by SK Benton
"That's just way too much power for a little girl to have," said Jennie.
"I agree, my daughter. I shall create a cap on young Liliana's abilities. It shall remain in place until she reaches puberty."
"She's gonna be pissed off, you know," said Max.
"Oh yeah, but it's all we can do, baby. She already had control issues before."
"Wow, poor Kyle. He'd be dead by now," Max nearly laughed, remembering the various times Liliana had accidentally tortured the poor boy.
Michael waved his hand and the wall started to reform itself, brick by brick. In moments it was as it was before Liliana's demonstration. He then sat down next to his granddaughter - a little girl who was brought into his life through love and sacrifice - and touched her temple. A soft, orange glow emanated from his fingertips while he worked his cantus - a definite fix, but not a permanent one.
"It is done," he said, looking down at the sleeping child.
"That's it? So, she'll be like normal until she hits puberty? What happens then?" asked Jennie.
"When her hormonal changes happen, the cantus shall lose its effectiveness, my daughter. I shall then be required to create yet another. Well, unless Max wants to make one."
"Not me, no way," said Max, being afraid he would do something disastrous.
He then picked his daughter up and carried her off to her room, putting her into bed. Max was immensely thankful his mother and Janice had ben caring for her, and felt confident his mother's future influence would be a positive one. Liliana had violent tendencies, but she was born into a violent world, and all things being relative, she was just another Rhönen kid - until she met Jennie.
Max brushed her bangs from her face, looking down at her lovingly. Jennie sat next to him, leaning her head onto his shoulder, trying to keep everything that had happened out of her mind.
As she relaxed up against him he thought about the past couple of days - she had been murdered by one of their best friends, his grandfather had resurrected her, and she was now a Primulus, albeit without a ghanlo, which she would have to find on her own. King Krynos was dead, using his last breath to trigger the massive antimatter bomb that destroyed the Vrol Brood Carrier, along with the Grigori.
Draagh was right. It really was a combination of magic and technology that won the war.
Liliana woke up, quietly going to the bathroom and then brushing her teeth. She felt good, but a bit different. Wanting to test her new abilities, she slipped out of her bedroom, arriving in the field outside the castle. She turned and waved to the soldiers guarding the castle, who all knew her and were aware of her penchant for slipping around the grounds. One of them waved back, shaking his head and managing to hide his smirk. Everyone in the castle loved the little girl, and she was going to miss them all when she finally moved to Azul.
She walked up to a tree she didn't particularly care for (it was nearly dead, and never grew leaves anymore), and concentrating, said, "Graveincantatio potentia!"
The tree trunk only moved slightly.
Confused, she tried her cantus again, getting the same results. It should have been uprooted and decimated, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Nosy adults! They did something to me, the bastards. Hmm, what about my non-destructive abilities?
Wishing to avoid tanking her magical skills, the little lycan/angel walked into the castle instead of slipping in. Once inside, she greeted numerous soldiers and servants in her typical morning manner - with a huge smile, and bright, twinkling now-hazel eyes. Bounding down into the kitchen, she found the friend she had introduced to her parents some days earlier.
"Lucinda! Guten morgen!"
"Ah, guten morgen, Liliana. Did you sleep well? I fear I did not, as our beloved King Krynos has passed on to the afterworld."
"Yes, I know. That sucks quite harshly. I am certain King Donus shall provide adequate leadership, in any case."
"I must agree, my friend. So what brings you to the kitchen this morning?"
"I come to request your assistance. You see, I recently acquired new abilities, and would like to test them. However, the tree outside should have been destroyed and -"
Lucinda gasped, not wanting to be Liliana's personal punching bag. "Miss Liliana, please, with your experiments comes a great deal of pain. Could you not test your skills on something inanimate?"
The smallest Gunnarsson laughed and shook her head. "The skills I wish to test are not of an explosive nature, Lucinda. They are more along the lines of control."
"Will it pain me? Will I --"
The servant girl stomped on the kitchen floor, performing the Rhönen line dance while she washed plates and cups. She had no idea what she was doing – her body merely did what it was commanded. Other servants watched with amazement as the young woman cleaned with a fury and efficiency unmatched in all the Dominion. Liliana grew a smirk, realizing that although her destructive abilities had been throttled back, her power of suggestion was many times stronger than it had been before.
Releasing Lucinda from her cantus, Liliana then took the memory from the girl's mind and gauged her reaction.
"-- feel anything? I do not desire to visit the infirmary yet again, my little friend."
Liliana smiled and shook her head, saying, "Oh, that is fine, Lucinda. I have decided to try my new skills elsewhere. Thank you!"
The little angel bounded off, satisfied she at least had some enhanced skills that could be put to good use.
Lucinda looked down at her hands, wondering why they were covered in dish soap.
"Good morning Mami and Papi!" yelped Liliana, as she jumped onto Max and Jennie's bed, surprising both, with Jennie quickly pulling the covers up over her nude figure. The little girl gave her mother a knowing glance, but then appeared to not care.
"Morning, sweetie. Did you sleep well?" asked Jennie.
