Hellgate London - Exodus Part 28

Simon hoped so. Since he was tying his future-however long that might be-to that of the Templar, he wanted to think they would be honest with him.

"And yes," Derek answered. "I would have come, Simon. The Templar are the only way the world is going to rid itself of these demons."

Simon slid his backpack off and opened one of the compartments. He emptied munitions onto the floor and hoped he wouldn't need them on the way back to the Underground.

As he touched the book, it suddenly bloated like a toad, straining at the palladium alloy chain. Then it leaked dark fluid that looked green on the HUD. Simon thought he knew what it was.

"Is that blood?" Derek asked.

Simon steeled himself and shoved the book into the backpack without answering. Neither of them really wanted to know. He thought he felt the book quivering but was willing to admit that it might have been his imagination.

Just then a voice broke in over the HUD. "Demons have found us, lads."

The immediate threat seemed to calm Derek, giving him something to worry about that he could deal with. "Where?" He walked out of the hidden room back into the study.

"All around us."

Simon settled the backpack across his shoulders and hoped his armor could hold off the fiend if it happened to get away from the blessed chain. He freed the Spike Bolter as he stepped out into the study.

Claws rasped across the roof.

A snarling face suddenly peered in through the window. The ma.s.sive head looked like a gray-white starfish with huge malevolent eyes shoved into the center of it. The maw gaped, filled with serrated teeth between the two eighteen-inch tentacles hanging from its jaws.

"Gremlin scout," Derek said.

Simon had already identified the creature and was lifting the Spike Bolter. Gremlin scouts, even though that might not have been what they called themselves, performed the job the name implied. If the scout knew Templar were in the building, the rest of the pack did, too.

Before Simon could fire, the Gremlin scout hefted a Shockwave pistol up and pressed it against the gla.s.s. The sidearm used HARP technology to gather an electrical charge from the air, then release it in a concentrated blast. The blast was limited to a twenty-foot radius, but that distance easily covered the study.

Simon aimed and started to squeeze the trigger on his Spike Bolter when the world detonated in a blinding white-hot flash.

Thirty-One.

The electric discharge blew the gla.s.s out of the window and knocked Simon from his feet. As he flew backward, he realized he should have locked his boots down. But the force was so strong he didn't know if even that would have helped.

He crashed against the wall. Books tumbled down over him. He thought the book in his backpack squirmed, but he couldn't be sure. His senses reeled and for a moment he thought he might pa.s.s out. Even with the boosted power of the armor, his arms felt like lead.

Derek was knocked flat and rolled backward. He lost his Firestarter.

The Gremlin scout clambered through the shattered window. A second one followed. The high-pitched hum of the Shockwave the first one carried filled the study.

Struggling to swallow the nausea that swirled up in him, certain that his brain had turned to jelly, Simon pointed the Spike Bolter and fired without aiming, knowing all he had on his side was his quickness. The projectiles ripped b.l.o.o.d.y furrows in the Gremlin scout's neck, then tracked up to its huge face and shredded its eyes.

The Gremlin scout roared in rage and staggered back. It fired the Shockwave a second time.

The ma.s.sive blast hammered Simon back up against the wall again. The true danger of the sonic wave created by the pistol was that it didn't truly have to be aimed. The blast radiated out from the center of the shooter's ma.s.s and grew stronger as it went.

This time Simon did black out for a moment. He came to almost immediately. The rusty taste of blood trickled through his mouth.

The first Gremlin scout dropped to its knees. Its face hung in gory tatters. Broken bone showed through.

It tried to bring the Shockwave up again but pitched forward on its face.

Shoving himself to his feet, letting the armor do most of the work, Simon stood. His hand was empty when he lifted it. The Spike Bolter lay somewhere under the second wave of falling books.

The second Gremlin scout struggled to its feet and gripped the war axe it carried. Some kind of rifle hung over its shoulder. Falling snow eddied in through the broken window behind it.

Simon drew his sword. Derek lay silent and still near the doorway. Simon didn't know if the Templar was alive or dead.

The Gremlin smiled and growled. Though he didn't know the words, Simon realized a challenge had been issued.

Simon moved forward. The Gremlin brought the axe around in an abbreviated arc. Reacting instantly, knowing the outcome would be decided in seconds, Simon blocked the haft of the axe with his sword blade. Even with the augmented strength given him by the armor, Simon was barely able to stop the axe. The demon snarled in a guttural voice.

