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A Slap in the Face
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2024-11-02 04:53:02
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Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Repercussions
JakeOh God, what have I done?Panic and desperation crash over me in unrelenting tidal waves, dragging me under until Iโm drowning in them. Iโm sitting on the bed in the guest room, holding my head in my hands and rocking back and forth.I donโt know how long Iโve been here. Hours, probably. At some point, Iโd stumbled down to the kitchen to grab a bottle of whiskey. It sits on the floor by my feet, the amber liquid significantly drained.The alcohol hadnโt helped. Iโm unable to numb the tumult that roils inside of me.I hit my wife.She deserved it.The cold, foreign voice slithers through my mind, and I groan, trying to drown it out.Iโve done a lot of questionable things over the years, some more legal than others. And maybe, just maybe, Iโd said things to intentionally hurt Julia in the past, but Iโd never physically harmed her.Until tonight.She was asking for it.โShut up!โ I whimper, clawing at my temples. โShut up!โI stand and start pacing in the small space between the bed
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-04Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Stolen Kiss
ZekeSomething dreadful happened last night.Iโd been out in the swamp, enjoying the sound of the rain pattering off the soft fronds of the ferns in the underbrush when Iโd noticed Jake stumbling drunkenly to the garage.Even worse, I watched from the shadows as he spoke to that thing as though he was just making another shady business deal. Though I wasnโt able to hear what Amos demanded, I think I have a pretty good idea what it is.Who it is.I watched Jake stagger around the property for a while before he got into his car and drove off. Good riddance, in my opinion.But Iโm concerned for Julia. I donโt trust Jake for a second, and she doesnโt deserve to be used as a pawn in this sick game.And now Iโm lingering at her front door, my hand raised and poised to press the doorbell. For a moment, I donโt think I can go through with it, but then the memory of Jake speaking with Amos flashes through my mind, and I know I have no other option. I have to make sure sheโs all right.Thinking
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-06Whispers of the Devilย ย ย The Man in the Garage
JuliaI canโt stay here.Jakeโs been gone all day. In fact, I hadnโt even heard him leave in the first place, and God only knows where he went. But Iโm absolutely sure that I donโt want to be here when he gets back.If he comes back.Would that really be so bad, I wonder? Itโs true that I hate it out here at the edge of the festering swamp, locked away in this big empty house with only ghosts for company. But without Jake tying me down, I could go anywhere, do anything.I could even find another man, one who would treat me better than the bastard Iโd married.A fine blush rises in my cheeks as the memory of Zekeโs passion whispers across my lips. Guilt trickles through me in its wake. I canโt believe weโd kissed. As terrible as Jakeโs actions have been, Iโve never once felt the need to seek out another man.But there is something about Zeke that beckons me, drawing me closer like a lighthouse in the dark. It isnโt just that heโshandsome, or even that heโsnice to me. I have the uncanny
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-13Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Taking What's His
JuliaAs a great woman once said, diamonds are a girlโs best friend.I stand in front of the mirror in the trendy boutique in New Orleans, examining the new strand of precious stones adorning my throat. Iโd paid for the mind-blowingly expensive necklace using Jakeโs platinum card, which had given me a small sliver of satisfaction.Heโd called in the early hours of the morning, begging for me to forgive him. At first, Iโd told him that there was no way in hell Iโd let him come crawling back to me, but all the while, my heart ached until the burn was almost unbearable.One chance. Thatโs all Iโll give him.In the meantime, Iโll shamelessly spend down his accounts in preparation for the worst.Because it would be terrible if we divorced, wouldnโt it? I think wistfully of the lifestyle Iโve enjoyed over the last several years, excluding the months spent in solitude on the edge of a fetid swamp. Iโd be losing much more than him if I left.Doubt continues to gnaw at me as I gather my bags a
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-21Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Ramblings of a Madwoman
