Hellgate London - Exodus Part 37

Abandoning his hold on the sword for the moment, Simon fisted his right hand, twisted his hips to get everything he could into the effort, and punched the Darksp.a.w.n in the throat. Bone snapped and gave way before the blow.

The demonhu-urked twice, stepping back as it struggled to breathe. Simon hit his opponent twice more, tearing the leathery hide and flesh from its face and crumpling the skull bones.

Spotting the demon that still had his sword in it, Simon stepped over to it, placed a foot on its chest, and yanked. The sword tore free. In that moment, he spotted the pitting left by the liquid the demon had shot him with.

"Armor integrity," Simon said, moving toward the closest demon. "Armor integrity is at 83 percent," the HUD computer answered.

"Identify substance coating armor." Simon thrust his sword into a demon's back, hoping the heart was close by. Demon physiology was different and they weren't necessarily all the same.

"Substance: unknown. Never before encountered."

New weapons or old ones we haven't seen before?Simon wondered. The demon he attacked tried to whip around. Using his left arm to block the creature's attempt to point a pistol at him, Simon yanked hard on the sword with his right. The spinal cord separated with a loudcrunch. Lower body paralyzed, the demon sank to the ground. Simon blasted it in the face, killing it. "More of them are coming!" someone shouted.

Simon threw himself at a pair of Gremlins that had pinned a Templar against the shattered wall. One of them had hold of the Templar's sword, trapping it in a sword-breaker. The other fired fiery bolts from a pistol that left ghostly images on Simon's HUD.

Wrapping his arms around the head of one Gremlin, Simon managed to get a shoulder into the next and knock all of them to the ground. One of the Gremlins recovered almost at once and was on top of Simon in a heartbeat. It slammed a razor-sharp blade into his faceplate twice before Simon shoved the Spike Bolter up under the Gremlin's chin and pulled the trigger. The palladium spikes chased the last fleeting thoughts from the demon's head.

Simon pushed himself from beneath the dead weight just in time to get slammed with a huge hammer that caught him in the center of the chest. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs. For one brief moment he panicked that the blow had smashed in the breastplate to the point it was going to suffocate him. Then he managed a breath, realized that the breastplate had only transferred the hydrostatic shock it hadn't been able to transfer throughout the suit, and caught another blow on the shoulder that spun him over.

Dazed, Simon pushed himself away and scrambled across the bodies of Cabalist security men, demons, and a fallen Templar. The brief contact with the Templar let him know that the man was dead.

He shoved himself around, swinging his legs to take out the legs of the Gremlin that had hit him. When the creature fell, Simon rolled to straddle it, then slammed his sword through its chest and twisted. The Gremlin bucked through its death throes.

On his feet again, Simon swept the battlefield. More demons were coming through the chimney at the other end of the bas.e.m.e.nt.

This was a trap,Simon realized.They knew we were coming. Then he remembered the Cabalists and amended that. The demons had known that someone was coming.

There were too many to fight through. Nearly a third of the Templar had fallen, most of them dead. It wouldn't be long before they all fell because the demons didn't seem to worry about dying.

Forty-Two.

Simon thought desperately, looking for a way out. He parried the blade of another Gremlin, then rolled behind an attacking Darksp.a.w.n that lunged at him. He thought about the tunnels that ran under London. The city was honeycombed with them. Tunnels allowed pedestrians to cross under the Thames. They carried waste in huge sewers. And they were used to transport cargo.

"Bring up building schematic," Simon told the computer. "Visual overlay. Mark my position." "Complying," the computer responded.

Simon shot the Darksp.a.w.n in the back of the head before it could turn to face him. As the demon fell, Simon put a shoulder into its back and propelled the dead weight into the Gremlin. Both demons went down in a tangle of arms and legs. Crossing to them, Simon pierced the Gremlin's chest with his sword before it could get up, then kicked it in the face hard enough to snap its neck.

"Schematic processing," the computer said.

Almost instantly, a fine gold three-dimensional blueprint overlaid the HUD. A gold dot marked Simon's position.

"Are there any tunnels beneath this room?" Simon asked. He stumbled back as a beam hit him and chipped his armor. Turning, he moved in behind a Darksp.a.w.n for cover and watched as the next beam hit the demon instead of him. "Affirmative," the computer responded.

Immediately, a wide tunnel showed up in silver on the HUD. "What is it?" Simon asked.

"A private cargo tunnel from the docks. It was used by Holdstock Gla.s.sworks until the business closed."

"Is it still viable?" "Unknown."

