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Was this a trap?

"Good luck, teare reached across me to open the door "Wait!" I touched his ar to eat Then his hard, tiny eyes leamed

"Re at the ogre but speaking to the whole team "Pryce is powerful in the demon plane He may have passed me this information to set a trap"

"We know that" The hard eyes softened a degree "But thanks" Then he opened the door and stepped quietly out For a ht on his feet The others followed, silent

The ogre wore a headset linking him to the van’s communication system, which the driver had now taken over When the teare notified us Then we heard his whispered colass and the explosion of flash-bang grenades

We heard shouts of "Police! Down on the floor, now!"

We heard rapid-fire shots

And we heard a soul-rending screa else

"Shit," said the driver "So’s--"

I didn’t hear the rest of his sentence I was already out the door and running toward the building

My boots slapped the pave they’d cut in the fence Wire ripped h I yanked free and darted to the open door, drawing a sword as I went

Inside, I founderupted fro the hall, staying quiet and watching the shadows for hidden enemies The corpse of an Old One lay on the floor I raised rabbed my ankle and yankedthe ’s throat Flesh sizzled as the silver blade entered the desiccated body The Old One gurgled The hand relaxed and fell away

Good Silver still did its job The feel of the blade finding its target, the death rattle, strength slipping away--these things sped up my adrenaline-accelerated pulse I wanted ed rew I struggled for a o I was here to win Not merely to stop my enemies but to crush them To drive inthe Destroyer, I’d draw strength froed with fire that raced up nitedit

Impatient to join the battle, I ran forward I passed another body that made me pause This one, in a mechanic’s coveralls, had been decapitated A few feet away the head of a male zombie stared at me Then it blinked His mouth moved, but the severed vocal cords couldn’t produce sound His black tongue licked his lips, and I realized the words he was trying to say

"Help me"

How in hell can you help a headless zoether, but there was nothing I could do Not even put the poor guy out of hissmile a sickly failure, I left him where he lay

Alrunts, scuffles, and shouts of fighting Blades clashed Sounshots? I quickened my pace My demon mark spouted flame, reflected in my blade The need to be in the thick of it, to color ripped , bloody death--would satisfy

I stepped inside In the semidarkness, it was hard to tell hat Zombies, robed Old Ones, SWAT teafrom so ht