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The Artifact
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Whispers of the Devil Welcome Home?
JakeThe closer I get to the house, the worse I feel.I notice it the moment I turn onto the winding drive that marks the entrance of the property. The car’s tires slide on the muddy, rutted road, and the frame of the vehicle is so low that I swear I can feel my fillings rattle as I maneuver down the potholed path. For once in my life, I actually regret owning such a fancy ride. This wouldn’t be happening in a truck or an SUV.Cypress branches close in overhead, blotting out the sun with feathery leaves and twisted, mottled wood. The trunks churn on either side of me, grotesque in their stature. Thick underbrush creeps into the road. For a moment, it feels like I’m all alone in this wild place.Dread mounts in my gut as I navigate the familiar turns of the drive. I have a terrible thought that the path will go on forever, that each twist in the road will simply guide me farther away from civilization.But then the trees part, and the mud shifts to patchy gravel that crunches satisfyi
Whispers of the Devil Someone's in the House
JuliaI’m not sure what wakes me.It’s not the sun, that’s for sure. For some reason, the blinds are firmly shut, blocking the early morning light from filtering in through the glass.I blink the sleep from my eyes as I peer into the surrounding dimness. I’m lying in bed, the covers tangled around my legs as though I’d thrashed in my slumber. A dull soreness at the juncture of my thighs reminds me of exactly what Jake and I had been doing last night.But where is Jake now?His side of the bed is empty, the sheets cold and untouched.“Jake?” I call. My voice sounds muted in the still morning air.There’s no response.Sighing, I extract myself from the blankets. Goosebumps rise on my arms as the cool, conditioned air kisses my skin. I grab my robe and shrug it on against the chill before padding over to the bathroom.Like the bedroom, there’s no sign of Jake. I frown. This isn’t like him. Sure, he’s usually an early riser, but he’s not exactly quiet in the mornings. He runs the shower a
Whispers of the Devil Help from Beyond the Grave
ZekeGod, I feel so alive.I close my eyes and let the relentless eye of the sun beat down on me. What does it see when it looks at me? A man? Something more? Something less?And what does Julia see, I wonder?I know it’s dangerous to let my thoughts wander down this path, but it’s as though my mind has become untethered with possibilities. My hand curls around a phantom mug, remembering the feeling of the smooth porcelain against my palm and the heat radiating through my hand as Julia had questioned me with increasing interest.I’d just had coffee with Julia Carter.She wore no makeup, and her hair was mussed from sleep, but that had somehow only made her more beautiful. Her eyes, as green as moss, shone in the fresh morning light. I had the overwhelming urge to reach out and touch her, to brush my fingertips over the soft curve of her lips, but propriety stopped me in my tracks.I wouldn’t disrespect Julia like that. She is too good for me to be thinking about her in such a way.To
Whispers of the Devil Something's in the Shadows
JakeI’m not a coward.It’s not like I was scared and ran away because a fucking light bulb broke, or because the ensuing darkness seemed bigger somehow, alive. No, it was because I simply had business to attend to. At least, that’s what I tell myself as I pull up in front of the house at the edge of the swamp.Julia probably hadn’t even cared that I’d gone. After all, I’d texted her that I had to go out, and she hadn’t ever responded. Did she even notice I left? God, she sure knows how to make a guy feel wanted in his marriage.A streak of lightning skitters across the leaden sky, followed quickly by a peal of thunder so loud that the car practically rattles around me. It’s not raining yet, though the clouds that loom overhead are the color of a fresh bruise and promise an imminent downpour. Not wanting to ruin my vehicle, I decide to park in the garage instead of the driveway.The rain starts just as I pull inside. Water roars against the roof, and once closed, the automatic door do
Whispers of the Devil A Slap in the Face
JuliaTears well in my eyes, threatening to spill over. But I know that if I start crying, I won’t be able to stop.“Get a fucking grip,” I mutter to myself.I’m lying on the couch in the living room, attempting to watch my favorite reality TV show. After I confronted Jake earlier, I haven’t been able to focus. Racing thoughts flutter through my brain like paper in the wind. I’d optimistically heated up a frozen dinner, but I’d only been able to pick at it before my nausea had overpowered my desire to eat. Now the meal sits, cold and congealed, on the coffee table, all but forgotten.I know I could call Nina for support, but I don’t want to go there until I have all of the facts. And the truth is, I don’t really have many of those at all right now.Yes, Jake’s reaction to my questions all but confirmed my suspicions that he’s nothing more than a cheating bastard. I have no doubt that he’s up to his old tricks, but this time, I’m not going to let him off so easily. I need cold, hard pr
