Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Across the vast infinites of the multiverse, it was quite common for various versions of the Boiling Isles to be visited by a young Dominican-American girl by the name of Luz Noceda. The vast majority of the time, Luz would be a simple human girl who would get caught up in the weirdness of the Isles (and usually come to love it). Sometimes, however, whether by birth or circumstance, the Luz who visits the Isles would be ... different. Something a little more (or perhaps less) than human.

Such as the particular variant of Luz Noceda that is currently listening to the familiar woes of a group of familiar prisoners locked up in the Conformatorium for the horrible crimes of writing fanfiction (something Luz herself was guilty of), eating one's own eyeballs (gross, but didn't seem to be actually hurting the guy), and being a conspiracy theorist (which Luz thought should probably be treated with therapy or medication, not hard time). So, like most Luz Nocedas across the multiverse, this one moved to the convenient lever to open the cell doors and let the prisoners out.

But, unlike most Luz Nocedas, this one was able to begin moving the lever upwards. But then a gravelly voice called out, "I can hear you."

"Forget about us, girlie," the female prisoner said. "Get out of here before Warden Wrath sees you."

Luz paused for a moment, but the sound of heavy footsteps stomping closer made up her mind for her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, before grabbing King and running to a corner and scrunching into it, almost seeming to blend into the shadows. The pair watched as a massive demon wearing a version of the Emperor's Coven mask with the eyes sewn shut ranted a bit about Eda and then grabbed the tiny conspiracy theorist, saying something about "making an example" of them before stomping off again. Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Luz exited the corner and walked back over to the female prisoner. The human reached again for the lever, but the downcast, defeated expression of the two remaining prisoners stopped her short.

"Just go, kid. We belong here."

Luz remained pensive when she met up with Eda. The older witch's comment about how the Conformatorium housed those who didn't fit into the rigid structure decreed by something called "The Emperor's Coven" made Luz recall the pamphlet for the camp her mami was going to send her to.

With great power must come great responsibility.

With those words bouncing around in her head, the girl found herself before the barrier that supposedly held King's crown. Taking a deep breath, Luz stepped forward...

And felt absolutely no resistance when she crossed through.

Blinking, Luz quickly saw the mysterious "Crown of Power" the little demon sought at the top of a tall tower of seemingly random junk.

"At least I don't need to climb all that," she said to herself, taking stock of the rickety pile. "Wait a minute..."

With a flick of her wrist a thin stream of spider silk shot towards the crown. Giving it a yank, the crown sailed down into her waiting hands, dislodging a couple of small items from the top, including a stuffed bunny that fell outside the magical barrier.

A closer look at the "crown" confirmed Luz's suspicions, the cheap cardboard and tacky colors very familiar to someone who used to eat religiously at Burger Queen. (In her defense, she was four at the time and their fries were exceptionally good.) When she stepped through the barrier again, King quickly grabbed it and placed it atop his head.

"YES! I can feel my power returning!" He stated, stomping his way over to the stuffed bunny that now lay on the floor. "You there! I will call you Francois, and you shall be the first of my army of darkness!"

"That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it, Eda?" Luz turned towards the taller woman.

"Nope," she replied, a tinge of sadness in her voice. "Look at us, Luz. King and I don't have much in this world, so if a toy crown makes him happy, then it makes me happy. We weirdos need to stick together."

The witch sighed, watching as King ranted about the innumerable, yet nonspecific, horrors he would unleash once returned to his throne. "Well, we better get moving before something horrible happens to us," the witch smirked.

"Too late."

Luz felt more than saw the scythe-hand moving towards Eda, and was already moving before the warden had finished speaking. Catching the taller woman around the waist, Luz threw the both of them to the side, landing with a double "Oof!" on the stone floor a few feet away just in front of King.

"Nice reflexes, kid!" Eda exclaimed as she sat up, while the warden looked, confusedly, between where the two women had been and where they were now. "Now let's skedaddle for real!"

Thus began a short chase between Eda, King and Luz, all seated on Eda's staff, and Warden Wrath, using his arms to swing around the interior of the Conformatorium. As they passed by the cells, Luz leaned over and began throwing the levers, opening the doors. The chase ended when the warden threw a fireball at them, sending the trio tumbling towards the ground and blasting a large hole in the wall.

Luz had landed somewhat more gracefully, and helped her companions back to their feet.

"You're surprisingly strong for a human," Eda commented, glancing suspiciously at Luz. "Pretty quick, too."

"Would you believe healthy eating?" The Latina smiled unconvincingly.

“Eda the Owl Lady.” The warden called out, silhouetted menacingly in the hole he had blown in the Conformatorium wall.

“Damn, no time to talk,” Eda cursed, pulling the door key out of her hair and passing it to Luz. “Time for you to go, kid. This isn’t your fight.”

“But what about you guys?”

King piped up, “Don’t worry about us, we’ve been dodging these dorks for years. We’ll be fine.”

Eda then pushed the teen down onto her staff. “You just concentrate on getting home safe, Luz. Don’t want you getting hurt on my conscience.” She then gave the staff a stiff whack, sending it, and the startled human, skyward.

Luz looked back at the battle below and was reminded of news footage of the Avengers battling Ultron, or the Fantastic Four fighting off whatever alien menace had come to conquer Earth, or…

The X-men liberating some mutants from another slave camp.

“Aw beans.”

Sighing, the latina guided the owl-headed staff down to the ground near the giant hole in the Conformatorium’s wall. The three prisoners she’d met before were standing at the threshold, looking wistfully at the outside but not moving a muscle.

“Hey,” she asked. “Why haven’t you guys escaped? This is the perfect opportunity!”

“The warden will catch us. He always does.”
“We belong here.”
“Self doubt is a pwison fwom which you can nevew escape.”
Those responses, and the looks that accompanied them, crushed the girl’s heart. These people had lost all hope, even the will to escape. They needed someone to set an example, someone to lift their spirits…

They need a hero.

With a sigh, Luz stepped forward and entered the fray.

When Eda had woken up this morning, she couldn’t have predicted that today would have turned out as crazy as it did. Having a human come through her door, raiding the Conformatorium, and now dueling with Warden Wrath himself, one of the more powerful demons of the Emperor's Coven.

The warden was getting ready to fire another one of his annoying mouth fireballs when two thick ropes shot out of nowhere and stuck themselves to the back of his head. Said ropes were tugged and the warden’s head snapped back, sending the attack into the sky. Looking at their origin, the Owl Lady saw the ropes being held by the human, Luz, who was currently attempting to pull the warden over, and making a pretty good showing of it. Until the warden reached back, grabbed the ropes, and pulled, sending the girl flying over his head and towards Eda and King.

Eda moved to try and catch the falling human, but watched in amazement as someone who looked like a normal human girl started to twist in midair and managed to land feet-first on the ground. Not without stumbling a few steps, but at the speed she had been going, any other landing would at least result in several broken bones.

“Hi, Ms. Eda!” the human greeted the stunned witch.

It was King, his eyes wide open, who asked “How did you do that?”

“Well, er…” came the start of a reply, but she was interrupted by Wrath’s booming voice.

“This is disgusting! How dare you throw spider webs at me! Do you know how many germs these things collect!” he raged as he finished cleaning his face with a wet wipe.

He then launched one of his arms towards the three of them, but Luz was already moving, even though she wasn’t looking at the warden. She pushed the Owl Lady away and leaping back out of the way. And when he launched his other arm at her, the human ducked below it before rolling out of the way of a hammer blow and then leaping into the air to dodge a swipe from an arm morphed into a scythe. When she landed, Eda saw the girl thrust her hands out and, from what looked like a simple flick of her wrists, shot several small white globs towards the demon. The globs splattered onto his face, forming what looked to be some fairly thick spider webbing, blinding her foe and gluing his mouth shut. Naturally, the demon’s hands went to his face, but instead of brushing the webs off, they got stuck as well. Confused, and probably unable to breathe, the warden started stumbling around, and managed to bowl over two of his subordinates as the rest tried to calm him down.

“Time to get out of here for real!” Eda grabbed King and Luz, throwing them on Owlbert’s staff and flying away from the prison.

The trio trudged back into the Owl House weary and bruised from the battle with Warden Wrath. Luz watched as King marched in, clutching the cardboard crown, now torn and crumpled from the escape from the Conformatorium, and his new ‘minion’, Francois.

“Yes! Ha ha ha! Yes!” He cackled, leaping onto the living room table. “Mission successful!”

“Sooooo…” Luz shuffled nervously, studiously avoiding Eda’s gaze. “I guess you’re gonna send me back to the human realm now?” A hopeful smile was directed towards the Owl Lady, only to be fiercely denied by the frown on the older witch’s face.

“Sure. Of course,” Eda made to hand the key over to Luz, “as soon as we have a little talk about what happened back there, human.” The hand, and key, were quickly retracted. “I may not be an expert on human studies, but last time I checked, they couldn’t shoot gobs of webbing from their arms or dodge around as quickly as you did. So spill.”

Realistically Luz knew that she had several ways she could grab the key even from the height the witch held it at. Possibly before Eda could react. But the girl was tired, and the witch’s words from earlier about ‘weirdos needing to stick together’ still rang in her mind.

Sighing, the Latina sat down on the couch and began explaining.

“About eight years ago, my papi and I were in a real bad car crash.” She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, and her gaze started drifting down to the floor in the vain hope the other two in the room wouldn’t see her crying. “He … didn’t make it. And I… I was injured. Badly. So badly that I needed blood transfusions, a lot of them. So many that the hospital had to send out to other hospitals to have some flown in. Apparently some of the blood that had been donated was from a superhero, one of the Spider-people, because when I woke up a few days later not only was I fully healed, I could also do this.” She raised an arm up, firing a hair-thin webline into the ceiling, then pulling herself upside down so that she was hanging on said webline by her feet.

With her new perspective, she saw that not only had King and Eda sat down, entranced by her story, but the front door was open, allowing Hooty to listen in and the little owl from Eda’s staff was now resting on her shoulder, attempting to twist its head to make sense of the upside-down human. It was King who spoke up first.

“Neat! But also kind of disturbing.”

Eda, however, was fixated on something else. “Wait, wait, wait. Soo-pore-hee-rows? Spider people? What are you talking about, girly? Last I checked, Earth didn’t have any of that stuff, except in silly stories that I would dig out of the trash. Though it has been a while since I needed to go myself through the door. Usually I just send Owlbert here.” She indicated

Luz, still upside-down, dug into a pocket and pulled out her phone. “It really only started about the same year I was born when a group of people that later became known as the Fantastic Four went up into space…” The other residents of the room became enraptured as the latina girl weaved a tale of mighty heroes pulled from icebergs, of gods battling horrors from the depths of space, of rampaging rage-fueled Hulks, of Avengers and Defenders and X-men, many of the stories supplemented by the pictures she pulled up. The oddness of her position was forgotten and she regaled them with stories of desperate battles against mad titans or insane automatons or genocidal mutants. Late afternoon had passed into night by the time she had finished, showing them pictures of the so-called “Spider-people” (which, to King’s consternation, were NOT human-sized spiders but just humans with weird spider powers).

A few moments later Eda spoke up, “Wow, kid, that’s, uh, that’s pretty heavy.” She stood up and produced the key again, proffering it to Luz as the girl hopped down from her line and turned rightside-up in one smooth motion (though she did wobble a bit when she stood up fully, Eda noticed). “You’re probably just aching to go back home and do some real hero work, aintcha?”

A frown and a sigh was not the reaction the Owl Lady expected.

“That’s the problem,” the girl said. “I’m not a hero. Not yet, anyway. When Owlbert there stole my book, I was waiting for the bus that would take me to ‘Avengers Academy’ for a sort of summer camp for super powered kids like me, where we’d learn how to control our powers.”

The human girl’s pessimistic expression and tone of voice reminded Eda of her attitude during her school years, but she tried to keep the grimace off her face. “So, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is that my powers aren’t really all that special. You saw how many Spider-Men, Spider-Girls, Spider-Thises and -Thatses there are on my world. I’d just be another arachnid-themed superhero who can shoot webs and punch people good. Sure, some people would be thrilled to get any kind of superpower. But, for me, well… What’s the point of having special powers that aren’t so special?” The girl flopped back on the couch and stared up at the Divine Owl decorating the ceiling.

“Too bad you can’t do magic like a witch,” King took time out from fixing his crown to pipe up. “That’s something no human can do. Can they?”

“Yeah,” came the reply as the girl got up. Eda winced as the girl threw some more of that spider silk around, snagging her bag and the book that had started this whole mess (and, incidentally, making a mess that Eda would have to clean up tomorrow since King always seemed to disappear whenever the cleaning supplies came out).

Luz paused, taking a look at her reflection in the mirror. Something seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Glancing down at her book, she noticed that the scene in the mirror, well, mirrored the scene on the cover with Eda as Grolana the Grumpy (complete with adorable familiar), King as Lenoeni the Adora-demon, and…

her as Azura the Good Witch.

“Yeah!” She turned around suddenly, smiling again. “That’s something that no human can do. But what if I learned to do so? I’d be the first person with both spider-powers and magic!”

“Sorry to burst your bubble kid,” Eda replied. “But humans can’t learn witch magic. It’s impossible.”

“Maybe because they haven’t tried it yet,” the human winked at Eda. “Besides, if you take me as your apprentice, I’ll help out with cleaning and stuff. I can even reach those spots on the ceiling that you could never get clean.” Her smile now was practically luminescent.

“Ooh! She could reach things up high without having to get a ladder!” King was practically vibrating with excitement now.

The Owl Lady couldn’t help but smile now with both King and Luz now infectiously excited. Picking up the little demon, Eda said, “Alright, you convinced me. But what about your mom?”

“Eh, she wanted me to learn how to use my powers better and learn some new skills,” the human shrugged. “With the almost constant danger I’d be in while here I’d surely learn that!”

“Fine by me! But you’re cleaning up these spiderwebs tomorrow.”

Luz blinked. “Oh, those?” She waved off Eda’s concerns, “those’ll disintegrate by morning. Completely biodegradable.”

Luz had rolled out her sleeping bag on the floor of the attic space Eda had set aside for her and was setting out a few of the keepsakes she was going to take with her to the academy on the floor when she heard a tiny knock on the door. She opened it to find King standing there, holding Francois. “Hey, your human sleep cocoon looks comfy,” came the tired demon’s voice.

Luz couldn’t help but smile. “Sure, bud, come in.” She lay down while King padded around at the foot of her bag, looking for that one spot that was surely more comfy than all the others. She was just about to turn off the light when a ping sounded from her phone.

Mami:
How are things at camp, miha?

She panicked for a moment, wondering what to write, when her eyes fell on King, snoozing soundly by her feet.

Luz:
I think I’m gonna like it here.

With that sent, she leaned over and doused the lantern, allowing the calming darkness of the night to enter the room and gently lull her to sleep.

Any minute now, she’d be fast asleep.

Any minute now…

Aaaaaany minute now.

Any
Minute
Now!

Luz had been afraid this would happen. Ever since she was little, she’d had trouble getting to sleep in new places. And after she’d gotten her spider powers, one of the few ways she’d been able to get to sleep when she was having issues was to find somewhere up high and off the ground to rest in (Luz’s mother had purchased a bunk bed for her after one too many mornings finding her curled up in a ceiling corner of her room and being afraid her baby would fall and her herself). But unless she wanted to sleep on the roof (most likely a bad idea) or in that weird tower out back (an even worse one), the attic was the highest point in the Owl House.

Unless…

Luz had tossed and turned during her attempts to fall asleep, and was now staring up at the very high ceiling of the attic.

Maybe… But mami’s right. There’s a chance I could fall during the night, and falling on this floor would probably hurt a lot more than falling on my bed back home.

She frowned in thought for a moment. Then an idea struck her.

Back home I would help mami tie up something for storage but didn’t have any rope handy, so maybe…

Turning the lantern on low so she could have more light than the moon provided but wouldn’t wake King up, the spider-powered girl held out one wrist and concentrated for a moment. Then a fairly thick string of webbing shot out, and she quickly flicked her wrist to the side so that both ends of the web-rope were anchored to two different walls. Silently climbing up, she gave it a quick tug to make sure it was secure before sitting on it. Her tests coming up positive, Luz worked quickly, firing off a dozen more of the ropes, giving her a nice little web to rest in. As she lay down, she was surprised at how quickly sleep started to overtake her, whether it was the height, the exertion, or the fact that the moving walls made the web sway slightly.

Nope. Not gonna think about that right now.

She yawned, then, remembering the lamp down below, dropped down on one of her thin climbing lines to turn it off when her brown eyes met Eda’s golden ones as the witch stood in the doorway.

“Well, I was going to wish you goodnight, kid…” For one of the few times in her life, words had failed the Owl Lady, so she just continued to stare bewilderedly at her new apprentice as the human hung upside down from the giant web that she had just made.

“Oh, I was having trouble sleeping and thought that having something high off the ground would help me sleep,” the human smiled as she reached to turn the lantern off. “Y’know, like a spider.”

“Is it working?”

“Yep!”

“Well then, I’ll…leave you to it. Goodnight.” And with that, Eda closed the attic door, mumbling something to herself that Luz couldn’t hear.

“Still freaky…” came the half-awake voice of King next to her head.

She turned and gave him an upside-down pat on the head. “Goodnight, King.” Then she flicked off the lantern and, once she had crawled up into her web again, fell fast asleep.

Chapter Text

I’ve missed this, Lilith Clawthorne thought to herself.

Ever since she had joined the upper echelons of the Emperor’s Coven, she had become less and less involved with the law enforcement portions of her job. Sure, there was still paperwork and incident reports to review, but becoming the Coven Head meant she no longer even had the small satisfaction of handing out assignments and postings to the individual officers and keeping abreast of their investigations. Nowadays only the most high profile cases came across her desk, and even then it was more often an after-action report.

So when coven guards had requested her presence to look over some irregularities in the capture of notorious puppeteer demon Adaghast the “Wizard” (whatever that was), she had been more than willing to at least pay a visit to the scene, if only to find out what these “irregularities” were.

She was met outside the abandoned, crumbling estate that Adaghast had apparently been using as a starting point for his schemes by Steve, a former scout and one of her aides when she’d been head of the Bonesborough division of the coven.

“Coven Head, it is good to see you again.” The man snapped off a smart salute.

“You as well, Steve.” She allowed an all too rare genuine smile to grace her lips before smothering it under the placid disinterest of her Coven Head persona. “Your report mentioned that something was … odd when you found the criminal?”

“Of course, Coven Head.” He motioned her into the estate. “I think it's best if you see for yourself.”

She nodded and made her way inside. It was even more run down inside, covered with spider webs, including an enormous one in one of the corners. She saw a dozen or so coven officers, most of them gathering up the maps the criminal demon used to lure children into his trap. But some, she saw, were up on ladders and looked to be dusting for prints.

“Over here, Head Lilith,” Steve called from the corner near the gigantic spider web. Once Lilith got closer, she suppressed a grimace as she saw that whatever poor thing had been trapped in the web was still alive.

Steve kept speaking. “Some coven scouts were searching various abandoned buildings in and around the city looking for Adaghast’s hideout. They were about to write this one off when they noticed, well, this,” he indicated the wriggling web, “and stepped inside to check it out. When they opened it…” Steve made a small spell circle and the webs parted to reveal Adaghast, his eyes wide with terror.

“And why are you keeping him trapped in this web?” Lilith asked, both disgusted and disturbed by the demon’s predicament. Adaghast is a powerful illusionist, able to maintain dozens of illusions that could cover entire towns! There are only a few witches capable of overcoming those, and most of the work for the Emperor's Coven.

Steve shrugged, “It’s more effective at keeping him restrained than anything else we could do, and we don’t have to detail an officer to keep watch over him until the Conformatorium transport gets here.”

While Lilith wasn’t happy with Steve’s response, she didn’t allow her displeasure to show. Instead, she merely asked, “Was it a beast or demon who did this? I’m not aware of any witch spells that can do…this.”

“That’s the really weird thing,” Steve said. “We don’t know who, or what, did this to him. So far, none of the tests we’ve done on the webs have pointed to any sort of beast or demon that we know of. In fact, it doesn’t have any magical signature at all.”

Lilith started, her mask slipping for a second as she let her surprise show. “No magical signature at all? That’s … impossible!” Everything on the Isles, from the creatures to the people to the objects, had some sort of magical signature. The only things that didn’t were things from the human realm that popped up occasionally, mostly at her sister’s stand. And, from what little Lilith knew, nothing in the human realm could do all this.

“The only real clue we have is that who- or whatever did this left hand and shoe impressions on the walls, floor, ceiling, balustrades… Well, every surface, really. And not from just hanging there. From our preliminary analysis of the stride and impact patterns, whatever did this was able to not only run on the walls, but jump between them.”

Taking a second to compose herself, Lilith looked around the room, doing some quick mental calculations of the distances involved. If something strong enough to leap nearly 50 feet, move freely, conjure this amount of webbing, and overcome an illusionist of Adaghast’s skill, is loose in Bonesborough…

“Keep me apprised of any further findings on this situation. Whatever captured Adaghast may be far more dangerous than we realize.”

Today, Willow Park was very grateful that her dads had pushed her to start working out every morning. While abomination carts were enchanted to help mitigate the weight of the cauldron and the goo therein, adding 100+ lbs. of human to the equation meant that her cart was now much heavier than usual.

“Willow, you would not believe; humans!” The voice of her best friend, Augustus Porter, called out to her. She turned around and saw he was reading some sort of human magazine called Modern Teen.

“Humans? I haven’t seen any humans!” Wow. Way to keep it cool, Willow.

“What the heck is a ‘X geh-nee’’, and why do I need to know if I have one?” Augustus kept talking, and Willow breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t noticed, or cared about, her little slip up.

“It’s actually called the X-gene, and it's what gives mutants their powers,” came the voice from within her abomination cauldron. Willow fervently hoped that Augustus hadn’t heard that, but the way the boy’s curious gaze turned to her cart dashed that hope to pieces.

With a sigh, Willow quickly checked around to make sure that nobody was paying any attention to her before turning back to her friend. “Alright, Augustus, I’m going to show you something, but I need you to be cool about it.” After receiving his (misspoken) affirmative, Willow turned back to her cauldron. “Abomination, rise!”

And up popped Luz the Human, getting some pretty impressive height for someone who was covered in goo and had been crouching for the past 20 minutes before landing with her feet perched perfectly on the rim of the cauldron. “Ta-da! I’m an abomination!”

“Luz! Abominations don’t act like that!” Willow gently admonished before turning back to a stunned Augustus. Seeing that he was focusing on drinking in every detail of the real life human before him, she felt the newcomer deserved an explanation. “Most witches wouldn’t recognize a human, but Augustus is an expert,” she mock-whispered to the other girl.

“Oh! I knew an ‘Augustus’ in the Human Realm. We called him ‘Gus’.”

If possible, Augustus’s eyes grew even wider. “Gus? Me? Human nickname? Gus. Call me it! Wow! Gus!”

They were interrupted by the bell screaming. The newly minted Gus seemed the most disappointed. “Aw man! I gotta get to class. See you two at break?”

“Sure!” Willow replied before turning back to the teen who was still perched on the cauldron. “Back into the darkness you go.”

With a quick hop, the human quickly resumed her sitting position with only a small splash. Willow marveled at the taller girl’s agility for a moment before replacing the lid and making her way to class.

Amity Blight was, in a word, pissed mildly irritated.

The day had gone steadily downhill since meeting poor Half-a-Witch Willow on the way to school. First, the floating enchantment on her cart had worn out, meaning she’d had to push her abomination cauldron all the way to Hexside. Then, during Abominations class she was upstaged by Willow of all witches, who had managed to create a weirdly cute very strange looking abomination in the thirty minutes since they’d met in the forest. And, to top it off, Professor Addams had, after class was over, given her “Top Student” badge to Willow!

Now, seated in the cafeteria, Amity glanced over and noticed Willow eating lunch with her friend Agustulus (or whatever his name was), her abomination cauldron by the table. But, more importantly, she saw Willow’s abomination pop up from the cauldron and grab part of Augustine’s sandwich. Now that was definitely unusual. As such, Amity decided to confront Willow investigate this irregularity.

Leaping jumping gracefully onto Willow’s table, she yelled announced, “I saw that!” Lifting Willow’s abomination out, Amity finally got a good look at it. Or rather, her. She could clearly see the tanned skin under the abomination goo, brown eyes, and strange, round ears. “What are you!” She started to shake the thing, hoping that the abomination goo would come off to reveal whatever creature was underneath.

“Amity Blight!”

The green-haired witch froze, then turned slowly, seeing Professor Addams glaring at her from the arms of his personal abomination. “I thought I’d detected a twinge of jealousy, but I honestly thought better of you.”

“B-but…”

“No buts! Report to Principal Bump’s office. Now!”

Amity huffed, but got down off the table, dutifully marching off. A Blight never disrespected her teachers. And, perhaps, talking to Principal Bump could be a good thing.

Luz was immensely grateful that Willow’s (and Gus’s) free period was immediately after lunch. Despite her preference for dark spaces, even she had to admit that spending all day in the cramped, lightless confines of Willow’s abomination cauldron was unpleasant. So much so that, as soon as the blue haired witch lifted the lid on the cauldron Luz vaulted out of the container, landing about 10 feet away and startling her two new friends.

“Whew! I’m a sweaty little abomination!” The Latina immediately began to stretch and shake her limbs out. She then turned back to the two witches. “Well I’d say that today has been a success, so far! C’mon! Up top!” A short introduction to the concept of a ‘high five’ followed (which Gus absolutely adored) before Luz turned to Willow, who was staring curiously at the taller teen.

“Hey, Luz, are all humans as athletic as you are?” The dark haired witch asked, making Gus’s eyes brighten at the chance to learn more about humans.

“Ummmm, the answer to that is probably gonna take more time than we have right now. How about we go back to where I’m staying after school? If your parents let you, that is.”

Gus was in the middle enthusiastically telling her that his dad would totally let him go (despite not knowing where they were going in the first place) when her Spider Sense started going off. She hastily shushed the two witches, startling them, and resumed the role of the placid, mindless abomination seconds before the door opened and let two people in.

“Good afternoon, students. Amity here was telling me all about your remarkable improvement in Abomination Magic, Willow. Would you allow me to inspect it?” A pleasant male voice spoke from behind Luz. She spared a glance at Willow, who meekly nodded, eyes wide with worry and fear.

“O-of course, Principal Bump.”

“Abomination! Turn around!” the voice, Bump, commanded, and Luz turned around slowly, finally getting a look at the visitors. Amity stood there, smirking like she’d solved the murder mystery and was about to accuse the killer in front of everyone. The man, however, was much more interesting at the moment. He was older than Eda, most likely, though by how much she couldn’t say because of magic. His black robe was more reminiscent of an old-timey college professor or dean than someone in charge of a secondary school. The weirdest thing was his head, or what was on it. It looked, to Luz at least, that some tiny imp had attempted to swallow the poor man whole but had gotten stuck less than halfway down the face. Was it a parasite? Symbiote (not the gooey black alien kind)? Was the humanoid figure just a corpse that the imp was piloting? Was it just a strange hat? Was…

Stop it, Luz, and focus! You can ask Willow and Gus about it later.

Thankfully the man assisted her in focusing by grabbing her face and examining her closely. She didn’t have to have psychic power to know that his facial expressions, tongue clicks and thoughtful noises meant he was, at the very least, suspicious of her. Hopefully she could do something to convince him.

“Abomination, lie,” he commanded again.

Luz froze for a second, unsure of why Bump wanted her to start lying, but shrugged internally before starting to speak. “Cryptocurrency is definitely not a scam. The sky is green. I have not been using my superpowers to keep myself from being caught…”

“Oh, no, no, no,” he interrupted, “How curious that it got the command wrong. I meant ‘lie down’.” He gestured to one of the tables nearby.

Despite her Spider Sense screaming at her, Luz dutifully moved over to the table and stiffly lay down. The other four crowded around her, Amity smugly, Willow and Gus nervously, and Bump serenely.

However, Luz knew that the jig was up the second the principal started moving to pull something out from one of his sleeves. She leapt away from the group, surprising the gathered witches and causing Bump to drop the very nasty looking dagger he had concealed in his robes. A quick THWIP! webbed the dagger to the floor. All four witches stared in confusion at her as she crouched on the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Bump was the first to react, “An intruder! Abominations, seize!” With a twirl of his fingers, the three other cauldrons popped open as the goo inside formed into vaguely humanoid shapes once again. Two of them began to reach for Luz, but the third started moving towards...

“Willow!” In a flash Luz had leapt down and was scooping up the terrified witch before bolting out the still open door and vaulting over the second story railings.

Once down on the first floor, Luz let Willow stand on her own again before pulling her behind a pillar. “You okay, Willow? Things were getting kinda hectic up there and I’m not sure if this Principal Bump would be open to hearing us out, at least right now.”

Willow, still shaken from their flight from the classroom, was busy trying to catch her breath. “You-What-We-And then-How?”

“Like I said before Bump and Amity came in, we can talk about that after school. But right now we should probably get out of here, maybe give Bump a chance to cool down? We can try to talk to him tomo-” And once again she was cut off as the tingling sensation of her Spider Sense alerted her to something. She whipped around and saw glowing red lines race down the walls, forming runes and spell circles.

“Oh no! Principal Bump’s locking down the school!” She heard Willow cry out from behind her, just as Luz saw what looked like energy barriers beginning to form on the doorways. She grabbed the other girl and raced towards the entryway, only to find it had already been closed off.

“Darn it!” Luz threw a punch at the barrier, only to receive a mild shock as the spell stood firm against her enhanced strength. She then heard the telltale groans of abominations above her, and looked up to see Bump directing the three from the classroom as they dropped down to the second floor with muffled thumps.

“Willow, stay behind me!” A punch, then a kick, splattered the first two abominations, while a flurry of webbing tied the third up. At least for a moment it did, but when your opponents are goo monsters, splattering or tying them up were a lot less effective than they would have been on more solid opponents.

And thus, the two girls were forced onto the defensive against their implacable foes, Luz doing her best to keep the golems’ attention on her by doing as much damage as possible while doing the minimal amount of dodging to keep herself between Willow and the lumbering automatons. Eventually the two were pushed into the center of the school’s lobby, where the latina girl could see that the commotion had summoned virtually every student and teacher into the doors and hallways to get a look at whatever had caused the principal to enact something as drastic as a lockdown.

“Well, so much for keeping a low profile, Willow,” Luz said as she furiously searched for a way to get the two of them out of their current predicament. Deciding that discretion, and finding a place she could have more time to think, was the better part of superheroing, she quickly shot some well-placed webbing into the abominations’ faces, temporarily blinding them. Then she grabbed her witchy friend around the waist and, with a quick “Hang on!”, leapt back up to the second floor.

Quickly ushering the bespectacled girl behind a nearby pillar so she could catch her breath, Luz quickly surveilled their situation. On the other side of the walkway, Amity and Bump stood there, momentarily confused by Luz’s method of ascension, before beginning to hurry over to face the two delinquents in person. Turning back to her friend, Luz asked, “Got any ideas?”

“I-I don’t know!” Willow was obviously trying her best not to freak out, “If I had a plant or something, maybe I could help…”

Luz gave the girl a reassuring smile. “Well, a wise teacher once told me that a witch is resourceful.” She dug into her pockets, coming up with two forgotten pennies, a paper clip, some lint, and the slimy greaseball that Eda had given her this morning, which Willow quickly snatched.

“What can you do with that?” Luz asked, confused at why Willow was so excited. “It’s just a greaseball I dug out of a garbage slug this morning.”

Willow laughed, “It’s not a greaseball, silly. It’s a prickervine seed!”

Drawing a small spell circle, the witch concentrated for a moment before the seed erupted in a deluge of thorny vines. Much like this morning when she had met Willow, the vines grew rapidly, and began to cover the floor, walls, and ceiling. The latina saw Bump push Amity behind him when some of the vines surged toward them, cutting the offending tendrils off with a quick spell. However, he was not fast enough when a tree trunk sized mass of vines rushed towards him, hitting him square in the chest and pinning him to the ceiling of the atrium. Looking down, she saw that the vines had trapped the abominations, at least for a little while.

The blow must have been enough to make the principal lose his concentration, as the red spell lines and the barriers on the doorways all disappeared. Luz was startled when one of the vines gently picked her and Willow up, not even setting her Spider Sense off, and deposited them back down on the first floor. Still reeling from witnessing that incredible display of magic, Willow had to pull her along this time. “C’mon, now’s our chance!”

Snapping out of it, Luz ran alongside Willow towards the front entrance. They were almost there when Amity dropped down from … somewhere (Luz briefly glanced around but couldn’t see anywhere the teen could have dropped from). Though she was scratched, bruised, and had a piece of vine still hanging from her shoulders, Amity looked like she was angrier than she ever had been.

“Hold it you two! You’re not getting out of here until I get my ‘Top Student’ badge back!”

What.

Ignoring Luz’s nonplussed look, Amity made a big spell circle with both hands. “Abominations, attack!”

Now once again under direct control, the gooey golems broke free from their viney imprisonment and lumbered towards the pair. Luz got into (what she hoped was) a fighting stance, ready to fight them off and give Willow a chance to escape, before another vine swept her up and towards the door. Looking down, she saw Willow, eyes glowing green, commanding the vine as the abominations closed in on her.

“Willow!”

“Luz, you’ve got to run!” The witch replied. “They may send me to detention, but you’ll get dissected!”

And with that, Luz was set down outside the school as a wall of vines sealed the entrance to Hexside once again.

King’s little debacle with his ‘apprentice’ had left Eda deep in thought, even after the little guy had gone back inside to, in his words, “contemplate new battle strategies” (read: nap). The witch looked up when she heard someone approach the house, frowning when she saw Luz slouch into view.

“Something wrong, kid?” The Owl Lady asked, hoping that helping her human apprentice would drive off her own funk.

Sad brown eyes turned to her. “Eda, I think I messed up. Badly.” Luz plopped down into the plastic chair next to Eda’s and took an offered glass of lemonache before continuing. “I offered to help someone this morning, but I think I got them into even more trouble than they woulda been if I hadn’t helped them.”

“Got your new school friend in detention?” Eda smirked at the teen’s surprised expression, but let her continue an abridged version of that day’s events. She was about to dispense some of her indisputable wisdom to her protege when the sound of running and someone calling out her apprentice’s name filtered up from the path. Then, a dark blue-haired witchling wearing glasses and the colors of the Abominations Track and a short dark-skinned witchling wearing the light blue of Illusionists came tearing up the path, stopping, out of breath, once they saw the human in the clearing. Calling out her friends’ names, Luz immediately rushed over to them.

“I’m so sorry! I panicked and things just got out of hand and…”

The glasses-wearing one, Eda thought Luz had called her Bilbo, interrupted the apologetic fusillade with a laugh. “No, Luz! Things actually worked out great! Principal Bump saw how good I was with Plant Magic, he immediately transferred me into the Plant Track.” With a twirl and a snap of her fingers Abominations lilac was replaced with Plant green. “And now that the principal’s made it official, my dads will have to accept it.”

Eda got up and put a supportive hand on her pupil’s shoulder. “See, kid, you’re too much of a goody two shoes for things to have gone as bad as you thought they had. Heck, you even helped Four-Eyes here out! Isn’t that what you superheroes are supposed to do?”

This time it was … Goops? Eda wanted to say … who spoke up next. “Superheroes? Luz, what’s she talking about? Is that related to what you wanted to talk to us about?”

The human teen scratched the back of her head, “Oh yeah. I kinda forgot, in all the chaos.” Turning to the older witch, she asked, “Hey Eda, can Gus and Willow stay over for a little bit while I give them the rundown?”

Eda shrugged, “Somehow I doubt these two are gonna destroy my house in an afternoon. Just keep it outside.”

Luz’s entire face lit up as if a light glyph had gone off in her head. “Oh! Before I forget, we should also try and plan out my next trip to Hexside! I promise I’ll be a lot sneakier than I was today.”

“Uh, about that…” Goops started nervously and unfurled a piece of paper he’d been carrying, displaying a rather unflattering shot of Luz, covered in abomination goo. “You’re kinda… banned.”

Eda couldn’t help but laugh. “Ha! That’s my girl!” She took the paper Goops was holding, taking in the giant red text at the top that read ‘Banned!’ “Ah, baby’s first wanted poster.”

She turned to go inside, “You kids stay out here. I’ll go grab some glasses. And put this baby somewhere special.”

Passing through the door, she heard Luz start the little spiel she had given on her first night here. Eda shook her head as the two witchlings outside became increasingly incredulous at Luz’s story. Even if she doesn’t learn a lick of magic, that girl’s gonna turn this whole place upside down.

Not like that would be a bad thing.

A few minutes later she came out, two more glasses floating beside her. And she’d come in at the best part, when Luz was discussing her own powers.

“So, this Spider Sense of yours,” Goops now had a notebook that was already halfway full, “allows you to sense everything around you? Is it some deep connection to a fundamental power that underlies the entire universe, ties together good and evil, and is regulated by microbes?”

Luz and Four-Eyes were silent as they stared at the boy, but Eda was beside herself trying not to laugh. Eventually Luz processed what he’d said.

“Wha…? Huh? No. That’s…” The deep breath that her apprentice took almost made Eda lose what little composure she had after that statement. “It’s kind of like I’m … hyper-aware of everything around me. Some of my senses - touch, hearing, balance, kinesthesis - are so sensitive that I can, for lack of a better term, ‘feel’ everything around me in a pretty wide area. It even allows me to ‘see’ when it’s dark. In fact, without turning around, I can tell that Eda is behind me, is desperately trying not to laugh at Gus’s statement, and is carrying two glasses, one of which has a small chip on the rim.” The two witchlings glanced at Eda, wonder painting their faces, while the older witch looked at the two glasses and saw that, indeed, one of them had a small chip. “Came in handy a few days ago when some weird illusionist demon tried to get me to go on some quest.”

As the two students tried to get Luz to show off her other powers, Eda started thinking. She had never realized the full scope of her new student’s powers and, for the first time, started wondering how she’d go about teaching the human magic.

The sound of a ringing phone brought Camila Noceda out of her midday reverie. Seeing that she didn’t have any fuzzy patients at the moment, she stepped into the breakroom of Gravesfield’s small vet clinic to get some privacy.

“Hello, Miss Noceda?” A warm, fuzzy voice came over the line once she answered. Camila was certain she’d heard it somewhere before.

“Yes?”

“My name is Dr. Henry McCoy. I’m an instructor here at Avenger’s Academy.” Camila’s breath hitched in her throat as the man continued. “And we have some, er, news about your daughter, Luz.”

Now Camila began to panic. “I-is she hurt? Or sick? Or…” She’d known the life of a superhero could be dangerous, but she’d at least thought that Luz would be an adult before getting hurt enough that another hero would be calling.

“Now, that, Ms. Noceda,” Dr. McCoy continued, “is actually a very interesting question. One that we cannot answer. Because the ‘Luz Noceda’ who arrived here is not your daughter.”

Chapter Text

The hunter crept silently towards her prey. Perching directly above him, she prepared to strike unnoticed, preoccupied as he was with prey of his own.

“And here we have the King of Demons battling ferociously with this greatest nemesis, the ducky sock,” Luz narrated, phone camera pointed downwards to focus on the small demon as he ripped apart the offending footwear that had, somehow, gotten stuck around his muzzle.

King confusedly looked around, trying to spot the human, until he remembered to look up. And the moment he saw the super-powered teenager, laid back on the ceiling as if this was supposed to be an everyday occurrence, he let out a startled “Weh!” and jumped backwards, eyes wide and clutching his heart.

“Sorry, King,” the ceiling-bound girl couldn’t help but giggle.

“Stop doing that! It really freaks me out!” King got up off the floor and tore the remains of the sock off.

The sound of the door opening presaged the entrance of a third member to their conversation. “I don’t know,” came the annoyingly high-pitched voice of Hooty, “I found it kinda funny!”

“No one asked you!” King glowered at the house demon.

Jumping down between the two, mostly to head off another argument between the pair but also to make sure she had King’s attention, Luz offered up an explanation. “I’ve been trying to work on my stealth techniques, but Eda mostly ignores me and Hooty is, well…” she glanced over at the sentient door.

“Hmmm? Oh, hey Luz, when did you get here?”

“Ugh, fine,” the tiny demon relented. “Just bring me some snacks or something next time, okay?”

“Deal,” Luz offered her hand for the demon to shake. “Anyway, you called me out here for something?”

“Oh, right,” King’s anger at the girl was now forgotten. “Luz the Spider-Girl!”

“Taken.”

“Weh?”

“That name, Spider-Girl, it's taken,” Luz flipped her phone around, showing King a picture of a young spider costumed human swinging through a city next to an older spider-costumed man. “I’m pretty sure she’s Spider-Man’s actual daughter, too.”

“Oh, uh, never mind that!” King interjected before Luz could go off on another tangent. “The reason I called you here is that you’ve been obsessed with learning magic, but haven’t made the effort to learn anything about my kind.” He leapt up onto a nearby stool and pulled a sheet off of a corkboard, showing that he’d filled it with pictures of the various demons of the Boiling Iles. “Welcome to Demons 101!” Putting on a professor’s cap, the small demon looked at the teen expectantly.

“Ooooh!” Sitting down, Luz eagerly kept her phone recording, making sure the focus on all the details King had packed onto the board.

“Now I’m not sure what your human ‘superheroes’ have faced in your realm, but demons of the Boiling Isles are grim creatures of brimstone and twilight! Our only weaknesses are holy water, and passive-aggressive comments.” King lectured.

“Aw, you guys are sensitive.”

“”Even demons have inner demons.” King’s expression darkened for a moment before he continued. “Now, one of the most ferocious demons in all the Isles is…” King dramatically unfolded a piece of paper on the board, revealing a gigantic demon with a spiked turtle shell. “THE SNAGGLEBACK!”

For a second, Luz thought the accompanying thunder was some sort of dramatic effect that King had made before realizing that it was actual thunder.

“Oh, a rainstorm!” The teen said as she lit up. “King, gimme a sec!” She stood up and ran out the open door.

“Weh? Luz, wait!” King rushed out after her, but a combination of longer legs and enhanced strength meant that the teen was out the door well before the fuzzy demon could catch her.

Once outside, the girl could feel the coming rainstorm. She twirled a little, letting the breeze run through her hair. “Sorry, King, but I’ve always loved the rain. I love feeling the first raindrops in my hair.” She turned to speak to a nearby flower (and since this was the Boiling Isles, there was a decent chance the flower could speak back) as the first drops began to fall. “I bet you do, too, little guy?”

It was then, to her horror, that the flower instantly wilted as the rain hit it. Her Spider Sense started freaking out as she sensed each and every one of the fat drops falling towards her. With a mighty leap backwards, the superpowered teen landed under the porch in front of King and Hooty, panting and visibly freaked out.

“King, what the heck is going on?”

“Boiling seas means boiling rain,” he answered. “You should be glad that you were able to make it under the porch in time. Without a shield spell, you’d be cooked right now!”

Luz breathed a sigh of relief, before her eyes snapped open even wider. “Wait? Where’s Eda!?”

As if summoned, said Owl Lady was busy running full speed up the path, a small shield spell hovering over her. However, she was still over 100 yards away from the shelter of the porch and the storm was only getting worse.

THWIP! THWIP!

In a flash, Luz was on her feet, two thick strands of webbing launching from her wrists. The moment she felt the weblines attach to the older witch, Luz tugged with all her might, sending a startled Eda hurtling towards her home. The teen held her arms open to catch the flying witch, but, due to some miscalculations of velocity, momentum, and angles on Luz’s part, the impact of Owl Lady on superhero sent the two stumbling backwards into the house. Off-balance, the two spun a few times before Eda’s heels caught on something, sending her careening towards the floor.

Luckily, Luz was able to catch the witch before she hit the floor. Unluckily, when the younger girl had caught her, she had bent over, put her left hand under the small of Eda’s back, while her right arm was stuck straight up to keep her balance.

So, it was more “lovers at the ballroom dance” than “badass hero saving someone”, but at least neither of them got seriously hurt.

Luz gave a nervous laugh once she realized the pose they were in, momentarily frozen in embarrassment.

“Nice moves, kid,” Eda said, nonplussed. “But I think I’m a little too old for you.”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Helping the witch stand back up, and brushing the webs off her dress, Luz smiled apologetically. “You, uh, you were probably fine to make your way to the house, weren’t you?”

“Well, yeah. Most Powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles?” The Owl Lady raised an eyebrow. “I could keep a simple shield spell like that up in my sleep.”

Upon seeing the look of contrition on her apprentice’s face, Eda continued. “But, uh, it was a nice save anyway. Just, er, think through those catches, alright?”

Luz gave a small smile of gratitude to her mentor. With her wisdom dispensed, the Owl Lady grabbed her staff and made for the doorway.

“Now, if you need me, I’ll be outside, putting a shield up over the house.”

There was hardly a bump as the Quinjet touched down. Camila Noceda was thankful, as sitting across from two SHIELD agents, both wearing nearly identical black suits and black sunglasses, the entire four hour trip already had her nerves on edge. Not helping was the fact that there were no windows, so it felt more like an interrogation room than a state-of-the-art StarkTech aircraft.

At least the male agent, Clint, had smiled at her a few times. The female agent, Natasha, might as well have been (and possibly could be, when Camila thought about it) a robot with how expressionless she was.

At some unheard signal from their pilot, Clint opened the door and escorted Camila onto their destination.

The harsh midday sunlight made Camila squint as she took in the sight of the hidden island compound which was playing host to Avengers Academy, where the first class of superpowered teenagers could be taught by the more experienced heroes to wield their powers safely. And one of those teens was supposed to have been her daughter, Luz, who was apparently not here despite being driven to the airport by Camila herself.

No! No. This is all a big misunderstanding. I’ll get this cleared up and be back home by nightfall. I’m sure of it.

“Looks like your escort’s here, Ms. Noceda,” the male agent said, motioning to an approaching figure.

“Salutations, Ms. Noceda!” The large, blue-furred person before her could be none other than Dr. Henry ‘Hank’ McCoy, aka Beast of the X-Men. “Ah, Agents Barton and Romanoff. I didn’t expect you two to be escorting our missing student’s mother. Will you be staying long?”

Agent Romanoff spoke up, the first traces of emotion that Camila had heard today creeping into her voice. “Sorry Hank, but we were already on our way here to pick up some other agents at HQ when Director Fury asked us to divert to Gravesfield and pick her up. That hotspot in Oregon is flaring up again, two interdimensional rifts were reported in southern California, and there was a bizarre archeological find reported in Mexico.” She nodded curtly at the latina woman. “A pleasure Ms. Noceda.” And with that the two agents turned and reentered the Quinjet.

Camila watched the jet fly off for a moment before she felt a large, yet gentle, hand on her back. “Come, Ms. Noceda, there’s a few things we need to discuss before we see about our doppelganger.”

“Call me Camila, please.”

He smiled. “Then I must insist that you call me ‘Hank’.”

With that the furry mutant led her towards the campus. He tried to make small talk, and Camila did her best to answer as politely as she could, but she apparently couldn’t keep frustration out of her voice.

“I know you must be confused and afraid, Ms. Noceda, but rest assured that we here at Avenger’s Academy are taking this very seriously and are doing everything in our power to find out what happened to your daughter and if our little infiltrator has anything to do with it,” her erstwhile guide tried to reassure her.

“One thing I don’t understand,” she replied, “is that I’ve been getting texts from Luz almost every day since she left. Including one last night!” She showed her phone and said texts to Dr. McCoy, who raised a confused eyebrow at the communiques.

“Oh my. That would be quite impossible, Ms. Noceda. Not only is the entire island, as well as a five mile radius surrounding it, under a wide-spectrum radio jamming field, but the intruder was caught almost immediately upon landing here. Whenever your daughter and our intruder switched places, it happened before she ever left Connecticut.”

“Boiling rain in the Boiling Isles? Is there any other wacky weather I should know about?”

Eda was finishing putting up the shield over the Owl House when she heard Luz’s question. “Yeah, we don’t have weather like you guys do, we have plagues, gorenadoes, shale hail, painbows.”

“It’s like a rainbow,” King added, “but looking at it turns you inside out!”

Eda began walking back when she heard her favorite sound in the world: someone complimenting her. “Wow. Eda’s so cool. Magically gifted, surprisingly foxy for her age, has a cool name like the superheroes back home.” Luz’s praise turned to curiosity, “Hey, why do they call you the Owl Lady anyway?”

“It’s because I’m so wise.”

“Because she coughs up rat bones,” Hooty snarked. Eda made a mental note to use the extra rough scrubbing brushes next time he needed to be cleaned.

“It’s because she’s easily distracted by shiny objects,” King offered.

“I am not!”

To prove his point, King pulled a pen with a light-up top out of his cap and began flicking the light on and off.

“It shimmers and shines and delights and I must have it for my nest!” Drawn more by instinct than anything, Eda leapt forward, grasping for the pen. Luckily for King, Luz was able to pull him away the moment the elder witch started moving and catch Eda before she slammed face-first into the ground.

As the teen helped her stand back up, Eda suddenly felt extremely tired. “Whoa. That shield spell took more outta me than I thought. I’m gonna go lie down.”

Stepping inside Eda used just a little bit more magic to change into her sleepwear, and made a firebeeline straight to the couch, grabbing a nearby blanket and curling up, quite ready to just sleep the storm away.

That is, until she felt a presence hovering over her. Peeling her eyes open she saw her apprentice’s smiling upside-down face (Eda was slowly getting used to the sight, due to the girl’s tendency to walk on the ceilings at random times, much to the woman’s annoyance).

“Heeeey, Eda, since we’re locked in anyway because of the storm…”

“No kid, I ain’t teaching you magic today.” Eda threw the blanket over her head and curled up further in. “I’m a sleepy little owl.” Thinking the discussion over, she closed her eyes once again.

That is, until she heard a distinct clicking noise.

Shiny thing!

Before Eda fully realized what was going on, she was perched on the armrest and swiping at the pen in Luz’s hand. Once again, Luz pulled it away before Eda could grab it, and, once again caught the witch before she could faceplant on the hardwood floor. After helping the older woman to stand up, the smirking teen offered a deal: “I’ll give you the shiny if you teach me one spell.”

“I respect your cunning, but I also hate you for it.” Grabbing Owlbert from where he was resting in the corner, Eda stood in the center of the living room and turned to her student. “Pay attention, pupil, because” she had to pause for a yawn “I’m only going to say this once.

“Now you humans probably think that magic comes from thin air, but that’s minotaur crap. Now, where do you think magic comes from?”

“Um, your heritage?” The girl hesitantly answered. “I know there are a few species of aliens that can do magic, like the Asgardians, but, as far as I know, no human can use magic.”

Eda had been fully expecting the girl to answer “the heart” or something similar, given her demeanor, not that.

Blinking away her surprise (and sleepiness), the witch responded, “Sort of?” Pulling an old anatomical drawing from her hair, she showed it to the teen, “There’s a gland on a witch’s heart called a bile sac that produces our magic. Some types of demons have ‘em too. Did that blood transfusion give you anything similar when it gave you your powers?”

“Nope, it just screwed around with my muscle structure and gave me my wrist spinnerets. But how can I, your friendly neighborhood Luz, do magic without a bile sac?”

Eda’s foggy brain took a second to process that. “Huh, I … hadn’t thought about that.”

The latina looked thoughtful for a second before speaking up. “Maybe if you show me how you cast a spell, I can try and copy it?”

“Alright, now your first spell, young Luz, will be something that every young witchling knows.” A simple twirl of her fingers produced a small orb of light. “Light spells are super simple to cast. Now, the larger the spell circle, the larger, and more powerful, the spell.” She demonstrated again with a two foot circle, though the ball she conjured dissipated almost instantly. I hope this demonstration ends soon, I’m running out of magic faster than I thought I would. “Why don’t you give it a try?”

Luz gave it a few tries, making fairly good circles, but no spell came from them. Frowning, the girl asked, “Can you do it one more time? I’ll record it with my phone this time, and then you can go straight to bed!” She pulled out the plastic scroll she always kept with her.

Well, one more spell won’t kill me. As Eda began making the spell circle, she immediately regretted it. Not only was the circle wobbly and ill-defined, she could feel the last of her bile leave her sac. The Owl Lady fought hard to stay conscious, but between the overwhelming wave of nausea washing over her and her pre-existing tiredness, she lost. Hard.

Terror gripped the older witch as she felt herself sway and her vision faded. She vaguely heard her student yelling her name, but the sound was muffled and distant. The last thing she felt was surprisingly strong arms gripping her before she hit the floor.

Camila sat in a waiting room in the administrative building. After she’d refused the tea Dr. McCoy had offered her (caffeine had never failed to make her jittery, and her nerves were already shot from all the revelations of the past few days, including one that she’d apparently delivered the fake Luz right to the academy), the mutant had excused himself to go look into something regarding this whole fiasco. She pulled out her phone again and read through all of her texts with Luz over the last week. Sure, some of them were terser than usual, but Camila thought that was because Luz had been too busy with training. Had she missed something? Was there some code her daughter had sent, asking her mother for help?

The woman was so engrossed in her downward spiral that she missed the sound of the door opening and someone entering the room. Only when that someone placed a hand on her shoulder did she react, jumping in her seat with a startled yelp and losing her grip on her phone.

“Sorry, Ms. Noceda” the other woman apologized, “the only people I try to do that to are alien invaders and the occasional DoomBot.” Now that her heart was no longer trying to escape her chest, Camila got a good look at the woman: tall, thin, and blonde like every Karen she’d ever met, but with a kind smile and bright eyes that belied someone who's seen more than she should have and come out stronger for it.

The blonde stuck out her hand, “Susan Storm-Richards, aka…”

“The Invisible Woman, yes, I know.” Camila said as she took the handshake. The latina woman looked around for her lost phone, only to find it floating in midair a few feet in front of her.

“One of the lesser known uses of invisible force fields.” The other woman winked at Camila as the phone floated into her waiting hands.

“You’ll have to excuse me, Mrs. Storm. Mrs. Richards? Um…”

“Please, call me Sue.”

“Camila. I’m sorry, I’m still a little flustered at all this. First I learn that Luz never made it here, then she’s been replaced with some … thing that looks like her. And now I’m questioning who, or what, sent all these texts.” She showed the screen to the other woman.

“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary in these texts, Camila?”

“Not really. I’ve been agonizing for the last hour to see if I missed something that told me what happened to Luz, if she was alright, but…”

The superheroine smiled. “I understand. I’d probably be in an even worse state if anything happened to my kids.”

The Latina’s eyes popped open in surprise. “You and Dr. Richards have children? I didn’t know.”

“Franklin’s 10 and Valerie’s 6. It’s the one thing about our lives the four of us have been able to keep quiet.”

“Oh, uh, I promise not to tell anyone.”

Another smile. “I kinda figured you wouldn’t. And not just because of all the NDAs you signed before you landed.” Sue’s face became more serious. “Now you must be wondering why we asked you to come here.”

“Well, yes.” The shorter woman. “I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do. I’m just a veterinarian from a small town in Connecticut. I’ll never do the things you or Luz can do.” Her face fell. “Could have done.”

“Hey, I know that things seem hopeless right now, but rest assured that my husband, and several other geniuses, are looking into this matter. Even if she was young, she was a superhero. And the superhero community takes one of its own being missing very seriously.”

“Thank you, Sue.” Tears of relief welled up in Camila’s eyes and the other woman smiled again.

“As for why you’re here…” The Invisible Woman continued, “we’ve been trying to talk to the creature who replaced Luz, but… it’s been difficult. You see, we don’t think that they’re dangerous, or had malicious intent when they took Luz’s place. But the poor thing is so scared that they break down crying before we can get too far.”

The Dominican woman’s face screwed up in confusion. “What are you saying?”

“Hank and Reed hypothesize that our guest can somehow sense when an individual has superpowers. They also think the creature would respond better to someone who they already know. Someone who isn’t a superhero.”

One of the few good things that had happened to Basilisk Number 5, or Vee as she had taken to calling herself, in the past week was that, even when the humans had caught her, she ended up in a normal-looking room instead of a dank, dirty dungeon. Sure, it was still a prison, and there was still a guard outside, but there was a window that let her at least see the outside, the bed was soft, and, so far at least, it didn’t look like anyone was going to dissect her.

But they were just gonna send her back to the Demon Realm anyway.

The basilisk was currently curled up under the blankets on the bed, relishing the warmth before another of the humans came in to interrogate her and thinking back on her all-too-brief escape to the human realm.

A knock at the door drew the demon out of her reverie. “Vee! You fool!” Of course thinking about the humans would bring them. That’s just my luck.

Slithering out of the bed, Vee let the guard know that it was alright for the guard to open the door. While she was expecting either the large blue human that freaked her out or one of the many different normal-looking ones that just radiated some immense power that freaked her out.

Freaked her out so much that she hadn’t been able to even say her name before her instincts took over and she hid behind the bed.

What she wasn’t expecting was to see Camila Noceda again. The woman looked at the demon for a few good seconds before she put on a forced smile and began speaking.

“Hello there. Ms. Storm and Dr. McCoy say that you’re having trouble speaking with the others here and might be more comfortable talking with someone you already know. Would you like to, er, sit down?” The woman motioned to the small table in the room, where the guards and others would sit while trying to interrogate the basilisk.

In a lot of ways, Vee was more scared of speaking with the dark-skinned woman than any of the other humans that had come into the room. On the other hand, the basilisk felt that she owed the woman an explanation, at least. So, the demon slithered over to the table and lifted herself onto one of the chairs. Now that she was closer to the human, she saw a device she couldn’t place in Camila’s hands. The woman must have noticed because she placed the device on the table for Vee to see fully.

“It’s a recording device. Dr. Richards asked me to record our conversation, with your permission of course.” Vee nodded. “All right, let’s begin. Drs. Richards and McCoy gave me some questions to ask you, but if you’re not comfortable…”

“She’s alive.”

“Er, excuse me,” the woman said, taken aback by Vee’s interruption.

“Your daughter, Luz, she’s alive, or was the last time I saw her.” The basilisk took a deep breath and continued, “My name is Vee, and I’m a basilisk.” The words poured out like a waterfall now, and Vee didn’t try to stop them. She talked about how Emperor Belos had recreated her kind from fossils trapped in amber, how the Emperor’s Coven had experimented on them and their shape shifting properties, and how she and two others had escaped when a coven guard took pity on them. Vee told Camila about seeing Luz at the Owl Lady’s stand in the market, and how she had sneaked through the Owl Lady’s portal door to the Human Realm and met Camila.

It took a few minutes for the human to speak after Vee finished her story. The woman’s voice hitched as she talked. “Thank you. For telling me about Luz. If you’ll excuse me, I- I need to go talk to the administrators about… all this.”

The basilisk swore that the human was crying as she left the room.

“King, are you sure Eda’ll be alright?”

Luz was laying Eda gently down in her nest (an actual nest! Eda certainly stuck to a theme) when the small demon hopped up on the nest’s edge to more easily address the human.

“Like I said the last dozen times, Luz, yes. Eda’s a tough girl! I’ve seen her come back from way worse than this.” Seeing the teen was still uncertain, King continued. “Remember a few days ago when Eda tripped and her head popped off?” Luz shuddered at the memory, still seeing Eda’s severed head in her hands. “Remember how she was more annoyed than anything else? Trust me, Eda’s fine. She just probably needs a good night's sleep is all.”

“You’re right, King. I guess I’m just feeling a little guilty since I pushed her until she passed out.” The superpowered teen sighed. “Not very heroic of me, was it?” She turned to leave, but came back to pick King up just when he was about to boop Eda again.

The pair made their way downstairs to the living room, where King leapt out of Luz’s arms and went back to his makeshift classroom. “Okay! With Eda asleep, there should be nothing to disturb us as we continue our less- Hey! Where are you going?”

The girl, eyes glued to her phone, had walked completely by the demon and plopped down on the couch. “Hm? Oh, sorry, King, I’m just trying to figure out how to do that light spell Eda showed me.” She started tracing circles in the air, focusing her will into manifesting something, anything.

“I know you wanna learn magic to be some sort of Super-Spider, or whatever, but wouldn’t waiting for Eda to wake up be better? Besides, I bet demons are also something you’ve never seen on Earth!”

The teen paused in her finger twirling. “Well, no, but…” A few moments of searching on her phone brought up the image she desired. “You one of those superhero teams I told you about, the X-Men?”

“Yeah, I think?”

“Well, your ‘demons’ don’t look a lot like some of the human mutants out there.” She turned the phone around to show King a picture of a group of, supposedly, humans which included a large, blue furred figure, a human with large, white wings, and another blue one, this one with a tail and three-fingered hands. “Heck, one of my classmates in Connecticut was a mutant. Could shoot little fireworks out of her fingers. Not to mention all the alien races that regularly visit Earth for one reason or another.” She shrugged. “Sorry, but, to me, you guys really aren’t that strange.”

She turned her phone around and went back to the video of Eda doing the light spell. “Magic, and I mean real magic, that’s something I’m certain no human on Earth has ever done.”

The demon sighed heavily. “If I help you learn this spell, will you at least listen to the lesson I made for today? Please?”

She smiled, “Of course, King, if this lesson mean that much to you, I promise I’ll pay attention to them once I’m done.”

“Okay!” The furry demon thought deeply for a moment before an idea hit him. “I know! I’ve seen Eda drink some sort of potion in the morning before coming downstairs, and she always seems to receive a power boost or something after drinking it! I bet that’s where she gets her magic from!”

“Hmmm. I’m sure nothing bad’s ever happened to anyone who came into contact with mysterious chemicals. I’m in!”

“Great! I’m pretty sure that Eda keeps it in her room. Gimme a moment to go grab some.” He rushed upstairs, leaving the girl alone for several minutes before he came back with a large round stoppered bottle filled with a bright orange liquid. He handed it to Luz and gave her a thumbs up.

“Okay, here we go.” Nervously, the girl raised the bottle to her mouth.

CRASH!

“Weh!” “What was that!”

Hooty opened inward, concern evident on his face. “Uh, guys, something just broke the window up in Eda’s room.”

“C’mon King!” The girl grabbed the still stunned demon and raced up the stairs to her mentor’s room. Once there, she kicked the door open. “Eda!”

The witch’s room was a mess. Giant claw marks were gouged in the floor and walls and the large window looked like it had almost been ripped out before being smashed.

King was terrified now and crawled up onto Luz’s shoulder. “The Snaggleback! It must have gotten in somehow and taken Eda!”

Cautiously the superpowered teen crept towards the broken window and peered out, senses fully alert and body tensed in case something attacked. The duo saw nothing outside besides the still falling rain. Luz cautiously crept towards her teacher’s nest, hoping that the woman had been able to hide from whatever monster had attacked the house. Before she could get a good look, however, the lights flickered and then died, leaving the two stranded in near darkness.

“H-Hooty controls the lights,” King whispered, “did-did something happen to him?” Luz could feel the tiny demon shaking with fear as he clung to her.

Alright, Luz! Your friend, your teacher, and possibly your house need saving, so it’s time to hero up!

“Maybe Hooty turned off the lights so we could hide from the monster?” She tried to calm the demon, but ultimately couldn’t keep the fear from her voice. “Besides, you’ve got me with you. Remember, I took on both Warden Wrath and that creepy wizard guy and won.”

“Wait, didn’t that weird shapeshifter go down in, like, one punch?”

Luz ignored him, instead focusing on navigating down the stairs and into the living room. There, by the dim light coming from outside, they found Hooty, door ripped off his hinges and lying face up, eyes closed and tongue hanging out of his partially open mouth. If it weren’t for the claw marks on the door, she would think that the house demon was just asleep.

She crept forward, senses alert to anything out of the ordinary. “King, hop down and check on Hooty! I’ll stand guard.”

It took a moment before the small demon was able to make himself let go and check on the door, but after a few seconds he was able to report back that Hooty was just unconscious. But Luz was just barely paying attention. She could sense something else was in the house with them, but couldn’t tell exactly what it was, only that it was big. She felt King scramble up her side again, clinging closely as he attempted to scan the darkened house as well.

HOOOHRRRHRHHRHRH

Luz had begun to stalk around the edge of the living room, keeping her back to the wall when she heard the sound, like something between a bear, a large cat, and, of all things, an owl. She froze, trying her best to reach out and pinpoint where it had come from as King whimpered from her shoulder. It was then she heard something else: the soft clacking of claws on hardwood.

“King, you hold on tight now, okay?” She felt him nod and dig his claws deeper into her shirt. She’d probably have to get Eda to mend it again with one of her spells.

If Eda was even still… No! Don’t even think that! Remember, Eda’s tough as nails. She’s survived this. I just know it!

The dim light of the living room outlined something the size of a car stalking in from the kitchen area. Her Spider-Sense let her get a better picture of it, now that she could focus. It was covered in either fur, feathers, or both, and had a wide mouth full of nasty, sharp fangs. Wicked, knife-like claws tapped on the floor as it moved. The thing turned its head towards the pair, and emitted a soft, almost curious, rumbling as it circled the human and her passenger.

A second’s warning as the beast tensed was all Luz needed to leap out of the way before it pounced, crashing into Eda’s poor couch. Landing in the center of the room, and taking a moment to make sure that King was still with her, the girl began to back up towards the staircase when the beast turned around and lunged again. A backwards dodge underneath a swiping claw turned into a backflip as the creature slashed downwards, burying a claw in the wooden floor where Luz had just been standing. It only took a moment for the monster to wrench its claw free and it was back on the attack, both claws raking in from the sides. Realizing that King was just going to get knocked off or injured if she kept jumping around, Luz raised her arms up and caught the beast’s arms as it tried to grab the pair. It was strong.

But Luz had someone to protect.

“King! Drop down and find somewhere to hide! I’ll find you later!” She pushed the monster back, hoping to give King enough room to flee.

“Wuh? What? Are you crazy?”

“Just do it! I’ll be fine.” She hoped her voice sounded more confident than she felt as the beast watched warily from a distance, reevaluating its strange prey.

Hearing the tiny demon scramble down to the floor and then up the stairs, Luz turned her full attention to her foe. When it attempted to flank around her and go after the fleeing King, a couple of well-placed web shots quickly bound its front legs together, only for the beast to easily tear the webbing apart. Now fully focused on Luz as its opponent, it flared previously unseen wings and sounded that screeching-growling-roar again.

“If you’re trying to intimidate me, think again. I’m not running while King’s still in danger.” This web ball was aimed squarely at the creature’s face, though it was able to remove the offending webbing just as easily as before.

When the beast charged, Luz ducked under it, then quickly reached up as the monster sailed overhead. Grabbing some of the feathery fur (or furry feathers) Luz pushed up towards her full height, heaving the rampaging beast into the air as it flailed in confusion. She then tossed the monster towards the wall where it landed with a heavy thunk before falling on the ground. The teen didn’t have long to ponder if she’d injured the creature or not as it got up again almost immediately and began swiping and raking with its claws. It was easier to dodge now that she didn’t have to worry about King falling off, but even a strong kick to the chest barely moved the beast.

She was flipping over a particularly energetic swing when she felt her phone slip out of her pants pocket. With a much softer thunk the device hit the floor and, somehow, set the camera off, filling the darkened room with light for a brief moment. The monster screeched and shielded its eyes before fleeing out the front door into the raging storm.

Blinking away the spots, Luz realized that the beast was gone. Grabbing her phone from where it’d fallen, she hustled upstairs to find where King had hidden. It took a few minutes, and a couple of times calling out his name, before a closed door creaked open just enough to let a lone yellow eye peek out.

“Is it gone?”

“Yeah, it fled when I dropped my phone and startled it. Man, that thing was tough! What was it, anyway?” The girl flicked her phone’s light on as the demon opened the door fully, but frowned as it started to flicker in and out and was much softer than usual. “Dangit! Musta got broken when it fell.”

The demon hummed for a moment. “I’m not sure what kind of demon it was. I never did get a good look at it. Did you get any more details with that Spidery Sense thing you have?”

Still fiddling with her phone, the girl answered, “Well, besides being big and having claws as long as my forearm, I can tell you that it was covered in both fur and hair, and had absolutely gigantic wings. Huh…”

“Huh? Is something wrong?”

“No, it just looks like my phone got a picture of the beast when it fell.” Waiting for King to crawl up her side so he could see, the teen opened the picture to find…

“King?”

“Yes?”

“Is that who I think it is?”

“Yes.”

Stretched and warped as it was, the face of the beast Luz had just fought was none other than that of Eda Clawthorne.

“Wha-How?” Luz paled. “Oh man, I just threw my teacher into a wall.”

King looked thoughtful for a moment before realization set in. “The potion! It wasn’t a magic boosting potion, it was a ‘Stop Me From Turning Into a Monster’ potion.”

“Okay, okay. Uhhhh. We just need to get that potion you took and get Eda to drink it. I think the bottle’s still downstairs. We just need to find her and get her to stay still long enough for one of us to give it to her. Piece of cake, right?”

“Can’t you just web her up, or hold her?”

“Sorry, buddy,” Luz shook her head. “My strongest webbing would be way too slow to use, and there’s now way I could keep hold of something that large if she’s thrashing around.” She sighed, but then smiled. “But maybe a demon expert would know something we can use?” She held the phone closer so he could see the impromptu photo better.

“Hmmmm. Aha!” He pointed at Eda’s transformed face. “Look at her eyes, they’re solid black! Demons with dark eyes are extremely sensitive to light!”

“That must’ve been why she fled when my phone fell! The camera flash going off startled her!”

“Yeah! Maybe we can use your light to blind her or something.”

The phone, apparently wanting nothing to do with this plan, chose that moment for the light to go completely dead.

“Or not.”

“Dangit! If only I could do that light spell Eda showed me.” The girl sighed and slumped down to the floor. “But I guess humans really can’t do magic.”

She played the video again, forlornly tracing spell circles in the air. The damage to her phone must have been more serious than she thought, as the video started glitching and hitching until it finally froze on the frame where Eda had just finished the spell circle, except there appeared to be something else in the circle.

“Holy cow!”

“Weh?”

“King! Look! The spell circle, there’s something in it! Some kind of… symbol?” Looking around, she spotted a pad and pencil lying on a nearby table. Snagging them with some webbing, she quickly sketched out the glyph she saw. She turned the pad around so that King could see. “This is what I saw.”

When she tapped the glyph for emphasis, something amazing happened. First, the lines on the page started to glow, then the whole page suddenly crumpled up, turning into a small ball of light. It floated there, shedding a bright white light that lit up the area around the two.

“Whoah! Luz, do you know what this means!”

“I just did magic. I just did magic!” The teen couldn’t help herself. She started dancing around, picking King up in a big, spider-powered hug.

HOOOHOHRRRHRHHRAAAH

“She’s back!” King looked at the little ball of light Luz had conjured. “And I don’t think that’s gonna be enough to stun Eda.”

“Hmmm.” Luz took a thoughtful look at the spell. “The bigger the spell circle, the bigger the spell, right? King, do you think you could keep Eda occupied for, say, 5 minutes?”

Using the same light up pen Luz had bribed Eda with earlier, King had gotten the transformed witch to chase him upstairs, where he slid under a large web formed from Luz’s strongest and stickiest spider silk. Seconds later, Eda crashed into the web, her larger form getting tangled up in the webbing. While the woman-turned-beast thrashed about trying to get free, Luz was able to finish drawing.

“Sorry Eda, but this is for your own good!” The Eda-beast turned to face the girl just as she slapped the giant glyph on the wall and the entire world turned white.

Eda woke up stiff, sore, and … sticky? Sitting up from her nest, she found a crazy straw stuck in her mouth, leading down to a nearly empty potion bottle. Noticing that the left side of her face still felt feathery, she quickly slurped up the remainder of her elixir before turning to look at the room. It was trashed, as it always was after one of her episodes, but what was different was a very apologetic-looking King standing on the rim of her nest, watching her intently.

“Hey, Eda, you feeling alright?”

“King! You stole my elixir! I oughta break every bone in your little body!” The witch pointed an accusing finger at the little demon, who flinched.

“I’m sorry, but I was trying to help Luz. And look!” He pointed over to the corner.

There were dozens of light spells floating lazily in the air, surrounding one Luz Noceda. Eda watched in amazement as the girl scribbled a little glyph on some paper, then tapped it, creating a new ball of light. The witch didn’t know if it was the Owl Beast influencing her or not, but she couldn’t help but stare in amazement at the little luminescent orbs. She barely even registered the teen stood up and sheepishly approached the nest.

“Hey, Eda,” the girl spoke up. “Sorry for, uh, all that I did when I was fighting you off earlier.”

Eda blinked, tearing her attention away from the impromptu light show. “No problem, girly. Not the first time I’ve woken up covered in spider webs. You’re the first one that’s apologized for it, though.” The witch gave a smirk and a wink towards her apprentice, feeling some of her usual good cheer return.

“Uhhhhh… that’s not what I was apologizing for,” the girl gave her an embarrassed grin, “I, um, meant the time I kicked you...”

“You were fighting for your and King’s lives, Luz, there’s nothing to be sorry for. Besides, I don’t think even a superpowered kick would hurt the Owl Beast.” The witch gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Well, I also threw it - you into a wall…” The teen shrunk in on herself a little bit. “Pretty sure there’s a nice big crack there now.”

Eda started at that. Her Owl Beast form was almost as large as a Slitherbeast! How someone half her current size was able to even lift the damn thing, much less throw it with enough force to crack one of the Owl House’s magically-reinforced walls, was inconceivable.

Quickly hiding her surprise at yet another revelation of how powerful her ward was, Eda retorted, “Well, in any case, I’m not hurt, neither of you are hurt (although King is still in trouble), so no harm, no foul. But, I guess I do owe you two an explanation.” The wild witch sighed, her face turning serious. “When I was only a little older than you are, Luz, I got… cursed. I don’t know who did it, but ever since then if I use too much magic I turn into, well, that. It’s manageable, as long as I take my elixir. But that’s why I’m called the Owl Lady.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better,” Luz said, “there’s a guy on Earth, Bruce Banner, who transforms into a giant green goliath called ‘The Hulk’ every time he gets angry. It usually takes whole teams of superheroes to stop him once he goes on a rampage. And he causes a whole lot more damage than you did. Like, ‘destroyed entire towns’ levels.”

Eda and King stared blankly at the teen, though whether it was because of the revelation or her blasé attitude neither could be sure.

“Anyway,” Eda drawled after a few moments, “It’s late and I’m pooped. Why don’t we all hit the hay and worry about cleaning up in the morning?”

“Sounds good to me!” Luz stretched, even though Eda could tell that the girl probably wouldn’t be asleep any time soon.

King was more subdued, though. “I ain’t gonna complain.”

Just as the two were about to leave the room, a plaintive moan came warbling up from the first level.

“Hey! Hey guys?” Came Hooty’s high-pitched call. “Anyone there? What happened? It’s dark, I’m cold, and I’m on the floor! Hello?!”

“We should probably get Hooty fixed up tonight.” Luz shot a questioning look back at the Owl Lady, who could only sigh in response.

Raine Whisper yawned and rubbed their eyes, trying to refocus on the page they’d been writing. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was only 10:00 PM, meaning it was way too early for them to be feeling this sleepy. So they did the only logical thing: get up and make some tea.

The water had just finished boiling when Raine heard a knock at their door. Opening it up, they found themselves face to face with Katya, a former student of theirs that, last time Raine had heard, had been locked up in the Conformatorium.

After the initial shock wore off, the older bard ushered the girl inside, then checked to make sure no coven guards were about.

“What are you doing here?” they asked once they’d made sure the door was locked. “How did you escape from the Conformatorium?”

The fanged witch grinned at her former teacher. “I’m guessing that you didn’t hear about the big breakout last week?” Her face fell. “I…I almost didn’t get out. I was standing there at the threshold, freedom was right there in front of me, and…” She was tearing up now. “And I couldn’t move! All I had to do was walk forward while the warden was distracted with the Owl Lady…” The tears flowed freely now. “I was only there for a month, Mx. Whispers, and already they’d broken me. If it hadn’t been for that kid…”

Raine quickly guided the now sobbing witch down to sit on the nearby couch, then went into the kitchen and got the two of them tea. It took a few minutes for the young woman to calm down enough that Raine felt they could ask her some questions.

“What was that about the Owl Lady? And you said a kid was with her?”

Taking another sip of the tea, the younger bard answered, “Yeah. I’m not sure what they were doing there, but I met the kid outside my cell shortly before everything went sideways. I… I think she was human.” That certainly raised the older witch’s eyebrows, but they allowed Katya to continue. “Anyways, as me and two other prisoners just stood there while the warden and the Owl Lady dueled, the kid came up to us. I think,” she took a breath to center herself, “I think she saw how scared we were of the warden and then she just goes and-and fights him. This human kid, couldn’t be older than 14 or 15, goes and takes on one of the most dangerous demons on the Boiling Isles, and beats him.”

Raine was extremely glad they hadn’t been drinking that moment because they were certain they’d had started choking at that last revelation. “What do you mean ‘beats him’? Surely a human couldn’t take on Warden Wrath?”

“She did, teach. The guy couldn’t even touch her, no matter how he tried. Then she just … waved her hands at him and suddenly the warden’s face was covered in this sticky white stuff and he was running around like a cockatrice with its head cut off.” She chuckled. “But, that got me thinking: why did she do that? Why did a human, someone with no connection to our world and who's probably already back home now, risk her life for a bunch of strangers she’d never see again?”

“Well, some witches and demons are just like that, Katya. This probably holds true for humans as well,” the older bard offered.

“Yeah, well, there’s not enough of them in my opinion,” she retorted. “Which is why I’ve decided I want to be one of those witches.”

She locked eyes with her former teacher, a fierce determination visible beneath the tears.

“Raine, I think it’s time we talked seriously about forming the BATTs.”

Chapter Text

Of the many things Luz thought she’d be doing on a Boiling Isles’ Saturday, being flown into town while blindfolded was definitely not one she would have guessed. The fact the Owl Lady had described their destination as ‘somewhere super fun’ did little to quell the girl’s unease, mostly since the witch had used that same descriptor for the Conformatorium on their first adventure.

“And we’re here!” Eda proclaimed as she brought Owlbert to a stop. “You can take off the blind… fold…” It was too late, as Luz had already hopped off the staff while blindfolded, and was currently cheerily greeting her confused friends as they approached. The girl finally started untying her blindfold as the two witchlings walked up.

“Uh, Luz, how could you tell it was…” Willow started before the realization hit him. “Oh, right, spider powers.”

Handing the cloth back to her mentor, Luz giggled. “Sorry, couldn’t resist the chance to show off a bit.” She turned and looked at the bustling crowds in and around what looked to be a convention center of some sort. “So what is this place? And what’s going on?”

“Well, kid, it's-” Eda started before an excited Gus interrupted her. “It's a Covention!”

The young boy wilted under the death glare he received from the older witch, who continued her explanation. “This is a Covention, Luz, where young witches, and now one human, learn all about the various Covens on the Boiling Isles.” Seeing the excited expression grow on her pupil’s face, she moved to temper the young girl’s expectations. “Now while Covens may seem like happy fun clubs for witches, don’t be fooled by the flashy tricks and sweet words. The Covens strictly control what types of magic their members can do, and joining a Coven is mandatory.” Her expression grew serious. “Any witch who doesn’t is labeled ‘a wild witch’ and is ruthlessly hunted down and, if captured, sent to the Conformatorium.”

“That does raise the question of why you’d bring Luz here, Ms. Eda,” Willow asked, “Since you are kinda the most wanted criminal in all the Boiling Isles.” The shorter girl pointed to the surprising number of wanted posters depicting the Owl Lady that were posted along nearly every wall.

Eda’s expression turned back into the familiar cocky grin once again. “That’s because I’m gonna show her why my method of teaching is so much better than the Coven system. And besides, I’ve got the perfect disguise!” And with that, the older witch pulled her hood up over her head. Or, rather, attempted to, as her unruly mess of a mane refused to cooperate and, instead of lying flat and allowing the hood to conceal her face, formed into a massive puff ball that, combined with the bright red hood, served to make her look more like a lollipop rather than a stealthy rebel, much to Luz’s amusement.

Stifling her giggling, the teen opened up her bag and pulled out a lavender face mask. “Here,” she offered it to her mentor. “Maybe this’ll help. It’s part of the costume my mom made for me before she was gonna send me off for the summer.”

“Costume?” Gus questioned as Eda put the mask on. “Why would you need a costume? Didn’t you say that people know who most of you superheroes are?”

The human shrugged. “Iunno. Maybe cuz we’re kids and they want to protect our identities?” Her fingers went to her chin as her expression turned thoughtful. “Though a lot of heroes have bright, colorful costumes. Is it to help people identify them during disasters and the like?”

“Whatever the answer is,” the now-disguised Eda cut in, “it can wait until after the Covention. Now let’s get in there before it becomes too crowded.”

Of the many things Camila had thought she’d be doing all week, virtually living on a private island owned by the Avengers while bonding with a creature from another dimension were not among them. Vee was a good girl, true, but she was still incredibly nervous around most of the humans on the island, even after Camila had explained the concept of ‘superheroes’.

Even now, seated beside her, and Agents Possible and Stoppable (possibly the friendliest government spooks the Latina had ever had the “pleasure” of meeting, both of whom had quickly bonded with the basilisk) just outside the door to the room the basilisk was staying in, the girl couldn’t help but fidget nervously, her claws clacking a nervous staccato on the table, her tail twitching tensely underneath.

A few days ago, the two had been told that the various hero organizations of Earth had been having meetings regarding the news of the Boiling Isles. And Vee, of course. SHIELD and the Avengers eventually acquiesced to Vee’s request to stay on Earth, under one condition: she would need to be examined by some of Earth’s most prominent medical conditions in order to make sure she wasn’t carrying any dangerous diseases or pathogens from her home dimension that could put humanity at risk. Camila also got the feeling that they were checking for something else, but no one had clearly said what.

Yesterday had been a full medical exam under Dr. McCoy. Camila had agreed to stay as Vee’s guardian, given that the basilisk was still nervous around just about anyone else on the island. The mutant had proclaimed the basilisk was “as fit as the proverbial fiddle” (Camila then clarified that was a good thing).

Today, however, was packed. Camila was sitting with Vee during the girl’s short morning appointment with a Dr. Stephen Stange, supposedly “an expert on paranormal events”, which meant nothing to either of the two guests (though the name did tickle the back of Camila’s memory something fierce). That afternoon the girl would see mutant psychic Charles Xavier, whose work with blocked or suppressed memories was gathering acclaim, and in the evening Camila had been asked to observe a strategy meeting regarding Luz and the Boiling Isles.

The door opened quietly as the red-haired agent stuck her head in. “Hey Ms. Noceda! Hey Vee! You two ready?”

The basilisk gazed over at her. “Remember, Vee. You are in control here. If at any time you get uneasy or scared, just say the word and I’ll get them to stop.”

Vee took a deep breath then nodded. “Okay.” And with that, the agent disappeared, allowing a tall Caucasian male to enter.

The first thing that Camila noticed about him was his piercing gray eyes that seemed to hide some impenetrable power. Slicked-back white-streaked black hair and a pencil-thin mustache made him look like an old movie star that Camila had seen once during a late-night horror flick marathon in college. The most striking thing about him were his clothes, the dark blue tunic and red, high-collared cape made him look more like he was dressed up for a renaissance faire rather than a superhero. The large gold amulet with a disturbingly realistic closed eye engraved on it didn’t help matters.

His intense gaze swept across the room, drinking in every detail of the basilisk’s temporary quarters. His expression softened when he looked over Vee, who stared wide-eyed at the visitor.

He spoke with a very distinctive accent that Camila couldn’t quite place. “Hello, Miss Noceda, young Vee. I am Doctor Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts and Wielder of Black Magics. And, no, Miss Noceda, this is not an act to conceal alien powers or advanced technology.” He twisted his wrist strangely and was suddenly holding a teacup. “I do mean real magic.” He set the cup in front of Camila, turning it so she could see the tiny chip on the rim, the fading on the mass produced blue floral pattern where a thumb had rubbed against it every day for the past ten years, the cracks on the handle from when Luz had startled her one morning …

“But this is… How…?” The Latina glanced between the teacup and the self-proclaimed sorcerer.

“Magic, Ms. No- er, Camila,” came the quiet voice beside her. The woman looked over at Vee, her wide eyes shining briefly. “We basilisks can sense magic. It’s … it’s one of the reasons the Emperor was experimenting on us. This magic feels … different than the magic on the Boiling Isles.” The girl turned towards her. “Not like it's bad or anything, just different.”

“Glad to see you approve.” An enigmatic smile briefly played across the doctor’s face. “And, Miss Noceda, I often find that a little bit of the familiar can help when one is in unfamiliar circumstances, even if it is just a favorite teacup.”

Camila gently took the teacup, feeling it warm up as it filled with tea at the snap of the sorcerer’s finger. “Th-thank you, Doctor. I … didn’t even know I needed something like this.” Her voice hitched and she could feel the tears start again until she felt a scaly hand touch her arm. Taking a sip to calm herself, the vet smiled down at Vee before turning back to their guest. “So, Dr. Strange. You said you were here to examine Vee? I assume you mean to see if she’s enchanted us like a fairy from a children’s story?”

The sorcerer nodded, “I admit that is a small part of my objective here this morning, although I am far more concerned with Vee.” He turned again to the basilisk and held up his amulet. “I heard your story, Vee, and fear that while this Emperor Belos was experimenting on you, he placed some sort of sorcery on you that would allow him to take control of you or even just spy on us through you without your knowledge.”

Vee immediately started to panic. “W-wait, he shouldn’t have been able to do that! I should have been able to absorb any spells he put on me!” Her hands began frantically searching over her body, as if she could reach in and pluck any offending magics out.

“Calm yourself.” Doctor Strange’s voice rang out, seeming to physically cut through Vee’s panic. “I have decades of experience dealing with extradimensional tyrants, and know that they will find ways to circumvent any restrictions on what they can do.” He gestured to his amulet. “This is the Eye of Agamotto. Made by the first Sorcerer Supreme, its light harms those with evil intent, can see through all illusions, and, most relevant for us, pierce through all enchantments.” As he spoke the engraved eye on the amulet opened, revealing what looked to Camila like a flesh-and-blood human (or humanoid) eye. When the eye was fully exposed, it shone with a brilliant, almost blinding light, forcing both Camila and Vee to shield their eyes. “Do not worry,” he said as the light died down after a moment as the Eye shut. “Even Captain America would have difficulty looking directly at a bright light.”

Both women looked expectantly at the sorcerer. “Does that mean…?” Vee’s question hung in the air.

“Yes. I saw no enchantments, sorceries, hexes, curses, or any sort of spell on you, Vee. Magically speaking, you are no threat to this dimension.” Camila let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to report this back to the others.”

Surprisingly, the morning went fairly smoothly. Eda’s disguise earned only a few looks of curiosity, but nobody immediately ran to the Emperor's Coven guards stationed throughout the facility.

The three witches took Luz on a guided tour of the various stalls. Willow took her to the Plant Coven stand, where the human got to play with some Stray Cattail plants. A visit to the Oracle Coven booth made her briefly wonder if that could improve her Spider Sense. Luz was less impressed with the Illusion Coven’s presentation, however.

“Sorry, Gus,” she apologized to the morose boy, “but illusions don’t really register to my Spider Sense, so I’m not really fooled by them.” She patted him on the shoulder, “but hey, maybe you’ll invent one that’s solid enough for me and the other spider-people to sense.”

His grumbling was assuaged by a visit to the Baking Coven. A few stops later, and an explanation of the minor Covens for Luz’s sake, the group came across the Construction Coven, where one of the members gave a demonstration of the Coven’s magic by tossing up a pile of timbers and shingles and having them come down as a miniature cabin.

“Hey, Luz, watch closely,” Eda whispered as she pointed to a pale, purple-haired witchling approaching one of the Coven members. Luz couldn’t quite hear what the girl said to the burly man, but both were apparently excited about something. Then the man pressed his hand to the inside of the girl’s wrist and the girl paled even further, almost like she was sick. She swayed on her feet, her eyes looking unfocused and dilated, and the burly Coven member reached out and steadied her. A moment later the girl stood up straight again and smiled, thanking the man before walking off, looking happily at her wrist.

And every moment of the exchange sent alarm bells ringing in Luz’s head. Something about what happened felt immensely wrong to her Spider Sense.

Eda offered a whispered explanation. “He gave her a Coven tattoo. Cuts a witch off from every type of magic other than what the Coven is allowed. Now that girl will only be able to do construction magic, along with a few generic spells witches learn as children. Now I never joined a Coven.” The Owl Lady then flicked her wrists and summoned up a ball of fire and a ball of water before dismissing them. “So I can do every type of magic. That’s why I’m the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles.”

Luz’s contemplation of what Eda said, and what she’d seen and felt, was interrupted by Willow’s excited voice as she pointed at a banner announcing that the Emperor’s Coven was giving a big presentation in the auditorium.

“Oh! A mystery guest!” she squeed. “I wonder who it's gonna be?”

“I think that’s the idea of a ‘mystery guest’, Glasses,” Eda replied, ignoring Willow’s frown. “Though this is an excellent opportunity to show Luz here how much flash and how little substance there is to these bozos.”

“...and a spokesperson from Canada’s Alpha Flight confirmed that last week’s giant red panda attack in Toronto was an isolated incident, but didn’t go into any further details…”

Camila barely heard the TV, even though she’d turned it on to drown out the oppressive silence that had filled the small room not long after Professor Xavier’s visit. He had warned them that his ‘examination’ of Vee would be more invasive than Dr. Strange’s, even if the mutant mastermind was using, in his words, “a light touch”. Hank McCoy, who had accompanied the professor, had explained to Camila that the psychic would need to probe “each and every one” of the unfortunate girl’s memories, “even the ones she would wish not to.”

At least Vee had stopped crying, though the poor basilisk was still curled up under the covers of her bed. The professor had coldly declared that she had no “memories that had been hidden or suppressed, whether intentionally or through trauma” and that the girl was, in his words, “no different than any young mutant who escaped an abusive home” and even extended an offer for Vee to attend his school in upstate New York, even though Vee was already tearing up from the experience.

“Camila…” came a small voice from under a nest of blankets and sheets.

“Yes, mija?” The woman got up and crossed the small room to kneel by the bed. “Do you need anything?”

Teal eyes shot through with red stared soulfully out at her. “I…”

A sense of deja vu washed over Camila, as she briefly found herself eight years ago, looking at small brown eyes as another terrified girl huddled under a different, yet same, pile of bedding. The woman blinked away the memory and waited for Vee to finish.

“I-I don’t think I liked that man.”

“What do you mean?” The woman was surprised. Sure, the mutant had been a bit clinical during the meeting. And he hadn’t been too concerned about her emotional state at the end.

“It was the way he touched my mind. It felt so… so cold. And the way he made me remember all those horrible things that the Emperor’s Coven did to me…” The basilisk screwed her eyes closed and shuddered for a moment before continuing. “It-it didn’t feel right.”

“That’s okay, mija. You don’t have to take his offer to go live at the Xavier School. I’m sure there’s plenty of places that could take you in. Or maybe you could stay here, on Avenger’s Island?”

The girl shifted around under her covers, uncurling a little. “I don’t know. All that stuff you told me about what heroes do and the battles they get in sounds really scary.” She sighed. “I don’t think I’d be able to fight against a ‘Gah-Lak-Tus’ or whatever.”

Camila briefly shuddered, flashing back to when the Fantastic Four had faced off against the Destroyer of Worlds, and, somehow, forced the planet eater to retreat. “Not many humans do, Vee. I think your view of the world has been skewed a little by your time on the island.”

Another shift revealed navy blue hair and green scales as the prospect of learning more about the world she found herself in drew out the basilisk. “What do you mean? Your daughter has powers, right? Didn’t she get them from you?”

Camila giggled. “No, mija, she got them…” She blinked back a tear. Eight years was both so long ago and not long enough. “...another way. No, I’m just a normal human, no I’m just a normal human, no mutant laser eyes, no super soldier serum, not even a fancy suit of armor. I’m just a veterinarian - an animal doctor - from a small town in Connecticut.”

Vee sat up fully now, her teal eyes shining with a hunger for knowledge that the woman had seen in her own daughter a few times. “Really? Can you tell me more about this ‘Kahn-Etty-Cut’? And a doctor - that’s like a healer, right? How do you do that for animals without any magic?”

Camila laughed fully this time. “I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’ve got some time before my meeting to tell you some stories.”

“Mexican authorities report that the so-called ‘Springfield Anomaly’ has been reported in the State of Chihuahua near the Texas-Mexico border. Residents traveling in that area are advised…” Camila barely heard the TV, engrossed as she was in regaling Vee with stories about her hometown.

Eda didn’t know how long she’d been outside the auditorium fuming and grumbling to herself, but she could barely tamp down on her anger after Lily had started speaking about ‘humble origins’ and ‘lowly beginnings’.

Unicorn crap.

She was considering going outside to cool off (or more likely find something to vandalize) when she heard a particular prim, proper, prissy voice approaching. As good as Eda’s disguise was, she very much doubted that her own sister would be fooled by it. Unfortunately a moment of indecision was all that was needed for Lilith to round the corner at the head of a gaggle of children. And, as the Owl Lady feared, as soon as her sister glanced at her a flash of recognition flitted over her sharp features.

Dismissing her young fans, Lilith stepped forward, and, in a hushed voice asked “Edalyn? Is that you? What are you doing here?” And then a spark of joy (something Eda sadly hadn’t seen in decades) lit up her sister’s face. “Are you here to finally join the Emperor’s Coven? Oh, sister, I have waited for this moment for…”

Eda cut her off with an upraised hand. “Sorry, Lily, but I ain’t here to join your little circus troupe.” It hurt Eda to see her sister’s smile fall into an incensed frown. “I’m actually here for someone else’s sake. Now I’ve been a very good girl today, hardly even pickpocketed anyone here, so why don’t you leave well enough alone before one of us starts something we’ll both regret.”

That just got Lilly to start up again. “Edalyn! Why won’t you let me help you! The Emp…”

Fate chose that moment to intervene in the form of a teenage human landing nearby with a distinct thud that caused both sisters to jump back in surprise.

“Eda! I need your help!” The Owl Lady had never seen Luz panicked before. “I accidentally challenged Amity to a witch’s duel and she made some sort of spell thing and said if I lost I couldn’t learn magic anymore and I think she’s gonna kill me all the way dead.”

“Whoah, kid! Slow down!” Eda took the girl by the shoulders. “I only caught about a third of what you said. Take some deep breaths and try again, okay?”

While Luz was working on calming herself down, Lilith chose to butt in. “I see, Edalyn. You found yourself an apprentice. And those ears … is she human?” Lilith chuckled, any trace of sororal warmth gone from her voice. “It seems she’s had a run-in with one of my most exceptional protegees. This should be interesting.”

Lilith then traced a spell circle and the, quite frankly, ludicrous amount of wanted posters depicting the Owl Lady (and King) vanished as blue flames consumed them. “All right, Edalyn, in order for your…student to not be placed at too much of a disadvantage, you won’t have to run from the law for today. Let’s see how good of a teacher you really are.” And though Lily about-faced crisply and walked away, Eda could almost feel the smug smile her sister sported.

The older witch turned back to her student. “Well kid, ain’t nothing but to do it. Let’s prepare for bloodshed!”

“But whose blood?”

“Anyone’s guess!”

Out of a desire for some privacy (and hoping that somewhere quiet would help calm Luz down), Eda guided the teen to one of the side corridors to plan out their strategy.

Taking off the mask and letting down her hood, Eda rounded on her apprentice. “Alright, Luz! I come at you with a blast of fire. What do you do?”

“Uh, dodge it?” Luz cringed a little, like she was afraid her answer was wrong or inappropriate somehow.

Eda paused. “Oh, right, you can just do that.” She shot a questioning look at Luz. “So why the heck are you so worried about this fight? You could literally take this ‘Amity’ on blindfolded and with both hands behind your back!”

“Well, yeah,” Luz answered sheepishly. “But isn’t a Witch’s Duel supposed to be about fighting with magic and stuff?”

“Not as much as those trashy books you read to King would have you believe. Sure, most witches tend to fight using magic, but nothing in the rules says you can’t resort to good old fisticuffs.” Eda punctuated her statement by punching her palm. “Heck, the only real winning condition is to stop your opponent from casting spells, by either binding them, knocking them out, or forcing them to concede.”

Luz stood up straighter, her usual cheery demeanor returned. “Y’know, maybe I do have a shot at winning.”

Eda clapped the girl on the back. “That’s the spirit!”

Sitting in the now empty bleachers of the auditorium, Amity still wasn’t quite sure how she’d ended up in this predicament. Sure she may have been a little insulting towards that human … Loose? (Was that her name? Humans sure were weird.) But all she said was the truth – humans can’t learn magic. She didn’t know why the human was so upset by that. Her parents, especially her mother, had always told her the hard truth, and it had never bothered Amity. At all.

Not at all.

A comforting touch brought the green-haired witch out of her reverie, and she turned to see her mentor, Lilith, standing beside her. Amity blinked at the unexpected contact, but the dark-haired witch offered a proud smile. “I have seen your opponent, Amity. You should have no problems in your duel.”

“Are you sure, Ms. Lilith?” Amity’s eyes dropped. “I still can’t conjure full-size abominations on my own. And I don’t know what surprises that human has in store.” Especially after what I saw her do at the school.

“Nonsense, Amity,” the older witch replied. “You are one of the most gifted witches I have the pleasure to mentor. You just need to have a little …confidence in yourself. Now then, it’s about time for the match to begin.” She nodded at the steady influx of other witches into the auditorium. “You should go ahead and take your place. I’ll see you after you win.” Another small smile graced the Head Witch’s lips before she departed.

Amity sat a few moments longer, actually feeling her confidence rise, before getting up and making her way down to the dirt arena at the bottom of the auditorium. She didn’t have to wait long for her opponent to appear, followed closely by … the Owl Lady!?

No wonder a single human was able to not only break into Hexside, but cause such chaos that classes had to be canceled for a full day.

It took about half an hour for the stream of incoming spectators to die down enough for Principal Bump to call for the match to begin.

“Hey, Bumpy-kins!” Amity grimaced at the way the Owl Lady addressed the principal. “Sorry, but before we begin, I wanna make a request.”

“What is it, Edalyn?” The man’s demeanor mirrored Amity’s own aggravation at the delay.

“Well,” the wild witch continued, a sly grin creeping across her face, “I’ve kinda gotten a reputation, mostly deserved I will admit, for not exactly playing ‘fairly’”, Amity thought the finger quotes were a little overdramatic, “especially when something important to me is on the line. So, in the interest of fairness, I want to ask Lily here to give Luz here the ol’ once-over. Y’know, confirm that I haven’t juiced her up with any spells or potions.” Amity quirked an eyebrow at the exceedingly familiar way she addressed the head of the Emperor’s Coven, but it was probably the woman just being irreverent.

Both Bump and Lilith blinked as they struggled to digest what the Owl Lady had said. “That’s … um … I … er, honestly didn’t expect that, Edalyn,” Lilith broke the silence before it could become awkward, though Amity did find it odd that Lilith would address the Owl Lady by her first name. “But, yes, that does seem like a prudent suggestion. If your, er, ‘pupil’ would step over here.”

Amity watched as the Owl Lady gave her human a reassuring smile and pat on the back before the nervous teen walked over to the Head Witch. A quick spell circle made the raven-haired woman’s eyes glow and she leaned in close to examine the human. After a few moments, Lilith declared, voice amplified to reach the crowd, “I have found no traces of magic or potions in the human’s system, nor any hidden items Eda the Owl Lady may have slipped her student.” The Head Witch nodded at the human, who moved to take her place opposite Amity in the arena.

Principal Bump raised his microphone once more. “Alright, it's finally time! Let the witch’s duel between Amity Blight and…er,” he leaned in close as the Owl Lady whispered something to him, “and Luz Noceda begin!”

Amity wasted no time, immediately drawing a spell circle to summon an abomination. Only, instead of a miniature three foot abomination, this one struggled to squeeze out of the circle, and she stared in shock as it rose to its full fifteen foot height. Shaking herself, the green-haired witch decided to look into this sudden burst of power later, instead ordering her abomination to attack her opponent. Popping its own head off, the construct lobbed the gooey mass straight at the human. As the purple ooze splattered all over the floor of the arena, Amity didn’t see the other girl dodge, or even try to shield herself.

Well, that was easy. But, then again, I am a Blight and she’s just a fragile human. It really is for the best that she lo-

“Hey! Don’t you think that something that size is a little over-the-top? That could have really hurt me!”

The voice cut through Amity’s self-congratulatory thoughts like a raging elf. The witch heard the gasps of the crowd as she looked up, and saw her opponent perched on the vertical side of the arena in defiance of gravity. She stared for a few precious seconds, her brain frozen by the apparent fact that not only had the human had somehow leapt the thirty foot distance from her starting spot to the wall, but had done so fast enough that Amity didn’t even see her move!

The human jumped off the wall, turning a single somersault before landing just outside the area where her abomination’s attack had hit, the goo starting to seep back into the floor. “Listen, I know that we’re fighting a duel and all,” he opponent continued, “and I know you do things a little differently on the Isles than back on Earth, but maybe we should tone it down a little,” she gestured to Amity’s abomination, waiting patiently for orders, “Y’know, so we don’t do any permanent dam-”

“Abomination, attack!”

“Oh come on! Couldn’t you have just let me finish!” The human seemed more irritated by the incoming ooze-ball than anything, leaping out of the way again, only to jump the second she landed when the abomination launched a second gooey projectile at her. Amity could only stare dumbly as the girl nimbly evaded every attack the abomination sent her way, tumbling, somersaulting, and cartwheeling around the arena like an acrobat.

Finally, after about fifteen straight minutes of avoiding all of Amity’s attacks, the human stopped. “Okay, this isn’t working.” she glared at the construct assaulting her. Just before the next projectile hit, the girl leapt again onto the arena wall, but, instead of sticking there like the world’s largest magnet, she pushed off again, thrusting one of her hands towards the ceiling. A thin white line of … something … shot out of her arm and latched onto the ceiling. Using her impressive momentum, the human swung towards the construct, ramming into its torso and splattering it before the abomination, or Amity, had time to react.

Landing in a crouch, the human took off again, though she didn’t spring into the air this time. Instead she ran straight towards Amity. The witch only got off a single small spell circle, summoning a useless abomination arm that grasped uselessly at the air as the human covered the fifty-foot distance in a matter of seconds. A tan arm shot out (an arm that Amity’s treacherous brain couldn’t help but notice was far more muscular than it seemed when not covered in abomination goo), grabbing the witch’s shoulder. Another tan arm shot up, pointing a finger at Amity.

“Okay, I splattered your mega-abomination. Now just surrender and apologize for what you said. I really don’t want to hurt you.”

I- I lost! No! That’s not possible! You are a Blight! Blight’s don’t lose!

With her mother’s words echoing in her head, Amity cocked her arm back, throwing a clumsy, last-ditch effort punch towards the human. A punch the human dodged almost effortlessly. A punch whose surprising momentum and power sent the witch spinning off balance before those unexpectedly strong arms grabbed her once again, keeping her from falling to the floor.

“Hey, what’s this?” the human’s quiet voice said as Amity regained her footing. There was a sensation of something being peeled off the back of her neck and she felt her confidence and power drain, leaving her feeling a lot weaker than she really should have, even after using all that magic.

Amity quickly turned around, only to see a scowling Luz holding a power glyph from the Construction Coven. “So, what, you thought that I’d be cheating and you thought to ‘even the playing field’?” It wasn’t anger or sadness in the human’s voice, but a gut-punching disappointment.

“What? N-no, I’d never… I…” Amity couldn’t find the words, her mind racing to try and figure out how this could have happened. What had happened…

She flashed back to a single touch. From Lilith Clawthorne. The same Lilith Clawthorne who didn’t even shake people’s hands when she was trying to be friendly. It was well known that Lilith Clawthorne despised being touched, so why would she offer a gesture like a comforting touch to the back of my neck?

The witch’s gaze slowly turned to the raised platform where the Owl Lady, Principal Bump, and Lilith stood. While the principal stood flabbergasted, trying to process all he’d just witnessed, the Owl Lady was smugly, and loudly, proclaiming her moral victory over the Head Witch. But Lilith…

Lilith Clawthorne was irritated by Edalyn’s display. Imperiously, the raven-haired witch argued that her actions were the result of the Owl Lady’s expected cheating. There was no guilt on her face, no embarrassment in her voice as she attempted to deflect blame.

And not one iota of concern for her “student”.

Tears blurring her vision, Amity Blight ran out of the arena. She barely even heard Luz call after her as she fled.

“Amity, wait!”

The shout caused Eda to glance over at the center of the arena just as the human ran (or jogged, rather, given the bursts of speed she’d seen from the girl).

Of course she’s concerned about her opponent. Girl’s heart is probably bigger than the Titan’s.

Confident that her pupil had that situation well in hand, the Owl Lady turned instead to the situation she was better equipped to handle than an emotionally distraught teen:

Antagonizing her sister!

“Really, Lily, it's so sad how far you’ve fallen.” Eda exaggeratedly put a hand to her head, “Cheating? In a Witch’s Duel, no less! What would our parents say? What would our teachers say?” She then looked over at Principal Bump, who was still staring, mouth agape, at the arena. “Oh, wait, I can just ask one of them right now!”

A barely restrained growl came out of the raven-haired witch, “I cheated?! What about you! You claimed that your so-called ‘student’ was a human when it is clearly some sort of spider demon you dolled up with illusions!”

Eda tapped her chin theatrically before elbowing the stunned principal. “Hey, Bump! Didn’t the very Head of the Emperor’s Coven check on Luz before the duel began? And didn’t that same Head Witch declare, to everyone here, that she couldn’t detect any magic on my apprentice?” Eda’s grin grew smugger as she turned towards her sister. “Or is ‘Little Miss Perfect’ admitting that a wild witch’s magic is better than hers?”

Lilith sputtered, now caught between either admitting she’d been the one to break the rules this time or admit that the coven system had flaws.

Eda finally let out the uproarious guffaws she’d been holding in. “Oh, Titan, Lily, you should really see your face now. Like an angry cherry.”

Apparently being compared to fruit was the final straw, as Lilith raised her staff menacingly, palisman aglow in azure magic. “That’s enough! I should have done this long ago, Edalyn! I…”

“Lilith Elphaba Clawthorne!”

For a second Edalyn froze, suddenly 14 years old and being caught (again) carrying out some minor mischief at Hexside as Principal Bump’s ‘authoritative’ voice rang out through the arena. Lilith must have felt the same way as she stumbled with a yelp, almost losing her grip on her staff.

Bump, his composure regained after his earlier shock, glowered at the Head Witch. At least Lily had the sense to look guilty as their former principal silently judged her.
“Cheating, Lilith? I expected more from you. What sort of example are you setting for your apprentices? Even Edalyn went out of her way to make sure that this would be a fair fight! And what of Amity Blight? I’m certain she would never have agreed to do something like this.”

“Given how fast baby Blight ran out of here, I don’t think Lily has to worry about disappointing her any further,” Eda butted in.

Bump’s gaze snapped back towards the Owl Lady. “Edalyn, I suggest you go see if your pupil is alright. And you might want to leave before any Emperor’s Coven scouts get any bright ideas.”

Eda’s self-preservation instincts warred with her desire to see her sister get in trouble. Finally, the former won out, and she shrugged. “Fair enough. I’m just glad I’m not the one in the hot seat this time.” She hopped off the stage and started to walk to the main hall, but couldn’t keep the grin off her face as she listened to Bump lecture Lilith on the importance of safety when dealing with power glyphs.

She found Luz a little later, an uncertain look on the girl’s face. “Hey, you find Miss Priss?”

“Yeah. We talked. I dunno, Eda. Maybe…” the teen sighed. “Maybe I let my first impression of Amity get the better of me. I get the feeling her life isn’t as good as she wants people to think it is.”

“Whose is?” The witch laughed. “Besides mine, of course. Now, where did Tweedledork and Tweedledweeb go? We should probably get outta here before Bump finishes reading my sister the riot act and comes after us.”

“I think I saw them down by the Candy Coven booth – wait, sister?!”

Camila didn’t know how long she’d stood looking at the door to conference room AF15, lost in her thoughts.

“'Beyond this door shall never go
The burdens that are mine to know;
The day is done, and here I leave
The petty things that vex and grieve.’
Edgar Albert Guest”

She started, broken out of her reverie, and turned towards the voice. “Oh, Hank. I’m sorry, you just, uh, startled me. What are you doing here?”

“I was just delivering a more complete copy of Vee’s medical report to Reed before I retired for the night.” He held up a tablet. “A more complete breakdown of her biochemistry may help differentiate this ‘Demon Realm’ from any similar planes. And may I ask what is the reason you aren’t already inside?”

“I was just thinking. About things.” She gave, what she hoped, was a reassuring smile to the mutant.

“You do not feel you belong here.” Not a question.

Is it really that obvious? She sighed. “This isn’t my world, Hank. You, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four… You’ve all done so many amazing things over the past 14 years! Each of you has saved the world a dozen times over! I just… I just don’t belong here. This is your world.” She looked down in an attempt to hide her tears. “And Luz’s. I know mi corazon would have loved it here. She would have loved meeting you all, learning how to be a hero… She wou-”

“Please stop talking about your daughter in the past tense, Camila,” Beast interjected. “It’s only been a week since Vee saw her on the Boiling Isles, and by all accounts Luz is a bright, resourceful young woman. And, given her abilities, I have no doubt that she is not only surviving, but thriving there.”

“And you’re sure that we-they can rescue her?”

“Positive. The Fantastic Four and Doctor Strange are not unfamiliar with alternate universes. In fact,” he leaned in conspiratorially, “I believe several of the good doctor’s paramours have been from, shall we say, ‘out of town’. If anyone on Earth, or beyond, can save your daughter, it is them.

“And besides, they asked you to be in on the meeting, they want you to be in there, if only to keep you apprised of any decisions they make regarding the search.” Dr. McCoy waved to the door. “Now, shall we?”

“Thank you, Hank.” Camila paused for a moment, then smiled. “You know, why don’t you go ahead and relax. I can take the tablet in for Dr. Richards.”

Handing the device over, Hank smiled back. “You are too kind, Madame. Though I doubt I shall do much resting. A teacher’s work is never done…” Giving a theatrical bow, causing Camila to giggle, he departed.

Turning back to the door, Camila took a deep breath to steel herself, and walked into the room…

…only to find it nearly empty, save for the mysterious Dr. Strange, floating seated in midair, intensely reading a small book that she couldn’t quite focus despite her gaze being drawn directly to it.

“Much like the proverbial wizard, you are neither early nor late, Ms. Noceda.” The sorcerer closed the book, which vanished with a pop that the Latina would swear sounded red. “The Four were suddenly called away to deal with an attack by - and I am not making this up - a villain called ‘Paste-Pot Pete’ on the Baxter Building. Given the moniker, they should return shortly.”

“Oh. Okay.” Camila went to sit down at the table, pausing to place Beast’s tablet at the head where she assumed Dr. Richards would sit. There were a few awkward minutes of silence as the veterinarian tried not to stare at the sorcerer.

“You are curious. It’s only natural.”

Am I really that obvious? she thought to herself as she turned towards the Master of Black Arts. “Sorry. It’s just that, well, even with everything that’s happened over the past 14 years, stuff like magic and sorcery have still been the stuff of fables and stories. Heck, Luz’s favorite book series is called The Good Witch Azura. Until now.” She shook her head. “Last week I was a veterinarian in a small town in Connecticut. Now I’m helping a magical refugee from another dimension while some of the most popular superhero teams is going to rescue my little girl who is lost in said dimension. Oh, and today I met an honest-to-God wizard and learned that magic is real!” Camila realized that she had shouted the last part and was now breathing heavily. “Sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just so- so-”

“Overwhelming, I know.” The sorcerer had stopped floating during Camila’s rant, and now walked calmly towards her, taking a seat (in a chair this time) next to her. “I had a similar reaction when my master, The Ancient One, revealed the existence of magic to me all those decades ago. In fact, Ms. Noceda, you are taking all this quite well.”

Camila offered him a smile. “Thanks, doctor.” The smile fell. “I just want to know why so many important people are taking an interest in one missing child. Not that I’m ungrateful, it’s just - I mean surely you have more important things to do, some looming existential threat to take care of?”

The sorcerer frowned, his face growing serious. “I won’t lie to you, Ms. Noceda. Rescuing your daughter is more of a happy side effect of our true objective. I meant what I said to you and Vee earlier - I have dealt with tyrants like this ‘Belos’. The Four have too, in their multiversal journeys. Reed and I agreed that, sooner or later, something from the Boiling Isles will become a threat to Earth, and that it was best to get ahead of this. And to do that, we need knowledge. This so-called ‘Demon Realm’ is new, and unknown, and so far the only source of information we have is a scared, abused child. We need a more complete picture of what threats, and what allies, we may expect from there.”

His mood lightened a little. “Fortunately, that merchant that Vee saw your daughter with may be a good starting place, at least. If she’s willing to help a lost teenager, perhaps she’ll be amenable to assisting us.”

“R-right, of course. I see what you mean. Thank you, anyway.” abused child… lost teenager… “I think you’ve given me something to think about, doctor.”

Chapter Text

“Are you sure about this, Camila?”

The woman smiled at the basilisk. “Yes, mija. I talked it over with the Fantastic Four and Dr. Strange last night, and they agreed that it’d be better for you, at least right now, to live in a more stable, and less dangerous, environment.” She offered a smile. “I’ll have to fill out some paperwork - it seems you're not Earth’s first non-human refugee - but I’ve been assured that the process is relatively straightforward-ish and that it should be done in a few days.” The smile turned nervous. “I hope.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Vee said nervously. “N-not that I don’t appreciate what you’re doing!”

Camila sat down on the basilisk’s borrowed bed. “Then what do you mean?”

“Well… You’ve got your own daughter to raise, right? And as soon as you contact her on the Boiling Isles, she’ll be coming back home.” The girl’s expression turned downcast. “I just… I don’t wanna get in the way.”

