Sometimes your prompts are easy to work into the ongoing story, and sometimes... they're this :-D
The magic hour "What is that?" Samual didn't sound scared, he sounded too puzzled to even understand that there might be danger. Lord Derby hesitated, his hand on the door-open handle. "I think it's a demon," he said. He relaxed slightly. "Actually Samual, I think the best thing to do would be to back the car up a little. To the entrance of the Yard, and stop anyone else coming in." Samual's hands and feet seemed to be working automatically as his gaze never left the monster circling in the sky, perhaps only ten metres above the Yard. The car glid backwards, the engine purring softly, and then stopped again, blocking the traffic route in and out of Scotland Yard. "Now what?" he asked. "We wait," said Lord Derby. "The King's sorcerors can't have missed the arrival of a demon and they, at least, will be equipped to deal with it."
The demon stopped circling, its head twitching from left to right and back again like a wild animal scenting for prey. Eyeballs popped out of its scaly skin over its head and down its torso, black pupils spinning wildly about until it looked like it was covered in some kind of demented frogspawn. Then it threw back its head and let out a deafening screech that made the whole car shake with the force of the sound. "We should leave," said Samual, his face whitening as terror took hold of him. "The King would not be pleased if you were injured or killed, milord." "There are no sorcerers here yet," said Ernest. A finger tapped thoughtfully on his knee. "The drovers should have raised the alarm by now; what can be keeping them?" "My lord," said Samual, his voice insistent. "We should leave." "I wish David were here. He would at least be able to speculate on what is happening. I mean no offense, Samual, but he is a Magister and knows more of these things than both of us put together." "None taken, milord," said Samual. "Though I feel I must remind you that the King will be angry if he thinks you endangered your life needlessly." The demon shuddered and turned a pale yellow colour, like early straw in the fields. One clawed hand raked down its side and thick, yellowish fluid splattered onto the cobbles of the Yard, pooling and steaming. It raked its side again, and then pushed the razor-sharp talons deep into its own flesh, its claws flexing, making the damaged flesh bulge outwards. "Is it killing itself?" asked Samual "I doubt it," said Ernest. "I think it has a target." His door clicked open. "Milord!" Ernest stepped out of the car and the demon's head snapped round to stare at him. Almost immediately an eerie, whooping wail filled the air, rising and falling like a Gregorian chant. "You see?" said Ernest to Samual, leaning back into the car. "I think it didn't properly exist here until it found a target. Now the King's sorcerers will handle it." The demon pulled its claw from its body throwing clumps of yellow fluid in a wide arc across the Yard. It was clutching an hourglass. As two middle-aged men dressed in Magister's robes hurried into Scotland Yard through the door the drovers had fled into the demon snarled and inverted the hourglass. The demon and Ernest disappeared.
Samual flung open his door, struggled to disentangle himself from his seatbelt, and raced across to the Magisters. "That was Lord Derby!" he yelled, trying to dodge the puddles of yellow ooze. "What just happened?" "A Magic Hour," said one of the men looking troubled. "Your friend is almost surely dead, I'm afraid."
Greg - holy jeez, I'd forgotten what the prompt was by the time I'd reached the end. That was deeply unexpected, and I definitely what to see what comes next!
Morganna - this is beautiful, almost haunting. Nicely done.
3 comments:
Sometimes your prompts are easy to work into the ongoing story, and sometimes... they're this :-D
The magic hour
"What is that?" Samual didn't sound scared, he sounded too puzzled to even understand that there might be danger. Lord Derby hesitated, his hand on the door-open handle.
"I think it's a demon," he said. He relaxed slightly. "Actually Samual, I think the best thing to do would be to back the car up a little. To the entrance of the Yard, and stop anyone else coming in."
Samual's hands and feet seemed to be working automatically as his gaze never left the monster circling in the sky, perhaps only ten metres above the Yard. The car glid backwards, the engine purring softly, and then stopped again, blocking the traffic route in and out of Scotland Yard.
"Now what?" he asked.
"We wait," said Lord Derby. "The King's sorcerors can't have missed the arrival of a demon and they, at least, will be equipped to deal with it."
The demon stopped circling, its head twitching from left to right and back again like a wild animal scenting for prey. Eyeballs popped out of its scaly skin over its head and down its torso, black pupils spinning wildly about until it looked like it was covered in some kind of demented frogspawn. Then it threw back its head and let out a deafening screech that made the whole car shake with the force of the sound.
"We should leave," said Samual, his face whitening as terror took hold of him. "The King would not be pleased if you were injured or killed, milord."
"There are no sorcerers here yet," said Ernest. A finger tapped thoughtfully on his knee. "The drovers should have raised the alarm by now; what can be keeping them?"
"My lord," said Samual, his voice insistent. "We should leave."
"I wish David were here. He would at least be able to speculate on what is happening. I mean no offense, Samual, but he is a Magister and knows more of these things than both of us put together."
"None taken, milord," said Samual. "Though I feel I must remind you that the King will be angry if he thinks you endangered your life needlessly."
The demon shuddered and turned a pale yellow colour, like early straw in the fields. One clawed hand raked down its side and thick, yellowish fluid splattered onto the cobbles of the Yard, pooling and steaming. It raked its side again, and then pushed the razor-sharp talons deep into its own flesh, its claws flexing, making the damaged flesh bulge outwards.
"Is it killing itself?" asked Samual
"I doubt it," said Ernest. "I think it has a target." His door clicked open.
"Milord!"
Ernest stepped out of the car and the demon's head snapped round to stare at him. Almost immediately an eerie, whooping wail filled the air, rising and falling like a Gregorian chant.
"You see?" said Ernest to Samual, leaning back into the car. "I think it didn't properly exist here until it found a target. Now the King's sorcerers will handle it."
The demon pulled its claw from its body throwing clumps of yellow fluid in a wide arc across the Yard. It was clutching an hourglass. As two middle-aged men dressed in Magister's robes hurried into Scotland Yard through the door the drovers had fled into the demon snarled and inverted the hourglass.
The demon and Ernest disappeared.
Samual flung open his door, struggled to disentangle himself from his seatbelt, and raced across to the Magisters.
"That was Lord Derby!" he yelled, trying to dodge the puddles of yellow ooze. "What just happened?"
"A Magic Hour," said one of the men looking troubled. "Your friend is almost surely dead, I'm afraid."
Round and round the midnight hour
Swings the day
All ordinary trivia depends
On the occurrences of
The midnight hour.
Greg - holy jeez, I'd forgotten what the prompt was by the time I'd reached the end. That was deeply unexpected, and I definitely what to see what comes next!
Morganna - this is beautiful, almost haunting. Nicely done.
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