Short story

The Masquerade House

In the darkened woods, there sits a house which everyone is too scared of to go near as they believe it’s haunted and dangerous but no-one knows that I own that house.

I bought it some years ago through an auction and I’ve been going back and forwards to the house every now and again when it suits me.

Tonight is no different as midnight now approaches and I wonder in the pitch black towards the house, I pull my jacket closer to my face as the wind bites at my skin, I slowly walk up the dirt road with some difficulty.

I only have the moonlight to guide me along the lonesome road but I’m only travelling to the house to collect something.

I finally reach a small clearing and I can spot the ramshackle house in the distance with ease despite the fact it has tree’s surrounding the entire house, engulfing it in darkness.

The house is small in size but it’s perfect for my purposes, it’s made out of blackened wood so it looks like cabin to most people and the windows have been boarded up through time by me.

Upon reaching the door, I reach into my jacket pocket and pull out a slender but old fashioned iron key which has also been stained black.

Once I’ve unlocked the door, it push my hand lightly to the wooden frame and it opens with a creak at my touch and I step into the darkness.

I place my hand against the wall and I feel my way across the room until I reach the top where there is a tall lamp.

Despite the fact that I’ve been coming here when I wish, I always stumble into the lamp and fumble as I try to find the switch but eventually I flick the switch and the lamp flare into life.

I start to blink away the green dots that appear before my eyes and I venture to the door and close it despite the fact that I know no-one will know what I do here.

With the door now closed, I stare at the room and sigh.

Despite the black wood lining the walls and the lamp as the only piece of furniture, the room would have felt homely but the masks on the wall, tell a different story.

Each mask is different from the last as each portrays a different emotion or persona that I made with own two hands and I can adapt to each of the masks easily.

I scan the walls and find the mask that I came here to collect in the first place.

The mask is pale but has a creamy texture like skin, the mask has no emotion, just a persona, a persona of a dead-man.

Well dead is an exaggeration, the man has never existed in the real world but he doesn’t have to be real for the magic to work.

I take the mask of the wall and carry it in my hands with some sentiment and care, this mask is by far, my favourite as it’s my own creation that manifested itself from my imagination.

I put the lamp off and take one last look around the room in its darkened state before I leave out the same door in which I entered.

Before I leave the house, I notice that the night feels less cool than it was when I first arrived, I lock the door and place the key back into my jacket pocket.

I begin my journey down the dirt path however as I do so, I can’t resist the pull of the magic of the masks power, I can’t resist changing into someone else.

I press the mask to my face and for an all too brief moment the world spins in a vicious black circle but soon the persona takes control.

I am no longer myself, despite the fact that I’ve still got my jacket on but I am now Edward Hyde, I am a monster.

I am confident and charming.

I am flesh and blood, a living breathing person.

But for one night, I am no longer a villain hiding in the shadows.

I will do justice with my cane.

For one lonesome night, I will make the world remember my name.

The Devil’s Eye

A lone figure sat upon the park bench watching the crowds of human’s go by in a blur of action but he was completely invisible to them.

Even the people who now beside him had no idea that he was there and even if he coughed or moved in the slightest way, they still wouldn’t notice him.

“I suppose this my punishment for disobeying the big guy but I really don’t understand these clay-like forms he has created”, the man muttered to himself.

The man then began to think about how he, Lucifer, had to watch these human’s as the big man hadn’t really given him any sound advice before he was cast out.

Just then a shooting pain developed in his eyes and he shut them rapidly to make the pain go away but instantly reopened them and his vision had changed.

He could see the human’s pass him in a sea of red but he could also see their names and that was all because the vision soon passed and everything returned back to normal.

“Well, that was different,” Lucifer said to himself before continuing, “What am I supposed to do with these human’s names? I have no powers remember”.

Lucifer then walked away from the park, reminding himself that he had only been in the mortal realm for a week and this was the first time this vision had come.

‘Am I getting stronger?’ he wondered silently, ‘Am I getting my powers back on my own?’ He couldn’t be sure about that but he soon vanished into the distance and returned back to his new realm.

The next day, he was urged by some mysterious force back to the park again to watch the human’s pass, he had been here since the early hours of dawn trying to get the vision to come back without success.

He then tired a different tactic, he remembered from yesterday that his last thought was about being cast out, focusing on that he cast his mind back to that day.

