Free Vessel: The Demontouched Saga (Book 4) by Douglas Wayne Page A

cross. There is a breeze out, so it could be the wind doing it, but it looks like Sara is moving.
    Just barely.
    Alana signals that there are two on the other side of the fence. I nod in return. Two we can handle, even with me being gimped up.
    “Hey you,” I hear the moment I pass the large sliding glass door.
    I turn around and toss my knife in that direction. More instinct than anything. The last thing I want is to give away our position now.
    With a flick of my wrist, I send my knife back on target as it was going to miss wide left. It catches him unaware in the throat as he laughed at my horrible aim.
    Once the man is on the ground choking on his own blood, I draw the blade back to my hand. Up ahead, Alana smiling at our fortune.
    Save it, girl. The hard part hasn’t even started.
    “We need to go around,” I whisper, walking towards the front.
    Alana taps me on the shoulder before I get too far. “Over here,” she says, motioning me to follow.
    She leads me to the back corner of the yard where she points out a loose fence panel next to another one that has fallen.
    “Good eye,” I say, peeking around the corner.
    “I got the ugly one,” I say, smiling.
    She just nods.
    I step through the hole in the fence and send my blade flying at a guy with a heavily burned face. I hear a single gunshot from behind me as Alana takes down the other guy.
    “Sara!” I say, running up to her cross.
    Above my head I see she is not staked to the thing, only tied. Not that being left like that was pleasant. From what Ive heard, it could take days for someone to die like that. I hope that is true knowing she may have been up there for a day now.
    “Get him down,” I say, pointing to Nal. His eyes are open, but he isn’t talking. I’m not sure if he’s hurt or if it is dehydration talking, but in either case he doesn’t look well.
    I untie Sara’s legs with little issue, but with a broken leg it’s impossible to get her arms free. Thankfully, I have a solution. With my knife out I send it above my head gently. When the blade is near the rope I yank my hand slightly, severing the rope. I repeat it on the other side leaving one last rope around her waist.
    “Need a hand,” Alana says, placing Nal on the ground.
    I nod and wait for her to stand in front of Sara before slicing the remaining rope.
    With her mass free, Sara falls to the front right into Alana’s arm.
    “Good catch I say, catching my knife.”
    I limp over to take Alana’s place, holding Sara up. I brush the hair out of her face before saying I’m sorry. Unfortunately I don’t get to do more because I look up in time to see three armed men with their rifles out towards us.
    “Figured someone would come for them.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    - 11 -
     
     
     
     
     
    “You must be Louis,” I say, standing up.
    “The one and only.” He walks up and grabs my knife off the ground before taking the sword from my hip. I look over to see Alana getting the same treatment.
    “Let us go and there won’t be any problems,” I say, hands in the air.
    Louis laughs. “Let you go?” he says. “But playtime has just begun.”
    One of his goons brings over a plastic folding lawn char, placing it just behind him. “You know what this is?” he says, pulling Sara’s amulet out of his pocket.
    “I’ve seen it a few times,” I say, nodding to Sara. “Belongs to the girl now.”
    “She can have it back,” he says. “Soon.” He takes a seat on the chair. “This little thing houses the spirit of one of the greatest demons to have ever walked this earth.”
    “For being a great demon, he sure didn’t help the last guy who had the necklace.”
    “If you weren’t around over a thousand years ago, you wouldn’t know what he is capable of.” He twirls the necklace around in his hands. “He was responsible for the fall of hundreds of nations in his time. Murderer of millions.”
    “Sounds like pleasant fellow,” I say, shifting the weight off of my