Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 864

Chapter 70 : The Ancient City

*Eliza*

“Jared! What's happening, talk to me!" I shook him trying to get him to open his eyes again.

My ears rang with his screams of pain.

What was happening to him? Was it because of this cave?

“What's going on?" Abe asked, running back to us.

“I don't...."

The air around Jared's body quivered and bursts of dark energy flowed out of him, his power erupting around us. This was not good....

“Jared...."

“Eliza, we've gotta get out of here," Abe said, grabbing my wrist.

I yanked out of his grasp. “No, I'm not leaving him." I dropped to my knees and put my arms around Jared's neck, hugging him tightly.

“Eliza!"

“He's trying to fight it," I said.

I could see it in his face. His eyes were closed, but every muscle in his body was tense beyond belief. The struggle might have been internal, but he was fighting.

“Eliza...."

I snapped my head up. That voice… some soft whisper in the darkness called to me. Had I actually heard a voice or was I imagining things?

“Eliza...."

No, I was definitely not imagining it.

I glanced at Abe, and he was just staring at me and Jared. I didn't think he'd heard the voice. Did that mean…?

I looked around the cave. Suddenly, a young boy appeared from the shadows. It was the same boy I'd seen before. He moved through the cave shadows like he was part of them. They concealed bits of his body, but I could always see his face.

“Eliza."

“I see you. What do you want?" I asked, hugging Jared's neck tighter.

“I want to help you." The boy pointed to Jared.

“Do you know how I can help him? Do you know what I need to do?" I practically begged.

Seeing little boys hanging around with mysterious wisdom who didn't seem visible to other people shouldn't have been such a relief to me. But if this kid could give me what I needed to help Jared, I wasn't going to turn him away.

“Uhh… Eliza, what's going on?" Abe asked.

I shook my head, focused on the boy. “Tell me!"

“It is simple, really. Just give him your blood."

“Give him my blood? What do you mean? Does he need to drink it?"

“What do you think?" the boy asked, grinning.

“Okay, I can do that. I'll give him my blood." I looked at Abe. “Do you have a knife?"

“What? Eliza, what are you talking about? Who are you talking to? What is this nonsense about giving someone blood?" He shrugged helplessly.

“I know how to help Jared," I insisted. I held a hand out, hoping he'd give me a knife.

“Good luck," the boy said.

I looked back at him, but he was gone. He'd disappeared in the shadows. The shadows shifted and whooshed through the cave like a strong wind.

My hair whipped around and Jared groaned, falling on the floor. I immediately covered him with my body, protecting him from the spirit of that child and the weird wind he'd created. The wind howled through the cave-turned-wind tunnel, a dark, eerie howl that shook me to the bone.

The torches flickered in the strong wind and then went out, surrounding us in solid darkness.

“Abe, are you still there?" I asked, glancing up. I could barely see anything, but Abe's outline was clear.

He was standing at the nearest wall. I saw him moving around, his hands flailing like he was looking for something. I heard the way his fingers scraped against the wall.

I turned my attention back to Jared and brushed his hair out of his face.

“It's going to be okay. I've got you. I'll make sure you're okay," I promised him.

“Eliza, get over here. I think I found something!" Abe screamed to me over the rushing wind.

“I'm not leaving Jared!"

“Come on!"

Abe grabbed my arm and yanked me to the wall. “There's a door over here. We need to keep moving. This cave is.... We've got to keep moving."

He half threw me through the door in the cave wall. It was on the opposite side of the cave where I'd been feeling the smooth stone. That was why we hadn't seen the door before; our torches hadn't cast light on it.

“Abe, let go of me!" I struggled, trying to break from his hold.

His fingers curled tighter around my arm as he pushed his way through the doorway with me.

“We need to go back for Jared. I'm not leaving him there, helpless. He's counting on us!"

“Hang on. Take a deep breath and think for a moment," Abe ordered.

He was right; I was panicking a little. I took a deep breath and he finally released my arm. I rubbed the spot he'd been clinging to.

Abe pulled something from his bag and struck it against the wall. Sparks danced against the stone and a flare burst to life in his hand. It was an emergency flare, one he'd probably been saving for a time just like this.

Abe held the flare up and we looked around the corridor. It was much, much narrower than the cave. We could barely stand side to side, and the top of Abe's head brushed the ceiling.