JuliaTo say Iโm royally confused when I wake up is an understatement.I sit up groggily, blinking back sleep. My thoughts are a jumbled mess, and my body still rings from the ghost of this morningโs encounter. Logically, I know it was a dream. So why did it feel so real?An image of Zeke kneeling beside the bed flashes through my mind, and I canโt help but blush at the intensity that flared in his honeyed eyes. But he couldnโt have been here. Thatโs just silly.โIt was just a dream,โ I murmur into the empty bedroom, as if the words could convince my harried thoughts.โWhat was that?โ Jakeโs voice calls from the en suite bathroom. It takes me a moment to register the sound of the shower, and then realization hits me like a brick.Jake and I fucked last night.And weโd made love this morning, hadnโt we?It still seemed so hazy. I could have sworn it had been Zekeโs face hovering over me as he moved so reverently inside of me. Things with Jake had never been like that. They were either
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-23Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Bond to This Place
ZekeโIโm a terrible person.โIโm back on the porch with Miss Penny, whoโs regarding me with an unreadable expression. I have no doubt that she knows what happened this morning, the same way sheโs aware of everything that goes on in this house.I donโt need her to tell me that I fucked up. I was supposed to warn Julia about the threat Amos poses, not claim her. Even though sheโd thought it was a dream, I still had no right to trick her like that. I feel so guilty that I can hardly think about anything else.โDo you regret it?โ Miss Penny asks suddenly, breaking me from my cocoon of self pity.I shake my head. โIt was amazing,โ I admit abashedly. โBut I feel like I took advantage of her. How can I ever fix this?โโYou start by doing right by her,โ she replies sternly. โYou need to come clean.โI hate that sheโs right. It would be far easier to just pretend it never happened, but I owe Julia so much more than that. She deserves to be treated with honesty and respect.She deserves the tr
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-24Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Ghost of a Chance
JuliaโAre you sure about this?โHelen flashes me a reassuring smile. โThis isnโt the first time Iโve gone to see Mama Janvier,โ she says.Itโs not lost on me that my neighbor looks like the last person whoโd put any stock into the craft of a Voodoo priestess, but who am I to judge? Helen had promised her friend would know what to do, and itโs not like I have any other options.I peer out the passenger side window of the car as Helen pulls into the driveway of an old stately home. Weโre in the suburbs of New Orleans, a part Iโve never been before. The houses here are larger and look like they had probably been grand once, but years of harsh weather and lack of upkeep have caught up with many of the buildings.I think about my new house on the edge of the swamp and shudder. Is this what our home will look like soon after years of exposure and neglect?We climb out of the vehicle and into the summer heat. The humidity is a little more bearable now that weโve put some distance between us
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-12-02Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Telling Her the Truth
ZekeI canโt bring myself to leave.Even after Miss Pennyโs attempt to comfort me, I canโt seem to find the strength in me to let Julia go. No matter how final her goodbye was, I just canโt abandon her, not when Amosโs sights are still set so squarely upon her.I linger in the hallway until the shadows blossom out into darkness. Nobody living has ventured inside for hours, and with a heavy heart, I start to wonder if Julia really has taken my advice and fled.My aggrieved thoughts drive me toward the living room where I turn on the lights in order to study the photographs of Julia and Jake that line the decorative mantelpiece. She looks happy in some of the earlier ones, but that spark of joy seems to fade in each picture as I move chronologically past the frames.How I wish I could give her more than this life sheโs built with Jake. The cruelty of fate isnโt lost on me as I wonder why weโve been brought together now, only for us to never truly be together.I donโt know how much time
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-12-02
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Whispers of the Devilย ย ย The House at the Edge of the Swamp
