Damnation Code (William Massa) - William Massa Page 0,49

of a brick slamming into the side of his face, Zagan’s inhuman punch hurtled him through the air.

Talon crashed into one of the blinking servers. The sharp impact rattled his bones. Fuck… He never saw the attack coming. Zagan had struck seemingly out of nowhere. At this rate, the fight would be over before it started.

Zagan was closing in fast. Another attack was surely just a second away. Talon whirled as Zagan’s metallic foot shot out at him from the icy fog. It hit the space where his head had been an instant earlier and pulverized the server in a shower of sparking electronics.

How did one fight an invisible, superhuman enemy? Talon’s surroundings swarmed with shadows. His senses struggled to penetrate the layered gloom. The mist rippled and Zagan’s skull-face thrust toward him with ferocious speed. The head-butt sent Talon reeling backwards a couple of feet.

Crimson sheeted down his face and the taste of iron coated his mouth. He spit blood and realized one more attack like the last one and he’d be done for.

He needed to fight back. Somehow. But merely grazing Zagan with the Demon Slayer would alert his adversary of the magical weapon in his arsenal. He’d have to play his cards right and strike only when he spotted a real opportunity to do some damage.

Talon needed to buy himself some time… Get Zagan to reveal his position in the living fog. Talon thought he’d gotten to Zagan the other day. The right words might trigger a similar intense psychological response.

“You’re being played like a chump.”

No answer.

“You think you’re controlling this power, Zagan, but take a quick look in the mirror and you’ll see who is in the driver’s seat.”

“What are you talking about?”

At least a reaction. Good.

“The darkness is destroying you.”

“The darkness serves me,“ Zagan hissed, rage pulsing. “It’s making me stronger.” Each word sounded like it was being torn from Zagan’s throat, the transformation distorting his voice.

“You’re fooling yourself. This entity is killing you. You’re dying.”

Air whistled and Talon jumped aside. The disrupted fog swirled and Zagan smashed into another server.

Okay, finally we’re getting somewhere…

As this hopeful thought cut through his mind, the amulet around his neck suddenly lit up. The wave of occult energy warmed his flesh, but there was no pain. Electricity burst from the pendant and rippled through his body. An instant later, the fog parted and there stood Zagan, mere inches from Talon’s face, gearing up for his next attack.

Damn, it does work!

Zagan’s iron fist blasted at him and Talon sidestepped the deadly blow with trained grace, drawing the Demon Slayer in mid-movement. The knife came up and scythed across Zagan’s throat from left to right. For a stunned beat, the Omicron CEO stood there. Then he took two weak steps back and his second mouth spouted blood. It splattered the steel servers and pearled on the pristine white floor. Disbelief flickered across Zagan’s features. How could the blade harm him when bullets had failed?

Talon assumed a close-quarters fighting stance, but it was too late. Zagan had regained his bearings. His arm lanced out with pneumatic force. Fingers powered by superhuman strength snapped around Talon’s wrist, squeezing until the viselike grip forced him to drop the Demon Slayer. Zagan kicked the knife aside and with devastating force rammed Talon into one of the servers.

What happened next turned even Talon’s battle-hardened stomach. Zagan’s fingers dug under the flaps of skin lining his gushing throat and pulled off his face in one violent motion. It felt like a mask coming off, the shocking act exposing glistening bone and shiny musculature interspersed with dull steel and glittering cybernetics. A steel skull sheathed in slick gore and patches of oozing tissue glared back at Talon. The wet eyes boring into him were still organic. A demonic fusion of man and machine had taken place.

Zagan was wounded but a long way from being defeated. Talon had to get his hands on the Demon Slayer, which now rested about ten feet from where he stood.

Talon scrambled past the servers, heading for the knife. He never made it.

Zagan bolted forward and closed the gap between them before Talon could reach the supernatural weapon. Lightning fast, Zagan’s arm flashed and he seized Talon’s throat. Feet dangling above the floor, the Delta operator desperately choked for air. The bones of his neck cracked. A few ounces of pressure and it would all be over.

He only dimly made out Zagan’s next chilling words. “I pledge your soul to my master.”

***

Serrone burst