Refuge: Book 5: Angels & Demons

by Doug Dandridge

  The enchanted chain that had been pierced in several places during the battle was healing itself. One rent in the thigh area was actually closing as the chain links grew back together. It was not god armor, but whoever had forged it had put some powerful enchantments into its material.

  Another unit marched through the gate, six abreast, the most that could comfortably fit through the opening. They were singing an American marching song, making the woman homesick for the Army she had served in before coming here. She knew it was a trick to take the minds of the men off the almost disastrous fight they had just come out of, steadying their nerves. They would join the three companies that had already marched through to set up in the buildings closest to the gate, fortifying the positions against potential counterattack. She didn't know if the enemy had it in them to push an assault this soon, but she knew that was what the American and German armies would do.

  They don't seem to be the best when it comes to military matters, she thought of the enemy, which seemed strange since they ruled a military empire. But things seemed to work well the way they were, so why change? Until the strangers who couldn't let things remain the same came along and set everything they thought they knew on its ears.

  A rumbling came from below, and a pair of horses came through, towing one of the small field cannons, a twelve pounder, what the Germans called a five and a half kilo. It would be set up just on the other side of the bridge. If they could break through enough of the wall, they would emplace guns in both of the small forts.

  They had an entire city to clear before they could completely relax. From what they understood, there were other walls separating the lower city from the upper, and the upper from the palace. They had by no means taken the objective. But they had obtained a foothold. Clearing the lower city would be the job of the elves and dwarves who were better melee fighters than the transplanted humans. There would be other jobs for the Legionnaires when it came time to take those walls.

  A large form came over the top and landed with a heavy thump on the roof to the small fort. Jackie looked up and smiled as she recognized her friend, lover, and leader, Kurt von Mannerheim, standing from his landing crouch, and then going down to a knee and to a seat.

  "Hey," she said around a mouthful of bread.

  "Didn't your mother tell you to not talk while eating?"

  "My momma didn't realize that I might be starving because my body healed massive damage in a couple of minutes," she said. She swallowed the bread and pushed the last of the loaf into her mouth.

  "Such manners."

  "And I'm sure the son of a baron never found himself wolfing down a meal on the Eastern Front," she said around the mouthful, reaching for the wine bottle.

  "Oh, never. The Russians were always the most accommodating of hosts. They would never hurry us."

  Jackie swallowed the last of the bread, took a swig of wine, and accepted a kiss from her older lover. Thinking about all the ages they had ahead of them. Decades, a hundred years, thousands. She took his face in her hands and extended the kiss. This was a good man, one who was as brave a warrior as ever walked, and one who had been through enough war to last anyone a normal lifetime. He had not allowed himself to love since he had buried several lovers who had died while he remained young. She would not age, she would go on along with him through the ages on a world that saw them as just slightly less exalted than the gods.

  "What about Levine?" she asked breaking the kiss, then reaching into his ration bag and pulling out a sausage.

  "I heard you were wounded…seriously," said Kurt, ignoring what she had said.

  "Nothing serious. I'm not sure we can really be seriously wounded. We either live or we die, and if we live, we go on as if nothing happened."

  Kurt nodded, stroking the side of her face with a hand while she took a large bite out of the sausage.

  "I worried about you. But we are all thankful for what you did. If Metalafolis had lost the battle, I'm afraid we would have too."

  She looked into his eyes for a moment, nodding. "Someone had to do it, and I was on the spot, so it was up to me."

  "I would have loved to have you in my command in Russia," said Kurt. "You have as much heart as anyone I have ever commanded."

  "You didn't have women in combat back then, right?"

  "The Russians did," he said, shaking his head. "So did French Maquis. And you can ask Izabella about the Polish resistance."

  Two more guns had come through the gate, and another company of infantry was marching through, along with their archers, Ellala and Conyastoya. They would get into the defensive positions and provide missile fire. Others were already at the tops of both towers. At least a battalion of infantry would be digging in outside the gate fort to provide some depth of fortifications.

  "I asked earlier, what about Levine? You hadn't had anyone in your life for decades. Levine hasn't had anyone for centuries. How many did he see die of old age while he continued on?"

  "Dozens?" said Kurt, scratching his head. "But now he's on a world where that will no longer hold him back, if he can get past his pain. Hell, he could even marry an elfin girl and look forward to thousands of years."

  "She would still die."

  "Christ, woman," growled Kurt. "After what we have seen here, do you really think most of us will make it a thousand years or more on this world? I believe that some of us won't make it past this war, and some will be lucky to make it to a couple of centuries."

  Jackie felt a shiver go down her spine, as if what Kurt had said had the power of prophecy. She thought about her own future, and a feeling of doom came over her like a pall. She leaned over and put her arms around Kurt.

  Kurt held her close, resting his chin on the top of her head.

  "I want this to be over," she said through her choking cries. "I want us to build a civilization here. I want us to see our people, the people of Earth, thrive in peace." She looked up and into his eyes. "And I want the people of this world to benefit from us coming here. I want the people to live in peace, free."

