Long before the events of Stolen Tongues . . .

On the Cold Valley Indian Reservation, in the shadow of Pale Peak, Onwé Lopez struggles with the past as much as the present. By day, he watches his people abandon the Old Way as they flock to the local church. By night, he dreams of his childhood friend Akántha, who vanished from the rez decades prior.

Then, catastrophe strikes: a horrific accident brings a stranger to town with stories of unfathomable death. A ghastly figure wanders the night, peering into houses and terrorizing a tribal elder. Hideous whispers emanate from the nearby caves, beckoning Onwé inside—and promising to return everyone he's lost.

The Church Beneath the Roots is the story of a town ravaged by memory, riven by change, and haunted by a sinister presence as old as the mountain itself.