Chapter 109 - Battle Lines

  Alex and I streaked our way back south again. We spotted Reynolds and her guards near the north wall and aimed for them. We set down just a few feet away, and she started toward us at once. All around us, the howling continued, a chorus of inhuman voices that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

  “Glad you’re back. What did you see?" Reynolds asked, her expression grim. “Those howls are starting to freak everyone out.”

  “With good reason! We’ve definitely got trouble heading our way. We saw mall raid groups to the east and west," I said. "Maybe six to twelve werewolves in each. Could be more hiding that I missed, but that's what we counted."

  "And there’s a much larger force to the north," Alex added. "At least twice the size of the other groups, maybe more. They're massing for an attack, and it's coming soon."

  Reynolds absorbed this information with a curt nod. "How long do we have?"

  "Minutes," I said. "They know we spotted them. That might buy you a little time, or it might push them to attack faster before we can prepare."

  "Damn." Reynolds turned to one of her guards. "Sound the alarm. Get everyone to their positions. Let everyone know that this is definitely not a drill."

  The guard saluted and sprinted off, shouting orders as he went. Within seconds, bells began to ring across Harvard Yard. People emerged from buildings, running to predetermined defensive positions.

  "My ground team should be getting close," Alex said. "I ordered a full combat squad to mobilize from City Hall and move here as fast as they could. If I fly out to meet them, I can guide them in from the south side, where the enemy isn’t, and maybe coordinate a strike on the eastern group. Hit them from the flank while they're focused on your walls."

  Reynolds nodded. "That would help immensely. Every werewolf we can take down before they reach the walls is one less we have to fight while protecting civilians."

  Alex turned to me. "Cameron, you should stay here. Help with the defense, especially on the north side where the main force is gathering. And..." He hesitated. "Watch over Marion. Please. If things go badly, get her out of here? I hate to put priority on one person, but in this case, if we lose her, we could lose everything.”

  “I understand. Without her Cleanse, we’re in deep trouble. I’ll watch over her,” I promised. "She'll be safe."

  "Thank you." Alex clapped me on the shoulder, then launched himself into the air. Within seconds, he was streaking south, a dark silhouette against the night sky.

  I watched him go for a moment, then turned back to Reynolds. "What do you need from me?"

  "Honestly? I’d love to have you wherever the fighting is thickest," she said in her usual blunt manner. "You're tier nine. That makes you the strongest fighter we have, by far. According to reports, they have at least one tier eight werewolf in their mix, although most are tier five or six. My people are mostly tier two, three, and four. They’ll have enough trouble facing the regular werewolves. If that big one is around, you’re the only person here with a good chance of standing against it.”

  "I can do that," I said. "Have you moved all the non-combatants to shelters?"

  "Already done. As soon as the first howls started, we began evacuating everyone who couldn't fight to the basements of our most secure buildings. They're locked down behind reinforced doors, with guards posted." Reynolds pulled out a rough map of the Yard and traced her finger along the northern wall. "This is our weak point. The wall isn’t as built up there, nor as reinforced as the other sections. If they're smart, they'll hit us there."

  "Then that's where I'll be," I said.

  Another howl split the night, closer this time. Then another. The sounds seemed to come from everywhere at once, echoing off buildings and making it impossible to pinpoint exact locations.

  "They're getting ready to attack,” I said. "I wanted to go on the offensive, maybe disrupt their formations before they attack. But I don’t think we have time now."

  "No," Reynolds agreed. "Whatever's coming, it's coming now. Go. I'll coordinate from here and shift reinforcements where they're needed."

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  I nodded and took off running toward the north wall. Guards were already in position there, maybe forty of them spread along a hundred-foot section of improvised fortification. The wall itself was a patchwork affair. There was the original ornamental stone wall from before the Event, reinforced with salvaged lumber, metal sheets, and piles of rubble. It stood maybe twelve feet high in most places, with a wooden walkway behind it for defenders to stand on.

  People looked scared. Most of the guards I saw were tier three, with a scattering of people both higher and lower ranked. None of them were above tier five. Not long ago, these people had all been civilians. They were teachers, or students, or local shopkeepers, now all pressed into service because Harvard needed every able body. They held spears and makeshift weapons with white-knuckled grips, staring out into the darkness beyond the wall.

