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“Uh huh. What is this generator for?” the shorter one, Noriga, asks.
“I’m using this to save Skogg. Can you please help me transport the generator from the gate to the castle basement?”
“Who is Skogg?”
I roll my eyes. “He’s the Red Soldier. His real name is Skogg Blackstone. I think I can change him back from a ghost to a Hyrrokin soldier again.” This isn’t technically what’s happening but I’m not in the mood for details. And I have a feeling they might lose interest in helping me if they truly understand there’s no “ghost” here.
“No.” Keribel, the taller one, barks out. “Are you shitting me? You’re going to bring that ghost back to life?”
My brow furrows. “No, why would I shit…?”
“Can we live stream this? We’ll help if we can go inside with you and stream.”
I shrug, seeing no harm in this being documented. It might even be good. This way there’s no mistaking what happened. And the more I think about it, the better it sounds. This way everyone will know Firebrook Castle is no longer haunted. “Yes, that would be fine. You help me get this inside the basement and in return you can come along and document.”
“He’s here right now, isn’t he?” Keribel whips out a monitoring device, trying to detect Skogg. Then she picks up her tablet and messages others. In minutes their crew arrives with a vehicle just for this purpose. But again, none of them will go in. Only me and the two Ghost Hunters are brave enough to go past the front gate.
“Emma,” Keribel hisses, annoyed with how big and heavy the generator is. “Are you sure this is the right make and size?”
“Of course it is,” I answer, glancing down again at the specs in the manual. “It’s huge and expensive, but it’s exactly what I need to get power here until I can get the castle’s updated power and communication infrastructure built out. Also, it’s exactly what the specs in the manual ask for.”
“Is that the only reason you were so quick to order this expensive generator?” Noriga asks with a wide smile.
“Why else would I order it?”
“You’re in love with the Red Soldier, aren’t you? You’d do anything for him?”
We’re on the inside of the gate now, starting down the driveway. “What?” I sputter, because I’m ninety-nine percent certain Skogg is standing nearby and can overhear this entire conversation. “You think I’m love with…?”
“Oh, come on. Everyone saw you kissing a horned male last night in the tower window.”
I glance at the nearby drone that is live streaming this entire conversation to their millions of viewers. I wish the ground would crack open and swallow me whole. It’s true, we made out in the tower last night, probably standing too close to the window before he blew out the candles. Shoot.
Keribel looks right into the hovering drone vid, “He was able to kiss her. This has to mean the Red Soldier is not a ghost and instead a demon.”
“No,” I answer, glancing at the drone which is now pointed directly at me. “The Red Soldier is not a ghost, or a demon. As I’ve said all along, there isn’t a ghost at Firebrook Castle, instead there’s a Hyrrokin in need of help. I really like living on Salo and the Gravians are wonderful beings, but it is true that they are very superstitious. I think because I’m human and I was born and raised on New Earth, I don’t believe in ghosts at all. So even though I was given the deed to Firebrook Castle as a joke because everyone else thinks it’s haunted and of little value, I am going to turn it into a hotel and restaurant. I believe it is a beautiful location for special events, it’s simply in need of restoration. And I am here to prove this place is not haunted so that I can gain investors in my business and also convince the local contractors and craftsmen to come into this estate and perform renovations.”
“But you said you were going to free a ghost.”
“Yes, well, what I really meant was that I am here to prove to everyone that there isn’t a ghost on this estate. And by staying here I’ve discovered that the “ghost” is actually a Hyrrokin soldier named Skogg Blackstone who was caught in a terrible accident and is now existing in a half-phased out state which makes him often appear to others a “ghost”.
“I think it’s romantic,” the shorter Ghost Hunter, Noriga, announces with a dreamy sigh.
“I think she’s asking for heartbreak,” Keribel snorts. “That male is never going to stay with her. Once he’s free, that spirt is outta here.”
I bite my lip. Is she right? Once I get the power back on and flip the switch will Skogg want to stay? He’ll be a free corporeal being again. He was a soldier from the planet Tarvos. Maybe he has friends and family he misses desperately? A job he’d like to return too. Maybe he had a whole involved life on Tarvos, that won’t include me, the human he found in his bed.
I shake my head and look around, knowing that Skogg heard this conversation too. He told me last night to trust him. So…I’m going to trust him.
It’s a total pain-in-the-neck, but we manage to get the generator around the side of the castle to the back, where the double side doors are that lead down to the basement. The worst part is lowering it from the ground level, down to the basement. But we manage. By the time we’re done the suns are starting to set. The generator is here, but now we have to hook it up.
And I have to admit, these two Creekans are much better companions that I first assumed. They’ve turned out to be hard-working and funny. I’m actually very pleased that I gave them a chance and spent more time with them.
The good news is that my sexy Hyrrokin is now able to start becoming corporeal and I can already smell his luscious scent and see the outline of his huge form and the flick of his tail. The suns are starting to set so it’s that time of day where he can now begin to will his form to turn solid. The Ghost Hunters have no idea he’s right with us.
“We need to move it over here,” he says out loud, standing right in front of us, half-phased.
Both Ghost Hunters scream like little girls at the sound of his voice. Suddenly they’re both not so tough at the sight of a “real” ghost. I laugh so hard at the sight of their embarrassment. And it was all caught on vid drone. Perfect!
