Theirs was an explosive chemical reaction. There was no doubt about that. They also had a strong connective pull, not only because they were both so utterly alone in so many ways, but they were able to talk to one another and “see” each other. She knew Jonas was far more accepting of their pairing because he’d seen other pairings work. He wanted to have someone of his own. She had never believed it possible and had never seen pairings in action. The only pairing she had witnessed, that of Ken and Mari, seemed a terrible betrayal to her, and only because Marigold hadn’t come for her when she knew Camellia was waiting in the greenhouse when all the girls had escaped. Mari had chosen Ken over Camellia to the point she hadn’t even taken Camellia with them.
They were back to her trust issue. She doubted if she could ever overcome it enough to actually accept another human being into her life. Even Jonas. Maybe especially Jonas. And yet he might have her heart when no one else could ever come close to it again.
Call the owl close to us and let me see if he’ll accept me,Kyle said.If not, I’ll take over one of the wild ones. I like yours because he’s impossible to see when he doesn’t want to be seen.
She was especially proud that Kyle hadn’t been able to spot Gray, even though he’d sensed the owl’s presence, as Gray had flown slowly and silently past them to perch on the snag in the forest.
They’re very good at staying concealed. I’m calling him close now.Shedid so, using the mycelium network, knowing both owls were waiting for her to contact them should there be need.
The male looked much larger than he actually was due to the fact that he was tall and his plumage was very fluffy. Gray was patterned with brown-and-white mottling, streaks and barring across his wings and body, and he had white patches between his eyes and on his chin. His beak was yellow, and he had a large facial disk but no ear tufts. Camellia thought Gray was quite handsome.
The owl settled on the broken branch of the tree closest to them, where Camellia directed him. She wasn’t in the least surprised that Blue followed her mate from a distance, ready to protect him should there be need.
Camellia stroked the owl through the mycelium network and let him know Kyle was her friend and ally—that he wanted to share the owl’s vision in order to see the enemy coming to hurt her. If Gray objected, she would ask Kyle to use a different owl.
Gray’s wings rose and fell in agitation just once. His feathers looked ruffled and she had to hide a smile. She’d definitely irritated him with the suggestion that Kyle use a different owl.
Do your thing, Kyle, but please stay connected to us if you can.She wanted to make certain the owl was safe at all times.
8
Jonas was amazed at how much information could be relayed when one spoke telepathically rather than aloud. He always had been. It was one of the reasons the team members had become so tightly knit. They learned so much about one another’s true characters. You couldn’t hide who you were when you spoke telepathically. Your mind was open and others could see you.
He had known Kyle Forbes for quite a few years. Jonas knew him to be a compassionate, caring doctor, an anesthesiologist, one able to get a vein on a patient when no one else could find one. He had many enhancements, most of which he didn’t talk about. He stayed quiet for the most part but always carried his share of the workload.
Jonas knew Kyle had demons; they all did. He was enormously strong, and that strength had to come from somewhere. He was a genius with explosives, taking apart and putting together bombs faster than anyone Jonas had ever seen. He had a talent for finding bombs, just knowing instinctively where they were. Like Jonas hadthe early warning system and no one questioned him, no one asked Kyle how he knew where the explosives were located, but they always believed him.
Never once had Kyle mentioned that he could access an animal’s vision. Or a bird’s. It was cool, but it was also a little freaky. Jonas remained very still, hunkering down in the grass, his back to Camellia’s, waiting while Kyle silently seemed to connect with the Great Gray owl. Jeff prowled along their back trail, ensuring no one was coming up behind them, although Jonas was pretty certain Camellia had her wolves watching their backs.
The owl suddenly rose into the sky, using those slow, gentle beats of its wings, looking for all the world as if it were moving leisurely just a few feet from the ground, hunting for food. Then the bird was rising into the air, not by very much, maintaining the lower altitude but now winging its way toward the ridge.
Jonas immediately felt Camellia concentrating on the network running below the ground. He tried to puzzle out what she was doing. He knew the mushrooms above ground were the fruit, and below were the roots stretching from tree to tree, a great network much like a data network. He tried to see it that way. What message was she sending—or trying to send?
What are you doing? How can I help?He didn’t want her to shut him out. He knew she was trying to do that, to use the opportunity to move away from him. To go back to doing things on her own. She’d made up her mind they couldn’t have a future together. She didn’t trust their instant connection. He shouldn’t either. The difference was he straight up didn’t care if Whitney had set some kind of trap. He believed Camellia and he could outwit the man if they stayed together.
She looked over her shoulder at him. Her blue eyes struck him again. Those jewel-toned eyes that were so blue they appeared a startling royal color.
I’m connecting with the mycelium network and asking it to bump the temperature of the ground up just a degree or two. There’s compost in the ground above and below it, so it’s easy enough to do. Once there’s a temperature change even by a degree or two, I can bring in mist. It will be dawn soon. I don’t want the owls to be spotted. They do hunt in the early morning hours, so it wouldn’t be unusual if someone did spot them, except that this isn’t their usual territory.
She thought she was chattering too much, that Jonas didn’t need the entire explanation. It was guilt and deflection. Connected to her the way he was, Jonas found her thoughts all too easy to decipher. She didn’t want to feel guilty, but she did. She didn’t consider herself his partner, even though he’d made it clear to her that he was hers. Still, though she couldn’t say it out loud, Camellia believed that if it came down to Ryland giving him an order to bring her in, Jonas would obey him.
Negative thoughts aren’t going to help us, Camellia. Right now, we’re in this together. We have to focus on the enemy. Tell me how to bring up the temperature.
He wasn’t going to get into an argument with her. She had every right to be distrustful. The truth was, he didn’t know what he’d do if Ryland gave him any kind of an order. He did know he wasn’t a man to go AWOL, not without a very good reason, and if she ran, the only way to go with her would be to do just that.
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 teamwhen 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’tcamping, 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.
