Okay, I lied. AYU (As-yet-untitled) is close to 4k at the moment.

SCR is upwards of 37 or 38k, I think. Somewhere around there.

Anyone got a spare title for a dark urban fantasy? Here's a snippet of the prologue... (unedited, of course...)

Hours later, she awoke to a commotion outside. Screeching tires, men yelling… the sound of running footsteps on the gravel driveway. Ella slipped out of bed, grabbed her stuffed rabbit, and padded to the window. Her window looked out on the backyard, though, and she saw nothing out of place.

It took her a long moment to gather up enough courage to walk out of her room and down the hall. As she reached the top of the stairs, the front door slammed open, admitting two grim-faced men, her father, and… and someone else.

That someone else was a man as well, beaten and bloody, but thrashing in his captor’s arms like a wild animal caught in a trap. Ella stood very still, trying to understand what this man had to do with her mother’s death. Her Momma had died in a terrible, terrible accident as far as Ella knew. A terrible accident…

Her father looped a piece of rope around the man’s throat and twisted it together, choking him. The other two men held their captive down, getting blood and other icky stuff all over the rug.

Ella shivered and clutched her rabbit tighter. What were they going to do? She knew she should be safe in bed, and not standing at the top of the stairs where anyone could glance up and see her, but she could not move.

The struggle was silent now, broken only by gasping gurgles from the prisoner and soft curses from the two men. Ella’s father did not speak at all.

Finally, the man on the floor stopped struggling. He lay quiet, his eyes closed, as the two other men tied his hands with rope threaded with some sort of sparkly wire.

Ella’s father released his hold on the rope. It fell away from the man’s throat, and Ella couldn’t help but see the deep red indentation it had left behind. The man opened his eyes and licked his lips.

“If you say one word, I’ll cut out your tongue,” Ella’s father said. His tone of voice scared Ella so much that she squeaked.

It was only a little squeak. No one but the man on the floor noticed. And he raised his head, saw her, and tried to coax his cracked lips into a smile.

Ella’s father glanced up before she could slip away. His face grew darker when he saw her standing there, and he stood, ignoring his prisoner.

“Ella!” His voice shattered the ice that held her in place. “Get back to bed, girl!”

“You have a lovely daughter,” the man on the floor whispered. A trickle of blood leaked down one side of his face as he spoke. “How much does she know?” His skin was purpled with bruises, and blood darkened the rug beneath his body.

Ella couldn’t catch her breath. “D-Daddy?” Tears scoured her cheeks. “Daddy, what’s going on?”

“I told you it was a bad idea to bring him here, Eldon,” one of the other men said, wiping bloody hands on a white handkerchief. “Come on, girlie. Get back to bed.”

“Leave her be,” Ella’s father snapped. “Ella. Get to bed. This isn’t something a girl should see.” Belying his words, he drove the heel of his boot deep into his prisoner’s throat.

The man on the floor gagged and writhed on the floor. The other two men had a hard time keeping him down, even with the help of the ropes binding his wrists.

“Take him downstairs,” Ella’s father said. “I’ll… I”ll take care of my daughter.”


copyright 2004 Jennifer St. Clair

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