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  “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.

  Author’s Note

  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

  http://www.violagrace.com

  [email protected]

  About the Author

  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.

  Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Author’s Note

  About the Author