  "We will get rid of slavery as soon as we have won," growled Kurt. "Don't worry about that."

  "And if some here decide they still want to have total control over others?"

  "Then we will have to teach them. I did not come through that damned mid-twentieth century war, and then this crap, just to see that kind of injustice continue."

  Jackie nodded and leaned back into her lover. The people of this world believed in this man. She believed in this man. If anyone could establish a just kingdom on this world, it was Kurt von Mannerheim. And all they had to do was take the rest of this super-fortified city and destroy one of the most powerful beings walking this planet. Easy, right?

  * * *

  “We made it,” exclaimed Bubbuh, as the men of the company dropped their packs onto the floor of the house they had appropriated.

  It was a large structure, more a mansion than a house, with rich furnishings, tapestries on the wall, and floor mosaics. Whoever had lived here had abandoned it when the gate was taken, so it had been assigned to the unit. It even had access to a sewer. What it didn’t have was running water, and bearers had been sent to the nearest well to collect some after it was checked out by the priests, of course.

  “I was afraid for a moment there that we wouldn’t come through that,” said Humphrey, falling onto the floor and leaning his back against the wall.

  “We know what you mean,” said Bubbuh and Dieter simultaneously, beating their friend to his trademark phrase. The three men and several around them started laughing.

  “And we didn’t even have to take the walls,” said Dieter, pulling his canteen out and taking a drink.

  Many of the men around them were starting to get out of their armor, this unit not slated for guard duty. Most of the men would be able to relax, while about a thousand would stand sentry duty for the army. Dark elves were said to be on scout within the city, while dwarves handled the sewers and other underground areas. />
  “I would rather have taken the walls than dealt with the things we had to this day,” said another man, sitting against the wall across the room.

  Many men nodded, others shook their heads. All here were from among the protected, and the demons had learned early on to leave them alone. Just as they had learned early on that their very presence could scatter concentrations of the infernal creatures.

  “What do you think is going to happen now?” asked Humphrey, closing his eyes.

  “Now, our esteemed command figures out new ways to get us killed in taking this place,” said Bubbuh.

  “And it has to be done,” interjected Dieter, screwing the cap back on his Earth-made canteen.

  “Of course it does,” agreed the black man from Alabama. “If we’re ever going to have any peace on this world, we have to get rid of that evil bastard who stood on that tower throwing energy at the gold dragon. While he’s still around, we’ll never have a quiet moment.”

  “I hear he eats souls, and is using them to become immortal,” said Humphrey. “But if he eats one of us, that’s the end for him.”

  “You volunteering?” asked Bubbuh with a snorting laugh.

  “Hell no, Sarge,” said the private. “But if you were to jump in front of him, it might be best to let him have a bite.”

  “I would prefer to let our immortal warriors take care of him,” said Dieter, shrugging his shoulders. “The American woman almost took care of him today.”

  “My homey,” said Bubbuh with another laugh. “As fine a woman as I’ve ever seen.”

  “And her boyfriend could take you apart if you tried to make a move on her,” said Dieter with a short laugh.

  “Hell, he’d probably let her take me apart,” said the large man. “I’m just glad they’re on our side.”

  “But are all of them?” asked Humphrey.

  “Now I don’t know what you mean.”

  “It’s just this, Sergeant,” said the private, looking serious. “We have some with us, but we’re guessing that people from all over our world came across, right? So who’s to say that there aren’t more of these superpowered SOBs, but without the morals of ours. Who came here and started setting up their own thing? And someday we run into them?”

  Dieter sat there and thought about it a moment. It was something that might happen in the future, but it wasn’t something they needed to worry about at the moment. There were enough terrors they did know about to last a lifetime.

  Chapter-Twenty-eight

  [There are thousands of them,] came the powerful mindspeak over the tight beam. [They have the long spears and the curved sticks that fling the other sharp sticks.]

  The creature on the other end had a powerful mind, but it was not a human one. The neo-wolves were genetically engineered creatures of Earth that had come over in much the same way as the humans. Here they had evidenced the same mental powers as most of the transplanted humans. With a difference. They could actually link their minds and become a group intelligence that was capable of much greater mental power than any human was. But they were still wolves, and as such, their mathematical abilities were not on the same level as humans.

  McGurk's cavalry regiment now had half a dozen of the wolves attached to give them increased scouting capability. Two were males from the original pack; animals raised on an experimental farm in Central Germany and came across with their creator, Dr. Vogel Kreigel. The other four were offspring of those pioneers, still not fully grown, but large enough to take to the field. All were male. The females were just as capable, but the alliance needed as many of these creatures as they could get, so all females of age were either pregnant or raising pups. There were now hundreds of the wolves, and in a few more years, they would number in the thousands, giving the humans and their allies on this subcontinent a powerful advantage over potential enemies.