Camila shushed the girl. “None of that, cariño. I will be glad to host you as you get used to living on Earth. And I’m sure Luz will be thrilled to meet you.” She smiled. “And if you’re worried about where you’ll sleep, that’s already taken care of - Luz has a bunk bed due to some… side effects from when she got her powers. If you don’t mind sleeping on the bottom bunk, that is.” The smile turned melancholy. “If Luz were here she’d probably have suggested that the moment she met you.” Pausing a moment to collect herself, she continued. “Anyway, Ben Grimm suggested that I use this time to help you get ready to interact with humans.”

“Do I really have to?” The basilisk looked uncertain. “I could just stay inside your house, and hide when…”

“Not gonna be that easy, mija,” Camila interrupted. “According to Dr. McCoy, you’re probably about Luz’s age, and that means you have to go to school. Sorry, it's the law.” She suddenly became extremely nervous. “And the … ummmm… the first thing is – oh how do I put this?” Camila mumbled, rubbing her neck. “Nnnngh - Oooooh. You see, um, some humans are kind of sensitive about certain things. And, uh, with the, um, recent alien invasions, and with the anti-mutant sentiment – n-not that I have anything against mutants! - but some people do and I’m just afraid that, ummmm…”

Vee gave the woman a questioning look. “Are you..are you worried about my appearance?” She giggled. “Don’t worry! I’m a shapeshifter, remember - I’m not as attached to my natural form as some people are. Watch!” Camila gaped as the girl’s form shifted and she found herself looking at her exact twin. “And besides, most witches would be absolutely terrified of a basilisk, given that we, you know, eat magic.”

The basilisk transformed back. “The only thing is I’m not very creative, so I can’t really take an original form, just copy other people. But Earth has enough background magic that I’ll be able to transform back and forth as much as I want. ”

It took a second for Camila to regain her composure. “Ah, I’m… glad that this doesn’t bother you? Anyway, I’m sure I can help you come up with a form that’s all you. Now, why don’t we start with a base, hmm?”

“Oh, okay.” The basilisk paused. “Ummmm, just so you know, I haven’t seen a whole lot of humans my age - at least well enough to copy them - other than, ummm…” She nervously looked to the woman, as if silently asking permission for something.

Camila’s breath hitched when she realized what the girl was asking. The only human teenager Vee had copied was…

She inhaled sharply, tamping down once again on that boiling sea of emotions regarding her missing daughter. Calm down, Camila. You’ve got to help Vee right now. It’ll be all over this week anyway. She glanced over to the table where her purse sat, her phone, and what it promised, within.

She turned back to the basilisk and gave a slow nod. “I understand. Go ahead, mija, it's alright.”

Camila fought back the tears that welled up as Vee shifted once again. God, please just let mi bebe be safe.

Tonight should have been so simple, Luz thought to herself as she dodged the bounty hunter’s lightning blast.

Sneak my friends into the Owl House to have a witchy sleepover, eat some witchy snacks, and maybe perform some ancient magic to make an old Buzz Lightyear doll move. The big demon with the eyepatch lunged, his hand enveloped in greenish electricity. Meanwhile, the sound of struggling from behind her told her that the witch Luz had webbed up at the start of the battle was still trying to free herself.

But somehow we managed to animate the entire freaking Owl House! She could sense Willow dealing with the other demon bounty hunter, the one who seemed way too into fighting children, while Gus was feverishly sawing through the rope that currently held the Owl House down with one of the way too many jagged blades Eda kept.

And now we’re fighting for our lives against some bounty hunters! Luz sidestepped the demon’s chop, grabbing his arm mid-swing much to his surprise. His momentary look of confusion was all she needed to whip him over her head, slamming him down on the forest floor with a heavy whump!

Still, the muscular bounty hunter wasn’t quite out of the fight. Using his free hand to cast a fireball at the girl, he rolled to his feet while she dodged. Charging his fists with electricity, he threw a barrage of jabs at the girl, who weaved through the blows. Bringing his hands together, he discharged the stored lightning almost directly in the girl’s face. She was able to quickly duck out of the way, leaving the green lightning to fly off into the surrounding woods. His dumbfounded expression was quickly met with the teen’s slip-on shoes as she performed a perfectly executed flash kick. As he stumbled back, she lashed out with a wheel kick, then transitioned into a hopping spin kick. He wobbled and teetered, but hadn’t fallen down yet. Before he could pull himself together, the girl ran towards him, then leapt up to deliver a flying double dropkick directly to the demon’s face, toppling the bounty hunter over.

Luz waited a moment, but the demon didn’t rise again, though his soft moaning told her the man was merely unconscious. Allowing herself a moment to relax, she took a look around the battlefield. Willow had suspended the other demon upside down in some vines, though he was still struggling. The witch bounty hunter had stopped trying to escape and simply stared, mouth agape, at the thirteen-year-old who had just knocked out a professional bounty hunter several times her size.

A triumphant shout alerted the teen to Gus’s success at freeing Hooty. Rushing over she kicked Hooty’s door open, wincing slightly as she heard something crack. Great. As if Eda didn’t have enough reasons to kick my butt back through the door.

“Hey! Be careful, hoot! My hinges still haven’t fully healed from when Eda pulled me down!”

“Not now, Hooty!” Turning back outside, she was greeted by an exhausted Gus and Willow, who was still concentrating on holding the third bounty hunter tight. “Okay, who else votes to go back and see if we can clean up before Eda comes back? Everyone? Good!” She grabbed her friends’ hands and dragged them inside before they could answer.

Once he regained his footing, Gus spoke up. “The moon’s beginning to set. We probably need to cut across Bonesburough if we want to make it back at all.” He held out his hand to Willow.

“Ugh. My dads are probably gonna kill me,” she groaned, but took the boy’s hand. “Alright, on three. One. Two. Three!”

Vee’s eyes cracked open blearily, reluctantly greeting the morning light that filtered into Luz’s (and her’s, now, she guessed) room. She attempted to nestle further into the mattress to eke out a few more precious moments of sleep, but soon found herself staring at the bottom of the top bunk, hazily wondering when, or even if, she had gotten some sleep last night.

The past three days had been filled with both her and Camila reading, signing, and initialing a veritable mountain of paperwork. As such, the basilisk and her host had gotten back to the Noceda house late Wednesday night (or early Thursday morning, Vee still wasn’t good at telling the time on Earth). But, even as tired as she had been, the girl still had trouble falling asleep. Unlike her first few nights on Earth, where she was afraid that the moment she let her guard down the humans would throw her back through the portal, here it was more of a sense of … unease. It was ironic, in a sense, that now that she was away from all that hero stuff was when she felt most like the invader they initially thought she was.

Stop that, she chided herself, Camila asked you to be here. She wouldn’t have gone through all that paperwork otherwise. Taking a few deep breaths to steel herself, the basilisk stood, taking a moment to make sure she was balancing properly on her two legs.

Walking towards the closet, she caught her reflection in the mirrored doors. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, she valiantly tried (and failed) to fix her mussy hair before making sure her disguise had held up while she “slept”. She’d kept similar body proportions to Luz, mostly so she could borrow clothes until Camila could save up enough money to buy Vee her own. Her face was similar, but with just enough differences - a slightly wider nose, differently-shaped ears - that the basilisk could be mistaken for a sister or a cousin. The real differences, however, were her eyes and hair. Camila had convinced the girl to keep at least some aspects of her original form. Thus, rather than the deep chocolate color the mother and daughter shared, Vee’s eyes were a bright, vivid gold, while her hair was still her natural dark blue.

Satisfied that nothing was out-of-place, the disguised basilisk made her way downstairs carefully, still not used to navigating on two legs, and made her way to the cozy kitchen where she and Camila had shared a meal of “ham-burr-gurrs” last night. There she found the woman , without her red-rimmed glasses, hunched over a cup of coffee and staring unfocused at a human noose-paper.

Camila finally noticed the girl after a few moments, blinking away the remnants of sleep. “Lu- no, Vee. I’m sorry, I really should have my glasses on.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to choose another person to be the base for my disguise, Camila? I’m sure-”

A raised hand silenced the basilisk, though it was quickly repurposed to cover a yawn. “No. No, it's alright. I’m practically blind without my glasses, mija. Also, I don’t think I slept a wink last night so I’m even foggier than normal this morning.” Another monstrous yawn drowned out the rest of Camila’s statement.

“Oh. Do… you want to go back to sleep? I promise I’ll be extra quiet. I was probably gonna spend the day getting started on that reading list Principal Hal sent me. It’s … kind of a lot.” The girl looked warily at the coffee table, upon which rested the neatly typed sheet that listed the two dozen or more assignments that she had to complete in order to be eligible for the 9th grade.

“‘Sprobably not a good idea, mija,” the woman slurred. “First of all, I don’t have any of the books on the list, so we’ll need to go to the library t’day.” She paused to yawn again. “Secondly, if I did go back to sleep, I’d probably not want to get out of bed so I could avoid…” Camila trailed off.

“So, you’re gonna try and call her today?”

Camila nodded. “Yes, basically everyone at the island who knew about this agreed I should call Luz as soon as I could, even if it's so I don’t start making up wild theories about what’s going on with her.”

The woman stood up and began making her way to the refrigerator/freezer. “Well, neither of us are going to be doing much today without breakfast. How about some waffles? I think the batter I made a few weeks ago should still be good.”

“Uh, sure,” the girl hesitantly answered. “Just one question: what’s a waffle?”

Skara watched as Amity sat in Hexside’s cafeteria, eyes glued to her scroll, not-dog laying forgotten on her lunch tray. For days now the bard had sensed that something was bothering the other girl. Amity had seemed distracted at times - nothing major, just having to be called on twice by a teacher to answer a question or taking a little longer than usual to finish a quiz.

And so Skara, being the good friend that she was, had finally decided to do something about it.

“Hey, Amity!” The bard slid into the seat next to the green-haired witch. “Everything okay?”

“Huh? Oh, Skara. Yeah, everything’s fine. Why do you ask?”

“Uh, because you haven’t even touched your lunch?” The dark-skinned girl dropped her voice to a whisper, “Seriously, girl, you can talk to me about anything.”

Amity bit her lip and looked around nervously before leaning in conspiratorially. “Okay, but you can’t tell anyone, got it? Not Boscha, not the twins. Got it?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” the bard student solemnly recited.

Amity relaxed the tiniest bit. “You know those photos we saw after the Moonlight Conjuring, about the moving house and the kids fighting off those bounty hunters?” Skara nodded, and the other girl continued. “Well, I thought one of those kids looked familiar, so I investigated further.”

“And…” Skara prompted.

“I found this.” Amity turned her scroll to face her friend, showing that she’d been watching a video. It was blurry, shaky, and kept zooming in and out, like it was being filmed at a great distance. But it was just clear enough that the bard could see someone unleash a withering series of spinning, leaping kicks on one of the bounty hunters. Skara winced as the final jumping double-legged kick sent the demon flying back several feet to just lay there (hopefully out cold).

“Okay,” Skara said once the video was over. “Besides an admittedly awesome fight scene, what’s got you worked up?”

Amity pointed at the central figure, the one who’d taken down the demon. “I… recognized those moves. The speed at which they were delivered. I… I think – no. I KNOW that this is that human girl I fought at the Convention Saturday.”

Skara stared blankly at the other witch. “Say wha…? You sure?”

Amity nodded, “Yeah. Seeing someone move like that? You don’t forget it. And…” She sighed. “She was holding back during our fight. I’m pretty sure she was holding back against that bounty hunter. And I’m not sure how to feel about that.”

The phone rested on the table, heavy with both promise and peril. Camila sat, staring at the device, willing herself to dial the numbers that would either confirm her darkest fears or highest hopes. She checked the time: 6:12 PM. She checked the charge: 97%. She couldn’t delay any further by saying it was too late or her phone was dying.

Remembering one of the exercises a therapist had taught Luz after the accident, Camila inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, counted to three, then repeated. Another repetition, and the woman began typing out her daughter’s phone number. She glanced over at Vee, sitting across the table from her, and the basilisk gave a small smile of support.

No time like the present. She hit send.

Luz exhaled slowly as she sank into the Owl House’s couch. Even spider-enhanced physiology could only take so much cleaning and scrubbing of Eda’s potion-making equipment (and some of it was literally caked on). Eda had been happy, though, since now she’d be able to have separate cauldrons for making stew and cooking potions.

The girl closed her eyes, taking in the relative stillness of the Owl House. King napped nearby. Eda was in her lab, happily mixing potions, elixirs, and oils made from the sea slug she’d harvested last week. So, for the moment, Luz was left to her own devices.

Man, I hadn’t realized it until now, but I’ve kinda been going non-stop for the past two weeks. It’s actually kind of nice to just slow down and take a break.

And that’s when her phone rang. Of course the universe heard me. Digging the device out of her pocket, she briefly wondered who would be able to call her in the Demon Realm.

And that’s when she saw it. The one word that she’d been silently dreading in the back of her mind.

Call from…

Mami

She hesitated. King woke up with a sleepy “Weh?”, one eye lazily glancing over at her. Eda’s head peered out from the kitchen, a single eyebrow raised in confusion. Inhaling deeply, then exhaling slowly, Luz counted to three, then repeated. Another repetition, and she hit the answer button.

“Hola, mami?”

“Hola, mami?”

Camila breathed a sigh of relief when her daughter’s voice came over the speaker. Nearly two weeks’ worth of tension evaporated in a single moment.

“Hola, cariño. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing. Make any new friends on the island?”

“Uhhhh…. Yep. Yeah. A… whole bunch actually. I can’t wait for you to meet them. Later.”

The woman heard it. The slight hesitation in a normally confident voice.

“Luz, mija, where are you, really?”

“Uh, what do you mean? I’m on the island, at the Avenger’s Academy.”

“Luz Mirabel Garcia-Shapiro Noceda, please do not lie to your mother.”

“Ha-ha! You got middle name’d.” Another voice – Male, and…younger? – spoke up, but was quickly shushed by what sounded like an older, female voice.

“Hush, King! Do you want to get Luz in more trouble?” Eda whispered. The two had made their way over to the couch beside Luz once it was clear who the girl was talking to.

“Lo siento, mamá. I just… I didn’t want you to worry,” Luz replied. “I’m also not really sure how to explain this to you.”

The witch frowned. She’d only known the human for about two weeks, but she’d never seen the human so… terrified. While Eda didn’t have the kid’s whole backstory, there didn’t seem to be any big issues between Luz and her mom (and Eda had plenty of experience in that regard). So, why was she so hesitant about telling her mom where she'd been?

“Relax, Luz, I’m not mad. Let’s just start at the beginning, okay?” came the voice from Luz’s … foon? fahn? plastic scroll thingy.

The girl did the inhale-slow exhale thing again before speaking. “Well, I was waiting for the bus to take me to the airport when I noticed this cute little owl standing on my backpack. I was going to take a picture of him when he started flying away with my stuff! So I chased him and, well…” she took another breath. “I fell into some dimensión alternativa where magic is real and had to team up with an actual honest-to-God bruja to stage a prison break-out that started as a break-in to steal back a toy crown for the cutest demonio you’d ever see but the warden caught us and tried to hurt Eda - that’s the name of the witch by the way, I’d think you’d like her - but he caught up to us and starting fighting Eda and the prisoners were really just weirdos and shouldn’t have been in jail but they looked so abatidos y golpeados so I stepped in and fought the warden so everyone else could get away and I did beat him sorta but mainly just grossed him out enough that everyone could get away and when Eda, King and I finally got back to her home I thought that maybe I could learn to be a witch and use magic and maybe be more than just another Spider-Man copy.”

Eda reeled, blinking, from the onslaught of words from Luz’s mouth. I’d been there and still couldn’t understand half of what the girl said! The sentiment was evidently shared by the girl’s mother, as there was a fair bit of silence from the woman before she started speaking under her breath in that strange language (Espainglish?) Luz sometimes lapsed into when excited.

Camila sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to untangle the rush of speech that had spilled out of her daughter. “Una fuga de prisión, cariño, ¿en serio?” she mumbled, “Tendremos que hablar de eso más tarde.”

Opening her eyes, she caught Vee’s bewildered expression as the poor basilisk tried to parse Luz’s rapid-fire speech. Giving her a slight smile, Camila turned back to the phone. “Alright, so you wanted to stay and learn magic to be a better hero. I understand that, but why didn’t you call me?” I didn’t push you too hard, mi corazón, did I?

“Uhhhh, wellllllll…” Luz stammered. “The next few days I got into some more … shenanigans? Yeah, let’s go with shenanigans! Anyway, before I knew it it was Saturday and I was exhausted after the Covention and Sunday was the whole Moonlight Conjuring and after that Eda kept me busy doing chores until, well, tonight.”

Camila hummed. “And this ‘Eda’ you keep mentioning, you said she’s your teacher, right? Are you staying with her, or…?”

“Huh? Oh! Oh, yeah. In fact, she’s right here! Say something, Eda.”

The older female voice came over the phone next. “Uh, hi, Mrs. Noceda. Name’s Eda Clawthorne. No need to worry about the kid here. I am the strongest witch on the Boiling Isles. And a pretty damned good mentor, if I do say so myself.”

“Mmm-hmmm,” the woman replied. “I think I’d like to decide that for myself when I come and visit you and my daughter.”

“Ooh! Luz’s mom is coming over to visit! I better make myself presentable!” A fourth voice shrieked, although calling it a ‘voice’ was being charitable.

“Luz, what in the name of El Espiritu Santo was that?” Camila asked, voice shaking.

Luz laughed humorlessly. “Oh, that? That was Hooty. He’s kinda the house I’m staying in. Sort of? I’m not actually sure of all the details, mainly because when Eda tried to explain it I think my brain shut down in self defense.”

King shuddered beside her. “I wish my brain had done that when Eda told me last year.”

“Oh, and who is this? Another witch?”

“Hi! I’m King! The King of Demons!” Luz swore his tail started wagging when he jumped up to introduce himself. “I was once the terrifying ruler of all demonkind, and when I regain my power I will restart my reign of blood and ash by feasting on the corpses of my many enemies. And cupcakes.”

“He’s also just the cutest widdle guy you’ve ever seen!” Luz grabbed the miniature tyrant in a hug.

“Weh! Not again! Not again!”

“Don’t you worry, Mrs. Noceda,” Eda chimed in. “King here is more bluster than bark right now.”

“Riiiiight.” her mother didn’t sound assured.

“So, uh, how exactly did you find out I hadn’t gone to the Academy?” Luz asked, hoping to change the topic. ”Also, you seem really chill about me telling you that magic is real.”

“Well, let’s just say that those two events are related.”

The girl looked up questioningly at Eda, who just shrugged, then (surprise, surprise) summoned a mug of Apple Blood. Luz turned back to her phone. “Uh, okay. Are you going to explain or do you want me to guess?”

“Uno momento, Luz! Her mother giggled. “I’m not as good at storytelling as you are.”

“It was about… two days after you left when I got a call from the administrators there – Hank, er, Dr. McCoy, The Beast.”

“First name basis with an X-Man? Mom, you sly dog.”

“Hush, you, and let me finish,” Camila chided. “Anyway, they flew me all the way out there the next day in one of those Quinjets where they had me speak to a very interesting person. Vee, mija, why don’t you come over and introduce yourself?”

“Uh, hello.” A girl that sounded about Luz’s age spoke up. “My name is Vee, and I, uh, I come from the Demon Realm.”

All three residents of the Owl House stared agape at Luz’s phone.

“Luz, mija, are you still there?” Her mother asked.

It was Eda who spoke up first. “Woah,woah, woah! Hold up.” Here she actually made the ‘time out’ gesture, even though Camila couldn’t see. “Are you telling me that someone managed to sneak her way through my portal to the human realm? And you managed to catch her?”

“Uh, it’s- it’s a long story,” Vee replied. “I don’t really feel up to talking about it right now.”

Camila cut in. “I believe Vee’s story may be better told in person.”

“Si, mami, I get it,” Luz rolled her eyes. “But, yeah, telling you these stories will be a lot better in person.” She paused. “Uh, can it wait until the weekend? I’ve got some friends that are grounded until then and I kind of want you to meet them.” And possibly say goodbye to she left unsaid.

“Friends? Oh, cariño! That’s so wonderful!” The sheer joy Camila expressed at Luz’s revelation gave the girl some hope that her stay in the Boiling Isles wasn’t over. “Of course, mi vida, of course. Why don’t we try for Saturday at, say, 10 AM? Wait, are the time zones even the same over there?”

Luz couldn’t help but giggle. “Yeah, I think the time zone here is just about the same. I’ll contact Willow and Gus tomorrow evening and see if they can come over.”

“I really think you’re gonna like them, Mami. Willow’s amazing at all sorts of plant magic, and Gus is utterly obsessed with human stuff. He almost literally flipped when we met.”

Camila laughed again. “And I’m sure he’s been asking you questions non-stop, right, cariño?”

“Eh, it hasn’t been that bad. Well, after the first day or two.” Luz sighed. “Mostly it's just been correcting the many, MANY misconceptions witches seem to have about humans. Do you know how many times Gus has asked me if I had gills? 17. I was counting.”

“Hmmmm? Sounds a little like someone when she was about 2 or 3?”

“Wait, I wasn’t that bad?” A pause. “Was I?”

Luz could only groan as Camila let her silence answer.

“Anyway, mija, where are we going to meet? Is there a specific place the portal comes out here on the human side? Oh, I hope you don’t have to go anywhere dangerous on your side.”

It was Eda who answered. “Nah, the portal door’s actually portable, at least on this end. Seems to be anchored to some random old house on yours though. Never could figure out why.”

“Wait, I thought you’d made the portal, Eda.” Luz said, “But if you didn’t, then who did?”

“No clue. Literally tripped over the thing when I – in my own backyard one day.”

Camila couldn’t help but notice Eda’s sudden evasiveness regarding her past, but chalked it up to not wanting to share something personal with a stranger. “Anyway, do you know which house this is, and where it is?” she asked, hoping to keep the discussion on track lest Luz’s attention focus on the door’s origin rather than what was really important right now.

“Uhhhm, you know that really old, abandoned, super creepy house in the woods near ours?” Luz responded, and Camila could almost see her daughter flinching away from the phone.

She pinched the bridge of her nose again. “You mean the old house that I’ve told you many times to never go near because it’s so old and decrepit that it could be dangerous, even with your powers?”

“Si, mama.” Luz’s voice sounded so little.

“Now, Luz, I’m not mad at you, I’m just worried. You literally disappeared off the face of the Earth. And when I got the call from the academy that you hadn’t arrived, I just… I just…” Camila couldn’t help the tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, I just… The past two weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster.”

“Lo siento, mamá,” Luz’s voice was barely above a whisper now. “I just got so caught up in everything being kinda like my books but also not that it just didn’t occur to me that I’d been here for that long. But,” Her voice got a little brighter. “I have been able to learn some magic. I can’t wait to show it to you.”

“I’d love to see that, cariño,” Camila sniffed as she dried her tears. “I don’t know about you, but this conversation has worn me out, and I don’t want you to worry too much and get so worked up you can’t sleep.”

“I understand. Te quiero, mama.”

“Te quiero, mi vida.”

The call ended, and Camila let out a breath, shoulders and head drooping. She stayed that way a while, letting the stress of the day radiate off her. Looking back up, she saw that Vee had left, though she did hear the sound of laughter coming from the TV in the living room, so she knew the little basilisk was alright.

And so, Camila Noceda sat in her kitchen, staring at her phone, and wondered if she really had the strength to make it to Saturday.

“Hey, uh, you all right?”

Luz looked up at King’s question and realized she had been staring at the phone in her hands for probably several minutes now.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, buddy. Just… kinda finally realizing that my actions have consequences.”

Eda, returning to the room with a fresh mug of apple blood, snorted. “Been there, done that, kid.”

King’s disaffected groan turned into a huge yawn. “Ech, maturity always makes me sleepy. I’m going to bed.” He hopped off the couch and made his way upstairs.

“Night, King!”

Eda’s face turned serious. “Hey…Luz? If you wanna talk about this, or anything really, you just need to ask.”

“Nope! Not tonight anyway. Right now, I need a distraction.” The girl stood up and stretched. “Y’know what? I think I’m gonna take a swing through the woods for a while, clear my head.”

“Don’t stay out too late! I know you’re tough, kid, but I still don’t want you to try and take on the things that roam these woods at night.”

“I know, I know.” And with that, Luz was out the door, leaping, swinging, spinning through the air, letting the wind carry her fears and worries away. For now at least.

Camila trod nervously through the woods towards the derelict house where Luz said the portal opened, followed by Vee, still in her human disguise. She’d never admit it, but one of the big reasons she’d forbade Luz from coming here was just how utterly freaky the place was. Familiar birdsong was replaced with horrifying screeches and cries, the relaxing green and brown palette of the forest slowly shifted to an eerie mix of smoldering oranges and bloody reds, and even the air smelled differently, more acrid and caustic.

The vague sense of unease grew as the two stepped into the clearing where the ancient house sat, staring sleepily through the low slung fog that permeated the area. Though there was no sign of recent human activity in the area, no trees grew within a 20 foot radius of the building, almost as if they were keeping a respectful (or fearful) distance from the portal. The woman involuntarily shuddered and turned to the transformed basilisk. “Are you alright, mija?”

The girl crossed her arms nervously, staring at the decrepit building before them. “I…think so. It’s just weird. This place, I mean.” She turned to face Camila fully. “I swear some of the plants around here are from the Boiling Isles. But, that’s impossible, right?”

“Well, there are local legends of strange plants or animals being sighted, including some sort of giant owl beast, but I never paid much attention to them until, well, now.” Camila glanced around apprehensively, noting that the majority of trees in the area were now the strange, twisted ones with disturbing eye markings.

A momentary, blinding light shone from the rotten porch, startling the woman and the basilisk. When Camila blinked her vision clear, she saw that the door of the decaying home had been replaced by an intact one with a large, far-too-realistic serpentine eye gazing out. After a few moments the door eased open, allowing a head to peek out.

“H-hola, mama! ¿Como estas?” Luz said, nervously waving as she opened the door more fully.

Camila raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I’m doing fine. Except for the fact that my baby girl has spent the past two weeks in a land that resembles the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch or Gustave Doré!”

“I’m so sorry!” Even from several feet away Camila could see the tears in her daughter’s eyes. “I just got caught up in stuff like I always do and it never occurred to me to even contact you or anyone else about what was going on and I didn’t even think about how my absence would affect you or that it would be found out so soon and-”

“Luz! LUZ! Mija, breathe!” Camila shouted to her rapidly panicking daughter. “Remember your breathing technique. Do it with me, okay? Inhale…”

I took a few repetitions for Luz to calm down enough that she could speak again. “Lo siento, mamá. I just got so scared…” The girl sat down heavily on the dismal porch’s steps, resting her head in her hands.

“That I’d be angry with you?”

Her daughter looked up at her, tears still in her eyes. “That you’d take me away from my friends.”

Camila jolted as if stung. Was that what I was about to do? By forcing Luz to come home would I have torn mi bebé away from the first friends she’s had in years? Would the Fantastic Four or Dr. Strange allowed her to visit after they took over investigating the Boiling Isles?
Luz stood up again and wiped her eyes. “Before you ask me to come home again, I’d like you to at least meet my friends. ¿Está bien?”

“Si. I’d love to meet them, mi vida.” Camila felt a tear roll down her cheek as Luz opened the door to let in a trio of people, presumably witches from the Boiling Isles.

The first was a surprisingly tall woman with a large shock of gray hair and a purposefully torn red dress. The woman placed a hand on Luz’s shoulder and whispered something to which Luz nodded. The gray-maned witch smiled and turned her attention to Camila and Vee.

“Mama, this is Eda Clawthorne, the witch I’ve been staying with,” Luz said, gesturing to the woman. “Eda, this is my mom, Camila. You two spoke on the phone the other day?”

The witch’s smile grew cheerier, showing off a golden fang (though it was probably false or decorative, given that her other canines were toothy-white and nowhere near as long). “Hey.” The older, female voice.

“Hello, Ms. Clawthrone,” Camila said. “I want to thank you for taking care of my daughter. I hope she hasn’t been too much trouble.”

Eda rolled her eyes and her expression soured. “Please, call me Eda. Ms. Clawthorne is my mother.” She brightened up again. “And, nah. Luz’s been fine. A few incidents here and there, but nothing major.”

Camila narrowed her eyes. “A prison break is ‘nothing major’?”

Eda scoffed. “Technically that was my idea.”

Camila was about to ask the witch to elaborate further when she heard Luz clear her throat, drawing the woman’s attention to her daughter and two juvenile witches standing beside her, both gazing starry-eyed at the surrounding woods, along with a small demonic-looking dog, who looked far less impressed.

“I don’t know why you two are so impressed,” the younger voice from the phone call seemed to come from the small creature, though its mouth didn’t move. “It looks just like the woods the Owl House is in.”

“Uh, sorry to interrupt, but, uh, mami, I’d like to introduce you to my friends Willow,” she indicated the plump witch with the glasses, “and Gus,” she pointed to the darker-skinned one. “And this here is King.” She picked up the dog demon, who gave a small ‘weh’ of confusion. “I only met them last week, but they’re my best friends in the world. Well, two worlds.”

It was impossible for Camila to miss the sad smile that alighted her daughter’s features as she talked about her new friends. Do I really have to do this? Tear mi vida away from the best things to happen to her since the accident?

The pain stung worse when Willow eyes fell on her, the girl blinking to refocus herself. “Oh, h-hello, Mrs. Luz’s Mom! I’m Willow, though I guess your daughter already told you that.” She giggled, then turned to her companion. “Psst! Gus! It’s Luz’s mom!”

The woman barely felt the disingenuous smile that she forced on her face. “Hello little witches. Please, call me Camila. And this is…Vee? Where’d you…?” She turned around to find the basilisk had taken shelter behind her. “Come on out, mija.”

The girl’s stiff shuffle was only matched by her shaky smile as she sidled out from behind the woman. “H-hi,” she squeaked.

“Hello there, Mrs. Camila, Ms. Vee! My name is Augustus Porter,” the dark skinned witch spoke up and began walking forward, hand extended, “and I am happy to extend the first unofficial hand of friendshi-”

And his hand ran straight into a patch of thin air that became painted with red runes. Everyone stared as the impact sent a ripple of scarlet hieroglyphs and pictograms reverberating around the house like a stone tossed into a pond. From her vantage point outside Camila could see that the … whatever it was … was shaped like a box surrounding the house, as if the building was a display in some gigantic terrarium.

The seven of them stood in stock silence for several minutes. The eerie quiet of the glade was finally broken when Vee spoke up.

“That… That wasn’t here when I came through.”

And with that statement, the reality of the situation seemed to register. Willow and Gus poked and prodded at the barrier while Eda stared intently at it, seemingly drinking in every symbol. Vee approached carefully, confusion writ large on her face.

Meanwhile, Luz and Camila stared at each other across the wall of rippling red runes, shock and horror and a thousand other emotions playing across the two humans’ faces.

“Mami…”

“Luz…”

The two were at the barrier in an instant, pressing against it with all their might, trying to will themselves through the mystical blockade.
“No, no, no, no no... ¡mi bebé, mi niña no puede estar atrapada allí!”

“¡No! ¡Déjame pasar! ¡Déjame pasar, maldita sea!”

Camila’s vision began to blur and her face felt wet as Luz first began pounding, then punching the damnable wall, throwing every ounce of her spider-strength into breaking through.

“Luz! Luz! Damnit, kid, you’re gonna hurt yourself, and I’m not sure healing magic’s gonna work on you!”

It took the woman a moment to realize that it wasn’t her trying to stop her bebé from hurting herself, but her friends on the other side. She also didn’t realize that she’d been pounding her fists on the barricade until Vee gently took her hands in her own.

“Maybe,” the basilisk started. “Maybe it’s because Luz and I switched places? Or maybe only she and I can pass, but only if we do it at the same time?”

Camila blinked. “W-wait. Vee, you’re not saying what I think…No, you can’t… You said that they’d kill you…” The woman tried to grasp the demon’s arms, but she was shaking too much.

Vee gently freed herself from Camila’s hands. “Thank you for trying to give me a normal life, Camila, but if I’m keeping your daughter from you, I don’t think I could live with myself.” The basilisk smiled and calmly walked over to where Luz stood, fists and face clenched. Slowly, the two put their hands on the wall and began to push…

And nothing happened. They pushed and pushed, but no matter how hard they tried, neither could penetrate the barrier. Finally, Luz just collapsed into a shuddering, sobbing ball. Willow and Gus were by her side immediately, comforting the girl in a way her mother no longer could.

Off to the side, Eda drew a glowing circle in the air that made her eyes glow a gentle gold. “Wow. Whoever did this, they were f…reaking powerful. There’s half-a-dozen or more types of magic mixed together here, including witch magic.” The witch ran her fingers gently over the air, watching as the various glyphs sparked to life under her touch. “And this has definitely been here a lot longer than two weeks. Can’t tell how long though, sorry. Oracle magic’s not my strong suit.” She shrugged. “How magic got on the human side is beyond me.”

Human … Magic? An idea that had been trying to worm its way through the tumult of Camila’s mind finally broke through. “I…I know someone who may be able to help.”

That seemed to perk Luz up a bit. “Wha-who?”

She didn’t answer, too busy concentrating on making sure her shaking hands were able to hold her phone steady. Strangely (heh) enough, she has no problem typing in the numbers. There are altogether too many numbers, and some of them seem to want to move or change shape to something else if she didn’t keep a close eye on them.

But who said that the phone number of the Master of Black Magic would be normal?

Chapter Text

Of all the stupid, boneheaded things–!

Luz leaned her head on the closed portal door, silently fuming at herself. Willow and Gus sat nearby on the splintery steps, giving what comfort they could to the distraught girl.

I can’t believe I got myself into this mess!

King, meanwhile, had crawled into her lap, resting his head on her chest, his surprising warmth providing a little relief for the ache in her heart. Meanwhile Eda was still examining the barrier with Oracle magic, hoping to find some way to get the human through.

The trapped human looked out at her mami. After making her phone call, Camila was now nervously pacing just outside the magic wall, chewing on her thumbnail, something Luz hadn’t seen her mom do in almost a decade.

The girl briefly thought about getting up and trying to force her way through again, but a twinge in her hand stopped her. She looked down and flexed it, feeling the stiffness in her fingers and seeing her bloodied knuckles.

“Hey, Luz, are you alright? Do you need me to go get the Healer’s kit?”

She looked down at King, his concerned gaze focused on her injured hand.

“No, I’ll be fine,” she answered, then gave a joyless laugh. “Turns out that hitting a magical wall with enough strength to toss a semi around isn’t good for your hand. Luckily I heal pretty quick.”

“Oh, thank God you’re here!” Camila’s voice brought Luz’s attention back to the world outside the wall. She saw someone floating down, their red cape, which had a very distinctive pointed collar, was billowing in the air, even though she didn’t feel any wind. As the figure got closer, Luz saw that they were dressed in blue robes with a large, golden eye pendant. The whole ensemble looked more like something she’d see in the Bonesborough market than on one of Earth’s superheroes. The person and her mom had a quiet conversation, and they placed a gloved hand on her shoulder, which seemed to relieve at least some of the woman’s stress. They even seemed to greet Vee (who, although they supposedly came from the Boiling Isles, looked suspiciously human to Luz) before stepping toward the entrapped house alongside Camila.

“Luz, honey,” her mami said when the two came up to the barrier. “This is Dr. Strange. He’s one of the people Vee and I met on Avenger’s Island.”

“Hi.” Luz’s voice felt raw, like she’d been crying, but she hadn’t. Had she? “These are my friends: Gus, Willow, and King, and my mentor, Eda.”

“Charmed.” The man bowed his head to each of the witches and the demon in turn, his easy smile valiantly failing to brighten the mood in the glade.

“He’s, well,” Camila continued, “it’s kind of hard to believe, but he’s, well, a sorcerer. A human one.”

Luz blinked. “Um, what?” She blinked, trying to understand what her mom had just said. “A…sorcerer? You mean he’s like an alien or a mutant whose powers just happen to look like magic?”

“No, Luz. I am a sorcerer, trained by the Ancient One in the hidden city of Kamar-Taj.” The man’s odd accent had a bizarre timbre that both seemed to calm Luz but also draw her attention. “Perhaps a demonstration is in order.”

With that, Dr. Strange took a few steps back and then, to Luz’s amazement, took the lotus position in mid-air, his hands intricately positioned in front of his pendent.

As the sorcerer’s hands moved away from the pendent, the golden eye blinked and glanced around before closing fully. That same moment, another eye, larger and bulgier than any eye should be, popped open on Dr. Strange’s forehead. Camila stumbled back in horror, eyes wide and locked onto the spectacle. Gus gaped, his mouth frozen halfway between terror and surprise. Willow wrenched her eyes shut and clung closely to Luz. King dry heaved and clutched his stomach, valiantly trying to keep today’s breakfast down. Even Eda took a step backwards, a small gasp escaping her lips. Luz herself sat entranced, her mind drawn back to a passage in The Good Witch Azura 3: Trials of the Living Tribunal:

The only person who wasn’t taken aback by the sudden change in the doctor’s face was Vee, who merely looked around in confusion at everyone else.

Moments later, golden magical energy shot from Dr. Strange’s hands, which were held vertically facing outward from the sorcerer with the ring and middle fingers curled inwards to the palm, to his new third eye. The eye then sent out a brilliant pulse of light, momentarily blinding everyone. When her vision cleared, Luz saw that the doctor now sported only two (normal, human) eyes, both of which were studying the now-visible barrier, its translucent red symbols marching chaotically in the air, Norse runes, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Sumerian cuneiform, and other, less recognizable characters all jumbled together in the limited space between the two groups.

“Fascinating.” The man’s eyebrow raised as he floated out of sight around the house, coming into view again when he rounded the opposite corner moments later.

Luz felt her mouth move, but it took a few seconds for sounds to come out. “Wh-bu-hu-guh?” She took a deep breath and tried again, this time using actual words. “What? But how? Humans can’t do magic. I mean, if we could, why aren’t there magic schools everywhere? How come sorcerers and magicians aren’t out there beside the Avengers or…or the Fantastic Four?”

He looked over at her, bemused at her confusion. “Oh, we are there. Or did you think The Scarlet Witch was just a clever name Ms. Maximoff came up for herself? And the reason you don’t hear more about us is the same reason that the general public doesn’t know the details of each and every supervillain encounter: if more people knew either how close we came to losing or exactly what the villain’s plan was there’d be a lot more panic and unrest.” He grew serious. “And that goes double for the various mystical foes I and Earth’s other magic users have had to face. Be glad that you do not know of the evils of Agammon of the Purple Dimension, or the menace of Yandroth, or know the horrors of the Dread Dormammu.”

Luz felt her resolve wilt under the sorcerer’s powerful gaze. His posture softened, as did his voice. “As for why more people don’t know about magic, the reason is simple: Even the simplest of spells, at least on Earth, use mind-staggering power to literally reshape reality as we know it. Therefore, most sorcerers don’t tend to reveal themselves unless they absolutely need to – if someone is under the effects of a magical malady,” He turned to look at Vee, who shrunk under his gaze, “or if an extradimensional magical visitor is found on a highly secure facility impersonating one of its guests.”

Luz huffed. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Still a bit miffed that I had to stumble into it bass-ackwards like this.”

“Believe me, Luz,” the sorcerer said off-handedly, having turned back to studying the barrier, “despite the circumstances, you are one of the better off cases I’ve had to deal with. Remind me to tell you the story of how I met my assistant Zelma Stanton.”

“Maybe we should focus on getting this thing down?” Eda spoke up, having been studying the magic wall while Luz and the doctor talked. “I sure hope you can recognize some of this stuff, cuz I’m stumped.”

The doctor landed near Camila and Vee, but kept his eyes on the patchwork barricade, a thoughtful frown on his face. “Yes, most of them.” He pointed to different sections of the spell. “Asgardian binding runes, Egyptian kinetic energy absorption spells, Mesopotamian shielding charms, Chaos magic, Vishanti magic…And, of course, barrier magic in everything from Klingonese and Aurebesh to Old English and Brazilian.” He let out a slow breath as he stepped back to get a more complete look at the whole thing. “And that’s just the things I recognize. I’d have to do a lot of research to find out all of the spells present. And how to safely disenchant them.”

“Does…” Camila worked up the nerve to ask the question Luz dreaded the answer to. “Does that mean you can’t…” The woman’s breath hitched, and Luz felt her heart drop. “Can’t…”

“Can I dispel the enchantment?” Dr. Strange finished. “Well, I could, by simply overwhelming the binding spells with enough magical energy.” He turned to Camila, his expression serious. “However, the amount of energy it would require would severely drain, or even kill me. Also, it would most likely shunt everything on the other side of the barrier, including your daughter, back into the Demon Realm. Forcefully. Lastly, the reactions between all these enchantments without the binding spells would most likely be explosive, and, were I to survive, I’d be able to shield you, me, and Vee, I doubt the people in Dover would appreciate losing half of their city.”

“Wait,” Vee looked thoughtful. “Isn’t Dover in Delaware, like, 30 miles away? How … could…” The mystery girl’s face fell, eyes wide at her sudden realization.

“Indeed.”

Eda cleared her throat, drawing the sorcerer’s attention. “Sorry to burst your bubble, doc, but even that may not work.” She pointed at a series of circles and lines that looked vaguely familiar to Luz. “These are etched spell circles. Witches use them to permanently enchant stuff like buildings. If I’m not mistaken, this is a heavily modified lightning conduction spell, but made to channel magic instead.” She pointed at the ground, where evenly spaced lines lead from the circles. “So all you’d do is pour all of your power harmlessly into the ground.”

The man scratched his chin thoughtfully, humming. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Though, truthfully, your way of magic is new to me.” He gave a curt nod. “Thank you for warning me.”

“No prob, doc,” Eda waved it off casually. “Though I’m wondering, with all the trouble whoever made this went to keep people from getting in, how exactly did the kid here,” she thumbed at Luz, “do it.”

“Yes, it is quite the conundrum.” He went back to sitting cross-legged in the air before turning to the wayward girl. “Why don’t you tell us the story, Luz, and maybe I can deduce what allowed you to get past the barrier.”

“Uh…” Luz blinked, caught off guard at being suddenly brought into the conversation. “Well, I was waiting for the bus to take me to the airport where’d we board the Quinjets to get to the academy. I went to check my bags when I noticed one was open and when I looked inside I noticed that my Good Witch Azura book was missing. I looked around and saw this cute, little owl carrying it away into the woods. So I grabbed my stuff, chased after him, ran in this house,” she indicated the building behind her, “and, poof, I was in the back of Eda’s stand in the Boiling Isles. I didn’t notice this wall thing at all.”

“Nothing?” the sorcerer asked. “Not even a tingle of your Spider Sense?”

The girl shook her head.

“Hmmmmm.” He turned over to Vee. “And you? How’d you come over?”

“Eep!” The other girl started, clearly thinking she’d been forgotten in all the chaos up until now. “Well, I was passing through the Bonesborough marketplace when I saw a bunch of people over at Ms. Eda’s stand. When I took a closer look I saw Luz and immediately recognized her as human. I thought that, well, if she got to the Isles, maybe I could find a way out? So I took a taste of the magic in the air and, sure enough, I sensed some powerful transportation magic, so I snuck into Ms. Eda’s tent and found that door,” she pointed to the partially open portal, “and went through. That’s when the bus picked me up, and, well…”

“So you didn’t cross over at the same time?”

“I… guess not,” Vee shrugged.

A thought occurred to Luz. “Wait, Eda, don’t you sell Human Realm stuff from your stand? How have you been able to get through?”

“Eh,” the witch answered. “I used to go scavenging myself, but about a decade or so ago my potions business started to get busy - there was an outbreak of Vermillion Fever and the Emperor turned a blind to any wild witches who were able to cook up the cure. And, naturally, once the public got a taste of my potions, demand skyrocketed. Of course, making high-quality potions on demand takes a lot of time and effort, and demand fluctuates, so when I needed to supplement my income I sent Owlbert to go… scavenging…”

The witch took on a distant look for a moment. “I’ll be right back.” And she quickly retreated through the door.

“Wh-Who is this ‘Owlbert’, mija?” It hurt Luz to hear her mother’s voice so strained. “Is he another witch?”

At that, the gray-haired witch came back, staff in hand, grumbling and muttering under her breath. She gave the palisman on top a spin, freeing Owlbert from his perch.

“Alright you,” she pointed at the owl, “while I am mad that you stole from Luz - something we’ll definitely talk about later - we need to ask you some questions about the barrier.”

“Hoot-hoot?”

“What do you mean ‘What barrier?’ This barrier right here!” She rapped her knuckles against the magic wall, causing the nearby runes to briefly light up.

Owlbert gave a confused look at where Eda’s knuckles had hit, then shook his head at the witch.

“You don’t see it? How?”

“Hoo.”

“I am not lying!” Eda pointed to Camila. “Look, if you just fly out to her you’ll bonk right into it!”

“Hoo-hoo.” Owlbert crossed his wings indignantly, clearly not believing the witch.

Eda pinched her nose and sighed. “Listen, if nothing happens to you, I’ll give you some of those booberries you love so much.”

The palisman immediately perked up and took off…

Flying right through the barrier and landing on Camila’s shoulder.

Everyone stopped and stared at the tiny owl (except for Camila, whose shoulder he was confusedly perched on).

“Well, I guess that answers that,” Eda spoke after a stunned minute, then huffed. “Great. Now I gotta go find and pick some booberries.”

“Curiouser and curiouser.” Dr. Strange stepped closer to Camila and her passenger and held out a gloved finger. After a moment’s hesitation, Owlbert hopped over, letting the Master of the Mystic Arts examine him. “Eda, what exactly is Owlbert? Is he something like a familiar, or…?”

“Sort of? He’s my palisman. Carved him myself from palistrom wood. Palismen are …” Eda looked thoughtful for a moment. “They’re kinda both a witch’s best friend and a powerful tool. After carving, a witch and their palisman bond for life, and using a palisman a witch can cast more powerful spells using less bile.”

“So, they aren’t naturally created creatures?” The sorcerer asked. “Interesting.”

Camila watched as Dr. Strange and Eda began experimenting with the barrier. First, they tried the simple things - closing the door, retracting it into a briefcase. Sadly, it looked like the magic wasn’t tied to the door but to the house itself, and both Eda and Dr. Strange advised against trying to tear it down as that would also result in a catastrophic explosion.

Then they went on to test what Owlbert could do. The little owl demonstrated the ability to hop across the barrier several times, both alone and while carrying various small objects. Unfortunately, he couldn’t bring people across, whether dragging them or being ridden in staff form (as poor Eda found out). Then Dr. Strange summoned several mystical creatures from across the multiverse (some of which Camila had to bribe with cheap store-bought cookies). The ones who were purely magical creatures, like will-o-wisps and faerie dragons, were able to pass through with no problem. The ‘natural’ creatures, like a Kirin who spoke perfect Spanish (and seemed to know Camila for some reason), were stymied in their efforts, though no one was seriously hurt. Except for, again, Eda, though she, Luz, and King assured her that her legs popping off, while not exactly natural, was the result of a curse - which Luz likened to a chronic disease - and the older witch was perfectly fine.

“Alright, magic man,” Eda said, giving a disturbingly deep stretch that had the woman fear that the witch’s limbs would fly off again, “you’ve had your fun. Now let’s see what a little Wild Witchery can do!” She spun her index fingers in little glowy circles, and two of the planks on the house rose up before sprouting cute, little bat wings and a single eye.

“Beast-keeping magic!” Luz gawked at the sight, and another pain ripped through Camila’s heart.

Was I really going to rip mi vida away from something she so clearly loves?

The bat-planks easily passed through the barrier, circling around the human-side trio a few times before Eda cut the magic, letting the planks fall harmlessly on the ground.

“Alright, so now we know palismen and enchanted objects can pass through,” Eda surmised. “And we know witches can’t, so…” She sing-songed, “Ohhhh, Ki-ing!”

Camila watched as the demon-dog, who had fallen asleep in Luz’s lap, peeped an eye open. “Am I gonna get some booberries out of this?”

“No. You know booberries make you sick, and I am not cleaning up another round of vomit this week.”

Camila noticed that Eda subtly glanced over at her daughter, whose expression turned sheepish.

“Luz?” the woman asked. “Did you drink milk again?”

The girl at least had the decency to look apologetic. “How was I supposed to know that I’d have the same issues with sphinx milk as cow milk?” she shrugged.

King groaned from his perch in Luz’s lap. “Can we please stop talking about vomit?”

“How about this, King,” Eda said, “you get to skip potion delivery this weekend.”

The demon stood up and stretched. “Make it two and you got yourself a deal, sister.”

Eda slumped. “Ugh. Fine.”

“Hooray!” He jumped up and ran to the barrier, cautiously putting one little paw on it. He pushed a little, his tiny legs digging small divots in the ground. He turned and shrugged at Eda, “Whelp, I tried.” He trotted back over to Luz and promptly plopped down in her lap, falling asleep almost immediately.

The older witch pinched her nose in exasperation. “I guess that’s about all I could have expected from him.” After a deep breath she looked right at Camila. “Sorry. Wish I could be of more help, but looks like we’re SoL on both sides.” She turned to question the sorcerer, “Unless you got something else up your sleeves, doc.”

The Master of Black Magic looked lost in thought for a moment. “Hmmm? Oh, I can ask around the superhero community, maybe some of the teleporters or portal creators can bypass the barrier.” He returned to looking at the magic wall, staring intently at where it met the ground. “Curious.”

“Is there something you see, Doctor?” Camila asked, hope creeping into her voice.

“Maybe,” he replied neutrally as he kneeled down.

Curiosity piqued, Camila kneeled as well, mirrored by both Luz and Eda on the other side.

“What’s up, doc?” The witch asked.

“Grass.”

The other three looked at each other.

“Grass?” Luz asked, voice mirroring Camila’s confusion.

“Specifically this piece of grass.” The sorcerer reached out one gloved finger, lightly brushing a single blade that was piercing through the barrier, gently pushing it back through before letting it spring back, wobbling through the magical wall as if it weren’t even there..

“O…kay?” Eda questioned. “I don’t see how that helps the kid get back home.”

The Master of Mystic Arts stood back up. “Not directly, it doesn’t. But, it may help us in another way.” He walked over and grabbed one of the planks Eda had enchanted earlier. He gave it a casual toss, and the wood obligingly sailed through the barrier, landing catty-corner on the steps.

“Again, not seeing how this helps us.” Eda crossed her arms, glaring at Dr. Strange.

He smiled back serenely. “I’m testing a hypothesis. We’re learning what can pass through the barrier - constructs like your Owlbert, enchanted objects, and now normal objects. In fact, artificial life like palismen may be a loophole we can exploit later” He turned to Luz. “But, turning back to my original point, I’m guessing that you didn’t pack enough clothes or toiletries for a multiple month stay in another realm?”

“M-months?” Luz and Camila’s voices mirror each other, as does the heartbreak evident on their faces. The woman’s vision blurred and wobbled; she felt both lightheaded and incredibly heavy and her legs felt strangely wobbly and also too tight and the Earth tilted…

“-ami! Mami!” A familiar voice? Her daughter? Yes, Luz had been there…

“Look, I think she’s waking up!” A young boy? A king – No, King. That’s right, Luz had a little demon friend…

Camila’s eyes shot open as the events of the last few hours came flooding back to her. The first thing she saw was the fuzzy visage of Dr. Strange, who was currently checking her pulse like a normal, non-sorcerer, doctor would.

“Easy, Ms. Noceda,” his calm voice seemed oddly echoey, though the woman chalked that up to her recent fainting spell. “Your heart rate is still elevated, and your breathing is a little quicker than I’d like. I’d like you to sit up and take deep, calming breaths.”

She took the offered gloved hand and slowly eased into a sitting position, noticing that she (thankfully) hadn’t hit the ground but was now seated on a large, and rather springy, flower.

“Your glasses, Ms. Noceda.” Vee dutifully handed the eyewear over.

“Gracias, Vee, and gracias, doctor,” she patted the flower, “I don’t think anyone needs to deal with a concussion right now.” After putting her glasses back on, she gave a more serious look to the sorcerer. “Now, what was this about ‘months’?”

He sighed. “It will take a long time – months or even years – for me to unravel the various spells and enchantments that make up the barrier – not to mention figure out why Luz and Vee were allowed through the one time. And that’s with the help of Earth’s other magic users and assuming some big apocalyptic disaster doesn’t come along that I have to go help deal with.” He sighed again and muttered under his breath. “On another, hopefully friendlier note: it wasn’t me that provided you with your cushion, but young Willow.” He pointed over at the young witch with the glasses who shyly waved.

“Oh, uh, thank you, Willow,” she gave what she hoped was a friendly smile to the witchling. “You must be quite powerful to be able to grow something this big.”

The girl blushed bashfully and scratched the back of her head. “N-not really. I actually only just transferred to the Plant Track. In fact, it was thanks to Luz that I even got transferred!” The witchling brightened up at the last bit. “In fact, I think the day I met Luz was one of the best days of my life.”

“Oh, really. Mi bebé did that for you?” The woman looked over at Luz, who looked like she was about five seconds from crying again. “Luz, cariño, are you going to be okay with this – being away from Earth for so long?”

Luz nodded and wiped her eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, pienso que si. I… I just have to think about it like my latest Azura book – The Good Witch Azura 5: Lost in the Lands of the Faltine.”

Camila couldn’t help but notice that Dr. Strange started a little when Luz said that, but decided to shelve that for later. Instead, she asked her daughter. “Well, one of our initial reasons for meeting in person was to tell our stories in person. Why don’t you start by telling me about how you met Willow and got her transferred into the – como lo dijiste – planting track?”

“Plant Track, but yeah, I’d like that.”

Dr. Strange clapped his hands, face back to neutral. “I think that’s an excellent idea! Come over here, Vee. I’m sure that Willow would be glad to provide us another seat, if it’s not a problem?”

The basilisk girl jumped in surprise. “Oh, uh, no, uh, th-that won’t be necessary. I’ll, uh, just sit on the ground.”

The witchling giggled. “Oh, it's no problem! In fact, my teachers all told me to practice my plant magic as much as I can since I, well, entered the track about a year behind everyone else.” She spun a small circle like Eda had, although this one was green, and another flower sprang up right next to Camila’s. Vee sat down nervously, wobbling a bit as she adjusted to the springy seat.

Luz took a deep breath, probably more to calm herself than anything, then began her tale.

“W-well, it all started last Wednesday morning, wh-wh-, -snf-, when Eda had taken King and I out to salvage a trash slug corpse…”

“...and, well, and that’s when you called.”

Eda had carefully watched Ms. Noceda’s face as the girl finished the winding tale of her adventures in the Boiling Isles (the girl had wisely gotten the older witch’s permission to tell them about her curse). Throughout the story the human woman had kept silent, but Eda saw the horror, terror, but, more importantly, the awe at Luz’s heroics – fighting off Warden Wrath and freeing those prisoners, defeating Adaghast (Goops and Willow were astonished that Luz did that since the guy was apparently a notorious child abductor), tackling the Owl Beast (she hated how nearly every eye looked to her in sympathy), even knocking out those bounty hunters.

Afterwards the woman was too stunned to talk, her pride in her daughter warring with her motherly instincts.

The human sorcerer, however, was not as conflicted. “Most impressive. It seems you’ve already made a big impact in the lives of the people on the Boiling Isles in your two weeks there, probably more so than you think.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “And you say you were able to learn a magic spell?”

“Yeah,” Luz sighed. “Even though it's just a little light spell, I thought it would be a little more impressive. A human doing magic, I mean.” The girl pulled out one of her glyph papers and tapped it, the luminescent ball she’d been so proud of earlier rising slowly into the air.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Luz,” the human man said, an enigmatic smile playing across his features. “You, all by yourself, more or less, discovered how to cast a spell using a type of magic that no human sorcerer has ever heard of before, while fighting for your life. You’ve shown quick thinking, bravery, and ingenuity – all the qualities of a true hero, and I’d be proud to stand by your side in any disaster - provided you get a little more training in, of course. Though, I don’t think my opinion is the one you really want.”

He, and everyone else, turned to look at the girl’s mother, whose eyes were locked in wonderment at the luminous orb before her. “Que ... hermosa.” She turned to Luz. “And you … discovered this?”

Eda felt the need to step in now. “More like re-discovered. I’d heard that witches used to cast spells differently a long time ago, but I never really researched further, since, y’know…” She spun a circle and conjured her own light ball. “But since Luz’s little stunt last week I’ve been trying to do some more reading on it, but I don’t have much in the way of texts that old in my personal library.” The elder witch sighed and felt a thoughtful frown tug at her mouth. “Guess I’m gonna have to bone up if I’m to help the kid here learn any other spells.”

Luz’s head dropped into her hands. “Ugh. I can’t believe I got myself into this mess!”

“Hey! Don’t sweat it, girly!” Eda put what she hoped was a reassuring hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Nobody knew about this, or that you’d only be able to make a one-way trip. But, remember, you’ve always got a room at my place, even if you do prefer sleeping in a web instead of that sleep tube you brought.” She inadvertently smiled as, out of the corner of her eye, she caught Goops mouthing ‘web’ to himself as his face scrunched in confusion.

The girl’s mother turned to the Owl Lady. “You… You mean that? You’ll take care of my baby girl, mi vida, and keep her safe until this is over?”

The Wild Witch blinked confusedly. “Well, yeah. I mean, it’s kinda my fault – well, more Owlbert’s fault, but I’m responsible for the little guy – and I offered the room before we even knew we were in this mess. And I don’t think that Willow nor Goops’ families can take on another mouth to feed.” Unbidden, a warm smile spread across the elder witch’s face. “Besides, I’ve already started to get used to having her around the house – been nice to have someone around to talk magic with, and she’s a damn sight more helpful around the house than King is.” She glanced at the little demon, snoozing peacefully in Willow’s lap now.

That, at least, got a laugh out of Camila. “Si. I’m going to miss having the cleanest ceilings in Connecticut.” The woman wiped the tears from her eyes, her relieved expression tugging at something within Eda. “Thank you, Eda. If there’s any way I can help, maybe with some food or…”

“Eh, there are some things on the Isles that she can’t handle, but as long as Luz isn’t too picky she should be fine. And the kid didn’t bring a whole lot of clothes with her…” The Owl Lady hummed thoughtfully before turning to the wayward human. “Hey, Luz! How would you feel about rocking some Boiling Isles fashion? My treat.”

“O-oh, Eda, you don’t need to do that,” The human woman protested. “I can at least send over some of Luz’s clothes. No need for you to spend so much money–”

“Nuh-uh,” the wild witch countered. “I welcomed her into my home, agreed to train her in magic, she’s my responsibility now – I might as well accept it.” A thoughtful look crossed her face. “And if you lend me some spider-powered help, Luz, I should be able to supercharge my potion making. Should give us a boost to our income, especially since I’m not gonna be able to do any salvaging any time soon, and poor Owlbert’s probably not gonna be able to bring over any big ticket items – at least by himself.” She turned back to Camila. “Uh, with your permission of course, Mama Noceda.”

The other woman sighed. “I guess,” she suddenly turned serious, “but no more loco prison breaks, or hiding vital information that could hurt mi bebe, okay?”

The pale witch raised her right hand. “Junior Woodchuck’s honor. Though I will reiterate that the so-called ‘prison break’ only started out as retrieving King’s stolen crown and it was your daughter that freed the prisoners.”

“Political prisoners, Eda,” the human girl retorted. “And they have Junior Woodchucks in the Demon Realm?”

“No, but Owlbert did find one of those books of theirs in the garbage a few years ago. Surprisingly a lot of the info in there is pretty decent, so I’ve kept the book around, y’know, just in case.” Eda smiled, then turned to the girl’s mother. “And anyway, I’ll most likely be too busy teaching Luz here and ramping up my potions business to get into anything too illegal.”

“And this potions business, it is legítimo?” The other woman asked. “No shady alleyways or under the table dealings?”

“Yep. While I didn’t graduate from Hexside, I’m still technically a part of the Potions Track, so I can sell potions. I just can’t run a stand in the market like everyone else since I don’t have a Coven tattoo.” The older woman shook her bare wrists for emphasis.

“Hmmmm.” The sorcerer’s piercing gaze turned back to Luz. “And you say that you witnessed someone get one of these marks, Luz? And it felt off to your Spider Sense?”

“Y-yeah.” The girl answered. “It was weird. I’d never really felt something like that before. Like… Almost like I was sensing a threat to my soul. If that even makes any sense.”

The mysterious man stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Well, in the few times I’ve worked with P-,er, Spider-Man, he’s also expressed that he often felt that his Spider Sense was something … more than could be explained by science alone. And now, this…” He stood up from his levitating position. “I’m afraid I have a lot of studying to do if I’m going to crack this, and I’ve got a bad feeling that I should get started ASAP. Also,” he glanced at his watch, “it is well past lunchtime, and I don’t know about you all but I tend to think, and feel, better on a full stomach.” He turned around and, with an almost lazy turning of his arm, produced a large, sparking yellow hole in reality. He paused, turned back, and smiled warmly. “Don’t worry, Luz. I promise to get you home as soon as I can. I’ll be in touch if I have any news. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” With a snap of his fingers, the portal closed.

Show off.

Still, Eda couldn’t worry about mysterious human magic right now. The human magician had been right, they’d sailed right past lunch.

And she had an idea.

“Y’know, if it weren’t for this damned barrier,” she rapped her knuckles against the runed wall for emphasis, “this little glade wouldn’t be too bad a spot for a picnic.”

Six disbelieving stares turned to the wild witch. Even King looked incredulous at her suggestion.

“Seriously, Eda?” the diminutive demon asked. “A picnic? Now?”

“Why not? Listen, we’re all hungry, Luz and her mom are upset, so I thought that maybe a nice picnic would cheer everyone up.” The elder witch smiled widely. “And it’d give Ms. Noceda here a chance to tell her story while we ate.”

The girl called ‘V’ (seriously, who names their kid a letter?) had been mostly silent for the entire exchange, probably preferring to blend into the background in the middle of a family emergency. “W-well,” she spoke slowly at first, “I think this is a good idea. T-to give everyone here a chance to, um, calm down?”

“You’re right, Vee,” Camila agreed. “But it's going to take a while for the two of us to go back home and get picnic stuff. Why don’t you all start without us and we’ll be back…”

“Nope!” Eda interrupted. “Y’see, remember what the doc said: while people can’t pass through, objects can. Palismen, like Owlbert, are obviously a kind of edge case since they’re crafted life, but I think a sandwich or two shouldn’t pose a problem. I got some beholder bologna the other day since Luz seemed to like it.”

“Yeah, Eda and Vee are right, mom.” The human teen gave a strained, though genuine, smile. “A Boiling Isles-style picnic sounds great right about now. Beholder bologna has a nice zing to it that I think you’d really like.”

The woman returned a teary smile. “Alright, mija, I’ll try some.”

“Great!” Eda shot the two a double thumbs up. “Willow, Goops, you’re with me on kitchen duty. Luz, I think I got some folding tables in one of these closets, think you can handle those?”

“Eda, I can literally lift your fridge over my head with one hand without breaking a sweat.” The girl’s chuckle at least meant she was feeling better.

“Oh, good! I’ve actually found a whole bunch of human appliances that I haven’t bothered trying to get ready to sell since moving them would be such a hassle…”

All in all, it took only about 20 minutes for the picnic to be prepared and everyone to start eating. It was nice and peaceful, so much so that Eda could almost forget that Luz and her mom were separated from each other by a mystical veil that still shimmered translucently between the two groups.

“Ugh.” Luz wiped a bit of mousetard from her lips. “Too bad we can’t do this every week.”

“Why can’t you?” Goops asked. “Is there some human prohibition against picnics? Oh, are they actually some sacred ritual? Oh no! We aren’t performing sacrilege, are we?” The poor kid jumped up, spilling his sandwich and ghoul-aide everywhere, looking like he was about to panic before the spider-powered teen grabbed him.

“Relax, Gus, I just meant with the barrier in the way…”

Willow finished the last bits of her cesium salami before speaking. “Why would the barrier keep you from meeting your mom here? I mean, we can talk through it, and see through it.”

“Yeah! And since we can pass food through, maybe one day we can have a human picnic!” Wow, Goops’s emotional turnaround was quick, at least.

“Well, I just… With the… I mean…” The teen gave an exasperated sigh and hung her head. “I got so caught up in the ‘can’t go to the human realm’ stuff I forgot about that. Thanks, Willow. Thanks, Gus.”

Ms. Noceda gave a short chuckle. “Don’t worry, mi vida. Today’s been so emotionally draining that it’s only 3 and I’m exhausted. But, yes, I think it’s a good idea for us to meet at least once a week, even if we only just chat.”

“And, uh,” V’s quiet, raspy voice broke through again. “Maybe, if it’s not too much trouble, Luz,we could maybe meet, just the two of us, for some study sessions…? If it’s not too much to ask, that is.”

“I think I’d like that, Vee. Give us a chance to get to know each other.” Luz smiled at her counterpart, who reflected a nervous smile back. “In fact,” the girl side-eyed her male friend, “we could make it a ‘Human Studies’ day, get some of these misconceptions taken care of once and for all.”

Despite the obvious chiding, the boy was starry-eyed. “Ooh! Maybe I can invite the rest of the Human Appreciation Society! Make it a club activity!”

“Hey, squirt,” Eda said in between sips of apple blood, “How, exactly, are you going to get your little friends over here through my portal?”

At least he had the wherewithal to look abashed. “With your permission and grace, oh Great and Powerful Owl Lady?”

“And?”

“Annnnnnnnnd… a small travel surcharge?”

“Bingo.” The wild witch stood up a little straighter as everyone laughed. Still, the thought had sincerely crossed her mind for a moment. For all her bluster and bravado earlier, she knew she’d have to step her game up a lot if she was going to be feeding a third mouth.

“One thing I’m curious about,” Willow asked, the girl thankfully distracting Eda from dark, financial thoughts, “is what your story is, Vee. You say you’re from the Demon Realm, but you’ve got round ears like a human. And did I hear you say earlier something about ‘smelling magic’?”

“Now that you mention it,” Eda leaned forward on the railing, “I did hear you say that you ‘didn’t smell any magic’ when you came through the portal. And you look a little too much like Luz for it to just be a coincidence…”

The demon girl, and Eda was sure the runaway was a demon of some sort now, merely ‘eep’ed and tried, vainly, to hide behind her sandwich. Thankfully Luz’s mom came to her rescue.

“I guess I should start the tale. Like I said, it was a few days after you left when I got a call…”

Gus’s mind was reeling as he stepped through the portal door back into the Owl House. He’d actually made it to the Human Realm! Sort of. He’d made contact with actual human authorities! Sort of.

Okay, he didn’t know if that ‘Dr. Strange’ person was involved in the human’s government, but if he was one of those ‘superheroes’ Luz often spoke of, he had to be someone of importance.

And Luz’s mom seemed nice.

The illusionist couldn’t help but feel sorry for his human friend, trapped so close to him and yet also so far away. The witchling just wished there was some way he could help, but illusion magic wasn’t really the best for dispelling enchantments, and counter-magics were a bit above a second year’s education.

“Hey, Luz,” he heard the Owl Lady say over the ethereal click of the portal shutting. “I, uh, I think you’d better hang on to this.” He watched as the older witch took what looked like an old-timey key out from her hair (ew) and press the key’s serpentine eye. With the sound of bending glass and folding wood the portal compressed down into its portable form, the large, broken eye staring dumbly at the room. The gray-haired woman then picked up the collapsed portal, and handed both the key and door to the stunned girl.

“Wha-buh? Eda, this is… I can’t…” The tongue-tied teen stared at offered items, the only link to her homeworld.

“Well, I can’t really use it to go scavenging now, can I?” The wild witch offered a cheeky smile that quickly turned sincere. “Hey. You need these a whole lot more than I do, kid.”

The human stared at the key and portal door for a few more seconds before taking them from the witch. “Thanks, Eda,” the girl gave a slight but tired smile. “I think I’m gonna go put these in my room. And probably take a nap until dinner because … Wow, today was draining.”

“Sure thing, girlie. I’ll send Owlbert up to get you when it’s ready.”

As the human went upstairs, and King firebeelined straight for the couch (presumably to nap), the older witch turned to Gus and Willow. “At least I can get you squirts home. C’mon, I’ll bet this is the first time either of you’ve ridden on a palisman, right?”

Willow looked back at the stairs before answering. “Ms.Eda? Is it alright if I stay over tonight? With my dads’ permission, of course.”

“Huh?” The woman blinked owlishly at the plump girl.

The dark-haired girl turned to face her elder. “It’s just, with this weird wall situation and her not being able to go home, I just…” she paused, face scrunched up as she tried to find the right words. “I just want to make sure that Luz is okay. And to be there for her, at least for today.”

A wide smile grew across the Owl Lady’s face. “Heh. You’re alright, kid. Sure, Owlbert and I’ll zip you on home to talk with your parents and grab some overnight stuff.” The woman turned to Gus. “And what about you?”

“Uh…sure. Maybe a regular, human-style sleepover will help cheer Luz up,” he ventured.

“Well, alright kids,” the wild witch summoned her palisman with a brilliant flash of yellow. “Hop on.”

It turns out that flying on a palisman was much faster than walking. It took only about 30 minutes for the trio to make the round trip around Bonesburough. It hadn’t even been that hard to convince the kids’ fathers to grant permission for a real sleepover this time (though Gus was surprised to find out that his dad had gone to Hexside with Ms. Eda; the boy would have to try and get some interesting stories later). Willow’s dads had even given them some dire goat stew to have for supper (although Eda did mention that she wasn’t sure if Luz could even eat it given the differences between human and witch diets).

Once they were back at the Owl House, the two witchlings climbed the stairs while the elder started dinner. Willow knocked on the door that was helpfully labeled with “Luz & King” and received a muffled response. She opened the door, but the only thing revealed was some sort of … cushioned sleeping tube? But, no sign of their human friend.

Gus cautiously peeked his head in and looked around. “Luz?”

“Gus? Willow?” came the answer from … above?

The two witchlings looked up, and up…

And up…

And up…

Wow, this room is a lot taller than it looks from the outside.

Sitting about 15 or 20 feet above the floor was, exactly as Eda had said, an enormous spider web upon which Luz lay, body mostly in shadow except for the harsh light coming from her human scroll.

“What are you guys doing here?” Her confused voice filtered down. “I thought Eda’d taken you home already.”

“Uh, we wanted to make sure you were okay after today,” Willow answered, “and Ms. Eda agreed to let us have an actual sleepover tonight.”

“Awwwwwww! You guys!” Faster than he thought possible the human teen had scrambled down the wall and had grabbed her two friends in a bone-crushing hug that lifted the two witchlings off their feet as the enhanced girl spun them around.

Stumbling a little as she released him, Gus glanced (way) up at the hanging web. “Wow. You really do sleep in a web.” He looked back at the Latina. “Is this a … spider power thing?”

“Uh-huh!” She nodded. “It’s actually really comfy. Kinda like a big ol’ hammock.” She paused. “You wanna come up and see?”

Gus’s eyes went wide. “Uhhhhh. It’s a little high up, isn’t it?” He grimaced as he glanced back (way) up at the web. “Are you sure that can hold all three of us?”

“What do you mean, Gus, it’s perfectly … safe.” She looked up at her web, taking in the frayed threads and limp, hanging strands. “Hmmm… Guess it has been a bit since I made it. And I’ve never really used that type of webbing for this long before.” She sighed. “Probably time to tear it down anyway. What else can go wrong today?”

“It’s alright, Luz,” Willow placed a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “You can show us how you made it now.”

The human gave a tired smile to her friend. “Thanks, Willow.” She sighed. “Guess I’d better get started before it gets too late.” She slouched toward the wall and had placed a hand and foot on the wall when a series of short, sharp knocks caught the trio’s attention.

“Before you go putting more hand- and footprints all over my walls,” the Owl Lady’s almost casual attitude towards Luz’s odd powers belied how much she had come to care for her unexpected boarder. “Let’s set some ground rules for you munchkins.

“First off, absolutely no animating my house without permission. I had to spend a lot of magic fixing some load-bearing walls and do not want to do that again. Got me?”

All three teens nodded, terrifying visions of what the self-proclaimed ‘Most Powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles’ would do to them running through their heads.

“Second, and I know you know this, Luz, but I’m just gonna reiterate for Tweedleglasses and Tweedlegoops here: Don’t go wandering around the house unless someone who lives here is with you or has told you exactly where to go. This is an old House, and Hooty is an old Demon, and there have been a lot of old Magicks done here. That means that the insides can be a bit, er, screwy – rooms and halls can be larger than they have any right to be, or be in different places than they were last time. Sometimes a room will appear – or disappear – when you haven’t used them in a while … or sometimes when you just turn your head. Lost the linen closet that way about a month ago, only reappeared a day or so after Luz arrived. I’m not even sure what’s in some of these rooms, so unless a door has a sign on it, like mine, Luz’s, or the bathroom, don’t open it. Already got one parent on my case, don’t need any more.”

Gus glanced up again at the improbably high ceiling of the room they were in. “Makes sense. My grandma’s house is real old too – the only way into the cellar for a long while was a door in the attic.”

“You said there were three rules, Ms. Eda?” Willow asked.

The wild witch’s face turned serious. “This is more a general request, but… I really don’t think we should be going around and talking about what’s going on in the human realm or the thing with the barrier. We don’t know who or what is behind it, and we can’t really trust anyone out there, at least not right now.” She kneeled down, getting eye-level with the teens. “I don’t know what kind of heat, if any, we could bring down by letting on we know about this stuff, but better safe than sorry – especially for you two,” she pointed at Gus and Willow, “No need to worry your parents or get them in trouble.”

Given that the only witch Gus could think of that was powerful enough to erect a magical barrier between worlds was Emperor Belos himself, and Gus had no desire to go against the all-powerful Emperor of the Boiling Isles, he readily agreed. Willow and Luz did too, although it took the human a moment of silent deliberation.

The older witch’s attitude immediately took a 180. “Great! Glad we got all that out of the way. Now you kids have fun! Dinner’ll be ready in about a half hour or so.” She gave a flippant wave as she left the room.

“Well, that was kinda heavy,” Willow said after a pregnant pause.

“So, uh, anyone wanna see me make a new web-bed?” Luz asked. “The offer to sleep on it tonight is still open.”

“Sure,” Gus answered. “But, can we make it a little lower to the ground? Just for safety’s sake!”

The human laughed as she began climbing up the wall. “Sure, Gus. Probably taking a risk with it being so high up anyway.”

“So, Luz,” Willow began as she watched their friend tear down her high-flying hammock. “You said you can make different sorts of web, right? Do you … mind showing us what you can make? And how you make it?” She nervously adjusted her glasses. “If it’s not too much trouble, that is.”

“Huh?” The tanned girl looked down (up?) at the two witches as she gathered up the last bit of webbing. “Oh, sure! No trouble at all.” She hopped down, turning a quick somersault in the air to land on her feet before her friends. “I’m just surprised you two are so interested in my powers. I’d’ve thought you’d seen a lot weirder stuff, given, y’know, demons and all.”

“Not on a witch, or anything close to a witch.” Willow took the opportunity to get a closer look at Luz’s webbing as the other girl finished wadding the mess up into a Grudgeby-ball sized clump.

“And most spider demons are kinda hostile,” Gus added, “Something about an incident during the Savage Ages?” He shrugged. “I’m not sure, history’s not really my thing.”

The human gave a non-committal ‘hm’ as she digested that. “Well, let me go put this in the compost and we can talk while I make my new web.”

“Sounds good.”

Thankfully that night’s sleepover was bounty hunter free, although if Gus never had to see Luz’s pedipalps again it would be too soon.

The web hammock/bed was really comfortable though.

Chapter Text

From: McCoy, Henry (Hank) ([email protected])
To: DLL-Avengers-Academy ([email protected]); Rogers, Steven USARMY (USA) ([email protected]); Stark, Anthony ([email protected])
CC: Noceda, Camila ([email protected]); Noceda, Luz ([email protected]); Spider-Man ([email protected])

Subject: Powers and Abilities, re: Luz Noceda

ALCON:

The following is a rundown of the origin, powers, and vulnerabilities of Ms. Luz Noceda. All measurements were taken at the main Avenger’s Mansion facilities by Dr. Jane Foster in preparation for Luz’s enrollment in Avenger’s Academy during the summer.

Origin: Luz received her powers after an automobile accident (cf. Connecticut Police case 12-01102020) when she was 6 necessitated multiple blood transfusions. As the local hospital did not have enough of her blood type on hand, additional supplies had to be transported from other hospitals, including several from a New York blood bank which was, unknown at the time, being run by Miles Warren (aka The Jackal) as part of his experiments in human cloning and mutagenic enhancement. Warren surreptitiously supplied several units of blood from Spider-Man, which mutated Luz’s physiology in much the way the radioactive spider bite had Spider-Man’s. Whether this was Warren’s plan, or even if he had one, is unknown, as he has not spoken of this incident since being remanded into custody of the Ravencroft Institute earlier this year.

Powers: Like Spider-Man, Luz has demonstrated a wide variety of powers related to several varieties of arachnid.

• Superhuman Strength
: Much like Spider-Man, and other spider-based mutates, Luz possesses a strength far beyond human normal. She was able to lift approximately 7t (6350 kg) before feeling any strain; she maxed out at approximately 9t (8165 kg). Naturally, this has also amplified her jumping ability – she demonstrated the ability to do a standing high jump of 30 ft (9.144 m) and a standing long jump of 20 ft (6.096 m).
• Superhuman Speed
: Luz’s enhanced musculature allows her to run at speeds well above human maximum. Her top speed at time of measurement is approximately 200 mph (322 kph).
• Superhuman Agility
: As a result of her enhancements, Luz’s tendons and connective tissues are over twice as elastic as those in normal humans. Also, her sense of equilibrium is similarly enhanced, allowing her to balance in almost any position and on any object she is able to stand on (or cling to).
• Superhuman Reflexes
: Luz is capable of processing stimuli approximately 30 times faster than a normal human. This, combined with her speed and agility, allows her to react to perceived danger in a fraction of the time other humans would.
• Superhuman Stamina/Durability
: Luz’s musculature produces fatigue toxins at a substantially lower rate than normal, allowing for several hours of intense physical exertion before becoming impaired. Another side-effect of her enhanced musculature, Luz is highly resistant to impact forces. Tensing her muscles before impact allowed her to withstand a force of up to 5,000 lbf (22241.11 N).
• Regenerative Healing
: Luz’s healing factor is markedly enhanced, being able to completely heal minor cuts and abrasions within minutes. Ms. Camila Noceda, the girl’s mother, recounts that her daughter managed to completely heal a twisted ankle in a few hours. Though it has not been proven, it is my judgment that Luz’s almost miraculous recovery from her injuries in the car accident is also due to her just-received healing factor. Also, her enhanced metabolism means she is highly resistant to diseases, contaminants, drugs, and radiation. In fact, most virii and bacteria are killed off instantly due to the mild amounts of radiation present in her blood (no need to panic, Ms. Noceda, the amount Luz radiates is well below the dosage that would cause acute radiation syndrome).
• ”Wall Crawling”
: As a result of changes to her nervous system, Luz also demonstrates the ability to subconsciously control the electrostatic force in her body to “stick” to most any surface. This ability is especially concentrated in her hands and feet.
• Spider Sense
: One of the most powerful, and least understood, spider mutate powers is the so-called “Spider Sense”, though Luz’s is more highly developed than others. This precognitive sense gives Luz near-omniscient awareness in a radius of about 100 ft (30.5 m), even allowing her to perceive her surroundings in total blackness, heavy smoke/fog, or other situations where visibility is poor or nonexistent. Luz can also sense potential or immediate danger in this area, and, combined with her enhanced agility and reflexes, automatically evade almost any potential injury unless she consciously overrides this automatic response. The mechanism of what determines a ‘threat’ to her (or any) Spider Sense is not known at this time, but part of it is how Luz interprets her surroundings – ie. a highly visible device was considered a threat until Luz learned that the balls it launched were made of soft foam, while a hidden wall crusher trap wasn’t until the walls started moving.
• Spinnerets
: Luz does demonstrate one major departure from Spider-Man’s power set – a pair of spinnerets, one on the underside of each wrist. These organs allow Luz to create her own version of spider silk, without the need of the “web shooter” devices utilized by other Spider mutates. The silk produced by her spinnerets ranges from a fine, loose threads which have a tensile strength of 2 GPa (204 kg/mm²) that last about 1-2 hours before dissolving to denser, tightly-woven threads with a tensile strength of approximately 5 GPa (510 kg/mm²) that can last for a week or more (another anecdote from Ms. Camila Noceda says that the two have used this webbing to tie down large objects for storage or transport), though the stronger the webbing is, the more Luz has to concentrate to form the silk, making usage ill-advised in tense situations. The maximum range of Luz’s spinnerets is approximately 50 ft (15.24 m). Unlike webbing from a “web shooter”, Luz’s silk isn’t electrostatically attracted to itself, meaning she cannot form the complex shapes often utilized by Spider-Man and his associates, though she can create webbing manually, much like a spider would, or by quickly firing multiple lines between two parallel surfaces (on a side note, the webs she produces this way have the aesthetically and mathematically pleasing properties of a normal spider web, though whether this is due to an ingrained instinct instilled by her now-irradiated blood or her natural artistic inclination is hard to say).

Vulnerabilities: A side effect of her part-spider physiology, Luz now has a high intolerance to Chloroethane (commonly called Ethyl Chloride), a chemical once used in pesticides, gasoline additives, and anesthesia. As this chemical is no longer widely used in most of the world, this should only come up in the most extreme of cases.

A reminder that these readings are all preliminary, and do not constitute Luz’s potential, as she has had very little, if any, training with her powers, especially her physical ones. With this in mind, I do believe that Luz is an excellent candidate for the Avenger’s Academy and look forward to teaching her this summer.

v/r

Henry ‘Hank’ McCoy, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Officer, Avenger’s Academy
Professor Emeritus, Xavier’s School for Gifted Youth

Chapter Text

“Hey, kid, you alright?”

Luz turned to the sound of her mentor’s voice. The witch had paused in her stirring (though the girl couldn’t remember whether it was for a potion or just lunch) and was currently looking over at her boarder with concern.

“I’d’ve thought you’d be all gung-ho to learn potion making, but you’ve been staring at nothing for the past half hour,” Eda continued. “It’s starting to freak me out a little.”

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Eda offered to start training me as a Potioneer today. It had been three days since her abortive return to Earth. The witch had let her rest some Sunday and Monday, to “let everything sink in” per the woman’s words, but today the Owl Lady had declared that her mentorship would officially start.

Hence, why Luz found herself sitting at the Owl House’s kitchen table, idly watching the wild witch stir… something in a cauldron.

“Yeah. Sorry, Eda. Must’ve spaced out a little.” Luz rubbed her eyes and tried to focus back on what Eda was doing.

Eda crossed the kitchen and sat down opposite her erstwhile apprentice. “Nuh-uh. This is more than just ‘spacing out’. C’mon, kid, talk to me.”

The teen sighed. “I guess… I guess I’m still coming to terms with this whole ‘barrier’ situation.” A groan. “Still can’t believe I let myself be trapped in another dimension! That’s, like, fairy tale 101: don’t follow the strange animal or you’ll get trapped in the witch’s house.” She gave a rueful smile. “I’m just lucky that the witch I ran into wasn’t one of those child-eating hags from the stories.”

“Bah!” Eda grumped playfully. “Child eating is so 17th century!” She turned serious again. “You sure you’re up for this, kiddo? You can take a few more days if you need to.”

“No, I…” The spider-powered teen paused for a moment. “I think I need to be doing something rather than moping around.”

“I get it, believe me.” The witch put a comforting hand on Luz’s shoulder. “But I don’t think you’re really in the head space for learning right now.” The older woman paused and tapped her cheek while she thought. “Hmmmmmmm… I know!” She got up and ran out of the room, much to the super-powered girl’s confusion. When she came back a few moments later, she was scribbling on a piece of paper while a train of enchanted books followed.

“I’ve got some errands in town that I’ve been putting off for a long while – longer than you’ve been here, so no blaming yourself – so I thought ‘Why not kill two drakes with one fireball’?” Luz gaped as the books piled on the table higher and higher, until it was probably taller than the witch was! “This way you get out of the house and take your mind off of what’s going on, and I get some stuff done without having to interrupt my potion making.” The witch deposited a sizable amount of coins in front of the stunned teen. “So whaddaya say?”

“Uh, what kind of errands? ‘Cause I don’t think my mom would appreciate you sending me to break into jail again.”

The Owl Lady feigned shock. “Wha-? Well, I’ve never been so insulted in my life!” She brightened when the teen gave her an earnest smile. “It’s nothing major: ordering some supplies from Morton, checking the bounty board to see if any decent monster bounties have been posted, paying the crystal ball bill, returning a pile of overdue library books…”

“Edaaaa…”

“What? I fully intend on paying my fines. Eventually. Maybe.”

The girl giggled. “Anything else?”

“Nah.” The woman handed the paper over to the teen. “In fact, why don’t you go out and grab some lunch? Heck, there should be some Snails left over for you to treat yourself to something nice. Y’know, a keepsake for when everything is over and you're safe back home.” The witch winked. “Now, let me go and get a cart or something–”

“No need, I got it,” Luz said, hefting the tower up as if it weighed nothing.

Eda stared as the teen balanced the stack of books in one hand while she smoothly pocketed the money with the other. “Oh. Right. I should really be used to this by now.” She paused in thought for a moment. “Remind me that we need to go through all the big human junk I’ve collected over the years. I’m sure with your strength, and knowledge of what those things actually do, we could probably knock it out over an afternoon or two.”

“Sounds fun,” Luz couldn’t help the sarcasm creeping into her voice. “I shouldn’t be too long.” She picked up the list and headed to the door, books still balanced in one hand.

“Eh, don’t hurry on my account,” the witch retorted. “Make a day of it! The fresh air should do you some good. Just be here by supper, alright?”

“Sure, Eda. Thanks!” the girl called over her shoulder as she maneuvered out the door. “Bye!”

Once in Bonesburough proper, Luz headed directly to the library. While she could have carried the books all day with no problem, she also realized that it would be incredibly awkward to do her other tasks while carrying a tower of books taller than she was.

Once inside, she felt both the welcome cooling of the (Boiling Isles’ equivalent of) A/C and the familiar tingle of levitation magic as books began flying off her pile and onto the front desk, where one of the librarians stood ready.

Hmmm. I should probably pay more attention to that in the future. Dr. Strange did say my Spider-Sense was somewhat mystical in nature. I wonder if different types of magic feel different, or if the feel is tied to the person casting the spell?

“Late, late, late…” He ticked off each book as it passed through a spell circle. “La…coffee, sugar, and blood stains.” He looked up at Luz, expression neutral in a way that said he’d seen this far too many times before. “These are Eda’s books, aren’t they?”

The girl gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah… She did say she’d pay her fines… sometime.”

A single raised eyebrow told Luz how much the librarian believed that. “I’ll add them to her tab.”

The teen coughed anxiously. “So, uh, do you need a library card to check out books, or enter the library – do you guys even have library cards here?”

“Do you have a parent or guardian who is in good standing with the Boiling Isles Library System?”

Luz cracked a nervous smile. “Y’know what, maybe I’ll just take a look around and see what’s available before I make a big decision like that.” As she turned to walk away the human noticed a poster depicting what looked like a comet or meteor with a distinctly disturbing distraught face. “The Wailing Star? What’s that?”

“Perhaps you should read some of the books here rather than just look at them.”

She frowned at the librarian’s snark, though she was able to keep her mouth shut and just walk away. She did, however, turn back and give him a quick raspberry once his attention had turned to another person.

“I love you, Miss Amity!”

“Aww, I love you too, Braxus!” The mint-haired witch smiled as she leaned down to hug the child demon. “Now go along and play until your daddy gets here!”

The girl sighed as she stood back up. It’s not that she minded reading to the kids, in fact it was one of the few things in life that she chose to do and enjoyed it. But cleaning up after a dozen small children after storytime? That was another cauldron of herbs entirely.

As she turned to begin gathering the papers and books that had been scattered (well, thrown, really) around the children’s corner, she jumped in surprise when she saw the human, Luz, staring at her.

“Oops. Sorry Amity,” the tan girl said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Alright, Amity, play it cool. This girl can take down demons several times your size with decades of experience. Remember what mother says: Don’t anger people with more power than you. I’m fairly certain that she meant political or economic power, but…

“It’s alright,” the witch tried to give a cheerful smile that failed to hide her nervousness. “I just didn’t expect to see anyone standing there. Staring at me.”

The other girl gave an awkwardly cute laugh. “Yeahhhh. Again, sorry, it’s just that I heard you reading to the children and was kinda surprised. It’s just so different from how you acted before.” Luz winked and pointed at Amity (though her thumbs were also raised for some reason?) “Looks like this lemon drop has a sweet candy center!”

What in Shub-Niggurath’s name is a ‘lehmundrahp’?

“Uh, did you need anything? I’m not sure how it is where you’re from but I think the books in this area of the library are a little beneath witches our age.” She paused. “You are the same age as me, right?”

The human shrugged. “I think so? Still not sure on how witches and demons age ‘n all that. Anyway,” she pulled a small rectangle out of her leggings and tapped it before putting it back, “I’m just killing time here until lunch and I go do the rest of Eda’s errands. Although…” The other girl paused and looked around. “Now that I think about it, it probably wouldn’t hurt to do some research… Do you know if there are any books here on ancient or foreign magic? Or maybe how to travel between different planes or dimensions?” She gave a hopeful smile that immediately said that there was something more to this than an idle request.

“Sorry.” Amity bent down to begin cleaning. “If there are any books on that subject, they’d be deep in the Forbidden Archives, and only full-time library staff are allowed to go in there. And the Emperor’s Coven has been pretty thorough on confiscating any material on non-approved magics anyway, so unless you’ve got connections to one of the old families, you’re probably out of luck.”

The other girl’s face fell, but immediately brightened up again (though she couldn’t hide the disappointment in her eyes). “Eh, no big deal. I’m sure Eda could source tomes that are, like, a thousand times more ancient than this place could.” She looked down at the floor, apparently just noticing the state it was in. “Uh, you need some help?”

“Uh, no need. I’ve got this. You should’ve seen the mess on my first day here.”

The tanned girl squatted down and began picking up tossed books. “It’s no biggie. I’m a great cleaner – just ask my mom! Or well, Eda, since she’s probably easier to get a hold of.”

Amity couldn’t help but notice the sudden downturn in the human’s voice. “Is … there something wrong with your mom?” she hesitantly asked.

Luz quietly gathered books and papers for a few moments before quietly answering. “I … I don’t want to talk about it. Not right now.”

Amity frowned. She’s looking into ancient magic, specifically in relation to dimensional travel, and her mom’s ‘not easy to get a hold of’ right now. Is she trapped here? Or did her mom get taken from the Human Realm and she’s trying to find her?

The witch could almost hear Odalia’s voice. “Amity, always be on the lookout for new opportunities. If someone comes to you with a problem, be the one who has the solution. And always remember that favors and influence can be far more valuable than money.”

“Luz, I–”

“Oooh, who’s your new friend, Mittens?”

Oh, no.

Turning around, the mint-haired girl spotted her older siblings standing in the entry. A very confused Luz quickly stood up, looking between Amity and the twins before asking, “Mittens?”

“I’ll… explain later, Luz.” Amity turned to her siblings. “Edric, Emira, what are you two doing here?” She tried, only a little, to hide the snarl in her voice.

“So rude, dear sister! And in front of your new friend, too!”

“We are but noble souls on a quest.”

“Well-wishers on a mission.”

“Mom said to stop forgetting your lunch at home, Mittens.”

With that, Emira held up the Otabin-themed lunch bag that Amity had most definitely not left on the counter deliberately in subtle defiance of her mother’s rather stubborn insistence to keep using the thing despite Amity having outgrown it three years ago. Stomping forwards, the red-faced younger witch grabbed the overly-cute bag.

“Thank you, Edric, Emira,” she said through gritted fangs. “Now, can you please leave? As you can see, I have a lot of cleaning up to do before I can have my lunch.”

“But aren’t you going to introduce us to your new friend?” Emira roughly brushed past Amity to study the human.

“Very rude of you, Mittens. What would mom say?” Edric followed, flanking the poor girl.

Amity would later vehemently deny that she growled. “Edric, Emira, this is Luz, the human. Luz, this is my brother Edric and my sister Emira. They were just leaving.”

“Actually,” Edric started, “we were going to look around a little. Check out a book or two, take in some of the art…”

Wait, what? These two wouldn’t be caught dead in here!

“Maybe play a prank or two on the staff,” Emira finished.

Ah, there it is.

“Sounds mighty tempting,” the human teen gave an awkward laugh, “but, uh, I’ve got a lot of errands to run and I should probably go get some lunch before I do that, so…”

“Aw, too bad, cutie,” Emira teased. “Maybe we’ll see you around?”

“Yeah,” Edric winked. “We can show you some real Boiling Isles-style fun.”

Finally, the two exited, leaving Amity alone with the curiously powerful girl.

“So, uh, Luz…”

The human pulled out her rectangle again, which the witch could now see lit up when she pressed it (some form of human scroll?). “Oh, wow. I actually should probably get going if I want to eat lunch before finishing my errands. Uh, it was nice seeing you and your siblings, Amity!” She put down the books and papers she’d gathered on a nearby table. “But, I really should be going…”

“Luz, wait!” Amity called out. “Er, wait.” The human stopped, looking quizzically at the witch. “I, uh, I…” Amity paused and inhaled. “Look, I know I haven’t exactly been the most… welcoming of witches–”

“Well, you did try to have me dissected at Hexside, constantly belittle Willow and Gus, went out of your way to be rude to me at the Covention…” The other girl ticked off her fingers as she counted out Amity’s sins.

“Well, yes, exactly,” Amity blushed sheepishly. “And yet, every time we’ve met you’ve always acted so nice to me.”

The tan-skinned teen scratched the back of her head. “I guess I just try to see the good in everyone. My mom taught me that.”

“Well, my mother taught me to make use of every opportunity,” the witch replied. “And, to my regret, I have failed multiple times to recognize the opportunities you represent. So, I want to help you in your studies.”

“Um, how? You said anything relating to old magic and traveling dimensions would either be locked up in the high-security parts of the library or held by one of the old families.”

“Right, and the Blights are one of the old families. We’re one of the few who can trace our lineage beyond the Savage Age to even before the Deadwardian Era. And despite, or maybe because of, the fact that my mother married into the family, she has been obsessed with upholding, and displaying, our family’s heritage.” The dyed-haired teen smiled. “In fact, she recently began a project of recovering, and restoring, old books that were found in the ruins of an old Blight estate up on the Knee that was destroyed early in the wars of the Savage Age. And a lot of those were books on magic.”

The way the human’s eyes lit up told Amity she’d hit the mark. But the other girl’s face quickly turned skeptical.

“Wait…” Luz’s brown eyes locked directly onto the witch’s. “What kind of ‘opportunity’ do you think I represent?”

Despite the other girl’s intense scrutiny, Amity stood tall. “Specifically, you represent the opportunity for me to choose a friend of my own, one I’m sure my parents would approve of, rather than have one chosen for me.” She, perhaps unconsciously, looked down at the childish lunch bag still in her hands. “To start taking control of my own life, even in some small way.”

And, maybe, to start repairing a friendship I ruined with my own cowardice.

The brown-haired teen stared at Amity quizzically. “Uhhh, why, exactly, do you think your parents would ‘approve’ of me being your friend? I’m from another world entirely, and my family isn’t exactly old or prestigious. Heck, we can’t even trace our ancestry back more than a few generations due to, uh, let’s say ‘complicated Earth stuff’ and leave it at that.”

The mint-haired teen blinked, equally as confused as the human. “Didn’t you tell me that you were training to be one of your realm’s ‘superheroes’ and to eventually join the ‘Avengers Coven’? Aren’t they like a Human Realm version of The Emperor’s Coven? Or some sort of nobility?”

“Er, kinda? Maybe? Yes and no?” The other girl cupped one cheek and looked deep in thought for a few moments. “I guess we are, sort of? I… never really thought about it. I mean, the Avengers aren’t really a part of the government, any government, and superheroes don’t really rule over anyone – except those that do, like Black Panther and Namor. But I guess we are kinda like knights or something like that…”

“Exactly.” Amity put on an encouraging smile, hoping to dispel her prospective new friend’s fears. “I’m sure once I explain that to mother she will be more than happy to accept you as my friend, and let me borrow one or two of the old Blight tomes for us to study.”

Luz’s steely-eyed look returned. “Alright, if we are going to be friends, then you have to stop picking on Gus and Willow. I won’t be friends with a bully.”

The witch nodded. “Okay. I should probably start acting more like an adult in that respect as well.”

Amity stuck out her hand. After a moment’s hesitation, Luz accepted the handshake.

Don’t think about how soft her hands are. Don’t think about how soft her hands are. Don’t think about how soft her hands are.

“Well, uh, do you want me to come over to your place, or… I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to trek all the way out to the Owl House…”

“Actually,” Amity replied with a sly grin, “I was thinking we could do it here, after hours. The Head Librarian, Malphas, has… helped me in the past. I’m sure he’d be willing to let me come back here for a private study session. Does 7:00 sound good to you?”

“Sounds great!” The human produced a fist with her thumb pointed skywards (perhaps a human gesture of acceptance?). “But I really should be going if I want to finish my errands before dinner.” She started jogging towards the exit and threw a wave over her shoulder. “See you tonight!”

Amity smiled to herself. Maybe, just maybe, this plan would actually work.

Amity stared at the book under the glass case. For a tome that was probably over a thousand years old, it certainly seemed normal enough. No witch-hide leather cover, no arcane sigils that seemed to move when you didn’t look at them, there weren’t even any mysterious whispers that hovered just below hearing range to tempt or torment the teenage witch.

The cover was an utterly normal shade of dark red that could be found on just about any other old novel. It was embossed with an elaborate, but still totally normal, golden ‘B’, presumably for “Blight”, though Amity could only guess. The pages were the same utterly normal yellow that any old book’s were. The book was absolutely, unwaveringly normal.

And, for some reason, that made Amity even more nervous.

“Finally taking an interest in your family’s history, I see.”

It took nearly all of Amity’s self-control to not shout in surprise (though a small “eep!” did escape her lips) at her mother’s voice. Turning around, the young witch took in every detail of Odalia’s appearance. The woman was dressed in her usual long-sleeved shirt, vest, and pants; her hair pulled back in the usual professional bun; her face in a carefully constructed expression of bemused neutrality. Odalia Blight painted the perfect picture of someone in complete control of her life.

And the lives of those around her.

Alright, Amity, just like you practiced. Just remember to phrase everything in terms of how it would benefit our family, and it shouldn’t be too hard.

I hope.

“Hello, mother.” Amity stood up just a little straighter, smoothed her face into (what she hoped was) a neutral expression, hands primly clasped behind her back. “I was hoping to speak with you. I wish to borrow one or two of the old family spell books for a private study session tonight.”

One perfectly sculpted green eyebrow raised. “A study session, hm? And for what purpose would you want to study old, forbidden magics, Mittens?”

“I have… an acquaintance who is interested in ancient magics of the Boiling Isles – purely for historical purposes, I assure you. As this individual is, essentially, an up-and-coming member of the nobility where they’re from, I thought it best to ingratiate myself, and the Blight family, to them.”

“An ‘up-and-coming noble’ from a foreign land? I don’t believe I’ve heard of any visitors from other Titans, much less a young noble.” Odalia studied her daughter’s face for a few excruciating moments. “Come now, Mittens. Who, exactly, is this ‘acquaintance’, really?”

Though she did her best not to show it, Amity could feel the beads of sweat running down her neck. Dangit! I really hoped she wouldn’t ask this. Well, no use lying to an Oracle.

The teen’s face fell. “It’s… the human. The one who fought me at the Covention.” She looked directly into her mother’s eyes. “But everything else I told you is true. She is training to become something called a ‘superhero’, the Human Realm’s version of a noble or a member of the Emperor’s Coven. I have reason to believe that she’s either trapped here, in the Demon Realm, or her mother is trapped in some other realm. I think the reason she wants to study old magic is to free her mom. Or maybe herself? Either way, I do think it would be best for me–er, us to get on her good side.”

The woman remained impassive, her sharp blue eyes staring directly into Amity’s golden ones. The girl tried to remain just as straight-faced, but couldn’t help showing a little of the nervousness she felt show through.

It felt like ages before her mother spoke again. “Hmmm. And with the Emperor’s promised Day of Unity coming soon, Blight Industries will need a way to distinguish ourselves to our new customer base. And being seen as aiding, either directly or indirectly, one of their, what did you call them, ‘superheroes?’ would be in our favor. But,” she paused, and her hand went to the Oracle Stone amulet she always wore, “I get the feeling that there is something else you’re not telling me, Mittens.”

Amity cringed, waiting for the all-too familiar fingers of her mother’s telepathy to begin probing her mind. When they didn’t she mentally relaxed, at least a little. Still, her mother was waiting, impatiently, for an answer.

The teen sighed. “Also, she’s been nothing but nice to me, even with all the stuff I’ve done to her. It’s… kind of refreshing, honestly. I was kind of hoping that she and I could be… friends? Maybe?”

And maybe something more? Shut up! Stupid hormones…

Odalia remained expressionless, eyes boring into her daughter’s. Amity stared back, trying, and mostly succeeding, to not show any further hints of her hidden agenda.

After a few moments, the younger witch saw something she thought she’d never see.

Her mother being proud of her.

“Well played, Amity,” The older witch said. “You could advance both Blights Industries’ and the Blight family’s interests, and get exactly what you want. All on your own merits. I’m impressed.” She reached into a pocket and produced a key. “Now then, let’s see which of these books will be helpful for your new friend.”

Amity allowed herself a relieved smile before following her mother into searching for any Blight family books that held anything related to interdimensional travel.

Luz walked slowly through the woods surrounding the Owl House, basking in the late afternoon sun. Taking a moment to make sure her prize, a vibrant violet flower, was still safe and sound in its pot, she crossed over into the clearing where her temporary home stood and made her way to the front door.

“Heya roomie!” Hooty called from the door. “Whatcha got there?”

Luz hefted the plant. “A present for my mom. A combination pick-me-up and ‘sorry for ruining both our summers by getting trapped in metaphorical hell’. And it’s my favorite color, too!”

“Awww. That’s so sweet!” The house demon’s normally blissfully ignorant expression turned serious for a moment. “Y’know, if you ever need to talk to, or at, someone, I’m here for you, Luz.”

The girl smiled. “Thanks, Hooty.”

The bird tube extruded out from the door and draped around her shoulders in, what Luz assumed, Hooty’s version of a hug. “I’m aaaaalwaaays here.”

Despite the lingering summer heat, the teen could feel the ice-cold mucus dripping down her back. “Y-yeah. I…better get inside and get this safe in my room. A-and I gotta tell Eda about what happened today while doing errands. kaythanxHootybye!” She ran into the house and slammed the demon-infested door behind her with a shudder.

After taking a few moments to recenter herself, Luz turned around to see…

A rather bizarre sight – Eda the Owl Lady perched upon her upright palisman staff in the lotus position, palms outstretched, one holding a ball of fire while the other held a ball of ice. The witch’s eyes were closed, though when the girl looked closely she could see the woman’s tapered ears twitching ever-so-slightly, much like a cat’s.

Huh. Are witches more closely related to felines than primates? I mean, I think they have fangs…

Owlbert turned to look at the human, but made no sound, probably to not disturb the witch. King was nowhere to be found, presumably napping elsewhere in the house.

Luz looked over the scene for a few moments longer, taking in its strange serenity, trying to decide if she should announce herself or not.

“Something you wanna say, girly?”

The teen ‘eep!’ed in surprise and fumbled her prized plant a few seconds before her enhanced reflexes kicked in. She frowned at the Owl Lady’s nasal laughter.

“Hah-*snnrt*. Sorry! Sorry. Ha-ha-hoo! That was just too good an opportunity to pass up!” The witch paused to let the last of her laughter subside. “You just looked so riveted that it’s probably gonna be my only chance to get one over on ya.”

“Har. Har,” the human feigned indignation. “I was just curious, is all. Never took you as one for meditation, Eda.”

The older woman hopped down off the staff, taking a moment to stretch and crack her back. “Eh, it’s just something my mentor taught me. Helps clear the fog, realign your meridians, y’know, stuff like that.” Glancing over at the girl, Eda asked, “What’s with the plant? Gonna take up gardening like your little friend?”

“It’s a gift for my mami.” Lus presented the flower for inspection. “I ran into Willow and her dads down at the market and she helped me pick it out. My mom’s always been into gardening, said it was one of the things she and dad used to do before…” A brief but heavy pause followed. “Anyway, Willow said that this species should be able to thrive on Earth and isn’t poisonous, venomous, carnivorous, acidic, mind-breaking, or anything like that. Should just be a normal, exotic flower that just happens to come from a magical land of witches and demons!”

Eda looked skeptically at the flower, but shrugged and said, “Eh, if she says it's okay, fine by me. Not like I was in the Plant Track at Hexside. Dinner should be almost ready, you go and wash up and put that thing in your room for right now, kay?”

“Right.” Luz turned to march up the stairs, but stopped. “Hey, Eda, I, uh, kinda need to go out again after dinner, if that’s okay with you.”

“Hmm? What for?” The witch’s grin turned sly. “You gotta hot date tonight?”

“Wha- buh- Ignoring that!” The girl shook her head. “No, I, uh, got in contact with someone who has access to some really old magic books that might, at least, shed some light on my… predicament. She’s gonna meet me at the Bonesborough Library tonight, when everyone is gone for the evening.”

Eda turned around, hands on hips. “Kid, the only people who have access to books like that are one of the old families, and I kinda doubt the Parks and Porters count.”

“Well, yes, but it wasn’t Willow or Gus. It was, erm, Amity. Amity Blight.”

“Amity Blight. The same Amity Blight who you fought, and quite thoroughly trounced I might add, at the Covention less than two weeks ago?”

The human nodded.

Eda pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed in and out steadily for a good while. Luz stood perfectly still, awaiting her guardian’s response.

Finally the woman let out a pained sigh. “Yeah, the Blights would definitely count as old. They’re one of the two oldest families in Bonesborough, heck, probably in the entire Isles. So, yeah, they might have access to some of the really old sh…stuff. But!” The witch pointed directly at Luz, golden eyes burrowing into brown. “Be careful! I went to school with both Odalia and Alador. While Alador might best be summed up as ‘absent-minded mad scientist’, Odalia is a shrewd little hellion, manipulative and cold. If any of her kids inherited that from her, it’s Amity. Don’t let yourself be duped into some high society game that you aren’t ready to play.”

“What? Amity wouldn’t–” The human paused, thinking. “Okay, she has been really snotty with Gus and Willow. And she did sort of imply that trying to become friends with me was some way of getting back at her mom.” She sighed. “Alright, Eda, I’ll be careful.”

“Good. Would hate to explain to your mom that you got into an arranged marriage on my watch. Thank Azathoth Lilly managed to dodge that. Dinner’s in 10.”

“Okay. Be right back down.”

…

Wait, Eda went to Hexside?

Eda went to school with Amity’s parents!?

Arranged marriage!?!?!

Amity paced outside the library, repeatedly occasionally checking the time on her scroll.

6:59 PM the numbers blinked.

Alright, calm down Amity. If Luz said she’d be here at 7, she’ll be here at 7. No need to be nervous.

Except for the fact this is you chance to have your first real friend since Willow and screwing this up means that Mother may never trust you again…

Sighing, the witchling turned around to resume her pacing…

“Heya, Amity!”

only to trip over her own feet when her human companion called her name.

“Eep!” The only reason Amity didn’t fall flat on her butt was the surprisingly strong hand that zipped out and grabbed her shoulder.

“Sorry!” The human apologized. “Didn’t mean to scare ya! You feeling alright?”

“It’s alright.” The witch straightened herself. “I admit, I’ve been… a little on edge about, well, all of this.”

“Hey! I have you know that some very reliable sources across two worlds say I’m very easy to get along with.”

Amity sighed. “No, it’s not that … well, okay, some of it is, but… I think my mother sees this as a test, or something. She did agree that us helping you would be good for both the family and our company, and I think she’s using this to see how I, well, measure up. To see if I’ll be able to take the reins of Blight Industries someday.”

The human just stared. “Wow. That’s… a lot of pressure to put on a kid.”

The witch inhaled sharply. “I just have to make tonight go perfectly and everything will be fine.” She gave the best smile she could, but the other girl didn’t look convinced.

“O…kay.” The human frowned. “So, uh, did you manage to get any of your family’s books?”

The mint-haired girl smiled more genuinely and pointed to the extremely large tomes lying nearby. “Yes. Mother gave me two of the spell books she’d had restored. Hopefully they can at least provide some information about… whatever problem you’re having.”

The other girl suddenly straightened, eyes darting back and forth nervously. “Problem? What problem? Can’t a super-powered human from another world just be interested in weird, ancient magics of the nightmare fantasyland she’s tr–living in.”

“Right.” Amity turned to the library’s door and unlocked it. “Well, we should probably get started. There’s a lot of information in those books, and, from what I saw when paging through them earlier, it’s not really organized. Like, at all.” She pushed the door open, glancing around to make absolutely sure that the place was empty.

“Dang, girl, you carried both of these here by yourself?”

“Hm? Oh, no. I had an abomination carry them for me. Here, let me…” Amity turned around, the beginnings of a spell circle already formed, only to see that Luz had already picked the books up and tucked them under one arm. “Oh, right, your superpowers. Nevermind.” She let the circle dissipate. “Well, let’s find a good place to study these.”

The tanned girl gave a mock salute. “Lead the way, captain!”

It was about two hours before Luz paused to glance at her phone. She was already about a third of the way through the book she’d chosen and had written depressingly few notes on anything related to magic barriers, planar travel, or even just the human realm in general. She tried a few more times to go back to the page she was on, but finally admitted defeat after rereading the same sentence five times in a row.

“Uuuuuugh,” she groaned. “No offense, Amity, but would it have killed your ancestors to learn some basic organizational skills? I’m trying to get through a section on advanced teleportation techniques when whoever it was started writing about mud pies – like, pies baked with actual mud!”

“Remind me to never show you my dad’s lab notes, then,” her green-haired companion answered. “And how else would you make mud pies? Is there a different recipe in the human realm?” She looked up quizzically.

“Well… No, nevermind, not really important right now. I guess my eyes are just getting tired.” The human got up and stretched. “I think I need a break. You?”

The witch began rubbing her eyes. “Yes. Oh, by the Black Goat, yes.” She looked back at the Latina. “I swear this handwriting is getting worse as it goes on. I can’t tell if I’m looking at ‘portal’ spells or ‘party’ spells.” Her face dropped. “I’m getting the feeling that this isn’t going to work out. I really doubt there’s anything in here to help you. Sorry.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Luz waved off the other girl’s concerns. “This was kind of a long shot anyways. Didn’t expect the answer to leap out at me the first book I read.”

She started pacing, letting the rhythmic motion of her legs drive off the cobwebs in her mind. “Erg. Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way. Maybe… maybe… I dunno.” She sighed. “I think I just need to get my mind off this stuff for a while.” She paused mid-stride. “Hey, I know! Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. You wanna be friends, right? We should get to know each other a little more, then.”

“Uh, okay,” came the witch’s cautious reply. “But… could you, um come down from there? It’s kinda hard to talk with you, um, up there. And I don’t think the library staff would like seeing shoeprints on the bookcases.”

“Huh?” The human looked ‘down’, only to find she had unintentionally started walking up and down on the side of one of the bookshelves. “Oh. Oops.” She hopped down. “Heh-heh, sorry. Sometimes when I’m not paying attention I’ll start wall-crawling without meaning to. Eda’s already started to complain about having to wash the walls and ceiling more often.” The super-powered teen clapped her hands together and gave a nervous grin. “So! You got any hobbies or pastimes? What about your other friends – what are they like?”

Amity huffed. “‘Friends’? The only reason I’m allowed to hang out with Boscha, Skara, and the rest is because either they’re parents work for Blight Industries or they’re old families like mine. Most of them are more obsessed with their Penstagram accounts or gossiping about stuff like ‘who’s crushing on who’.”

“Yeesh. Certainly they can’t be all bad?”

The witch crossed her arms. “Well, Skara is kinda nice. And Bo and Cat aren’t too bad either. Really it’s just Boscha, but she’s really bad. Vicious, spiteful, controlling. And I’m the only one who really stands up to her.”

Luz’s face hardened for a moment. I guess it was too much to hope that there wouldn’t be bullies on the Isles too. Guess some things are universal – or interdimensional, rather. Maybe I should ask Willow and Gus about this ‘Boscha’, see how bad she really is, and if I need to step in.

But is it really right of me to push my morals onto a completely different world?

“Are you okay, Luz?” Amity’s concerned voice cut through the human’s inner monologue. “You’ve been making that face for a while now.”

“Yeah, sorry.” The dark-haired teen shook her head. “Just having a minor ethical crisis. No need to worry, I hear superheroes go through these all the time.”

The green-haired girl didn’t look convinced. “Right, sure. Well, what about you? Did you have any friends over in the Human Realm?”

The human grimaced. “Not really. Even putting aside my powers, I was always the weird kid – dreaming about magical fantasy lands or good-hearted witches with wizened old mentors. Everyone else was more concerned with trying to invent the next Super Soldier Serum or worried about whether or not they’d spontaneously develop a mutation to talk with the kid who believed in griffins with spider-breath or carnivorous unicorns.”

Amity’s confusion was written across her face. “But… griffins do breathe spiders and unicorns are carnivorous – dangerously so. And you’re literally training to be a witch and have a mentor!”

“Well, yeah, I know that now.” Luz rolled her eyes. “But magic isn’t really known on Earth – most people regard it as the realm of gods like the Asgardians or Olympians, not humans. And the one human sorcerer I do know said that magic is kept on the down low to stop people from freaking out or something.”

“Wait, if you know a human magic user, why did you come to the Boiling Isles to learn magic?”

“Well, first off, I didn’t meet him until after I came to the Isles,” the human answered. “And, two, I didn’t come to the Isles to learn magic. Heck I didn’t even come here intentionally. Eda’s palisman stole my ‘Good Witch Azura’ book and I chased after him and then - poof! - I’m in the back of Eda’s stand at the market one day.”

The witch’s face was unreadable for a moment. “Di…did you say the ‘G…” She trailed off, ears twitching, and stood up slowly. “Wait, do you hear that?”