"Mark it on the blueprint," Simon ordered. He slashed with his sword as the demon turned to face him. One side was a smoking, charred ruin from the flames shot by another demon. Simon's sword blow opened the demon's abdomen and he dodged away as it fell apart. "Derek."

"What?" Desperation tightened Derek's response.

"There's a tunnel under the floor." Simon spotted the demon with the pistol, pulled up the Spike Bolter, and opened fire.

The palladium needles drove the demon backward in stumbling steps.

"If we can use a shaped charge and blow through the floor, we might be able to escape."

Blood and other matter covered the concrete floor. Footing was treacherous. Still, the Templar had managed to press out from the vault where they'd been trapped. There wasn't much in the way of cover, a few support pillars and discarded equipment the size of cars all the way down to small crates. "I've got a map," Simon said.

"Send it," Derek replied.

Simon did, continuing to fight for his life. He couldn't tell if the demons were still coming through the chimney, but there were more than enough on hand already to do the job.

"Higgins," Derek called. "Yes," the man replied.

"I need a shaped charge. Place it where the map is marked."

Even as Simon fired his Spike Bolter, he took note of Derek's choice. The spot was behind their present position, midway to the vault room they'd vacated.

"When we get into the tunnel," Simon said, "we're going south. To the river. There should be a door."

"If it hasn't been mortared closed," Mercer replied. "If a new dock hasn't been built over it. If a ship's not sitting on it."

"Either way," Wertham said, "we're going to die. At least this gives us a chance." "You were supposed to be working on the door," Mercer yelled.

"The door's jammed," Wertham said. "I think those people upstairs had had enough of us and locked us in. The door didn't get opened under power. It's a system of counterweights. It wouldn't have taken much to sabotage it."

"You shouldn't have stopped trying," Mercer yelled.

"I came down here to fight with my mates," Wertham said.

"Shut up and hold the perimeter," Derek said. "Get grenades ready."

Simon looked around the room. They'd made a wall of dead demons, creating harsh ground to cross if the demons wanted to continue the fight. For the moment, the demons had backed off and were continuing to fire from a distance. The Templars proved their superior marksmanship, though, and it was evident that the demons' only real edge lay in numbers.

"They're ma.s.sing to attack again," Wertham said.

"Steady," Derek said. "Hold the grenades till I tell you different, then we throw toward the ma.s.s of them."

"What about the Cabalists?" Mercer growled.

Simon checked his HUD and saw that the Cabalists remained within the vault. The black man with the lizard-scale arm stood near the doorway. The woman stood at his side. The tall man hunkered on the other side of the opening. Few of them were left.

Something about the black man's gaze bothered Simon, but there wasn't time to think about it. The demons were ma.s.sing and readying for another charge.

"Wertham?" Derek asked.

"I'm ready." Wertham grabbed the body of a nearby dead demon and used it to smother the shaped charge. Two more bodies were quickly added. "Just to make sure the explosion heads in the right direction."

"Grenades!" Derek yelled.

As one, the Templar threw the grenades, lobbing them into the ma.s.s of demons. Most of the creatures were too dull-witted or inexperienced to know what the grenades were, but there were some that dove for cover.

Simon threw himself flat, hugging the blood-covered floor. His heart pounded and he knew he needed to get himself in hand before the armor kicked in and controlled his fear for him. "Wertham!" Derek shouted over the blasts."Now!"

The grenades went off first, shooting out fierce blue light from the Greek Fire contained inside.

Traditional grenades wouldn't have done much, but the deadly concoction of chemicals in the Templar munitions did a great deal of damage.

Simon glanced up, his HUD automatically filtering the bright light. The detonations broke the demons'

ranks and hurled them in all directions. But several of them were on fire now, covered in a nimbus of blue-white flames that ate their flesh and cracked their bones. A Blood Angel went down like a blazing comet and didn't move.

Then the shaped charge went off, blowing the bodies of the demons that Wertham had stacked atop it up against the ceiling. Simon felt the seismic reaction even through the armor. The floorshifted beneath him.

Checking the HUD, looking back without turning his head, Simon saw that a large hole had opened up in the floor. Smoke poured from the opening as pieces of demon dropped from the ceiling. "We're through," Wertham said. "There's a tunnel below."

"Go!" Derek ordered. "Wertham, you've got point. Move!"

The demons gathered themselves and charged, obviously sensing that something had changed. "Pistols," Derek shouted. "Hold them off till we get clear. Fall back and withdraw."

On his feet and firing, Simon noticed the gaping hole in the floor. The cargo tunnel was eight feet in diameter, providing plenty of room for a forklift to handle shipments leaving the factory for the warehouses. It was black as night inside, but night vision ripped the darkness away.

