The Packs of Dusk: Book 1: Mystical Wings

Chapter Fifteen - Tree the Ghost

Miley carried Shale's flower in the air with her Void magic. "Tree will defenitely appreciate this," she said, smiling at the pure white flower. "The soul of a strong, caring wolf is just what she needed."

We walked into a cave that was hidden by a tree. A purple ghost formed, smiling at us.

"So, I see you have brought me another soul, Miley?" She asked in a well-rounded voice, her head high. Miley nodded, setting the flower down.

"Strong, caring and friendly is what I have been waiting for!" Tree exclaimed, making the flower vanish. We had invited Tweedle to come with us, but she refused, so I came in her place.

Tree looked at me. "Who have we here?" She eyed me carefully, looking at me up and down. Miley smiled.

"This is Naomi, a Sky wolf. She was a dear friend to that recently departed soul I have just brought you." Miley smiled again, looking at Tree.

"It's just Shale, you just call him Shale," I muttered with mediocre anger. Miley nodded, knowing her mistake.

"Anyways, might I ask how you ended up like this?" I asked Tree, sitting down and staring at her transparent purple form. She bit her bottom lip with her sharp, ghostly fang.

"Long story," she simply said. I looked at Miley, pleading with her. She sighed and nodded.

"We've got time," Miley said and sat down beside me.

Tree sighed, huffing a purple smoke. She sat down and began to tell her story.

"I was born long, long ago, right when the Packs were thrown into an endless turmoil because of the DarkOnes. I was born on the same day as two other wolves, who are known as Andano and Dally. When we became apprentices in our dear ForestPack, but little did we know we were, let's say, special. We were known as Soul Keepers, and we were feared. We just didn't know it. Right after our apprenticeship ended, we were exiled and our role was revealed to us.

"We stuck together until we reached the border. Needless to say, we were never really friends. We broke out in a huge fight when we reached the border, causing us to seperate. Andano went towards Andy's Hideout. Everybody called Andano Andy, so that is how the cavern got it's name, and that was where he died. Dally went towards the ocean, for who knows why, but it was clear she drowned there. I went towards the mountains, as you can see, and camped out in many caves. I actually made my own Pack with about ten other loners, and we called ourselves StonePack.

"We thrived for quite some time in StonePack until one night I got a dream from StarPack. I thought it would be a godsend, a dream of luck and a good future, but no. They said they allowed me to create this unoriginal Pack for the sake of safety. They were going to send a large group of loners to destroy it, but they said it would not be unfair. The large group would be demolished as well, by a simple mistake. They said to make the lives of my Pack longer, I must fake my death. My Pack would then break up and separate back to loners.

"So I did fake my death. I jumped off a cliff that hung over the ocean, but they didn't know water was there. It still hurt when I hit the water, of course. But I still lived, no doubt about it, and I found this cave. I died in here during a harsh snowy season. Now, my ghost lives on, sending spirits to UnderPack or StarPack."

I tilted my head. "But... How exactly does a Spirit Keeper work?" I asked, looking at Tree.

"Oh," she replied, "it depends on the number of Spirit Keepers that were born together. Since there were three of us, it works perfectly. I receive all souls through you, mostly, but the Pack alphas deliver souls as well, using their hidden magic to turn them into the flowers. The souls come to me, I verify their level of goods and bads. If the soul is bad, I send them to Andano down in Andy's Hideout, who then sends them down to UnderPack. If the soul is good, I send them to Dally's Rock, who then sends them to SkyPack. Dally's Rock is only known by us, and now you two."

I nod, taking it all in. "How can you tell if one is a Spirit Keeper?" I ask again.

Tree sighs. "This is the final question, okay?" I nod understandingly. "When they speak, small sparkles come from their ears. I know it's strange, but it's true." And with that, Tree vanished. Miley and I made our way slowly back to camp. I approached Archie and Ezra, bidding them to speak.