Twisting, Simon drove a side kick into the demon's face that snapped its head back. He followed it with two more kicks, not believing the ma.s.sive creature was still standing when the armor gave him enough strength to kick down a wall.

Unable to bring any true sword skill into play, Simon headb.u.t.ted the Gremlin in the face and knocked it back a half-step. He thought he almost brained himself in the attempt. But he ripped the sword away from the axe haft, took a step back, pointed the sword before him, and lunged.

The sword slid through the demon's chest with effort. The sound of splintering bone and ripped scales cracked through Simon's auditory receptors.

The demon dropped its axe and reached for the sword. Shouting harsh, guttural noises, the creature wrapped its hands around the blade. Incredibly, it halted the sword as Simon locked his boots down and put the armor's weight behind his effort.

For a moment, fear touched Simon, almost consuming him in its intensity as the demon fought him to a standstill. He pushed the weakness away and concentrated on his father, on his loss, and all the training and faith his father had put into him. He shoved.

The sword sawed through the Gremlin's fingers and sank to the hilt. Savagely, Simon twisted the sword hilt and carved through the demon's flesh. It died on its feet, mouth open in surprise.

Holding fast to the sword hilt, Simon drew up a leg and put his foot against the demon's chest. He forced the demon's body backward at the same time he pulled the sword free.

The Gremlin fell backward through the broken window. Breathing hard but in control, Simon stumbled back over the dead body of the other Gremlin and steadied himself. He caught hold of the window and peered out just in time to see the demon crash down hard enough to crack the sidewalk.

Two other Gremlins started climbing the building's wall.

Simon turned back to Derek. The other Templar was just getting to his feet. Crossing the room quickly, Simon plucked his Spike Bolter from under a pile of books and leathered it. Then he grabbed Derek's arm as the Templar found his Firestarter. "Are you all right?" Simon asked.

"Yes." Derek sounded winded and disoriented. He stared at the dead Gremlin. "Where is the other one? There were two."

"Gone. Let's go. Others are coming." Simon pulled on his arm and got him moving. Fear drove him. He didn't want to be caught. But he wasn't afraid of dying. He'd accepted his death would come sooner than later. He just didn't want to lose.

Simon pulled Derek down the stairs, b.u.mping into the wall as the other Templar slammed against him again and again, losing his footing several times. He slid his sword over his back again and held the Spike Bolter.

As he turned the last corner that put him out into the second-floor hallway, Simon switched to thermographic display and peered through the walls. Three yellow and red shadows showed in the darkness.

Holding up on the stairs, Simon put the Spike Bolter away and yanked a grenade from his vest. It contained a high explosive made from Greek Fire that burned with a nuclear intensity.

"This is Simon," he said. "Is anyone on the second floor?"

"No. We got outside once we spotted the demons. Do you need help?"

"Negative. I just wanted to make sure you were clear." Simon pulled the arming ring, then flipped the grenade into the second-story hallway.

The red and yellow shadows s.h.i.+fted in reaction to the noise the grenade made as it hit the floor. If any of them recognized the explosive for what it was, they didn't have time to do anything about it.

The grenade blew up with a deafening report the armor almost blocked out. The floor vibrated beneath Simon's feet and smoke roiled from the room.

Drawing the Spike Bolter, Simon turned the corner. He pointed the pistol in front of him and yanked Derek into motion.

Greek Fire covered the walls and the floor. The house wasn't going to survive the night. As close as the buildings were, Simon felt certain that most of the block would burn by morning. He felt bad about that, but it couldn't be helped.

Another Gremlin emerged from one of the rooms. It carried a strange pistol Simon couldn't identify.

Blocky and metallic, the sidearm looked ungainly. Crimson lights flared along the dulled steel-gray finish. The demon fired at once.

Several dozen incandescent flashes streaked from the pistol and slammed against Simon's armor. Most of the bursts bounced and ricocheted from the armor, deflected from the palladium alloy or the protective spells, though Simon wasn't sure which. But his defenses dropped quickly.

He pulled the Spike Bolter up and fired. The Greek Fire coiled up his armored legs, setting off a new set of warnings on his HUD display. More flaming liquid hung from the ceiling and the walls. Some of it dripped down onto Simon and obscured his view for a split second before it slid away.

Behind Simon, Derek was s.h.i.+fting, taking his weight back as he aimed his Firestarter. Streams of fire covered the demon and caused horrific burns immediately. It wiped frantically at the fire.

Weakened by the fire, the ceiling started to buckle. Simon knew it was going to come down. Even the armor might not stand against the maelstrom of fire.

