Spun of Shadow by rain_hunter |  |
All was quiet as Kransha made her rounds in the night sky. Funny how a black
target in a dark sky is more obvious than a white one, she thought wearily,
as her eye caught on yet another hacker, this one trying Neokeys containing
passwords for accounts. Kransha sighed and swooped, her Shoyru wings gliding
easily on the wind. Before confronting the fiend, however, she brought out her
staff of the Earth Faerie and readied it.
"Halt," she boomed, using her best Voice, one that had cowed many into submission.
The thief froze, and put his hands up, turning to face Kransha's ice-cold sapphire
eyes. Eyes that many had said marked her as a born killer.
"Well it is that you have chosen the easy path, for the other choice is undoubtedly
very painful. You will come with me, now." The ebony Shoyru knew that her odd
accent was out of place in the "new" Neopia as a scarlet jay among crows. But
she wasn't from "new" Neopia, and she didn't care. Her mind turned inward
as she called the other constables and flew off, her shift completed. She landed
gracefully in the middle of a road, much to the pleasure of the audience and
the pain of her hip. Never could resist playing up to audiences, could you?
a little voice in her head observed. Kransha surveyed the crowd, laughing, talking,
eating, drinking. But she herself did not speak, for it always made others stare,
and Kransha was afraid that she might not be able to restrain herself from breaking
at least one finger. Kransha did not like to be stared at.
Kransha was also from the caverns of the Lost Desert.
She had been born with the coloration of the midnight shadow, the legacy of
Shianri, her great-great-many-times-great grandmother. The heirloom trait was
this--this curse, that every Shoyru born into her line and raised in the caverns
would never take to another colour, for if painted, the foreign pigment would
wash out in a few days. Every Shoyru of the caverns was expected to live up
to the coloration that they were born with, but somehow, Kransha never did.
So she was sent out to "seek her fortune," outcast from the Clan of Shoyrus
that called themselves her family. So she had come here, to the Neopian police,
and joined to aspire to a higher rank. And then...
"Kran. Kran? Do you know that your mocha's getting cold?" A warm hand shook
her shoulder, and a familiar voice followed it. "Don't tell me you're brooding
again. It really isn't healthy for you." By the "really," the black Shoyru had
fully awoken, and looked up into the grinning face of Tammin, another Shoyru
officer. She smiled weakly.
"Sorry, Tammin. I have had much to think about," she confessed. He shrugged,
nodding.
"Don't we all. Listen, Kran, I'm sorry to ask you this, but there's been a
spate of kidnappings, and..."
Kransha felt her head jerk up in surprise. "Kidnappings? There have
not been kidnappings since... I do not remember when!" Tammin looked at her
soberly, making her very uneasy.
"I know. But that isn't all. This guy isn't going after simple Neopets. He's
going after painted Neopets. Shadowed ones." The verdin Shoyru glanced at her,
as if to gauge her reaction. Kransha restrained herself from incipient hysteria,
meeting his gaze calmly. He sighed. "Kran, I really don't want you to do this,
but you're the only one who can."
"I know. I'll do it." Kransha heard herself say, as if she was controlled by
a different being.
Tammin slowly stood. "Kran, I tell you, you're insane."
I know, the black Shoyru thought, But at least it's for a good cause...
Kransha remembered those words with a certain sense of irony as she scouted
out the eastern border of Neopia. Several would-be thieves and frightened lovers
had made their way into the station tonight, as she searched for the perpetrator
of the stolen Neopets scheme. She was nearly at the border of the Haunted Woods
when she heard a muffled shriek and an unholy mating of contortion and writhing
shadow. The shadow was strapped onto a very dark blue back, and gagged as well.
Kransha was alarmed at just the straps, but the form kept freezing at moments,
looking very much like an odd shape. Without thinking, the black Shoyru swooped,
calling a bloodcurdling war-cry--
--And everything went dark.
She woke, finally, but she could not tell what time it is, and her wings ached
in the most peculiar fashion. Kransha attempted to stretch, but found that she
was bound hand and foot -- and wing. A chuckle from the shadows caused the hair
on the back of her neck to raise; it most certainly did not sound kindly.
"So... the play-hero awakes," said a deep yet nasal voice. Kransha could almost
taste the sneer in it. "Well well well, did you have a nice nap?"
"Show yourself, fiend! You have been found out!" Kransha bluffed, hoping she
could get him to release her. She wasn't betting on it, though. A bark of laughter
met her demand.
