THE VROL TRILOGY

by SK Benton

  Max turned around to get a bead on Adam's expression, only to see the man pointing a wand at him in a menacing fashion. His curiosity was satisfied; Adam had a magic-enhanced object.

  "Well then, my friend, I would have to compel you to work with me. You see, I have these abilities, and no one messes with me. Now, why don't we work together? Be a good puppy, cooperate, and I won't have to hurt you, got it?"

  Max wanted the fake mage to perform a simple demonstration of magic in order to gauge Adam's skills while using the small device. Each magic-enhanced object was unique in its own right - some were immensely powerful, while others were relatively weak in comparison. He wasn't about to take anything for granted in this new, weird land.

  "Ok, do me a favor. Show me what a great mage you are. Why don't you stir the remaining stew with your great powers?"

  "Oh, I would never waste my skills on something so small. It's beneath me as a mage.

  "Well then, stop this…"

  Max threw a wooden spoon across the room at Adam's head, only to see the man physically swat it away with his hand.

  "You test me, Max, and that is not wise. If you don't calm down and listen to me I may be forced to do something quite rash, do you understand? I realize you are a simple lycan, but… please."

  Adam was obviously concerned - Max could smell his fear and hear the man's increased heart rate. He could practically taste Adam's sweat in the air.

  "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just been really tough for me the past 24 hours, ya know? But please, humor me. Show me something. I wanna see something magical. Do that and I'll consider hooking up with you. What is it you really want to do anyway?"

  "Well, I was thinking we could go into business together - you being the brawn, and me the brains, of course. Dons wouldn't ever think of fighting someone like Marko on his own, and his girls have healing and power amplification skills so that makes him quite invincible - when he's with them. I figure that together we can take him down tonight. Then the clan - and the club will be mine… erm, ours."

  "Wow, that sounds pretty cool. And if we do this can we kick out that cat girl? Cassandra? I don't like cat girls."

  "Yes, whatever you like! Cassandra is out as far as I'm concerned. But we'll need to allow nekos to come in for the human men - we do extract royalties from them - a certain percentage of their profits for services rendered."

  Max got the answer to his question from the night before - the nekos were hookers, and the thought made him cringe, but he wanted to play a bit with Adam, now that he got him to drop his guard.

  "Ok, that sounds cool. But can you show me a magic trick, please? I never saw one before and want to-"

  "Ok, ok. How about this?"

  Adam waved his wand and recited a cantus while pointing his wand at the leftover stew.

  "Undaincantatio aestus!"

  Adam had performed a simple cantus to heat the stew, and brought it to a rolling boil quite quickly.

  "Wow," exclaimed Max, feigning amazement, and throwing a bit of sarcasm into his voice, "that's really cool. Wowwwwww. You're better than a stove. How about instead of taking over the club, you can heat up stuff, like water and food? You could be Adam, the Living Microwave Oven. We could charge people to watch you make potatoes explode."

  "Are you serious? Do you have any idea what I could do to you right now? I am finding your insolence to be quite disturbing, Max."

  Max ignored Adam's last statement, and then dipped a wooden spoon into the steaming hot stew and slurped a bit, enjoying the flavors of his own creation. It was time to deal with Adam. Looking up at the faker with a big, innocent smile on his face he asked, "Hey - do you wanna see a trick too?"

  "Huh?"

  Max threw his arm out towards Adam, causing the pseudo-mage to violently fly into the wall, pinning him with his arms and legs spread out, a full meter off the ground. Adam wore a look of confusion and fear on his face, while Max casually went back to washing his large pot in which he had cooked the stew.

  "What is this?" coughed Adam. "What is the meaning of this? Put me down now, lycan, or I'll-"

  "Or you'll what, ass-hat?"

  "I'll, I'll… you'll be sorry! I'll change you into a frog! Yes, a frog!"

  "Ok, go for it, dude," said Max, calmly returning to washing the pot, and even whistled a little tune as he started to dry it off with a rag, not even looking at the fake mage.

