A Werewolf In Under-Town

"Moving where?" Shaggy asked.

"Northward boss. All of them. The entire horde of Phreaks is breaking to the north." Ephemara answered.

"What the hell for?"

"How the hell should I know?"

Shaggy grit his teeth as he jogged up the street. Behind him were a few more pockets of Lackeys and the other members of his pack. They had spread out through the streets, but they were still a sizeable group moving. Shaggy only hoped that no one reported them and if they did, the cops would give them some leeway.

They were all ready and in position when Ephemara's spies reported odd movement from the Phreaks. What started out as a march to the east quickly turned into a huge swell of thugs moving northward. Now the gang of hybrid humanoids was traveling up their western border just a few blocks away. Shaggy had his own people matching their movements, trailing somewhat just to see what would happen. Ephemara kept a running commentary as they went, and Shaggy shared that information with the members of his pack and Levy.

His wife was keeping stride with him as they jogged up the street. Her mages were bringing up the rear of their little procession, though. Most of them were powerful Wizards and Sorcerers, but they couldn't jog to save their lives. Cekrass' people were on the verge of picking up the robed slowpokes.

"Rita, Vick? Any movement on your two sides?"

"Still playing whack-a-mole with these fucking ninjas. But no big movements, boss." Vick reported.

"I think they are just doing it for fun and practice now." Sybil added.

"I've got the newbies holed up in some abandoned buildings." Rita said. "But we haven't seen anything yet."

Shaggy ground his teeth together in annoyance. "Fine. If we get to the northwestern corner of our turf, we'll let them keep walking. Rita, swing around and meet us. Sybil, I want you to go back to the cave and send out more patrols."

"Got it, boss."

Shaggy sighed as he let the Link sink back to the edge of his mind. Levy bumped into him as they ran, getting his attention. Looking up at his wife, he saw her grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"So what's the word? Is it war or just enemy movement?"

"Looks like movement right now. I think they are headed for that splinter group of Phreaks up north."

"And what if it's a trap?"

Shaggy shrugged. "I don't see how. They aren't moving to pincer us and Rita has seen nothing on the north side."

"Rita has a couple dozen Lackeys, Shaggy. She can't watch the whole border."

"Well, neither can we. All we can do is stay on top of the enemies we can see and we'll let the patrols do the rest."

"We need a better reporting systems."

"Yes, dear. Another thing for the checklist."

Levy slapped his shoulder as they ran, almost tripping as she did. Shaggy smiled, but kept up the pace. He used his connection with Ephemara to view the moving Phreaks through his Number 1's eyes. She was remaining hidden with a few of her other spies and they were tracking the marching gangsters. They were being a little bit more circumspect than Shaggy and his people. The Phreaks were using the back alleys and various cars to ferry their people northward. But for some reason, they were moving especially slow. Which would've set alarm bells going in Shaggy's brain if he wasn't 100% positive the Phreaks were unaware of their movements.

"What the hell are they doing?" Shaggy muttered as he kept one eye on the road ahead of him.

The sun was setting, bringing a dull orange hue to the brick buildings. The shadows were stretching along the ground and soon the warm evening would be replaced by a cool night. Shaggy expected some kind of brawl before the night was fully settled. He just didn't know where it would come from.

He and his small group of soldiers followed the expressway, marking the separation of the two territories. The hum of the cars whizzing by accompanied their panting and thudding footsteps. They had gone a few blocks when the street ahead came to a stop and a large wrought-iron fence stretched in either direction. Shaggy slowed up as grey slabs stood out amongst a wall manicured lawn, just beyond the fence. He could feel Levy almost vibrating with happiness as she panted.

"It's a cemetery!"

Shaggy nodded as he called for his group to stop. "Yes dear, I see that."

Cekrass and his people fanned out to the west as Shaggy sent the Bug brothers, Stanley, and Seth to the east. He looked for a way into the vast cemetery as he took it all in. The green fields stretch on for an entire block and he couldn't even see the north side of it from where they stood. Sparse trees dotted the graveyard, but mostly it was just a sea of headstones.

Levy grabbed Shaggy's arm and practically jumped up and down. "Love! It's a fucking graveyard!"

Shaggy raised an eyebrow at his wife and her smile wavered a bit. Eventually it was replaced with a scowl and Shaggy quickly searched his memory for what he was missing. But his wife was already aiming a slap at the back of his head.

"My primary school of magic is NECROMANCY, husband! Remember!?"

Shaggy winced as he did vaguely recall that. But a ready excuse popped into his head.

"I know that, Levy. But this is a city cemetery, right? They have to have protections against such magic, right? I mean, no one wants a beautiful and amazing Drow Elf raising their loved ones."

Levy snorted as she summoned her staff to her hand. "Smooth."

Shaggy sighed as he followed Levy up to the large fence encircling the massive graveyard. Her staff was already held high and Shaggy was sure he could hear her muttering a spell. He checked in with his pack for a second just to give them an update and check on Ephemara. Gazing through the other woman's eyes, Shaggy saw the horde of Phreak thugs still moving through the streets. But he also saw something that stood out.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Is that the expressway?"

He could feel Ephemara's grin through the link. "Yeah, they are on the north side. Right ahead of you. Or at least they will be in a matter of minutes. I think it's Northland Drive."

"That's our turf!" Rita said. "The young bloods and I are on Northland now. We're heading right there."

Shaggy grit his teeth. "Then stop! We need to know what they are doing first."

"They're on our turf!" Rita replied angrily.

Shaggy was about to respond when Levy cried out in pain. Dropping the connection, Shaggy looked up in time to see his wife's thin frame rocketing toward him. He caught her as gently as he could and quickly started checking her for damage. But she was on her feet in a flash and her staff was glowing purple.