"Oh yes, Mami. I already had my morning meal, and am ready for classes."
"So, Lili, how are you feeling today?" inquired Max, while trying to not be too obvious.
"I am fine, Papi. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. Just morning small talk, I guess."
Liliana started to do cartwheels in the bedroom, keeping her movements confined to a small space.
Wow, maybe we should put her in gymnastics when we get back to Azul
Jennie smiled and reached down under the covers, pulling out her panties and tank top, which she usually kept conveniently stashed for Liliana's morning antics. Quickly slipping them on while her daughter spun around the room like a whirling dervish, she slid out of bed and walked over to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"Lili, whut time do clashes shtart?" she asked, her mouth full of toothpaste.
"Oh! I believe I must go now. Are you to go to Azul today?"
"I think that's the plan, sweetie," said Max.
"Okay. Please feel free to contact me in case you are in need of assistance and find any more putrid insects on the planet. I have killed seven Vrol already, so my battle-worthiness has been tested and verified. And that goes for vampires also, Mami."
"Sure, hun. We'll let you know."
The little girl bounced out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Where the hell does she get all that energy?" asked Max.
"No idea, but she didn't say anything about her power cap," said Jennie.
"Maybe she hasn't tried a cantus yet. Betcha she's furious when she figures it out."
###
"Dad, Jen and I are heading off to Azul after lunch," said Max, as he stood before his father while holding his wife's hand. Michael had commandeered Draagh's castle office as his own, now that the ancient Primulus was out of reach, and was seated behind the massive mahogany desk that had so well served his father for centuries.
"According to your mother I shall also have a need to go. Liliana must be registered in the local educational institution."
"St. Mary's - yeah, where I went. Great school. Hey, can you start trying to sp
eak in a less-archaic form of English? If we're going to live on Azul you're going to need to fit in. Talking like William Shakespeare isn't gonna cut it."
"Ah, William. He was a good man, though a fraud."
"Huh?" both Max and Jennie cried out.
"Oh yes. Someone else wrote most of his plays. He operated more on the lines of editor and producer."
"But he was a good man?"
"He had a penchant for the brew, that much is certain."
"Dad, in normal English please."
"Um… he liked to pound beers?"
"Better," laughed Max.
"Michael, did you ever visit Earth during the 1960's" asked Jennie, remembering the world where she had first met the Taxiarch - a vegan/hippie society where animal flesh was inconsumable and everyone sat around smoking herb all day.
"I did a couple of times," he said, trying to use a more modern form of English.
"What did you see?"
"The assassination of President Kennedy, for one" the archangel stated bluntly.
"Oh wow! No way! So, who did it? Was is that Oswald guy?"
Michael smirked and shook his head, saying, "Oswald wasn't the only one to fire upon the poor, unfortunate soul. His own people also discharged their firearms at him, but they were all being controlled."
"By who or what?" asked Max.
"Kennedy had recently unearthed knowledge of the true nature of the universe. He knew of the Prīmulī, enhanced subspecies and had even met with extraterrestrials living on Earth."
"So? What’s so bad about that?" asked Jennie.
"He was going to reveal his knowledge to the world, which would have resulted in society collapsing into chaos. Some of us were assigned to silence him. We tried many non-lethal methods, including having him being caught in compromising situations, but nothing worked. His elimination was the last resort."
"Sucked for him, eh?" said Max.
"Yup. It sucked."
"Who did it?" asked Jennie.
"It wasn't me, daughter. I rather liked the man."
"Hey! Just a minute! There were aliens on Earth? Who were they?"
"Their names do not matter, Max, but I believe they were identified in certain conspiracy circles as Greys."
"Greys. They were little, skinny, grey-skinned aliens with huge, black eyes and no hair. Giant heads, too," said Jennie.
"How did they get to Earth? Were they from far away?" asked Max.
"They used what you call side space, Max. Their home world, I believe, resides in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way. Their trips took them many years, so they maintained bases of operation on Earth. Their method of entering into side space was quite different than the one you devised. In fact, theirs would have been so toxic to humans that any Earthling attempting to ride in their ship would have died within hours. For this reason they never even bothered sharing any of their technology for transit through the void."
"So Max really did invent Mankind's technology for travel in side space," stated Jennie.
"Yes, he did, Jennie."
Max was slightly relieved no one on Earth had beaten him to the development of a viable FTL drive. He was aware of the vast distances in the Milky Way. It was a seven-day trip from Azul to Earth in side space, and the planets were relatively close, both being in the Orion Arm. "Um, so what were they on Earth for?"
"Water, mostly. Unlike Mankind, they were created to evolve from a lesser species."
"What kind of species?" asked Jennie.
"Similar to your dolphins, air-breathing, but not quite qualifying as mammal, according to your definition, as the females did not nurse their young. Their neocortexes were, however, massive, hence their unusually large skulls. They also studied humans, as their own race had been genetically modified so frequently that their base code was all but permanently corrupted."
"Base… code?" asked Jennie.
