Sassy Sunday Story Starter.... from Sassy Brit 'Alternative-Read'

Sassy Brit offers a Sunday morning story starter, and this week's starter was offered by Laura Tolomei.  Thanks Laura!  It was supposed to be a naughty one, but I've been thinking about last year's NaNoWriMo story, thinking it's time to give it another peek, and a short story involving it's world came to me.  So, no naughty for me this morning, lol, urban fantasy instead.  But I really had fun with this one, and it let me bring one of the secondary characters to life.  Without further ado (because I really should be cleaning and wrapping Christmas presents.... lol), here's a taste of the book, Magic is Murder.

Magic is Murder, A Short Story

by Dottie Taylor

word count: 1000

“Delicious.” Sucking avidly, the beautiful man with long, light-brown hair and mysterious smoky-green eyes scraped off all traces of her taste before raising his gaze. “You think it’s her, precious?”

“Delicious.” Sucking avidly, the beautiful man with long, blue-black hair and mysterious dark chocolate eyes scraped off all traces of her taste before raising his gaze. “You think it’s her, precious?”

Franklin twisted around, finding Micca's eyes upon him, and grinned at his old adversary, laughing at the endearment.

“Do you think she's the one to revive me, bring me back to my full strength? She's so sweet, tasty.” He lapped and chuckled at the horror he saw in Micca's eyes, already he looked as he had in their youth.

Micca struggled against her restraints as she fought for liberation. Her advanced years halting her progress, strength flagging much too early. Devlin Franklin, an old enemy from her past had come back to haunt her, as he had promised; the old bastard trying to fulfill his threats.

She glanced at her granddaughter, Kara, restrained as well and shuddered, this was all Micca's fault, she been in a hurry, careless. She cringed with every touch of Franklin's hands as they brushed across Kara's unconscious body, each sip of her blood a blasphemy, beastly opportunistic.

This wasn't supposed to happen, Franklin had been so weakened with Kara's last confrontation, Micca had hoped his death would rapidly approach. Instead he had become something far worse, he leaned in and partook of Kara's body once more, flinging back his head to laugh giddily, quickly gaining unearned confidence. He supposed Micca was done in, down and out, but the necromancer and warlock had figured wrong, not with her granddaughter's life at stake.

Micca closed her eyes, calling upon the elements of the Earth, she had given much of her power to Kara, but an Earth witch is never truly without unbidden abilities. Micca reached out to terra firma, asking the Earth of spill open. The Earth shuddered, groaned as the floor quaked beneath their feet. Franklin, so taken with his conquest, noticed nothing.

Next Micca, reached out to the creatures crawling through the soil; the insects, rats, and the burrowing animals, ferrets. She touched the consciousness of those tiny creatures, calling them from the Earth and to her service.

Micca felt them, could hear them, scraping the walls, the floor, until seeing the tiniest ones exploring the space, steadily approaching Franklin as he again he leaned over Kara's prone body, taking the smallest of sips, lapping at her blood and the strength held within her body, relishing what he had tried to take once before.

Micca watched as insects of all kinds scuttled across the floor to began the journey over Franklin's clothing, he so involved with seeking his own pleasure, caught unaware.... until the biting started as the insects found a home beneath his robes.

At first he tried to brush away the annoyance, but soon he realized something was wrong as he swatted his body. Next came the rats, advantageous animals that nipped his flesh as he exposed his partial renewed body, half rotting corpse, half defined muscles, the effects of partaking an Earth witch's blood.

Finally the ferrets, bold and inquisitive creatures, leapt upon his head, gouging eyes, biting flesh, as the necromancer half turned vampire flung himself away from Kara's body. How long the creatures could keep up their attacks, Micca didn't know.

Without Franklin blocking her thoughts, she rapidly reached out to the consciousness of her granddaughter, mentally shaking her, breaking Franklin's hold. Kara's eyes fluttered, opened, finding those of her Grams. Silently they whispered, with Kara reaching out to caress her lover, Lucas.

Franklin fought free of his tiny attackers as Micca let the Earth's tiniest ones go. Kara's eyes fluttered closed in feigned unconsciousness as Franklin stormed back across the room.

He leaned down shoving his face inches from Micca's, his fangs glistened as he brought back his hand, smacking her across the face. “Don't interfere again, your time will come, but first the youngling who thought she could challenge me greets her death.” He grounded out.

He straddled Kara's body, bringing his face to her's and in his haste to take her life, failed to see the glow of her body. As his fangs touched her flesh, his strength began to seep away. Finally he saw the barest movement of her lips, and he twisted his head around to watch Micca's move as well.

“What are you doing to me Earth bitch?!” He bellowed, trying to separate himself from Kara's glow. Micca and Kara opened their eyes together, saying what he couldn't hear moments before.

“Take what the necromancer perverted,

return to the Earth the undeserved.”

“Return the power diverted,

by the grace of we two, blessed be, let is be so.”

“Noooo!” Franklin screamed, finally releasing himself, but the flush of rejuvenation halted.  His worm-worned death mask fell back into place, his muscles sagged, wasted once more. He scurried away, the shadows becoming his friendly shades, concealed within their darkness.

Kara freed her wrists, then her ankles, and hurried to the aid of her Grams. Lucas came storming in, guns drawn, ready to kill whatever stood between him and his lovely ladies. He gathered them close, his lips lingering upon Kara's. “I can't let you out of my sight for a moment,” he blustered, “no more Solstice shopping without an armed escort!” Together they headed back to Kara's parents home where rest, and if Lucas had his way, ravishing Kara's body awaited. Solstice only comes once a year.



Okay, Devlin's description doesn't exactly match, but with a few tiny adjustments, blue-black hair, and dark chocolate eyes, it makes this short story, part of the book from last year, come to life (forgive me Ms. Tolomei was slightly adjusting to fit my needs.  Thanks for the story starter!).  I'm way over on the word count, but couldn't turn the story back off once it started flowing.  It was nice to revisit the characters from last year.

If you'd like to play along, join Sassy Brit by clicking here!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Ciao!