Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter One

The Fool

The chime above the door echoed throughout the small bookshop as Luz entered.

“Eda, I’m home,” she called out, book bag slung hastily over her shoulder. She made her way to the stairs separating the shop from the apartment upstairs and made her way up. “Eda?” 

Luz dropped off her bag in her room, but there was still no answer, with the exception of a very demanding screech from Hooty, Eda’s very annoying feathered serpent. Ignoring the screeches, Luz poked her head into every room of the small apartment, Eda was nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t until she got to the kitchen did she find a note from Eda herself pasted on the fridge. “What’s this?” 

Hey, Kid,

Had to go to a client for a reading.

Man the shop while I’m gone.

While you’re at it, practice your card reading.

Eda

“That explains a lot.” Luz shrugged. She opened the fridge and took out a juice box before heading back to her room to grab her deck, a notebook, and a textbook. She made her way downstairs to the shop below. She sat her stuff on the counter before she walked over to the open sign and turned it on. Luz sat down at the counter and flipped open her notebook to a clean page. She then drew the silk drawstring bag containing the deck over to her. With care, she drew the cards out, the old cardstock cold and smooth against her hand. She proceeded to shuffle them a few times before she fanned them out on the table’s surface in a straight line, their starry dark blue backs glinting like a small nebula in the afternoon sun. Luz’s hand hovered over the cards, waiting for that familiar pull in her mind that would guide her to choosing a card. She was drawn to the left side of the deck first, choosing a card near the end. She did this two more times, drawing the other two from the right side of the deck. She gathered the remaining cards back into the deck before she turned her attention back to the three cards she had pulled. 

She flipped the first card over, revealing the bright radiant yellows of The Sun.

“Enlightenment, greatness, vitality, assurance,” Luz whispered under her breath. “I started learning from Eda, but this also means that I have found my own freedom and self confidence in my abilities. Sounds about right.”  She then flipped over the middle card revealing swirling blues as two merpeople held two cups in between their embrace. Luz’s eyes widened at the sight of the card before her, the Two of Cups.

“A connection, a truce, or attraction.” Luz leaned forward in interest, “A possibility of potential attraction, eh. I wonder who it’s going to be.” Luz giggled to herself as she flipped over the final card, the Chariot. Luz tilted her head as she tried to comprehend the soft blues of the card before her. “This person must be very confident in themselves. They have a strong will, always determined to succeed, they reach their goals, and are victorious above their competition. However, there’s another side to them apparently if the duality of the Chariot is anything to go by.”

Luz finished writing down her notes in her notebook and started to place her cards back into their drawstring bag when the doorbell rang as a customer walked in. Luz looked up from the counter to see a girl about her age. 

“Welcome to Owl House Books,” Luz said, putting on her customer service voice. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

The other girl regarded her for a second, her pointed ears twitching slightly. So, this girl’s a witchling Luz thought to herself. 

“I’m just looking around,” the girl said. 

“Alright, if you need anything, I’ll be here.” Luz drew her attention back to her cards, but she found herself watching the girl walk around the bookshop in fascination. She looked familiar to Luz. Maybe she could have seen her around town, Luz thought. The girl wandered over to the fantasy section, scanning the titles as if she were in search of something rather important. Luz shrugged to herself and continued to flip through her textbook as she tried to block out the girl and concentrate on memorizing the meanings of the tarot cards in her deck. 

“Excuse me.” The girl’s voice startled Luz out of her concentration.

“Oh… uh, hi,” Luz said, a nervous smile winding its way onto her face. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I was wondering if you had the fifth book of the Good Witch Azura series,” the girl said. She wasn’t looking Luz in the eye, and she was rubbing her arm, as if she were afraid of being judged.

“I can look and see if we have it,” Luz said as she tried to hide her excitement of meeting a fellow fan of the series. “I love that series by the way.”

“You read them too?” The girl sounded shocked.

“Oh yeah, it’s my favorite series of all time,” Luz said as she started to search the bookshelves for the title. “I’m Luz by the way. What’s your name?”

“I’m Amity. Amity Blight,” the girl, Amity, replied. 

“Well, Amity, you’re in luck,” Luz said as she grabbed a book from the shelf. “This is our last copy in stock.”

Amity took the book, a shy smile on her face. They made their way to the front and Luz scanned and bagged the book up. She turned her attention back to Amity who was looking at the tarot deck on the counter.

“Alright, Amity, here’s your book,” Luz said. “And when you’re finished with it, we should definitely meet up and talk about it.”

This seemed to startle Amity out of her trance and she took the bag, before glancing back at the deck.

“Are those tarot cards?” Amity glanced back at Luz, her golden eyes glowing with curiosity.

“They sure are,” Luz puffed her chest out proudly. “I might not be able to do magic like you witches can, but that doesn’t mean that I’m unable to do any sort of magic at all.”

“I never saw human magic done before,” Amity said. “While a lot of witches use tarot cards for readings; I’m curious as to how you do readings, since, you know, humans don’t naturally produce their own magic power.”

“I can do a reading for you if you want,” Luz said. She watched Amity glance at her, then to the cards and back. It was kind of like she were a shy puppy who got permission to jump on the couch. Cute, Luz thought to herself.

“Yeah, I would like one.” Amity nodded as she looked Luz in the eye. 

“Alrighty then.” Luz started shuffling the deck. “What kind of reading do you want? I can give you a general reading, a career reading, or if you’re really curious I can give you a love reading.” 

The only sound that filled the bookshop was the shuffling of the cardstock as it hit the woodgrain of the counter, and the occasional screech from Hooty upstairs. Luz watched Amity, who tapped her fingers against her chin as she thought about what kind of reading Luz could do for her. 

“I guess a general reading will do,” Amity said.

Luz placed the deck before Amity and fanned the cards out on the counter.

“Pick three,” Luz said.

Amity’s hand hovered over the cards, and with slow precision she chose her cards. Luz gathered the rest of the cards and placed them to the side. 

“Alright then, let’s get this started,” Luz said as she flipped the first card over to reveal the brooding green and gold of The Hierophant. “Interesting.”

“What’s interesting?” Amity peered at the card before her.

“Well, you were raised with the need to conform to the rules and expectations of those around you,” Luz said as she looked up to meet Amity’s eyes. Luz narrowed her eyes in confusion as the girl before her pinned her ears back, her eyes were wide with shock, and she was leaning as far back as she could possibly get without seeming to be rude. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no,” Amity said. She relaxed. “Everything’s alright. Please continue.”

“Okay,” Luz said, her eyes still narrowed, but she turned her attention back to the cards. She flipped over the middle card, revealing the swirling blues of the Two of Cups. Luz felt her face heat up slightly, as she snuck a glance at Amity, who was looking at the card. “Well, you are going to have a connection to someone. It may lead to an attraction of some sort, could be platonic, or romantic even.” Luz glanced back at Amity, hoping the other girl didn’t pay any attention to her. Remain calm, Luz thought, you may never see her again and that card could be referring to someone else.

“Huh, that’s interesting,” Amity said, breaking Luz out of her thoughts. “I never really had any romantic interest in anyone my friends or family introduced me to.” She shrugged.

“Well, it might be someone who you haven’t met yet,” Luz said, “Or you could have met them today, like on the street, or something.” Way to be obvious, Luz.

“That could be a possibility,” Amity said with a nod. “So, what’s the last card?”

Luz flipped the card over to reveal the glowing yellows and soft violets of the Wheel of Fortune.

“Another interesting card,” Luz said with a smile. 

“Oh?” Amity peered at the card, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“It seems like you will have a turning point in your life, maybe with the help of this new connection you will have, you can gain a different perspective on life and maybe you will find your own personal vision,” Luz said. She picked the cards up and placed them with the rest of the deck. “So, what do you think? Does this human stand a chance against the magic of the mighty witches?”

Amity giggled at the statement, “I believe that this human has a chance. I had just as many accurate readings from witches before.”

“That’s good to know then,” Luz said with a nod. “I can’t wait to tell Eda when she gets back.”

“Who’s Eda?” Amity said.

“Oh, she’s my teacher, and the owner of this here bookshop.” Luz gestured to the shop.

“Do you go to school here? I don’t recall seeing you at Hexside,” Amity said. “Unless you go to Glandus, or Luna Nova.”

“Oh, I start school on Monday,” Luz said. “I recently moved here a couple weeks ago.”

“That would explain a lot,” Amity said with a nod. “I’m assuming you’re going to Hexside then?”

“Yes indeed,” Luz hummed. “Maybe we’ll have classes together.”

“Maybe,” Amity said, a shy smile making its way across her face. “I better get going. I’ll see you later, Luz.” 

“Hey, before you go, can we exchange numbers? You know, so we can keep in touch?” Luz rubbed the back of her neck as she silently prayed that Amity wouldn’t see her awkwardness.

“Oh, sure,” Amity said. Luz noticed a slight pinkening of her cheeks but said nothing.  The two exchanged numbers and as Amity walked out of the store, Luz let out a breath that she realized she had been holding. 

“That damn two of cups.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

The Magician

“Why are you so quiet, kid?” Eda said as she looked up from her plate. “Usually you’re chattering nonstop.”

Luz looked up at her mentor seated across from her. 

“I’m just lost in thought I guess,” Luz said with a shrug. She continued to pick at her salad.

“Oh? What about?” Eda took a bite of her own salad as she looked at Luz expectantly.

“I gave a reading to a customer today.” Luz braced herself and looked up to meet Eda’s eyes. The memory of her first day of being Eda’s apprentice rang in her head and Eda’s words of not to do readings for customers until she had gained enough experience whispered in her ears. Despite her good marks in her classes back home, the words Eda told her when she first arrived still nagged at her. To her surprise, Eda didn’t even look mad, rather her eyebrow was quirked in curiosity as she sipped her apple blood. 

“You did huh?” Eda sat her cup down. “What was the reading? You didn’t predict certain death on accident did ya?”

“No, I didn’t,” Luz said. She rubbed her sweaty hands on her jeans. “But we both had similar readings though.”

“Wait, what do you mean about similar readings?” Eda leaned back in her creaky chair.

“Well, before she came in, I did a reading on myself and I got the Two of Cups. When I did the reading for her, she also drew the Two of Cups.” Luz took a sip of her water. She could feel the heat rising in her face.

Eda threw her head back as she started cackling. “Wow, kid. You seem to be jumping the gun here.” She wiped at a tear.

“It’s not funny, Eda.” Luz narrowed her eyes. “She even likes Azura .” 

“Luz, while tarot is one of the many forms of human magic you can do, it’s not always accurate. Hell, even the tarot readings witches in the Oracle Coven can do may not always be accurate. They mostly do tarot readings for show anyway.” Eda stood and cleared the plates from the table. “You have to take things with a grain of salt sometimes.”

Luz stared at the table, her eyes narrowed, the heat in her face never subsiding. Eda knew the reason why she was here instead of home in the first place. She sighed, knowing that sometimes things would be mere coincidence. That didn’t stop her from wishing that it wasn’t, however. 

“Oh, Luz I’m just joking around with you,” Eda said. “How about you show me your tarot skills after we finish cleaning up here.”

“Really?” Luz perked up and stood up, bumping into the table. 

“Really.” Eda nodded, her fang glinting as she smirked. “I’ll even teach you how to do the Celtic Cross.”

“Woah.” Luz’s eyes widened. “I’ll go get my cards now.” She was about to take off.

“Hold up,” Eda said. “You need to help me clean up here.”

“Whoops,” Luz chuckled. “Lo siento, Eda.”

There was a moment of silence between them until Eda smirked. “Was she pretty?”

“Eda,” Luz groaned.

After the dishes were done, Luz and Eda were sitting down at the kitchen table once again. Eda was shuffling her own deck of cards as Luz watched with anticipation, her own deck sitting on the table.

“Okay, Luz,” Eda said. “The Celtic Cross is one of the most common types of spreads you can do. The arrangement is like this.”

Eda laid five cards in a cross shape, then she placed another card over the card in the middle. She then proceeded to place four more cards in a vertical line on the right side of the cross.

“This seems really complicated,” Luz said as she turned her head.

“It is at first, but once you get the hang of it then you’ll be able to do this no problem. Now the first card in the reading is that one that has the other card lying on top of it. That is what you or your client is feeling at whatever situation you are in. That card on top is what is influencing or conflicting those feelings. The one below that one is the third card. It explains why things are the way that they are. Card number four is on the far left. That represents the past and what is already known. The top of the cross is card number five. It represents goals, ideals, and thoughts. Card number six is between the cross and the vertical line right here. It represents what’s coming in the future. Any questions so far?” Eda looked up at Luz.

“No, everything seems pretty straight forward,” Luz said.

“Alright. Now that we have the cross complete, we now move on to the line on the right of it, or the staff I like to call it. You start at the bottom with card number seven and work your way up. Now, card seven is how you see yourself. Card eight is the influence and view of others. Card nine represents your fears, hopes, desires, or blocked energy. Finally, card number ten represents the outcome, the resolution, or the breakthrough.” Eda leaned back into her chair and watched Luz.

“That’s a lot to remember,” Luz said as she looked at the cards in the spread Eda had on the table before her. 

“If you forget, the spread is in that textbook of yours.” Eda pointed to Luz’s book her cards were sitting on. 

“So, can you read the future with this spread?” Luz looked at the cards before her.

“Not quite,” Eda said. “This is used as a snapshot of what is going on in your life and gives advice on what you’re being read for. Does that make sense?”

“I mean I guess so.” Luz shrunk back in her chair, the old metal creaking as she did.

“Tarot isn’t about just predicting the future, Luz. It’s not a way of predicting the future since no one can do that, even with magic. Tarot is about finding the heart of the matter. It’s a suggestion guide to help others find their way, not a prophecy set in stone.”

“But sometimes predictions come true,” Luz countered as she folded her arms. I made one and I can’t even remember it, Luz thought. 

“Sometimes yes,” Eda said. “However, it depends on who’s doing the reading. Now, practice this a few times.”

Later that evening Luz sat at her desk studying her book. Around her were a couple different light spells she had cast. King, the self-proclaimed king of demons was curled up asleep on the end of Luz’s bed. To Luz he seemed more like a fluffy dog who just had a horned skull for a head than a fearsome king. 

“I just want to know why we both got the same card,” Luz huffed. She planted her head on her desk with a clunk. She remained motionless as she listened to King’s soft snores for a few minutes. “I wonder if I could predict the future with the cards. I mean, with the incident back home I did kind of predict the future. Maybe Eda’s wrong and the cards actually do tell the future.” Luz sat up and eyed the deck in question. “But if I knew what was going to happen, there’d be no surprise of what’s to come.” She stared at the deck, the voices of temptation whispering in her head. “I guess one little reading wouldn’t hurt.”

Luz shuffled the cards, excitement bubbling in her chest. She didn’t know what she wanted the cards to tell her, but she did want to know anything. Again she drew three cards from the deck, as she wasn’t about to attempt the Celtic Cross on her own yet. 

“Okay, what do I need to know?” Luz turned over the first card, the Page of Swords. “Hm. I need to use my mind, I need to be honest, and fair, and resilient. There is a challenge arising and I need to embrace these qualities. I wonder what the challenge is.”

She flipped the second card over to reveal the harsh reds and blacks of The Tower. Luz felt a shiver travel down her spine. She gulped, staring at the card depicting a toppling tower being struck by a bolt of lightning. “Sudden change, downfall, revelations, and release. Something’s coming, a sudden change that could be a possible downfall. It’s something I need to brace for, but will it be enough?” Luz held her breath as she turned over the final card, Judgement.

“Rebirth, inner calling, absolution. This is what will happen after the change and downfall in the Tower. An absolute change, a new beginning, and knowing what I need to do when the time comes.” Luz stared at the cards, her mind drowning in confusion of the message that they seemed to be trying to convey to her. She rubbed away the sleep that started to settle in her eyes. Something seemed missing from the picture, like a missing piece from a jigsaw puzzle. Luz felt a pull towards the rest of the deck, as if she needed another card. Her hand hovered over the deck, her mind trying to formulate the question as to what was missing.

“What do I need in order to face this challenge?” Luz picked up a card, turning it over to reveal The Chariot. Luz tilted her head in confusion. The Chariot was the card of victory, and willpower yes but it was also a card about the head versus the heart. Luz pondered as she looked at the card in her hands. However, as she looked down at the rest of the cards, she knew that the Tower opposed the Chariot, meaning defeat instead of victory the Chariot demanded. Luz leaned back in her desk chair, holding the card to one of the orbs of light hoping in some way that maybe the answer would be revealed to her if she squinted hard enough. Then as if the light from one of her spells entered her mind, something dawned on her. She sat up in her seat, slamming the Chariot card onto the desk with the rest of her deck. 

“It might not be something I need, but rather someone.” Luz scribbled down her notes in her notebook, for discussing with Eda later. “This card isn’t representing some values I need in order to succeed, rather they represent someone who is the embodiment of this card. Who knows, maybe I’ll find them.” She set her pencil down and scanned over her notes from all the readings she did that day, her eyes landing on the reading she did earlier in the day right before Amity walked into the store. Luz blinked a few times as she regarded the notes. 

“Or maybe I already did.”

Chapter Text

Luz stood outside the oak doors that led into Hexside school’s halls. The school’s imposing walls leered down at her, as she stared up at the cold stone that crafted it. Luz took a deep breath, gripping the straps of her backpack tighter as she pushed through the doors. Despite the abandoned foreboding exterior of the outside, the inside of the school was bustling and full of life as students of all different species chatted and mingled together before classes. Luz could feel a charge of excitement mixed with anxiety in the air as she made her way to the school’s office. Along the way she’d catch the whiff of a girl who’d put on way too much perfume or a demon that smelled like swamp mud. She didn’t mind however, as the echoing chit chat of the students added some sort of comfort for her as she was able to blend into the crowd, and not seem like a freak. She pushed the thought aside as she came to the door of the school office. She entered and a wolf demon was sitting at the desk. She lifted her head, amber eyes focusing on the human in front of her.

