Pure Souls (book 2) : From Dark to Light

Path to the Heart

??'s P.O.V

I dove behind a bush when I heard a couple voices excitedly chatting. My heart was racing as I readied my crossbow. The bird on my shoulder moved to the top of my head. Without a second thought, I shot as the voices came past. There was a scream, and crying. "No... I'll heal you, Grase. I'm gonna heal you!" came a small boy's voice.

I stepped out of the bushes to see a young boy in pain on the forest floor, an arrow sticking out of his stomach. A slightly older boy had a hand over the wound. "I'm so sorry... I-I didn't know who was there..." I apologised.

The older boy pulled the arrow out as the younger one sat up. They both looked shocked to see me: a small, dirty girl with a bird and a crossbow. "Who are you?" the younger one asked.

"I-I... my name's Em and... I've lived here my whole life," I replied.

"Your whole life?" the older one cocked his head.

"Yeah. The forest is my home. Who are you? And why are you out here?"

"I'm Will, and this is Graser, and we're going home."

"You live out here?"

"Well, we came from a bad place. And we're going where our hearts are telling us: a wonderful, accepting place."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Not at all."

Graser bounced and sang as if there was never an arrow covered in old blood sticking out of his abdomen. Will was pretty chill, and I had to admit... he was a bit cute too. The boys were always glancing at the ground. Taking sudden turns or walking straight for ages despite the several paths leading to all sorts of places. I guess that they knew the right path, but then Graser said, "This glitter's really cool."

"Glitter?" I scrunched up my nose in confusion.

"You can't see it?"

"No..."

"Oh."

But when Will accidentally bumped into me, almost sending me flying into a tree, he caught me. And the glitter slowly appeared, creating a path that led into more flora. Will must've seen that I was blushing, because he slipped his hand into mine. It sent a warm feeling through me. Graser led the way to a massive open area. The whole area was coated with glitter: the grass, the trees...  heck, even the animals looked like they'd been prancing through glittery rain. "Woah... so glittery..." I said as I admired the place.

"You can see it now?" Will asked.

"Well, when you caught me, and you grabbed my hand, it formed a path."

"Great. Now, can you see a treehouse?"

"Yeah, over there."

I pointed to the furthest corner of the clearing. Will grinned, and Graser broke into a run towards it. Will followed him, dragging me until I started running faster. We started pulling each other around the area until we reached the treehouse. It was a massive tree with a door in it, and rooms built on thick branches. A swing hung off one of the branches. With a little hesitation, Will knocked on the door.

A purple-haired girl answered the door. Although she looked suspicious, hope and joy glimmered in her brown eyes. She soon grinned. "Will...Graser...?" she asked.

Will's P.O.V

Yammy... that was her name! "Yammy!" I exclaimed, hugging her. Graser joined. 

"Oh my God... are you two okay?!" Yammy asked. "Come inside!" Her eyes landed on Em. "And your friend, let's all eat some cookies and have a grand old time."

When we walked in, I saw everyone. I could remember all of their names, except for one. Lizzie and Joel were munching on some choc chip cookies. Lauren and Scott were throwing playful insults and cookies at each other. Ross was trying shove a cookie into Max's mouth, Cory watching in amusement. Oli, Callum and the guy I didn't know looked to be having a challenge to see who could eat the most cookies. Where did all the cookies come from? No-one will know. But I wanted some. So I waddled to Lizzie and Joel, and I asked, "May I have a cookie?"

They stared at me, and Em appeared beside me. "Will!" Lizzie exclaimed, pulling me onto her lap. Joel smiled kindly at Em, who waved shyly. "Who's your girlfriend?" Lauren came over, smirking.

Em blushed. "Oh, we're... we..." she spluttered. "I'm..."

"Hey Em?" I asked, standing and grabbing her hands,

"Yeah...?"

"I know we've known each other for less than a day, but... will you be my girlfriend?"

Em's eyes widened. "Oh Will... I... y-yeah! Sure!"

I hugged her tight. As I pulled away, I gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Ah... young love," Oli smiled, his hands over his heart.

Everyone was surrounding us. "So who's the new guy?" Graser asked.

"Oh... I'm Jack. I've... I've seen you before. You were with her... with-with Shelby!" the boy replied.

Scott immediately started shaking, tears in his eyes. "Scott? You okay?" Cory asked.

Scott didn't reply. He continued to stare at Graser. "Hold on," Lauren said. She leaned in to Scott's ear and whispered, "Shelby."

Scott yelped and grabbed onto her. "Where?!" he cried.

"He's... he's scared of her."

Scott's P.O.V

I couldn't remember who Shelby was, or why  I was scared of her, but even just thinking her name made me want to run. "Scott... why are you so scared of Sh- her?" Lauren asked gently.

"I-I... I don't know," I replied, settling down slightly.

"She had to have done something," Ross said. "Scott wasn't like this before."

Jack came over to me, grabbing me by the shoulders. "Scott, it's okay, you're safe from her... we're here, calm down," he whispered.

"She scares me, Jack," I frowned.

"I know she does. But if you stay strong, we'll make sure she isn't scary, okay?"

I sighed with a nod. Jack wrapped me into a hug, and I felt two pairs of little arms wrap around me too. Then the memories came flooding back.

A life, once so pure, now so evil.

A former friend, one who cared, one who understood.

Her demons, they control her, never handing over the wheel, shoving the angels into the back seat.

She runs the EAPE now, determined to take us down.

Shelby has harmed us all emotionally, but for no longer.

Friendship magic is strong. 

Even if Shelby is incredibly strong with Life and Death magic, friendship is what it would take to bring her back.

I remembered how scared I was of her name. But no longer did I feel that way.

No, I felt confident.