Chapter Text
Dani’s loud scream still tore at Macey’s ears as she felt herself being pushed backwards. Luíca was grabbing her shoulder and inserting herself in front of her protectively, already instinctively summoning a glowing spell circle. It was light purple. An abomination spell.
Everything seemed to happen in a blur. Dani screamed, Philip’s still ragged breathing, Hunter throwing himself onto the boy. They both fell to the floor, Hunter immediately throwing the younger boy into a chokehold. The knife clattered onto the floor, a few scarlet colored drops littering the floor.
Macey caught sight of it and dared a glance at Dani. She was still sitting on the floor, slumped over on her hands, hand brushing her arm. She could smell the tang of fresh blood and saw one slash in Dani’s arm. Her face was still twisted in surprise, nostrils flaring. She immediately looked away. She still didn't do good with blood.
Luíca was stepping forward and kicking the knife out of anyone’s reach. Macey had missed the moment where she had managed to get the tangle of abomination goo around Philip’s torso, binding his hands to his side. Hunter pushed him onto the floor with a grunt. He nodded his thanks to Luíca.
Philip still had the crazed look on his face. His face was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, eyes wide. He shuffled his feet against the hardwood floor. “ You’re lying! You’re lying!”
Hunter’s lip curled in a snarl and he bit back his threats as he turned to Dani. Hunter’s angered expression dropped as soon as saw his daughter. She cradled her arm in her lap, tears starting to spring to the edge of her eyes. The sharp pain must have been kicking in. “Hey, Dani? Are you okay?”
“It hurts,” Dani managed. She tried to pull her hand away. It was slicked over with blood. “I can’t move my arm.”
Hunter sent a desperate look to the girls. “You guys stay there. I’m going to go get the first aid kit.”
Surprisingly, Luíca sprang into action. She left Macey’s side and kneeled next to Dani. She peeled away her arm and examined the blood gash. She slipped off her jacket and tied the sleeve around Dani’s arm. “No. We’re taking her to a hospital. Now.”
Hunter shifted. “We could just—“
“No. Titan knows where that knife has been. It could carry an infection if not treated properly. This needs to be cleaned out and sterilized. We need to flush out the germs before the infection has a chance to enter the bloodstream,” Luíca seemed to say in one breath. “If it does, it will easily spread to the rest of her body. We could be looking at blood clots or a cardiovascular infection.”
“What?” Hunter widened his eyes. “I’ll call the Healing Coven.”
“No,” Luíca shook her head. “We’re bringing her in. There is more they can do at the actual hospital. There is one on Bloodmare Way, isn’t there? That’s just a few blocks away.”
“Yeah, I guess that’ll do,” Hunter said, moving his hand through his hair. He bit his lip. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Luíca said, already turning back to Dani. “Macey, get the first aid kit. I’ll bandage it the best I can to prevent more blood loss.” She shook her head. “That’s a whole other problem. Do you know your blood type?”
Dani shrugged. “I— I haven’t lost that much blood!”
“You have to be prepared. They will have a donor on stand by just in case.” She nodded her thanks to Macey as she handed her the small kit. “Let me know if you start to feel dizzy, light-headed, or see black dots in your vision. Fainting to shock or blood loss is very common.” Luíca snapped her head towards Hunter. “What are you doing? Get your coat. We’re leaving!”
Hunter ran to the hall closet. Macey cleared her throat. She pointed to Philip. “What do we do with him?”
“We bring him with us. We can’t risk him losing our sight,” Luíca said, slipping on medical gloves. She held a salve in her mouth and unpeeled the sleeve to smother the wound in the ointment. She wiped it with a towelette and wrapped the bandage over it. “Keep your arm relaxed. Keeping pressure on it should help with the bleeding. We need to go so it can properly be flushed out.”
Hunter raised his eyebrows. “Flushed out?”
“Washed and cleaned. If we let out the blood and germs sit, it spreads to your blood cells and kills them. It invites disease and your body won’t be able to fight it off.” Luíca finished tying the right bandage, licking her lips. Dani winced. “You could lose your arm. You don’t want a chunk of dead cells hanging off your shoulder, do you?”