Whispers of the Devil Repercussions
JakeOh God, what have I done?Panic and desperation crash over me in unrelenting tidal waves, dragging me under until I’m drowning in them. I’m sitting on the bed in the guest room, holding my head in my hands and rocking back and forth.I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Hours, probably. At some point, I’d 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 hadn’t helped. I’m 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.I’ve done a lot of questionable things over the years, some more legal than others. And maybe, just maybe, I’d said things to intentionally hurt Julia in the past, but I’d never physically harmed her.Until tonight.She was asking for it.“Shut up!” I whimper, clawing at my temples. “Shut up!”I stand and start pacing in the small space between the bed
Whispers of the Devil Stolen Kiss
ZekeSomething dreadful happened last night.I’d been out in the swamp, enjoying the sound of the rain pattering off the soft fronds of the ferns in the underbrush when I’d 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 wasn’t 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 I’m concerned for Julia. I don’t trust Jake for a second, and she doesn’t deserve to be used as a pawn in this sick game.And now I’m lingering at her front door, my hand raised and poised to press the doorbell. For a moment, I don’t 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 she’s all right.Thinking
Whispers of the Devil The Man in the Garage
JuliaI can’t stay here.Jake’s been gone all day. In fact, I hadn’t even heard him leave in the first place, and God only knows where he went. But I’m absolutely sure that I don’t want to be here when he gets back.If he comes back.Would that really be so bad, I wonder? It’s 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 I’d married.A fine blush rises in my cheeks as the memory of Zeke’s passion whispers across my lips. Guilt trickles through me in its wake. I can’t believe we’d kissed. As terrible as Jake’s actions have been, I’ve 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 isn’t just that he’shandsome, or even that he’snice to me. I have the uncanny
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Whispers of the Devil Ramblings of a Madwoman
JuliaTo say I’m 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 morning’s 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 can’t help but blush at the intensity that flared in his honeyed eyes. But he couldn’t have been here. That’s just silly.“It was just a dream,” I murmur into the empty bedroom, as if the words could convince my harried thoughts.“What was that?” Jake’s 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 we’d made love this morning, hadn’t we?It still seemed so hazy. I could have sworn it had been Zeke’s face hovering over me as he moved so reverently inside of me. Things with Jake had never been like that. They were either
Whispers of the Devil Taking What's His
JuliaAs a great woman once said, diamonds are a girl’s 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. I’d paid for the mind-blowingly expensive necklace using Jake’s platinum card, which had given me a small sliver of satisfaction.He’d called in the early hours of the morning, begging for me to forgive him. At first, I’d told him that there was no way in hell I’d let him come crawling back to me, but all the while, my heart ached until the burn was almost unbearable.One chance. That’s all I’ll give him.In the meantime, I’ll shamelessly spend down his accounts in preparation for the worst.Because it would be terrible if we divorced, wouldn’t it? I think wistfully of the lifestyle I’ve enjoyed over the last several years, excluding the months spent in solitude on the edge of a fetid swamp. I’d be losing much more than him if I left.Doubt continues to gnaw at me as I gather my bags a
Whispers of the Devil The Man in the Garage
JuliaI can’t stay here.Jake’s been gone all day. In fact, I hadn’t even heard him leave in the first place, and God only knows where he went. But I’m absolutely sure that I don’t want to be here when he gets back.If he comes back.Would that really be so bad, I wonder? It’s 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 I’d married.A fine blush rises in my cheeks as the memory of Zeke’s passion whispers across my lips. Guilt trickles through me in its wake. I can’t believe we’d kissed. As terrible as Jake’s actions have been, I’ve 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 isn’t just that he’shandsome, or even that he’snice to me. I have the uncanny
Whispers of the Devil Stolen Kiss
ZekeSomething dreadful happened last night.I’d been out in the swamp, enjoying the sound of the rain pattering off the soft fronds of the ferns in the underbrush when I’d 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 wasn’t 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 I’m concerned for Julia. I don’t trust Jake for a second, and she doesn’t deserve to be used as a pawn in this sick game.And now I’m lingering at her front door, my hand raised and poised to press the doorbell. For a moment, I don’t 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 she’s all right.Thinking
