Loch slammed open the glass doors, bodies pressed against him. Even though all his people were angry, some were managing to control that anger. Somewhat. They weren’t just hitting others without reason, they were still trying to subdue. It was just that now they didn’t really care if they hurt anyone.

  He didn’t like it, but until he could figure out what was going on and how to stop it, that was the best he was going to get. At least there were some in the Clan that weren’t trying to kill everyone else. But with the mental pressure seeming to increase, Loch wasn’t sure how long that would last.

  Holding a person by the collar, Loch dragged him out the door with him. Darren and Randy, who had fought his way out of the cafeteria, followed behind Loch, keeping the press of people off him and away from the doors. Of the two, Randy seemed the least angry. Loch pushed the man down to the ground, looking out over the yard and hating what he was seeing.

  People fought with weapons and Abilities, some laying on the ground. He could see blood staining the snow, the paths widened and the areas between trampled as people rolled, pushed and leapt on eachother. Luckily most people were wrestling, not using weapons or their Abilities. But there was enough that it was going to get very dangerous soon.

  “Loch!,” one of the twins shouted, pushing against two people. “What’s going on?”

  “People are going nuts,” the other one yelled out, a couple feet from his brother, avoiding the swing of a man.

  The twin punched out, catching the man in the stomach. When his head leaned down, he got a knee to the face, falling down on the ground. The twin kicked him, wincing as he did so.

  “Sorry dude, that’ll leave a mark.”

  “Be careful Brent,” the other twin shouted out. “Don’t hurt them.”

  “Hey, it’s either them or me.”

  Loch raced down the stairs, avoiding a charging woman, letting Randy deal with it. He could hear Darren shouting at some guards nearby, barking out orders. As he got closer, Loch could tell that the twins weren’t as angry as everyone else. Like Randy, they seemed to have some resistance to whatever the mental pressure was.

  “Do what you have to,” Loch said, hating it. “But try not to kill them.”

  “Understood,” both twins said at the same time, racing off to help others.

  “That might be hard,” Randy said. “It’s getting worse.”

  “I know. Just do what you can.”

  Randy nodded, arm extending up to block a punch. He kicked out, hitting the man in the chest, knocking him down. It was one of the guards, one of the few in actual armor. His sword was still in his scabbard, luckily. Randy jumped onto his chest, punching him into unconsciousness, before leaping off and blocking the attacks from another Clanmember.

  “Dammit,” Loch cursed, seeing flames bursting out the window of a bunkhouse.

  He started that direction, seeing Sinat and other elves running his way.

  “Lord Lochlan,” Sinat said, not showing any signs of aggression or anger.

  “I don’t know what is going on,” Loch said. He turned and pointed out beyond the gate. “There’s something out there and I think it’s the cause. But..,” he started, pointing at the fire.

  “We will take care of that and do what we can for the people,” Sinat said, the elves behind him already heading for the fire. “I can feel the Presence out there. It is evil and it wants to destroy us all. You have to stop it.”

  “That’s the plan,” Loch said, grasping Sinat by the shoulder. “Thank you.”

  “These are our people too,” the elf said, nodding.

  ***

  The pressure increased the closer Loch got to the gate. It was pretty clear, the fighting having moved away from the gate. Anyone on the wall had either jumped off or fallen off, leaving it clear. He could see small fires out in the fields, hoping that someone with a clear mind would be there to take care of them. He wanted to run all over the Clanhold, fighting the fires, helping the people. How many bodies had he passed, not knowing if they were alive, dead or bleeding out? But he couldn’t.

  He had to trust in his people, that there were some that could resist the mental pressure, that would be able to hold onto enough of their sanity to help the others. His job was to deal with the cause of the problem.

  Stepping through the gate, the mental pressure became physical. He could feel it slamming against him. It was just barely evening, the sun setting against the horizon, but outside the gate it felt like night. Not just an absence of night, but the terror of the dark. It creeped in around the edges, wanting to make him turn and run.

  The pressure to be angry at the world, at everyone in it, was there as well. Fear and anger pushing at him, wanting him to listen and to give in.

  YOUR MENTAL RESISTANCE HAS REACHED RANK THREE

  He could feel the pressure lessen. It was still there, pushing against the walls of his mind, but he held, keeping it at bay. The fear couldn’t find any cracks to ooze through, but it tried.

  A small group stood in the broken parking lot, spread out, all facing him. Roger Lewis was on the left, smiling, holding his shield and sword, blood dripping down the blade. On the right was Josh Hauser. Blood flowed down his sword, but he didn’t look as confident as Roger. The older man was happy, not angry. Josh looked resigned, as if he was doing something he was unsure of but couldn’t stop himself. In between the two was Theodore Kincaid. The man’s face was twisted into a maddened smile, his eyes lacking all sanity.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Welcome Lochlan,” Theodore said, voice harsh and wild. There was a manic glee to it. “Welcome to the end of Clan Brady.”

