THE VROL TRILOGY (71 page)

Gabriel had obviously done something to
Michael, but Draagh decided to not push his questioning any
further. His immediate goal was to find Michael.

"Very well, my son. I am sure you had your
reasons, and whatever it is that would keep him on his current
world could not be nearly as vital as saving his own son. Would you
care to accompany me to my offices in Krynos' kingdom and perhaps
meet your extended family? I believe Liliana would enjoy meeting
you. She has a great fascination with relatives, as she was an
orphan before Max and his wife adopted her."

Gabriel sighed and caused his clothing to
morph into something similar to the tunic and robe that Draagh was
wearing.

"Very well, Father. Perhaps it is indeed time
to come to terms with a changing universe."

Draagh nodded over to Socrates, who had been
silently wafting over in the corner. The sentient computer then
instantly transported Draagh and Gabriel to an open, grassy area.
They stood there for only a moment when Gabriel was surprised by a
young girl's voice crying out, "Grandfather! Abuelito! You have
returned!"

Liliana ran over and gave Draagh a big hug,
and then turned, giving Gabriel a curious gaze.

"Grandfather, who is this man? Is he a friend
of yours? He smells not of lycan blood, but more like you."

Gabriel looked awkwardly at the young girl,
conflicted, as he had a moderate distaste for humans, but found her
infectiously cute, which she was. Then, looking up, he watched as a
truly attractive woman approached. He could only assume that this
was his nephew's wife and the mother of the little girl before
him.

"Hello, my dear Liliana! Yes, this is one of
my sons. His name is Gabriel, and he is helping us to find your
father. He is the brother of the father of your father - yes, I
believe I got that right."

Liliana looked like she was
concentrating for a moment, and then suddenly burst out,
"T
í
o! I
have a new T
í
o! Yay!"

Liliana darted over to Gabriel and wrapped
her arms around his waist while wearing a huge, beaming smile.
Gabriel stood there, stunned, but nearly started to smile himself.
Luckily, Jennie showed up and pulled Liliana away so she could
properly introduce herself.

"Draagh, it is good to see you. I have a
favor to ask, but first, who might this be?"

"This is my new T
í
o, Jennie!" exclaimed the
little girl.

Jennie looked at Gabriel, appraising him
seriously. "And who are… you?"

"I am Gabriel, brother of the father of your
husband."

"Jennie, Gabriel has agreed to help us locate
Max's father. I believe that Mija-El is the key to finding Max.
That being said, we can discuss this over some delicious food. Now,
what favor did you want to ask of me?"

Jennie extended her hand out to Gabriel while
saying, "My Lord, it is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for your
help."

Gabriel reached out and took Jennie's hand
into his, not because he felt an affinity with her, but because it
was unusual to meet such an attractive human female. He was
starting to understand how his father could tolerate the company of
these people.

"Draagh," she continued, "we corralled some
cannibals, but one of ours was irreversibly infected. Can you help,
please? Is there anything you can do?"

Draagh nodded and put his hand on his
granddaughter-in-law's shoulder. "Is this unfortunate soul a
lycan?"

"Yes, yes he is."

"Then I believe I can help. Please take me to
him. Liliana, would you be so kind as to take your uncle into the
castle? I have already informed King Kyrnos of his arrival, so you
should be greeted appropriately. He will need to be assigned
quarters, and then we shall meet you in the dining hall after we
have resolved your mother's current issue."

"Very well, Grandfather.
T
í
o, come
with me, please," said the little girl as she took Gabriel's hand.
Draagh looked on as the little girl led the historically violent
archangel away, with Gabriel looking at his father with an almost
pleading expression.

Upon entering the courtyard, Liliana spied
Krynos walking down an exposed pathway.

"My king! I have been instructed to bring my
uncle Gabriel to be assigned quarters. Would you like to meet him?
He is very nice."

Gabriel looked down at the little girl
and wondered how she could judge him as
nice
when they had just met.

