Imposters - Thisismyfanficaccount - The Owl House (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter 1: Lost

Chapter Text

Luz sat up, trying to catch her breath as the brilliant light faded. She looked around the clearing, eyes drawn to the black marks in the ground.

She was gone. Amity was gone.

She was just there. It had happened so fast. One moment they were together, reading, laughing, experimenting with magic. The next… silence. Fear grips her heart as she searches, desperately, for any sign of the pink-haired witch.

But nothing else is amiss. The echo mouse is asleep in it’s terrarium. The vial of titan’s blood sits half-full within an open notebook, a re-creation of Wittbane’s diary. Amity’s bag lies abandoned beside it, resting against various books on magical theory borrowed from the library. There’s pages full of experimental glyphs, some cartons of chilled apple blood, her brush dipped in a bucket of white paint, and a drawing of a long abandoned shack surrounded by the forest of another realm.

Everything is accounted for, except for Amity.

And the scorch marks.

Hesitantly Luz crawls over and lays a hand on it. There’s no heat, but she can feel an even cut in the grass. As though someone had mowed just this patch of the forest. The air directly above feels cooler, less humid, but a gentle breeze blows it away.

She closes her eyes, trying to recreate the scene in her head. It was Amity’s idea to add a touch of the blood to a spell circle. When that didn’t do anything, they tried it on a light glyph before Luz had activated it. They had watched as the rose-colored ball vanished. In its place was a single blade of green grass.

The witch had theories about the ambient magic getting pulled into the glyph and matched them to some of the pseudoscience Whittbane had spent days ranting about, but Luz was barely listening. With her paintbrush she made a huge glyph on the forest floor. Amity very carefully poured a few drops over the circle, white tinged pink as the blood mixed itself with the paint. They stepped back, Luz took a picture with her phone, and activated the glyph.

No, that wasn’t right. She gazed at the black lines still in the shape of the glyph. Before activating it, Amity had said something.

“Whatever happens, we do it together.”

Luz looked back into her eyes. She was going to say ‘together’ like they always did. But Amity was holding her hand, and looking back at her with that beautiful, determined smile, and she started to lean in and-

“No!” She screams to the woods. Please no. This can’t be my fault. She grabbed the brush and raced around the clearing, painting a new glyph, using the blackened grass as a guide. How much blood did she use? This much? Would a little more help? It’s staining her hands and clothes but she doesn’t care as she taps the glyph.

Nothing happened. No light, no rush of wind. She tapped it again. Still nothing. Again and again, each time more frantically. Paint splatters from her touch, running through the grass, ruining the perfect circle. Useless. She can fix this! Another circle, take more time, be more careful. But she’s out of titan’s blood!

Paint-covered hands in her hair, struggling to stay calm. The Owl House isn’t far. Eda didn’t say how she came across the blood, only that she had given the teens just the one vial to test with. She must have more. She must!

Luz ran. She needed to get to Eda. They could make a new glyph. She had to know what happened. Had it worked? Was Amity on the other side? Or had she-

No! She couldn’t think that. She’s alive. She has to be.

The girl sits up slowly, arms shaking. She’s exhausted. The world around her spins. She focused on her breathing, letting the fog clear from her head, before looking around.

She has never been here before.

The grass here is green, without any shades of yellow or orange or blue. Some of the trees are green, too, but many of their leaves ahead started turning colors, picked up by the wind and scattered around the woods. The sky is blue, the air is chill. She looks back and finds the abandoned cabin from Luz’s drawing, and she shivers as it dawns on her.

Amity Blight is in the human realm.

Slowly she gets to her feet. Her muscles are sore, and she realizes she must have been lying there for there for some time. The sun is lower in the sky here than it was in the demon realm. Could you tell the time the same way? She had no way of knowing.

The memories trickle in. She remembers falling onto the glyph.Her energy sucked away, and then she’s falling again, landing in the soft grass. Okay, so the blood, powered by the glyph and the witch’s own energy, pulled her through to the human world. Then why was she still here? Wouldn’t Luz have opened a new glyph by now?

Unless it only works one way. And there’s no ambient magic here, and Amity doubts she had the energy needed to power such a huge spell. Not to mention she lacked titan’s blood.

She’s trapped here, she realizes, with a weight in her stomach. Trapped in a strange new world, with no idea what to do or where to go.

My scroll! Maybe she could reach someone in the demon realm! Luz doesn’t have a scroll, but Willow does! Her family all has scrolls, too, but calling them is the last thing she wants to do.

She traces the familiar circle to summon her scroll. Nothing happens. She tried again, then again. Nothing. No scroll. Was there not enough magic here to summon it? Or was it locked somehow in her home realm? It didn’t matter why. She had no scroll. No means of communicating with the other side.

Was this how Luz felt when she first came to the Isles? She bonded with Eda and King quickly, but before that? What was Amity supposed to do, in a world without witches and magic? What would her parents do when they realize she gone? How long would it take Luz to find her? Could Luz find her?

Her thoughts are dashed as a new, more urgent fear manifests. She can hear something moving through the forest, coming her way. She’s frozen in place, trembling, as a figure steps into the clearing and stops, beholding the pink-haired, pointed-eared girl lost in the woods.

But as she sees the figure and they approach, her fear turns to confusion. She knows those eyes, that face, those gangly limbs. But there’s just something off about them. The way the figure carries herself, the dullness in her eyes, the lack of exuberant energy and radiant joy ever present in her every expression.

She hesitantly opens her mouth as the figure steps up to her, folding her arms. “…Luz?”

She looks at the witch with surprise before a grin breaks out across her face. But her smile is too wide, with too many teeth, and her gaze is too intense, making Amity wilt. Her voice is quiet, curious, and wrong. “That’s my name!”

It’s not a lie. She had stolen it, along with everything else. “And what’s your name, witch?”

There’s a loud bang as Luz bursts through the back door of the Owl House. She rushes through the kitchen into the living room, stumbling to the floor. Eda and King jump, surprised, their card game forgotten.

She was quite a sight. Panting desperately, hands and hair covered in paint, with red and white staining her clothes. She gasps, trying to gain control, pointing back out to the woods. “Blood! More… blood! Eda-!

The wild witch jumped up, quickly approaching. “Kid? Slow down, what’s wrong?”

Luz takes a breath, tears running down her face as she points weakly behind her. “Amity! Amity, she-!” Another gasp, then a sob as she starts to lose it.

Eda puts a hand on her apprentice’s shoulder, concerned. King, however, leans back against the couch with a teasing grin. “What’s the matter? Did she kiss you again?”

Amity leaned forward, face red, inches from Luz’s own. But unlike last week, the human saw it coming. They hadn’t talked at all about the incident. Yet there had been so many more awkward pauses and stolen glances between the two. More than once Luz had caught the witch staring at her lips. More than once she found herself doing the same.

And at the very last moment, barely an inch apart, she panicked, falling backwards, flailing arms smacking Amity’s face. She fell awkwardly onto the glyph. There’s a blinding flash of light, a rush of wind, and she’s gone.

I did this. It was my fault.

Luz falls to the floor, screaming incoherently, as Eda and King try in vain to console her.

Chapter 2: Found

Chapter Text

Luz Noceda walked down the street with a skip in her step. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, all was right with the world. She still had a week to go before school started. That gave her plenty of time to wander the neighborhood while her mom was at work. Plenty of time by herself, lost in her throughs.

She loved to explore. As long as she could remember, she loved running between the alleys and through the woods, in search of adventure. Monsters to vanquish, princes(ses) to save, glory to be found. The suburbs of Connecticut were fairly boring, but most days she still gave herself quests to partake in.

Right now, she was quested to check Eda’s cabin.

She tried to visit it every day. The old cabin in the woods once housed the self-proclaimed Strongest Witch of the Boiling Isles. Even when she no longer lived there, she still used it to smuggle human goods back to her own world for profit. Now it was abandoned, disconnected from the destroyed portal. Luz never expected to find anything, but she still went anyway, just to be sure. It’s not like she didn’t have the time.

As the cabin came into view, she found a person. No, she thought, spying a pointed ear. A witch. They looked young, splayed out face down in the grass, lilac hair askew. Maybe about Luz’s age. Who are they? Are they alive? How long have they been there? They weren’t there yesterday. She had so many questions, but a more immediate concern.

She walked passed the witch to the cabin and opened the door. There was no light inside. She was pretty sure there was supposed to be a light. But no, it was just a normal, slowly decaying cabin. She shut it, but her curiosity grew. If the portal was still closed, where did the witch come from?

She turned back to the figure on the ground just in time to see them stir.

Quickly, quietly, Luz lept to the witch, putting a hand on their head. Luz’s eyes glowed purple as the witch’s head filled with fog. Their unfocused gold eyes rolled up and with a low sigh they slipped back into unconsciousness.

Luz smacks her lips, sampling the thoughts she had stolen. Their - no, her - name was Amity Blight. The name meant nothing to Luz. She caught scattered thoughts of falling and fatigue and paint on the forest floor. She cycled through the fragments, but they were too jumbled, and there was nothing of interest to her.

Luz sighed. What a shame. Such an interesting find, but nothing she could use. At least this Amity had the decency to collapse in the woods, away from prying eyes. She held out her right hand, feeling the bones snap and pop as her fingers merged together, sharpening to a point. She lifted her bladed arm, poised to strike, when something catches her eye.

A scroll, lying a few feet away. She picks it up, looking through it as her other hand snaps back into place. The applications are working. How is that possible? The portal is either closed or destroyed. There shouldn’t be anything for it to connect to.

She finds some pictures and idly skims through them. People, places, symbols, all of it meaningless to her. Until she spots one image that makes her freeze.

That’s her face. Her face with Amity, and two other witches. They appear to be at some kind of event. What is she wearing? A tuxedo with a tutu? Ridiculous. What is that expression on Amity’s face, looking over at her?

She looks back at the still form beside her, breathing peacefully. Gently she palms the girl’s head, brushing her lilac hair. Her eyes flash purple again as she projects her own name. Luz Noceda.

The response is immediate. Memories bubble to the surface, tinged with warmth, embarrassment, and love. Fleeting moments of quick glances, held hands, and soft encouragements. Bashfulness. The fear of rejection. A soft kiss on the cheek in a moment of weakness.

A toothy grin spreads across Luz’s face. Slowly she stands and steps out of the clearing, pocketing the scroll. There was more, much more to this Amity then she had expected. She would wait for her to wake up. She could be useful. Perhaps, even fun.

Everything she had was stolen, but this was the first time she stole from a witch.

“Luz…” Amity repeats, uncertain. The figure before her just continues to smile, and it’s beginning to unnerve her. She takes a step back, legs wobbling a bit from fatigue. “No… no that’s impossible…”

Luz held up her hands innocently, but that wide grin never left. “I assure you, my name is Luz. Please, I just want to help you. You look out of it.”

Luz takes a step closer, Amity another step back. She’s so tired. She’s trying so hard to concentrate, but she feels so weak, her thoughts slipping out of her grasp. I just saw Luz in the woods near the Owl House. How could she be here? “No, you can’t be her! She’s-“ her leg gives out and she falls with a shriek.

Right into Luz’s arms. She cleared almost 10 feet of space in a single bound, easily supporting the fallen girl. “It’s okay! I’ve got you. You need sleep.”

Amity’s head is spinning. She tries to cast a spell but her arm droops. Her vision is going blurry. She looks up at Luz holding her, furrowing her brow. “Your eyes…”

Luz blinks, looking down at her. “What about my eyes?”

For a moment, Amity could have sworn they were glowing purple.

Luz easily lifts the girl, cradling her in her arms. “It’s okay, Amity. I’m going to bring you home, where you can rest. You can look into my eyes, if you want.” That last sentence comes out as a flirty tease.

Amity does so, unable to look away as she feels her consciousness slipping. Those brown eyes occasionally glance back at her, but they lack the warmth she’s always felt when staring into them. No, these eyes are cold and calculating. But at least they don’t turn purple again. A final thought passes through her head as she falls asleep.

I never told her my name.

“Tell me again how it happened.”

Eda sighed, leaning against the wall. “Luz painted a light glyph on the ground, maybe 10 feet across. They sprinkled half a vial of titan’s blood on it, then baby Blight trips and falls on it. Light, wind, and she’s gone.”

Lilith grumbled on the other end of the crow phone. “And you couldn’t replicate it at all?”

“Nope. We spent all afternoon. Used up too much of the titan’s blood and painted half the clearing white. We could get a small glyph to vanish but that was it.”

Lilith is mumbling to herself again, so Eda looks over at King. Sitting in the couch in the Owl House, he was trying to convince the echo mouse to show some more info from Wittbane’s diary. The mouse had worked with them for awhile, but now it was too tired to even be tempted by food.

It had taken almost an hour to calm Luz enough to for her to explain what happened. Another 4 hours testing various ideas in the forest with little success. Luz retired to her room without dinner, exhausted and defeated. Eda and King spent the next few hours pouring over the diary and getting whatever they could from the echo mouse.

Hooty even helped, and was surprisingly on-topic for some time. However his attention eventually waned and he was exiled back outside. Now, with night beginning to fall, Eda knew they needed more help.

Lilith cleared her throat. “The best I can theorize is that Amity has a working bile sac and you three do not. The glyph may have needed more power then any of you could provide.”

“But it’s still a glyph! It should have turned into a light spell at least.”

“Perhaps not. Glyphs are the language of magic, but titan’s blood is the physical manifestation of magic itself. It changed the very context of the glyph, just as it bleeds through the barriers of the realms.”

“Lilly I barely understand what that means.”

“Which is why I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Ask mom for some tips for dealing with echo mice before you leave.”

“Shall I ask her to join us? We could use the help.”

Eda sighs. “No. I don’t want too many people knowing what’s going on until we learn more.”

There’s an uncomfortable pause before Lilith speaks again. “You haven’t told her parents yet.”

“No. And until we know if she’s on the other side or… gone… I don’t want them getting involved.”

“Edalyn…”

“No, Lilly. I know they’ve got money and magic, but they aren’t good people. We don’t need them breathing down our necks. And we certainly don’t need them squealing to Belos how we found a new way to the human realm.”

Lilith groaned. “I suppose you're right. But I don’t like it. How is Luz?”

Eda looks up at the ceiling. She had stopped hearing Luz’s footsteps 30 minutes ago. “Not good. She blames herself for what happened. I’m… pretty sure something happened between them, but she won’t tell me.”

“You need to find out what it was. It may be relevant.”

Eda growls. She knew her apprentice. “If it was, she’d tell me. Now drop it.”

She huffs, not satisfied with the response, but unwilling to push further. “…fine. I’ll see you in the morning, Edalyn.”

“Goodnight, Lilly.” It was a bit harsher than she intended, but who could blame her? Today had been stressful. She returns the crow phone to her hair and looks back at King.

The little demon had given up on the echo mouse and was now pouring over Amity’s notes, looking for any clue they had somehow missed. Eda couldn’t remember ever seeing him so focused before. She considered joining him before stifling a yawn. Fatigue was beginning to creep in.

“Alright King, give it a rest. We’re not going to figure anything out until Lilly gets here tomorrow.”

He looks up at her, wide-eyed and frantic. “Give up? We can’t! Luz needs us! We-“

“Need our sleep. This is all magic theory, not our area of expertise. We’ll be more helpful in the morning.”

He sets the papers down with a resigned sigh. “But… what if Amity’s on the other side? Trapped there? We can’t just…”

She walks over to him, gently scratching his skull. “She’s a smart girl. She’ll be fine for one night. I’ve been to the human realm before, remember? It’s not that scary. No monsters or boiling rain. She’ll stay close to wherever she appeared and we’ll bring her back.”

King closes his eyes, leaning into Eda’s touch. “But… but what if she’s dead? What if-“

“She’s alive. I’m sure of it.” Eda wasn’t fully sure if she was reassuring King or herself. She had told Luz a hundred times already. Enough times that it sounded like she meant it.

But without any proof, could she really be so confident?

No. But she couldn’t afford to think that. For Amity’s sake, and Luz’s, they had to believe she was still out there.

A few hours later, King sat alone on the couch, scrolling through the crystal ball. Eda had gone to her nest. Luz never came back downstairs and was presumably asleep. Hooty was asleep too, snoring softly. King had tried to make some more sense of the notes and the diary but gave up, and now was searching for something, anything, to distract himself with.

He felt so guilty for making fun of Luz when she had burst in earlier. All he wanted to do was help, to make her happy again. His guilt and anxiety kept him awake long after everyone else had gone to bed.

It also didn’t help that his voice kept cracking all day long. It was very embarrassing. It did help calm everyone’s mood a few times, but he wasn’t thrilled about it.

After flipping through all the channels, King grumbled and got up from the couch. In the kitchen he grabbed some apple blood (not Eda’s batch, of course) and sat at the table, idly looking out the window.

The sun had set, and a few stars shone from this angle. His thoughts drifted to Amity, wondering if she was seeing different stars in the human world. To his dad, wherever he might be. Did he look at the stars and think about him? To Luz, who probably cried herself to sleep, and now-

-had her cloak over her head, slinking into the forest.

He rubbed his eyes, but the night was still. Had he actually seen that? He never heard her leave her room. The stairs creaked too loud, he would have heard her.

Cautiously he crept up the stairs. Knocking gently on Luz’s door, then pushed it open after a few moments with no response.

She’s gone. Her sleeping bag is empty, her witchwool cloak missing. A vine wrapped around her desk trailed out her window, just barely open. King groaned and turned back around, closing the door behind him.

He didn’t see the light fill the room, nor hear the buzz of Luz’s phone vibrate softly before returning dark.

Amity woke with a start in an unfamiliar room. She found herself laying in a bed, her head pressed against an absurd number of pillows. Her eyes are drawn to a gently steaming bowl resting on the nightstand nearby, and a small note sitting in front of it.

Hope you slept well cutie! This is chicken soup. It’ll help you feel better! I’ll be downstairs if you need me! Love, Luz

Amity smiled, feeling her cheeks grow warm. That’s so sweet. She made something for me? She must really care about- wait.

Her thoughts grind to a halt as the memories trickle in. The painted glyph. The cabin. The stranger who looked and sounded just like Luz, but couldn’t possibly be Luz. She shivered despite her warmth. She had to get out of here, away from whoever or whatever that was.

But… she’s in the human realm. She doesn’t know anyone, doesn’t know where she is, and has no idea when or even if the real Luz will find her. Despite sleeping for probably hours she still felt tired, her magic depleted.

She tires to summon her scroll, and when nothing happens she remembers earlier. No scroll, right. Great.

Also, she was really, really hungry, and this strange soup smelled good. She sat up fully, taking the bowl and slurped it slowly, carefully. Warm and flavorful. She was slightly put off by the lack of obvious body parts. What’s a chicken? The lumpy things tasted like meat but she couldn’t be sure. Either way, she quickly finished the bowl, grateful for some food in her stomach.

Leaning back against the pillows, Amity took stock of the room around her. It was smaller then her room in Blight Manor, but larger then Luz’s room in the Owl House. And this room was decidedly Luz’s.

It was like she tried to make use of every bit of space. Pictures hung on the walls of her and her mom, her extended family, and drawings she had made. A huge poster of Azura hung behind the bed. Books where everywhere, filling a shelf to bursting, stacked high on the desk and piled over by the closet. Toys and figurines from various entertainment properties, including The Good Witch, were scattered throughout the room. More than a few looked like ones Luz herself had made. The closet door was open, and Amity could see a pile of clothes within, overflowing a basket. Here and there were human trinkets she couldn’t place, many of them adorned with bright stickers. She looked up and found the ceiling covered in plastic stars that glowed gently in the dim light.

The entire room had a beautiful chaos to it, a complete disregard to order that was so much like the scatterbrained girl Amity was smitten with.

But the more she looked, the more unsettled she became. This was not the look of a room that had sat unused for months. This bedroom was clearly being lived in. The wastebin is full of scraps of paper. A forgotten mug sat on the desk doubtlessly making a ring on the wood beneath it. Clothes recently purchased laid across a chair, with clipped tags strewn about the floor. A calendar faces her on the desk, and while the month ‘August’ is not one she’s familiar with, she can see days have been crossed out in red, with the marker in question resting nearby.

As she slowly takes it all in, the door creeps open. Luz peers inside cautiously, her face lighting up as she meets Amity’s eyes. “Good, you’re awake! How was the soup?”

Amity locks up as she fully enters the room, standing at her side. She had become so accustomed to watching the human of her affections that she could see how wrong this person was. Sure, she smiled like Luz, but her eyes were too big, her smile stretched into a creepy caricature. Her breathing was too still, too controlled, instead of breathlessness from endless enthusiasm. Her fingers were too long, and they twitched wrong, sometimes in ways that looked painful. She exudes not joy but anxiety, as if she was trying too hard to do everything right.

She opened her mouth, wanting to question everything. To get answers. Fear filled her chest, and no sound came out. She had no idea who or what stood before her, and no idea what she would do if she found out.

Luz studied her, tilting her head. The too-bright smile fell into a confident smirk, one Amity had seen on her mother when she felt in control of a situation. “What are you thinking, witch?”

For just the blink of an eye, Luz’s eyes flashed violet. Amity felt a hand rake across her brain, dragging her thoughts out of her mouth.

“You’re not Luz,” she spat, unable to stop herself. Her eyes grew wide with fear. She had felt this before, the same look in her mother’s eye.

Oracle magic?

The human let out an breathy laugh. “I told you already, Amity. I am Luz.” Her eyes flashed violet again, but this time, the witch was ready.

When she was a child, her mother would read her thoughts regularly. It was part of her discipline, to ensure her daughter knew to tell the truth and obey her parents. By the time she turned 10, Odalia had decided she was obedient enough. Instead, she personally started training Amity to resist Oracle magic. Blights had to be strong in all aspects of life, after all. Training was intense, but ultimately, Amity learned skills needed to shield her mind from intrusion.

As Luz’s eyes flashed violet, Amity started thinking her mantra. It was a simple thing she had long since memorized. A series of words and ideas that made no sense and followed no pattern. Nothing for someone entering her thoughts to latch onto or to fight through. It was a mantra she repeated whenever she needed to focus intently on something, ensuring nothing could distract her.

She felt a pressure in her head, trying to push an idea inside, to convince Amity that yes, this is Luz, trust her. The idea brushed up against Amity’s stream of consciousness, getting battered around before being ejected completely.

Luz’s smile fell. She blinked, tilting her head again, eyes narrowed. “Huh. How did you-?”

In a flash Amity palmed a pink spell circle in each hand, directed toward the imposter. “You are not Luz! Who are you? What do you want?”

She glanced at Amity’s hands and smirked, boldly stepping closer. “I am Luz. Maybe not the one you know. Luz is the only name I’ve ever had.”

It’s the only thing I have that wasn’t stolen.

Questions swirl in Amity’s mind, tinged with fear. She had no idea who or what stood in front of her, but clearly it had magic. Or something like magic. So this Luz came from her world, right? Could she fight her? She had no way of knowing what else this Luz was capable of. She felt much better after the rest and soup, but she could tell her magic wasn’t anywhere near 100%.

Luz folded her arms, eyeing the witch confidently, thinking along the same lines. “You can’t take me in a fight. If anything, you need me. I’ve already been in your head. I know you're stuck here. No one else could help you get back to the demon realm. I can.”

Amity hesitates, her arms shaking. “Why? Why would you help me?”

“Because you know her.”

“I am not helping you take over Luz’s life!”

A mocking laugh. “I already have. She wasn’t using it. Despite what you may think, I don’t want to hurt her.”

Her eyes narrow. “And what is it that you want?”

Luz pauses, uncertain, before shaking her head. “Nothing you can give me, and nothing I can take.”

Riddles. Amity hates riddles. “And what are you, exactly?”

In an instant she’s at Amity’s side, gently lifting her chin, a soft hand on her cheek. The witch flinches, her spell circles vanishing, but the hand is strong and holds her there as she smiles down at her. “Everything you love and fear.”

She lets her go, stepping away to peer out the window. Amity feels herself flushing, despite knowing this person, this thing, wasn’t her crush. She had been too close, and she looks just like her, and-

“Right on time, as always.” Luz laughs, pulling away from the window.

“What is it?”

Luz throws some clothes at her before heading to the door. “You need human clothes. Get dressed, then meet me downstairs.”

She looks at the bundle in her lap, then down at her Hexside uniform. “Why?”

She flashes Amity a grin before closing the door. “Mom’s home.”

Chapter 3: Strange Friends

Chapter Text

Luz lay on top of her bedroll, face down in her hands. She wasn’t sure how long she’s been here. Dinner is passed by now, but she isn’t hungry. She doesn’t want to think, doesn’t want to move. This afternoon had been a complete disaster.

They spent hours in the forest making glyphs, hours more at the Owl House going over notes, the diary, and getting whatever they could from the Echo Mouse. All dead ends.

She had even asked Willow on the crystal ball to call Amity’s scroll, but Amity never answered. Luz was careful to not explain anything about the situation. Willow was confused but thankfully didn’t press. She assumed it was a crush situation, not a life-or-death situation.

Luz considered talking to the Blight family, but Eda shut that down. They simply didn’t know anything, so there was no use getting them involved yet. Luz didn’t like keeping it from them, but she also didn’t want to deal with Amity’s parents, either.

In the end, they were no closer to finding out if Amity was in the human realm, or if she was even alive.

Night had fallen. Eda had knocked to check on her once more before going to her nest. Luz was tired from running and worrying and crying all day. Sleep would be good. Lilith will be there early tomorrow, and she wants to be wide awake and ready to help.

She changed into her pajamas and looked out the window, watching the stars peek out. She wasn’t religious, but right now she was hoping that someone, somewhere, was watching over Amity.

As she turned away she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked back to find a tiny orb of light hanging in the air at the edge of the road. Even at this distance she could tell it’s a light glyph.

He wants to meet now!?

Of course he did. He was insatiably curious about wild magic in all its forms. This would be their third meeting in a little over a week, since Latissa.

Right now, she didn’t want to teach him glyphs or discuss wild magic. She was too worn out and depressed from he day. However, she did want a someone to talk to. Someone to confide her fears in. Someone who wasn’t Eda or King or Hooty or the mouse.

She sprouted a vine with a plant glyph and climbed out her window, careful not to wake Hooty, before stealing into the dark forest.

As soon as Luz left the room, Amity exhaled and leaned back against the pillows. She felt tense and anxious, and maintaining those spell circles had been draining. She’d have to try not to use any magic as long as possible so as to recover faster. Would it take longer for her bile to be restored, without the Titan’s magic in the air?

She looked back at the bundle in her lap. Human clothes. Luz’s clothes. The thought made her blush, despite knowing Luz herself wouldn’t see her in them. That she hadn’t worn them in months.

That thought just made her stomach tighten again. Who was this person, or thing, claiming to be Luz? She said she had been ‘in her head.’ What did that mean? What did she see? How did she perform Oracle magic without a spell circle?

What else could she do?

Voices below pulled her out of her thoughts but made her anxiety worse. She couldn’t make out the words, but she heard Luz’s voice. And another, different voice of an adult woman, Luz’s mother.

Amity didn’t know much about her. Luz would only mention her in passing. And now she was about to meet her. Luz had said her mom was worried about her, but about what? How much did she know about Luz being in the Isles? Did she know the Luz speaking to her right now was a fake? Probably not. What would she think of Amity, a witch, having a crush on her missing daughter?

She got out of bed and dressed herself, folding her Hexside uniform under the bed. Her new outfit consisted of blur pants made from a tough material and a multicolored shirt that reminded her of a reversed painbow. The clothes didn’t sit right on her. The pants were too short, ending just above her knee, and too tight around her hips. The shirt sleeves constricted her arms and neck, and only barely covered her stomach. They must have been older clothes, and it certainly didn’t help that Amity was a bit taller then Luz.

Completing the outfit was a black beanie to cover her ears. It, too, was a little tight, and she had to adjust her ears to fit inside somewhat comfortably.

She opened the door and stepped out, looking around. The upstairs hallway was filled with pictures, mostly of Luz and her mother. Occasionally there was another family member, or some art project Luz had created. She walked slowly towards the steps, and as she started to descend she heard it creak. The conversation downstairs immediately stopped, and Amity could only hear the rapid beating of her heart.

“Is someone here, Luz?” she heard Luz’s mother ask.

“Yes, Mom! I told you I had a friend from camp coming for a sleepover,” came the almost chastising response.

The witch frowned. There’s no way she knew I was coming. Amity swallowed her nerves and tugged on her shirt, slowly walking downstairs.

As soon as the Owl House was out of sight, Luz lit a light glyph. She walked carefully but purposefully through the woods to the previously agreed upon meeting place. As she walked she was grateful to not be worrying about Amity, for once. Instead she found her thoughts drifting to their first meeting two nights after the events in Latissa.

Luz sat alone in her room working on some homework when something tapped against her window. She looked up, barely holding back a gasp at the sight of the Golden Guard - no, Hunter, his mask was off - flying outside, a finger to his lips. He wants patiently as she hesitates before opening the window.

Before she could say anything, he handed her a note, then disappeared in a flash of red. She frowned, looking down to find a crude map of the surrounding woods, and a short message.

‘I just want to talk but I don’t want to wake your house demon. Meet me here. I’ll wait one hour.’

Fifteen minutes later, Luz found him a short distance into the woods leaning against a tree. His artificial staff lay beside him, within arms reach. As she approached he took off his mask, keeping his hands visible at all times.

There were a few tense questions. Why was he here? What did he want? What happened after she left him, while he fought Kikimora? He dodged around the questions until she threatened to leave.

He took a breath, and for the first time that night, he looked small. Anxious. That arrogant smirk was gone. He met Luz’s eyes, quickly looking away as he finally started to speak.

“My uncle. The Emperor. He’s… very sick. What he does to palismen helps keep it at bay.

He won’t tell me exactly what ‘it’ is, only that it was caused by wild magic. But if that’s the case, then wild magic should be able to fix it, right?”

Luz blinked, thinking for a moment, but apparently it was a rhetorical question because he went on.

“He forbad me from researching wild magic. Said it’s what ruined our family.” His hand unconsciously traced the scar on his cheek. “But… he’s changed. He used to be nicer. Kinder. I’m sure it’s his… affliction, or maybe what he does to the palismen. I just… I want to help him. And maybe if he gets better, he’ll be… nicer, again. And you… well, you’re the only person I know who knows anything about wild magic.”

He looks up, and Luz can see the desperation on his face. This wasn’t some kind of trap, she realized. He was being honest. He needed help, and he was turning to her. The one person who saved himself life, who stuck her neck out for him. Even after all the trouble they had been in, he came to her for help.

Still, she was cautious. She narrowed her eyes. “How do I know I can trust you?”

He lowered his head. “You probably can’t. But, maybe you can trust him.” He whistled, gesturing toward his staff. A moment later a bird landed on the branch above it. Luz’s eyes grew wide. Rascal, the red bird palisman whom had picked an unknown witch sometime after adoption day. Hunter gestured again, and the bird flew to his hand.

Hunter smiled, softly stroking the palisman. “Rascal found me after our little adventure. He helped convince me to come find you. And he trusts me to keep him safe from my uncle.”

Luz sighed. “I don’t know much about wild magic. Just glyphs, and a few things Eda and Lilith told me. But, if it will help your uncle, I’ll teach you what I know.”

His genuine smile shine as bright as any light glyph. Luz took out her notepad and with surprising eagerness started teaching her newest student.

She found Hunter in the same spot a few minutes later, tracing glyphs. Rascal tweeted as she approached, and he stood quickly, waving her over with his irritating, drawn out 'Hi'. He looked Luz over with a frown. “You look like crap.”

She scoffed, and wanted to return the insult, but she couldn’t. He actually looked okay. Each night they had met, he had become increasingly cheerful and optimistic, though still snarky. The bags under his eyes had shrunk, so apparently he was even sleeping better.

She just shrugged and sat on a log. “Bad day. I’m not in the mood for teaching.”

He raised an eyebrow, concerned, but he’d never admit it. “You didn’t have to come.”

She shook her head. “No, I wanted to. I need someone to talk to.”

That seemed to surprise him. “Don’t you have a whole shack full of criminals to talk to?”

She waved toward the Owl House. “Yeah, but they’re already involved. I need to tell someone who doesn’t know Amity.”

“Who?”

“Exactly.”

He watched her, thinking for a moment. Whatever was going on, she was clearly upset about it. She seemed tired, her eyes looked red from crying for hours earlier. Her voice is dull and joyless.

They had never talked about anything before except for glyphs, and occasional excerpts from their separate adventures. He had been fascinated by her ability to adapt on the fly, and the way she experimented with her strange magic. But they never talked about anything else before.

He hadn’t really talked about anything before, with anyone. Never about people or feelings. Only missions and results and rules. Power and authority. Loyalty. Nothing else was important within the Emperor’s castle.

But she was his friend, right? His only real friend. So he sighed, leaning back against a tree. “Alright. Let’s talk.”

Camila Noceda turned off the ignition and rested back against her seat, letting out a weary breath. Being the head veterinarian in a small town, and arguably the most qualified and passionate of her office, led to a lot of long and stressful days. Today was one such. Giving sad news to loving pet owners was never something she would get used to.

There was something else, too. Something very strange from earlier this afternoon that she couldn’t explain. She made a mental note to ask Luz about it.

She glanced at the clock. 9pm. Luz was likely still up, watching cartoons or something. She got out of the old car, having to slam the door a few times before it stayed put. She opened the door to find Luz walking down the stairs to greet her.

After a brief hug and some pleasantries, Camila went into the kitchen. She foraged for some leftovers and set them in the microwave. Just a quick snack, then a shower, and she’d be off to bed, ready for an early shift the next day. Luz followed her, asking about her day.

It was calm and pleasant, a stark contrast to her busy work. Luz was calm, and while not super talkative, she always seemed interested in whatever her mom was up to. Camila smiled. She knew sending her daughter to Camp Reality Check had been difficult on them both, but if the past week was any indication, it must have done her some good.

She had already forgotten her unease from the afternoon.

Luz was going on about some tv show or something. Maybe she was making it up, Camila honestly had no idea. She had only been half-listening, going through plans and schedules for tomorrow, when a noise upstairs caught her attention. She couldn’t see the stairs from the kitchen, and the noise was quite unmistakably from someone stepping on the creaky top step.

“Is someone here, Luz?” Camila asked, looking over at her daughter.

The girl just nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Yes, Mom! I told you I had a friend from camp coming for a sleepover.”

She frowned. “You did? I don’t remember…” she looked down the hall, toward the stairs, as she felt the headache. That blasted headache that kept flaring up, blotting out her thoughts. She squeezed her eyes shut, turning her head away from Luz. She didn’t want her girl to see her in pain. She could handle a little headache.

“I told you this morning! Before you left. I’m sorry, Mama, I should have texted you a reminder or something.” Her words made sense, somehow. Camila has been getting more forgetful, apparently. More and more Luz had to remind her of things. It was strange. She didn’t remember having this much trouble before. But ever since Luz had returned home, she always felt like something was just… off. And the headaches…

Someone hesitantly stood in the hall, peering into the kitchen. Bright golden eyes seemed to trace every picture, every appliance, every shadow, as though at any moment something might come alive and snap back. Those eyes found Camila just as she found them, and both women locked up.

She’s a pale girl, just a bit taller than Luz. Pinkish hair jutted out beneath a black beanie. Her skin was quite pale, her delicate, painted fingers tugging at her small pride shirt. It looked identical to one Camila had seen Luz wear. She seemed quite nervous, and seemed to regard Camila with the same anxious attention that the mother felt. There was something off about her, about the fear in those almost unnaturally bright eyes…

Luz waved a hand before her mother’s face. “Mom! This is Amity Blight. She’s one of my best friends from camp!”

Amity. That name was familiar, wasn’t it? Camila smiled, despite the pounding in her head. “It’s nice to finally meet one of Luz’s friends from camp. Mija, why didn’t you tell me about your friends?” She picked up her steaming tea, taking a slow sip.

“I did, Mama!”

“I would have remembered you saying if one had pink hair!” She laughed, smiling at Amity. “I swear, she can be so oblivious sometimes.”

That cut through the tension. Amity smirked, nodding, keeping her voice light and easy. “Oh, I know. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Noceda.”

Luz grumbled, but looked from one to the other, glad they seemed to be getting along. Camila gestured to her meal. “Forgive my manners, I just needed a quick bite after a long day. Did you two eat already?”

Luz nodded. “We had soup!”

Amity chimed in. “It was good!”

Camila laughed. “It’s from a can, but I’m glad you liked it! Where are you from, Amity?”

“Oh, just right outside Bonesborough.” She answered easily, but eyes went wide and she tensed up again, glancing over at Luz.

“Jonesboro.” Luz corrected her with a giggle.

Jonesboro? Where was… Camila’s thoughts collapsed under another painful headache. She took another sip of her tea, drinking slowly until it cleared. What had she said? Maybe it wasn’t important. Amity was watching Luz with something like fear on her face. Not just fear. Horror. Poor girl, she had nothing to be nervous about.

“And how did you two meet?”

“Well, we-“

Camila put a comforting hand on her daughter’s wrist. “Mija, let your friend answer.”

Amity’s eyes darted back to Luz. Luz just looked back, giving her a warm, if somewhat exaggerated, smile. She didn’t know anything about camp. She didn’t even know what camp was! But she remembered Luz. She put on a practiced smile, steadying her voice again.

“Luz was really nice to everyone at… camp. Even me, but I wasn’t all that nice at first. Um, I guess I felt I was too good to be there. But she was friendly, and we talked about Azura and mag- many things we have in common. We helped our friend Willow with… photography. And we played sports together. We, uh, had a great time.” She looked back at the other teen, whom nodded. That was a good response.

Luz turned back to her mom. “Amity has really strict parents who make her study all the time, even before school starts! So I thought she could use a break and invited her here for the weekend!”

“The whole weekend?” Camila frowned, rubbing her temples. Two nights? She hadn’t mentioned that. Was that really a good idea, shortly before school started? But the headache was back, pushing the concern right back out.

Instead, Camila smiled. When was the last time Luz had a friend over, after all? Of course this Amity would be welcome in her home. “Well, it’s a pleasure meeting you, Amity. I have work early tomorrow, so please keep it down you two. I’ll be home in time for dinner tomorrow. Maybe we’ll order a pizza.”

Luz cheered. Amity glanced again to Luz, looking concerned. The girl stood up, walking toward her mom. “We’re getting tired, we’re gonna go watch something before bed. Love you Mama!”

Camila hesitated. She wanted to know more about this new, odd girl in her house. Why was she so nervous? And there was something off about her smile, like some of her teeth were too sharp. And there was something distinctly familiar about her, something she couldn’t place…

But as Luz kissed her cheek she felt an odd sensation. She blinked, purple spots floating out of her vision as she looked around. The kitchen is empty. Luz’s tv could be faintly heard upstairs. She didn’t remember kissing Luz back or saying goodnight, or watching them go upstairs. She took a sip of her tea, now cold.

“Strange kid.” She murmured, rubbing her head again, before searching for some aspirin.

Chapter 4: Lines of Communication

Chapter Text

“What did you do to her?”

Amity’s question was but a whisper, tinged with fear. She sat next to Luz on the latter’s bed, watching something called a Tea Vee that was like a big square crystal ball. Despite watching Azura heroically fighting monsters on screen, Amity couldn’t focus. She was too distracted by what had happened downstairs.

She could still see the vacant look in Mrs. Noceda’s eyes as Luz pulled Amity away, unmoving, unblinking, the tiniest hint of violet around her irises.

Luz just smiled, leaning against Amity’s shoulder. The witch felt herself flush, her embarrassment slowly winning over her fear. She spoke in a sing-song whisper that made her heart flutter before she had to remember she was not talking to her crush.

“No-thing serious. Camila’s a good mom, but she tends to ask a lot of questions. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”

As if on queue, Amity could just barely hear movement from the kitchen downstairs. She let out a breath she’d been unconsciously holding, relieved she was okay.

Though 'having your mind unknowingly manipulated by Oracle magic' was quite far from 'okay.'

As if to answer her next unasked question, Luz nodded. “I try not to do it too much. Use Oracle magic on her. It’s just meant to help me play my part better. But I’ll need to use it more if you’re staying with us.”

Amity blinked, refocusing on her mantra. She hadn’t felt any intrusions in her thoughts since she woke up. Now her curiosity was winning over. She was grateful for the Tea Vee playing loudly, drowning out her words as she whispered back.

“But why?”

Luz looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. “There would be a lot of uncomfortable questions if she knew you weren’t human. Or that I wasn’t human, for that matter. Better to keep things simple.”

“No, I mean, why? Why are you here?”

She frowned. “Because Luz is where you should be.”

“I know that,” Amity hisses. “I mean why are you pretending to be her? What’s the point? She’s just a random human.”

Luz smirked. “Not to you, she isn’t.”

Her ears drooped as her face burned. “No, she’s just a friend!” It was a quick response, and the Luz beside her clearly didn’t buy it. “You know what I mean.”

“I should ask you the same thing. How did you get here?”

“Don’t try to change-“

“I already saw your thoughts, but they didn’t make any sense. A vial of blood? Some intricate shape made of paint? What does that all mean?”

Amity glared at her, and Luz just smiled back. One of those heartwarming smiles that she could never stay mad at. No, that’s NOT HER! Don’t slip up, don’t let her-

“How about you tell me how you ended up here, and I can help you get home?”

Amity blinked again. Could she actually help me? “Why would you do that?”

Luz looked back at the Tea Vee. “Because you aren’t safe here. It’s not like a human hiding in the demon realm. Magic like your’s doesn’t exist here. If the wrong people find out, they’ll come after you. Take you to places worse then the Conformatorium.”

Amity shivered, tugging down on her beanie. It felt too hot and tight and it itched her ears, but getting discovered was not an option. She didn’t know much about the human world, but of course there would be people that would hunt her. She was different. People feared and hated anything that was different. That was true in both realms.

That’s how I was to Luz when we first met.

But she also caught the spite in her voice when she mentioned the Conformatorium. Was she from there? Or did she hate the Emperor’s Coven that ran it?

Luz watched her, shaking her head. “But if I help you get back, I can’t tell you about me. And you can’t tell Luz about me. I’ll make sure you forget.” Her eyes flashed violet again, and Amity quickly looked away.

“But, why? Why are you here, pretending to be her?”

Luz shushed her, pushing Amity’s head against her shoulder. “Don’t think about that right now. It’s late, and you’ve had a long day. We’ll talk tomorrow, when Mom’s at work.”

Gently she pulled off Amity’s beanie, and before the witch could protest she ran a hand through her lilac hair. Her eyes glowed again, and Amity found her concentration failing as exhaustion was forced upon her. Her mantra could stop precise thoughts, but not this overwhelming, all-encompassing static that smothered her senses. Luz felt so warm, her touch so soothing. Her eyes rolled, her thoughts and worries scattered as her mind filled with fog.

She had one last errant thought before sleep claimed her. Something about her words, the way she moved, her Oracle abilities. They reminded her of something she had read long ago.

She sincerely hoped she was wrong. If she wasn’t, she and Camila were in serious danger.

Luz smiled at Amity, waiting until she felt the girl’s breathing calm down. She looked so cute when she was sleeping. So peaceful without all her worries and anxieties making her tense. And she couldn’t think about her mantra while she was asleep, either.

She gently brushed the witch’s lilac hair, stealing stray thoughts and memories. The girl was positively smitten with the real Luz, and she had no indication if her feelings were returned. How sad. How useful.

Delving much deeper would likely wake the witch, so Luz turned her attention to Amity’s scroll. The purple parchment unfolded and hovered before her. Luz still wasn’t sure why it was working. There was no magic in this world for it to connect to. Yet, it clearly worked, allowing her to surf Penstagram and other social applications.

Amity Blight must be somewhat popular. She had received 3 calls from someone named Willow asking what she was up to. Apparently Luz was worried about her, but Willow didn’t know why. There were another 2 calls each from ‘Idiot 1’ and ‘Idiot 2’, a pair of older teens wondering where ‘Mittens’ was and getting more anxious with each message. The final call had been ‘Mother’, though she hadn’t left a message.

Luz searched idly for awhile, but she felt no attachment to anything she saw. How long had she been in the human realm? A few months? Nearly as long as Real Luz had been in the demon realm. She could barely remember her life before being Luz Noceda, and she was pretty sure she didn’t have much of one.

Considering what she is, that was to be expected.

She had come here for a purpose, after all. And with this newfound scroll and access to the Isles, she has an unprecedented ability to report in.

She typed in the rune she had memorized a lifetime ago and sent a private message: Guess what I stole this time?

A reply came a minute later: Who is this?

Luz sent a picture of herself and sleeping Amity leaning against her.

How did you get this rune?

You taught me to be perceptive.

How did you get a scroll?

Luz smirks. Does the name Amity Blight mean anything to you?

Elaborate

She spends the next half hour typing away, explaining finding Amity, what she learned from her, and her offer to help her get back.

It took some time for the other side to process all this. Finally, they responded: She’s a threat. She could expose you. Eliminate her.

She knows Luz. They found a way to travel here. She could be useful.

Luz frowned, turning her gaze back to the show. It took another 5 minutes before she finally got a response: Learn what you can. If you lose control of the situation, remove her.

Done. I’ll update you when I learn something.

Any other news?

It’s remarkably dull here. The mother is clueless. Luz had no knowledge of magic or the demon realm before she found it.

Continue your assignment and keep me informed.

Will do.

Luz smiled, pocketing the scroll and leaning gently back against Amity. “I can’t wait to see what else you know, cutie.” She giggles, gently kissing the witch’s forehead. She turns to stare at the tv, but her hand strokes Amity’s hair, lost once more in stolen thoughts.

“Wow.”

Hunter stands tall and stretches, back cracking. He’d been leaning against the tree for the past hour, listening to Luz’s tale. He rubs his eyes, fighting fatigue as he tried to make sense of everything he just heard.

Luz looks at him from her log, exasperated. She had told him everything, except the attempted kiss, of course. He had been quiet for the past hour, and that was his response? “Please have more to say then that.”

“I’m thinking!” He growls, waving an annoyed hand at her.

She sticks her tongue out but he doesn’t see it. “Think faster!”

He sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “There was no trace of her left behind? No blood, no hair, nothing?”

Luz shakes her head, forcing away the mental image of a bloodied lock of cotton candy hair laying on the charred glyph. “Nothing. She was just... gone.”

He snaps up his staff, and with a flourish and a flash of red he blinks a few feet away, rustling leaves in his wake. He turned around, pointing back. “No evidence I was just there. Light and wind. You teleported her.”

She stood up, pacing. “You’re sure?”

“If you did anything else, there would be… evidence.”

She nods. It made sense. But that left the question of- “Where?”

Hunter shrugs. “That, I don’t know. If titan’s blood affected the spell, then she could have ended up in the human realm. I… suppose if there was a place where magic was strongest, or a place you or she were familiar with, she’d end up there. But I really have no idea.”

“She’s never been there before. And the only place I’ve ever been was Eda’s old shack in the woods. But… I did show her what it looked like. Could she be there?”

She’s stops pacing, looking hopeful. Gravesfield isn’t dangerous, and maybe she could run into Mom. Amity’s seen her picture, she knows what Mom looks like! Mom could help her!

It would be really, really confusing, but Mom wouldn’t just turn someone away who needed help. And maybe she would worry less about me.

“I guess? I really wouldn’t know.” Hunter frowns, remembering the portal his uncle was building. If anyone would know, or could find out, it would be him. And Hunter was not about to ask about that.

He wondered if he should tell Luz about that portal. How would she react if she knew the Emperor was rebuilding it? What would she do if she thought it was the best way to save her friend?

What would Belos do if he found out a witch was mistakenly sent to the human realm? Because of wild magic?

He cleared his thoughts of all that. It was better for Belos, and Luz, if they were kept in the dark about such things.

He realizes Luz had been rambling for awhile and tried to pay attention again, but really couldn’t follow along. When she was done she looked at him expectantly, and Hunter simply shrugs.

She groans. “You’re no help.”

“Sorry, this isn’t my area of expertise,” he deadpans.

“I know.” She falls to the forest floor, pulling her knees to her chest. “I just… I messed up. If I wasn’t so anxious about her… you know…”

He frowned. Clearly he missed something, and whatever it was, Luz was upset about it. Or embarrassed. Or both? It was hard to tell, and he wasn’t real good at reading people. So he nodded along, as though he knew exactly what she was saying.

“I mean, could you imagine that?” She scoffed, face in her hands and lets out a muffled scream.

He nods dumbly. “Yeah, it’s hard to imagine.”

She frowns at him, shaking her head. “You could lie a little to make me feel better.”

…what? What was she talking about. “I mean… sure, I guess?”

Luz looks up at him, frustrated and confused. “What? Were you even listening?”

He couldn’t keep this ruse up forever. “No. I was thinking about teleportation magic.”

Her face falls into her hands again with another frustrated shout. She’s shaking, her whole face red. Hunter watches her for a moment, unsure, before walking over and putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “She’ll be okay.”

He had no idea if that was true or not, but it seemed to calm her a little. She nodded, rubbing her eyes, and he helped her back to her feet.

“You should probably go. It’s late.” Luz murmured. She didn’t want him to leave. She wanted someone to be there, to talk to, even if they didn’t know what to say. But the stressful day was finally catching up to her, and she needed to get to bed.

He nodded, retrieving his mask. “I’ll meet you tomorrow night if I think of anything.”

“Lilith’s coming tomorrow to help us.”

He frowned beneath his mask, but nodded again. “She’s…” he hesitates, choosing a much kinder word, “… smart. Hopefully she can help. Good luck, Luz. Get some sleep.”

If he’s recommending sleep, I must look terrible. “Thanks. You too, Hunter”

He gently strokes Rascal awake and pockets the palisman. He mounts his staff, giving Luz a small wave as he drifts above the treetops before disappearing in a flash of red.

Luz takes a deep breath as she watches him go. She felt better. Her stomach is still twisted in anxious knots, but somehow telling Hunter helped. She had even mentioned Amity’s attempted kiss, though it seemed he hadn’t heard that part. Or didn’t know how to react to it. Oh well. That was probably for the best.

She turns back to the Owl House, and nearly falls flat on her face when a voice calls out, “Hunter, hmm?”

Luz steadies herself and looks around, finally finding King a feet away, arms crossed. “I wouldn’t think you’d be on a first-name basis with the jerk who threatened to boil us all.”

She shakes her head. She had told Eda and King about their adventure in Latissa, but not about their late night glyph lessons. She was pretty sure they wouldn’t trust him. Luz wasn’t entirely sure she trusted him either, but he had only seemed honest and eager to learn each time they had met. “He’s… there’s more to him then that. He’s not a bad person.”

King frowns. He wants to say ‘That’s what you said about the cupcake-smasher’. Luz had an annoying habit of seeing the best in people. Even enemies, who don’t deserve it. But he knows better then to upset her again. So instead he asks “Are you gonna tell Eda?”

She hesitates. Eda had a low opinion of the Golden Guard, and the Latissa story didn’t seem to change it. She just saw him as another lackey to the Emperor, and an annoying one at that. Plus, if she told Eda, Eda would certainly tell Lilith, who despised the Golden Guard. And both of the probably wouldn’t like the idea of Belos’s nephew knowing a new way to get to the human world.

Luz herself had weighed the idea of telling him, but figured if he could hide a palisman from his uncle, he could hide this info, too.

“No. At least, not yet. Please don’t say anything.”

King huffed but nodded. “I won’t. Um… I’m sorry about earlier. About teasing you about Amity.”

Luz let out a breath, visibly calming. “I told you, I already forgave you for that. You didn’t know.”

“I know. I just still feel bAd.”

He grumbles, and Luz giggles. His voice had been breaking more often, and while King was clearly embarrassed by it, Luz never teased him. She thought it was cute.

It was better than Hooty’s ‘de-Man’ joke.

“We’re gonna get her back. She’s going to be fine.” Luz looked back up at the sky with a sigh, desperately hoping she was right. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Just after 10pm, after a meal and a warm shower, Camila peeked into her daughter’s room. Luz was still up, watching tv and occasionally looking at her phone. Amity was asleep, leaning against her. Her beanie was off, Luz gently stroking the sleeping girl’s lilac hair. Camila noted just how close they sat together, and how relaxed Amity was in her sleep. Much more so then downstairs when she met her earlier.

Luz glanced back and gave her mom a warm smile. Camila returned it and blows her a kiss goodnight. She closes the door, her smile dropping the moment she turns away.

She walks quickly to her room and shuts the door, climbs into bed and finds her phone. With the headache finally gone, Camila had remembered what she wanted to ask Luz about earlier, and seeing Amity in her home only made her more concerned.

Since early this afternoon, she had been receiving videos. Of Luz. From the phone Luz claimed to have lost at camp.

And not just any videos. Strange videos of Luz describing a foreign place full of odd people, with witches, demons, and magic. Videos that had been sent while Luz was at camp, but two were dated after she had returned home. Something had blocked them from being sent until today.

At first, Camila thought them just to be odd. Perhaps Luz had been allowed some time for creative expression, and when someone else found her phone the videos had been sent. Easy enough to explain just one. But by 5pm she had a dozen such videos, some taken in different locations, discussing a myriad number of topics, many including an extensive cast of characters, human-like and otherwise.

She searched until she found one particular video, dated the week before Luz was to return from camp. In it, Luz appeared to be exploring a library, but one far larger then any Camila had ever seen. People in the background were quite strange. Most had pointed ears, some had unusual hair or skin tones, or an odd number of eyes or limbs. A few looked quite monstrous, such as a small child with red skin and who’s entire face was a gaping jaw.

Luz was talking about finding books on the ‘human realm’ when her face grew red and she pointed the camera, giving Camila a split-second look at another person. She paused the video and stared at the image.

She was quite far from the screen, distracted by a handful of children. Her ears are pointed and her hair is mostly green, but she had the same pale skin, those same large, inhumanly golden eyes. There was no doubt that was the same girl currently sleeping on Luz’s shoulder.

Camila resumed the video, which focused back on Luz, still blushing and whispering to her phone. “That’s Amity. She’s one of my best friends from Hexside, but she’s a lot different from Willow and Gus. She’s really cool, and really pretty, and-“ her face grew redder, her eyes darting around, away from the phone. “I was… kinda hoping to talk to her maybe. About… stuff. Um, it looks like she’s busy. Maybe I’ll come back later. I’m sure Gus won’t mind if I hold onto his library card a little longer.”

Camila shut off her phone and leaned back, lost in thought. Luz never mentioned… anything… that had happened in the videos. She never mentioned any of the friends she claimed to make. Come to think of it, she never really talked at all about camp. She’d always try to change the subject. And then those migraines would flare up again…

And Camila was absolutely sure she’d remember if her daughter wanted to have a sleep over. She hadn’t had one since she was 8. It was also quite clear that Luz was interested in this Amity, more than as just a friend.

Why would her daughter hide so much from her? Why did she make all those videos and send them to her? And what was with all the other people and places, and many of the strange stories Luz told? What did it all mean?

And what of the two videos dated after Luz had returned from camp? One was a video of a tearful Luz talking about King’s adoption. The other, Luz ranting about a very, very bad crush on Amity. What could explain those?

Something wasn’t adding up. Camila could feel her daughter changing, pulling away, and she didn’t know why. No, that wasn’t true. She could guess why. Camp. Luz had been so apprehensive about going to camp, and Camila had enrolled her without her discussing it with her daughter. At the time, she had felt justified. Luz was so entrenched in her fantasies that she was becoming a danger to others.

But had that hurt her? Did she push too far? Did Luz resent her?

And even if that was the case, it still didn’t explain what happened with Luz’s phone and why she was getting these old, strange videos.

How much of those videos was real? What else was Luz hiding from her?

Camila checked the time and swore under her breath. It was late, much later than she had thought, and she had another early day tomorrow. She knew she had to do something. She needed answers for these discrepancies, these questions.

So she typed a short message to Luz’s old phone. There was no immediate response. She didn’t really expect one. It was late, after all, and chances are, it was someone who didn’t know Luz or Camila who had the phone.

She sighed and set the phone down, trying to push all the confusion from her mind as she slowly drifted to sleep.

Luz returned to her room sometime later after a quiet goodnight to King. Now exhausted, she flopped into her bedroll. Just before sleep could take her, she picked up her phone, just to check the time.

Huh. She had a message.

Mama - Who is this? Where did these videos come from?
Sent 11:51pm

Huh. Weird. Luz set the phone down, closing her tired eyes.

They bolted open a moment later, her fatigue forgotten. “ Wait, what!?”

Chapter 5: One Thing at a Time

Chapter Text

The first thing Camila did when she woke up early the next morning was check her phone.

Message Read: 1:42am

Oh. So someone is on the other end. But who? Would they respond? What would they say?

How would she bring all this up to Luz?

She sighed and got out of bed. She had work, and would be out of the house well before Luz and Amity woke up. Camila would spend her entire shift deciding what to say.

Amity splashed some water on her face, staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was one of her few moments since arriving in the human realm to not have Luz beside her, and she desperately needed the time alone. She took a breath, rubbing her eyes, trying to think.

She didn’t remember falling asleep last night. She didn’t even remember climbing into bed. All she knew is one moment she was watching Tea Vee, contemplating who or what Luz was. The next, she found herself opening her eyes to see Luz staring at her with that too-wide smile.

She kept staring at her and smiling, trying to make small talk, while throwing Amity some new human clothes to wear. She turned around to let the witch dress, talking all the while. It was only after she was fully dressed that Amity noticed the mirror Luz was smirking into, sending a shiver up her spine.

Breakfast was much the same. Luz showed her around the kitchen, where to find food, naming some of the appliances and how they worked, before giving her a bowl of cereal. Not the best meal she’d ever had. It was bland, and nothing moved, which was just so weird to her.

More conversation, and Amity would chime in now and again about the differences between the realms, or questions about various household items. But mostly it was just Luz talking. And not in the cute, frantic way that Amity knew and loved. This was more reserved, just filling the silence with way too much noise.

And all the while, Amity felt small prods in her mind. Testing her mantra, her resolve. Trying to find a weakness, to assess the witch’s capabilities. But Luz never mentioned the attempts, she just kept changing the subject again and again and again, keeping Amity off balance.

If her home life hadn’t prepared her for this level of physical and emotional influence, she would have broken by now.

She can’t think about that now. She needs to use this reprieve, brief as it is, to consider who or what Luz is. The more she can identify that thing, and mentally separate it from the real Luz, the better she can resist it’s manipulation.

It’s probably not a witch. A single, powerful witch, skilled in illusions to maintain their form and Oracle mind magics to string Camila along? Very unlikely. Someone of that level of power would have higher aspirations then to imitate a human teen.

A demon? Also unlikely. Most demons Amity is familiar with don’t have the intelligence or mental ability to do everything this Luz was doing. Some could disguise themselves, some could perform mind magics. Both? She couldn’t think of one that dangerous. And again, what would a lone demon gain from this performance?

A construct, then? Something built to look like Luz? Again, that doesn’t answer why , but this seemed somewhat possible. There were quite a few types of golems that could fulfill the role, at least in terms of appearance. But to make something this intelligent, with these specific abilities? It would be difficult. Expensive. Not something that could be done by any one witch.

And again, why? Always why. Why would someone, or many someones, go through this much effort to impersonate a human? One who knew nothing of the demon realm until a few months ago? How would the imposter even get to the human realm?

One thing at a time, Amity. What could she be? What could fit?

Again, a witch of that power level was almost unheard of. Eda and Lilith, the strongest witches Amity had ever met, with multiple disciplines of magic at their command, couldn’t pull of something like this. It would take years of studying Illusions and Oracle, simultaneously.

Demon? Not any that she’s heard of. The ones that can transform are either unintelligent or can’t practice magic.

Could a potion, or some magical doodad help? Or a concentrated effort by multiple witches or demons? Of course. But this Luz had been here for months. They’d need loads of potions, or a way to recharge their relic, or some way to travel between realms.

No, remember Belos’s razor. The simplest solution is probably right. Whatever Luz is, it has to be self-sufficient and not relying on hidden tricks or other sources of magic. Forget why, focus on what. And the only thing I can really think of… is a simulacrum.

Amity sighed. Of all the beings she could think of, only a simulacrum could explain everything she’d seen so far. A construct, intentionally built to resemble Luz. Assembled by Construction witches, animated by Beast Keepers, and empowered by Oracles to fulfill their role, by absorbing knowledge of their subject from those around them. Simulacrums could be customized in a variety of ways, but generally they possessed Oracle-type magics and had a limited ability to alter their forms, in order to protect themselves or self-repair.

But they weren’t lone wanderers that took over lives as they saw fit. No, they were created with a purpose. Originally they were designed as body doubles by powerful wild witches, but once Belos rose to power and the coven system was put in place, their construction was heavily monitored. Belos didn’t like the idea of multi-coven cooperation, so all simulacrums had to be built with the Emperor’s Coven’s approval. Even then, they were still extremely expensive, and could only be afforded by the elite.

Amity had only heard of one such simulacrum in her lifetime. A high-society student from Glandus had been injured playing grudgby, but returned to school a few days later just fine. Amity would overhear many rumors during her parent’s elegant parties, and one such was the child’s parents used their influence to commission a simulacrum to take their place in school while they healed.

Back to the present. How or why doesn’t make sense yet, but I can’t focus on that right now. Try to identify what Luz is first. Find a way to prove if she’s a simulacrum, or something else. Then I can try to determine why.

All while evading her Oracle magics and trying to find a way back home. Great.

A loud knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Are you done in there? Hurry up! I want to go for a walk!” Luz’s voice called out cheerfully.

Amity sighed. One thing at a time.

Eda grumbles as she descends the creaky stairs, meandering into the kitchen. She fills a novelty mug with apple blood and takes a long, loud slurp, smacking her lips. With a weary sigh she takes a seat at the table, taking another sip, feeling the harsh, cold drink bite at her insides and wake her up.

She blinks, quirking an eyebrow. Had Luz been here this whole time?

The human is slumped over the other end of the table, absently chewing some hurriedly scrambled griffin eggs and staring at her bat-winged human scroll. Feeling eyes on her, Luz pockets the scroll, looking up at her mentor with a groggy “Good morning.”

“Mornin’, kid.” Eda swallows, softening her voice. “How’d you sleep?”

She already knew the answer. The girl was a mess, barely moving, dark circles under red eyes. “Not great,” she admits.

Eda lets out a tired breath. She’s not a morning person. “I’m not gonna lie to you, Luz. Today’s gonna be rough. And it won’t get any easier until we get some answers.” She reaches across the table, gently squeezing the girl’s hand. “But I need you to stay hopeful. Okay? Amity’s as tough as they come. She’ll be okay, no matter where she is.”

Luz nods, not quite meeting her eyes. Of course she’s worried about Amity. She’d spent half of yesterday crying about her. That image of her, falling, flailing, onto the glyph, kept looping in her mind, again and again…

But now she had a new problem. Her mom had seen her videos. All of them. And she had messaged her!

How!? The portal was destroyed! No portal, no cell service, no messages could be sent. Was there another portal, somewhere? One she could use to talk to her mom? Or even find Amity?

But the sudden realization that she could talk to her mom again brought back all the fear she felt from Grom. How could she explain everything? Where she had been, why she hadn’t gone to camp, why she didn’t return?

