An Innsmouth Halloween

I noticed how quiet it was at the same time we reached the 19th century graves. The polished granite of many of these stones looked pretty much the way it did when they were new. I don't think you could find stones like these anywhere else though. At a glance, they looked like ordinary 1800s markers. A closer examination showed that the typical carved lambs and angels were substituted with creatures resembling a cross between toads and and aquatic pit bulls, and fish-like, vaguely humanoid horrors.

I looked at Chloe, who was lost in her own thoughts. "It's so weird, each of these stones represents a person who had a life, and had people whom they loved and who loved them, and other than these stones, there is no memory of them, there is no one living who has ever seen them or heard their voice." I said quietly. "Maybe that's why so many cultures celebrate the dead this time of year, it kinda reminds you to cherish life and those you are close to."

"Thats what you were just thinking about?" Chloe asked with mild incredulity, "I was trying to decide if I'm more afraid of hanging out in the graveyard all night, or going through whatever is going to happen at my initiation." "The graveyard actually isn't that scary with you, big bub." She spoke playfully, but revealed a little more feeling than she had perhaps intended to.

Not knowing what to say, I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and another inelegant squeeze. She hugged back and kissed me back just as awkwardly. We smiled at each other in the moonlight and started slowly walking towards our fate.

Chapter 12

After a few minutes walking, we crested a hill and we could see the hotel in the distance. There was a faint light filtering through the heavy foliage in the back garden that looked like a bonfire. "They must be in the private garden." Chloe said. There is a garden on the hotel property that my Aunt reserved for our family's use. It shares a fence on one side with the cemetery, and is bordered on the other three sides with an ancient hedge. Originally, the hedge had been planted to conceal the stables and utility buildings, but when the old stable had fallen down from disuse, the section was converted into a secret garden.

We made our way down towards the light of the bonfire. The hill was steeper on this side, and there were row after row of mausoleums built into the hillside. We walked solemnly between the houses of the dead in the dim moonlight, instinctively holding hands.

There were some freestanding crypts that abutted the property line that had been built into the fence. Chloe and I both knew about one with a crumbling rear wall that we could pass through to gain access to our garden. Nether of us particularly wanted to squeeze past the old coffins, but it was a lot shorter than walking all the way to the front entrance.

When we reached the decayed crypt, we both had a feeling that once we passed through that wall, there would be no turning back. "Well, it's not like we can go back to the car and run away together." Chloe said with a slight uptick in her voice, making it a question. "Besides, our moms wouldn't hurt us, and Heather went through it, right?"

I just nodded.

"Well, ladies first" I said jokingly, opening the rusty iron door to the crypt and bowing with my hand extended to help her in like an old time gentleman.

"Yeah, no thanks." Chloe snorted a nervous laugh. "When it comes to creepy stuff, you go first."

I entered the crumbling sepulcher and made my way to the back. Chloe took a deep breath and followed me. Some of the coffins had fallen from their compartments during the long-ago storm that damaged the wall, so we had to step over piles of rotted wood and bones to get to the rear wall. Luckily, there was a newer steel casket that had fallen at an angle across the rear wall that we could use to climb through the hole in the wall.

Chloe was pretty freaked out, we hadn't cut through this way in years, and it had been during the daytime. The constant rustling of the wind was maddening; was it leaves, or dry bones striving to catch the interlopers trespassing in the house of the dead? We both saw a skeletal hand slowly skitter towards us, presumably driven by a gust of wind through the now open door. "Boost me up, quick!" Chloe said frantically as she attempted to scramble onto the rusty steel coffin. She was close to panic, so without thinking I grabbed her between her legs and under her arm and hoisted her onto the coffin where she could grasp the edge of the opening. She frantically wiggled through the hole and was gone from my sight. I was very conscious of the warm textures between her legs as I lifted her, and my abandoned penis gave another lurch in its prison. I quickly followed Chloe, my taller frame making it easier for me to reach the broken section of wall.

Chloe grabbed me in a tight hug as soon as I hit the ground. We held each other for a minute, giggling with nervous relief, before slowly making our way towards the hotel.

Part Four: The Ritual

Chapter 13

The bonfire was burning bright, and there were occasional Jack O' Lanterns, their pumpkin faces revealing the path in the night. 'This night, anything goes...' I thought to myself with a barely suppressed shudder.

