ã€ŠJacob&#x27;s Warã€‹


 Extract from Jacobs Diary, September 1st 1915

    My darling Grace, I have elected to keep this journal of my time fighting for King & Country, which I hope shall be short. Although they tell me it¡¯s against regulations, I believe most of the lads are doing something similar. At least they cannot censor this record as they do our letters home.

    My love, my heart aches to be away from you but I know you understand I could not in good conscience stay out of this War any longer. I can use my talents to greater purpose in France than I ever could at home. They need men to dig trenches to protect ourselves and our comrades, and tunnels and mines toward the enemy.

    We are still in Wiltshire, digging practice trenches in glorious sunshine and rising out to charge at the enemy arrayed before us. For the time being we are making do with broom handles as our rifles and bayonets have not yet arrived. The sacks of flour we are treating as our foes are getting a veritable beating.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.The men appear decent and are of one mind to doing our duty. I shall be proud to fight alongside them when that time comes. Our battalion commander Captain Dean looks a good chap too, a regular in the Army with much experience. He¡¯s taken us new bugs under his wing and is preparing us for the front.

    They say we will ship out soon, rumours say before the end of the month. I hope this is true, otherwise it might be over before we even arrive!

 September 1st 1919

    Jacob longed for his trusty service revolver, or better yet a Vickers machine gun; crystals tied to a three-foot stick felt hopelessly ineffective.

    The snapping of the beast¡¯s jaws mere inches from his nose reminded him to focus.

    ¡°You got him yet?¡± Harry shouted.

    ¡°No!¡± Jacob replied. The strength of the creature they faced was overwhelming, only with the pair of them working together could they hope to subdue it. He resisted the temptation to turn and run, wielded his staff (don¡¯t call it a magic wand, the trainer had repeated) and summoned the energies latent within it. With a glance at Harry he drove this power forward into the monster¡¯s chest.

    It staggered, its roars halted, and it regarded him with a quizzical look for a second before Harry¡¯s own blast knocked it lifeless to the ground.

    ¡°Great show, lads,¡± Christopher Grey shouted from his position on the sidelines. He checked the stopwatch in his hand, made a few notes on a clipboard and nodded his approval. ¡°And a new record.¡± He shook the hands of the other men around him, but made no move towards the men now getting their breath back. Harry and Jacob exchanged a handshake of their own and walked over to inspect the defeated beast.

    Seven feet long and barrel-shaped, matted black hair hid its powerful muscles and made it appear even larger than it was. As he poked at its head with his staff, Jacob saw the once jet-black eyes beneath its thick fringe had faded to a milky-grey colour.

    Mr Grey gestured to a small man beside him who separated from the group of observers and strode over to the beast. With a quiet ¡°scuse me, gents,¡± he reached under the creature¡¯s fur and unclipped a thick metal collar.

    ¡°In the field they won¡¯t have one of those, so there¡¯s no chance of us restraining it if it gets too much for you,¡± Grey said. Harry gave Jacob a glare that said we know that already, mate, but didn¡¯t say it. Training drills were getting more intense by the day; tempers ran short at the best of times and they didn¡¯t want to antagonise the ¡°brass¡± any more than they already had.

    With the collar removed the creature was fading back to its normal state of invisibility. Before it vanished the small man acting as the creature¡¯s keeper wielded his staff and immolated the corpse with a word. Harry compared his own stick to the other¡¯s ancient oak staff with deep inset jewels; Jacob willed him not to speak up, in vain.

    ¡°Here, boss, when do we get the proper kit then? I think my amethyst almost came off on that one!¡± The faces of the observers bore stony replies to Harry¡¯s grin.

    ¡°You remember we¡¯re pressed for resources, Mr White,¡± a man carrying a cane snapped. ¡°What you have now is fine for training, but you¡¯ll get what you need before you¡¯re sent out in the field.¡± He turned on his heel and stalked away to watch another small group of men battling a large creature a few hundred yards away.

    Mr Grey walked over to them and gave them a watery smile. ¡°Mr Black is right,¡± he said in a conciliatory tone, ¡°but I understand your concerns. The lads in the workshops are working flat out to prepare the essentials.¡± With that he hurried off to rejoin the rest of the group.

    <hr>

    ¡°I wish you wouldn¡¯t joke around,¡± Jacob sighed when they were out of earshot. ¡°Mr Black doesn¡¯t like us much as it is.¡±

    Harry scoffed. ¡°Yeah well, if Mr so-high-and-mighty ¡®Black¡¯ had fought in the war he might have a better idea why I¡¯m so worried. We can¡¯t train with this rubbish,¡± he shook his staff, and the gemstones rattled. ¡°If we¡¯re not ready when they send us to Stonehenge it¡¯ll be a massacre. You remember what happened at the Somme, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°You know I do,¡± Jacob shuddered.

    ¡°Right, yeah, I didn¡¯t mean¡­¡± Harry stared at his shoes in embarrassment for a moment. ¡°These flipping magic wands are a joke. If we don¡¯t get time to train with the real thing you¡¯ll have blokes popping spells off in all directions when they get too excited. Then again perhaps you¡¯d like to spend a few days as a frog? I can just see you sitting under a rock, eating flies¡­¡±

    Jacob smiled at that despite himself. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re wrong, just¡­ try to be more professional, won¡¯t you? You remember their type, all certain they¡¯re better than us because they attended the right school, or mixed with the right people.¡±

    ¡°Ah, Grey¡¯s all right - he understands. It¡¯s just that hoity-toity Mr Taylor. Black. Whatever, I can¡¯t keep these damn names straight. Don¡¯t think we need them, eh Mr ¡®Brown¡¯?¡±

    Jacob groaned. ¡°You know damn well it¡¯s for our own protection. Names have power, so we keep our true names a secret and use the colour system.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll just have to remember. Black like his heart, Grey cos he¡¯s only half as bad. I¡¯m White like fresh snow, and you¡¯re Brown like your trousers.¡± He laughed at his own joke, until he saw Jacob¡¯s expression. ¡°Wait, I didn¡¯t mean¡­¡± he started.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.¡°Stop pissing about, for God¡¯s sake,¡± Jacob snapped, ¡°I¡¯ve had it up to here. You¡¯ll get us both kicked out at this rate.¡±

    Harry raised his hands. ¡°Look, I know you¡¯re no coward and so do they,¡± he said gesturing at the distant figures. ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to prove, and you seem to work wonders even with the lousy equipment.¡± Jacob unclenched his fists, and his jaw lost its tension. ¡°Here, no-one will miss us now if we slope off for a pint, so what do you say? If anyone asks we¡¯ll say we¡¯re going to re-tie our jewels,¡± he added, rattling his staff.

    Jacob thought for a moment and then strode off towards their barracks with a deep sigh.

    <hr>

    ¡°Bleedin¡¯ fairies, I tell ya! Dancin¡¯ around all over!¡±

    Jacob and Harry had been enjoying a pint in the local pub until the man at the next table started sharing his drunken opinions. His latest was whether mythical creatures existed or not, and he was debating it with anyone within earshot.

    ¡°Some girls up in Yorkshire, it says here,¡± the man continued, slapping his newspaper and hitting it on the second try. ¡°Took some pictures of fairies at the bottom of their bleedin¡¯ garden. Dancin¡¯ about and handin¡¯ ¡®em flowers and suchlike. Bleedin¡¯ nonsense if you ask me.¡±

    ¡°Nobody asked you, Bert. Nobody ever does,¡± his companion stage-whispered to the rest of his table. This didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Bert himself, who forgot his tales of fairies in favour of asking his companion to step outside. They calmed him with the promise of another drink.

    Harry leant over to Jacob and whispered. ¡°What do you reckon?¡± he asked, ¡°doesn¡¯t sound like our sort of thing, does it?¡±

    ¡°No. Dancing and flowers isn¡¯t what we¡¯ve come up against so far. None of the things we see would leave two little girls unharmed either.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be a repeat of that ¡®Angels of Mons¡¯ fuss during the war. A rumour gets out of hand, some newspaper reporter gets the wrong end of the stick and then it¡¯s all anyone can talk about.¡±

    ¡°As if you¡¯d ever have seen anything heavenly in the trenches,¡± Jacob said. They sat in mournful silence for a moment before Jacob downed the last of his drink and stood. ¡°Another?¡± he asked Harry, not waiting for an answer before wobbling to the bar. He returned, placed Harry¡¯s drink next to the half-empty one in front of him, and sank into his chair. He then swallowed a third of his own pint in one go.

    ¡°Steady on,¡± Harry said. ¡°It¡¯s not a race.¡± Jacob snorted and borrowed the newspaper from the table beside them. He found the short article about the fairies and tossed it onto the sticky table.

    ¡°Look at this, feels as if there¡¯s something new every week,¡± he said. ¡°This one might be a hoax, but we both understand there¡¯s plenty of the real stuff out there. And the more we find, the more the idea¡¯s growing in people¡¯s minds, and the more they do this nonsense,¡± he added, gesturing at the article. ¡°In my opinion, it¡¯s been getting worse since the War.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not surprising,¡± Harry said. ¡°Every family in the country lost someone, near enough. It¡¯s not surprising they¡¯d turn to believing in a perfect spirit world where their loved ones can live on, happy and safe.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure. But that doesn¡¯t explain how busy we¡¯re getting. No amount of belief creates things like that great shaggy beast we faced today. No, I¡¯m saying that something¡¯s causing it, something big. More fae means more sightings, more people believe. It doesn¡®t work the other way around.¡±

    ¡°Well yeah, that¡¯s what we¡¯re training for, isn¡¯t it?¡± Harry explained. ¡°We knew that with the damage already done to Stonehenge there¡¯d be leakage, and that¡¯s what we¡¯re seeing.¡±

    Jacob shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s bigger than that - and nastier. Can¡¯t you feel it? It¡¯s like in the trenches, something big¡¯s coming.¡±

    ¡°No-one knew what the big push would be like until we were in it. Don¡¯t tell me you knew what was going to happen.¡±

    Jacob waved a hand to dismiss Harry¡¯s statement and almost knocked their glasses to the floor. ¡°We all felt it, we just thought it was excitement at doing our part at last.¡± His voice was quieter now. ¡°I should¡¯ve known it wouldn¡¯t be like we expected, should¡¯ve known.¡±

    ¡°We did what they trained us for,¡± Harry mumbled. ¡°We did our duty.¡±

    ¡°Fat lot of good that did us,¡± Jacob shouted. ¡°We didn¡¯t know what we¡¯d face. Nor did those bloody officers. And now it¡¯s all happening again, don¡¯t you see?¡± His voice was louder still and people were turning to watch.

    Harry stood up and placed a hand on Jacob¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s be getting back,¡± he urged. ¡°We ought to report this fairy thing, just in case.¡±

    Jacob shrugged Harry¡¯s hand away and finished his drink. ¡°All right,¡± he conceded. ¡°But you mark my words, we¡¯re walking blindfolded into another colossal fuck-up.¡±

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, November 28th 1915

    Another glorious day dawns in this man¡¯s army. While we cannot wait to reach France and give the Hun what-for I can¡¯t deny that an autumn day in England is always one of the finest experiences on God¡¯s earth. Wiltshire is so charming, my darling, and to write this journal as the sun sets behind the pillars of Stonehenge is a moment plucked from a magical tale.

    Day after day we are still practicing our manoeuvres; there is a vast trench network chiselled into the chalk. I think we will excel at this fighting lark, since we run drill after drill and many of us find we¡¯re running them in our sleep.

    We got our military-issued boots this morning, but my new friend Harry and I are planning to keep wearing the ones we bought when we joined up as they¡¯re better made. They might request the officers discipline us but most turn a blind eye as they do the same. Once the white dust from the plain gets on them it¡¯s hard to tell whether you¡¯re in the thin-soled official boots or something decidedly more water-proof.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.They have issued rifles to around half the men. Live fire exercises are taking place daily, and at least we will be used to the sound of gunfire by the time we reach the front. For the sake of our sanity, they ¡®cease-fire¡¯ for meals and at night.

    They must have issued at least one battalion live grenades, as word reaches us of a tragedy. A Mills Bomb fell short and shrapnel peppered the poor devil who threw it; some say it¡¯s his own fault for trying to chuck it uphill, others say it went off too soon. Either way, the unlucky fellow may not pull through, and if his trench-mate¡¯s hearing doesn¡¯t return in time, he will not be joining us in France.

 November 28th 1919

    It was a clear, crisp morning, welcome after a few weeks of daily rain. The frost had lifted by the time the team assembled on the training ground, and the earth squelched underfoot.

    Grey had informed them that training for today would include holding a defensive line, creating a magical barrier between themselves and a creature intent on breaching that line. They were joined by two very new recruits who shivered and blew on their hands; either they hadn¡¯t dressed for the weather, or hadn¡¯t received enough warm clothing.

    Harry had taken the lead as Jacob¡¯s hangover was impairing his ability to focus. The plan was straightforward enough; Harry would set up the defensive wall and the others then reinforce it by sending their own energies into his body to strengthen it. Before long they had a barrier erected, and the keeper released the creature.

    It surged towards them, causing one of the inexperienced men to shy away and lose his focus. Harry sighed in frustration but the rest maintained the shield without him. This was the advantage of this method; if he¡¯d been responsible for an entire section of the wall, it would have collapsed at his retreat. In that case the beast would have been able to find a way through to attack from the rear. As it was, the defence was intact and as the creature approached the barrier it slowed, probing for a weakness and finding none. It ranged along the invisible wall, seeking a route through. Harry shifted the projection to maintain it a few feet away from the men, pivoting it as necessary to keep it between them.

    ¡°Looking good lads, let¡¯s see if we can push it back, influence its direction a little,¡± Harry called out. ¡°And you, Yellow, was it?¡± he called to the man behind, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Get back in the line whenever it¡¯s convenient, would you?¡±

    The newly renamed Yellow swallowed hard and nodded, before setting his shoulders square and striding towards the group of three men. He had not been keeping a check on where the barricade was being moved to and approached in such a way he was no longer behind its protection. Harry, his attention locked on the beast in front, didn¡¯t notice.

    The creature did.

    The instant the man stepped far enough to one side of the group to join on the left flank, it charged him.

    Too late, Harry realised what had happened - with a Herculean effort he diverted the shield to his left, but could not extend the protection far or fast enough.

    The beast closed the distance in seconds.

    Jacob watched in open-mouthed horror as the events unfolded in slow motion: the creature¡¯s clawed feet churning up the soft earth; mud flying behind it as it accelerated towards its prey; its drool-flecked jaw opening wide, long and sharp teeth glinting in the morning sunlight; its head lowering and shoulders rising as it prepared to pounce; the man stumbling backwards before tripping and crashing to the ground; and then the beast was in the air, hurtling teeth-first towards the helpless man. At the sound of a blood-curdling scream as the jaws locked tight on his leg, time snapped back to normal.

    Harry dropped the shield and with the other young man sprinted off to help. ¡°Why the hell didn¡¯t you stop it?¡± Harry yelled at the creature¡¯s keeper over his shoulder, not waiting for a reply. He aimed his staff at the beast to unleash a magical blast, focusing the borrowed energy from the others to maximise the damage he could cause.

    Nothing happened.

    He shook the staff in irritation and disbelief, before trying again, still running. A few feeble sparks of lightning crackled from the end of it. ¡°Come on,¡± he muttered under his breath before turning to ask Jacob to launch his own attack. But Jacob wasn¡¯t beside him, wasn¡¯t running into the fray. He stood rooted to the spot staring in horror at the grisly scene before them. ¡°Hey!¡± Harry shouted, ¡°come and help!¡± but if Jacob heard him, then he gave no outward sign. ¡°Shit,¡± Harry said as he neared the creature. A misfiring staff, a stunned partner and a raw recruit against¡­ what was this thing called again? Not important.

    Now just a few paces away he raised his staff again and brought it down on the monster¡¯s head with a loud crack. ¡°Stop the damn thing, will you?¡± he bellowed at the keeper again, and this time the beast froze in place before settling on the bloodied grass. Harry used his staff to pry the creature¡¯s locked jaws off the poor wretch¡¯s leg. His leg was almost severed, Harry saw, thinking he might have been better off if the creature had finished the job. He searched his memory for a spell to help control the bleeding, but his adrenaline-soaked brain refused to offer anything useful. In the trenches he would have had a first-aid kit or a medical bag nearby, but there was nothing to hand.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.Upon hearing the screams a nearby group had abandoned their own drills and come running, and they were better prepared. One man recited an incantation to close the severed arteries and halt the blood loss while another laid hands on the injured man to share his pain. His screams however did not diminish.

    <hr>

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± the keeper wailed, ¡°I triggered the collar as soon as it bolted, but it just didn¡¯t work! I think the shield blocked it, maybe? Or it could have been faulty, I mean we check them every night but¡­.¡±

    ¡°Quiet, Green,¡± Mr Black barked as he strode through the crowd that had gathered. ¡°What the hell happened here?¡±

    Harry took a deep breath and started to explain. Black interrupted him.

