Fear pounded Warren’s temples as he set himself and threw the spear as hard as he could. The obsidian shaft flew true and sank into Korhdajj’s neck just below his jaw.
The demon’s eyes widened in sudden fear. He turned to face Warren. “No!” Korhdajj bellowed in disbelief. “What have you done?” He reached for the spear, but his neck abruptly turned to soup and ran down his shoulder. Only his bones remained intact.
Lilith flew forward as Korhdajj started to fall. Her arms moved arthritically, but she caught his massive head in her hands. Unbelievably, she held the demon up as he fought for his life. Then a bold blue light dawned in Lilith’s hands.
Warren felt the exchange of arcane energy passing from Korhdajj to Lilith. Some of it spilled over onto him, and he pulled it into himself. The energy was too strong, though, and the pain of containing it lanced through him. He needed to release it before it tore him apart.
Hold on to it, Lilith said. You’re going to need it. Wait for my signal.
Warren’s eyes brimmed with tears as he fought the pain. Korhdajj shrank, dwindling into himself like a rotting jack-o’-lantern. But Lilith grew younger, till she looked like a woman in her twenties. Her hair grew in full and luxuriant. Her eyes held Warren’s as she turned to face him.
Now. Call the spear to you and use it to channel the energy within you against the Gremlins.
The connection to the spear throbbed in Warren’s mind. He threw out his hand and called it to him. With a quiver, it broke free of the demonic corpse and streaked across the room to slap into his palm. He spun as the Gremlins, spurred on by their commanders, streaked into the room.
As if he’d handled the spear all his life, Warren set himself and swung the weapon around. The spearhead ripped the first wave of Gremlins open. Some of them died immediately as the blade pierced their hearts. Others received lingering deaths from sliced throats, punctured lungs, and disembowelment. The floor ran thick with gore that flooded the area like a tidal wave.
The Gremlins backed off in awe. Warren couldn’t believe the damage he’d wreaked and stood frozen himself for a moment.
“Stand there and you’ll die,” Lilith yelled at him. She threw out a hand and a massive charge of electricity surged through the massed Gremlins. Many of them blew up, their limbs twisted free by the discharge that ripped through their bodies.
Several of the Gremlins at the door raised their weapons and took aim at Warren and Lilith. With a gesture, Warren raised a shield. Projectiles came to a sudden stop in midair, held by the shield. Beam weapons, acid, and swarms of insects fired by even stranger weapons smeared harmlessly across the shield.
“There are too many,” Naomi shouted in Warren’s ear. “We’ll have to go out the windows.”
“No,” Warren replied.
“We can slow our fall with our powers.”
“No. There are too many of them waiting out there.”
“We’re not going to get out of here.”
“Yes we will. Stay with me.” Warren held the spear in both hands before him. He channeled the supercharged arcane force now at his disposal and created a massive wall of fire that blazed back over the Gremlins. Only Warren’s shield kept the flames from consuming them as well.
The demons had no chance for escape. Almost to a creature, they caught fire and burned like kindling, dropping to the floor in twisted, blackened lumps. Some of them shattered into ash.
For a moment, the room was empty.
The heat washed over Warren in spite of his shield. He focused again, once more channeling the energy through the spear, and directed a shockwave at the wall beside the door where Gremlin corpses blocked the way.
With a thunderous crash, the wall shattered, then blew outward to leave a gaping hole. The Gremlins standing behind the wall were flattened or blown away. Beyond them, the elevator doors caved in with a metallic shrill.
“Come on!” Warren grabbed Naomi’s hand with his human one and got her into motion. He ran through the hole. Lilith followed.
Never breaking stride, Warren ran across the downed Gremlins and straight for the elevator shaft. He threw the spear out and directed another blast of force toward the doors hanging askew. The doors ripped away and fell down into the dark shaft.
“Jump!” Warren shouted. Naomi fought against him, but Gremlins had already recovered enough to fire at them. He tightened his grip on her hand and yanked her after him as he went over the edge and fell into darkness.
Naomi screamed.
Warren didn’t blame her. Hurtling down the dark elevator shaft proved terrifying. He switched over to his night eyes and saw the elevator cage rushing up at them. Of course, it wasn’t actually moving because he hadn’t wired it through the emergency generator, but it gave the appearance of doing so.
Tapping into his power, he halted his downward plummet and held on to Naomi. Her weight hit the end of his arm and dragged him off balance. They fell again, but the shorter fall lessened the impact greatly. Still, Warren felt ribs on his right side crack as he struck the top of the elevator cage.
Lilith floated to a graceful stop above him. “You’ve trapped us,” she snarled.
Unable to draw a breath against the pain of his cracked ribs, Warren managed to stand. He swayed and felt sick, and he regretted what he had to do next. Concentrating, he blasted another force wave through the elevator cage. It crumpled beneath them and they fell again.
His ribs burned as he pushed himself to his knees. He placed his free hand against the elevator doors and blasted them. They ripped from their moorings as the Gremlins leaned over the opening on the fourth floor. Bullets and beams rattled the shaft.
Warren lurched through the opening. Lilith floated by him before he got through. He pulled Naomi from the wreckage and hauled her into the building’s basement.
The Soho
