The blond man whose cage I’d unlocked first climbed out and stood beside me, rubbing his arms. It was cold in here, and the poor guy was wearing a T-shirt and boxers.

“How are we going to get out of here?” he asked, following me. “There are more of those things out there.”

I focused on the lock I was working on. “How many?”

“I don’t know. At least one more of the scaly ones and it’s huge.”

The lock opened, and I removed the padlock before going to the next cage, which held the girl I’d spoken to.

“We’re going home now,” I told her in a soothing voice as I freed her. When the door opened she flung her arms around me, her body shaking in terror. I gently set her away from me. “I know you’re scared. I need to get everyone else out, and then we’ll leave.”

“Where are the others?” asked a dark-haired man as I unlocked his cage.

“Others?” Dear God, there were more prisoners here?

“The people with you who came to help us,” the man said as I helped him out of the cramped cage.

“It’s just me.”

“Are you serious?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes.” I tried to move past him, but he was blocking my way. “This will go a lot faster if you let me open the rest of these cages.”

The blond man pulled the dumbfounded brunette aside, and I continued to unlock the cages. When I got to the two mox demons, a hand grabbed my arm roughly.

“What are you doing? You can’t let those things out!” the dark-haired man hissed.

I shook off his grip and faced him. “These two are victims here just like the rest of you.”

“They’re monsters,” he spat. “I’m not going to die in this hellhole because you took pity on those things.”

I turned back to the cages again. “You don’t have to wait for me. I’m not leaving anyone behind.”

He gripped my arm again. “But they’re not human. Look at them.”

I swung around again, letting power flow to my hands until they glowed softly. The man took a step back and stared at them.

“What makes you think I’m human?” I looked at the people huddled together and staring at me with a mixture of fear and astonishment. “Listen, I know you’ve all been through a lot and you’re scared, but I’ve met creatures like these before and they are very gentle. I promise they won’t hurt you.”

The man who had confronted me nodded slowly and stepped back. I gave him a reassuring smile and crouched in front of the bottom cage where the female mox demon watched me warily. I couldn’t blame her after she’d witnessed what I’d done to the gulak demon.

“Can you understand me?” I asked gently and she nodded. “Don’t be afraid. I’m going to get you out of here.” I unlocked the door and swung it open, but she didn’t move. Figuring she was scared, I unlocked the last cage and stepped back so the two demons felt safe to climb out. The female did, but the male in the top cage stayed where he was.

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked her.

“The gulak hurt his legs. I think they are broken.”

It didn’t take long to size up the situation. The male couldn’t walk and the female was too weak to carry him. I couldn’t touch him without hurting him. That left one solution. I looked at the humans who watched us warily. “They broke his legs and I can’t help him.” I held up my hands for emphasis. “Will one of you men carry him?”

The men exchanged looks, but no one volunteered.

“Please.”

A man who looked like he played college football stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”

I gave him a grateful smile and stepped aside so he could lift the mox demon from the cage. I opened the door and peered out to make sure the way was clear. Then I pulled the truck keys from my pocket. “Can one of you drive that truck?”

“Briig?” roared a deep gravelly voice that could only belong to the dead demons’ boss. “Where the hell is that slave I asked for?”

One of the girls whimpered. “Oh God, it’s coming!”

“Quiet,” I ordered softly, trying to keep my voice from shaking. I couldn’t help but remember how big and powerful Draegan had been. If this gulak was as big as Draegan, was I strong enough to take him? And how many more demons were out there with him?

Eldeorin thinks you can do this or he wouldn’t have brought you here.

I set my shoulders and put on my brave face. “You stay here and keep this door closed.”

“You’re leaving us?” someone cried fearfully.

“Just for a little while. I have to deal with the rest of them so we can leave.”

The guy holding the mox demon frowned. “You’re doing it alone?”

I smiled with a confidence I wished I felt. “Piece of cake,” I lied as I slipped out of the room and closed the door behind me.

“Briig, you worthless dung heap!” The gulak bellowed again. “Do I have to do everything myself?”

Heavy footsteps thumped down the stairs, matching the rhythm of my pounding heart. I cast a furtive glance around, dismayed to see there weren’t any places to hide on this side of the warehouse. I wanted to get a look at what I was facing before I confronted it.

There was only one place to go. I grabbed the metal shelving, very glad for all the years I’d spent climbing trees back home, and scaled it quickly. The third shelf was about fifteen feet off the floor and I had time to reach it and lie flat before the huge scaled demon came into view.