April | 2010 | Claire Gillian

I wrote this for a Friday Rapid Writing exercise at Julie Loden’s writing blog / forum. The rules were to keep it under 500 words (mine is 499) and the theme is “zoo”. I liked it so much I thought I’d preserve it on my blog and share it with my readers.

The Zoo

“Welcome to the night predators special exhibit, ladies and gentlemen. We’re so lucky to have this exhibit on loan to us from the Smithsonian. We do have a few rules we need to go over first if I could have everyone’s attention.” Marian paused and beckoned the visitors in with a well-practiced and elegant gesture.

The crowd huddled closer to listen; expressions of fear, excitement, curiosity and wonder adorned their faces. Continue reading →

This is the back side of chapter one. We finally meet the oft-spoken of Donovan, Dori’s surly sire.

Donovan released me then drew to his full height. He cocked his head and allowed a sweep of hair to curtain over the left side of his face. He needed a cut badly. When I first met him, he had short hair. That was during a phase when he’d trimmed it every other day. With vampires, the body can be altered temporarily but it always wants to return to its original dead state within a few days.

He turned to his desk and pulled out a document, then spun back to face me. “Do you know what this is?” he asked as he waived the paper in front of my nose.

“If you’d hold it still, maybe something would come to me.” Continue reading →