Funk-N-Fiction

Werewolves and witches and visions, oh my! This is what Cynthia Eden is bringing to our 2022 Halloween Flash Fiction Blog Event today! I hope you love all our stories this week, and be sure to check at the end of each one for the contests/giveaways!!

BLOOD ENEMIES
by Cynthia Eden

            “Is this where it happens?” I asked as I sat on the pile of rocks, trying to keep my spine straight like the queen I was apparently never going to be.

Never going to be…due to the fact that my would-be lover stood before me, holding a knife.

            Such a disappointment.

            But maybe I should have seen this moment coming. No, actually, I definitely, one hundred percent should have seen it.  No question at all. I had the gift of sight, after all.  Visions of the future that would whisper through my mind. Glimpses that would show me what would be. Who to fear. Who to fight.

            But with Sebastian, it had been different. Tall, dark, utterly gorgeous, Sebastian had been unlike anyone I’d ever met before. From the moment I saw him in the crowded tavern, I knew he was special.

            I didn’t realize he’d be my assassin, so, whoops, my bad. But a witch can’t know everything, can she? And with Sebastian, I’d never received any glimpses of our future. No hints. There had been nothing but the present with him.

            Probably because I have no future thanks to him. I couldn’t see anything because my life ends with Sebastian.

            Again, such a disappointment. 

            Sebastian looked down at his hand, as if surprised to see that he gripped the knife.  He wore all black, and the dark color suited him so well. The sun had begun to set, and the reddish gold of the sky seemed to burn behind him.  When he glanced back at me, there was only darkness in his eyes.  Such deep, dark eyes. The kind of eyes that could steal your soul. 
                       
            I slid a hand along the rocks near me.  My skirt rustled in the breeze.  I had goose bumps on my arms, but it wasn’t from the cold. It was more from the whole fear-of-dying thing. 

            “There’s a prophecy about you,” Sebastian said in the deep, rumbling voice that I so enjoyed.  A pity that I still enjoyed it, even at this unfortunate moment.  But a witch just couldn’t help some things.

            Like falling in love with a killer.

            Witches didn’t love like mortals.  It wasn’t some slow and gradual thing. When we found our mates, it was electric. Your whole body ignited. Power flooded through you, and you knew that this person—this was the one. Your other half.

            Sebastian wasn’t a witch, though, so he didn’t feel that scorching intensity that said we were right. Meant to be. The stuff of legends.  Maybe that was why he could kill me.

            “There are lots of stories circulating,” I replied, hoping for a nonchalant air as I tried to figure out a way to escape my current predicament. Meeting Sebastian for a romantic sunset stroll had seemed harmless enough. My mistake. I sent him a slow smile. “You’ll have to be a bit more specific.”

            His powerful shoulders stiffened. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

            I considered the question. “I’m mostly disappointed.” True. I’d hoped he felt a bit of the same desire I did. A small sliver of that wild connection. But…not a witch. He doesn’t feel things the same way. “I’m also little angry.” More like a lot angry. “This isn’t exactly the most romantic evening of my life. My plans had this night ending very, very differently.”

            “Because you were going to kill me.”

            The utter certainty of his words had a laugh sputtering out of me. “No, Sebastian, I was planning to fu—uh, I was planning to make love with you.” A quick correction.

            “Witches don’t love.” His eyes glittered.

            “Who told you that?” I waved one hand toward the knife. “The same person who told you to pull a knife on me?”

            His hold on the knife tightened. “According to the prophecy, when you’re queen, you will destroy the werewolves.”

            Uh, oh. A shiver darted over my body. Not just goose bumps this time, but more like a real touch of ice. The sleeves of my dress fluttered. Enough sitting. Time for action. I rose, and my dark hair slid over my shoulder.  Taking my time about it, I advanced on Sebastian.

            He kept the knife at his side.  He didn’t retreat. 

            “Why would I…” My voice was husky, a deliberate choice. Seduction could be a perfect distraction. “Why would I care about some mangy wolves?”

            Wolves and witches had been enemies for centuries.  Probably because a long time ago, a witch had created werewolves. She’d been angry with her lover, and she’d cursed him. Something along the lines of…if he wanted to be a beast to her, then she’d fix him so that the whole world could see him for what he truly was. 

            An important life lesson there—never enrage a witch. We tend to have long memories, and we very much enjoy revenge spells. We can be petty that way.  So what?

            But I didn’t really care about the werewolves. Sure, yes, I’d heard the big story about how I was supposed to single-handedly change the world and end the werewolf line. There was some added bit of drama about how I would create an even more powerful being and a nice line saying something like I held the fate of the witches and werewolves in the palm of my hand but, come on, most prophesies were BS. Everyone knew that.  There were a million ways to interpret the things and—

            Sebastian’s eyes were glowing. Not glittering. Not gleaming. Glowing. Taking on the glow that was ever-so-distinct. A werewolf glow.

