remember what he’d been thinking about.
“No,” Ronan said flatly. “We were…hallucinating, or something.”
The vision. They’re talking about the vision, that shit we saw before we were attacked.
“ Maur thinks it was a portal ,” Maur said.
“ I’m inclined to agree ,” Jade said over the hiss of the rising wind. “ And I think it’s what the vampires are out here looking for .”
“ Yeah, you said that earlier ,” Kane said. “The question is whether you knew that before we came out here.”
“Say what?” Sol said.
“Oh come on,” Ka ne said. They kept walking. “Are y ou trying to tell me you didn’t know about the Gates to Hell back there?”
“No,” Jade said. “Not that we have to explain anything to you , but no: we didn’t know about it. All w e knew was that the vampires were at our borders. You were supposed to help us stop them.”
“And you still are,” Sol said.
“This sucks ,” Ronan groaned.
“What, fulfilling your end of the bargain?” Jade snapped.
“Being stuck out in the desert, hunted by vampires, completely lost, knowing there’s a portal to hell nearby, trapped with people I’d just as soon cut open as help survive.” Ronan made a p oint to smile. “Like I said…t his sucks.”
No one really had an answer to that.
They walked. Kane thought he spied lights in the distance, but the windblown waves of black dust made it difficult to tell . He saw the shadow s of giant fliers , but they moved askance, like black paper birds in the dying light.
Wait…
He looked closer. The shapes grew larger . L ights cut through the quiet sandstorm, halcyon strobes and hooded flood light s attached to steel machines, low-flying vessels with curved sails and jagged hulls.
“Do you see that?” Jade asked.
Kane stared.
“Yeah. I do.”
The ships – there were three of them – had clearly seen the m , as well . The vessels had been headed south, but suddenly they veered east on an intercept course . T here would be no avoiding the ships , not with how fast they moved, so Kane readied his weapon and signaled for everyone to move .
As the skiffs drew within a few hundred yards , Kane saw that they were shaped like bladed planks . They had low-dragging rudders that nearly scraped the ground . L arge chainguns and recoilless rifles were mounted on the forward hulls . A handful of human-sized silhouettes stood on the decks of each vessel.
“Those aren’t vampire ships,” Ronan said , and Sol nodded in agreement.
They took cover behind a sharply curved dune and watch ed as the vessels approach ed .
Not like this dune will give us much cover against those chain guns , Kane thought. If they decide to start shooting , we’re screwed , no matter where we’re standing.
The ships accelerated and spread out. Their turbine engines were quiet . S torms of dust trailed in their wake.
The vessels were about 300 yards away when a blast tore through the air . T he lead ship exploded.
Hot wind flashed over Kane, and he had to shiel d his eyes against the light of the flames. Smoking metal and chunks of steel fell to the ground.
The vampire tank roared over the dunes to the north. The two Razorwings accompanied it , slavering razor jaws and armored wings blocking out the sky . They flew in fast and low and mov ed with the grace of swimmers.
“Ronan, right flank!” Kane shouted. “I’ll take left! Sol , straight up the middle!”
“That’s what she said!” Sol laughed, and Kane actually had to restrain himself from turning and shooting the man .
The skiffs turned, caught unawares. Kane was close enough now to see that the crewmen weren’t of any race he recognized – they were humanoid in size and shape, but the ir gre asy grey skin was covered in scales. They wore haphazard scraps of armor , aviation hats and steel shoulder plates, and they were equipped with crude and
“No,” Ronan said flatly. “We were…hallucinating, or something.”
The vision. They’re talking about the vision, that shit we saw before we were attacked.
“ Maur thinks it was a portal ,” Maur said.
“ I’m inclined to agree ,” Jade said over the hiss of the rising wind. “ And I think it’s what the vampires are out here looking for .”
“ Yeah, you said that earlier ,” Kane said. “The question is whether you knew that before we came out here.”
“Say what?” Sol said.
“Oh come on,” Ka ne said. They kept walking. “Are y ou trying to tell me you didn’t know about the Gates to Hell back there?”
“No,” Jade said. “Not that we have to explain anything to you , but no: we didn’t know about it. All w e knew was that the vampires were at our borders. You were supposed to help us stop them.”
“And you still are,” Sol said.
“This sucks ,” Ronan groaned.
“What, fulfilling your end of the bargain?” Jade snapped.
“Being stuck out in the desert, hunted by vampires, completely lost, knowing there’s a portal to hell nearby, trapped with people I’d just as soon cut open as help survive.” Ronan made a p oint to smile. “Like I said…t his sucks.”
No one really had an answer to that.
They walked. Kane thought he spied lights in the distance, but the windblown waves of black dust made it difficult to tell . He saw the shadow s of giant fliers , but they moved askance, like black paper birds in the dying light.
Wait…
He looked closer. The shapes grew larger . L ights cut through the quiet sandstorm, halcyon strobes and hooded flood light s attached to steel machines, low-flying vessels with curved sails and jagged hulls.
“Do you see that?” Jade asked.
Kane stared.
“Yeah. I do.”
The ships – there were three of them – had clearly seen the m , as well . The vessels had been headed south, but suddenly they veered east on an intercept course . T here would be no avoiding the ships , not with how fast they moved, so Kane readied his weapon and signaled for everyone to move .
As the skiffs drew within a few hundred yards , Kane saw that they were shaped like bladed planks . They had low-dragging rudders that nearly scraped the ground . L arge chainguns and recoilless rifles were mounted on the forward hulls . A handful of human-sized silhouettes stood on the decks of each vessel.
“Those aren’t vampire ships,” Ronan said , and Sol nodded in agreement.
They took cover behind a sharply curved dune and watch ed as the vessels approach ed .
Not like this dune will give us much cover against those chain guns , Kane thought. If they decide to start shooting , we’re screwed , no matter where we’re standing.
The ships accelerated and spread out. Their turbine engines were quiet . S torms of dust trailed in their wake.
The vessels were about 300 yards away when a blast tore through the air . T he lead ship exploded.
Hot wind flashed over Kane, and he had to shiel d his eyes against the light of the flames. Smoking metal and chunks of steel fell to the ground.
The vampire tank roared over the dunes to the north. The two Razorwings accompanied it , slavering razor jaws and armored wings blocking out the sky . They flew in fast and low and mov ed with the grace of swimmers.
“Ronan, right flank!” Kane shouted. “I’ll take left! Sol , straight up the middle!”
“That’s what she said!” Sol laughed, and Kane actually had to restrain himself from turning and shooting the man .
The skiffs turned, caught unawares. Kane was close enough now to see that the crewmen weren’t of any race he recognized – they were humanoid in size and shape, but the ir gre asy grey skin was covered in scales. They wore haphazard scraps of armor , aviation hats and steel shoulder plates, and they were equipped with crude and
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