Soon the pain in his eyes returned but this time he didn’t fit it instead he focused on the intense pain and opened his eyes slowly to adjust to the different view.

The same red vision appeared but this time he could see the human’s sins, Lucifer gasped as some sins were highlighted in bold to indicate that was their most dominant sin.

He studied one in particular, his name was Paul Summer’s, he guessed that he was in his early thirties and he noticed that his sins were floating around in mid-air.

Lust, Greed and Envy were all there but what caught his eye was the bold Wrath which hung close to him like a fly drawn to food. This was curious to him as the man didn’t seem the type to get angry but maybe his jealously was fuelling the wrath.

“So, this is what you want me to do, find the sinners of your creation and give them a loving home, I think I can do that”, Lucifer said as he blinked to get rid of the vision which he had now named ‘The Devil’s Eye’ and he set of towards Hell.

Over the next few days and weeks Lucifer wrote people’s names into a black notepad which had been sent down to him due to his new position.

Over that time, he had gained the ability to appear to the sinner’s and he sent them to Hell but no-one else took notice of him. He also noticed some sinner’s names were brown which meant they were somewhere in-between Heaven and Hell, one these occasion’s he asked what he must do and depending on the person’s redemption or sinning, they could be cast either way.

However, there was one small draw back, he could only take so many sinner’s otherwise the balance would be in his favour and the big guy upstairs didn’t want that and so decided to make up for the loss by creating more humans.

Today he was approaching his limit of sinners which in his eyes was a nice round number of ten and he needed one more to complete the set.

Scanning the crowd with ‘the Devil’s eye’, he saw a numerous amount of sinner’s for the picking but he then noticed someone strange.

Despite the sea of red, this woman had a light blue aura and he could only read her name if he squinted his eyes a little.

‘A pure human’, he wondered, ‘I didn’t think there was any but is she an angel? Does she have the same ability as me?’

Suddenly, pain went through his eyes and he shut them instantaneously but as he struggled against this wave of pain, he could hear a booming voice inside his head telling him; “YOU SHALL NOT HARM THE INNOCENT!”

When he reopened his eyes a view moments later, his vision was back to normal and he wondered what the voice meant by innocent, it was clear from his point of view that none of these humans were innocent, he felt strangely tired after that surge of pain.

So, with the last amount of effort he had left, he returned to his vision of red to write down the last name that he needed and went back to Hell to mull over a plan.

“YOU SHALL NOT HARM THE INNOCENT!” that voice continued to haunt Lucifer as he punished the sinners and looked for more.

The problem was that every time he was looking for the sinners, he kept seeing the innocent woman and he couldn’t stop wondering if the man upstairs had a special plan for her and just left the rest to rot.

Time passed quickly in the mortal realm as Lucifer continued to do his job of tending to the sinners and making Hell more comfortable for them.

Weeks turned into months and months turned into years and he still kept on seeing her until one day, something changed.

Upon the park bench, gazing through the vision of red which he had grown accustomed to by now and he was writing the sinners names without enjoyment and once more he saw her but she appeared to be different.

The light blue aura continued to flux and was becoming brown, this is what Lucifer had come to call Limbo.

He had seen it once before when one of his sinners were taken to Heaven because during his time in Hell, he had repented and the same, it seemed happened in Heaven as a human who Lucifer gave to them had sinned and was sent to him for safe keeping.

Now, as he looked at her, he wondered what to do, “Do I take her to my realm or does she belong to you?” Lucifer asked aloud.

The minutes ticked by as Lucifer waited for a reply and finally a voice answered; “Do what you like, she is a traitor like you… I’ve no interest in her now”.

Suddenly, the brown turned into red like the others and he could see that her name was Lilith but there was no second name.

He had heard that Lilith was made to protect these humans but he gathered that she must have got cast out after everyone had declared that he was dead, he then added her name to the list and he would save her till last.

Today, Lucifer wasn’t at his usual spot in the park, today he was waiting for Lilith to meet him in a side street he had managed to find and he didn’t have to wait long.

Lilith walked towards him looking more beautiful than he remembered and he realised that Lilith would be a great asset to him, if she decided she was going to join him in Hell.

“I thought you were dead”, Lilith said as she stopped a few paces away from where Lucifer stood.

“Everyone thought that Lil but I’ve been here all this time”, Lucifer answered hoping that she didn’t mind the abbreviation of her name.