    ¡°How the hell did it get through your wall, man?¡± he asked, face shoved close to Harry¡¯s own.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t,¡± Harry refused to back down, locked eye-to-eye with the shorter man. ¡°The new guy wheeled around behind us and lured it out beyond the barrier. With only three of us the barrier was shorter than usual, so it flanked us.¡± Or only two of us, he considered with a glance at Jacob.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want excuses, man,¡± Black snapped. ¡°Shoddy work like this in the field will risk more lives than your own.¡±

    As if you¡¯d understand that, Harry thought. The arrival of an out-of-breath Mr Grey interrupted his desire to tell Mr Black exactly what he thought of him.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡± he asked Harry. Black scoffed.

    ¡°Yes, fine,¡± Harry said, ¡°but my damn staff failed again. We have to trust our equipment if we¡¯re going to¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh not this again,¡± Black threw his hands up in despair. ¡°You can¡¯t blame your tools every time you make a mistake, take some damn responsibility.¡±

    Grey interjected to defuse the situation. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on this young man for now, shall we? And we can work out what went wrong later.¡±

    Black was not keen to give up his search for someone to blame, but realised that Grey had a point. ¡°Very well, report to me once he¡¯s dealt with. All of your team,¡± he added, pointing at Jacob still a few yards away. He brushed aside further entreaties from Mr Green without a word and stalked away.

    A second man had joined to reduce the injured man¡¯s agony, but the screams continued. Someone produced a hip-flask and held it to his lips, while Grey pretended not to notice the illicit alcohol.

    On seeing that the injured man was now in better hands, Harry turned his attention to Jacob and hurried over to him. ¡°What happened to you?¡± he asked. To his surprise he saw a tear run down Jacob¡¯s face, and his mood softened. ¡°Are you OK?¡±

    Jacob nodded, his lips clamped together. Whether to stifle a cry or to keep from vomiting, Harry wasn¡¯t sure. He placed his arm around his friend and led him from the scene.

    <hr>

    After Harry got Jacob back to the barracks and presented him with a steaming mug of tea, he was returning to his usual self.

    ¡°You froze up there,¡± Harry said. ¡°Was it the blood again?¡±

    Jacob shook his head. ¡°The scream. Reminded me of Charles.¡± He shuddered.

    ¡°Right,¡± Harry said.

    They sat in silence in front of the fireplace, warming themselves for a few minutes before Jacob spoke again.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. Then after another pause, ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡±

    Tell that to Black, Harry thought. ¡°They send us these new recruits, no idea what they¡¯re going up against and expect us to hold their hands, brush their hair and wipe their arses for them.¡± This raised a small smile on Jacob¡¯s face for a second, before his frown returned. ¡°I doubt this lot had even seen the fae before.¡±

    ¡°Not judging by their reaction,¡± Jacob agreed. ¡°I know we need more men out there but they¡¯re no use to us if they panic at the first sight of the enemy.¡±

    Harry looked at his companion and swallowed the words he wanted to say. It wouldn¡¯t do to berate Jacob for his reaction, at least it hadn¡¯t made matters worse. That boy had already lost his leg by the moment Harry moved.

    He put the thought from his mind and sipped his tea. ¡°What should we tell Grey?¡± he asked. ¡°I mean it needs to be the truth, but he¡¯s never been one to listen to reason.¡±

    Jacob nodded. ¡°It was a catalogue of errors. That man weakening the wall, losing track of its location, exposing himself to the beast. Then the collar not working, your staff misfiring, any of those we could have dealt with. But all together?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Not that they¡¯ll understand.¡±

    So you were aware of what was going on, Harry thought. ¡°Will you be all right here alone? I want to go check on that poor boy.¡±

    Jacob nodded and pulled up a dog-eared paperback from a nearby table. As Harry left, Jacob stared into the flames in the fireplace, the book open but unread.

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, December 2nd 1915

    What a journey that was! We departed from Blighty just four days ago although it feels a lifetime away.

    We packed up our gear on Tuesday night, barring the essentials, and it went ahead of us. Wednesday morning the train took us to Folkestone, where we sat about for an hour until the Captains arranged a match of football between the best of the two Companies. This kept us duly entertained until it was time to board the ferry, but I fear we failed our dear Captain ¡®Charlie¡¯ Dean and he lost two shillings to his opposite number. His faith in us is touching, and we will ensure it¡¯s not misplaced when the battles start.

    On arrival in France they loaded us into another train which rattled through pretty countryside, so far untouched by war. On Thursday we arrived at a large French town, where keen as we were to sample the local hostelries we were at once ordered to march up to the village in which they billeted us. Four hours marching didn¡¯t improve our mood any, nor did seeing the barn in which they expected us to spend the night. Without proper gear (we trust it is on the way somewhere, but we fear we shall never see it again) we had to make beds of straw and stuff our packs with hay to form pillows. A greatcoat makes a passable blanket, and might be less scratchy than the real item.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.Friday was miserable, a day of route marches and damp drizzling rain more penetrating than a good solid downpour would have been. By the time we reached our new camp there wasn¡¯t a man that didn¡¯t question his decision to join up. However, God in his infinite mercy had sent before us a battalion of regulars who had the place ship-shape for our arrival, and they prepared a meal which reawakened our love for our fellow man.

    Over dinner they told us tales of the battle they had not long been fighting, in Loos. Others of Kitchener¡¯s Army (as they call us new folks) had fought there for the first time and I was proud to hear they had acquitted themselves well. In fact, it is in their honour they treated us so kindly on our arrival, as our hosts viewed them, and us by association, most highly.

    The battle itself was not so happily spoken of, however. Both sides suffered for little gain, and rumour has it the British and French forces came away more badly than the enemy. Our colleague¡¯s tales of gas attacks and grenade assaults started to put the fear into us until our Captain stepped in to alter the subject to one more cheerful.

 December 2nd 1919

    The debriefing had started calmly. It had been a few days since the incident and cooler heads prevailed when the meeting began. All agreed with the general outline of the situation, and Black raised no dissent to Harry¡¯s description of the weakened wall that had resulted from Yellow¡¯s retreat, nor the mistakes made by when he revealed himself to the beast.

    Black was just about to pin the blame for the whole sorry episode at the feet of the injured man when Jacob began to recount the details of the failed control collar.

    ¡°As soon as the creature began to run, it should have been stopped. I notice you¡¯ve not invited Mr Green to this meeting to defend himself, so am I to assume you have exonerated him of blame?¡± Grey glanced at Black before nodding. ¡°Which means you agree with me that the collar was faulty. Goodness knows how many others are affected, but have never been required to activate. But that¡¯s nothing compared to the failing of my friend¡¯s staff,¡± he went on, with a wave in Harry¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Staffs are the responsibility of the wielder,¡± Grey began.

    ¡°And I was with him when he checked it before the exercise,¡± Jacob lied. ¡°As a conscientious man he takes great care of his equipment, as shoddy as it might be.¡±

    ¡°Now just hold on a moment,¡± Black barked. ¡°I¡¯m sick and tired of you men blaming every mistake and mishap on your equipment. Nothing is perfectly reliable so you should prepare for the unexpected!¡±

    ¡°We should,¡± Jacob agreed to Harry¡¯s surprise. ¡°But we are not.¡±

    Black sat back and grinned, no doubt dreaming up a suitable punishment.

    Jacob had not finished, however. ¡°The training we are undertaking is not suitable for what I fear we will face. All we have done since we arrived here is form small groups of men to take down a single adversary.¡±

    ¡°Which is what we have always seen,¡± Grey interjected, to keep the peace.

    ¡°Agreed, but we have no reason to believe that it will be the same when we are in the field.¡± Jacob was striding back and forth in front of Black¡¯s desk. ¡°Those of us who fought in the war,¡± he paused for a second and regarded Mr Black, ¡°know full well what happens with tactics and strategies based on outmoded information and methods of combat. We spent weeks in practising hand-to-hand combat, short range fighting, and what did we end up doing? Cower in muddy holes under artillery barrages before marching towards machine guns in broad daylight. You¡¯re doing the same damn thing here; we need to plan for the unexpected, not just get ticked off when it happens.¡±

    There was a brief silence before Black stood. He stamped around his desk, until he was face-to-face with Jacob, regarded him with contempt and ordered him in a hoarse whisper to sit. Jacob did so, slowly.

    ¡°I agree there¡¯s a discussion to have here,¡± Grey¡¯s voice trembled. ¡°If we can improve the training, it¡¯ll be to everyone¡¯s benefit¡­¡± he trailed off under a withering stare from Black.

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Black said. ¡°This is what we¡¯ve always done because this is what we¡¯ve always faced. The fae aren¡¯t even as smart as the Hun, it¡¯s just a few dumb animals coming through and we need to put them down. You men will be on the front lines for that, so you had damn well better be ready to do what we tell you.¡±

    ¡°But if there¡¯s a chance we¡¯re preparing for the wrong battle,¡± Harry said, ¡°then we owe it to all the men¡­¡±

    ¡°End of discussion,¡± Black shouted. ¡°We must seal that breach, there¡¯s no two ways about it. Or do I have to remind you again what is at stake? The repairs at Stonehenge are vital to stop more fae arriving. Some of our Council even suspect that the damage at the turn of the century caused the psychic disturbances leading up to your bloody War. If you want to talk about what you ¡®owe to all the men¡¯ you¡¯ll do your duty and prevent another one!¡±

    Jacob sat, his lips pressed together. He clasped his hands in his lap so tight his knuckles had turned white.

    ¡°Unless you¡¯re not up to it,¡± Black continued, a smirk crossing his face. His grin faded as Jacob rose from his seat. Grey got a hand to his shoulder before he launched himself at Black and led him from the room.

    <hr>

    ¡°What was that about?¡± Grey asked Jacob as they walked along the corridor, Harry scurrying behind them. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you so riled up.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have called me a coward,¡± Jacob muttered.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think he did,¡± Grey said. Jacob wheeled around, anger flashing in his eyes. ¡°All right, he was wrong to say what he did,¡± Grey added. ¡°But you didn¡¯t need to tell him he was doing everything wrong, either.¡±

    ¡°Someone has to,¡± Jacob said. ¡°You expect me to keep quiet after what I¡¯ve seen? What we¡¯ve seen?¡± He added with a gesture back at Harry. ¡°Black still thinks it¡¯s dumb creatures, but I think they¡¯ve got a purpose.¡±

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.¡°Look, I¡¯m your commanding officer if you will, and he¡¯s mine. If you have problems, come to me. I can present them to him in a more¡­¡± he paused, looking for the right word, ¡°appropriate way.¡±

    Jacob scoffed. ¡°He won¡¯t listen, his kind never do. Doesn¡¯t matter who says it.¡±

    ¡°I want to help you, Jacob,¡± Grey protested. ¡°But you need to help yourself too. When you blow up like that it just turns him against you all the more.¡±

    Jacob gave no reply to this, his shoulders hunched as he strode away.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him, when he¡¯s cooled down a little,¡± Harry said, passing Grey as he set off in pursuit of his friend. ¡°Thanks for looking out for us.¡±

    Grey sighed. ¡°Get some rest, both of you, I suspect you¡¯ll be shipping out sooner than you imagined after that little performance.¡±

    <hr>

    Harry caught up with Jacob as he crossed the field towards their barracks. Unable to decide how best to break the awkward silence, he opted to wait for Jacob to speak first.

    As they passed the medical wing, Jacob slowed and glanced over. ¡°How is he?¡± he asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s doing better, they¡¯ve almost healed his wound and there¡¯s no infection, so they¡¯re talking about fitting him for a prosthetic in a day or two. It seems the boffins have come up with some magic impressed into the wood so he might not even seem crippled.¡±

    Jacob nodded and resumed his silent walk.

    Eventually, Harry could stand the silence no longer. ¡°Look, I¡¯m with you. We need to protect ourselves and our men from the people like Black who don¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing. But coming at them head on won¡¯t help, they¡¯ll just reinforce their position and dig in deeper. Snapping at Grey won¡¯t help either, at least he¡¯s on our side.¡±

    ¡°Hardly,¡± Jacob said. ¡°So we cut them out. Go around them, teach the men ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Teach them what?¡± Harry asked. ¡°Apart from your feeling we¡¯re doing it all wrong, what are we meant to prepare for?¡±

    Jacob shrugged. ¡°To be ready for anything.¡±

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s nice and clear,¡± Harry said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what they just told us to do?¡±

    ¡°At the same time as telling us to train to take on a single creature at a time. That¡¯s no way to be prepared, to be flexible enough to take on what¡¯s out there.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there,¡± Harry protested.

    ¡°We have an idea.¡±

    Harry tried not to show his annoyance. ¡°If this is about what you think you saw at Ypres¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt what I saw, I¡¯m telling you. Wave after wave of¡­ them.¡± He shuddered. ¡°Pitiless, merciless, unstopping; there¡¯s no way our tactics would work against that.¡±

    Harry laid a hand on Jacob¡¯s shoulder, and the two men stopped walking. ¡°I know how hard it was for you, over there,¡± he said. ¡°And how long you were out in that shell-hole. But it was the Germans you saw, not some otherworldly creatures. There¡¯s no sign that anything other than the machine-gun fire and shrapnel killed our men.¡±

    Jacob pulled free and stalked away. ¡°I know what I saw,¡± he repeated over his shoulder. ¡°And if Grey and Black won¡¯t help us, then we have to help ourselves.¡±

    <hr>

    Jacob suggested going to the pub again, but Harry demurred.

    ¡°If you¡¯re serious about training the men in secret,¡± he said, ¡°we should have a clear plan and clearer heads.¡±

    ¡°What do you propose?¡±

    Harry thought for a moment. ¡°We need to break the expectation it¡¯ll be a straight one-on-one fight, or a handful of us against one beast. If the fae launch waves of smaller creatures at us, we need a strategy to cope. Or a machine-gun,¡± he smiled.

    ¡°Right, God knows we saw how effective that was against us. Or perhaps the archers at Agincourt - ranks of men lined up raining down death on the enemy. So we need smaller, faster-firing spells than we¡¯re using so far. Instead of groups of three or four we need larger formations. Some can handle defensive walls, while the rest fire over them to mow down the attackers.¡±

    Harry shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can rearrange the entire battlefield and still somehow expect them not to notice our efforts. But the spell work sounds like a good idea, I¡¯ll chat to the magical research lot to see what they can suggest. It might mean less strain on the staffs than the big blasts, too.¡±

    Jacob looked pleased. ¡°And I expect we can sneak more drills into the training, formations and quick-turns during marching practice. If the men are used to that then it should be second nature by the time we¡¯re in the field.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s assuming Black doesn¡¯t deploy us tomorrow,¡± Harry said. ¡°I need to talk to Grey and see if he can help us out. No, hold on,¡± he said as Jacob protested. ¡°I believe we can trust him. He¡¯s got some experience, and I think I can win him over at least enough to let us try. And we¡¯ll need his help to avoid being sent off to Salisbury before we¡¯re ready, or all this comes to naught.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Jacob agreed. ¡°But if he sells us out¡­¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± Harry said.

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, January 17th 1916

    It strikes me that army life differs from what I had expected before arriving here. There is a great deal more mud than the recruiting officers deigned to mention, and a great deal fewer baths. The scent resulting from these two factors alone is indescribable, something for which I suspect the reader of this journal might be grateful.

    However, there are also many differences unrelated to the hygiene of us poor ¡°Tommies¡± so for the sake of posterity I shall outline the normal operations we engage in during a day.

    We awake before dawn, when if we are fortunate we can find enough hot water to shave. Most mornings afford the earliest of risers some boiling water, but by the time the slug-a-beds emerge they must make do with it tepid and well-laden with shavings. Dire penalties await the private who parades unshaven, so we must press even the bluntest blades into action. After a filling if insipid breakfast, we must repair and maintain our kit, a mountain of which attends us wherever we may be. Inspection of same follows, with praise handed out by our Captain like peppermints by a maiden aunt. By then the sun has arisen and while he doesn¡¯t warm either the man or the earth, he signals time to march.

    We march up and down and around and about, and what a sight we make! Wheeling and turning until any covert observer would be giddy to watch us. One advantage in the present weather is that it keeps a fellow warm! We must all keep in perfect lock-step, woe betide the man who mis-times his footfall as his fate is humiliation by the commanding officer in front of all present. My sense of timing is impeccable, and only rarely do I note everyone else has gone out of step with me. Poor Harry has his name bellowed across the fields at least once a day for missing the time.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.These perambulations continue until we are craving our lunch, which a man may only distinguish from his breakfast because he eats in the daylight, rather than by the sputtering of an oil lamp.

    We spend our afternoons in a marvellous pastime the officers have devised that is ¡®patrolling¡¯. As best as we can determine this is marching by another name, but they slightly relax the need for an entire company to step in perfect unison.

    After each excursion they debrief our commander, which means he must describe everything he saw which might have value to the enemy or to ourselves. These are short descriptions as the land around here is barren and devoid of any diversion. I believe the officers responsible take about as much interest in these as we ourselves do.

    We have not yet entered the trenches, but we feel less desire to do so by the day. Those members of 8th Battalion who have already started to take their turn are coming back rather less chipper than they went out, and some poor souls do not come back at all.

 January 17th 1920

    Harry¡¯s efforts had not borne fruit - within the week Black had sent them to Salisbury over Mr Grey¡¯s protests. Ostensibly they were there to begin the defensive work since the engineers had begun the more delicate stages of the repairs, but they knew the truth; that this was a punishment for speaking out, even more so than for the incident with the recruit Yellow.