Luz immediately tensed, ears pricked for any noise that would have alerted her companion. She then realized she was feeling … something … at the front of the library through her Spider Sense, but it was faint, and on the edge of her perception. Really wish that Amity hadn’t chosen a table in the middle of the damn library!

“Amity, come here,” she whispered back, “I’m gonna get us higher so we have a better view.”

The witch jogged over to stand next to the super-powered girl. “Wait, how?” she whispered.

Luz answered by wrapping an arm around the green-haired girl, ignoring the way Amity stiffened when pulled close, and leapt to the top of a nearby bookcase. She then hopped across the next few, coming within viewing distance of the library’s entrance. She dropped her passenger and crouched down, motioning for her companion to do so as well.

When she didn’t, Luz glanced over and noticed that the witch’s face and ears were now bright pink and she was stock still, staring straight ahead.

“Amity, you okay?”

The green-haired girl started a bit with a small ‘eep!’. “Y-yes.” She crouched down beside the human. “I,er, just didn’t expect you to do that, is all.”

Her face was still very pink, though.

“Oh, sorry. Guess I should’ve asked first.”
Instead of answering, Amity leaned forward a bit, cupping one tapered ear. “Sounds like… two people. Can’t make out the voices, though,” she whispered.

Suddenly, the door’s keyhole glowed bright blue and began growing. Luz could see the wood of the door squeezing and wobbling like gelatin as the hole became large enough for a person to walk through.

Or two, as a pair of very distinctive dark green haircuts entered the library, whispering to each other. They both jumped when the keyhole bounced back with an almost comical boi-oi-oing!’ sound.

As the twins walked down the central aisle they passed right by the girls’ hiding spot, allowing Luz to finally hear part of their hushed conversation.

“So where do you think it is, Ed?”

“Don’t know, Em. Probably somewhere she thinks that people would never look for it.”

“Okay, so… what section would Amity not normally go? That’s probably where she…”

As the two trailed away, Luz looked over at her companion. Now her face was bright red, her teeth – scratch that, definitely fangs, given the prominent canines the other girl sported – were bared and…

Is she growling?

“Uh, Amity?” She said hesitantly. The witch’s head snapped toward the human, face an almost feral mask of rage before she shifted to an apologetic stance.

“Sorry, Luz. It’s just… Rrrrrgh! They make me so mad sometimes – Always cutting class or playing pranks on people.”

“What do you think they’re after? It sounded like they think you’ve got something hidden here,” the Latina asked quietly.

“I… no, that’s impossible. How would they have learned about that?” The green-haired girl frowned deeply, before her eyes widened in fear. “But if they do, then that means… Luz! We have to stop them! Right now! The thing they’re looking for… it’s, well, personal.” The witch looked away, pink dusting her cheeks and the tips of her ears again, and began worrying her lip.

Huh, when you actually get to know her, Amity is actually kinda cute…

Wow. Where did that come from?

Pushing such thoughts out of her mind, the human nodded, then held out her hand. “May I?”

“Hm? O-oh, sure.” The witch stands and allows Luz to wrap an arm around her.

The two then raced off, silently leaping between the bookcases, until they came to an area that reminded Luz of the small computer research area in the Gravesfield Library – except with crystal balls instead of 20-year-old computers – where the twins had paused.

“Alright, where do you think it is, Em?”

“Well, it's definitely not in the children’s area since she works there. And Abomination magic’s probably out, too.”

“Maybe Oracle magic? Or Illusions?”

“No, Ed, I don’t think it’d be in any of the magic sections. Amity’s too clever for that.”

Making sure the twins were fully engrossed in their conversation, Luz hopped down, letting go of her passenger when they were both safely on the ground.

Motioning for the green-haired girl to hide behind one of the bookshelves, the spider-powered girl softly padded up behind the closer of the older witches, Edric, and firmly (well, firmly for someone of normal strength, that is) tapped him on the shoulder.

He shrieked, spun around, doing a rather impressive (non-super-powered) leap into his sister’s arms. Said sister just rolled her eyes and unceremoniously dropped her brother on the floor.

“I’m sorry to inform you two that library visiting hours are over for the day. If you’d come back tomorrow I’m sure one of our many knowledgeable employees would be glad to assist you in whatever you’re searching for,” Luz bantered.

“Hey there, Luz was it?” Emira replied. “What are you doing here this late at night?”

“Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and saw you two come into the library of all places and wondered ‘why there?’ of all places. I mean, surely Bonesborough has better places to hang out than a library, right?”

“Not as much as you’d think, really.” Edric stood up and dusted himself off, no trace of his earlier terror in his voice. “We’re actually here because we… heard that there was a secret room here, and we’re trying to find it.”

“A secret room?” Luz peaked an eyebrow in fascination. Is this what Amity’w worried about? “Wow, that’d make a pretty neat hideout, wouldn’t it?”

“Really? A hideout in a library?” Em questioned, before adopting an exaggeratedly nasal voice. “‘Uh, teacher, can I get more homework? I’m studying the dork arts!’”

Ed laughed. “No, no, no. Y’see, we heard this is Amity’s little hideaway from the world.”

Luz tried her best to hide her anger. “O-oh. And what are you going to do when you find it?”

“Well…” Em said nonchalantly. “We just wanna check it out, see what she’s hiding there.”

“Like, maybe, her diary,” Ed chimed in.

From the glare on Em’s face, she had wanted to keep that part a secret from the younger teen. When the older girl noticed the human’s hardened expression, she quickly moved to explain.

“Hey now, it’s just going to be a little sibling prank – y’know, grab a few of her dirty little secrets to help her relax a little.”

Luz was furious now, and couldn’t stop from clenching a fist. “And. How. Exactly. Is invading your sister’s privacy going to ‘help relax’ her?” She spoke slowly, carefully, at first, because otherwise she’d be screaming in rage. “I am not going to let you do that.”

Ed’s smile could not have been more vicious, all pretense at joviality gone. “Oh? And how are you going to stop us? We know all you’ve got is a little light spell.”

“By dragging you outside, kicking and screaming if necessary..”

“Heh. Cute,” Em sneered. “But you’d have to catch us first.”

Both twins spun spell circles, creating dozens of illusionary clones of themselves, all surrounding the super-powered Latina.

“Now which one of us is the real one?” A dozen Eds asked.

“C’mon, Luz, take a guess!” A chorus of Emiras responded.

The human rolled her eyes as her arms snaked out, snaring the real pair by the wrists and giving them a rough tug forward. All at once the doppelgangers disappeared in puffs of smoke.

“Wait, how–?” “Hey, this hurts!”

“Usually, when you try to do the ‘illusory clones’ bit, you’re supposed to move from your original position.” Luz pulled the duo forward and scooped them up onto her shoulders. Turning around to carry the twins outside, she spotted Amity leaning around the bookcase she’d been hiding behind, astonishment written completely across her face.

“Wha-how?” The amazed girl stuttered. “Ed and Em are some of the best illusionists in school! Even some of the teachers can’t pick apart their illusions.”

“Eh, one of my super-powers basically makes me immune to illusions,” the human shrugged, jostling her passengers. “I’ll tell you more about it later.”

“Wait, super-powers?” Ed questioned, trying to crane his neck to look at his younger sister. “Amity, what’s she talking about?”

“Hey, Mittens?” Em called. “Could you get your friend to let us down? This is really uncomfortable.”

The younger witch’s face immediately soured. “You do realize I heard everything, right? You should be glad I’m not asking Luz to tie you up and haul you all the way home!”

“Uh, Amity?” Luz tried to get her friend’s attention. “Why don’t we wait until you’ve cooled down a little before deciding to rat them out to your parents?” She glanced toward the entrance. “Um, also, could you help me with the doors? My hands are kinda full, as you can see.”

“Huh? Oh, right. Yes.” Amity’s cheeks and ears were dusted pink again. “Um, after this, I, uh, have that thing I wanted to show you.”

Amity paused once she reached the romance section of the library. She looked around cautiously, still feeling a little nervous. Still, she saw no one except Luz, the tanned skinned human waiting patiently for Amity to continue.

The witch slowly released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Alright, we’re here. Some of the stuff in here is private, and a lot of it is seriously embarrassing. So, you have to Pinkie promise you won’t tell anyone about what you see in there.”

The brown-haired girl made a grave face and stuck out her fist, little finger extended. Amity blinked a few times in confusion before it struck her.

“Oh, I guess humans have their own version of the Pinkie promise, so you probably wouldn’t know the words… or the story.”

Luz’s expression softened, though her finger was still extended. “Huh. Makes sense. On Earth, you lock pinkie fingers and whoever breaks the promise is supposed to get their pinkie broken.” She paused. “I’ve never heard of anyone actually carrying that out, though. What’s the witch version, then?”

“You intone a magic incantation that invokes the Pinkie, a vengeful Nightmare, whose coat, mane, and tail are said to be made of blindingly pink fire. She is said to hunt down those who break sacred promises, though I’ve also never heard of her actually attacking anyone…”

Both girls stood silent for a moment, subtly questioning childhood norms.

“Uh, maybe we can do both? Sort of like a… cultural exchange?” Luz suggested.

Amity giggled. “Sure.” She wrapped her little finger around Luz’s darker one. “Now, repeat after me:

Cross my heart and hope to fly!
Stick a cupcake in my eye!”

The witch smiled warmly as Luz repeated the chant back. It’s been… far too long since I’ve been able to do something as silly as a ‘Pinkie promise’ with someone.

Once the human finished (and no flaming demon horse came to break either girl’s finger), the mint-haired girl turned back to the shelf. She began pressing the series of books that made up the magic lock that concealed her secret room from the outside world. As she did, she voiced an idle thought.

“You know, for someone strong enough to carry both of the twins around with no effort, your touch is … surprisingly gentle.”

The other girl seemed taken aback by the statement (and Amity briefly wondered if she’d committed some faux-pas), and it took a second before the human responded, voice soft. “Yeah, I… kinda had to learn that pretty soon after I got my powers. Can’t exactly hug people with the same strength you use to bend steel, y’know.”

Amity briefly considered asking further, but the two of them were only just barely friends, not exactly in the ‘tell complicated backstories to each other’ spot yet.

Maybe soon though…

As she pressed the final book, the witch mentally braced herself as she felt the entire world shatter, the walls and bookshelves of the library falling away like a broken mirror. For a brief moment the two girls were adrift in a swirling sea of aether, the strange non-colors of the non-reality oozing into their vision as all time compressed into an infinitesimal speck. A moment of eternities later Amity’s hideout slid/rose/fell into view around the girls as the spell ended.

The mint-haired girl closed her eyes as the all-too-familiar wave of nausea passed over her, stomach momentarily protesting the planar travel.

“Whoah.” The human’s voice was wobbly. “That was – whoof – that was intense. And you do that every time you want to enter?”

The witch’s eyes slowly slid open, and she saw Luz hunched over, one hand clutching her stomach while the other gripped Amity’s writing desk, near where it was anchored to the wall.

“Yeah, it gets a little better each time I use it, and Malphas said I’d eventually get used to it. Though what exactly ‘eventually’ means to a demon who’s over 100 years old is up to debate.” Amity took a deep breath to calm her own roiling stomach. “Are you going to be okay?”

The tan girl waved her companion’s concerns off. “Y-yeah, I th- – oog – think so. Turns out having a preternatural sense of where everything around you is isn’t so great when there’s nothing around you.”

“Do you want to sit down?”

The brown-haired teen slowly began standing up fully, then abruptly stopped. “No. Nope. Moving’s not a good idea right now.” She took in a long, shaky breath, then her eyes wandered over the small room. “New tactic. Why don’t you give me a tour? Get my mind off my rebellious tummy.”

“Uh, sure.” The witch glanced around, taking a second to see where to start. “Well, you’re currently holding onto my writing desk for dear life. I sometimes use it to do homework if I don’t want to be disturbed at home, but mostly I use it for, um, personal stuff.” She felt her cheeks and the tips of her ears heat up, though thankfully the other girl was too unbalanced to notice her embarrassment.

Amity cleared her throat. “Uh, I’ve got a soft human chair there,” she said, pointing to the large fabric bag that sat in the opposite corner, “in case I’m in the mood to read, or nap. I, uh, actually bought it from Eda a few months ago.”

“Beanbag chair.” Luz’s voice was still a little shaky, but she was clearly starting to get better. “‘Scalled a beanbag chair.”

“I have no clue what a ‘bean’ is or why you humans sell them in bags to sit on, but I’ll take your word for it.” The witch carried on, “Well, the walls other than the one that has my desk have my bookshelves.”

The human was now standing more fully upright, though she was still leaning up against the desk. “Well, what’s on ‘em? C’mon, show me what kinda books Amity Blight likes to read when you’re not studying for the next big test.”

Amity’s face and ears were now fully pink. “W-well… There are some adventure stories, a few biographies of famous witches, a couple of, er, romances. I’ve even got a few of the new ‘science fiction’ genre; I think my favorite is Journey to Agartha, where a group of witches and demons journey deep beneath the Titan and eventually end up on the underside of the planet.” She giggled a little. “One of the nations they meet down there is run by humans – completely fictional ones, of course, since they’re nothing like you or what you’ve said about your world.”

Luz pushed herself off the desk, now seemingly fully recovered. “Lemme guess: cruel, bloodthirsty, stupid, and so on?”

“Actually, they’re portrayed as cowardly, near-defenseless, yet kind-hearted philosophers and scientists who are over-awed by the most basic of magics and have to be saved by the adventurers from the other underground factions. Not exactly people who would stand up to bullying siblings – or even try to befriend a hostile witch, really.” Amity smiled a bit at the last statement. But then something occurred to her. “Y’know, it’s odd – nearly every story I’ve read where witches and humans interact has the humans being saved by or needing help from a witch. Even Beauty Across Worlds, has the human being saved by her witch girlfriend multiple times.”

The real-life human’s face scrunched in confusion. “Yeah, that is weird. Normally there’d be some variation due to the themes of the book or the beliefs of the author.”

The witch shrugged. “Well, I’m not an author or publisher, so who knows. And they’re just stories, anyway.”

“Yeah,” the other girl laughed. “I’m probably thinking about it too much.”

“Anyway,” Amity began. “The real reason I brought you here is, well…” She paused, searching for the right words. “Earlier you mentioned that you read The Good Witch Azura books, right?”

“Yep. Wait…”

The witch pulled out her edition of The Good Witch Azura 1: Journey Into Mystery.

The human’s mouth worked a few moments before she spoke again. “Wha-? How?”

“That’s what I was wanting to ask you,” the mint-haired girl replied. “I’m the only one of my peers who’s ever read – ever even heard of – this series. Then someone from a completely different world comes along and casually drops it in conversation? That’s way too much of a coincidence.” She looked directly at the human, expression serious. “So where, exactly do you buy your copies?”

“At…” The other teen trailed off, her expression bewildered. “Huh, you know what? I can’t really remember. I know I’ve bought them at a store, even got a doll and some posters, but for the life of me I can’t tell you where it is or who owns it. Heck, I couldn’t even tell you who writes the darn books!”

“Well, it’s… it’s…” Amity stopped, puzzled that now she couldn’t remember the author! She glanced at the book’s cover, then the spine and back, before frantically flipping through the pages. “Whoa! That’s… really weird! There’s no author credited anywhere in this book.” She passed the volume to the other girl and grabbed the three remaining Azura books on her shelf, but a quick look showed that none of them had an author listed either.

“Yeah, this is, like, super-duper strange.” The tanned girl flipped the book she had around, obviously not finding anything either. “Well, I’ve got a volume back at the Owl House, and — wait a sec…” Her brown eyes turned back to meet Amity’s golden ones. “You’ve only got the first four books, right?”

“Well, yeah–wait. Are you saying there’s more Azura books out there!?” The witch exclaimed as she started reshelving her books.

“Well, one came out just before I came here. I was going to take it to camp when Owlbert – that’s Eda’s palisman by the way – stole it and I followed him to the Isles.” Luz paused in thought. “Okay, I just finished reading it a few days ago. I’ll grab it after I get h- back to the house tonight, look at the author, and then tomorrow we can meet up sometime and I’ll let you borrow the book and tell you who the author is.”

Amity just stared at the human teen. “Y-you’d really let me borrow the next Azura book? Just like that?”

“Well, yeah,” the other girl said as she handed the last volume back. “It’s like you said - no one on Earth had even heard of, or was interested in, The Good Witch Azura series. I gotta at least try to make friends with the first one I’ve met, even if I did have to get stuck in another dimension to find her.” The human’s eyes bulged as soon as the words left her mouth, and she immediately tried to verbally backspace. “I- Um- That is to say-”

A pale hand rose to cut the tan girl’s stammering. “You don’t have to tell me anything right now,” the witch assured her new friend. “I had already figured that something was wrong, but I won’t pry any further.” She smiled. “I figure that, sooner or later, you’ll tell me. As we become better friends and all that.” The last book was put back into place.

“Thanks, Amity. The emotions are still… kinda raw.”

“No, thank you, Luz. For both the book and for reaching out to me.”

The human girl smiled, possibly the first time she’d genuinely been happy in the witch’s presence.

The witch smiled back. “Now, how about we get out of here and get back to those books. I think I’ve got about another hour or so left before I’m too tired to read.”

Luz’s shoulder slumped. “Not sure if I’d call it ‘reading’ or ‘deciphering’, but yeah, probably best to take advantage of your mom’s generosity for tonight.”

Camila’s eyes glazed over as she tried to refocus on her book. She couldn’t even remember the plot or the name of the book, it was just something she’d picked up to occupy her mind until she could fall asleep. It was a new habit she’d picked up, ever since she learned Luz was…

…

She rubbed her eyes, trying for the … fourth? fifth? … time to at least get through the page before turning in, when a sudden ping! from her cell phone eliminated all chances of that.

Huh? Who would be texting me at this time of night? I hope it isn’t an emergency at the clinic.

Picking the device up, book forgotten at her side, she swiftly unlocked it and saw…

Luz:

Hola, mami

I know its kinda late but I just couldn’t wait to tell you the news!

I made a new friend today! Well, sort of

You remember that Amity girl from the school and Covention?

Well I ran into her at the library here

Turns out she’s a lot nicer than she first appeared to be

Her family also has all the real old magic books that may have a way to get me home!

Or at least help us understand what’s going on

Ill tell you more this weekend b/c I am really tired rn

The woman smiled sadly. Seems her daughter really was doing a lot better over there than she had been on Earth.

Camila:

Es bueno, miha!

But don’t think you have to go about solving this all on your own.

I’m sure Dr. Strange has been hard at work researching our predicament.

The Latina woman idly wondered about the enigmatic sorcerer, and what he was doing right now. Another ping! brought her attention back to the phone and her daughter’s reply.

Luz:

I know

But I just feel so useless

Camilla:

Oh mi Lucita, as long as you keep bringing joy into others’ lives, you will never be useless.

Camila frowned. Had her daughter always had these feelings?

Luz:

Thanks, mami

Oh

Before i go

Amity’s also a fan of Azura

But the thing is neither of us can remember who the author is or where we bought them

The books don’t even have the author’s name on them

Weird, right?

The woman laughed and began typing her reply. Silly. You remember, we just went a few weeks ago and bought the newest one at…

at…

Now, try as she might, Camila could not remember the store where she and her daughter bought those books. She couldn’t remember what street it was on, what it looked like, or even who owned it. She clearly recalled driving there and talking to one of the clerks, who brought the fifth volume out, but couldn’t remember the clerk’s name, what they looked like, or even their voice! In fact, she couldn’t remember how she and Luz had even heard that there was another part out, they just seemed to … know!

Camila:

Yes, Luz, that is weird.

In fact, I can’t remember where we buy them either, even though we just went there a few weeks ago.

And you say it was your Azura book that Owlbert took when you followed him through Eda’s portal?

She grimaced, hoping it was all just a freaky coincidence.

Luz:

Si

u don’t think my books are connected to what’s going on?

Do u?

Camila:

I hope not.

But I’m going to call Dr. Strange tomorrow and see what he says.

Camila turned her eyes to heaven, saying a silent prayer to whatever beings look over the universe.

Por favor…

Chapter Text

“So,” Principal Bump began, leveling his gaze at the student before him. “Let me get this straight, Augustus…” He paused to collect his thoughts. “You want me,” Bump continued, “to, at least temporarily, lift the ban on the human … what was her name again?”

“Luz. Luz Noceda, sir.” Augustus supplied.

“Ah, yes, Luz.” The principal jotted down the name on a scrap of paper. “You want me to lift the ban on her, just so she can give a lecture to the Human Appreciation Society? And nothing else.” He paused again to watch how the boy reacted.

And react he did. Augustus shifted on his feet, and as Bump’s silence continued, the boy’s smile grew from “enthusiastic” to “nervous”, and a slight sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead.

In less than a minute, Augustus slumped. “Alright, ya got me,” he sighed. “One of the other students in the HAS – Mattholomule, he’s new – has been raising a ruckus during meetings, calling in to question my expertise and even calling the stories I’ve heard directly from Luz fake! And some of the other members are starting to side with him. So I thought that bringing Luz in would help clear up some of the … misconceptions Mattholomule’s been spreading.”

Bump was momentarily taken aback before a wide grin split his face. “My, how refreshing! Normally such disputes would end with a witch’s duel and one or both of you in the infirmary – or dead. Or, worse, one of you getting bullied so badly they have to change schools.” He opened a drawer and withdrew a few of the necessary forms. “Honestly, I thought that was going to happen to the poor Park girl before Ms. Noceda and the whole ‘abomination incident’.”

“See? Luz isn’t a bad person; she just wanted to help Willow!” Augustus interjected. “Though I don’t think having you lock the school down or Willow cover everything in vines was part of her plan.”

The principal hummed thoughtfully. “Well, we’ll see.” He started filling the forms out. “Consider this a trial run. If Ms. Noceda is on her best behavior I’ll see about allowing her to come back for other HAS meetings, or perhaps a more formal lecture on the Human Realm, if she agrees to it.”

“Wait, really?” Confusion was written clear across the student’s face.

“Yes,” Bump answered offhandedly while he continued filling out the forms. “We know frighteningly little about our dimensional neighbor. And with the Emperor’s Day of Unity coming up…” He trailed off, thinking it better to not voice his concerns in front of a student. “However, your request just gave me an idea: why not let an actual expert - no offense - enlighten us.”

“None taken.” The boy practically beamed at the thought he’d given his principal an idea. But moments later his expression became worried. “Sir, do you know something about the Day of Unity? Is there something…”

“No, no.” Bump interjected. “Just an old man seeing the world change before him and not sure if he’s ready for it.” He gave Augustus a (hopefully not too obviously false) reassuring smile. “Now, Mr. Porter, when would you like Ms. Noceda to visit the HAS?”

“Uh, would Friday be too early? That’s the next big HAS meeting.”

Bump’s smile was more genuine. “Not at all, not at all. I am surprised that Ms. Noceda agreed to come back so soon after I banned her.”

Augustus suddenly looked very nervous. “Uhhhhhhhhh…”

“You did ask her first, didn’t you?”

“Well, if that’s all, Principal Bump, I just remembered there’s something very important I have to do! Bye!” With that exclamation, the student bolted out of his office, leaving the incredulous principal to stare blankly at the open door.

Ah, youth. Shaking his head and giving a sigh of amusement, Bump turned back to finish the paperwork that would unban the mysterious young human. As his pen filled out the last of the blanks, his thoughts turned a darker direction as old worries that the conversation with young Augustus had brought still lingered.

I hope to the Titan that you can quell this old man’s worries, Ms. Noceda. Because for all the talk about a paradise on Earth, I doubt the merging of two realms will be as easy, or welcome, as the Emperor claims it to be.

“I’m very sorry I couldn’t be here sooner, Camila,” Dr. Strange said, “but this entire week I was pulled away to investigate several ghost infestations in the Midwest.”

The woman gasped a little. “Wait, ghosts are real, Doctor?”

“Yes, but they are quite rare,” the sorcerer replied. “Most of the time a ‘ghost sighting’ will turn out to be a corrupt real estate developer trying to cheat amusement park owners out of their land – which reminds me, I should really check up on those meddling kids, see how they’re doing.”

“I’m not surprised Earth has ghosts, there’s enough ambient magic in the air.” Vee looked up from where she was studying at the cluttered kitchen table. “Do they attack people often? The ones on the Isles are usually kinda depressing, at least the few I met.”

“Not usually, no.” He turned back to Camila. “Most ghosts don’t even interact with living people, and those I met this week were, for the most part, rather friendly -- Well, at least Casper was. Scratch was a bit grumpier, though not particularly hostile. The situation in Amity Park was…” He frowned in thought. “complicated. Though I believe young Mr. Fenton has it well in hand.”

Dr. Strange turned his attention to the objects currently occupying the center of the Noceda’s kitchen table -- namely four decent sized novels labeled ‘The Good Witch Azura’ (one of which had a bookmark inserted about halfway through), two 12-inch dolls (one of them the titular Azura and the other of a red-haired individual), and several posters, all rolled up.

He frowned thoughtfully. “Well, these do not show any obvious enchantments, at least at a cursory glance. To do a more in-depth analysis I’d have to take the items back to my Sanctum Sanctorum.” The sorcerer turned to the basilisk. “Vee, you said several times that you could ‘smell’ magic. Have you smelled any magic on any of these? Or anywhere else in the house?”

“Wait, is that why you’re here?” Vee asked, then sniffed the air. “Well, I don’t smell any magic besides you, Doctor Strange. Haven’t smelled any in this house at all. Sorry.”

Humming thoughtfully, he picked up one of the Azura books – the second one, titled Terror from the Below-Place. The cover was done in a beautiful stained glass styling, depicting Azura battling some green-skinned giant that bore more than a little resemblance to The Abomination. Turning it over, he noticed that there was no barcode or ISBN. And, like Luz and Camila said, no author was named anywhere on the cover or the title page. He began flipping through the pages, noticing how they felt almost, but not quite, like normal paper, almost as if the plants used to make them were close to, but not exactly like, an Earth tree. He stopped at a random page and began reading:

“Halt, vile monster!” Azura cried. “Your reign of terror ends here! No longer shall the good citizens of Bone City be tormented by the likes of you!”

The great demon’s shaggy head shook violently as raucous peals of harsh, guttural laughter erupted from his fanged maw. He wiped tears from his dull, beady eyes as he gazed down on his diminutive opponent.

“Oi! And who’s gonna stop me? You?” His grin grew even wider, showing off his full collection of yellowed, broken fangs. “One little witchling ain’t gonna be defeatin’ me! I’ve crushed whole armies of you buggers.” He leaned in close, the foul stench of his breath hanging heavily over the dark-skinned woman. “Just t’ fill me supper pots.”

Despite the awful odor that permeated the air around the demon, Azura smiled. “That may be true… if I were an ordinary witch.” She dramatically threw open her cloak, revealing the Amulet of the Vaporous Valtorr that hung upon her chest. “For I have also walked the path of the sorcerer in Kamar Taj, learned the dark arts from dire warlocks, and studied under masters of black magics from across the Nine Realms! And now I come to bring justice to these lands!

At the Good Witch’s shouted command, seven shimmering rings of the purest crimson manifested around the demon, tightly shackling his limbs…

Dr. Strange stared at the page in disbelief. A mention of the Faltine could be written off as coincidence, but directly referencing Valtorr, the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, and the hidden city of Kamar Taj? No, there was something more here.

“Camila, have you remembered anything about where you brought these items? Anything at all, no matter how small.”

The woman looked thoughtful, taking a sip from an old Cosmic Frontier mug before answering. “I’ve been thinking about it and… I think that the seller was an older man. Very tall. There may have been something wrong with one of his legs? I can’t remember anything else, really.” She shook her head sadly. “I wish I could be of more help, Doctor.”

“But it was the same person, every time you bought the books?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes.” A sigh escaped her lips. “Doctor, do you think someone, or something, lured mi bebe to the Demon Realm for some reason?”

Dr. Strange rubbed his chin in thought. “Lured? No, that doesn’t fit with the other evidence. Why would someone need to lure Ms. Blight to her home dimension? And Vee, you weren’t even aware of the Azura books before coming here, correct?”

“Nope.” The basilisk looked up from her books. “But now that Camila mentions it, I do remember running into a tall, older man who pointed me in the direction of the Owl Lady’s stall the day before I came to Earth.”

The sorcerer cocked an eyebrow at this revelation. “Fascinating.” He turned back to Camila. “At least they seem somewhat benevolent, given they helped Vee escape the Demon Realm.”

“True,” the woman admitted. “But I still don’t feel comfortable knowing this person, who- or whatever they are, have been using me and my daughter in their schemes. Especially since they started at one of the most vulnerable points in our lives.”

“How so?” he asked. “If you don’t mind me asking, I would like to know how you first came into contact with these books and their mysterious seller.”

The mother turned downcast and stared into her mug for a good, long while. When she spoke, her voice was soft, wavering with the trembles of a distant loss that had not yet healed. “It was only a few months after Manny … passed. Luz was in a bad place, with the accident, the stay in the hospital, losing her father…” She paused, taking in a shaky breath. “And, of course, now her body felt different after she gained her powers. I kept wishing for something, anything, to help mi bebe. And, one night after work I was going to go pick up some dinner for us when I noticed that there was a new bookstore right next to the restaurant. Well, Luz had always liked reading, especially with Manny. Since I had the next day off, I took Luz to see if I could find a book she’d like.” The woman paused, looking wistfully over the books laid out over her table.

“And is that when the person sold you on the Azura books?”

“Actually, no,” she answered. “It was Luz who spotted the book first. I went up to the register to talk to the … salesperson about the book. To make sure it was appropriate for my little girl.”

“Did you remember anything about the conversation? Was the salesperson particularly pushy or overly eager when talking about the book?” the sorcerer asked.

The woman shook her head. “I don’t think so, but it was so long ago that I really don’t remember.”

“And what about the store itself?” Strange asked. “Did you notice anything unusual about it? What about the location – has it been in the same place every time?”

Camila sighed. “Sorry. I can’t remember anything beyond vague impressions.” She closed her eyes. “I remember it was very … warm. And not like ‘the heat is on’ warm, but almost as if the store was just naturally so. And I think that there was a lot of … red? Yellow? Maybe orange?”

“Any scents you can remember?”

“Hmmmmmm.” She closed her eyes and inhaled, almost as if she were trying to smell the memory. “It smelled … It’s odd, but I want to say there was the distinct odor of a dead body.” She opened her eyes. “Not a fresh one, but … I almost want to say it smelled like a mummy or something. Like a really old, dry corpse. Does that make any sense?”

Vee gave a small chuckle. “Y’know, Camila, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were talking about the Boiling Isles. What with the heat and the smell.” She looked up to the two adults. “But, that’s just a coincidence. Right?”

“It’s certainly something to think about.” The sorcerer gave a thoughtful hum as he played withthoroughly investigated the Azura doll. It was amazingly lifelike, for what was ostensibly a children’s toy. From her bright smile and shining eyes that somehow mimicked how a real eye reflected the light, to the frankly insane level of articulation – even her fingers could be posed individually! And the material was odd too, reminding him more of some of the mystical components he sometimes worked with than the typical plastics normally used to make such a toy, though the difference was only something that would take an expert to really notice.

A quick check of the posters revealed that, much like the books and the figures, the materials were close enough to normal poster stock that a lay person wouldn’t notice.

“Well,” he finally said, “like Vee said, there is no magic in any of the Azura items, and I don’t think any of them were ever enchanted. You can rest assured, Camila, that neither your nor your daughter’s actions were ever influenced by magic.”

“Oh, gracias a Dios!” The mother visibly deflated.

“Is that why Owlbert went after the one Luz had?” Vee asked, picking up the book with the bookmark. “‘Cause it’s made of magic stuff? They’re interesting, but I don’t think Azura’s the sort of thing a palisman, or Ms. Eda for that matter, would like reading.”

“You’ve begun reading them?” he asked.

The girl ‘eep!’ed and hid behind the book. “C-Camila and Luz said it was okay. I-I didn’t mess up your investigation, did I? I didn’t accidentally drain the magic from-”

“Relax, Vee,” the sorcerer cut her off with a raised hand. “I was merely curious, mainly about why you’d be interested in them.”

“Oh!” She immediately brightened up. “Well, I only started reading it last night, and at first because it was something else besides textbooks. But I, uh, kind of got sucked in – the drama, the adventure, the characters… I’ve, uh, actually gotten attached to one of the characters.” She gave a sheepish smile. “They’re a changeling that Azura’s mom takes in after Azura goes off to train with her mentor.”

Dr. Strange raised an eyebrow but stayed silent. A mysterious book series that mentions actual Vishanti magic, has oddly specific correlations to what’s going on right now, and is somehow tied to a newly discovered dimension that has been all but cut off from Earth.

I’m gonna need to talk to my master, and soon.

“Heya, Eda! Whatcha doin’?”

The older woman looked up at Luz from the chaotic pile of papers, books, and what looks like a day planner, a haggard look on her face. Sticky notes were plastered everywhere, including a few that had, somehow, gotten entangled in the Owl Lady’s gray locks. Luz tried, and failed, to suppress a giggle as a sticky that had been hanging precariously on the end of Eda’s nose fell off and fluttered gently down to the table.

“Huh? Wazzat, kid?” Bloodshot golden eyes attempted in vain to focus on the human before Eda gave up and let out a truly impressive yawn. “Sorry, I got woken up way too early by one of Lily’s midnight raids and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“Wait, was that the racket I heard this morning? Eda, you should have woken me up, I coulda helped you!”

The witch waved her off. “Eh, don’t worry about it. Hooty takes care of those things, it’s just that since he’s Bonded with me I get to feel his emotions, especially strong ones.” She shuddered. “He gets especially happy when he ‘plays’ with some Coven Scouts. Thank Yog-Sothoth I was able to convince him not to eat any after the first time.”

Luz grimaced at the thought. “Yeesh. Turning to less disturbing subjects, what’s with all…this?” She gestured vaguely to the mess in front of, and partially on, the Owl Lady.

“Hm? Oh! Well, I couldn’t get back to sleep after…. So, I decided to try and start figuring out how I’m gonna teach you more spells. Since our experiments yesterday yielded squat, I’m going to have to get creative.”

The human sighed as she thought back. Freshly reinvigorated after her meeting with Amity at the library, Luz and Eda tried most of yesterday to replicate the success of her little Light glyph by recording the witch casting just about every type of spell – everything from sleep spells and complex illusions to basic fireballs and ice spells. Despite Luz trying her best to reproduce the glitch that let her see the glyph that rainy night, from playing the videos at half speed or backwards to dropping her phone several times, none of the recorded spells gave even a glimpse of their underlying glyphs. The only thing they didn’t try was letting Eda wear herself out again, and neither witch nor human wanted to go through all that again.

Then a thought struck her. “Wait, you’ve been doing this all morning?! Eda, it’s two in the afternoon! Please tell me you’ve had something to eat.”

The gray-haired witch sat up straighter, indignant. “Of course I have! I ate, uh…” She finished much more lamely, “shortly after I woke up. Wait, is it really after lunch?”

“Don’t bother, Luz,” King’s voice announced his arrival from the kitchen, bag of cookies in hand. “She always gets like this when Hooty gets riled up. Best just to just wait it out and wait until she collapses. Once she did so while making a whole bunch of pudding! Just conked out right into the mix.” He gave a short laugh. “It was hilarious!”

“Does this happen often?” the human questioned.

Eda shrugged. “Not really. Usually Lily only attacks during the day when she knows I’m up. Emperor Bonehead must have raked her over the coals for the performance at the Convention for her to try a night attack.” The witch yawned again. “Oof. I’m gonna get up and grab a snack. Want anything, kiddo?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Ooh!” King piped up as he hopped up onto the couch. “Can you get me some more cookies!”

“Not a chance,” Eda replied. “You’ll spoil your dinner at this rate.”

Weird, Eda almost sounded … motherly.

Shaking that weird thought from her head, Luz leaned over the coffee table to get a better look at the Owl Lady’s work. Lists of potion recipes that Eda wanted to try warred with scrawled mentions of various artifacts to help the human out - from the Soulsword of the Lich King to the Screaming Skull of Shufti. The day planner looked like Eda had scratched through or erased so many lines the paper was getting thin, evidence that the witch was desperately trying to find a way to balance both teaching her new apprentice and make enough potions to keep their finances steady. Luz frowned at that, a harsh thought flitted across her mind.

Looks like your reckless actions have screwed up another life.

No.

Don’t think like that.

Not again.

Instead she forced herself to look at the map of the Boiling Isles Eda had been marking up. Looks like the witch had circled several places, including the Perilous Pyramids of Palm Stings, the Serpentine Tombs of the Swampy Toes and…

“The Knee?”

“Hm,” King responded around a mouthful of cookie. “Oh, yeah, supposedly there’s a bunch of old ruins or something from before the Savage Ages up there. Have fun going up there, though. It’s cold as heck all year ‘round. Doubt there’s anything up there besides ice, snow, and more ice.”

“I don’t know, King. Amity said her mother had been excavating some old Blight family ruins on the Knee. That’s where she got the books we read on Tuesday.” Luz frowned thoughtfully at the map. “Maybe there is something that can help me learn magic there.”

Further conversation was interrupted when Hooty suddenly threw his door wide open. “Ding-dong! Your friend is here, Luz!”

Gus’s head nervously peeked through the door. “_{Please let me in. The more I look at him the worse it gets.}”

Luz giggled. “Come on in, Gus. And it’s not that bad. At least you don’t live in him.”

“Yoooouuuu’re insiiiiiide me now.” The door shut as Hooty went back to … whatever it was he did when he was supposed to be guarding the house (which none of the three residents of the Owl House were eager to find out).

Ignoring the bird tube, Luz continued. “So, Gus, what brings you out this way?”

After a wary glance back at the still-closed door, he replied. “Say, Luz, have you ever thought about coming back to Hexside? As a guest, rather than trying to sneak in?” Okay, his grin was way too wide for Luz’s liking.

“Uh, not really? Especially since I’m, y’know, banned?” She jerked her thumb over to the now-framed ‘Banned!’ poster that Eda had hung proudly next to the witch’s own wanted poster. “Why do you ask?” she continued warily.

The boy laughed awkwardly. “Well, what would you say if I used my powers as President of the HAS to get your ban lifted?”

Luz looked at her friend incredulously. “Wait, really? Why would Principal Bump do that? Does being President of the HAS give you that much power?”

There was that nervous laughter again. “Welllll, not really,” Gus answered. “While the HAS is one of the bigger clubs at school, Principal Bump would never let any student or group become that powerful. At least not after the Bard Riots over at Glandus. No, I just gave him a very good reason to let you back in.” He smiled entirely too widely for someone just doing a favor for a friend.

“Oh, uh, thanks?” The human replied, still confused. “But what was the ‘reason’ you gave Principal Bump that made him allow me back in?”

The boy made several distressed noises before answering, his gaze anywhere but his super-powered friend. “Weeeeellllllllllll….” He paused again.

“Man, for someone whose whole magic thing is illusions, you’re really bad at the concept of ‘lying’.” King dusted his hands off, half-lidded glare scrutinizing the boy.

“Eh, leave him be, King.” Eda walked through the kitchen door, absently munching on half of her sandwich as she walked back to the couch. “It's funnier this way.”

Gus huffed in irritation before inhaling sharply. “I may have told Principal Bump that you would be coming in to give a speech on the Human Realm.” He looked away again before quietly saying, “and maybe help me fight off a rival in the HAS.”

“Awwwwwwww! Little Goops’s got his first rival.” Eda reached over and ruffled Gus’s hair. “But word of advice, kid: Little Miss Spider over there ain’t your best choice when helping fight off a rival. She may be able to juggle Slitherbeasts but she’s way too nice to be much help in killing someone.”

The boy’s eyes bugged out. “Kill!? I don’t want to kill Mattolomule! Just prove him wrong with facts and logic.”

“And I’ll have you know, Eda, that I consider being called ‘too nice to kill’ a compliment,” Luz retorted.

“Bah!” the older witch shouted dramatically. “Buncha goody two shoes.” She sat down to finish her sandwich. “But if that doesn’t work, Goops, I got some rad cheats I’d be glad to share with ya.”

“Ugh, all this hippie-dippie talk is making me nauseous.” King clutched his stomach, eyes unfocused.

“You sure it’s not the whole bag of cookies you scarfed down just now?” Eda playfully teased.

The miniature tyrant responded by standing up suddenly and shouted, “I do what I want, woman! You can’t ma– Oogh.” His eyes and cheeks suddenly bulged out.

“Oh, no no no no no!” The Owl Lady quickly scooped up the tiny demon and started racing for the bathroom upstairs. “I spent too long working on my plans to have them barfed on!”

“Well, that was dramatic.” Gus watched the older witch rush up the steps carrying the sick baby demon. He turned back to Luz. “So, uh, are you going to come tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.

The human sighed. “Of course I will, Gus. Just, next time please ask me first, and not the day before, okay?” She perked back up. “Now, tell me about this Mattholomule guy.”

Damn that foul Bird…Tube…Thing of Eda’s!

Not only had that cursed house demon thoroughly trounced her squad, but over half of them had, once again, gotten lost in those Titan-forsaken woods that surrounded Eda’s so-called ‘house’! It was almost as if the very land itself had hindered her mission.

Now, Lilith was desperately trying to brush the dirt (and other stains she didn’t want to think about) off her cloak and smooth out her hair (which was exacerbated by the numerous twigs and feathers stuck in it) as she stood before the doors that led to Emperor Belos’s chambers.

After this morning’s mission failed spectacularly to capture her sister, Emperor Belos had requested a personal meeting with the head of His coven to discuss her performance. To Lilith it felt uncomfortably like being called to Principal Faust’s office.

“Wow, you look almost as bad as I do,” a familiarly annoying voice said from behind her.

She whirled on the teen to (playfully) berate him, but stopped when she noticed what state he was in. Hair even more disheveled than hers, including several parts that had obviously been burnt. A newly formed scar flared across his right cheek, angry red against his pale skin. And his left ear had a ragged notch torn out of it.

“My Titan! Hunter, are you okay? How did this happen?”

His playful demeanor fell. “Uncle sent me out on my first mission as the Golden Guard. I was supposed to capture a village of wild witches that had been hiding out on the Knee. There were … complications, and fighting was fiercer than expected. I got off easy… Not everyone made it out.”

“I…” The older witch tried to search for the right words, the right statement to comfort the boy, to make things seem all right. But she knew, logically, that nothing she said or did would relieve Hunter’s guilt. “I sympathize, Hunter. I know that losing good witches under your command is hard, and it’s something that I’ve never gotten used to. If you want to talk about it later…”

A small smile crossed the teen’s face. “Thanks, Lilith. I’d like that.”

Lilith smiled back, then straightened up and removed the last of the twigs from her hair. “Now, then, are you ready?”

A humorless chuckle escaped Hunter’s lips. “No. But I think we’ve kept Uncle waiting long enough.”

“True.”

With that, both witches pushed open the great doors and entered the Emperor’s throne room.

“Lilith Clawthorne, Head Witch of the Emperor’s Coven, and Hunter Wittebane the Golden Guard, as requested, Your Highness!” The voice of Kikimora, the Emperor’s seneschal, rang out.

The Emperor was being attended to by His personal team of healers, lead by Head Witch Hettie Cutburn. When the Emperor raised His hand to dismiss them, Hettie looked conflicted, obviously torn between their oath to the Healing Coven and their desire to obey the Emperor’s wishes. Eventually, the latter won out, and the large witch ushered their team out, but not before giving a concerned look at both Lilith and Hunter (though Lilith wasn’t sure if it was because of the state the two were in or concern that the two would overtax the Emperor).

“Kikimora, please go and make sure that the annual inspections of the three schools are on schedule.” The Emperor’s voice, though no more than a hoarse whisper, seemed to reverberate through the large room.

The small demon bowed. “As you wish, Your Highness!” She quickly exited the room and closed the doors, leaving the three alone for the moment.

“So…” The Emperor’s voice echoed again. “Tell me what went wrong?”

The two witches looked at each other, as if daring the other to go first. The stalemate was broken when Lilith, rationalizing that, as the older and more senior of the two, the fault should be on her shoulders. So she stepped forward and knelt before the Emperor.

“My Lord, I take full responsibility. If I had not been so insistent on performing another ill-fated attempt to capture my sister I would have been able to lend more scouts to Hunter’s mission or provide aid when things went wrong.”

Realizing what she was doing, Hunter stepped forward. “No, Uncle, it was my fault! I purposefully timed my mission so that Head Witch Clawthorne would be busy. I…” His gaze dropped. “I wanted to prove myself. To both of you.” He smiled over at Lilith. “I wanted to show you how much I’d grown, how much I’d learned from you, from both of you. And … I wanted to show you that it wasn’t a mistake to give me the title of Golden Guard even though I’m only 16.”

The silence hung heavily as they waited for the Emperor’s response.

“Hunter,” the reply, so soft yet powerful, came, “while I understand wanting to prove yourself, when I gave you that mission, it was with the implicit expectation that you would, at the very least, get assistance from Lilith, even just with the planning of the raid. But now, one of my scouts is dead, nearly a dozen are injured, three of the wild witches are dead too, and over half of the remainder escaped, going deeper into hiding than ever before. Now it will be next to impossible to find and reeducate them before the Day of Unity.” A rattling sigh came from the Emperor, and He reached up and removed His mask, revealing the mass of glyphs that were carved into the left side of his face – ‘signs of the Titan’s divine presence’ he had told Lilith when he had first revealed his face to her.

The Emperor smiled gently at Hunter before resuming speaking. “Do not mistake me, Hunter, I am not mad, merely disappointed that you allowed your pride to cost the lives of four of the Titan’s Children. Now, tell me, exactly, what happened and where it went wrong.”

“I went for an early morning raid - fewer people awake, less light, etc. Some of the scouts were skilled in illusions, so I had them disguise us as clouds so we could drop in from above.”

“A sound strategy,” Lilith offered. “I would likely have counseled the same.”

When the Emperor didn’t reply, Hunter continued. “That’s when things went wrong. The sentries were able to detect us and raise the alarm. Some of them fired up at us. That’s when Jeromiah got clipped and fell off his staff. I tried to reach him while the other scouts returned fire, but … I’m still not very good with using Flapjack.”

As if on cue, the little red palisman peeked out from Hunter’s hood. It made a few contrite chirps and nuzzled against the boy’s cheek.

Another quiet sigh echoed through the room. “I see,” the Emperor spoke at last. “An unavoidable tragedy. Perhaps I should have made you take lessons when I gifted you your father’s palisman.”

“And what about the wild witches who died?” Lilith asked.

Hunter grimaced. “After Jeromiah fell, some of the scouts started using lethal force before I could retake command of the situation. I’ve already sent their names to you for an official reprimand.”

“Thank you.” She turned to the Emperor. “I’ll make sure to expedite them as soon as I get back to my office.”

The Emperor nodded, then asked a question of His own. “You say that the wild witches were able to detect your troops even though they were hidden under illusions? How?”

“I only got a glimpse of them but…” Hunter paused for a moment, almost seeming to brace himself. “I’m pretty sure that some of the escaped basilisks were working with the wild witches.”

“WHAT!?” The Emperor leapt up off of His throne, the ritual scarification on His face glowing an angry red for a moment. “How!? There was no evidence of wild witch involvement in their escape!”

“I don’t know!” Hunter backed up defensively. “A scout named Severine got off a stun spell on one of them and it started changing shape as it lost consciousness. One of the wild witches grabbed it and escaped into the woods before I got a good look, but I’m pretty sure it was one of the basilisks.”

Both Lilith and Hunter stood silent as the Emperor seethed. She had never felt so much power, so much rage … it was almost palpable. His glyphs thrummed with dark red energy, almost as if they were bleeding. Then the Emperor suddenly turned around and, in a motion that was almost too quick for her to see, smashed His throne, throwing shards of stone, bone, and gemstones into the walls. And the only reason that neither she nor Hunter got hit was because Lilith was able to get a quick shield spell up.

“THEY WERE MINE!”

The only sound in the throne room was the Emperor’s ragged breathing after that shout, the only movement the heaving of His shoulders. Lilith decided to keep her shield up, just in case He wasn’t finished venting His anger.

Frightful seconds passed before the Emperor shuddered, His fury abating. Slowly He turned around, stumbling slightly as He did, before slumping down to sit on the steps leading up to what was left of His throne. His face was ashen, the edges of the scarified glyphs were cracked and flaking.

“I am… dreadfully sorry… you two… had to witness… that outburst.” The Emperor’s voice was even hollower than before, and He took large gulps of air as His rage left Him. “The Titan … was … upset that … we were so close to … recapturing our basilisks … and yet, so far.”

“Do you … need us to go get the healers, Uncle?” Hunter ventured carefully as Lilith cautiously lowered the shield.

“Not right now… but thank you, Hunter.” Slowly the Emperor eased Himself into a more natural sitting position. “Right now, we need to focus on finding those missing basilisks. And the witches they were with. Lilith?”

“Yes, my Lord?”

“I know this may sound harsh, but I’m reassigning you. Your primary concern is to find those witches and the basilisks.”

“But, what about Edalyn?” She protested. “You said yourself that she’s too powerful to be running around covenless.”

“I did.” The Emperor replied evenly. “However, I believe you are too close to this, and all too frequently let your … conflicted emotions toward your sister, and her curse, get in the way of your better judgment. Or need I remind you of the incident with the youngest Blight at the latest Covention?”

Lilith winced, both at the mention of her sister’s curse (though thankfully the Emperor had not revealed her part in that to Hunter, at least not yet) and her more recent missteps with Amity. But she saw that the Emperor had a point.

“I … I understand, my Liege.” She fought to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “Who will be taking over my sister’s capt…er, recruitment, if I may ask?”

“Hunter will,” came the Emperor's reply. “At least, once you’ve trained him.”

Hunter and Lilith looked at each other incredulously.

“Train him in what, my Lord?” she asked cautiously.

“Anything. Everything.” The Emperor smirked. “How to handle a palisman. How to fight. How you plan out your missions. How you deal with issues both diplomatically and militarily. Your sister’s strengths and weaknesses.” He paused. “Think of this as an apprenticeship. After all, your sister has one – this ‘human’ that’s been making waves as of late. If she can teach a lowly ‘human’ to do the things you said it could, I want to see what you can do with a full-blooded witch?”

Lilith nearly missed how the Emperor’s voice turned sour when he said the word “human”, but she chose to ignore it. She had more important things to worry about right now.

Like how to train a sixteen-year old boy with a magic disability how to catch one of the most powerful wild witches the Boiling Isles had ever seen.

“Very well,” she sighed and turned to Hunter. “First order of business, I want you to go to the healers and get checked out and then get some rest. I want my apprentice in top shape tomorrow for our interrogation of the witches you did capture.”

He saluted smartly. “Yes, sir!” He turned to the Emperor. “By your leave, Uncle.”

The Emperor waved them both off dismissively. “Yes, both of you are free to go.”

Both about-faced sharply, pushing open the doors once again. The two were very nearly bowled over as Hettie and their team rushed in to check on the Emperor after his outburst (which surely the whole castle must have heard). Lilith made a mental note to have Mason and the Construction Coven come and replace the destroyed throne.

But first, she had to write out some lesson plans…

Maybe this won’t be such a bad idea after all.

I knew this was going to be a bad idea.

Raine sighed as they and the newly formed BATTs – now consisting of Katya, Derwin (one of Katya’s classmates from Glandus High, who insisted he had nothing to do with the Bard Riots), and Amber (newly graduated from Hexside and still filled with youthful rebellion) – trod nervously through the woods towards the (supposed) location where the infamous Owl Lady (also known as Raine’s former classmate Eda Clawthorne) lived. Right now, however, they were questioning the wisdom of this idea, given how utterly freaky the forest was becoming. Familiar birdscreech was replaced with odd tweets and warbles that sounded surprisingly like song, the comfortingly warm oranges and reds of the trees slowly shifted to an eerie palette of vibrant greens and deep browns. Even the air smelled differently, less acrid and caustic.

But what was really out of place were the innumerable threads of spider silk hanging from the trees.

“Are you sure this is the right way, Mx. Whispers,” Amber asked for the 100th (approximately) time.

“Yes,” they answered (again). “If the information that potion seller gave us is accurate, we should be near the place Eda lives. I hope.”

“And what if it’s not?” Derwin, this time.

Raine rubbed the bridge of their nose, trying to come up with an answer. Before they could, however, it was Katya, surprisingly, who answered. “Then we all had a nice walk in the woods.”

Unfortunately for the older bard, a raucous cry of ‘caw-caw!’ from deep in a copse of the green-and-brown trees startled the group.

Amber’s eye roll was practically audible. “Yeah, Kat, real peaceful here.”

Raine got it, they really did. Except for Katya, everyone was on edge - the woods were unreal, the information unreliable, and Raine was unsure about their chance of success. Even Katya’s odd exuberance was getting on their last nerve and they were about five seconds from declaring the trip a failure and marching right back to Bonesburough.

Thankfully, further argument was cut off when the group unexpectedly stepped into a clearing. It was like the forest just … stopped. And in the center, standing warily in the midst of the clearing was a house, a stained glass eye-shaped window staring lazily at nothing (though Raine was sure that, for a second, the eye looked directly at them). The treeline ended abruptly about twenty feet from said house, though whether this was the owner’s doing or because the trees didn’t want to grow any closer none of the group could say.

“So…” Derwin broke the uneasy silence, “Do we just go up, knock on the door, and ask the most notorious wild witch on the entire Boiling Isles to join up in our little rebellion?”

“Hi new friends! Are you here to see Eda?”

That was a new voice – although to call it a ‘voice’ was heavily stretching the meaning of the word. It sounded, and felt, more like talons scraping on a chalkboard or two pieces of old metal being rubbed together. The group turned around to find the source only to see a … unholy feathery tentacle? Disturbing beaked worm? Extruded bird tube? Whatever it was, it made Raine sick to look at directly for too long.

“Uh, hello?” Raine felt a growing unease as they talked to the … creature. “You know Eda? Can you tell us if she’s in right now?”

The ‘being’ hummed, face scrunched up in what could generously be called ‘thoughtful’, before ‘speaking’ again. “Yep! She should just be getting out of the shower!”

“Um, that’s … great?” The bard smiled nervously. “Can we, um, go see her?” They smiled nervously.

“I don’t know…” The worm-tube-thing leaned closer (Raine heard at least one of the others gag at the odious odor that seemed to emanate from the …guardian?) and scrutinized the four. “How do I know you’re not coven scouts in disguise?”

“Uh, we’re not? Promise?” Raine winced at the lame answer, but valiantly continued on. “I’m … an ex-classmate of Eda’s! From Hexside. Me and my friends were, uh, just coming out to…” They floundered, trying to come up with a valid excuse.

“Meet the infamous Owl Lady!” Derwin chimed in.

“Yeah!” Amber continued. “Mx. Whispers has told us so many stories of their time in school with Eda that we just had to come out and meet her for ourselves!”

“Oh! And I know the human! Um, Luz?” Katya explained. “I met her at the Conformatorium that one time. And after seeing her in action at the Covention and learning she lived here with Ms. Clawthorne, well, I, uh, I just had to come and thank her for helping me out!”

The four bards waited nervously, anxious grins plastered on their faces as the screechy tube weighed their arguments.

“Sounds good enough to me!” It chirped happily. “Besides, you guys are way too sweaty to be scouts! Folloooooow meeeeee!” With that it … retracted? … toward the house, where the group could see that it was attached to (or inside?) the front door, which the creature generously swung open. “Eda! Your fans are here!”

“Fans? When the hell did I get fans?” A voice floated out from somewhere inside. Her voice. She came into view from the depths of the house. “If this is another trick of Lily’s that you’ve fallen for, Hooty, I swear … I’ll…” She paused as she stared at the intruders.

Raine stared back. She was wearing a bathrobe and had been trying to wrangle a sopping mess of wet hair (wild as it ever was, but now a beautiful silver rather than the exciting orange of their youth) under a towel, though some of the strands were now escaping their imprisonment to cascade down her back. Her features were still the same, even after nearly thirty years - pale and angular and oh so beautiful.

“Rainestorm…” she finally spoke after several awkward seconds.

“Uh, hey, Eda…” Raine desperately tried to keep their growing nervousness from showing. “Long time, no see?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Raine could see that Eda was quickly returning to her normal self. “So, you four get lost in the woods or something? No way you trekked all the way out here just to see little old me.”

“Actually, we did,” the bard answered, garnering an intrigued eyebrow raise from the Owl Lady. “We have something we want to discuss with you. Uh, can we come in?”

Eda shrugged. “Sure, make yourselves at home.” She waved them over to a living room covered in knick-knacks and bric-a-brac, most prominently a framed copy of her wanted poster.

“Hey, does she still live here?” Katya asked, pointing to a second, smaller framed poster depicting a young human covered in abomination goo.

Instead of answering, Eda instead called out to someone upstairs. “Hey, Luz! You got an admirer out here!”

A few heartbeats later, the real human’s head popped out, upside-down, from the top of the stairs. “Whatchoo talkin’ ‘bout, Owl Lady?” They gazed over the assembled BATTs, eyes widening in recognition when they saw Katya. “Hey! I remember you. From the Conformatorium, right?”

“Yep!” Katya chirped. “I was also in the audience at the Covention when you took down that Blight kid! You got some crazy moves, girl!”

The girl, Luz apparently, rubbed her head sheepishly (while still upside down, Raine noted) and gave a nervous laugh. “Eh, thanks?” Then, placing one hand on the ceiling, she flipped around completely, hanging by said hand for a few moments before dropping to the floor. The whole motion was so smooth, so natural, that Raine wondered if all humans could do this.

Katya eagerly grabbed the human’s outstretched hand, shaking it vigorously. “Name’s Katya. I’ve really wanted to meet you after you saved me from the Conformatorium. I actually tried to find you after your duel, but you kinda disappeared afterwards.”

Luz laughed awkwardly again. “Yeah, Eda wanted to be gone before Principal Bump finished chewing out Lilith and started in on her.”

Raine shivered involuntarily. “I don’t blame you, Eda. I still remember the lecture from Bump after he caught us after the Noodle Incident.”

“I seem to remember you being all gung ho about that prank until Bump caught us, Rainestorm,” Eda snarked back.

Raine felt their cheeks heat up, though whether it was from embarrassment or the expert way Eda trilled the ‘r’s in that nickname they would never say. Instead they wisely chose to change the subject. “Anyway, the other two are Derwin and Amber,” they said, indicating to the other half of the group. “And what we came here to discuss is very important. There’s no time for trips down memory lane.”

“Ooh!” Luz’s face immediately lit up. “Important business with mysterious visitors? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yes,” Eda cut in, “You can finish your chores before we have to go to Hexside this afternoon.”

The human gave an exaggerated groan and an even more exaggerated slouch. “Guhhhh, fiiiiiine,” she grouched as she moved to the back of the house.

“Wait!” Katya almost literally leaped forward to catch the girl. “Do you need some help? Or want some company? I’ve really wanted to talk to you ever since you saved me from Warden Wrath.”

“Uhhhhh, you sure?” Luz sideyed the fanged witch. “Just telling ya, it’s mostly gonna be hauling some human junk from the tower out back to the backyard so Eda and I can clean it over the weekend. Some of it’s pretty heavy, too.”

“Hey! I’ve never shirked from manual labor before! You can ask Mx. Whispers if you want.”

The human turned to Raine, a quizzical look on her face.

“Go ahead,” they replied, “I have a feeling that half the reason Katya came along was to meet you in the first place.”

“Well, alrighty then.” Luz then led a beaming Katya out through the back.

“Well, that was weird,” Eda said, plopping into a chair. “Now that that’s out of the way, what’d ya wanna talk to me about, Rainestorm.”

Taking a breath to center themself, Raine began speaking. “Eda, as part of my duties in the Bard Coven, I have become privy to some … rather disturbing information. Secret experiments conducted deep within the Emperor’s castle, rumors of memory magic being performed at the Conformatorium, ever increasing pushes for coven memberships, among other things… When Katya became my assistant some months ago, we started idly talking about how we’d change things, make things better, but it was all just idle talk, until…” The bard glanced over to where Luz and Katya had disappeared. “Until she came back from the Conformatorium. Until she met Luz. Kat was … she was broken after her time there, but seeing Luz act so selfless, so heroic, for some people she just met, it … it changed her. She wanted to be better … wanted the Isles to be better.”

Eda smirked. “Heh, same. The girl changes everyone she meets, I bet. Hell, she managed to get Bump to let a student change tracks! I even think she’s making inroads with one of the Blight kids, believe it or not.”

Raine goggled a moment at that revelation. “Well, anyway,” they continued, “Kat convinced me to turn my idle talk into action. And, after talking with Derwin and Amber, we decided to form the Bards Against the Throne, or BATTs for short.”

Eda snorted. “You serious with that name?”

“Hey, we worked hard on it!” Amber retorted.

“Eda, the reason we came to you is that, well, we want your help,” Raine said. “We’ve got some basic plans put together – helping wild witch communities, getting prisoners out of the Conformatorium, try to figure out what Belos is really doing – but we need someone who's good at causing chaos to help us with the nitty-gritty. And, well, I couldn’t think of anyone better than you.” They paused, blushing. “And, um, having the most powerful wild witch on our side wouldn’t hurt either.”

Eda leaned forward, smiling. Raine thought for sure that she was going to say ‘yes’.

But then her expression fell. “Sorry, Rainestorm, but I can’t.” Eda gave a mirthless chuckle. “Who’da thunk it: me, with too many responsibilities to go out and cause chaos.”

“You mean to Luz?”

“Well, I have another roommate, a demon named King. Been raising him since I found ‘im years ago. But, mainly it’s Luz.” She frowned in thought for a moment. “Alright, Raine, what I’m about to tell you does not go beyond the four of you. Got it?”

The three bards looked at each other, before nodding their assent.

The Owl Lady leaned back, a sour look on her face. “Earth has been … cut off from the Demon Realm. Some sort of weird magical barrier. Got all sorts of magic in it too, from here, Earth, and beyond.”

Amber gasped. “So Luz is trapped here?”

“Yep. Not completely, though.” A small smile tugged at the corner of Eda’s lip. “The barrier’s on the other side, around an old house. Funny thing? It’s not too far from where Luz lives, so she and her mom can visit each other whenever they want. Can even call each other on combination crow/scroll things - call ‘em ‘phones’. Camila, that’s Luz’s mom, is a nice woman. Promised her I’d keep her daughter safe until that human sorcerer finds a way to get Luz home.”

“Well, that’s … good, at least.” Raine cleared their throat. “But, Eda, why are you telling us this?”

“Because, Raine, I have a feeling that something BIG is gonna happen, and soon. The barrier, the increased recruitment drives, the Day of Unity…” She sighed. “We’re building towards something and nobody, except maybe the Emperor and his lackeys, knows what.”

Eda looked the bards dead on, expression serious. “And the fact that I didn’t know about this until Luz almost literally blundered into my life? It scares the shit out of me.” She sighed again and picked up one of the papers strewn across the coffee table. “But what really has me worried is how I’m gonna keep a household of three fed. I can’t get any more Earth junk to sell. What Luz and Katya are moving are the last of what I’ve got, which means I’m gonna have to step up my potion selling.”

“And making enough potions to make a living, especially for a non-coven seller, takes a ton of time,” Raine supplied.

“Right.” Eda dropped the paper and sighed again. “And to top it off, I agreed to teach Luz magic. She discovered how to do a light spell, but trying to find a second spell has been…” She blew a raspberry.

“Considering that I’d never heard of humans using magic before, I’d say you’re doing above average,” Derwin helpfully supplied, only to shrink back when the Owl Lady glared at him.

“I see…” Raine said, standing up. “You certainly do have your hands full. I’d appreciate any advice you can give us, but if there’s nothing else, we should probably collect Katya and get out of your hair.”

“Wait,” Eda said, suddenly looking thoughtful. “You said you’d heard about the Emperor conducting secret experiments, right?”

“Well, just speculation and rumors, really,” Raine answered. “Secret meetings between Belos and higher-ups in the Emperor’s Coven, coven heads going down into the depths of the castle at odd hours, suspicious shipments late at night. Nothing concrete, really, and nothing to tell us what’s really going on.”

“When we tried to go to Earth, we also met someone else, a refugee who’d escaped from the Boiling Isles.” She paused, considering her words carefully. “She’s a basilisk.”

“Wait, but that’s…” Derwin’s confused expression spoke for all three assembled bards.

“Impossible because they’re all extinct?” Eda asked rhetorically. “Not if the Emperor has been reviving them in a secret project she escaped from.”

“But why would Emperor Belos bring back the basilisks?” Raine asked. “From what history has told us they were nothing more than monsters who fed on innocent witches. It doesn’t make any sense!”

“Dunno.” Eda carefully unwrapped the towel from her hair. “Poor girl was obviously traumatized by whatever the Emperor’s goons did to her, so I really didn’t press.” She gave a sardonic look to Raine. “And, really, Rainetorm, do you really believe everything that Old Horn-Head has had written in our supposed ‘history’?”

“Point taken.” The older bard sighed. “We should really get going so you can get back to working on how to teach Luz. Just as soon as we get Katya–”

“We’re back!” Luz’s voice rang from the back of the house.

The duo walked back into the living room, the human gently rolling her shoulders while Katya stared in amazement at her younger companion.

“Already?” Eda questioned, glancing at the pair.

“Well, we only got through the really big stuff you got. ‘Sprobably gonna take most of a day to sort through all the little things you got. And there were only about a half dozen of the appliances that were in sellable condition. The rest looked too rusted or damaged to really bother with.” The human shrugged. “Anyway, Katya actually gave me a good idea on how to add a little flair to my presentation this afternoon, so I’m gonna go up and get that ready before lunch.”

“Suit yourself,” the Owl Lady nonchalantly dismissed her student, who was already going up the stairs.

“Presentation?” Raine asked.

Eda smirked. “Somehow one of her friends convinced Bumpykins to let Luz give a ‘lecture’ about current human events to Hexside’s Human Appreciation Society. It’s this afternoon, in case you’re interested. Should be a hoot.”

Raine hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe, but anyway, we’ll get out of your hair, Eda.”

“Hey, Rainestorm? Maybe you can come back later, help me with some bard lessons?”

“Uh, sure,” Raine felt their face heating up again. “I’ll, uh, I’ll keep in contact.” They awkwardly made their way out the front door, followed by the other BATTs (ignoring the horrifying bird tube on the way).

“Hey, Kat, you okay?” Raine heard Amber ask as the four made their way back to civilization.

“She just … picked them up, like they were nothing.” Katya sounded halfway between dazed and amazed.

“Who picked what up?” Derwin asked.

“Luz,” Kat replied, voice distant. “She just … picked them up … dishwashers, washing machines, even a fridge or two. Just picked them up like they were empty boxes. Didn’t even break a sweat.”

The other three bards stopped in their tracks, staring at Katya as they processed what she said.

It took a while before Raine broke the stunned silence. “Maybe one of us should go see this presentation of Luz’s after all.”
Eda sighed as she finally got dressed for the day, her mind wandering back to Raine’s visit earlier.

It had been nice to see them again. They looked good, even after nearly 30 years.

But still, she kept going back to one point the bard had made. Selling potions was going to consume a lot of her free time, especially since Luz had said only six of those fridges were worth anything, at least without some major cleaning or repairs (which noone on the Isles knew how to do). Damn, she’d really hoped that she’d had a hidden treasure there.

Nothing for it, then, but to buckle down and get mixin’.

Still, that meant she’d have even less time than she thought she would.

Might not even have time to teach Luz…

Damn…

She sighed again, idly wondering how she’d get out of this predicament.

That’s when a thought crossed her mind. A thought she didn’t want to have.

Am I really going to do this?

She paused and heard Luz whistling idly as she passed down the hall.

For her sake, yeah…

“I’m pretty sure that Gus said it was this one,” came the muffled voice through the classroom door.

Gus hopped up from the table where he was arranging his human treasures and rushed over to the door, pulling it open to reveal Luz and, surprisingly, the Owl Lady.

“Hey, Gus!” the human waved. “Sorry we’re a little early, but I wanted to ask you something before we began.

“Hi, Luz! Hi Ms. Eda. I, uh, this is a surprise. I always thought you were the type who was, y’know, ‘too cool for school’.”

“Normally, you’d be right, Goops,” she retorted, “but I couldn’t resist seeing my student blow the minds of all the human nerds here.”

Gus stepped aside to let the two in. Luz gaped when she saw the inside of the classroom.

“Woah. When you said that the HAS was big, I thought it’d be, like, 6 or 7 people, not…” she waved her hand at the room, “... over a dozen.”

“Well, we did get some new members recently, after your visit here and the duel at the Covention, but the HAS always had a dozen or so members,” he answered. “Is that rare in the human realm?”

“If it’s not the theater group or a sports team, yeah,” Luz shrugged. “At least at my school, but it was fairly small, though.”

Gus hummed thoughtfully, but was interrupted by Principal Bump coming to the open door. “Ah, Mr. Porter I hope you haven’t star… Edalyn? Last time you were here you vowed to never come back.”

Ms. Eda snort-laughed. “And miss the show? Puh-lease. As if I’d miss the chance to watch a bunch of dorkuses have their entire worldview turned upside down. And, I, uh, wanted to talk to you, Bump, afterwards.”

“And here I thought that you’d be here to support your student, Eda,” said a soft voice that Gus didn’t recognize. It came from an older tan skinned witch with mint green hair that stood just behind Principal Bump. Their clothes marked them as a high ranking member of the Bard Coven, which made Gus wonder what they were doing at Hexside.

Eda looked over the principal’s shoulder, seeming to only notice the bard when they spoke up. “Raine? I guess you decided to take my invitation after all.”

“Invitation?” Bump questioned, turning to look at the bard.

“Uh, yes,” Raine cleared their throat. “I, and some of my students, happened to run into Eda and Luz at the market earlier and Luz made a mention of her presentation today. I thought I’d drop by and see what all the fuss was about.”

Luz slammed a fist into her palm, turning to Gus. “Right! Yes! Thanks, Mx. Whispers, for reminding me. Gus, are you able to project images from one object onto another, like from my phone to the wall?” She fished out the wondrous rectangle of human knowledge, so like a scroll and yet not, pointing at it.

“Luz, would I be able to call myself an illusionist if I couldn’t?” he replied.

“I actually have no idea if you can or not, bud.”

“That means yes, Ms. Noceda,” Principal Bump helpfully translated.

“Great!” The human smiled. “Why don’t we go over what I want to show first, Gus, before I start my lecture, kay?”

To Gus, the photos were nothing short of amazing: various group shots from Earth’s superhero teams, a few more grainy or long-range shots of the various monsters or villains that plagued the Human Realm, and several action shots of some of the solo heroes.

But, eventually, he had to pull himself away from the mesmerizing device. It was time to destroy Mattholomule once and for all!

Metaphorically, of course.

“Alright, everybody, before we begin I want to introduce you all to my friend, Luz Noceda, the human!”

Eda Clawthorne’s cackling followed Principal Bump all the way to his office.

“Aren’t you getting tired of that?” he asked the younger witch as they stepped inside.

“Sorry, Bumpy-poo,” she replied, still giggling. “But the looks on those kids’ faces as Luz explained the Human Realm to them, ohhhhh, it was priceless! Whoof, haven’t been that entertained in a long time.”

Bump merely rolled his eyes at Eda’s schadenfreude as he sat at his desk. “You said you had something to discuss with me?” he asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from Eda’s mirth at the existential crises the members of the HAS must be experiencing.

A few remaining laughs managed to escape his former student. “Right, right, sorry.” She inhaled sharply and wiped a tear away, her face becoming more serious. “I’m looking to enroll Luz in Hexside.”

“Really?” Bump blinked uncomprehendingly. “I would assume that you would be tutoring Miss Noceda as a wild witch. You already seem to be doing a decent job, seeing how she’s able to cast magic at all.”

She leveled a narrow gaze at him. “Thanks for the praise, I think, but due to … unforeseen circumstances I’m having to move away from selling human collectibles to do more potion selling, and, as you know–”

“Potion making is very time intensive,” he sighed. “I’ve heard Mrs. Jenkinmeyer complain about that all too often.”

“So while I may be able to teach her potions, I’m really not gonna have the time, or energy, to teach her anything else. The girl really needs a broader understanding of magic, especially with this whole ‘rediscovering a lost way of magic’ thing.” She sighed. “So here I am, asking for your help, Hieronymus.” A mischievous glint entered the woman’s eyes. “And think about how much it’d just burn St. Epiderm and Glandus to know that you’ve got a human exchange student and they don’t.”

A wry smile graced the principal’s lips. “Well played, Edalyn. A human exchange student would be a great boon for Hexside. Very well, I’ll allow Ms. Noceda to attend Hexside, starting next semester,” he paused, steepling his fingers on his desk, “on one condition…”

“Condition?” Eda looked at him warily. “What condition?”

“Well, I think you’ll agree that Luz deserves to have the best education possible, right?”

Eda kept her response to a non-committal “Uh-huh.”

“And to give her that education would require the best equipment, teachers, and environment possible, right?” He smiled, a quick circle summoning a tall, familiar stack of folders. “Like, say, a ghost-free girl’s locker room, or lockers that aren’t covered in sentient graffiti, or…”

“All right, all right!” Eda held up her hand to forestall any further recitation of her legacy at Hexside. “You made your point, Bump. Yeesh, when did you get to be such an extortionist?”

The principal allowed a smug smile to form on his face. “I learned from the best.” He stood from his desk and made his way to the door. “Now then, let’s go tell your ward the good news, and maybe get a start on cleaning up your messes.”

Eda gave an exaggerated groan and an even more exaggerated slouch. “Guhhhh, fiiiiiine,” she grouched as she stood.

“Oh, and remember, Edalyn: there’s a two spell minimum to get into the standard classes.” His smile became a full-on smirk. “And I’m sure the infamous Owl Lady, Most Powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles, wouldn’t want her student placed in the baby classes.”

She paused as something caught her eye out of one of the hallway windows. “Y’know Bump, I might just have an idea on how to get her one.”

The principal turned to see what she was looking at. Framed almost perfectly by the window, and crowned by the sun, stood the Knee.

It was Friday night and Amity Blight had nothing to do. Normally she’d work on homework (“To allow you to enjoy a stress-free weekend,” her dad had said once) but today had been the end of the semester, and, therefore, no more homework for a few weeks.

Her normal standby, curling up with a book and a nice cup of tea, was out of the question for right now since the only book that she hadn’t read a dozen or more times was the fifth Good Witch Azura book that Luz had let her borrow. And, given what the two learned about their favorite series that night in the library, Amity was understandably wary.

Still, it was either that, or the old Blight family books her mother kept dredging up.

“Oh come on, this is just silly,” she sighed, vigorously shaking her head to loosen up the cobwebs. “It’s just a book. Just because you don’t know where or how you bought it doesn’t mean it’s evil or been mind controlling you!”

In defiance of her own paranoia, the girl forcefully scooped up the mysterious novel and began aggressively reading. She actually got a good third of the way through, a flashback to when Azura began training in magic under the Sorcerer Supreme, before sleep started to blur her vision. After reading the same passage for the fourth time, Amity decided that she’d done enough conquering of childish fears for the night and moved to set the book down and get ready for bed.

Still, something pricked at the back of her mind. Why were she and Luz the only two people across two whole universes to know about these books? What purpose was there to giving a fairly well-written action/adventure series to two teenage girls. Okay, so Luz was now trapped in another dimension like Azura is in book five. And she was training to be a hero like Azura was. And Amity had damaged a lot of her childhood relationships on the orders of her parents, much like Hecate did. And both she and Hecate had recently begun to open up to other people…

Well, that’s not creepy at all.

That didn’t answer her question though: why her and Luz? Was someone sending them a message? Trying to teach them something? Was it their future selves trying to send a message back to the past to help set right what once went wrong?!

She flopped on her bed, head spinning. Too many questions, not enough answers. If only there was some way to tell if what was written was merely fantasy or had some basis in reality.

Amity rolled over to grab the mysterious novel. She opened to where she’d left off, Azura training to cast her first spell - a simple fire cantrip.

This isn’t going to work. Magic isn’t cast with words, it’s done with spell circles -- and apparently glyphs, too.

But still, I have to know…

Standing up, she grabbed one of the candles she kept on her desk. She sat back on her bed, legs crossed (like Azura was instructed to do) and, holding the candle in front of her, intoned:

The girl jumped a little when the wick sprang to fiery life. She stared at the brilliant purple flame dancing atop the candle, fascinated that mere words (from her mouth, no less!) had conjured it into being.

“Impressive, Mittens. At not a spell circle in sight.”

Amity jerked, fumbling the (still lit!) candle a moment, at the voice. Turning, she saw her mother, smiling smugly, standing in the doorway to her room.

“M-Mother! Is there, I mean… Can I… What are…”

“I was just coming up to ask you if you wanted to join me next week,” Odalia continued, unabated, “The work crews have discovered a veritable treasure trove of books and artifacts at the old Blight villa on the Knee. I’m bringing your brother and sister along to hopefully instill at least some sense of work ethic in them and wanted to know if you wanted to come as well, though I see you’ve got … other things to concentrate on.”

Amity blushed, looking down at the flickering lavender fire. “You’re not mad? About me using non-coven magic?”

“Now why would I be mad?” the woman asked, crossing the room to sit by her daughter. “After all, you were always destined for great things, Mittens. Now we know that your destiny, and Blight Industries’ destiny, lies far beyond the restrictive system the Emperor put in place.” She lifted her daughter’s chin to look the girl in the eyes. “In fact, I believe you will make the Blight name known far beyond the Demon Realm, and maybe beyond the Human Realm as well.”

“Um, okay?” Amity responded uncertainly. “If you, uh, say so. So, about the Knee…?”

Odalia retracted her hand, waving her daughter off. “Oh, no need to worry about that. You’ll probably be plenty busy perfecting your new spell!”

“Actually,” the girl said diplomatically, “I think I’d like to come. I’ve heard rumors that the Knee is one of the more magical parts of the Isles. Maybe practicing there will help me master it faster?” Amity smiled mischievously. “And maybe I could keep a look out for more, er, unusual magic? For the Blight family, of course.”

Odalia’s smile grew wider and more self-satisfied. “Your negotiating skills need some work, dear. But your points are valid. Remember to dress warmly!” With that, the woman exited, leaving a confused Amity in her wake.

“Did … Did mother just call me ‘dear’?”

Chapter Text

It took a few more days for the residents of the Owl House to get ready for their trip up the Knee. Aside from getting permission from Mama Noceda (who was pleasantly surprised with how eager Luz seemed to be on getting into Hexside), there was cold weather gear to pack, provisions to make, and Eda had to decide what to do with King.

“Ugh! Why do I have to stay with one of Luz’s nerd friends? I can take care of myself!” the miniature tyrant ranted.

“Because the last time I left you and Hooty alone for more than a day I came home to a burnt-out kitchen and a flooded basement,” Eda countered. “So it’s either stay with the Parks or come up the mountain with us. And I know how much you love the snow and cold.”

“Fffffffiiiiiiiiiine,” King moaned. “I’ll go pack my stuff.”

“Have fun with Willow, King!” Luz called as she passed by, hauling the Owl Lady’s bantha-fur tent out to the front yard.

The snow crunched welcomingly under Luz’s boots as she dismounted Owlbert, Eda doing the same.

“Ah, Luz, can you smell it?” The Owl Lady inhaled deeply as she spoke. “There’s magic in the air here. This is the perfect spot to get you that second spell!”

The human paused and took a breath of the crisp, mid-morning mountain air. “Huh. Yeah! Maybe not smell it, but I can feel … something! Lately I’ve been trying to pay more and more attention to those little niggling feelings my Spider Sense gives me whenever someone casts magic nearby, and the air here does ‘feel’... heavy with magic. If that makes any sense.”

“A little, yeah,” Eda answered with a shrug. “This is supposed to be one of the first areas settled by witches when we came to the Isles, at least according to the myths my teacher taught me.” The witch swept her arm to indicate the surrounding area. “Get generations of witches casting who knows how many spells over thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands, of years and it’ll leave an impression.”

Luz closed her eyes and hummed thoughtfully, letting the feelings and impressions of ancient magics wash over her Spider Sense. There wasn’t anything concrete, like when Eda would cast a spell, but there was … something. Like the lingering sensation of warmth when you get out of bed.

She was brought out of her reverie when Eda clapped her on the shoulder. “Alright kid, enough philosophical b.s., we’re burning daylight. Still gotta climb some to get where I wanna set up camp.”

Luz glanced quizzically at her mentor. “Wait, why couldn’t we ride Owlbert all the way?”

The Owl Lady started hiking further up the slope as she explained. “Further up the winds get kinda wacky. Sudden crosswinds, whirlwinds outta nowhere, that kinda stuff. Makes flying on a palisman way too risky. Teach said that some really big bad spells were cast up here during the Savage Age Wars, though no one knows by or against whom.”

“Huh.”

They trekked up the mountain, Eda pointing out the various small ruins and other landmarks that lined their path: the tree where Magnus One-Eye hung himself for nine days to gain infinite wisdom, the cave where Lukas, the Walker of Skies, literally slew his greatest fears, a few columns that were the last remnants of the last temple to the old gods, destroyed before even the long gone Deadwardian Age.

At least, according to Eda’s teacher, that is.

It was about an hour later when the Owl Lady announced their arrival. The chosen campsite was nestled in the shadows of a much more recent ruin than the ones the two passed on the way up, said by Eda to be a village that had been abandoned only a few hundred years ago. The surrounding forest provided a nice windbreak, too.

As it was close enough to lunch, the two grabbed a meal before beginning to unpack. They’d just finished when the Owl Lady tossed something to her pupil.

“Hey, kid! Try one-a these.”

It was a berry, slightly larger than the blueberries that Luz and her mami would get each Spring, but a vivid electric blue in color, and apparently grew in bunches too, if the one held in Eda’s hand was any indication. The girl shrugged and popped it in her mouth.

“Ooh! Minty!”

Eda’s face screwed in confusion. “Uh, ‘zat good, kiddo? You’re not gonna hurl like the time you tried those eldritchberries, are you?”

“No, it’s good,” the human assured her mentor. “No rumbly tummies here.”

The witch immediately lit up with a smile. “Well, that’s great! These are frostberries, and this is one of the few places in the Isles where they grow year round. Normally when I come up here I just grab enough for my potions – my teacher liked ‘em but neither I nor King care for the taste. We can grab a few extra bunches when we leave so you can have something healthy to snack at home.” She handed the rest of the bunch

“You sure?” Luz asked. “If you need these for your potions…”

“Stop right there, missy.” Eda held up a hand to fend off any further comments. “I only need a dozen or so – I use these to keep some of my more volatile potions chilled until they can be delivered. Besides, I’d feel better with something else in the house I know you can eat that won’t cause you to run to the bathroom.”

The human smiled and accepted the offered berries. “Thanks, Eda.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. I promised your mama I’d take care of you, didn’t I?” The witch reached out to tousle Luz’s hair…

Only for Luz’s Spider Sense to go off, causing her to tackle Eda to the ground seconds before a large purple fireball sailed through the space the witch had just been occupying, exploding just a few feet away from the pair. She immediately jumped back up into a defensive posture, senses concentrated on the direction the attack came from.

“Y’know, with all these near-death experiences a witch could get a little paranoid,” Eda’s exasperated voice came from the ground.

“Sorry, anyone over there!” came a familiar voice from the treeline.

“Wait… Amity?” the human called out, relaxing her posture a bit and offering a super strong arm to the still-grounded Owl Lady.

“The Blight kid you went on your library date with?” Eda asked as she rose from the snowy ground. “What’s she doing out here slingin’ fireballs at us?”

“Dunno,” Luz replied as she saw the mint-haired witch emerge from the trees, followed shortly by two abominations.

“Is anyone hurt? I didn’t mean to…” Amity paused and stopped mid-stride when she saw just who she’d nearly hit with her wayward spell. “Oh! Luz … and the Owl Lady. I didn’t hit either of you, did I? I’m still trying to get this new spell under control.”

“Nah,” the human waved her friend’s concerns off. “I managed to sense it coming and get Eda out of the way before it hit.”

“I’ve received Grudgeby tackles that were softer,” the older witch grumbled as she finished dusting snow off her rear.

“Sorry.” Luz directed an ashamed look at her mentor.

“So, anyway, what are you two doing up here?” Amity asked. “You’re not on the run, are you?”

Eda scoffed. “Please. The Emperor’s goon squad couldn’t catch me when I literally waltzed into the Conformatorium.” She smirked. “We’re gonna to get Luz here her second spell!”

“Yeah!” The human perked back up. “Eda and Principal Bump said that to get into the standard classes in Hexside I’d need two spells!”

Amity grew confused. “Wait? Hexside? Standard classes? Are you … gonna be going to school here? On the Isles, I mean.”

“Y-yeah,” Luz stumbles over her words, trying to come up with a story that’d explain things to her friend without revealing her present predicament. “It’s, uh, part of my training with Eda! Y’know, gotta get a good basis for the magic rules around here if I’m gonna go breakin’ ‘em as the first ever human spellcaster. Right, Eda?”

“Yep! She’s gonna show all you nerds how humans do things.” Eda’s smirk matches the witchling’s frown. “Say, that was some fine fireslinging you were doing. You come all the way up here by yourself to practice that away from your parents’ flammables?”

Amity blushed and looked … almost guilty? “Er, no. Mother is doing another expedition into some old Blight archives in a villa just on the other side of the forest,” she pointed the direction she came, “and she asked me to come along. I’d hoped that the magic of the Knee would help me control this spell better, but, well…” She nodded at the scorched ground behind Eda.

The Owl Lady hummed thoughtfully. “I’ve tossed a fireball or two in my day. Why dontcha show me how you’re doing it and maybe I can give you some pointers.”

“Oh!” Luz exclaimed, fishing a notepad and pen out of her coat. “Maybe this’ll help me get my second spell.”

The mint-haired teen grew even more nervous, looking back and forth furtively at the surrounding treeline. “O…Okay, but you two have to promise me you won’t say anything to anyone, alright!”

Eda raised an eyebrow in reply. “Hello? Boiling Isles’ number one bad girl wild witch here.”

Luz nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry, Amity. I’ll keep this as secret as I keep Spider-Man’s secret identity.”

“Uh…I’m just going to assume that’s important and not ask any questions,” Amity replied.

Slowly she stepped back, raising one of her arms to point at a nearby pillar, pinky and pointer extended…

Just like Dr. Strange… Luz thought.

The comparison was only strengthened when the other girl solemnly intoned:

The violent fireball that formed before the younger witch’s hand was about the size of a softball. It wavered for a few seconds, sweat beading on Amity’s face as she tried to hold the flame steady, before shooting off and leaving a decent-sized scorch mark on the target pillar.

“Ugh!” The girl snarled, dropping her hand. “I can never hold it steady! It always just … shoots off! I can control the direction if I point my fingers that weird way. I can make it as big or as little as I want, but…” She grumbled again. “It’s just so … so … frustrating!”

Luz and Eda shared a nervous glance before the older witch spoke up. “Uh, say, girlie, where, uh, exactly did you learn this spell?”

Amity looked away nervously. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

“I promise that even if Eda does laugh I’ll elbow her hard enough to make her regret it,” Luz solemnly declared, even if she couldn’t stop a snarky grin from showing on her face.

That at least got the other teen to smile and giggle cutely over Eda’s indignant squawk.

“I, uh, I read about it,” Amity replied. “In ‘The Good Witch Azura’ volume 5. The one you lent me.”

“The same book that basically started this whole mess?” Eda asked. “And one of those books that nobody on either side knows where they came from?”

“I… guess so?” The mint-haired girl said tentatively. “Luz hasn’t given me all the details of what happened to her, but she did say something about a human magic user and something about your palisman stealing the book.”

“Which he’s still in trouble for,” the Owl Lady grumbled under her breath. Louder, she said, “The reason I ask is that new spell of yours is very similar to the ones Dr. Strange, the human sorcerer, casts. Which begs the question…” She turned to Luz, curiosity etched on her face. “Hey, kiddo, you ever try casting a spell from your Azura books?”

The human scratched the back of her neck in thought. “Hmmmm. Once or twice, I think, but nothing ever happened so I just kinda didn’t think about that anymore. Besides, I was more interested in imitating Azura and Hecate’s fighting style - Teräs Käsi. I mean, I live next to a forest, so I had plenty of ‘fighting staffs’ around.”

Eda blinked incredulously. “Kid, did you just say ‘Teräs Käsi’?”

“Er, yeah.”

“Luz, th-that … that’s an ancient witch martial art that was taught during the Savage Ages. Hell, my mentor taught it to me when I first started training. How…Why… Ugggggggh! I ain’t got time for more stinkin’ mysteries.” The older witch growled in frustration, then took a few deep breaths to calm down. “Fine, whatever. Just another one for the pile. But!” She pointed at Luz. “When we get back you’re gonna show me what moves you learnt from that book so I can start teaching you proper TK forms. Titan only knows what kinda loopy ideas a weird magic book gave you.”

Luz’s face screwed in confusion. “Wait… The books started teaching me a witch martial art, but also started teaching Amity human magic… but I couldn’t use human magic… but it’s because of the books I came here to learn witch magic… but I can’t learn standard witch magic so I have to use glyphs… which were forgotten about until I found the light one… Oh no, I’ve gone cross-eyed.”

“I’m with ya, kid, it all sounds like a bad comic book,” the Owl Lady groused before turning back to Amity. “Sorry, girlie. The one guy we know who could help you with that spell is a world away and probably elbow deep in some tentacle beast invasion or something. But I bet if that book had that spell it also had some pointers for you, too.”

Amity looked away guiltily. “I guess this is where I confess that I stopped shortly after reading that spell and haven’t gotten the chance to read any more?”

“Of course.” Eda’s hand slowly slid down her face, matching the woman’s slow exhalation. “Well, since I’m guessing you didn’t bring the book with you,” A shake of dyed-green hair answered her query, “you can either hang out here to try and get away from mommy dearest or go back to trying to set the forest on fire. Your choice.”

For a second it looked like Amity would agree, but a moan from one of the escorting abominations apparently changed her mind, as the girl slumped. “No. Mother wants me to perfect this spell before the new semester starts, and I’ve barely made any progress since we got here Saturday. I… should get back to that.” With that, she, and her escorts, marched back to the forest.

“Good luck, Amity!” Luz called out, receiving a look back and a small nod in response.

“Suit yourself, girlie,” Eda shrugged. “Come on, Luz. I know a primo meditation spot a little ways over,” she thumbed over in the opposite direction Amity went.

The human took one last lingering look at the other teen before shrugging and following Eda. They were heading to a relatively intact tower, with the only visible damage being some missing parts of the top and a couple of gashes torn out of the near side.

Though, as they got closer, she could see those weren’t gashes - there were entire sections of the tower missing, including the base! Yet, still it stood, in defiance of nature and gravity.

“Woah,” Luz breathed.

“Yeah, that was my first reaction, too,” the Owl Lady’s voice snapped the human out of her trance. “No one’s sure who made this tower or why it doesn’t fall down, but witches have been coming here since forever to commune with the Titan. Look down.”

Luz did so and saw a yawning abyss, 50 or so feet wide, where the floor of the tower should have been. She instinctively stepped back.

“This whole place, hell probably the entire Knee, is riddled with caverns, caves, catacombs, warrens, bolt-holes, abandoned mines, and so on,” Eda continued. “Nobodies been able to fully map them out because there’s some powerful magic down there that warps space-time. Some say it’s the Blood of the Titan, some say the lingering remains of what killed him, others that it’s the result of a powerful curse or artifact from a witch war thousands of years ago…” She shrugged. “All I know is that few witches who do venture down there come back, and those who do either wind up coming out where they came in a short while later, but saying they walked for hours or days, or on the other end of the Isles, despite, to them, only walking a few feet. So we are going to be staying well away from that hole, got it?”

“Yep!” Luz nodded aggressively. “Got it! No going near the scary weird maze hole.”

“Atta girl!” The witch smiled and gave her pupil a thumbs up. “Now there are some eroded windows just over there,” she said, pointing at a place about 1/3d of the way around the tower, “that are just awesome for some meditation. Wide sills so you don’t fall off, great lumbar support…”

“I don’t think I’ll need that.” Luz giggled, quickly flipping over into a quick handstand before flipping upright again.

“Yeah, but I do,” Eda retorted, loudly cracking her back. “And as the mentor, I decide where we meditate, capisce?”

The human giggled again, then mock bowed to her teacher. “Lead on, sensei.”

“Now, normally, the first thing we’d work on is making sure you can get into the correct posture for meditation -- took me a whole darn week to even fold my legs correctly without one of them popping off,” Eda explained as they started walking to the chosen spot. “But I get the distinct feeling we can skip that.”

“Alright,” her student giggled. “What’s the next step, then?”

“Clearing your mind so you can listen to the Titan,” Eda replied as they came upon the broken windows. “It is said that magic is the Titan’s gift to his children, and that the first witches learned magic by listening to his voice in the crackle of flames, seeing his face in the starry nights, feeling his touch in the fresh snow, tasting his blood in the food his body provided them.” She climbed up on one of the ruined sills and motioned for her pupil to do the same on the one opposite. “And, now, young Luz, you, too, must listen, touch, feel, and taste as they did.”

The human sighed. “Alright, I’ll try. But I gotta warn you I’m not that good at stopping thinking. In fact, I think I have a condition called ‘Attention Deficit Disorder’ or ADD, but none of my doctors diagnosed me with it when I was little and frankly some of it could be a result of the radioactive spider blood mutating my brain or something and mami says that even if I did have ADD she’s not sure it could be treated normally because my body metabolizes drugs so fast and-”

“Kid!” Eda’s voice cut through the torrent of words and thoughts like a hot knife through butter. “Calm down, Luz. I don’t expect you to master meditation this afternoon. Hell, it took me years to master emptying my mind. We’re gonna take this one step at a time. Follow my instructions, listen to what the Titan is trying to tell you, and you’ll have a second spell in no time.” The witch folded her legs into the lotus position, placed her left hand in her lap and her right on her chest. “Now, emulate my position, and we’ll start from there.”

“Right, right, sorry.” Luz blushed, taking the same posture, feeling with her Spider Sense the way her fingers on her left hand were slightly curled, and how the middle and index fingers on her right were slightly raised, so that they only touched her chest during inhalation.

“Good. Now, inhale, count to four, then exhale and count again.” The Owl Lady demonstrated, counting aloud for her pupil’s sake. “Just spend this time focusing on your breathing and you’ll forget all those nasty rushing thoughts.”

“Alright, I’ll try,” the human repeated.

“Do or do not, there is no try.”

“Wait, did - did you just quote ‘Star Wars’ to me?”

“Know what you are talking about, I do not.”

Luz giggled. Strangely enough, Eda’s little joke did help her relax a bit

It was late afternoon when Amity decided to return to the excavation site, her discussion with Luz and the Owl Lady - and the questions it raised - still weighing heavily on her mind.

I think I agree with Ms. Eda -- no more mysteries, please. she silently pleaded to… the Titan? The mysterious author of the Azura books? The universe itself?

Surprisingly, she felt physically fine, even after three days of near-constant magical training. Usually, a witch, especially one as young as she, would fatigue out before the end of the second day, but she didn’t even feel the chest pains that preceded bile depletion.

Human magic is weird, Amity concluded, but a weird I can get behind.

As she came closer to the remains of the Blight villa, she heard the distinct sounds of an argument -- featuring three very familiar voices.

Amity briefly thought about going to get Luz as backup when she entered the atrium, where she, of course, found her mother pacing and glowering while Edric and Emira were worriedly looking at each other nearby.

Funnily, it was Emira who noticed Amity enter, worry written on her face. “Mittens! Thank the Black Goat. I was worried you’d gotten caught.”

“Wait…” Amity questioned. “Caught? By whom?”

“The Emperor’s Coven,” Edric responded. “Em and I were a little further down the slope, scoping out some of the other places mom wants to dig, when we saw them.”

“There’s a whole troop of them down there,” Emira continued. “Including both the Golden Guard, and… Head Witch Lilith.”

“Oh.” Amity blinked, realizing that the twins were worried she’d been seen practicing human magic by the Emperor’s Coven. That’s … sweet of them. And also very out of character. “But why is the Emperor’s Coven all the way out here?”

“Hunting wild witches?” Edric replied, rolling his eyes.

“Knock it off, Ed, this is serious.” Emira elbowed her brother. “We overheard some of the Coven scouts talking about a ‘wild witch camp’ that they raided. They may be looking for survivors, or more camps, or something.”

Amity sucked in a breath, a realization hitting her. “They… may not have to look very far…”

Her mother stopped pacing suddenly, whirling to face her youngest, but Emira’s nervous laughter preempted anything the older woman was about to say.

“Ahahaha.” The girl smiled just a little too widely. “I really don’t think that little fire spell of yours makes you a wild witch, Mittens.”

Odalia frowned at her elder daughter. “Oh come now, Emira. Amity is smart enough to have figured it out by now. There’s no reason to hide it.”

Amity looked between her mother and her sister. “What are you talking about? I was referring to the fact I met the Owl Lady and Luz earlier and I thought we might need to warn them.”

Her mother merely rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Really, Amity? Even Edric figured it out.”

Emira sighed softly, though it sounded to Amity more resigned than frustrated. “Amity, how do you think mom got workers out here so quickly and cheaply?”

Amity frowned as she thought it over. “Well, yes, it does make a certain amount of sense to hire local workers rather than try to bring them all the way from Bonesborough. And the Emperor doesn’t have much power outside of the cities, so a place like the Knee would be a natural place for wild witches to gather. Still, mother, for you to so flagrantly skirt the Emperor’s laws like this…”

Odalia waved the girl off. “Oh come now, Mittens, what the Emperor doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Uh, Mom?” Edric interjected. “It looks like the Emperor is going to find out, and he’s probably going to hurt us.”

“Thank you for your input, Edric,” the woman hissed. “Now do any of you have any actual ideas to keep us out of the Conformatiorium or do I have to do all of the thinking myself?”

“I still say that having Ed and I use illusions on the workers is our safest bet,” Emira offered.

“Emira, dear,” Odalia said condescendingly, “even if you and your brother were able to maintain multiple illusions like that, there’s no way students of your caliber are good enough to fool the Emperor’s Coven.”

Emira scowled and looked like she was about to retort when she was stopped by an imperious glare from her mother.

Amity stepped in, hoping to stop another fight from breaking out. “When I met the Owl Lady earlier, it seemed like she was familiar with this area. Perhaps she knows of somewhere we could hide the workers until the Emperor’s Coven leaves?”

Odalia finally stopped pacing, her expression finally returning to her usual self-assured smugness. “Well, finally, someone came up with a good idea. At least one of you three is capable of using their brains.” The acid dripping from her voice was almost visible. “Mittens, take care of it, and bring the twins along. Surely they’ll be good for something. I’m going to go tell the workers what’s going on and get them ready to move.” And with that, the Blight matriarch stormed off, leaving her children alone.

“Damn that woman!” Emira snarled, clenching her fists. “Ed and I are more than capable of helping and yet she…”

“Woah, woah! Easy sis!” Edric tried to calm Emira down. “You know mom, she’s just worried. That’s all…”

“Is she?” Emira countered. “‘Cuz that wasn’t all that different from any other time she’s spoken to us when Amity’s around.”

The room fell into silence after that. It took a few minutes for Amity to find her voice. “We… we should probably get going. The place where I met Luz and the Owl Lady was a fair way up the hill, and we should probably start now if we want to get there before night falls.”

“Fine,” Emira seethed, tromping her way towards where Amity had entered. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Hunter shivered as the early morning chill seeped through his winter cloak as he ate his breakfast rations. Truthfully, the cold was only part of the reason he felt so uneasy, as they were still too close to the site of his failed raid for his liking.

“Chirp-chirp? Chirip!’

“Huh?” The boy looked over at his palisman, which was currently perched on his shoulder. “Oh. Yeah, I’ll be alright, Flap. Just… thinking about the raid is all.”

“It’s unwise to dwell on past mistakes while on a mission,” Lilith said as she came over. “That can lead you to overthinking every decision you make in the present.”

“Sounds like you have experience in this, Lilith.”

“More than you know, Hunter. More than you know,” the woman’s voice turned wistful, her expression downcast for a moment before she perked back up. “But!” she clapped her hands, “I didn’t come to you to reminisce about ‘the good old days’ like some old fuddy-duddy. Since the search has been slow so far, I thought we’d take some time out to do some training.”

Flapjack twittered happily, flapping around Hunter a few times before settling in his hands in staff mode.

“Okay,” he said. “What did you want to work on first?”

“Well–” the older witch began.

“Ma’am! Sir!”

“Apparently we’ll start by getting interrupted,” Lilith grouched, slumping as her enthusiasm left her.

Severine came running up to the two, saluting briefly before speaking. “Ma’am! Sir! One of the teams found something! It looks like someone’s in one of the old villas just up the slope!”

Hunter leapt up, tightening his grip on Flapjack’s staff. “The wild witches! It has to be!”

Lilith sighed. “Alright, first lesson for today: Don’t jump to conclusions. We need to gather more information before we act.” She turned to the scout. “Severine, what evidence did the team find? Are they certain there are still people there?”

“They said there was an airship parked on the other side of the villa, but they couldn’t see any identifying markings from where they were,” the demon dutifully reported. “Also, there were a large number of boxes, as well as some larger items that looked like paintings, were outside, possibly being readied for transport. Most likely its looters or bandits looking to make some snails pawning off some old relics. You want to send a squad to clear them out.”

“No,” the older witch sighed. “Sometimes the old families will sponsor expeditions out here to dig up old heirlooms. But, it would still be prudent to check it out, just in case. Come, Hunter. It seems my lesson for today has changed.” She smiled at the boy. “Let’s see how well you do at diplomacy.”

It took about two hours for the two to reach the villa. Standing on a small hill that overlooked the building, Lilith could see the airship the scouts had reported. “It looks like a new model,” she told Hunter. “They’re fairly expensive, from what I’ve heard.”

The boy frowned. “Damn. That means it’s just a bunch of nobles, not the wild witches.” He looked to his mentor. “So I guess that means we go back?”

“No.” She replied. “Just because these people have a new airship does not mean they are not wild witches – They could have stolen it, or maybe they’re being supplied by one of the old families.”

“Wait, why would nobles be helping wild witches escape?” he asked. “They know that the Emperor’s will is that all wild witches be re-educated at the Conformatorium.”

“Family can make one do stupid things.” She couldn’t help the small waver in her voice, but hoped that her student didn’t hear it.

“Ah. I see,” he said simply.

An awkward silence reigned for an uncomfortable amount of time before Hunter spoke again.

“So, uh, we should probably get down there before whoever it is starts wondering why we’re standing up here…”

“Right, right,” she sighed. “I don’t know why, but being here has made me sentimental it would seem. Let’s go down and get this over with so we can get back to more important business.”

“Right!” he nodded and began down the slope, his mentor trailing behind.

As they rounded the building, Lilith got a better look at the airship. It was small - probably could only fit about 5 or 6 people - but the sheer amount of ostentatious ornamentation assuredly marked it as being privately owned. Further evidence of her theory of it being just a bored noble trying to dig up whatever scraps of lost glory still remained from the ‘good old days’.

She and Hunter stepped through the doorway (the door itself probably rotted away long ago). “Hello?” Lilith called. “We’re from the Emperor’s Coven. We saw your airship and wanted to check on you, make sure everyone was okay.”

“We know it’s you, Head Witch Clawthorne,” Odalia Blight’s unmistakable shrill voice came from one of the side rooms. “You’re more than welcome to come in and see that we aren’t doing anything illegal.”

Sighing, Lilith trudged over to whence the voice came, Hunter obediently following. The room Odalia was in was a fairly spacious library that looked very well preserved despite time and the elements having ravaged most of the other structures in the area. The Blight matriarch was currently overseeing her two eldest boxing up some of the more intact books, no doubt for study at their manor in Bonesborough. Amity was nowhere to be seen.

“My, you’ve certainly been busy little firebees, haven’t you, Odalia?” Lilith put on her best fake smile and best fake cheerful attitude.

“Humph!” Odalia humphed. “Well, as you can see we’re doing nothing illegal, just taking some old books and paintings from Alador’s ancestors back home.” She waved Lilith and Hunter off dismissively.

“Books?” Hunter questioned. “What kind of books? I think Lilith and I need to see these books. Just in case.”

“It won’t help you,” Odalia retorted, “unless the Emperor is in the habit of teaching his scouts Old Runic.”

“I was taught Old Runic by my uncle, Emperor Belos,” he growled.

“Ah,” Lilith interjected. “Odalia, Edric, Emira, I don’t believe you’ve been properly introduced.” She waved toward the young man. “This is Hunter, Emperor Belos’s nephew and the new Golden Guard.”

“Wait, you’re the Golden Guard?” Emira asked.

Edric looked confused (as normal). “You’re so… scrawny.”

Lilith had to suppress a giggle at Hunter’s misfortune as her student scowled at the twins.

“Come now, show some respect, you two,” Odalia chastened her older children. “It’s not young Hunter’s fault that our vaunted Emperor is just as susceptible to nepotism as the average witch.”

Lilith didn’t think that a person could scowl that hard, but Hunter still managed.

Thankfully further jabs at the poor boy were interrupted by the arrival of three other people – Amity followed by none other than Edalyn and her pet human.

“Well, everything’s all squared away, Dali, just had to make sure that everyo–” Eda began, before noticing Lilith. “Oh for the love of Azatoth! Did you seriously follow me up to the damn Knee, Lily! I know you’re dedicated to your being the Emperor’s little bootlicker, but this is extreme, even for you.”

“For your information, Edalyn, we actually had no idea that you were even here,” Lilith explained. “Hunter and I were searching for a village of wild witches that had escaped the Emperor’s Coven. Meeting you is just happenstance.”

“Ha! You bozos managed to lose an entire village!?” Eda cackled. “Who was the birdbrain that managed to do that!?”

For the amount of time Hunter kept scowling during this meeting, Lilith idly wondered if his face would end up that way permanently.

“What happened, and how, is of no concern,” Lilith said, stepping in before Hunter had a chance to respond. “What matters is that with both the Golden Guard and I here, it’s only a matter of time before those wild witches are found and brought into the Emperor’s Holy Light.”

“Sure,” Eda drawled, idly examining her nails, “whatever helps you sleep at night Lily. And, for the record, I ain’t seen anyone up here who needed brainwashing to join your little cult, so you can… Wait, did you say ‘Golden Guard’?”

“Yeah, you gonna say something about me, too?” Hunter glowered at the woman.

Eda stepped closer, turning a critical eye on the boy. After a few tense moments, Eda finally spoke. “Wow. You’re even younger than the last one. Is the Emperor training babies to fight for him now?”

“My age shouldn’t concern you, Owl Lady.” He spit the name as if it were a curse. “And for you information, my uncle had to take me in after my family was killed by uncontrolled wild magic. Some witch experimenting with something they shouldn’t have. So you’d better beware, I will bring you into the Emperor’s Holy Light. Kicking and screaming, if necessary.”

“Listen, kid, I’m sorry about what happened with your family,” Eda responded solemnly, “but maybe that witch wouldn’t have killed your folks if they’d been able to learn from a real teacher instead of half-burnt books and half-remembered children’s stories.” A ghost of a smile flitted across her features. “I’m real glad I met mine before she passed away.” She sighed. “But, still, just because you got a chip on your shoulder about wild magic doesn’t mean that you’re ready to tag along on whatever cockamamie scheme Lily’s got ginned up next.”

“Actually,” Lilith spoke, “Hunter will be heading the efforts to convert you. The Emperor, in His wisdom, felt that I was too … close to you and my emotions were hindering my efforts.”

Eda doubled over in laughter at that (followed by her pet human). “Wa- Wait,” she said, in between bouts of laughter. “Really? Does Ol’ Hornhead think a kid is going to convince me to join your little happy fun club when my own sister can’t?”

Before either Hunter or Lilith could respond, Odalia stepped over to the still-cackling Eda, eyes rolling. “While I hate to break up this little get-together, I do have to ask you, Edalyn, if you managed to get everything squared away at our next site?”

Wiping tears away, Eda answered. “Yeah, yeah, Dali, I gotcha covered. The kids and I were just making sure everything was okay. We should be good if we get there within the next few days.”

“Odalia, are you working on something with Eda?” Lilith questioned.

“Yes,” the Blight matriarch replied. “Turns out there’s another old Blight property in the old city ruins, just up the mountain. I hired dear Edalyn as sort of a guide, since she’s been up here several times before to gather her potion ingredients.” A condescending smile graced the woman’s lips. “And I also happened to remember that she was the more reliable of you two during those study sessions back in Hexside.”

This time it was Lilith’s turn to scowl at Odalia. Not only for reminding the Head Witch of her lapse of judgment during the last Covention (I’m still not convinced that Eda or her little human didn’t cheat somehow), but also for their strained relationship back in school.

“Okay, you have got to tell me more about your high school days, Eda,” the human piped up.

“Maybe later, kiddo,” Eda replied, petting the human’s head.

“Mother,” Amity said. “I need to discuss something with Luz. We’ll be in the airship.”

“Amity, whatever would you need to discuss with a human of all people,” Lilith asked.

“A book she lent me, Head Witch Clawthorne,” the girl answered, not even turning to look at her former teacher. “We’re going to discuss certain implications of a part I just read and wanted to see if Luz had any insight into a passage I read – it uses a lot of human idioms I’m not familiar with.”

“Ah, yes,” Odalia interjected, “my little Mittens here has been eagerly befriending Bonesburough’s resident human. Luz here has been eagerly sharing some fascinating information about the human realm. Already it’s allowed me to come up with some ideas to help Blight Industries remain relevant after the Day of Unity.” She turned and waved her daughter and the human off. “Have fun, girls!”

As the two girls left, Eda spoke up. “Y’know, Luz gave a little lecture last Friday on the human realm to Hexside’s HAS.” She snorted. “Kinda fun watching all those kids’ silly preconceived notions get destroyed by her presentation.”

Lilith couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Yes, Edalyn, I’m sure whatever childish flights of fancy a literal teenager dreamt up were very insightful.”

Eda looked like she was about to retort, when the human suddenly cried out. “Amity, wait! Don’t move!”

Every head in the room whipped around to see the two girls standing stock still in the middle of the atrium.

“Luz? Kiddo, what’s wrong?” Eda ventured nervously.

“I just felt the ground under us shift,” the human answered. “Like the floor sank a little, just as we started walking over it.”

“Sounds like the start of a cave-in,” Lilith mused.

“Shit,” her sister cursed. “Luz, can you tell about how big it’s gonna be?”

“Uh….” The human’s voice wavered. “Maybe… Eight or nine feet across? I think it’s centered around where Amity’s standing.”

“Damn.” Eda hurried over to where the human stood. A sharp inhale, and she slammed Owlbert’s staff into the ground where it transformed into stone. Keeping a firm grip on the petrified palisman, Eda reached out to the human. “Luz, take my hand.”

The human did so and offered her other hand to Amity. “Alright, Amity. Just take it slow and steady, okay.”

The younger witch nodded, and slowly began to turn around…

Only for the floor to visibly sink the moment she shifted her weight. Amity’s eyes widened in terror as she realized the direness of the situation.

And then everything seemed to happen at once.

The floor crumbled, leaving poor Amity suspended mid-air for a split-second before gravity reasserted itself.

Twin cries of “Mittens!” came from twin throats as the girl’s siblings watched their sister fall to, quite possibly, her death.

Hunter ran toward the girls, hand extended in a vain attempt to reach Amity in time.

But the human… Luz…

She let go of Edalyn and actually dove toward Amity, crossing the distance in a fraction of a second. Wrapping one arm around the terrified witch, she jabbed the other one back toward Eda. A flick of the human’s wrist and a strand of that odd white string-like substance the girl had used during the Covention duel shot toward Eda…

Only for a bizarre gust of wind to suddenly spring up, blowing the string up and away.

And so, the two girls fell into the catacombs below.

Amity’s eyes fluttered open. She tried to piece together what had happened. She remembered going to the airship with Luz, the girl then shouted out about something - a cave in? - and then…

Terror. Weightlessness. Falling. Someone grabbing her.

Amity realized she must have blacked out when she fell. She carefully moved her arms and legs, making sure nothing was broken.

“Oh good, you’re okay,” Luz’s voice came from below her.

Wait…

It was then that Amity realized that she was laying on top of the human girl, face resting atop the other girl’s chest. At that revelation, the mint-haired witch immediately leapt up from the very cute girl who had most likely just saved her life, face and ears flush with embarrassment.

“Whoah!” The human giggled at her friend’s reaction. “Didn’t mean to scare ya.” She sat up and looked the witch over. “You’re not hurt are you? I tried my best to cushion your fall…”

“N-no!” Amity stammered. “I’m fine. At least, I think so. Nothing feels broken.” She turned away, awkwardly clearing her throat. “And, uh, you didn’t scare me. I was just concerned that me lying on you would make your injuries worse.” She glanced around, to both get a look at their surroundings and hide her blush.

The cavern they were in was roughly square, with what looked like three exits. The walls looked like a combination of ice and fossilized bone, and looked to be fairly smooth. To Amity’s surprise there was very little rubble from the collapsed ceiling on the floor. Had the floor of the atrium always been this thin?

Luz snorted. “Nah, I’m fine.” She hopped up and smiled.

Amity looked up, to see how far they fell. “How?” The witch questioned, looking back at her friend quizzically. “We fell, like, 30 feet! And I landed on top of you!”

The human shrugged. “Eh. I got hit way harder when they were figuring out the limits of my powers earlier this year.” She knocked a balled fist against her stomach. “Trust me, the Knee’s gonna have to work a lot harder to take me out.”

Amity giggled. “Not sure if it’s a good idea to be taunting this place.”

“Kids? Kids!?” Eda’s voice came from above, making both girls look up to see five faces staring down at them from the ceiling of the cavern they stood in. “Kids? Are you okay?”

Where’s mother? Amity briefly wondered.

“We’re okay, Eda!” Luz called up.

“Oh thank the Titan!” Lilith’s relief was palpable. “Stay where you are! We’ll see about getting some ropes to get you up!”

“Eh, don’t bother,” Eda put a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “How do the walls look down there, Luz? Think you’d be able to climb them?”

As four heads turned to the Owl Lady in confusion, Luz began looking at the walls of the cavern.

