The Trial of the Ghost

Chapter 2: A Normal Early Necmanday Morning

It was not a normal Witday night, but a normal early Necmanday early morning. Midnight had just passed, and Andyl had his hands in the air as some gangsters overturned his store’s shelves. Only years of practice kept him from wincing or trying to stop them. For what felt like the millionth time, he wished he could afford a store anywhere else. Nameless, he’d even take deeper into Dreddeville. At least it wouldn’t be on the border of the Dredde gangs’ territory and the Dretwom gangs’ territory. Despite the fact that the two countries had been at peace for over fifty years now, the descendants of the immigrants who’d fled to Lywolf to escape the fighting hadn’t forgotten a deep sated hatred of the other from fighting over water resources on their desert continent.

Andyl remembered his grandmother’s stories of Dreddish refugees that came to their ancestral town in southern Havming. She’d describe how little she’d had as a girl and how despite how little she had, those poor, innocent people had even less.

Be happy, she’d told Andyl. You have a full belly and a roof over your head and your family. Many don’t have even that.

Jaylar, the young girl running the night shift with him, ran forward to stop them. He barely had time to call out a warning before a gangster violently pushed her to the ground.

She landed wrong.

Crack.

She cried out, pain lining her voice.

Those days his grandmother described were long gone and Andyl would like a store further into one of the two cultural districts in the New City. At least the gangs further in were more established. He’d have one to pay and one only.

Whoever these new people were, he couldn’t afford to pay them. He’d handed over protection money last Chemday. He likely wouldn’t have adequate funds for at least a few weeks.

All these gangs, changing all the time. It was a wonder anyone could keep up or keep a profit. He’d probably have to apply for another Thuelar loan to keep afloat. Again.

A gangster kicked her and roared for her to shut up as she whimpered and cradled her arm. Andyl winced and tried to give her an encouraging look. Her first hold up. It would be over soon. Probably.

That Thuelar, he was Old City. He lived, worked, breathed in the original part of Emlytos, the nice one where all the respectable businesses were and where the streets were clean and there was rarely any visible crime. Nothing like New City, all the mixed and cultural districts added one since Emlytos’ founding. Thuelar could claim all he wanted was to preserve the cultural identity of their city, but until his pristine, designer shoes made contact with New City pavement, Andyl wouldn’t believe it.

But he’d take his loan and money. Desperate times were called desperate for a reason and he had to survive, morals be damned.

One of the gangsters told them to listen up and fired his gun at the ceiling.

Andyl kept his smile in check. This guy must be new at this, because, if they’d gotten lucky, he’d just made a fatal mistake.

The Old City didn’t look out for the little people like him. The only people that looked out for the little people were themselves.

And her.

She cared and he sent a prayer to the goddesses that that had been one of the gunshots she heard.

Kra flew faster than the eye could see, her transparent vision letting her see past the fabric of her hood.

Just a typical Witday night for her, dodging buildings and following the sound of a gunshot. Although it had almost definitely passed into Necmanday by now. She had her first day at Kyp Daily in a few hours.

Your priority is the gunshot. Focus.

She had to get there before the bullets met flesh. The city was frozen around her. Not really frozen, they still moved, it was just that she was so fast in comparison, only her eyes could actually see the miniscule shifts.

She found the convenience store quickly and breathed a sigh of relief. No one was being shot at yet. There was a young woman in pain on the ground, but not shot.

It was always a good sign when there was no blood.

She didn’t know if she could say the same about the gangsters though.

Three of them. Easy.

Kra leapt into the air, jumping upwards on invisible steps that only existed in her mind, as a way to actualize how she wanted to use her power. She landed on the shooting gangster’s head and swiped the bullets out of the air before they could damage the ceiling. Squashing them in her hands, she leaned down and tapped the skull of the gangster she was standing on.

She let herself return to the other’s perception of time and smiled as the gangster beneath her collapsed, completely unconscious. She let herself stay in the air as she had been when she had knocked out the gangster, her magic supporting her. She looked as if she was standing on air and leaning over something invisible.

She knew if she could see herself in this moment, she would laugh. She bet she looked ridiculous and the way the gangsters blinked at her didn’t dissuade her.

So she waved and then the next thing anyone knew, the gun was in her hand and she crushed it into a ball as if it was wet clay.

The other two gangsters paled. They began to run.

Really, it wasn’t fair.

In superspeed, Kra skipped on over to them and tapped their heads as well. She gently took the guns out of their hands and crushed them into balls as well. Time unfroze and she watched them collapse, satisfied.

