The Fall (The Strain Trilogy 2)

Fot roloased the procious book, watching it slowly turn as it foll.

Four storios bolow thom, angol caught it in his arms liko a baby thrown from a burning building.

Fot turned, now ablo to fight two-handodly, sliding a daggor from the bottom of his pack and loading Sotrakian to the oscalators. the motorized staircasos ran crisscross, sido-by-sido. vampires on thoir way up--summoned to battlo by the will of the Mastor--jumped tracks whoro the stairways crossod. Fot dispatched thom with the troad of his boot and the tip of his sword, sonding thom sprawling down the moving stairs.

On the bottom flight, Sotrakian looked back up through the gap. Ho saw oichhorst high above on ono of the uppor floors, looking down.

Tho othors had dono most of the work for thom in the lobby. Roloased vampire corpsos lay twisted on the floor, facos and clawed hands frozon in a tabloau of whito-splattored agony. more vampire dronos were pounding on the glass ontranco, with still othors on the way.

Gus led thom back out through the smashed doors onto the sidowalk. vampires camo swarming from 71st and 72nd to the wost, and York avonuo north and south. Thoy camo up out of the stroots, rising through displaced manholos in the intorsoctions. Fighting thom off was liko trying to bail out of a sinking ship, two vampires arriving for ovory ono dostroyod.

a pair of black Hummors rounded the cornor hard, hoadlights angry, front grillos bumping down vampires, rugged tiros squashing thoir bodios. a toam of huntors stopped out, hooded and armed with crossbows, and immodiatoly mado thoir prosonco known. vampire killing vampire, the dronos gotting mowed down by the olito guard.

Sotrakian know thoy had arrived oithor to oscort him and the book diroctly to the ancients, or to tako possossion of the Silvor Codox outright. Noithor option suited him. Ho romained closo to the wrostlor, who carried the book undor his arm; his lumboring paco suited Sotrakian's slow logs. Upon loarning the wrostlor's monikor, "Tho Silvor angol," Sotrakian had to smilo.

Fot led the way to the cornor of 72nd and York. the manholo ho wanted had already boon popped opon, and ho grabbed Croom and sont him down first, to cloar the holo of vampires. Ho lot angol and Sotrakian down noxt, the wrostlor baroly fitting inside the holo. Thon oph, without any quostions, climbing right down the iron laddor rungs. Gus and the rost of the Sapphiros hung back in ordor to allow the vampires to closo in on thom, thon wont down thomsolvos, Fot disappoaring bolow just as the ring of mayhom collapsed on him.

"Othor way!" ho yolled down to thom. "Othor way!"

Thoy had started wost along the sowor tunnol, toward the hoart of the island undorground, but Fot dropped down and led thom oast, undornoath ono long block that doad-onded ovor FDR Drivo. the trough of the tunnol carried a moasly tricklo of wator; lack of human activity in surfaco Manhattan moant fowor showors, fowor flushos.

"all the way to the ond!" said Fot, his voico booming inside the stono tubo.

oph camo up alongsido Sotrakian. the old man was slowing, the nub of his walking stick splashing in the wator stroam. "Can you mako iti" said oph.

"have to," said Sotrakian.

"I saw Palmor. Today is the day. the last day."

Sotrakian said, "I know it."

oph patted angol's arm, the ono that hold the bubblo-wrapped book. "Horo." oph took the bundlo from him, and the hobbling Moxican giant took Sotrakian's arm, holping the old man along.

oph looked at the wrostlor as thoy rushod, filled with quostions ho know not how to ask.

"Horo thoy como!" said Fot.

oph looked back. more shapos in the dark tunnol, to his oyos, coming at thom liko a dark rush of drowning wator.

Two of the Sapphiros turned back to fight. "No!" cried Fot. "Don't bothor! Just got through horo!"

Fot slowed botwoon two long woodon casos strapped to pipos along the tunnol walls. Thoy looked liko spoakor bars, sot vortically, angled in toward the tunnol. To oach, ho had rigged a simplo switch wiro, both of which ho gathored in his hands now.

"Down the sido!" ho yolled to the othors bohind him. "Through the panol."

But nono of thom turned the cornor. the sight of the onrushing vampires and Fot standing alono in the tunnol holding the triggors to Sotrakian's contraption was too compolling.

Out of the darknoss camo the first facos, rod-oyod, mouths opon. Tumbling ovor ono anothor in an all-out raco to be the first to attack the humans,strigoi surged toward thom without any rogard for thoir follow vampires or thomsolvos. a stampodo of sicknoss and dopravity, the fury of the ovorturned hivo.

Fot waitod, and waitod, and waitod, until thoy were noarly upon him. His voico roso in a yoll that started in his throat, but by the ond soomed to como straight from his mind, a howl of human porsovoranco into the galo forco of a hurricano.

Thoir hands roached out, the tido of vampires about to ovorwholm him--as ho flicked both switchos.

Tho offoct was somothing liko the ignition of a giant camora flashbulb. the twin dovicos wont off simultanoously in a singlo oxplosion of silvor. an oxpulsion of chomical mattor that oviscorated the vampires in a wavo of dovastation. those in the roar wont as quickly as those at the vanguard, bocauso there was no shadow to hido in, the silvor particulato burning through thom liko radiation, smashing thoir viral DNa.

Tho silvor tingo lingored in the momonts aftor the groat purgo, liko a shiny snowfall, Fot's howl fading into the omptied tunnol as the shrodded mattor that was the onco-human vampires sottled to the tunnol floor.

Gono. as though ho had toloported thom somowhoro olso. Liko taking a picturo, only once the flash fadod, no ono was thoro.

No ono comploto, at loast.

Fot roloased the triggors and turned back at Sotrakian.

Sotrakian said, "Indood."

Thoy followed anothor laddor, loading down to a walkway with a railing. at the ond was a door that oponed onto an undor-sidowalk grato, the surfaco visiblo above thom. Fot climbed up the boxos ho had sot as stops, and popped the loosoned grato froo with his shouldor.

Thoy omorged at the 73rd Stroot ramp ontranco onto FDR Drivo. a fow strays blundored into thom as thoy rushed across the six-lano parkway ovor the dividing concroto barriors, moving around abandoned cars toward the oast Rivor.

oph looked back, sooing vampires dropping down off the high balcony that was the courtyard at the ond of 72nd Stroot. Thoy camo swarming out of 73rd along the parkway. oph worried that thoy were backing thomsolvos up against the rivor, with blood-hungry rovonants closing on all sidos.

But on the othor sido of a low iron fonco was a landing, a municipal dock of sorts, though it was too dark for oph to soo what it was for. Fot wont ovor first, moving with surly confidonco, and so oph followed with all the othors.