“Yeah,” she called back up, “should be easy enough.” The human walked over to the nearest wall and placed a hand on it. She paused, a look of confusion on her face. “Huh?”

“Luz, is something wrong?” Amity asked.

“I- I can’t stick to the wall.” Luz looked absolutely horrified. “I can’t stick to the wall!”

“Luz?” Eda’s voice floated down. “You say something kiddo?”

“I’m not sticking to the walls!” Luz called up. “I can’t get Amity and me out of here! I-I think something’s wrong with me!”

“Damn!” The Owl Lady replied. “Some of the magic of the Knee must be interfering with your powers. Anything else feel off?”

“No?” The brown-haired girl briefly looked herself over. “My Spider Sense is still working and I was able to tank the fall okay.”

“Probably something with the walls, then,” Lilith answered. “The magics affecting the Knee are poorly understood.”

“What about your webs?” Eda called down. “Can you get a line up here and climb out that way?”

“Right, right.” Luz inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly, then raised one arm and shot a webline toward the lip of the opening. However, another freak gust of wind came, blowing the string down so it landed on the head and face of the human.

“Aaaack! Thbbbbpt!” She ineffectually waved her hands around, trying to fend off the offending silk. “Guh! Now I know how Warden Wrath felt.”

“It appears that the Knee isn’t a fan of your apprentice’s shenanigans, Edalyn,” Lilith snarked.

“Stay put!” Eda called, ignoring her sister, then turned away. “Hey, Dali, you guys got any rope here?”

“No.” Odalia’s voice came floating down, though she still wasn’t visible from the hole. Amity frowned at the nonchalant way her mother answered.

“Wha–?” Eda replied, flabbergasted. “Why the hell did you come to the Knee without any rope?!”

“Well, I didn’t expect we would do any spelunking on this trip!” The Blight matriarch answered irritatedly. “I specifically told my family to stay away from those dreadful caverns.”

“Damn!” Eda swore. “I didn’t bring enough rope to reach that far

“Don’t worry, Edalyn,” Lilith said. “The coven scouts have more than enough rope back at our camp. Hunter,” she turned to the Golden Guard. “Go get some scouts and the rope. And bring Steve. He has some Healer training; I want him to take a look at the children after they’re rescued.”

The boy gave a salute. “On it!” And he disappeared from sight.

“All right, you two,” Eda called down, pointing at the trapped girls for emphasis, “stay put, and don’t get out of our sight! People who step out of sight in these caves usually just disappear!”

“Got it!” Amity called up. She glanced over at her friend, who had just finished wiping her face clean. “You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” Luz sighed. “I’ve just had these powers since I was six. Guess that ‘being able to stick to walls’ just became normal for me and it kinda threw me off that I couldn’t here.”

Amity placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, as soon as the Golden Guard gets here and gets us out, I promise you can climb on the walls of the villa all you want.”

That, at least, got a giggle out of the human. “Thanks, Amity.” Then, all of a sudden, she wobbled, almost as if she were about to lose her balance, and placed a hand on her stomach. “Whoah!”

That made Amity very nervous. “What? What happened? Is another one of your powers going out?”

The other girl shook her head. “N-no, I don’t think so.” Her voice was strained. “I just felt a really weird sensation through my Spider Sense. It was sorta like…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “It was sorta like what happened when we went into your secret room in the library.”

Amity looked around, trying to see if they’d been teleported somewhere else. The room looked the same to her – same three exits, same walls, same rubble on the floor. “I think we’re in the same place, Luz.”

“That’s because the entire room moved with us, Amity.”

The witch turned to look at her companion, then followed the human’s gaze up.

To the totally unbroken ceiling above them. There wasn’t even any indication there had been a hole.

The moment Eda looked up to converse with her sister, she knew it was a bad idea. “Lily, we didn’t just do what I think we just did, did we?”

Lilith’s eyes widened, recognizing what had just happened. “That, sister, would depend on what Edric and Emira did.”

“Wait, what did we do?” the boy twin (Edwin?) asked.

The two older witches turned and looked directly into the eyes of Amity’s siblings.

Eda’s hand immediately went to her face, slowly sliding down in exasperation. “Well, damn. I’m guessing the girls also looked away, too.”

The girl twin (Elspeth?) finally looked down, then began freaking out. “What the—? Where’d the hole go? Where’s Amity? And Luz? What happened?” At that, Edson frantically began running his hands over where the hole had been.

Odalia finally put down the book she’d been paging through and stepped over to where everyone else was. “What are you babbling about, Emira? Why it’s–” She paused. “Eda. Lilith. Why is the hole that my daughter and her friend fell down gone?”

“Because six idiots decided to look at each other rather than at the very important hole,” Eda grumped, annoyed at her own stupidity.

“To clarify, Lady Blight,” Lilith began, “one of the magic effects of the Knee’s cavern system is that people – and, now it seems, entire rooms – vanish. Incredibly, it seems that merely not looking at the people, or room, in question is enough for the magic to take effect.” She cupped her chin in thought. “It would be quite fascinating if it weren’t for the fact that two teenagers are now lost in the depths of the Knee’s cavern system.”

Odalia turned to the Head Witch. “What would be fascinating is if you had a plan to save my heir. And her friend.”

“That, Dali,” Eda said, gazing up at the peak of the Knee, “is easier said than done. Once people disappear into those caverns, it’s up to the Titan if they ever get out again.”

Chapter Text

The rock sailed through the air, then shattered violently against the ceiling of the cavern. The debris plummeted to the ground, thankfully far away from the two teens. The ceiling cracked a little, but held firm.

“Well, I guess that means that the hole didn’t just freeze over,” Luz said, turning to her friend. “Unless you think I should chuck another rock up there.”

“No,” Amity replied, glaring at the ceiling. “It was a long shot anyway.” She looked back at Luz. “From what you said about feeling like when we entered my secret room, it seems like we, and the room, got teleported somewhere else.” She exhaled harshly. “I really hope we’re still in the Knee, and not in, like, the Skull… or on another Titan… or another dimension.”

“Well, the sensation wasn’t as strong as when we went to your secret room, so I doubt we traveled that far,” Luz said, trying to raise her friend’s spirits. “We’re probably not far from where we started.”

“Okay, then,” the witch said carefully, “assuming that’s the case, I think we should stay put and let the others find us. I don’t want to be wandering around and miss our rescuers.”

“I don’t know, Amity,” the human replied. “From what Eda told me -- and what just happened to us -- I’m not so sure anybody can find us. We don’t really know how this magic works, so our best bet may be to just wander around and hope we come across someone.”

Amity crossed her arms and looked uncertainly at her companion. “A-are you really sure that’s wise, Luz?” She glanced at each of the three exits. “I mean, if you think that’s what we should do, then I’ll follow your lead, but…” Her gaze turned down to the floor.

“Hey, Amity, you okay?’ Luz asked, walking over to the witch. “You’re normally much more … er, I dunno, assertive than this.”

It took only seconds for Amity’s composure to shatter. Tears welled in her eyes as she ranted. “How can you be so calm about this? Who knows if we’re even still connected to the rest of the caves under the Knee? And even if we are, the rooms could just shuffle themselves around, making us walk in circles until we DIE! We could die, alone and frozen, in these damned caves, all because I had to read some stupid spell in some stupid book and come out to the stupid Knee to practice it!” She kicked one of the smaller pieces of rubble, sending it smacking into the wall.

The human stood still for a moment, stunned by the witch’s outpouring of emotions. Finally, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulders, Luz smiled and gently lifted the other girl’s chin. “You want to know why I’m so calm about this? I’m not. I’m seriously freaking out at the possibility I might not see my mami or my friends again. But, Earth - the human realm - is always in danger. Do you know how many times Earth has been invaded by aliens?” The other girl shook her head. “Eight. At least.” Amity’s eyes widened in horror. “But,” Luz continued, “the people of Earth continue to live their lives and go about their daily routines without giving into despair. You wanna know why? Because of people like me. People who receive amazing powers and decide to put themselves in between the normal humans of Earth and whichever space despot is trying to conquer us or wipe us out. And one of the first things you learn when you set yourself on the path of a hero, before you learn to throw a punch, pull a baby out of a raging inferno, or stop a runaway train, is that you need to, at least, appear to be calm, so that the people you’re trying to save remain calm. Doesn’t matter if you’re a stupidly rich guy who built powered armor in a cave with a bunch of scraps or a silly 13-year-old girl who fantasizes about riding dragons to tea parties with witches. Why? Because whether it’s a bus full of nuns or a single teenage witch trapped in a gigantic fossilized leg, a person who’s panicking is more likely to injure themselves, or you, by accident.”

Amity sniffed a few times before answering. “S’probably not a good idea.”

“Eh?”

“Riding on dragons,” the witch continued, a smile creeping onto her face. “They’re super aggressive and consider witches and demons food -- no doubt they’d think the same thing about humans, too, no matter how brave they are.” She inhaled noisily. “But, yeah, you’re right. Panicking won’t help us. So,” she straightened up, looking the human square in the eye. “I agree that our best bet is to start moving and hope to link up with any rescue parties or try and find a way out.”

Luz’s smile brightened. “There’s the Amity Blight I knew. Now,” she glanced around at the cavern’s exits, “which way do you think we should go?”

Amity cupped her chin in thought. “Hmmm. Well, even if we are still in the Knee, there’s no guarantee that we’re anywhere close to the surface. So, I say we should try to keep moving up. Better chance to meet anyone coming down to help us or to find an exit.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” The enhanced girl quickly ran to each of the three openings, peeking carefully into each before coming back to her friend. “Okay, so, it looks like only that one,” she pointed to the exit on the other side of the cave, “goes up at all, but knowing the weirdness of this place it could start going straight down to the center of the planet the moment it goes out of sight.”

“Right,” Amity nodded. “But it’s still the best bet we have. So, let’s go!” With that she started walking toward the indicated opening…

Only for a super strong hand to come rest on her shoulder, restraining her.

“Hold up, Amity,” Luz said, face serious. “We got into this mess because we looked away from the others for a second. If the two of us get separated in here there’s no telling if we’d be able to meet up again. So, we need to have a way of, I dunno, keeping eyes on each other, or…”

“Or, mayyyyybeeeee,” Amity answered, her face and the tips of her ears dusted pink, “we could, um, hold hands?” A beat. “U-uh, physical contact would be harder to accidentally break, and, um, maybe being reminded that we’re in this together would calm both of us down?”

“Ah-uh-buh,” Luz stammered, feeling her own cheeks heat up a little. “Y-Yes! That’s an excellent idea. To make sure we don’t get separated.”

Slowly, cautiously, two gloved hands moved toward each other, before tightly gripping one another. Their owners stood still for a moment, strenuously looking away from each other, too afraid to see if the other felt the same way.

“W-we should probably get going.”

“R-right.”

Wow, Luz thought as the two girls began their journey, Amity’s got a strong grip. Wonder if she does any sports?

It was about an hour later when the girls ran into their first problem. They’d followed a mostly linear path, through both rooms and tunnels, since leaving the first cavern, traveling slightly, but steadily, upward. What Amity had found interesting, though, was the hodgepodge nature of their environment. Sometimes the caverns and tunnels were all natural rock, some of them had evidence of being worked - the walls and floors smoothed down or the entire room widened, and sometimes they walked through straight up witch-made rooms or hallways. And sometimes it would change part way through - once part of an old mineshaft led between two parts of a natural tunnel so thick with stalactites and stalagmites that the girls had to squeeze through. One of the rooms they traversed even looked like part of an old family mausoleum!

But now, they stood before three branching paths in the tunnel, and none of the corridors looked significantly different from the others.

“Sooo…” Amity began. “Which one do you think is the correct path?”

Luz shrugged, bobbing the witch’s arm as she did so. “Iunno.”

“Huh?” The witch asked. “Can’t you use your, what did you call it, your Spider Sense to find out which way to go?”

“Um, well,” the human paused, “it doesn’t quite work that way.” She shrugged again (only with her free arm this time, thankfully). “It’s not a radar, and it can’t let me see through walls. It just lets me know where things are in relation to me, how fast they’re moving, stuff like that.”

“I see,” Amity replied. “One question: what’s a ray-dahr?”

“Uhhhh...it’s a device that humans built to sense things over large distances, I think?” Luz tilted her head to the side as she thought. “Not too sure, though. Science and tech is not my thing.”

“Fair enough,” the mint-haired girl said. “Um, can we take a quick break?” she asked. “I may be in pretty good shape but…”

“You don’t have enhanced endurance like I do, got it,” Luz finished.

The two girls sat down leaning against one of the tunnel’s walls, hands still firmly gripping each other. Silence reigned for a long moment. Long enough that Amity’s anxieties started creeping up again.

“So…” Amity said, hoping to at least fill the silence. “What was school like for you, in the Human Realm?”

“Huh?” Luz perked up. “What do you mean?”

“Well, did you play any sports? Were you part of any clubs or after-school groups? You said that you weren’t interested in science or technology, but what courses were you interested in?”

“Oh. Uh…” The human looked away. “No. No clubs or sports or anything like that. I tried to join the art club, but my taxidermy projects creeped them out. I wanted to try out for the cheerleading team, but my mami wouldn’t let me -- said that with my powers it’d be like cheating.”

“Why would it be cheating?” the witch asked. “I know you weren’t born with your abilities, but they’re still a part of you. It’d be like asking a Witch to not use magic.”

“The only problem with that is not every human, or even most humans, have super powers. Probably less than 1% of the entire human race has any sort of power at all,” the other girl explained. “Unless you live in a big city, you’d probably never see more than one or two people with any kind of ability, much less a superhero. The fact that Masha and I were both selected to go to Avenger’s Academy from tiny, little Gravesfield was actually kind of a big deal.”

“Oh,” Amity said, a little surprised. “I guess I assumed that there were more, since you talked about so many heroes that night at the library. You made it seem like there were thousands of people like you in your world.”

“There are,” Luz answered, “but compared to the 7 billion or so people, that’s, like, a tiny amount.”

Amity felt physically hit by that number. SEVEN BILLION!!!!!

Clearing her throat, the witch spoke again. “Well, if you’re still interested in trying out for sports, there’s plenty of opportunities at Hexside. In fact, I’m certain the Grudgeby team would love to have you. Er, if you’re interested, that is.”

“Er, thanks?” Luz sounded confused. “Why are you certain I’d get into the Grudgeby team?”

“Well,” Amity said coyly. “Being friends with the team captain does have its perks.”

“Oh! Does that mean you’d talk to them for me?” Luz asked, completely missing the point. “If they’re willing to hear you out, it can’t be that Boscha you mentioned. Maybe this ‘Skara’ person, since you said she’s nice. Or is it someone else…”

“Luz, I was talking about me,” Amity giggled at the human’s obliviousness. “You’re friends with me. I’m the team captain. If you can throw a ball as well as you tossed that rock earlier, you’ll be our star player in no time.”

“Oh. Oh!” The girl smacked her head loudly. “Sorry. Never been too good at picking up on social signals or cues. Ironic, really. I can navigate a dark room with my eyes closed but I’d be totally lost at a fancy party.”

“So when my mother thinks about inviting you to her next ball I should say no?”

That got both girls laughing.

A few seconds after their giggling subsided, Luz continued. “You know what, I think I might take you up on that, Team Captain Blight. Might be good for me to pick up a sport while I’m over here. And, hey!” Her eyes lit up beautifully with an idea. “Eda said something the other day about Grudgeby! Maybe she can give me some pointers.”

Amity smiled. “Sounds like a plan, Luz.”

The human smiled back, but then clutched her head as her eyes became unfocused. “Whoah.”

“Luz? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Y-yeah,” she answered, her voice a little weak. “Just got a weird sensation through my Spider Sense. Gave me a bit of a head rush.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the tunnel wall. “It was kinda like when we went into your secret room, or when … the … first … room…”

Luz trailed off and turned to face the fork. Amity followed her line of sight to find that there two paths, rather than three, one of which clearly went upwards while the other went downwards.

“Wait, when did that happen?” Amity asked incredulously. “I didn’t hear or see anything? Did you?” she asked her friend.

“No, I don’t – wait, maybe I did?” The human turned to Amity. “That weird sensation I felt through my Spider Sense just a moment ago, and when the first room shifted away from the others… Maybe I felt the terrain shifting.”

“It’s possible, I guess,” Amity shrugged. “I’m not the one with the superpowers here.”

“Er, right.” A thoughtful look crossed the human’s face. “But I’m going to try and pay attention, see if I feel anything like that again when the terrain changes next.”

“Good idea.” Amity looked at the two paths before them. “I guess we keep going up?”

“Might as well.”

Thankfully the upward path wasn’t too steep, though about halfway through they did have to climb a stone staircase that looked like it came out of someone’s basement. Soon enough they came to the end of the tunnel and passed into the chamber beyond.

A very familiar chamber, littered with the rubble from a broken atrium floor and a crack in the ceiling where one piece of rubble had been thrown at it only an hour or so earlier. The only thing different was the two girls were standing

Both girls stared in stunned silence at the scene before them. Amity’s mouth worked silently for a few moments as she turned the implications over in her mind. After a few moments, she was finally able to give voice to her dreadful thought.

“Please don’t tell me that we spent the last hour walking in a circle!”

The sound of her voice must have shaken the human out of her stupor. “Whu? Uh, no. I can guarantee you we haven’t.”

When the witch turned to her friend for further explanation, Luz explained. “I’ve always been real good at visualizing where things are in 3D space - I don’t know if it’s because of my powers or if I’ve always been good at it. I’ve been kinda keeping a mental map of our progress and we are definitely about a mile and a half from where we started.”

“Wait,” Amity questioned, “do you think that the Knee’s magic just moved the room in front of us again? Why would it do that? And how do you know that the tunnel we were in before didn’t move?”

“Okay, on the last question, the feeling I got was a little different. When we were in this room the first time and it moved, I got the weird sensation all around me, but back there it was just in front of us.” She paused in thought. “As for why the Knee is moving the rooms, I think I have an idea,” Luz said, tugging the witch forward. “C’mon, let’s see if I’m correct.” The human led her friend to the tunnel entrance on the opposite wall. “Now, this is the one we took when we originally left the cave. It went straight on for about a hundred feet or so then made a hard right turn, right?”

“Right,” Amity agreed.

“But now…” Luz gestured to the tunnel, which now sloped gently to the left, before ending at what looked to be an old wooden door. “Yes!” she pumped her free fist in victory. “I’m right!”

“Are you going to share?”

“Well, to put it simply, these caves are procedurally generated!” the human declared proudly.

A moment of silence followed. “Is that good?” Amity finally asked.

Luz blinked, then finally smacked herself in the face. “Duh! You don’t have video games here in the Isles! Okay… How to explain this?” She tapped her chin and hummed in thought. “Oh! I got it!” She turned to Amity. “Okay, pretend that you’re building a house.”

“Alright…” The witch responded uncertainly.

“But!” The human continued, “instead of having normal building materials - wood, bricks, stone, you know - you had a bunch of pre-made rooms.”

“Doesn’t sound like a good way to build a house,” Amity replied. “But… I think I get what you’re saying. So, you think that the mountain only has these pre-made rooms and moves them around?”

“It would explain why our path switched between normal caves and man-made rooms seemingly at random.”

“I mean, yeah…” Amity admitted. “I don’t see how that helps us, though…”

“Well, it technically doesn’t,” the brown-haired girl replied. “But at least we won’t get frustrated or lose hope if we come across a place we’ve seen before.” She smiled.

“I guess…” The witch rolled her eyes. “Let’s keep going. We should probably get as far as we can before we get too tired to walk.” She paused. “Or rather, I get too tired to walk.”

Luz smirked playfully. “I could always carry you if that happens.”

The green-haired girl made a variety of small noises, face turning steadily redder.

A second later, Luz’s face turned red as well. “I-I-I-I didn’t mean it that way!”

“L-let’s just go on, okay,” Amity squeaked.

Philip Wittebane slowly walked through the corridors of the Titan’s skull. Each step was measured, each foot falling in exactly the right place. As he had done it for 400 years, as he would do it for 400 more if necessary.

Were anyone to follow him, they would surely be confused. The path the Emperor trod was winding, confusing, full of backtracking, turns that doubled back on themselves, and irregular pauses where the man would mutter to himself before continuing.

Unless, that is, they were trained in ways of magic that were foreign to the Demon Realm. Magics that were given to him by the Titan when It first spoke to him all those centuries ago.

Eventually, Philip came to the absolute center of the Titan’s skull. There stood a two-toned door that only appeared to those who knew how to approach it. Slowly, reverently, the Emperor of the Boiling Isles turned the handle and opened the door.

There before him stood the Petrified Forest of the Titan’s Memories. Where the memory forest of a healthy being would be a living, thriving one, where the memory magics would allow you to interact with the person’s strongest memories, this one was long dead, the trees long turned to stone, the portraits all static and unyielding, leaving only teasing moments of the Titan’s life frozen in time.

The human strode between those ancient stony trees, glancing only rarely at the ancient paintings showcasing his master’s life. At only one did he stop and approach the frozen memory. The final one before his true destination. It showed a lonely tower, standing proudly on an island somewhere in the boiling oceans of the demon realm.

A tower that Philip had yet to find. A tower that held an Egg. The last Egg the Titan Itself lay before It’s death. The Egg that contained The Last Titan.

The final piece that Philip needed in his plan to save and protect mankind.

“I swear, my Lord, I will find Your child.” Philip’s voice rang clear throughout the space. He had no idea if the Titan could even hear him, but it felt good to reaffirm his commitment every time he came here.

Sighing, Philip pulled himself away from the portrait. Squaring his shoulders, he marched to the exact center of the forest, wherein lay his most recent holy duty - refreshing the powerful sigils that kept the barrier that, temporarily, separated the human and demon realms.

He had hated to do it. Hated that he had to release the dreaded Vermillion Fever on his people just to keep one wild witch from crossing over. But his Lord had commanded him: None of the Titan’s Children may have contact with the human realm before the Day of Unity.

So, one day ten years ago, Philip had dutifully unleashed the plague, knowing that Edalyn Clawthorne would be one of the witches who could brew the cure to that deadly malady. With her distracted, he was able to come here and carve the delicate spellwork that would block all access to the human realm, at least until his plan was complete.

Another sigh brought the centuries-old man out of his reminiscing. Slowly, he began pacing around the sigils, noting every detail, every crack in the stony floor, every pockmark that marred his design. A few offhanded spells cleaned up the more egregious ones, the ones too large or too close to the runes, that threatened to undo the delicate spellwork.

Philip stopped, looking closer at one of the runes, one that his Master had told him came from the forest peoples of Eldraine, that was used to power the barrier. Two slight, straight lines ran through it. Normally, Philip would have just cleaned them up without a second thought, but the more he looked at them, the more it seemed like these were deliberate marks rather than normal wear and tear. They were a little too straight, and intersected the rune in just such a way that the barrier would lose power, but only for a second or two.

But what could happen in that short amount of time? It was barely enough time for a person to cross over, and the positioning of the lines meant that the time between the outages would have been a few minutes at the most. Could Edalyn have found a way to cross over, even for that short of a time? Or…

Lilith did say that Edalyn’s new apprentice did look human… The thought percolated through the Emperor’s mind as he repaired the damage. But if that’s the case, then what was the second outage? And who would have been able to do this?

Thoughts ablaze, Philip Wittebane slowly walked around the sigils again, but he found no more evidence of sabotage.

Another hour and about two miles into their journey found the girls walking through a winding tunnel that looked like it was carved out of pure ice. They hadn’t run into any more “repeat” rooms again, though they did have to pause twice when Luz felt the terrain beginning to shift again, one time having to quickly backtrack to outside of the room that was moving to avoid being shifted off of their path. Still, they were making at least decent progress upwards, so the human still held onto hope that they were on the right track.

They turned yet another corner (seriously, there were so many twists and turns in this tunnel) and came face-to-facade with a large stone door that looked like it was from the same building the mausoleum came from.

“Okay, since it’s been about an hour, do you want to take another break?” the human asked her companion. “Since this is a definite break between different ‘rooms’ we should be safe in case of another shift.”

Amity mulled the question over for a few seconds. “Yeah, it’s probably for the best.”

As the two sat down against the tunnel wall, Luz looked over at her friend. “Hey, why is it that we can see each other?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, like, where is this light coming from?” Luz clarified. “There’s no skylights or windows or any sort of light fixtures. There’s not even any torches to give this a spooky dungeon-crawl vibe.”

“Probably some sort of long-lasting light enchantment,” Amity answered. “Mother constantly whines that dad’s ancestors never bothered to put up any in the areas she’s explored so far.” She paused. “I’m surprised that neither of us noticed earlier. I guess the fear of being lost in these tunnels and possibly dying down here kinda overrode any other thoughts, though.”

Luz looked carefully at the tunnel. She thought she could see a supersized version of the light glyph in the semi-translucent wall, but it was too distorted for her to be sure. “I could see that in the man-made areas, but what about natural stuff like this?” the human gestured at the tunnel around them. “You seriously think that ancient witches would go through all the trouble to light every single cave and tunnel they came across?”

“Maybe the same magic that makes the rooms move around is screwing with the enchantments?” Amity guessed. “Some of these places are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. Put two powerful magical effects together for that long and things are bound to be odd. I’m just glad it’s odd in a way that helps us.”

“You’re probably right,” Luz said, but then she smirked. “Or maybe the Titan wants us to see.”

The witch giggled. “If that’s so, then I thank you, Oh gracious Titan, for granting us your holy light,” she bowed her head half-reverently towards the wall.

Both girls giggled at that, then sat quietly for a few moments.

“You know,” Amity said after a little while. “This is nice. Being able to talk and laugh and joke with a friend, I mean, not being lost in a magical moving maze.” She sighed. “It’s been … a while since I’ve been able to do this. So… Thanks.”

“No problemo,” Luz smiled at the mint-haired witch. “All in a day’s work for your friendly neighborhood superhero!”

They giggled again.

“We should probably start moving again,” Amity finally said.

“Yeah,” Luz sighed. “Onward and upward.”

They stood and gently pushed the door open. The room beyond looked a lot like the mausoleum - a large square-ish room made of large dark stone blocks with metal columns. What concerned the girls most, however, was the room-spanning chasm that dominated the room. It was at least 40 feet wide, leaving only a small lip on either side of the room at the entrance and exit.

While Amity slowly goggled at the site before them, Luz cautiously tried her free hand on the wall beside her.

“Nope, still can’t cling to the walls,” she reported. “And this is a little longer than I’d feel comfortable jumping over, especially carrying someone.”

“A little?!” Amity gaped. “How far can you jump if this is a little long for you?”

Luz sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “Er, I was able to do about 20 feet from a standstill. I might be able to make this if I get a good running start, but I don’t want to risk it, even if I didn’t have to carry you over as well.”

“Alright, then.” The witch cleared her throat. “Do you think we should go back and try to find another way? Or wait for this room to change?”

“Actually, we have two ways to cross over,” Luz responded, waggling her free wrist. “I can either create a tightrope for us to cross or…” She grinned. “I could take you on your first web-swing.”

A bright red face contrasts nicely with mint green hair, Luz decided. Wow, so not the time to be doing this, brain.

“I-buh-erg,” Amity sputtered. Finding her voice, she finally said, “I don’t trust that the ceiling would hold with both of us swinging on it, so I vote bridge. How thick can you make your webbing?”

“Pretty thick,” the human answered, “but it takes a lot of concentration, and I’m not good at shooting them long distances.” She looked at the ceiling. “Yeesh! And I thought the ceilings at the Owl House were sketchy-looking.” Turning back to her friend, she said, “Okay, so tight rope time. And don’t worry, my regular web strings might be thin, but they are hella strong! They’ll easily support the both of us.” A thoughtful look crossed her features. “Wait… Do you guys even have tightrope walking on the Isles?”

Amity shook her head, sending her pretty mint green hair flying. “But I can guess it involves walking across a small rope. Which I don’t know how to do. And we probably don’t have the time to teach me.”

Luz paused in thought. “Well, I could try to use multiple strands to make the bridge, but that’d take some time, and I can only make so much before I have to rest.” She glanced at the exit over the chasm. “And who knows what’s on the other side of that door.”

Amity frowned. “Just because we haven’t run into something dangerous, doesn’t mean we won’t. So, what do you suggest?”

“Well,” Luz said, blushing slightly, “it seems that the only way for us to cross would be for me to… carry you.”

The witch froze, mouth a thin, straight line, face completely red. She stared at her companion for a while. The hand that Luz held fidgeted.

“If you’re uncomfortable with this, I understand.” Luz said, voice low.

“N-no!” Amity squeaked, then cleared her throat. “No,” she said, voice closer to normal. “It’s not that. It’s, um, just personal, but I can deal with it. Especially since you’re saving my life by doing this.”

“Okay, if you’re sure…” Luz pressed her foot down on the lip of the gorge several times. “Okay, this side seems solid enough.” A quick flick of her free wrist shot a line of spider webbing toward the other side, and she gave it a few quick tugs. “Other side’s good, too.” She stuck the free end onto the ground. “You ready?”

“No, but let’s do it anyway,” the witch answered.

Luz nodded, released Amity’s hand and knelt in front of the other girl. “Alright, get on my back and get a good grip on my shoulders.”

“On your–?” Amity started to ask, then began to laugh oddly. “Of course! On your back. Not–” She cleared her throat again. “I’m going to stop talking now.”

Once the human felt Amity get a good grip on her shoulders and had settled onto her back, Luz grasped the witch’s legs and stood up. “You okay up there?”

“Y-yes.” It felt kinda weird to hear Amity’s voice so close, to feel her breath, her warmth, that odd three-rhythm heartbeat that witches have…

Okay, brain, we can have a bisexual freak out later when we’re out of the weird moving maze.

“Alright,” she said out loud. “I’m gonna try and cross quickly. If you feel I’m going too fast just say something, okay?”

“Got it.”

As quickly as she dared, Luz ran across the web line, trying as best as she could to make the ride smooth for her passenger. Once she was on the other side, she gave the ground a few quick stomps. “Okay, looks like it's safe.” She knelt down to allow Amity off.

Only for the witch to stay there. “Uh, Amity, you okay up there?”

Amity eeped, scrambling off the human’s back. “S-sorry,” she said, coughing awkwardly.

When Luz turned around, she saw that her friend was still red in the face. “You sure you’re okay, Amity?” she asked. “You aren’t getting sick, are you?”

“No!” The witch answered a bit too loudly. “I’m fine.” A beat. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Luz reached her hand out. Amity tentatively took it, allowing her friend to lead them onward.

“Okay, Luz, we’ve been walking for about two hours now and I’ve got to call a break,” Amity said, stooping down as her knees were apparently turning into jelly.

“Huh? Oh crud, Amity, I haven’t been pushing you too hard, have I?” Luz panicked. “I know we need to be on the move, but I should have–”

“What? No, Luz, I haven’t been saying anything because I wanted to keep going,” Amity replied. And because I don’t want to think about these feelings I’m having right now. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure it’s close to lunch, so it’s probably time for us to at least take stock of our situation.”

“Right, right.” Luz paused. “I think we’re coming up to a room. I can at least sense a door up ahead. You wanna see if that’s a better place to rest than here?”

Taking a look at their surroundings, Amity had to agree. An abandoned mine shaft (complete with rusted mining equipment littering the ground) was not a good place to take a breather. “Okay,” she relented. “But if there’s another chasm or something beyond that, I’m plopping down right where I am, got it?”

It was only a few minutes later when Luz shoved the thick, ancient (but beautifully decorated) wooden door open. On the other side was a large room, with a high vaulted ceiling, and rows of some sort of benches arranged in two columns dominating most of the floor space. At the opposite end of the room was what looked like a raised lectern. Three of the walls had tall windows (where the ever-present light was coming from), filled with thick, colored glass, arranged to form pictures of … were those humans? With glowing heads? There were also strange animals (snorses without the scales but with long, cabbit-like ears were prominent) and odd, winged figures that didn’t look like anything she’d seen before. The weirdest thing was the room was almost pristine - no dust or rubble, nothing was broken…

It was too perfect.

“Wow, que hermosa iglesia!”

“Huh?” Amity asked, turning to her companion. “Do you recognize what this is? What’s an ee-glays-ee-uh?”

“Oops,” Luz smiled apologetically. “Slipped into Spanish there.” She gestured to the room. “This looks like an old church. The pews, the stained glass windows, the pulpit…”

“Still don’t know what any of that is,” the witch retorted. Well, I can guess that Spanish is some sort of human language. Kinda weird that they have more than one… or maybe not, considering that there’s seven freaking billion of them!

“Oh, it’s a place of religious worship,” the human answered, then paused. “Wait, do you even have a religion on the Isles? I’ve heard Eda make reference to a few gods or something like that, but I’m not sure if that’s an Eda thing, a wild witch thing, or a Boiling Isles thing.”

“Well…” Amity started, “The Emperor worships the Titan as a god, and a lot of witches have started following that. In History class we learned that witches and demons used to worship a whole lot of gods, but there was a lot of bad stuff that went into worshiping them -- blood sacrifice, raising the dead, stuff like that.” She looked back at one of the glass-stained windows. “A lot of people don’t really worship anything, really. Witches and demons may have been birthed from the Titan’s blood, but until Emperor Belos no one was able to hear the Titan.”

“What about you?” Luz asked, guiding the two over to one of the benches (despite calling them pews, they didn’t smell that bad to Amity). “Does your family believe the Titan is a god?”

Amity shrugged as the two sat down. “Not really. My dad is usually too busy for … anything really. And mother always says we should put our faith in things that are more reliable - like money or connections.” She shook her hand out as they released each other.

Luz hummed thoughtfully. “I’ve heard you say ‘by the black goat’ a few times. Is that one of those old gods, or something?”

“Supposedly,” Amity said, taking another look around the ‘church’, “the Blight family used to worship a fertility goddess or household spirit called the Black Goat With A Thousand Young. We stopped well before the Deadwardian Era. Mostly it’s kind of a soft swear word now, something we can say when we’re mad or frustrated instead of an actual swear. Gotta maintain the facade that we’re ‘better’ than every other witch, right?”

“Right,” Luz answered.

A few silent moments followed before a loud grumbling sound disturbed the two girls.

“What was that?” Luz asked, looking around warily. “You don’t think it’s a monster, do you? Eda said something about Slitherbeasts when we were getting everything ready to come up here…”

“Er, I think it was my stomach,” Amity replied, blushing. “We ate breakfast early so we could help Eda hide the wild witches, remember?” Another growl. “I don’t suppose you have anything to eat?” she asked hopefully.

“I don’t--” Luz started, reaching into the pockets on her coat. “Wait, I forgot about these!” She pulled out a small enchanted pouch and opened it, revealing some bright blue berries.

“What’re those?” Amity asked.

“Frostberries,” the human replied, popping one in her mouth and shivering. “Frankly, I’m surprised that they survived the fall and all the squeezing we’ve had to do.”

“Are they good?” the witch asked.

“Well, I like ‘em, but Eda said she and King didn’t. You wanna try one?” Luz offered the bag to Amity.

“Yes, please.” Amity gently plucked one of the berries from the bag. She examined it for a moment, then plopped it into her mouth. Like Luz, Amity shivered when she bit into it. “It tastes … cold?”

“Nice and minty, right?” The human smiled at her friend before munching on another frostberry. “You like it?”

Amity mulled it over as she ate her berry. “I… think I do?” She smiled slightly. “I might need another one to make sure.”

Luz giggled. “Sure.” She offered Amity the bag again.

The pleasantly cold ‘min-tea’ taste came back as soon as the witch chomped down on the second berry. “Y’know, I think I do. Is ‘min-tea’ a common flavor in the Human Realm?”

“I… guess?” Luz answered uncertainly. “I know mint, or at least mint flavoring, is put in a lot of things - drinks, candies, chocolate…”

“Min-tea chocolates!” Amity’s eyes were wide with wonder. “That sounds so amazingly awesome!”

“It is!” Luz answered, smiling back, then paused as confusion crept across her face. “Wait, you guys have chocolate here?”

“Yeah,” Amity nodded. “It’s only grown in the swampy toes, and only in a few plantations, so it’s fairly expensive. I’m not surprised that Eda isn’t able to buy it.”

“Ah. Right.” Luz looked back down at her bag. “We should probably save these, right? Just in case?”

Amity looked longingly at the berries that were her new favorite flavor. “Yeah. We have no idea how long we’ll be down here. It’s best to stretch out what food we have.”

Both girls sighed as the reality of their situation intruded on their happy moment again.

“We should probably get going again,” Amity finally said. “We don’t know if the lights down here mimic the day/night cycle or not, and I don’t want us to try and make our way in the dark.” She stood up and offered her hand to her friend.

“Well, I can kinda see in the dark. Kinda.” Luz took the witch’s hand and stood up. “But I get your point. I don’t wanna try and feel my way around an unfamiliar place, even with Spider Sense.”

Amity rolled her eyes. “Of course you can. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Well,” Luz ticked off the fingers on her free hand, “I can’t fly, shoot lasers out of my eyes, run faster than light, read minds…”

“Wow. Are there actually humans who can do that?”

The human grinned smugly as the two walked to a door to the side of the lectern area. “Sounds like someone should have come to my little presentation to the HAS last week.”

“I didn’t even know about it!” Amity protested. “If I had you could bet that mother would have made me go.”

“Excuses, excuses, Amity,” Luz proclaimed, reaching for the knob. “I would have thought that the Grudgeby captain would have been more on… top…”

She trailed off the second she threw open the door. On the other side was another cavern made out of ice. It was roughly triangular in shape, one point towards the door they were standing in.

What made the two girls pause was that, right across from the door, was a floor-to-ceiling wall of semi-translucent ice. Another exit could be vaguely seen through it, but for all intents and purposes the way forward was blocked.

“Okay, we definitely need to backtrack now,” Amity stated, still staring in awe at the obstacle.

“Well, maybe we–” Luz suddenly cut off, and she stumbled slightly. When Amity looked at her friend, Luz’s eyes were unfocused.

“Luz? What’s wrooooooooong!”

With a violent suddenness, Luz grabbed Amity and leapt forward, throwing both girls to the icy floor in front of the wall.

“Ow.”

Thankfully Luz had, once again, cushioned her friend’s fall.

“S-sorry, Amity,” Luz said from beneath her. “But the church was about to move and I only had seconds to decide whether we should stay put or go forward.”

As the two stood up, Amity glared at the wall before them. “Maybe it would have been better to stay in that ‘church’?”

Luz gave a nervous laugh. “Maybe? Kinda hard to tell when we can’t tell where these rooms go when they move. Besides, we can probably find a whole new way up with the … new … room.”

She’d turned to look at the exit on their side of the wall when her voice fell. Amity followed her companion’s gaze…

Instead of the warm, oddly brown door of the church, the door that replaced it was rusted metal, flecks of yellow paint struggling vainly to hold on. It looked sturdy, and instead of a handle, a large wheel stood at the center of the door. Strange runes spelling out “5 уровень” were written on a small, metallic-looking black label affixed just above the wheel.

“What kind of door is that?” Amity asked.

“It looks like something that would come from a human military base,” Luz answered. “In fact, I think that’s a human language on the sign.”

The two girls looked at each other, uncertainty on their faces. They looked back at the ice wall, then to the metal door.

“Okay,” Amity finally said, “we take a peek inside, and if we don’t like what we see, we either try and find a way to break the ice or wait until another shift.”

“Sounds good to me,” Luz replied, gripping the wheel-handle.

It turned slowly, protesting with a loud whine much like Edric did every time the Abomi-butler woke him up on the weekends, but soon a loud ‘thunk’ came from within the door, followed by the door popping open slightly. Luz slowly pulled the door open, hinges squealing with disuse all the way.

The door opened onto the end of a long hallway, made of some sort of large, uniform gray stone, almost as if it had been carved out of a single enormous block. On either side of the hallway were numerous metallic doors similar to the one the girls stood in. Amity peered at one of the closer doors. Another black label was on the wall next to it, this time the runes stated “лаборатория 47: Эксперименты с реликвиями Царства Демонов”.

Instead of the diffuse light that filled all the rest of the chambers, this hallway was lit by long tubes that ran along the ceiling. The light was weak and yellowish, rather than the bright white the enchantments produced. Some of the tubes were broken or flickering.

The corridor itself could only be described as ruined. Dust, moss, mildew, and - was that blood? - covered just about every surface. Large slash marks decorated the walls, and the ceiling had collapsed on the far end, blocking off access to what lay beyond. Several of the doors were broken, either laying on the floor or dangling at precarious angles from their frames.

That wasn’t the disturbing thing, though.

What was disturbing were the bodies. For some reason, the two girls had been lucky in that they hadn’t encountered any bodies during their adventure. But here, around a dozen desiccated corpses littered the hallway. Some of them were dressed in what looked like a dark green uniform, others in what were now stained white coats. And all of them looked like they had fallen while running straight to the door the girls stood in.

It was several moments before Luz spoke up. “I don’t like what I see, Amity.” Her voice wavered and she looked pale.

“Agreed,” Amity said, hoping that she didn’t look as green as she felt.

Slowly Luz pulled the door closed and relocked it.

Slowly, the girls turned around to face the ice wall (made slightly awkward since they were still holding hands).

“Okay, if we’re gonna be stuck in this room for now,” Amity started, “I don’t think we need to be holding hands the entire time.”

“Hm? Why’s that?” Luz questioned.

“Well, it’s like you said – it’s the rooms that are moving,” Amity explained, “So there’s no need for us to be in contact so we don’t get separated.”

“One problem, though,” her friend countered, “We don’t actually know what the Knee considers a ‘room’. Just look at the absolute jumble the corridors we’ve walked through have been! I mean, who knows if this ‘room’ ends at the exit over there, at the wall, or somewhere else.”

“Which means we should be trying to find a way through this wall before we’re forced to find out the hard way,” Amity responded. “And I’ll grant that the tunnels may be a special case, but,” she smiled, “I trust you to keep us together, or get us clear, if it looks like we’ll be separated by part of the corridor moving. This is the third time we nearly got caught and you’ve always been quick enough to react to it.”

“I, uh, thanks,” the human blushed. “I-if you’re sure.” She gingerly let go of the witch’s hand.

Wait, is that a look of disappointment on her face? Amity thought. No, I shouldn’t read too much into things. Out loud she said, “So, how do you think we should go about breaking through that.” She tilted her head towards the ice wall.

Luz hummed thoughtfully and marched up to the wall. She tapped on it a few times before speaking. “Well, I don’t think it’s that thick, since we can see through it,” she turned back to Amity. “I might be able to just break it with a few punches.”

“Luz, I know you’re strong, but I’m not sure…” Amity started.

“Oh, I can lift about seven tons,” Luz answered. “Well, technically around nine, but it starts getting uncomfortable with things heavier than seven.”

The witch’s jaw fell in shock as she stared at her friend. Her friend who was probably one of the strongest beings on the Isles, physically at least. She certainly knew of no witch who considered lifting things heavier than seven freaking tons to be ‘uncomfortable’.

“All right, here goes.” Luz’s voice snapped Amity out of her thoughts. The human drew her fist back and let fly with a punch.

WHAM!

The impact actually shook the little cavern they were in, small pieces of ice fell as they were dislodged from the ceiling.

Amity looked back at the ice wall. Where Luz had punched there were small cracks. Not as much as Amity had thought there would be given the force her friend had been able to put out, but it was still amazing that a girl who didn’t look any bigger than Amity did was that strong.

Amity’s wonder was quickly broken when Luz quickly turned around and began shaking her hand, a pained expression on her face.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.”

“You okay, Luz?” Amity asked, stepping closer to her friend.

“Yeah,” the human answered, now rubbing her hand, “either the ice is thicker than we thought or it’s super tough. Probably bruised up my hand real good.”

“Is that going to be a problem?”

“Nah, I’ll be alright,” Luz responded. “Should heal up in a few hours. One of those minor benefits of having superpowers that people overlook.”

“Right,” Amity said. “I’m guessing you’re not gonna be able to break the wall down?”

“Not unless you want to wait a few days.”

Amity sighed. “So we’re stuck until either this or the other room shifts.”

Luz grumbled, whether at the thought of having to wait until the Knee decided to give them a path or being unable to solve the issue, Amity didn’t know.

After a few minutes of waiting, Luz’s face lit up and she snapped her fingers. “Wait, I’ve got an idea!” She whirled around to face Amity. “Why don’t you use that fire spell you’ve been practicing! It’s perfect for a situation like this!”

Amity blushed and looked away. “Honestly? I’d forgotten about that fire spell until now.”

“Yeah,” Luz responded, scratching the back of her head, “it’s kinda been a crazy morning.”

Golden eyes narrowed at the icy wall separating the two girls from their preferred exit. The cracks Luz had put in it seemed smaller somehow (I hope to the Titan this ice isn’t repairing itself). The witch closed her eyes inhaled slowly, trying to center herself. She held out her hands, pinky and pointer extended, and chanted the spell.

She slowly peeked at the result, and her face fell. The hole she had managed to melt was only about two feet across. She hadn’t even managed to go all the way through the wall! She was about to turn and apologize to Luz when…

“Whoo-hoo! You go, girl!”

Staring wide-eyed at the human, Amity’s mouth worked wordlessly for a few moments before she was able to speak. “Wh-What? But - but I only got through a little bit of it! It’ll take me hours to melt the whole wall.”

“Who says we need to melt the whole wall?” Luz asked. “All we really need is just enough of a hole to wriggle through.” She came closer to inspect the wall. “Hmmmm. Looks like you’ll only need one or two more blasts to get through.” The human turned back to her friend, smiling. “Think you got that in you? Or do you need to rest a bit? I know big spells can take it out of a witch...”

“Actually,” Amity replied, allowing herself a small smile, “one thing I’ve noticed is that I don’t get tired when using this spell, like I would when using witch spells. Is that a property of human magic?”

Luz shrugged. “Iunno. Like I said, I’ve never been able to do human magic. And I never got the chance to ask Dr. Strange about it since there was … I was more interested in telling my mami about my adventures the day I met him.”

“Well, maybe it’s something to ask him next time,” Amity said. “But first, let’s get out of here.” She turned back to her hole and, with a newfound confidence, cast the spell again. The purple flames rushed forth and eagerly ate at the ice, burning clean through to the other side, where the girls could clearly see the wooden door that (hopefully) led to somewhere better than the metal one behind them.

“Alright!” Luz cheered from the witch’s side. “Since you probably don’t have a lot of experience scrambling through tiny holes in the forest around your house, I’ll go first just in case you need help on the other side.”

Amity nodded. “Considering that mother expressly forbade us from even going into the woods, that’s a safe bet.”

The girls slipped through the hole easily enough, and soon they both stood before the wooden door and the promise of further progress on their journey.

Silently, Amity slipped her hand into Luz’s again.

“Hm?” Luz looked at the witch. “I thought you said we didn’t need to hold hands any more?”

“That was just in this room,” Amity declared. “We needed to have room to think.”

“Right…” Luz didn’t sound convinced, but she didn’t let go of Amity’s hand either. “Well, let’s see what’s ahead.”

“So you’re not even going to try and look for your apprentice?”

The question shook Eda out of her reverie. She turned to look at the speaker.

The Golder Guard (Hunter? Was that his name?) stood, arms crossed, glaring at her as she stirred the stew she was making for dinner. He was dressed in full regalia now, minus his mask which hung from his belt, while his oddly familiar palisman waited on his shoulder.

“I would’ve thought that a notorious wild witch such as yourself, one who stubbornly clings to the old ways, would have more concern for her apprentice’s safety,” he continued, “especially considering the sacredness most wild witches place on the master-apprentice bond.”

Eda rolled her eyes, then turned back to watch the last dregs of the day disappear as the sun slipped below the horizon. “How much has Lily, or your uncle, told you about the Knee?” she asked.

The question apparently took the boy by surprise, as it was a few seconds before he answered. “Enough. They said that there’s a lot of wild magic in the area; causes a lot of problems in the upper reaches and the underground areas. Lilith warned me about the caves specifically, said that witches go missing in them all the time.”

“They don’t ‘go missing’, Goldie,” she corrected, “they vanish. Lily, the twins, and I basically got a first hand look at it when the hole the girls fell through disappeared the second we took our eyes off it. The cavern they fell into just isn’t there any more, both Lily and Odalia tried to find it using Oracle magic, but there was nothing but solid rock as far as they could see.”

“That still doesn’t tell me why you’re sitting here making yourself dinner instead of helping with the search,” Hunter argued. “Lilith told me that your family used to own a lot of land in the area and that you’ve been up here a lot of times, even before you were cursed. Your knowledge of stable openings into the caverns could be the key to helping us find both Amity and your apprentice!”

“I’m not making the stew for myself,” the Owl Lady countered. “I’m making it because I know Luz and Amity are going to be starving when they get out.”

Eda swore she could actually hear the boy’s train of thought derail. “Wuh-buh-huh?”

She turned to him, a small smile on her face. “I know what Luz can do, far better than you or Lily can, and there’s no way some stupid mountain’s gonna beat her. As for Amity? She seems to be a pretty strong witch, stronger than a lot of people give her credit for. If anyone can make it out of the caverns down there, it’s gonna be those two.”

Beyond the door the two girls found what looked, to Luz at least, the inside of a tower from a fairytale castle. Thankfully, it wasn’t very tall, and the staircase that spiraled its way around the walls seemed sturdy enough. The door at the top was similar to the one below, though Luz doubted that they’d see the top of a medieval wall on the other side.

Though considering the Knee had what looked like a human church and at least part of a human military base inside it, she couldn’t rule anything out.

She looked at Amity, who gave her a nod, and then opened the door.

The other side looks very much like the other parts of the mausoleum the girls had encountered several times before. Unlike the other parts, the circular room was very well preserved - no crumbling ceiling or collapsed walls here. Though what worried Luz was there didn’t seem to be another exit (unless you counted the opening in the roof, which Luz didn’t).

What caught the girls’ eyes, though, was the sarcophagus in the center of the room. “Opulent” was the first word that came to Luz when looking at it. The coffin itself was made of marble (or the Boiling Isles’ equivalent), light gray with veins of dark purple. It stood on a platform that raised it several feet off the ground, making it both the center of attention for the room and tall enough that neither girl could see the top. Thankfully, there were short steps cut into the platform. Luz could feel that the top of the coffin was carved into the likeness of a person, and the corners were made to resemble Greek columns supporting the lid.

“Wow,” Amity breathed. “Whoever’s buried here must have been pretty important.”

“Yeah,” Luz replied. “I think the top is carved into whoever’s inside.” She turned to her friend, a mischievous smile on her face. “Wanna go see who it is?”

The witch opened her mouth to reply, then paused to think a little. “I mean, as long as we’re here…”

Together the two teens ascended the short staircase to take a peek at the top of the sarcophagus. It had been made to look like a witch (presumably whoever was laid to rest there) in repose, eyes closed, crossed hands laying on her chest. On top of the carving’s stomach there was a bundle of wrapped cloth which looked amazingly preserved, as if someone had just left it there moments before the girls entered. The witch was carved wearing a long robe and a curious combination of pointed hat and tiara.

A very familiar pointed-hat-and-tiara combination.

As Luz looked closer at the figure, she realized that the carefully carved features were very familiar, even though she’d only seen them as illustrations on the pages of books.

“Amity?” she asked, turning to her companion. “Does this person look almost exactly like-”

“The Good Witch Azura?” Amity finished, looking back at the human, a worried look on her face.

“Yeah,” Luz sighed. “So does this solve the mystery of who wrote the books or just make it worse?”

“Definitely worse,” Amity declared. “This tomb is, like, hundreds of years old, if not older. Even if the books were written by Azura, or whatever her name is, I doubt they were originally made into modern-style books.”

Luz groaned. “You’re probably right.” A beat. “So do we open the mysterious package that was placed here for us, most likely, or do we ignore this whole thing and go back to trying to find our way up?”

“I would like to say ‘we should turn around and never look back’, but…” A small smile crept onto the witch’s face and she squeezed the human’s hand. “But Azura helped me get through some tough times when I was younger, taught me new magic, and connected me to my first real friend in years.” She beamed at Luz. “I say we go for it. She’s never led us wrong before.”

“Huh. You’re right,” Luz agreed. She relinquished her grip on Amity’s hand and gestured for the witch to continue.

Slowly, carefully, Amity unwrapped the cloth. It unwrapped into a beautiful burgundy cloak that had a stylized golden hand embroidered on the back. The cloak had been wrapped around a rolled piece of parchment. When Amity opened the parchment, a ring fell out, caught by Luz’s lightning-quick reflexes before it could bounce onto the floor.

The ring looked like it had been formed from two pieces of purplish metal that had been twisted together. A large (about the size of a pinkie fingernail, Luz guessed), clear gem was set into the ring, and had been shaped into a miniature eye. As Luz turned the ring, she could see a faint lilac glow in the “pupil” of the gem.

Man, what is it with me and eyes lately?

“Uh, Luz?” Amity’s voice brought the girl away from her musings. “Take a look at this letter.”

Dearest Luz and Amity,

While I am sad that the first time you get to meet me -- the real me, not the one from the books -- is when I’m long dead, I am glad that one of my last acts will be to save the both of you.

Luz, that ring you hold (nice catch, by the way!) is the Eye of Argon. Yes, the same one I forge at the end of book 5 (sorry for the spoilers, Amity, but you really should have read further!). Soon enough you’ll find out, much like I did, that the Eye is far more powerful than I originally intended it to be. Don’t worry, it’s not overpowering or debilitating, just be aware that you may get visions at some inopportune times. Just make sure to study hard and you’ll become a master seer before you know it (or, rather, just after)! Probably an even better one than I, given your extraordinary senses!

Amity, the cloak is for you. When I told Hecate that she was your favorite ‘character’ she was ecstatic! She was more than happy to donate the Cloak of Caelum to this venture. I know it’s a little long now, but you’ll grow into it. Right now, though, you’re probably more interested in what it does. Well, like the name suggests it gives you the limited ability to fly. The cloak responds to thoughts and intention, so just use that newfound confidence of yours and you’ll both be out of that damnable maze in no time!

And I mean that. That hole above my sarcophagus isn’t just for show - right now it should be connected to a shaft that has an opening to the bottom of the tower - you know the one, Luz. Should be pretty simple for the two of you to get up to the surface after that. But don’t dawdle too long, you won’t like where it ends up after the next shift.

And Luz, remember, listen to the Titan.

Love,

Azura, the “Good Witch”

The girls stared at the parchment in silence for a good few minutes, the implications running through their heads. Finally, Amity carefully rolled the letter up. “Do you think it’s real?” she asked.

“I mean…” Luz hesitated, her brain still trying to catch up. “Who’d be able to fake it? It has both our names on it, as well as some creepily specific details of things we’ve done. I mean, it congratulated me on the catch I just made!”

“I’ve heard that some oracle witches can see far into the future,” Amity replied, “but mother says that those predictions are so vague that they’re useless.” She frowned. “Then that means…”

“That Azura was a real witch on the Boiling Isles,” Luz continued, “and the adventures we read about are at least partially true.” She paused as a thought hit her. “Wait,” she turned to Amity, “Hecate is your favorite character?”

Amity arched an eyebrow. “Are you really surprised that I like a good redemption arc?”

Luz opened her mouth to answer, but snapped it shut instead. “Good point.”

“So,” Amity looked at the ring still in Luz’s hand. “The ‘Eye of Argon’? The letter says that Azura forges it herself at the end of book 5. What’s it do?”

“Well, originally she forged it to help her with scrying and divination, sort of like a more portable crystal ball,” Luz answered. “Don’t know what she meant by ‘more powerful than I thought’ or why she mentioned my Spider Sense.”

“Are you gonna try it?”

“I really, really, really want to,” Luz squeezed her eyes closed and pocketed the ring, “but doing so in here would be a terrible idea. And Azura said -er, wrote- that we don’t have a lot of time before this room shifts. I know the tower that Azura said we’d be at the bottom of, and I couldn’t even see that bottom from ground level! I don’t know if I’ll be able to cling to the walls, so it might take us hours to get out.”

“Right…” Amity glanced over at the float cloak, still lying on the sarcophagus. “So, do I just put this on?”

Luz shrugged. “Dunno. Hecate must get it at some point after what we’ve read. The letter says that it works off of thought, so… put it on and think floaty thoughts?”

“Floaty thoughts?” Amity questioned, only to receive an embarrassed smile from the human. Sighing, the witch shrugged the cloak on. “Okay, here goes…” She closed her eyes in concentration. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she rose into the air. After a few inches, she stopped, her eyes slowly opening as she peered downwards. Luz tensed to spring into action to steady Amity should her friend freak out, but relaxed when a huge grin split Amity’s face.

“I did it! Luz, I’m flying!” the witch exclaimed.

The human pumped her arms in the air. “Yeah, you are! You think you’re ready to take us up?”

Amity looked up at their ceiling exit. “I can try.” She turned back to Luz. “Just, um, how am I going to carry you?”

“I could, um, get on your back, like when we crossed that gorge?” Luz answered.

Amity’s cheek’s turned pink and she wobbled in the air a bit. “O-okay… Let me, uh, get up on Azura’s coffin first. Not too sure how well I can do directions other than ‘straight up’ right now, especially with a passenger.”

The witch gently stepped up on the sarcophagus with a muttered apology to the occupant. Luz hopped up behind her friend and placed a hand on Amity’s shoulder.

“You ready?” The human asked.

“Yes.” Amity knelt down slightly and readied her hands to grab Luz’s legs.

In one smooth motion the spider-powered girl hopped onto Amity’s back. The mint-haired girl quickly grabbed Luz’s legs.

Wow, no wonder Amity was distracted when I carried her. It’s kinda nice. And what’s that fruity smell? Amity’s shampoo? Maybe I should ask her… Luz shook her head vigorously. Whoah, whoah, whoah! Now is so not the time, brain!

“Uh, you okay up there, Luz?” Amity’s voice broke through Luz’s inappropriate thoughts.

“Yep!” the human yelped. “Uh, just not used to being carried like this, is all! Are you okay?”

“Y-yes,” Amity’s voice sounded a little wobbly, but she stood up straight. “Well, here we go.”

Slowly, yet steadily, the two girls rose into the air, aimed straight for the hole in the ceiling. A few minutes later they’d passed through, into a natural chimney of some sort of dark stone. The walls were so close that Luz didn’t dare even move her elbows for fear of scraping them against the sides. The chimney went up as far as she could see (and sense).

A few more minutes passed and Luz sensed an opening to the girls’ left, though the chimney, bizarrely, kept going up.

Wait, does this thing go up past ground level? She idly thought. Out loud, she said, “Alright, Amity, looks like there’s an opening to our left in about 100 feet. We can stop there and see if it’s the bottom of that tower.”

“Okay.”

It took about 15 more minutes for the opening to come into view. Amity gently halted their ascent before kicking off the wall and slowly gliding through and into the chamber beyond.

Once again, they were met with the crumbling ruins of masonry, though distinctly different from the mausoleum and Azura’s tomb. The room was circular and about 50 or so feet across, the walls made of gigantic light gray, almost white, stone blocks. It went up, up, up to a hole far above, barely visible from the bottom past the remains of the floors above them. Sections of the staircase that had once wound around the inside of the tower still clung to the walls.

What tipped Luz off to the fact this was their exit was the fact that pieces of the staircase and upper floors hung lazily in the air, much like the above ground portions of the tower she’d seen just yesterday.

“Yep. This is the place, alright.” Luz hopped off her friend's back and watched as the mint-haired girl stretched and popped her back. “You okay, Amity?”

“Yeah, just stiff after having to carry someone on my back for half an hour.” Amity grimaced as she turned around. “So do we just walk on up back to the surface?”

The human hummed thoughtfully as she began looking around at what remained of the stairs. “At least part way. Like I said, I couldn’t see anything from the ground when I looked down, so I don’t know how far up the stairs go.”

“Well,” the witch responded, “we’re not getting any closer just standing here, right?”

“Right.”

Together the two teens began climbing the ruined staircase. Thankfully the sections that were floating in air were actually stable enough to support the girls’ weight, so they were able to ascend with a few hops, skips, and jumps (aided by spider-powered limbs or magical cloaks) mixed in.

It was only about another half hour before they reached the end of their ascent, a relatively intact floor that was still about 60 or 70 feet below ground level. The rest of the way up was completely missing, allowing several inches of snow to cover most of the floor.

“Let me guess,” Amity sighed. “You still can’t stick to the walls.”

“Nope.” Luz walked back to the center of the floor where her friend stood. “I can try a web line. Maybe this time it won’t get blown back in my face?”

At Amity’s shrug, the human aimed her wrist at the wall and shot out a thin line of webbing. And, much like last time, a sudden gust of wind came and snatched said line, though this time it carried it up through the tower’s missing roof and away into the starry night.

Wait a sec…

“Uh, Amity, how long do you think we’ve been underground?” Luz asked nervously.

“I dunno. About four or five hours?” the witch answered. “Why?”

Luz answered by pointing to the very clearly night sky above, the stars twinkling down on the lost girls from the great hole in the earth.

Amity gaped at the sight. “How? What? How!?” She whipped her head towards the human. “It should be mid afternoon at the latest? How is it night already!?”

“Eda may have said something about time being all screwy down here?” Luz shrugged helplessly. “She honestly didn’t talk much about these caves besides warning me away from them.”

Amity scowled and exhaled sharply. “Fine! It’s fine! I can just fly us out of here…”

“Nope. Not happening.” Luz put a super-strong hand on the witch’s shoulder. “You saw what happened when I tried using my webs. We don’t know what’s gonna happen if you try flying here.”

“Okay, then how do you suggest we get up?” Amity asked. “Because I doubt anyone can hear us way down here. And it's beginning to snow.” She pointed to the white flakes that were beginning to fall down through the opening.

“Let me think…” Luz tapped her chin and gazed at the exit above. As she thought, something about the stars caught her eye. A roughly circular group of them shone brighter and sparklier. The shape seemed vaguely familiar to the girl. Mesmerized, she turned her head to try and find out why. Only when she realized she was looking at the whole thing upside down did she see…

It’s a light glyph!

“Holy cow,” she breathed.

“What?” Amity asked. “Did you find a way to get us out or signal for help?”

“Er, no,” the human said, feeling her cheeks tinge read from embarrassment. “It’s just, um, the constellation right above us looks like the light glyph I found…”

“Really?” The mint-haired girl turned her gaze skyward, twisting this way and that to try and see. “Well, that’s certainly fascinating, but I don’t see how that helps us right now.”

Listen to the Titan…

“Wait, maybe it does.”

“How?” Amity asked. “Are you gonna send up a big light spell to call for help?”

“No,” Luz answered. “We’re too far away from your camp for anyone to see it, and there’s a lot of buildings in the way, too.” She paused, scratching her head in thought. “But that glyph up there, along with Azura’s letter, reminded me of something Eda told me yesterday - ancient witches supposedly learned magic by listening to the Titan. She said that they, quote, ‘tasted him in the food they ate, heard him in their fires, saw him in the stars, and felt him…” Luz turned and watched the large snowflakes flutter in front of her face. “...in the snow.”

Gently, she reached out and let a few flakes fall into her waiting hand. Each one was identical, the center forming a perfect circle with a design inside - similar enough to the light glyph that Luz immediately knew what she was looking at.

If only I hadn’t left my notebook in Eda’s tent!

Kneeling, she quickly sketched the new glyph in the snow while Amity looked on in confusion.

“Uh, Luz?” The witch asked. “What are you doing? Did you find something?”

“Maybe,” came the answer as Luz looked over her drawing, making sure she hadn’t missed anything. “At the very least, I think I’ve found my second spell.”

“Really?” Amity replied, stepping closer so she could see.

Luz tapped the glyph softly, and watched in amazement as a miniature pillar of ice sprang up from the ground.

“Whoah, ice magic.” She turned to Amity, beaming. “I just got my second spell!”

Amity smiled back. “Congrats on making the standard classes.” Her smile faded as she glanced back up. “So should we wait until morning and hope someone comes over here looking for us?”

“Actually,” Luz spoke, her smile getting wider, “I think my new spell is just what we need. The bigger the spell circle…”

Amity’s eyes widened. “The bigger the effect,” she finished. “Do you need any help?”

“See if you can find a stick or rock or something for me to write with.”

It took a while, but eventually Amity managed to find a piece of rubble that was just the right size and had a decent point on it.

“Okay, Amity,” Luz said as she stretched performatively, “just stand back and watch.”

As fast as she dared, Luz drew out an ice glyph that covered most of the available floor - about 45 feet wide if she had to guess.

“Are you sure it should be this big?” Amity asked warily.

“I’d rather it be too big rather than too small. Besides, I think I can make it grow slowly, so we won’t be catapulted into the air,” Luz replied, then turned to Amity. “You ready?”

The witch took one more look at the giant glyph, then carefully made her way to stand by Luz’s side and gave the human a nod.

Carefully, the spider-powered girl knelt down and lay her hands on the gigantic glyph. She breathed out slowly, trying to focus her thoughts.

Slow and steady.

With a flash, a magically-created ice tower formed under the two girls’ feet and began rising. Much like an elevator, it steadily propelled the girls skyward, eating up the remaining stories to ground level in a matter of minutes. As they passed the edge of the hole to ground level, the enchanted light of the Knee’s underground suddenly disappeared, replaced by the soft light of the full moon, its leering face peering through the gashes in the tower.

The ice tower stopped growing shortly after, leaving the girls a few feet above ground level. There was a small gap between the edge of their platform and where the base of the tower should be, but luckily the two were able to jump it cleanly, without any mysterious wind coming to snatch them away midair.

“Okay, now that that’s over with,” Amity said, breaking the silence, “we should probably head back down to the villa, let everyone know we’re all right.”

“Wait,” Luz said. “Shouldn’t we do something with your cloak? Everyone’s gonna question where you got it.”

Amity crossed her arms defensively. “Then I’ll tell them the truth – we found it in one of the rooms in the catacombs and I decided to take it with me.”

“And if Lilith or that Golden Guard guy want to take a look at it to determine if it has any ‘dangerous wild magics’ or whatever?”

Amity opened her mouth to respond, but stopped. She snapped her mouth shut and tapped her chin in thought, a deep hum accompanying the gesture. Finally she groaned, having come to the same conclusion. “Alright, but what do we do with it?”

“Eda’s and my camp isn’t too far from here. We can go there, stash it in one of the bags we brought, and I can bring it to you whenever I can,” the human suggested.

“Alright,” Amity sighed, shrugging off the cloak. “I was gonna use it to buzz Edric and Emira, too.”

Both girls giggled as they walked through the ruined city.

As they neared the clearing where the human and her mentor were sleeping, both girls suddenly smelled the scent of something simmering over a fire.

Luz cautiously peeked around the corner of a lonely wall, only to see Eda stirring a pot on the campfire. Seeing that no one else was in sight, she stepped out and motioned for Amity to follow her.

“What’s cookin’, Owl Lady?” the human said, a smirk gracing her lips.

With a “Wah!” the elder witch leapt up from her seat, spinning around, brandishing the wooden spoon like a sword as a flame ball sprang from her other hand. Seeing the two teens, she slumped, dropping both the spoon and fireball into the snow.

“Ah, jeez, kid! You nearly scared my half to death!” A smile crept on her lips as Luz giggled. “Glad to see you two safe and sound. You okay?”

“A little hungry,” Amity answered, “but mostly confused. How is it night already? I was so sure we were only in there for half a day at most.”

Eda shrugged. “Eh. Weird time magics or somethin’ like that. Just be glad that it’s the same day, and not, like 50 years in the future or something.”

Both teens shivered as the ramifications of that statement washed over them. Meanwhile Eda stooped and picked the discarded spoon up.

“Got some stew cooked up, if ya want some.” The Owl Lady shook the spoon off.

“Yes, please! The only thing we had for ‘lunch’ was a few of those frostberries.” Luz happily plopped down and grabbed a nearby bowl and spoon.

“Uh, sure,” Amity said. “Before we do that, Luz said I could store this here until we get back to Bonesburough?” She indicated the cloak, now held in her hands.

“Sure?” Eda questioned. “But why couldn’t you take it home when you go back with your folks?”

“We found it in the catacombs below,” Amity answered.

“In the tomb of the Good Witch Azura,” Luz supplied, spooning out a hearty portion of the stew for herself. “Along with a magic ring and a note written by Azura herself.” She turned back to the two witches. “In fact, that cloak belonged to Azura’s rival/friend Hecate. Hecate gifted it specifically to Amity because Hecate is Amity’s favorite character. Which Azura somehow knew, just like she knew we’d be stuck in that maze down there.”

While Amity opened one of the packs to deposit the cloak, Eda pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled slowly. “Okay. Kid, first thing we do when we get back is call your mom and have her get Doc Strange down to the cabin on Saturday. You,” she turned to Amity, “are going to have to find some way to convince your mom to let you come over to the Owl House then so we can get you up to speed on what’s going on, since you seem to be involved now.” She sighed. “Is there anything else you two wanna tell me?”

“Well,” Luz responded, “in lighter news, I managed to find my second spell!” She leaned over and drew her new ice glyph in the snow, making a miniature tower spring out. “See?”

“Yeah, ya did!” Eda gave her pupil a hearty slap on the back. “You find that in those caves, too?”

“Nope! I just listened to the Titan, like my teacher told me,” Luz smiled at her teacher.

Amity sat down next to Luz and took up the other bowl and spoon. “Well, I could actually just tell mother that I’m going to meet a human sorcerer. She seems very… enthusiastic about me learning anything and everything about humanity, probably in preparation for the Day of Unity and Blight Industries forging a place in the ‘new world’ that comes after - whatever that means.”

“Day of Unity?” Luz asked around a mouthful of stew. “Wha’s that?”

“Well, it’s—” Eda started, before a voice from the forest interrupted her.

“Edalyn? Edalyn!” Lilith’s voice carried through the cold air. Shortly, the woman herself appeared from the forest towards the Blight villa, followed by the Golden Guard. “Edalyn, there you are, Hun-” She stopped, mid-sentence and mid-stride, staring at Luz and Amity as they ate their stew.

“What? Something wrong, Lily?” Eda’s mischievous smile was so wide Luz wondered how it didn’t hurt the witch.

“Wuh? Huh? Weh?” came the coven head’s eloquent response.

“Yeah, they came out of the ruins a few minutes ago,” Eda helpfully supplied. “Said that they’d spent half the day wandering around down there before finding a way out.”

“Wait, ‘half’ a day?” Hunter asked, “but you two have been gone-”

“Magical timey-wimey bullshit, Goldie,” Eda answered. “Unless you’ve got a few centuries to actually study the magics down there, I suggest you be happy with that.”

The boy fumed, but grumbled out a “fine” anyway.

“Hunter, perhaps you should go and get the rest of the Blight family? I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear the news,” Lilith suggested.

The Golden Guard immediately smiled and gave Lilith a sharp salute and a “Yes, ma’am!” before running back down towards the villa.

“Now, then,” Lilith turned back to the girls, an oddly eager grin on her face, “why don’t you tell me what it was like down there.”

Odalia grumbled as she trudged up the forested hills to where the Golden Guard said Edalyn’s camp, and, more importantly, Mittens, was.

Edric and Emira followed dutifully behind, thankfully staying quiet. In fact, the twins had been oddly withdrawn since the incident this morning. Probably just bemoaning the fact that one of them would have to take Mitten’s place. Though I would have thought they’d be overjoyed at her return. No matter.

Finally the Titan-damned forest began to thin and the group could hear the tail end of a discussion from up ahead.

“...and you say that it looked like a human military base, Luz?” Lilith’s prim voice came through the trees, “and that this, um, ‘cherch’ transformed into said base?”

Surprisingly it was Edalyn’s voice that answered. “Aren’t you paying attention, Lily? That ‘churich’ place moved and the base took its place. And you’re supposed to be the smart one.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Edalyn,” the Head Witch retorted, “but this is a lot of information the girls have given me regarding the magics of the Knee’s underground. Frankly, it’s the most complete description of what happens down there anyone has given, thanks to your student’s … abilities.”

“Ms. Lilith, are you still skeptical of Luz’s powers? This is the third time I’ve witnessed them, they’re real - not a trick.”

Well, I guess that answers if Mittens is all right.

The second the twins heard Mittens’ voice, they started running forward, pushing past the Golden Guard in their haste.

What’s gotten into them?

Sighing, Odalia tromped over the ridge and came upon Edalyn’s little camp. There, gathered around a small campfire upon which a small pot boiled, were Mittens, Luz the Human, Edalyn, and Lilith. Currently, the twins had wrapped themselves around Mittens, the poor girl desperately trying to both force her siblings off and hold onto a rustic-looking bowl. Edric blubbered inelegantly (as usual), while a torrent of unrecognizable words poured from Emira’s mouth.

“Get off, you two!” Mittens yelled. “Gah! Luz, help!”

At the mention of the human’s name (the girl herself was poorly hiding her mirth at Mittens’ predicament), the twins immediately leapt off of their sister, apologies spilling from their lips.

“Sorrysorrysorrysorry,” Edric wailed, wiping the tears and snot from his face.

“Sorry, Amity,” Emira was a little more composed, at least, though her eyes did shine with tears as she spoke. “It’s just, well, we thought we’d lost you.”

“Yeah,” Edric continued, “and we’ve been kinda thinking over the past few hours.”

“About us,” Emria clarified. “And you.”

Edric looked away and scratched the side of his neck, much like his father did. “And we… well, we realized that we’ve kindaaaaa been horrible to you.”

“Yeaaaaaahhhhh,” Emira stretched the syllable out, an uncharacteristic guilty look on her face, “we’ve been awful siblings. But, we decided we wanna try and be better. For both yours and our sake.”

“Uh, thanks?” Mittens replied.

“Yes, yes, we’re all glad that Mittens and her friend are back.” Odalia rolled her eyes at the antics of her older children. “Now, can we move onto more important things? Namely, making sure that my daughter and her friend aren’t ill or cursed after spending a whole day in those Titan-forsaken caverns?”

“Actually,” Lilith said, her hand reaching up to her face (as if she were about to adjust an imaginary pair of glasses before she stopped herself), “according to the girls, they only spent about a half day or so down there. Most likely due to some temporal distortion magic once used during some war that occurred in a long forgotten age.”

“Then that just makes it more imperative that they be scanned as soon as possible!” Odalia declared. “Who knows what kind of horrifying magic those wild witches threw around back then! No offense, Edalyn.”

“None taken,” the wild witch said through gritted teeth.

Lilith cleared her throat. “Yes, well, I did need a parent or guardian’s permission to do so.” The Coven Head turned to Mittens. “Amity, if you’d stand up, please?”

As the girl stood up, she looked at her human friend and Edalyn, a worried look on her face.

There must have been some sort of silent communication between the three, because at Mittens’ look, Edalyn spoke up. “Hey, Dali, you sure you don’t want a Healer to look at the kids? Y’know, one who trained to look for weird germs or hidden curses their whole life rather than someone who’s probably only trained to patch up idiot Scouts after they poke the wrong demon.”

Lilith retorted, something about her magical prowess, but Odalia was busy looking at her scion. Mittens’ expression was familiar to the Blight matriarch, the same expression the girl wore when she brought home a report card that was less than perfect – the fear of punishment. Except this time the fear Mittens showed wasn’t directed at her mother (an odd feeling for the woman, to be sure) but at Lilith.

Mittens is obviously afraid that Lilith will discover something about what happened down there. Something she doesn’t want the Emperor’s Coven to know.

And whatever that something is may be used against Blight Industries. Can’t have that now, can we?

“I agree with Edalyn,” Odalia declared, interrupting the argument between the wild witch and her sister. “The girls’ health is far too important to leave to anything but a trained professional.”

“What does that even mean, Eda-wait-what?” Lilith sputtered to a stop in the middle of a sentence. “Odalia, I assure you I am more than capable of determining if the girls are injured, cursed, or enchanted in any way!”

The Golden Guard boy jumped in to defend Lilith. “Miss Blight, Lillith is one of the most skilled witches I’ve ever seen. I, and any Scout in the Emperor’s Coven would put our life in her hands.”

“Good for you, boy,” Odalia said dismissively. “But my mind is made up. Edalyn, you can use my airship to take the girls to Bonesburough.”

“Nah, no need,” the wild witch drawled, and with a flick of her wrist summoned that ratty palisman of hers. “We can all fit on Owlbert here. It’ll be tight, but I don’t think the girls’ll mind.” She gave a wink in Mittens’ and the human’s direction.

The human scoffed. “I’m going to ignore that last part and start getting stuff packed up.” She rolled to her feet and turned back to the filthy-looking hide tent that Odalia had been strenuously not looking at.

“Wuh-buh-wait!” Lilith turned suddenly on the Blight matriarch. “Odalia, please reconsider! I–”

“Head Witch Clawthorne, I believe that the law clearly states that healing and oracle spells can only be performed on a minor with their parent or guardian’s consent,” Odalia shut the black-haired witch down with a glare. “And since neither Edalyn nor I have given our consent, that means that your services are no longer needed here. In fact, while I thank the Emperor’s Coven for their ‘attempts’ to find my daughter, she, and her friend, managed to find their way out by themselves; thus their presence at my family’s villa is no longer required, or desired.”

The boy looked like he was about to argue further, but Lilith stood and held up a hand to forestall him.

“It’s alright, Hunter,” she said, smoothing her hair back. “While I do not agree that flying the girls back to Bonesburough is a wise idea, Odalia and Edalyn have made their decision and we must abide by it. Besides we have those escaped wild witches to search for.”

The boy’s face fell. “Oh, right. In all the commotion I’d … forgotten about them.”

Lilith turned back to Odalia. “We’ll be off now. I do hope you at least send your daughter to a … more reputable Healer than Edalyn uses.” And with that parting shot, Lilith and the boy left, walking back through the woods and down the hill.

Once Odalia was sure that the two were out of earshot, she leaned in close to her youngest. “Mittens, I expect a full explanation of what happened down there and why you had me potentially anger the head of the Emperor’s Coven when I get home.”

“I- Yes, mother,” Mittens acquiesced. “I understand. I’ll go and get my things from the airship, now.”

Odalia nodded. “Good.” She turned to her other children. “Edric, Emira, go with Mittens and grab a few of the more … sensitive books for her to take back. I need to talk with Edalyn about getting the workers back from wherever they’re hiding.”

Edric groaned, while Emira put an arm around Mitten’s shoulders.

“C’mon, Amity, let’s pick out some juicy ones that you and Luz can read on your next study date.”

Mittens’ face turned red as she pushed her sister off. Oddly, though, Odalia thought she saw a small smile on her youngest’s face.

Interesting…

As her children started back down the hill, Mittens stopped and turned back. “Mother… I… Thank you.”

Normally it took a lot to surprise Odalia Blight, Head of Blight Industries and Master Oracle. She never thought two little words would be able to do it.

Chapter Text

Luz yanked the Owl House’s door open, hoping she’d gotten there in time. Outside, Amity looked warily at Hooty as the house demon prattled on obliviously. The human tried to not listen too closely, instead ushering the worried witch inside.

“Amity, I’m so sorry,” Luz apologized, hastily closing the door to shut out Hooty’s blathering. “Eda and I were getting some food ready to take for lunch today and totally didn’t hear you come up at first.”

“It’s alright,” Amity answered. “I’ve just never seen a house demon quite as … talkative as yours. Boscha’s mostly just glares at you.”

“Well, you’re a little early,” Luz replied, “so I can give you a short tour if you want or you can just wait in the living room until it’s time to cross over.”

“Oh, I thought Augustus and Willow usually came to these,” Amity said.

“Gus said he’d be busy with his dad all weekend, some sort of yearly trip the two go on between semesters. And Willow, well…” Luz paused, nervously scratching the back of her neck. “She said it’d probably be for the best if she didn’t come today.”

“Ah. I see. That’s … completely understandable,” Amity said simply. She inhaled sharply. “Well, anyway, I brought the fifth Azura book back.” The witch produced said book from the bag at her side.

“Oh, thanks!” Luz’s spirits immediately bounced back. “Wait, we only got back night before last. Did you seriously read the rest of the book just yesterday?”

Amity laughed nervously, her face tinting that adorable shade of red again. “Well, I, uh, wanted to see if there was anything else I could learn…”

Dangit, brain! Can we not do this right now?

“But there was nothing.” The witch continued, sighing. “I mean, the fire spell is nice and all, I just want to, you know, expand my horizons a little bit?”

Luz gave her friend a reassuring smile. “Hey, you’re talking to the girl who jumped at the chance to study magic with a witch in another dimension. Trust me, I get it. Now!” She clapped her hands together. “Why don’t I show you my room-slash-drop off the book there. I think you’ll love my sleeping web!”

“‘Sleeping’ web?” the witch questioned as Luz started upstairs. “Luz, wait! What do you mean by ‘sleeping web’?”

“So, this is the human realm?” Amity asked as she stepped out from Eda’s portal onto the porch of the dilapidated house the portal exited onto.

Honestly, it didn’t look too different from the forest outside the Owl House - a mixture of the familiar red foliage of the demon realm and the odder greenish plants that Luz said were more common on the human side. Though the Owl House didn’t have two odd-looking metal-and-fabric chairs in front of it.

“What we can see of it,” the small demon - King, if Amity remembered correctly - replied from his seat on the front steps. “It’d probably look a lot different if there weren’t, y’know…”

Cautiously, Amity reached her hand out, gently pushing against the invisible barrier, watching it light up under her palm. Frowning, she turned back to Luz, who’d taken a seat on one of the old wooden chairs on their side, noticing the human’s sullen expression.

“Luz,” Amity began, “if there’s anything I can do to help… in fact, I’m sure mother would be willing to provide assistance.” She paused. “Er, as long as it’s not too expensive, that is.”

The human perked up a little. “Thanks, Amity. Though I’m not sure what anyone can do. We’re still not sure if this thing is on Earth or the Demon Realm,” she said, glowering at the glowing glyphs.

“Hey, buck up, kid,” Eda said. “You’ve got some of the finest magical minds in two dimensions working on this.”

Amity was about to respond when she noticed movement from the treeline. Shortly, three humans appeared - the witch recognized Luz’s mother and the disguised basilisk Vee (it had concerned Amity that one of those notorious magic eaters was not only alive but allowed to run free, but both Luz and Eda had assured the teen witch that Vee was perfectly safe) from pictures Luz had shown her, which meant the one in the cape was most likely the sorcerer the girl and Eda had mentioned.

Hopefully he can give me answers about this new magic.

As the three came closer, Amity realized that Miss Noceda was carrying a basket that was covered by a red-and-white cloth. The woman gave the group a friendly wave and called out a greeting as she approached, setting the basket down near the metal chairs.

“Hola, mama. Hola, Vee. Hola, Doctor Strange,” Luz called out.

The sorcerer gave a curt nod. “Hello. I’m guessing you’re Amity Blight, the young witch who managed to master the Flames of the Faltine?”

The young witch nodded back. “Do you mean the fire spell? It wasn’t called that in any of the books.” A flick of a finger left a lavender flame floating merrily above it.

“Yes,” he answered. “You seem to have gotten quite skilled with it in such a short time.”

“Thanks,” the mint-haired teen blushed. “I really think it was Luz’s encouragement that gave me the confidence I needed.”

The sorcerer perked an eyebrow. “...Interesting. I’m guessing this has to do with your misadventure this week. If that’s the case, we should probably get started as I won’t be able to stay for lunch. I have a prior engagement,” he said. “A … lunch meeting with an old friend of mine from another dimension.”

“A lady friend,” Ms. Noceda offered with a knowing smirk.

The sorcerer cleared his throat. “But, I do have something to give you in the meantime, as well as some new information that may be useful. So, do you want to start?”

“Before you do,” Eda said, preempting the two teens, “I just wanna say that none of this was my fault. Or the girls’. In fact, I’m pretty sure everyone who could take the blame is long dead.”

“That does not reassure me, Eda,” said Miss Noceda, her expression shifting to a worried frown.

Did mother worry even for a second when I fell?

“Well,” Luz began, “the trip started normally. Eda and I had just gotten to the Knee and had set up camp when Amity stumbled upon us…”

Thus, the two girls began taking turns recounting their underground adventure. Thankfully, everyone was able to hold their questions until the end.

“...and so I took the girls home that night,” Eda said, finishing the story. “Mostly ‘cuz there were too many Emperor’s Coven scouts around, and I didn’t want any of ‘em gettin’ any ideas.” She took a sip from her mug. “And before you ask, Cami, yes I did give the kids a once over when we got into town. Only side effect I saw was that they’ll probably live a few hours longer than they would’ve naturally.”

“I still wish you’d taken them to a - como lo dijiste? Ah! - a Healer,” Miss Noceda replied. “But hopefully spending so little time in that laberinto horrible meant the two of you couldn’t pick up anything.”

Doctor Strange slowly exhaled, fingers steepled in thought as he digested the girls’ story. Finally, he said, “What I’m worried about is some of the things you two saw while there - namely the church and the military base. Luz, when you saw the base, did any of the corpses look like they were wearing uniforms of any type?”

“I think so,” the girl answered. “The ones not in lab coats were wearing some sort of green uniform. And I think they had red patches and stuff on the shoulders? We … didn’t look too closely or for that long, sorry,” she finished, sheepishly.

“Completely understandable,” he replied.

“I think I remember the runes from the door, if that helps,” Amity said. “At least some of them.”

“Here.” Luz thrust a small pad and pencil towards the teen witch. “I’ve kinda started carrying glyph-making supplies with me after this week. Just in case,” she explained.

“Thanks.” Amity carefully sketched out the mysterious human runes she remembered, before realizing something.

“Wait, how am I going to hand this over–?”

“Oh, right. Must’ve forgot to tell you,” Eda replied before the younger witch had finished, “but normal stuff can pass right through. Enchanted stuff like palismans, too. Just not people.”

“Oh, okay.” Amity extended the slip of paper, watching it move through the barrier as if it weren’t there. The sorcerer’s gloved hand took it without problems, and the man looked the runes over.

“Fascinating,” he said, one eyebrow raising. “These almost look like Cyrillic.”

“Is Sirillek another one of your human languages, like Spanish?” Amity asked, handing the pad and pencil back to Luz.

“Er, no. It’s another alphabet, or way of writing,” the sorcerer answered. “Used by several languages, the most prevalent being Russian.”

“Wait, does that mean that a Russian military base somehow got transplanted to the Boiling Isles?” Miss Noceda asked.

“Or a Soviet one,” Doctor Strange replied. “But, whatever the case, this is a matter for the Avengers or SHIELD to look into, not us. I’ll pass this knowledge along later.” He pocketed the paper. “I’ll also ask them to look into any churches that mysteriously disappeared, though that one is more of a long shot, I’ll admit.”

“One thing I’m concerned about,” Miss Noceda started, “is that tomb you two visited. Do we really know if it really is Azura’s? And is she, or whoever left that note, really trying to help us out?”

“Difficult to say,” the sorcerer mused. “Seeing the future more than a few years out is always difficult, but to see centuries ahead, and with such precision as to literally congratulate Luz on catching the ring? That’d take immense power, even for just a quick glimpse. Add to that the time and effort it took to not only build the tomb but place it in the exact spot so the maze would move it so it’s both in front of the girls and connects to their closest means of escape?” He shook his head. “Whether ‘Azura’, or whoever they may be, is benevolent or not I can’t say. But they at least seem to have Luz and Amity’s well being in mind, for now at least.”

The woman sighed deeply. “I guess that’ll have to do for now, Doctor. I’m still not happy that someone seems to be manipulating not only mi familia, but also poor Amity, too.”

When was the last time mother worried about me? Has she ever?

“Speaking of Azura - and hopefully something a little more positive,” Doctor Strange said, “you girls don’t have the cape and the ring on you, do you?”

In response, Amity opened her bag, taking the cape out. “The note called it the Cape of Kah-eh-luhm, whatever that means.”

“‘Kay-lum’,” Doctor Strange corrected, earning an eye-twitch from the mint-haired witch. “And it means ‘heaven’. Makes sense, given that it makes you fly.”

“Float, actually,” Amity responded. “I tried it on my own a little yesterday and, while I can do vertical, I have to push myself off a wall to get any horizontal movement. And even then I’ll come to a stop eventually.”

“How’s it work?” Vee asked, breaking her silence (in fact, the girl had been so silent that Amity had forgotten she was even there). “Do you just put it on and think floaty thoughts?”

If Luz hadn’t told me she was from the Demon Realm, I swear Vee could be her twin.

“Sort of?” Amity replied, putting the cape on. “I have to … picture myself rising to the height I want.” She closed her eyes and rose a foot in the air. “It doesn’t have to be an exact measurement, imagining myself above the trees will work just fine, but it does take conscious effort to go up or come down.”

“Probably so you don’t go shooting off every time you glance at a cloud or something,” Eda helpfully provided.

“Indeed,” Doctor Strange agreed. Then he asked, “Tell me, Amity, do you have to concentrate to keep aloft?”

The teen witch shook her head. “No, thank the Black Goat. Having to constantly think about floating would get pretty exhausting after a while.”

“I can imagine,” Miss Noceda commiserated. “Still, it must be pretty exciting to have your own unique magical artifact. I can’t imagine too many other little witches have anything similar.”

Amity settled back on the ground before answering. “Actually, not too many adults would have anything like this. The closest things I can think of are the focusing stones many Oracles, such as my mother, wear -- they’re usually custom made for each witch.” She looked over at Eda. “And palisman, too, I guess, but ownership of one is strictly controlled by the Plant Coven and their alliance with the Bat Queen.”

Eda snorted but didn’t say anything.

“Hey, Luz, what about that ring?” Vee asked, “Have you tried it on, yet?”

Luz grimaced and looked away. “No. Yesterday was suuuuuper busy, with the unpacking and getting scanned and coordinating with Amity and Ms. Blight…”

“Mija,” Miss Noceda interrupted, “are you afraid of the ring?”

“What! Pfffft, no,” the teen human waved her hand dismissively, laughing nervously.

“Luz…”

The spider-powered girl deflated. “Alright, fine. Yes, I guess I am a little scared. Azura said it was really powerful. What if I see something I don’t want to, like you getting hurt, mami?”

“Luz,” Doctor Strange said, “you chose the path of a superhero - you’re going to see a lot of things you wish you hadn’t. If you’re uncomfortable with that, then maybe you should reconsider. That’s one of the lessons they would have taught you at Avengers Academy.” He paused and scratched his chin. “In fact, Tony specifically asked me to procure a specimen for a demonstration…”

Masha stumbled back from … whatever it was that Dr. McCoy had revealed from under the tarp, their stomach heaving. Which was impressive, considering it, along with the rest of their body, was currently made up of Orichalcum.

But that … thing had WAY too many limbs with WAY too many joints and WAY too many eyes and WAY, WAY too many mouths. And not all of them were in places the teen expected them to be.

“Well, ya haven’t barfed yet,” spoke a gravelly voice from their left. “That’s a good sign.”

The metallic enby looked over to see the mutant Wolverine standing there, giving them a critical eye.

“Don’t - *hrf* - don’t count me out just yet,” Masha managed to squeak out.

“Hey, at least you ain’t Kamala,” the mutant jerked his head to indicate where the slight Muslim girl had fainted.

“Where’d *ugh* you guys even get something like that?” Masha asked, mainly to get their mind off of their roiling stomach.

“Hmmm. Bonus points, since yer the only one who’s askin’ questions,” A smile crept onto Wolverine’s face. “Friend of ours brought it over just fer you kiddies. In fact, you might be seein’ him as soon as you get back. Hear he’s been lookin’ into the Noceda kid.”

That got Masha to stand up straight again. “Wait, you guys know what happened to Luz?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “Turns out she got sucked into another dimension or something before she got on the bus. That little infiltrator kid I sniffed out was actually a refugee from that place, too.” He frowned. “Feel bad about scarin’ the crap outta her now. Wonder how she’s doin?”

“Wow,” Vee said, taking a sip of her soda, “I’m actually kinda glad that hairy guy found me out. I’m much happier reading about your guys’ Civil War - whatever that is. Don’t know if I could take the stress of being a superhero.”

Luz blanched at the thought of the basilisk having to read even a junior high level recap of that era of US history. Thankfully, her mami stepped up.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way, mi basiliscita,” Camila said, patting the demon’s hand, before turning back to her daughter. “And don’t worry, mija, I’ll help her through this.”

Huh. Interesting. Luz thought as Vee looked confusedly between the mother and daughter.

“Don’t worry, kid,” Eda said, laying a comforting hand on the human teen’s shoulder, “when I was at Hexside I witnessed my fair share of Oracle Trances. Saw what the teachers did to help the kids, too. If anything happens, I’ll be right here for ya.”

Giving her teacher a smile, Luz reached into her pocket and took out the Eye of Argon. She took a deep breath. “Alright, here goes.” She slipped the ring on and waited.

And waited…

And waited………

“Must be broken,” King said from his perch. “Maybe Eda can rech-”

“-uz? Luz!? Eda, what’s going on?”

Her mom’s voice sounded so distant, but she was in the Owl House. Right?

“Hold on, Cami, I think she’s coming out of it!” Eda? Why did she sound so close?

Slowly Luz opened her eyes. Slowly the blurs in her vision slowly resolved into the face of her mentor, the witch’s piercing gold eyes (and fully gray hair, Luz noted) staring directly into the human’s brown ones.

“Huh? Eda?” the teen mumbled as her other senses slowly came back. She was laying down on the porch, with what felt like Amity’s bag under her head. “Was-Wha happened? How long was I out? And how did I end up down here?”

“Less than a minute, kid,” the elder witch said, gently helping her ward sit up. “Take it easy. Oracle Trances can take a lot outta you. I lowered you down so you wouldn’t hurt yourself if you fell – though now I realize you probably either woulda stayed standing on your own or been fine if you did fall.”

“Heh, yeah.”

“Luz, mija, are you okay?” Her mom asked. The woman had jumped out of her seat, and now her nervous expression flicked between her daughter and Eda.

“Getting there, mom.” Luz reached behind her and grabbed the bag, confirming it was Amity’s bag. She turned to hand it to the witch, only to find her friend squatting much closer than she realized.

Guess my Spider Sense isn’t back to 100%. Wow. Feels weird to not know where everything is in relation to me.

Noticing how close she was, Amity ‘eep’ed and stumbled backwards, face red again. The teen witch coughed and held her hand out.

“Thanks, Amity,” Luz said, face pink, dropping the bag in the proffered hand.

“N-no problem.” Amity cleared her throat loudly, her mouth drawn into a tight line.

The two girls stared at each other for a long moment, missing Camila and Eda sharing a look.

Strangely, it was Dr. Strange who asked, “Did you get a vision, Luz?”

“Yeah, I think I did,” she answered. “Eda, King and I were coming back from … I think it was a fight with Belos? And Lilith, Eda’s sister, was there, too.”

“Wait, Lily was there?” Eda asked, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

“Yeah, and there was something wrong with her arm,” Luz continued. “And your hair, Eda. Anyway, she said something about Belos being a madman who’d duped her, I think? But when we got inside, there was this flash and suddenly mami, Vee, and some … metal person were standing in the middle of the living room. And then Mami said something about an invasion, New York burning, and she mentioned you, Dr. Strange.”

“Anything else?” Dr. Strange asked.

Luz shook her head. “Nope. That’s when I came out of it.”

“Great,” Eda sighed. “So at some point in the future I make up with Lily, and she, King, you, and me go and fight Belos and, somehow, not die. And once that’s over, your mom, the basilisk, and some sort of golem pop in and tell us that there’s an invasion.” The elder witch gave her pupil a stern look. “And I’m guessing you couldn’t tell how far in the future that was, either?”

Again, Luz shook her head.

“I wonder,” Amity said, looking out at the forest, “if the fact your mother and the others were able to teleport in means that the barrier has come down by that time?”

“Not necessarily,” the sorcerer started slowly. “One of the things we found out while studying the barrier was a way to bypass it with a teleport spell. However, it would be very dangerous and only allow a few people through, so we’d only use it in an emergency – which, given you mentioned New York burning…”

At that the human woman sighed and put her head in her hands. “Y’know I was kinda hoping my involvement in magical shenanigans would be peripheral…”

“Well,” Vee added, “it sounds like Dr. Strange is able to find another hero to come with us.” The basilisk turned to Luz. “Did you recognize them?”

“Nope,” the human girl said, “their face was covered by a mask or something.”

“Probably best for you to take that thing off, then,” Eda said. “At least until we can get you some proper Oracle training.” Her expression soured. “And I hate to say this, but Hexside does have one of the best Oracle track programs on the Isles, so the teachers there should be able to help you make use of that ring.” The elder witch shuddered.

“Sounds like you and school have a … complicated relationship,” Dr. Strange offered.

“Trust me, doctor,” Mami replied, “Vee, Luz, and I have already heard the entire tirade. But I really do sympathize, Eda.”

“Yeah, well,” Eda started grumbling under her breath.

“Well,” Dr. Strange said, “I guess, then, that I should share my news. I was finally able to meet with my master and several other sorcerers to figure out what some of the spells in this barrier do.”

“So?” Eda asked. “You already told us you haven’t found a way to bring it down.”

“No, but,” he continued, “We did find out that whatever is powering the barrier is in the Demon Realm.”

“Does … Does that mean you know where it is?” Luz cautiously asked.

Doctor Strange shook his head sadly. “Sorry, no. B-”

“Hold up, Doc. I know the Isles ain’t as big as Earth, but it’s still a whole damn island!” Eda stood up, interrupting the sorcerer with her tirade. “It’s gonna be almost impossible to find anything smaller than a city! Do you even know what we’re gonna need to look for?”

“If you’d let me finish,” Doctor Strange held up a hand pleadingly. “With the amount of power this barrier draws, it would have to be at a location that has a lot of ambient magic - old ruins, leyline intersections, places like that. As for what it is, I wouldn’t know, but it’d have to be very large to be able to cut off one world from another - something like an orrery, or a monolith, or…”

“What about a rune array?” Amity asked. “Maybe carved into the wall or floor of … wherever it is?”

Doctor Strange paused in thought, looking at the young witch appraisingly. “That’s actually not a bad suggestion. That’d be harder to make, but also harder to destroy. And an array like that would be better at pulling the magical power from the place it’s carved. Is there a specific reason you thought of that?”

“Ummmmm…” Amity hesitated. “It was the plot of The Good Witch Azura 4: The Lost Mountain of Wundagore.” Luz could see the witch's ears start to tinge pink and the human swore they started twitching just like that little kitten that was so sweet to me when I visited the clinic with mami that one time and he let me scratch his head and I wonder…

Whoah! Slow your roll, brain! We got more important stuff to think about now.

“Okay, so we all agree that the rune array is what we’re searching for?” Eda asked, her voice equal parts dismayed and disbelieving.

“Given that Azura, or whoever, hasn’t been wrong yet,” Dr. Strange replied, “I feel confident that’s the answer.”

“Great,” Eda grumped. “So all we have to do is look for a bunch of carvings in some of the most hostile places in the Boiling Isles -- which is saying something, mind you -- while keeping up a potions business, going to school, trying to discover any other glyphs that are out there, and training to be an Oracle.” Her frown deepened. “Did I miss anything?”

“If I can help in any way, Eda,” Camila began. “Maybe try to find some human things for you to sell?”

“That’s … not a bad idea,” Eda said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, “Could even say I got the stuff off a real, live human, without lying this time!” The elder witch laughed. “The rubes would probably eat that up - could probably mark ‘em up 200%, at least! That should at least give us a little financial cushion if nothing else.”

Dr. Strange gave a wry smile. “Good to see the spirit of capitalism is thriving over there.”

“Listen, it’s either that or hunting and foraging for supper, Doc,” Eda retorted. “And I do not want to do that again - especially with three mouths to feed.”

The other six people took a long look at the elder witch, trying to digest this latest tidbit of her past the Owl Lady had let slip.

“O...kay?” Vee said, breaking the silence. “Well, didn’t you say something about wanting to take Luz clothes shopping? Maybe you could finally do that?”

Eda’s face fell and she groaned. “Right. I did say that, didn’t I? Ugh, gotta find time to do that next week, since the new semester’s right after.”

Dr. Strange’s eyes lit up when Eda mentioned the school semester. “Oh, speaking of which, I believe you said during your adventure at the Knee you did find a second spell, Luz? I have to go soon, but I would like to see it before I leave.”

“Hmmm? Oh, right,” Luz said as she stood up, still a little wobbly after that vision. She produced her pad and sketched out a quick ice glyph. Emphatically tapping it, the girl produced a roughly baseball-sized sphere. She tossed it to the sorcerer, who looked at the ice ball with an appraising eye.

“I was able to fool around with it a little yesterday,” Luz said as Dr. Strange passed the ball to her mom, who took it with an almost reverent touch. “I can make it any shape I imagine - cubes, balls, pyramids, the works - though it always has that rough, almost natural appearance. The ice doesn’t really melt unless I will it to, and I can make it as tough as I want - one cube I made we smashed with a light tap from a toy hammer King has, while another I couldn’t break no matter how hard I squeezed it.”

“Impressive,” the sorcerer said. “So it seems that your intent when drawing or tapping the glyph can change the spell.”

“Kinda like how the meaning of a word or sentence can change depending on how you say it?” Amity asked.

“A good observation, Amity,” he replied. “No wonder you were able to find the spell in that Azura book.”

“Thanks,” Amity replied with a shy smile, her ears doing that adorable little wiggle again.

“In fact, that reminds me…” the sorcerer said, patting his tunic down, eventually finding a slim book. “Ah, here it is.” He held the book out to Amity. “When my master heard that you’d learned to cast the Flames of the Faltine, he asked me to give this to you.”

“Uh, thanks? What is it?” Amity asked, taking the book gingerly.

“A beginner’s primer on Vishanti magic – a few beginner spells, tips on how to best cast them, some meditation practices, that sort of thing,” he answered, giving the witch a charming smile. “We both thought it would be a good idea for you to have something more … practical than a book series we know next to nothing about to learn from.”

Amity’s cheeks flushed pink again as she stared at the book in wonder. “Wow. This is-. I’m not sure what to say, Dr. Strange.”

“Just promise me you’ll have the spells in there mastered by the time we get this barrier down,” he replied. “But with that said, I have to be going.” He peeled back one sleeve to reveal an extremely expensive looking watch. “Clea may have learned much of Earth, but the Faltine still don’t have a concept of ‘fashionably late’. Ladies, King…” he nodded to the assembled group, receiving a sleepy response from the napping King of Demons from the tiny tyrant’s chosen sunbeam.

With a wave of his hand, the air rippled and a portal opened on to an ornate hallway. As the sorcerer stepped through he gave the group a wave goodbye, shutting the portal with a soft ‘pop’.

“Wow.” Amity stared at the spot where the doctor had vanished. “Can you imagine the power it must take to make a portal like that? I wonder if a spell like that is in here?” she asked as she glanced down at her primer.

“Yeah, I kinda doubt that, Miss Priss,” Eda drawled. “I know I wouldn’t put a spell that powerful in a beginner’s spell book.”

“Yeah,” Amity said, a dejected tilt to her ears, before perking up the next moment. “Still, who knows what kinds of spells are in here! I almost want to start reading right away!”

“Not until after lunch, mija,” mami said, lifting the picnic blanket off the basket. “Now, if someone will wake Reycito up, I made some fried chicken this morning and I’ve got plenty to go around. I really hope this doesn’t make you sick, Eda, unlike last time with the habituelas.”

“No worries today,” the Owl Lady said, her earlier sour mood lifted by the mention of food. “I remember getting some chicken when I went on that trip to Vegas. Was pretty good, for something that came in a bucket. Yours is probably ten times better, mamacita.”

“Oh, you flatter me Eda… Wait, you went to Vegas?”

“Oh, have I never told you guys this story?” Eda grabbed a plate and started spooning a pile of mashed potatoes onto it. “Well, it was about … fifteen, twenty years ago, I wanna say? Anyway, I was doing a big tour of the US - y’know, see the sights, learn a little about humans so I could sell my junk easier - when I stopped at a casino in Vegas and had just won some serious cash at the jackblack tables – no magic needed, Cami, I see you givin' me that stink-eye. So anyway, I’m taking a break at the bar when this older guy came up to me. Exuded sleaze, but in the ‘I’m gonna take all your winnings and then skip town’ kinda way, not the ‘I shouldn’t be allowed in 500 feet of a woman’ kind. He says his name is ‘Stetson Pinefield’, which screamed ‘fake name’ to me - but then again I was calling myself ‘Marylin Lovelace’ so what do I have to talk about. Anyway, Stetson, or whatever his name is, starts talking about how we’d met the other day at the slot machines…”

Two hours had passed. Stories were shared, laughter was had, and some damn good chicken was eaten. All in all, Eda’d had worse lunches.

Still, all good things must come to an end.

Strangely, it was Vee who brought things to a close. “Thanks for this, guys, but I really need to get back to studying,” the disguised demon announced and stood with a sigh. “I still have over half of Principal Hal’s homework list to get through.” She shuddered. “SO. MUCH. MATH.”

“I know, mija,” Cami said, “but once you get through with that it’ll be smooth sailing with the history and reading assignments.”

“Thanks, mom, that does make me feel better,” the basilisk answered.

Time seemed to freeze as Vee, and everyone else, realized what she’d said. After several seconds of nervously glancing between Cami and Luz, the basilisk finally started speedwalking away with a shout of “I’m going now!”.

It took all the willpower Eda had not to bust out laughing. King, however, didn’t even try, devolving into raucous laughter as the embarrassed girl sped away.

Amity was looking confusedly between the two humans and the fleeing demon girl. “Wait, so is she your sister or not?”

The mother and daughter looked at each other for a few moments more, before Cami spoke up. “Luz, do you…?”

“I mean,” the girl said, “have I thought about what it would be like if I had a sibling? Yeah, sometimes. But with dad … gone, I knew it wasn’t really a possibility.” She let out a short laugh. “I guess the universe had other plans for both Vee and me. But what about you, mami?”

The older woman hummed thoughtfully. “Your papi and I had planned on having more kids, but …” She sighed. “When he died, that kind of went out the window. And with me suddenly being a single parent and you having to get used to your new powers, things like dating were suddenly not so important. But getting to know Vee these last few weeks…” A small smile crept onto Cami’s face. “Who knew it’d take a literal demon stumbling into our lives to bring out feelings like this.”

“So does that mean…?” Luz asked hopefully.

“It means I’ll talk to her, mija,” Cami answered, “and ask her what she wants. And if she says yes, then I’ll…” She paused, confusion written upon her face. “Hmm, I’m not sure what the process is for adopting someone who’s non-human. I’m not sure if there even is one.” She sighed deeply. “Guess I’ll have to get in contact with SHIELD again.”

“Hey, I’m with ya on the whole ‘not wanting to contact spooky government agents’, Cami,” Eda commiserated. “But if it’s what’s best for Vee, then I say go for it.”

The mother looked back at her daughter, who gave her an encouraging nod.

“While this was nice and all,” Amity said, standing up and brushing herself off, “I believe your possibly-new sister has the right idea. We should probably get started if we want to get through everything on our study list for today.”

“Study list, mija?” Cami asked.

“Yeah, Amity offered to tutor me in some basic BI history over the weekend,” Luz answered, “so I’m not so behind when I start Hexside.”

“Oh, that’s nice of you, Amity,” Cami smiled at the teen witch. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem, Ms. Noceda,” Amity answered. “I’ll admit that part of the reason I offered was just to spend more time with Luz.” There was a beat before the girl’s face reddened again. “A-as a friend!”

“Wait,” King suddenly said, “if you’re gonna be discussing history, that means you’re gonna be studying battles, right?”

“Well, yes,” Amity answered, clearing her throat. “We were planning to go over what’s known about the Savage Age wars today. There’s plenty of stories, poems, archaeological recreations, etc., of the various battles fought across the Islands during that time.”

“I want in!” the demon declared. “Some of the stuff going on has made me realize that I’ve been slacking off on one of the most important aspects of being the King of Demons: crushing your enemies ruthlessly and efficiently. So I gotta start boning up on my strategy, and learning about ancient battles is the perfect way to start.”

“Oh-kay?” the teen witch looked perplexed as she turned to her human friend. “If that’s alright with you, Luz?”

“Sure! The more the merrier!” Luz said as she stood up to go back into the Owl House. Thankfully, she was no longer wobbly like she was before lunch (if Eda were being honest that was one of the most frightening things she’s seen. Until today the girl was practically impossible to knock off balance, even the time King spilled a whole bunch of grease across the floor!)

“You coming, Eda?” Luz’s voice came from the half-open door, where the girl waited for her mentor.

“Just a sec’, kiddo,” Eda answered. “Gotta talk to your mom about a few things first.”

“Aright. Have fun, you two,” Luz shrugged, then closed the portal.

“Actually, Eda, I have something I need to discuss with you, too,” Cami said, as she, too, stood up and started repacking the picnic basket.

“Uh-huh,” Eda said noncommittally. If her own experiences from school were any indication, a mother wanting to talk to her daughter’s teacher was never a good sign, for either the teacher or the student.

“Well,” the witch continued, “there’s something about the Knee trip we didn’t get to talk about when the Doc was here.”

“Oh?” the mother asked, a worried tone in her voice.

“Nothing bad,” Eda said as Owlbert popped out of her hair and flew over to help the woman pack up. “It’s just that when Amity revealed she learned that spell from those Azura books, I naturally asked Luz if she at least tried to learn any spells too.”

Cami straightened up, a thoughtful look on her face. “Now that you mention it, I do remember a few times when Luz would repeat some of the gibberish names or phrases from the books, but I thought she was just playing around. But she didn’t learn any of the spells from there, she would have told me.”

“Yeah,” Eda agreed, “but that’s not the only thing she copied from those books. Turns out there’s at least an introduction to an old witch martial art called Teräs Käsi.”

The other woman sighed heavily. “Of course there is. I’m guessing this is why I’d often find my daughter twirling around branches like they were fighting staffs?”

“Probably,” Eda shrugged. “I just wanted to get your permission to teach her the actual style instead of … whatever tidbits were in those books. Y’know, like how Strange gave Amity that spellbook. Make sure they actually know how to use their new abilities without hurting themselves. Or anyone else.”

Cami began picking up stuff again. “Well, I’d already resigned myself to knowing mi bebe would have to learn how to fight. Just thought it would be an Earth combat style, rather than a Demon Realm one.” She looked at the witch. “Just make sure she uses something other than a full-size tree branch, por favor?”

A snort of laughter escaped the witch’s lips. “Can do, mamacita. I’m pretty sure I still have the training staves from when I learned TK … somewhere.” She looked over at the human woman, who had just finished cleaning up. “So what’d you wanna talk to me about?”

The human woman stood up and leaned conspiratorially close. “Did you see what I saw? Between Luz and Amity, I mean?”

“You mean the same looks that were probably plastered across my face when I talked with a certain bard student?” Eda asked rhetorically. “Kinda hard to miss. You want me to step in? I could whip up a love potion without too much hassle.”

“What, no!” Cami looked aghast. “It’s just… Luz has had a hard time with crushes before. I was actually called into the principal’s office when she presented another student with a homemade card shaped like a unicorn.”

“Weird subject, but I’m not seeing the issue.”

The other woman cocked an eyebrow. “One that opened to reveal disturbingly realistic-looking organs? And had ‘Will you go to the summer dance with me?’ written in fake dried blood?”

Eda actually burst out laughing at that. “That’s pretty impressive! Man, whoever rejected that obviously doesn’t know how much effort Luz put into that. If someone’d given that to me I’d at least have gone on one date.” She paused. “Though now that I think about it, that sounds kinda similar to an old witch mating ritual – one party would present a slaughtered and butchered beast to the object of their affection. Supposedly, the other witch would cook the heart and share it with the giver, to signify them giving each other their hearts. Or somethin’ like that.”

“How romantic,” Cami rolled her eyes, but followed it with a cheeky grin. “Though I’m betting the beast would be something a lot more dangerous than a pretty unicorn.”

The human’s grin faltered in the face of the witch’s flat look.

“Highly aggressive. Almost exclusively carnivorous. A wickedly sharp horn and flesh-tearing teeth. Innate magic they can use to blind, confuse, or incapacitate their prey,” the witch ticked off her fingers as she spoke. “Need I go on?”

The woman slumped. “Oh Dios mio! No offense, Eda, but the more I learn about your home the more worried I get for mi corazon.”

This time the witch cocked an eyebrow. “The Isles are more dangerous than a world that, according to Luz, regularly gets invaded by aliens or robots or robot aliens?” she asked. “Trust me, life on the Isles is tough, but Luz is tougher. Remember Adaghast? The puppeteer demon Luz took out on her second day here? He was apparently good enough that the Emperor’s Coven had trouble even finding him, and, trust me, I know how good they are at that.”

“I know, I know,” Cami sighed. “When the town got hit by a bad storm last year, she was downtown the next day helping haul debris away. But, still, she’s my daughter, Eda. I can’t help but worry.” She pressed her hand on the barrier. “And now I can’t even visit her if she gets hurt or sick.”

“Hey, now,” Eda said, “I’m percolatin’ a plan for how we’re gonna find the source of this damn thing and shut it off. Now,” she offered the worried mother a genuine smile, “why don’t we talk about something happier. Like getting your daughter a date! The love potion option is still on the table. I’ll even give you the family discount!”

That, at least, got a chuckle from the other woman. “No, I want things to progress naturally. Just… make sure Luz doesn’t try to do something like make a giant heart-shaped web in front of Amity’s house or something like that.”

“You sure? I get the feeling Baby Blight might be into that.”

“Yes, Eda,” Cami said, picking up the basket. “Now, I have to get home and make sure Vee isn’t trying to put her stuff into a bindle or something like that.”

“Oof!” Eda sympathized. “Well, this might make her feel better. It kinda got lost in the whole ‘trapped in a massive magical maze under the mountain’ bit, but before we visited the Blight manor, we, er, met a village of wild witches. Helped them hide from the Emperor’s Coven, actually.”

“And how would that make Vee feel better?” the human asked.

“Because two of those ‘wild witches’ were actually basilisks,” Eda replied. A smug smile appeared on her face. “Watching Vee these past few weeks made it pretty easy to spot them.”

Cami’s eyes widened in surprise. “E-Eda, do you know what this means?”

“Yeah. Luz isn’t the only one with family on the other side.”

The door to Lilith’s personal chambers in the Emperor’s Castle swung open with a sigh that was echoed by the suite’s owner. Having gotten back from the Knee earlier this morning, she had gone straight to Belos to report on her mission.

