weaker, and though he still had plenty to spare, it was time to end this nonsense before any of them escaped. So Crow covered the ground in a few huge steps, swung a claw, and knocked the gun away. Sullivan jumped back and scrambled to draw his sidearm. Pathetic. It was like human beings moved in slow motion. Crow simply lifted one gigantic foot, placed it on Sullivan’s chest, and shoved him back. Crow didn’t even push hard, but the mortal still flew ten feet through the air to splash into a puddle.
“This isn’t even fair,” Crow said. “You know, some of my men are taking your buddies over to the Capitol for a little show right now. Maybe I should keep you in one piece? Use you the same way? What do you think?” Sullivan got to his knees, lifted his pistol, and shot Crow in the mouth. “Ah, never mind then.” Crow leaned over and backhanded him.
Sullivan slid through the mud until he hit a tree. That stopped him solid and the Heavy cried out as something broke inside of him. Playtime was over. Crow reached down, stuck a claw through Sullivan’s bandoleers and hoisted him into the air. He had never tasted the blood of a Heavy before, and as he pulled Sullivan’s throat toward his mouth, he wondered idly what it would taste like.
Thwack!
One of Crow’s legs went out from under him and he was falling. Something had hit him on the back of the knee and levered him right down. Sullivan went rolling away as Crow tore through the branches and landed in the mud.
A man was standing there, holding some sort of metal club. He raised it overhead and shouted a war cry in a foreign language. Japanese? Crow lifted one gigantic forearm and easily blocked the club, but the spikes ripped holes in his shell to let out the precious smoke. He was fast, but no normal human was as fast as a Greater Summoned, and Crow easily knocked the man across the trail. “You Grimnoir don’t know when to quit.”
The Oriental hit the ground hard, but he got right back up. Crow could admire the tenacity. “I am no Grimnoir!” He lifted the club, roared, “ TOKUGAWA!” and charged.
Imperium? Sullivan was making all sorts of strange new friends. No matter. This guy could be First Iron Guard, but he wasn’t shit without magic against a demon of this caliber. Crow spread his claws wide and prepared to eviscerate the Jap, and then for a split second, it was as bright as day.
The explosion startled him as it seemed to rock the whole island. Crow instinctively turned in time to see orange flames boiling up over the OCI compound. The air pressure seemed to change and he felt his own connection to the Summoned’s body strengthen. The Dymaxion!
Crow turned to finish the Jap, but he wasn’t there. Instead, the Jap had leapt high into the air and was on the way back down. Brute! Crow tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. The spiked club slammed into his shoulder with a blow that would have pulverized bones if he’d had any. He managed to slash his claws across the Jap’s chest as the club came back around. The spikes pierced Crow’s chest and sent him reeling, but the Jap spun away in a spray of blood. Crow went after him. A Brute could not be underestimated. He had to eliminate the Jap quickly.
Only Crow couldn’t move. It was like trying to walk into a tidal wave. He couldn’t lift his arms. His feet sunk into the soft ground. The smoke pouring from his wounds suddenly came shooting out in pressurized jets and for the first time Crow felt the demon’s pain.
Sullivan! The Heavy appeared before him, covered in dirt, a grimace of concentration on his face as he hammered Crow with a multitude of extra gravities. The other Grimnoir were coming out of the trees behind Sullivan, guns blazing. Crow was frozen in a storm of lead. He realized they had a Mover as well, as rocks turned into missiles and tree branches struck like spears. A multitude of lacerations ripped through the demon’s skin, showering flaming ink everywhere. Crow tried to roar, but smoke poured from his mouth instead of sound.
The demon was screaming inside of its head, furious and confused at the treatment. Crow tried to force it back, but it was much harder that time, and he started to panic. What would happen if the demon took over while he was still inside? No. Focus. Get back! Luckily, the demon retreated before Crow’s Power.
The waves of gravity kept on crashing. The Heavy couldn’t possibly keep up that level of Power for long, and the second it let off, Crow would kill them all. Sullivan was wobbling. He’d been hit hard earlier and was feeling the injury now. Crow could sense the gravity weakening, and he managed to take a step forward.