            He smiled at me, a chilling smile, and that wicked grin revealed razor sharp canines. 

            “Oh.” I nodded and kept right on walking. I didn’t stop, not until I was less than a foot from him. Close enough for me to touch him. And if I touched him and used a death spell, I could kill him. I could kill him as easily as I could kiss him. Did he even know that? Did he know I was that strong? Probably not. If he did, he would be backing up. Or trying to use his knife. Not just watching me with those glowing eyes—a stare that seemed to eat me alive.

            “Oh?” His head cocked. “Is that all you have to say?” Rasping. Rough. 

            “What am I supposed to say?” I let my voice rise higher as I added, “Oh, no, it’s a big, bad wolf. Please, wolf, don’t hurt me.”  Such a fake plea. I never begged. Never would. “I suppose I should take back the ‘mangy’ part because obviously, you’re quite gorgeous.” 

            “You’re not scared of me.” He frowned.  “Not even a little? I have a knife, darling.”

            “I did notice that.” I reached for his hand—the hand that held the knife—and I curled my fingers around his wrist. I could feel the frantic race of his pulse. Sebastian might be playing it cool, but he wasn’t controlled. Beneath his surface, a fire raged.  I lifted his hand—and the knife—and the tip of the blade pressed against my stomach.  “You’re not going to hurt me.”

            “Can you see that?” he demanded.

            “No, with you, I can’t.” Total honesty. “I couldn’t even see this moment coming. Maybe that’s supposed to mean that I die.”

            He swallowed. 

            “But I don’t think so.  In order to kill me, you’d have to hate me.  I don’t believe you do.”  I hoped not. My fingers were wrapped around his wrist, and if I wanted, I could send a charge of electricity straight through his veins. With my touch, I could have him immobile and on the ground in seconds.  He held the knife. I held my magic. 

            But neither of us moved to attack. 

            “I don’t believe you hate me,” I whispered.

            “Then what the hell do I feel?”  A growl. His head had lowered toward me. The stupid knife was between us, but his mouth nearly touched mine.

            So against his lips, I answered, “You love me.”

            He kissed me. Or maybe I kissed him. I don’t know who closed that last bit of distance, but our lips were suddenly touching, and fire scorched through my blood. A passionate, consuming heat that told me this man—this werewolf—was the one for me. My one. My only. And there was no way he could kill me.  He had to feel part of this intense connection. We’d been together for weeks, and if he’d wanted to kill me by now, surely he would have done it, he would have—

            He tore his mouth from mine.

            “Sebastian?”

            He jerked back the knife.  Turned and—

            Sebastian stabbed the man in the long, black coat who seemed to burst out of the tall brush that surrounded us.  A plunge of the knife straight into the man’s heart.  A plume of smoke rose from the stranger’s chest—a sure sign that the knife’s blade had been made of silver and that the stranger now on the ground was also a werewolf.

            If Sebastian brought a silver blade to this meeting…

            Then he’d known other werewolves would be coming. 

            My breath came faster. Harder.    

            Sebastian’s head turned toward me.  “They want you dead.”

            Obviously. “What do you want?” Breathless. Hopeful.

            That glow in his eyes burned even brighter. “You.” 

            He kissed me again. Deeper. Harder. With hunger and need and a passion that I met with greedy force. I could hear the others closing in.  They were surrounding us. But I still wasn’t afraid.

            Because a vision swam before me. Finally.  A teasing glimpse that came and went.  Me, sitting on the throne I’d longed to claim. A king at my side—a werewolf king.

            And before us, a child.  A child with a wolf’s eyes and a witch’s power.

            Sebastian drew back. He turned to shield me with his body. I caught the flash of claws as they sprang from his fingertips. He was ready to fight.

            So was I.  Luckily for us both, I already knew how this battle would end. 

            “You can tell me that you love me later,” I assured him. Then I let my magic loose on those who wanted to destroy us. And my werewolf attacked as he stood between me and every threat. 

            I see what’s coming…and I will have that future.

            Sebastian wasn’t there to kill me. He was there to kill, in order to protect me. The werewolf had fallen for his witch…

Today’s contest / giveaway is for $20 Amazon Gift Card

To enter to win, answer this question in comments…

Would you rather be an all-powerful witch who could control magic with a snap of your fingers or a fierce werewolf who could shapeshift at will?

Contest starts today, and our winner will be chosen from all eligible commenters at the end of our event. Winner will be chosen, then announced in our wrap-up post on November 1st.

Good luck!!