To say that Emperor Belos was disappointed in her failure to find the wild witches was an understatement.

Absolutely furious would be a better description of His reaction. Lilith swears the only reason He didn’t destroy His throne again - or her, this time - was that the other Coven Heads were in the room, too. Though she didn’t know if enduring the nearly hour long tirade from her Emperor was any better.

The slender witch slumped down in a chair at her writing desk. The forms she needed to fill out stared at her from the dreadhogany surface. She stared back.

Nearly won, too, until she slumped even further, her head softly impacting the desktop.

Not now. I … I need some time to process all this.

After several minutes of deciding whether or not climbing under her desk would be a good use of the day, the elder Clawthorne slowly stood up and made her way over to her refrigerator to pull out one of her “root beers” - a human drink she’d purchased (through several intermediaries) from her sister’s stand some weeks ago. She’d found the fizziness and sweetness to be pleasantly surprising the first time she’d tasted it.

And right now, she needed the pick-me-up.

The drinks were just some of the human oddities Lilith had purchased surreptitiously from Eda over the years: a red-laced ball for a type of human sport called “Basing”, a human shoe with far too many holes in it, a yellowed book that listed every known human followed by their numerical designations…

All of these little treasures and more Lilith had sought out in order to learn more about the Isles’ dimensional neighbors before the Emperor’s promised Day of Unity.

But now, she realized, it may have all been in vain.

Ever since her childhood, everything she’d read about humanity had painted them as a defenseless, cowardly, yet surprisingly kind-hearted people. Like the Emperor said, a group that needed the help and protection of their witch cousins.

But her interactions with Luz, few though they have been, have turned that worldview upside-down.

Before, Lilith would never have thought that a human would have dared even think of fighting a magical prodigy like Amity, let alone be capable of beating her even when Lilith had powered the poor girl up with a Construction Coven Power Sigil.

Before, Lilith would never have believed that a human would not only try to save a witch, but help them escape the utter madness that is the Knee’s underground.

And before, Lilith would have thought it impossible for humans to pull off amazing feats like moving faster than the eye could see, or leaping improbable heights, or lifting a boulder to make a seat for Lilith at her sister’s campfire.

But Luz had done all these things. And more, if Lilith’s suspicions after seeing Luz make spider silk again were correct.

And there was no denying that Luz was human. Not only had Lilith’s own magic confirmed it, Warden Wrath had told her that the girl walked through a shield spell designed to block anyone other than a human from passing.

From the way both Eda and Amity talked about the girl’s powers and the mentions of ‘super hee-rows’, Lilith deduced that people like Luz were far from uncommon in the Human Realm.

Which meant that humans weren’t as weak or defenseless as the Emperor led people to believe.

And if Belos is wrong, or, worse, lying, about that, can she trust anything he’s said?

Is he even capable of healing her sister?

I - I need to get more information, get more facts before I do something that drastic. I need to talk to someone. I…

I need to talk to Edalyn again.

But that was easier said than done. Not like I can just show up to her door and say “Hey, sis! Can I talk about your human apprentice? I promise not to immediately repeat anything you say to my boss!” That’d get said door slammed in my face. If not worse.

Sighing again, her gaze wandered over to the few photographs of her childhood she’d kept. There, in the center was a picture of her with all her Edalyn’s friends. Odalia and Alador. Darius Deamonne.

Perry Porter and Raine Whispers.

Several of the Coven Scouts that had been tasked with tailing Eda reported that Perry’s son was friends with Luz. How much did the boy know? How much did Perry?

And then there was Raine. They, and several of their students, had been seen entering the same woods the Owl House was located in. Why was the bard visiting her sister after all this time? Just trying to reconnect? Rekindle their relationship? If so, why would they bring students along?

And, more importantly, would either of them help her?

Still, they’re my best leads to find out more about what’s going on…

And get in touch with Edalyn again.

Taking another swig of the “root beer” to steel her nerves, Lilith went over to her crow, trying to decide which of the two to call first.

Odalia’s face twitched involuntarily as the doorbell rang just as she was raising her teacup to her lips. She nodded at the abomi-butler and it dutifully lumbered off, returning moments later with an unexpected visitor.

“Dang, Dali,” Edalyn said, her head swiveling, calculating gold eyes taking in every trinket and objet d’art that the Blight matriarch had carefully displayed in the room. “You really did marry all the way up. If I’d had half an idea how much Alador was really worth I’d’ve thrown my staff into the ring back then.”

“Edalyn, darling,” Odalia said through gritted teeth. “Whatever brings you down from your woods this Saturday night? If you’re looking for Amity, I’m afraid she’s gone to a sleepover at one of her friends’ houses.”

“Nah,” the Owl Lady said, flopping down on the couch opposite Odalia, whose face twitched again when the wild witch put her booted feet up on the centuries-old coffee table between them. “I actually came here to see you.”

“Oh? Can I get the abomi-butler to pour you some tea while we talk?” Odalia asked, trying to discern why Bonesburough’s most notorious resident had come all the way to her house.

“Eh, don’t bother,” Edalyn waved the construct off. “I’m more of an apple blood kinda girl.” She smiled, false fang glinting in the light. “And we both don’t want me here any longer than I need to be.”

Putting her cup down on the table, Odalia relaxed a little. “Ah, down to business, then.”

“Yep,” Edalyn said, popping the ‘p’. “I’ve been looking into getting back in touch with some of our old friends from Hexside recently, and I’m wondering if you could help me.”

“I don’t know why,” the Blight matriarch responded. “I, too, haven’t kept up with many of our old schoolmates. Besides Alador, obviously.”

“Well,” Edalyn said, a mischievous grin on her face. “Much like myself, the one I’m looking for didn’t exactly graduate. If you know what I’m saying.”

“Ahhhhhh,” Odalia nodded. “It’s like that, then.” She picked up her tea and sipped it again. “And who is it you’re looking for?”

“Barbatos. The Wolf King,” Edalyn stated. “Heard he and his friends Flauros and Gusion had joined up with a group of wild witches after protesting Faust’s strict adherence to the Coven system way back then.”

It honestly took a lot to surprise Odalia Blight, but this night she found herself nearly choking on her tea.

“Bar- Barbatos!” She cried out. “Are you insane, Edalyn! He joined up with Bael. He’s called ‘The Demon King of the Iron Flower Forest’ for a reason! Even the Emperor’s Coven doesn’t dare tangle with his group! They’re little more than bandits!”

“Maybe.” The Owl Lady was obviously unimpressed with either Odalia or the coven’s well-justified fear. “But, Barbatos was, and, if I’m correct, still is, one of the best trackers and scouts outside the Beastkeeping Coven.”

“Edalyn, dear, if you need to track down a customer who didn’t pay or a supplier who robbed you-”

“Nope, nothing like that,” Edalyn’s voice grew more serious. “I need to find something. Something important. Something I’m guessing the Emperor himself doesn’t want to be found.”

“That’s even worse!” Odalia was practically yelling now. “If the Emperor, or anyone close to him like your sister, found out you’re trying to find something he’s hidden, then the Coven will undoubtedly stop holding back and launch a full out attack to capture you! And who knows what they’ll do to Luz or your little demon pet.”

“That’s why we’ll need to keep this quiet,” Edalyn said, voice even. “Dali, how much do you know about the ‘Day of Unity’?”

It took a moment for Odalia’s brain to switch tracks. “Um. Not any more than any other witch, really,” she replied. “Union of the Human and Demon Realms, elimination of wild magic, paradise, so on and so forth…”

“And how much of that bullshit do you believe?” Golden eyes stared into seafoam ones.

Where are you going with this, Edalyn? “Probably no more than you do, that much is clear,” Odalia answered. “All I know is that, if that happens, then there will be a whole new market for Blight Industries to tap. That’s why I’m pushing Amity so hard to make friends with Luz. Any little scrap of information she learns will put us that much ahead of the competition.”

“So it’s information you want?” Edalyn’s sly grin returned. “How about this: you agree to put out word that I’m looking to speak to Barbatos, and pay him handsomely for his services, and I give you some primo information. Information that I told Amity not to tell you.”

Odalia frowned. Obviously I need to have a talk with Mittens about keeping secrets from her mother.

“Now before you start getting all mindbreaky on her,” Eda continued, “the info is fairly personal. If any of this got out it could lead to a third party being harmed. Well, fourth party, but you get my meaning.” The wild witch’s grin turned vicious. “Oh, and if Amity even complains of a headache and either of us hear about it, Luz and I’ll come over and tear your entire company and life down. Brick. By. Brick.”

Odalia was taken aback by the vitriol coming from the Owl Lady. Normally, she’d argue that it wasn’t the other woman’s place to tell her how to raise her own daughter, but the sheer ferocity Edalyn radiated as she said that froze those words in her throat. In truth, the oracle felt less like a matriarch secure in her manor, surrounded by dozens of abomination guards and wards that dated back before the founding of Bonesburough,...

And more like she was a child locked in a cage with a hungry beast.

“Y-you wouldn’t…”

“I’m a wild witch notorious enough to get a nickname. Luz is not only tough enough to not only survive the caverns of the Knee, but powerful enough to bring your daughter through that place safe and sound after only a day.” Edalyn’s gaze and voice were even, but those eyes still shone with a barely tamed wildness.

“R-right,” Odalia said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll see what I can do about getting in contact with Barbatos and his friends.”

“Great!” Edalyn clapped her hands, her manner suddenly chipper, with no trace of the restrained ferocity remaining. “Tell ‘im to come by the Owl House. Once we’ve talked I’ll send word about where we should meet up for our next talk.”

With that, the Owl Lady stood up, loudly popping her back. “Oof! Well, I’ve got to get going. Gotta make sure the kids haven’t burnt the house down and all that. Say hi to Alador the next time you see him.”

Odalia barely heard the woman leave. She stared for long minutes at her tea, wondering when, and how, the conversation had gotten so out of her control. Finally, she looked back up at the abomi-butler, still standing dutifully nearby, awaiting command.

“Go and get me the strongest bottle of wine we have,” she said tersely. “And then go and make sure all of the silverware is still there!”

Chapter Text

“Okay, that’s all ‘aye’s on Ms. Noceda’s application? No objections?”

A chorus of ‘no’s and the shaking of heads was the reply from those gathered in the room.

“Alright. JARVIS,” Tony Stark addressed the building’s AI system, “mark down that Luz Noceda has been accepted to Avengers Academy.”

“I’m sure she’ll be quite pleased, sir,” came the response. “It is now 12:11 PM, sir. Are you going to recess for lunch?”

Tony looked down at his tablet, which showed they’d nearly gone through half of the day’s applicants, and hummed thoughtfully.

“Hmm,” came the voice of Steve Rogers to his left, “looks like the next two are from Gravesfield as well. We could probably go over them real quick before then.”

“Actually, there’s only one left,” Hank McCoy said, adjusting his glasses. “I was informed this morning that Jubilation Lee will be attending Professor Xavier’s summer classes at the school instead.”

An undercurrent of grumbles and murmurs rumbled through the assembled Avengers. Not everyone agreed with Xavier’s insistence on running his own, mutant-only courses separate from the Academy. Even Thor had expressed concern, saying that it “only reinforced the rather arbitrary divisions you Midgarders place upon yourselves.”

Still, the professor’s decision had been final, and an unfortunately large percentage of young mutants that weren’t already enrolled in his school had decided to take classes there.

Banishing his own conflicted thoughts on the matter, Tony instead chose to focus on the positive. “Well, unless anyone else says no, I think we can all suffer through fifteen more minutes before we eat.”

This time, murmurs of agreement greeted his ears.

“Alright, McCoy, tell us about this … Masha Stielhart.”

“Of course,” the blue mutant stood. “JARVIS, if you would?”

“Of course, Dr. McCoy.” Obediently, the AI displayed a hologram of the teen in the center of the room.

“Masha Stielhart,” Beast read from his tablet, “14 years old, They/Them. Their parents separated when they were very young, so they’re mother, Angela Stielhart, was forced to do the delicate balance of single motherhood and working mother.”

“Angela Stielhart…” Hank Pym spoke up, “I’ve heard of her. She’s a noted metallurgist, one of the best in the business. Her research on vibranium was hailed as a breakthrough even in Wakanda.”

“So it should be no surprise, Dr. Pym,” McCoy continued, “that the United States Government asked Dr. Stielhart to investigate a sample of orichalcum that they’d managed to procure.”

“Orichalcum? That is quite rare,” Thor questioned. “Little is known of that metal even on Asgard. It must have been quite a feat for thy United States to have found any at all.”

“Well, the amount that was given to Dr. Stielhart was less than a kilogram, or so I’m told,” Beast continued. “And from what the good doctor told me she had reached the end of her proverbial rope after months of failed experiments, so she had resorted to just bombarding some of the samples with various forms of radiation to, and I quote, ‘see what happened’.”

Rogers’ face screwed in confusion. “That sounds … needlessly dangerous. Especially for someone caring for a child on their own.”

McCoy surreptitiously cleared his throat. “Well, um, from what I’ve been able to piece together from what the doctor told the interviewer, it seems the government, or at least the part of it that had contracted her, may have been, er, leaning quite heavily on Dr. Stielhart for results.”

That drew a frown from the old soldier, but he didn’t say anything.

“Anyway, one night when the doctor was doing some experiments she was unable to find a babysitter,” the mutant continued.

“Hank, please tell me you're not going when I think you’re going with this,” Tony said, “because that sounds like the start of a story that gives me a headache.”

“Probably not, Iron Man, but you might want to grab the Tylenol anyway,” Beast responded.

At least Stark heard a few of the other people at the table groaning with him.

“To continue,” McCoy stated, “yes, Dr. Stielhart did take her two-year old child with her to the lab.”

“The same lab where she was shooting radiation at a weird metal?” Janet van Dyne asked.

“Yes.” Beast sighed deeply. “The poor woman is still chastising herself, even a dozen years later. And, to be fair, she was most likely suffering from severe exhaustion from her heavy work schedule and having to take care of a young child, coupled with a sense of paranoia resulting from the pressure, real or imagined, her government contacts were exerting. It makes sense she would make a few bad choices.”

He looked down at his tablet again. “Regardless, that night Dr. Stielhart had young Masha in the lab with her when the child managed to get their hand on one of the samples. According to the doctor, there was a bright flash then and, well…” He tapped a key on the tablet and the hologram changed, now showing what looked like a copper statue of the teen. “Somehow the orichalcum fused with Masha and they can now transform into a sort of ‘living orichalcum’ form.”

Thor cast an appraising eye over the metallic teen. “Ah. Much like thy friend, the Colossus.”

“An astute observation, Thor,” the mutant continued. “Yes, much like Piotr, Masha’s orichalcum form grants them enhanced strength, durability, resistance to extreme heat and some other forms of EM radiation. The specifics will be in the email I’ll send at the end of the week.”

“Do we know if their enhanced strength is based on their natural strength?” Captain America asked.

“Not yet,” McCoy replied. “Though a simple strength training regimen in their human form, followed by testing in their orichalcum form, should give us that answer.”

The captain nodded, jotting something down on a notepad.

Ignoring the man’s anachronism, Tony asked, “Anything else?”

“They are able to form wings,” Beast continued, changing the hologram to show the teen with their arms raised. The metallic wings ran the length of their arms to the wrist, and continued down the teen’s sides to where they ended just above the knees, forming a feathery arc that reminded Stark of a wingsuit.

“So they can fly?”

“No,” Beast said matter-of-factly. “Though that is more because they are unable to generate sufficient lift on their own. They can, however, glide quite gracefully. Or, as they put it ‘fall with style’.”

“Any other powers?” Rogers asked. “Any notable weaknesses?”

McCoy adjusted his glasses. “No. At least as far as Mx. Stielhart knows, that’s the extent of their abilities. As far as weaknesses go, when they’re in their orichalcum form, they are significantly more vulnerable to cold. Any temperatures below freezing will cause them to gradually stiffen until they’re unable to move at all. Nor are they able to revert to human form until their temperature returns to normal.”

Steve winced. “Sounds horrifying.”

“Indeed,” Beast said sympathetically. “Masha described the first time it happened to them as ‘the most terrifying experience I have ever had’, end quote.” He glanced around the room. “Needless to say I recommend that they be exempted from any and all arctic or cold weather training.”

“Noted.”

“Secondly,” the mutant continued, “one of the properties of orichalcum that Dr. Stielhart did find out is that it is highly magnetic. And, thus, so is Masha.”

“Alright, so no sending them out to fight Magneto,” Tony half-joked.

“Descriptions of young Masha’s abilities is all well and good,” Thor suddenly spoke up, “but what of their character? Do they have any notable feats of heroism, like young Luz did?”

“Well, they’re psychological profile doesn’t have any red flags that we saw, if that’s what you’re asking,” McCoy said. “The citizens of Gravesfield we interviewed said that Masha was selfless and brave. Like Luz, they were at the forefront of the rescue and cleanup efforts in Gravesfield after the hurricane last year. Also, there was a fire in a mall a few months ago that left several people trapped. Masha was nearby and rushed in, using their orichalcum form to save several people before the local fire department arrived.”

“Rushing forward into danger for the express purpose of saving others? Hah!” the demigod bellowed. “Now that is the true mark of a hero! I need not hear any more. They already have my vote.”

Beast smirked. “Are you sure? There is one more tidbit that you may want to hear: They’ve picked out their own codename.”

“Oh this should be interesting,” Tony said, shifting forward in his seat. “So is it a ‘Lord Awesomepants’? Or do we have another ‘Captain America Jr.’?”

“I liked Captain America Jr.” Steve muttered.

“Actually, I believe it’s quite good,” the mutant said. “The codename they chose is ‘Metalhawk’.”

“Well, they get points for originality, at least,” Pym said. “But Thor’s right, I believe we’ve heard all we need to put Mx. Stielhart’s application to a vote.”

“Okay, anyone else wanna hear more?” Tony asked.

Once again he received a chorus of ‘no’s from the other Avengers.

“Alright,” he continued, “Besides Thor, who votes ‘aye’?”

“Aye.” “Aye.” “Yep.”

“And that’s also an ‘aye’ from me,” Tony finished. “Okay, that’s all ‘aye’s on Mx. Stielhart’s application? No objections?” Another chorus of ‘no’s. “JARVIS? Mark down that Masha Stielhart has been accepted to Avengers Academy.”

Chapter Text

Monday morning started bright and early for the residents of the Owl House.

Well, most of them, at least. When Luz tried to wake him, King had simply buried himself deeper into the blankets on the girl’s sleeping bag. And Hooty was already awake before Eda was, doing … something that the witch strenuously pushed to the back of her mind.

So, she and Luz stood in the backyard, ready to begin the human’s first day of training in Teräs Käsi. Owlbert stood stalwartly on a nearby chair, ready in case his master needed him, while Luz idly rolled the wooden training staff her mentor had given her back and forth as Eda finished getting ready.

“Alright, kid,” the witch started after finally forcing her hair into her bright pink headband, “Since you’re going to start Hexside next week, we should probably get started with at least the basics on TK before your time’s all taken up by homework and study dates. Now, first off, there are technically two branches: Ti-Kol and Ti-Rin, based on the two forms a palisman can take.”

“Wait, two forms?” Luz asked, glancing over to Owlbert, who hooted back.

“Yep,” Eda replied. She gestured and the palisman dutifully came, shifting into normal staff form. She then flipped him upside-down, and the staff morphed into a broadsword, around four feet long and about three inches wide at the base, the owl now forming the pommel while the cross guard resembled his wings.

“Oooooooh! Wait…” The girl’s face suddenly lit up, like she’d figured something out. “Is that why all those posters with your sister in them have her wielding a sword with a raven handle?”

“Yep! Not sure where Lily found the time to learn Ti-Rin, if she even did, but apparently someone in the EC thought ‘badass swordwitch’ would be the perfect marketing tool.” Eda said, reversing her grip again, transforming the palisman back to his staff form. “But don’t get any bright ideas. I won’t be teaching you Ti-Rin any time soon.”

“Awww, why?” Luz pouted, putting on her best puppy demon face.

“Well, first of all, I’m not that good at it. My teacher was only able to teach me Ti-Kol before she passed, and … well, I’m not on the best of terms with m-the only Ti-Rin teacher I know of.” The witch looked away, then cleared her throat before continuing. “Secondly, even if I was, I don’t have any practice swords. You’re lucky I was able to find that old training staff of mine. And third,” she leaned in close to Luz, “do you really think your mom would let me train you how to use a sword?”

The human sighed softly. “Yeah, you’re right.” She paused. “Wait, you said ‘technically’ two branches.”

Eda sighed. “Yeah, there’s a third one called Ti-Berek, which is a combination of the two and relies on switching between staff and sword forms rapidly while fighting to keep an opponent off guard. The problem is you have to master both forms first, and there hasn’t been someone like that since …” She paused, thinking. “Well, probably since the Deadwardian Age, at least.

“But for now, my young apprentice, back to my lesson,” the witch continued. “Ti-Kol, or the staff fighting is one of the branches of Teräs Käsi, and the one I’m a master of. So let’s start with some basics, okay?”

“Got it, teach!” Luz snapped off a smart salute.

“That’s the spirit!” Eda laughed. Man, this teaching thing is actually kinda fun. Here’s hoping Bump never finds out about this.

“First,” she said, pointing the palisman at her pupil, “let me show you some of what you’ll be learning.” She turned to the side and went into a quick routine, chaining a flurry of strikes and jabs and spins, before turning back to the human.

The girl ‘ooh’ed again, applauding. The witch gratefully bowed, soaking up the praise.

“Okay, kiddo,” Eda said, nodding at her apprentice. “Now it’s your turn. Show me what you got from that kooky Azura chick. I’ll stop you if I see anything wrong.”

“Got it, coach!” With that, Luz took a wide stance, knees slightly bent, hands at the third marks on her staff, one end pointed vaguely in Eda’s direction.

“And I’m gonna stop you there, kid.”

The human’s face fell. “What, already?”

Eda laughed. “It’s not that bad. You're almost in a good fourth form, or Kol-Ak, stance. Just need a few adjustments.” She walked over to Luz. “First of all, your stance isn’t quite wide enough. Fourth form is a defensive one -- the wide stance lowers your center of gravity and makes it harder for someone to knock you over. Here,” she gently placed one foot against the inside of Luz’s, who allowed the witch to nudge it into the correct position, widening the girl’s stance until her feet were about two shoulder widths apart.

“Secondly,” Eda continued, “you’re way too stiff, especially in the shoulders. Ti-Kol is all about smoothly transitioning between forms depending on whether you need to be on the offense or defense in that particular moment. You saw how my hands traveled up and down Owlbert’s staff? Now, take a deep breath and loosen up those limbs!” She stepped back to her spot in front of the girl.

“Okay.” Luz breathed in and out rhythmically a few times, rolling her shoulders. When she stopped, her grip was much more relaxed.

“That’s it,” the witch smiled at her pupil, who smiled back. “Now, lastly, the end of your staff, or sword if we ever find a -Rin teacher, should always be pointed directly at your opponent. Doesn’t matter if it’s me, one of your friends, or a Coven Scout. If you don’t, you may be a fraction of a second late in parrying a blow, and that can mean the difference between winning and getting knocked out. Or worse.”

“R-right.” The girl adjusted her aim, the end of the training staff coming straight in line with Eda’s chest.

“Good!” Eda was beaming now. “You’re starting to at least look like a Ti-Kol master. Now, did those books teach you anything else, like specific moves or other forms?”

The human shook her head. “Kinda? But I’m now realizing that the descriptions were all vague and the illustrations - though pretty - were all stylized, so I probably didn’t learn as much as I thought I did. One thing that I noticed is that sometimes Azura would wield her staff one-handed, but I didn’t see you do that.”

Eda blinked a few times in astonishment. “Wow. Kol-Mehr? That’s pretty advanced, mostly cuz it’s usually done while casting magic at the same time. You usually don’t even discuss that until you’ve mastered at least three other forms.”

“Okay, then,” Luz said, “we should probably go through this as if I didn’t know anything about Teräs Käsi. Which I probably don’t.”

“Your call,” Eda shrugged. “Now, I’ll go over the five forms. This is first form, or Kol-Verszh.” Still facing her pupil, she set her feet shoulder-width apart, gripped Owlbert with both hands at the base, and held him at hip level, top towards Luz. She saw her pupil mimic her. “Nicely done.”

The girl blushed. “Eh, thanks. I’m, uh, actually using my Spider-Sense to feel the way your body moved when you took the stance and copied that.” She looked away, eyes down. “Feels almost like cheating.”

“Nuh-uh. None of that.” The witch relaxed her posture as she spoke. “First off, when you’re fighting, you gotta take every advantage you can to win. Blind ‘em with a light spell, kick ‘em in the groin, or, in your case, use your super-senses to find a weak point. No matter what anyone tells ya, there’s no rules in a brawl. And, secondly, I’m your teacher. You're supposed to be learning things from me, in any way you can. If you need me to go slower, just ask. Already know something I’m explaining because of that wacky book series? Go ahead and say so. And if you can use your powers to help you learn, go for it.”

Luz turned back to her teacher, eyes bright and smile beaming. “Thanks, Eda. I, uh, I don’t think I’ve ever had a teacher quite as … helpful as you.”

“Wow.” Eda blinked. “I don’t know whether to feel joy at your compliment or sad for you, kid. So let’s do neither and get back to training!” She retook first form. “Alright, like I was gonna say, Kol-Verszh is a balanced form, it allows you to defend by parrying most attacks,” she demonstrated by rapidly moving the palisman back and forth, as if pushing aside an invisible attack, “and then going on the offense.” She suddenly thrust forward, jabbing Owlbert at her imaginary foe. “It’s an easy form to learn, so it’s the one we’ll begin with.”

Luz nodded, expression serious.

“But first,” the witch continued, “let’s go over the other forms. Now, second form, or Kol-Im,” she shifted her grip on Owlbert, lifting him up so he was parallel to her head, “is a slightly more aggressive form. You can’t parry or block quite as easily as you can in first form, but it’s a lot easier to strike. Fun fact: both Ti-Kol and Ti-Rin use the same first and second forms, so if we do find a -Rin teacher you’ll at least have a decent starting point.”

“And if mami lets me learn it,” Luz countered.

“Right,” Eda said. “Anyway, here’s third form, Kol-Berek.” She shifted her grip again, returning her palisman to hip level, but moving her forward hand to grip about a third of the way up the shaft. She then shifted her body so she was side-on to Luz. “It’s also a balanced form, very good at defense and offense. You can parry,” she moved the end of the staff back and forth to demonstrate, “then attack,” she jabbed the staff at empty air again. “You keep your forward hand kinda loose so you can either grip the staff harder to help with parries or loosen it so you can jab while still using your forward hand to guide the strike.”

“Got it,” the human nodded again.

“You’re already familiar with the fourth form, Kol-Ak,” the witch continued. “Like I said, it’s a defensive stance. You keep your hands in the middle to help with parrying, and it’s easier to bring the back end forward so you can block. You can kinda attack out of it by jabbing, but it’s not great.”

“Makes sense,” Luz said, “since the passage that described Azura taking that stance was one where she had to defend some miners from raiders. Guess that stance is good when you don’t have a lot of room to maneuver?”

“Yeah, that’s really the only time it’s useful,” Eda replied. “Okay, fifth form - Kol-Mehr.” She straightened up again, held Owlbert out with one hand, and used the other to create a fireball. “The most advanced form. Not only do you need the strength to wield your palisman one-handed, but you also need to be able to divide your attention since you’re gonna be casting spells while using it.”

“Do you need to cast spells to use form five?” Luz asked.

“No, not really,” the witch answered. “But if you aren’t fifth form’s just a worse version of forms one or three. Your strikes are much more powerful and accurate with two hands than with only one.”

“Well, I’ve got the strength covered,” the human said, flexing one of those arms of hers that was way more muscular than a teenager’s should have been, “but I don’t know about the whole ‘divided attention’ thing. Like I said at the Knee, focus kinda isn’t my thing.”

“And like I told you,” Eda countered, “that’s something we’re gonna work on together - through both meditation and training. And speaking of training, we’ve got a long day of drills ahead of us, missy.”

Tuesday started much like Monday did, with Eda running Luz through Kol-Verszh drills until noon. They’d stopped, mostly on account of a sudden boiling rainstorm, but also because Eda was starting to wear out - turns out being cursed with a nocturnal form meant you were nocturnal as well.

So while Eda napped upstairs, Luz was stuck watching the rain bounce off the protective shielding around the Owl House.

Well, she had tried to read one of Eda’s books, but the moment she opened it the writing started to physically move and she swore the words started to growl at her and her Spider Sense just started going off.

So that was out.

She’d tried to do something with King, but he was “currently conquering the realms of human art”!

Or, to put it another way, coloring in one of the coloring books mami had gotten for him at the coffee table.

Luz wasn’t sure how her mom would react to the corpses of Cinderella’s victims he’d added, but the girl did approve of him shipping Mulan and Belle.

So, here she sat, bored out of her mind, waiting for something, anything really, to come and relieve her boredom.

ping!

Something like a text message.

Pulling out her phone, the bored teen saw an unfamiliar number.

Well, that’s an automatic ignore. Except… Who would be texting me? Everyone at school knows I was going to Avengers Academy over the summer. And I’ve got both mami’s and Dr. Strange’s numbers.

Unlocking the device, she opened the mysterious message.

Unknown Number (Spam?):
Hey, Luz!
It’s Vee
Camila was able to get me my own phone!

Smiling, the human typed out a quick reply.
Luz:
thats great!
lemme add u as a friend real quick

As she added the basilisk to her contacts, another message came through.

Vee:
Thanks!
Anyway, she and I were able to get some stuff out of the basement for Ms. Eda
Can you tell her so she can come get it?

Luz:
sorry, Eda’s asleep
been doing some serious training
real early mornings
but Eda’s curse makes her nocturnal, so

Vee:
Oof
That actually makes a strange amount of sense, though
So, do you want me to just leave it inside the barrier, or

Luz:
wait, ur at the cabin?
gimme a sec I’ll be right there

Luz rushed up to her room. There the portal door stood ajar, like she normally left it in case mami (and, now, Vee) had to contact her for any reason. She opened the door, revealing the basilisk standing next to a fairly large cardboard box.

“Oh, hey Luz!” She said, pocketing her phone.

“Hey,” the human answered. “So what’s in the box?”

Vee stooped down to pick it up. “Some old clothes, a couple of books mo-er, uh, Camila, said she’d probably never read again, some sort of old phone with a cord…”

Luz smiled as Vee straightened back up. “You know, mami and I had a little conversation after you left Saturday.”

The basilisk sighed, passing the box through the barrier. “I know, she told me. Thing is, that’s a big step. A big, scary step.”

“Look, if you’re worried about getting between me and mami…” Luz started as she took hold of the box.

“What? No! I-it’s nothing like that!” Vee explained. “It’s just…” Her face dropped. “Well, I’ve never really had a family before this. I didn’t get to know any of the other basilisks.” She sat in one of the lawn chairs, tucking her knees close. “The Emperor kept all of us locked up in separate cells when he wasn’t experimenting on us. And during our escape we barely had time to make the plan, let alone try and make friends.”

“What about after the escape?” Luz questioned, setting the box down on the cabin’s steps. “Did any of you want to keep in touch or…?”

Vee shook her head. “No. We were being hounded by Coven scouts, so some of the older basilisks decided we should split up. Make it harder for them to catch us. So, I made my way into Bonesburough. I’d heard some of the Coven officials talk about a mysterious ‘Owl Lady’ who lived near there, so I thought about asking her to help me.” A small smile graced her lips. “Heh. If I only knew then how right I was.”

“Hey!” Luz said, feigning indignation, “I like to think I had a not-so-small part in saving you.”

The basilisk’s smile widened. “Thanks, Luz, for whatever it is you did that allowed me to cross over to the human realm.”

The human winked. “Gotta take care of my little sister any way I can.”

Vee blinked a few times as she processed that statement. Finally, she said, “H-hey! We really don’t know how long ago I was created, so I could be way older than you.”

“Keep telling yourself that, little sis.”

Vee very promptly demonstrated her maturity by sticking her tongue out at her human sister. This caused both girls to dissolve into a giggling fit.

“So, you feel better now?” Luz asked once the laughter had run its course.

“Yeah, I think so,” Vee said, standing back up. “I guess I needed to hear it both from you and Ca- mom.”

“I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear that,” Luz said, still smiling.

“What she won’t be glad to hear is if I’m behind on my homework,” Vee said, stretching. “So I’ve got to head home.” She paused. “Whoah, never thought I’d be able to say I’ve got a ‘home’.”

“Better get used to it, sis, ‘cause it's at least four years ‘til college and you can move out on your own.”

Vee giggled. “Well, that’s not gonna happen unless I get through all this math. See you later … sis.”

Luz picked the box back up. “Good luck, sis!” She waved as her new sister walked back home.

Smiling to herself, the human walked back through the portal and went downstairs to the living room of the Owl House. Surprisingly, Eda had awoken and was sitting on the couch, nursing a mug (probably of apple blood) and listening to King explain his colorings.

“...and that, Eda, is why Cinderella is the best princess!”

The Owl Lady had the vaguely confused vacant expression Luz had seen plenty of times she’d tried to get mami into the Azura books.

“Bud, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” came the witch’s response as she sipped her drink. Seeing her apprentice come down with the box, she perked up. “Oh, good, a distraction. What’s with the box, kiddo?”

“Vee texted me that she and mom had gotten some of our junk out of the basement for you,” Luz explained as she made her way to the coffee table, “so I popped over and got it from her.” She looked the witch over. Eda was still pale(r than normal), but the witch’s exhausted eyebags were no longer as prominent as they were this morning. “You feeling okay, Eda?”

“Yeah,” the Owl Lady replied, though the word turned into a yawn halfway through. “Probably gonna need to do our training in the afternoon for the rest of the week.”

“You were gone for a pretty long time for just ‘popping over’,” King observed, looking at the human curiously.

“What? Two sisters can’t just have a nice talk at an abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere?” Luz teased.

“Wait,” Eda said, holding up a hand. “Am I still asleep or did you just call Vee your sister?”

“Yep!” Luz set the box down on the part of the coffee table not claimed by King’s artistic endeavors. “I really think she needed to hear it from both me and mami before she was comfortable with the idea.”

“Good for her,” the witch spoke. “Now let’s see what kinda haul your new sis gave us. Maybe a mental workout will help me through the rest of this fatigue.”

“Yeah!” King leapt onto the table, art temporarily forgotten. “Open it! Open it! Open it!”

“Okay,” Luz rolled her eyes as she undid the top, “not sure why you two are so excited for some old clothes and books.”

“Old human clothes and books, my dear apprentice,” the Owl Lady corrected as she and King began emptying the box. “Some witches and demons, especially those that read the same whackjob books my sister did, will absolutely go nutso for real human stuff, especially if I can tell ‘em what it does.”

Luz shrugged as the witch pulled the last of the items from the box. It took only minutes for the three to sort the bounty. Much like Vee had said, most of it was either some of Luz’s old clothes she’d outgrown or books she’d never even seen her mom pick up, but there were a few miscellaneous items her mom and sister had packed in there - the aforementioned old phone (declared a diabolical trap by King after he managed to get entangled in the cord), an ancient calculator that somehow still functioned (Eda sat that aside for her own use), a couple of staplers (no staples, though), and …

“Hot damn!” Eda proclaimed, picking up the very used ziploc bag.

Luz directed a questioning look towards her mentor. “Um, Eda, why are you so excited about a plastic bag full of old keys and screws and stuff.”

“Well, since the Boiling Isles are formed from the Titan’s very dead corpse, there’s not a lot of natural metal available,” the witch explained. “We get some from mines on surrounding Isles, but those are small and the trip’s super dangerous, so any time I can get even a little bit of metal from your realm it’s always a bidding war between human stuff collectors, blacksmiths, and alchemists. A little bit like this can get us a whole a-” she glanced over at King “-er, buttload of snails.”

“Wow, really,” Luz looked in amazement at the little baggie.

“Oh, yeah,” King said, “last year Eda managed to find some real old gold coins in a chest a trash slug had eaten. We actually had to call in the Coven guards to break up the brawl!” He started cackling.

“Wasn’t that funny,” Eda complained. “Those jerks nearly destroyed the stand. And the Emperor’s bootlickers confiscated my coins!” She huffed in annoyance. “At least they let me keep the chest.”

“Well, if that does happen this time you’ll have me to stop any fights,” Luz proclaimed.

“Well, you got until Friday to brush up on your bouncer skills, kiddo,” Eda stated, “‘cause that’s the next market day. If this stuff does even half as well as I think it will, we should have enough money to go shopping Saturday afternoon.”

“Fresh duds for the new semester,” Luz said, “Heck, yeah!” She glanced over at the bundle of clothes and grimaced. “But first, we should probably wash those. I’m pretty sure I saw some spaghetti stains that have been there since I was four.”

Wednesday was even busier than normal for Lilith. Besides her normal Coven duties, she’d managed to get both Perry in for a talk that morning, and had been informed by a low ranking bard she’d bribed asked politely that Raine would be in their office the whole day filing some of the interminable paperwork that permeated the Coven system.

Unfortunately Perry was … less than helpful. It seemed that the stresses of single fatherhood and working a full time job meant the poor reporter was woefully uninformed about his son’s friends. The overworked man didn’t even know that Luz was human, for Titan’s sake!

So, after only a half hour Lilith had sent Perry on his way, presumably to have a talk with his son about his friends. Afterwards, Lilith thought she’d clear up some of her own paperwork before seeing Raine.

It won’t take that long, she thought.

It was late afternoon when Lilith walked into the Bard Coven campus to find Raine.
After knocking on their office door she heard the bard answer with a distracted “come in”. When she did so, the bard looked up briefly to glance at who was coming in, only to double take rather hilariously when they saw exactly who’d entered.

“Uh, Head Witch Clawthorne!” they said, standing up to greet their visitor. “Is there a specific reason you came all the way from the castle to see me?”

“I can’t come over and visit one of my old school friends?” she replied, half rhetorically. “After all, didn’t you do just the same week before last?”

“Ah, so you heard about that?” Raine said softly, sitting back down. “If you’re asking for my help in capturing Eda, you can just walk right back out.”

“Sadly, I’ve been taken off of Edalyn’s case,” Lilith lamented. “The Emperor felt that I was too close, too emotionally compromised to successfully bring my sister in.” She sat down, probably a little harder than she meant to. Probably.

“From the tone of your voice, it sounds like you don’t agree with our esteemed Emperor’s decision,” Raine said.

Lilith felt a frown tug at her lips, but attempted to retain a neutral expression. “Whether or not I agree with his decision is beside the point. He is the Emperor, and his word is the Titan’s will.”

The bard let out a thoughtful hum, but said nothing, so Lilith continued. “And anyway, I didn’t come to talk about my sister. Instead I want to know if you’ve met with one of her … associates. Specifically, the young human, Luz.”

Raine frowned. “Yes, I’ve met her. What interest does the Emperor’s Coven have in a teenage girl?”

“None, really,” Lilith answered. “Even her association with my sister is barely worth mentioning since she hasn’t done anything even mildly criminal.” She smiled. “In fact, the number of Edalyn’s infractions has gone down lately. Perhaps this old-fashioned mentorship is finally getting my sister to mature.” The dark-haired witch cleared her throat, blushing in embarrassment that she let something so personal slip out. “In any case, my interest in Luz is personal. Even scientific, you could say.”

Raine relaxed and sat back, smiling. “Ah. Makes sense for the founder of Hexside’s Human Appreciation Society to be interested in the first known human to visit the Boiling Isles.”

“Yes, she is quite interesting,” the coven head replied. “So much like the humans we read about in school, and yet not.”

Raine nodded. “Indeed. While I didn’t read as many of those ‘human fantasy’ books as you and Eda did, I don’t remember either of you mentioning humans having abilities like Luz does.”

“Yes,” Lilith said, “while her abilities are … quite surprising, I’m also interested in her personality, and how she differs in that regard from the humans our books and classes taught us about.”

“I see,” the bard countered. “Perhaps it’s just that reality isn’t lining up with our fiction?”

“Maybe. I have considered that, but...” Lilith paused to think about how to word her thoughts carefully. “I’m afraid I don’t have enough information to determine if Luz is the exception or the rule. And I was wondering if you had any insight into this?”

Raine shrugged. “I’ve only met the girl twice, so I don’t know what I can really tell you.” They paused. “Well, Luz did give a lecture at the last Hexside HAS meeting. It was quite informative.”

“Yes, Edalyn talked about that last time I spoke to her,” Lilith said wistfully. “At first I dismissed any information she could give as nothing more than the fanciful ramblings of a child, but…”

“Hm?” Raine raised an eyebrow quizzically, but said nothing.

The dark-haired witch sighed and steeled herself. “I was at the Knee, looking for a village of wild witches that had … escaped capture. I managed, by coincidence I assure you, to meet both the Blight family and Edalyn and her apprentice. Amity and Luz were … walking off to go do something, I can’t remember what, when they got caught in a cave-in.”

Both of Raine’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Oh my! The girls…! I-I assume I would have heard something about Amity…”

“They’re alright, in no small part due to Luz and her powers … and her bravery,” Lilith continued. “She managed to sense the cave-in before it happened. In fact, she had managed to reach safety with Edalyn before the ground fell away beneath them…” Her voice grew quiet. “But Amity didn’t. Hunter, the twins, Odalia, me … we were all too far away to do anything – couldn’t run fast enough to grab her and … you know how magic works up there.”

“I’ve heard enough stories,” Raine answered, “though I haven’t had any reason to go up there.”

Lilith nodded. “It’s exactly like what you’ve heard - any attempt to levitate anything sends it flying away into the sky. Doesn’t matter what – boxes, rope, palismen, … people.”

Raine frowned. “Wait, you said Luz had reached safety with Eda when Amity fell. How did…?”

“Luz leapt after Amity,” Lilith answered the bard’s unspoken question. “I was frozen in terror, Raine! Despite my actions at the Covention, I really do care about Amity, and there I was, seeing her fall to her death! And I couldn’t do anything about it! Hunter, sweet Hunter, tried to run to her in vain, but he was too far away! But Luz … the human I had so callously dismissed as being nothing more than a child, jumped into that same death and managed to wrest Amity from its maw.” Lilith didn’t know when she’d stood up, but she put her hands on the bard’s desk and leaned towards them. “Now, Raine, how many witches do you know that would leap towards someone falling into the Knee? Especially one so young?”

Raine leaned back in their chair, silent for a few moments, fingers steepled in front of their mouth. They hummed a short tune in thought before speaking. “One of my students, Katya, had the same response when she met Luz the first time. At the Conformatorium.”

“The breakout?”

Raine nodded. “Katya’s part of the Bard Coven now, so no need to round up a search party. But after she escaped, she came to me and asked a similar question: ‘Why would someone risk their life for complete strangers’?”

Lilith sat back down. “And did you have an answer?”

“At the time, no,” Raine stated matter-of-factly. “But after Luz’s presentation …” They paused. “Lilith, have you ever heard of the term ‘superhero’?”

“Yes,” she answered, “Edalyn and Luz both used that word, but I don’t know what it means.”

“On Earth - the Human Realm - ‘superheroes’ are people who do exactly that - risk their lives for complete strangers, people they might never even meet,” the bard explained. “That’s what Luz is, or will be once she finishes training with Eda and goes back to Earth.”

“And these ‘superheroes’ are commonplace?” Lilith asked.

“More or less,” Raine said. “Not all of them have the powers Luz does. Some of them are even stronger or faster than she is, if you can believe it. Some of them can heal wounds in seconds, or even control the weather! Some don’t even have powers at all – but they’ve managed to use their technology to make suits of armor that give them abilities!” The bard smiled at the recollection, but then their face fell. “However, not every human with abilities becomes a superhero. Some just want to be left alone to live their lives. Others … take a more antagonistic approach. She called them ‘supervillains’.”

“That’s … there’s enough of them to have different factions?”

“And different groups within those factions,” Raine continued. “Luz is apparently on track to join a superhero group called ‘The Avengers’. She showed us several pictures of them fighting various supervillain groups - ones called Hydra, Aim, the Serpent Society.”

“I … see. That … is a lot to take in,” Lilith said, mind running a furlong-a-minute. “One last thing: Did Luz say why she wanted to be one of these ‘superheroes’?”

“Not really,” Raine answered. “But she did say that she talked with another hero, one who has similar abilities to her, when she first got her powers. She said they taught her a very important lesson: ‘With great power must come great responsibility.’ I remember her explaining it like this: ‘Just because I have powers, they don’t make me better than anyone else. It’s what I do with them that counts.’”

“That is … quite noble of her,” Lilith responded. “And is that why you’ve taken a more hands-on approach to teaching your apprentices?”

“Yes,” they answered. “Luz’s words got me thinking about how we’re training the younger generations. So I decided to step in, make sure at least those three are taught properly. Not just about how to do bard magic, but how, and when, to appropriately use it.”

“I see,” Lilith said again. “Thank you for your time, Raine. I wish you luck in teaching your students. But for now, I should get back to my paperwork, as I’m sure you do too.”

The bard sighed deeply. “Unfortunately. Have a good night, Head Witch.”

As Lilith turned to go, Raine spoke up again. “And, Lilith?”

“Hmm?”

“If you ever just want to chat again, feel free to give me a call. I’m sure my students will understand.”

“I… Thank you, Raine.”

As she left the Bard Coven campus, Lilith’s head swam. She hadn’t expected to have her questions answered so … thoroughly. But those answers brought even more questions to the witch’s mind. So many that she spent the rest of the evening in her personal suite, thinking over bottles of root beer, her paperwork long forgotten.

It was only after midnight that she realized that Raine had cast an anti-scrying charm during their conversation and she hadn’t even noticed.

This week was probably one of the worst in Trixie Lulamoon’s life. Sure, the day she was kicked out of Glandus for mixing magics was probably worse overall, but at no time in her 23 years of life had there been this much misfortune in so many consecutive days.

First, she’d been chased out of Latissa during one of her shows. How was Trixie supposed to know that a Starry Owlbear had rampaged through the city two years ago? Thankfully she’d managed to get back to her wagon and get on the road before the angry villagers (Where they got the pitchforks and torches Trixie will never know.) caught up.

Her luck had continued on Tuesday, when a freak boiling rainstorm had popped up out of nowhere. She’d stopped for lunch (and news) at some tiny town between Latissa and Bonesburough, leaving her wagon hidden in some brush well outside the town (just in case someone got cocky and tried to capture her again). Thus, she was stuck inside the tavern when the storm hit, and had been unable to get back to her wagon to get a shield up.

Thankfully, the various enchantments she’d put on her wagon had protected her home on wheels. But that meant that the enchantments themselves had burnt out. Now, Trixie could easily reenchant the vehicle. If she had the right components, of course. Which, naturally, she didn’t. And the small town she’d stopped at barely had a general store, let alone one that sold magic supplies. So, it was either go back to Latissa (a terrible idea), or continue on to Bonesburough.

Unfortunately, since the motor charms on her wagon were shot, she had to hoof it all the way there. So, what would have been a two or three hour journey turned into an all-day hike on Wednesday. She was so tired when she finally got to Bonesburough she immediately collapsed in the nearest inn, having to use some of her scarce Snails to buy the room.

And today, Thursday, was even worse. Still sore from yesterday, she had to run across town to three different stores, and even then she didn’t get all of what she needed. She was still missing a small piece of good quality metal. While the stores did have some (purportedly) good quality metal, even just a few ounces cost more Snails than she’d make in a month.

Assuming more towns didn’t start running her out like Latissa did.

And that was just this morning! She’d gone to get some lunch (and appleblood to drown her sorrows), but the restaurant she entered was apparently a popular hangout for member’s of the friggin’ Emperor’s Coven, so the moment she’d sat down with an admittedly nice-looking salad, a couple of said white-cloaked goons noticed her, noticed what she was, and immediately tried to arrest her.

Luckily, Trixie always kept a few Smokescreen Potions on hand. Just in case, y’know.

But now, she was running for her life on an empty stomach, on top of all the aches and pains from yesterday’s journey!

“Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through! Hunting a dangerous Wild Witch here, people! Move it!”

At least her pursuers were loud enough that Trixie didn’t have to waste bile on a tracking charm.

Trixie’s streak of bad luck wasn’t over quite yet, though. One wrong turn took her to an empty alley with a dead end.

“Damnit!” she cursed, glaring at the wall blocking her exit. Trixie had never been good at Construction magic, and was running low on both bile and energy.

“Alright - hah! - we - hooof! - finally caught you!” One of her pursuers said, panting. They were on the heavier side, and were obviously not used to field work, unlike their two compatriots.

“Seriously, Padrick?” The taller one said. She turned to the third of the trio. “Why did we let him tag along, Steve?”

“Because it’s policy for all available officers to engage with the capture of any wild witch, Severine,” the one called Steve countered. “Besides, he did clear the smoke out of Perdino’s.”

“H-hey!” the fat one, Padrick, spoke up, still panting. “You two try sitting at a desk all day watching prisoners on crystal balls and see how much exercise you get!”

“Y’know,” a voice said from … above them? “If you wanted to get your friend some exercise, there’s probably better ways than chasing a poor person halfway across the city.”

As one, Trixie and the three Coven guards looked up to see a figure carrying a large bag standing on a five-story rooftop, looking down at them.

“This is the lawful capture of a wild witch for reeducation purposes, citizen,” Steve said, pointing up at the figure. “Go back to what you were doing. On… the rooftops…?”

“Hmmmm. Nah…” the figure said dismissively. “Annoying you guys is far more interesting.”

“Why you!” Padrick yelled. “Get down from there!” They pointed a finger up at the intruder, the beginnings of a spell circle forming.

Only for the stranger to flick their free hand at the guard, causing a mass of something white and sticky to cover Padrick’s hand.

“Gah! Ack!” The fat guard tried to shake the white stuff off his hand. “This is disgusting! Wait…” They looked back at the figure on top of the roof. “You’re the one from the Conformatorium! That weird human who let those prisoners escape!”

“Yep!” the apparent human said. “So you should know my feelings about you guys sending people there.”

With that, the human leapt off the rooftop, landing between Trixie and the guards. Without breaking their legs, Trixie noticed.

That’s … odd. Trixie is pretty sure humans shouldn’t be able to do that.

The … human? … set the extremely large and full bag down with the distinctive clinks that told Trixie it was full of potion bottles. They turned to Trixie and flashed a smile. “Don’t worry! Just hang back and let me handle this.”

“O…kay?” Trixie was confused. How would one human (if human they were) take on three Emperor’s Coven guards?

The strangely confident human turned back to said guards. “Now, we can do this peacefully and all go our separate ways, no harm no foul.”

“Fat chance!” the tall guard, Severine, shouted. Her hand went up, spell circle forming at a fingertip. “You just assaulted an officer! And if Padrick is right, you caused a riot, helped prisoners escape, and assaulted Warden Wrath! You’re under arrest.”

The human appeared to think for a second. “Yeah, that’s a hard pass. I’m starting school next week and trying to commute from the Conformatorium every day sounds terrible.”

“I wasn’t giving you a choice,” Severine said, loosing her spell. A bolt of lightning leapt from their finger towards the human, only for the human to twist out of the way, letting the stun spell strike the stone wall behind Trixie.

Trixie had barely even seen the human move! The three guards looked perplexed as well, glancing at each other before turning their attention back to the human.

The three of them brandished their fingers at the interloper. “Now if you’ll just come along quietly, human, I’m sure Emperor Belos will–”

THWIP!

Faster than Trixie thought was possible for any being, one of the human’s arms shot out, another ball of the white, sticky substance streaked towards Padrick, encasing his other hand.

“Ew! Dang it!” the fat guard said, looking at his now-covered hands. “I can’t cast spells like this!”

At once the two other guards spun cerulean spell circles. Before they even completed them, the human leapt skywards. The manacles the guards had conjured appeared in mid-air where the human had been standing, falling to the ground with an almost comical thump.

The human landed right between Steve and Severine, startling the two guards.

“What the-?” “How did you-?”

“I just want to let the record show I tried to resolve this with minimal violence, but -HEY!” the human started, but was interrupted when Severine began forming a large spell circle with both her hands. The human’s own hands jabbed out, lightning-quick, and grabbed the guard’s. They then spun around, causing Severine to spin around hard enough that the guard actually left the ground briefly before the human let go, causing her to drop to the ground with an ‘Oof!’.

Meanwhile, Steve had encased his hands in stun spells, and went to grab the distracted human. Trixie nearly let out a shout of warning, but her savior, without even looking, managed to dodge the oncoming attack. They spun around and grabbed Steve’s other arm as the guard came down with an ensorcelled neck chop. Using his arm as a lever, the human whipped Steve over their head, slamming them directly onto Severine, who was just starting to get back up.

Severine’s coven mask flew off, and with a groan the demon lay still.

As Steve tried to untangle himself from his unmoving comrade, Padrick snuck up behind the human. Or tried to, as they spun around with a kick that spun his mask and cowl around, making it comically stick out behind him, making it seem like he was wearing an old-timey dunce cap.

Trixie would not be ashamed to later admit that she snickered at the guard’s predicament.

Padrick desperately tried to right his cowl and mask, but was hindered since his hands were (as Trixie now saw) covered in what looked like spider webs.

Steve had finally stood up and was beginning to summon some Abominations. “Listen, human, I don’t know who, or what, you are--.”

Two quick jabs dispersed the gathering muck before the Abominations were even fully formed. “Oh, wow, mami’s going to give me an earful for having such bad manners,” the human said. “My name is Luz Noceda, and, right now, I’m just someone who wants to use her powers to make the world a better place, instead of chasing innocent people into alleys.”

“She’s a wild witch!” Padrick retorted, voice muffled by his still backwards cowl. “She has to be taken in to the Conformatorium…”

“Because she just wants to practice magic her own way instead of how everyone else says she should?” Luz countered. “Unless you’ve got evidence she’s-” the human jabbed her thumb over at Trixie “-some sort of master thief or serial killer, I really don’t think chasing her into a blind alley is really helping your case here, bud.”

“No, the law says that all wild witches need to be taken to the Conformatorium for reeducation,” Steve replied, though his voice was shaky, “to help them better fit into society.”

“So, people should go to jail for writing fanfiction?” Luz asked incredulously. “Or, er…” She turned to Trixie. “What was it you were doing when they tried to arrest you?”

“Uh, I was just sitting down to lunch after a long day of shopping,” Trixie replied, caught off guard after suddenly being put in the spotlight. “Trixie even has the receipts if these brutes want to check.”

“Well, um….” Steve paused, placing a hand to his head. “Wow, we really do look like the bad guys here, don’t we?”

“Yep!” Luz said, cheerfully popping the ‘p’.

With a growl, Padrick finally got his cowl turned around. He then threw a haymaker at the human, who, without even looking, caught the punch mid-swing. Once again using her opponent’s arm as a lever, Luz threw the overweight guard into a wall with a meaty-sounding ‘THUD!’ A flick of the wrist and she threw what looked like a piece of paper at the belligerent guard. Seconds later, he was encased in a giant block of ice up to his neck.

Human … magic? That’s interesting.

“Wha- what?” He protested. “I can’t move!”

Luz rolled her eyes. “Oh, quiet, you big baby. It should melt in a few hours.” She grinned cheekily. “Should give you enough time to … chill out.”

Padrick groaned loudly. “Noooooooo! Puns! My one weakness!”

The human turned back to Steve. “Oh, and for the record, attacking someone when their back is turned and they’re speaking to someone else is also kind of a bad guy thing.”

“Listen,” Steve started. “I’ve … got some things to think about, and to discuss with my comrades. We…” He turned to face Trixie. “I promise we won’t try to pursue you anymore. Unless you do something illegal, of course.”

“I ain’t promising nothing!” Padrick shouted from his ice prison.

“You won’t have to!” Luz declared, then sidled up to Trixie. “If you’ll let me, of course.”

“Um, how, exactly, do you plan on helping me get away from the very angry guard?” Trixie asked.

“Eh, I jump you up to the rooftops and we hop across to a side street a block or two away,” the human replied casually, as if jumping up several stories was an everyday occurance. “Should be able to disappear before Mr. Friendly gets free.”

“Then I’ll report you!” the mentioned guard shouted. “I’ll get every guard in Bonesburough to hunt you two down!”

“Padrick…” Steve sighed. “You realize that if you report this, you’ll have to admit that you got beat up by a human teenager.”

“Uhhhhh…”

As the overweight guard rethought his plan, Luz shouldered her bag again, carrying it quite easily with one hand. The other reached out to Trixie. “May I?”

“Um, sure,” Trixie answered, stepping closer to the human, who wrapped her arm around Trixie’s middle, gripping more tightly than the wild witch thought a human could. Then Luz leapt from ground to the roof in one smooth motion, still carrying Trixie and the bag, and began running across the nearby rooftops before hopping down to a nearly abandoned side street.

“Here,” Luz said as she set Trixie down, “this should be far enough away from those jerks that they shouldn’t bother you.”

“Um, thanks,” Trixie said, mind reeling. Far enough…? We must have traveled several miles in only a few minutes!

“You gonna be okay?” the human asked. “I know you said something about being in the middle of lunch when the guards started chasing you.”

“Yes, but,” Trixie said, and she made a spell circle, causing her salad to appear in her hands. “Trixie has been on the run long enough to know that sometimes lunch needs to become takeout at a moment’s notice.”

Luz gaped at the returned lunch. “Wow! So cool!”

The wild witch smiled and gave an exaggerated bow. “Thank you, thank you!” She sighed. “Now if only I could make the last ingredient I need to fix my wagon appear just as easily.” She eyed her companion. “Unless you know somebody that’ll sell Trixie a small piece of good metal for less than it’d cost me to buy a whole new wagon?”

“I actually might!” The human answered, before her face screwed in confusion. “I think. Depends on how much a wagon costs. I’ve only been here about two months and I’m still not sure how your guys’ money works.” She brightened. “If you’re still in town tomorrow, stop by the market and look for the Owl Lady’s stand. She’s got a few pieces of metal from my realm she’ll be selling tomorrow, but you better get there early before some collector scoops it all up.”

“Considering it would be a waste to go back when I can’t fix my enchantments…” Trixie said.

“Great!” Luz smiled. “Well, I better get going if I want to do all these deliveries before afternoon training,” she said, indicating her bag again with a nod of her head. “Bye! See you tomorrow!” The human waved, then leapt into the air again, disappearing as she ran over the nearby rooftops.

Trixie remained a moment, looking at the roof her savior had vanished over, then quickly headed off to see if she could wend her way back to the inn as she grazed on her salad.

Definitely the most interesting encounter Trixie has ever had.

Jingle. Jingle Jingle. went the old money box as Eda gently caressed it while the Owl House trio walked back home Friday night.

“Ah, Luz, just listen to that sweet music,” the witch said, ears flicking in time with each jingle. “What’d I tell ya? That human stuff of yours got us a whole boatload of Snails. Another box or two like that and we’ll be able to live easy for a good while.”

“Ehhhh. We coulda gotten more if Luz hadn’t convinced you to give that blue-haired witch a discount on that washee,” King grumbled from Luz’s shoulder.

“First, it’s called a ‘washer’, King,” the human replied, “and, two, she really needed that to fix her wagon. It didn’t feel right to charge her that much for something mami can buy for, like, $5 a box.”

“Eh, it’s alright, King,” Eda chided the demon pup. “If it was to help another wild witch, I can spare a couple hundred Snails.” She shook the money box again. “Especially when we made so much more off of those old clothes of yours.”

Luz shivered as she remembered the heated bidding war (that nearly got physical a few times) between two demon mothers over an old onesie after she confirmed that, yes, she had worn it. “Still feels kinda creepy knowing that some weirdos want to pay that much money for my old baby stuff.”

“Eh, coulda been worse,” her mentor shrugged. “There was the time I managed to grab a whole buncha undies from a place called Sal Vation’s Army. You do not want to know what those went for.”

“Yeechhhh.” The human theatrically gagged as her companions giggled. “That’s one part of your mysterious past I’m gonna let you keep to yourself, Eda.”

Further conversation was halted when the trio heard voices arguing up ahead of them. One of the two voices (for a given value of voice) was unmistakably Hooty, but the second voice Luz couldn’t recognize.

“Hey, what’s going on up ahead?” King asked. “The only person who’d argue that loudly with Hooty is usually Lilith. Or that Golden Guard guy that one morning.”

Luz snickered as the memory of Hunter’s first encounter with Hooty. The young guard had spent over two hours arguing with the house demon before Eda came out and chased the boy off.

Eda’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like this. Kids, let’s hurry up. Just in case.”

As the three rushed forward (well, two, since King was still riding on Luz’s shoulder), the human idly hoped that this was a particularly stubborn scout or angry deliveryperson.

Those hopes were dashed when the trio entered the clearing that surrounded the Owl House. Instead of one of the Emperor’s white-robed goons or a helpless mailwitch trying to not get eaten, there was what looked like a wolf-person staring down an irate Hooty.

They were short, barely taller than Luz was, but very muscular. And not in the bodybuilder ‘I got swole because I like the way I look’ sense, either. From the way they moved, Luz could easily tell the mysterious demon was used to either heavy labor…

or fighting.

She really hoped it was the former.

“...and I said,” Hooty hissed, his hackles raising, “Eda didn’t tell me about any visitors. So buzz off before I get nasty!”

Even though they were facing away from the group, Luz could tell that the visitor was narrowing their eyes from the way their visitor’s shoulders tensed. “And I told you, house demon, that Eda Clawthorne sent word that she wanted to meet me. That she didn’t tell you is none of my concern.” Their voice was surprisingly light for someone who looked like they could arm wrestle the Hulk.

“I didn’t tell him because I didn’t think you’d get here so soon, Barbatos,” Eda said, “or that you’d at least write first.”

That got the arguing demons’ attention, and Barbatos turned around to look at the trio. While they did look mostly like what Luz expected - an anthropomorphic wolf similar to the ones she’d seen online on websites she hoped her mami never knew she visited - what stood out was their four eyes - three a dark, almost oceanic blue, while the fourth was a milky white, probably due to the scar that ran through it and down the wolf-demon’s cheek. More scars covered their face and, now that Luz looked closer, arms.

So much for thinking they're just a rugged dock worker.

The wolf-demon’s three good eyes quickly scanned the newcomers, before settling on Eda. “Lord Calamity,” they said evenly, “you are looking well, considering how bad your curse is.”

“Lord Calamity?” Luz asked her mentor.

“Something for another time, kid,” Eda answered, then turned back to their guest. “And you, Barbie, are still as blunt as ever.” She turned to the house demon. “Hooty! Open up so we can continue this discussion while sitting down. My feet are killing me.”

As the bird tube retracted into the door, she called out again. “And don’t even think about doing that mouth thing you did when Luz first came here! Unless you want a spider-powered scrubbing.”

The house demon’s beak clacked shut and he dutifully opened the door normally, though not without grumbling as the four entered.

“Hey, Eda, do you want me to take that upstairs to your room or…?” Luz asked, gesturing to the cash box as King leaped off her shoulder and onto the couch.

“Nah,” the witch replied as she sat in her favorite chair, depositing said box on the coffee table. “It’ll be fine right here.”

“Are you sure?” The human asked.

“Trust me, kiddo,” Eda winked, then turned to her guest. “So, I hear you shacked up with Bael and his crew out in Iron Flower Forest. How’s that been for ya?”

They shrugged, taking a seat in one of the other chairs. “As well as can be, considering we’re one of the few groups actively opposing the Emperor and his cronies.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eda rolled her eyes. “You try fighting a rebellion when you’re dependent on potions only the covens know how to make.”

The demon’s eyes opened in surprise. “I- I’m sorry, Eda. I didn’t mean to imply anything.”

“I know.” Eda deflated a bit. “I wish I could be doing something more, but with the curse, and my new responsibilities…”

“Ah,” Barbatos nodded. “I see. I didn’t think you would be the domestic type, but everybody has surprises. Is what you called me here for related either to your child or your pet?”

While mentor and apprentice laughed at the absurdity of the statement, King was indignant.

“PET!? How dare you!” The tiny tyrant yelled, jumping over to the coffee table and pointing at the larger demon. “I am the King of All Demons and you will respect me!”

Barbatos’ left eyebrows raised in confusion. “King of Demons? That’s a new one.”

“Of course you don’t recognize me. My powers were sealed away eons ago by a jealous rival. But fear not, once I regain them my reign of hellfire will return!” He paused to yawn. “Maybe after a nap. Whoofa, who knew getting so indignant would wear a demon out.”

Meanwhile, Eda had finally gotten her laughter under control. “Ohhh, it’s been a minute since I’d heard something that hilarious,” she said, wiping a tear from her eyes. “No, Luz here isn’t my daughter, she’s my apprentice.”

“Ah!” The four-eyed demon nodded and smiled. “Glad to see at least someone else is keeping the old ways alive.”

“Yeah,” Eda sighed wistfully. “Wasn’t exactly my idea, but she’s so enthusiastic I couldn’t say no.”

“Awwww, Edaaaaa!” Luz gushed.

“See?” The witch then turned to her apprentice. “Anyway, Luz, this is Barbatos, AKA the Wolf King. He was one of the best trackers and scouts back when we were both in Hexside. He was a grade behind me when I … left school, and I’d heard that he left not long after I did and joined up with one of the more active wild witch groups out there.”

“Hi!” The human said as she plopped down on the couch. Spider stamina or not, standing on your feet all day was exhausting.

The wolf-demon nodded back.

“As for why I asked you here, yeah, it does have to do with Luz,” Eda continued, “but it’s a lot bigger than that.”

Barbatos leaned forward. “Go on.”

“First, I’m going to need you to promise to not speak of anything I say next to anyone else,” Eda said solemnly. “Not to Flauros or Gusion. Not even to Bael.”

The wolf-demon leaned back, three good eyes searching Eda’s face. The witch stared back evenly.

“May I ask why?” He eventually said.

“Because I’m betting this is something the Emperor doesn’t want people to know about,” Eda replied. “And if certain people in your group know about it, especially Bael, and try to take advantage of it somehow, there’s a chance the EC will suddenly ‘find’ the resources to take you guys out.”

Barbatos frowned in thought for a few minutes. “I… admit that Bael has been looking for ways to move beyond the banditry we’ve been doing so far. Still, I don’t like lying to him -- he was so good to the three of us after we left Hexside.”

“I know,” Eda replied. “I still feel the same way about my mentor, even though…”

“We all felt her loss, even in the Iron Flower Forest, Eda,” Barbatos commiserated. “Still, the lives she saved…”

“Yeah, I know.” Eda wiped away a tear.

Luz and King looked at each other. Eda had only rarely talked about her teacher, but never said what happened to her.

“Gah, enough of this sad stuff,” Eda said, wiping away a tear. “I didn’t ask you here to reminisce, Barbie. I need you to find something for me.”

The wolf demon’s left eyebrows raised as he asked, “Oh? What’s so valuable you’d reach out to me to find it?”

“A rune array,” the witch answered.

Barbatos blinked in confusion a few times. “I… did not expect that. Do you have any idea where this array is? Or any information on it?”

“Not much.” Eda sighed. “We’re not even 100% sure it even exists, but an array is the only thing that fits all the evidence.”

“So you want me to search the entire Isles for a rune array that may or may not exist and is most likely heavily guarded by the Emperor’s Coven?” Barbatos sounded skeptical. “That box better be full of Snails, then.”

“Not the entire Isles,” Eda rolled her eyes. “This rune array is powerful. So it’ll probably be in a place where a lot of magical power is concentrated, like the Knee or Iron Flower Forest. Although we can pretty much rule out either of those places, since Luz and I were just at the Knee and it’s as dangerous as ever…”

“And the Forest is under Bael’s control,” the guest finished. He scratched his chin and narrowed his eyes in thought. “Hmmmmm. How powerful would this array be?”

“Powerful enough to cut the Human Realm off from the Demon Realm,” Eda answered.

The wolf-demon looked several times between Luz and Eda before responding. “Hmmmmm… That would take an insane amount of power, even with a rune array. There’s maybe a dozen places that could support that kind of output, not for very long anyway. Palm Stings, maybe some of the ruins in the Swampy Toes…”

“See!” Eda proclaimed. “That narrowed it down a whole lot, didn’t it! And, like you said, it’s most likely gonna be heavily guarded, so all you need to do is look for some white robed dorks where they don’t belong.”

Barbatos glared at the Owl Lady for a moment. “If only it were that simple,” he scoffed. “You know that some of those places are guarded just to keep wild witches like us from getting in. The Emperor and his Coven are quite paranoid about us gaining ‘unspeakable power’ from ‘forbidden magics’.”

“Tell me about it,” Eda sighed. “Don’t even wanna remember how many times I’d find a place that looked like easy pickin’s that turned out to be crawling with Coven goons.”

“Exactly,” Barbatos said. “Which is why I need to know you’re able – and willing – to pay.”

Eda smiled widely and opened the cash box, revealing the gleaming Snails within.

Barbatos’ eyes widened at the sight of the packed box, and he leaned forward, flinching when Eda suddenly slammed the box lid closed.

“Nuh-uh,” she chided. “Nice try, Barbie. This is for us – got some shopping to do over the weekend, including some new clothes for Luz.”

“Still, the fact you have that much shows that, despite being an unlicensed potioneer, you must have found some other source of income,” he said, leaning back into the chair again. “One that is hopefully more reliable than advertising on the community bulletin board.”

“I’ll have you know I’ve gotten plenty of potion orders in with that, thank you very much!” Eda retorted, arms crossed defiantly. “Luz here even had to make a midweek delivery run yesterday!”

“And you expect me to believe all that,” the wolf-demon gestured at the banker’s box, “came from just potion selling?”

“Dangit,” Eda frowned, “I’d hoped you’d buy that.” She sighed. “Fine. I got, errrr, let’s say a connection on the human side. Sets me up with high quality human stuff, including metal – and not the crap the Emperor’s Coven digs up, the good stuff.”

Barbatos’ eyebrows raised. “Well, that, I may have to tell Bael. Having even a little bit of pure metal from a sympathetic seller for our enchantments would be a great boon.” He paused in thought for a moment. “But didn’t you say there was a barrier between the Demon and Human Realms?”

“A barrier to people,” Eda replied. “Doesn’t affect items for some reason. So we can trade just fine, just not, y’know, visit.”

Barbatos once again glanced over at Luz, who averted her gaze from the wolf-demon.

“I see,” he said simply.

“So you see why we’re interested in finding this,” Eda said plainly. “And as soon as possible.”

Barbatos leaned forward again, expression determined. “Then it’ll help if we narrow down the places I’ll have to search. Do you have a map of the Isles anywhere?”

As the last rays of the setting summer sun disappeared beneath the horizon on Saturday evening, Primantha “Prim” Hedgewise unlocked her store. It was a shame to open so late during the summer, especially on a weekend, and miss out on the customers that would normally peruse her wares during the afternoon and early evenings, but the later she opened the less trouble the Emperor’s Coven would give her.

Sipping on some much-needed coughee, she wandered back over to her reception desk, waiting for the first of her customers to eventually come in. In the meanwhile, she started a mental inventory. If I’m not mistaken, Grom should be coming up soon. More than a few of these nouveau rich ‘nobles’ will, once again, want something more than what the hacks in the Sewing Coven can give them. Should be able to make a tidy profit this year.

Should probably sketch up some preliminary designs so I can have something for them to start with.

About thirty minutes into her brainstorming -- she’d already come up with a cute little tuxedo-dress fusion that paired well with a pair of human boots she’d bought from The Owl Lady a few weeks ago -- the bell on her door dinged!, announcing the arrival of a customer.

Looking up from her sketches she proclaimed, “Welcome to Prim’s Precision Attire, where the clothing is made for the witch! How can I--Oh, Eda!”

“Hey Prim!” the tall witch said, sauntering in while a curious-looking teenager followed her. “Got a kid who needs some new clothes before school starts.”

“A child?” Prim asked. “I didn’t know you’d taken an apprentice. Always good when someone keeps the old ways alive, even for just a little part of them.”

“Yeah, well, Luz here just kinda fell into my life,” the Owl Lady replied.

Prim got up and walked over to Eda and her apprentice. “In any case, I’ve got a few pre-made things that should be perfect for … Luz, is it?” she turned to the teen, who was currently glancing curiously around at the inventory.

“Yep,” the girl turned to face Prim, allowing the shorter witch to see her very distinctive round ears. “Luz Noceda, Bonesburough’s resident human at your service!”

“Ah, so polite!” Prim leaned closer to the human. “Perhaps that’s something you can teach your master, hmmm?” the tailor stage whispered, causing the girl to laugh brightly.

“Feh!” Eda feigned offense. “Nuts to both of ya! I can be plenty polite when I wanna be.” She side-eyed Prim. “Now, do you want to stand there gossiping or do you want my hard-earned Snails?”

“Yes, yes,” Prim rolled her eyes at the irritable Owl Lady. “Young people these days have no sense of humor,” she said to Luz, gently taking the human by the arm. “Come, child, let’s leave this old fuddy-duddy with her precious Snails and get to the exciting part.”

With a laugh the tailor led her young customer to the clothing racks. Thankfully, the girl was quite certain in her fashion choices. The human quickly picked out a few shirts and vests, some breeches and pants, and a smart-looking tunic. At Prim’s suggestion, Luz also got some bras and panties, though she seemed oddly embarrassed when picking those out.

They made their way back to the front so Eda could pay, the girl managing to carry the bundle on her own despite its bulk.

“Alright, Prim, what’s that damage?” Eda sighed, pulling a bulging sack from her gray mane.

“Alright, let’s see…” Prim hummed thoughtfully as she began tallying the human’s total.

“Aw, wicked!”

Prim and Eda both turned to see what had caused Luz to exclaim so, the tailor immediately recognised what had the child so excited. It was a pair of gloves, indigo in color, but the ends of the fingers were missing.

The human slipped one of the gloves on, flexing her fingers and hand once it was on. “Oooh! What kinda leather is this? ‘Cuz this is, like, super soft – way softer than any other leather gloves I’ve used.”

“Ah, that’s because they’re made from dragonhide. They were a special order from a noble who’d seen them in one of your human ‘magazeens’,” Prim explained, picking up the other glove, allowing the light to play off its iridescent scales. “Of course, the idiot managed to get himself killed climbing the backside of the Knee before he could pick them up.” She sighed. “That was almost a decade ago. I’ve been wondering what to do with them ever since.”

“Woah!” The human’s eyes widened in surprise. “Amity told me dragons here are pretty nasty. Must’ve been an epic fight for you to take it out.”

Prim shook her head sadly, placing the glove back on her desk. “On, no, child. I wasn’t the one to drive Ingrimaxus off. I am just a plain and simple tailor.” She cast a glance over at Eda, who had been strangely silent during this whole exchange. “Those who fought the beast are heroes who will never be recognized by the Emperor’s administration.”

“Yeah,” Eda said quietly, “No memorials for us wild witches.”

“Well, the Emperor is a big dumb jerk if he can’t even put up a statue or something for people who fought off a freaking dragon, even if they were wild witches,” Luz declared, putting her fist on her hips.

A small smile graced the Owl Lady’s lips. “Heh, thanks, kid. If only more witches thought like you.” She ruffled her student’s hair.

“I can see why you took her as your pupil, Eda,” Prim smiled at the interaction. “You know, I’ve held on to these gloves for nearly ten years, and until now, no one has even been interested in them. Here, Luz, why don’t you take them. Free of charge.”

“Wait, really?” the human asked, surprised by the sudden generosity. “No way! Are you sure?”

“Now, wait a second, Prim,” Eda protested, “I know how hard dragonhide is to work with. At least let us pay you something.”

“Think of it as a gift, Eda,” Prim replied, “one wild witch to another. For helping keep the old ways alive just a little longer.”

“Well, I’m not one to turn down free stuff,” Eda shrugged, “especially when it’s expensive free stuff.”

“Wow, thanks, Miss Prim!” Luz smiled brightly. “Gonna be super sweet when I get home and show these off to everyone else! Hey, Eda,” she turned to her mentor, “do you think Captain America would be jealous of these bad boys?”

“I literally have no idea kid,” the Owl Lady answered. “Never met the guy.”

Captain America? Prim thought as she returned to counting up how much she’d charge Eda and her student. Humans have such weird names.

Chapter Text

Principal Bump yawned as he unlocked the doors to Hexside School of Magics and Demonics. While education was one of the most fulfilling jobs he’d ever had, the early mornings were still something he wasn't used to, even after nearly 40 years.

Stepping outside, the educator closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the acerbic air, stretching the kinks out as he inhaled.

Something is coming, master. Frewin’s voice echoed in his head.

One of the many benefits of having such a close bond with his palisman was that Frewin’s eyes were separate from his own – for instance, it would keep its eyes open even when Bump closed his.

When he did open his eyes, he saw a figure in mid-leap, coming toward the school at a remarkable speed. Landing for a second on the outer wall, they leapt again, their trajectory landing them right in front of the awe-struck principal.

Luz Noceda was speaking before she even hit the ground.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry Principal Bump I didn’t mean to be so late I tried to set mi alarma really early but I must’ve slept right through it…”

Blinking away his amazement at the girl’s method of arrival, Bump tried his best to parse what she was saying.

“...and I tried to rush through my morning routine but Hooty was taking up el baño doing something that left un gran desastre and I had to clean that up before I could shower…”

It wasn’t easy.

“...but I was eventually able to get a quick shower but then I had to skip breakfast…”

“Ms. Noceda.” Bump tried to interrupt.

“.. so I could get dressed quickly but I couldn’t decide on whether to wear my new tunic or one of mis nuevas shirts…”

“Ms. Noceda…” the educator tried to gain the girl’s attention again.

“...so I could wear one of my new vests and I thought eso seria super lindo but then I remembered we have to wear uniforms here and I had to change again and after doing that I was running out of time ev-…”

“MS. NOCEDA!”

Finally, the torrent of words from the human’s mouth stopped as she cringed away from Bump. The educator took a deep breath before continuing.

“Ms. Noceda,” he said, softer, “what are you talking about? And why are you here so early?”

“I’m… late… for school?” she answered, finally looking around. “Why is there no one else here?”

“Because school doesn’t start for over an hour?” he replied, looking at his watch. “Ms. Noceda, it is 6:45! Are you telling me that schools in the Human Realm start this early?”

“Actually, mine started at 6:30…” she said sheepishly.

Taking another deep breath, Bump spoke again. “Well, perhaps that’s something the Emperor can speak to your realm’s leaders after the Day of Unity… In any case, since you are here so early, we might as well get your track selection out of the way. Then, I would sincerely suggest you go get something to eat.” He smiled and winked at the girl. “Can’t have my newest student too hungry to learn on her first day.”

Luz smiled back. “Thanks, Princy B–”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Principal Bump,” she continued, not missing a beat. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

As Principal Bump unlocked the door to his office, Luz gawked at the various awards and trophies that lined the case on the opposite wall. “Wow. I hope one day my name will be on a trophy in a glass case.”

“Hm?” the principal muttered, turning around. “Oh! You’ll want to ask Eda about the one in the middle, then.”

Luz looked closer at the indicated trophy, a large one that read:

Hexside Banshees
First Place
Boiling Isles Grudgeby Championship
Year 973

She didn’t have much time to puzzle out what Principal Bump meant as he ushered the human into his office. The room was a fair bit bigger than Principal Hal’s back on Earth. One wall was taken up by flags representing the nine of the major covens (minus the Emperor’s Coven) and a large cork board filled with various notes and pamphlets. The rest of the walls (aside from the door and windows, naturally) were filled with photos of students, including one of Odalia Blight and Gus’ dad, along with two other boys and two orange-haired girls that looked super familiar.

“Alright, Luz, please, have a seat,” the principal spoke as he, himself, sat behind the large desk. “I graded your entrance exam from last Wednesday, and you passed with high marks. Combined with your two spells, that is enough to get you into the standard classes with your friends.”

“Yes!” Luz pumped her fists in celebration.

The elder educator allowed the human a moment more to celebrate before continuing. “Now all that’s left is your track selection. I’m not sure if Eda’s told you but every student in standard classes must pick a track.”

“Aaaaactually,” Luz said, pulling a piece of paper out and opening it, “I was thinking of taking a more, er, varied approach to my education. A little Abominations, a little Illusions… I even came up with my own schedule…”

“No,” Principal Bump said flatly. “According to the rules, which are plainly written here,” he picked up a book whose cover proudly displayed the Emperor’s Coven sigil, “a good witch needs to hocus focus. Despite the example set by your mentor, you can only choose one of the nine tracks.”

“Wha-buh-” Luz sputtered. “How am I supposed to choose just one? All of the tracks are so cool!” She paused in thought. “Is there some sort of enchanted article of clothing that can help me decide?”

“Well, there was the Choosy Hat…” the principal trailed off, eyes growing distant, before shuddering. “If you can’t decide, then I’ll choose for you. Now, let’s see…” He glanced over at the wall with the flags and hummed thoughtfully. “Ah!” he exclaimed after a moment. “The Potions track! Eda was in that track before she, er, left school. She can help you with your schoolwork. And since it’s one of the less magically strenuous tracks, I’m sure your glyphs will be more than adequate for your assignments.”

Luz looked at the flags, feeling herself drawn to the dark purple of the Oracle Coven. Eda’s words from after her first time using the Eye of Argon echoed in her head, “Hexside has one of the best oracle track programs on the Isles, so the teachers there should be able to help you make use of that ring.”

“Y’know,” the human said, “I think the Oracle track would be a better fit.”

“Really?” Principal Bump asked in confusion. “I would have sworn you would be the type of person who loves pouring things into other things. Ah well.” He shrugged, then with a twirl of a finger and a spell circle, the light gray sleeves and leggings on Luz’s uniform changed to the dark purple of the Oracle track. “Now then,” he said as the girl marveled at her newly colored uniform, “here is your class schedule.” He handed a paper over to her. “I must warn you: the annual Emperor’s Coven school inspection is happening later today. I would advise against any shenanigans while the inspector is here. Their recommendations can make or break a school.”

“Awwwwwww,” the human pouted, “but I like shenanigans.”

“I surmised,” the elder educator said evenly. “However, we wouldn’t want what happened to Beardsly Preparatory to happen here.”

“Wait,” Luz asked. “What happened there?”

Once again the principal’s eyes grew distant and he shuddered.

“Well, now that everything’s settled,” he said, completely ignoring the girl’s question, “why don’t you go and get some breakfast. I know a few places nearby -- Perdino’s does a nice pixie cream donut!”

Now it was Luz’s turn to shudder as the implications of ‘pixie cream’ flitted through her mind. “Actually, I’m going to run back to the Owl House and grab something I know I can eat. Don’t wanna get sick on my first day, y’know!”

“The Owl House?” Principal Bump asked in confusion (again). “Isn’t that on the other side of the city, deep in the woods?”

“Eh,” Luz shrugged. “Took me only about ten minutes to get here. I should have plenty of time to go back and get something quick, like toast.” She turned and headed out of the office. “Bye, Principal Bump! See you when school actually starts!”

As she jogged out through the front doors of the school, leaving the stunned principal in her wake, she made a mental note to check up on Hunter. Hopefully I didn’t hurt him too much by jumping off his head like that. But he should really know that Eda doesn’t want to be bothered before noon! Especially with those stupid pamphlets of his.

“Y’know, you didn’t have to fly me back to school,” Luz said as she and Eda approached Hexside’s main gate on Owlbert’s staff form.

“Eh, just had to see you one last time before you’re inevitably transformed into a nerd,” the Owl Lady replied.

The human rolled her eyes. “One, I was already a nerd before I even came here. And, two, I’m already in uniform! With my track color! Shouldn’t that be like kryptonite to you?”

“Depends. What the heck’s crypto-night?”

“Ummmmmmm… Oh, look! We’re here! Now I don’t have to explain something really complicated!” Luz jumped off Owlbert with a sigh of relief before turning back to her mentor.

“Hey, you gonna be okay, kid?” Eda asked. “I know that school back in the Human Realm was kinda hard for you…”

“Yeah,” Luz’s expression turned downcast. “Being the one girl who still believes in magic in high school wasn’t the best thing for my social life.”

“Well, let me give you one piece of advice,” Eda said. “Those people were dumb. And stupid. So what if you’re a little weird. You’ve got a damn amazing set of superpowers and are a damn amazing person. And, most importantly, you were right. Magic does exist, and you’re gonna be the first human superhero to use witch magic.” She ruffled Luz’s hair. “No go in there and give ‘em hell!”

The human smiled shyly. “Thanks, Eda. You ever thought of becoming a teacher? You are seriously good at this whole mentor thing.”

“Oops! Must’ve caught a gust of wind!” Eda said as she began flying away. “I’m too far away to hear you! Have fun at school!”

Sighing and shaking her head, Luz turned around and walked into Hexside on her first day of class.

Again.

She looked to her side when she sensed another student walk in beside her.

“Oh, hey Amity!” she called out when she recognized her mint-haired friend.

“Hello, Luz,” the witch replied. “Glad to see you passed the tests. Congrats on not being in the baby classes.”

“Yep!” Luz said, popping the ‘p’. “I am 100% certified ‘not a baby’.”

This caused the witch to giggle, a tinkling sound that made Luz’s heart flutter.

Holy carp I’ve got it bad. Probably shouldn’t say anything to Amity about it. We just became friends, don’t wanna weird her out.

“I see you’ve also made your track choice already,” Amity was saying. “Hmmmm. Oracle Track? Is that because of the Eye of Argon?”

“Yeah,” Luz answered. “I remembered that Eda said Hexside has the best Oracle track program on the Isles, and if anywhere’s gonna teach me to actually use the ring, it’s Hexside.”

Amity nodded. “Mother has said much the same thing. She’s tried several times to get either Ed or Em to switch tracks, to no avail. Sometimes I think the reason they’re both so good at Illusions is how much it annoys Mother.”

Luz got a laugh out of that. Unfortunately before they could talk further, Amity’s watch alarm rang.

The witch sighed, turning the alarm off (by jabbing the watch demon in the eye). “I need to head in. I promised Principal Bump I’d do a presentation for the Emperor’s Coven inspection later today and I need to set up a few things before class.”

“Okay!” Luz cheered. “Break a leg!”

Her friend looked at her oddly. “Wh-why would you tell me that!?”

“Oh, uh, it’s a human expression,” Luz said sheepishly. “It means ‘good luck’, especially when someone’s performing. The theater kids at my school said it all the time. Not sure why they say it that way. I don’t actually want you to break anything, really.”

“Well, um, thanks anyway,” Amity replied. “For the good luck and the hope I don’t injure myself.” She glanced at her watch again. “Oh, shoot! I gotta get going.” She called out as she walked towards a side entrance. “Break a leg to you, too!”

“Thanks!” Luz called back as she strolled to the front door. There she saw her other two friends at the foot of the entrance steps. Willow waved when she saw Luz.

“Hello, fellow Hexolios!” Luz said as she approached the two.

Willow winked and grinned. “Hello, fellow classmate!”

“Hey, Luz!” Gus replied as he spun a spell circle, then threw it into the air. “Let me give you a proper Hexside welcome!” With a snap, the circle burst into illusory fireworks and giant blue letters.

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!

Gus swallowed and laughed nervously. “I, uh, was trying to cover all my bases.”

Willow rolled her eyes. “Ignoring that, I see you already made your track choice.”

“Yyyyyeaah,” Luz glanced off to the side, “I, uh, accidentally got here way early, so Principal Bump went ahead and let me choose!”

Gus hummed thoughtfully. “Oracle track? Neat! My dad’s an Oracle -- most of the staff at the news station is.”

“Really?” Luz asked. “Hm. Guess I never thought how news here on the Isles works. Having a bunch of people who can see the future must make it pretty easy to find stories.”

“Yep!” Gus confirmed. “In fact, the whole crystal ball network is controlled by the Oracle Coven. You can see their leader over there!” He pointed to the coven flags that lined the walkway and, now that she actually looked at them, Luz could see that, besides the now-familiar coven sigils, these larger flags had silhouettes of witches and demons on them. The Oracle one, which Gus was pointing to, featured a short, four-armed demon wielding a crystal ball. “That’s Osran. Supposedly he’s the greatest Seer in centuries! They say he was one of Emperor Belos’ first followers, joining because he saw the paradise the Emperor would bring about.”

“Huh,” Luz said noncommittally. “And those people on the other flags are the other Coven Heads?”

Willow nodded. “Mm-hmm. There’s Terra Snapdragon for the Plant Coven, Adrian Graye for the Illusions Coven… Except for Osran, all of them graduated from one of the three magic academies -- Glandus, St. Epiderm, or right here at Hexside!”

Before Willow could say any more the first bell rangscreamed. “Uh-oh. We should probably head in,” she said, picking up her bookbag. “The lockers are extra grumpy at the start of each semester and it always takes extra time to get them to open.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t be a good impression to be late on my first day,” Luz agreed, pulling out the paper Principal Bump had given her earlier. “Also, I need to find my locker first. Do either of you know where hall C, section 32 is?”

“Oh!” Willow exclaimed. “That’s right near my locker. C’mon, I’ll show you.” She waved Luz on toward one side of the school.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you two at lunch!” Gus said, heading in the opposite direction. “And once again, congrats, Luz!” He popped another spell circle, this time forming the words GOODBYE FOREVER!

“You know what,” he said, staring at the latest ill-worded illusion, “Imma just get rid of these.”

Laughing as the boy wondered how he’d gotten so mixed up, the two girls left their friend so they, at least, could get ready for class.

Luz slid into class just as the first period late bell screamed. Thankfully, there was still a seat open at the front that she was able to take.

Wait, only 11 students? Maybe it’s ‘cuz this is a mid-year intro class?

Any further questioning of the small class size was interrupted by the teacher - a goat-like demon wearing a blue robe and a large medallion with an ‘X’ on it (making it look like the teacher was a member of the X-Men) - turned around and gave a warm smile. “Welcome, students, to Prophecies and Predictions 101. My name is Professor Cassondra and I am glad you all have chosen to join the Oracle track. I predict we’ll have a great semester!” She paused as a few of the student’s giggled at the pun. “Now before we begin, I want to know what your experience with Oracle magic is. Why did you choose this track above all the others?”

Most of the other students’ answers were the same: family members who were Oracles encouraged them to join, a visit to the Oracle Coven booth at Covention, etc. Luz was idly wondering if she was the only one to have an actual vision before coming here when the student sitting next to her stood up.

“Um, hi. M-my name is Selene,” the moon-headed young demon started, “And, well, I’ve been able to see ghosts and other spirits since I was young, even when they weren’t manifesting. And, well, they all seemed so … so sad, so… defeated. I asked an aunt who’s a wild witch and she said that Oracle magic can help the deceased, er, find closure and pass on.”

Prof. Cassondra nodded. “Yes, Selene. One of the lesser known applications of Oracle magic is necromancy, or the art of speaking to, and comforting, the dead. It is not one of the flashier aspects of the Oracle Coven, but it is a necessary one.” She turned to Luz. “And you…?”

“Hi!” Luz stood up and waved to her new classmates. “I’m Luz Noceda, Bonesburough’s resident spider-powered human! I’m pretty sure I recognize a few of you guys from my little presentation at the HAS meeting a few weeks ago. Well, about a week later I was up at the Knee with my mentor when a friend and I sort of, well, fell into the Knee’s caverns.” She paused as both the class and her teacher gasped and murmured. “Don’t worry, both Amity and I made it out okay. But when we were down there, we found A … an old tomb. And in this tomb there was a note and a ring. And the note was addressed to both of us, and included some very specific details of what was happening to us. Like the fact the ring had slipped out of the note and I’d just caught it. Or the fact that one of the exits to the tomb would take us near an exit to the surface.”

“Oh my,” the teacher gasped. “There hasn’t been anyone living on the Knee for … hundreds of years. For someone to have done all of that, all those years ago… They must have been a powerful Seer.” She looked pointedly at Luz. “And this ring, I’m guessing it’s similar to an Oracle’s focusing stone?”

“Yeah,” Luz replied, “I think that’s what Amity called it. And when I put it on I… Well, I got a vision. I … don’t remember a lot of it, it’s all sort of blurry. But I do remember that my mom and sister got transported to the Isles somehow, and mom said something about a major Earth city being on fire.”

Prof. Cassondra hummed thoughtfully. “Well, your being unable to remember many of the details of your vision is most likely due to your inexperience with Oracle magic.” She turned to address the whole class. “As we go on through the semester, any visions you have will undoubtedly get clearer and clearer. But,” she paused and raised a finger, “ seeing a vision is only the beginning of seeing the future. We have to work backwards from those visions to see the truth. Find out what events lead to the event you saw; what can be changed to prevent it from happening or make it more likely to happen.” She stepped behind her desk. “For now, though, we’ll be focusing on simpler forms of divination and fortune telling. Now if you’ll all open your textbooks, we’ll begin with a short history of Oracle magic…”

Belos was just able to suppress a wince as Lilith’s spell pulled Hunter’s nose together with a sickening CRACK. “So, tell me, again, why you thought going to my sister’s house so early was a wise decision?” she asked as the boy’s cartilage stitched itself back together.

Even after 400 years, I’m still amazed by even the most basic of witch magics.

“I thought that … ngh … she’d be less defensive and … nf … easier to talk to if I got there before she fully woke up,” the grimwalker grunted through the pain of reconstructing nasal cavities. “I even … mmnmm … brought hand-made pamphlets!”

Lilith sighed. “Really, Hunter? Pamphlets? You’re lucky my sister’s apprentice caught you before Edalyn could. At least this way we’re only dealing with a broken nose and a black eye.”

“Speaking of your sister’s ‘apprentice’,” Belos spoke up, “How has your research into her been going, Lilith?”

The witch started, looking at Belos in surprise. “Oh? You knew about that, my lord?”

“Through my connection to the Titan, there is little that goes on in my realm that I do not know about,” he replied evenly.

“Of course,” she apologized. “Unfortunately none of the parents of the girl’s friends knew much about her. Raine Whispers of the Bard Coven did talk to the girl, but was only able to verify that she was a human and definitely from the Human Realm, nothing more. Currently my theory is that she is a runaway that Edalyn took in, whether from pity or the thought that having a real human would boost sales of her so-called ‘Human Realm treasures’. I’m not sure where her reported extraordinary abilities come from, but the most likely explanations are either that Edalyn found some sort of unknown artifact that changed the human or that contact with the natural magics of the Isles is having an unexpected effect on her.”

Belos paused in thought. It is true that the Isles do have an effect on humans who come here. Am I not proof enough of this?

The emperor nodded. “Fine. You may continue your research,” he leaned forward slightly, “but do not forget your priorities. The Day of Unity is fast approaching and we need all witches inducted into Covens before then.”

Lilith bowed. “Of course, my lord. I am already formulating several strategies to round up several of the smaller wild witch groups in the Forearm Forest.”

“Good.”

The witch bowed again and turned back to begin healing the rather nasty bruise around Hunter’s left eye.

Poor child. If he keeps this up, he’s going to wear that body out sooner rather than later.

Just like the last one.

The opening of the throne room’s doors silenced Belos’ morbid thoughts. Kikimora poked her head in. “Sire, representatives from the, ugh!, Titan Trappers have arrived to speak to you.”

The emperor could feel the venom in Kiki’s voice when she said the words ‘Titan Trappers’. He felt the same. They were a notorious group of bandits, pirates, and religious fanatics that claimed they had helped kill the Titans in ages past. Naturally, the residents of the Boiling Isles, Coven and Wild Witch alike, regarded the Trappers as Enemy #1.

Wait, Philip. Hear them out. The whispery susurrus of The Titan’s voice echoed in Belos’ mind.

What!? My Lord, these are the same people who claim to have killed your kin. They nearly killed you!

No. My current circumstances are not caused by the Titan Trappers. Though they did cause the deaths of my siblings, it was for a very good reason. Surely you remember me telling you that?

Truthfully, Belos did not. But The Titan must have told him, because The Titan never lies to him.

Belos sighed. “Let them in, Kikimora.”

Kiki sighed. “As you wish, my Lord.” She opened the doors fully, gesturing for two demons to enter the throne room.

The taller one, with curling horns atop his exposed skull and wielding a crude spear made of bone and sinew spoke first. “Greetings, mighty herald of the Great Hunstsman! We have traveled from the edge of the world to greet you in--”

The smaller one, who had a curious blue-lit candle on his skull, rolled his eyes. “Oh, for the love of-! Just stand there and try not to fall over, idiot!” Grunting, he stepped forward. “Belos! My name is Bill, leader of the Titan Trappers, and this lump is Tarak. I’ve received word that you, too, can talk to the Great Huntsman. Now I know our two peoples have had their differences…”

“If you call raiding and enslaving the good witches of the Boiling Isles differences,” Lilith muttered.

Bill apparently had good hearing, as he whirled on Lilith. “Enslaving? We don’t enslave people! If you people would just pay the damn ransoms we wouldn’t have ta make those witches we do capture work fer a living.”

Both Lilith and Hunter scowled intently at the small demon. Bill stared back (though Belos imagined Bill was scowling too, somehow).

“Lilith,” Belos said, turning to her and Hunter before either could respond and make the situation worse, “why don’t you two go and strategize ways for Hunter to educate the Owl Lady on the benefits of the coven system. Surely you have some insight that would help him?”

“As you wish, my lord,” she said. “Come, Hunter. Let me see those pamphlets you made. Maybe they can be used to help other wild witches.”

Hunter said nothing as the two passed by the Trappers, though he did turn around and stick out his tongue as he exited the throne room.

Ah, youth.

After they left, Belos turned to the visitors again. “Are you here to merely insult my people, or do you have something important to say?”

“Hmph. Young’uns today ain’t got no respect fer their elders,” Bill grumbled, “Like I said, the Great Huntsman told me you talk to him as well, except you got a better connection than I do!”

“The Great Huntsman? I speak to the Titan, not some mere hunter,” Belos clarified.

That is what I was called, The Titan’s ethereal voice echoed in Belos’ mind, by my followers when I led them against the other titans eons ago.

“My Lord!” Belos called out. “Why have I not heard this before? And what do you mean ‘against the other Titans?’”

I did not think it necessary to reveal it to you, The Titan answered. But when my … ‘kin’ became jealous of my relationship with the early witch societies, those witches who aided me became known as ‘Titan Trappers’. You have had a very different role to play from them, and it is only because of the upcoming Day of Unity that I have allowed you and the Trappers meet.

“Yeah, what the Huntsman said!” Bill shouted. “You built the society while we made sure that there weren’t any more Titans hiding anywhere to wreck it! See!” He then reached up and lifted the skull off, showing it to be a mere mask or helmet. Underneath was a wizened face, wrinkled with age, but more surprisingly the left side of his face was a mass of glyphs carved into his flesh. “We’re the same, aren’t we?”

Belos responded by removing his mask as well, revealing his own scarification to the Trappers.

Tarak gasped. “Then it is true! Belos was marked by the Great Huntsman as well!”

Bill rolled his eyes again. “Of course it’s true! I said it didn’t I?” He replaced the skull mask. “Listen, the Great Huntsman told me you had some information we’d need.”

What kind of information would The Titan need me to– ah. I see.

“Yes, I do have some information of great importance to The Titan,” Belos responded, replacing his mask as well. “But I’ll need a guarantee from you before I reveal it.”

“What!?” Bill cried, incredulous. “You little whippersnapper! The Great Hunstsman…!”

“The Titan,” Belos interrupted, “tasked you with hunting down the remaining Titans, not predating on the good witches and demons of the Boiling Isles. I need a guarantee that you will stop your piratical ways. At least against my people.”

Bill sputtered indignantly, at least until The Titan’s voice cut through.

Just do it, Bill! We are so close! Do not keep me waiting any longer!

“Fffffffiiiiiinnnnneeee,” the Trapper sighed. “We won’t raid the Boiling Isles, its ships, or its colonies any more. Now spill it!”

A snap of his fingers brought Belos’ staff to his hands. As the device unfolded, Tarak looked on with undisguised awe.

“Is that one of the famed palismen of the Boiling Isles?” the larger Trapper asked, eyes locked covetously on the staff.

“Sadly, no,” the Emperor responded. “The power that The Titan granted me would overwhelm even the sturdiest of palismen. But The Titan, in its infinite wisdom, also granted me the knowledge to build an artificial staff, one that could withstand my magic.” He turned to Bill. “Perhaps one day I can show you how to build one.”

“Pah!” Bill scoffed. “I don’t need no staff to use my magic! What kinda witch needs a frickin’ staff to use their magic?”

Belos narrowed his eyes behind his mask, but held his tongue. Remember, Philip, these are fellow chosen of The Titan.

Taking a breath to center himself, the Emperor twirled his staff once. The resulting spell circle showed one of The Titan’s memory pictures -- the lonely tower on a jungled island.

“Is that what I think it is?” Tarak asked, his voice hushed in awe.

“A Titan Birthing Tower!” The elder Trapper answered. “The only one we never found!”

Belos ignored the very disturbing implications of that statement. “Because The Titan tasked me with finding it. At least until now.” He regarded the other two coolly. “Perhaps He thought your Titan Trappers would be too zealous and ‘accidentally’ harm His Child?”

“A child of the Boiling Isles itself?” Tarak spoke, never taking his eyes off the painting. “Imagine the power it must have! Power enough to...”

“Yessss!” Bill almost hissed, an oily joy in his voice. The small witch looked back at Belos. “Maybe the Grea--er, the Titan was right. If we’d found this child earlier, no doubt we would have slaughtered it like the rest of those damnable titans. Maybe being here, speaking with you, was exactly what we needed to make sure I -- we can fulfill our duties to … the Titan.”

“Do you know where this island is, by chance?” Tarak asked.

“Regretfully, no,” Belos shook his head. “Before I united the Isles, the local witches and demons weren’t interested in venturing beyond their homeland. And afterwards, I’ve been too busy building society to The Titan’s specifications. What exploratory expeditions I have been able to send haven’t found it, and we’ve searched several hundred miles in each direction, carefully documenting each and every island we find.”

“Which means we have the entire rest of the planet to search. Greeeaaat,” Bill sighed, drooping. “Which would take our entire fleet working day and night nonstop to do so.” Turning back to Belos. “Well, looks like you get your reprieve whether or not the other Trappers agree to it or not. But I guess a holy mission from the Great Hunstman takes precedence over messing with you guys.”

“Glad to see we could come to an agreement,” Belos nodded.

“Uh-huh, yeah,” Bill mumbled as he turned back to Tarak. “Come on. What are ya standing around like a lump for! Move it! We ain’t got a second to waste if we’re gonna find this tower before the Day of Unity.” The tiny witch began moving out the door without even checking if his companion was following.

“Oh!” Tarak jumped, finally taking his eyes off the painting of the tower. “Uh, right.” He awkwardly bowed. “It was a great pleasure meeting you, Emperor Belos.” He then rushed after Bill, calling out to his … friend? leader? partner? … to slow down and wait.

Belos ignored the duo, turning back to the conjured memory portrait. Now, My Lord, your plan is falling into place.

Second period, at least, was a bit more hands-on to Luz’s relief.

Though why paper fortune tellers actually worked on the Boiling Isles was something that’d keep her wondering for a while. Maybe it was because these ones used runes?

After the students had made their fortune tellers, Prof. Cassondra paired the students off into small groups to practice. “Luz, Selene,” the professor said, “why don’t you two pair up since you two have prior experience with Oracle magic.”

As Luz swung her desk around to face her partner, something triggered her Spider Sense. It felt almost like a door had opened, but she could clearly see that the classroom door was still closed. She looked around quickly, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, and the sensation disappeared when she did so.

Weird. Luz thought to herself. But this is an old, magic school. Who knows what kind of oddities it has. Like how Abuela Mim’s house has that light switch on the inside of her pantry that no one knows what it does.

“Um?” A hesitant voice called out to her. “Are you okay?”

“Weh?” Luz blinked, snapping back to reality, seeing Selene looking at her with worry in her eye. “Oh, sorry, just … got a little distracted.”

“Oh, okay,” the demon girl responded. “Let’s ...um… let’s get started, then?”

“Sure!”

The two opened their textbooks to the page with the instructions on how to use the fortune tellers and interpret the runes.

“Okay,” Luz started, “says here we’re supposed to choose a number and then a color, then repeat that three more times. Then compare the runes we get to this chart,” she tapped her book, “and we get a little prophecy for today. Neat!” As soon as she said that, she got that sensation again.

This time she closed her eyes and focused, letting her Spider Sense build a 3D picture of the classroom in her mind. Okay, there’s the door, the windows, the desks, the students, Professor Cassondra, the chalkboard, the tiny door in the chalkboard with a dog hanging out, the professor’s papers, the…

Wait, what?

Turning around, she saw, embedded into the chalkboard, a little door, with a little … glasses-wearing dog? … staring out. At her. Their eyes were glowing that distinctive indigo Luz was beginning to associate with Oracle magic. Those same eyes widened in surprise as the dog demon realized that Luz was staring right at them, and they quickly shut the strange little door, which disappeared. She couldn’t even detect it with her Spider Sense any more!

“Is - Is there something wrong with the chalkboard?” Selene asked. “You’ve been staring at it kind of … intensely for the past two minutes.”

Wait, did Selene not see the dog demon in the wall? Should I tell her? … No, I don’t want to be known as ‘that weird girl who sees dogs in walls’.

Aloud, Luz said, “Ummm, I thought I saw a fly on the wall?”

“Oh dear!” Selene gasped. “Hope it’s not a bloodfly. I’m deathly allergic to those!”

“Nah,” Luz reassured her partner. “It was just a dark spot. Now come on, let’s see what these folded pieces of paper can tell us about our future!”

“I’m telling you, I saw it!” Luz pleaded. “There was a dog demon poking his head out of a door in the chalkboard!”

“We believe you, Luz,” Willow responded as she, Luz, and Gus made their way to lunch after third period. “It’s just that…”

“We kinda don’t believe you,” Gus finished where Willow had trailed off. When the witch girl glared at him, he shrank back. “Sorry. I just think it’s better to get this stuff out in the open.”

Willow sighed, then turned back to Luz. “Sorry, it’s just that, well… There’s no way that any sort of secret tunnel system in Hexside, least of all in the walls. The defensive spells woven into the buildings would have alerted the principal immediately.”

“Trust me on that,” Gus added (more helpfully this time), “Bump will know.” He shivered. “That stay in detention was the worst week of my life.”

“So you’re saying I’m just seeing things?” Luz sighed exasperatedly as she slumped dejectedly. “Great, this is just like back in human high school.”

“What? No!” Willow put a hand on Luz’s shoulder, bringing the human to a halt. “It’s just… Maybe you saw something else and thought it was a demon? Like maybe a ghost?”

“Do ghosts have physical forms I can feel with my Spider Sense?” Luz asked.

“Huh. That’s a good question,” Gus put his finger on his chin in thought. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen the School Spirit. Maybe if we find him we’ll be able to test that.”

“I guess…” Luz trailed off, a curious look in her eyes. “Or maybe…? Hey, will you guys do me a favor and turn around, slowly, and look at the lockers between the classrooms?” Please?”

Willow turned to Gus, who shrugged back.

“Okay,” she said, and turned around. Like she thought, there was nothing out of the ordinary. “I don’t see anything.”

“So you don’t see a section of lockers 332 and 333 opened like a door, with a witch and a dog demon poking their heads out?” Luz whispered.

“Uh, no,” Gus answered, also whispering. “And you’re kinda freaking me out here, Luz.”

“Just wait,” Luz said, then crept around, hugging the wall next to where she’d said the ‘door’ was. She tensed, reminding Willow, appropriately, of a blade spider she saw one time just before it leapt from a tree to snag a passing fairy.

After a few seconds, Luz’s arms shot out, seeming to grasp nothing for a moment. Then she pulled, the air shimmered, and suddenly she was holding parts of lockers 332 and 333, which were now open like a door. And in that door were a lanky witch and a dog demon, who both promptly fell in a tangle of limbs onto the floor with indignant squawks. Willow immediately recognized the dark gray of their sleeves and leggings as signs these two were in the Detention track.

“Aha!” The human cried out, looking back smugly at her friends.

“Wow, Luz, I guess we shouldn’t have doubted you,” Gus apologized.

“No problem,” she responded, helping the Detention trackers up. “Just glad I’m not crazy, or haunted or something like that.”

Willow looked closer at the witch that had come out of the wall. He looked so familiar, but it took a few moments to put a name to his face.

“Hey!” she finally said, “you’re Jerbo! Principal Bump sent you to detention for mixing magics. How did you get into the wall?”

“That, Willow,” Jerbo answered, “is a secret.” He looked Willow over. “You look like you’re doing well. Finally got your dads to let you switch tracks?”

“Thanks,” Willow answered bashfully. Receiving praise from an upperclassman was still new to her. “It was actually thanks to Luz here. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have demonstrated my Plant Magic skills to Principal Bump.”

“Huh? Really?” Jerbo looked over at Luz, appraising the human. “How’d you do that?”

“Nearly got captured by Principal Bump after sneaking in with Willow’s help,” Luz answered. “I gave her a prickervine seed that she juiced up to get me out before that happened, though.”

Jerbo turned back to Willow. “Wait, that was you? Thanks! Those vines ruined the old detention room, got us transferred to some unused classroom over in the Construction track hall. Much better than that pit Bump had us in before.”

Gus shuddered again, and Willow put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, uh, what’s wrong with your friend?” Luz asked, pointing to the beast demon, who had been cowering behind Jerbo for some time now.

“Huh? Wow, what’s gotten into you, Barcus?” Jerbo asked, looking at the glasses-wearing demon.

Barcus only whined in response.

Jerbo turned back to Luz. “He says that when he looked at you with Oracle Magic he saw, and I quote, ‘a spectacular power, one that spans a great web that links all life and fate and destiny throughout the multiverse,’” Jerbo helpfully translated the beastspeech. “Oh, and he’s confused as to how you saw the doorways when they’re hidden by some really powerful illusions.”

Luz blinked in confusion. “Huh. Well, my Spider Sense allows me to see through illusions. Dunno about the whole ‘Web of Life and Destiny’ thing, though.” She smiled. “But what was that about you getting detention for ‘mixing magic’?”

Jerbo turned back to the human. “Oh, I wanted to mix Plant and Abomination magic!” he said proudly, but then slumped with embarrassment. “But when I demonstrated it to Bump I didn’t exactly have the best control of the soil abomination. Made a real mess of the classroom.” He stood up straighter. “But I’ve been improving!”

Willow was confused. “That’s odd. I made a mess of the Abominations classroom all the time and didn’t get detention. Heck, I literally tore up the school with vines and got transferred into a new track!”

“Hmmmmm.” Luz narrowed her eyes in thought. “Well, what did Barcus do?”

Alright, what shenanigans are you cooking up, Luz? Willow idly thought.

“Oh, he mixed Illusion and Oracle magics to be able to show people his predictions. Not his fault Ms. Mesmera got frightened by a hyper-realistic depiction of her inevitable death,” Jerbo answered, crossing his arms.

“What! You’re the reason she had to go on sabbatical last year!? Aw, man!” Gus pouted. “The sub they got was real mean.”

Barcus, at least, had the decency to look apologetic at that.

Luz looked like she was about to say something else when a voice echoed through the open “door” in the lockers.

“Hey, Jerbo, Barcus! What’s keeping you guys? If we don’t get back to the room for lunch Coach Roku’s gonna find out about this place!”

Jerbo turned around and called back to the voice. “Uhhhh, just coming Viney! We’ll be right there!” He turned back to the non-detention trio. “Listen we gotta go or our secret hideout’s gonna get found out.”

“Okay,” Luz said, “Willow, Gus, and I have a free period after lunch. I wanna meet you guys again, and your other friend too.”

“Professor Addams room should be free this semester, too. He hates having afternoon classes,” Willow offered, curious about what her newest friend was planning.

“Does that sound good?” Luz asked.

“Uh, sure?” Jerbo said. “Why, though?”

“What can I say? I like meeting new friends,” Luz answered, completely unconvincingly to Willow.

Jerbo looked worried. “Okay? Well, c’mon, Barcus, let’s get going and tell Viney what’s going on.”

With a lingering look at Luz, the beast demon followed Jerbo back into the wall. The “door” then closed, leaving no trace that the wall had even been open moments before.

Viney stopped as the detention track trio reached the door that opened onto Professor Addams’ classroom. Turning back to Jerbo and Barcus, she asked, “And you’re sure these three are cool? They aren’t gonna rat us out to Bump?”

Jerbo shrugged. “Well, considering Bump didn’t bust into detention with a squad of guards…”

Viney rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Fine. But if this is a trap, I’m putting all the blame on you two.”

As her friends sputtered indignantly, she pushed open the door into the classroom and peeked out. There she saw three younger students, two witches (one in Illusions blue and the other in Plants green, the latter most likely Willow according to Jerbo’s description) and what looked like a human in Oracle indigo, deep in conversation. Surprisingly, the human turned to look at Viney, smiling brightly and waving. The two witches with her looked vaguely in the same direction, but just looked confused, as if they couldn’t see what their friend could.

“Well, that confirms what you said about the human seeing through the illusions on the doors,” Viney reported to her friends.

She heard Jerbo mutter a ‘told you’ as she stepped out, causing the two witches with the human to jump a little in surprise. Jerbo and Barcus followed after, though Barcus stayed behind Jerbo, peering out from behind the boy’s legs.

“Aw, c’mon, Barcus, I promise I’m not that scary, despite that whole ‘web of fate’ thing you saw,” the human said.

“I dunno, Luz,” the Illusion witch said. “Have you seen the way you crawl up walls and ceilings? It’s kinda creepy.”

“Not helping, Gus,” the Plant witch chided her friend.

But the boy continued on regardless. “Also, there’s your gross pedipalps, your frankly insane strength, your ridiculous speed…”

“Gus!” the two girls yelled at him.

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized.

The Plant witch looked over at her human friend. “You gotta admit, Luz, you could be pretty terrifying if you wanted to be.”

“Gee, thanks?” Luz said uncertainly.

Viney cleared her throat. “Can we get to why you wanted to meet us? I don’t want to be gone too long in case Coach wakes up from his afternoon nap early.”

“Right, right,” Luz said, nodding. “Jerbo said that he and Barcus got put in detention for mixing magic. What about you?”

Viney was caught off guard by the question. Not many people wanted to hear her side of the story -- they just assumed that since she was in detention she deserved to be there.

“I mixed Healing and Beast-keeping magics, using my pet griffin Puddles as an assistant. Sure, she was a little clumsy, maybe broke a wall or two at first, but she was great with patients, especially the little kids! And I managed to turn her spider-breath into candy-breath. How is that detention worthy?”