  I was a lot like them. Before all this I’d been an ordinary guy, with a cool girlfriend, a job that I didn’t hate but didn’t love, and a pretty average life. Now I was the highest ranked warrior defending one of the last bastions of civilization in the Boston area.

  How did stuff like that even happen? It was too weird to think about. I needed to do what I could to help reassure these folks, though, so I moved among them, making eye contact, offering what encouragement I could.

  "You've got this," I told a young woman who couldn't have been more than twenty. "Stay calm. Work together. We're going to get through this."

  "What if they break through?" she asked, her voice trembling.

  "Then we’ll be there to stop them," I said simply. “Together.”

  I continued down the line, speaking to the defenders, trying to project confidence I didn't entirely feel. These people weren't soldiers, but they were there, standing their ground, putting their lives on the line for others. That took courage, and it deserved respect.

  I reached the center of the north wall and stopped. I activated Flight and rose ten feet into the air, high enough that I could see a little farther. The demolition zone stretched out before me, maybe fifty feet of cleared ground before the shadows of intact buildings began. My NightVision spell cut through the darkness, revealing details that would have been invisible to everyone else.

  There was movement in the shadows. I spotted a werewolf creeping from one pile of rubble to another. Then another, using a demolished wall as cover. A third slinked its way between two buildings.

  They were getting into position for the assault.

  I floated there, watching, counting. Ten werewolves. Fifteen. Twenty. More kept appearing from the shadows, gathering in the darkness just beyond the cleared zone. They gave soft yipping shouts to each other as they moved, coordinating their approach. This wasn't a mindless animal attack. They knew exactly what they were doing, and showed a level of coordination that would have been impressive from Alex’s former police officers.

  "They're out there," I called down to the defenders. "Stay alert. It won't be long now."

  The werewolves continued to mass. I saw Redhead among them—I recognized his distinctive reddish-brown fur. And there was She-wolf, her smaller frame moving with liquid grace through the shadows. The two that had escaped from the infirmary were leading the pack.

  That was smart, too. Those two werewolves knew the layout and some of the defenses. Having them in the vanguard would let them use their knowledge of the Yard to better break through the defenses. They also knew we still had a captive werewolf. From behind me I could just make out the frantic howling Toothless was making in his cell. He knew his friends were coming, and they’d be able to find him easily enough, too. I hoped the guards watching his cell were ready.

  The howling intensified. Every werewolf in the gathering pack threw back its head and howled in unison. The sound was primal and terrifying. I saw defenders on the wall cover their ears, saw some of them take involuntary steps backward.

  "Hold your positions!" I shouted. "Don't let these overgrown puppies scare you! We’re going to send them packing! Stand your ground!”

  The howling reached a crescendo, then suddenly stopped. For three heartbeats, there was perfect silence.

  Then, as one, the werewolf pack charged.

  They burst from the shadows like a living wave, dozens of them, moving at terrifying speed across the cleared ground. Their claws tore up dirt and stone as they ran. Their eyes glowed yellow in the darkness. They were aiming straight for the center of the wall, right for the weakest section Reynolds had warned me about.

  "Here they come!" I roared, my voice carrying across the entire defensive line.

  A handful of arrows flew from the wall, most missing their marks in the poor light. One found its target, sinking into a werewolf's shoulder, but the creature barely slowed. They were almost at the wall now, seconds away from hitting the improvised fortifications with the full force of their charge. It was the perfect time for me to blunt their charge.

  I dropped lower, my hands crackled with energy as I prepared to cast Lightning Bolt. Around me, defenders braced their spears and raised their shields. I fired a blast into the front of the pack, shocking their lead runners into a full stop. They stumbled, tripped, and went down in a jumble of fur and claws. The werewolves racing along right behind them were slowed as they scrambled to avoid the fallen.

  Then I swept down from the sky, streaking toward the enemy at top speed. I struck the pavement on the far side of the wall hard enough to shatter the concrete. The shock wave from my impact send the nearest few attackers flying back and made those right behind them stumble and falter.

  “Want to get to them, you have to go through me,” I shouted.

  The werewolves I’d stunned and wounded were already recovering their feet, clambering back to all fours. They were crouched low, teeth bared in vicious snarls, slavering mouths half open and dripping saliva that looked black in the shadowy night.

  Without warning, they rushed forward, the entire pack focused on a single target—me!