More piles littered the clearing, but it was impossible to tell if the sun killed the Savages, or if someone else killed them and the sun destroyed their bodies afterward.
There had been a battle here, but there was no sign of anyone from the Alliance. Unlike the Savages, their bodies wouldn’t have burst into flames when the sun hit them, and he couldn’t see the Savages taking dead bodies away.
Whatever happened here, they managed to flee the area at least. How long they survived afterward was anyone’s guess.
Declan walked over to the circular hole leading into the shadowy interior of the tunnels below. Years ago, he returned here with Elijah—the hunter’s demolition expert—Roland, and a bunch of others to install the cameras and destroy what remained of the tunnels.
When they left, there was no way anyone could get back into the tunnels. But now, he gazed into the opening of the hell beneath. He didn’t know how far down this newly dug tunnel went, but the Savages had been busy during the short time between when the cameras went down and the Alliance arrived.
A large pile of debris sat next to the entrance. They’d been tossing whatever they removed onto the rubble, probably in an assembly line sort of way as they burrowed deeper into the earth.
Are the others down there? Why would the Savages do this? What are they looking for down there? Is there another demon in there?
His jaw clenched at the memory of that thing they discovered the last time he was here. With its pale, hairless body and red and black spine, it was hideous. He hoped never to see another one, but he didn’t think he’d be that fortunate.
Those things were plotting something with the Savages, and he didn’t believe the demon they killed was the only one in existence. It was only a matter of time before they encountered its brethren. He hoped the army they were building would be big enough to destroy the growing threat before it was too late.
However, he didn’t think there was another demon down there now. The new hole the Savages created was big enough to crawl through, but he didn’t see one of those bastards crawling on their hands and knees through anything.
He didn’t believe they’d trapped one in there when they collapsed the tunnels either. The Savages would have come for it sooner if they had. No, only one demon had ruled here, and they’d killed it, but were the Savages trying to create a home for another one?
“Do you think they were trying to repair these tunnels?” Asher asked as he came to stand beside him.
“Maybe,” Declan muttered.
“That can’t be good,” Logan said.
“No, it can’t,” Declan agreed.
“I brought enough explosives to make sure they never get back into these tunnels,” Saber said.
After their first encounter with the demon here, Ronan insisted more members of the Alliance have training in explosives. Saber was the first to volunteer. Declan still didn’t know what to make of the man. Saber was as standoffish as Lucien, but he didn’t sense anything evil from him. In fact, he barely sensed anything from Saber at all; it was rare when Saber revealed any hint of emotion.
“You can’t blow it up before we go in there,” Vicky said. “What if my sister or Lucien or one of the others is down there?”
Much to Simone and Kadence’s delight, and Nathan’s frustration, Vicky won the battle of wills and Nathan remained with their son. While collecting his money, Asher promised Nathan he’d stay glued to her ass. Nathan glowered at him in return.
Declan sensed Vicky’s impatience to find her sister, but he wasn’t concerned that she would do something foolish. She wouldn’t leave until they had answers, but her main priorities remained her child and mate.
“I’ll go in and check it out,” Declan said.
His skin crawled at the idea of returning to the gloomy bowels beneath them, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to know if Lucien or Willow was down there before they destroyed the tunnel again. Declan glanced at the sky; a couple hours of the day remained, but that didn’t matter in the tunnels.
Chapter Eight
Declan pulled a stake from the inside pocket of his bomber jacket before shrugging it off and handing it to Asher. He removed the holster keeping his sai swords strapped in an X across his back and set them on the ground; he couldn’t take the chance they’d get caught on the debris jutting into the tunnel and hinder his retreat. He should take off his shirt to avoid getting it snagged on the wreckage of the tunnel, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“I’m coming with you,” Logan said.
“No,” Declan said. “If it becomes necessary, I’ll have to retreat fast, and I can’t if you’re behind me.”
Logan clamped his lips against a protest and nodded.
“Here’s a flashlight,” Vicky said and handed him a small light.
“Thank you,” Declan said as he took it from her.
Kneeling on the ground, he turned on the light and shone it around the chunks of concrete jutting out like monstrous teeth looking to devour him. Now is not the time to develop an imagination.
Gripping the edges of the tunnel, he pulled himself into the opening. Before, a ladder descended into this pit of misery, but if that ladder still stood, the rubble had buried it.
The opening was bigger and easier to navigate than he anticipated, but it still had the stifling, claustrophobic feeling of a tomb. Hopefully, it didn’t become his tomb as he used pieces of concrete to keep his descent slow.
He could have descended feet first as the debris created hand and footholds that could be scaled, but this way, he would see if something came at him. With the concrete muffling all sound, it would be too easy for a hand to snake out, capture his ankle, and tear him away before he was aware anyone was there.
If Savages were hiding down here when Lucien and the others arrived, he understood how they were able to get out of the tunnel to overwhelm them. And that had to be what happened. It was the only thing that made sense.
They probably had a few hunters who could better tolerate the sunlight standing guard in the woods. Those guards would have alerted their cohorts to a threat and helped in the ambush. If there were enough Savages—and there must have been because the Alliance wouldn’t have gone down without a fight—they would have been overwhelmed.
After twenty feet, the ground leveled out, and he realized he was in the main part of the tunnel. Dust danced in the beam as he played it over the rubble littering the floor and the jagged pieces of rock, dirt, and tree roots over his head.
Propped against the walls, pieces of wood attempted to keep the structure from collapsing. How it hadn’t fallen yet, he didn’t know, but he prayed it held up until he was out of here.
He couldn’t quite stand in the space, but he could rise enough to walk down the tunnel in a crouch. The lingering stench of Savage rot hung heavily in the air, but he didn’t hear any noise or see any of them.
He was a hundred feet into the tunnel when a side tunnel opened on his left. Declan switched the beam back and forth between the side tunnel and the main one where he stood. He was right not to let Logan come with him, but no matter which way he decided to go, his back was unprotected.
“Shit,” he muttered as he ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the ends of it.