Immortal Consequences

by Steven Sterup

  Elyssa noticed Bree’s movement and skipped over to her with a huge grin. She bent over and shouted.

  “Surprise!” Elyssa’s attitude and face enforced Bree’s belief that this woman was crazy.

  “A canon? Really?” Bree asked, unimpressed.

  “It’s not a canon you unimaginative simpleton,” Elyssa said and her grin was replaced with a scowl.

  “Then what the hell is it?” Bree asked.

  “It’s a water cannon,” Elyssa said with more enthusiasm than Bree thought it deserved.

  “So?” Bree asked.

  “It’s a water cannon,” Elyssa said again, hoping Bree would see its merits.

  “Are you just going to hope Kal stands still long enough to shoot him with it?” Bree asked with a smirk.

  “So short sided,” Elyssa said, her excitement still not wavering. “You just need a demonstration.”

  “Enlighten me,” Bree taunted.

  Elyssa ignored Bree’s attempts to dissuade her and continued toward the large machine.

  “It’s not just water you know? It has sand in it. The pulse from this thing can cut through a mountain in seconds. Watch this.” Elyssa grabbed the cannon and spun it around several times. Elyssa had mounted it on a swivel. The tube that fed the machine came up through the floor so it would be very easy to maneuver.

  “Still not impressed?” Elyssa asked. She scrunched up her face like she was contemplating a difficult math problem then made her way to the marble pillar closest to the cannon and knocked on it. She went to the other side and lined it up with the cannon then looked at Bree. “How much do you think these things actually support?”

  Bree realized what she was going to do but before she could argue, Elissa was back at the cannon. She spun it and hit a switch. The massive machine sprung to life then Elyssa pulled the trigger on both handles and it shot out a stream of sand and water. The marble column exploded, shooting pieces of rock all over the room. A small piece sunk into Bree’s arm and she screamed in agony.

  Elyssa shut the machine off and rushed to Bree’s side. She carefully pulled out the chunk of marble then looked at Bree apologetically.

  “I had no idea it would be that powerful,” she said. Elyssa saw the blood and her hunger made her fangs descend. She seemed to be involuntarily drawn to it then she smelled the dark liquid and recoiled violently. “You smell like him!”

  Elyssa stumbled back toward the cannon and gagged at the horrible smell of Bree’s blood.

  “I guess you’re not going to eat me then,” Bree taunted with a huge smile.

  “No, Bree. What I have planned will be far more entertaining,” Elyssa said. When she looked at the blood coming from Bree’s arm she gagged again.

  “You should go find some blood. You look like you’re starving,” Bree said with an evil grin.

  “And leave you here all alone? Kal may underestimate me but, believe me, I know who I’m up against. Kal is strong but you’re the brains of the relationship.” Elyssa didn’t turn around this time. “Would you quit bleeding all over the place?”

  “Come untie me,” Bree teased.

  “Untie me…leave me alone…” Elyssa said in a high, whiney voice. “You must really think I’m stupid.”

  “Nope. I just love watching you overthink every move you make. You never know what I’m up to do you? You always have to make sure I’m not leading you around,” Bree said with a snide quality to her voice that Elyssa was quite aware of.

  “A conversation with you is like playing chess. How the hell did Kal ever fall in love with you?” Elyssa asked. She was making a show of ‘tuning up’ her machine but Bree could see it was an act. Elyssa couldn’t stand the smell of Bree’s blood. Looking at it only reminded her of it.

  “He lets me win. He’s a lot smarter than you think. He figured out right away that by letting me have my way, he wins,” Bree said with a laugh.

  “Isn’t that sweet,” Elyssa put her finger in her mouth and, this time, the gagging was for show. “Time for bed, Bree. I’ll be here watching you.” Elyssa walked over to a switch, flipped it and the place went completely dark once more. Bree could hear Elyssa grumbling to herself but couldn’t make out the words. She decided to get in one more jab before she tried to get back to sleep.

  “Sweet dreams, El,” Bree said to the darkness but Elyssa didn’t respond.

