Open-Haunted-House Read online

  “Good. The new colour looks good on you. I bet your dad is happy. You were always nearly perfect, now you are.” Vohar grinned. “He can come out from under the table.”

  Neekil made emerging from under the table look natural and graceful.

  He made his introduction, and Vohar sized him up. “You look like you can deal with her. Congratulations.”

  She extended her hand to shake it, and Neekil took it, his eyes widening in surprise.

  Nylki whispered. “I have to go; thank you for your greetings.”

  With her hands together and her body tight, she left them. Vohar nodded. “I had better go, too. Nice to meet you.”

  Neekil handed the file over, and he said, “Here.” He was completely bemused. “Do you know who that is?”

  She returned to her seat. “Of course. Vohar the cursed. She has to live ten thousand lives before she can be free. She still has over nine thousand to go.”

  “You are a friend with one of the cursed ones?” Neekil was shocked.

  “Anyone for dessert?” The server smiled.

  Hannah turned to him. “Bring a complete assortment and times it by three. That should do. They need to get a variety.”

  The server looked startled and nodded in surprise.

  Neekil smiled. “Do you think the mayor will be upset over the bill?”

  “No. He is using you as a tourist attraction. Seeing this many dark elves above ground is a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

  Morith smiled. “What will they do if we take up residence here?”

  She sipped at her water. “They will probably ask you to have weekly or monthly dinners together where people can see you. You will also be invited to all gallery openings, art exhibits, dance performances, concerts, you get the idea.”

  Aberan grinned. “So, which of these ladies can I bed?”

  Hannah smile. “Any that consent when I am not around.”

  He frowned. “That is no fun.”

  “We haven’t even found you a place to live. Once you four are in a nice and spacious area where you won’t disturb the neighbours, you can make your partners scream until you and they are exhausted. The rules are consent and respect for those around you.”

  The dark elves at the table stared at her.

  She smiled. “It’s a good thing that I am a realtor. I think we can find you somewhere comfortable and spacious.”

  Neekil blinked. “Sorry, can we get one of those places where I can hear you scream?”

  She gave him a look. “We can, but my finances are finite.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean? We have funds. We trade gemstones for our upkeep.”

  She blinked. “Right. That makes a lot of sense. Okay. When we get back home, we will go over the options. There are a few large properties near the Ganger mansion.” She shrugged. “They are haunted, but I can negotiate with a ghost or two.”

  The desserts arrived, and her rising pulse calmed when she consumed the sugar.

  Neekil frowned when she reached for the parfait. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have another dessert.”

  Imara walked in and caught the comment. She snickered.

  Hannah asked her, “Since he seldom gives me straight answers, what is the problem with dessert.”

  “Your body wants sex or sugar. If it has the one, it doesn’t need the other. Basic elf physiology. I took it in college.”

  Hannah handed the file over. “Thank you for that information.” She gave Neekil a look through narrowed eyes and took a spoonful of whipped cream and fruit.

  He winced.

  Imara laughed. “Well, I will head home and get to work on this. Can you tell me what you saw? How much degradation there was?”

  “Uh, she’s gaining power. This isn’t a standard haunting.”

  Benko got up. “Would you care for my seat?”

  Imara smiled, and she nodded. “Thank you.”

  The table was large enough for eight, so he simply moved down. Hannah took the file and walked Imara through the spell.

  “You said it was a broken-soul spell.” Imara frowned.

  “It was, but I think it was done between. She was seventeen going on eighteen, an untrained mage, a virgin, uneducated, surviving, and thriving. She was in between everything, but this is the weird thing she has aged.”

  Imara scowled. “What?”

  “Seriously. She has aged. That means her bones are exposed to the elements. They are scattered and out there, and we have to find them, but this is way out of my scope.”

  Imara sat back, and Morith slid a dessert toward her. It was made of whipped cream with a cheesecake base. Imara smiled. “Thank you.”

  She dragged her finger through the whipped cream and held it up toward her shoulder. A little black kitten emerged, and the little pink tongue took the whipped cream off in short order.

  The elves were fascinated. Neekil made the introductions, and the kitten stretched and retreated back into Imara’s hair.

  Imara nibbled at the rest of the sacrificed dessert. The singer in the bar was belting out a heartfelt love ballad.

  The men turned toward the bar, and Imara smiled. “I think I know someone who can help us find the bones, but she’s going to be tired tomorrow.”

  “Who?”

  “Nylki. She has tracking skills. She used to be a mage guild consultant, but something happened. She might help; she might not. We can ask.” Imara smiled and took out her phone. “I can ask.”

  Hannah watched her, and when the singer paused in her song, a ping came back with an address and a time. She had an idea, and she quickly sent a text to Leonora.

  Neekil whispered, “What are you doing?”

  She got a response, and she grinned. “Getting the guys a place that they can invite ladies if they like. At least for tonight.”

  He blinked. “Where?”

  “The Grunwald mansion. It is being tentatively declared the dark elf embassy.”

  Another song began, and the elves all had their white-crowned heads turned toward it.

  Imara smiled. “Ah, Nylki is in fine form tonight.”