"Stupid fucking repelling charm! I'll show you!"

"Love? Are you good?"

"I'm fine, Shaggy."

"Levy… your smoking."

"Yes, I know I'm hot, love. You crank my motor too."

"That's not what I mea-"

"Yes! I know what you meant. I can see my HP bar, thanks."

Shaggy watched his wife's back as little plumes of smoke rose off her black blouse. It looked like her clothes and skin had been burned. But upon closer inspection, Shaggy saw it was Levy's thin magical shield that was burning and smoking. He ignored her antics as he checked back with his pack. Sybil was mobilizing the patrols while Vick was still shooting ninjas. Both Cekrass and Stanley's groups found car entrances into the cemetery. Both were closed, but neither of them thought it would be a problem. Meanwhile, Rita and Ephemara were on Northland Drive, each watching the horde of Phreaks from both the East and West side.

"Well, if anything goes bad, we have them in a pincer attack." Shaggy joked.

"That's not a bad idea, boss. We could make a move now and wipe these fuckers up."

"The newbies are ready to prove themselves. Despite my various warnings." Rita added.

Levy grunted in pain again, making Shaggy look up. Her black blouse was still smoking and Shaggy was sure he could see little licks of orange flame starting along her skin. He had his people stand by as he hazarded a tap on his wife's arm.

"What?!" she snapped.

"Love, you are in danger of igniting your clothing. As much as I want to see that, how about you back off and try a new line of attack?"

His wife whirled on him, her staff still held aloft. "A new line of attack? Against a damn repelling charm? Screw that. This thing is a damn beginner level spell. Something they teach everyone at Korrigan's academy."

"Then what's the issue?"

"It's been juiced up! Some formation beyond the second ring of the spell is keeping me from dispelling the charm. But I have to work around the charm to get to the second ring of the formation. Which means it is attempting to repel me as I push against it."

"Okay, so what if I take on the repelling charm and you go after the second ring thing?"

Levy cocked an eyebrow and opened her mouth to argue, before she quickly shut it again. "That… that could work. But without magic, you're going to have to make contact with the charm in the bars. Also, without a shield spell, it's going to hurt."

"Love, I've been cut in half in this game. I think I can take an over-sized taser."

"If you say so," Levy said, smiling at him. "Whenever you're ready, grab the metal bars and hold on. I'll try to be quick."

Shaggy nodded before he informed his pack what he was about to try. With most of them being within close proximity, they'd probably feel him being in pain. So he wanted them prepared. Just before he reached for the black metal bars of the fence, though, Rita spoke up in his mind.

"Boss, we've got movement on the northern side of the street."

"I see it too, Shaggy. It looks like more Phreaks."

Shaggy nodded absently. "Keep an eye on them. I've got to shock myself now."

Both women snorted at him over the pack link and Shaggy gripped the iron bars with both hands. Immediately, his back arched in pain and it felt like fire was spreading through his veins. Shaggy clamped his teeth down as a groan of pain tried to escape his throat. Idly, he could hear his wife muttering spells again, but that was quickly overshadowed as electricity seemed to crackle over his skin.

His tan skin was charred black as the blue arc of electricity danced over his arms and body. But his healing quickly repaired the damage. The pain seemed endless as Shaggy tried hard to keep his eyes open. Convulsions of pain racked his body and he could smell himself cooking and he swore his blood was boiling. Seconds seemed like minutes, which dragged on to what Shaggy was sure was a full-on hour of pain. His pack sent him words of support through their link, but he couldn't understand them.

After what felt like an eternity, Shaggy's hands snapped off the bars almost against his will. Shaggy panted as the memory of pain traveled along his skin and through his mind. He closed his eyes and took a deep, long breath. When he opened them again, he found Levy leaning over him with a concerned look on her face.

"Are you well?"

Shaggy shook his head. "Nope. That sucked. But it's going away. Did you do it?"

Levy nodded but kept her eyes locked on his. When she eventually saw what she was looking for, she sighed and pointed her staff toward the fence. With a pulse of power, a purple wave hit the metal fence and sent a section of it flying. Shaggy contacted his pack as Levy lent him a shoulder. Already the pain was a distant memory, but he would not complain about his wife holding him.

"Boss, I don't know if you heard, but it's a meetup. The northern splinter group is meeting with the western Phreak faction."

"Do we know what they are saying?"

"No. But it can't be good." Ephemara answered.

"Maybe we can throw a wrench into things. Make them fight each other." Rita advised.

Shaggy nodded, though they couldn't see him. "Do it. Meanwhile, all teams with me move through the cemetery. Levy's fried the magic on the bars, but I don't know how long that'll last."

Looking at his wife, Shaggy asked. "So, are the cemetery's defenses down all around or just on our side?"

"The charm is gone. Like I said, it was a low-level spell designed to annoy, not protect. It was the layered spells beneath that were tricky. I still need to unravel those. But we can do that soon. Can you walk?"

"If I say no, will you keep holding me?"

Levy rolled her eyes as she let go of his torso and pulled her arm away. Shaggy pouted, but let her go as he saw her summon her staff again. She was already working on new magics as they crossed the grassy fields. Shaggy shivered at a sudden chill that went up his spine. The darkening graveyard was looking extra spooky with the setting sun and the lack of trees and noise, but things creepier.

Levy hummed as her staff lit up with power. Shaggy kept one eye on her and one eye on the Phreaks as he walked. He could see the two groups of humanoid animals talking. Both groups were well armed and ready for a fight. All his people had to do was make sure one happened.