    He at least was on the mend. His new magically enhanced wooden leg was a cut above the replacements relied upon by many of the Great War¡¯s casualties, and he was back in training again just over a month after his injury. Whether he could fight on the front lines remained uncertain, but there were plenty of roles available in a support capacity.

    Supervision of the ongoing repair work occupied most of their time. They had to watch from a distance as the Ministry of Works were officially in charge of the restoration and were unaware of the true purpose of the ongoing activities. The Society¡¯s barracks and facilities were over a mile from the stones, allowing them to do their magical training without being overlooked.

    In public, the authorities described the repairs as a necessary measure to preserve the ancient monument for the good of the nation. Only a select few understood the method by which they had selected the stones for repair, and fewer still knew of the risks to humanity if they could not complete the work. How long this state of affairs might continue was the subject of many wagers. Opinions varied about the nature of the first incursion, whether the civilians would witness it, what their reaction might be and even what ¡®cover story¡¯ the powers-that-be would expect them to peddle.

    So far little supernatural activity had occurred around the site. Despite Jacob & Harry¡¯s fears they were being sent unprepared into a powder-keg primed to explode, most days involved peering through telescopes disguised as surveying equipment looking for signs of anything unnatural.

    With the start of the new year more men had arrived, and they had made a start on their surreptitious training exercises. Harry believed it was better Black had exiled them, as here they could train the men without Grey & Black peering over their shoulders. Even Jacob brightened as he began to see the potential in guiding the young men under his command.

    Today the pair had arranged a dozen men in two ranks of six, out of sight of the stones, and had set up a few stakes in the ground a hundred yards away to serve as targets. On command the front rank would kneel and form a defensive wall while the rear rank fired over their heads towards the stakes.

    ¡°Last time,¡± Jacob reminded them, ¡°you used lightning to drive back and defeat the ¡®enemy¡¯ before you. Today we shall use indirect fire. Yes, I chose that term deliberately as you will lob fireballs up and over; not too high though - we don¡¯t want them visible over the trees there,¡± he gestured to the edge of a forest a quarter mile away, ¡°or we¡¯ll have a lot of explaining to do!¡±

    ¡°Front rank,¡± Harry shouted. ¡°Prepare your shield!¡± Then in a quieter voice: ¡°remember to extend it back over your heads this time, there will be a lot of heat flying about.¡± Once the invisible barricade met his satisfaction, he raised his voice again. ¡°Rear rank, one volley only, ready!¡± The men brandished their staffs. ¡°Aim!¡± As one unit they each braced one leg behind themselves, grasped their staffs in both hands and planted them into the ground, angled towards the target.

    ¡°Fire!¡±

    Six balls of flame the approximate size of cricket balls arced over the kneeling men and impacted at various distances from their source. One man had come within a few feet of the nearest stake but most had fallen short. The closest had fallen just twenty yards away from its caster.

    ¡°Cease!¡± Jacob shouted, then ¡°Stand easy!¡± The men relaxed, and the front row dropped their shield. ¡°Not bad,¡± he offered, and the men smiled and started to congratulate each other. ¡°Not good either,¡± he added.

    ¡°For a first attempt, that was adequate,¡± Harry said, ¡°your balls were all of a similar size, stop sniggering Turquoise, and had enough energy to do some damage if they¡¯d not hit wet grass. But I can see we have some work to do. Mr Brown?¡±

    Jacob nodded and stepped closer to the men. ¡°Front rank, fall out and follow Mr White. Rear rank, stay where you are. You¡¯ll work with me.¡±

    With the men a safe distance apart, Harry & Jacob got to work. They encouraged each man to fire three shots in rapid succession without worrying about distance. ¡°Consistency first,¡± Jacob explained, ¡°Once you can send it to the same place each time we can worry about where that place is. But far enough away we don¡¯t lose our eyebrows, if you please.¡±

    Harry smiled to hear this, glad that his friend had found purpose in the training. He turned his attention to his own recruits. ¡°Right then Aqua,¡± he pointed to the shortest, thinnest man in the group. ¡°Up you come and show us how it¡¯s done.¡± Aqua sidled up beside his mentor and braced himself on his staff. ¡°Off you go,¡± Harry urged.

    The man¡¯s slender arms were no thicker than his staff, and he jumped as each volley fired. To his clear astonishment, all three fireballs landed within a two-foot radius of one another, and he grinned at the half-hearted applause of his colleagues.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.¡°Well done,¡± Harry encouraged. ¡°Now, let¡¯s make it a little harder, shall we?¡± With that he grasped his own staff and launched a missile of his own. It landed fifty yards away and began to emit a sickly green smoke which coiled in place, rather than drifting in the light breeze. ¡°See if you can hit that,¡± he grinned.

    Aqua swallowed hard and returned to his braced position. Squinting he fired a single shot which landed ten feet from the target, and he adjusted the angle before the next try. This time he was inches from the sinuous writhing smoke, and his third shot hit it dead on. The smoke disappeared in a greasy flame, and the men cheered.

    <hr>

    ¡°They¡¯re doing all right, aren¡¯t they?¡± Jacob asked Harry later that night. They were on one of the regular patrols of the perimeter, and safe from being overheard. It was a bitter, moonless night, and storm clouds gathered in the distance.

    ¡°Not bad,¡± Harry agreed. ¡°And I think the drills we¡¯re running should prepare them pretty well.¡±

    ¡°Better than we were,¡± Jacob added. ¡°I just hope it¡¯s enough.¡± He strengthened one ward near the main road. While there was no real danger to members of the public during the restoration activities, it was prudent to keep them a safe distance away. The advance team had set a circular limit out beyond the stones, with spells to deter anyone who came too close. Anyone straying into the area by accident would find their feet steered away imperceptibly until they had circled around the site. This could not deter someone striding in with a purpose, though, and the wards Jacob was now checking were positioned to add a second line of defence.

    ¡°All good,¡± Jacob reported, and they moved along. Thunder rumbled on the horizon, and he hoped they¡¯d make it back to camp before the rain started. Bad weather always made his shoulder ache.

    If someone passed this second perimeter, he would gradually grow more and more tired as a chill wind bit him even on a warmer day. His mind would wander away from his purpose there and distract him before a growing discomfort would send him home. It was inspired by fairy magic, designed to hide a location in plain sight and repel curious interlopers.

    Jacob had felt this too was not enough, and agitated for a third ring of more forceful defences. However Black believed that since the greater danger to those on the site came from within the stone circle itself, it was unnecessary. He even pointed out it might be counter-productive if it prevented reinforcements reaching the location. Harry had kept an eye on Jacob¡¯s wards since then, just to make sure he wasn¡¯t beefing them up beyond what they had prescribed.

    ¡°You realise some of them are already better than you,¡± Harry teased.

    Jacob grinned. ¡°You know I¡¯ve always seen myself as more of a leader, guiding the talented but sadly slow-witted in their efforts.¡±

    Harry¡¯s mock offence masked his relief at seeing a glimpse of the old Jacob. ¡°Who are you calling slow-witted?¡±

    ¡°If you have to ask¡­¡± Jacob said, then stopped walking. He gestured into the distance, and he & Harry crouched low.

    ¡°What did you see?¡± Harry whispered, covering the lantern he held to hide them from sight.

    ¡°Not sure, just a glint of something. Might be nothing, but there¡¯s not much light about.¡± They squatted and watched the darkness. Harry had seen nothing, but now his eyes ached with the strain of trying to penetrate the night. It was so dark without the narrow beam from their lantern he blinked just to check if his eyes were open.

    The plain was silent around them. While it was the middle of winter, shouldn¡¯t there be a few animals? Rabbits, at least - or did they hibernate? He wasn¡¯t sure.

    Gradually a sense came over Jacob of being watched. He turned on the spot to check the darkness behind him. Nothing there either, at least nothing he could see.

    He returned to face front again for a few minutes, until their legs burned with the effort of squatting above the damp grass.

    Just before Jacob was ready to give up waiting, a sheet of lightning inside the clouds overhead illuminated the ground; nothing was there. ¡°No, false alarm,¡± he said, stretching. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°No problem, better safe than sorry.¡± Harry uncovered the lantern, and the light dazzled after their time spent in pitch blackness. ¡°How many wards is that now?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve checked three, one to go. Wish we could check in with the other teams, I don¡¯t enjoy having to trust they¡¯re doing their sectors properly.¡±

    Harry agreed, but stuck up for the men anyway. ¡°They¡¯re a good bunch, you know. But if it worries you, we can swap sectors each night. That way you can check their work and even if they missed one it¡¯ll not be too weak by the time we get to it.¡± Jacob made a sound of agreement. ¡°Or we could split up and take a team each - that way one of us would cover two of the four sectors each night.¡±

    Jacob weighed this for a moment. ¡°Nah, I like these little chats. And besides, who said I trust you?¡±

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go get that last one before it pisses down.¡±

    Jacob checked his compass by the lantern¡¯s light. ¡°This way,¡± he gestured, and they set off walking, slowly enough to avoid twisting an ankle in an unseen rabbit-hole, but quickly enough they hoped to avoid the imminent downpour.

    The clouds burst when they were still a half-mile from the shelter of their camp.

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, March 22nd 1916

    Trenches again today, reinforcing the dug-out that serves as the bedroom, dining-room, living-room and when under bombardment and the latrines are shaking, lavatory.

    With the aid of my pre-war experience they have named your humble narrator as the principal miner; a man looked to above his peers as the most knowledgeable in the mysterious art of holes and the digging thereof. All lesser mortals turn to him for advice and encouragement with every swing of their shovels, and it quite makes his chest swell with pride.

    Ah, my darling, I can lie to you no longer. My skills are not remarked on by any, save that they rely on me to prepare the ground and walls for the stout wooden planks that serve as reinforcement. Some earth I am called upon to remove is already loosened by the barrages we endure, with only the half-rotted timbers to hold it in its place. Captain Dean turned green when we removed a plank from above his bed and revealed a cavity behind it. Now we are packing the ground back tight and placing fresh wood borrowed from the local chateau it will better withstand a hit from the Hun¡¯s artillery.

    Although maybe we should fear our own shells before that of our adversary. Rumour reaches us of rounds from our own guns that has fallen short in W trench (a few miles up the line). One shell dropped in front of a poor devil as he sat upon the latrine, and while it did not explode it fair put the wind up him. A second landed just a half-hour later while the tale of the first was still being embellished, but this was no dud. Gas filled the trench and two young devils were too slow to don their masks. Different tales are told of their fate, but whether under their own steam or inside a box, they¡¯re headed back to Blighty.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.Because of my physical efforts, when not digging I am at least spared having to ¡®stand to¡¯. Such a chore that is; rigged up with one¡¯s rifle loaded and bayonet fixed, binoculars for some and periscopes for others, all stood up on the fire-step trying to see something in no-man¡¯s-land. If not for the artillery, and the constant reminder of our officers, we should doubt the existence of the adversary. Not one man Jack of us has seen a German nor any sign of their movements. They say they dig their trenches deep so they can stand up straight and yet keep the points on their helmets still hidden from view. While I am heartily sick of my labours, I envy them that; my only chance to straighten my weary spine is when I lie down at night, and even then my boots hang from the end of my cot.

 March 22nd 1920

    The men had fallen into new routines over the previous months and worked in shifts throughout the day. The first group spent each morning in drills and exercises, the afternoon in patrols and spell reinforcements, with the evening free for their own diversions and the night asleep. Each other group worked the same routine offset to ensure a team were always working on each duty, the teams rotated to spend equal times in daylight over the course of a month.

    So far the massed fae attack Jacob feared had not occurred - only a few incursions of the odd beast now and again under cover of darkness. Attempts to locate the weak spot they were breaching were fruitless, and it proved difficult to motivate the men and stress the importance of the work with only irregular such confrontations.

    Jacob¡¯s company were on the day shift - morning drills and afternoon patrols -  when Grey came to visit early one morning. By chance Jacob had been drilling the men in a more conventional defensive routine that met with his approval.

    ¡°You see, Brown,¡± Grey had said during a brief rest break, ¡°there really was no need for you to worry, just a handful of lone creatures who got lost and didn¡¯t even know they were over here.¡±

    Jacob had nodded, holding his tongue at the veiled ¡®I told you so¡¯ tone. ¡°We¡¯re ready in case it happens though, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s your shadow, Mr White? I wanted to check in with him too,¡± Grey said ignoring Jacob¡¯s comment.

    ¡°He¡¯s running another team, we¡¯re about to take over from them on patrols. Come on, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be delighted to see you,¡± he added.

    Harry did not appear surprised by Grey¡¯s arrival, and extended a hand to shake. ¡°All quiet, Brown,¡± he said with formality. ¡°The wards in the south-east sector looked a little drained, there¡¯s been some activity around there overnight but no sign anyone came through.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Mr White,¡± Jacob replied with a slight and sarcastic bow, ¡°enjoy your afternoon off.¡±

    ¡°Oh we shall, don¡¯t you worry; we¡¯d never waste a nice sunny day like this. I feel a spot of fishing would round the day out while you slave away keeping us safe.¡± Grey followed Harry off towards the barracks to discuss his team¡¯s performance.

    Jacob and his men set to work patrolling the wider area in small teams of two or three, and he lost sight of most as they went their separate ways. His thoughts turned to the training for the following afternoon, debating with himself what techniques or tactics might be best to emphasise; a task that would be complicated by the presence of Grey. He was just wondering how best to ask how long he intended to stay when a huge explosion in the barracks¡¯ direction raised a fountain of earth a hundred feet into the air. He and his companions set off at a run.

    <hr>

    When they arrived Jacob sighed with relief at the sight of Harry already directing the men around the area; at least he was safe. But what had exploded? They had no heavy ordnance, not even pistols on the site. The most dangerous thing they had access to were a few flare guns no-one had fired yet.

    He looked over at the large crater, smoke blowing towards the barracks from the hole in the ground. What had been there? The canteen was in that general direction, but the ramshackle building was still visible through gaps in the smoke, its windows broken by the force of the blast. With a jolt, he realised that the crater occupied the spot where their latrines had stood.

    Harry jogged over to him. ¡°Damn toilets blew up! Looks like some idiot had a misfire during target practice and hit a pocket of gas or something. We¡¯re trying to do a roll-call to check who¡¯s missing but they¡¯re all running around like headless chickens.¡±

    Grey closed his eyes to focus his attention inward for a moment. Jacob watched as, clutching his ebony staff, he lifted six feet off the ground, opened his eyes and his magically amplified voice boomed out.

    ¡°Silence!¡± His voice rang out crystal clear and everyone turned in astonishment to look. ¡°Stand still!¡±

    They obeyed him instantly. Jacob sensed an overlapping suggestion spell keyed to encourage obedience on top of the amplification. Clever, he thought.

    ¡°Fall in by company, quick-sharp! Let¡¯s see who¡¯s here and who isn¡¯t.¡± Men fell over their own feet in their haste to create formations. It would have been funny if it weren¡¯t such a serious situation, Jacob mused.

    He did a quick head-count and came up five men short. ¡°Has anyone seen Aqua, and his squad?¡± he shouted, audible now without magical means.

    ¡°They were down at the river,¡± someone replied. ¡°I can go¡­¡± Grey nodded and the young man ran off to check.

    ¡°Anyone here injured?¡± Jacob asked. ¡°If so, head over to the infirmary and get patched up. D-company!¡± A group of men jumped to attention. ¡°Get over to the canteen and sort out that broken glass. Let¡¯s hope none of it got into the food supply,¡± he added under his breath. ¡°B- and C- company,¡± he paused for a moment, ¡°had better get digging some new latrines.¡± A chorus of groans met this pronouncement. ¡°Ah, you haven¡¯t heard the good news yet,¡± he smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll be digging them downwind of the barracks this time!¡± A half-hearted cheer went up, and the men fell out of formation to search for pick-axes, shovels and wheelbarrows.

    ¡°Well done,¡± Grey said as he sank back to ground level again. ¡°I can see I need not have worried about the men being in capable hands. Your experience does you credit.¡±

    Jacob buried his surprise at the compliment. ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯d best supervise the digging. That is my specialty, after all. If you¡¯ll excuse me?¡± Grey nodded and Jacob headed over to oversee the digging. On the way he met the young runner returning with Aqua¡¯s squad in tow. How they¡¯d not heard the explosion he could not imagine, but it relieved him to know that no-one had died in the mishap. If it was inconvenient having Grey hanging around all day, it¡¯d be much worse if a death in the field gave Black an incentive to visit.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    <hr>

    Work proceeded with difficulty in the hard chalk that covered the plain, but despite the warm day the men worked hard with picks and shovels. Everyone pitched in between other duties, and they made good progress. About three hours in, the first set of holes were dug with tents erected over them for privacy, and people could stop making the lengthy trek into the woods to relieve themselves.

    The second bank of latrine pits was well under way before light started to fade, but a shout from one digger brought Jacob over to see what was wrong. The man was waist deep in the coffin-sized hole, and Jacob stepped down into it to see what had caught his attention.