  “Is she a siren?”

  Imara shook her head. “No. She just puts her soul into the song and gets back what she needs.”

  “I don’t get it. What is she?”

  “A child of Psyche.”

  Hannah blinked. “Really? I thought that one of those would be more... obvious?”

  Imara laughed. “That is why she is so shy. She doesn’t want to trigger anyone.”

  Hannah nodded. “Got it. So, we are still on for tomorrow?”

  “Sure, if you can pick us up, we can go and collect Nylki.”

  “Will do. Is the time the same?”

  Imara checked the phone. “It will be around eleven if that is okay. We can go for lunch sometime during the process.”

  Hannah chuckled. “When I called for a consult a week ago, I did not anticipate this.”

  “It is strange how some things work out. Okay, I have the file and will bring it along tomorrow. No guys, okay? Neekil can sleep in or something. Nylki needs to relax a little.”

  Hannah nodded. She glanced at Neekil, and he looked surprised.

  “That was a child of Psyche?”

  The voice floated across the restaurant, and she inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly. There was a lot of pain and longing in that voice.

  Hannah nodded sadly. “Yeah, it is.”

  Imara left, and Nylki’s set ended, leaving the dark elves calm and relaxed.

  Hannah got the confirmation that the bill had been attended to, and they left their first restaurant experience in the modern age.

  They had the mansion at their disposal, it was in relatively good repair, and there were eighteen bedrooms. They had plenty of space.

  They got back to the cars and headed back to the mansion. Krisfel cleared his throat. “What is a child of Psyche?”

  “She’s a psychic
vampire and consumes lust for survival.”

  “How?”

  “She takes in the energy waves that are put off by people who lust for her. She can trigger it whenever she wants, but it seems that Nylki wants to keep things under control. She wears baggy clothing, pale colours that wash her out, no makeup, that kind of thing.”

  “So, she doesn’t want to be desired?” He frowned as if struggling with the concept.

  “Being desired turns her into prey, and it gets tiring to dodge the predators all day, every day.”

  Krisfel nodded. “I understand.”

  “Good. I saw how her presence impacted you. If you are going to try and court her, you will have to pace yourself.”

  He nodded. “I can wait.”

  She grinned. “You sound like your brother.”

  “He bided his time, and you are now in his bed. It has worked out well.”

  “He’s in my bed.”

  Krisfel chucked. “Semantics.”

  She snorted. He sounded just like Neekil at that moment.

  Hannah muttered that if they were going to remain topside, they would have to learn to drive. When in doubt, stick to the mundane. It never failed to drain all innuendo out of a situation.

  Chapter Nine

  After dropping off the guys and showing them how the interior of the mansion worked, Hannah wanted to head home. It had been an exhausting day.

  Neekil smiled. “Would you like to stay here overnight?”

  She gave him a long, silent stare before she said, “Won’t that cause a problem with your siblings?”

  “No. We live in close quarters at home. There is no issue with intimate interactions.”

  Hannah smiled. “Not tonight. I promise when we get home, I can be as loud as you like.”

  He grinned and held up her keys. “As the lady likes.”

  She snorted and kissed him quickly before she sprinted for the door. He was going to cheat somehow, she knew it.

  His car was in the drive, and he was leaning in the doorway when she got to the porch. “What took you so long?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, and then, she squeaked as he grabbed her around the waist. She set the wards and proceeded to demonstrate that she was a woman of her word, and her words were really loud.

  After a few hours of testing her sound wards, she curled up in his arms, exhausted and sweaty. He looked very pleased with himself.

  Hannah chuckled as they settled in to sleep. He had a right to be smug. He had earned it.

  She was yawning non-stop when Imara got into her car the next morning.

  Imara grinned. “Long night?”

  Hannah shrugged. “The usual number of hours. Dusk ‘til dawn.”

  She pulled out into traffic and drove the distance to the address Nylki had provided.

  “Wait. Is this right?”

  Imara checked her phone. “Yeah. It is. A cat café.” There was a murp sound from her shoulder.

  “Oh. Right. He’s with you?”

  Imara chuckled. “He is always with me when I am doing stuff that requires magical focus. He’s quite the trooper about it.”

  “Shall we go in?” Hannah unbuckled and got out of her car.

  Imara was waiting for her on the sidewalk, and they walked to the door together. Nylki was standing behind the counter, and she smiled and inclined her head.

  “Welcome to the Hairwell Cat Café. Please sanitize your hands and read through the menus at a table. I will be with you in a minute.”

  Imara pulled her hair to one side. “I am packing my own, but he is fully inoculated. Can he play with the others?”

  Nylki nodded. “As long as everyone has the same chance of survival, he can be a little maniac.”

  It seemed that was all the kitten needed to know. He launched himself in a tremendous arch, and his little feet thudded toward a shelf where the cats were napping.

  There was a short territorial dispute, and Mr. E ended up on the lower shelf of the cat stand. He pouted until he yawned and curled into a small black ball.

  Imara sighed in relief, and they went to their table, rubbing in the hand sanitizer. The offer was simple. Twenty dollars per hour with two beverages each. It was a basic charge for the company of the cats.

