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.
A storm is brewing and Dracula is anxious to be on his way. But will things work out as he wishes just because he wishes them to? See what's happening 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!
Relief
swept through Avram at the sight of the wagon. Andrei’s arrival was a timely
one. Avram was grateful that he did not have to try to explain to Dracula why
it would be unwise to steal the smuggler’s boat, when neither one of them could
operate the craft and neither were they familiar with the route they would need
to take to reach the Danube. Prior to this, their travels had always been
accomplished over land, not water. Not
to mention that Andrei’s cousin would not be happy with them for abandoning his
relative/business partner and would probably refuse to take them to Vienna.
That in itself would only lead to problems as the vampire was not good at being
told no when it came to getting what he wanted. And they were in no position to
do anything else at the moment, having no alternatives. No prudent ones,
anyway.
Avram was
not surprised to see that Andre was not alone. Beside him on the driver’s seat
was another man, no doubt the owner of the wagon. Avram didn’t recognize him
but assumed he was one of those involved with Andrei in his smuggling
activities. Andrei was yelling at the horses to go faster, no doubt due to the
impending storm. As if to accentuate the need for urgency, a blue-white flash
of lightning arced across the sky in a sideways fashion, immediately followed
by a thunderclap and the first drops of rain.
Andrei
pulled up the horses at the sight of Avram and Dracula. “Hurry and get in!” he
shouted above the rising wind. “We have to hurry and get the cargo loaded and
below deck before the storm breaks.”
Avram held
his breath, expecting either a refusal or some sort of sarcasm from Nico. But,
to his surprise, the vampire leapt onto the back of the wagon without a word,
then turned and held out a hand for Avram.
That
was unexpected.
Not
wishing to look a gift horse in the mouth, Avram took Nico’s hand and the
vampire pulled him into the wagon with ease, which then began to roll away
immediately. He balanced himself precariously between Nico and the side of the
wagon, holding tightly to both lest he fall off. An assortment of boxes and
barrels lay in the bed of the wagon. He could understand the necessity to get
everything out of the rain before it was ruined.
They
quickly reached the point where the boat had been tied up and began to schlep
the contents of the wagon into the hold of the boat. Not surprisingly—at least not to
Avram—Dracula was stronger than they were and carried his burdens effortlessly.
Perhaps that was a mistake, but they had no time to worry about that now, not
with the storm about to break over their heads as it was. They managed to stow
everything with a minimum of water damage, to Andrei’s relief. His companion
thanked him and quickly drove back the way he’d come.
Andrei
glanced uncertainly between Avram and Dracula, as if he wanted to say something
but thought better of it. “We should take cover,” he said instead, shouting
over the cacophony of the storm.
“We should
go,” the vampire insisted. He crossed both arms over his chest stubbornly,
clearly expecting to be obeyed. “Now.”
Lord
have mercy.
“Are you
mad?” Andrei waved his arms to indicate the tumult around them. “We have to let
this pass and then we’ll go.”
“Go now.”
Dracula stood firm, refusing to capitulate. “The storm will cause no harm.”
“It’s
coming from behind us. We can’t outrun us.” He had to yell to make himself
heard.
Despite
being buffeted by rough winds, Avram stumbled across the deck to place himself
between Nico and Andrei, forestalling a possible fight as the two men glared at
one another. This was neither the time nor the place, especially under the
circumstances. They were becoming more and more drenched by the second, thunder
rolling above them in clamorous waves
Dracula
took a step toward Andrei, who took a reciprocal step. Avram braced himself as
he sought to catch Nico’s eye, silently plead with him for forbearance. At the
same time, he stretched an arm toward Andrei to prevent him from doing anything
foolish… such as attacking a vampire.
Nico’s
gaze was no longer fixed on Andrei, it seemed to encompass the chaos about
them—the wind, the rain, the roiling waters of the river. Avram watched him in
fascination tempered with horror. Was he really going to do this in front of
the smuggler?
Apparently
so.
to be continued
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