    He had uncovered a small pocket in the chalk, full of packed soil. Out of it stuck a curved piece of metal which had the unmistakable glint of gold even the mud couldn¡¯t obscure. The man was trying to work the soil loose around it with a pocket-knife to free the item.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it,¡± Jacob warned him. The digger paused in his work before nodding and continuing to loosen the earth. Before long he uncovered a flat dish the size of a saucer. Jacob took a handkerchief from his pocket, carefully doubled it over his fingers and grasped the item. Even through two layers of cotton he felt the tingle of magic.

    Wiggling the dish from side to side helped to loosen the soil still further, and it wasn¡¯t long before he held it up to the fading light. Any resemblance to a saucer was only superficial; tarnished metal inlays snaked across the gold, the blackened lines forming curious symbols that squirmed in the corner of his eye. Jacob climbed out of the hole making sure his bare skin never touched the artefact and worked his way through the small crowd that had gathered.

    ¡°Bring a lantern,¡± he called, and someone thrust one forward. The flickering light of the burning oil amplified the symbols¡¯ movement. ¡°It¡¯s definitely fae,¡± Jacob whispered. Then louder: ¡°If anyone sees anything like this do not touch it with your bare hands. Leave it in place and call me immediately.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± someone asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s nasty,¡± Jacob replied. ¡°Beyond that, I¡¯m not sure. But this is why we¡¯re here. We¡¯ll carry on digging tomorrow, but look out for anything untoward. And don¡¯t touch!¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Any ideas?¡± Jacob asked. He and Harry had met up with Grey in the village pub where they¡¯d found a quiet corner table to avoid prying eyes. Light spilled across the shallow golden dish in the centre of the table between them.

    ¡°It¡¯s fae, as you thought,¡± Grey said. ¡°I recognise a few of the symbols, they¡¯re to do with doorways and openings, as you might expect given our proximity to the stones. And it was buried deep?¡±

    Jacob shrugged. ¡°About three feet down, but the ground above hadn¡¯t been disturbed. It was in a small pocket of earth surrounded by chalk.¡±

    ¡°Placed by supernatural means, then.¡± Grey peered at it again, prodding it with a pencil to turn it over. The back was unmarked, in contrast to the ornate front. At the sight of someone approaching their table he threw the handkerchief back over it, before relaxing. ¡°Tommy,¡± he said, standing and smiling at the newcomer. They shook hands, and the new arrival sat at the table.

    ¡°Is that ¡®ee?¡± he asked, gesturing at the handkerchief.

    ¡°Tommy¡¯s an old friend, and something of an expert in local finds,¡± Grey explained. ¡°And he knows about our mission here, so you can speak freely.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the one as told yer man about the problems, so I am,¡± Tommy grinned, revealing a handful of crooked teeth. ¡°So let¡¯s see ¡®er then.¡±

    Grey glanced around to make sure they weren¡¯t being observed and withdrew the covering with a flourish. Showoff, Jacob thought.

    Tommy¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Saxon, by the look o¡¯ them markings. No, not quite roight, are they?¡± His hand reached towards the piece, but Jacob stopped him.

    ¡°Better not to touch it,¡± he said.

    ¡°I knows what I¡¯m doin¡¯,¡± Tommy scoffed, and picked up the dish. His eyes rolled back in his head and he froze in place on his stool. Jacob and Harry looked at Grey in alarm but he sat there and continued sipping his pint. After an interminable few seconds, Tommy¡¯s body unlocked and he blinked a few times before placing the dish back on the table. He sat and regarded it in silence.

    ¡°Well?¡± Jacob asked, when the wait became too long to bear.

    ¡°Huh?¡± said Tommy. ¡°Oh, well ¡®ees a right piece and no mistake. Old magics, older¡¯n us.¡±

    Jacob sighed. ¡°So what is it?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No proper name for ¡®im in our words,¡± Tommy mused. ¡°Nearest I can say is ¡®doorstop¡¯, but ¡®ees much more¡¯n that. Can¡¯t open doors but can keep ¡®em open, can¡¯t close ¡®em but can keep ¡®em closed.¡±

    ¡°So if the fae break through¡­¡± Grey started.

    ¡°This bugger¡¯ll make it mighty hard for youse to stop ¡®em,¡± Tommy concluded. ¡°How many you dug up then?¡±

    Grey hesitated. ¡°Two,¡± he said. Jacob and Harry exchanged a glance. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you because we weren¡¯t certain,¡± he added. ¡°The first had no magical energy, so we thought it might just have been treasure trove. Like Tommy said, some Saxon thing.¡±

    ¡°Keeping bloody secrets,¡± Jacob muttered.

    Grey looked sheepish. ¡°I have my orders, you know.¡±

    Harry stepped in before Jacob exploded again. ¡°We need to know. We¡¯re all on the same side and if Jacob might be right about a mass incursion¡­¡±

    Grey swallowed the last of his pint. ¡°You¡¯re right, I shouldn¡¯t have kept it from you. Black thought¡­¡± he paused as Jacob let loose a well-chosen epithet about Mr Black. ¡°Well never mind what he thought, he¡¯s not here. I¡¯ll take this back to him and see if he changes his mind. In the meantime if anything else like this shows up, I want to know immediately, you got that?¡±

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, April 3rd 1916

    I believed my days of mining were over, but our small gang of men is now deep beneath our own trenches, and steadfastly burrowing towards the enemy.

    It rather brings back memories, my dear; the swing of the pick-axe and heft of the shovel, the squeak of the cart dragging away the tailings, the oppressive heat despite the cool spring above ground, all that is missing are the songs of the miners. We must keep a strict silence as the Hun is also digging towards us, and we must not alert him. Also, we must often stop in our efforts for Harry to position a wooden horn against the walls to listen, the eerie silence swallowing us up while he hearkens for the sounds of another teams¡¯ picks. So long as he hears nothing, we may then continue for a while with our endeavours.

    But to what end? you ask. Will you burst from the ground amongst the villainous Hun and catch him by surprise? In fact once our tunnel is long enough, we shall pack it with all the boxes and barrels of explosives we can spare, then retreat and¡­ it shall make quite a dent in the earth, and quite a dent in the Hun¡¯s lines too!

    We are still fond of our Captain; he continues to prove his concern for us by meeting the Company as we exit our underground workhouse each day and handing us cooling cups of tea.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.When not beneath the earth we are amidst it, cowering in our dug-outs as always. Last week I had occasion to visit the village nearby with a message for the Major, and walking along the tiny streets of that small town was unnatural to me, after so long in my new world. I am becoming a troll the old miners used to tell tales of, and fear when they dug too deep.

    There was great excitement today when a dog ran along our trench. It was big and black, not of any breed I know, but a proper mongrel. It caused a stir, some men putting on their gas-masks for fear it carried plague from the German lines. Still others thought it might be a spy, but the Captain would have none of this folly. He ordered us to shoot it but somehow every man who had an opportunity chanced to miss him. Still the gunfire upset the poor beast, and he jumped clear out of the trench and scampered into no-man¡¯s-land. We watched him through our periscopes for a while, dashing this way and that, before Captain Dean ordered us back to work. He worried we risked becoming attached to the blessed canine and feared his wanderings would take him into a minefield. We have seen men brought down the line with the dreadful injuries such mines can cause, and no man would wish to know of that end coming to any innocent creature.

 April 3rd 1920

    Jacob called his men to a halt, and they sank to the damp grass. He lifted his hagstone to his eye and surveyed the land around the small rise they occupied.

    Hagstones were a new addition to their equipment. A rock with a hole worn through it by natural means such as river water had the ability to make the invisible visible, and Jacob wondered how the earlier patrols could have observed anything at all without them. Not for the first time he cursed the short-sightedness of those in command.

    Scryers brought in after Black learned of their find had located more buried items around the stones with similar markings and potent magic. The mysterious ¡®Tommy¡¯ had pronounced them part of a concerted effort by the fae to hold open the breach against the Society¡¯s best efforts to close it, and it was hard to disagree with this assessment. While they hoped that locating, identifying and retrieving these treasures would have decreased their potency, Black (who had set up an office for himself at the site) felt it prudent to step up the patrols.

    The increased frequency of patrols ate into the men¡¯s limited relaxation time, and tempers were fraying. Tiredness also played a factor, and it had more than once forced Jacob and Harry to separate two men on the verge of coming to blows over an insignificant misunderstanding. Organisation of the patrol teams was becoming a game of musical chairs to keep apart any individuals who held a grudge against one another. In addition this all lessened the effectiveness of Jacob & Harry¡¯s training, requiring them to do much of it in the field.

    ¡°All clear,¡± he announced, and the men hauled themselves to their feet. ¡°Not far now,¡± he called over their grumbling, with a cheerfulness he didn¡¯t feel himself. It had been over two weeks of this now, with nothing to show for it, and even he was wondering if his fears of a massed assault were baseless. ¡°Turquoise, you take the lead this time,¡± he said, handing the hagstone to a well-built man with short-cropped hair.

    Turquoise set off without a word, slower than Jacob would have liked. Ah, what the hell he mused, at least if we¡¯re late back we won¡¯t get any more duties tonight. With the evenings getting longer Black and Grey had been finding plenty for the returning patrols to do around the camp, plenty of it just busy-work to keep the men occupied. Someone needed to have a word with Grey; he might convince him to allow more R&R time for the men. He should let Harry do the talking though.

    Jacob¡¯s mind wandered as they strolled along, the tiredness in his bones weighing on him. After a few long moments he realised something was amiss. ¡°Hold here a second, lads,¡± he called and tried to work out what was wrong.

    He checked his watch. It showed that it had been over twenty minutes since their last stop, how was that possible? And if it was right, why hadn¡¯t they passed the stream yet? It wasn¡¯t that far from the small rise they¡¯d paused on, he¡¯d seen it when he checked the area. A growing sense of unease built; they could not have crossed it without his realising, with it being in near-flood after the recent rains.

    Then he noticed the silence.

    Since spring had arrived the alarm calls of nesting birds and rustling noises in the long grass as rabbits bolted for cover had accompanied their patrols. Now something had stilled all the usual sounds of nature. He scanned around himself - not a single creature in sight, as far as he could see. Even the butterflies were missing. Worse than that, he couldn¡¯t make out any of the usual landmarks they navigated by - after so many patrols he could follow the route in his sleep, and¡­

    ¡°Turquoise, check the damn stone!¡± he called. The burly man lifted the rock to his view and cried out in horror.

    ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± he shouted. ¡°All around us, shit!¡±

    ¡°Form a circle,¡± Jacob called, ¡°staffs at the ready, gather your power.¡± The men formed a small ring, their backs toward each other facing down the unseen enemy and Jacob took the hagstone from Turquoise. Squinting through it he saw a half-dozen creatures in front of him, and a glance to either side confirmed more of the same beasts there too.

    ¡°Powders!¡± he called. The men were already digging in their back packs for the small glass bottles they needed, and Jacob thanked the drills he¡¯d insisted on repeating. ¡°Ready?¡±

    A chorus of shouts confirmed that they were.

    ¡°Throw!¡±

    The bottles arced through the air, glinting in the late afternoon sun. When they hit the ground, they shattered to release a fine grey powder which hovered in the air despite the light breeze. For a moment everyone held their breath, before the small dust clouds split and darted through the grass with a purpose. Each puff of dust honed in on one of the fae and enveloped it, removing its ability to stay unseen for a short time. A gasp came from behind Jacob at one man¡¯s first sight of a wild fae creature.

    ¡°Stay focused,¡± Jacob warned. ¡°We trained for this, you know what to do. Wait for my signal.¡± He took heart from the silence of the rest of the men; they were ready. Unaware they were now visible, though irritated by the powder, the creatures stalked towards the circle of men. They were the size of a badger or small dog, but there any resemblance to something he knew ended. Large feet moved through the long grass without disturbing it, scales flashing in the light. As the scales grew up the legs they became larger, forming armoured plates across the beasts¡¯ backs, and along their long sinuous tails, coiling and uncoiling above them as they moved. Their faces were terrible to behold, jet-black eyes peering out from under a thick ridge of bony plates that protected the skull, no visible nose, and a mouth that split the head almost in half. As Jacob waited for his moment, long teeth folded out from somewhere inside their heads, too long for the mouths that contained them, twitching and dripping with inky saliva.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.¡°Wait¡­¡± Jacob hissed. One beast threw its head back, mouth open to the sky. Thanking whatever Gods were watching over them at that moment that the powder didn¡¯t allow you to hear the fae also, Jacob watched as the others echoed the silent howl.

    Then, as one, the fae broke into a run.

    <hr>

    ¡°Now!¡± Jacob called, and the men let loose a volley of lightning, catching the beasts mid-stride. The first creatures stumbled, a few falling insensible, while the rest charged onwards. ¡°Again!¡± came Jacob¡¯s cry, and another salvo issued forth.

    By now around half of the creatures were lying immobile in the grass, the others halting their assault and circling. Jacob took advantage of the short reprieve to recharge his energies and trusted his Company were doing the same. ¡°Ready fireballs¡­¡± he called, then ¡°fire!¡± It satisfied him to see every man there launch a good-sized globe of flame at the monsters, now few enough to target them all in one strike. Once again several fell to the assault, and the last few turned tail and ran. ¡°Take them down!¡± Jacob cried and a final burst did just that.

    In the encroaching gloom he walked over and kicked the nearest body. It was dead, or at least whatever passed for dead among the fae. He reached into his pack and pulled out a small bottle, inverted it over the creature and shook out a few drops of pearlescent liquid. Where they touched, the creature faded from view, the patches spreading until they covered the whole body and it was invisible once more. He repeated this on each of the bodies bar one, which he ordered Turquoise to carry back to camp for study.

    ¡°It stinks!¡± he protested, before adding a hasty ¡°sir.¡±

    ¡°Well you¡¯d better march quickly then, hadn¡¯t you? I¡¯ll give the stone to Magenta, he¡¯ll keep a better look-out.¡±

    With the fae vanquished, Jacob still had the problem of identifying where they were - no doubt they¡¯d had their steps waylaid by the creatures that had been tailing them. In their tired state it had been a simple matter to lead them astray, even on an open plain. He looked up to see if there were any stars visible, but the sun still lightened the sky too much. Right, he thought, if the brightest spot is there, call that due West, a little South of West given the time of year¡­ So that will be North. Camp should be North-East of us,¡­

    ¡°That way,¡± he called, pointing an arm. Better confident and wrong than hesitant, he mused.

    Magenta led the way, checking every three paces with the hagstone even when it caused him to stumble in the near-darkness. Jacob was just beginning to second-guess himself when the faint lights of the camp¡¯s fires appeared as they crested a hill. The men let out a collective sigh of relief that none of them realised they¡¯d been holding.

    They had learned an important lesson, and Jacob was grateful it hadn¡¯t been at greater cost.

    <hr>

    ¡°Another pint?¡± Harry asked, later that night.

    ¡°Bloody need one,¡± Jacob agreed. ¡°Could have been nasty,¡± he added.

    While at the bar, Harry overheard two of the locals chatting. One of the pillars that held up the roof hid him from their view.

    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re not soldiers,¡± one was saying, ¡°we had a bunch down here in the war, and this lot don¡¯t look right.¡±

    ¡°They was airmen, wasn¡¯t they?¡± The other sounded drunker. ¡°All them balloons and biplanes.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s as maybe, but this lot ain¡¯t that either,¡± the first declared. ¡°Oh they might march about like soldiers but they don¡¯t have uniforms; no guns, neither. Just walking sticks with pearls and stuff in ¡®em.¡±

    ¡°I heard as they¡¯re surveyors,¡± a third voice piped up, to the amusement of the other two.

    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re all up at the ¡®enge,¡± the first laughed. ¡°Been putting ¡®em all up nice and square, if you please. Never mind they ain¡¯t been square since the Romans was ¡®ere, gotta make ¡®em pretty if you¡¯re charging a bob a look.¡±

    The second man piped up again. ¡°This other lot down by here are summat to do with the Fair Folk, you asks me.¡± The words sent a chill down Harry¡¯s back, and he froze with the two fresh pints in his hands. ¡°Dunno if they¡¯re callin¡¯ ¡®em up or puttin¡¯ ¡®em down, but they¡¯re part of all them strange things we¡¯re seein¡¯.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re seein¡¯,¡± the first voice mocked. ¡°With that damn gut-rot you brew up, I¡¯m amazed you can still see at all!¡± Laughter greeted this pronouncement.

    ¡°Joke all you want, I know what I seen. And them lambs didn¡¯t tear themselves up like that.¡±

    ¡°Foxes, that¡¯s all that was, I told you.¡±

    ¡°Foxes don¡¯t do that to lambs, idiot. I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s the Fair Folk.¡±

    To Harry¡¯s relief, the others didn¡¯t place much stock in this opinion, and the discussion moved to market prices. He retreated to his table before they realised someone had overheard them.

    ¡°So there¡¯s been sightings outside the quarantine area?¡± Jacob mused, after Harry relayed the details of the conversation.

    ¡°Sounds like it,¡± Harry agreed. ¡°Not sure what but they seemed calm so I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve too much to worry about just yet.¡±

    ¡°But attacking livestock, that won¡¯t go unmentioned for too long,¡± Jacob said.

    Harry sighed. ¡°I guess we¡¯d better strengthen the wards and widen the patrols still further. The men won¡¯t like that,¡± he added.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have Grey tell them,¡± Jacob smiled.

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, May 2nd 1916

    Captain Charlie Dean died today.

