Come Back to Haunt Me Once Again (Copia x Michael Myers)

A Stranger in the Night

A graveyard ritual. All by himself. That's what Sister told him to do. Copia nervously placed his items to create a temporary altar. This place at night gave him the heebie-jeebies.

Sister Imperator told him that now he was Papa, he had to do Papal duties. And ever since Papa Nihil died, she's been more adamant that he does them. This one concerned a devotion ritual for Satan. Which he doesn't mind. He likes doing those. When they take place somewhere safe and skeleton-free.

Being alone here at night was affecting him. It was nearing the end of October. The hair on his arms were standing on end and he couldn't help but notice how brisk it was all of a sudden. He swallowed to alleviate the lump in his throat. What was a Satanic ritual without arousal anyhow? He had noticed long ago that he was aroused by the oddest things. Colder weather being one of them.

He finished setting his candles and lit them with a match. The shadows created were eerie. He had chosen to set up at Nihil's mausoleum. He liked to think of it as a message to the old man. Haha in your face! I'm the Papa now!

He took out his Liber Veritatum. Something he inherited from Nihil. The old man always called it his Grimoire, but Copia felt that made him sound like a witch. He would have been fine with that, had he paid attention when he was supposed to learn witchcraft. So, instead of calling it a grimoire and feeling like a liar whenever he did call it that, he decided to rename it.

The Book has passed from Papa to Papa. Telltale signs of each owner are apparent if one looked hard enough. There were crumbs from ground up ginger; Nihil often added to tea for his indigestion.  A few page corners were stained and held an aroma; whatever mixed drink Secondo happened to have spilled. Copia stopped looking as soon as he found Terzo's unique signature. He had to rip that page out and burn it. Later he realized he probably should have copied the page's information down before destroying it but hindsight is 20/20.

He started reading a passage from a dog-eared page. Summoning a conference with his Dark Lord. He stopped reading and set the Book down. He placed some items in a wooden bowl. A crystal, a feather, ashes of herbs, and a little bit of moonwater. Then he grabbed his athame and pricked a finger. Just enough for a small drop of blood to land in the mixture. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and a little bit of himself. That was the extent of his witchcraft spellwork knowledge. Sister Imperator would be enraged.

He chose a different passage from the Book and started reading again. This page was about devotion and compliance. It communicated his intentions to serve The One Below.

The rest of the ritual went rather quickly and finally he said his goodbye, closed the circle, and packed up his things into a small wooden chest. Relieved that he could finally go back inside the Ministry, Copia sped-walked his way through the gravestones.

And then he tripped. And fell. Because he forgot to bring a flashlight or keep a candle lit.

He got up, brushed his pants off, and shivered. He was just muttering something about regretting not bringing a warmer jacket when he noticed someone watching him.

There was a man standing not thirty feet from him. He was unmoving and wore a mask. In his fright, Copia's hand flew to his chest as he felt his heartbeat race. The man slowly started moving closer and panic arose in the pit of Copia's stomach. All he could hear was his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. His stomach dropped when he saw a flash of a knife. But he did not move.

The man now stood in front of him, about five feet away. His intimidating demeanor suddenly distracted as his head dipped a little lower. Something caught his eye.

Copia followed what he assumed was the man's eyeline. Right down to Copia's trousers where his fear-induced boner was very visible. Copia felt his face and ears heat up.

The stranger tilted his head to the side and came closer yet. The tip of his kife raising to Copia's chin.

He swallowed. The knife slowly traced a line down his throat. Over his button-down shirt. Over his belt and just when it got to his bulge, a woman's voice was calling out from the Ministry.

Copia jumped. The stranger froze.

It was Sister Imperator. She was calling for him. Copia looked over to where she was standing in the doorway, what seemed like miles away but was probably only half of one. When he looked back, his mysterious stranger had gone without a sound.

He nervously picked the box he had dropped back up and headed towards the Ministry. He hoped he would see this man again. The fear and arousal he experienced was a like nothing he had before.