by S. K. Benton
Max and Jennie looked at each other, never having considered that the process of something so simple - making a duplicate of data - would be such a chore. On their world, they would simply touch a command on their console, with a duplicate being sent to wherever they desired. This truly was an old world of the future, yet it had a certain charm that was lacking on their home world of Azul.
The mayor smiled and handed a previously made copy of the manuscript to the large lycan commander, while saying, “Donus, I think you know me better than that. Always prepared, I am, yes, always prepared.”
Donus nodded, as he graciously accepted the copied manuscript from Mayor Stein, then asking, “Is there anything else you wish for me to relay to the king? Ours is but a short mission, as we are going out to the border of these lands, and on our return we shall sweep around to the west and not return through your village.”
“Oh no, my dear commander. That would be all, as things are going quite well these days. Our crops are plentiful, and, thanks to the Dominion’s expert instructions our hunters have increased their kills three-fold.”
With their business apparently finished, the three visitors stood up to leave, and Donus saying, “I am pleased that you have garnered such success, as we all strive to live a fruitful existence, but we now must leave and continue our patrols.”
The portly mayor stood up from behind his desk and gave Donus a courteous bow, following up with the same to Max and Jennie, whom he especially looked over with an almost leering eye. She basically ignored him, but Max suddenly got an odd feeling about the seemingly kind mayor. Putting it in the back of his mind, the three bowed simultaneously to the mayor, and turned to leave.
Once outside the mayor’s home, Max looked over to Donus and plainly stated, “I don’t trust him. He’s shifty.”
“Yes, good Max. His scent is wrong, if that indeed is what your word shifty means. I shall make a note to have my patrols keep a close eye on the mayor, and of course inform King Krynos of our mutual suspicions.”
Jennie skipped alongside the two men, her katana wobbling slightly on her back, as the straps used to hold it to her armor were made for someone of greater size. “I think he’s creepy,” she said.
“Creepy? What means that word?”
“Eerie or ominous,” Max replied in Jennie’s stead.
Mayor Stein looked to the back of his office, as a door opened and a younger man in long, black robes walked out.
“I assume you heard our entire conversation. Who are they?” the mayor asked the man.
The robed individual, who happened to be Dom Von Adler, a low-level mage in the employ of the mayor, quickly looked out the window to make certain they were alone.
“They are both lycan, but the male – he is also a mage, and much more powerful than my caste. I could feel his energies pushing against the walls of the room. One such as myself would be foolish to confront him. He could rend my body in two with but a gesture. He is no minor-mage, rather something of a higher level, but how much higher I do not know.”
“A lycan AND a mage? Why, that is rare - quite rare indeed! And a female lycan warrior, also a rarity, but not unheard of,” responded Mayor Stein. “How can you detect that he is a mage, my friend?”
Von Adler looked at the mayor with a touch of concern and said, “I can feel the energies coursing through the system of any adult mage. Nature hides mage-potential indicators in children as a means of their protection, but once they hit puberty they are exposed the same as the rest of us. And yes, the fact that there is a lycan/mage could provide us with some considerable difficulties in the future. Also, did you not notice the gauntlet on the female’s left hand? It is a mage’s device, and gives her considerable destructive power far beyond that of the typical lycan. It appears that Krynos is enhancing his forces, and would not do so unless he were aware of our activities. I must inform our allies of this,” stated Von Adler, as he quickly left the room back through the door he had used in which to enter just minutes before.
In a small alcove, Von Adler waved his hand in the air and conjured a visual of a vaguely twisted and pale-faced man. It was not an infoscreen such as Draagh would conjure, but it was sufficient for a vid conference.
“What do you need, Von Adler?”
“My Lord,” responded the minor-mage, “We have a situation. Krynos has two magic-capable lycans in his employ – a male and a female, the male being incredibly powerful.”
Von Adler heard a voice that was out of the view of his conjured image, with it demanding, “What do they look like? Can you show me?”
Von Adler nodded, and in the far away moldy throne room of a dark and rotting castle, imagery appeared showing Donus, Max and Jennie marching along with the lycan recon team.
“That’s them! The bitch and the scientist!” wailed the voice.
“You know these two?” asked the man in Von Adler’s conjured visual.
“Oh yeah, I sure do, said the other voice, “It’s because of them I’m stuck here.”
Von Adler then told Vladros that Donus’ team was going to sweep out around the western frontier on their return back to Krynos’ stronghold, to which Vladros stated, “Excellent. I believe it is time we paid the dogs a little visit. Ryder, would you like to accompany my scouts on a mission? You have yet to prove your worth, and I would like to see that of which you are capable.”
Outside of the village the recon team marched forward, continuing on with their mission. Both Max and Jennie started noticing some strong odors in the air - familiar scents, to say the least.
“Garlic!” exclaimed Max. “They planted garlic out here!”
“Ooh, I love garlic,” said Jennie. “It’s so yummy, especially in a beef stew.”
Donus glanced at the two with a curious look on his face, saying, “It is standard procedure to plant fields of garlic in the outlying areas of a village, as it does a fair job of repelling vampires. It is not a perfect defense, but certainly helps to slow down the putrid creatures, especially those of the lower castes.”