Simon aimed point-blank at the demon and ran toward it, firing the whole way. The palladium needles tore through the Gremlin's flesh and staggered it. As he closed on the monster, Simon lowered a shoulder and caught the demon in the side, propelling it over the second-floor banister.

The demon fell only a short distance, probably not even enough to notice if it had been healthy. But it wasn't healthy. It kicked and tried to get to its feet but couldn't manage the action.

Simon ran down steps that hadn't been built with four-hundred-pound Templar in mind. The steps split and crunched underfoot, leaving pitfalls for Derek.

Instead of taking the stairs, though, Derek simply leaped over the side and made the jump easily. He touched down on a three-point landing and shoved himself back up.

"Come on!" Derek roared.

Simon ran, following close at the other Templar's heels. Just as Derek pa.s.sed through the doorway, the foyer closet opened and a little girl poked her head out. She wore a frightened expression.

Astonished, Simon recognized the little girl from the photographs of the writer and his family. She was the daughter.

She's still here.The knowledge twisted sickeningly through Simon's stomach. He knew children were caught in the battle with the demons and everything they were doing in London, but he hadn't invaded the houses of any of those.

But he had invaded this little girl's home.

She looked at him, her blond hair highlighted by the house burning behind Simon. Tears ran down her cheeks. Her lips trembled. "Help!" she said. "Please help!"

Simon took her by the hand and started to pull, reminding himself to be gentle or he'd rip her arm from the socket.

"No!" The little girl pulled back against him. "I need someone to help my mother." Mother!The word cascaded through Simon, leaving sickening greasy tendrils in its wake. "She's down there." The little girl pointed into the closet.

Peering into the closet, Simon saw that a door had been hidden in the floor. The blueprints hadn't shown anything of a cellar, but that wasn't unusual. Even though the blueprints were supposed to be on record with the police and fire service in case of building collapse, they weren't always listed. There had always been a lot of black market dealing and smuggling in London. That had been part of the life's blood of the poor.

"Simon," Derek called. "I'm here."

"What are you waiting on? That building's going to come down. Get out of there."

"I can't," Simon said, stepping through the narrow doorway of the closet. It was so tight that he had to force his shoulders through. Wood splintered as he went through. Thankfully the opening in the floor was slightly larger.

Unfortunately, the rickety staircase wasn't built to support a Templar in full armor. "Simon," Derek called again.

"There are people in here. A little girl. Her mother. Maybe more." There was no way Simon was going to leave them. He couldn't. He knew his father wouldn't have left them, and he wasn't about to.

Thirty-Two.

In the outer room, the third story started falling down in pieces.

As he shoved his head through the doorway in the flood, and the fire that had dripped in from outside, Simon spotted a middle-aged woman and a boy who was younger than the girl. The woman was inert while the little boy held on to her.

Thankfully the room had a low ceiling. Simon stepped on the staircase and it shattered beneath his weight.

"Simon," Derek said.

Simon approached the woman and the boy, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. The woman lay under a blanket, but her chest rose and fell. Smoke gathered in the room and she coughed.

"I can't leave them. I'mnot going to leave them." When his father had read him stories about King Arthur and his knights, when they'd discussed the responsibilities of being a Templar, Thomas Cross had always emphasized the salvation of the weak and helpless. The Templar existed, in his mind, to save humanity as much as to battle the demons. Simon knew he couldn't leave them.

"You're going to get killed."

Simon picked up the boy, who started screaming and fighting to be free. Gently as he could, Simon put the boy out of the cellar and into the closet. "Get him out of here," Simon told the girl.

Wide-eyed, the little girl stared at him, tears on her cheeks. "My mother-" A fit of coughing stole her voice.

"I'll get her," Simon said. "I promise. Go." The little girl pulled back from the opening.

Simon grabbed the edges of the opening and ripped it open larger. Returning to the woman, he gathered her easily in his arms and carried her to the opening. He cradled her in his arms and leaped out of the hole.

The jarring woke the woman. She looked up at him with pain-filled eyes. "My children."

"They're out," Simon told her. "We're all getting out." He smashed his shoulder into the closet and tore the frame and part of the wall out, then stepped through the cloud of plaster dust and smoke.

The little girl had the boy by the hand. They stood at the open door. A large shape lurched toward them out of the night.

Simon s.h.i.+fted the woman to his shoulder and drew the Spike Bolter. He took aim just as he saw the Gremlin surging from the shadows. Simon ran forward, firing over the heads of the children. The palladium needles ripped into the Gremlin's head and shoulders.