Chapter Seven: October Blues

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven:  October blues

J.T. wrapped me up in his arms.  "Let's go home.  It's about time.  About time to put this all behind us and, for once, be happy."

Months passed.  They were the happiest months that we had ever experienced.  The weather stayed calm and comforting.  Every day dawned brighter and every night was calm and clear.  When it did rain it was a soothing and cleansing rain.  No tornado warnings as were usual for this part of the country.  No flash flood warnings, no freak thunderstorms knocking out power and sending us scrambling for our candles in the middle of the night.



He found a decent job, we started talking about marriage and a family.  Finally our anniversary hit.  We had actually met on October 31st, the day of Halloween.  I had been on my way to a party when I stopped in the bar.  He had been standing there in the background, taking everything in.  Now, it was the third anniversary of the night we got together.  I wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

I was searching for a cook book one day and had found a book sitting in the back of the closet. I'd never seen this one before.  The front cover was designed with an engraved inverted pentacle with a black candle strategically placed into each of the five points and a face with flaming eyes in the center of it where a jewel should be.

Curiosity got the better of me and I opened up the first pages.  I knew that I shouldn't be opening it given my novice status and my severe lack of training in the mystical arts but it called to me. 
The words were written in Theban, a language that I had read before but had not actually studied but they were clear as English to me. I read them aloud.

"If you are reading this then you are meant to.  This book was written for you and only you will understand the deeper meaning written within these pages.  Only you will be able to cast the spells.  Only...only you.  This is what you are made to do.  This is your true calling.  Only by accepting it will you find peace."

I pulled out my Theban dictionary just to translate it into English and wasn't at all surprised when I found out that the translation that I had just spoken matched the actual language word from word.  Should I continue to read or should I just put the book up and pretend that I had never seen it.  Could it have come from the magic store that I had visited all those any months ago?  I hadn't thought about the place in ages but everything seemed to be coming full circle now.  It had been almost a year since the incident with the hell hound.  What was his name?  I racked my brain trying to remember and all that I could draw up was a blank.


"You know you should.  You know that these months of peace are just the calm before the storm.  You know that this weather can't last.  Happiness and peace can't last.  Look out the window.  Don't you see the face of the original hound of hell again?  Doesn't he look angry?"

I hadn't heard the voice in months but  I heard it clear as day.  I looked out the window and saw that a storm was brewing in what had been, for months and months, nothing but clear skies.  The wind was whipping and rain was starting to pour out of the heavens.  The clouds were a very threatening pitch black with silver underneath and lightning pierced the dark of night.

I decided to open the book and to tempt fate.  If it was there it was meant for me, right?  Right.  Or at least that is what I tried to tell myself.  Opening to the chapter regarding ritual spell-work I decided to try the truth spell since I had every single item necessary to make the spell a success.

As per the instructions I set out the candles, one for each element and drew out the salt pentagram.  I lit the candles one by one with a wooden match and set myself down in the middle of the little circle of protection that it offered.  I closed my eyes and started to chant.

"Truth be with me.
Truth be told.
Truth from thee,
Break the mold.

Truth from fire,
Truth in pain,
Truths what I desire,
Truths what I seek to gain.

Truth in life,
Truth in love.
Truth through strife
From up above.

Truth in laughter
Truth in tears
Truth ever after,
Truth through the coming years.

Truth in sorrow,
Truths what I see,
Truth now and tomorrow,
Blessed truth now come to me."

The candles blew out one by one.  I felt a presence beside me.  I felt as if someone were standing behind me and using their breath to blow out the fire.

Somehow I knew that I were not alone in the room any longer.  I knew that something, someone, were with me and had no idea what.  I looked forward and saw a figure in the mirror up ahead.



Long black muzzle with deep beady red eyes, his teeth were as sharp as razors and as I watched the face metamorphosed into human form.  I heard cackling and then the mirror cracked and, to my horror, the dogs body turned into a fully formed human-like figure with talons for fingers and a long tail, horns where his ears should have been.  Standing 7'9 he was the stuff of nightmares, or at least my nightmares. 

