A/N And the story keeps pouring out. Although this island scene was only supposed to be in one chapter, my muse decided to set me straight once again. These dialogues keep getting my characters into trouble.

Chapter 10: Immortals

Elizabeth held a fistful out for the bull to eat, and giggled when its lips nibbled at her fingers. It gently lifted the blades of grass from her hand, while she tentatively reached up to scratch between its horns. Jack watched the interplay from behind, warily keeping an eye open lest the bull took it into its head to make off with her digits. Although he had only some vague recollection of his early years, he was reasonably sure farm life was not included in them, so his knowledge thereof was minimal at best. He did not really know what he would do if Elizabeth was harmed while feeding the beast, but he was certain he would be able to protect his only sailing companion.

"You are certain they won't devour her," he murmured to the shepherdess who was standing next to him. He was not positive which one she was. It was rather difficult to see either of them due to the glaring way the sunlight hit them once they allowed the camouflage of the forest to melt away. He thought it might have been the one called Phaet, but then again, it could have been Lamp. Odd names those, but it was easier to remember them when they sounded like English words, than the foreign sounding syllables they had offered in introduction. He'd been to foreign shores many times during his illustrious career as a merchant seaman, but it was rare when he felt the need to memorize names. Yet these, for some reason sounded somewhat familiar.

"Quite certain," responded Phaet with a smile. He then knew who it was for certain. Lamp had a bit of a … well … temper. She had seemed a mite tetchy when she had been awakened by their squabbling. Apparently hers was the night shift, so their standing right outside her little sleeping grove had been slightly disturbing to her rest. Upon hearing their story and determining they were not there to disturb their charges, she had left the pair in the capable hands of her sister. With night falling, he expected her reappearance soon.

The sisters had taken an instant liking to Elizabeth, apparently relating to her on a level they had yet to achieve with him. It took them a while to even lower their defenses enough around him to allow them further access to the island, even after explaining their predicament. Even now, Phaet watched him with friendly eyes, but never missed anything. She shadowed his every move, particularly when around the cattle.

There were quite a few herds of cattle on the island, with the shepherdesses continually rotating throughout the day, counting each head of each herd. There were flocks of sheep, too, although the watch over them was not as rigid as that of the cattle. They were loved, but apparently, not quite so loved as the ugly horned brutes.

Another peal of laughter escaped Elizabeth, and Jack turned from his musings to see that the bull had pinned his companion against a tree, butting her, apparently looking for some more of the delectable grass. She had been so accommodating, that it had decided that it was less trouble getting its food from her than to bend its great head down and pluck it for itself. Phaet pursued the overly friendly animal, lightly thwacking it on the flank with her staff to drive it away from their guest. After encouraging the brute to rejoin the herd, she returned to the couple to invite them to dinner.

"The fare is simple but quite palatable," she offered apologetically. "We eat no meat, but there are plenty of fruits, vegetables and grains to satisfy. In fact, we have plenty to supply you on your trip."

"That's quite all right," answered Elizabeth. "I don't eat meat either. There is just something so wrong with eating something that used to run and play."

Jack drew back disconcerted. She seemed to have dismissed the idea out of hand that he himself still liked a little meat every now and again, and had hoped to take a sheep or young cow with them for mutton, beef, or even a bit of fresh milk. There were plenty of pens on board for a short cruise, and if the trip proved to be a bit longer, some of the wood here could be built up into a fire in the galley to jerk the meat if needed. For that matter, with a little time they could do that right there on the island in little fire pits on the beach.

That idea was put to rest immediately upon thinking it, though. As if in response to his thoughts, the shepherdess rounded on him and in no uncertain terms let him know that the cattle and sheep were to be left on the island untouched.

"They are our charges," she announced stoutly. "Our father left us to care for them as long as they live, and we intend to fulfill our duty." Her eyes flashed with a fire that stung Jack's own eyes. Her hair whipped up, flaring hotly around her head, sending off an almost tangible heat in her fury. At this point, he realized this sister could be just as intimidating as the other, so he backed away, hoping to get away from the little solar explosion.

Elizabeth glared at Jack, wondering what he had done or said to make their hostess react in such a manner, and Jack did not feel it necessary to enlighten her, although he was not entirely certain himself what cause the eruption. "Right then, veggies it is." Far be it from him to anger her further.

"I will not have guests take advantage of Thrinacrian hospitality again," she declared, calming as she saw Jack decide to adhere to her wishes. "The island may be somewhat neglected and unkempt, but the kine will always be guarded with our lives. We failed once. It will not happen again."

With this pronouncement, Jack stumbled. He knew this time it had absolutely nothing to do with rum. The two continued to walk ahead of him while he felt the need to seek a way back off the island. He turned around and headed back the way he had come. He hoped to be well on his way before they discovered him missing.

He had gone a goodly way when he heard it. It was a low, moaning sound, a sound just barely within his hearing range. It was almost a thought, a vibration, rather than a sound. He swallowed convulsively in recognition. It was some of the cattle, somewhere nearby, but it was not the happy grunts and moos that he had heard while Elizabeth was playing with the bull. This was a sound of pain, of eternal sorrow. He knew he should not let it, but as with all things dramatic and possibly gruesome in the viewing thereof, it drew him.

He stepped off the open road into another smaller, more concealed path, almost as if where it led was a secret, a dirty fact hidden from even those who were all too aware of it. He followed the path back into the woods to a small clearing, much like the one where he and Lizzie had met the sisters. Back here, there were a few cattle, but unlike the cattle seen before, these were misshapen. Smaller in girth and hairless, they stood in a tight huddle next to another pillar of stones, just like the first they encountered. Although standing on all fours, the forelegs were shorter than the hind, with the knees of the hind bending the wrong way. Shorter, rounder ears were flat against the head, and what passed for horns grew in no particular pattern. As he approached, a head was raised in his direction and he recognized an intelligence in its eyes that was not present in the cattle he had seen previously. The intelligence was tinged with a madness, a madness that had not been alleviated for at least three thousand years.

"Such is the fate of those who do not heed the warnings given them by their betters," muttered the voice of one of the sisters from behind him. He assumed it was Lamp, coming to check on the ancient sailors that had eaten the flesh of immortal cattle many millennia ago. They had literally become what they had eaten, in an unnatural, horrifying attempt to replace the beloved kine of Helios Hyperion.