Shadow Fall (The Shadow Saga) Read Online Free Page B

activated their own weapons as the elevator slowed to a stop. The doors opened and all three men froze. Mist covered the entire docking bay, and in their brief seconds of hesitation it began to invade the elevator as well. 301 could barely see five feet in front of him, and the silence created an eerie sense of loss reminiscent of a battlefield in its aftermath.
    The door attempted to close, but the admiral’s hand shot forward to stop it, “Easy, boys. This is no different than darkness. Remember, we are the phantoms, not them.” He advanced cautiously onto the floor, and Derek and 301 came close behind. The sound of their boots echoed back to them from unseen places as they walked, exposed and vulnerable, into the unknown.
    “Non-toxic,” Derek said, sniffing lightly at the air. “They wanted us in the open.”
    “Get ready for the ambush,” McCall whispered.
    301 surveyed the mists apprehensively and saw a shadow pass some distance away. He motioned to Derek and McCall, and they all stopped. But as 301 focused his attention on the position of the shadow, he heard a click by his ear—the unmistakable sound of an assault rifle.
    With lightning motion 301 pivoted his wrist into a backward swing, and turned with the momentum as Calumnior cut the assault rifle in half. Another quick twist ended the life of the rifle’s owner, all in the time it took him to draw breath and shout, “Get down!”
    Gunfire erupted all around them, and the Specters dove out of the way by instinct. But Admiral McCall stood firm, catching several bullets on the flat of his blade while returning fire with his sidearm.
    301 rolled to his feet just as the mist shifted and revealed a small squad of the traitors. Their eyes widened at his approach, but they had time for little else before Calumnior fell upon them, slicing through smoke and air before meeting flesh and bone.
    A cry from behind rang out just as 301 finished the squad—a shout of victorious rage. 301 turned swiftly, knowing he had no chance to evade the bullet that at any second would be bound for his back. Still, he tried nonetheless. The shot sounded, followed immediately by a sharp clang. 301 lost his balance and hit the floor, surprisingly unwounded.
    He looked up to see McCall, Spectral Gladius extended forward where he had blocked the bullet. He fired three shots at 301’s would-be assassin and the man dropped to the floor. After that, the docking bay returned to silence.
    The old admiral holstered his smoking sidearm and offered 301 a hand. As he got to his feet the Specter Captain spoke, winded, “Thank you, sir. Where did you learn to fight like that?”
    “A tale for another day, perhaps,” McCall smiled, though 301 detected a hint of sadness behind the gesture.
    “Where is Blaine?” 301 asked, trying to catch a glimpse of his partner through the smoke, “Derek!”
    “Over here,” Derek called. “I found something I think you should see.”
    301 hurried in his partner’s general direction and laid eyes on the fearsome scene: several dead Great Army soldiers lay strewn about the floor, rifles still smoking from the firefight. Derek knelt in the very center of the fallen, Exusia glowing fiery white as he studied the lifeless body of Specter Tyrell.
    “I didn’t hear the crossing of blades,” McCall said. “What happened?”
    “I fought the soldiers—some of them, at least,” Derek shook his head. “But Specter Tyrell and about half these men were already dead. Looks like he got here before we did and tried to fight them alone. He may have saved all of our lives…they were trying to arm that.” He indicated a large cylindrical device nearby that was—thankfully—offline.
    “A Scythe-Pulse,” McCall whispered. “That could have brought down the entire building.”
    “Some parting gift,” Derek said grimly.
    “She hasn’t left yet,” 301 eyed the elegant silhouette of a Halo-4 just a few feet away. “They must have been about to leave when