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She shakes her head. “You said yes.”
I shake my head, “I did not,” and I try to close the door on this female. And then there’s a very large foot in my way. I look out and see their huge vehicle parked out front. Oh no. There really is a whole crew of beings here, ready for this project. The “Ghost Hunters” are two females—a crazy duo of Creekans who go across the four sectors to places they’ve heard are haunted and they livestream themselves spending the night, or even just a few hours, in the place. Great. I guess they want my predicament to be their next episode.
Now that I know Skogg is a Hyrrokin who is stuck here due to some sort of accident, which I suspect was really that lab explosion from last year, I don’t want anyone snooping. In the end I’m actually a private person and I didn’t like the idea of having these larger-than-life females turning my predicament into entertainment. I do like the locals and the vid channels here at the gate to document my entrance and to help me prove to everyone the castle isn’t haunted. But these two females inside with me is where I draw the line.
I thought for a moment yesterday that it would be nice to have some help. But now I’ve been doing this alone and I’m comfortable with that. And I know for certain this place isn’t haunted and instead I need to somehow save Skogg. I feel protective of him. I don’t think he’d like the idea of strangers coming inside just to try and live stream the hardship of his life here, for entertainment.
Also, these two females drive me crazy. They aren’t exactly the nicest beings.
I step outside with these two Creekans onto the front steps and I lock the front door of the castle behind me with my new key, making sure they can’t go inside. I move down the steps to the driveway and they follow behind me, with their crew, still chattering away, trying to bully me into changing my mind. I don’t.
I calmly walk out to the front gate, which they somehow opened, and I use my tablet to call for peacekeepers. All the while they’re still arguing with me to let them inside the castle.
The peacekeepers arrive quickly and arrest the two trespassing females, who seem to like being able to livestream their arrest. “Help, I’m being repressed by the peacekeepers on Salo!” one of them screams as they are being gently guided into a waiting government vehicle. I shake my head and try not to laugh at their overacting antics for the benefit of the vid drones.
I see their charm, but not now—I need my space.
The locals at the gate have set up a large countdown clock outside. “How many days can this human live with ghosts?” It’s silly but I decide to play along with it. One day, when I’ve restored the castle and it’s open for visitors, hopefully lots of these locals will become customers.
I stay out front and answer questions and give many interviews for the vid channels. It’s fun and the vibe outside from the crowd is good. Beings have set up a sort of lively tent camp and vendors are now selling food and drinks.
I tell them that the Red Soldier is really a Hyrrokin named Skogg Blackstone and I say again and again that there isn’t a ghost in the castle, but instead a live being who was in an accident when the lab exploded here a year ago. I figure this is good info to give the journalists because now they can go back and glean more information on what happened to Skogg and confirm that he’s who he says he is.
I let everyone know that tonight I’ll be taking a tour of the basement—the destroyed lab—and I’m hoping to return tomorrow with more details on how to fix what happened so that Skogg is able to return to his normal state and have the ability to leave the castle whenever he wants.
Then I lock the front gate, wave goodbye to the animated crowd as I ignore their shouted questions and go back to my quiet castle.
That eveningmy sexy shirtless Hyrrokin soldier arrives again in the tower bedroom and takes me downstairs with him to give me a promised tour of the estate.
He holds my hand as we walk through the great hall, past a demolished kitchen and down another set of dark stairs. We are both holding torches that he set on fire with a flash-flame from his mouth like it was nothing. His ability to flash fire right out of his mouth is certainly unsettling, but still awe-inspiring at the same time.
I’m happy to see more of the castle because I need a better idea of what restorations need to take place. I tell Skogg more of my plans to eventually turn this place into a thriving business. “I need to know if this estate is such a currency pit it won’t be worth the effort. After all, others have tried to entirely restore Firebrook and failed. What makes me think I can do what others were not able to accomplish? Personally, I think the fact that I’m going to make it a business instead of a private residence or only a museum is what will do the trick.”
“I feel very custodial of Firebrook Castle,” Skogg admits, “It must be in my blood and in my genes as a Blackstone to become enamored of an ancient building and the traditions therein. I thought I wasn’t the same as my family, but in the end I am. I discovered the library soon after I arrived.”
“Wait…there’s a library of antique print books?” I gasp. “And it’s intact?”
“Yes,” he chuckles. “You can go there tomorrow morning. It’s back the way we came, in the hallway off the great hall. You’ll love it and more importantly, I think guests would love it. Unfortunately, I can only read during the night, which is why I start a fire. I leave a basket of books next to my chair at the fireplace and I read the antique print books here. Well, I can’t read because they are all in Gravian, but I can look at the pictures. And I’ve been teaching myself the Gravian language so I’m able to understand some of it.”
“This is one thing I really love about the planet Salo,” I tell him. “They have a long history with so many ancient buildings. They have new buildings too, but their history is vast and interesting. Meanwhile on my own home planet—there is no history. We were beings kidnapped from our own home planet and dumped on an inhospitable planet with very few resources. Our kidnappers, the Hurlians, used humans as lab experiments and sexual respite. They considered New Earth a breeding pen for their humans and would regularly snatch us to take back to the Hurlian home planet, never to be seen from again.” I pause and take a breath and wince. “I’m sorry that I’m going on and on about this. Am I boring you? I can stop?”
He smiles at me, flashing two deadly white fangs. He stops us in the dark hallway, at the top of the stairs that must lead down to the basement. “No, I love listening to you. Remember, no one has spoken to me in a year. Please, tell me more about humans, I’m curious about your species.”
“Okay, I warned you. Well, we’re now free from Hurlian domination and humans on New Earth are considered citizens of the four sectors. But we can never return to the original planet, Earth, because we know too much—we’d mess up Earth’s natural progress. In fact, our home planet is designated off-limits and protected by the Indigenous Species Act. So, I can never go there. The only ‘history’ New Earth has is of us all scrambling for life, living in giant ghettos, trying to stay alive and somehow make a meaningful life for ourselves despite being the victims of the Hurlians.
“Not being able to go back and do first-hand exploration of my own home world’s history leaves me endlessly fascinated with, well, with Salo’s culture. They used to be a planet of war and destruction and eventually they all became unified under the multigod religion. In fact, this planet is still considered the birthplace of the multigod religion. It is, in fact, a very religious planet. I don’t pray three times per day like others. I consider myself only barely aware of the multigod religion. But I do appreciate how the joining of religion and life and government, seems to work out well here. My devotion to the religion isn’t monitored by the government. There are no strict rules directed at keeping anyone ‘down.’ I do have to admit I keep a book of the biographies of the multigod saints in my home library because I admire their stories of heroism and devotion. And one day I do plan on taking the Pilgrimage route to visit the famous monasteries in the mountains. Aaaand…do you realize this castle is positioned very near the first step in the Pilgrimage route? From the tower bedroom I can see the mountains in the distance. Why couldn’t I market this castle as a gathering point, prior to pilgrims starting their journey? I did market research and I learned that there is a need for more hotels and additional activities for the pilgrims who arrive. I love the idea of helping others as they take the journey of a lifetime. But I can’t make any of this a reality until I can confirm for others that this place is not haunted.”
“I was a soldier,” he says.
My brow furrows. “I know.”
“I’m the Red Soldier of Firebrook Castle. I am in the way of your dreams.”
I grasp his forearm. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am. I am the being that is haunting your castle. You need to get rid of me.”
“I need to save you.”