“How can I help you?” The wolf pricked her ears in interest as she pushed aside her crystal ball.

“Yes, I’m a new student here and I wanted to get my class schedule,” Luz answered as she readjusted the beanie that she was wearing. 

The wolf demon looked down at her crystal ball and began typing. “Name?”

“Luz, Luz Noceda.”

“Ah, yes, here you are,” The wolf demon drew a circle midair manifesting a sheet of paper. “Here’s your schedule, dearie.”

“Thank you.” Luz took the schedule and examined it.

“It’s strange that a student, let alone a human student, is taking multiple tracks.” The wolf demon turned back to her crystal ball resuming her work.

Luz tilted her head in curiosity at the last statement. 

“Wait, is it not common here for students to take classes in multiple tracks?” 

“I know that’s a common thing on the Isle of Humans, but here on the Boiling Isles, students only choose one track, but they can choose to have more than one track if they wish. However, when the time to join a coven comes, they can only choose one coven to go into.”

Luz nodded in understanding. Things were quite a bit different here than they were in her old home across the sea, but it was still familiar enough that it wasn’t such a big culture shock. She gave the wolf demon her thanks and walked out the door. She started wandering around, looking for her first class of the day, Introduction to Plant Care. She watched students out of the corner of her eye, some of them giving her curious looks before resuming their conversations, others ignoring her. However, as she made her way down another hallway, she caught the sight of a girl and a boy talking by a set of lockers. While the boy had the light blue sleeves of the illusion track, the girl had the deep emerald green sleeves of the plant track. Maybe she knows where Intro to Plants are, Luz thought to herself. She approached them, slow as if they were wild creatures that would spook at her presence.

“Um, excuse me,” Luz said as she cleared her throat. 

The two students turned to look at her, and their eyes widened in shock.

“Hey, you’re a human,” the boy said as his eyes went wide. “I never met another human before. Can you join the Human Appreciation Society?”

“Slow down, Gus,” the girl said. “She hasn’t even introduced herself yet. Sorry about him, he gets a little excited about humans and everything about them.”

“That’s alright, humans aren’t really common around here.” Luz rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m Luz by the way.”

“I’m Willow and this is Gus.” The girl, Willow gestured to the excited boy. “What brings you to Hexside?”

“Oh, um it’s a long story, and I’ll tell it another time,” Luz said as she looked away for a brief second. “However, I can tell you that I am the apprentice of a powerful witch and my magic skills have improved greatly since I left The Isle of Humans.”

“That’s so cool!” Gus said as he walked around Luz as if she were a specimen in a lab. “I heard humans don’t do magic like us witches do. Is that true?”

“Well, I guess that’s true. I can’t draw a spell circle in the air like you guys do.” Luz let out a nervous chuckle.

“Wait, then how do you do magic?” This time it was Willow who spoke up.

“Oh, like this.” Luz pulled out a notebook and a pencil. Willow and Gus peered over her shoulder as Luz drew a circle and an odd-looking geometric shape within the bounds. She tapped it and the paper morphed into a hovering ball of light that her two new companions stared at with wide eyes.

“Amazing,” Gus whispered. “I never saw magic cast like that before.”

“It’s a simple light spell,” a voice behind them said. “A child could do something so simple as that.” 

The group turned to see a group of girls, leading them was a magenta haired girl with three eyes staring the three students down. She was smacking her lips as she chewed the bubblegum in her mouth before she blew a large bubble. However, there was one face that Luz immediately recognized in the group. Behind the magenta haired witch was Amity Blight.

“Boscha,” Willow spit the name out of her mouth. 

“Well, well, well if it isn’t Half-a-Witch and her little sidekick. It looks like you have a new freak friend.” Boscha was smirking like she was about to squish a bug. Luz felt her hackles start to raise as Boscha continued to smack the gum in her mouth. “At least Paper Spell here found the right group of freaks to associate with. She belongs with low lifes like them anyway.”

The group of girls snickered around her. Luz growled in frustration. She knew people like this back home, and she knew how to keep her cool, even though she didn’t like it. That was when she noticed that Amity wasn’t joining in with their teasing. Luz watched her roll her eyes and start to walk past them.

“Please, we have better things to do than to pick on our peers.” As she passed, she made brief eye contact with Luz, a small look of apology traced on her face. “We have class to attend in case any of you forgot, or do you want to hang out in the detention dungeon again for being late?” 

Luz watched Amity go. She seemed very different from the person who came into the bookshop the other day. She carried herself with the confidence of a proud pegasus, and the sea of students seemed to part for her as she walked past. Yet that confidence also radiated a coldness that seemed to keep everyone, even her friends who begrudgingly trailed after her, at a distance. It wasn’t a question to say Luz was even more intrigued by the anomaly that was Amity Blight.

Luz twirled the Chariot card in her fingers as she sat at the counter of the bookstore later that afternoon. Her thoughts wandered back to that morning in the hallway. While Boscha’s name calling was definitely a bother, that wasn’t even at the forefront of her mind as she twiddled the card between her fingertips. No, her thoughts were filled with the warmth and cold demeanor of Amity Blight. 

The bell above the door chimed, bringing Luz out of her thoughts as she looked up. However, her heart quickened its pace as the object of her thoughts was now standing in the doorway of the bookshop. Luz did a double take; it was almost like she summoned her here because she was thinking about her too much. 

Amity looked around the shop for a minute before her eyes met Luz’s. She made her way over to the counter, as Luz sat up, though she still held the Chariot card between her fingers.

“Hi, Luz,” she said. She sounded nervous.

“Hey, Amity,” Luz replied in a neutral tone. “What brings you here?”

“I wanted to apologize about Boscha’s behavior earlier. She can be… very difficult to deal with sometimes.” Amity looked away, her fingers rubbing against the woodgrain of the counter.

“Why do you hang out with her then?” Luz placed the card down as she leaned against the counter. “It sounds like you don’t like hanging around her when you’re part of the same friend group.”

Luz noticed Amity flinched slightly at that. Amity let out a sigh and tucked a strand of green hair behind her ear before looking at Luz again. 

“It’s a complicated situation. I’d rather not tell though,” Amity said. 

“That’s alright,” Luz said. “We can change the subject if you want to.”

They stood in silence for a few minutes, the only sound coming from the building’s vent system. Amity looked down at the counter.

“What’s that?” Amity pointed towards the card Luz had facedown.

“Oh? This?” Luz lifted up the card for Amity to see. “It’s just a tarot card.”

 Amity narrowed her eyes to inspect the illustration of the Chariot.

“It’s very beautiful.” Amity reached out her hand to take the card but stopped before she could touch it. “May I?”

Luz thought that she sounded shy, and by the look of hesitance in those amber colored eyes Luz’s suspicions seemed to be confirmed. 

“Yeah, you can.”

Amity reached her hand out again, and with care took the card from Luz, their fingers lightly brushing, but they didn’t say anything.

“These look so different from the ones in the witch’s tarot deck.” Amity traced her finger along the figure standing in the chariot pulled by a black hound and a white hound. 

“You’ve read tarot before?” Luz straightened her posture.

“No,” Amity let out a light chuckle, “I’ve just seen them from the students in the Oracle Track. What does this card mean by the way?”

“Wait, what?” Luz’s eyes widened. She wanted to know about tarot? Luz’s heart fluttered.

“What does this card mean?” Amity said again.

“Well, it’s a complicated one,” Luz said. “But that doesn’t make it less interesting. You see, it’s generally known as the card that represents victory and self-assertion. However, it also has another meaning.”

Amity tilted her head, “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Luz nodded. “This card also represents the balance of the ego and the heart. See those two hounds pulling the chariot itself? Those represent the ego and the heart. If you don’t have balance between those then your metaphorical chariot will tip over and you’ll have a hard time finding balance again. It also represents that duality between the two.”

Amity was looking down at the card again. Luz was curious about what was going on in those thoughts of hers, and why she was interested in this card above all the others.

“That’s really interesting. I don’t think the witch’s tarot goes that deep into their card meanings.” Amity handed the card back to Luz. “Usually, they just say those surface level meanings like you said earlier. Usually witches only use their tarot decks for show and to scam people, or play Hexes Holdem. At least that's what my mother said about them and she went on about how scrying was the superior method.”

“Wait, they don’t go that deep? ” Luz slammed the card on the counter in disbelief, causing both of them to flinch. “Then again, you guys produce your own magic so that makes sense, I guess. Also I would have to say the opposite about scrying.”

“Yeah, I guess it does make sense. And from what I've seen from your tarot cards, there's more to them than meets the eye.” The two were silent for a moment before Amity looked at the clock on the wall. “I should get going. I don’t want to take anymore of your time.” 

“You’re not wasting my time,” Luz said. “I like these conversations.”

A small smile made its way to Amity’s face before she turned to go to the door.

“Wait,” Luz called. 

Amity paused and looked over her shoulder.

“Would you like to hang out with me and my friends this weekend?” Luz didn’t understand why she was shaking. “We were going to practice some spells, and wander around Bonesborough and see the sights.” 

“You’re friends with Willow and Gus, right?” Amity’s voice sounded heavy.

“Yeah, I guess they are. I did meet them today, and they were cool with wanting to hang out,” Luz said with a shrug.

“I’m sorry, Luz, but I won’t be able to come.” Amity turned away, her hand grasping the door.

“Wait, why?”

“Because Willow probably won’t want to see me of all people,” Amity said. With a jingle of the doorbell, she was gone.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

The Empress

“Hey guys, what do you think of Amity Blight?” Luz found herself on a ridge overlooking the town of Bonesborough below with Willow and Gus. The two witchlings exchanged glances before settling their gaze on Luz. 

“Why do you ask, Luz?” Willow kept her voice in a friendly tone, but Luz noticed her eyes were narrowed. Guarded. “She hasn’t been picking on you has she?”

“Huh? No, no. She hasn’t picked on me at all,” Luz said. She let out a sigh. “She came into the bookstore the other day and we had a nice talk. I asked if she wanted to hang out with us today, but she said that you might not want to see her, Willow.”

There was silence, with the exception of a light breeze rustling through the trees. Willow held her head low, blocking Luz from seeing her face fully. Luz looked to Gus, worried that she said something wrong.

“Okay, I know you’re new here, so there’s things here you don’t know about.” Willow took a deep breath before continuing. “With that being said, she and I used to be friends. One day she just didn’t want to be friends anymore. We stopped hanging out, and she’s been a part of Boscha’s gang ever since.”

“I’m sorry, Willow, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories for you,” Luz said. She slapped herself mentally. Today was supposed to be fun, curiosity killed the palisman after all.

“It’s not your fault, Luz. You didn’t know,” Willow said.

“Besides, it’s not like Amity’s the worst one in Boscha’s group,” Gus pointed out. “That title goes to Boscha herself.”

“I definitely noticed that,” Luz grumbled. “Just because I cast my spells by drawing glyphs on paper doesn’t make me less of a witch than her. Besides, my potions are ten times better than hers any day.”

“Well, she seems to care more about grudgeby than anything else,” Gus said. “Well, grudgeby and social status.”

The three fell into a comfortable silence after that.

“Eda, I’m home,” Luz called out as she entered the apartment above the bookstore. 

“Hey, kid,” Eda said as she poked her head out of the living room. “You have a letter from your mother.”

“Really?” Luz started bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. The Isle of Humans was quite the distance from the Boiling Isles, or else she would have been calling her mother constantly, that is if it were safer to do that. Luz’s stomach felt heavy as the thought crossed her mind as she took the letter from Eda. She tore the envelope open and pulled the letter out, seeing the neat script her mother wrote in.

Dear Mija,

I know it’s been a while since we last spoke to each other since you went to stay with Eda. I want to let you know that things are starting to calm down here ever since the incident. Although it’s going to be a while before you can return home. I know you miss it here, cariño but you need to be brave. Do well in school, and maybe you can make some new friends over there. If I can, I’ll try to save up and make a trip over to visit you when the heat dies down. Please stay safe, mija. 

Love,

Mami

Luz sighed as she folded the letter back up and put it back in the envelope. The memories of the incident running through her mind. Eda raised an eyebrow at the change in Luz’s demeanor.

“Everything all right, kid?” She took a sip of her apple blood. Luz met her eyes for a brief moment, before she shrugged.

“I just want to forget about the reason I had to leave,” Luz said. She looked down at the floor. “It wasn’t my fault that I was cursed.”

“Kid, I know firsthand what it feels like it’s the end of the world because of some curse,” Eda said as she laid a hand on Luz’s shoulder. “However, you don’t have a curse at all. You have a gift. It’s a wonderful gift, and you might not see it now, but you’ll see it eventually.”

“Yeah, some gift. Going into a trance and predicting world war and causing mass mayhem is quite the gift. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the government hadn’t put me on their wanted list after Stacy posted it to her MageTube account.” Luz clenched the letter in her hand. Eda rubbed a few circles on Luz’s back in an attempt to soothe her.

“Well, hey, if you didn’t cause mass mayhem, you wouldn’t be here learning from the most powerful witch here on the Boiling Isles. Besides, that whole future predicting stuff doesn’t mean it will always come true,” Eda said with a shrug. “Everyone believes in prophecies of predetermined paths in life, but we can always change our futures. We can always find our own path without someone telling us what it is.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Luz said. A small smile made its way to her face.

“That’s why I always tell you to take what the cards say with a grain of salt.” Eda stood up and made her way into the kitchen. “King, I told you before that you can’t have the chocolate cupcakes!”

“But, Eda, they're so good though,” came King’s reply.

Luz chuckled to herself as the little demon started protesting as Eda scolded him. She made her way to her room and shut the door. She pulled her phone and brought up her contact list. She hesitated for a minute. What was she even supposed to say? She guessed she could always send a simple greeting. Even with Willow’s words about her earlier, Luz knew that there was more to Amity than met the eye. After all she was the Chariot in Luz’s tarot deck.

Luz: Hey, Amity. It’s me, Luz :)

Luz shoved her phone in her pocket, even though her whole body was shaking, she made her way to her desk and she started working on some last minute homework to ease her nerves. She started getting into a rhythm when her phone chimed.

 Okay, maybe it’s either Willow or Gus, Luz thought. Or maybe it’s Amity after all.

Luz pulled her phone out of her pocket, and her heart started pounding in her ears as she saw the notification from Amity. 

Play it cool, Luz thought as she swiped open the conversation. Just play it cool.

Amity: Oh, hi, Luz. What’s up?

Luz: Nothing much, just putting the finishing touches on one of my assignments. What are you up to?

Amity: Nothing too exciting. I’m just about finished reading the Azura book I got the other day.

Luz: OMG, we should totally hang out when you’re done reading it. We can exchange thoughts on the book and maybe exchange theories about what’s going to happen next. Maybe we can have an Azura book club!

Gone were the nervous jitters and in their place was charged excitement as Luz thought about the prospect of spending more time with Amity. She never had someone else to talk to about her favorite series. As her phone chimed once again, she almost pounced on it as she received Amity’s response.

Amity: I wouldn’t mind that, just as long it’s a secret club, okay? 

Luz: That’s fine by me. Wanna have our first meeting after you finish the book?

Amity: That’s fine. I’ll let you know when I’m finished reading it. Maybe we can meet at the library?

Luz: Great! It’s a date then!

As soon as Luz sent that message, her eyes widened in horror at what she said. She banged her head against her desk multiple times.

“That. Was. So. Dumb,” Luz groaned. “She’s going to think I’m some weirdo now. Good going, Noceda. She probably thinks you’re an idiot.” Her rant was interrupted by the chime of her phone. Luz’s stomach twisted into dread filled knots as she picked the phone up once again. She swiped the phone open, and in an instant the dread in her stomach melted away as she saw the message.

Amity: I’m looking forward to it.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

The Emperor

It was about a week later that Luz found herself waiting on the steps of the Bonesborough Public Library. She was debating with herself on whether she should lean against one of the columns with her arms crossed, or just sit against the said column. She tried out a few poses before a cough made her jump back. Luz clutched at her heart that threatened to leap out of her ribcage as she looked over to see a smug looking Amity.

“What are you doing?” Amity raised an eyebrow as she smirked.

“Oh, um, nothing,” Luz said as she readjusted the beanie she wore. 

“Want to go in? Or we can stay out here and you can do more poses if you want,” Amity said with a snicker.

Luz narrowed her eyes and slumped her shoulders. “We’re going inside.” They walked through the dark wooden doors of the library. Luz gasped at the sight before her. The floors were polished black stone, and there were rows and rows of bookshelves that reached towards a golden arched ceiling. The scent of old parchment and coffee tickled her nose as she mindlessly followed Amity further into the library. It was when they came to a shelf in the romance section did they stop. Luz looked over at Amity, who had an unreadable expression on her face.

“Um, what are we doing back here?” Luz looked around, seeing no tables where they could sit at.

“This is a secret club. We need a secret place to meet that no one knows about,” Amity said, her voice low. She turned to Luz, her eyes were narrowed, their golden hue almost wolf like. “Now, I need you to swear that you will never tell anyone about what I’m going to show you, okay.”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone about what you’re going to show me,” Luz said.

“If she does tell someone, what are you going to do to her, Mittens?” A voice came from down the aisle, which caused Amity to facepalm.

