WalkingHaunt (7 page)

“Well, talk it over and get back to me. The Citadel is exceedingly eager to have a Haunt on board. There are any number of races who believe that the souls of their dead remain in orbit or on the ground. Someone of your skills could name your price.”

Yoh chuckled. “That is Niisa’s job.”

“Fair enough. So, ask your friend and join the Citadel. You will have another rank to enjoy. Specialist Dahl, Master Haunt, it sounds good, doesn’t it?”

“You are a horrible salesman, Relay.”

The woman sighed. “I know. I have warned the other Ysheer colonies, and they are on the alert for any Raven Touch vehicles. The antibodies you have provided are why the Wedderal haven’t been affected. Even though there was a Raven Touch landing, the people nearest the spaceport all have up-to-date immune systems or have taken the spring pox inoculation. Isn’t it amazing to be saved by a disease?”

Yohwen shook her head. “You have no idea.”

“Well, I will leave you to your deliberations. I will talk with you soon, Yohwen Dahl.”

“Good day to you, Relay.”

Yohwen disconnected the com and sat back. There was no decision, she was joining the Citadel. She couldn’t make Niisa responsible for her life anymore. When Niisa moved on, Yoh would have a plan in place. A new life to lead.

Yoh sipped at the water pack and got up to leave.

Orkill was standing in the doorway. “You are still undecided?”

“Well—” She didn’t have a chance to say anything else. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her to the wall, his body hot against hers. His kiss was very convincing.

She grabbed hold of him, dropping her water to the deck. She returned his kiss, slide for slide, as she learned how to interact with a male on this level.

She broke the kiss and leaned back. “There is an Alliance vessel en route. We have to go into quarantine for a week.”

He grinned and nibbled at her neck. “An entire week? That might be time to convince you I mean business.”

She chuckled. “I was hoping it was personal not business.”

He sighed and kissed her again before he lifted his head. “You know what I meant.”

She sighed and nipped his lips. “I know. I have to check on Niisa.”

“She is doing well. Debarren accelerated her pox, and now she is recovering.”

“Accelerating?”

“That is how he heals. He makes your own body move faster. It is why he didn’t try to help when she was showing the plague. It wouldn’t have ended well.” He slowly let her stand on her feet once again.

She smiled and traced his jawline with her fingers. “It seems, you have a week to entice me into joining the Citadel.”

He nipped her fingers with his teeth. “So, it is all up to me?”

“Indeed. I hope you are very convincing.”

The challenge rose in his eyes, and he gave her a slow smile full of promise. “A week?”

“A week. What can you do in a week?” She crossed her arms and stood by her challenge. She knew he would do her proud.

One week later, she was pronounced virus free and limp as a rag. A week in close quarters with a bored Orkill brought out all his creative impulses, and on two occasions, Niisa had been treated to a view that Yohwen felt was true revenge, rather than an embarrassment.

Their trip back to Wedderal was surprisingly quick. The medical transport had taken them into their own system, and a simple shuttle trip brought them back home.

Yohwen directed Orkill to the site that the port authority dispatched them to. It was high in the mountains but an open plateau with a large compound built on top of it.

It looked fine, but the proximity to her father irritated her.

During the confinement, she had signed up with the Citadel, and the bonus she received for being the only Haunt on their books was more than enough to buy another facility. Somewhere more hospitable.

Niisa had told her that she wouldn’t have to work for four lifetimes with what she had saved, and Orkill made a joke about marrying her for her money. She knew from what Debarren had said that Orkill’s family was well off in their own right. His shuttle wasn’t just assigned to him, it was his outright.

Jamark Orkill was the third child in his family, enjoyed writing poetry when not using his skills as a Scorcher and was an amazing dancer. They had spent several hours with him teaching her how to move with him, trusting him not to lead her into a wall.

It came down to trust with him. The sex was fun, but it was the slow motion of body against body in dancing that increased their intimacy.

She wished that there were more frequent public events where they could dance together, but even if there were, she wouldn’t be invited. Not in this county.

