THE VROL TRILOGY (53 page)

"Me licksh them, shir. Me licksh them
goodies."

Max shuddered and waved her off, prompting
her to exit quickly.

After he had dressed, he walked down the
small stairwell and out into the club's main area. Before he could
go one step further past the stairwell Jessica popped up in his
face.

"Heya Max! Boy, you sure smell better! And
your clothes are clean too. Don't nekos do a great job?"

Max looked around at the various neko females
who were on couches, making out with human males. He wondered how
many of them licked sewage off clothing or other things before
sticking their tongues in guys' mouths. He felt a chill go down his
spine, but then kindly greeted Jessica, not wanting to be rude.

"Oh yeah, great job - for sure. Anyway, I'm
not quite tired yet. Did I earn enough teeth for a drink or
two?"

Jessica giggled and punched him in the arm,
which sadly reminded him of his wife's mannerisms.

"Oh wow, you have way more than that. Drinks
are on me, anyway. I have teeth credits and don't drink alcohol.
Watcha like?"

He thought back on his favorite beverages,
and had to say he really wanted some Scotch whisky, but was unsure
if they had any."

"Um, do you guys have any Scotch?"

"Duh! Of course! C'mon - let's order up."

Walking up to the bar, Jessica yelled into
the human bartender's ear, which caused him to respond with a nod
and a smile. To Max's amazement the man presented a bottle of
Glennfidich Scotch whisky and set it on the bar with a glass.

"Here you go, sir. No one has asked for this
stuff for years. Glad someone likes it," the bartender said in a
normal voice, despite the loud noise from the band, which had
continued to play during his entire time in Seven Sins. It was
obvious that he recognized Max as a lycan and knew that he had
superior hearing, hence him not yelling, as he immediately did to a
human patron.

Max took a seat on a stool at the bar,
remembering the Hard Rock in Lima, Peru, when he first started his
adventure away from the world of his birth. Sitting down, he was
mildly startled when Jessica popped up and sat on the bar, much
like she had on the retaining wall where they first met.

"So, you like that stuff? I think it's nasty,
but whatever," she said with a light grin.

"It has a particular taste to it, and also
has special meaning to me. Maybe I'll tell you all about it
tomorrow. But as it is, I'll have a couple of drinks and then take
that cot you guys said you had for sleeping. Sound good?"

"Mmhhhmm, sure thing, Max!" Jessica exclaimed
excitedly. He was unsure of why she was so peppy, but he was glad
to be in good company.

Max sat at the bar, watching the various
people go in and out, noting mostly humans, nekos and a couple of
lycans. What surprised him the most was who greeted him when the
band took a break. He was tossing down another shot, when he
experienced a faint rotting scent, but not as strong as one would
smell from a vampire in the Dominion.

"Oy mate… saw you come in. Didja like the
band?"

Max turned to see a very friendly vampire
looking at him, totally expecting an answer to his question. Taking
it all in stride, and figuring that he was in a different world he
merely responded, "Um… yeah, you guys are really good. You know any
Zombie stuff?"

The vampire got an odd sort of look on his
face and said, "Zombie stuff? Sorry, mate, but zombies really don't
care much for music. They just like eatin' brains n' such."

Max immediately figure that, as he was
probably in a different timeline than he was born into, there would
also be different artists. But then it dawned on him - zombies -
cannibals

Cannibals are called zombies
here…

"Oh, my mistake, sorry. You see, there was an
artist by that name where I'm from and his music had a great,
pounding beat. Anything that thumps would be ok by me. Um… let me
buy you a drink."

Looking to Jessica, he whispered, "Do they
serve blood here?"

"Huh? Why? Lennie likes beer. I mean, he
drinks blood, but only for nourishment."

Turning to the drummer he asked, "Your name
is Lennie, right? Let me but you a beer. What's your brand?"

"Oh thanks, mate. Barkeep knows my taste,"
and looking to the bartender he held up a finger.