I wanted to run but remained rooted to the spot.  My gaze remained transfixed by his eyes.  Eyes that seemed vaguely familiar.  Eyes that pulled me in from day one and eyes that burned themselves deep into my soul.  J.T.s eyes. 

He climbed through the spiderweb cracks in the mirror, determined to reach out and touch me.  He opened his mouth and a snake tongue slipped through his lips.  He made a hissing noise when he started to speak.

"You wanted to know soooooo many thingsss about me.  You couldn't wait for me to tell you the truth, tell you my sssssecretsssss.  No.  You took it upon yoursssself and now you will face the consssequencessss.  No one can ssssstop what isss to happen, no one can help you now.  You asked for truth.  Can you handle it?  Can you handle the sssself that you ssseeee before you?  Do you want to?"



I wasn't sure if I could or not.  I had so many questions that I wanted to ask him but I had no clue where to start.  What could you say to your lover who turned out to be a demon?  What could you say when you found out that the man with which you wanted to have children, have a life with, was a hellhound?

Would our kids be puppies?  Would I want to have that as a risk?  Was this why I never saw Kaos and him together?  Who was Jeremiah?  See, all sorts of questions again.  I had no clue of what the answers were and I was actually afraid to try to figure out.  He had asked me the right questions.  Could I handle the consequences?  Should I truly want to?

Before I could even think about giving him an answer he came up to me and grabbed me by the hair.  "Too late darling.  If the answer comes now it will only be what I wish to hear and not what you truly feel.  I know you better than that.  You can't cope.  Now you have no choice in the matter.  You are mine."

With that he produced Soul-Swallower.  I turned to run and as I did so he thrust it into my stomach and up through my sternum.  You should have seen all of the blood.  Flowing crimson and staining the white carpeting all around me.  My final thought before passing out due to blood loss  was:
"I'm never going to get that out."

I opened my eyes to daylight.  Funny, I had remembered it still being night when I last was able to see.  Wait a minute.  I could see again!  I looked around and everything was fuzzy and blurry.  Sounds were muffled and I had no idea where I was.  I tried to move and I was restrained.  RESTRAINED!  What the HELL?  Finally I managed to look around and saw a team of doctors standing at the foot of my bed.

Someone that I expected to be the lead surgeon (why did I need a surgeon?) started to speak.

"Ms. Dewitt.  About time you came around.  We didn't know if you were going to make it.  Suicide wounds like that are usually fatal.  You are very lucky."

"What do you mean, suicide wounds?  I did not try to committ suicide.  I swear that this is from someone else.  A demon dog turned human that used a swo....never mind.  You would never believe me.  You think I'm delusional anyways.  What's the point?  Where am I?"

"Ms. Dewitt:  When J.T. (no last name given) called 911 because of your suicide attempt we had no choice but to take you to County and now since you are stable you are to become a ward of the best Assisted Living for Mental Disorders establishment in the country.  I promise you will be taken care of."


I looked him dead in the eyes.  I knew he was familiar.  He turned to leave the room and then stopped dead in his tracks, smiled at me with fangs growing from under his upper lip and his eyes turned blood red with black pupils.

Jeremiah.  So that is where he went.
WC: 1,584
Total: 7,013

Seventh prompt.
This last chapter has to wrap up the current plot. Of course life goes on for the characters, but I want to see a resolution, or if you have a saga going and this is a piece of it, a stopping point that doesn't leave with a cliffhanger. This is imperative. Extra points for a surprising last minute twist.
In your chapter, use the word October. Use it as a month name, for a person or in any way you want. Make it bold.
And finally, let me know what the weather was like during the story. If you talked about it earlier, mention if it's the same or has changed.
Entry due by July 29, 2009; 11:59PM WDC time.