Page 71 of Dark's Savior

Nar nodded grimly. "The texts mention that, after the fall of Yurza and her Keep, the she-beast went into slumber. Even when the rains came and flooded the chambers, she would not waken, which meant she could keep breath underwater." The urk closed out the text and turned his chair around. "But all signs say she's awake now, and she is feeding."

Aly felt a chill run through her then jumped a little when Xilya placed a hand on her shoulder. "It won't be so bad, you'll see," she said confidently.

Aly looked up at her, wondering if Nar was right, that she might be a bit delusional. "And how, exactly, do we plan to get inside and grab all these minerals without her noticing?"

"Simple, we—ah, Nihl Ryziel, there you are."

Aly twisted her head around and her eyes immediately locked with Ryziel's. Her heart fluttered and her stomach flipped as Ryziel slowly approached. He did not smile at her. In fact, he looked irritated or maybe even sad, though she couldn't imagine why. She stared back but only for a brief moment before she forced her eyes away and turned her head. She had to remind herself what he had told her the last time they spoke. And to keep her distance. She felt a pang in her chest, but she dared not look at him again as he came up beside her.

"I was just telling Aly about the mission," Xilya said, oblivious to the sudden tension in the air. "So—here, girl, are you listening? We will go down together. Me and Ryziel will make sure all is clear and guard the entrance while you and Nar will go in and fill as many of the canisters as you can. The minerals are set deep inside a series of tight holes. They may be hard to get into, and you may have to shuffle your way inside. If anything happens, you will immediately stop and come back to our side. Me and Ryziel will each have bombs that we will use if the situation absolutely calls for it. It should not take us long, a few hours at most. Enough time before our shifts would ever end. However, if in case we don't return in time, your techband has been updated, so at the end of the shift, it will show your location inside your unit until the next day. We don't want another close incident like last time."

"Hopefully, no one goes knocking on my door," Aly commented.

"A risk we will have to take," the vrisha said, then looked over Aly's shoulder. "Are you ready, Nihl Ryziel?"

Aly didn't glance up at him but could feel his heat at her back.

"If I feel even the slightest disturbance, we are turning back," he said, with an edge of finality that no one would dare argue against. He sounded as irritated as he looked, but there was also a hint of defeat in his voice.

"I'll take that as a yes," Xilya responded in a much lighter tone. "And you, Aly?"

Aly went to speak but was promptly cut off.

"You don't have to do this."

Aly turned around, her eyes landing on Ryziel's face. He glared down at her. His expression changed, his eyes, at first sharp and icy, now turned pleading. She clenched her jaw and did not give. "I am ready," she said softly.

"Good," Xilya said. "Let's go."

Chapter Twenty-four

Aly picked up her bag and put on her helmet then immediately returned to Xilya's side, ready to take her belt, trying her best to ignore the nillium's silvery gaze, which still lingered heavily on her. Nar, with great reluctance and a lot of muttered curses, joined Ryziel at his side. He did not reach up for Ryziel's belt but instead threw his pack and set of canisters over his shoulder and waited. Xilya opened the door, and as soon as they stepped into the dark, Aly grabbed hold of her belt, wishing it were Ryziel's but not daring to ask to switch.

They went quickly, at a pace Aly could just barely keep up with without stumbling. Ryziel had made sure to be at her back with Nar bounding beside him, easily staying with him despite his stubby metal legs. They took the familiar route down into the Keep, only, when they got to one passage close by, they took a separate stair, one Aly had not noticed before.

Down they went until they came to a very large passage, not as gigantic as the great hall of the Keep but still impressive. The air was chilly, Aly's breath fogging the glass of her helmet. The area was different somehow, and Aly couldn't place what it was at first, only that she had a growing sense of anxiety that began to turn into an unexplainable fear. The farther they went, the more she started to understand why and realize what it was.

