Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Birth

Chapter Thirteen : The Shopkeeper

Eliza spoke up in an almost hypnotic tone, “Try to focus.  Look him in the eyes and focus your will.  Push your desires over his.” 

Annabelle did just that.  She took a deep breath and looked deeply into his hate filled eyes.  She repeated, “I would like to buy this doll.  Please.”

The storeowner blinked and nodded his head.  He rang up the doll and told her the price.  Annabelle placed some currency on the counter and then walked towards Eliza with a broad smile on her face. 

Roland stepped forward and pointed behind the man, “Can I have that ball, sir?” 

“What’s going on?  How did that girl get that doll?  Who are you urchins?” 

Roland tried to focus. “The ball, sir.  Give it to me.”  His face scrunched up with concentration.  Annabelle suppressed a giggle, but when the storeowner ignored him and stormed over to yank the doll out of her hands, she blanched.

“Give me that, you stupid urchin!” He raised his arm to hit her but in a blur Roland grabbed his arm.  The storekeeper’s eyes widened with shock.

“Roland, stop!”  Before he could bite down on the man’s arm, Annabelle pushed her brother back.  Roland’s body smashed into a display of dishes.

As he stood up and brushed the broken plates off, Eliza scolded him. “We don’t feed on mortals, remember?” 

“He couldn’t hurt me,” Annabelle chimed in.

“My dishes!  How can you urchins move so--” Eliza silenced the storekeeper with a stern glance. 

The minute Eliza’s eyes locked with Roland’s, his defiance melted to shame.  “I’m sorry.  I thought he was going to hurt her.” 

Annabelle hugged him. “Thank you for caring enough to try and save me.” 

The firmness in Eliza’s voice grabbed their attention. “Roland, next time control your temper and focus.  He cannot harm us.  He has no wooden stake or any other weapon.  To properly mesmerize someone you must push your thoughts over theirs.  Push your will.  Now try it.” 

“Mister Shopkeeper, it’s not nice to bully others.  You should be more polite.” 

The man mumbled the word, “Polite.” 

“Now please go fetch that red ball.  Yes.  Thank you.”  Roland placed the money on the counter and continued with his practice.  “Now forget you ever saw us and... leave.  Yes!  Leave town.” 

“Roland, wait.  You can’t just tell him to--” 

Annabelle’s voice must’ve broken the trance because the shopkeeper’s eyes opened wide with terror.  Eliza spoke up quickly.  “The trance I put him under has completely broken.  He can see us for what we truly--” 

“You’re vampires!” His face white with fear, he shouted, “Vampires are in my shop!  I’m going to die!  Help!” 

 

 

---------------

For more check out Dark Birth at your local online store. Links to Dark Birth on the web can be found on the Store Page on this blog or you could just go here, Dark Birth on Amazon.

Bite of Story Thursday

I'm currently working on a short story called Night Children: Dark Loss. It's far from ready for even a sneek peek, so instead I thought I'd share a bit from Book Two in the Dark Beginings Saga. As always, this is from the rough draft so it does not reflect the final product. Enjoy!

-----

Night Children: Dark Changes
Chapter Five, A Peace Forever Shattered

Eliza saw it first.  The out of place shape caused her to stop her bat form short.  Lying in the middle of the main road, where anyone could stumble across it, was the body of a dead man.

“Who’s that?” She asked.

“I don’t... wait.  He looks familiar.”  Annabelle glided down to the ground.  Eliza followed.  They were in their human shapes when Eliza knelt down to examine the cadaver.

It was a young man in his early twenties.  His skin pale as a sheet, two small holes scared his neck.  “It’s Jonathan Jorgan.” Annabelle said.  “He’s one of Henry’s friends.  His grandfather settled the town.” 

The sound of many horses thundered through her ears.  Fear caused Annabelle’s legs to freeze in place.  Several angry men arrived in wagons and on horseback.  Henry Dunston, enraged like never before, leaped out of the first wagon and ran to his friend.  The men yelled and jeered as they surrounded the vampires.