And what exactly did her message mean? Who is this? Where did these videos come from? Did her mom forget her number? Or was she so worried she didn’t dare hope her daughter was still out there, somewhere?

Luz wanted nothing more than to reassure her mom, tell her everything was alright. But… now she has a different priority. Luz knows she’s okay, even if her mom doesn’t. She couldn’t focus on her now. She has to find out what’s happening with Amity. And if she has proof that Amity is on Earth, well, then she can talk to her mom.

But for the time being, she’ll keep this to herself. She didn’t need to make Eda even more worried. Or King, for that matter. He was worried enough by seeing Hunter last night.

No, this is her problem, and she can’t let it distract her from trying to save Amity.

She realized she’s been quiet awhile, and Eda’s watching her, squeezing her hand for reassurance. Luz nods, mumbling a thanks and rubbing her eyes.

Eda thinks for a moment, taking another gulp of apple blood. She starts, hesitant. “Hey… have I ever told you about Raine?”

Luz looks up from her plate, curiosity winning over her depressed and conflicted thoughts. “No?”

The wild witch sighs, taking a moment to pick her words. “They’re a… friend of mine, from back when we went to Hexside. About your age, actually. We were… close. But at some point we drifted apart.”

She absentmindedly touched the blackened jewel on her chest. Luz said nothing, growing more interested for Eda backstory.

“Well, Raine came back into my life recently, and it was… nice. Reminded me of old times. Good times. But they ran afoul of the Emperor’s Coven and I haven’t seen them since.”

Luz frowned. “Oh. I’m sorry. Did…?” She wasn’t sure what to ask, but she instinctively knew she wanted to help.

The witch shook her head, sipping her mug. “No. Nothing we can do about it now. I’m pretty sure they’re in the Conformatorium, and we aren’t raiding that place again without some serious magic behind us.

“What I’m trying to say is I understand what it’s like to have someone you lo-“ she pauses, fumbling over her words, “… a friend, who’s in trouble. And there’s not much you can do about it. But the one thing they wouldn’t want is for you to beat yourself up over it. Regardless of how much you think you contributed to their situation.”

Luz watched the witch carefully, absorbing every word. When she was done, Eda’s mismatched eyes shine for a moment, and she quickly blinks and takes a long slurp from her mug. Luz nodded, scooping up what was left of her breakfast.

“Thanks, Eda. I’ll remember that.” She pauses, looking at her curiously. “Did… did you want to talk about-?”

With a loud “Weh”, King announced his presence, startling them. Eda quickly shook her head, popping out “Nope!” and ran upstairs. Luz shrugged. She had to keep her mind clear of distractions. Once Lilith was here, all her attention had to be on trying to find Amity.

Besides, once they had answers, Luz knew she could get more of Eda’s backstory from her sister.

As if on cue, Hooty excitedly shouted from outside. “Lulu! You’re back!”

Chapter 6: Luzer

Chapter Text

“Can you shut up for just one second?”

Luz laughs, leaning closer. “What? Are you finally sick of me, Amity?”

The witch groans, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to clear her headache. Luz - fake Luz, that is - had been talking non-stop since she had left the bathroom. That was hours ago. For awhile they just wandered the house, watching Tea Vee or pointing out every human thing Amity couldn’t identify. Luz had claimed she was trying to teach the girl everything about the human realm, since she’d likely have to stay with them for awhile.

When asked why she had told Ms. Noceda Amity was only staying the weekend, Luz simply shrugged, saying they had to start small. A believable lie that she could expand upon.

Now Luz led them down the streets of the neighborhood, pointing and explaining anything and everything to the witch. Every little detail she could find that made this world different from their’s. By now they were leaving the neighborhood, walking by some of the smaller shops that surrounded the residential areas of Gravesfield. Luz’s constant talking was absolutely exhausting. And all the while-

“And stay out of my head.” Amity growls, glaring at her companion, as her mantra deflects another implanted thought.

The imposter just gave her a toothy grin. “And why would I do that? You have so many juicy secrets in there! How else could I learn to be the perfect Luz for you?”

The witch rolls her eyes. “You’re not Luz.”

“No. But I can be. I can be your Luz.” She smirked, leaning close and taking Amity’s hand in her own. She flinched, trying to pull away. But the not-human’s grip is strong, incredibly so, as she rubs the witch’s knuckles with her thumb.

Amity can feel her cheeks burning. Even though she knows this isn’t Luz, and might be some creepy animated machine, she still sounds like Luz, and her hand feels like Luz, and she smells like Luz, and if I kiss her, would it be like kissing Luz?

No! She isn’t her! She doesn’t talk anything like her, no matter how hard she tries. It’s all noise without the emotion, without the energy and excitement behind everything she says! And her arms are too strong, so strong, like how she carried me-

No no no! Keep it together!

How much of this is my own emotions, and how much is it her manipulating me?

But she can’t voice any of that, so instead Amity grumbles, “Why are you like this?”

Luz laughs, that hearty, playful laugh that makes her heart swell before her brain can remind it to stop. “Because you’re fun! Much more fun then Camila. You’re new and exciting and I want to learn everything I can from you! You make me a better Luz.”

Amity tries unsuccessfully to pull away again. “You are not Luz. You’ll never be her, no matter how hard you try.”

“Careful, Amity.” She laughs again, but her tone shifted from playful teasing to something more sinister. “You wouldn’t want to make me upset. It’s not like you have anywhere else to go.”

The witch frowns, glancing around. There’s a few people milling around, going about their day, and even though no one is paying them attention, Amity can’t help feel like she’s being watched. She knows she doesn’t belong here, and she can’t be found out. She tugs her beanie down with her free hand, earning a chuckle from the girl beside her.

“See?” Luz smirks. “Just be good. Yeah, all this stuff I’m teaching you? It’s boring. I know. But you might be here awhile, so you need to know it if you’re gonna fit in. You might not always have me by your side. And-“

A voice cries out from their left. “Hey, Luzer!”

Luz freezes, abruptly letting go of Amity’s hand. The witch looks confused toward the source of the shout. Two human girls, about their age, are walking toward them. The lead is pale with blue eyes and short blonde hair, a single pink stripe down the middle. Following her is a dark-skinned girl, hazel eyes and black hair pulled back. Both are sporting cruel smirks as they approach, expressions Amity had seen before. Expressions she had worn before, while bullying others with Boscha and her gang.

Amity looks back to Luz, who seems… anxious? That’s not right. She was never nervous around Boscha or other bullies at Hexside. She fought the freaking Emperor! So why was Luz - or rather, Fake Luz - afraid of some human teenagers who probably couldn’t throw fireballs at her?

Perhaps noticing her confusion, Luz gave Amity a wink, which only confused the witch further. Was this an act? The fake human turned back to address the new girls with a nervous stutter. “Cl-Cl-Clara! Melony! Wow, um, good to see you! H-how was your summer?”

The humans folded their arms as the pale one spoke with mock friendliness. “Hey, Luzer! We haven’t seen you in months! Where have you been?”

Before Luz could speak, the other girl, Melony, chimed in. “I heard your mom sent you to camp after the snakes incident.”

“That’s right!” Clara grinned, stepping close to Luz. “Your mom got tired of all your weirdness! So? Are you normal yet?”

Luz looked down, mumbling, “Just go away.” It broke Amity’s heart. Was this how her friend, her crush, was treated back home? Luz had told her she never really had friends on Earth, but she was bullied, too? And without any friends to come to her side, did she just let it happen?

The blond found Amity’s eyes and her smile grew. “And who’s this? Luz, did you actually make a friend at loser camp?”

Rage filled the witch. She wanted to lash out, to tell off these arrogant humans. But that anger quickly turned to fear as Melony came close, tugging on her beanie. “Woah! What’s going on with your hair? It’s pink!”

Amity steps back with a fearful squeak, pulling the itchy beanie tightly over her head. The humans laugh, and even Luz gives her an amused look. That little smile falls as she steps half in front of the witch, half blocking her from view. “This is Amity. M-my friend from camp. But she’s shy, just leave us alone.”

“Pshh, you’re no fun like this.” Clara sulks, pushing Luz a step back. “Come on, Noceda! What would your dumb book hero do now?”

“It’s not a dumb book.” Amity was surprised to heard Melony grumble, but the lead bully either didn’t hear her or didn’t care.

Luz hung her head low. “Just go away. Please. You don’t have to worry about me being weird.”

The humans share a look. Melony almost looks concerned. Clara shrugs. “Huh, fine. Enjoy your last week of summer with your friend. We’ll see you in school, Luzer.” The two turn and leave, arguing about Azura and wondering if Luz had actually changed.

As soon as they were out of sight, Luz straightened up, wearing her normal grin again. “Sorry about that. Humans, am I right?”

“So Luz gets bullied?” Amity frowns, her voice small.

“Yup. I haven’t met them before, but I’ve been pulling memories from every kid I could find. Clara and her friends aren’t even the worst, but they are the most persistent.” She turns around, leading Amity away from the humans, back toward the Noceda home. “Apparently Clara and Melony used to be Luz’s friends, but when they got popular they stopped hanging out with her.”

Guilt welled up in Amity’s chest. This isn’t right! Luz doesn’t deserve this! “Why didn’t you stop it? Stand up for yourself?”

Luz just shakes her head. “She wouldn’t do that.”

“Yes, she-“

“No.” Her voice is firm. “Maybe now she would, after living in the demon realm. But here? She has no one on her side. When she’s focused on something she’ll stand up for it. But here, now? Nothing.” She shrugs. “I can’t afford to be found out, so I can’t stand out. All I can do is keep them from discovering you.”

They walk for awhile in silence. Amity frowns, thinking over what had happened, and what she knew of her crush. Poor Luz. Real Luz. Not this fake. It explains… a lot about her, actually. Why she stands up to bullies like Boscha. Or… me. Why she’s so protective of her friends. Why she says all the time how Hexside is better then her old schools.

“Speaking of being found out.” Luz’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “We should discuss dinner tonight. You can’t go blathering to Mom about the Boiling Isles. We need to come up with something you can actually tell her.”

Amity nods solemnly, even more depressed. Luz’s poor mom, who knows nothing about her daughter being trapped in another world, or this thing impersonating her. This woman she has to lie to, whom has shown her undeserved kindness and hospitality. Who has to go through horrific manipulation via Oracle mind magic to keep up the imposter’s lie. The witch shuddered.

This is all wrong. Mrs. Noceda deserves the truth! Or at least, she doesn’t deserve what the fake is doing to her. I can't just stand by and let this happen. But what can I do without exposing myself as inhuman?

A plan starts to form. It’s not much of one, honestly, but it might work. Or it might horribly backfire, depending on how strong ‘Luz’ is. But she has to do something. She can’t just sit here and watch this fake hurt her best friend’s mom or ruin her crush's life. She has to do something. At the very least, it might help her find out the fake's capabilities.

And maybe, hopefully, Luz is still out there trying to bring her home, in case it all goes wrong.

Amity nods. “Okay. What do I need to do?”

“Do you know what pizza is?”

The witch shook her head. Luz laughed, that same silly, bubbly laugh, as she explained the delicious meal. But Amity’s focus was such that she didn’t feel the slightest bit flustered. She nodded and absorbed everything she was told as they walked, all the while trying to decide how to best approach this plan.

Chapter 7: Holes

Chapter Text

Pleasantries were kept brief before Luz led Lilith, Eda, and King back to the scorched glyph in the forest. Luz explained what had happened, pointing out where she had been standing, where Amity had fallen. She kept out the part of Amity trying to kiss her, of course. She was determined to take that secret to her grave.

But she did expand a bit on her description of yesterday’s events. “I was thinking about it some more, and it reminded me of some teleportation spells I’ve seen other witches do. So, maybe something like that is what happened?”

Lilith and Eda nodded, looking over the clearing. King gave her a look, remembering what he overheard from last night, but said nothing.

After that, Lilith had them start running tests. She had made a list of things to try based on what Eda had told her, and very quickly they started getting interesting results.

It wasn’t just light glyphs they were having trouble with. None of their glyphs or glyph combos seemed to work in the little clearing. It wasn’t until Eda walked out of the clearing and about 40 feet away that the paper would crumple and a small light orb would appear. The same was true for any other glyph.

Lilith used her own weakened magic to cast a light spell, and while she was able to, she noted the spell felt more difficult to pull off. Whatever the titan’s blood had done, it used up every trace of magic around it.

“A witch with a working bile sac may be able to see what’s happening. But, in lieu of that, I came prepared.” The elder Clawthorne pulled a Construction power glyph from her pocket.

Eda frowned. “Are you sure about that, Lily? Your magic might be amplified, but you still don’t have that much. That thing’s gonna wipe you out.”

“I’m sure, sister. If it will help us find Amity, a little fatigue will be worth it. Besides, I have an idea of what to look for.” She pressed the glyph to the back of her right hand, making a fist. With a deep breath she drew a tan circle around her forehead, her eyes glowing. She looked around before focusing back at the center of the charred glyph in the grass. A small smile as she said, “I thought as much.”

Luz and Eda exchange a look before the human called out “What is it? What do you see?”

“Exactly what I was suspecting. Take a look for yourselves.” She traced another circle, palming and splitting it into three, which flew towards the others. Luz rubbed her eyes as they filled with light, and as she blinked again, she gasped out.

The world looked muted, color drained somewhat, and in its place were bands of light. Ribbons of violet and orange, red and blue, and a dozen other colors weaved through the trees and danced around the bright sky. They shifted and shone, veins of magic peeling apart and twisting together, bleeding into a dense tapestry that filled the world.

“It’s… beautiful.” King whispered somewhere behind her. Luz looked over and was surprised to find a rainbow of color spiraling around his chest and throat.

“It’s a magical sense spell.” Eda explained, eyeing King with the same level of curiosity. “I’d use it all the time to pick out the best potions, or valuable loot for swiping.”

“It’s also quite useful for finding witches trying to remain hidden.” Lilith grumbled bitterly. “And it is invaluable when researching lost magic.”

Luz looked to her, finding blue and tan flaring from the power glyph, igniting the pale ochre ribbons within her. She turned to Eda to find a dull grey within her, snarled and pulsing like a second heartbeat.

She looked down at herself and frowned. There was color, but it seemed so much weaker. Wisps of pink, purple, and blue encircling a ribbon of white. I guess it makes sense. Humans have no natural magic, but it’s still weird to see King with more magical energy then me.

King caught her gaze, quirking an eyebrow. “What are you looking AT?” He screeched, voice cracking with the last word. Angrily he stamped his foot, much to Luz and Eda’s amusem*nt.

As Luz turned back toward the clearing, she noticed something about the threads of magic. The closer to the singed glyph they were, the more they darkened and frayed. Many threads disappeared entirely, cut at some point before reaching the glyph. Luz stepped closer to it, tracing a hand along a ribbon and watching it distort around her fingers, but as she stepped close to the glyph it seemed to bend and break under her presence.

And at the glyph itself, there was nothing. No trace of magic.

No, that's not right. In the very center of the glyph was something. Separate from the other threads, a tiny, tiny loop of brilliant yellow that spun rapidly. It reminded her of artists depictions of a black hole, but far more brilliant. Hesitantly she brought her fingers close, before passing them over the space. Nothing. There was no change of pressure or temperature, nor any tug or push of force. If it weren’t for Lilith’s detection spell, they’d never know it was there.

Lilith walked up beside her, tracing a bright circle just above the loop. Luz watched in awe as the colors within the witch poured from her finger into the circle, stretching towards some of the blackened, deadened threads around it for more power.

But just as the circle was completed, it broke apart, it’s ribbons knitting themselves to the tiny yellow loop before disappearing entirely. Lilith wavered a bit, and Luz and Eda were quick to steady her.

“That.” Lilith paused, blinking and ending the spell on all of them. She took a breath, peeling off the spent power glyph and allowing herself to lean against Eda. “That is what your glyph did with the titan’s blood. It sucked up all the magic around it to make it.”

“But what is it? What’s that loop?” Luz asked hesitantly, but she had a suspicion. One the witch quickly confirmed.

“It’s a hole. You made a hole in the realm, Luz. Or, if you rather, you made a portal.”

Mrs. Noceda came home around 3pm that day, but because she had another early morning tomorrow, they all agreed to have an early dinner. It was just as well. Luz and Amity had skipped lunch, with the former focused on getting the latter’s story straight. Amity wasn’t sure if Fake Luz even needed to eat, but she claimed to be starving by the time the meal arrived.

Pizza, it turns out, is great! There wasn’t anything quite like it in the Boiling Isles. Luz had explained its components, and the witch wasn’t too sure why someone would make a meal like that. Cheese and dough are much the same in both worlds, but why would anyone want to gather tomatoes? Are they different in the human realm? Did they not snarl and bare their fangs and travel in huge, murderous swarms? Amity had been compared to a tomato before, and in retrospect, she could see the comparison, having gotten angry enough to bite the offender’s head off.

Regardless of how dangerous human tomatoes are, she had to agree that pizza was pretty good.

The conversation was going well, too, though Amity was panicking inside. She told her about her school and her family, and her time at camp. All lies, crafted by ‘Luz’. Her plan was simple. Make Amity look normal and sympathetic today, then tomorrow once Camila comes back home, make up some tragedy to explain why Amity had to stay with the Nocedas for some unknown length of time. Luz even promised that if Amity could sell the story, she wouldn’t use her Oracle abilities on Camila. Whether that was true or not, the witch had no idea. Either way, she didn’t really like the plan.

For one thing, she just didn’t like lying to adults. She’s done it before, of course. A small fib to get her parents off her back, or to help a friend. But she never felt good about it. It didn’t help that her mother practiced Oracle magic and could see through her children without any trouble. She suffered her mother’s punishment enough to have honesty and respect for adults drilled into her.

For the second reason, while partaking in the conversation and maintaining her mantra, Amity also was trying to carry out her own plan. A risky, stupid plan that could very easily backfire. What if Mrs. Noceda said something? Or freaked out and called someone to deal with the not-human Blight living in her home? What if Fake Luz found out? What would she do? Even if the plan worked, could Amity trust Camila? Even if something was done about Fake Luz, could Amity ever find a way back home?

She pushed all that down and took another bite of her pizza. During a lull in the conversation, she carefully watched Luz and Camila. Under the table, she traced another pale blue spell circle, again and again, just as she had seen her siblings do a thousand times. It wouldn’t be perfect. Why, with her own perfectionism, it could hardly be called good. But it had to work. There was too much at stake.

For her part, Camila enjoyed getting to know Amity. She seemed like a nice girl. More then anything, she was overjoyed that Luz had made a friend. A real, three-dimensional, non-reptilian friend.

But as diner went on and the conversation waned, Camila noticed a few things. Amity seemed so nervous, almost as much as the night before. She took a long time to give answers to simple questions like ‘what do your parents do?’ or ‘what’s the name of your school?’ Whenever she stumbled she’d look to Luz, as if her daughter would know the answer. And she did. Again and again.

Eventually, Camila started to find holes in the stories. Amity got the name of the camp wrong, as well as the dates she was supposed to be there. Names of friends she and Luz supposedly made at camp were different. She said her favorite food was ‘thornberry tarts’ but Luz changed the subject before she could ask what a thornberry was. Little things that, on their own, could be attributed to the girl’s nerves. But added up, it made Camila feel uneasy.

Something wasn’t right. She could tell, she just couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Amity, and perhaps also Luz, was lying about something. And whenever she thought too hard, she could feel that headache start to creep in. While nowhere near as severe as previous nights, she could still feel it.

And the videos. She wanted answers. What were these videos? Why were they made? Who were all those people, with long ears and fangs and strange talking animals and magic? She so wanted to ask Luz about the videos, but that was a private thing, right? She shouldn’t ask about them in front of Amity. Not when more then a few of them mentioned Luz’s obvious crush on the girl.

Was that why Amity kept looking to Luz for… what? Reassurance? Was she afraid of meeting Camila because she liked Luz back? Did Luz know? Camila mentally tried to time when camp ended and when Luz came home, but it clashed with the dates on the videos, and it just made the headache flare up again, so she stopped thinking about it.

Instead she got up to get another slice of pizza while the girls chatted about Azura. She opened the box, and her eyes went wide.

On top of the pizza were yellow letters, just barely visible, that read ‘DONT LOOK LUZ IN THE EYES.’ Camila blinked, and the words were gone.

Did she just… no. No, there’s no way that was real. She peeled off another slice and sat back down with an uneasy smile. As she did she glanced up at the clock. But the numbers are gone, replaced with ‘SHES NOT LUZ.’

“Mom! Hey, Mom!”

Camila startled, looking to Luz, who seemed concerned. “Are you okay?”

She blinked. The clock is normal. The pizza is normal. “Yes… sorry. I think my headache’s coming back.” She put a hand to her head, averting her gaze, and instead finding Amity watching her closely.

Luz frowned, glancing to Amity as well, then back to her mom. “We were going to go watch Azura, if that’s okay. Are you sure you’re okay?”

She stared back at Amity. The pink-haired girl gave her a little nod. Camila wasn’t sure what that meant, but she nodded toward Luz. “Yes, mija, that’s fine. I’ll clean up, and then I think I’ll lie down.”

Luz looked back to Amity again before getting up. “O-okay, if you say so. Love you, Mom!” She grabbed Amity’s hand and pulled her upstairs to her room, loudly shutting the door as the tv came on.

Camila sighed, rubbing her temples. There was no headache, not this time. Just confusion, and words that weren’t there. Couldn’t be there. Was she going crazy? Maybe she should take Luz’s jokes about her memory going more seriously. She took a few breathes, slow and even, then opened her eyes and found the note.

It was right there, in the middle of the table. It hadn’t been there the whole time, had it? Carefully she picked it up, reading it with shaking hands.

I’m sorry. I’m not trying to scare or upset you, but you deserve to know the truth. We need to talk. Away from Luz. This isn’t really her. She’s safe, I promise. She means a lot to me, too. But something took her place. Something dangerous. I don’t know why, but I’m trying to find out. But I don’t want it to hurt you anymore. She’s the reason for your headaches and forgetfulness. I’ll do what I can to help. Tomorrow, there will be a note in the Car. Don’t open it until after you leave. We’ll talk soon. Be careful! Don’t look Luz in the eyes. Don’t tell her about this note. We can keep each other safe. I promise.

Amity Blight

Camila took a deep breath and read the note again. Slowly she set it back down, and the moment she did, the words vanished in a puff of blue smoke, leaving a confused woman staring a plain sheet of paper.

Chapter 8: Suspicion

Chapter Text

“So now we know what the glyph did. Now the question is: where does the portal lead?”

That’s what Eda had said hours ago. But despite plenty of testing and theorizing and reading the notes from Wittbane’s diary, they were no closer to the truth.

According to Lilith, the human and demon realms were just two of many dimensions. No one knew how many there are, but extremely powerful magic like titan’s blood could punch a hole to them. She suggested that the portal must have been much larger upon it’s creation, swallowing up Amity, before it ran out of magic and shrank to its current, invisible size. But they were no closer to figuring out where it led, or how to reach Amity.

Well, that’s not true, Luz thought. Mom got my videos the same day that Amity disappeared. And last I checked, I still have cell service. The signal could be going through even a tiny portal. So that’s gotta mean Amity went to Earth, right?

As the afternoon wore on, Lilith got more and more tired. Worn out from casting, she took a nap under a tree. Soon after, the remaining research came to a halt. There wasn’t a lot that Eda, King, and Luz could do but speculate. None of them knew the specifics of magic like the elder Clawthorne.

Eventually, Eda stood and cracked her back. “I’ll head back and get dinner ready. You two keep an eye on Lily.”

Luz looked over at King. “Actually, could you go back and get my phone? I, uh, wanted to check something.”

“See if you could get a signal? That’s good thinking. Maybe that’ll tell us where the portal goes.” Eda grinned. King climbed up on her shoulder and the two turned back, leaving Luz alone.

She sighed, laying down on the grass. Should she text her mom? What would she say? How can she ask about Amity? She doesn’t want to freak her mom out, especially not when she was supposed to be home almost two weeks ago. But if she doesn’t say anything, how are they going to find Amity? She could be lost in the human realm, if not something worse.

I have to text Mom. I have to face my fears. Just like Amity faced her’s for me, at Grom. And when she faced her parents. I’m supposed to be her fearless champion.

Something fluttered in her stomach at that thought. Oh silly, innocent Luz, pledging to be a girl’s champion and then getting a crush on her. Huh, if anything, Amity’s been my champion lately. That just made the fluttering more intense. She could feel her face heating up. She started to cover her cheeks when she remembered that she’s alone.

And I need to figure out these feelings for her. I really, really like her, right? I haven’t been crushing this hard for anyone else before. Once we find her and bring her back, maybe we can talk. And I can apologize for freaking out for-

“What are you thinking about, Luz?”

“AHHHH!” The human screamed, falling over.

Lilith chuckled softly, sitting up and stretching her limbs enough for her arms to pop off, eliciting a frustrated groan. “Where’s Eda and King?”

“They went back to start dinner. But King should be back soon.” Luz sat back up with an embarrassed laugh.

She nodded, carefully reattaching her arms and playing with her fingers before looking back up. “Good. I was… hoping to get you alone. Ask you some questions, if that’s okay.”

Luz blinked, unsure. “O-oh? What kind of questions?”

“When Edalyn told me what happened yesterday, she thought that something might have… happened, between you and Amity.” She spoke delicately, wringing her fingers together. “She doesn’t want to pry, believe it or not. She thinks if there was anything, you’d tell her.”

Luz looks down, red-faced, not responding. She really, really didn’t want to mention the kiss.

Lilith nodded. “That’s what I suspected. I don’t want to pry in your relationships either, but this may be important. Wild magic is much more chaotic than spells derived under the coven system. It is more easily influenced by emotions. Powerful emotions, your’s or Amity’s, could have affected the glyph. It could explain what happened to her. Where she went.

“I understand such emotions can be… confusing. Embarrassing. I don’t want to push you, Luz, if you are uncomfortable. But-“

“She tried to kiss me.”

Lilith froze. Did she hear that right? “What was that?”

Luz sighed, looking at the forest floor. She started to trace a light glyph in the dirt with her finger, following each specific line as she speaks. “I… kind of have a crush on her, but I’ve been too embarrassed to act on it. Eda and King know. Amity kissed my cheek last week, and I couldn’t stop gushing about it all night.”

Lilith watches her, waiting patiently for her to continue. “I didn’t have any friends in the human realm. I was the weirdo. The loser. That’s what they called me, ‘Luzer.’ No one liked me. Especially not anyone I had a crush on.

“And then I had to get this stupid crush on Amity of all people. Amity, one of my best friends. One of my only friends. Who’s way, way out of my league. I never thought I had a chance, and then she kissed me. Maybe it was just a friendly kiss, because I saved her job, you know? But… I couldn’t help but think, maybe…”

She’s quiet for a few minutes, the only sounds are the leaves rustling in the breeze and the chirps of various birds and bugs. Luz continues to trace glyphs in the dirt, lost in her own thoughts. Finally, Lilith clears her throat. “And yesterday?”

She sighs. “Yesterday. We made the glyph, and I was standing there. And she was standing there. And she said something encouraging, and then… she tried to kiss me again. And I just… panicked. I fell back, and I pushed her backwards, and she. She fell on the glyph.” She takes a shuddering breath, squeezing her eyes shut. “And it’s all my fault! Its all my fault she’s lost, or hurt, or dead, and I can’t do anything about it!” She stamps her feet, screaming out, losing control. She can’t… she just can’t…

Lilith is at her side, hugging her awkwardly. She’s not exactly the mothering type. Eda was better at that. Somehow. But she did her best to console her, shushing and reassuring her.

“It’s not your fault! Amity wouldn’t blame you. And if anyone can help her, it’s you.”

For the second time in two days, Luz’s screams of anguish filled the forest.

King hurried up the stairs and made his way to Luz’s room. There’s the human phone, sitting by her bedroll. He picked it up and turned to leave when something rang behind him.

“Weh?” He turned around. One of Eda’s crystal balls was there, and it’s ringing. Someone’s calling Luz! Without thinking about it, King pressed his paw to it.

“Luz! Wait, King, where’s Luz?” Willow asked as she appeared. Gus’s image appeared beside it, in his own crystal ball.

Um, they aren’t supposed to know the truth yet, right? He hesitated a little too long before saying “She’s in the woods with Lilith. Practicing… uh, glyphs!”

“Well we need to talk to her!” Gus cried.

Willow eyed King suspiciously. “Maybe not. Do you know what’s going on with Amity?”

Play dumb! “Amity… Amity… who’s Amity?” Not that dumb!

“The cupcake smasher.” Gus said, conjuring an illusion of the lilac-haired witch.

“Oh! That Amity! Nope! Haven’t seen her in awhile. Why?”

“Because Luz wanted me to call her, since she doesn’t have a scroll. I’ve been calling her all weekend and she never picked up!” Willow waived her scroll around frantically.

“And today, the twins-“ Gus made a helpful illusion of Amity’s siblings for reference “- messaged me asking if I’ve seen her. She never came home last night, and she’s ignoring their calls too.”

“The last thing Gus and I heard is that she was helping Luz with the echo mouse. We’re starting to get worried.”

King tapped his claws together, trying to think of something, anything, to get them off the crystal ball. Obviously he can’t tell the truth! He doesn’t even know what the truth was! But they can’t know that Amity wasn’t in the Boiling Isles anymore. So after an uncomfortably long pause he said “Well! I, uh, don’t!… Know anything. Sorry.”

Both of them eyed him suspiciously. “Fine,” Willow sighed, “Just tell Luz to call us back. If something’s wrong, we want to help! Amity is our friend too.”

“Well, maybe not quite the same friend as she is with Luz.” Gus smirked, drawing a laugh from the plant witch.

King just looked away, ashamed. “Um, maybe don’t tease Luz about that right now.”

Willow piqued an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Just… don’t, okay? I’ll tell her you called.”

The witches shared a look, but nodded and hung up. King sighed and hurried from the room, forgetting all about Luz’s phone.

Amity let out a yawn, rubbing her eyes. Luz glanced at her, feigning concern, before turning back toward the Tea Vee. They were back in Luz’s room watching the Azura anime again, but once more the witch’s mind wandered. She’s tired. Illusion spells were not her specialty, and she had underestimated how draining magic could be while in the human realm.

Mrs. Noceda had definitely noticed the words, and as far as she could tell, Luz had not. Good. She hoped they wouldn’t scare Mrs. Noceda too much. She needed an ally, someone she could trust, but she had no idea how much Luz was controlling her. No idea how much Camila knew of the Boiling Isles, if anything. And no idea what she would do if she knew the truth about the two teens in her home. But right now, Amity couldn’t really worry about that. She couldn’t say anything with Luz around. She had already conjured the illusion in the Car, so now she could relax and let her bile sac rest.

Or so she hoped. Luz was watching her again, studying her. Amity made sure her mantra was going and made a face. “What?”

Luz frowned. “Somethings up.”

The witch raised an eyebrow, focusing on her mantra to keep her panic at bay. “What do you mean?”

“Mom.” She glanced at the door, turning up the volume on the Tea Vee. “I didn’t influence her, like you asked. But I could still feel her thoughts. Earlier, she wanted to talk about something. And during dinner, she got real scared all of a sudden. And she kept looking at you.”

“Me?” Amity leaned back, avoiding Luz’s eyes. “Wh-why would she be scared of me?”

“I don’t know.” She watched the witch closely. Something’s off. The witch is tense, and trying hard not to show it. Was she scared of being found out? Absolutely. But this was something else. “Did you do something?”

“Do something? What? No.” Amity quickly looked away. See, this is why I can’t ever get away with anything! Why can’t I be as good a liar as the twins?

Luz pursed her lips. “Mom wanted to talk about something.” She smiled coyly, wrapping an arm around the lilac-haired girl’s shoulder. “Come on, Ams, you can tell me anything.” She teased, pulling her closer.

Amity flushed and pouted, trying to pull out of her strong grip. “No, there’s- stop it! You’re not real! You’re not her!”

“I’m the closest you’ll ever get to her.” Luz teased, but there was a threat behind her words. A secret she had kept from the witch. A memory she had plucked out when she first found her, to help Amity trust her more. It wasn’t enough, clearly. The witch was too smart for her own good. But now that stolen memory of a rejected kiss might be a way to get her to comply.

Amity stops struggling, regarding her with fear. “W-what do you mean?”

Gently she strokes her cheek, the girl shivering beside her. She gives her a warm, loving smile that makes her wilt. “Poor girl. Luz rejected you. But don’t you worry, I wouldn’t do that. I love you just as you are.” She punctuated her words with a boop on the witch’s nose.

Amity paled, shaking. No. No that can’t be true. Luz is too kind… she’d never… she wouldn’t… “H-how… do you know?” She asked with a shaking voice.

“You told me. In here.” She tapped the witch’s forehead. “She rejected you, and the only thing you could think was to run. That’s how you ended up here, with me.”

“No… you’re… you’re lying! You aren’t real!” Her voice is soft, unsure. Amity tries to struggle again, tries to get away, but the imposter is much too strong, and instead pulls her closer so she can gently, sickeningly kiss her forehead. Revulsion fills the witch. This isn’t her! She’s not Luz! She's a fake! She’s not even alive!

“I’m not lying. I kept it from you to keep you calm. But you can trust me. I know more about you then you do. Come on, Ams, you can tell me anything.” Luz cooed, pressing another kiss to the girl’s forehead.

Amity, distraught, tired, confused, her focus slipping, her mantra forgotten. As Luz kissed her, she was able to steal a single word. The wrong word.

Simulacrum.

Everything stopped. Luz pulled back to watch Amity with wide eyes, suddenly deadly serious. “How do you know that?”

With watery eyes Amity looked at her, confused, which soon grew to dread. “What? I… I-“

A firm hand yanked off the beanie and clawed the back of her head. The witch shrieked, vision going dark as sleep was forced upon her. “No! Nooo-“ She tries to pull away, but Luz’s grip is too strong. She tries to fight it, to think about her mantra, or anything, but her thoughts are scattered like leaves in the wind. Her eyes roll shut, her cry goes silent. She slumps against the imposter’s shoulder, leaving Luz to comb through her thoughts.

Chapter 9: Mothers' Fear

Chapter Text

“I’m worried about her, King.” Eda calls from the kitchen as the demon scampers down the stairs. He finds her stirring a pot of her infamous Questionable Stew, but her heart (or any heart, hopefully) wasn’t in it.

“Kid’s obviously scared for her friend, but she’s pushing herself too hard. Not sleep, barely eating, and blaming herself for it all. I don’t know what to do.”

King looked to the floor, trying to think of something to cheer her up. “Well, she seemed pretty happy when Lilith showed her the portal. If we can keep getting answers, that’ll help, right?”

“Yeah? Probably.” She smacked something trying to escape the pot with her spoon. “But tomorrow’s Monday, and she’s going to school. I know she wants to help, but she needs a break. The distraction and friends will do her some good.”

“Eda, making her apprentice go to school? What happened to you?” King teased. The witch laughed, shaking her head. Never in a million years did she expect to be in this position. But that’s Luz for you. She brings out the best in everyone.

What was it Amity had said to her? She has a way of sneaking into people’s hearts. Heh, ain’t that the truth.

“There’s a small problem though.” King said, tempering the mood. “Luz’s friends know something is up. Amity’s siblings are asking where she is.”

Eda groans. “It was only a matter of time. Once Baby Blight starts missing school, word will spread fast.”

“Do we have to tell the parents? Luz made them sound pretty mean.”

“I went to school with them. They are mean.” She covers the pot and sets a heavy brick on top, ignoring the thumping within. “We have to tell them eventually. On our terms, before they come after us. Or send the Emperor’s Coven after us. We’ll keep researching tomorrow and maybe we’ll make another breakthrough.”

They stood there in silence for awhile, and eventually the thumping stopped. “Good. Go get Luz and Lily and tell them dinner’s done.”

King nodded and scampered off. Eda started setting the table. As she set down the fourth bowl she paused and smacked her face.

“Oh Eda, you idiot, you left Luz alone with Lily!” She let out an exasperated sigh, gazing out the window to the forest. Lily, the intellectual, who wanted to know all the facts, and was certain Luz was hiding something.

Hell, Eda knew Luz was hiding something. Probably multiple somethings. And that’s okay, right? Kid deserves some privacy, of which there is very little in the Owl House. If she doesn’t want to share everything with her, that’s her choice. Eda isn’t her mom.

But then why does the idea of Luz keeping secrets from her make her feel bad? Like Eda messed up, somehow?

She lets out a weary sigh as she serves the stew. “You’ve gone soft, old girl.” She found a picture of her newfound family on the fridge and gave it a toothy grin. “But they’re worth it.”

King hurried through the woods. Research and worry all day had made him hungry. And though he knew Eda’s stew would be weird and mildly traumatizing, it would probably taste good. The wild witch used so much seasoning. He drew near to the clearing in the woods, and as he did, he picked up Luz’s voice.

“- and her greatest fear was being rejected! From her perspective, I rejected her!”

She’s sobbing again, and Lilith could just barely be heard, trying to comfort her. King frowned, keeping quiet as he peered over to find them huddled together. Luz crying into the older witch’s shoulder, Lilith stiff and awkward and gently patting her back.

The two whispered for a bit, too quiet for King to overhear, and finally Luz leaned back and got up. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes, but otherwise seemed calm again. She smiled up at Lilith, but soon spotted the demon lurking behind her. “Oh. Did you, um…?”

He walked in slowly, embarrassed for her. “I didn’t hear much. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I-“ she sniffed, drying her eyes with her hoodie. “I’m better now. You gotta stop sneaking up on me like this.” She added with a half-hearted laugh.

King chuckled, kicking the ground. “Dinner’s ready. Also, you should probably talk to Eda. She’s worried about you.”

“I agree. Edalyn is a lot better at this then I am.” Lilith mused.

Luz looked away, considering it. Her feelings for Amity. Her worries about her Mom. Talking to Hunter, and all the uncertainty surrounding him. It’s a lot. How did she get so many secrets all of a sudden? Why was she keeping them from Eda, the one person in the Isles who was always straight with her?

That wasn’t actually true, was it? Just last week, while she and King were training for the Gland Prix, Eda was out of the house, often retuning late at night with no explanation of what she’d been up to. And she was always real cagey about her past. She rarely talked about her mom, never about her dad, and had never mentioned anyone else before, like this Raine she heard about at breakfast. If Eda kept secrets, why can’t Luz?

Except… she doesn’t want to. Over the past few weeks, the two had become close. Honest. Trusting. She had never felt so loved before. So understood and accepted.

Not even her mother, who loved her unconditionally, and whom she loved back, never really understood her like Eda does.

Maybe if she can be honest with Eda, it will help her be honest with her mom, too.

Luz nodded, smiling at the others. “Yeah. Yeah, I will. I hope it helps. I’m… I’m really tired of crying.”

Lilith put a hand on her shoulder. “We made a lot of progress today. We can figure this out and find Amity.”

“Right, thank you.” Her face lit up. “King! Did you bring my phone?”

“Weh? No, I forgot.” He looked away. “Willow and Gus tried to call you. The twins are asking where Amity is.”

Liz grimaced. Lilith sighed. “One thing at a time. Let’s get back and eat, and we’ll go from there.”

Dinner was more subdued then normal for the Owl House. Luz was quiet at first while Lilith chatted about living back with her parents. Eventually, Eda asked her an innocent question about Luz’s mom, and the human looked about to break down again. But instead she took a breath and started to talk.

Over an hour later, the four of them were pulled into a tight hug, one in which Hooty, with teary eyes, was more then happy to join. Luz talked about her fears with her mom and her unfamiliar feelings about Amity. There were a few soft jokes, but no teasing. Everyone listened patiently and offered their love and support.

Lilith was right. Eda was much, much better at comforting Luz than her sister. She held her close, listening to her, encouraging her, promising to help in any way she can. If at some point Luz accidentally called her Mom, no one said anything about it.

She didn’t mention Hunter yet, no matter how much King kept trying to get her attention. He’s a whole other issue, but maybe she’ll bring him up in another conversation.

After she had calmed down, Eda even mentioned Raine again. They used to date, but broke up when Raine joined the Bard Coven. Lilith seemed surprised to her Eda talking about them. Luz could tell there was lot more to that story, but she didn’t pry. Yet.

Finally, while Lilith cleaned the kitchen, King came down the stairs and handed Luz her phone. She sighed, looking over to find Eda giving her an encouraging smile. She opened the phone and sent the message.

It’s me, Mom. I’m okay. I’m sorry it’s been so long. Please text me back when you can. I love you.

She waited a few minutes, but got no response. That’s not unusual. Her shifts could be crazy, and she took up a lot of extra hours during the summer. Even when she wasn’t working, she could be gabbing with her sister in Florida, or maybe she’s out getting drinks with her friends from high school. Or she’s sleeping in preparation for an early shift tomorrow. She joined the others to help clean up.

A few hours later Luz lay down on her bedroll, looking at her phone. At some point her mom saw the message but never replied. She frowned, making sure the sound was on, and set it aside.

“Anything yet?” King asked, curled up by her feet.

“Not yet. I hope I can get messages at Hexside.” She wasn’t thrilled about going to school tomorrow, but Eda was right. There was only so much she could do to help find Amity. She needed the distraction of her witch education.

There was also Willow and Gus to worry about. They decided not to call them back tonight. Eda suggested bringing them to the Owl House after school so they could explain everything together. People were starting to ask questions, and they needed to control the narrative.

The Blight family was another issue, and one the Clawthornes weren’t sure how to handle. Luz thought about inviting Ed and Em over, too, but the sisters wouldn’t agree. Lilith wanted to talk right to the parents, but she didn’t want be the one to do it. She likely lost favor in their eyes after fleeing the Emperor’s Coven. Eda wanted to keep the Blights in the dark as long as possible, at least until they could confirm where Amity is and find a way to communicate. She worried that they’d try to take over their portal and keep them in the dark.

Luz sighed and rolled over. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. While she felt a lot better about everything now, she feared that this problem was only just beginning.

Camila knocked softly on the door and waited. The tv never turned down. She must not have heard her. She knocked again, and waited. After the third knock she just opened the door.

The tv blared some strange anime, lighting up the dark room. Sitting on the bed are Luz and Amity, leaning against one another, fast asleep. They looked so calm, so peaceful. One of Luz’s hands rested on Amity’s head, like she had been playing her hair. Camila turned off the tv, gave them a smile, and stepped out the room, closing the door behind her.

Back in her own room, she looked down at her phone again.

Mija - It’s me, Mom. I’m okay. I’m sorry it’s been so long. Please text me back when you can. I love you.
Sent 6:31pm

What does that mean? Does Luz still have her old phone? Or did someone else find it and is pretending to be her?

And the note from the kitchen. The floating words she could have imagined, but the note was so real, even if all the words disappeared seconds later. Where did it come from? What did it mean? How could Luz, her daughter, her light, be fake?

The migraines though… she didn’t remember having them before Luz came back from summer camp. She simply thought she wasn’t used to Luz’s antics after spending months apart from her. That and too much coffee at work. She had picked up a lot of extra hours over the summer, after all. But… could there be something else?

So many questions, not enough answers. Who is Amity? Did she make that note? How did she do it? Will she put another in her car tomorrow, like she said? (Why did she capitalize car, like it was a name?) But Amity is fast asleep right now, curled up against Luz. How could she write and hide a note without anyone knowing?

Videos, texts, notes, but none of it matched their actual, limited dialogue. What is going on? What’s true?

She remembered how Luz’s hand lay atop Amity’s head. What an odd, uncomfortable position to fall asleep. How convenient that it covered the pink-haired girl’s ears.

“Tomorrow.” Camila groaned as she laid down to sleep for another early shift. “Tomorrow, after Amity goes home, I’ll talk to Luz. Tomorrow I’ll get answers.”

Luz opened her eyes the moment Camila stepped out of the room, turning to frown at the witch slumped against her. She gently brushed those lilac locks, drinking in the sleep-scattered thoughts that lay beneath. Illusions, notes, fake, rejection. The best Luz could tell, it sounded like Amity was trying to tell Camila… something.

She should be angry. Amity must be trying to undermine her control over Camila. Telling the human anything threatens not only Luz’s purpose here, but also her and Amity’s safety. Luz’s ability to wipe memories is limited to only recent ones. It had been fortunate that Real Luz’s apparent rejection of Amity happened the moment before she appeared unconscious in the human world. If Amity told Camila anything and Luz couldn’t immediately erase it, there wasn’t much her Oracle magics could do. She’d have to take more direct action to suppress any information leaks.

She had hoped to appeal to Amity’s infatuation with her namesake to keep her under her control, but that clearly wasn’t working. Amity is much too smart for that, and knows Real Luz too well. She had tried threats about exposure and the dangers of the human world, but either the witch disregarded those threats or believed freeing Camila to be a worthy goal.

She had even offered to help bring Amity back to the Boiling Isles to get her to cooperate, and that didn’t work. But it was a bluff. Even if Luz’s benefactors could help Amity, they would sooner kill her to maintain secrecy. Their overall goal, whatever that is, is simply too important.

Luz doubted her own role in that plan. Real Luz obviously knew nothing of magic or the demon realm before she stumbled across the portal. So why was it so important to keep her mother placated? Would a single missing teen in another world really be such a big deal?

But Luz isn’t angry, and she doesn’t want to kill Amity. She’s fascinating. Something new and different in this boring life she had stolen for herself. Something she couldn’t just manipulate and control like everything else in this magicless realm. She’s the only person here who knew her as someone different from the other Luz.

It made her feel… different. Special. Not in love, or any other gross biological thing. But it made her feel… real. Unique. Like she’s more than someone else’s face.

Like she’s more than everything she’s stolen.

So no, Luz doesn’t want to hurt the witch. But she needs to do something about her hubris.

She flipped through Amity’s scroll. More urgent messages from the Idiots and Willow. Two more calls and a message from Mother. She listened to the message. “Mittens… Amity. Call me when you get this.” The voice was severe, controlled, but Luz could detect the faintest waver in it.

There are a handful of calls and messages from a variety of other names: Gus, Skara, Viney, Jerbo, Boscha, Mattholomule. Word of the witch’s disappearance was spreading. She considered calling one of them, claiming to be Luz, or perhaps she could mimic Amity’s voice. The resulting chaos could be fun, but it did nothing for the here and now, so she put the scroll away.

An idea crosses her mind. A fleeting memory of animal traps and hidden cameras she had found in the abandoned cabin in the woods. Perhaps that idiot curator could be useful for something. But no, she banished that idea. That would be a last resort.

No, Camila will be at work again tomorrow morning, leaving the two girls alone for most of the day. Plenty of time to talk to Amity, tell her what she knows, and force her compliance. After all, they still need a convincing reason to get Amity to stay at the Noceda household. It’s not like she has anywhere else to go.

She knows this is unnecessarily risky. But really, she doesn’t care. Her benefactors be damned. They aren’t on this realm. For the first time in her short life, Luz is having fun. Amity is an exciting new challenge, one in which she will win.

She leans over to press one more soft, cold kiss to the girl’s forehead. “Sleep well, little witch. Tomorrow will be a big day.”

Chapter 10: Catalyst

Chapter Text

Immediately after waking, Luz checked her phone. No new messages.

Why hasn’t Mom said anything? She saw my text!

She sighed and got up to stretch. She looked around the room, gathering clothes and school supplies, when she notices something on the window. A note wedged into the frame. She pulls it out and reads the hastily scrawled text.

Missed you tonight. Good luck finding your friend. Get some sleep. I’ll try again tomorrow.
-H

She smiled at it before drawing and activating a light glyph on the back, destroying the note. Those weren’t the words of an enemy with a shared interest in wild magic. Those were the words of a friend. She and Hunter may not have had the best introductions, but he clearly cares about her.

The light glyph illuminated her Azura poster, and it’s with a frown she realized she had met and befriended Amity under similar circ*mstances. Maybe not quite as extreme. Principal Bump wasn’t really going to dissect her, right?

She shook her head. As much as it pained her, she can’t do anything for Amity now. She had to go to school, distract herself, and do whatever she can to diffuse her friends’ speculation. Hopefully Eda and Lilith can make progress on the portal.

And if Mom ever replies to her, maybe she can help, too. Or at least Luz can reassure her mom she’s okay.

“Are you okay?” King rubbed his eyes, awoken by the bright light of the glyph.

She nodded, smothering the orb. “Yeah. I’ll be better once we get answers. But, I do feel better after last night.”

Last night’s talk had its up and downs, but overall it reassured Luz how much the Owl House is her home, and how it’s people are her family. Eda is her second mom slash wine aunt. Lilith is her uptight, more responsible aunt who’s trying to cut loose more. King is the excitable little brother she never had. Hooty is… that pet thats super weird and eats everything he’s not supposed to, but he’s endearing. Usually.

“Did you want me to sneak in to school with you, like on your first day?”

Luz laughed and shook her head. “No, but thanks, King. I need to pay attention in case Mom texts me back.” She gathered the rest of her things, making sure to pocket her phone before going downstairs.

Less then an hour later and she’s flying with Eda, minutes out from Hexside. The witch is going over their plans one last time. “If we discover anything big, I’ll come get you. And if your Mom responds and has a lead on Amity, have someone call me to get you. Fake an injury or start a fight or something.”

"Okay, Eda.” Luz rolls her eyes. “Principal Bump’s going to call you if I start a fight because you’re soooo responsible.”

“I can tell by the way you’re mocking me that you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah, a little. Our talk last night helped. Speaking of which, I still think we need to tell Ed and Em. They aren’t like their parents! They can help us figure out what to say!”

“Luz, no. What we need more than anything is leverage. If we show the Blights all our cards, they’ll take over the portal before we can figure it out, and you can kiss getting our own portal goodbye. And that’s if we’re lucky and they don’t involve the Emperor’s Coven.”

The human grumbled. She hated knowing something about Amity that she can’t tell her friends and family. Eda must have sensed her frustration because she quickly added “We’ll reevaluate that plan once we learn more.”

“Okay," Luz reluctantly sighed.

Shortly thereafter, Hexside came into view. They had timed their departure so that Luz wouldn’t have much time before first period. But as they neared the school, she could make out two specific figures waiting for her by the steps. She groaned. Today is going to be hard.

Camila shut off the car and sat quietly for a moment, staring at the wheel. She’s in the parking lot at work. First to arrive, like normal. She didn’t even stop for coffee, so she’s early. She turns hesitantly to find the folded up paper in the passenger’s seat.

She had hoped she wouldn’t find it when she left for work. She wanted some way to just ignore the paper with the disappearing words from last night. The one that told her not to open this note until after she left home. The same one that said her daughter isn’t really her daughter.

How had Amity put it in her car? Both the car and the house had been locked since she came home. Amity herself had fallen asleep shortly after dinner, and was still asleep when she left. No one had touched her keys. So forget when she even had time to write it, how did it even end up beside her?

Camila took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She glanced around, confirming she’s alone in the parking lot, then slowly unfolds the sheet with shaking hands.

It’s blank.

She turns it over with a relieved sigh. Blank. Nothing. She allows herself a small laugh, nervous energy escaping her. She’d gotten herself all worked up over nothing. It was all so silly. Strange videos? Fake daughters? A demon realm? She set the paper back down beside her, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

“Mrs. Noceda?”

Camila stiffened, hands over her face as she rubbed her eyes. She’s alone. But that voice-

“I really hope it’s you watching this, and no one else. My illusions aren’t really good enough to make sure, so I hope you listened to my note from dinner.”

Camila turns slowly to find a foot tall image of Amity standing on the sheet of paper. She’s wearing the same outfit as last night, clothes Luz used to wear with the too-small beanie tightly hugging her head. The image flickers and suddenly it’s moving again, speaking in a nervious, slightly distorted voice.

“My name is Amity Blight, and I’m not from here. I met your daughter Luz a little over three months ago. She was supposed to go to something called summer camp, but she never did. Instead she found her way to a whole other dimension, where I’m from.”

The Boiling Isles. The place Luz mentioned in the videos.

“There was a portal, but it was destroyed. Since then, we’ve been trying to help her build a new one so she could get back home to you. I was helping her with it on Saturday, but something went wrong and it sent me through instead. That’s when-“

The image paused for a moment, flickering, before it returns to life. The Amity illusion takes on a more nervous expression. “-when she found me. The Luz that’s been living here.”

“I don’t know who she is, but it’s not the Luz I know, and I’m pretty sure it’s not your Luz either. I don’t know why she’s here, but I have an idea of what she might be. And if it’s true… well, then she’s here for a reason. And she’s very, very dangerous.

“She has magic, like me. But unlike me, she can cast Oracle spells. Mind magics, that let her manipulate other’s thoughts and emotions.You’ve complained of headaches and memory loss before. She’s why.”

Camila put a hand to her head. No, this can’t be true, this can’t be real.

“I’m sorry I’ve lied to you, and I know this is a lot, but I don’t know what else to do. I can’t let her keep hurting you. I don’t know how strong she is, or how much power her makers have in this realm. And… I don’t know when or even if I can go home again.

“But… Luz is my best friend. She’s changed my life in so many wonderful ways even after knowing her only a short time. I know she’s trying hard to get back to you. So I want to do what I can to help you, too.

“Sometime tonight, Luz is going to ask that I stay over longer. I don’t have anywhere to go, and I don’t want anyone else knowing I’m not human. I’d show you my ears as proof, but I can’t do that with this illusion. Not while I’m making this while sitting at the table eating pizza with you.

“Please don’t say anything about this message. Fake Luz would not be happy if she knew I was talking to you. Just play along, and avoid looking into her eyes. That’s how her magic works. When I have the chance, I’ll teach you my mantra so you can resist her better. In the meantime, pretend you never read this until I can find a way to talk to you.

“Good luck, Mrs. Noceda. And…” She looks up, meeting the human’s eyes. “Thank you. I know this must seem incredible to you. But… well, Luz said a lot of nice things about you. I… I really hope they’re all true, because I don’t have any other choice but to trust you.”

Amity pauses just for a moment, her face softening, her cheeks reddening. “Luz told me her name means ‘light.’ That’s… a very appropriate name for her. Mrs. Noceda… if anything goes wrong… if anything happens to me here… tell her-“

The image flickers once more as Amity looks down, red-faced, her voice barely a whisper. “Tell her she’s been my light, too.”

There’s another flicker, and Amity is gone, leaving the empty sheet of paper. Camila stares at it, her head spinning. This was… much more than she had anticipated. Magic is… real? Witches and demons and monsters? Her Luz is trapped in some other realm, and someone - something - took her place?

No, no that’s impossible! There’s no demon realm! There’s got to be a simple explanation for Amity’s disappearing note and the videos from Luz’s missing cell phone and… all the ways Luz changed after camp… all the headaches and aborted conversations and lost time… and the strange girl in her house that hides her ears, with too-sharp teeth and inhumanly golden eyes.

Amity.

I need to talk to Amity.

Camila doesn’t realize she’s calling the house phone until it rings. Once, twice, three-

“Noceda residence!”

There’s a long pause before Luz speaks again. “This is the Noceda residence! Is someone there?”

“Luz! Mija! Hi!” Camila gasps through her phone, startling the girl on the other end. “How are you?”

Luz frowns. What the hell is this? “Um, good? Mom are you okay?”

“I’m good! I’m alright. How are you?” She’s speaking very fast, and very clearly not alright.

Luz hesitates, quite out of her depth with managing Camila Mom over the phone. “I’m still good. I was about to have breakfast. Shouldn’t you be at work now?”

“I’m here already! Um, I need to talk to…” She trails off, going quiet for a moment.

“Mom?” Luz looks down at the cordless phone, making sure the call didn’t drop. She’s starting to lose her patience.

“What is the Boiling Isles?” She asks it as a whisper, almost an afterthought.

Luz tenses up. How? How!? “What was that, Mom?”

She hesitates, realizing she misspoke. “I… I…”

Luz takes a breath. In, out. She doesn’t need air, but it still helps to calm her as she puts on a friendly voice. “When you come home, we can talk. Okay? Now go! I don’t want you late for work!”

“Yes, tonight. Thank you, Luz.”

I’ve got this under control. “Okay, Mom. We will talk to-“

Camila suddenly cut in again. “Is Amity there? Will she be joining us?”

Luz’s eyes go wide with realization. She quickly, quietly runs to Luz’s her bedroom to find Amity still asleep. Maybe she hit her too hard with the mind fog last night. But she deserved it, right? This is all her fault! She told Camila Mom something! She’s ruining everything!

“… Luz?”

She takes another breath, watching the steady rise and fall of the witch’s chest. “No, Mom. Amity’s parents just picked her up.”

“… Oh.”

Get off the phone. “But I’ll see you tonight! Have a great day, Mom!”

“… Yeah. Th-thanks. I love you, Mija.”

“I love you too, Mom.” She hangs up the cordless, glaring at the sleeping girl. Traitor. Imposter.

But I’m not going to kill her. Not yet. She can still be useful to me.

Last resort it is, then.

“I love you too, Mom.” Click.

Mom. She said ‘Mom.’

She used to always say ‘I love you too, Mama.’

Camila is too distraught to realize how badly she messed up. Too distraught to think about Amity. All she can focus on is ‘She’s not my Luz.’

I need answers. Now. And I know where to get them.

She found her contact for Mija and, after a moment's hesitation, called.

Chapter 11: Alone

Chapter Text

“Luz, please tell us what’s going on.” Willow begs as the human approaches, having waived goodbye to Eda.

“Good morning to you, too.” Luz gives her friends a half-hearted smile and finger guns, quickly walking passed them toward the school.

“Luz, come on! Why didn’t you call us back?” Willow asks again, quickly following after her.

“Yeah,” says Gus, “we want to know what’s going on with Am-“

Luz spins to face them, slapping a hand to both their mouths with a loud hush. She glances around the school grounds, but no one’s listening. Most are already heading to class, engaged in their own conversations.

“I can’t tell you. Not here. But if you guys come to the Owl House after school, I can tell you.”

“Tell them what?” A familiar voice asks.

Luz spins back around to find Amity standing there, clutching a whole stack of books. Luz freezes and points, mouth agape. Wait, what? Amity!? You’re back! How did… oh, wait a minute.

Luz walks up to Amity and pats her shoulder, making her disappear in a puff of blue smoke. She again confirms no one else is paying attention before turning back, arms folded. “Gus, you got her hair wrong. It’s lilac. Boscha’s is pink.”

“What’s the difference?” He asks, exasperated.

The human scoffs, about to launch into a detailed explanation of how lilac is so much cuter more fitting for Amity when Willow cuts her off. “Why can’t you tell us here?”

Luz leans close, whispering. “Because her family can’t know yet.”

The friends share a look. “Know what?” Gus asks nervously.

“I… I can’t tell you. Yet. I’m sorry. But you need to keep it quiet! No telling anyone! No more illusions!”

“It’s too late for that.” Willow pulls out her scroll, showing Luz the feed from Penstagram. “Ed and Em have been asking everyone if they’ve seen her, and look! People are starting to speculate.”

Sure enough, there are multiple posts of Hexside students and even staff gossiping about the youngest Blight, some of whom claim to have been asked by the twins, or knew someone whom had.

“They wanted me to ask you since you don’t have a scroll.” Willow adds as she unsummons her’s. “I didn’t tell them you asked me to call her. But clearly you know something and we want to help. ”

“Do they know-“ Luz hesitates before continuing. “- that she was with me on Saturday?”

“I don’t think so, or they would have asked you sooner.”

“But why was she with you?” Gus questions, ever curious. “Does it have something to do with her missing?”

The scream of the bell filled the air, and quickly Luz ran toward the school, her friends in tow.

“Wait!” “Luz!”

“Owl House! After school!” She hurried up the steps and out of sight, hoping and praying she wouldn’t get asked by anyone else today.

Darkness. It’s so dark that when Amity wakes up, she can’t tell if her eyes are open. She blinks, her mind hazy.

Am I awake?

Why can’t I see?

Why… can’t I move?

I… I remember Luz waking me. Human cereal for breakfast. And then Luz wanted to take a walk. But she was so… quiet. So unlike her…

Wait… not Luz. Right. The imposter. The simulacrum. But… she’s normally talkative too, isn’t she? She was just… quiet. And looking at me…

… why can’t I remember?

… why can’t I see?…

… lying on… something hard… and cold…

Unable to focus, she drifts back to sleep…

Dialing. Dialing. Dialing. Disconnect.

Camila took a slow breath to calm herself before addressing the next customer.

It’s been like that for an hour now. Whenever she had the chance, she’d sneak away to call. Just a few minutes to herself. Her coworkers were starting to give her looks, but she ignored them. And every time…

Dialing. Dialing. Dialing. Disconnect.

It’s not even ringing. It’s like she’s out of cell range. That shouldn’t be possible, right? Their mobile plan was too expensive for that to be a possibility! Even if the phone was damaged or destroyed, it should still at least ring, right?

She tried not to think about Luz’s phone being destroyed. Maybe she had it on Do Not Disturb or something? Or maybe there was interference, or a dead zone?

Dialing. Dialing. Dialing. Disconnect.

She even tried to call the house phone again, just to talk to someone. Anyone. Even Not Luz. Other Luz? Real Luz? She can’t keep it straight anymore. She just needs to talk to a Luz. ANY Luz.

But no one answered. It just rang and rang before their ancient voicemail picked up, the same one that still has his voice, and she wasn’t about to leave a message. So instead she keeps trying that lost cell phone, praying to whatever gods that would hear her that the call would connect.

Dialing. Dialing. Dialing. Disconnect.

Surrounded by yipping pets and their loving owners, Camila had never felt so alone.

Dialing. Dialing. Dialing. Disconnect.

“Don’t let me lose her. Please, don’t let me lose her too.”

Dialing. Dialing. Dialing. Disconnect.

First period was fine, but slow and boring. The human’s brain was going million miles a minute in a dozen directions, making it impossible to focus on the teacher’s lecture. Luz lugged her bag down the hall to her next class when she overheard her first rumor.

Skara and her boyfriend stood by their lockers, gossiping about other students, when she dropped Amity’s name. “Boscha said Emira asked her if she had seen her. Can you believe that? They haven’t talked in weeks!”

“Reeeeeally?” Suddenly, Mattholomule is there as well, stepping between the couple and leaning against the lockers, oblivious to its slowly opening mouth. “Gus asked me if I’ve seen Amity, too. Don’t know why, ‘cause I’ve never talked to her before.”

“Then why are you talking to us?” Skara growled, annoyed.

The construction witch paused. He was excited to have knowledge that might let him be included in something, and wasn’t expecting to get called out like this. “Um…” Then the locker swallowed his arm and he fell over, struggling to free himself. Skara scoffed, rolling her eyes, pulling her boyfriend away.

Luz swallowed nervously, hurrying to her next class. Unfortunately, it’s Abominations. Her eyes fell at the empty seat beside her with a frown.

“Hey, Luz?” She looked up to find Jerbo whispering to her. “Ed said Amity never came home last night. She wasn’t in our last class either. Have you seen her?”

She sighed, her heart twisting as she lied. “No, I haven’t.”

It’s still pitch black when Amity opens her eyes again. This time she’s more awake, and she can tell something is wrong.

