Curse of the Asuune

by Jr Steven Sterup

  “Oh yes, she used to always joke about you having two wives. She said you had a house wife and an office wife. She felt bad for Sarah because the house wife gets all the perks.” Katie laughed.

  “But…” Mark didn’t know what to say.

  “Dad, I think you and Sarah were the only two people in the whole world that didn’t know,” Katie added.

  “So, I guess it’s time to choose,” Mark said bleakly.

  “I think I’m going to go back to my normal life, at least for a while,” Katie said and Mark’s face fell. He wanted to know his daughter, but he understood. This life was not for everyone.

  “Let me walk you out,” Mark said. He was not going to try and convince Katie to stay. It was her choice. This life was dangerous and it took effort to keep going, especially when the Asuune lost at every turn.

  “I’ll help look for Sarah though,” Katie said with an upbeat tone.

  “That could be dangerous,” Mark argued.

  “I’m an FBI agent. I’ll be fine. And I think I finally found just the right church for me.” Katie smiled at her father.

  “I wouldn’t mind seeing you once in a while,” Mark replied. “But we are quite a ways from your house.”

  “I’ll transfer, there is an agency office here too.” Sarah put her arm in her Dad’s as they walked toward the door.

  Mark stopped suddenly, the stench of a vampire came rushing into the room.

  “They’ve found you!” Mark exclaimed but Katie wasn’t scared. Her father was right there, he could protect her.

  Mark pulled the short blade from behind his back and readied himself. Slowly the door opened and Mark lowered his blade, he was ready to fight but this vampire was weak, Mark could tell.

  “Lord Sariel requests your presence. He is currently in his father’s office waiting for you. He has Sarah and would like to make a deal for your daughter. He won’t hurt her. He just wants to talk to her. Share his side of things. Sarah will be released if you agree. If you fail to show up her life is forfeit.” The weak vampire walked closer to Mark to hear his response. The evil grin on his face made Katie’s skin crawl. Without warning, Katie grabbed the blade from Mark’s hand. Mark watched in awe as Katie looked like some mixture of a ballerina and a martial artist. With one swift upward motion Katie removed the vampires head and stood beside his body as it fell to the ground.

  “I’ve changed my mind. Turn me!” Katie exclaimed forcefully.

  “But…” Mark was again speechless.

  “They have my soon to be step-mom slash aunt. I’m not gonna let them kill her.” Katie rolled up her sleeve and held out her arm. “Turn me!” Katie had such conviction that Mark couldn’t refuse.

  Mark bit down on her arm and Katie winced in pain.

  “It’s going to take you a few days to gain any kind of strength. You better head home. I’ll deal with this,” Mark commanded.

  “Yeah, right. If Sariel is as strong as you made him out to be, you’re gonna need all the help you can get.” Katie looked up at the pulpit. “I just need to do something first.”

  Katie walked along the pews and up to the pulpit where she knelt down.

  “God, this is Kathrine Albet. I freely give my mortal life in your service and promise to do your work as long as you see fit. Please give me the strength to help Sarah.” Katie looked up at the ceiling with her hands folded in her lap.

  Mark blinked his eyes, did he just see his Katie glow? Maybe it was the lighting? When Katie turned around it was clear that he wasn’t imagining it. Katie’s eyes were glowing with the same yellow light and as she smiled her fangs descended slowly. Her fangs looked much larger than Sarah’s. Sarah’s looked like snake’s fangs while Katie’s were more like a cat or dog, huge! Also smaller fangs began to emerge from her bottom teeth as well. Now she looked nothing like Sarah.

  “I think Agnus got the translation wrong,” Katie said. She looked both menacing and comforting at the same time. With her enormous new fangs she looked like a lioness ready to devour anyone that got in her way. “I think the word meant create.”

  Mark could barely believe what was happening. Katie was God’s chosen. He and Jen had created God’s servant.

  “Are you just gonna stand there all day?” Katie asked slyly. “I have a step-mom to save.”

  Katie rushed out the door and Mark hurried to follow her.

