the ground.
But he didn’t get a chance to breathe. With a ferocious growl, the second demon jumped him, tackling him. The impact squeezed all air out of his lungs, for a moment immobilizing him.
As he lay on the damp surface, the massive creature pinning him, he chanced a look at the vortex. Sarah was almost upon it, her steps less hesitant now. Aiden could fairly hear the seductive whispers of the third demon who was coaxing her to come to him. And weak as she was, she approached.
Yet Aiden wouldn’t allow it. Collecting all his strength, he freed one leg and kicked it hard between the demon’s thighs. Luckily, demons too had balls. And by the sounds the son of a bitch was making now, they were just as sensitive as a human’s.
With a shove, Aiden pushed the hurting demon off his chest. His eyes searched for the knife he’d dropped as the prick had forced him to the ground. As he did so, the demon regained his strength and rose, his arm clutching the dagger as it whipped toward Aiden’s neck. He rolled to the side, avoiding the deadly blade by a split second, and shot to his feet in the same instant.
But the demon was just as fast and threw his leg against him, catapulting him into the wall behind him.
A rib cracked, but the power coursing through his body made sure Aiden felt no pain. As an immortal, his tolerance for pain was many times that of a human, even if his body was entirely human in appearance. Beneath the skin and muscle, though, lay the collective experiences of all Stealth Guardians that had ever walked this earth. Virta they called it, and it lent them the power to fight demons and cloak themselves and humans from their view as if they’d thrown an invisibility cloak over them. They’d been bestowed with powers that defied physics—powers humans would deem supernatural—if they knew Stealth Guardians existed. But their existence had been hidden for centuries. Since their beginning in the Dark Days.
Just as Aiden scrambled to his feet, his hand brushed the dagger he’d tossed at the demon’s forehead earlier. He gripped it and lunged forward again, barreling against his attacker, landing the knife in the lowlife’s stomach.
As the Demon of Fear’s eyes widened in disbelief, Aiden drew the dagger upwards, slicing him open like a pig. Guts and green blood spilled from him, the stench filling the crisp night air, before his body collapsed.
Not losing a second, Aiden turned and ran toward his charge. In a desperate attempt to pull her back, his body coiled in tension, his long, black trench coat flapping at his sides, blown back by the force of the swirling air and fog. Reaching his hands forward to try pulling her toward him, he concentrated all his energy on one thought: to save this human from the clutches of evil.
Anger boiled in him like in a caldron about to overflow. He couldn’t allow them to take her. Every soul the demons brought to their side made them stronger. Soon, they would rise again from their lairs deep down in the netherworld and dominate mankind once more. The bleakness of this prospect made him shudder to his bones.
A scream from behind him caused him to spin his head around, making him lose his concentration for a moment. He spotted a woman with a toddler in her arms, frantically ringing a door bell at one of the apartment buildings, her eyes wide in horror.
Shit! He didn’t need any witnesses to what was happening here. But there was nothing he could do now. His first priority was to save Sarah.
Collecting the ancient power that was within each Stealth Guardian, he allowed it to surge through his body and recharge his cells. He lurched forward, electrical charges dancing on his palms like little flames, and reached for her.
She pushed him back, anger glowing in her eyes. Behind her, he glimpsed the third demon as his hand reached forward through the vortex, a dagger in his palm. Whispering something to her, the demon pressed the ancient weapon into her hand.
With dread, Aiden noticed how she accepted it and flicked her wrist as if she’d been trained to do so. The demon was controlling her body now.
All Aiden could do was spin to the side to avoid the blade.
Then Sarah’s eyes turned green. By giving in to the demon’s demand, she’d become one of them.
Another scream pulled his attention to