Switching his gaze back to her, Jonas assessed everything his body felt. There was definite heat along his nerve endings. When he concentrated on the flow of it, he could actually trace the warmth spreading out from a central location as if it were a network all its own. Even the pads of his fingers grew hotter—not uncomfortable, just capturing his attention, as if he should be doing something with them.
He felt he could extend that network inside him and make connections around him if he tried, but he wasn’t certain how. There were so many outlets, so many wires sizzling with energy and life inside of him. He just had to know how to make that last connection to Kyle or Jeff or loop back to Camellia.
They decided to make a try for Daniel and Lily. They plan to gather information on the other compound and send back any weaknesses in their defenses.
In spite of the fact that Kyle had been using the owl’s vision for a longer period of time, it seemed as if the pain was lessening.
Jonas kept his gaze fixed on Camellia’s face. Her expression was soft. She looked perfectly serene crouched behind Kyle, her hands gentle on his skull, fingers pressed into his temples to ease the pain he was evidently experiencing. Outwardly, it was impossible to tell that she was doing anything out of the ordinary, but inside his body where their nerve endings seemed to be connected, he felt everything.
He suddenly realized he was looking in the wrong place. The answer to the mystery of what she was doing was inside her mind. That lovely, sharp-witted, carefully guarded mind that was currently completely open to him.
He entered slowly, gently, careful not to disturb her. The activity and energy in her brain was astonishing. It was as if every cell was lit up and working overtime. He could see the neurons spread out like arteries, white-hot stars stretching in every direction, flashing and flickering on and off, so bright it almost hurt.
Jonas took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. He needed to connect completely with her, to tap into even one of those white-hot pathways. He did so, using that same gentle approach, sliding his sparking neurons against hers. Immediately, he felt an instant syncing in his own brain.
He became aware of her heartbeat. The rhythm steady. Strong. Powerful. More powerful than it should have been, he realized. He wasn’t just hearing Camellia’s heartbeat. The drumming was deep-rooted, as if the mycelium network had also joined them, bringing with it every tree and bush in the forest. Chemicals dripped through his veins. Through hers. Drained into their neurons and spread through their bodies to move out of their pores. He actually felt small beads of sweat, tiny droplets released into the ground where they were absorbed. Most rushed to his fingertips.
He shifted his gaze to Camellia’s hands—to her fingertips where she pressed them into Kyle’s temples. A single small bead of what appeared to be sweat slipped out from under one of Camellia’s fingers to slide down the side of Kyle’s face. Whatever it was that was moving through their veins, she was sharing it with Kyle.
Jonas tried to remember how the mycelium system worked to bring nutrition to the trees that needed it. He was aware the underground root system ensured the health of the forest, providing a means of communication. He knew that trees could warn other trees of disease or infestations via the underground network. Those warning messages could prompt the other trees in the forest to change their biochemistry, to increase the levels of toxins and repellents in their tissues to deter pests or produce airborne compounds that could lure natural enemies of a particular pest. The trees could also react to the messages in other ways.
The underground mycelium system provided nutrients to the trees in several different ways, threading through their roots or over them. Dying trees could pass resources such as nitrogen and phosphorus to neighboring healthy trees, giving them extra resources to combat any outbreak of disease.
In some way, the chemical Camellia was passing to Kyle was a healing or pain-relieving agent. There was no way for Jonas to directly examine the nature of the compound, but he knew it was moving through his own system and out his pores. That meant, like Camellia, he actually had the ability to produce that particular chemical. How? Even by examining Camellia’s mind, he couldn’t see the how of it. He could see the energy she used. He could see the way she called on the neurons in her body to spread the energy throughout her veins and muscles. He just couldn’t see where the healing agent she delivered to Kyle came from.
The leader and his second-in-command are definitely enhanced. Kyle’s voice broke into Jonas’s thoughts and pulled his attention back to the problem of the threat. The second-in-command is called Dex. He just went vertical about thirty feet and caught a branch, pulling himself into the tree. He’s looking to view ahead. He did it easily. He’s dressed much like the leader, jacket blue and green. Light pack just like leader.