Grimalkin sprinted on beyond the hole. I was struggling to keep up with her, and I glanced round. Jenny was falling behind. It couldn’t be helped—I had to keep going. Perhaps it was for the best anyway. If we caught the creature, it would be an extremely dangerous confrontation. I didn’t want her to get hurt.

Although we were now back among a patchwork of cultivated fields, our progress became much easier. When it had reached a hedge, or a stand of trees, the vartek had simply crashed straight through, flattening everything in its path, so our route was clear.

We continued running for an hour or so, still following its trail. I’d gotten my second wind now, and was running easily. However, I knew that I couldn’t keep it up forever. I could still sense the creature moving ahead, but then at last it slowed and came to a halt.

I heard another roar, followed immediately by terrified shrill screams. Then, directly ahead, I spotted the lights of another farmhouse.

Five minutes later, we reached a scene of total carnage and devastation. The vartek hadn’t attacked the farmhouse but had crashed straight through a large barn, slaying and devouring the animals within.

Judging by what remained, there had been cattle in there, and at least one horse. Now the stands were flattened and wet with blood. Grimalkin and I halted, staring at the grisly remains. I saw fragments of dead animals everywhere, and bile rose in my throat. I saw Jenny coming toward us. She too came to a halt, and immediately bent forward and vomited onto the grass.

The farmer had emerged from his house, and he came running toward the ruin of his barn, carrying a lantern and a big stick. It was fortunate for him that he hadn’t gotten there in time to confront the creature.

We turned and raced off into the dark without waiting to speak to him. There was no time for explanations.

Soon afterward, the vartek went to ground again. We halted at the fresh mound of earth, struggling to regain our breath. I concentrated hard, trying to sense where the creature was. For a second or two the picture was vague, but then a light flared inside my head. Even before Jenny caught up with us, I had located the creature. It had come to rest less than fifty yards away from the entrance to its burrow, but it was deep underground.

“We’ll have to follow it into the tunnel,” I said.

Jenny tried to say something, but she was still fighting for breath and couldn’t get the words out.

In reply, Grimalkin simply pointed down at the burrow.

I peered into the dark hole and, for the first time, saw that it was packed full of earth.

“It fills in the burrow behind it as it moves!” I realized.

Grimalkin nodded. “It eats the earth and rock, using its teeth and the acid in its saliva. They pass through its body after it has extracted the nutrients it needs, sealing the tunnel behind it.”