On Ravenheart's signal, troopers Quess and Douglas sprinted forward under cover of Vathoss and Keith's guns and Kyle's readiness to unravel any spells that might be directed at them. At the same time, Kyle quickly began activating his powerful foci, and masking as much of their aura as he could. No use in tipping the bugs off early or making himself an especially inviting target.

Quess and Douglas reached the fence and quickly strung a sticky gray rope that resembled primer cord across the fence, forming roughly the shape of a large door. One end terminated in a set of wires and a small plug. As Quess severed the end that curled outward from the small roll he held, Douglas attached the wires to a small box. Without a word spoken between them, Quess stepped back and Douglas pressed a button on the box.

There was no spark or light, but smoke suddenly sprang up along the length of the rope where it adhered to the fence. Kyle knew that the electrical charge provided by the box disrupted the barrier between two substances in the rope. When they merged, there was acid, and as Kyle watched, it quickly ate through the thin metal of the fence. Both Quess and Douglas, wearing bulky, oversized gloves, held on to the section of the fence so it wouldn't fall. It didn't, and as it bowed and pulled away, they yanked it clear, carefully laying it down on the grass.

The stench off the fence was terrible, and there were still wisps of smoke rising from the edge of the hole. But it was there and the troopers around him were quickly moving toward it.

Suddenly, three muffled shots rang out. Kyle knew the sounds from experience, but wondered how many others would know what they were-high powered sniper fire. If he and the others were lucky as they passed through the fence, three of the six guards would already dead. The second volley would come quickly, though probably only fast enough to catch two of the three remaining. Odds were the third would dash around the bus for cover, and straight into the sights of Sergeant Vathoss.

As they moved quickly and quietly, the second volley rang out, but Kyle saw no guard dart around the bus.

"Six on the ground," said Ravenheart in his ear. Vathoss, down on one knee, gun braced and ready, stood quickly and moved to cover the rear of the line.

They were just under one hundred meters from the buses and there was little doubt that the queens and nest-mothers now knew they were under attack-six of their own were dead or dying.

"Brood released!" Ravenheart said suddenly, and Kyle shifted his attention into astral space, slowing his pace, his perceptions of the physical world becoming blurred. The "brood" was the gaggle of watcher spirits, and the plan was to release them when Seeks-the-Moon, temporarily positioned next to Ravenheart, saw signs of bug spirits responding from the depths of the building.

Looking ghostly in the physical world, the ten spirits exploded into the area, screaming and shouting at the top of their lungs. They darted into view from between the smaller buildings to the east and the power array beyond them. They were, even to Kyle at about a hundred and fifty meters away, quite loud.

A dozen insect spirits, a mix of buzzing wasps and flies and skittering ants and roaches, darted through the big metal doors that led deep into the building. Immediately, the watcher spirits banked, continuing to scream, and in at least one case, sing as loud as they could. The bugs darted apart, unsure of the strength of their attackers. The watchers were small, and deadly fast, and would ultimately be no match for the more powerful insect creatures. But they didn't need to win, only delay.

As Kyle's group rushed toward the buses, Kyle saw the faint glow of a spell in front of the building. If things were still proceeding according to plan, Ravenheart had just cast a wall of energy against the metal power plant doors. The bugs would be able to batter it aside, but it was another way of gaining an additional few seconds.

Visible only in astral space, three wasp spirits burst out of the building through an upper window. Kyle watched for an instant as the first two turned quickly, angling for the front of the plant. The third, however, jerked itself in mid-flight and dove down toward the assault group.

If it saw them, then it also saw clearly that Kyle was a mage and astrally active and vulnerable to attack there. He stopped himself suddenly. Quess, running immediately behind him, twisted to avoid Kyle as he ran past.

The bug shot toward him at blinding speed while Kyle pushed the formula for the spell through his mind and then cast it, the blur of the spirit's form barely meters away. The energy, backed by the full power of Kyle's foci, flashed between the two in astral space, striking the bug as it tried to turn aside. The flash, red and brilliant white in the astral, was so powerful it even flared slightly in the physical world. The spirit, not as large or powerful as the others Kyle had faced, disintegrated, clouds of its dissipating energy engulfing Kyle.

His spell had been powerful, he and Ravenheart having decided that the personal risk of throwing high-powered spells was worth the strain. If a bug got through or close enough to either one of them or Seeks-the-Moon, the whole plan could fail. On the downside, the spell's power also mean that nearby insect spirits had probably perceived it and would be swarming his way within moments.

But there was little he could do. Almost immediately Kyle saw a pair of ant spirits clamber around the lead bus, half running across its side. He could now also hear screams and shrieks of fear from within the bus. He hoped, and prayed, the people would stay where they were. But that was Seeks-the-Moon's job.

Two of the troopers paused and opened fire on the onrushing ants, while Kyle and the others rushed forward, shifting their run slightly to avoid the ants and the hail of gunfire. The ants jerked to one side as the hypersonic bursts struck them. The shots were precise and deadly, but the two ants were tough.

A flash of fire erupted between them suddenly, pitching them both to one side. The spell could have come from either Ravenheart or Seeks-the-Moon, depending on whether or not the latter had begun moving toward the buses. One of the ants was torn to pieces; the other stumbled, two of its legs sheared off or broken. It screeched terribly, probably calling to its hive-mates.

Kyle and Quess reached the side of the second bus and immediately began calling out to the occupants to stay inside. Kyle could hear screaming, a smashing noise as if someone was trying to pound a window, and terrified shouts. Quess suddenly shoved Kyle's shoulder, spinning him and pointing him toward the river. Beetles, tens of them, black and shiny but barely visible in the shadows of the building, were pouring into view. He didn't dare count, but there had to be dozens, maybe even scores.

He keyed the voice circuit in his headset radio. "Barrier! Now!" he said on Ravenheart's channel.

The horde of beetles rushed forward at an impossible speed, their huge claws tearing up the turf as they ran.

Traces of light glinted off their hard-shelled bodies, and Kyle prepared the heaviest area-effect spell he could muster.

Suddenly, a wall of gray and blue energy sprung up between the swarm of beetles and the bus. It arced quickly over Kyle and dropped down the other side, encasing the buses in a hemisphere of energy.

The front line of beetles struck the barrier, and immediately flashes of energy ripped through them, knocking them back and turning them away. It was a powerful spell, a custom design the Ares magicians had created specifically for use against insect spirits. The barrier blocked them, and contact with it was hideously, maybe even fatally, painful. It was one of various hard-core designs that Ravenheart knew. Kyle would have been happy to know even half of them.