  Chapter 18

  Katie and Mark walked up to the Stallion Entertainment building carefully. It didn’t look like anyone was there. The door was wide open, the glass shattered and the lobby was completely empty. It was after midnight so all the human employees were at home in bed, but they expected some kind of greeting party to be waiting for them.

  “This feels wrong,” Mark said nervously.

  “Of course, it feels wrong. They want you to trade your daughter for your lover,” Katie said matter-of-factly. “How is any of this right?”

  Mark realized that Katie had spent a lot of time with Sarah and Jen as a kid. She sounded just like them. Always with the witty responses and sarcasm. She was her mother’s daughter. Katie even had Jen’s figure, she had more chest than her mother and she was a little more filled out but she looked like a fuller Jen with darker hair.

  “You remind me of your mother so much.” Mark couldn’t help it, the words just came spilling out.

  “Glad you noticed, now can we get my new step-mom and get the hell out of here?” Katie replied.

  Mark took the lead and headed for the stairs. When he opened the door the same smell from last time assaulted his nose.

  “Oh, damn! That reeks!” Katie exclaimed.

  “You can smell them too?” Mark asked hopefully.

  “Yep, and your description didn’t do it justice. Oh that’s bad, that’s really, really bad.” Katie tried to cover her nose but it didn’t help.

  “You get used to it after a while but it still smells horrible,” Mark grinned at his daughter with pride. She was just like him. Ok, she was much better than he was, but God’s chosen was his daughter.

  “Lead the way,” Katie said with her hand still over her nose. She sounded silly but this was no time for jokes, at least that’s what Mark thought.

  “So how many of these stinky bastards do you think are up there?” Katie asked still holding her nose and sounding silly.

  “Probably quite a few. I guess Sariel doesn’t do anything small. Or so I’m told,” Mark explained quickly. The truth was, that was about all he knew about Sariel other than he was incredibly strong and very evil.

  “Well I picked up a few things from my car, hopefully I can get a sword from one of them,” Katie said pulling a titanium baton from her pocket right before she extended it. The sound made Mark jump and Katie laughed. “We got this.”

  “I hope so. I’ve been looking for a long time. I really hope she’s up there,” Mark sounded depressed and Katie knew why.

  “Don’t worry, we got this,” Katie said again and put her hand on her dad’s shoulder.

  They had reached the twelfth floor. It was time to find out what they were up against. Mark opened the door and slowly walked in with Katie behind him.

  Sariel sat on his father’s throne with twenty vampires around it. Sarah was unconscious on the floor in front of him. She looked just like Mark had described to Katie. Sariel had clearly decided to torture Sarah as well.

  “What’s with the torturing Sarah thing? Is it some kind of theme?” Katie asked, her strange sense of humor put Sariel a little off guard for a second.

  “You must be Katie. I recognize that stupid attempt at humor from your mother and your aunt. We have a lot to discuss.” Sariel sat playing with a dagger. He would stab his finger then watch as the wound healed.

  “Ok, that’s kinda creepy, dude,” Katie quipped.

  “What is with all the women in your life? Do they all make these stupid remarks? Is it something about you? Do you bring this out in them?” Sariel was looking at Mark now.

  Mark wasn’t
sure how to respond. He didn’t know Sariel but Sariel sure seemed to know him.

  “Speechless? Yeah, I would be too. Face to face with someone as powerful as me, it might be daunting.” Sariel smiled evilly. “But enough of the pleasantries.”

  “That wasn’t pleasant,” Katie replied.

  “Fine, whatever.” Sariel was clearly getting annoyed with Katie’s wisecracks. “You can take Sarah and Katie will stay with me to talk. No one will harm any one of you. You have my word.” Sariel lifted his right hand as if his word meant something to them.

  “It’s ok, dad. Take Sarah somewhere safe,” Katie said looking at her father with kindness.

  “I can’t just leave you alone with him,” Mark objected.

  Katie turned so that Sariel couldn’t see her face. Her eyes lit up golden once again.

  “I’m never alone,” Katie said. “Take Sarah or this is all for nothing.”

