Immortal Consequences

by Steven Sterup

  “No. I don’t,” Kal admitted.

  Kal saw the blood trickle down from one of Elyssa’s claws as it dug in deeper into Bree’s throat. He needed to keep Elyssa calm.

  “This is it for me. Either you or I will die here tonight. Bree? Who knows? I guess that’s up to fate,” Elyssa said. She put down the lighter and put both hands around Bree’s neck.

  “It’s not up to fate El. It’s up to you,” Kal explained.

  “It is isn’t it?” Elyssa asked with a smirk.

  She looked at the floor then kicked something heavy and metal toward Kal.

  “Pick it up!” she commanded.

  Kal bent over and once he grabbed the long metal object by the handle he knew what it was.

  “Why did you bring dad’s sword?” Kal asked. He stared at the intricately designed sword. It had been a gift to his father from a human king. It was strong and study, it was also the weapon El had used to kill their father.

  Elyssa started side stepping with Bree, getting closer to Kal. When her back was to a wall and Kal stood in front of her she answered.

  “You are going to drive it through your heart and I’ll just walk away. Bree and the baby will get to live out their lives. I’ll disappear. Promise,” Elyssa said.

  Kal looked down at the sword. And moved the tip of the blade to his chest.

  “Kal no. This isn’t what she really wants,” Bree said.

  “Yes it is!” Elyssa shouted. “You’ve known me for five minutes. How the hell would you know?”

  “El. I think I might know you better than your own family,” Bree said. Elyssa squeezed her throat tighter.

  “Shut up,” Elyssa commanded.

  “Kal,” Bree said to get his attention. When he was looking her in the eyes she continued. “Save your sister from herself.” Bree’s eyes lit up red and Kal knew what Bree was asking him to do.

  “Kal. I’m evil. Don’t save me. Save her,” Elyssa argued.

  “She’s not evil, Kal. She’s in pain,” Bree explained.

  “Shut up,” Elyssa said and squeezed tighter.

  Kal looked down at the sword. Bree was asking him to do something that went against his better judgment. Why save the woman trying to kill his wife? Why risk Bree’s life to save Elyssa’s?

  “Time’s up, Kal. Decide. Or I’ll decide for you!” Elyssa shouted. She squeezed Bree’s neck tighter and Bree started to choke. Blood was dripping down all of Elyssa’s fingers. If she didn’t strangle Bree she would rip out her throat.

  “Ok. I’ll do it,” Kal said. Elyssa loosened her grip on Bree.

  “Get on with it,” Elyssa urged him.

  “Bree?” Kal asked.

  “Oh geez,” Elyssa complained.

  “You’re going to get angry,” he said.

  “No Kal,” she begged him.

  “No. I mean get angry!” he shouted. He pulled the sword up over his shoulder then tossed it like a javelin.

  Bree concentrated on being angry. The sensation felt similar to sinking into a warm bath but it started around her heart. First her chest felt warm then it spread to her arms, her legs and to her head. Her skin turned grey at the same second Elyssa realized what Kal was doing. Elyssa gripped Bree’s throat and squeezed as hard as she could then the sword shot through her shoulder and pinned her to the wall.

  Bree fell forward and grabbed her throat. Blood dripped from her hands. Kal rushed to her side.

  “Bree!” he shouted.

  “I’m…fine,” Bree said, her voice was forced but she could speak.

  Kal stood up and angrily pinned Elyssa’s other shoulder to the wall. He extended his claws then pulled his hand back. He had every intention of removing Elyssa’s head until he felt Bree’s small hand on his wrist.

  “No Kal. Everyone has suffered enough,” Bree said. Kal looked at her throat and the wounds had already healed. “There has been enough killing and enough pain.”

  “No! Kill me Kal! Kill me!” Elyssa begged.

  Bree walked up to Elyssa and looked her in the eyes.

  “I’m sorry El. You don’t get to take the easy way out,” Bree said. “I would miss you.”

  Tears formed in Elyssa’s eyes and she quit struggling. Kal removed the sword from her shoulder and held Elyssa’s wrists tightly as he escorted her out of the house.

  Chapter 27

  A week later Bree’s parents, Mel and Ashley, arrived at the door to their apartment. Bree had called them with the news of her pregnancy and they drove over as quickly as they could. Bree’s mother looked nervous the whole time they were eating and when lunch was over she cornered Bree.

  “We need to talk Brianna,” the woman who looked like an older version of Bree said.

  “Everyone calls me Bree, mom. What’s so urgent?” she asked. She had picked up on her mother’s anxiety during lunch.

  “Ok, Bree. Can we have a minute alone?” Ashley asked.

  “Sure,” Bree relented and led her mother to their bedroom. Bree shut the door and sat on the bed. She smiled and looked down at her swelling lump then couldn’t stop herself from putting her hand on it.

  “I’ve been putting this off but…now that you’re pregnant, I need to tell you,” Ashley said.

  “Tell me what?” Bree looked up from her belly and smiled at her mother.

