Chapter 9 and we are almost done with this writing prompt! Writing prompts can be a great way to help get creativity flowing again, especially if a writer is dealing with mild writer’s block. Sometimes, sitting down at the computer or with pen and paper doesn’t result in an immediate flow of creativity, which is very frustrating, especially when you need to be writing! Something, anything!
Writing prompts don’t have to be long and multi-faceted, like this one. Sometimes a great writing prompt can be used for flash fiction, a few thousand words or less. So next time you’re feeling stuck on a project or want to see if you can get some creativity going, try a writing prompt and see what comes out!
The Night of the Renascent: Part 9
*Copyright 2024 by Kaye Roan & Blue Dandelion Press, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The creature looked like its mother, all bent and jutting limbs, wrinkled and grayed skin with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. The differences were subtle, long and straight black hair where Mother Belinda’s hair had been white, and the face that I beheld was that of a child, no older than eleven or twelve. The evil that twisted its features didn’t look right on a child’s face. The face morphed, showing the features of a beautiful young girl, one who looked too much like Sebastian for comfort. This creature could mimic anyone, changing and warping its face to affect the one it wanted to torture.
“Ah, the Renascent. So lovely,” it hissed, “to see you again. It has been too long.”
With my newly returned memories, I knew it had been about seventy-five years since the last time we’d faced off and I had lost so completely. Alone, I was no match for this creature. I needed Sebastian. Again, I moved to release his bindings and again the creature hissed out a warning. Still, I couldn’t just leave him hanging there. Ignoring the creature’s hissing laughter, I cut through the thick rope that held Sebastian suspended and nearly fell to the ground under his dead weight.
“You shouldn’t have done that Lovely,” its evil laughter spread, taking up the clearing and snaking toward me. I crab-walked backward, away from the tendrils of black mist that swept through the meadow with focused precision. I tried to concentrate on The Dark, the creature that stood back while the reaching clouds of smoke crept closer. The thing was smiling, grinning like a maniac and somehow, that terrified me more than the fog that swept toward me.
All at once, the thick smokey tendrils lashed out, stabbing directly through their target and I screamed. It wasn’t me that the horrid evil sought. It was him. Sebastian. The smoke disappeared, completely absorbed by his body and he slowly, slowly, rose to his feet. His eyes were pitch black, no iris or pupil, or white to be seen. The smile, the one I loved so much, was gone, replaced instead by an evil smirk that spoke of a dark desire to maim and kill, starting with me.
“It is funny,” The Dark whispered from its place across the clearing, “If Sebastian kills you, his soul, what remains of it, will shatter. If you kill him, the same will occur to you. But without killing him, you cannot kill me, my sweet Renascent. And even better, he will die regardless.”
My head shot up at that, “What do you mean?” A feeling of dread was pooling in my chest, seeping into all parts of me until I felt cold, a bone-deep chill that settled in and refused to move.
“Why I’ve cut off his energy-seeking abilities. The vampire can no longer gather energy like he had up until now. Renascent, he does not make it out of this alive. Don’t you know that? Can’t you sense it?”
I wanted to deny it. I wanted to rage and scream and cry and fight. Mostly, I wanted to sink into the grass and completely fall apart. I wanted Sebastian to hold me. I wanted a life with him, my soul-bonded, how life was supposed to be. I had a sinking suspicion that The Dark had morphed into that little girl that looked so much like Sebastian, just to show me, to torture me with what I could never have. A family with my soul bonded. A life that lasted longer than a few decades and always ended in pain and suffering.
I staggered to my feet and faced Sebastian. His normal scowl was in place, though somehow more sinister. I knew my Sebastian would never hurt me. This one though, this one was designed to kill me, to rip out my heart and devour it as The Dark had every time before. Some memories would have been better forgotten.
Grim determination filled me. As much as my heart was breaking, I had made a promise and The Dark had just ensured that I would keep it. No matter what.
“Hang on Sebastian,” I palmed two of his specialty daggers, grateful for my foresight in bringing them from the camp, “I’m coming for you.”
We rushed each other, I swung high, aiming for his neck but Sebastian went low, tackling me around the waist and taking me to the ground. I quickly rolled away from him and bounced back to my feet. Sebastian came toward me again. He had years, centuries in fact, of experience on me. There was no way I would ever win this thing fairly. Not that I wanted to win.
We circled each other, each looking for the other’s weakness and seeing none. We knew each other too well. Our souls spoke to each other and betrayed every move we planned to make.
Determination swamped me and I rushed him again, this time, I dropped my shoulder and twisted into his arms instead of away. Sebastian’s arms closed around me in one final embrace as both the dagger in his hand and the one in mine, found their marks.
I expected pain. I expected blood and tears and more. Instead, I felt, light. No, I was light. I glanced down where Sebastian’s dagger stuck from my chest, knowing it should hurt, badly. But there was no pain. A bright light was shining out, the rays becoming more blinding by the moment. My eyes shot to Sebastian’s all-black ones as they widened in horror. Across the clearing, The Dark was screaming, an awful sound, like nails on glass. I smiled broadly and clasped Sebastian’s cheeks in my palms, the light spread, bursting through my fingertips to graze his face. The beams overtook me until the Malia of this time, dissolved into pure light.
Next week will bring about the conclusion of the Night of the Renascent Writing Prompt! I’m so excited to finish up this prompt and maybe Malia and Sebastian will even find a little bit of peace in all of this.
Happy Reading!