She let herself smile for a moment. She spent so much of her time hiding her powers, playing the role of the normal human, that showing off her power was a nice perk of her job.

And back to work.

Kra rushed to the side of the young woman and knelt next to her. “May I?” she asked quietly, gesturing to her arm. The girl nodded. Kra reached out and as gently as she could, touched the arm. The girl whimpered, but she didn’t cry. Kra felt her heart break. “What’s your name?”

“Jaylar,” she whispered.

“You’re going to be okay, Jaylar,” Kra assured her, examining. “Looks like it’s just a fracture. Hairline. You’ll be okay.” She turned to the shopkeeper. “Police or no?”

Sometimes, the people she helped didn’t want the police to come. She never asked the reason. She didn’t need to know their reasons.

“No,” he said. “Their bosses… I don’t need their wrath.”

Kra nodded. “Insurance? Health care?” He shook his head. She nodded again. It wasn’t like she had it either. “4534 56th Street between Avenue 45 and 45.5. Magathy Village. Sarmaash’ Remedies. She’s the best witch I know near here. Tell them I sent you and Sarmaash will see you immediately."

“Thank you,” Jaylar whispered.

“No problem,” Kra replied, standing.

She shifted her speed once more and got to work restacking and putting up shelves. With every can, she wanted to kick the unconscious gangsters on the ground. How could they be so inconsiderate? This was someone’s livelihood! How could they survive if their wares were ruined?

There were days she understood the world perfectly. Others… not so much.

Before dropping out of superspeed, Kra turned to the gangsters. No police this time. Okay, fine. Now what? They couldn’t wake up here. That would be disastrous. Where could she take them that would maybe teach them a lesson but not harm them?

A spark lit in her eye as the idea came to her and it was all she could do to keep from laughing. She dropped out of superspeed.

“Change of plans,” she announced. “Once I take care of them, I’ll come back and bring Jaylar to Sarmaash myself. See you folks in a second.”

Before they could reply, she slipped back into superspeed and grabbed each gangster. It was a little awkward carrying three grown men at once, but she made due. It wasn’t as if she was lacking in strength.

Kra stepped outside the shop and took off into the sky again. For what was probably the millionth time, she regretted how necessary the hood was. She wished she could feel the wind on her face as she flew. She loved it. She lived for helping people, making the smiles on their faces, but she also lived for flying.

Maybe soon she could go for a little flight without her hood. Somewhere secret and far away. Maybe.

Kra reached her destination quickly: the Emlytos Zoo. She deposited them on the roof of the building right next to the gorilla enclosure. She let herself chuckle a bit. They would be in for a shock in the morning.

She took off back to the shop. She and a girl had a witch to see.

Five minutes after she left, Losin found himself face to face with the Ghost once more.

“You might want to go to the Emlytos Zoo in the morning,” she informed him. “I just heard about some gangsters on the roof of the viewing area next to the gorilla enclosure.”

Losin raised an eyebrow. “You don’t say?”

“They have guns with them that have been crushed in the oddest way.” There was definite humor in her voice. Goddesses, she’s proud of this. I have to see it. “Like little balls.”

“Well, that certainly warrants investigation, doesn’t it?” he replied, matching her amusement.

“I would think so,” the Ghost agreed. “I trust it is in good hands.”

Losin smiled. “It is.”

“Then goodnight, Mr. La’dyliap. A pleasure as always.”

“Goodnight,” Allelosin said, holding out his arm.

The next thing he knew, he was standing in his apartment building’s front hallway. Just a little bit inside from the front door.

Another typical early Necmanday morning in Emlytos.

Lyru took a deep breath and concentrated. She shifted her stance as the Ghost had told her.

“Jab,” the Ghost instructed. Lyru did it, breathing deeply. “Cross. Jab. Jab. Right hook. Jab. Right uppercut. Jab. Cross. Left hook. Right uppercut. Jab. Cross. Elbow.”

The change threw her off, but she performed the move with only slight hesitation.

“Better,” the Ghost told her with a nod. “You’re doing very well. Again.”

Lyru did it again and again until her teacher was satisfied and she felt her sweat begin to drench her costume.

“Can we take a break?” she asked.

“Of course. Five minutes,” the Ghost told her, then stilled. “Please excuse me.”

The Ghost vanished and Lyru exhaled, lowering herself onto a rock and stretched out her legs, happy to take weight off them for the first time in an hour.

A month ago, when she’d accepted the Ghost’s offer to train her, she hadn’t exactly imagined this.

