Children of a Lesser God

Chapter 268: The Plan

Before leaving, Laz checked out Dwayne's issue with cultivation. If Laz was being honest, he was probably not the best person for this task. After all, he wasn't some all knowing sage. The only benefit he had was his experience in treating Sarah and Abraham along with his own efforts. Luckily though, he didn't let Dwayne down.

As it turned out, while Laz had always been using the technique he created which regulated the flow if energy through the body, there were different ways he had discovered that worked just as well. But since they worked just as well as far as he was concerned, he just went back to his usual way. It was only now, helping Dwayne, that Laz understood and appreciated the other ways he had discovered.

Interestingly enough, he had never named them or put much stock into them. But seeing as how this new technique/way of doing it was beneficial for Dwayne, Laz decided that he should try to pass on all of the ones that he had figured out so that others who had issues like Dwayne, could get some help. Since Dwayne liked to call himself 'immortal,' Laz simply referred to this new way technique as the immortal technique.

As far as Laz was concerned, this was nothing more than a footnote for the day as he was now super interested in the stone that he had received.

Just as he was about to leave though, Aaron stopped him.

"So what's the plan for getting into this gate. We all know where the building in located, but it's going to be hell to try to get in."

"That... yeah..." Thinking about it, Laz's only real plan was just to bust their way in, no big deal. After all, once the church sent in whoever they were going to send, assuming that was their plan, Laz didn't think there would be much in the way of opposition for him and his group. But while he might have thought this way, that didn't mean it was the safest or the smartest way to go about things.

"Don't have an idea?"

"Well, I figured the direct approach would be the best. But we would need a way in..." Laz kind of said what he thought, but decided to keep it vague.

"Ok.. A quiet way in..."

"Blending in be the way. Sneak around and find what ye be looking fer. Don't got to go making it hard on the boy. Just give em what ye got," Madam Cal spoke up, exposing Aaron's plans.

"What you got?" Laz was kind of confused.

"We raided a... deployment from one of the churches deliveries and discovered a bunch of military fatigues which we stashed in case we needed to blend in. Using those should get you through the door. But even then, that doesn't hide who we are. One of those freaks comes upon us and they gunna know you don't belong there." Aaron voiced his overall concern. Sneaking in would be easy if they were just normal people. But as things stood, he didn't know of a way to hide their unique energy from the chosen. The red beads only worked while you were weak while normal people wouldn't be able to know the difference anyway. But when a chosen comes upon an infected or vice versa, there is no way to hide it.

"That's.... actually pretty easy," Laz said, thinking of something.

"How be dat easy?" Madam Cal asked.

"Halgalz...." Laz said, thinking to himself.

"And what the hell is that?" Aaron said, wondering.

Laz didn't say anything right away. He just thought to himself a bit longer. Laz had never abandoned the use of runes and had, in fact, been learning more about them. The hardest part about using them was that they, in and of themselves, were vague. Just because a rune meant something didn't mean that it was clear enough to support the action he wanted. Runes had always been open to interpretation.

"Let me show you," Laz figured the easiest way was the direct way.

Lifting his finger in the air, Laz brought out his black flame on the tip of it. Using it like a pencil, he drew the rune in the air, a simple rune that kind of took on an 'N' shape. When he was done drawing it, he waved his hand and allowed the rune to plaster itself onto his body before it disappeared. Although the outline of the rune was the black flame, once the rune was activated, it became nothing more than energy. Laz instilled it with the thought of disruption.

"Amazing. Using yer own energy like a brush to paint a symbol. Dis isn't something just anyone can do." Madam Cal, watching Laz's movements, had nothing but praise for him..

"So what does it do?"

"Try to sense me," Laz told Aaron.

"Ok." Aaron used his sense to scan Laz, but much to his surprise, it's like he wasn't even there.

"This... this...?"

"Hmm?" Madam Cal, without even a word, tried doing the same thing. She also sensed nothing where Laz was standing.

Seeing the strange looks on their faces, of course Dwayne tried it as well, although his sense was much lower than the middle aged couple. Of course he saw nothing as well.

"Are you not seeing what I'm not seeing?" He asked, amazed.

"This is amazing. The red beads lost their effect once we got stronger and nothing else could hide the fluctuations of our energy, either from each other or those bastards. Of course them sensing us means we sense them. But if you're a blank to us..." Aaron half asked, half said to himself.

"I think it should work," Laz said.

"To be honest, I don't know how their power and ability works. It's so different from what we do that I can't be one hundred percent sure this is going to work, but assuming their abilities are within the same scope of understanding as ours, then it should work." Laz explained.

"Dey be drawing the power from nature and the like and storing it within a core. To be honest with ya, it almost seems similar to how da beasts be a storing their strength. But the difference be that they can then channel the strength, both from without and from within. While we be using ours like a battery, they be using their power like a circuit."