“I bet she’d turn red and almost pass out,” another voice added. Luz turned to see two older teens, a boy and a girl smirking at them. Though their hair was a darker shade, it was green like Amity’s. 

“What are you two doing here?” Amity growled as she rounded on them. Like the boy said, Amity’s face was starting to turn red.

“We’re just looking out for our dear baby sister,” the girl said. “We didn’t want you to get kidnapped or murdered.”

“Emira, Edric, I’m fine,” Amity growled as she stomped her foot. “I haven’t been murdered and Luz here wouldn’t even try kidnapping me.”

Edric and Emira turned their attention toward Luz, who gave a small smile and a wave. 

“So, you’re the human Mittens has been talking about,” Edric said, a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Yeah, she’s been talking about you a lot recently,” Emira added. She circled around Luz, who felt the heat rise up in her cheeks.

“All good things I hope,” Luz chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck as she looked over at Amity.

“Guys quit bothering her please,” Amity said. She shoved them away from Luz. “We’re just going to talk about a book, okay.”

“Fine, fine,” Emira said. “We’ll be going now.” 

“Oh, and mom and dad said they want you to be home before dark,” Edric said. 

“See you at home, Mittens,” Emira said. Then she turned to Luz with a wink, “And see you around, cutie.”

Luz felt the heat in her face increase tenfold as she watched the siblings made their way to the front of the library.

“Sorry about that,” Amity said, turning back to the bookshelf. “The twins can be quite a pain sometimes.”

“It’s okay,” Luz said. “At least they were looking out for you.”

“I guess you have a point,” Amity hummed. She then reached for a book and partially pulled it out. The floor started rumbling as the shelf scraped across it, revealing a small room behind it.

Luz gasped at the sight as her eyes wandered over the books tucked neatly in the shelves, one shelf in particular displaying all the books in the Azura series. At the back of the room was a small desk, with a couple other books stacked on it.

“This is so cool,” Luz said as she and Amity stepped into the room. “It’s like a secret hideout.”

“Well, it is a secret hideout,” Amity said as she closed the door to the room behind her. “No one knows about this room and I come here to read, or study.”

“Is that why you wanted me to keep it a secret?” Luz tilted her head trying to gauge the expression on Amity’s face.

“Yes,” Amity said. She made her way to the desk. “I only have one chair, but we can sit on the floor if you’d like.”

“That’s fine,” Luz said as she sat down and leaned against the bookshelf. Amity sat across from her, with her copy of book five in hand. They sat for a few minutes in silence, unsure of where they wanted to start.

“So, what did you think of the book?” Luz leaned forward, a mischievous grin across her face. 

“It was good,” Amity said. “Hecate turning on Azura was surprising since they literally joined forces in book three. That came out of nowhere.”

“I know right,” Luz exclaimed. “Like they had that relationship building up and then Hecate goes and does that? Let me tell you that the whole fandom was ranting about it.”

“Personally, I think that Hecate turning on Azura is a coup in the overall plot. Hecate was caught saying that her friendship with Azura meant more to her than anything else,” Amity said. 

The afternoon went by as the two discussed the book and exchanged theories. Soon the conversation divulged into other things that the two would come up with, whether it be school, their weekend, or other books and movies. They found themselves laying on the floor staring up at the glow in the dark star stickers Amity had put onto the ceiling.

“Luz, I have a question,” Amity said. Luz looked over at her.

“Yeah?”

“What is the Isle of Humans like?” Amity met Luz’s eyes. “I’ve only ever read about it in books, and since you’re from there I’ve been curious.”

“It’s quite different from here that’s for sure,” Luz said as she let out a chuckle. “For one thing, we use glyphs to cast magic instead of drawing a spell circle in the air. The animals are also different too. They aren’t massive demons that can eat you, though some can still be quite scary. We also don’t have covens either.”

“You guys don’t have covens?” Amity propped herself onto her elbows. “Then how do you decide what magic field you want to go into when you graduate?”

“Well, we use all our magic skills in what we want to do in our careers. We don’t just pick one type of magic. Sure, we can have our preferences and our strengths but we don’t let that stop us from knowing how to do at least every type of magic. You never know when you might need it, ya know.”

Amity was silent for a moment, she wasn’t looking at Luz anymore, but rather a fixed spot on one of the bookshelves.

“My parents said that the Isle of Humans was a dangerous place. They said that the absence of the coven system made it the equivalent of the Boiling Isles Savage Ages,” Amity said. She still wasn’t looking at Luz.

“Wow, they really think that? From what I’ve seen from my experience, there wasn’t any danger. Hell, this place has more danger that I’ve seen,” Luz said. “Your parents have no idea what they’re talking about.”

Amity looked back at Luz, who was now sitting up. She let out a sigh and offered Luz a small smile. “They own their own corporation that has close ties to the Emperor’s Coven. I overheard them talking about a product asked by the emperor himself. So, he’s basically the biggest source of their income.”

“That makes sense I guess,” Luz said with a shrug.

“Yeah, unfortunately it does.”

They sat in a comfortable silence once more before a question popped into Luz’s mind.

“Hey, Amity, can I ask you something?”

Amity tilted her head, an eyebrow raised. “What do you want to ask?”

“I noticed that you hang out with Boscha and her gang of bullies. You aren’t the type to bully others, so why do you hang out with them?” Luz felt as if she were walking on eggshells, but she needed answers. “You don’t have to answer of course, I’m just curious about the whole thing.”

Amity stared at the floor, and Luz could almost see the war going on in Amity’s head. Amity let out a breath, and met Luz’s curious eyes once again. 

“I do it because it upholds the image of my family,” Amity finally said. “Boscha and her gang are the children of their coworkers, and it’s required that we be friends with each other because it’s good press.”

“Well, that’s just plain stupid,” Luz said. “Good press or not you still have the right to choose who you want your friends to be. Tell you what, Amity, you can come and hang out with me and my group anytime you want to.”

“I’ll think about it,” Amity said. “For now, it’s about time we should get going.”

The two made their way out of the secret room and to the front of the library before they parted ways. As Luz watched Amity’s retreating figure, she couldn’t shake that sense of melancholy she felt. It was as if she saw the most beautiful of birds but it was confined to perform in the circus as it sang in its gilded cage.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

The Hierophant

“Alright, kid, today we’re learning about one of the most important principles of magic,” Eda said as the two stood in a snowy clearing. Eda thought it was a good idea to travel to the Knee for Luz’s next lesson. 

“Ooh! What is it?” Luz was practically jumping up and down as her body was filled with excitement.

“Calm down, kid,” Eda said, before clearing her throat. “First off, as you already know magic isn’t just a wave of your hand and making stuff happen.”

“I mean, it kind of is though,” Luz said. Despite drawing glyphs on to cast magic, she knew Eda and the other witches drew circles in the air.

“Fair enough,” Eda said with a shrug. “However, you need to understand that it’s more than that. Magic is energy. When you humans do magic, you convert the energy from your surroundings into that spell. We witches on the other hand convert the energy within us to do magic with the help of the magic bile that we produce. However, that doesn’t mean we witches solely rely on our own inner energy.”

“Wait, do witches use glyphs too?” Luz tilted her head to the side.

“No, we don’t, that’s strictly a human thing,” Eda said. “However, like you humans, we witches can also rely on the energy of the outside to do magic.”

“Wait, how do you do that if you don’t use glyphs?” Luz tapped her chin. Eda’s explanations made her feel like she was walking in spirals instead of circles, since she never wound up in the same place they started.

“It’s called connecting with nature and the energy of it,” Eda said. She walked over to one of the trees that surrounded them. “Take this tree, it is radiating its own magical energy and the moss that’s growing on this tree is also radiating its own magic. You humans call this magical energy the aura. Everything has one and you need to tap into that and connect with it.”

“So, if I connect with it, then I can draw magic energy from around me that way?” Luz ran her hand along the rough bark and the soft carpet of moss that covered it.

“In some ways you already do that with those glyphs of yours. However, you can’t just take energy from other living things. You need to connect your aura with the very nature around you and find balance with it. That way, you don’t just take and take without giving back to the world around you,” Eda said. “Also if an enemy is in search of you, you can sense them coming before they even know you’re there.”

“Wait, you can do that?” Luz said, her eyes wide.

“Of course. How else would I have avoided the cops and all my ex-boyfriends all these years?” Eda said with a snicker. “Now, sit in the middle of the clearing here and clear your mind. Focus on feeling that magical energy around you and try to connect with it.”

“So, you want me to meditate?” Luz gave Eda a smirk.

The older witch rolled her eyes. “What did you think I was going to have you do? We’re not doing blood sacrifices to the Titan for crying out loud.”

Luz snickered and did as Eda told her. She sat on a rock and closed her eyes. She focused on her breathing. Inhale. Exhale. She pushed the thoughts of school, her mom, her friends, and Amity to the back burner of her mind. It was just her, the trees, the earth, and the sky. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, but soon she felt herself disconnect with her thoughts and soon she started to feel a warmth surrounding her. It was humming at a high frequency, and somehow, she wanted to connect with it, to join in with it as if she were a missing puzzle piece. She reached out and her senses went into overdrive. She was greeted by a rainbow of glowing pastel colors, forming different shapes from trees to animals to people. She felt like she was in the middle of the school cafeteria at lunchtime, and she was hearing the chatter of everyone’s conversations, but she couldn’t distinguish a single voice from the crowd. She tried to take a step forward, but her limbs felt like they were stuck in a mud bog, unable to move.

Luz jolted off the rock gasping for air. The rainbow of colors were gone, the chatter replaced by silence and she was greeted by a cold face full of snow. In an instant Eda was by her side, helping her to her feet.

“Are you okay, Kid?” Eda said as she brushed some of the snow off Luz’s jacket.

“I… I think so,” Luz answered, her legs trembling under her weight. “That was kind of trippy though.”

“The first time connecting to the astral plane is always trippy and confusing. You’ll get used to it,” Eda said as she helped Luz climb onto her staff. “Now, do you notice anything different about your surroundings now compared to before you connected to the astral plane?”

Luz paused for a minute. She looked around her, not noticing any difference, however after a moment, she realized that she could still feel that humming energy of nature around her. She felt more grounded to the world around her and she was more aware of the life teeming within the forest and beyond than she did before.

“Yeah,” Luz said, a smile making its way to her face. “I feel completely different. Like I’m more aware of what’s going on around me.”

“Good job, Kid,” Eda said as she climbed onto the staff before taking off. “We’re making you a powerful witch yet.”

A few days had passed since that day and Luz had become more in tune with her surroundings. While the first day back at school overwhelmed her, she soon adapted to the high concentration of energy of her peers a couple days later. Soon, she found herself being able to distinguish individual people from the sea of energy that surrounded her. Willow and Gus seemed to know something was a bit off as they sat in the cafeteria one day.

“Luz, you’ve been kind of out of it for the past couple days,” Willow said as she readjusted her glasses. “Is everything okay?”

“What do you mean?” Luz said as she swallowed a bite of her turkey beast sandwich. “Everything’s been alright.”

“I don’t know,” Willow said. “It’s like you’ve been so jumpy the past couple days.”

“Oh, that?” Luz let out a chuckle. “Eda just showed me a new way to do magic and connect with nature and stuff.”

“Sounds pretty cool,” Gus said. 

Luz nodded and turned her attention back to her sandwich. However, as she took a bite, she felt the familiar presence of the pink aura of Amity Blight enter the cafeteria. Luz turned to look over at her for a second. Amity was standing with Boscha and her gang, though to the normal eye, she would have been seen as a normal girl with her friends, but to Luz watching her not actively participate in the group conversation and her eyes wandering everywhere but the group was a tell that Amity didn’t want to be there. Their eyes met for a second before Luz gave her a small smile and turned back to Willow and Gus.

“What was that all about?” Willow said.

“What was what all about?” Luz decided to play dumb. She knew exactly what Willow was talking about.

“That little exchange with Amity there. I know that you can be friends with whoever you want to be friends with, but you need to watch out for her.” Willow crossed her arms. “I don’t exactly trust her.”

Luz had to admit Willow was right. She knew things between the two witches weren’t ideal, but she didn’t exactly want to end her budding friendship with Amity either. Not trusting herself to speak, Luz merely nodded and continued eating her sandwich. However, she started to feel that familiar pink aura getting closer until she was right behind Luz.

“Is it alright if I sit with you guys?” Amity’s voice was unsure and as Luz turned around to look at her, her ears were down, and she was avoiding eye contact with Willow. 

Luz glanced over to Willow, who had an unreadable expression on her face. Gus looked between the two, not wanting to speak. 

“Go ahead,” Willow said, her voice tense.

Amity sat down with slow and careful movements, as if the trio were a pack of wild gryphons. Luz couldn’t blame her as the tension around them could have been cut with a steak knife. 

“What brings you to our humble table, Amity?” Gus said, trying to ease the tension. 

Amity looked up, her eyes like an owl deer stuck in headlights.

“I… uh.” Amity glanced over to Luz for a moment. “I just didn’t want to hang out with Boscha and her gang. They’re being extra unbearable today.”

Willow frowned and crossed her arms.

“I don’t see why you decided to join us today. All the times you didn’t want to hang out with Boscha you went to an empty table by yourself,” Willow growled.

Amity shrunk back.

“Guys, I think we should calm down here,” Luz said. 

“Luz is right,” Gus added. “We should all calm down and-”

“No,” Willow said. She stood up, and towered over the rest of the group, her eyes glowing with a hint of green. “Not after what she did to me all those years ago.” With that Willow stalked off.

“That could have gone a lot worse,” Luz said with a sigh.

“I’m sorry I disturbed you guys,” Amity said. She pushed her tray away. “I really screwed things up.”

“No, you didn’t,” Luz said. “Willow will come around.”

“Not after I treated her all these years,” Amity said. “I thought I could patch things up.”

“Maybe you two can talk about it?” Luz suggested.

“One problem there,” Gus said. The two girls looked at him curiously. “Willow has always kept things that hurt her out of sight and out of mind. It’s not the healthiest thing in the world, but that’s what she does.”

“It doesn’t hurt to try though,” Luz said. She stood up. “Willow is most likely in the greenhouse right now. Maybe if we go there together, we can try to start to patch things up. Maybe you can tell her what you told me at the library.”

“I doubt if she’ll listen to me, but it’s a start,” Amity said as she stood up. The three made their way out of the cafeteria, but they didn’t notice Boscha and her gang weren’t in the cafeteria either.

Luz opened the greenhouse door and held it open for Amity and Gus to enter. The greenhouse was humid and teeming with rows and rows of moving plants that could eat one alive if they got too close. It reminded Luz of a jungle in an adventure movie.

“Guys, do you hear voices?” Gus said.

Luz strained her ears and sure enough she heard voices coming from the back of the greenhouse. That was when she realized that there was more than one person, one of them radiating a strong energy.

“This isn’t good,” Luz said as they made their way among the rows of plants.

“What’s not good?” Gus said. “It’s just Willow, right?”

“No, it’s not just Willow.” Luz said as she peered around the corner of one the plant rows.

“It’s Boscha,” Amity finished.

“Well, well, well girls,” Boscha’s voice rang out. “Look what we have here.”

They had Willow cornered up against the wall, and Boscha and her three lackeys had her surrounded. Her cronies were snickering all the while as Boscha pushed Willow farther into the corner.

“If it isn’t our little Half-a-Witch. What happened, did your friends choose to hang out with Amity over you? It seems like they came to their senses and realized you’re not worthy of their friendship,” Boscha said with a sneer. 

Willow remained silent, her glasses obscuring her eyes as she hung her head to the ground. The rest of the girls started laughing. Luz felt hot acidic rage beginning to boil within her. She clenched her hands together into fists and prepared to walk around the corner to put Boscha in her place. However, Amity already beat her to it as she rounded the corner in a whirlwind of fury.

“Leave her alone, Boscha,” Amity growled, her gold eyes burning.

Boscha and the rest of the group turned around. While the rest of the crowd parted, Boscha remained in place, smirking.

“Amity,” Boscha said. “What a coincidence to see you here. I was just putting Half-a-Witch here in her place. Wanna join in on the fun?”

“Step away from her.” Amity’s voice was a low rumble. “Now.”

“Wow, you’re really playing the hero card aren’t you?” Boscha said. “I’m surprised actually, especially after you abandoned Half-a-Witch here when we were still kids. Remember that, Amity?”

Luz jumped around the corner, followed by Gus.

“That’s enough, Boscha,” Luz said. She gave her knuckles a satisfying crack as she was more than ready to throw hands.

“Oh, is the little human going to fight me?” Boscha said with a laugh. “You wouldn’t stand a chance against me.”

“Even if she didn’t,” Amity said. “You would still have to go through me.”

“And me,” Gus said.

“And me,” Willow said. Everyone turned to her and saw that her eyes were glowing bright green. The plants surrounding them started growing long thorny tendrils that lashed out at Boscha and her gang, wrapping them in their prickling grip. Most of the girls, with the exception of Boscha, began to scream.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?” Boscha said. She thrashed around trying to get loose to no avail.

“You don’t like it when you get a taste of your medicine now, do you?” Willow said. 

Boscha stopped thrashing around in the vines, and widened her eyes in fear.

“Get out,” Willow said. “And whatever you do, don’t come around me or my friends again. Do I make myself clear?”

Boscha nodded, and with that Willow released them from the vines and the group of girls scurried away. 

Willow let out a sigh of what Luz assumed to be relief and turned to the other three.

“Thank you for standing up for me, guys,” Willow said. “That really meant a lot.”

“Of course, Willow,” Luz said. “We’re your friends. It’s what we do.”