Something is wrapped tightly around her mouth, so she can’t speak. She’s sitting up, leaning back on something hard. Her knees are bent uncomfortably, feet pressing against something in front of her. Like she’s sitting in a small, cramped room. Her ankles are bound together, as are her wrists behind her back.

Panic is starting to creep in as she takes this all in. But before she can do anything, a noise somewhere in front of her startles her. There’s movement in the dark, and then light. Too much, too bright. She blinks her eyes as everything comes into focus.

“I can’t believe it.”

Amity stiffens at the voice. Male. Unfamiliar. There’s a man standing in a doorway to the room she’s in. Brown hair, pale skin, square glasses, bushy eyebrows and a short, neat goatee. He steps close to Amity, grinning down at her through the bars.

Bars. She’s in… a cage? It’s small, barely large enough for her to sit, which explains why her knees are raised to her chest. Her shoulders press uncomfortably against the curved metal. She looks down at herself to find a sticky gray tape around her ankles, holding them tight. There’s more wrapped around her mouth. She can feel more around her wrists, pinning her arms behind her back, so tight she can barely wiggle her fingers.

It takes her a moment to realize she isn’t wearing her beanie. Her ears flatten against her skull as she fearfully eyes the grinning human.

“A real, live witch. I knew it! I knew I’d catch one of you or your demon friends eventually!” He leans close, rubbing his chin as he inspects her. Amity tries to shy away, sinking against the cage. She really doesn’t like the way he’s watching her. Like she’s just some creature. A curiosity for him to exploit. Her eyes find a tag on the man’s jacket: Jacob Hopkins, Curator.

He steps back and folds his arms, but his eyes never leave the witch. “You’re going to make me so famous! I’ll finally get back at all those snobs who said that witches aren’t real! Who’s laughing now, Howard? Haha!” He pulled a rectangle from his pocket, pointing it at Amity. “Now! Time for a interview, witch! You’re going to get my account verified on MewTube!”

He froze, fingers hovering over his phone. Amity shivers as she recognizes the violet glow in Jacob’s eyes as he returns the phone to his pocket, speaking more calmly. “On second thought, maybe it would be better to watch you for a few days. Earn your trust. Then you’ll cooperate more for a real interview.”

He blinks, the violet gone as he heads to the door. “Just stay comfortable, little witch. I’ll see you after my shift.”

With that he opens the door and steps out, completely oblivious to Luz standing there. She steps into the room and shuts the door, staring at Amity. No smile. Somehow, that unnerved Amity more then anything else about this situation.

The screaming bell announced the end of second period. Luz ran out the room before Jerbo could talk to her anymore. Unfortunately, the hall wasn’t any better. More whispers, more rumors, and Luz could have sworn she felt a few eyes on her. She kept her head down as she walked to her locker, trying not to think about Amity when she felt her phone buzz.

Forgetting about her books, she pulled out her phone and stared at the notification, puzzled. Attempted call from almost two hours ago? Why was she getting that now?

Her phone buzzed again, and there was another notice. And another. And another. Luz’s eyes grew wide as she found the contact for each new attempt was the same.

“Mom?”

She’s been trying to call her! But why wasn’t it going through? A glance upward told her: no bars. No cell service. I’m too far from the portal! I need to go home!

Home? Yeah. The Owl House is my home.

“Luz! Hey, Luz!” A voice calls out, startling the human from her thoughts. She looks towards it to find a group of students parting, glancing between her and the one calling her name. Her heart sinks as she recognizes him.

Running toward her is Edric Blight.

“This is all you’re fault, you know.” Luz lectures as she slowly walks around the cage. Far from her normal happy, bubbly self, or the imitation that she attempts. No, Luz is angry. Amity tries to follow her with her eyes, but is unable to turn around and loses sight of her.

“If you had just listened to me and been good, we wouldn’t have to go through this. But instead you told Camila about the Boiling Isles!”

She stops behind Amity and punches the cage, above her, startling the witch inside. The whole metal structure rattles from a force stronger than her wiry frame would suggest. Amity winces, both from the impact and how much those words remind her of her mother’s. Luz rubs her hand, and the witch catches a glimpse of metal as knuckles crack and fingers return to their place.

“I’m going to need time to undo whatever damage you did. Can’t have Camila blabbing to everyone about witches and magic, after all! So you’ll have to stay here for the time being.”

Luz glares at her, and Amity glares right back. Not Luz. Not human. Not even alive. Just a fake, a copy, an imposter.

“Oh, don’t give me that look. All you had to do was play along. Now you get to stay here with the conspiracy freak. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure he doesn’t show you to the world, or dissect you or anything.”

Dissect? Amity’s hardened expression falls as she realizes the implications. A human saw her ears. A human who wanted to record her, to reveal her to the whole realm. Use her as a tool to make himself famous and respected. She caught sight of a few knives mounted on the wall alongside other knickknacks and shuddered.

Luz must have noticed, because she stopped pacing and stepped close. “You realized how much you screwed up? Good. ‘Cause Hopkins isn’t the only human who would cut either of us open for being different. This is your last warning, Amity.”

There’s fear now, fear and dread overwhelming any of her precious defiance. Amity tries to apologize but only mumbles incoherently through the tape. She tries to sit up, to stretch her legs and find a more comfortable position, but instead slumps to the floor. She starts shaking, imaging seeing Hopkins looming over her with Luz, holding one of those knives.

Luz’s face softens the slightest bit. Gently she reaches through the bars, her arm twisting unnaturally so she can reach and stroke the shivering witch’s hair. “Hey, don’t worry. I won’t let him hurt you. Hopefully now you’ll listen.”

She pulls back and stands tall. “I need to go fix your mess. Camila may be nice and sweet, but she’s still human. You have no idea how far she’ll go if she thinks one of us would hurt her, or her daughter.”

Camila. Luz’s mom, whom Amity was trying to help. Her only real safety and hope in this world. She wouldn’t look at her like Hopkins did, would she?

She would, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. Not Luz, she wasn’t even trying to break through her mantra now. Camila knows what you are. She’d turn you into the authorities. You can’t trust her anymore than you can trust fake Luz. You don’t belong in this world.

“I’ll visit you tomorrow while ‘Mom’ is at work.” Luz finally smiles in mock sweetness, as though speaking to a difficult, frustrating child. “In the meantime, you can think over what you did, and how you can act better. Not just for me, but for yourself, too. You’re better then this, Amity.” She smirks, the same saccharine grin Amity’s mother had worn, with the same words she’d use, and it’s working. Luz must have seen some of her memories of her parent’s training, and in her depressed state, it’s very effective. Amity sinks deeper into herself, trembling as far from Luz as she can before Luz winks and leaves the room.

Mercifully, the lights remain on. But now Amity is alone with her thoughts. Her fears, her failures. Trapped in an alien world, far from all she knows, her magic weakened. Bound and caged in a lunatic’s bunker, and the only person who she can pretend to trust is the same one who put her there. Who, right now, is continuing to impersonate her crush and hurt her mom. And there’s nothing she can do about any of it.

Amity Blight bows her head as grief and tears wash over her.

Chapter 12: Abomination…

Chapter Text

Amity isn’t sure how long she lies crying in her cage. Time has no meaning in this sunless room. For awhile, all she has is her grief. Fear. Failure. Self pity. Self hatred.

How did everything go so wrong?

She’s such a fool. Did she really think she could help Camila? That she could really trust her? Why did she try to defy the simulacrum? All it took was a momement of distraction, of weakness, and Luz saw right through her, stole her thoughts and locked her in this cage.

Luz! The source of that weakness. The simulacrum was lying, wasn’t she? That Luz had rejected her?

… no. It’s true. She can see the memory clearly now. Amity had given in to a stupid impulse and Luz had pushed her away. Obviously Luz didn’t feel the same way about her. If she had, she would have done something, anything, after the cheek kiss the week before. Clearly Luz had been embarrassed, or upset, and didn’t mention it again. And when Amity leaned in to kiss her again, Luz didn’t want it.

Didn’t want her.

Wild magic took care of the rest, manifesting their shared, unconscious desire to be apart and sent her to the human world. Or something. Who knows exactly what happened, or why. What matters is Amity is on Earth, as far from Luz as she possibly could be.

And now she’s trapped here.

Rejected.

Alone.

Afraid.

Imprisoned.

Weak.

And the worst part?

Simulacrum Luz had the audacity to use her own parents’ words against her. Her own memories against her. To beat her down, humiliate her, to show her how badly she’s failed.

Tears stream down her cheeks as she sobs, muffled by the tape, replaying those voices in her head.

“You’re better than this, Amity.”

“You’re better than this, Amity. Again.”

Amity groans, sweat pouring down her face. She raises her hand once more. “Abomination, rise!”

Once more she feels the tug within her bile sac, leaching her magic, sapping her strength. The pot shakes and the slime within rises, forming a vaguely humanoid shape before collapsing in on itself with a wet splat.

Father sighs wearily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “You need to focus. Again.”

She takes a breath, trying to steady her shaking hands. “Abomination, rise!” But her voice falters, the magic slips from her grip, and the violet ooze merely bubbles within the pot.

She lets her arm fall limp at her side, focusing on standing straight on wobbling legs. Deep, slow breaths. Breathe in the magic of the Titan, breathe out weakness. Alador watches her with a bored expression until her breathing steadies before demanding “Again.”

Amity steeled herself. She can do this. All day training has prepared her for this. Deep breath, hold it. Perfect form. No hesitation. No weakness. “Abomination,” she commands, ”Rise!”

The next thing she knows, she’s face down in a pool of slime beside the broken remains of the pot. There’s a scrape on her knee, and a pounding ache in her head. She looks up to find Father watching her with amusem*nt, but it falls to disinterest as she picks herself up.

“You broke it.” He says simply, gesturing to the exploded pot. “You are very strong Amity, but you need more focus. I suppose you should rest for now. Clean this up. We will continue this tomorrow.”

Nothing is ever enough for them. I’m never good enough, smart enough, strong enough. Why? Why aren’t I enough?

“You need to focus.”

Why should I? What’s the point? I’m trapped here until Luz lets me out or Hopkins gets his mind back and dissects me. Even if I could get out, I’m still trapped in the human realm! Luz would chase me and Camila would send authorities after me. What am I supposed to do?

She stares down at floor of the cage with a frown. No more tears. Her sadness has been overridden with frustration. She’s just so mad at everything. At fake Luz for putting her here. At real Luz for leading her along and rejecting her and being too damned nice! At humans in general, for their weirdness and distrust. At her parents for pushing her. Why is her life like this? Why is nothing ever enough!?

“Are you angry, Mittens?”

Amity bristled with it, scowling at the voice from her memories. But she couldn’t stop it from continuing.

“Good. Anger is something you can use.”

After the third exploded pot, Odalia joined her husband with Amity’s training. The youngest Blight gasped for breath, shaking uncontrollably as she leaned against a chair. She’s so damned tired of training. She isn’t even in Hexside yet! Why does she need to be pushed so hard?

“Are you angry, Mittens?” Mother asked, stern voice cutting through her thoughts.

Amity raised her gaze to those cold blue eyes. Yes, she’s angry. She’s failing! She can’t summon a proper abomination! And her parents won’t let her rest, and her siblings are insufferable, and they can get away with whatever they want while she has to train every day!

But she can’t voice any of that. She doesn’t trust herself to say a word. So she just stares back at Mother, trying to regain control.

Odalia gives her a small, knowing smile. “Good. Anger is something you can use. Focus on that and do it again.”

Amity frowns and looks down, taking one more breath. She raises her hand, but before she can speak, she hears Mother’s voice in her head. “Who are you angry at, Mittens?”

She knows better than to answer, so she shouts out, “Abomination, rise!”

“Is it your siblings? I know how difficult they can be.”

Purple slime churned within the pot.

“Are you angry with your father and I? Do you think we are pushing you too hard? Or would you rather grow weak like that little friend of your’s?”

Amity fights the urge to grimace, to shout, to take any action that would confirm that mocking voice and earn her punishment. She knows her place in this household. She knows what’s expected of her.

“Or perhaps it’s just yourself you are angry with? Perhaps you’re simply too weak to live up to the Blight name.”

The pot shakes violently.

“Prove me wrong, then. Prove to me that you aren’t weak, Mittens.”

She can’t take it anymore. Amity screams out, dropping her arm and balling her hands into fists. Her eyes squeeze shut, legs shaking as she awaits her punishment for acting out. She lost control, she lost her temper, and now she’ll be punished.

But nothing came. No stern words, no further thoughts in her mind, no rap of a staff against her hand. She looks up with tired, bloodshot eyes and stared.

Rising from the pot stands a 5 foot tall abomination mimicking her posture. She stood straight, and so did her golem. She blinked in amazement, and as the anger vanished she felt the connection break and the golem collapsed back into the pot.

“Very good, dear.” Mother gave her a small, pleased smile. She put a gentle hand on Father’s shoulder and whispered something before leaving the room. Father nodded, addressing his daughter, but unable to hide the grin from his face. “Again.”

Abomination. The word used for a golem composed of artificial, inorganic substances, animated and controlled by a witch’s magic. But weeks ago, while doing homework together, Luz had told Amity what the word had meant in the human realm. It was a word for a disgusting thing that should be hated or feared.

Every time Amity feels anxious, or unsure, or weak, those voices would come back. Reminding her of every time she’s failed. She’s unworthy. Unwanted. Unloved. Since arriving on Earth she’s been too overwhelmed by her new situation to think about them. But now, surrounded by the silent clutter of an aspiring witch hunter, all of her parent’s judgements come roaring back. For the first time, she truly understands what ‘abomination’ means.

Amity herself is an abomination. A witch shackled by the will and legacy of her parents. A witch bound by fear and purpose. She had been raised to feel nothing but disgust toward weakness. But now?

Now she feels hatred.

She stomps her feet against the cage before toppling on her side due to her bound ankles. She wants to scream but only manages a sad wail behind the tape. She’s furious at her situation, at her abominable life, and the one time her parents can’t see her she’s imagining what they would say!

“Are angry with your father and I? Do you think we are pushing you too hard?”

Yes! While self-pitying, Amity could easily blame everything on herself. She’s a fool. She’s shortsighted. She’s weak. She’s an imposter, unworthy of all her accomplishments.

But the anger reminds her - those are my accomplishments! I worked my ass off my whole life to be the best, and titandammit I am! I am strong! I am worthy! The only ones that are to blame are them! For just once in her life, she wishes she could live up to her parent’s impossible expectations.

“Or perhaps it’s just yourself you are angry with? Perhaps you’re simply too weak to live up to the Blight name.”

Rage, white-hot. I’m not weak! I’m Amity f*cking Blight! No one else-

“- could do the things you will do. Anyone else-“

- would break.

Amity opens her eyes. That memory was an old one. One of the few times her mother had actually encouraged her, no strings attached. Why that memory? Why now?

“Prove me wrong, then. Prove to me that you aren’t weak, Mittens.”

Fine. I’ll prove you wrong, Mother. I’ll show you how strong I’ve become.

She struggles to sit up, to move, but it’s impossible. Her limbs are too tightly bound. She can’t move her hands enough to create a spell circle. No circle, no magic, no escape.

But… she’s cast magic without her hands before. Amity distinctly remembers fighting Grom with Luz, doing a split to summon an enormous abomination. She can’t move her legs now, but she can wiggle her fingers. With a twitch of her pointer she can feel a tiny, minuscule spell circle come into being. She dismissed it, then repeated the motion, feeling the tiny flow of magic course through her.

Okay, I can do magic. But small circles means small spells. How do I get out of this cage?

A new voice chimes in. “Sometimes, you just have to get creative.”

Amity stood on a ledge, overlooking a snowy field on the Knee. Before her stood a dozen Edrics. Some of them waved, or made goofy faces. At least one was trying to eat snow.

She frowned. “I know I’ve had nightmares like this.”

“Come on, Mittens!” Emira laughed beside her. “You want to master that fireball spell, right? This is an easy way to do it!”

“I don’t want to set our brother on fire.”

“Are you sure about that?” Em asked with a smug grin.

Well… “Maybe a little bit.”

“We all do. But you won’t be able to if you can’t find the right one.” Em put a hand on her shoulder and pointed out towards the Eds. “Picture this: you’re fighting a master illusionist! You can get one spell off before he can retaliate! Which one is it? Which one do you hit?”

One of the Edrics in the back cupped his mouth to shout. “And why am I the target, again?”

Em shouted back, “Because I’m better at the deflection spell then you! I’ll keep you safe!” She leans close to Amity to add, “And because he’s the most annoying,” which elicits a giggle from the youngest witch.

“Are you sure?” Asked another brother with a mouthful of snow. He’s taking Eda’s lessons for Luz on the ridge over much too seriously.

“Of course!” She called back with a wink to Amity.

The youngest Blight sighed and looked over the crowd. Of course the twins only thought of fun and theatrics. And just like her parents, they are taking her training too far. She doesn’t need to master fighting an illusionist to perfect the fireball spell. But they really seemed to want to help, and they were being much nicer after the library incident. So Amity decides to give them a chance and play their game.

She peered through the many brothers, trying to find one that’s just slightly different. Illusionists have a tell, right? The real one will stand out somehow, or their physical presence will have an effect on the world that the others lack. Impressions in the snow, shadows that don’t seem right, reacting too little or too much to wind, wrong colors or other minor flaws. She spots the Ed eating snow and smirks, raising the training wand. With a twirl the circle is complete, and the fireball shrieks toward the distracted Blight.

He vanishes in a puff of purple flames and blue smoke. Another Ed on the left casts a spell, blasting Amity with harmless orbs of light. She lost.

“Oh come on! Illusions can’t eat!” She pouts, stamping her foot.

“Exactly!” Ed laughs, dismissing the copies. “Sometimes, you just have to get creative. Of course only the real me could eat snow, so I made a fake me eat fake snow to throw you off!”

“What!? But a real illusionist wouldn’t even think to do that!”

“Are you saying I’m not a real illusionist?” He asks with mock hurt.

“All right, all right!” Em grabs Amity’s wand-hand before she completes another fireball. “Ed, reset, and we’ll try again.”

So Amity looks away while her brother hides himself amongst his clones. Once he’s ready she tries to spot him again. That clone is a bit too skinny. That one’s coat is just off-color. That one’s eyes are too big. There! That Ed has a tiny pimple on his chin! She had seen it this morning! With a triumphant grin she sends fire his way.

Nope. It’s another clone. The real Ed dismisses the rest with a sh*t-eating grin. “You saw the pimple! So I hid it, see?” With a flourish the pimple pops into existence before disappearing again.

Then the vainest Blight jumps to the side to avoid a giant abomination arm. “You can’t just hide under multiple illusions!” Amity screamed. “That defeats the whole point!”

It took Em a few minutes to calm her down and get Ed to stop cheating. One more try before they call a break. Amity watched Ed spin two circles together, using the first to duplicate the second, and the field was once more full of clones.

Huh.

Turning around, she looks up to Emira. “One spell?”

“Just one. Make it count!”

Amity nods and turns back, eyeing her brothers. These are nigh identical. Ed might not be hiding behind extra illusions, but he isn’t making this easier for her. But, he had accidentally given her an idea.

Amity is going to be creative.

She aims her wand at the leftmost Ed and points with her finger. As she traces the circle, he also traces her own circle with her pointer finger. Once both circles are complete, she mimics her brother’s moves to copy the spell.

Twelve circles, twelve fireballs streaking towards twelve surprised brothers.

One of them shouts out and flops over, rolling around in the snow as the others vanish. Em stares, mouth agape, turning to look at her sister in awe. “How did you do that?”

Amity is panting, wiping the sweat from her brow. Copying the spell that many times took a lot out of her (and the wand), but she stood straight and grinned. “From watching him making clones.”

“Damn, girl.” Em wrapped an arm around her sister’s shoulders, steadying her. “No wonder Mom and Dad like you best.”

Amity frowns a little, looking away. Something about that idle comment didn’t sit right with her. Maybe their parents gave her more attention, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. That just meant more pressure, and more chances to get caught screwing up. But for now she leaned against her sister and enjoyed the praise.

"HEY, EM!" Ed screamed, sitting in the snow. "YOU DIDN'T DEFLECT IT!"

Amity smiles to herself as she wiggles her fingers. Ten fingers, ten tiny circles. She cups her bound hands as abomination goo starts to trickle through, pooling into her palms. It’s a slow process, but the ten circles will get her enough slime much faster than just one. She can’t see her hands behind her back, so instead she closes her eyes, trying to judge how much goo she gathered.

After a few minutes of quiet concentration, she dismisses the circles. Slowly she shapes the goo with her mind, feeling it shift, harden and soften, stretch and flow. She imagines it trailing up her palms to her wrists, hardening and sharpening to points, and start sawing through the bindings there. Slowly, so slowly, the summoned ooze obeys, cutting through the sticky tape. It’s a delicate process, so Amity keeps her eyes closed, imagining herself on her side, where she needs to cut and what she needs to-

Pain shoots through her wrist. One stroke of the abomination knife bit into soft flesh. It’s a shallow cut, not even bleeding, but the sting prompts her to take it slower, more careful. She bites back a whine as she nicks herself again, eyes squeezed shut through fresh tears as a new memory bubbles to the surface, accompanied by a new mantra.

“It’s only pain. It’s only pain….”

Father raps her knuckles with his staff. Pain shoots through her hand as she cradles it with her other, grimacing up at him through bleary eyes.

He looks down at her with his usual dispassionate gaze, shaking his head. “If you can’t learn the proper stance, you’ll never be able to cast a proper spell.”

“Witches can cast spells with any stance.” She mumbles, unable to stop herself. The pain is overriding her usual composure.

“Skilled witches can cast spells with any stance. You are a far cry from that. You must learn the proper procedure if you are to be worthy of your name.”

Blight. A name that means disease. She hated the name and everything associated with it. Why couldn’t she be born with a different name? Like Park. Willow’s dads don’t push their daughter like this. They don’t expect so much of her because of her last name.

Alador watches her as she simmers with anger. “Would you rather your Mother train you?”

That comment gives her pause. The last thing she needs now is Mother finding her thinking about Willow. She shakes her head, resuming the correct pose. “No, sir.”

Her posture falls a moment later as she rubs her hand, wincing through the pain. Father watches for a moment. “Do you know what people say about pain, Amity?”

She considers the question. “Pain is where the edge is. It’s the limit. The point you should turn back.”

He nods “That’s right. Most people believe they should live their lives avoiding pain.”

Amity smiled. She was right! And it made sense. Why would anyone want pain? It hurt to think about Willow after she stopped being friends with her. But not thinking about her and picking on other weak kids with Boscha helped, so that’s good, right?

She was not prepared for Father’s next words.

“People who believe that are weak.”

She makes a face, looking up to him for an explanation, which he is all too eager to give. “Some pain should be avoided. It’s a warning that you are going too far. But consider a muscle. It will hurt as you push it, and grow stronger afterward. The pain was a limit not meant to impede, but to be pushed through.

“Witches are the same. We grow, experience, and suffer. And in that suffering we can chose to flee or to learn from it. In the end, it’s only pain. Temporary. Amoral. As you grow wiser, Amity, you will learn what pain you should avoid, and what pain you can learn from. And in the end, anything you survive makes you stronger.”

Alador raised his staff and stomped it on the floor. “Now, let’s try that stance again.”

She had to endure a few more cuts, but after a few minutes Amity is able to tear her arms free. She whirls the abomination goo into a more respectable blade and carefully cuts the tape around her ankles. Once free she rolls upright, peeling the tape from her mouth, muffling a groan with her hand. Slowly she stands, closing her eyes and leaning against the cage for support. Everything hurts. She’s sore and cramped from her awkward position, small cuts all over her hands and wrists, and her skin where the tape touched is an angry red. She’s also dizzy, and takes a few moments to compose herself.

“It’s only pain. I can survive this,” Amity whispers to herself. Once the world stops spinning she opens her eyes. “Okay… now the cage.”

For the first time she looks around the room. Assorted tools and weapons, some overly ornamental armor in a glass case, posters and books. Everywhere there’s little toys and knickknacks that claim to resemble witches. Or maybe just what humans think witches are. Amity frowns. There’s nothing she sees as useful for escaping the cage.

She draws a circle, summoning a tendril of abomination slime and slips it into the lock. She tries picking it for a few minutes, trying to remember how Ed and Em always break their way into places they shouldn’t be, but the effort proves futile. Amity doesn’t know how to pick a lock, and certainly not a human one.

She doesn’t know any other spells that would help her get out. A full sized abomination may be strong enough to get her out, but it would certainly draw attention. That’s assuming Hopkins is still in the building. She has no idea. All she knows is she wants out of the cage.

And then what? But she already knows. She has to get back to the Noceda home.

She has to confront the simulacrum.

As long as that thing is here, Amity is in danger. She has to find a way to deal with it, permanently.

And maybe it’s the anger still coursing through her veins, but she thinks she’s strong enough to take it on.

Hopefully Camila will be so grateful for the help she won’t let Amity get captured by others like Hopkins. Maybe Amity knowing Luz will let Camila spare her, maybe even let her stay until Luz is able to finish the portal.

That might all be wishful thinking right now. She can’t dwell on what ifs. What matters is the present: escaping this cage.

And she has another idea.

It’s creative. Probably painful. Untested. She’s only seen it performed on crystal ball by the head of the Abomination Coven. A whole new type of Abomination magic pioneered by its greatest witch.

Greatest witch before Amity Blight.

There’s a million fears in her heart. What if I get the spell wrong? What if I push my bile sac too hard and run out of magic? What if I lose control? What if a human sees me? What if the simulacrum is just behind the door, waiting for me?

What if I never see Luz again?

She pushes those fears aside and traces a slow, deliberate pink circle over her head. Once she’s done she closes her eyes and gestures down, the circle falling around her body and vanishing to the floor.

The effects are immediate. Amity’s stomach rolls, her skin crawls, her head swims. She feels sick, collapsing to her knees, clutching her middle. Everything feels wrong. She’s cold and dizzy and her arms are heavy and it feels like her skin is sloughing off, like she’s falling apart at the seams-

“You’re better than this, Amity.”

“You need to focus.”

“Anger is something you can use.”

“It’s only pain.”

“No one else could do the things you will do.”

“Anyone else would break.”

Slow, deliberate breathes. Her mind is thinking not on a mantra of meaningless words, but on those bitter comments and snide remarks her parents had said. Something she can focus on. Something she can direct her anger towards. The anger reminds her who she is, how far she’s come, and how far she has yet to go.

Amity Blight opens her eyes.

She hasn’t broken. Not yet.

And I never will.

Chapter 13: …Rise!

Chapter Text

Amity sat on the couch, head in her hand, leaning on the armrest, trying not to look bored. Ed and Em sat beside her, already looking bored, but trying not to draw their parent’s ire. Odalia glanced at the children before smiling at Alador, whom frowned at the enormous crystal ball with rapt attention.

The whole Blight family had been gathered to witness an important announcement from the head of the Abomination Coven. Despite his high status in the Coven, even Alador was unaware what this was about. Odalia was quick to gather the children to watch under the guise of spending time together. Of course Amity should be present and informed of important matters within the Coven. The twins should also be aware of matters involving the Blight’s specialty, and this required family gathering would double as punishment for their recent behavior.

But Amity slumped further into her arm, struggling to pay attention. These announcements were so boring! So much pomp and vanity about who retired, who was promoted, who had achieved some minor recognition. All these witches a generation ahead of her who accomplished nothing, squabbling about rank and prestige. All names Mother wanted her to memorize, so she knew who to call on when she was the rising star of the Coven.

She should be working on her extra credit assignment for next week. She should be discussing grudgby strategy with Boscha, now that the triclops is the Banshee’s captain. She should be teasing Skara about her crush with the ridiculous hair and even more ridiculous ears. She should be practicing that cage spell so she could trap her siblings the next time they try to sneak into her hideaway in the library. Instead, she’s wasting her time with this pointless spectacle.

Finally, half an hour later, the Coven Head takes the stage. Darius grins wide as he addresses the audience, giving an elaborate speech and naming each and every witch that had been recognized. Alador groaned, leaning closer and glaring at his high school rival.

“Is he always like this?” Emira asked no one, shaking her head.

Odalia glanced over with a frown. “Like what, dear?”

Em hesitated, not expecting someone to address her quiet rhetorical question. Especially not cold, strict Mother, who would judge her juvenile opinions. Luckily she’s saved by Edric who just can’t ever help himself. “He’s just so… extra.”

Em and even Amity smirks at that. Odalia’s frown deepens, but before she can correct her son’s plebeian language, Alador just grunts “Always.”

That gets the kids snickering again. Ed grins wide, elbowing Amity’s ribs, so proud of himself for getting his uptight little sister to laugh, but the youngest Blight just frowns and leans away, wrapping her arms around herself. Finally Darius seems to be wrapping up his speech, and Odalia waves to silence her children.

“Now, on to the purpose of this announcement” the Coven Head cried with a flourish. “I have spent the last three years researching and perfecting Abomination magic, and today I present to you the fruits of my labor.”

He steps back from the podium, casting a large pink circle above his head. He holds it for a moment with a proud grin before dropping the circle around himself, shouting “Behold! The future of the Abomination Coven!”

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them his sclera had turned black. His body stretched and grew, his skin and clothes melting into various shades of purple dotted with more green on black eyes. He towered over the stage and spread his arms wide. Gasps could be heard through the audience, including within the Blight household.

“Behold! Blessed perfection!” Darius’s voice booms, echoing with power. “Through force of will, a skilled witch of our coven can enhance themselves with Abomination slime into a being of true beauty and power! No mere clumsy golems. In this form, we can sculpt ourselves as we see fit for whatever situation is at hand.” To demonstrate he makes a fist which shifts into a spiked gauntlet without the need of another spell circle.

Darius snaps his fingers. At once he collapses into himself, returning to his normal body and clothing. All except for his hair, which is now purple and wavering like fresh slime, a single unblinking green eye peering out.

“And through concentration of will, I can resume that form on demand. Imagine, the strength and flexibility of an abomination, combined with the genius and spellcraft of our greatest witches. That, my friends, is the bright future of our coven!

“Even before I joined the Abomination Coven, I have always said that it is home to the most powerful, talented witches in all the Boiling Isles. No other coven comes close to our dedication, our intelligence, or the diversity of our unique form of magic. Perhaps the illusionists are the only ones who can rival our creativity, but at least we actually do something.” He smirks, drinking in the laughs from the crowd. Even Alador smiles, ignorant of the twins’ frowns.

For a few minutes the Coven Head continues his extravagant speech before returning to his Abomination form for some some demonstrations. By this point Alador has had enough as he shuts off the crystal ball. Silence falls over the Blight household as they wait for its patriarch’s opinion. He presses his hands together, staring off in silent contemplation before finally speaking.

“I just… I don’t understand the purpose.” He closes his eyes, rubbing his temples. “A spell that enhances your strength, but requires complete concentration? Why would you need that, when you come just summon bigger abominations beforehand?”

Odalia hums her approval. “I agree, dear. The demonstration just seemed so… frivolous. I can’t imagine a scenario where such a spell would be worth using.”

“Exactly!” Her husband nods, stroking his chin. “It seems like so much wasted effort. Darius being… what was that word, again? ‘Extra.’ Such a spell would have no practical application.”

“I don’t know,” Edric started hesitantly as all eyes turned to him. “Turning yourself into an abomination has to be good for something, right? I thought it looked kind of cool.”

“Yeah, no. Turning yourself into a slime monster is the opposite of cool. Also, gross. Yuck.” Emira stuck out her tongue, shaking her head.

“Well, if that’s settled, I’m sorry for wasting everyone’s time.” Alador stood and left for his workshop. Odalia nodded, dismissing the children. Amity split off from the others and went silently back to her room, lost in thought. She closed the door and turned on her crystal ball, catching the very end of Darius’s performance. Afterwards, she spend an hour searching for the recording, playing it over and over, always pausing as he cast the initial spell.

As usual, Amity couldn’t disagree more with her family. Her parents were too rigid in their ideas of strength and value. The twins could see the creative applications of the spell, but couldn’t figure out the practical uses. But studious, creative Amity could.

Since she started attending Hexside, Amity Blight has always excelled in her Abominations classes. No one in her grade could summon a golem as good as her’s. But as she studied and learned more about her field of magic, she grew increasingly interested in its capabilities beyond mere golems. She was curious about spells that shaped the slime in unique ways, like splitting golems into smaller ones, or conjuring ropes and stepping stones, or protective barriers and sharp blades. Such spells aren’t taught until much later at school, but then again, Amity was always driven - and sometimes pushed - to be ahead of her peers.

She has to be the best, of course. Like Darius. And if you’re the best, you can show off a little.

This transformation spell intrigued her. She could see the practical uses for it. The flexibility, the strength. And more than that, the art: Amity longs for a way to express herself beyond hidden, embarrassing drawings and the shade of green she picked for her hair. The cold, sterile halls of Blight Manor sucked all the creativity out of its occupants, forcing the children to seek self-expression elsewhere. For the twins, it was making friends and playing elaborate pranks. For Amity, it was burying herself in fantastic stories in her corner of the library. But she desperately yearned for more. What would be a better method of self-expression than changing your appearance at a whim?

Of course her parents didn’t see it that way. They rarely agreed with other witches, being too wrapped up in image and legacy and politics. They were also incredibly critical of the Coven Head, an obvious extension of Father’s former rivalry. Maybe some of Amity’s interest in the spell had to do with her parent’s dismissal of it.

And so Amity would study the recording of the spell, and any literature of it she could find, for the next few months. She never tried to cast it. Titan knows she is wasn’t ready. Darius himself warned there could be disastrous results if attempted by an unskilled, unsupervised witch. But she would continue to study and learn, hoping one day she would be strong enough.

Almost a year later, Amity looked down at her hands. In place of pale skin, scarred by cuts and tape, she found a swirl of purple shades. Here and there are black eyes that lay atop the slime with piercing golden irises, matching her own. Her ‘skin’ flowed, the colors ever-shifting. Looking down, the rest of her body is much the same. Clothes and flesh transmuted into Abomination slime, her legs merging below her waist into a thick column that writhed like a snake. She stares at herself in awe, and after a moment her arms start to melt.

There was a brief panic, but she remembers her anger, her focus, and her arms reform, no worse for wear. Experimentally she makes a fist, watching her fingers join together, the spaces between filling with purple into a single, semi-solid ball. Despite no longer having digits on that hand, she found she could open her fist and split the ball apart, fingers reforming. Amity marvels at how easy, how natural, it all feels. It's more a reflex than a thought. She simply moves her hand, and it twists and reshapes exactly as she wants. Suddenly she has 3 clawed fingers, then 7, then it becomes a long tendril she can stretch out, and just as easily her hand is it’s normal shape again.

As exciting as all this is, she has to focus. I can experiment more later.

Amity raises a tentative hand to the bars of the cage. Presses her hand against them. Presses her hand through them.

Oh, that's a disturbing sight. Watching her arm transform into exotic shapes? Fascinating. Watching her normal-shaped palm pinch and bend unnaturally as it flowed between the bars?

It makes her feel sick. Her mind is screaming that her palm is not supposed to do that. That this should be incredibly, overwhelmingly painful. All at once her body shudders, losing cohesion. Without thinking she retracts her arm, watching it return to its normal shape. She breathes heavily to still her stomach, making sure she maintains the spell and her mostly-familiar body. She looks back at the bars, and the room beyond them.

I can do this.

Amity closes her eyes as her palm flows through the bars again. There’s no pain, but the sensation is… unpleasant, to put it mildly. She steps (wiggles? shimmies?) forward, focusing on a new mantra as her body presses into and then through the cold metal bars.

I won’t break. I won’t break. I won’t break…

The antique crystal ball lies broken on the floor. Amity stares at it, tears streaming down her cheeks. It had all happened so fast. A teasing word from her siblings, a moment of anger, and now, this. And of course, the moment she realized what she had done, Mother walked in.

She hasn’t said anything yet. She’s just looking down with an unreadable expression, eyes flicking from Amity to the shattered orb. The young witch struggles to control her emotions, biting her lip to suppress a pathetic whine.

Why did this have to happen now? Things were finally going well! Seven year old Amity had finally gotten over Willow, had finally summoned a proper abomination, and she had the best scores of her first-year class in Hexside! She was finally getting the respect of her peers and the approval of her parents! That’s all she had ever wanted! And now she broke something important and valuable and threw it all away!

For Amity, every failed attempt at perfection was the end of the world.

“That was my mother’s.” Odalia finally spoke in a far away voice, as though she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Of course, that did nothing to calm Amity. Mother never talks about her parents. She must be furious! The youngest Blight gripped the sides of her shirt, trying to contain her sniffles and shudders, biting her lip hard enough to taste blood. She has to stay calm, cool, controlled. No weakness. No begging for mercy. That’s the Blight way. Just accept the awful, inevitable punishment she deserved and be better next time.

But why was it taking so long? Was this part of the punishment? Make her stew in anxiety? See if she reacts in some way that condemns herself to further discipline? No, no she can endure this. She can survive this. But why isn’t Mother scolding her? Lecturing her? Amity’s heard it all before, she’s already repeating all those harsh words and unkind looks in her head, hoping they’ll soften the verbal blow when it finally comes.

It’s only then that she steals a glance up and sees the tiny violet circle in Mother’s hand. She’s been reading all of her daughter’s thoughts for… who knows how long. It makes her feel vile. Ashamed. She’s supposed to be the perfect daughter, and here she is, showing such disrespect, such weakness, such-

“Mittens.”

Amity stiffens, squeezing her eyes shut. Here it comes. What will she lose? What lesson does she need to learn, or have repeated?

There’s a cold hand on her shoulder, but it’s… gentle. Much gentler than she remembers. Even as she thinks that, the hand almost pulls away. Then Mother’s voice, calm, not angry or judging. “Amity.”

Gold eyes meet blue, and there’s an expression there Amity had never seen before. She reaches down and takes her daughter’s hand. Not tight, not pulling, but gently leading. “Come with me. There’s something I want to show you.”

Amity hesitates. “But what about-“ She gestures to the mess on the floor. A priceless crystal ball, probably the last thing Odalia had from her long gone mother.

Odalia smiles. Not cruel, not sarcastic, not knowing or biting or judging or anything. It’s just a small, honest smile.

Amity had never seen Mother smile like this before.

“It’s better this way. One of your father’s golems will clean it up. Come along.” She turned and guided Amity slowly through the house, leading to her personal study, and sat her daughter down in the lone chair by the desk. Odalia turned to get something off a shelf, and Amity quickly cleaned her face with her sleeves. She’s still fearful, unsure, but the spell circle is gone and Mother is acting… different. It’s… almost nice.

Odalia is looking for something, her back to her daughter, when she asks, “Have I told you I’m proud of you lately, Amity?” The unfamiliar words come out slowly as she tests each one in her tongue.

Amity looks back at her, confused. No, her parents never said that, to any of their children. But before she could think of a response, Mother continues. “You have been so focused lately. Well disciplined, excelling in school. You have become a model Blight after all.”

The girl blushes a bit at the praise, not sure what to say. But she doesn’t have to, as Mother continues on. “I know you may think our methods harsh, dear. Truly, your Father and I only want the best for you and your siblings. We see so much potential in you, and we don’t want you to squander it. Ah! Here it is.”

She turns, presenting something to Amity before setting it down on the desk before her. “This is my favorite crystal ball.”

Amity can’t figure out why. Compared to the one she broke, this one is remarkably plain. It’s smaller, aging wood instead of incorruptible brass and gold, dust collecting across the dim sphere. She can make out a tiny inscription along the base: To the best daughter we could ever ask for. There’s a date, and beside that, a signature: Wilhelm and Evereth Blight.

Amity blinked. Father’s parents? And the date, Mother and Father’s wedding date. This was a wedding gift! But it’s so simple, so plain. Why would she like this over the more expensive one?

Odalia answers none of these questions as she kneels beside her youngest child. She hesitates, wrestling with her words. “I’m not going to punish you for the other crystal ball. That… belongs in the past. Instead, I’d like to… show you something. Something to think about when life gets difficult, when you fear you cannot live up to your own name.” She adds, directing Amity’s gaze to the crystal ball.

She frowns. For a moment, all Amity can see is herself. Fresh dyed hair, red eyes, rosy cheeks, a tiny cut on her bottom lip. Small, pathetic, uncontrolled, weak.

Then the image changes, and she can’t help but gasp. It’s… well, it’s her, but older. Mid-twenties. Long, natural auburn hair hanging down, tipped lilac in an unfamiliar style. Piercing gold eyes, a wry half-smile. She looks beautiful. Determined. Maybe even… happy? There’s something else, too. A notch in her right ear. Lines from a healed scar all along her right cheek, nicking her lips and nose and extending above her eye. The scars do nothing to diminish her beauty, but rather they enhance to it.

She had survived, and became stronger for it.

“This is but one possible future for you, Amity. I’ve seen many, for you and your siblings. They always have bright futures. Their natural talent and charisma always takes them far.

“Your’s, however, are different.” There’s the slightest bit of emotion in her voice that Amity can’t place. “Life will not always be kind to you. That is why your Father and I are always pushing you forward, dear. It is not just for the Blight legacy, but also for your own legacy.”

Looking up at Mother, then back to her future-self in the crystal ball, Amity finally recognizes the tone in her voice. Pride. Not of herself, or her heritage, or her married name. Pride for her youngest, hardest working daughter.

She looks back at Mother, and for a brief moment there’s concern on her face. She’s thinking about something, staring at the crystal ball.

Amity idly wonders what else Mother had seen of her future.

As quickly as the expression appeared, it was gone, behind that perfect mask once more. Odalia steps behind Amity, both hands on her shoulders as they gaze into the crystal ball. “No one else could do the things you will do. Anyone else would break. And you-“ she leans close, her voice wavering only slightly, before pride wells up in her voice and she gently squeezes her favorite child’s shoulders. “- will never break.”

Free.

Amity traces a circle, dispelling the transformation. She shudders as her body squirms all at once before stilling, returned to normal. Not a drop of slime remained. There’s a brief feeling of nausea as her bile sack relaxes. Daruis’s spell was an incredibly one, but Amity didn’t want to have to focus on it for too long. If she’s going to confront the simulacrum then she’ll need as much magical energy as possible.

She also didn’t want a human to see her looking like a giant purple slime monster. That would attract far more attention then her pointed ears.

She scans the room, looking for anything of interest before leaving. Nope, there’s just various baubles and posters and lots of obscure human books and- wait.

On the back wall is a series of papers and pictures all linked together with string. Amity isn’t sure what to make of most of it. Newspaper clippings of unexplained events? Two brothers missing from hundreds of years ago? What catches her eye is a picture in the middle of a beast. One Amity had only seen once before on crystal ball while it fled the Conformatorium, with a certain human on it’s back.

“Eda?” She used to come here to collect human stuff to sell, didn’t she? There are other pictures of her, both normal (with her ears covered) and in her Owl Beast form. Beside her are some more people, some of whom have their ears covered or turned away from the picture. Other suspected witches.

Could there be other witches here? In the human world?

There are other things as well, scattered about the room that she had overlooked. A mostly charged training wand. A deck of Hexas Hold’em cards. Worn paper from an old book of spells, one of which bore an image resembling a glyph. A spiked snaggleback shell. A damaged Emperor’s Coven’s scout mask.

She looks over the random things from the Isles and frowns. That doesn’t really help her now. Even if other witches were here, she wouldn’t know where to find them. Amity scans the pictures again, recognizing only the Owl Lady, and her thoughts inevitably wander to Eda’s protégée.

Luz. Luz who she loves, who she obsesses over. Luz, who’s so frustratingly dense and oblivious. Luz, pretty, silly, cheesy, caring Luz, who ignored Amity’s first kiss and literally pushed her into another world to escape the second.

She’s probably in class at Hexside now. Or is she doing something foolish, trying to help someone in need? Maybe helping Eda and King on some wacky, dangerous adventure. Could she be thinking about Amity right now? Was she building the portal to get to her, right now?

It doesn’t matter what Luz is doing. She isn’t here. And she doesn’t care about me. At least, not like that.

Amity shakes her head. She can’t think about her now. Not when there’s another, much closer and more dangerous Luz she has to deal with. She can sort out her messy emotions if she survives.

Maybe then she’ll be strong enough to make up her mind and actually do something.

She looks back at the board when an idea comes to mind, and she starts taking the pictures off. Every image of Eda, every suspected witch, every other scrap of paper that looks useful. She gathers them into a pile, along with the training wand, and that’s when she finds the book.

It has a red cover titled “A History of Gravesfield, CT.” Underneath is scrawled “and additional important information by Jacob Hopkins.” Its a simple, small book, absolutely bursting with extra pages and handwritten notes and drawings. The curator was using this as a notebook of sorts, adding his opinions and findings of the otherworldly to its pages. It reminds Amity of Father’s cluttered journals and Luz’s notebooks full of doodles.

She adds the book to her pile and drops it all in a small bag she’s found. Maybe it’s mostly the ramblings of a lunatic, but it could be useful. If she can’t stay at the Noceda’s, due to fake Luz or Camila, maybe she can track down another witch! Maybe they could even help her get back to the Boiling Isles! It’s a long shot, but she might stuck here awhile.

She clutches her stomach, suddenly hungry. How long has she been in this room? An hour or two? How long has it been since her rushed breakfast, or the stressful pizza dinner the night before, while she had to hide casting illusions from Fake Luz?

Amity’s going to confront the simulacrum. She’s really hoping she can eat something before that.

As if on cue, the door opens. Jacob Hopkins steps in and quickly shuts it, juggling a handful of wrapped sandwiches. “I don’t know what you witches eat for lunch. You know, besides dreams and human flesh, so I thought I’d get you a little of… everything….” He trails off as he realizes that Amity is not in the cage, but beside his now ransacked desk.

“Hey! How did you-? Get away from there!” He drops all of the sandwiches but one, a soggy meatball sub that he brandishes like a club. It flops limply in his hands, leaking sauce.

Amity smirks. I was afraid of this guy? Okay, sure, he’s a human and he might alert other, more dangerous humans. But right now? I can handle this.

She draws a circle, and a huge abomination arm bursts from the floor, pinning him against the wall. One finger envelopes his mouth and chin, smothering his cries.

She scans the room one last time. Seeing nothing of use, and nothing which to hide her ears, Amity scoops up a few sandwiches and bolts from the room. She can hear Hopkins behind her, trying to escape, but she ignores him as she dashes through the empty museum towards the front door.

Ever always towards the light.

Chapter 14: Flight

Chapter Text

Panic starts to set in as Edric Blight comes closer, weaving through the crowded hallway. “Luz! Hey!” She finds herself rooted to the spot, terror on her face as he approaches. It’s only when he stops in front of her and puts a hand on her shoulder, his wide grin disappearing as he whispers “Can I talk to you for a minute?” that her brain turns back on.

He can’t know. Not yet.

Luz stammers out some half-gurgled response and steps back out of his reach. He co*cks his head, confused, and she turns and breaks into a run down the hall, around the corner. She stops to catch her breath, freezing when another voice calls her name.

“Luz! There you are!”

She looks up in fear to find… Eda? Quickly walking to her with purpose, the crowd giving her a wide berth. Luz allows herself to smile. They found something! She’s here to collect her! They can get away from Ed and all the rumors and everything’s going to be-

Luz’s eyes meet Eda’s, and her elation falls. Everything about her mentor is correct, from the great gray mane to the golden fang poking out her wry grin, to the owl-capped staff in her hand. Everything except those golden eyes. Those matching golden eyes.

Something overlooked by a skilled illusionist whom hadn’t seen Eda since Grom.

Luz ducks into the crowd, taking a deep breath as she pulls a sheet of paper from her pocket and slaps it to her chest. She slips invisibly into an empty classroom, watching Eda’s smile drop as she looks around, confused.

Ed rounds the corner a moment later. He runs up to Eda and doubles over, clutching his knees as he gasps for breath. Eda frowns at him. “You need to run more.”

He waves at her dismissively as he struggles to breathe normally. “Did she… run from… you, too?”

“Yeah.” Eda shakes her head, dropping the illusion. In her place, Emira sighs, face in her hand. “Damn it! I knew she’d be skittish. I thought that was a perfect plan.”

Ed wheezes, slowly stand back up. “So she has… to know something,… right?”

“Oh, definitely. We should split up and look for her. She’s also got class with Viney later, I’ll talk to her.”

Ed nods, too winded and desperate for answers to tease his twin about Viney. The two of them conjure circles, out of which pops clones of themselves. The now four of them split up, racing down the halls, with the Eds moving noticeably slower.

Luz peaks out from the classroom, the coast clear. She quickly sketches some more invisibility glyphs and uses one, running through the school. History class is next, but she can’t participate. She has to get back to the Owl House. She had to talk to her mom.

Jacob Hopkins grumbled as he ran down the street, oblivious to the looks he was getting. Covered in purple slime that left a trail behind him, he searched desperately for the witch. She was his chance to be famous! Respected! Verified on MewTube! He jogged down another road, ignorant of the golden eyes peering from an alley.

Amity let out a sigh and sat back down, mostly hidden from view, and continued eating the meatball sandwich. It’s really good! A little cold by now, and the bread is a bit soggy and chewy, but the meat is tastier than anything from the Isles, and the blood has a delicious spice to it! It’s also very messy, but then again, Amity is an Abomination witch, so this is nothing a quick spell couldn’t solve.

She finishes her lunch and looks up at the sky. If the sun works here like it does in the demon realm, then it’s about noon. She’d only been in the cage an hour or two, depending on how long Luz had put her to sleep. Now she’s free and fed, and she’s going after the simulacrum to end it’s threat.

There’s just one little problem.

Amity has no idea where she is.

She can’t be that far from the Noceda home, but she doesn’t recognize anything! She doesn’t want to go the wrong way and get even more lost! And she certainly doesn’t want Hopkins to find her. He might be an idiot, but he’s still a danger.

She peeks out of her hiding place again. The street isn’t too crowded. There’s a park on the other side of the road with a few people milling around or walking pets. Huge, loud machines that Luz had called Cars run up and down the road, startling her every few minutes with a loud sound. She sees a hundred strange things at once that the humans all call normal.

What is Amity supposed to do? She can’t talk to any of them, and she certainly can’t let them see her ears. But she’s going to have to, isn’t she? How else will she find Luz’s house?

She leans against a building, trying to determine her next steps, when she notices two humans coming her way from across the park. One of them points directly at her, and Amity can just barely hear the blond teenage girl say “Isn’t that Luzer’s friend?”

The witch’s heart sinks, her ears droop, eyes wide with fear. Crossing the road toward her are the bullies from yesterday. Clara and Melony.

Gus gazes out the window, lost in thought. Amity is missing, and the rumors of where she is are growing. Luz is acting strange. Well, stranger then usual. Did Amity kiss her again? That would explain a lot. But why wouldn’t Luz tell them? She couldn’t keep quiet about the first kiss, and the twins were quick to corroborate that story and tease their sister. But then what happened to Amity?

And in the halls, Mattholomule had mentioned something unrelated but very interesting that he wanted to follow up on. But that didn’t make any sense! Why would it-

“Hey, Gus!” Willow calls out as she sits beside him, interrupted his thoughts. “Isn’t Luz usually here before me for history class?”

Gus frowns, glancing at the empty chair. “Huh. Yeah, she usually is. Sorry, I was distracted by something Mattholomule told me just now.” He says that with a small grin, clearly eager to share.

Willow sighs and nods, looking out the door for their human friend while Gus explains. “His brother has this human thing called a radio. He said he bought it from Eda and it plays human music! It was broken for a few weeks, but over the weekend it started working again! He wants to bring it to the Human Appreciation Society after school.”

“Hmm. I guess they fixed it?” She asks, half listening. She glances at the clock. Class is about to start, and still no Luz.

“No, that’s the crazy thing! It just died one day, and weeks later it’s working again!”

Willow frowns. She’s much more concerned about Luz and Amity then this random human artifact, but there’s something about Gus’s story that’s nagging her. “Human stuff doesn’t normally do that, right?”

“No! That’s what’s so weird about it. He’s hoping we can figure out what happened at H.A.S..”

“What about going to the Owl House after school?”

Gus paused, having forgotten about that in his excitement for all things human related. “Aw, man! Yeah. I can hear tomorrow what happened with the radio. Hey, where’s-?”

Something smacks against the window beside them, causing them to jump. They turn back to find… nothing? Huh. They, and the other nearby students, look away, until Gus and Willow can hear the faintest tapping on the glass.

Luz is outside the window, standing on a pillar of ice. She ducks down to make sure no one else is watching. Thankfully class has just started, and the teacher is distracted. Gus casts a quick illusion to cover for them, making it look like they’re paying attention.

“What are you doing? You’re supposed to be in here!” Willow hisses, glaring at the human.

But the girl looks frantic, pointing at a blue rectangle with a bat’s face and stubby wings. “I can’t! Something came up and I gotta get to the Owl House! Can you guys cover for me?”

Willow and Gus share a look before the illusion witch folds his arms. “Fine. But after school you need to tell us everything! I’m missing H.A.S. for you!”

“I will, I promise! But don’t tell anyone I left Hexside. Especially not the twins!”

Gus frowns. He shares a class with them later. “They’re gonna ask. What do we tell them?”

“I don’t know! Tell them I got a weird human disease. Or Eda took me to the Knee. Or the Golden Guard captured me. I don’t care! Just anywhere but the Owl House!”

She turns to jump off her pillar of ice, but Willow stops her. The plant witch reaches into her bag, pulling out and awakening Clover. Gently she opens the window, still covered under Gus’s illusion. “Fly Luz to her home. I’ll pick you up after school.”

The bee palisman bobs in acknowledgment, transforming to a staff in Luz’s free hand. She enthusiastically thanks Willow, promising again to explain everything. Then she’s off, soaring into the sky, looking at the flat bat thing in her hand.

Gus dismisses the illusion, and for a few minutes they try to pay attention to class. But something is still bothering Willow. “Hey,” she whispers. “What was that thing Luz was holding?”

“That’s her human scroll. Remember she took videos with us before?”

Willow hummed, pieces of a puzzle starting to come together. “Didn’t she say that stopped working for her a few weeks ago? After the Conformatorium?”

Gus blinks, nodding slowly. He looked over at her, recognizing that contemplative expression on her face. “Yeah. What are you thinking?”

Human scroll. Human radio. Both started working suddenly. Luz on edge. Amity missing. The last she had heard, Amity was going to help Luz with… something. Studying? Willow could see the thread connecting them all together, but couldn’t yet see where it led.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”

Amity is panicking internally as the humans approach. With no other option, she covers her ears with her hands and props her elbow against a wall, trying to look as cool and casual as possible, and knowing she is failing horribly.

“I told you she dyed her hair!” Melony tells her friend as they draw close. She folds her arms, grinning playfully at Amity. “It looks better without the beanie.”

“Uh.” Amity hesitates, unable to read if the compliment is genuine or sarcastic. “Thanks?”

“So you do talk.” Clara smirks, hands on her hips. Her demeanor is decidedly more haughty than her friend’s. “Amity, right? What are you doing here? Not many people hang out next to the hardware store.”

The witch glances at each of the humans, trying to come up with a believable story without giving anything away. All she managed to come up with is a somewhat confident “Yeah. I’m, um, lost? I’m not from here.”

“Lost? Town’s not that big!” Melony laughs.

“Is Luzer here with you?” Clara sneers, ignoring the look she gets from her friend.

Anger boils within Amity’s chest, but she has to stay calm. She really doesn’t want to make a scene. But she does stand taller, glaring back at the blond cheerleader. “No. Luz isn’t here.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Clara presses, taking a step closer. “Did you have enough of your weird friend from camp?”

“Clara!” Melony hisses, tired of her antics.

Amity’s about to make a biting retort when she spots something that gives her pause. She visibly pales and darts back into the alley, hiding being a dumpster. The teens make a face but before they can say anything, another voice calls from behind them. “Excuse me, girls.”

They turn to find Jacob Hopkins, still very much covered in purple slime. “Have either of you seen a witch?” He asks in an entirely too normal way, like he’s discussing the weather.

Clara blinks, recovering first. “A what?”

“A witch. She’s about your height, pink hair, pointy ears. I need to find her. It’s a matter of national security!”

Melony frowns, suddenly remembering seeing this man’s picture from around town. The museum curator, and an infamous conspiracy theorist. “No, haven’t seen anyone like that.”

“What-“ Clara points to the slime with disgust. “- is that?”

“I… I don’t know.” Hopkins looks down at his clothes, suddenly very concerned the slime might come back to life. Or it could be toxic. Or worse, he might not be able to wash it out of his favorite jacket! He turns, walking away quickly, calling back. “If you see anything come by the museum thank you!”

“The hell was that about?” Melony asks. Clara opens her mouth to respond, but is cut off by a squeak from the dumpster.

Amity peers out cautiously, eyes wide. “Is he gone?”

The teens do a double take. Clara points, stepping closer. Her voice is lower, curious instead of arrogant. “Are those… real?”

“Uh…” Amity quickly covers her ear again, nodding slowly, carefully watching their reactions.

“Pointy ears? Is that why he thinks you’re a witch?” Melony asks, glancing back to make sure he’s gone.

Do humans not know what witches look like? The many witch imagery in Hopkin’s office suggest that no, they thought witches were either ugly old ladies or hot young temptresses. Amity glances into the dumpster full of hardware supplies. Mostly human things she can’t name, but there’s a word she recognizes. “There was, uh, an issue with some paint.”

“Wait, you did that?” Melony asks, incredulous.

They're bullies, right? Like Boscha. Making trouble for their own amusem*nt. “Yeah…”

“That’s the conspiracy guy, right?” Clara looks to Melony, whom nods. “What a freak.” She smirks. So this girl ditched Luz and pulled a prank on that weirdo? “You seem cool. Strange, but cool. Want to hang out with us?”

“Actually…” Amity looks over the girls. How much can I trust them? They don’t seem to like Hopkins. This might be my best chance. She looks at Clara. “You used to be friends with Luz, right?”

The blond frowns, brushing back her hair. Luzer wasn’t someone she wanted to be associated with. “Yeah, sure. Awhile ago, before she got all weird.”

“Could you tell me how to get back to her house? I got all turned around by the… paint… thing.”

Clara’s frown deepens, but Melony steps in. “Sure. Come on, we’ll walk you there.” She makes eye contact with Clara who looks about to protest. There’s brief whispering back and forth, and the witch catches something about the head cheerleader being “less of a bitch.” Eventually she caves and sighs, leading them out of the alley.

Amity peeks cautiously around, but thankfully Hopkins is nowhere in sight, only a trail of abomination slime leading back toward the museum. She falls in step beside Melony who’s asking her rapid-fire questions about her hair with the same enthusiasm that Luz has about magic. The witch does her best to answer as they walk through town. She tries to remain calm, giving short, vague answers, all the while steeling herself for the confrontation to come.

Luz fumbles with her phone, her other hand clutching tightly to the staff. Clover is making a beeline - Luz made a mental note to tell that one to King - to the Owl House, and she’s moving fast! She’s also not very high, just barely skirting the tree line enough that the human had to keep raising her legs.

“Watch it! I’m taller than Willow, remember?” The palisman buzzed with annoyance, bobbing a bit higher as they raced towards their destination. Luz kept her eye on her phone, waiting for a bar to show up, for her to connect to the cell network. There! As she passed over the residential district of Bonesborough her phone connected!

Her cheer quickly turns back to fear. Now she actually has to call her mom. What is she going to say? How can she explain everything? How can she bring up Amity?

Luz’s worry is short-lived. A mile out from the Owl House, her phone rings. She swallows, takes a deep breath, and answers it. It’s quiet for a moment, just the rush of wind in her ears, then she hears a tired, desperate voice. “Luz? Luz is that you?”

She exhales. “Yeah. It’s me, Mom.”

Chapter 15: Catching Up

Chapter Text

Minutes became hours. One break became two, then five. Customers and coworkers alike grew frustrated by her frequent disappearances. Now Camila is on her lunch break, but instead of eating she’s calling her daughter’s cell again. She’s exhausted after so much worrying and so many failed calls. But what else can she do? No one picked up at home. She doesn’t know Amity’s number. She never replaced Luz’s cell after camp. All she has is Luz’s old cell, and all the videos she had received on Saturday from it. So why weren’t her calls going through?

She considers going home, but quickly discards that idea. Amity’s messages weigh heavily on her mind. Camila felt stuck. Can she trust this strange pink-haired girl? Or her own daughter, who clearly was keeping secrets from her? Is Luz the cause of these headaches that seem to crop up whenever she asks about camp? Or was that just coincidence?

If anything, Amity’s message alerted her to a startling number of coincidences.

And then there were Luz’s videos, which align closer with what Amity had said. Meaning Luz isn’t actually at home right now. Meaning she never went to camp, and she didn’t invite her new friend over for the weekend.

So the Luz at home isn’t really her Luz, but something else. Something dangerous.

But that can’t be true, can it? She really doesn’t want that to be true. So she’s calling the cell phone again, unsure if she even wants someone to pick up, because that means -

It’s ringing. Camila’s panicked, circular thoughts immediately grind to a halt. The phone picks up. For a few long seconds she can hear wind rushing by, and a soft buzzing sound. Camila works up the nerve to speak, cautious but hopeful. “Luz? Luz is that you?”

There’s a small, equally scared voice on the other side. “Yeah. It’s me, Mom.”

“Luz.” Camila puts a hand to her heart, trying to calm its frantic beating. Hours of confusion and desperation and zero answers. Hours of second guessing every conversation from the passed week with Luz, and visualizing the letter and weird moving picture from Amity. “Luz? Where are you right now?”

There’s a choked sob on the other end. The sound of a young girl struggling to keep it all in. “Mom. It’s so great to hear your voice.”

Camila swallows, her voice stern but thick with emotion. “Tell me where you are. Please.”

“I’m… I’m…” Luz takes a deep breath, and the dam breaks. “I’m flying back to the Owl House right now on Clover, Willow’s palisman. I was at Hexside but I just saw you tried to call me and I guess I’m too far from the portal now so I’m going back and then your call went through and I’m about to land and- Mom! We need to talk, I need to-!”

“Wait, Luz, slow down!” She had missed half of it in the realization that she hadn’t heard Luz talk like this since before summer camp.

“I’m sorry! I just, it’s been so long, and so much has happened, and there’s so much I want to tell you, but there’s something really important-!”

“So it’s all true?” Camila cut her off, waving away the looks from her coworkers that her break is going too long and she’s talking way too loud. Percy in particular looks annoyed, but she doesn’t care. She lowers her voice, more out of courtesy then for fear of being overheard. “The videos? The ‘demon realm’?”

“Yes! It’s all true! And I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier, but-“

“This is a lot to take in.” Camila sighed, sitting back in her chair as the world spun around her. Magic? Witches? Demons? Her rational mind is telling her that’s all impossible, that there’s a reasonable explanation, that Luz went to camp and came home and everything makes sense. There’s no disappearing words or fake daughters or alternate worlds ruled by evil emperors. It’s just too much.

Luz must have heard the apprehension in her voice, because she took a moment before saying “I can show you. I can prove it to you. If you just give me one- Clover!”

There’s a loud rush of air and Luz screaming before it all suddenly stops. “Luz? Luz! Luz are you okay? What happened?” There’s no immediate response and Camila is breathing fast, feeling dizzy, when a notification appears. A video call. She hits it and stares, wide-eyed.

