Challenges, News, and Other Random Things

WPRS Halloween

This was an example contest entry for the WPRS Halloween contest over at ParanormalCommunity. Word count: 666 ♥

-

Agent #7 hurried through the office building. "Why of all nights," she mumbled to herself as she went up several flights of stairs. The air grew musty the higher she got, until the pungent smell of incense replaced it. Halting in front of the door leading to the attic, she rubbed her nose and read the ornate letters carved into the dark oak.

-High Seeker-

She knocked and waited for a response.

"Come on in," a female voice answered.

Agent #7 stepped inside, the wall of incense taking away her breath for a moment. Coughing, she walked over to the wispy woman sitting behind an elegant desk. It was decorated with all sorts of magical attributes, ranging from blessed candles and occult statuettes to powerful crystals and cleansing herbs.

"Merry Samhain," the woman chimed happily. "What brings you to my office on this fine night, #7?"

Agent #7 removed something from her pocket and placed it in front of the witch. "I found this outside on the parking lot."

The witch raised a brow as she eyed the object in front of her.

"I tried looking up the runic markings, but I was unsuccessful in tracing their origin. I'm not quite sure about the shape either, as it seems to defy the rules of our dimension."

The witch tilted her head left, then right. "I see your point... It's spherical, yet it appears to have perpendicular fields."

"Can you help me figure out what it is? Is it dangerous? And who left it here?"

The witch smiled coyly. "I can most certainly try." She stood up and walked over to a large cabinet, stocked with ancient books and trinkets. "We're in luck too. Not only is it All Hallows' Eve, the moon was full only a few nights ago."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Agent #7 groaned. "The past few days have been chaotic, to say the least. I don't expect tonight to be any less."

The witch returned to her desk with a large wooden board. The fine willow was carved with all sorts of runes, and crystals were embedded along the edges. Numbers and the letters of the alphabet were burned into the wood, along with some protective symbols. She took off her necklace and removed the silver hanger, which resembled a teardrop with a circular hole. Gently, she placed the silver on the board and held it with both index fingers. She whispered an incantation, but it was too soft for Agent #7 to catch the words.

"Okay, let's see if we can get some answers..." The witch looked at the strange object for a moment, before shifting her attention to the board.

The silver piece moved across the wood, spelling out, "Hello."

"Hello my dear," the witch replied out loud. "There's a peculiar object on my altar that was found just outside the building. Could you maybe tell us some more about it?"

The silver raced over the board. Agent #7 tried to catch what it was spelling out, but she lost track. "What's being said?"

The witch didn't answer.

The silver piece zoomed over the board, and Agent #7 strained her eyes to catch the words. "Fhtagn," she whispered. "Rlyeh wgahnagl..." Frowning, she looked up at the witch. "This doesn't make any sense."

"It does to me..."

"It's bad, isn't it?" Agent #7 swallowed nervously. "To whomever did this belong?"

The silver suddenly stopped moving and the witch looked up to meet the agent's gaze. Slowly, the silver started to slide over the wood again. Both women stared at the thing as it moved to number six, made a clockwise circle, stopped to indicate six again, and repeated it yet again.

Agent #7's eyes widened in shock.

The witch sighed. "I knew it." She removed the silver from the board, uttered another incantation, and hung it back around her neck. "Please return the object to Agent #6. It appears to be a family heirloom of his. I'm sure he'd greatly appreciate its return."