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I burst out into the night. Where would he have hidden them? They must be close. I could tell now this place was precious to my father, despite the bare bones appearance. This was the hunting cabin he'd inherited from my grandfather.
Had the Demon killed him too? Why had I never heard about him?
Too bad the Demon wouldn't live long enough to tell me the whole story.
I searched through the forest until I caught a glimpse of firelight glowing through the trees. I approached cautiously, catching a glimpse of a handful of Demon-worshippers. They had their hoods back, relaxing around the fire. They looked like normal people, but I knew they were anything but normal. They were twisted, evil, and loyal to the Demon to the end.
Then I heard a faint scream. Beyond the fire, I caught a glimpse of a dark building.
A second cabin!
I took a deep breath and moved closer, keeping to the shadows. I had to rescue my men. I had to finish this.
As I approached, one of the worshippers noticed me and stood up, his hand moving to his weapon. I didn't hesitate. I lifted my gun and took him out with a single shot.
The others were on their feet instantly, scrambling for their own weapons. I moved quickly, taking cover behind a nearby tree. I aimed and fired, taking out another one of the worshippers. They returned fire, but none of them managed to hit me.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder, and I realized that one of them had grazed me with a bullet. I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain as I took down another one of the attackers.
But there were still more of them, and they were closing in fast. I needed to find a way to take them out before they overwhelmed me.
I couldn't let myself get killed now when I was so close to my men.
I dashed towards the outbuilding, bullets whizzing past me, and squeezed off rounds. I was laying down covering fire more than trying to hit them, but I still aimed as much as I could while moving fast. One of them screamed and crumpled to the ground. Now there were just three left. I slammed into the door and it opened, and I managed to make it inside just in time to slam the door shut behind me as bullets punched against it. I ducked low and hid for a second, waiting for things to go silent as they approached the cabin.
Then I swung open the door and popped off three quick rounds, aiming at each of them in turn. One after another, the remaining worshippers fell.
I caught my breath and assessed my surroundings. The cabin was small and dimly lit, with piles of old hunting equipment stacked in the corners. There was a grisly table in the corner, with bloodied leather straps hanging loose, waiting. A light swayed overhead, so the cabin had power.
I searched the room for the trapdoor I knew I would find.
Then I opened it knowing my men were down there.
The Demon might well be waiting too.
I took a deep breath and rushed down the stairs, ready for the Demon to be waiting. I went down a long hallway, expecting him at every corner. It was enormous down here, a whole labyrinth of rooms by the looks of it.
But the Demon wasn’t here.
Not even when I turned the corner into a dark room and felt that it was large and cold.
I fumbled to find a light switch, expecting to see him watching me.
Across from me was my mother, chained to the wall, and my men in cages.
Remington! He was asleep, his arm thrown over his face, but his chest was moving.
Paxton half leapt up when he saw me, then grabbed the chain link fencing in front of him as he almost fell. He looked so weak, his cheeks hollowed below those high cheekbones.
Stellan’s eyes widened with relief when he saw me, his expression shooting straight to my heart even before he mouthed,“I knew you would save us.”
Cain’s jaw went hard when he saw me–the overprotective bastard didn’t like this one bit–and I raised the knife in my hand toward him in salute. He gave me the faintest nod.
He might hate this, but he knew what I had to do.
This all came down to me versus the Demon.
“Aurora,” my mother whispered, and I held my finger to my lips. I was sure the Demon was playing some game now, but if there was any chance I could get ahead of him, I needed every advantage.
