Nameless Ghoul

Auras

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, drinking the coffee and eating the chocolate bars. Itzal had never really enjoyed human food before. He had eaten what Santos gave him, which was the basic fuel and nutrition. He'd had things like leftover cake from banquets and functions at the church, but he couldn’t say what the flavours were. The chocolate melted on his tongue and he savoured it, enjoying the smooth texture and the sweet taste. He took small bites to make it last longer. Sunshine was watching him from the corner of her eye as she polished off her own and took a deep swig of her coffee.

“Why did you come after me that night?” he said.

She rested her cup on her lap and fiddled with the lid absentmindedly.

“I was curious when I saw you. I didn’t expect to see a ghoul that I didn’t know in the crowd. The bigger implications didn’t occur to me. I just wanted to see who you were. I noticed your aura and it was so beautiful. I came to find you so I could see it more closely.”

Itzal looked at her with a sceptical grimace. He hadn’t realised she was an air ghuleh. They could see auras so were superb judges of character, as your aura couldn’t hide what you were. He must be seriously out of touch after all these years, as he'd thought she felt more like a fire ghoulette.

“You’re kidding, right?” he said. “My aura must be fucked just like I am.”

She mock frowned at him and turned so that she was facing him.

“If that’s what you really think, then you’re very wrong. When I first saw you, it was overlaid with what looked like TV static. I’d never really seen that before on a ghoul. But then I realised that wasn’t you. When I really looked, I could see past the static and there was something beautiful underneath. I think the static must be him,” she said sadly. “But now that you’re here, the static is almost gone. The wards are mostly blocking him, and I can see you clearly. It looks like the Milky Way on a cloudless night.”

Itzal stared at her as her words sank in. He didn’t think she was lying. She would have no reason to. He hadn’t ever thought about what his aura would look like to others. Now that he did, though, he pictured something dark with spider-webbed cracks all over it, like the pattern on a broken pane of glass.

“Anyway, I’m glad I came after you because now you’re here with us and not with him. Shay is an honourable ghoul, and he will do everything he possibly can to sort this out. It would be great if you could stick around with us. We’ve got a tight-knit family here. Everyone is amazing and I bet you would love them all.”

Itzal sighed. He admired her optimism, but he was still doubtful there was anything they could do for him. He was bound to Santos and, as far as he knew, the only way out of that bond was death. He fully expected that would be the outcome of this little adventure.

“Hmm, I’m not so sure they would welcome me. Alpha and Omega hated me on sight. I think that’s going to be the default reaction. Besides, I don’t mix well with others. I haven’t done a lot of socialising in the last few years, other than the ritual sacrifices and the orgies.”

Sunshine snorted mid gulp of her coffee and spluttered, then threw her head back and laughed. Through giggles and coughs she said, "Did you just crack a joke, Itzal?” She playfully punched him on the arm. He jumped and her face fell. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t thinking!”

Itzal got up from the bed and walked to the other side of the room, rubbing the place on his arm where she had touched him. He looked over at her and she was watching him intently. Her hand covered her mouth and she wore a look of concern on her face. He leaned against the wall and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Don’t be sorry, it should be me apologising for being such a fucking wimp.”

She shifted on the bed and drew her knees up to her chin, hugging her shins. She tilted her head to one side.

“Ha! You are far from a wimp! I wish so badly that your life had been different. I can’t even imagine what it's been like for you, but I know that we all want to rip that fake Papa apart piece by piece for what he has done to you. Being bound to someone in that way, it has to be the worst nightmare of any ghoul. If I ever get the chance, I will rip out his guts.”

He couldn’t help but smile at that, coming from this tiny, feisty ghuleh.

“You don't know how many times I’ve dreamed about doing just that.”

They both turned their faces towards the door as they heard footsteps in the corridor. Sunshine smiled as she must have recognised the sound of the female voices. She jumped up and went out to greet them. Itzal followed her into the hall.

Two ghulehs were walking towards them. One was small, blonde and curvy, the other was dark-haired, taller and leaner. He recognised them from the Ghost Project and tried to figure out what kind they were. He sensed air vibes.

“Oooh, you weren’t wrong! So pretty!” the curvier one said, looking at him with a cheeky smile.

Itzal looked at Sunshine, who rolled her eyes and mouthed ‘aura’ at him. She smiled as she saw the worried look on his face.

“Hi girlies! It’s great to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“We came to check you were okay, you’ve been gone for a while. And obviously we had to check out the fresh meat,” she said with a wink.

“Cumulus!!! You are terrible!!” Sunshine said with a chuckle, “I can’t believe you!!” She looked up at Itzal to make sure he was ok. “Well now you’ve seen him. Sorry Itzal, this is Cumulus and Cirrus. They’re part of the band with me, but we are pretty much sisters. They are also super nosey and have zero filters!”

Itzal raised his hand in greeting and said, “Hi.”

“The boys want to watch a movie, so we came to see if you fancied it?” said Cirrus.

Sunshine looked at Itzal with an expectant look on her face. He didn’t know what to say as he looked at the trio with a panicked expression. He hadn’t realised that they meant him too.

“Umm, I’m not sure? I don’t think I’m supposed to leave here.”

Cumulus looked at him and pouted.

The idea of being in a room with the ghouls and ghulehs absolutely terrified him more than anything right now. Sunshine must have realised as she came to his rescue when she turned to him.

“It’s ok, there will be plenty of other times. Every other night is movie night these days! You must be tired after everything that’s happened. We’ll leave you in peace and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I’ll leave the snacks with you in case you get hungry.”

“Sure. Thanks,” he said with a weak smile.

He wished he could do something normal with the other ghouls, but he was just too dog-tired and weary suddenly. Something like that would surely push him over the edge. The previous days and the weight of what he had done were suddenly pressing down on him and he realised he was barely holding it together. Sunshine told him to call for her if he needed anything, said goodnight and walked away with the other ghulehs. 

Itzal sighed as he watched them disappear around the corner.