Page 8 of Ghosts and Ginger Tea

“You can’t touch me!” I exclaimed, swinging my lantern. The marcher stood close, so close I could see his eyes even better now. They were the lightest colored eyes I’d ever seen, reminding me of the eyes of a pueo, an owl.

“Your companion has the wisdom to prostrate herself and avoid my eyes,” he said, his eyebrows still furrowed in… anger? Annoyance?

He had the most handsome face I’d ever seen, as strange as it was to admit that, especially when I was reeling in terror. I’d seen the chief of my people before, and while all chiefs and royalty somehow had exceptional looks, this young man before me truly was something else.

The surrounding air was chilly, as if his very presence was turning the air into solid ice. As if to prove my theory, my breath appeared in the air.

“Kiki…” I said, a lump in my throat. “Run–”

“Nobody is running,” the man said. “She’s going to stay there, prostrated, just like any normal, wise person would do. And you’re coming with me. We’ve wasted enough time already—” He reached his hand out to grab me, and some words screamed from my mouth, something like, “Youcannottouchme!”

But it was pointless. My blood must’ve turned to frost as his hand grabbed my wrist. It seemed neither he nor I had expected his seemingly transparent body to touch mine.

Our eyes met, and the corner of his lip twitched.

He’s a ghost, but he can touch me… I thought ghosts were see-through! And he looked see-through!

I’m going to die… I swung the lantern onto his arm, but it went right through.

“What in the islands–”

“Don’t put up a fight, young lady,” said the night marcher. “Come on. You’ve been summoned for your disrespect towards Kāne. If you’re lucky, you’ll be forgiven and released. If not…”

“Oli!” Kiki’s voice was desperate. “Oli, you can’t leave mother and me! Please!” She now begged the night marcher, though she didn’t dare look at him.

“Come on.” He pulled me forward, but I resisted, putting up a fight to get him to release me.

“I’m not going anywhere!”

“You’re wasting time–” With those words, he scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” I screamed, pounding on his back and kicking my legs against his chest, though it had no effect. Every single one of my hairs stood on end, and my body felt like it was pressed against a solid piece of ice.

“Listen, Oliana!” he said, and‌ hearing my name on his lips felt like a death sentence. “My order is to take you to the night marchers. You have disrespected one, and you must be punished. I will not waste one more minute speaking to you⁠—”

“Because you have somewhere else to be?” I interrupted, knowing I was playing with death.

The man stood there, looked around at the empty night, and huffed. “Actually, yes. It took me half the night to find you, and I do have other things to tend to.” He glanced at Kiki, still on the ground with her face in the gravel road. Then he turned and began walking along the path.

Kiki’s sobs filled the air behind us. “Oli!”

“I’ll be back, I promise!” I said, but the man sighed. It made my head spin in circles.

“You won’t be back. Better not make promises you can’t keep.”

“Then why don’t you kill me right here, on the spot? Instead of dragging me to the rest of the night marchers?”

“Because you must face the night marcher that caught you disrespecting Kāne. It’s his decision if he wants to kill you or not, not mine.”

The lump in my throat grew bigger. “Will he kill me then?”

“If you are polite, maybe he won’t. From what I’ve learned so far, he has never spared a soul. He’s a chief from hundreds of years ago, so he’s not as lenient as rulers nowadays.”

“Nowadays?” I glanced at the night marcher holding me. He didn’t seem to tire of carrying me. Though I was small, I didn’t consider myself light because I was all muscle from spearfishing every day. “What do you know of rulers nowadays?”

“Lots. Because I am a ruler. Well… was. If I can get back, I’ll still be a ruler.” He muttered the last part to himself. I glanced at the tattoos on his arms. There were two islands sitting on an ocean horizon, and a line of fish. Did the two islands represent where he came from? What about the line of fish?

It doesn’t matter. What mattered was surviving. Could I somehow convince this night marcher to set me free now if I got to know him?