(The Push Chronicles (Book 2): Indefatigable Read Free Page B

here.  Why here and how did he know?  Those questions would have to wait for a vampire to be dead first.
    The figure who had just appeared seemed ready to assist with that.  I could tell instantly that he was Pushed but, more importantly, he was using Pushtech.  Invented and built by 'super scientists', to me, it was nothing more than random parts and structures put together, but to mundane eyes, it was impossibly advanced technology.  Of course, it only worked for a Pushed, something always excused away with one conceit or another.  What to me was a suit of random looking armor bits with a crossbow strapped to one gauntlet appeared with its shell to be a magnificent suit of powered armor with an advanced-looking mechanized crossbow system attached to it.  Annoyingly, because he had a real motorcycle helmet on, I couldn't see his features or read his expression.  At least the bow was aimed at the vampire and not me.
    "Monster!" he cried out with an accent straight out of an Arthurian movie.  "Stand down or I shall smite thee again!"
    Great.  I was going to die either from a vampire or his horrid dialogue.  Ultimately, I decided that beggars couldn't be choosers as the vampire, tearing the steel arrow harmlessly from its chest, sprang back to the attack.

Chapter 3 Archer
    If I could say one nice thing for all the yelling and posturing that is mentally ingrained into the Pushed, it makes for an excellent distraction.  The vampire snarled and leaped at the armored Crusader who responded with another round of metal shafted arrows.  Though the projectiles didn't seem to harm the creature, the tremendous force of the volley sent it flying back towards the far wall.  I tumbled away from what I had so recently been planted against.  My goal was the only obvious way to stop this: the shattered remains of the steamer trunk.  As I moved up into a crouch, just past the armored archer, he glanced sidelong at me.
    "I am most pleased to see Milady isn't too badly hurt," he boomed, apparently lacking in any sense of volume control or practical sense.  "Lord Epic made no mention that -" 
    The vampire barreled over him during his commentary and the pair hit the wet ground hard.  Again, on top of the obvious animal instinct, there was a more cunning intelligence at work, as the corpse had the Crusader's bow in it's one working hand, pushing on the attached arm with the other.  It could recognize a threat, that much was obvious.  I could already hear the phantom creak of metal in the air as I left my search for another stake.  My accelerated mind was racing.  The creature was far too strong to pry off and the Push Hero was in a bad position to free himself.  As much as I had my problems with Crusaders, I certainly didn't want to see him as item one on the vampire buffet.  That's when it hit me.
    I hopped the pile of broken wood and rusted metal bands as, with a twist of the wrist, I let the necklace chain wrap around my fingers, until I felt the crucifix settle on the outside of my knuckles.  Whatever intelligence was at work, it considered me a minimal threat, ignoring me as I stepped up to it with my fist clenched.  It didn't even move to flinch as my punch came in, a glittering cross at the forefront of the blow.
    Instead of the usual feeling of striking phantasmal gelatin, there was a solidity I had never experienced when striking a Pushed before.  It was accompanied, strangely, by a comforting warmth that came from the crucifix.  The effect on the creature, though, was far different.  There was smoke and the fetid smell of burnt rotten meat while its head recoiled to the side as if I had fired a cannon in its face.  As it recoiled, I could just barely catch a glimpse of a cross-shaped melted hole in it's flesh, giving full view of the teeth in the beast's mouth.  In a strange reversal, what burnt the vampire had no effect on the corpse inside.  The dead thing retreated from me, leaving the armored Pushed