This is an excerpt from the sequel to "Astral Force Rising". Let me know how it grabs ya!
"Behold my masterpiece!" Leo Gardasian exclaimed as he pulled a blue tarp off of a large horizontal cylinder which contained a human body.
"Who is it?" asked Leo's sister, Tabitha, as she ran the fingers of both hands through her long auburn hair.
"Take a closer look," Leo beamed with pride. "Don't worry, sis. She won't bite. Well not yet, anyway."
"Of course not," Tabitha replied. "I'm the biter around here." She bared her extended canines for emphasis.
Peering through a window at one end of the cylinder, she saw a famiiar face. A smile crossed her face as she remarked, "Niiiice! But why the change in hair color?"
"I'm not sure," Leo replied, "but I suspect Lilith had something to do with it."
"Speaking of Lilith," Tabby inquired, "where is she? I know you didn't kill her because I'm still here. You've been tight-lipped for months now."
"That's the best part! She's inside the clone! Am I a genius, or what?"
Tabitha's jaw dropped in utter surprise. Of course! she thought. Leo's plan is to send Lilith to infiltrate Astral Force! "So when are we gonna pull the switch?"
"Halloween night just before midnight," Leo replied. "According to Krystel's tradition, the coven will split up for a few hours to prepare for the Samhain ritual. When the switch is complete, our 'Angel' will tell the others that she's died her hair to make a change for the coming year. They won't suspect a thing. Besides, I think she looks better as a brunette."
"I'd do her," Tabby grinned. "In more ways than one."
At that moment, they heard a familiar voice behind them. "Me think it gonna work," remarked their older brother, Jared, who was left with the mind of a small child at the hands of one of Lilith's followers. Fortunately, he was also left with the power of an oracle.
"Is that a guess, Jared?" Leo asked. "Or can you see it?"
"Me see many futures," he replied in his boyish tone. "In most of them, the witch people fall down go boom!" He grinned and clapped his hands like a three-year-old on Christmas day, giving him the comical appearance of a grandfather mimicing a grandchild.
"That's encouraging," Leo said with a grin.
"One question, though," Tabitha said as she gazed into the incubation chamber once more. "Isn't it kinda dangerous to crank out a clone this quickly? I mean, in every sci-fi novel I've ever read, the cloning process was very delicate stuff and couldn't be rushed."
"Ah, but there's the kicker!" Leo beamed once more. "This isn't a pure clone. It's an amalgamation of a cloned organism and infused demon aided by the magick that the Tree provides. It even clued me in to the necessary safeguards in case of trouble. So you see, my dear sister, that our collective asses are covered. Hell...I could add a key genome from a firefly and make her glow in the dark if I wanted to! The possibilities are endless!"
Tabitha grinned, baring her fangs. "Shall I go catch you a firefly?"
"That won't be necessary. I still have a few modifications to make, but I think I'll forgo the phosphorescence."
"What will we do with the original?" Tabby asked.
"Oh, I dunno..." Leo replied, stroking his chin. "Torture sounds like fun. Maybe we can turn her into a supercharged Patty Hearst. Like I said before, the possibilities are endless.
