by Viola Grace
“Of course, my treasure. But if you don’t make it back, I am sure that they will hire a local Haunt to bring me home. Just let them know if they might need to. I won’t be as strong as when you bring me, but I am sure that it will be fine.” Yinway smiled and drifted back to Yohwen where she brushed a kiss against her cheek. Sparks flew as the power worked against Yoh.
Scorcher Orkill sat down and cocked his head. “What was that?”
Yohwen opened her hands wide. “My power against my skin. Because she is blood, I can hold her together and pull her tight to my side as well as let her project as much of herself as she wishes.”
Healer Debarren smiled and crossed his arms, “Can other Haunts do that?”
Yinway stood up proudly. “My granddaughter is the only one on Wedderal who can hold a soul like this. Her birth may have been unfortunate, but her power is the strongest I have ever encountered.”
Both of the visitors tactfully ignored the mention of her birth. Scorcher Orkill asked, “When can you leave?”
“How long will we be gone?”
“Six days, perhaps ten.” He shrugged.
Yohwen turned to her friend. “Niisa?”
Niisa winked at the Healer and went into her office, closing the door. She started cancelling appearances and moving appointments.
“Niisa will be coming with us.”
The two men looked at each other in shock.
Orkill asked, “Why?”
“She is my handler. When I am using my talent, I lose contact with the world around me. She keeps me fed, watered and rested so that I can maintain control of my skills.”
Debarren cocked his head, “I can do that.”
Niisa returned to the office. “Yoh, you need water.”
The glass was placed within reach of her hand, and Yohwen drank.
“Niisa is a high-level diagnostic talent, but she chose to spend her time as my assistant. She will be coming with us, because she has always dreamed of seeing the stars.”
Niisa perked up, her midnight blue eyes sparkling with excitement. “I get to go with you?”
“Of course.” Yohwen smiled. “Can you prep bags for each of us for two weeks while I hammer out some details with these two gentlemen?”
Niisa winked at her and disappeared.
Yinway rounded on the two men quickly. “What are you going to offer my granddaughter for her assistance?”
Yohwen put her booted feet up on her desk as her grandmother put her skills as a Negotiator into high gear. Niisa may have been excellent at dealing with Ysheer traditions, but no one took aliens to task like Yinway Dahl, ex-armoured Negotiator.
Yinway had served her people in a metal suit for ten years, negotiating with other races and keeping foreigners from their soil. There were others doing the job now, but no one had the skills that Yinway had exhibited.
Her skills had made her the head of her family. The Dahls took a step up in the world. Now, her granddaughter was watching as her spectre went through contract terms with the Citadel representatives until she was satisfied.
Yohwen smirked when she saw that the Scorcher was sweating. “Would you like a glass of water?”
He nodded. “Please. I tend to overheat in stressful situations.”
Yoh got to her feet and went around the corner to the water dispenser. She filled two glasses and handed one to each of her visitors.
They thanked her quietly, and the moment the glasses were empty, Yinway cleared her throat. “Call it in, please.”
Orkill pressed a small button on the collar of his suit. “Did you get all that, Relay?”
A female voice came through, “You mean you getting your ass handed to you? Oh yeah. I got it. The agreement will be waiting on your shuttle.”
“Exactly as dictated?” Yinway was persistent.
“Yes, madam. Exactly as dictated.” The voice was even and secure.
“Good. My granddaughter is in the hands of the Citadel and Sector Guard. I want her back within two weeks or the Ysheer will disrupt all traffic through this sector.”
“I understand, madam. She will be back.”
Debarren said, “You know that your government did allow us to take one Haunt from your world.”
Yinway frowned. “I don’t care what they said. She is my descendant, and I want her back.”
The men nodded in unison, “Yes, madam.”
Yohwen reached into her desk and brought out some weshkin wine. “Grandmother, thank you. I think you have scared them enough for one night.”
Yinway chuckled and sat in her favourite chair in the corner, rocking back and forth though the chair didn’t move.
Debarren extended his glass for the wine, and she uncorked it with a pop. “Gran was an off-world Negotiator in her day. She still remembers a few things from the old days.”
Yinway smiled brightly and kept rocking.
Orkill looked over at her grandmother and extended his glass. “Please.”
Yoh smiled in sympathy and poured a hefty slug of the wine into it. It was all she could offer to offset the trauma they had just suffered at the hands of a senior who had been dead for twenty years.
Chapter Three
Niisa brought in the luggage, and Yohwen smiled. “When will you gentlemen be ready to leave?”
“We are ready now. Our shuttle is standing by. Do you have anything you need to do before you leave?”
Yoh looked at Niisa. “Are we good?”
“Well, my mother is mad that I will be missing the celebration, but I promised her a private haunt, if you don’t mind, when we return.” Niisa winked. “She can’t pass up an opportunity to have me see the stars.”
“Excellent. Grandma, do you mind?” Yohwen looked at the glowing figure in the corner.
“Sigh. I suppose I will return to the sky and wait for my turn to visit with the new baby.” Yinway grimaced. “Hurry home, Yohwen. I don’t enjoy spending time with that idiot half-brother of yours.”
