(The
Literotica Halloween Story Contest 2024
- thanks for voting--MW)
A small overhead brass bell rang as they opened the door to the shop. "Oh look at all of this," Katie whispered to Dean. "I love Halloween, don't you?"
Dean grunted, shrugging his shoulders. Katie liked it, so that meant he liked it. He looked around; the windows were dark, almost as if covered in grime and filth. What light came through was in shards, casting the entire store in an eerie 60's B- horror movie look. "A little on the dark side don't you think?" He asked Katie. "Dark in light and in the curios and junk."
Katie looked around, a smile on her face, and then frowned at Dean. "I think it's quaint."
Dean was saved by a female voice that called across the store-- "May I help you?"
They both turned towards the voice, pausing when they saw the clerk. The woman smiled at them but something seemed unnatural about it.
She wore a black top that was solid below her bust line but opened in a diamond of silky see-though fabric that offered amazing views of her ample cleavage with a see-through upper section. She stepped out from behind the counter revealing it a dress that went mid-thigh showing shapely long legs wrapped in orange striped stockings the same color of the streaks in her long frizzy hair. Dean's eyes walked down her figure, taking in the mid-calf lace up black boots. A cap completed the look, a traditional witch's pointy thing with bats and long pieces of lace falling from its edges. Her eyes were a rich green. They made Katie's look almost dull by comparison. Her lips were thick with dark red lipstick. She complimented all of it with a small black mini-veil.
"She certainly looks the part," Dean mumbled.
"We are just looking for the moment," Katie replied, shushing Dean as she smiled back at the woman. As she took in the dimly lit store, a large black cauldron the corner caught her eye. It appeared to have something actually boiling as bubbles escaped from it, floating towards the black cobwebbed ceiling. Jack-O-Lanterns were spaced around the area with different faces carved into them; all lit up with different colored lights adding to the mystique of the entire space. A crystal ball seemed to dominate the middle of the displays, smoke or fog drifting off it, and flashes of light crackled within it. Katie wondered if it was in dry ice and stepped forward to investigate it.
"Careful," she heard a voice whisper in the darkness of the store.
She looked at Dean. "Did you say something?"
He wasn't paying attention to her and half shook his head no, trying not to stare at the backside of the Witch clerk as he wandered around the store.
Katie turned back to the fog, stepping gingerly towards it. "I see your desires," the same voice whispered. She stopped, looking around. She had heard it, she knew she wasn't imaging it. She looked around for a button on the floor or a wire or something she might have set off to make it speak.
She jumped when she felt a hand on her upper back. "Go ahead young lady, it won't hurt you." The woman spoke, easing Katie towards the crystal ball.
Calming down Katie looked around for Dean who was checking out some posters of old movies or something across the store. Taking a breath, she stepped closer to the crystal ball...
"Yes, come closer, see what I have to offer you," The whispering voice spoke again.
Katie fought off goose bumps and a rush of panic, like a breath of wind against her skin, but saw nothing except the witch-clerk as she looked around. The woman was standing close, and Katie thought she suddenly looked a lot older than she did a moment ago...
"It is speaking to you, isn't it?" The now old woman asked in a low cackling voice.
Katie looked at her, mouth open, eyes fixed. "Wha--?" She tried to reply.
"It speaks now and then, but not to everyone, only those with a secret desire." The Witch whispered, her hand on Katie's back again, slowly easing her closer.
Katie looked at her, swore her eyes changed color from the deep green to a flash of red, then back again. "Wait, what are you talking about?" The room seemed to grow misty as the fog from the crystal ball grew thicker, the woman less visible.
"You hold a secret sexual desire," She whispered to Katie, pausing, staring into her very being. "Two actually," she whispered smiling, eyes glowing in the mist as if she had discovered a great secret. "One you think of, even speaking the desire to yourself. One you have hidden and almost forgotten -- that only waits for the right moment to reveal itself."
Low music played, the air seemed to swirl around them. "That moment is now," she smiled again, "If you chose to accept it."
Katie stared at her, Dean all but forgotten. As if in a trance she stepped up to the glowing orb, looking into it, enchanted by its colors and flashing lights, the feel of the air heavy around her, the unseen voice bidding her closer.
She reached for it, resting a hand over it only to pull back quickly from the heat emanating from it. She turned to the old woman, eyes wide with fear.