Jennie looked surprised, and while making small bounds to keep up with the troops, asked Donus, “Huh? You don’t eat it?”
“No, but if you say it adds body to a stew then I would be willing to sample it. As you are a woman, I am sure that you know how to prepare a hearty meal.”
Being from a modern world, Jennie was slightly miffed by Donus' assumption that, as a woman, she would naturally know how to cook. The fact was that yes, she did know how, but not because she was a female – it was simply that part of her military training required her to have knowledge of the preparation of meals from local flora and fauna, in case she ran out of rations.
“Um, yeah, I do, but it’s not really my strong suit, but when we get back I’ll make us something that I’m sure you’ll like.”
Chapter 17 – Fight!
Once the group had adequately scouted the northern borders, the turned left and went westward. Max and Jennie were anxious to get out and run, and after marching for a while Jennie asked the lycan leader if they could break off from the group and explore a bit.
Donus looked pensive for a moment, but then said, “Are you aware of the castle’s location and confident in your ability to return safely?”
Max looked at Jennie for a second, quite pleased that she wanted to run off with him and have a bit of fun, responding, “I’m sure, yes. Plus, my magical skills enable me to map out entire regions, so there is no chance of us getting lost.”
After momentarily considering the request, Donus gave them a courteous nod, and then announced to his soldiers that the two would be splitting off for a bit of special recon, with Max and Jennie bolting out of sight before he had finished speaking.
Grinning, he looked over to his lieutenant who said, “Commander, he truly is a lucky one.” “We must be happy in our hearts for them. They came a long distance to train with us, and have done their teacher quite proud.”
“Sir, I agree with you completely, but
that was not the meaning of my statement.”
“I know, Lieutenant, I know,” Donus replied with a smile to his face.
Running as fast as their heavy battle armor and weaponry would allow them, Jennie and Max bounded over fallen trees and large boulders, and upon entering a wooded area began to navigate through the trees, almost like monkeys. Then, from up in the branches, they saw some rabbits casually munching on grass.
Jennie looked over at Max mischievously, wiggling her brow. “Hey Gunnarsson, are you hungry?”
Max thought for a moment, and decided that if he were to become closer with the lovely dega, he would have to bend a bit in her direction.
“Sure,” he replied, but before he could begin his next sentence she leaped down to the ground, and scrambled around madly, trying to capture one of the creatures. Before Max had even left his tree she had skillfully acquired two of adequate size. Dropping to the ground, he gathered some sticks to make a fire, which he would have easily ignited with a simple cantus. However, before he could do that, he saw Jennie hungrily munching away on one of the rabbits, holding the other out to him with an outstretched arm, her eyes wide with glee.
“Oh my God, Jennie! Raw?” he exclaimed, completely mortified.
She giggled, her mouth full, while occasionally spitting out pieces of fur.
“Come on, Gunnarsson! You need calories. Have you checked your levels lately?”
She was correct in her assumption, as he had not been paying attention to his HUD, as he called it, and upon analysis saw that his energy levels were low. He graciously accepted the small, dead creature, whose neck she had quickly broken upon its capture, and started to tear into it just as she was doing. Once they had finished and had wiped their faces of warm blood, they laid back on the fertile earth, looking up at the darkening sky.
Jennie pointed up and said, “It’s weird, isn’t it? There’s only one moon. I’m so used to seeing two in the sky.”
Luna and Sienna were tidally locked to Azul and always maintained the same distance to each other, thereby always appearing the same in the sky of their home world. The two kept relaxing while listening to the birds, as they digested their meal and watched the sun set over the horizon, when Max suddenly sat up, alarmed, his eyes keenly scanning the through the woods.
“Jennie, do you smell that?” (*13*)
Jennie sniffed the air, her amazingly enhanced lycan nose enabling her to detect a faint, rotting odor that was quickly growing in intensity. The two stood up, and taking no precautions, drew their katanas, moving to back-to-back defensive positions. It was no sooner than they had maintained their stances when four vampires - two grotesquely malformed and two looking more human - appeared from out behind a small hill, wearing protective black cloaks that kept the sun’s harmful rays away from their skin.
The most normal-looking one stood in place, glaring with a look of utter contempt, and said in a gravelly voice, “They don’t have any tequila here, so I guess I’ll just have to make due with your blood, bitch.”
“Johnson! You prick!” yelled Jennie. “Draagh said you probably survived the crash.”
One of the lesser-caste vampires got an extremely alarmed look on his face, and backing away, blurted out, “Draagh? No one said anything about Draagh! What does he have to do with any of this?”
The other, more normal appearing one of the group gave the two lycans a look of pure, unadulterated hatred, but responded to his underling.
“I have no fear of that feeble old blood-sack. Once we are done with these two, we’ll march right into that pathetic hut that Krynos calls a castle, and drain the old fool before the very eyes of his oh-so-obedient followers.”
Max stared down the new arrivals, his sword at the ready.
“So you’re this Lt. Johnson that Bagatelle was talking about. I gotta say, your flight skills suck ass. My cousin could have done a better job landing without power, and he’s blind and confined to a grav-chair.”
