The Spirits' Guide

Chapter 24

"Faster, boy," Iris snapped at Luka as he dragged two bags of garbage out the doors of her apartment building.

He huffed as he tossed it to the curb where more waste waited for the cart that would take it to the gods-knew-where.

He glared at her as he wiped beads of perspiration off his face. She glared at him as she said, "Don't drown people then."

"Why is your home so disgusting?" He asked with a flung out arm. Iris made a face as she looked at the building.

Looking back to him, she shrugged as she said, "Too busy to clean."

Luka shook his head in disbelief. Iris snapped at him as she demanded, "Get back to work. I want my room as clean as the castle."

He shot her a glare as he walked back into the building. Iris placed her hands on her hips as she stared into the busy street.

The city had the feeling of a port-town but it was anything but that. The city, named after the country that was named after its founder, was founded in the center of the nation itself. Stila was an island country with the radius of twenty-thousand miles with the population to land ratio being seven to one.

Iris breathed a deep breath as she watched the city's denizens shuffle through the crowds, all on their way to make a living.

She closed her eyes to listen to the noise of the busy city. She heard carts' wheels whine as mules pulled them along. She heard an argument about the pricing of potatoes. She heard the whisper of two city-guards.

Iris slyly opened her eyes to see two men dressed in the country's colors of gray and purple. They were watching her, whispering lowly.

Iris spat on the walkway before she made her way to the men. With crossed arms and a raised brow, she asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"

One of them smirked at her before he glanced at the other man. He shrugged before he turned back to Iris.

"I was thinking about how wonderful it will be when the king signs those papers." He chuckled to himself as though he had said something quite witty.

Iris eyed him before she stated, "I'm going to make an assumption that you're talking about the papers that would allow for the destruction of the homes of more than two hundred witches."

"They aren't witches if they live in that building." He snickered.

Before she could do something she would later regret, Iris turned on her heel and marched back to the building. The king was not going to sign those papers, she wouldn't allow it.

"All I have to do is sweep the dust out, right?" Luka asked as he threw the last of the garbage into the large pile. Iris gritted her teeth. Looking into his eyes, she asked, "Have I taught you metamorphosis?" He wrinkled his brows as he looked into her eyes.

"Not yet," he trailed. Iris nodded faintly as she thought of an idea. "Come, you still have much cleaning. I want it spotless by sundown."

Luka rolled his eyes before he walked back into the cool darkness of the building. Iris trailed after him.

They walked into the elevator before Iris turned the lever to allow them to move vertical. With a slight shudder as though the elevator had awoken from a deep slumber, they began to move.

Suddenly, they shuddered to a stop. Iris glanced quizzically at the roof of the box. They were just a floor away from the fourth. She sighed as she pulled the hood of her coat up. She motioned for Luka to cup his hands before she stepped onto them, giving her a lift to the emergency exit.