Rebecca

A flicker caught my eye. Off to the side, something glowed faintly blue beneath the molten surface. It was moving toward us.

“Maximus,” I whispered. “There’s something under the ground.”

He stopped and crouched, watching the glow approach. The light rose until it pressed against the surface, shaping itself into a faint outline. A hand. A human hand, reaching up.

I stepped back, my heart racing. “Is it alive?”

The fingers curled against the ...