"You mean they can draw an unlimited amount of power from the air, ground and everything around them?" Laz asked, dumbfounded.

"It not be unlimited. You not be wanting to overdraw a circuit and be burning it out right? It be da same way fer them. They grow stronger by expanding and strengthening that circuit which ain't be all that different from us," Madam Cal replied, sharing what she knew.

"How do you know all that?" Laz asked, his eyes gleaming. This was the first he had heard about it and it seemed to be an amazing bit of info.

Madam Cal didn't respond right away and instead looked over at her husband who had been quiet the whole time.

"First rule of war son, know yourself and know your enemy," Aaron said with a cold look on his face, one that sent shivers down Laz and Dwayne's back's.

"I don't think they just came out with their weakness, did they?" Laz asked a bit further. Although he felt like he was pressing on something dangerous, he wanted to make sure the information was accurate.

"You want me to get into details? They can get a bit... gory," Aaron asked with a strange smile.

"You know what? Never mind. We will just go with what you said. Still though, it seems really weird that they have a strength that uses the environment while ours feels like we are stealing from it..." Laz pondered out loud. Knowing what he knew about those channeler's, it seemed like they really were more in tune with the world.

"I be having my own thoughts on that, but that not be important right now. For now, tell us bout this rune thing," Madam Cal changed the subject, giving Laz the chance to explain. After he was done, both Madam Cal and Dwayne agreed that runes were useful and that they would learn about them. When they asked Laz if he could use it on all twenty four-ish people who were going to be gong, Laz could only say he would try.

After that, Laz made plans to meet up with the Vodun the night of the opening which also seemed to correspond to a bit party in town. It would be up to him to get in touch with the council members and the Freya's vampyres to make sure everyone met on time.

He would also be the one in charge of the entire group, a responsibility that he had never had to worry about before.

His only thought was that if they were going to believe in him, he would do his best for them.

After that, Laz said his goodbyes and with Dwayne leading the way, left the basement and the shop.

"You sure about this?" Laz felt that he should ask one last time.

"No. But so what? You think something like this is going to stop me?" Dwayne asked with a smile. Laz didn't know Dwayne and Dwayne didn't know Laz, but sometimes, when you met someone, you just clicked with them.

It was kind of like this with him.

"Listen my pale skinned brother. You need to stop worrying so much about things and let them happen. This entire world has gone shit crazy in the last few years and it ain't gonna stop anytime soon. So instead of worrying about what might be and what could happen, just live it the best you can and try to make it out alive. Ya hear me?" Dwayne felt like Laz was a jumbled ball of nerves ever since they left the training room and just felt that he should mellow.

"You could die to, you know?" Laz said, wondering if he ever even thought about it.

"Me? The immortal Dwayne? Worried about dying? Please. If only one person can walk out of this alive, it's going to be me."

"Strapped to another table, right?" Laz laughed, thinking about how they had met earlier.

"If she's pretty enough? Hell yeah she can strap me to a table and have her way with me." Dwayne wasn't even fazed by Laz's insult and turned it around on him.

"Yeah? Even if she's hard into wanting to peg you while you're strapped to that table?"

"You go there? So quick eh? Tell you what. I ain't gonna knock it till I try it, hear me? You can't be saying that you ain't going do something till you do it. Then you know. Ain't no pussing out just cause you scared or something." Dwayne said, trying to keep a straight face while laughing.

"Really? You're going to say you'd let it happen?"

"Bro. If she thinks she going to hit me up with a prize winning cucumber, girl got another thing coming. But come on. You never had a girl down on you, giving you a lick and she just happens to slide a digit in, up to the knuckle?"

"No."

"Then you don't know what you're missing. Look. I ain't saying that I'd be down for that with just anyone. But if the girl is hot like that, for damn sure she can stir me up any day," With that, Dwayne pointed to a girl on the street to happened to be walking on the sidewalk the other way.

Laz turned to look in froze into place when he noticed who Dwayne was pointing at.

Thinking that Laz was checking her out, Dwayne also stopped and gave her a more in depth look over. The girl didn't notice Laz since he was still under the effects of the rune but she did notice Dwayne. Even if his eyes were a bit dirty, it was a free country and she wasn't going to stop him.

At least, not until he used his spirit sense.

The moment he tried to focus it on her, his entire body was lifted off the pavement and rammed into the wall of the closest building, causing his entire head to feel like it wanted to go dark.

"You trying to get way to good of a look there, ain't yah?" The girl asked, her voice a dripping of honey and blood.

"Damn. I'm really sorry. I didn't know... you know..."

"Yeah. Yeah. Fine. We are all the same anyway. Next time just control yourself." The girl who had appeared right in front of Dwayne while he was pinned to the wall waved her hand and several multiple colored lights disappeared, allowing his body to go free.

Acting as though it was nothing, she just tossed her pink highlighted red hair to the side and turned, only to find herself staring face to face with Laz.

"Laz...?"

"Malene?"