Free The Guardians: An Urban Fantasy Romance by Elise Marion

steps, his oversized arms swinging the knives so fast, they were a golden blur.
    Another swarm of them came from the right, but Jack turned and let loose with voice waves strong enough to drop them all mid-flight. He repeated the bellow as they neared the bottom of the steps; one burst from his burning throat large enough to take out a cluster of demons. Black blood splattered to the pavement before disintegrating into puffs of curling black smoke.
    Once they reached the street, Micah took a left and squeezed down the narrow alley between her building and another. The demons followed, some still flying and several climbing alongside them, their nails grating against the bricks. Addison cried out and swatted at two of them as they swooped down on her, one landing on her shoulder and the other on her head. With a vicious yank of her ponytail, one of them threw her off balance while the other tried to sink its teeth into her neck. Micah turned and put his knife through its gut, while Jack swatted the other off her head before putting a beam of light between its eyes.
    The alleyway opened up into a small courtyard, which housed an outdoor café. As luck would have it, it was closed for the night with no one there to watch as Jack shoved Addison beneath a table and joined Micah in fighting off the little beasts. It seemed like a never-ending swarm that multiplied almost as fast as Jack and Micah could kill them. Three of the little creatures landed on Jack’s shoulders, their sharp talons digging into the fabric of his shirt. He shrugged them off before shooting, taking out all three in a single burst.
    “Time to hit ’em with the light, podna ,” Micah called out, his shoulder brushing Jack’s. They stood back to back, cornered on every side in what seemed like an impossible situation. They both knew better. Every Guardian possessed what could only be described as an inner light. It sapped a great deal of strength, so Jack always exercised caution about when he used the ability. A horde of demons surrounding him fit on his list of acceptable times to apply the power.
    “Agreed.” He fired another shot into the fray, taking down five of the tiny demons flying at him from the same direction. A sixth one avoided the shot and landed against his chest, digging its claws in. Despite the small size of the minions, their claws were sharp and barbed. They dug into Jack’s skin, causing him to roar as a burning sensation exploded through his chest, almost paralyzing him. Forcing himself to breathe through the pain, he closed his eyes and pulled his inner light. He pictured it—white, bright, and glorious, reveling in the vibrations building inside until they hit a crescendo. The mark on his chest began to burn and he opened his eyes, his vision filled with the vibrant light emanating from it.
    The demon shrieked and fell away. The light flickered and then a burst like a lightning flash emanated from first him, and then Micah, sweeping throughout the outdoor café and dropping the demons like flies. Their black blood rained down over them, splattering his face and clothing, and the putrid stench of sulfur invaded his nostrils. Still, the demons were gone and the café had gone quiet around them.
    Jack swiped a hand over his eyes, flicking a handful of the black demon goop away with a huff of disgust.
    “Ugh!” Micah grumbled, swiping one hand over his face and sending more of the globs splatting to the cobblestones. “This stuff is always a real crapeau to clean.”
    “Guess I can kiss this shirt good-bye,” Jack muttered, staring down at his black-spotted top.
    Micah laughed. “Don’t I always tell you not to wear your fancy clothes for demon huntin’?”
    He rolled his eyes. “Micah, a clean t-shirt is fancy to you.” He turned away from his partner and searched the courtyard for Addison. “You can come out.”
    At first, he couldn’t make her out in the darkness. Then, a dark shape shifted and appeared from beneath a