Macey had never seen her older cousin look so scared, teary eyes and all. “Luíca, stop it. You’re scaring everyone.”
“I’m being realistic. At least I’m not lying,” she grumbled as she pulled off the gloves and threw the supplies into the makeshift kit. “You’re going to be fine, Dani. Just a puncture wound. But things like this could lead to infection and amputation. So, let’s go, shall we?”
Luíca helped Dani up before leaving her to Hunter, who supported her with one arm over her shoulder. He whispered worriedly to her. Luíca stood over Philip, arms crossed. “Get up.”
“I’m not going with you!” The boy spat. It sounded like he was growling. But it was hard to take him seriously when he was pouting on the floor like a toddler, tears drying on his cheek. “ You’re lying!”
“We’re not lying, Philip,” Macey said calmly. He stiffened. “You’re a Grimwalker. That’s why you can’t remember anything. We just want to help you.. but to do that you have to listen to us.”
“No,” Dani wheezed. “No more stabbing people please.”
He shook his head feverishly. “No, no, no!”
“He’s in shock,” Luíca shrugged and drew in a sharp breath. Then she had her hand hovering over the boy’s neck. His face whitened, a choked whimper escaping his throat as Luíca flexed her fist. “This is your windpipe. If I break this, you won’t be able to breathe. You will die in a few moments, throat collapsing in on itself, smothered. So,” she tightened her grasp. “I can snap your neck, or you can come with us.”
Macey nearly took a step back. She had never seen this side of Luíca. But then again, they had dealt with a clone of the old Emperor showing up and stabbing someone.
He started crying again, and Luíca groaned. “Just nod and tell me if you agree. If you do, you will come with us and stay quiet. You will listen to us and not ask questions. Understood?”
He nodded eagerly, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Luíca dropped her hand. A pale outline of her hand was left on his neck. “Good.” She gave him a shove and he stumbled up. “Get up. And don’t even ask about being set free. We can’t trust you with your hands free. Stick by one of us while you’re at it, alright? We need to look after you until we can get you to the Council.”
“The Council?”
“Well, yeah,” Luíca scoffed. “You were missing. Legally dead almost. We need to turn you in. The fact that you went a little stir crazy and stabbed someone isn’t going to help your case. Looks like Belos definitely left his mark on you.”
Philip’s chin dropped to his chest, his face blank. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as Luíca checked Dani again. Hunter was pacing the small hall. He seemed to be making faces to go along with the conversation in his head, debating what to do.
“Is it that bad?” Dani asked again as Luíca frowned at the wound. By now, some of the blood was drying. They would need to scrub it off the floor. “Stop making that face.”
“You’re lucky it missed your major artery. If you got stabbed right in an artery or nerve ending, you could have been paralyzed. Looks like it barely missed your axillary artery..” Luíca looked up to everyone staring at her. “What? My mom wanted me to take a Healing class for a reason.”
Hunter spun on his heel. “Whatever. We have to go. We have to get Dani checked out and figure out what to do with him.” He sent a glare to Philip. “I’m calling Lilith and setting a meeting up first thing in the morning. We will figure out what to do together.”
—
The next hour felt like a rush too. They made the ten minute walk down to the hospital in silence, Luíca’s eyes boring into Philip’s back, who was made to walk up front so they could all see him. Hunter had his arm around Dani, who clutched her aching arm. Macey was collecting her own thoughts. So much had just happened.
And was this her fault?
They reached the building and walked down a long white, well-lit hallway until they reached the front desk. A nice nurse in scrubs took Dani in one of the back check-up rooms and Hunter stood at the counter to fill out forms and answer questions, casting glances back to the girls or at the closed door where Dani was. Macey heard him explain to the nurse that it was an accident.
After the questioning, he went outside to calm down and make a few phone calls. The nurses were still watching him, wondering why the Vice President was here so late. Macey immediately bit her lip. A politician’s daughter showed up at the hospital with stab wounds. Great. There will be new street gossip for tomorrow. Mavey already knew how some people hated the updated system and would throw any shade they could at the new government.
