The Bloody Spirit and the Other Eight

A short story about a family reunion between 4 complex indivuals. Instead of a happy meet and greet the story tells of a grim conversation that leaves everyone a bit uneased.

Zack could remember the first time he had met his little sister. He was about eight and before this news his life was quite repetitive. The Zerda, who he was encouraged to refer to as “father”, would often send the Sheara to deliver messages to Zack and his younger brother. Zack and his brother were assigned a small hut in the back of their nation's main town which they had been living in since their mothers death. Not too many people lived in that part of the nation's desert. The walk to the main town was hard. The sun burned Zacks back as he made his weekly trip to the nation's capital holding food and anything else he or his brother needed. The Zerda had always been close enough to his children  to not be accused of neglect but far enough so the boys could not disturb the distant man. 

During the one day of the month where the Red Sun was out for 12 long hours two of the ten Sheara appeared in front of Zack. He was starting the treacherous walk back home from his weekly visit to town. Bags of tightly packed food tugged at his arms. The food wasn’t bad or anything. He shopped on the higher side of town since the weekly allowance that appeared in his mailbox each week was enough to buy such pricey foods. Almost all foods in the Nation simply weren't too great. For one all moisture was sucked out of the food no matter what it was. Moisture was expensive in this part of the world. Using it on food would be a waste. Every so often Zack would sneak water into his bread. An act he knew most would shun.  He’d learned how to make the meal almost how it used to be. Or at least almost as he thought it used to be. Zack had never been outside the dessert. For that matter he hadn’t really ever been outside the capital. Most of the time, he forced himself not to quesa

The Red Sun outshined all others and during this monthly occasion it was much hotter than normal. Normal temperature for a dessert at least. The two Shears were draped in white cloth and wore pitch black round masks that swallowed the face of the men  and hid their identity.  Sheara did all of  the Zerdas dirty work and followed his every command like dogs. They were raised for this job from the day they were born. When the time came and a Sheara was hurt in action, killed, or just too old to keep up with the combat, a trainee would be selected to permanently fill in the veterans space.  Zack couldn’t imagine a life where one was taught how to handle a knife before learning to tie shoes.Many who knew of the Sheara referred to them as the white shadows, for they were mysterious beings. The taller of the two stepped forward and handed Zack a note.

“Bring your brother too. We sent for one of our men to inform him hours ago and he has not returned. We did expect that though.” No shake in the man's voice, no emotion at all. They vanished in an instant. Zack didn’t need the note. He had gotten it once or twice a year since he was four. At first he looked forward to these letters, jumping for joy reading the note again and again but now they made him sick. Every year or so this note came. It meant the Zerda had sent a Sheara with one wisk of his greedy hands to bring the sons he “loved” to the Middle. Sometimes big parties with rulers of other nations visited, meaning Zack had to dress up and pretend to be a smart noble young man. Draco wasn’t allowed to attend these parties. A big ballroom with thousands of people was too much for Draco. If one person upset him, who knows what would happen.

“The Zerda has called for us to the Middle. Also… please stop killing Sheara… one day they won’t have extras to keep resupplying the ten. '' Zack pleaded, stepping through the door of his home.

The Middle was a huge building at  the center of the desert nation. It had guards lined up all along the barbed wire walls. Security, to keep the powerful man safe. Not that Zack thought he deserved this protection for anyone plotting to kill The Zerda had their reasons. A few months before this greeting with his father Zack remembered the Zerda passing a few different acts. He was young and only picked up on a bit of the information. Eventually from hearing parts of conversation from all types of people, including the Zerda himself, he was able to form an opinion on the matter. The acts had all centered around one main topic: water. Although the Acts were useless to the rich, Immigrants and poor citizens who didn’t have the status or money to live comfortably were hit hard and more than usual had been dying just in that past year. Although wealth did depend on money, the class of someone could be seen off how close they lived to the nation's water source, located underneath the capital. So poor  immigrants living on the outskirts of the nation had little to no water now.  But why should  the Zerda care? At the time he was only benefiting from other corrupt powers. A few upset ants (The name Zack heard the Zerda call the poor who inhabited the nation) would not affect him in the slightest.

