by Jan Stryvant
"You know there'll still be small gates opening," Sean told him.
"Yeah, but I'm with the boss, and you'll be at the big one, so I won't have to care."
"What's wrong with what we're doing now?"
Nero looked embarrassed for a moment.
"He hates flying," Hunter said, "and hates flying in helicopters even more."
"I'm a wolf! I have feet, not wings!" Nero grumbled. "If god had wanted us to fly, he'd have given us wings."
"Ah," Sean said and just shrugged, then looked up as he heard a helicopter coming in.
"Well, there's our ride, time to go."
Getting up slowly, Sean dragged his weary butt over to where the helicopter had landed and climbed into the back with Roxy and the rest of his team.
"Where to, Boss?" Trey asked.
"Drop me and Roxy at Sawyer's. Call base and tell them to have someone pick us up in a car when we're done. Then you can just drop these guys back home."
"You got it."
"I hear the machineguns didn't do anything?"
"Well, they definitely had less of an effect than those first few months. Yeah, that new ammo doesn't jam at all, but the old stuff seemed to at least make 'em pause when we lit 'em up."
Sean nodded.
"Anything else we need to know about?"
"Well, apparently a couple of demons escaped from one of the earlier battles and turned up in Tahoe."
"Ah, shit," Sean swore. "How bad was it?"
"Ten dead, before a couple of magic users living up there caught up with them and fried their asses. Made the national news; apparently someone got a video of the mages takin' 'em out."
"I'm sure the councils are loving that," Roxy muttered.
"Hey, at least they're stepping up," Sean said.
"There is that," she agreed.
"Anything else?" Sean asked Trey.
"Not really. People are finally starting to figure out that something's not quite right, that maybe there really is a war on," Trey said with a snarl.
"Oh, what tipped them off?"
"One of the people who died in Tahoe was an actor, a big one. So they're talking about canceling his hit TV show. Hollywood isn't happy."
"Oh, poor Hollywood," Roxy grumbled. "Maybe we should invite them all out here to join the war effort."
"Hey! If the girl who plays Greta comes out here, I promise I'll personally infect her ass!" Nero said. "I'll take my chances with Sean afterwards, I'm sure it'll be worth it!"
Sean smirked at Roxy, who just shook her head.
"Well, we're here," Trey said, hovering over the roof. "Mind the first step, ain't no place to land here."
"We're okay," Sean said and made the twenty-foot drop to the roof easily. He might be over three hundred pounds in his hybrid form, but he was still a cat, and he landed without making any holes in the roof as Roxy dropped down next to him.
Waving at Trey as he waved back and then flew off, they made their way to the ground and went in the front door.
The first thing Sean noticed as they entered was that half of the stuff from the showroom floor was missing; the place was starting to look empty.
"Sean!" Sawyer called from behind the counter. "Where have you been? Haven't seen you in weeks!"
"It's these new large gates; when one of those pops up, it's two and a half days before it collapses," Sean said, walking up to the counter with Roxy in tow.
"Hi, Roxy. Congratulations on your kid. I heard Jolene went into labor. She okay?"
Roxy blinked. "You're asking about Jo?"
"Course I am, and if you tell her I asked, I'll shave your tail and put hot sauce on it! Got that?"
"Really, Sawyer?" Sean said, looking at him, shocked and almost growling at the threat.
"Hey, it's a matter of principle, Kid, you know that. I feel bad that I don't have anything to send Cali right now, but," Sawyer said and gestured to the empty shop.
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Roxy asked. "Oh, and Jo's fine. She had twin lions."
"Oh! I hope they run her into the ground!" Sawyer said with a grin. "As for the shop, well, I'm moving."
"Moving?"
"Hey, it's like Chad says, once that main gate opens, Reno's gonna become a ghost town. So I'm relocating to Carson City, near one of the entrances to the Dwarven Hall, in case things go really bad.
"But enough about me, I'm sure this isn't a social call, seeing as you're both in armor and look beat to shit. What can ole Sawyer do for you?"
