Page 52 of Seducing Jenny
I nodded, and he changed the subject. “So, is it true that the only way to kill a ghost on Halla is with a bone knife?”
“It doesn’t have to be a knife. Just bone. And you’ll see a lot of ghosts in Faithless, so be prepared,” I warned him. “It can be unsettling the first time.”
“I’ve heard they’re translucent but otherwise look normal. Why is that unsettling?”
“It’s hard to explain,” I said. “Seeing a few ghosts is one thing. But when you see hundreds, all translucent to different degrees…it messes with your perception. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.” I glanced out the window to the forest ahead. “We’re supposed to look forward to our time on Halla, learn the lessons we missed, become better, and eventually return to flesh. But honestly? Life here looks hard. I’m not eager for the transition.”
“Truth be told,” Mal said, voice low. “I never feared it. Not until I met you and Jenny. I’ve seen death up close more times than I can count. I don’t say that to alarm or scare you, but taking a life…there’s something about the act that soothes me. Makes me feel at peace. Like I’m setting something right. That I shouldn’t feel shame or guilt for it.” His tone stayed calm, but firm as he continued. “I’m not some murderer, Tiger. I do it, in service to my people.”
I had a difficult time wrapping my mind around that logic. “Do you ever…look for an excuse to be of service?”
“No.” He didn’t hesitate with his reply. “Never for myself. The ones I’ve executed, they were murderers, abusers, violent people who left pain in their wake. The fact that I enjoy the act, that doesn’t change the reason I do it.”
I could hardly believe we were discussing his profession since it had always been a taboo topic for him. I swallowed hard and asked, “Do youwantto continue that line of work?”
“For the first time in a long time, I can’t see my future clearly,” he admitted. “All I see is you. And Jenny. Before the two of you came along, most of my days were nearly identical. Now that I’ve escaped Justice’s imprisonment yet again, I do not know what he will choose next for me.”
“What wouldyouchoose for you?” I asked, curious to know.
“You and her,” he said simply. “Beyond that, nothing else matters to me.”
His unwavering certainty about Jenny and me was a relief. “I’ll be honest. The blood lust thingisunsettling, but I’ve also been in situations where such a thing would have come in handy for me, if I’d had the training for it.”
“Would you like me to teach you how to fight?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” I thought about it for a moment. “I mean, I know how to throw a punch, but the instinct for battle, I don’t have that. My cousin, Kapok,hewas a fighter. Not me. I don’t think I have that in me.”
He reached over and squeezed my thigh. “I hope you know I don’t think less of you for not having that in you.”
I grinned at him. “Same here, but in reverse.”
His eyes gleamed happily. “Good.”
“We’re almost there,” I said, focusing on the descent.
A few minutes later I landedCheesecakein the parking area by the gate. But the gates were open, and the guards just waved us through them, which made things so much simpler.
“I thought we had to check in at the gate,” Mal said, looking confused.
I shrugged. “I’m assuming they knowCheesecakenow.”
Mal chuckled. “This is probably the most expensive vessel on Halla, so I would think they’d recognize her.”
As we flew through the city, he asked dozens of questions. It was fun telling him all about our adventures in Faithless andabout the ghosts here, and he was eager to hear those tales, or he was too polite to tell me to shut up.
Then he asked about the revolt.
I exhaled a breath, remembering. “It was a crazy day, for sure.”
“And that was when Rex was murdered?”
“Killed,” I corrected quietly, but firmly. “Yes.”
“I know I wasn’t there,” he said, his voice low, possibly tinged with what sounded like grief. “But I knew him, Tiger. It’s hard to accept that his death was justice.”
“I guess I can understand that,” I murmured. I wanted to tell him everything that happened that day, but with his bloodlust confession still echoing in my ears, I hesitated. “If I tell you what happened, would you…seek revenge on the one who killed him?”
He exhaled a deep breath. “If she killed him in vengeance for her murdered family, then no. How could I? She made a righteous kill. I don’t have to like it, but I do respect it.”
