I smothered a gasp. “Huge” was not the right word to describe this demon. At least eight feet tall, the gulak was massive. The fact that he was alone did not offer any comfort because he looked like he could crush a car with those arms. Not to mention the inch-long claws on each hand and the sharp teeth protruding from the corners of his mouth.

If I survive this, I’m going to kill that faerie.

The gulak stopped at the bottom of the stairs and swung his large horned head from side to side before his eyes narrowed on the closed door of the room where the people were hiding. A growl came from him as he started toward the room. “Briig, you better not be playing with my slaves again if you know what’s good for you.”

My heart leapt into my throat. If he opened that door and saw everyone out of their cages, there was no telling what he would do. I had to stop him.

“Briig quit... permanently.”

The gulak stopped in his tracks. “Who said that?”

I stood and ran quietly to the other end of the long row of shelves to draw him as far away as I could from the room. “I did,” I called boldly from my new hiding place.

He spun and followed my voice. “Where are you? Show yourself!” he roared.

Taking a deep breath, I moved to the edge of the wide shelf.

A sneer twisted his thin lips when he stopped and glared up at me. “How did you get out of your cage?”

“Do I look like I was in a cage?” I swallowed dryly. Holy crap, he was even bigger and scarier up close.

He tilted his head. “Maybe not, but you’ll be in one soon enough. I have an incubus client who’ll pay a hefty price for a pretty little thing like you.”

“I think I’ll pass.” My stomach churned. How many girls had he sent to his incubus friend or to other horrible fates?

“You should have thought of that before you came into my place.” He grabbed the lower shelf supports to shake them, but they were cemented to the floor. “Don’t make me come up there after you, little mouse.”

“Or what?” I taunted with false bravado, knowing that sooner or later I was going to have to get very close to the gulak. The only way those people were getting out of there was if he was dead. Even if I could get them out somehow, I still had to kill him. I couldn’t leave him alive to kidnap and sell more innocent people.

“Can you climb, you overgrown iguana?”

A deep laugh rumbled from him. “No, but I can do this.” Leathery wings spread out from his back, spanning twenty feet across. I barely had time to think there wasn’t enough room for him to fly when he lifted straight off the floor toward me.

I stumbled back and caught a support bar before I fell off the other side of the shelf. There was no time to run, and I gasped as a clawed hand wrapped around my arm.

“Gotcha,” he gloated.

My pulse skyrocketed, and I didn’t know if it was fear or adrenaline. I grabbed his arm with both hands. He bellowed as the first jolt of power slammed into him, and he dropped out of the air, pulling me with him.

His back hit the cement floor, and I landed on top of him. My teeth shook from the impact, and I was temporarily winded, giving him enough time to recover. An arm snaked around my waist as he moved to get up.

“I think I’ll get double my usual price for you. My clients like some fire in their slaves.”

“I’m. Not. For. Sale.” I gritted my teeth and slammed a hand into his chest.

The gulak’s roar shook the building as he threw me away from him. I sailed through the air and hit the floor hard, and a small scream tore from me when I felt a bone in my wrist snap. Gasping in pain, I rolled over and struggled to get to my feet before he attacked again. That was when I realized I’d twisted an ankle too, and I was in no shape to fight him.

Then I’d better end this quickly. I limped to where he was sprawled paralyzed on his back with a large black mark covering his chest. My eyes widened when I saw the leather had been burnt from his wings and all that was left were the spines.

“What are you?” he rasped, hatred burning in his eyes instead of fear.

“I’m one of the good guys.”

He tried to laugh and it came out as a croak. “Good guys never win.”

“I guess I’ll have to change that.” I knelt beside him, holding my injured arm to my stomach, and laid my free hand on his charred chest. He didn’t blink or utter a sound when I finished the job. His mouth gaped open and his tongue hung out as he stared unseeing at the ceiling.

“Is-is it dead?”

I looked up and nodded at the dark-haired man who was standing a dozen feet away. “Do you think you could help me up?”

He hesitated for several seconds then rushed over to help me to my feet. I tried not to moan when he jolted my broken wrist.

“Come on; let’s get you guys out of here.” I limped to the people crowding the doorway of the room. “You’re safe now, but you should go to the hospital to get checked out. Can one of you drive the truck?”

“I can,” said the man beside me.

We were a sorry-looking bunch when we filed outside. Everyone but me was barefoot and shivering, but they were too happy to be free to care about the cold. The dark-haired man climbed up into the cab to start the truck and the rest of them hurried to pile into the back. The mox demon held back, as well as the blond man holding her friend.

“What about these two?” the man asked.

“Set him down here. I’ll take care of them.”