"You know those machineguns you sold us for the helicopters?" Sean asked.
"Yeah, those M2s. Bought them off my cousin; he'd been sitting on them for forty years and was happy to get rid of them. What of 'em? I know they were good, I checked them myself!"
"Oh, they work just fine," Sean agreed. "Or they used to, but now..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"The ammunition we got from you, where'd it come from?"
Sawyer shrugged. "Came with the guns. I threw it in for free 'cause it was all old stuff. I tested it myself," Sawyer added a little defensively, "it was still good."
"It was better than good, the stuff was great," Roxy told him. "According to the crews and what Sean saw, the stuff was actually hurting the djevels. But the new stuff? Not so much."
"Well, I can't tell you about the new stuff, you're getting that straight from the Army now, right?"
Sean nodded. "Yeah, the newest and the best armor-piercing stuff they got. Doesn't affect the djevels at all."
"We thought it was something about the AP ammo," Roxy picked up, "but since the old stuff ran out, we've gone through four different types of AP, and three more types of normal stuff. All to no effect."
"So," Sean asked, "just what was that stuff you gave us?"
Sawyer shrugged. "No idea. Just that it was old. Real old. Came with the guns, so I suspect it was made for 'em. I'll call my cousin and see what he can tell me."
"You have any of it left?" Sean asked.
Sawyer shook his head. "Gave you all of it."
Sean nodded. "Well, let us know what you find out."
"And let us know where in Carson City," Roxy added, "I'll see if I can't bring Jo by with her kids so she can teach them to terrify you."
"Hah!" Sawyer snorted. "Kids love me."
"Really?"
"Course they do! All kids are goblins at heart, and I know goblins!"
"Yup, they can be bribed," Sean agreed with a smile. "Thanks, Sawyer."
"Take care of yourself, Kid. You too, Roxy. And tell the others I was thinking about them, okay?"
"You got your phone on you?" Sean asked as they stepped out of the shop.
"Nope, just the radio," Roxy replied.
"Which doesn't have all that great a range," Sean agreed. "I don't even have my wallet on me, so we can't flag down a cab."
"I'm not so sure anybody's gonna stop for a big werelion with a huge badass sword on his back, Hon."
"Actually," Sean leered at her, "I was gonna have you strip naked. Then everyone would stop!"
"Uh-huh, sure. And I think that's our ride," Roxy said pointing to one of the sedans from the ranch.
"Yup, Mom's driving too. Huh."
"Hi, Mom," Sean said as he and Roxy carefully got into the car. Roxy was being careful because of her sword, Sean because he barely fit. "I'm surprised they sent you to pick us up."
"I was already in town visiting Arthur."
Sean blinked. "Umm, are you...?"
Sean's mother blushed. "That's none of your business, young man."
Sean shook his head. "Yup, definitely none of my business."
"Why were you at Sawyer's?"
Happy to deflect the conversation, Sean discussed the ammunition issue with his mother, moving on to other safer topics on the way back.
"Arthur and your mom?" Roxy asked in a soft voice as they made their way back to the master bedroom to hang up their armor.
"What about them?" Jolene grumbled, coming up to them
and looking tired.
"I think they're an item now, Love," Sean said and gave her a hug.
"Yeah, I know, I hooked them up when Arthur came down to look at his new nephews and make noises at them."
"You what?" Sean said looking at her in surprise.
"Hooked them up," Jolene said and yawned. "Those kids of yours are really taking it out of me."
"Why'd you do that?"
"Because they're both good people, and lonely. Plus they've known each other for years now. So why not?"
"Umm..." Sean started but stopped when Jolene put her finger on his lips.
"Don't say it, don't even go there," she chided him. "I know people, and I know the two of them. Now come take a look at your new sons, and give Dae a kiss before she comes over here and smacks you one."
Sean went over and gave Dae a kiss and a careful hug, as she was nursing his newest son, then got to look at the two Jolene had just bore him while he was off fighting.
"Now, let's get him to bed before he falls over," Cali said after getting a hug and a kiss of her own.