Luz brushes back her messy hair, longer than it had been last night. There’s a few scars and scratches on her face and arms that Camila didn’t see before. But Luz is giving her a huge, infectious smile she hasn’t seen in forever, complete with fresh, happy tears. A giant bee is perched on her shoulder, and behind her is a building she recognizes from the videos.

“Hey, Mom. This is the Owl House.”

Luz is breathing heavily, grinning wide at her phone. Her brain had been going a million miles a second. What is her mom going to say? Where do they go from here? When can she go back to Earth and hug her? Where is Amity? Can her mom find her, somehow? Clover’s rapid descent and landing had cleared her mind a bit, and now all she could think was how much she had missed her mom. Finally seeing her calmed much of Luz’s fears, and she just smiled wide, feeling genuine relief for the first time since Amity disappeared two days ago.

And when Camila smiled back, still scared and confused but picking up her daughter’s bright, soul-bearing grin, well, that just made her feel even better. Nothing could take away this moment.

“Luuuuz? Did you get back from school early to see meeee?”

Oh God no.

Hooty is already coiled around her, peering over her shoulder, gasping way too loud. “Oh my gosh are you Luz’s Mom? Hi Luz’s Mom! You look just like that picture she keeps in her room! She gets so mad whenever I knock it over.”

“Hooty!” Luz shrieks, angrily pushing him back. “Get out of here!”

“Luz?” King gasps as he runs out the door with Eda and Lilith on his heels. He makes to climb up to her shoulders, but she puts up a hand to stop him.

“Guys, wait! I… I’m talking to Mom.”

The Clawthornes immediately stop. Lilith seemed to understand, but Eda had a strange look, like she was conflicted. But the expression passed a moment later. “Okay everyone, give the kid some space.”

King grumbled but stepped back. Luz thanked Eda quickly and ran inside. Hooty bobbed low, looking upset. “I just wanted to meet her mom.”

“We all do Hootsifer.” Lilith reassured him, patting his head. “But all of this will be new to her, and things might be difficult between them. They need to figure it out together.”

“Oh.” Hooty frowned, realization creeping in. “Like you and your mom, Lulu?”

She sighed, noticing Eda’s concerned expression as she gazed into the house. “Precisely.” She put a gentle hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

The Owl Lady steps back from her, putting on a fake smile. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine? Kid can finally talk to her real mom. I’m happy for her. Yeah.” She turns back into the house, ignoring the poignant looks from the others.

Luz ran up to her room and closed the door, sitting on her windowsill with a sigh. “Sorry about that. Hooty can be… a lot. I figured we should talk first before I show you to everyone.”

Camila gives her a warm, teary smile. “You’ve really grown up, haven’t you?” Luz blushed while her mom let out a weary sigh. “Thank you, mija.” She sounds exhausted. Hooty does that to people. “The past few days… so much has changed. It’s a lot to take in.”

“I know, Mama. But it’s going to be fine! I’m working on a new portal with Eda and Lilith! Once we figure it out, I can see you again!” She pauses, her smile falling. What happens after that? Mom will let me come back to the Isles again, right? The Owl House is like a second home to me! I can’t just leave behind my new friends, my new life.

I was honest with Eda and everyone last night. I can be honest with Mom, too.

“Mom, I-“

“Wait, mija. I’m still processing.” Camila’s head is in her hands, looking down at the break table. Luz nods but frowns, growing impatient. She had seen the videos 3 days ago! What is she still having trouble with?

Camila picked herself up, meeting her daughter’s gaze. “So you’ve been there the whole time? In this demon realm?”

Luz nods, trying to keep her impatience in check. “Yes, Mom.”

“You never went to camp?”

She shook her head, frustration leaking through. “No.”

Her mom is shaking now, hands clasped together as she asks, “Then who did?”

Luz blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

“Luz.” Camila started, a whole mix of emotions evident in her face, a tremor in her voice. “Someone went to camp in your place. And they came back home. And they look just like you.”

Of everything she thought her mom was going to say when they finally talked, it was not this. Her mind went blank, her jaw dropped, and all she could do was say a louder, incredulous “What!?”

“Weh?” A small voice could be heard outside her door, followed by a sharp shush. Both sounds are ignored by the humans.

“It… she? Looks just like you. And sounds like you. And there’s been a hundred little things that felt different, but I didn’t catch them. And those damn headaches started at the same time, and…” She’s rambling now, her voice warped with anger, sadness, shame, and a dozen other emotions. Hot tears pour down her face that she frantically tries to cover up, to regain control.

Luz is dumbstruck, opening and closing her mouth. Finally she finds her voice, a shrill, disbelieving “What, like some kind of doppelgänger?”

“Dopple-what-now?” An eavesdropping wild witch whispered before she’s shushed by her sister.

“I… I don’t know what that is? Sure?” Camila wipes her face, taking a deep breath to collect herself. “And then Amity, she-“

“Amity?” Luz perked up, latching on to that name. “Amity! You saw Amity!? Where is she? Is she okay!?”

“Yes! You brought her home! The- other you! Had her over for a sleep over. But Amity knew she wasn’t you, and she made these disappearing papers and pictures of herself trying to talk to me without her knowing!”

Luz blinks, trying to swallow all of this. Amity is okay! She’s with her Mom! There’s also a little flutter in her stomach at the thought of Amity, smart, resourceful Amity, using illusions to help her mom. But whatever relief she would feel is twisted up by the idea of some doppelgänger living in her place. She puts her hands on her cheeks to smother the blush and still the spinning room, trying to focus. “But she’s okay, right? Amity’s okay?”

Camila nods. “I… yes? Amity said that you… other you… is dangerous. She has magic, or something? Like the headaches.”

Luz rubs her forehead, feeling one forming. “Okay, okay, we can figure this out. I can talk to Amity, she can tell us what she knows, and we can find out what this thing wants, right?”

Her mother suddenly freezes, paling as her eyes grow wide. “I talked to you… her… earlier. She said… she said that Amity’s parents picked her up.”

Cold fear gripped Luz’s heart. “That’s not possible. Amity’s parents are here, in the Isles.”

“I’ve been trying to call you all morning, and you weren’t picking up. And no one picked up at home…”

“Mom! You need to get home right now!”

Camila’s voice catches in her throat. Go home? She’d been considering that for hours now, but every time she decided that Luz’s cell would give her more answers. And what if Amity’s message told the truth? If she goes back, what will the other Luz do? Will she use magic on her? Make the headaches return and make her forget? Fear gnaws at her chest. All of a sudden she has to deal with something so wild, so impossible, in her own home. How can she hope to stand up to it?

“I… what if you… other you… does something? I… I don’t know if I…” she trails off, rubbing her forehead for the headache that’s sure to come.

“It doesn’t matter!” Luz frantically waves her arms. “She’s obviously threatening Amity! You have to go help her!”

She’s right. Of course she’s right. She has to help Amity. Luz’s friend. Her crush. Who, according to Luz’s videos, helped Luz time and time again against witches and monsters. Who put herself in danger to save Camila from the dopple-whatever. Grim determination fills her as she stands, heading for the door. “You’re right. I’m going now.”

It doesn’t matter that Amity lied to her, or that she isn’t human. She’s a child, and one in need of protection.

What if I’m too late?

No, I won’t even consider that.

Luz is cheering her on as she leaves the break room, down the hall to the front door. She gives a wave to the receptionists as she passes by. “I’ve got to go. Family emergency.” She’s used the excuse enough that they know not to question it.

“Kid problems again?” Percy mumbled under his breath. Percy the temp, who works in the office. Percy the new guy, who just needed a job for the summer. Percy the idiot, with a bad temper and no self control, who had heard too many stories of Camila’s family emergencies over the years. Camila stops in her tracks. She slowly turns around, scanning the room as she does. There’s an elderly couple in the corner with a cat, and a young mother and child waiting for their pet to be returned. All of them, save the child, try to avert their eyes.

Percy, the little weasel he is, must have realized he misspoke, because he’s looking quite scared as Camila steps right up to the desk, glaring down at him.

“Yes, Percy.” She speaks slowly and clearly, not having to raise her voice to be heard. “There’s a problem that may or may not involve my daughter. And I am going to go to her. Because no matter what trouble she or her friends get into, and no matter when, I will always be there. That’s the kind of mother I am. That’s the kind of person I am. Which is more than I can say for some people, Percy.”

She sneers as she steps out, catching the mother’s proud smile and the couple’s wry grins as she passes them. Camila climbs into her car and lets out her heald breath before hearing more cheering. She had forgotten Luz is with her, her phone in her hand, and had heard everything.

The girl was positively beaming, bouncing up and down. “Mom! That was awesome! f*ck that Percy guy!”

“Luz!” Camila cried, catching the gasps behind Luz’s door. “Language!”

Her daughter smiled sheepishly, glancing back at the giggling door, from which she undoubtedly had been hearing such language. “Sorry Mom. I was just excited! You were so cool!” Her smile droops as she slumps atop her bedroll. “I… know I can be a lot. You had to leave work a lot for me. I mean… that’s why I was supposed to go to camp in the first place, right? To settle down, act normal.”

Something in Camila’s heart breaks. “Luz, I love you just the way you are. I… I guess we didn’t really talk enough before sending you off to camp, did we?” She sighs. Luz had, indeed, seemed to grow up over the summer. She’s doing well in this witch school, she has friends her age, she’s taking responsibility for her actions. That’s all Camila had ever wanted for her. Who knew it would take getting stuck in an alternate dimension for that to happen?

She smiles warmly, starting the car and setting the phone in a holder on the dashboard. “Once we help Amity and things calm down a bit, we’ll talk. But I love you, Luz. And I’m proud of the young woman you’re becoming.”

Luz gives her a small smile. “Thanks, Mom. I love you too.”

“Now,” She said as she pulled out of the parking lot. “Catch me up. What is this new portal, and how did Amity end up here? And try to keep it simple, please.”

They talked for the next 20 minutes as Camila drove home, weaving through lunchtime traffic. She did her best to follow along, but she’s having trouble with some of the more fantastical parts of the story. She asked a few questions to clarify things, like glyphs and who exactly some people are, and Luz was more than happy to explain.

It felt nice. If not for the foreboding atmosphere, Camila would have felt at peace. She knew beyond a doubt that she is talking to her Luz, the real Luz. The imposter never talked like this since returning from camp. That one kept conversations short and light. But the real Luz? She’s enthusiastic about everything, going into so much detail and putting so much emotion and opinion in everything she’s talking about. Camila could tell just how excited she is about magic, how curious she is for her new research, how fearful she is for Amity and the imposter.

Camila thought wistfully of their conversations years passed, of her daughter diving deep into fantasy and emerging to tell her mom all about it. When was the last time Luz regaled her with tales of Azura, or some anime, or a hero, or other story? How long had Camila been pushing back against her daughter’s love of stories and fantasy, trying to get her to focus on real life, to make her ‘normal’? How much had she unintentionally hurt her girl?

Never again, she told herself. No matter what happens, no matter what world Luz finds herself in, she will always know she can talk to me about anything. No matter how fantastic, how outlandish, how real or imaginary it may be.

She’s getting close to home when stops at a light and allows herself to smirk. Luz had just mentioned and backtracked on some compliment for Amity for the third time, and it’s passed due she called it out. “So, Amity, hmmm?”

Luz stops mid-sentence, flustered. “W-what? What about Amity?”

Camila glances at the phone and gives her a knowing smile. “I saw all your videos. You’ve got it bad, Luz.”

Her daughter blushes deeper, looking away from the phone. “I wasn’t expecting you to see them so soon when I made them. They were kind of like a diary for me. I… I think I really like her, but I don’t know what to do about it!” She flops down on her bedroll, all dramatic, and her mother laughs.

She remembers Amity’s message from this morning. “Tell her she’s always been my light.” Camila gives Luz a teasing grin. “Maybe you should say something next time you see her. I think you might have a chance.”

“I don’t know. She probably… wait.” She props herself up on her elbows, suddenly very serious. “Did she say something to you?”

Camila chuckles. “Call it mother’s intuition. The girl did kiss you, after all.”

Luz scowls at her, making her laugh harder, until a notification sounds on her phone. Something is blocking Luz’s face. Camila frowns, staring at it, but as she reads it her smile drops, her face growing pale.

It’s a simple message from some home security thing her brother-in-law set up last time her sister and family visited. Camila had said it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted it might save their lives one day. It had taken the whole day to set up, and most of the next spackling and painting over all the holes he had made.

The notification reads: Smoke detected in kitchen.

Amity’s warning replays in her mind. “… she’s here for a reason. And she’s very, very dangerous.”

Suddenly the threat from earlier became a lot more real. “No, Mom. Amity’s parents just picked her up.”

Luz’s voice again, full of terror. “That’s not possible. Amity’s parents are here, in the Isles.”

I’m not too late. It’s probably nothing. Luz just burned her grilled cheese again. It’s nothing.

But that’s not Luz at home.

“Mom?” Luz had noticed her expression, suddenly looking worried. “Mom,what is it?”

The light turns green. Camila floors it, racing home.

Please, God, don’t let it be too late.

Chapter 16: Complicated

Chapter Text

“Jonesboro.” Amity answers with all the fake confidence she could muster. She gestures dismissively at Melony’s look of confusion. “It’s, uh, south of here.”

That works well enough, as the excitable human talks more about life here in Gravesfield, interspersed with more questions for the strange girl with pointy ears and lilac hair. Amity does all she can to give answers that aren’t too weird, but it’s not easy. Humans don’t have sharp, expressive ears, and her only excuse for her own is a weird genetic quirk.

“You look like an elf!” Melony jokes. Amity just chuckles dryly, trying to ignore the insulting slang for magic-less witches. It’s probably not intentional.

She also learns that green is not a natural hair color for humans, after an awkward explanation for why she had picked lilac. Dying one’s hair such standout colors was also not very common at her age.

“So you went from green to lilac because you didn’t want to match your siblings? Who also dye their hair green?

“Um… yes?”

“Why not just… not dye your hair?”

“Because then I’d match my dad. I didn’t want to match anyone. I just wanted to be myself.”

“What about your mom?”

“She’s also green.”

“… What?”

Melony never ran out of things to discuss, making the witch’s head spin. She follows along as best she can, but she’s a bit distracted by her current objective.

She’s on her way to kill Luz Noceda, after all.

Not the real Luz Noceda, thank the Titan. Just the imposter. And not kill, really. This Luz merely simulates life. No, mocks it, just as she mocks the person who’s life she stole. But despite knowing this, her mind is far from calm.

She has to confront someone who looks exactly like her crush. Her obsession. The girl who changed her life. And, of course, the girl who rejected her advances. The girl who banished her to another world by mistake. Probably. Amity hasn’t had time to sort out her conflicted feelings towards Luz yet. Having to fight someone who looks like her to the death isn’t going to help.

And again, not to the death. Fake Luz can’t die, she’s not alive to being with! She’s just a construct, a machine who steals thoughts to seem real. Amity isn’t really killing anyone? Right?

But Fake Luz won’t be holding back. She’ll probably try to kill Amity if she thinks she can get away with it. The witch has already defied her a few times now. Camila had heard her message and let something slip. Now Luz is desperate to maintain her cover. Amity’s a threat to that cover, one she’ll try to deal with, permanently.

And while she’s confident in her abilities, Amity doesn’t know if she can really handle a fight with a simulacrum. How strong is fake Luz? What is she capable of? How strong is Amity’s own magic here, in the human realm? With no ambient magic to draw from, the abomination arm she used against Hopkins was much more draining than usual. She wasn’t sure she recovered entirely from the effects of the portal that brought her here. Would she even have the energy to kill destroy the simulacrum?

But she’s out of time. Every step brings her closer to the Noceda home. If she turned the other way and ran, Luz, or Hopkins, or some other human, would find her. She has to confront her, now, and hope she can catch her by surprise or something.

And what comes after? She hasn’t thought that far ahead. Maybe Camila can be reasoned with? And if not, she’ll just have to run. Live out in the woods near the old cabin and wait for the real Luz to open a new portal.

Maybe by then she’ll have her emotions figured out.

All these thoughts and feelings are jumbled up in her head and her heart, adding to the apprehension she feels as they turn down a more familiar street. She knows where she is now. She could tell the other teens she’s fine now, and they can leave. However, Melony is proving to be a good distraction. The constant questions are keeping Amity from spiraling.

These two humans are… not what she expected. When she met them yesterday, she thought them as just bullies. Melony is clearly much nicer, going out of her way to gab and gossip with her, genuinely interested in everything Amity says. She reminds Amity of Skara; generally nice and friendly, but who often goes along with her best friend, the actual bully.

Clara… it’s harder to get a read on her. She’s been quiet the whole walk, glancing back at the pair as she leads them through town and down residential streets. She’s not like Boscha, running her mouth and craving attention. No, the blonde human with the pink stripe is much more observant, silently judging those around her, carefully choosing her words before she strikes.

Clara reminds Amity of herself.

“So, you said you met Luz at camp?” Melony asks, pulling the witch once more from her thoughts.

“Yeah. She… she’s a good friend.” Amity nods, trying not to overshare. She spots Clara ahead of them flinch but remain silent.

“How’d that happen? I mean, good for you two, but she was always a little odd.”

Amity chuckles, willing away the blush as she tries to recall what she had said to Camila that first night in the human world. “Yeah, she is. How did we become friends? Um, it’s a little complicated….”

Clara rolls her eyes. Of course it’s complicated. Everything with Luz is complicated.

Why are they even helping this Amity girl? She’s weird Luz’s weird friend from weird camp. Strange pinkish-purple hair that used to be green and creepy bright gold eyes, and she could have sworn she saw a fang in her mouth at one point. What is up with her? Of course the one friend Luzer makes its this freak.

Melony. Of course Melony would talk her into helping the lost girl find her friend. Melony is nice like that. She’s a good person who actually cares about others. She’s a very social person, and she always likes to meet new people and discuss new ideas. Luz’s odd friend with her hair and ears and everything is like an elf from those fantasy books she likes so much.

Overall, she’s just a nice person. Much nicer than Clara deserves.

She almost reminds her of Luz, in a way. Curious, adventurous, extroverted, energetic. But she’s also, like, smart. Controlled. She doesn’t bring snakes to school or do dumb things like that. She’d probably like Luz, too, if Clara didn’t keep picking on her and pointing out only the weird things she does.

No, I’m not thinking about Luzer now.

She tunes back in to their conversation and frowns. Amity is lying again. She can tell by the tremor in her voice, the awkward pauses between her words. Why is she lying about everything? And not just opinions, like her favorite tv shows and movies, but literally everything?

Like, Jonesboro? Really? Clara is the head cheerleader, and they’ve been all over the state and a few of the neighboring ones for competitions. There’s no Jonesboro anywhere near here. And Melony, having moved all over the Northeast before her parents settled here last summer, she would surely know that, too. Why would Amity lie about where she’s from?

Not that she cares. Clara isn’t like Melony. She’s not curious about her strange looks or confusing backstory. She doesn’t want to piece together the puzzle that is Luzer and her friend. She doesn’t want to think about them at all, and the sooner she can get rid of her, the better.

But that doesn’t mean she can’t have a little fun at the strange girl’s expense. Listening in, she can hear the other girl sputtering about initially being angry with Luz, who kept causing trouble and never left her alone. Sounds familiar, Clara thinks with a smirk. So she chimes in with a mocking voice. “Did her nerdy charms win you over? Or did she pull some stunt and give you brain damage?”

She didn’t bother to turn around and see the damage she caused. Amity is shy, easily embarrassed, and clearly ashamed of her past somehow. Why else would she lie so much? Or wilt and stay silent yesterday while they teased Luz? Certainly that jab will keep her quiet, so Clara herself doesn’t have to think, doesn’t have to-

“You know, I used to be a lot like you, Clara.” Amity calls out behind her. Not at all flustered or meek, but strong, confident. “I thought I was cool. Collected. So much better then everyone else. And when I got to know Luz, I realized just how wrong I was. Luz is the kindest, most devoted person I’ve ever met. I can’t imagine what you must have done to lose her friendship.”

Clara frowned, which deepened as Melony started to laugh, egging them on. She thought she had a good read on the pointy-eared girl, but apparently she was wrong.

Great, she’s complicated, too.

There was something about that comment she didn’t like. Like it was Clara’s fault Luz isn’t her friend. Amity couldn’t be more wrong. But she doesn’t want to dwell on it, so she just scoffs. “Whatever, I wouldn’t be caught dead spending the whole summer with Luzer.”

“Why do you call her that?” Amity seethes, barely keeping her anger in check. Melony stops laughing, now a bit concerned. Clara tries to ignore them. She doesn’t want to think about Luz, she just wants to hang out with her friend. But Amity is getting worked up now. “What did she ever do to you? Why do you have to be a bully? I know what you’re doing. All those little jokes? You’re just deflecting. What really happened between you two?”

“Nothing.” She spits, making a fist. She starts to stomp faster, but Melony puts a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

“Hey. Calm down. Seriously, what’s the big deal?”

Clara huffs, looking from her to Amity. The weird girl’s face is all red as she scowls, glaring back at the cheerleader. She looks pissed, like she took the name calling personally. Like she wanted to do something about it. And a quick glance told Clara that Amity is somewhat physically capable, and is restraining herself from lashing out.

At school, this would just make her laugh. It’s so easy to rile someone up and sic a teacher on them. Watch them flail about and get punished, while the perfect head cheerleader waves with a smirk. She’s done it to Luzer a few times. Insulting her favorite anime usually does the trick.

Stop thinking about Luz!

But in this empty street, there’s no one to intervene if Amity decides to throw a punch. Maybe she should calm things down.

“Fine. You want to know what happened?” She crosses her arms, grinning a bit as the girl’s expression shifts from anger to curiosity. Even Melony seems interested. No one really knew the full story.

She’s not going to share the full story, of course. Just enough to make them sympathize with her and not Luzer.

She turns and starts walking again, slower as she speaks. “Yeah, we used to be friends. Since kindergarten, actually. We were… close.” Clara frowns, not liking the inflection in her voice. Her stupid brain is bringing up memories she rather stayed buried. At least the others can’t see her face right now.

“Then in 2nd grade, over winter break, something happened. Her dad died. Car accident.” There’s a small sound behind her, a sympathetic whine, but she wasn’t sure which girl it was from. Clara scowls. She needs to turn this around. This isn’t Luzer sympathy hour.

It took her a moment to find her voice against some conflicting emotions she doesn’t want to deal with. “Before you ask, I was a great friend. I was there for her. Gave her space when she wanted it, distracted her when she needed it. But over time all she wanted was the distractions.

“Stories, cartoons, books. Anything she could find to help her escape the world. I kept trying to pull her back, but she wouldn’t listen. She started losing friends, doing bad in school. But whenever I asked her about it, she said she was happy. That the stories reminded her of her dad.”

She sighs, looking down. Her heart feels heavy, and she hates it. A pale hand touches her shoulder, and she glances back to find Amity nodding to her with a sad expression. Clara pulls away. She doesn’t want her pity. Right?

“Eventually, she started seeing life as some big adventure. Which sounds exciting, until she started getting these crazy ideas, inspired by her stories. She got further and further away from normal. Then we went to middle school and… I couldn’t protect her anymore.”

Clara quickly shakes her head, trying to escape the memories. “I tried, okay? But I couldn’t make her be normal again. And there were other bullies, and I didn’t want to be a target. So I protected myself, got my own friends, became the head cheerleader. And I kept going back to Luz and pushed her to be normal. But she refused, so I pushed harder, and then-“

Then last year’s Valentine’s Day happened. She does not want to relive that, much less talk about it.

“She did something stupid. And at that point I gave up.”

They are quiet for a moment, only the sounds of their footsteps echoing down the sidewalk. Clara turns the corner to Luz’s street when she feels Melony’s hand on her other shoulder, bringing her to a stop. She swallows, suppressing a sob. Why? Why does she have to get so emotional over this? Luz was her friend. She’s the one that changed. She’s the one that wanted to be a weird loner, not her. Not pretty, perfect Clara.

“I’m sorry you went through that.” Amity says slowly. She seems unsure, but sympathetic? That’s what Clara wanted, right? “She’s strange, yes, but I think she’s grown up and discovered more of who she wants to be. She’s different now. More open, more friendly. Maybe she just needed some time to mourn and to find herself.”

“I guess.” Clara grunts, unconvinced.

Amity laughs softly. “I know Luz can be a lot. She’s not like anyone I’ve met before. She’s complicated-“

“Feelings can be complicated,” Clara’s aunt says after listening about Valentine’s Day, about all the conflicting emotions she couldn’t tell her Dad.

“Your Mom is… complicated,” Dad tries to explain after she leaves and never comes back.

Clara tunes out the rest of Amity’s words. She doesn’t want to hear them. She doesn’t want complicated. She hates complicated. Complicated is bad. It’s messy. It hurts. It means something is going to change for the worse, and she doesn’t want to deal with it.

That’s why she put herself on a pedestal above the crowds where they can’t hurt her. That’s why, despite her popularity, she only has enough real friends to count on one hand. Friends like Melony who don’t ask her hard questions or push her to do anything she doesn’t want. Friends who don’t change and abandon her. Friends who keep things simple.

Before Luz, her life was simple. She didn’t have to think too hard or question things. She didn’t have to question herself. She knew who she was.

And after…

Luz had changed things. That’s just what she does. She sneaks into people’s lives and makes them question everything they know to be true, with her bright smile and her big ideas and her cheerful optimism and her endless curiosity.

And for awhile, that’s what Clara wanted. That happiness, that imagination, that sense of adventure and discovery. But Luz changed. She ruined everything. She hid from the world, and it moved on without her. Clara had tried to bring her back, and in the end she got hurt. By the time Luz peeked out of her hiding place it was too late.

Never again. Clara won’t let herself be exposed like that. She won’t get caught up in someone else’s problems. Other people can be complicated. She doesn’t need that.

She put her mask of indifference back on, tuning in just as Amity finished her little speech. It was probably a good one, about all the ways Luz had made her life better. Good for her. Hopefully Luz won’t hurt her, too. She doubts it. She knows better.

“Well, now you know what happened.” The cheerleader says in a practiced monotone as she turns and walks once more.

Amity hesitates, disappointed, sharing a look with Melony before following after her. “Could you at least stop calling her ‘Luzer’?”

A slight pause, just enough for her to swallow any traitorous emotions. That won’t hurt her status, right? Everyone already knows what she thinks of Luz. Or at least, what she wants them to think. And she did promise Melony she’d try to be less of a bitch. Just a little change, one she can handle, like this one. “Yeah. I can try to do that.”

Amity sighs as she follows after the cheerleader. She had really thought she was making progress with Clara. Getting to understand her better, maybe even making her open up some more. Amity thought she could be like Luz and be nice to people. And then Clara ignored her big speech and shut her down. Now she’s even more unsure of how she feels about Clara, but one thing is certain. Her initial assessment is right. Clara is a lot like her.

She’s cagey. Conflicted. Intentionally suppressing whatever she feels. And Luz, for better or worse, is part of it. All things Amity can relate to. Why is Clara like this? What went so wrong in her and Luz’s friendship? What did Luz do? Maybe it’s something she can ask Luz the next time she sees her.

Assuming she survives.

The rest of the walk is quiet. It’s not long before she finds Luz’s house at the end of the road. Amity’s feet feel heavy as she plods closer. Gone are her thoughts on Clara, replaced with apprehension and dread. Can she really do this? Can she kill the imposter?

Not kill. Disable, dismantle, destroy. Not- oh what does it matter what word I use? The simulacrum won’t care about the difference.

As they approach, Amity could swear she saw movement in the upstairs window. Luz’s bedroom.

She finds Melony watching her and tries to hide her apprehension, giving her a smile. “Thank you, both of you, for walking with me.”

Clara shrugs. Melony smiles back. “No problem. This was fun! Will we see you around town again, Amity?”

“Um…” she looks back at the house. “I don’t know. I think I go home tomorrow.” She had no idea when she’s going home. She just needs an excuse if things go poorly.

“To Jonesboro, right?” There’s something in her tone that makes it clear she doesn’t believe her.

Amity just nods. “Right. And-“ she hesitates. Should she say anything? Warm them about the simulacrum? Give them a message for Camila, or for Luz, if she doesn’t make it?

No. Don’t involve them, that would just put them in danger. If they don’t know anything, the simulacrum will leave them alone.

“- and thank you, Clara, for not calling her Luzer anymore.” The girl just nods, noncommittal, hiding her expression as Amity leaves them and walks to the house.

She’s still within earshot when the cheerleader whispers, ”She’s even weirder then Luz.”

“Shut up,” Melony groans, exasperated.

Amity stands before the door and takes a deep breath, trying to still her frantic heart. She glances back. Clara and Melony are watching her and talking quietly, no doubt about how weird she’s been. Whatever. They aren’t important now. Amity takes another breath, replacing her scattered thoughts with her mantra and steps inside.

The house is quiet, lit by the shining sun through many windows. The humans can still be heard chattering outside. She looks around, slowly, carefully. To the right is the rarely used dining room. Straight ahead a hallway lined with pictures, leading to the kitchen. To her left, the stairs and a closed closet door. No sign of Luz. She waits for a moment with bated breath, but hears nothing. Amity turns slowly, quietly closing the door, listening for any sound to indicate where Luz is.

The moment she releases the door knob, a hand clutches the top of her head. Violet fills her vision. She grits her teeth, fighting against a sudden wave of fatigue, her mantra faltering, when a familiar, adorable, terrifying laugh can be heard directly behind her.

“Welcome home, Amity.”

Chapter 17: By Fire

Chapter Text

She can’t move. Can’t see anything but an endless violet expanse. Can’t even think clearly. Any thoughts that coalesce are dashed by the will of another. The same will that fills her body with a warm numbness, makes her blind eyes flutter, relaxing her posture, trying to lull her to sleep.

If I fall asleep I’m dead.

Even as she thinks that, it’s plucked away. There’s a strong hand grasping her head, ruffling her hair, but it feels distant, somehow. She can hear a voice speaking, a voice she could listen to for hours. What is she saying? She tries to pay attention, like walking through a thick fog.

“… a real problem, you know that? You could have ruined everything. Gotten us both killed. So, you’re going to tell me everything you told Camila, and then I’ll decide what to do with you.”

Memories are pulled from the depths, unbidden. An unseen hand sifts through them, searching, searching, there. A girl… Amity Blight - wait, that’s me - sitting at a kitchen table, tracing blue circles away from prying eyes.

“You know illusions too? Aren’t you just full of tricks.” The voice bites, full of venom and malice, so unlike how it usually speaks. So unlike her.

Her. Luz. My Luz.

No. Not my Luz.

“Trying to wake up? I don’t think so.”

A wave of fog rolls over her, forcing her deeper into her sleepy malaise. She - Amity, I’m Amity - is trying to fight through it, but she can’t move, can’t see, can’t feel anything, as Luz’s hand pulls out more memories. She witnesses herself tracing the illusions. Walking alongside Melony. Summoning an abomination arm to pin Hopkins. Getting pushed by Luz onto a glyph made of paint and blood and falling, falling, falling-

There’s a feeling growing in the core of her being as more memories are dredged up and tossed aside. As all her lies and secrets and shame are read like a book by her. Monster. Imposter.

This is what she did to Luz’s Mom. That feeling grows hot.

This is what she did to Hopkins. That doesn’t bother her quite as much, but the feeling still burns.

“There it is.” She’s reading the memory now, every thought and thread of magic woven into the illusion for Camila to find. Her caution. Her suspicions. Her fear.

She can hear herself saying “Tell her she’s always been my light, too.”

Luz laughs. At her.Mocking her.“Cute.”

That feeling flares, and finally she recognizes it. Anger.

“Anger is something you can use.”

With Luz distracted, Amity focuses on it. Her anger. Her rage. She can feel herself rising through the fog in her mind. The purple filling her vision slowly begins to clear. She can make out a door, a flight of stairs, a hallway. She’s still in Luz’s house.

How long has it been? Minutes? If even that. She finds that as she concentrates on the anger, she can move her arms again. Slowly, careful not to draw attention, she starts to trace a circle, blocking it with her body.

“Where is it?” Luz’s voice is directly behind her, growing impatient.

Amity pauses the spell to feed her another memory. Her making the words in the kitchen she had so carefully hidden. Luz devours the memory, her frustration growing. “It’s not here. Where is it? When did you tell her?”

Amity isn’t sure what she means, so she feeds her more memories. Walking with the humans. Training with her parents. Fighting Grom. Anything to keep her distracted as she slowly, very slowly, traces the circle, knowing that at any moment Luz will notice and stop her. She tries to visualize the house in her head. How close is Luz to her? To the wall?

“It’s not here!” Luz cries out. Both hands now on Amity’s head, scouring through her mind. It’s painful, so many images rushing past at breakneck speed, so much worse then the lazy purple fog. She feels like she’s drowning, tumbling between waking and sleep, life and death, Earth and the Demon Realm and a hundred hells between.

As they fly passed she catches glimpses of other images, ones that are not her own. Running through a forest of pink and orange. Her hand, sharp and skinless, bending into an unnatural shape. A group of witches wearing different colors, faces in shadow, and then pure white. A human girl in a black dress, the number 7 prominent on the wall behind her. Camila’s smiling face welcoming her home from summer camp.

“Camila specifically said the Boiling Isles! When did you tell her that? How did she learn that name!?”

As the torrent of memories blur together, Amity can pick up bits and pieces of the machine’s own stream of consciousness. It’s bizarre, so alien from her own, but she can catch enough of it’s meaning.

.:.:.::.nonono.:it’s here:…it has to be here...:how else could she learn that name:..it does not matter..:kill the witch:..cut her to pieces..:dump her in the river:..take no chances..:..if they find out..:..they will not…:…they cannot..:..make sure:…:i am not a murderer::but i do not want to die:…:steal everything she is..:..:..steal and suppress Camila…:…:…and i will be free again.:.:.:.:

Amity closes the circle, and several things happen at once.

An abomination arm emerges from the wall and barrels into Luz, missing Amity by inches. The simulacrum is thrown across the hall, landing in a heap. The arm retreats as it’s circle closes, only a few drops of slime on the floor left behind.

Amity’s vision returns and she takes a deep breath, clutching her head. It takes a moment for her to realize where she is and what’s going on. She still has the bag on her shoulder, the one carrying Hopkins’s book and papers, and she tosses it aside. She turns to face Luz, aiming a pair of spell circles at her. “Why are you here? What do you want with Luz?”

Luz laughs as she climbs to her feet, hair disheveled but otherwise unharmed. “Clever. You keep surprising me, Amity.” Her smile falls, her voice low and sinister. “I’m getting very tired of your surprises.”

“Don’t care. You’re not dumping me in a river, and you’re done hurting Luz’s Mom.”

“River? How-?” She scowls, glaring back at the witch. “Do you really think you can survive in this realm without me?”

The witch smirks. “Guess I’ll just find out.”

Her eyes jumped between those two spell circles as she stood tall, trying to access the witch. “We don’t have to do this, Amity. You know what I am. You know what I can do to you.”

Fear clutches Amity’s heart, but she doesn’t back down. No, she doesn’t know just what this thing can do, and she has no intention of finding out. “No. You’re done, simulacrum.”

They glare at one another, sizing the other up, both thinking it’s her or me. One of us won’t be walking away from this.

And it won’t be me.

Luz moves first, rushing down the hall, lunging at inhuman speeds. She’s fast, but Amity is faster.

An abomination fist catches her mid-stride, launching her into the wall with a sickening crunch. The wall buckles under her weight, framed pictures smashing to the floor. Before the arm dissipates Amity is tracing a larger circle with both hands, raising a towering 7 foot tall abomination between herself and Luz.

Amity raises her hands and oh- she’s lightheaded, closing her eyes to stop the room from spinning. Summoning an abomination of that size used up too much of her magic. She curses under her breath, angry at herself for not being careful enough. But it’s too late now, and Luz is starting to climb back to her feet. She takes a deep breath, not willing to show any weakness. Instead, she palms two spell circles towards the imposter once more, taking control of the golem’s movements, drawing another breath to scream at the imposter. “Why are you here!? What do you want!?”

“I mean it! Who looks like that? Lies about everything like that?”

“Seriously, shut up! She can probably hear you!” Melony hisses, raising her voice.

“Don’t care,” Clara shouts back, shaking her head. “Jonesboro, really? And her Mom dyes her hair green?”

“You think she was lying about that too?” Melony folds her arms, following as Clara walks around her, away from the house.

“I don’t know what to think. It was all so weird! She’s perfect for Luz though.” She adds as an afterthought.

Melony grabs her arm, stopping her. As the other teen gave her a confused look, she lowers her voice. “That stupid thing Luz did that ruined your friendship. That wouldn’t be from Valentine’s Day last year, would it?”

Clara pales, panicking, dropping her head in shame. “So you do know about that.”

“Just the basics. Honestly, I thought it sounded sweet. And ironic. Not worth losing a friend over.”

The cheerleader sighs, shaking her head, trying not to think about that day. She can be honest with just her friend. Melony knows how to keep a secret. It’s just another reason she’s a better person than Clara. “It was too much, on top of too many other things. And all the rumors. I couldn’t….” She trails off, unable to find the words to justify herself. Maybe there weren’t any.

Her friend frowns. She had heard some of those rumors too, of course. They still lingered over a year and a half later, despite Clara’s firm denials. Though no one was brave enough to say them to her face. One in particular had stuck with Melony. Yet another possible hint toward something she had long suspected. Not that Melony could relate, if the rumor was true. But she felt concern for her friend, whom always seemed to hide so much of herself and seemed miserable for it.

Melony takes her friend’s hands and looks her in the eyes. She picks her words carefully, knowing from experience how quickly Clara’s mood can turn. “Teens suck.” The cheerleader gives her a half-smile at the self-depreciating joke. “Hey, it’s okay. You know I won’t judge you if you’re…” she pauses, her confidence failing as cheerleader’s look shifts to confusion. Had she assumed too much? Pushed too far? “- you know.”

The blonde frowns, quirking a brow. “If I’m what?”

Melony hesitates, and when she tries to speak, a muffled crash cuts her off. She jumps, dropping Clara’s hands and turning toward the source. Luz’s house. “What was that?”

Clara opens her mouth to say it’s probably nothing, but Amity’s voice could be heard coming from the small house. She’s yelling, but they can’t make out what it is. A moment later they hear Luz yelling back.

The cheerleader tilts her head, curious. “What do you think that’s about?” But before Melony could respond they hear another, louder crash that shakes the whole building.

Curiosity becomes concern as they rush to the house, peering in through the dining room windows. They can see Amity standing in the hall, hand on her head, but nothing else. Melony moved towards the door, but Clara takes her wrist and leads her around to the back. They peer through the kitchen windows, both shocked at what they find.

Luz is on the ground, her back to the humans. Her left leg is turned at an unnatural angle, once that looks incredibly painful, but the teen is silent, just staring back at Amity. The lilac-haired girl stands tall, circles glowing in her hands as she shouts “Why are you here!? What do you want!?”

Standing between them and towering over Luz is an incredibly tall - man? it has three eyes! - covered in the same purple paint as the guy from town.

Luz doesn’t respond, not with words. She stretches out her right arm. It goes rigid, followed by a sickening pop and a series of cracks. Fingers break and melt together, skin splits along invisible seems, exposing a dull gray metal. From the elbow down the girl no longer has an arm, but a serrated sword.

“What the f*ck?” Clara breathes, barely comprehending what she’s seeing.

Luz lurches forward, slowed by her twisted leg. Amity gestures and the purple man intercepts her, swinging huge, dripping arms. Luz dodges around, cutting out a swath of goo, but the man’s surface shifts to fill the gap. She moves to go around, but Amity gestures again and the man blocks her path, knocking her back with a swipe of its arm.

This continues for a few moments, dodging, parrying, cuts and punches, with neither gaining ground. Clara turns to look at Amity, face scrunched up in concentration, her movements mirrored by the purple man. Sweat rolls down her face and she wipes it away, blinks, and finds Clara’s eyes. She stops, staring incredulously at the human teens watching her.

That was the opening Luz was waiting for.

With Amity momentarily distracted, the man’s movements slowed. Luz feigned right, blocking and cutting a slimy fist with her blade. Her left arm stretches out with inhuman length and speed, fingers sharpening into claws that latch to the witch’s head.

Time stops. The humans hold their breathes. Amity stares back at them, golden eyes wide with fear and pain. Her right eye is framed by knife-sharp claws biting deep into pale flesh, now running red, gripping half of her face.

The moment passes, and with a single movement Luz lifts and throws her into the wall.

Pain.

There is nothing else. All that exists in Amity’s world is pain.

“You need to focus.”

Can’t. Too much.

“It’s only pain.”

It’s so much pain!

“Consider a muscle. It will hurt as you push it, and grow stronger afterward.”

Father? Dad! Make it stop! Make the pain stop!

“Witches are the same. They grow, experience, and suffer.”

Please! Anything to make it stop!

“And in that suffering they can chose to flee or to learn from it. In the end, it’s only pain. Temporary. Amoral.”

… Dad?

“In the end, anything you survive makes you stronger.”

I’m still alive. I… I understand.

“Now, let’s try that stance again.”

Amity Blight opens her eyes.

She’s lying on the floor, littered with glass and dust and slime. The sounds of struggle grow louder. Luz still grapples with the abomination, but from this angle Amity can only see their feet. She rolls to her hands and knees, and puts a tentative hand to her right cheek.

She immediately regrets doing so as pain surges through her, nearly making her sick. Torn skin cut clean and deep. Red stains her fingers and runs down her cheek. She grimaces, causing another outburst of agony. She clenches her teeth and settles for a neutral expression, one that doesn’t cause her cheek to move so much.

She stands slowly, nearly overcome with vertigo, leaning against the wall that’s been crumpled by her weight and splattered with her blood. Her right hand gently covers her cut face, wiping the blood from her eye as she surveys the hall.

Luz is still standing, still fighting, and clearly winning, but the golem had landed a few good hits. Her left arm, the one stretched out to grab her, is now bent at an awkward angle and dangles uselessly at her side. Her chest in caved in. Black fluid drips from a crushed nose. One of her hazel eyes have turned black as well, with a crazed expression as she slices into the golem. The abomination weathers the attacks and struggles to retaliate, slowing down as it loses mass.

Behind them, Amity can see the humans pointing at her, but her vision is too blurry to make out their expressions. Instead she turns back to Luz, raises her left arm, traces a circle-

And nearly blacks out, the spell fizzling in her hand. Another wave of nausea makes her double over, bracing harder into the damaged wall. Sharp breathes through grit teeth. She tastes metal, her vision blurry from tears, hearing a loud ringing and the splat of slime hitting the floor. The abomination is collapsing, but she can’t draw enough magic to repair it, not that it would do anything but buy her time.

“You need to focus.”

I know, Father, but I can’t! It’s too much! It’s all too much!

“Are you angry, Mittens?” Mother’s voice asks in a mocking tone.

Her breath hitched. Yes, yes she is angry, and her gaze falls on the one responsible.

Luz the imposter. Luz the simulacrum. Luz the murderer.

Not if I can stop her.

“Anger is something you can use.” Mother reminds her.

She can feel it welling up within her. Anger, hatred, rage. She focuses on it, and as her adrenaline spikes the pain recedes just a bit. Just enough. Her vision sharpens. She takes slow, deep breaths. Breath in magic, breathe out weakness. There is no magic in the air here, but every lungful helps fuel the furnace within her.

She watches Luz fight, carving the abomination apart. Her face is wild, unhinged, but Amity can see the desperation in those eyes. She is just as desperate as Amity herself to survive this. Steady breathes, feeding the cauldron boiling beneath the surface. She raises her arm again and traces a slow, deliberate circle, trying to decide just what to cast. In just a few moments the golem will fall and it’ll just be her and Luz. How can she stop this monster?

Edric’s teasing voice chimes in. “Sometimes, you just have to get creative.”

Amity eyes Luz, taking in her damaged state. She’s pretty beaten up, but it’s mostly superficial. All the important, delicate parts are inside. She looks around the hall, splattered with shed abomination goo. There’s an idea. It’s risky, but does she really have a choice?

She watches Luz cut down the abomination, finger hovering over the incomplete spell. Attempting to cast one spell nearly knocked her out, and for this plan to work she needs two. She bares her teeth, biding her energy and her time for the right moment.

With a groan the abomination falls, goo sloshing across the floor. Luz is wheezing, not for lack of air but the damage to her chest and stomach. She glares at Amity and takes an unsteady step, then another, legs popping loudly in protest. She’s 8 feet away when Amity releases her spell.

“Abomination!” She cries with a hoarse voice. “Hold!”

The slime filling the room twitches before hurling itself at Luz, bringing her to the floor. She screams with rage, thrashing against the growing mass. Despite it’s size and weight she is able to pull herself up, hacking ribbons of goo apart. She trudges forward, eyes focused on the witch, black and leaking.

Amity has seconds before Luz is too close. Before it’s too late. She finds herself screaming, dragging herself back from the darkness that fills her vision. Her whole body is numb except for the warm blood on her face. But she can’t pass out. Can’t give in. Not yet.

6 feet away.

Casting this spell might kill her. But not casting this spell will kill her.

She can practically see Emira’s wink, encouraging her. “Just one. Make it count!”

So she does. She draws the circle, it’s color shifting from pink to orange and back again. She pours into it all of her magic, all of her pain, all of her anger. Her fear, her love, her worry, her hope. All that she is. All that she will be.

She remembers facing down Grometheus with Luz by her side, the one time she truly believed that anything was possible.

She remembers the image Mother had shown her years ago in the crystal ball. The one of many possible futures of herself. Older. Scarred. Confident. Alive.

4 feet.

“In the end, anything you survive makes you stronger.” Father promises.

“ABOMINATION!” Amity roars as she casts the spell.

Luz pulls back her bladed arm, murder in her eyes, poised to strike.

Mother, voice filled with pride. “No one else could do the things you will do. Anyone else would-“

“BURN!”

The abomination slime, and Luz ensnared within, erupts in pink flames. Amity waves back with her hand, palm burning hot, the blazing mass lifting into the air away from her. The simulacrum flails wildly as it consumes her, unable to free herself, unable to reach the witch. The light and roar of the fire fills the home and drowns out all else.

Luz is screaming. Amity is screaming. Clara is screaming. Melony is screaming. The house itself is screaming as the fire burns and burns and burns and-

All at once, Amity’s seared hand falls limp. The fire abruptly goes out as the mass collapses to the floor in the middle of the hall. Smoke rises from the charred slime to the black circle seared into the ceiling above. The imposter lies at the center, unmoving.

To Amity, there’s a moment of eerie calm. She hears nothing. Feels nothing. The only thing she can see is the side of Luz’s face, black with burns and soot, facing toward her but looking at nothing.

Suddenly the world is moving again, full of noise and pain. A smoke detector is screaming overhead, rivaling the pounding of her heart. She blinks, looking down at herself covered in sweat and blood and the machine’s black fluid. Amity raises her gaze to finds the humans still watching the scene, mouths agape.

Then her golden eyes roll as she pitches forward, unconscious before she hits the floor.

Chapter 18: Aftermath

Chapter Text

It’s a sunny, serene Monday in Gravesfield, Connecticut. The time is just after noon, and there’s a cool breeze reminding everyone that fall is on it’s way. School starts next week, and most kids are returning home from vacations and camps, collecting supplies and making last-minute end-of-summer plans with friends.

At the end of one street, the calm is only mildly interrupted by a smoke detector going off within one of the last houses. But the few neighbors that were home paid it no mind. This was hardly the first time the Noceda kid caused a ruckus, after all. So no one noticed or cared about all the shouting, or the loud thumps coming from the house. Or the sudden pink light that went out just as quickly, followed by that incessant alarm. Or the two teens now standing at the back door, staring in.

“Oh my God,” Melony whispers for the hundredth time since watching Luz and Amity fall to the floor, unmoving. “Oh my God.”

“That… that…wasn’t real…” Clara babbles almost uncontrollably. Nothing of this situation made sense to the blonde cheerleader. Just twenty minutes ago Amity had been getting upset with her calling Luz names. Now? Now she’s passed out on the floor, or worse, after a fight with the same girl. A fight that was more intense and dangerous than anything Clara had seen before.

It was surreal, almost like she was watching a movie. Except she could feel the rattle in her bones when the pointy-eared girl was thrown into the wall. She could feel the heat of the unnatural pink flames that had filled the hall, then vanished without a trace. Whatever had happened in there triggered some primal fear within the normally unflappable teen. Like she had witnessed something wrong, something she shouldn’t have seen, something she could get in a lot of trouble for if the wrong people found out.

She didn’t even realize she was shaking until she felt Melony grab her wrist. “…!”

Clara blinked, looking over at her friend and her matching expression of fear. “W-what?”

“We have to help them!”

Clara’s eyes bulged out of her head. Help them? Help them!? No! They should be running from the house as far as they can! Clara wanted nothing to do with this. And not because of her usual ‘don’t get involved’ rule. No, this was something unknown. Scary. Dangerous. Something the street-smart teen couldn’t wrap around her finger or bend to her will. This was something you run far away from and never speak of for the rest of your life.

Suddenly, Clara is very afraid of what Luz might have gotten herself into at this so-called camp. And why had Amity been in town in the first place? What was she really hiding behind lies about her hair color and fake hometown? How close were she and Melony to getting too involved and ending up in that house, in the same situation as Luz?

All this runs through her mind in the time it took Melony to say “They’re hurt! We have to do something!”

Clara blinks, unmoving as her friend pulls on the door. But it’s locked from the inside, and several loud, futile attempts don’t help. Clara watches the girls within, expecting one of them to jump up at the noise, but they continue not moving.

“Come on!” Melony grabs her wrist again and drags her around to the front. She tries the door, but it’s also locked. Didn’t Amity walk through it just a few minutes ago? Of course, they didn’t know that Luz had locked it again while trying to subdue Amity with her Oracle magics.

Once again, Melony pulls desperately at the door, trying to open it in vain. Clara nervously peered through the front windows, but the bad angle kept her from seeing anything of the fight. She looked back at her panicking friend as she’s pulling out her phone. “What are you doing?”

“Calling 9-1-1! They’re hurt!” Melony cries.

“And tell them, what? That we saw a fight? And a girl with knife hands got set on f*cking fire?!”

The taller girl lowered her phone without dialing, uncertain. How do they explain this without sounding crazy? She wanted to help, needed to help, but how? What could they do? Then she remembered who’s home this is. “Luz’s mom!”

Clara nodded slowly. Yes, she could help! And it’s an adult they could hide behind if other people got involved and asked questions. “Yeah! She’s… a nurse, I think? She always wore scrubs.”

Melony is already searching on her phone. “Great! Where does she work?”

The cheerleader blinks. “W-work? I don’t know!”

“You were Luz’s friend!” Melony balks, waiving her arms.

“So?!”

Melony groans in frustration, weighing her options through her frantic mind. Call 9-1-1? But what do they say? They could talk to a neighbor. Maybe one could help, or has a key. Or they could break a window and get in that way. But neither of them would have any idea how to actually help. And all the while she’s standing there, muttering to herself, glancing at her shorter friend who looks just as panicked as she feels. What could they possibly do?

“We should go…” Clara starts, eyes darting to the other houses along the street. She felt anxious, unsure how to help Luz and Amity. Unsure if they even should help Luz and Amity.

“Not yet,” her friend says firmly, “I just… I don’t know what-“

They are interrupted by the screech of brakes. An older blue sedan suddenly parks in front of the house, it’s occupant talking rapidly into her phone. She turns her head and pauses, looking worriedly at the shaken teens on her lawn.

“Mrs. Noceda!” Clara gasps. Finally! Someone who can take control of this whole situation! She starts pointing frantically toward the house. “Luz! And Amity!”

“They were fighting!” Melony cries. “Or something! And they’re hurt!”

The woman pales, leaping out of the car and running up to the house. She’s speaking quickly in Spanish, juggling her purse and phone as she searches for her keys. Without warning she thrusts them both into Clara’s hands, her own shaking as she works the locks.

“Mom!” The phone chirps with a familiar, worried voice. “Mom, what’s happening? Are you home yet?”

Clara’s breath hitched. There’s no way…. She looks down at the phone, nearly dropping it when she recognizes the person within. She’s looking into her phone, kneeling in an unfamiliar room that definitely isn’t in the house she’s supposed to be passed out in. “L-Luz!”

The girl in the phone startled, dumbstruck, very nearly falling over. “CLARA!?! What are you- what’s going on!?”

“I! I don’t-“ she’s babbling again, completely, hopelessly out of her element.

Melony steps up, looking down at the phone and vocalizing the cheerleader’s fragmented thoughts, “Wait! So if that’s Luz, then who-?”

A sharp gasp from within the house interrupts her, and the teens quickly run inside, the door shutting behind them. They stand beside Camila, quickly matching her speechless shock. Luz starts to ask something but she, too, quickly falls silent at the sight before them.

The aftermath of the fight looks so much worse up close. The hallway is a disaster, full of dust and ash, slime and glass, smoke and blood. There are two sizable dents in the wall, the closer of which is smeared red. Most of the pictures had smashed to the floor. Smoke clings to the ceiling, the alarm still blaring. But it’s completely ignored, all eyes on the two still forms.

Luz’s doppelgänger is completely covered in ash and purple slime, almost unrecognizable. Burned clothes and scorched skin, split in places to reveal dull grey. Her left arm is still distended, bent just below the shoulder. Her right is still shaped like a sword, stretching toward the other girl on the floor. Eyes black and unseeing, dark, oily fluid running down her face.

A few feet away, right in front of the humans, lies Amity. Lilac hair disheveled, clothes - Luz’s clothes - torn and bloody, bruises evident beneath. Pointy ears can be seen clear as day, but the right one has a small, bloody wedge in it now. Her left hand is lightly burned. She’s lying on her left side, the open wounds on her face wet and bleeding, dripping from her cheek and pooling beneath her.

“Oh, Amity…” Luz on the phone whispers, just barely heard over the alarm. Her voice is shaking, on the verge of tears.

For a long, terrible moment, no one moves. They are just too stunned, slowly taking in the scene. Then Camila takes a cautious step toward the extra pale, pointy-eared girl-

Click.

Everyone tenses up. There’s another, louder click. Then a series of pops, and a whirring sound, and other, unidentifiable noises partially overshadowed by the alarm. All eyes fall on one of the still forms before them. All mouths drop in silent panic as it begins to move.

If she were alive, the pain would be overwhelming. If she were mortal, she’d be praying to some god or titan for mercy. If she were flesh and blood, she’d need urgent medical attention. If she were her namesake, she’d be wrapped up right now in the arms of her mother.

But the simulacrum named Luz Noceda is none of those things.

Slowly she gains consciousness, or something analogous to it. As she does she first becomes aware of herself. The damage she’s sustained. Her dulled senses. The new restrictions on her movements. All temporary, given enough time. One of the first things she learned was how to repair herself if there wasn’t enough magic to aid her, essential knowledge in this realm.

As she processed this, the memories of the fight crept in. Scanning through Amity’s mind. Getting punched into the wall. The giant abomination. Her own arm extended to grab the witch, her hand still red with her blood. The fire, and the alarm that is still shrieking somewhere in the background.

The construct can’t feel many things, but one she feels right now is rage.

That witch, that worthless, arrogant, ungrateful witch, nearly ruined everything. She even tried to kill her! After Luz had given her everything! Shelter! Safety! Important knowledge she’d need to survive in this titanless world! All Amity had to do was stay quiet and indulge Luz’s curiosities and she’d be fine.

But no! Amity was much too smart for her own good. She had quickly deduced that the simulacrum wasn’t the real Luz and never let up. She thought Luz was hurting Camila! Instead of the truth, that Luz was saving her! Saving her from the grief and pain of a missing child. Erasing those doubts that made her question if she was right to send her daughter to camp. If she was a good mom. Protecting her from all the sadness and insecurities of having a problem child, one who always got herself in over her head, instead of the nice, calm, controlled girl that the simulacrum pretended to be.

Amity interfered with the mission. Tried to expose her to Camila. Luz put her in Hopkins’s cage both as punishment and so Luz could regain control over Camila. But the witch had found a way out of that and attacked her! The damage she had done, both to the construct and to the house, was not insignificant.

If Amity had been stronger… maintained the fire just a bit longer…

No. She won’t dwell on that now. She lived. That was enough. Luz’s eyes focused, blinking through black tears, and found the witch sprawled out on the floor before her. Now she has to pay.

With a groan of weary metal, Luz raises her bladed arm, loudly shifting it back to a human one. She punches the floor, denting it, using it as leverage to push herself to her knees. Slowly she rises, her whole body groaning in a way human bodies don’t, her eyes never leaving the unconscious witch.

She has to pay. For all the damage she’s done. For all the pain and confusion she’s caused. Luz isn’t sure yet how she’s going to fix all this, but that can wait. What matters now is removing Amity from the equation, once and for all.

Luz takes a step forward-

“STAY AWAY FROM HER!”

-and looks up in surprise, suddenly realizing that she and the witch are not alone.

Camila, Clara, and Melony stand by the door, a few feet from Amity. All three have expressions of shock and horror. Which made sense, given her current appearance. She doesn’t look remotely human right now. More like some kind of burned, vaguely mechanical zombie. Luz blinks, her mind kicking into overdrive. I can fix this! I can take control of this. Camila can be controlled with threats and careful memory modification. Those who sent me said not to hurt her. But they said nothing about other humans. Anything to keep my mission safe.

I’m not a murderer… but if it will keep me safe, keep me alive…

… maybe… I am a murder… but if that’s what it will take…

She finds the phone in Clara’s hands and her frenzied thoughts crash to a halt. Within the phone, bearing a look of utter fury, is the person whom had spoken. Luz. The real Luz.

For the first time in her short existence, the simulacrum feels fear.

She knows!

It’s the only thought in her head. The only thing she can realize through the panic.

It doesn’t matter what she does to Amity or these humans because she can’t get to Luz. She can’t stop her. And now she knows! She knows about the imposter living in her home!

And if Luz knows, it’s only a matter of time before they know.

Her benefactors. The ones who commissioned her construction and sent her here, to this strange realm devoid of magic. Or worse: those whom her benefactors oppose. The ones in control, loyal to the lying emperor.

And the more damage she does now, the more she tries to contain this situation, the worse their responses will be.

She lost. She failed. Everything she’s worked for, everything she’s stolen was for naught. Now she’ll never be free. There’s nothing she can do that won’t draw the attention of powers far greater and far more dangerous than she herself.

Which leaves her only one option. The only thing her panic-stricken mind can tell her to do.

Luz Noceda turns and runs down the hall, through the kitchen, out the back door, and into the forest beyond.

The three watch her go, jumping as the door slams shut. The tension in the air is broken a moment later by Camila rushing forward and falling to her knees, a gentle hand on Amity’s unburnt wrist. She makes a face and presses it to her chest before sighing. “She’s alive. But her heartbeat is… weird.”

There’s a collective sigh from the teens as they release they breathes they’d been holding. “Thank God,” Luz gasps, rubbing her eyes. “Um, witches have bile sacs on their hearts. That’s why her heartbeat is different.”

The teens share a look. Did she say ‘witch’? Like the guy in town did?

“O-kay…” Camila half-heard her, carefully examining the girl before her. She points back to the taller teen. “What’s your name?”

“Melony.” She takes a hesitant step closer, grimacing at Amity’s state.

Camila points down the hall. “In the kitchen, under the sink, there’s a first aid kit. Bring that here. And then after, please do something about that smoke detector.”

The darker girl runs passed, and Camila points to the cheerleader. “And you?”

“Uh, C-Clara.”

“Clara.” She repeats, recognition in her voice, and the blonde’s blood chills. How much does Luz’s mom know of their prior friendship? Or how it ended? But she doesn’t dwell on it now. Amity’s condition is much more urgent. “Upstairs, second door on the left is the linen closet. There’s some ratty towels on the bottom, and extra gauze underneath. Bring Luz with you, she’ll point them out.”

She nods and rushes up the steps, quickly finding the closet. “Get the darker ones,” Luz instructs, “and there should be plenty of gauze, too.”

Clara grabs a handful of both, trying to stack them in a way she can carry them. She pauses to take a breath, trying to calm herself. She can do this. Amity is depending on her. And don’t worry about Mrs. Noceda now. Luz’s voice squeaks from the phone again, now face down in a towel. “Soooo…. How did you get involved with this?”

Another breath. Stay calm. It’s just Luz. Real Luz. Probably. “Um… we were walking in the park and we saw Amity by herself. She looked… scared? Lost? She asked us to show her where you lived.”

Clara expected her to follow up by asking how she got there, or if that was the first time they had met. She was surprised when Luz instead asked, with some hesitation, “Were you nice to her?”

She frowned, grateful her former friend couldn’t see her face. Maybe she could lie? No, she’s too frazzled for that now. “Melony was.”

Luz grunted, her voice somber. “Yeah. She usually is.”

The cheerleader cleared her throat. “Amity asked me… well, to stop calling you names.” Immediately she wonders why she told Luz that.

“Huh.” There was something in her tone. Surprise that Amity would stand up for her? Hope that Clara might follow through? Did Amity have some kind of argument or falling out with the real Luz, too? Or was there something else going on between them? “Are you going to?”

Clara looks down from the top of the stairs. Watching Camila wiping Amity’s face with something from the first aid kit while Melony runs back to the kitchen. Whatever Clara and Luz’s relationship was, that had just changed quite significantly. She gets the feeling that she’s only seen the tip of the iceberg of… whatever was going on between Luz and Amity and the scary robot thing. Normally, she’d want to stay far away from that. They are weird. Arguable dangerous. Complicated.

But… as she calms and her head clears, she finds her curiosity is piqued. The strange girl with pink hair and pointed ears is a witch? That’s a thing that exists? And she seemed cool. Weird, but also, normal? More than she’d expect from a witch. Plus, while the fight was terrifying to watch, Amity had been a complete badass. And someone like that is friends with Luz? Wimpy, nerdy, klutzy Luz? Good enough friends to stand up to complete strangers who make fun of her, even when she’s not around? How did that happen? Maybe Luz had listened to Clara’s advice and grown up after all.

Clara was intrigued, if nothing else.

And, hey, if nothing else, Clara looks like she’s becoming a better person by acting nice to the biggest loser in school. That’s a win, right? Her reputation, that’s what matters, right?

“Yeah. I think I will.”

Clara joined Camila downstairs, using the towels and a broom to clear the floor. Soon the alarm is mercifully silenced, and Melony joins them while they clean and Camila patches Amity up. At one point she sent Clara and Luz upstairs to get the unconscious girl a change of clothes. Luz picked out an Azura shirt, promising the witch would love it. She didn’t seem to mind that it might get blood or slime on it.

The teens both noticed Luz’s red face when Camila changed Amity into the new clothes, but neither said anything. For their part, then teens were surprised at how normal Amity looked. Besides her ears, and less obviously her eyes and teeth, she looked like any other human.

Soon, Amity was carefully laid down on a couch in the living room, making sure nothing would touch her freshly gauzed cheek or hand. The others retreated to the adjoining kitchen, where they could still see her. They all sat around the table and let out a collective sigh. For the first time, there’s quiet in the house.