"Oh, have I? I think not!" the owner of the voice moved into view, and Kransha's
eyes widened.
Balthazar!
"Balthazar, you have lost the little sanity you had," Kransha said flatly.
The giant lupine form snickered, for there was no other word for the sound he
made. Kransha decided to follow up on it. "Was all of this to find the mind
you lost, or the virility you misplaced?" This time he ground his teeth, and
Kransha was both alarmed and fascinated. This mood swing served only a deranged
mind, but she had never seen someone grind their teeth in rage. And all
this time she had thought it a cliché!
"Oh, you'll see, little Shoyru, you'll see. And then you won't, for you'll
rejoin my little trophy cupboard." He giggled, and swept out of her sight. "Goodbye,
little Shoyru! I'm off to get another prize!" A sound of a door closing, and
then the candle must have gone out, for she was left in darkness. Kransha dredged
up every piece of information she knew about knots, and started wriggling towards
the wall. She eventually found a sharp rock, and rubbed against it, cutting
herself several times in the process. Once free, she invoked her night vision,
and searched for a lock, a handle, anything, But when she turned, she found
nothing. Not even a door. Pathetic, Kransha thought, shaking her head
and continuing into the next room.
What she saw was not pretty.
Starved, beaten Neopets sat around the room in chains. Their dark coats were
lank from being mistreated, and lined up on the walls were many, many bottles
of Light Faeries. It all made horrible sense. The Light Faeries, being what
they were, would not be able to help themselves, and would rush... right into
the hands of Balthazar. Kransha shuddered. These days, they would not be set
free. They would be passed from hand to hand for Neopoints, never to see the
light of day. A wave of determination billowed in Kransha, and she went about
the room, liberating the faeries and commissioning their help in setting the
Neopets free.
"What would you like us to do?" One whispered in Kransha's ear.
"Put them back in the homes they belong to," the black Shoyru said, "Please."
A warm, balmy ray swirled around each Neopet, moving on to the next, each in
turn. When she was alone, Kransha sighed, but this time with happiness. But
she noticed a shining glaze on her hand where the faerie had touched her, ever
so lightly, and blinked. "Fae gold," she breathed.
"You!" the roar of rage came from behind, and Kransha rolled just in
time to avoid razor-sharp claws. "You!" Balthazar snarled. "You set them free!"
"Yes," Kransha said quietly, yet forcefully, " I did."
With another roar, Balthazar launched himself at her, and Kransha was forced
to scramble out of the way. Another lunge caught her wing, and the black Shoyru
heard a dry snap, but she was too caught up in fear and the need to escape to
notice the pain. Kransha was quite sure that he had gone mad, and when he dived
for her, she reached out her hand in a futile gesture of warding, and brushed
his cheek. Balthazar howled, not a battle-cry, but a shriek of pain, and Kransha
dimly registered that the golden dust had stuck to Balthazar and was glowing
a very violent yellow. He screamed again, and she seized the chance to flee,
attempting an impromptu glide from the only open window. Behind her, Balthazar
screamed "Curse you, Shianri!" as Kransha started to fall.
The black Shoyru looked at her hands for the comforting glow of the fae powder,
but it was gone, and her wings were radiating faint light.
The last thing she saw before she hit the ground were her wings, her sight
blurred with the excruciating pain and the tears, dotted with golden stars and
looking remarkably like the night sky.
Kransha awoke to the sounds of a hospital room, and Tammin hovering anxiously
over her. "T-Tammin?" she stuttered slightly.
"Oh! You're awake, eh?" he said, relief on his features. "Good! I must say,
if there are any more like you where you grew up, we're staging a raid!"
"Where am I? What happened?"
"Well," he began, a small tinge of regret in his voice, "the perpetrator got
away. But the Neopets were recovered, and upon seeing they state they were in,
pampered outrageously. Good work. We enlisted the Water Faerie at the Healing
Springs to fix you wing, which, might I add, is good as new. How did
you do it?" Tammin asked, a bit of awe in his voice. "I--it--well, it's a long
story." Kransha confessed, "And it wasn't all my doing. Some faeries had a hand
in it."
Tammin whistled. "I should say! But still, the owners of those pets have given
you a hefty reward," he said with envy, and gestured to a table covered with
bags of Neopoints, food, and various items. Kransha blinked. "I still say you're
insane, Kran," Tammin continued, "But at least you're on our side."
Kransha smiled tenderly, and nodded, for the first time feeling warm.
The End |