  Nylki smiled. “Coffee?”

  Hannah nodded. “Please. Two creams, two sugars.”

  Imara nodded. “The same, please.”

  Nylki inclined her head and headed behind the counter to prep the huge mugs of coffee. She was wearing loose jeans and a baggy sweatshirt today. Her skill at hiding the shape of her body was incredible. Hannah had no idea if she was fat, thin, or average. She was completely non-descript.

  The coffees were served to them on a tray, and cats were already circling their ankles.

  Nylki chuckled. “Right, now what did you want me to look for?”

  Imara handed the file over. “Her soul or ghost or spectre has been bound to this house using a blood binding. We need to find her body to undo that.”

  Nylki nodded. “I need something of hers.”

  Hannah shook her head. “There isn’t anything. She was reported missing by her boss, her apartment was cleared out, and when abduction from her home was ruled out, it was donated. The only thing that I know was hers was her blood, and that is at the house.”

  Nylki nodded and looked through the file that Hannah had put together. Her voice was strong and assertive in the daylight. “How long has she been dead?”

  Imara mentioned the date she had gone missing.

  Hannah added, “She mentioned that she had only woken up a few years ago.”

  Nylki nodded. “So, she woke up when her body dispersed. Right. I will need to taste her, and then I can locate the body parts. That is what you want, isn’t it?”

  “Retrieving her bones? Yes. It will be our best chance of releasing her from the house or restoring her memories. I am guessing that it took effort for her to pull herself together.” Imara drummed her fingers on the file’s edge. “I will know more when I meet her.”

  Nylki nodded. “Right. I will just get my replacement up, and we can be on our way.”

  Hannah looked at her seriously. “Please, let me finish my coffee.”

  Imara chuckled. “She had a night of the appropriate length.”

  Nylki chuckled. “Ah. Him. Right. That collection was very impressive. I saw your gathering in all the news releases.”

  Hannah shrugged. “It was a free dinner with a nice table. The guys are new to being above ground. I mean, Neekil’s brothers.”

  Nylki nodded. “Got it. How long have you been above ground?”

  “Me? Oh, I was born at the local hospital. I used to look like this.” She pulled on her human glamour and smiled. “See? Nice and normal. The dark elf treatment was something that was done when I wasn’t looking, but what’s done is done.”

  Imara sipped her coffee. “Ask her how long she has been that way?”

  Hanna wrinkled her nose. “Fine, it is just about a week, but I got a lovely consolation prize and four more brothers out of it.”

  “You have been a dark elf for a week?” Nylki was staring at her.

  “Yeah. I am still getting used to the decreasing inhibitions. Fortunately, it is only distracting when my guy is around, and he is about to return to work.”

  Imara chuckled. “They have a lot of free time, Hannah. Just a warning.”

  Nylki laughed.

  Hannah slugged back the hot coffee and shivered as she finished.

  Imara put her hand over her coffee and cooled it before she drank it.

  The proprietor got up and walked over to the cat that had won dominance of the cat stand. “Kuron, wake up. You have to take over for me.”

  The large orange tabby got up and yowled in disgust.

  “Come on, you lazy bastard. This shop was your idea. I want a normal day job. But no, you wanted a café so you could just lie around in the
sun and have hot chicks scratch you behind the ears. Why are you ignoring our guests?”

  The cat jumped toward the floor and turned into a very naked muscular young man. He grinned. “They are taken in the dangerous kind of way. I like all of my nine lives intact, thank you.” He grinned. “I am just going to put something on. While this would no doubt bring in more ladies, it might freak out the health inspector.”

  He padded to the back, his tawny hair hanging to his shoulder blades.

  Hannah watched him go, and she had to admit he was pretty, but she had very recently seen beautiful, and she was keeping that in mind.

  Nylki smiled. “My brother can be a little big on the ideas and short on the execution. I work a number of jobs to keep this place afloat and take on consulting when I can. If I am going to find her by taste, it will be three thousand.”

  Imara nodded. “Done.”

  Hannah winced but agreed. “Done. The mayor wants to get that house back in circulation. I will put it on their bill.”

  Nylki grinned. “I wish I was good for more than just finding bodies. That sounded wrong.”

  When Kuron came back, dressed and with shoes on, they took their leave. Mr. E was happy to have been able to indulge his softer side, and Hannah was happy that she had gotten some coffee into her.

  They got in her vehicle, and they were off to Sable’s house.

  The landscapers were goblins and had done their work in the dark of night. It might have freaked out the neighbours, but they worked silently.

  There were a few members of the neighbourhood walking slowly by the metal fence and staring at the incredible transformation that well-paid extranaturals could create.

  The house now looked bright and attractive. Hannah led the way with her human face. She opened the lockbox and entered the house after knocking politely.

  When Imara and Nylki were inside, she spoke, “Miss, I have returned with two specialists.”

  The glow formed the young woman, and she chuckled. “A woman of your word. Who are your buddies?”

  Hannah made the introductions, and then, she said, “I wish we could sit for this, but I believe I know who you are?”

  The power signature flared, and Imara stared. “That is interesting.”