Page 98 of Demon Unleashed

“But how? How are we gonna reach it? We can’t just pass through who knows how many yards of stone wall.”

Zoltan blinked. “No, not through here. But parallel to this tunnel, there’s an older one. Its entrance collapsed years ago. But the exit on the other side is open.” He took her hand in his and pulled her back in the direction they’d come from. “This way.”

He let his eyes roam over the tunnel walls, looking for the spot where, years earlier, a parallel tunnel had caved in after an earthquake. The demons had never bothered excavating it, since they’d had another path to reach the caves that lay behind it.

Finally, he saw the formation of rocks that indicated the collapsed tunnel. He pointed to it. “Here.” They stopped in front of it.

“How thick is the rock here?” Enya asked.

“Three to four yards max.”

She nodded. “You’re fully Stealth Guardian now.” Her voice trembled, telling him that she knew the risk he was taking, not having tried going through walls before. “You can do it. Just think it, and it will happen.”

He nodded. If something went wrong, and he didn’t make it through the wall and into the tunnel behind, at least Enya would make it. “The tunnel is maybe a hundred and fifty yards long. At the end of it, turn right and you’ll see the entrance to the cave with the portal. If I don’t make it through, don’t wait for me. Just leave.”

She shook her head. “Not gonna happen.” She clutched his hand. “Let’s go.”

Together they walked into the wall, and to Zoltan’s relief, he didn’t feel any resistance. He didn’t bounce back, didn’t hit his head. He felt nothing pushing against him. A moment later, they were through. The tunnel before them was clear of any obstruction, clear of any lava.

Still holding hands, they sprinted toward the end of the tunnel, turned right, then ran into the small cave ahead of them. Enya slammed her hand onto the portal’s symbol, and a second later, it opened.

They jumped inside. Zoltan glanced over his shoulder and noticed the floor at the entrance to the cave giving way, falling into the ever-expanding stream of lava. Then everything went black. The door to the portal had closed.

He put both arms around Enya, then felt a faint vibration—the bomb to blow up the portal was exploding. But they were already teleporting. Zoltan felt Enya let out a sigh of relief.

“You did it,” Enya said.

“We did it.” He kissed her.

Moments later, he released Enya from his embrace.

The portal opened, and she stepped out ahead of him. Zoltan heard her gasp before he saw why. Two men and a woman Zoltan had never seen before were part of their welcoming committee comprising vampires and Stealth Guardians. Nevertheless, he recognized one of the newcomers immediately. Their gazes locked on to each other. The man visibly shook before his knees buckled.