One by one, in quick succession, the Templar dropped down into the hole. Derek turned to the Cabalists. "If you want out of here, now's the time."

The Cabalists fled. Two of the security men went down from the demons' weapons, one hit by what looked like a bolt of lightning and the other engulfed in flames that left only his blackened shadow on the wall.

A female Templar next to Simon went down, part of the armor blown from her right leg. He helped her up and got her moving toward the hole.

Seize Balekor's Hammer!Merihim's voice thundered inside Warren's head.Get it now!

Warren couldn't believe the demon was demanding that now, when the other demons were rushing their position and escape was so close to hand. The Templar were trying to help save the Cabalists. Trying to get Balekor's Hammer, even if he failed and he honestly didn't know how he was going to succeed, was only going to turn the Templar against them.

Now!Merihim roared.Just lay your hand on the Hammer and I'll do the rest. If you don't you'll never leave this place alive.

Pain smashed through Warren's head, almost causing him to black out. He stumbled but managed to go forward. Naomi offered to help, but he brushed her away. Even that fleeting contact, though, must have hinted to her what he was about to attempt.

"No, Warren," Naomi said. "You can't-"

Then Warren was by her, charging toward the Templar with Balekor's Hammer strapped over his back. The Templar must have sensed him coming, because he tried to turn around. Warren was quick, though, and he reached for the Hammer's haft.

He closed his right hand around it and the contact was electric and powerful. Immediately the Hammer glowed with a phosphorus-bright intensity. Then a wave of force exploded from it, blowing the Templar away and leaving Warren standing there with the Hammer in hand.

Weapons fire from the demon guns. .h.i.t all around him. He knew with the hammer in his hand and lit up by the glow that he was an immediate target. Before he could move, and he wasn't sure if he could move, three bullets suddenly stopped in midair only inches from his chest. If they'd hit him, he had no doubt that they would have punched through his heart.

Warren gazed in wonder at the bullets, wondering if he had somehow stopped them. He hadn't known he could blow the wall apart with a gesture either. The encounter with Merihim had changed him.

You didn't do that,Merihim told him derisively.I saved you. And if you listen to me, I'll always save you.

I have marked you, Warren Schimmer, and you are mine.

The demon's threat chilled Warren, but he felt comforted by it. The demon had claimed him. For all of his life, no one had ever told him they wanted him. No one had ever protected him. He stared at the bullets as four more joined them. He was protected now.

Call my name,Merihim urged.Call my name so that I can come to you.

Holding the Hammer with both hands, Warren could "feel" the demon. Merihim was already getting closer. He could sense the demon's proximity.

Call my name!

Lifting the Hammer, following the urge that squirmed through him, Warren shouted,"Merihim!"

Instantly, a purple, two-dimensional disc irised open in midair almost in front of him. Lightning stirred within the disc, occasionally erupting from it. The static electricity caused Naomi's and Kelli's hair to lift. Sonic booms cracked within and pealed out over the bas.e.m.e.nt.

Warren felt like ants were crawling over his body."Merihim!" Incredibly, the demon started to crawl from within the disc.

Forty-Three.

Simon pushed himself up. His senses still swam from the explosion that had occurred after the man had grabbed the hammer from Derek's back. Despite the armor's protection, he tasted blood in his mouth.

His eyes focused on the shimmering purple disc as the demon began to crawl from it. The bullets frozen in midair before the man-His name is Warren.Simon remembered the woman Cabalist calling out his name just before Warren had lunged for the Hammer.

"Stop him!" Derek said. "Take the Hammer!"

There was something about the monstrous form of the demon that touched a well of fear inside Simon. The feeling was like nothing he'd ever known before. It was primitive and unstoppable, and it ran rampant through Simon. The last thing he wanted to do was approach the demon.

But only he and Derek were left aboveground. And Derek was struggling to get to his feet. His breathing sounded labored. As Derek forced himself up, Simon saw the broken shard of a demon's spear that had been thrust into his stomach.

"Simon!"

Derek's voice broke whatever spell was on Simon. He moved forward at once, but felt pressure immediately shoving him back. Now he understood why the bullets hung in the air. Arcane energies protected Warren.

Still pushing forward, Simon summoned his own arcane energy, aiming it like a weapon at Warren. When he had it strong enough, he fired it at Warren. Something rippled in the air between them.

Warren staggered back, his concentration shattered. The disc held its form, though, as the demon pushed through and into the bas.e.m.e.nt.