Then the Templar closed on the Ravagers. Just before the two groups collided, the Ravagers issued their low, guttural barks. A warrior alone might have a chance to get clear of an encounter thanks to that habit of barking. But that wasn’t going to happen tonight. The demons threw themselves forward with gaping jaws.
Simon dropped the deer carcass from his shoulder and hoped he’d have a chance to collect it before they had to flee. He freed the Spike Bolter at his hip and fisted it. The pistol was large, an L-shaped frame with six rotating barrels capable of delivering an amazing rate of fire. The ammunition was palladium spikes.
In the 360-degree HUD view, Simon saw Danielle free her second Molten Edge sword. The second one was slightly smaller than the one she held in her right hand. She’d been training long and hard these past few months to wield dual blades in battle. The Molten Edge blades held a high-intensity column of carefully controlled lava that followed the parameters defined by the sword.
Both weapons flared to life as she said the voice-activation prompts. Both blades resembled liquid fire and stood proudly against the darkness of the night. Danielle was hard to lose in a night battle.
The Ravagers shifted, but they didn’t attack or retreat.
With liquid ease, the lead Ravager pivoted to face Simon. The horrible maw gaped open to reveal rows of serrated teeth that curved inward. Once a Ravager closed its jaws, the mouth was like a bear trap. A victim would almost have to hack off his own limb to get free.
Instead of waiting for the Ravager’s attack, Simon sprang into action. He leaped high into the air and extended the Spike Bolter at the Ravager. When he squeezed the trigger, a steady stream of palladium spikes tore into the demon’s scaly hide.
The Ravager roared in pain, but wasn’t hurt badly enough to give up its single-minded obsession with seeking its prey. Next to the first, a second Ravager powered itself up to stand on its two rear legs as it lunged at Simon.
Nathan’s Firefield Caster belched a pair of grenades that struck the second Ravager in the throat. The explosions knocked the creature back and covered it with a sheet of flame. Before it could recover, Nathan fired another pair of rounds that struck the Ravager’s head. One of them exploded in the demon’s mouth. It roared, breathing out fire, and whipsawed in a frenzy of pain.
“Anchor,” Simon ordered the suit AI as he arced down. Anchoring spikes designed to hold a Templar fast against an assault fired from his boots. There were two twelve-inch spikes, one on each side of his ankles.
The first Ravager pulled back from the one that was on fire, but it moved only a few inches. Simon’s left foot spikes smashed down through the Ravager’s thick skull, but the spikes on his right foot only pierced the demon’s neck. Simon’s considerable weight drove the Ravager to the ground.
The Ravager yanked its head out from under Simon, who fell sideways, unable to keep his balance because his spikes were anchored into the demon. Its strength surprised him. He’d figured his move would have nailed it to the ground.
He landed hard on his back, but the armor and special anticoncussive liquid insulation that lay between him and the armor cushioned the blow. The Ravager came at him, but its head twisted awkwardly on its skinny neck. Still, it snapped at him and its fangs raked his armor.
Simon raised the Spike Bolter into position and fired at almost point-blank range. The spikes reduced the Ravager’s left eye to bloody pulp and chewed through the socket and temple.
Bloodied, the Ravager refused to die. It snarled and dug its front feet into the ground, then surged forward again. Propelled by his opponent’s weight and strength, Simon flopped like a rag doll.
“Anchor release,” he commanded.
The spikes withdrew from the Ravager’s head and neck. Instantly, it reared on its back legs and came down hard on Simon with its front legs. Unable to get out of the way, Simon felt the blow bounce him against the ground.
“Warning,” the suit AI informed him. “Suit integrity at eighty-one percent.”
Simon rolled to the side as the Ravager tried to repeat the attack. The ground shook as the massive front feet struck. After another roll, Simon got his feet under him. He surged up and fired the Spike Bolter again. The Ravager cocked its head sideways to see him with its good eye. Behind it, the Ravager that Nathan had shot rolled in agony as the clinging flames blistered the demon’s flesh.
“Other demons closing in from the north and east,” the suit AI said.
A brief glance at the HUD showed Simon the fresh waves of demons headed his way. He knew that trying to stand against all of them would be suicide. They had to make it through the Ravagers here.
SIX
Leah spread her arms and legs into a starfish pattern as she fell. Despite her panic over the long fall, she couldn’t forget about the Blood Angel. The dive over the building’s side had bought Leah a little time, but she knew it wasn’t much.
Calm, she told herself. You’ve done this before. Nothing to it.
But she knew that was a lie. The equipment she was about to use had been used under optimum conditions. And she’d never used it at night.
She slammed her clenched fist into the activation pad just below her neck and waited to endure severe agony. The NanoDyne hang glider deployed from the low-profile backpack strapped to her. Thin black Kevlar mesh sailed along telescoping struts powered by Konstruk nanobots. In less than a second, the twenty-foot span of wings had spread and filled the frame.
The straps cut into Leah’s flesh with a suddenness that took her breath away. She stifled a scream of pain. Every time she’d used the hang glider before, she’d deployed it