Orkill dropped the shuttle neatly onto the landing pad. “I know this is not where you want to be, but it will be home until something else can be arranged.”

Yoh jerked her head in agreement. “It is a personal irritation. I will get over it, or I will have another home built. Either one is fine with me.”

He grinned. “Can I contribute to the design?”

“You can, but I think my gran will have something to say about it.”

He winced. “Can you wait a day before you summon her?”

She laughed. “I can, but you will have to explain it to her when I bring her here.”

“I have to ask, why her, why not your mother or your other grandmother?”

Yoh sighed as she got to her feet. “My mother is content to visit every month or so, but she was tired, and she is enjoying her time with the other souls. My other grandmother is still alive, but because I am a bastard, she will not have anything to do with me. My mother was only welcomed by her own people in death.”

His arms came around her from behind. “I am sorry. I didn’t know.”

She smiled at the warmth that went beyond body heat and seeped into her soul. “I know you didn’t. Don’t be sorry. My mother loved me, my gran loved me, I turned out all right and I have a few friends beyond Niisa, though she is usually enough. I have a good life, and you are just making it better.”

He kissed the side of her neck. “I am glad I can contribute.”

“Every time I think my life is full, you wedge it open and show me something else that I have room for, it is quite the contribution for a man I have known less than three weeks.” She sighed as he walked with her to get her bag and his from the storage area.

Stepping out of the shuttle, the air of Wedderal was blessedly familiar if a little cool. She inhaled and exhaled, getting back into the rhythm of her home.

When she couldn’t put it off anymore, she joined the others entering their new home.

The base was utilitarian in the extreme and lacked any kind of flare or personal touches.

“Okay, Niisa. You have an unlimited budget to make this place friendly and comfortable. Enjoy.”

Niisa grinned, arm in arm with Debarren. “I can see potential, but you will want something closer to the spaceport or the capital. It is a hard thing to decide.”

“You can also look for something over a hundred acres with a good water table. Once we secure the land, I will set you on the zoning.”

Niisa chuckled. “So, we will be moving then?”

“It may take two years to get a new outpost set up, but we will definitely be moving. No budget. You know my accounts.”

Debarren hauled Niisa off on a tour of the second floor while Yohwen checked out the kitchen. The cupboards were bare, so there was a trip into town on her list of things to do. Niisa was a hopeless shopper when it came to food, so Yohwen would be on her own.

“Do you cook?” Orkill was surprised.

“Of course I cook. Niisa is hopeless, and my mother worked a lot, so it was a matter of necessity.” She checked the amount of storage space and made sure that the appliances worked.

The chiller was cold and the stove got hot. It was a solid start.

She verified the sink and the faucets.

“You are fairly thorough.”

“Not really, I would like to check the caf machine, but there is no caf. Shopping looms rapidly in my future. Come on, there should be a garage.”

The small vehicle storage contained six sleek personal gliders. Each had a wide platform that supported the business side of the vehicle and would do fine for a first shopping round.

“Enough of this poking around. We can live out of the shuttle for at least two months. You need some rest.” His expression was hopeful.

She laughed and swayed up to him. “Do I?”

“Yes, yes, you do. I need some rest. We could save sheets and do it together.”

Yohwen went up on her toes to kiss him. “That sounds horribly sensible. Race you upstairs.”

She was off, and his heavier footfalls were right behind her. It wasn’t the worst way to spend a first night in a new house.

Chapter Ten

Yohwen brought in the few items she had been able to obtain before her brother had been told that she was in town. After that, things had gone downhill quickly.

Niisa looked at the few bags that she had and cocked her head. “I thought you were laying in supplies.”

Yoh dragged in a calming breath. “You three will have to do all the shopping. No one in town will serve me.”

Orkill had been speaking quietly with Debarren, and he looked up in shock. “What?”

“I told you this was close to my family’s holdings. They locked down the shopping by the simple expedient of calling all the vendors in town. I can’t buy anything there.” She tried to look like it didn’t hurt as she put the few meals’ worth of food into cupboards and cold storage. At least she had gotten caf, but there were no cups to pour it in.

