Times Like These

by Jan Stryvant

  Sean followed Roxy out the door, with the First and the rest of his pride behind them. Daelyn and the rest of his wives were mingling with them, saying hello, and getting to know them. When they got to the mess hall, the First looked around.

  "This is pretty big. Does everyone eat here?"

  "Nah, there's not enough room for everyone in here," Roxy told him. "We've got two other mess halls; one's on the other side of the runways. For the most part we let people pick where they want to eat, but eventually we'll have to put people on a schedule."

  "Once we pull out of Reno," Sean said, picking up the conversation, "we'll have way too many soldiers here for just three mess halls. I've got a couple of dwarves who are masters of logistics working on the problem."

  "How about defenses?" Keairra asked.

  "Chad and Maitland worked it all out. We're actually pulling a bunch of the stuff we had dug in at the ranch and moving it out here, and we've ordered a lot more from the military. Sawyer's been making himself invaluable as well; he's been hooking us up with a lot of stuff the supply heads we got from the military seem to be having problems with."

  "Oh? What can he get that the military can't?"

  "Poison gas, napalm, land mines, and cluster bombs with the kind of stuff that's supposed to be banned. He's also been finding us all sorts of stuff on the black market, like a number of top-secret stealth drones that someone stole."

  "Oh? Where'd he get those?" the First asked.

  "I don't ask," Sean said with a smile. "Sawyer is Sawyer. If I need something, he gets it, and I'm grateful. We're going to owe him a lot when this is all said and done. I think he's trying to become king of the goblins or something."

  "I really would like to meet Chad and Maitland," Keairra said.

  "Why's that?"

  "Well, I am something of an expert on war and combat myself. It's not often I get to plan wars or defenses anymore."

  Sean nodded. "I'll introduce you, you just have to remember one thing."

  "That you're the boss?" Keairra said with a grin.

  "No, Chad is the boss. He's got a solid head on his shoulders, and even Maitland is pleased with him," Sean told her as they followed Roxy over to a large table.

  "He is quite good, Kea," the First said as he shifted into his hybrid form. "You'll like him."

  Sean watched as they settled in. Roxy and Daelyn took Nibisa and Saf'kij up to the service line where the food was ordered, to show them how it all worked, he guessed. Everyone was talking, and he could see a certain amount of 'sorting' was going on as they all gravitated towards common interests. There were quite a few similarities between the two groups, he noticed.

  When dinner was finished, he went with Roxy as she showed them where they would be staying, and then was quite surprised as Keairra, Saf'kij, Jipouet, Peym, Nibisa and Dienna physically dragged the First into the room.

  "You have to understand," Sasha said with a big-ass grin as she got ready to close the door. "We don't get him alone in the real world very often."

  "Does this mean we won't be seeing him in the morning?" Roxy asked with a laugh.

  "I don't think you're going to be seeing him for days... Maybe even longer!" Sasha said with a wink as she closed and locked the door.

  #

  Betty looked around a little nervously as they walked into the casino. Uma had gotten Doug to stop at a clothing store, where the three lionesses had bought some things to wear. None of them had lycan necklaces yet, so they'd been pretty specific in their outfits. Short skirts, halters, and sandals.

  In their human forms, Betty was impressed. So was Doug, who had been giving them the eye before in their hybrid forms. Now he was trying not to drool. They were sleek, with not a bit of fat on their bodies, their muscles well defined, but not at all bulky. They had well-toned legs, muscular butts, flat stomachs, and nice busts. Shin's was actually fairly generous, even by modern-day standards.

  Shin and Julia were paying Doug a fair bit of attention, which was only fair, Betty figured, as they'd made him pay for their purchases. Apparently none of the lionesses had any money. Then again, they'd shown up at the mess in just their fur, so Betty wasn't all that surprised.

  Betty recognized several of the men who were gambling as they came into the casino proper. They were all soldiers she'd either met or seen around at Sean's ranch.

  One of them waved and came up to her. He was a werewolf, a natural one, not one who'd been bitten like her boyfriend and the other Marines.

