Times Like These Page 19

  A hundred yards out of the gate they all dropped prone, and having spread out into a line formation, all his troops opened up. The djevels, who had been bracing for an impact from the massed bodies of their charging enemies, looked shocked as those enemies went prone instead of clashing and hosed them down with automatic fire.

  Adam was surprised that it had worked so well. Maitland was the one who'd suggested the tactic; he'd claimed it would screw their heads up, and they wouldn't know how to react.

  And he was right.

  After a full thirty seconds of firing and killing who knows how many devils, they all started to drop into cover. The problem for them, however, was they didn't have ranged weapons, and Adam's people did. It took five full minutes for the enemy commanders to realize they weren't getting anywhere and were slowly being picked to pieces. At which time they sent out their version of the 'NCO', namely råge, ridders, and the occasional mindre or raseri, to yell at and threaten the gnashers and bonde to get up and close with the enemy.

  Of course they had to expose themselves to do so, and Adam's men were more than happy to cut down as many of them as they could.

  Twenty minutes later, the second wave came pouring down the hill, with their commanders and non-coms safely behind the wall of bodies in the front. They only slowed down to drive the hiding djevels out of cover, making quick examples of any that wouldn't move, which got things going again.

  When they closed within fifty yards, Adam ordered his men back to their feet, the wings of his line drew back in as the rest bunched up, and they slowly started to retreat, forming up something that remindred Adam very much of the old pikeman's square. Bayonets were affixed by those using rifles, and swords were drawn by those who had them. It would get nasty now, but Adam knew Chad and Maitland still had several aces up their sleeves they would play when the time was right.

  But as a grunt out in the field with his troops, none of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was killing the enemy and keeping any of his wounded from being dragged off and hacked to death before they could regenerate.

  They did their best to hold their ground, but they were slowly getting pushed back. The fight had devolved into a major slugfest. Adam had passed the bandolier with all his magazines back to someone behind him when they'd called out for ammo. He wasn't really having any problems with the djevels before him. None of the nasty ones wanted to get close to the lion who would eat their souls, and none of the smaller ones had a choice.

  When the cavalry rode in from the west, Adam was happy to see them. He'd racked up some losses, and regardless of whether they were real deaths or just people too wounded to regenerate, it didn't matter. He needed to withdraw from the field, and the tanks rolling in from the west as two battalions worth of lions suddenly charged onto the field had a dramatic effect on the djevels once again.

  Especially as the lions were all making beelines for the djevel leaders and their commanders. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprising when you thought about it, the gnashers and bonde were more than happy to step out of their way and let their commanders deal with what was a certain death for any bonde or gnasher who got in the way.

  With the tanks, lions, and other reinforcements coming out, Adam's time on the field was over. Now he had to shepherd his men back behind the walls, give them a chance to get something to eat, replace their ammunition, and hopefully get those in need of help the help they needed as everyone regenerated and got ready for round two.

  When he turned around, he was surprised to see that they were only fifty feet from the wall, and the gates were closed. A ramp was lowered instead; no one wanted to open any gates with the enemy this close, and they quickly swarmed up and over it, carrying the dead and wounded on their backs.

  Once down on the other side, he led his troops off to the recovery area, put one of the wolves in charge, then ran off to the command post to find out from Chad how they were doing. From the sounds he was hearing, it was obviously going to be a very long day.

  "Adam!" Chad called out. "Just the person I want to see."

  "What's wrong?"

  "I need you to take your men west to just past where 395 crosses McCarran. We've got a break in the defenses. I need someone to get down there and mop up the djevels that got through so the people closing the gap can do their jobs without worrying about being attacked from the rear."

  Adam nodded. "I'm on it!" Running back out, he quickly made his way towards his men, all of whom were stuffing their faces as fast as they could. Someone handed him back his bandolier, refilled with fresh magazines.

  "Where are we off to, Adam?" Frank yelled out.

  "We got a break in the lines to the west, just past the highway! We're on the run! Everyone shift and stretch your legs! They need us, and they need us now!"

  Checking his gear to make sure it wouldn't tangle when he shifted, Adam turned into his lion form as the others quickly followed. "Jags, don't string out! If you can't keep up with the wolves, don't worry, but make sure you arrive as a group!" Adam growled out, and then took off, with the wolves hot on his heels. He knew wolves were a hell of a lot faster than jaguars, but calling them out like that would make them run twice as hard so they wouldn't be shown up. As it was, as a lion he was slowing the wolves down.

  "Hunter!" he growled as he ran. "Take everyone and run on up ahead. I'll catch up."

  "You got it, boss!" Hunter said, and three seconds later Adam was running by himself and watching as the wolves quickly left him in the dust. At least the jags were keeping up with him. He'd feel real bad if they all passed him as well.

  When Adam arrived on the scene, he could see that Hunter and his wolves were getting the situation under control. The breech in the defenses wasn't a big one, but the soldiers were being beset on two sides, so they had their backs to their own wall and couldn't push forward to close the hole. About all they could do was keep it from getting any larger.