“So, she’s going to be fine, right, Mom?” Luz asked nervously. Her phone is perched on a charger, voice amplified by speakers, sitting beside her mother.

Camila gave her a smile, the first she’s worn since the smoke alert appeared on her phone. “She will be. She’s a tough one. But she’ll have some pain when she wakes up. That’s what these are for.” She shakes the bottle of painkillers beside her. Then she turns to the other teens. “Do either of you know what happened?”

They share a look before Melony responds. “We saw Amity by the park and she asked us where Luz lived.”

“Which was weird,” Clara interjects. “We met her the day before, and Luz said she was staying with her.”

“Yeah. How did she get into town and not know her way back? There were a lot of strange things about her. The ears wasn’t even the biggest thing.” Melony shakes her head. “But we offered to walk her back here. And after she went in, we were gonna leave-“

“And we heard yelling. Loud noises. So we went around the back. And we saw…” Clara puts a hand to her head, still not fully believing it.

“There was this huge purple… thing, and it was fighting Luz. But Luz had this, like, sword arm? And was cutting it apart. But then her other arm stretched and grabbed Amity’s head.” She cupped her hand over her face, mimicking the witch’s wounds. “Like this. And threw her into the wall.”

Luz winces. Camila glances back over at the sleeping girl, nodding for Melony to continue.

“She got back up, and she was bleeding and looked like she was gonna either throw up or pass out. Luz killed the purple thing but then all the goo, like, grabbed her? Slowed her down. And then Amity yelled something, and-“

“And she set the whole f*cking thing on fire.” Clara muttered, staring at the table. She could still see those bright pink flames, still hear the screaming.

“Yeah.” Melony nods, staring down the hall where it had happened. “And they both collapsed. And then you got home a few minutes later.”

“Yeah.” Clara nods, lifting her head and finding Luz listening intently. “The whole thing was terrifying. Badass, but terrifying.”

“Damn right she is.” Luz mutters, blushing as she recalls Amity fighting her father’s Abomiton. Amity could be scary powerful when she needed to be.

Camila is too shocked, looking out at her damaged hallway, to complain about the teens’ language. She could scarcely believe the story, even after seeing the results of the fight and the second Luz fleeing her home. She turns back as Clara asks her daughter, “So… where did she come from? That… robot thing that looks like you?”

Luz shrugs, unsettled. “I don’t know. I guess it’s from here? I’ve seen some weird things over the past few months, but nothing like that.”

“What about her?” Melony asks, nodding toward the living room. “Where did Amity come from? And how did she do all that… stuff?”

Luz hesitates, debating how much she should reveal. She sighs, glancing up at her mom, then back to the other girls. “If I tell you, you guys can’t tell anyone else, okay?”

“Why?” Clara asks, quirking a brow. “We’re not gonna make fun of you, or anything.”

“And I doubt anyone would believe us, anyway.” Melony added.

Camila stiffened a bit at their blunt responses, but Luz is quick to answer. “Probably not, but if that robot thing was from this side, then it shouldn’t be able to show up in the human realm. At all. And I don’t know what else might be there, or why it looks like me. Plus the whole ‘burning witches at the stake’ thing.”

They nod slowly, remembering the museum curator from earlier, looking for a witch. There might be more people like that. Or more robots, disguised as people? That was a creepy thought. But one thing Luz had said stuck out to them. “Human realm?” Clara repeated, confused.

Eda’s apprentice nodded, pulling a stack of papers from her satchel. “Yeah. Right now, I’m not on Earth. I’m in a place called the Boiling Isles. It’s where Amity’s from. And here, you can do-“ she grins and taps the top paper, which crumbles and rises into a ball of light. “- magic!”

They watch the orb of light in awe. Even Camila, whom had seen Luz perform magic in her videos, was blown away witnessing it in real-time. “Magic?” Clara asks incredulously, with a look of wonder.

She nods with a bright, enthusiastic smile. “Yup! I found this place by accident instead of going to camp. I made friends with a real witch named Eda, and she’s been training me as her apprentice! And I made real friends, and I go to witch school, and I’ve learned spells that no one else has done in hundreds of years!”

Her smile fades, glancing up to meet Camila’s eyes, then to the ground. “But then the way back got blown up, and I can’t come home. Amity is one of my friends helping me get back. But there was, um, an accident, and she got sent to Earth without me, with no way back here.

“But,” Luz looks up, her tone growing more confident, more hopeful, “I’ve got other friends, like Eda and Lilith, and they’re helping me make a new portal. A more permanent one, so we can bring Amity back, and I can go back… home….” She trails off, suddenly remembering she hadn’t really talked to her mom yet about her goals. How she wanted to make sure the Boiling Isles would stay a part of her life. Right now, with Amity injured and her bullies? frenemies? here, it wasn’t a good time.

Luz considers what to say next, but a sudden commotion downstairs gets her attention instead. She looks at the clock with a gasp. Has it been that long since her mom called her? Hexside has let out! She can hear a few new voices downstairs. Mostly Hooty. Maybe Willow and Gus were here!

Though the noise downstairs, mostly dominated by Hooty’s screeching, seemed much too loud for just her friends arriving.

“Mom, guys, I’ll be right back. I think my other friends got here, and I promised I’d catch them up about Amity. Um, if that’s okay, Mom?”

Camila gave her a weary but warm smile. “Go ahead, mija, but leave the phone on. I don’t want to lose you again.” She just meant the phone call, but mother and daughter both felt the weight behind those words.

“It should be fine, now that I’m near the portal. But I will.” With that she set the phone on her bedroll and ran out the door, giving them a view of it closing. The three remaining humans sit in uncomfortable silence, lost in their own confused thoughts of their situations and strange relationships. It’s not often that two bullies bond with the mother of one of their targets, who is stuck in another dimension, and who’s inhuman friend/crush is wounded and asleep in the next room after setting part of the house on fire while fighting a magic robot imposter.

“So…,” Melony begins, turning to Camila in hopes of lightening the mood, “you’re a nurse, right? That’s how you knew how to help Amity?”

The older woman chuckles, letting herself relax. “No, I’m actually a veterinarian. But you don’t raise a daughter like mine without picking up a few tips.”

The girls laugh, Clara just a bit louder. “I know what you mean.” She laughs again, rubbing her eyes, before realizing that Mrs. Noceda is not laughing. Rather, she’s looking right at her with obvious recognition on her face.

sh*t.

“How do you two know Luz, again?” She asks pleasantly enough without taking her gaze off the cheerleader.

“Uh, from school.” Melony starts, trying to diffuse the situation. “Luz is, um, kind of infamous. With the snakes and spiders and… everything…”

“Yes, she is.” Camila nods, glancing toward the taller girl. “I don’t know you, Melony. Luz hasn’t mentioned you before.” She turns back to the blonde with a frown. “But I do know you, Clara.”

Clara sinks a bit in her chair under the woman’s intense gaze. This isn’t a situation she likes to be in. One where she’s not in control, with the adult against her. This is why she stays out of other people’s problems! Because, inevitably, she does something stupid or selfish and those people would have a problem with her. She just wanted to help Amity! Not have to admit and repent for her past year of neglect and bullying, which right now seemed like such a stupid idea.

But before she can stammer out a reply, a new voice squeaks out of the phone. “Uh, Luz’s mom?”

The three humans looked to find a bone white skull with huge, yellow eyes dominating the screen. The teens pale a bit, but Camila chuckles, recognizing the little demon. “You’re… King, right?”

He pulls back from the phone, revealing his significantly less intimidating figure. “Weh? Yes! How did you- Oh! From Luz’s videos!”

She smiles warmly, tuning out Clara and Melony, whom seem to be reacting quite differently to King. “Nice to meet you. Luz said quite a few good things about you in her videos.”

“Oh my God he’s so cute!” Melony whispers, practically swooning.

“Cute?” Clara hisses, eyeing the strange talking creature warily.

King pays them no mind, nervously scratching the back of his neck and looking away from Camila. “Yeah, speaking of Luz. Look, I know you miss her, and she misses you too. But once the portal is fixed and Amity can go home… can Luz still stay?”

“Stay?” Camila blinks, uncertain.

“Yeah. She’s kind of like family here.” He seems embarrassed to say it. And well, maybe he is. Admitting his feelings isn’t something that comes easy for him, and he doesn’t really know Luz’s mom. But he does know how much this topic had stressed out his best friend for the past few days. So if anything, he could break the ice and try to help. Show Luz’s mom just how much Luz means to the residents of the Owl House.

This was not a conversation Camila had anticipated, least of all with the little demon. Once the portal was open, she had expected Luz to come home, just like Amity would go to her home. Everyone would return where they belonged. It made sense. Luz herself had said that was her goal.

But, now that she actually thought about it, she couldn’t help but notice how fondly Luz had spoken of everyone she had befriended in the Demon Realm. Camila saw how excited she was just minutes ago, showing off her magic. Of course she wouldn’t want to leave such a place for good! She made friends, trained and bonded with real witches and demons, and was learning how to do real magic! It was like every fantasy of her’s come true, but even more so, because she had people to share it with!

Maybe there was a way she could have both worlds. Would that be possible? Camila didn’t want to lose her girl forever to this alien place, but she didn’t want to deny her this world that brought out the best in her. Maybe once the portal was stable, and Camila could confirm it was safe. She’d have to discuss it with Luz. And Eda, too, since she had taken care of her girl all this time.

Camila smiles, nodding to King, but a noise beyond the phone catches her attention. The figure on the couch in the next room is stirring, groaning and clutching her bandaged face. “Amity’s waking up,” she tells King as she stands, rushing to the witch’s side.

Chapter 19: Conflicted Interests

Chapter Text

For the 4th (5th? 6th? She had long since lost count) time today, Amity Blight woke up.

The first thing she becomes aware of is the sharp, burning sensation in her face. She winces, drawing in a sharp breath and unconsciously bringing a hand to her cheek. The sudden pressure makes the pain flare up, but she’s confused by the soft mass covering her wounds. She wines louder, dimly aware of how pathetic she probably looked and sounded, and that her mother would scold her if she saw her right now.

But mostly she didn’t care. Holy Titan, did it hurt.

There were other pains too. Her whole body felt sore, especially her right side where she had impacted the wall. Her left hand felt hot and raw, but she could also feel gauze and some ointment on it, which took away the edge. She slowly opens her eyes, finding she could barely open the right one from the mess of wrappings around it. Another confused groan escapes chapped lips as she found herself staring into a black void.

Wait… no… that’s a Tea Vee. What happened? Where am I? The last thing I remember was the fire…

She remembers the simulacrum and it’s cold, murderous gaze, and finds herself starting to panic.

“It’s okay, Amity. Calm down, you’re okay.” There’s a calm, soothing voice, somewhere above her, and Amity finds herself settling. There’s something reassuring about the voice. She feels safer, somehow, her breathing returning to normal.

There’s movement, and now Mrs. Noceda is smiling at her, offering her a glass of water and some round things. “You’re safe now. Here, take this.”

The witch looks down at the round things in her palm, then back up, her confusion obvious.

“It’s just Tylenol, dear,” Camila insists, moving her hand closer.

“Tylenol,” Amity repeats with a hoarse voice and zero recognition.

“Pills.” No response, just a blank stare. “Medicine? It’s to help your pain. You swallow these with the water.”

She still doesn’t really understand, but she does as she’s told, with a reminder not to chew. “It still hurts,” she mumbles after draining the water.

Camila smiles, taking a seat on the coffee table in front of her. “Give it some time.”

Amity sits up slowly, wincing, looking around with her one fully opened eye. She’s in the Noceda’s family room, wearing some new clothes -Azura? Huh. Good choice. -with gauze and bandages on her face, hand, and side. Clara and Melony are watching her from the kitchen, though the taller girl seems distracted by something in Camila’s phone. Amity closes her eyes, rubbing her temples against an encroaching headache. “What… uh, happened?” She stiffens, again recalling those murderous brown eyes. “Where’s Luz?”

“She’s gone.” Camila set a gentle hand on Amity’s hand, feeling her jittering slow under her touch. “That bad Luz is gone. And from what they said-,” she nods towards the teens, “- you looked awesome taking care of it.”

She’s gone? Is she… dead? Did I actually kill her? Not kill, just- oh who cares?Amity visibly calms again, letting out an exhausted sigh and flopping against the couch. “Thank the Titan,” she mutters, looking up at the ceiling. “So, you got my letter, then?”

“I did. There were a few things I noticed that were… different… after she came back from camp. But your letter showed me the truth. Well, that, and…” Camila looks over to the kitchen, and Amity follows her gaze.

“What are you?” Clara asks hesitantly, her attention now on the phone in the charger.

“Clara! That’s rude!” Melony chastises, “Besides, I know what he is.” She slumps down close to the phone with a big goofy grin. “You’re a little cutie pie, aren’t you?”

There’s a familiar, disgusted sound from the phone, amplified by the charger’s attached speakers. “Uhg, I’m not your cutie pie! Just Luz’s. Only when I feel like it!”

Amity blinks, recognizing the voice. “Is that… King?”

Camila nods. “Mm-hmm. The day you appeared here, I received some videos from Luz’s phone. Videos she made about her adventures in the ‘Demon Realm.’” She used actual air quotes as she said it. “I’m still trying to catch up on everything she said. But basically, after your letter, I was finally able to talk to Luz on her phone, and she explained the rest.”

“Luz.” Amity repeats, looking back to the teens arguing with King. “You can talk to Luz.”

“That’s right. She’s trying to figure out how to get you home.”

A flood of emotions fill Amity’s chest. Relief. Hope. Finally, after three long days full of worry, there is something familiar she can latch on to. Some solid rock after the storm of panic and uncertainty.

But she has are other, less positive feelings as well. Apprehension forms a pit in her stomach, making her feel nauseous. But what does she have to be afraid of? The simulacrum is gone. Mrs. Camila is taking care of her, despite knowing she isn’t from this realm. Clara and Melony had seen the fight but haven’t run away and told the whole town. So why does she feel like so nervous?

It’s just Luz. The real, honest Luz. And even if she doesn’t share Amity’s feelings, she’s a good person. She hasn’t abandoned her, she’s been trying to bring her back home.

Right now, Amity needs answers. She needs truth. Not foreign, uncomfortable feelings or uncertain futures, or reliving the stress and trauma of her parent’s lessons, or whatever grievances she has left over from the simulacrum.

The simulacrum. Amity had spent three days here with that thing calling itself Luz. Three long, difficult days on edge. Of being forced to sleep against her will. Of her mind being invaded, violated, to sate the simulacrum’s sick curiosity. Her frayed emotions played with for that monster’s amusem*nt. Of being afraid of every living thing, afraid of them discovering she’s different. Inhuman. Of threats and punishments. Of the cage. Of those dark, leaking, murderous eyes…

…kill the witch…cut her to pieces…dump her in the river…take no chances…

Amity shudderes, eyes squeezed shut, trying hard not to cry. She can’t, not now. She might be hurt and trapped in a foreign land, but she still mustn’t show weakness.

She’s still a Blight, after all.

It takes her a minute to compose herself, and when she opens her eyes she finds Mrs. Noceda watching her with concern. Amity takes a breath before trusting her voice. “I’d like to talk to her. If I can.”

Camila smiles and nods. She doesn’t know half of what this poor girl has been through, but someone familiar is just what she needs. “Of course.”

Luz wasn’t prepared for what she found downstairs.

The commotion stops as she enters the family room, all eyes on her. Eda and Lilith are standing by the couch. Across the room by the fireplace and a pile of King’s plushies are Willow and Gus, looking on edge. And taking up most of the remaining space, trapped tightly in Hooty’s coils, are Emira and Edric Blight.

“They followed us here under their illusions,” Willow explained, looking apologetic. She gently scratches Clover whom had settled on her shoulder to rest. “We never knew they were there until Hooty wrapped them up.”

Luz sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She does not need this right now. Amity’s hurt and she really doesn’t need her brash, overbearing siblings bothering her. Luz herself is still emotional after her talk with her mom and the aftermath of the fight that broke out at her house. Plus, seeing Clara again… something didn’t sit right in her stomach with that, even if she was acting nice right now.

She looks to her mentor, hoping for some direction, but Eda just shrugs. “Sounds like things got intense on the other side. You’re the one who wanted to tell them in the first place. It’s your call, Luz.”

“Luz?” The twins, now aware of her presence, try to escape or at least turn to face her. Hooty, whom had finally, mercifully, gone silent, kept them from moving too much. “Luz!” “Why’d you leave school?” “Where’s our sister!”

The human shook her head. Let’s get this over with. “Hooty, put them down.”

With an overly dramatic “Okay!” the house demon drops them. The twins quickly pick themselves up, Em’s hands on her hips and glaring at Luz while Ed glances nervously back at Hooty’s smug grin.

“Luz, we know you know something,” Em begins with none of her usual playfulness. She’s trying to channel her mother, though she’s far less imitating. “You’ve been avoiding us, and you ran from school, and your house demon attacked us?”

“Technically my house demon,” Eda interjects before Lilith shushes her.

“Just tell us what’s going on,” Ed joined in, trying to hide his obvious discomfort of the owl tube still hovering behind him.

Luz held up her hands defensively. “I know, and I wanted to. Really. It’s just, I only just found out. And it’s… complicated-“

“We just need to know where she is,” says Emira, clearly trying to stay calm, “And that she’s safe.”

Luz nods with a sigh, wringing her hands together. “She is safe. At least, she is now.”

There’s a long, tense silence as everyone stares at Luz. The human shudders slightly under their gaze, particularly the growing desperation within the Blights’ eyes. Lilith covers her face with her hand, muttering something about tact.

“What, exactly, does that mean?” Gus asks hesitantly.

“Okay, so…” Luz pauses, thinking how best to explain the past couple of days. “Amity was helping me with some research. The echo mouse, and Phillip Wittebane, and building a new portal to the human realm.”

“Oh Titan.” Willow whispers, eyes wide, putting the pieces together. Human devices mysteriously working? Amity gone without a trace? Luz acting weird? It all made sense! And that’s terrifying.

The twins were too distraught to notice. “So? What does that have to do with Amity?” Ed pleads, losing his patience.

“Hey, Luz!” King’s voice calls, interrupting her as he enters the room, holding her phone above him. “Amity woke up! She wants to talk to- oh.” He stops at the end of the room, realizing just who else is in the house.

Luz turns slowly away from King, back to the twins, whom are staring at her phone with obvious recognition. They had seen her use it before, echoing Gus’s explanation of the ‘human scroll.’ There’s another tense moment as eyes dart around the room. Luz raises her hands defensively once more. “No-“

But it’s too late, and all hell breaks loose.

Emira rushes forward, eyes locked with King. Edric tries to as well, but stumbles with a yelp as Hooty bites the hood of his cowl. Emira quickly crosses the room, ignoring a vine from a potted plant wrapping around her wrist, courtesy of Willow. Luz throws herself at the taller girl whom nimbly dodges, reaching out to a petrified King.

But as her hand closes around the phone, it and it’s holder vanish in blue smoke. Gus’s illusion covered the real King, now darting down the hall. Or at least, he was, until Emira opened a hole beneath his feet, sending him falling upward from the connected portal in floor before her. She catches him with a smirk, only to drop him again as Owlbert crashes into her head, sending her tumbling to the ground.

There’s a loud screech as Hooty releases Ed. The house demon is flailing wildly, his eyes covered from another illusion. “I can’t see! Where am I!?” he screams, crashing into a lamp. Eda and Lilith start yelling, trying to subdue him.

Ed meanwhile slips beneath Hooty’s coils, summoning a lasso to wrangle King. He picks up the small, bound demon, reaching to take the phone. “Gotcha.”

King, in desperation, shouts “NO!” with all his might. A burst of multicolored energy emits from his mouth, throwing Ed backwards into Willow and Gus, dropping King in the process. The now very confused demon clutches his mouth, momentarily forgetting about the phone. “Weh?”

Emira reaches for the phone, stretching as far as she can, but something is holding her back. The plant Willow had used is still growing, now filling the hallway and wraping around her entire right arm and shoulder, locking her in place. She tries to cast a spell with her other hand but Owlbert keeps smacking into it, fizzling her circles before she can cast. A well-times slap back at the palisman knocks it away. She tries casting another circle, but a brilliant light fills the room. Brighter than the sun, she cancels her spell to shield her eyes.

The light fades, and all eyes (except Hooty, who’s still blind but at least no longer flailing) once more on Luz standing on the couch, phone in one hand, a fading light glyph in the other. “That’s ENOUGH!” she shouts, raising the phone over her head. “You want to know what happened? Amity got trapped in the human realm! And she had to fight some weird thing that looked like me! She got hurt! And it’s all-!”

The words catch in her throat. She visibly deflated, arms drop as she looks down, staring at the floor before squeezing her eyes shut to block out the tears. Her voice is hallow, full of remorse. “It’s all my fault.”

Eda frowns at that, crossing the distance, but the human pulls away. Her mentor stops, unsure what to do. Haven’t they gone through this already? Doesn’t Luz know that no one here blames her? Even the Blight kids couldn’t blame her. “Luz-“

“I know,” she whispers, sniffling. She raises her gaze to Eda, then to Em and over to Ed and her friends. “It was an accident. But I just found out what happened to her, and she just woke up and…” she makes a fist, her voice hardening with conviction, “… and I have to make sure she’s alright. She’s hurt and tired and probably scared and she doesn’t need you all in her face right now. So I’m going to talk to her. Alone. And after that I’ll explain everything. I promise.”

One by one, the other teens nod. Willow gestures and the vines part around Em, releasing her and allowing Luz to slip through and return to her room. Em slumps over, ashamed. Ed sits with Willow and Gus, embarrassed, while the others exchange looks of shock and concern.

King sits in the center of the room patting his face, still confused. “Did anyone else see that?”

“I can see again! Hoot hoot!” Hooty suddenly cries. He looks around the disheveled room and it’s distraught occupants with a frown. “Woah, what happened here?”

Chapter 20: Weaknesses of the Heart

Chapter Text

Luz returned to her room, closing the door behind her. She also summoned a wall of ice for good measure. That’ll make sure no one can enter, and reduce the chance any eavesdroppers could overhear. She strongly considers doing the same with the window, but reasons that Hooty will be sufficiently distracted by all the people downstairs.

She leans against the wall, her phone feeling heavy in her hand. She’s going to do it. She’s going to talk to Amity. So why is she so nervous all of a sudden? Amity is her friend. That’s all. Just a really good friend.

Even if Luz might want more than that. She might have been entertaining that idea for a few weeks now, ever since the witch had jumped in front of that Abomiton and Luz really saw her for the first time, and all her unfamiliar thoughts suddenly made sense. Such thoughts became all the more common after finding the echo mouse and the kiss on her cheek.

But right now is absolutely not the time to bring that up. Amity is injured after a harrowing three days in a whole new world. Luz has no idea what she might have been through in that time. She certainly doesn’t need more confusing and complicated emotions right now. No, what she needs is a friendly face to reassure her and tell her they are working to bring her home.

Luz settles into her bedroll and looks down at her phone. She’s a bit startled to find Clara and Melony staring at her. She finds a plushie to lean her phone against a she addresses them. “What is it?”

“We, uh, heard everything,” Melony says, looking a bit embarrassed for her.

Luz frowns. “What do you mean by ‘everything’?”

“Everything after the dog thing brought your phone downstairs,” Clara explains. “All the arguing and yelling. What you said…” she looks away, probably toward the witch on the couch in the other room.

Luz can feel her face heating up. They heard everything? Her admitting that everything that happened to Amity was her own fault? Her want to protect Amity from her overbearing siblings? That’s… well, embarrassing. Big displays of emotion like that always got her in trouble at school. Though it’s nice that Clara wasn’t rubbing this in her face for once. “H-how did you-?”

“There’s speakers in the charger, mija.” Her mother explains as she picks up her phone. She says something quietly to the other teens, shooing then out of the kitchen. “Luz, this isn’t your-“

“I know, mama.” Luz replies automatically, hanging her head in shame. It didn’t matter if it was her ‘fault’ or not. Accident or not, Amity wouldn’t be trapped there if it weren’t for her. Amity wouldn’t be hurt it if weren’t for her.

If I never went to the Demon Realm- No. She won’t even entertain that idea.

Her mom must sense that, of course, but she sets the phone down on the coffee table, angled up toward the injured witch. Amity quietly thanks Camila before the later leaves the room, giving the two girls some space.

With Amity’s head turned, Luz almost couldn’t tell that she’s injured. She looks fine, if a bit frazzled. But when those golden eyes turn back to her own, Luz can’t help but wince. Nearly the entire right side of her face is covered in gauze, some of which is already tinged red. There’s a wedge cut out of her ear as well, which Amity’s nervous fingers find and trace as she plays with her hair. Her frown deepens, and Luz can’t help but feel pity, remorse, empathy, all kinds of things for her friend. She wants nothing more than to hold her close and promise her that she’ll be okay.

She’s still so beautiful, even like this. I just wish I could hold her, or kiss her. Anything to make her smile again.

The human takes a breath, pushing aside those thoughts, but she still can’t help but whimper “Oh, Amity” in a small, sad voice.

The witch’s eyes meet her own, her lips twitching. Luz isn’t sure what to expect. Will Amity feel embarrassed or flustered, like she has so often around Luz lately? Will she be sad and mopey, bemoaning her circ*mstances? Will she blame Luz for them? Will she act tough, like nothing is wrong, like she tried to after injuring her leg? Just like her parents would want her too?

Whatever Luz was expecting, it wasn’t for her sudden look of utter, abject terror.

“Amity?”

Without warning Amity’s golden eyes grew wide, her breathing rapid and uncontrolled. She leaned further back into the couch, as though trying to put as much distance between herself and the phone as possible. Her whole body is tense, hands shaking as she holds them up, trying to trace a fizzling spell, tears slipping down her cheeks.

“Amity!” Luz gasps. Is she having a panic attack? “Amity, calm down! It’s just me!”

She blinks rapidly, her gaze focusing on Luz again. Her breathing steadies, her hands drop. All at once she looks so much more tired, with a hint of embarrassment.

“Are you… okay?” Luz asks hesitantly.

She nods, wiping away the tears. Her voice is small, still strained and rough from the fight earlier. “Yeah. Sorry, I’m okay.”

“We’ll be in the other room. Just holler if you need anything,” Mrs. Noceda whispers as she sets the phone down on the coffee table.

Amity meets her eyes as she turns to leave. “T-thank you,” she mumbles. It doesn’t feel like enough to show her appreciation, but Luz’s mom smiles at her before leaving the room, following after the other teens.

The witch watches her go, nervously playing with her hair, stalling before she has to turn to face Luz in the phone. She finds the notch in her right ear and frowns, barely noticing the fresh pain as she traces the cut. Oh, how ugly she must look now, covered in bruises and gauze. She doesn’t want Luz to see her like this. But she has to. She needs answers, and peace of mind, and maybe her friend could provide that. Just her friend. Nothing more. She swallows whatever feelings and emotions she has, thankful that she’s too tired and in too much pain to get flustered. Hopefully. She can do this. She can talk to Luz.

Her golden eyes meet her crush’s brown. Soft, warm brown eyes now dead and lifeless. Crushed nose, crumpled chest, left arm bent unnaturally. Black tears run freely down cheeks darkened by fire. Her whole face is twisted in a mask of rage. Without warning those eyes blink, glowing purple as they bore into her soul. She can’t move, can’t look away. Under that piercing gaze her every secret and shame are laid bare. She can barely hear that sickly sweet imitation of her favorite voice as though far away, calling her name again and again. “Amity?… Amity!”

She blinks, and the vision is gone. It’s just Luz. Perfect, adorable, infuriating, lovable Luz, a look of concern and worry on her face. She’s saying her name, and has a few times now. She blinks away the tears she didn’t remember crying. “Yeah. Sorry, I’m okay.”

The brunette doesn’t buy it. Of course she isn’t acting dense now. “Are you sure?”

She nods, steadying her voice. “Really. I’m-“ Tired. Hurt. Worried. Afraid. Why should I be afraid? The simulacrum is dead. I can talk to the Boiling Isles again. Everything is finally looking up. Really, I should be- “- fine. I’m fine. Just really tired.”

Luz is frowning, almost pouting. It’s a very sad, very pitiful expression that is much too cute for her. “Amity…” Stop saying my name like that I just can’t! “It’s okay to not be fine right now. You don’t have to act strong for anyone. Least of all me.”

Yes I do, she thinks, but it disappears as Luz gives her a small smile, warm and inviting, and in the space of a blink it’s an impish grin, one that says she’s in control, she knows everything and is lording it over you. She’s just teasing you around, using you to sate her curiosity and boredom. She’ll steal whatever she wants from you and toss you aside when she’s done. Cut you up, throw you in the river, no one will know you were ever here.

Another blink, and that beautiful face is concerned again, and Amity can feel her heart thumping in her chest, and she can’t tell if it’s from fear, or infatuation, or some combination of the two. She lets out a defeated sigh, not wanting to admit weakness, but knowing that Luz won’t let up until she tells her. “I just… I keep seeing her. The thing pretending to be you.”

The human makes a soft, sympathetic whine. She puts her hand on the phone, clearly wanting so bad to hold Amity’s, but the witch could barely move from her position on the couch. To say nothing of the different dimensions keeping them apart.

“I’m so sorry, Amity,” Luz whispers, closing her eyes to keep from crying. “I wish I could undo it. I wish you were back here, or I was there with you. This should have never happened.”

The last thing Amity wanted now was for Luz to blame herself. Maybe this all happened because she didn’t share Amity’s feelings. Or maybe she does and she’s just awkward, like me. Regardless, it was Amity that initiated the kiss. Amity that gave Luz the first kiss. Amity that, no matter how hard she tried, couldn’t keep her cool around Luz.

And Luz had a habit of blaming herself for everything. Eda’s lost magic, Amity temporarily losing her library job, destroying the portal to stop Belos. The human may be overconfident and get in over her head, but she is also the first to blame herself, and the one who works the hardest to fix whatever slight she caused.

“It’s not your fault,” Amity replies, quiet but firm. She takes a breath, remembering her father’s words. “It’s no one’s fault. It’s just how things are.”

“But-“

“No. Please. I heard what you said to Ed and Em just now. Don’t blame yourself, Luz.”

Amity closes her eyes as she thinks and I’d never take it back, anyway. At least now I know how she feels. What she… doesn’t feel.

Luz starts to say something, but stops. She tried again, and Amity opens her eyes, noticing the blush coloring her cheeks. For a moment she wonders if Luz will ask about the kiss, a question she is both hopeful for and dreading. But instead the redness disperses and she lowers her voice. “What was she?”

Amity nods, clearing her thoughts. No emotions. Just facts. “She was a simulacrum. A magical construct intended to take your place here on Earth. But for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.”

“Wait-,” a look of disgust crosses Luz’s face, “- someone made her to look like me? Intentionally?”

“Yes, and not just one person. You’d need at least three skilled witches from different covens to make a simulacrum. Construction to build it, Beast Keeping to animate it, and Oracle to give it intelligence and magics to help it learn.”

“Three different covens,” Luz repeats, realizing the scope of such a project. This wasn’t just some lost monster looking for a home. This was much bigger. Something expensive and time consuming, with lots of careful planning. “So it had to have been made by the Emperor’s Coven, right? Eda said any cooperation between the covens is overseen by them.”

“Maybe, but… I don’t know. They’d have to approve it, but would they be the ones to make it? Why would they care about your life on Earth? And how did it even get here? You said the emperor wanted Eda’s portal door, and you burned it up.”

Luz nods, poking at a shard of something beside her. The fragment of Belos’s mask. “He wanted it for the Day of Unity, probably. Maybe they had another way across but it broke? Or they wanted a backup, or just didn’t want other witches having portals?”

Amity shrugs. Those were all possibilities, but they had no way of knowing. “Maybe.”

“But why?” Luz cried, exasperated. “It makes no sense! I’m a nobody! No one in the Isles even knew about me a few months ago.”

“Not a nobody,” Amity corrects. Not to me, she thinks, but quickly pushed that down. “You’re the first human in the Isles. The first human to use magic. Magic that hasn’t been used in hundreds of years. First accepted to a witch school. You were Grom Queen! You fought the emperor! You-!”

“Okay, okay!” Luz quiets her, covering her warming cheeks. She’s trying not to think too much into the enthusiastic praise from Amity, of all people. “But that thing went to camp in my place, right? I was supposed to go the day I stumbled through Eda’s portal. Someone couldn’t have made it that fast, could they?”

“No… you’re right. It would take a few days to build and train at least. But once here she could have used her Oracle magics to get into camp and seem normal.”

Luz piqued an eyebrow. “Oracle magics?”

She nods. “Yup. She could use Oracle magic to read people’s thoughts to better imitate you. She went to camp in your place, and was manipulating your mom after that. That’s how she fit in. Anytime something went wrong, she could read their thoughts and wipe their memories.”

Luz shivers, repulsed. “Oh God. Did…,” she hesitates, looking worried, “… did she try to use it on you?”

Amity nods solemnly. “Y-yeah. It… sucked. A lot. B-but I had training from Mother specifically to resist that type of magic. It… helped.”

Luz swallows the idea of cruel, manipulative Odalia training her youngest daughter with invasive mind magics, a shiver running down her spine. “What about Mom? Is she okay?”

The witch nods again, quickly. “Yeah. Yeah she’s fine. I think. The simulacrum definitely was manipulating her, but I don’t think there’s any lasting problems. She’s acting better than I expected, actually.”

“You didn’t see her when this call started. She was real confused and trying not to freak out.“ Luz sighs, shaking her head. “But Mom’s real tough. Thank you for helping her.”

Amity gave her a small smile. “Of course. You would have done the same for me.”

“Well, maybe not for your mom,” she teased, and Amity laughed softly, and Luz’s smile grew bright. She felt a million times better, making Amity laugh.

Amity felt better, too. She felt lighter, somehow. Like the world wasn’t pressing down on her so much. Like the magic-less air wasn’t so suffocating. She leaned back into the couch, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m just glad she’s dead. That fight, that thing… she was a nightmare.”

She closes her eyes, exhaling lightly. The simulacrum wasn’t the first thing that had threatened her life, of course. The Boiling Isles were full of nasty monsters and dangerous magic. Otabin, the slitherbeast, the greater basilisk, Inner Willow. Grometheus was one of the worst, being a literal manifestation of her fear. Thank the Titan she had Luz to help her face it. The simulacrum though… it looked and sounded like Luz, stole her thoughts and tried to control her mind. It was so much more personal, more malicious, then anything she faced before. She could still see the look on her face. Amity had the feeling she’d see that face for months to come.

“Um, Amity…” Luz hesitantly interrupted her good mood, trying not to upset her friend, “… she’s not dead.”

The witch blinked, slowly returning her gaze to the phone. “What?”

“She’s not dead. She ran away when we found you.”

“What? No!” Amity denied, suddenly frantic. “No no no! Your mom, she, she said-“

‘Gone.’ Not dead, not destroyed. Gone.

Eyes wide, staring passed through phone as panic settled in. “She’s not dead,” she gasps, struggling to breathe, “She’s going to come back. She’s going to kill me.”

“Amity!” She blinks, refocuses back on Luz calling her name again and again. The real Luz, who’s desperately trying to calm her down. It’s working, albeit slowly. “She looked really scared before she ran. And she was really badly hurt. She’s not coming back.”

The witch is trying to think rationally again, but panic nips at the edge of her mind. “But, constructs like that can repair themselves. They are made for a purpose. She will be back.”

She sighs, noting Luz’s concern. “But… she’d need magic to repair. That… gives me time to heal. Maybe I can cast spells again before she comes back.”

“How long do we have?” Luz asks.

“I don’t know. But… I have a book at home. History of Constructs. Maybe there’s something in there?” She knows it’s a long shot, but maybe it has some info about how they repair, or a weakness they have. Or some insight into how they are made.

But the second mention of home makes Amity concerned about something else. “What do my parents know?”

Luz grimaced. This was a topic she had tried not to think about. “Nothing, yet. Eda didn’t think it was good to tell them before we knew where you were.”

There was a pause before Amity asks, “What are you going to tell them?”

“The truth.” Luz frowns. “Maybe not all the details.”

The witch nods, a pleading look in her eyes. “Don’t tell them about the simulacrum.”

Luz blinks. “W-why not?”

Because they’ll know I failed. I wasn’t strong enough. They- She stops that train of thought as quick as it appears. She’s getting herself worked up again, and it’s only a matter of time before she starts spiraling. But she needs to keep it together. She can’t break down. Not now. Not in front of Luz. “They can’t know. It’ll make everything worse. Just don’t tell them.”

There’s concern once more in Luz’s eye, watching her friend getting more anxious by the moment. “Amity, I-“

“Please!” She’s getting louder now, tears forming in her eyes. She can’t explain all the reasons rushing through her head, real or imagined. Chief amount them is how they’ll look at her for being weak. “Please don’t tell them! Promise me you won’t!”

“I-“ Luz hesitates once more. She can’t keep this promise. But she can think of an alternative. “Let me talk to Ed and Em. They’ll know what to do.”

Amity sits back, shoulders slumping, lost in thought. Why won’t Luz promise me? She should! I know my parents better than she does! What about the twins? Can they be trusted? Yeah… yeah they know how bad Mother and Father can be. They can figure out what to say, and how to keep the simulacrum out of it. They’ll know how important that is.

“Okay. Talk to them. Please.” Amity closes her eyes, covering them with her hands. She winces as she puts just a hair too much pressure, making the tears start to flow. She needs to say something. Anything. Anything before it all comes back and she loses control.

“Luz…” she starts, not really knowing what to say. “Luz I-“ Love you. Hate you. No! I… can’t understand you. Can’t stay away from you. I’m so confused, so messed up. I don’t know anything anymore. I spent so much time trying to separate you from the imposter, and now it’s the other way around? Now I think of her when I see you? I don’t want that!

“I…-“ Am so scared. So lost and confused. So weak. All my training, reliving all those painful memories from my parents, and look what I have to show for it? Trapped in another realm, waiting to be found and killed by a machine that looks like you.

Is that why I failed? Is that why I couldn’t stop her for good? Because of how I feel about you, Luz? Did I hold back, even the slightest bit, because I didn’t want to hurt you? What would Mother say? Having feelings for a human. A human who doesn’t have those feelings back! Barely able to fight off an enemy just because they look like her. I couldn’t keep my emotions under control. Look at me now, I still can’t! It’s completely humiliating! And I don’t know how long I’ll be stuck here with humans who don’t know me, don’t trust me.

Maybe I’m overthinking things. It’s all too much. The imposter. The pain. This alien world. My parents. My… future. I’m… I’m missing school. I’m falling behind. What’s going to happen when I do go back? People will ask where I’ve been. What happened to my face. What would I tell them?

It’s all too much.

Luz. It always comes back to you, Luz. My friend. My crush. My light. You changed my life. Made me realize I want my own life, not just a pawn for my parents or the emperor. And I fell in love with you. And you… you said nothing. Just acted like nothing ever happened. And then someone with your exact face did this to me.

Why? Why you? Why did you come to my realm? Why did you befriend me? Never give up on me? Why did I fall for you? Why can’t I stop thinking about you? Why did that imposter have to look like you? Use my feelings for you against me?

“Why did it have to be you, Luz?”

Her voice is so soft, and she’s so wrapped up in her thoughts that Amity didn’t even know she said it. But she did. And Luz heard it.

The human stares at her crush, stunned. Amity is one of the smartest, toughest, strongest, most confident people she‘s ever met. And here she was crying her eyes out. She wanted nothing more than to be there with her, to comfort her and reassure her. But those last words made her own catch in her throat. Luz doesn’t know what they mean.

And it scares the hell out of her.

There’s movement at the end of the room as Camila peers in. She hadn’t been trying to overhear, just had a light, somewhat awkward conversation with the other teens. But the raised voice desperate for a promise followed by crying caught her attention. Amity sensed her and spoke in a broken voice, just loud enough for both Nocedas to hear, “I want to be alone now.”

“Amity-“ Luz starts, but the phone is already being taken away. Camila gently squeezes the witch’s unburnt hand before leaving the room with her phone. Soft crying can just barely be heard in the background.

Amity isn’t entirely sure why she’s crying. Everything, all at once, was simply too much, and this felt like the only thing she could do. She hates her ugly display, her lack of control, her weakness, always weakness, but right now, there’s nothing she can do but let it run it’s course.

“Is everything okay, mija?” Camila asks, concerned, once she rejoins Clara and Melony in the far room.

“She… she’s overwhelmed by everything, I think?” Luz suggests, still in shock. “Why did it have to be you, Luz?” What does that mean?!

Her mom is saying something in agreement, and the other teens look sad, but a chime and notification pulls Luz from her confusion. Great. Wonderful timing, phone.

“Mom, my phone’s dying. I need to charge it.”

“Okay?” Camila asks, not seeing the problem.

“You don’t get it,” Luz sighs, suddenly very tired. “There’s no outlets in this world. The only way I can charge is with that solar thing you gave me. But it’s going to be dark soon. Eda’s going to have to charge my phone while I’m at school tomorrow. I won’t be able to talk until after that.”

There’s worry on her mom’s face, but it’s soon replaced by a warm smile. Her girl has been through enough today, worrying about her friend and crush. Camila won't let Luz worry about her mother as well. “Then I will talk to you tomorrow, mija. Be safe, and I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom. And, please, take care of her.”

“I will. I promise.”

“Bye Mom.” Luz tries to return her smile, broken by weariness, before hanging up.

Camila pockets her phone with a sigh. “I suppose it’s time for you two to go.”

Clara and Melony share a look. “Is she going to be okay?” The taller teen asks, concerned for the witch in the other room.

Camila nods. “She’s had a trying few days. What she needs now is quiet and rest.” Her expression is soft, but her tone is firm. Clara, for her part, doesn’t want any further interrogation. Camila follows them to the door and watches them go, locking it behind her.

With a sigh she turns back around. The hallway has been swept and cleaned, but the dents and burns and stains from the battle remain. The smell of smoke still lingers. The only sounds in the small house are the soft cries of a distraught young witch.

Luz stares down at her phone for a while after hanging up. She feels numb inside. She wants to cry, wants to do something. She’s a deeply empathetic person, and seeing Amity injured and breaking down like that nearly moved her to tears. But she can’t. Even though she wants to, to let it out, to feel something, she can’t. Her mind won’t let her.

“Why did it have to be you, Luz?”

She remembers the library. The only other time she’d seen Amity cry, after losing her job. That was my fault No! Not my fault. Both our fault. And I fixed that.

Her hands ball into fists. Just like on the library steps, Luz realizes she’s can’t just give in to her grief. Amity needs her to stay strong. Determination fills her veins. She can be strong for her. She can be Amity’s fearless champion.

I need to stop blaming myself for things I can't control. Just like Mom and Eda said. I might not be able to help Amity right now, but I can do something. There’s people downstairs who care about us, who need to know what’s going on.

We’ll bring her home. We’ll figure this out. We always do.

Chapter 21: Mothers’ Assurance

Chapter Text

Luz finds everyone still waiting downstairs, their conversations abandoned as she enters the living room. She takes a seat on the coach between Lilith and Eda, whom hands her a cup of tea. King quickly runs over, climbing up to sit in her lap. Hooty curls around the couch and keeps an eye on the twins, whom behave themselves. Luz gives her housemates - her family - a smile, leaning against her mentor as she fills in the other witches with the events of the past three days.

Of course she skipped the kiss, and most of her’s and Amity’s breakdowns. She skimped on the details of what Amity’s time in the human realm, since she didn’t really know that yet. She also left out Clara and Melony, not really knowing how they fit in and, honestly, not sure what to think about them. The Clawthornes chimed in a few times to take the pressure off of Luz, for which she was grateful. Her friends asked a few questions, mostly clarifying human terms. They all seem amazed by the recount of Amity’s battle with the simulacrum, concerned with her injuries, and dismayed but understanding when she mentioned that Amity got upset at the end.

Rare silence fills the Owl House once Luz is finished her recap. She’s exhausted, and her throat is a little sore from so much talking today. Willow is the first to break the peace with a timid, “So what happens now?”

“Now we continue our research and build a portal,” Eda says, matter-of-fact, “Bring Amity back home.”

“We have a few ideas,” Lilith adds, “But it will take some time to get all the proper information and resources. And we must do so carefully. We wouldn’t want the Emperor’s Coven to catch wind of this.”

“Then we need to tell our parents where she is,” Edric replies firmly.

Emira nods. “They don’t like the idea of the coven involved in their private affairs, but they are getting desperate. Amity doesn’t just disappear like this, and, well, you all heard the rumors at school. People are wondering where she is. It’s bad for appearances, and Mother can’t have that.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad if you weren’t asking everyone if they’d seen her,” Gus points out.

“Maybe not, but can you blame us? We didn’t know what to do!”

“It’s easy being careful and quiet when it’s for pranks. We don’t handle actual stress very well,” Ed sighs, rubbing his neck.

“How soon do we need to tell them?” Luz asks nervously.

The twins share a look before Em responds. “You just found out today. So, tomorrow. After school, at the latest.”

“And it would be best if you told them, Luz. You were there. You know about the Human Realm the best. You can answer their questions.” Ed adds.

Luz grimly nods. She had expected as much. A warm hand shakes her shoulder as Eda grins down at her. “Don’t worry, kid. Lilly and me will be there to support you.”

“Actually, that’s probably not the best idea,” Em quickly says, eyeing the Clawthorne sisters. “Our parents don’t have the best opinion of you two.”

The Owl Lady frowns and folds her arms, about to say something when her sister cuts her off. “Having worked with the Blights for years, I unfortunately agree. Knowing that their daughter’s safety is in the hands of a criminal and a traitor will not go over well with them.”

“Alright, fine,” Eda grumbles, “We don’t need to make this worse than it already is.”

“We’ll be with her the whole time,” Ed promised.

That helped. The idea of facing the Blight parents alone, after their abomiton tried to kill her… yeah, Luz is happy to have some people on her side. But there was one more concern.

“Amity said not to tell them about the simulacrum. Do you guys have any idea why?”

The twins frown, uncharacteristically deep in thought. Em spoke first, staring off with a hand on her chin. “I can think of a few things. She might be worried about how she looks, being unable to defeat it. Getting hurt. Our parents are obsessed with appearances, and making sure we don’t look weak. Injury or display of emotions don’t fit with their perfect picture of us.” Those last few words come out laced with bitter sarcasm. Everyone else shakes their heads, disgusted by that thought.

Ed nods sadly, looking directly at Luz. “What’s more, they might want help from the Emperor’s Coven if they think she’s in imminent danger. We have to make it seem like you know what you’re doing, and you’re the only one who can bring her back home.”

“But is that really a big deal? Getting the Emperor’s Coven involved?” Gus asks, playing angel’s advocate. “I mean, they have more resources, more magical power…”

“And they’ll want complete control of the portal once it’s open for their Day of Unity mumbo jumbo,” Eda hisses. “They won’t care about actually helping Amity, or helping Luz reunite with her mom. If Belos learns about all this, he’ll send people after us.”

Luz frowns, thinking about Hunter, whom she hadn’t spoken to since Saturday night after Amity’s disappearance. She’s… reasonably sure he wouldn’t betray her trust. After all, he was hiding Rascal and learning glyphs from his uncle. No, he wouldn’t do anything like that. But if Belos got involved with their new portal, Hunter wouldn’t be able to stop him, either.

She looks back up to see the twins sharing another knowing glance. Clearly they had other concerns on their minds. About the Coven? Or about their parents and the simulacrum? Whatever it was, they didn’t say. Instead they stood, dusting themselves off. “We need to get back before dinner. But, Luz, we’ll get that book and meet you at school. See if there’s anything of use about the simulacrum.”

“Thanks, guys. And I guess we’ll talk to your parents after school.”

They nod and flash small smiles, waving goodbye to everyone as they left. Willow and Gus leave soon after, each hugging Luz even after she assured them she’s okay. Hooty retracts back into the door and King wanders off after one more hug, ranting about wanting to find a book about ‘rainbow screams,’ whatever that was. Some demon thing, probably. As the Clawthornes stand to start dinner, Luz calls over, “Hey Eda, can I ask you something?”

Lilith bows out of the room, leaving mentor and mentee together on the couch. Eda wraps an arm over Luz’s shoulders, noting her fatigue. “Long day, kid?” she teases.

“Yeah. Talked too much.” Luz groaned, rubbing her neck. Talking to her mom and Amity, explaining what had happened several times over, it finally caught up with her.

“Didn’t think that was a problem for you,” Eda laughs. She gets a smile on response, and her tone shifts to something warmer, almost motherly. “What is it, Luz? Something about Amity?”

The human nods, leaning into Eda’s warmth. Her voice shook as she spoke, full of emotion. “I was downplaying how upset she got when we talked. She was… I’ve never seen anyone like that before. It was like, at the castle… when I thought I lost you…. but worse…”

With a mechanical hum the platform rises. Before long Luz lost her grip, falling back to the dirty floor. Eda, transformed and imprisoned, could only watch helplessly as the girl reaches up toward her, tears in her eyes, calling her name, before she disappeared from view.

Eda shakes her head and wraps her arms around Luz, holding her student, her daughter, tight. “I promise, we’re going to bring her home. Lilly has some ideas, but we’ll need something to amplify magic. And some more titan’s blood. But we’ll get it done.”

“I know. Thank you,” Luz murmurs with a weak voice. She clears her throat, sitting up a bit more. “She said …something else.” She looks away, growing quiet. “‘Why did it have to be you, Luz?’”

She pauses to swallow, clearing her throat again. She’s not going to cry, she’s done enough of that lately. “I don’t know if she was even aware she said it. But I have… no idea what that means.”

Eda sighs, looking Luz over. These poor kids! They have to go through such circ*mstances while also dealing with school and crushes and adolescence. I didn’t have these life and death issues when I was their age! I just had regular life and death stuff, like monsters and bad weather and weird magic, and whatever trouble I got myself into.

Well I guess I did have my portal, and my curse. Maybe it was just as bad. Is this how Mom felt? Uhg, when did I get like this? All motherly and stuff? Dumb kids making me soft.

She shrugs, holding Luz close. “Who knows what she meant. She probably doesn’t, either. All I know is she went through a traumatic event and she needs to process everything.”

Luz nodded, sniffing. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s probably nothing.”

Her mentor smirks. “It’s no secret she likes you, Luz. Maybe how you want, maybe not, but she certainly cares a lot about you. Just give her some time.”

“I will. And I’ll be there when she needs me,” She adds with a confident grin.

“That’s my girl.”

They sit in silence for a little longer before joining Lilith in the kitchen. Dinner is done soon after, and the family gathers to eat. Luz is quiet, resting her throat while Eda and Lilith regale her with stories of their youth, and King breaks down the convoluted plot of his most recent soap opera. Luz just smiles and giggles as she eats, paying full attention, but knowing she needs to rest.

There’s one more person she needs to speak with today, after all.

Amity wasn’t sure how long she sat on the couch, first crying, then just staring blankly at her dark reflection in the Tea Vee. So many conflicting thoughts and emotions about everything, all at once. She felt so small, so overwhelmed. Crying had helped. Letting out all her pent up emotions made her feel better, but the lack of real answers or solutions did little to assuage her anxious mind.

Quiet footfalls alert her to Camila’s presence. She’s standing in the kitchen, giving her a kind but concerned smile. But she doesn’t say anything at first, instead giving the witch time to collect herself. Amity takes a few slow, steadying breaths before speaking in a soft voice, “I’m okay. Just really tired.”

“That’s alright. You had a trying day. Are you hungry at all? Is there anything I could make you?”

Amity wants to say no, but the idea of food makes her stomach growl. She had burned a lot of calories fighting fake Luz. Maybe something to eat would help. Of course, she isn’t really familiar with human food, and she doesn’t want anything too heavy or too chewy. Then she remembers what fake Luz had made her that first time she woke up in this house.

A few minutes later, Amity is sitting at the kitchen table with a pipping hot bowl of chicken noodle soup. She looks around, confused. “Where are Clara and Melony?”

“They went home. It’s getting late,” Camila replies, masking her feelings toward the other teens. Or the one with the pink-striped hair, at least.

Amity hums in response, slurping a spoonful of the hot, soothing meal. Camila chuckles beside her with a bowl of ‘leftovers,’ whatever that was.For a moment the witch flushes, realizing how poor her manners were, but the human seemed more amused than anything. And, honestly, Amity was too tired and in too much pain to care about manners right now.

Plus, she’s seen how Luz eats. If Mrs. Noceda can put up with that, she can put up with some soup slurping.

“Thank you,” she whispers, drinking another hot spoonful. She gestures to her bandaged face with her free, wrapped hand. “For everything.”

Mrs. Noceda just smiles again. “I should be the one thanking you. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be lost and confused.” She sighs, leaning her head in her hand, looking distant. It’s just for a moment, but Amity can see the fear and regret in her face.

“You couldn’t have known the truth. The simulacrum made sure of that. It’s not your fault.”

“No, I know. I wish I had noticed the signs, but,… I guess that was the fake again? Keeping me from seeing what was in front of me?” Amity nods. Camila rubs her eye, taking a measured breath before flashing a coy grin at the other girl. “Then it’s a good thing my daughter became friends with the strongest witch in Hexside.”

She had hoped to lighten the mood, but instead Amity just frowned, shrinking down in her seat. “Oh, dear, I didn’t mean to upset you. Did I say it wrong? That’s what Luz had said in one of her videos-“

Were she in a better mood, Amity would have blushed at that. But she just shook her head sadly. “No, you said it right. I just don’t feel very strong right now.”

“You just overextended yourself,” Camila assures her, “Luz said Eda did that once. You just need some time to rest, and your… bile… thing… will refill itself. Or something?”

Amity giggled in spite herself, but then slumped against her elbow, stirring her soup. Poor girl is too hard on herself, Camila thought.

“The other girls saw you fight and called you, and I quote, ‘terrifying and badass.’”

The witch just pouts. “It wasn’t enough. I wasn’t able to stop her. Now she can repair herself and come back.”

“Hey. Look at me, Amity.” Camila takes her hand, giving her a firm squeeze and a co*cky grin. “If, if, that thing comes back, she’ll have to get through me.”

That makes the lilac-haired girl snort, an amused look on her face. Oh these dumb, overconfident humans. Now I know where Luz gets it from. “No offense, but what exactly can you do to stop it without any magic?”

“Don’t you worry about that. I’ve got some human magic of my own.” Amity laughed at the absurdity of that statement. Camila’s challenging smirk soon shifted to something more warm and motherly. “Besides, we always fight hardest for those who are important to us.”

Once again, the words of encouragement had the opposite effect on the teen, who’s smile fell into a pained frown. “You don't know me.”

Camila squeezes her hand again. The human mother is nothing if not kind and patient. “No, but I’d like to. You’re important to my daughter, after all.”

“Am I?” It was small, and reactionary, and immediately regretted, but Amity’s usual filter isn’t working. After this crazy day, it was kind, gentle Camila whom had lowered her careful defenses. Shocked golden eyes meet brown and quickly look away in shame. f*ck. I didn’t mean to say that. “I, it’s just-“

“It’s okay. I won’t judge.”

There’s a loud, defeated exhale. She did not want to talk about her feelings toward Luz, not with Luz’s Mom of all people. But letting out all her pain, all her emotions, that did help. It didn’t solve anything, but at least she didn’t feel quite so overwhelmed. Maybe getting this secret off her chest that’s been eating her up for weeks will help, too.

Amity wouldn’t look at Camila as she speaks, voice thick with emotion and uncertainty. “I… I like Luz. A lot. She’s not like anyone I’ve met before. She helped me realize there were parts of my life I didn’t like. That I wanted to change. And over time I… well, I guess I got a crush on her. But… she doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

Camila frowns. That last comment certainly did not match what Luz had been saying. She didn’t want to pry in their relationship. Certainly not after hearing some of Luz’s own insecurities about it. But does Amity have those same doubts as well? “How can you be so sure?”

“She has too much going on for a relationship. She’s trying to figure out how to get back home. And learn about wild magic. And she’s worried about Eda’s curse, and the Emperor’s Coven, and just trying to go to school, and-“ she shakes her head, her tone hardening. “And my parents would never allow it anyway. Any relationship would distract from my responsibilities. They don’t even like that we’re friends. They think she’s destructive and immature and associates with criminals. Which she totally does, even though Eda and Lilith are so much more than that. But most of all they wouldn’t allow it because… well, because she’s…” She trails off, embarrassed, not wanting to finish the sentence.

Camila can tell she wouldn’t like the Blights. “Because she’s a girl?”

Amity met her gaze with a look of bewilderment. “W-what? No! Well… maybe? Mother wants me to be exactly like her, so maybe she’d prefer if I liked boys, but that’s not her decision.” She shakes her head. “No. The problem is that she’s human. No innate magic, no high class family, nothing that could further the Blight name. Because that’s all they care about.” She gives a rueful laugh, eating quickly to distract herself.

Now Camila definitely doesn’t like the Blights. But Amity didn’t really answer her question. So she tried another approach, always maintaining that gentle, encouraging tone. “Okay…. But those sound like excuses to me. Maybe Luz isn’t a witch or come from wealth, but those don’t matter so much when feelings are involved. So forget for a moment what your parents think. What’s the real reason you don’t think she likes you that way?”

“Because… I…” Hands on her head now, carefully avoiding the gauze as panic crosses her face.

“Hey, Amity, it’s okay.” Camila takes her hand again, rubbing slow circles along her wrist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

The witch nods, ears drooping as she calms again. “Thank you. But I… I want to tell you. I haven’t told anyone. I…”

She looks away, then back again, her cheeks flushed with color. “I kissed her. On the cheek. She had done something so generous and self-sacrificing and cute and just so… so Luz. And it seemed like a good idea, but after she just… stared at me. And pretended nothing had happened.”

Amity rubs her eyes, sniffling as tears start falling again, her voice shaky. “I had thought I was so obvious. I was a flustered, stammering mess around her all the time. Like, my siblings said I was obvious, and I kept getting looks from Willow and Gus and Eda and King, and even Boscha. Like they all knew. But… Luz never said a thing. She acted like it never happened. And I thought, maybe it’s all in my head, and I’m so distracted by myself that I’m missing some sign. And then… I tried to kiss her again. Tried to make myself clear…”

She closes her eyes, whimpering a bit before she can speak. Camila squeezes her hands, gently cheering her on. “We fought this thing called Grom together. It’s a monster that can become your greatest fear. And my fear was being rejected. By her. I was so scared to say anything, or make a move and ruin everything. She was my best friend. For awhile, my only real friend.

“But I couldn’t stand not knowing. So I tried to kiss her again. And she… pushed me away. And… I ended up here.” She raises her arms, gesturing to the kitchen before letting them drop. “I’m here because she pushed me away, and the last thing I thought before I blacked out was to get as far from her as possible. That’s how I ended up here. Where the simulacrum found me. But… now I know. Right? That’s… that’s what I needed to know… right?”

Camila stands and wraps her arms around the trembling girl as she cries, holding her tight. She’s sobbing again, not as hard as earlier but still small, choking sounds they breaks the mother’s heart. Oh this poor, heartbroken girl. If only she knew. If only…

As Amity’s sobs slow to whimpers, Camila sits back down and glances at her phone with a frown. “I’m sorry,” the witch whispers, rubbing her eyes. “You didn’t need to hear all that. I’m just a mess.”

“It’s okay. I remember what first crushes can be like. It can be… confusing, painful even, when there’s someone you like, and you aren’t sure how they feel back.” She reaches for her cell but stops at the last moment. No, I shouldn’t interfere. These kids need to figure it out themselves. And right now there is too much going on. It’s too stressful. They aren’t even in the same dimension! They need to focus on themselves, not each other.

“Is it supposed to hurt so much? I swear, I think I’m far past ‘like’ at this point.” Amity pushes her bowl aside and lays her head on the table. Tired, embarrassed, physically and emotionally drained. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. Thank you for trying, but I don’t feel better after talking about it.”

Camila picks up and then sets down her phone. No, Luz told me all that in confidence. Their relationship is between them. It would be wrong to say anything. She looks up to find Amity’s eyes filling with tears again before she buries herself in her arms, struggling to contain her sobs.

Oh screw it. This kid needs a win.

She picks up her phone again and scrolls through her messages. “I probably shouldn’t be showing you this. But after today, I think it might be just what you need.” Amity peaks over her arms, and Camila gives her a conspiratorial wink. “So don’t tell Luz.”

That gets the witch’s attention. She sits up, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. Camila props the phone up and starts the video, one of the last ones she had received from her daughter.

A disheveled Luz appears on screen. Her hair is a mess, there’s bruises and cuts on her face and arms, and her casual clothes are torn and singed in places. Amity immediately recognizes the state of her clothing: this is the same day they found the echo mouse. The day Amity had kissed her.

Luz’s cheeks are red, and she has a shy, almost embarrassed smile as she speaks in a restrained whisper. “Buenas noches Mamí. Today was… today was a day. I’ll skip most of it ‘cause I want to tell you something-“ her voice lowers as she leaned closer to the camera “- before Eda knows I’m home. I have to tell someone, and Eda… well she wants what’s best for me, but I know she’d also tease me, and I’m not ready for that. The twins were bad enough.”

She takes a breath, gesturing with her hands, trying and failing to spit out what she wants to say, and all the while her face grows redder. The witch is about to be concerned for her health when she finally squeaks “Amitykissedme!”

Camila glances to the witch just as she gasps, breath catching in her throat. Wide golden eyes stare at the screen absorbing every detail.

Luz covers her mouth, giggling nervously, as though surprised she said it. She glanced back at the door, then to the phone with an excited grin before launching into a rapid explanation. “I found something that can help me get home, but Amity lost her job, that was my fault, and so I went through these trials to get it back, that’s why I look like this, and she, Amity, told me what an echo mouse is, it’s over there in that terrarium now, and then she kissed me right here.”

She presses a hand to her ever reddening cheek, but her excitement gives way to confusion. “And then she… ran away. I couldn’t hear what she was saying. I just sat there wondering if she was gonna come back until the twins asked if I was alright, so I left.”

Luz looks down, tugging at burns and holes in her shirt. “Maybe… maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe it was just a friendly kiss. Like, a ‘thank you for getting my job back’ kiss. Is that a thing? I don’t know.”

She looks back to her phone with a hopeful grin. “Or maybe it was an ‘I like you’ kiss. Maybe… maybe she likes me back. Maybe that’s why she’s been all… weird the last few weeks, just like I’ve been awkward around her. Ever since Grom she’s… yeah. Maybe that’s what it is.

“And that would be so awesome! I mean, it took me awhile to figure out I liked her. But it made sense. Like everything I’ve read in those fanfics just clicked. I just want to spend time with her, even if I was with her the whole day before. And I want to do stuff for her. Impress her. Maybe her smile and laugh. She has the best laugh. And… if she likes me too…” Luz stares off wistfully for a moment before remembering she’s on camera.

“I’m gonna ask her out, Mom. But… it has to be right. It has to be perfect. She’s just so cool, and pretty, and smart, and, and, Amity! It’s gotta be perfect. That’s what she deserves. Not just spur of the moment. And not cheesy or too much, like with my book report.” She frowns. “Or Jimmy. Or… Clara.”

