Am I just leading them to die? Simon asked himself bitterly. Things hadn’t gone well at the redoubt. Booth and some of the other Templar that had chosen to remain inb the Underground called him a pariah and claimed that he foolishly caused Templar to leave the safety of the Underground just to perish at the hands of demons.
He shook the dark thoughts from his mind, realizing that they came too easily these days, and focused on the fleeing demons.
The Minion had to die.
Simon clung grimly to the ATV as it tore across the uneven terrain. The pointed prow crested snowdrifts and exploded them into the air. Flakes landed on Simon’s cracked faceplate and melted immediately as the suit fought to keep his vision clear. Water droplets formed inside the faceplate, oozing through the cracks left by the winged demon.
Twice the ATV went airborne and landed with jarring thumps. Simon knelt on one knee and felt hammered against the armor.
“Still with us?” Wertham asked.
“Yes,” Simon replied.
“Can’t go through the forest after the demon.”
“I know.” Simon peered through the tight cluster of trees. Thankfully the patchy forest allowed visual contact. The openings limited the demon in the areas he could attempt to hide. “Just get me close.”
The ATV skirted the forest. Small saplings and brush went down under the fighting vehicle’s massive tires. The constant crashing and snapping filled Simon’s audio.
Moonlight occasionally exposed the fleeing demons through the trees. The Minion had obviously spotted the ATV and was making a concerted effort to stay as far away from it as possible.
“Stop here,” Simon said, then flung himself from the ATV.
Even though the ATV sped at almost forty miles an hour across the uncertain landscape when Simon took his leave, the armor’s gyros helped him stay upright. His trajectory still wasn’t completely controllable, though. He caromed off a tree, shredding bark and taking off branches over two inches in diameter.
He hit the ground and rolled. The sword and shield across his back made it awkward, but he’d practiced such maneuvers for years. When he got to his feet, he gripped the sword in his hand.
He ran through the forest like a deer, leaping and bounding over fallen trees. The HUD showed him that Wertham had halted the ATV just outside the forest’s edge. Three other Templar had deployed and ran in full pursuit.
As Simon closed on the demons, the Minion slid from the Fetid Hulk’s back. Immediately, the large demon turned to face Simon. It lumbered through the forest awkwardly, ill matched to the terrain.
Sliding his shield around, Simon held it before him and used it to meet the Fetid Hulk’s massive fists. The powerful impacts drove Simon back for a moment, then he stepped to the right, bashed the shield’s edge against the outside of the demon’s knee, and listened to it shatter.
The Fetid Hulk growled in pain as it collapsed to one knee. It flailed at Simon with a big fist but missed by inches.
“Take it,” Simon ordered the pursuing Templar.
The three Templar mercilessly closed on the Fetid Hulk. The demon spat a huge splash of toxin from its throat sac, but one of the Templar held up his Domination Shield. Formed of spectral energy, the shield glowed and appeared translucent till struck. Then it grew more opaque, depending on how hard the blow struck. The shield took the brunt of the toxin as the other two Templar attacked.
Simon watched the battle in his HUD while he pursued the Minion. The demon leaped up, caught a thick tree branch in one cybernetic hand, and swung itself up. While taking cover behind the tree trunk, it slid a blaster hand onto its other wrist.
“You’re stubborn, Templar,” the demon taunted. “Coming all this way to die.”
“I’m not going to be the one who dies,” Simon said.
Lithe as a monkey, the Minion dropped to the branch below, caught it in its cybernetic hand, and fired the blaster as it swung. Caught off-guard, Simon fell backward as the energy smashed against his helmet. His faceplate shattered more.
“Warning,” the suit AI said. “Primary defenses at eighteen percent. Other Templar presence detected. Shift to defensive mode only.”
Hurting and near exhaustion, Simon forced himself to his feet. He tracked the demon as it moved through the trees. The three Templar still engaged the Fetid Hulk. He couldn’t allow the Minion to get away.
The Minion tried to duplicate its attack, but Simon was prepared for the move this time. When it dropped and brought the hand weapon to bear, Simon raised his shield and blocked the energy blast.
Retreating quickly, obviously expecting Simon to retaliate, the Minion climbed through the branches. Simon slid the shield off, caught the edge in his hand, and turned to profile the tree. Back when he’d been involved with extreme sports, he’d thrown a lot of Frisbees to help develop hand/eye coordination. There had also been beaches and girls in bikinis involved. With the armor, the shield felt incredibly light.
As the Minion settled on a branch well out of reach, Simon whipped the shield forward. At nearly three feet across, the shield weighed close to forty pounds. The shield crashed through tree limbs and plowed into the Minion’s head.
Almost decapitated from the blow, the demon dropped from the tree like a stone. By the time it hit the ground, Simon reached it with his sword in his hand.
Even with half of its head shorn away by the shield’s edge, the demon still lived. It gazed at Simon with its malevolent black eyes. Convulsions wracked it as it tried to get
