Ramona kicked the Lurker’s twitching corpse away from the breach.
Its armored body skidded across the frozen ground, black ichor steaming where it struck the snow.
She crouched at the crater’s edge.
Sulfurous vapor rolled out of the fissure, carrying the stench of stagnant water, rusted metal, and sweet, rotting flesh.
Not one nest.
A whole breeding ground.
Julian stepped beside her, wiping ichor from his cheek. He stared into the black opening.
“That thing didn’t come up because of a seismic shift.”
“No.”
“The shell was too dense. Those claws weren’t built for digging.” His voice tightened. “They were built for tearing.”
Ramona kept staring into the darkness.
Then the mountain moved.
Thrum.
The vibration traveled through her boots.
Thrum.
Snow trembled along the ridge.
Julian stopped breathing.
A third pulse rolled beneath them, deeper than the first two. It shook loose pebbles from the crater wall.
Then came the scraping.
Thousands of claws dragged across stone beneath the mountain.
Not randomly.
Together.
The sound rose through the ground like an enormous machine grinding itself awake.
Julian’s face drained of color.
“Ramona…”
“I hear them.”
The thrum accelerated.
Her grip tightened around her broadsword.
She had heard that sound before.
Years ago.
In another life.
Humanity had called the creatures monsters because monsters were easier to understand. They had hunted them like animals, sealed tunnels, fortified cities, and celebrated every temporary victory.
They had been wrong.
The creatures weren't scattered anomalies.
They were connected.
A single subterranean intelligence was spreading through the deep fault lines, consuming everything in its path. Every colony fed the next. Every tunnel became another artery.
And Kaelen’s Pass sat directly above one of those arteries.
Ramona looked toward the distant mountain ridge.
If the swarm broke through here tonight, Kaelen’s garrison would be the first to fall.
Her father would be there.
So would thousands of soldiers.
And once the creatures reached the lowlands, nothing between them and the heart of the Novus Empire would matter.
Julian finally found his voice.
“How many?”
“I don't know.”
“That sound—”
“Isn't coming from one tunnel.”
His eyes snapped toward her.
Ramona pointed to the ground.
“The entire mountain is moving.”
Another vibration hit.
This one was stronger.
Several guards stumbled.
The thirty-man shield line tightened instinctively.
Ramona turned.
“Status.”
A soldier checked his weapon.
“Blades ready.”
“Crossbows?”
“Loaded.”
“Explosives?”
“Six charges.”
“Good.”
Ramona scanned the ridge.
The breach was only the beginning. If the creatures were already moving beneath them, they wouldn't wait for the garrison to prepare.
They would strike where the mountain was weakest.
“Julian.”
He looked at her.
“Get the charges to the eastern slope.”
His expression sharpened. “You're going to collapse the tunnel?”
“Not yet.”
Ramona pointed toward the ridge.
“We need to know where they're coming from first. If we seal the wrong passage, we'll force them toward the garrison.”
Julian nodded immediately.
“Then what's the plan?”
Ramona drew her sword.
“Find the main tunnel. Collapse it at the source.”
A deep roar rolled beneath the mountain.
The guards went silent.
The crater suddenly widened.
Ice shattered.
Something struck the underside of the earth hard enough to throw snow into the air.
Ramona didn't flinch.
“Shields forward.”
The formation snapped into place.
“Crossbows behind them. Don't fire until you see the eyes.”
A soldier swallowed.
“How many eyes are we expecting?”
Ramona looked into the darkness.
“More than you want to count.”
She pulled her leather mask over her nose and mouth.
Her breath fogged the inside.
Behind her, weapons clicked into position.
The ground began to tremble faster.
Thrum. Thrum. Thrum.
Ramona raised her broadsword.
The sound wasn't approaching anymore.
It was surrounding them.
“They think we're trapped,” she said.
A low, almost amused edge entered her voice.
“They're wrong.”
She stepped toward the breach.
“We're going into the mountain.”
Julian stared at her.
“You've got to be fucking kidding me.”
Ramona glanced back.
“Do I look like I'm joking?”
The next tremor split the ridge.
A section of frozen earth collapsed fifty yards ahead, revealing a second tunnel glowing with sickly blue light.
Then another opened farther down.
And another.
The mountain wasn't breaking.
It was opening.
Ramona's eyes narrowed.
The creatures had already surrounded them.
“Move!”
The shield wall charged downhill.
Behind them, the first Lurker clawed its way out of the newly opened tunnel.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Ramona accelerated.
The darkness ahead filled with blue eyes.
And for the first time that night, she smiled.
“Let's see what the hell is waiting underneath us.”