THE VROL TRILOGY (131 page)

Liliana was familiar with the terminology her
grandfather used, especially as her father schooled her on the
subject of science and all things related.

"May I test the device, Abuelito?"

"Of course, my dear. Would you like to take a
quick trip to Azul so we can give it a test run while protected by
an invisibility cantus?"

Liliana clapped her hands and beamed. She had
become quite attached to her handsome and powerful grandfather
since they had first met - even though she brutalized him during
their first encounter. He had been stranded and powerless on a
vegan planet, and wasn't willing to assist in locating her father
who was lost in an alternate timeline. She quickly changed his mind
with some youthful determination; as well as some powerful
grav-push and electrical shock compound cantuses.

"Yes please, Abuelito!"

"Ok, do you have any classes this
afternoon?"

"No, I am finished for the day, Abuelito.
Shall we go?"

Liliana didn't even have to wait for
Michael's response. She was suddenly standing near the fountain in
the gigantic Plaza de Armas of New Sydney. Looking around, she grew
a huge smile as she took her grandfather's hand.

"So we shall use your new device to identify
differing subspecies right from here?"

"Hmm, that's pretty much the idea. Think of
it as an alpha test."

"What is an alpha test, Abuelito?"

"It's like the first time you test a concept.
Then later you have beta testing."

"Oh! I understand! Those are ancient Greek
letters!"

Michael looked at the small child, impressed
with her knowledge.

"Yes, sweetie. That's right. Where did you
learn that?"

"Oh, Papi was in a fight with the bad
vampire back before we met you. The vampire
said
I am the alpha and the
omega!
" she said, putting comical voicing on Vladros'
claim. "And then Papi said
No, that title
belongs to someone else
!
"

"Correct, my dear. That title belongs to the
creator whom we know as Jah. Then what happened?"

"Papi threw the bad vampire into the moat
with the sharks and they ate his guts."

"Oh… yes, I believe I heard that story on
more than one occasion. Anyway, take this. Put it on and tell me
what you see. I can corroborate your readout with my own abilities
as a Primulus."

The little girl took the eye patch from her
grandfather, and was about to put it onto her face when she looked
at him and asked, "Abuelito, I thought you were an archangel, yet
you say you are a Primulus like grandfather Draagh. Why is
this?"

"Liliana, my race is Primulus, but my
profession is archangel. I am their leader. One day, when I desire,
I can walk around like an old man with a cane just like Draagh.
Would that be agreeable to you?"

"Oh no! You are much too handsome to be an
old fuddy-duddy like Grandfather Draagh. I mean… he is wonderful,
but Mami does not like that he smokes the herb. Speaking of that -
you do not smoke that, do you?"

Michael gave the young girl a look of
sincerity and affection, reaching out and helping her to put his
latest invention onto her small face, adjusting the eye patch while
making a silly, pirate-like expression.

"No, my dear. It is true that I used to, but
I found a higher purpose in life, and it is for that I no longer
imbibe."

Liliana looked at him curiously, pausing for
a moment.

"And what is this higher purpose of which you
speak, Abuelito?"

"You, my precious child. You."

The two sat on the edge of the fountain's
water feature, while Liliana looked through the eye patch and
identified every person that walked by. The alpha test was merely
to ascertain that the subspecies identification algorithm was
functioning in proper fashion, which Michael determined it was. As
an added benefit, it was also a wake-up call for young Liliana, who
was used to being around 100% lycans all the time. The young girl
was amazed that nearly 99 out of every 100 Azul citizens that
passed by were normals. But the rare, occasional enhanced
subspecies they encountered caused her to become quite excited.
After one hour they had identified five lycans, two vampires and
one mage. The lycans were all military or law enforcement, the two
vampires were government executives, and the single mage ran a
popular coffee stand on the far side of the mall.

"Abuelito, may I ask a question?"

"Certainly, my dear. What is it?"

"Are you going to marry Abuelita?"

Michael was momentarily thunderstruck. He
hadn't expected that sort of a question from the child. Stammering,
he tried to work his way out of answering her.

