The dawn of Halloween morning was as bright as any other, especially deep into the city where light would bounce off the buildings and skyscrapers the closer one would get to downtown. Such light kept many shadows from thriving before the evening festivities, the witching hour, or many darkened delights associated with the holiday. One such darkness that managed to thrive even in the light of day followed a jogger named Janet Breakman who made her way through the city early in the morning. In her mid-to-late thirties, Janet's body remained athletic all the way from her long, track history from academia to present, strong limbs filling out the black running leggings and tank top she wore, ending her five mile run with nearly the same ease she maintained daily. It was only nearly as part of her was afraid to slow down and end the run, stopping at a building to catch her breath and swallow the last of the bottled water attached to her side.

Leaning against the brick of where she stopped, deep breaths from strong lungs brought her back to normal breathing pattern, one of the few times a day where she could fully control herself. Moments after it returned to normal though, her sense of control felt compromised as she felt...something nearby, something like a presence. A cautious, acutely-aware woman, Janet casually glanced to each side, looking at pedestrians and passerbys at several distances walking towards or away from her, but none of them looking remotely-threatening enough to make her feel an...approximated sense of dread. She side-stepped a foot or two to pretend to look through the glass of the building she'd stopped at, more concerned about the reflection of anyone behind her; peering at the reflective surface, all she saw was people walking across the street to the left or right to their morning jobs or destinations.

Janet had to laugh at herself, head leaning down, willing to accept the dread as a figment of her imagination. A deep breath stopped again as she felt her brown ponytail being stroked, and someone taking in her scent from behind with a creepy glee. She only resumed her deep breath as she caught a whiff of something. Looking up to see the glass, a reflection of something her height, a dark reflection spindly and creepily-shaped made her gasp, and eyes widen to focus on something that used to be fuzzy to her senses, but came briefly clear to her eyes before disappearing. She turned around to face nothing, and tried for several minutes after to convince herself that it was nothing, the only evidence of its existence remaining as a cold shiver running down hear spine, lingering before it went away or turned into something else.

It was a nothing plaguing her for at least a week, a nothing that could make her flip out on a busy city street when she resolved to be as respectable as she could at all times given her pedigree and occupation.

The aroma in the air gave her cover as she finally caught on to the building she stood next to - Summer Jewel Cafe. The scent was the intoxicating smells of coffees, teas, and seasonal delights. Chuckling to herself, she walked into the building she made daily stops at, happy to see the proprietor, August Jade, wave at her as she stood behind the counter.

"Good morning, August," Janet greeted gleefully, genuinely happy to see the barista.

"Good morning to you, Janet, and a Happy belated Halloween to you as well," she received back, accepting it with a half-smile. "Would you like your usual?"

"Please," the runner shook her head, her senses already preparing for that intoxicating brew that meant more to her than most, for reasons good and troubling.

August stood behind the counter and prepared two pumpkin spice latte's, one of the hottest fall items of her cafe, handing one to Janet while blowing on hers ready to sip. "To legacies and experiences," August rose her cup to toast Janet, who rose hers in mild amusement.

"To admitting to family trivia," Janet replied.

"And what an admission it was. It's not everyday a cafe owner has a marketing executive of Java Joint walk into her establishment and one day admit to her that her marketing exec family was the original pioneers of the pumpkin spice marketing hype that's everywhere now," August said, finally sipping on her tolerably-hot drink, enjoying the flavor.

"It's as unique as your admission of hating pumpkin spice when you establishment sells it in swarming droves, and especially how I see you enjoying a cup every time I'm here."

"And you won't tell my clientele that as long as I don't tell your bosses how you're frequenting the spoils of 'enemy territory,'" August joked, as both women gently laughed at the optics of a Java Joint exec being a regular at a smaller establishment who's evaded every attempt to acquire her extremely-successful business. It was something that used to bother Janet at one point, but she'd mellowed out on caring how it looked, and more began to enjoy not only the recipes that made August so popular, but the woman as well. There was something about August Jade so impressive, a beauty or allure that exceed what you'd expect of a hard-working barista and cafe owner, smiling in a way that infected the mood of anyone who walked into her establishment. The world often looked brighter from within Summer Jewel as if August willed it.

"'Enemy territory' feels like everywhere else now," Janet assumed she merely thought, until concern flashing on August's face told her she'd said it out loud.