  Mark didn’t want to leave but he also wasn’t going to stand there arguing with Katie. Katie was as stubborn as her mother, he wasn’t going to win this argument.

  “I’ll be back,” Mark said as she walked by Katie.

  “I’ll be done by then,” Katie smirked.

  Mark cautiously walked toward Sarah and Katie walked behind him. If Sariel tried anything, Katie would remove his head before anyone could stop her. She would even use his own dagger to do it. She was certain of her abilities, maybe a little too certain.

  “See, I’m a man of my word. You can take Sarah and go. Katie will stay and talk, nothing more.” Sariel said.

  “We’ll see about that,” Katie said with a grin.

  Mark picked up Sarah, she was very weak. He could barely hear her breathe. What had they done to her? Mark’s anger grew and Sariel could see it on his face.

  “No, that wasn’t our deal. You take Sarah and go. I talk with Katie. If you stay and fight I’ll make sure Sarah is the first to die.” Sariel was serious. Every vampire in that room must have been instructed to kill Sarah first, they all had swords and they were all looking at Sarah.

  “Fine,” Mark said through gritted teeth. “Be careful Katie, he’s lying about something.”

  “I’ll be fine, dad. Take Sarah and go. I want to hear what uncle Sariel has to say,” Katie said staring at Sariel. “And if anything happens to my dad or Sarah. You will be the first to die.” Katie pointed at Sariel with her baton.

  “That’s fair,” Sariel replied. He wasn’t worried. He doubted a newly turned Asuune would be much of a threat.

  When Mark and Sarah were out the door and it was shut behind them Sariel slowly sat back down on the throne. He seemed to be waiting for something, then Katie realized what it was. She could hear her dad walking down the stairs. As soon as he shut the door to the stairwell Sariel spoke.

  “Take her,” Sariel commanded.

  One vampire rushed her, a younger looking man, he looked about her age. For a second she thought he was kinda cute, a strange thought to have about a vampire, but she couldn’t help it. Something in his eyes, something about the way he moved, she was almost hypnotized by this man. He grabbed her arms but looked very unsure if he really wanted to harm her. Up until the moment he touched her he looked confused but the second his hands touched her arms he looked calm.

  “What’s your name?” Katie asked calmly.

  “Paul,” the man said with a smile. He wasn’t scared, he seemed more nervous, like a boy asking his first girl to dance. There was something about this man that Katie couldn’t put into words and he was gorgeous.

  “Paul, I noticed that you don’t STINK like the rest of them,” Katie said spitefully as she looked around the room. She had the sudden urge to kiss this man. Not a kiss on the cheek, she had an uncontrollable desire to really kiss him. Somehow, in the back of her mind, she knew that it wouldn’t stop at a kiss either. She had never wanted a man so much in her entire life.

  Paul didn’t say a word. He just stared into Katie’s eyes, just as hypnotized as she was.

  “I give you a choice, let go of my arms, walk out the door and don’t come back. I’ll let you live,” Katie said with anger as she looked around the room again. She needed to quit looking into those deep blue eyes. Was this some kind of hypnosis? Her dad hadn’t said anything about vampires having powers. In fact, he said most of the myths about vampires were just that, myths. Then she found herself fantasizing about running her hands through his long blond hair as she kissed him deeply. She needed to quit thinking like this.

  Paul stood there for a second, just as mesmerized as Katie, then he released her arms and casually walked out of the room.

  “This is your mess, Sariel, you clean it up,” Paul said with a smirk as he shut the door.

  One of the vampires took off to chase him so Katie cracked him in the throat with the baton as he went by. The vampire grasped his throat, unable to breathe and Katie smiled at Sariel.

  “I said he could leave!” Katie’s voice was commanding.

  “Fine, all of you, get her,” Sariel sounded bored.

  All the remaining vampires circled around Katie.

  “How many of you will die before you capture me?” Katie proclaimed.

  Some of the vampires looked afraid. One of the frightened vampires thrust out his sword trying to catch her off guard. Katie quickly turned the sword and removed it from his grip.