    For the past few days our observer corps has been flying overhead mapping the enemy locations for us. Yesterday the order came through that we would raid a trench opposite our own to recover any useful intelligence (code books, maps, battle plans) that the Hun was foolish enough to leave lying around. We looked forward to finally meeting our erstwhile enemy, and if the opportunity arose to relieve some of our frustrations then I doubt any of us would refuse.

    A little before dawn this morning we lined up beside our ladders. Our kit was checked, checked and checked again; our rifles clean and oiled, our helmets cinched, even our boots wiped clean. At 06:30 whistles sounded along the line, and we ventured forth.

    The second we were out of our trench the Hun machine guns set about cutting us down. The man to my left was barely half-out before he slumped over, and Harry to my right later told me he had bullets go by his ears so close he heard them hum. Someone spotted the emplacement where the machine gun sat and a half-dozen Mills bombs flew in its direction. I believe one or more hit it, as the rattle stopped and did not resume.

    Those of us that remained had a job to do, and we strove forward through the mud. On reaching the trench we found it almost deserted, just a handful of thin-looking Germans who had little fight in them. Once the first two went down the others surrendered without delay. It¡¯s while we were getting ready to take them back to our trenches, prisoners being counted almost as valuable as maps to the top brass, that the snipers started. Even now I¡¯m unsure where they were hiding, but in just a few moments we had lost our Lance-Corporal and two of the men.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.We ducked down into the trench for cover, but eventually we had to emerge. Charlie was passing among us to give us our orders and when he got to within a few feet of Harry and I he just¡­ stopped. Blood fountained from his neck, soaking his shirt and splashing over the man behind him before another shot hit him in the head. He fell, a puppet with sliced strings.

    I do not recall how we got back after that, or what happened to the prisoners. No-one will tell me much, and I fear I lost restraint. The Company Sergeant-Major tells me everybody understands, that I need not worry, but still I do.

    Today was the first time I saw death with my own eyes. Men have come past me dead before, but always beneath a blanket, and always you imagine them asleep. Seeing a life snuffed out like a candle before you, is something I pray most fervently that you never endure.

 May 2nd 1920

    Jacob was sure his company was ready. After the fae had misdirected them, everyone better understood the risks of the battle they were engaged in and approached the drills and exercises with a new determination. Harry¡¯s own company was also bucking up their ideas, as were the others under Grey, thanks to the gossip and chatter among the men. Tales got taller and escapes got narrower in the retelling until a minor if frightening encounter with the fae became a brush with certain death.

    Harry & Jacob did nothing to quash the rumours - the more the men feared the enemy the better, in their minds - but neither did they believe that what they had faced so far would be the worst their foes had to throw at them. They knew, and impressed upon their charges, that complacency got you killed. The only way to face the adversary was to respect and fear it.

    The drills continued, becoming more and more challenging as Jacob & Harry threw added complications into the mix. Randomly stunning up to half the soldiers was a particular favourite; nothing concentrated a man¡¯s mind more than turning to his neighbours for aid in the heat of battle and finding them lying unconscious beside him.

    ¡°Learn to do more with less,¡± Harry explained, ¡°we don¡¯t know what might happen for certain but trusting in numbers won¡¯t keep you safe.¡± And if they keep spreading us even thinner, Jacob thought, we will be back to the teams of two or three before long, anyway.

    With increased training and improved attitudes came another benefit - on patrols the leaders would often take a back seat now, allowing the men themselves to lead the troop. More often than not Harry or Jacob had nothing to do but nominate a ¡®patrol lead¡¯ and outline the route, before following their men around and watching for any errors. Grey wasn¡¯t best pleased when he got wind of this, but Harry convinced him of the value of allowing the soldiers a certain amount of autonomy and decision making responsibility. Should anything happen to them, it was vital somebody be ready to step up.

    So it was nothing unusual for Jacob to be bringing up the rear of his eight-man patrol as they followed a slight ridge-line within sight of Stonehenge. The leader today was Magenta, and he¡¯d decided on a simple formation. Up front Vermillion was the scryer and held the company¡¯s hagstone along with responsibility for spotting any enemy movements (Jacob had his own hagstone too and double-checked if needed). Magenta followed along behind him, with Beige, Lavender and Aqua in line behind him. Turquoise and Violet flanked the company, staffs at the ready in case of attack from either side. At first they were close in, hugging the ridge-line, but once the group returned to the plains, they fanned out about twenty yards either side.

    The sun beat down on them all, and Jacob wondered when Magenta would call a break to drink. He was reluctant to interfere - the more you held their hands, the more they relied on you, he knew - but Lavender was already stumbling and even from behind Jacob had watched his skin getting redder with each mile covered.

    ¡°Hold here, lads,¡± came Magenta¡¯s cry a few moments later. ¡°Drink some water, eat something, and smoke if you like.¡± This last instruction came with a careful glance at Jacob, who gave a small nod. Some didn¡¯t believe in allowing the men to smoke on patrol, for fear of giving away their position, but Jacob felt it more important that the men not be irritable and jumpy. Besides, night patrols carried lanterns making them much more obvious, and if the fae couldn¡¯t smell the men a mile off, then he frankly envied them.

    <hr>

    Once everyone had drunk a few gulps of stale water from their canteens, Magenta called them back into formation and they set off again. So far so good, Jacob thought to himself. Vermillion was keeping a good eye out and the break had restored Lavender somewhat. Jacob noticed Magenta drop back to check on him.

    As the ridge descended back to the plain, Turquoise & Violet spread out to their flanking positions. Magenta was just moving up the formation again to speak with Vermillion at the head when a short anguished cry went up from the left of the company. Their heads spun at once to see Turquoise falling to the ground behind a small clump of foliage. Everyone started over in that direction but Jacob called out ¡°Hold your ground! Watch for the enemy!¡± and they stopped, taking up defensive postures. ¡°Magenta, with me!¡± Jacob called and the two of them ran to check what had happened.

    Jacob signalled to Magenta to go around the other side of the bush and raised the hagstone to his eye. Magenta lowered his staff to ready an attack, and they crept around the low shrub. Turquoise was there, lain on the ground, clutching at his ankle. Jacob couldn¡¯t see anything else nearby. He checked under the bush itself and spun on the spot checking all directions.

    ¡°What was it?¡± Magenta hissed. ¡°What got you?¡±

    ¡°Fucking rabbit!¡± Turquoise answered. ¡°Fucking holes everywhere!¡±

    Magenta raised his staff back up and leant on it, guffawing. Jacob did his best not to do likewise. With one final check for supernatural influences, he and the still chuckling Magenta helped Turquoise to his feet.

    ¡°Can you walk?¡± Jacob asked.

    Before Turquoise could answer, another scream carried across the plain.

    <hr>

    Jacob spun, almost dropping Turquoise in his haste to catch what had happened. Of the remaining five men, two were already down. Before he could look through the hagstone, Violet disappeared behind a fountain of blood.

    Through the stone, he saw¡­ nothing. He scanned the line of men, searching for any sign of what had done so much damage so fast, but there was nothing visible. Vermillion was also scouring the area around them for some clue what had happened.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Without the support of Jacob and Magenta, Turquoise had dropped to his knees but raised his staff in readiness. Magenta himself was about ten yards to Jacob¡¯s left now, also ready for action. Beige was tending to a shrieking Lavender attempting to stanch the blood gushing from his stomach. Aqua was face down in a large blood-stained area of grass a few yards behind the others and Jacob could see no sign of him breathing.

    ¡°Must have come from behind,¡± Vermillion croaked, following Jacob¡¯s gaze, ¡°got him silently. Then we heard Lavender. I checked, I swear, there was nothing there!¡±

    ¡°Focus, man,¡± Jacob scolded him. ¡°Beige, we need you.¡±

    Beige protested, unwilling to leave his colleague, but Vermillion strode over and hauled him to his feet. ¡°You can¡¯t help him if you¡¯re dead,¡± he snapped, and thrust his staff into his hands. ¡°Stand to!¡±

    But to fight what? Jacob wondered. Anything fae should have been visible through the hagstones.

    ¡°Powders,¡± called Magenta and Jacob could have kicked himself for forgetting. He grabbed the glass vials from his backpack, tossing them in a small circle to the rear of the company. The dust hovered for a moment above each broken bottle before dissipating, revealing nothing.

    Magenta did the same with his own, showing nothing on their left flank, and Vermillion found nothing ahead. All eyes were therefore on Beige when he tossed a bottle towards Violet¡¯s body; as the smoke curled above him not one man breathed. For an instant it hung there, as if marking the scene of the attack, before darting into the ground and vanishing.

    ¡°It¡¯s underground!¡± Jacob called, in unison with Magenta.

    ¡°Check for holes,¡± Turquoise called, ¡°if there¡¯s one at your feet, move!¡± Each man checked beneath his feet and a couple took paces to the side. ¡°With any luck that powder found it, and we¡¯ll see it come out.¡±

    After an eternity, with each of them turning about to keep an eye on every rabbit-hole or badger sett within view, Beige stabbed a finger off to one side. ¡°There!¡± he called. Sure enough, something resembling a snout was visible an inch or two above the grass sniffing the air. Jacob ordered all but Magenta to watch for other creatures.

    The two men took up position ninety degrees apart, about three feet from the hole and Jacob whispered an incantation, his unwavering staff pointed at the hole and its occupant. Soil began to rise, clods of earth tearing themselves free and hurtling upwards to land a few yards away. The creature dashed back into the hole but Magenta was ready and cast a spell to hold it in place. It fought and struggled, but could not retreat.

    ¡°It¡¯s strong!¡± Magenta grunted, his face wrinkled with the effort of holding it in place. Jacob redoubled his efforts to excavate as fast as possible. Before Magenta could lose his mental grip on the beast, a decent-sized hole had formed, and the men got their first sight of their attacker.

    The creature was about two feet long, with jet-black fur stained white in patches. No eyes were visible, but its long hairless snout bristled with whisker-like long hairs which must help it navigate underground. A small mouth hung open in a soundless screech, and tiny knife-sharp teeth showed along both jaws. Its primary weapon though were its front legs - too long for its body and tipped with three long and now blood-stained claws. Long rear legs curled under it like a rabbit, and Jacob realised that it could leap to attack. ¡°Keep hold,¡± he urged Magenta.

    ¡°Easier said than done,¡± Magenta replied, the strain clear in his voice. ¡°Just kill the damn thing already!¡±

    Jacob decided against a magical attack - there was no telling what a blast might do to Magenta¡¯s holding spell, and if the creature were that strong and survived the first attack it didn¡¯t bear considering. He pulled his knife from its sheath on his belt and sidled towards the beast. It sensed his approach, and tried to retreat again, squirming in place against Magenta¡¯s spell.

    ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Jacob muttered, and with a swift movement sank the iron blade of his knife into the creature¡¯s back, aiming where its heart would be if it were a mortal animal. Even if he missed, the iron and silver inlaid into the blade could paralyse the beast, if not kill it outright. He sighed in relief as it slumped to the bottom of the pit. He left the knife in place as a precaution, fell back on his heels, and wiped his hand across his brow.

    ¡°Check on the injured,¡± he said, and fought back the tears.

    <hr>

    ¡°Two dead,¡± Grey sighed. ¡°Two men killed, one more might not make it through the night and you didn¡¯t even see it happen.¡±

    ¡°I brought that thing in,¡± Jacob protested. ¡°No-one has seen anything like it before, we had no reason to believe the fae worked underground.¡±

    ¡°Still,¡± Grey continued, ¡°you were in command. But then you were off elsewhere tending to a twisted ankle, am I correct?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point,¡± Jacob said. ¡°It took Aqua down silently, it must have attacked the rear-most man to pick us off one by one.¡± And if Turquoise hadn¡¯t stumbled into a rabbit-hole, that¡¯d have been me, he realised. ¡°If Lavender hadn¡¯t screamed, we might have come off even worse.¡±

    ¡°Was it true you¡¯d put Magenta in charge of this patrol?¡± Black snapped.

    Jacob struggled to keep his voice level. ¡°I feel it best to ensure that every one of my men learns to take responsibility.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you blame him?¡± Black sneered. ¡°Very convenient.¡±

    ¡°No, sir,¡± Jacob replied. ¡°The patrol was mine. But I would like the record to show that Magenta reacted admirably, keeping his head when ambushed, and executed his duties with excellence.¡±

    ¡°In that case maybe he should have your job,¡± Black said. ¡°As you¡¯re restricted to barracks until further notice.¡±

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, June 15th 1916

    10pm.

    Tonight they confirmed we will go ¡®over the top¡¯ tomorrow at dawn. For the past two weeks we found out nothing but rumour and speculation, with tales as varied as the men who repeat them. If we ever asked the officers, they said nothing but that we should carry on with our tasks as usual, this despite the obvious and constant stream of reinforcements and supplies pouring into the village.

    Messages come and go by rider and pigeon at all hours; us mere Tommies do not know what they say but even the least observant of us can tell something is afoot when double the number of couriers are scurrying about at haste.

    God willing it will be better than that accursed raid in May. Our artillery has been firing without pause for a week; day and night our dugouts shiver with the sounds of bombardment. They tell us this will cut the Hun¡¯s wire and their machine-gun posts cannot survive such a barrage. On both counts I have my reservations. I feel the best hope comes from the mines laid beneath their trenches. When they go up, we shall see a nice space in the lines through which to march! Harry and I have that role, as our spot on the fire-step aligns with our buried bomb. We can at least be confident any German mining is not so close to ours that we might have a surprise of our own in the morning.

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.We know our duty. We raised a toast at dinner to The King, and we all cheered his health. I hope he did the same for us.

    <hr>

    3am

    None can sleep. I wrote a letter to you, my darling, by candlelight, and pray it finds you safe. I could tell nothing there about what we face tomorrow for the censors would never allow it. But if something should happen, I trust these journals will illuminate my final days and prove my heart and thoughts were always with you, my love.

    <hr>

    5am

    Breakfast was a solemn affair. Not a one of us didn¡¯t reflect on the knowledge it would be the final meal for many of our number, though none dared speak this thought aloud. Now we wait; some men are feigning sleep to put on a show of the bravery they do not feel, others are writing a final letter home, to deliver in case of their sacrifice. Most check their kit over and over as if possessed, ensuring they are ready for whatever dawn reveals.

    <hr>

    7am

    The guns are silent, and we hear the sweet sounds of birdsong somewhere behind us. Such a hope it gives me that the world will continue on after this madness ends and is long forgotten.

    They have given the order to stand-to. I must do my duty, my love. I pray we see each other again soon.

 June 15th 1920

    Jacob¡¯s confinement lasted a week before Grey convinced Black to relent. The latter dashed any hopes that Jacob might be back on patrol leading his men again as he gave him a punishment detail, pronouncing it ¡®crucial to the effort¡¯ to inventory the new equipment that was being sent over from the development sites around the country.

    In fact, it was important work, but work he could have delegated instead of tying Jacob up for days on end. By the end of May, Jacob managed to appear as contrite as Black wanted, and Black finally released him to his earlier duties.

    Now on the hottest day of the year so far, Jacob didn¡¯t miss the cool of the equipment sheds. He turned his face to the sun, eyes screwed shut, and drank in the fresh warm air of freedom.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take this for granted, lads,¡± he advised the men in his small company. ¡°God knows we did before the war. A few months knee-deep in mud and who-knows-what and you forget what the sun feels like.¡±

    They made various sounds of agreement, but Jacob knew they didn¡¯t believe him. They¡¯d been too young to enlist, or at least to fight, and the true horrors of war had no place in minds seduced by the romantic ideals of ¡®doing one¡¯s duty¡¯.

    ¡°Come on then,¡± he called. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving.¡± There had been no reinforcements to his company since the attack and they still felt Violet and Aqua¡¯s absence. Lavender was not up to strength either, though he had made a miraculous recovery with the help of the healers. With so few men in the company Black felt they could not be strong enough to resist another attack and so most of their duties were now administrative. When the ever-present short-staffing issues required them to go on patrols despite this, Black always assigned them the outer routes nearer the village where there were fewer chances of attack.

    In contrast, the Companies on the inner patrols toward the stones were coming under near-daily siege. So far none of the attacks had been as damaging as the one Jacob¡¯s company had faced (something else that Black saw as evidence of Jacob¡¯s incompetence). In truth this was because of the patrols being more aware of the risks of subterranean ambush. They filled each rabbit-warren or similar hole in the ground with magical smoke as soon as they discovered it, something that flushed out any lurking fae and more than a few rabbits. The men picked these latter off as target practice and to fill the pots for supper. The same swift death met any supernatural creatures that came to the surface, barring a few captured alive and sent for study. Magic researchers had identified a half-dozen new species that month alone, and the fae were reinforcing as fast as they were being discovered.

    Each time a returning patrol reported a new attack they plotted it on a map of the area in Black¡¯s office. By now there were different coloured pins scattered over the Salisbury plains; each colour signifying a different species of fae, a rainbow of pins jostling for position around hot-spots. Whenever anyone had cause to visit his office, they found Black stood in front of the map, staring at the pins as if by sheer force of will he could make sense of them. Frequently the visitor would have to ponder the significance of a certain cluster of pins, to speculate on the fae¡¯s intentions or goals, only to face Black¡¯s abuse when their theory didn¡¯t agree with his current notions.