“I gather, you know why I am here”, Lucifer said hesitantly.

“Well, I don’t think Heaven will let me back in so yes, I know why you are here but I want to make a proposition”, Lilith answered calmly.

Lucifer paused for a moment; he was going to make his own proposition to her but he decided to let it slide and wondered what she had to offer, so he said; “What kind of proposition?”

“Saying only one person knows you’re here and the rest think your dead, I will lay claim to Hell as it’s queen and rightful ruler in your stead, I will take you role of finding sinners and casting them into Hell and I will rule with you but if I am to be queen, then I need your powers”, Lilith answered honestly wondering what Lucifer’s reaction would be.

Lucifer stood for a moment contemplating the offer, it made sense to keep up the pretence that he dead and for someone to take over his role but the question was, was he willing to give her all of his powers so that he could keep his house in order?

“I will agree, on one condition”, Lucifer answered.

“Might I ask, what is this one condition is?” Lilith replied, unsure of what Lucifer was now thinking.

Lucifer then walked towards her though he could see that she was afraid of the power that he possessed, he stopped when his head was touching hers and gazed directly into her eyes.

“I want you to be mine and mine alone”, Lucifer replied softly and kissed Lilith on the lips, and he was surprised that she didn’t push him away, instead she returned his kiss.

After they broke the kiss, Lucifer said, “Come my queen, we have a domain to run” and they walked towards Hell, hand in hand.

On another note; my old blog has reached 2,516 page views and this blog has reached 10,811 page views. Once again a big thank you to all you nice people for all continuing to visit both blogs.

The Devil’s Apothecary

In a lonely upturned alleyway, there was an apothecary but this was no ordinary apothecary. It was always busy however when the clients returned they were the never same.

So three rival apothecaries decided that it was time to investigate what so special.

Their names were; Gavin, Patrick and Ethan.

Gavin bulldozed his way into the alleyway which was unusually empty but this didn’t deter him from his task as he was going to confront the owner and ask them to divulge their secrets so that he too could be successful.

The owner was never seen, only a voice would come from the shadows of the interior or so the stories and rumours suggested.

The stall was very small and had all kinds of vials and bottles on the shelves but these seemed empty at first glance however one looked as though it contained a blue substance, the label read Lust.

“That one is quite popular”, a voice said catching Gavin of guard.

Gavin looked into the stall and could see no sign of where the voice had come from but in his frustrated and startled state, he soon began to examine the other bottles which all had the names of the seven deadly sins and some were more imaginative.

“What does this vial do?” Gavin said holding up the one that said Violence.

“Ah, that one has three affects if you are interested?” the voice spoke again.

“What are these effects?” answered Gavin.

“The first is; if you place a drop of the liquid into a rival’s glass then they will commit suicide, the second; if you place a drop in two different cups, then the two people will fight on another until death takes them and the third; is if you place three drops the person will choke on their blasphemous words,” the voice answered back.

The man paused and contemplated for a moment, was this the key to success? Label vials in an unusual way and have multiple methods to deal with…

“Wait, how will this cure any ailments?” Gavin asked suddenly.

“That is my own little secret,” the voice said sounding much closer than before.

Frustrated that he had been found out, Gavin tried on last question; “So how much for Greed?”

“Just a soul,” the voice answered sensing it had ensnared a client.

Puzzled, Gavin then asked; “So how does that work?”

“Come back in a week and I will show you,” the voice answered.

Gavin was about to answer but he could sense that there was nothing there now to answer him, so the with phial containing a viscous golden coloured liquid in one hand, Gavin walked away without any answers.

Now, Patrick and Ethan had no idea what had taken place, all they knew was that Gavin exited the alleyway with something small in his hands but they couldn’t predict was going to happen next.

In the following days, more and more people visited the apothecary and they saw no sign of their rival but by the end of the week, they saw Gavin visit the apothecary but he looked lost and had a golden colour to his skin.

“Welcome back my friend, please step this way,” the voice said greeting Gavin and then he was no more, where he went no-one knew.

So Patrick decided to approach the apothecary more cautiously, timid even and hoped that he would not disappear like Gavin.

He scoured the stall and around the stall to check if there was anyway a voice could just suddenly appear but the back of the stall just provided a clear view to the front of the stall, walking back round again, Patrick then examined each phial in turn.

