Page 87 of Guardian

Two demons entered the cave. She recognized one of them immediately. Zoltan. He’d come to watch her be tortured.

His eyes immediately went to where Winter was standing. Her heart pounded so loud that she thought the sound would echo in the cave.

“Where the fuck is she?” Zoltan yelled. Then his eyes shifted and fell on the dead demon who lay not even a yard away from Logan.

He charged toward his dead subject, his companion on his heels, and kicked him with his foot. But the demon didn’t move. Zoltan cursed, his head raised to the ceiling. “The fucking idiot! Gets himself killed by a woman!”

He spun around, looked at the chains again, and for a heart-stopping moment Winter wondered if he’d step closer. Already, he was close enough to touch Logan if he stretched out his hand. Would Logan be fast enough to spin around and drive his dagger into the leader of the Underworld, or would Zoltan be stronger? And the second demon, would he kill Winter while Logan and Zoltan fought?

Her lungs felt like they were exploding and she wanted to gasp for air, but she didn’t dare, because the slightest sound, the smallest movement might alert Zoltan to their presence. She felt perspiration run down from her forehead along the side of her nose. Oh God, no, it was tickling her. A few more seconds, and she would have to sneeze.

Suddenly Zoltan turned to his underling. “Find the bitch! If she thinks she can play her little mind tricks on me, I’m gonna play, but according to my rules.”

The demon nodded. “May I suggest something, oh Great One?”

“What is it, Vintoq?”

“Have the guards at the vortex circles tripled, in case she tries to escape by forcing one of our own.”

Zoltan let out a laugh. “Forcing? With what? She’s unarmed, and she’s a sprite of a thing.”

“But her mental powers, oh Great One. She injured you. And I’d venture a guess that if she set her mind to it, she could force a demon to transport her out of here by using those powers on him.”

Winter exchanged a look with Logan. Was she really capable of that? Or was it merely an unsubstantiated fear the underling was expressing?

Zoltan seemed to contemplate it. “Do it. Hurry!”

Vintoq rushed out of the cave, while Zoltan headed to the other exit. Just as he reached it, he braced himself against the rock wall and groaned in pain.

“Fuck!”

Then he stumbled along, hurrying out of Winter’s field of vision.

Logan finally took his hand off her mouth. “We have to hurry or we won’t get out of here alive.”