first burial site, the glowing figures solidified and were ceremonially embraced by their relatives. She felt a surge of relief and pride that she would not disgrace her temporary title.
The light sprang up around her, and she heard murmurs of surprise as she continued her slow and deliberate pace. Her mind joined the song that the dead brought from the stars. She gave herself up to them, pulling power from the ground beneath her to offer them visible form. Yoh heard chattering, excited sobs, and she kept moving on the sand path laid out just for her.
There was one moment, a few hours in, when an excited child stumbled into her and the light dimmed at the contact with the living. She turned her head, and the child stared up at her in shock before her dead grandmother came up to her and shepherded her back to the family with apologies to the Haunt.
She silently wished the young girl a peaceful transition into activity.
Bemused at the contact with a Haunt in her young stage, it took Yoh a bit of effort to get back into the pacing trance that continued for three more hours.
Niisa was waiting for her at the end with a stool, her shoes, and a soft brush to remove the sand. Yoh sat and let her assistant take care of her. She got to her feet and looked over the largest cemetery in the world. Lights of souls were still there, still active.
“Let them go, Yoh. You have done more than enough.”
“When you miss the ones you love, there is never time enough.” She smiled sadly, and as the dawn began to rise, she let the ghosts fade. The souls returned to the stars, and those left behind smiled with watery eyes.
The conclusion and dissipation of the souls was marked with another gong, and Yohwen was free to return to her quarters, change and get the hell out of the capital city.
On their way back to her staging room, she leaned on her friend. “That was tiring.”
“I can imagine. You lit up far more sites than expected.”
“How many?”
Niisa laughed softly. “I am thinking…all of them. As people started noticing, they called everyone nearby into the city so that they could all participate. You might be getting a bonus for this.”
“Does the bonus take the form of a nap?”
Her friend giggled. “No, I don’t think it does.”
“Then, I am not interested. Back to the room, change of clothing and out of this makeup. I don’t want anyone to recognize me by sight when we leave.”
“Fine. You start scrubbing, I will get the chisel.”
Despite her fatigue, her numb mind and her aching feet, Yohwen laughed. “What about the dress?”
“Bolt cutters.”
They both giggled their way back to the preparation room, and in fifteen minutes, two hooded women slipped away in the early dawn, heads bowed together in conversation.
* * * *
“What do you mean, she left the city?” Scorcher Orkill frowned at his partner.
Healer Debarren grinned, “I mean, she and her assistant snuck out at dawn, leaving the trappings of last night behind. She has her fee, so there was nothing holding her here.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“Of course I do. She has a private Haunt office in Teeger province. I am guessing after last night that she will need to rest.”
Orkill scowled, “She can rest on the ship. We need her, and she is the most powerful Haunt we have seen. I didn’t even know that this talent existed a week ago, and now, I find that there is a whole planet that hosts them.”
“They are one in a hundred thousand, Orkill. The fact that you got their government to agree to part with one doesn’t mean that she will come with us, especially if you annoy her by destroying her rest. Our patients are not in any danger.”
“I hate this political crap. Why did we have to wait for that little display last night?”
Debarren shook his head. “It is the beginning of their largest holiday. Last night, not only did our target wake her intended souls, she woke up the whole cemetery.”
“That wasn’t supposed
The light sprang up around her, and she heard murmurs of surprise as she continued her slow and deliberate pace. Her mind joined the song that the dead brought from the stars. She gave herself up to them, pulling power from the ground beneath her to offer them visible form. Yoh heard chattering, excited sobs, and she kept moving on the sand path laid out just for her.
There was one moment, a few hours in, when an excited child stumbled into her and the light dimmed at the contact with the living. She turned her head, and the child stared up at her in shock before her dead grandmother came up to her and shepherded her back to the family with apologies to the Haunt.
She silently wished the young girl a peaceful transition into activity.
Bemused at the contact with a Haunt in her young stage, it took Yoh a bit of effort to get back into the pacing trance that continued for three more hours.
Niisa was waiting for her at the end with a stool, her shoes, and a soft brush to remove the sand. Yoh sat and let her assistant take care of her. She got to her feet and looked over the largest cemetery in the world. Lights of souls were still there, still active.
“Let them go, Yoh. You have done more than enough.”
“When you miss the ones you love, there is never time enough.” She smiled sadly, and as the dawn began to rise, she let the ghosts fade. The souls returned to the stars, and those left behind smiled with watery eyes.
The conclusion and dissipation of the souls was marked with another gong, and Yohwen was free to return to her quarters, change and get the hell out of the capital city.
On their way back to her staging room, she leaned on her friend. “That was tiring.”
“I can imagine. You lit up far more sites than expected.”
“How many?”
Niisa laughed softly. “I am thinking…all of them. As people started noticing, they called everyone nearby into the city so that they could all participate. You might be getting a bonus for this.”
“Does the bonus take the form of a nap?”
Her friend giggled. “No, I don’t think it does.”
“Then, I am not interested. Back to the room, change of clothing and out of this makeup. I don’t want anyone to recognize me by sight when we leave.”
“Fine. You start scrubbing, I will get the chisel.”
Despite her fatigue, her numb mind and her aching feet, Yohwen laughed. “What about the dress?”
“Bolt cutters.”
They both giggled their way back to the preparation room, and in fifteen minutes, two hooded women slipped away in the early dawn, heads bowed together in conversation.
* * * *
“What do you mean, she left the city?” Scorcher Orkill frowned at his partner.
Healer Debarren grinned, “I mean, she and her assistant snuck out at dawn, leaving the trappings of last night behind. She has her fee, so there was nothing holding her here.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“Of course I do. She has a private Haunt office in Teeger province. I am guessing after last night that she will need to rest.”
Orkill scowled, “She can rest on the ship. We need her, and she is the most powerful Haunt we have seen. I didn’t even know that this talent existed a week ago, and now, I find that there is a whole planet that hosts them.”
“They are one in a hundred thousand, Orkill. The fact that you got their government to agree to part with one doesn’t mean that she will come with us, especially if you annoy her by destroying her rest. Our patients are not in any danger.”
“I hate this political crap. Why did we have to wait for that little display last night?”
Debarren shook his head. “It is the beginning of their largest holiday. Last night, not only did our target wake her intended souls, she woke up the whole cemetery.”
“That wasn’t supposed
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