THE VROL TRILOGY (167 page)

The larger of the two grunted and took a step
back, crossed his arms and gave Gadreel an expectant look.

"We created the Vrol," said Gadreel,
maintaining a bit of remorse in his voice.

"Tell us something we don't know," said
Michael.

"Such as?"

"
Why
you created those vile insects. They have done nothing but
damage throughout the Milky Way, and have disrupted the balance of
life in the universe," Gabriel responded with an unhappy
tone.

"Dude, seriously? You created the bugs that
nearly destroyed my species, and are now on their way here to do
the same?"

"Max, I must apologize. I did not personally
create them - it was more of a group project, led by Samyaza. Part
of my shame is that I became little more than a follower."

"Fine, loser. Then tell us the best way to
fight them," Max said as a follow-up demand.

"You have already discovered the most
effective ways - decapitation, and the use of a particular radio
frequency to annoy them."

"We need their main ship - we need to destroy
it," said Michael.

"It is in the Void, that much I know."

"Void? What's the Void?" asked Max.

"You call it Side Space, my son," said
Michael.

"Fine, you call it the
Void
, but we need to find the ship.
It pops in and out and we can never get a bead on it. Once we get
it we win the war."

"No, Max. Once you kill my brother you shall
win the war. You may defeat the Vrol now, but if Samyaza runs free
he will simply create another perversion and set it upon your
worlds."

"He is correct, Max," said Gabriel. "We must
kill all of those allied with Samyaza in order to truly safeguard
Azul and her moons."

"Okay, well, I have a plan," said Max.

###

"Chief Williams, we eradicated another
vampire nest," reported Officer Nano Sanchez, who just happened to
be covered in a light, green gelatinous liquid.

"Hmm, very well, Nano. Did you follow
protocol and destroy it?"

"Yes, sir. But it exploded this time."

"That sounds new. Would that explain the
green guck all over your uniform?"

"Correct, sir. Anyway, I believe we should
avoid using fire from now on."

"Consider it so ordered. Shoot them all in
the head, Nano."

"Very well, sir … and sir?"

"Yes?"

"I believe I speak for everyone here - thanks
for taking over as chief. Something was kinda off with Chief
Robinson."

"Kinda… off? What do you mean, son?"

"Well, we think he was one of these
vampires."

"Perhaps he was, Nano. But we need to
maintain order and keep busy hunting down those who escaped the
prison facility. The longer they're out there, the more
normals
they can infect."

###

"Grandfather, the cat is frozen in place! I
am so happy! Thank you!"

"You are welcome, child, but please try to
levitate the creature."

Liliana concentrated her cantus,
levoincantatio
murelegus
, but noticed that nothing happened.
She tried it again and returned a confused glare at
Draagh.

"Grandfather, why can I not lift the
kitty?"

"My child, your father can monitor his
magical levels via an invisible meter visible only to him. I fully
expect you shall one day also, but until then you must manage your
skills carefully. Imagine if you were up against a mortal enemy,
and you needed a simple levitation cantus to win your battle.
However, you had just used a freeze cantus and all of your
abilities were temporarily inaccessible. This is what you see now,
my dear."

"My… levels?"

"Liliana, there is a limit to the amount of
magic someone can perform at any single time. You have just
discovered one of your limitations."

"Have I lost my magic? Am I to be a normal
lycan now?"

"No, no no, my dear," Draagh returned,
laughing, "your skills shall return shortly, but for the time being
your are magic deficient."

Draagh was actually relieved due to the fact
that Liliana had no ability to gauge her skills timeout through a
meter in her peripheral vision, as it would not be visible to her
until she had gone through puberty - something he didn't wish to
appear anytime soon. Even though it would assist her greatly, he
didn't feel she was ready to have her full compliment of
lycan/mange skills, which would include turning on the full
moon.

Chapter 35 - Tag, You're It!

"This device will allow us to track Gadreel's
exact point in space/time, so if he goes back to the Grigori we
shall be able to take action immediately," Draagh informed Max,
Jennie, Michael and Gabriel, as they all sat in the main dining
hall, snacking on dried meats.

"It is a more robust version of the trackers
we all wear," added Gabriel, having been the one who initially
developed a tracker to put on his brother, Michael.

"If not for your tracker, Gabriel, I would
have been lost in the same alternate, fractured timeline as Max. It
was truly an ingenious effort."

"Well, I for one, appreciate it," said Max,
as Jennie nodded her head in agreement.

"So I guess the question now will be how to
get Gadreel to wear this thing and go back to his brother," Jennie
added.

"He wears the collar, my dear. His will is
subject to my own, for the most part," said Draagh.

"And just where is he right now?" Jennie
inquired.

"We're letting him rest. He kinda got the
snot kicked out of him when he came here," said Max.

"I just hope he isn’t up to anything bad,"
said the lovely lycan female.

###

"
Hello,
brother. Are we being spied upon
?"

"
Gadreel. It
is good to hear you. No, we are quite safe. Did you make
contact
?"

"
Not only
contact, Brother. I am in their midst."

"
Excellent."

###

"Abuelita, I have a new magical skill, but I
must only use it in an emergency," Liliana said to her grandmother,
Clarisa Gunnarsson, who was knitting a small blanket with the help
of her best friend Janice Wong.

"Ooo, that sounds divine, my love. What kind
of skill is it?"

"I am now able to freeze my enemy in
place."

"Liliana, can you freeze some ice for my tea?
I'm afraid it's gone warm," mused Janice.

"No, Tía Janice. It is not a temperature
cantus. It merely immobilizes the subject."