Max almost started laughing out loud when the
bartender poured a large beer mug two-thirds of the way, and then
filled the rest with what looked and smelled like tomato juice.
Lennie took the drink, and patted Max on the back while saying,
"Thanks mate! Appreciate it. Cheers!"

Max found it extremely odd that he was
sitting in a bar, drinking alcohol with a vampire, but at least
once he got home he would have a couple of stories to tell.

Lennie soon returned to his duties pounding
on the drums (a skill in which he was really quite proficient),
while Jessica just sat on the bar watching the various denizens
enter and exit. Max had already consumed quite a few drinks, but as
his lycan metabolism was extremely strong they didn't affect him as
much as they would a normal. Also, as he had eaten after cleaning
up the kitchen he wasn't really hungry either - but he was getting
tired. He needed to hit the rack and wake up refreshed so he could
find a way back home.

After asking Jessica about his sleeping
arrangements, she led him back up to the second level, where there
was a room with a fairly comfortable cot for him to sleep on. Max
examined his quarters and noted it had no windows, but the door had
a lock. He would be able to sleep with both eyes closed, which
always resulted in a more complete rest period. Before his new
friend left, he stopped her with a question.

"Jessica, this is all new to me, so please
forgive my ignorance, but maybe tomorrow can you answer some
questions about this world? When I said I wasn't from around here I
really meant it, and I need to find a way home.

"Sure Max, no problem," she said, "anything
you wanna know, just ask."

"Ok, then before you leave, why don't the
Vro… why don't the demons come here to this street?

"Oh, we have a magic man. He makes spells to
keep them away."

"Interesting…" said Max, "I would like to
meet him."

"Sure, no problem. He's in our clan."

"Ok, thanks, and goodnight, Jessica."

"Ni-night, Max."

Chapter
3 - Field Trip

Jennie woke up early, excited that she was
going on another trip, even if it wasn't to go and try to find Max
again. Actually, she was glad they weren't doing that, as the
crushing blow she received every time they didn't find him just
made her a little more depressed. This time she was taking her
daughter with her, and she wanted to get Draagh to let her show
Liliana around Azul just a bit before they retrieved her former
commanding officer from whatever sort of prison he was locked
in.

After getting Liliana dressed, she took the
little lycan's hand and led her down to the main dining hall, where
they had a delicious breakfast of duck eggs, yams and coffee. They
finished their meal and were preparing to go back to their quarters
when Draagh appeared, dressed in his usual leathers. He had been
recently preferring lighter clothing, like cotton tunics,
especially as the threat of Vladros' forces had been completely
dismantled nearly a year prior.

"Well good morning, my lovely daughters!"
exclaimed the powerful-looking mage, who was also sporting a katana
across his back, even though he had no need for it.

"Morning grandfather!" Liliana blurted out
excitedly. "We are to go on a trip today, are we not?"

"That is correct, my dear. We are going on a
trip to see where your mother was born."

Jennie smiled at her growing young daughter,
and then looked up to Draagh.

"So, I was wondering… can we take a little
tour around New Sydney before we get the Admiral? I mean, he's not
going anywhere, is he?"

"Oh my dear, I think that would be perfectly
fine. In fact, I shall conjure a light-bending cantus so no one
will see us. Then we will be able to ramble about town without the
fear of being apprehended."

"Um… apprehended? Am I in trouble? What
happened there?"

"Oh my dear, Councilman Johnson has created
quite a mess. He is doing his utmost to warp the perceptions and
sensibilities of your planet's populace."

"Oh, that sucks. Is there anything we can do
about it?"

"Not to worry, my dear. Once we have located
Max we shall take care of that particular bit of nonsense."

"Yes, it sounds like it sucks quite harshly,"
mimicked Liliana in her usual fashion anytime she heard something
that resembled a curse word.

Jennie just ruffled the little girl's long,
black hair, and then started to pull it back, putting it into a
proper ponytail. Once she had finished with that, she looked back
up to see Draagh drinking some yerba mate, her favorite hot
beverage, which brought a smile to her face.