He noticed the peculiar labels but he also noticed that on the back there was another label on how to take the liquid inside but it didn’t suggest a dosage which was rather unusual.

“Why are there no clear intrusions on these?” Patrick asked aloud.

“Because there is no need for them, the dosage is different to each client,” the voice answered back.

Patrick blinked and saw that what was an empty stall a few moments ago was now shrouded in darkness.

“Who or what are you?” Patrick asked afraid.

At first the voice didn’t answer but then it said; “Take the vial that says Pride and come back in a week and I will tell you what you want to know”.

The vial had a violet liquid inside and Patrick took it away and did as the voice instructed.

Only Ethan was left and he observed that now Patrick had something within his grasp and he was beginning to wonder if the alleyway was cursed with the ghost of previous apothecary owner.

Ethan then watched as more and more people visited the alleyway, in fact, there was double the amount from the last time however at the end of the week, Patrick appeared with a tailor made suit with a shocking violet tie and three of his five fingers were in the same violet hue.

“Ah, you have come back and may I say, you look rather fetching, please come with me and I will tell you everything,” the voice said greeting Patrick in the shadows of the stall and he too vanished.

By now, Ethan realised that it was just him and the apothecary in the ally but still people visited the stall more often than his but he had a cunning plan.

He wouldn’t visit the stall, or rush into the ally like a bull in a China shop nor would he investigate if there was anyone there, instead he would do nothing.

For one whole week, he watched the comings and goings of the alleyway from the safety of his stall and he got one or two customer’s visiting but none of them bought anything as they had already been claimed by the stall in the ally.

Then one day, as Ethan was sitting in his stall when a shady figure appeared from the ally and approached him directly.

The figure was tall and slim but there was something different about him, his face was ashen but seemed perfectly confident walking towards him with a small swagger in his step and he swore a smug grin.

Ethan stopped what he was doing and stared at the newcomer with a jealous, almost hateful stare.

“I have an ailment that can cure that jealous stare,” the man said as he stood at the stall.

Blushing, the man soon made his face neutral so this man or whatever he was couldn’t subscribe him one of his vials.

“You have no business here,” Ethan answered monotonously.

“Ah, but I do, you my friend need a cure for your ails and I can help,” the man said still smiling smugly.

“Leave… Now!” Ethan said sharply.

“As you wish but I will leave this here in case you change your mind,” the man said slipping away back to the ally but he left behind a vial filled a vibrant green liquid.

Hesitantly, Ethan picked up the vial and examined the label which read Envy and he was instantly enraged but curiosity soon made him examine the other label at the back but he also noticed a note.

Placing the vial back on the counter, he then unfurled the note and read it; “In one week I will take payment for this vial and its contents, I expect to see you at my stall”.

Confused and slightly frustrated, Ethan threw the note onto the street and placed the vial in a secret place where he would not see it again.

However, the next day, Ethan could see a green pulse coming from this secret place and eventually gave into temptation.

He tried, one does of the vial and in an instant he wanted more and more, until the whole vial was empty but he still felt the same as he did previously but when a customer came to his stall asking for an item, his own words surprised him as he said; “You will have nothing if you are already a customer of his”.

The next few days were much the same but he grew increasingly more jealous of the man that claimed that have cured his ails with one phial but at the end of the week, he barely recognised himself as his hair had vivid green strips through it and he couldn’t place the feeling that he had lost something important to him.

So, Ethan went to the stall to confront the man but there was no stall to be seen, only an empty alleyway, Ethan also noticed that during the week no-one had entered the alley, it was like the man had given up on the business of apothecary.

Buzzing with jealously, Ethan confronted him, “Just what kind of game are you playing?”

“Oh, no games but I see you have come to this place and it’s time for me to collect my payment,” the man answered still smiling.

“What payment is that? Who are you?” Ethan asked spontaneously.

“I think you already know the answer to the last question and as to first, why don’t you come with me and I will explain on the way,” the man said smugly.

Ethan followed him but nothing made much sense as all at once as he disappeared losing his soul along the way and could only speak in a jealous tongue.

In the end, the three rival’s became like brothers in the realms of Hell and the Devil got what he wanted.

On a different note; my old blog has reached 2,47 page views and this blog has reached 9,950 page views (there has been a lot of traffic on this blog).