  Chapter 22

  Kal and Ra snuck through the alley of one of the houses surrounding the large, empty church. It was a calm night with a full moon. It looked so peaceful and completely innocent from here but neither of them believed the lie. Elyssa was definitely inside and so was Bree.

  “No sign of her but what did we expect?” Kal asked.

  “You’re catching on little brother. To beat El we have to play her game better than she does.” Ra patted his brother on the back supportively.

  “I wish Bree was here. She is so much better than me at this kind of thing,” Kal said.

  “If Bree was here we wouldn’t be doing this now would we? That’s why El took her.” Ra inched closer to the front of the house. He didn’t want to risk being seen but surely there was some clue as to what Elyssa had planned.

  “What is that?” Kal asked while pointing to a large metal box on the side of the church. It looked out of place and brand new.

  “Some sort of electrical station?” Ra asked. He wasn’t sure either.

  “Well, we can’t go up and look at it. Maybe we should see what she’s had delivered here,” Kal offered.

  Ra turned and scrunched up his face then grinned.

  “The student becomes the master,” Ra said with a laugh.

  “Ha ha. Very funny,” Kal replied. He tried to act humble but he felt proud.

  “Can that laptop of yours look up stuff like that?” Ra asked.

  “Actually. I bet it can,” Kal replied.

  The two men crept their way back down the alley and once they were away from Elyssa’s church they headed back toward Kal’s apartment. Once they arrived Kal set up his laptop on the kitchen counter and got to work while Ra waited, not so patiently, on the couch.

  “Your laptop is slow,” Ra complained.

  “What was that you were telling me about patience and slowing down?” Kal asked.

  After a long silence Ra spoke.

  “Getting a little full of yourself?” Ra asked in response. He wasn’t about to say the obvious answer Kal was fishing for.

  “Oh…oh….oh…” Kal said and each time his voice sounded more concerned. Ra struggled to walk slowly for the fifteen feet between the couch and the kitchen. He couldn’t let his brother win.

  Ra walked up casually and peered at the screen. He deliberately tried to look uninterested as he asked.

  “What’s so interesting?” Ra asked.

  “Bree already purchased a crib. I was kind of hoping we could pick it out together….gotcha!” Kal teased.

  “That’s not a crib on the screen,” Ra chastised.

  “No. It’s not,” Kal said with a laugh. “It’s shipments of parts but I can’t figure out what for. A high powered compressor. A voltage converter. What the hell does she need a thousand pounds of sand for? This doesn’t make any sense,” Kal complained.

  “No. It doesn’t. What else is there?” Ra asked and pushed his head in closer to the screen.

  “Can’t you read English?” Kal asked.

  “I can read English but your puny screen is hard to read. Would it kill you to buy a decent sized one?” Ra complained.

  “It’s a laptop,” Kal scolded.

  Then they both saw the next page and had a pretty good idea that Elyssa was building some kind of weapon. They couldn’t be sure of what it was but all the metal parts pointed toward a weapon. The swivel base and the compressor, coupled with some of the switches and reducing pipes all seemed like they would be used for a projectile weapon of some sort.

  “I have an idea,” Kal said. Ra backed away from the screen and smiled at his brother.
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  “Good. If it’s anything like mine. We might just be able to get Bree back,” Ra replied.

  Chapter 23

  Bree woke to darkness once more but she was getting used to it now. She could hear Elyssa tapping her foot nervously then she heard Elyssa pacing. That was when Bree realized why Elyssa was so distraught. Sure, she was hungry, Elyssa hadn’t been able to leave since Kal had decimated her army, but that wasn’t why Elyssa was so upset.

  “Can I have some light?” Bree asked loudly and heard Elyssa jump. “And do you have any food?” Not only was Elyssa starving, Bree was also.

  Elyssa flipped the switch and all the lights came on. The scene looked the same as it had last night with the exception of a small pool of dried blood beside Bree. Bree saw Elyssa rummaging through several bags then she pulled out a few sticks of beef jerky and looked pleased with herself. She walked half way to Elyssa then tossed them to her. They slid across the floor until they were stopped by Bree’s leg.

  “I’m tied up. How am I going to get them to my mouth?” Bree asked snidely.

