Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) - By Unknown
ONE
Aiden launched his dagger at the demon, aiming for his forehead, but the weapon missed its target as the bastard spun with superhuman speed. Whirling to the left, Aiden avoided what was coming next: an ancient blade flying in his direction, leaving the demon’s deft wrist just as fast as the underworld vermin had turned on his heels. The sharp edge of the knife passed by him not an inch too close. Forged in the Dark Days, the weapon could kill even him, an immortal Stealth Guardian. And he wasn’t here to die. He was fighting evil to save his charge, the human woman he’d been assigned to protect from the influence of the Demons of Fear, the greatest enemies of mankind.
Aiden watched in horror as the three demons collected their powers and projected a vortex of black fog, engulfing the entrance to a rundown apartment building, its tendrils reaching the feet of his charge as she took another step toward it as if pulled by invisible strings.
Sounds akin to a tornado deafened his ears, and his screams were swallowed up by it just as Sarah would be sucked into its depths. Seduced by the demons’ promises of power and riches, she advanced toward the dark portal that would take her into their world and turn her into one of them.
“Sarah! Noooo!”
She turned her head as if she’d heard him over the din in the alley. But her eyes were empty. As if she didn’t even see him.
He knew the only way to get her to stop was to destroy the portal, which meant killing the demons who’d created it. In a flash, he turned to retrieve the knife the demon had thrown at him. Just as such a weapon could kill him, it could kill a demon. They were as vulnerable to tools forged in the Dark Days as Stealth Guardians were.
Aiden glanced down the narrow alley toward the intersection, but none of his brothers was coming to his aid. When he’d realized that he was outnumbered, he’d immediately called for his second, Hamish. But his fellow Stealth Guardian was nowhere to be found. As if he’d vanished into thin air.
Their code of ethics dictated that a Stealth Guardian’s second would be close at all times to respond quickly in situations like these—situations of life and death. Aiden had often been second to Hamish, and even though the term implied rank, a switch between being sentinel and second occurred assignment-after-assignment. It assured a constant honing of their skills, of being as comfortable with issuing orders as with following them without question.
They were brothers, if not in blood, then united by a common goal: to protect the human race from the influence of the Demons of Fear and to further the good in this world.
From the corner of his eye, he perceived a movement and realized instantly that two of the demons had left the protection of the vortex, clearly to finish him off in close combat.
Aiden expelled a bitter laugh. They were in for a surprise. Killing up close and personal was his specialty.
“Come and get me,” he taunted them, opening his arms in invitation. A gust of wind blew through his coat, causing its tails to flap wildly behind him.
The mocking laughter of the demons droned over the noise, and for a moment, it was all Aiden heard. His pleading look toward Sarah disappeared into her barren eyes. She moved her head slowly from side to side as she took another step forward. She was merely a weak human, the influence the demons had over her too strong for her to resist.
Gritting his teeth, and gripping the ancient blade tightly in his fist, Aiden leapt at the first demon, a creature humanoid in appearance, yet with glaring green eyes, the telltale sign of the malevolence inside. He bumped against his opponent, who was built as massively as a tank. It didn’t dissuade Aiden in the least. While he was not as strong as the demon, he was more agile and faster. It was his advantage in close combat.
Snarling like a beast, the demon drove a dagger toward his chest, but Aiden sidestepped him in the blink of an eye and catapulted behind him. With one clean swipe, he ran the knife along the demon’s neck, cutting it open from left to right. Amidst the surprised gurgles of the dying creature, green blood spurted onto the street. Aiden thrust his knee into the expired demon’s back and tossed him to