Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Avram and Dracula are left alone on Andrei's boat while he goes to join his family. When Avram suggests they go too, Nico reveals his snobbish side. See what's going on in this week's chapter of Dracula. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
“Must you
be so nasty?” Avram felt exasperation course through him unexpectedly. Perhaps
the stress of their situation was getting to him. Or maybe Nico’s perpetual
disdain of other people was too much.
For a
split second, Avram thought he saw a wounded expression pass through the
vampire’s eyes. But the next moment, he had returned to his usual inscrutable
self.
“I am what
I am,” he said simply.
“By the
grace of God?” Avram easily finished the Biblical quotation.
“Hardly.”
Nico sneered. “God’s so-called grace has no place in my life and you know it.
If you persist in worshipping an invisible deity, that is your concern, not
mine.”
Avram
noticed that Dracula’s skin had taken on a faint tinge. Not a good sign,
considering his poor circulation. He immediately regretted baiting him. He
raised one hand in apology.
“I’m
sorry, Nico. It’s a difficult time we are going through.” He took a seat on the bench near the stern of
the boat and patted the seat beside him.” Here, come sit down. Relax a little.”
The vampire maintained a petulant attitude for all of ten seconds, then deigned
to join Avram, as if doing so were his own idea.
They sat
in mutual silence for a few minutes, as darkness fell around them. Dracula’s
features were easily visible in the light of the nearly full moon, aided by the
twinkling of myriad stars like jewels scattered across the dark cloak of night.
“You once
belonged to the Church, did you not?” Avram broke the silence at length. He
knew so little about Nico’s background, but he wanted to know more about the
man who had raised him and kept him safe from harm all these years. Perhaps in
part it was to make up for his own lack of family history, for he’d never been
able to learn much about his parents and he barely remembered them. He wasn’t even sure he’d receive an answer
from the other man, but he felt the need to at least ask. Nothing ventured, nothing
gained.
Another
silence fell between them. Avram had decided he would receive no reply when
Dracula spoke.
“At one
time, yes. Church attendance was demanded of me. I had no choice.”
Avram
decided to take a stab in the dark, as the old saying went. “Would that be in
Gunther’s church?”
“Your
priest friend? Yes, that church.”
Avram
could read nothing decisive in Dracula’s tone of voice, but that would tend to
explain why he had felt the need to desecrate that particular church in such a
way. Especially if the memories it held were unpleasant ones, which he
suspected they were.
Maybe he
should change the subject. Something safer. Well, comparatively so.
“Nico,” he
said softly, scooting closer to the vampire on the seat. “Tell me a story.”
The
vampire snorted. “Aren’t you a little old for that now?” But his sarcasm was at
least gentle, as if no malice lay behind it.
“Maybe.”
Avram shrugged. “Or maybe not. Tell me about my parents. And about how you found me.” Of course, he knew the
story well. But he felt the need to hear it again, a reminder of what bound
them and how their journey had begun.
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