Vacant Soul| Nicholas Scratch

Chapter 15 ✔️

Lucy POV

"It's morning miss. You've both passed their test, you can come back to school now" I hear a familiar friendly voice say. I glance at Bri who still looked in shock, as dried tears were stained on her porcelain skin.

"Bri, it's okay, you can look" I reassure her as I turn back to look at the younger boy.

"You can see him too?" Bri whispers out in confusion.

"Yeah" I tell her, but I don't know how she can also see him too.

She finally turns around and takes a good look at Quinten who had a sweet smile on his face as we began walking.

"Quinten you shouldn't be here alone, these wood aren't safe" Bri tells him.

"There's nothing out here that can hurt me anymore, come on, follow me" The younger boy tells us as we walked into the woods. I felt the same presence as Quinten as soon as we steeped into the hidden grave yard.

"What is this?" Bri asks in confusion as she looks around, looking at the graves.

"There used to be a ground keeper who buried us, but he died many years ago. Would you guys like to meet the others?" He says as suddenly more ghosts appeared, they were all kids like him.

"Oh Quinten" Bri says in sympathy at the many lost young innocent souls that are scattered around the part of the woods they're in.

"All because of that stupid harvest" I say bitterly, I don't know why Father Blackwood still allows this sort of sick thing happening.

Third POV

The two teens waited outside along with Hilda waiting for a response from Valentine and Zelda. Since the two teens informed the adults what had happened.

"But Zelda, Valentine, harrowing have always been a part of the academy. They're tradition. Zelda you even participated in some yourself" Father Blackwood tells the woman in front of him in his main office.

"Spirited Child's play, Faustus. I never killed a child!" Zelda defends.

"Other than your sister, who is in violation of excommunication by coming here" He tells her.

"Father Blackwood-" His face hardened at her for calling him that, "Faustus, I know this is tradition and all but many innocent lives died because of that"

"Look I would contend that the church of Night is only as strong as its weakest member and a good harrowing forges the weak" He tells the brunette beauty.

"My niece is not weak!"

"Nor is my daughter, Faustus" Valentine says in a calmly warning tone at him.

"Oh I know your daughter isn't, so there really isn't anything to worry about" He tells her with a grin on his lips.

"What if it were your child being harrowed?" Zelda says earning a deadly silence in the room.

"I will look into this, alright. You may be excused now Zelda, I have to talk to Valentine" He tells her. Zelda looks over at her friend unsurely but she gave her a reassuring nod.

"It's fine Zelda, but before you go can you then tell Lucy that she'll stay with you guys tomorrow?" Valentine says to her and Zelda nodded and then left.

"As much as I do want to help your daughter out of this, you know I can't. Our dark lord wants her to be stronger, he doesn't want her to crack" He tells her.

"I know that, I know. I have a feeling she already knows. It pains me that this keeps happening to her" She tells him as he got up and walked around the desk to sit on top of it and faced her.