The Sullied Home

By Auden Johnson

A cursed land in a haunted city.
Massort was a city where Others didn’t have to pretend to be human. Where different communities lived beside each other without issue. It was also the most haunted city in the country. Paranormal catastrophes were common. Spirits roamed the streets like everyday citizens.
It wasn’t the best place for a newly trained Sensitive like Kiran Ava, but she was intrigued when her partner started a paranormal investigation business in Massort. What kind of unique Others would she meet?
They first needed to solve the curse of their home base. Any team who tried to purify Yumith failed. Every member either disappeared or was chased away. What evil possessed the land? Could they solve this case when the team argued constantly? Would the business fail before it got started?
This is book 3 of the Other Investigator series. You can enjoy this story without having read the previous books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Auden Johnson
• Release date: Oct 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215333303

Auden Johnson

As a kid, Auden created her own books by folding several construction papers in half and stapling them down the middle, adding her own illustrations. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get away from writing. She holds a B.A. in English, an M.S. in Library and Information Science, an M.S. in Publishing Digital and Print and she studied Creative Writing in England. She is an Author and Social Media Consultant for Aubey LLC and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. She’s written several short stories and novellas as well as two novels in her Merging Worlds Series. Look out for Book 3 of the Merging Worlds series coming soon. She’s also written a world building guide. Find her books at aubeyllc.com

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Description

A cursed land in a haunted city.

Massort was a city where Others didn’t have to pretend to be human. Where different communities lived beside each other without issue. It was also the most haunted city in the country. Paranormal catastrophes were common. Spirits roamed the streets like everyday citizens.

It wasn’t the best place for a newly trained Sensitive like Kiran Ava, but she was intrigued when her partner started a paranormal investigation business in Massort. What kind of unique Others would she meet?

They first needed to solve the curse of their home base. Any team who tried to purify Yumith failed. Every member either disappeared or was chased away. What evil possessed the land? Could they solve this case when the team argued constantly? Would the business fail before it got started?

This is book 3 of the Other Investigator series. You can enjoy this story without having read the previous books.

Massort was a cage that didn’t feel like one. A big city disguised as a small town. An old land turned new. Her new home was finally in sight. Kiran Ava drove behind the line of cars waiting to get through the arched gate. As far as she knew, the city had only three entrances and exits. Seemed dangerous.

Kiran pulled up to the booth and handed over her residency papers. People, even tourist, couldn’t visit Massort without prior approval. Kiran would consider this excessive in a normal city.

The guard raised one eyebrow. Ah, you’re part of that group that helped Shida.

She nodded.

Trapping a foreign Other who was terrorizing Shida’s residents hadn’t been an official case. They had been on vacation and fell into a screaming town mystery. Shida was an important city for Others. News of them helping its residence spread far. The reward from that case paid for most of the move and business expenses.

You probably get asked this a lot—, Kiran started.

Why is Massort so haunted? The guard finished her question.

Kiran nodded.

He shrugged and handed Kiran her papers. No idea. That’s your job. He smiled. Welcome to Massort Ms. Ava. Good to see you Mr. Hart.

Come here often? Kiran asked her Sensitive coach as she faced the road.

Atra Hart didn’t need papers. As a well-known Sensitive coach and consultant, he told people his name and everyone gave him what he wanted. Atra solved a few major cases in Massort. He often helped human authorities on normal investigations.

He shook his head with a sigh. Joke later. Concentrate. Massort takes some getting used to. If you feel you need to stop, let me know and I’ll take over.

Atra’s skin was so black it was almost blue. Today, he wore his thick shoulder-length black hair in braids. Kiran kept her curls cut above her ears. It was safer and easier to manage. Atra’s pupil-less bright amber eyes were as unsettling as Kiran’s. At least his was a single color. Humans knew about Other for years. Yet, people stared at them like they were outsiders. She loved her hometown, Stonehall, but it would be nice to live in a city that didn’t expect all Others to look human.

Kiran drove through the gate.

A large town sat on the other side of a white stone road that branched off in two directions. Kiran took the path to the right. A powerful hand punched through her chest and squeezed her lungs. Kiran veered to the side of the road and stopped the car.

She couldn’t breathe.

She couldn’t move.

Something bad was coming and she couldn’t run.

Ghosts, young and old, peered at her from behind trees. They’d look like normal residents if they weren’t transparent. One crossed the road and pressed its face to Kiran’s window.

She rested her head on the steering wheel.

Breathe in 1, 2, 3.

Breathe out 1, 2, 3.

Will it always be like this? Kiran pushed out.

Atra gave a sympathetic pat on the arm. You should be lucky that’s all you experience. I once had a student who heard voices all the time.

Like the hospital.

Atra nodded. I’m happy and surprised you aren’t experiencing the same thing.

Kiran had spent far more time than she liked visiting the hospital. She would never be finished with treatment, but she was well enough to only see them twice a year now. Dozens of voices had greeted her at every hospital visit. Nightmarish scenes played in almost every room. The hospital was old with a grim history. No matter how much spiritual scrubbing they did, they could not remove the darkness. If only Kiran could burn the images out of her memory. She and Atra had a couple of sessions focused on dealing with them.