"That entity still troubling you," August asked in earnest. Janet wanted to bow her head, look in another direction, run an extra mile away from Summer Jewel, anything to avoid the embarrassment of admitting what she did, but looking at August's beautiful face made her feel exposed in a safe way, pried open with grace and charm, allowed to express herself in a safety very unlike the rest of her life where she had to guard feelings to protect her position.

"It's...nothing, really."

"We both know that's not true, Janet. You shouldn't keep this stuff bottled up, especially with someone who's willing to listen, judgment-free."

"And you should be up-charging the cost of this latte about five hundred percent to cover the therapy experience I should be paying you for."

"As nice as it would be for bartenders and baristas to become the new class of millionaires, believe me when I say we're happy when you're happy. Or more to the point, we're happy when our liquid refreshments have made you happy," August admitted with a smile, and something more to the smile that Janet found as intoxicating as the latte itself. It helped put Janet more at ease, sitting at the counter and leaning a little closer in August's direction with a relaxed posture.

"So, tell me about this entity and how crazy it's been making your week."

The way August spoke about it felt closer to a command than any way she'd spoken before; perhaps more a friendly request in a sense, but the authority was there. And unlike every executive instinct she had in her, she sipped the last of her drink and gave into it like an eager subordinate.

"It's....it's like one of those cheesy scarecrow things, like a thin body made of twigs and leaves, with a pumpkin head and evil smile," Janet admitted, partly still downplaying the truer horror of the entity.

"Cute," August managed to say in a way that didn't sound condescending. "Have you named it or does it call itself anything?"

"Curcurbita Lasciva," Janet replied automatically with a sigh.

"Sounds ancient."

"If you believe my ramblings, and if I believe what was told to me, it actually is."

"Something ancient has been getting at you only this week?"

"Maybe longer. A lot of pumpkin spice exposure has been building up to it. Tastings, meetings about it with other marketers and chemists, brainstorming, it's a real thing about this time of year."

"And when did...Curcurbita Lasciva come into play," August tried to say the name without laughing, failing. She moved to get a latte refill to her friend as she continued her accounting.

"It was a little over a week ago in my office, when I was working late, trying to brainstorm some kind of fall mascot for Java Joint, something we could use to help sales."

"Wait, and you came up with Curcurbita Lasciva?"

"I really don't know. It was like I came up with her, or she came up with me, or to me. But either way, it's like we found each other..."

***

Reclining all the way back in her office chair, Janet leaned back to stare at the ceiling, the posture responsible for some of her most marketable ideas. Coming up with a winning, seasonal logo or mascot was always like a race with her professional peers, trying to get to the finish line with the most well-constructed performance vehicle fueled solely by public approval.

For selling something like pumpkin spice, while she'd had good ideas that embraced the changing of the season motif moreso, for some reason, this year, she was leaning more into a Halloween. There were obvious drawbacks as pumpkin spice appeal lasted well beyond a single day in October, but she couldn't shake the prospect. And the more she thought about it, the more she felt like her mind was on the verge of something good to use.

Breathing deep, a strong of whiff of pumpkin spice from the cup her assistant brought to her before departing for the day caught Janet's attention. She let the scent warm her, and slip into a brainstorming mode that was almost meditative, opening her imagination to the possibilities.

Taking a long sip of it, she groaned at the deliciousness, and let the taste transport her. Closing her eyes under her next deep breath, it was as if her imagination gripped her consciousness pulling her to dreamy images of a period resembling colonial times. The clothing matched, but the POV she was given had her walking around a neighborhood with small domiciles and pumpkins strewn about. Every pumpkin had a strange, strangely-magnetic evil grin to it. What's more every time the POV got close to someone, the faces were full of fright, men and women holding themselves, almost pawing at their own bodies. And though too low to hear, they were all whispering the same thing:

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

Janet watched the imaginative account unfold, raptly following it as if it was better-than-average horror novel. She smiled to herself with her eyes closed, knowing what she was shown was fertile enough with details she could use to her advantage. The dreamy POV itself stopped dead in its tracks, making Janet realize some actual presence was showing her all of these things. Changing course, the perspective took her deep into the unlit woods, walking through a maze of dark pillars that were probably trees, the only light shining down from the starry night sky.

