Venatores Mali: Terra

ee: Terra

  Quintin Fortune

  Copyright 2015 Quintin Fortune

  Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to obtain their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

  15th Oct-08:51

  Frank Rush's Quarters

  The tall, scrawny man with messed up brown hair slept on the couch. He was snuggling with one of the pillows. "You must be cold wearing so little of a dress," he said in his sleep. "I'll be more than happy to warm you up."

  'RUSH' a voice boomed.

  Frank jolted out of his dreams and landed on the floor. "And I was having such a nice dream," he grumbled.

  'In my office,' the voice commanded. 'Core team meeting.'

  Frank looked around his quarters. Somewhere in this mess were his pants, and he was determined to find them.

  15th Oct-09:05

  Head Office

  The doors opened as soon as Frank stepped in front of them. The morning sunlight pouring in from the giant bay window caused him to automatically shut his eyes until he could adjust. He slowly opened them, taking in the large room. Old, archaic books lined the walls. A crimson rug took up the entire floor.

  In front of the large obsidian desk that sat against the large window were three chairs. Two were occupied by Genia Lee and Lady Grey. Frank plopped down in the third chair, looking at the tall backed chair that was turned away from them.

  "You are late," the man behind the chair stated.

  "You wouldn't believe the traffic," Frank replied, giving a broad smile. He heard Genia clear her throat. He glanced at her. She quickly shook her head. "Sorry," he sheepishly covered.

  The chair turned. The pale, bald man faced them. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses.

  "I have brought you three here due to a matter of security," the man stated. "Things have been going missing, both here and at ZioTech Industries."

  "I've been looking into it," Genia responded. "There seems to be a series of invasions from within. Several of our employees have been complaining of someone taking over their body."

  The man sat back in his chair. "Skin Walkers," he said. "The Necromancers, perhaps?"

  "If it was, why would they be using other people to take our stuff," Frank asked. "Wouldn't they put spies or something in themselves?"

  "Not again," Lady Grey remarked. "They learned their lesson last time."

  "You sure about that," Frank asked. She rolled her head and glared darkly at him. He sat back in his chair and held up his hands in defense. "Okay."

  The man turned to look off at something. "Later today, a necromancer will arrive at the company. See what he knows."

  "Understood," Genia replied.

  "What about here," Grey questioned.

  He glanced over at her. "You will investigate the missing items from within."

  "Oo. Oo. What about me, Zee," Frank asked. "Do I get a cool assignment too?"

  The man known as Zionus flinched. Frank knew he had never really adjusted to having a nickname of sorts. "No," he said simply.

  Frank slumped back in his chair. "I never get to do anything fun," he complained.

  "You are dismissed," he declared.

  The three left silently. "Way to go, jackass," Lady Grey hissed once they got to the elevators. She took the first one that opened and closed the doors before Frank could react.

  'You have a different task at hand,' Zionus' voice spoke in his head. Suddenly, there was a flash of Intel about a string of murders committed by werewolves. The flow stopped as quickly as it started.

  Frank rubbed his forehead. The rush of Intel always left a ting of a headache. It faded away quickly. "Always the conversationalist," he remarked.

  "He doesn't say anymore than he has to," Genia said, walking up behind him.

  "And he always says less to me," he complained. He dramatically draped his arm over his eyes."I don't think he likes me anymore."

  He felt Genia's hand on his shoulder. "Not true," she said. "You two have always been like brothers. Even after the Zionic Entity took over, he still cares about you."

  "You sound so sure about that," Frank noted.

  "I am sure," she answered. "You don't love someone for this long without knowing what they don't say."

  The elevator dinged open. A young pale woman with short black hair plaster to her head and a suit that left little to the imagination stood within. She smiled slyly once she saw Frank. "Hello Handsome," she cooed, her fangs poking up in her smile.

  "Hey Soir," he answered. "Zee call you up because of dress code violations again?"