She shakes her head, dismissing the thought. “No, this is different. This isn’t like my last friends or crushes. We got to know each other! We’re really good friends! I just… I just need to act normal until I figure out how to ask her out. That’s it. Just… be cool. Don’t overreact. And once I know what to say, I’ll ask her out. Yeah.”

It’s hard to tell if Luz is saying that to her mother or to herself. She sighs, exhausted as she lays on the floor, mostly out of view. “I feel like I’m dreaming. Like, I can barely believe Amity kissed me. But she did! And-“

“She did WHAT!?!” a shrill voice cries offscreen. “EDA!!!” Scampering could be heard across the hall and down the stairs.

Luz bolts upright. “King? King!” She spins around, screen shaking and going dark as she grabs the phone and shoves it in her pocket. “No no no no, KING! Sorry, Mom, hablo contigo más tarde! KING DON’T-“ And the video ends.

Camila can’t help but smirk at that ending every time she sees it. She knew the next video Luz is complaining about all the teasing from her housemates, but at the same time appreciating all the love and support they give her. A choked sob makes her jump, finding Amity’s face in her hands, crying hard.

Oh no, what now? This was supposed to be perfect! Camila rushes to Amity’s side, a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry! I thought this would help. I didn’t mean to-“

A wet laugh cuts her off as one of the teen’s hands clasps over her own. Amity meets Camila’s gaze. She’s shuddering as she struggles to breathe, tears running down her cheeks and soaking into her wrappings, but she has the brightest smile Camila had ever seen.

“Thank you,” Amity gasps, voice strained as she cries the happiest tears in her life. “That was exactly what I needed.”

Chapter 22: Come What May

Chapter Text

“Luz likes me.”

The rest of dinner was spent calming down and enjoying one another’s presence. Now, a few hours later, with a full belly and fresh wrappings, Amity is changing into Luz’s pajamas for bed. Even now she still can’t stop thinking about that video.

“She really likes me.”

She pulls the shirt over her head, pausing to run a hand over the black and blue bruises on her side from where she was thrown into the wall. She finds her face in the closet mirror, still able to visualize the fresh wounds beneath the gauze. Camila had tried to block her view of them while changing her wrappings, promising they weren’t as bad as they looked, but it was hard to keep her from seeing the cuts that took up half her face.

She traces a hand gingerly along those cuts, wincing a bit at some points. Those same scars she had seen in Mother’s crystal ball. Had she known something was going to happen to her? Is that in part why she always pushed her youngest daughter the hardest? To be the very best? Was it more than just to uphold the precious Blight name?

Amity rubs the wedge in her ear, staring at her reflection. She remembered seeing herself in that crystal ball, and can’t help but notice the cut is different. The shape of the cut, the location on her ear, it’s subtle but definitely different. She’d know, having envisioned what might cause such a wound for years now. So whatever future Mother had seen that day, it wasn’t the one that is happening now. More uncertainty. More unknowns.

But right now, Amity couldn’t find herself to feel upset by it all. She felt happy, giddy even, thinking about Luz. That video had done a lot to improve her mood.

Maybe the medicine is helping, too. Camila had given her something stronger that was supposed to make her drowsy. She could feel the fatigue slowly collecting, her eyelids heavy and thoughts slowing down, but she couldn’t shake the joy that bubbled within her. She just feels so damn happy at the idea that Luz really, truly likes her back.

“She called me cool, and smart, and… and pretty.”

And she felt those things. She felt cool despite the garish anime pajamas she’s wearing. She felt smart despite her dim awareness that her mind is just looping on thoughts of her crush, due to fatigue and pain killers. And she felt pretty. Despite her cuts and bruises and wrappings, she felt so pretty. Because Luz thought she was pretty.

Luz. Who wants to ask her out. Who wants to be her girlfriend.

I’ve never even considered that before. I just tried to keep my crush on her quiet. And did a terrible job of that. Is that what I want? To be Luz's girlfriend?

And the answer is an immediate, emphatic yes!

Of course, she can’t tell Luz that. Not yet. She has so much going on right now. Amity is dependent on her and the others figuring out the portal. But Luz also has to keep it a secret from the Emperor’s Coven. Besides that she still has to go to school. Plus, the twins were at the Owl House, so they know what’s going on. Meaning soon her parents will now what’s going on, and Luz will have to deal with them, too.

So, no. Amity can’t tell Luz anything now. It would be too much of a distraction.

But that doesn’t mean Amity can’t enjoy knowing how Luz actually feels about her.

She spins lazily around the room, collapsing atop the bed with a tired laugh. What a day. What a ridiculous, stressful, dangerous day. Casting Darius’ transformation spell, escaping Hopkins, running into Clara and Melony, fighting the simulacrum, surviving, and finding out Luz likes her. All in the span of 6 or so hours. No wonder she’s exhausted.

There’s still so much up in the air. She has to heal from her injuries. Practice her magic in this strange world without the Titan to rely on. Find and destroy the simulacrum before it comes for her or hurts anyone else. All while disguising herself as a human and avoiding those like Hopkins. It’s a lot. Too much.

But for right now, as fatigue claimed her, all she can think about is her crush. Who likes me back! With a smile on her lips, Amity drifts off to a peaceful sleep.

Camila gently closes the bedroom door and returns downstairs. Amity is finally asleep. Thank goodness. After a day like today, no wonder she’s exhausted.

But it’s not that late yet, and the human mother’s mind is racing from all it had absorbed today. Witches and demons and magic and strange, murderous machines. An imposter taking her daughter’s place while she’s stuck in another realm. A real, live teenage witch fighting it off. It’s enough to make her head spin.

At first she had felt terrible not realizing the simulacrum wasn’t really her daughter. But after everything Luz and Amity had said, it was clear the machine had some kind of magical hold over her. So now she doesn’t feel upset anymore, just angry, and determined to help those girls in any way she can.

God help that simulacrum if I ever see her again…

No, stay calm, there’s no use getting upset now.

She took work off tomorrow so she can help Amity and they can catch up, get to better know one another. She’s so curious to learn more about the Demon Realm, the place Amity and now Luz call home. The place King wants Luz to stay.

Should she stay? Isn’t this the place with monsters like the simulacrum terrorizing the place? With vile witches like the Blights making horrible machines? Or a grim emperor who rules with an iron fist, stamping out illegal magic like Luz’s? But, it’s also the place where Luz made new friends. Family, even, according to the little demon.

Camila shakes her head as she wanders the house, slowly cleaning things up. She’s too antsy to just sit and relax. She feels like she has to do something, but has no idea what. She just needs to learn more.

That’s when she finds the bag, still lying near the front door. A small drawstring bag stuffed with papers and… sandwiches? Where did this come from? The papers are full of scribbled notes and random pictures circled in red. One of them included a photo of Eda, whom she had seen from Luz’s videos.

A book flops out as she turns the bag over. “A History of Gravesfield, CT. and additional important information by Jacob Hopkins.” The latter of which is scrawled in barely legible sharpie. Jacob Hopkins… Amity had mentioned that name in passing. Camila will have to get more from her about him and how she got this book.

But for now, Camila sits down and opens the book. A full history of the town, with plenty of Hopkin’s notes and speculations scribbled in the margins. She turns to a section that’s been earmarked. “On the disappearance of the Wittebane brothers,” she reads aloud.

Wittebane… Luz had mentioned that name in relation to her portal research. Curiosity piqued, Camila starts turning pages, losing herself in this strange fantasy that had become her reality.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri-click.

“Hello?”

“Melony! Hey! Sorry, I know it’s getting late-“

“…Clara?”

“-‘ve been thinking about everything today, and there’s something I can’t-“

“You’re calling me?”

“- Huh?”

“Why are you calling? You never call. You always text.”

“Uh, I had this idea and I figured it was easier to tell you then type it all out.”

“Okay? What is it?”

“Okay! So, Luz was supposed to go to camp. But she didn’t! She went to Witch World instead and that simulator thing went in her place, right?”

“Yeah?

“So she was around other people for months before she came home! Luz’s home. Maybe one of them saw something. Or knows something. Something that explains where she came from, or what she wants, or where she’s hiding now!”

“Maybe…. But can’t she read minds? She’d probably know if anyone saw anything and erase it.”

“… oh. Right.”

“It’s a good idea.”

“Hmm.”

“No, really. We can have Ms. Noceda call the camp tomorrow. Find out who ‘Luz’ spent most of her time with. Maybe there’s something there. It’s worth trying.”

“… thanks. I just… we saw her yesterday. And she seemed so normal. Well, Luz-normal. I don’t like the idea of something that looks like her that can read our minds or hurt us.”

“Is that why you’re thinking so much about it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is the only reason you’re helping because you’re afraid of the robot? Or is it something else?”

“What else would there be?”

“Guilt, maybe. For how you treated Luz.”

“… That has nothing to do with this. This is about Amity and Luz’s mom getting hurt by that thing.”

“And you’ll have to talk to her if we go see Amity tomorrow.”

“… Yeah. I know.”

“What are you going to tell her?”

“…”

“The truth?”

“… I don’t know. I mean, how do you explain to someone’s mom why you’ve been bullying their kid for a year?”

“The same way you explained it to me. That Luz was too weird, or whatever. But with more details and stuff.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t go. Amity probably wouldn’t even want to see me.”

“Listen, you said you want to be less of a bitch, remember?”

“I’m pretty sure that was what you wanted from me.”

“Do you regret how you acted?”

“I regret this conversation.”

“Clara!”

“I…. I honestly don’t know how I feel. I just… I just want to help. I think that’s the right thing to do.”

“You know it’s going to get complicated.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

“Find it yet?”

“Nope.”

Emira sighs with frustration as they pour through Amity’s shelves stacked with way too many books. They are running on borrowed time. Mother and Father could be home any minute for dinner, and they did not want to be caught in their sister’s room, much less try to explain why they needed a specific book on constructs.

As if sensing her thoughts, Edric glances her way. “Are we really not going to tell them about you-know-what?”

“No!” She hisses, “And you know why, right?”

“Of course!” He makes his way over to the desk, shaking his head. Just because he knew the true reason why they had to keep their parents in the dark about the simulacrum doesn’t mean he agrees with it. The reasons they have before were all valid, but one trumped them all. “It’s because it looks like Luz.”

“Exactly. Mother hates Luz after the showcase. She thinks she’s a bad influence for Amity. So if she leaned someone intentionally made a construct in her image, and it hurt Amity-“

“She’ll use that as an excuse to keep them apart. But Luz is so good for her! And you know it’s only a matter of time before our parents find out, anyway.” He sighs, sliding open the desk drawer as he searches.

“They are not going to find out. We’ll make sure Luz doesn’t say anything when we see her tomorrow.” She looks through the shelves with an exasperated sigh. “Ed, the book’s right here! How did you miss-?”

She’s cut off by noises from downstairs. Their parents are home. She yanks the heavy tome from the shelf, heading for the door when she stops. Ed is still behind her, staring down into the desk. “Come on!”

“Em, look at this,” he whispers, unmoving.

“What are you-?” She’s now by his side, looking down, and immediately understands. “-oh.”

There’s a moment of sad silence between them. Words unsaid but understood. They find one another’s hands and squeeze, as they always do when stressed. When they need to remind each other that everything, somehow, will be okay.

They are so wrapped up in their thoughts that they don’t notice the door open until it’s too late.

“What are you doing in here?” Mother asks, arms folded. The twins both flinch, Emira dropping the book with a loud thud. Mother’s piercing gaze falls on it, her frown deepening.

As Em awkwardly bends to pick it up, Ed steps in front of the desk, pushing it closed and cooly replying “School assignment. We figured no one had a better library than Mittens.”

Odalia’s frown fades to a neutral expression. It’s an obvious lie, but there seems to be none of their usual mischief behind it, so she’ll let is pass. For now. Her expression turns just a touch more hopeful. “Have you heard anything at school?”

Both twins look down, Em clutching the book tightly. “Not yet. But there are rumors. People asking about her.” She won’t mention those rumors are partially their fault, of course.

Mother sighs heavily. “Perhaps it’s time we have someone look into this.” She shakes her head in resignation. The Emperor’s Coven prying into the Blight family affairs was… unwelcome, to say the least. But if it helped them find Amity, then it would be worth it.

Panic surged through the twins. No! The coven can’t know! “Wait! Um, we didn’t finish asking everyone in school yet,” Em explains.

“Yeah, we weren’t able to talk to some of Amity’s friends. Let’s finish with them first, tomorrow, before we tell the Coven,” Ed adds.

Odalia’s eyes narrow. Now they’re definitely hiding something. But again, she couldn’t pick up any of their tells concerning mischief. Whatever they knew, they weren’t at fault. But she doesn’t want to press the issue and cause a fight. And she really doesn’t want to get the Coven involved.

“Fine. Ask them tomorrow. If there’s no news by the end of the day, I’ll contact Kikimora and ask for her assistance.” She sighs wearily, the bite gone from her voice. “Go wash up for dinner.”

The twins hurry passed her without a word. Odalia just closes her eyes, not even trying to look at the book Em is carrying. She’s just so tired of this. Amity’s disappearance has the whole family on edge, and it’s all she can do to keep from lashing out at everyone around her. No. She must keep her emotions in check. She must be cool and in control in all things. She must keep the peace, and be mindful of her own words. Even in difficulty, no, especially in difficulty, the Blight family mustn’t show weakness.

She opens her eyes and is about to leave the room when she remembers how she found the twins. She turns back, looking over Amity’s desk. There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual. She slowly opens the drawer and her heart sinks.

Sitting in the drawer is a block of palistrom wood, half-carved into the shape of a cat. Beside it are a stack of sketches, complete with color ideas and a list of crossed out names. Amity had been so excited to make her palisman, especially now that many of her classmates had their own. She’d be done by now, if she hadn’t run out of the house Saturday morning without telling anyone. If she had come back-

Odalia slams the drawer shut, rattling the books and paperweights above it. She breathes slowly, stilling her emotions. Her blue eyes search the desk and wall for any sign, any clue, anything at all.

They linger for a moment on that picture from Grom. Amity smiling at the human, two other witches cheering beside them.

Finding nothing of worth, Odalia leaves her youngest’s bedroom, dark and empty once more.

“Luz! Don’t go!”

Eda reaches toward her, golden eyes wide with worry as feathers sprout from her arm.

Luz shakes her head sadly, tears in her eyes. The portal door looms behind her. Through it’s shimmering kaleidoscope of colors, Eda can faintly make out the outline of Camila Noceda.

“I’m sorry!” Luz cries with a voice shaky, “I want to stay, but I can’t! She needs me!”

“I need you!” Eda begs. She takes a step closer but stumbles, hearing the bones in her legs snap and rearrange. There’s no pain, just a growing dread as her body shifts and her eyes blacken. “Please! Stay with me!”

“I’m sorry!” Luz repeats, standing at the threshold. She turns to look back, an outstretched arm for her mentor, but a tan hand stretches through the portal and pulls her in. The portal door closes, shutters, and vanishes.

“No!” The Owl Beast howls, it’s transformation complete, roaring to the empty sky.

Eda catapults upward, eyes snapping open. She’s in her room, sitting in her nest. Hands wrap around herself, searching before relief floods in. No feathers. She hadn’t transformed. She took a swig of bitter elixir just in case.

Even now the dream is fading, but she can recall the visceral terror she had felt. The worry, the loss. No. None of that happened. Nothing like that is going to happen. She won’t lose Luz. Not like that,

Not even to her mother.

But even though she knows that Luz is in her room, safe and asleep, Eda reasons she’ll feel better after checking on her.

She creeps through the dark house, slowly, quietly opening the door to Luz’s room. Her eyes quickly adjust to the dim interior, making out the open window and the vine stretching through it. The empty bedroll and the missing cloak.

Great.

She turns back down the hall, about to go downstairs when she spies light within Lilith’s room. Eda slinks closer, as quiet as she can, listening in to her sister’s voice.

“I have traveled the length and breadth of the Titan. I have studied the forbidden tomes within the Emperor’s Castle. I had mastered all nine disciplines of magic. I have fought all manor of demons and beasts. And not once, in all my years, have I heard of anything capable of producing ‘rainbow screams.’”

“A simple ‘no’ would have been enough,” King grumbles.

Lilith shrugs. “It didn’t have the same weight.”

“So you really have no idea what I am?” The demon asks with thinly veiled impatience.

“I’m afraid not. Your appearance, your history, the place you were born, it’s all a mystery. But a mystery that Edalyn, Luz, and I wish to help you solve.”

King just sighs, too tired to remain angry. “Thanks. It’s just… frustrating. Not knowing anything about what I am, or what I’m going to be.”

“I believe we all feel that way, sometimes.” Eda peers into the cracked open door to see her sister frowning at the coven mark on her wrist. After losing most of her magic, the mark faded significantly, almost impossible to see against her pale skin. But one could still make it out as she traces the faint image, a permanent reminder of the mistakes Lilith had made. She looks back up, forcing a smile. “Have you spoken to Hooty about your concerns? He is surprisingly knowledgeable about demons.”

“He wanted to do some weird health class thing earlier. Said I don’t fit the usual ‘3 B’s’ for demons. I know he’s trying to help but… I don’t think he has real answers for me, either.”

He jumps down from the Lilith’s desk, heading for the door. “It’s fine. Right now we need to focus on Luz. My mysteries can wait.”

“Speaking of Luz,” Eda suddenly pushes into the room, startling it’s occupants, “have either of you seen her? She’s not in her room.”

Lilith shakes her head, but Eda zeroes in on King’s sudden panic. “You know something, don’t you?”

He hesitates, looking away. “Was her window open?”

“… Yes,” the Owl Lady replies, her eyes widening. The vine glyph was strange, but Luz knows better then to go outside this late. She wouldn’t have gone anywhere, would she?

King looks down, twiddling his fingers nervously. “I promised her I wouldn’t say.”

Eda towers over him, hands on her hips. “And you’re just a kid, like her. While you’re in my house, you listen to me, King Clawthorne!” Lilith gives Eda an amused smile that she ignores. “So spill it. Where is she?”

King sighs, resigned. “It’s not so much where she is. It’s who she’s with….”

“Titan alive,” Hunter groans, rubbing his temples, “Are you going to have a story like this every time we talk?”

“God, I hope not,” Luz laughs nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. Repeating the story again, reliving all of Mom’s worries and Amity’s tears, the imposter’s hatred and fear…. She squeezes her eyes shut, trying to remember what her mom and Eda had said. There’s no need to worry. The simulacrum is gone. Amity’s going to be okay.

But every time she retells the tale and witness someone’s fresh reactions, Luz can’t help but feel some of the same anxiety as before. Despite all the assurances she’s received, every retelling has taken more out of her. She opened her eyes to find the Golden Guard watching her, concerned, and flashes him a weary smile. “Sorry, long day. And I’ve got school tomorrow. I should really get going.”

He nods sympathetically. “Yeah, it’s getting late. Maybe next time you’ll teach me some more glyphs.” He teases, earning a chuckle from the human. That’s why they started meeting, after all, but now they met twice and only discussed Amity’s disappearance. Hunter stands, motioning for Rascal to land on his shoulder. With his back to Luz, he allows a bit more warmth into his voice. “And uh, if you need any help with this whole portal thing, let me know. Titan’s blood is extremely rare, but I have an idea for something that can amplify magic.”

Luz blinks at him, unsure how to respond. Hunter, the Golden Guard, head of the Emperor’s Coven, wants to help? Sure, they’ve been on good terms for about two weeks now, but really? She couldn’t stop herself from vocalizing “Why?”

Hunter turns around, co*cking an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘why’?”

“I mean, why would you help me? You barely know me. You have nothing to… gain…” Luz’s eyes grow wide, “ … unless you want to learn about the portal.”

Hunter throws his hands up defensively. “No no no! I promise! This has nothing to do with my uncle! I… I actually want to help. I guess I… kinda consider you my friend.” He says the last sentence with some hesitation, almost bashfulness, worried he may have misinterpreted their strange relationship.

There’s a knot in her stomach, the accusation tasting vile on her tongue. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why…” she pauses, frowning. No, she does know why. She can identify the source of the insecurity, and it’s not from repeating the story like she thought. It’s something else entirely. Something more basic.

Hunter lowers his hands. “It’s okay. I get wanting to be cautious. But… whatever we talk about here, it stays between us. I promise.”

“Thank you,” she sighs, slowly calming again, but feeling like she has to explain herself. “It’s just, I saw… I was reminded of someone today. Someone who used to be my best friend. My only friend, for awhile. But I ruined it. I was… too much for her. And after today… and what Amity had said-“

Why did it have to be you, Luz? She quickly shakes her head, hugging her knees close. “Sorry. After all that, and everything you and I have been through… it’s hard to believe you want to be my friend.”

Hunter nods, leaning against a tree as he considers his words. “This is all new to me. I… haven’t really had friends before. I was brought up in the castle. There was never anyone else my age. My uncle had me start training when I was young, and once Lilith defected… well, I was among the most competent members of the coven left.

“But, more than that, ever since our adventure in Latissa, I’ve been… paying more attention to the going’s on in the castle. There’s a lot of things that… don’t sit right with me. I still want to help my uncle, but-“ Hunter folds his arms, lost in thought. Memories of hidden tomes and secret rituals, things he was not supposed to see. He hadn’t put all the pieces together yet, but the things he had found about his uncle… about himself… “- let’s just say you’re one of the first people who was nice to me. And I want to repay the favor.” He frowns, looking unsure again. “That’s what friends do, right?”

“Yes, yes it is. Thank you,” she whispers, uncurling herself. Without warning she jumps up and rushes him, wrapping him in a tight hug.

Hunter awkwardly pats her back until she releases him. “We’ll bring your friend back. Whatever it takes.”

“Yeah. Amity, my friend.” She looks away as she feels her cheeks heat up, but he caught the look with a coy smirk.

“Or maybe she’s more than your friend?” He teases, and her blush grows brighter, even in the dim glyph-light.

“I don’t know where we stand,” she admits, smiling sheepishly at the taller boy. “But… yeah. I like her more than a friend.”

Realization spreads across his face. “Oh! That’s what you were trying to tell me last time, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was. And you weren’t listening!” She growls, more embarrassed then mad.

“Oooooh! Luz is in looooove!” Hunter laughs, prompting a scowl from the human.

“You’re no help!” She grumbles, pushing him away.

Hunter stumbles, bracing against his staff with another laugh. “No, actually, I am no help here. No kids my age, so no crushes to distract me. Good luck, lover-girl.”

She groans, rolling her eyes. “Like I’d want dating advice from you.” She meets his magenta eyes and that wide, ridiculous tooth-gapped grin, before they both collapse in to easy laughter.

Her gaze lingers on the notch in his ear. It reminds her too much of Amity’s injuries, so she quickly looks away, composing herself. “I, uh, should go.”

“Yeah, yeah. You have to talk to Odalia tomorrow. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Good luck." He gives her a sincere smile as he turns away, hand on the Golden Staff, but hesitates. He clears his throat, his tone serious once more. “Hey, maybe, can you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

He debates for a moment about how much to reveal. Just like his uncle’s portal, this seems like too much for her now. But, if she could get answers… “That book. History of Constructs. Could you let me know if it says anything about Grimwalkers?”

“Grimwalkers?” Luz repeats with a frown. “What’s that?”

Hunter sighs, mounting the staff. He pauses for a moment, looking down into his mask before putting it on. “That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

A scream pierces the dark forest in the dead of night. Far from civilization, a multitude of desperate cries and metallic bangs echo through the woods. Shouts and pleading sobs until a cacophonous series of snaps and clicks and a final, mournful, shuddering sigh, and the forest goes quiet again.

Soft, weary moans escape Luz’s throat as she rubs her left shoulder, the arm finally bent back into place. There’s no pain, but the crushing sense of frailty, of uselessness, was more than she could handle. Were she in the Demon Realm, the Titan’s magic would help her repair even the most severe damage, given enough time. But here, in this forsaken world, she had to conserve her remaining pool of magic as long as possible. She can’t rely on it to repair her, so she needs to fix herself as best she can.

A few more screams later, her leg is twisted mostly back into place. She sinks to the forest floor, doubled over, utterly spent. Between the fight with Amity and dragging herself this deep into the woods, Luz has never felt so weak. So alone. So worthless. She had everything! The mission! A warm home! A loving, unknowing parent to care for her! And she had to give it all up because of Amity and the real Luz.

All she can do now is sit here and recover her strength. Recover until she can heal, or return to Gravesfield in search of anything magical to rejuvenate herself with. Until then, she’ll sit here and wait, and consider the many ways in which she can kill Amity Blight.

A buzz in her pocket distracts her from her murderous dreams. Luz pulls out the purple scroll, a bit singed but otherwise fine. She stares hungrily at it for a moment. This little scroll is full of magic. Magic that can repair her, restore her, let her kill the wounded witch and reassert her control over Camila! But no… the scroll is her only means of communication with those who sent her. She can’t lose contact with them. They’re all she has left.

Her hand shakes as she opens the scroll. She had told them what had happened at the Noceda house. She had to. They’d find out, anyway. They always did. But that doesn’t easy the anxiety in her stomach as she pulls up the new message.

You said you had this under control.

Luz’s whole body is shaking, tightening her grip so she doesn’t just throw the scroll and lose it in the dark forest. She wants to scream out in rage and frustration. How dare they! How dare those idiots in their ivory towers a world away judge her! She doesn’t need their ridicule right now. Did they even care what she went through? How she almost died? Or is she just a prop for them, a tool, who’s loss is of no major inconvenience?

Of course, she knows the truth in her metal heart, but it doesn’t make it ache any less.

Quick fingers type out a reply, one she has to edit to try and keep her tone more neutral. I had no way of knowing Luz could speak with her mom. If it weren’t for that, I’d have everything under control.

Was that true? Maybe if she hadn’t been so distracted with Amity, she could have paid more attention to Camila. Maybe then she could have noticed her talking to Luz before things went wrong. Maybe she could have killed Amity before Camila rushed home. Maybe, maybe, maybe-

The response came a minute later. There are too many witnesses. Recover and monitor. Do not interfere. Keep me informed of their conversations with the Isles.

Luz frowned at it before confirming her orders. Do not interfere. So no elaborate, well deserved revenge on the witch who stole her home and her life. Not yet at least. She allowed herself a small grin. Her makers will eventually handle Amity. She knows too much now. Luz just hopes that she’ll be the one to take care of the lost Blight.

Any news on your second objective?

Luz rolls her eyes. Why can’t they talk like normal people? No news since camp. But with my free time I’ll check in more often.

Keep me informed.

That was it. No more conversation for tonight. No discussion of her current state, cold and broken and alone. They don’t care about her beyond what she can do for them. And that’s normal! She’s a simulacrum, not a person. Despite all that she’s stolen, she will never be Luz.

So why does being alone hurt so much?

Luz misses Camila. She misses her laughter and her smiles and her warm hugs and her delicious meals. Luz doesn’t even need to eat, but there was something so satisfying about being given something out of love instead of stealing it out of need. Even if the love was ignorant and misplaced, it was love directed at her.

She wonders if she’ll ever feel loved again.

No. I don’t deserve love. I’m not alive. I’m a machine. I was built for a purpose and I failed. I’m lucky they gave me another purpose at all.

Best not to dwell on that. No, Luz needs to think and plan. It’ll take a few days to recover her magic to repair herself with. If she can sneak to the museum, she could take some of the magic from all those Hexas cards Hopkins somehow got his hands on. That will save her some time. Then she can properly spy on Amity and keep her benefactors informed.

Several days alone, in the woods. How boring.

Or maybe not. She looks back at the scroll in her hands. Amity’s scroll, still able to connect to the Demon Realm. An idea takes shape as she scans Amity’s messages from her worried family and friends, then browses Penstagram and other social platforms. Quite a few people were concerned for her. Some more obvious then others. Thirty minutes browsing various posts and pictures and likes quickly gave her a glimpse into Amity's social life. Coupled with what she had learned from the witch's thoughts, and her little idea became a full fledged plan.

A wicked smirk spreads across thin lips as she selects a witch and sends a short, simple message.

The flurry of replies over the next few minutes only makes her grin wider.

Rather than respond, Luz lies down on the soft ground to get some rest. It’s going to be a long few days while she recovers.

But maybe she’ll have some fun, nonetheless.

Sometime long after midnight, a witch awakens to the chime of her scroll. She grumbles, tossing in bed, lazily summoning the infuriating gadget. Who would message her at this hour? What could possibly be important enough to wake her?

Her eyes blink rapidly against the bright light, slowly focusing, and as the haze lifts from her tired mind her scowl becomes a confused frown.

“Amity?”

She blinks her three dull blue eyes against the harsh light, worry, anger, and confusion all mixing as Boscha squints at her scroll.

“What do you mean, ‘don’t trust Luz?’”

Chapter 23: Okay

Chapter Text

“Are you okay, Luz?”

She blinks, the memory of Amity crying fading away as she returns to reality. Right now, reality is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a single bite in it resting in her hand, sitting with her friends in the Hexside cafeteria.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She gives Willow a smile, but it falters under her friend’s knowing gaze. “I’m just… nervous, I guess.”

“About what?” Gus chimed in much too loudly with a mouthful of lunch.

Luz just sighs. What isn’t there to be nervous about? Amity is trapped on Earth, and last she saw she was bawling her eyes out. An imposter has been living in her place and tore the house apart fighting Amity. Who knows where that thing is now. Her poor mom has to take care of the witch and deal with her daughter being stuck in the Demon Realm. But most of her worry now is- “About what I have to do after school today.”

Willow nods solemnly. Gus looks confused, chewing thoughtfully, before his eyes light up. “Oh! Right, you have to-“ His much too loud realization is cut off by two hands to his mouth, courtesy of the plant witch beside him and the human reaching across the table. Luz quickly looks around, but everyone is used to their outbursts by now. No one so much as glances at their table. Gus nods bashfully, lowering his voice once they pull away. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Luz looks down at her sandwich again, now more anxious than hungry. She had woken up early with a quick breakfast to meet the Blight twins, promising not to interact with them or talk about their sister today. Then they would meet up after school on the way to the manor, where Luz will have to tell their parents what happened to Amity.

Which gave Luz only a few hours to think what she would say to the people who almost had her killed for simply distracting Amity from her schoolwork. How will they reach to this news?

“They’re scary,” Willow confirms, keeping her voice low. “But you’ll have Ed and Em with you to help. Did Eda give you any advice?”

“No. I left early to meet them, so Eda was still asleep. And Lilith… she kept giving me these weird looks, like she was trying to figure something out.” She shakes her head. That had been odd… but Lilith was always thinking about stuff, right? She had a list of books, so many she was focused on the portal? That was probably it.

“Why did you have to meet them early?” Gus asks.

“For this!” Luz pops open her satchel, lifting the book within just enough for her friends to see the title: ‘A History of Constructs.’ “I’m gonna read it during study period after this. Maybe it’ll help with the doppelgänger problem. You guys want to join me?”

Gus nods enthusiastically, but the plant witch shakes her head. “I would, but I have to go to the greenhouse to take care of the skulltrap. Sorry.”

Luz shudders, remembering her brief encounter with that appropriately-named fern. “That’s okay! We’ll tell you what we find out.” She frowns, remembering they don’t share anymore classes today, and after talking to the Blights and calling Mom and Amity on the phone it’s going to be late. “Uh, tomorrow I guess?”

Willow smiles and nods as the bell screams. “Tomorrow.”

“Are you okay, Eda?”

The wild witch grumbled, stumbling into the kitchen and rubbing her eyes. No, no she was not okay. She barely slept all night, and whenever she did sleep she kept having dreams about the Owl Beast. She didn’t transform, not once, much to her relief several times during the night, but she could feel her curse simmering beneath the surface. All the stress from the weekend, and Eda’s new concerns with the Blights, the simulacrum, Luz’s Mom… it’s all a bit much for the Owl Lady.

But of course, she won’t tell her sister any of that.

“I’m fine. Didn’t sleep well is all.” She poured herself a generous mug of apple blood, ignoring Lilith’s pointed look.

“This isn’t about you-know-who, is it?” Lilith questions, raising an eyebrow.

“Which one?” Eda replies dryly, sipping from her mug.

“The Golden Gu-“ As her sister answers she slurps louder, ridiculously so, smothering her response. Lilith waits for Eda to stop, only to get cut off again by another obnoxious gulp. This continues a few times, during which the older woman’s face grows redder, eye twitching, and the younger’s grin widens behind her mug. Messing with Lilly never fails to improve Eda’s mood.

The elder Clawthorne pinches her nose with an exasperated groan. “It’s too early for your childish antics, Edalyn.”

Her laughter becomes a choking sputter, coughing up apple blood. “What!? It’s like, noon!”

“My point still stands. Keep this up and I won’t share my new portal theory with you.” She smirks, watching her sister’s eyes grow wide.

“New theory? Whatcha got, sis?” She bounces in her seat, positively giddy for a distraction from her thoughts.

“It’s a work in progress, but I need some more information to help make sense of it all. That’s where you come in. I need you to pick up some books from the public library.” She passes Eda a slip of paper, containing a long, long list of titles.

“The library, huh? I think I still owe them some snails.” She looks over the list, whistling as she realizes just how extensive it is. “Jeez, Lilly, we could start our own library with all these. I’ll take King with me. Cut down the time to find them all.” Eda stuffs the list in her hair and leans back, resting her feet on the table.

Lilith raises an eyebrow at Eda’s bunny slippers. “Why were you still in bed so late, anyway?”

Eda frowns, opening her mouth to give some wiseass retort. But whatever she was going to say dies on her lips as the memory of her latest stressor fills her mind. She sits up, flopping over the table with a dramatic groan. “Because I don’t know what to do about Golden Boy. I didn’t want to confront Luz about it before school.”

Lilith nods, her annoyance melting away into sympathy. “What King told us last night was certainly a surprise.”

Eda’s voice is muffled by the table she’s currently face-planted on. “I just don’t understand why she’d keep that from us, from me, after everything we said-“

Her sister sighs. “Just because we had a breakthrough with her internalized guilt and worries doesn’t mean she’s ready to discuss everything on her mind. She probably thinks she’s protecting him from us.”

“Well, she is. I told Hooty to owl pellet him if he ever shows up here.” Eda sits up and chuckles, imagining the house demon belching up a certain owlish mask. Her eyes narrow to slits as she watches her sister warily. “I’m surprised with you, Lily. I thought you’d be more upset by Luz’s new friend.”

The older woman nods, carefully choosing her words. “I was, initially. But the more I thought about it…. Luz has a good heart. She sees the best in people. Look how she befriended you, and King, and Amity. Even me. She forgave me after everything I’ve done. If there’s any good in this ‘Hunter,’ Luz will bring it out.”

Eda stares down at her mug, nearly empty. “Maybe. Luz does have a habit of making friends out of her enemies. But then again, Goldie did try to boil us the first time we met. Maybe that’s no different from kidnapping someone and throwing them on spikes.” She gulps the rest of her drink, ignoring the bitter regret on her sister’s face as she slams her mug down. “He’s not the one I’m really worried about, anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Lilith asks cautiously.

“Belos.” Eda gestures with her hand, catching her staff as it flies in. She unscrews Owlbert whom flaps over to grab the bottle of apple blood. If she’s going to talk about this some more, she needs another drink.

“Belos is smart and manipulative. He used you to get to me, and then me to get to Luz to give him my portal. Maybe Golden Gourd is a good kid with no ulterior motives. Maybe. But if his boss finds out where he goes at night, we’re gonna have problems.”

“So what do we do?” King asks, poking his head into the kitchen.

Eda thinks for a moment, looking from the small demon to her sister. She smacks her lips, leaning back in her chair as she gives what sounds like the most obvious answer in the world. “Nothing.”

Lilith blinks, confused. “Nothing?”

“Exactly. Nothing.” She leans further back, resting her slippered feet on the table again. “You and me aren’t supposed to know about this. If she wants to keep it from us, fine. Titan knows I wasn’t always up front with Mom when I was that age. No reason to expect the same from her. So we wait and listen, but don’t do anything until Luz tells us.”

Lilith and King clearly don’t like that cynical answer. “But, what if something goes wrong?” King presses, tapping his claws together.

Eda shakes her head. “It’s not a matter of if, but when. And when it goes south, we bail Luz out. Until then, we leave it alone.”

“Are you really okay with that?” Lilith asks with a concerned look.

“Of course,” Eda lies, downing her mug, making it clear she is done with this conversation.

King sighs in resignation, heading for Luz’s room. “If that’s settled, I’ll go get the echo mouse so we can get some research done.”

“Actually, King, you’re going with Edalyn to the library today,” Lilith calls before he gets too far.

Eda nods, standing and screwing Owlbert back on her staff. “Come on, short-stuff. Lily has a new theory for the portal. Gave me quite a list of books on all kinds of subjects. I’ll need your help tracking them down. Maybe we’ll have something to tell Luz when she gets back.”

“Why can’t you go?” King asks, looking back at Lilith.

“Because I’m technically still a traitor to the empire and a wanted criminal. Even if the guards are too lazy or incompetent to arrest me, I’d rather keep a low profile.”

That was a good enough answer for King, whom climbs up on Eda’s shoulder. They say goodbye to Lilith and Hooty before taking off towards Bonesborough. Eda has a grin on her face as the wind whips her hair. They’ve got an objective! A goal she and Furball can accomplish, and keep her mind away from all those pesky annoyances like the Golden Guard.

But there’s something scratching at the back of her head, some meddling idea she can’t quite recall. “Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?”

“The list?” King suggests. Eda reaches into her mane, finding it without hassle. Huh, that’s not it. She shrugs. Whatever it is, it’s probably not important.

She leans forward to pick up speed, zooming towards town, ignorant of Luz’s uncharged phone left in the shadows of her room.

“Are you okay, Clara?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“‘Cause we’ve been standing out here for 3 minutes and you haven’t knocked yet.”

The blonde sighs, avoiding her friend’s eyes. “I’m fine. Just… nervous.”

Melony nods, understanding. “Hey, no matter what happens, I’ll be right here with you.” She assures her with a hand on the cheerleader’s shoulder.

Clara nods with a grateful smile. She raises her hand to knock, only for the door to open before she has the chance. Camila Noceda blinks down at them in surprise before folding her arms with a frown. “I thought you were the Amazon guy.”

Clara opens her mouth to speak, but a strangled squeak comes out instead. What is wrong with me!? It’s just Luz’s Mom! She’s not that scary.

Camila’s eyes narrow, focused on Clara, who can’t help but stare back in growing panic. When did she get so tall? Maybe this was a bad idea…

Melony clears her throat, drawing their attention. “We-“ she emphasizes the word, shaking Clara’s shoulder “- wanted to check on Amity. If she wants to see us, that is.”

Camila expression softens just a bit, looking over the two teens. Clara flinches as her gaze falls on her, and the mother allows herself to grin. She turns to the taller girl with a warm smile. “You may go in. I would like a word with Clara first.”

Both girls tense. Melony tightens her grip on her friend’s shoulder. “I, uh-“

“Now.” The mother’s tone is warm but firm. Melony hesitates before walking by Camila into the house. She turns back to meet Clara’s eyes with a forced smile and a thumbs up before the door closes.

Traitor! is all Clara thinks before she meets Camila’s eyes again. She swallows, straightening her posture, trying to maintain some shred of dignity. She’s done this before. She’s talked to teachers and coaches and other parents about her behavior before. How she can be rude, and standoffish, and even a bully.

But she usually had some excuse or scapegoat to blame. And they never looked at her like how Mrs. Noceda is looking at her now. Like she was personally responsible for all of her daughter’s troubles.

After everything that happened between her and Luz, Clara knows she deserves whatever is coming.

Though she’s not exactly looking forward to it.

Even though no one else is paying attention, Clara feels as though a hundred eyes are upon her. Watching her. Judging her. She finds her voice and quietly asks “Can we do this somewhere more private?”

Camila’s face softens as she glances down the street. The neighbors ignored them, going about their day. She doesn’t need the whole neighborhood watching her scream at her daughter’s bully. Regardless of her actions, Clara is still just a kid, and an anxious one at that.

But that doesn’t mean she’ll let her off the hook so easily.

She doesn’t want to go back in the house, where Amity and Melony would undoubtedly overhear them. Another location comes to mind, so she turns to lead Clara around the house and into the woods beyond. “Come with me.”

Clara hesitates for a moment before following after Mrs. Noceda.

“Are you okay, Melony?”

The teen jumped, looking back to find Amity in the kitchen, giving her a funny look. Melony had expected her to be in the living room and ended up missing her. She laughed a bit to calm her nerves. “Yeah! Yeah, you just startled me. How are you?”

“Better.” Amity walks passed her, retuning to her seat on the coach, setting a glass of water on a coaster. She brushed her hair with her hands, carefully avoiding the new wrappings on her face as she gave Melony a small smile. “A lot better today.”

There was something about her smile that piqued Melony’s interest. She had only met the witch a few times, and this was certainly the calmest and happiest she’s ever seen her. “Nice! Did something change? Yesterday you… well…” She wrung her hands, not entirely sure how to address yesterday’s breakdown.

Amity nods, “Yeah. Yesterday, with the fight, and my injuries, and Luz, it was all… it was a lot. My life is really complicated back home, and now I’m stuck here. But Ms. Noc- Camila. She told me to call her Camila.” She shakes head, giggling. It’s still so weird to be on a first name basis with Luz's Mom. It went against everything she had been taught about respecting one's parents. “We talked last night, and again this morning, and she helped put some things in perspective.”

“That’s great!” Melony sat a chair, kicking her legs and knocking over something that had been leaning there. “Oops. Wait… what is this for?”

She bends to pick up the fallen object: a red baseball bat. Amity rolls her eyes. “I have no idea. Camila said it was some ‘human magic’ in case the simulacrum comes back.”

“But why is it red?”

Amity shrugs. “Is it supposed to be a different color?”

“Yes? Oh, right. Different worlds.” Melony laughs, setting it back on the floor. “You were saying?”

Amity giggles, leaning back into the couch. “Yeah. It’s so strange. It’s like my life is paused. I’ve never been able just to sit down and do… nothing before. Even when I would get hurt playing Grudgby I still had schoolwork.” She sighs, glancing at the human and realizing someone was missing. “Where’s Clara?”

“She’s, uh, talking to Luz’s Mom.” She frowns, glad the red bat is here, with her, and not outside with Clara. Ms. Noceda is intimidating enough without it.

“Oh? About…?”

Melony just shook her head, and Amity got the message. She took a sip of water, muttering to herself. “I guess Luz isn’t the only one having an uncomfortable talk with someone’s parents today.”

Now Melony looks confused. “What about her?”

Amity sighs. “Luz said she hasn’t told my parents where I am yet. They are… difficult.” She shakes her head, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. Most of the stress in her life comes from her parents, and right now, as far from them as possible, she feels like she can finally breathe. “Let’s just say I don’t envy her right now.”

The human frowns, noting the concern on the pale girl’s face. She also noticed just how many times Amity was saying Luz’s name, and how her smile grew brighter each time. “I’m sorry. Let’s not talk about them now. How about a distraction?”

Melony turns on the tv, finding some strange cartoon about frog people. They watch in a comfortable silence. Every now and then she glances at the witch, noticing how she seems to be smiling at a picture of young Luz more than the tv itself.

No one asked Luz if she is okay.

And that’s fine, she told herself. She’s not a person. She’s a machine. A tool. No one cares how their hammer is. All they care about is getting their job done. If the hammer is damaged in the process, then it is either repaired or it is cast aside.

She isn’t ready to be cast aside. Not by a long shot.

She's okay. She's supposed to be okay.

Luz opens her eyes, smiling down at the scroll. She still hasn’t responded. Not yet. Watching the stack of questions from the witch grow longer made her happy. She wondered just how much trouble this one girl could cause. How much trouble she could give the real Luz.

Of course, she has no way of knowing. No way to find out if anything comes of her mischief. But it felt good. It felt like she was doing something, even if only for her amusem*nt.

It was something of her own. Not something stolen, not something demanded by others. It was her little plan, her entertainment.

Luz closes her eyes and focuses once more on repairing herself, weaving the burgeoning energies within her through the bent and broken parts of her body, knitting metal and stone back into place. It’s a painfully slow process. Without the Titan’s magic, she can only rely on her internal power, borrowing some of her artificial lifespan in order to rebuild herself. If she ever returns to the Demon Realm, she can restore her internal energies there. But until then, she has to hope whatever power she has within her will be enough.

Eventually she’ll need to leave the forest for some new clothes that aren’t torn and burned, stained with her black blood and purple abomination goo. Maybe she can find some magic somewhere as well. Jenkins had some Hexas Holden decks, somehow. Once she’s fixed she can use them to restore her energies. Then she can confront Amity once more, and with a little magic on her side she'll be even stronger than before.

But until then she rests and resumes her repair, a smile on her lips as she imagines the chaos caused by a confused, headstrong witch.

“Are you okay, Clyde?”

The fern shuddered in response, keeping a respectful distance from the plant witch. Willow smiled to herself. Skulltraps are notoriously difficult to raise, but she had managed to keep Clyde behaved since he sprouted. He gave some other witches trouble, and had nearly eaten Luz the first time she came to the greenhouse, but the plant always listened to Willow.

Luz had once called Clyde a piranha plant, which was not an inaccurate comparison, although those are aquatic. She seemed somewhat alarmed when Willow had corrected her.

She poured some water into Clyde’s pot, humming a tune to herself as she meandered around the greenhouse, tending to the other plants. Her thoughts wandered to Luz and Gus. Undoubtedly they are reading that book now, learning more about the simulacrum that threatened their friend. She wished she could join them. Willow hated the idea of being left out. She knew they’d tell her whatever they learned. But she had been burned by fake friends and empty promises in the past. That’s why she was so upset with Luz not telling her what was going on with Amity. Despite her newfound confidence, Willow still felt like an outcast from time to time. Like she’s sometimes left out, like she didn’t really deserve her friends.

Stop thinking like that, Willow scolded herself. Gus and Luz are my best friends. They always make sure to include me. They are allowed to have their own interests, too. Like Luz trying to build a new portal to home and going on adventures. Gus has his Human Appreciation Society and… whatever he does on Saturdays with Mattholomule. Something about illusions? He said he couldn’t talk about it.

Besides, I have other friends now as well. Amelia and Jerbo and other Plant students. Edric and Emira, Viney and Barcus. Most of the grudgby team is friendly with me now after our game. And there are others, like that kid with the beak that’s always encouraging me! I’ve got lots of friends now!

And then there’s Amity.

Willow sighs to herself, leaning against a table with her head in her hands. There’s still a little sting sometimes when she thinks about Amity, but her friend-turned-bully-turned-friend-again had been nothing but kind lately. It had been strange seeing her hang out with them for the last couple weeks, but slowly and surely their rivalry has blossomed into a real friendship. There were times when it still felt weird, but both girls were putting in the effort to listen to and encourage one another.

Of course, what was also a bit weird was watching Luz and Amity circle around one another, both clearly interested in the other but having no idea what to do about it.

Seeing them stumble around each other and try to play it cool was equally amusing and frustrating. As much as Willow enjoyed teasing them about it, she was getting tired of waiting for one of them to make a move. Now that they are trapped in separate worlds, that probably wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

Willow shook her head. She’s just wasting time, ruminating on her friends’ romance. Right now she needs to focus and get her work here done, so she can give her full attention to Luz and figuring out the portal issue.

As she works, she hears someone enter the greenhouse behind her. She doesn’t think much of it; there are plenty of other Plant students that come and go during study period. She often sees Amelia come in after lunch as well. She isn’t paying the other person any mind when she hears them exhale, then let out a muffled shriek.

Willow turns around. Clyde has the student, a rather tall girl wearing a yellow Potions uniform, by the head. She’s flailing about, trying to push off its enormous jaws, screaming in muffled fear and rage.

“Hey!” Willow calls to the student, rushing over to the pair. “I need you to calm down! Skulltraps only squeeze tighter when their prey struggles!”

The girl either couldn’t hear her or wasn’t listening, still trying to pry the fern off her. Willow tried to grab the girl’s arms but was pushed back by the trapped, flailing student, shocking the plant witch with her strength. Willow noticed her right hand trace a circle, causing a flame to light up in her palm.

“No!” Willow cried, grabbing the girl’s hand, extinguishing the flame. “That won’t help! Just calm down. Stop moving, and he’ll let you go!” She took the girl’s other hand, and slowly she felt her stop resisting. She still trembling, tightly squeezing Willow’s hands in a strong, calloused grip. Willow looks down at them, feeling an odd flutter in her stomach she can’t quite place.

There’s a low exhale as the the skulltrap relaxes as well. Willow lets go of the girl’s left hand, not noticing as it tried to catch her’s again, to reach up and tickle the plant’s stem. It flinched under her touch and finally released its prey, who collapsed with a wet splat.

“Good boy, Clyde. You didn’t mean to scare anyone, right big guy?” Willow chuckled, relieved, gently tickling the rustling fern as it retracted it’s head back into it’s leafy body. She turns to offer the girl a hand, but froze in recognition. “B-Boscha!?”

There was no mistaking her. Boscha lay on the dirt-packed floor of the greenhouse, wiping off sticky drool in disgust. Her whole face is red with anger as she traces a circle, summoning a grudgby towel to dry herself with. Her three eyes meet Willow’s two and she scowls, slapping away the offered hand. “Back off, loser! Why’d you sic your witch-eater on me!?”

Willow frowns, no longer stunned. “I didn’t,” she huffed, stepping back as the pink-haired witch climbed to her feet. Something unpleasant squirmed in her stomach and she quickly willed it away, not wanting to seem weak in front of the bully. “You didn’t read the sign. You’re lucky I defanged Clyde last week.”

“Yeah, well,-“ Whatever comeback the potions witch had was cut off by coughing as she doubled over, choking out more plant drool.

Willow stood back, hands on her hips waiting for Boscha to compose herself. This went on for over a minute, and she was starting to get concerned. “Are you okay?”

Boscha just gave her a rude gesture without looking. Willow frowned, trying to ignore the somersaults in her gut. Stop feeling bad for her.

Finally the pink-haired bully stopped wretching long enough for Willow to ask “What are you doing here?”

The taller girl grimaced, and for the first time, Willow could finally see Boscha. The prominent bags under all three eyes, where her makeup had been wiped away by the skulltrap’s saliva. The furrowed brow and creased forehead, evident stress and worry in the grudgby captain’s expression. She looks just so tired and unsure, a far cry from her usual confident demeanor.

Seriously, stop feeling bad for freaking Boscha!

She meets Willow’s eyes and seems to shrink a bit as she traces another circle. Her scroll appears, and she hesitantly offers it to the plant witch without a word. Willow takes it and finds on screen a mostly one-sided conversation in a private message. A single line at from someone early in the morning, and a series of increasingly frantic replies from the girl before her. But it’s that first message, and whom sent it, that captures Willow’s attention and makes her breath catch in her throat.

Amity - Don’t trust Luz

Willow blinks, mouth open, reading and rereading the words that her brain won't allow her to comprehend.

Boscha speaks haltingly, not trusting her own voice. “I… I think I need your help, Park.”

Chapter 24: Bullies

Chapter Text

It’s a crisp summer afternoon in Connecticut, one of the last before school begins. As they move deeper into the woods, the trees surround them, cutting off the view of the houses left behind. The sounds of humanity are replaced by leaves brushing in the wind, squirrels scurrying along branches, and the chirping of birds. It’s a peaceful, beautiful day.

Unfortunately, none of this is helping Clara’s anxiety. She’s pretty sure Camila isn’t luring her into the woods to kill her, right?

“Just tell her the truth,” Melony, the voice of Clara’s conscience, whispers in her head. “She won’t like how you treated Luz, but she’ll understand better. You can trust her.”

Clara would have rolled her eyes if she wasn’t so afraid of being caught and misinterpreted by Luz’s Mom. The truth? The real you doesn’t even know the truth.

“Because you don’t trust her,” whispered another that froze the teen’s blood. The voice she hadn’t heard in forever, that had become the source of all her worries and doubts.

“You can’t trust her,” Clara’s Mom continued, “or Luz’s Mom, or anyone. Don’t let them get involved. It’ll just make things complicated. Just one more way they can hurt you.”

“Oh, please,” Melony mocked the demon on Clara’s shoulder, “Luz’s Mom is kind and caring. How could she judge you, when her daughter is-“

“We’re here.”

The arguments in the teen’s head fade as she follows Camila into a small clearing. The woods are quieter here, and theirs a distinct but unfamiliar scent in the air. Her blue eyes follow Camila’s to the lone point of interest: an old, run down cabin. She stares at it uneasily, still not certain that she wasn’t about to be murdered. “What is this place?”

“Apparently, this cabin belongs to a witch named Eda,” Camila explains, her eyes never leaving the old building. “This is where Luz found her way to the Boiling Isles, and where Amity showed up when she arrived here.”

Clara blinked incredulously. “Really? Right here? It’s practically in your backyard!”

“I know. Luz and I would pass by it on walks for years. We watched that little house slowly fall apart. She’d make up stories of whoever lived here. We never thought…”

She sighs wistfully, deep in thought. “Luz only told me about the Boiling Isles yesterday. She was afraid of how I’d react. But… she wasn’t always like that. She used to tell me everything. About her day, about school, her favorite books and shows. And then one day she just… stopped. Maybe… maybe that’s just part of her growing up.”

Camila turns, and Clara could see the worry on her face. The pain and regret the mother held close to her heart. “All I ever wanted was for her to be happy. I didn’t care if she wasn’t the best at school or didn’t have many friends. As long as she was happy, and growing up like she should. Finding herself. That’s all a mother wants for her girl.

“So I thought about it, last night after everything. Was there something I missed from before? Before camp and witches and magic. Did I do something wrong? Did I not encourage her enough? Push her too hard to fit in? Be… normal?” She exhales slowly, defeated. “…I don’t know. But I realized something.”

Camila looked Clara dead in the eyes. Alarm bells scream in the teen’s mind as she swallows, wilting under the mother’s intense gaze. “After she stopped telling me about school, and started keeping things from me. I realized she stopped talking about you, too, Clara.”

The teen’s heart stopped. She knew what this conversation was going to be about, of course. Either that or her getting murdered. That still wasn’t off the table.

Camila glares at the teen, face hardening as she raises her voice. “You were her best friend. You used to do everything together. I remember the play dates and the sleepovers and the camping trips. Even when you stopped coming over, when Luz would complain of other friends leaving the group and teasing her, she’d still talk about you. Her best friend. And then… nothing. Like you disappeared. But you didn’t, did you?”

Clara shook her head and looked down, not trusting her voice, which was fine with Camila as she pressed on.

“I heard how surprised she was to see you yesterday. I saw the look on her face. Like she was ashamed. In pain. The same face she had on whenever I met her in the principal’s office, when some smug bully complained about her.”

Clara frowned, unable to meet the angry mother’s eyes, knowing that she had sometimes been that smug bully.

“Look at me, Clara,” came that stern voice.

She really, really didn’t want to, but she did. She looked up, flinching under Camila’s gaze. Looking into those brown eyes, just a shade darker than her daughter’s, Clara could remember her every interaction with Luz since that fateful day a year and a half ago. Every tease, every shove, every joke at her expense. Every name she called her. Idiot. Luzer. Dumbass. Every snide remark and mocking laugh Clara earned from the peers she hated. Every small, poorly hidden smile from teachers who were frustrated with the problem child that acted out or zoned out or caused some calamity in her usual ignorant way.

Every time Clara lied to herself, saying she was doing this for Luz’s own good, when really, it was just revenge.

“Just tell her,” Melony whispers in her ear.

“Don’t. Just brush her off, like you do everyone else,” Mom whispered in her other.

“What happened between you two?” It was a question, but Camila’s tone made it a command. “What did you do to my girl?”

Clara felt herself go numb under Camila’s gaze. Fear, but also frustration. Ms. Noceda doesn’t understand. Couldn’t understand.

“Then make her understand,” Melony pleaded.

It’s not about what I did to Luz. It’s about what she did to me.

“Titan, how did she fight this thing?” Gus muttered to himself. He turns another page in his illusory copy of ‘A History of Constructs,’ shaking his head.

Luz sighs in agreement, flipping through her actual, physical copy. The more they read about simulacrums, the more her heart clenches in her chest. These things are no joke. Oracle magics, weaponized limbs, incredible strength, speed, and durability. How the hell did Amity beat one of these things?

Wait, no, she didn’t beat it. She fought it to a draw. And it got back up before she did. If Mom hadn’t come home when she did-

Luz shudders, forcing that thought from her mind.

“And they can have other magics, too,” Gus explains as he points to a diagram for Luz to see. “If a witch is known for their illusion spells, for example, the construct can be enhanced with illusion magic. They won’t cover the full range of spells, but enough to help them maintain cover. But doing so is really expensive, and they need a master of that coven to help with building the construct.”

“Great. So it was cheaper for them to make a human simulacrum with no extra powers,” Luz mutters, earning a snicker from her friend. She glances around the school library again, but thankfully the few other students are busy with their own books.

“There’s a lot of info here, but nothing that really helps us,” Luz laments, raising the book over her head in hopes of shaking out what they need. “History of their usage, basic overview of how they are made, a few famous examples. But no why. Like, I don’t care that they can mimic voices or see in the dark or eat food without producing waste because they have a magic stomach engine or whatever. Nothing here explains who would have commissioned it, or why!”

“Not much that would help us fight it, either,” Gus slams the illusory book closed, making it vanish. “No real weaknesses. No way to stop it short of lots of physical damage. And they can fix themselves real fast if they have access to a source of magic.”

“Thank God Amity doesn’t had to deal with that,” Luz groans, not wanting to think about it. “That’s one good thing about the human realm.”

“What’s this about the human realm?”

Luz and Gus both jumped, falling out of their seats to an obnoxious cackle. Gus recovers first, glaring at the newcomer. “What do you want, Mattholomule?”

“Gus, Gus, Gus, I thought we were friends now!” He teased, sauntering over to mess with the illusionists’ hair. Said illusion slaps him away as he climbs back into his chair, making Mattholomule laugh harder. “I just wanted to see what my new bestest friend was studying!” He leered over Luz, whom quickly scooped up and put away the book, but not before he caught the title. “Constructs, huh? Isn’t that a little advanced for you? We don’t cover those until next year.”

Luz crosses her arms, stammering in frustration, trying to summon an excuse. “I-I was, uh, reading ahead! I was just telling Gus that we don’t have anything like those in the human realm.”

The construction witch frowns, furrowing his brow. “Wait, I thought you did. My brother said you have something called… Gundams? Is that right? Big metal constructs piloted by pretty girls?”

Pretty girls in mechas, that’s like one of my favorite tropes! What would Amity look like as a mecha pilot? I should draw-STOP! Luz shook her head, trying to focus, but now she’s all distracted and flustered and now is not the time. And it doesn’t help that annoying, prying Mattholomule is there causing it. “No, no, that’s only in Amit-anime!”

Her eyes go wide, panicking. Did he notice her near slip up? This wasn’t the first today, and won’t be the last, but she definitely doesn’t need gossipy Mattholomule on her case. “Uh, you know what, I gotta run to my locker for my next class so I’m gonna go Gusthanksforyourhelp byyyeeee!” Without warning Luz jumps to her feet and sprints from the library, apologizing to everyone shushing her on her way out.

Mattholomule laughs to himself as she goes, shaking his head. “What was that all about? I’m just asking questions about the human realm.” He snickers, taking Luz’s seat.

Gus rolls his eyes, eager to change the subject. “No, you were bothering her, and she was trying to be nice and not tell you off.”

The transfer student scoffed. “What? No way. I’m charming.” He smirked, reclining in his chair and waggling his eyebrows.

Gus scoffs. “As your only friend, you know I’m being honest when I say: no. You’re not. Not in the slightest.” Mattholomule pouts, making the illusionist smirk. “What do you want, anyway? You never come here during study period.”

“Actually, I was looking for you, ya jerk.” He conjures a circle, summoning a stone that drops into Gus’s hands with a surprised grunt. He turns it over, looking into a hooded face carved into the stone bearing a forlorn expression. He was immediately reminded of the memorials from a certain graveyard.

“Woah.” He looks it over, honestly impressed. “You’ve gotten a lot better at the details.”

Mattholomule looks away, his snarky bravado gone in the face of a genuine compliment. “Well, someone had the good idea to overlay illusions on top of the rocks to help me focus. I think I can fix the actual statues now.”

Gus snorts. “Really? Your first attempt was pretty bad.”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s, uh, what I wanted to talk to you about.” He looks around before leaning closer. “My family’s going to Palm Beach this weekend, so we can’t go on Saturday like usual. But I have it on good authority that school’s going to be closed Thursday.”

“Really? Why?” Gus sat up, curious.

“Because of the big grudgby game that day against Glandus! Some of their players are going to pull a prank that’s going to close Hexside for sure.” Mattholomule gives him a toothy grin, quite proud of himself. “So, why don’t we go to the Looking Glass on Thursday instead?”

Gus considers it, weighing his options. He did enjoy their weekly trips to the Looking Glass ruins. Protecting and maintaining it felt important, like he was part of something bigger than himself. It was an excellent spot to hone his skills, surrounded by memorials to other powerful illusionists. Plus, it was one of the few places Mattholomule let his guard down and stopped acting like a jerk.

Gus would be the first to admit that his friendship with the construction witch was a strange one. Even his closest friends, Willow and Luz, didn’t really understand it. How can you be friends with someone that insults you all the time? But Gus likened Mattholomule to a more grouchy Eda. Someone who is kind and curious but hides it under a snarky, aloof exterior. A mask he wears to protect himself.

Mattholomule had to wear that mask to survive Glandus. He wore it still in Hexside, because that was what everyone expects from him. Annoying, sarcastic, power hungry, and uncaring, like all Glandus students. Not the real teen underneath, who hid himself out of necessity.

Every now and then, Gus saw a glimpse of a different Mattholomule. A much kinder, friendlier boy, who was creative and passionate and surprisingly thoughtful, but also jaded, hardened and worn down by a life where those things were seen as weaknesses. Where only strength and cunning held any respect.

Gus quite liked the real Mattholomule a lot more, and was determined to bring him out.

“Yeah,” the illusionist grins, “Thursday will be great!”

For a long time the two women just stood there, staring at one another. Clara barely blinks, trying to jumpstart her thoughts and focus on Camila’s question.

“Well?” Ms. Noceda asks with thinly veiled impatience. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“Middle school.” Voices screamed in Clara’s head, but outside she’s a statue, devoid of emotion. Everything is fine. Everything is under control. She doesn’t know which voice she’s listening to right now and doesn’t care. The sooner this is over, and the less secrets revealed, the better. So she gives her an explanation without revealing anything.

Clara clears her throat. “Everything changed in middle school. Kids got meaner. Luz… she got weirder. I… wasn’t just her best friend. I was her only friend. I wanted her to fit in, too. But the names… the teasing… I couldn’t take it. I th-thought if I pushed her, maybe… maybe she’d listen to me…”

She drops her head, unable to meet Camila’s eyes any longer. Something tightened in her chest, but she bit her tongue, remaining as impassive as before.