The walk eventually ended at the edge of a lake the POV finally reached. The beautiful evening was reflected in the water, before the perspective slowly panned down, teasing whom was supposed to show be her guide. And in a sudden jolt, the figure revealed itself with fire light reflected in the waters, showing her the evil pumpkin face, animated with a wild look, bringing Janet face-to-face with her spiritual reflection."

She heard a part of her scream, either somewhere in her own mind, or somewhere in her office. Afraid of drawing attention in reality, Janet opened her eyes to wake herself, and found the same animated evil face-to-face, staring down at her as she sat in her chair. An unbridled scream filled the space, surprisingly not breaking glass surfaces or windows as she fell back, falling on the carpeted floor with a hard thud.

The moment she landed on the floor, the scarily-live image disappeared like it was never there.

Sweat ran down the exec's face, more scared than she'd ever been in the past. Slowly peering above her desk, and checking every corner from where she fell, panicked eyes made sure she was alone in the room. Taking a few moments, she let her breathing slow down before rushing back to her seat, smoothing out her garb and ensuring not even a strand of hair was out of place, checking herself in a mirror from her purse.

Blood was still pumping hard through her veins, heat burning through the cold sensation running through her torso, The sound of rushing blood was enough that her own thoughts were louder than the vacuuming from the cleaning crew going on nearby. It was enough that a whisper at one ear of "Curcurbita Lasciva," was heard but could be purposefully ignored or confused with some other noise. Convincing herself of it all being a bad dream, Janet decided to call it a night and continue her brainstorming the next day, still convincing herself there weren't eyes from somewhere watching her.

***

"Wow, that's a hell of an introduction, if that's what that was. Probably emphasis on hell," August seemed impressed with the story, lacking any ounce of disbelief in it. It put Janet at ease and allowed her to let some frustrated emotions through.

"Exactly! This damn thing, whatever it is, loves to put on a show whenever they're trying to get at me."

"You mean like marketing scares to the marketer?"

A comment not meant to be a joke hung in the air for several minutes before two stern-looking faces broke down in momentary laughter.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to make a joke of it like that," August stopped laughing to speak again.

"It's okay. I guess it's fitting a demon would add some showmanship or flare to haunting a marketer privy to most emotional manipulation tactics."

"Well, before you use those tactics to leave me deprived and in suspense, when's the next time your pumpkin demon made an appearance?"

***

Being a hands-on executive for Java Joint, Janet liked to spot check a lot of her work out in the field. Rather than leaving it to numeric figures or the opinion of an assistant's take on the marketing displays, she made in-person visits part of her responsibilities, something that put her over her peers and made a lot of difference in the results she yielded.

Visiting one of her locations on the other side of downtown, Janet walked in casually dressed in jeans, sweater, scarf and cap, looking like any other typical fall Java Joint customer. She ordered a pumpkin spice latte and sat with it at an unoccupied table. In-between the morning and lunch crowds, traffic in the location was light, just enough to get a good look at how this location put itself together. Letting store managers choose decorate seasonally helped with the public image, to keep hipsters from complaining about looking too "corporate overlord."

Sipping on her drink, she enjoyed the taste and scent of their hottest item, more so the latter than the former as she'd yet to find a better-tasting pumpkin spice drink than from Summer Jewel Cafe. But the scent of pumpkin spice reached her nostrils, filling the recollection corners of her brain with triggers that helped bring excitable emotions of all kinds to the forefront. She closed her eyes and took another long sip, letting it linger on her tongue for a few minutes before opening her eyes again. Looking towards a collection of pumpkins near a window with various expressions carved out, she found herself staring at one with a particularly-sinister look, the only one staring straight at her.

Staring back at it wasn't at all difficult as she noted how much more detailed the sinister face was compared to the others. Every other pumpkin could've been an elementary school art class project compared to sinister, how the eyes were cut out at angles to give a sharper, more animated look, the same with a nose to resemble a skull moreso than just a painted nose. And the mouth gave the incredible illusion of being lined with rows of dangerously-sharp teeth. Janet paid so much attention to the sharpness of the teeth that it took her longer than it should have to realize the teeth were literally animated, and the mouth was moving.

Rapid blinks couldn't reset reality back to a logical state as the mouth still moved, and the eyes grew with mischief. Looking around, unfortunately no one else seemed to notice the bodiless pumpkin making evil faces at her, not even the employee making small alterations to the decorations nearby; the ditz seemed to be paying attention to everything but the living pumpkin, making Janet want to scream; all the exec managed was a scoff as the sinister face smiled at her in a way that said "this is all just for you, to drive you crazy."