  Elyssa stomped over to Bree, gave her an angry glare then walked around behind her and untied Bree’s wrists. The ability to move her arms and the resurgence of blood to her hands felt wonderful. For a few seconds Bree shut her eyes, tilted her head to the ceiling and just savored the wonderful feeling. Then Elyssa spoke and Bree was reminded of the conversation she wanted to start.

  “Well eat them already,” Elyssa commanded impatiently.

  Bree picked up one of the pre-packaged sticks of beef then opened it. Before she put it into her mouth she stared up at Elyssa with devious intent.

  “What?” Elyssa couldn’t help but ask.

  “I know what’s wrong,” Bree stated then took a bite. She couldn’t chew fast enough and nearly choked as she swallowed the dry, salty meat. She may not have actually been starving but it felt damn close.

  “Enlighten me with your wisdom,” Elyssa taunted. “Not like I could shut you up anyway.”

  “You could but that’s the problem isn’t it?” Bree taunted in return.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about,” Elyssa said, crossed her arms and faced away from Bree. Now Bree was certain she was right.

  “You didn’t think this through did you? You had the chance to kill Kal when you knocked him out. Instead, you tried to frame him for murder. Then a much better plan showed itself to you but you didn’t realize the consequences for killing me did you? Not at first.” Bree took another bite, careful to completely chew it this time.

  “What are you babbling about? Everything is going according to plan,” Elyssa said but it didn’t even sound like she believed it.

  “No. It didn’t actually occur to you until I nearly froze to death. Then it hit you. If I die. Kal won’t care what humans think. He won’t care about vampire laws. He would die trying to kill you if that’s what it took. And it’s doubtful anyone could stop him. That’s why you HAVE to kill him first now.” Bree took another bite then, with her mouth full, she looked up at Elyssa who was eyeing her once more and gave her a coy grin. “Do you have any water? This stuff is really dry.”

  Elyssa stomped over to a collection of water bottles then stomped back.

  “You think you have this all figured out don’t you?” Elyssa asked then tossed the water bottle at Bree.

  Bree snapped up the bottle and gulped it down. It was the best water she had ever tasted. She didn’t stop until the bottle was empty.

  “But you don’t,” Bree replied after she was finished with the water. “How about a bathroom? Your sensitive nose wouldn’t like what happens if I don’t get to use the bathroom in about thirty seconds.” Bree was exaggerating but Elyssa didn’t want to risk it.

  Elyssa grabbed Bree’s arm roughly and pulled her to her feet. Bree’s knees hurt as she put weight on them. She had been sitting stationary for too long. Her back was killing her and, as soon as she was on her feet, she realized thirty seconds was not an exaggeration. Bree made a beeline to the bathroom Elyssa had let her use before and didn’t bother waiting for her captor.

  Elyssa waited at the door and shouted through it.

  “No funny business! If you run I’ll catch you!” Elyssa warned.

  “Where am I going to run?! There are no windows in here!” Bree shouted back.

  When Bree emerged Elyssa was waiting. Bree walked slowly back to the column. She wasn’t ready to be tied up again. Although she knew it was coming, she wanted to extend her small amount of freedom for as long as Elyssa would let her.

  “You didn’t answer me,” Bree said as she slowed even further on the way back to the column

  “I didn’t hear a question worth answering,” Elyssa snapped.

  “When I nearly froze to death. That’s when it hit you. You were going to kill me after you got far enough away but you didn’t realize until that very moment what Kal would do. Come to think of it. Why didn’t you just kill me at my sister’s inn? That would have been easy. Kill me, run away. Ok, now I’m not so sure.” As Bree went over everything she realize the glaring inconsistencies in everything Elyssa had done. Then the truth came like a slap to the face. “I’m wrong! You never intended to kill either of us! Did you?! You had the chance to kill each of us but you didn’t take it.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The look on Elyssa’s face told Bree that she was on to the truth Elyssa was trying to hide.

  “This isn’t about killing anyone. This isn’t about payback. And this isn’t about you being unable to have a child. Kal did hurt you but that’s not why you are doing this.” Bree stopped and her shocked look made Elyssa nervous.