"Gabriel, your father had informed me that
you might be arriving. I bid you welcome to the Rhönen Dominion!"
Krynos displayed a great smile, as he usually did when in a good
mood.

"Thank you, King Krynos. I am to assist my
father in locating my brother, and for that reason I am here. I do
not wish to cause any trouble."

"Trouble? There is no trouble at all! We
shall provide you with private chambers in which to rest, and
then…"

"We are to eat, my Lord!" interrupted
Liliana, to which she received a precautionary glare from her king
for speaking out of turn. Liliana then grew a sheepish grin and
looked up to her uncle.

"Yes my liege. Shall I work with staff to get
my uncle his quarters? I believe that he is famished at this
time."

"Your quarters have already been provided,
Gabriel. Liliana, they are on the fourth floor, seventh room on the
north side. Please take Gabriel there and then repair to the dining
hall for dinner."

The little girl nodded and dragged Gabriel
away by the hand. As they careened down a corridor she became quite
chatty.

"Tio, you do know that I am a mage, am I not
correct?"

"Yes, Liliana, it has been told to me. I
assume that my father has been training you."

"Of course, T
í
o! Grandfather teaches me magical
skills most valuable, but do you know what I like doing
best?"

"What would that be, young lady?"

"Well, it is quite fun, but first we must
find a cat. Come!"

###

"Let me take a look at our most unfortunate
friend here, "stated Draagh, as they all approached the cage that
contained the afflicted Lucius. The cannibal-lycan gnashed his
teeth while wearing an expression of confused hunger. Draagh knelt
down and looked at the man directly in his face, waved his hand
around a bit and then turned back to Bagatelle.

"I believe our friend is going to be just
fine. His system is just one protein away from dispelling the
virus."

Draagh merely waved his hand in the air, and
conjuring an infoscreen, tapped around until a vial and syringe
appeared on top of a table near the cage. Then he looked at Lucius,
using an unspoken cantus to cause the man to lapse into
unconsciousness. Jennie opened the cage and Bagatelle injected
Lucius with Draagh's concoction. Closing the cage, Bagatelle looked
over at the old mage inquisitively.

"It will take about an hour, then you may
open the cage and let him out. With any luck, he should be able to
join us for dinner!"

"Thanks, Gramps," said Jennie, as she gave
Draagh an affectionate hug which he reciprocated in a very
grandfatherly way.

"Ok, team! Let's get all of our gear stowed.
Good mission. We were successful, so all receive commendations,"
said Jennie. "We meet in the mess hall in one hour."

###

"Tio, we must be very quiet. There is a cat
over there, but I believe it knows me. Shhhhh," said Liliana.
Gabriel was still waiting to be shown to his chambers, as Liliana
had taken him on a wild goose chase throughout the castle -looking
for feral cats.

"Liliana, should we not be going to my
quarters? I have need to prepare for a mission with your
grandfather."

Liliana gave Gabriel an incredulous look.
"Tio, what I am to show you is important. It is how I train so I
may be of assistance in battle one day."

"You… desire to enter into the fray of
battle?"

"Yes of course! It is my greatest wish," she
responded with a bright smile.

Gabriel looked at the little girl, quite
impressed. He had not thought he would meet a young human female,
no matter her innate skills, who wished to experience the
exhilaration of battle.

"Tio," she whispered, "there is
one…
gotcha
!" Liliana yelled
as she lifted the large, orange tabby into the air, using a silent
cantus. The cat was immobilized, but started screeching as the
little girl ran to a room with it in tow. Upon entry, Gabriel
noticed that the curtains in the room were torn to shreds, as if
done by claws.

"Ok, T
í
o. This is how I practice," Liliana
said as she shut the door and released the cat, which immediately
started tearing through the expansive room. Gabriel watched with
amusement as Liliana fired electrical blasts at the unfortunate
creature, nailing it and causing it to fly through the air. She
only hit it hard enough to let it know it was touched, as it wasn't
her intention to kill it.