It hadn't occurred to her that she had the ability to get up and walk away, her spot check basically finished, and her eyes followed the lipless mouth move enough to communicate something silently to her. She wasn't a good lip reader, but Janet could at least tell that it was saying the same thing over and over; haunted memories gave her an idea of exactly what it was saying. During one repetition, an orange mist emerged from its mouth and floated up to the employee who finally noticed something awry. But instead of panicking like Janet, she stood still for a few moments, inhaling every last particle in her empty head, and sighing a sigh that one could call "delicious".

Unable to take her eyes away from that face, the surrounding vision told her the employee was bespelled, enough to pick-up the pumpkin head and walk with it, stopping just short of where Janet sat. A single bead of sweat ran down her face, body paralyzed with fear. As the employee lifted the pumpkin up to her head, she forced herself not to follow it, to not look upon what else could happen. She closed her eyes, and hoped to hear someone scream to let her know the wasn't crazy. Only one sound followed that moment, the last Janet wanted to hear.

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

A shiver of fear ran down her spine quickly as she gasped at the name. Her eyes opened reactively to see the pumpkin head resting on the employee's body like a helmet, a mask of possession, giving Curcurbita Lasciva a form that made it hard to ignore. As little as Janet thought of the wearer, she certainly admired the woman's body, even though the pumpkin head should've been an automatic turn-off. Just a glimpse painted her perception before shutting her eyes again, sealing them shut with what little control she had left.

"Open your eyes, Janet," that malicious, raspy, disembodied voice crooned to her. "You know there's no hiding from me."

Janet refused to comply, even refusing to speak to acknowledge what only she was being shown.

"Do it!" came a harsher command, followed by a whiff the mist that took the employee. Janet inhaled a potent, unfiltered, raw pumpkin spice scent, think enough to clog thinking once it lingered in her lungs and head. Eyes opened not of her own volition, and standing above her was the employee's body transformed into an unclothed, spindly wooden horror fitting for a pumpkin-headed figure.

"Do you like what you see?"

The question rocked her body as it was accompanied by more pumpkin spice breath, and it wordlessly answered affirmatively as it moaned when it wanted to scream in terror. She breathed it in, and her body began trying to reconcile with the fear and inexplicable arousal.

Janet somehow managed to redouble her efforts to close her eyes, and all she did was sit there, gather her breath, and wait for something else to happen. If nothing would, she'd simply rush out of the cafe to any other place that could feel safe.

"Excuse me, miss?"

It was a few moments before the employee's normal-sounding voice shook her back to being awake. Janet looked up at the woman holding a pumpkin that didn't look nearly as evil as what she...what she thought she saw.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to call you out, but I know you're my boss's boss, and wanted your opinion on pumpkin placement. Do you think this cute one should still be inside, or maybe outside greeting customers? I think my boss expects me to make an executive decision about it, but since an exec is here, I hope you don't mind me asking you about it."

A calmer Janet would've had to force back a sneer at being called out, followed by a lecture of how any ambitious woman in business should be following her gut and not trusting others if she wanted to get anywhere far in business, not that Janet thought that such a future was in the cards for someone like her.

Petrified Janet on the other hand just shook her head lightly. "Outside," she glanced at the face she expected another malicious grin from, but it remained what it was, it or her imagination taunting her sanity.

"Thanks, Miss. I thought so too," Janet heard as she quickly, ungracefully moved out of the cafe to get back to her car to scream and hope the windows would survive.

***

"Holy shit," August commented, handing Janet a refill.

"I know...fuck," Janet wanted to drop her head down onto the counter, willing to chastising herself for just having such a vivid, disgusting memory.

"Yeah, really," August shook her head, eyebrows raised slightly in amusement.

"Really what?" Janet caught the look, feeling there was more to it.

"I mean...what a way to be found out while playing undercover boss. I'm glad that really was all in your head; you could've been the crazy hallucinating executive instead of the crazy hallucinating random customer."

"And what else?" Janet pressed on, sensing August was holding more back.

August thought about deflecting more, but sighed as she drank her own refilled coffee.

"I assume we're friends now, Janet?"

"Of course we are," Janet spoke surprised at the question.