Yinway floated up and dissipated into the ceiling.
Yohwen corked her wine and tucked it back in her desk. “So, shall we get going?”
“Why do you keep that in your desk?” Orkill looked at her in surprise, setting his empty glass on her desk.
She smiled and finished tidying her workspace. “Not everyone is sanguine about contacting the dead. Even my people think twice before they get an honest answer from their ancestors or deceased spouses.”
Niisa whisked the dishes away and quickly scrubbed them, putting them on the drain board.
Yohwen recognized the sounds as she got to her feet and stretched. “What is the weather like where we are going?”
Debarren smiled, “You will be wearing protective suits. You will be insulated from the environment.”
Yohwen blinked. “You don’t know how my talent works, do you?”
He frowned and shook his head. “No, I assumed that you simply drew the energy from the air.”
“No, I pull it from the ground. My feet have to touch the surface of whatever world I am haunting. My feet will be exposed. I thought you guys watched the ritual last night.”
Debarren winced. “We did not realise the significance of your lack of footwear. What is the importance of the sand?”
“It is a conductor. It helps separate the energy into tendrils that reach through the ground to call the dead. I match the dead to the energy above. They know who they are, but a Haunt calls them to their home where their family is waiting.”
He blinked. “I don’t know how we are going to do this.”
Orkill burst into laughter. “Masuo. No wonder they insisted we swing by Morganti. Relay gave us a box of emergency equipment and there is a pair of Masuo in it. I thought it was weird, but now, it makes sense.”
Yohwen frowned. “What makes sense?”
Scorcher Orkill explained, “Masuo are durable plants that develop a symbiotic relationship with their host. They can be transformed into clothing, belts or footwear. They will exte
nd and retract as needed.”
“What if I don’t want it after this mission?” Yoh wasn’t sure how she felt about having something in symbiosis with her. Niisa was bad enough at times.
“It can be transformed into an ankle cuff that is barely visible. It won’t be a problem.” Orkill was sure of it. She could hear it in his voice.
“Well, if it will save lives, fine. Let’s go.” She grabbed her bag and headed for the door. She waited outside while the two Citadel reps and Niisa caught up with her. She fished her key out of her cleavage and locked up the office. “There. Now, I can go with a clear mind.”
The vehicle that the reps had brought took their baggage easily. They sat quietly on the way to the capital, and it was novel for Yohwen to have her palm and irises scanned for departure by a customs agent.
Niisa giggled as they did the same with her, and then, the vehicle was moving toward a parking pad near a shuttle.
The vehicle was huge. Nine city transports could be put end to end and they still might not pass the length of the shuttle.
She carried her pack over one shoulder, Debarren helped them up the steps of the shuttle and showed them where to stow their luggage. “You will be able to retrieve it if you need anything. The galley is here, and it has rations provided that are compatible with Ysheer biology.”
Yoh laughed. “Oh good. I was afraid that something would contrast with my biology.”
He ignored her and showed Yoh and Niisa how to work the lav, how to fold down a bunk and where the data pads were for the Citadel version of in-flight entertainment.
“The Scorcher is the pilot?” Yohwen was nervous as she squirmed in the seat she had been assigned.
Debarren grinned. “Of course. It is his ship.”
Yohwen sighed. “Of course it is.”
She settled back and waited with the excited Niisa, who was trembling with bookish eagerness as she ravaged her data pad. Niisa loved the entire idea of life beyond Wedderal, but she also wanted to stay home. She was conflicted.
“Niisa, do you mind if I take a nap?”
“Huh? Oh, no, go ahead. You look tired.”
The shuttle started to move, and Yoh held onto the arms of her chair. The rumbling stopped, and they were sailing with the tug of gravity low in their bellies. They were off the ground, and it wasn’t as bad as Yoh had anticipated.
Niisa looked like an excited five-year-old as she stared out the windows and then back at the data pad in her hands. This was a dream come true for her, and Yoh was happy to be the method by which she got to live it.
“You’re the bastard.” The little girl came up to Yohwen where she played alone on the swings.
“Yeah, so what?”
“What is your name? Mine is Niisa.”
“Yohwen Dahl.”
Niisa sat on the swing next to her. “My mom said that you weren’t a member of the Dahl family.”
“My grandma officially made me a family member.” She jerked her chin high. “I may be a bastard, but I am a Dahl, and there is nothing my dad can do about it.”
Niisa smiled and stuck out her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
Yohwen blinked and frowned in concentration. “You want to be my friend?”
“Yup. I like your hair.” The smile was guileless and held none of the hidden emotion that Yohwen was used to around strangers.
Yohwen cautiously extended her hand, and Niisa took it.
The dark-haired girl beamed. “We are going to be friends forever. I just know it.”
Yohwen felt something in her life shift. “I think you might be right.”
The rest of the school year passed in a strange haze of Niisa always being at her side. The next year, when new classes and teachers had separated them, Niisa held a protest in the hallway until she was allowed to return to Yohwen’s side. She hadn’t left since.
Healer Debarren touched her shoulder. “Orkill would like to speak to you.”