  "Hi, Betty! Who's your friend?"

  "Ken, this is Uma. She's a lioness."

  Betty noticed Ken stood a little straighter. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am," Ken said, giving a slight bow.

  "Never met a lioness before, have you?" Uma asked with a smile.

  "No, Ma'am. Just Sean, and only briefly."

  "Ah, well, you can relax. We're just here to have fun."

  "Still, after growing up with all the myths and legends, it's still a bit hard having them come to life."

  Uma smiled sexily. "Well, maybe later we can put some of those myths to bed. Your bed that is."

  Betty was surprised that Ken blushed. However, he was smiling as well, so she guessed things were good.

  "So what brings you to the casino?"

  "Betty here wants to be a jaguar so she can have a family with her boyfriend. It wouldn't be right to have him infect her, so I thought we'd come down here and see if we couldn't find a pretty jag fem to do the honors."

  Ken opened his mouth, paused a moment, and then closed it again.

  "Problem?"

  "I was almost going to ask if you had permission, and then my brain caught up with my mouth," he said, looking embarrassed.

  "Well, come and show us where we can find them."

  Ken nodded and led them over to the bar. The waitresses, Betty noticed, were mostly walking around in their hybrid forms, but not all of them.

  "They have humans working here?" Betty asked, looking around.

  "Nope, not a one," the woman behind the bar said. "But the health department was complaining about fur in the food and the drinks. So those of us handling food and mixing drinks stay human."

  "May I ask what you are?"

  "Werewolf. I'd ask why you were here, but I can see you're with a couple of lionesses, so it's probably none of my business."

  "Actually," Uma said, and smiled, "we're trying to hook her up with a pretty fem jaguar so she can get infected."

  "It's for my boyfriend," Betty said with a blush. "I want to give him a family."

  "Well, far be it for me to be rude, and you're here with a lioness, but have you asked him about it?"

  Betty blushed an even deeper shade of red and looked at the floor with a nod.

  "Well, aren't we a brave one!" Uma said with a laugh.

  The bartender shrugged. "I see people get drunk and do stupid shit all the time. I feel I've got to at least warn them."

  "We've talked about it," Betty said in a soft voice. "He was going to infect me when he got his next leave."

  "Ewwww," the bartender said. "Let me guess, he's not a natural lycan?"

  Betty shook her head.

  "And that's why we're here," Uma said.

  "Yeah, shoulda known better than to question a lioness, right?" the bartender said with a grin. "Let me call the back. Ursula and Nell are on break. They're probably the best-looking jaguars in the place."

  "On break?" Betty asked.

  "They do an act," the bartender said and gave Betty a wink, causing her to blush all over again.

  Going over to the register, she picked up the phone, dialed a number, and spoke to someone. Betty couldn't hear it over the noise in the casino.

  "They'll be right out; I told them they were about to be judged by a couple of lionesses on their beauty."

  "Evil," Uma said.

  "Well, yeah. They work here! Now, what can I get you to drink?"

  "I just hit town, so I'm broke," Uma admitted.

  B
etty reached into her pocket and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. "I'll have a water, but I think this should cover a drink for Uma here."

  "Aww, Betty, you don't have to do that!"

  "You're helping me out, and it's about the only thing I can do," Betty admitted. "I'd offer more, but I don't have a job, either."

  "After you get infected, we always have openings for cocktail waitresses," the bartender supplied.

  "Umm..." Betty looked around. For the most part, the job looked okay. "I'll think about it."

  At that point two hybrid Jaguar girls came running out of the back and slid to a halt in front of the bartender, who pointed to Betty and Uma. One was black, the other was spotted, and neither one was wearing a stitch of clothing.

  "You're a human, what're you doing here?" the black one asked, looking confused. She then turned to Uma. "No offense."

  The spotted one rolled her eyes. "Obviously she's here to get infected. That's why she came here with a lioness. Really, Ursula, do I have to paint you a picture?"

  "Well, only if it's a really sexy one!" Ursula grinned and hip checked the other one, who was obviously Nell.

