Lie Or Die: Judgement Time



LIE OR DIE – The Flash Fiction Reveal is Finally Here!

The day had finally come! We held a contest for the best flash fiction idea, we chose a winner, and we sent five authors out to spin the fabulous idea in their own direction. What was the winning idea? An awesome one from Aeicha Matteson:

The characters:

Ryder - female, human, teenager, short in height, long brown hair w/blue streaks, bright green eyes, smart, sassy, tough.
Ax - (short for Aximander), male, demon (but was once human before being sent to hell), as a demon he has no permanent form, thus he possesses humans. He's cunning, vindictive, but incredibly charismatic.

The conflict:

Ryder is a supernatural hunter (she hunts demons, monsters, evil baddies), but she has been possessed by the demon Ax, who has essentially bound himself to her...meaning no simple exorcism will release him. Ryder must find a way to break free of Ax while fighting for control of her own mind, body, and actions.

Their abilities:
Ryder - as a hunter she is skilled in weapons, fighting, and supernatural knowledge/lore but does not have "supernatural or magical" abilities of her own.
Ax - can shift/shimmer (teleport anywhere, including hell) and has enhanced/heightened abilities (strength, speed, hearing)...when possessing someone these abilities are transferred into them while Ax resides within them.

Here's the tale that my author, S.M. Reine, has spun for you all:

The Contract

     I see you.

     I angled my hand mirror so I could see the dark corner over my shoulder. It looked like something tall and slender cast a shadow against the wall—maybe the tree outside, or the lamp at the end of the couch, or even the bookshelf.

     But none of those things should have had glowing red eyes.

     “What are you looking at, Ryder?”

     I snapped my mirror shut. “Nothing. What were you saying about the master demon?”

     “Checking your makeup? Lovely. How professional. I’ll take my business elsewhere.” Trista, Governor of the Florida Fae, picked up the contract and headed out my front door. Gossamer wings fluttered in her haughty wake.

     “Wait!” I called, following her onto the porch. “I said I’d take the contract!”

     “You’re just a girl. I’m not wasting my money on you.”

     I glanced at the corner of my grandma’s living room, but there was nothing to see. The shadowy figure only showed up in the enchanted mirror I used to hunt evil spirits. “Trust me, I’m the only one who can do it.”

     Reluctantly, Trista handed me the contract. “Fine. Give it a try. I’ll pay you when—if—I see a body.” She got in her limousine and left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I might have been seventeen, but I was the best demon hunter in Florida, and I hated being underestimated.

     “You can come out now,” I said to the dark corner. “Don’t bother hiding. I know you’re there.”

     He appeared, and the breath rushed from my chest. It wasn’t just any evil spirit visiting me—it was a demon, and I recognized those rippling red muscles and easy smile.

     Trista had just given me a contract on his life.

     “Hello, Ryder,” he said in a smooth-as-oil voice. He oozed charm and heat. I could feel his fever from across the room.

     “What are you doing in here, Aximander? Grandma Betty’s doors and windows are warded against your type.”

     “But the hole in her basement isn’t.”

     He reached toward me with a red hand, and I could see the fires of hell smoldering in his eyes. I jerked away.

     “Don’t touch me—”

     But it was too late.

     The demon vanished from in front of me and slammed into my skull. My eyes bulged. I staggered, and my knees cracked against the wood.

     You think you can assassinate me? hissed Ax inside my skull. Assassinate this!

     The room shimmered and blurred. Grandma Betty’s flower-print couch began smoking. The yellow wallpaper turned black, and the air became hot.

     He was trying to transport us to Hell.

     I stopped him—barely. Only my grip on the enchanted mirror held me in place, like an anchor to the human world.

     He pried my hands open one finger at a time. I struggled against him, but his soul had seized hold of my body, and it was like being a marionette strung up with iron chains. The mirror bounced across the wood floors. My only defense was gone.

     “I’m seriously going to kill you,” I growled, but my quivering voice made it less threatening.

     The couch shimmered again. Without my mirror, we shifted.

     But we didn’t reappear in Hell. Instead, we appeared in a limousine. Trista, Governor of the Florida Fae, gaped at me. “Ryder?”

     Kill her! Kill her!

     “Screw you,” I spat at Ax, but my hand grabbed a bottle out of the minifridge and smashed it against the door anyway, leaving a broken stem in my hand. His laugh reverberated through me.

     Kill the faerie!

     “What are you doing?” Trista asked.

     “Killing you,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You probably shouldn’t let me do it.”

     She shrieked, and jumped out of the way just in time. Ax roared with laughter as he swung the broken bottle at the faerie. I pushed it just a little further.

     I missed Trista, and the shattered end stabbed into my thigh. Blood spread across my jeans. Even though I had done it on purpose, I couldn’t help but scream. Ax screamed with me.

     “What in the name of Oberon is going on?” Trista cried.

     My blood sizzled when it hit the floor of the limousine, and I gathered all my strength to shove Aximander through the injury. He rematerialized in front of me.

     “Ryder—” he snarled.

     I didn’t let him finish. I drove the broken bottle between his ribs, aiming up into his heart.

His face went limp with shock. Aximander collapsed in the limo, and I stood over him panting. My leg throbbed, but I kicked him anyway. He didn’t move. Nothing like pulverizing the heart to kill a demon.

     My eyes met Trista’s. She was still gaping.

     “I said I would kill him,” I said. “Believe me now?”

The authors have plotted and toiled for many hours to create their unique flash fiction version of Ryder and Ax’s tale.  Now you’ll all get to read them! Each author is hosted on one of the below blogger sites:

Fiktshun - hosting Tiffany King

Magical Urban Fantasy Reads - hosting Megan Duncan
A Life Bound By Books - hosting K.A.Tucker
Two Chicks on Books - hosting G.P. Ching 
Taking It One Book At A Time (ME) - hosting S.M.Reine

So, go visit each site above and VOTE for your favorite! Why vote? Because on October 24^th, a Grand Prize winner will be drawn. What could you win? A pile of signed print copies of the authors’ books and some swag. Check out the official page here for a list! (grand prize winner contest open to U.S. residents only but anyone can vote; one vote per person and you can vote on any of the blogs.) Want to earn an extra entry into the grand prize? Tweet the following and paste the link into the form with your vote:

“I voted in the #LieOrDie Flash Fiction Showdown. http://bit.ly/hOBJQb Why don’t you?”

So… GO check out the 5 fabulous versions of 1 amazing idea and GO VOTE for your favorite one!