Annabelle grabbed Eliza’s arm for safety.  She was scared out of her wits.  She chanced a look towards the forest behind the men.  Annabelle could not believe the hate and fear in their eyes. 

“Henry?  Why are you--”

He cut her off.  “They did this!”  Henry jumped to his feet and pointed at Annabelle and Eliza.  Spit flew from his red face as he shouted, “That’s Eliza Pratchet.  She’s a vampire.” 

The men gasped.  Every nerve in Annabelle’s body demanded escape, but the shock of Henry’s betrayal rooted her to the spot.  

Eliza’s strong look spoke volumes.  She wanted Annabelle to flee to safety.  Annabelle returned her look and squeezed her hand.  She’d never leave her adoptive mother. 

Henry continued, “Remember those Foresight children that were killed by wolves years ago?  She turned them into vampires.  That’s one of them.”  Angry shouts echoed through the night, running a shiver up Annabelle’s spine.  “She killed my brother Thomas and tricked me into keeping quiet.”  He pointed at Annabelle.

“No, Servo killed Tom.  I saved him by turning...” It was the worse thing she could say.  The ever growing crowd jeered her.  “Henry, please.  You promised.” 

“You tricked me.  You corrupted Thomas.”  Henry turned back towards the angry mob.  “She spent her first night as a vampire planning ways to change by brother and sister.  They snuck into our room and put a spell on Polly and Thomas.”

“That’s a lie.” Annabelle shouted it out as tears clouded her vision. 

“She mesmerized my brother, made him want to be... that.”  He gestured at them like they were diseased creatures.  “I don’t know how Polly and I escaped her notice, but she killed him.”

Furious jeers erupted from the crowd.  Eliza pulled at Annabelle’s arm but she held her ground.  There must be some way to convince them he was wrong.  She had to know why Henry was doing this.

“Now he’s a monster, just like them.”

“It’s not true,” she blinked away the tears.  “Tom wanted to be like us.”

“She admits it,” Henry roared and the mob shouted.  The deafening sound hurt her ears.  “Now look what they have done.”

“No, we didn’t do this.  We don’t know who--”

“Don’t listen to her lies.  Now they’ve killed Johnny.  This has to stop,” Henry roared from the top of his lungs as he grabbed tightly to her left arm.  “Get them.  Don’t let them escape.” 

By this time, the crowd had filled the street.  They moved as one, crushing into Eliza and Annabelle.  They pulled at the girls’ hair, bruised their bodies, kicked and hit them.

Savage pain raked her body from all sides at once.  Instinctively, she scratched and hit back and some men fell to the ground.  Others screamed as her sharp nails dug into their flesh.  It barely made a difference because more attackers replaced the fallen.

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Birth

Chapter Two: Rumors

Henry looked around as if to check that no one was eavesdropping.  He gestured for the others to follow him further into the shadowed space behind a stack of crates.  Away from prying eyes, he seemed confident enough to continue his story. 

“Her name is Eliza Pratchet.  She and her husband moved here years ago.  Legend says they were never normal folk.  Their cabin’s always been boarded up.  The curtains are drawn and no one ever comes to the door.  Several people tried to visit them when they first arrived, but no one ever answered.” 

“They moved in, but you could never see them?” Roland asked. “Are you sure they actually lived there?” 

“Well, that’s the thing.  As time went on, people weren’t sure what was going on.  They said maybe the Pratchets never settled in.  Maybe they died before they could move in.  No one knew.  The town had a meeting and the people decided they were going to take down the cabin, but the night before they were to do it, she appeared, white as a ghost and...well, different than normal folk.  She said she and her husband still lived there and demanded they be left alone.  Now she comes to town once in awhile to buy goods but everyone stays clear of her.” 

“That’s spooky,” Roland said. 