  “What I’m going to tell you is a family secret that you can never tell anyone. You can’t tell Kal, not your friends, not your dad, no one. Not until the day your child is old enough to have a child of its own. Do you understand?” Ashely asked. She looked terrified and Bree didn’t understand why.

  “What’s going on mom? Kal and I have no secrets,” Bree stated.

  “If you tell him and they find out. They’ll kill you both,” Ashley explained and Bree’s mouth fell open. She stared at her mother then smiled.

  “I gotta get Kal. This is…this is…I don’t even know what to call this,” Bree said and shot up from the bed. She had reached the door before her mother grabbed her arm.

  “No. We can’t tell him,” she urged.

  “Don’t worry mom. The vampire laws will not be broken by you telling Kal,” Bree said with a smirk and Ashley released her daughters arm.

  When Bree came back with Kal he looked at his mother-in-law with concern.

  “What’s going on?” Kal asked.

  “Tell her Kal,” Bree ordered.

  “Bree. We talked about this,” Kal said, trying to be subtle.

  “Fine! Mom you go first,” Bree said.

  “Are you sure?” Ashley asked.

  “It’s fine, mom. No laws will be broken. It won’t even bend them,” Bree said with a laugh.

  “Ok,” Ashley conceded. She looked at Kal nervously but even Ashely was unable to say no to her daughter.

  “Your great grandfather wasn’t human,” she started. “I know it sounds crazy.”

  “Mom. I know about vampires…and gargoyles,” she eyed Kal who still looked nervous.

  “Well that makes this a lot easier,” Ashley said with a sigh. “Yes. Your great grandfather was a vampire. Your grandmother was half vampire. It’s why she lived until she was a hundred and twenty. Truthfully, I think she only died because she was bored. The man she loved, my dad, died forty years before she did. She just ran out of things to keep her busy.”

  “I don’t remember her,” Bree admitted.

  “That’s because it was before you were born. I’m not fifty seven. I’m one hundred and seven.” Ashley smiled at both of them.

  “You look like your thirty seven,” Kal said.

  “Nice try. I’m an old fart. I know,” Ashley laughed then looked at Bree curiously when Bree covered her mouth to stop her own laugh. “What’s so funny?”

  “Kal…tell mom how old you are,” she said, still holding her hand over her mouth.

  “Two thousand four hundred and twelve,” Kal said. “I’m the old fart.”

  Ashley looked at her son-in-law then at her daughter, full of relief.

 
“I agonized over how to tell you this for so long. I can’t believe it was so easy. Just to let you know. You’re not going to go sprouting fangs and crave blood. It’s a recessive gene I guess,” Ashley explained.

  “You’re right about part of that. I won’t be craving blood.” Bree concentrated. Kal had been helping her understand the transformation and she was getting pretty good at it. She felt the warmth then opened her eyes. “I do have fangs though.”

  “Oh my,” Ashley said as she put her hand to her daughter’s face. Bree was not as rough looking as Kal when he transformed. The bones in her face looked softer, her fangs a little smaller. She did grow in size but she was much more feminine looking.

  “I hope you stick around longer than grandma did.” Bree shifted back and rubbed her stomach. “This little one needs a grandma.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it. Besides, your father is almost fifty years younger than me. I’d say I have some years left before I get bored with living,” Ashley smiled then put her finger to her lips. “Don’t tell him. He likes to think he’s a year older than me. Makes him feel good.”

  Epilogue

  Bree walked in the door of an expensive looking house, somewhere in the middle of North Dakota. It was fifty miles from Leanne’s bed and breakfast. Close enough for them to visit but far enough to keep them from growing tired of each other.

  On Bree’s hip was their two year old daughter, Bethany Anne. She had her father’s eyes and her mother’s face. Bree set the bag of groceries on the couch then put Beth in her high chair.

  “Give me two seconds and I’ll get lunch,” she said to the toddler who didn’t respond. The door came back open and Kal walked in followed by Ra.

  “Look. Daddy’s home,” Bree said with excitement. Beth’s face lit up and she held her arms up.

  Kal used his index finger and bopped Beth on the nose.

  “Sorry sweetie. Daddy is busy right now,” Kal said with a childish voice.

  “She has to eat first anyway,” Bree explained.

  “Someone else needs to eat as well,” Kal said giving Ra a knowing glance.

  Ra pulled out a bag filled with blood.

  “I think I got it this time. Tasted it myself,” Ra said. He shot a smile to Beth who laughed and tried to grab the bag. “No. You don’t want this. It will make you puke.”

  “What did you do differently?” Kal asked.

  “I took pig’s blood, added amino acids and some enzymes. Tastes just like human blood,” Ra assured him.

  “Only one way to find out,” Kal said. He walked up to a keypad on the wall. He put in a six digit number, then the wall cracked and a hidden panel slid out of the way. Under the panel was a door that was locked with a key. He pulled out his key ring and unlocked it then headed down the spiral stair case.

