Do you know what today is? It is December 31st. That means that once I finish this post I will have done a writing prompt every week day this year. So exciting! And so many story starts. Still there is one more to go to finish out the year so let’s get going. Once more for 2020, timers set? Then let’s go.
Woo hoo! 2020 writing prompts done. Don’t worry, I’ll do another set in 2021, but I feel good about getting an entire year in.
For those of you who like to wait until the last moment, the Smashwords Annual Book Sale ends on January first at Midnight, so if you are looking for a new read or even a slew of new authors to read, now is your chance to stock up. I know all of my books are up for 50% off, but if my writing isn’t your thing then there are still thousands of authors to choose from and at a discount is a great way to try something new. Quite a few books are even free. I highly recommend checking it out and supporting your independent authors.
Thursday, December 31st: Eyes gleamed in the darkness.
Eyes gleamed in the darkness. They were yellow with flecks of red fire dancing around them. If it was just yellow John would have been okay. He would have known he was being stalked, but he would at least be able to assume it was a natural predator. The sparks clued him in that the hunter was not a beast normally seen in this world.
‘Demon,’ John thought.
The thought didn’t sit well. Demons never did, but in his line of work he had gotten used to seeing all sorts of things that would turn most into gibbering piles of terrified jelly. John still felt the fear, but learned to let it guide him instead of immobilizing him. Gibbering piles of jelly were just food for the beast. Being scared was okay as long as you had a weapon to swing.
Thinking of his weapon he eased his hand towards the hilt while keeping his eyes staring straight ahead. The eyes watched him from off to his left. He kept the eyes in sight through his peripherals, not looking directly at the beast. His right hand grazed the hilt of his dagger. It wasn’t his preferred weapon when dealing with something of this nature, but it was the easiest weapon to reach.
He gripped the hilt, the beast not seeming to realize he was armed. Knowing he needed to draw the beast out quickly or risk the beast following him into occupied lands, John tilted his head up, looking at the sky. He studied the clouds as though wondering if he would be able to reach the next town before the rains fell. As expected, the sight of his exposed neck was too much for the beast to ignore.
Claws scraped the rocky ground and as the beast leapt, committing itself to the lunge, John dropped, swinging his dagger around and plunging it into the beast’s heart. The beast dissolved in a swirling miasma of black mist which John tried his best not to inhale. No one ever told him what would happen if he inhaled demon smoke but the last thing he wanted was bits of demon decaying somewhere in the bottom of one of his lungs.
The mist cleared and John let his breath go, inhaling a deep breath full of clean air.
The demon was a lesser one, barely above a beast in intelligence. They were given a target and set loose to hunt, like a fox chasing a hound. They would tear the fox to shreds of be killed, stripped of their corporeal form and sent back to the pits to await their next summons.
If the beast was here, then someone sent him to hunt Jon specifically. If John hadn’t been the target, the beast wouldn’t have bothered him at all, regardless of how easy a target he made himself.
“That’s not good,” he said.
As far as he knew he hadn’t angered anyone to the point of sending a hunter out after him. At least not for a while. Things between him and the denizens of the dark had been quiet for a while now. He wondered if their tentative truce was about to end.
Ten til Midnight 