Undaunted by Kate Douglas Page B

sword could reach him long before he got close enough to strike, but he refused to give up. Refused to acknowledge defeat.
    “You’re not quitting, Az. You’re going to beat the bastard.”
    He swung his head to his left. Jett stood there, helping him stand.
    “He’s all yours, Az. One leg isn’t enough to hold the beast up, not for long.” Azrael turned to his right. Locan laughed and wrapped an arm around Azrael’s waist. “C’mon, big guy. Go get him.”
    A flash of red streaked around Naburus. The demon growled and swung his huge sword, but Ukopach flashed out of existence as the blade fell. Naburus roared as he tottered back and forth on his one good leg. Azrael watched as the demon struggled to stay upright, but the weight of the sword and the awkward turn to strike the little demon had his huge body twisting, overbalancing and falling.
    He tried to use the sword like a crutch, jamming it into the rocky ground. The hilt snapped away from the blade and he wobbled, flailing for balance. Then Addie flashed into view, leapt high to the demon’s back, tapped Naburus on the shoulder and gently shoved before leaping free. Naburus went down, falling like a huge tree, shrieking his rage and then his agony when he landed on the upright end of the broken sword.
    The jagged shaft pierced his body. The demon’s weight insured that the broken sword went all the way through.
    Azrael stared at the fallen giant. Slowly turned his head and looked at Jett and then turned once again to frown at Locan. “How? I thought I had to fight my battle alone.”
    Then Addie was standing in front of him, catching him as he pitched forward. He thought he heard her say they were a team, that they would always be a team, and teammates never fought alone. He thought that was what she said, but he didn’t really know for sure. No, he knew only darkness. Darkness and pain.
     
    * * *
     
    “Do you think he’ll make it?” Addie leaned over Azrael’s still form and brushed the thick, dark hair back from his forehead. He lay in the big bed, his wounds bandaged, his face deathly pale. Ukopach and a few of his video-demon buddies huddled against the far wall, but Locan lay beside Az to help warm him. Jett sat on his other side, leaning against the headboard, but he kept his fingers tangled in Az’s hair. He’d already admitted to Addie that he didn’t want to let him go.
    He said as much again. “He has to make it. We’ve never defied the one who runs this operation. Not once, and dammit all, but I want our choice to count.”
    “Azrael matters too much to let Naburus have him. The decision to make him fight alone was unfair.” Addie raised her head and stared at Jett. “If my job is to maintain balance, then it was the right choice. Everything changed when we rescued Az.” She grinned and shook her head. “No, when he rescued us. If we lose him, our team will become unbalanced. We’ll be a less effective fighting force, and that negates our entire reason for existing. We made the right choice to help him, and Azrael has to live.”
    She raised her head and shouted at the ceiling. “Did you hear that? This man has paid enough. He had to live, and we need him on our team.”
    Locan raised his head. “Did you just yell at the boss?”
    Folding her arms across her chest, Addie gave a single sharp nod of her head. “I did. And his answer will tell us if we really do work for the good guys.”
    Jett just shook his head. “Guess you’re tellin’ him, eh, Addie?”
    “I am.” She leaned over and kissed Azrael’s forehead. “We can’t lose him, Jett. He’s one of us now.”
    Jett took her hand. “I know. We’re more than a team, we’re a family. And family sticks together. They protect what’s theirs.”
    “Yeah.” She studied Jett for a moment, seeing him with new eyes. He’d never said much about what the three of them had become, but he was right. They were family, and Azrael, though he was the newest member, was no