Halo (7 page)
He kissed her and took the power that was pouring through her back into his body.
She groaned as her body rocked and bucked against him. Her nails were clutching his biceps, and he was holding her hips, but he let her ride it out.
Avina leaned against him, feeling her heart slowly returning to a normal pace. She felt two fingers lifting her chin, and he kissed her softly before his erection began to twist an undulate inside her.
Apparently, he had taken the Wyoran prehensile cock and incorporated it into his body.
She stopped analyzing his physiology and held on as her g-spot was stroked over and over. She could see his energy glowing, his chest and the cut lines of his abs were gleaming with sweat and that told her that he was not as calm as he appeared.
It made her feel marginally better to know that he was on the edge of control, because her limbs were shaking once again and an orgasm was rushing upon her carried in sensation and aural energy. Utolian’s hands kept her fused to him, but they were getting tighter with every passing moment.
Her voice broke on a shriek when she came and his climax bruised, energized and deafened her as he shouted, held her fast and spewed more aural energy into her.
Avina held onto him until they both ceased their spasms. She looped her arms around his neck, and she groaned. “That was slow?”
He laughed and moved them to a horizontal position, he slipped free of her but kept her body against his. “That was slow and well worth the wait.”
She chuckled and kissed the pulse in his neck. “I would have suggested that we should have tried it while we were in quarantine, but I never would have had the nerve.”
He snickered, “And I would not have taken advantage if I was not sure that we would be able to remain together.” He stroked her cheek and left a trail of aural energy.
“How can you part with so much?”
Utolian grinned, “It isn’t much. I have enough power in me to move stars. Moving you was far more pleasurable.”
Avina wanted to slap him, she really did, but instead, she raised her knee and slid it up his thigh. “Move me again? Who knows when we will have another chance?”
“Anything you wish, Aura Speaker. I live for your call.”
She was going to snark at him, but he applied his lips to the spot under her ear that was guaranteed to drive her wild. His sharp teeth bit down gently, and she was swept away in the grip of an aura whose devotion was proved with every breath he took.
There were worse fates.
Speaker faced off against the aura who had decided to drive out the living population.
“Lealthic, you must leave the living world to the living. Stop your temper tantrums and leave the village alone.”
They have disrespected my grave. My descendants have forgotten me. I will make them pay until the respect is given.
Lealthic crossed his four arms and pouted, his tusks jutting forward.
This was the sticking point. “Lealthic, you have no descendants left. They are all dead. Your line is gone; there is no one to maintain your grave. You must move on now.”
Liar!
The aura raised a hand and a bench flitted through the air toward Speaker.
She stayed steady, and Aura caught the bench, putting it down. “I do not lie. My halo proves it. I cannot lie while I am wearing it. It would flare wildly if I were. Your last descendant died forty years ago. You are literally the only one of your people left. The colonists here owe you nothing, but they asked for help in speaking to you.”
You are telling the truth?
“I am. What do you wish to do? The colonists have stated that if you tell them where you are buried, they will care for your resting place.”
Lealthic sighed and closed his eyes.
I wish to rest.
She licked her lips. This part sometimes made the auras upset. “I can ease you into the next phase if you wish.”
He jerked in surprise.
You can do that for me?
“I can and I will. You need only say the word.”
Give me a moment to view my world?
“Take your time. Aura and I will be here for—”
An explosion rocked the ground, and Speaker looked from the aura standing in the public park to the mountain in the distance with the plume of grey dust coming from it.
“Lealthic, please excuse us. We must see if we can be of use.”
The aura nodded.
Those mines are treacherous. I will come with you.
The change from hostility to helpful was not something that Speaker was going to ignore. She jumped on her small personal skimmer, and Aura did the same. They headed out to the damage site.
It was indeed a mine collapse and twenty men and women were trapped. The problem lay in the lack of location.
Lealthic cleared his spectral throat.
I will go in and find them. It will be my last act, one of atonement for what I have done.
“Thank you. I will wait for your return.”
He nodded and disappeared.
The foreman came over to her. “Speaker, what is going on?”
“Lealthic has volunteered to go and get a location of the survivors. He wishes to atone for his behaviour. He did not know that he was the last.”
Technically, Lealthic was a ghost, but his mobility was that of an aura and that made him dangerous.
The foreman was uneasy. “He will cooperate?”
“He will. He has decided to leave this world to your people. He just needs to say his farewells.”
The aura in question reappeared.
Three hundred meters down, the cavern on the right. They have plenty of air for now, but there is a gas coming up from below that will reach them in two hours. The block is fifty meters thick and one hundred and fifty meters inside.
Speaker relayed it to the foreman, and Aura offered his help.
“I can lift more than your species can, and if necessary, I have another means of freeing the survivors.”
Speaker was surprised. “You do?”
“You have not seen all my tricks, partner. I will get them out before the gas reaches them. Can you ask Lealthic to keep alert and tell us if it is getting to dangerous levels?”
Speaker pretended that Aura couldn’t do it himself.
“Lealthic, can you keep an eye on the survivors and the gasses and alert the rescue party if it gets close?”
The aura nodded.
It would be my honour. I will also move what I can from inside the dig.
“Excellent. The sooner we get them out, the sooner you can make your decision.”
He nodded and his ears flapped with the motion. He disappeared in a moment.
Aura headed off to join the rescue party, and Speaker was left standing with the crowd waiting at a safe distance. Too many folks in the mine would almost be worse than too few.
She eventually helped with refreshments, keeping people calm and feeding and serving hot meals to the different shifts of diggers that came and went. The only constant was Aura.