  Hunter had deployed his men in two lines. One line was working to stem the tide of djevels coming through the hole, and the other was facing in the other direction to protect them. Stopping, he shifted back and waited for the Marines to catch up, then held his hand out, stopping them. Hunter's group, with the group already there, were holding their own for now.

  "We'll deploy in a third line to the south of that group harassing Hunter," Adam called over the radio, so everyone would know what he was up to. "We'll take them from behind and give them something to worry about. Every fifth soldier in our line will turn to protect our backs. Now, let's go!"

  Jogging down the hill, Adam opened fire as he ran, cutting a path through the back of the enemy formation. As expected, most moved forward to be with the larger group instead of heading deeper into the city. Hopefully the second line of defense was aware of what would be coming their way.

  As he got to the enemy's flank, he turned north and burned through ammunition as fast as he could. It wasn't long until he was back to using his sword. This was a no holds barred fight. These demons were inside their primary defenses. They couldn't be allowed to break off and rampage around Reno. Also that hole in the defenses wouldn't be totally closed until this group was gone.

  By the time Adam's people had killed the last of the djevels who had come through the breech, the fight outside the wall had drawn in another group of defenders, as well as a lot of armor. There were even large explosions going off in the enemy rear. Adam could only guess they were being bombed.

  But the djevels were there in huge numbers and trying hard to force their way back through the breech, which was still open; the people trying to close it were still being overwhelmed. Many of the fighters looked tired. Adam had no idea how long they'd been going, but they had to keep the demons on the other side of the wall, where the forces out there could deal with them.

  Taking a deep breath, Adam raised his sword and screamed out, "Attack!" at the top of his lungs, and stepped forward into the middle of the breach in an attempt to rally his side. Spying a lor
d moving towards the opening while driving his djevels forward, Adam changed course and moved to take the lord head on.

  The lord was a lot fresher than Adam was, and the moment they made contact, Adam was fighting for his life. The lord also had magic, and was still using it. Something for which Adam had no counters beyond the charms and enchantments Sean had given him.

  Thankfully those were holding, or he suspected he'd already be dead.

  Planting himself, he concentrated more on defending himself and his position. Right now his only option was to hold, hold his position, and encourage those around him to hold as well. To win this fight, all he had to do was hold. He could see glimpses of it in the background. Reinforcements were coming; Chad wasn't going to hang him out to dry. He just had to hold.

  He was covered with sweat. His armor was dented and rent in more places than he could count. He was covered in the tar of dead demons, as well as his own blood. The lord was slowly tiring—at least Adam hoped so—but the lord was scoring hits on Adam, slipping past his guard now and again, while Adam was doing all he could on defense.

  It didn't help that those fighting to either side of the lord were more interested in attacking Adam than they were the people fighting to either side of him. They were more than willing to die if it meant they got to stab the lion at least once. Because Adam couldn't take a moment to block them, or the lord would have his head for sure.

  And the fight continued to drag on, and on.

  He could feel it, he was weakening. He was slowing. He was going to lose. Dying would suck; it would be days before he reincarnated in the lion realms. But there was a gate now, right? So maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

  Throwing caution to the wind, Adam tossed his sword as he shifted into lion form and sprung up inside the lord's reach. Yeah, he was getting stabbed by at least four different djevels now, but he didn't care. Opening his jaws, he roared and grabbed the lord with his mouth, while ripping and tearing at his body with all four paws. Eighteen razor sharp claws and a set of really big teeth went to work on the demon lord.

  §

  "Am I dead?" Adam asked, looking around. There were only a couple dozen lions lounging around. He'd grown used to seeing the place mostly empty in the last weeks, but it was still a bit of a shock every time he saw it.

  "Not yet. What happened?" asked Renee, a lioness who was a close cousin.

  "Was getting my ass kicked by a demon lord, so I shifted and tried to tear his throat out or claw him to death. Not sure which," Adam said with a shake of his head.

  "The wall got breeched and we were trying to repulse them."

  "You know, if we line every single lion up in the world and put them in the order of least likely to self-sacrifice, you'd be the one at the head of the line," Renee said, laughing. "And yet, here you are!"

  "Yeah, yeah. Rub it in. All I know is, if I do die, my wife will kill me when I get back."

  "Now that's what we've all come to expect from you, Adam! Killed by an angry lover!"

  Adam sighed and laid down. "That's what I love about my family. Always so encouraging and supportive."

  "Oh, don't worry. Even if you die, you'll be able to go back in a week."

  "Hear anything from Trevor or Jesse?"

  "Just bits and pieces. They're being chased all over the place. Apparently they've managed to upset a couple of princes or something."

  "Has anybody told Chad or Maitland about that?"

  "Umm, why? Do you think we should?"

  Adam rolled his eyes. "Ummm, yeah! They've been wondering why they're not facing millions yet. I'm gonna pass out for a while here. If I don't wake back up, I guess that means I'm dead. Later."

  "Well, be that way," Renee grumbled.

