Into the Light

131 Anna's POV

 I stood behind Ash and listened to what he was telling Sam, Kat, and Colby. I couldn't see their faces, but their bodies were tense, like they were ready to run at any second. The atmosphere around us was thick with unseen energy. I imagined that the walls were shooting sparks of electricity. While Ash was speaking to them, he was grinding something up in a pewter. He would grind, then add it to this silver mixing bowl that he had on a table beside him. He did that about three different times, while he was instructing them. My imaginary sparks became real inside that bowl. He added some kind of liquid to it and I saw smoke shoot up, then start curling slowly in lavender waves, towards the ceiling. This was magic...real magic. Ash was a Dream Walker, and apparently, so was I. Did this mean that I could do these things too? That would be pretty cool... I turned my attention back to what was going on, so that I didn't miss anything. "This indicates that you're ready to imagine that bubble shooting forwards, like you're shooting an arrow, towards its destination. The destination will be the Darkness, when it's time, but for now just imagine it is hitting the wall in front of you. When you squeeze the others hand, wait for them to squeeze back. Sam, you're in the middle, so when both Kat and Colby are ready, you need to squeeze their hands twice, to let them know that all of you are ready. When this happens, I want you all to count to three. After you hit three, shoot the bubble forwards. Now, whenever you're ready, you may begin." I watched as Colby's body shook a little, then his shoulders rose with a deep breath. "Remember that you're surrounded by friends. Your best friends. Stay calm," Ash instructed. He must have noticed how nervous they were too. I watched and waited, eager but also scared, to see what was going to happen. Were they going to be able to do this? Ash whispered some words that I couldn't hear over his smoking concoction and wafted the purple tendrils towards the other three. I watched as it circled them, making the imaginary bubble real. It bent and shifted, until it covered all three of them. Then is started to thicken, making a barrier. I couldn't look away. My eyes were wide open, taking in every detail, as I watched them prepare for a battle that we weren't sure we could win. I gasped when the lavender bubble sharpened in front of them, like an actual arrow, then shot towards the wall. It hit the glass, dead in the center, with a loud clang. The glass splintered and cracked, spreading across the back wall like a spider web. "What the fuck?" I heard Colby gasp out. I took a few steps forwards and around so that I could see their faces. All three stood there, with their mouths open, and their eyes wide in shock. They still had their hands connected, hanging loosely down at their sides. "Yes!" Ash exclaimed, putting the bowl down and coming to stand in front of them. "This was almost perfect! With practice, you'll be able to actually take the wall down. Make it explode. Actually..." He turned to look at the splintered wall of his home. "Maybe we should go outside and practice in the forest. Yeah...Its going to cost a good bit to have that fixed. I wonder if there is a spell for that... Anywho, you did so well!" He gushed over my three stunned friends, but their eyes didn't leave the splintered wall for a few minutes, at least. "We actually did that?" Sam murmured, looking from Ash to the wall. Ash nodded, excitedly, with his head bobbing up and down. "Yes, yes! Isn't it amazing? I thought it would take longer to for you to even make a small crack in the wall, but look at this! Your friendships are even more powerful than I could've imagined. You're very lucky to have each other." He walked over to the wall and traced the cracks with his fingers. "Very lucky, indeed," he murmured. "Well, let's move this outside then, shall we?" Colby waited for me to walk to his side, then he took my hand in his. It comforted me. We followed Ash outside and down this trail that was off to the side of his home. It led into the dark woods that surrounded his house. "Um, Ash, are you sure you know where we're going?" Sam asked, uncertainly. "Yes, yes, of course," Ash replied. "I've been down this trail a million times or more. It's not far now." We kept trudging along, for what seemed like forever, until Ash stopped short in front of us. "We're here," he replied, looking up into the dense trees of the forest. The rest of us followed his gaze. About a hundred feet in front of us, there was a huge clearing, in the shape of a circle. Like the one that the ghost girl had led me to, when we went to Amethyst's funeral, only a hundred times larger. "This will work perfectly. There are enough trees for you to practice and enough space for it to be safe," Ash said, holding his arms out. "So, let's get started. You three can go over in that area to practice. I brought the mixer that enhances the spell, so I'll set that up for you, before Anna and I start. It should burn for a while. Just stay close to it." He walked over to a huge flat tree stump and set the silver bowl down on it. He withdrew a lighter from his pocket and a small piece of paper. He read some words that I didn't understand from the paper, then set it on fire and dropped it into the purple mixture. The familiar smoke started to drift up and towards the other three, like it knew where it was supposed to go. Freaky. "Okay, Anna, are you ready?" He asked, turning back to me. I glanced at Colby, who was still holding my hand. He nodded at me and gave me one of those soft smiles that just melted my heart. I swallowed nervously, then looked back at Ash. "Yes, I'm ready," I replied, quietly. "Great. Now, you three go over there, next to the bowl. It'll be easier for the spell to reach you. Anna, you come over here with me," he said, placing his hand on my elbow.