It had been her third patrol. She’d been going around Emlytos, looking for crime to stop, when she’d been stopped on a rooftop by the Ghost, who had told that she knew what she was, that she had potential, and that she wanted to train her. She’d said she’d understand if she didn’t trust her, but she wanted to help and Lyru shouldn’t be out on the streets without knowing how to properly defend herself.

Lyru hadn’t been able to pass it up. She’d spent the past four years reading every single news story about the Ghost she could get her hands on. Two years ago, her mom had to put a lock on her window to keep her from sneaking out to try to meet her idol. The Ghost was the reason she’d decided to use her power, her real power, to be a hero.

She hadn’t been on a patrol since then, but she was learning to fight on this island, several time zones ahead of Emlytos. The Ghost said it was isolated and they could safely practice here without anyone interfering.

Lyru stretched, once again surprised at the flexibility of her suit. Although she had no idea where the Ghost had gotten it, after hearing that she was calling herself Golden Eagle, the Ghost had given her this new costume.

She loved the sleek material of the brown body suit, lined with bullet proof material, and its golden highlights in the pattern of eagle feathers and golden wings stitched across her back. Her helmet, which covered the vast majority of her face, was shaped like an eagle head, the beak starting at her nose, just under the hole for her eyes. Her golden and brown boots were designed for running and her yellow gloves had black tips.

She felt invincible in it. She knew she wasn’t, but still…. She felt as invincible as the Ghost.

It was certainly better than her homemade version, a long sleeve shirt she’d been wearing with a picture of a golden eagle on it, black jeans, her hiking boots, a store bought ski mask, and black gloves. It was certainly easier to get into and out of. When she was in the suit, she had to touch the tips of her gloves together in a specific order to have it magically switch back into whatever clothes she had been in before and a charm bracelet with an eagle. To switch to the suit, she had to touch both wings of the charm and say, “kaw.”

The Ghost told her that if they worked very hard, she could be ready to start patrolling within a few months. With company. To help until she got used to it. She’d be in college then, in Waftotos. It would be a new city, but she would make it work.

She had to.

She wanted so badly to do well, to make the Ghost proud. She would do it. She was going to train and then she’d get back on the streets and be the best superhero ever.

Well, other than the Ghost. She’d probably never live up to the Ghost. Or Thoghal’s Crow, who did everything the Ghost did without magic. Or either of Crow’s sidekicks, the also nonmagic Fledglings. Or super strong and flying Paranormal Peacock in New Jaeetos. Or Queen Tree in Harlonik who commanded the forest to do her bidding.

Who was she kidding? She was an illegal teleporter masquerading as someone with superspeed. She’d never live up to the other superheroes.

But she’d try. She was going to be a good hero. She would not let the Ghost down.

Someone cleared her throat.

Lyru sprung to her feet, glad her helmet hid her blush from the Ghost. She shouldn’t have been caught zoning out. She should have been paying attention to her surroundings. She’d do better next time. She’d-

“Did you have a good rest?” the Ghost asked. Lyru nodded eagerly. “Good. Are you ready to practice kicks? After that you can go home and rest, I promise.”

“I’m ready,” Lyru announced, trying to project confidence into her voice.

She liked to imagine the Ghost was smiling under that hood. “Okay then. Show me your side kick.”

Lyru complied. It was a normal Necmanday morning.

Corla checked her phone. The sun would rise in a minute. She began shutting down her programs monitoring police scanners, but left her work programs running. Technically, she wasn’t off her shift yet, but she hadn’t seen any indication that she couldn't step away from her screen for a few minutes. It wasn’t as if Cebrua was going to let anyone fire her.

Corla stood and then instantly braced herself. She’d been sitting too long. For the sixth time that week, she reminded herself to get up and stretch more the next night.

She wouldn’t, but maybe if she kept reminding herself, she would.

Finally, once feeling returned to her legs, she walked out of her room and through the living room to the balcony.

Kra was there, leaning against the railing, back in her normal clothes, and watching the sunrise. Kra turned to Corla and smiled widely, her genuine excitement at seeing Corla lighting up her entire face.

Corla couldn’t help but smile back as she joined her. “Gorilla enclosure? Really?”

Kra laughed. “Well, they were behaving like animals.”

“Fair enough.”

Corla watched as Kra faced the rising sun and soaked it in, pure contentment across her face. She’d once asked what sunlight felt like for a Troan. Kra had told her that it felt like how full sunlight on a cold day would feel to a human.

Corla had suspected that her college roommate was the Ghost at the end of their sophomore year. She’d caught her in the act at the beginning of their junior year and had insisted on being her sidekick.

