Tag: A. Catherine Noon

For this year, I thought I’d use the prompt generator. Here are my prompts:

Archie wandered through the aisles, looking for the charcoal tablets. Why Tiroll insisted on the stuff, he’d never know. He insisted it cut the flavor of the drugs that humans took, so he could hunt at more places. Archie preferred the seedier dives down by the docks, but Tiroll liked the lights and sounds here.

“Excuse me.”

The voice came from behind Archie as he looked behind the diarrhea medicine. “A moment, please.”

“Aren’t you a werewolf?”

Of all the nights… He retracted his head from the shelf and turned to find a short, balding man dressed in an impeccable periwinkle suit with a silk bowtie that matched. The aroma of expensive cologne came off him in a discrete cloud and Archie tried to hide his inhalation.

The man bent forward. “I’ve found evidence of your kind all over the city and tracked you here.”

This little pouf tracked Archie to the drug store? He wanted to laugh. He glanced around but knew no one stood nearby. “And you decided to confront me all by yourself, is that it?” He sucked on his right eye tooth.

The little man paled but rallied quickly enough. “I know you won’t hurt me.”

“Oh?” Archie chuckled. “And how do you know that, little man?”

“Because you’re vegetarian.”

Archie blinked. “Beg pardon?”

“Vegetarian.” The man frowned. “I saw you go into the Hari Krishna restaurant.”

Terrific. The one time Archie agreed to do recon for Tiroll, he had to get followed by a frumpy, more fastidious Columbo. “And you think because I like Karma-free food, I’m vegetarian and won’t eat you?”

“Please.” His expression turned wheedling. “I’m finishing my doctorate and just want to interview you.”

Archie found the charcoal tablets and turned to leave. “Buy me a latte and you can have ten minutes of my time.”

The little man vibrated with excitement all the way across to the café. They sat down at a small table in the corner by a window.

“I’m Maximillian Pierpont.” He pulled out a leather-bound journal and gold pen. “And you are?”

Fully capable of eating you? “Archie Walker.”

“And you really are…” He swallowed. “You’re one of them?”

“One of what?”

“A werewolf?”

Archie grinned at him. “And aren’t you the least bit scared?”

“Of a vegetarian?”

“I was hunting, Max. Not going there for the cuisine.”

“It’s Maximillian.” He swallowed again, and this time his Adam’s apple bounced. “What were you hunting?”

“My master wanted a young vegetarian for a snack and she went there for dinner, so I followed.”

Maximillian’s eyes grew large. “Your master?”

“He’s a vampire.” Archie let his smile grow to Cheshire proportions. “He likes softer flesh.”

“To kill?” This was whispered.

“Actually, no. That was part of our agreement when I consented to stay with him and guard him. He doesn’t kill, and neither do I.”

“Can I… can I meet him?”

Archie blinked. “Why?”

“I’m an archeologist by training. Imagine what it would be like to interview such a being who has lived so long.”

“He’s young, for a vampire. Only two-hundred forty-eight. He’s not very… approachable.”

“I’ll manage.” Max practically bounced in his seat.

“You just might, at that.” Oh, yeah. Tiroll would like this one.