 To distract from the scary security, the part of  the house above the tall walls was quite pretty. It was a white house with stained glass windows of all different colors. The glass showed images of Zacks heroic relatives who had all been deemed The Zerda of the desert. He wondered if all Zerdas had neglected their children. Forcing them to train with the finest of the Sheara even when the child's hands bled from blisters. After months of this training would The Zerda eventually  acknowledge the child? Would he mention that they looked “a bit stronger”  instead of the 4 inch growth spurt from the last time the two had met? Zack bit the inside of his mouth. He felt weak for pitying himself. The training  him and his brother went through was to be the next Zerda but Zack knew it didn’t matter. He had always known it from the day he could put words to thoughts that his younger brother would take on the role of Zerda. Draco was smarter and seemed to mature the day it happened. Zack always knew something was extremely wrong with Draco. He could feel his dark shine before even receiving the training to notice the amount of shine in people. Everyone in the world had “shine”. Through much rumor and legend many suspect that “shine” is left over power that humans consume throughout their life but there's not much to support this thought. Most people did nothing with the strange power. Most people in the world feared it. Certain schools taught children with naturally strong shine how to harness their power. Shine had  many versions of itself. Some with Shine learned to be strong, some learned to heal, and some learned to increase certain senses much above the speculated performance of a human being. There were people with shine who learned to harness the evil in the power they had. These humans were frowned upon. Many caught using evil for no good we’re thrown in jail. While Zack was just above average Dracos shine skyrocketed above any child Zack had ever encountered. To the point where the feeling he felt, of Dracos shine, his darkness, felt unbearably unnatural. 

Ket watched as the two boys walked into the dark room with a Sheara by each of their  sides.  It was obvious the two guards were on high alert. Although she couldn’t see their faces she still felt their eyes glaring upon her. Most likely enraged by the fact such a sick looking girl had ruined the lives of so many of their companions. People they’d grown up with, people they trained  with, and people they loved, even when the code to be Sheara forbade emotional attachment. Ket had picked up  on the fact that those in training for Sheara were often sent to guarde the Lab her father kept her in. What they hadn’t told the clueless trainees was they were actually sent there to keep the dark truth in the building from getting out. All of them were strong but Ket found much enjoyment in finding their weaknesses and giving all who stepped foot in the building their eternal nightmare. She often drove her victims to madness and from there they caused their own pain. Not killing any of them was the cruelest thing she could have done. But she didn't care. The Zerda kept sending forth guards and she kept playing with them like dolls at just a few months of age. This is what kept Ket from leaving. The Zerda knew this and now she was old enough to realize there was something beyond the Lab that treated her so cruelly. By the age of four she was done being treated like a lab rat and by scarring her such weak minded father she was able to negotiate being let free.

   That is why on this day she was sitting on her calves with her legs folded, tapping her finger against her thighs staring at her confused brothers. They didn’t even seem to notice the odd room which told Ket that they'de been there before. Heavy blankets, with odd patterns, draped over the maroon walls. The whole room looked like one big rug. Gold candle holders attached to the blankets held burning candles and Ket immediately noticed that Shine was used to keep the candles from catching fire on the fabric. In the middle of the room was a small table with pillows meant to be sat on and used as chairs. Ket sat on the pillow farthest from the door and closest to the man in a large dark purple vail. There were no candles at the end of the table but Ket could see the chair where the man sat. Everything else had an aerie glow so it seemed that covering the man in darkness was actually make him to stand out

One of the boys stopped abruptly, standing in the shadows of the door frame. Ket could feel it. His heartbeat was slower than normal. Weighed down. They were similar. In an instance she knew. This was the one Father referred to as Draco. As she had been told this boy had evil in him.  A brief moment of connection seemed to run through the two before quickly zapping away as the bigger silhouette walked out of the light. A quick heart beat. It had been increasing the moment he entered the middle. Did he know? This question ran through Kets head and was answered immediately. The boy in front of her was tall and muscle seemed to be latched on every part of his body creating the sense of awkwardness in his walk. His features resembled his fathers but without the tightness the Zerda held in his face. This has to be Zack. The boy walked up facing the Zerda, on the opposite side of the table. For a moment she thought he may sit down and face her. Ket wanted answers sooner so she let go of the shine she was concealing. During his last step, to make him side by side with Ket,everything about this boy changed. He stopped suddenly and Ket felt his heartbeat immediately increase. His eyes were wide and shaking along with the rest of his body. He looked to his father and then to Ket who was letting just a bit of her shine leak through her soul.  He stepped back into the shadows covering his mouth. This act seemed to be his way of preventing himself from hunching over and puking. The other boy, much smaller and a whole lot skinnier, stepped up. He didn’t look like the Zerda but he had the same tightness that held his fathers face together. His dark eyes stared at Ket to the point where it wore her down. A voice she had never heard whispered in her ears Look away! Look away! She could feel her breath being vacuumed out her lungs. Is this fear? No it’s his shine… he’s exactly the same! Finally he looked away and Ket was able to breathe freely.

