The Majors, Cold Fury (Book 2)

Chapter 48: Scott POV

We were on the dragon again, flying as fast as possible to the Overgrown.

According to Katherine's letter, Shrub had just arrived in the capital village, Hyacinth, panicked and barely able to answer their questions. The Ancient Elven library was extremely close to the Overgrown, so we took off right away.

By the time we got there, a dark storm had started to circle over the castle. As soon as we had landed, we sprinted to the door, and I slammed the knocker into the wood.

Pearl was the one who opened the door. Her eyes widened and she grabbed my wrist. "Thank god, come on!" she said and dragged me inside, almost pulling me onto my face. Gem and Jimmy were right behind me as she pulled me into the living room.

Shrub was huddled on the couch, Katherine sat right next to her. Her clothing was torn and covered in grass stains. Twigs were tangled in her hair which looked like it hadn't been brushed in a long time, and her eyes were wide with fear.

She didn't look up when we entered, but Katherine stood up, and dragged me to the corner of the room. "What's going on!?" I asked, looking around the room. Fwhip was here, along with Lizzie, Joey, Joel, Pixl, and Sausage.

"She skidded into the side of the palace on Zodiac." Katherine answered in a hushed voice. That's when I realized the humungous wolf laying down in the corner. I recognized it as the wolf that had used Erin as a chew toy during the war. Its remaining ear twitched every couple of seconds, like she was trying to hear something. "She was knocked unconscious, but when she woke up, she kept repeating, 'She's coming.' And 'We need Scott.'"

I bit my lip. "What could that-"

"I don't know. But I think you should talk to her." She said.

"Alright..." I said slowly and approached the couch Shrub was sitting on. I sat down on my knees in front of her. "Shrub?"

Her head snapped up, and her eyes widened. "SCOTT!" She half-shrieked.

"Woah." I said, pushing her down on the couch. "Calm down. What's happening?"

"She's coming! She has it!" she cried.

"Who's coming? What do they have?" I asked.

"Phoenix!" Shrub said in fear. "She chased me here! She has the Xornoth crystal!"

I looked up at the others, then back down at Shrub. "You sure it was her?"

Shrub nodded frantically. "She said she needed me, and to run! Then she chased me, I don't know when she'll be here!" Then Shrub burst into tears.

It startled me and I fell backwards onto my hands.

"Hey, Shrub, its ok, we're not going to let her get you." Katherine said and sat down next to her. Shrub wrapped her arms around her and grabbed tightly onto the clothing on her back, sobbing into her shoulder. "Shh." She said, helping her stand up.

I glanced at Gem. "This isn't good." She said quietly. "What would she want with Shrub?"

I just shook my head. I was as confused as she was. "Maybe she was just trying to scare her?" I suggested, but Gem bit her lip.

"I dunno..." she mumbled.

"We need to stop her before she gets to Shrub." Pearl said, rubbing her armband nervously.

"First we need to find out where she is." Gem pointed out.

"I know." My head snapped up to Erin who was standing next to Shrub with a smirk. Before anyone could react, she grabbed Shrub by the scalp and yanked her head back. Shrub screamed and tried to pry Erin's hand off, but not before, "Bye." Erin laughed, and they both disappeared.

"What just happened?" Katherine peeped a few seconds later.

"I think Erin just kidnapped Shrub." I answered, and we all just stood there, speechless.