    One thing anyone could see was that the attacks never came from the same direction twice. The fae were probing their defences, trying a surge across a stream here, an ambush from behind a fence there, always looking for a weak spot to exploit. Everyone agreed that they must not be able to find one, even though this meant yet more patrols and even less time to rest.

    <hr>

    Today Jacob¡¯s company were assisting with distributing new equipment to the other men. Much of this was the same inventory that Jacob had catalogued, and while it therefore made sense he & his men issue it, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was still another of Black¡¯s punishments.

    They now had a full complement of ¡®proper¡¯ staffs, some men still having had to make do with the slapdash items they¡¯d used in training. Companies now had armour plate carved with protective sigils, lightweight but still intended to protect their most vulnerable spots. It strapped onto the body with canvas webbing, and large plates covered the chest and back, with smaller plates extending to protect the throat, back of the neck and groin areas. Other plates strapped onto the legs but most of the men found these constricting and awkward, and elected not to wear them. They also found that the helmets, whilst apparently designed for magic users, interfered with the wearer¡¯s ability to cast spells.

    They distributed more hagstones, meaning that there was one for each two men in most companies, and one between three in the rest. In Jacob¡¯s opinion this was the most important addition to their kit, and he kept agitating for more.

    By lunchtime, everything was in the hands of its new owners, and Jacob¡¯s group went for a meal.

    ¡°Rabbit stew again?¡± Magenta sighed. ¡°I swear I¡¯ll turn into a rabbit before long at this rate.¡±

    ¡°I thought your ears looked even bigger than usual,¡± Beige teased.

    ¡°Now, now,¡± Jacob chided. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be cruel. Look, his little nose is twitching!¡± The men laughed, and even Magenta grinned along with them.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.They gulped their stew, no matter how bored they might have been of it by now they¡¯d always a healthy appetite. Just as they finished the meal, Grey walked over from his own table and greeted them.

    ¡°Brown, a word?¡± he asked Jacob, and the two moved to a table a few yards away.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Jacob asked.

    ¡°Need you & your men to head over to the stones this afternoon, lend a hand.¡±

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±

    ¡°Not that I know of, just short-handed like all of us,¡± Grey answered. ¡°I imagine it¡¯s manual labour, so leave Lavender behind; they¡¯ll fill you in on what needs doing.¡±

    <hr>

    When they reached the stones, Jacob and his men were met by a short but stocky Scot called McDonald.

    ¡°Watch out for pits,¡± he warned them. ¡°Archaeologists are having a whale of a time round here at the moment, and they¡¯ve got any number of holes dug.¡±

    Sure enough, everywhere you looked there were small test pits two feet across, or larger holes big enough for two men to dig in at once. Jacob shuddered at the resemblance to graves, and the memory of their recent ambush. Though he was sure they¡¯d know if any fae had shown up in the digging site, he made a mental note to check the holes for anything out of place.

    Once McDonald had outlined their duties, Jacob sent Vermillion & Turquoise to aid with the digging. Magenta and Beige along with Jacob would help lift one of the upright stones back into position, and they followed McDonald to the location.

    A bespectacled man in a clean suit and tie sat at a folding camp table, writing in a small notebook. Spread in front of him were a selection of papers, photographs and hand-drawn maps and sketches of the site. McDonald waited while the man finished his writing, removed and carefully folded his small glasses, placed them in a leather case and then raised his head to look at the men.

    ¡°Mr Fletcher, these are the fellows we have to help with the lintels,¡± McDonald said. ¡°Mr Black sent them over just now. Gentlemen, this is Mr Fletcher of the Ministry of Works.¡± Jacob could hear the capital letters as McDonald spoke.

    Fletcher regarded them. ¡°Any building experience?¡± he asked in a thin voice.

    ¡°I was a miner, sir,¡± Jacob replied, ¡°before and during the war. And we¡¯re all fit and strong.¡±

    The man peered at them critically. ¡°Well you¡¯ll have to do,¡± he conceded. ¡°We¡¯re removing the lintels from the stones on the North-East side, so we can put the uprights, well, upright again. McDonald will show you where to go.¡± With that he sat back down and extracting his glasses from their case continued working as if they¡¯d already left.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him,¡± McDonald said as they walked across the circle to the working area. ¡°He¡¯s not as bad as all that, just a lot of weight on his shoulders. The whole restoration effort is his responsibility. Oh, but he has lackeys everywhere, so mind what you say. And that means none of your, ahem, specialist skills will be of much use, I¡¯m afraid.¡±

    Once at the location, the company saw the stones in question leaning outwards from the remains of the circle at an angle of at least ten degrees. There were four: the central ones the worst off, but all of them straying from the vertical. Across the four were three lintel stones, huge horizontal megaliths which threatened to slide off at any moment. It was clear the wooden props were all that was preventing the lot from tumbling, and the props themselves were rotting.

    Erected on either side of the leaning rocks were tall wooden A-frames, with thick ropes threaded through block and tackle. Leather strops were being placed under the horizontal stones to protect them when lifted, and wooden planks were in position to receive them on the ground. McDonald explained that all they needed to do was pull on the ropes when told to and hold fast while his own men swung the frames and their precious cargo into position.

    ¡°What will this do to the protection offered by the henge?¡± Jacob whispered. ¡°We¡¯re seeing a lot of activity as it is, what can we expect when we dismantle this set?¡±

    McDonald looked glum. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure, we repaired some other stones in January, just a set of three, and there wasn¡¯t much change in activity. But then these are the largest surviving run of stones, so they must be important. Besides, if we do nothing they might just fall - and if one breaks¡­¡±

    Jacob nodded. ¡°All right, we¡¯ll just have to hope it all holds.¡±

    <hr>

    A few hot and exhausting hours later, the three lintels lay on the ground, and McDonald¡¯s men worked to remove the ropes from the final stone. Without the weight pressing down upon the uprights, they looked more stable than before, but a careful testing of the props showed they were still supporting a massive weight.

    Tea and a few stale buns served as refreshments, and Jacob¡¯s company sat in the shade of the stones and caught their breath.

    ¡°Thank the Lord it¡¯s getting cooler now,¡± Magenta said, wiping his brow with a grubby handkerchief.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Jacob was checking their surroundings with his hagstone, something he¡¯d been doing surreptitiously ever since the first stone had come down. He didn¡¯t expect an attack in broad daylight but it never hurt to be ready. Could the fae sense they had removed the stones? he thought. Did we just expose ourselves?

 Telegram sent June 16th 1916

    <hr>

    *******************************************************

    From: OHMS War Office

    To: Mrs G Williams

    *******************************************************

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Deeply regret to inform you that Private J H Williams (9th Division, 8th Battalion) injured in action this day and in Corbie CCS receiving aid.

    The Army Command and Lord Kitchener express sympathy.

    *******************************************************

    <hr>

 June 16th 1920

    The first attacks came before dawn.

    Jacob awoke from dreams of barbed wire and smoke to the frantic clanging of the large brass bell outside the canteen. He scrambled out of his bunk and threw on his clothes before unzipping the tent and emerging into the half-light, rubbing his stiff shoulder.

    Around him men were doing likewise, blinking in confusion and asking one another what was happening. They dashed to the canteen where Grey swung the rope hanging from the bell and Black stood with a thunderous expression.

    Grey stopped the bell ringing, and the echoes faded away. The silence was oppressive after the noise; even the normal dawn chorus of the birds was absent. Harry appeared next to Jacob, unshaven and confused as the rest.

    ¡°Listen up!¡± Black shouted over the quiet murmurings of the gathered crowd, forcing them to silence. ¡°The First Division is under attack - they were on routine patrol when numerous fae assaulted all Companies simultaneously. They got off flares and two Companies dispatched runners to update us. So here are your orders, grab your gear and head out!¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°Division Two, to the stones! Division Three you will rendezvous with First Division Company A at point X-Ray Nine Seven, and Division Four will meet Company B at point Zulu Three Five.¡± As he bellowed, each division of men split off from the group and ran to grab their kit. ¡°Division Five,¡± Harry and Jacob stood up straighter. ¡°Remain here, for now. Kit up and be ready to reinforce or defend as required.¡±

    ¡°Sir, we can help!¡± Jacob protested.

    ¡°You are helping,¡± Black snapped. ¡°You¡¯re the reserve.¡± He turned on his heel and stalked back to his tent.

    ¡°Division Five is under-manned,¡± Grey explained. ¡°The full strength Divisions have clear roles to perform and we will need you to resupply or reinforce them when¡­ well, let¡¯s hope it¡¯s not that bad. Get your men ready!¡±

    Jacob and Harry gave orders to their men who sprinted to prepare their equipment.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Jacob asked Harry while they gathered their own belonging.

    ¡°About what? The attack?¡± Harry asked. Jacob nodded. ¡°It¡¯s what we¡¯ve been expecting, I guess, a massed attack on all fronts.¡±

    ¡°And just as we¡¯ve lowered the stones, too¡­ That isn¡¯t a coincidence.¡±

    ¡°No, either we weakened the defences or they¡¯re trying to prevent the repairs. Whichever it is we¡¯re in for a fight.¡±

    <hr>

    The men were still sitting around checking & rechecking their gear when the sun rose. Jacob decided that daylight would be likely to slow or even halt the fae attack, so he gave permission for one Company at a time to eat breakfast while they waited. No point in having them hungry when the call comes, he thought.

    No-one had their breakfast interrupted. In fact it was after ten before the first news from the front came back, in the form of a runner from Second Division. As he passed the men they noted his torn, muddy clothes, his hair in disarray and the terror in his eyes. He didn¡¯t break stride as he sprinted into the command tent to report to Black.

    A minute later, Black and Grey came out of the tent and strode over to Jacob & Harry. ¡°You¡¯re needed at the stones,¡± Black said. ¡°Head over there and support the survivors.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡± Jacob asked, not wanting to hear the answer.

    ¡°They¡¯ve taken heavy losses but they¡¯ve inflicted worse,¡± Grey replied. ¡°Get moving and we can press the advantage.¡±

    With a last look at the runner, now sat exhausted outside the tent with his head in his shaking hands, Jacob ordered his men to their feet and marched them double-time towards Stonehenge.

    <hr>

    Even from a quarter of a mile away, the scale of the battle was staggering, with magical attacks ranging around and across the stone circle. From that distance it was impossible to tell who had control of the area, so Jacob raised his binoculars to get a better idea.

    As far as he could tell, remnants of the First and Second Division were inside the outer ditch of the monument, taking cover behind stones and in the excavations. Ranged around them were countless fae creatures, rendered visible to allow attacks upon them. With a start, Jacob realised that many of the defenders were not lying prone to launch attacks but lay dead where they had fallen. Perhaps a handful of men remained alive.

    ¡°All right,¡± he said. Better quick than right. ¡°If Stonehenge is a clock, we¡¯re at 6 o¡¯clock, 12 o¡¯clock¡¯s the far side, got it? A Company, you¡¯ll take the left flank, come in at 8 o¡¯clock. B Company, on the right, 4 o¡¯clock. C Company with me, we¡¯re going straight in - that¡¯s 6 o¡¯clock if you weren¡¯t paying attention. White and D Company will circle around and hit them from 12 o¡¯clock. Hold back a hundred yards until I launch a flare to start the attack. Everyone clear?¡± The chorus of assent was music to Jacob¡¯s ears. ¡°Go around wide, they should be too busy to spot us, but if they do¡­¡± damn it, what choice did they have? ¡°If they do, send up a flare and we¡¯ll all just charge in, all right? Surprise is more important than encircling them.¡±

    The men arranged themselves into Companies and started to head out in their respective directions. ¡°Good luck,¡± Harry muttered to Jacob as he passed.

    ¡°You too,¡± Jacob replied.

    Keeping low and making use of what little cover the plain afforded, the men covered the remaining distance. As they had hoped, the fae were too busy (or too uncoordinated) to mount a lookout, and soon Jacob saw that everyone had made it into position without being detected. Here goes, he thought, and fired up a bright red flare to arc over the stones.

    In perfect unison the four Companies launched their assault. As one they rose from their concealment and launched a volley of attacks at the nearest fae, taking down almost half their number before they could react. The attack from multiple sides confused the creatures, and yet more of them fell to the barrages of magical firepower.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.Jacob and C Company were first to break through and reach the remnants of First Division sheltering among the stones. They took positions to both reinforce the men already there and cover the approach they had just used in case of any further fae activity.

    ¡°Are you in charge?¡± Jacob asked the least-rattled member of the Division he could see.

    ¡°Uh, yes sir?¡± the man quavered.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Jacob asked.

    ¡°Smith, er, I mean Amber, sir.¡±

    ¡°Right then Amber, we¡¯re here now so get your men together and check on the wounded. We¡¯ll cover you.¡± With that Jacob checked on his own Company to see they were making short work of the remaining fae within range. B Company had reached the stones from their position on the right, and with so much firepower massed in the centre already A & D were soon to join them.

    It was a matter of just a few minutes before they dealt with the last of the creatures, and the division regrouped at the centre of the monument. Jacob & Harry¡¯s men had suffered no losses, and Jacob took a moment to congratulate them before issuing orders to secure the area and keep a watch for another assault. As his men scurried to their positions, hagstones at the ready, Jacob turned to Amber again.

    ¡°How many did you lose?¡± he asked.

    ¡°There were twenty of us here,¡± he replied.

    Jacob looked around himself; five of the original defenders were on their feet, two more lay injured, the rest were dead. ¡°Damn,¡± he said. ¡°And the workers? The Ministry?¡±

    Amber shook his head. ¡°The attack was too early, they came for us before they arrived. I mean, the fae came before the workmen, sorry sir. Someone said they¡¯d tell them to stay at their lodgings, so they wouldn¡¯t see anything.¡±

    Jacob listened as Amber explained that the cover story was that someone had found unexploded ordnance left over from the wartime airbase, close enough to cause a day¡¯s hiatus in digging. ¡°So at least it¡¯s contained,¡± he said. ¡°You got someone who can act as a runner for us?¡±

    Amber asked among his men; all five were more than happy to volunteer to head back to the base. Jacob picked one who couldn¡¯t have been over eighteen by the look of him.

    ¡°Get back and update Mr Black that we¡¯ve secured the area, but we need stretcher bearers. Make sure he realises the enormity of the loss.¡± The lad scampered off and Jacob turned back to Amber. ¡°Right, tend to your wounded. We¡¯ll take care of¡­ the others.¡±

    Amber swallowed hard, and with a murmured ¡°thank you¡± went to see to the injured men.

    Jacob grabbed two men of his own, asked them to pick up the dead and place them behind one of the upright stones to the South-West, away from the centre. As they started their grisly task, he made a quick tour of the rest of the division. When he caught up with Harry, he took him to one side.

    ¡°The First are broken,¡± he said. ¡°I doubt they have any fight left in them. Not today, at least.¡±

    ¡°Are you surprised?¡± Harry asked. ¡°They weren¡¯t ready for this, hell even if they had been, we both know that losing two-thirds of your mates isn¡¯t something you just shrug off.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Jacob said. ¡°But that means it¡¯s down to us; thank God we lost nobody - it¡¯ll be tough enough with our little band intact.¡±

    ¡°You think there¡¯ll be another attack?¡± Harry asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m certain,¡± Jacob replied. ¡°With those stones down there¡¯s nothing to stop them.¡±

    As if to prove his point, a sharp whistle blast sounded from the opposite side of the monument, followed by a cry of ¡°Here they come, two, no three o¡¯clock!¡± Moments later a whistle pierced the air from the nine o¡¯clock position, and then from all around the circle.

    ¡°Everyone stand to!¡± Jacob shouted, though he saw with pride that everyone was ready; even the survivors of the First Division had hauled themselves into position and were holding their ground. He readied his staff and magically amplified his voice to make sure that everyone across the site could hear his instructions. ¡°Seers, call out when they¡¯re within range. Everyone else, ready powders.¡±

    An eternity passed before the call went out to say that the fae attackers were close enough to hit. The moment it did two dozen glass bottles arced through the air in near-perfect unison, breaking on the hard earth and releasing their arcane powders to swirl and wave before homing in on the creatures surrounding the men.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± a voice cried out. This time the attacking force wasn¡¯t just made up of mere animals, or the fae equivalent. Dog-like creatures were there, sure enough, jaws flecked with spittle and giant teeth bared, but humanoid figures accompanied them. If Jacob had seen one on a gloomy night, he might have passed right by it without realising, but in the bright June sunlight these could not be mistaken for men.

    They were over six feet tall, rake-thin with spindly arms and legs. Blonde hair grew shaggy down from their shoulders. More hair sprouted out of their foreheads and cheeks, framing and emphasising the figures¡¯ jet-black eyes and scarlet mouths. They wore filthy rags that covered little of their bodies and the blonde hair covered the rest of their flesh. Where the skin showed through, on hands and feet, it was marble-pale. Each one held a long, curving staff, ornate and branch-like, which they levelled at the defending force.

    ¡°Put up shields!¡± Jacob called, too late, as the first blasts of magical energy arced towards the nearest men. Jacob watched with horror as one came towards him, only for Harry to force himself into the path at the last moment. The blast hit Harry in the chest, dead-centre, and he dropped to the ground, his clothes smoking.