In reality, no one on Azul was sightless, nor confined to grav-chairs, as Azul’s advanced medical technology could repair nearly any sort of damage one might suffer, with some minor exceptions. Max was simply practicing his insulting skills, and knowing what Johnson had done to the Revolution, wanted the former lieutenant to know he didn’t think highly of him at all.
Jennie stared the traitor down, mortified by his changed appearance, and wanting to throw up in her mouth just a little bit.
“To think I actually thought you were potential husband material, you slimy bastard.”
Johnson laughed maniacally, responding to Jennie’s taunt by saying, “Surrender, and I’ll make sure you enjoy my new look a bit before I drain you, dega whore.”
Max was aware that Jennie and Johnson had served together, but was mildly surprised (more like highly concerned) with her comment to him.
“Jennie, is there something you need to tell me about this walking corpse?”
“Um, we were kinda… dating. Sorry, Gunnarsson.”
Max got a feeling of nausea in the pit of his stomach while thinking about his beautiful friend dating another guy – especially one who smelled like a garbage dump.
Three of the vampires then started to methodically move about, in an attempt to surround the lycans, with the remaining one (who had been alarmed upon hearing Draagh’s name mentioned) yelling, “I cannot fight those allied with Draagh. He only brings death,” as he started to back away.
Johnson looked over to his more normal-looking counterpart and said, “So Ladros, this is how your supposedly superior soldiers behave in the field?”
In a crass display of sociopathic superiority, Johnson leaped over to cut off the fleeing vampire, decapitating him with his broadsword, the unfortunate deserter’s detached head landing to the earth with a small thump, even before the body started to fall.
“You would kill your own? You guys would get along really well with the Vrol,” taunted Max, who was keeping his back close to Jennie’s as they slowly rotated, keeping all three remaining invaders in their field of vision.
Looking at his HUD, he noticed that all levels were high, but as he was about to consume a serious amount of energy, he needed to make it quick and get back to the castle. Johnson sneered and spit on the ground, slowly waving his broadsword in small motions to his front.
“The Vrol? So, you have learned their true identity. Hahahaha! Yes, we have more in common with them than you would ever realize, you idiot. I am going to seriously enjoy this. They say the best thing about lycan blood is the color it makes in the dirt.”
Suddenly, the remaining subservient vampire screeched and jumped out at the two young lycans, causing them to quickly separate, and Jennie stating calmly, “I’ve got this one,” as he flew at her from the air.
Before his feet even touched the ground Jennie had spun around and elbowed him in the face, knocking him back five meters. Crouching low, she waited for his follow-up attack, as Max moved out and in-between Jennie and the two remaining vampires - Johnson and the one called Ladros.
“Ryder Johnson, fall back - this one is mine,” rasped Ladros, who then cautiously approached Max, sidestepping as he did so.
The slightly injured foot soldier on the ground jumped up, and then again leaped at Jennie, only to have a most unfortunate collision with her power gauntlet, which effectively destroyed the entire maxilla region of his face, and nearly separated his jaw from the rest of his head - most certainly taking him out of the battle, and leaving him in a heap at the base of a tree. Max moved forward toward Ladros, as Johnson had backed off slightly, but tried to maintain both in visual range, as he didn’t want the traitor to circle around and attack his counterpart. Then with a crackling screech, Ladros ran toward many in a full frontal attack, with Max doing a quick side step and avoiding any damage, while conserving energy.
“The butt! The butt! Do the butt thing!” Jennie yelled, referring to how Max had used his sword to slap her on the rear after she had charged him during their m
ock battle earlier in the month.
Max spun about and grinned at the girl, saying, “Aw Jen, I only do that to the finest of potos,” and gave her a quick wink before addressing his attacker yet again.
Ladros then attacked Max with a lightning-fast series of direct swings from his broadsword, each one being easily parried off by the lycan, sometimes using his katana, and twice using defensive shield cantuses. Once the attack series was completed, Max executed a forward-spinning jump up and over Ladros, and had carved a letter M on the vampire’s back before his feet even touched the ground.
“Oh, touché!“ shouted Jennie, while still keeping Johnson in her view. This enraged Ladros to such a point that he lost complete control of himself, and started jumping all around, desperately trying to get to Max’s back. The one time he did get back there he let go with a mighty swing of his overly large sword, only to have it stopped; Max had quickly and expertly dropped his blade down over his back, effectively avoiding any damage whatsoever. Still, the limited contact alarmed him, and although wanting to conserve his energies, he pushed himself into his battle form, with his limbs slightly elongating, teeth becoming sharp, and finger and toenails turning to small claws. This, of course, doubled his strength, and he used it to go on the offensive, but at the same time still playing a bit with his attacker.
Running up, he pressed chests with Ladros, their swords crossed, and got a whiff of the vampire’s repugnant breath.
“Hey, Ladros, I thought you guys drank blood…it smells like you eat rancid gerbil ass.”
Jennie giggled furiously, having heard his comment, but failed to notice Johnson attempting to flank her. Max pushed back from Ladros, glad to be away from the vampire’s respiratory exhalations, and then suddenly noticed Johnson’s movements.