Kiploft

Shadow Spirits

    The ground beneath me shakes. It's a slight shake no more than the one before that awoke me at three a.m. I'm off to the Target Center to meet my new head soldier, apparently he will blow me away but I couldn't believe that even if I tried.          
     Tuck is still fast asleep drooling like a pig. My watch read eight a.m. which is the time I was supposed to arrive. Perhaps men like queens...I mean their princess to be late. It makes them stand out even though only the three of us will be there. My top general and the new soldier plus me.
     The wind blows my hair backward as I run to the Target Center. It's in the same building as the Training Arena because they are both used to train upcoming soldiers and keep the generals in check.
     When I arrive, it is just the general waiting.
     "So? Where is he?" I question making the general break into a cold sweat.
     "If he's late, I will rip off your fingers and make you eat them," I threaten.
     "Violent are we?"
     I take a step back swallowing hard. He's cute.
"Hi, I'm Marcus," he says sticking out his hand.
     I take it and they aren't girly hands but ruff with caloses from work. Even hotter.
     Then Marcus takes aim at the target before him a mile away. And doesn't miss. I am misstaken, he is gorgeous.
     Another shake interrupts us from the "blow me away," meeting. This one is harder than before. Suddenly fear crawls through me. The bridge of Kiploft has been around and working since this world was found, or created no one knows. Though it is our only transition from the City of Corridor to the humanical world, the people with no magical powers in their system. The people that are special, they contain blue blood with special abilities, they do not belong there. If the bridge breaks completely, this world may crash with everyone inside it. The worst part it, it's been fourteen years and Tuck and I still have no idea what we are going to do about it.
     An ear shattering roar breaks the glass from the window. As soon as I can, I bolt to the place of shattered glass to only see a shadow spirt hovering over someone stealing their power and next, their life.
     "What is that?" Marcus yells. I was about to answer, though now I realize he was speaking to the general who answers all his questions.
     Shadow Sprits are black ghost like creatures who take the life of a magical being just because they had committed a crime. Something against the law. The laws were not made by me nor my brother, not even my parents and the rulers before hand. Honestly I think no one knows where they came from, but the laws aren't many and when they are broken, it is life changing.
      "May!" Sharlie runs up to the Target Center yelling after me. How she knew I was up here, I will never know.
     "Mayflier," she stops to catch her breath, "You need to do something about those Shadow Spirits. It's ridiculous."
     "Agreed," I shift my head to the general, "I need to speak with Tuck." He nods in return.
     Before I even touch the door knob, Marcus stands behind me, "Did I get in?"
     "Sorry I have to go," I reached for the knob again but his touch on my elbow is so gentle, "Yes, you're in," a smile lit across his face. I almost smiled back, but no one can see that I have a soft side. I will be Queen one day.
     A slap across the face did well to wake up Tuck from his deep pig sleep. He jumped to his feet and squeezed water into my face.
     "Tuck. I did no such thing connecting to power," I said blinking away the water in my eyelashes.
     "Guess you should have been born smarter," his reaction suprised me.
     "Don't joke about that," I stared into his eyes hoping he will soon feel the regret I never find in him, he doesn't even flinch.
     "We have to re-create the punishment for crimes."
     "May, that's impossible."
     "Have you tried?"
      No answer. I nodded and turned hoping he would follow. We slid down a slide of water I created from the top floor of the castle.
     "We haven't done this since we were children!" Tuck yells. I didn't say anything but it was nice to take a trip down memory lane on the job, just for a few seconds, it was fun.
       Inside the library Liy was sitting at the top of the book shelf. Waiting for us like she knew we were coming.
     "Shadow Spirits huh?" She asks hoping down from the highest book shelf in the room. Tuck and I look up to her in confusion.
     "Oh my, you two should know by now, I know everything," Liy talks a lot but we all know she isn't only full of herself, she does know many things, understanding on the other hand, that's different.
     "Right." Tuck growls.
     "Shelf three," says Liy squirming into her chair behind the check out desk.
     Tuck races down to search for any information on the Shadow Spirits. Luckily we found the hiding spot and how to direct their focus onto something else. The book practically tells us exactly how to defeat them. But what would we lead these dark creatures to, we have to be smart, or that will cause another problem maybe worse.
     Tuck bolts out the library faster than I can think.
     "Wait on me?" I ask stumbling through the thick leaves we teleported to.
     Tuck doesn't answer or send me any kind of thought what so ever.
Thanks I feel included.
     Finally, he turns around to look me in the eye, "We're redirecting their focus," Tuck turns back to the direction he was before and walked until we reached a pathway.
THE pathway.
     "Tuck!"
     "Yes, the pathway of Dark Influence is their home we have to get them."
     "You can't go in there, one you will turn evil and two, it's closed off by deathly vines."
     "I noticed."
      Tuck throws up his hands palms facing the blocked pathway. There's no way I'm letting him to this. I take my hands and quickly use my wind power to draw the Shadow Spirits outward. I beat him to it and he throws an evil eye at me. I don't bother to say sorry but as soon as the Shadows start flying all over the place I yell at Tuck without thinking, "So what's your plan?"
     Bad idea, three Shadows fly straight to me. I'm afraid they will pull out a sword from well, thin air and stab it right through me. It happens so fast that I can't even think, so fast I already feel like I'm dead. Though I'm not. I look over to my right to see Tuck flinging his hands back and forth between the shadows and one single humumgous book.
     He trapped them. They're gone.
     "Thanks," I chuckle a little as try and catch my breath," I thought I was dead."
     "May," Tuck looks at me like he scolding me.
     "Sorry?"
     Tuck laughs and just pulls me in for a hug. We head back to the castle in step.
     "Now we have to make the laws," I say lowering my head.
     "Ah, May. That's no probelm," my brother has this strange sense of calm that comforts me somehow. Like we've been through the worst. But this has only been one day.