  "I must say, you both really are quite lovely," Uma said and gave Betty a nudge. "So, which one?"

  "Umm," Betty blushed again; they really were both quite beautiful.

  "Betty, Hon?" Ursula said. "You're already pretty hot as a human, so no matter who infects you, you're gonna be one well put together cat. The big things to look at are spotting patterns, eye color, ears, and tail."

  "My boyfriend is with the Marines."

  "Oh! Yeah, those guys are all hunks," Nell said, looking a little dreamy. "Might I suggest you let me bite you? All of them are melanistic, like Ursula here. So you don't want him looking at you and thinking about his friends, right?"

  Ursula sighed. "Nell, if he's looking at her and thinking about his friends, I think she'd got bigger problems!"

  Betty couldn't help it, she giggled at the two of them.

  "Do you think you could do a couple of poses? Maybe turn around a couple of times?" Uma asked.

  "Oh! Right!" Nell said, and the two girls did just that. By the time they were done, Betty noticed that there were a lot of men standing around them, about half of whom were in hybrid form.

  "So, which one you gonna pick, Betty?" Doug asked, coming over with Shin and Julia.

  "They're both so pretty, it's hard to pick! I mean, which one will my boyfriend Josh like the most? Once I pick, I can't change."

  "Is he black or spotted?" someone called out.

  "Black."

  "Spotted!" a bunch of men called out.

  "Huh?"

  "Most black cats hook up with spotted," the first voice said. "Trust me!"

  Betty shrugged and looked at the girls, who both nodded. "It's true," Nell said.

  Betty looked at Uma next. "Hey, I'm a lioness, we're all brown."

  "Tawny," Shin hissed and elbowed her. "It's 'tawny', not brown!"

  Betty giggled again. "Okay, I'll go with spotted. So now what?"

  Nell walked up to her and took her hand. "I can bite you on the arm, but I've been told on the leg works better."

  "Yeah, it hurts less," one of the guys said. When Betty looked at him, he continued, "I'm one of the 'recruiters'. I've infected hundreds of guys."

  "What about the scar?" Betty asked.

  "This doesn't leave one."

  "So, drop your pants and let's do it," Nell said.

  "Here?"

  "Sure, why not? Nudity isn't much of a taboo for lycans, and you're gonna turn into a cat not all that long after I bite you."

  "Really?"

  Uma nodded. "It's pretty typical. You'll shift into full cat, and probably stay like that until you go to bed. In the morning you'll wake up human. Then we can start teaching you."

  Betty nodded slowly, and carefully knelt down and took off her sneakers, then her socks. Standing back up, she looked around nervously, then undid her jeans and pulled them off, leaving her in just her top and her panties.

  "Okay, sit down and look the other way a moment," Nell said, dropping to her knees as Betty sat.

  "Will this take...ouch!" Betty blinked and looked down; Nell's mouth was full of her thigh. The pain of the bite was quickly replaced with a cool, tingling feeling. When Nell released her leg, it bled slowly for about a minute, and then stopped.

  Betty blinked and felt a little dizzy.

  "How long will this take?"

  "About five minutes," the voice from the crowd said, coming up behind her.

  Betty suddenly recognized the voice. Looking up, she saw it was Josh!

  "What are you doing here?"

  Josh smiled down at her. "Doug called me while you were all shopping. Told me what was going on, so I thought I'd show up to offer moral support."

  "Is this your boyfriend?" Uma asked.

  Betty nodded. "Josh, this is Uma. She's a lioness."

  "Oh!" Josh said and bowed to her.

  "She's not as bad as Sean is!" Betty giggled.

  "Sean makes them bow?" Uma said, looking surprised.

  "We err, kinda put our worst foot forward the first time we met him," Josh confessed. "We've since been ordered to bow, and if needs be, grovel. Our commander was really unhappy with us."

  "I aaa, feel funny," Betty said, giving her head a shake.

  "We better get you out of that blouse and the rest of your things before you ruin 'em," Josh said, and moving around in front of her, helped her pull her top off. Betty shifted into a jaguar just as it cleared her head.