  “Thanks, was hoping I could count on one of you fine gentlemen to give me a sword,” Katie teased.

  “Just stab her, knock her out, something. Just don’t kill her.” Sariel commanded, he was more annoyed now.

  Three vampires charged her with their swords out. Katie parried the first, then the second, the third caught her right side just above her hip. With a smooth motion, she removed the vampires head and the rest of the vampires took a step back.

  “This will be your last warning!” Katie yelled. “My name is Kathrine Albet, Daughter of Mark, the Son of Michael. Leave now and I won’t even hunt you down. I only want to kill Sariel tonight. He’s just using you for cannon fodder.”

  The vampires all looked at each other, dumbfounded.

  Katie saw her chance. She ran at Sariel, the vampires in front of her raised their swords so she slid underneath them. She got to her feet at the end of the throne and crossed the baton and the sword she had stolen on Sariel’s neck.

  “Don’t move. Tell them to leave.” Katie commanded.

  “You can’t kill me. I have never taken a human life.” Sariel smiled with self-satisfaction. He was safe. “And don’t you think that name is a little long? Why not go with something shorter like Kate?”

  “The rules have changed. You have murdered Nephilim and Asuune and even vampires. You are a demon walking the earth and you smell like sin, he did not!” Katie shouted then she removed Sariel’s head. Katie turned around to look at the rest of the vampires. “And I like Kathrine!”

  All the rest of the vampires slowly backed up, nearly stumbling over each other then they all turned and ran for the door.

  “And don’t come back!” Kathrine yelled after them then she fell to one knee. The vampire had cut her deeper than she thought. She looked down at the gaping wound and saw all the blood. He must have hit her liver. She was bleeding badly. The room started to get fuzzy then she heard someone behind her. With all her remaining strength she spun and at the last second stopped her sword at Paul’s neck.

  “I told you to leave,” Kathrine said weakly as she collapsed again. Paul caught her before she hit the ground.

  “I couldn’t leave. There’s something about you, I can’t quite explain it,” Paul said, but Kathrine wasn’t listening, she was unconscious. She had lost a lot of blood. Paul quickly ran down the stairs and tried find Mark. After a few blocks he finally caught up to Mark and Sarah. Mark had made it to Kathrine’s car and put Sarah in the back seat. He pulled out his blade when he saw Paul running up with Kathrine.

  “What did you do?!” Mark yelled as he charged Paul.

  “I saved h
er,” Paul said as he sat Kathrine down on the ground then turned and calmly walked away.

  Mark forgot about the man and quickly snatched up his daughter. He put her in the passenger seat then took off for the settlement. Agnus could help. A normal hospital would have no idea how to treat two injured Asuune.

  Chapter 19

  Mark woke the morning after he had gotten them all back to the settlement. He had taken Sarah and Katie to Agnus who had treated them. Agnus said it might be a few hours for them to recover so Mark headed home and went to bed. He himself still had to heal from Kathrine shooting him in the chest. It wasn’t a serious wound and he played it off as nothing so he could talk to his daughter, but he had lost a good deal of blood from it. Overnight the wound had healed and he was feeling much better. He got some clean clothes and headed to Sarah’s house. Agnus had insisted that Kathrine and Sarah stay there so that Agnus could keep an eye on them while Mark went home to rest.

  Mark was not worried about their health any more, Agnus would have Kathrine and Sarah back to normal in no time. He was worried about his talk with Sarah. This was going to be one of those talks that defines his future. If he could just convince Sarah that he was an idiot and had no idea, maybe she would forgive him. She might have changed her mind about loving him over the last five years but maybe he could still be in her life.

  Mark walked the short distance between his house and Sarah’s, it seemed like miles. He was going over every word he might say. Maybe Sarah might hit him? He would deserve that. As long as she didn’t leave again. It may take years but he could make it up to her. He would be content being her errand boy, lackey, anything at this point.

  Mark nervously knocked on the door.

  “Who is it?” Sarah’s voice sounded annoyed. She knew who it was.

  “Mark, can I come in? I want to talk,” Mark replied awkwardly.