Part One: Elmkim Tu Sawdi and the Cryptics
Snow blasts me, penetrating my lips until they bleed. I wrap my midnight cloak around me and head for the shadowy castle in front. I have been waiting for this day for 3,000 years—when I mend the Spirit and Exon Realms with the GB Staff.
The snowstorm hides Renial Fjord behind me, but I can see the gate for the castle’s graveyard where, hopefully, the Spirits will assist me.
I push open the gate—it creaks—and step inside, hiding my face more.
Graves containing soldiers and the Cryptics surround me with RIP blocked by the snowstorm like a dragon’s flame.
White, see-through Spirits emerge from the graves and wisp forward.
I draw my broadsword and hold it over my shoulder.
The Spirits soar around me like fairies when they reach me, and their light blue eyes examine me. I’m okay as long as none have yellow eyes.
The Spirit of a little girl points at my sword tip and shakes her head.
“Sorry,” I apologize, lowering it. I slip the sword in its hilt.
The girl smiles, and I return it, even though she can’t see it behind my mask.
“I’m here to help you,” I explain to the remaining Spirits.
They give me funny looks and cross their arms.
“It’s me,” I add, removing my mask to share my 3,000-year-old face behind that of a seventeen-year-old. My brown hair reaches my shoulders, and my blue eyes darken under the worsening snowstorm.
The Spirits freeze and then, one at a time, bow like a horse before their master.
“Thank you,” I say when they rise. “I’m trying to get to the GB Staff to close the tear between the Spirit and Exon Realms. May you lead me?”
They nod and back up, revealing the little girl.
She grins and reaches for my gloved hand.
I put my mask back on and offer her my glove.
Her cold touch reaches my hand. She leads me past the graves toward the castle.
On our way there, I ask, “Have you seen any Exon Spirits, by any chance?” I have to ensure they won’t interrupt my mission. I especially have to watch out for Shadow Caster, the ruler of the Exon Realm. I don’t know much about him, except that he wants to unleash the Exon Spirits on Renial and overthrow the Cryptics, especially Elmkim Tu Sawdi. I don’t understand why Shadow wants revenge, but I will hopefully find out tonight.
The Spirits, except the girl, answer by scattering to different sections of the graveyard and castle. A group of them circles the castle’s highest tower—my destination—the closest place to the Spirit and Exon Realms.
“Is that a yes?” I ask the girl.
She floats forward and gestures for me to follow. She isn’t the most talkative Spirit, is she? I guess I have to answer my question.
We stop before the drawbridge, where a cloud of fog and snow blocks the castle’s front entrance.
The girl points at my sword, and I release it.
Almost instantly, the castle’s drawbridge drops and cuts a hole in the fog and snow. My sword’s tip shimmers and then glows like a torch. I am the one meant to enter Renial Castle.
The girl claps and flies behind my left shoulder. She grips it, and she and I meet eyes.
“Let’s do this,” I calmly say. With that, the she-Spirit and I enter Renial Castle, ready and not ready for what waits inside.
At once, the main ballroom greets us, and Spirits lead us through to the red-carpeted stairs at the room’s end.
I keep my eyes and ears open for Shadow Caster. Who knows if and where he’ll jump out. An Exon Spirit like him can seriously damage the Spirit Realm Spirits. I must protect them.
The girl and I pass through corridors with chipped walls. The wind whistles through them, and I shiver under my warm cloak. This castle is falling apart, but I can do this.
The library is the most damaged section. Knocked-down bookshelves litter the floor, followed by books with parchment papers. Not only that, but I see something in the library’s heart.
The female Spirit’s jaw drops at the sight of us and lowers her book. She closes it, and dust pops out of the old pages. The Spirit approaches the girl and me and bows.
I return it and ask, “Can you take us to the castle’s highest tower?”
She nods and pushes books aside to clear the path.
With my chain of Spirits, I should get there in no time. My hand remains on my sword hilt the rest of the way through the stone corridors.