It’s not a lie, per-say. Part of her did think she could ‘fix’ Luz’s weirdness. She had become more pushy with Luz before that fateful day, trying to bring her back to normalcy. But Luz was stubborn and oblivious. She wouldn’t change who she was, no matter what others thought of her. And she didn’t notice or care just how bad others thought of Clara by association.

But that wasn’t the real reason.

The silence drags on, and Clara starts hoping that maybe that will be enough. Maybe this whole thing will pass over-

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Camila is angry now, and Clara reflexively shrinks before her. “That I haven’t spoken to any other mothers before? That the principal didn’t tell me about what you did? I’ve heard those names you called my daughter, Clara. How you’d make fun of her interests, push her down stairs, rile her up to get her in trouble. You-“

Camila pauses to close her eyes, pinching her nose, taking slow, deep breaths. She’s struggling to control her temper. As cathartic it would be to just scream at the scared bully, to vent all her anger and frustration about awful children and a failed school system, it wouldn’t actually solve anything. All she’d have then is a traumatized teen on her hands, and an angry phone call from some snooty rich parents.

No, Camila’s been through this before. Explanations from other parents why their kids wouldn’t show up for Luz’s parties. From teachers why no one wants to be Luz’s partner. She knows just how pointlessly cruel children can be to those they consider pariahs, including those who once called Luz their friend. But at least none of them went so far as to bully Luz back.

She swallows her anger, voice shaking as she struggles to stay calm and clear. “It’s not up to me if you don’t want to be her friend, Clara. I just want to know why.”

“I…,” Clara’s voice waivers, leaking emotion through tiny cracks in her armor, “…. I…”

“Tell her,” Melony insists in her mind.

“There’s nothing to tell,” she says out loud, looking up again. Her mask is back on. Impassive, in control. “I couldn’t take it anymore. Her weirdness and… complicating things. So I’m sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear, but-“

“Stop,” the mother growls, and the teen immediately complies. Camila crosses her arms. No more playing around. Time to get straight to the point. “What happened on Valentine’s Day last year?”

Clara’s eyes grew wide, her mask cracking again. “Y-y-you know about that?!”

“It’s the one thing that stuck out in my memory. That’s the last time I remember her saying your name. She was excited about something that morning. And after…” Camila hesitates, shaking her head. “Something happened, and she wouldn’t tell me what. Thats when she started pulling away from me. So tell me what happened that day.”

“N-nothing!” The teen stammers, struggling to keep her expression neutral. “Nothing happened!”

“Oh, please. I know my girl. I know she was looking forward to something. And I know it wasn’t a crush, because she’s pretty obvious about that. It wasn’t like that boy the year before. So what was it? What did you do?”

“It’s not what I did…” Clara mumbles before she could stop herself.

“Oh? What, did you ask her out and she rejected you?” Camila yells sarcastically, stepping closer.

It was said in jest, but it hit far too close to home. Clara steps back, recoiling as if struck. “NO!” She cries, horrified.

But now she could hear those rumors again. Whispers down the middle school halls, in the lunchroom and every class. Watching her, judging her. To do nothing, to say nothing would simply validate them. So she had to do something. She had to retaliate, to get back at the one who caused this, to show her peers just how wrong they were.

Even if there was some truth to the rumors, she had to quash it all. Her reputation, her status, everything she is was at stake.

“You see how she said that?” Clara’s Mom hums in her mind, “How can you trust her?”

“Because she doesn’t know!” Melony insists. “If she knew, she wouldn’t make jokes like that!”

“Then what was it?” Camila is raising her voice again, losing patience with this arrogant teen. “What did my Luz do that was so awful that her best friend started bullying her?”

“She… she…” Clara could feel her resolve breaking. Unwelcome tears filled her eyes. She sinks lower, clawing at her ears, trying in vain to block out the voices that fill her head. Camila’s, Melony’s, her Mom’s, her own, the jumbled laughs of her peers, all clamoring for attention, threatening to overwhelm her.

“Were you ever really her friend? Do you not care what you did to her? Are you even listening to me!?”

“Tell her! Tell her!”

“Stay quiet! It’s safer!”

“… I can’t, I can’t! You wouldn’t, you couldn’t…”

“Luzer lover! Luzer lover! That’s Clara, the rich gay weirdo lover! No friends, no status, but she’s got her girlfriend that can turn her eyelids inside out! At least until Luz leaves her, like her Mom left her!”

“Make me understand!” Camila stands in front of her, practically screaming in her face, ignoring what she thinks are the crocodile tears of a bully caught in her lies. “What did she do!?”

The shouts both without and within reach a fever pitch. Clara doubles over, hands balled into fists, tears streaming down her cheeks. Why is this happening? Why did she get involved with Luz and Amity? She can feel the pressure rising within her her. The one voice she can hear over the din, even over Camila’s, is that of her Mom’s.

“This is why you don’t trust anyone. This is why you keep people at arm’s length. Because they’ll just hurt you. They’ll just leave you. Like I did. That’s what they always do. That’s what you deserve.”

Rough hands grab her shoulders, straightening her up. A tan face contorted in rage, having lost all composure, inches from her own. The face of a mother pushed far beyond her limits of worry and anger, who would do anything, go to any lengths, to protect her mistreated daughter. “Look at me, Clara! Tell. Me. Why!”

Clara’s blue eyes meet’s Camila’s brown, and all at once all of her fear and frustration and anger and regret and self-hatred boils over into one point of clarity that overwhelms all else. One white-hot scream that tears out her mouth before she can think to stop it.

“BECAUSE SHE OUTTED ME!!!”

Clara blinks. The pressure is gone, replaced with an awful emptiness. The silence is suffocating. Camila stares back at her, stunned, her anger gone. The weight of her words catches up to the teen. The dam is broken and there’s nothing stopping everything inside from rushing out. Her knees buckle and she collapses, falling into Camila. There’s a second’s hesitation before strong, warm arms wrap around her, and suddenly Clara is bawling, crying harder than she could ever remember.

Amity - Don’t trust Luz
Boscha - What do you mean?
Boscha - Amity what does that mean?
Boscha - Hello?
Boscha - Amity what the f*ck do you mean?
Boscha - Do you know what time it is? I have practice in a few hours!
Boscha - Did something happen?
Boscha - Why arent you saying anything?
Boscha - I told you the human was bad news
Boscha - Are you there?
Boscha - SAY SOMETHING
Boscha - Em asked Skara if she saw you today, do you know why?
Boscha - and the human skipped potions class
Boscha - Amity say something
Boscha - are you ignoring me?
Boscha - is this some dumb prank because I made fun of your hair?
Boscha - well you got me
Boscha - haha
Boscha - fine
Boscha - I’m going back to bed
Boscha - Amity the f*ck does this mean I can’t sleep what the f*ck

This continued on for awhile. Willow’s hand shook as she read, her mind racing. “She texted you this morning?”

“Yup,” said the tired looking triclops without a hint of snark. “Woke me up and I couldn’t sleep after.”

Willow bites her lip, weighing her options. She doesn’t really know a lot about Amity’s current situation. Just what Luz had told them all yesterday. Luz had even said that Amity couldn’t summon her scroll, and the human wasn’t known to lie. Plus, Amity is enamored with Luz, and of the human’s witch friends it was Amity whom had spent the most time with her lately. It didn’t make any sense.

But then, what did this mean? Did someone else have Amity’s scroll? Was this some strange prank?

And if Amity did sent it, and something really was up with her and Luz, why would she text Boscha of all people?

Why wouldn't Amity text her?

How much should Willow reveal to Boscha about Amity’s current situation?

Probably nothing, Willow mused. What she should do is alert Luz to this, so she can tell Amity, and they can make some plan together.

But first, she has to diffuse the bomb that is Boscha.

“Has anyone else gotten a text like this?” Willow asks.

Boscha shook her head. “Not that I’ve heard.”

“Then… why tell me?” She asks cautiously.

The grudgby captain’s eyes roll, as if the answer were obvious. “Because you’re friends with Amity and the human! And all my friends are gossips. I didn’t know if I should take this seriously, or who to go to. You seemed like the right person to ask.”

Willow quickly scans Boscha. She seems… genuine? This wasn’t some weird prank? But the silence seems to agitate the potions witch, whom stands taller, narrowing her eyes. “Or do you already know something about this?”

“No!” Willow shakes her hands, nearly dropping Boscha’s scroll as the bully swipes it back. Her mind races, quickly throwing together an excuse. “I don’t know anything about this. And I asked Luz about Amity yesterday, but she said she didn’t know anything, either.”

Boscha steps closer, staring at Willow intensely, trying to read the plant witch. Despite her rapidly thumping heart, Willow stood her ground, even co*cking an eyebrow as the silence went on, before finally getting the witch’s attention with, “Well?”

The bully blinks and scowls, turning away, her cheeks flushed. “Fine. You know nothing. But somethings going on. Blight didn’t just disappear.”

“Why do you care so much?” Willow asks. Maybe a bit too harshly as she earns another glare. But she didn’t care about Boscha’s reaction, she’s genuinely curious. “I mean, you two aren’t friends anymore.”

She crosses her arms, looking away. “Doesn’t mean I want something bad to happen to her. And if that human has something to do with it, I want to know what it is! I gotta get back at her for stealing my friend.” She added, punching her fist to her palm.

Willow rolls her eyes. “Amity was never your friend. Her parents made her hang out with you because you’re parents are rich.”

Boscha scoffs, shaking her head. “That’s what you think. Human is trying to get back home, right? Once she’s gone, Amity will come crawling back to me, and leave you losers for good.”

The plant witch frowned, but she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness at those words. Amity left me before, she could do it again. Wait, no! Don’t think like that! She’s changed. She wants to be better. She’s been making an effort. Just… don’t think about it. Out of sight, out of mind. “Whatever, Boscha.”

The pink-haired crosses her arms, leaning against the wall. “So, how are we doing this? The human’s pretty skinny. I can hold her down and you tie her up with your vines while-“

“Wha-no! We are not hurting Luz!”

Boscha almost looks disappointed. “Why not? We need to find out what she knows!”

Willow pinches her nose in frustration. “Just, let me talk to her. I’ll find out what she knows and tell you.”

“And what if she lies to you?” the bully challenges.

“Luz doesn’t lie,” Willow shot back.

Boscha gives her disapproving look, shaking her head. “You’re too trusting, Park. But you know what, that works. You can worry about Amity for me. I need to focus on my grudgby game anyway. Here.” She summons a small sheet of paper with runes on it. “Text me your’s and tell know what happens. If I get any more texts I’ll let you know.”

Willow really doesn’t want Boscha to have her runes, but right now she just wants to get rid of her so she can think. She enters the runes into her scroll, sending a quick message to the grudgby captain. “There. And no telling anyone else about this.”

Boscha rolls her eyes again, her usual condescending manner back to normal. “Right. Like I’d want the school knowing I’m talking to you, Park.”

She turns to go, ignoring Willow’s frown, but stops at the door. She half-turns back, the corners of her self-assured grin falling. “Hey… seriously though. Thanks.”

Willow isn’t quite sure how to respond. Did Boscha just thank her? For listening to her and offering to help? Was she really that worried about Amity’s text?

There’s a low groaning as Clyde looms over Boscha again, but the potions witch hisses loudly at the plant, making it shrink back into itself. Without another word the bully exits the greenhouse, leaving Willow alone once more with her thoughts.

For a long time, all Clara can do is hold on to the woman before her and cry. All the suppressed emotions and pain, all the hurtful rumors, the unanswered questions, the uncertain feelings, all the complicated everything washed over her. At least the voices in her head are mercifully quiet now. It took awhile for her to calm enough to hear the words the woman was whispering, over and over. Something soothing in Spanish, followed by “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Whu-? Why?” the teen mumbles, pulling away from Camila. She rubs her eyes, suddenly aware of how disgusting she must be. Wet, red eyes, smeared makeup, runny nose, hoarse throat, hair disheveled. Her tears, drool, and snot soaking into the mother’s shirt, though Camila doesn’t seem to mind as she gives her a small, trembling smile, tears in her own eyes.

“I shouldn’t have pushed you,” Luz’s Mom whispers, voice soft and warm, all trace of her prior anger gone. “I wanted - needed - to know what happened to Luz, but I didn’t mean to push you like that. To… make you admit that, if you weren’t ready. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s-“ Clara puts her hand on Camila’s shoulder, but her words fail her. It’s not okay. Nothing about this situation is okay. What Luz did (even if by mistake), how she had treated Luz, and Camila by extension, and how Camila now returned the favor. All of it was wrong. But she had learned a long time ago that fairness doesn’t exist. “… it’s what it is,” she finally says, sitting down in front of the other woman, arms wrapped around herself and staring at her shoes.

“What happened?” Camila hesitates, anxiously meeting Clara’s eyes. “That is, if you are okay telling me.”

Clara took a few deep breathes to compose herself before nodding. The knot in her chest is gone, replaced by a calm fatigue. All the weight of her secrets and shame felt… easier. It certainly helped that Luz’s Mom wasn’t yelling anymore. She even apologized! Adults never apologize! And knowing that she accepts Luz as she is… that certainly helps, too.

One more deep breath, clearing her sore throat. “Valentine’s day, last year. Luz had been anxious about something all week, but wouldn’t tell me what. When I opened my locker, it was full of notes and cards and streamers and even my favorite candies.” She closes her eyes, unable to keep the shame from her voice. “All kinds of things that said she was so glad we were friends, we’d be besties forever…. The kind of things we’d give each other in elementary school. But, like, a lot of it. It was really nice. But… this was middle school. And Luz already came out the year before, after that incident in health class.”

Camila shudders in remembrance. “Oh Dios mío, that was the most awkward parent-teacher conference I’ve ever had. Worse than the snakes by a mile.”

Another deep breath, a loud, congested sniffle, the smallest shadow of a smile which dropped as she continued. “I was Luz’s only friend at the time. Whenever she wasn’t in the library or detention she was with me. So of course people misinterpreted her gift, intentionally or not. I was hearing rumors that same day. Everyone knew she was bi, and I… I…”

Clara slumps back in the grass, breaking eye contact and looking down the path back towards town. “I don’t know what I am. I think I like boys, but I think I like girls, too? So am I bi, too? I don’t know. It’s all complicated, and I don’t know what I like, so I don’t think about it. I’ve never had a crush before, and I don’t think I liked Luz like that. She was just a friend. But then all the rumors… and I didn’t know how to handle them, or even know what ones were real… so…-“

“So you did whatever you could to prove they weren’t true,” Camila sums up. There’s no judgement in her voice, just simple understanding.

Clara sighs wearily. “Yeah. I was so upset that I blew up at her at lunch. Then some bullies started teasing her and I… kinda… joined in. And I got worse from there.” She hugs her knees to her chest. “I felt bad about it, but whenever I saw her I just kept thinking how much she hurt me. It’s like… she took my voice away. And everyone was looking at me different, and… I just wanted it to stop.” Clara sighs, sobbing softly.

Camila gives her a moment to compose herself before gently asking, “Did they stop?”

The teen nods solemnly, rubbing her eyes. “When I pushed Luz away, no one questioned me anymore. The rumors about me eventually stopped. I was… safe.”

The mother leans closer. “Was it worth it?”

Clara knows what she’s supposed to say, but she thinks it over nonetheless. She remembered the argument, the shouting. And the aftermath: all the attention off of her, directed instead at the school Luzer. She could remember the look of hurt and betrayal in her former friend’s eyes. She could still feel how her stomach twisted at the sight. It was a strange thing, to feel proud and safe but still full of regret. But she had done it. She had protected herself. So it was worth it, right? “…No. no, it wasn’t.”

“I’m guessing you never told Luz the truth.”

“No. She was too caught up in giving me her gift to realize how others interpreted it. She never mentioned any of the rumors to me. And I never told her… any of the stuff I’m telling you now.”

“That’s my Luz.” Camila shakes her head with an exasperated sigh. “She always had that tunnel vision. She gets so focused on her goal that she ignores what’s going on around her, or how she comes off to others. Her father could be the same way, sometimes.” She leans closer, gently shifting gears. “Have you ever told anyone about your feelings?”

“My aunt, the weekend after. She said it’s normal for someone to be unsure of themselves, and I’d figure it out, but I still haven’t. It’s all a mess, and it’s just… easier to ignore it. And-“

The conversation from yesterday replayed in Clara’s mind. “Hey, it’s okay. You know I won’t judge you if you’re… you know.” “I think Melony suspects I’m… something. She doesn’t push me to talk about it, but she’s supportive.”

Camila nods before cautiously asking, “What about your parents?”

The blonde shakes her head. “My dad’s never home. We don’t talk much, and he’s… not good with emotions. He has very… traditional views.” She shut her eyes, blocking out some colorful comments she had overheard before.

He wasn’t a bad man, not in the slightest. But would he accept her?

And after growing up, listening to his opinions all her life, could she even accept herself? Whatever she was?

“And your mom?”

The answer was quick and automatic, a terse response without emotion. “I haven’t seen her since I was 5.”

“…Oh. I’m sorry,” Camila sympathizes. Clara just shrugs. The mother nods slowly, starting to understand how the teen worked. A quiet introvert, with little to no emotional support, who’s far too concerned with how others see her. Unsure of herself or what she wants, and willing to do anything to protect herself. To keep things simple. Understandable. Controllable. And like Luz, or any other teen, she’s just as likely to hurt herself by her rash decisions.

They sit there for a little while, mulling over everything that’s been said. Eventually, Camila clears her throat. “You know how you treated Luz was wrong, don’t you?”

Clara nods with a mouth full of remorse. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, but I’m not the one you should apologize to.”

The teen nods, letting out a shuddering breath. “I feel terrible about it all. And I… I have felt this way for awhile… but I still treated her like crap. Not because it would make me feel better. But because I felt like, if I didn’t, they’d all be picking on me instead.” She rose her gaze to meet the mother’s. “How do I fix this? I… I want to make this right. I just… don’t know how.”

Camila gives her a pained smile, shuffling closer to sit beside her. “You start by apologizing to Luz. Tell her the truth of what happened, how it affected you.”

The cheerleader tills her head, thinking about it. “What if… she hates me?”

Camila shrugs. “Then she hates you. That’s her decision. But at least she’ll know the truth. You’ll have closure, and that will help you both.” She watched Clara flinch, looking away. “After everything you did, do you want to be her friend again?”

She could already see the grins on her classmates’ faces, eager for more gossip at her expense. But she could also see Melony and Luz, two of the most supportive people she knew, there to encourage and defend her. “I think so. If she’d let me. Despite it all, I… miss her. Her positivity and her enthusiasm. That’s what drew me to Melony in the first place, and I think they would make good friends. I was even excited to see Luz the other day, when I met Amity. Before we found out that was an evil robot.” Clara huffs, shaking her head. “I was always a little jealous of Luz, you know.”

“Really?” Camila looked at her in surprise. “How so?”

She leans back, looking out to the sky. This was… nice. Just talking. Honesty. So much better than bottling up her feelings and putting up walls. She had too few people in her life she could just be normal with. “She always had herself figured out. Even when she didn’t know what she wanted, she always knew who she was. Even if I or other bullies teased her, it upset her, it never changed her. She always knew who she was. She was never… afraid of herself, if that makes any sense.”

“I think it does. Luz is a special one.” Camila looks down at Clara, sharing her shy smile.

"How-" Clara hesitates before asking, "- how did she tell you she was bi? If... that's okay?"

Camila grins as she remembers. "It was about three years ago. She was showing me fanart of characters from her fantasy stories, and she had this look on her face when she was showing me this dashing young man. She said 'if I could meet him, I'd date him.' And then she showed me this powerful sorcerous, and she had the same look on her face, and she said 'and her, too.' That was it. Oh, we talked some more after that, of course, but that was the first time she said anything like that to me. I don't think she was even nervous to tell me. Like it was the most obvious thing in the world."

Clara smirks, looking away. “She really is special. She’ll make someone happy, someday.”

“She already is,” Camila chuckles at the teen’s look of surprise. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Huh. She still always manages to surprise me.” The blonde laughs before looking back at Camila with an anxious expression. “Are we okay?”

Camila smiles warmly at her. “I think so. I don’t like what you did, but I think I can understand why. Thank you for explaining it to me. And again, I’m sorry if I got a little aggressive there. Are you okay?”

Clara nods. “Yeah. I’m… better than I have been for awhile.”

“You need to find more people you trust, Clara, and talk more. It’ll help you figure out yourself, too. And, if you ever want to, you can always talk to me.”

The teen blushes, smiling warmly. “Thank you, Ms. Noceda. Really. I... guess I need to talk to Luz, too.”

Camila sighs. “You should. Maybe not tonight. Luz is going to have a long day today. But I’d suggest you talk to her soon.”

“What if… she doesn’t want me around? I like Amity, she seems cool. And I actually had an idea to run by you back at your house. But if me being there is upsetting to her-“

“Then you have to do whatever she wants, Clara. You hurt her, and if you genuinely want to fix things, you’ll listen to what she says.” Camila smiles warmly. “But if I know my Luz, she won’t hold a grudge for too long. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

“I hate waiting,” Clara bemoans.

She meets Camila’s eyes again and the two laugh. “Don’t we all.”

They sit together for a few more minutes, watching the clouds, listening to birds chirping and squirrels leaping through branches. The peace is broken by a loud gurgling noise, and the teen’s embarrassed giggle. Camila raises an eyebrow at her. “Uh… have you had lunch today?”

Clara blushes sheepishly. “N-no. What time is it?”

Camila takes out her phone and did a double take. “Later than I expected. Come on, the girls are probably wondering where we are. Let’s get you something to eat.”

She helps the teen up, helping straighten her hair and wipe away her runny makeup until Clara looks somewhat presentable again. With another shared smile and one last wistful look at Eda’s cabin they turn back toward the Noceda home.

Neither of them noticed the girl in the black dress watching them from shadows.

Chapter 25: Blighted Truth

Chapter Text

The rest of school went by too fast for Luz. Not much happened, and she spent more of her last few classes anticipating what the Blights might say then paying attention to her professors. The only thing she remembers was Boscha glaring at her even more then usual, but the bully didn’t do or say anything, so Luz didn’t think much of it.

After her encounter with Mattholomule, she thankfully didn’t have any other slip ups. No one asked her about Amity. But she still heard rumors. Whispers that she had gotten sick or hurt, or punished by her parents for some reason. One rumor was of a prank from the twins that went too far, though Viney was quick to argue against that. There were fingers pointed at Glandus students being involved, at Malphus at the library knowing something, or even the Emperor’s Coven whisking her away to the castle to secretly test her skills. One person even suggested she ran away from home, having had enough with her parent’s harsh treatment and siblings’ teasing.

Luz just kept silent about the rumors, grateful she didn’t hear her name in any of them.

Now she is walking a path on the outskirts of Bonesborough, flanked on either side by Edric and Emira. The two had met up with her far from school, almost halfway to their home. Luz looked down at her shimmering hands, covered by an illusion that made her invisible to any passersby. The twins wanted to be sure no one from school saw them with her and start new rumors about Amity. Thankfully, Luz didn’t have to hold her breath to maintain this spell, though the anxiety in her chest made breathing difficult enough anyway.

Their greetings were short, with the twins asking if Luz was nervous (“Yes”), had a good day at school (“It was fine”), and if she were being followed (“Why would anyone follow me?”). The silence that had lingered for the past few minutes did little to calm her nerves. There's just too much that can go wrong. Too many dangers and unknowns that came with the Blight parents, despite Ed and Em's assurances. Even so, she jumped when Edric broke the silence with his complaints. “You’re usually a lot more fun and talkative.”

“S-sorry! I thought I had to be quiet because of the illusion!” Luz stammers.

“The spell muffles your voice,” Em explains. “Besides, there’s no one here! Most witches our age fly home anyway. The illusion is just a precaution.”

“Huh, hey, yeah, I’ve never seen you two with palismen before.”

Ed pouts. “Mother took them away when she found out we were hiding ‘Hex Me’ signs on people coming to their demonstrations.”

“She’ll give them back eventually,” Em sighs before smirking at the empty air where Luz walks beside her. “See? Normal conversation. It’ll help you get over your nerves.”

Ed shakes his head. “I don’t know what you’re so scared of, Luz.”

“The last time I met them, they tried to kill me.” Luz reminds him, deadpan.

Ed shrugged, like attempted murder wasn’t a big deal. “Well, yeah, sure, that’s what it seemed like to you. Mother saw Amity come in and ramped things up to test her. See how she would react.”

Luz glared over at him incredulously, though the effect is lost by the fact that she is invisible. “What? No, you didn’t hear her. She said that abomination would ‘completely eliminate’ me!”

He shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. I know they aren’t the nicest people, but they wouldn’t kill you. Rough you up, maybe, to help sell their stuff.”

Luz’s protests die on her lips when Em cuts in. “It doesn’t matter. Mother and Father don’t want to work with the Emperor’s Coven anyway. They are very private people, and the Coven is already more involved with their company then they’d like. If you come to them with answers about Mittens, they’ll listen to you. All you need to do is make it clear you know what’s going on and you are the best person to bring her back.”

“Well, now I know where she is. But I don’t know how we’re bringing her back yet, or how long it’s going to take. Or if she’ll be able to fight off the simulacrum if it comes after her again. Or-“

Em shook her head, waiving a hand in front of the invisible human. “Nope! Stop. Don’t mention the simulacrum. If Mother thinks Mittens is in danger, she’ll get involved, and you don’t want that.”

“She won’t like the idea that someone made a construct that looked like you, either,” Ed advised, “So don’t mention it at all. Just stay calm. Confident. They’re busy enough managing their company. Don’t give them a reason to help with saving our sister.”

Em nods. “Exactly! They want to hear what you have to say and shoo you out. So don’t mention anything that might upset them or give them a reason to pry. Like Mittens’s injuries, or how upset she got.”

“She got really upset. More then I let on.” Luz mumbled, looking down at her shimmering feet.

“But she’s with your Mom, who you said is great. Amity will be fine.” Em gave her a half-hearted smile, trying to lift the human’s mood, but unsure, herself. She had hoped to hide her worry, but Luz saw right through it. Em did use Amity’s actual name, after all.

Em met her brother’s eyes and he quickly nods. “Yes! She’s going to be fine. And you’ll be the big hero who gets to save her.”

Luz shook her head, grateful they can’t see her flushed cheeks. “Not just me. Eda and Lilith and-“

Emira winced. “Remember what they said? You probably shouldn’t talk about them, either. For all their smarts, they’re still criminals to the Empire, and Mother won’t like that.”

The younger girl groaned, kicking at the ground. Her heart sank as they climbed a hill and Blight Manor came into view. “Then what am I supposed to say?” She asked, growing frustrated.

Edric spins a circle, dismissing the veil concealing her, far enough from any prying eyes. “The truth, as simply as you can. Just steer away from the simulacrum, Mittens’s injuries and emotions, and your caretakers. We’ll help out too, just follow our lead.” He eyes Luz with a sly grin. “You probably shouldn’t mention Mittens kissing you, either. Or you’re crush on her. Emotional distractions and all that.”

“My-my what?” Luz stutters, quickly turning her face away and regretting they can now see her. “I, uh, that was, you see-“

“Why would you say that so close to the house?” Em grumbles, pinching the bridge off her nose.

“To lighten the mood! And she’s so easy to tease!” He laughs, poking the girl who grumpily swats his hand away. “She’s almost as bad as Mittens!”

“Her bashfulness, or her pining?” Em asks with a wry smile.

Luz can feel the burning heat in her cheeks, but she can’t help but focus on Emira’s choice of words. “Hey! I don’t-! I’m not-! W-wait, what did you say?”

Both twins snicker, shushing her as they approach the gates. Blight Manor stands tall and proud before them. Luz swallows, her fluster forgotten in the face all her anxieties today. She follows them to the door, trying to suppress her nervous jitters when Em turns to face her.

“We messaged them after school, so they know you’re coming. Just get straight to the point, sound confident, and you’ll be fine.”

“And if I’m not?” Luz whispers, her voice full of dread.

Ed smirks, a gleam of mischief in his eye as he opens the door. “Then it’s a shame Mittens isn’t here to protect you.”

“We’re back!” Camila announces as she strides into the kitchen. Melony whips around to face her, but Amity’s attention is focused on the tv, full of light and color and strange frogmen running around. “What are you two watching?”

Amity doesn’t move from the screen, her eyes wide, voice somewhere between fear, confusion, and reverence. “I have no idea.”

“They don’t get shows like this where she’s from,” Melony explains with a shrug. Her expression shifts to one of concern. “Where’s Clara?”

“She’s in the bathroom freshening up. Were you two hungry? I’m going to make some sandwiches.” Camila smiles at the pair and turns back to the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge.

“Sand… witches?” Amity drones, still enraptured by the show like a small child. She knows what they are, of course, but she’s just too distracted to care.

The mother calls from the kitchen as she piles food on the counter. “Sí! I’ve got turkey and ham and salami and lactose-free cheese and every condiment under the sun. Luz liked to mix and match them. I should have known it wasn’t her when she wouldn’t touch them.” Camila mutters under her breath.

Clara soon joined the teens, sitting beside Amity with a tired sigh. The witch didn’t pay her any attention, oblivious to the world around her. Without the simulacrum to distract or endanger her, she’s completely caught up by the spectacle that is the Tea Vee.

But Melony noticed Clara. She saw the fatigue on her face, noticed the makeup that had been smeared and washed off, the redness in her eyes. She leans close to whisper, “Hey, are you okay?”

Clara nods, meeting her eyes, “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. We’re okay. Actually…” she bites her lip, quickly arguing with her thoughts before deciding to not listen to her mom’s voice, “… there’s something I want to tell you. About… Valentine’s Day last year. I… trust you, and you should know what kind of… person… I am-“

Melony put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “You’re a good person. You just made some bad decisions. You regret them, and want to do better, right?”

Clara nods, sniffling a bit. Melony smiles, rubbing her arm to reassure her. “And I’m gonna help you, okay? That’s what friends are for.” Clara nods again, pulling her into a tight hug.

Camila watches from the kitchen with a smile. That girl has a good friend. If she’s being truthful and does want to make things right, then Melony will help her. It’s good that Clara has her to lean on. I just wish Luz could have found a friend like Melony.

She quickly shakes her head, banishing the thought. But she did! She has Willow and Gus and Eda with her. They would do anything for her. Oh mija, just please don’t hide yourself from them. Don’t keep secrets from them, like you did with me, or like how Clara kept secrets from everyone. That will only hurt you. Trust those who are close to you, and tell them what they mean to you.

She smiles, remembering what Luz had said about Amity yesterday, and the joy in the lilac-haired witch’s face when she heard Luz’s own words from her video last night. She shook her head and frowned at the same witch currently enthralled by the television. “Would someone turn that off? It’s time for a late lunch.”

The hugging teens separated. Melony turned off the tv. As the screen went dark, Amity blinked, finally aware of her surroundings again. “Wha-? Oh! Hi, Clara. When did you get here?”

Luz has been to Blight Manor a few times now, but she will never get used to it. Its all too much. Too big, too opulent, too excessive. Huge, spacious rooms with elegant furniture and beautiful artwork on the walls, the decor reminiscent of the Abomination and Oracle covens. But there was no warmth in this building. No family pictures save for the portrait in the main room that displayed Amity frowning. Nothing decorative for the sake of style or preference, nothing to commemorate those who lived here or their happy memories. Just cold lights, empty rooms, and the vacant stares of the occasional abomination butler.

This was a house, not a home.

Luz found crystal balls throughout the house. On counters and mounted to walls. Always near doorways. She wondered if this were some kind of security system. It reminded her of what Amity had said of the necklace her mom made her wear, the one that forced Amity to hear her overbearing thoughts. Could Odalia Blight see Luz through them, right now? Could she hear what the worried human was thinking?

She made an effort to keep her frantic mind in check. Focus on the here and now. Tell them what happened. Don’t give them unneeded details, and steer away from topics they wouldn’t like.

The wooden door to the study opened as they approached, and an abomination within gestured for them to enter. Emira stepped in first, leading Luz to a trio of chairs. Luz took the middle, Emira on her left and Edric on her right. Luz swallowed, examining the room. It’s expensive and sterile, devoid of expression, just like every other part of the house she’d seen. She idly wonders if Amity’s and the twins’ rooms were the same, and if by choice or command, but quickly dispersed those thoughts as her hosts entered the room from the opposite door.

Alador and Odalia Blight were exactly as she remembered them. A slime-stained lab coat clung to the father’s broad frame, and his purple goggles sat forgotten atop his head. He took a seat and folded his hands, and Luz was unnerved to find that his full attention is on the human across from him.

The mother sat beside him, her clothing pristine, her makeup immaculate, and her eyes piercing through the human before her. A neutral, unreadable expression is on her face as she clears her throat. “Hello again, Luz the human,” she emphasizes the word with distaste, “I understand you have some news you wish to share about our dear missing Mittens.”

“She does,” Ed replies for her, “She met us before school and told us what-“

Odalia raises her hand, immediately silencing her son. “I’d like to hear what our guest has to say.”

So much for following their lead.

Luz swallows, glancing at the twins whom both nod encouragingly. Straight to the point? Okay then. “I, um, I know where Amity is. She’s safe. But she’s on Earth. The, uh, human realm.”

If Luz weren’t so nervous and hyper-attentive right now, she’d have missed their reactions. Odalia’s mouth hanging open for a half second. Alador’s eyes widening, snapping up to meet her own. Both parents studying their childrens’ faces for confirmation. And in a blink, it’s gone, they are back under perfect control. Odalia with the smallest sneer, and Alador looking somewhat bored again. He cleared his throat, voice colored with more curiosity than concern. “How did it happen?”

Luz took a breath to steady herself, focusing on the main points. “She has been helping me find a new way back to the human realm. On Saturday we were testing some ideas she… tripped and… disappeared.”

“Is she safe?” He asks almost robotically, devoid of emotion. Did he care? Or was he steeling himself for a possible answer he wouldn’t like?

She is quick to nod, banishing all of her uncertainties. “Yes. She’s with my mom.” Her response does nothing to ease Amity’s parents stares, nor calm the tension in the room. But for all Luz could tell, all the tension was with her and the twins, and not at all with those speaking to her.

Odalia fixes her icy gaze on the human. “Why did you wait so long to tell us this?”

Luz blinks. That’s what they want to know? No questions, no concern, or worry? “Um, we… I didn’t know. I couldn’t talk to the other realm at all before this. Now I can on my phone. Er, human scroll. It wasn’t until yesterday that I knew where she was.” She glances to Em whom gave her an encouraging nod.

“You should have told us sooner.” Luz’s attention is pulled back to Alador. His frown deepens, his brow furrows. He looks angry, his golden eyes, so much like Amity’s, boring into her own. “You should have told us the moment she disappeared. Do you have any idea how much we worried?” He stands abruptly, raising his voice. Luz sinks back in her chair, the twins stiffening beside her. “Do you know how much we-!”

He’s cut off by a hand on his shoulder and visibly deflates, slipping back to his seat and staring at the floor. Odalia gently pats him, her voice soft and controlled. “‘We must keep a level head in the face of unfamiliar magics.’ Was it not you who said that, dear?”

Alador nods weakly, swallowing thickly, looking up at the teens but saying nothing. Odalia returns her gaze to the startled human. “It would have been better had you told us immediately. But I can understand your caution.” Her eyes narrow, her tone suddenly severe. “That ends now. Until our daughter is home, you will hide nothing from us. Do you understand?”

Luz nods quickly. She opens her mouth to reply, but the father cuts her off, his voice calm once more. “How do you intend to bring her back?”

“Portal,” she squeaks, coughing and sitting up straight again. “We’re doing research to make sure it’ll be safe. No more accidents.”

“‘We?’” Alador pressed.

Aw, crud. “Um-“ Luz sputtered, unsure what to say. She’s not supposed to mention Eda and Lilith!

Emira noticed her distress and quickly cut in. “She’s apprenticing under a common witch in Bonesborough. N-not any you’ve heard of. Just a minor… potions seller.”

Odalia levels her eyes with her eldest child’s, smirking. “Please, Emira, you don’t think I know the human lives with the Owl Lady? I’ve seen the news, and I know about what happened at the Conformatorium.”

No, you don’t. Luz couldn’t help but think it. Maybe their flight from that awful place was seen by the whole city, but no one knew the truth of what happened in those walls. Why Lilith rebelled, what Belos had said to them, or anything about Eda’s original portal.

But watching Odalia’s eyes twitch and fall back on her is incredibly unnerving. Realization and panic strike the human simultaneously. She’s an Oracle… can she hear my thoughts?

The Blight matron gave her a menacing smile. “Edalyn Clawthorne may not be a respectable individual, and certainly no longer a powerful witch, but she can be resourceful. Your living with her does much to explain your disregard to the order of things, human. Her sister is intelligent, if untrustworthy.” She sneers, shaking her head in disgust. “When it comes to the safety of our daughter, I can’t think of two witches I would trust less. And yet, they may be some of the only ones capable of bringing her home.”

Luz wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that, and so she bit her tongue and gave her a curt nod.

The Blight patriarch cleared his throat again. “Who else knows of Amity’s predicament?”

‘Predicament’? That's a strange way to say ‘being trapped in another world.’ She shook her head, counting on her fingers. “Eda and Lilith. Willow and Gus, our friends from school. We can trust them. Ed and Em. And now you.” And King and Hooty, but they probably won’t care about them.

Alador nods. “Good. Keep it that way. How long until this portal is ready?”

Luz sighs, hand on her forehead. “Oh, gosh, I don’t know. Lilith said she had an idea how to make it, but we need some rare components and tons of experimenting…. Maybe a week? Two? I really can’t say.” She didn’t feel comfortable saying what those components are. Titan’s blood and something that ‘enhances magic.’ Maybe the Blights could help provide them; they are rich, after all. But right now isn’t the time, and Luz certainly doesn’t want to owe the Blights any favors.

There’s a pause as the adults share a glance. Luz and the twins stiffen again when Odalia traces a small purple circle over her forehead. The quiet stretches for over a minute as they converse telepathically. Luz wrings her hands together, trying to keep her other nervous ticks under control. She looks over to Em for reassurance, and gets a fake smile in return. The three teens wait anxiously until Odalia disperses the circle, ending the spell, and turns back to face them.

“We’ll tell the school that Mittens has contracted a debilitating but not life threatening disease,” Odalia announces, “Tell no one the truth of where she is. The fewer people involved in our business, the better. Luz, you will inform Edric and Emira of the portal’s progress, and they will inform us. Should you need anything else, let them know.”

Luz opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. She just nods, a little dazed. She never expected them to be so hands-off, so seemingly unconcerned with their missing daughter. That will make finishing the portal easier, but something about how little they wanted to be involved didn’t sit well with her.

It was all very much unlike her own mom, who would do anything for Luz at the drop of a hat. Or even Eda, who would steal the hat when no one was looking.

“Emira and Edric, you both will do everything you can to assist Luz and the Clawthornes. Mitten’s well-being is now your highest priority. You shall accompany Luz after school to aid in research, and return here for dinner. You may use your illusions if you feel it necessary to avoid gossip. Should your peers ask, you are getting schoolwork for your sister from her friends. You shall not spend after school hours with your own friends or perform any of your pranks until Mittens is back home. Am I understood?”

“Of course, Mother,” says Edric. “Helping Luz was the only thing on our minds,” says Emira. Luz realizes they hadn’t smirked nor cracked a joke even once. She had never seen them so well behaved before.

Luz is waiting, expecting more interrogation about Amity, how she’s been and what she’s been through, but it never comes. The parents stand, Alador saying something about returning to his work. Confusion grips the human’s chest. That… that can’t be it, right? They can’t be done. They must have so many questions. Ed and Em did! Willow and Gus did! So of course Amity’s parents would too, right?

They do care about Amity, don’t they?

Odalia summons a key and unlocks a drawer in the desk. Two small critters scuttle out and rush to the excited twins, but Luz isn’t paying them any attention, too caught up in her unease. The mother says something about ‘good behavior’ and ‘make sure the human gets home safely’ with a little joke about her saving their missing Mittens.

Ed is fake smiling, Em is pulling Luz to her feet, the parents are leaving, and all the human can sputter is “That’s it?”

Everyone stops, even the excitable palismen. Emira pales. Ed’s smile vanishes. Their parents turn around, and Luz can feel everyone’s eyes on her. “I’m sorry, Luz, what exactly were you expecting?” Odalia’s voice is cold and condescending toward the human that is now wasting her valuable time.

Luz starts, stops, catches the small shake of Em’s head and the obvious fear in Ed’s eyes. Oh no, I screwed up. The meeting was done! She was so close to being free and away from these awful people! But of course Luz just had to open her mouth and say what was on her mind and now-

Yes, you did.

The thought was in her head, but it wasn’t her own. Dread filled the human as she raised her eyes to meet Odalia watching her, a small crystal ball in her left palm. With her free hand she twirled a violet circle. Immediately Luz doubles over with a grunt of pain, hands on her head, feeling pressure building in her skull. Memories swam to the surface, jumbled and confusing. Matching colors swirled within the glass, vague shapes that Luz recognized as Amity, Clara, her Mom, herself…

Ed takes a cautious step forward. “Mother, you don’t need to-“

“Don’t need to what, dear?” She asks, immediately silencing him.

Alador’s strong hand finds his wife’s shoulder. “We don’t need to force this, Odalia,” he says, his voice stern.

“The human wants to talk more. So, let’s talk.” She sneers, twisting the circle in her hand.

Luz cries out in pain as she is forced to rapidly relive her recent memories. She’s vaguely aware of Emira yelling something beside her, too caught up in the rush of thoughts and emotions brought up by Odalia’s magic.

A cruel, overwhelming presence fills her mind. Who are you come into my house and judge me? What disrespect. What arrogance. Do you humans have no manners? Or did you learn this attitude from Edalyn?

Every moment she spent with Amity is forced to the surface of Luz’s consciousness. All at once she’s in a pot of abomination goo, choking on a sandwich as she’s roughly shaken. At the same time she’s falling in the snow of the Knee, trying not to embarrass herself in front of her newest friend. She can feel the heat of Inner Willow as she rages behind her, pulling the frightened witch deeper into someone else’s mind. She can feel the weight of the injured green-haired girl she’s carrying in her arms, and the pounding of her heart from the looks she’s giving her, the strange emotions she doesn’t yet understand.

What are you hiding from me, human? What don’t you want me to see?

Luz grits her teeth, struggling to regain control of her own mind. She notices Odalia’s presence pause at that moment, of Luz carrying Amity off the Grudgby field. Watching it. Analyzing it. Judging it. All the feelings and emotions, the blush on Amity’s face and the determined grin on Luz’s.

Some small corner of Luz’s brain that’s still her’s knows she needs to push Odalia out before she witnesses something she shouldn’t. She has to do something big. Something startling. Maybe even something that could trigger an emotional reaction that she wants to see from the stoic woman. And in an instant, Luz knows exactly what to show her. She squeezes her eyes tight, focusing on a specific, painful moment.

Amity, sitting on her mom’s couch in Connecticut, gauze wrapped around her face, on the verge of tears.

Luz feels the presence stop, take in the memory, and recede. Her headache is gone. She opens her eyes, blinking through tears, to find the Blight family staring at the crystal ball. Amity stares back from within, unmoving, a picture perfect copy of Luz’s memory. Odalia is motionless, a hand over her mouth, the other tightly, shakily clutching the crystal ball. Even the twins are speechless, having only heard Luz’s description of their sister’s injuries.

“What happened to her?” Alador whispers somberly without looking at Luz.

The human lets out a weary sigh, watching her words. “She got hurt when she disappeared. There’s this big gash along her cheek, under the gauze, and a little cut in her ear. There’s no magical healing in the human realm, but my Mom knows how to clean and take care of those kinds of injuries.”

There’s a moment of quiet as everyone takes on the sight of the youngest Blight, injured and upset. Then Odalia taps the crystal ball, and the image fades to nothingness. “You will ensure the portal is perfectly safe before she returns to us.” The mother looks a bit shaken, but she quickly resumes her normal composure. “Were there any other details you left out, Luz?”

The human shakes her head quickly, but still Odalia is eyeing her warily. The twins notice this, quickly recovering from their own grief as each lays a hand on Luz’s shoulders.

“It’s getting late. We should really get her back home,” Emira says.

No one moves. They look to their mother for permission, but she says nothing, still glaring distrustfully at the human. They need an out, a distraction, before Odalia decides to interrogate her again. It’s then that Luz catches the glimmer in Ed’s eye, the same expression as Eda when she gets a crazy idea.

“Luz said it could take two weeks or even longer to bring Amity back. She’s going to fall behind in her schoolwork,” he muses. Em and Luz make a face, both looking to him and wondering ‘where are you going with this?’

The distraction seems to work, as both parents’ expressions shift to concern and contemplation. “Yes, that is a shame. She had been top of her class, so far ahead of her peers. All that work for naught,” Alador laments. Once again, Luz finds herself wondering about these parent’s priorities.

“Well,” Ed gives his twin a subtle wink, “what if someone could go in her place? So she won’t fall behind.”

Em’s eyes light up as she catches on to her brother’s idea. Luz, however, is just as confused as their parents. “Did you have something in mind? An illusion, perhaps?” Odalia asks with a hint of sarcasm.

Ed shakes his head. “No, I was thinking of something more effective. I was just reminded of something I heard about from Glandus. A rich kid got hurt and needed time to heal, but couldn’t afford to fall behind in classes. So his parents-“

Em grins, finishing his sentence. “- commissioned a simulacrum to take his place. I remember hearing about that.”

Ed nods as he explains. “Exactly! A simulacrum could take her place in school and her job at the library. Once she’s home it could fill her in on everything she’s missed. You wouldn’t even have to pretend it’s her if you tell the school that she’s sick.”

Alador frowns, lost in thought. “Constructs like that tend to be quiet expensive. I’m sure I could make an abomination that could fulfill the role…”

Odalia sighs, shaking her head. “Remember the last time you tried to make one that was witch-like? Never again.” She eyes her children, and the confused human sitting between them. “That may be a worthwhile idea, Edric. We will consider if. For now, take Luz back to the Owl Lady so they can work on bringing dear Mittens home where she belongs.”

“Yes, Mother,” the twins answer in unison. Luz stands and follows them, eager to get as far away from this house and it’s owners as she can.

She makes it to the door before a too-calm voice calls to her, “And Luz?”

She hesitates before turning back. Odalia stares her dead in the eyes. “No more secrets.”

Luz nods hurriedly, following the twins out the door. They don’t say a word as the walk briskly through the manner and out the front door. As one they extend their palismen into staffs and take off, with Luz sitting behind Emira.

The human chances one last look back at Blight Manor, and the moment she does, that voice echoes once more in her head.

No more secrets.

Or I’ll know.

Chapter 26: Two Steps Forward

Chapter Text

“Sorry about Mother,” Edric calls from his staff flying nearby, “She’s not normally… okay maybe she is normally like that, but I didn’t think she’d use magic on you!’

Luz says nothing, hands tightly gripping Emira’s staff as she sat behind her. She tried not to think about the meeting as the trio flew around Bonesborough. The strangeness of the Blight parents. The tension and awkwardness and fear. How wrong it felt when Odalia searched through her mind.

Things didn’t exactly go as planned. And yet, everything proceeded as they had hoped. Amity’s parents now know where she is. They are letting Luz and Eda and Lilith continue their research to save Amity, without telling the Emperor’s Coven. Even better, they are distancing themselves from it all, using the twins as intermediaries.

But Luz couldn’t shake just how unsettled she felt by them. Except when he raised his voice, Alador had seemed disinterested by the meeting. Odalia showed no emotion whatsoever, save for maybe a little too much enthusiasm as she read Luz’s mind. They suppressed all their surprise of Amity being on Earth, and seemed more curious then upset that she was hurt.

Who are these people? What makes them act this way? And what must it be like to have them as parents?

Ed must have felt uncomfortable by the silence, because his voice interrupted Luz’s thoughts again. “Mother trained us all to withstand Oracle magic when we were younger. I don’t remember her ever acting like that to us. There was no need-“

“I’ve seen her do that before. To Amity.” Ed’s head whipped around to Emira, who looks down, ashamed. “I only saw it once, but she was so much harder on Amity then us. Father, too. They pushed her so much, said it would make her stronger. She always had to be the very best in their eyes, and it was never good enough.”

“… I didn’t know,” Ed whispers, dejectedly.

“You weren’t supposed to. I wasn’t supposed to. I just… pretended everything was okay. That she was just a perfectionist and a narcissist when really everything she did was because of them!” Em groans, drawing a deep breath to steady herself, her voice full of regret. “I should have said something… I should have done something…”

“What could you have done?” Ed asks bitterly.

Em slumps forward in shame and remorse. Luz gently pats her back, trying to reassure her. After a minute she sits back up, rubbing her eyes from the tears she refused to shed. “I’m okay. Our parents are just-“

“The worst,” Luz offers.

Both twins snicker, Em nodding. “Yeah. They care more about appearances then their kids. Every time I think I have them figured out, they surprise me by being worse then ever.”

Ed grunts in agreement. They fly for another minute, lost in an uncomfortable silence. A question pricks the back of Luz’s mind, and she calls back out to Ed. “Hey, what was that about an Amity simulacrum?”

Em grins, her anger with her parents forgotten. “That was brilliant, by the way.”

“Oh, I’m brilliant, you say? Tell me more?” He laughs at the glare thrown his way. “It just came to me. So, in case Mother found that word in your brain, Luz, now we can use my suggestion as an excuse. But the real reason was so we can learn how they’re made.”

Luz made a face, not sure what he was implying. “How would we do that?”

“All requests for multi-coven projects like simulacrums have to be approved by the Emperor’s Coven,” Em explains. “And they’ll keep records of who requested it, when, and what it’s supposed to look like.”

“So,” Ed chimes in, “if we can get a hold of those records-“

“We can see who commissioned the one that attacked Amity!” Luz gasps. She pauses, frowning. Could it really be so simple? “How do we know it’ll be in the records?”

Em sighs. “We don’t. But it’s a starting point. And something as complex as that would be hard to hide from the coven.”

“We might not get all the details, but anything would be a lead at this point,” Ed adds.

Luz’s confidence rises as Bonesborrow shrank behind them and the Owl House came into view. A new hope stirs within her, pushing aside the trauma of her mind reading. She’s done it! She’s survived telling the Blights where Amity is. Now the twins have an idea to learn more about the simulacrum’s origins! She’s almost back home, where she can rest and talk to Eda and Lilith and King, and learn about all the research they’ve been doing today!

She’ll be able to talk to Amity again.

Luz can’t help but feel a little anxious. Last she saw her, Amity had been bawling her eyes out, freshly injured and overwhelmed. Not to mention the whole “why did it have to be you, Luz?” debacle that Amity probably hadn’t meant to say out loud. But she had spent the whole day with Luz’s Mom, who’s a far nicer person than Odalia or the simulacrum. Surely Amity’s in a better mind space now.

The trio flew to the back of the Owl House after Ed mentioned wanting to avoid Hooty. Luz must have had a look on her face because as soon as they landed, Em gave her a smug grin. “You thinking about something? Or someone?”

“No!” Luz gasps, but her indignation falls under that knowing look. “…Yes. I’m just… hoping Amity is feeling better today.”

Ed slips beside her, messing with her hair. “I’m sure seeing you will cheer her up. Or maybe the other way around.”

Luz scowls and pushes him away, trying and failing to conceal her blush. Between the twins and her parents, Luz is really empathizing with what Amity has to put up with on a regular basis.

Em’s smirk twitches, her own concern breaking through the coy facade for just a moment. “Maybe… we could talk to her, too? If she’s up to seeing us?” Ed nods quickly, his own teasing smile fading.

Luz nods. “Yeah, I think she’d like that. Just don’t act too… you know… you.”

“We promise,” they swear sincerely and simultaneously. Luz rolls her eyes and leads them through the back door, into the Owl House. They walk through the kitchen, hearing light conversation coming from the living room. Once they reach it they stop, surprised at the sight before them.

Books. So many books. Dozens of them stacked up in various piles throughout the room with only the vaguest notion of order. Eda sat on the couch with King napping beside her, scribbling notes from a rather large tome. Lilith sits in the middle of the floor with no less than six open books around her, tracing complex magical equations on a notepad.

“What’s going on here?” Luz asks, alerting the sisters to her presence.

Eda’s head snaps up, a wide grin on her lips as she jumps from the couch. The sudden movement bounces King whom starts complaining, though no one pays him any mind. “Luz! You’re back! You gotta look at this. Lilly has outdone herself!” She grabs the human’s arm and pulls her toward the elder Clawthorne as she completes her equation. Eda kneels down beside her sister, pulling Luz next to her, with the twins hovering curiously behind them.

Lilith brightens as she directs their attention to a series of sketches. Luz recognizes a few from the echo mouse’s projections of Wittebane’s diary. She lays some sketches on top of one another, gesturing excitedly before finding her voice.

“I believe we have had a breakthrough,” she explains, pointing to a rough sketch of a door bearing an enormous yellow eye. Eda’s original portal.

“Phillip Wittbane went through multiple portal attempts, with each one leading to a different place that was neither the Demon nor Human Realms. He speculated that there could be many unforeseen variables that determine a particular doorway’s destination, including the time of year, the alignment of the stars, imperceivable shifts within the Titan’s corpse, among other such things.”

Luz frowned, her excitement waning. This was not the kind of news she wanted to hear. “Did he ever get back home?” she asks cautiously, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Lilith shrugs. “We still have much of the diary to go through. The echo mouse relays the information out of order, and it has consumed a variety of other books in it’s time in the library. But if the diary’s opening narration is to be believed, then yes, he eventually found his way back to Earth. Just as you shall, Luz.”

“But how? You just said he had to go through a bunch of different attempts. Do we just keep building portals and hope?”

“Nope!” Eda says with a wide, infectious grin. “‘Cause you and Amity already made a way to Earth.”

Luz raised an eyebrow, turning from one sister to the other. “The hole that Amity and I made by mistake?”

Lilith nods, pointing to a rough drawing of an archway, within which is a spiral of light reminiscent of Eda’s portal. “Rather than guess where a new portal leads, we can use what you already created. If we can expand the point between the worlds we can make a gateway that can be safely passed through. And once it’s stabilized-“ she grabs a diagram of a portal door, laying it atop the first sketch “- we can make a new a new door around it, just like the old one.”

“Stretching that hole won’t be easy,” Eda explains, grinning at the twins’ snickers and Lilith’s exasperated groan. Luz looks to King in confusion, but the demon just shrugs. “We won’t need as much titan’s blood as we would for a bunch of portals, but it’ll still take more then we have left.”

Lilith spoke up. “The real limiting factor will be raw magical power. To stabilize the portal, we’ll need witches to channel their energies into the gateway, and an archway created by spell craft to contain it and anchor it to this realm. Your ice glyphs would be sufficient for the arch, but we’ll need witches with working bile sacs to open the portal up. And we’ll need Amity on the other end to help stabilize it.”

“We can help,” Emira chimes in. “We can power the portal,” Edric agrees.

“We can recruit Park and Goops, too,” Eda nods.

“You four plus Amity should be enough, in theory, if we can get something to amplify your magic,” Lilith explains.

“Do you have any ideas for that?” asks Luz.

The elder Clawthorne sighs. “A few, but they are all rare and expensive. There are potions and enchantments that can enhance one’s magical power temporarily, but they may not be sufficient for our needs. The gateway will demand a tremendous amount of energy to stabilize. Even more so if Amity cannot help anchor it on her side. We need something that lets us use 4 teenaged witches instead of the 10 adults the ritual would normally call for.”

“Wait. Someone did this ritual before?” Luz gasps.

Eda nods. “It’s mostly rumor and hearsay, but supposedly wild witches in the past traveled to other realms all the time. Including the human one. I had to bribe Malphas to let me get at these older tomes, but he was eager to help when I said it was all for your girlfriend.” Luz blushes as Eda and the twins snicker behind her.

Lilith looks over a few of her notes, furrowing her brow. “My predecessor as head of the Emperor’s Coven had collected all manor of rare and powerful resources as Belos consolidated his power. Surely in that time he found something that could be of use. If only I still had access to his old journals.” She sighed with frustration.

Luz rubs her chin, thinking over her words instead of her embarrassment. Hunter would have access to those journals, right? She glances to King whom clearly followed her line of thinking, scratching his skull and meeting her gaze. Eda watches them with raised eyebrows but no words.

All three jump when Em suddenly speaks. “Ed and I are trying to convince our parents to commission a simulacrum of Mittens. Then we can sneak into the castle and learn who made the one of Luz. If we can get in, maybe we could find those journals, too.”

Lilith nods slowly, thinking it through. “That is very clever. Both those journals and any documents on the simulacrum would be kept in the Coven archives, away from prying eyes. Thankfully, they are unguarded. There’s just an elderly curator, if I recall correctly. Your illusions shouldn’t have any trouble with them.”

Luz bounces excitedly on her knees. Finally, their plans are coming together! “Willow and Gus and I snuck around the castle a few months ago, and we didn’t even use illusions half the time. It should be a cakewalk for you two.”

“What do you need to do to convince Odalia to go through with it?” Eda asks.

Ed grins. “That’s the best part: nothing.”

Em nods. “We planted the seed and gave them some good reasons to go for it. At the very least, Mother will want to go to the castle to learn more.”

“And we’ll be there with her and sneak away without her knowing,” Ed explains with a cool grin.

“Then we have a plan,” Lilith announced as she collects her notes. “Any intelligence you two can provide would be invaluable. In the meantime, we will continue researching the portal and any other useful spells or materials.”

“Yes!” Luz shouts with joy, jumping to her feet. “A plan! I can’t wait to tell Amity!” She spins on her toes, grinning as she takes in the room and the excited faces around her. Finally, something is going their way! After a miserable day and dealing with awful Alador and Odalia, she couldn’t be more thrilled. Her spin ends in an awkward near-stumble, but she quickly rights herself and faces her mentor. “Where’s my phone? I want to tell her the good news!”

Eda looks confused. “Huh? I don’t know, your room I guess.”

“Oh, right!” Luz sprints from the room, just passing the doorway and- Wait. She skids to a stop, leaning back into the living room. “Eda, didn’t you charge my phone this morning?”

Eda blinks at her blankly, trying to remember. This morning… I was avoiding Luz before she left for school so I wouldn’t confront her about Hunter. Then King and I went to the library for all these books. I spent the whole afternoon researching for Lilith’s gateway idea as a distraction. I guess it worked. I don’t remember… oh… oh no….

“I… um… I was supposed to charge your phone, wasn’t I?” Eda asks slowly, poking her fingers together and avoiding Luz’s gaze.

The whole house is unnervingly quiet for a moment as Luz stares at her. Without a word she runs to her room, her footsteps echoing down the hall. Em leans close, whispering to Lilith, “What’s going on?”

The dark-haired woman sighs, rubbing her temples. “Her phone, the device you two fought Luz for yesterday, requires sunlight to work. She did ask us to recharge it while she was at school today. We must have forgotten.” She turns to her sister, her voice low. “You did forget, right, Edalyn?”

“Of course I forgot!” Eda hisses back with a harshness that startles the others. “You think I wouldn’t charge it intentionally? No!” She clutches her forehead, running her hands through her hair, staring at the doorway from where Luz will appear any moment. “Just, all the stuff with Amity and Camila and Hunter, it was getting to me, and I needed to get away from it, and we were doing so well with your research-“

“Who’s Hunter?” Ed asks, only to get quickly shushed by King.

“Oh Lilly I screwed up, didn’t I?” Eda groans, head in her hands.

“Maybe it’s not so-“ Em starts, but is cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps. Slow, heavy stomps as Luz trudges down the hall, stands in the doorway, holding her phone.

“It’s dead,” she whispers. All her earlier excitement is gone. In it’s place is a horrible tension that brings the human to the verge of tears. “I can’t call Mom. I can’t talk to Amity. And it’s too dark now for my charger to work.”

“Luz,” Eda whispers with remorse. “Luz I am so-“

“How could you?” Luz gasped. She sways unsteadily, shaking, struggling to hold back tears. “You know how important this is! And after everything…how could you just forget!?”

Luz’s mind reels, anxiety bubbling to the surface. This, talking to Amity, was the one light at the end of the tunnel of the hell that was today. Not just today, but the past four days since she vanished. And now that moment she has been waiting for is gone. She’s breathing hard, uncontrolled, all her emotions over the past few days catch up to her all at once.

Tiptoeing around school, listening to rumors, avoiding attaching herself to Amity’s name. Fear and anger with Amity’s distant, cruel parents. Hatred towards the simulacrum that stole her life, manipulated her mother, and dared to hurt her crush. Worry for Amity, injured and overwhelmed in an unfamiliar land. Shame from Mom, who sent her to camp to ‘fix’ her weirdness. The pain of seeing Clara, her former friend turned bully. Her concerns and waning distrust toward Hunter which she desperately tried to rationalize away.

She could feel all of it at once, as though Odalia’s was still sifting through her head. The pain and anxiety and worry just kept building and building and building and -

“Luz?” Eda asks cautiously.

The human opens her eyes and stares at the woman before her. The woman who was like a second mother to Luz.

The woman who was now the reason she can’t talk to her Mom. Can’t talk to Amity.

Who disappointed her. Just like her real Mom.

And all those suddenly relived emotions came rushing out.

“I hate you!” Luz shrieks with all her might. She turns and runs down the hall, not waiting to see the damage her words left in their wake. Slamming the door behind her, she collapses into her bedroll and buried her face in her pillow, sobbing.

They wait. And wait. And wait.

The afternoon comes and goes, and now the evening approaches. Camila looks down at her phone, careful to keep the concern off her face. “She would be back at the Owl House by now, right?”

Amity nods slowly, also trying to hide her worry. “Maybe she’s got caught up in something and can’t call yet? Or she’s still talking to my parents.” She sighs, looking away and mumbling “Titan, I hope not.”

Camila watches her with unease. So far, Amity has been eager to tell her all about the Boiling Isles, but her parents are one subject she keeps avoiding. Every now and then the witch will slip and say something about expectations or weakness and quickly change the topic. It was easy for the mother to see there was a great deal of tension there. That her daughter had to face these people who, by her own words, threatened her life…

No, no. Luz is okay. She has Amity’s siblings with her. Best not to dwell on what if’s.

“She’ll call us when she can,” Camila announces. “In the meantime, why don’t we get dinner ready.” She turns to the other teens. “It’s probably best you two head home now.”

“Yeah, it is getting late,” Melony sighs as she stands, gathering her things. Clara says nothing, trying to hide her disappointment of going back home to an empty house. They gather their stuff and head for the door, giving their thanks and goodbyes. Their eyes linger on the dents and markings that still mar the hall from yesterday’s battle.

Amity turns to them as they are about to leave. “Hey, maybe you two can come back tomorrow? Ms. Noc-… Camila, has work, so I’d be alone otherwise. I need to start practicing my magic again, and you seemed interested in it.”

“Are you sure?” Camila cut in before they could answer. “You told me you needed a few day’s rest after burnout.”

The witch frowned, rubbing her arm. “Well, yeah, normally. But I need to practice casting spells without relying on the Titan’s ambient magic. We don’t know when the simulacrum will come back, and I need to be strong enough.”

Camila starts to protest before stoping herself. Amity’s right, after all. If the construct comes back, they’ll need more than Luz’s baseball bat to handle her. She hated the idea of the teenage witch putting more pressure on herself, putting herself in danger. But did they even have a choice?

