Sibyl enjoyed the life of a prophet. Not only was she a prophet but her mother had called her Sibyl, as if in some weird humourous gesture to the Gods.
Sibyl was the sort of prophet who enjoyed looking into your eyes and stating something that was highly unlikely at the time but inevitably would come true. Her accuracy was uncanny.
Tonight she found herself standing in the mausoleum, its shadows and dusty niveous danced in the beams emitted from the aging gaslight burners set well back into the walls.
Before her lay the disfigured cadaver of Brutus McDonwald the third man to die in mysterious circumstances over the past year.
Brutus was a disliked man and very few mourned his passing. It was rumoured there was more spit on his coffin than flowers. Never the less the police had called Sibyl in to try and cast some clue as to the murder as they feared another might well be around the next corner.
His remains lay on a sandstone slab in the middle of the mausoleum. His ebony casket an indication of the communities attitude towards him. It was clear that someone had broken into the crypt in recent times as scratched into the side of the casket was the expression, ‘Here lies a right bastard.’
Sibyl couldn’t help but detect an ill feeling in the fetid air of the burial crypt. There was certainly no hint of velleity in the statement she saw before her. Brutus had his enemies who even in death clung to past hatreds.
Sibyl looked about noticing the ornate wrought iron lace work around the entrance to the mausoleum and thinking that it had been a while since she had had a tilt at a new prophecy. She closed her eyes as was her want and tried to gather the vibes that she knew must be echoing within the room.
There were vibes, they raced around the room bouncing off the sandstone walls and echoed loud and clearly inside her mind. Such was the strength of these said vibes that she suddenly felt nauseous and faint and had to be held momentarily as she appeared to stumble.
Gathering her composure she looked at about at the expectant Police Inspector and made this statement:
‘Within these sandstone walls, and among the bones of his disfigured cadaver you will find a clue that will need far more than a series of velleities to unearth the perpetrator of the most heinous of crimes. Lace every clue, ebony and irony, don’t be confused by the fleeting niveous nature of them as each will point you towards the killer.’
The inspector, who copied her prophecy down as she spoke, tilted his head against the flickering gaslight and placed a serious full stop after Sibyl’s last word.
Written for
http://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/wordle-18/
Morpethroad 
Very clever Michael I enjoyed this thoroughly. The deceased reminded me of my grandfather who was a “right bastard” and the venom at his funeral man I was only a child and I had always been afraid of him but I was still surprised that people would speak that way at a funeral, not a well-liked man
Thank you Yves as you could tell I had fun with this one. Plus I learnt two new words.
I learned two new words as well and velleity is a very useful one!
Very nicely done indeed, and quite chilling to boot!
I did a rather long character study.
http://hickswyliedna.blogspot.com/2014/07/apollo-salvatore-leaf-scattered-in.html
Thank you so much for reading and your comment. Have a good day.
Oooh, I do like this, Michael. You’ll have to give us another episode – I want to know what happens.
Thanks Lyn, yes its a story with some promise, maybe….Enjoy your Tuesday.
Well, dang. You totally drew me in and now I want to know the ending. Stories of psychics involved in solving crimes fascinate me. So…get writing, Michael. You are a skillful story-teller as well as poet.
Thank you Victoria, for me the wordle is a great writing task. You think there is more than a serious full stop?
For me it feels like a nugget that could be developed into a short story or even a novel. It’s great as it is. But as a fiction writer, I’m always on the lookout for the possibility of more. I read mysteries for relaxation so I guess I want to know more!!! Just showing you the possibility!
Thank you Victoria, I shall give the idea some thought. Have a good day.
Masterfully done.
Hello Kim, thank you for your comment, I hope you are doing ok.
So so hope you’re good as well.
Well I am vertical this morning and that is always a good start to the day as I sit down to breakfast.
Like Victoria, I read mysteries, and there is the aura of that genre in this story! I think you have created a character who could sustain a story, a novella, a book. Please write more about Sybil — she has lots of stories to tell and great potential!
Thanks Phylor your comment is very encouraging and I thank you for it. I may give Sibyl some thought.
I hope you do.
I read this earlier today, Michael, and it was a lot to absorb so I decided to come back to it. Now it’s impact has hit me full-throttle as the clock is about to strike midnight. Was it smart to read before bed, lol. You continue to amaze me with your stories–you’re kind of brilliant, you know? Have a wonderful day, Michael–I think we are in different time zones, so I’ll say good night and thank you for this wonderful piece!
Thank you Mandy, its just on 5pm here, about to post another piece for MLM…..Thank you for that comment you are very generous. Have a good sleep.
A line that stood out to me: “It was rumoured there was more spit on his coffin than flowers.”
WHOA!
Sadly there are people who go to the grave generating that level of disrespect. Though you and I RoSy will depart on a path strewn with rose petals.
😀