Night's Longing

Sort by:

2024-06-21

Den of Depravity

Part 1 of Night's Longing

2428 words (13 minutes)

When I was 15 years old, my father killed the first girl I ever loved.

2024-06-22

A Better Family

Part 2 of Night's Longing

3004 words (16 minutes)

A man kneels on a stone floor, coughing blood. His face is a battleground of despair versus anger, and he clenches his fists in a futile gesture of resistance.

“If it helps, I’m sorry in my own way. I’d hoped to let you live, but I cannot do that if you will not play your role in this story.” A figure, cloaked in darkness, circles the dying man like a vulture.

2024-06-23

Dinner's On Me

Part 3 of Night's Longing

3273 words (17 minutes)

The man shouting at me imagines himself to be someone important. Though I barely pay attention to his ranting and raving, I gather that my error has not only inconvenienced him, it is but the first domino in a chain reaction that will end with his company collapsing, people losing their jobs, and the entire United States economy falling into ruin, all because I neglected the extra shot of espresso in his extra large caramel turtle mocha.

2024-06-26

What Passes For Wholesome

Part 4 of Night's Longing

3970 words (20 minutes)

Four people dead in one night. One person missing, along with her clothes and valuables, making her the obvious suspect.

2024-06-27

Older And More Powerful

Part 5 of Night's Longing

1701 words (9 minutes)

The way Carmen looks deep into my eyes, it’s like she sees all the way down to the depths of my soul, like she already knows all there is to know about me, and it’s just a matter of being willing to confess the truth and thereby earn her trust.

2024-06-30

The Apex Predator

Part 6 of Night's Longing

3283 words (17 minutes)

Tears. I wondered if there would be tears. A bloodbag, a human girl—a vampire hunter by blood—dies. What does that mean to the vampires who called her sister?

I guess it means tears. That’s something.

2024-07-02

To Pass The Time

Part 7 of Night's Longing

3232 words (17 minutes)

As the two of us wait outside the restaurant for the valet to bring her car around, Carmen produces a small case from inside her jacket. She removes a cigarette, hand-rolled by the looks of it, and extends her arm to offer me the option of taking one.

2024-07-07

Past Hungers, Past Mistakes

Part 8 of Night's Longing

4475 words (23 minutes)

Carmen spoils me. She treats me like a princess, taking me out to eat at fine restaurants, lavishing gifts of beautiful clothes and shoes and bags and jewelry on me. It’s almost too much. Too fancy, too elegant, too high femme.

2024-07-10

Execution

Part 9 of Night's Longing

3748 words (19 minutes)

Carmen seems more withdrawn than before after sharing that story, as though even she was caught by surprise that those memories still have some power over her. A little fun in bed helps distract her for a moment, but I get the feeling she also uses it to distract me from the topic.

2024-07-25

Homecoming

Part 10 of Night's Longing

2635 words (14 minutes)

If the hand on my shoulder belonged to a lookout I missed, someone come for revenge on the hunter who slew their kin, right now I’d let them have it. I find myself unable to muster relief that the hand belongs to Carmen instead.

2024-07-29

The Hangover

Part 11 of Night's Longing

2745 words (14 minutes)

The castle should be darker than it is. Without so much as torchlight illuminating the passageways, we would ordinarily need to rely on our lamps as we make our way to the beating heart of Dracula’s lair.

2024-09-30

To Cross the Return Threshold

Part 12 of Night's Longing

3335 words (17 minutes)

The next time I open my eyes, the bed is empty. The sheets cover me again. All that remains of my aches and pains from earlier is a fading memory, as if last night never happened at all.