We finally met Mom, Aunt Sara, and Heather as we entered the open space in the center of the secret garden. The bonfire we had seen from the cemetery was burning in the stone fire pit. They were dressed in white robes with red belts, the same that they had been wearing during the recent rituals. The red rope bindings were visible on the open necklines of their robes. Mom was carrying an artifact that I recognized from home. It was her havoc staff, it was a hardwood staff about 5 feet long, topped with a cleverly forged hollow iron rams skull. As we approached, she dipped the head into the fire pit where it immediately blazed with a spectacular green flame due to being filled with a mixture of tinder, paraffin oil, pine pitch, and copper sulfate.

"Our young one has traveled through the realm of the dead on the day which the dead hold sway, and stands before us seeking to be called a Woman and a peer." Mom intoned in a powerful, serene voice.

"That is so," Sara and Heather replied in unison, in a similar tone.

"Then let her be bound to us". "Let she who has given her life present her"

Aunt Sara approached us in a solemn, formal, but somehow sensual gait similar to the one that Ann had used on the day she put the chastity cage on me. Chloe and I were still holding hands as we stood there, but Sara signaled to me with a look to step aside. I gave Chloe's hand a quick squeeze and backed away. Aunt Sara took my jacket and Chloe's shawl from her, and tossed them aside. She gave Chloe a kiss on the cheek before she stepped behind her and unzipped her dress and let it fall around her feet in one smooth motion. Chloe gasped involuntarily, and her arms quickly crossed over her chest. Sara then untied Chloe's shoes, and helped her step forward away from both her shoes and her dress. I could tell how embarrassed Chloe was, she was a shy girl, so standing outside in her underwear had to be hard for her, let alone the discomfort of the windy chill of the evening.

Sara guided Chloe closer to the fire, when suddenly, she slid Chloe's underwear down to her ankles, and unhooked her bra. She gently but irresistibly took away her bra and tossed it aside, before kneeling gracefully and doing the same with her underpants.

Sara guided Chloe to the edge of the fire pit, and resumed her place next to Ann. "Let all judge her who is presented to our coven" Sara said in the same formal tone as before.

Heather strode over in the slow, graceful walk that Ann and Sara used, and began to look over her little sister. Heather pulled Chloe's arms away from her chest and made a show of feeling her breasts, before running her hands over her body, finally giving her a tickle through her natural orange pubic hair. Chloe gasped and blushed and Heather snickered as she moved back to her place next to Sara and Ann.

Next it was Ann's turn, she approached Chloe and basically repeated Heather's examination, although more gently and paying more attention to her bottom. I empathized with Chloe's little whimper as my mom spread her cheeks and peeked in.

After Ann had returned to her place, there was an awkward pause, before I realized everyone was waiting for me. Ann frantically motioned me to go to Chloe, I walked over to her as gracefully as I could. Chloe's face was a deep red, even through what was left of her makeup. She had been embarrassed to have her body judged by the women in the family, but it was even worse with her male cousin. I gave her a look over, as gently and comfortingly as possible. I noticed streaks of my green facepaint that had gotten on her face when we had kissed earlier, and felt a fresh wave of affection for her as I lifted her chin and gave her a smile and a wink before stepping back.

Chloe shivered involuntarily with cold, even next to the fire pit. "Is there any among us who find fault with her?" Ann asked in the same formal tone.

"Not I"

"Not I"

"Not I"

"Then let her be bound to us for all time!" Ann said triumphantly, and slammed the butt of her havoc staff into the ground, producing one last burst of green flame from the burning tinder.

The women all surrounded Chloe with hugs and kisses, patting and petting her naked flesh in welcome. They walked her to the rear entrance of the hotel and went inside. Not knowing what to do, I gathered Chloe's clothes and entered behind them.

Chapter 14

The ground floor of the hotel has a large, open room on the first floor adjoining the lobby and service counter. The room was originally intended as a ballroom, but was used as a theater, cabaret, or just a sitting room for guests when not in other use. I followed the women through the hallway until we came to the ballroom. To my surprise, all the furniture had been cleared aside, even the gigantic, timeworn Asian carpet had been rolled up, revealing an elaborate pentagram of dark cherry wood inlaid into the lighter oak of the floor. Lanterns burned throughout the room, and a strange, heady incense permeated the air from a large censer swinging from the ceiling.