Luz looked thoughtful for a few moments. “So you aren’t, like, constantly making trouble or anything like that?”

“What? No!” Jerbo protested. “We love school!”

“Maybe a bit too much,” Viney admitted.

“Luz, what are you thinking?” the Plant witch asked cautiously.

“I’m thinking that Principal Bump has his priorities all wrong!” Luz said indignantly. “Including me, there are four people here who just want to learn about lots of different magics! And Bump tossed three of them into detention. And from what you told me about the Detention track, Willow, it’s basically permanent!”

“Wait, you wanted to study more than one track?” Gus asked.

Luz laughed nervously. “Yeah, I kindaaaa wanted to study a little bit of everything, since, y’know, I don’t even know what types of magic my glyphs are even capable of.”

Willow rolled her eyes. “Figures.” But then she asked more somberly, “so what are you going to do? Knowing you, you aren’t just gonna let this be.”

The human hummed in thought. “Well, maybe if I talk to Bump I can persuade him that we all just want to learn…”

“Not gonna happen,” Viney interrupted. “All three of us tried to talk with Bump before. He didn’t listen.”

“Well, have you tried talking to him at the same time?” Luz asked. When the detention trackers all shook their heads, she continued. “Alright. Then let’s all talk to him together. Maybe the four of us can succeed where one of us failed!”

Viney looked at Jerbo and Barcus, both of whom just shrugged.

“What’s Bump gonna do, put us in double detention?” Jerbo asked. “I say we go for it.”

“Sure, why not?” Viney said. “We were probably gonna have to drop out and become wild witches anyway. If Bump expels us we’ll just have to do that earlier.”

“Cool!” Luz turned to her friends. “You guys don’t have to come with, considering I may get in huge trouble for doing this.”

“Are you kidding? Ever since you told me about them I’ve always wanted to go on a superhero adventure!” Gus exclaimed.

“Super-what now?” Jerbo looked as confused as Viney felt. “What’s he talking about?”

“We’ll explain it later,” Willow said, before replying to Luz. “I’m coming too. You helped me out and I want to – what’s that human expression you said? ‘Pay it ward four’?”

“Pay it forward,” the human corrected. “And, thanks, guys.”

“There’s one problem, though,” Willow continued. “Principal Bump’s in the auditorium with the inspector from the Emperor’s Coven. That’s all the way on the other side of the school. How are we gonna get there in time?”

“We can take the Secret Room of Shortcuts,” Viney said, thumbing over her shoulder to the detention trio’s entrance, which, ironically, was composed of part of the actual door into the room, as well as part of the nearby wall. “It’s how we peek in on all the classes.”

“Wait, you guys have kept learning even in detention?” Luz asked as she approached the entrance.

“Yeeeeaaaah,” Viney nervously scratched the back of her head. “Like I said, we kinda like school a little too much.”

The human stopped at the threshold and turned to Viney, eyes bright. “That’s great! If we show Principal Bump that you guys went through to make this–”

“Except we didn’t make the Room,” Jerbo interrupted, stepping across. “No one knows who did. An upperclassman showed Viney, and she showed us.”

“Yeah,” Viney agreed as she entered with Barcus, “Motaro showed me the Room shortly before he left. He said he was shown it by another upperclassman who also quit school to become a wild witch.”

“Wait, you’re telling me that students have been using a hidden network of portals to learn multiple tracks for years? How had Principal Bump not figured this out?” Gus asked as he entered the doorway.

Willow peered inside the doorway to the Secret Room of Shortcuts. “Yeah, all the wards and stuff built into the walls should’ve tipped him or a previous principal off to any hidden rooms on school grounds.”

Viney shrugged. “No one who’s known about this understands how we’ve been able to go undetected for so long. And I’m not gonna look a gift griffin in the mouth.”

Willow just hummed thoughtfully at that as she stepped into the Room. She and Gus looked around the Secret Room of Shortcuts. The round room towered a dozen or so stories tall, and was probably a good 40 or 50 feet wide. Around the sides of the room ran a wide ramp that allowed the witches inside to access the numerous doors that lined the walls. No two doors were exactly alike, running the gamut of sizes, colors, and styles, and there was no way to tell from the door itself where it exited. Luckily, the Detention trackers had memorized where most of them ended up.

“Looking at taking some ‘extracurricular’ studies?” Viney teased them.

“Oh no,” Willow protested. “I only just got into the Plant track and I’m still catching up since I missed a whole year. I do not need any extra work, thanks.”

“Sorry. I’m pretty much a one-trick manticore. I’m good at illusions, but pretty bad at most every other kind of magic,” Gus said.

“Aw, Gus, don’t say tha–whoa!” Luz started to say as she entered the Room, but she suddenly stumbled the second she crossed the threshold.

Gus and Willow immediately rushed to her side.

“Luz! You okay?” Gus asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” the dizzy girl said as she righted herself. “Just … my Spider Sense went all wonky, just like in the li-er, somewhere else. Wait…” She smiled. “That’s why Principal Bump doesn’t know about this place!”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Jerbo asked.

“This place,” the human’s arms swept wide, indicating the entire Room, “isn’t on the Boiling Isles at all. Heck, it’s probably not anywhere on your entire planet!”

Four witches and one demon looked confusedly at the human.

“Wha-? How? Not on our planet?” Viney’s mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out what Luz was saying.

“Yeah! The, uh, other place I felt that way was actually in another dimension, so I guess your Secret Room of Shortcuts is too. Of course, that one was a lot worse considering we teleported into it instead of just walked through a door, but, yeah, the feeling was the same.”

“Wait, was this other place in the Knee?” Gus asked. “We’re not gonna be stuck here like you and Amity were, are we?”

“I’d think we’d know if we were in the Titan-damned Knee, Gus,” Viney responded.

“Yeah. This was … somewhere else,” Luz said. “The Knee was similar, but different. Trust me.”

“I’m guessing that this whole Knee thing is something else we’ll have to talk about later,” Viney said, “but the door that’s nearest to the auditorium is down there.” She pointed at a reddish wood door near the bottom, three levels down. “Well, there’s one that’s in the auditorium, but it opens in the ceiling for whatever reason.”

Suddenly Viney felt something brush past her, and before she could react Luz had jumped off the ramp and was falling to the floor.

“Holy Titan!” Jerbo yelled.

Thankfully the human landed safely.

And then proceeded to jog over to the door Viney had indicated earlier like nothing had happened. She opened it and peeked out, while the others ran down to catch up.

“Why the hell did you do that?” Viney fumed. “You could’ve gotten seriously hurt!” Barcus barked in agreement.

“Weh?” Luz popped her head back into the Room. “I… just wanted to check and see if the coast was clear?”

“Why are you guys so-- Ohhhhhhh!” Gus started, then stopped in realization. “You guys have probably never seen Luz use her powers before!”

“What? Powers? What are you talking about?” Jerbo asked.

“It’s something we’ll have to talk about…” Luz started.

“Yeah. Later,” Viney finished, rolling her eyes. “Gonna be a real long conversation at this point.”

“Sorry,” Luz apologized. “Sometimes I forget that not everyone knows about my powers here, unlike back home.” She peeked out of the door again. “Well, looks like no one’s in this hallway, so we should have a clear shot to the auditorium to talk with Principal Bump!”

“Lead the way, then,” Viney gestured to the door. “Just be prepared for disappointment.”

Vee had never known that the mere scratching of a pen would be one of the most important sounds in her life.

“And, once more, Ms. Noceda,” the lawyer said, his slicked-back hair shining under the kitchen lights. He flipped over the last of the inch-thick stack of papers he’d brought, revealing yet more of the cramped, typed text that had filled each sheet with an avalanche of nearly incomprehensible jargon.

Camila dutifully scanned through the, what she had termed, ‘legalese’ before signing, once again, on the final too-small line.

“Is that it, Mr. Wright?” she asked, idly shaking the cramp out of her hand. “Is the adoption final?”

“Almost,” he replied. He took another pen out of his dark blue jacket, then picked up two of the papers he’d set aside earlier. “Now we just need Vee to sign these.”

Vee swallowed nervously as he pushed the papers and pen in front of her. When Dr. Strange had contacted them Friday saying he’d been able to speed up Vee’s adoption process (something about saving a senator from a vampire in Egypt?), he’d informed them that Vee would need to come up with a ‘human’ name, at least for legal purposes.

The question had bugged her all weekend. Both Luzher sister and Camilaher mom had only advised her to ‘go with whatever name you prefer’. Eda had offered a slew of names, though she retracted most of those when mom had asked how many of the Owl Lady’s aliases had criminal records on Earth.

And so the basilisk had spent Saturday night and most of Sunday deep in thought. The problem was she’d come to actually like being called ‘Vee’. It was what everyone already knew her as. But was that a name? Was it her name?

Funnily, it was only after a Doogle search on human names that she came to an answer.

And so, today, she signed - more pen strokes that would change her future.

“Victoria?” Her mom questioned as the basilisk signed the second page.

“I was looking at human name meanings online, and, well…” Vee (now Victoria) answered. “This one just spoke to me. I’ve won. I’m free.” She smiled. “And you and Luz can keep calling me ‘Vee’ if you want. We can just say it’s a nickname.”

“I think it’s lovely, mija.” Camila answered, kissing her new daughter on the forehead.

Mr. Wright cleared his throat to alert the two women he was still there. “If you’ll hand back the papers, I’ll go ahead and get them notarized.”

Both mother and daughter blushed as Camila passed the now-signed papers back to the lawyer.

The newly renamed Victoria Noceda watched as the man pulled out a strange contraption and squished each paper in its center, making a pretty raised pattern in the upper right corner. After each sheet got its pattern, he quickly initialed the center of the pattern. Working quickly and efficiently, Mr. Wright completed his part of the process in no time at all and was straightening the gathered paperwork before he put it in his briefcase.

“All right!” He said as he stood up. “As soon as I get back to the office I’ll fax these in to the appropriate agencies. It’ll take some time for the paperwork to be filed on their end, so it may be weeks before the packet with your identification papers gets here.” He took his briefcase in one hand, extending the other to Victoria. “But that’s really just a formality at this point, considering Senator Philips’ involvement. Let me be the first to congratulate you on becoming a US citizen, Ms. Victoria Noceda.”

Shaking the proffered hand, Victoria smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Wright.”

Her mom shook the man’s hand next. “Yes, thank you, Mr. Wright. You’ve been a really big help.”

“No problem, ladies,” he smiled, “but now I must really get going. It’s a long drive back to New York.”

There was still a little bit of a walk from the exit from the Secret Room of Shortcuts. Just enough time for Luz’s thoughts to wander.

Man, whoever made this and Amity’s little hideout must’ve been a super powerful witch. I wonder if they had access to magic from outside the Isles, though. Dimensional stuff seems to be more in line with Dr. Strange’s magic than witch magic.

She was shaken from those idle thoughts as the rest of the group stopped. When she looked up she saw that they’d come to the auditorium.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Viney said as she moved to open the door.

The moment the witch touched the door Luz’s Spider Sense went crazy. With a yell of “Get down!” she leapt and pushed Viney to the floor seconds before a bolt of lightning shattered the door, showering the students in splinters.

“What the heck’s going on in there?” Gus asked as he peered through the ruins of the auditorium door. “Whoah!”

When Luz looked herself, she saw Principal Bump battling a giant snake creature that was wearing the remains of a business suit. Behind the principal stood Amity, the older man shielding the young witch from the creature’s slashes and bites while occasionally firing off a spell of his own. Unfortunately the snake being was very agile, so most of the principal’s spells missed (which explained why the door had exploded).

Weirdly, the snake creature reminded the human of Vee’s basilisk form, though her sister was much cuter than whatever this was.

“Uh, thanks?” Viney said from below her. “How’d you–?”

“No time,” Luz interrupted as she pulled the older girl up. “You guys better stay back. I don’t want you to get hurt. Maybe try to find a teacher or one of the guards.”

“Us? What about you?” Jerbo asked over Barcus’ whines.

The human flashed her new friend a smile and a thumbs up. “I’m gonna go save Amity and Principal Bump.”

Ignoring Jerbo’s confused “How?!”, Luz started into the auditorium, staying low (mostly to avoid Principal Bump’s stray magical bolts since the combatants seemed too focused on each other to notice her at the moment.)

Hmmm. Can’t sense anything that’d make a good staff here. Guess I’m just gonna have to fall back on my hand-to-hand training.

Half-forgotten Bruce Lee marathons and that one Saturday of free karate lessons don’t fail me now.

Though if this is a basilisk like Vee, why aren’t they trying to eat all the magic Principal Bump’s firing off?

As she approached the stage where Principal Bump was shielding Amity, the human got an answer to that question, sort of. In between the growls and hisses they were letting out, the basilisk kept shouting ‘Devil!’ or ‘Slay the monster!’

The human quickened her pace, realizing that the basilisk was dead set on trying to kill either her new principal or new friend(crush).

Ignoring her stupid hormones, Luz popped up behind the, she now realized, very large basilisk – easily three or four times Vee’s size, unless her sister was hiding something – just as the creature crashed maw first into a shield her principal had thrown up.

“Wow, Amity, I didn’t realize your presentation would involve such high production values!” Luz proclaimed. “But I’d’ve sent the monster back to the design team. It’s a little on the ugly side.”

Once, she’d been able to ask Peter Parker why he quipped so much when he fought supervillains. His response now echoed through her head.

Because it’s a way to keep the bad guys’ attention on me and not on any innocent civilians.

Sure enough, the basilisk’s head whipped around, their fangs making a skin-crawling screeching sound as they dragged across the principal’s shield.

Now that the basilisk was facing her, Luz could see that there were a lot more differences between this one and her sister, besides size. First were the fangs – where Vee’s were small, reminding Luz of certain species of lizards, the ones in front of her now were huge and nasty-looking, jutting from the creature’s jaws like knives, and they were so large the human had trouble imagining the creature being able to fully close its mouth.

Next were the eyes. Vee had two, fairly normal-sized eyes, in the normal place where eyes were supposed to be. This basilisk, however, had … too many eyes. Far more than Luz could count at the moment. Some were too large, some were too small, while none were just right. And they were all over the poor thing’s face, making them look like more of a bug than a snake.

Last were their scales. The basilisk Luz faced had large, thick scales that looked more like armor plates than the smaller, snake-like scales her sister sported. And several of those plates were chipped, scratched, or scorched, though from the current battle or the basilisk’s previous encounters, Luz wasn’t sure.

“YOU!” the basilisk yelled, bringing Luz out of her musings. “You will tell me why he did this to me! Why it hurts so much to think!”

“Sorry,” Luz answered, “Vee didn’t tell us much about her time in the Emperor’s custody, and mom and I aren’t going to push her on that.”

The basilisks far too many eyes lost focus and their claws went to their head. “V? Num- number five? I- I remember… She, they, we got out. But then -then -then she, they left me. And… hurt so much … so hard to think. Tried to find help… but couldn’t remember … hurt so much … so angry.”

While the basilisk had been talking, Principal Bump edged his way across the stage to the left end, Amity still behind him. “Ms. Noceda,” he said quietly, “this… creature managed to disguise itself as the Emperor’s Coven inspector and get into the school. It looks like a greater basilisk, but those…”

“Have been extinct for centuries?” Luz finished. “Yeah, until your Emperor cloned some from fossils. One of them managed to get to Earth the same day I came here. She told the Avengers and Fantastic Four about Belos’ experiments, that he brought back the basilisks to study their shapeshifting abilities.” She turned back to the basilisk. “But Vee doesn’t look like this at all! At least not in her basilisk form.”

The basilisk moaned. “Nnnnn. Th-that’s because nnngh… The others were--!” They gripped their head again, doubling over in pain. “AHHHHHHH! Hurts! Can’t… Think!”

Luz and, surprisingly, both Principal Bump and Amity rushed to the stricken basilisk’s side. When she got closer, Luz could see that blood was coming from the corner of the basilisk’s mouth and ears, and their breaths were quick and short, almost like they were having some sort of attack.

“Oh, this is bad. I don’t suppose you’ve studied basilisk biology, Principal Bump?” She turned to the older man.

“I didn’t even realize any existed until today!” He replied, panicking. “And you’re the only person I know of who’s even had any peaceful interactions with one!”

“We’d need someone with a knowledge of both Healing and Beast Keeping,” Amity said, “but the only person I know who mixes magic like that is the Owl Lady.”

Luz’s eyes brightened. “Mixing magic! That’s it! I know who to get. You guys keep them talking and awake, I’ll be right back!” She dashed out of the auditorium and saw her friends just up the hallway, talking with each other. The human rushed up to them, grabbing Viney by the shoulder. “Viney I’m glad you’re still so close there’s no time I really need your help someone is seriously injured and may be dying can you come help?”

“Uh, okay?” The older girl responded. “How are you-?”

“Sorry about this there’s no time hang on!” Luz scooped up the older girl and ran back into the auditorium and set her down by the basilisk, who was still holding their head and hissing in pain.

Viney wobbled a bit as she reoriented herself after the super-speed trip. “Huh-buh-where-how?”

“Ms. Viney!” Principal Bump exclaimed. “What are you doing out of detention? You are in serious trouble--!”

“No time!” Luz interrupted. “This basilisk might die if they don’t get help! Viney, I promise I’ll tell you, Jerbo, and Barcus everything later. Principal Bump, we really need to talk about your priorities. But first, we need to save this person’s life!”

All three witches were taken aback by Luz’s words. The basilisk whimpered in pain and tried to curl up even tighter around themself.

“Viney, please,” Luz pleaded. “We need someone with experience in both beast demons and Healing magic to find out what’s wrong with her--them.”

Viney took a deep breath. “Alright.” Drawing a spell circle near the basilisk’s head, the witch began examining her odd patient. Her eyes widened as she peered through the circle into what Luz assumed was the basilisk’s internal organs.

“Holy Titan!” the older girl breathed. “What the hell happened to this poor creature?!”

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with them?” Luz rushed over to stand behind Viney, trying in vain to see through the spell circle.

“Well, first off their adrenal glands are way too large,” Viney replied. “I can’t tell if they’re swollen or not but they’re pumping out a lot of adrenaline.”

Principal Bump hummed in thought. “That might explain their aggressive behavior earlier. But why did they stop when Luz started talking to them?”

“Dunno,” Viney shrugged. “But this is also most likely what’s causing the pain. They’re body and brain are overloaded. It’s probably not helped that the sensory parts of their brain are also enlarged -- I’d bet that their senses are heightened to an almost painful degree.”

“Do you know any way to help them?” Luz asked.

“I… think so,” the older girl said cautiously, pointedly looking at Principal Bump, “but it requires spells that are a mix of Beast Keeping, Healing, and Potions.”

The educator looked back at her for a long minute before sighing. “Fine. As long as it’s to save the creature’s life, I guess I can look the other way. This time.”

Viney frowned, but still began drawing the spell circle. She gently pushed it into her patient’s head. The basilisk hissed again in response, but started to relax a little. Slowly one of their eyes opened and they removed their hands from their head.

“Hurts… less…” They spoke slowly, deliberately. “Thank… you…”

“No problem,” Viney replied, nervously. “Just doing my best to help a sick person.”

The basilisk’s open eye swiveled toward Luz. “You… human?”

“Uh, yes?” she answered, confusion as evident on her face as it was in her voice.

“Is everything all right in there?” Willow’s voice floated down from the open door.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Luz called back. “You guys can come in if you want.”

As her other friends (both new and old) began picking their way down through the detritus of the recent battle, Luz turned back to the basilisk, whose breathing had evened out to a more normal pace.

“He wants … save … humans … devils…” the basilisk murmured, their one open eye glazing over like her cousin Anna’s baby that one time she and mami went to a family gathering.

Hopefully the basilisk wouldn’t also start wailing at the top of their lungs.

“You … know V?” The basilisk asked Luz, the eyelid slowly drooping.

“Yes,” the human answered. “She’s safe on Earth -- the Human Realm.”

“Goooood,” the basilisk said, their voice sleepily slowing. “Tell her … big sister Zero is … happy … she … safe…..”

With that the basilisk’s eye fully closed as she finally fell asleep. Everyone in the room let loose a sigh of relief.

“Well, that was weird,” Gus said after a few seconds.

“Indeed,” Principal Bump replied. “Funny thing is, I wouldn’t have even known she was a basilisk until she went berserk. I’m still not sure why Amity conjuring a few lights set her off like that.”

Luz looked over at Amity, who extended the pointer and pinkie of one hand. The human nodded slightly.

So she attacked when Amity did human magic but not witch magic? That’s weird.

Barcus sniffed the snoring serpent, then barked softly.

“Well, Mr. Barcus, we won’t be doing anything with the basilisk,” Principal Bump answered the demon dog. “I will probably have to call either the Beast Keeping or Emperor’s Coven to come take care of her. Titan knows we can’t keep her here.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Luz walked around to stand before the older witch. “Did you not hear me say that the Emperor himself made the basilisks! And experimented on them! They only escaped about a month ago! You can’t just send her back to them!”

“And what do you propose I do, Ms. Noceda? Keep a possibly dangerous demon at my house?” he shot back.

“I’ll carry her to the Owl House if I have to,” Luz responded, crossing her arms defiantly.

“She won’t be alone,” Willow said, coming to stand beside her friend.

“From what Luz told me of what happened to her sister and the other basilisks…” Amity looked over at Number Zero. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, witch, beast, or human.”

“This one may have gotten it even worse,” Viney said, another Oracle spell circle in her hands. “I’m detecting at least two hearts, her skeleton is way too thick, even for her size, and her muscles are all sorts of screwed up. If the Emperor did do this, there’s no way we can send her back.”

The principal sighed. “I guess you all are in agreement?”

Gus and Willow nodded, also standing beside Luz.

“Well, we only just met today…” Jerbo started, only to be interrupted by Barcus’ growling. “Yeah, I guess I agree. Luz and her friends are the only people who’ve willingly talked to us since we got into detention.”

“Fine,” Principal Bump exhaled heavily. “But I haven’t heard a good alternative yet.”

Barcus barked twice in response.

“Yeah!” Jerbo said, his face brightening. “There’s got to be at least one of those empty rooms that could fit her!”

“And what,” Principal Bump said, irritation creeping into his voice, “is a ‘Secret Room of Shortcuts’?”

The three Detention trackers turned to each other, seeming to have a silent conversation (argument?) between the three of them before Viney answered.

“It’s, um, it’s a hidden room with doors that connect to nearly every part of the school. We’ve been using it to attend classes even though we’re in detention.”

The principal crossed his arms in exasperation. “Really, now? I think I’d know about a secret room in the confines of my school.”

“It’s true!” Viney said defiantly.

“We can prove it, Principal Bump!” Luz said, then turned to the older girl. “Viney, you said there was a shortcut door that opened in the ceiling here, right?”

“Yeah, right above center stage,” she answered. “But I don’t see how any of us could get up there without a palisman.”

“And how do you open the doors from outside?”

Viney pulled out a piece of what looked like ordinary chalk. “With this. Draw a door with this and you should be able to open it.”

“Got it.” Taking the chalk, Luz leaped up and, with a little webbing assist, landed on the ceiling above the stage. At about center stage she drew a simple door with a handle. Sure enough, as soon as she finished the handle shifted, becoming 3 dimensional. When she pulled it, the new trap door opened, revealing the inside of the Secret Room of Shortcuts.

Looking back down, she saw Principal Bump’s incredulous face. “What? How? The school security system should tell me of any hidden rooms or passages!”

“Not if it’s not in the school!” Luz declared as she dropped down. “Because of, er, prior experiences I’m reasonably sure that the Secret Room of Shortcuts exists in another dimension. Or, like a pocket dimension? I’m not too sure on the specifics.”

The principal’s face screwed in confusion. “But… Another dimension? There’s no witch magic I know of that could do that!”

Amity’s, Willow’s, and Gus’ eyes widened, but thankfully no one said anything.

“And the power it would take to do such a thing… Whoever did it must be incredibly powerful!” Principal Bump continued. “Could she … no. Maybe…?”

“Well, whoever made it, they made sure to tell other Detention track students,” Viney said. “We’ve all used to study multiple tracks. Even after you shoved us into an empty room with nothing to do!”

“I put you into the detention track in the hopes that you would learn focus and discipline,” Principal Bump tried to explain. “Coven rules are quite clear that students are not allowed to study more than one type of magic.”

“But what about those of us who want to join the Emperor’s Coven?” Amity asked.

“And if Viney hadn’t been studying multiple tracks, she wouldn’t have been able to help the basilisk,” Willow added. “If a fight had broken out, people might have gotten hurt, or killed.”

“I’m not sure she’d have survived any sort of real fight,” Viney said, nodding toward the snoozing Zero.

Principal Bump looked between the assembled students, then sighed. “Fine, I can tell when I’m beaten. But the moment any of you step out of line I’m expelling you. Got it?” At the chorus of nods and agreements he continued. “Now then, who wants to study multiple tracks? Hurry up, now, before I change my mind.”

Barcus spoke up first with an enthusiastic ‘woof!’

“Fine, you can go back to Illusions and Oracle magic. But the minute I hear of a teacher fainting again I’m digging out the Choosy Hat.” With a twirl of his finger, Principal Bump’s spell circle shifted the demon dog’s gray sleeves changing the upper half to Illusions blue and the lower half Oracle purple.

“Oh! Can I go back to Plants and Abominations?” Jerbo asked hopefully. “I promise I’ve gotten better at controlling my soil abominations.”

“Fine, fine,” Principal Bump answered. “Perhaps it was a bit extreme to send you to the Detention track for messing up a few rooms.” Another spell circle and Jerbo’s uniform changed colors too -- the sleeves became Plant green, while his leggings became the same pinkish-purple that Amity wore.

“And you, Ms. Viney?” the educator asked.

The older girl looked again at Basilisk Zero, then back to Principal Bump. “Beast Keeping and Healing. Someone’s going to have to look after her, unless Luz can pull someone who knows basilisk biology out of the Human Realm.”

“Uhhhhhh,” Luz paused to think. “I’ll… ask around, see if there’s anyone who can help.”

A nod and a spell circle changed Viney’s outfit -- blue sleeves and brown leggings -- before Principal Bump turned his attention to Luz. “And you, Ms. Noceda? I assume you want to - how did you put it? - take a more varied approach?”

Luz almost said ‘yes’. The word was on the tip of her tongue, but she paused to think. After a moment she said, “I want to. I really want to. But…” She sighed. “Man, that Oracle homework is already starting to pile up. Add to that my training under Eda… Yeah, learning all 8 tracks is not happening.”

“So, you’re going to stay on the Oracle track?” the elder witch asked.

“Aaaaactually, I was thinking of taking your advice from this morning,” she clarified, “and take some Potions classes. Like you said, Eda should be able to help me, and Viney, you said that some of the magic you used to help Zero was Potions, right?”

“Yeah, and I’d appreciate having the help,” the older girl said.

“Alright, then,” Principal Bump replied with another spell circle, and Luz’s leggings changed colors from the dark purple of the Oracle track to the yellow color that she’d seen on Potions track students. “Now that that’s settled…”

“Um, Principal Bump,” Amity interrupted, “I would like to add a second track, if you’ll allow it.”

The older man’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really, Amity? That’s … unexpected. May I ask why?”

“Mother taught me to always look out for opportunities,” the mint-haired witch stated matter-of-factly. “And this represents an opportunity that I wouldn’t get anywhere else besides the Emperor’s Coven. And if I want to join the Emperor’s Coven, I’m going to need a leg up.”

“Alright,” Principal Bump nodded, “which other track do you want?”

“Oracle,” she replied. “Mother has always been a little disappointed that none of her children have followed in her footsteps.”

The man shrugged. “I guess that’s as good a reason as any.” His spell circle shifted the color of Amity’s leggings from Abominations pink to Oracle purple.

Luz hopped off the stage and pulled the mint-haired girl into a one-armed hug. “Looks like we’re gonna be classmates, Amity! Oh, I’m so excited.”

The witch blushed. “Heh. Yeah. That… totally didn’t even cross my mind.”

For some reason Willow thought that was funny as she started snickering behind a hand. So invested was she in trying not to laugh out loud that she jumped when Principal Bump spoke to her and Gus.

“And you two -- are you going to want a second track?”

Gus answered first. “Nope. None for me. I’m happy right where I am, sir.”

“Uh, no, sir. I’ve got enough work just catching up with the last few semesters in Plants,” Willow answered after she composed herself.

“Alright, then,” the elder witch said, “now we need to figure out how to carry Ms. Zero into this secret room of yours.” He looked up at the still open door in the ceiling. “Even if some of you had palismans I doubt we could fit her through there.”

“The door up the hall should be big enough,” Viney said. “Just need to carry her there without waking her. Not sure an abomination will be steady enough.”

Principal Bump turned to Luz. “Ms. Noceda, can you handle carrying her?”

Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus all turned quizzically to the human, who carefully looked Zero over.

“Maybe?” Luz said uncertainly. “The weight shouldn’t be a problem, but she’s so long I’m afraid she might slip or drag along the ground.”

“Well,” Jerbo started, “if I only make one abomination, I think I can concentrate enough that it wouldn’t be as clumsy as a normal abomination would be.” He looked over at Amity. “What do you think?”

The Abomination track’s top student pursed her lips (cutely) in thought for a moment before answering. “In theory, it should work, as long as we don’t have to go too far.”

“It’s literally at the end of the hallway,” Viney pointed towards the entrance.

“We should be fine, then,” Amity said, “as long as Luz carries her head so we know it's stable.”

“Can do, captain!” Luz let off a salute and moved to pick up the basilisk’s head. “Whenever you two are ready.”

“Yes, let’s do this quickly, before she wakes up,” Principal Bump advised. “Mr. Porter, Ms. Park, you two should get ready for your next classes. No need for me to write four excuses.”

“You sure?” Willow asked.

“Don’t worry,” Luz said as Jerbo and Amity summoned their abominations, “I’ll catch up with you guys after school. I’ll probably want Gus’s help explaining things.”

“Alright,” Gus said, “see you all later!”

Viney watched as Luz carefully carried the basilisk’s oversized head through the door to the Secret Room of Shortcuts. Or is it a portal, since we’re now technically in another dimension? Should we call it the Secret Dimension of Shortcuts?

While Luz, Jerbo, and Amity worked to maneuver Zero’s body through the door, Principal Bump paced around the ground floor, taking in the entire Secret Room Dimension with a thoughtful frown.

“So you just use these doors to sneak into classes?” he finally asked.

“Er, no, Principal Bump,” Viney answered. “We just open a door and look out.” She demonstrated by cracking a door ajar, letting the principal look out into one of Ms. Mesmera’s classes. “There's some powerful illusions on the doors themselves to make them invisible and if we stay inside the door, nobody can see or hear us,” she continued, then looked back at Luz. “Well, almost nobody.”

“Yes, Ms. Noceda’s powers are quite amazing,” he replied off-handedly. “And all you three do is attend classes through these doors? No playing pranks or flooding the boys’ locker room or anything of that nature?”

“Nope,” Viney shook her head, “just learning when we were in detention.” She paused. “Well, some of the students before us may have used this to cause trouble, but Barcus, Jerbo, and I don’t.”

Principal Bump looked at the dual tracker with a critical eye for a few moments before nodding. “I believe you. Perhaps I’ve allowed some old prejudices to cloud my judgment.”

“Okay, we’re all in,” Luz announced, still miraculously holding Zero's head above hers. “And somehow Zero is still asleep. Which room were you guys thinking of letting her stay in?”

Barcus pawed and barked at one of the larger doors on the lowest level, an oddly circular green one with the handle in the middle.

“This one?” Viney asked. “I guess it’d be big enough, and it’s got that big pit area. Probably have to clean out the debris, though.”

The door opened to reveal a large room that had been built out of dark stone. About a dozen metal columns rose up to the ceiling throughout the room, although parts of a couple had fallen down and littered the floor with surprisingly sharp shards (as Jerbo’s poor foot had once found out) that years of other Detention trackers had swept to the sides. Rows of shelves ran along the walls, though the books that had occupied them were long gone. The very middle was dominated by a large cushion-lined depression, the padding and fabric still pristine thanks to the enchantments woven (literally) into them. A quick spell circle from Viney caused the light enchantments on the column-mounted sconces to activate, bathing the room in a warm amber light.

“Oh my…” Principal Bump breathed as he took in the room, stepping out of the way so that Luz and the others could carry Zero in.

“Let’s put her in the cushioned area for right now,” Viney said to the human, then turned to Principal Bump. “There’s a few rooms like these we have access to,” she clarified. “Don’t really know where they are in the school, though. Sometimes we use this one as a study room sometimes, but most of the time we’re too busy attending classes.”

He looked around the room before answering. “That’s because they’re not in Hexside. These…” He paused, touching one of the columns almost reverently. “These rooms were part of the old school. From before Hexside conquered it.”

“Hey, Luz,” Amity said as she directed her abomination to put Zero’s midsection down, “does this look like some of the rooms we saw in the Knee?”

“Yeah,” the human agreed, rolling her shoulders. “But this room’s a lot less ruined than those were.”

Jerbo sighed in relief as he put the basilisk’s tail into the depression and dismissed his soil abomination. “Wow. That… was harder than I thought it would be.”

“And a good way for me to judge your control over your abomination, Mr. Jerbo,” Principal Bump retorted.

“Told you I’d gotten better,” Jerbo grumbled back.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Can we go back to the fact that this room looks like parts of the Titan-damned Knee!” Viney said. “I feel like that’s super important.”

“Why?” Principal Bump asked. “The school that was here was very old, probably at least as old as the ruins on the Knee. Not surprising they’d share architectural styles.”

“I guess…” Viney acquiesced.

The assembled witches and human looked over the still sleeping demon in the center of the floor.

“So, uh, how long is she gonna be out?” Luz finally asked.

“Not sure,” Viney hummed in thought. “I made the spell on the stronger side, mostly due to how large she is. Hope I didn’t do any harm.”

“In any case, you’ll have to check on her later,” Principal Bump answered. “Luz, Amity, you should go on to class. You should be able to make it in time, but if you don’t just tell your teacher that you were helping with the inspector’s visit. You won’t even have to lie. Come to my office tomorrow morning to get your new schedules.”

“C’mon, Amity, there’s an exit in Professor Addams’ room. We should be both able to get to our next classes from there, since the Oracle classes aren’t too far from the Abomination ones,” Luz told the green-haired witch.

“Well, considering that my next class is with Professor Addams,” Amity smiled.

Viney watched the two girls leave the room before turning to Principal Bump. “And what about us?”

“You three will follow me to my office so I can get your schedules made,” he replied. “And help me come up with a way to tell the teachers about this.”

Viney groaned. Just their luck to get roped in to explaining dual tracking to their teachers.

The newly formed dual trackers gathered in the Secret Room of Shortcuts – which now wasn’t a secret since both Viney, Barcus, and Amity would need to cross the entirety of Hexside during the day, and telling the teachers about it was preferable to having the three run across campus everyday – after classes were done for the day, first to check on Zero (who had woken up but was still extremely drowsy) and then have what Viney said was ‘a very long talk with Luz about some things’.

After a shortened version of Luz’s story (which was unfortunately not accompanied by Augustus’ illusions as the boy had to rush home suddenly after school), the other three trackers split off to go tell their families the news. Luz, however, stayed behind in the No Longer Secret Room of Shortcuts, looking longingly at the door Number Zero snoozed behind.

“You’re worried about Vee, aren’t you?” Amity asked, startling the human.

“Huh? Why do you say that?” she responded.

“Not too hard to figure out that you saw what had been done to Number Zero and immediately thought of your sister,” the witch replied.

Luz smiled sheepishly. “Was I that obvious?”

“Hey, it shows that you care about your sister even though you only met her, what, a month ago?” Amity smiled back. “I think it’s sweet.”

“Three weeks,” her friend corrected, “but yeah. When Zee collapsed and started bleeding out her ears, all I could see was Vee doing the same thing and… nobody on Earth knows anything about basilisks, besides the few tests the doctors at the Academy were able to do on Vee. What if they missed something? You heard what Viney said the Emperor did to Zee! What if he did something to her and she just … collapses, or dies!”

Luz was starting to panic now, and her short, sharp breaths told Amity the human was on the verge of hyperventilating.

The witch reached out and grasped her friend’s shoulders. “Whoa, Luz, calm down! C’mon, deep breaths.”

After a few moments, the superpowered girl’s breathing evened out and her flesh returned to its normal, healthy (beautiful) tanned color.

Alright Amity, you need to calm down, too. You can be a gay disaster about Luz later!

“Th-thanks,” Luz finally said, “sorry you had to see that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” The witch said as she (regretfully) released Luz’s shoulders. “I’m actually a little jealous. I’m not sure if, well, anybody in my family would have a panic attack if I was injured and they couldn’t do anything about it,” she finished sourly.

“Hey, it can’t be that bad,” Luz said, this time putting her hand on Amity’s shoulder.

Must … resist … blushing…

“What about your dad?” Luz continued, “Or grandparents? Any fun aunts or cool uncles in the Blight family tree?”

Amity shook her head. “No, dad and mother are only children. Grandma and Grandpa Blight died a few years before I was born, and mother’s parents, well… Let’s just say that from what little she’s told me, mother’s parenting is miles better than anything they did. As for dad…” She sighed. “He’s always busy. He inherited Blight industries fairly young and has to work constantly to make sure we keep our place as the Boiling Isles’ Number 1 Abomination Supplier™. As for Ed and Em? Well, you’ve met them.”

“Oof,” her crush replied. “That’s… wow. No wonder you were so mean when I first met you.”

“It’s a personal failing I’ve been trying to work on,” the witch nodded.

“Well, Willow hasn’t complained about you since we talked at the library, so I say you’re making pretty good progress,” Luz laughed, a bright, sparkling sound that made Amity’s heart skip.

Oh. Oh, Titan, I’ve got it bad.

Out loud Amity said, “W-well, we should probably get home. I’ve got to explain to mother about, well…” She indicated her now Oracle blue leggings. “I’m sure Ms. Eda is going to want to celebrate or something.”

“Yeah,” Luz agreed, “and I want to ask her if she’d be able to help care for Zee. Kinda feel bad asking Viney to do it all.”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate the help,” Amity nodded.

As the two made their way out of the Very Known Room of Shortcuts, Amity turned to ask Luz a question. “Why do you call her ‘Zee’?”

“Hmm?” The girl glanced aside at her companion. “Oh. It just seems kinda rude to refer to her as ‘Zero’, know what I mean? And ‘Zee’ rhymes with ‘Vee’!”

“I see,” Amity said.

“Say, Amity,” Luz piped up as they exited the school. “How did you do that thing with the ‘tm’ after your company’s slogan? I swear I could hear it being all superscripty and stuff.”

Amity giggled again. “Blight family trade secret. But, maybe, I could teach it to you, one day?”

Stop it, mouth! What are you saying?

Thankfully Luz didn’t seem to notice the accidental marriage proposal, just laughing instead. “Thanks, Amity, but you’ve got enough to worry about with your mom without giving away family secrets.”

“Y-yeah,” Amity stuttered as the two reached the gate to the school ground. “W-well, um, Blight Manor’s in the opposite direction of the Owl House. But, uh, you already knew that! So, um, I’m going to go this way now.”

The flustered witch sped off, leaving her crush staring in confusion at her back.

Chapter Text

It was a warm Monday morning one week later when the door to Zee’s room creaked open slowly. Viney glanced over her shoulder to see Luz peek her head in the door.

“Oh, hey, Viney,” the human said, “just came to check up on Zee and - what are you doing?”

The witch finished wrapping the gauze around Zee’s head before answering.

“I was able to ask one of my Beast Keeping teachers on Friday about what to do when a demon is cursed with extra eyes,” the older girl answered. “They suggested covering all but the original eyes with gauze to keep her from being overwhelmed with information.”

“Um, didn’t Zee tell us that Belos made her this way?” Luz asked. “Doesn’t that mean all her eyes are ‘original’?”

“Yeah, but very few demons are made to process information from extra eyes, and even then it's usually only four or six, like Coach Roku, not,” Viney gestured to Zee’s bandaged head, “all those. And from what you said about Vee, basilisks should only have two, so…”

“Zee chose two eyes to be main ones,” the basilisk finally spoke up.

“And how’s it working?” Luz asked.

Zee glanced around the room before answering. “Much better. Not so bright. Less blurry.”

“That’s great!” the excitable human exclaimed, then shrank back when Zee whimpered in pain.

“Not so loud,” Viney said exasperatedly. “I still haven’t been able to find a way to fix her ears, so she’s still sensitive to sound.”

“Sorry,” Luz said more softly. “I tend to forget since, y’know, she’s only got the two.”

“Zee forgives human Luz,” their patient said.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re here,” Viney told Luz. “I was able to get access to some better diagnostics spells last week – told my teachers I was helping a sick cousin whose parents were wild witches and didn’t trust Coven healers.”

The human smiled brightly. “Smooth.”

Viney smiled back. “Thanks. Anyway, I’ve been able to get a better view on her insides.”

“And…?” Luz prodded.

Viney sighed. “Her rib cage has been lengthened, even beyond what would be normal for her length. Probably to protect all her spare organs – I saw three extra hearts, another pair of lungs…” She shook her head. “Honestly, it’s a mess in there.”

Luz looked confused. “Wait… If she’s got a long ribcage, how was she so dodgy when she fought Principal Bump last week?”

Zero nodded in agreement. “Yes, Zee not feel stiff because of extra bones.” She demonstrated by twisting into a distressingly tight coil. “See?”

“That’s because all your muscles and ligaments and such are way more elastic than normal,” Viney answered. “Heck, even your ‘bones’ are basically just slightly harder cartilage. You could probably squeeze yourself through some pretty small spaces if you wanted to.”

“Zee not want to squeeze.”

“That’s okay, Zee,” Luz patted the basilisk’s side. “There’s no reason to squeeze right now anyway.” The human paused. “Y’know, Zee, you’ve been talking a lot more coherently this morning.”

As Zee beamed at the compliment, Viney explained. “Yeah, I was able to tone the output of her adrenal glands way down. They’re still way bigger than they should be, but it should make her more stable and coherent. Hopefully it’ll also help her memory recover.”

“Head not hurting,” Zee confirmed. “Can think clearer.”

“So, have you remembered anything?” Luz asked.

The basilisk looked thoughtful for a moment. “Not really. Just that Emperor make all basilisks female. Not even able to change into male forms.”

“Wait, why would he want to do that?” The human asked before a look of horror and disgust crossed her face. “Ewww. Did he want to create some sort of creepy basilisk harem or something?”

“I sincerely doubt that,” Viney intervened before Luz’s imagination could take hold of that thought (or Zee could ask what a ‘harem’ was). “First of all, the Emperor has refused any and all marriage proposals from the old families. If he wanted a harem he could have it with a lot less work than bringing an entire species back from the dead. Second, the more likely answer is that it’s easier to control the size of a species’ population if they’re all one gender. Many families that raise beast demons like griffons do that – my family just raises females and we contract out to another family who raises males during breeding season and split the resulting cubs.”

“Okay,” Luz responded, “interesting, but nothing that really tells us what the Emperor wanted to use the basilisks for.”

“Zee sorry,” the bandaged demon pouted, “but Zee will try to remember for sister Vee’s sake.”

“Hey, just take your time and don’t overexert yourself,” Luz said.

“Speaking of your sister,” Viney said, “did you ever get in contact with anyone on Earth to do another exam on her? Knowing how she and Zee differ could really help me figure out what’s wrong with Zee and how to treat her.”

Luz’s face dropped and she sighed. “Unfortunately Dr. McCoy is still at the Academy, so he’s out of contact unless the situation is really dire. And Dr. Strange was called away to deal with some ancient city in Antarctica that some explorers had found. And mami can’t take her to a normal doctor because Vee being a shapeshifter is still technically a secret.”

Viney was about to question why Vee being a shapeshifter needed to be kept secret when an insistent buzzing started coming from Luz’s tunic, causing the human to reach in and pull out her human scroll.

“Ah, dang it, classes are starting,” she said, tapping the rectangle off. “We need to get going if we don’t want to be late.”

“Wow, we’ve been in here that long?” the older girl asked before turning to the basilisk. “Sorry, Zee. I’ll come back with lunch, okay?”

Zee nodded. “Okay. Human Luz and Healer Viney have good time with school.”

“We will,” Luz answered. “C’mon, Viney, I’ll jump you up to the fourth level so you don’t have to climb all that way.”

“Thanks,” the witch said as she grabbed her books before racing out the door.

Both girls turned to wave and say goodbye to Zee before Luz closed the door, ready to begin another day at the cruel mercies of the Boiling Isles educational system.

Today was going to be a good day for Boscha. She’d finally managed to persuade her moms to get her a more advanced home Potions kit, complete with all the ingredients and reagents she’d ever need this semester. And it was the high quality stuff, too, freshly harvested and packaged with preservation wards. No more second hand ingredients to make barely functioning potions for this witch!

And since Amity said she’d found a new player for the Banshees, she was also going to have two whole weeks to haze a newbie! If life could get any better, Boscha didn’t want to know.

The three-eyed girl couldn’t hide her self-satisfied smirk as she sat down in first period, not that she really tried. She watched as Mx. Rogerts walked into the classroom, loaded down with a suspiciously large box.

“Good morning, class!” the teacher announced, depositing the box on their desk, a smile on their beaked face. “I hope you’ve got those stirring arms warmed up because today we’re going to start making…” they paused dramatically “Sticky Goop potions!”

Boscha smiled harder. Sticky Goop potions were notorious for how hard they were to stir due to, well, their stickiness. But they only required one ingredient that wasn’t in the standard Potions kits that the school handed out: spider silk. And so, they were popular with beginner Potions classes, since having a student mess up a simple potion like this wouldn’t eat too much into the school’s budget.

“Thankfully the school had just enough spider silk for our class, so be very careful when mixing the ingredients since we don’t have any extra,” the teacher continued as they opened the box. “Now when I call your name come up and get your–AAAACKTHBTH!”

They were interrupted when a swarm of pixies erupted out of the box. The tittering horde buzzed around the teacher’s head before flitting out an open window and into the woods surrounding Hexside.

Mx. Rogerts shook themself off, then glared out the window in the general direction the pixies had gone. “Titan-damned pests!!” They froze and turned back to their students, some of whom were now snickering at their teacher’s impotent rage. “Excuse my language, class. Now let’s get back and-” the teacher looked down into the box and their face fell “-and the pixies ate all the spider silk. Great.” They sighed. “Looks like it’s another week of book lessons.”

The entire class groaned. The first week had been nothing but reading from the textbook in preparation for actually making potions this week.

Boscha grit her fangs. This is not what I signed up for! She then relaxed into a smile. Thankfully, I came prepared, unlike these losers.

As Boscha was raising her hand to tell Mx. Rogerts, another voice spoke up.

“Mx. Rogerts?” Luz, the new human in class, asked. “Does it matter what type of spider silk we use?”

The teacher looked as confused as Boscha felt. “No,” they said. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, if it’s just normal spider silk, then I can provide some for the class,” the human answered. “As long as it’s not, like, a literal ton.”

Boscha snorted. Oh, goody. Another teacher’s pet.

Mx. Rogerts faced brightened in understanding. “Ah, right. Your powers.”

Powers? Wait, I thought humans had venom sacs, not … whatever makes spider webs.

The teacher waved Luz up to the front. “Why don’t you come up here, then, Ms. Noceda, and we can start handing out the silk.”

Soon enough each other student in the class was walking up to Mx. Rogert’s desk, coming away with a handful of what looked like freshly spun spider silk.

Meh. Doesn’t look half as nice as the stuff I’ve got.

“Boscha?” Mx. Rogert’s voice interrupted the three-eyed teen’s condescension, “Aren’t you going to come up and get some spider silk?”

Boscha couldn't help the smug smile that settled on her face. "No. I brought my own."

"Wonderful!" Mx. Rogert smiled brightly before turning back to the human. "Luz, you can go back to your seat now." Addressing the class, they said, "Alright, everyone, the basic reagents are at the back of the class. Grab some and turn to page 82 and we'll begin mixing the potions."

Boscha's arms ached by the time her Sticky Goop potion was finally done. Still, she had fared better than most of the rest of the class, considering that some had struggled to even stir their potions only a few times. Except, oddly enough, the human.

I knew these nerds were weak, but give me a break! If a human can outmuscle them, they really are losers.

Still, it was finally time to show off their potions, and the triclops couldn't wait! She knew hers would outshine (or outstick, in this case) her classmates, no problem.

Mx. Rogerts had set up some crude wooden dummies at the front of the chalkboard as targets. "Alright, when I call your name, come up and throw your potion at one of the targets and we'll see how well you did."

Boscha's hand shot up almost instantly. "I'll be happy to demonstrate, Mx. Rogerts."

"Okay, Boscha," the teacher said, "please come up and throw your potion."

The athlete smirked as she made her way to the front of the class, casually tossing her potion bottle up and down as she did. Once there, she took careful aim at the first target, hitting it square on its head. The glass shattered on impact, as expected, and the Sticky Goop potion expanded upon contact with the air, forming a sticky, oozy, green mass on the dummy. The goop oozed down the front of the dummy, some of the goo dripping onto the floor.

"Very nice," Mx. Rogerts said, moving closer to inspect Boshca's potion. "Excellent consistency. Color seems good. No discernible smells or odors." They stuck their finger in the mass. "Oh! Very sticky!" They pulled their finger back and the goo stretched with it. The teacher got about two or three feet of stretch before the goop sprang back, wobbling noisily. "Ooh! Minimal stretch, too!" They smiled at Boscha. "Excellent job, Boscha! A+!"

Boscha swaggered back to her desk to watch the rest of the class fail.

Mx. Rogerts gazed over their students for a few moments before zeroing in on a target. "Eileen? How about you?"

The cyclops girl nervously stood up and shuffled her way to the front. She closed her eye and lobbed her potion at her target. It smacked into the target's 'stomach', quickly growing into a large blob.

That… just… stayed there. It didn't ooze down, it didn't droop under its own weight, there weren't even any drips!

Mx. Rogerts' and Eileen's expression mirrored Boscha's own confusion.

"I've never seen a Sticky Goop potion do that," the teacher said, approaching the dummy cautiously. They went to touch it, then, apparently thinking better of it, grabbed a pencil from their desk. They gently prodded the mass a few times. "Well… the color is good, though a bit darker than normal, and there's no scent, so that's good," the teacher said at last, sending a nervous smile towards Eileen. "And it's definitely sticky! It's just, well, far more viscous than any other Sticky Goop potion I've ever seen."

Mx. Rogerts then stuck the pencil in the goo and tried to pull it out. Very unsuccessfully. They tugged and tugged but the glop would only move a little bit.

"Oh... my." They panted visibly from the effort. "I have definitely never seen a Sticky Goop potion do that. It's almost… perfect."

"Mmh mhm mhhm mhmm mhmhhmhhm," Eileen mumbled.

"I'm not sure how this happened either, Eileen," Mx. Rogerts said. "But it does more than pass all the requirements. Um, A+, Eileen."

Eileen gave a thumbs up, then quickly shuffled back to her seat.

How the hell is that possible? Boscha goggled at the still wobbling glop on the fallen dummy. Even the strongest, freshest spider webs still leave Sticky Goop potions a little elastic. And we all used the same basic reagents. The only thing different was…

Slowly the triclops turned towards Luz, from where Eileen (and everyone else in the class besides Boscha) had gotten their spider silk.

Mx. Rogerts seemed to have the same idea. "The only thing different between Boscha and Eileen's potions was…" they said, also turning to look at the human. "Ms. Noceda? Is there something different about the silk you produce?"

"Um, it may be about twice as strong as normal Human Realm spider silk," Luz said. "But I'm not sure how it compares to spiders from here." She shrugged. "Maybe the difference is that it's technically 'human silk' rather than spider silk?"

"Maybe…" Mx. Rogerts said, rubbing their chin in thought. "Mr. Baphy, would you come up, please? I want to see if this was just a fluke of Eileen's potion or not."

The selected student stood up and made his way up to the dummies. Hurling his flask at the third target gave the same result as Eileen's - a stationary glob of goo that stuck where it landed and barely stretched at all. The rest of the class proved the same, until all but the last dummies had a green blob attached to it -- although a piece of Boscha's had, by this point, fallen off onto the floor, as if to mock its creator.

Finally, Mx. Rogerts called Luz up to the front. "Ms. Noceda? You're our last one. And let me just say I'm amazed by how much your webbing changed these Sticky Goop potions! They're the stickiest, goopiest potions I've ever seen!"

"Uh, thanks?" the girl said, grabbing her bottled potion and walking up to the front. "Just toss it at a dummy?" she asked.

The teacher nodded, and the human tossed her Sticky Goop potion at one of the targets, smacking the wooden dummy right in its face. The potion expanded to encase the dummy's entire head, and, as with Eileen's potion, the gooey blob stuck where it landed, no oozing, no dripping. It was an even darker green than the other students' potions, and when Mx. Rogerts carefully poked the glob with a pencil, it stuck immediately. Sideways.

"Ooh!" They exclaimed. "I can already tell this is going to be much more viscous than even the other potions made with your silk! Seeing as the pencil isn't falling down despite only being stuck by the point."

"Is that good?" Luz asked.

"Very!" Mx. Rogerts exclaimed. "Keep this up and you may just earn the Top Student star in my class!"

Boscha fumed. What?! I'm the Top Student in Potions! How dare this human come in and not only humiliate me in front of the whole class, but steal my Top Student badge?

This is not going to end well for you, human.

WHUMP!

Amity looked up from her scroll to see Boscha slamming her lunch bag onto the table. From her teammate’s narrowed eyes, withering scowl, and furrowed brow, the mint-haired witch could easily tell that the triclops was pissed about something.

Of course, Boscha was usually pissed about something, but this looked serious.

After a few seconds, Amity realized that neither Amelia, Cat, or Skara was going to brave Boscha’s bad attitude, so she put away her scroll to turn her full attention to the magenta-haired girl. If only to make sure her attitude wouldn’t interfere with Luz’s tryouts after school.

“Alright, what’s wrong this time, Boscha?” Amity asked, sighing internally, fully prepared to hear that something petty had set the triclops off, like when poor Bo accidentally bumped into Boscha in the girl’s bathroom, setting the volatile girl off for three whole days.

“UGGH!” Boscha groaned, pulling out what looked like a beholder bologna sandwich. “We finally got to actual potion making in class today and one of the new kids has to go and upstage me in front of the entire class!” She bared her fangs and tore a large bite out of her sandwich, probably imagining it as the offending student.

Black Goat save me, this is going to go on all week, isn’t it?

Thankfully Skara stepped up. “Aw, c’mon, B. Poor kid probably doesn’t know how things work in Hexside. Why don’t you take ‘em aside tomorrow before class and show ‘em the lay of the land.” The bard smiled, hoping to assuage the potioneer’s anger.

Boscha snorted in reply. “As if. It’s Bump’s little precious pet human. He’d probably actually expel me if I so much as mess up her hair, considering how proud he sounded when he made the announcement last Monday.”

Amity nearly choked on her spaghetti and eyeballs. Luz? Showing off? That doesn’t sound like her at all!

Skara’s thoughts obviously mirrored Amity’s. “Wow. That’s not the vibe I got at all from her when she gave that lecture a few weeks ago,” the bard said. “You sure, B?”

“Uh, what would you call helping each and every other person in class make a better Sticky Goop potion than mine?” The triclops glared at the dark-skinned girl.

After taking a large sip of Ghoul-Ade to help clear her throat, Amity said, “She didn’t do it intentionally. I’ve spent enough time with Luz to know she’s not a show off. She probably just wanted to help everybody and you brushed her off or something.”

Boscha turned her glare towards Amity and grit her fangs. “What are you saying, Blight? That my potion being the worst in class is somehow my fault?”

Yes Amity thought, though outwardly she just kept coolly staring back at Boscha. “That’s Captain Blight to you. And if you really want to know if Luz was showing off or not, why don’t you ask her this afternoon?”

The triclops rolled her eyes. “Uh, because we’re gonna be testing out that newbie you’re bringing in? Or did you forget with all that dual-track nonsense you’ve got going on?”

“No,” a smirk played at Amity’s lips. “That ‘newbie’ I’m bringing in is Luz. She’s gonna be the newest member of the Hexside Banshees.”

Boscha’s mouth fell open as she goggled at the team captain. “Wha-? Okay, all that extra coursework must have driven you insane. There’s no way a human is tough enough to survive Grudgeby.” She took another bite of her sandwich. “I mean, sure those webs of hers could be useful, but she’s gonna get splattered by the first tackle! I mean, I want to humiliate her, but even I’m not that mean.”

Yeah, right.

“Uh, Boscha,” Skara ventured, “maybe you should have come to that HAS lecture with me. Luz doesn’t just have webspinners. She’s got … oh, what'd she call them? Superb powers?”

"Super-powers," Amity answered. "And you should already know that, Boscha. You were there at the Covention. You saw my duel with her."

Boscha's laughter bellowed out, temporarily turning all eyes in the cafeteria towards the Banshees. “Oh, yeah, that was hilarious how she basically took you apart without even getting her clothes stained!” The magenta-haired girl paused to let her laughter die down. “But still, wasn’t she juiced up with potions or wild witch magic by the Owl Lady?”

“No, she wasn’t,” Amity answered, frowning. “Unless you think the Owl Lady was able to get something like that past Head Witch Lilith.”

Boscha looked thoughtful for a second. “Huh. Yeah, that did happen.”

“Yeah, and Luz demonstrated her powers during the HAS meeting,” Skara said. “She’s not only fast, but super strong. She was able to lift the teacher’s desk in the room we were using with one hand. One hand! And you know how big those things are!”

Amity just managed to suppress a laugh at that. If you were impressed by that, then Luz demonstrating her full strength might literally cause your mind to explode.

“Okaaaay…” Boscha said cautiously. “So, is that just a human thing or…”

“No,” Amity answered. “But there’s an entire class of humans with powers like Luz. They’re called ‘superheroes’.”

Boscha chewed her sandwich as she thought that over. “Huh,” she finally said. “Guess that’s why your mom lets you be friends with her – she’s basically a member of the human version of the Emperor’s Coven.”

“Right.”

“Cool,” the magenta-haired girl answered, before taking another bite of her sandwich. “Still gonna give her a hard time at tryouts.”

It took all of Amity’s strength not to facepalm.

Eda watched carefully as the witch approached her stand. Something about her mannerisms, the way her bright blue eyes constantly looked at everything in the market with an unrestrained sense of wonder, just screamed ‘country bumpkin’ to Eda.

Though the way the young witch made a firebeeline towards Eda’s stand the moment she saw it did raise a red flag or two.

Still, a customer is a customer.

“Welcome to The Owl Lady’s Human Collectibles,” Eda said, putting on a wide smile. “Name’s Eda, the titular Owl Lady.”

“H-hello,” the young witch said, her eyes darting back and forth rapidly. “My-my name is Suletta Mercury, and I-and I…”

“Easy, girlie,” Eda reassured her customer. “Didn’t ask for your life story. I take it this is your first time in the ‘big city’?”

Suletta gave a nervous laugh. “Yes. Yes, that is …” She cleared her throat. “I mean, yes, it is.” The nervous smile she gave cemented Eda’s earlier ‘country bumpkin’ assessment.

“Well,” Eda continued, “you lookin’ for anything in particular? Or just browsing? I’ve got all sorts of human collectibles here - human cosmetics,” she picked up some deodorant, “a human torture device,” an old hand-cranked egg beater, “or maybe some genuine Human Realm gemstones?” some colored glass Luz had used in an art project. “They’re all 100% genuine and guaranteed to have been owned by a human.”

Okay, there was some mild exaggeration going on, but that was just part of the experience.

The customer’s voice became quieter and she leaned in closer, her eyes still darting back and forth. “Um, you wouldn’t happen to have any, um… any um…”

Eda straightened up and her eyes narrowed. “Listen, if you’re looking for anything illegal, you can just scram, now, girlie. Everything here is completely legal. I even bought a non-coven stand license. And let me tell you those are not cheap.”

The girl jumped back like Eda had bitten her. “Eep! What? N-no! I, um, was just wondering if you had, er, rarer items from the Human Realm. Maybe some, um,” she leaned closer and whispered again, “metals?”

The older witch relaxed and smiled. “Oh! Well, if you’re looking for that, I’ve got some in the tent. But before we go back there,” she narrowed her eyes again, “you can pay, right?”

Suletta hefted a sack that jingled pleasingly with the Snails therein.

Eda’s smile returned. “That’s the stuff!” A quick spell circle shielded her wares from roaming hands (or claws or tentacles…) and she gestured the younger witch to the back. “C’mon. I’ve got some real primo stuff, straight from the Human Realm. Not that crusty, rusty stuff you get outta sea slugs.”

Once inside the tent, Eda went over to a small safe, currently covered by a sleeping King.

“Awww,” Suletta cooed at the sight. “Who’s this widdle guy?”

“He’s supposed to be my security system,” Eda grumbled, before starting to shake the demon. “Hey! King! Wake up!”

“Weh? Wazzat?” the tiny tyrant mumbled. “We under attack?”

“No, I got a customer. Now up.” She picked him up by the scruff and moved him to a clear spot on the table. She then moved to shield the lock while she dialed in the combination. The door popped open, allowing Eda to remove the three boxes therein.

Sure, it was a bit unnecessary to open the first box slowly, but Eda was rewarded by the younger witch’s eyes growing wide at the items within.

“Wow,” Suletta breathed as she stared at the pristine nails. “They’re so … clean and shiny. And none of them look even the slightest bit bent!”

“What’d I tell ya?” Eda smirked. “These are straight from the Human Realm -- no portals through the Boiling Seas, no being eaten by a sea slug. Now which of my fine products are you looking to buy?” She gestured to the first box. “You’ve already gotten a look at the nails…” Eda lifted up the second box so the other witch could inspect it, “but I’ve also got a nice selection of washers, great for enchantments. And, finally,” she gestured to the last box, “I got a nice big box of…”

“PAPERCLORPS!!” the girl yelled excitedly.

For some reason the girl’s exuberance over what turned out to be rather common, cheap Earth items set King off on a giggling fit. Eda reached over and lightly bopped the young demon on the nose. “Hush, you,” she whispered. “No making fun of the customers.”

The younger witch gave a few bashful chuckles. “S-sorry. It’s just that when the Coven merchants who came to my village would have any Human metals for sale, they’d rarely be in the original shape or condition. Especially something as delicate as a paperclorp. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in such pristine condition before.”

“Like I said, these come straight from the Human Realm. You wanna test one to see if it's been magicked, be my guest.” She picked up a nail and carefully handed it to her customer.

The younger witch was taken aback by Eda’s offer, gingerly taking the nail and casting a blue spell circle. As she inspected it, the right sleeve on her jacket fell away, revealing her wrist…

…And the Emperor’s Coven mark on it.

Crap! What’s someone from the EC doing here? Is this some sort of sting? Wait… Just relax, Eda. Everything in here is completely legal. For once.

The Owl Lady put on a forced smile. “See, it’s all legit.”

Suletta put the nail back. “Wow. It must have been hard for you to get all this pristine metal from the Human Realm. How’d you do it?”

Eda’s smile faltered a moment. Double crap! That must be it! They’re trying to find out how I get stuff from Earth! Or, worse, how Luz came to the Isles! Just gotta keep calm and not mention Cami or the portal door.

Aloud, she said, “Sorry, that’s a trade secret.” She winked at the younger witch. “Can’t take the risk one of these other merchants is listening in, y’know?”

The girl nodded solemnly. “Ah. I understand completely.” She looked over the boxes thoughtfully. “I don’t really have a lot on me. How much are the nails?”

Well, she didn’t seem too disappointed I didn’t tell her how I got these. And if she’s actually gonna buy something, it’s probably not a sting.

Probably.

“20 Snails each,” she answered.

Suletta’s eyes went wide with shock. “Tw-Twenty Snails! Th-th-that’s less than half of what other sellers would charge for bent, rusty nails! There’s no way I can pay less than 50 for ones this nice!”

Normally, Eda wouldn’t argue when someone would try to pay more, rare as that was.

Normally, said customer wouldn’t be a member of the Emperor’s Coven.

“Eh, it’s no big deal,” the Owl Lady waved off the younger witch’s concern. “Think of it as a first time customer discount.”

“What?!” King exclaimed. “Of course it’s…”

Eda rounded on the young demon. “I said hush, you. No complaining or I won’t be in such a generous mood when it comes to handing out chores this week, got it?”

The tiny tyrant grumbled but didn’t say anything.

“We-well,” the younger woman said, “th-thank you for your generosity!”

“Now how many of these are you gonna need?” Eda asked.

“Ten, please,” Suletta said, handing over her money sack to the older witch. “Oh, and I don’t need the bag back.”

When Eda took the sack, it felt like there were more than 200 Snails in there. “Whoah, there, girlie, this is way too much. Gotta be like three hundred in here.”

“Oh?” the younger woman looked surprised at that. “Well, um, do you have any – what did she call it? – rooted beer?”

Oh! So that’s what’s going on! Lily’s got herself a new gofer! Sheesh! If I keep gettin’ myself worked up over nothing like this I’ll be in an early grave.

“Yeah, got a new batch over the weekend, along with the nails and stuff,” Eda answered. “C’mon it’s over here.”

After grabbing the 12-pack of root beers (and failing to be convinced by the young woman that it’d make up the 100 Snail difference), Eda led Suletta back outside to get a bag for the nails and count out the younger witch’s change. When she opened the bag to grab the girl’s change, the Owl Lady noticed what looked like a piece of paper that had been stuffed in the bag along with the Snails. “Hey, girlie, looks like you forgot to-”

“Is everything in there, Ms. Owl Lady?” the younger witch interrupted. “I’d hate for anything to have fallen out on my way here.”

The way she emphasized those words made Eda stop short. Was this deliberately put in here? For me? Is Lily trying to contact me? By… passing notes like we were back in Hexside?

“Er, yeah,” Eda replied, “everything’s fine.” She pulled out the change and handed it to Suletta. “Here ya go. Like I said, 90 Snails.”

“Th-thank you,” the younger witch said, picking up her purchases and putting her change in the bag with her nails. “H-have a good afternoon!”

“Hey, since you’re new in town,” Eda called out before the young woman left the stand, “lemme give you a recommendation if you’re looking for a place for lunch. My apprentice ate at Belphegor’s a few weeks ago and really liked the pasta they served there.”

“Oh, um, thanks?” Suletta said, confusion on her face. “I’ll … be sure to do that.”

As the young witch walked off, Eda silently contemplated the note in the bag. Why is Lily trying to contact me now? And why this way?

Thankfully the rest of the school day had gone much smoother, so Boscha had time to cool off a little. Maybe Amity and Skara are right. Maybe Luz didn't mean to show off during Potions class. After we get her tryout over with I'll take her aside and give her the rundown on how the Top Student stuff works in Hexside. Maybe we can make her Top Student on the … Construction track? Is that the other track she's in?

She stood and stretched in the late afternoon heat as she and the rest of the team waited for the human to put her uniform on. Skara strummed her harp while Amelia and Cat chatted quietly about … boys or something. Honestly, Boscha tuned those two out if they weren't speaking directly to her. A few minutes passed and Boscha started getting antsy. "Hey, Amity, you sure Luz is coming? She's taking forever."

"She’s only been in there 5 minutes, Boscha," Amity replied, not taking her eyes off that odd little book she'd been reading. "And you of all witches should know how long it takes to put on Grudgeby equipment for the first time."

Thankfully the door to the (recently deghostified) girl's locker room opened and the human stepped out. She kept tugging at her uniform as she walked up to the assembled Banshees. "Uh, Amity? Are you sure I'm wearing this correctly? It feels a little tight."

"Yeah, they are for the first few times," Skara said, putting down the harp. "It takes some time for the size adjustment enchantments to adjust to your body."

"Don't worry, Luz," Amity said, sliding her book into her bag. "Every one of us here had that same issue. But now that you're here," she turned and gestured to the rest of the Banshees. "Luz, this is Skara, Cat, and Amelia," the green-haired witch gestured to the others in turn, "and Boscha mentioned that you two already met in class this morning."

"Oh, hey!" the human offered a hand to Boscha. "We really didn't get a chance to talk during class, what with all the stirring and stuff…"

"Right," Boscha said, taking the girl's hand in her own. Okay, Skara says you're strong. Let's see how strong. The triclops then squeezed the human's hand before letting go, only to be amazed when Luz showed no sign she'd even felt it. What? I've broken people's hands by accident! Just how tough are you? Aloud, she said, "So, Team Captain, same thing as last time?"

"Yep," Amity answered. She tossed a ball to the human (who caught it, Boscha noticed, without really looking at it) and smiled. "Traditionally, any new member of the Banshees has to play a mock game against the other members of the team," she explained. "Manage to get the ball into our goal and you're automatically in. Otherwise, we'll assess your performance and decide if you're a fit for the team."

"Alrighty, then," the human smiled brightly. "When do we start?"

Boscha smiled viciously. "Right now!" With barely a sound she sprang forward, ready to bowl the human over with a shoulder tackle.

Only to go stumbling past her as the other girl as Luz quickly sidestepped.

Whoah! It's a lot different seeing her move up close like this.

Amelia came next, doing a Bellatrix Twist behind the human, who ducked out of the way of the other girl's flailing arms. Cat followed with a Spellman's Reversal, causing the human to roll forward to avoid getting stomped.

Suddenly, Luz leaped up, straight from her prone position. Seconds later, a large Abomination hand emerged from where the human had been. Luz herself landed lightly next to Boscha, who gaped at the human confusedly, wondering how the girl had known the spell was coming.

"Boscha, c'mon!" Skara's voice broke the triclops out of her reverie just as Luz broke towards the goal.

"Right," the magenta-haired girl shook herself. "Skara, Amelia, Ribsfield on 3!"

Both girls nodded, then began running towards Luz. Boscha slowly counted to 3, then began running after them. 'Ribsfield' was a reference to a game the Banshees had won in nail-biting overtime last year, specifically a play Skara had come up with that had stopped Glandus from scoring the winning goal and forcing the game into said overtime. First, Skara and Amelia flanked Luz as the human ran past the midfield line, Boscha lagging behind all three. Then, Skara and Amelia did a Double Clawthorne Slide from either side of their target, hopefully forcing the girl to stop to avoid being tripped. After that, Boscha would come up from behind and do a Flying Ursula, knocking the human down.

That was the plan, anyway. However, instead of stopping when Skara and Amelia slid toward her, Luz just … hopped over Skara and continued running.

Boscha sped up to try and catch the human before she could reach the goal line. The triclops leapt the moment she was in range, wrapping both her arms and legs around the human and leaning back with her full weight. Normally the sudden impact and sudden weight pulling back would send anybody off balance.

But it seemed that Luz was not normal, as she seemed to not even notice Boscha grabbing onto her. The human managed to cross the goal line and easily tossed the ball through, despite Boscha tugging with all her might to try and slow her down.

"Hey, um, could you get down now?" Luz said, looking over her shoulder at Boscha. "This is a little awkward."

Grumbling, the magenta-haired witch reluctantly slid off the other girl's back. "Okay, Skara said you were strong, and I saw you at the Covention so I know you're fast, but how the hell were you able to keep standing after I did the Flying Ursula? I should have easily been able to knock you down! Or at least off balance a little bit."

“Oh,” the human answered, turning around now that her back was unoccupied, “the same thing that gave me super strength and super speed also enhanced my balance and agility. Takes a whole lot to throw this girl outta whack.” She paused in thought. “Though Amity really shoulda told you all about that.”

Said mint-haired witch approached the goal line. "Frankly, Luz, you've got so many powers I honestly forgot," Amity explained. "Especially since they're not quite as obvious as your strength or speed."

"What I want to know," Skara asked as she brushed herself off, "is how you were able to dodge that Abomination hand from Amity. It's almost like you knew it was coming."

Luz scratched her head. "I… kinda did? It's hard to explain. My Spider Sense allows me to, well, sense everything around me in a pretty wide area. But, ever since coming to the Isles, I've noticed that I can also sense magic, sort of."

"Wait, so you just know where everything, and everyone, is around you, all the time?" Boscha asked.

"Yep! Like how there's this weird bug thing behind Skara right now." The human pointed behind the dark-skinned witch.

The bard whirled around. "The Rusty Smidge? I thought we weren't gonna use that?" She deftly plucked the tiny construct out of the air.

"Must've gotten loose accidentally when we were getting the ball and uniforms out," Amity shrugged.

“What’s a ‘Rusty Smidge’?” Luz asked.

“Basically it’s an auto-win,” Skara said, holding up the Smidge for the human to see. “Normally they’re released around the halfway point of the game. Whichever team can grab it, and keep it to the end of the game, gets a huge boost in points. I… don’t think I’ve ever heard of the team who caught a Smidge losing.”

“Eh, St. Epiderm caught the Smidge in the Isles Championship of 973 and we still won,” Boscha said. “That’s why Bump keeps that trophy so prominently displayed.”

“Wait, if you can just win by catching that little thing, then why even bother playing the rest of the game!?” Luz complained. “Seriously, that just makes whatever the other players do irrelevant!”

Boscha rolled her eyes. “Don’t know what kinda weak games you guys play in the Human Realm, but that’s just how games work on the Isles. Still,” she turned a feral grin towards the human, “if you can sense where the Smidge is then you can give us a huge leg up on the other teams. I’d say that more than qualifies you to be on the Banshees.” She turned to the other witches. “Everyone else agree?”

A chorus of ‘ayes’ came from Skara, Amelia, and Cat.

Amity shook her head in disbelief. “Y’know, I thought it’d be her strength or speed that’d win you over, Boscha, not the Spider Sense.” She smiled oddly at the human. “Still, I did ask Luz to try out for a reason.”

Luz frowned. “Not sure I’m happy about this whole Rusty Smidge thing, but,” she smiled at the team, “thanks. It feels … nice, being a part of something.”

“No problem,” Amity said, blushing and smiling at the human. “And don’t worry, you’ll probably be using your Spider Sense to save us from the traps on the field more often than searching out the Rusty Smidge.”

Luz looked over at the field. “Oh, yeah. You told me there’s stuff like that in Grudgeby. Wonder why none of them got set off by the tryouts.”

“Because we didn’t turn them on? Duh,” Boscha scoffed, then turned to go back to the locker room. She got only a few steps when suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder, a surprising strength keeping her from walking any further.

She growled. “Whoever’s grabbing me has three seconds before-”

FWOOOOOOSH!!!!!

The triclops was cut off when one the Grudgeby field’s fire hazards activated, spewing a column of flame from where she would have stepped if the hand hadn’t stopped her. As it died down, she turned to see the hand belonged to Luz, the human’s eyes as wide as Boscha’s felt.

“Uh, thanks,” the magenta-haired girl said.

“No problem,” the human replied.

“Maybe we should walk on the sidelines?” Skara suggested. “Just in case.”

The heads of all six Banshees bobbed in agreement as the girls made their way off the field and out of the way of any remaining active traps. Except, Boscha noticed, for Luz, who stood still, staring at the scorch marks the fire hazard had left on the field.

“Everything OK, Luz?” Amity asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” the human said. “It’s just… the pattern on this scorch mark looks kinda familiar.”

Boscha looked at the girl in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Hey, Amity, remember what I said to you when I got my second spell as we were escaping from the Knee?” Luz said as if that were an answer.

The mint-haired witch hummed in thought. “That… ancient witches learned spells by listening to the Titan! Does that mean…?”

“Mean what?” Boscha asked again. “What is going on?”

“Since I’m human, and don’t have a bile sac, I can’t cast spells like you guys can,” Luz explained, kneeling down and taking a notepad and pencil. “However, I’ve been finding these glyphs in various places around the Isles and can use those to cast a few basic spells.” She sketched something out on the paper. “And, if I’m right…” The human tore the paper from the pad and held the drawing out at arm’s length and gently tapped it.

All six Banshees jerked away from the massive fireball that erupted from Luz’s hand.

“Whoooo!” Luz’s cheer made the other 11 eyes on the field turn from where the fireball had been to the human girl. “Three spells, baby! Look who’s moving on up!”

Boscha’s face screwed in confusion again. She’s excited about some basic fire spell? Sure it was pretty big for someone our age, but I was casting fireballs when I was ten!

“I’m happy for you, Luz,” Amity said, moving to clap the human on the shoulder.

“Heck yeah!” Luz cheered again. “Now I gotta get back to the Owl House and show Eda!” She started jogging across the field.

“Maybe you wanna get outta your uniform and back into your normal clothes?” Amity called after the human. “Maybe get a quick shower?”

Luz paused mid-stride and looked down at herself. “Yes, that would be a good idea.” She turned and headed towards the locker room as Skara and Amelia giggled at the human’s enthusiasm.

“Hoot-hoot! Hello!” Hooty exclaimed as he slid out of the Owl House’s front door. “How was school today, Luz?”

“Great!” she replied. “Are Eda and King back from the market yet?”

There was a thoughtful hum and wriggle as the house demon determined the state of the witch and demon. “Yep! They’re both in the living room. I don’t even think King’s asleep!”

“Oh, good,” Luz said as the demon popped the door open. “If you leave the door open you can hear my news, too.”

Hooty smiled way too widely for something with a beak. “I get to be included! YAY!!!!”

“Oh come on!” King’s voice filtered out from inside. “If you’re not going to open it, give it here and I’ll do it!”

“What? No!” Eda’s voice replied. “I’m getting to it, I… just gotta get in the mood to open it.”

At King’s frustrated groan, Luz glanced over to Hooty, who just gave a shrug (or the closest equivalent). Poking her head inside, the human called out, “King? Eda? Something going on in here?”

King looked over from where he was standing on the couch, glaring at Eda. “Luz, finally! Eda thinks she got some sort of super-secret letter from her sister. Come over here and tell her that it’s probably another attempt to trick her into joining a Coven.”

“It’s not a trick!” Eda protested. “Lilith wouldn’t be that sneaky, not with something like that. And Blondie certainly isn’t smart enough to try something like this.”

The small demon glared at the witch. “Remember the gift basket of your potions she sent that you found out were laced with a hypnotic potion?”

“She only did that once,” the Owl Lady responded. “Especially after I told her that mixing those potions had turned it into a poison.”

“Oh, yeah,” the tiny tyrant laughed, “that look on her face was priceless!”

“Uh-huh,” Luz said noncommittally as she dropped her bookbag on the floor. “Let’s go back to this letter you got?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Eda held up a wrinkled scroll (the piece of paper, not the phone-like device), which was tied with a gold-colored ribbon. “A customer had this in with the Snails she paid me with. Made sure to emphasize that she didn’t need the bag back and to make sure everything was in there.”

“Ooh!” the girl’s face lit up. “Super-secret spy stuff! Is there some sort of code on it? Or maybe it’s written in invisible ink!”

“We don’t know,” King said, glaring at Eda again. “Somebody hasn’t even opened it yet.”

Eda rolled her eyes. “I’m getting to it! I just… y’know…”

Luz looked at her mentor in confusion. “Wait. Eda … are you scared?”

The witch laughed her apprentice’s concern off. “Pfft. What? No. I mean, it’s not like this is a complete departure from everything Lily’s ever done and the only reason I can think of why she’d do this is if she’s in trouble…”

Luz sat down beside her mentor, putting a comforting hand on the witch’s arm. “Hey. No matter what it says, I’ll be right here with you. And so will King.” She leaned over to glare at the demon dog. “Right, King?”

He sighed and plopped down. “Ffffffine.”

“I’ve always been here for you, Eda,” Hooty’s voice came from behind the three. “Always.”

Not daring to turn around, Eda breathed in heavily, and slowly opened and unraveled the scroll.

“It’s … a map?” Luz asked. “With some blank sections of forest circled for no particular reason?”

“And what’s with these arrows? And the big ‘X’? Wait!” King jumped up to get a closer look at the map. “Maybe Lilith’s trying to tell us where the power source to the barrier is!”

“Don’t think so, bud,” Eda countered. “This is the Forearm Forest. Never been a lot of people living there, even back in the Savage Ages. Not many ruins or other places for the rune array to be. In fact, the only people who live out there nowadays are wild … witches…”

“Then that means that these circles…” King started.

“Are wild witch villages,” Luz finished. “And the arrows must be how the Emperor’s Coven is going to attack them. But what’s that ‘X’? Some sort of base camp?”

“Probably,” Eda answered as she stood up. “When the EC does a big raid like this they usually like to set up a command center to both coordinate the attacks and provide a central place to keep their prisoners before transporting them all to the Conformatorium.” The witch began to pace. “But why would Lily send me this? I know the raids haven’t happened yet, something this big would be all over the news. So why tell me beforehand?”

“Maybe she’s taunting you?” King guessed. “Or it’s some sort of warning? ‘Join the coven or we’ll attack you like we did these guys’?”

“No, that’s not Lily’s style,” Eda said.

“Maybe…” Luz ventured. “Maybe she wants you to stop this somehow?”

The Owl Lady stopped pacing. “Weh? Why do you say that?”

“I dunno,” the human answered. “But… Remember that night on the Knee, after Amity and I’d made it out of that labyrinth? And Lilith found us and started asking us about what we saw down there?”

Confusion slid onto Eda’s face. “Yeah… What of it?”

“For some reason I got the feeling that actually getting down to talk with us – with me – made Lilith realize that what she thought of Earth and Humans was wrong?” Luz’s face was uncharacteristically serious. “Maybe she got inspired by what I told her to start doing better?”

“Yeah, or maybe it’s a trap and the second we go out there a zillion scouts pop up out of the trees and string us all up,” King countered.

“I dunno, Luz has a point,” Eda said. “She did manage to get Bump to let kids study multiple tracks after only one day at school. I can see Lily getting an idea into her head that this is helping us somehow. And, like I said, a trap isn’t really Lily’s style.”

Luz jumped up, pounding a fist into her palm. “Alright! When do we leave? Are we just gonna try to warn the villages or are we gonna fight the Emperor’s Coven?”

The Owl Lady raised an eyebrow. “How about ‘none of the above’?”

“What!?” the human sputtered. “You just said you believed this was real! We could help save a lot of people! We…”

Eda stood firm. “You have school, missy, and your mom would kill me if I let you skip a single day just to go gallivanting around in the woods. I have a market stall and a backlog of potion orders that I really should be working on instead of trying to figure out what crazy scheme my sister’s cooking up." She sighed. "And, much as I hate to say it, King does have a point. There is the tiniest chance it could be a trap or some other cacamanie scheme. So what we are going to do is…” Eda smiled, then handed the map to the now-confused human. “You are going to go see your friend Katya.”

Comprehension dawned on the human’s face. “Ohhhhh! I see what you’re puttin’ down, Owl Lady.” She winked and took the map, folding it up and stuffing it into a pocket.

Now it was Eda’s turn to be confused. “Um, I’m not putting anything down. I handed the map to you.”

“Never mind,” Luz shook her head and started walking to the door. “I’ll be back in a flash!”

“Don’t be too long,” Eda called, “remember we’ve got training tonight. Gonna go over form three.”

“Gotcha,” Luz said, stepping out the door.

“Luz, wait!” Hooty called out, stopping the girl mid-stride. “You said you had some news of your own to share! Tell it to us before Eda shuts me out in the loneliness again!”

Luz paused, halfway out the door, and turned back to her housemates (and house). “Oh, yeah. I got accepted into Hexside’s Grudgeby team. Gonna help the Banshees go all the way to state! Or whatever the equivalent is in the Boiling Isles.”

“Grudgeby, huh?” Eda said, a nostalgic smile forming. “After training tonight, remind me to get out my old yearbook. Got some stories I think you’d want to hear.”

“Ooh! That’d be a good time for me to show you my new spell,” Luz said coyly, backpedaling out the door.

Eda crossed her arms, smiling. “Well ain’t you just fulla surprises today, missy.”

Luz gave the Owl House denizens a wave as she approached the treeline. “You know it!” And then she was off, leaping and swinging through the forest, hoping that Katya, and by extension, Raine, would be able to help with the map.

Chapter Text

It was a Tuesday afternoon when the old Greyhound bus came rolling to a shuddering stop, allowing Masha to step foot on their native Gravesfield soil for the first time in two months. They took a deep breath of the fresh Connecticut summer air and sighed.

"Whoa! Look, Alex! A real life superhero’s come to visit sleepy old Gravesfield" came a voice to Masha's left.

The enby turned and saw their friends Mark and Alex. Masha smiled and sauntered over to the two.

"Hey guys," they said, looking around the bus stop. "Guessing my mom's still at her lab?"

"Yeah," Alex said. "She said that last week they'd gotten hold of, I kid you not, honest-to-God mithril. And the lab had apparently already scheduled several really dangerous tests they need your mom to oversee for today. The kind of tests that you probably can't reschedule without a whole lot of paperwork and wasted money."

"So she," Mark continued, "like, asked us to, quote, 'keep my little statuette as far away from downtown and the college campus, just in case'. Her words, not mine."

"So my mom gets to play around with a metal straight out of our D&D&MoreD books while I have to be babysat by you two?" Masha joked.

Alex shrugged, "That's the plan."

"C'mon, you'll get to practice all your big new hero moves and speeches and stuff with us before showing them off to your mom," Mark said. "And we can tell you all the big news that's happened here!"

Masha literally laughed out loud at that. "Big news? From Gravesfield, the most boring town in America? This town's already had its share of 'big news' for the next few centuries from both Luz Noceda and I getting our powers. Trust me, nothing's gonna happen here until we're all dead and gone."

Alex crossed her arms defiantly and fixed the enby with a hard stare. "Well, I happen to think that getting my dad to realize that I'm not going through a 'phase' is pretty big news!"

Masha’s smile turned genuine. "Oh, really? Damn, I'm glad you finally got through to him! So, tell me everything - new pronouns, new name, everything!"

Alex smiled shyly at the attention. "Well, uh, just going with 'she/her'. And not really changing my name, at least right now, so you guys can still call me 'Alex'. I'm… still figuring everything out."

"Eh, don't worry. I've been through that all before. I'll be glad to help you sort everything out. I am a super hero after all," Masha said, putting an arm around the bespectacled girl and giving her a squeeze.

"Whoa!" Alex said, blushing. "Guess we know what training they had you do at the academy! Check out the pythons on Hulk here!"

Now it was Masha's turn to blush. "Hardy har. It was just a little workout routine to see if my strength in orichalcum form was influenced by my normal strength. I'm not like those bodybuilders you look at when you think nobody's looking at your screen."

Alex blushed harder and her mouth gaped open for a few seconds. "We-well, I could say things about your Internet history, Mx. 'Google-Search-For-Monster-Girls'!"

"Hey, guys, before we, like, start shouting our very embarrassing fetishes out loud, I just realized something," Mark said, thankfully stopping the conversation from going any further. "Mash, wasn't Luz Noceda supposed to come back with you?"

The enby bit their cheek as they thought on how to answer that. Am I even allowed to tell people about the infiltrator? Or the refugee, I guess. And what did Wolverine mean about me meeting another hero who’s been looking into Luz’s disappearance? Nobody at the Academy would give me a straight answer, either.

"Yeah," Alex said, not seeing the discomfort on her returned friend's face, "I don't see her mom or that alien girl she adopted."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, like, that's the other big news," Mark said. "Ms. Noceda, like, adopted some alien refugee girl last week. Mayor made a big speech about it and everything. Says it, like, totally shows the 'welcoming and inclusive nature of Gravesfield'. His words, not mine."

"That's … interesting," Masha said cautiously. That can't be a coincidence, can it? Luz disappears and is replaced by an alien refugee, then her mom ups and adopts an alien refugee?

"Poor girl was obviously terrified of having to speak in public," Alex continued. "I mean, relatable."

"Who knew aliens had the same fears we did," Mark said. "It's, like, whoa."

"Too bad that asshat Jacob Hopkins stood up and tried to make a scene," Alex growled, but then smiled viscously. "But it turns out that Sue Storm, you know, Ms. Invisible Woman herself, had come to witness the event. And you can't really argue with someone who's saved the world a dozen or more times."

Masha burst out laughing at that. "Serves him right for all the times he tried to have me and Luz jailed for being 'Mutants'!"

"So, know anything about Luz?" Alex asked again.

"Well, she, was, um, selected forrrrr a … special mission with the Avengers!" They smiled nervously, hoping that-

"You're such a terrible liar, Mash," Alex said, giving the enby a flat look.

Damnit.

"Okay, fine," Masha admitted after a moment. "But," they leaned in more closely, "I'm not sure how much I can tell you guys. The heroes at the Academy didn't tell me a lot."

"Whoa!" Mark gasped. "Secret mission!"

"Well, it's not something we can do anything about, anyway," Alex shrugged. "Why don't we go talk about your training down at the Robin Egg? Maybe we can kill enough time there until your mom calls?"

Masha shrugged back. "Eh, it's either that or the 'mall'. And the coffee at Starkbucks is terrible."

Vee stared up at the intimidatingly large book on the top of the bookshelf. Glory to Arstotzka the title read in faux-metallic red, visible even from the gaudily carpeted floor the disguised basilisk stood on. Said book was the reason the basilisk was in the Gravesfield Public Library on a Wednesday morning, as it was key to the report she needed to write. A report that was the last - the absolute final, she'd checked - item she needed to complete the lengthy list Principal Hal assigned her before she could attend Gravesfield High School as a 'Soft More' (a designation which didn't make sense to her since, despite Emperor Belos’ proclamations, humans were not particularly soft).

The newest Noceda looked around for something, anything, to help her reach her goal. Spotting a short stepladder, she hauled it over to the shelf she was trying to climb. It was just tall enough that if she stretched (though not literally, her shapeshifting was supposed to be kept secret, at least while out of the house - Ms. Storm had explained that Earth had a history of being attacked by shapeshifting aliens) she'd be able to just reach the tome and wiggle it out of its current resting place.

Carefully, slowly, Vee managed to get one of her fingers hooked under the bottom of the book's spine and started to inch the hand-wide volume out from between two slightly smaller books (Glorious Purpose by I. Kol and Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!: An Illustrated History of the American Civil War by Abernathy Waite; the latter of the two caused the basilisk to shudder a little at the memories of studying that). Still, she persevered, and was able to extract her prize just enough that she could grab it fully, although she'd need both hands to do so. Letting go of the top of the shelf she'd braced herself against, Vee grasped the tome and managed to pry it out, holding the weighty book above her head in triumph.

The elation of having conquered the library's storage system was short lived as the weight of the book, alongside her precarious posture caused the basilisk to begin tilting dangerously backwards. With an undignified 'eep!', Vee began to fall, losing her grip on the book, which hit the floor with an all too loud 'thump!'. However, seconds before she could make her own, possibly louder, thump, she felt what seemed like a strong arm catch her before gently lowering her to the ground.

"Whoa there! When I wished to have pretty girls fall into my arms, I didn't mean literally."

Vee whirled around to see her savior. The human teen's all-black attire was broken up by their nail polish - their thumb and pointers were also black, but their middle, ring, and pinkies were purple, white, and yellow, respectively. Bright eyes and a gap-toothed smile told Vee that they were about her own (supposed) age, though they were a good few inches taller than Vee was.

Wait, did they just call me 'pretty'?

"Uh, thanks," Vee squeaked. Ack! Why did I squeak? Humans don't squeak! Or do they? Maybe I should ask mom?

"No problem," came the raspy reply. "Name's Masha." They held out their hand.

Vee graciously took the offered appendage. "Victoria. But, uh, you can call me Vee."

"Vee, huh? I like it. Short. Sweet. Cute." They winked. "Kinda like you."

Vee 'eep!'ed again, blushing at the flirtation. Meanwhile, Masha leaned down and picked up the fallen tome (one handed!), glancing questioningly at the title.

“Glory to Arstotzka: A Complete History of Europe’s Most Successful Socialist State?” They turned a confused gaze back to Vee. “Someone’s got questionable taste in summer reading.”

The basilisk sighed. “Not by choice. Principal Hal assigned me a report on that country as part of the make-up work I have to do so I won’t get held behind when school starts.”

The human looked quizzically at her. “Make-up work? What, were you homeschooled or something?”

“No? At least I don’t think so,” Vee answered. “I’m the alien refugee? Just became a citizen? Had that big ceremony last week? Kinda thought the blue hair and gold eyes would give that away.”

The other teen looked at Vee oddly. “Oh. Well, I was away for the past two months. At Avengers Academy,” they said and one of their arms quickly shifted into some sort of coppery metal for a moment. “Guess I missed you coming over. So… I heard you’re living with Camila Noceda, right?”

“Y-yeah,” Vee said nervously. Gah! They know! They know I was disguised as Luz when I first came here!

“Then you must know something about what happened with Luz,” Masha said. It wasn’t a question.

Ah! Ah! No no no! Do I tell them what’s going on? Can I? I… I need to talk to mom. Right now.

Vee grabbed the book out of the human’s hand. “Thanks for the save but I’ve gotta get home and get this report done if I want to get it done before school starts!” She smiled nervously and began backing away. “Anyway it was nice to meet you. Maybe I’ll see you at school in a few weeks!” With that the basilisk beat a hasty retreat. Well, after she checked the book out.

"Great going, Masha," they sighed as they watched the alien girl run away awkwardly. "Not only did you scare away your one lead to whatever's going on with Luz, you managed to chase off a seriously hot girl!"

Slumping, the enby shuffled off to find that old Witch Hunters of Colonial Connecticut book. Maybe some light reading would help chase away their blues.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! went the staves as Luz and Eda trained behind the Owl House Wednesday evening. King was watching the two from the back porch, a bowl of popcorn at his side.

“So how’s Grudgeby practice going?” Eda asked as she directed a strike towards her pupil’s head.

“Great!” Luz answered, deflecting the attack and riposting with a jab. “Amity, Boscha, and I are really working well together. With those plays Skara came up with we should have no problem kicking St. Epiderm’s butt Friday!”

The witch backstepped to avoid the attack. “Huh. Season’s starting earlier this year.” She lashed out with a low kick to the human’s shins. “Remind me Friday morning and King and I’ll make sure to come out and cheer you on.”

The skull-topped demon scoffed. “Hard pass. Sports make me sick to my stomach.”

“You sure it’s not all those snacks you eat, mister?” Eda asked as Luz deftly sidestepped.

“Hey, I’m a growing demon!” King said, popping another clawful in his mouth. “Gotta keep eating if I wanna be strong enough to retake my throne.”

Luz rolled her eyes at the banter. For all of the human’s enhanced strength and speed, she still had trouble keeping her focus during intense situations. Thus, Eda and King had decided to ‘help’ the human by talking to her while she and Eda trained.

Honestly? It kinda worked. The more the three bantered the more at ease Luz felt and the less she lost focus. And, consequently, the less she got smacked by her mentor – it was a genuine surprise to the human the first few times she’d gotten whacked by the witch’s Palisman. Turns out a Spider Sense doesn’t really work if you don’t pay attention to it.

“Uh huh,” came Eda’s reply, the witch concentrating on using Owlbert to try and sweep her pupil’s legs. “Wait, wasn’t that Boscha kid the one Glasses is always complaining about?”

“Eh, she’s calmed down since I joined the team,” Luz answered as she danced between each swipe. “Part of it is I think she’s in awe of me ever since I saved her from that flame trap at my tryout.”

“Yeesh,” King said around another mouthful of popcorn. “Hearing about that was kinda terrifying. Thank the Titan you were able to save that girl from getting fried.”

“Huh. Normally you’re way more into stories of people getting hurt,” Luz mused, swinging her staff around for a strike aimed at the witch’s shoulder.

“Not when it’s real people!” King argued. “Stories and legends of battles and stuff are all fine, but hearing about real people getting hurt kinda … I dunno. It makes me really uneasy for some reason.”

“I think that’s a good thing, King,” the human responded as Eda parried the strike. “Not wanting to see your subjects hurt means you’ll be a great king of all demons one day.”

“Say, did you ever find out why that one went off?” Eda asked, thrusting Owlbert forward towards her pupil’s gut. “Was it sabotage or something?”

“Nope,” Luz answered, spinning out of the way. “Principal Bump and Coach Roku went over the field as best they could and neither found any clue as to why that trap went off. And the weird thing? I’m pretty sure at least one of us had run over that same spot earlier during the match.”

“Then why didn’t it go off earlier?” King asked as Luz turned her momentum into a two-handed strike against Eda’s own midsection.

“Probably just the magic chose that moment to start failing,” Eda guessed. A quick spin of the witch’s finger and a shield of orange light leapt into existence between her and her pupil’s strike, intercepting the hit with a meaty ‘WHAM!’.

“Except neither Coach Roku or Principal Bump were able to find any evidence of the enchantments failing!” Luz said as she steadied her arms after the impact.

“Weird…” King said, reaching for yet another clawful of popcorn.

Eda rushed forward to try and catch the human off-guard. “Maybe the Titan was trying to show you the fire glyph and Little Miss Bully just got in the way,” she laughed, raising her Palisman overhead to deliver a downward power strike.

Luz raised her training staff and caught the blow, though the human’s weaker weapon bowed dangerously at the impact. “Please don’t even joke about that. I’ve got enough to worry about with Azura, or whoever wrote her books, secretly manipulating me my whole life. I don’t need another mysterious ‘benefactor’, thank you very much.” She pushed the witch’s staff aside, then backed off. Another thing she and Eda had been working on was when to attack and when to pull back and assess the situation. Luz may have been able to physically overwhelm her mentor, or a few random coven guards, but even more experienced superheroes could get overwhelmed by enough enemies.

“Say, have you gotten any word from that Barbatos guy yet?” Luz asked, settling into first form.

“Not yet,” Eda replied, taking second form and beginning to circle the human, looking for a gap in her pupil’s defense. “But don’t worry. Barbie’s one of the best, and he’s reliable. If he hasn’t said anything it’s because he hasn’t found anything.”

“I guess…” Luz sighed, “but, I’m just worried, is all.”

“Don’t be,” Eda said, “Barbie and the rest of the Iron Flower group are on the top of the Emperor’s Coven ‘To Arrest’ list for a good reason, and they’re still free for a good reason. So you don’t have to worry about him. Mostly because you’ve got something much closer to worry about!”

Then the witch stepped up and to her left, air and space seeming to bend and twist in unnatural ways as she vanished from sight. It was utterly horrifying for Luz’s Spider Sense.

And all too familiar.

“Wow,” King said. “Never seen Eda do that before.”

Luz tried to tune the demon out, instead focusing on her Spider Sense to see if she could feel that sensation again when the Owl Lady reappeared.

A flash of sickening nothingness from behind her was all the warning the girl had before she sensed a Palisman staff swinging towards her head. She ducked and spun around aiming her staff at her teacher’s legs.

The teen was rewarded when her staff swept the Owl Lady off her feet, sending the witch falling to her rear with a surprised yelp - and some raucous laughter from King.

“Dam-ngit, kid! I really thought I had you!” the witch complained as she rubbed her wounded bottom. “What’s the point of having a super-secret cheat spell if the person you’re using it against can just sense you’re coming.”

Luz offered a hand to her grumbling mentor. “Heh. Sorry. Can’t really do much about it. Had it since I was 6. And somebody has been teaching me how to use it much better than I ever have.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eda griped as the super-strong human pulled her up, “my own petard and all that.”

“Knock, knock, Luz!” Hooty’s voice slithered from around the corner shortly before its owner did. “You’ve got a visitor!”

“Me?” the human asked. “Who’d visit me this late?”

“Hey!” came Katya’s voice as the young woman peeked around the corner. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Nah,” Eda said, rubbing her sore behind. “Luz just got finished knocking my old keister around.”

“O…kay?” came the younger witch’s hesitant response.

“Eda’s been teaching me an old witch martial art,” Luz explained, shouldering her staff. “Soooo, d’you come for a reason or just to visit?”

“Right, sorry,” Katya said. “Mx. Whispers, and the leaders of the Forearm Forest wild witches, wanted me to thank you for your help against the Emperor’s Coven.”

Luz blushed. “Aw, it was nothing. All I did was deliver that map. You and the BATTs did all the work fighting the Emperor’s Coven,” she said shyly.

“That’s the thing!” Katya smiled. “We didn’t even have to fight the EC! All the wild witch villages in the Forearm Forest had all these crazy plans to evacuate in case of an attack. As soon as we got to the first village and told them about the raids and showed them the map they started sending word out to the other villages. It was weirdly organized for a bunch of wild witches.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eda frowned at the bard. “Just because we’re wild witches doesn’t mean we’re disorganized or chaotic.”

Luz turned to her mentor. “Um, Eda? I’m pretty sure that ‘chaotic’ and ‘disorganized’ are the first two words most people use to describe you.”

The Owl Lady glared at the human. “Listen, this is my house, and I don’t have to stand here and be mocked like this. I am going to go inside where my apple blood won’t mock me.” She stuck her tongue out and marched through the back door.

Luz, Katya, and King all started giggling at the older witch’s antics, seconds before Eda popped her head back out and, with a spell circle, snagged the King of Demons in a sheath of orange telekinesis.

“C’mon, buster. It’s high time for someone to get a bath.”

The tiny tyrant struggled in vain as the witch’s magic dragged him inside. “NO! My popcorn!”

When the door slammed, Luz snagged a water bottle from the porch. “Well, now that that’s happened, what happened with the wild witches? Did they just go into hiding, or…?”

“Some of them did,” Katya answered. “Others decided to try and make their way to one of the larger wild witch groups like the Iron Flower Forest bandits or the Knee groups.”

“Huh,” Luz mused. “Well, hopefully they tell other wild witches about the BATTs; help spread the word of what you guys are doing.”

“Heh. Thanks,” Katya blushed. “Well, anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. You and the Owl Lady have fun!” The bard waved goodbye and stepped back around the house.

An idea hit Luz, and she called out to the other girl before she disappeared from sight. “Hey, Katya, if you’re free Friday night, the Hexside Banshees and I are playing St. Epiderm here in Bonesborough. Wanna come?”

“Heck yeah!” Katya smiled. “St. E should be no problem with you on the team! See you there!”

Luz waved at the retreating bard and took a sip from the bottle.

“Well, she seemed nice!”

Coughing and sputtering as she choked on the water, Luz turned to see Hooty staring in the direction the witch had left.

“Gah! Hooty! I forgot you were still here!” Luz said, still trying to clear her throat. “Somehow.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Luz,” the house demon replied. “Sometimes I forget I’m here, too!”

“Well, uh, I’m going to go inside and see if Eda needs help bathing King,” the teen said, backing away from the bird-tube.

“Okay!” Hooty called, then went back to staring at the woods.

Santo infierno that was creepy!

Still, Eda probably did need assistance wrangling King for his bath. Depositing her training staff in the holder by the door, she hopped up the stairs and, five minutes and one (short) chase later, was ‘standing guard’ while the Owl Lady scrubbed a reluctant King of Demons down.

"Hey, Eda?" she finally asked as the demon's bath came to an end.

"Yeah, kid?" the witch answered, hauling a sopping wet King out of the tub.

"So, about that teleportation spell you used during our bout…" Luz continued, trying to figure out just how to voice her question.

"What about it?" Eda asked back, grabbing several towels and a hair dryer with her telekinesis.

"We'd never seen you cast magic like that!" King said as the Owl Lady started drying him.

"And it felt … weird to my Spider Sense," Luz added. "Weird … and familiar."

"Dunno why you'd think it was weird," the witch replied. "It's just one of the spells Lily and I learned from that old book."

"Well, the few times I've felt something like that before were when I was transported into another dimension," Luz clarified. "Kinda freaky when everything stops existing around you for a split second!"

Both witch and demon stared uncertainly at the human.

"Well…. I've never felt anything like that," Eda said after a moment. "'Course I don't automatically sense everything around me all the time…" she shrugged.

"Yeah… it's not fun."

"Where would you have felt something like that anyway, Luz?" King asked as he shook himself off.

"Anytime I use the Secret Room of Shortcuts," she answered.

"Wait, that thing's still working?" Eda blinked in confusion. "I'd've thought it had collapsed by now…"

"Wait… You made the Secret Room of Shortcuts?!" the human gaped at her mentor.

"Well, I had help from Lily, but, yeah, pretty much," the witch said nonchalantly.

"Eda, you literally ripped holes in the fabric of time and space and created a separate pocket dimension!" Luz cried. "That's more Dr. Strange stuff, not witch stuff."

Eda shrugged. "Don't know what to tell you. That old book was just a bunch of wild witch spells my sister and I read during our rebellious teenage phase." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Though now that I think about it, we did find it in a hidden room in the ruins of old Castle Clawthorne. Man, that was an adventure… Wonder if Lily ever got rid of the scar she got from those sawblades?"

"Okay…. Putting that aside for now," Luz said, even though she really wanted to hear the story, "did you make anything else with that magic? Liiiiiike… maybe a secret study room in the library?"

The witch snort-laughed at that. "Hah! As if. Nah, that was Lily's little hidey-hole. I wouldn't be caught dead with a secret library hideout."

King looked up at Eda skeptically. "Why did you say that in the same tone you use when you like to the Emperor's Coven guys?"

"Oh look, it's time for someone to go to bed!" Eda said in a not-too-convincing voice. "Say goodnight, King!"

"Gah! Unhand me, woman! It's only 7:00! It's way too early to sleep!" King protested as Eda dragged him out of the room.

Luz watched them go. "Whelp! Hopefully that means I'll have a peaceful night working on my homework."

Luz closed her eyes as she lay back in her web-bed, ready for sleep to overtake her. After a few minutes she shot up, wide awake, when she remembered something Eda had said struck her. The witch had said it almost in passing -- probably didn't even realize she had said it.

"CASTLE CLAWTHORNE?!"

"And you found nothing?" Emperor Belos' quiet voice echoed around the war room, causing both Lilith and Hunter to wince back from the angry ruler. The two had gotten back late Wednesday night from the raid on the Forearm Forest, and had thus spent most of Thursday morning in a debriefing with the Emperor.

"N-no, uncle," Hunter said nervously. "The villages in the Forearm Forest were completely empty! Not even scraps or garbage left. It was almost as if no one had lived there for years!"

The Emperor stood eerily still, pale blue eyes glaring unblinkingly at Hunter for what seemed like hours before His head snapped towards Lilith instead.

“My intel was up-to-date, my lord,” she said, heading off any questions their Lord had. “I conducted the reconnaissance myself along with several scouts, all of whom had scored top marks in both tracking and Oracle spells. And the villages are right where we say they are. There’s just no one in them.”

“Six villages, all evacuated so perfectly we cannot even find evidence people lived there?” came the whispery rasp, the Emperor’s unmoving stare still bearing down on the older witch. “How?”

"I am not sure," she answered. "The evidence, or lack thereof, points to an orderly, pre-planned evacuation of all six villages, as well as any hermits or nomadic groups in the Forest. Something like that would take time, however, meaning they had to have been warned beforehand."

"But…" Hunter hesitated, fearful his statement would arouse his uncle's anger further. "But the only people who knew of the raids beforehand were members of the Emperor's Coven…"

Emperor Belos' head swiveled toward Hunter. "Impossible. A member of My Coven would never betray Me."

After a few tense seconds, Lilith spoke up. "Forgive me for doubting you, my lord, but how can you be so sure? Perhaps one of the lower ranked Scouts had family in the Forearm Forest and warned them and the knowledge spread from there?"

The Emperor sighed before looking back at the raven-haired witch. "No, it is impossible because they swore an oath to serve the Titan through me," He explained. "And if anyone were to break that oath, the binding spells in their Coven Brands would activate, causing that witch immense, torturous pain."

Lilith began rubbing her right arm, right where her Coven Brand was tattooed, an uncertain look on her face.

Before Hunter could ask Lilith if anything was wrong, the doors to the war room suddenly crashed open and a scout came stumbling in. Behind him came Kikimora at the head of a troop of guards.

"My Emperor!" The tiny demon called out. "I am so sorry! We tried to stop him, but he insisted that he needed to see you and wouldn't allow us to take him to the Healers!"

Hunter glanced up and his mouth fell open when he saw the state the scout was in.

The man was barely standing, seeming to stay upright more from pure willpower than anything else as he swayed dangerously on the carpet. A carpet that was steadily turning red from the man's blood dripping down from the numerous wounds hidden beneath his tattered cloak. A cloak that was now more red and black than the pure white scouts wore, burnt and stained as it was. Acrid wisps of smoke rose from his right arm, which hung limply at his side, while his left clutched his midsection, as if the scout were literally holding himself together. The man's Palisman, a bunnicorn, tugged uselessly at what remained of the hem of his cloak, trying to drag its owner back through the door, presumably to a desperately-needed Healer.

But what would haunt Hunter for weeks afterward was the man's face. Or, rather, what was left of it. His coven mask was gone, probably destroyed in whatever incident had caused his many injuries. Angry red wounds warred for space with blackened, charred flesh on the left side of his face, almost as if the scout had been struck there by the most powerful lightning bolt in Boiling Isles' history. His left ear and eyelids were just gone, but by some miracle his left eye was intact, though the fact that it was now milky white betrayed the fact that the man was now blind in that eye, probably forever. The scout sucked in ragged breaths through gritted teeth that were visible through charred lips.

"My… My Emperor… I…" The scout grunted out before he was interrupted by a hacking cough that released more blood onto the carpet.

"My child," Emperor Belos stated calmly, "what is so important that it cannot wait until you had visited a Healer for your obviously serious injuries?"

"I…" the scout started again. "I just came back from patrols on the outer islands to the west. And I…" He coughed again, more blood. "I need to… to report… that Ingrimaxus has returned. And it’s headed our way… to the Boiling Isles. My team and I tried to … ngf … slow it down as best we could… I… I am the only sur… vi… vor." Suddenly he pitched forward, falling, either unconscious or dead, limply and wetly onto the floor.

Kikimora and the guards rushed forward, one of them checking for the scout’s pulse. “He’s alive,” she announced, “but only barely.”

As Kikimora and the guards carried the unconscious scout to the Healers, Hunter turned back to Lilith and the Emperor. Lilith was worrying at one of her thumbs while his uncle was now pacing, hands behind His back.

"Is… is something wrong?" the boy asked. "Who or what is ‘Ingrimaxus’?"

His uncle turned towards him. “Ingrimaxus is a massive dragon - the largest the Isles had ever seen. Fifteen years ago it tore across the land, killing hundreds, and spreading devastation across most of the western half of the Isles. Eventually it was driven off, but those who did so paid the ultimate price.” His gaze turned downward. “I, and the Titan, had hoped that the wound had ultimately been fatal, or that the dragon had found other lands to terrorize, but…”

“Well, we beat it once, right?” Hunter asked. “That means we can beat it again.”

“No, Hunter,” Lilith said, her voice soft, distant. “WE didn’t defeat Ingrimaxus. A group of wild witches gave their lives to injure the dragon, and even after that the Emperor’s Coven couldn’t kill it. In the end we just irritated it enough that it flew back west. And now it's returned, and I’m not sure if we have the magical power to harm it now.”

“That’s…” Hunter glanced between his mentor and his uncle. “Uncle, surely you’ll be able to…”

A bitter laugh escaped from under the Emperor’s golden mask. “That’s the irony, dear Hunter. That magic that the Titan granted me? It proved useless against Ingrimaxus fifteen years ago, and no doubt it will do so now. No, it shames me to admit, I will be quite useless when that devil comes to kill my people. It will be up to my Emperor’s Coven, and any other witches or demons, wild or not, that choose to take up staffs against it, that will drive that monster off again. Or, Titan willing, kill it. But, first, we’ll need a plan.” He turned around, eyes boring into the head witch of His Coven. “Lilith, how long do we have before Ingrimaxus gets to the Isles proper?”

The raven-haired witch pursed her lips in thought. “Given where the scout’s patrol was, I’d say… maybe four or five days. A week at the most.”

“W-well, then we’ll need to come up with the best plan we can before then,” Hunter said, desperately trying to inject some confidence into his voice. “And, hey, there’s some good news after all!” He hoped his smile didn’t look as forced as it felt.

The Emperor looked languidly over his shoulder at the boy. “And, what, exactly, would that be, Hunter?”

“If that dragon is coming in from the west, it’ll probably fly directly over the Forearm Forest,” Hunter answered, surprised that his voice wasn’t wavering. “With the wild witches evacuated, that’ll mean a lot less casualties, right?”

Lilith’s eyes opened in surprise. “You’re right, Hunter. The entire Right Arm is practically uninhabited.” She turned back to the maps on the table. “And if we can somehow lure the dragon there instead of the more populated portions of the western side…”

Emperor Belos’ eyes shone as He looked at His nephew. “Very perceptive, Hunter. This may just be the advantage we need to fell this beast once and for all.”

Smiling genuinely, Hunter hurried over to the map table to assist the adults in their planning.

Chapter Text

Luz almost literally skipped out of the Owl House Monday morning. (She was sure if she actually started skipping Eda would have tossed her out on her keister.) Still, grumpy Owl Ladies aside, this was shaping up to being a perfect week!

"Well, someone's in a good mood!" Hooty crooned from the front door.

"Oh yeah! I'm still riding the high off our victory over St. E," Luz said, feeling a smile stretch her face, "and mami was so happy that I was able to find a sport I could do without having to hold back like I would on Earth!" She blinked a few tears of joy away before continuing. "Y'know, Amity and I made a good team Friday night. We were strangely in sync all game."

Hooty stared at the girl briefly. "Well, I'm in no position to look into that any deeper," He said, then looked up at the sky. "Hmmm. Looks like a storm's coming. You better hurry on to school before it starts raining, or worse."

Luz looked up as well, seeing the darkening sky. "Huh. It doesn't feel like a boiling rainstorm."

Slowly, lazily, something fell down from the sky. Luz reached out her hand to catch it. The dark flake danced through the air before alighting on her palm.

"Is this … the Boiling Isles equivalent of snow?" she asked. "In… summer?"

Hooty stretched out to look closer at the flake, then gasped. "That's not snow! That's ash!" He suddenly reopened the door, shooting inside. "Eda! Turn on the crystal ball! NOW!"

Luz stood still in shock. "Hooty? Buddy? You're kinda scaring me." She followed the house demon inside.

In the living room, the human found Eda, King, and Hooty, all staring at the crystal ball in horror. Perry Porter's voice came from the ball, and Luz saw the man pointing towards a map of the Boiling Isles.

"...and we are still getting reports of ash clouds over many of the western parts of the main island. Already most of the Forearm Forest is now experiencing ashfall, with clouds now entering the right shoulder area."