  "I can't while I am pinned against the wall. I won't - no. I'm sorry, I was only kidding. Please release me and we can discuss this like two grown men."

  Without looking, Max pointed his right hand in the man's direction and twirled his index finger around, releasing Adam's hand that held the wand. As soon as Adam felt the release, he shot off a cantus at Max - this one with a bit more power than his previous heating one, and with the express intent of injuring the lycan cook.

  "Graveincantatio potentia!"

  Without even turning around, Max easily swatted the moderately powerful cantus away with a cool backhanded flick, causing it to return and smash into the wall right next to Adam's immobilized head, as he simultaneously pinned Adam's wand-bearing hand back against the wall. Adam had used the same cantus that Max's daughter, Liliana, used to blow open castle ventilation grates during the Battle of the Blood some months before, but it didn't provide Adam with the desired results. Max was too powerful - and experienced.

  "What are you? How are you doing this? Let me down now!"

  Max turned around and set the dried pot on a counter space. He then gazed at Adam's face almost as if he were studying a lab animal, analyzing him from ear to ear. After a moment he turned and looked over at a wooden spoon sticking out of a utensil holder and grew a cool, mischievous grin. Flipping his hand around for dramatic effect, as it wasn't actually necessary, he brought the spoon up level with his prisoner's face. Max made it float in mid-air, as if held by a ghostly, invisible hand, and started to lightly knock Adam on the forehead in a rhythmic cadence, making a sound much like the ticking of a clock's second hand, and continued doing so as he spoke.

  "Look, Mr. Wizard - I'm not in a good mood. I woke up to the shittiest breakfast I've ever had. I'm stuck in some Godforsaken garbage dump - I have no idea where my wife and daughter are, some dick-head lycan picks a fight with me, and now a fake mage tries to threaten me into betraying a man who has only helped me since I got here. I don't like you, Adam. I really do not like you - at all."

  Max reached his arm out from across the room, Adam's wand flying into his hand as he did so. He appeared to carefully study it for a moment, and then gently set it on the counter.

  Adam looked at Max with a forced expression of rage and power, his face nearly turning beet-purple in the process.

  "Set me down and I'll let you live, lycan. I don't know how you came up with these tricks, but you'll regret it. I'm the most powerful mage in all-"

  Max stopped the man mid-sentence by thrusting out his arm, and with his hand opened and fingers splayed out wide, quickly twisted his wrist, causing Adam to spin 180 degrees head-down while still pinned against the wall. Checking his meter, Max saw that he had depleted about 20 percent of his resources on his stamina line so he needed to finish up quickly. He had long before learned to never, if at all possible, go into a magic line timeout. It was dangerous, and could prove fatal, even in the least threatening of situations.

  "Ok buddy, let me tell you how this is gonna go. You see - you're not really a mage. This little thing is called a magic-enhanced object, and I'm pretty sure you stole it from someone, or you at least found it somewhere. Another thing, I am a mage, and a pretty powerful one too. I just happen to also be a lycan, which makes me even cooler. So here's the deal - I'm going to let you down and give you back your little boom stick, and you can continue bamboozling everyone around here into believing that you are oh-so powerful. I don't give a crap about this place and I just wanna get home. You are not going to say a damned word about what happened in here. Nothing about me being a
mage - got it? Say anything and I'll melt your face."

  Max turned and looked at the dried pot on the counter, causing it to instantly melt into a heap of steaming, molten slag, consequently making Adam's face contort into one of absolute panic.

  "You're going to regret this, lycan. I swear if it's the last thing I-"

  Adam wouldn't shut his mouth, and that proved to be his biggest mistake of the day. He had obviously never encountered a real mage, and Max was done playing - he needed to drive a message home so thoroughly and decisively that Adam would never, ever forget it. So the lycan/mage hybrid started swinging his arm from one end of the room to the other, with the most unfortunate - and still-connected - Adam involuntarily following Max's movements, and the walls stopping his flailing body while damaging his pride in the process. Back and forth Max went with his arm, and back and forth went Adam, slamming into the walls while upside-down. Once Max felt that Adam had sufficiently absorbed the proper message, he lifted the pseudo-mage up and unceremoniously dumped him on the counter, next to his wand.

