Chapter 102: THE UNDERGROUND
Chapter 102: The Underground
The cold stone walls felt like a grave. Liana pressed her back against the old rock, listening to the sound of twenty-three scared supernatural beings trying to stay quiet.
The mountain cave had been their shelter for three days, but now even that felt too open. "They’re getting closer," Kael whispered, his Alpha senses picking up moves far below their waterfall hideout.
"Council search teams swept the valley twice today." Elder Mira looked up from nursing the wounded, her silver hair now more white than gray.
"We need to move deeper underground. Away from their tracking magic." "Where?" Liana asked. "Every safe house is either destroyed or watched." Talia’s eyes suddenly blazed with seer power.
"I know a place. But you’re not going to like it." Two hours later, they stood before a secret entrance carved into the mountainside. The symbols around the entry made Liana’s stomach twist.
"This is where Celeste performed her dark rituals," she breathed. "The witch’s old chambers," Kael growled. "Talia, this is insane." "It’s perfect," Talia insisted. "The Council thinks these rooms are cursed. They won’t look here. Plus, the protective wards are still working."
Elena Moonwhisper stepped forward, her witch senses reading the magic around the door. "She’s right. The walls are strong. Dark magic, yes, but strong enough to hide us." Liana touched the cold stone door.
It felt wrong, like touching a spider web. But behind them, she could hear the faint sound of Council searchers getting closer. "Open it," she decided.
The rooms were worse than Liana remembered. Celeste’s traditional circle was still carved into the floor, stained with old blood. Ancient books lay scattered everywhere, their pages covered in patterns that hurt to look at.
Broken mirrors reflected their faces in twisted pieces. "This place gives me the creeps," Sara mumbled, the young wolf who’d escaped with them. "It should," Elder Mira said quietly. "Great evil was done here. But sometimes, the best place to hide from darkness is in the shadows it already cast."
Kael set up a defensive position near the door while the others made camp in the deeper chambers. Liana found herself pulled to the scattered books, their pages filled with Celeste’s desperate research.