The women guided Chloe to the center of the pentacle, before tying her spread eagle with her head and each limb oriented towards one of the five points of the star. They then took places with Ann at the head, and Sara and Heather each on each foot of the star pattern.

They began to chant, occasionally breaking into song. It seemed to go on forever, as I just stood quietly in the doorway. Finally, I heard a phrase that I recognized: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn", which seemed to close the invocation.

The women seemed to drop the ritual affectation as they helped Chloe to her feet, and helped her into a white robe. "So how was your night so far?" Ann greeted me as she approached my place in the doorway whilst Chloe talked excitedly with her mother and sister.

"Wasn't bad, was that all you needed me for? To walk Chloe through the graveyard?" To tell the truth, I was thinking I might be able to catch some of Jeff's party after all. "And can I have the key to the chastity cage?"

Ann snickered quietly, "We've only just begun, Chloe has been bound to us, but it still needs to be ... consummated.." "Just go with the flow."

A few minutes later we were all in Sara's apartment on the first floor behind the main room. Everyone was having snacks and relaxing except me. Ann had shook her head pointedly when I eyed the apple cider doughnuts.

"I bet you two could go for a warm shower." Sara said to Chloe and I. She handed me an ancient iron key on a brass key fob with a decorative number "21" engraved on it. "Chloe will show you to your room; I have given you the room in the tower." For some reason that phrase gave me a thrill of horror, and I literally had to suppress a shudder.

Room 21 is the finest suite in the hotel, the "tower" my aunt mentioned is a victorian cupola and widow's walk. On clear days you can see the ocean in the distance from it, so it is something like a tower.

I was hungry and unbearably horny, and I felt let down by the "ritual" everyone had made such a big deal out of. It was difficult not to feel annoyed. I was really trying not to be resentful about missing Jeff's party, not to mention the enemas, spanking, and time in chastity I had gone through.

The other thing that was confusing was why I still had to wear the stupid chastity cage, and why I still had to fast. I guessed that the plan was for Chloe and I to spend the night here together, but our moms didn't want us having sex. As I thought about it, much of this whole ritual seemed to be about denial.

The other remaining question was what Ann had meant when she said we had only just begun, as the ritual certainly seemed to be over.

I was lost in my thoughts when Chloe herself said that she'd like to take her mother's advice on the hot shower in room 21, and asked if I was ready to go up.

"Sure, let's go"

Chloe and I entered the old, rickety, brass doored elevator and took it up to room 21. The place was creepy, and somber too as I walked down the hall with my vampire girlfriend. We passed a rococo style painting depicting the Whore of Babylon as we gathered close and Chloe wrapped her arms around my neck in the horror hotel: "Say something, don't you want to start something with me?" I realized that it was up to me. (+1 coolness points if you get this reference, this is an easy one if you know where it came from ;) -M)

I chuckled slightly "You've lived here your whole life, I'm surprised you aren't used to it."

"You never get used to it, its home, but it is creepy; there are hidden rooms and secret passages in this place that no living person knows about." "Don't you remember how we used to explore here all the time as kids, before you started acting like a butt?" "Move the right wall sconce and, boom, you're in a room full of shrunken heads... or something worse." "Plus, sometimes there are guests, and you never know if they are some kind of weirdo.."

"People who stay in places like this are often sketchy, sometimes they're on the run, and stay here because it is out of the way and we take cash, no questions asked." "Sometimes they have sought us out specifically, looking for connections to the Great Old Ones, or our books. Collectors and scholars will pay enormous amounts for even a partial copy of the Necronomicon, or De Vermis Mysteriis, or even a copy of Chaat Aquadingen." "Not everyone is averse to stealing something so valuable, so we always have to be wary of the guests."

I turned the antique key in the lock, and we went in. We looked around and got settled, finding the room well stocked with toiletries such as soap and shampoo, as well as clean towels and a bathrobe for each of us. There was no food, much to my disappointment.

"Get out of those filthy clothes, Mark, you still have skeleton dust on them, go take a quick shower, then draw me a hot bath please."