  Out in the bar area, Dons and Jessica were still seated at their little dinette, where Dons laughingly commented, "Ouch, sounds like Adam and Max had a disagreement. Max is strong, but Adam is a mage, and mages can't be beat. Can't wait to see the outcome of this one."

  Jessica giggled and looked back to the kitchen door, watching as the two men emerged from the small cooking space. They approached the dinette, with Max looking perfectly normal, while Adam was shaking uncontrollably, unable to keep his hands still and walking in small steps with his thighs pinched together.

  "Hey Adam mate, so you had a bit of a talk with… oy! Did someone shite their pants?"

  Jessica pinched her nose shut and waved a hand in front of her face, making a very visual commentary of the obvious, while Adam stammered a bit and excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving Max standing next to the dinette. Everyone watched the Feral Kids' mage try to hide his pants where he had soiled himself, as he limped off to change.

  Max walked over to the bar and ordered another beer, returning to the dinette with a frosty mug in his hand. In a voice totally devoid of any malice, he addressed his friends as if his conversation with Adam had been completely normal and friendly.

  "I think Adam is a nice fellow. He offered to help me find a way home for free if I stuck around for a bit, and I think it's a good exchange. What do you guys think?"

  At first thinking that Adam had roughed up Max, but then seeing the lycan sitting at his table so calmly, Dons wondered what the hell really went on in the kitchen. There was a lot more to the mellow lycan than appeared.

  "Right mate - you know, let's just be honest with each other. Ok, no one has ever messed up Adam like that. I know he's a wanker and all, but he has done some decent things for us in the past."

  Max watched with a modest interest as Dons tried to make excuses for Adam's behavior.

  "So we give him some slack, ya know? Now, what happened between you two?"

  Max thought for a moment, not wanting to reveal his hidden half that he had just exposed to Adam, so he lied through his teeth.

  "Dons - you've been good to me. I'm lost, and you gave me a place to sleep and a way to earn my way. But we have differences, like this morning. I was raised to never revel in the pain and suffering of others. You have your ways and I have mine - so I helped the neko, even though I hate their scent. Then a lycan, one of my own kind, picked a fight out of nowhere so I kicked his ass six ways to Sunday. Now your little magic man gave me a choice - comply or he would fry me. Well, I don't take kindly to threats, as I'm sure you've seen. I managed to throttle him before he could pull out his little magical stick - simple, really. And I'll do it again if he gets out of line with me - or any of you."

  Dons looked at Max with a one-eyed expression of understanding. He knew Adam had an overly inflated ego and was prone to doing what was good only for himself, but he had his uses and that was why the clan kept the fellow around.

  "Yeah, mate. He is a bit of a prat. So, whatever you did, thanks for setting him straight."

  "It's all good, man. Hey! Is there a party tonight in the bar?"

  "Every night, mate - every night."

  Chapter 7 - Lessons and Memories

  Early in the morning, as birds chirped and the sun rose in the east, Draagh sat at his expansive desk in his quarters in Krynos' castle. For many long weeks he had been trying to ascertain how to be more effective in his search for Max, and after having spent months with Jennie slipping to every location stored on his staff, he knew that the only place he had not been to was where he had sent his brother's staff during the Battle of the Blood. Sadly, the coordinates were lost to him, as the universal law of ghanlo regeneration required him to send it to an untraceable location. Draagh knew in his heart that Max was near Marnn's staff - he just needed to figure out how to find it. Find the staff and he would find Max.

  Waving his hand, he summoned Socrates, whose face coalesced in the air over the desk.

  "Greetings, my friend. I have called upon you to assist me in-"

  "Yes, my Lord, you continue in your efforts to find young Max. I still feel great responsibility for his disappearance, as I am sure you are well aware."

  "Socrates, please, you know that Max acted in a brash manner, unbefitting of his position, and so suffered the consequences of his actions."

  "That much is true, my Lord."

