by Karen Lynch
I wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted me when I opened the door, and my hand flew to my mouth when I saw the large dog cages lining the walls of the room. They were stacked three high, and from each one a pair of terrified eyes stared at me. All but two of the cages held humans; the last two were occupied by mox demons.
“Please, help us,” sobbed a girl who couldn’t have been much older than I was. Her fingers curled around the bars of the cage and tears streaked her dirty face.
I put my finger to my lips and went to her cage. “Shhh. I’m going to get you all out of here, but you have to be quiet. Okay?”
She clutched at my fingers. “I w-want to go h-home.”
The girl’s broken plea shook me, and I was torn between the urge to comfort her and the need to free them all. My pragmatic side won. I squeezed her fingers before I pulled my hand away and whispered, “I’ll take you home. I promise. First, I need to get these cages unlocked. Do any of you know where the key is?”
“You mean this key?” asked a deep rumbling voice from behind me. There were cries from the cages as I whirled to face the gulak demon who dangled a set of keys from his clawed hand. He leered at me as he filled the doorway. “Hello there. Where did you come from?”
If I hadn’t seen and fought a gulak before that moment I might have been scared by the sight of the scaly demon. Instead, I was worried about how I was going to kill him without hurting anyone else. My power strained to be free, but I had to get this guy out of the room before I unleashed it. And I had to hurry before all his buddies showed up.
“I was just passing by and thought I’d check this place out.”
His reptilian eyes swept me from head to toe. “Is that so? I think I should take you to see the boss.”
“Okay, but can my friends come too?” I glanced over his shoulder.
He spun to look behind him. It was all the opening I needed. I tackled him and knocked him to the floor outside the room. “I can’t believe you actually fell for that.” My glowing hands covered his mouth before he had a chance to shout for help. Power flowed into him, and he gagged as it encased his head and filled his mouth and nose, suffocating him. I tried to make it fast, to get it over with before someone heard us and came to see what was going on. The gulak decided not to go easily, and it took him a good minute to die.
I climbed off his body and dragged it back into the room, ignoring the two dozen pairs of eyes watching me. The demon had dropped the keys and I grabbed them off the floor.
“Okay, let’s get you guys out of here.”
A minute later, I swore when I realized that none of the keys on the ring fit the cage locks. The bastard had been playing me.
“The o-other one has the key,” stammered a blond man.
“The one who brought you here?” The man nodded, and I moved toward the door. “Hold tight. I’ll be back.”
I chewed my lip as I studied the door to the room the ranc demon had entered. I couldn’t just barge in because, for all I knew, there might be a dozen demons in there. But I couldn’t stand here waiting for him to come out either.
Before I could change my mind, I rapped on the door. There were sounds from within before the door opened to reveal a shocked ranc demon who was also very much alone. Using the element of surprise against him, I pushed him into the room and kicked the door shut behind me. Away from the humans, I didn’t have to restrain my power and I let him have it in the chest.
“Shit!” I backed away as his skin turned dry and brittle and began to fall away in chunks. His mouth opened in a silent scream before his whole head crumbled, followed by the rest of his body.
I stared at the pile of what used to be the demon then looked at my hands. “Maybe a little too much.”
I let out a groan when I realized the keys I was looking for were probably in that pile of demon bits. It would be just my luck to have melted the damn things.
It took a few minutes to locate the keys, and I let out a relieved sigh when I saw they were intact. On a table was another set of keys that looked like they belonged to the truck outside. I grabbed them and shoved them into my pocket. Wiping my hands on my jeans, I hurried back to the first room and fitted a key into the lock on the first cage. Thank you, God, I said silently when the padlock clicked open. I moved to the next cage, making a mental note to learn how to pick locks in the very near future. Either that or figure out how to blast them open with my power. Now that would be a handy trick to know.
The blond man whose cage I’d unlocked first climbed out and stood beside me, rubbing his arms. It was cold in here, and the poor guy was wearing a T-shirt and boxers.
“How are we going to get out of here?” he asked, following me. “There are more of those things out there.”
I focused on the lock I was working on. “How many?”
“I don’t know. At least one more of the scaly ones and it’s huge.”
The lock opened, and I removed the padlock before going to the next cage, which held the girl I’d spoken to.
“We’re going home now,” I told her in a soothing voice as I freed her. When the door opened she flung her arms around me, her body shaking in terror. I gently set her away from me. “I know you’re scared. I need to get everyone else out, and then we’ll leave.”
“Where are the others?” asked a dark-haired man as I unlocked his cage.
“Others?” Dear God, there were more prisoners here?
“The people with you who came to help us,” the man said as I helped him out of the cramped cage.
“It’s just me.”
“Are you serious?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes.” I tried to move past him, but he was blocking my way. “This will go a lot faster if you let me open the rest of these cages.”
The blond man pulled the dumbfounded brunette aside, and I continued to unlock the cages. When I got to the two mox demons, a hand grabbed my arm roughly.
“What are you doing? You can’t let those things out!” the dark-haired man hissed.
