Hello there, Dear Readers! It has been a long, cold winter here in Northwest Arkansas but we have finally arrived at a very special date. It's February 14. Most folks around these parts like to celebrate this date as Valentines Day. For me and certain other writers and bloggers the fourteenth means something else. It's time once again for the seventh annual Vampire's Day Soiree, hosted as always by my blogging friend Holly Strange on her excellent blog entitled, Holly 's Horrorland.
As I've mentioned before, The Vampire's Day Soiree always takes place on Valentine's Day as an
alternative for those of us with a darker outlook on things. Besides,
what could possibly be more romantic than an encounter with the right
vampire? No doubt, vampires are dangerous, blood-thirsty creatures, but
they are also sensual and romantic.
If you're a blogger and would like to participate in this event, just click on the above link or the link provided at the end of this post, and it will take you back to Ms. Holly's site. Once there, simply follow the easy instructions to get signed up, and then create something on the topic of vampires on your own blog. Finally, make sure that you link back to Holly's Horrorland so that those who hadn't visited there yet will have the opportunity to see not only Holly's, but everyone else's contribution to the day's event. Also, you are free to use the above art work on your blog in order to signify that you're involved with Holly's celebration. After all, she goes through a certain amount of trouble providing unique art for every event, and this is the seventh annual. So why not take advantage of her labor of love?
That said, it's time for my personal contribution; and as always, I am providing you the reader with an excerpt from one of my short stories. This year's contribution comes from one of my more recent tales entitled The Arrival of Narkissa Laveau, which appears in my second book called The Darkness Beyond the Misty Veil: More Tales of the Macabre.
A little background is in order. A soon-to-graduate university student named William gets on Facebook one day to discover a new friend request. As he investigates its source, he discovers that it originated from a dark but beautiful woman, who plays the part of a vampire for internet productions. He accepts her request, and over time, can't get her out of his mind. When summer arrives, he discovers upon her invitation for a visit, that she lives only a few hours away in a small Ozark town called Fox Grove. He is to meet her in the local cemetery after dark. Although he believes that she is carrying her acting role a bit too far, he agrees to the meeting. We pick up the story as he awaits Narkissa's arrival at the cemetery.
The late afternoon heat had tempered somewhat by the time William
walked into the cemetery. Evening had arrived. With its presence came
the loud buzzing of cicadas emanating from the treetops and the
cawing of crows, warning their brethren of his arrival. He gazed
around the graveyard, hoping that Narkissa might have arrived ahead
of him, but there was no sign of her.
She did tell me to meet her after dark, he reasoned. It's
early yet. So, I might as well find a way to amuse myself until she
arrives. He decided to explore the cemetery, and to see what he
could learn about the earlier residents of Fox Grove.
He took note of a boarded up old church with its steeple and bell
tower situated on one side of the cemetery. As he walked in the midst
of the deceased, a feeling of sadness overtook him. The epitaphs
carved into the stone markers told the tales of those who had come
before. These had once lived as he lives. Yet, they are long
departed; their memory nearly extinguished. Some had left this world
at tender young ages. Others had died of accidents and disease. Yet,
others had lived to ripe old ages. He didn't particularly care for
graveyards. The burial ground upon which he stood reminded him of his
own mortality; that one day he too would join their ranks and become
nothing more than a fading memory.
The buzzing of the cicadas eventually gave way to an almost eerie
stillness as day morphed into twilight. Fireflies arose from the
graveyard's grassy bottom, beginning a nightly spectacle that would
soon cast a dim, flickering illumination upon the tombstones. Bats
emerged from the church steeple, beginning their erratic flight far
above the resting places of the dead.
Alone and unaccustomed to the quiet darkness falling over the
landscape, a sense of unease—even dread, began to swell up from
somewhere deep within his soul. He walked nervously toward Narkissa's
altar tomb and sat down upon it, waiting in silence as the darkness
deepened.
Without warning, the sound of rustling vegetation and the snapping of
fallen branches coming from the nearby woods broke the silence.
Something of considerable size was moving around just beyond his
limited field of vision. He shuddered as he contemplated the
possibilities. William, although unaccustomed to the country,
understood that black bear and even worse, wild hogs inhabited the
Ozark region. He sat in silence, making not the slightest move out of
fear that it would attract whatever predator might be lurking in the
shadows nearby.
The last vestiges of twilight had given way to night by the time the
disturbing sounds moved off into the distance. He breathed a silent
sigh of relief as he gazed up at a quarter moon rising above the tree
line to the east, shedding a dim, eerie light upon the grave markers
and monuments, which in turn cast long but barely distinguishable
shadows across the grassy floor.
I can't take any more of this, he decided. This is too
creepy, and I'm not going to sit here for another minute waiting for
some ungodly creature to attack me. I've been played for a fool and
I'm getting out of here right now.
He stood up, turned toward the highway, and began walking toward his
vehicle. He had only taken a few steps when something took hold of
his shoulder. Sheer terror gripped at him as he spun around in an
attempt to break it's grasp. “Augh!”
“Why William, what's wrong?”
His heart beat so furiously he thought it might jump out of his
chest. Although completely unnerved and somewhat embarrassed, he now
stood face to face with the beautiful Narkissa Laveau.
***
“I....Uh....” He was speechless, embarrassed, and unable to do
anything more than stand before her sheepishly.
She chuckled at his discomfort before addressing him. “You are
William, aren't you?”
“Uh yeah, I am.”
“Did I startle you?”
Seeing a way out of an embarrassing situation, he quickly collected
his thoughts. “Yeah, I guess you did. I didn't see you coming and
all of a sudden, there you were.”
“We vampires are hunters and creatures of the night,” she
responded. “How could we stalk our prey if we announced our
presence beforehand?”
She stared at him intently in the dim moonlight, her eyes reflecting
the luminescence with a greenish hue. Narkissa's beauty ensnared him;
yet, her facial expression betrayed any attempt on her part to hide
her hunger—a hunger he could not define. Was it sexual? Or was it
something else?
“So, is that what I am,” he asked flirtatiously, “your prey?”
“Isn't that why you came here? Didn't you imply that you'd like to
be my victim?”
Although he was already under her spell, feelings of unease arose
from within him once again. She's sure taking this vampire thing
seriously, he admitted to himself. I sure hope she's not
detached from reality. Wouldn't that be just my luck?
“Would you like to see my lair?” She asked. “You know, the one
I've highlighted in some of my photos? After all, I'd like to put you
at ease and make you as comfortable as possible.”
“Sure, lead the way.”
She took his hand and led him across the graveyard toward the
abandoned church. Her hand was cold to the touch, but he hardly
noticed, so intoxicated was he by her contact.
Well, there you have it; my contribution to this year's Vampire's Day Soiree. In years past, I've been light-heartedly teased by the readers due to the stories not yet being available during the time of their reading. This year is different. The full story is published and available. I have already placed a link above to my other site where you can gain access to The Darkness Beyond the Misty Veil: More Tales of the Macabre in print, ebook, or Kindle. I will place another link to my promotional website right below that leading to Holly's Horrorland. There you will find information on both my books as well as story excerpts I do twice monthly as part of my Creepy Samples Offering. Please though, visit Holly's website first. After all, we're celebrating the special event she has created for our enjoyment.
To sign up or access other Vampire's Day Soiree material follow this link.
To access Ms. Holly's full website follow this link.
Tales of Dark Romance and Horror
