The God Reborn

Chapter 4

"Vinicius." It was Laura's voice.

Vinicius looked up in surprise as the world around him blinked to nothingness.

He saw Laura gazing down at the slowly rotating Earth from high above it. Her eyes were focused on an aerial view of the terrain around Sanctuary, which quickly expanded to fill all of Vinicius' vision. Sanctuary lay towards the southern tip of a large peninsula. To the east and south was Chesapeake Bay, and to the west was the old Patuxent River, known as the Green River to his acolytes. The bridges that had once crossed the river had long ago collapsed, and now the only overland approach to Sanctuary was from the North. Much of the land along the way was given over to farming and pastureland, but it was shallow, rocky soil prone to flooding.

Towards the end of that overland route, at a location about fifty miles to the north of Sanctuary, he saw a translucent red triangle glowing faintly above the terrain.

"Kobus, brief him," Laura commanded casually.

Vinicius was startled to see that Kobus was present, as well. He felt himself shrinking away from the intimidating Aeon, but forced himself to stand firm.

Kobus spoke in his normal earthy voice. "See this red triangle, ja? It's another party of heathens assembling to march towards Sanctuary. We expect they have about fifty warriors in the band," intoned Kobus.

Vinicius made an instantaneous mental check of Sanctuary's military status and shrugged. He wasn't sure why Laura had summoned him for such a non-threatening event. "We just fought off a much bigger heathen force a few days ago. When they attack, I'll defeat them easily. Even without recalling the units protecting our trade routes, I can have over a thousand acolyte warriors up on my walls—"

Kobus cut him off, not by speaking louder, but rather by continuing to speak as if Vinicius had never opened his mouth. "We believe they are not attacking your haven, but rather this location."

On the terrain below him, on the Chesapeake Bay coast about twenty miles north of Sanctuary, Vinicius saw a blue circle appear. The red triangle advanced until it intercepted the motionless blue circle, which turned into a brightly glowing red sphere.

"That's near where the recent battle occurred," Vinicius observed.

"This is a fokking sensitive location, ne. You cannot let it fall to the heathens."

"Of course not," agreed Vinicius. "We just defeated a force twenty times as big. I can—" But again he was cut off.

"You will," continued Kobus, "send your own war party to lay an ambush at this location." On the map, a yellow square appeared, along a bend in the Whispering Brook, a small river a few miles north of the blue circle. "They are likely to make camp here the night before they strike, ne. This is the best location to intercept and destroy them."

Laura broke in at this point. "Vinicius, this is deadly serious. I expect you to oversee the operation personally."

"Understood. I will dispatch a war party of acolyte warriors immediately," Vinicius stated. He hoped his voice did not betray his indignation at being ordered around by Kobus, and at Laura's demand that he be personally involved. "My warriors will destroy the invaders to the last heathen," he promised.

***

Sarah grimaced at the meeting she had just witnessed via the ether. Laura and Kobus, ordering around her Nick, or Vinicius as they called him, as if he were some ill-behaved child. She wasn't sure if she was sickened more by the arrogance of Laura and Kobus, or the weakness of Nick.