I shook off his grip and faced him. “These two are victims here just like the rest of you.”
“They’re monsters,” he spat. “I’m not going to die in this hellhole because you took pity on those things.”
I turned back to the cages again. “You don’t have to wait for me. I’m not leaving anyone behind.”
He gripped my arm again. “But they’re not human. Look at them.”
I swung around again, letting power flow to my hands until they glowed softly. The man took a step back and stared at them.
“What makes you think I’m human?” I looked at the people huddled together and staring at me with a mixture of fear and astonishment. “Listen, I know you’ve all been through a lot and you’re scared, but I’ve met creatures like these before and they are very gentle. I promise they won’t hurt you.”
The man who had confronted me nodded slowly and stepped back. I gave him a reassuring smile and crouched in front of the bottom cage where the female mox demon watched me warily. I couldn’t blame her after she’d witnessed what I’d done to the gulak demon.
“Can you understand me?” I asked gently and she nodded. “Don’t be afraid. I’m going to get you out of here.” I unlocked the door and swung it open, but she didn’t move. Figuring she was scared, I unlocked the last cage and stepped back so the two demons felt safe to climb out. The female did, but the male in the top cage stayed where he was.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked her.
“The gulak hurt his legs. I think they are broken.”
It didn’t take long to size up the situation. The male couldn’t walk and the female was too weak to carry him. I couldn’t touch him without hurting him. That left one solution. I looked at the humans who watched us warily. “They broke his legs and I can’t help him.” I held up my hands for emphasis. “Will one of you men carry him?”
The men exchanged looks, but no one volunteered.
“Please.”
I gave him a grateful smile and stepped aside so he could lift the mox demon from the cage. I opened the door and peered out to make sure the way was clear. Then I pulled the truck keys from my pocket. “Can one of you drive that truck?”
“Briig?” roared a deep gravelly voice that could only belong to the dead demons’ boss. “Where the hell is that slave I asked for?”
One of the girls whimpered. “Oh God, it’s coming!”
“Quiet,” I ordered softly, trying to keep my voice from shaking. I couldn’t help but remember how big and powerful Draegan had been. If this gulak was as big as Draegan, was I strong enough to take him? And how many more demons were out there with him?
Eldeorin thinks you can do this or he wouldn’t have brought you here.
I set my shoulders and put on my brave face. “You stay here and keep this door closed.”
“You’re leaving us?” someone cried fearfully.
“Just for a little while. I have to deal with the rest of them so we can leave.”
The guy holding the mox demon frowned. “You’re doing it alone?”
I smiled with a confidence I wished I felt. “Piece of cake,” I lied as I slipped out of the room and closed the door behind me.
“Briig, you worthless dung heap!” The gulak bellowed again. “Do I have to do everything myself?”
Heavy footsteps thumped down the stairs, matching the rhythm of my pounding heart. I cast a furtive glance around, dismayed to see there weren’t any places to hide on this side of the warehouse. I wanted to get a look at what I was facing before I confronted it.
There was only one place to go. I grabbed the metal shelving, very glad for all the years I’d spent climbing trees back home, and scaled it quickly. The third shelf was about fifteen feet off the floor and I had time to reach it and lie flat before the huge scaled demon came into view.
I smothered a gasp. “Huge” was not the right word to describe this demon. At least eight feet tall, the gulak was massive. The fact that he was alone did not offer any comfort because he looked like he could crush a car with those arms. Not to mention the inch-long claws on each hand and the sharp teeth protruding from the corners of his mouth.
If I survive this, I’m going to kill that faerie.
The gulak stopped at the bottom of the stairs and swung his large horned head from side to side before his eyes narrowed on the closed door of the room where the people were hiding. A growl came from him as he started toward the room. “Briig, you better not be playing with my slaves again if you know what’s good for you.”
My heart leapt into my throat. If he opened that door and saw everyone out of their cages, there was no telling what he would do. I had to stop him.
“Briig quit... permanently.”
The gulak stopped in his tracks. “Who said that?”
I stood and ran quietly to the other end of the long row of shelves to draw him as far away as I could from the room. “I did,” I called boldly from my new hiding place.
He spun and followed my voice. “Where are you? Show yourself!” he roared.
Taking a deep breath, I moved to the edge of the wide shelf.
A sneer twisted his thin lips when he stopped and glared up at me. “How did you get out of your cage?”
“Do I look like I was in a cage?” I swallowed dryly. Holy crap, he was even bigger and scarier up close.
He tilted his head. “Maybe not, but you’ll be in one soon enough. I have an incubus client who’ll pay a hefty price for a pretty little thing like you.”
“I think I’ll pass.” My stomach churned. How many girls had he sent to his incubus friend or to other horrible fates?
“You should have thought of that before you came into my place.” He grabbed the lower shelf supports to shake them, but they were cemented to the floor. “Don’t make me come up there after you, little mouse.”
“Or what?” I taunted with false bravado, knowing that sooner or later I was going to have to get very close to the gulak. The only way those people were getting out of there was if he was dead. Even if I could get them out somehow, I still had to kill him. I couldn’t leave him alive to kidnap and sell more innocent people.
