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“You think these things called out to her?”

“Not the creatures. The ripple.”

Stampede pulled at his chin whiskers and flicked his nose ring. He did that a lot when he was thinking deep thoughts, especially if those thoughts were also troubling. “It’s one thing to believe that Colleen Trammell is a precog tracking these ripples, but it’s another if we flip that possibility and think maybe they’re tracking her.”

“You think she can call them to her?” Hella hadn’t considered that.

“Got to admit it’s a possibility.”

“Then why didn’t she stay back in New Mexico and call them to her there?”

“That’s something I’d like to ask her. And it’s why I want to know if they’re following her.”

Asking Colleen Trammell anything wasn’t possible. Since the attack, Klein Pardot had kept Colleen sequestered and under guard. Stampede hadn’t liked that either.

“I really don’t like what we’ve gotten ourselves into, Red.” Without warning, the tentacled thing spun on Stampede and lurched up to bite him. So quickly that Hella could barely see him move, the bisonoid slammed his other palm against the creature’s forehead and drove the body into the ground.

Then Hella felt Stampede’s power send a tremor through the ground. Although neither of them knew where the elemental power came from, they knew he had it. If pressed, he could open fissures in the ground. For the moment, he settled for driving a wave of pure seismic force through the tentacled thing.

Whatever made up the creature’s insides shattered and burst. Purple froth cascaded from the ruined mouth. The body collapsed in on itself, shriveling up like a grape turning into a raisin. The thing made no sound as it died for sure.

Stampede drew his hand back and looked around at the haze that filled the tree line in the distance. “None of this, not Klein Pardot and not Colleen Trammell, is what we think it is.”

“You think maybe we should cut our losses?” Hella hated asking the question in case the idea hadn’t already been lurking inside Stampede’s head. She wasn’t ready to walk away, but she wanted to know if that was what they would do.

The bisonoid drew in a deep breath and let it out. He wasn’t happy. “Not yet.”

Hella wanted to tease him, to get him back into a good mood because she didn’t like it when he got all broody. She wanted to ask him if he was curious. But she didn’t dare. When Stampede got in a snit, he didn’t like anyone—not even Hella—asking questions.

“Wherever Pardot is going, whatever he’s got in mind, I want to see it. If they let us. And not because I’m curious. Because I think someone should know what the stakes are in this. This feels big enough that I think someone should know.”

“Okay.”

Stampede stood and looked at her. “If you get the chance, get close to Colleen. She’s here under duress. Maybe she’ll open up to you.”

“Sure.”

“Especially since Pardot and Riley are going to be keeping a closer eye on her.”

Colleen finally put in an appearance at midmorning. Klein Pardot had given orders that they were going to stay for a while to make sure nothing else untoward caught them off guard. Although she wasn’t certain, Hella was convinced that Pardot wanted Colleen rested. Otherwise he’d have ordered them into movement.

For an hour or more, Colleen took tissue samples from the tentacled things. Every now and again, she shuddered as she touched one, and Hella knew that memory of the attack was playing havoc with her.

Hella joined her under the watchful eyes of the guard. “Can I help?”

Looking up at her, Colleen smiled and shook her head. “You don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe not but I’m a fast learner.”

“I’d believe that. After seeing you in action last night, I know you’re a capable young woman.” Colleen excised a slice of tissue from the inside of one of the creatures, probably the brain judging from the looks of everything, and slid it onto a prepared slide. “I hope my Alice grows up to be like you. This world is no longer welcoming to those that can’t take care