Phantom Game (GhostWalkers 18)

You aren’t the one bringing up the temperature exactly. The root system runs beneath the ground all the way from us over the top of the mountain, through the gorge, along the ridge and where they are. You have to feel it, Jonas. Not just the warning system. You’re only listening to it for that reason. There are a million other things you can tap into it for if you allow yourself to be that sensitive.

Camellia had been able to create fog and mist several times. He’d seen her do it. If he could do the same thing for his team when they needed to escape, it would be an asset, but if there was even more he could do, he wanted to learn all of it.

There was a brief moment when Jonas struggled to let go of his ego. Camellia had been using the mycelium network for so long it was second nature to her. He had a difficult time believing plants could communicate as effectively as humans, just in a different way. It took a concentrated effort on his part to recall the many things he’d read about how the underground network worked.

Men have a difficult time with the word “sensitive.” He made certain to send an edge of humor with his words so that it sang along her nerve endings when she felt his tentative movement joining with her on the mycelium network. He didn’t want her to pull away. He followed her lead, trusting her to know what she was doing.

The two of them locked together within the root system, burned hotter, spreading the heat outward like rays of the sun. Carbon-rich materials reacted with nitrogen-rich materials. He could feel the nutrients spreading through the forest fast, the communication moving from tree to tree, bush to bush, plant to plant. With it, the temperature of the ground began to rise very subtly. Not by huge degrees. They didn’t need huge degrees. They didn’t need the temperature to go up fast. The ground carried the slight change in ground temperature over the ridge away from them.

Across from Jonas, Kyle dropped his head into his hands, fingers pressing into his temples. He looked so miserable it nearly yanked Jonas out of the network. He stayed because he had learned discipline over the years, able to keep his attention divided when he had to keep his enhancements under control, but he kept his gaze fixed on Kyle. Clearly, using the owl’s eyes to see was taking a toll on him.

Gray made a pass over the resting area, Kyle reported. They aren’t camping, but they are resting. I’ve counted eight of them. They’re in communication with others. All men. Gray is now on a perch just about a hundred feet from them.

Jonas could hear the strain in his voice. There were beads of sweat rolling down Kyle’s face. He felt, rather than saw, Camellia turn her head, then shift her body so she could keep her eyes on Kyle as well. He felt her uneasiness.

They’re definitely scouts headed toward the compound, looking to acquire as much information as possible to send back to the troops following them. The troops appear to be four days behind. Possibly five.

Jonas’s belly knotted. His eyes met Jeff’s. This wasn’t good. Troops? What did that mean? They needed to know who’d sent them. They were going to have to stop these men and question at least one of them. Where exactly were the troops? Why hadn’t they been spotted by either Team One or Two? Four or five days out might be so many miles away even he couldn’t feel them coming.

The leader is a short man with dark hair. He’s wearing hiking clothing. Good boots. Dark plaid shirt and good jacket. They’re traveling light, but they have appropriate gear for any weather. They know they could encounter anything this time of year and at this altitude. That’s evident.

Kyle’s voice was becoming more strained. His skin had a bluish tinge to it, as if he wasn’t quite getting enough oxygen.

Red, if Kyle is touched or given nutrients would that harm him or disturb him?

Camellia posed the question, and Jonas knew that neither Jeff nor Kyle could hear her. Was she talking to the Middlemist Red? The plant? The one that had dipped its branches low and swept the blossoms along her face whenever he thought he wanted to touch her? Did she talk to the plant? She’d been alone for a very long time. She admitted she talked to them. But did she expect answers?

A low humming like a series of beautiful clear notes seemed to vibrate along his nerves, and then there was a spectacular burst of heat and light spreading through their bodies.

Some mushrooms have healing properties, Jonas. I can help Kyle.

There was the merest of hesitations, and Jonas knew instantly Camellia had nearly said something else, something of more importance. She had stopped herself, thinking she covered her tell by shifting her body. She rose to her knees to gain Kyle’s attention.