"DNA is like a computer application, but much, much more complex. If you start playing with the code you'll eventually wreck the application, or at least parts of it. They had gone beyond the point of no return, and wanted to join human DNA with their own genome. It was survival, pure and simple."
"So, they knew about the Prīmulī then, right?" said Max.
"Not at all. We have observed them, of course, but the same rules apply all over the universe."
"Okay boys - enough about little green men. Let's go eat."
###
Liliana sat next to her grandfather and quietly ate her lunch. She seemed to be on her best behavior, which was unusual, and caused her uncle Gabriel to wonder what she was up to. Aside from Jessica, the little girl was probably his favorite human in the galaxy, so his concern for her knew no bounds.
"Liliana, I hear my father visited with you. Can you tell me what that was like?" he asked.
"Oh yes, Tío. I did not actually see him, but he spoke to me. He told me that things were going to change, and then he touched my forehead and changed me too."
"Really? How did he change you, exactly?"
"He gave me incredible power, of course. Abuelito," she continued, looking at Michael, "I see you have repaired the damage done by my cantus. I do hope it was not too taxing."
"Oh no, Liliana. It was quite easy. In fact, I fixed a number of things."
"Oh… did you?"
Michael felt Jennie kick his leg under the table, and looking over he saw her flinching an eye. Not knowing what to do, he awkwardly winked his eye back at her, which nearly caused Max to laugh out loud.
"Yes. Oh yes. I also repaired the toilet. It has been acting up a bit lately, you know."
"Hmm, yes. I assumed that was the case. You are so smart, Abuelito. Well, I must return to classes. We are to take a field trip today, and I am leading the group."
"That's great, sweetie. Where are you all going?" asked Jennie.
"To see my sharks, of course. The children are all terrified of my pets, but I have assured them that they are quite intelligent, and shan't eat any children… today."
"Have fun, Lili," said Max, as the little girl jumped up and gave her family members each a kiss on the cheek before running out the door, her signature tornado trailing behind her.
"We're going to have to get her to stop with the elemental cantuses before we move to Azul," said Jennie.
"We can do that, hun, but no matter what, St. Mary's will never be the same," laughed Max, referring to his primary and secondary school, where they planned on having Liliana attend.
"She was a good woman," said Gabriel.
"Who's that?" asked Jennie.
"Mary."
"Was there really a virgin birth?" Max inquired.
"Of course. Jah is without equal," said Michael.
"Well, I'm sure he is without equal, but it doesn't sound like fun, ya know?" giggled Jennie, as she leaned up against Max.
###
That evening, Bagatelle and Alicia met with Max, Jennie, Gabriel, Jessica, Michael, Clarisa and Pandy for dinner in the castle's commissary. They both looked incredibly relieved that the Vrol and Grigori were defeated, but at the same time were devastated over the catastrophe of Oz' main city.
"Most of New Sydney looks worse than where we're from," said Jessica.
"Comparatively speaking, yes, I would agree," added Pandy.
"I wonder what the original Sydney looked like?" said Jennie.
"The Founders didn't use the original city as a model for the new one, Jennie. The only thing similar between the two was the name," said Alicia.
"So G, what's the state of the Union? Did the politicians make it out alive?" asked Max.
"They were already in hiding. Inactive lycans or not, politicians tend to go into self-preservation mode when danger is present. Of course they say they must keep the government going as an excuse to save their own hides. The only one who actually went out and fought was President Bierle."
"Well, where are they then?" asked Clarisa.
"Most are in Buenos Aires, but some are in Bern, S
chweiz," said Alicia.
"We have our hands filled with hunting down loose Vrol and uncovering activated vamp nests," said Bagatelle. "No time to worry about chickenshit politicians."
"So, where is Johnson right now?" asked Max.
"Buenos Aires Federal Penitentiary. And he's staying there until his trial."
"And after the trial?" asked Jennie.
"Right back to the same hole we originally put him in."
"Man, I hope he doesn't get off," said Max.
"Oh, he won't, baby," said Jennie.
"How can you be sure, little sister?"
"Because I'm going to kill him."
"Jennie, you can't go doing that," said Bagatelle. "We have a Constitution, and we must follow the rule of law."
"Max, dammit! We should have left him to die on the bug ship!"
"Have faith, Jen. It'll all work out. I promise."
Everyone stared at Jennie with disbelief. They knew she was gung-ho, but she had just openly admitted having a desire to murder someone, even though he was a murderer himself.
"Okay, so I won't actually kill him. Maybe I'll pay someone on the inside to do it for me." Jennie waited a few seconds, and giggled, "Kidding!"
"Well it does happen frequently, you know," said Alicia, trying to diffuse the mood in the air.
Before the discussion continued, Liliana showed up for dinner, causing the conversation to take a different tone.
"Hello, everyone!" she chimed.
"Evening, sweetie. Are you done with your homework?" asked Jennie.
"Yes, Mami. However, I would like for Papi to look at my math."
"Sure, Lili. I'll check it out once we're finished."
"How was your field trip today, Liliana? Did your friends like your pets?" asked Michael.
