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Elizabeth C Johnston

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2025

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11 Followers
29 Following

7 Stories

77 karma pts

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The Hotel

Kash’s heart thunders as he emerges from the stairwell. He rounds the corner that leads to the elevator, bouncing off the gilded wall and redirecting just in time to see two well-muscled arms pry open the outer elevator doors.The elevator’s stopped between floors, but a meter pokes above the shiny tile. Velta’s head emerges from the gap to assess the situation, only to rapidly retreat when Kash slides through the narrow opening, kicking Velta in the chest. Kash clips his head on the ceiling, but manages to keep his wits long enough to snatch...

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Too Many Funerals

TW: Lots of non-graphic death via mass destruction. *** I’d wanted to kill a man with a kiss for a long time. Wind flutters my veil and rips at hydrangeas entwined in the arch over our heads, showering us both in fragile petals. My beloved smiles at the unexpected gust, and it’s hard not to follow. He’s optimistic, even after the whirlwind week we had. My prince. A prince was where this idea originated. Sitting around the fire listening to stories, I was told of a princess cursed to sleep 100 years. I was originally delighted by the prince a...

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Nemesis Wanted

The wizard’s alarm cloud was raining on her head. She batted the enchanted alarm clock away, but the cloud merely floated out of reach before returning to douse her once more. It was going to be a very long day.Brita hauled herself out of bed, the cloud following dutifully behind her. She fished inside her top desk drawer for some ash – the somatic component required to banish the cloud – but she discovered an empty Ziplock.Today, of all days, the wizard complained.Last night's train wreck of a ransom exchange was dampening her mood more eff...

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Victim for Hire

It was a dark and stormy night, so obviously pink goo was bubbling out of the wizard’s gutters from this morning’s explosion.I’ll clean it up later, she thought as she rushed out the door into the rain – nearly diagonal in the gusts – and piled into her car.Brita chucked her somatic spell component duffle into the back seat, then patted every single pocket in her rain jacket before giving up on her keys. The car door had opened, so it meant they were nearby. Just where had she left them?Brita thought back to the previous night when she had s...

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8 Seconds

The countdown starts the moment I enter the stadium. I relish my minute and thirty seconds, tossing a blonde French braid over my shoulder and posing with my tongue out for the nearby Jumbotron camera. Rancorous applause follow me as I skip past fans and jump atop the bullpen platform.I wave while my coach catches up, taking in the massive space. The Calgary Stampede generates larger crowds every year, but this is my first summer attending. My nerves are eclipsed by my excitement.Holand arrives with thirty seconds to spare, sauntering up in ...

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The Smuggler

Weekly Contest #324

TW: Natural Disasters The ocean is coy today. The channel flows gently, daring me to mistake the sleeping beast for a lake. It’s not hard; the barnacles and sea stars decorating Ingar Island are concealed by high tide, but no such obscureness are required to hide life on the mainland we approach.“Where are we docking?” I finally ask. I’d been sitting on this question for the better part of an hour, hoping the answer would reveal itself to my untrained eye.Tomor barks a laugh without interrupting his practiced strokes. This laugh, crinkled an...

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Ryland

Weekly Contest #319

Soft blond curls and a golden crown are crushed in a thick, gloved hand. Ryland stands with forced posture but a high chin. We are surrounded. And I can’t get to his side.I grope for the dagger in my boot, struggling against where my left forearm has been speared through the ruin wall with my own sword.“Run!” My dagger plunges into the dark armor of the figure holding Ryland. Ryland darts, but he slows when a sword emerges from his chest. He falls with the rivulets of blood.“No!” I pull forward, my arm tearing in two, but I can’t-—William bo...

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