  "So, I would like to go through all of the coordinate calculations in my staff, so we yet again see if there is anything that we can do to find the evacuated coordinates for where Marnn's staff was displaced."

  The old mage, and the floating, cosmic mask then went about trying to hack Draagh's staff, noting that they were quickly running out of ideas.

  After 4 hours of unfruitful work, Draagh resigned to doing something useful. He called upon Liliana, as he needed to teach her some particularly vital skills.

  "Liliana, would you meet me in the training hall, please? I believe it is time we continued with your studies," he thought out to his adopted granddaughter. He had created simple wristbands for his immediate family, enabling him to telepathically communicate with them at will.

  "Hello Grandfather! Sure! I am just finishing my lunch. See you in fifteen minutes?"

  "Yes, my dear. And please wear some sturdy clothing. We shall be working with the elements today."

  Liliana arrived on time, as was her nature. She may have had a comically foul mouth on occasion, but she was timely.

  "Hi, Grandfather! Are we to make things explode today?"

  The young girl had a look of innocent expectation on her face, and could have asked if they were to melt goat heads - or make acid-based, poisonous mead, and no one would have given her the least bit of notice. It would have sounded perfectly normal - for her. Draagh also knew that the girl possessed the power of suggestion, which could be used for good, or for evil. She would need to be cared for and guided quite meticulously, lest she fall to the darkness like so many minor-mages before her.

  "No, my dear - not exactly. Today we shall manipulate air pressure and currents. This will enable you to create weather systems of impressive magnitude, albeit on a local level."

  "That sounds fantastic! But… I have not seen Tío G today. Is he in training?"

  "Yes, my little one, yes. He is training quite diligently, as you must also do now. Please, review this manuscript."

  Liliana started to read out loud as her great-grandfather listened to her every word. However, she was not aware that he was splitting his attention between her and a completely different part of the castle - where Luigi Bagatelle was desperately learning all he could, with the assistance of his little sister, of course.

  ###

  "Brother! Not harder - faster! You must rely on the power inherent in your blade, and not depend so much on brute strength!"

  Jennie had, for the past week, found herself in the odd situation where she was the teacher and Bagatelle was the pu
pil. It was something he had never imagined would have happened in his lifetime, but he was taking it in stride, knowing that his little sister was the most qualified person to train him with a magic-enhanced katana blade.

  "Like so?" asked the former fleet commander, while sliding the blade smoothly through a fat log of oak.

  "Excellent! You are getting it now - kinda sorta. Now again, but this time while reciting the cantus in a low whisper. You need to summon the magic to your blade."

  Bagatelle did as his teacher requested and was astounded as his blade decimated another section of the oaken log, which would have merely cut out a chunk if it were not for his superior blade and the magical incantation that went along with it.

  "Jennie, was it this hard for you when you first studied the sword here?" Bagatelle wasn't looking for sympathy - he was looking for realistic answers upon which he could gauge his progress.

  "It was a whole lot harder for me, G. First of all, I didn't have magic embedded in my sword. Hell, I didn't even start off with a katana - it was a medieval-style broad sword, made out of quadrinium, of course. I was so intent on defeating Max that I felt a bigger, heavier sword would be the answer."

  "Defeating Max? So, you two fought?"

  "Yeah - we had a mock battle to the death. It was part of our training."

  Bagatelle immediately felt pangs of regret in the depths of his stomach, not having realized he would be tested on the level of a mock battle to the death.

  "But Jennie, it was a mock battle, right?"

  "Yup, but he almost killed me."

  "You're serious."

  "As a heart attack, Brother. I'm sure Gramps would've stopped it, but Max was about to make me into a hot lycan shish kabob."

  "He's that good?"

  "And I didn't even know what was coming - yeah, he's that good. I think it was at that moment I really started to give him some respect as a peer. He later told me that I snapped him out of his blind rage when I called him by his first name. It was more of a cry for mercy than anything. But anyway! You'll do great! I'll make sure no one skewers you either. After all, I can't go losing my big brother now, can I?"