There was nothing. No sense of life. Even in the Keep, she heard the calls or the hollers of something in the distance, and if not that, then at least the dripping or rushing of water. There, she saw the light of muirlemp patches all around or other strange plants and the tracks or scents of something that had passed by. Even the flutter of what she thought might be the alien-equivalent to bats along some of the ceilings if she happened to have her light on and was looking above. There was always life, though she might not have seen it as clearly before. But here, there was nothing, and somehow, that seemed terrifying.

The silence was heavy, just like the darkness, as if it were a living being cloaking them with its translucent skin. The others remained quiet, though their steps did not, and the noise now seemed so much louder, making Aly more alert, more anxious.

After what felt like a long stretch of time walking, Xilya finally halted and pointed to the cave wall to her right. Ryziel and Nar stopped as well and carefully dropped their packs. Aly looked around where Xilya had pointed but saw no door. Confused, she looked at Xilya then Ryziel, who drew close to the wall. After a short pause, they together pushed against a smooth part of the rock and, to Aly's astonishment, made it move. The rock slid back first then, as they pushed it aside, it revealed an opening, and Aly realized it was a door. A very craftily hidden door.

Aly took a step forward, and Nar caught her arm. When she looked down at him, he shook his head and mouthed for her to wait. Ryziel and Xilya slipped inside first to see if the chamber was empty. Aly struggled to keep calm as she waited for their return, ready to bolt if need be. When they did return, she was relieved but not much calmer.

"Coast is clear," Xilya whispered. "Go as quickly and as silently as you can. Once a canister is filled, come back and switch it for a new one. Go for ionx first, as much as you can get. Me and Ryziel will be just outside, guarding the door." Xilya took out a small gray orb from her pack and shook it. It began to brighten steadily, and she turned back to the opening and threw it inside. Nar stepped forward and immediately went into the chamber. Aly hesitated, tightening her grip on her canister, and started for the door. A hand suddenly caught her before she entered, and she was shocked to look around and see it was Ryziel.

"Aly." He seemed to struggle with his words, his expression hard to read. "I'll...be close by. Be careful."

Aly felt her throat tighten as he said her name. She smiled at him and nodded her head. He did not release her right away but when he did, she went straight for the entrance and didn't look back.

The room was well-lit now by the strange flashy little orb that brightened it with harsh white light. Aly could see all the various nooks and holes, most along the wall, and she realized she would have to climb to get to the ones way at the top. Thankfully, there were those at standing height that she could easily reach. She decided to go for these first. She came to one snug hole and could see she would have to shuffle her way in. Hands shaking slightly, she set her canister down then pushed her way inside and began to crawl with her elbows and legs.

What was really strange as she made her way through was that the hole was smooth rock on the inside and square-shaped. It didn't seem naturally formed at all. As she wiggled to the end and saw a soft yellow glow, she forgot about the strangeness of it at first and started reaching for the glowing metallic rock that she knew to be ionx. Using one hand and arm as a shovel, she dragged the pile of rocks with her as she shuffled and pushed her way back out. Thankfully, the hole wasn't that long, and she was able to feel her legs dangling out in no time. She brought the ionx to the front as she moved her body out of the hole then quickly opened her canister and began sifting the ionx, which looked like fiery diamonds, inside it. She didn't dare look around her to see how Nar was doing or glance at the door. Her heart raced as she went straight for the next hole.

Just like the first, she pulled herself inside, dragged out the ionx, and placed it in the canister. She did this several times without issue and was beginning to feel a lot more confident and maybe a little less terrified. On the fourth hole, she chanced to look around just for a moment as she filled the canister up and realized the chamber didn't look naturally made either. In fact, by the way of the harsh light, it looked like a chamber she might find in the Keep, with many box-like holes and even alcoves, a couple of which she noticed had statues sitting within them, one split with a deep gash down the middle and another without a head. There was even a slab in the middle of the room, for what purpose she didn't want to even imagine. Because something about the chamber really unsettled her. It felt almost familiar, and she gathered that it was because she had actually seen something like it before back on Earth. Something like...

A tomb.

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