The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Drums
by A.F. Stewart
Shut your eyes, child
Past the throbbing of her heart and the hiss of the desert wind, she heard the whisper. In a breath, she obeyed. Sun still warmed her skin as daylight turned to darkness beneath closed eyelids. Silence stilled the air, but only for a moment. Soon, her ears filled with a haunting, rhythmic drumbeat. She lost the sound of the world around her: the wind, her heartbeat, even her breath. The loud thump, thump, thump of the drums swallowed it all. Her body swayed and her mind followed the path of the drums, followed to the darkness, to the land of visions.
Swirling in the black came images, fragments of souls and lives. The masks, the connecting coils, the tick of the clock, reflecting eyes. Her skin pulsed, energy shocking through the ink of her tattoos. Then a light shone from the shadows, and she knew she found the one. She smiled and reached out, her spirit knife in her hand.
And from the darkness, she sliced the throat of her sacrifice. A spray of blood, a gurgle and the finality of death. She retreated from the world of visions, her weapon dissolving into air, and slowly the desert surrounded her again. Yet, in the distance, she still heard the faint sound of drums.
Excellent child. You did well.
A thrill ran through her blood at the murmured praise. “I live to serve you, and only you.”
I know. You will be rewarded. Now that you have killed your sister, the throne will be yours.
“No, my lord, my dark demon love. It will be yours. May it run with blood and death.”
A deep, echoing laugh sounded above the beat of the drums.
Fiction © Copyright A.F. Stewart
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More from A.F. Stewart:
Abandoned: 13 Tales of Impulse, Betrayal, Surrender, & Withdrawal
To act with abandon, in any sense of the word, is human. Whether it’s the sudden, strong urge to do something, either good or bad, or the act of betraying someone you love, we make choices that forever change our lives. Do you give into something or someone completely, or withdraw wholly into yourself? These thirteen stories run the gamut of emotions and express horror as you’ve never imagined it.
The story of a woman alone at the end of the world and the small lifeline she hopes will prove humanity still exists challenges the search for anything left behind after the death of a child. What if you hid a secret you’d thought no one else knew? Would its revelation spark the monster hiding within? A downward spiral into madness juxtaposes the ultimate, but impossible, (re)birth. Would you choose the frigid winds of winter over the warmth and safety of your lover’s arms?
Abandon hope, all who enter here…
Spreading the Writer's Word 
Yes, I can see all that from the story. One of these days I hope I can figure out how/when to participate.
Great story, Anita!