"Um, really Liliana, that is something left
between adults and--"

"I saw her ring. And you made it," she
interrupted, as she crossed her arms.

"It is… complicated. It is, or
it
was…
forbidden to join in
an eternal bond with a non-Primulus. But things have changed and
I--"

"Oh, you bet they have changed! Is it not
true that Jah is on vacation?" asked the young child.

"Um, well, yes I believe he is. Why?"

"Then you can make new rules! Life is
adventure, Abuelito. It is taking risks, and loving and learning! I
am only eleven years old, but I can at least tell you that
much."

Michael looked at the child, stunned at her
wisdom. It was true that he did indeed love Clarisa Martinez, but
that also a sense of duty forced him to pair her with a human who
would provide her and Max with an excellent standard of living.
However, things change, some more quickly than others, and at times
it only required the pure-souled wisdom of a small child to help
one see the truth.

"Yes, Lili. I do love her. Would you like for
me to marry her?"

"Abuelito," lectured the girl, "the
question should be
would she want to marry
you
?"

Michael thought for a moment and then gave
the girl a grin.

"I should probably propose to her and then
see, right?"

"Right! Now can we test the lie detector part
of this device?"

"And how should we do that, Liliana?"

"Why do we not go to one of those awful
vampires, start asking them questions and see if they lie?"

"What types of questions would these be, my
dear?"

"Oh, like if they have embezzled any money
from government accounts, or if they have plotted dark retribution
against their neighbors for any reason."

Michael started laughing out loud, and
without thinking, relaxed a bit and stuck his foot out, causing a
passing man to trip and fall on his face. Quickly gathering
himself, the man got up to his feet and looked around, at the same
time attempting to reset his bloody, broken nose.

"Abuelito, the poor man is injured… wait. No,
it is fine. He is of the vampire genome. Shall we go now?"

I love this kid. Who could not?

Chapter 8 - Sushi

Max and Jennie sat at their usual table in
the main dining hall, sipping yerba mate from their own custom-made
gourds while they waited for Krynos to arrive. Kitchen staff had
yet to start making the morning meal, being so early, so Max had
provided their favorite hot beverage just to keep them going until
they were able to eat a satisfying lunch. He hadn't mentioned
Jennie going along, but saw no harm in it, especially as she and
the king were probably the biggest fans of Japanese cuisine in the
kingdom. In fact, the two usually attempted to outdo each other
with the amount of wasabi they put on their sushi roles.

"Good morning, my children!" boomed the king,
as he excitedly entered the hall.

The Gunnarssons stood and bowed, even though
they really didn't have to. Max and Jennie were all but adopted as
the king's children (of which he actually had none), but they still
accorded him the respect he deserved.

"Would you like something to eat before we
go, my liege?" asked Max, as his wife nodded her head in
agreement.

"Oh no! I relish the gnawing in my belly in
anticipation of the most amazing food of the sea. And, of course,
the green stinging paste."

"Wasabi," corrected Jennie.

"That is what I said, my dear girl."

Max looked at his wife with a knowing gaze.
Krynos would never admit to being in error, so they let it slide.
Then, standing up, he moved towards the king, with Jennie stepping
up alongside him. Pointing his unsheathed sword towards the ground,
he caused the environment to seamlessly change.

###

"Where are we right now, my boy?" Krynos
inquired as he looked around at the decently maintained town and
sniffed the air.

"This is called Harajuku, my Lord. It is part
of Greater Tokyo. Our destination is up ahead, but first, would you
like to sample the most amazing noodle soup?"

Of course Max was talking about Koji's little
noodle shop. He had wanted to visit it since he had first gone to
Japan, not only for the amazing flavor of the udon noodle soup, but
also because Koji had neglected to charge him for the meal.

"My boy, that sounds most excellent. I shall
put my growling stomach into your most capable hands."

Jennie gave Max a sideways glance, finding
Krynos' statement to be a bit odd, but well-intentioned in any
case. Max just grinned and led the other two to an incredibly small
noodle counter. Looking at the establishment, and then at Krynos,
Max came up with an idea.

