At least the Blood Angel won’t get you, she told herself grimly. She grabbed the controls depending from the wings, then straightened out her glide just in time to avoid one of the taller buildings. She adjusted her direction toward the O2 and fired the microrockets filled with chemical propellant. They were capable of a sustained thirty-second burst that allowed the glider to gain altitude for longer flight.
The Blood Angel swooped down on Leah. The demon’s claws tore through the hang glider’s left wing as if it were made of paper rather than specially treated bullet-resistant fabric.
Abandoning the controls for a moment, Leah grabbed for the pistol in a shoulder holster under her left arm and the one at her left hip. The first weapon was an XM41 Thermal Bolter, a small rocket launcher that fired deadly warheads. The second was an SRAC machine pistol capable of a high rate of fire.
A twist in the harness allowed Leah to point the Thermal Bolter at the Blood Angel through the rent in the hang glider fabric. Hoping she didn’t accidently hit the glider’s wing, she squeezed the trigger and launched what looked like a small fireball as she closed her eyes. Protecting her eyes was second nature.
Bright light stormed across the back of Leah’s eyelids as the rocket hammered the Blood Angel. A fresh wave of heat from the explosion clouded around her for a moment, then it was gone.
Flames wreathed the Blood Angel. It shrieked in pain and frustration as it tried to hang on. Aiming the weapon again, Leah fired one more time. The second rocket burst against the demon’s skin as well.
The Blood Angel let go and shrilled as it fell away. Leah knew she hadn’t mortally injured the demon yet, though. She reached up and tapped the gun butt against the small control panel that had slid into place above her. AUTOPILOT blinked into view across the small screen. Immediately, the wings adjusted themselves to a gentle glide approach path the shortest distance to the ground. WARNING. APPROACH SPEED TOO GREAT, blinked the small readout. WARNING. NO CLEAR FLIGHT PATH AVAILABLE.
I know, I know. Leah followed the flaming Blood Angel with her eyes. Almost in the next breath, the flames around the demon extinguished. The Blood Angel flapped its wings and heeled over, streaking back to the attack.
Leah leveled the SRAC machine pistol at the demon and squeezed the trigger. The pistol bucked and kicked in her fist. Every third round was a purple tracer. Leah put the line of bullets on target with the demon. They smashed into the Blood Angel and tore holes in its body. Leah blasted the demon again with the rocket launcher.
Blinded by the flames, the Blood Angel hurtled straight at Leah. The demon fired more arcane energy and shrieked again.
Leah holstered the rocket launcher and grabbed the hang glider’s controls. AUTOPILOT DISENGAGED. Her thumb slid over the rocket activation button. She pressed and held it, intending to hold on for a slow five-count.
Instead, the Blood Angel’s energy blast overtook her. The hang glider spun as if seized in a miniature whirlwind. The support struts shivered and popped as they fought to maintain their shape. WARNING! flashed the LED screen on the controls. WIND SHEAR IS—
Leah ignored the rest of the message. It didn’t make any difference. All the guidance system could tell her was how bad everything was, and she already had a clue about that. She pushed the controls forward and fired the rockets because up seemed to be the path of least resistance.
That direction also took her back into the path of the Blood Angel.
Fisting the SRAC machine pistol, Leah fired at the center of the demon’s body. The explosive-tipped bullets smashed through the Blood Angel’s scales, lodged in its flesh, and detonated. Small, fist-sized craters opened up in the demon’s body and turned it into a moonscape of destruction.
Fighting the controls, Leah almost panicked when she saw the side of a building suddenly only a few feet away. She triggered the right rocket and tipped the hang glider sideways. The wingtip bounced intermittently from the side of the building. Orange sparks spewed in a torrent as the metal grated against stone. The scraping noise sounded as horrendous as the Blood Angel’s cry.
Easy. Easy. Leah tried keeping a gentle but firm hand at the controls. The altimeter showed she was still seventy feet in the air. Plenty of fall remained to kill her.
The Blood Angel swooped in and smashed against the building. Rebounding from the wall, the demon spun down in a sudden tangle of broken limbs and shredded wings that still burned from the rocket attack.
A savage cry of exultation burst from Leah’s lips before she knew it. In the next moment the hang glider’s wingtip skidded against the building and heeled around. Panicked, suddenly focused on her own survival, Leah kicked her right foot against the wall and shoved. The hang glider’s struts screamed and shuddered.
Knowing she had nothing to lose, Leah fired the rockets and hoped for the best. The propulsion kicked the hang glider out away from the building, but a crosswind caught it and slapped it back toward the wall again. Leah twisted violently, striving to keep the hang glider from crashing into the building. Then she blew past it and scooted once more into the open area above a street.
Maintaining control now, Leah angled for the street. She knew she was coming down far too fast, but there was nothing to be done for it. Darkspawn gunners were already tracking her. The air was suddenly alive with tracers and blurry energy bursts that heated the air, vibrated through her, or sparked electrical energy across her