  At the bottom a large room opened up. Half of it had metal tables, the other half was entirely encased with bars. Elyssa lay on a bed to one side of the large cage. She had a bathroom, dresser, bed, table and even a treadmill.

  Elyssa sniffed the air and shot to the bars.

  “Did you finally give up feeding me that slop?” she asked with excitement. “I can smell it. That’s the real deal.”

  Ra looked at Kal, Kal looked at Ra and they both smiled. Ra handed the bag to Elyssa and she eagerly emptied half of it.

  “Is there more?” she asked.

  “What? No thank you?” Kal asked with a smile.

  Elyssa smiled and pushed against the bars.

  “Thank you big brother. Thank you little brother.” She smiled back at them then continued to drain the bag.

  “We’ll get you more,” Ra said with a smug smile.

  Ra started up then Kal followed. Elyssa pulled the bag from her mouth and pressed herself against the bars.

  “Wait! Don’t you wanna talk? Ask me more questions? I’ll tell you whatever you want,” she begged.

  “Sorry, El. We need to get more supplies. We’ll be back,” Kal said then continued up.

  Elyssa sunk to the floor and finished off the blood. She looked depressed as the door shut.

  As Kal and Ra left the basement Kal spoke to his wife.

  “Ra and I will be back in about an hour or two. The new formula worked. She has no idea it’s pigs blood.” Kal looked at his brother with satisfaction.

  “It’s good for her right? It won’t hurt her?” Bree asked with concern.

  “It’s just as healthy as human blood. Don’t worry dear,” Kal comforted. “Now. Keep the door locked. I know this is a little strange but you’ll get used to the new house and the new…situation in no time.”

  “It was my idea remember?” Bree asked with a smile.

  “I still can’t believe you wanted to keep El in our basement after what she did?” Kal asked with disbelief.

  “Just go get your stuff and hurry back. Beth is a handful. I’d like to take a shower this year, maybe even a nap,” Bree joked.

  As soon as Kal and Ra were gone Bree checked out the window. Their car was headed down the road so she quickly rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a set of keys she had stashed underneath one of the drawers. She punched in the code, unlocked the door and grabbed Beth. As Bree descended Elyssa noticed her and her face lit up. She rushed to the bars with a joyful smile on her face.

  “Bree! You’re here!” Elyssa exclaimed.

  “I told you I would see you again,” Bree said and set Beth on the floor in front of the cage.

  “And this must be Beth,” Elyssa said in a high pitched voice. She stuck her hands through the bars and Bree panicked.

  “Wait!” Bree shouted as she rushed up and grabbed Beth then pulled her back. Bree’s arms had turned grey and Elyssa looked at her with sadness.

  “I would never hurt her,” Elyssa said, obviously upset. She looked up at Bree and it looked like she might start crying.

  “No, El. It’s not you,” Bree said. She removed her hand from Beth’s mouth. Beth’s short, yet sharp, fangs were trying desperately to pierce Bree’s skin but they couldn’t. “I think she’s teething. She’s biting everyone and everything she can get her mouth on.”

  Elyssa bent down to the bars but kept her hands inside this time.

  “You little booger. You remind me of your daddy when he was your age,” Elyssa said in a cheerful tone. Elyssa looked up at Bree with hope in her eyes. “How long can you stay?”

  Bree looked back with a warm smile.

  “You live with us now. Beth and I can come visit all the time. Just like I promised. Even if Kal doesn’t approve,” Bree said with a laugh.

  Elyssa looked at Bree full of guilt.

  “I’m sorry I tried to kill you,” Elyssa said. Bree could tell her guilt wasn’t fake.

  “El. We’re family. All is forgiven. I see you kept your end of the bargain. You haven’t even tried to escape.” Bree winked at Elyssa. “I know these bars aren’t holding you.”

  “You said you would come talk to me if I stayed,” Elyssa replied.

  “Yep and I’m here to keep up MY end of the bargain. What would you like to talk about?” Bree pulled a chair from across the room and sat in front of the bars. She picked up Beth, sat down and started bouncing Beth on her knee then smiled at Elyssa.

  “Tell me about your sister. What was it like when you were growing up?” Elyssa asked as she sat down on the floor and waited eagerly.

  “The things Leanne did to me when we were little. Well…until the day I fought back.” Bree’s devilish grin made Elyssa smile. “Little did I know that by fighting back I was sealing my fate. You remember when I told you I was a virgin until I was eighteen? That wasn’t a lie.”

  Elyssa sat on the floor leaning forward, hanging on every word. Bree shot her a warm smile.

  “I love you El. Never forget that. You are welcome here as long as I can convince you to stay,” Bree said. “When Kal calms down maybe we can even convince him to let you out of this cage.”

  “Why would I go? I always wanted a sister,” Elyssa repli
ed. Then she looked at Bree with a strange smile. “And I like my cage…as long as you’re here.”

  Bree smiled lovingly then continued her story while Elyssa hung on every word. “So I was ten years old and Leanne had just sabotaged my brand new bike…”

  The End