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I’m back. Still working on my vampire. I like him, so maybe I’ll sit down and try to write a story. Maybe a M/M /vampire/cozy mystery hybrid.

Resort, time, rush, retreat, axis

Anaximander was getting impatient waiting for the sun to go down. The study library was cool and stacked with volumes of books from floor to ceiling. On any given day, he’d be more than happy to retreat into the corner, book in hand, and let the hours pass. 

But now he had a potential thrall, and an adventure, and being stuck in here with others of his kind was less than thrilling. Most of these vampires were staid and respectable aka dull, and had no interest in venturing out until midnight. It’s not that they couldn’t. A vampire did not burn in the sunlight as per legend, but it was really, really uncomfortable and it dulled the senses. A vampire in the afternoon was blinded by the light and irritable. And the days lasted so long in the summer. 

When had the axis of the vampire world shifted down south? Back in the days of old it was in gloomy European castles. In his day, the nightlife of New York or the seedier districts of Hollywood. Now, it was all New Orleans and various parts of Louisiana. He’d have never expected the the best vampire resorts would now be located in this region of the country. He’ d been born (back when he was human) in South Carolina and had fled as soon as possible; joining the rush of all the ‘colored’ folk as they were called then- to better lives in the Chicago, Harlem, or even California if you were lucky and good looking-which he was. He had a different name then, and was featured in a few of the motion pictures. It had been a very different time. 

copyright Echo Ishii 2021

Bullet, risk, groan, ignore, absence

Oliver groaned as he tried to sit up. A sharp pain hit him. He tried to ignore it. He sat up and the pain raced back down through him. He lay back down. It hurt worse than he thought.

He’d never been shot before. He’d never been beaten to a pulp. He’d never been left for dead. And all three had happened in what was the worst afternoon of his life. He’d taken a foolish risk trying to tail the Hargreaves brother. He’d never do that again. 

Now that he looked around he realized he was surrounded by fluffy pillows and thick covers. There was a window open to let in some cool air, but was now just cold. Very cold.  He finally noticed he absence of any clothing other than a pair of underwear. What the heck? And they didn’t even look like his. 

He struggled to remember. He was with Anaximander. He remembered a mysterious doctor pulling the bullet out of him.  As Anaximander was whispering in his ear. “I’ll heal you.”  There had been a short pinch to his neck.  Teeth. A warm sensation flooded his body. He word “Thrall,” echoed around in his head. 

Oliver took a deep breath, determined to sit up again. His throat was parched. His bladder was full. He decided the latter had priority. He winced and yelped in pain this time but pushed through it to get his feet to the floor. He stood up just as the door swung open.

“You must be careful,” it was the vampire Anaximander. “Your situation is delicate.”

copyright 2021 Echo Ishii

Friday Five June 4th

image bar express redeem privilege

Anaximander took the special members only entrance to the club. A rare privilege as he had fallen out of favor with the local

Vampire court. This was proof he had slowly begun to redeem himself. The Court had worked hard to develop an image of respectability and his flamboyant lifestyle had come under scrutiny. Too flashy. Too sensational. Vampires were trying to shed their decadent image and Anaximander’s infamous late night parties did not help. 

Anaximander wasn’t one to cling to the shadows and darkness in colorless rooms contemplating his immortality. He needed to express himself.  It was more fun to go our, meet people, make a few friends. 

He’d been cut out and cut off for twenty years wasting away in a coffin. And at the moment when he became to feel his mind slip and he wished for nothing but sunlight and dust, the current Queen had granted him a reprieve. 

It was his chance to get back into everyone else’s good graces. There were the usual vampires sitting around the chairs with cigars and drinks reading old times. He glanced over towards the bar. Several human thralls were sipping cocktails and laughing at shared jokes. A thrall! He wished he had one. It would keep him stable;give him some focus. He just needed to meet the perfect guy.

This is an interesting topic, so I decided I’d like to know what it is I’ve googled. Since most of my desktop searches are for work their wasn’t much outside of technical and work sites. So I decided to look at my iPad and phone to see what I’ve been googling. 