“And thank you, Amity,” Willow said. “I know it doesn’t make up for what you did in the past, but it’s a start.”

Amity gave a small smile to Willow and with that, the group made their way out of the greenhouse. 

Chapter Text

The Lovers

It was a few weeks later that Luz found herself walking by herself down the street on her way home from school when she noticed the news being cast on the crystal balls in a display window. Curious, she glanced around to see if anyone was around before settling her gaze on them.

“Tensions are rising between Emperor Belos and President Hanbridge of the Isle of Humans,” the news reporter said. “Coven leader Lilith Clawthorne has said that the emperor has been trying to introduce the coven system, but they have been refusing.”

“What good would that do since we use glyphs for magic anyways?” Luz said, before turning away from the display and continuing her trek down the sidewalk. A cold wind rustled her hair, but she didn’t mind. As she entered the bookstore, she saw Eda and King behind the counter.

“Luz, you’re back!” King scampered over to her and wrapped her legs in a hug. 

“Of course I’m back, silly,” Luz chuckled. “I always come back.”

“You know King, he’s always a big softie even if he won’t admit it,” Eda said. 

“Not true!” King said. “I am the most feared demon on the Isles. They bow before me.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Eda said.

“Anyways, Eda, I saw something on the way home from school that I think you might want to know about,” Luz said as she made her way over to the counter.

“What is it, Kid? I hope it’s not the cops having another warrant for my arrest for something I didn’t do but I probably did.” 

Luz frowned, unimpressed at the remark. “Eda, this is serious.”

“Okay, okay, what did you see?” Eda let the smirk drop and all her cheer faded into something more serious.

“The emperor wants to establish the coven system on the Isle of Humans,” Luz said. “I’m scared, Eda. What if that trance I went into predicted this?”

“Luz, I’m going to need you to take some deep breaths for me okay,” Eda said. “Now, listen to me. The Isle of Humans is its own nation. The emperor can’t impose a system there because he doesn’t control your homeland.”

“But what if he did? What good would that magic system be if humans like me can’t produce their own magic naturally like a witch can?” Luz gripped the hem of her uniform.

“You see, that’s why he can’t do that. He can’t lock away magic power if you draw your powers from the environment around you.” Eda ruffled Luz’s hair. “I doubt that anything bad will happen, Luz.”

Luz felt some relief at Eda’s words, though the thought still nagged at the back of her mind. She settled behind the counter and took out her tarot cards and started doing her exercise of memorizing each meaning when Amity entered the store.

“Hey, Amity,” Luz said. 

“Hi, Luz,” Amity said as she walked up to the counter. “I see you’re practicing with your tarot cards again.”

“Yeah, if you don’t use it you lose it,” Luz said as she flipped over another card, The Lovers. Luz felt the heat rush to her face. The forces of the universe weren’t being so subtle, were they? Either that or Luz had to invest in a deck that didn’t tease her.

“What does that card mean?” Amity said as she peered over to look at the pale greens and golds of the card.

“This one?” Luz gulped, trying to calm herself. “This is The Lovers. Basically, when this card shows up in a reading it’s sometimes about love and relationships. It also represents values and beliefs, and sometimes if you’re at a moral crossroads of sorts. Depends on the reading.”

“Very good, Kid,” Eda said from across the store. “Knowing how you’re a hopeless romantic, it’s good that you know that those cards always don’t mean romance.”

“You should see,” King said to Amity. “She talks about her ships in that awful fandom she sucked me into all the time.”

“What? No I don’t,” Luz said. The heat in her face was getting hotter. “And there’s nothing wrong with shipping, unless it’s with real people because that’s weird.”

“Eh, whatever,” King said as he started up the stairs. “I’m not the one writing sappy fanfic in the middle of the night.”

Luz was sure she was going to die from embarrassment then and there. Amity sure was going to think she was a weirdo now, but as Luz turned towards Amity, she noticed that the other girl didn’t have any malice in her eyes. Rather, her eyes had a softness to them, and her lips were slightly upturned in a small smile.

“You must think I’m a weirdo, don’t you,” Luz said as she avoided Amity’s eyes and looked at the deck that remained on the counter.

“No, not really,” Amity said. There was a pause and as Luz looked back up at her, she noticed a slight pink coloring Amity’s cheeks. “I think it’s kind of cute… I mean, I don’t think you’re weird. It’s not weird to ship characters. It’s also sweet to have something that you’re passionate about…” Amity averted her eyes, the red rising in her face. 

Luz tilted her head in confusion, ignoring the snort of laughter Eda had tried holding in.

“What I meant to say was that I don’t think you’re a weirdo, Luz,” Amity said, making eye contact. 

“That’s good I guess,” Luz said with a smile. “No one ever told me that before.”

“Wait, really?” Amity said, her eyes wide.

“Yeah, the people I went to school with back home weren’t the friendliest,” Luz said. There was a beat of silence before Luz spoke again. “Hey, do you want to go upstairs and get some snacks or something?”

“Sure,” Amity said. “I’d like to.”

“Eda, we’re going to go upstairs,” Luz said as she and Amity started making their way to the stairs.

“Okay, Kid,” Eda said. “Feed Hooty while you’re at it.”

Luz shivered at those last words. While she had nothing against the feathered serpent, the way he liked to eat his food was nightmare inducing.

“We’ll do that first then, to get it over with,” Luz said to Amity. They entered the living room, Hooty’s tank was in the corner, the serpent was fast asleep. 

“The kitchen is this way, you can wait in there if you want,” Luz said. “I don’t think you want to see Hooty suck the blood out of his food before he swallows it.”

“Yeah, I’d rather not,” Amity said. They made their way into the kitchen.

“You can help yourself to any of the snacks here,” Luz said. She opened the cabinet to reveal all the snacks stacked neatly and organized. Luz grabbed a bag of Screaming Hot Cheetahs for herself and proceeded to open the fridge to get some raw meat for Hooty. She left Amity to choose her own snack. Luz walked into the living room and made her way towards Hooty’s tank. She lifted the lid as quietly as she could so as to not disturb the sleeping owl serpent and dropped the piece of meat into the little food dish, before she quickly made her way back to the kitchen.

Amity was already sitting at the table with a package of pecan shortbread cookies. Luz joined her and they ate their snacks in silence.

“Are you going to the grudgeby match against Luna Nova tomorrow?” Amity said. Luz pricked her ears up at the thought of seeing her first grudgeby match on the Isles.

“I didn’t know that there was a match tomorrow,” Luz said. Really, she didn’t know. “I’d like to go. It sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Would you, um, want to go together?” Amity’s face was a shade of bright red now.

Luz blinked for a second before a smile made its way onto her face.

“Yeah, I would love to go,” Luz said. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

There was silence between them once more, but a commotion downstairs caught their attention. The two exchanged a glance before they made their way to the stairwell and creeped down.

“It takes a lot of guts to show up here, Lilith,” Eda’s voice echoed.

Luz and Amity stopped in their tracks, out of view from the shop below.

“Oh, I can’t just come in and purchase a book, dear sister?” Another prim voice answered. “Besides, it’s about time I found you. It is about time you joined the Emperor’s Coven.”

“Fat chance,” Eda said. “Like I would join all those fat cats. You’re going to have to kill me first.”

“That could be arranged if you so wished it, Edalyn,” the voice said. 

Luz felt her heart start hammering against her ribcage. And judging from the way Amity held her hand over her mouth, she was scared too.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Eda said. “Besides, wouldn't that be counterproductive anyway? You want me to join your stupid coven, but I won’t be able to if I were dead.”

There was a beat of silence. Luz dared not move, but the trembling anxiety within her threatened to claw out of her.

“You’re right,” Lilith said. “However, I do have some rather important intel on you.”

“Oh yeah,” Eda snarked. “And what would that be?”

“We know you’re hiding the seer.”

Luz felt her blood run cold. They knew about her. She exchanged a glance with Amity who looked at her with an expression of confusion.

There was a shrill whistle and Luz heard a shattering of glass come from the apartment above.

“Hoot! Hoot!” Hooty bolted down the stairs, briefly pinning Luz and Amity to the wall. “Oh look, a new friend to play with.”

There were sounds of crashing and minor explosions as bookshelves toppled over and glass shattering. Soon there was nothing but silence. Luz suddenly became aware that during the fight, she and Amity were clutching to each other for dear life. They slowly met eyes before separating and turning their attention back to the entryway down below. Then a wild mane of gray hair bolted up the stairs towards them. 

It was Eda, her gold eyes wild with fright.

“We need to get out of here, kid. They know you’re here,” Eda said, ushering the girls up the stairs.

“Wait, how?” Luz said.

“I don’t know, but we can talk about it later,” Eda said. “Get your essentials, and I’ll grab King.”

“Where are we going?” Luz asked. 

“Somewhere safe,” was all Eda said before she darted to her room.

Luz turned to Amity. The girl was still in the dark, and the confusion and the fear were evident on her face.

“You should probably go home,” Luz said. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Are you kidding me?” Amity’s voice was high pitched. “I’m going with you.”

“Amity, if you came with us you would probably get arrested or something,” Luz said. 

“The Emperor’s Coven is probably surrounding the building by now, I’d get arrested just by association. I’m coming with you whether you like it or not,” Amity said. She had a point, but it still didn’t set right in Luz’s stomach.

“Fine, now come on and help me get my things,” Luz said. They entered her room and Luz pulled out a duffle bag from under her bed and started emptying her dresser and her closet. Amity grabbed the books on Luz’s bookshelf, and tossed them in. Soon, all of Luz’s belongings were shoved into the duffle bag, which with an enchantment from Amity, held everything within the room without bursting any seams. 

“Alright, Eda should be ready to go by now.” Luz shouldered the bag before heading out of the room where Eda was waiting.

“You ready to go?” Eda said. She had King strapped in a carrier around her chest, and Hooty was curled around her neck like a scarf. 

“Yeah, and Amity is going to come with us,” Luz said.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. There’s barely enough room on Owlbert as it is,” Eda said as she gestured to the staff.

“I’m coming with you guys,” Amity said. “The coven could arrest me by association anyways because I was here during the confrontation.”

“We need to make room on the staff then,” Eda was quiet for a second before her eyes lit up with an idea. With no warning, she cast a spell circle and suddenly in Amity’s place was a green cat with brown patches. “There, that should do the trick.”

“Awwwwww,” Luz cooed as she picked up the now feline Amity. “She’s so cute.”

Amity narrowed her eyes and swished her tail.

“Less talky, more escapee,” King said. And with that the group mounted the staff and flew out the nearest window, leaving the bookshop behind.

Chapter Text

The Chariot

Woods. For what seemed like miles and miles to Luz, were woods. She kept Amity secure in her hoodie pocket, and she wasn’t sure if the girl that was now a cat was asleep or awake, as the trip was mostly silent. Even Hooty didn’t speak much, which was unusual since the serpent loved talking any chance he got.

“Where are we going, Eda?” Luz hoped Eda would hear her as the wind was whipping in her ears at the breakneck speed they were flying.

“A place the Coven would never think to look,” Eda said. “It won’t be too long before we get there.”

“Okay,” Luz said. They fell into silence once more. She let her mind wander to the events that happened in the bookshop earlier. Her stomach twisted in knots as she considered the possibility of not being able to attend Hexside anymore. Would Willow and Gus still want to be friends with her? Luz looked down to see Amity’s head poking out of her pocket, and Luz thought about what would become of their friendship. Her heart sank at the thought of Amity tossing their newfound kinship aside, all because she was basically a wanted criminal by both the governments of the Boiling Isles and the Isle of Humans. 

“We’re here,” Eda said, jolting Luz out of her thoughts.

Luz looked down to see a little stone house on the edge of the sea. Behind the house sat a large tower that was crumbling to the sands of time, but the one feature that stuck out to Luz about this house was the large circular stained-glass window that resembled an eye.

They dismounted the staff and Eda gestured to the house with the flair of a performer.

“Welcome to The Owl House,” she said.

“Woah,” Luz whispered.

“This was my old home away from home. It was the perfect place to hide from the cops and all my ex-boyfriends.” Eda opened the door, and led Luz in. The walls were covered with old knickknacks and posters that were covered in a thin layer of dust. Luz felt squirming in her hoodie pocket and realized that she hadn’t put Amity down yet.

“Whoops, sorry, Amity,” Luz chuckled as she bent down to the floor and let the cat out of her pocket. The cat looked up at Luz with narrow eyes, then looked to Eda with an indignant meow.

“Oh, right, we need to turn her back,” Eda said. She cast a spell circle and in a puff of smoke, the cat was gone and replaced with the witchling herself.

“Thank you,” Amity said as she brushed herself off. “Now, can any of you tell me what’s going on?”

Luz and Eda exchanged a look. Luz knew that she would probably have to be the one to tell Amity the whole truth but the fear held her back.

“Well, Luz, since you’re the one that is in the center of all of this, you should be the one to tell her,” Eda said as if she were reading Luz’s mind. “While you do that, I’m going to fuse Hooty back to the door, since he was originally part of this house.”

“Okay, Eda. That sounds like a plan,” Luz said with a nod, but then did a double take at the last thing her mentor had told her. “Wait, Hooty was originally fused to this house?”

Eda didn’t answer her as she shut the door behind her. Amity crossed her arms, gold eyes looking at Luz expectantly. Luz heaved a sigh and slumped her shoulders.

“Alright, I’ll tell you everything,” Luz said. “Although we should probably go somewhere quieter since Eda is going to be busy doing whatever she’s going to do with Hooty, which I personally don’t want to see.”

“Alright then,” Amity said. She gestured to the interior of the house. “Lead the way.”

They walked up the stairs, and at the end of the hall was a small room overlooking the back of the house and the Boiling Seas beyond. Luz shut the door behind them and turned to face Amity who was standing in the middle of the room.

“So, where do you want me to start?” Luz asked as she took a seat on the windowsill. 

“Well, we can always start at the beginning,” Amity said. “That’s where most stories start.”

“Okay.” Luz took a deep breath. “Well, you know how I’m really good at tarot readings, right?”

Amity nodded.

“Well back on the Isle of Humans, I was one of the best students in the oracle class. I had a knack for reading the cards, though I still have to look up the card meanings because it’s kind of hard to memorize all of them. Despite my talents, everyone thought I was a freak. Every time, no matter what, I got it right. It also didn’t help that I was interested in things that everyone else thought was weird or for babies, like Azura or using snakes for a book report . ” Luz met Amity’s eyes. She let in a shaky breath as she blinked away tears that threatened to spill at the corners of her eyes.

“One day during class, I was doing my usual reading exercises, and something weird happened. I don’t know what happened, but I remember going into a trance. It’s kind of fuzzy, but I remember when I came to, everyone was looking at me like I had transformed into a giraffe. It wasn’t until later that night I saw that one of my classmates posted the video onto MageTube. Then later that night, someone came knocking on my door. Apparently they were an agent for the human government and they wanted me to come with them. When my mom asked why, they said that I was an important tool as a seer.

“I remember hearing a loud commotion, and my mom burst into my room and the next thing I knew, we were running away from our house in the middle of the night. When I asked what happened, my mom told me that they weren’t going to use her baby as a tool for the gain of power.”

“So that’s why you came here then,” Amity said, her voice quiet. “You didn’t want to be used because of your talents.”

“I mean, I would have if only they let me live my life you know?” Luz said. She looked out at the sea, a forlorn smile on her face. “But they only saw me as a tool. An asset I guess. They didn’t really care about what my wants and needs were. I just want to be free to be me.”

They both fell into silence after that. Luz watched the sea, and knew that somewhere out there, her mother was safe. She wondered if she was happy, knowing that Luz was in a completely different nation. The thought of her mother not being here with her twinged at her heart.

She felt a warm weight on her arm and she looked up to see Amity. The other girl gave her arm a reassuring squeeze and she sat down on the windowsill next to Luz. Her gold eyes searched Luz’s face, cautious and concerned. Luz thought she noticed some tears threatening to spill at the corners of her eyes.

“So… how did you come to stay with Eda then?” Amity said.

Luz gave her a small smile. 

“Well, she and my mom were already really close friends and in the instant my mom called her, she was there right away,” Luz said. “Even though she and my mom butt heads once in a while, my mom knew that Eda would be the most capable person to keep me safe. She is the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles after all.”

They sat in silence for a while. They listened to the rustle of the wind outside.

“That was mean of that classmate,” Amity said. “They shouldn’t have done that.”

“Yeah, although I kind of have to thank them in a way,” Luz said. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.”

“I guess that’s true,” Amity said. 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have Willow, Gus, even you,” Luz said. “I wouldn’t have had you guys if none of this ever happened.”

“Even still, they may have ruined your chances of having a normal life,” Amity said. The weight that had been lifting had come rushing back as the words left Amity’s mouth. Luz knew that Amity was trying to console her, but the words “normal life” hung in the air, taunting, out of reach. She knew she would probably be on the run for who knows how long, but maybe her thirst for adventure like the kind in the Azura books was a little too tempting to go back to an ordinary life. Although, the thought of constant adventures shot a pang of loneliness in her heart. Who would want to adventure with a wanted woman? 

“Amity,” Luz said as she looked at the wall. “If Willow and Gus found out about me, would they still want to be friends with me?”

Amity was silent for a moment, as she regarded Luz. “If they’re real friends, they’d stand by your side no matter what. And let me tell you something, they’d never leave your side. They’ll only leave you behind if you want them to.”

Luz blinked as she felt a hot tear run down her face. Her breath was shaky. “Do you still want to be my friend?”

