Halloween is coming, so in honor of this my favorite holiday, I'm starting this story. I just love a good horror story, and I hope I can do mine justice.
The Feast of All Hallow's Eve
Chapter 1
They say that the woods whisper the tales of the past. The trees are the only witnesses who cannot be silenced, for even after they've gone, their stories still echo on the wind. It's difficult to hear them, these majestic beings voices are very soft, but if you are alone at night, you might just catch the faintest whisper of a time long past.
Emile Harper had always felt uneasy in the dark. As a child, it had given him endless nightmares, and to this day, he always had to leave a light on. He shivered as a cold autunm breeze rustled the dried leaves in the trees and along the ground. The cresent moon cast a dim silver light down on him as he reached the clearing. He approached the tall iron gate, and pulled out the heavy iron key. He stuck in the rusty padlock, and turned. It fell to the ground with a dull thud, and the gate swung open with a loud creak.
He gingerly stepped inside, a place few dared to tread. Just why, he wasn't sure, but he was sure it had something to do with his secratary. She was the one who told him to come here, who had given him the key. She was the one who had told him that most impossible story of whom he was here to meet...
Looking around at the large circle he was standing in was enough to give him the creeps. Thirteen torches lined the fence, and in the center of it all was a table made of what looked like grey stone. Along the base of the table, there was writing, though it was too dark to read it.
An owl screeched from somewhere, and Emile jumped about a mile in the air. A dark shadow soared above him, and he felt sudden sense of inexplicable dread. Suddenly, the torches burst into flame, illuminating the forest. A barn owl flew down, and landed on the slab.
He stared in disbelief as the bird transformed into a man. The stranger had long fluffy blonde hair, and was clad in white, a feathery white cape fluttering behind him. He got to his feet, looking the short, balding man over. He broke into a grin, the coldest, cruelest smirk Emile had ever seen in his life.
"You must be the new mayor," the man said. His voice was cruel and laughing, but his eyes held no warmth. They glittered with pure malice.
"I suppose so. Emile Harper, nice to meet you..?"
"Call me Jareth."
"And are you really... the Goblin King?"
"I see my reputation preceeds me. I didn't think my existance was common knowlage anymore."
"No... I was told by my secratary. She insisted that I had to come here tonight, and meet with you. What is all this about Halloween?"
The Goblin King walked around to stand before him. Emile tried very hard not to let his fear show, not to let this man how intimidated he felt. He seemed able to tell, though. His cruel smile only grew.
"If you're the mayor, I'm sure you know all about the little incedent that happens in this town every thirteen years."
"No, I can't say I do..."
"Every thirteen years, on All Hallows Eve?" he coaxed. Emile thought for a moment. Then he remembered what had happened thirteen years ago, right after he and his family had moved to town. A young girl had gone missing on Halloween night. The police had searched for months, but they had never found the poor thing.
"Are you referring to Anna Putchinek's disapearance?"
"Indeed. And Marta Thomas before her, and Delilah Kurtz before her, and so on, for more than two hundred years."
"Why are you telling me this? You know I could just leave here right now, and turn you in to the police."
"Oh, I don't think you'd do that. Who'd believe you? And besides, Captain Garrett is one of the chosen."
"The chosen?" the human man asked.
"The thirteen people who are granted knowlage of my existance. The desendents of the original Chosen, whom I struck my bargain with so long ago."
"What bargain?"
The king chuckled, and shook his magnificent head. "One young virgin girl every thirteen years, in exchange for the safety of all the children in the village. A small price to pay, wouldn't you say, Mr. Harper?"
"I still don't understand. Keep the children safe from what? And if these chosen are the descendents of the first set, why tell me? I'm from North Dakota, for god sake!"
He sighed, and stared deep into the eyes of the mayor. "Safe from me, of course, Mr. Harper. Safe from being turned into goblins. And unfortuantly, the last descendent of the thirteenth member passed a few years ago. I need someone to take that spot, and I figured that the head of this pitiful little town would suffice nicely. Now, as to the matter of your sacrifice..."
"No."
"I beg your pardon?" the Goblin King said, his voice suddenly low and dangerous.
"I won't do it. You'll just have to get someone else, because I won't hand over some poor, innocent girl to you."
"Oh, I think you will, Mr. Harper. It's my understanding that your daughter has recently had a baby. It would be such a shame for that pretty little girl to be turned into a goblin, now wouldn't it?"
"You wouldn't!"
"Oh, but I would. Don't test me, Mister Harper, you'll only come out badly. Now about this sacrifice, I want you to tell Hannah Johnson to pass it along that this year, I desire a certain Miss Sarah Williams..."
A/N: Bum bum bum! What does Jareth want Sarah for?
Please review and let me know if you like it.