  “Shut up and sit down. You can’t possibly understand me. I’m older than civilization. What do you know?” Elyssa evaded.

  Bree sat down but the look of shock on her face was making Elyssa nervous.

  “This is a temper tantrum gone horribly wrong. You don’t want to hurt Kal. You just wanted his attention. But you’ve gone too far. You can’t see a way out of it now.” Bree grunted as her arms were forced around the pole then tied once more.

  Elyssa walked around in front of her and stared down with a fake smugness that only enforced Bree’s assumption.

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about. I do want to kill Kal. I will kill you and that baby.” Elyssa stormed over to her pile of supplies and tried to look like she was searching for something.

  “You didn’t call her an abomination or a brat or whatever else you called her before. You called her a baby. You want to be part of this family. Stop this. Please. El I can help you,” Bree pleaded.

  “You have no idea…what…I…want,” Elyssa said and Bree could tell she was crying.

  “El please. It’s not too late. Kal will never touch you. I’ll make sure of that.” Elyssa didn’t speak so Bree went on. She was certain she was right. Elyssa didn’t actually want to hurt anyone. “At the apartment, when we first met, that wasn’t an act was it?”

  “Shut up, Bree,” Elyssa said quietly. She still wouldn’t turn around and face Bree.

  “El please. Untie me. We’ll go talk to Kal. He won’t hurt you. I won’t let him. I promise,” Bree pleaded once more.

  Elyssa turned around. Tears streamed down her face but her face was full of anger as she spoke.

  “It’s too late! I killed mom and dad! They’ll never let me live!” Elyssa shouted.

  “That one’s a little tougher,” Bree agreed. “So why did you kill them? What happened?”

  “I didn’t mean to kill dad! Mom figured it out,” Elyssa sobbed. She put her hands over her eyes and sat down on top of a box.

  “Just tell me what happened. I’ll explain it to Kal. I won’t let him touch you.” Bree kept staring at Elyssa, waiting for her to make eye contact. She needed to show Elyssa that she was serious and sincere.

  “I was nothing to dad. I just wanted to show him. When Ra walked out to get some wine to celebrate their agreement I felt…�
� Elyssa sobbed.

  “You felt left out. Right?” Bree asked quietly.

  “Yes,” Elyssa admitted.

  “That’s also why you fought on the opposing army. You just wanted to show everyone that you mattered,” Bree stated.

  “Yes,” Elyssa replied, still sobbing.

  “Oh El,” Bree comforted. “What happened with your father?”

  “I was just joking around. I put the sword up to his chest. I told him that if I wanted to I could kill him. He laughed.” Elyssa looked up and Bree could see all the pain, all the centuries of anguish.

  “And then?” Bree urged.

  “I got so angry. He laughed at me! Like he didn’t believe I could do it. So I did.” Elyssa looked at the floor.

  Bree was scared now, more than she had been since her abduction. Elyssa wasn’t evil. It was worse. She was mentally disturbed.

  “And your mom?” Bree asked. Her heart went out to Elyssa. The woman was disturbed but her pain was real. Her actions were wrong but the torment she suffered was not imaginary.

  “Mom finally figured it out. Neither of her perfect boys would have killed dad. She asked and I confessed. After all this time. I told mom the truth about who had killed father,” Elyssa said softly.

  “What happened?” Bree asked kindly.

  “She said…” Elyssa looked up again and the hatred was clear. “She said ‘I knew it had to be you. Neither of my boys would do that.’ She didn’t doubt it for a second. She didn’t ask why. Then she slapped me.”

  “I think I can figure out the rest,” Bree said sadly and looked away.

  “No. It’s worse. She was so smug. Always believing herself better than me. She told me how much of a disappointment I had been. I tore her head clean off with my bare hands. The look on her face…” Bree looked up and Elyssa’s grin was horrifying.

  “Oh El. I’m so sorry,” Bree comforted.

  “I don’t want your pity and I don’t want theirs!” Elyssa shouted. She stood up, stormed over to Bree and pointed at her. “I’ve come this far. I wanted them to love me but I couldn’t get that. So I will take their lives as a consolation.”