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one hundred and fifty sorcerers were keeping to the upper cloud bank ten
thousand feet above him. He focused his attention for a moment, scanning.
There--he could barely sense them. Leti was cloaking the group well, but at
this range they might be noticed.
"Let's keep acting like the bait that we are," Walker said, avoiding the comm
link. The enemy would know that this small formation was a forward recon and
bait--thirty sorcerers approaching Patrice's city could be nothing else. The
trick was to make the bait so enticing that they'd make a stab nevertheless,
and then get jumped from above.
"They're breaking into two groups." Kraut pointed forward.
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The range had closed to less than two miles, and Walker could now see that the
demons were spiraling upward in tight circles, going for the upper cloud bank,
while sixty sorcerers were banking out in a wide circle, holding the same
altitude as the "bait."
One of Jartan's elderly sorcerers came up to hover by Walker's side, giving
him a nervous glance.
Walker smiled. "Let's get closer in."
The sorcerer said nothing, but it was obvious that he wasn't happy.
"Come on," Walker shouted. "It's gonna be a good scrimmage!"
Judging carefully, he watched as the sixty sorcerers continued a wide banking
turn, positioning themselves to come in on Walker's right, while the demons
continued to spiral up.
"Something on our left--they're coming straight up from the ground below,"
Kraut yelled.
Walker looked down. A quarter mile below, he saw scores of demons breaking
through the scattering of clouds and ground fog.
"Imada, how you doing?" Walker looked at the boy beside him. He would have
preferred if the lad had stayed with Ikawa, but he had insisted upon being in
the front of the action, and Ikawa had finally relented.
Imada said nothing, but his eyes were cold, as if eager for contact. There was
something about him that gave Walker the chills.
He looked forward again. A couple more seconds, just a couple more, and then
break and head straight back out, pulling the attackers in under Leti, who
could hit them from above.
"Contact--we have contact!"
Stunned, Walker looked back over his shoulder.
A ripple of fire slashed through the clouds above.
"Damn it, they were in the clouds, shielded and waiting for us," the voice
over the comm link screamed.
"We're getting hit on..." The channel went dead.
Several bodies came tumbling out of the clouds, trailing fire and smoke.
"Break, left and down!" Walker screamed. Winging over, he started into a near
vertical dive. When he looked back, the rest of the group was following, and
Kraut was closing in alongside. Farther back he could see the demons who had
been spiraling up now cutting over, knifing through the air, while the group
that had been circling to the right started to dive as well, coming in behind
them.
"Stick to me like glue," Walker shouted to his group.
Damn them, if only his own people were around him, he wouldn't be so worried,
but there was only
Kraut, Imada, and the rest were aging warriors from Jartan's and Storm's
courts. The outlanders had introduced a whole new level to aerial warfare here
on Haven, flying in tight formation, jumping, slashing through, and then
pulling out as a team. They had won Allic and his warriors over to this
system, but few others understood the tactics, and he feared that once combat
was joined they'd follow their old instinct to break apart and engage in
individual combat.
"Don't mix it up. Hit them, then go for the clouds and fog bank!"
The range closed with frightening speed. Walker lined up his shot on a demon
who, roaring with battle lust, was winging up to meet him.
A ripple of bolts shot up from the enemy, several striking Walker's shielding
so it glowed white-hot.
Damn, they've got power, he thought grimly. Snapping through two hundred
yards, he continued his dive straight at the enemy. Half of the demons were
already jackknifing over, building up their own speed to cut in alongside
Walker's group as they cut through.
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Walker lined up his foe and slashed out with a bolt. Kraut hit the same demon
as well, loading his shield.
Walker fired again, diving so close that he could have touched the demon as he
dived past. The demon's shielding exploded, and his wings went up in flame.
Trailing oily black smoke, he tumbled out of the sky.
They cut through the group, a number of demons swinging in to race alongside,
trading blow for blow.
Walker jinked left, sparing a glance back. The swarm of enemy were streaking
in from behind. To his horror he saw four of his companions twisting to engage
in single combat.
"Stick to me!" Walker screamed.
A white-haired sorcerer scored a killing shot, knocking his demon over with a
blinding flash. At the same moment his shielding snapped, hit by three bolts
from above, and the man disappeared in an explosion of fire and smoke. The
other three, helplessly caught, were swarmed under as the groups closing in
from behind cut through them, hitting with half a hundred bolts.
"Keep moving--don't stop!" Walker shouted. The rest of his group, with an
almost equal number of demons dogging their flanks, raced downward. The low
clouds and fog seemed to race upward with terrifying speed. He hit the cool
blanket of mist but continued his dive. The trick now was to out fly the
enemy. The plan had been blown. Leti and her strike group were going to have
to be on their own for the moment. But at least Walker could tie up six or
seven times his own number, trying to kill as many of
Patrice's allies as possible without losing any more of his own sorcerers.
"Don't slow down and hang on my tail!" Walker broke through three hundred
feet, then a hundred.
Pulling out at the last possible second, flying through the heavy fog, he
skimmed through the edge of an open field.
A horrifying scream rent the air. Sickened, Walker looked back to see another
of his sorcerers smashing into the ground at top speed. The demon who had been
trailing him, too intent on his prey to notice, also slammed into the ground.
Twisting and dodging, Walker flew full-out, cutting through the field. He
spared a quick look back and saw Kraut and Imada and most of his surviving
sorcerers still behind him. Directly ahead he could sense a forest. A demon
cut out of the mist, trying to swing in front of him. They traded bolts; then
Walker sensed a narrow trail into the woods and raced straight at it. A grim
laugh escaped his lips as the pursuing demon slammed into a tree.
"Hang on!" Walker screamed as he swept down the path at top speed, sensing
rather than seeing the twists and turns of the trail. Bolts of energy slammed
through the forest, exploding the trees into balls of fire.
"Red Leader, Red Leader, situation?" It was Leti.
"A little tight at the moment!" Walker cried.
"Same here. We need your support."
"I think it's the other way around!" he shouted.
His attention shifted for a moment as he looked up. His heart felt like it was
surging into his throat as he jinked left at the last possible second, cutting
so close to a towering pine that a shower of branches and needles exploded
around him.
"Take care of yourself, Walker!" Leti cried.
He found himself laughing. "What else can I do?"
The path before him split into even narrower trails. There was no time to
choose, so he cut left. If he dared to slow down, the demons, who were
probably flying above the forest, would get ahead and into position to pounce
whenever he and his group finally emerged from the woods.
"Green Leader, Green Leader, initiate now!" Leti's voice crackled, stunning
Walker with its intensity. She must have focused her strength through the
Heart to send out such a strong signal, which could cut through any amount of
jamming Patrice had put up.
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"Good luck, Captain," Walker whispered. Suddenly the trail before him went
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