Whispers of the Devil Repercussions
JakeOh God, what have I done?Panic and desperation crash over me in unrelenting tidal waves, dragging me under until I’m drowning in them. I’m sitting on the bed in the guest room, holding my head in my hands and rocking back and forth.I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Hours, probably. At some point, I’d 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 hadn’t helped. I’m 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.I’ve done a lot of questionable things over the years, some more legal than others. And maybe, just maybe, I’d said things to intentionally hurt Julia in the past, but I’d never physically harmed her.Until tonight.She was asking for it.“Shut up!” I whimper, clawing at my temples. “Shut up!”I stand and start pacing in the small space between the bed
Whispers of the Devil A Slap in the Face
JuliaTears well in my eyes, threatening to spill over. But I know that if I start crying, I won’t be able to stop.“Get a fucking grip,” I mutter to myself.I’m lying on the couch in the living room, attempting to watch my favorite reality TV show. After I confronted Jake earlier, I haven’t been able to focus. Racing thoughts flutter through my brain like paper in the wind. I’d optimistically heated up a frozen dinner, but I’d only been able to pick at it before my nausea had overpowered my desire to eat. Now the meal sits, cold and congealed, on the coffee table, all but forgotten.I know I could call Nina for support, but I don’t want to go there until I have all of the facts. And the truth is, I don’t really have many of those at all right now.Yes, Jake’s reaction to my questions all but confirmed my suspicions that he’s nothing more than a cheating bastard. I have no doubt that he’s up to his old tricks, but this time, I’m not going to let him off so easily. I need cold, hard pr
Whispers of the Devil Something's in the Shadows
JakeI’m not a coward.It’s not like I was scared and ran away because a fucking light bulb broke, or because the ensuing darkness seemed bigger somehow, alive. No, it was because I simply had business to attend to. At least, that’s what I tell myself as I pull up in front of the house at the edge of the swamp.Julia probably hadn’t even cared that I’d gone. After all, I’d texted her that I had to go out, and she hadn’t ever responded. Did she even notice I left? God, she sure knows how to make a guy feel wanted in his marriage.A streak of lightning skitters across the leaden sky, followed quickly by a peal of thunder so loud that the car practically rattles around me. It’s not raining yet, though the clouds that loom overhead are the color of a fresh bruise and promise an imminent downpour. Not wanting to ruin my vehicle, I decide to park in the garage instead of the driveway.The rain starts just as I pull inside. Water roars against the roof, and once closed, the automatic door do
Whispers of the Devil Help from Beyond the Grave
ZekeGod, I feel so alive.I close my eyes and let the relentless eye of the sun beat down on me. What does it see when it looks at me? A man? Something more? Something less?And what does Julia see, I wonder?I know it’s dangerous to let my thoughts wander down this path, but it’s as though my mind has become untethered with possibilities. My hand curls around a phantom mug, remembering the feeling of the smooth porcelain against my palm and the heat radiating through my hand as Julia had questioned me with increasing interest.I’d just had coffee with Julia Carter.She wore no makeup, and her hair was mussed from sleep, but that had somehow only made her more beautiful. Her eyes, as green as moss, shone in the fresh morning light. I had the overwhelming urge to reach out and touch her, to brush my fingertips over the soft curve of her lips, but propriety stopped me in my tracks.I wouldn’t disrespect Julia like that. She is too good for me to be thinking about her in such a way.To
Whispers of the Devil Someone's in the House
JuliaI’m not sure what wakes me.It’s not the sun, that’s for sure. For some reason, the blinds are firmly shut, blocking the early morning light from filtering in through the glass.I blink the sleep from my eyes as I peer into the surrounding dimness. I’m lying in bed, the covers tangled around my legs as though I’d thrashed in my slumber. A dull soreness at the juncture of my thighs reminds me of exactly what Jake and I had been doing last night.But where is Jake now?His side of the bed is empty, the sheets cold and untouched.“Jake?” I call. My voice sounds muted in the still morning air.There’s no response.Sighing, I extract myself from the blankets. Goosebumps rise on my arms as the cool, conditioned air kisses my skin. I grab my robe and shrug it on against the chill before padding over to the bathroom.Like the bedroom, there’s no sign of Jake. I frown. This isn’t like him. Sure, he’s usually an early riser, but he’s not exactly quiet in the mornings. He runs the shower a