Did you hear? The Vice President’s daughter. Poor girl. Mhm. Maybe it wasn't an accident. Maybe he hurts her the way his uncle hurt him—
He placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. His Scroll was still in his hand. “Macey? Are you alright?”
She nodded. “Mhm! I’m fine.”
He gave her a skeptical glance. “Okay. I’m going to make another call. I’m going to be right outside. Stay here.” He stepped away and nodded to Luíca. “Look after your sister.”
Luíca was watching the nurses at the station with intent. Macey blinked. She wasn’t aware of her sister’s sudden interest in Healing magic. She always thought her sister would take after her mother, take over that family business, or maybe do something with her knowledge of Glyphs or the Human Realm. She couldn’t imagine her sister a Healer, not really. She was too grumpy.
Philip sat in a row of chairs in front of them so they could both see him. His back was turned to them, his hands in his lap. He was looking down. They were all sitting in the red leather chairs of the waiting room. Macey kept staring at him until Luíca turned her back to the nurses laughing and whispering in the corner. “Macey?”
“Hm?”
“You okay?”
Her gaze flickered to Luíca’s serious face. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you just saw someone get stabbed? I know you’re not good with blood. Plus, you’re younger than me—“
Macey grunted. “I’m fine.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” Luíca smiled. “You’re just like your mom. Just get over yourself and talk about your feelings. It’s okay. We can talk.”
“I am scared.. and confused. I thought he was nice. I didn’t mean to cause all this.”
“Did you stab Dani?”
“No..?”
“Then it wasn’t your fault. Period. You're just trying to help him. He learned the truth, and it shocked him. He thinks we’re lying but he just needs time to calm down. Lilith and Hunter have got this covered, alright? They will help him figure things out.”
Macey didn’t reply.
“At least he’s not on the streets anymore, right? You did him a favor. You did all of us a favor. It’s much safer he is with us than out there with that knife. He could hurt more people, or people could hurt him. Don’t beat yourself up, okay?”
Macey swallowed. “Okay.”
Luíca slowly put her arm over Macey’s. “You did the right thing, Mace. I’m sorry you had to see all that, though.”
She shrugged. “I’ve seen worse. I’ll be okay.. since when were you such a Healing prodigy?”
“I’ve always liked it. Aunt Em and Aunt Viney helped fuel that fire,” Luíca said. Macey tucked her head on her shoulder. “I don’t know. I think I like helping people. Even if it includes a crazy clone of the Ex-Emperor.”
Macey’s eyes felt heavy and she nodded along. They were still waiting for Dani and Hunter was just outside. Getting a quick nap would be alright, right? It was the middle of the night after all.
Macey closed her eyes, feeling Luíca’s steady breathing under her. “Hey, Luíca?”
“What’s up?”
“Thanks for not letting me go alone tonight.” Mavey whispered. “You’re a good sister.”
She felt Luíca swallow, set her jaw. Like she was frowning.
“I love you.”
There was no reply as Macey drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
—
She was woken up a half hour later by Hunter walking by and shaking her shoulder.
She jerked up. “What? What is it?”
He held his arms out. “Hey. It’s okay. I just wanted to let you know Dani is okay.” He turned to Luíca. “You were right. She had an infection. They cleaned it out before it could spread though. She had to get a few stitches and they are getting some pain meds.”
“But she’s okay?”
He nodded. “Just a little sore.” He jerked his chin up. “You did a good job today. Thank you.”
“Of course.”
He placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Thank you guys for being patient. It’ll be a little longer until she is discharged. Hang in there, okay?”
“Then what?”
Hunter shot a glance back at Philip. He was fast asleep, still upright on his chair. “I made a few phone calls. I’m dropping you off at Eda’s in an hour and making sure Dani gets home. I need to meet Lilith at the office to get ready for the meeting. Eda will drop you off after or your parents will come get you. We will figure it out.”
With that, he started to walk away.
