The entire subterranean town of Coober Pedy was dark and quiet when the monster came.

Coober Pedy, self-described opal capital of the world, was a unique place in the world. This opal mining community in south-central Australia evolved partly underground so that the original miners would be sheltered from the brutal elements of the outback desert. With many homes, churches, and even shops underground, the township drew a modest number of tourists every year.

But there was no one near, above or below ground, when the portal opened. It was evening, and too far from town for anyone to see.

Near the Dog Fence built long ago by European settlers to keep dingoes at bay, an unusually bright crescent moon shone down upon the vast expanse of rocky plains. High above this otherworldly, cracked-stone landscape, a fiery rift appeared in midair with a sizzle. The tear gaped for a moment, revealing a world beyond far darker than the twilit sky. Then the beast emerged.

Blackness surrounded its head and body. Only six spindly legs and two long, narrow, tattered wings pierced the darkness. The limbs stretched and clawed at the air outside the portal it had created, and then pulled the rest of the shadow through. A tail with a scythelike tip slipped through the rift, and then the portal snapped shut soundlessly.

There was no one around for miles, the thing realized as it hovered in midair. Was this the right place?

It was close. Without sight, sound, or even scent, it could nevertheless feel the beginning of everything. It was just a short flight away.

Once it found the trail, it would be able to pull in more thoughts and memories. Not just those twisted inside its own mind—but of others across time and space. It had taught itself this skill where it grew up. Where you learned quickly or died.

It had been alone when it was younger, and easy prey. Now it was still alone, but as a hunter.

Tattered wings flapped, and the shadow rose to eclipse the moon. It followed the trail of memory north, wings and limbs raging against the thick air of this world. From unseen jaws, a silent howl let loose in a strange tongue, a single word that no one else could hear or understand.

Father!