Let's Go For A Pint (Vampire/Humor)

6.4 Twilight and Juliet

"I can make ye stronger, faster, and possibly immortal for a small sum." James placed what appeared to be his grimoire on the table in between some empty jars. Carmen, Max, Brendan, Zenia and I stood scattered around the shop's basement storage room.

"I don't know, mate." Brendan slouched over and scratched the back of his head. "Doesn't this shit require a human sacrifice of some sort? Last time I heard, since shamans are like witches to a certain degree culturally, being involved in that stuff leads someone labelled as a da–"

"It's why I'm asking ye for a monetary sum." James was insistent on beefing Brendan up for his match he'd go certain lengths to do it, mostly for the money though. "I can get the resources and if anyone asks I'll just say they're all animal sacrifices."

"I think this can be solved without the wolves vs. vampire fight," Carmen argued. "This whole conflict is blown up by Hollywood, right? Ever since the movies Underworld and Twilight came out."

"These conflicts go back further," Max added on. "Two families, clans, covens, packs, or whatever hate each other — at each other's throats. Two people from opposing sides fall in love. Shakespeare had done it way before those two movies." After a brief pause of silence he continued, "What? I know more than just vampire stuff. A lot of modern day stories are reflected through Shakespeare which reflect life in general. Even forbidden lovers predate his works."

James pressed his thumb and forefinger to his nose bridge. "I'm aware of mixed relationships. My da's Chinese and my mum's an English Scot. Ach, my bloody ex was a vampire."

Carmen scoffed. "Then what are your reasons for pushing Brendan into a fight then? Money? Making sure crazy ex's get what's coming for them? Why do you interrupt people when they mention you and dark–"

He folded his arms. "What's yer brilliant idea if ye got one?"

She took a deep breath. "Prove vampire-werewolf relationships have been successful."

"Ha!" Zenia slammed the table. "I'd like to see you try. It'll totally work."

"Yet you're implying that it won't."

"Vampires are way obsessed in keeping their bloodlines pure," I explained. "Whether you're born or turned, a drop of foreign DNA, whether it's from a shapeshifter, a vampire of a lower class, or a witch who's not—" I paused to see if James would jump in and interrupt me, but I changed the wording to not include any mention of dark witches. "Striga. If you taint the bloodline your descendants become weaker and weaker. That's the majority thinking from my understanding."

"What's a stree-ga?" Brendan asked.

"Striga is what Lena's clan calls our ancestors," Zenia explained. "They were witches who upon death rise as vampires. Sometimes as other things."

"Speaking of other things, maybe I can change to a vampire," Brendan suggested. "There's no rule saying I can't be both, isn't there?"

"That depends on yer clan." James brought up. "Usually, once yer initiated, it's hard turning back without their support. Even among the covens. Ye can ask Talia all about it. If not for her coven's esbat meetings, I'd rather we meet there to discuss things. It's a tad cramped in here."

"If I can recall, I can only leave if I've done something that breaks pack rules," Brendan said. "But leaving that way is considered a punishment than actual leaving."

"Can you change your animal?" Max asked.

"If I could right now, I probably wouldn't." Brendan stretched his legs and continued, "I like changing into a wolf, and I get along with it, but these tats aren't the regular tats you get at the shop. They seal the spirit of the animal you make your contract with to your own."

"I can fix that if you change yer mind last minute," James offered. "But it will cost ye literally an arm and a leg."

"Which is why I won't change my animal spirit. I'd rather be in one peace when I die."

We sat in silence for a while as we thought. At least I assumed all of us thought about how we could fix the situation. Yep, some progress we made. Okay, I was focused more on catching a rat that was skittering around the room. After what would have been a mid-afternoon snack I vented. "This is complete bullshit! Growing up, I learned about some of the greatest vampires in history, and I'm positive at least one or two can shift into a wolf."

"Definitely." Zenia agreed with me. We were in those same lessons. "The only way this feud exists is if Harant's clan had a territorial dispute with some shamans or werewolves." As if a light bulb appeared over her head, or if it had to do with her stepping underneath one, she had an idea. "Brendan, what do you know about your ancestry?"

He furrowed his brow. "My surname's Irish so I must have at least one Irish ancestor. I asked my grandpappy where we came from once and he mentioned a criminal sent to Australia from Ireland."

"Harant's sireline." Zenia took a poster off the wall and a pen from her pocket. She drew what appeared to be a tree. Not the kind which grows fruit. On it she wrote terms like 'sire 1', sire sibling, and the usual terms found in human family trees like mother, grandmother, and so on. "Harant isn't a pureblood, but the one who turned the one who turned him is."

"We find out how far back Brendan's and Harant's ancestry goes. If there's a connection, it may save the two of you from the fate of star-crossed lovers." I took a poster, folded it, and tore it in half. "We can start searching now by splitting up and looking at various libraries, archives–"

"Or just forget about it." Brendan headed for the stairway and stopped at the base. "I'm sorry, but I doubt you'll find any ancestral records in time. Anyway, I got to train for the big fight. The outcome has to be Harant's team going down. It won't solve anything, but it's the best way for us to live another day."

Shortly after he left, Zenia too headed for the stairway. "I might as well support the home team, as much as I want them to lose. Best I can do is gather intel and pass it on. If I find anything that relates to this genealogy thing I'll call you."

And then we were four.

"I call dibs onuniversity library!" Carmen called out as she darted out of the basement.

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Get cracking guys, who knows how long it'll take to get the info you need. Anyway, the interactive question for the chapter (hopefully I haven't asked this yet) is the generic: If not for cost and the need for passports or visas (whatever you'd have to do before going), where in the world would you like to go?

You know the drill by now.

Song featured: "Hour of the Wolf" by Elnur Huseynov

edited: 13/03/2019