"See? I told you it's better with some
sweetener," Jennie said with a grin.

"Yes, quite a bit better. In fact, I have
acquired a taste for it, although I do have a tendency to enhance
it with my own herb on occasion."

Jennie watched with a mildly disgusted face
as Draagh took a pinch of his beloved cannabis and dropped it into
the mate infusion, but then rolled her eyes and snickered.

Liliana watched her great-grandfather with a
mild interest and commented, "Grandfather loves his weed, does he
not, Jennie?"

The beautiful woman instantly grew a
face that would put fear into even the most ruthless of vampires,
and growled, "Lili - you are to
never
get near that shit, do you understand me? Never!"

Calmly, the little girl looked back
into her mother's eyes and said, "Fear not, Jennie. I have no
desire to touch the
shit
, as you say."

Jennie settled down, and would have started
laughing, if not for the fact that she needed to impress upon her
daughter that smoking the herb was never something a little girl
did. She could tolerate Liliana's occasional swearing, but never
drug use.

Once they had all finished their
morning meal, Draagh gave them both instructions on what to bring.
As they were going to be invisible, they could wear their normal
clothing - leathers and boots - but that Jennie would also need to
bring along her stinger, comm and personal console. Liliana could
bring along her wand, even though it would not function on Azul.
She had come to adore her little
thunder
stick
, as she called it, and had become
near-deadly in its use. Draagh knew the day would come when she
would be required to use magic in battle, and it was his job to
make sure she survived while doing so.

Gathering outside the castle gate while
leaving enough room for the massive sphere that always accompanied
a 4D time slip, the trio went over their gear checklist just to
make sure that no one had left anything behind. Satisfied that they
were well prepared, Draagh brought up his infoscreen, which was
nearly always followed by the appearance of Socrates. After
conferring with his computerized companion for some minutes, where
they performed what were called Kamiliak conversions, Draagh
motioned the two girls to stand by his side. As soon as he set his
staff on the fertile ground it began to shoot lightning bolts
upward, causing Liliana to grow a huge smile as she looked up at
the impressive display. She wanted to do that one-day… to the feral
cats in the castle.

In moments they had disappeared from the
world and had slipped through time and space.

Draagh, Jennie and Liliana found
themselves near a massive and impressive fountain, in the city
center of New Sydney, Oz, on the planet Azul, year 2819 CE.
Immediately conjuring an invisibility cantus that kept them from
being seen, the three scanned their surroundings, with Liliana
having a look of utter amazement upon her face, having never seen
anything resembling the technological wonders that surrounded her.
Flying craft skimmed through the air at low altitudes, deftly
avoiding one another, as hundreds of thousands of people walked
among massive, shining skyscrapers that obscured the sun. The
little girl's mouth was locked in the form of an
o
as she looked around, wide-eyed, at
her new environment.

"Jennie! Jennie! Can we go over there?" the
little girl squealed after spying a colorful cotton candy stand on
a sidewalk.

Quickly getting a panicked look on her face,
Jennie whispered, "Lili, shhhhh… we don't want anyone to hear
us."

"Oh my dear girl," exclaimed Draagh in quite
a loud voice, "we are quite inaudible. I have made certain of
that."

Jennie was instantly relieved, while Liliana
gave her a silly little grin that seemed to say she already knew
that they would not be heard.

They then crossed the main square and entered
onto a moving sidewalk, where Liliana acted as if she were running
in slow motion, taking delight in her effortless velocity. Jennie
took the girls hand, attempting to keep her with them and started
pointing out various buildings and statues that made up the
impressive city center. Even though she was on the planet of her
birth, she felt that something was missing, and it wasn't Max; they
had never been together on Azul. It was that she couldn't smell
anything - at all. She was devoid of all of her lycan gifts, and
was a mere mortal woman - fragile and without even the ability to
quickly self-heal. She looked at Liliana, and noticed that the girl
was trying to sniff the air also.