Sean allowed himself to be led over to the bed, and that was the last thing he remembered until he was suddenly being shaken awake.
"What!" he asked, opening his eyes. Roxy was staring down at him.
"Another large gate just opened."
"Where?"
"Smack in the middle of Vernon."
Sean recalled Vernon; it was a ghost town, no one lived there anymore.
"What time is it?"
"One a.m."
Sean groaned, climbing out of bed, stumbled over to where he'd left his armor last night, and started to put it on.
"Back to back large gates? I don't know if we're ready for this."
"It gets worse."
"How does it get worse?" Sean grumbled and grabbed his helmet.
"They're coming through it already."
"Dae!" Sean called.
"What? Is the baby crying?" Daelyn asked, sitting up like a shot.
"I need another bomb. Go make me one, a big one. Have someone fly it out to me when it's ready."
"You sure?" Roxy asked.
"We're still building up, and everyone's exhausted after the last gate. If they're coming through in large numbers, it may the only thing we can do to slow them down." Sean stopped and yawned heavily. "I was going to have her make another one eventually anyway. So better to have it and not need it, right?"
"I'll get right on it," Daelyn said, "after I check on Bernard."
Sean nodded and put a hand on Roxy, who was starting to don her armor.
"Not yet. Get some more sleep first. I'm still a bit foggy, and I'll probably only get worse as the day wears on. I'm gonna need someone with a clear head about twelve hours from now."
Roxy grumbled a little, but agreed. "Let me see you off, then I'll check in with Oak and go back to bed."
"Thanks, dear," Sean said and gave her a kiss, then headed out the door. He could hear the helicopters winding up outside. Grabbing a sandwich off the table as he walked through the kitchen, he headed straight for the lead helicopter. All of his men were already inside.
"What's the word, Trey?" Sean asked after turning his radio on and piling in the back.
"Looks like a couple hundred are through already," Trey said, taking off. "Chad's got his people on the way, and so does Claudia. The reserves at Stead are mounting up in their APCs and should be there within the hour."
"Sounds good. How we all doing?" Sean asked, looking around.
"Tired," Hunter said and yawned.
"You and me both," Sean agreed. "Let's hit 'em hard and hold them until the reserves show up. Then we'll pull back and see if we can't catch a few more hours of sleep before going back on. That sound good?"
"Oh, man, you really are a god!" Nero laughed.
Times Like These
Sean was in hell. Or at least it looked like hell. He'd been fighting the demons for hours—maybe days—he really had no idea at this point, as he'd lost all track of time. The break they'd been hoping for had never taken place, because by the time the reserves got to them, they were so badly outnumbered that there was no place to retreat to, much less take a rest.
Dead and wounded were everywhere; Sean had probably lost a third of the men who'd come in with him and suspected that the other two groups, Chad and Claudia's, probably hadn't done much better. Everyone was tired from the last big fight, and the enemy seemed to be trying to capitalize on it, with the largest attack Sean had seen to date.
In short, it had turned into a complete slugfest and a war of attrition. The reserves were holding their own—at least from what little glances Sean got of them, it seemed they weren't doing too badly. Sean's group was currently encircled and isolated from the others, but he wasn't worried, yet. This had happened once before during this battle, and the reserves had managed to fight their way back up to them and help those who could no longer fight get off the field.
"We're in trouble, Sean," Chad's voice came over the radio.
"No kidding," Sean replied. "Ideas?"
"We need to pull back and regroup. We're losing. If we stay here, we'll be eliminated."
"If we leave, they'll have a foothold," Sean replied.
"If we stay, they'll kill us all and still have a foothold! We've lost, Sean, we need to go!"
Sean shook his head a moment, trying to clear the cobwebs.
"Fine. Do it."
"I would, but I have one small problem."
"What?"
"I need a diversion, something to distract them long enough that we can untangle everyone and pull back. I don't want us getting slaughtered from behind as we just run away."
"Got it, a diversion. Roxy! You online?"
"I'm back with the reserves. I just got here a few hours ago. We can't get to you."