"Friends listen without reservation and judging," August emphasized, as if stalling.

"Just good ones. Can't take all this to anyone else. Especially not a shrink who'd fill me to the gills with anti-psychotics."

"Friends enough that we can reveal some tough love or harsh observations?"

"...that depends on what you're getting at. But get at it still, friend."

Janet's face communicated that it wasn't at all a request, and August relented.

"Alright, I hope we're still friends after this, but Janet...do you have a fear fetish?"

"A fear WHAT?" Janet almost let out boisterously.

"A fear fetish," August continued calmly, unafraid of a possible outburst. "Getting aroused by being afraid of something. Maybe this Curcurbita Lasciva is-"

"You think I'm making her up to get off?"

"I didn't say that. I do believe she's real given your accounts, but I've also been watching your reaction to talking about them, little things that might give away something you've been hiding, even from yourself. Like that cold shiver you described."

"What about that shiver?"

"Someone I know talks about a cold shiver, and tells me where it goes once it passes the spine."

"It's NOT arousal, trust me. The last time she, or it showed up sealed that."

"When was that?"

"Halloween night."

***

Halloween was always one of Janet's least favorite holidays, never loving anything scary or having siblings or friends to entertain the idea of trick-or-treating. The only reason she'd attend a company family gathering at a Halloween event was to look personable to her peers, and promotable to the senior and vice executives.

Unwilling to look as silly as the others or their kids, Janet chose the look of the century-old robber baron, complete with cane and top hat. She got a lot of positive compliments about using the cane to break glass ceilings with at least. Everything was going smoothly until the Java Joint president ushered everyone towards the haunted house, suggesting everyone do a "conga line" through it. Janet wanted to continue to be a good sport about the event, especially to the president, but looking at the giant, evil pumpkin head placed atop the building they'd have to enter gave her immense pause.

"Alright, who's ready to go in?" They grey-haired owner asked the crowd, and some kids went ahead, dragging their parents along. Some adults stepped forward out of genuine interest. Ambition broke through Janet's fear as she was one of the few to step up as one of the first waves.

Deep, measured breaths prepared her for stepping into the darkened, tackily-designed haunted house. Stepping in with a few co-workers, she smiled at their conversation instead of participating, wishing she would've liked the people she walked with more. The light banter was drowned out mostly by the sounds of crashing thunder, evil laughter, faint screams, and various, typical Halloween sounds.

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

Janet stopped dead in her tracks as she heard the familiar call in-between fake lightning strikes. She looked around her space reflexively, scared at how many perfect places there were for the haunting demon to hide. She slipped around a corner, checking to make sure it was vacant before gripping her fist hard, forcing herself to power through the idiotic tour instead of backtracking and looking weird. Coming back around to the main hall, she found herself alone; the old group must've gone on and the new one had yet to follow.

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

Shaking her head, setting her outward senses to "ignore," she moved on as if the sound didn't affect her.

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

She tried imitating walking like a cartoonish baron would, puffed up chest, stiff upper lip, walking around like she owned the place, and would pay to have it bulldozed the moment she walked out of it.

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

Humming to helped to drown the sound out, no matter how insistent, how angered it began to get.

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

Walking through a narrow corridor past the library, she could only hope that she was nearing the end, when her effort avoid hearing everything left her vulnerable to a large, monstrous plaster mouth to reach out and grab her waist through the walls. Janet's yelp turned into a good scream before she realized it was a prop that got to her.

"Curcurbita Lasciva," the voice spoke in laughter.

"Fuck you," she spoke back.

"If you insist," Janet heard, as something laying atop the plaster monster started to move, showing itself to be black, branching arms reaching around her body, pulling her into darkness before she could scream a long, blood-curdling one.

***

"I...I kinda hate how this would make for a great horror movie or anthology, or something."

"I'd never watch it. I've already lived it, without that kind of excitement thank you," Janet replied, satisfied that she was proving her point. She looked at August who stared back at her in disbelief for long seconds.

"What?"

"...so you haven't noticed the slow smile creeping up on your face the more you describe some of these details?"

***

Light gently came back to Janet through soft slits of opening eyes. The hazy surroundings looked so much like her bedroom that she thought she'd dreamt it all, until focus revealed the drab grey background was still the haunted house and not her apartment.

