Undaunted Read Online Free PDF Page A

screen near the food service window. “Is he gone?”
    “He is, but the bastard’s got Addie. You and your guys need to help us—can you get the gamekeepers back to their office before they awaken? I know they often sleep there. Maybe they won’t remember this at all.”
    Ukopach put his fingers between his lips and whistled. Dozens of little demons flew through the computer screen and quickly surrounded the unconscious gamekeepers, hoisted them overhead and scurried out of the room. Azrael thought of ants carrying their prizes into the nest. Within a couple of minutes, the cafeteria was empty.
    Yet he and the guys were just standing here. While Addie was with Naburus.
    Az struggled to control his fury. It wasn’t working. He whipped around and glared at Locan and Jett. “We need to go. Addie needs us.” Angry and afraid, shaking so badly he could barely stand, Az was afraid he’d explode. Through gritted teeth he managed—almost—not to shout. “Why aren’t you guys hurrying? Naburus could be doing anything to Addie. He’s a demon—one of the worst. He’s got her. Doesn’t that even matter to you two?”
    Jett grasped Azrael’s shoulder, and something about the strength and heat of the man’s fingers digging into his shoulder steadied him as nothing else might have. Nothing but getting Addie back safely. “Addie’s tough,” he said. “She knows the score. We have to check everything here first. It’s part of our code as demon hunters, cleaning up our messes in Earth’s dimension. No evidence of our existence can remain.” He took another quick look around the now pristine cafeteria. “Locan? You ready.”
    “I am.” Locan stepped to Azrael’s right. Jett grabbed his left hand and Az’s first thought was that they were hanging on to him so he wouldn’t take a swing at either one, but Locan’s gaze was steady, his voice calm yet focused. “We can get you there, Az, but you’re the one giving directions. I want you to picture the place where you think we should land. Hopefully behind something to give us a minute to orient ourselves.”
    Az took a deep breath, calmed himself as much as he could, and nodded. “Near Charon’s boathouse. There’s a stone building at the edge of the River Styx. I imagine Naburus has taken Addie to his quarters. Same side of the river, not far from the crossing. The air reeks of sulfur and the stench will burn your eyes at first. The heat is more mental than real—the flames appear to burn, but they throw no real heat. Not unless you’re meant to burn. The rules are fairly strict, in spite of Naburus. Charon, for all his bad press, isn’t a bad sort. He knows me only as a hellhound, but he was always good to me.”
    Jett squeezed his hand. “Once we get Addie home, we’re going to see about getting you added to the team.”
    Locan nodded. “You’re a good guy, Az, and damned effective with that sword. Remember, you have to fight Naburus. He knows who you are now. I felt his recognition, and the bastard wants you back. That’s why he took Addie.”
    Az nodded. “I know. And if that’s the only choice, don’t hesitate. My life for hers. I go willingly if there’s no other way.”
    Jett leaned around him and grinned at Locan. “He doesn’t know us very well, does he.”
    Locan added, “Nope. Obviously not. Az, there’s always a way. Let’s go.”

Chapter 4
     
     
    If she’d been thinking clearly, Addie figured she’d be scared half to death. The world about her still spun in puke-inducing circles, and the stench of sulfur was so strong her eyes watered, which didn’t help the visuals a bit. She vaguely recalled slicing into Naburus’s neck with her short sword, and then nothing. Absolutely nothing until she’d come awake, spinning inside her head while her body lay on the rocky shore of an underground river.
    And if the visuals weren’t awful enough, the cacophony reverberating off the walls had the same effect as fingernails across a