Nian called to him, his voice urgent. “Boss.”
With another glance at Ko’s scrawl, Mu Yun went to investigate.
Nian stood aside to let him into a small private room. It had a curtain of colored glass beads that rattled as he passed through, and it was marginally less squalid than the main smoking area. There was a low couch hung with gauzy curtains that used to be white, and on the couch, behind the curtain, a figure lay sprawled.
Judging by the shape of his hands, it was a young man. His face was turned away, pressed against the surface of the mattress, and he lay silent and still.
At first Mu Yun thought he was dead, like everybody else in this godforsaken dive, but then he realized that the man was trembling very finely. No sobbing, no praying: just tiny shivers as if he had been out in the cold for too long.
Mu Yun looked around. The dividing walls were nothing more substantial than pasteboard, as thin as paper and offering almost no protection. He could see where the bullets had punched straight through, denting the pasteboard and leaving neat holes in their wake. It was a miracle that this man had survived.
Mu Yun did not think of himself as superstitious, but this gave him pause. He wondered why the young man had been saved, and if he had any right to intervene in his life a second time.
Nian seemed to be having similar doubts. “What shall we do, boss?”
Mu Yun used his gun to part the curtains, looking down. The man seemed much more real now that the veil of gauze no longer protected him. He answered, “Kill him,” and then realized that the young man had gone completely still.
“But…” Nian indicated the cloak.
Mu Yun had already noticed. It was full-length, an opera cape: black velvet, edged with pale lilac satin at collar and tie and lined with the same material. It was beautiful and expensive. He hated himself for admiring it.
“Just because a man wears rich clothes doesn’t mean he is a man of quality,” Mu Yun said. He crouched down beside the couch and touched the gun to the man’s head. He traced the muzzle of his gun down through glossy black hair until it reached the pale skin of one curved cheek.
He felt the tiny tremor as the man reacted to the knowledge of a gun pressed against his face. With detached interest, Mu Yun watched as he turned his head to look up at him. He did it slowly, revealing not the dissolute countenance that Mu Yun had come to expect from opium addicts, but a face of extraordinary beauty.
“Shit,” exclaimed Nian. “It’s Leng Ruo Fei.”
There was no reaction from the man on the couch.
Mu Yun looked up at his colleague, his interest piqued by the almost reverential way Nian had named him. “Who the fuck is Leng Ruo Fei, and should I give a damn?”
“Er, yes, boss, yes,” said Nian hurriedly. “You should give a damn. Mr Leng is – is an opera singer. A very famous opera singer.”
Mu Yun sneered. “And therefore utterly useless.”
“He’s good. Actually, he’s more than good. He’s…”
“Don’t tell me you’re a fan?” Mu Yun gave Nian a disbelieving look.
Nian stiffened. “Just because I kill people, doesn’t mean I have no culture.”
Mu Yun stared at him, and then laughed. “And this one,” he pushed the gun a little harder into Ruo Fei’s cheek, “has more culture than all of us, and yet he’s here in an opium den.” He snorted and shook his head. “Sometimes even culture isn’t enough to save you, Nian.”
“If you say so, boss.”
Mu Yun returned his attention to Ruo Fei. He stroked the gun over Ruo Fei’s cheek to brush at his mouth. Ruo Fei had full, bruised lips that looked dry from the opium pipe. Mu Yun tried to imagine him on the stage. When painted, that mouth would be sinful and wanton. The thought was startling, but the image fascinated him.
“Sing, little bird,” Mu Yun murmured, caressing Ruo Fei’s lips with the gun.
Leng Ruo Fei gazed at him, eyes wide with incomprehension.
“You shouldn’t kill him,” Nian said.
Mu Yun sat back on his heels and flicked off the safety. “Why not?”
“He’s famous.”
“He shouldn’t be here.”
“Kill him and the cops will go crazy trying to catch you,” Nian said. “Hell, his fans would go crazy trying to catch you. He – he’s got powerful friends.”
“So where are they now?” Mu Yun stroked Ruo Fei’s cheek with the gun again, intrigued by his reaction. Most people with a gun to their head wept or begged or cursed at him, but Leng Ruo Fei lay still and trusting. It was as if he didn’t care whether he lived or died.
“Why aren’t you afraid?” he whispered.
Nian was agitated. “He’s too drugged to know what’s happening.”
“I wonder.”
“If you kill him, I don’t want to see it,” Nian said, turning away.
“Uncle Wu said no witnesses,” Mu Yun said. “You can go outside.”
He waited until the bead curtain had stopped rattling. It was foolish to linger here much longer. By now, somebody would have reported a shoot-out in the hutongs, and the police would be on their way. But first he had to silence the opera singer.
Mu Yun bent close. He could hear Ruo Fei’s breathing, soft and frantic. He smiled, pleased. “So you are afraid.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Ruo Fei lifted his head proudly and gave him a look of pure contempt. “I am not afraid!”
Mu Yun lifted the gun and fired four bullets into the couch beside Ruo Fei’s body. He saw him jerk with shock, and felt a perverse kind of pleasure in it.
He put away the gun. “Get the hell out of here,” he said to the trembling figure, and then he pushed his way through the bead curtains, letting them rattle into silence again behind him.
