Teasers & Shorts

The Rusalka

Mara is a supernatural detective who has blundered her way through another case, but what price has this one cost her?

Urban Fantasy Flash Fiction Contest 2019

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Steam hovered over the wet streets as Mara walked to her apartment in the Lower East Side. All day the city's power grid had been losing to the relentless record-high temperatures. Cutting across the street to her block, she sighed with relief seeing her apartment building glowing with amber lights. With any luck, Dylan would have their studio cooled and Pad Thai waiting for her.

Nearby neon signs imbued the foggy alley in violet hues, reflecting off the ankle deep water that pooled at her feet. Mara trudged through in her leather boots, hardly caring as she approached the door. For now, it seemed the city had taken back the summer night.

"Mara," a familiar voice called down to her. Two stories above, tousled blonde hair draped through the grated floor of the fire escape. "Don't bother going inside, our AC unit finally died. Somehow, it's cooler out here."

"You've gotta be frickin' kidding me." Mara couldn't see Dylan's face, but knew her expression matched her own. "What about Thai Tuesday?"

"Everything is closed because of the blackouts."

Mara's groan was muffled by the screech of the fire escape as she tugged at the rusted ladder above her. Droplets of water from Dylan's hair dripped past her into the puddles below. "At least you got to enjoy the rain. I was stuck in the subway all day with ESU, making sure the civilians we were evacuating didn't become snacks for any Underground Fae."

Letting out a half-hearted laugh, Dylan was elsewhere in her mind. Under the dim streetlight, a vintage diamond ring she had found in their dresser, sparkled on her finger. "It actually didn't rain today."

Mara pulled at the ladder again. "What's up with all the water then?"

"Oh, it's from the hydrants. The drains are all plugged on our side, again."

Racing across the alleyway, Mara splashed through the shallow street pool towards a corroded hydrant. "You got it open? Dyl, I told you this hydrant was locked because it's out-of-service."

"Well, you were misinformed. Apparently, it was locked because one of our fellow tenants—" Dylan paused, pointing down at the ground floor apartment where the landlord's hipster son lived, "had complained about me opening the hydrant for the neighborhood kids, even though Tony at Engine 15 said it was fine. I even had him install a sprinkler cap last year, remember?" 

Before continuing, Dylan peeked to make sure the landlord's son wasn't outside. "He's such a privileged jackass , he never even uses his patio except to complain about the kids. Anyways, Tony gladly unlocked the hydrant. The children were so excited, although the tall boy next-door started acting a little strange. What's his name?"

Silence filled the alley. Rolling to her stomach, Dylan looked down across the way. With a backwards tip-toe, Mara was slowly backing up from the hydrant, careful not to cause any extra ripples in the water as she lifted her feet.

"What are you..." Before Dylan could finish her question, she realized her mistake. "It was you. You're the jackass who complained. What have you done now?"

"Okay, you know what, that's fair, but there's really no need for name-calling right now." Mara cautiously looked down the alley. "So, uh, remember that River Witch I nabbed a few weeks ago? The Rusalka?"

Dylan sprung up from the grated floor and peered over the railing. "You said you took care of her."

"Well... I did. I tricked her into removing her ring—"

"Her ring?" Looking down at her hand, Dylan tugged at the diamond. Her fingers were swollen from the heat; it wouldn't budge.

"Yeah, it's hidden in the dresser, don't worry. Removing the witch's ring forced her into a liquid state so I scooped her up in a trendy little mason jar. But the lab wanted to run some unnecessarily ridiculous tests on her, you know how Wesley is..." Mara faltered, "so I may have released her into the cistern directly below us. Now, before you say anything, it'd been completely closed-off, the only access is the manhole over there, and, well, this hydrant."

"Why would you do something so stupid?" Dylan tugged at the ring again, exasperated by her own folly.

"I felt bad for her, she was just trying to avenge her children's deaths. Yeah, sure, she may have kidnapped and possessed some others along the way, but we recovered them, wiped their minds, and they're fine. See? This is why I don't want kids, they'll drive us both nuts."

"Are you seriously bringing up that conversation right now?"

"Right... I need you to grab some salt, a jar, and her ring."

Disappearing through the window, Dylan was back in a matter of seconds, darting down the metal steps of the fire escape.

"Stay up there," Mara called to her. "If her water touches your skin, you'll be marked. I'm literally knee-deep in her already, I just need to salinate the water to draw her out and—" A tiny giggle echoed through the alleyway. Reaching down at her hip for her sidearm, Mara stopped in the middle of the lane. Six pairs of golden eyes stared at her; their small bodies were silhouetted beneath the dim streetlight.

"Mother warned us about you," the tallest spoke, creeping closer.

"Well, if I wasn't sold on not having kids before, this certainly seals the deal. Back up, Stranger Things." Keeping her eyes locked on the possessed neighborhood kids, Mara fought the instinct to draw her weapon. "Hey Dyl, I could really use that salt right about now." If she could get the River Witch back in her physical form, a silver bullet would take care of her for good this time and release the children. "Dylan?"

Every light on the block went out as darkness fell over the alley. A metal screech pierced the thick humid air. Spinning around, she was met with two golden orbs glowing through long blonde hair.

Mara sighed, "Well, you were always better with kids than me."