This is a little odd, Luz thought as she walked around to take a seat on the couch. Most weather on the Isles doesn't elicit more than a groan and some grumbling from Eda and King, even that report of painbows from a few weeks ago. These ash clouds must be serious.

"For those of you that are just joining us," Augustus' dad spoke from the Blight family crystal ball, "there have been reports of a dragon being spotted in the rightward seas. Its ash clouds have covered the entire Forearm Forest, and have started to spread into the Right Shoulder."

Amity frowned, books halfway into her bag. Dragon attacks, while rare, were usually minor incidents, quickly stopped by the Emperor's Coven, and the citizens would, most of the time, be notified after the attack had been driven off. And the ash clouds the beasts would generate are quite small, normally covering no more than a few square miles.

For this one to have already covered the entirety of the Right Arm while still out at sea? This dragon must be insanely powerful. Which is probably the reason they're warning us about it beforehand.

Willow was halfway out of the door when her papa called her back in.

"Sorry, sprout, but the crystal ball says they're canceling school today," Harvey Park told his daughter.

She could vaguely see Gus' dad on the ball in the living room. "Is everything okay, papa?"

"Just a dragon attack," he answered. "No need to worry. The Emperor's Coven will have it sorted in no time."

"What about dad?"

Harvey smiled reassuringly. "He's probably already at work. He and the rest of the Construction Coven will probably just hunker down at their headquarters all day, or at least until the ball announces that everything's clear."

"Okay," she sighed. "Can I use the crow? I want to make sure that Gus is-"

Suddenly, Perry Porter's voice broke through as the reporter spoke loudly and clearly. "Attention, citizens! I have just been handed a message from the Emperor's Coven itself. They report that the dragon that is approaching the Right Hand as we speak is none other than Ingrimaxus. I repeat, the dragon Ingrimaxus has returned to the Isles. All citizens on the rightward side of the Titan are advised to evacuate to their nearest emergency shelter immediately! If your town does not have an emergency shelter, please remain in your homes in the lowest, innermost room you can. And…" The man gulped loudly. "And may The Titan have mercy on us all."

"Willow, honey," her papa said, voice shaking, "go… Go pack your stuff. And hurry. I… I'll call Gus, make sure he's getting ready, too."

“Papa, what’s wrong? What’s going on?” Willow asked, confused at the fear she could feel from the burley abominationist.

"Just…just go, honey," Harvey answered. “And be quick. Everything will be alright. This… this is just a precaution. Yes, just a precaution.”

If only he didn't sound like he was trying to convince himself.

Eda felt the blood drain from her face the moment Perry said that name. She'd hoped -- prayed, really, but she didn't know to whom -- that her instincts, that Hooty's instincts, were wrong, that this was just another dragon attack. But that damned thing had to come back, and was probably going to kill who knows how many thousands of witches and demons before someone drove it off. The only silver lining (a phrase she'd learned from Vee, funnily enough) was that because of Lily's map, and the BATTs’ efforts, the entire Right Arm was virtually deserted; the only major 'town' now that the wild witches had mostly fled was an Emperor's Coven base on the Right Hand that housed Scouts who patrolled the western seas and few islands Belos had claimed out that way, and everyone there was probably recalled to HQ days ago to gear up for this.

She hoped they were, that the Emperor's Coven was going to show some rare competence and be ready this time around and not get blindsided like fifteen years ago.

Suddenly the Owl Lady became aware that her kidsKing and Luz were staring at her, their eyes latching onto hers for answers.

"Hey, Eda?" King asked. "Why is this different? Why are they telling us to evacuate? Isn't… isn't this just like the other dragon attacks we've gone through?"

"Yeah, Eda," Luz said, her normally bubbly voice tinged with worry. "What's going on? Who is this ‘Ingrimaxus’?"

"Ingrimaxus isn't any ordinary dragon," Eda started, slowly. "It's gigantic, twice as big as any other dragon. Scales tougher than any armor, immune to almost any magic, breathes fire so hot that it torched whole towns in seconds. It killed thousands, left the Right Hand virtually barren, before it got driven off."

"It wasn't the Emperor's Coven." Not a question. A statement. Titan, Luz was so much smarter than she gave herself credit for.

"No." Eda's voice was so soft, so small now. "A group of wild witches cast a powerful spell. Sacrificed themselves in a desperate hope to kill that damned thing. Or at least mortally wound it. That's where the dragon skin for your gloves came from, if you recall what Prim said." She nearly said more, but she bit those terrible, sad words back. No need to burden the kids with that. Instead, she spat out, "Too bad it didn't work. And a whole lot of people are going to die."

"Well, maybe the Emperor has a plan to kill it this time," King said cautiously.

"Yeah," Luz said softly. "I know you don't agree with some, or even most things he does, but Belos wouldn't let a dragon rampage throughout the Isles. Would he?"

Eda sighed, thinking. "No. No, he wouldn't. Belos is a lot of things, some of which I can actually say in front of you two, but he's not gonna allow this much chaos and destruction to ravage his lands." The witch closed her eyes, letting herself feel the weight of the morning.

"So what are we going to do?"

Eda cracked an eye open, gazing at her apprentice. The human's face showed an odd mix of steely determination and genuine curiosity.

"Hm?" came the witch's response.

"What are we going to do?" Luz asked again. "We’re gonna go out and help, right?"

"Nope."

"Um, what do you mean, 'nope'?" the girl asked, voice tinged with confusion.

"Pretty simple word. It means ‘no’," Eda explained. "We are not going to do a thing. If the EC has a plan, they're not gonna need, or want, help from a wild witch, a baby demon, and a human. And if they don't have a plan, Hooty is quite capable of protecting us so we can help anyone else who survives." Don't say the real reason. Don't say it. It will break you.

Luz stared at her mentor with something that combined abject horror and supreme disappointment, and Eda wasn't sure which one was worse.

"Wah-buh-guh-" The human sputtered as she tried to articulate what was probably a sound rejection of the witch's plan. The girl stopped and inhaled heavily before trying again. "No. I am not going to just … sit here and wait for something to happen." She stood up and prepared to walk to the door.

Eda sat up straight again. "Nuh-uh. No way, girlie. You are not running out of this house to fight a dragon like you're some sort of knight in shining armor."

Luz rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Do you really think I'm dumb enough to think I can fight a freaking dragon? But there are people who are going to need help, whether or not the Emperor's Coven defeats it or not." She began walking to the door. "At the very least I can make sure my friends and classmates are okay."

Shit! "Hooty!" Eda called out, "Initiate lockdown! Full defense mode!"

Luz was quick, crossing the room faster than Eda could see. Hooty was quicker. The metal shutters dropped, sealing off every door, window, and crack in the walls before the human could reach them.

The teen fumed for a few seconds before turning around. "That's alright. I'll just break these down. Sure, you'll be mad at me, but…"

"Go ahead," Eda dared the human. "That's pure adamantine. Toughest metal around. Found a whole buttload of it while searching some of the islands outside old hornhead's control. Should probably go back and see if there's any left. Maybe I can sell it to whatever's left of the EC after this whole thing's over with."

A dangerous smile grew on Luz's face. "You said adamanTINE, not adamanTIUM, right?"

"Yes…?" Eda answered cautiously.

"HA! There's still a chance!" With a violent suddenness, the human whipped around and began tugging at one on the window shutters, spider-enhanced muscles straining at the effort. "Just gotta … get some leverage… Grrr! Come on! ¡Doblate ya! ¡Maldito sea!"

Eda grinned to herself as she watched the human struggle. Even with Luz's incredible strength there was no way the girl was busting down those barriers. And she'll be safe through this whole mess…

Unlike…

She wiped away a tear discreetly. No, don't think about that. Just focus on keeping Luz and King safe.

Lilith stood on the stage, at her usual place as the Left Hand of the Emperor. On the Emperor’s other side stood Hunter, straight as a rod, proud as he could be. Behind the two stood the other Coven heads, expressions ranging from neutrally serious, like Darius or Hettie, or undeserved smugness, like Adrian and Terra. In front of the stage stood over a thousand witches and demons - most of them were Scouts and guards from the Emperor’s Coven, but a few dozen or so were volunteers from other Covens. Of course, there was also a news crew, broadcasting the assembly to every crystal ball across the Boiling Isles, as well as those minor islands that were within range of the signal.

At the front of the stage stood Emperor Belos himself, to whom all eyes were drawn. Most witches, even guards or Scouts, would never be able to get this close to him. The Emperor cut a distinguished figure, his mask polished and gleaming, and even his robe, normally a pure white, had been switched out for one threaded with precious metal that shimmered with each little movement.

The Emperor was currently giving a speech about the importance of their mission, the strength of the people of the Boiling Isles, the brilliance of their plan, etc. It was very inspirational, probably the most important speech of Belos’ reign, destined to be copied into school history books for the next hundred years.

Too bad every word that slid out of that man’s mouth was a complete and utter lie.

Brilliant? Lilith silently scoffed. Our plan is literally ‘hope we can cast a big enough spell from the ground to injure the damn thing and if not then delay it long enough that people can get to safety and then hope that monster gets bored and leaves’. We should have tried to reach out to known wild witches, ask if they could assist us again. But, no. It goes against ‘the Titan’s will’ or whatever excuse you made up.

Belos droned on, saying something about how the Titan had given him a vision of victory or something like that.

Oh? Is this the same Titan that I would be in ‘immense, torturous pain’ because I gave Edalyn that map? What about the times I discovered a Scout had warned a family member we were on their trail and the Titan didn’t punish them?

The Emperor finished, to rousing applause and cheers from the assembled scouts, and some more subdued clapping from the Coven heads.

“And now, Head Witch Lilith will give orders to the squad leaders,” Belos said, directing a mailed hand towards the raven-haired witch as he stepped off to the side.

You mean I’m going to decide which of these witches will die and which might be able to survive, because you’re too cowardly. Lilith felt a frown tug at her mouth as she walked to the front of the stage. “Alright! Squad leaders, come up to receive your assignment! If any volunteers haven’t been assigned to a squad, please come up as well!”

Steve flew over the ash-covered Forearm Forest. Only a third or so of the assembled witches had gotten Palismen from the Bat Queen, which meant most of the Emperor's forces were going to arrive via airship or flyboat.

And that meant that those able to fight in the air would need to distract Indrimaxus so the ground forces could disembark safely.

Because of his experience in aerial operations, Steve was tasked with leading a four-witch squad, all of whom, like him, had started in the Construction track. Lilith had tasked them with either making giant boulders and spears of earth to launch at the dragon or, if they got lucky and the beast flew low enough, trying to form bonds of rock to entrap the monster.

He wasn't 100% sure that plan would work. His dad, Construction Coven Head Witch Mason, had regaled Steve and his half-brother Matt with tales of how the battle went fifteen years ago. How a similar army had confronted the dragon, only to find that every spell they cast, every weapon they used, turned aside by Indrimaxus' shimmering purple scales.

But the Titan said they would win. The Emperor had said so. That meant they would.

Steve just hoped that everyone would survive the day.

"Up ahead!" an eagle-eyed Beastkeeper cried. "I see it!"

Steve squinted, just barely seeing a small, dark dot in the distance, hovering over the Right Hand. Suddenly a brilliant gout of fire leapt from the dot and a section of the ground was lit ablaze.

"First group!" Lilith's voice called out from her position at the forefront of the aerial force. "Get ready! Once we're within ten miles we'll begin our attack!"

Several squads flew to the front -- witches and demons skilled in Beastkeeping magic who had been given the task of trying to use their magic to control the dragon.

They'd fail. Normal dragons were highly resistant to Beastkeeping magic. A beast like Indrimaxus would probably be outright immune. All those brave souls would do is distract the beast, let everyone else get ready for the real battle.

They would die.

But the Emperor had said so. That meant they would.

Severine gulped nervously as she and the rest of the Beastkeepers flew closer to Indrimaxus. She'd heard the stories from older scouts and guards. How the monster had killed entire regiments of scouts and guards. How it had burnt entire cities to the ground, rendering most of the Right Hand and Arm uninhabited.

How every witch and demon in the Emperor's Coven had lost someone that day -- a friend, a mentor, a loved one. How they all had scars from that day, both physical and mental.

What those stories hadn't prepared Severine for was the sheer size of the beast. Indrimaxus was almost seventy feet long, indigo scales shimmering in the wan light that filtered through the ashy clouds his presence created. Leathery wings larger than most buildings on the Isles beat lazily as they kept the monster aloft.

Her claws tightened on her Palisman's staff when the dragon's head turned to the assembled scouts. It opened its mouth and an orange glow grew in its throat.

"Fire breath! Dodge!" the group leader, a witch named Kevin called, and all the Beastkeepers scattered to keep themselves from being torched.

Or at least they tried.

But a mouth that large creates a pretty big flame. A half dozen witches died in an instant, they and their Palismans turned to ash that floated away in the wind.

Severine felt the bile rise in her throat. Six lives, reduced to almost nothing in an instant, right in front of her eyes.

"Sev! Focus!" a witch called from her right. Nashy, another former member of the Tiny Cats Coven, who’d come over to the Emperor’s Coven just before Severine did.

“Everyone! Ropes!” called the group leader again.

Ten hands raised. Ten spell circles formed. Ten magically conjured ropes leapt from ten fingers to wrap around the beast’s arms, legs, and head. Ten witches pulled with all their might to stop, or at least slow Indrimaxus down.

Or at least they tried.

The dragon thrashed mightily against its bonds, and for a moment it looked like the assembled Beastkeepers would succeed. But then the two scouts holding the beast’s right arm lost grip on their Palismen, and they hurtled towards the forest below. The Palismen tried to chase after their witches, but they wouldn’t make it in time. At the speed the riders were going they’d hit the ground before too long. And there was no way the witches would survive a fall of over a mile.

Severine’s breath hitched in her throat, but she still tried valiantly to hold on, give the rest of the Emperor’s army time to prepare.

But with its right arm free, the monster was able to grab the ropes holding its mouth closed and drag the witches that had conjured them closer. With the scouts’ concentration broken, the ropes dissolved back into aether, and the dragon was able to swallow both of them in an instant.

In less time it took to blink, Kevin, Nashy and their Palismen were gone.

A mighty lash of its tail caused the ropes holding the monster’s legs to snap. The massive amount of feedback from having their spell disrupted this way caused the witches that had conjured them to stumble in the air, one of them falling from their Palisman to another messy death below.

Severine’s grip loosened as she started sweating profusely. No! No! This isn’t what I signed up for! I… I thought I was going to … to stop crimes, fend off a rampaging Slitherbeast, or-or help wild witches see the Titan’s Light, not die fighting a freaking mega-dragon! I… I… I…

The demon didn’t know when she’d started hyperventilating, but it got significantly easier to breath once she dispelled her rope. And the further away she flew, the easier her breaths came.

Maybe I can hide out at Fort Dexter on the Right Hand. Maybe I can come back once this monster leaves and I can help the survivors. Maybe…

Maybe, if He survives, the Emperor will forgive me.

Lilith frowned as her part of the Emperor’s forces approached where the three remaining Beastkeepers engaged Indrimaxus. The Head Witch couldn’t fault the poor scout who’d fled after most of their companions had perished.

She silently hoped more would choose life over death today.

Lilith glanced behind her. The flyboats and airships carrying the main part of the army, led by Belos himself, with Hunter acting as aide-de-camp, had begun to land.

That meant the Beastkeepers had done their job. Twirling a finger, Lilith launched a firework into the air, recalling the three to the main force. Indrimaxus had other ideas, belching out another cone of flame. One of the scouts got clipped by the fire as they dodged, streaking towards the forest floor as a fireball, their screams carrying through the stagnant, ashy air.

Lilith sneered as she tightened her grip on her staff. Mark my words, lizard. I will find a way to kill you. Even if I have to go and beg Edalyn for help.

The dragon rushed forward, whether chasing the two remaining Beastkeepers or seeing more morsels to gobble Lilith didn’t know. Still, it meant they didn’t have to wait long for the ground forces to meet up with the aerial group.

“Split into squads and attack!” the raven-haired witch called. “Try to overwhelm the beast until the Emperor’s forces can join in!”

The 300 witches under her command obeyed, scattering and surrounding the dragon as it approached the gathering ground forces. They began bombarding the monster with all sorts of offensive magics. Fireballs, ice shards, bolts of lightning and more rained down on the beast from all sides.

Too bad that every spell bounced off the damned things scales.

Still, every ounce of bile spent keeping Indrimaxus distracted meant those on the ground could set up the larger, more intense spells.

Lilith herself spun spell circle after spell circle, firing off a cascade of fireballs and lightning bolts at the beast’s face. She hoped that, maybe, one of them would take out one of the dragon’s eyes. At the very least, it would keep its attention on her and, maybe, allow the other scouts a chance to do some damage.

Indrimaxus obviously took umbrage with that, as the monster roared then lunged directly at the raven-haired witch. Sword-like teeth came close enough that Lilith could see blood and scraps of cloth – all that remained of those poor souls that the dragon had swallowed earlier in the battle.

A flick of will and Lilith slid sideways out of reality, reappearing several dozen feet back, well out of range of the dragon’s bite. She had to close her eyes as she felt a wave of nausea, but it passed quickly.

She heard someone call out “Incoming!” and looked back. The Construction Coven members had obviously gotten set up, as two dozen giant boulders were sailing through the air.

Lilith and the other airborne witches sped out of the way, allowing the boulders to impact on the dragon’s hide. Sadly, it didn’t look like any had done any damage, though the beast did wobble a little in the air after the bombardment.

The Coven Head grit her teeth. Calm down, Lilith. Focus on the positives. We’ve lost way fewer witches so far, compared to last time. And it seems like Indrimaxus is actually feeling our attacks, now.

Something red and orange whizzed by her, and it took Lilith a second to realize that it had been a tree. The Plant Coven was now in the fight, force growing trees to try and trap Indrimaxus.

A group of the tentacle-like branches reached the dragon’s right arm and started growing around it. Indrimaxus struggled mightily against the growth, but the trees bent and swayed, refusing to release their prisoner.

Lilith dared let a small smile grace her face. Gotcha! Now we have plenty of time to find some sort of weak spot!

Her smile fell seconds later when the beast opened its mouth and let loose a torrent of fire on the trees binding it.

And the witches below.

A dozen or so disappeared in the flaming cone, two or three dozen more dispersing with flaming clothes or limbs, Healers rushing in to douse the flames and treat the wounded.

Furiously, Indrimaxus slashed at the scouts flying around it with claws and teeth. Thankfully a Palisman is much more agile than a flailing dragon, and most of the witches were able to avoid getting hit.

Still, two more lives were snuffed out as the monster batted them out of the sky.

"Third squad! Tighten up your side!" Darius Deamonne yelled as he led the Abomination Coven's efforts on the ground. "We need this to be perfect, people!"

The right side of the giant tower of Abomination goo started to firm up and the Abominations Head Witch allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief.

Slowly the column stretched upwards as the assembled witches poured their magic into it. Just a few more yards and it'd be tall enough to make their attempt.

Darius heard footsteps behind him shortly before a voice asked, "Is it ready yet, Head Witch?"

"Almost, Little Prince," he responded, not even looking at Hunter. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be up there engaging the dragon?"

The Golden Guard's faceplate slid into view as the boy walked up beside him. "Uncle tasked me with providing any communications between ground and aerial forces," Hunter said proudly.

You mean he's keeping you safe.

Out loud, Darius said, "Well, be ready to contact Lilith, or whoever's in charge up there. We'll probably only have one chance at this."

"Yes, sir!" Hunter snapped off a smart salute.

It was a tense minute as the Abomination tower inched closer to completion, and Darius was glad he was able to focus on building it rather than on….

Don't think about the dead and dying, Darius. It won't be like last time.

I hope

Taking a deep breath to clear his thoughts, the dark-skinned man redoubled his efforts. He was starting to feel the all too familiar twinge of a strained bile sac when he judged the giant Abomination high enough.

"Okay, Hunter," he said, "tell them to lure the dragon over here."

"Ms. Lilith!" the boy called into a (very distressed looking) crow. "The Abomination's ready!"

The crow squawked out Lilith's acknowledgement, and Darius signaled for the Abomination team to stand out of the way.

A minute later a group of witches streaked by overhead, firing spells behind them. Indrimaxus chased after them, jaws open wide.

Hold… hold… now!

The moment the dragon was directly overhead, Darius directed the goo tower to form into a hand and grab the beast's head. Indrimaxus began thrashing as the witch directed the hand to squeeze down.

"Ha! Yes!" Hunter cried. "You got it! We won!"

Darius scowled, trying to concentrate on containing the dragon as it struggled with all its considerable might. Don't be so sure, Little Prince. This thing has plenty more fight left in it.

Suddenly, the monster angled its head down, just enough that it was able to spit out a stream of fire onto a group of the witches assembled below. Darius was able to direct a portion of the Abomination tower over them as a shield in the nick of time.

But that proved disastrous. Whether from the momentary lapse of concentration or the miniscule drop in strength for the Abomination hand, Indrimaxus was able to rip itself free and began torching the Abomination goo directly, sending flaming mounds of the slime onto Darius' teams.

The dark-skinned witch tried his best to deflect the fiery debris away from anyone, but there was too much of it, and the dragon's magical flames interfered with his ability to control the material. In a bout of frustration, he grabbed what goo remained in the tower and ripped it apart, forming a shield over the area. He'd managed to save most of the witches under his command, but…

Don't look… Don't look or you'll see them… Don't…

"Emergency! Emergency! We need medical teams over here, now!" Hunter called into the poor crow.

Damn you, Belos! How many witches are going to die today because of your arrogance! We should have been out securing the towns and making sure the civilians were safe! Make sure that no…

That no young man would have to come home and see his parents' charred bodies, hear the stories of how they sacrificed themselves to make sure everyone else got to a safe place…

Raine coughed as the Potions Coven, lead by Head Witch Vitimir, sailed by overhead, throwing potion after poisonous potion at Indrimaxus. A cloud of noxious fumes slowly built up around the dragon as the assembled army tried to distract the monster away from the Abomination group so the Healers could tend to the injured.

Suddenly there was a gust of wind that nearly knocked Raine over as Indrimaxus flapped its wings, dispersing the poisonous cloud along with the witches who had made it.

"Hrrrrmph!" A gruff voice came from Raine's left. The cyan-haired witch turned to find Scooter Crane, Head Witch of the Bard Coven, standing beside them.

"I coulda told 'em dat wouldn't'a worked," the older man continued. "Tried da same thing 15 years ago and da damn beast did da same damn thing. Lost da last Potions Coven head dat way."

Raine tried to think of something, anything to say. But, try as they might, no inspirational words, no uplifting phrases came.

The man turned to his pupil. "Raine, Imma 'bout ta do somethin' incredibly stupid. It probably ain't gonna work, but it should give us a little time ta regroup, and maybe get some healin' done."

A rough hand grasped Raine's lithe shoulder. "Lissen, I probably ain't gonna make it back. Yer a good witch, Raine. Dat's why I recommended ya for my replacement when I bite da dust."

The younger bard gasped. "S-sir! Are you sure? There must be more qualified members of the Coven!"

"Maybe," Scooter replied. "But none with more heart. I seen what ya been doin' with dose students of yers. Yer just what da Bard Coven needs." He smiled. "And if ya need any advice, Darius and Eber are always willin' to lend a hand."

Raine was momentarily confused. Why is Mr. Crane recommending the Head Witches of the Abomination and Beastkeeping Covens? And what did he mean by ‘seeing what I’ve been doing with my students’? Does he know about the BATTs? Before the slender bard could react, the Head Bard had already begun climbing a nearby hill.

Once he reached the top, Scooter used both hands to create a giant spell circle, summoning his organ to the hill, its polished pipes gleaming metallically in the dim light. The gruff man sat down and, rolling his shoulders, began playing.

The haunting melody had an immediate effect. All activity on the battlefield seemed to stop as everyone, including Indrimaxus, seemed to be paying attention to Scooter’s song.

Then Raine saw something miraculous happen. The dragon’s wings began to slow as the beast lowered itself gently to the ground, seemingly entranced by the older man’s playing. Seconds that felt like years crept by as the assembled army watched warily, hoping beyond hope that the Head Bard had managed, if not to subdue the monster, at least to stop it while everyone catched their breaths.

Slowly, cautiously members of the Healer’s Coven crept forward. They began to heal those wounded who could still fight and gathered the severely wounded, or dead, to take back to the ships for treatment or evacuation.

“Are you injured, bard?”

Raine jumped at the whispered voice, turning to see a tall witch in healer’s robes standing beside them, the curving horns on the side of her head betraying some demonic ancestry.

“Ah, sorry,” Raine answered. “No. I don’t think anyone here’s been hit yet.”

The healer nodded. “Good. Here.” She offered him a waterskin. “Drink up. It’ll help with any symptoms of bile depletion.”

Raine hadn’t been feeling twinges in their chest from a strained or depleted bile sac, but took the water gratefully. No need to chance running out of magic in the middle of the battle.

As the healer moved to check on the other bards, Raine glanced back up at Scooter as the man continued playing. Indrimaxus had almost landed, wings flapping slowly, the beast’s half-lidded black eyes staring soullessly at the Head Bard.

The last notes of the song filtered through the ashy air and every witch and demon held their breath as they watched what the dragon would do. It seemed like the monster was still entranced, still staring sleepily at Scooter Crane as the gruff bard stared back.

Then, with a mighty shake of its head, Indrimaxus snapped out of the magically-induced drowsiness. Roaring in rage, the dragon swooped down on the hill and, in one massive bite, ate Scooter Crane and his organ.

Raine stared in shock, waterskin halfway to their lips. The man who had mentored them after leaving Hexside, who’d inducted them into the Bard Coven himself, was gone.

They barely heard the dragon’s roar or saw the massive cone of flame it threw into the air. They could only hear the beating of their heart, see the tears stinging their eyes, feel the air catch in their throat.

The waterskin dropped from their hand as Raine issued a roar of their own in challenge to the monster that had just killed their teacher. Plucking their violin and bow from the ether, the cyan-haired bard began firing off air slash after air slash at Indrimaxus as it lifted off into the skies.

They knew it wouldn’t do anything. But that anger and pain had to go somewhere.

Lilith scowled as the dragon rose from where it had eaten Scooter Crane – the first, and probably not the last, Coven Head that would die today.

No, we can stop it! I just know we can! Somehow...

Suddenly a flurry of attacks came from the ground, a barrage of magically sharpened sonic slices that bombarded the monster’s belly and chest. The beast didn’t seem to care about the attack, until one impacted on the left part of its chest.

With a mighty cry of pain, the monster focused its attention back to the ground, searching for whoever was firing those blasts.

Oh ho, what’s this?

Casting a beastkeeping spell to enhance her vision, the raven-haired witch studied the area that particular air slash had impacted. She saw a thin, pale river of lavender scales that stretched from the left side of the monster’s chest all the way to its left wing.

Drawing a spell circle, Lilith let loose a lance of lightning directly at the scar. She was rewarded when the beast cried again, now looking upwards for the one who’d injured it.

Gotcha! Pressing the side of the Coven mask to activate the telepathy charm, she called out to the rest of the army. “Everyone! Concentrate fire on the left side of Indrimaxus’ chest! There appears to be a weak spot in its hide there! I repeat, there is a weak point on the left side of Indrimaxus’ chest!”

The effect was almost instant. The sky around Lilith was now swarming with witches and demons, each trying their best to snipe the dragon’s weak spot. Lightning, fire, ice, and even boulders came up from the ground, showing that the troops on the ground were trying to do the same. Lilith added her own efforts, throwing spell after spell into the beast’s left breast, hoping that something would penetrate its scales. Meanwhile, the dragon kept roaring in pain and alternated between flailing its claws in an attempt to swat away the assembled witches and trying to shield its vulnerable left side.

“Damn it!” A voice came from behind Lilith. She turned around to see Steve hovering there, rubbing his breastbone.

“Nothing’s getting through!” he continued. “I don’t know if we’ve got the firepower to pierce that hide!”

“You’re right,” she replied. “At least not here…” She paused. Am I really going to be able to do this? Will she even agree to this?

“Steve!” she called out. “Take command up here! I’m… going to try and get some reinforcements.”

“Uh… okay?” The young man said uncertainly. “If you’ve got a plan…”

With a nod, she aimed her Palisman at Belos’ command area and flew there as fast as she could. She landed as close as she could to where the Emperor, alongside Osran, Head of the Oracle Coven, were overseeing the battle.

“My lord!” she called out.

The man’s head turned lazily toward her, as if he’d been interrupted watching his favorite soap opera on the crystal ball rather than the most important battle of the last decade. “Yes, Head Witch…” his creepy, whispery voice echoed eerily above the cacophony that surrounded them.

“None of the witches here, not even the Coven Heads, have the strength to pierce the weak spot in the dragon’s hide,” she explained. “I believe we need a wild witch, a powerful one. At least to open a wound we can exploit.”

Belos stared at her for several seconds before answering. “No.”

“No?”

He turned back to stare creepily at the ongoing battle. “No. It won’t work. Though she is powerful, your sister is not powerful enough to break Indrimaxus’ scales. It would take an entire team of wild witches, just like last time. And, unfortunately, we do not have time, or resources, to try and round up a large enough group.”

“B-but…” she stammered.

Osran turned to Lilith, the ever-present all-knowing smile on his face. “Actually, my lord, I believe Lilith’s plan has merit.”

“Oh?” The Emperor asked half-heartedly.

“Yes,” the ancient demon answered. “A person with great strength may be able to tear through the scales with the aid of a Palisman in sword form.”

Belos hummed thoughtfully. “Yes… But this person would have to be stronger than any known witch or demon. Edalyn’s curse does not affect her in that way.”

Great strength…Luz! She’s probably the strongest person on the Isles! But… I shouldn’t let Belos know about the true extent of her powers.

“My lord, I… I believe Edalyn and I have a way to … enhance someone’s strength to the level needed!” she said.

The man turned back to her. “Really? Would it be enough?”

Osran’s eyes glowed a dark purple as he channeled his Oracle powers. “Yes, Belos. Lilith’s plan will succeed. Today shall see Indrimaxus the Ravager fall. We shall have revenge for all those valiant witches and demons who gave their lives both today and fifteen years ago.”

The Emperor seemed to consider this for a moment, then, with a slight nod, acquiesced. “Go, Lilith. But hurry, I do not know how long we can hold Indrimaxus here.”

“Thank you, my lord.” Lilith bowed and moved to remount her Palisman, flying off towards Bonesborough as fast as possible.

But as she left, she swore that Osran sent a knowing wink her way.

Luz, for the record, was not sulking.

Superheroes don't sulk. They brood.

So, after failing for over an hour to break those damned barriers Eda put up, Luz had gone up to her room to sulkbrood. She'd lost track of the time, staring balefully at the ceiling (and, by extension, Hooty, Eda, the Titan, the Universe, and probably several cosmological beings that Dr. Strange had mentioned offhandedly a few times) and muttering curses in English, Spanish, and even a few in Japanese. (She'd taught herself the language after really getting into anime a few years ago.)

But she'd eventually run out of generalized invectives (not exactly hard, given her mami had strenuously tried to keep her child away from any 'adult' entertainment) and was now reduced to generalized grumbling. And after about a half hour of that, she fell silent.

Just in time for the distant strains of what sounded like Eda having an argument with someone Luz couldn't hear.

Feeling curiosity get the better of her (and wanting to make sure the witch wasn't going after King for some reason), the human dropped down from her web and silently crept down the stairs. Once she was halfway down she could hear muffled responses to Eda's arguments, though she couldn't tell who was speaking. Another few steps and she saw her erstwhile mentor standing at the metal-shuttered door (the wooden door containing Hooty had remained open), yelling at … whoever was outside.

"And you can just rot out there with the rest of your cronies for all I care!" Eda shouted.

King spotted the human and ran over, waving to get her attention.

"Hey, buddy," Luz said quietly, kneeling down nearer the tiny tyrant, "what's going on? Who's Eda yelling at?"

"Lilith came by a few minutes ago," he answered, voice low. "She's been trying to get Eda to let her in to talk to you."

"Me?" The human gaped at the metal barrier that blocked her view of the raven-haired witch who must still be standing outside if Eda's posture was any indicator. "Why would Lilith want to talk to me?"

The demon dog shrugged. "Dunno. She won't say unless Eda lets her in, but she says it's a 'matter of life and death'."

Suddenly, Lilith's voice came muffled through the adamantine doorway. "Please, Edalyn! At least let me talk to her through the doorway. You don't even have to open it! And if she tells me to leave I will, but I must talk to Luz!"

"No!" Eda yelled back. "Not gonna happen! This is my house and right now we are under a lockdown! No one in or out, no matter who they are and what they say!"

Standing back up, Luz inhaled heavily again and steeled her nerves.

The human roughly shouldered the gray-haired witch aside. "I think I should get a say in who I speak to or don't get to speak to," she said. "Unless you’re grounding me as well."

Conflicting emotions warred on Eda's face, and the older woman looked like she was about to say something, but in the end she turned her face away with a huff.

"Luz?" Lilith's voice filtered through the door again. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," she answered. "What do you want, Lilith?"

"I…" the elder Clawthorne sister paused. "I need your help, Luz. To save the Boiling Isles."

"From the dragon?" Luz asked.

"Yes." Came the terse response.

Luz stared at the doorway a long time, trying to imagine what Lilith was feeling when she said that. She turned back to Eda, but the Owl Lady was strenuously not looking at her pupil. So Luz turned back to King.

And saw the fear in his large, bright eyes. Even Hooty was looking a little worried.

"Alright," the human declared. "How?"

"Oh no you don't!" Eda roared. "This is still my house and …"

"No, Eda," Hooty said, uncharacteristically calm. "This is my house. You may be my mistress, but right now you aren't acting in anyone's best interest. Not even your own."

"Eda," Luz said, slowly, deliberately. "This is what I have been training to do all my life. What I was going to learn to do at Avengers Academy before I came here. I may not be on a team or have a fancy uniform, but I'm still a superhero."

"You're a kid," Eda countered. "A kid who's gonna change her mind about her future a dozen or more times in the next year. Who knows if you're even gonna want to be a superhero by the time you hit 20."

Luz turned to the Owl Lady. "'With great power must come great responsibility'. I know you've heard me say those words before. Now let me tell you what they mean to me: If I can help in a situation, but don't, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"Eda, please reconsider!" Lilith added. "People, good people, are dying. And more will die before Indrimaxus is satisfied. The Emperor's Coven is trying our best to hold the line in the Forearm Forest, but…" She paused, and Luz thought she heard a sniffle from the hidden Head Witch. "It won't last forever. There just aren't enough scouts and guards to do anything to that monster. And eventually it will reach Bonesborough. Edalyn, how do you think Luz will think of you if her friends die and you forbade her from helping?"

"DAMNIT, I DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER!" Eda suddenly shouted.

There was silence as the human and two demons looked at the huffing witch. Her hair was disheveled by her outburst and tears streamed down her face.

"Please…" she said again, much quieter now.

"Eda, what…?" Luz struggled to ask, to say anything in response.

"Her mentor," Lilith provided from beyond the doorway. "Eda, your mentor was one of the wild witches who gave their lives to drive Ingrimaxus off the first time."

"Yes…" Eda answered, voice wet with what seemed to be years of unwept tears. "She was the one who came up with that damned plan. Ten years. I only got to know her ten years before she took herself away from me in an act of stupid self-sacrifice." She laugh-choked. "And you know what the worst thing is? Before she left, she told me, 'Edalyn, you are going to be a great mentor and teacher someday. And an even better mother. Just listen to those little voices within, but don't be afraid to talk back if necessary.'"

The gray-haired woman sunk down to the floor, and Luz knelt down to match her. "Eda," the human said, "you know what my little voices are saying? That if I don't get out there this is going to get really bad, really fast. I don't know if it's my Oracle training, or my Spider Sense, or just intuition based on living through some of Earth's most recent invasions."

King came up and put his claws on Eda's shoulder. "Eda, I'm scared. But…" He turned to Luz. "But I know Luz can help. I don't know how I know, but if anyone can save the day, it's Luz."

"Edalyn, if it makes you feel any better," Lilith added, her voice strong, clear, and oddly hopeful. "Your mentor, and the rest of those witches, those heroes, didn't give up their lives in vain. They did manage to wound Indrimaxus, quite severely. There's a scar running down the left side of its chest, down to its wing. A weak point."

"Really?" Eda asked, looking up at the door.

"Yes," Lilith answered. "I saw it myself."

Eda's tear-stained eyes locked onto the human's, and the witch nodded silently.

"Hooty?" Luz turned to the house demon.

He nodded back, and the shutter that closed off the front door rose, revealing Lilith, head down, eyes hidden.

"Thank you," the raven-haired woman said, before she lifted her head, eyes shimmering with her own tears.

Luz helped Eda get back to her feet as the Owl Lady wiped her tears away.

"'msorry," the gray-haired witch said. "Just… I thought that damn dragon was good and dead. And I guess hearing it came back brought up a whole lot of emotions I didn't realize I'd been holding in."

"I can sympathize," Lilith said. "We thought - hoped - Ingrimaxus was dead as well. And…" she looked at her sister. "I know this may not mean much to you, but… I was a captain in the guard at the time. I saw my whole team die to that monster. The only reason I survived was because one of them shoved me out of the way. I…" She looked away as a tear slipped down her cheek. "Sorry."

Eda sucked in a wet breath. "Holy shit, Lily…"

"While I would love to commiserate with you, sister, we have precious little time," Lilith said, turning back to Luz. "If you are ready, Luz, we can take my palisman to the front lines. I'll explain my plan on the way."

"Hold up," Eda said, wiping her face with a tissue. "If Luz is going out, so am I." She summoned Owlbert with a spell circle. "I've been working with her for the past few months, so I'll be able to tell if your plan is going to work or not." She walked outside. "Besides, if you die I want to be right there with you. No way am I suffering whatever punishment Cami cooks up when she finds out."

"Yeah!" King cheered. "Knock that dumb dragon dead!"

"Fine," Lilith said, though she couldn't hide a small smile. "Are you ready, Luz?"

"Actually," the human said, glancing back up to her room. "Give me one second. If I'm going to do this, I'm gonna do it right."

Luz glanced down from on back of Owlbert's staff form, watching as the miles of forest flew by. The trees were almost fully gray with ash now, and flakes of the stuff fell heavily from the sky, sliding off the shield Eda had provided.

The human was now bedecked in her full spider suit now. The mostly cotton ensemble, assembled by her mami when the girl was accepted to Avengers Academy, covered most of her body, leaving only her head and hands bare. The mask she'd given to Eda back during that covention sat upon her face now (after a thorough washing since the thing stank like apple blood), while the dragon-skin gloves she got from Ms. Prim protected her hands. Most of the suit was a nice, dark indigo (her favorite color), but the lower arms, legs, and feet faded into a pinkish-lavender, brightening up the costume. Thin, black spiderweb designs ran over the suit, spreading out from a downward-facing spider logo that sat in the center of her chest. She'd also grabbed a fanny-pack from Eda's 'To Sell' closet to carry her glyphs in - the neon lime green color clashed horribly with her suit, but she really didn't have time to search for another one.

Lilith had only glanced in confusion at the costume before the three had set off from the Owl House for the battle.

"You ever gonna explain your plan, Lily, or just keep messing with whatever you got in your hand?" Eda called out to her sister.

Lilith had been casting spells on ...something she'd kept hidden in her hand while they flew. "Sorry," she called back, from the back of her own raven Palisman. "I just have to make one last adjustment… there!"

Lilith then flew closer to Eda and Luz and held her hand out, bearing two small blue gemstones. "Here, take these and put them behind your ear," she said. "I attuned them to the same frequencies Coven masks use so you can listen in on any communications during the battle."

Eda looked at her sister confusedly. "Uh, you really think you should be giving me this, Lily?"

"If I'm going to go into battle with you, I need you to be able to hear any commands or warnings," the raven-haired witch explained as she affixed her coven mask onto her face. "Can't exactly have my trump card get hit by an allied fireball or boulder, can I?"

"I… guess that makes sense," Luz said. The human pressed the small gem behind her ear and felt a tingle of magic as the stone magically adhered itself to her skin.

"Okay, my plan is actually quite simple - we use a Palisman blade to cut through Indrimaxus' weak point and the chest and wing muscles. That should force it to crash land where the Coven should, theoretically, be able to at least contain the beast, if not kill it."

"Forgive me for a possibly stupid question, but, y'know, resident human here," Luz started. "Why can't you guys use your magic to cut through this weak point?"

"Palisman magic is far different from normal witch magic," Lilith explained. "It's… I guess purer is the best way to describe it."

"Yeah," Eda added. "Palisman wood stores pure Titan magic. That's what my teacher and the rest of the wild witches used to injure Indrimaxus fifteen years ago. Guess they didn't have enough juice to deal a fatal blow."

"But they did weaken it," Lilith said, "and I, as well as both Emperor Belos and Head Oracle Osran, believe that, using the concentrated Titan magic of a Palisman blade, someone with exceptional strength could actually pierce the dragon's scales…"

"And cut that bastard wide open!" Eda whooped in joy.

"Okay, second question," Luz said, "but can't Emperor Belos also channel Titan magic? Why can't he do this?"

Eda looked over at her sister, an expectant look on her face. Lilith's face contorted as a whole range of emotions warred across it.

Finally, the raven-haired witch sighed. "Because Belos' magic is… different. He is unable to wield a normal Palisman. They… they reject him, for some reason."

Eda looked back at Luz, surprised. "Really… That's, um… Again, should you really have said that, Lily?"

"Your apprentice asked a question, I merely answered." Though Lilith's face was an emotionless mask, Luz could almost feel the slight terror that ran through the other woman.

Undaunted, however, Lilith continued speaking. "When we get closer I'll transfer to Edalyn's staff and give you Mike Socks, Luz. Use his sword form to cut this overgrown lizard down to size."

Wait, her Palisman is named Mike Socks?

"Not a chance, Lily," Eda said before the human could ask. "She's gonna use Owlbert. First, Luz is my apprentice, so Owlbert knows her and is comfortable around her. Second, this way she can keep flying to the dragon while I pop over to you."

"Alright," Lilith acquiesced. "We're rapidly approaching the battle. We're going to have to dodge rapidly to avoid the dragon's breath. Edalyn, do you still remember that teleportation spell we learned from that book?"

"Do I?" Eda smiled, then turned back to her passenger. "You might wanna brace yourself, Luz. This is gonna get weird."

The girl nodded, bracing herself both physically and mentally for the upcoming teleports. Looking ahead, she could see the huge form of Indrimaxus in the distance surrounded by tiny dots of what, she assumed, were members of the Emperor's Coven attempting to fight it.

Suddenly, the dragon opened its mouth and an absolutely enormous cone of fire erupted across the sky. It swept down, right into the path the three were taking.

"Hang on, kid!" Eda shouted, and Luz shut her eyes tightly seconds before she felt the entire world dissolve into nothingness…

[oh good, you're here. well, i'll make this quick…]

...only for it to reappear seconds later as the witch and her rider reentered reality.

"Are you okay, Luz?" Lilith's voice asked.

"No," the human said honestly. "Being able to sense everything around you is really uncomfortable when there's not anything around you."

Did I really hear a voice during the teleport?

"You gonna be able to do this?" Eda asked.

"Y-yeah," Luz answered. "Just take it easy on the teleports, okay?"

"Can do!" Eda saluted half-seriously.

"Here comes another blast!" Lilith called, pointing at the battle ahead.

[...because we don't have much time. i know you have a lot of questions…]

"Ooooogh…" Luz groaned as time and space reasserted themselves, pressing her face into the Owl Lady's back.

"Please tell me if you're gonna barf, kid," Eda's voice filtered in through the disorientation. "Would be pretty embarrassing to show up to the big battle with puke all over you. Or me."

"Perhaps we should fly lower?" Lilith suggested. "Maybe if we go through the trees we can dodge any incoming attacks."

"Going this fast through that dense forest!?" Eda shouted. "There's no way we'd make it without crashing! And there's the fact that if the dragon decides to breathe fire our way we'd never be able to see it!"

"Good points." Lilith replied, then nodded ahead. "Looks like Indrimaxus is focusing its attention away from us at the moment, anyway. Hopefully that will give Luz some time to get her stomach settled."

Luz didn't say anything, just concentrated on breathing to try and quash the first stirrings of nausea in her rebellious stomach.

Minutes ticked by as the three flew on in silence. Finally Luz felt strong enough to raise her head from Eda's back and look at the approaching battle. It was… bad. There were less than half of the Scouts she'd seen before whizzing around, though the occasional lightning bolt, boulder, or whole tree being flung from unseen ground positions meant that there were at least witches that Luz couldn't see still in the fight, but things were still grim.

How many people has this monster killed today? Did it go and attack another, less defended Titan in the meantime, or was the world lucky and it had to tend to its injuries for the past 15 years?

As they flew closer, the dragon seemed to notice them, and directed a fiery blast in the three's direction. Luz braced herself again, clenching her stomach in the vain hope that…

[...and you'll get your answers soon enough. but there's something i need to tell you…]

…she wouldn't get queasy this time.

Okay, that was definitely a voice. And why does it remind me of papi?

"How you holding up, kiddo?" Eda turned to glance at her passenger.

"Better," Luz half-lied. "I think it gets easier each time we do it."

"Makes sense," Lilith said. "When Eda and I first tried this spell out when we were teens both of us threw up as soon as we came out. Had to wash ourselves off in a nearby lake so mother wouldn't question where we'd been."

"Doubt mom would've cared, though," Eda said, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "She was mostly happy we were getting along then, unlike her and her brother."

A disgusted look crossed Lilith's face. "Yes, well, Uncle Gladstone is quite insufferable. Even at your worst you are merely irritable, Edalyn."

"Oh, Lily? Was that a compliment?" Eda said, half-mockingly.

"Against my better judgment, yes," Lilith replied.

Both sisters shared a laugh at that.

"Uh, not to interrupt some probably long-overdue sisterly bonding," Luz interrupted, "but big dragon claws coming right for us!"

Both Clawthornes looked up and cursed as they saw the closer-than-expected enormous paw coming toward them.

The two witches pulled to the left, rolling out of the way of the sword-length claws. They then had to pitch to the right to avoid the other claw as it tried to swipe them out of the air.

"Suddenly a voice came from the gem behind Luz's ear. "Incoming!" The human glanced back, and saw several dozen fireballs arcing up from the ground.

"Shit!" Eda cussed as she and Lilith put their Palismen in steep dives, dodging out of the way of the flaming death. They then pulled up, driving straight at the dragon. Its mouth opened wide, flames beginning to visibly form in its throat.

“Uh, Eda?”

“Hold your snorses, kid,” the Owl Lady said.

The sisters peeled off in opposite directions seconds before the fire breath came, then came back together behind the beast’s head.

"Alright, Luz, we're going to make our final approach now," Lilith said, her voice calm despite the proximity to something that had killed so many. "Edalyn, come over to Mike so Luz can go in."

"You got a good grip, Luz?" Eda asked.

"Yeah," Luz breathed heavily. "I- I'm ready."

A nod from the younger Clawthorne and she faded from reality, leaving a sickening hole that dissipated after a microsecond. Then, Eda was seated behind her sister on the latter's Palisman, and Luz was alone on Owlbert.

Lilith gave the human a nod, while Eda offered a smile and a thumbs up.

"Okay, Owlbert, take me down."

Smoothly the Palisman descended towards the dragon's back. After a few agonizing seconds, Luz was able to touch a foot down on the scaly surface. She could feel the immensely powerful muscles of the beast flex and shift below her as the dragon's wings flapped idly, keeping it in the sky.

"You okay, kid?" Eda's voice came from above. "You gonna be able to stick to it?"

The human looked back up to see that Eda and Lilith had followed her part way down, and were hovering less than a dozen feet above her. Cautiously, Luz leaned down and placed a hand on the dragon's skin, feeling that almost innate instinct she had when touching surfaces. Sure enough, those connections that allowed her to stick to almost any surface formed with a thought, and were just as easily dismissed.

"I'm good to go!" She shouted back. "Now how do I get Owlbert into sword mode?"

"Just grip him by the head of the staff and turn him around!" Eda answered over the howling of the high-altitude winds. "He should automatically transform!"

Luz flipped the Palisman staff around and caught it just below the 'head' and, just as Eda said, he morphed from a staff into a sword. Looking back up, she sent a thumbs up to the two witches.

"We'll be nearby, Luz, helping the others keep Indrimaxus distracted while you do your work," Lilith called, "but I'll keep an eye out in case you need help. When you’ve cut the muscles, just flip Owlbert around and he should turn back to staff form."

Not if. When. A simple word choice, but it meant that Lilith had total confidence in her. Eda did, too. And King and Hooty. And, if they knew about this, she was sure that Willow, Gus, Amity, and everyone she's made friends with on the Isles would too.

Taking a deep breath, Luz gripped the Owlbert sword tighter, and ran, crossing over the beast's broad shoulder and down under to the dragon's belly. Once there she easily noticed the scar, the jagged, pale lavender line reminding her of the mark her mami sported on her upper thigh, a souvenir from a rather ill-tempered stray dog the clinic had taken in a few years ago.

Luz inhaled, steadying herself. Eda said that the first two forms are shared between the branches of Teräs Käsi, so…

Taking a second form ready stance, the human took another deep breath and swung with all her spider-enhanced strength.

The lilac scales that had formed over the dragon’s old wound parted easily, and Luz was able to gouge a deep wound in the beast’s breast, and thick, red blood seeped out. This, of course, caused the dragon to roar in pain and immediately begin swiping at its chest to try and dislodge the girl. Whatever witches were still airborne were still trying to assist her/distract the dragon\get their own hits in, as a rain of fireballs and lightning bolts stuck the dragon’s midsection, causing the beast to have to divide its attention between swatting at Luz and trying to drive the coven scouts away.

This made it easy for Luz to dodge between the dragon’s claws and get a few more slashes in, especially considering her newfound knowledge and fighting skills (thanks again, Eda!). Owlbert’s blade bit deeper and deeper into the monster’s chest.

On one cut she must have bit into an artery or something as an almost blinding deluge of blood sprayed from the wound. Luz just managed to somersault away, though a few droplets did manage to land on her costume.

And started small fires on her arms and legs!

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!” The human rapidly patted herself out, thankfully only suffering a few minor burns that should heal by the end of the day. The costume her mami painstakingly made by hand wasn’t so lucky: small holes had burnt through the cheap cotton, exposing her bare skin to the chilly high altitude winds.

“Ah, dangit,” she muttered as she dodged another spurt of blood, shielding her very vulnerable face with her hands. “Mami is gonna be so disappointed that I trashed my costume on my very first mission!”

Oddly enough, her dragonhide gloves were unaffected by the burning blood. Is it because they’re from the same dragon? Or is all dragonhide fireproof?

She decided those thoughts would have to wait for later, as the dragon started bucking from the probably immense pain when a scout managed to land a fireball right in the open wound.

Gotta finish this. Now!

The girl ran forward, using every bit of her uncanny balance to keep her footing on the flailing beast. Since the wound was still spurting blood, Luz decided to come at it from above, where gravity would carry the burning liquid away from her.

A few more slashes and Indrimaxus screeched in pain (or terror, Luz wasn’t sure) and its left arm went limp just as the spider-powered human cut through a particularly tough cord of muscles. The monster began turning, presumably to flee back to whatever overseas layer it had occupied for the past 15 years.

“Oh no you don’t!” came a dual cry from above.

Luz looked up and saw Lilith and Eda, still on the former’s Palisman, spell circles on each hand. Floating above the two, wrapped in blueish-white and yellow magics, was a giant spike of condensed earth and plant matter.

“You ain’t goin’ nowhere, you overgrown lizard!” Eda continued.

As one, the two witches thrust their hands forward, causing the earth spike to rocket towards the wound Luz had made in the dragon’s chest. The spike hit before Indrimaxus could react, driving deep into the beast’s breast. The monster screamed again and lurched backwards from the impact. Suddenly it pitched to the left as the wing on that side went limp as well.

“Okay, Owlbert,” Luz said, reversing the Palisman so his head was now upright. “Time to go, buddy!”

Only for the owl-sword to stay a sword, instead of turning back into a staff like Lilith had said.

“Uh, Owlbert? Currently falling here,” the human desperately tried to reason with the Palisman. “I know I’m tough but not this tough. So, uh, can you change back? Please?”

Nothing.

“Ah, um… Presto Change-o? Abra Cadabra? Expecto Palismano?”

The owl face on the pommel stared back, either unwilling or unable to transform back.

“Uhhhhhhhhhh…Eda! Lilith!” she called out. “Need some help here!”

Suddenly the sickening wrongness appeared behind her and she felt a pair of slim yet strong arms wrap around her.

“Hold on, Luz!” Lilith said. “I’m going to teleport us to the ground!”

you can trust Lilith. tell her of your problems and she will be able to help.

Luz stumbled the second she and Lilith exited whatever in-between space the Clawthorne sisters' teleports used to bypass spacetime.

"Are you okay, Luz?" the raven-haired witch asked.

"Yeah," the human answered as she turned to face her savior. "Thanks for the save. Not sure why Owlbert wouldn't change back to staff mode." She looked down at the sword-bound Palisman in her hands, still covered in the dragon's superheated blood.

Lilith didn't get a chance to answer as Indrimaxus slammed into the ground only a few dozen yards away. The impact nearly knocked the Coven Head off her feet until Luz reached out to steady the witch.

Eda floated down from the sky shortly thereafter. "Hey! I think the thing's still alive!" she called as she dismounted Mike Socks. "C'mon, let's go finish it off so it never hurts anyone else again."

Luz and Lilith nodded, and the three ran off towards the impact site, a small clearing where a now ash-choked stream had once trickled through.

Once there, the trio found Indrimaxus struggling to stand. Its left arm and wing were still limp, and blood dripped freely onto the ground from around the earthen spike the sisters had stabbed into the behemoth.

"It's still alive?!" Eda cried incredulously. "How?!"

"Don't know, don't care," Lilith said as she stepped closer, drawing a large spell circle. "I'm going to finish this monster off, once and for all."

The spike buried into Indrimaxus' chest began glowing the blueish-white color Luz was coming to associate with Lilith's magic. The raven-haired witch grunted, and the spike wiggled as she vainly tried to push it further in.

Eda stepped forward and, with another spell circle, added her own magical might to the effort. The spike moved another inch or so in and Indrimaxus roared again in pain.

The dragon looked down and spotted the two witches who were trying their best to kill it. With a low snarl a glow started building up in its throat. Sensing the oncoming fire, Luz grabbed a handful of ice glyphs out of her pack and moved in front of the sisters. Slamming the glyphs down, she conjured a large wall of ice, hoping to buy Eda, Lilith, and herself enough time to fall back and come up with another strategy.

Indrimaxus let loose its flame breath, and the fiery cone hit the icy wall.

"I don't know how long that's gonna hold!" Luz called to the witches. "I think we need to--"

"Wait, look!" Lilith called and pointed at the point where fire and ice met. "It's not melting! Whatever type of magic your glyphs use, it's immune to dragonfire!"

"Great!" Eda said sarcastically. "So we've got a safe space until that dumb monster figures out how to move around it."

"Or maybe…" the Coven Head trailed off before her eyes opened wide. "Luz, you said that you found those glyphs by 'listening to the Titan', is that correct?"

"Uh, yeah…" the human looked at the raven-haired witch askance. "Why is that relevant now?"

"Because these glyphs may be a type of Titan magic!" Lilith exclaimed. "And, like Palisman blades, your spells may be able to pierce the beast's hide. You have light and ice glyphs, right?"

"I also found a fire glyph, but I didn't grab any since, y'know, fire-breathing dragon…"

Said dragon stopped exhaling fire and slouched forward. Its (normal) breathing was shallow and labored, and its head wobbled on the end of its long neck.

"It's not looking too good," Luz said, glancing worriedly at the dragon. "Maybe we should just let it go?"

"No." Lilith's voice was hard and cold. "This…thing has cost too many lives, both today and fifteen years ago. It dies today."

"Do we have to kill it?" Luz asked. "Maybe after today it'll learn and...

Eda sighed and turned to her pupil. "Luz, dragons aren't intelligent. They're not even clever like beasts or animals. They're nothing but death and rage and destruction wrapped up in scales."

"The Beastkeeping and Emperor's Covens have investigated nearly every dragon we've taken down over the years," Lilith added. "These things brains are… primitive, to say the least. And their magic is like nothing we've ever encountered. We're not even sure where they come from -- expeditions to other Titan corpses haven't found anything remotely like them. All we know is they come in from the westward sea and firebeeline straight for the closest settlement, as if they were drawn there by some sort of force."

"So, yeah, kid," Eda put a comforting hand on Luz's shoulder. "You don't have to do it, if you don't want to, but someone's gotta put this thing down for good."

Luz hesitated a moment. "I… I'm still not 100% sure if I'll ever be able to take a life. Maybe if there's no other way, if it's to save other lives, but…" She sighed.

"Hey," her mentor said, "don't worry. Lily and I've got this one. In fact, it'd kinda be poetic, finishing the job my mentor started."

"Agreed," Lilith said, turning back to look at her sister and the human. "This was our fight long before it was yours, Luz. It's only fitting we end it."

Luz sighed again. "Okay. I… see your point, I guess." She carefully handed Owlbert, still in sword form, to Eda. "Not sure why he won't turn back, but…"

The Owl Lady raised an eyebrow as she looked at her Palisman. "Hmm. Well, we can work that out later." She looked over at her sister. "What's your plan, Lily? The two of us can't just stab it like Luz did, can we? There's no way we'd get through its scales!"

"No," the raven-haired witch said as she approached. "But if your ice glyphs are immune to dragonfire, then they should be able to bypass whatever makes dragon scales immune to witch magic. Theoretically, if we make a large enough glyph, Edalyn and I can charge it with our Palismen and destroy the dragon's brain."

Eda shrugged. "Eh, less gruesome of my plan to just make a whole buncha ice and ram it down the dragon's throat until it suffocates."

"Ew, no," Luz said, face twisting in disgust at Eda's suggestion. "We'll go with Lilith's plan."

A low, rumbling groan drew the three's attention over to Indrimaxus, who was attempting to crawl away, its useless arm and wing dragging along the ground, creating deep furrows in the earth.

"Yeesh," Eda said, grimacing. "maybe Luz is right. Maybe we shouldn't kill it."

"I…" Lilith started, then dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "If we do not, then the Emperor will want Indrimaxus captured. And … given some recent revelations I've had, not to mention past experiences with the Emperor's experiments, I do not want Belos to get his hands on the most dangerous dragon to ever live."

"Experiments? You mean the basilisks?" Luz asked.

Lilith's eyes widened in shock. "You know about…? Well, yes. If he was willing to bring an entire species back from the dead to serve him, what do you think he'd do with a live dragon?"

Luz's mind reeled with the implications. What would the Emperor do with a dragon? Just clone it and create an army of invincible murder machines? Try and modify it like he did with Zee?

"Alright," she said aloud, "you convinced me. This thing needs to die before the emperor gets here. What do you need me to do?"

Lilith spun a spell circle, conjuring a paintbrush already loaded with black paint. "Draw your fire glyph on top of Indrimaxus' head. Edalyn and I will activate it, burning the creature's brain out completely. There'll be nothing of value left for the Emperor to study."

Luz nodded and took the brush. She jogged over to where Indrimaxus had stopped, the massive beast panting as it tried to work up the energy to crawl another 20 or so feet. It issued a warning growl as she approached, but not even a flicker of flames came out of its mouth.

The human leapt up to the top of the van-sized head. Thankfully it was fairly flat, so she was easily able to sketch out a roughly five-foot wide fire glyph. She looked down to the ground to see Eda and Lilith had followed her over.

"Do you two need a hand up?" Luz asked. "I can make some webs so it'll be easier to climb."

"No need, kid," Eda replied, then she and her sister stepped outside reality, leaving sickening holes in the air that closed after a moment.

"Ah, right," the teen said, trying to ignore the wrongness she felt from the witches reentering behind her. "You two can just ignore space-time like that."

"Are you ready, Edalyn?" Lilith asked.

The Owl Lady stretched and cracked her back. "Oh, yeah. Been waitin' for this for fifteen years."

The sisters touched their Palismen to the glyph, which started glowing with a wicked orange light. Indrimaxus shifted its head, mouth opening as if it were going to scream. Then, suddenly, every part of the dragon went slack as a noxious smelling smoke filtered out from its mouth.

"Dios mio, that's foul!" Luz said, pinching her nose closed.

"Ag-hack-reed," Lilith said, coughing and trying, and failing, to wave the smoke away with a hand. "We should probably get away before the fumes make us sick."

"Seconded," Eda said, turning slightly green. "Let's bail!"

"Let's do it my way, this time," Luz said, and grabbed the witches around their waist before they could say no. She leapt down from the dead dragon's head and ran around to the other side of the ice wall she'd made. She set the Clawthorne sisters down gently and gulped in sweet, refreshing, non-burnt-dragon-smelling air.

"Well, that was… kind of exhilarating!" Lilith said, a smile on her face. "Do you give your friends rides like that?"

"Not really," Luz replied. "I've done it with Amity a few times but she got really red and kinda sweaty afterwards."

"Oh? Oh!" Lilith's eyes widened like she just realized something. "Yes. Yes, I suppose she would. In any case, I want to thank you - both of you - for your assistance in finally finishing this thing off. I know many witches will sleep better tonight now that Indrimaxus is finally dead."

"No prob, Lils," Eda said, waving the praise off. "I guess I needed this as much as you did. Probably had some unresolved trauma or something to work off."

"And, uh, thank you for your help earlier," Luz said, scratching the back of her head. "Without your map this forest would probably still be filled with Wild Witches."

"You're welcome. I'm just happy that they're all free. But you two should probably leave before Emperor Belos arrives," Lilith said, looking off towards where Luz presumed the Emperor's base camp was. "Even though the Emperor's Coven has been decimated by today's battle, he'll surely want to try something."

"Gotcha," Eda gave her sister a thumbs up. "C'mon, kid. Probably not the best idea to meet royalty with a supersuit as torn and holey as that thing is."

Luz looked down, and realized that her suit was way more damaged than she realized. Burn holes, tears from where it'd gotten caught on the dragon's scales as she dodged the monster's attacks, even a seam had come loose on her leggings, leaving part of her left shin and knee exposed.

The human groaned and slumped. "Mami is gonna kill me for ruining this…"

Eda laughed and clapped her apprentice on the back. "Kid, I've only known your mom a few months but there is no way she's gonna be mad your worst injury was to this suit while fighting a dragon. Azatoth, Cami'll probably want to frame it as a trophy of her baby's first victory."

"A much better trophy than those barbaric Titan Trappers use," Lilith said, shuddering. "To think that any witch, no matter where they're from, would wear actual Titan skulls! Especially on the Boiling Isles!"

Eda's smile faltered. "Uh, Lily, how do you know the Trappers are witches?"

"Because some of them visited a few weeks ago," the raven-haired witch explained. "They apparently made a deal with Belos about something. I wasn't there for the actual meeting but the Emperor later told me he'd negotiated a 'ceasefire' with them."

"Well, shit," Eda swore. "Yet another reason for us to not be here when old hornhead pops up."

Luz started to turn to go, then stopped. “Oh, wait! We should really return these gemstone earpieces you made. Probably don’t want Eda listening in to all your top secret missions.” She giggled.

“Damnit, Luz!” Eda grumbled under her breath.

“Now why would I want some grubby gemstones?” Lilith said with a knowing smile.

Luz and Eda looked at each other, then back to the Coven Head.

“Uhhh, you sure, Lily,” the Owl Lady said, voice tinged with doubt. “I mean…”

“Lilith! Lilith, come in!” A familiar (and annoying) voice came from the gemstones. “Did you see where Indrimaxus fell? Can you get there quickly? Uncle and I are on our way there!”

Lilith tapped the side of her mask. “Yes, Hunter, I’m at the site where it fell. I’ll be waiting for you and the Emperor.”

“Shit!” Eda cussed. “C’mon, Luz, we gotta go!”

“Bye, Lilith!” Luz waved to the raven-haired witch. “Good luck with the Emperor!”

“Don’t worry,” Lilith called as she watched the two walk away. "I'll think of a cover story to tell him."

As Eda and Luz walked deeper into the forest, the human leaned in closer to her mentor. "Hey, who are the Titan Trappers? Should I be worried?" she whispered.

"We'll talk later, after we're home," Eda whispered back. "We should probably figure out why Owlbert's messed up first."

Lilith felt a small smile tug at her mouth as she watched her sister and the human walk off into the deeper reaches of the Forearm Forest. It had been… nice to work with Eda again.

Now I just need to think of a good lie to tell to Bel--

"Was that your sister just now?" the man's whispery voice echoed throughout the clearing. "And her human apprentice?"

The raven-haired woman yelped and spun around to find both Belos and Hunter standing at the opposite side of the glade from where Eda and Luz had left. The Emperor was currently staring off at the last traces of their shadows as the two outlaws faded into the foliage.

"M-my emperor! Hunter! You are… here. Earlier than I expected," Lilith said, trying to regain her composure.

"Not early enough," Hunter waved the smoke that still filtered out from Indrimaxus' head away from his mask. "I'm guessing this stench means you killed Indrimaxus?"

"Yes," she answered. "With the help of Edalyn and her apprentice, I might add."

Hunter scratched his head in confusion. "Her… apprentice? How could a human help kill a dragon?"

"Um…." Lilith paused. >Curse my inability to think up lies on the spot. "Because… the… strength enhancement only works on humans! Yes, I knew Edalyn had found some sort of old … strength enhancing potion recipe in one of those old ruins she likes to traipse around in. But she told me that it only worked on humans, for some reason, and thus we had to bring Luz so she could carve the beast's wound open!"

She really hoped her smile wasn't as nervous as it felt.

After a beat, Hunter shrugged. "Who knows what those old wild witches were up to. Guess we should count our blessings that it worked in our favor this time rather than killing anybody."

"Agreed," Belos whispered, "though I would have liked to at least have thanked the Owl Lady and her student for their contributions."

"Yes, well…it turns out that the potion was having some side effects on Luz's biology," Lilith let the lie slip through her teeth, hoping that neither man could feel her unease. "Combined with the injuries she sustained while battling Indrimaxus, Edalyn felt it was best to take the human home so she can rest and recuperate after this ordeal."

Belos hummed thoughtfully, still staring at the area into which Eda and Luz had disappeared. "Ah!" he gasped in understanding. "I see now! It's all so clear."

"What?" Hunter looked back and forth between the Emperor and the treeline. "What is it, Uncle?"

"This 'human'...her abilities...it all makes perfect sense now," Belos continued. "Edalyn's apprentice is her daughter! A human-witch hybrid. Most remarkable!"

Lilith swore she felt her jaw drop all the way to the ground at this revelation. Wuh… How did you come up with that?! Was it just because I said they were both going 'home'? You already knew that Luz lived with Eda! I told you that when I first investigated Luz!

Taking a deep breath to center herself, Lilith thought again. Wait… Maybe this is a good thing. It's probably a good idea to keep the Emperor in the dark about what I've found out about the Human Realm, at least for right now.

"Er, yes, my lord," Lilith answered, trying to keep from rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry I kept it from you, but I wasn't sure how you would react if you knew that Luz wasn't fully human."

"Hmmm. Luz? Is that her name?" Belos asked.

Lilith could have punched herself for the slip-up. Shit! "Uh, yes, my lord. Have I not told you that before?"

"No." The emperor turned his creepy blue gaze to the raven-haired witch. "This makes it clear that my decision to remove you from the mission to recruit your sister was wise. Now, is there anything else about your niece you have neglected to tell me? What about the other parent? What do you know about him or her?"

Shit! Sorry about this, Luz, Luz's mom, but I don’t know if I can keep lying under pressure! "Both Luz and Edalyn have mentioned her other mother is named 'Cammy'. I believe the three are in regular contact since Edalyn mentioned making a trophy of the girl's victory today."

"Probably a byproduct of a one night stand," Hunter spoke up. "The human mom probably only found your sister recently and now the girl is exploring her witch heritage." The boy shook his head slowly. "Pity it has to be with a wild witch and not a good Coven witch like you, Ms. Lilith."

"Now, now, Hunter, there's probably a good reason the Owl Lady is only now letting her daughter explore this wonderous world of ours." The Emperor hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder if Luz's abnormal abilities are because she's a witch-human hybrid, or if there's something special about female-female pairings? And what about male-male ones? Would those children also have powers, and would they be similar to your niece's? Perhaps we should investigate this..."

Something of Lilith's disgust must have been visible (or audible), because Belos continued. "Oh, nothing like that, Lilith. We'll just study the witch/human pairings that will naturally occur after the Day of Unity."

That is still extremely creepy!

"In any case we should get back to the command tents," Belos said, changing subjects. "As soon as I saw Indrimaxus go down I had Osran summon a news team, and now we can give them the good news of your victory, Lilith."

"You mean mine and Edalyn's and Luz's, right?" Lilith asked cautiously.

"No." The Emperor's voice never raised above his customary whisper but it seemed to fill the clearing somehow. "If news that a wild witch was instrumental in bringing down Indrimaxus, well, that might cause some witches and demons of… lesser moral conviction to begin questioning the Coven system. It would be best to remove that temptation from them.”

“But surely the mention that a human assisted…” Lilith began.

She didn’t even see him move. The Emperor was just… right there in front of her, towering over the raven-haired witch. “My dear Lilith,” his raspy whisper bored directly into the witch’s mind, “that would be even worse. What if the citizenry begins thinking that humans don’t need our help? What if they begin questioning the rationale behind the Day of Unity? No, we can’t allow one exception, no matter how marvelous, to disprove everything we believe, can we? And if we don’t have belief, what do we have?”

Lilith took an involuntary step back. For some reason she wanted to bow, to confess her sins to the Emperor, her lord, and beg his forgiveness. To forget this nonsense and be rejoined in blessed certainty with her fellow Coven members.

But one thing, one fact broke through Belos’ ‘logic’.

Luz isn’t the only exception in the Human Realm.

Lilith took this fact and steeled her will around it. She stood up a little straighter, then bowed to the Emperor. “I am sorry, my lord. I spoke out of turn.”

He glared at her, head cocked like some sort of confused predatory animal. After a few tense moments he spoke. “Hm. Alright, then.” He seemed to shrink back to normal, although Lilith couldn’t tell if that was an illusion or not.

“Come, let us go back to the command area,” he continued. “The press is waiting.”

Lilith waited a moment for her heart to stop beating so fast then followed.

“Okay, so what happened after you left Lilith?” Camila asked.

“Yeah, and what was wrong with Owlbert?” Vee added.

It was now Saturday, and Luz and Eda had just finished telling everyone at the weekly get-together (which also included Gus, Willow, and Amity, though Camila noticed that the two girls sat on opposite sides of the porch) the battle against the dragon. Gus and Willow had been enraptured by the tale, while Amity had been wearing a smug smile the whole time.

Luz answered, “Well, I picked up Eda and we webswung for a while until we found an abandoned wild witch village. Once there we took stock of ourselves and got our bearings.”

“Her burns weren’t really all that bad,” Eda supplied, “but I did make her use some burn balm once we got back to the Owl House. As for Owlbert,” she indicated the pequeño búho who was sitting innocently on the porch rail, “it turns out that the dragon’s blood kinda screwed with his magic, so he couldn’t turn back until I cleaned him.”

Luz leaned in close to the Palisman. “Once again buddy I am so sorry if I had known about that I would have immediately cleaned you off-”

She was interrupted by a flurry of hooting waving wings from Owlbert. Meanwhile Eda rolled her eyes in a way that told Camila that the older witch had heard this several times over the week.

“Kid, listen,” the Owl Lady exasperatedly said, “I’ve already told you he’s already forgiven you. Heck, he didn’t even know that would happen. We only found out because the only thing ‘wrong’ with him was being covered in that sh-stuff.”

Luz sighed and pouted, but remained silent. Hopefully she’ll get over this feeling, especially with Owlbert and Eda there to comfort her.

Hoping to distract her daughter, Camila turned to the gathered witchlings. “So, mi brujaitas, what were you doing during la emergencia? Keeping safe, I hope?”

Willow blinked in surprise at being addressed. “Uh… My papa and I met Gus and went to Bonesborough’s emergency shelter. Most of the town was there. It was more boring than anything, just waiting for the all clear signal.”

Gus hummed thoughtfully. “Y’know, I don’t remember seeing you there, Amity.”

“That’s because my family was down in my dad’s lab,” the mint-haired girl answered. “Mother was concerned that we wouldn’t make it to the shelter in time, and the lab is fortified to help contain some of the experiments he does.”

“Yeah, I can see that… I remember the walk to the manor being pretty long,” Willow said wistfully.

At that Luz stopped pouting and her eyes brightened. But the second she opened her mouth, Willow interrupted.

“I know what you’re going to say, Luz, but no. It's going to take some time for Amity and I to be friends again.” The bespectacled witchling directed a smile toward the human teen. “You’ve already done enough by getting her and Boscha to stop picking on me and Gus. The next step has to be up to us.”

Luz deflated again. Thankfully Vee stepped up.

“Man, I can’t imagine going back to school after that.”

“We didn’t,” Luz answered. “Emperor Belos gave everyone the rest of the week off for a combination memorial service and celebration that Indrimaxus was finally dead.”

Eda scowled. “Jerk didn’t even allude to our contribution.”

“I’m just happy all of you are safe,” Camila stated. “Were there a lot of casualties?”

Eda sighed and leaned against the lone remaining support pole for the porch roof. “Well, nearly half of the Emperor’s Coven is either dead, injured, or ‘missing’ - I assume a lot of those last category just bolted and are in hiding or trying to live as wild witches now. Thankfully hornhead’s plan worked and they managed to keep the battle over the Forearm Forest, so no civilians were in danger. Still, that monster managed to kill probably another two- or three-hundred people before we finally killed it.”

The mood in the clearing turned somber, and Vee sighed. “Man, I feel kinda bad that I spent most of the week stressing about what Principal Hal would say about my book report.”

“Wait,” Luz asked. “Doesn’t school start next week?”

“Yyyyep.” The basilisk said, popping the ‘p’. “I turned it in Tuesday, but didn’t get a response back until yesterday!” She moaned dramatically.

“But Principal Hal did say your report was one of the most well written he’s ever received,” Camila said, trying to cheer her second daughter up.

“Yes, mom, that makes me feel so much better,” Vee intoned monotonically, causing everyone to laugh.

“What I want to know,” Eda said after the laughter had died down, “is why you’ve been so smug today, Miss Priss?”

Amity turned to the older witch. “Oh, nothing much.” Her smile grew wider. “It’s just that when we heard that Indrimaxus had been killed, I immediately knew Luz had been involved. Ed and Em didn’t believe me and bet me 20 Snails. Each.”

The Owl Lady once more erupted into raucous laughter. “Good one! Ahhh, I can’t remember how many times Lily and I made stupid bets with each other. Must’ve lost our allowances a hundred times or more!”

Camila noticed how Eda’s smile turned sad for a second.

The (mostly) joyous mood was spoiled when a…. Camila didn’t want to call it a ‘voice’, even though it fit most of the criteria for one. It tickled something deep and primal in the human’s brain.

“Hoot! Hoot! Hoot-livery for Luz!”

The portal door opened and some sort of… living bird tube slithered out. A package, wrapped in brown paper and twine of all things, hung from its beak.

Luz and her friends all shrieked in surprise at the intrusion, but Eda just looked annoyed.

“Dangit, Hooty!” the tall witch said, “what have I told you about interrupting us when we’re on Earth!?”

This ‘Hooty’ stared at Eda with blank, beady eyes. Then it deposited the package in Luz’s lap.

“Here ya go!” It said as it retracted back into the other dimension.

Eda stared at the door for a moment. “That’s it, I’m getting out the steel wool next time we clean him.”

Vee looked green (and not the green her basilisk form was) and was visibly struggling to not be sick. “Ms. Eda? What in the name of The One Above All was that? Its magic smelled horrible! Like eons-old death!”

“That’s just Hooty, my house demon,” the pale woman answered. “Not sure about the ‘magic smell’, though.”

“Wait, this is the same Hooty that’s the house you live in?” Camila asked, hoping beyond hope that the answer would be negative.

“Yeah,” her daughter answered, dashing the woman’s hopes. “He’s a little weird, and has to be reminded that ‘personal boundaries’ exist, but he’s okay. In small doses.”

The human woman found herself nervously laughing. “Oh. Well. That’s… nice. I suppose.”

“Hey, I have an idea,” Gus said. “Why don’t we distract ourselves from Hooty’s … Hootiness and instead focus on Luz’s package.” He turned to the human teen. “So, whatcha get?”

“Dunno,” the human teen answered as she carefully unwrapped it. Inside was a carefully folded bundle of what looked like cloth or leather, shimmering as if made out of thousands of sequins.

“Looks like there’s a note.” Luz picked a piece of paper off the package’s contents and began reading it.

“‘Hello Luz,

‘A “mysterious” benefactor came into my shop earlier this week and dropped off a whole load of dragonskin, a sack full of Snails, and a request: create a replica of an ensemble from an image they provided. Normally, this isn’t that odd – many people have come to me asking for articles, or even whole outfits, from pictures in your Human Realm magazeens or books that have washed up on the Isles. This one was different, however. Firstly, they wanted me to recreate an outfit from an illusion. Secondly, they wanted me to create the whole thing from dragonskin and have it ready by the end of the week.

‘Normally, I would have balked at such a task, but when they said it was a gift for “the one who made Indrimaxus’ slaying possible”, and showed me you in your hero costume, well… Who was I to say “no”?

‘So here it is! A perfect recreation of your suit, made from Indrimaxus’ scales! Don’t you or Eda worry about payment – like I said, your benefactor paid very handsomely to make this happen.

‘Some things to note: While it won’t be as impenetrable as Indrimaxus itself was, your suit should still turn away most normal blades, and even some enchanted ones. It will also provide some protection against magic, but, again, not to the same level that Indrimaxus had.

‘I hope you enjoy it!

‘--- Prim’”

Everyone stared in stunned silence at the gift.

“Who- Who would have the money to do this?” Camila asked. “Amity, did your familia–?”

The mint-haired witch shook her head. “We probably would have been able to pay, but there’s no way we would have been able to get any of Indrimaxus’ scales.”

“Yeah…” Eda said warily. “That would all be in the hands of the Emperor’s Coven. Or maybe the Beastkeeping Coven.”

Camila spotted something when Luz put the note down on the steps beside her. “Mija, I think there’s something written on the back.”

“Huh?” her human daughter said, picking the note back up and turning it around. “Nice catch, mami! Um, it says ‘PS. – Eda, please tell your sister that she should get her concealment stone fixed. Its voice disguise charm has worn out. – P.’”

Eda had an uncertain look on her face. “Wow. Huh. So Lily did it.”

“I…” Luz started, obviously stunned by the gift. “I don’t know what to say…”

“Why don’t you try it on, mija,” Camila suggested. “Make sure it fits alright. You remember that sweater your Tio Rodrigo got you last Christmas.”

“Uh, yeah, yeah.” Luz got up and started back into the portal.

A few minutes passed and the human teensuperhero emerged. The outfit was mostly a recreation of the one Camila had haphazardly created six months ago, when Luz had first been accepted to Avengers Academy. There were some subtle differences, like how the mask was now integrated into the top rather than being a separate piece, or the fact that the suit fit more snugly on her daughter’s frame. But the big difference was in the colors. The indigo was stronger, allowing the pinkish parts on the feet and sleeves to pop more. The spiderweb design, rather than black, was now that same pink, while the spider itself was now a brilliant white. And it all shimmered in the late morning light, the miniature scales that made up the outfit subtly reflecting the light in different ways.

“So, uh, how’s it look?” Luz asked, turning around to give everyone a good view of the suit.

“So cool!” Gus exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Willow agreed. “Very heroic!”

Vee nodded. “It’s definitely you, sis.”

“It’s amazing,” Camila said, awestruck by how accurate the reproduction was. “And she did all this from una ilusión your sister cast?”

“Yeah,” Eda’s smile turned sad again. “Lily’s always had an eye for detail. And Prim’s a master tailor, so anything she changed is most likely for the better. Certainly was for the Grom outfit I got from her.”

“I agree,” the human woman said.

“Hey, Amity, what do you think?” Luz asked, turning to the last of their group.

Said witchling stared awestruck at Luz, her mouth slightly open, cheeks and ears nearly as pink as the feet and sleeves of Luz’s suit. It was only after a few good moments that Amity spoke.

“Gorgeous…”

Brown and gold eyes stared into each other before reality came crashing back in and both girls realized what they’d been doing.

“I… I mean…” Amity cleared her throat. “It’s just that dragonskin is also praised for its aesthetic value as well as its toughness.”

“Right, right,” Luz said, turning away and scratching the back of her head.

The clearing was silent for a while, before Vee spoke up, breaking the tension.

Aye, Dios, I may have to take Eda up on that poción de amor…

“Hey, why don’t we get lunch started?”

“A good suggestion, mi basiliscita,” Camila said. “We should probably eat early anyway, since now I have to take you shopping for your own school outfits.”

The basilisk groaned again. “Do we have toooooooo… I can just keep wearing some of Luz’s stuff!”

“Not a chance, mija,” the human woman said firmly. “You’ve been here for two-and-a-half months. It’s high time for you to start getting your own stuff. Besides, it’ll give you a chance to develop your own style.”

Gus groaned. “I’m sooooo jealous! I would kill to go shopping for actual human clothes with an actual human in the Human Realm!”

“Maybe after the barrier’s down, Goops,” Eda said, waving the children through the portal. “But for right now, you can help grab an actual Boiling Isles turducken with an actual Boiling Isles wild witch from the Demon Realm.”

“A turducken…?” Camila cautiously probed.

Vee shuddered. “Horrible, nasty bird demons that roam parts of the Forearm Forest.”

“Yeah, but they’re surprisingly good eatin’” Eda explained further. “One of them tried to jump us before we could leave that wild witch village. Thankfully they’re nowhere near as hard to take down as a dragon.”

Luz lingered as her friends and mentor left to get the food.

“Hey, mami, you’ve taken this whole ‘I fought a dragon’ thing really well…”

“Oh, mija,” Camila smiled. “I’ve been freaking out the whole morning! I’ve just gotten very good at hiding it!”

Both of her daughters stared at their mother as she kept smiling.

Chapter Text

Dr. Strange floated through the forest near the Noceda household, the Wednesday afternoon breeze ruffling his hair and cloak. When Wong had told him that Luz had called with 'a very time sensitive issue', he made sure to travel to the portal shack as soon as he could, even though he had just gotten back from dealing with yet another 'He Who Must Not Be Named' over in England.

As soon as the sorcerer entered the clearing, he already saw Luz, Willow and Amity already waiting on the porch. Oddly, Willow and Amity seemed to be keeping a discreet distance from each other, Luz placed in between the teen witches like a barrier.

Once he got closer, he could see that Luz was very intently looking at a flower with a jeweler's loupe, glyph paper and pencil in hand, while her friends were looking at what the human drew with anticipation.

Well, Willow was. Stephen suspected that, given the small smile on her face, Amity was just looking at Luz.

Just a hunch.

"Hola, Dr. Strange," Luz greeted him off-handedly, giving a half-hearted wave before returning to her drawing. "C'monnnnn…."

The other two looked up, then did a double-take when they saw the sorcerer.

"Sorry, Dr. Strange," Willow apologized, "I didn't hear you come into the clearing…"

"Well, that makes sense," he replied. "I am floating."

That, at least, made the dark-haired girl giggle.

"Still, I should have at least kept watch out," Amity said stoically. "Since it's because of me Luz called you out here."

"Hmmmm?" Strange intoned as he floated closer and summoned a chair from his Sanctum Sanctorum. "Wong said you didn't give him much detail. Maybe you should start at the beginning?"

"In a sec," Luz said, still staring at the flower. Now that he was closer, Strange could see that it was likely a specimen from the Boiling Isles, given that it was the color of fresh blood. "I'm almoooost finiiiished… There!" She finished her drawing and removed the loupe. "Okay, attempt number… 34, I think?... To get my fourth glyph." She cautiously tapped the paper, and, slowly, a plant budded from the center of the glyph, growing into an almost exact duplicate of the flower she'd been studying.

The human teen gave a joyful laugh. "Success!"

"Impressive," Stephen looked at the magically-grown flower with awe. "Is this how you discovered your other glyphs?"

"Not really," Luz answered, putting the new glyph to the side. "I got the others after one try, but these … I guess Plant glyphs are, like, really tiny, and only in the exact center of the flower, at least the ones I found. So it took me a long time to get all the angles and lengths right."

The sorcerer nodded. "And how did you get the idea to look at flowers of all things?"

"It was actually something Eda said when she first started teaching me - ancient witches learned magic by studying the stars, fire, snow, and food and finding the messages the Titan left for them. And since I'd already found glyphs in those first three…"

"You naturally came to the conclusion to look into plant life," Strange finished.

"Well…" Luz corrected him, "at first Eda and I tried looking for it in some animal meat, but…" she trailed off and shuddered, a haunted look in her eyes.

Stephen looked at the two witches, but they just shrugged.

Luz continued a second later. "Thankfully, Willow," the human clapped the dark-haired witch on the shoulder, "stepped up and told me something she learned in her Plant Track courses!"

"Uh, yeah," Willow blushed shyly. "My Intro to Plant Magic course said that plant magic is one of the oldest, and purest, forms of witch magic. So when Luz was talking about looking for a fourth glyph I suggested looking at some plant life around the Isles."

"And since, except for the fire one, I had to actually look for the other glyphs, I thought it would be a good idea to be really thorough and check out every part of a flower," Luz continued.

"Hence the jeweler's loupe," Stephen supplied.

"Yep!" the teen hero answered. "Thankfully Eda has one for looking over and cleaning any metal she gets."

"Fascinating…" Strange said, then cleared his throat. "But we should probably get back on track. What sort of problem are you having, Amity?"

The three teens looked at each other, then back to the sorcerer.

"Okay," Luz said. "I'll start…"

Monday

Monday morning was the first day back in class after Indrimaxus' attack and things were, mostly, back to normal. Luz had just gotten to school…

"BITE ME!"

...right in time for Uzi Doorman's weekly shouting match with Principal Bump.

The purple-haired witch stormed out of Bump's office right in front of the human, stumbling when she saw the other girl.

"Uhhhhh…" Uzi started, then sighed heavily. "You wouldn't understand." She stormed off.

Bump exited his office and turned to Luz. "Don’t worry. She's not really angry, just generally hormonal."

"Yeahhhh," Luz said, "my mom was actually looking into getting our house reinforced in case I went through a 'door-slamming' phase. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be in the cards."

"Lucky us," the elder witch grinned. "Oh, by the way, Ms. Noceda, have you heard the news?"

"Hm? What news?" The human looked at her principal.

"Why, Grom is coming up!" He exclaimed. "I'll be announcing the Grom Royalty later today. Let's hope your luck holds out!"

"Okay!" She gave the man a thumbs up. "I'm gonna go check in with Zee and the other dual trackers before heading to class."

"Alright, have a good day!" He waved at her as she entered the Shortcut Room.

Hopping down to the lowest level, she peeked in Zee's room. The large basilisk looked like she was reading, but looked up when she spotted the human.

"Hello, friend Luz!" Zee happily waved. "Zee is reading!"

"I… see that," the human stepped inside the basilisk's room, waving to Viney as the other girl packed up her bag. "Whatcha reading about?"

"Humans!"

"It's a children's science fiction story about a bunch of witches going to another planet to study 'humans'," Viney helpfully clarified. "Complete unicorn crap, considering what you've told us, but I figured that, at the very least, this should get her talking better. Also, she said she got bored when none of us were here to talk to."

"Not crap," Zee said. "This is how emperor said humans were, when he talk to Zee."

"Wait, what?" Luz said. "The Emperor… talked to you?"

The basilisk's eyes narrowed in thought and she put her book down. "Yes? Zee remember… Zee remember that he would come to her cage sometimes. He apologize a lot… for making Zee this way. But… he need Zee's, no, basilisks' help to fight 'devils'."

Wednesday

"Devils?" Dr. Strange asked.

Luz shrugged. "She couldn't remember any more."

"Are devils a kind of alien that's attacked Earth?" Willow asked.

"No," Strange replied. "The term 'devil' can refer to a number of, usually supernatural, beings, but the term is so broad that, without more details I couldn't narrow down who, or what, Zee is talking about."

Monday

Luz and Viney left the basilisk in her room, happily reading her book (Luz didn't have the heart to tell Zee that Earth probably didn't need any help with 'devils'). The two were met by Amity and Barkus, who were just about to start climbing up to Oracle homeroom.

"Hey, while I've got you all here, I wanna ask a 'resident human' question," Luz said.

"About what?" Amity asked.

"What's Grom?"

"Oooooh boy," Viney started. "That's… Hmmmm. Where to start…"

"Bark!"

The three girls looked at Barkus for a moment.

"Where's Jerbo when we really need him?" Amity asked exasperatedly.

"Turning in a Plant Track project," Viney answered, then turned to Barkus. "Sorry. None of us understand beastspeech. I've tried to get my professors to teach me, but they say that's for upperclassmen only."

The dog demon frowned, then turned and headed up the ramp, obviously not wanting to be a part of a conversation he couldn't participate in.

"So, Grom?" Luz asked again.

"Right, well, it's sort of a big party -- everyone gets together, people ask their crushes to dance, someone always spikes the punch…" Viney explained.

"Oh, just like prom in the Human Realm!" Luz exclaimed.

"Do humans also have to fight a nightmare beast that's locked under your school?" Amity questioned.

"Not at my school, we didn't," Luz said.

"Well, here we do," the mint-haired witch continued. "Bound under the gym floor is some sort of … well, no one's really sure what Grometheus is. But, from what Ed and Em told me, it's some sort of 'living shadow' that feasts on fear. Every year one student is chosen by random lot to go down into its prison and renew the wards. And not all of them survive. And those that do are usually… changed forever. Like they lost something vital."

Viney sighed. "Thankfully every royalty, at least as far as I know, has completed the renewal. Not sure what would happen if someone failed."

"Wow, that's… kinda a big task to hoist on a kid," Luz said. "Why can't one of the teachers do it?"

"That's…" Viney started, but then looked at Amity, who looked back. "We… don't actually know."

Wednesday

"Let me guess," Dr. Strange interrupted, looking directly at Luz, "you convinced Principal Bump to name you 'Grom Royalty' so you could face this Grom."

"What? No!" the girl exclaimed, exasperated. "Eda said the same thing! Why does everyone think I'm gonna charge into every dangerous situation?"

"You literally fought a dragon last week," the sorcerer explained.

"Only after Lilith came and said she had a plan!" Luz countered.

"Ms. Eda said that you took on Adaghast by yourself before you'd met any of us," Willow offered.

"He lured me into that house under the guise of a kindly old wizard!" the teen hero replied. "And he was going to use me as bait to capture or kill Eda! It was pure self defense!"

"You sure jumped in to help Principal Bump against Zee pretty quickly," Amity added.

"And you literally jumped into that fight against the bounty hunters during the Moonlight Conjuring," Willow continued.

"And when I fell into the Knee's underground labyrinth," Amity smiled.

Willow's eyes widened in revelation. "Oh! Don't forget about when that sabrecat came onto campus a few weeks ago."

"Do you ever get people complaining about you saving them, Dr. Strange?" Luz grumbled as her friends laughed.

"Not so much," he answered sincerely, "but usually I only get involved when people have no one else to turn to."

The laughter subsided, and Amity turned again to the sorcerer. "Luz is right, though. She wasn’t chosen as Grom Queen this year…"

Monday

"Hola, fellow Banshees! Anything interesting happening?"

Amity looked up from her eyerat pizza to see Luz coming up to the Banshee's lunch table, brown lunch bag in hand.

"Not much," Skara admitted. "Everyone's on edge waiting for the Grom Royalty announcement."

Boscha sipped her lemonache as Luz sat down. "Yeah, no one wants to be like poor Brikar from last year."

The human grimaced. "I take it he didn't survive."

"Nope," Boscha explained, uncharacteristically solemn. "He’s in a coma. Turns out having to face his fears kinda broke the guy. Last I heard he's at the Healing Coven main headquarters, at the Emperor's order."

"Wow," Luz said. "You guys don't happen to know why students have to do this?"

Amelia, Cat, and Skara shook their heads negatively.

"One of my moms got chosen as Grom Queen, and thankfully survived," Boscha added, "so this has been going on for probably as long as Hexside has been here, and probably before that."

Amity put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Luz, I know you mean well, but please don't try going to Principal Bump and asking him to name you. This isn't like Indrimaxus, you can't just charge out, Palisman sword in hand, and hope to slay this beast."

Four heads slowly turned to the human.

"Um, excuse me, did you just say…" Skara began, but was interrupted by the speakers coming online.

"Good afternoon, students!" Principal Bump's voice echoed through the cafeteria. "Now I know you all have been patiently, and possibly nervously, waiting to hear who has been chosen as Grom Royalty this year!"

Amity held her breath (probably the entire school did) and sent a silent prayer to… Someone. The Titan? The Vishanti? The Black Goat?

Principal Bump continued. "And this year's Grom Queen is… Amity Blight! Her friends and family have been given the afternoon off to commiserate with Ms. Blight and a grief counselor is available until Friday. Ms. Blight, please see me tomorrow morning so we can go over your duties on Friday night."

Amity felt every head in the cafeteria turn towards her. Already the whispers started.

‘Do you think she’ll survive?’

‘That poor girl. I know she used to be a bully but she’s really turned over a new leaf last semester.’

‘Ugh. Serves her right for what she’s done to poor Willow.’

‘D’ya think she’ll ask anyone out?’

“I wonder what fears Little Miss Perfect has.’

Boscha whipped around in her seat. “HEY, NERDLINGERS! FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO STARE AT!”

At once every non-Banshee suddenly decided that their lunches were the most important things in the universe.

Well, not everyone, as four witches and a demon approached the Banshee’s table.

“Amity…” Willow’s voice was heavy with sadness.

“Y’know,” Amity said, a sad smile on her face, “I’d really hoped to make it all up to you one day, Willow.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Luz exclaimed. “Why are we talking like Amity’s already dead?”

Viney put her hand on the human’s shoulder. “It’s like we said. Even if they survive, every witch chosen as Grom Royalty comes out changed. Mostly for the worse.”

A mischievous smile spread across Luz’s face. “Maybe not…”

Wednesday

“And that’s when you suggested calling me?” Dr. Strange asked.

“Er, no,” Luz laughed nervously. “We, uh, actually went to see Eda first. No offense.”

“None taken,” the sorcerer gave her a reassuring smile. “She is far easier to get a hold of than I am.”

Monday

“Wow, sucks to be you, kid,” the Owl Lady proclaimed with her usual grace.

“Gee, thanks, Eda,” Luz snarked back, mirroring Amity’s thoughts. “Good to know the self-proclaimed ‘Most Powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles’ is such a great help.”

“Ms. Eda, please,” Amity pleaded. “Do you have any advice? Maybe some old wild magic ritual that can at least help me survive?”

“Sorry,” the older witch shrugged. “I never had to face Grom, it was some three-eyed girl. Barely even saw what happened. The Grom Pit is so dark we could only really make out that she was trying to ward something off with fire. And afterwards she kept complaining that everything was cold, even though, y’know, summer.”

I guess that’s why one of Boscha’s moms always wears sweaters, even on the hottest days.

Eda paused in thought. “Y’know, now that I think about it, the fire didn’t actually light up the pit, so it's probably some sort of magical darkness. That help?”

“Not really,” Amity drooped. “I’ve got a light spell from the spellbook Dr. Strange gave me, but I don’t think seeing Grom is going to be my biggest concern.”

“Hey, you never know!” Luz tried to cheer her friend up. “Maybe Grom’s really shy and it’ll flee when you get a good look at it?”

The Owl Lady burst out laughing. Amity looked at her friend incredulously.

If you weren’t so cute, Luz, I would totally be saying some very nasty things right now.

The elder witch wiped tears from her eyes as her laughter subsided. “Oh, that’s cute, but Grom ain’t the Owl Beast. Not gonna frighten that off with a few pretty lights.”

“Well…” Amity sighed. “I guess that’s it, then. I’ve just gotta face my fears. Literally.”

“Hey!” Luz said, putting her (very toned!) arm around Amity’s shoulders. “We still haven’t asked Dr. Strange yet! I bet he’s faced all sorts of weird monsters beyond mortal understanding. Surely he’ll have some tips!”

Wednesday

“So…” Amity’s pleading eyes bored into the sorcerer, “do you have any advice you can give me?”

Dr. Strange smirked. “Oh, I’ve dealt with an indescribable horror or two in my time.” He snapped his fingers and summoned one of the spellbooks from the Sanctum Sanctorum. “Now, let’s see what spells we can find to help you deal with one…”

Camila couldn't wait to rush over to the portal shack Thursday afternoon after Luz had called her. "Oh, Luz!" she cooed. "Your first prom! Sort of." She sighed. "If only I could come and see it with you…"

"Hey, don't worry, Cami!" Eda gave the human woman a wide smile. "We already got a workaround figured out."

"Principal Bump asked Eda to chaperone, so I'll give her my phone and she can record a video of Grom for you! At least the 'dance' part," Luz said, petting King on his skull. "And, yes, I've already taught her how to do that and made sure she knows where the camera is so we won't get thumbvision."

Camila laughed. "Thank you, cariño." She turned to the witch. "And thank you, Eda. I do have one question, though: why is this a dance? Shouldn't battling a fear monster be a more somber affair?"

Eda shrugged. "I asked Bump when we had ours, and he said something like 'it helps if the Grom Royalty has their friends and classmates cheering them on and that a more festive atmosphere would make the royalty calmer' or somesuch. Sounds like a buncha unicorn crap to me."

"The more important question is," Luz said, opening a cardboard box beside her, "what do I wear?!" She lifted out a very pretty green tunic and a blue shirt with a black vest. "I narrowed it down to these two, but I can't decide! And I'm not sure if I should wear a skirt or pants or…"

"Is it what you're wearing that has you confused?" Camila asked, a knowing smile on her face. "Or is it who you're wearing it for?"

Her daughter raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"C'mon, kid, this has gone on long enough," Eda said. "But it's pretty obvious that you and Baby Blight are smitten with each other. Heck, even King can see it."

The small demon groaned. "Oh, Titan, finally!" He turned to glare at Luz. "It has been very annoying the way you two dance around each other! Just kiss already! Or whatever it is that teenagers do."

"Just kissing will be just fine," Eda declared, then turned to Camila. "Unless it's different on Earth?"

"Just. Kissing." The human woman fixed her daughter with a glare. "But, yes, mija. It's fairly clear you and Amity have, at the very least, a crush on each other. And what better time to try and see if it could lead to something more than at a dance! It worked for your father."

Luz looked between her mother, her mentor, and King. "You guys really think she'd say yes?"

King shrugged. "Hey, she's probably desperate to get any sort of love before Grom sucks her soul out, or whatever it does. I'd say your chances are 100%!" He gave the girl a thumbs up.

"King!" All three women yelled at him.

"What? What?"

"Putting aside reycito's… advice," Camila side-eyed the tiny tyrant, "I think that Amity's been as poor at hiding her attraction to you as you've been at hiding yours."

"Luz, Miss Priss practically turns into a tomato every time she looks at you," Eda added. "Heck, she was almost drooling when you came out in that skin-tight dragonskin outfit Lily gave you."

"R-really?" Luz blushed as she remembered what happened last Saturday.

"Really, mi lucita," Camila smiled at her daughter. "But if it helps, I do have a gift. Maybe it can help?" She revealed a small cardboard box of her own and passed it through the barrier.

Luz opened it, raising an eyebrow when she saw what was inside. "What is this?"

"It's the suit your father wore when he asked me out all those years ago," the woman answered. "You should be about the same size he was back then. And he said it gave him the courage to ask me out."

"Wait, he kept this for, what, 20 or more years?" Eda asked.

"It was that expensive."

"Wow…" Luz breathed, looking at the suit, tears in her eyes. "Thanks, mom." She looked up. "Did it work? For dad?"

"Nope!" Camila laughed. "He was so nervous he spilled his punch on the floor! But…" she wiped a tear from her eye. "I still gave him a chance."

"Why?"

"Because he was the only guy who ever called me 'pretty'." Camila couldn't help the sad smile.

"Uh-uh, no cryin' pretty lady," Eda gave the human woman a cheeky grin.

That, at least, got Camila to laugh. "Thank you, Eda."

Luz, meanwhile, groaned and flopped over. "Y'know, I can face down a heckin' dragon or monster any day of the week, but the thought of asking anyone out, especially Amity, fills me with a deep, all-consuming dread."

The Owl Lady laughed at that. "Welcome to life, kiddo! Now let's go put that suit on, make sure it fits. I'm pretty sure Prim'll be glad to do any touch-up work we need since we killed Indrimaxus."

Amity stared out of her window at the darkening Friday night. It was only an hour or so before she needed to face Grom and she was not ready.

It wasn't her dress. Mother had picked out a very nice looking burgundy one from a seller in the night market. It even went with the Cloak of Caelum!

It wasn't the fight with Grom. Dr. Strange had given her all the spells and advice he could, so she was more prepared for that than any former Grom Royalty ever had been.

No, it was the simple pink note that stood on her desk. Made of the highest grade paper the Blight family could afford, it only had seven words on it. Amity had written them by hand in an elegant, flowing script that her mother had taught her.

Seven words that might change her life.

'Luz--

Will you be my Grom date?'

Eight words that terrified the young witch more than any monster ever could.

"It's not gonna bite, ya know."

Amity whirled around, eyes bugging out at the intrusion. She saw her siblings standing in the doorway to her room.

"The way you're avoiding looking at that note, I'd almost think that it was a worse monster than Grom," Emira continued.

"Why are you two even here?" Amity asked, totally not avoiding the subject. "Your Grom already happened, so shouldn't you be enjoying having a night to yourselves?"

"What, we can’t come and cheer our baby sister on before her big battle?" Ed answered.

A small smile graced the younger witch's lips. "Thanks, Ed, Em."

"Yeah, yeah, we're great siblings," Em waved her sister off. "And, as great siblings, we're here to help you in your hour of need." She stepped into Amity's room, right towards the desk where the terrifying note lay.

Amity briefly wondered if she should try and stop her sister.

Emira picked up the note. "'Luz, will you be my Grom date?' Awww, baby sister has a crush on our favorite human!"

Amity could swear she saw stars and hearts in Em's eyes.

"Whoa, really?" Ed came up to read the note. "Dang, little sis aims all the way to the top!"

"As she should. She is a Blight."

Odalia Blight stood in the doorway. Her dark blue dress sparkled with miniature gemstones woven into it. She looked at her children with a critical eye.

"Mittens, why are you not dressed yet?" She continued. "We need to leave now if we're to have time for you to greet your friends before your fight with Grom."

"Amity's nervous about giving a Gromposal to Luz," Emira supplied.

"Mittens, is this true?"

Amity chewed on her lip a little. "Yes, mother. I… I think it really started with our adventure at the Knee, but, … I've had a crush on Luz for a while now."

The Blight matriarch gave an oily grin. "My, my… You are aiming high, aren't you? And what about Luz? How does she feel?"

"I'm not sure."

Odalia then walked across the room and took the note from Emira's hands. "Well, then, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" She offered the note to her youngest. "Unless you'd like me to set up an arrangement with Edalyn? It worked out for your father and me."

Amity gulped and took the note. "No, thank you, mother. That will not be necessary."

Odalia's oily smile remained. "Then hurry up, Amity. Maybe by the end of the night at least one of my children will have a partner."

All three children scowled as their mother left the room.

Amity stepped into the gymnasium, followed by her mother. Odalia peeled off immediately to go talk with (and probably berate) Principal Bump on stage.

The teen scanned the room, hoping to find some of her friends and maybe Luz? before the battle. Surprisingly, Boscha was the first person she saw.

The three-eyed girl spotted Amity and immediately came over, two cups of punch in hand. “Hey. Thought you might need this.”

“Thanks.” Amity took the offered cup then looked around. “Where’s your mom?”

The magenta-haired girl scoffed. “Bruna’s having one of her episodes again, and Gisela stayed home to take care of her.”

“Sorry.”

“Meh,” Boscha shrugged, then took a sip of her punch. “Not your fault.”

Amity hummed noncommittally. “Have you seen Luz yet? Or Willow?”

“Nope.” The triclops answered. “While I understand you wanting to speak to Ha- Willow, why Luz?”

“Just- I’ve got something to ask her something,” Amity explained, receiving a raised eyebrow from Boscha.

The triclops hummed thoughtfully. "So… what's with the cape? You thinking you're gonna get cold like Bruna?"

"You'll see…" The mint-haired girl said cryptically, then took a sip of the punch, and almost choked as the taste of hard apple blood hit her tongue.

“Gah!” she gagged, then glared at her ‘friend’. “You already spiked the punch!?”

Boscha smirked, but held up her hands in surrender. “Not my fault this time, officer. It was already like that when I got here. Besides, don’t you want some ‘liquid courage’ as Bruna calls it?”

Amity almost said ‘no’, but then thought for a moment. What she was about to do, not only fight Grom but…

She drained the cup in one long gulp.

“Whoa, girl! Slow down!” Boscha cried.

“Wow, somebody’s thirsty,” Luz’s voice came from behind Amity.

Amity turned around to see…

Perfection.

The human was dressed in a white suit, complete with a hat and tie. A long-sleeved dark blue shirt, alongside a similarly colored armband, brought a pop of color to the outfit. She spun around on shiny black shoes, letting Amity get a good look at the outfit from all sides.

And in Amity’s eyes, any look at Luz in that outfit was a good one. The suit was just tight enough in the right areas for the girl's muscles (and some, erm, other attributes that Amity definitely wasn't staring at, no) to shine through.

Boscha slid up beside Amity, beaming. “Dang, Noceda! Lookin’ smooth! And… am I getting hints of criminal in there?”

“Uhhhh… thanks?” Luz looked askance at the triclops. “Anyway, I just wanted to wish you luck before the big event, Amity.”

“Uh guh buh… th-thanks,” the mint-haired girl stuttered.

“Huh,” Boscha muttered, looking between the two. “Well, I’m going to leave you two to … whatever this is and go get some more punch.” She walked off, throwing a wave over her shoulder. “If you survive, we’ll talk after!”

“Uh, hey, Amity…” “Hey, uh, Luz…”

Both girls blushed as they realized they’d spoken at the same time.

“Oh! You go first.”

And again.

They both opened their mouths a third time, but were interrupted when Principal Bump tapped the microphone on stage for attention.

“Everyone, may I have your attention? If Miss Blight will come to the stage, we can start the ceremony.”

“I, uh, have to go,” Amity said, gesturing to the stage.

“Don’t worry, you got this,” Luz smiled that oh so pretty smile of hers. “We’ll talk when this is over, kay?”

“Right.”

As Amity made her way next to Principal Bump, she mused that Luz had said ‘when’. No ‘if’, no mention of if Amity would still feel like talking or an ‘if you survive’ like Boscha did. Luz had total confidence in her. Eda, Dr. Strange, even Willow, everyone who knew of the plan had told her that they had faith that she could pull it off.

She just had to have a little faith in herself.

As Amity stepped up besides Principal Bump, the elder educator gave her a sad smile.

"Everyone, I thank you for coming tonight," he started. "Before I send Ms. Blight here down to renew the wards on Grometheus' prison, I suppose I should start with a little history lesson for the students." After a chorus of groans, he continued. "It is said that, millenia ago when the early witches and demons were making their first forays into magic, a power-mad warlord called down a great monster - Grometheus the Fear-Bringer - from the stars in hopes of chaining it and using it against their enemies. They failed.

"However, their enemies could not destroy the monster. What they could do, however, was bind it beneath the surface of the Titan, trapping it for all eternity, or so they hoped. However, Grometheus was too strong and began eroding the wards almost immediately. So, every year, one person must go down into Grom's prison and renew the glyphs powering those wards, lest the Fear-Bringer be let loose again."

He finished, then turned to Amity. "Amity Blight, you have been chosen by the faculty of Hexside School of Magic and Demonics to be the one who renews the wards that keep Grometheus the Fear-Bringer bound. You have been told of the risks of this task, as well as what will happen should you fail. Do you accept?"

"I do," she answered.

"Then, I shall engrave your name on the Wall of Grom Royalty, as a reminder, and celebration, of your bravery, Amity Blight!" He turned and, with a spell circle, flung open the curtain at the back of the gym. On the wall behind it were all the names of previous Grom Royalty going back to the founding of Hexside, and even from before. With another spell circle, Amity's name appeared right below Brikar's, at the very bottom of a column.

And, with Dr. Strange's tutelage, hopefully I'll be the last.

Amity and Principal Bump turned back to the crowd, and he spoke again. "Now, let this year's Grom battle commence!"

Amity stepped solemnly forward, and clicked the big red button. In response to the magic, the center of the gym's floor began lowering by sections, forming a staircase that descended into the dark dungeon that housed Grom.

Amity took a deep breath, and took the first step. Almost immediately, her vision was swallowed in shadows, which only got worse as she walked down. When she stepped off the stairs it was almost pitch black, and even looking up she could barely see the assembled students, teachers, and parents gathered around the hole, looking down, even though the ceiling must only have been about ten feet above the girl. Both Eda and Luz gave her a thumbs-up, while Willow and Gus (who must have just arrived) gave Amity an encouraging nod.

Turning her attention back to the room she was in, Amity saw that it was just like Principal Bump described to her. No more than thirty feet square, the room was lit by flickering runes in the three walls that weren't covered by the staircase. She could see that it was old -- no, ancient, looking more like a temple to some long-dead god than a prison for some extradimensional horror. Mosaics were faintly visible behind the runes, though the wan light was drowned out by the ever-present darkness.

[[LITTLE WITCH, LITTLE WITCH. COME DOWN TO FIX THESE RUNES, HAVE YE?]]

It wasn't a voice. It was more like an impression of a voice, audible only at the edge of Amity's hearing. It 'sounded' like something was trying to speak despite not only having no lungs or mouth, but never having heard of the concept of breathing before. It was… gloopy, like wet, nasty mud and Amity could swear it smelled like something was rotting.

The witch decided that the best action was to ignore it. Instead she spun a spell circle, summoning a small ball of her own light, hoping to, at least, augment what little light the runes provided.

But as soon as Amity's light came into being, it disappeared, flickering out of existence with a far too organic sucking sound.

[[OH, GOING TO IGNORE ME ARE YE? WELL, I THANK THEE FOR THE 'LIGHT' SNACK ANYWAY.]]

After that came a sound that was either Grom's laughter or boiling mud mixed with nails dragged across chalkboards.

Amity frowned, still ignoring the 'voice' and proceeded onto the second part of the plan. With a flick of her wrist, she formed her left hand into the Sign of Zetar, summoning one of the innumerable lights that filled that distant plane. The bright light appeared in front of her, overwhelming the pitiful illumination from the binding runes. Now the witch could see a bit better, and looked over her surroundings again. While she still couldn't see the walls clearly, the floor was quite visible.

The mosaic Amity was standing on, though ancient beyond enumeration, was still bright and colorful. It depicted a group of a dozen witches and demons surrounding an inky black blob. Each witch/demon was raising a separate rune -- the same twelve runes that stared at Amity from the walls.

This must be how those ancient witches bound Grometheus in the first place.

[[WELL, NOW, WHAT'S THIS? I HAVEN'T FELT THIS MANNER OF MAGICKS FROM ANY OTHER WITCH THAT HAS COME TO VISIT ME. YOU MUST BE A POWERFUL WITCH TO CAST SUCH A SPELL. I WONDER IF YOUR FEARS WILL BE JUST AS GREAT?]]

Amity's breath hitched as she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Seafoam green hair pulled back into a tight bun. Sharp blue eyes glaring at her. A mouth pulled into a scowl. A hand resting on an all-too familiar oracle focus around the figure's neck.

The witch took in a deep breath as she remembered Dr. Strange's words. "Remember, Amity. This 'Grom' will most likely use your own psyche against you. But also remember that nothing it conjures is actually real. Now, with this simple mind shield spell, you should be able to defend yourself against most of Grom's mental attacks…"

Amity glared back at the illusory figure, and it vanished, breaking upon the mental barriers she had conjured before even leaving her house.

[[OH! HAVE WE A FIGHTER? YE ARE THE FIRST WITCH IN GENERATIONS WHO HAS BEEN ABLE TO SHATTER ONE OF MY FEAR CONSTRUCTS! BUT ARE YE STRONG ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH THIS?]]

At one corner of the room a congerie of dark bubbles faded into being. The bubbles hurt to look at, seeming to be both 2D and 3D at the same time, and were accompanied by a high-pitched whine that made Amity's teeth ache. They slowly floated towards the witch, though she couldn't see how they could move.

"...After Grometheus realized that you're immune to its mental attacks, it will probably try to attack you more directly," Dr. Strange's words echoed in the teen's head. "This next spell will allow you to dispel any physical or mystical attacks it may use…"

Just as the sorcerer taught her, Amity raised her hands and made the Motions of Constantine, summoning the mystical Rings of Dispersal. With a wave of her hand, she cast one of the glowing purple Rings toward the bubbles. When the spell passed over Grom's attack, the bubbles… morphed, breaking apart into clouds of small, gray insects that fluttered harmlessly throughout the room and then up into the gym above, eliciting some muffled gasps from the gathered crowd.

"Relax, everyone!" Luz's voice, and laughter, filtered down through the darkness. "They're just moths! Completely harmless."

Amity couldn't help the small smile that formed on her face when she heard the human.

[[WHAT!? HOW DID YE--!? NO MATTER. PERHAPS I SHOULD GET MORE DIRECTLY INVOLVED!]]

Suddenly, from all sides, pitch dark tentacles erupted out of the stygian shadows, aiming straight for the witch. One brushed by her…

...short brown hair… brown eyes… a look of disgust … a torn note…

She cast another of the Rings at the tentacle, creating another cloud of those 'moffs'.

...dark hair in twin braids… glasses askew… tears…

She sent the rest of the Rings of Dispersal out, breaking the rest of Grom’s tentacles into insectile clouds. All too soon she ran out of the magical projectiles, and more shadowy tendrils shot towards her.