Annabelle’s curiosity was piqued again.  “How does that make her a witch?  I mean, just because they only see her at night, and she wanted to be left alone doesn’t give her supernatural powers.  And what about her husband?” 

“They say she killed him because no one has seen him in--” 

Annabelle interrupted him. “That’s what they say but that doesn’t mean it’s true.” 

Henry stumbled for answer.  “Her husband disappeared and no one’s seen him.  People don’t vanish.  She had to have done something.” 

“Well that’s not entirely true, Henry.  His ghost walks the woods,” Tom said.

Annabelle and Roland looked at each other. She saw disbelief in her brother’s eyes and wondered if this was all a game.  She hoped with all her heart that it was. 

Henry continued, “The story is she killed him and burned his body for firewood.” 

Annabelle’s stomach turned. 

“What’s worse...” Henry continued. 

“There’s worse?”  Roland said. 

“Yes.  There are the bodies.” 

“Bodies?” 

“The townspeople figure she’s been making sacrifices.” 

A shiver prickled down Annabelle’s spine despite her intention not to believe any of this.

“We can’t prove the bodies were from her,” Thomas interrupted. 

“Each of them, animal or human, was found in the woods drained of all their blood.” 

Annabelle couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  A frightening thought crossed her mind, but she dismissed it.  She had been reading her book of monsters too often.  There was no way such a thing could be true. 

---------------

For more check out Dark Birth at your local online store. Links to Dark Birth on the web can be found on the Store Page on this blog or you could just go here, Dark Birth on Amazon.

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Birth

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Three Bite Rule

The jet-black carriage raced down the darkened road.  The horses pulled it with ease as two of its occupants watched the quickly moving scenery.  Eliza’s red eyes peered into the night and Annabelle mused at how strange the two of them must’ve looked. 

Thomas said, “I just want to thank you both, again.  Henry can be a pain, but he’s my brother.”

“Think nothing of it.  He’s a friend of ours.  The children were right.  We shouldn’t leave him to those monsters.”

“You’re amazing, Eliza.  If I was a vampire and someone said I didn’t have a soul I wouldn’t risk everything to save him... oops.”

Eliza’s head snapped towards Tom’s direction.  Annabelle’s mouth fell open as she asked in shock, “What?”

“I’m sorry.  I need to keep my mouth shut.”  Tom sighed.  “Henry thinks when you become a vampire you lose your soul to the devil.” 

Annabelle’s blood boiled. “How dare he?  My brother and I have always treated him with the utmost respect.  What have we ever done to him?” 

Eliza spoke up with her usual calm voice.  “Now, Ann, don’t be too upset with him.  This is the same paranoia we’ve heard throughout the ages.  Besides, I cannot say I blame the mortals for fearing us and making up stories.” 

“But Eliza, it’s wrong!”  She stood up and paced, moving her hands to emphasize her points.  The carriage rocked as it rumbled on its way over the gravely road, but Annabelle had no problem keeping her balance.  “Of course I have a soul!  I’m still the same person I was before I became a vampire.  How can you defend him for saying such lies?” 

Eliza wasn’t reproachful or angry when she replied, “You have known less than a handful of vampires in your short life.  Most are evil, or at least indifferent.  True, there are good ones out there, like my troupe of gypsies, but there are many more rotten ones as well.  The mortals have gained a deep fear because of the atrocities these bad vampires perform.” 

Calm followed by shame washed away the anger.  Annabelle promptly regained her seat.  “I’m sorry I was upset.  It really bothers me when people say things they know nothing about.  I can see what you mean about the bad vampires, but why say we have no souls?” 

“First of all, it’s ignorance.  See, most people do not even know what a soul is.”

“What is a soul?”  Thomas asked. 

“A soul is the combination of your body and your spirit.” 

“Spirit?” 

