not by any monster I could have imagined.
Will our bullets even work against these roots? We didn’t bring the flamethrowers with us. Should we go back for them?
Then a rush of fire sweeps toward the entrance, and I jerk back to avoid being burned.
“Is that the monster?” Webb’s voice trembles. “Is it another dragon?”
Heat warms my side as I turn a smile on her. “No, that’s our people.”
The fire cuts off, and I step out into the entrance, take aim at one of the writhing roots, and fire.
The magically charged bullet slams into the thick base, and it bursts, the top flying off to land a dozen feet away, no longer moving.
I look back at my people. “Aim for the roots. That’s our primary target until we know otherwise.”
Troy hefts his hook. “Hell, yeah. We’re fighting tree monsters.”
A small demon flees for the exit, and a woody tentacle snaps toward it. I fire, sending wood exploding into the air.
The small demon squeals with alarm, looking from the shattered remains to me, then rushes for the exit. “Thank you, thank you!”
Still babbling, it races out into the street, vanishing between the parked cars.
“Spread out!” I call to my officers. “Keep your eyes on the ground!”
We push forward, our progress slow but steady. The demons, preoccupied with saving their own lives as they flee for safety outside of the Bone Yard, avoid us with the same wariness they show the roots attacking them.
Relief sweeps through me when I spot Pen whacking a thick woody-tentacle that holds a witch captive, while Marc and Darius burn back more deadly roots.
I aim at the base of the root and fire.
The base explodes, and the part around the poor witch loosens its hold as it turns lifeless.
Pen, Marc, and Darius glance toward us, and relief fills their faces when they spot our reinforcement.
We converge in the center of a crossroads, our two groups merging.
“There are still some beings near the Harbor!” Pen points down the road. “A lamppost fell, and they couldn’t get inside the building.”
I gaze at the writhing sea of tree roots that fill the street before looking at Darius and Marc. “Can you two burn your way—”
The ground beneath us heaves, throwing me off balance, and I fall to the ground, along with everyone else.
I scramble to keep my gun at the ready, prepared for an attack, but then the roots retreat into the earth, vanishing from view.
O’Hara looks around with wide eyes. “I don’t like the look of this.”
“Me, either.” I get my legs under me and start to stand when the ground shakes once more, rolling beneath us like waves.
What remains of the street crumbles to pieces, exposing the bare earth beneath. The dirt wiggles and squirms, moving down the street toward the Harbor.
“Oh, no,” Mayn breathes. “We need to leave.”
I turn toward my partner. “What?”
Her dual eyelids shutter quickly across her eyes as she stares down the street. “It will rise.”
“What will rise?” I demand. “What is this?”