She looked down to see she was still fully dressed in her robber baron suit, fully dressed. The bed she laid in looked like it belonged for the setting, decorated in cobwebs. Fear gently filled her eyes as she found wrists and ankles tied up at the four bedposts, wrapped up in dark branches curled around her skin in an unnatural way. It took her too long to notice the restraints were coming from the pumpkin head demon standing over her, over the bed, a smug look over its orange face for the first time.

"I don't suppose screaming would do any good, would it?" Laying her head back against the bare mattress, she watched the pumpkin shake its head back and forth.

"In that case, stop fucking around and do whatever you're going to do. I just can't care anymore, just stop wasting my time. Or at least tell me why fucking me?"

"Why fucking you?" The disembodied, harsh voice replied back as if surprised. "You haven't figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out?"

The large pumpkin bend down to be face-to-face with Janet, the candlelight-orange inside of it looking like a bigger fire than it really was. The longer she stared at it, the larger it grew, until it wasn't a simple candle - it was a large bonfire, with people dancing around it.

"As I've given you too much credit up to this point," Curcurbita Lasciva took a jab at her ego as it began to narrate an explanation. "Some of those faces dancing around the fire and pumpkins should look familiar to you...they helped create what you are now."

"Like my ancestors?" Janet asked from some distant background.

"Yes, ditz, like your ancestors. The ones who worshipped me, praised me, and summoned me without good cause."

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

"Curcurbita Lasciva."

The voices chanted over and over again as the activity on display made sense - they were invoking a seasonal spirit. And given how upset the response to it was, Janet had to guess her ancestor and her friends were dealing in pagan magic just for the hell of it. And as Curcurbita Lasciva showed up, and they thought their prayers and demands would be answered, hell is what was brought to them instead. Hell as in hallucinations, crazed notions that wouldn't leave their heads, and most of all, a deeply-planted inclination gorge themselves of the thing at the root of their hell - pumpkins.

Janet watched as the woman that resembled her became a pumpkin addict, wanting it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner well after that fateful night, and even taking a keen liking to the smell of pumpkin, a stronger opiate than nicotine to her body chemistry.

"See how helpless she is?"

"I do. And just so I have this clear, you are haunting me because of some stupid generational curse?" Janet sounded mad enough to want to haunt the demon in some hellish fashion, making the entity laugh.

"I've only revisited the families of those pagan women very occasionally. I ruined enough of their lives for bothering me with their petty interests, and their children in you have suffered small, petty disturbances whenever it suits me, nothing like what you have gotten."

"What the hell makes me so special as to rate any of this?"

"Texts on my existence talk about my abilities and how to get in-contact with me. None of them mention how I am a being that prefers solitude and peace, particularly in your fall months, the time when I am most bothered. They celebrate me indirectly through pumpkins, which bothers me very little. But the concept of pumpkin spice, popularized by your grandmother, that was a line your family chose to cross, to your detriment."

The flashback went away, and Janet was left in the bed, trying to process the grievance of the demon, and coming up with absurd laughter.

"You're haunting me because of pumpkin spice, something grandma made up?"

"And the legacy you carry on, that insults my existence in a way you can't even comprehend."

It took effort to keep her laughter from rise to cackling. "And so...what? You want me to make pumpkin spice unpopular?"

"Heralds like you couldn't do that even if you wanted to, could they? You cannot unring the bell, as you people say."

Janet could only nod in capitulation.

"You got me there; it's...no, you're too popular to stop. I'm sorry to have pissed off a recluse spirit, but maybe you should've warned grandma before coming after me."

"The popularity grew to intolerance after her death, and you are young and follow in her footsteps. Who better else to pay for the transgression?"

"Well....like I said, if you're going to kill me or whatever, stop wasting my fucking time."

"Kill you? Oh no...you're fate will be much livelier than that."

Curcurbita Lasciva unfurled its bindings from Janet's joints at the same time filling the room with the orange mist she recognized from before. Quickly remembering what it was, she held her breath, and made a dash for the bedroom door which was locked.

"Awww, no need for that, ancestral disciple. You remember how good you felt with the essence of Curcurbita Lasciva in you. Just let it be in you, let it make you whom you truly are...a slave to the pumpkin spice."

Banging against the door went unheard as she tried over and over to twist the door knob to free her. She turned to see Curcurbita Lasciva just standing at the other end, simply waiting for the known effect to take hold.

