Written for the Friday Fictioneers. A story, about a gamble that didn’t pay off, begins after the photo.
Genre: Horror/Humor
Photo prompt by: Renee Heath
Candle Burning Bright
As flames seared the flesh of Krassicus, he cast one last spell, and his spirit inhabited a common candle in the abbey’s catacombs. One day, a mere drop of human blood dropped upon the candle would restore the sorcerer and his deadly black magic.
Krassicus could see and feel everything from the candle. He watched when archaeologist Hampton Smythe entered the dank room with his research assistant after 643 years of waiting. Smythe peered into an ancient book. “We need some light, Gepard.”
“How about a candle?”
“Fine, yes.”
Krassicus was set aflame once more. As hours of agony passed, his spirit melted away with the candle.
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Every week, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields takes us all on trip through our imagination where we write up to 100 words of flash fiction from a photo prompt. Join us! Here’s the week’s prompt: http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/2-may-2014/
EagleAye
Momus News 
Poor Krassicus. No hope to restore his black magic again?
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Nope. He took a gamble, and it didn’t pay off. Instead, he waited over 600 years, fully conscious, only to be burned again. It couldn’t happen to a more deserving delver into evil. 😉
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I have the same luck when I gamble 😦 But it makes a great story! 🙂
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Me too. That’s why I rarely gamble. Still, I’m glad an evil sorcerer rolled snake eyes. Glad you enjoyed the story and thanks for commenting!
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I’m not sure that was supposed to be funny, but I found it humorous, sort of a “Whoops! Wrong choice!” moment. I like the 643 years; not 650 or 604 or even 45, but 643.
janet
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Well, I did intend it to be funny in dark way. I mean, a bad thing happened to a bad guy, so that’s funny in my book. I’m glad you liked the years. That’s deliberate. A round number seems vague, but an odd number seems real-er to me. Thanks for stopping in, Janet! 🙂
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And so should end all evil sorcerers…and politicians 😉
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Hear, hear! I totally agree. In fact, politicians are substantially more dangerous than sorcerers. Nobody votes for sorcerers or ever believes they’ll do anything good.
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Great way to get rid of a black sorcerer
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Thank you! Though, it seems like a lengthy process, eh? As long as he isn’t a scourge upon the world, I guess it works. Thanks for stopping in, Bjorn!
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Eric, Hilarious. XD I just had a feeling that the archaeologist would be the cause of something like that. Krassicus ended up something like the evil witch in Oz except water caused her to melt. I laughed out loud at that story. XD Of course, it wasn’t funny for Krassicus.
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Hehe. Thanks Patricia. Maybe he should have put his spirit in something a little sturdier. Perhaps a stone, but no, then something bad would’ve happened to the stone. Krassicus was doomed as soon as the archaeologist entered the catacomb. Glad you got a good laugh. I was hoping for that. Thanks much for visiting Patricia!
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Just an additional thought. They better make sure all the wax has melted. I hope part of him doesn’t come back like the evil characters in The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.
Susan
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You know, I’ve been thinking about that. I mean, is a candle ever really destroyed or is it just changed into a waxy blob? A small piece of Krassicus might survive. Since nobody know about him, the evil sorcerer may still return to life! Yikers! Then again, he still has to survive…the intern, Gepard. 😉
Thanks again, Susan!
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Well, duh. Never put yourself in something utilitarian. Great story. Lucy
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Yup. It was pretty risky. He was going to die otherwise, I suppose. He just never anticipated the intern, Gepard. For the rest of us at least, it’s a win. Thanks for stopping in!
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Interesting! 🙂
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Thank you! 🙂
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Love the ending. I was waiting for the assistant to cut himself and drip on the candle, but no . . . Nice surprise. May the candle forever stay unlit.
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Hehe. It could’ve gone that way so easily. Imagine how embarrassing it is for a powerful sorcerer to be killed by a humble research assistant! Thanks for stopping in!
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Elegantly told.
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Thank you!
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Well, that will be a lesson for future sorcerers. They need to inhabit somewhere less useful! Great story – loved the imagination!
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Perhaps the should use something less fragile, maybe a block of iron instead? Certainly less easily destroyed. I’m happy you enjoyed the story, and thanks for stopping in!
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Ha ha, that made me smile. Waiting all that time only to get set on fire (again). Maybe “candle” wasn’t the best choice of vessel 🙂
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Woopsie! hehe. I’m glad I got a smile out of you. Always looking for those at least. If blood is needed to reconstitute himself, maybe something like a knife? At least they might cut themselves on it. Thanks for stopping in!
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Dear Eric,
Poor Krassicus. One lapse in judgement cost him years of slow burn. 😉 Guess you could call him one refried bean. Clever.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Haha! Refried bean. Love that. Those lapses in judgement can really burn you in the end *ahem* Thanks so much for visiting Rochelle! 🙂
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Poor Krassicus – he had such a cunning plan but, as with all evil geniuses, there was a fatal flaw! very imaginative take on the prompt 🙂
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It’s true, something always goes wrong with their plans. Thank you for reading and commenting!
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Loved it, what a funny story.
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Thank you so much! 🙂
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Nice one, EA. So much for that brilliant idea. He didn’t think that out carefully.
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