Read Online Sunrise(Pact Arcanum 2) by Arshad Ahsanuddin - Free Book Online
Authors: Arshad Ahsanuddin
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any of us are alive afterward, drinks are on me.”
CHAPTER 6
Liang watched from behind a shroud of invisibility as his forces attacked the base. The explosives on the wall failed, just as they had at the second base. This team must have had access to information about the first two assaults and had adopted similar tactics, blocking combustion. No matter. He hardened the air into a battering ram then slammed it repeatedly against the wall until it collapsed inward. His forces poured into the base through the breach to meet … nothing?
Odd, he thought. Casting his mind outward, he found several minds waiting patiently in a large room in the center of the base, surrounded by a jumper block to prevent teleportation.
Curious. Sentinels relied heavily on their programmed instincts in combat. They were seldom able to adapt successfully to new challenges, relying on the strategic subroutines within their own Gifts to respond to new threats, particularly if inexperienced. Those subroutines generally did not allow them the freedom to walk away from combat or fight defensively.
Nightwalkers had exploited that weakness for millennia. Only the Earth and Air Sentinels had any sense of strategy, and the Air Sentinels were limited to tactical simulations. He had been told the Earth Sentinel who led this team was quite experienced, so it was conceivable she had crafted some surprise for him. He shrugged. There is no sense in waiting. “They are in the central room. Kill them all,” he instructed the strike leader beside him.
The strike leader bowed. “Your will, Master.”
The rest of the Nightwalkers entered the building cautiously, fanning out as they moved deeper toward the central chamber. Liang followed, still hidden behind his shroud of refracted light. The strike leader reached the doors to the conference room first. As he touched the door handle, Liang suddenly felt the ward against combustion fail. Instantly, he snapped his strongest shields around himself and as many of the assault force as he could reach.
The entire building exploded around him. Liang shook his head against the ringing in his ears and the screams of the rest of the assault force. The weaker ones were consumed in fire; any survivors were crushed by the rubble of the upper floors collapsing on top of them. Meanwhile, Liang stood untouched within a cocoon of power, along with fewer than thirty of the attacking vampires. He raged at his own foolishness. Then, controlling himself finally, he melted a corridor through the rubble back toward the central room and propped up the tunnel with telekinetic shields. The other survivors followed him, their own shields protecting them from the heat of the molten debris on all sides. Finally, he cut through the last layer of rubble separating him from the untouched inner room and blew the doors inward, destroying the telekinetic shield that had held them closed when the explosives hidden throughout the building erupted.
He strode forward to find eight Sentinels standing calmly in a semi-circle in the center of the room, waiting for him. The remainder of the Nightwalker forces spread out behind Liang, awaiting his signal to attack.
The Asian Sentinel in the center pointed his katana at Liang. “Who are you?”
Liang laughed. “Do the Children of Twilight have such short memories? I am Liang Primogenitor Jiao-long.” He smiled. “An inventive trap. I applaud you for your ingenuity. What name shall I whisper over your grave, Sentinel?”
“Primogenitor,” the Sentinel said in disgust. “I had hoped for Jiao-long himself, but I guess I’ll have to settle for second-in-command.” He drew himself up. “I am Takeshi Nakamura, the Wind of Earth.”
Liang continued to smile, covering his surprise at the revelation. He looked pointedly at each of the Sentinels before him, fixing their features in his awareness. Then he reached out to his Master over their blood-magic link and sent him the full memory of
CHAPTER 6
Liang watched from behind a shroud of invisibility as his forces attacked the base. The explosives on the wall failed, just as they had at the second base. This team must have had access to information about the first two assaults and had adopted similar tactics, blocking combustion. No matter. He hardened the air into a battering ram then slammed it repeatedly against the wall until it collapsed inward. His forces poured into the base through the breach to meet … nothing?
Odd, he thought. Casting his mind outward, he found several minds waiting patiently in a large room in the center of the base, surrounded by a jumper block to prevent teleportation.
Curious. Sentinels relied heavily on their programmed instincts in combat. They were seldom able to adapt successfully to new challenges, relying on the strategic subroutines within their own Gifts to respond to new threats, particularly if inexperienced. Those subroutines generally did not allow them the freedom to walk away from combat or fight defensively.
Nightwalkers had exploited that weakness for millennia. Only the Earth and Air Sentinels had any sense of strategy, and the Air Sentinels were limited to tactical simulations. He had been told the Earth Sentinel who led this team was quite experienced, so it was conceivable she had crafted some surprise for him. He shrugged. There is no sense in waiting. “They are in the central room. Kill them all,” he instructed the strike leader beside him.
The strike leader bowed. “Your will, Master.”
The rest of the Nightwalkers entered the building cautiously, fanning out as they moved deeper toward the central chamber. Liang followed, still hidden behind his shroud of refracted light. The strike leader reached the doors to the conference room first. As he touched the door handle, Liang suddenly felt the ward against combustion fail. Instantly, he snapped his strongest shields around himself and as many of the assault force as he could reach.
The entire building exploded around him. Liang shook his head against the ringing in his ears and the screams of the rest of the assault force. The weaker ones were consumed in fire; any survivors were crushed by the rubble of the upper floors collapsing on top of them. Meanwhile, Liang stood untouched within a cocoon of power, along with fewer than thirty of the attacking vampires. He raged at his own foolishness. Then, controlling himself finally, he melted a corridor through the rubble back toward the central room and propped up the tunnel with telekinetic shields. The other survivors followed him, their own shields protecting them from the heat of the molten debris on all sides. Finally, he cut through the last layer of rubble separating him from the untouched inner room and blew the doors inward, destroying the telekinetic shield that had held them closed when the explosives hidden throughout the building erupted.
He strode forward to find eight Sentinels standing calmly in a semi-circle in the center of the room, waiting for him. The remainder of the Nightwalker forces spread out behind Liang, awaiting his signal to attack.
The Asian Sentinel in the center pointed his katana at Liang. “Who are you?”
Liang laughed. “Do the Children of Twilight have such short memories? I am Liang Primogenitor Jiao-long.” He smiled. “An inventive trap. I applaud you for your ingenuity. What name shall I whisper over your grave, Sentinel?”
“Primogenitor,” the Sentinel said in disgust. “I had hoped for Jiao-long himself, but I guess I’ll have to settle for second-in-command.” He drew himself up. “I am Takeshi Nakamura, the Wind of Earth.”
Liang continued to smile, covering his surprise at the revelation. He looked pointedly at each of the Sentinels before him, fixing their features in his awareness. Then he reached out to his Master over their blood-magic link and sent him the full memory of
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