“Can you climb, you overgrown iguana?”
A deep laugh rumbled from him. “No, but I can do this.” Leathery wings spread out from his back, spanning twenty feet across. I barely had time to think there wasn’t enough room for him to fly when he lifted straight off the floor toward me.
I stumbled back and caught a support bar before I fell off the other side of the shelf. There was no time to run, and I gasped as a clawed hand wrapped around my arm.
“Gotcha,” he gloated.
My pulse skyrocketed, and I didn’t know if it was fear or adrenaline. I grabbed his arm with both hands. He bellowed as the first jolt of power slammed into him, and he dropped out of the air, pulling me with him.
His back hit the cement floor, and I landed on top of him. My teeth shook from the impact, and I was temporarily winded, giving him enough time to recover. An arm snaked around my waist as he moved to get up.
“I think I’ll get double my usual price for you. My clients like some fire in their slaves.”
“I’m. Not. For. Sale.” I gritted my teeth and slammed a hand into his chest.
The gulak’s roar shook the building as he threw me away from him. I sailed through the air and hit the floor hard, and a small scream tore from me when I felt a bone in my wrist snap. Gasping in pain, I rolled over and struggled to get to my feet before he attacked again. That was when I realized I’d twisted an ankle too, and I was in no shape to fight him.
Then I’d better end this quickly. I limped to where he was sprawled paralyzed on his back with a large black mark covering his chest. My eyes widened when I saw the leather had been burnt from his wings and all that was left were the spines.
“What are you?” he rasped, hatred burning in his eyes instead of fear.
“I’m one of the good guys.”
He tried to laugh and it came out as a croak. “Good guys never win.”
“I guess I’ll have to change that.” I knelt beside him, holding my injured arm to my stomach, and laid my free hand on his charred chest. He didn’t blink or utter a sound when I finished the job. His mouth gaped open and his tongue hung out as he stared unseeing at the ceiling.
“Is-is it dead?”
I looked up and nodded at the dark-haired man who was standing a dozen feet away. “Do you think you could help me up?”
He hesitated for several seconds then rushed over to help me to my feet. I tried not to moan when he jolted my broken wrist.
“Come on; let’s get you guys out of here.” I limped to the people crowding the doorway of the room. “You’re safe now, but you should go to the hospital to get checked out. Can one of you drive the truck?”
“I can,” said the man beside me.
We were a sorry-looking bunch when we filed outside. Everyone but me was barefoot and shivering, but they were too happy to be free to care about the cold. The dark-haired man climbed up into the cab to start the truck and the rest of them hurried to pile into the back. The mox demon held back, as well as the blond man holding her friend.
“What about these two?” the man asked.
“Set him down here. I’ll take care of them.”
“You’re not coming with us? You need a doctor more than we do.”
“Don’t worry about me. My ride will be here soon.”
“Here.” One of the women held out a blanket that had been in the back of the truck. “Wrap him in this.”
The kindness of these people after their terrifying ordeal warmed me. I took the blanket and wrapped it around the mox demon before the man laid him on the ground. There were a lot of tears and cries of thank you before the truck finally pulled away, leaving me alone with the two mox demons.
“Perfe
ction.” Eldeorin appeared before us, startling the already frightened demons. “You were amazing, Cousin.”
“Not exactly perfect.” I grimaced. “I should kick your ass for this one.”
“As if you could.” He laughed and touched my hand, making the pain in my wrist and ankle disappear. “Admit it, you enjoyed that.”
“Yeah, I always like getting tackled by demons ten times my size.” I shook out my newly healed wrist. “Do you have the phone?”
He waved and a cell phone appeared in his hand.
“Show-off.” I took it and called David, who let Kelvan know about the mox demons so he could send someone for them. I refused to leave them until help arrived, for fear some more of the gulak’s henchmen were nearby. Ten minutes later, I saw three mox demons walking up the street toward us, and I let out a sigh of relief.
“Will you be okay?” I asked the female demon and she nodded timidly.
“Good.” I turned to Eldeorin. “Can we go home now?”
Mischief sparkled in his dark blue eyes. “Already? The day is still young.”
I waved a finger in his face. “No way, Eldeorin. That was enough training for one day.”
He took my hand and laid it in the crook of his arm. “This one will be fun; trust me.”
“That’s what you always say,” I complained before Minneapolis faded around us.
Chapter 15
“Do we have any intel on who might be doing this?”
Nikolas’s voice drew my attention away from my laptop where I was chatting with David and Kelvan. Almost two months had passed since I’d gotten sick and we’d lost Madeline’s trail. Now I was determined to pick it up again with the help of my two talented hacker friends, and for the last three days we’d been working together to try to figure out where Madeline was. The difference this time was that I was sharing anything we learned with Nikolas. The Mohiri had wanted to work directly with my friends, but David and Kelvan didn’t trust anyone but me. Nikolas wasn’t happy about the arrangement until I reminded him that David, Kelvan, and I had gotten closer to finding Madeline than the Mohiri ever had.