  "You gals want to come up to the ranch and check it out?" Josh asked, looking at the lionesses. "I'll take Betty out for a run, and she can stay with me until morning."

  "Didn't they just evacuate her?"

  "They evacuated all the humans," Josh said with a grin. "Lycan civilians don't have to leave until tomorrow night."

  "Oh, well in that case, I'm sure I can find something interesting to do with a whole compound full of big, strong, men," Uma said with a wink.

  Battle Lines

  Sean watched from the small tower they'd built by the bridge. The defenses had come a long way in the last week; the honey badgers and the wolverines that made up most of the Seabees and the combat engineers they'd gotten had worked like the possessed.

  Apparently they'd also infected a fair number of the city's workers and bent their backs to the task. Sean didn't know if those conversions were willing or not, but right now, he really didn't give a damn. There were at least a half million demons coming over the rise in the distance, and they were all headed for the same place.

  Reno.

  Chad and Maitland had agreed that the best place to put their defensive line was up on McCarran Blvd., Highway 659. It was wide, and it encircled all of Reno. A second defense was being built up on Interstate 80, should the northern end of their defenses on McCarran fail to hold. After that, they'd fall back to the river.

  Honestly, if it wasn't for the overwhelming amount of soldiers the djevels had, they probably could hold Reno. There were now over half a million lycans standing in its defense, four thousand of those being lions and lionesses.

  They'd overrun his ranch just a few hours ago. Surprisingly they hadn't set it on fire, from what he could tell. Either they didn't know it was his, or they'd just been moving too quickly to realize. He would have bet they'd have torn it all down and destroyed it just because it was his.

  The mortar crews all opened up on Chad's command; the enemy was spread too far out to be protected by a shield, but there were still too many of them to cut them all down with artillery. Most of the bombing runs were being done at higher altitudes to give the airplanes a better chance at survival. While they had learned how to armor them against most magical attacks, the closer you were, the more powerful the attack could be, and some things were just too hard to protect against.

  But they were working on it.

  Every battle was an experience, a learning experience. The
y were learning the djevels' weak spots, their vulnerabilities, and passing those on to the people whose whole lives were built around designing better weapons and figuring out the tactics of how to use them.

  The problem was, the demon lords and princes—or perhaps it was their king—was doing the same thing to them, and while perhaps they weren't being as successful, their troops still came back.

  "You know, they're not going to be happy with us after today," Chad said with a smile.

  "Chad, right now there are four thousand lions and lionesses who are already unhappy with you. Do you really want to add to that number?" Estrella said from where she was standing next to Sean.

  "Oh, they'll get over it."

  Sean watched as the leading edge of the djevels came in contract with the barrier on McCarran and spread out along it, taking fire from the soldiers and gun emplacements all along the way. They were dropping pretty heavily.

  "We better watch out that they don't stack bodies to climb over the walls," Sean warned.

  "If they do that, we'll just set them on fire."

  "Then how do we defend them?"

  "They're a lot more flammable than we are. We just pull back and wait for that spot to die down," Chad said. He keyed his radio then. "Release the lions!"

  Sean sighed. "You've been hanging out with Alex, haven't you?"

  "Oh, just a bit. You're just mad because you didn't think of it first!"

  Sean watched as two very large groups suddenly came out of cover. One was to the east, the other was to the west, and each had a thousand soldiers in it. Lion soldiers.

  The problem they had been facing, however, was how to get the demons to engage the lions. They knew if they were attacked by a lion, the rank and file would have no chance. They also knew they wouldn't come back. Most attacks by the lion infantry groups hadn't been very successful, because the djevels would just flee.

  True, the ridders and the biskops would fight, and die, but that was only a small percent of them.

  That was when Chad had had one of his more brilliant ideas: the lions would fight in their human forms.

  True, none of the lions were happy with the idea. They'd be geared up as regular human soldiers, with human weapons and human armor. They'd keep their faerie swords well-hidden until they ran out of iron bullets, or the enemy was too close to shoot anymore.