"Excuse me for just a moment, ok?"

The two nodded at Max as he walked inside
Koji's small restaurant.

"Max-San! So good to see you! How are you
now?"

"Hi, Koji! Hey, I'm great. We want some of
your soup, but look – my friend Krynos won't fit inside here. Would
you let me created a patio are for you?"

Koji gave Max a confused expression, not
understanding what the lycan/mage had just said.

"[Would you allow me to make an outside
seating area for you?]"

Max used an ancient Primulus tool that
enabled him to translate on the fly into any known language. It was
his first time doing so, and finally understood how his grandfather
could speak to anyone, anywhere.

"Oh hai! Yes! Thank you, Max-San!"

Max then looked out and blinked. There were
four small tables, each with four chairs, where some chewed-up
pavement previously existed. Koji's jaw almost hit the ground when
he saw what Max had created.

"[A gift for you, my friend. You do realize
you forgot to charge me for the soup last time I was here]."

"[Max-San, I did not forget to charge you.
Your honored presence was more valuable than any payment I could
accept.]"

Max, his alluring wife Jennie, and Krynos,
King of the Rhönen Dominion, all sat at a small table, nosily
slurping up the most delicious soup they had ever sampled in their
lives. The thick, robust noodles, accompanied by the sweet, yet
spicy broth all together created the perfect appetizer for the
team.

"Ah, I have put more of the
wasaki
sting in my soup, young
Jennie. How do you respond?"

It was becoming more and more obvious that
Krynos not only mangled poor Luigi Bagatelle's surname, but also
many other words. Still, Jennie answered the challenge by taking a
large spoonful of the potent green horseradish and dumping it into
her bowl. Krynos' eyes lit up as he watched the woman - not out of
lust, but to see if she would match the quantity he had put into
his own soup.

Jennie's complexion was dark - very dark, and
near copper in color. It was rich, lustrous and beautiful, but her
gorgeous color turned scarlet, having eaten so much wasabi. Max
noted her distress and immediately conjured a glass of water for
her, but not before Krynos blurted out in victory, "Tag! You're
it!"

"
Baby, give it
up. He's over a thousand years old, and probably chugged gasoline
for all we know. It's okay. We have more to eat at Isamu's
place."
advised Max using a private comm
channel.

Hi wife just looked at him and meekly smiled.
Then, turning to Krynos, she gave him a high-five as she tried to
keep from choking any more.

After finishing their soups they all stood up
and courteously bowed to Koji before departing and walking up the
street to Isamu's compound. Max had caused the money in Koji's
cigar box to double in quantity without notifying the man, and
hoped it wouldn't be noticed. The Japanese were very particular
about honorariums and tips, and some actually felt insulted if a
patron tried to leave anything extra on the table. In any case, the
trio was at the gate to Isamu's compound within minutes of their
departure. The guards, of course, recognized Max, but neither his
wife nor King Krynos were known to any of them.

Men stared in disbelief. Krynos was huge, and
Jennie was… well, Jennie was just stunning, especially wearing her
low-cut, midriff-less leather top. It showed just enough cleavage
to distract anyone within visual range, and Max had encouraged her
to wear it, thinking it would keep their negotiating partners
off-balance.

It worked.

In fact, it worked so well that Isamu put on
sunglasses, complaining about having light-sensitive eyes. This of
course was an excuse to hide his travelling gaze; so magnetic were
Jennie's curves. Numerous subordinates made borderline-lame excuses
to enter into Isamu's office just to get a glimpse of the dazzling
Mrs. Gunnarsson.

And Max thought it was cool as hell.

As the four sat at a traditional Japanese
floor table, eating a variety of seafoods from a large, wooden
platter, Isamu watched Krynos with immense amusement. The lycan
king was devouring fish on a never-before-seen level. But even more
impressive was that Krynos would drop massive lumps of wasabi
directly on top of his food, not even bothering to dilute it in soy
sauce.