The passageway was damp. I heard water dripping somewhere nearby. Cobwebs clung to every corner and I saw creepy, crawly spiders with big, hairy legs wandering around.

A shiver ran down my spine. “Ewww." I shuddered.

“Do you hear that, Eliza?" Abe asked.

“What?"

“There's running water nearby." He pointed down the corridor.

“That's not the wind on the other side of the door?" I asked.

Abe shook his head. “The water is definitely coming from that direction. We should head that way."

I put my hands on my hips and firmly planted my feet on the ground. “No! I'm not leaving without Jared."

“Hold this. I'll get him." He handed me the torch and headed back to the door.

I waited, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. If he'd woken up, he would have found us already, right? I didn't know what was happening to him, and it still terrified me.

Abe got to the door and started pushing it open.

THUD!

Something smashed into the door.

“Argh!" Abe slammed his body against it, keeping the door closed.

“Abe, what's going on?" I took a step toward him. My heart leaped into my throat and blood rushed in my ears.

“Don't come over here, Eliza! Run, run down the corridor, now!" He looked at me over his shoulder, teeth clenched, eyes wide and bloodshot.

“What!? I'm not leaving you and Jared! What is happening?"

“Please, just go!" Abe screamed. “Go, now!"

“No!" I screamed back. “Let me help."

I tried to step closer again.

Abe roared and slammed his body against the door again. The door trembled.

I stopped dead. Whatever was on the other side was something horrible and terrible… something Abe didn't want me to see. My heart sank.

Was it Jared? Had something gone that horribly wrong?

“Eliza, RUN!"

Shaking, I turned on my heel and ran down the narrow corridor. Tears stung my eyes as I ran away from Jared and Abe. What was going on?

I felt so weak and stupid for running from them. Abe was my friend, Jared was the man I loved, and I was just leaving them there to some unknown danger. But he wouldn't tell me to leave if he didn't think he could handle whatever was behind the door, right?

I held the flare up higher, trying to see where I was going. My vision blurred with unshed tears and I ran faster. My calves ached; my heart raced. I could barely see where I was going and I had no idea where this corridor ended.

Every breath stung my lungs and I knew I'd have to stop running soon to catch my breath. But now that I was running, I couldn't stop. I just had to keep going until....

“Ah!"

I skidded to a stop right at the edge of a ledge. I dug my heels into the ground, my knees wobbling as I stared over the precipice at the massive drop-off. My heart was in my throat, my tongue and ears numb, and I was completely transfixed, staring down at the depths I had nearly tumbled into.

If I'd fallen down there, I'd never come back out.

Clutching my chest, I breathed deeply, forcing myself to calm down. I wiped my tears away and took a moment to gather myself. Now was not the time to panic or freak out.

First of all, Jared was in trouble and Abe was under attack. I needed to think of a way to help them.

Second of all, I was an archeologist literally standing on the edge of some unknown underground discovery. I needed to focus. This could be our way into Myrel.

I closed my eyes and sighed, centering my breathing and my thoughts. The blood rushing in my ears didn't quiet down, and it took me a moment to realize that the roaring wasn't my quick pulse. It was coming from somewhere inside the cave.

When I opened my eyes again, my vision was completely cleared. I could see what was causing the roar.

A huge underwater river raged at the bottom of the precipice. The frothing rapids caught the light from my flare, sparkling and twinkling deep in the bowels of the cave.

This was it, the underwater river. It was the secret passage into Myrel.

I gasped and lifted the torch higher. Further up the river, I saw a massive waterfall cascading down. The water plummeted into the river below, casting mist throughout the cave. It was why it felt so damp in the corridor I was in.

An underground river and an underground waterfall… what was this place? Were the rumors about Myrel true?

Looking up, I noticed that the cave opened up above the river too. I couldn't even see the ceiling from where I was standing. I wanted to get a closer look.

There was another ledge, a little higher up. I climbed up, using my free hand to help get up on the higher surface. I stood up and brushed myself off quickly.

Holding the flare up again, I gasped, my eyes nearly popping out of my head. This wasn't the secret way into Myrel.

It was Myrel.

Levels and levels of the city existed in the space above the river. I could make out buildings and structures carved into the rock.

I'd found it… the ancient city.

Suddenly, a light flickered on. Another light came on several levels above that. More and more lights came on until there were dozens of them.

There were still people in Myrel?