I shook my head. "Nope, just that there was a breach of the force field on the west end. The patrolling group is checking it out."
Braxton's jacket scraped as he whirled his arms around. "I don't have a good feeling about this. I can sense demon energy."
My senses were on high alert too, and as we crossed through the town center I could see we weren't the only ones. The townsfolk were out en masse, some of them shifted into their animals, others calling spells and elements to their hands, the demi-fey using their strongest of magic to ready against the threat.
"Councilmen."
"Leaders."
Braxton and I received greetings and acknowledgements from most who crossed our path. I noticed Jonathon striding across to join us. "Girls okay?" he asked.
We both nodded. "Safe at home for the time being," I said to him. Couldn't trust either of them to stay put for long, but right now their protective instincts were working in our favor. They wouldn't risk the young.
My phone buzzed loudly. I quickly whipped it out and checked the message.
Incoming large group. Demon energy riding them.
I held Tyson's message up for the other men to see and we took off at a run. Others of the community must have received similar texts from friends or family. They soon joined us.
Braxton started barking orders: "Remember, do not engage the demon touched. Louis left spells with his people, so our role is to round all demon-touched into a group. Then the magic users will immobilize them and send their souls back."
No one questioned the dragon shifter.
"The only exception to this rule is Kristoff," he added as we approached our men on the border. "His demon is like no other. Only Louis has the power to banish it. Leave him to Louis."
Our group was about thirty strong, and there were another twenty or so already spread across the line. This was very reminiscent of the scene with Larkspur not that long ago. The only difference … our enemies were already inside with us.
The Tressa bear pack was charging through the forest, coming in at the opposite angle of the force field. I expected they were going to try to take out the patrolling supes and then interrupt the protections around Stratford to let that asshole sorcerer in. Their pack numbered in the forties, and judging by the dark energy they exuded, at least a third of them were demon-touched.
I picked up my pace, full-on vamp-sprinting to reach the patrol group. Tyson and Jacob were front and center. Elements whipped around the fey, his face dark and pissed off.
Braxton was close behind me, and when he reached our side the quad bond kicked into place. It was easy now, instinct. All of us absorbed some of the others' power and our bodies changed to reflect this. Braxton shifted into his fusion mode, half man, half beast. If he fully shifted into dragon, the bond was harder to maintain, so he'd save that for the serious stuff.
"Is the fusion version immune to the demon?" I asked him, as we fell into formation on the front line.
He shook his head. "No idea. Hopefully I won't have to find out."
Supernaturals didn't use guns much. The manmade metals did not react well to our energy, and more often than not would backfire on the user. Instead we preferred swords, knives, and anything else sharp and pointy.
With that in mind, I pulled free the long blade which I often carried in a scabbard down my spine. This was my favorite weapon; we'd been through a lot together. Bushidō was her name. She was a katana blade I'd received from a Japanese-born sorcerer many years ago. He was my father's oldest friend, and he had gifted each of us with a specially designed blade. Master Koto had since passed on to the next life, which meant we were the last to hold one of his highly prized blades. So far it had never let me down.
A sorcerer started shouting from where he stood beside Tyson. "Those who are shifted into bear form are not demon touched. We'll focus on the ones still in humanoid skin. Keep the others off us."
The Tressa pack was almost on us. Most of them were in bear form. "The demons will be trying to open portals for more of their kind," Braxton said, his voice growly and at a level of bass no human vocal cord could reach. "Kristoff's demon has spread his seed in the bears and they are looking for more fertile ground."
We had to end this now. There was a delicate balance between the demon lands and the other realms. The more demons here, the larger the opening between the worlds. We could be overrun with demons in a matter of months if we didn't shut this down now.
I'm going to block you out now, Misch. Gonna kill me some bears. Be back soon.
Her laughter filled my mind. We do need a nice rug for the floor. Stay safe. Call me if you need help.
I sent her warmth and love before shutting down our bond. Despite her blasé demeanor, she really didn't need to see this battle. The bears were so close now, but I had enough time to turn to our people and say: "The Tressa pack is outlawed from Stratford. They're to be considered dangerous criminals. We aim to incarcerate them in Vanguard. If they resist, you know what to do."