Episodes of Star Trek, no surprise. Tokyo Olympics. Lots of searches about the Shinkansen and bullet trains. I’m editing an SF story set in Japan and I fell down a research rabbit hole.

Then Liz Cheney, Christopher Columbus, and Ariana Grande: All in the same day and I can’t see how they are possibly related nor can I remember why they were connected. 

Captain Picard.

Captain Sisko.

Captain Janeway.

If I met Picard we’d have Earl Grey tea and I’d listen to all his insights about being a captain. If Sisko, I’d like to live on DS9 for a few months and just see him at work. Janeway is awesome. I’d gladly be her first officer.

But I’m going to turn my attention to books. From ASOIAF I’d love to meet Barristan Selmy because he’s a favorite character and/or Tyrion Lannister. I’d also like to meet Stannis Baratheon because in the books he’s more interesting than the show, even if I don’t really agree with him. I’d love to meet Catelyn Stark also. I know many people hate her, but I loved her chapters in the books and I really empathized with her reasoning and her feelings of duty.

When I was young, Island of the Blue Dolphins was one of my favorite books and I always wanted to meet the main character who was based on a true story. I’m a huge fan of Ann Cleaves mysteries so I’d love to meet Vera Stanhope and solve a case with her. 

Words: increase retire dairy hiccup verdict

Anthony watched the end of the clip. He saw the tiny thin, defeated man with long, lank dreadlocks, being led away in handcuffs. It was always painful to see and he hated that the local station wanted to make a spectacle of him. 

The jury is expected to reach a verdict quickly in the Lester Solomon case.

Anthony shoved his phone back in his pocket. He’d had enough. And he knew the  man was innocent. The increase in crime wasn’t just a social problem; Anthony know knew there were other, darker forces at work. He didn’t have access to a car at the moment so he’d taken the bus into town and walked down the streets. Paranormal investigations was not an easy job to do without a car, so he needed to fix that soon. How? He didn’t know since paranormal investigation and ghost hunting didn’t pay either. 

Losing his car was a bit of a hiccup in his long term goals, but he wouldn’t give up.

The Main Street  had been gentrified. People who moved from New York to the south to retire quickly got bored with the lack of high arts culture and fine dining in Coverton County so young entrepreneurs had moved in to fill the gap. The place he was looking for was an old converted dairy distribution factory. They’d kept the look but turned it into one of those boutique, hip eateries with lots of overpriced food, now called Cow-don Bleu.

He walked in and took a look around. A family of four sitting at a side table. A couple looking over a menu, sitting close.  And over in the corner Anthony noticed him.

Other people in the corner wouldn’t pay much attention, but Anthony had learned what to look for. The man had a hat pulled low over his head, and the hair was shaved down but it didn’t change the fact that he was the spitting image of the man hauled away in handcuffs. Others at some point may remark on the similarity but this was more. He  was Lester Solomon -or rather his  fetch- created out of hair and twine and made all too real. He saw the telltale mark on his forearm which others might dismiss as a simple tattoo. But most importantly he ‘felt’ the lack of humanness. He was the second fetch Anthony had found. There was a nest of them were out there and a real Lester’s survival depended on him finding them all.

To be continued…at some point.

Copyright Echo ishii 2021

My main creative outlet is writing; but it has a different focus when I’m working on things to submit or publish. I’m a newbie so I’m still searching for my own voice. Recently, I like writing horror and spooky stories. I’ve had fun doing Friday Five and I’ve taken the starter posts and written some full stories. I finished a full 6K story from one post and turned over to a beta group; I want to submit it to a few markets.

I’ve started a novella based on my last entry.

I’ve always enjoyed a ghost story. I make them up for my husband and daughter when we go for a short hike. I made up another for one of my English language students. They had fun with it. Lately, I’ve explored making spooky video shorts.

I don’t have other outlets. I suck at knitting, sewing, or anything remotely related. I can’t sing or play any instruments. My daughter is a budding artists-she likes art and illustration. Me? I can barely draw a smiley face.