Amity stood up from her place on the windowsill and knelt down in front of Luz. With a hesitant, yet deliberate hand, she reached up and cupped Luz’s face and brushed away the tears that were spilling from her eyes. Luz leaned into the touch

“Luz, listen to me,” Amity said. Her voice was low. “I will stay by you, no matter what. You’re the first real friend I’ve had in a long time. I don’t care if you’re on some wanted list.”

Luz sniffled and met Amity’s eyes.

“Really?” Luz said. 

“Really,” Amity said with a smile.

Luz couldn’t hold back anymore and threw her arms around Amity. She burrowed her face into Amity’s shoulder. She felt Amity relax and soon there were warm arms around Luz, and as Luz let her tears flow, she was comforted by the lavender scent of Amity’s perfume.

Luz didn’t know how long they were on the floor like that, but the sound of the door creaking open caught their attention. Eda was standing in the doorway, the lines in her face more pronounced, and the usual mischievous spark in them was dulled. 

“We need to send your mother a letter, Kid,” Eda said. “We can’t send Owlbert though, it’s too risky. They know what he looks like.”

Luz pushed down the rising guilt in her chest and stood up. She offered a hand to Amity who took it and pulled her to her feet.

“How are we going to send a letter then?” Luz said. “We’ve been using Owlbert for a while now.”

“Don’t worry about that, I have an old friend that can help us out,” Eda said. “Now, what are we going to do with Greenie here?” Eda pointed at Amity.

The realization dawned on Luz. If Amity didn’t get home, then her parents would definitely know something was up. However, before she could speak, Amity intervened.

“I’m going to contact my siblings and have them cover for me,” Amity said. “And I’ll probably text one of my other friends and have them cover for me as well.”

“Alright, you do that.” Eda nodded before she turned her attention back to Luz. “You’re going to come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Luz said.

“Creepy woods was not what I was expecting,” Luz said as she regarded the shadowy trees that she swore carried the sound of banshees in their gnarled branches. 

“This is one of the most remote locations on the Isles,” Eda said. “Obviously she would settle here in these parts. She’s got all that money to hide from grubbers like me after all.” 

Despite the words and Eda’s suave manner as she walked through the shadows without a second thought didn’t reassure Luz in the slightest.

“Who are we going to go see, again?” Luz said. A crack of a branch made her jump.

“The richest demon on the Isles,” Eda said. “The Bat Queen herself.”

They found themselves outside the gaping mouth of a cave. Without further warning, Eda stepped into the cave, though Luz hesitated as she stared at the void of darkness ahead of her.

“You coming, Kid?” Eda’s voice echoed from the darkness.

Luz gulped and took a step into the darkness. Soon the darkness enveloped her as she followed Eda into the cave. All she could hear was the occasional drip of water echoing, and the crunch of something Luz hoped were sticks under her feet. At first Luz wondered why Eda didn’t use a light spell, but then thought better of asking. Maybe there was a good reason she didn’t use a spell. They came to a large cavern, and Luz felt the rush of cold air swirling around them. 

“Who dares enter my cave?” came a voice from the center. Almost instantly, fire erupted from two stalagmites near the center. Luz shrunk back behind Eda as she spotted a figure hanging upside down from the cave ceiling. The figure spread her large leathery wings that revealed glowing red eyes.

What Luz saw in front of her was incredibly bizarre, even by Boiling Isles standards. Before her was a creature that seemed to be a giant head of a woman with long ebony hair that nestled three little babies that resembled their mother. Besides her wings, her only other limbs were two little clawed legs. So this strange being must have been The Bat Queen.

Luz had been staring at the creature in awe she didn’t realize until Eda placed her hand on her back and forced her into a bow did she realize she was standing before demon royalty.

“Owl Lady,” The Bat Queen said. “It’s been quite a while.” She flipped from the cave ceiling and landed in front of them.

“It has, I have to admit,” Eda said. “We used to cause lots of trouble back in the day.”

“Yes, yes. What brings you here to my domain?” The Bat Queen said. She was straight to the point, Luz noticed. She would have gotten along with Amity pretty well.

“I need a favor of you,” Eda said.

“And what is this favor?” The Bat Queen narrowed her eyes.

“You see this human?” Eda gestured to Luz. “She’s wanted by both the Emperor and the President of the Isle of humans. She’s been in hiding for a while now, and since Emperor Belos has gotten wind of her being here, he’ll stop at nothing until she’s in his clutches.”

The Bat Queen eyed Luz, inspecting every little part of her being before she turned back to Eda.

“Why are they after this human? She doesn’t read as a danger,” The Bat Queen said. She narrowed her eyes at Luz.

“She’s a seer,” Eda said. “And a powerful one at that. That’s why she’s wanted. They want to use her as a tool. We need to send a letter to her mother to let her know what happened. They’ll recognize Owlbert.”

“And this is why you came to me,” The Bat Queen concluded. She huffed a sigh and turned away. 

“You guard abandoned palismen, all we need is one of them to deliver a letter to the Isle of Humans,” Eda said. 

“If I allow you to have one of my charges deliver this letter, then what do you offer me in exchange?” The Bat Queen turned back to Eda and Luz with narrow eyes.

Eda grabbed a sack of snails from her mane of wild hair and tossed it to The Bat Queen’s feet. The gold coins jingled out of the sack, which The Bat Queen eyed. The babies emerged from her hair at the noise and proceeded to fight over their new shiny objects.

“I hope this is enough to do it,” Eda said.

The Bat Queen huffed and turned her attention towards one of the cave tunnels behind her. She whistled, and from one of the tunnels was a violet-colored albatross. Luz noticed the nicks and scratches across the albatross’s belly. Her heart sank at what those scratches in the bird’s belly implied about its past neglect.

Eda attached the letter to the Albatross’s foot, and gave the bird instructions on where to go. And with that, the albatross took off. That was when Eda and Luz bid their farewell to The Bat Queen.

Chapter Text

Strength

The walk back to the house was silent, and even though the sun was about to set, Luz could feel the day start to catch up with her as her movements became sluggish and she had to stifle so many yawns. Forget about her assignments she had yet to start, she didn’t think she would even answer a single question. But the thought brought up an important question for her.

“Eda?” Luz said.

“Hm?” 

“What are we going to do about school?” Luz said. “The coven will be searching for me. That’d be the first place they’d look.”

“Well, we’re probably going to have you stay home for a while, until the heat dies down. I know that Bump doesn’t snitch, even if we don’t get along,” Eda said. “Originally I would have not enrolled you at all, but your mother insisted you continued your education, even if school is the worst concept known to witchkind.”

They came upon the front door, where Luz saw Hooty was now fused to the door. He was fast asleep as they opened the door and stepped through. Amity was sitting on the couch reading a book when they entered. She marked her place and stood.

“How did everything go?” she said. 

“Surprisingly well,” Luz said. “I thought The Bat Queen might eat us.”

“Seriously? The Bat Queen isn’t some mindless beast,” Eda said. 

“Well, I didn’t know that,” Luz said, which caused Eda to roll her eyes. Luz then turned to Amity, “Well, did you get ahold of your siblings?”

“Yeah, I did,” Amity said. “I also got Skara to cover for me as well. My parents won’t know anything. At least for the night that is.”

“We’ll figure out a way to get you back home,” Luz said. “It can even be an ultra secret stealth mission.”

“With your loud mouth?” Eda snickered. “Although that isn’t a bad idea.”

“Wait, Amity, you said there was a grudgeby game tomorrow right?” Luz said. 

“Yeah, there is, why?” Amity said.

“We can meet your siblings there and you can go home without your parents realizing,” Luz said. 

“Also, you’d be able to blend into the crowd,” Amity said, “It’d be hard for the coven to find you if there was a large gathering of people.”

“We can also meet Willow and Gus and explain what’s going on to them too,” Luz said excitedly.

“Well, since that’s taken care of, I’m going to scrounge up something to eat,” Eda said. She walked into another room Luz assumed to be the kitchen.

Amity turned to Luz.

“We should contact Willow and Gus,” she said. 

“Yeah,” Luz said with a nod.

Later on, the night found Luz and Amity in the same room they were in earlier when Luz revealed everything to Amity. They lay sprawled out in the nest of blankets and pillows they found in the many closets in the house. It had been silent for the most part, as Luz stared up at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the sea outside the open window. Oh the irony, Luz mused to herself. She could wander wherever she wished, but the bounty on her head kept her from doing so. She let out a sigh, she thought of her mom. She wondered what she was doing on the Isle of Humans. Her mind wandered over to Eda, Willow, Gus, and finally to Amity. It was then that she looked over at the other girl who also was staring at the ceiling. Luz felt a pang of guilt for dragging her into this mess. It was a few minutes before she realized that gold eyes were staring right back at her.

“Are you okay?” Amity’s voice was soft. It took all of Luz’s willpower to look away and back up to the ceiling.

“Yeah, I was just thinking,” Luz said. There was a beat of silence before she heard shuffling as Amity rolled over onto her side to get a better look at Luz. Luz looked up at Amity for a second before she rolled onto her side as well so she could face her.

“Were you thinking about today?” Amity said. 

“Well, kind of,” Luz said. “I was just thinking about my mom, Eda, Willow, Gus… and you.”

Amity tilted her head, her eyes searching Luz for further explanation.

“You see, part of me wonders if I didn’t mess everything up for you guys by coming here. Eda could’ve still had her bookstore, I know Willow and Gus don’t know the full story yet, but I know they’ll be worried when I tell them tomorrow. And you… well you wouldn’t be lying to your family for hanging out with me. You also wouldn’t be hiding from the coven either.” Luz’s shoulders slumped as she looked down at the floor. “I just mess everything up.”

She felt a warm hand come to rest on top of hers. She looked up to see Amity, a burning fire within her eyes.

“Don’t you even think anything like that, Luz Noceda,” Amity said. “We all care about you, and so what if things are a little rough for all of us? We wouldn’t trade it for the world. I know for a fact Eda won’t let anything minor such as a bookstore interfere with her keeping you safe. You helped Willow gain her confidence back, and you make Gus feel appreciated about his opinions on humans. And for me? You made me feel more alive in the weeks I have known you than I have ever felt in my entire life.”

Luz could see her aura becoming more and more saturated with every word she spoke. While the lesson with Eda on the Knee was a while ago, once in a while she would still see the auras of those around her, though they were fainter than what they were when Luz first connected to the island. However, the intense pinks and reds spilling from Amity’s aura around her, made Luz speechless. 

“Please don’t ever think that you messed things up, Luz,” Amity continued. “You didn’t. You’re the kindest, most thoughtful person I know. You always put others first, you’re even doing it now. Maybe that’s the thing I like about you the most, your selflessness.”

Luz continued to watch her with wide eyes. The colors shimmered brighter than she ever seen before, and she watched mesmerized. However, when she looked at the intense look Amity was giving her, her heart was hammering in her chest. 

“ Hermosa ,” she whispered.

“What?” Amity said. She tilted her head in confusion once again. 

“Oh… um, it’s nothing really,” Luz said. A thought came to her. “Amity, have you ever seen someone’s aura before?” 

“I don’t think so,” Amity said as she glanced up to the ceiling in thought. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I can see yours and it’s shining really bright,” Luz said, gesturing to the empty space surrounding Amity. In that moment, she could have swore she saw a faint blush color Amity’s cheeks.

“It is?” Amity said. 

“Yeah,” Luz said. 

“What does it look like?” Amity said. She was really close right now.

“Well, usually it’s mostly pink.” Luz squinted. “However, right now there’s some red in there, and some hints of orange and yellow. It’s… beautiful.”

Amity’s face was really pink now, and it wasn’t her aura. 

“Really?” Amity’s breath was warm. Luz was unsure about when they had gotten this close to each other. Their noses were brushing together, and she could feel a charge in the air. She could even see individual flecks of gold in Amity’s eyes. 

“Really,” Luz whispered. She wanted to close the distance between them, but the anxiety coursing through her veins, held her back. Would Amity be alright with the fact she wanted to kiss her? She gulped.

“Amity?” Luz whispered.

“Hm?”

“Would it be alright if I… if I kissed you?” Luz could feel herself trembling. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was so warm.

“Yes,” Amity said, a whisper on Luz’s lips. Their eyes fluttered closed and they closed the distance. Though the kiss was short, to Luz it felt like an eternity, but even an eternity had to end sooner or later. That night, they spent together wrapped in the warmth of each other’s arms.

The crowd filed into Hexide’s stadium for the match against Luna Nova. Luz and Amity tried to make themselves blend in as much as possible. Luz adjusted the green hood of one of the spare hoodies she had found in one of Eda’s closets. She glanced over to Amity, who had also found an old beat-up hoodie and jeans. They neared the entrance to the stadium. Luz tightened her grip on Amity’s hand. She felt Amity give a reassuring squeeze back, which seemed to calm her jittery nerves somewhat. Although the presence of one of the members of the Emperor’s Coven outside the entrance wasn’t reassuring.

“We’re going to have to get past them,” Amity said. 

“Maybe we can have a diversion or something to sneak past them,” Luz said. 

Before they could do anything, they saw a flash of long brown hair whizz past them up to the front of the line. On a closer look, it was a girl in a Luna Nova sports uniform. The guard cut her off from entering which caused an argument to ensue.

“Now’s our chance,” Luz said. They crept around the edges of the crowd, everyone focusing on the argument between the guard and the Luna Nova player. Luz couldn’t help but giggle at the exchange between the guard and the player.

“What do you mean I can’t get in?” the girl shouted. “I’m Astuko Kagari, the star player of the Luna Nova grudgeby team.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t just let anyone enter the premises,” the guard said.

“Well, that’s dumb,” the girl bit back. Before Luz could hear any more she was already out of earshot.

“Well, that was easy,” Luz said with a giggle.

“Yeah, we’re going to have to thank that player later,” Amity said. “Although for now we need to find Ed, Em, Willow and Gus.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Luz said. “I wonder where they’re sitting, or if they’re even here yet.”

“Excuse me,” a voice came from their side. Luz nearly jumped out of her skin before she caught sight of another Luna Nova player. The player flipped her bushy blonde hair out of her face, her icy blue eyes narrowed in a scowl. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m looking for one of our players. I was wondering if you’ve seen her.”

“Is she short, brunette, and talks a lot?” Luz said.

“Yes, that is our missing player,” the blonde said. “Do you know where she is?”

“She’s at the entrance arguing with the guard,” Amity said as she pointed behind her.

“Thank you,” the blonde said before she walked away.

Luz and Amity made their way to the stands and looked around for a glimpse of their friends. With no luck, Luz pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to Willow. Within a few seconds, she got a response and led Amity to the far side of the bleachers. Sitting in the front row was Willow and Gus. Luz rushed forward and tackled them in a hug.

“Luz, where were you today?” Gus said. “You missed the best class in illusions today.”

“Yeah, we thought something bad happened to you, because it’s not like you to miss school,” Willow said. 

Luz and Amity exchanged a nervous glance at Willow’s comment. 

“Well…” Luz started. She rubbed the back of her neck.

“We can’t talk about it here,” Amity said. Luz let out a sigh of relief. “When Edric and Emira come, we’ll explain it all. We just need to find some place a little quieter.” Amity gestured to the cheering crowd to emphasize her point. 

“Alright,” Willow said. “We can watch the game while we wait.” 

The players emerged onto the field, their uniforms like armor and their faces painted like they were going to battle. From what Luz has seen from grudgeby matches on the crystal ball back in her old home, it wasn’t that far off that battle was an understatement. 

The captains of both teams, Boscha and the blonde girl from earlier walked to the center of the field and shook hands. The ball was tossed into the air by the referee and the match was on. The ground rumbled and large fissures split through the field as a large tentacle burst from the ground. The Luna Nova players fell back, and Boscha led the rest of the Hexside team into the fray. The crowd was a mix between roaring and booing. It seemed that Hexside was going to score as Boscha and a player from Luna Nova with short red hair scuffled for possession of the ball. However, in a flash there was the girl with the brown hair. She snatched the ball away from Boscha and darted down the field. The Luna Nova side started cheering wildly as the girl avoided every single obstacle that emerged from the ground by transforming into various animals until she scored the first goal.

Luz and the rest of the Hexside students booed.

"If I was still captain of the team, that girl wouldn't have gotten past me so easily," Amity huffed.

Luz turned her attention to Amity with a gasp.

"You were captain of the grudgeby team?" She said. 

Amity looked at her, a small blush on her face and she averted her gaze.

"Yeah, about a year ago I used to be captain," Amity said. "It just... became a lot to handle with everything else that was going on in my life."

The cheering of the crowd seemed to become silent around Luz as she focused on Amity. 

"Was it your parents?" She said, her voice lowered.

Amity looked at Luz, uncertainty in her eyes. Sure, Luz didn't really know much about Amity's home life, but the way she talked about her parents before arose her suspicions without having Amity tell her anything. Amity gave a small nod, still avoiding Luz’s eyes. Luz reached out and placed her hand on top of Amity’s.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Luz said. "Especially here at a sports game of all places."

"Come on Hexside! You can do better than this," Gus said as he waved his flags. "This isn’t even Glandis!"

Luz and Amity let out a chuckle before Amity finally settled her gaze onto Luz once more. Her eyes were soft before she leaned into Luz and rested her head on Luz’s shoulder. Luz was surprised by the contact at first but relaxed after a brief second. They didn’t talk about what happened the previous night, but that was a topic for another time. As Luz turned her attention back to the match, Luna Nova was leading by a point, she rested her head on top of Amity’s.

"Well, well, well, it seems like our sweet little Mittens has some big news to tell us," said a feminine voice. 

"Yeah, when were you going to tell us you had a girlfriend?" said another voice. Luz turned to see Edric and Emira smirking at them.

"That isn't important right now," Amity said before she stood up. "We have bigger demon fish to fry than my love life."

