AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She decides to bypass the entire first floor and instead moves directly to the main stairs. I float behind as she ascends, at a respectful distance. She moves very steadily for a being without a tail to provide balance.
Why has she arrived in the early evening, alone? We are the only two sentient lifeforms on the estate, but I still feel a sudden need to keep this female safe. I cannot help her in any way in my invisible state, but soon I will be solid and if she requires help during her brief stay, I will help her. For some reason I already sense she is not here for nefarious reasons.
She turns into the hallway and suddenly whips around. Did she hear me? She shouts at what she assumes are possible intruders. I cannot understand her human speak but I love the sound of her voice.
When no one answers she sighs, straightens her shoulders and continues on up the curve of the narrow tower stairs. My brow furrows as I follow behind. She stops at the landing and places her tiny hand on the doorknob to the owner’s suite at the top of the tower. Why is this female entering my bedroom? I expected her to enter the castle and then depart quickly, as all the others had done, but she continues to explore unusual locations.
I watch as she cautiously enters my private room. This is where I’ve moved and relocated some of my favorite finds within the castle. In the predawn hour I always change my bedding and wash the old set and hang it up to dry. And I assemble new candles if necessary and set up the fireplace for the next evening. I can create or douse fire anywhere with my personal flash-flames and I enjoy a good fire as I sleep as much as the next Hyrrokin.
I am fascinated by her initial reactions to my private space. I am now solid enough to lean against a wall without falling through. I cross my arms and watch with a smile as she cautiously starts her own fires. Sadly, her species is unable to flash-flame, but I am impressed at how she bypasses this disability and starts her own fires with the torch in her hand. She’s managed to make herself comfortable by lighting the candelabra and the fireplace.
I want to stay longer but I cannot let these hours go to waste. I must hunt and eat once per diurnal so my meal must be large. I set traps and often catch birds, small animals and even once a larger animal. I eat them all, like the Hyrrokin did in ages past, with a flash-flame fire so I can roast my meat, but often I simply eat it raw. I leave nothing to waste.
I give her one last longing glance and then phase through the door and float downstairs. I assume she will not be here when I return to sleep for the night. Maybe she will revisit the castle in the coming weeks and I can somehow discover her name?
I return to my usual nightly routines. I hunt. I eat. And I think of the human female who is exploring my room. Does she like the chair I have positioned near the fireplace? Is the room warm and lit enough for her visit?
And then instead of doing any other of the myriad chores I should take care of, I instead use the last of my phasing ability to quickly return to the tower room. At this time of night I am able to choose whether to remain solid or phased. I sweep right through the door, expecting to find my room empty but wanting to examine the area for clues of what the female touched or moved, hoping to glean information on her impressions of my space.
Instead I discover a human asleep in my bed.
I stand at the foot of the bed, stunned.
Why is she still here? The other beings on this planet wander the grounds or maybe enter the castle’s first floor, before swiftly departing. This is the first time someone has traveled upstairs and entered a room. And stayed. Warmth glows in my chest. Maybe she is the being who can help me? I’ve been here for a full year, and no one has tried to actually help. I assume my family thinks I’m deceased.
I arrived at Firebrook Castle as a new member of a mercenary strike team—the only Hyrrokin member, and the only survivor. We were in the midst of evaluating the site’s security needs when alarms began blaring.
The experimental device the scientists were testing that allowed shifting of inanimate objects through matter sent out a devastating radial blast when they tried to expand the output, and the castle is now even more of a ruin than it was before. But the device that caused the blast remained intact and phased me into a half-corporeal being. I have a basic understanding of the device so I know I’m stuck here until I can get someone to fully power up the device in the basement and turn it completely back on. Right now it only works on backup solar power, which peaks overnight and needs to recharge during the day. Only a 4,000 megawatt cell generator will allow the device to function at peak performance and permanently solidify my form.
But none of these Gravians will help me.
I arrived here for temporary job, only to have this castle become my prison.
My universal translator no longer works, therefore I only speak and understand Hyrrokin. When Gravian locals arrive at night and see my solid form, they scream at my appearance and do not understand my language, nor do I understand theirs. They climb the walls to escape, and I can’t follow; I’m left behind on the grounds of the castle. If I step too far away from the machine in the basement, I will disintegrate. The field emitted by the device keeps me intact. I am stuck within the boundary of the walls of this castle, unable to escape.
At first, I thought I was dead too and truly a ghost. But I soon realized I was trapped in a netherworld where I am half phased. I can walk through walls. But I cannot make it past the perimeter wall of this estate. Only the lingering magnetic field of the machine in the basement keeps me together. If I move past the barbican and front gate, I will fade out and truly die.
This bed, in this exact position, is the only place in the castle which allows me the longest length of solidity and therefore comfort, to sleep. It happens to be directly positioned over the machine, and even though it is four stories below, the beam of focused energy it blasts directly overhead is good for my body regeneration. It will not harm this human, but it will help me greatly. I cannot sleep elsewhere. I need this bed.
Suddenly the human opens her eyes and she sees me, floating at the foot of her bed, half-phased. She sits up and screams so loud, she could wake the dead.
I wince because she is very shrill. I will my form to take shape and solidify, hoping this will decrease her stress and stop the screams. Maybe she’s scared of my half-phased appearance? It must be strange for her to be able to see straight through me. Or is she scared of the Hyrrokin species in general?
She stares wide-eyed at my solid form.
I smile, exposing my white fangs. And I proudly flick my barbed tail as smoke wafts from my nostrils.
She takes a great gulp of air and screams again.
Heh. Now I’m unsure if solidifying was the right thing to do in this instance. Well, it’s too late. I am solid now for the rest of the evening until dawn. If I want to leave this room I will have to physically open the door and walk down the stairs.
She has stopped screaming but continues to whimper.
Why is she so upset? I washed the blood and gore off myself from my meal before I came inside. Yes, I’m wearing the green trousers I arrived in a year ago and they are threadbare, but my buckle and my belt are still holding up nicely. All the males of my species are barefoot and bare-chested, this is normal. My arms are down, and my flame and smoke are banked.
She stares at me with troubled blue eyes, panting, her lush chest rapidly rising and falling. Then she throws back the covers, leaps out of the bed and darts for the door.
A growl rumbles in my chest. I don’t want her to leave. She intrigues me and her scent is very tantalizing. I’ve shown myself to her because I want to try to communicate. My instincts tell me this female might recognize my status as a sentient being, when no one else could.
