Page 14 of Guardian

Winter’s lips quivering, she nodded.

Angry grunting sounds made Logan whirl around. Manus was fighting the two remaining demons, holding them at bay as best he could.

Having reassured himself that Winter was okay for now, Logan went to help his compound brother. He ripped one of the demons off him, then aimed his dagger at the demon’s chest. But the bastard was strong, stronger than the others he’d fought. Logan was surprised that Manus had been able to keep him at bay while simultaneously dealing with a second attacker. Logan could barely land a punch or a blow, let alone do any damage with his dagger.

“Shit!” Logan cursed. “Fucking demons!”

He couldn’t see how Manus was faring with the other assailant, but he heard grunts and thuds, indicating they were still fighting. Finally Logan managed to kick the demon in his midsection, sending him back against the doorframe. Wood splintered, and an audible ooph escaped from his victim. The demon’s knees buckled from the impact, and Logan saw the chance to end him. He lunged forward, but the demon, his green eyes flashing, turned tail and charged through the hallway and into the shop.

By the time Logan had caught up with him, the demon was casting a vortex in the middle of the shop. A mass of black fog and cold wind suddenly swirled in the center of the room, momentarily pushing Logan against the wall, the force of the magic blasting him away from the demon’s portal. The blade slipped from Logan’s fingers and slithered away in the opposite corner of the shop, out of reach.

But Logan caught himself quickly despite the loss of his weapon, and, using all his energy, he lunged for the demon entering the vortex, intent on preventing his escape.

His hand found purchase on the demon’s forearm. Logan pulled, feeling the force of the vortex more intensely now. As if it wanted to devour him. But he wouldn’t let it. The only good kind of demon was a dead demon. That was his motto.

The demon’s second hand emerged from the dark fog and landed a punch. Logan’s head whipped back, but he wouldn’t be defeated so easily. With his free hand, he tried to reach for his boot, where he kept a second dagger, but his fingers couldn’t reach that far, without releasing his grip on the demon.

“Shit!”

He had no choice now. Logan dove forward, into the vortex. But the demon was faster. A heavy boot connected with Logan’s midsection, sending him flying out of the vortex and crashing against the wall of the shop. In the few seconds it took Logan to pick himself up, the demon disappeared, the vortex closing behind him, vanishing like a mirage.

“Fuck!”

But there was no time to cry over spilled milk. Logan turned and rushed back into the kitchen. Three dead demons lay on the ground, bathed in green blood. Relieved, Logan took a much-needed breath. But he didn’t even get to enjoy that short moment of peace.

Winter screamed. Logan’s gaze shot to her, his legs already moving. He charged toward where Manus was pressing her against the wall, his knife at her throat.

“Nooooooo!” Logan screamed.

Manus whipped his head to the side, staring at him, a look of resignation in his eyes. “It has to be done. The demons won’t give up.”

“No!”

But Manus turned his gaze back to Winter. Logan jumped, grabbed hold of Manus’s wrist and slammed it against the wall so hard Manus lost his grip on his dagger.

“Fucking asshole!” Manus hissed and glared at him.

Logan didn’t hesitate. He jerked Manus away from Winter, looped his arm around his fellow Stealth Guardian’s neck and put him in a chokehold. Manus fought him, kicking his legs back and tearing at Logan’s arm with his hands, but to no avail. Logan had the upper hand in this fight, and he was going to keep it. He couldn’t lose. Not when Winter’s life was at stake.

Later, he’d explain his actions to his friend and convince him that they had to protect Winter instead of killing her, but right now, with Manus running high on adrenaline from the fight with the demons, there would be no reasoning with him.

“Sorry, buddy,” he murmured close at Manus’s ear just as his friend stopped struggling and lost consciousness.

Slowly, making sure Manus didn’t hit his head, Logan dropped him on the ground. Then he looked up at Winter, who stared at him, her face drained of blood, her lips quivering.

“He was trying to kill me.” Then she looked toward the dead demons, motioned toward them with her hand. “Those things. Those monsters. They’re like the monsters in my dreams. Green-eyed monsters.” Her voice was shaking.

“They’re demons. Demons of Fear. And they weren’t dreams. You had visions of them, because you’re a psychic, and that’s why they came.”

“To kill me,” she stated.

Logan shook his head. “You’re not worth anything to them dead. They wanted to kidnap you. Take you to the Underworld, so you would serve them.”

A sob tore from her throat. “The fires, the caves…” She stared at him with a million questions in her eyes.

“I’ll explain everything. But we have to leave. Now. You’re not safe here anymore.” He pointed to the hallway where the stairs led to the upper floor. “Pack a bag, just the barest necessities, medicines, a change of clothes, any cash you have, any valuables.”

She nodded as if on autopilot. Logan watched her walk upstairs. When she was out of sight, he bent down to Manus and used his friend’s cell phone to send a text message to the compound requesting backup and a cleanup crew at Winter’s shop. He felt Manus’s pulse. His friend would be fine, but in an extremely bad mood once he regained consciousness. It was best to be far away by then and explain everything over the phone.

After assuring himself that all the demons were indeed dead, Logan collected their weapons and tossed them in a plastic bag he found in a drawer. Since weapons forged in the Dark Days were rare, they were always a welcome bounty.

He heard Winter descending the stairs. Good, she’d followed his instructions and packed quickly. Logan glanced around the kitchen once more, and his eyes fell on the overturned kitchen table. Winter’s drawings were scattered on the floor. He quickly collected several of them and shoved them into his jacket pocket.

“I’m ready,” Winter announced from the hallway.

Logan turned to her. “Let’s go.”