—
The second time she was woken up she felt like she blinked and then was in the familiar living room of the Owl House. Hunter had woken them up and made sure they made it to the house.
Macey rubbed her eyes and groaned. She saw movement at the end of the room and sat up. Eda stood there, in her usual red dress, gray hair pulled back. “You’re up.” She looked at the chair next to the couch, where Luíca was still sleeping, snoring softly. “Unlike your sister.”
Macey jumped up and looked around. “Where is Philip?”
“In the kitchen. Raine has been with him. Don’t worry.” She snorted. “Raine has their mad face on. It’s adorable .”
“I’d be pretty mad if my son had to drop three kids off at my house too,” Luíca said, waking up. Her gaze slid to the floor. “I’m sorry we’re causing so much trouble.”
“No, we’re just happy you’re okay,” Eda assured her. “And it’s about time you two got into trouble in the middle of the night.”
“ Rightttt.”
Eda frowned. “Are you sure you wanna get up? You’ve been through a lot. You can rest.”
Luíca shook her head. “I’m good. I want to be up in case anything happens.”
“Which it won’t”, Macey added. “It never does.”
“Good thing,” Eda said, suddenly grinning. “Your date is here.”
“ What?”
—
Now, Vivian stood in the middle of the living room. “So this is the Owl House?” She looked around, then paused. “Huh. Did the walls just move?”
Macey nodded from her spot on the couch, still wrapped in a blanket. “You get used to it after a while.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Luíca’s face was still flushed red at the sight of her crush. She had run to the bathroom to fix her hair after Eda announced her arrival. “Vivian, what are you doing here?”
“We were supposed to meet for a movie?”
Luíca blinked. “It’s seven in the morning.”
“Well, you never specified what time.”
“I guess, but— we have a lot going on. I don’t think—“
“It’s fine!” Macey but in. “We need a good distraction. The theater isn’t open yet, but I’m sure we could find something to do around here. Eda always has something borderline illegal laying around somewhere.”
Luíca grabbed Macey’s shirt, tumbling onto the couch. “What are you doing?” She whispered fiercely. “We have to stay here and keep an eye on Philip. He’s a psycho!”
“Oh, come on. He was just in shock. And he’s just a boy.”
“He stabbed someone! Do you not remember?”
“Raine and Eda can handle him. We deserve a distraction. Just for a bit?” Macey leaned forward. “You would reject a date with Vivian? Your one true love?—“
Luíca smothered her mouth with her hand. “Fine. Fine! Just shut up.” She turned to Vivian. “Sorry about that. Just.. talking.”
Macey stuck out her tongue. Luíca jumped back and wiped her hand. “ Ew? Did you lick me?!”
Macey sat up and smiled.
“You’re gross!”
“You’re the one who stuck her hand in a stab wound!”
Vivian raised a brow. “Are.. are you sure this is a good time? I could come back.”
“No, no, it’s alright!” Macey exclaimed. “This is a normal thing in our family!”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” Luíca chuckled. “Just a long night.”
“What happened?”
“I’ll explain it to you later,” Luíca promised. “Let’s find something fun to do.”
“If you’re going anywhere, you’re taking Phillip with you!” Eda’s voice came from the other room. “He needs some fresh air.”
“Why?” Macey cried. “No!”
“This is my house, Macey. We only have him for a few more hours and we need to still treat him like a Witch.. or a.. whatever he is.”
Vivian looked confused and Luíca jumped to action again. “We could play a board game? Or watch an old Human movie? Eda has a bunch of those.”
“You could clean Hooty!” Eda’s voice suggested. “Just a thought!”
“Eda, no!”
“We’re not going in the basement either.”
“We have a basement?”
“Whatever.”
Macey looked down at the coffee table in front of the couch. It was littered with Eda’s messy pieces of paper. Old coupons, some important looking documents. Something caught her eye. A book, she realized.
She leaned forward to pick it up. It was worn and dog-eared. She gently flipped through the pages until she came to a stop. “Hey, guys.”
She looked up. Luíca and Vivian stopped talking, looking at her to the book in her hands.
“Have you ever heard of.. Time Pools?”