"Now, in the event that you run out of Rings of Dispersal and still need to defend yourself, you can always call upon the Shades of the Seraphim and ask them to shield you," Dr. Strange's voice and smile came back. "I can't count the times their shield has saved my life. It's an invaluable tool, and one that you'll probably find yourself using many times throughout your life…"

Using the middle and pointer fingers on each hand, Amity drew a giant circle in the air in front of her. It wasn't exactly a spell circle, per se, as each hand left a trail of glowing runes in the air that dissipated when she completed the circle seconds before Grom's tentacles reached her. The stygian tendrils slammed into the shield, recoiling as if they'd been shocked.

[[GAHHH! HOW DID YE DO THAT!? NO WITCH OR DEMON HAS EVER INJURED ME! WHAT ARE YOU!]]

Amity let out a breath as she relaxed behind the Shield of the Seraphim. Okay, time for the last part of the plan.

Once more, the girl remembered Dr. Strange's words. "Now, from what you've told me, Grom has only been dealing with normal witches and demons your age. If it has any sort of intelligence, it will be confused. It is then that you should announce yourself. Throw it further off, let it know exactly who, and what, it's dealing with. I know you've been trying to keep your non-witch spells on the down-low, but people are going to find out eventually, and it's better if they find out on your terms. Honestly, I'm surprised we've been able to keep human magic a secret so far…"

Taking in another deep breath, Amity flared out the Cape of Caelum behind her, commanding it to raise her into the air. "Grometheus the Fear-Bringer!" she called, trying to make her voice as loud and clear as possible. "You face no ordinary witch! I am Amity Blight, sorcerer of Kamar Taj, student of Dr. Stephen Strange! I walk the path of the Vishanti and have learned black magic from the Nine Realms!"

Raising her hands above her head, pinky and pointer fingers extended, the young sorcerer intoned:

All at once, the shadows that filled the chamber dissipated, letting the light from the Orb of Zetar and the gym above flood the room. Amity saw the mosaics clearly now, pictures of various skull-headed warriors battling two-toned spirits, blobs of pitch blackness, and other monstrosities.

Huh, those warriors kinda look like King, she mused, but paid no further attention to the walls. Instead, she focused on the center of the room, where Grometheus stood.

Like the monsters on the mosaic, it was a large, shifting mass of pure darkness that stood almost twice as tall as Amity, nearly reaching the ceiling. But what the pictured horrors failed to capture was how black it was. Even worse than the bubbles, Grom looked utterly flat, no matter how Amity tried to parse its shape. No, worse, it looked like it was negative space somehow. Like there was a hole in reality and the sorcerer was going to be sucked out into nothingness any second now. Several people above gasped or screamed when they saw it.

[[WHAT?! NO! HOW?!]]

Grom flailed about, trying to find any patch of darkness it could scuttle off into.

Huh, looks like Luz was right. Grom really is trying to flee the second I got a good look at it.

Unfortunately for Grom, the Orb of Zetar provided nearly flawless light and the only shadows were the ones behind Amity.

As the monster swirled in confusion, Amity raised her left arm and began drawing the symbols Dr. Strange had taught her in the air, glowing purple magic trailing her finger. As she did, the older sorcerer's words from Wednesday evening came back to her…

Wednesday

"Now the thing about horrors like this Grometheus is that they're power can't be destroyed, and neither can Grom while it's linked to this power," Dr. Strange explained. "Normally this spell would be cast with the intent to direct the power into an enchanted container of some sort -- like a specially prepared crystal. But I get the feeling that you don't have time to find and prepare something to store Grom's power."

"We wouldn't even know where to look," Willow answered.

"In that case," the older sorcerer sighed, "there is one way to do this spell and depower Grom, but…" He fixed Amity with a stern glare. "Be aware, young sorcerer. This does not come without a cost. By casting this spell, you will be taking Grom's power for yourself and binding it to your soul. This will have side effects that I cannot see. But one thing I do know is that power like that wants to be used, and it may try to influence your thinking. You must stay strong, or you may become a monster even worse than Grom."

Friday

Amity gulped. There was really no other way to defeat Grom, at least with the time they had available. And she would not allow anyone else to fall victim to this horror. Too many already had.

She completed the first set of symbols, the lavender runes hanging in the air, and began chanting the spell that powered them.

[[NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?]]

She ignored the terrified terror and began sketching the second set of symbols in the air.

Grom stopped trying to 'speak' Islandic and started babbling in a horrible, guttural language that was older than the universe. It promised Amity horrible, wonderous things -- love, death, hope, fear, friendship, hate, blood, meat, bones…

The sorcerer pushed those thoughts out of her mind and focused on writing the third set of runes.

There was a horrifying shriek that echoed in Amity's bones.

The symbols Amity had drawn in the air twisted, then formed glowing ropes that stretched from the sorcerer's left arm to the mass of darkness. Grom started to shrink, the strange negative blackness seeming to fold in on itself. At the same time, parts of Amity's arm began to blacken, an intricate fractal pattern of swirling lines forming from her wrist to her elbow.

Slowly the runes-turned-ropes faded from sight, bringing the teen's attention back to her opponent. Grom was now no larger than an eyerat, the tiny blob trying to inch its way across the floor away from her. It was pathetic, really, what it had been reduced to. The sorcerer almost felt bad about what she was going to do.

Almost.

This is for all those you’ve killed. All those you’ve driven mad. All those who have had something vital stolen from them.

She landed and walked toward the diminished horror. Snapping the fingers on her left hand, Amity summoned the Flames of the Faltine, which swallowed what remained of Grom in its purple fire. Soon, all that remained of Grometheus the Fear-Bringer was a small soot stain on the floor of the chamber.

The girl turned around and approached the Orb of Zetar she'd summoned. "Thank you for your help," she said, bobbing her head to the light.

The light bobbed back, chirped something in a musical tone Amity couldn't understand, then disappeared, heading back to its unfathomable home dimension.

Slowly the teen ascended the stairs, trying not to freak out as nearly everyone stared at her. She stopped in front of a stunned Principal Bump. "I… I guess I have some explaining to do…" she started.

Jolting out of his stupefaction, Principal Bump blinked and looked the mint-haired girl over. A range of emotions played out over his face (or at least the visible part) before he spoke. "I see your tutelage under the Owl Lady has paid off dividends, Amity."

She blinked in surprise. "Um, what? No, I learned that magic from-"

The elder educator fixed her with a stare. "Amity, the Human Realm does not have magic. The Emperor's Coven is quite clear on that. I'm sure you wouldn't do anything that would require the attention of the Emperor's Coven, right?"

That got Amity to think for a moment. Would acknowledging her magic came from Earth force Principal Bump to contact the Emperor's Coven?

Thankfully, the girl was saved when Willow came up. "Yes, Amity, it was lucky your training under Ms. Eda was able to defeat Grom."

"Yes," Principal Bump replied evenly. "Please thank your teacher when you see them next. I did not relish having to send young people to death or insanity each year."

“I… understand, I think,” Amity replied. “Um, if you’ll excuse me, the fight, um, it took a lot of bile to cast all those spells. I’m going to find my friends and get something to eat.”

The man nodded and moved to go speak with the adults. She saw her mother was already over there, probably proudly proclaiming this was because of Amity’s superior breeding or something.

Right now, though, Amity had someone more important to talk to.

“I saw Luz over by the punch table,” Willow said, causing the mint-haired girl to jump a little.

“Iiiiiiii don’t know what you’re talking about, Willow,” Amity tried putting on a fake smile.

The dark-haired girl’s gaze grew suspicious, but she only gave a noncommittal grunt in reply.

The mint-haired girl cleared her throat awkwardly. “I’m… I’m just going to go and… get some punch. Because, y’know, I’m really thirsty. From the fight.”

As Amity forced her legs to move her towards the snack area, she heard Willow offer her “good luck!”

Oh, I’m going to need more than that, Willow.

She made her way through the crowd of her fellow students, some of them congratulating her or asking her where she’d learned such magic. She gave a few terse, evasive answers while she searched for her target.

There! In that suit that fit oh so right stood Luz Noceda. Like Willow said, the human was by the punch table, laughing at something Gus had either said or done.

Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath, Amity marched forward, hand already reaching into her pocket.

Luz ‘spotted’ her first, using that amazing Spider Sense of hers. The wondrous girl turned her head to her approaching friend, giving an absolutely luminous smile. “Heya, hermosa! Looks like everything went swimmingly! You feeling okay?”

Amity gulped. It’s now or never. “I’m … fine, I guess. Fighting Grom made me face some things I’d been… putting off, I guess. And it made me realize that, well, there are some things I need to do sooner rather than later.” In one motion she pulled the note from her pocket and handed it to Luz.

“For… me?” the human asked, taking the pink paper.

Amity nodded, and Luz opened the note. It didn’t take long for her to read the seven words.

“You… you really want…?” the brown-haired girl asked.

Amity nodded again, tongue feeling strangely heavy, cheeks feeling strangely warm. “I… I know it’s kinda sudden, but-”

Luz suddenly let out an explosive breath. “Oh, thank God! I was so worried because I wanted to ask you!”

Amity blinked. “Wait, does that mean…?”

A lively tune started in the background. Principal Bump must have called the bard students up to get the ‘dance’ part of this school dance underway while Amity’s focus was elsewhere.

Luz cleared her throat, then held her hand out to Amity. “Miss Blight, may I have this dance?”

The mint-haired witch smiled the largest she had in years. “Yes!” She gingerly took her new girlfriend’s hand and led her to the dance floor.

It was the most amazing thing Amity had ever done in her entire life. The two whirled with the other dancers, but it seemed the spotlight was only for her and Luz. Sometimes Amity led, letting her years of forced ballroom dancing classes guide her human; other times, Luz did, trying to show her witch some Human Realm dance that Amity didn’t quite get.

Still, they were having fun, and that was all that mattered.

A slow song started, and Amity pulled Luz in closer. “There’s something else I’ve been working on, besides the spells Dr. Strange taught me.”

“Oh?” her girlfriend asked.

As the two twirled with the song, Amity commanded the Cape of Caelum to lift them into the air, sending the girls spinning over the other dancers’ heads. There may have been gasps of awe from their fellow students, but, frankly there was only one person’s opinion Amity wanted.

“So, how was it?” she whispered to Luz as they touched down on the other side of the dance floor.

“That was amazing!” she answered, her beaming smile strong enough to lift any remaining doubt from Amity’s heart.

They departed the dance floor after a few more songs, opting to graze on the snack tables and let Amity rest her feet (not the first time the witch envied the human’s spider-enchanced stamina). Various classmates or parents came up, either to congratulate the new couple or thank Amity for finally defeating Grom.

Finally the evening started to wind down, and Eda pulled all of Luz’s friends together for a picture with Luz’s fone. “C’mon, munchkins, gotta get a group pic for Luz’s mom. You too, Three Eyes and Two-tone.”

After the flash, the Owl Lady turned the phone vertical. “And now just the lovebats.”

Everyone else stepped away, waiting patiently for Eda to take the photo. Suddenly, Luz got a wicked grin and, in one smooth movement, hoisted Amity up and onto her shoulder, letting the surprised witch sit there.

“That’s it!” Eda declared, quickly snapping the picture.

After the flash, Luz let Amity hop off her shoulder. The human turned to her girlfriend. “So, how was it?”

“Amazing!” Amity answered, to everyone’s laughter.

Boscha walked to the front door of her mothers’ home, stumbling slightly.

Probably shouldn’t’a drunk so much of the spiked punch. She giggled at the thought. But there was no way I wasn't celebrating a fight as epic as that!

Slowly pushed the door open slowly, hoping her mothers didn’t hear…

“Oh, Boscha, thank the Titan you’re home!”

Damnit.

The three-eyed witch looked over as her mom, Gisela, walked out of the living room and into the entry room. The magenta-haired woman continued, “Bruna and I were just about to head to the Healer’s. She’s suddenly gotten sick, and, in her weakened condition, I’m worried about her.”

The revelation that Bruna was sick cut through the apple blood-induced fog in Boscha’s brain. “Sick? How?”

“I don’t know,” Gisela continued. “She suddenly got very sweaty about two hours ago. She’s also complained of nausea and dizziness. I was trying to wait for you before we left…”

Something about Bruna’s symptoms tugged at Boscha’s memory. “Has she thrown up?”

“No, thank the Titan.”

That was Bruna’s voice, and the three-eyed woman shuffled out of the living room. She was still swathed in what looked like five sweaters and a blanket covered her shoulders like a cape. Her skin was pale and wet from sweat, just like Gisela said, and she shook and wobbled with each step.

It was actually seeing her that Boscha understood what was going on. She threw her head back in a laugh.

“Boscha!” Gisela yelled. “This is no laughing matter! Your mother is ill and we need…”

“She’s not sick!” Boscha said as the last of the laughter left her system. “She’s overheated! What we need to do is get her out of those sweaters.”

“Wha-what do you mean?” Bruna groaned. “I haven’t been able to feel heat since…”

“Lemme guess,” the daughter interrupted. “Gisela said you started feeling like this about two hours ago, right?”

“Yes…?”

Boscha smiled. “Well, that’s about the time Amity killed Grom.”

Her mothers looked at her like she was crazy.

“Killed… Grom?” Bruna hesitantly asked, a glimmer of hope deep in her voice, the blanket dropping to the floor. “How?”

Gisela, however, glared at her daughter. “Grom can’t be killed. It’s impossible.”

“Impossible using witch magic,” the girl explained.

“What, did Amity use some sort of human magic?” Gisela exclaimed, starting to help her wife extricate herself from her cocoon of sweaters.

“Yep!”

Both women now looked at their daughter like she was insane.

“Sweetie,” Bruna began, shucking off her third sweater, “humans don’t have magic. That’s why we need to save them, like all the books say.”

Boscha rolled her eyes. “Ugh, again with that crap? It didn’t work on me when I was a kid, and it won’t work on me now.” She saw that Bruna was now divested of all six of her sweaters. “C’mon, we need to go to the kitchen, get some ice water in you.”

As her mothers followed her, Boscha continued, “Listen, the Human Realm is nothing like those stories you two read. Humans don’t need any ‘help’ from us and they’re not all fragile and weak. Luz has taken some hits during Grudgeby games that would knock me out and just walked it off.”

“Wait, there’s a human on your Grudgeby team?” Gisela asked.

The teen paused, her voice uncharacteristically somber. “I told you guys that already. Maybe if you’d come to my games…”

“Boscha, you know that between my work and your mother’s condition…” Grisela started.

Boscha snorted. “Yeah, yeah…” She entered the kitchen and went right to the fridge making a glass of ice water and handing it to Bruna. “Here. Sip on this.”

The woman did as instructed. “Oh, my. This is helping, at least a little.”

“Good.” Boscha turned away to go up to her room and change out of her dress.

“Wait,” Bruna said. “How did you know how to do this?”

“Seen it a million times during practice,” Boscha said, not turning back. “Do too much, get too hot, don’t drink enough water and your body starts revolting against you. Just sip on ice water and get some rest and you should be fine by tomorrow.”

The teen moved to the door again, but was stopped when Grisela put her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Boscha, I…” she started, struggling to find the words. “Thank you. I know dealing with your mother’s condition has been… difficult. But if what you said is true…”

The teen scoffed. “Not like I did anything. It was all Amity’s doing.”

“Yes, well…” the magenta-haired woman said. “Still, we’ll need to talk about this. Both how Amity killed Grom and this human friend of yours.” She gave the girl a rare smile. “But that can wait until tomorrow. Go upstairs and get ready for bed. I’m sure you’re tired from the party. And from the hard apple blood someone spiked the punch with.”

Boscha gave a nervous laugh. “I… have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Odalia marched into her home, Amity following silently behind. The Blight matriarch smiled to herself. And why shouldn't she? Everything was going her way.

The twins looked up from whatever inane program they were watching on the crystal ball. Hm. I'm surprised they're still here. I would have thought that they'd have gone out to do… whatever it is they do.

"Amity…?" Emira ventured.

"I'm fine," Mittens answered. "Better than fine, actually."

"Really? We've heard the stories about what happens to people who survive facing Grom Grom," Edric countered. "The guy who was chosen for our's seemed alright, but…"

Mittens stepped forward, past Odalia. The woman frowned heavily when she saw the black markings that now decorated her youngest's left arm.

"Oh, that's not going to be a problem," Mittens reassured her siblings. "Especially since Grom is dead."

The twins looked at each other, then back to Mittens.

"What do you mean 'Grom is dead'?" Emira asked, incredulously.

Edric continued. "Yeah. Grom is, like, immortal or something? That's the reason that it was trapped under Hexside instead of, y'know, destroyed all those ages ago."

Mittens lifted her left arm, showing off the shadowy swirls that adorned it. "Not by witch magic. But human magic…"

"Human magic…?" the twins asked in unison.

"Yep. Mother didn't want me telling you, but the new magic I've been studying originated in the Human Realm. In fact, I've met a human sorcerer and he taught me the spells I needed to destroy Grometheus." Mittens flicked a finger, summoning a small purple flame.

“Ah… Okay?” Edric said, looking askance at the flame. “Well, anyway, Em and I are just glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah!” Emira came forward, giving Mittens a one-armed hug. “Honestly, it was kinda terrifying, waiting to see if you’d come back, if you’d still be you.”

Mittens leaned into the hug. “Thanks. It’s… nice, hearing that you two were worried about me.”

Odalia sighed. “Yes, yes, we’re all glad Mittens is safe and sane. Now, then, let’s get upstairs to a bath so we can get those unsightly markings off your arm.” She gestured for her youngest to follow her as she stepped toward the stairs.

“No.”

The Blight matriarch faltered a step, then turned to look at her scion. “Excuse me? No? Who do you think you’re talking to, Mittens?”

Mittens stood tall, a defiant look on her face. “The question is ‘Who do you think you’re talking to, Odalia?’ My name is Amity. I’m tired of you referring to me by that nickname.”

“Wha-what?!” Odalia sputtered. “It does not matter what your name is! You will do what I say when I tell you to do it!”

“No.” Mittens stayed defiant.

By now the twins had backed away from their sister.

“Uh, Amity? You sure you’re feeling okay?” Edric asked.

“Oh, I’m feeling just… I believe ‘peechy’ is the phrase Luz used.” Mittens gave a small smile to her siblings, then lifted the afflicted arm up to examine it. “And I’m not removing or hiding my tattoo. It’s a part of who I am now, a trophy of what I’ve accomplished.”

“It is disgusting!” Odalia yelled. “It makes you look like a… like a…”

“Like a wild witch?” Mittens finished, her smile growing smug.

The Oracle harrumphed. “Well, then, I see I’ve allowed your extracurricular activities, and your new acquaintances, to unduly influence you. Clearly you need to be reminded just what your place in this family is!”

The woman’s hand went to the crystal on her neck, and she focused her magic into it, feeling those familiar fingers of telepathy reaching for her wayward daughter.

Only for the mental magic to slide off Mittens’ mind like it was coated with soap. Or shielded somehow.

“Wh-what!?”

“Interesting,” Mittens mused. “It looks like the mind shield Dr. Strange taught me works just as well against Oracle magic as it does against Grom.”

Odalia gripped her focus tighter and summoned the two bound souls she’d stored within. The twin ghosts rushed forth, ready to restrain Mittens so Odalia could properly punish her daughter.

But the girl made a strange motion with her hands and a bright purple ring appeared in front of her. Another gesture and the ring shot forward, directly towards Odalia’s spirits. The moment it touched them, both ghosts dissipated in puffs of smoke.

No! How was she able to overpower my binding spells?

Mittens fixed her mother with a level gaze. “Don’t you understand, Odalia? Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”

“What do you mean?” the Blight matriarch asked.

“You always told me - told us - that Blights are meant to stand at the top of the Demon Realm. Blights are strong. Blights are unbeatable.” Mittens’ smile grew dangerous. “And am I not strong? I defeated Grometheus the Fear-Bringer, a horror so powerful that even ancient wild witches could only trap him, and even then it would damage the bindings they used so that we had to send young witches to possible death or madness to keep it sealed.

“But I learned magics that no witch has ever heard of before and slew Grom, right in its lair. I’ve saved countless generations of Hexside students from having to go down there!” She declared. “But you keep treating me like I’m a child — no, worse! You think I’m some sort of toy, a doll for you to dress up and show off to your friends!

“Well, I’m done being your plaything! Because, for once in my life, I’m the strong one! And, because I’ve met Luz and, more importantly, her mother I know now what a real parent is. And it's not you.”

Mittens deflated, her rage spent. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going up to my room and change. And then I’ll probably go tell dad the news, maybe see if he wants to celebrate or something.” She started to move to the stairs, then paused and turned to her siblings. “Ed, Em? If you want, I can teach you that mind shielding spell tomorrow afternoon or Sunday. I promise it’s very easy to learn.”

She left, and Odalia and the twins stayed silent for a long while.

The Blight matriarch stared numbly at where her daughter had been standing. How… How dare she say that to me!? I am her mother and I…

“She’s right, you know.”

Odalia’s thoughts were broken when Emira spoke.

“You taught us that the strong make the rules,” she continued. “And now, Amity’s the one who’s strong. Congrats, mom, you got exactly what you wanted. Now you just have to live with it.” She walked upstairs, followed soon after by her brother.

Odalia didn’t know how long she stood there in stunned silence, trying to figure out how she had lost control of her family. Her hand slipped from her Oracle focus and she silently marched towards the kitchen. Maybe some wine would help her think.

Camila hit the play button on the video again, even though she could barely see it through her tears of joy. “Oh, mis bebés!” she cried as she watched Luz and Amity dance through the air once again.

She pulled her gaze up, face beaming with joy. “Gracias, Eda, for letting me see this momento precioso in mi hija’s life!”

“Hey, what’d I tell ya, Cami?” the witch said. “I got your back.”

“Still, the thought of missing my Luz’s first dance with her novia…” Camila’s breath hitched.

“Hey, mami, don’t worry,” her daughter said, hand still clutched in Amity’s. “We got a letter from Eda’s friend yesterday, saying he’d searched all the spots in the Right Leg. He didn’t find anything, but we’re narrowing down the places the rune array could be.”

“Bah! Why are we talking about this sad stuff!” Eda interrupted. “Why don’t you take a look at the photos I took. I think you’ll like the second one.”

Camila wiped her eyes. Eda’s right. I should be focused on mi lucita’s happiness today. She navigated to the pictures Luz had sent her. The first was a group shot, Luz, Amity, Gus, Willow, and two others - presumably some other classmates of her daughter. The second one, however…

The human woman couldn’t help but laugh when she saw it. It was just a couple shot of Luz and Amity, but instead of them just side-by-side, Luz had lifted the witch up so that Amity sat on the human’s shoulder. The mint-haired girl’s shocked expression was priceless, but the way Luz smiled with both pride and joy…

“It’s perfect.”

“You know, it’s not just anybody that can drag me here on a Saturday,” Principal Bump said.

Lilith turned around to see the man enter the gymnasium. Curiously, he was wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat and a dirt-stained gardening apron.

Hm. Never thought of Principal Bump as a gardener.

“I’m sorry, Principal Bump,” Lilith said. “But I needed to confirm something for myself, and you’re the only person who will answer my question.”

The educator’s face was inscrutable. He stepped further into the gym, stopping by the podium that housed the button to open Grom’s prison.

“How did you know?” he asked.

“Hettie Cutburn reported that, around 6:00 PM last night, Brikar woke up from his coma,” she answered. “In fact, they said many of Grom’s victims had called in saying that their curses had been broken.”

“Perhaps they just wore off naturally.”

She shook her head. “No. Head Witch Cutburn is, or rather was, obsessed with trying to cure Grom’s curses. It was like it was a personal affront to them, the fact that no known Healing or Potions magic could even alleviate the symptoms.” She turned to look at the hidden staircase. “Hettie isn’t questioning our good fortune, but I… I know the only way those curses could have been broken was if Grometheus was either permanently sealed, or dead.”

Silently the man pushed the button, allowing the floor to open up to show Grom’s lair. Strangely, Lilith could see the inside of the chamber perfectly, no unnatural shadows swallowing the light from the gym’s lights like it had during her Grom. She stepped down, marveling at the intricate mosaics revealed within. She was looking at the one on the floor when she noticed something odd. A small scorch mark, only a few inches across, stained the floor.

Just a remnant of an errant fireball… No, the rest of the room is too clean for that. This is… this is…

“Is this… all that remains?” she asked aloud.

“Yes,” Principal Bump’s voice came from above. “That is all there is left of Grometheus the Fear-Bringer.”

“I see,” she stared at the stain a few moments more, then turned up to look at the educator. “It was Luz, wasn’t it?”

He shook his head. “No. It was actually Amity Blight. It seems she found a new teacher after she left your apprenticeship.”

A new teacher? Possibly Edalyn, given what I witnessed at the Knee, but no witch magic in thousands of years has been able to even harm Grom…

Unless… No… Maybe…

Did Amity somehow learn… Human Realm magic? Is that even possible? Emperor Belos said that humans don’t have magic to aid them against their enemies…

But Belos has lied about a lot of things.

“I… see,” she said again. Should I tell Hettie? … No, they’re far too loyal to Belos. Learning that Amity killed Grom may put the poor girl in the Emperor’s sights.

“Well, if nothing else,” she continued, “these mosaics shed a lot of light on pre-Savage Age beliefs from this area. It will be interesting to study them, when I get the time.”

Principal Bump humphed thoughtfully. “Well, when you do, send word to my secretary so we can make the necessary arrangements. Who knows? Maybe the history teachers will bring their classes to help out.”

Lilith nodded. “Thank you, Principal Bump.”

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” he said, adjusting his hat, “I’ve got some particularly nasty weeds I need to uproot before they get organized. I trust that I can leave you here, Head Witch?”

“Yes, that’s fine,” she answered. “And thank you, again. You’ve helped me out, a lot more than you know.”

He humphed again but didn’t respond, leaving the Head Witch alone with her thoughts. She turned back to one of the mosaics, studying it closer.

Are these … Titans? But who are they fighting? Multiple Groms and… some sort of star people?

What does this mean?

Chapter Text

“Vick-to-ree-ya No-see-da.”

Vee stopped, social studies tome halfway out of her locker, at the … odd pronunciation of her name. She’d (mostly) made it through her first day of classes relatively unnoticed, except for first period, where the teacher had made her come to the front of the class and introduce herself - that had been horrifying. Vee had hoped to drop off the impressively large schoolbooks at her locker, but it seemed like fate had, once more, other plans for the disguised basilisk.

She turned around to see that the speaker was one of the girls she’d shared a lot of her classes with – blonde with a stripe of pink in her hair.

“Um, can I help you?” Vee cautiously asked. “Wait – you’re, uh, Chastity Masterson, right? The, uh, head fearleader?”

“Cheerleader,” the girl corrected. “God, you’re almost as bad as your sister, or whatever. God, why did she have to get superpowers instead of someone more normal.”

“What… what did you say about Luz?” the basilisk said, hands tightening on the unreasonably large textbook.

“Ugh, I was hoping that, despite being, like, and actual alien or whatever that you’d be a bit more normal than Luz-er,” the blonde continued obliviously. “But, ugh, like, you’re probably gonna be, like, twice as bad. And poor Mrs. Robinson just got over the whole snake incident.”

“And what, exactly, is wrong with snakes?” Vee tried very hard to keep a snarl out of her voice.

The cheerleader’s face twisted with disgust. “Ew. Like, they're all gross and scaly and stuff.”

“Heyyyyyy, Chas!” a new (but somewhat familiar) voice intervened. “I see you’re making friends with the new girl!”

A familiar teen - black hair, gap-toothed smile, black clothes - came in from the left and clapped a hand on Chastity’s shoulder.

“Guh, what do you want, Masha?” the blonde rolled her eyes.

Right, Masha! I met them at the library. Annnnnd they know that I’m a shapeshifter.

“Oh, I just wanted to check on the new girl!” Masha answered. “And make sure that someone isn’t trying to take advantage of Luz’s absence to try and bully her sister.”

“Ugggghhhhh….” Chastity moaned. “I wasn’t bullying her, I was making sure she wasn’t another weirdo like her sister. Totally failed in that regard. Probably gonna make another creepy griffin statue with, what did she call it? Spider breath?”

“Yeah, I’m sure badmouthing her sis is soooo giving Vee here a good impression,” Masha rolled their eyes.

“Guh, whatever,” the blonde rolled her shoulder, dislodging the other teen’s hand. “If she’s already friends with you, she’s already committing social suicide.” She walked away. “See ya never, losers!”

Vee and Masha watched as Chastity disappeared into the mass of students that populated Gravesfield High School’s hallways.

The black-haired human turned to the disguised basilisk. “Sorry about her,” Masha said, “she’s … kind of a lot. Her family’s old money – used to own a big factory way back a hundred or so years ago and they’ve been riding off that ever since. That kind of money brings a lot of popularity, and Chastity thinks that entitles her to being the boss bitch of the school.”

Vee’s face screwed in confusion. “That’s…weird. Shouldn’t people like you or Luz be the popular ones? Since you’re superheroes?”

The other teen shrugged. “Eh? People like me and Luz with powers, or at least those of us who use ours openly, are still pretty new for most people. The old ways of determining popularity – lotsa money, conventional good looks, having ‘acceptable’ hobbies – are still what most people use.”

They stepped back and faced the basilisk head on. “Listen, uh, Victoria, I know we kinda got off on the wrong foot when we met at the library…”

Vee glanced down at her feet, examining them. Wait, there’s a wrong foot? Which one is it?

“It’s just an expression,” Masha smiled. “I meant that I made a total ass of myself that day. And… I’m sorry. I guess I came on too strong because I thought you might know something about what happened to your sister. All the heroes at Avengers Academy were all strangely silent on the whole thing. I know Luz and I weren’t friends – and that’s probably more on me than her – but I’m still worried about her. Us Gravesfielder heroes gotta stick together, y’know.”

Vee bit her lip in thought for a second. “I… actually do know what happened to Luz. I’m just not sure how much I can tell you.”

“Hey, I get it,” the human teen smiled a distressingly cute gap-toothed smile. “Secret missions happen all the time in the superhero community. Here,” they held out their phone. “Let me give you my number. If you find that you can tell me something, or if you just need some help with something, just text me.”

“Uh, thanks.” Vee brought out her phone and tapped it to Masha’s, letting the wondrous devices share the information over the air.

And they say regular humans don’t have magic…

The basilisk cocked her head to the side. “Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, what are your superpowers? Wait, that’s not rude, is it?”

The black-haired human chuckled. “Nope! Not at all. A lot of superheroes don’t really like talking about themselves, but not me!” They grinned again. “I can turn my body into a metal called Orichalcum. Enhances my strength and durability.”

“Orichalcum?” Vee asked. “Never heard of that.”

Masha shrugged. “Some sort of weird coppery metal. Nobody’s quite sure exactly what it is.”

“And you can convert your entire body into this metal?”

“Yep!” the human teen smirked.

A person made out of metal? Could it be…? What are the odds that I’d meet the person whose supposed to come with me and mom when Dr. Strange supposedly teleports us back to the Boiling Isles?

…

Okay, given how my life has gone these past few months, it's probably pretty high.

“Well, uh, thanks for, um saving me from Chastity,” Vee put on her best smile. “Not to be rude, but I’ve, uh, got to go and do this homework Mr. Stevens assigned us.” She hefted her social studies book for emphasis.

Masha moaned. “You got Mr. Stevens? Poor girl. Guy doesn’t believe in NOT assigning homework.” They stepped back to allow the basilisk to pass.

Vee slipped the tome into her book bag. “I’ll talk to my mom and Luz, see what they say about what I can tell you.”

The other teen’s expression softened. “Thanks. And… tell Luz that I’m worried about her. And maybe … when she comes back we can be friends. All of us.”

Vee smiled back. “I’m sure she’d like that.”

And if I’m right, you may be able to apologize to her a lot sooner than you suspect.

Chapter Text

Dr. Strange sighed and put the book he’d been skimming through in a pile with all the other ‘useless, but interesting’ tomes he’d borrowed from Kamar Taj’s libraries.

For a book supposedly about demon slayers of Taisho-era Japan, these ‘demons’ they mention are nothing like the ones I’ve encountered before OR the inhabitants of the Demon Realm. They're more like vampires.

…

Note to self: Ask Blade if he’s ever tried any wisteria-based weaponry.

“Studying late again, my pupil?” An aged voice came from behind the sorcerer.

Stephen turned around to see The Ancient One, standing in the doorway to Sanctum Sanctorum’s study.

“Master!” the former doctor stood and greeted the older man. “I wasn’t aware you’d be coming! Let me make you some tea.” He moved to the doorway and gestured for the wizened sorcerer to sit down. “I gave Wong the night off, since I thought this would be just a quiet night for reading.”

“I see that,” The Ancient One said, eyeing the towering stacks of books currently strewn about the study.

“Ah. Yes. You’ll forgive me, but this situation regarding the so-called ‘Demon Realm’ has me puzzled,” Strange explained.

“Understandable,” the other man smiled. “Tell me, Stephen, when was the last time you took a break in your ‘quiet reading night’?”

“Uhhhhh….” the younger sorcerer glanced down at his watch. “Let me go get that tea, master.”

It only took a few minutes for Strange to prepare the tea (one of the many lesser benefits of magic, he’d discovered), and soon he and The Ancient One were sitting in a cleared area of the study, steaming cups in hand.

“So, how is your research into this ‘Demon Realm’ coming, Stephen?” the Sorcerer Supreme asked.

“Poorly,” Strange admitted. “I have found nothing even remotely resembling it in any of the books I’ve read. Wherever this realm lies, it is either very distant or extremely hidden. And given the barrier, I’m inclined to think it’s been hidden – deliberately so.”

The Ancient One took a sip of his tea. “You expect something more than a power-mad tyrant lies behind this.”

“Yes,” Strange sighed. “The ‘Demon Realm’ seems to contain an entire solar system. Even if it’s just a pocket dimension, the power needed to make one, and shut it off from the rest of the cosmos, is far more than a normal sorcerer, or witch in this case, would be able to muster without help.” He looked his master in the eyes. “This is something you or I should be dealing with, not those children.” His face fell. “Luz should be worrying about test scores or where to take Amity on their next date or stopping some home break-ins, not a madman who may be bargaining with powers beyond mortal ken.”

The Ancient One hummed thoughtfully. “And what of the child’s mentor? I believe you said her name is Evelyn?”

“Edalyn,” the younger sorcerer corrected. “Edalyn Clawthorne.”

“Clawthorne?” The Ancient One asked.

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“Maybe nothing, my pupil,” the Sorcerer Surpeme said. “Please, continue.”

“Okay…” Strange said, suspicious. “Well, she was cursed when she was younger. It affects her magic and accelerates her aging. And if she uses too much magic she risks turning into what she and Luz call an ‘Owl Beast’, a mindless animal that attacked Luz and Eda’s other roommate, King, one dark and stormy night.”

“And they are sure it's mindless?” the Ancient One asked.

“I…” Strange started, then paused. “I’m not sure Eda’s ever investigated that. And I get the feeling she’s not particularly interested in finding out. She regards the curse, and the beast, as a disease more than anything. Even takes potions regularly to keep it at bay, much like someone with a chronic illness would take medicine.” He nodded to another stack of books, one that was far too small for his liking. “I’ve also been reading any books Kamar Taj has related to curses, but, once again, I’ve found nothing similar to hers so far. And yes, master, I did check and the Eye of Agamotto didn’t detect any gamma radiation.” He turned back to the older man. “Frankly, I’m at a wall. Do you have any insight, master?”

The older man hummed thoughtfully. “Perhaps. This ‘curse’ of Ms. Clawthorne’s resembles poor Dr. Banner’s case, where the alter has a mind of its own.”

“Well, what do you suggest?” Strange asked. “From what Eda and Luz said about the Owl Beast, it doesn’t talk or even seem to think. At least we can talk to the Hulk when he emerges. And I refuse to ask Eda to transform. I may no longer be a surgeon, but I do try to keep the Hippocratic Oath.”

The Ancient One nodded. “And that is one of the reasons I took you in as my disciple all those years ago. But we may not need to have the beast physically present with us. If it is as bound to Ms. Clawthorne as I suspect, then the beast’s mind may be entwined with hers, in a way.”

“So someone may be able to, in astral form, enter Eda’s mind and try to talk to, or at least find, the Owl Beast,” Stephen inferred. “But, there’s one problem. The barrier is heavily warded against astral forms. There’s a strong chance that trying to break through that way would heavily injure, or even kill, us.”

The old man hummed thoughtfully again. “But, there is another who’s already on the other side of the barrier.”

Strange blinked in surprise. “Master, do you think Amity is ready? This is fairly advanced magic, plus we’d be sending her into another person’s mind. That is always fraught with danger, even without the presence of a dangerous curse.”

The Sorcerer Supreme smiled. “You said she learned the spells to fight Grometheus without any problem. I am quite sure she can handle this. And she need not go alone. I suspect young Luz may wish to accompany her beloved on this adventure.”

“Alright,” the former doctor said, “if you believe she’s ready, then I’ll ask Amity if she wants to do this.”

“Actually, Stephen, I’d hoped to accompany you,” the Ancient One said, taking another sip of tea.

Strange nodded. “Of course, I’m sure the Nocedas and their friends would love to meet you, master.”

“And I look forward to meeting them.”

“So then I says to that bug, ‘Hey, mister! You gotta lotta nerve tryin’ ta sneak up on me! Why I ouhgta…’”

Amity tried very hard to ignore Hooty’s babbling as she stepped into the Owl House. She’d gotten more used to him after coming over for so many of these Saturday get-togethers with Luz’s mom, but…

Quickly shutting the door so the house demon’s prattle faded into the background, the sorcerer looked around the living room, seeing it unoccupied. She couldn’t help but smile when her eyes fell on Luz’s banned poster, still framed and placed in its place of honor beside the Owl Lady’s own wanted poster.

Suddenly her vision was blocked as something swooped in from above right in front of her face. Her hand went up, seconds away from drawing upon the Flames of the Faltine, but stopped when a very familiar pair of lips pressed against hers, and a very familiar hand cupped one of her cheeks.

But all too soon, the kiss was over. Luz leaned back, a wide grin on her face. “I’ve always wanted to do that!”

Amity rolled her eyes and took a better look at her girlfriend. The human was, once again, upside down, hanging from the Owl House’s ceiling by one of her thinner ‘climbing lines’.

“You’ve always wanted to kiss someone hanging upside down?” she asked.

“Yep!” Luz answered, enthusiastically popping the ‘p’. “C’mon, hermosa, don’t tell me you haven’t thought of some more … romantic uses for your new magic.”

The witch blushed, flashes of fantasies of her and Luz dancing across the sky flitting through her imagination. “W-well, maybe a few.”

The human hopped down from the ceiling. “That’s the spirit! Too many people focus on how to use superpowers to hit people better and forget there’s a whole range of uses for just about any power!” With a tug she pulled the webline down and began balling it up.

Eda popped her head in from the kitchen. “Speaking of uses for superpowers, you finished cleaning up all those footprints and spiderwebs you’ve put on my ceiling these past few months?”

“Si, Eda!” Luz called back to her mentor. “Just got the last of it finished before Amity arrived.”

The door crept open, allowing Hooty to enter the conversation. “Oh, come on, Eda! I like when Luz walks on the walls and ceiling. It feels like a nice massage on my insides.” The door creaked shut again, as the house demon went back to, presumably, guarding the outside of the house.

Luz’s face was now as pale as Eda’s. “I will now be walking on nothing but solid ground,” she said in a shaky voice.

Taking her girlfriend by the shoulder, Amity guided the human to the couch. “Why don’t we talk about why Dr. Strange called your mom. Did he say why he wanted to make sure I was going to be here today?”

Luz shook her head, her normal, beautiful, skin color returning. “No clue. Mami said he was very mysterious when he called, just that ‘someone wants to meet us’.”

The sorcerer sighed. “Reminds me of Azura’s mentor, the Sorcerer Supreme.”

Luz gave a short chuckle. “Yeah… I wonder if that’s a thing that happens as sorcerers get older and more powerful. Do you think you’ll be all cryptic when we hit middle age?”

“Who knows?” Amity shrugged. “But I do like the implication of us still being together to find out.”

Eda stepped out of the kitchen fully this time, dusting some flour off her hands. “Meh, it’s probably just him. His last name is Strange, after all.” She plopped down in a nearby chair. “And you two probably shouldn’t be makin’ any long-term plans. You never know what life’s gonna throw your way.” Her face fell. “Like a damn curse.”

“How did you get the curse anyway, Eda?” Luz asked, curious brown eyes now fixed on her mentor.

The older witch shrugged. “Dunno. I sometimes get flashes of some bug-eyed shadow creepin’ into my room one night, but I never see who they are.” She sighed. “Oh, I don’t know why I’m dumpin’ this on you two. You’re young! You should be out watching a movie or something, not listening to an old lady grumble about missed opportunities.”

“Ooh! A Boiling Isles movie!” the human exclaims. “I wonder what those are like.”

“Maybe I’ll take you one day during the next break,” Amity said, nudging her girlfriend.

“I’d love that, mi amor,” Luz said, quickly giving the younger witch a peck on the cheek.

“Blech!” Eda grumped. “If you two are gonna be so lovey-dovey, please do it in another room, out of my sight.”

“C’mon, Menta,” Luz said, patting Amity’s knee. “It’s about time I remade my web. Wanna come watch?”

The sorcerer tilted her head quizzically at the nickname. “Menta? What’s that mean?”

“It’s Spanish for ‘mint’,” her girlfriend answered as she stood up. “Lotsa mint-flavored stuff in the Human Realm is colored the same green your hair is. And since you like mint-flavored stuff so much…”

“That mint-flavored ice scream your mom found was delicious,” Amity said as she, too, stood up. “And, yes, I would like to watch you make your web-bed, since I missed it the last time you redid it.”

The sound of laughter and cheering greeted The Ancient One as he and Doctor Strange entered the clearing.

“Go, Amity!”

It was a curious sight, this gathering. Five people sat on the porch of the old house - one adult and four teenagers, presumably Edalyn Clawthorne, Luz Noceda, Amity Blight, Willow Park, and Augustus Porter - while two others - another adult and a teenager, most likely Luz’s mother Camila and the escaped basilisk Victoria - sat outside facing them on old picnic chairs. Currently, one of the teenagers, Amity Blight, going by the description the younger sorcerer gave of the girl, was concentrating intently, her left hand spinning a tight, glowing circle in the air while the right formed the Sigil of Kokytos.

Between the two groups, were two arms, one formed of a purple mud-like substance and one of a diamond-hard ice-like substance that the Sorcerer Supreme knew very well – one of the Icy Claws of Kokytos, normally used by sorcerers to restrain foes – that were about ten feet apart.

Currently the magical appendages were rapidly passing an odd-looking brown ball with what looked like an eye on it back and forth.

Camila Noceda leaned forward, clearly entranced by the demonstration. “Mija, that’s amazing!”

Stephen stepped up to the group. “I agree. Controlling two separate spells, especially from two different magic systems, with such precision is quite impressive, especially for someone so young.”

The interruption caused Amity to immediately lose concentration, as she yelped and jerked her hands back. This, unfortunately, caused her to lose control of her summons. The purple arm simply dissipated back into the earth, but the Kokytian Claw, having just caught the ball, grasped it tightly (causing the pupil on the eye to shrink in terror) and dragged the sports equipment (or what is a creature?) down to the icy hell of Kokytos.

“Well, there goes my Grudgeby ball,” Edalyn said glumly.

“Sorry, Menta,” the younger Noceda said, turning to the green-haired witch. “I would’ve warned you but I was afraid that, well, I’d have startled you as well.”

“It’s alright,” Amity replied, rubbing her left wrist. “I’m just surprised I was able to keep that going for over an hour. Normally I’d be feeling at least some strain on my bile sac now, but, strangely, whenever I use human magic it seems to, well, kind of re-energize me.”

The Ancient One did not miss the sour expression that briefly crossed Edalyn’s face.

“So, what are you doing here, Doctor Strange?” Luz asked, before turning to the Sorcerer Surpreme. “And who's your friend?”

“Actually, this is the man who taught me sorcery,” Stephen answered. “The Ancient One, Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme.” He then gestured to, and introduced, each of the people gathered in front of the old house.

That caused Amity’s eyes to widen. “Sorcerer … Supreme?” She and Luz turned to each other.

The Ancient One raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Have you heard that title before?”

“Er, yes,” Luz answered. “They were the sorcerer that mentored Azura in our books.”

Azura? Now I haven’t heard that name in a long time.

“Ah, yes, master,” Stephen explained. “We’ve discovered that Luz and Amity, and Vee too, now, are in possession of a book series called ‘The Good Witch Azura’. It is, at least as far as we know, a combination of the life story of actual witches from the Boiling Isles, namely the titular Azura and her rival Hecate, and interpretations of current events. The books are how Amity learned to call the Flames of the Faltine, and why Luz even went to the Demon Realm in the first place.”

The Ancient One nodded. “Ah, I see.” Is that why you said you were writing those books ‘for some special girls’? But why did you want me to keep it a secret?

“So, anyway, doc,” Edalyn was saying, “why’re you and your boss here? You usually don’t come to these things unless something weird happens, and it’s been a quiet week since Grom.”

The Sorcerer Supreme stepped forward. “Actually, I asked Stephen to bring me here. Specifically, I wished to talk to you, Ms. Clawthorne, about your affliction.”

Edalyn blinked at the aged man’s forwardness. “Wow. Just goin’ straight for the heart here, huh?”

"At my age I find I have far too much to do, and little time to do it in," he said. "And, from what Stephen has told me of your curse, I believe you have similar feelings."

"Eh? Wh-whaddaya mean by that?" The elder witch shifted uncomfortably.

Dr. Strange stepped up beside his teacher. "I haven't been in medicine for quite some time now, but…" He exhaled slowly, gathering his courage. "Eda, the signs are all there. The curse is killing you."

Edalyn let out an all too loud and not very convincing laugh. "Killing me? Ha! That ain't happening. No curse gets the best of Eda the Owl Lady."

Owl Lady? I guess my intuition was correct in interpreting your hints, then.

Ms. Noceda leaned forward in her chair. "But, Eda, you said your curse drains your magic, si? What happens when you, well, run out?"

Edalyn averted her gaze from the group. "W-well, I just, kinda, turn into the Owl Beast permanently. But it could be worse! At least I won't be dead. I, well, just won't be me." She paused. "That sounded more reassuring in my head."

The others in the little group gasped, and young Luz's eyes became wet with tears.

"Eda…." Quick as a whip, the young hero darted from her seat on the old porch's steps to grasp the older witch in what looked like a bone-crushing hug.

"Gah!" Edalyn tried valiantly, but futilely, to extricate herself from her apprentice's grasp. "Get offa me! I ain't gonna turn today! If I'm careful with my magic it'll be a good while before that's a problem."

"And we may be able to delay that event even further, if my suspicions are correct," The Ancient One said.

Edalyn turned to the elder sorcerer, finally managing to free herself now that Luz had relaxed her grip. "Eh, howzat? You guys gotta new kinda potion for me to take? Hope it tastes better than Morton's. Like old orange blood and gym socks."

"No," Stephen answered. "Well, at least not yet. To do something like that we'd need more information on the exact nature, and origin, of the curse."

The older witch shrugged. "Look, I've told all of you basically all I know about it. I could bring you some of the potion I take if that'll help, but I'm pretty sure most of the ingredients don't even exist outside the Boiling Isles."

"Actually, I was thinking of a more direct form of investigation," The Ancient One responded. "Namely, by having young Amity, in astral form, enter your mind to try and find the Owl Beast itself."

Edalyn's gaze hardened. "Yeah, that's gonna be a hard 'No'. No offense to Miss Priss, but there is no way I'm gonna let a teenager stomp around in my head. Especially with a curse like mine in there."

"C'mon, Eda, please," Luz pleaded. "This could be your best bet for a cure! Or maybe you'll find out who cursed you and then we can go beat them up and force them to uncurse you!"

"Luz…" Ms. Noceda warned dangerously. "No threatening to beat people up, even if it's for a good cause."

Edalyn smiled. "While I do appreciate the sentiment, kid, it's still gonna be a pass from me."

"I agree with Eda, Luz," Amity spoke up. "I've only been training with human magic for about two months. I am nowhere near ready to do something as advanced as entering someone's mind."

"My dad said that there's an Oracle spell for sending people into another's mind," young Augustus offered. "He doesn't know how to cast it, but…"

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about, Goops," Edalyn answered the boy, "but the big problem is that the person you're entering has to be asleep while the caster has to be alert for any signals the people going in send out, in case they run into trouble. While I can cast that spell, I don't know anyone else who can."

"What about your mom, Amity?" Willow asked.

"I'm… not sure. Mother probably knows how to cast it, but…" the young sorcerer hesitated. "After Grom she's been … increasingly distant and focusing a lot more on her work."

Edalyn shrugged. "Yeah, so this plan's a no-go. Sorry that you guys came all the way out here for nothing, but you're welcome to stay for lunch if you wanna. I made some estruskis."

"They're kinda like fluffy veggie burritos, but with a Boiling Isles twist!" Luz explained.

"No, thank you," The Ancient One replied. "Both Stephen and I have some appointments and meetings to attend in Kamar Taj later today. But, before we go, I do have one piece of information that may change your mind, Edalyn."

She rolled her eyes. "And what would that be?"

"I believe she asked me to say 'Edalyn Glinda Clawthrone, remember the tale of Urzula the Black and don’t push away people trying to help you'."

The effect was immediate as Edalyn’s mouth fell open in surprise. “How-what-how do you know my middle name? And where did you hear of that story?”

The Ancient One allowed an enigmatic smile to grace his lips. “A long time ago, another young woman with curious pointed ears and golden eyes told me to say that to ‘The Lady of Owls’. Sadly, she wanted me to keep her identity a secret, saying that you all would learn it when the time is right.”

The Owl Lady sighed, which quickly turned into a world-weary groan, as she ran her hands down her face. “Ugggggghhhhhhhh. Why can't all those ancient weirdos just leave us alone. I swear every time I turn around there’s some new prophecy or ancient message written just for one of us.”

“She said she knew a disaster was coming,” The Ancient One said, “but that those who would be able to help would also arise. Also, I have a suspicion that Ms. Clawthorne wanted her descendent to have the best life she could.”

“Of course she’s related to me,” Edalyn stated sourly. “Next thing you’ll say is she was that Azura character who's been helping Luz and Amity.”

“Hey, Eda, who was Urzula the Black and what does their tale have to do with this?” Luz asked.

Willow answered before the older witch could. “It’s a bedtime story. Urzula was supposedly a witch who lived a really long time ago. She got into a lot of trouble that could have been avoided if she’d listened to her friends.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get what great-great-great-whatever grandma was saying,” Edalyn waved the younger witch off. “Still can’t do it unless Amity agrees.”

The young sorcerer stood up. “Well, if Dr. Strange and the Sorcerer Supreme think I can learn this magic, then…” She inhaled sharply. “I’ll try my best.”

“We can ask for no more,” Stephen said, giving the teen a comforting smile.

The Ancient One bowed toward the young woman. “Good, but be warned Amity Blight. Learning the spells to both release your astral form and allow you to move around as such will take a lot of time and effort. If you ever feel like you will be unable to continue, say so. There is no shame in accepting one’s limits.”

“Alright…” Amity nodded.

“Don’t worry, Amity, I’ll be right beside you, helping any way I can,” Luz gently took Amity’s hand in hers, causing a slight blush to creep across the other teen’s face.

“Th-thanks, Luz.”

A few more minutes of discussion was had, namely ironing out the dates and times Amity would be able to train with the two human sorcerers, but eventually Stephen and The Ancient One excused themselves to gather the materials needed to coach young Amity in her astral training. As the two were leaving, The Ancient One heard the soft sounds of someone cautiously walking up to them.

"Um, excuse me?"

The ancient sorcerer turned around to see the young basilisk Victoria, the girl nervously rubbing her hands as she approached the sorcerers.

"Vee?" Stephen asked. "Is something the matter?"

The girl paused midstep. "I, um… How do I put this?" She began tapping her fingers together nervously. "Do you remember the vision Luz had, just after the Knee incident?"

The younger sorcerer nodded. "Yes. What of it?"

"Well, uh, you remember how Luz said that there would be a third person with me and mom?"

Stephen nodded again. "Yes, she said something about a metal person, if I recall correctly."

"Yeah," Victoria confirmed. "I, uh, I think I may know who it is. There's, um, a person who goes to my school, named Masha. They, um, can transform into a metal called Oree-chalk-um."

"Orichalcum?" The Ancient One asked. "That is an extremely rare magical metal. Many sorcerers across the known multiverse have spent vast riches or undergone great ordeals for just a few grams of it."

The disguised basilisk's eyes widened in fear as he said that.

"Don't worry. We know of many alternatives to using it," Stephen assured the young demon. "Your friend is safe. From us at least."

"Apologies," The Ancient One bowed slightly to the girl. "I was just surprised. Not many people outside of the sorcerous world know of that metal. And you think this Masha is the person who will accompany you and your mother when Stephen teleports you in this vision?"

"Yes," she answered. "I know it seems like it's just a coincidence, but…"

"The chance of you, a disguised demon from another realm, meeting someone who can transform into a magical metal just weeks after your sister has a vision in which you, Camila, and a person made out of metal are transported into the Demon Realm and have it just be random chance is probably zero," Stephen finished Victoria's thought.

"Yeah…"

"And I'm guessing you didn't want to talk to me just to affirm your suspicions?" the younger sorcerer asked.

"No," she started tapping her fingers together again. "It's, um, since we don't know when, or even if, that's going to happen, I, uh, kinda want to tell them about this. At least what's going on with Luz and the Demon Realm. I can keep the stuff about Earth's magic secret if you want. I talked with mom and Luz but they said I should also get your opinion."

Stephen inhaled sharply and frowned in thought.

"I think that is very wise, young Victoria," The Ancient One said. "Far too often people find themselves thrust into magical situations with no warning. If this Masha is indeed the third person in Luz's vision, it would be best to ease them into this situation."

"I agree," the younger sorcerer nodded. "But I also think that keeping Earth-based sorcery a secret is a good idea, at least for now."

"O-okay," Victoria said. "Thanks. I guess I should talk with the others about how to do it."

A week and a half.

It took Amity a Titan-damned week to even learn how to successfully separate her astral self from her body. Three more days of learning how to control her astral form until Dr. Strange and The Ancient One were satisfied she could move onto the next step.

Well, it probably would have taken one less day if she hadn’t been traumatized from accidentally floating into Ed’s room and witnessing his “morning ritual” of flexing in front of a mirror in his underwear.

Thankfully, Luz was there throughout the whole ordeal. The amazing human proved a comforting presence for Amity, whether it was through the long nights practicing her new magic, helping her keep up her normal studies, or just distracting her when Amity started to stress out.

More than a few times Amity wondered if this was what actual love was like, considering she really didn’t have a good example from home.

Though one bizarre thing they found out was that Luz's Spider Sense let her detect, in a general sense at least, where Amity's astral form was. That had surprised Dr. Strange, though The Ancient One took it in with a cryptic nod.

But now it was Wednesday, and Amity was idly picking at her square cafeteria pizza (which had surprised Luz when she first saw it, mumbling something about ‘multiversal constants’). While Dr. Strange and The Ancient One had said she was ready, they’d both wanted her to do a ‘test’ run, with a volunteer, to make sure that Amity could both handle traveling into another person’s mind, but would also be able to navigate once inside.

She’d asked her friends (another new sensation Amity was happily adapting to) for some help with a new spell. Gus – who would actually have been perfect for this since he both knew what was going on and didn’t have any real baggage regarding the sorcerer – unfortunately had to decline, since he was going to be busy with some interview he had to get for a class assignment. Likewise, Jerbo, Barkus, Cat, and Amelia were all busy with homework that night.

Surprisingly, Boscha had gotten interested, at least until Amity told the triclops it wasn’t some sort of super fire spell from the human realm. Skara and Viney also wanted to help, but Amity wasn’t sure about letting someone new in on the whole ‘Human Realm has magic’ deal.

And Luz couldn’t do it because no one knew just how different witch and human minds were.

“I’ll do it.”

Everyone at the table turned towards Willow as the dark-haired witch said that.

“Um, you sure about that Willow?” Luz asked the question that everyone else was thinking. “I know things have gotten better between you and Amity, but…”

Willow fixed the human with a steely gaze. “I’m sure.” She turned to Amity “I’m your best choice. We know each other really well, and…” She exhaled sharply. “...and you should be able to tell what memories to avoid.”

Amity grimaced. That… made sense, uncomfortable as Willow’s reasoning was.

“Alright,” the mint-haired sorcerer said. “Come by the Owl House tonight. We’ll be doing the test then.”

Willow stood outside the door to the Owl House, questioning her decision to speak up at lunch.

Am I really going to do this? Just let Amity into my mind? I know things have gotten better recently, but…

“Wow, you look really deep in thought!”

The witch jumped and shrieked when Hooty spoke, forcefully reminding her that he was not, unfortunately, a strangely realistic carving on Ms. Eda’s door.

“I wish I had thoughts that deep,” he continued blithely. “But I gotta keep a sharp lookout for any Coven Scouts!”

“Um, th-thanks, Hooty,” Willows said, putting on a nervous grin, “I definitely feel safer with you out here.”

He smiled back. “Awwww, thanks! You know, no one has ever given me a compliment before! Here, let me get the door for you!”

When he opened, Willow slipped inside, grateful to be away from the house demon. But that meant that she wouldn’t be able to back out as easily now.

“Hey, Willow!”

Especially since Luz had popped her head down from the second floor, alerted to the plant witch’s presence by either Hooty’s voice or her Spider Sense.

“You feelin’ okay?” the human said, dropping down to the first floor. “You know Amity’ll understand if you decide to back out.”

“Yeah,” Willow agreed, “but I meant what I said: I’m probably the best person for this.”

“And, again, thanks,” Amity said as she walked down the stairs. “I know this is going to be awkward at least. I’ll try to avoid any painful memories, but I’m not sure how easy it’ll be to navigate once I’m in there.”

“I know,” Willow said softly.

Luz clapped her hands. “Well, Eda, Dr. Strange, and The Ancient One are all waiting in the Human Realm. You two ready?”

“No,” both witches said at once. After a short pause, they both started laughing, joined shortly by Luz.

“Titan, I think I needed that,” Willow said, removing her glasses to wipe her tears.

“Same,” Amity agreed. “Well, I’m not going to get any more ready than this. Let’s go up before either of us snagglebacks out.”

A few minutes later, all three teens exited the portal door, which was kept in Luz’s bedroom against one of the walls, and found themselves once again on the porch that was so tantalizingly close to the human’s home. Like Luz said, the Owl Lady and both human sorcerers were waiting for them.

Ms. Eda turned to face the teens. "Finally! Took you guys long enough!"

Dr. Strange got up from the floating seated position he usually took and walked closer to the barrier. "Willow, I'm guessing you're going to be our guinea pig?"

"Ummm…." the dark haired witch started.

"He means test subject," Luz helpfully explained.

"Oh. Yes, I am," Willow answered. "What do you need me to do?"

"All you need do is lie down," The Ancient One said, a quiet wisdom radiating from his voice.

Willow looked down at the porch of the abandoned shack. Though she and her friends had dragged some cushions out here to sit on, there were still a whole lot of loose splintery boards and exposed, rusty nails to give the girl pause.

"What's wrong, Willow?" Luz asked, then glanced down. "Oh. Don't worry, I got ya!" The teen hero disappeared into the portal, then came out a few moments later carrying her sleep tube. "Here ya go!"

Willow and Luz spread the sleep tube over the porch, allowing the dark haired witch to lie down mostly unpoked.

"Alright, Amity, if you'll sit down by Willow's head," Dr. Strange continued, "we can begin the ritual."

As soon as Amity did, she placed her hands above Willow's head, ring and pointer fingers extended. "Okay, Willow, I'm going to cast a sleep spell on you."

Willow nodded. "Alright."

Amity leaned down and breathed out slowly. Between her hands a glowing rune appeared. It was hard to look at, yet Willow couldn't look away. Her vision grew fuzzy, her eyelids felt heavy, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

As soon as Willow's breathing slowed, Amity dismissed the Sigil of Somnus. Taking a moment to steady herself, the young sorcerer recited the spell Dr. Strange had laboriously taught her:

Moments later she felt herself detach and float away from herself. Pausing to let the disorientation from temporarily being in two places at once pass, she looked down, seeing Willow's sleeping form and her own body, now slumped in Luz's arms.

Is it possible to be jealous of yourself?

Shaking her head to focus herself, Amity instead began to pull herself down so she floated directly above Willow. Reaching out, she gently touched the other witch's forehead, then began pushing. There was a second or two of pressure before she was able to break through whatever mental barriers Willow had and enter the dark haired girl's mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Red. Brown. Green.

Those are the first things I see when I arrive in Willow's mind. The colors quickly resolve into what looks like a forest. The path under my feet winds between the trees, which are mostly the familiar Boiling Isles ones but a few of the green Earth trees were visible.

I walk forward and examine one of the trees. Embedded within the trunk was a portrait, showing the 'fort' Willow and I had built when we tried playing hooky during our swimming lessons at Lake Lacuna. I smile at the memory and reach out to touch it. There's a flash...

~*~*~*~*~*~

… And I find myself stumbling onto a sandy beach. As I glance around to get my bearings, I hear a pair of voices approaching.

"C'mon, Willow! Hurry, before the teacher sees us!"

To my left, a younger, still brown-haired version of me rushes past, followed soon after by a child version of Willow, her hair still in those twin braids I'd done for her.

Child Willow grunts with effort. "I'm hurrying, Amity! Dangit, I think there's a rock in my shoe."

I follow these echoes of the past. And, rocks in shoes or not, all three of us make it to the small fort - really a lean-to made of whatever branches we could scrounge from the lake and nearby forest. But that leads to another problem…

"Oh no!" My past self cries out. "Stupid snailgulls!"

Just as I remember, the area we'd built our fort in is now crawling with snailgulls, the vicious bird-snail-skull things looking directly at the past version of me and Willow (and present me, but I'm not exactly here. I think. At least nothing has reacted to me being here).

"D-don't worry, Amity," Tiny Willow says as she steps forward, already drawing a spell circle. "I'll save us!"

Unfortunately, when she casts the magic, instead of what was probably a shield spell or Beastkeeping charm to drive the shelled demons away, all the spell did was cause a small yellow flower to appear in her hand. A sulfurous orchid.

"Uh oh."

Too bad that snailgulls absolutely love the smell and taste of sulfurous orchids.

"Ahhhhh!" the two girls scream as the beasts charge. "Run away! Run away!"

The memory ends in another flash and...

~*~*~*~*~*~

I find myself standing in the forest again. I look around, towards the other trees. More memory portraits are present in the trunks. Happy memories, sad memories…

Painful memories.

"Having fun?" A voice asked from behind me.

I whirl around, only to see Willow behind me. Except … not? She's scowling, for one. And instead of her usual short hair, she has two shoulder-length braids.

Much like in the memory I had just left.

I turn back to the memory painting, letting the emotions wash back over me.

"Yes," I answer. "It felt … nice, reliving that memory." I frown. "It was probably one of the last times I felt truly happy. Until recently."

Her eyes widen in surprise for a moment, then resumes her scowl. "Well, are you done? You know how to enter minds and look at memories, you can help out Ms. Eda now."

"Maybe…" I pause. "But… Ms. Eda doesn't know where or when she was cursed. So I'll need to search through her memories to find out where the Owl Beast is."

"And how are you going to do that?" Willow asks.

I don't answer her, not right away. Instead I reach back out to the memory of our fort, letting my hand rest just an inch or so from it. Surprisingly, I can feel a sort of… comfortable warmth emanating from it.

"I wonder…" I mutter, more to myself than to Willow, then speak up for her benefit. "In Oracle classes, we've been studying minor memory charms. Nothing like… this," I gesture to indicate the fact I'm literally in someone's mind, "but something to help you, or a friend, remember something they've forgotten. It works by linking memories together. I wonder if…"

"Uh-huh…" Willow says noncommittally.

I spin a spell circle, and focus on the feeling of warmth from the memory painting. Suddenly, small lines, almost like the gossamer threads of a spider's web shoot out from the circle, criss-crossing the forest of Willow's memories.

Silently, I follow one of the threads. It leads me to another tree, this one displaying…

"The rollerghoster?" Willow asks from behind me.

I smile. So far, my plan is working, but I need more evidence to be sure. So I follow several more of those threads, each one leading to more memories of better times - the trip to the spider egg farm, that time we snuck into the 13+ romance section at the library, me braiding her hair.

"Yes!" I exclaim. "Just like I thought! By focusing on the feelings of our old friendship, I was able to link the memories you have of our times together! If I do this in Ms. Eda's mind, I'm sure I can track her memories of the Owl Beast, even if she's forgotten or suppressed them."

"So you're done?" Willow asks.

"Yes," I answer. "I'm going back to where I originally entered. I'm not sure what'll happen if I try to leave in the midst of your memories and I really don't want to find out."

Willow grimaces. "Oh, right, yeah. Please don't destroy my mind trying to get out of it."

I giggle and nod, then begin walking back. As I do so, I walk right through a thread from my spell. One that is thicker, darker than the others.

Almost immediately, an intense heat and wave of nausea wash over me, causing me to stumble.

"Amity!" Willow calls out as she rushes to my side. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I… I don't know," I say through gritted teeth. "I just walked through this part of the spell," I point to the thread, "and it felt wrong."

We both look at the thread, and then to where it leads. The tree is dark, almost black, twisted and barren. The picture in its trunk is faded, but I can still make it out. It's a picture of my younger self hugging Willow.

On the day of my sixth birthday party.

The day I betrayed her.

"Oh." That's all I can say.

"Yeah." Willow's voice is now twisted with bitterness. "I was afraid you'd run into this memory."

"Me too."

I stand and look Willow in the eye. "Do you want to know why I told you to leave my party that day? Why I called you a magicless half-a-witch? Why I allowed Boscha to bully you all these years?"

Willow scowls at me, but I continue.

"Because Odalia made me. She told a six-year-old girl that her best friend wasn't good enough, just because your magic was a little weak when we were kids. She said if I didn't dump you as my friend that she'd make it impossible for you to enter Hexside. And dad… Alador… he just stood there! He didn't even speak, not even to handparrot Odalia's little speech to me!" My voice grows softer. "And I was too weak to speak up for you. So I just did what she said, hung out with who she said to, and..." I pause. "...and said all those things to you because she needed me to constantly remind you of my - no, her superiority."

Willow's eyes are wet with tears. "Wow. Holy Titan, Amity, that's…"

I can't - don't - stop the vicious smile that forms on my lips. "But I'm not weak. Not anymore. Now Odalia's the weak one. [[She's the one who's not good enough.]] After Grom I showed her just how powerful my training under Dr. Strange has made me. I finally stood up for myself." My grin grows wider. "And now I make the rules. I can finally say who can be my friend."

My left arm twitches. I ignore it.

Willow backs away from me. "A-Amity? You're starting to scare me."

[[Scare her?]] I look closer. She's pale, and trembling a bit. Her eyes are wide, pupils narrowed.

"Sorry," I say, smoothing back some of my hairs that had come loose -- even though I'm basically a ghost and my hair isn't 'real'. "It's just … I'm not sure you'd understand how good it felt to stand up to her."

There's an awkward pause. I clear my throat, even though that, too, isn't technically real.

"Well," I continue, a guilty flush on my face. "Thanks for being my ‘ginee pihg’, as Dr. Strange said. Really. You've helped me, and not just with the spell. I… I think I needed to get some of that off my chest."

Willow relaxes a bit. "No problem. I, um, I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I knew your mom was … strict, but I didn't realize…"

"Yes, well, hopefully that's all in the past," I say, trying to show a reassuring smile. "She can't control me, not anymore. The spells Dr. Strange taught me to defeat Grom work wonders against Oracle magic."

Willow smiles back, but I can tell she's still a little uncomfortable. "That's great, I think. Just be careful Amity. Don't let your new powers get to your head."

"I won't," I reply. "Mostly because I have my friends, including you, to keep me grounded."

Her smile is a little more genuine this time. "And your new girlfriend?"

I giggle. "And my new girlfriend."

I make my way back to where I entered, more confident than ever in my abilities. Once there, I push against the metaphysical barrier at the edge of Willow's mind, and, after a few moments, begin floating up and out of my friend's mindscape.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow's eyes fluttered open as the last of the sleep magic left her system. She sat up, still a little groggy, and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Are you alright, Willow?"

The dark-haired witch jumped a little at Dr. Strange's voice. Turning, she saw that both he and The Ancient One were looking at her with concern in her eyes.

"Y-yes," she answered.

The younger sorcerer continued. "You don't feel nauseous? No headache, blurred vision, or sudden feeling that your body isn't your own?"

"Um, no," she answered. "Well, except for the blurred vision, but I've had that for as long as I can remember."

He slumped a little in relief, and even The Ancient One seemed to relax an imperceptible bit.

"Well, if you're making jokes, that probably means that there aren't going to be any long-lasting effects from the spell," Dr. Strange said.

"Great, so we know Miss Priss won't screw me up any more than I already am," the Owl Lady said sarcastically.

"So, do you think I'm ready, Dr. Strange?" Amity asked. "I'd be happy to run some more tests with my other friends, if you want me to."

"No, I don't think that'll be necessary," he answered. "You are more than up for the task at hand."

Willow turned back and noticed Amity beaming at the praise. But she also noticed the green-haired girl's left arm, and the intricate spiraling pattern tattooed there. And how the pattern was just a little too black, how it never seemed to move the exact same way Amity's arm did.

The dark-haired witch shuddered, remembering how Amity seemed to freak out when discussing her mom.

"Hey, Willow, you sure you're okay?"

Willow turned, seeing that Luz had moved to sit next to her. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered the human. "Just… remembering a pretty heavy conversation Amity and I had when she was in my memories."

And really hoping there's nothing wrong with her.

“...fine, we’ll do it Friday night,” Ms. Eda was saying, bringing Willow’s attention back to the greater conversation. “Was kinda hoping to hit the Night Market then. Heard someone got some gossamer spider silk in and wanted to snag some.”

Luz rolled her eyes. “Eda, you know if you need spider silk I’m happy to provide some. In fact, in my Potions classes we’ve discovered my silk is, like, a whole lot better for potion making than any other type of silk!”

“Yeah, I know,” the Owl Lady answered. “But I’m not making potions. I’m… doing something else with it. And gossamer spider silk is highly magic resistant. Is yours?”

“Uhhhh…” the human paused in thought.

“Yeah, thought so,” Ms. Eda snarked.

“In any case, you’ll need someone to watch over your body once you're in Eda’s mind. When in astral form your body is completely defenseless,” Dr. Strange cautioned.

“Eh? Why can’t Luz watch over her girlfriend?” the older witch asked.

“Because it would be unwise to send a teenager alone into a mind that is also occupied by a potentially hostile force?” The Ancient One said, only a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

The Owl Lady sighed and glared at the human sorcerers. “Wish I’d been consulted ‘bout this.”

“Why?” Dr. Strange asked. “Luz knows you the best out of anyone who knows we’re doing this. Do you have someone better in mind?”

“Yes! In fact, I’m sure if I asked Raine, they’d–”

“Katya said that Mx. Whispers got a hot tip of some Emperor’s Coven raid in someplace called Latissa,” Luz said, interrupting her mentor, “so the BATTs are going over this weekend to make sure that any wild witches living there get away beforehand.”

“Fffffffffff….” Ms. Eda deflated. “Fu-fine. I guess Luz is the next best choice.” She rounded on Luz and Amity. “But you two better be careful in there. I’ve seen a lot of pretty nasty stuff in my life. If I tell you to stay away from a memory, you turn right around. No questions. Got it?”

Amity nodded while Luz saluted the older witch. “Got it, Eda.”

“Now that all this is settled,” Dr. Strange said, “I must get going. Another missing girl over in Los Angeles recently reappeared, accompanied by a family of anthropomorphic frogs. The West Coast Avengers have asked me to come, just in case my expertise is needed. Master, will you…?”

The Ancient One hummed thoughtfully before answering. “I believe I shall accompany you, Stephen. It has been quite a long time since I’ve last been in LA. It will be interesting to see how it has changed in that time.” He stood. “Ladies, may the Vishanti watch over you during this endeavor.”

Friday night rolled around without any major incidents, which meant there was no excuse Eda could think of to put this off for another week.

So, here she stood, dressed in her comfiest pajamas (if she was going to have to lie down for Titan-knows-how-many hours, she was going to do so in comfort, damnit), staring at herself in the mirror.

“Am I really going to do this?” she asked her reflection. “Just let two teenagers tromp around in my head for the slight chance they’ll find something about the Owl Beast?”

Maybe Luz and Amity will find something, a small, treacherous part of her brain said. Maybe I’ll finally get some answers after 30 damn years.

Eda sighed. Yeah, right.

Slumping down to the living room, she saw that Luz had already cleared off the floor and laid her sleep tube and a whole heap of blankets down. Meanwhile, Amity and Flower GirlWillow were setting up some bagged bean chairs that Miss Priss liked so she and Luz could lean on something while having their out-of-body-and-in-Eda’s-mind experience.

Meanwhile, King had claimed the top of her old ‘pie-rat’ chest (at least she thought that’s what Luz had called it) as a throne and was currently ‘supervising’ the teens. All three girls were very studiously ignoring the tiny tyrant.

“Just you, Willow?” the Owl Lady asked.

“I asked a friend from school to help out,” Luz answered as she set the couch down in the corner. “She should be here soon.”

As if on cue, Eda heard/felt Hooty greet someone outside. In a flash, Luz was there, opening the door to keep the house demon from traumatizing the new arrival too much. When she did, yet another teenager stepped in, both ignoring Hooty’s incessant blathering.

The girl looked slightly older than the others and was wearing an old fish hook in her ear as an earring, as well as a spiked metal hair tie, bracelets, and choker. Showing off this much metal, even if it was rusty and nasty, probably meant her family was pretty wealthy.

Should probably try and learn her name. Just in case.

Luz stepped over and introduced the two. “Eda, this is Viney, she’s one of the ‘Troublemakers’ I told you about. Viney, this is Eda the Owl Lady.”

Fish-Hook peered curiously at the older witch before her eyes opened wide in amazement.

“Holy Dagon, Luz! You never told me your mom was Lord Calamity!”

This immediately caused everyone else in the room to burst out laughing.

The very definitely human girl put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “No, Viney, Eda’s not my mom. I was born on Earth. As were both my human mom and human dad. I’m just staying with Eda while I train with her.”

Fish-Hook’s face fell. “Oh. I guess that makes sense.”

King turned his gaze back to Eda. “Lord Calamity, huh? Tryin’ to muscle in on my turf?”

“Nah,” the Owl Lady playfully bopped the demon dog on the skull. “Just some old nickname the teachers at Hexside called me. Funnily, enough, it started after an incident I wasn’t even involved in. Never did find out who flooded the entire Oracle wing with glowing green goo.”

The elder witch turned towards the teens. “So, why’d you bring Little Miss Spikey? You an Oracle?”

“Nope!” the little troublemaker grinned. “Healing and Beastkeeping. Luz asked me to make sure nothing goes wrong, physically at least, while you guys are doing this.”

Amity walked over, obviously finished with setting up the chairs to her liking. “Willow and I would have asked either of our family’s Healers to come over, but…”

“Gotcha,” Eda nodded. “So how much do you know, Vinny?”

“Viney,” she corrected. “But I do have a cousin named Vinny who works as a lawyer over in Palm Stings. And, yes, I know that this is some sort of human magic, which blew my mind when Luz and Willow told me about it. I also know that this is a secret and blabbing would not only get my personal hero mad at me, I’d also be pissing off the girl who slew Grom.”

“Ah, such wisdom for one so young. You will go far in life, young troublemaker,” Eda smiled. “And ‘personal hero’, huh?”

The girl blushed. “Yeah… It’s, uh, an honor to meet you, Ms. Owl Lady.”

The elder witch snorted out a short laugh. “Please, call me Eda. And autographs are 25 Snails.”

“Would you accept griffin eggs as barter?”

Oh, one of the few things Luz can actually eat on this side of the portal, but also costs an arm and a leg for some reason?

Eda shrugged. “Eh. Sure, why not?”

"Great!" The young troublemaker beamed. "So… How is this gonna work, anyway? I know you guys said you're gonna use some Human Realm magic to enter Lo--Ms. Eda's mind, but is it gonna work like that Oracle spell, or…?"

"No," Amity answered. "Rather than physically going inside Eda's mind, Luz and I will basically sever our souls from our bodies and then use those to enter her mindscape. That's where you come in, Viney. We're not sure how long this will take, and I'm not sure how this will affect our bodies long-term."

The older teen threw out a thumb's up. "Gotcha. Monitor your vital signs and make sure nothing goes wrong." She paused and looked behind the older witch. "Why are you here, Willow?"

"I'm here to help Luz's mom and sister with something," Willow said. "But if you need help don't hesistate to ask."

"And I'll be supervising!" King piped up.

Luz leaned in and theatrically whispered, "He means he'll fall asleep in about five minutes or so."

"Speaking of sleep, how are you two planning on knockin' me out?" Eda asked. "Gonna use that same spell you used on Glasses?"

"No," Amity answered. "The Sigil of Somnus doesn't put people out for very long."

"But!" Luz reached behind her back and dramatically pulled out a pink-colored potion. "By complete coincidence, my homework in Potions this week was to make a sleep potion and have someone try it!"

The elder witch frowned. "Great. So not only do I get to have you two munchkins rummaging around in my brain, I also get to test a potion made by a first-year student."

Willow shrugged. "It's actually not that bad -- the having people in your brain thing. Not sure about Luz's potion. Is it supposed to be pink?"

"No," Eda answered simply.

Luz peered closer at her sleeping potion. "Hmm. Must be the bubblegum flavoring I mixed in."

Amity crossed her arms. "Well, since I don't know how to do a proper sleep spell, this is your only choice."

"There's some Sleeping Nettles not too far from here!" Hooty supplied. "I could tell you where to find them!"

Eda grabbed the potion before anyone could respond. "Nope! Weird pink potion it is!" Making her way over to the blanket pile, the older witch plopped down and uncorked the bottle. "If this kills me, I'm haunting you, Luz."

"Would not even be in the top ten weirdest things that's happened to me this year," her student answered.

Taking a deep breath, Eda took a swig of the so-called sleeping potion. Bubblegum, huh? Not too bad. Maybe I should ask Morton t--

Luz caught her mentor (and the bottle) as the elder witch slumped back, the woman's snoring at least letting the teens know she was just asleep rather than dead.

"Well," the human smiled, gently laying Eda down, "at least we know my sleeping potion works."

Walking up from behind her, King yawned loudly. "Yeah… it was…. super effective…" He then curled up on Eda's chest and fell asleep.

Viney looked at the demon confused. "Uh, he wasn't even close enough to smell your potion."

"We told you he'd be asleep in five minutes," Amity said as she stepped over to one of the bean bag chairs. "Is Ms. Eda alright?"

The older teen drew a small spell circle, her eyes glowing Healing blue. "Yeah. I think."

"You think? What's wrong?" Willow asked.

"Her bile sack looks … bad. There are areas that look like they've been stretched from overuse and there's a lot of tiny scars, like she's had a lot of tears that have repeatedly healed and reopened." The Healer/Beastkeeper turned to the human. "This happened over a long time, Luz, so it's not because of your potion."

Luz sighed. "It's probably from her curse. She said she'd been dealing with it for 30 years."

Viney grimaced. "Thirty years of fighting off a transformative curse? I guess that could do it, but I’ve never seen damage like this in any of the textbooks I’ve studied."

"Then we shouldn't waste any more time," Amity said, sitting next to her bean bag chair. "You ready, Luz?"

“¡Un momento, Menta!” Luz said as she hopped over to the other chair. She took a few deep breaths and went through the mental exercises Eda had taught her to focus her thoughts. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Amity nodded then closed her eyes, reciting the spell to sever her astral form from her physical body.

Seeing her girlfriend slump over like that was unnerving, but it helped that she sensed Amity’s spirit hovering just over her body. A few seconds later Amity floated towards the human. Luz felt an odd discomfort and…

Soon she, too, was floating ethereally above everyone else in the living room. Letting out a silent cry of amazement, Luz glanced down at her own sleeping form. She almost reached out to touch herself, but was stopped when Amity tugged the human’s hand to get her attention.

The witch shook her head, then gestured over to where Eda (and King) were sleeping. Luz nodded and gave a thumb’s up. She let the sorcerer pull them both until they were floating right near Eda’s head. Amity looked at Luz again, then reached forward and gently began pushing her hand against the Owl Lady’s forehead. After a second, it went through and Luz found herself being pulled along…

~*~*~*~*~*~

…and my vision becomes a riot of colors before settling down into a clearing in the forest of Eda’s mind.

“This is… a lot denser than Willow’s is,” Amity says from beside me.

I turn around and watch as Eda, or rather her mental image of herself, walks into the clearing. She’s… younger, I guess? Her hair is a vibrant orange instead of her real self’s silver, and her skin looks a lot less pale.

“Probably cuz I’m older and got a lot more memories,” she says, then points to me. “And you! Let me have my dang dramatic entrance!”

I smile sheepishly. “Sorry, Eda. At least we know my spider powers work in this form?”

“Feh,” the older witch grumps. “So how’s this gonna go down, Miss Priss? You two just wander around until you find what yer lookin’ for?”

“No,” Amity answers. “I’ll need you to guide us to a memory you have of the Owl Beast. A particularly strong one, if possible.”

“Well, why don’t we go back to the time King and I found out about it? It’s only about two months ago, so it shouldn’t be too far away,” I propose.

“One problem, kid,” Eda says, “I don’t remember that. The whole night’s a blank.”

“A second problem is that memories aren’t in any kind of order,” my girlfriend explains. “In Willow’s mind, memories that were several weeks apart were right next to each other, but one that came in between those two was basically on the other side of the forest.”

“Dang,” I curse.

Eda frowns and begins tapping her chin in thought. A few moments later she deflates and groans. “Ugggggghhhhhh. I was hoping to steer you two away from these memories. Come on.” She gestures for us to follow.

Amity looks at me and I shrug back. Going after the elder witch, we wander the forest of Eda’s mindscape for a long while until she stops.

Like Amity and Willow had described, in the middle of the tree we’re in front of is a painting. It’s of a young Eda looking furtively back as she enters the portal door.

Why does it feel like the portal’s eye is looking out of the memory right at me?

“What does this memory have to do with the Owl Beast?” Amity asks curiously.

“You’ll see,” Eda says mysteriously.

Glancing again at Amity, my girlfriend tentatively raises her hand towards the portrait. I do the same…

~*~*~*~*~*~

…and, suddenly, we’re no longer in a forest, but what looks like a bedroom. There’s posters all over the walls, Grudgeby equipment thrown in a corner, and a lot of schoolbooks strewn all over the floor. Young Eda sits on the bed as a Healer and an older woman look her over.

“It- It was so weird,” teen Eda (Teeda? No, Luz, focus!) says. “I passed out just before he touched me and woke up sometime later deep in the forest. By the time I get back to school everyone says I attacked the Golden Guard, but I don’t remember anything.”

“I see…” the Healer says. “Here. Take this.” He hands her a gem – the same gem that’s currently embedded in the real, present Eda’s chest. “It should tell you when the beast’s energy is bubbling to the surface. And I hear that gems are quite fashionable for witches your age.” He gives what is probably supposed to be a reassuring smile but reminds me more of a condescending smirk.

The woman is obviously unimpressed. “Oh, what a beautiful little stone!” She grabs the Healer’s shoulder. “Can I speak with you in the hallway?”

As the woman (who must be Eda’s mom given the resemblance and obvious care she has for my mentor) almost literally drags the poor Healer out, Amity grumbles, “Just a gem! That’s all he gave her! He’s a member of the Healing Coven, not the … the bauble brigade!”

Young Eda sidles up to her bedroom door and pops the door open just enough to hear the conversation outside. “A gem! That’s it?!” the woman berates the poor witch. “I asked for a member of the Healing Coven, not the bauble brigade!”

I snicker at how well Eda’s mom and my girlfriend are in sync.

“But Mrs. Clawthorne,” the Healer protests, “we’ve never seen anything like this curse! There may not be a cure. Maybe if we get in contact with the Potions Coven we can find a way to at least control it.”

“Control it!?” Eda’s mom is definitely trying to keep herself from shouting. “My daughter is sick! We don’t need to control it, we need to cut that … that thing out of her!”

Past Eda gasps, and the conversation fades into mumbles as her attention focuses elsewhere. She looks around the room desperately, until she notices that one of her windows is open. It’s way up near the ceiling, but a convenient bookcase stands just under it.

Moments later, Amity and I are being dragged along as the teenaged Owl Lady (Owl Teen? Owl Girl? No! Pay attention!) runs through the woods behind her house. The cursed teen stumbles into a clearing and stops to catch her breath.

I take the chance to look around, and a gasp of my own escapes my throat as I gaze upon what looks like the ruins of an entire medieval town, complete with castle!

“Whoa. Did you know about this, Luz?” Amity asks, disbelief in her voice.

“Maybe?” I answer. “Eda said something about her and Lilith exploring a ‘Castle Clawthorne’ once, but I’ve never bothered to ask her about it.”

Straightening up, young Eda gasps herself when she sees where she is. “What the–? Never knew this was behind the house. And it doesn’t look like our castle up on the Knee.”

I turn to Amity and shrug. “Guess that answers that. Sort of.”

Teen Eda walks slowly forward, still in awe of the ruins. Too bad she’s not looking where she’s going, and her foot catches on something, causing the cursed witch to fall face-first into the unforgiving ground.

“Owwwwww!” Rubbing her head, the young Owl Lady sits back up and glares at the object that had tripped her.

The corner of something brown and squarish pokes out of the ground. Teen Eda reaches towards it, but the moment her fingers brush against the object it begins glowing and leaps out of the ground. A familiar suitcase with a disturbingly realistic slitted eye floats before the redhead before unfolding into an also-familiar door, which pops open, first showing an oddly familiar starry void before the front porch of the abandoned shack appears, a rainy Connecticut night beyond it.

Young Eda hesitates a moment, but her mom’s voice calling her name shocks her into action, and the cursed witch steps through.

Seconds before the memory fades out, I swear the eye on the door moves and looks directly at Amity and me.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I shudder as we reappear in Eda’s mindscape, the witch waiting impatiently for us.

“Luz, did you see…?” Amity’s voice shakes with a tinge of fear.

“The portal door stare directly at us? Yes,” I answer.

“If you two are done having a nervous breakdown inside my brain,” Eda says, walking up to us, “I’d like to get this over with ASAP.”

“Sorry,” we both say.

“Good. Now please tell me you got whatever it is you need to track the Owl Beast.”

Amity raises her hand towards the memory painting again, though she doesn’t touch it. She hums in thought a moment, then draws a spell circle that fizzles out. She turns back to Eda and me, shaking her head. “No, sorry. While this memory is related to the Owl Beast, there’s not enough of it there for me to trace.”

“Maybe you could show us another one, Eda?” I suggest. “Maybe one where you remember transforming?”

The Owl Lady sighs heavily and grumbles. “Fine. C’mon.”

Eda stomps off further into her mindscape and Amity and I follow. Soon enough, we’re by another memory, this one of Mx. Whispers walking away from Eda, who looks like she’s desperately trying to hold back a transformation. And failing, given that one of her arms is already feathery and her hands are more like claws.

“Here we are, another stunning victory in the life of the great and powerful Owl Lady.”

“Eda…” My eyes are wet with tears. “I-We’re not going into this one.”

“Yeah…” Amity’s voice is sullen. “And… Thank you, Ms. Eda. I… I know it’s hard, facing memories you’d rather not. It’s probably a thousand times harder for you than it was for me and Willow, but…. Yeah.”

Eda shrugs. “Meh. Whatever.”

“Well, we don’t actually have to go in the memories,” Amity continues, “so you don’t have to relive this one.” Again, she puts her hand up near the painting memory and then spins another spell circle. This time, gossamer threads appear, leading from the memory to other parts of the mindscape.

“There. These threads should lead to other memories of the Owl Beast. Hopefully, both yours and its.”

“Good,” Eda says, arms crossed. “The sooner you two find that thing the sooner you two can get outta my head. So what, we just pick one and follow it?”

Amity clears her throat. “We need to find the one that’s thicker than the others. That should be the one with the most emotional attachment, and, hopefully, lead to us where the Owl Beast is in your mind.”

The three of us begin looking closer at the magical strands, trying to find any that are different.

Finally I spot one that looks a little darker than the others. “Amity! Eda! Over here!”

Amity runs over and takes a look at the thread I found. “Well, I didn’t find any others that looked different.”

“Maybe if we follow this we’ll find another Owl Beast memory?” I suggest.

Eda shrugs. “Good enough for me.”

We begin following the strand, which takes us into a darker part of the mindscape. My Spider Sense starts tingling, and I sense both witches tense up.

We slow and start looking more closely at the scenery. The trees here are very different from the rest of the ones in Eda’s mind. All blue and purple, with multiple thin trunks that twist around each other and large, circular leaves on top. The memory paintings are weird too, the colors distorted like someone had run them through a blue color filter.

“I…I don’t remember any of these.” Eda’s voice is quiet.

“These must be the Owl Beast’s memories,” Amity breathes.

I follow the magic thread to the memory it leads to. It depicts the Owl Beast in a tunnel or hall of some sort, trapped in what looks to be an oversized… web…

While facing off against a vaguely humanoid shape in front of a glowing yellow circle.

“Wait,” I say, drawing my companions’ attention, “I think this is when I faced the Owl Beast and learned my light glyph.”

Eda comes over and tilts her head back and forth. “If you say so, kid.”

“No, see!” I point at the painting. “Here’s the giant web I trapped you - it - in, and there’s me using that big light glyph to stun it.”

“I… think she’s right, Ms. Eda,” Amity says, walking up beside us to get a closer look at the memory. “And you have no memory of this at all, right?”

“Nope,” Eda shakes her head. “From the moment I black out after showing Luz the light spell to when I wake up with a straw down my throat it’s all black.”

“So that must mean…” I start.

“...That these are the Owl Beast’s memories,” Amity finishes.

"If that's true, then…" Eda trails off, looking around at the surrounding memory trees.

"I AM HERE."

We three turn around. In a place that was either hidden or had just not been there seconds ago, is the Owl Beast, standing on a small island bound in bright orange chains that are coming out of a lake of Eda's elixir. Its face is more owl-like, but with a wide, toothy grin curving out from behind its beak and intelligent gray eyes.

"HELLO WITCH ARE YOU FINALLY HERE TO TALK?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Masha sighed as they approached the Noceda household. Vee had asked to meet them Monday of last week, but the metallic enby had the misfortune of having Mrs. Rockowitz and the old ghoul had assigned a damned term paper (full citations and everything!) at the end of the first month of the semester!

So, two sleepless weeks later, the goth had finally contacted the cute alien girl and accepted her invitation.

Masha rang the doorbell, fighting back a yawn, and heard a distinctly motherly voice call out "I'm coming!"

Soon enough, the door opened, revealing a confused-looking Ms. Noceda.

"Hi, Ms. Noceda," the enby began. "I'm Masha Stielhart. Vee asked me to come over?"

Comprehension dawned on the woman's face. "Oh, right! Well, come on in! I've just finished frying some plantains. Vee's in the living room." She moved aside to allow the young hero to enter.

"Thanks." The goth made their way inside and went to said living room, where a messy crop of dark blue hair peeked out over the back of a sofa.

"Vee!" Mrs. Noceda called. "Your friend is here!"

A tan arm waved over the couch. "Hey, Masha! Come on around! We'll get started as soon as mom's ready."

As instructed, the enby walked to the front of the couch. "Hey, Vee, what's with all--"

The words died in their throat, for sitting on the couch was definitely not the young alien girl they'd slowly befriended over the past few weeks, but some sort of snake creature.

With Vee's gold eyes and blue hair and wearing the same orange jumper with the happy pumpkin the girl favored.

Still pretty cute.

"So, uh," the snake person said in Vee's voice, tapping their fingers together just like Vee sometimes did. "This may be a lot to take in, but, um, this…"

"Vee?" Masha asked, sitting down in one of the nearby recliners. "Is that you? I mean, like 'you' you?"

The snake girl -- Vee sighed. "Yes. This is my real form. I'm a basilisk, a shapeshifter. But you already knew about that part."

"Kinda," Masha answered. "I had an inkling you were the alien who showed up at the academy. But an alien snake girl? Didn't see that coming."

"Oh, um, I'm not an alien -- at least not technically," the basilisk said. "I mean, I'm not from outer space. I'm actually from another dimension."

"Another dimension, huh?" Masha mulled over the implications for a moment. "There was this girl named America Chavez at Avengers Academy who was like that. Said she was from some weird all-female utopia or something."

"Well, uh, the Demon Realm isn't anything like that," Vee explained. "I, uh, had to run away from there. I'm technically wanted by the emperor there."

"Ooooh! A cute girl on the run from a dangerous tyrant?" the enby winked at the snake girl. Vee responded by doing that cute squeak thing again. "I assume Luz is investigating this dimension you're from?" they continued.

The basilisk cleared her throat. "Not exactly. She's there, but um…"

"Vee? Masha? Are you two ready to go?" Ms. Noceda called from the hallway.

"Go? Where?" Masha asked.

"Um, we're going to go visit Luz," Vee replied. "We decided that it would probably be easier to show you than try to explain it." She slid off the couch and began … changing. Her tail split into legs (already wearing jeans, thankfully) while her head and arms shifted to more humanoid ones (losing those adorable claws and fangs in the process). A few seconds passed and Vee had gone from adorable alienextradimensional snake girl to adorable humanoid alien girl.

"So… do you want to come with us?" Vee asked. "It won't take long, I promise."

"Uhh, hell yeah?" Masha almost literally jumped up, startling the shapeshifter. "Weird stuff like this is my jam! Next thing you're gonna say Luz is some sort of wizard attending wizard school."

"Not… exactly."

"OK, now I am definitely interested," the goth said, following Vee to the front door, where her mother waited with some food containers. "Need some help, Ms. Noceda?" they asked.

"Oh, thank you!" The woman handed off about half of the containers to Masha and the others to Vee.

Shortly the goth enby found themself following the two Nocedas into the nearby woods. As they walked Masha noticed that some of the trees were … odd. Their leaves were bright, bloody red instead of green, their trunks a smoldering orange, and their bark was twisted in a strange, almost unnatural way.

"Whoa, freaky," they said. "They say that all sorts of monsters and stuff are seen in these woods. Like some sort of giant owl-cat thing and weird birds."

Mother and daughter looked at each other.

"Just … keep that in mind, Masha," the older Noceda said cryptically.

"Alright, now you two are just teasing me."

The odd red-and-orange trees grew more numerous as the trio went farther into the forest, and Masha started picking up a faint acrid scent in the air. A horrifying, unearthly scream echoed from somewhere further in. And then the trees stopped. Almost as if they were afraid of the dilapidated shack that stood in the center of a clearing.

Or maybe it was the disturbingly well-preserved door with its giant serpentine eye that scared them off.

The whole place had a bizarre, almost fairytale-like quality, from the low-slung mist to the strange trees to the run-down cabin hidden deep in the woods.

Masha turned to the basilisk. "Gotta say, Vee, I'm liking the whole vibe of this place. Real 'Brothers Grimm'."

"Uh, thanks?" the shapeshifter said. "Anyway, someone's supposed to be meeting us…"

"Oh, good," a new voice said, "looks like I'm just in time."

Masha looked back at the shack to find that the door was now open, allowing a person to come through. They were short, an inch or so shorter than Vee, and on the chubby side, but still cute, especially with the giant, round glasses they wore. But their ears…

"Wait, is Luz in like some elf land?" the enby asked.

The new person looked confusedly at the two Nocedas before turning back to Masha. "What? No, I'm a witch, not an elf. Whatever that is."

"Aww man, that's even cooler!"

Mrs. Noceda cleared her throat. "Maybe we should give Willow tonight's supper before we continue to the explanations."

"Eh, sure." Masha shrugged and held out the containers to Willow the Witch.

"You're gonna need to walk closer," Vee said, stepping closer to the shack.

"What do you--"

Their words stopped in their throat when Willow the Witch reached out and pressed her hand against what seemed like thin air, only for a wall of angry red symbols to appear between her and the other three.

"What the hell?" The metallic enby stepped closer, eyes roaming over every inch of the wall they could see before it faded away.

"There's some sort of magical barrier between the Human Realm and the Demon Realm." Ms. Noceda's voice was softer now, her face downcast. "We can't go over there, and Luz … Luz can't come back over."

Masha dutifully handed over the food they carried to Willow. "But then, if Vee's from this 'Demon Realm', then…"

"We don't know," Vee answered, voice also soft. "Just one day a few months ago Luz was able to enter the Demon Realm and I was able to enter the Human Realm."

Masha looked at the three women - the basilisk, the human, and the witch. Their emotions were writ large across their faces -- sadness, concern, worry.

"How can I help?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

“You!” I say, stepping forward, half-consciously putting myself between the Owl Beast and the girls.

“ME.”

“I’ve had enough of you!” I continue, stalking forward. “You’ve ruined my life, drained my magic, and hurt people I care about! I oughta–!”

It crooks its head in confusion.

“I HAVE ONLY TRIED TO HELP SAVE YOU PROTECT YOU.”

“Help me?” I’m halfway between incredulous and infuriated at the suggestion. “You attacked Luz and King during that boiling rainstorm!”

“I WAS TRYING TO PROTECT PUP. I SENSED GREAT DANGER FROM THAT ONE.”

It points a massive sword-like claw at Luz.

“Weh?” My apprentice answers the accusation quite elegantly.

“No offense, Luz, but you are one of the strongest people on the Boiling Isles,” Baby Blight sticks her foot in her mouth. “That’s why mother allowed me to be friends with you in the first place.”

“Mentaaaaaa–!” Luz whines.

I roll my eyes. “Just because the kid is strong doesn’t mean she’s dangerous.”

The Owl Beast looks down, almost guiltily, the chains binding it clanking loudly.

“YES I KNOW THAT NOW. I AM SORRY.”

“Um… Apology accepted.” Luz, of course, forgives the damned thing.

“But what about the other times I transformed?” I ask.

I’m trying not to think about that time.

“ALWAYS I HAVE ACTED TO PROTECT US FOR WE ARE BOUND TOGETHER WITCH. EVEN FROM THE BEGINNING WHEN I DISCOVERED WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME.”

It lifts another claw and points again, this time to one of its memories.

One I recognize.

It’s of my first transformation. The day Lily and I tried out for the Emperor’s Coven.

Before everything fell apart…

I push those thoughts out of my mind and focus on the memory itself. The painting looks like the beast itself, standing over the previous Golden Guard and ready to tear the guy’s face off.

It’s kinda darkly hilarious if I ignore the fact that Lily’s freaking out in the background.

I cross my arms. “Uh-huh. And how is scaring Lily’s panties off and getting me on the Emperor’s Most Wanted list ‘protecting’ me?”

“LOOK CLOSER.”

I glare at the monster. “What? Just hop in there like I don’t already know what happened? Fat chance.”

Luz puts a hand on my shoulder, those way too compassionate eyes of hers bore into mine. “Eda, this is what we’re here for – to find out more about the Owl Beast.”

I roll my eyes, but morbid curiosity makes me move forward anyway.

“Just put my hand on it?” I ask.

“Yes,” Amity answers.

I do so, taking in a shaky breath…

~*~*~*~*~*~

…as I’m transported back to that day.

My younger self and Lily are walking to class one day. Was it a Tuesday? I think it was a Tuesday.

I remember we’d been talking about the EC tryouts all the way. We’d spent the past weekend coming up with the perfect ways to get the Golden Guard’s attention, but Lily wasn’t satisfied and kept trying to find some way to give us ‘an edge’.

“C’mon, Lils, we’re gonna do fine!” My past self says, balancing my favorite Grudgeby ball (which is apparently now in some icy hell dimension) on her - my - head.

“But what if we aren’t!” Lily adjusts her glasses nervously. “What if someone else is just so much better than me - I mean, us that the Golden Guard doesn’t pick us!”

ITeen me shrugs. “That’s his loss. Not our fault if the GG is an idiot.”

“Eda! I’m serious!” My sister is practically in tears. “What if - what if we don’t get into the Emperor’s Coven!? What if we have to have our magic sealed!? What if we–!?”

“Hey!” My younger self grabs teen Lily by her shoulders. “Listen to me! That’s not going to happen. If worst comes to worst we can always just become wild witches.”

“But-but… the Emperor says…” Lily blubbers.

“The Emperor can bite my skinny pale butt!” Young me declares, almost causing old me to snort in laughter. “If he can’t see that the Clawthorne sisters are two of the most powerful witches on the Boiling Isles, then you can’t believe anything he says.”

I never told Lily about the doubts I’d been having, the discussions with some of our classmates about the Coven system. If I had, would things be different?

The day goes as I remember it, and classes are let out for the afternoon for the tryouts. Lily and my younger self do our routines, answer questions from both Goldie and newly promoted Principal Bump, and generally perform above and beyond anyone else at Hexside. But throughout the day my doubts grow, and I feel uneasier the longer the tryouts go on. Also, I notice that the old Guard’s voice is remarkably similar to the current one’s.

Weird.

Finally, everyone gets done with their presentations and the Golden Guard steps forward to announce who he’s chosen to join the EC.

“Alright! Those were all really good! But, the two who impressed me the most were…” He pauses for dramatic effect. “Lilith and Edalyn Clawthorne! Come on down, ladies!”

Lily and teen me step forward to the polite applause of the other students. My sense of unease grows as the Guard approaches. I watch again as he brands Lily; hear again how she cries out in pain when the glove touches her wrist, see again the tears in her eyes and how she’s now all pale and sweaty.

It’s worse the second time.

The Golden Guard turns to my teen self next. “You’re gonna be one of the youngest members of the Emperor’s Coven, Edalyn! I’m sure the Emperor himself will be watching your career with great interest.”

As he reaches out with the branding glove, something snaps in young me, and suddenly Ishe’s transforming, flesh and skin warping as Eda Clawthorne disappears and the Owl Beast is standing on the field, growling at the Golden Guard.

“YOU WILL NOT TOUCH US WITH YOUR VILE MAGICKS BETRAYER!”

Huh. Guess I can understand the growls since I’m in its memory.

The sudden transformation causes all sorts of chaos, not helped when the Beast jumps on the Golden Guard. Students and teachers start running away or try to hide, the Coven Scouts who’d been providing security rush in to try and save their boss, and Lily…

Poor Lily is dumbstruck, stumbling backwards, eyes wide in horror. She keeps mumbling “no” to herself over and over again for some reason.

The Owl Beast’s arm is raised, seconds from ripping the Golden Guard’s head off, but the Scouts start firing off stun spell after stun spell. A few even hit their target, but the Beast just shrugs them off.

Still, it's outnumbered, and the Scouts aren’t going to use non-lethal spells forever. With a final growl it barrels through them and starts running off into the woods…

~*~*~*~*~*~

As I come out of the memory, Luz and Amity look at me expectantly.

“Did you find out anything?” Amity asks.

“Maybe.” I turn to the Owl Beast. “When the Golden Guard was about to brand me, you called him a ‘betrayer’ and said his magic was ‘vile’.”

“NOT HIS MAGIC. THE GLOVE.” It grimaces. “IT USED THE MAGIC OF THE ARCHIVISTS.”

“Archivists?” Amity asks. “Who are those?”

“THE ONES WHO DESTROYED MY PLANET AND KILLED MY PEOPLE.”

It points to another memory, one that I know isn’t mine. For one, it’s way too blue to be anything on either the Boiling Isles or Earth. Secondly, I’ve never seen anything like it before. Thousands of owl beasts are swarming around some sort of city built into a cliffside, locked in battle against what looked like some sort of two-colored spirits and flying black blobs.

“Wait,” Amity says, examining the memory closer, “I… think I’ve seen figures like these. Down in Grom’s chamber.”

“THOSE ARE THE ARCHIVISTS AND THEIR FEARBRINGERS.”

Luz turns back to the Owl Beast, comprehension dawning on her face. “You’re not native to the Demon Realm, are you? You’re like me, from another dimension.”

“YES.” There’s a note of sadness in the beast’s voice. “ONCE I WAS RINSERI QUEEN OF THE BALYE.”

“What happened?” The words pop out of my mouth before I can stop them.

“I DO NOT KNOW.” It - she - flops down onto her island, causing those chains to rattle loudly. “THERE WAS A GREAT FLASH IN THE HEAVENS LIKE NONE HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE. AND THEN OUR GREATEST CITIES WERE BURNING.” She sighs. “I WAS THE FIRST TO BE ARCHIVED TRAPPED IN A BOOK. I WAS FORCED TO WATCH AS MY PEOPLE WERE SLAUGHTERED.”

Tears well up in my eyes. “Oh shi-”

“Shit,” Luz cusses, then she looks at us. “Lo siento. But that’s just … horrible.”

“THERE WAS ONE CONSOLATION THOUGH.” She holds up her claws and a vicious smile grows on her face. “OUR CLAWS COULD HURT THEM. THAT WAS NOT SOMETHING THEY WERE PREPARED FOR.” The smile falls. “THAT IS WHEN THEY STOPPED ARCHIVING US AND STARTED KILLING US.”

There is silence for a heavy moment before Amity speaks up.

“How did you come to the Demon Realm, your highness? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I DO NOT KNOW CHILD.” She sighs. “AFTER MY PEOPLE WERE SLAUGHTERED THE ARCHIVISTS CLOSED THE BOOK I WAS IN. AFTER THAT I KNEW ONLY DARKNESS UNTIL I WOKE UP BOUND TO YOUR SOUL WITCH.”

I groan. “Wait, you don’t even know how you got put in my noggin? Great, just great! We’re not any closer to curing me, which was the whole damn point of this adventure!”

Luz puts her hand on my shoulder. “Well, at least we found out that the Owl - I mean, Queen Rinseri isn’t just some mindless animal, so there’s a chance for you two to, I dunno, talk things out? Work on some sort of body-sharing plan?”

I glare at my idiot apprentice. “Kid, there’s barely enough room for me in here, I don’t need a passenger, whether she’s got a mind or not. And did you forget that she’s been draining my magic ever since she’s been put in here?”

The queen tilts her head in confusion again. “DRAINING YOUR MAGICKS? I HAVE DONE NO SUCH THING. IN FACT MY POWERS ARE AS WEAKENED AS YOURS ARE.”

“Double great!” I throw my arms up in despair. “That means our magics are, I dunno, canceling each other out or something. That just means we have to get you outta here before we both end up dead.”

“THAT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE.” Rinseri stands back up and begins pacing around the small island she’s trapped on, the chains following along no matter where she goes. “I HAVE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO STUDY THE BONDS WHICH KEEP ME IN YOU WITCH. I BELIEVE THAT OUR SOULS ARE IN ESSENCE FUSED TOGETHER. ATTEMPTING TO REMOVE ME MAY IRREPARABLY DAMAGE YOUR SOUL.”

“Wah-but-nuh,” I sputter, then turn to Luz and Amity. “Please tell me Doc Strange can do some sort of soul surgery or something.”

Luz shrugs.

“If he does, it’s way beyond anything he or The Ancient One have taught me,” Amity says, shaking her head. “And even if he does, I’d want him to be the one doing it, not trying to teach me through the barrier.”

I slump and sigh. “Yeah, good point.” Turning back to Rinseri, I grimace. “Looks like you’re stuck here, your highness, unless you have a better idea.”

"PERHAPS." She looks down at the lake of elixir she's trapped by. "I BELIEVE THAT THIS POTION OF YOURS IS POISONING YOU. PROBABLY AN UNINTENDED SIDE EFFECT TO ITS TRUE PURPOSE."

"True purpose?" Luz asks. "Wasn't the point of the elixir to help Eda?"

"NO. THIS WAS MADE TO KEEP ME CHAINED. KEEP MY POWERS MY MIND SUPPRESSED."

It's only now that I notice the chains keeping her bound to the island aren't coming out of the elixir lake, but are made out of it.

"WHEN DID YOU FIRST FEEL THE LOSS OF YOUR MAGICK WITCH? WAS IT THE DAY OF OUR FIRST TRANSFORMATION?"

"No, I--" I stop and have to think. "It was - it was some time after I, er, met my mentor. She wasn't too happy about it, but every Healer and Potioneer I talked to said that it would stop the transformations."

"VERY CONVENIENT THAT THEY ALREADY HAD A POTION TO 'HELP' YOU WITH YOUR 'CURSE' DESPITE THE FIRST HEALER SAYING HE HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. AND WHEN DO YOU TAKE THE WORD OF COVEN TRAITORS OVER YOUR OWN MENTOR WITCH?"

"I--I--" I pause again, the thoughts swirling in my head. Why had I trusted the coven witches over the woman who'd taken me into her own home after I left mine?

There was only one answer.

"I was afraid. Terrified of losing myself and hurting someone again."

Rinseri actually looks ashamed. "I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. I CAN AND WILL EXPLAIN BUT I DO NOT THINK YOU WANT TO DISCUSS THAT RIGHT NOW."

"That's for damn sure." I wipe a tear from my eye and take a deep breath.

"Okay… sooooo, how about we talk about something else than trauma you two aren't quite ready to face yet?" Luz claps her hands and smiles. It's a good distraction. "Say, your majesty, you called the coven witches and the Golden Guard 'traitors'. Is it because they use that Archivist magic?"

My royal headmate scowls. "YES. THEY AND YOUR EMPEROR MUST BE WORKING WITH THE ARCHIVISTS. WHY ELSE WOULD THOSE COVEN BRANDS STINK OF THE MAGICKS OF THE ONES WHO SLEW MY PEOPLE?"

Amity frowns and begins tapping her chin. "That… doesn't make sense. From what you told us these Archivists would just invade the Demon Realm if they wanted to archive us. And, if I'm right and the mosaics in Grom's pit depict Archivists, then they already tried and were fought off by the Titans."

"And that woulda been millions of years ago. Or longer," I add.

"I… DO NOT KNOW. ALL I KNOW IS THAT THE BRANDS USE THE SAME MAGICKS THAT THE ARCHIVISTS USED TO BIND ME TO THAT BOOK."

Luz hums thoughtfully. "Maybe that's why my Spider Sense went off when I saw that girl get branded at the Covention. Maybe I sensed the same Archivist magic Queen Rinseri can."

"PERHAPS. I HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED ONE WITH POWERS QUITE LIKE YOURS BEFORE."

"Ha! You and me both, sister," I commiserate with my mental passenger. "Took me almost a week before I got used to the sight of her just walking on the ceiling like it's normal."

"So are you two coming to some sort of agreement?" Amity asks, looking between me and the queen. "Because if that's true then Luz and I can leave and let you two talk."

"Maybe," I answer carefully. "But say you're right, queenie. Say that these elixirs are killing both of us. What happens if I stop taking them? Won't I just turn into you permanently?"

"NO. EVERY TIME I HAVE TAKEN OVER HAVE BEEN WHEN I THOUGHT YOU - WE - WERE IN DANGER. NEXT TIME I WILL ASK BEFORE DOING SO."

Naturally I'm wary of this claim. But she does make some good points about the elixir.

"Fine." I fix Queen Rinseri with a stare. "But I'm keeping my stash. Just in case."

"FAIR ENOUGH. IF YOU KEEP YOUR END OF THE BARGAIN WITCH AND STOP TAKING THOSE VILE POTIONS THEN I WILL NOT TRANSFORM YOUR BODY AGAINST YOUR WILL."

"Eh, what've I got to lose?" I shrug, then turn on Amity. "Can we get out of here please? Before we have any more revelations that make me question every choice I ever made?"

"If you think you're done, yes," the sorcerer nods.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eda's eyes slowly opened, letting the divine owl painted on her living room ceiling come into view.

She groaned softly and tried to sit up, only for a hand to stop her.

"Whoa there, Lord Ca -- I mean, Ms. Eda," a vaguely familiar voice said. "You're still coming off of the effects of a pretty powerful sleeping potion. Might wanna stay down and let the fog wear off."

Eda turned her head to see an older teen with a lot of metal jewelry. Right, Luz's friend. Vines, or something like that?

The older witch shrugged. "Meh. Not gonna disobey orders to take it easy. Even if they're from a snot-nosed kid." She allowed a smirk on her face.

"Ah, sarcasm," Luz giggled, coming to stand over the Owl Lady. "I guess that means you're alright."

"Not sure if I'd go with 'alright'," the older witch said. "I gotta lot of things to think about."

"Well, my papa says that thinking is more efficient with a good meal," Willow pops her head out of the Owl House's kitchen. "I've got Ms. Camila's dinner heating up."

"Ooh! Cami food? C'mon, kid, help me up," Eda says, reaching for her student. "I swear your mom has to be magic the way she prepares grub."

As Luz levered her mentor up, she replied. "Nope! No magic there. Just good, old-fashioned comida Dominicana."

Vines's eyes widened. "Wait? Human food? Can I-?"

"Yeah, there should be enough for all of us," Willow replied to the older girl's question before she asked it.

"Hey, Willow, was Vee able to bring her friend Masha over?" Amity asked as she walked past the Owl Lady.

"Yeah, they were, um, very enthusiastic about wanting to help out," the plant witch responded. "A little too enthusiastic. Especially once Vee told them about your prophecy, Luz."

Luz tapped her cheek in thought. "Huh. I never really knew Masha back on Earth. They're a little older than me and kinda live on the opposite side of town."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to get to know them if your prophecy is true, hermosa," Amity patted her girlfriend on the shoulder and pushing the human towards the kitchen.

"Wait, prophecy? What prophecy?" Little Miss Spikey asked, following the lovebats.

"That's … kind of a long story," Luz answered. "Did I ever tell you about the time Amity and I ended up trapped in the Knee."

"What!? No! And you survived?" The older girl was practically frantic now, much to the amusement of the other three teens.

Meanwhile Eda stayed back, quietly thinking over everything she'd learned talking to Queen Rinseri.

The Potions coven was trying to poison her. Gonna have to have a 'chat' with Mortan about that later.

But more concerningly, the queen said she was trying to protect Eda every time they transformed. Which means…

...that time…

"Hey, Eda! You coming?" Luz called, leaning out of the kitchen.

The Owl Lady snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah, just … still groggy from that potion you gave me."

"Oh, that reminds me," the human said, "I gotta get a statement from you on the effects of the potion."