“Yes.  Here, let me show you.”  Eliza pulled out her white satin gloves from a pocket in her cloak and held one up.  “See my hand?  This represents my spirit.  Your spirit is the ‘you’ inside.  Your dreams, likes, dislikes, everything that makes you who you are.  See this empty glove?  This is my body.  This represents the physical part of you.  When we were born our spirit went into our body.”  She put the glove on and then moved her fingers inside it.  “When we die, and I mean really die for good, our spirit comes out of our body.”  She removed the glove and placed it down on her lap.

“Our body goes into the grave and our spirit goes to a sort of Spirit Realm.  Many religions teach one day our spirit and body will be reunited.  The soul is the name for your body and spirit when they are together.” 

“So vampires have spirits like everyone else.”  Tom reasoned. 

“Of course.”  Eliza sat back and put away her gloves.  “As for the devil, I’ve never met such a thing.  I do not believe vampires owe their existence to the devil.” 

---------------

For more check out Dark Birth at your local online store. Links to Dark Birth on the web can be found on the Store Page on this blog or you could just go here, Dark Birth on Amazon.

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Birth

Chapter Thirteen: The Shopkeeper

The firmness in Eliza’s voice grabbed their attention. “Roland, next time control your temper and focus.  He cannot harm us.  He has no wooden stake or any other weapon.  To properly mesmerize someone you must push your thoughts over theirs.  Push your will.  Now try it.” 

“Mister Shopkeeper, it’s not nice to bully others.  You should be more polite.” 

The man mumbled the word, “Polite.” 

“Now please go fetch that red ball.  Yes.  Thank you.”  Roland placed the money on the counter and continued with his practice.  “Now forget you ever saw us and... leave.  Yes!  Leave town.” 

“Roland, wait.  You can’t just tell him to--” 

Annabelle’s voice must’ve broken the trance because the shopkeeper’s eyes opened wide with terror.  Eliza spoke up quickly.  “The trance I put him under has completely broken.  He can see us for what we truly--” 

“You’re vampires!” His face white with fear, he shouted, “Vampires are in my shop!  I’m going to die!  Help!” 

Eliza blocked his exit and tried to mesmerize him.  “He’s too upset.  We must flee.” 

“Can we mesmerize him while he’s unconscious?” Annabelle asked quickly.

“What?” 

“Can we mesmerize him when he’s unconscious?”  A frantic fear turned her stomach upside down as the shopkeeper’s voice got louder and louder.  She rapidly glanced out the shop windows.  Someone had to hear him.

“Yes!” 

“Good.”  Annabelle sped around the shop so fast the shopkeeper blinked.  She picked up the wooden stool and hit him over the head with it.  He dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. 

“Is he dead?”  Roland asked while looking over his body. 

 

 

---------------

For more check out Dark Birth at your local online store. Links to Dark Birth on the web can be found on the Store Page on this blog or you could just go here, Dark Birth on Amazon.

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Birth

Chapter Fifteen: How to Kill the Undead

The ground beneath them shook and a large creature broke out of the forest and ran straight for them.

Taller than eight feet, covered in matted black fur and impossibly more foul than Servo, the creature struck the barrier with incredible force.  He howled as the impact burnt his hide.

Once again, Annabelle felt the impulse to turn tail and run.  The creature seemed beyond comprehension.  It had elongated hands and feet, an ape-like face, and a dazed but malicious look in its black eyes.  She forced back her lunch of raccoon blood.

“What is that?”

“It’s a sasquatch.  That’s what the Indians call it, anyway.  The Master keeps a few in his employ for the heavy work.  It’ll smash you up really good.”  The men laughed. 

“We need to leave, Roland.”

“I want a closer look.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” a familiar, comforting voice demanded.

“Eliza!” Relief washed through Annabelle as their surrogate mother touched down behind them.  “The sasquatch are just one of many unknown species humans know nothing about.”

The creature smashed at the invisible barrier, setting off green sparks in every direction.  Servo and Beufus laughed as the creature moaned in pain.  Each time his fist connected with the energy field, Annabelle flinched.

