The final, fading psychic sigh of the Kinetic Mutant was swallowed by the sudden, violent roar of collapsing stone. Fey had triggered her charges. From deep within the access tunnel they'd used, a thunderous crump-crump-CRUMP echoed, followed by the grinding scream of rock surrendering to gravity. A thick cloud of dust billowed up the staircase, choking and blinding.
"Move! Now!" Julian's command was a raw bark, cutting through the disorientation. The cavern, now deprived of its conductor and with its energy pool being rapidly drained by Specter, was beginning to react. The bioluminescent fungi pulsed erratically. The remaining cocoons twitched and split, disgorging half-formed, shrieking abominations that died seconds after birth, their support system gone. But from the other tunnels leading into the vast space, new sounds emerged—scrabbling, enraged, and getting closer. The hive was mobilizing its remaining defenders.