 Letter to Mrs G Williams, 16th June 1916

    My dear Grace,

    By now I am sure you will have received word from the Army about our poor Jacob, but I wish to add my report to their doubtless dry and utilitarian efforts.

    He is injured, though not too badly, and as best they can say he will be right as rain before too long has passed. I know you will take solace knowing he fought bravely, never shying from his duty.

    You do not need the details of the assault in which we took part, save but to say that all was going swimmingly until a shell burst among our company, throwing us around the place. I am fortunate that someone is not writing this letter on my behalf, or worse - so many will have telegrams going home today with the dread news for their loved ones.

    When the smoke cleared, I found that I had rolled into a deep crater, old and full of wet mud. My ears were ringing and my vision blurred but I assure you my first thought was to find Jacob and see if he were all right. My arms and legs struggled to lift me out of the pit, and by the time I emerged the fight had moved on ahead. I looked around me, finding only poor souls beyond my help but thanking God himself that none were my closest friend.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.I found Jacob behind a boulder; whether the blast threw him there or he crawled, he was alive. His shoulder was bloodied, and his arm too, but his eyes were bright so I knew he was not in too bad a way. I dressed his shoulder and stayed with him as long as I could.

    After maybe an hour I heard our chaps coming back toward us, saying a general retreat had been ordered. I urged them to take Jacob back to the trenches with them but they had no stretchers and he could not walk far. My intention was to stay with him until they could send a party out to collect him but they ordered me to return to our lines at once.

    I cannot put into words the pain and fear I felt on leaving him but I hope you will forgive me as I truly had no choice. As soon as I made it to our dug-out, I agitated for a stretcher party, but the vast number of casualties meant that Jacob would have to wait his turn. As you can imagine, I was beside myself with worry and made it my duty to check every man returning from no-man¡¯s-land to see if it were he.

    It was around 5pm when he appeared, having walked from his hiding place back to our own lines unaided. Such is is his strength of spirit and character, and I am certain these same will speed his recovery and return to you.

    I am and will remain,

    Your faithful servant,

    Harry Burns (Pvt)

 June 16th 1920

    Jacob reeled backwards, grabbed the shoulders of Harry¡¯s shirt in both hands, his knuckles white as he pulled him behind the nearest stone. He noted that it was one of the removed lintels. Let¡¯s hope it still offers us some protection, he thought. Once Harry was out of the firing line, Jacob dropped to his knees and checked his friend¡¯s injuries.

    The blast had burned through the armour and his shirt, a ragged smouldering hole six inches across centred over his heart. His skin beneath had blistered and burned too, in places an angry red and in others jet black. The repugnant smell of burned flesh invaded Jacob¡¯s nostrils and for a moment he thought himself in the trenches, hearing mortar explosions and the cries of those burned by white phosphorus. He shook his head to clear it but the sounds lingered; they were here, in his present. The explosions were magical in nature, but the screams were utterly human.

    Jacob swallowed hard and returned to his examination of Harry. ¡°Hang in there, will you?¡± he whispered. No reply came. Jacob forced himself to look closer and realised that white flecks he saw in the wound were not ash or chalk from the plain, but fragments of Harry¡¯s own breastbone. He placed his hand over Harry¡¯s mouth to check for a breath, touched his neck for a pulse, but found nothing.

    ¡°No,¡± he breathed. Around him the battle raged but Jacob saw nothing. The cries of the wounded, the calls for him to get back into the fight went unheeded. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he sat there, cradling his friend, bargaining with a God he no longer believed in to bring him back, to swap his life for Harry¡¯s.

    A blast beside his hiding place snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up. Rounding the stone was one of the tall fae, a calm look on its face as it peered down at the two men. In its many long fingers it held its staff, aiming it directly at Harry.

    Jacob¡¯s anger rose. ¡°Leave him alone!¡± he shouted, not caring if the creature understood or even heard him. He groped around for his own staff, unwilling to take his eyes from the apparition. Then he saw it, clutched in the fae¡¯s other hand.

    He¡¯d dropped it, to pull Harry to safety.

    His anger intensified. His fury overwhelmed him; anger at this beast for attacking them, for hurting his friend, anger at himself for losing his staff, anger at Grey and Black for not heeding his concerns, anger at the world for making him face his own death yet again¡­

    A tortured scream tore from his lips. Strange words bubbled up in his mind, not in English, not in any language he recognised, and they filled him with an urgent need to speak them out loud. In a low voice he began to recite the unfamiliar sounds, his mouth and tongue contorting to pronounce words that no human before had ever uttered. Power surged through him, stronger than any he¡¯d previously felt. Whenever he¡¯d used magic before the staff had controlled it, focused through the crystals it held. This was different, a deeper, richer feeling of energy rising from within himself, and controlled by his own will alone.

    The creature stopped, its staff still aimed at the pair, and its look of calm changed to one of what might have been amusement. As Jacob raised his hands, the amusement changed to surprise, and then fear.

    As it realised what he was doing, the fae raised its staff to a vertical position and mouthed strange words of its own; a faint shimmering mist appeared between itself and Jacob. As it continued to speak, the mist brightened, thickened and began to resemble light reflecting on the ocean, or a dusty mirror.

    Jacob finished his incantation.

    Fire and lightning arced from his fingertips, crossing the distance to the creature¡¯s shield in an instant. The bolt hit the surface of the shimmering light, while radiating forks of energy ran sparking and sputtering across it. Jacob kept the core of his attack centred on the same spot, driving it against, into and finally through the beast¡¯s defence.

    When its shield fell, the fae had no time to react, and the bolt struck it right in the centre of its chest. Such was the force of Jacob¡¯s anger and hatred it punched straight through the fae¡¯s wiry body, exiting through its spine and continuing to burn until Jacob¡¯s energy wavered and the lightning fizzled out. The creature still stood for a moment, before its hands fell open, dropping the staffs, and it crumpled into a smoking heap on the ground. Jacob, drained, sank back onto his heels panting for air.

    Sweat dripped from his brow, every muscle in his body ached, and his mouth was cotton. His heart pounded so hard he could sense it in his ears and he couldn¡¯t get enough breath into his lungs to stop them burning. He sat back against the rock that had provided cover and slipped unconscious.

    <hr>

    Someone shook him awake.

    As he forced open his eyes he saw Magenta kneeling beside him, concern etched into his face.

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Magenta asked.

    Jacob looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s Harry?¡±

    Sadness crept into Magenta¡¯s expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Where is he?¡± Jacob shouted and tried to stand. The world spun around him and he fell back against the stone.

    ¡°Back at camp. We¡­ that is I¡­ had the lads pick up the¡­ the dead.¡± Magenta stared at his shoes. ¡°It needed a few trips,¡± he added. ¡°We thought you were one of them I¡¯m afraid, until Beige saw you were still breathing. Just about.¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.Jacob saw Beige fidgeting behind Magenta and nodded. Even this small movement made him queasy.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Magenta asked. ¡°I mean, Harry and that¡­ thing dead, both burned through the heart, and you¡­.¡± He tailed off. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Harry saved my life, Jacob thought.

    ¡°He¡­¡± he began, then stopped as the image of Harry thrusting himself in front of Jacob flashed into his mind. ¡°He¡­¡± Jacob tried again.

    ¡°You know what, it can wait,¡± Magenta said. ¡°God knows you¡¯ll be going over this for days with Black. Whatever those things were they were harder to kill than usual, he¡¯ll want to know how you did it.¡±

    So will I.

    Magenta and Beige helped him to his feet, but another wave of dizziness and exhaustion forced Jacob to sit down on the lintel stone and place his head between his knees. It took a few minutes before he could stand and walk leaning on both men¡¯s shoulders.

    <hr>

    The march back to base was endless. On the way, Beige filled Jacob in on the details of the battle he¡¯d missed. Once the humanoid fae had arrived, the men had realised they couldn¡¯t compete with their magic. With Jacob and Harry believed dead it had forced them to improvise.

    The fae had deflected each attack levelled at them, and Beige described the same silvery shield Jacob had seen. ¡°Bolts just bounced off them,¡± he explained, ¡°nothing seemed to get through. We had to try something else, and so Turquoise arranged us into groups of two, split apart to as to assault the fae from two sides like you did before. Split their attention and maybe weaken the shield-thing. It didn¡¯t help much, they could keep it up, but it kept them busy enough not to see the third bloke.¡±

    ¡°The what?¡± Jacob¡¯s head was still fuzzy.

    ¡°Two men to attack and keep them busy,¡± Magenta explained, ¡°and a third to launch the real attack. He snuck in behind, hit ¡®em with an iron knife. Turquoise got the idea from when you took out that mole-thing, since then we¡¯ve all carried one.¡±

    ¡°Well done Turquoise,¡± Jacob muttered. ¡°Remind me to buy him a pint. Or three.¡± Magenta¡¯s silence hung in the air. ¡°He didn¡¯t make it?¡±

    ¡°He lasted longer than most,¡± Magenta said. ¡°We lost most of ours during the first few minutes. Once Turquoise had the idea, we took them out quick. Before long they were down to two - and he tried something new. If he could capture one¡­¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± Jacob gasped.

    Magenta nodded. ¡°He got up behind one of the last ones, and he had an iron chain from somewhere. He wrapped that round its neck, and the thing dropped like a stone. Shield down, it just collapsed onto the floor.

    ¡°He captured it?¡± Jacob asked.

    ¡°Yeah, kind of,¡± Magenta said. ¡°It screamed or shouted or something, we couldn¡¯t hear it but his mate did. Turned around and simply blasted Turquoise away. Like swatting a fly or something, he was gone. Almost got the guy behind too, but he got his knife in.¡±

    Jacob tried not to consider that the same would have happened to him if he hadn¡¯t¡­ what had he done? Where had that power come from, without a staff? Even two men together hadn¡¯t been able to breach that shield of light, so how had he?

    ¡°So we captured one, Black came and got it a little while ago with a whole bunch of blokes. They did some containment spell, and that shut it up. The iron burnt it pretty deep, but it was healing already when they took it away.¡±

    Jacob trudged on in silence for a few minutes, before summoning the courage to ask the question he dreaded the answer to. ¡°How many? How many did we lose?¡±

    Magenta shrugged, almost dislodging Jacob from his shoulder. ¡°Not sure, to be honest. More than half though, and I¡¯m not sure how many of the injured will make it to tomorrow.¡± If Jacob hadn¡¯t used the same flat tone himself so often over the years he might have missed the shock and fear it hid. He still didn¡¯t have the words to help.

    <hr>

    Jacob sat through the entire debriefing, not taking in a word. Around him in the canteen were the survivors of the attack on the stones who were well enough to attend. They only needed two tables pushed together to house them. Snatches of conversation around him filtered into his consciousness but even that couldn¡¯t stir him from his thoughts.

    Harry had given his life to save him.

    Harry who had been there for him throughout the war, faced his greatest fears and shared his worst moments.

    Harry was gone.

    And to what end? So many others had died, so many others to be mourned and remembered, toasted and cheered, so they could protect a few ancient rocks in a damn field and capture some freakish fae that Black had already accompanied up to Headquarters to prod and poke.

    Jacob heard his name and started to pay attention.

    ¡°Brown, I said I need to talk to you alone, come along,¡± Grey said, standing and leading the way out of the canteen.

    Once a suitable distance away, Grey turned to him and spoke bluntly. ¡°How did you do it? Take down that sorcerer alone?¡±

    Is that what we¡¯re calling them? Jacob thought. ¡°I just¡­ did,¡± he said. ¡°I felt the energy, knew the words and just¡­ did it. Sorry, I can¡¯t explain any better,¡± he said as Grey looked at him with annoyance. ¡°I just knew what to do.¡±

    ¡°Was it¡­ because of him?¡± Grey asked. ¡°Or perhaps it was the stones, some remnant of their protection working through you. Whatever it was, we need you to do it again. Not right now,¡± he said as Jacob protested, ¡°but if we can work out what you did and more importantly how, we might have a chance of winning this thing.¡±

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, June 20th 1916

    I am writing this from my hospital bed, although I am certain I shall never show it to a soul. They tell me I am mistaken, that something damaged my mind, that I was delirious, that I saw only birds and wild dogs, but I know the truth.

    On the morning of the 16th Harry and I sallied forth side by side as we have been for so much of this war. Our mine did its work, fountains of mud thrust skywards with an almighty explosion, then came silence. For a while we were sure that the Germans had fled, so quiet was the land around us. They shattered this peace in an instant when their machine guns lit up. We went to ground and were untouched by this barrage but unable to make progress towards our goals.

    After a short while the guns stopped, and Harry stuck his head up to see what was about, almost losing his helmet and his life when a sniper spotted him. One of our own took care of that chap soon enough, and we could stand up once more. We came closer and closer to the Hun¡¯s trenches, only to find their front line all but deserted. Wary of a trap we dropped into it and made quick work of the few men defending, a sorry lot to be sure. Then it was back out again and on to the next trench.

    We had a harder time of things there and we lost a few good men on the way, but Harry and I were fortunate enough to avoid attention. We located the last working machine gun post in our section of the front and took cover in a shell-hole to plan our assault. Harry, the brave and foolhardy devil, resolved to destroy it with Mills bombs while the rest of us fired hoping to suppress any retaliation.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.The moment Harry stood, the bomb in hand, a shell exploded on the rim of our little crater. The flash and the bang were simultaneous, knocking the wind out of us. Through the dancing spots in my eyes I saw Harry cartwheeling away beyond the crater wall. I tried to rise to go after him but found something pinned me down by my shoulder. Upon my noticing, I felt the sticky warm touch of blood down my arm and across my chest, but suffered almost no pain.

    I looked around to ask for aid from my fellows, only to realise they were in no state to aid me. Those who had not been dismembered by the blast were lying so still as to leave no doubt they would not rise again. One man breathed still, but shallow and not for long.

    It was surprising how calm I remained in the face of what I was now sure was my demise. I would continue to lose blood, becoming weaker and more exhausted by the minute until I slipped into a peaceful sleep forever. I do not know how long I waited, but my dear Harry suddenly hailed me - his clothes tattered but his body intact. He refused to remove the shrapnel for fear of making the bleeding worse, but dressed my injured shoulder such that I could lie on my back at least, instead of face-down in the stinking mud.

 June 20th 1920

    It hadn¡¯t been the stones.

    Two days of exhausting effort proved it; Grey had taken Jacob back to that fateful spot and urged him to conjure up that same power again, to no avail. Attempts with him sitting, standing, lying on his back or on his belly were all fruitless, as were any conjurations tried when he was in physical contact with the lintel stones. Grey even had him try while pressing a hand against every one of the three ¡°just in case you tapped out the first one with your attack¡±, but nothing gave Jacob that same sense of barely controlled power.

    He concluded that it had been Harry¡¯s death, and the overwhelming emotional impact of losing his only true friend that triggered his outburst, and that short of another wrenching experience he could not repeat it. Grey tried to convince him that there were other things left to try.

    ¡°Maybe it was the time of day, or the alignment of the sun. If it¡¯s the phase of the moon we¡¯d be out of luck for a month but at least it¡¯d be something to work on,¡± he offered.

    ¡°It might as well have been something I ate,¡± Jacob barked, ¡°for all the good it¡¯s doing. I can¡¯t explain it, and I can¡¯t do it any more. It¡¯s hopeless.¡±

    Grey put his arm around Jacob¡¯s shoulders. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard,¡± he said, ¡°but you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s had any success performing magic without a staff at all. That alone would be remarkable, but that you took down one of those things single-handed when no-one else could get close is a miracle.¡±

    Harry needed a miracle, Jacob thought, but he never got it.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s try one more time,¡± Grey offered, leading Jacob back to the stone he¡¯d sheltered behind that day. ¡°Kneel again, as you did before.¡±

    Jacob fought back the sadness that rose in him as he remembered the last time he¡¯d been in that position. As he did so, he sensed something else building inside himself.

    ¡°This will be rough, Jacob,¡± Grey said. ¡°But it might be the key. So far we¡¯ve stayed away from the difference between today and that day - your emotions. I know you keep things bottled up, but today I want you to let it out. No-one¡¯s here,¡± he said, gesturing around them at the vacant monument.

    While they had stepped up the patrols around the stones after the attack, no-one had come within a hundred yards of them all day. Whether they were keeping their distance because of orders from Grey or because of a fear of Jacob was unclear. Jacob didn¡¯t much care either way, as long as they kept away. He was sick of their pity.

    ¡°Think back,¡± Grey whispered. ¡°Remember that day.¡±

    Jacob fought the surge of memory, resisted the urge to wallow in the grief he¡¯d been keeping at bay for two days by drinking alone.

    ¡°Remember the sounds, the smells, what it was like to be there,¡± Grey continued.

    Unbidden the iron-rich scent of blood rose in Jacob¡¯s nostrils, just for a moment before it was gone. As if that unlocked the floodgates other scents returned to him: the smoke that rose from the campfires outside the stone circles mingled with the smoke from Harry¡¯s burned shirt; the stink of burnt flesh, nauseating but sweet; the ozone smell of lightning bolts fired at their foes. Jacob heard the sounds too, the cries of the wounded, the yells of the men trying to coordinate the defence, even the indecipherable incantations of the fae, previously silent.