  "Being hacked to death hurts. I'll be that way all I want," Adam grumbled and closed his eyes. He hated waiting. Waiting sucked.

  Prelude

  Coming up the stairs, Sean thought about it a moment, and then decided to just go over and ask. Walking over to Mahkiyoc, he sat down across from him.

  "I wanted to ask you where the machines that control the gateways are."

  "You wish to go there to see if you can save your world?"

  "Of course. We also want to go to where the weapons were made, to see if we can make more of them."

  "Those machines have not been maintained since Omushkego left to go to your world. I would not expect them to function. You understand this, do you not?"

  Sean shrugged. "Everything here has continued to work, so I guess there's a chance the other places are fine as well. Your engineers were capable of such amazing feats after all, right?"

  Mahkiyoc slowly nodded. "That is true. Their skill is such as will never be seen again."

  "So, can you show us how to get there?"

  "It is a place very far from here; I'm not sure you could walk it and get there alive."

  "What about the subway?"

  "Subway?"

  "The trains down deep below this place," Sean prompted. He watched as Mahkiyoc placed his hand on the input pad for his machine and a large amount of data in the Inangar native language started scrolling by at an incredibly rate.

  "Oh, yes. The transport tubes. I have sent a map over to your station by the window. I'm not sure if they still work, but even if they do not, walking along the tunnels would be safer than going above ground."

  "Thank you, Mahkiyoc."

  "You understand if you lock the gates, you will not be able to return to your home, do you not?"

  Sean nodded. "There is one other thing I was hoping you could tell me."

  "And that would be?"

  "Where can I find the schedule and locations for the opening gates? That would help us bring more people here to fight."

  "I will send that information to all of your stations as well."

  "Thank you again, Mahkiyoc," Sean said and, getting up, gave him a small bow. Keairra then came over. "I believe my husband asked if you would be willing to hear from another while he rests?"

  "Oh! Most certainly. The more data I can gather, the better my results will be."

  Sean walked off and left Keairra to it. Sitting down at his terminal, he called up the map of the transport tubes. The system spanned the entire planet! The two places he'd asked about where clearly marked and were along the mainline.

  Hopefully that meant the way from here to there was still working, as there were some troubling icons on many of the smaller lines.

  After checking the information on the upcoming gateways, and committing the next few to memory, Sean went downstairs to find the others.

  "Any problems?" Roxy asked after Peg had put up the blocking spell. By now they had found that, yes, all their rooms did have cameras and microphones in them, but they still weren't sure if Mahkiyoc could access them. Apparently a lot of the devices in the rooms were voice, as well as thought, controlled.

  "No, he told me right away. I had to remind him of the subway though. Seems he forgot completely about it."

  "I think he forgets about anything that isn't his research," Estrella grumbled.

  Peg laughed. "I've seen that type before. But until we came along, what else did he have?"

  "Has anyone ever seen him get out of that chair?" Roxy asked.

  "Umm," Sean looked around at all the others. They all looked at each other and then back at him and shrugged.

  "I wonder if he can still walk?" the First mused. "I mean, his legs look fine, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out he's forgotten how."

  "Do we really want to drag him along with us?" Sean asked. "I was thinking if we left him here, we could do whatever we wanted to without him peering over our shoulders."

  "Yeah, but what if we need him for something?" Peym asked.

  "Then we either come back and get him, or have whoever we leave here bring him to us," Sean said with a shrug.

  "Let's go investigate the trains first and see if they still work," the First said. "But I don't like the idea of splitting our gro
up up. The power requirements to open a gateway home from here are extremely high, as Sean has told us. I'll most likely be the only one who can do it."

  "You want to take him, don't you?" Sean asked as they got up.

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  "Why do you think?" the First grumbled.

  "I got access to the programs that tell him when and where exactly the gates are going to open," Sean said instead.

  "What good will that do us?"

  "Makes it easier for us to get Trevor and the others out. Also," Sean said with a smile, "it makes it possible for us to resupply either him or ourselves."

  The First smiled. "Now that was smart. We can give Renee the list of upcoming dates to pass on to Trevor."

  The walk down the stairway and into the basement was interesting for Sean, because he still hadn't taken the time to investigate it himself.

  "How far down is it?" Peg asked as they started on the third set of stairs, which was as long as the two before, both of which had been considerable.

  "This is the last set," Peym replied.

  "Okay, this is interesting..."

  Sean looked around; it was very interesting. The stairway came down to a platform that stood between two open tunnels. At either end of the platform the tunnels dove into the rock of the ground, but in the station, only the bottom third was there, the rest was open. In each of the 'furrows' the open tunnels made to either side were several of what he guessed were cars in the train, though they didn't look connected. Maybe each of the cars worked independent of the others? The cars themselves looked to be about thirty feet long and eighteen to twenty feet high, and were decidedly oval shaped like the entryways to the tunnels.

  He didn't see any tracks, and what they rode on wasn't clear.

  There were touch points on the side of each car, however, so he walked up to touch one. Rowan was already investigating another one.