I chuckled and said: "You sound like my mom all of a sudden, maybe you are getting old after all," She replied by throwing a matchbook from the door side table with the hotel's info printed on it at me. "Don't you want to bathe first?"

"No, like I said, I don't want you on the furniture in your dirty clothes, and besides, you are starting to smell." Chloe replied.

I laughed again, "You really are bossing me around like everyone else in the family."

"I know you love me, so get to it," she said with a shooing gesture.

When I was done, I found Chloe outside on the widow's walk. Her orange-golden hair appeared to glow in the bright moonlight. It was pushed back and fastened with snap clips to keep it away from her face, but it still blew in the wind around her shoulders in a ripple of sparkling light. Feeling bold, I gave her a hug from behind, leaning down to rest my chin on her shoulder and putting my arms around her belly. She snuggled in my arms with a contented sigh. "Did you pour my bath?"

"Yes ma'am, hot as can be." I replied with a hint of playful sarcasm.

Chloe decided to play along, and said "Good Markybear, you just might get a treat if you keep it up." She was obviously nervous, but very exited about the treat she had planned for me.

While she bathed, I turned on the television and luckily one of my favorite movies was on; the one about everyone's favorite vertically gifted interdimensional undertaker and his battle against a trio of righteous dudes and their Hemicuda.

Chloe came out of the bathroom in her bathrobe a short while later. She walked over to where I was sitting on the couch in front of the tv. "Hi Mark," she said softly and questioningly, revealing her nervousness as she awkwardly sat in my lap. She sat on my thigh, her back to my belly, squeezing in against my body as close as possible, and spreading her legs and bottom so that my thigh was pressing firmly on her vulva and anus, separated only by the layers of our robes.

I embraced her tightly, kissing her on the cheek. We started giggling with relief and enjoyment of mutual acceptance as we started kissing playfully and cuddling. "I think we're supposed to fuck," Chloe said, uncharacteristically using the crude term, with excitement and fear in her eyes. "That's the only way that everything our moms have been doing makes sense, I'll be a full member of the coven when you take my virginity." "You'll be bonded to us because of it, that's why everyone was so nervous that you wouldn't come." She bit my nose playfully after the last line, her eyes dilated and her breasts heaving in time with her exited breathing.

She had shifted positions so that she was facing me, sitting on my knee, panting slowly. She opened her robe while shyly lowering her eyes, exposing the smooth pinkish white curve of her belly, flowing down to her lovely orange pubic hair. She checked my eyes, and seeing the adoration there, she slipped out of her robe, revealing her sweet little breasts, her nipples dark pink and erect.

"Yeah, that does make perfect sense, except for one thing," I said, opening my bathrobe to expose the glittering cock cage imprisoning me. "I'm still locked in this."

"Well then what the SHIT!?" Chloe furiously exclaimed in a high pitched tone of frustrated disappointment, stamping her foot and once again using uncharacteristically crude language. "Wait, I wonder if we need to find the key, maybe they put it in my pocket so I could unlock you." She picked her robe up off the floor and started tearing through the pockets.

"The key is on a chain around my Mom's neck," I said, "She promised she would take it off tonight.."

"Ok, so what now?" Chloe said dejectedly, putting her robe back on and sitting next to me on the Victorian sofa.

"When you were talking to Aunt Sara and Heather, right after the chant when you were in the pentagram, Mom told me that the ritual hadn't even really begun, and for me to 'go with the flow.'" "It's still early..."

"I don't know about you Mark, but I'm fed up with this teasing, if there is more to this ritual, I just want it over with!"

"Me too." That was an understatement, to say the least.

Chloe finally ran out of patience and stormed towards the door, intending to go and demand to know what else was expected of us. She found the door locked, and the key would not open it. "Now what?" She asked, walking back towards the sofa.

Part Five: Into the Abyss

Chapter 15

As Chloe was in the center of the room, a bookcase on the wall swung outward, revealing Ann and Sara. They were dressed as before in their white robes, with red rope harnesses visible around their necklines, but they were also wearing masks that were best described as pallid, expressionless human faces with a strange, yellow sign on the forehead. They silently entered the room, and wordlessly removed Chloe's robe, and fastened ornate, silver-gold cuffs to her wrists and ankles, and a heavy leather blindfold around her head, then led her by each arm back the way they had come.