    The words danced on the edge of comprehension, a whisper overheard but not understood. A sense of their meaning always just slipping from his grasp, taunting him as it slid away. A chorus of overlapping voices chanting different words, a meaningless babble that promised a wondrous secret, if he could only¡­

    ¡°Now think of the sights,¡± Grey said, breaking Jacob¡¯s concentration.

    The fury rose in him again, he¡¯d been so close to hearing it! Anger flashed through his mind and a red mist rose over his eyes. Leave me alone! he thought and felt a tremor run through the earth beneath him. This distracted Jacob long enough to interrupt his anger, and he realised he had his fists clenched at his sides, and his eyes screwed up so tight he saw stars. He forced himself to relax, muscles protesting as they loosened, and opened his eyes.

    Grey lay flat on his back twenty yards away. As Jacob stared in disbelief, it relieved him to see Grey push himself up on his elbows and look back. Without conscious will, Jacob had thrown him half-way across the circle. It was fortunate he hadn¡¯t hit one of the stones.

    Jacob tried to stand, to check he hadn¡¯t injured the other man, but again his legs did not support him. He had to kneel there, head spinning, while Grey picked himself up and walked back over to him, favouring his left ankle.

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± Grey croaked, trying to beat the chalk dust out of his clothes. ¡°I think we might have something there¡­¡±

    Jacob nodded. He was getting a feel for what had happened, the shape of the magic he was tapping in too. It wasn¡¯t the same as the spells they used the staffs to control; it was something more primal, more primitive.

    More powerful and more terrifying.

    <hr>

    The next difficulty lay in attempting to train the rest of the men to tap into the same energies as Jacob had used. The principal problem lay in explaining how it worked, how to access the power was outside anyone¡¯s experience to that point.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.All Jacob¡¯s attempts to describe the sensation, or to guide the men through turning their own anger and fear into energy were fruitless, and he began to despair again. It was Grey who had the idea of literally sharing the experience.

    ¡°Try it on me, first,¡± Grey suggested. ¡°If it works, we can then each take a man and show him, and then they can show two more apiece. With luck we can have most of the battalion inducted by dinner!¡±

    With little confidence, Jacob agreed. He and Grey sat cross-legged on the ground facing one another among the stones, with the others stood or sat around them at a safe distance. Jacob laid his hands on top of Grey¡¯s, and both men closed their eyes. Jacob probed his emotions again, allowing a fraction of the feelings he had long been suppressing to rise and spark the fires of the newfound magical energy deep within him. He nurtured the small flame at his core, fed it just a touch of his anger at Harry¡¯s death and the deaths in the war, a little of his guilt at not being able to save his friend, a shade of his fear of meeting the same fate. With each little trickle of emotion the flame grew larger, stronger. He tested it, allowing larger jolts of emotion to surge through him and seeing the energy pulse in sympathy. He controlled his breathing, slowing it and allowing his anger to subside and sensing the energy diminish. Confident that his control was secure, he opened his eyes and looked at Grey.

    ¡°Did you feel anything?¡± he asked quietly.

    Grey was silent for a moment, then nodded, his eyes still closed. ¡°Yes,¡± he said, ¡°I think so.¡±

    Jacob turned his attention inwards and stoked the flame a little more, enlarging it and allowing it to fill him from head to toe while keeping it under control.

    ¡°Yes, definitely now,¡± Grey said. ¡°I think I understand. Can you pass some of it to me?¡±

    I don¡¯t know, Jacob thought, but what the hell, let¡¯s try it. He separated a small part of the energy and willed it out through his arms, through his hands and into Grey¡¯s. Unsure how to prevent it surging out as lightning or fire, he pictured it in his mind¡¯s eye as a small ball of light. He sensed a flicker of energy pass between them as he did so, and a hushed gasp from some of the men confirmed they¡¯d seen it too.

    ¡°I have it!¡± Grey breathed. ¡°It¡¯s, it¡¯s beautiful!¡± He sounded close to tears. ¡°Take it back,¡± he added, and Jacob felt the energy return and merge with his own once more. Now what do I do with it? he thought. He gave consideration to shooting it up in the sky or down into the earth before he had a better idea. It had come from inside him, so why shouldn¡¯t it be able to go back again? He concentrated on shrinking the ball of energy within, letting its power diffuse throughout his own body. Before long he had reabsorbed it and relaxed.

    The two men sat smiling at one another, Jacob noting he hadn¡¯t exhausted himself this time. Presumably only spending the energy cost him, not manifesting it. That was a relief, as was the fact he¡¯d not had to relive the entire horror of Harry¡¯s death to release the power.

    Grey then said he would try on his own, to see if he had it. Jacob stood and moved back to be out of range if Grey lost control as he had. He realised the dull ache always present in his shoulder had eased.

    His eyes closed, Grey sat in silence for a few moments before his brow furrowed and he grunted in annoyance. He looked at Jacob. ¡°It¡¯s not working,¡± he said.

    ¡°Try remembering something dreadful,¡± Jacob suggested. ¡°I find anger or¡­ well, anger works to get it started.¡±

    Grey nodded. Closing his eyes he shook out his arms, re-set his shoulders and tried again. His expression changed, anger with a touch of sadness creeping across his face. His breathing quickened, his fists clenched, but then a slow smile replaced the anger, and a gentle glow emanated from his skin. Grey¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he pointed an arm at a stand of trees over half a mile away.

    ¡°Stand back, lads,¡± he called, and then a jet of flame surged from his fingertips towards the nearest tree. It flashed into flame and exploded as the sap boiled inside the trunk. Grey sagged at the sudden release of energy, then sat up straight once more.

    An awed silence fell over the assembled men. Then ¡°bloody hell,¡± a voice murmured, and laughter followed.

    After that, no-one could wait to have their turn. Grey and Jacob soon discovered that not everyone could marshall the energy, and some could not even sense it in others. After separating out those who could, Jacob concentrated on the most promising individuals. Once they¡¯d showed their new ability they took their turn showing the next men. The more he practised, the more Jacob became able to call on the latent energies within himself without a trigger of intense emotions, something he passed on to the others who were able.

    By the time the bell rang for the evening meal, everyone in their battalion who had the ¡®talent¡¯ could call up, use and dismiss their newfound powers at will. They were in a boisterous mood as they assembled for dinner, and most went back for second helpings to replenish the energy they¡¯d burned off that afternoon.

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, June 21st 1916

    I left off the earlier day¡¯s entry as I am still too tired to continue writing for long.

    Once he had dressed my shoulder, Harry stayed with me and endeavoured to keep up my spirits. My peculiar sense of calm did not desert me and the prospect of another shell finishing what the first had begun did not upset me as it might have. Harry put my silence down to my injury and the effects of shock and did all in his power to keep me conversing with him. In truth, I was most light-headed and upon trying to stand found myself incapable.

    Only a short while later Lieutenant Butcher found us and ordered Harry back to the trenches as part of a general retreat. Harry refused, almost coming to blows with the man. Only the assurance that they would dispatch a stretcher party for me convinced him to obey the order, and I rather fancy he would have carried me back on his shoulders if he could.

    With him gone my mind was free to wander, and with the retreat the sounds of battle subsided. Birds were audible again, in the distance at first but then closer until a murder of crows perched upon the ridge of the crater I inhabited. They called to one another raucously, before hopping down to feast on my less fortunate comrades.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.And now I must write what I saw, though I scarcely believe it myself. If this journal finds its way into another¡¯s hands, they will question my sanity but they will not be doing more than I have myself a hundred times.

    Among the bodies of the fallen a mist began to rise. At first I thought it was my vision failing me, but the fog only persisted around each body and not elsewhere. Then movement, a gentle sway of the cloud surrounding each man that had no explanation in nature, the air being still as the grave the pit resembled. I began to see shapes in the mists: limbs waving, half-seen; faces inhuman in aspect but revealed as a twist in the fog and a trick of the light before reforming again all too real; bodies climbing out of the earth itself, writhing and crawling about the dead.

    I know that troubles clouded my mind; I know that my lost blood renders me an unreliable witness, but I swear upon all I ever held Holy there were waves of ghoulish figures rising from the ground to devour my friends. Under cover of an unnatural mist they feasted, and when they turned their hollow eyes upon me, I could stay no longer.

    With a strength born only of fear I lurched upright, gave no backward glance at those things and stumbled back towards our lines pursued by the demons of hell.

 June 21st 1920

    Men stood guard in teams of six that night, those with the ability practising their new magical skills while they watched for signs of another attack. Those who weren¡¯t on watch tried to sleep, with little success. Jacob expected the call to come at any moment that another wave of those fae sorcerers had arrived and were laying waste to the small force arrayed against them.

    Nothing happened until dawn on Midsummer¡¯s day. It was Jacob¡¯s turn at watch and he had just arrived at Stonehenge with the next shift when he sensed that something was in the air. Some sensation crawled over him and raised the hairs on the back of his neck. Looking around himself he realised that the other ¡®talents¡¯ had also sensed it and frozen in place. ¡°Stand to!¡± he called, and the men dashed into position without a word. He sent one runner back to call for reinforcements, certain that the attack was imminent, but Grey had also detected the surge in power, and met him half-way with the rest of the battle forces.

    The air shimmered over the stones, like the heat haze from the earlier few summer days; at a chilly 5am they knew it was something else.

    For a few minutes everyone prepared themselves in silence, waiting for action. As time passed with no sign of anything beyond the odd glimmer in the air, a few men whispered among themselves that it might be a false alarm. A quiet ¡°hush¡± from Jacob silenced them.

    The first figure appeared just a few dozen yards away. By sheer luck Jacob had been looking in that direction and saw it blink into existence; he let out a shrill whistle and pointed. As he did so, another whistle sounded to his left, and a quick glance showed another figure had materialised there.

    Now whistle blasts sounded around the stones, the men deployed their powder jars and braced themselves for battle.

    <hr>

    Everyone knew their duty, they understood their orders; no-one was to fire until the figures were closer. Experimentation had shown the best range for engagement to maximise the likelihood of hitting the target and causing enough damage. Jacob risked calling out ¡®Hold!¡¯ as the figures strode into view; an understanding of the reason for an instruction and the ability to remember it in the face of their adversaries were two different matters.

    They were more of the same sorcerers, armed with the curving staffs that focused their powers. As before, several smaller beastly fae attended each, and as they came towards the waiting men more of the creatures appeared behind them. Before long they outnumbered the waiting army twofold. Jacob and Grey had decided that it was best to focus on the larger threat. They¡¯d dealt with the smaller creatures before and while they did not dismiss them as harmless they were not as formidable a foe.

    Inevitably, someone would break. Jacob¡¯s only surprise was that it came so late; a fiery blast jetted from behind a stone to his right and slammed into one of the tall blonde fae with full force. Lucky he didn¡¯t miss, Jacob had time to think, before the rest of the front defensive force let loose. Strike after strike radiated from the stone circle, taking down the sorcerers first as planned. Despite their glowing shields they were no match for the men¡¯s newly discovered magical talents, and they never got within ten feet of the defenders now slumped, exhausted by their exertion.

    The smaller beasts, meanwhile, had been running in the vanguard. Now they were a threat to the tired men who¡¯d given their all in the first assault, and who were not only unable to strike at them but even incapable of standing.

    The second row of defenders then stood, aimed over the heads of their compatriots and using their staffs blasted the front line of beasts. While they readied their shots on the next wave, yet more defenders dashed up to pull the weary front line back to safety.

    As wave after wave of creatures charged at the stones from all sides, the defence never wavered for an instant. Where one or more of the fae got too close, Jacob or one of his counterparts spread around the ring let loose a small blast just enough to take them down. The men with staffs could keep this up all day, now they¡¯d eliminated the larger threat from the humanoid fae, and Jacob allowed himself a small measure of relief. We¡¯ve done it, he thought.

    Then the earth parted.

    <hr>

    A few hundred yards from the stones a sudden ravine had formed; a crack running towards the monument and the defending men. Smoke rose from it and the light morning breeze brought the rotten stink of sulphur.

    Then long, whipping tendrils snaked out of the hole, sampling the air and probing the surrounding ground. They pushed down against the earth, sliding deep into the soil and stiffening as whatever creature they belonged to began to haul itself out of the ground.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.A massive head appeared first, countless black eyes ranged across its shiny carapace. There was no sign of a nose or a mouth, just a large rigid near-hemispherical dome studded with black. As it rose, a gigantic soft body followed, bulbous and slimy. From this amorphous mass grew the tentacles that dragged it up from underground; of these there were at least a dozen though any exact estimate was impossible as they moved faster than any eye could follow.

    At the sight of this thing, many of the men had frozen in place, awestruck and terrified. Without their attention the smaller fae penetrated the circle and were now attacking them, dashing from man to man to distract them. Jacob bellowed instructions, and the men snapped out of their paralysis.

    Those dealing with the smaller fae continued to do so, while everyone available charged to the same side of the stones to prepare to attack this new threat.

    The nearest of the men were within its range, tentacles grasping at them as they blasted with every spell at their disposal. Most broke free of its grip, but it yanked an unfortunate few from the ground and either dashed them against the stones or pulled them back downwards into the pit beneath the beast. Jacob glanced around to make sure his men were in position, and they readied their response.

    A surge of power ran through Jacob as the ranks of men behind him poured their energies into his body. He let it build inside him until he could bear it no longer. The creature sensed the growing power and turned its attention to him, drawn to the energy like a moth to a flame, but it was slow-moving over the ground. The tentacles whipped around it, propelling it forward, and brushing aside any man foolhardy enough to get in the way. As it came within striking range, a tendril snapped towards Jacob, but he deflected it with a thought.

    Now the power was too much for him to hold back. He stared at the creature, raised an arm and focused every bit of borrowed energy at its head. Not content to just release the power, he forced it out, feeling it burn through his limbs as it moved. The beam that surged from his fingertips was neither flame nor lightning, but something brighter and dazzling to behold; the other fae fell back as it illuminated them and it forced even the men contributing energy to look away. Where it hit the giant creature it burned, burrowing into its gooey flesh. It writhed, trying to get out of the path of the attack, but Jacob could keep pace with its gyrations and kept the beam focused right on it.

    Unable to speak, Jacob couldn¡¯t exhort his men to keep sending the power to him, but he found he was drawing it out of their bodies now without difficulty. One by one they fell to the ground, drained and worn out. He couldn¡¯t stop, not now, even if he wanted to; he had to defeat this thing at all costs.

    With one last flailing attack, the creature died. As soon as it did, its body began to melt and evaporate, leaving a slick green residue. Jacob slumped, spent, and looked around to see what remained of his allies.

    <hr>

    That evening, no attack came. Whatever men still had the ability to stand and fight patrolled the stones, but there was nothing for them to do. Jacob couldn¡¯t have explained how he knew that this was the final meaningful battle, why he believed that this was the fae¡¯s last best hope for victory, but somehow he just understood that it was. While Grey trusted Jacob¡¯s assurance of that being the end was true, he was not leaving anything up to chance.

    Either way, Jacob could not help in any future defences. His heroic stand against the ¡®Stonehenge Squid¡¯ as it was already being dubbed had burned out whatever ability he had to control magical energy. He¡¯d tried, alone that afternoon while his men were being patched up, and couldn¡¯t even muster a gentle glow of light. Probably for the best, he thought. This way I can go home, be with Grace, put my life back in order.

    Black strode into the canteen where Jacob was eating his dinner with a hunger he hadn¡¯t felt in years. Jacob tried not to meet his eye, mentally willed him to bother someone else but Black made a beeline straight for him.

    ¡°Brown,¡± he greeted him.

    ¡°Black,¡± Jacob grunted in reply. Black sat and said nothing.  Not until Jacob finished his meal, placing his knife and fork on his plate, did Black speak. ¡°Well done out there.¡±

    If Jacob hadn¡¯t finished eating he¡¯d have choked at this.

    ¡°We need you in our research division,¡± Black continued. ¡°You¡¯ve made a larger breakthrough in magical theory and practice than that whole department has in over two decades, and you did it in an afternoon. Whatever you think of me, and I know what, I¡¯m not so big a fool as to not realise that.¡±

    Jacob had no reply. His thoughts turned back to his half-formed plan to return to Grace, live a normal life with a normal job. Then he thought of Harry, and how they had always wanted to do their duty. Hadn¡¯t he done enough now?

    ¡°Think it over,¡± Black said, as he turned to leave, then turned back. ¡°Oh, and Jacob?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir?¡±

    ¡°Harry would have been proud.¡±

 Extract from Jacobs Diary, November 11th 1918

    I have not touched this journal since my return to England, but it seems fitting I do so now.

    The War ended today in a victory for us and our allies, after four long years of fighting and losing so much of England¡¯s youth. No doubt all sides are counting the costs of this Great War, and with luck they are deciding it too great to risk enduring again.

    And yet I feel that there is still more evil at large in this world. The sights of that battlefield in France will never leave me, but no matter how dreadful it is not the deeds of man that haunt me.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.A gentleman came to see me this morning, as I listened to the wireless and awaited the cessation of hostilities. He said he was looking for men who had seen ¡°curious things¡± to join him in a new campaign. How he knew to speak with me he would not say, but he drew out of me for the first time the full account I laid down in this journal, and professed to believe my experience. I am to meet with him again to discuss his work with a view to joining his Society.

    Perhaps I may yet fulfil my duty to my country and keep Her safe from harm.