With a roar I dashed to engage the bears, aiming for the ones who were shifted into seven-plus-foot thousand-pounds of furry beast. Bushidō cut through them with ease, severing heads and limbs in seconds. They had size on their side, but I was vampire, and our speed was second to none.
A gargoyle on my right cried out as a huge bear tore his stone arm off and catapulted it into the forest behind us. I snarled, and in a millisecond had sheathed my blade again, and with a crouching leap landed on the back of the massive shifter. My reflexes were almost doubled in speed while I was joined in the quad bond. My hands wrapped around the thick neck. The bear swiped across my arm, opening it to the bone, but that wasn't enough to stop me. I twisted and wrenched and tore its head completely free from its body.
The gargoyle inclined his head briefly in thanks, before turning back to jump into the fray. Losing an arm wasn't going to hold him back.
With a grimace I quickly tore some strips off the bottom of my shirt and used them to bind the freely bleeding wound in my arm. I'd heal fast, but the wound was deep and needed a little help.
The battle still raged around me. There were many bears littering the ground, but also some of our people. My brothers were fine. Braxton was battling two bears at once, almost lazily batting them away as they came at him.
"Stop playing with your food," I said with a laugh as I dashed past him. He flipped me off, and then in a double move even I was impressed by, stepped to the right and ripped both limbs from one bear and then used the claws from one of those limbs to sever the other's throat. Then he tore out their hearts. You know, just in case they weren't dead enough the first time.
He joined me then as we made our way across to the magic users. "Did someone send Louis a text or smoke signal or something?" I asked Tyson when we reached his side.
The wizard was right in the center, his energy joining with the others. They were holding the dozen or so demon touched for now, but none were banished yet. I wasn't sure they had the power, which meant we really needed Louis. I didn't know where the sorcerer had gone, and whether any modern technology worked there. But hopefully one of these magic users did.
Tyson nodded, his golden features pale. "Yes, he's on the way. He doesn't know if he got enough stuff for Kristoff though. Gonna have to wing it. These demon bastards are strong. I had no idea how damn strong."
From the corner of my eye I noticed a couple of bears break away from the fighting group and turn toward the magic users. I nudged Braxton and he roared. With a crouching leap, the dragon-man jumped clear over the sorcerers closest to us. Friggin' showoff. Not one to be outdone, I followed suit, amazed that I cleared the supes by a good few feet.
Bushidō was already out of her sheath and in my hand. I wasn't screwing around anymore. This shit had to end now. The bears had pushed too far. They were exiled from Stratford and would never hold a seat on the council if I had anything to do with it. A slight weakness was starting to filter through my limbs, and I knew it was from Tyson. He was throwing everything he had into the spell to hold the demon touched. Here's hoping it was enough.
"Melly!" Braxton roared. The huge bear he was engaged with was none other than the dishonorable cowardly puncher.
I shook my head, focusing on the other one. Melly should start praying that Braxton was in a generous mood, and decided to finish him quickly. The sun was rising across the horizon, low light filtering through to where all the fighting was taking place. Blood and bodies littered the ground for a good hundred feet around, and it did not make me happy to see so many of my people needlessly cut down in their prime. The bears had let their own need for power, and the bitterness of a lost leadership, cloud their judgment, and now their pack was going to be wiped from the world.
It was frustrating, and it pissed me off, but there were no second chances with a thing like this. It was either Vanguard for life or death. Associating with demons was an automatic life sentence.
Silver glinted in the sunlight as my blade sliced across the bear's meaty shoulder. This one was female. She roared, standing taller and swiping down on me with both paws. Her claws could easily eviscerate a supe if they connected. I darted to the side and slid across the bloody ground before coming up behind the shifter. She was slow to spin around; I had already cut along two major arteries in her body. She swiped at me again, jerky this time, and with a shake of her huge head, her legs collapsed beneath her and she hit the ground. Hard enough to rock it a little.