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.
With little time to lose, Avram sends Dracula to the castle on an errand, leaving him and Gunther to hash out what has happened/is happening. See what's going on in this week's chapter of Dracula. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's happening with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
“Avram, I
don’t wish to offend you, but I think there’s something not quite right about
that man.”
Avram sighed
loudly. This was a common disagreement between them, one he did not wish to
revisit at this moment.
We
don’t have time for this.
“He may
not be perfect, but he’s a better man than you give him credit for. And what of
Bogdan? No criticism for him? He killed his wife. His wife. That doesn’t
exactly make him a saint, now does it?” When Gunther winced. Avram immediately
regretted his words, no matter if they were truthful or not. He understood that
as a priest, Gunther tried to see the best in everyone. He himself had no
reason to do so.
“You’re
right, and I should not be so quick to judge.” Gunther knelt beside the
blacksmith’s corpse. “O Lord, grant this, your poor servant, eternal rest, and
let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. The Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.” He crossed himself before turning his attention
back to Avram.
For the
sake of friendship, Avram refrained from remarking that his friend was wasting
his time with that one. Sometimes he seemed to be as cynical as Dracula.
Gunther
rose to his feet once more, more agile than Avram gave him credit for being
considering his fondness for the table. When he straightened his back, Avram
could hear his bones crack. The priest approached the body of the blacksmith’s
wife and repeated his prayers before he removed Dracula’s coat and handed it to
Avram. “I know this is his. I would rather not,” he said simply.
Avram
didn’t argue with him, simply draped the blood-stained garment over his arm. His
mind went immediately to practicalities, as if to divert his attention from
what had happened. He wasn’t sure if he could get the blood out of this, or any
other part of Nico’s suit. Not that it would be a great loss if he couldn’t,
but he should at least make an effort so he could tell his employer he’d tried.
Lemon juice and cold water might suffice, but the alternate method of using a
knife would likely damage the fabric, perhaps irrevocably. That was a thought
for consideration, as John Locke would say.
“You
knew something was going to happen, didn’t you?” The tone wasn’t accusatory. In
fact, Avram thought his friend sounded sympathetic. Probably one of the qualities
that t helped to make him a good priest, even with his diminished flock.
“I don’t
know what you mean,” Avram replied evasively.
“I mean
I saw the way you were watching Bogdan tonight. I thought maybe he’d said
something to offend you, or perhaps he’d threatened you in some way. But now I
realize you were keeping an eye on him. Making sure he didn’t find out what was
going on behind his back.”
“Some
things are better not known.” Avram shrugged. That was neither a lie nor an
admission, but closer to the latter than the former. “To tell the truth,
knowing would have made the situation even more dangerous, trust me.”
But
you see what happened anyway.
“Look, it’s not as if I can tell him what to
do, you know what I mean? I work for him, not the other way around.”
“You had
no difficulty in doing so just now,” Gunther pointed out.
“Sometimes
he listens,” Avram said truthfully.
A moment
of silence passed between them, broken only by the howl of a distant wolf. Was Dracula summoning his more hirsute
cohorts to perhaps wreak vengeance upon the village? But no, Avram knew better. This was still Dracula’s
home, and he would not deliberately harm these people. Well, not most of them.
He couldn’t help but glance toward the body of the blacksmith. This one had
clearly asked for what he received.
Avram
could feel Gunther’s piercing gaze upon him like a knife cutting through his
soul. Was that guilt he was experiencing? And was it for himself or for
Dracula?
“I’m
sorry, I don’t mean to judge.” Gunther scrubbed a weary hand over his face. “It’s
been a difficult night. You know I trust you, and I believe you have only done
what had to be done. Do you really plan to go to Vienna?”
Avram
nodded. “I think that is the best thing we can do. He has friends there who
will be happy to help us.” Help Dracula, that is. The woman he was thinking of
had no particular love for Jews in general, Avram in particular. But how she
did love Dracula. She ruled an entire nation and yet she was so malleable in
Nico’s skilled hands. So submissive. He
had to set aside the matter of her dislike for himself for the greater good and
for Dracula’s sake. For the duration of their stay, he would keep out of her
way as much as possible. Beggers could not be choosers, especially under the circumstances.
Luckily for him, her home was beyond large, it was an actual palace. And it had
a rather remarkable library.
“How
will you get there?”
“That is
another question.” A very good question, indeed.
A
pounding at the church door sent Avram’s heart hurtling almost literally into
his throat. Gunther rose and bolted toward the door, even as Avram wondered how
they would explain the two dead bodies. But he returned almost immediately
afterward with Dracula. The vampire tossed the trunk unceremoniously on the
floor and Avram flinched at the sound. His nerves were clearly getting the
better of him.
“I have
done as you… requested,” Dracula said. “But I don’t think we should stay. On my
return, I noticed torches. I think they were headed in this direction.”
“Did
they see you?” Gunther asked.
“Of
course not,” the vampire replied disdainfully.
“Good.
Then here is what we’re going to do.”
to be continued
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