Page 113 of Phobia

“And you fucked me anyway.”

“You’re standing in my fucking living room naked, Elle. What the fuck was I supposed to do? You knew what you were doing. This…” I gestured to the bed. “This doesn’t change anything. I’ll see you downstairs.” I turned and left the room without a word.

A few minutes later, Elle came downstairs, for the second time that day and I could tell she’d been crying. “Elle.”

“Fuck you, Silas.”

“I said I didn’t want to hurt you and you came back anyway.”

“Don’t worry. I hear you loud and clear. I won’t be back.” She turned and left…again. I let out a deep sigh and sat at my dining room table, ran a hand through my hair, and wondered what the fuck happened to me.

Chapter 3

CRESSIDA

The call I had with Silas earlier in the day was interesting. He’s different. Other than his agoraphobia, I’m certain there’s something else. I can’t quite figure it out, but I will. He wears celestite. He claims it’s for the spirits in his house. I don’t doubt that, but I know there’s more.

I got up and went to my kitchen to make myself some dandelion tea. Pulling my jars of loose-leaf teas from the cupboards above the teapot, the realization hit me. He’s afraid of the full moon. The only creature I know of that’s afraid of the full moon is a werewolf. I set my jar of tea leaves down and spun around, leaning against the counter. I thought,could he really be a... werewolf?The therapist in me wondered if he was just suffering from lycanthropy, but he didn’t seem delusional. I wanted to help him, but I needed him to open up and let me in. I know I can, but he needs to come to me. If he called me, I’d go to him.

I quickly moved to my dining room where my hutch held all of my candles, incense, grimoire, a small cauldron, and crystals among other things needed for the craft. My thought was to do a small suggestion spell. Something to urge him toward me without being too invasive. I know you aren’t technically supposed to interfere with someone’s free will but I don’t think I was doing that. I just wanted him to know I’m a friend. I was sure there would be no harm in that.

I’ve been practicing magic since I was a young girl. My mother was one of the most powerful witches in our Coven. I’ve been able to research our family line as far back as 1680 A.D. in the city of Cartagena in Columbia. I had always hoped to go there someday and feel the connection. My mother would often tell me stories about the lobos or werewolves in Cartagena and warned me to keep my eyes and ears open for them any time I was near a forest or wooded area. She said, “Cressida, they could be anywhere, even in little Furgón.”

I glanced down at my Grimoire, flipping through the pages for the right spell to encourage communication with Silas. Laying down a small rug on the floor, I set out the red candle I had picked from my hutch and surrounded it with crystals. I kneeled on a pillow in front of the candle and laid my spell book open. Once the candle was lit, I began reciting the spells from the two pages I had opened.

I ran my fingers over the words as I chanted them in Latin.“Ignibus et cineribus, mens obvia nostra, ferte Ad me placida vota mea.”Fire and Ash, my mind meets his, bring him to me my peaceful wish.

I repeated the first spell three times over before moving on to the final spell on the page.

“Me sentire. Mihi crede. Mane mecum, Sila. Mane mecum et amabo te insanum. Ego libenter te…”Feel me. Trust me. Stay with me, Silas. Stay with me and I will love you madly. I will soothe you...

Shaking my head, my eyes closed tight before opening again. Something wasn’t right. I wondered why my Grimoire had his name in it. The pages began to blur. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t the spell I was supposed to be saying. It wasn’t right. Suddenly I didn’t have control over my own body. I watched the flame on the red candle grow higher.

Tossing my head back, a slight tug on my hair made my scalp tingle. Goosebumps scattered my arms. I didn’t even recognize my own voice.

“Me sentire.”Feel me.I felt a familiar feeling in my core and let out a moan.“Mane mecum, Sila.”Stay with me, Silas.I could feel him. How was I feeling him? I felt pushed forward to my hands and knees, my hair pulled back one minute and then suddenly, fell around my shoulders. It felt like a man was deep within me. The feeling of his thrusts in and out and back in again so deep I cried out with pleasure.“Mihi crede, Sila.”Trust me.I moaned again, ready about to come.

Suddenly, I heard his voice. “But I’ll make you unhinged. Fuck.”

The lights in my house flickered as I cried out, feeling him push deeper inside me, gripping my hips. I came hard, falling on the floor, a writhing sweaty mess. The candle went out, along with the power in my house, leaving me to wonder what the hell had just happened. When I tried to get up, I collapsed back down on the floor and everything went black.

Chapter 4

SILAS

October 26

I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the other day and what happened to me while I was fucking Elle. I was sure I was with Cressida... somehow. I didn’t have an explanation for it, but I knew it in my bones.

I paced back and forth from my living room to my kitchen trying to decide what to do, unsure whether I should call Cressida or not. There was something about her and something was telling me only she could help. The feeling was gnawing at me. I went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water because I was starting to sweat at the thought of calling her. We were five days away from the full moon and I was already feeling on edge, dreading another full moon transition and the spirits of the house.

I had spent a great deal of time trying to find the names of everyone who owned this cabin before me, but there was nothing that said anything about anyone dying here. I didn’t know who the spirits were, or why they were so consumed with tormenting me. They mostly came as whispers that made me feel like I was crazy. Sometimes it felt like my dreams were being invaded by them. I would have nightmares of a man, a woman, and a child but I could never see their faces. They were always either yelling or whispering something that I couldn’t make out. It was the worst on the night of the Full Moon. Mostly because I couldn’t figure out what they wanted. Any other day, I would occasionally hear footsteps or a door opening or closing. That was weird but didn’t totally freak me out. The full moons though, were another story. Their yelling and whispering only increased the torture of my transformations.

I decided I would just call her. After looking at my phone for one last moment of hesitation, I dialed her number. It rang and rang without a pickup. I let it ring four more times before I hung up, disappointed. Setting my phone down on the coffee table, I walked back to the kitchen. That’s when I heard it ring. I ran back to the living room and jumped over the couch to grab it before I missed the call. “Hello!”

“Silas. It’s Cressida. Are you ok? You sound out of breath.”

I cleared my throat and breathed in through my nose, letting it out slow to try and calm myself down. “Uh, yeah. No, I’m fine. Sorry. Can you hang on one second?”