  [What kind of horses?] sent McGurk, patting his own mount on the neck to calm her. He only had about nine hundred troopers with him, all armored in a combination of plate and chain, on sturdy horses, the heavy cavalry of the army. If the wolves were correct, he would be outnumbered two or three to one. And maybe more in horse archers, since only a quarter of his troopers were bowmen, and all of them Ellala.

  [Shaggy beasts,] sent back the lead wolf, White Paw. [Smaller than your own.]

  [Let me see.]

  The image through the wolf's eyes came to him, the colors washed out, the image not as clear as it would have been to his own eyes. The wolves had eyes better than their wild brethren, but still not the match for those of the humans or elves. Their sense of smell and hearing were much superior to those of humans, and slightly better than the Conyastoya.

  The grassy field was filled with men on horses. The horses were the smaller shaggy beasts of the plains to the east. The men wore lamellar armor, almost as good protection as what McGurk's people had. The faces under the helms were yellow, not in the brownish tint of Asians from Earth, but a real dark yellow. The four human races on this world tended toward primary colors, red, black, yellow and white. Scientists were still trying to explain it, but the magic of the gods seemed the most likely answer, the same magic that had turned Neanderthals into both Orcs and Dwarves.

  This barbarian force was heading into the rear of the army, obviously trying to strike at the supply train yet again. They wouldn’t suffer the hard knocks they would get if they hit the combat formations, and could get just as much loot. That was what he was here to prevent, and it had kept him away when the demons had hit the main army, along with their god-dragon. That was a fight he had been glad to miss, especially since hearing that there hadn’t been a manageable horse on that field.

  [Can you spook them when needed?]

  [We can surely panic these stupid grass eaters,] sent the wolf with a silent laugh.

  [Then be prepared to do so, my brother. We will attack from the other flank, while you panic them from that one.]

  "Follow me," shouted McGurk. "And no damned bugles," he cautioned, holding up a hand as he glared at his bugler.

  Flags went up and down, sending his command to all the troops, telling them to move out after him, and to be as quiet as possible. The colonel's own horse whinnied, and he again patted it on the neck. The animal knew that something was up. Though a well-trained warhorse, it still had the instincts of an herbivore, one of which was to avoid the kind of danger he was going to ride her into.

  He still missed his tank, the command vehicle he had used to lead the company of armored cavalry he had transited with to Refuge. While not invulnerable to magic or dragon fire, it was still a much more comforting mount than the horse, which on Earth hadn't been used as a major combat transport in over a century. However, the horse had a mind of its own, and had come to his aid in the past.

  "Signal the halt," he ordered his standard-bearer.

  That man waved the flag in a predetermined motion, and the companies separated out and arrayed themselves to both sides of the squadron commander. They were on the edge of a woods, in far enough that they wouldn't be easy to spot, but near enough to the grasslands that they could come out in a hurry.

  McGurk brought his binoculars up to his eyes. They were the same set he had brought with him from Earth, with optics beyond what the people here could produce, at least for now. He caught sight of the first of the barbarians coming over a rise, close together. He shook his head as he watched. His force would never ride into unknown territory without scouts out ahead and on all sides. But the arrogant bastards had no forward scouts, nor any outriders to the side. He almost felt sorry for them, offered riches to fight for the evil Emperor they had no love for, and very little in common with.

  He looked to both sides to see that his lancers had their weapons gripped tightly on the hafts, his bowmen with one arrow notched and three more held in their bow hands. He was sure the nomads would have weapons just as good, at least the bows and lances. He was also sure that the edged and smashing weapons of his men were greatly superior
, and their heavy armor was better. Once they got into close melee range, it would be a slaughter, but they could pay a price getting within that range. It was a price they had to pay, since any barbarians that got through could have serious consequences for the infantry and supply trains they might overrun.

  The colonel made a last minute check on the pistol in his belt. It was a single shot weapon, but it could come in handy in close combat. All of his officers had one of the still rare weapons. He waited for the day when every one of his people carried multiple of the weapons, and they could replicate the tactics of the early gunpowder era.

  [We are ready,] sent White Paw.

  [Send it,] ordered McGurk.

  * * *

  The wolves lay low, covered by the high grass. They knew the power of human weapons, having seen those of their own people used in battle. None wanted to be the target of a storm of arrows that they could not possibly dodge. The canny carnivores would not expose their flesh while they used their minds as their weapons.

  [Now,] sent White Paw to the other wolves. Their minds were already linked into a collective, and they were also linked to dozens of others of their kind across the Army and even into the Refuge valley where the females and cubs were sheltered. Over fifty minds concentrated on one thing, one image, coming across on all sensory levels. Death, destruction, ripping fangs, the smell of blood, all things that would break through any of the training of the herbivores they were assaulting.

  At first, many of the horses let out nervous snorts, which soon turned into terrified screams. Men yelled out in an unknown language as their horses started to kick and buck. To the barbarians there was no cause for their mounts to be acting this way, and many of them tried to whip their horses into submission with their reins. Unfortunately for them, the images of terror running through the minds of the beasts was more than they could handle.