Ghosts finalled in the 2008 EPPIES!
“This is a deep, deep look into the souls of two men. It’s powerful, well built and emotionally laden with heartache. It also gives us a look at people who attend Opera and explains what draws them back over and over no matter what their station in life. But, mostly, it’s a well written work about two men too unwilling or too afraid to break out of the mold life has cast them in, even for love. This is great reading for those times when you want a book with more substance than everyday light reading holds.”
- Dee Dailey, The Romance Studio – 5 out of 5 Hearts.
“This is a little jewel, (just under 19,000 words) small but just lovely. [...] I often speak of “a safe pair of hands” – because readers can’t know every era and facts about every era – and Lorenz is (for my money) certainly that safe pair of hands. I know nothing about the era, or the economy of Peking or Shanghai of the time, and frankly it matters not a jot, because the writing convinces the reader (from the description of the hutongs, to the beautifully described clothes) that the author knows what they are on about. [...]
“It’s a multi-toned, multi-layered story, one that you could read on the surface and enjoy, or really delve into the psychology and enjoy it even more. Both characters are so beautifully written, brittle, fragile, with more barriers around them than China itself, that it broke my heart to read about them. Ruo Fei is delicious – a little bit redolent of Billy Crudup’s portrayal of Ned Kynaston in “Stage Beauty” which isn’t surprising as both are expert at portraying women on stage – a lotus blossom with reality issues and the problem that many rich/famous people have – the inablity to know whether he’d be loved for himself if he wasn’t the celebrity he is. Mu Yun has his ghosts and for tiny fraction of time he manages to escape them. It says a lot for the power of the writing that in such a small piece I was convinced, won over and hooked by these characters and wanted the best for them.”
- Erastes, for Speak Its Name – 4.5 out of 5.
“Ghosts is full of symbolism and two characters who do not have a chance in hell of living “happily ever after.” Like a good film noir, you can’t help watching even though you know that everybody is doomed. Mu Yun is stoic and refuses to let what he does touch him, literally. He surprises himself when he feels an attraction for another man, not to mention an opera singer. Ruo Fei is delicate and beautiful almost like a woman and lives only to perform on stage, but is determined to destroy himself in his “real” life. Ghosts is definitely not for everyone, but kudos to Olivia Lorenz for coming up with a completely original, multi-layered, beautifully crafted love story, and in my opinion, rises to the level of art. Check out Ghosts at Torquere Press, it is well worth it.”
- Nickole Yarbrough, for RRTErotic. – Rated La Petite Mort and NOMINATED for LA PETITE MORT & LA GRANDE MORT BEST BOOK OF 2007.
“Olivia Lorenz delivers an intriguing tale of historical [China]. Her research into the background is extensive, and reveals itself in the wealth of exciting detail. The characters expose their inner selves gradually, like peeling the layers of an onion, thus drawing and keeping the reader’s attention. M/M sensuality is well written and woven into the plot threads. Fans of historical yaoi will really enjoy Ghosts.”
- Frost, for Two Lips Reviews. – 4.5 out of 5 Lips.
“I enjoyed [Ghosts] because this deals with two people from very different backgrounds yet find a common ground, mutual attraction. This was the first time I have read where one is normally straight yet due to circumstances is very attracted with an openly gay actor. It just shows that you never know who or what you might be at any given time until the right person comes along. This is a must read for all M/M genre readers.”
- Lainey, for Coffee Time Romance – 4 out of 5 Cups.
“I’m going to preface all my comments here with a warning, which I hope isn’t too much of a spoiler: if you must have a happily-ever-after ending, then Ghosts isn’t the book for you. I myself love HEAs, so it came as a surprise to me that I enjoyed this story. Olivia Lorenz has created a haunting tale with atmosphere and deep emotion. The characters of Mu Yun and Ruo Fei are very well drawn. Both men have painful pasts and deep flaws, yet they became sympathetic characters due to Ms. Lorenz’s characterization. She doesn’t shy away from their flaws or try to sugarcoat Mu Yun’s profession, or Ruo Fei’s self-destructive behavior, which in this story is a definite plus. Despite my normal insistence on HEA, I’m glad I read Ghosts. It’s the sort of story that sticks with you after you’ve finished it.”
- Cassie, for Joyfully Reviewed.
“[...] I loved the sinister feel of this short story from the off. Creepy italics at first, with just a touch of horror. This reads like a voice is telling you the story in your head. Weird and surreal. Great! [...] Though Ruo seems to outsiders as quite a bizarre fellow, and Mu most probably sullen and enigmatic, the pair became well suited. Ghosts has quite a sad ending, though one that fits the story perfectly. Refreshing to have a reality ending rather than a HEA.”
- White Russian, for Cocktail Reviews – 4 out of 5 Flutes.
“From the very first page, the graceful prose of Ghosts sweeps the reader into the tale, and one finds themselves enjoying author Lorenz’s elegant craft as much as her artful storytelling. The characters of Hua Mu Yun and Leng Ruo Fei are deeply created, their passion, their pain, their confusion, all come through the pages with powerful tangibility. Haunting and heartbreaking, Ghosts is one of those stories that is impossible to forget even long after the last page has been read.”
- Shannon Frost, for TCM Reviews.
