9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A dead guy who's not dead. Interesting.

Yolkeltod and I stepped into the hallway. It would’ve been weird to have a conversation next to his crying sister and lifeless body. Or at least, I would’ve found it weird. Maybe it was a normal Tuesday for him. I didn’t know what the hell he did with his time.

I sat on the floor near the wall, so people wouldn’t traipse through us. Yolkeltod hovered over me, his tail lashing.

“Sit down,” I said with a wide grin to soften my order.

I didn’t know for sure if drakcol took being ordered well, especially with him being a warrior soul. Drakcol believed in four soul types: warrior, seeker, spiritual, and creator. Warrior souls were more aggressive, I assumed. Once again, no one had explained it when I was haunting them. It was infuriating to know bits and pieces, and not know if what I thought was true was actually correct.

Anyway, him looming over me wasn’t a great way to talk, and this wouldn’t be a fun conversation. I remembered when I’d run into my first ghost.

She’d been an elderly woman in the same neighborhood who passed away a few days before me. She’d been extremely sweet, explaining what she knew, which hadn’t been much. It had been stressful, and I’d been a bastard to her for the simple fact she heard me. I took every ounce of anger I had out on her. I’d demanded answers. The why of everything, and she of course hadn’t known, which pissed me off.

She passed on a few days later.

Stiffly, Yolkeltod sank to the floor across from me. His tail didn’t stop moving, and he crossed his arms over his broad chest. He was a massive dude in height and width. Well into the six-foot range, maybe even seven foot, and had muscles upon muscles. I appeared positively puny next to him.

“You can ask me anything,” I said. “My Drakconese is really good.”

“How long have you been dead?”

“Twenty-three cycles,” I replied while saying a silent thank you to Seth.

“Why?”

I knew what he meant, but I still asked, “What do you mean?”

“Why me? Why were me and Tinlorray in that shuttle accident? Why can’t I get back into my body? What’s the point of everything?”

“Well, you don’t ask small questions,” I commented, not surprised. I’d asked basically the same thing. Death was apparently the same for humans and drakcol. People were people. Strip away the casings and we all hungered to know the same things.

“I wish I could tell you,” I replied. “I really wish I could, but I don’t know. I’m not some afterlife guide. I’m just a guy who happened to be walking by. I have no answers for you.”

His tail went lifeless by his thigh before curling around his calf.

“How did you get injured?” I asked.

“A couple of months ago, Tinlorray and I took a shuttle into the capital for work, and it malfunctioned, crashing. We were among the few survivors.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not as bad for me. I worry about my older sister. I’m all she has.”

“I’m sorry,” I repeated. Those words were incredibly small in the face of what he’d revealed, but I didn’t know what else to say.

“Do you have any idea how I can get back into my body?”

“No,” I said, but Zoltilvoxfyn surfaced in my thoughts. “But I might know someone who does. We can go meet him.”

“Where?”

“He lives in the palace.”

Yolkeltod said, “I can’t leave.”

“What?”

“I can’t leave. I tried. I can’t get past the door of the hospital. It’s like a shield is stopping me.”

“Really?” I asked. “It must be because your body's here. I have no trouble wandering around, and trust me, I’m not from around here.”

“I would have never guessed.”

I laughed.

A slight smile pulled on his lips. “You must be good at this spirit thing. Can you touch stuff?”

“Not really. If I focus incredibly hard, I can move little things, but I can’t feel them. Though be careful doing that. If you expend too much energy, you’ll vanish for a while.”

His expression fell—something I understood. I craved to feel something too. Anything. I scooted until we were right in front of each other. I wished to pat him or give him a hug, but ghosts were unable to touch each other, which sucked. I was a tactile person. I loved hugging, high-fives, and snuggling. None of which I could do as a ghost.

In an effort to lighten the mood, I said, “But you can pass through walls or jump out of windows.”

“How am I not falling through the floor?”

“Because you expect not to. You’re used to gravity and the normal rules of the world. It takes a while to unlearn it.” I focused on the floor, and slowly, I started to sink, disappearing. Yolkeltod cried out, and I chuckled. “Don’t worry.” I concentrated, and I sat solidly once again.

“Can you teach me that?”

“Sure. It takes a while to forget all the constants you’re used to running your life.”

“How long will it take?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. As long as it does.”

His eyes gravitated to the doorway again. “How long will I be here?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had the urge to move on. Most spirits I’ve met, which haven’t been many, left within a few days of their deaths. But you’re not dead.”

“The doctor said I had no brain activity.”

“Yeah, because your soul is wandering around here,” I argued. “Don’t give up. I’ll talk to the person I know who can see me. Maybe he can help.”

Yolkeltod’s head cocked to the side, allowing me to see the black cuff near the tip of his ear and the chain that threaded through the cartilage down to his lobe. “You said the person was in the palace. You’re talking about Prince Zoltilvoxfyn, aren’t you? Are the rumors true? He can see souls?”

I nodded, then stopped myself. “Yes.”

“How did you meet him?”

“I wandered around the palace, then went straight up to him and called him pretty. This was before I knew he could see me,” I said, laughing.

His mouth hung open. “You flirted with the prince?”

“Unintentionally.”

Yolkeltod smiled, which stretched his lips wide and made his eyes close. It was such a joyous expression that a grin grew on my own face. He chuckled. “You flirted with the one person who can see you.” His smile dimmed. “One of the people who can see you.”

I had no way of comforting him. I wanted to say the right words to make it all better, but I couldn’t think of any besides empty platitudes, so I kept quiet.

After a few moments, he asked, “How did you get here?”

“It’s a long story. I’ve been wandering the universe for cycles, but I decided to stay here because of Seth Harris,” I said, then quickly added, “The human who married Prince Kalvoxrencol.”

“I might be brain-dead, but I know about him. He and Prince Kalvoxrencol have been the main news for months, and the prince left over a cycle ago to travel to Earth,” he remarked, tail lazily moving. When it neared me, the tuft of hair at the end of his tail disappeared into my knee. I didn’t react, because I doubted he meant to do it.

Yet again, his gaze gravitated toward the door where his body was, and I didn’t blame him. He swallowed, his throat bobbing in his long neck.

“You can tell me anything.” I’d heard or said it all before.

“I’m scared.”

“Of?”

“Leaving Tinlorray. Death doesn’t bother me, but she’ll be alone if I go. We don’t have parents or other family members. All we have is each other.”

“I will do whatever I can to reunite you with your body. There has to be a way.”

“I don’t believe that, but thank you.” He started toward the door as if he was pulled by a string, and I followed him stiffly. The edges of his soul were starting to blur while color leached out of him, turning him transparent. I recognized what was happening. I’d seen other ghosts pass on, and Yolkeltod was about to leave.

“Give me time to talk to Zoltilvoxfyn,” I pleaded, following him.

Tinlorray sat next to his body, holding his hand in hers.

“Don’t go.” I didn’t want to be the only one here.

He looked back at me, the light from the window growing as he blurred, becoming even fainter. “I’m glad I met you, Caleb Smith. I think all I needed was to admit I was afraid. Maybe that’s all you need to do as well.”

“I’m not afraid,” I replied honestly. “What about Tinlorray?”

“Watch out for her, please.”

“I can’t.”

“Please,” Yolkeltod said, growing brighter and brighter. He smiled, radiating happiness. “I think you’re special, Caleb Smith, and what she needs.”

“I’m not.”

“Promise me you will take care of her.”

The words spilled from my lips. “I promise.”

He grinned, and from one breath to the next, he was gone.