Draco's voice slithered through the dimly lit room. He had only noticed the coldness his voice let off because it used to startle Zack when they were young. He knew his brother still held his breath whenever Draco spoke but he masked it  better now. Draco found himself wishing every so often that Zack wasn’t scared of him. Zack always seemed so fake. He smiled and never got angry when Draco made mistakes. Draco needed to be yelled at. Sure young kids are supposed to be angry but when a young kid had the power to kill they needed to be disciplined. He hadn’t  been. He’d been neglected and ignored by his father and everyone else in the nation. People knew of Draco. He was Zerdas ``mistake”. He killed people and the Sherea covered it up as an “accident” every time. Draco needed to be disciplined. He knew it but so easily would his vision go white and in the next moment he’d done something horrible. Draco had been reminded of his brother's past reactions with the way he jumped at the small girl's presence. It had taken Draco every muscle in his body to not react to the sickening shine coming from the girl. It had been so sudden and so purposely planned that Draco knew this girl was powerful. Draco needed answers so he asked The Zerda what the point of calling them to the middle was, Zack's hands slid down his trembling lips.  

“I remember you.. I’ve seen you.. '' Zack directed his fingers to the girl sitting before the Zerda. Draco watched as a girl with bug eyes looked back. They had the same darkness as his own. Eyes where light would not reflect but be swallowed by the pit that made up her pupils. Dark eyes bags and white skin layered over the eyes of this girl. A foreigner? The whole nation was covered by sun. Completely engulfed in sunlight. Draco had one of the lightest complexions in the whole nation. But that had always been from the stress of his… shine.  Draco masked his surprise. I knew I had felt a connection but had it been about… Draco clenched his stomach,where the large blistering gap from so long ago still stayed, and stepped closer examining the girl. The light from the candles that lit the room shined on the thin face to show a giant scar on the girl's left eye. She was exactly like Draco there could be no mistaking it.

During this interaction Zack had been putting the pieces together. His father took a sharp breath.

“Boys… this is your- '' Zack dropped to his knees. Memories rushed through him. Walking down the hospital hallway as commotion came from his mothers room. Seeing a nurse rush out with a newborn child's blood dripping from its forehead… no possibly its eye. Walking towards the scene and taking a turn to the room Zack had been  talking about the soon new sibling with his mother not too long ago. He could remember gripping on to his younger brother's hand tight watching his father laugh while tears ran down his crazed face repeating the words `` You lost your life my love but this thing is going to make our nation powerful… so powerful” Lastly watching a nurse run out of the room horrified slamming the door in the brothers face before Zack could look over to his mother.

 The next memory that Zack began to relive was his mothers funeral. He was young that day so just like then the day went by like a blur. He went in and out of real life and his imagination hearing clips of sentences from the priest.  “Death during childbirth…the two will never be forgotten…losing two lives will never not be painful” Zack was four. He knew. He knew his sister wasn’t dead. He knew his father had killed his mother. He knew his father wasn’t a good man.  Zack hadn’t been able to piece together why he knew these things.. Or what he had seen in the first place. So after 8 years his doubts had washed away. He had formed  other reasons to hate his father and his training could not keep him worrying about a baby he never saw. He hadn’t thought about what he had seen. Until then in that room eight years later

“-sister”

Ket watched her two siblings' reactions. She was interested in everything about Draco. Although his face did not change she could feel his heart beat increase a bit. It had been a surprise. “I’ve kept her on the outskirts of our nation to quarantine her… for she has undergone some medical problems and I didn’t want to worry you two. It would affect your training.“

This immediately annoyed Ket “ What Father is trying to say is that-” Both brothers stiffened when hearing their sister refer to the Zerda as father. It had become an unspoken rule that they would call their father nothing less or more than The Zerda. He didn’t deserve the title of father because he had never really been one.