"So, Luz is like the most wanted criminal on both the Boiling Isles and the Isle of Humans?" Gus said.

They were gathered in a grove of trees away from the stadium and away from prying eyes.

"Not exactly a criminal," Luz huffed. "But I guess that’s a good comparison."

"But there are plenty of seers on both islands," Willow said. "Why do they want Luz so bad?"

They all turned expectantly to Luz, who looked down at the ground. She heaved a sigh before she rubbed the back of her neck.

"I don't know," Luz said. "It all just happened so fast."

"You said that one of your classmates recorded you and posted the video to MageTube," Emira said. "Did you ever watch it?"

"No," Luz said, her voice quiet. 

"If it's alright with you, maybe we can watch it to see if anything stands out as to why they're after you," Edric said. Luz flinched at that. She didn't really want to relive that experience again. The others seemed to sense the tension and glared at Edric. "What? It was just a suggestion."

"Your suggestion hurt her," Amity growled. "She might not be ready to face that yet."

Luz was warmed by Amity’s defense of her, but she also knew Edric had a point.

"Actually, it might not be a bad idea," Luz said, which caused everyone to gawk at her with wide eyes. "I don't really remember what happened when I was in the trance, so I think it would be a good idea to watch it. If it's still on MageTube that is."

"Well, I can pull it up on my phone really quick," Gus said as he pulled out his phone. "What's your classmate's channel name?"

"ThatWitchStacy," Luz said. She looked over to see Amity giving her a worried look.

Amity walked over and lowered her voice so no one else could hear. "Are you sure about this? You seemed really hurt when you told me about this." She took hold of Luz’s hands, rubbing her thumb over Luz’s knuckles.

"I know it hurts, but sometimes you have to face the things that hurt you in order to move forward," Luz said. She pressed her forehead against Amity’s. "I'm also not alone in this either. I have you and the rest of our friends."

"Okay, lovebirds, get over here," Emira said. "We got the video pulled up."

Luz gave Amity’s hands a reassuring squeeze before leading her to the group gathered around Gus's phone.

"Are you ready?" Willow said, a look of concern etched on her face.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Luz said.

Gus pressed play on the video and the group huddled around to get a good view. The camera was shaky as it focused in on Luz who was sitting at her old desk back home. Her deck of cards was spread out before her but she wasn't looking at them. Her expression was blank, unfocused as she stared straight ahead at nothing. However, Luz noticed in the video her eyes happened to be glowing.

"Look at this freak," the voice of her old classmate Stacy snickered into the camera. Luz felt the hot surge of anger rise in her belly.

That's when Luz in the video spoke.

" In the days of when the sun lingers in the sky,

Two mighty titans will arise from the sea,

Battling to see who will be more mighty,

The Devil leads the charge,

But he will fall to the woes of the moon,

His Blood will run dry,

For his life will be his only decree

The Sun will hear his plea,

But he will never be free

As the Sun and the Chariot will become one

His mighty tower will crumble

The Wheel of Fortune will no longer be reversed."

The video ended and the group stayed silent for a few minutes. In the distance they could hear the faint cheering of the crowd. Luz looked away, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt a warm hand grasp hers. She opened her eyes and looked over to Amity. Her eyes were soft, silently asking if she were okay. Luz gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"Well," Gus took a breath. "That was intense."

"I don't think I ever saw any of our classmates in the oracle track do that before," Willow said.

"I'm confused about what this all means," Edric said. "Like I see the trance thing being weird, but don't most oracle witches do this kind of thing?"

"Edric, our mother is an oracle witch and she never did something like this," Emira said as she gestured to the phone. "She even does sales predictions for the family company for crying out loud. She even does some work for the Emperor’s Coven once in a while. She's one of the most powerful oracles on the Isles."

That gave Luz a sinking feeling in her gut. If what they said was true, then that would mean their mother would be hot on her trail?

"It's not a common ability," Luz said. Everyone looked at her, confusion on their faces, even Amity. Luz sighed. "You see, I'm what you call a seer. I guess you can say, I'm really good at foretelling the future, and by that, I could mop the floor with your mother when it comes to predicting stuff. And while it may be more common in witches, it's rare in humans. One in a million humans are seers."

"No wonder they're after you," Edric said. Emira slapped him on the back of the head.

"And this prophecy," Amity said, giving Luz’s hand a squeeze. "It's talking about something big."

"Yeah, a war actually," Luz said. Everyone gasped at the revelation. "You've seen the news recently. Things between the Boiling Isles and the Isle of Humans aren’t really great right now."

"Of course," Amity said, as she snapped a finger. "One of the leaders is going to fail. It says in the prophecy. We just don't know who though."

"That makes sense," Willow said. "We're just going to keep an eye out for Luz’s sake."

"We can take turns bringing you your homework," Gus said. "That way you don't fall behind because you're in hiding."

"Also, we can gather information from our parents," Amity said. "They are practically the emperor's right hand."

"Is our very own Mittens suggesting espionage?" Emira smirked.

"They grow up so fast." Edric wiped away a tear.

Amity rolled her eyes at the statement. The group made their arrangements and decided to go their separate ways. Luz was reluctant to let go of Amity’s hand, but they shared a brief kiss before they parted ways.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

The Hermit

The silence of the house wasn’t something Luz thought she would ever get used to. While Eda and King roamed around Bonesborough for who knew how long, apparently Eda set up a side business selling second hand items, Luz stayed in the confines of the house. Once in a while she would take a stroll through the forests surrounding the house. She often came to a cliffside overlooking the sea where a giant tree with glowing pink leaves grew. Luz loved coming here every time she wandered the woods. She didn’t know why, but she felt a sense of peace when she came here. Today was no exception as she leaned back against the tree, taking a breath of the salty sea air. The waves below the cliff were but a whisper, and Luz looked out towards the horizon, hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of her old home. 

After the grudgeby match a few weeks prior, she found that Hexside wasn’t too far from the Owl House. Despite that, she didn’t set foot on the campus. Guards were patrolling every corner of the building, hoping that she would turn up eventually, Luz figured. However, that didn’t stop her friends from coming to visit her. Each day they would take turns to bring her homework as well as information they’ve gathered that day. It wasn’t much, but it was still something. According to Willow, the guards were to be stationed there for two more months. Gus brought by one of her wanted posters, a super high bounty was on her head. Amity attempted to break into her parents’ study, but was unsuccessful. 

Luz stared up at the pink leaves fluttering down around her. She closed her eyes and started to meditate. It was one of the things she could still do that relaxed her. Inhale. Exhale. She remembered Eda’s advice from the trip to the Knee all those weeks ago and connected to the island once again. She felt the familiar sensation of vibrations but that wasn’t the only thing she felt this time. As she was back in the land of bright pastel colors and thousands of voices filled her head, she noticed her limbs felt like they were stuck in a bog of mud. She struggled for a minute before she managed to stand. In an instant, the bright pastel colors faded back to a normal color, though the pastel colors were still present somewhat. Luz looked around, wondering what happened, before she looked behind her. Sitting under the tree was her body, though from the rising and falling of the chest meant that she was still alive. 

“Okay, I’m not dead, thank the Titans,” Luz said with a relieved sigh. “Wait, does this mean I left my body though?”

With a test jump she was floating up in the air. The weightlessness she felt in her body was nothing that she ever felt when she rode on a staff. It was if she were made of nothing and everything at the same time. She was in the state of flying and free falling simultaneously and while it felt unnatural at first, she found it oddly liberating after a few minutes. With this, a thought had dawned on her, she could go anywhere she wanted unseen. With the sun hanging low on the horizon, she knew Hexside would be out soon so that meant she could see what her friends were up to in class. With that thought in mind, she found herself flying to the school. When she reached her destination she floated over to the greenhouse where she knew Willow would be. As she poked her head into the wall, she could see the girl working to calm a large Venus Fly Trap. 

“It’s alright, my beauty, you just need some water and some nutrition,” Willow said as she pulled a dead rat from her pocket and tossed it into the flytrap’s waiting maw. She then grabbed a watering can and began pouring the water into the flower bed.

Luz backed away from the window after watching. She then made her way over to the main building towards the illusions hall. She peered through multiple window until she found Gus turning an empty room into a bustling city street. There was everything from chariots to patrons visiting stores or even just random citizens walking down the sidewalk without a care in the world.

"Wow, and I thought illusions were cool before, but this is impressive," Luz said to herself. She turned away from the window and sought out the abominations hall. It didn't take long to find Amity’s classroom. Luz felt a smile curl up onto her face as she watched Amity focusing on the assignment in front of her. Luz looked around for a brief moment before she phased through the window. She thought she would feel weird tingling but she felt nothing at all. So this is what it was like being a ghost, Luz thought. Luz took the empty seat next to Amity, the other girl completely unaware of the spectral visitor sitting next to her. They never did talk about their current relationship. Though, with everything going on, they haven't gone on a date yet. Maybe after this whole thing blew over Luz thought. She could do that. Maybe she could propose the idea to her when she brought over Luz’s homework this afternoon. 

The bell screamed, signaling the end of the school day. Luz decided then that it was time to return to her body. Before she could, Amity walked right through her, which made Luz feel tingles for the first time, and Amity paused for a second. She shook her head and exited the classroom. 

Luz opened her eyes to find herself back on the cliff overlooking the sea. She felt dizzy but she shook it off and stood. Amity was going to be at the Owl House any minute now. Luz made her way through the underbrush and with each step she took she felt more energized. The Owl House came into view and she sat on the front porch. A few minutes later, Amity emerged from the trees. She gave Luz a shy wave before Luz ran up to her and tackled her in a hug.

"I take it that you missed me," Amity said with a giggle as she returned the hug. 

"More than you could ever know," Luz said. 

They separated and made their way into the house. Amity pulled out the assignments she had collected for Luz, and placed them on the coffee table. 

"What happened here today?" Amity said.

"Oh, you know the same old thing I guess." Luz scratched her cheek. "Worked on the homework you guys have given me, took a walk in the woods, found out I can astral project, you know, the usual."

"You can what?" Amity’s eyes were wide. 

"Uh, astral project?" Luz said with a nervous laugh.

"How?" Amity said. "Many witches have tried to do that for most of their lives and failed. I didn't know humans were able to do it." Her face was an expression of wonder. She reached out a hand and cupped Luz’s cheek. Luz found herself leaning into the touch. "The closest some witches have gotten was controlling their dreams." 

"If you want, I can show you how I did it," Luz said. 

"Yeah, you can," Amity said. "Although, maybe we can try astral projection a little later?" Her cheeks became a faint pink.

"Oh? Did you want to do something else first?" Luz asked. "We can do our homework first if you want to."

The next thing she knew, Amity’s lips were against her own. She sank into the kiss before Amity broke it. They touched their foreheads together.

"Can we just, cuddle or something for a while?" Amity whispered. "I just really want to be close to you for a while." 

Luz briefly kissed her forehead, before wrapping her arms around Amity’s waist, gently dragging her down to the couch. Luz sprawled out on the worn red cushions, Amity laying on top of her. 

"We can cuddle for as long as you want." Luz pushed a stray strand of hair behind Amity’s ear. Amity’s face was bright red, though Luz was sure hers was too. Amity burrowed her head into the crook of Luz’s neck. Luz chuckled as she started running her fingers through Amity’s soft hair.

"I take it that someone missed me too," Luz whispered into Amity’s ear.

"More than anything in the world." Amity’s voice was muffled. Luz tightened her grip around Amity, bringing her as close as possible. They sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company. Once in a while, Amity would look up and the two would share a brief kiss. 

As Luz ran her fingers through Amity’s hair, a new sensation caught her attention. Her shirt was wet, and from the shaky breaths Amity was taking, an alarm went off in Luz’s head.

"Hey," Luz whispered.  She craned her head to see that tears were streaming down Amity’s face. "What's wrong?"

Amity’s grip on her shirt tightened. She burrowed her head further into Luz’s chest, and Luz only gripped her tighter. Luz whispered reassuring words into Amity’s ear, which made the girl cry even harder. Luz didn’t know what was going on, but she knew she would definitely break the kneecaps on anyone who would hurt Amity.

After a few minutes, Amity stilled in Luz’s embrace. Her jagged breaths slowed, until they were even and she slowly looked up at Luz with red tear stained eyes. Luz reached up and wiped away the remaining tears that were streaming down Amity’s face. They sat in silence for a few beats, either of them unsure of what to say. 

"I'm sorry, Luz," Amity croaked as she looked away. "That was unbecoming of me." 

"Hey, it's not unbecoming or whatever if you decide to let your emotions show once in a while," Luz said. "We all have to let it out or we'd explode. After all, it's what makes us human, or witch, or fae, or whatever."

"I know that, but… I can't show weakness of any kind," Amity said. "Especially now, when I have to protect you from them."

"You don't need to protect me, Amity," Luz said. "We're in this whole thing together. And who's them?"

Amity was quiet for a moment before she muttered "My parents."

Luz felt her blood run cold for a second. She fiddled around for the right words and looked Amity in the eye. Tread this with caution, Luz thought. 

"Do they… do they know about me?" Luz felt her pulse quicken at the thought of Amity’s parents storming the house with the Emperor’s guards in tow.

"No," Amity said. "I mean they know of you since they're working for the emperor on a project, but they don't know about you from me or the twins."

"Oh thank Titans," Luz said as she released a sigh of relief as she leaned back into the couch. "I thought I was a goner there for a second."

"You think I would betray my one and only girlfriend to the government?" Amity leaned forward, a playful smirk on her face. Luz’s face heated up at the mention of the word girlfriend. She would ask about that later though. For now there were more pressing matters.

"Never," Luz answered, before she gave Amity’s lips another peck. "But there's one thing I need to ask you."

Amity raised an eyebrow, which prompted Luz to continue.

“What made you start crying?” Luz said. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, it’s just. It was kind of out of left field.”

There was a moment of silence before Amity sat up, and sat on the opposite end of the couch. She wrapped her arms around herself, and tucked her legs in front of her. She avoided Luz’s concerned gaze. Luz felt something clench in her heart at the sight, though at the same time she felt a tinge of guilt making its way with every time her heart beat. She looked at the pile of homework she had on the coffee table.

“It’s complicated,” Amity said, which made Luz whip her head in Amity’s direction. Amity took a deep breath before she continued. “You see, I’m afraid of the fact that I would fail to protect you from my parents. I know you said that we can do anything together, but sometimes I’m scared that I’m too weak. I grew up in a house where any sign of weakness was snuffed out before it could ever really show. That included fears, emotions, and even friendships.” 

Luz stayed still, listening with rapt attention, and she started to notice the bright pinks and reds of Amity’s aura grew fainter, replaced with a lifeless gray.

“That’s the reason why I was forced to cut ties with Willow,” Amity said. “My parents saw her as weak because it took a while for her powers to fully develop. Although if they saw her now, I bet they wouldn’t care less. Then you came along.” Amity looked up and met Luz’s, and Luz had to swallow the lump that had risen in her throat. “That day I walked into the bookshop was the day my life changed forever. There was something different about you, I can’t explain it. It felt like I had known you my whole life, yet you were just a complete stranger back then. Yet, when you looked up and gave me that smile, something clicked. And the cards…”

“The… cards?”

“The cards.” Amity nodded, a tear escaped down her cheek. “The way you worked with them. You knew my whole past with just one card. It was painful, but then you shed a light that I never considered. A blinding light of a revelation that chased away the darkness of the fate I was succumbing to. I guess you could say your fortune came true.”

“Wait, it did?” Luz’s voice was quiet, yet shocked. 

“Yes, you said that I would reach a new turning point within my life with the help of a new connection, and I have reached that turning point the moment I let you in,” Amity said.

Luz felt hot tears of her own stream down her face. Amity scooted closer to Luz and cupped her cheek. Luz reached her hand up, placing it over Amity’s.

“Is it all right if I ask what this turning point in your life that you reached is?” Luz asked. She touched her forehead to Amity’s.

“I want to be me, just me,” Amity whispered. “Not a Blight. I just want to be Amity.”

Chapter Text

The Wheel of Fortune

“Alright, we went over the basics,” Luz said. “Any questions?” She looked at Amity who sat across from her. 

“What if I can’t do it?” Amity said. “What if I’m not able to visualize or anything?”

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Luz said. “I brought you here to this cliffside under this tree because it’s calmer, and there’s no distractions. Besides, it’s your own self doubt that will hold you back from doing this.”

Amity was quiet for a moment as she stared up at the pink leaves of the tree. Luz leaned back against the trunk, watching as the gears turned in Amity’s mind.

“You have a point,” Amity muttered. 

“Alright, now get yourself comfortable,” Luz said. “We might be here for a while.”

They adjusted so that they were sitting across from each other. Luz took Amity’s hands in her own.

“Close your eyes,” Luz said. She watched as Amity’s face had a slight pink tinge to it, though her eyes were tightly closed. “Okay, you gotta relax a little, Amity.”

Amity cracked open an eye, and shot Luz a little glare. Luz only gave her a playful smirk in return. 

“Just focus on your breathing,” Luz said. She closed her own eyes. “Breathe with me. Inhale… exhale.” They did this for a few minutes before Luz started feeling the tension in Amity’s hands give way as she was now starting to relax. “Alright, now I want you to focus on the energy that is surrounding you. Are you focusing on that?”

“Yes,” Amity said. “I feel like it’s calling to me.”

“You need to answer that call,” Luz said. After a few minutes of silence she spoke again. “I need you to reach out with all your might and connect to it.” 

“I’m reaching out,” Luz heard Amity say. “It’s… so colorful.”