Another Grimnoir rushed to Sullivan’s side and laid a glowing hand on him. Sullivan stood a little straighter and the pressure coming down on Crow increased. The Grimnoir had a Healer!
“On my mark, cut your Power!” The Jap was back. His shirt was hanging open and several deep lacerations were dripping blood, but a few of the Imperium kanji spells were visible on his skin, burning bright. The Jap hoisted the ink-soaked club as he gathered all of this awful Brute magic for a single shot. He closed his eyes and waited as the magic forces built until Crow could see the Power.
“NO!” Crow and the Summoned shrieked at the same time.
The Brute opened his eyes. “Now.” He bellowed as he swung, the steel club moving through the air with an inhuman speed. The crushing gravities fell away and Crow could move, but only for an instant before the impact.
Crow’s torso exploded into a black mist.
There was no brain inside the Summoned’s form, its intelligence was spread throughout the entire being. Crow’s consciousness was ripped into multiple pieces, but for a brief moment he could still see through the demon’s eyes as the horned head went flipping through the air. Then the Summoned’s connection to this world was broken and its spirit was sent hurtling back into the ether from which it had come.
Several miles away, Crow slammed back into his real body, pieces at a time. It was like a brilliant, jagged shaft of lightning drove through his skull and twisted. Crow screamed and convulsed, as he fell from his chair to lay twitching on the floor.
Crow was delirious from pain, but it was almost as if some of the savagery of the demon had returned with him. He wanted to kill these Grimnoir. He needed to taste their blood and snap their bones. His Power was burnt and scattered. It would take a minute to gather up enough to Summon again, but he’d destroy them if it was the last thing he did.
Desperate and delusional, Crow reached out for the greatest Summoned he had ever discovered.
The smoke gradually cleared. The forest was on fire; everybody had been splattered with burning demon bits, but Crow was gone.
Sullivan thanked the new Healer and pushed him away. Crow had pulverized him, but Dianatkhah had got him stabilized enough for the spells carved on Sullivan’s chest to handle the rest. “I’m fine. Save your Power for somebody who needs it more.” Toru was looking rough. He too had kanji engraved on him, and they were emitting heat and light as they pulled in Power to keep him alive. Crow had tagged him good, and the Iron Guard’s chest looked like somebody had slashed him with a pair of butcher knives. “Fix him,” Sullivan said, gesturing at Toru.
To his credit, Dianatkhah only hesitated for a second before moving over to put his hands on the Iron Guard. They might not like him, nor trust him, but Toru had just proved that he was mighty useful in a fight.
Diamond came running up. At some point one lens of his glasses had been cracked. “The compound’s burning. I sent Simmons and Mottl forward to secure the breach.”
“Good.” Sullivan did a quick head count. The rest of the knights were present. Ian wasn’t looking so good, but that was probably from the drain of having one of his Summoned destroyed rather than from any physical injuries. With the Dymaxion down, the tables had just turned in their favor. Dan Garrett had found Sullivan’s BAR and tossed it over. Sullivan caught the massive gun in one hand. “Let’s go.”
The knights moved forward. Sullivan paused long enough to pick up one bent half of Toru’s spiked club. He’d broken the solid steel bar against the demon. The one piece in Sullivan’s hand weighed twenty pounds. He held it up to show the Iron Guard. “Nice shot.”
The Iron Guard gave him a small nod. He seemed a little misty-eyed. “That was my favorite tetsubo. They will pay for that. Come. Let us kill these dogs.”
The broken chunk of steel landed in the puddle with a splash. Sullivan turned toward the burning compound. He figured that if the OCI knew what was good for them, they’d surrender now.
Francis had been dragged, kicking and fighting, up the stairs, down a corridor, to where someone else had pulled a burlap sack over his head, and then he’d been carried outside. He could tell it was outside because it was colder, stunk of smoke, and the gunfire was louder. There’d been some shouting between the OCI men to not wait for Heinrich, and then he was tossed onto something that, from the rocking and the sound of the water, could only be a small boat. An outboard motor had started, and then they were heading across the river. Francis didn’t even
