All four of us sat around a table, concocting a plan. We had to find a way to defeat the notorious criminal who'd killed the Headmaster. The bounty would be enough to get us out of debt. I looked at the rest of my group. I, myself, was a Decabinder, one of the few people who bound ten spirits before becoming a Striker, the next stage. Our all-brawn no-brains guy was a Striker with two spirits, Fire and Strength. Another woman sat at one of the seats, flickering out of my vision every few seconds. She had bound Light, Dark, and Illusion and had also become a Striker. The final person in our group had only bound one spirit- Healing. However, he had mastered it's use, just as the Headmaster had mastered Wood.

  "We ned to be incredibly careful going after her. Note that she defeated the Headmaster, the person who taught us. We know just how strong he is. Even with four of us, we need a plan, and we need to execute it properly."

  Julia, the assassin with Light, Dark, and Illusion, spoke up, jamming a dagger into the table. "Find her location. You can divine, right?," she said, looking at me. Without waiting for a response, she continued. "Then we set up an ambush and take her out. A little girl without spirits? Not someone I would expect to kill the Headmaster. She likely used a few traps to get the job done, and she won't have traps if we surprise her."

  I nodded, turning past Thump, our idiot who bashed brains in. I wasn't taking his opinion for a good reason. In fact, he'd forgotten his name, so all we had to call him by was 'Thump'. He spoke up anyways. "Me think we should walk up, talk nicely, and when she be not expecting it, BASH!," he said, punctuating the last words he spoke by swinging his club, almost taking our healer's head off as I barely stopped the club with my gravity. Jack edged away from the club. He would likely not be able to heal an injury as deadly as losing one's head. I sighed, letting the club drop, and turned to Jack. "I think Julia's plan is good. However, we should capture, not kill, her."

  "Why?," I asked, interested. Jack was always the smartest one of us four.

  "If we capture her, we'll likely get extra rewards. We can also ask why she killed the Headmaster, and if it was in self-defense and it was righteous, we can let her go."

  Jack was also part of a church. He'd never revealed which one, but he had a great desire to do the right thing, which I did to, but I wouldn't risk my life. "We need to be careful, so only capture her if you can."

  I started detailing the plan, making sure that Thump was never alone any step of the way, and that his instructions were perfectly clear, without any loopholes. Finally finishing, I stood. "Tommorrow, we'll start out hunt. Tonight, I'll divine her location at noon tomorrow."

  I walked towards the door, pulling it open. Instead of showing the tavern this room was in's bar, however, black mist poured into the room. I stood back, generating a spike of ice to throw at whoever would come in, if they wished us harm. However, I was mistaken that I could throw this at them and get away with it. The person who came in was much too powerful for us to do anything. I dropped the spike as the hooded man unleashed his aura, the face beneath the hood covered in a layer of darkness making it impossible to see. The man whispered, and yet the sound reached all of us. "Capture the girl and I'll give you five times the reward. She stole something of mine, and I want it back. I may not move myself, for it'll look too suspicious. You'll have half up front, and I trust you know this offer's not something you can disagree with."

  I spoke up before the rest of my team could say anything. "Yes, we'll do it." 

  There was no other way, this man was much too strong to face.

  The hooded man turned and left abruptly, the mist retreating with him. Jack looked at me. He understood. Julia immediately started shouting at me. "Why'd you say yes, huh?," she asked, her face rapidly turning red.

  I looked her in the eyes. "If I didn't, we'd all be dead."

  That cut her short, and I stepped towards my room. I had to start divining immediately.

  The next day, we walked outside, armed with the knowledge of her location. I'd chosen a time earlier in the day, so that, in case the divination was wrong, I could try again. We didn't have time to waste, as the man was a threat looming at our backs.

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  The first location was a bust, the target not arriving. I condensed some water out of the air, my Oracle spirit proving its worth as another location showed up, an image appearing in the water. I dispersed the water back into the air once again, calling Thump away from his examination of a crack within one of the bricks on the rooftop.

  The second location was the jackpot, the target quickly showing up. I watched as she sat down to rest, and pulled the rest of the team over to their ambush areas. I quickly prepared my spells as she ate her buns. "I know you're there, you can come out now," came her voice, as she sat, still staring at nothing.

