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.
If Avram thought things were bad before, they just got worse as an old woman tries to warn everyone in the tavern about strigoi. See what's happening in this week's chapter of Dracula. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's going with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
“Strigoi,”
the old woman repeated. “Heartbreakers. Seducers of women… and of men.” A few
of the men in the room squirmed uneasily at her words, while others playfully
poked their neighbors and chortled in amusement. “The eyes in the night that
see all,” she continued. “The mouths that demand, that steal the lifeblood of
others in order to remain forever young.”
“What
are you talking about?” one person called out, followed by another and another
until the question echoed throughout the room. “What do you know, bunica?”
“What tales are you trying to pass off as truth?” As quickly as they’d begun, the
voices suddenly stilled. A hushed murmur swept over her listeners, as if they
were afraid of what she might say, Avram among them.
“I know
much.” The woman cackled. “I see much. Things you are too blind to see. Things
you do not wish to see. That which is in front of your face.” As she continued
to babbly, many of the men began to rise from their seats. Avram couldn’t tell
if they were more frightened or angry at what they were hearing. For a second,
he thought she stared directly at him, as if she actually knew something. An
unpleasant chill gripped him, but then the moment passed, as did she.
Remain
calm.
The woman began to slink about the room, gliding
amongst the tables, her wild gaze darting from person to person, daring them to
say something—anything—to refute her words. “Let me ask you this, o wise men of
Bistritz. Where are your wives and daughters now, while you are here getting
drunk?”
“At
home, of course,” a voice replied, followed by a chorus of similar sentiments,
Bogdan’s rising above the others. “My Doina is where she belongs, waiting for
me to come home so she can take care of me.”
“Tell me
then, since you are such clever men, why are your women so pale? Why do they
hide their necks from the light of the sun? Why are they so tired lately?” She
cast accusatory glances from one man to another. Some of them appeared
dumbfounded, as if they were considering her words.
Avram
was fairly certain she was casting aspersions on the men’s women as an act of
revenge for the way many of them had treated her in the past, making baseless
accusations. While he could understand her motives, he did not appreciate them.
Especially not now, when Dracula was very possibly involved in the very
behavior she was insinuating was taking or had taken place in the village.
Despite his protests to the contrary, did he consider it possible that Nico was
taking blood from the blacksmith’s wife?
Unfortunately,
he would not put it past him. When the vampire wanted something, he had a
tendency to throw caution to the wind. They would most definitely have to talk
about this… on their way out of town. There was no doubt in Avram’s mind that
this was the only option they had, under the circumstances The important thing for
now was to divert the attention of the townspeople so that he could ascertain
for himself whether Dracula was still in the village or not.
Please,
God, let him be gone.
If the
beldame continued in this vein, the superstitious villagers might jump to the misguided
conclusion that Dracula was guilty of something. Who knew what they might do
then, acting under the influence of mob mentality.
And even
if perchance Dracula was guilty of something, Avram felt the need to protect
him, even if he was weaker than the nobleman. Physical strength would not
necessarily stand him in good stead. In fact, it would probably worsen the
situation. The only practical solution was to leave for a while and let things
cool down.
Extended
travels, far from Transylvania.
“You
know nothing, you disgusting hag.”
Bogdan again. He advanced drunkenly toward her. A couple of his
companions attempted to hold him back, but he broke from their well-meaning
grip until he stood directly before the old man. He shook his finger in her
face, but she never flinched. “You’re just jealous of her, of all the women,
because they are what you are not. Young and beautiful.”
That was
definitely a matter of opinion, but Avram held his tongue.
“Begone
with you, foul creature!” Bogdan finished dramatically. Avram couldn’t help but
admire his fearlessness, although his stance seemed a little bit shaky due, no
doubt, to high consumption of alcohol.
At that
unfortunate moment, a large gust of wind shook the building, rattling the
windows. Bogdan’s legs gave away and he collapsed onto the floor, looking
stupidly around him.
“You
have angered the gods with your stupidity!” the woman cried as mass confusion
ensured. Avram wanted to tell them it was only wind but knew he could never
make himself heard above the chaos.
“Don’t
be afraid.”
Avram
sighed. Gunther was in the thick of it once more, attempting to calm the
anxious men. They began to slip out of the alehouse, no doubt heading home to
see what they might find. Bodan’s cronies abandoned him there on the floor,
scattering like chaff before the wind.
Such
fair-weather friends he has.
At least
he wasn’t going anywhere. But that thought was premature, as Bogdan staggered
to his feet. Most of the customers had fled, leaving a disgruntled owner and
servers with little to do but clean up after them. The old lady wore a grin of
self-congratulation at the effect she’d had on people she had no reason to
like. But her work was not done.
She
leaned down toward Bogdan and whispered in his ear.
“Church?”
Avram
lurched to his feet, desperate to prevent the blacksmith from leaving. But he
found his way blocked by the rude young man who’d served them earlier. Avram
had barely registered who he was when the other man swung at him and Avram fell
unconscious to the floor.
to be continued
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