The Bloodforged Kin

Chapter 201 - 195: Mason - Platoon 2: Elijah, Morgana, Dante, and Lilith

Platoon 2 was spread out in a long, double line, the squads forming a Roman Velite formation. Each man was armed with a buckler and either a machete or quickly-made short sword, the two rows back-to-back as they covered each other. They were moving into a neighborhood of posh houses, all two-storied and Cream City brick. The environment favored the sword and shield combination as the streets were too narrow for squads to form a phalanx.

"Attention," Craig called out crisply. He was not one for emotion or coddling and his platoon responded as such. His men knew that he prioritized perfect execution of a plan first, the mission second, the lives of his men third, and his own life fourth. It was joked that if he had ever been given a hug he probably would have wondered what its purpose was, and why the person was subjecting him to it.

Fortunately, his men also knew that he was a genius. Cold, calculating, efficient - but his near-constant striving for perfection was the example they held themselves to. He wasn't one for flashy shows or big speeches, he simply gave orders and expected them to be followed. If someone had a better plan they were encouraged to execute it, but the results determined the consequences. "Make a plan, make the decision, and execute the plan," was the unofficial motto of their platoon, and the rewards or punishment were commensurate with the outcome.

"Our guests will be conducting field operations tonight. Our role is to protect and support them. Squad leaders, you are authorized to break formation if, and only if, the primary mission of keeping them alive is in jeopardy."

He turned to face their escorts. "Sirs and Madams, do you understand our role here?"

They nodded soberly.

"If you do, I need you to state it verbally. Elijah."

The man started at being addressed. "Yeah?"

"Please state to me, in your own words, what the plan is and, to the best of your knowledge, what our role in this excursion is."

Elijah swallowed. "Uh, we're here to fuck shit up and you're here to make sure we get back alive."

Craig paused, eyeing the man with an emotionless stare long enough to make Elijah fidget. After a long moment he responded. "That will have to do. Understand this - since our role is to bring you back alive, that means that we will perform that to the best of our ability. If you are in danger, we will help - even if you don't approve. If a squad dies protecting you, the next will take their place, and so on, until only I am left to protect you. You will come back alive or none of us will, is that understood?"

The Enchantresses smiled wickedly at each other, the Lieutenants looking nervous, then excited as they shared looks with the women. "Oh yes," Lilith said. "We get back alive or none of you do. That feels… right."

If her response was meant to ruffle Craig's feathers it was a failure. "Good, you understand. With that in mind, I would strongly advise that you do not stray further than we can see. Your best chance of survival is to stay within striking range of the platoon. Going further will require us to break the formation and stretch our lines, which will lead to unnecessary and preventable deaths. If I feel you are causing that risk I will call a halt to the exercise and we will return, regardless of the success of your mission."

Morgana slithered close to him, running the back of her hand down his face seductively. "And what happens if we don't follow your orders, little one? Will you MAKE me?" Her emphasis on the word 'make' sounded more like a bedroom invitation than a threat.

She, too, was barking up the wrong tree if she wanted a response. Craig's cold, blue eyes met hers evenly. "I will not. We will die, and so will you."

She huffed in irritation and slunk back to the group, her hips swaying far more dramatically than a normal walk.

"Platoon 2, it's about to begin! Ready yourselves. Escorts, make your way to your positions."

This time there was no flirting, no arguing, as the four visitors walked in pairs to stand in the front yards of rich houses. They had opted to leave the bikes since there was little room for them to ride, and Elijah and Dante's skill sets were more geared towards on-foot fighting anyway.

They didn't have long to wait - the spiders and Shadow Wolves appearing from between the houses with barely a sound. There was a call of 'Rooftops!' and suddenly Elijah's knives were flying, dozens cutting through the air before the first hit its target. Spidery bodies launched backwards with a handful of knives in each. Elijah never seemed to run out of knives, the thrown ones disappearing as the creatures died. He laughed as he pivoted in place, Morgana sliding next to him, her laugh deep and throaty. Hexing Bolts flew from her just as quickly as Elijah's knives, and the two of them destroyed the initial wave in seconds.

"That's no fair!" Lilith pouted from behind them.

"If you want your own fun go find it. We're doing great here," Morgana purred. Lilith swiped half-heartedly at her and the women laughed.

"Fine, we're going over there," she nodded to a large house a few lots down, grabbing Dante's arm as she walked that way.

"Lines! Split and surround, three-quarter moon formations. Guard all flanks and rear, not the front." The long line of troops split down the middle, then again. The troops rearranged themselves into two groups, the lines marching to overlap. In under a minute they were in three rows, Outer rows facing opposite directions and the inner row facing the Lieutenants and Enchantresses. Then the two groups began a short-stepped march, the neat lines forming into half-circles, one surrounding Elijah and Morgana on three sides, the other surrounding Dante and Lilith.

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Seeing themselves protected on three sides, the pairs smiled wickedly and faced the opening.

"Come on, Dante, are you going to let them show us up?" Lilith squeezed Dante's arm, head down and eyes looking up at him beseechingly. "It's so sexy how he takes control like that," she said, turning to look back at Elijah as she ran her hand down Dante's chest and stomach.