"Give in, toy. Let your harrowing haunting be a blissful blessing. Breathe and let your pitiful denial of desire fall away on this hallowed night. Let the Halloween be the only one worth remembering. Remember your transgression, and how you will make amends. Remember the power I hold over you and the likes of you. Remember that unforgettable scent..."

Gasps betrayed all her efforts short of throwing herself out the window at the other end of the room, but it meant crossing deeper into the hazy orange fog Janet didn't realize she was already taking a step towards. It only occurred to her that she was going forward after a few more steps, when the sight of Curcurbita Lasciva grew bigger. Janet backed herself into the door as the imposing figure grew big anyway, closing the distance to stare down at her. Trying to turn her head to look away, sharp, slightly scratching fingers gripped her chin, bringing her back to stare directly at the demon.

A loud audible gasp let some of the aroma in through her nostrils, and her eyes widened as she knew that was the beginning of the end.

"You've been more steadfast than those in your bloodline; you can certainly be commended for that. But that breath you didn't mean to take in, you cannot tell me that you regret it now."

The malicious grin inched closer and closer to her face, widening as it saw the face filled with a mixture of fear and the opposite the scared woman deep inside would never admit. But Curcurbita Lasciva could see inside Janet, could sense that fear, watching travel as a freezing sensation running from the brain down all the way to the base of the spine, moving in places supposed to be kept in private, in the darkness where the entity loved roaming and looming over.

Janet held out for another minute before almost losing consciousness, coughing and intaking air to survive. And with survival came passion as the demonic look of her captor grew oddly appealing. There was little anatomically correct to notice, but that mattered little with every breath. The rows of sharp teeth threatened to grind against each other and cut something as close as they got, but that seemed less and less of a bad thing as she began breathing normally. For all intended purposes, this was a cursed Halloween with the silent malignant promise of Curcurbita Lasciva in the process of being fulfilled, but to her pumpkin spice-addled brain, it was all the beginning of a happy ending.

Moments later, Janet was the one to close the distance, pulling the taller figure close, pressing her lips to a mouth favoring sharp teeth over lips. Self-preservation in any form had been bound and gagged as she let herself deeply kiss the enthusiastic spirit, uncaring if the liquid running down her mouth was blood or saliva. As Curcurbita Lasciva pulled back to look at Janet again, her breath caught as she didn't see any trace of bleeding on the orange mouth, but moreso that she'd caught on to the fact that she'd kissed an unattractive monster. The cold shiver made an appearance again, rushing down her back until it warmed and traveled elsewhere to pool in a place where all the other shivers had resided. Her face twisted into slight horror that the monster turned her on; pumpkin spice breath was the catalyst for Janet to pull them back into another embrace. Amazingly, the rows of sharp-looking teeth felt softer, more organic, even like regular teeth. And Curcurbita's saliva and tongue tasted like the breath smelled - addictive; Curcurbita laughed gently at Janet sucking the pumpkin tongue. Curcurbita broke the kiss just to cause another gasp and shiver, reveling in the decadent disgust that made Janet thrust herself so forward both ended up on the bed. Curcurbita had to pull Janet away as she was on the verge of biting her new lover, just like her ancestor would have.

"If you really want to eat me..." The raspy voice translated as appealing as a world-class phone sex call girl, the shiver now became a sign of primal need. All of it pushed a wide-eyed Janet to moved down Curcurbita's body, to find a place where the scent grew stronger, where more stimulation bred distilled juices for her to lose more of her mind to...

***

"And the more Janet found herself pleasuring Curcurbita Lasciva, the more she found herself reaching back to a past it had, before it was demonic, a before where it resembled a young girl with an enchanting spirit, and an even more enchanting voice."

August spoke and continued to narrate Janet's cursed accounts with Curcurbita Lasciva in real-time, working off an outline pre-implanted into Janet, and any inspiration she could think of to make her story horrifically-believable. Mirth filled the barista's body and face at making the exec believe she was talking the whole time, when she was simply enjoying more and more of Summer Jewel's special blend of pumpkin spice designed for this special customer.

"And that voice and experience traveled into a night of accursed, carnal pleasure, something that would frighten and liquefy the space between her legs, the space Curcurbita Lasciva occupied. And as Janet knew Halloween was over, she gasped once more at the truths that survived the night - the fear and curse of the demon wasn't just a Halloween event, it would last as long as pumpkin spice filled the air of the season. Through the fall, through the winter, every encounter with the aroma brought the spirit of Curcurbita Lasciva back to her, an inescapable sex prison where Janet was both prisoner and guard, and where Curcurbita's true voice was Janet's mental warden."