“Alright, now you’re there with me,” Luz said. “We are going to separate ourselves from the physical world as much as possible, okay?”

“How do we do that?” Amity asked. 

“Focus on the magic around you,” Luz said. “Visualize yourself walking around, but most importantly, stay calm and relaxed.”

At this point, she could feel the vibrations in her own body begin.

“Is this pulsating normal?” Amity asked.

“Yes, you’re doing it,” Luz said. Then with a push, Luz was once again out of her body. She turned back to Amity, to see if she was able to.

“Um, what do I do now?” She could see Amity’s spectral form struggling to separate from her body. Luz walked over to her and grabbed her hand. With a tug, she managed to pull Amity out of her body. The first thing Luz noticed was that Amity’s hair was a soft auburn color instead of the green her physical hair was.

“It feels so light,” Amity said. She did a little test bounce before she turned to Luz.

“Welcome to the astral plane, Amity,” Luz said. “Where you can go anywhere and no one will know the wiser.”

"I'm surprised they never taught us this at Hexside," Amity said. "Then again, knowing some people they would use it to cheat on exams."

They walked down the shoreline, more like floated in Luz’s case. It took a minute for Amity to adjust, though Luz was patient and lent a hand to stabilize her. Soon enough, Amity was able to float on her own.

"Alright, now that you're used to being weightless, we need to get to the next part of the plan," Luz said. "Let's go to your house."

“Are we going to float all the way there?” Amity asked. “I mean, we are literally in the middle of nowhere and it’s quite a walk to my house.”

“Hmmmm.” Luz put a finger to her chin. “I know that from my old classes you could theoretically teleport yourself to where you want to go. However, I have no idea where your house is so that could be a problem."

"Maybe I could teleport you with me," Amity said. She grabbed ahold of Luz’s hand and the next thing Luz knew, there was a bright flash of light before her eyes and as the flash faded away she and Amity were standing in front of a large manor. To Luz, the house reminded her of one of those old abandoned houses that spirits and lesser demons alike liked to reside in, but with actual life inside as there were no cracks in the structure or vines that snaked around the walls. No, this house was polished and kept up with not one hedge growing out of place.

“Okay, even though we are astral projecting, we still need to keep a low profile,” Amity said. “My mom is an oracle and if there was anyone who may spot us, it would be her.”

“Alright,” Luz said. “Lead the way.”

They phased through the walls, and the girls took their time in hiding in the shadows and hiding behind a well placed pedestal or two. Amity led them to a door in the living room that led to what Luz assumed was a basement. Once inside, Amity and Luz took extreme caution and hid behind a shelf. Luz peered around the corner. The room appeared to be a lab of some sort and on every table or shelf was either abomination slime or mechanical parts. Leaning over a table yanking apart pieces of an abomination was a man with scruffy brown hair who Luz assumed to be Amity’s father. Nearby, leaning against the wall was a woman with light green hair and cold blue eyes. This must be Amity’s mom, Luz thought.

“Remember dear that we are meeting with the Emperor’s Coven today,” Mrs. Blight said. She picked up a tea cup and took a sip. “Everything for this demonstration has to go perfectly. If our dear Mittens were here instead of the library, then she could help us with the demonstration.”

Mr. Blight only grunted in response as he adjusted a piece of the abomination he was working on. 

“If things go well, we won’t need Amity’s assistance for this demonstration,” Mr. Blight said. 

“You’re quite right, dear.” Odalia walked over and surveyed the abomination Mr. Blight completed. Luz couldn’t exactly see the finished product from where she and Amity were hiding. There was a loud ringing that echoed through the house. “Ah, it seems like they’re here right on time.”

Luz’s heart quickened and her breaths became shortened. Despite being out of body, she could still feel the fear coursing through her spirit veins. She felt Amity grab her hand, and she looked Luz in the eye. The look almost said “Calm down.” Luz let out a breath and turned her attention towards the scene in front of her.

Three guards walked through the door. Two of them were the typical guards Luz had seen with dark robes and white bird-like masks, but the guard that was leading them was one Luz hadn’t seen before. He was clad in all gold and an owl-like mask covered his face.

“Welcome to our humble home,” Mrs. Blight said as she and Mr. Blight bowed. “I thought we were meeting with Lilith today.”

“Lilith is on a different assignment as she is hunting down The Owl Lady and the human seer,” the guard in gold said. “Now, you agreed to make abomatons for the coven. What’s the status on how they are progressing?”

“We have just completed the beta version of the Abomiton 2.0,” Mrs. Blight said as she gestured to the abomination that was laying on the table. “It is the perfect soldier. It won’t rest until its enemy is completely defeated." 

"It seems kind of small," the guard in gold said. 

"It's not at full size, unfortunately," Odalia said. "This is a beta version after all. However, that won't stop its effectiveness in this form." With a snap of her finger, Alador brought the abomiton to life. It rose up from its position on the table. Unlike normal abominations, this one was fitted with mechanical joints and gears and its eyes glowed with rage. 

The guard in gold circled around it and inspected every inch of the abomiton. 

"The emperor will be pleased with this once testing is done," the guard said. "This will make a fine addition for his arsenal when we launch the attack on the Isle of Humans."

Luz’s heart sank at those words. She heard a gasp from her left and met eyes with Amity. 

"We'll take these to our labs and perfect them," the guard said. "We don't want any casualties on our end." 

Luz clutched her hands into a shaking fist. She wished she could rip that golden mask off that guy's face and let him have it. The corners of her vision were turning red. The next thing she knew was she was back underneath the tree on the cliff by the sea. She could feel hot tears threatening to fall. She scrambled to her feet and stumbled towards the edge of the cliff. She sank to her knees and stared out at the empty horizon. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder as Amity kneeled beside her.

"Luz," Amity whispered. "Luz, look at me."

"They're going to destroy my home, Amity," Luz shouted. Tears streamed down her face as her heart felt as if it were being torn apart blood vessel by blood vessel. "They’re going to… they’re going to destroy everything." 

Amity wrapped Luz into a protective hug, as Luz sobbed into her shoulder. 

"Amity, what if they hurt my mom?" Luz’s voice was quiet. She pictured a thousand different scenarios in her mind, all involving her mother meeting a fate worse than death. "What if… what if I never see her again?"

"Luz, listen to me," Amity said. "You are going to see your mother again. And you are going to live a happy life where she is going to be part of it for a long time. You hear me?" Her grip around Luz tightened. They remained on the cliff until the sun started to bow towards the horizon.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

Justice 

“So, the emperor is planning to attack the Isle of Humans,” Eda said. “This isn’t good, kid, and with both governments trying to hunt you down, that’s making things even worse.”

Eda paced the room as Luz and Amity sat on the couch. 

“Why would they even attack the Isle of Humans?” Amity said. “As far as I knew, the Isle of Humans is a peaceful nation.”

“I’ll tell you why,” Eda said as she turned towards the two. “The Isle of Humans practice wild magic. They aren’t bound to the coven magic like we are here.”

“So, would that mean he sees my home as a threat?” Luz said. “We don’t even have bile sacks to conduct magic like you guys.”

“Either way, wild magic is wild magic, no matter what form it takes,” Eda said. “And since you are a seer, both sides see you as a valuable tool to gain the upper hand.”

“So they want to use Luz to change their fate?” Amity said.

“Is changing fate even possible?” Luz wondered. “I mean, you can try to change events and things to prevent it, but then you would eventually wind up doing things that make your fate happen either way.” 

“As wise as that is, Luz, you don’t know half of what people will go to any lengths to change their future,” Eda said. “I know a bunch of people might not believe in fate, I don’t necessarily believe in it myself, but that doesn’t mean that things predicted by you or another oracle wouldn’t happen. That doesn’t mean you can’t believe everything your cards tell you either. Sometimes the reader gets the message wrong.”

“So what are we going to do about the attack?” Luz said. “I can’t sit back and do nothing while some crazy emperor decides to wreck my homeland.”

“We’ll figure out something, Kid, don’t worry,” Eda said as she gave Luz a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“They will face my wrath and cower in fear before me,” King said from the stairway. “No one hurts my boo-boo buddy or her home.”

“What if we got someone from inside the coven?” Amity said. Luz and Eda looked at her as if she grew a second head. “They can spy on the coven and sabotage it from the inside.”

“Well, the only person I know in the Coven is Lilly and she’s been trying to hunt us down,” Eda said.

“Well, she might be the only choice we have,” Luz said. “I know you have some bad blood with your sister-”

“You have no idea.”

“But if you can get her to agree to help us, this might save my home.” Luz was standing now. Amity grabbed her hand in reassurance.

“Well, there is one thing that I have up my sleeve that might help me in convincing her,” Eda said with a smirk.

“Well, well, well,” Lilith said as she stepped into the clearing Eda’s message told her to meet her at. “If it isn’t my dear sister. I hope you have changed your mind after all these years about joining the Coven.”

“Oh can it, Lilly,” Eda said. “I am not joining your blue blooded tea party that calls themselves the most powerful witches in the Isles.”

“Hm, and here I thought you may have changed your mind,” Lilith said as she crossed her arms. “So what is the point in this meeting if you aren’t going to join the Coven then? I’m doubting you’ll be turning in the human.”

“You leave her out of this,” Eda growled. “Do you want to know the reason why I called you here?”

“Yes, actually,” Lilith said.

“I want you to provide me with information about what the Emperor is planning. I know he’s trying to attack the Isle of Humans. And I want you to help me by sabotaging his work,” Eda said as she took a step forward, twigs breaking under her feet.

Lilith was taken aback. She blinked at Eda owlishly for a few minutes.

“How did you know that? And what makes you think I’d help you? You know I don’t have the power to stop Belos or anything he plans on doing,” Lilith said. “I don’t even want to attack the Isle of Humans, but I have to follow orders.”

“Well, you are currently the head of the Coven, so you hold some power,” Eda started getting really close to Lilith and backed her into a tree. “And as for the part where I think you’d help me?” Eda started growling as feathers started sprouting from her arms and her nails turned into wicked looking talons. “You remember that you are the one who did this to me all those years ago when we were kids. Just so you can get a shot of defeating me for a place in that stupid coven of yours.” Eda’s eyes became darker and her body grew to massive proportions and a pair of dark colored wings sprouted from her back. The newly transformed beast pinned Lilith against the tree with her massive talons.

“It was a mistake, Edalyn,” Lilith cried out. “I was just a stupid kid. I tried my whole life trying to find a cure for you. I’m still searching. That’s why I wanted you to join the coven. I wanted to heal your curse.”

“That still isn’t an excuse for dealing with this for thirty years,” Eda growled, baring her fangs. Her grip grew tighter around Lilith. “You’re lucky I didn’t care enough to rip you apart when I was younger.”

“I’ll do anything you want.” Tears started streaming down Lilith’s face. “Please, just don’t hurt me.”
“You are going to help me and Luz and you are going to help us prevent this war,” Eda growled.

“And if I don’t help you?” Lilith said, her voice trembling.

“You will be the Owl Beast’s dinner.” Eda’s voice was becoming more animalistic by the minute. It was starting to sound like a high pitched screech.

“Fine, I’ll help you and the human,” Lilith said. “Can you put me down now?”

Eda let go of Lilith, who went tumbling to the ground. Eda transformed back and watched as her sister stood up and brushed the dirt and leaves on her cloak. 

“You better get going before that tyrant knows you’re gone,” Eda said. She turned her back on Lilith.

“Edalyn,” Lilith reached out a hand, but stopped. “I know I did some terrible things in the past, but please, if I do this… would you forgive me for all the pain I caused you all these years? I know that should be the last thing I should ever be asking of you, because I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” Lilith turned and started to walk away. “But I will try until my dying breath to find a cure for your curse.”

“We used to be so close, Lilith,” Eda said. “Maybe one day we could be like that again, after all of this is over. However, you’re going to have to earn it.” With that, Eda walked into the forest.

Chapter Text

The Hanged Man

Luz sat on the couch, King curled in her lap, as she waited for Eda to return. She stared up at the ceiling as she fought the exhaustion that threatened to pull her into sleep. It seemed she won out as the door opened to reveal an exhausted looking Eda.

"How did it go?" Luz said as she gently nudged King off her lap before she stood up.

"Well I convinced her to provide us information and have her sabotage the Emperor’s plans for takeover," Eda said as she stretched out on the couch.

“Sounds like it took a lot of energy out of you,” Luz said. “You didn’t have to fight her did you?”

“Nah,” Eda chuckled. “I didn’t have to fight her. Although how I convinced her took a lot out of me though.”

“You could have asserted your dominance over her,” King piped up. Luz and Eda gave him a deadpan look. 

"What did you do to convince her?" Luz turned her attention back to Eda with a raised brow. 

Eda paused, and after a minute of Luz’s staring, she let out a breath and leaned forward on the couch. 

"Well, back when me and Lily were in school, we both wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven. Well, there was only one spot available and we had to challenge each other for the spot. I refused to battle her, and when I turned to walk away, something went horribly wrong," Eda said.

"What happened?" Luz was leaning on the edge of her seat.

"I became a horrible monster," Eda said. "At first I was confused about how it all happened and the crowd booing and throwing stuff at me didn't help either. It wasn’t until I got home that Lilith admitted to cursing me."

"She cursed you?" Luz stood up, and stood in front of her mentor. "She cursed you to become a monster?"

"Yes, an owl beast to be exact," Eda said. "But that's besides the point. For years I spent holding off this terrible curse, and even now I still have trouble keeping the Owl Beast from taking over, especially on new moons. However I'm not as bad off as I originally was."

"What do you mean by that? You're still cursed right? And it can still take over you," Luz said.

"You're right, I'm still cursed but it's actually manageable now. You see the first time I went to the Isle of Humans, I was searching for something that would have managed the curse better than the elixirs that I've been taking. And I heard some humans could manage the curse of lycanthropy a lot better than witches could.  And since I wasn't a werewolf I was skeptical. But then I found a healer who could help me. She knew that the curse of lycanthropy could be managed with a potion made of wolfsbane. However, the problem was that I turned into an owl beast, not a wolf beast. After lots of research she made an elixir out of owl's clover instead of wolfsbane, and the results were effective."

"Well that's good then," Luz said. "It's manageable and it doesn't seem to have any negative side effects." 

"Yeah, although for years Lilith has been searching for a cure to get rid of the curse completely. And if your mother hadn't made that owl's clover elixir I have no idea where I would be. Besides, I can at least turn into the beast at will if I wanted to, which I did to convince Lily," Eda leaned back on the couch.

"Wait, my mom made your elixir?" The puzzle pieces clicked inside of Luz’s head. So that’s how they know each other, Luz thought with a smile. 

"The one and only," Eda said. She stood up and headed to the stairs. "I'm going to call it a night, Kid. Becoming the beast took a lot out of me."

"Goodnight Eda," Luz said before she headed off to bed herself.

The hallways of the Emperor’s castle were always dark and grim, but as Lilith walked down the halls to her chambers she couldn't help but feel even more pressure from the shadows around her. Her footsteps seemed to echo a lot louder than she previously thought. No, she shook her head, don’t get nervous. She gritted her teeth in determination. She had a promise to help Eda after all. She came to a fork in the hallway. She stole a quick glance around to make sure she was alone before she set off for the left hall going to the armory instead of her chambers on the right. She blended in with the shadows, her footsteps soft. She soon found herself in front of the giant iron door of the armory. 

With one last glance around to make sure she was alone, Lilith creaked open the door. She stepped into the armory and saw the rows upon rows of abomotons that already filled the room. She looked them over trying to find any weak points within the machines. Going for subtlety, Lilith disconnected a few of the wires in them that wouldn't be noticeable. Satisfied with her work Lilith turned to leave, but the sound of the door creaking open caught her attention. Lilith scanned the room in a panic, opting to hide behind a stack of crates near the far wall. 

"I want to congratulate you on your securing of these abomotons from Blight Industries." Emperor Belos's voice sent a shiver down Lilith’s spine. 

"Oh it was no problem, Uncle," came the cocky voice of The Golden Guard. "They were practically throwing them at me to take."

"Now, with Lilith preoccupied with hunting down The Owl Lady and the human seer, we will be unstoppable with this attack," Belos said. 

"Oh? Are we going to be using the Owl Lady's powerful magic to help our cause? I know you wanted that seer to plan out strategies for victory," The Golden Guard said.

"No, we won’t be needing The Owl Lady," Belos said. Lilith’s heart started beating faster as a heavy weight filled her stomach.

"Oh? Then why are we going after her then?" 

Yes Belos, Lilith thought, what are you planning on doing with my sister?  Lilith thought.

"She is going to be petrified," Belos said. Lilith felt like her heart stopped beating. She could feel her palms start to clam up. "She practices the ways of wild magic, much like those humans do and that is the greatest threat to this nation. She will be made an example of. Wild magic is improper and goes against the will of the Titan and we don't want a wild witch in our ranks."

"But sir, why are you seeking out the human seer then if she's just as much of a wild witch as the Owl Lady?" The Golden Guard said. 

"It's a very simple reason, Hunter." Belos's voice had a hint of venom to it. "She is nothing more than an asset. If we don’t have her predictions for the upcoming attack on the solstice, then they will. It’s as simple as that."

"If you say so, Uncle." Hunter bowed. The door shut behind them and Lilith let out a breath she had been holding. With shaky limbs, she stood up. She needed to get to Edalyn.

Luz was brought out of her sleep by frantic knocking on the front door.

“Sheesh, lady you don’t have to break down the door,” she heard Hooty shriek. 

“I need to speak to Edalyn,” came another voice. “Now!”

What’s going on? Luz thought. She peered down from her window to see none other than Lilith standing at the front door. Before Luz could react, the door swung open.