Eliza remained calm, probably trusting the barrier to hold up. “Stronger than full size werewolves, they usually live in the north-west in peaceful tribes.  This one seems to be permanently mesmerized.”

Annabelle couldn’t help it.  With all her power, she couldn’t stop feeling like a frightened child.  She moved behind Eliza.  Even her brother, for all his curiosity, moved closer to them.

“Come.  They can’t enter.  Let’s return home.  I need to teach you more quickly than I have been.”

As she escorted the children away, the men called out terrible things.  Eliza gave no notice, but Annabelle saw tightness around her eyes.  Trouble was coming, she was sure of that.

 

---------------

For more check out Dark Birth at your local online store. Links to Dark Birth on the web can be found on the Store Page on this blog or you could just go here, Dark Birth on Amazon.

Who's Who in the Annabelle Universe? Sybil

SYBIL

Here is a cool pic from online. No clue what it is or who did it. If anyone knows, please tell me so I can give credit. There is no picture at this time of Sybil or the rest of the Falabranwyn. Hopefully that will change someday.

Name Origin
English for "wise old woman".

Physical characteristics:

Sybil shares characteristics of the other Falabranwyn. She has long silky black hair and black eyes that seem to go deep into a person's soul. She has a pale completion and thin body. She stands about five and a half feet tall. She wears a cloak that seems to be made of black feathers. When in bird form she appears as a crow or raven, depending on her mood. Either way she becomes a black bird with eyes that seem almost human.

Personality:
Sybil is quiet, responsible and sad. She seems to possess unknown knowledge of future events but refuses to share. She exhibits leadership qualities to other members of her shape-shifting race.

Abilities:

All Falabranwyn can shape-shift to appear as ravens or the larger crows. They have prophetic abilities as well, often receiving visions of future events. They don't all get the visions or dreams at once and some like Sybil get more. The Falabranwyn can blend into the shadows and not be seen when they wish. They cannot be heard, seen, smelled if they want to disappear. They have no scent at all. This is a protection against vampires discovering them. As a senior member of their race, Sybil is well trained in all theses abilities.

History:

Not much is known about the enigmatic Sybil. Close to King Alar, the first leader of the Falabranwyn, Sybil always believed the 'Prophesy of the Younglings' that Alar gave on his deathbed after the Exodus War. Sybil was very young during the war and still remembers the Farnalla Exodus. She was tasked with watching one of evil Lord Domi's wives, Eliza Pratchet. Sybil became a friend to Eliza and warned her of many things. After the Foresight family arrived in the New World, Sybil watched the children close. She and several Falabranwyn warriors flew to Annabelle and Roland's defense on multiple occasions. Annabelle and Roland spotted Sybil leaving Eliza's cabin right before they rescued Blandia Blackburn from the Salem Trials and before the first Battle of Jorgantown. She has begin training Aisling, a fledgling Falabranwyn.

 

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Trials
Chapter Five

She caught a glimpse of Eliza. The men held her tight, pulling her to the center of town. Why didn’t she try to defend herself? Annabelle punched and scratched her way to Eliza. The angry shouts and constant attacks from her attackers made it impossible to concentrate. If she could think for long enough to change her form or mesmerize the mob, Annabelle might be able to rescue Eliza and escape.


Where are Roland and Thomas? she thought in panic.

Henry continued to shout over the mob, “Reginald Worthing told me they were killing Johnny. He said they lied to me and they’ve always served the devil.”

The crowd of hostile villagers tripled in size. Men were joined by their wives, fathers by their sons. Annabelle wondered if the entire town had gone insane. Other voices joined Henry: “We have to stop them before they kill everyone in town.” “Don’t let them murder our children.” “Let’s hang them at the town square.”

Henry shouted over the mob, “Hanging won’t work. We’ve got to burn them!”

Her body tired and her mind in panic, Annabelle couldn’t stop the mob from dragging her after Eliza. Bloodthirsty cheers roared in her ears while her voice was raw with all her screaming.