Devil Woman

I remembered that day vividly. Emmy and I had sex for the very first time, right there in the living room.

Emmy continued, "I couldn't control myself. When you asked why I cried, I lied and said I was happy. I wasn't. I broke Sam's trust."

Sam picked up the story, "When I came back, she told me what happened. I was devastated. I wasn't broken up about my grandpa's passing as much as I was about being betrayed by somebody I loved. The two of us had agreed that our first time would be with you, together. It wasn't an agreement, it was a pact, a sacred pact. It took me a long time to forgive her for that and I guess a part of me never did. That's the part Samara used to control me."

All my life, I had loved both of these women. Emmy became my wife and Sam was the best friend/sister I never had. I loved them equally. "Why didn't you tell me this, either of you? All this time and I never knew you were hurting, Sam. How could you not know I loved you just as much as Emmy?"

"It felt like the moment was gone, it wouldn't have been the same as if the three of us had been together that first time."

"And you, Emmy? Why did you keep it a secret? I would have done everything and anything to help you make it right so you weren't hurting, too."

"Because, like Emma and Richard, I was selfish then. I didn't want you to see that part of me."

Somewhere in the haunted house, a clock struck eleven. The sounds of traffic started filling the air as cars filled the parking lot outside. Surprisingly, the room was still in pretty good shape. Silently, we finished putting the finishing touches together.

One of the organizers stopped by and he was impressed, so we left it the way it was. We collected the spare pieces we didn't use and Sam and I loaded her hatchback. Walking back into the room, Emmy was sitting and staring at the crystal ball.

"She's in there. I can see her." The cloud swirling around inside the globe continued its movement.

"She can stay in there forever, for all I care," Sam spat out. "I don't think she can get out of there on her own now."

"Well, I'm not leaving it here for somebody to figure that shit out by accident. Toss it in the bag and let's go home. We need to talk, ladies, and I'd like to do it in private." I picked up the crystal ball and its stand and dumped it into the cloth bag it originally came in.

After one last look, satisfied with the effect, we pulled the fake door shut and headed home. Emmy got down the steps without incident. Traffic was a breeze all the way home, no construction work going on, and I didn't have to stop at a single red light.

Tabitha was on the porch when we pulled up. She sat and waited until we got up the stairs and stood in front of the door. I unlocked it and she bolted inside to the living room, jumped up on the window sill and curled up, looking out the window at the birds.

While Emmy put things back in storage, we unloaded the cars and brought it inside. We sat at the kitchen table while Sam made lunch for everybody. We discussed how we were going to play characters that night for the haunted house, deciding that Sam would be the Romani fortuneteller and we would be the lovestruck couple getting our fortune told.

After cleaning up, we sat in the den so we could talk about our future for real. By three o'clock, we had figured out what we were going to do. Old grievances were settled and solemn vows were made.

Our first order of business was to design new rings for the three of us. The rest would unfold as it needed to.

***** Summer, 2023 *****

The haunted house for 2020 was canceled when eight people tested positive for COVID that afternoon. We never participated in another one.

The crystal ball was left in the bag, kept in a safe bolted to our closet floor. The last I saw of it a couple of years ago, the thing was still smoky and swirling, but as time had passed, its speed had increased. In Sam's and Emmy's dreams, Samara was trapped forever, only she knew the way to reverse it but can't communicate it to the outside world. I hoped they were right. I occasionally still felt Richard, he helped me avoid things I wouldn't have seen coming otherwise.

We've tried to make sense of what happened. The closest we were able to come was that the bond between the three of us was stronger than Samara's hatred for Richard and Emma. While Richard and Emma could voluntarily surrender control, Samara had been so distracted by her hatred that Sam had been able to act when she needed to. For every previous encounter, the vessels for Richard and Emma didn't know the vessel for Samara, they had been complete strangers before their only meeting.

For the first time in 700 or so years, all three of us grew up, lived and loved together. I didn't know if it was fate, karma, or what but I liked to think that Richard and Emma had learned their lesson from their betrayal and whatever power that decides things like that had determined that they had suffered enough.

Sam continued to blame herself for allowing Samara to control her. I never thought she really had a choice in that, it was going to happen and what mattered was what we did to fight it. I thought we were fortunate that it was her. Her strength of will and her ability to love despite her pain is what allowed her and us to survive that night and morning. Her guilt eased over time, but there were occasions where I could still see the pain and guilt in her eyes. During those times, Emmy and I loved her harder.

Sam moved in with us shortly after that Halloween. The rings were designed and made, mine hasn't left my left ring finger since the day we slipped them on. I've never tried to take it off, never felt the need to. If somebody wants it, they'll have to pry it off my cold, dead finger.

We're aware the next All Hallow's Eve full moon is in 2039. We'll be 65 then. We've already started getting our affairs in order. Just in case.

If you ever come across a strange, beautiful, tall, dark haired lady with an old, smoky looking crystal ball on a silver base, walk away. Trust me, you'll live to never regret it.

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Don't forget to check out the other stories in the Karaoke Challenge and Halloween 2023 contest, there are some really great writers participating in each!

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