She didn’t care how many times Kra insisted her parents could monitor the police scanners for her, Corla wouldn’t give up her job helping her best friend for the world.

Well, she would if it meant saving it. Kra would expect nothing less of her.

“You feeling better?” Corla asked.

Kra nodded, fidgeting the yellow t-shirt she’d embroidered flowers on herself. “There will definitely be a lot of light for me to make magic with at Kyp Daily, it’s just best that I stock up before. I need to be alert. And sunlight is better than artificial.”

“Especially since you don’t sleep.”

Kra laughed, throwing back her head and her brown curls glistened in the sun. “You know I don’t need to.”

“You’d have more magic if you didn’t use it to maintain your human body,” Corla reminded her. “I know it takes a lot less than your Troan form, but didn’t your species develop it to not need magic to run at all?”

“And when there’s no light and I’m surrounded by Alarite, then that’ll come in handy,” Kra said. They both knew Alarite could only be found on Tro, and that planet had blown up over twenty years ago. The only Alarite on Kyp was what Orjel and Ralehal had sent with her. “Until then, there are people who need me a lot more than I need sleep.”

“One day, Kra, you’re going to stretch yourself too thin.” This was why her friend needed her. Orjel and Ralehal never brought up stuff like this. “You can’t save everyone and meet with Allelosin and train Golden Eagle and work as a journalist and keep hanging with those lunatic friends of yours. There aren’t enough hours in a day.”

“First of all, Cebrua, Anaid, and Oth aren’t lunatics-”

“Debatable,” Corla muttered.

“-and when it gets to be too much, I’ll ask them for help.” Kra looked thoughtful for a moment and Corla recognized the look. An idea just came to her. “In fact, once Golden Eagle can defend herself, I should probably get Anaid to help her with her magic. They can probably do it better than I can since they also disguise an illegal power. I’ll ask them when we’re next in the Nest together.”

“Is Anaid even going to have the time?” Corla wondered. “Aren’t they finishing up their PhD? Won’t they be extra bitchy in a few months?”

Corla had met Anaid only a few times and as far as she could tell, they had two modes: bitch about everything and nonresponsive. And they never ever found an in between.

“I’m sure they can tone it down to help a new hero,” Kra said. “Anaid isn’t meanhearted. They know Eagle is, comparatively, a baby and she needs kindness rather than sarcasm. They’re very good with Chidaera and Dostonjay. I know you don’t know them well, but they do have a softer side. You haven’t seen it, but I have.”

“Kra, Anaid isn’t responsible for training Dae and Jay. Cebrua does that. They don’t have to deal with all the frustrations of someone who is learning.”

“Corla, Anaid won’t be mean to Eagle. It’s not in their nature, and this argument is pointless if they don’t agree to do it. If they agree, you can lay out every reasonable argument for why Anaid would be a terrible teacher then. Okay?”

“Fine.”

“But you have to agree they know more about pretending one power is something else. They do it every day as Peacock.”

“What about that witch training my grandmother gave you?”

Kra shook her head. “Not the same. That was just imbuing and I haven’t done it in years. Not since I accidentally tricked the magic test into thinking I have no power.” She pressed her body closer to the railing, tilting her head upwards more to take in the light. “Seemed rather pointless since I couldn’t become a witch without the test’s confirmation of my power.” She turned to Corla. “Aren’t you still on shift?”

Corla let out a sharp laugh. “Oh, please, what is Cebrua going to do? Fire me?”

“You should still do the job she pays you for.”

“It’s boring, Kra. The people trying to hack into her servers are laughable. I haven’t had a real threat since I started.”

“And what if a threat is slipping past you right now?”

“I see what you’re doing. You’re trying to get me to leave you alone.”

“... Is it working?”

“Sure Kra, I can leave you alone. Next time just ask.”

Kra smiled softly. “Okay. Get back to work and then get some rest.”

“Get me some food, then I’ll get some rest.”

“Okay. You got it.”

It was just how it went. Corla’s job, offered to her immediately upon graduation, used her artificer powers to secure the servers of the CEO of Kaenwe International and earned enough money to afford this nice apartment and all their bills. In exchange, Kra did all their cooking and cleaning and chores. Why she loved the chores, Corla had never asked and probably never would, lest her roommate decide she actually didn’t like it and wanted help.

Corla slipped back into her room as Kra strolled over to the kitchen and started whipping them both up breakfast. Corla would finish her shift, eat, and then sleep until the afternoon or early evening. Meanwhile, Kra would go to work and try to save the city through stellar journalism.

And for them, that was just a normal Necmanday in Emlytos.