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

The day has 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:

Meet 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.

Check out 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.

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
Two Chicks on Books - hosting G.P. Ching
Magical Urban Fantasy Reads - hosting Megan Duncan
Taking It One Book At A Time - hosting S.M.Reine

And I'm hosting K.A. Tucker! I'm excited to now share with you her flash fiction story based on the idea!

How to Outsmart a Demon

By K.A.Tucker

“All these demons and I can’t kill any of them,” I muttered quietly as I trudged through a river of murky green liquid, my sea green eyes darting from one moving shadow to the next.              

Yes, you can!  No one will notice, Ryder. Think of how easy it would be… Ax cooed. For five days now, that damn leech of a demon had camped inside my mind - taunting me, battling to dominate my will. I couldn’t shake him and it was getting really annoying. “Stop talking!” I snapped. Too loud. I clamped my mouth shut and checked the gloom for witnesses. None, it seemed. Not that they’d guess what was going on in any case. They’d just suspect me of being a crazy demon-in-a-human-body-visiting-Satan-in-Hell kind of girl. No one, including the persistent Aximander, believed that a human could resist a demon’s full possession.  Miraculously, I had done just that. Not without a constant fight, of course. I was now the freak show who argued with herself in the streets. It was a peculiar sensation, sharing my body with another being. Especially one as charming as Ax.

As if led by an invisible string, my arm lifted up and over my shoulder, my hand grazing the handle of my exquisite samurai sword. Such a beautiful, sharp weapon... Ax purred.  He was tempting me to attack a demon. It was clear he didn’t want me to reach Satan for some reason. Gritting my teeth, I forced my arm down to my side and marched further down the tunnel until I reached a fork. “Which way?”

Right, Ax advised. So I went left. We reached another fork. Left, he said. So I did, knowing the cunning demon assumed I’d do the opposite again. I plodded along, stepping over gnarly roots and wiping beads of sweat off my brow. “Could this be any more stereotypical?” I whispered, my eyes rolling over the dank, gloomy underground world. Hell was exactly as I had expected it to be.

                You’re the one who forced me into bringing you here…

                “You’re the idiot who fused yourself to my bones! Even the High Priest’s exorcism can’t peel you off.”

                I told you how to reverse it, if you don’t like it, Ax answered indignantly.

                I snorted. “Ya… kill myself.” I continued in silence for the next ten minutes, feeling the glowing demon orbs bore into me as I walked. None came forward to greet me. I wasn’t surprised.  Ax was a Possessor Demon. Average demons were wary of his kind.

We rounded a corner and the low, dark tunnel suddenly opened up into a remarkably bright, cavernous room full of sculpted stalagmites and burning torches. In seconds, I zoned in on the occupant   – a giant beast with horns protruding out of his forehead and dark, leathery skin. Part human, part bull, part ugly.  The creature sat in an elaborate stone throne studying a glowing red crystal ball in his clawed hand.

His golden eyes flickered over to me as he inhaled deeply through a wide snout. “Aximander!” he boomed in a baritone voice.  “A female host this time… Interesting!”

                I opened my mouth but faltered, unsure of how to address the king of all evil. Satan? Master? Did I kneel? No. Ax would never kneel for anyone.

Satan gestured me forward. “Well?”

                “I thought I’d try something different,” I finally said.

                Oh, she feels different alright, Ax murmured in a seductive, low tone.

I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to shudder.   

                  “Who is she? Besides some cute teenager with blue hair,” Satan asked with curiosity.

                “Her name is Ryder,” I explained carefully, referring to myself in the third-person. “She was a demon slayer.”

                The beast’s gigantic head tipped back as he bellowed with laughter, slapping his knee. “How ironic! She’s now possessed by one!”

                I felt a smile stretch across my lips. “Yes, I thought that would amuse you.”

                He’s going to figure it out and when he does… Ax warned in a singsong voice. 

                I ignored him. “She’s small but feisty. Put up a good fight.”

                His eyes rolled over my shoulder to the weapon strapped to my back, “I believe it.”

                I chuckled in mock amusement. “She swore she’d break free of me.”

                Satan chuckled along. “How? She’d have to kill me!”

                She’d have to…I instantly processed Satan’s words. Noooo!  Ax cried out as I reached back and whipped my sword from its sheath with Ax’s super-human speed. The blade arched through the air and down in one fluid motion, cutting through Satan’s flesh like softened butter. His severed head bounced off the throne’s arm before hitting the ground.  

                 And then suddenly I was back in my mother’s living room… completely alone.    

So, go visit each site above and VOTE for your favorite! Why vote? Because on October 24th, 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. Why don’t you? http://bit.ly/3zlyR7”

NOTE: This is the SAME FORM on all FIVE Blogs,
so Please only VOTE ONCE!
VOTING ENDS: OCTOBER 23rd, 2011 AT 11:59PM PST

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