“Your house is incredible.” I said with a measured smile, admiring more of the aesthetic she’d crafted and making sure she felt my words as much as she heard them. “It’s perfect in every way.”
“I really appreciate that.” Jane murmured back. “Because my particular brand hasn’t been appreciated much. At least in my personal life. People working the haunts have been the exact type of people who’d appreciate my interests.”
“Well those who didn’t suck,” I chuckled. “Their loss.”
“Right?” She giggled lightly, sauntering down the short hallway that led to the front door. “I think you'll like everyone,” Jane mentioned as we ambled out of the house and onto the massive wrap around porch that overlooked the property. Her neck twisted back to face me while we stomped down the steps. “You don't have an issue working with Orbs, do you?”
“Oh, definitely not.” I assured, my head tilting with emphasis. “That won’t be a problem.”
“Good, because it has been in the past and they’re the most senior people here so they’re not going anywhere as long as I have anything to say about it.”
I shook my head at the notion that people were turning down active work simply because Orbs were involved. I knew that with Orbs being integrated into the social norms amongst humans that there would naturally be people who didn’t understand. But Orbs came into society more than twenty years ago. They were just as much a part of the social fabric as humans were at this point, so I saw absolutely no benefit by fighting it and causing a scene.
But then again, with the blood centers up and down the eastern seaboard being threatened by a hate group going by the name of Hellgrammite, I could understand whyOrbswould be apprehensive about working with humans, instead of the other way around. And after the petrylle kidnappings that had happened in D.C. not too long ago, I get that tensions were high. But Orbs should have the issues, not humans.
We kept cutting through the neatly trimmed lawn, passing the maze that took up the most of the right side of the yard closest to the house. Just beyond it was a handmade structure that served as the haunted house, where I saw a few humans and Orbs commingling just outside the entrance, all laughs and comfortability, which made me smile.Thiswas what the world looked like, what the world should be interested in being. Anything less was a disservice to both parties.
“Hey guys,” Jane said, earning us the gaze of the four people standing in front of us. They all twisted in our direction while Jane flicked her head toward me. “This is our newest addition, Krueger.”
“Dude,sickname.” The tall blonde girl said, her blue eyes matching the denim overalls she was wearing. Her hair was all pulled to one side and laid in an intricate laced braid. She shifted her stance in her Doc Martens. “I’m Abigail.”
“Welcome to the preamble to Hell.” The shorter guy next to her stated, seemingly giving the festival the abbreviatedmoniker. He had buzzed blond hair and two piercings in his nose and three in each ear. “Nice to meet you, I’m Chase.”
“Nice to meet you guys.” I said back, making sure I was controlling my face as I scrolled over the exteriors of the two Orbs in attendance.
I made sure to keep my smile glued to me, but the truth was, the Orbs were so striking that it was really hard not to gawk at them. The first was tall, taller than Abigail, a creature covered in immaculate red skin. She was unmistakably noticeable as stellymn, and she looked like the coolest demon you’d ever have the privilege of laying your eyes on. Her shoulder length navy blue hair was slicked back, settling in place just behind her ears, and her eyes were solid black except for the white ring that made up her iris.
She looked fucking badass. I’d met one of her species before but I’d always liked them for their sinister look that could easily be compared to what most people would call demons. She was donning some really cool earrings that were solid black and looked like some sort of mismatching runes. And her outfit was complete black leather, which seemed counterproductive considering that the North Carolina heat left over from summer was still heating the days considerably, the autumn air yet to make it’s complete way into the season. Add in the fact that she was wearing thigh high black boots withsix inch fucking heelsand I was already her biggest fan.
“Krueger,” She smiled, showing off her pearly white row of perfect teeth. “Such an interesting name. I’m called Khalice.” It sounded exactly like the word callous, but that only made her seem cooler in my opinion.
The Orb next to her looked jittery with excitement at the notion of a new addition to the team, which played well off of the complete shock of being in the presence of an ausserknoch. Though I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet a member ofKhalice’s species, I’d heard stories about meeting ausserknoch. Most of them had been crafted by people who were utterly terrified to have come across one, but my intrigue about them had never wavered.
Where most people feared the ‘scary’ looking Orbs, they’d always been a focal point for me. Being a lover of all things horror, certain Orbs seemed to have inadvertently inspired the genre, so why wouldn’t I be fascinated by them?
The ausserknoch before me seemed to be a bundle of golden retriever energy, bounding back and forth on their feet while they looked me up and down. Their skin was solid black, a black so dark that it seemed to absorb light and devour it whole. I could understand why some people would be put off by them, but to me, they were the sort of creatures I’d longed to meet. Underneath their slightly baggy and bright lime colored clothes, I could see the bone areas that replaced the black skin, looking like built in armor that blended seamlessly into their frames. The color of the ausserknoch’s irises were the same shocking green of their clothes, the rest of their eyes solid black just like Khalice’s.
“Hi Krueger!” The voice that came out of the ausserknoch was higher pitched than I’d expected, and sounded nasally and frayed to the ends of the earth. “My name is Ripp!” He seemed like an overexcited child, which was actually really fucking cute.
Khalice seemed to notice the twinge my lips made, gesturing with her long black nails toward her companion. “You’ll have to excuse Ripp. He’s easily excitable and loves the prospect of new friends.”
“Which has run people off in the past.” Jane chastised, giving Ripp a look, but the lingerings of a smile succeeded it. “We talked about taking it easy, remember?”
Ripp’s entire frame changed, his bouncing from foot to foot ceasing as his shoulders slumped forward in obvious defeat. Hefolded his arms across his bone-armored chest and rubbed his hands up and down his impossibly dark skin. “Sorry.”
“No, I love your energy.” I assured him, making sure I gave Jane a look that emphasized my words. “I’m not easily spooked and I’m not going anywhere. Ripp can be himself, I promise.”
“Really!?” Ripp shouted eagerly as he unfurled from within the confines of his body, returning to moving his body like he needed to relieve himself instead of being so excited. “I didn’t scare you?”
“Not in the slightest.” I chuckled, eyeing a look of approval from Khalice. “I mean, I’m sure you guys are great for the haunts, but you won’t scare me by being yourselves.”
“I like this one.” Khalice said to Jane, nodding in my direction as she stomped over to me, cutting the space between us like it was nothing. How the hell she was this coordinated in six inch heels while stompingin the grasswas beyond me. She draped an arm across my shoulders, beaming down at me while she regarded our boss again. “You did great, Jane.”
“Thanks, Khal.” Jane beamed with pride, giving me a wide smile that told me I was living up to her notion of me fitting in. Jane’s eyes squinted as she looked beyond everyone and inside the darkness that was the entrance to the haunted house. “Oh, there’s the last of the haunt crew.”
Exiting out of the structure of the haunted house was a tall Orb. Not quite as tall as Khalice, who towered over me by what looked like an entire foot, but that wasn’t the shocking part.
I recognized him.
