The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

She Hung the Moon 
by K.R. Morrison .

“She hung the moon.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and glanced over at the old man in the corner. Then they went back to their conversations.

“No. Really.”

His voice was louder, a bit more desperate. There was something in its timbre that made the other inhabitants of the bar stop and pay attention. They were used to this bum’s ramblings, but there was something different about his voice this time.

“Perambaa.” He looked around at his now-rapt audience, and seemed surprised at their blank faces.

“You’ve never heard of her?” He sighed and pushed back his tankard. “Of course not…how could you?”

He sat a little straighter and continued. “Perambaa is the daughter of our great god Herzz. He is the one in charge of making sure the sun and the moon stay in the heavens and do what they are supposed to do.”

Still an ocean of blank stares.

He shook his head. “That’s right—I keep forgetting I’m a stranger in a strange land. Please, just listen to what I have to say. It may be the difference between life and death.”

A few groans here and there, and not a few rolled eyes. A murmuring started up, as people started to drift.

“She got him drunk.”

That got everyone’s attention again.

“She got Herzz to promise that he would give her his power over the moon, and that he did.”

Everyone was hooked. This was a tale that was a bit different from the usual.

The old man continued. “She is a contentious bitch, and I won’t take that back. She is trying to kill me anyway, because I won’t recognize her authority. So I have no qualms about giving all of you advice.

“There is a phenomenon I have heard you speak of. It’s a rainstorm of stars from the heavens. But heed my advice—this is not merely a bundle of stars passing by. You see, Perambaa pitched a fit not too long ago because the moon would not obey her, and she took it from where it hung and threw it into this realm. This is when I and many others stood up to her and demanded that she retrieve the moon and give it back to her father.

“She went into a rage and swore that she would kill us all for our impertinence. I and many of my friends found a portal to this world and hoped that we could hide here.”

At this point he stood up and dropped some coins onto the table. “And now I must leave before she…”

There was a scream overhead, as if the heavens had been rent in twain, and suddenly the tavern was lit up in a blaze of light. Fierce blazes of lightning rained upon all there; the lucky ones died instantly while those who did not learned what it was like to dance with the stars.

The old man, however, was able to make it out of the building. He was a mile down the road within minutes, belying his stooped figure.

He turned back to watch as the tavern burned.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “But Perambaa is also a hungry bitch. And better that she has you than me.”

Fiction © Copyright K.R. Morrison
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

More from K.R. Morrison:

Enoch’s Return: Pride’s Downfall Book 4

All hell broke loose, as demon fought saint, and undead fought mortal. Fangs and swords, fire and light, mingled in a cacophony of noise that would have awakened the dead — if they hadn’t already been in the pitch of battle.

Toby was looking forward to celebrating his 21st birthday with family and friends. However, the day is shattered by the arrival of his sister, Erica, fresh out of the juvenile detention center, where she has lived in isolation most of her life. There is something very wrong with her still; witness her biting the ear of her taxi driver and licking the blood from her lips, and the way she antagonizes everyone around her. The other thing that is very off-putting about the day is a gift he receives – a musty tent and a few iron spikes that have been lying in the ground for years. Toby faints at the sight of the “treasure,” while Erica reacts violently and runs off to who-knows-where.
While he is unconscious, Toby learns who he truly is, and of his mission.

Available on Amazon!