“When I was born father implanted a spirit into my eye.” She watched as the two boys, uneasily examined her deep scar that started from the left side of her forehead to just above her left nostril. Ket knew what her two brother’s were thinking. The scar looked so new. She hadn’t lied though. The scar was given to her moments after her birth but.. It had reopened recently. They didn’t need to know that. “You two have been taught of spirits? The creatures we cannot see but feel who lend human beings Shine. You're aware that hundreds of years ago the 8 nations raged war and implanted thousands of spirits  in human beings. You’ve not been told everything… our nation and the other seven gloss over our mistakes. Isn’t that horrible? Each nation had spirits inside people and during one of the normal bloody days of war everyone with a spirit dropped painfully to their death. These spirits were released and terribly angry. Unconsensually trapped in a weak body with a weak mind. It was insulting! Studies have guessed these spirits killed over 50% of the human population.  Billions died in one day… soldiers, men, women.. Children. Now we worrish these spirits in fear. We hope to never relive that day again. About a hundred years ago the spirits communicated with the leaders of each nation. As a reward for keeping peace all 8 we’re given a spirit. These spirits were quickly seen as military power and implanted in young children and passed on when the implanted humans would die.”

Draco felt his jaw tighten “You were implanted with the spirit of the desert? Able to shapeshift  sand… your strongest when exposed to the red sun and known for being one of the most bloodthirsty of the eight spirits. Am I correct?” 

Draco hesitated. He knew of all this. The only thing he could recall about his mother was the song she sang to him. It was a beautiful tune that talked about the human race's terrible mistake of misusing spirits. The song had a verse about Draco. Don’t let the voice inside stray from the path of love. You are stronger than that silly sand spirit!  “yes”

This information answered questions for Zack but confused him just as much. He rested his legs and clenched his fist as he sat on the rugged floor looking down. He had known about Draco. When they walked into stores to buy food he could feel the whispers from everyone around him. People we’re scared of Draco. Zack had alway been too but he knew it was foolish to let it show. With that powerful thing inside him Draco could kill Zack if he wished too. After being together all 10 years of Draco's life  you’d think Draco would care for Zack but in reality they knew little about each other. Draco never talked about himself and never listened to what Zack would say. When the two were home at night they never spoke to each other. Just ate their suppers in silence.

“Father went against the world's promise to the spirits. He had tried to place a healing spirit in me at birth. It was a last resort to save our sickly mother, who would most likely not make it. She hadn’t known about our father’s plan. She had been getting ready to die for weeks now. Nothing anyone said to her would let a doctor kill me over her.  Father knew telling her would be unsafe. Such a frail woman would die of anger. The thing he planned to summon was a common spirit that often latches onto animals and people, healing their cuts and bruises quickly. He expected doing this would be safe but during Fathers summoning of this common spirit a different spirit was accidentally brought forth. My father had no idea this would happen. It killed… I killed Mother and was cursed with a sin living inside me. Father realized this quickly. He had not put a healing spirit in me but the blood spirit. A special type of spirit that only brings death and evil when it’s around. And you know what? The treacherous man found this delightful. In a matter of minutes he had dismissed mothers death. He soon understood that my existence was too mysterious to take lightly. I’ve been living in a lab being tested on, poked and studied, drugged, and forced to mature much too quickly for such a young being. He cursed not one of his children but  two and to top it off got their  innocent mother killed. But it’s fine he doesn’t see us as children anyways.. We’re just military power who will be able to bring down the other two nations,”

“That’s enough Ket” The Zerda spoke up. He wore a red cloak that hid his face in the shadows. Under his cloak he smiled with delight. Don’t stop.. Feed into all three of your sweet sweet anger. Harness it and become the Nation to take down the other weak seven! 

She opened her mouth to speak again but stopped feeling disgust flush through her head. Her father was enjoying the conversation.
“One day I will kill you, Father. We will kill you” 

Both young boys stiffened. It was obvious she was not speaking of her brothers but that bloodthirsty monster that lived inside her feasting on her raw emotions and the blood of its victims.

Author's Note

Plenty of problems with the grammar that I've been fixing for a few weeks have been missed and are in here but how are you feeling about the story so far? Would anyone continue reading?