Read Online Risen: The Demontouched Saga (Book 6) by Douglas Wayne - Free Book Online Page A

ground as the piece swings in my direction.
    Then I hear the loud pop as the top half of one crane tower snaps off from the movement, followed by the other. On the ground the two cranes crash to their sides, crushing the people foolish enough to stand close.
    Reaching the end of its swing, the piece swings back in the other direction. The crane on the backside of the portal is holding firm, the momentum failing to send it into a dive.
    Then I hear it. A loud pop as the piece crashes into place between two towers of the pillar.
    We don’t wait to see the result of our failed blast. We just run down the stairs as fast as our legs will take us to the battle below.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    - 11 -
     
     
     
     
     
    Not needing to defend the cranes anymore, the remaining enemy forces make a hard push at Azrael’s position on the west. It is doubtful, but unless they pulled out a few more fighters out of the rubble in one piece, this battle is going to be over quickly as they are easily out gunned at this point.
    Bill, Spencer, and I give it our all, hoping to draw off enough of the enemy to give them a chance. It may not amount to much, but even splitting part them away could make a world of difference.
    “This should work,” Bill says, kneeling down next to the concrete railing on the west side of Memorial. “With Az falling back to the camp, we should be able to pick off a few of them.”
    Back at the camp, Nal would have a few people stationed to help defend the others, but the vast majority of our fighting force is out there with the angel. If they are pushed back all that way, the rest of them are all screwed.
    Including Sara.
    “Why do you think the portal hasn’t opened yet?” Spencer says. “I thought it would open right away.”
    “Maybe we destroyed the rune enough that it won’t work,” Bill says, swapping out magazines on his weapon.
    “I doubt that,” I say. “There’s someone down there near the large stones they put in.”
    “You think we should take him out?” Spencer asks.
    “I got it,” I say, putting away my pistol. “I won’t be much help here without my rifle, anyways. Just do me a favor.”
    “Anything,” Bill says.
    “Just watch my back. Make sure I don’t get any unwanted company.”
    “We got you,” Bill says. “Just make sure you come back in one piece.”
    I nod. “You too.”
    Being horrible with goodbyes, I run along the railing until I get to Walnut where I cross the highway. I stop long enough to take one last look at the charred remains of my Expedition next to the old cathedral. There isn’t much of it left to honor, honestly. One tire, part of the rear bumper, and the passenger door is all that’s left of the car that got me here.
    Once I pass the cathedral, I see the three stones they have set up in the center of the portal. Each one is about eight feet tall and adorned with runes like the portal, but without as many. Between them is a flat circular stone on the ground with a small rectangular stone on top of it.
    A woman walks up from a nearby car holding two glowing yellow orbs in her hands. She doesn’t even bother closing the trunk of the car where I see another half dozen of the orbs glowing bright against the dark blue paint.
    Unless I’m mistaken, I’m staring at Abaddon while she handles her own dirty work. After the mishap at the warehouse, I can’t say I blame her.
    I try to stay hidden as I approach, wanting to keep hidden as long as possible since I’m still without my knife. Slowly I move between the shattered remains of the trees until I come to the last, leaving nothing but a hundred yard run between me and her makeshift altar. Not wanting to be caught unprepared, I pull the angel blade from my hip and wait for her to make another pass to her car before starting my sprint.
    I cover half of the distance before she makes it to her car and another quarter of the way while she pulls out two more of the orbs. Shifting my route, I use the large