“Jessica!” Lyra screamed as she pulled a grenade from her hip. She activated it, and the blue glow stood out bright and sharp against the darkness inside the church.
“Lyra!” Jessica stood waiting in the tunnel leading to the Underground.
“Jessica! Get down!” Lyra heaved the grenade at the Reaper.
Jessica dived for cover just before the grenade exploded against the demon. Growling incoherently, the Reaper dropped to the floor like a felled redwood.
“Hit the switch!” Lyra ordered. Her right arm was injured. She cradled it as she limped toward the opening as fast as she could.
After a moment, Jessica found the switch and threw it. With a grinding noise, the section of flooring started closing at once. Jessica ran for it as best as she was able. There was just enough time to reach the opening—
—then something grabbed her ankle and yanked her from her feet. She fell hard against the floor and grabbed the lip of the opening. The Reaper had regained consciousness. It growled as it tried to haul her in.
Incredibly, Jessica grabbed hold of Lyra’s wrists and tried to pull her into the opening.
“Go on!” Lyra ordered.
“I won’t leave you!” Tears tracked down Jessica’s scared and determined face.
“I promised!” Lyra shoved the girl back into the opening, and she fell out of sight. She plucked another grenade from her combat webbing and rolled over to face the Reaper. “For the living!” she’d said, remembering Lord Sumerisle’s final salute. Then she’d banged the grenade to activate it.
“Lyra!” Jessica yelled.
When the event had actually taken place, Lyra had managed to kill the Reaper just in time. Tonight, though, the demon lashed out a big hand and knocked the grenade out of Lyra’s grip.
“No!” Lyra yelled, not believing what had just happened. That hadn’t ever occurred.
The Reaper grinned at Lyra, knowing she was almost helpless, and dove for the opening. Before Jessica could get back out of the way, the demon was upon her, scooping her up in one big hand.
“Jessica!” Lyra pushed herself to her feet, but she knew she’d arrive too late.
The demon’s jaws distended as it lifted Jessica. Bravely, the little girl faced her end without a whimper, exhibiting all the steel that went into being a Sumerisle.
“No!” Lyra shouted. “This wasn’t how it went!”
A figure leaped past Lyra. The familiar blacksuit the agents wore identified the person at once. The agent grabbed one of the demon’s wings, planted feet against the Reaper’s back, and shoved a machine pistol against the base of the creature’s skull. A full-auto burst ripped into the demon’s head.
Without a sound, the Reaper dropped Jessica and fell face forward.
Lyra limped up to Jessica and took the girl in an embrace.
The agent turned and faced Lyra, then ripped her mask off. Leah smiled tiredly at Lyra. “So this is your tie to the Templar.”
Lyra held the girl. “Yes.”
“No wonder you want Simon back in the Underground. That’s Jessica Sumerisle, right?”
“Yes. But I don’t understand what you’re doing here. I’m dreaming. I have to be dreaming. This happened four years ago, and you weren’t there.”
“No.” Leah shook her head. “I’ve been taken captive. The demons are using me to locate people—any people now—and fill their sleep with nightmares.”
“We’ve had a huge outbreak of nightmares and sleepwalkers,” Lyra said. “A few people have died in their sleep.”
“You’ve got to come to the Apple store,” Leah said. “That’s where I’m being held. The demons have a machine there. I came looking for you tonight. I didn’t know if it would work. If you hadn’t been sleeping, I guess it wouldn’t have.”
“Can’t you stop this?”
“I’ve tried.” Leah shook her head sadly. “God knows I’ve tried since I’ve been in here. There’s nothing I can do. And I’m not the only one. The machine has to be destroyed. You’ve got to—”
Panicked, breathing hard, Lyra woke up in her quarters at the complex. She took a moment to gather herself. Then she got out of bed, showered, and got dressed in her blacksuit.
By the time she reached her door, she had a strike team assembled and leaders awaiting her in her ready room.
FIFTY
You know, mate,” Nathan said, “this is possibly the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”
Peering through the helicopter’s cargo doors, Simon looked down at the city. Despite the tension of the moment and the stakes, he couldn’t resist saying, “Doesn’t even make my Top Ten.”
“Yeah, well not all of us were born with a death wish.”
“Does that count the demon-infested landing zone?” Danielle asked. “Because I think that should get it in the running.”
“That doesn’t count the demon-infested landing zone,” Simon said. He checked the parachute harness one last time. “So I’ll give you the Top Ten.”
“Maybe they can put that on the headstone,” Nathan said.
“Aren’t you optimistic,” Danielle chided. “Thinking there’s going to be enough of you left to bury.”
“They gotta put my memories somewhere,” Nathan said.
Simon thought about Nathan for a moment. He had the baby on the way. Before they’d left the redoubt, Simon had told him to stay there. Nathan had refused.
“It’s still not too late to turn around and go back,” Simon said over a private link.
“The only way I’m turning around,” Nathan told him, “is if you lead the way. Are you ready to do that?”
Leah’s down there. “No.”
“Then neither am I. Let’s kick this in the arse and get it done.”
A few minutes later, the helicopter pilot let them know they were on the final approach path. The craft sank lower and became a target for small flying demons at once. They couldn’t catch the helicopter. It couldn’t slow or it would become prey for the Blood Angels.
Simon looked at the Templar with him, then opened a channel to them and the Templar in the two other cargo helicopters. “Tonight we strike back for the first time. Let the demons know that we haven’t been completely beaten. Let them know that they won’t get this world without a fight.” He paused. “For the living.”
“For the living!” the Templar echoed.
The pilot