Orkill pressed his hands on her shoulders. “Come with me.”

Tears clogged her eyes. She was struggling to keep calm in a place where no one wanted her.

He tugged her, and Debarren and Niisa walked with them to the shuttle. She sat down in the rear of the ship and wallowed in her misery.

Niisa sat next to her with a grim expression on her face. The shuttle lifted off, and Niisa held her hand.

Numbly, Yoh asked, “Where are we going?”

“To end this once and for all.”

In her misery, she couldn’t understand what was going on until Orkill walked out of the shuttle ahead of her and the Dahl family home was displayed past his shoulders.

Figures came out of the home and walked toward them, smiles on faces and pride in their bearing.

“Welcome to the Dahl family home, Citadel reps. You are welcome to all we have.” Her brother was magnanimous, and she recognized his voice.

She wrinkled her nose at the offer but remained silent, trying to figure out what Orkill was up to.

“That is lovely. It seems you have an issue with one of our reps and that is causing us a problem. We certainly don’t want it to cause you a problem.” He stepped aside, and for the first time since she was a child, she stood face to face with her brother.

His pleasant features twisted into a sneer. “What is that bastard doing here?”

The slap to her emotions hurt.

Orkill reached back and pulled her to stand next to him. “You mean Specialist Dahl, Master Haunt of Wedderal? She has agreed to join the Citadel and has already used her talent to save millions of lives.”

His sneer stuttered. “What?”

“I believe that you heard me. Is that your lady wife and your lovely daughter?”

The woman standing behind him stepped forward with her child on her hip. She stepped past her husband and extended her hand to Yohwen. “I am glad to meet my husband’s only sister.”

“And I am happy to meet my niece, Minway. Yinway is waiting to spend time with her.”

Orway was standing there, horrified and bemused by his wife’s actions. “Teelya. What are you doing?”

“I am greeting the only blood relative you have left. I am sorry, Orway, but your father was not a good, kind or sensible man. Instead of living up to his obligations, he called her mother a whore and ignored his own actions. A daughter fell into that crevice. If someone was treating Minway as you have treated Yohwen, would you stand idly by?”

He was confused. His frown showed it. “Of course not. I would defend my child.”

Teelya used her grip on Yoh’s hand to pull her close. “Who was there to defend her when her parent turned against her? Your father taught you to hate and resent her, but it was his own behaviour that he was talking about. She would never have been in this situation if he hadn’t lied to her mother and tried to have one last fling before marrying your mother.”

Orway backed up a little as his wife used a flat tone on him. “My father said…”

Yohwen spoke calmly. “My mother was a student, working nights at a café. He came in and flirted with her for three nights straight before she went out with him. Her friends and previous boss confirmed it. They had no idea he was engaged. I looked into it after the boss died and had no reason to lie.”

Orway ran his hand through the same scarlet hair that Yohwen wore. “Can you bring him here tonight?”

Yohwen frowned. “What do you mean?”

Teelya solemnly said, “He died a week ago.”

Orkill’s arm shot around her waist as Yohwen collapsed.

She woke up in a cool, blue room, and Orkill had a compress on her head. Niisa and Debarren were standing by, and Minway was sitting on her feet.

“What happened?”

Orkill smiled and removed the compress. “You just found out your father was dead. Then, you fainted. And I caught you.”

She struggled upright. “You get a cookie, as soon as I can find someone to sell me ingredients.”

“I am sorry about that. I overreacted when the town gossips started calling to tell me you were swanning in.” Orway was sitting in a chair just behind Debarren. “It was a conditioned response when I heard that my father’s bast—that you were in town. It is going to take time to loosen that hold on me.”

Teelya was sitting and holding his hand, but Minway wasn’t hesitant. She crawled up Yoh’s body until she was staring at her, eye to eye. There was an orange flare around her pupil that appeared and faded just as quickly. “Uh oh.”

Teelya sat up. “What is it?”

“Could be nothing, could have been a reflection of my eyes in hers or could have been a Haunt flare.”