The Untamed 2: The Unlikely Hero -Book 1-3

20. Trapped

TRAPPED

As Jiang Cheng awoke he came to consciousness he could smell the musty smell of decay and death. It was mixed with a dank and humid scent like fungus or moss. He could feel himself lying on the cold hard rocky ground and he was bound tightly. He dared to not open his eyes until he was sure that no one or nothing was there. He tried to sense what was around him. He couldn't feel anything.

He opened his eyes slowly and saw that he was in a massive cave. He could see the thick moss covered walls lit by a series of torches fastened to the wall. It looked like an old shrine. He began to test the ropes binding him and they didn't budge an inch. He looked around for something to cut the ropes but suddenly realized he was on top of a slab of stone on a raised platform. It was an altar.

He rolled himself off of the altar, and he grunted and pain shot through his body as he landed on his side. He could still feel Zidian, his spiritual weapon, on his ring finger and wrist. Thank the goddess, he thought to himself. He looked around trying to get a layout of the cave. He was in the middle of a massive cavern. There were small round openings all over the cave walls that looked like tunnels. None of them had torches and the tunnel openings looked ominous, like mouths ready to swallow anyone that went in. This was bad. There were probably a 100 different openings, each as ominous and dark as the next.

He struggled incessantly on the ropes that bound him panic beginning to set in. He needed to get out of here. Where was Jin Ling? Jiang Cheng's stomach turned to ice as he tried to wiggle around to look for him.

"I see you are finally awake." a beautiful soft voice echoed through the massive cave and sent shivers down Jiang Cheng's spine. He tried to look around to find the source of the voice but there was nothing around him. He began to roll away from the altar and he continued to struggle against the ropes. The same haunting laugh he had heard in the meadow filled the expanse once again.

Jiang Cheng stilled as he felt an icy hand touch his arm. He looked over and straight into the glowing red eyes of a beautiful woman. Her hair was a brilliant white that seemed to catch the fire of the torches and sparkled in the light. Her face was delicate save for the pair of sharp canines that protruded from her supple bright red lips.

Jiang Cheng's heart froze as he saw the evil smile that curled her lips as she stared directly at him. She was kneeling beside him, her white and red robe touching him and it felt like spiders danced across his skin. The fabric didn't seem to be real. Her whole body seemed to shimmer in place like a cloud, but there was no doubt. Jiang Cheng could feel the pressure from her hand touching him and his skin crawled at the contact.

"Get your hands off me demon!" He barked at her what courage he had finally snapping his eye contact from hers. She made him sick to his stomach. He knew this was one of the demons they had been tracking. There was no mistaking it. He needed to stall for as long as possible, he needed to wait for backup.

Daji clicked her tongue at him "Tk.tk.tk. Now, now, pet you will be asking me to kill you with these hands soon. For now though I feel like having a little snack first." Jiang Cheng tried to struggle but his hands were immobile. He looked at her with a look of disgust.

She smiled a sickeningly sweet smile and her eyes softened as she caressed his chin with her icy hand. Her grip suddenly turned fierce and her nails dug into the side of his face. "Oh sweet one don't worry we have plenty of time to have fun." She leaned down and nestled her head close to his neck and breathed deeply inhaling his scent.

"You smell sooooo delightful. Your core smells so sweet I can almost taste it on you."

"Monster!" Jiang Cheng barked at her trying to pull away, her nails dug deeper into the sides of his cheeks and rivulets of blood began to trickle down from where they dug in. He didn't care. He wanted her to stop touching him. The feeling of her made him sick to his stomach. He needed to get out of here. He needed to find Jin Ling. "Where is the boy? What did you do to him?"