Kiran moved her arms. She wasn’t trapped. She could breathe, but the constricting feeling wouldn’t leave. She turned off the car and handed Atra the keys.

I’m going to explore, she said.

He nodded.

Kiran slipped her charm bracelet off her wrist and gripped it between her hand and the steering wheel. Mom, Dad and her friends each chose a charm they felt best represented Kiran. A silver book with a bright red ward circle, a house wrapped in green vines, a lone unpowered ward symbol, a camera, a spirit, a monster. The bracelet helped her gain peace when she couldn’t meditate. She added a pink ward-embedded stone to enhance its power.

Breathe in 1, 2, 3.

Breathe out 1, 2, 3.

The land screamed, cried and laughed. It bubbled with joy one moment, then sank into blinding rage the next. It went silent. Curiosity took over. It noticed Kiran. She let it approach. Kiran didn’t sense malice. Just interest.

Hello Massort, she said.

The land was so giddy a laugh slipped out of her.

Kiran opened her eyes and sat back in her seat. She was still in the car, gripping her bracelet. She’d been submerged for only ten minutes. Her training and ward tattoos were doing their job.

Atra handed Kiran the keys. They continued through town. Massort followed.

The tree-lines road sometimes opened to towns large and small and abandoned structures. Massort was smaller than her hometown but not by much. Despite that, it didn’t have a lot of traffic. Kiran spent most of the drive alone. Spirits strolled through forests and walked up dirt roads. She didn’t see many living people.

Trees acted like boundaries between different towns. Kiran had never visited Massort, but she’d heard it had the most unique collection of communities in the country. From the buildings she spotted, that rumor was clearly true. Kiran should’ve turned left at the gate. This road was the fastest route to her new home, but it didn’t have much of a view.

Her new home, Yumith, was at the back of Massort, close to the ocean. Her partner chose a base far from any large communities. Probably why the property was so cheap. People had tried retaking Yumith, but residents always disappeared. The city even attempted to demolish it, but the workers kept vanishing. The property had been closed off and guarded for years. Kiran didn’t know how En convinced the owner to sell it to him.

The ocean song was welcoming. It grew louder the closer they got to their destination. Kiran wouldn’t be able to step out of the Yumith and onto the beach. It sat at the edge of a cliff, but she was looking forward to waking and sleeping to crashing waves. Even now, the sound kept her muscles relaxed while Massort’s strange energy tried to bind her. She slowed when the ocean’s song grew louder. Yumith was apparently so overgrown you only spotted it by an old gate. It was also darker than anything surrounding it. Yumith’s trees were gnarled and withering monsters, unlike the vibrant ones outside the property.

Finding her way home at night would be annoying. Kiran didn’t see any streetlights nearby. Vines, tall grass and trees concealed most of the intricate gate. She’d talk to the team about leaving it that way. The overgrowth added a bit of atmosphere even if it the entrance was hard to see.

She drove through the gate, past the broken keypad. They decided repairing the buildings was more important than making sure the gates closed. They had other ways of securing Yumith.

Oppressive air slammed into her. It squeezed as though trying to break all her bones and wring out her blood. She couldn’t get spit down her throat, let alone air. En said they warded the house, but it was about a three-minute drive away.

Her vision was going blurry, again. She couldn’t breathe, again.

Kiran back out of the gate. She took great gulps of fresh air. How was she going to reach the house?

Atra rubbed her arm. We’ll have to ward the car.

Doing so was expensive. Technology and magic didn’t often mix well together. She’d have to talk to Day about it.

Kiran nodded.

Can hold your breath long enough to get inside the house? I’ll drive fast. He asked.

She doubted it, but if she passed out, she wouldn’t have to worry about it. Kiran nodded as she got out and Atra scooted behind the wheel.

Kiran settled it. After taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she nodded. Atra sped up the driveway. The bumpy road threw Kiran across the seat. Kiran focused on a calm place inside herself. The room her mind created from a warm memory. Her fortress. Being a Sensitive meant spirits could easily possess her. This place was her last defense.

We’re here, Atra said.

Kiran opened her eyes to a black painted house.

She grabbed her emergency bag, shot out of the car and ran inside. The front door was unlocked. All the pressure eased as soon as she stepped inside. Kiran crawled to the nearest couch and stretched on it. Her breath wheezed in and out. Her heartbeat slammed into her chest. Kiran stripped off her jacket. It was too hot. She rolled off the couch and onto the cool wood floor.

You need to pay your warder double, Atra said when he walked in and handed Kiran the car keys.

He left their luggage by the door.

Leria Vani had been their warder, but she was having family issues and couldn’t join their team. Kiran hadn’t spoken to her friend in months since Leria’s people didn’t have much contact without outsiders. They weren’t going to get someone as good as her, but they found someone good enough.

En Libore’s voice came from behind a closed door across the living room. He usually had a dry way of talking, but now he sounded bored or exhausted. His voice was so low Kiran could ignore it even though he was so close. He hadn’t stopped their meeting to find out why Kiran had