Piper

Chapter Two

"So where did you get this... Spirit Orb?" Galaxy asks Piper as they exit the school building.

"It just kind of appeared in front of me after a spirit killed my parents." Piper responds, taking the steps two by two until her converse collided with the concrete sidewalk. She shrugs. "I guess it's a sign." Galaxy scoffs at the comment, rolling her eyes toward the skies.

"Obviously it wants you to catch that poltergeist."

The Orb shook  in Piper's hand.

"Why is it shaking?" Galaxy questions, confused.

"I-I don't know. It's never done that before." Piper holds up the transparent object eye-level in her hand, both her and Galaxy inspecting it closely.

"Little too close for my comfort, girls," A gruff voice calls out.

"Wha-?" Galaxy and Piper look around their surroundings, trying to find the new voice.

"In here." It says. A contorted image of a male shows in the orb like a broken T.V. screen.

The girls lean in their heads nearer the person, curious.

"My name is Sadar. I'm a wizard who delivered this orb to you, Miss Cleary. You've already learned its intended use quickly, good job. Its technical name is 'l'âme possédée' - it's French for 'possessed soul'.  'Spirit Orb' is a great name, though."

"...You've been there this whole time?" Piper questions awkwardly.

"No, not visibly. I can sense when a ghost is near and when a trapped soul is captured."

"You didn't give any warning about the spirit back there," Galaxy said.

"It came too fast for any." Sadar explained. Galaxy darted a disapproving and disbelieving look at him.

Piper sat Sadar and the orb down on the sidewalk and sat down next to him. Galaxy sits in front of them.

"Why do you choose now to reveal yourself?" Piper nervously played with a stray hair.

"Something was blocking my magic before now," Sadar glitched in and out of view.

"Like, a firewall of magic?" Galaxy snickers, making sure Piper could see her eyeroll. She's heard of wizards through the stories she had been told, but had never met one in person. Ghosts were more believable to her than magical humans.

"Yes, something like that." Sadar says. "It's more like a protective spell, though."

Piper thinks for a second. "Well, why would someone put a protective spell on a Spirit Orb? Unless they thought someone would hack it like a computer or something."