"Oh fuck that! Let's fuck some shit up!" He leapt forward, making wide loops with his serrated machetes. A spider leapt from the roof at the same time that a Shadow Hound surged out of the darkness between two houses. Dante laughed, spinning as he walked, arms moving in flashes. Dual Decapitation activated and two bodies rolled past him in pieces. Lilith laughed and clapped before kneeling down and kissing the wolf's head. "Ooohhh, you're a bad little doggy, aren't you?"

She skipped over the body and pranced to Dante, arms slithering underneath his and across his chest. "Do it again," she breathed heavily.

"A little hard to do when you're wrapped around me like this."

"A little hard, you say?" She reached down and grabbed him, squeezing, laughing as she felt him jerk under her hand.

Dante chuckled. "Seriously, girl, you're going to have to let go if you want me to take them on," he pointed with his machete as a group of spiders and wolves rushing them.

She nibbled on the back of his neck, then wiggled her head under his arm until she could see the creatures that were sprinting their way towards them. As the monsters reached them she inhaled sharply, then Banshee Wail shattered the night air, causing those closest to her to grab their ears in desperation to block out the pain. Dante was unaffected, since she had marked him as a friend, and he laughed as the wave of creatures came to a skidding halt, disoriented and confused. He broke out of her grip and ran through the group, slicing and dicing his way through the bodies. He finished off the last of them just as they were regaining their wits.

He turned, thrusting a machete into the air in triumph. "Did you see that shit? I fucking kicked their asses!" He noticed Lilith's expression a moment too late.

He was barreled over by a wolf and immediately covered in dark, furry bodies. His screams were met with the sound of rending flesh, blood and skin flying into the air. The howls of victory turned to fear as a wall of blades appeared around him. Savage Spin activated and Dante was surrounded by spinning machetes. He crawled to his feet, the whites of his eyes showing even in the dim light. He began a limping run towards the soldiers, Lilith barely a thought in his mind as she ran towards him. His blades sliced into her, but Dante didn't even register her screams as he limped past her. The first soldiers to surround him suffered deep cuts and gashes until they backed up enough to give the limping man room. He looked around wildly, noticing for the first time that he was surrounded by soldiers. He fell to the ground with a groan, dropping his sword wall. He could hear Lilith's sobbing as the men surrounded her in a protective wall, but it was a problem for someone else. He was hurt and that's all that mattered.

Elijah and Morgana smiled at Lilith's scream.

"Well she certainly seems to be having fun," Morgana said. "Come now, let's not let the girl have all the fun."

"Don't tease me, Morgana. I don't need Dante coming after me later."

"A big, strong man like you is scared of a man with bigger knives?" She clucked her tongue. "I wouldn't have thought you'd have performance issues, from what I've heard from the other Enchantresses."

"You know that's not a problem," he replied testily. "Dante is just a jealous asshole, and too hot-headed. I don't want to wake up with a machete at my throat, again."

She stepped back with a disgusted look. "Fine, but are you going to DO something?"

"Are you?" he snapped back. "You know what? You have your little magic missile things, you can take care of yourself. I'm taking the fight to them." With that he slid forward into the darkness, Silent Reaper helping him to disappear into the shadows. Morgana smiled wickedly as she heard wolves yipping in pain behind the houses.

"It took you long enough to get it up," she murmured and stepped forward in a smooth glide. She activated Pact Renewal, the dark energy binding her to the creature in front of her, the other end of the binding stretching into her chest. Dual Hexing Bolts shot out and the wolf flipped backwards. Two more penetrated its ribcage and, as its life drained from it it was converted into healing energy. She didn't actually need it since she wasn't injured, but she was used to using her power to heal others. Using it to heal herself was… intoxicating. She searched around for more targets and found plenty, and more. The squads were keeping the majority off of her, but the ones from the front were threatening to overwhelm her now that Elijah was gone.

She was not one to cower under the threat, though. She was Morgana, the cold, calculating terror of the Enchantresses. She reveled in death and loved the kiss of it on the back of her neck. Many unlucky soldiers and house servants had disappeared after she'd shown interest in them, and her tastes were a dark topic discussed only in the lowest of whispers.

She smiled darkly as they came, her Hexing Bolts catching any that were brave or stupid enough to be on the front line. She didn't miss that her strikes weren't killing them with one shot, or that she was slowly being forced backwards by the onrush. She felt the warmth of libido seeping into her, making her groan in excitement every time one of them broke past her attacks and nipped, slashed, or ripped into her. Each time Pact Renewal healed her, although even that was becoming strained. The attacks were coming too fast and she'd gone from a rough stalemate to being forced backwards, step after bleeding step.

Something too black, too hidden, and with too many teeth tore a chunk out of her calf before she even registered its presence. She cried in terror, pain, and orgasm before crab-walking her way backwards. Death lunged at her throat and she half-closed her eyes, mouth open in an anticipatory breath, only for it to be stopped with a sharp clang on a shield. Then she was surrounded by legs as the squad surrounded her.

"Well damn," she muttered as she cast one more Pact Renewal to heal her leg.