  The Presence was behind Theodore, a darkness that Loch couldn’t penetrate. There was someone, something, there. Humanoid, standing a foot or so taller than Theodore, but no details could be seen. Loch couldn’t even tell what the creature was wearing. There was just blackness, the Presence somehow cloaking itself.

  Loch could feel it reaching into his mind, trying to burrow in.

  YOU SHALL BE MINE

  The words were hollow and cold, emotionless, arrogant, but still screaming with power.

  IT WILL ALL BE MINE

  More shapes appeared behind the Presence. Some smaller, some taller. Humanoid. A dozen, spreading out, then still more behind that. Hobs, Red Caps, a couple of humans that Loch had never seen before, a couple of humanoid monsters he hadn’t encountered. They just kept coming. They all looked haggard, sick. There was clear evidence of frostbite on some of the humans. A couple were even missing limbs, walking with limps. Thin, starving, but all of the humanoids facing Loch had the same wild gleam in their eyes.

  There was such a mass, Loch couldn’t get a count. There were a lot of them.

  “Do you like my Clan?” Theodore asked. “When you die, your people will become my people.”

  Loch shifted his stance, Onyx and Bulwark appearing. He Activated Offensive Stance.

  He wanted to Activate Breaker’s Banner and Aura Of Attack. He needed all his buffs if he was going to have a chance at this fight. Roger, Josh and Theodore would be difficult alone without the use of the buffing Abilities, but he couldn’t Activate them at all. Both were area of effect buffs, that would extend to all his allies. The entire Clan were his allies for the use of the Abilities. Would that now include the ones that had gone mad and started attacking the others? Would the Abilities still consider those as allies?

  If so, Activating Breaker’s Banner and Aura Of Attack would greatly enhance everyone’s attack power, making them all far more dangerous. They were hurting each other now, he didn’t want to imagine how much worse it could get with those Abilities active.

  That meant he would have to fight the three traitors, all those humanoids and whatever the Presence was on his own. No Abilities. He didn’t even have his Challenger’s Armor. That meant no Elemental Surge or Windstep, the last a vital part of his fighting style. Without the Armor, he was losing out on a lot of Defensive and Attack bonuses too.

  Loch was not at full strength.

  He knew he needed help, but where could that come from? Everyone was fighting. They were all affected by the mental pressure exerted by that Presence. He didn’t want to drag anyone away from helping subdue the wild members of the Clan, but it wouldn’t do any of the Clan any good if he let this group of monsters rampage through the school.

  They had to be stopped. He had to destroy the Presence. That was the only way to stop the Clanmembers. He didn’t know what the Presence was, but he knew it was responsible for everything.

  “I’m here Dad,” Harper said, appearing beside him, skipping out of the Shadow Realm, tonfas in hand with the bladed end extended.

  She shifted her stance, eyes showing fear at what faced them but there was determination there as well. Loch was proud of her but she had to leave.

  “Harper,” he said. “Go. This is not a fight we can win. Leave.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said.

  “Piper…,” he started.

  “She’s safe,” Harper said, eyes shifting to track the movements of some of the humanoids. “Barricaded in our room. She’s as safe as anyone.”

  Loch wanted to scream. Harper couldn’t be there. This was not a fight he expected to survive. He’d kill the Presence, that was a guarantee, but he expected everything else to kill him after. He only hoped the Clan could rally, that Darren, Ed, Brian and all the others could hold off the attackers and save everyone.

  He didn’t expect to be there for that. But Harper had to leave.

  Loch knew she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t leave him to die.

  And he couldn’t allow her to be killed.

  He needed help to win this fight.

  Loch could feel the thin connection to his Bannermen, those that had pledged oaths to him. He could feel them, locate them all. Scattered around the Clanhold, fighting their battles. He could feel the desperation in them, the desire to protect the rest of the Clan. How it hurt each of them to harm their fellow Clanmembers.

  He could feel their strength, even Brent and Trent, the lowest in Level. Loch could feel their faith in him, their chosen bond to the Clan. Loch needed them. He needed their help. They had faith in him that he would always do what was right for the Clan. They had faith in his strength.

  Loch needed their strength.

  He reached out to the connection, sending his need through it. Not sure if it would work.

  YOU HAVE GAINED THE BANNERMEN’S WARCRY ABILITY.

  Somehow the Presence sensed what Loch was doing. The pressure from the Presence pushed against him, worming its way through his doubts. He would fail. His people would die. Harper and Piper would die. It would all be ruined because he would fail.

  He pushed back, mentally forming walls against the intrusion. This was not the time for doubts. This was the time to be the Clanchief. To fight, and maybe die, for his people.

  Clan Brady was at war. Not with itself but with the Presence. The being that was causing the strife. Loch smiled, taking a step forward. He knew what he needed to do. He had to be what the Clan required of him, what the Connected System had made him.

  Loch was the Warbreaker and it was time to break this war.

  He threw Onyx.