The little red devil seemed to be a pretty good distraction for the demon hunters—while it lasted. Making it over to tunnel twenty-seven wasn’t too difficult, despite the fact that the howls and hisses were growing louder. The demon hunters were chasing Holland’s offspring from one tunnel to the next, the Guardians tracking the battle through the shrieks and growls, and from time to time, a red streak would pass by the end of the tunnel near enough that Aaron could almost make the monster baby out.

The demon hunters were relentless, though, and eventually, they caught up to their prey. From a few tunnels away, Aaron heard the sound...