A Vampire’s Curse

Flash fiction prompt response #4

Photo by rdrgraphe

In the vibrant meadow, under a pale moonlight, a vampire named Lucien prowled, his blood-red eyes glowing. Lucien could soar through the night with a raptor’s grace, his whisper chilling those unfortunate enough to hear it.

Tonight, Lucien sensed a presence, a human one. He was tired of consuming the blood of creatures that ventured into the meadow and this human’s blood vibrated in his being, young and fresh, a virgin no less. Her blood sang to him. Her name was Lilith, and the lantern she carried flickered in trembling hands as she realized her mistake. Lucien could smell her fear, taste it on the tip of his tongue.

“Ah, my lovely. I’ve been alone for such a long time.”

Lucien advanced slowly, relishing the terror emanating from Lilith’s every pore.

Lilith summoned all her courage and, with a sudden burst of strength, swung the lantern towards Lucien. The lantern’s glass shattered, and the vampire hissed in pain, momentarily weakened.

Lilith fled as Lucien gave chase. But at the meadow’s edge, he stopped and roared in despair.

He could not leave.

The thrill of consuming a young innocent’s blood had driven all thought of the curse from his mind.

My fourth (and final) response to a writing prompt from Written Tales, which asked us to “write a 199-word story, using the five (5) following words. All must be included in the order of your choice: Soar, Whisper, Meadow, Lantern, and Vibrant.”

Author’s Note

I wanted to show how stories can have similar elements but different outcomes. Each story revealed a different perspective to me. I struggled to stay within the word limit by the last story. I went up to 300 words before I realized what I had done and had to cut it to fit the word limit of the prompt.

As I wrote, I kept thinking about those campy vampire movies I used to watch on Saturday nights. I don’t think I’ve seen the last of Lucien and Lilith, whose names came to me out of thin air. When that happens as I write, the characters seem to write themselves into the story.

I looked up the meanings of the names that came unbidden into my brain. Here are the results: Lucien means “light” and Lilith means “belonging to the night.” How weird is that? After that introduction, I believe Lilith must be a vampire hunter, and as for Lucien, his name already dooms him.

Upcoming…

• A poem about betrayal:

  Woman Rising, 1 November 2023

Woman Rising

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