She sighed and got to her feet. She had been lost in her thoughts for a while. She made her way through the snug halls to the cockpit where Orkill was waiting.
Debarren helped her into the navigator seat, and he left them alone. Yohwen looked out at the stars, and she sucked in a deep breath.
“Oh my.” Until this moment when she looked at the sky, she had seen the energy of the souls of Ysheer. The beauty of the stars and the visible nebulas had escaped her.
Orkill pivoted his seat to face her, and she got nervous. “Don’t you need your eyes on the road or whatever?”
“We are traveling two systems over. The ship has been given our destination and will get us there as quickly as possible. I don’t need to steer.” He smiled for the first time.
Yohwen suddenly recognized that he had been tense on an unfamiliar world, possibly nervous about getting her cooperation.
He lifted a data pad and extended it to her. “This is the contract your grandmother negotiated. Sign it with a thumb and iris scan, please.”
She lifted the pad, and when she got to the amount of funds that had been listed, she coughed in shock. “Wow. Way to go, Grandma.”
Orkill laughed. “You weren’t paying attention?”
Yohwen answered absently, “Naw, when she does her thing, I tune her out.”
He snorted. “How can you tune her out?”
“Years of practice.” When she got to the mention of her return to Wedderal, she sighed in relief and signed.
She handed the pad back to him.
He flicked the screen. “I am registering it at the Citadel mainframe.”
She nodded and stared out at the stars. “Excellent. Wow, do you see this all the time?”
He grinned. “When I am not on active duty. What do I need to know about how you work to make this easier?”
Yohwen looked at him, really looked at him and read the sincerity in his expression. “I umm…it has to be dark or you won’t be able to see those who have come to speak. I need my feet exposed to the ground, and if I am working within a building, I will need a few hands full of local dirt under my feet as a conduit.”
He cocked his head, “Why the dirt or the sand?”
She smiled at the opportunity to educate him. “We are all made of the same stuff as the world we walk on. To draw the soul back from its two-hundred-year orbit, I need a connection to what it once was. In a cemetery, the families are the ties, not the body that has disappeared into dust. With no family, I will use the world itself to call them back, and hopefully, I will call the right one. Any personal effects or identifiers that you can offer me would be most helpful.”
“Fair enough. Why are your eyes orange? Most eyes on Wedderal were dark.”
“Haunts are marked this way by genes of our ancestors. The eyes turn in childhood, and the training begins after they pull their first haunt. It is usually a family member that they bring out, and some do it in a moment of trauma.”
“What was it for you?”
She quirked her lips. “My grandma’s funeral and my half-brother beating me up.”
“Why?”
“For daring to attend. No one was expecting me to summon my grandma, and she tore a strip off him for attacking me. My birth was not of my doing. I had done nothing wrong, and she made sure that the family, and my father, knew it. When her will was read, she put the point home.”
He tilted his head, “How?”
“I am her sole heir. She gave me everything and my father was not very happy with that, so my mother and I bought a nice house in Teeger province, where we lived until she passed way five years ago. I sold it and bought my office.” She smiled. “Thanks to Grandma, I don’t need to work, but it keeps me busy.”
“How did your father take it?”
“Not well. There is a reason we had to move. He’s a real bastard.” She smiled at the memory of his shocked face. Even though she was a child at the time, she had felt the thrill of triumph.
“Sounds messy.”
“It was, but we managed.�
��
“I know it is none of my business, but how did your mother meet your father?”
She snorted. “They were introduced by one of her friends who did not know that he was engaged. Apparently, he didn’t bother telling anyone that he was marrying to increase the family money.”
“Ouch. So, I am guessing he didn’t greet your arrival with paternal joy.”
“He did not. I was the eldest grandchild by four weeks. Grandma was delighted, and my father was humiliated. I don’t think his wife ever let him forget it.” Her grim amusement made its way over to him.
“What did he do when you were identified as a Haunt?”
“I am pretty sure he threw up. Knowing that I had a built-in means of support in addition to inheriting my grandmother’s money was more than he could deal with. The funeral was the last time I saw him. Why the questions?”
“I am just trying to understand the social structure of your race. It is very complicated. There is a matriarchy but sons can inherit, a direct heir can be skipped in favour of another and Haunts are both desired and pariahs. It is most confusing.” His interest was genuine.
“Ah, perhaps I can explain. In my grandmother’s case, she was made matriarch of her family, head of her family, because of her service to our world. She was made the prime member when it came to financial matters, and she helped all members of the family when they asked. She was queen of the Dahls.” She chuckled.
Yoh explained, “Most families have either a patriarch or matriarch depending on who is the strongest at the time. They can help or hinder any member of their family at will. My father could have been the inheritor and the patriarch when his mother died, but he was a spineless twit who thought only of himself.”
He winced at her harsh assessment of her biological contributor. “That seems a little extreme.”
She smirked, “The first six years of my life my mother had to work three jobs to keep body and soul together. If my father had asked Grandma for support, she would have given it gladly. It wasn’t until she was dying that she and my mother conspired to link me to the Dahl family for my own safety.”