The delicate wings behind the ticks beat lightly—an unmistakable sign they were about to take flight.
That low, droning buzz froze all four of them in place at the exact same moment.
The scenario they had desperately hoped to avoid had arrived anyway.
Not earlier. Not later.
Now—when they were clustered this close together.
Just their luck.
The brain-like mushroom on the leech's back wasn't just a parasite host.
It was a breeding hive.
No wonder the ticks had been reproducing so rapidly—no wonder they'd developed such varied abilities.
Eisen and Charles had grown to monstrous proportions in only a few months simply by being near this subterranean energy source. These creatures, living deep within the fungus itself, would have been steeped in it from birth.
Everyone's heart shot into their throat.
No one wanted to be bitten.
Judging by appearance alone, this batch was far more advanced than the previous generation. Who knew what new abilities they might have evolved?