“Lilith? What are you doing here? It’s three o’clock in the morning,” Luz heard a grumpy Eda say. 

“Eda, you need to get out of here,” Lilith said, her voice hurried. Luz could see her looking over her shoulder as if someone might have followed her. 

“Hey, Luz, what’s going on?” King came over to the window and peered down at the scene below. Luz shushed him and pointed down at the scene below.

“What are you talking about Lily?” Eda said. “Why do I need to leave? No one is going to find me here.”

“It doesn’t matter if they don’t find you here or not, they’re looking for you, and the human,” Lilith’s voice started to raise. “You need to leave the Isles, Edalyn. Before it’s too late.”

“I can’t go to the Isle of Humans, Lilith,” Eda said. “They were going to use Luz as a tool just like the prick you work for. All for some stupid war. I’m not going to subject Luz to that, even if they kill me in the process.”

“They’re going to petrify you, Edalyn.” Lilith’s voice was now a high shrill.

The whole world seemed to pause, as if the universe itself was holding its breath. 

“What?” Eda breathed out. 

“I was in the armory sabotaging the abomotans when Belos entered with one of the guards. I hid of course, but I heard everything Eda,” Lilith said. “And I didn’t want any of this to happen, so I had to warn you.”

“Oh and warned her you did,” came another voice from the treeline. Out of the forest, carrying torches was none other than the Golden Guard and a whole party of guards along with him. 

“You,” Lilith growled. She leveled her staff as she faced the guards.

“Well, well, well, Lilith,” the Golden Guard said. “I never once thought of you as a traitor to the Emperor, but then again nothing surprises me anymore. And not only that, but you led me right to the most wanted criminal on the Isles and our newest asset to the coven.”

“You’re a cocky little runt you know that right,” Eda said with a now summoned staff. “Let’s see how cocky you’re going to be after facing the most powerful witches on the isles.”

Eda struck her staff to the ground, summoning a giant flaming owl that went flying towards the guards that started to scatter. Lilith summoned a ring of blue fire that hardened into a giant wall of thick thorns and ice preventing the guards from escaping. Luz watched, frozen as the battle raged.

The Golden guard deflected the flaming owl with a casted shield of his own.

“Whatever you do,” he shouted to the guards. “Capture the seer. We’ll kill these two if we have to, but we need the seer alive.”

“You aren’t going anywhere near her,” Eda growled as she teleported behind the Golden Guard as she swung her staff and bashed him on the head with it. He fell forward, the ground started rumbling beneath their feet as Hooty burst forth from the ground. He grabbed the Golden Guard and flung him like a toy into the other guards as if they were bowling pins. Meanwhile Lilith blasted another guard with an ice blast, freezing him in place. 

“This is too easy,” Luz muttered to herself as she watched the action unfold. “Wait a minute-” before she could say anything further, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her, and started yanking her away from the window. 

“Luz,” King yelled. He pounced on the perpetrator’s leg and attempted to bite it while Luz struggled in their grip. With a grunt, King was kicked away into the wall, knocked unconscious. 

“King!” Luz cried out. She managed to get an arm out of the vicelike grip that held her and tried to elbow the guard in the eye. She was soon dragged out of the house and as the front yard was now full of residual fire, and other spells. Eda and Lilith were still battling with the Golden Guard who regained his footing. 

“Eda!” Luz struggled against the guard’s grip one more time. “Help!”

Eda whipped around and locked her eyes on Luz. 

“Lilith, Hooty, keep Goldie here occupied,” Eda said as she started rushing towards Luz. 

“Take one more step and she’s dead,” the guard holding Luz growled. 

“Oh, you’re not going to kill her,” Eda said. Her eyes started to go black, and her form became more hulking as feathers sprouted from her arms and face. “You need her alive, but I am not going to let you take her.” Luz stopped in her struggling as she stared in shock at the newly transformed beast before her. The beast let out an ear curdling screech as it leapt forward at Luz’s captor. Eda slashed at the guard, cutting deep into his arm. He recoiled in pain and dropped Luz to the ground. 

“Luz, run!” Eda screeched as she turned her attention back towards the guard. Luz scrambled to her feet and took off towards the treeline.

“Oh not so fast,” The Golden Guard shouted. He teleported in front of Luz and out of instinct and reflex, she punched him in the jaw, sending his mask flying off his face. The Golden Guard stumbled back from the impact and then regarded Luz with a smirk. 

“Well, you’re a feisty one,” The Golden Guard said. “Too bad you couldn’t come with us peacefully, but luckily for you the Emperor wants you alive.” 

“I’m not going with you anywhere,” Luz shouted as she lit up a fire glyph and threw it at the Golden Guard, who dodged it with ease.

“Temper temper,” the Golden Guard. “I’d watch that if I were you, as Emperor Belos shows no mercy.” With a wave of his staff, Luz was bound with ropes that she struggled against. “Alright, now to cart you off.”

Before he could take another step, a large screeching grey blur knocked him down and Eda was on top of him. She was biting through his armor as he struggled to get away from the beast. 

“Eda, look out!” Luz called out as the Golden Guard lifted his staff that glowed red with energy. 

Eda slashed the staff out of his hands, as it rolled away from the Golden Guard. She had him pinned against a rock. She raised a clawed hand ready to slash his face, when in a sudden flash of energy from one of the other guards, Eda fell back with a pained screech. The Golden Guard stepped away and collected his staff. Eda was standing between him and Luz, panting as she faced down the Golden Guard. He readied his staff, a burst of energy charging at the end, and aimed it directly at Eda.

“Enough!” A shout followed by a flash of blue fire collided with the Golden Guard. The spell discharged, hitting Eda in the shoulder, and she let out another screech of pain.

“Eda!” Luz struggled to get up, but the rope kept her in place. 

Lilith aimed another blast at the Golden Guard, and hit him directly in the chest. He flew back and crashed against a tree with a sickening crack. He slid down the trunk and spit out blood that was trickling from his mouth. Lilith glowered at him, staff armed at the ready and pointing directly at his chest. He gave her a smirk.

“You chose the wrong side, Lilith,” he said. “Now, you’re going to have to suffer the consequences.” He grabbed his staff and in a flash of red, he was gone.

Lilith lowered her staff and she turned to face Luz.

“Are you alright?” she said as she cast the spell to undo the ropes. Luz didn’t answer as she scrambled to her feet and rushed towards Eda. The Owl Beast was panting heavily, and stared at the ground, legs shaking as blood dripped from an enormous gash on her side.

“Eda?” Luz said as she stood in front of the beast. Eda raised her head, her eyes were glassy and had a far away look in them. “Eda?!” Lilith rushed to Luz’s side. And with a grunt, the Beast collapsed.

“Eda!”

Chapter Text

Chapter Fourteen

Death

Emperor Belos stood on the edge of his balcony, the wind making the ash and dust of the surrounding area flutter like dark butterflies. He took a deep breath and gripped the edge of the coarse stone. He let out a low growl as he looked out towards the horizon.

“Sir, the human seer remains uncaptured and now our best soldiers are in the healing ward. And the Solstice is only a couple days away,” Kikimora, a little red imp, said. 

“We are going to attack anyway,” Belos said.

“We’re what?” Kikimora said, eyes wide with shock.

“We’re going to attack anyway,” Belos said. “With or without the human seer, we still have a massive army. And knowing the Isle of Humans, they’ll also be following that prophecy as well, so we’re going to make the first move.” He straightened up and turned to Kikimora. “We need to be prepared, we’ve tried settling things peacefully between them. But they refuse to listen to reason, so they leave us no choice. It’s for their own benefit that they stop using wild magic.”

“All the preparations are ready, sir,” Kikimora said with a bow.

“Good,” Belos said. He turned and started walking into his chambers. “Human seer or no, we’re going to win this war. It’s in the prophecy after all.”

Luz jolted awake from her place on the couch. She could feel the cold sweat dripping down her back, as she panted for breath. It was just a nightmare, she thought.

“Hey,” came a soft voice from Luz’s right. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Luz turned her head and saw Amity crouching next to her on the floor. She reached a hand up and ran a hand through Luz’s messy hair. 

“Amity?” Luz regarded the witch. “When did you get here?”

“I came by with Willow and Gus this morning,” Amity said. “We were kind of shocked to see Lilith here, but she explained to us what happened. Willow and Gus are currently helping her with Eda.”

At the mention of Eda’s name, the memories of the night before came flooding back. Luz felt tears at the edge of her eyes, and she felt her chest tighten as if she couldn't breathe.

"Luz, look at me." Amity got up from her spot on the floor and sat down next to Luz.

Luz’s vision was blurry, as the tears streamed down her face. Amity reached out and cupped her cheek. Luz leaned into the touch and placed her hand on top of Amity’s. When Luz looked into Amity’s concerned eyes, she only cried harder. She clutched Amity’s hand like a lifeline. 

"It's my fault, Amity," Luz choked out. "Eda's dying, and it's all my fault." 

"Luz, listen to me." Amity reached out with her other hand and started wiping away Luz’s tears. "None of this was your fault. Eda cares about you so much and if she didn’t, she wouldn't have risked her life to keep you safe."

"Yeah, but-" Luz started to say when Amity placed a finger over her lips.

"No, buts," Amity said. She brushed the hair out of Luz’s face and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Now, do you want to go upstairs to check on Eda? Or if you're not ready for that, we can stay down here."

Luz was silent for a few moments. She glanced up towards the stairs as she thought. Every fiber of her being wanted to rush up there and see if Eda was alright, but she wasn't sure if she could handle seeing her mentor in such a state. She took a shaky breath and turned back to Amity. Luz looked down at their intertwined hands and rubbed her thumb over Amity’s knuckles. 

"We can go see Eda," Luz said. "But can you stay with me? I don’t want to go alone." It was childish, Luz thought. She couldn't even see her own mentor without feeling like a scared little kid.

"Of course, I'll stay by your side as long as you need me to," Amity said. She gave Luz’s hand a reassuring squeeze before they stood up and made their way up the stairs. 

When they got to Eda’s door, Luz could hear muffled talking from the other side. Luz reached up to push open the door, but stopped. 

"It's okay," Amity whispered. Luz gave her a grateful smile before reaching a shaky hand up to open the door again. With a gulp, she cracked the door open. Lilith, King, Willow and Gus were standing over the edge of Eda’s nest. Hooty was stretched through the window. Luz couldn’t see the hulky form of the Owl Beast.

"Thank you for finding those plants, Hooty," Lilith said. "And thank you two for helping me with the healing potion."

"What about me?" King said. "I helped too." 

"Yes you did," Lilith bent down and gave him a pat on the head. Lilith turned to see Luz and Amity standing in the doorway. “Oh, you’re awake.”

“Luz, we were so worried about you,” Willow said as she and Gus ran up to her and enveloped her into a hug.

“You were out like a light,” Gus said. “We had to pull King off you because he wouldn’t stop bapping your face.” 

“Hey, King wants hugs too,” King shouted as he scrambled between Willow and Gus and grabbed Luz’s leg. “And that boy is lying, Luz. I wouldn’t do that to my boo boo buddy.”

Luz let out a quiet chuckle at the little demon’s words. She met eyes with Lilith, who stood by Eda’s nest. She exchanged a look with her friends and they parted ways. With a glance back at Amity, she let go of her hand and Luz walked up to the edge of Eda’s nest. 

“She’s resting now,” Lilith said. “However, she’ll make a full recovery. The gash on her side wasn’t as bad as we thought, but the curse took a lot out of her. If King hadn’t provided her elixir, she wouldn’t have been able to transform back.”

Luz peered over the edge and saw a peacefully snoring Eda. Luz noticed the heavy bandages that were wrapped around Eda’s torso and shoulder. Luz also noticed that her nails were still clawlike and there were tiny protofeathers that still sprouted from her arms.

“She didn’t fully transform all the way back, did she?” Luz looked up at Lilith who turned away. 

“No,” Lilith said. “Not all the way. I know it happens with werewolves sometimes, especially in cases where the person is seriously ill or injured. A little bit of their beast form remains as it helps combat the injuries or illness.” 

Luz took one last look at Eda’s sleeping form, before she stepped away. Without another word, Luz stepped out of the room and went downstairs. Amity, Gus, Willow, and King followed her down. Luz sat down on the couch and stared at her feet. She couldn’t shake the image of Eda helpless like a newborn out of her head. She felt Amity’s familiar warmth settle next to her and she felt her rubbing soothing circles into her back.

“Luz, Eda is going to be alright,” Willow said. 

“Yeah, we helped Lilith make a powerful healing potion, so she’ll be up and going in no time,” Gus said. 

“I know, but,” Luz trailed off. She wrapped her arms around herself. 

King jumped up onto her lap and she regarded his gold eyes that were filled with concern.

“It’s just hard seeing her so vulnerable and helpless,” Luz said. “She’s one of the strongest witches I know.”

“Eda is a tough old bird,” King said. “That woman has survived worse things. She’ll pull through this.”

They sat in silence for a few moments when there was a tap on the window. It was the albatross from a few weeks prior. In its beak was a letter.

Mom, Luz thought. She scrambled up from the couch and opened the window, the albatross hopping in and dropping the letter before it flew back out.

“What’s that, Luz?” Willow asked, but the question fell on deaf ears. 

Luz looked at the envelope in her hand. Her hands felt shaky as she ran a finger over the wax seal. Amity walked up to her side and rested a hand on Luz’s shoulder. Luz looked up and met Amity’s eyes. Luz gave her a grateful smile as there was an unspoken agreement between them. Luz broke the seal and took the letter out and began to read. 

Dear Luz, 

I hope this letter finds you, wherever you are. I know how much you wanted to have a normal life and as much as I wanted you to have that life, fate had other plans for you. You are the sun, cariño. You are going to do great things, mija. Find that inner strength and when it’s safe enough for you, shine bright like you never have before. I can’t help you while you’re over there, but I know you’ll have friends that will. I will be waiting for you, when it’s safe. I know you’re in good hands with Eda. You’re always in my thoughts and prayers, Luz. You’ll always be in my heart.  

Love,

Mama

Luz read and reread the letter over and over again. She sniffed as she wiped away a tear. She looked over at Amity, a question in her eyes. Luz didn’t say anything as she wrapped Amity up in a hug and burrowed her face into her shoulder. She felt Amity return the hug. Gus and Willow joined in on the hug and as they stood there a thought occurred to Luz.

“The sun,” Luz said. 

“What?” Amity said. She pulled back and tilted her head, and an eyebrow raised.

“The sun. Guys, the prophecy,” Luz stepped out of their embrace and started pacing the floor. “The sun… is me. It was me the whole time. But, oh no.” She turned to them as she felt the blood drain from her face.

“The prophecy, it said something about the longest day, right?” Amity said.

“The solstice is in a couple days,” Willow said. 

“That means?” Gus said before his eyes widened with realization. “Oh. Oh shit.”

“Belos is going to attack in a few days,” Luz said. She looked down at the letter in her hand. Another letter sent to her mom wouldn’t make it there in time. She cursed at herself internally. 

“What are we going to do?” Gus asked. “We can’t stop an entire army by ourselves. Heck there’s probably ships on the way over to the Isle of Humans right now.” 

“We probably can’t stop the army, but we can stop Belos,” Luz turned to the group.

“Luz, I admire your tenacity but we can’t just break into the castle,” Willow said. “It’s one of the most guarded places on the entire island.”

“Willow has a point,” Amity said. “And what if we got caught? And if we did defeat Belos, we could be locked up for treason.”

“I know that, but I can’t just stand by and let my home get destroyed.” Luz clenched her hands into fists. The whole group was silent as they each exchanged guilty glances at Luz’s words.

“I’ll help you,” came Lilith’s voice from the stairway. Everyone turned to her, flabbergasted.

“You want to help me?” Luz said. Huh, and here I thought she was the last person to help me, she thought.

“Yes. Even though most of the higher officials in the Emperor’s Coven were super loyal to the emperor, most of the lower ranking members were against the idea of attacking the Isle of Humans. But of course since they were under the emperor’s command, they still had to carry out his orders. Besides, the head of the Bard Coven wasn’t thrilled with the idea either.”

“So, what are you saying?” Luz said. 

“What I’m saying is that when the army is sent out to attack the Isle of Humans, we strike against the emperor. With a little help from a special group called the Bards Against the Throne of course,” Lilith said. 

“If that’s the case, we’ll join too,” Willow said. 

“Agreed, we need all the help we can get,” Gus said.

Luz turned to Amity who was still quiet.

“What about you, Amity?” Luz asked.

Amity stepped forward, taking Luz’s hand in her own. “I told you that I would always stand by your side, no matter what. I’ll always be by your side, even in this.”

“I’ll join in too,” King piped in. “Then all the Isles will fear me as I command my army.”

“I always wanted to be a part of something, hoot!” Hooty screeched from the door.

“Well, now that that’s settled, we need to arrange a meeting with them,” Lilith said. 

“What about Eda?” Luz asked. 

“You can stay here and watch over her if you wish,” Lilith said. “I’ll go out and find our group of vigilante bards.”

“I know you might have the right intentions, Lilith, but I still have a hard time trusting you,” Luz said. 

“Very well,” Lilith said. “Your two friends can accompany me as well if you wish. They were a great help in getting the ingredients for the healing potion for Edalyn.”

“Don’t worry, Luz if she makes one wrong move, I’ll feed her to my plants,” Willow said. “I’m sure they would love the taste of a traitor.”

“Thanks guys,” Luz said. However she still felt an uncomfortable shiver run down her spine at Willow’s last words. 

With that the trio headed out the door, leaving Luz, Amity, King and Hooty behind.