A hole opened up in the undead flesh. He shoved himself toward it as the panoramic view through the HUD showed nothing but zombies around him. On his feet now, he whirled to the right with the Spike Bolter roaring in his fist. He reached for the sword sheathed between his shoulders andraked it free.
Four feet of gleaming steel sprang free in his hand. Since he’d learned towalk, his father had taught him the way of the sword. Bladework came as naturally as breathing.
He spun back to the left and hacked through the zombies with a horizontal slash that sliced through undead flesh and bone almost effortlessly. As he drew the sword up over his left shoulder to ready a backhand slash, he stepped into the crush of his enemies and brought up the Spike Bolter.
The HUD marked the three Templar in the building with him, and it marked the four Templar that had started in from the underground parking garage’s streetentrance. The Spike Bolter yammered as he blasted down the enemies to his left. With a hard pull, he yanked the sword from his shoulder in another level swing that emptied the ranks of the zombies to his right.
“Team Two, Team Three,” Simon ordered. “Hold your positions. We’re comingout.”
The four advancing Templar pulled up and retreated. “Then come on,” Drakesaid irritably. “You look like you’re infested down there.”
FIVE
When Simon looked to check their progress, Danielle, Walter, and Kevin came from the basement door. Walter and Kevin added their own small-arms fire.
Walter’s Scorcher set zombies on fire as if they were dry tinder. The magicalelements of the Greek Fire that fueled the hand flamethrower disrupted the control of the zombies’ master. They lumbered and lurched in all directions, nolonger intent on anything except the orange and red tongues of flame that consumed them. Kevin carried a Spike Bolter like Simon’s, and he used it withdeadly skill.
In the darkness, Danielle’s Molten Edge sword burned through the zombies. Itwas a solid shaft of yellow and orange coal. The metal hilt and spine of the sword gave the eldritch energy its shape. The fiery blade left ash and cauterized flesh in its wake. Several of the zombies caught on fire and spread the flames to their mates.
But as many as the Templar destroyed, more arrived. The trap had been well set and well stocked.
Simon saw a Jaguar XKE-2 overturned ahead of him. He fought his way toward it. He holstered the Spike Bolter and chopped through the zombies between him and the sports car. When he reached the car, he caught hold of the bumper and yanked once to test it. Satisfied that it would hold for hispurposes, he set himself.
“Anchor right foot,” he ordered.
Immediately the suit’s AI changed configurations and fired a spike into theconcrete from the ball of his right foot. Only the ground anchor allowed him to use the suit’s full strength to accomplish his goal. Otherwise the XKE-2’s masswould have been too great for him to manage.
He spun and pulled with all the armor’s strength. Metal shrieked in protestas he yanked. When a suit of armor was made, no two suits ended up the same. They were designed to enhance a Templar’s natural abilities. Bigger, strongerTemplar ended up even bigger and stronger.
At six feet five inches tall and built broad and thick, Simon was a human tank to begin with. In the armor, he became a wrecking machine. It would have been impressive if some of the demons weren’t bigger and stronger.
The XKE-2 shrilled across the pavement as it came around. Simon pivoted on the anchored foot and threw the car. The vehicle didn’t go far, no more thanthirty or forty yards, but it cleared the way of zombies almost to the entranceway of the parking garage.
“Go,” Simon shouted as he pulled the Spike Bolter free again. “Danielle,you’ve got the point.”
“Understood.” Danielle sheathed her Molten Edge and pulled the twin SpikeBolters she carried on her hips. The pistols roared as she picked up the pace to an open field run in the wake of the thrown XKE-2. “Stay on me. Stay on me.”
Walter and Kevin, their burdens slung over their shoulders, followed Danielle. Their pistols fired continuously.
“Retract anchor,” Simon said.
“Retracting anchor.”
His foot came free of the pavement. He pushed himself forward and drew his Spike Bolter as he covered the retreat. Theremaining zombies hurled themselves in pursuit. The palladium rounds mowed them down like a scythe. When they got close enough, he cut them down with the sword.
Simon fought and spun to meet the challengers. With the HUD guiding the way, he never lost his sense of direction or his teammates’ positions.
With a lithe leap, Danielle reached the top of the overturned XKE-2. Spinning in a circle, she fired into the advancing ranks of the zombies. They went to pieces all around her.
“Regroup,” she yelled. “My Shockwave’s recharged.” She holstered one of theSpike Bolters.
Walter and Kevin took cover on the lee side of the XKE-2 as Simon reached them. Almost immediately, the blue-white burst of the Shockwave blast took shape around them. The zombies within fifteen feetand the XKE-2vanished intodisplaced particles. The floor and ceiling remained because they were part of large structures.
Danielle landed effortlessly and swept her pistols toward the wave of zombies that separated them from the street entrance. Walter and Kevin were at her heels.
For a moment, Simon thought they were going to make it easily, then he saw the winged demons approaching the teams waiting in the streets. He didn’t knowif Leah Creasey was on-scene, but from what he knew of her, he felt certain she’d be nearby.
“Leah!”
Atop the building across the street, Leah saw the demons swoop down from the dark sky. They hadn’t been there a moment ago.
And that means someone called them in, she thought grimly. Then she heard Simon’s voice echoing through her comm-link.
“I see