JuliaItโs hard to believe that a whole year has passed since peace came to the house at the edge of the swamp.I roll over in bed, blinking lazily in the golden sunlight that filters in through the windows. Zeke, already awake beside me, smiles.โGood morning, beautiful.โ He greets me in a voice thatโs husky with sleep. He scoots closer to press a kiss to my lips.Itโs chaste at first. But as the grogginess of slumber flows from my veins, the warmth of his body against mine starts to become awfully distracting. A stirring between Zekeโs legs shows me that heโs no more immune to our current situation than I am.The kiss deepens as Zeke rolls on top of me, caging me in against the mattress. His body is deliciously firm against mine. No matter how many times we do this, I can never seem to get enough of him.โYouโre insatiable,โ he murmurs against my lips.โOnly for you,โ I counter.Can he really blame me? After so many years trapped with Jake as my partner, I didnโt exactly get a chanc
Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Yours for Eternity
JuliaThe whole house feels different now.For the first time since moving here, Iโm not plagued by the sensation of being watched. No more creaks or bangs plague the endless rooms. The laughter and running footsteps of ghostly children no longer echo through the halls. All of the noises I attributed to the settling of new construction are gone.Itโs quiet now.Empty.โTheyโve all moved on,โ Zeke explains when I ask if he notices it too. โThey gave everything to help defeat Amos.โโMoved on?โ I repeat, morbidly curious. โTo where?โZeke shrugs. โHeaven, I guess. Or maybe another dimension. I donโt really know for sure. I suppose if there were bad ones, they got sucked down into the portal with Amos.โIt strikes me that these spirits must have become family to Zeke over the last century that heโs walked this land. Even the annoying or unpleasant ones must have grown on him.โDo you miss them?โ I ask gently.The glimmer of sadness in Zekeโs honeyed eyes confirms my suspicions. โI do,โ
Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Through His Eyes
ZekeIโve been given a tremendous gift.I hover for a moment next to the vacant body that floats limply in the mud and glance down at the harrowing scene below.The ghoulish red glow emanating from the gaping maw of the portal illuminates the tableau, though I see a soft white light as well. Jakeโs soul, now cleaved from his flesh, is dragged ever downward into the abyss in Amosโs wake, but Iโm hopeful that change in the light means his last act redeemed him enough to save his soul.As much as I despise Jake for having harmed Julia so deeply, Iโm also filled with a grudging sense of respect for the dying wish he imparted onto me. I have no doubt that he understands that he wasnโt capable of coming back and living a life that would make up for all he has done. Offering me his body wasnโt for him, not one bit.This is for Julia, a final act of the love that once flared between them.Iโll do my best to honor Jakeโs last request. But can it even be done?Iโve never heard of a spirit inha
Whispers of the Devilย ย ย So This is Death
JakeFor once in my life, Iโm absolutely sure Iโve done the right thing.I canโt believe that I fell for Amosโs empty promises. Even now, I wonder how much influence it exerted over my mind and actions.Every shout, every slap, every nasty thought about Julia swims through my brain as my soul is torn to pieces. How much of that was Amos? I shudder to think about how much was me.Because I do hold a hell of a lot of blame, donโt I?None of this would have happened if Iโd been stronger.But I was weak, and now, I have a terrible feeling that Amos knew that from the start.As soon as I struck that deal in the driveway, Amos invaded my mind. The process itself was horrible. My brain and body was only big enough for one soul. The ordeal of adding another passenger wa sunbearably painful, and though my memories are hazy, Iโm pretty sure that I passed out.At first, it wasnโt so bad, not after that first part. Amos promised me anything and everything, and I had stupidly believed it.It wove
Whispers of the Devilย ย ย The Sacrifice
JuliaThe whole world spins.The driving rain is relentless, sloughing down my skin in cold rivulets. My hair hangs limply in a sodden curtain around my face, blocking my view of everything except the swirling muck below. Thereโs a rank taste in the back of my mouth, and I understand dimly that I must have bitten my tongue when Amos hit me.The place where the branch slammed into my skull throbs with every step the demon takes. Even though I canโt see it, Iโm pretty sure that Iโm bleeding. My vision swims as Iโm drawn deeper into the swamp.โIโm going to break you on your husbandโs cock,โ Amos croons as it carries me over its shoulder like a sack of potatoes. โIโm going to fuck you until you plead with me to release you from your sorry life.โThereโs nothing I can do to block out the filthy, horrible things that spill from its twisted mouth. Instead, I fight against its hold, kicking my bare feet into the torso of Jakeโs body and pounding my fists against its back.But my efforts donโ
Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Fight for Domination
ZekeIโm not strong enough.After Amos tossed me like a ragdoll from Jakeโs body, I barely have any energy left. Still, I wonโt stop until thereโs nothing left of me. I have to fight for Julia. I canโt let Amos take her.As Julia runs outside into the storm, I square up to the demon. Itโs wearing Jakeโs body like an ill-fitting suit. While itโs clumsy and uncoordinated, its movements are still powerful.โI told you not to get in my way, Hezekiah,โ Amos growls. It doesnโt seem in any rush to chase after Julia. What game is it playing? Whatever it is, I donโt want to find out.โI wonโt let you hurt her.โ I stand firm, unwavering beneath its midnight stare.โI will destroy you,โ the demon threatens as it stalks forward. โI will devour your very soul.โI parry to the side as it attempts to dart around me, blocking it from pursuing Juliaโs retreating form. โYou canโt kill somebody whoโs already dead,โ I snarl.Amos laughs. The sound is something that a human throat shouldnโt even be able t
Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Back to the Swamp
JuliaThis is a terrible idea.Every nerve ending in my body screams for me to turn around, but itโs way too late for that.Iโm already here.The house on the edge of the swamp rises up before me, blotting out the overcast sky. Clouds the color of fresh bruises creep overhead, threatening rain. Itโs barely evening, yet the darkness is already encroaching.Thereโs no sign of Jake. Iโd half expected him to be waiting for me in the driveway, but the whole place seems deserted. I can only hope that Amos is lurking out in the swamp and is unaware of my arrival.I survey the building in front of me. It looks like years have passed since I was last here, though itโs only been a few hours. It looks like it could crumble into the swamp at any moment.The front door hangs open, as though itโs been waiting for me this whole time. I approach it cautiously, scanning for movement within, but everything is still.Waiting.โItโs just a house,โ I whisper to myself, though I know now that itโs much mor
Whispers of the Devilย ย ย Ganging Up
ZekeIโm going to kill Jake.Itโs all I can think about. I didnโt have the energy to intervene as he hurt Julia and shattered their relationship beyond repair. Iโd tried to manifest myself, to fight against Amosโs hold on Jake, but it was no use.I wasnโt able to protect Julia.I failed her.A powerful surge of anger flows through me as I think about how distressed she was as she snuck outside, jumped into the driverโs seat of Jakeโs car when he wasnโt looking, and sped off into the rainy night. Even though I desperately wanted to go with her, Iโm unable to cross the invisible line marking the boundary of the property. I can only hope that sheโs taken refuge somewhere safe, some place where Jake canโt follow.Itโs morning now, and thereโs no sign of Julia. Jake lays in the driveway amidst a mess of mud and gravel, unconscious. Iโm itching to kick him, but Iโm still too weak to summon my corporeal form. Instead, I spare him a scathing glare as I bypass his prone form and head toward th
Whispers of the Devilย ย ย An Open Door
JuliaItโs over.Thereโs no room for doubt as I drive through the worst of the storm. I feel violated, all the way down to my soul. My face is red and streaked with tears, and my lungs constrict with every breath I take, as though my chest is trapped in an immovable vice.Jakeโs actions are unforgivable.And it had been Jake, not Zeke. Iโm absolutely sure of that. Aside from the fact that Zeke would never treat me so horribly, weโd simply spent so much time together during Jakeโs absence that the ghost was all but drained of energy by the time my husband returned home.But there was something else wriggling through the back of my mind, insidious and full of venom.How had Jake even known about Zeke in the first place?He didnโt look at all surprised when I spoke the spiritโs name aloud. In fact, he played along with it, lulling me into a false sense of security until the point of no return.Only then did Jake reveal himself.Somebody must have told him about Zeke. Somebody must have p