"A few hours? How long has this been going on?" Sean looked around, it was dark out, but he distinctly recalled it being brighter at some point.
"It's after ten; you've been out here over twenty hours!"
Sean killed the ridder in front of him and took a step back. There were only twenty people with him, and all of them were wounded. What the hell had happened?
"You got that bomb I told Dae to make?"
"What are you going to do with it?"
"That's a yes or no question, Rox!" Sean growled.
'You're not going to do something stupid, are you?' the First warned.
'Look around me, Dad. I've already done something stupid.'
"Yes, I've got it," Roxy said.
"Great. Get in a helicopter, fly over real low, and drop it to me so I can use it."
"Use it to do what?"
"Create a diversion."
"How?"
"I don't have time for questions! Move it!" Sean growled again.
'She's going to kill you for this, you know,' the First warned him.
'First I need to make sure I'm still alive to be killed,' Sean replied.
"Everyone! We need to create a diversion! Head for the gateway!" Sean called out to his remaining men.
'And then what?'
'If the laws of physics are the same there as they are here, a large bomb tossed through that gateway should work wonders, right?'
Sean felt the First mull it over a bit.
'It's a gamble.'
'Got any better ideas?'
'Sadly, I'm fresh out. I'll help you however I can.'
Sean and his men started to press forward, to the obvious surprise of the demons, who seemed content to let them fight their way deeper into what they felt was a trap.
"Roxy! Where are you?" Sean called on the radio as he lost a couple more of his men, the circle of them getting tighter.
"Almost there!" Roxy called, and Sean noticed the dark form of something moving quickly overheard. He couldn't hear it over the noise of all the fighting.
"Where is..." Sean felt her hand on his back and swore, loudly.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE! Do yo
u want to die?"
"I'm not letting you kill yourself!" Roxy growled and thrust past him to kill one of the demons that had thought to take advantage of his momentary distraction.
Growling loudly, Sean snatched the device from Roxy with his left hand and fired up his enchanting framework. He was low on mana now, almost exhausted, from all the healing he'd had to do. Thankfully Daelyn had glued a tag in there, so Sean quickly reset the program as he'd done the last two times.
"How does this thing work?"
"What, aren't you glad to see me?" Roxy asked.
"Rox, if we weren't fighting for our lives right now, you'd be getting one hell of a spanking," Sean growled. "I love you, which is why I don't want you anywhere near here. Now, how does it work?"
"Press the button, and you've got thirty seconds."
"Great." Sean keyed his radio. "Everyone, listen up! When I say 'Mark', this thing is gonna go off in thirty seconds. I'm gonna try to toss it through the gateway. You need to either be far away from here or behind cover by then. I suggest shifting and running like hell."
"Wait! What are you going to do?" Roxy growled, looking at him.
"What I have to," Sean said and keyed his radio again. "Mark!" he said and pressed the button. Putting the device between his jaws, Sean shifted into full lion form and dashed for the gate, using his size and strength to bowl everyone over.
Surprisingly, all of the rest of his group had shifted as well and were dashing along with him, knocking all the demons to the side before they could get a shot at his undefended back.
They got thicker, of course, as Sean drew closer to the gate. Twenty hours, and they were still coming through! There were thousands of them! No wonder his army was getting slaughtered. The sheer numbers alone, not to mention the fresh condition of their troops, were just too much for Sean's still modest army to handle. Another month and maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, they had so many in training now, but there was never any use in thinking about what might have been.
As the gate drew closer, Sean could actually see it. It was like a big black wall, and the demons coming out of it seemed to be stepping out of an ink well. While the going was getting harder, the wall of demons was narrower. Shifting over to his left, he pushed Roxy—who was running beside him now—out of the stream of demons, causing her to dart up ahead. Sean followed immediately; he had been counting down in his head, and he figured he had ten seconds left, at best. Sprinting as hard as he could, he saw Roxy shift back and start stabbing djevels as they stepped out. Blasting by her, he hip-checked her, knocking her behind the gate as he gathered himself up.