Entry #13

Phoenix Rising
by Jaye Wells


I am pinned to the ground. My hands and feet throb, but the stake through my heart burns like hellfire. I lift my head, watching the sky gradually lighten. My nemesis, the sun, spreads its pink wings across the horizon. Already, my eyes water and my skin feels coated in acid.

How the villagers trapped me remains a mystery. One minute, I feasted on the sweet blood of a virgin. The next, an angry horde carried me through the town and into the forest. Torchlight glinted off pitchforks and cruel faces as they gave me the vampire stigmata.

Now, I am alone, save the celestial demon rising in the east. Each second, the sky morphs from calming black into deadly blue. The skin on my face is dissolving. I grit my fangs and plan my revenge.

Intense heat consumes me in a burst of pleasure-pain. My soul breaks free and rises into the ether. Now, I am a bloodthirsty phoenix. I soar toward the ball of fire and taunt its impotent rays.

To the villagers, the scorched carcass below will be a prize. They will feast this day and on into the night. Virgins will feel safe again, and their mothers will sing to the gods.

Foolish mortals. They’ll soon learn the scorched pile of bone is naught but a memento mori.

Tonight, I shall make my home in the nubile body of one of those virgins. Then, the villagers will finally know the true meaning of terror.