"See, T
í
o? I practice accuracy on moving
targets. This way I can be more effective in battle."

Liliana then tagged the cat without even
looking at it, impressing Gabriel even more.

"Liliana, can you cause the cat to
disappear?"

"Do you mean like a slip?"

"Yes, to send it off somewhere. That is also
an excellent skill."

"No, I have yet to learn such skills."

"Very well then. Listen carefully. I shall
teach you, as we have a bit of time before we are required in the
dining hall."

Gabriel then sat on the ground with the young
girl and brought up an infoscreen, showing her how teleportation of
animate and inanimate objects worked. She had captured the hardened
heart of the most vicious of angels - something he never imagined
would have ever happened.

###

Jennie, Bagatelle and Draagh were seated at a
large table with some of the members of the recon team. As they
waited to be served their evening meal they were all joined by
Krynos, who uncharacteristically sat down with them.

"I see young Lucius shall be fine. Excellent
work, my old friend. That being said, we are waiting for Gabriel to
arrive with young Liliana?"

"Yes we are… ah, here they come now. We may
eat and then discuss our plans."

Gabriel walked into the dining hall, being
led by Liliana, who held his hand. Draagh noticed that Gabriel was
willingly walking along with the little girl, finding it to be
quite pleasing.

"Grandfather, Jennie, King Krynos,
T
í
o
Bagatelle, we have arrived. T
í
o Gabriel and I have had a wonderful time,
and have built up quite a hunger!"

Jennie looked at her daughter suspiciously,
but Gabriel had such a serene look on his face that it appeared
nothing of ill-will could have happened.

"Jennie, I find your daughter to be a proud
addition to our family. She is quite… fascinating," said the
archangel.

"
Such a change
of opinion, my son
," Draagh thought to Gabriel,
"
what spurred this
on
?"

"
It is a
changing universe, Father. I wish to show you good faith, as you
are showing me. We do change, you know. Plus, little Liliana is
truly a precious gem of humanity."

"I told you, my son. So, did she show you
how she practices on the castle cats?"

"Yes, and I taught her animate and inanimate
object teleportation. In no more than ten minutes. The child is
truly gifted. Why had you not yet given her lessons on
slipping?"

"My son, there was a reason, but I think
perhaps it was time. I only hope that castle servants do not start
randomly disappearing during mealtimes."

Draagh mentally snickered as Gabriel started
imagining Liliana porting unfortunate servants to the moat outside.
She had a mean streak that he found most impressive, just as his
father had prognosticated.

"Thank you, Gabriel. Yes, we were truly
blessed to have been joined with Liliana. Now we just need to find
her father. I understand you are here to assist us, if you
can?"

"He is, indeed," interrupted Draagh, "Gabriel
and I came to an agreement. I must be open and up front with
everyone here, so as we eat - and ah, here comes our food, I shall
explain as much as I know, and then what my plan is. I do hope that
Gabriel will assist us beyond just locating his brother."

Gabriel nodded graciously to the servant who
placed a plate of food on the table in front of him. "Father, I
shall assist further than simply finding Michael on one
condition."

"And what would that be, my son?"

"I desire for young Liliana to come with us.
I believe that between us all she has adequate protection, and she
has informed me that she has yet to travel to another world where
her skills may be used."

Jennie thought for a moment and found Gabriel
to be correct. She and Draagh took Liliana to Azul, but her skills
were nullified, as particle frequencies were different on that
world.

"
I think that
would be fine," said Jennie. "After all, we aren't going anywhere
particularly dangerous, are we?"

"That, my young lady, will depend on where we
go once we find Michael. You see, I believe he is the key to
finding Max."

"How could that be, old friend?" asked
Krynos.

"Draagh took a drink of sarsaparilla and then
continued, "Here is my theory - Max used my staff on an
unauthorized four-dimensional slip. The ghanlo rejected him, as it
will never leave my point in the space/time continuum. I believe it
sent him to where I had banished Marnn's staff during our great
battle."