“Carnivale” – FWG Flash Fiction for 5/11/2024

Okay, what, other than Carnivale, could be the setting for this story?

The prompt is:

https://pixabay.com/photos/carnival-mask-masquerade-3075912/

CARNIVALE

The hunting was always good during Carnivale. So many drunken revelers dressed to the nines, dancing to the slow, sensual beat that suffused the entire city. And the masks! Gorgeous masks providing a false sense of anonymity and security. Yes, hunting during Carnivale was a feast for the senses.

Murbella watched the dancers stream past, an impromptu parade pouring out of one club, seeking their next thrill. Most stepped lightly around the puddles left by the early evening rain. Others, though, stumbled on the wet cobblestones, their revelry having started too early and too hard.

There! That one. Like a lioness stalking the weakest of the herd, Murbella slipped out of the darkened doorway and fell in with the dancers.

Her gleaming smile was genuine when the crowd enveloped her. She left a trail of wonder in her wake as she cut through the mob. A hand on the small of a woman’s back, a light touch on a well-muscled arm, the momentary sensuousness of wriggling between two tightly pressed bodies. All the while closing the space between herself and the prey.

Her timing was perfect. Just as she reached the blonde whose long hair bobbed slightly off-beat to the blasting music, a hand of the palest white reached out from an alley and grabbed the prey by the arm. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Murbella followed, blood heated by the thrill of the chase sharpening her senses.

Sensing a black form in the darkness clutching the helpless blonde, she drove the oaken stake into its back. With long experience, she slid the fire-hardened point between ribs directly into the vampire’s heart.

As Murbella helped the would-be prey stand, the ancient monster turned to ash without a sound. Yes, she thought, hunting is exceptional during Carnivale.

THE END