  She walked past them, slowly caressing Frank's face and chin. "Oh if only he would let me walk around as nature intended," she said, seduction haunting her tone. She continued on, with Frank watching.

  "You need to be a little more careful of who you're drunk around," Genia fussed as they got into the elevator.

  15th Oct-18:18

  Frank Rush's Quarters

  The bright red of the setting sun painted Frank's living room as he poured over one of the many tomes about werewolves. Thankfully, there were only two ways to become a werewolf, unlike vampire that had almost a million ways.

  "Why does every lore involve biting," he asked himself. "I've been bitten a few times, and all I got was the walk of Shame."

  He looked out to see the sunlight fading from the city. "Time to suit up," he sighed, He stood shaking the life back into his resting muscles. He held his arms out before joining them together by the tips of his index and middle fingers.

  "Risvegliare la vendetta," he yelled. Lines of gold floated above his body. They began to form parts of armor. Gauntlets. Boots. Chest piece. The lines filled in with shimmering gold. Two silver shoulder pads jutted out, one stacked above the other. Cloth of a crimson satin unfurled from the pads. Gems began to form on the chest piece in the shape of a V.

  Finally, the domed helmet formed. Wires seem to snake up into it, as the gold quickly filled in. A red V appeared where his eyes were, and six holes, three on each side, appeared down and away near his mouth. The outline of a raven formed on his head, the beak and wings arching over the V visor.

  The visor lit a bright red. 'VENDETTA ONLINE,' the voice inside the helmet declared.

  The windows leading outside silently slid open. Vendetta flew off into the dusky sky. The same OcculTech that kept the Venatores Mali's Headquarters hidden from view was the same that kept the city from seeing him flying overhead.

  It was a strange and exhilarating feeling to be able to fly through the air on your own. Seeing the city rush by under you. He chuckled a bit in childish glee. All those people down there couldn't see him. He hurried on to the location were the werewolf attacks were taking place. The cityscape turned into forest as he left the city.

  Vendetta barely avoided a beam of dark green energy coming from the forest below. "Someone's firing at me," he asked. "How can anyone-" A second shot crashed into his chest plate. The large purple crystal absorbed some of the damage, but not enough to keep Frank from buckling under the pain. "Nevermind. Focusing now." The visor flipped through different types of detection. Thermal. Light. Aura. All came up empty.

  A bolt of energy flew at him from somewhere that he barely dodged. "Here goes nothing," he huffed as he dove at wherever the blast came from. He rolled out of the way of the next blast, using it to help pinpoint where the attacks were coming from.

  Five blasts shot out from the forest below, throwing his scanners off. He only had enough time to tense up before they all collided with him. The pain was exc
ruciating. The system with his suit shut down. He felt himself plummeting to earth.

  He landed with a loud CRUNCH. He was briefly conflicted on whether he hoped to have landed on someone before blacking out.

  16th Oct-00:10

  Unknown Location

  Frank twitched. He tried to rub his forehead, but his arms felt like they were tied. He felt a wooden post on his back. He tried to see what he was tied to, but only ended up conking his head on the wooden post.

  "Damn it," he whispered, not wanting to alert his captors that he was awake.

  The door flap in front of him flew open, and the light of the full moon flooded the tiny hut he was held in. In the doorway stood two hulking brutes of werewolves. "Told you he was awake, one snapped to the other.

  "Hey, Fleabag," Frank remarked. "Just shut up and take me to your Alpha Male."

  The werewolf walked in and backhanded Frank. It felt like it broke his jaw.

  "Let me guess, you must be South Paw," he said, testing that his jaw was still intact.

  The werewolf smacked him again, hitting the other side of Frank's face. "Not a big baseball fan, huh," he asked.

  The werewolf pulled a long strap of leather from his belt and gagged Frank with it. He then severed the rope bindings as he was dragged out into the village. There were several huts that surrounded a giant bonfire. One hut was larger and more ornate than the others.

  Frank was thrown in, then picked up by two more werewolves to be held before a giant creature with snow white fur that might have looked like a werewolf many