Winter Duty (Vampire Earth 8) - Page 206

Maybe it was the sun in their eyes as they drove west. Maybe it was error caused by driver fatigue. Maybe it was the speed. Valentine was anxious to move fast-there was less snow on the ground, and they had a chance to be back at Fort Seng that night.

They dipped as they passed under a railroad bridge, much overgrown, and suddenly there were ravies on either side of them and the headlights of a big armored car before them.

It wasn't an equal contest. Rover folded against the old Brinks truck like a cardboard box hitting a steamroller.

When the stars began to fade from Valentine's eyes, he heard angelic strings playing. For a moment, he couldn't decide if he was hallucinating or ascending to a very unoriginal, badly lit, bare-bones heaven.

Valentine looked out the spiderwebbed window and saw tattered ravies all around, cocking their heads, milling, either working themselves up to an attack or calming down after one.

Then he saw the big armored car, and it all came back to him.

The music was coming from the armored car. Chopin or someone like him.

Valentine prodded Habanero, but it would take more than a friendly tap to revive him. He was impaled on the steering column like a butterfly on a pin.

Duvalier opened her door and fell out, still gripping her sword cane. Brother Mark seemed to be unconscious, blood masking his face, with a similar stain on the window.

Valentine heard an engine roar, and the armored car backed up. He waited for it to rev up, roar forward, and crush what was left of Rover.

He took his rifle out of its clip and climbed out. The least damaged of any of them, Boelnitz or whatever he called himself crawled forward and out.

Boneyard came forward to their rescue.

The music suddenly died. A new tune struck up, a harsh number welcoming them to a jungle with plenty of fun and games.

The ravies didn't like the sound of the music. They began to spread away from the armored car in consternation.

Boneyard's driver came out of his cab. He slammed the door as he climbed down.

The ravies heads turned, looking at him.

"Careful," Valentine said.

Boneyard's driver put his gun to his shoulder and fired at the speaker atop the armored car.

Which showed initiative but not very good judgment.

A pair of teenage ravies came running, as though the spitting assault rifle was an ice cream truck's musical bell.

Bushmaster bumped off road and gave them covering fire, Silvertip at the turret ring with the 20mm cannon.

Like sand running out of an hourglass, more and more ravies sprang into violent motion, running toward the vehicles.

Nothing to do about it now.

Valentine went around behind Rover, set his rifle on the rear bumper, and began to fire into the ravies. Machine guns and cannon tore into them.

Regular troops would have scattered or taken cover on the ground. Not these men, women, and children. Most of them went for the Bushmaster: It was the biggest and-

"Chuckwagon," Duvalier shouted in Valentine's ear, pointing.

A mass of ravies hit Bushmaster like an incoming tsunami. They tipped it, perhaps by accident, in their fury to get at the noisy guns.

Valentine pulled Brother Mark out of Rover and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. A ravie with a mustache gone mad sprang around the corner.

"Uungh!" Duvalier grunted as she opened the ravie from rib to hip point with her sword. She spun and took a child's head off behind her.

Chuckwagon pulled up next to Boneyard, forming a V by having the front bumpers just meet.

Tags: E.E. Knight Vampire Earth Fantasy
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