Speaker kept an eye on the men coming and going, and she stiffened when eleven men emerged with shovels and picks. She ran to one of the men and asked, “What is going on? Where is Aura?”
The man gave her a tired look. “The ghost came and waved its arms frantically. Aura sent us all out, and he said he would get to them before anything happened. We were to give him ten minutes and get clear of the entrance.”
Speaker was about to ask why when another blast shook the ground. She ran toward the entrance, activating the breather built into her suit.
She stumbled down the cavern, looking for traces of her partner, her mate. She walked right up to the sight of the cave-in and through the neat hole that had been blown through it. The first shred of his uniform made her ill. More and more pieces of it appeared, and there was no trace of his body. She wanted to sit on her butt and wail, but the survivors were trooping toward her.
“Come on, your families are waiting.” Speaker swallowed heavily and escorted them out to the light.
She didn’t speak to anyone, merely got on her personal skimmer and flitted back to her shuttle. Moving faster and faster, she entered her vehicle and dug around for the carved box. Feeling queasy, she opened it and tears ran down her cheeks when Utolian’s orb was there and pulsing with energy.
She activated it and glared up at him.
Jackass! You scared the life out of me.
I apologise. I had no way of getting a message to you before I detonated my body. I can make another one.
I liked your last one.
Then, it shall be the same.
Something struck her mind.
So, when I am old and grey you will look just like this?
I will design a body that will age with yours. You are stuck with me, Avina. Now, bring a new suit for me and meet me at the mine. I am going to need a bit of raw material to put a new body together.
Jackass.
She grabbed another uniform for him and exited, hopping back on her little skimmer and returning to the mine site.
In a few minutes, there was a shift in power and he was striding out of the rubble butt naked and looking proud of himself.
She looked at him and snorted. He had given himself a tattoo in the centre of his chest.
She saw it and laughed. It was her name in English. “That is just silly.”
“You looked so worried, I thought you needed silly. From now on, each new body will have a mark that separates it from the previous one. While I may lose my body, you will never lose me. Are we clear?” He lifted her chin and kissed her softly.
She sighed. “We are clear. Now, get dressed. The local ladies are staring.”
She laughed as he flexed and his cock swivelled back and forth in a teasing pattern.
You and he are mates.
“Yes, Lealthic. I have come to grips with that.”
The ghost laughed, actually laughed.
If you can mate with one of his kind and be content, then I will have no problem moving on to the next life. I have done what I can, and now, my time is over. This is a new race with new traditions. They don’t need me hanging around.
Speaker bit her lip. “There is another option.”
Aura paused and looked at her in surprise. “You are going to tell him how?”
“Lealthic, would you enjoy continuing to be of use but to other people and not simply those on your home world? You could exit the situation at any time.”
I am intrigued; keep talking.
She outlined the process for him attaching himself to a small object and the training and screening processes that he would be asked to help with. “It is not for everyone, but you could meet new people, and it would not be too arduous. Ask, Aura. I used to keep him in a box.”
Aura finished sealing his suit. “She did. Still does on occasion. You are unaware of time passing; it really is a very good way of meeting new people while travelling the universe.”
You can hear me?
The ghost was a little surprised.
Aura wrinkled his nose. “I can, but like many males, it is easier for you to deal with a female who is speaking reason. If I had spoken to you, it might have escalated into something different.”
Fair point. There is a seal in the museum that I would like to be placed in. Do you think they will agree?
Speaker smiled. “For the assistance you have just rendered, they will agree. Is that your choice?”
What can I lose? Thank you, Speaker. I get the feeling that this is not an option you were supposed to offer.
She shrugged. “They can sue me. I am bound to the truth when it comes to dealing with auras. You are not evil; you were just confused. Meet us at the museum?”
He disappeared without another word.
Aura put his arm around her waist, and she carried her mini-skimmer with her other hand.
“You really are a soft one, Speaker.”
“Well, my partner died today, jackass. I am now feeling generous. It is one of the stages of grieving or perhaps not.” She laughed as he squeezed her tight. She had shown him a picture of a jackass, and he was not fond of being called by that moniker.
“I am fine.”
“You blew yourself up without warning me.”
“There was a time constraint.”
“You blew yourself up.”
He sighed and squeezed her again. “You are going to keep throwing that in my face.”
“Of course. And the next time you do it, I will probably be even more irritated.”
She looked up at him, and he was grinning. Avina knew that he was delighted that she was coming to grips with that portion of his talent.
They walked on toward the museum, and she started laughing.
“What?”
“We are going to need a lot more uniforms.”
He started chuckling, and by the time she had negotiated the seal that her ghost wanted, he had sobered. With Lealthic tucked into the object and in Aura’s hand, they left for home.
She had a reconstituted partner and a ghost in a royal seal. It had been a very eventful day.
She settled into the pilot seat and brought up the roster. “We have an entire tribe of poltergeist auras on Yalthuon 4.”
Utolian snapped on the harness and looked at her expectantly. “What are we waiting for?”
Avina reached into her thigh pack and tossed him an object. “Ready for takeoff. Hang onto your ball.”
He gave her a black look, and she dissolved into giggles as they pulled away from the surface. It was time for the next assignment and the next chance to bring peace to the universe, one aura at a time.
I was ordered to do a Halloween story, but a talent who wrangles space ghosts is as close as I get.
With
Halo,
we dipped our toe back into the Citadel and Sector Guard. I hope you enjoyed the visit to Teklan.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.