The sultry narrator watched Janet sip on her fifth cup and considered sending her to the bathroom to relieve herself considering her intake; it would be an easy ask as August had thoroughly-programmed Janet to be in a waking trance whenever and however long she stayed in Summer Jewel, appearing to be totally normal and a happier version of her normal self, but totally suggestible to the owner, to Janet's owner.

"And as Janet wakes up from this recollection where she has to admit she has a fear fetish, she's going to excuse herself to the bathroom to relieve herself. But as she passes by a room labeled 'Employees Only,' she'll feel the random urge to slip inside and starting pleasuring herself, thinking about the curse, hoping and waiting that her demon dominatrix will show up and command pleasure for them both, and be so excited when she hears the voice of August Jade..."

Sometime later, after Janet lost herself in the recollection, she looked at August who smiled back, almost happy that her friend had gotten all of that off her chest.

"Fine, I may have a....a fear fetish."

"Hey, I'm happy for you. I certainly won't kink-shame, and at least you don't have to be afraid about actually being afraid...quite the opposite."

"Heh, whatever, need to go to the bathroom. Oh, and before forget..." Janet walked back to the counter, pulling out a packet of paper. "Here's my monthly customer loyalty payment."

"Thanks, Janet. Customers like you really make this business worth having," she smiled at the exec walking away, filled with suggestions that would make August excuse herself for a quickie.

"And what kind of customer am I, August?"

August's head whipped around, scared for the first time after a hypnotic story about fear, to see Dazzling Lady sitting close by, dressed in a leather jacket and jeans reveling in the hypnotic experience she got to silently eavesdrop on. Next to her was an unrecognizable woman, possibly part of her harem, but something about her looked "freshly-hypnotized."

"You're under the customer loyalty program designated ninja," August sighed, smiling back.

"I wish I could've caught this story from the beginning, sounded really fun. If you're willing to tell, why the demon?"

August smiled. "One thing you might've missed earlier is that woman's grandmother popularized pumpkin spice as a thing in the marketing world, and that's something that used to drive me insane. Yes, even as a cafe owner."

"Heh, petty revenge is sweet, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is," August agreed, sipping on her own sweet product.

"And what's Curcurbita Lasciva?"

"It's Latin for 'sexy pumpkin.'"

Dazzling chortled at that.

"And interesting how that payment she gave didn't look like cash," Dazzling noticed the papers sitting near August.

"More valuable than cash. Sensitive material from Java Joint's private initiative to support small businesses."

"Huh," Dazzling replied, impressed. "Is Summer Jewel about to be a franchise to rival the likes of the behemoth Java Joint?"

"Nah, just keeping meddling parties in their lane, while I stay happily in mine."

"Does that lane lead between your legs, August," Dazzling replied slyly.

"Is another loyal customer angling for an invite," August gave a knowing look.

"Careful, my opening bid into this endeavor can be quite persuasive," the customer hypnotist offered, setting her amethyst pendant on the counter, ready to draw attention to it with the soft lighting in Summer Jewel.

"Mmmm, very tempting. But is it as tempting as my opening bid? As in that special blend of pumpkin spice already in your hand?"

Dazzling's smiled faded slightly as she looked down at the cup she forgot she was made to order through subconscious programming every time she came in. She had August's helper get her one and sat quietly to listen to whatever August was up to, totally forgetting the edge she gave the barista by drinking her coffee; the helper was probably made to know Dazzling on site, and what special blend to give her.

"Delicious, isn't it? As delicious as what's to come. If you really want to take me up on that offer, finish your drink, let that warmth fill you with that familiar tingle you know will make you feel so very good, and then follow me."

Dazzling looked at her, wondering how deeply under she might have been up to that point. She should've been used to the smug smile of hypnotists lately, especially her own. But something about August's was just so...wholesome. As told, she sipped the remaining half of her still-warm cup, savoring the taste, and looking at the barista's lusty look.

"Good girl," August praised. "Follow me."

"Careful," Dazzling stated, feeling that tingle. "Get me hot enough, and I'll show you and Janet a real demon."