Wednesday, February 21, 2007

The Passions of Bryn: Requiem I*



(A series of vignettes about Bryn, a vampire tortured by the irresistible pleasure of feeding on the men she loves.)


After days of blanketing grey, Bryn walked the black night.

Gentle snow whirled between buildings still scattered with lit offices. She imagined them up there, saw them, isolated and alone. She sneered at the way they scurried, too crazed to feel their life squeezed.

Such a childish thing to call them, to take them, but it was meaningless death, and by polluting herself with it, she would itch with their decay.

The stillness sharpened the world, cystallized it, but she hated the precision. She yearned to close her eyes. She yearned to sway in the steamy air, when the darkness undulated with its own form.

Around a corner, the north wind roared through her strawberry hair.

From all directions, couples dressed in black and sparkles converged in the flicker of gaslights. She joined the little crowd, then slipped through the theater doors. For such a beautiful woman, she brushed through the salon to the velvet stairs unnoticed. The usher who took her ticket seemed to stare around her.

"Orchestra level," he said. "To your right. Row GG is halfway to the stage."

She exhaled slowly, just for a spark of fun.

He blinked.

He blinked as if something quite extraordinary materialized in front of his face.

"Thank you," she said, her voice low, weaving through his wavy, black hair.

Lips moving, he swallowed.

But she spun away.

Down into the gloom, she drifted among the murmurs and sat. The orchestra tuned and leaped through its arpeggios.

She did not look around. Not yet.

She would wait for Mozart, her beautiful Mozart, then offer herself.

She would open her eyes, lusting, and dare to hope.


Go to The Passions of Bryn: Requiem 2.

*You may remember my short piece "Winter Wind," from a week or so ago. Something about the way that story evolved resonated with me. Also, I haven't come across many stories which explore the eroticism of vampires in quite the way I envision it. Putting these two ideas together, I've decided to explore this character further. I won't be putting the pressure on myself of doing a true series, but I will be revisiting Bryn now and again. As usual, I have no concrete idea where I will take it, but I do like living on the edge of failure, LOL!

14 comments:

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Hi Jason,
I found this to be a treasured read.
I don't like vampires at all.
But I was caught by the fluidity of your words and poetric inclinations that flavoured the plot. :-)

Saaleha said...

BreathtakinG!

Terri said...

Captivating writing - you visit Bryn as much as you want to. We'll come with so you don't get lonely ;)

Anonymous said...

I suspected that you'd been mixing chemicals again behind closed doors.....it would seem that even you weren't quite prepared for the final concoction.....

Exquisite.

Jaye Wells said...

I like that you've chosen a female character. The gender has been overlooked in much popular vampire fiction, at least as far as protags go.

anne frasier said...

very nice, jason!

mermaid said...

'Such a childish thing to call them, to take them, but it was meaningless death, and by polluting herself with it, she would itch with their decay.'

What a great description of the pain we inflict on others in order to release our own.

'She would open her eyes, lusting, and dare to hope...'

that there was some other way.

Anonymous said...

Susan, sorry this subject isn't your cup of tea. Maybe when it heats up, you'll look past the fangs. ;)

Saahela, thank you!

Terri, that's sweet of you. :) I'll be continuing this particular scene in a couple of days.

Forgottenmachine, what a perfect metaphor! Yes, Winter Wind was strangely painful to write. The vampire element came very late out of nowhere.

Jaye, I know so little about the genre. That's fascinating that female protagonists have not been well explored. I think the predator female presents much more tension and complexity. The predator male...not so much of a stretch.

Anne, thanks, my friend. :)

Mermaid, I love how you are reaching into the character and trying to show her the way.

Anonymous said...

Good - liked it, especially the surprise ending

Anonymous said...

Wonderfully descriptive, Jason.

But be careful about those characters that intrigue enough to keep writing about them... sometimes they demand more than just a story or even two, sometimes before we know it, their stories requires an entire book to tell. :o)

And then you end up having to learn how to write in an entirely new way to make the transition from short story writing to novel writing. At least that's what happened with the book I'm writing now, not that I'm complaining.

Linda said...

This is the reason why I missed reading your blog when I was away!! Very nice!! Oh yeah Hello!! :)

AngelConradie said...

hhhoooowwwwwwwoooooowwwww....
incredible jason!
i can't wait for more!

Anonymous said...

Mutley, this particular piece will be continued. I might even try something avant garde with its delivery. I haven't decided yet.

Susan, yeah, I can sense the danger, lol! I already have my next novel in my head after I finish my WIP, so I certainly don't need another story banging on me! Thanks for the kind words. :)

Beady, so great to see you! Congratulations!! I've tried to comment on your blog several times, but for some bizarre reason, they never show up. Just know I've thought about you, and I'm happy everything turned out well.

Angel, I can't wait to write the next piece. It's going to going be hot. ;)

Michele said...

A classic vampire liking classical music?
New twist. I like it.