  I walked out of cover, as did the rest of our team. "Are you after me for your own purposes, or did someone tell you to do this?"

  I replied. "We're in debt and decided to hunt criminals for money instead of doing something else, which could have led us on an unsavory path."

  Julia smiled at the words, likely remembering when she'd pulled her uncle's pants down in the middle of a crowd so that we could escape the assassin town her family came from. I kept looking at the girl, who got up. "I'm not a criminal. I was defending myself. If you wish to attack, then do so. Be warned, however, that it will end in death for any of you that strike."

  I stood back. Her confidence wasn't for no reason. "We should believe your word over the Headmaster's?"

  She turned to look at me, finally giving me a look at her face. It matched the one on the flyer. "I see you bind spirits too. Why bind spirits?"

  This question had gone off on a tangent, but I humored her. "Because they're evil creatures that slowly destroy the world. Binding them prevents whichever ones you bind from performing it's evil, and also increases your strength."

  She sighed. "Spirits are peaceful, innocent creatures that embody their element. They are sentient, and they help people, not harm."

  I answered. "And you know this how?"

  Her answer was not one I expected. "I can see them."

  I laughed. I couldn't help myself, I laughed. "So you have the powers of the heroes of old? You can Whisper, Call, and create Truths just like those storybook characters could? Those characters, I'm sorry to say, did not exist."

  She looked at me and turned to the side. Her mouth moved, seemingly talking to something in midair. A tiny bolt of lightning crackled between her hands. I stopped laughing. I could sense that she had no bound spirit, through my bound Oracle. "Do you know the story of Randall and Jessica?"

  I nodded. Everyone did. "They were my parents."

  I staggered back, now accepting everything she said as true. After seeing her with fairy tale powers, I was in no position to think her lying. I had another question. "Why not just kill us? Why tell us all this?"

  She looked at me. "I believe people can turn their lives around. However, what did the trick for me is him."

  She pointed at Thump. "You cared for him even though he's not very smart and not too much of an asset to your team. You still stayed with him and helped him."

  She turned back to me. "I can break the binding between you and your spirits."

  I nodded. "How do I Whisper?"

  She looked directly at me. "First, you start with seeing the spirits. However, I will have you agree to an oath first. Will you swear to not harm spirits again, and be the first of this order?"

  I nodded. "I would like to see the truth before I unbind my spirits."

  She sat down once more. "To see spirits, you need to feel the magic within the world. You should be able to feel the energy within your spirits. Attune to it. See the world in a different frequency."

  I quickly managed to change my sight. It wasn't very hard. "Julia, Thump, Jack, she's not lying. You should do this too."

  Jack nodded, trying out her advice as well. He sank to his knees, staring at the spirits that populated both our worlds. Thump started dancing, telling me that, "I already saw shiny floater things."

  Julia also followed the girl's advice, watching the spirits that now pervaded the world. She walked over to us one by one, and I felt and saw the spirits I had bound fly off into the world. They were... peaceful as they disappeared into the sky, returning to where they belonged. "You will only be able to see the spirits that show themselves to you. You'll also be able to see magic. However, the spirits that don't wish to be seen will not be seen. I can see all spirits, whether they want to hide or not, due to my birthright, passed down to me from my parents."

  We all stood up, bowing at the waist, thanking her. "How do we Whisper?," I asked, desperate to get a taste of this magic. The girl shook her head. "You'll figure it out yourself. I won't tell you, and can't, as it's different for each person."

  She stepped back, turning and walking to the edge of the building. "Farewell. If I see you again, you'd better be stronger. By the way, my name's Liv."

  Without another word, she jumped off the building, landing on sheets of air that she condensed directly below her feet, for a split second before jumping again. Before we knew it, she was gone and we looked at each other, amazed. Then I came back to myself. "We need to run. The masked man'll be after us."

  Julia nodded. "I have an escape route."

  Jack nodded as well, and we all followed Julia to the wall, where she walked through an illusion placed to hide a small hole leading under it. Thump barely squeezed through, but everyone made it. "Where next?," Jack asked.

  "We had no belongings, so we didn't lose much by leaving. I think we can wander the world and increase our power. I also think we should help people and convert more to our side. The world deserves to know of this.

  Jack nodded once more, and we started walking towards the setting sun.