Clarisa looked upon Liliana with pride. She
had been working with the girl since they first met, in an attempt
to imbue more civil qualities into the child - a former orphan who
grew up scrounging for scraps in castle hallways.

"And when did you learn this skill, sweetie?"
asked Clarisa.

"This morning. Grandfather Draagh taught me
in a matter of moments."

"Is it a difficult skill?"

"Not at all! It is just that it is
quite taxing on my magical skills, and it takes a while before I am
able to perform a different cantus. In fact, I believe it was
nearly four minutes before I could levitate
Caca
."

Janice snorted lukewarm tea out of her
nose.

"Caca? You are not playing with poop again,
are you dear?" asked Clarisa, recalling when Liliana had used a
levitation cantus to fling horse manure into Kyle Reynolds'
face.

"Oh no, Abuelita. Caca is a cat that lives in
the castle. His fur is of a rich, brown color, so I believe I named
him appropriately."

Clarisa and Janice looked at each other,
trying to hide the smirks on their faces.

###

Later that afternoon, Max, Jennie, Draagh,
the archangels, and Bagatelle all got together in Draagh's office,
looking at star charts. They were attempting to determine if there
was a pattern to Samyaza's travels, as had been pointed out by
Gadreel.

"It appears that he is using the Hub as a
transit point - specifically, Anaita's domicile," Draagh stated
authoritatively. "Other than that, I fail to see any consistency in
his travels."

"Well, that sucks," said Jennie.

"I agree," said Bagatelle.

"I guess the only thing we can do is send
Gaddy off to visit with his brother and see where it takes us. Are
you sure you don't know where he is?" asked Max, looking at the
traitorous former member of the Grigori.

"I only need to contact him, Max. He should
bring me to wherever he might be."

"Well, that sounds easy. Why do we not simply
go and attack the fetid spawn of Marnn?" suggested Gabriel.

"No, my son. We shall need to separate them.
According to Gadreel, there are dozens of lower angels in their
employ, and we shan't win against such large numbers without
incurring losses," said Draagh.

"I think an antimatter bomb could do the
trick. Why not just send one with Gaddy, and then pull him back
right before it goes off?" asked Max.

"My brother would detect such a rudimentary
device," said Gadreel.

"Rudimentary? Rudimentary?" demanded
Bagatelle. "I'll have you know the antimatter bomb, aside from the
side space hook drive, is the pinnacle of human technology."

"Human technology, dear nephew,"
Michael calmly stated. "While your advances are great, please look
at what any Primulus is able to do. With but a thought we could
create a small thermonuclear-equivalent explosion, but choose to
not do so, as we take care in not creating what you call
collateral damage
."

"Yes, my boy. We could kill countless
millions in doing so. So I say no - we must separate Samyaza from
his minions and cut the head off the rancid, evil body of what we
call the Grigori," added Draagh.

"Wow, it's like we're stuck between a rock
and a hard place, hmm?" said Jennie, causing Michael to give her a
curious glance, not knowing the meaning of the colloquial
phrase.

"Fine. Then we have to let Gaddy go off and
meet up with his brother. Sounds like a plan, but I still don't
trust him," said Max.

"Max, please. You must trust me. I can bring
you to Samyaza," said Gadreel.

"Okay, but it doesn't mean I have to like
it."

###

Samyaza stood in front of a wall of black,
nearly indiscernible techno-organic machinery. Attached to the wall
was Leonard Johnson, who had numerous tubes and wires connected to
his body, some even perversely inserted into his lower orifices. He
appeared to be in a coma, but the leader of the Grigori knew
better. Touching an exposed part of the human's forehead, he spoke
to his mind.

"
Johnson, we
must thank you for your efforts. You have no idea how much you
assisted us.
"

"
Who… who is
this? I cannot see you. I'm blind. You don't sound like the hive
mind.
"

"
My name is
Samyaza. All else matters not. I merely desire to convey gratitude.
Mankind shall now perish, and your name shall live in
infamy
."

"
No! I only
wanted to save Mankind! My son! My friends! We were to start again
on Earth, but this time without weakness. My son! Do you have
knowledge of my son
?"

Samyaza knew that Johnson's son was long
dead, but chose not to reveal that bit of information.

"
No, I know
not of your offspring, human. He is irrelevant, anyway. All
humanity shall perish, and we have you to
thank
."

Johnson mentally sunk back into the depths of
his subconscious, knowing he had done an incredible wrong. What he
had truly believed to be a noble effort had turned out to be the
doom for his entire species.

###

"
Brother, they
wish to have me locate you alone
."

"
This cannot
be, Gadreel. You must delay them. The insects shall soon mount
their final attack, and we will then follow up and kill our most
hated enemies, Draagh, Michael and Gabriel, along with the
disgusting stain of a hybrid that is Max
Gunnarsson
."

"
Then what do
you propose? They desire me to bring them to
you
."

"
Play along,
and I shall give you the coordinates of our previous destinations.
You can then tell them you believe I no longer trust
you
."

"
Ah, excellent
thinking, Brother
.
Might I
ask where your current location is
?"

"
Not now, but
know we have just paid a visit to the disgusting ghoul who betrayed
his species
."

###

"He will not tell me where he is right now,"
said Gadreel, only to receive disbelieving glares from everyone in
the room.

"So, maybe he doesn't trust you anymore?"
asked Max.

"Oh, he trusts me. Of this I am certain."

"What did you say to him?" asked Gabriel.

"I simply asked to go to his side. He
believes me to be monitoring efforts throughout your star
system."

"Then why not bring you to where he is?"
asked Bagatelle.

"He ordered me to assist in the creation of
more activated ghouls on Azul."