She manages to hide her concern behind a smile. “Just… be careful, and don’t overdo it.”

“I won’t,” Amity says with a confident grin.

“Then we’d love to come and see your magic,” Melony answers, but her excitement is tempered as she meets Camila’s gaze. “If that’s okay, of course.”

The mother smiles warmly. “Of course. As long as it’s okay with Amity, and Luz doesn’t mind once we talk to her again, you are both welcome here. Oh, and Clara-“

She turns toward the shorter girl, who stares back like a deer in headlights. “That was a good idea. I’ll call the camp tomorrow morning. Maybe they had seen something, or they can tell us who the fake roomed with.”

Clara blinks in surprise. “Oh! Thank you! I know it’s kind of a long shot, but yeah, maybe we can learn something about her or where she came from.”

“It’s the best lead we have now” Amity admits with a half shrug.

The human teens say goodbye once more, with Clara thanking Camila for their earlier talk and promising she’d explain it all to a curious Melony. Soon after, Amity and Camila are sitting around the table once more. Their conversation is pleasant enough as they discuss Luz’s adventures in both Earth and the Boiling Isles.

It’s after awhile that the conversation wanes, and Camila finds herself anxiously watching her phone once more. “She’s really okay, right?”

Amity nods slowly, swallowing her worries with a mouthful of soup. “There’s any number of things that’s keeping her from calling. Maybe she stayed late at school, or she’s still talking to my parents. Maybe it’s raining and she can’t get back to the Owl House. Or she’s just distracted by something and forgot.” She adds that last one with a chuckle.

That seemed to calm the mother down, which reassured the witch as well. “That does sound like her, getting so wrapped up in something she loses track of time. So don’t be surprised if we get a call late at night.”

They both laugh, letting their stress melt away. Camila takes another slurp of her soup, much calmer now, but still curious about the subject the witch keeps avoiding. “So what are you’re parents’ names? I’d like to know what to call them when they check up on you.”

She jumps at the unexpected clatter of Amity’s dropped spoon. The girl is quick to apologize and retrieve it, mumbling something about being clumsy and headache coming on, maybe it’s best she lie down and - Camila cuts her off with a gentle hand on her own. “Amity. Why don’t you want to talk about your parents?”

The teen groans, stirring her soup and avoiding eye contact. After a few moments she finds her words. “My parents are not like you, Ms. No-, Camila. Odalia and Alador Blight are high class, influential, and run their own business that has lots of shady dealings. They are obsessed with their idea of family legacy, and everything they do is to further that. Including their children.”

She sighs, reigning in her bitter voice for a more neutral tone. One, Amity realized, her parents would approve of. “They push my siblings and I to be the very best in everything we do. The twins are Illusion prodigies, but once they determined I was good at Abominations they trained me nonstop to be the very best of my class. Perfection wasn’t good enough for them.”

Camila frowns, shaking her head. “That sounds stressful.”

“You have no idea,” Amity scoffs. “We can’t show any weakness or emotion or failure, because it’ll reflect on them. It’s all about their image, and how they can leverage it to their benefit. It doesn’t help that Mother is an Oracle.”

“Like the Fake Luz?” Camila asks warily.

“Yes, but she’s way more powerful. Her specialty is seeing all sorts of possible futures, which she uses to justify putting so much pressure on us.” She groans, tenderly rubbing her forehead, avoiding the gauze. “Mostly me. Today was the first day in as long as I can remember that she wasn’t harping on me to make our family proud.”

Camila squeezes Amity’s hand in sympathy. “No parent should put that much pressure on their child. It isn’t good or healthy.”

Amity sighs, looking down into her bowl. “Thank you. But, you want to know the worst part?” She lets out a shaky breath and looks up, meeting the human’s eyes. “They’re right. If they didn’t push me so hard… if they didn’t drive their sayings and lessons into my head, then I’d never have gotten out of Hopkin’s cage. And even if I had, the simulacrum would have killed me for sure.”

Camila expression hardens, her tone firm and motherly. “That doesn’t justify them treating you that way, Amity. You are your own person, and you deserve some say over your life. Especially when they are giving you too much pressure.”

“Believe me, I’ve tired to talk to them. Mother says it’s for my own good. That she knows better then us and I’ll understand when I’m her age. And Father lets her do whatever she wants.”

Camila grumbled something in Spanish, clearly frustrated. “‘For your own good.’ What does that even mean? How can a parent be so blind as to ignore what impact they have on-“ She suddenly stops, eyes wide, drawing Amity’s attention as she stares off in sudden epiphany.

Amity’s parents, mostly her Mother, dictate her entire life. What she is allowed to do, who she’s allowed to be friends with, how she’s allowed to spend her time. Camila had already heard other details from Luz’s videos that no longer seemed so embellished. Odalia and Alador are distant and controlling and manipulative and using their children to pursue their own goals, claiming it’s for their own good.

Was that really that different from how I forced Luz to go to camp?

“Camila?” Amity asks, breaking the uneasy silence.

The mother shakes her head, clearing it of comparing herself with the Blights and with Clara’s uncertain relationship with her dad. “One thing I’m learning is that parents, good parents, want what is best for their children, but they don’t always know what that is. They see a problem and do everything in their power to fix it, without realizing they are causing other problems along the way. I-… I forced Luz to go to that summer camp without discussion, thinking she would make friends and gain some awareness and self-control. Instead I made a rift between us.”

Camila slumps in her seat, dejected. She pulls her arm away, but Amity is quick to grab it. “I don’t think Luz would hold that against you. She forgave me for how I acted before we became friends. She even forgave Lilith after everything she did.”

The mother nods. “You’re probably right. I just worry.”

“You’re a good mom, Camila.” Amity huffs, her tone growing bitter. “Better then some, that’s for sure.”

She winces, squeezing Amity’s hand again. “Is she really that bad?”

The witch sighs, looking off for a moment. “Let me answer that by addressing your first question. No, I don’t think my parents will ever talk to you on the phone. Once they know I’m alive, they’ll keep their distance and expect me to figure my own way back home. Mother always says we can’t rely on any handouts for help.”

“What?” Camila gasps, incredulous. “But you’re their daughter! How could they not want to help? You’re in another dimension, for crying out loud!”

Amity shakes her head. “I’m not an adult yet, so I’m not a person to them. I’m… I’m an investment that they hope will pay off in the end.”

“Is that really how they think?”

The pale teen shrugs, her voice hallow. “That’s how it feels, sometimes.”

Camila takes both her hands, squeezing them tight. “You are not an investment, Amity. You are a smart, strong, unique human- er, witch!” Amity giggles at the slip up, making Camila laugh and interrupting whatever else she was going to say.

The witch rubs her eyes as she calms back down. “Thank you. And I know. I’ve been trying to be more independent lately. I used to have my whole future planned out for me but now… I don’t know what I want, and it’s exciting! I’m not letting them pressure me so much anymore, and I’m giving myself time to be me, and not their little project.”

“Like your hair? Luz said it used to be green.”

“Yeah. It was another way Mother tried to control me, but I’m taking it back for myself.”

“I’m so glad to hear that.” Camila smirks in a way that’s too much like the twins. “I know Luz likes the changes, too.”

“Well, she did help me see I’m worth more then what my parents say. Wait.” Her eyes narrow, catching that teasing grin. “Did she say something?”

“Oh, not much. In one of her videos called you… what was it? A ‘cotton-candy-haired goddess.’”

Amity’s face turns scarlet. She looks away, but soon turns back, taping her fingers together and mumbling in a low voice. “C-could I see that video?”

Camila smirks. “Not without her permission.”

Luz sobbed into her pillow, overcome with regret.

Why did I freak out like that! I was pissed at Eda but she didn’t deserve that! What is wrong with me!?

She has no way of knowing how long she laid there crying, ignoring the world. It’s dark out her window now, and the voices downstairs have long since gone too quiet for her to hear. Not that she couldn’t hear anything over her own crying.

After awhile she settled down, but she’s too ashamed to move from her spot on the floor. She doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do now, or how she’s supposed to face Eda again. Which makes it all the more scary when her mentor knocks on her door.

“Luz? Can I come in?” Her voice is guarded, but clearly concerned for her apprentice.

The human sat up, checking her reflection in her mirror. The Luz that stares back has red eyes and flushed cheeks, disheveled hair and a scruffy uniform. Great, I look as pathetic as I feel. She rubs her eyes and clears her throat, trying to make herself somewhat presentable before weakly answering “Come in.”

Eda slowly steps inside, closing the door behind her. She, too, looks like she’s been crying, wringing her hands and avoiding Luz’s gaze. The regret twists in the human’s gut, and before Eda can speak, Luz is already babbling.

“Eda, I’m so, so, so sorry. I didn’t mean that, I love you! I don’t know what came over me and-“

The Owl Lady raises her hand to silence her, the thin line on her face easing into a smile. She relaxes, no longer steeling herself for another verbal attack. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I won’t lie, what you said hurt, but I know you didn’t mean it. The greentops told us what happened.”

“They… what?”

“Your convo with their folks. How ‘Dalia got in your head.”

Luz grimaced as a wave of revulsion swept through her. Anger, shame, regret, all mixing together in an ugly stew that unsettled her stomach. She must have made a face, because Eda took note of her reaction and continued.

“Oracles rooting through your thoughts tends to stir up a lot of emotions. Even afterward, it can be very unsettling, like you’re reliving your most recent memories. And if a lot of those memories were stressful…”

Luz blinked. “Oh.”

Eda snickers, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Yeah, ‘oh.’ You aren’t just mad at me, which is completely justified by the way. You’re feeling everything all over again, all at once. That’s a lot for anyone to take.”

“How do I… make it stop?” She sniffles, blinking through tears she’s already cried.

Eda gives her a motherly smile. “A good night’s sleep will settle your head. Some positive memories will also-“ she’s cut off as Luz throws herself into the taller woman, squeezing her tightly and mumbling another apology. The wild witch gently pats the girl’s head before returning the hug. “I forgive you. You’re gonna be fine, kid.”

With a sigh they separate, sitting on Luz’s bedroll as the human rubs her eyes. “I… do feel better now. And when you and Lilith went over your plans, that made me hopeful. I really, really appreciate how much effort you are putting into this.” She frowns, looking away. “Which also makes it hurt more that you forgot about my phone.”

Eda rubs her arm, thinking over her words. “I’m really sorry about forgetting, Luz. I was worried about you. We’ve had a few off days, and some big talks, and, well, I’m not your Mom. I don’t know if I’m doing right by you. So today I figured I’d focus entirely on Lily’s research and, hopefully, we’d have some answers for you.”

“And you did,” Luz reassures her mentor.

“Yeah, we did. But I was so focused on that, I forgot entirely about your phone. I’ve never been good with people. You know, honesty and emotions. But I’m trying. And I promise you, tomorrow I’ll make sure to charge your phone do you can talk to Amity and your Mom.”

“Thank you, Eda.” Luz whispers, hugging her once more. “You aren’t my Mom, but your still like a mom to me.”

Eda squeezes her tighter, barely suppressing a grateful son. “Anytime, kid,” she says as they part, watching her closely. “I don’t want there to be any more miscommunication between us. So if there’s ever anything you need to tell me, or hear from me, please, don’t hesitate.”

The human nods, immediately thinking about Hunter, the last real secret she’s keeping from Eda. Oh, how she wants to tell Eda everything. How she wants to hear her opinion about the boy behind the golden mask, even if Luz herself disagrees. Hunter is so different from everything she had expected, and he seems to really be trying be to be a good friend. She’s pretty sure she can trust him, but are their secret meetings to discuss glyphs and Amity really safe? Is associating with the Golden Guard in the dead of night a good idea?

But she can’t say anything. This isn’t just her secret. Hunter had made her promise not to tell anyone, for fear of his uncle learning about their friendship.

That King found out is bad enough. No one else can know.

“If anything else comes up, I’ll tell you,” Luz lies.

She doesn’t see Eda’s lips twitch, nor think anything of the momentary disappointment in her tone. “Come on then, let’s get some grub to eat.”

Dinner, thankfully, was not actual grubs. Not after that one time.

The rest of the evening passed quickly. Ed and Em had already gone home. Luz apologized profusely to everyone, and they assured her all was fine. They kept the conversation light and hopeful, and after dinner Luz did her homework with King by her side.

Towards the end of the day, a thought struck Luz. She waited until she could talk to Eda alone, just before bed, to ask, “What you said about Oracle magic making me upset. The simulacrum had Oracle magic. Could that emotional overload that I felt have happened to Amity yesterday?”

Eda thinks for a moment, sucking on her gold fang. “Maybe. Could explain why she got so upset all of a sudden. Having to relive a few stressful days and a near-death experience? Yeesh, that would be rough.”

She catches the worried frown on Luz’s face and quickly adds, “But, uh, you always said how good your Mom is, right? I’m sure Amity’s in good hands.”

Luz calms, nodding. “Yeah, Mom’s always good at helping me when I’m down.”

“Good. You should get to bed, missy.”

“Yeah, yeah.” One last warm hug and the two said their good nights. Luz didn’t see the lingering concern on Eda’s face after she turned away. Nor would Eda tell her about the worsening nightmares the next day.

Luz lays in her bedroll, staring at the ceiling, her mind wandering despite her best attempts to control it. She thought of her Mom consoling Amity, and Ed and Em scheming, and Hunter practicing glyphs in a quiet corner of the castle. She considers Eda and Lilith and King and Hooty diving into the mountain of books downstairs, doing all they can to help the witch trapped in the human world. So much more than her own parents. Should couldn’t help but be so grateful for her new, strange family.

Her thoughts returned to Amity. Specifically, and without meaning to, she thought of Mom changing Amity’s clothes. Even though Luz didn’t see much, it was more of her crush than she had seen before, immediately making her cheeks heat up. Thank God Mrs. Blight didn’t see that memory!

She recalls the bruises marring Amity’s pale skin, ruining the memory. Then she sees Amity’s crying face once more, the same memory Odalia had shown her family on the crystal ball.

Huh. If an Oracle reading my thoughts makes me re-feel my emotions, do they feel them too? Did Mrs. Blight feel all my worry for Amity at that moment? What must that be like, to experience someone else’s memories and emotions? What does that do to a person?

No, screw Mrs. Blight for putting me through that torture. And Mr. Blight for allowing it. And the simulacrum for hurting my Amity. They are all emotionless monsters that deserve to feel bad.

Her thoughts disperse as her eyelids grow heavy. All the stress of the day finally caught up to her, and she welcomes sleep. Just before passing out, she’s disturbed by a bright light filling the room. Luz blinks to find the crystal ball glowing a brilliant green.

Willow? Now? This late?

Luz turns away from the orb. It pulses for a few moments before going dim.

I’ll talk to her tomorrow.

“I don’t trust her.”

Alador rolls his eyes. “You don’t trust anyone, dear.”

Odalia’s frown deepens. “That’s not the point. She was keeping Mitten’s injuries from us. She’s obviously hiding more.”

Alador looks bored of the conversation already as he changes for bed. “Then why didn’t you just rip the secrets out of her head? She’s a human, she can’t stop you.”

His wife groans, rubbing her forehead. “You know nothing about Oracle magic. Do you know how draining it is to delve that deep into someone’s memories? Especially a teenager. Their thoughts and emotions are so confused, full of extremes.”

He gives her an unamused stare. “Like difficulty or inconvenience ever stopped you.”

Odalia sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “The human doesn’t matter. Mittens’s injury does.” She spins a violet circle, summoning a crystal ball to her hand. The same still memory of Amity, bandaged and crying, stares back at her.

Alador watches his wife for a long moment before he speaks, his voice softer. “This wasn’t supposed to happen this soon.”

A rueful laugh. “That’s the trouble with prophecies. They still manage to surprise you.” Odalia dryly retorts.

Quiet fills the large bedroom. Alador tears his golden eyes from his daughter’s matching tear-filled orbs, to find his wife. Now alone, at the end of another day full of concealed worry, he can allow a little emotion into his voice. “You know what this means, dear.”

“It means nothing,” she spits, making the ball vanish with a twist of her wrist. “There are many possibilities. Even the best Oracles cannot predict the future with certainty.”

“Odalia-“

“What do you think of Edric’s suggestion?” She asks suddenly, her tone calm and controlled once more. “A simulacrum? An inspired idea, truly, and one I had not considered.”

“Stop changing the subject.” An exasperated groan, a thoughtful pause. “If we go that route, it could explain some of your conflicting visions. Specifically-“

"Drop it, Alador," she warns, her voice icy cold.

He pushes ahead, his voice rising. "If that vision is in any way true, we need to discuss-"

“No!” His wife bites harshly, already knowing where this conversation will lead. “That will not come to pass. I won’t allow it.”

He sighs, exhausted, defeated. “It may not be your choice, dear. But I hope you are right. For Amity’s sake, and your own.”

His wife says nothing, pointedly turning away. Alador shakes his head gloomily and leaves for the bathroom. Odalia watches him go, her stony visage softening once she’s alone. She conjures her crystal ball once more, gazing into the face of her youngest child.

“It won’t happen. It can’t. There’s no reason that I… I couldn’t….” She closes her eyes, dismissing the ball, raising a fist to her forehead. “Titan below, don’t let it happen. Don’t let it come to that.”

Outside the door, Edric and Emira share a worried look. They listen closely, but can’t overhear anything else.

Chapter 27: Applied Magics

Chapter Text

The next morning was a blur of eggs and hugs and happy ‘good mornings’ and rushed ‘goodbyes’, and before she knew it, Luz was leaving her third class for the cafeteria. All throughout the day she had heard new rumors about Amity based on a new fact: that her father had come to the school and told Principal Bump and all her teachers that she was sick. Now the students speculated on what kind of illness she had, and how severe it must be to keep a Blight home from school for three days. Luz felt a weight leave her shoulders. She still has to be careful with what she says, but at least no one will associate her with Amity’s disappearance anymore.

Her head is buzzing as she sits at her usual lunch table, unpacking her meal as she waits for her friends. After talking to Eda last night and again this morning, Luz felt better again about everything, and is hopeful to speak with Mom and Amity tonight. But she’s a bit dazed from her morning lectures, and she’s dreading all the homework she mostly ignored since the weekend. She’s got projects and deadlines coming up much too soon, giving her a whole source of anxiety.

Mostly, Luz is tired. The past few days have been nonstop stress, and now she needs to catch up on all the schoolwork she’s put off. She needs a break. And it’s only Wednesday.

She’s almost finished devouring her sandwich when Willow sits beside her. The witch leans close, her nervous smile unnoticed by the rushing human. “Hey, I tried to call you last night.”

“I know, I’m sorry. Yesterday was… long.” Luz groans with a mouthful of food.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Willow sympathizes, remembering how she was going to meet with the Blight parents. Was that why Luz didn’t answer her call last night? Was she just too tired from that ordeal? She watches the human struggle to swallow, arching an eyebrow. “Why are you eating so fast?”

Luz gulps, talking quickly as she eats. “Because since… everything that’s been happening, I’m really behind on my homework! I need to beg the Rune professor for an extension, and go over this healing assignment with Bo. I just really need to catch up.”

Willow frowns as her friend shovels the rest of her lunch into her mouth, lowering her voice. “I heard Amity’s Dad was talking to the principal earlier. How’s she doing?”

The human grumbles something, clearing her throat. “I couldn’t talk to her yesterday. My phone… didn’t charge. Hopefully I can call her after school, which is why I need to get all my other work done.”

She could hear the stress in the human’s voice. Luz is in a rush, clearly trying to escape the conversation. But Willow wants to know what’s going on. Now that she finally has friends, she can’t bear the thought of being left out. Not to mention a certain bully that’s been asking questions. Willow needs answers, and needs to warn Luz about the strange text Boscha received. “So about Amity-“

“There she is!” Gus exclaims as he rushes over, startling the girls. He sits across from Willow, and soon two other illusionists sit beside him: Edric and Emira.

The older teens lean over the table, blocking the human from the rest of the room. “How are you today, Luz?” Em asks cautiously, her voice low.

She sighs, cheeks flushed with embarrassment that she tries to cover with a carton of apple blood. “Better. Eda explained how Oracle magic messes with your head. I’m sorry for exploding like that.”

“It’s okay. Mother has that affect on all of us,” Ed assures her without a hint of sarcasm.

“What are they talking about?” Willow whispers to Gus.

The younger witch shrugs. “I don’t know. They just said they had to see her.”

But I thought they couldn’t associate with her, in case people ask about Amity, Willow thinks. Did something change? Is everyone fixated on her illness now?

“I heard your dad was talking to Bump,” Luz tells the twins.

Em nods with a conspiratorial wink. “Poor Mittens, stuck at home until she gets better. I’m sure she misses her friends. Maybe one in particular misses her back.” She smirks, emphasizing the word with a knowing tone that makes Luz blush all the brighter.

Ed snickers at her reaction, his tone prideful. “But we needed to tell you, Mother really likes my idea from yesterday.”

Luz sits up straighter, her fluster forgotten. “Wait, really? She’s gonna-?”

Ed quickly covers her mouth before she gets too loud. Em smirks and nods. “She’s going to the castle after work to discuss options, and we’re going with her.”

Luz pulls back out of Ed’s reach. “How are you going to convince her to let you go?”

The more theatrical twin pouts, rubbing his eye. “We’re just so upset about everything going on with poor little Mittens, so we need to step up and do our very best.” His expression shifts to genuine remorse. “I mean, we are upset, but we gotta sell it.”

“And while we’re at the meeting, I sneak out under an illusion and go to the archives and find out all about your evil twin,” Em grins, pleased with her plan.

“Why do you get to go? I don’t want to be stuck with Mother in some boring meeting!” Ed complains.

His sister scoffs. “You couldn’t find that book the other day when it was right in front of you. Seriously, you need glasses.”

“My vision is fine, unlike your’s. You were wearing my shirt on Sunday.”

“Ed, that was my shirt!”

The two argue, with Luz jumping into the conversation, taking both sides. Willow watches them, completely lost. She turns to Gus whom is just as confused, but is currently more interested in his lunch. She sighs, returning to her own meal and trying to tune out Luz and the Blights.

She happens to glance up, grateful that no one seems to be paying their rather loud table much attention. At least until she finds Boscha across the hall, glaring at the back of Ed’s head.

Oh, farts! I need to talk to Luz!

Willow turns back to the group just as their argument ends and the twins stand to leave. Luz stands as well, and Willow quickly grabs her arm. “Wait, where are you going?”

Luz blinks, glancing at the retreating Blights, then back to her friend. “I need to talk to them. It’s about-“ she pauses, shaking her head, “- too much to explain now. And I really need to talk to my teachers. Please, Willow, we’ll catch up later. I promise.”

Internally, the plant witch is groaning. She’s so confused! What’s going on with Amity? What’s going on with the twins? Did Luz talk to their parents yesterday? What am I supposed to tell Boscha!?

But the look of exhaustion of Luz’s face wins her over. She nods, letting go of the human’s arm. “Okay. Please, I just want to help.”

Luz gives her a tired smile. “You will. Promise.” She waves to her friends and runs out the cafeteria after the Blights.

Willow sighs, looking back out across the hall to find Boscha’s seat empty. Before she can even begin to worry about the bully, her scroll vibrates and she reflexively summons it.

B: no one at the greenhouse, meet here in 3 mins

She groans, face planting on the table. Gus gives her an amused look. “Rough day?”

“You could say that.”

As the pink circle passed around her right hand, Amity’s pale skin shifted into a purple sheen. The spell hung around her wrist like an oversized bracelet as she flexed her abomination fingers, willing them to bend and twist unnaturally. Still she marveled at just how easy it is to reshape her hand however she desired. On a whim she folds her fingers and palm together into a dull flat edge reminiscent of the simulacrum’s blade before shifting it back to it’s usual shape and dismissing the spell.

Clara and Melony stare, mouths agape. As soon as the spell ended the taller teen starts clapping. “That was amazing!” Melony cries, just as she had for the past dozen magical demonstrations.

Clara makes a face, her voice a mixture of impressed and disgusted now that the novelty of magic is starting to wear off. “What kind of magic is that?”

“An advanced transmutation spell. One that will let me take on the simulacrum,” Amity declares, looking over her hand. Satisfied that there was no residual slime, that she had performed the spell right, she stretched out her left arm to repeat it. The pink circle flared into being, the tips of her fingers warped into goo as it traveled down her hand again. But as the circle passed over her palm, pain erupts from her burned skin. Amity hisses, breaking the circle with a flick of her wrist and cradling her hand against her chest.

“Are you okay?” Clara asks, concerned, eyeing the wrappings on Amity’s hand.

“I’m fine,” she rasps a little too forcefully. She casts the spell again, but once more pain spikes through her burned hand. She tries to push through it, but the more magic she forced into the spell the more her burns intensify, and the more her bile sac clenches in her chest. She releases the circle once more, panting and gently rubbing the back of her hand.

“Maybe you need a break,” Melony suggests, “You’ve been practicing magic for an hour, and the more you push, the more it hurts you.”

“I don’t need a break!,” Amity snaps back. She stops, exhaling, letting her emotions calm. “Sorry. I just- I need to master this spell. It’s my best chance to fight the simulacrum when she comes back.”

“Can’t you just make another purple man?” Clara suggests.

Amity shakes her head. “No. Too inefficient. Abominations are easy to summon in the Boiling Isles because I can draw on the magic of the surrounding environment. But there’s no magic in this world to help me, and I don’t have any pre-made slime to use.”

“Could you make more?” Melony offers.

“No magical reagents, no slime,” Amity sighs, “I can’t drain all my bile on one golem. It left me too open to attack last time. But if I could become a golem myself, I could weather her attacks and dish them right back. Theoretically. But it won’t matter if I can’t even cast with my left hand!”

“And if transforming your hand hurts so much, it’ll be even worse if you try to transform your head,” Melony points out.

Amity groans, caressing the gauze on her face. Despite the rest and the painkillers, the gashes on her cheek still throbbed. She didn’t want to think how much it would hurt to change that to slime as well.

“You’re right,” she admits. “But it doesn’t matter. If I can’t fight her off…” She makes a fist with her burned hand in a show of determination, but the act is broken by a spike of pain. She winces, fighting back the tears, something the humans notice despite her best attempts to hide them.

“Well… we still got this!” Melony lifts the red baseball bat, winding up a swing before Clara intervenes. The taller teen sheepishly sets it back down. “Sorry. But we could do some real damage with that!”

“It won’t be enough,” Amity bemoans. Fake Luz took a few Abomination punches without a problem. There’s no way that human weapon will hurt her. It’s all up to me, as always, but I’m too hurt, too weak…

She squeezes her eyes shut, struggling to control her temper. She’s just so frustrated! Curse her injuries, her weakened magic in this stupid world. Curse the simulacrum that shouldn’t be here, that makes everything worse just by existing! Amity can already imagine Mother’s complaints in her ear. How can she possibly protect herself, let alone Camila and the teens? Has all her work been in vain?

Amity can hear the humans whispering to each other, picking out words like ‘worried’ and ‘too much,’ and it just makes her feel worse. Of course they would patronize her, just like Mother. Amity hasn’t pushed herself too much. She clearly hasn’t pushed herself enough. She needs to be more focused, more dedicated, more determined, more angry if she’s going to have any chance to survive.

The rising pitter-patter of raindrops outside does not help her mood. Its as if the world itself has decided to spite her.

Clara looks out the window, then back to Melony with a mischievous grin. She whispers something into her friend’s ear, and soon she, too, shares that same impish smirk. The two approached the frustrated witch, pulling her arms to make her stand despite her grumbling.

“You need a distraction,” Melony insists, pulling Amity toward the back door.

“Come on! We’ll play a game Luz used to love when we were little,” Clara agrees, pushing the witch forward.

Amity starts to protest, but hearing Luz’s name seemed to settle her. Both humans recognize the blush on her cheeks, Melony’s grin widening while Clara raises her brow in confusion. It was only when Melony threw open the door and the sound of rain grew louder that the pale witch realized where they are leading her.

“W-wait, you want to go outside? But it’s raining!”

“Yeah, so? It’s not coming down that hard,” Melony insists.

“It’s still warm out, and we’ll be out back so no one can see or judge us,” Clara adds, pushing the increasingly struggling witch out the door.

“Wait, n-no-!” Amity cries as she’s forced outside by the stronger, uninjured teens. The moment she steps outside her struggles become frantic, desperately trying to free herself from the humans. She slips on the wet grass, flailing out of Melony’s grip and falling on the unscarred half of her face.

“Amity! Are you okay?” Melony gasps as she and Clara pick her up.

Amity seems stunned, in a daze as the girls struggle to right her limp body. They are so concerned that she’s hurt, they don’t notice the rapidly shifting expressions on her face. Fear, then confusion, then wonder. She looks down at her arms supported by the teens as beads of water gather. She raises her head to the sky, blinking through raindrops, her golden eyes wide. “It doesn’t burn,” she whispers in awe.

Amity blinks again, realizing where she is, and pulls herself fully to her feet. A chill runs through her as she becomes aware of her (Luz’s) soaking clothes clinging to her, the drops of cool, not-boiling water striking her and the concerned humans at her sides.

For a long moment she stares up at the clouds, oblivious to all else. The cool rain felt so refreshing against the warm end of summer air. It was so incredibly calming. In her fourteen years in the Boiling Isles, she never once felt like this. Suddenly all her tension about her magic and her future washed away. She couldn’t remember feeling so serene, so at peace before in her life.

Melony waves a hand in front of her eyes. “Are you okay?” she asks again fearfully.

“I’m fine,” Amity quickly assures them. There’s no tension in her voice now. “Just surprised. Why are we outside?”

“It was a dumb idea, I didn’t mean for you to fall and get soaked,” Clara frowns. The rain continues to fall around them, but it’s a gentle downpour, one that wouldn’t result in the drenching that Amity had received by slipping. “We wanted you to stop stressing, so I thought we’d bring you out here. When it's like this, it helps me calm down. No pressure, no status, just me and the rain.”

Clara closes her eyes and takes a deep, soothing breath. Amity mimics her, as does Melony beside them, and sure enough, the witch feels herself settle. When she opens her eyes she can see the warm glow in the blonde’s. “Luz taught me this. Said it helped her when she felt overwhelmed, or sad about her dad. She also loved playing tag in the rain when we were little.”

“Luz used to love it?” Amity repeats, biting her lip as her blush bloomed in full force. Between the surprise of the cool, soothing rain, and the idea of learning more about her crush, all of Amity’s lingering concerns vanished. “How do you play?”

Tag, it turns out, is a very simple game. Amity picked it up quickly, relying on her Grudgby skills to chase after the other teens. Her muscles and bruises groaned in protest, still sore despite the rest and pain meds, but that was a problem for future Amity. Right now she’s content. More than that, she’s happy, and she wants to hold on to that feeling as long as she can. And so the three teens ran around the backyard, laughing like little children. All of their worry and fear melted away in the rain as they shouted and chased one another without a care in the world.

Willow smooths out her uniform as she walks, trying to occupy her trembling hands. She’s about to meet Boscha about Luz and Amity again. Alone, again.

She’s not really afraid of the bully, not since that grudgby game that Luz dragged her into. That had given the plant witch plenty of confidence to stand up to Boscha and tell her off when she needed to. But that was always in front of a crowd, during the dwindling times she tried to pick on her.

Now she was meeting her alone, to talk about Amity’s disappearance and her strange text. And Willow really doesn’t know what to think. She hasn’t been able to talk to Luz! What can she say? How much can she reveal? Will she need to lie? She can if she needs to, but her fathers instilled a strong moral code in the plant witch such that lying makes her uncomfortable. Plus she really wouldn’t want Boscha to call her out if she did lie to her.

And the text itself was still so weird! Why would Amity tell Boscha of all people not to trust Luz? Luz is trying to help her! Amity is living with Luz’s Mom for Titan’s sake! She has no choice but to trust her. So why would she write that and send it to her ex-friend, who isn’t supposed to know what’s really going on?

All this and more ran through Willow’s head as she approached the greenhouse. As time ran out, she resolved that, more than anything, she needs to diffuse the bomb that is Boscha. She has to shut down her concern or curiosity or whatever now, no matter what, and tell Luz as soon as she can.

Just make Boscha stop asking questions! That’s the most important thing I can do right now. Then we can figure out what to say and not worry about her. I just need to be confident. She’s a bully, she wants to intimidate me like she always used to. Don’t give her an inch and she’ll leave me alone.

She takes a breath, nods, and pushes open the greenhouse door. Boscha is waiting for her inside, glaring at a panicking Clyde with a fireball whirling in her hand. Willow immediately rushes over to the pink-haired witch and covers her hand with both her own, smothering the flame. “What are you doing!? You’ll light the whole plant wing up!”

Boscha looks down at her hand clasped between Willow’s for a long moment before she scowls and roughly pulls away. “I wasn’t gonna start a fire! I just wanted that thing to leave me alone.”

Clyde whimpers somewhere behind the plant witch, which only makes her angrier. “Stop scaring him! He won’t bother you now anyway because he doesn’t like how you taste!” Willow scolds, crossing her arms.

The bully rolls her three eyes and scoffs. “Whatever, I’m not here for your dumb plant.” She takes a step close, hands on her hips, towering over the plant witch. “What did the human tell you? Why were Amity’s brother and sister talking to her?”

“I haven’t talked to Luz since yesterday,” Willow admits. She frowns, raising her voice, projecting an air of confidence as she gave Boscha the speech she had been practicing, “The twins came to tell us that Amity is sick, and they want Luz to collect her homework for the class they have together.”

Boscha nods slowly, backing off, “Yeah, I heard that too. Amity caught something bad. But why the text? ‘Don’t trust Luz’? And all the concern about her going missing? That doesn’t make sense.”

Willow shrugs, leaning into her lie with some fake confidence and a strong, aggressive tone to cover her frazzled nerves. “Does it matter? Maybe it has to do with her illness. Maybe it affected her head or something. The Blights won’t tell us anything about that.”

Boscha seems surprised by the shorter witch’s tone. She steps back and leans against the wall, folding her arms, looking away. “Her mom’s all obsessed about appearances. Don’t show weakness. Same stuff my parents drilled into me. I just thought-“ she frowns, her expression hardening “- never mind.”

Willow’s assertiveness falls for a moment. “You thought what?” she asks curiously.

The grudgby captain huffs, meeting her eyes. “Amity and I used to be close. We both have awful parents, so we were the only ones who got each other, you know? We didn’t always get along but we had each other’s backs. So when she texted me…” She drifts off, looking away with a scowl.

“You thought she was reaching out for help. And you wanted to help, to be a better friend,” Willow offers with sympathy in her voice.

Boscha snorts, standing and pushing past the plant witch. Willow notes those rapidly blinking eyes as she turns away, once more putting on a tough, indifferent attitude. “Yeah, well, I guess her disease screwed up her head or something. She never texted me back, so, I guess it was nothing. Sorry for wasting your time.”

Willow’s heart twisted. On the one hand, yes, Boscha’s not prying into Amity’s disappearance anymore! Praise the Titan! But on the other hand, the empathetic witch could see how hopeful Boscha had been. She’s genuinely concerned for her former friend. And now it seems clear that Amity didn’t reach out for her help. She still wants nothing to do with her.

“Hey,” Willow calls, stopping Boscha as she reaches the door. Her voice is back to normal, no more false confidence, just the same reassurance she gives to her friends. “You tried. You wanted to help. That counts for something. Tell Amity how much you cared when she’s back in school. Maybe you two can work something out.”

The bully’s frown hardens, glaring holes through the Willow. “I don’t need your pity, Half-a-Witch! I’m not telling her anything. I’d sound weak and pathetic like-“

Frustrating bubbles beneath the surface, and Willow’s words return with a harsh edge. “Like me? Or Luz? The people Amity hangs out with now? She’s changing, Boscha. She’s trying to be a better person, and if you don’t recognize that, then I don’t know how you were ever friends in the first place.”

Boscha’s face turns bright red. She scowls, trembling like she’s about to explode, before suddenly turning away. Willow can barely see her twitch, and she sighs, venting out all her boiling emotions. “Maybe- No, this is fine. Amity is fine. She can deal with her human drama. I need to focus on the game tomorrow.” She suddenly whirls around, pointing an accusing finger at the plant witch. “And if you say anything about this to anyone-!”

Willow recoils, raising her hands. “I won’t!” She leans back in, pushing aside her discomfort, not wanting to seem afraid of the bully. “I promise.”

Boscha looks her over with a sneer and leaves the greenhouse, slamming the door behind her.

Willow (and Clyde) sighs with relief. All that false confidence fades away, leaving her shaking and exhausted. But she did it! Boscha’s gone. She won’t be asking about Amity anymore. Hopefully soon Willow can catch up with Luz and tell her all of this. They can make a plan, and she can learn what’s really being going on with Amity and the Blights.

Still though, Willow is left uncertain. She didn’t like having to lie, even little fibs to get the bully to back off. She’s concerned about Boscha’s mixed emotions toward Amity, the way her usual co*cky mask slipped to show the insecurities she that lay beneath. Did Willow come on too strong? Too aggressive? Did she scare Boscha away when she needed help? When she needed a real friend?

Or was she just being foolish, imagining the pink-haired witch as anything but a prideful bully?

Willow groans, running her hands through her hair. How does Boscha always get to me like that? I’m a confident person now! I can rely on my friends, my family, my magic! What is it that makes me so anxious when I’m around her?

It’s because she’s a bully. She was always worse then Amity ever was. That has to be it.

Most of all, Willow couldn’t help but think of that text that started it all. Why had Amity texted Boscha to not trust Luz? Why didn’t she ever reply? What exactly happened between Amity and Luz to cause that?

If it wasn’t Amity, then where did it come from?

And what would happen if Boscha got another text?

Eventually the rain began to pick up, forcing the laughing girls back inside. Melony and Clara hung out in the family room, wrapped in towels, while Amity changed her (Luz’s) soaked clothes and bandages upstairs. As she peeled off the gauze from around her face she stared at her reflection. Her bright gold eyes, wide with joy despite the slowly healing scars. The smile on her face that which hasn’t stopped since she realized the rain here didn’t burn.

When was the last time I laughed like that? The last time I did something dumb and fun with no worry about my future or what my parents would think? I should do that more. Luz always tried to help me loosen up. Relax more. Just be a kid. Maybe I should.

She continues to smile as she applies her bandages before joining the girls downstairs. Melony hands her a mug of hot chocolate, saying it would warm her up after running around in the cool August rain.

“Thank you,” Amity says as she takes her seat on the couch, “For dragging me out to play that game. I… I needed the distraction, to just, be a kid for once. I feel much better now.” She plays with an errant strand of hair as she asks, “So, Luz really liked that game?”

Clara grins at the memory. “Yes! She said tag is more fun to play in the rain because everyone slides all around. Her mom would always get mad at how wet and muddy we got!” The three girls laugh. Clara leans back against her chair, sipping her mug and sighing wistfully. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like that. It’s nice not to care what other people think, for once.”

“It really is. This is the longest I’ve been away from my family. From Mother.” Amity sips her hot chocolate, remembering how excited Luz had been for her to try it a few weeks ago. “It’s good to get away from that pressure. I know I need to get better and practice my magic…”

“But we don’t want you burning yourself out, either,” Melony reminds her.

“Right. I can’t help anyone if I push too hard.” She slurps her mug again with a smile. “Luz gave me this ‘cocoa’ before. It’s really good.”

“Yeah, like she needs more sugar,” Clara smirks.

Amity giggles, looking down at her mug. It had some cute cartoon character on it that reminded her so much of her crush. “She was pretty excitable afterwards. It was cute.” She reddens as she realizes what she said, quickly finding Melony’s knowing smile and Clara’s raised eyebrow. “Um, like, a funny kind-of, uh…, I mean… oh Titan…”

Melony leans forward in her seat, her smirk growing the longer the witch stammers. “Is there something you want to tell us, Amity? About Luz?”

She sets her mug down before she spills it, hiding her embarrassed grin behind her clasped hands. “I’m not very good at hiding it, am I?”

Melony shakes her head. Clara looks more confused than ever.

Amity exhales slowly, pale cheeks bright red as she admits, “I kind of have a crush on Luz…” she twists her fingers together, grin widening, “… and I’m pretty sure she likes me the same way back.”

“I knew it!” Melony laughs, punching the air. “How long have you known?”

“I knew I liked her for… gosh, almost two months now? Most of the time I’ve known her. She’s not like anyone else in the Isles, in the best way. And I found out how she feels on Monday, after you two left. Camila showed me one of Luz’s videos to cheer me up.” Amity giggles, failing to cover her glowing blush with her flapping hands. “It worked.”

Melony made an excited, ear-piercing squeal, bouncing off her chair to sit beside the witch. The two spoke in a high-pitched frenzy, rapid-fire questions and comments as the human sought to learn all she could about their budding not-yet relationship.

Clara sat stunned across from them, slowly catching up. Amity, the pretty, driven, badass witch, likes Luz? Luzer Luz? The same weirdo who brought snakes to school for a book report? The same girl who’s way too intense, too wrapped up on her fantasies, who never stops talking or thinks things through? That Luz?

And Amity’s talking about it like it’s… normal? Like it was any other crush Clara had heard her classmates gush about. Sure, she knew that Melony is super supportive. Just last night she helped calm Clara down when the cheerleader explained what had happened between her and that same Luz. She disagreed with what the blonde had done, but she never judged her or her own uncertainty about herself.

But Amity? She’s admitting liking another girl, who likes her back, with no excuses? No apologizes? No hint of shame beyond normal embarrassment. It’s just… normal to her.

Can it be normal to me? I… don’t know what I want… but am I normal, too?

“Are-“ Clara pauses as her voice breaks, the single word silencing the other teens’ frenetic conversation. She’s suddenly very aware of their attention, and she struggles not to cower, not to hide, but to push ahead and ask the question she needs answered. “- are you going to tell her?”

Amity shakes her head, calming herself. “Not yet. There’s too much going on, and I don’t want to add more distraction while she’s figuring out the portal.”

“But after that?” Melony presses.

“Maybe…” she grins, eliciting giggles from both humans. She glimpses the clock and her smile droops somewhat. “But I really should work on my magic some more.”

“Aw, come on! We’re having fun!” Melony whines.

“No, I need to practice,” Amity repeats more firmly. She gestures with her left hand, but hesitates, remembering the pain from before, and switches to her right.

“Maybe don’t start with the hardest thing. Try something else, something easier,” Clara suggests.

“Oh, I know!” Melony shouts giddily, bouncing beside the witch on the couch. “Luz is learning magic, right? What kind of magic can she do?”

Amity considers this. It’s not a bad idea. She can build up to Darius’s spell once it doesn’t hurt to cast anymore. “Okay. So, most proper magic is cast through spell circles, like this.” She demonstrates with her good hand, creating a pink circle that fades a moment later.

“But humans can’t do that. It’s biologically impossible. No spell circle, no controlled magic.”

Melony’s enthusiasm vanishes in an instant. “What, that’s it?” Clara asks, echoing her friend’s skepticism. “But, how did Luz make that light ball?”

Amity smirks. “Because in the Boiling Isles there is also Wild Magic. Uncontrolled power from the Titan itself. It’s not considered safe, but Luz rediscovered a way thats more manageable.”

“How?” Asks Melony with wide, curious eyes.

Amity scratches her head. “Um, I’m not really sure. Something about finding the shapes in nature? But what she found was these glyphs.”

She reaches for a sheet of paper, drawing a circle and some lines. Soon she has what she’s pretty sure is a light glyph, the same Luz had shown her so many times. “She found ways to make these glyphs that produce magical effects, and by combining them you could, in theory, cast any kind of spell.”

Both humans got off their seats, crouching by the coffee table to inspect the glyph. “How does it work?” Clara asks.

“Like this!” Amity reaches out and taps the glyph. The paper shudders, the lines glowing yellow for a brief moment, before the sheet turns to dust and dissolves.

“That wasn’t like what Luz did,” says the taller teen with a frown.

“I mean you burned the paper up. That’s still kind of magic,” adds the blond, rubbing her neck.

Amity stares where the paper had vanished, rubbing her chin. “I’m pretty sure I got the shape right. But… we’re in the human world. There’s probably only just enough magic from the portal in the woods to let the glyph do… that. It would need more power to cast the actual spell.”

The humans nod, somewhat disappointed, but the gears in Amity’s head are turning. They’re pretty far from the hole in the world that she had accidentally made. Maybe the paper isn’t picking up on that magic, but Amity’s own. She had cast quite a few spells this afternoon. Maybe some energy still lingered, enough to destroy the paper.

So, what if I gave the glyph more power?

She takes another sheet and draws another glyph, taking her time to make sure she gets it right. Clara and Melony watch with rapt attention. Amity looks down at the second glyph she had drawn before raising her hand and tracing a pink spell circle just above the page. Not any specific spell, just an accumulation of energy. Once both the glyph and the circle are complete, Amity taps the paper with her left hand.

The circle vanishes, it’s energy absorbed into the glyph. They watch with bated breath as the sheet curls inward, crumpling into a small ball. It continues to fall into itself, then suddenly it’s core is glowing. The sphere expands, hovering off the table, shining with a pale yellow light.

The humans gasp. Amity’s jaw drops as she gently cups the warm orb. She can feel her magic within it, but at the same time it’s so different from any light spell she’s cast before. It’s still her power, but it’s been shaped by a different hand.

Exhilaration fills the young witch, just as it had the first time she successfully summoned an abomination. She used a glyph! An entire world of magic has just opened up to her. Not only that, but she found a way to use this magic here, in the human realm! She can fight the simulacrum with magic she would never see coming!

Amity’s mind is racing with all new possibilities. She had always found Luz’s glyphs to be a clever curiosity, but now she’s beginning to glimpse their potential. The brilliant academic within her wants to learn more, more about these glyphs, and how to use them. It just so happens that her crush is also the foremost expert on them.

Now, Amity really can’t wait to talk to Luz later tonight.

Chapter 28: Anticipation

Chapter Text

Luz ran down the path to the Owl House as fast as her legs could carry her. Giddy anticipation bubbles in her chest. As soon as the last bell rang she had sprinted out of Hexside, eager to return to her new home, to call her Mom and talk to Amity.

Normally Luz hangs around campus to walk with Willow and Gus, catching up on everything that happened since lunch. But after not talking to her Mom and Amity yesterday, she just can’t wait. She needs to make sure Amity is okay, and tell her what happened with her parents.

Surely Willow and Gus will understand.

Luz ignored Hooty as she threw open the door, bounding into the Owl House. She bolted through the family room, finding Eda and King in the kitchen. Before she could say a word the wild witch offered Luz her phone and solar charger.

“Got the green bar all filled up, like you showed me,” Eda proudly tells her. Luz took and pocketed the gadgets before tightly hugging her mentor.

“I helped!” King whined, and he was soon scooped up into a hug as well.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Luz calls as she races to her room, nearly colliding with Lilith on the way. She drops her bag and collapses on top of her bedroll. The bag spills over, books and notes scattering, but she pays them no mind. She was able to talk to her teachers and get some of her assignments rescheduled. There’s still has a mountain of homework to do, but that can wait.

Her Mom’s cell is already ringing when the doubts start to creep into Luz’s mind. What if Amity is still upset? What if she doesn’t want to talk to me? Should I tell her what happened with her parents? Or what her siblings told me today? I don’t want to worry her even more. What if-?

Camila’s face fills the screen. “Luz?”

“Mama!” Luz gasps, ignoring her fretful mind by talking very, very fast. “I’m sorry I didn’t call yesterday, there was a problem with my phone. But it’s fine now, I hope I didn’t make you worry too much. How are you? How’s Amity? Is she okay? Did anything happen? What about-?”

“Luz!” Her Mom cries, cutting off her ranting. She takes a measured breath, smiling at her daughter. “Calm down, mija. We’re okay, and I’m glad to hear from you. I… I won’t lie, I was nervous when you didn’t call. That place you’re in doesn’t exactly sound safe.”

“Well, it’s not as safe as the suburbs of Connecticut,” she laughs nervously, tapping her fingers together, “But I’ve learned a lot. I’ve met a lot of good people who have been helping me. And once this is all over and the portal is working,… maybe I can introduce them to you.”

“Can Luz still stay?” King’s question echos in Camila’s mind as she nods. “I’d very much like to meet all the people who have been taking care of my girl.”

That giddiness in Luz’s heart swells, and she can’t hold back her excited cheer. “Yes! You would love them, Mom, I promise! Amity can tell you about them too! Is she there? Can I talk to her?”

“Luz,” Camila shakes her head, pulling her phone back to reveal the break room she’s currently in, “I’m still at work. I’m here until 5.”

Her voice drops in disappointment. “Oh. But she’s okay?”

Her mother is quick to reassure her. “She’s fine, otherwise I would have taken today off, too. You can call her on the house phone, if you’d like.”

“Um… I kind of wanted to see her. But maybe she’ll be less self-conscious about her injuries that way…” Luz trails off, weighing her options.

Camila’s expression grew serious, watching her daughter carefully. “You should know that Clara and Melony are probably with her.”

It takes her moment for those words to make sense in Luz’s head. “What?” Her smile flips over, confusion and anger staining her tone. “Why?”

“They saw Amity fight the other you. They’ve been helping take care of her, lift her spirits, distract her when she gets too worked up. They’re also very curious about you, and where you are now. They’ve bonded, I guess.”

“What, like, are they friends?” Luz’s voice cracked with that last word, betraying her confusing emotions.

Camila sighs. She had been afraid of this, that Amity’s associating with Luz’s school bullies would be upsetting to her. “I can tell them to leave, if that’s what you want.”

She had half a mind to say yes, to throw them out in the street, but the thought of Amity all alone stayed her hand. “I… I mean if they’re helping her… I never really had a problem with Melony, she just followed around…”

“Clara,” Camila says, watching her daughter tense and look away, like the name was a curse. “I spoke with her yesterday, about how she treated you.”

Luz turns back, confused. “What? H-how did you know? I… I never…”

“Told me? Luz, I’m your mother, and you are not a subtle person. I can tell when something’s wrong even when you don’t say anything. Especially when it’s a subject you usually talk about a lot, like your friends.”

“Clara is not my friend,” she growls, looking away again, barely keeping her anger in check.

Camila shakes her head. This is her Luz, who always sees the best in people! Luz, who always roots for the reformed antagonist, who befriended Lilith and Amity, and probably other witches or demons that she once considered enemies. “You two used to be so close. How bad was she?” Camila asks hesitantly, almost afraid of the answer.

Luz sighs, wrapping her arms around her knees and refusing to look at her Mom. “She wasn’t any worse than any other bully, but the things she did… She knew me, knew how to provoke me, make me humiliate myself. And she always targeted me when there was a crowd. Made sure whenever she did something there were people to see it.” She pulls her uniform’s cowl over her head, grimacing at those unpleasant memories.

Her mother sighs, choosing her words carefully. “If if helps, she told me she regrets how she treated you. She knew she was wrong and wants to be better.”

“And you believe her?” Luz asks bitterly.

Camila nods, meeting her eyes. “I do. And I think, when time allows, you both should talk. She made some terrible decisions, but she wants to make up for them. I think she sees helping Amity as some kind of atonement.”

Luz looks away again, considering those words. Could Clara be like Hecate? A rival turned friend, who saw the errors of her ways? Maybe she really has changed. Maybe she does want to be better. Maybe-

She tries to remember the times when they were friends, but all she can recall is the torment of the last year. Luz can still see the smug look on the cheerleader’s face as she twists her words, turning students and even teachers against her. And now, it seems, she’s tricked her own mother, and Amity too.

No, Amity is like Hecate. Clara, she’s Gildersnake. A false friend who spins lies and treachery. Clara doesn’t care about Amity! She just sees her as a curiosity, like she saw me, and she’ll leave as soon as she’s done with her weirdness. She just wanted to get out of talking with Mom. She doesn’t actually mean any of it.

Some of the details didn’t quite fit into Luz’s head. After all, Clara is infamous for keeping people at a distance, so why would she keep going back to see Amity? Even now, when Mom isn’t there, why would Clara show up?

But Luz doesn’t care to reconcile those conflicting thoughts anymore than she wants to reconcile with Clara herself.

“Luz?”

Oh, right.

“She can hang out with Amity if she stays nice. I’ll call you on your cell around… 7? Can you make sure she isn’t still there by then?”

Camila nods, understanding but disappointed nonetheless. “I will. I still think you two should talk when you are able. I think if you told her how you felt, and hear what-“

“I don’t want to talk about her anymore,” Luz firmly shuts her down.

“Okay…. Is there anything else you need to talk about?”

The teen’s head swirls with responses. Her feelings and worries for Amity. Her fear of the simulacrum. Eda and Lilith’s plans. Ed and Em’s plans. What the twins had told her after lunch, some kind of prophecy that Odalia worried over, concerning Amity, the details of which they didn’t know.

But right now, even just thinking about Clara had ruined her good mood.

“No. I got some homework I need to do.”

“That’s okay. I need to get back to work anyway,” Camila sighs solemnly. She gives her daughter a tired smile, wishing she could reach through the phone to comfort her. “Call or text me if you need me. I’ll talk to you later tonight. I love you, mija.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

Luz watched her mother’s face disappear, replaced with the dim reflection of a tired human, sapped of her enthusiasm. Such a weak, ugly, scrawny thing, easily picked on and tormented by popular teens like Boscha or Amity or Clara or-

No! No. I’m not thinking about her any more. Clara isn’t worth my time. She’s helping Amity. That doesn’t mean anything. She’s not going to change Amity or turn her against me or anything stupid like that. Just don’t think about her. Out of sight, out of mind, that’s what Willow always says.

It’s probably not the healthiest coping mechanism but it works.

Setting down her phone, Luz turns to her bag full of homework with a groan. I guess I have time for this after all. She starts sorting her spilled papers and books, searching for her first assignment when King rushes into the room.

“Luz! So? How was-“ He stops, noticing her grimace, the lack of energy that has been growing more common with his best friend. Luz tried to hide her expression as she fumbles with her bag, but she isn’t quick enough. “What’s wrong, Luz?”

She made a show of gathering her things, trying and failing to hide her face and the tremor in her voice. “Nothing! Just, Mom’s at work, can’t talk to Amity until later, which gives me time to do my-“ Her struggling results in everything falling to the floor, quickly followed by Luz herself as she slumps against the windowsill. She sighs, defeated. “-homework.”

The little demon watches her with concern. He hates seeing her depressed like this, and it’s been happening more frequently. Maybe he can’t do much to help with the portal research, but he can still be there for her. “Maybe I can help you. That could make the time go by faster,” he offers.

Luz shakes her head with a weary sigh. “Thanks King, but I don’t think my homework has anything to do with demon knowledge or bread puns today.”

He steps closer, tilting his head, yellow eyes glowing mischievously. “Are you sure you don’t want my help? You know I can rye to the occasion.”

Despite the pain in her heart, Luz couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from tugging upward, her anger toward Clara momentarily forgotten. “Okay, buddy, you can stay.”

“There are many ways you can build a simulacrum. At the end of the day it comes down to how life-like you want it to be, and how much time and money you want to spend on it.” The construction witch gave his client a wide grin, but seeing no response back he quickly continues to drone on.

Odalia Blight watches with waning interest hidden behind an intense gaze. This construction aide that Kikimora had provided for her is knowledgeable, sure, but not a salesman. He’s just listing out features and components and options without making it interesting. Ten minutes in and she’s already bored. If she weren’t already intrigued by the idea of a simulacrum then she would have left by now.

Edric sits beside her, with Emira on his other side, both leaning against the table as the witch produced a series of charts. The eagerness they showed when asking to join their mother to the castle has long since evaporated, and now the twins struggle to focus. Ed struggles to even stay awake, and more than once his mother’s hand on his back was enough to startle him.

Odalia rolled her eyes at her son. Mentally, of course. She wouldn’t be caught performing such a juvenile act no matter how fitting it may seem. No, she must always maintain her sharp focus, lest some weakness of her’s be found and exploited.

But even she couldn’t help rein in her wandering mind. It’s not that the information before her is uninteresting. …Okay, it is, but that’s the fault of this low-rank witch and his droll, deadpan tone. He kept going on and on and on, listing numbers and useless construct trivia without pause.

So while Odalia maintained her perfect posture and the illusion of rapt attention, and poked her son to ensure he at least attempted to do the same, her thoughts were elsewhere. Specifically, a certain prophecy she had unintentionally conjured.

It wasn’t unusual for one of her children to stay out late. The twins have friends and go to parties, and even Amity sometimes loses track of time or passes out after her shift in her hidden room at the library. Those events are few and far between, often ending in a rebuke from Odalia, but they happen.

But by Sunday evening, with no word from the youngest Blight, her family was beginning to get concerned. And on Monday, with no news from any of Amity’s peers at school, that concern became worry. Seeing her daughter’s half-finished palisman prompted Odalia to act. There must be something she can do before she’s forced to turn to the overbearing Emperor’s Coven. And so, taking matters into her own capable hands, she turned to her magics, her ability to pierce the veil of time and space and mind to find her wayward child.

What she didn’t expect was a vision of an unclear struggle ending with her youngest daughter’s pale, bloodied corpse, Odalia’s own reflection in those dim, once-golden eyes.

Prophecies are fickle things. Glimpses into an unknown future are unclear, and the inexperienced viewer can easily jump to the wrong conclusion. The good visions may be undone by attempts to fulfill them, and bad ones may come to pass in the attempts to avoid them. Their unpredictable nature can cause a great deal of worry and frustration to even the greatest Oracles in their attempts to decipher them.

But Odalia Blight is no ordinary Oracle. Visions are her specialty. Her life, her family, her company, none of that would have been possible without her glimpses into the unknown, carefully walking the narrow path between prestige and disaster. She has learned to harden her heart and her mind in order to explore every possibility before her. With decades of experience, she knows methods to avoid a grim future, how to stack the odds in her favor.

“And if we go forward, how long would you need the simulacrum?”

Odalia blinks, refocusing on the here and now. “What’s the usual timeframe?”

“Two to four weeks,” the construction witch who’s name was too unimportant for Odalia to remember replies. “Never more then six.”

Two weeks for that many snails? Preposterous! Perhaps an abomination would be a better idea.

“Why not?” Edric asks, perking up.

The witch shakes his head, collecting some of his papers. “No, you can’t keep any witch-like construct active for more than six weeks. Especially simulacrums. They absorb knowledge through their Oracle magic. They learn. After a few weeks they start to develop their own personalities. If they go on too long they’ll find ways to circumvent their directions. The longer they stay around, the more they’ll resist deactivation. The magic used to make them so lifelike and adaptable also makes them quite dangerous if they feel threatened, and that’s before any special enhancements. So, no, six weeks is the absolute limit.”

Ed stares off, lost in thought. Em seems a bit perplexed by his sudden interest, herself just as bored as ever. Odalia turns to the construction witch. “I don’t know how long we would need this yet, but six weeks sounds excessive.”

“We can narrow that down if we move forward. Regardless, last big question for now: How important is it that the construct can simulate spell casting? You said your daughter is an Abomination student?”

“Yes, and the top of her grade,” she answers proudly.

“So we would need a skilled abomination witch to help with the construction, and various enchantments to let it produce and manipulate abomination slime. It will increase the cost by quite a bit, at least another third. Is that okay with you?”

Odalia huffs, ready to argue the price, but she held her tongue as she recalled the vision.

-Amity stares back at her assailant, face pale, in stark contrast to the reopened scars on her cheek. Fear, then anger flashes through her golden eyes. Her right hand twitches, summoning a mass of purple ooze that she expertly crafts into a sharpened knife. She thrusts it forward, and a moment later pulls back, the blade wet with blood-

She suppresses a shudder, imagining the blade piercing her own skin. She relents, letting go of her hesitation. “Yes. It needs to be strong, just like she is.”

The witch says something in affirmation, going on about candidates and materials, but Odalia isn barely listening. She knows one way to stack the odds in her favor, and ensure that if this vision does come to pass, that it does so by her terms.

The best way to prevent a prophecy is not to stand against it or counteract it or warn the world. Those methods inevitably fail, or bring about something worse. No, the best way is to diffuse it, to create options and alternatives, to spread the possible futures far and wide. If the Amity she saw fighting and dying in a dream is not the true Amity, then Odalia has nothing to fear. She only witnessed the strucking down a traitorous construct and not her flesh-and-blood daughter.

She must study the vision, determine it’s location and time frame, monitor it for variations as it draws nearer. Most importantly, she cannot tell a soul about it. She only trusts Alador with her visions, for his unique, pragmatic point of view. Anything, even seemingly nothing, could cause this future to change. Odalia had spent her entire life anticipating and circumventing prophecies such as these. Just as she had averted disasters in the past, she will not allow this to happen.

Most of all, she refuses to accept that she herself may be the cause of it. She will not fight and kill her own daughter, no matter what the future may say.

The construction witch says he needs files from his office and exits the conference room. Satisfied with her plan and what she has learned of simulacrums so far, Odalia turns her attention to her children. Edric seems concerned about something, counting quickly on his fingers with a bewildered expression. Emira seems content to ignore them, reclining in her chair in a most uncivilized way, but a quick shared glance to her mother made her sit properly once more.

Odalia’s curiously grew as she refocused on her son. What could have so worked him up? She cast a hidden circle and peered into his mind, just enough to collect a few surface thoughts.

…doesn’t add up. It went to that camp thing in her place. That’s… 8? 9? Longer? When did she get there? What does that mean?…

She felt his consciousness shift, unconsciously noticing her presence, and she withdrew. Sufficiently distracted by her own thoughts and plans, she doesn’t put together Ed’s rants with what the construction witch had said. She didn’t really care what was bothering him, so long has he contained himself again before the witch returned. Appearances are everything, after all.

Odalia next turns her focus on Emira. She still sits there with an almost vacant smile, clearly caught up in her own head about something, if not as obsessively as her brother. What could it be? Perhaps imagining herself working here, among the elite witches of the Emperor’s Coven? Even illusionists can find a place here. Perhaps some of Amity’s ambition rubbed off on her sister after all. Odalia allows herself a hopeful smile as she reached out, leaning into Emira’s mind…

… and passing right through it.

Hollow. Empty. Like she isn’t there.

Because she isn’t there.

Odalia opened her mouth, but at that moment the Construction witch returned, pushing a stack of papers toward her. She listened to him ramble once more, but now her thoughts pressed forcefully into her son’s mind, startling him and interrupting whatever concerns he had. His face paled as he understood those intrusive thoughts.

Where? Is? Your? Sister?

Sneaking away from Mother wasn’t too hard for Emira. She followed obediently to the conference room before sending a preprogrammed illusion in her place. Exploring the castle wasn’t difficult either. So long as she stayed along the outer halls, hidden under the guise of a Coven guard, no one paid her any attention. It wasn’t long before she found the archives and slipped inside, leaving it’s elderly caretaker none the wiser.

Too easy, she thinks with a confident smirk. Once inside, Em is greeted with rows and rows of bookshelves and cabinets stacked with tomes and folders, all gathering dust. She’s briefly reminded of the Bonesborough library that Amity loves so much, and a pang of guilt flares in her chest. Memories of another time, a worse time, before she and Ed had started reconciling with their baby sister. She shakes it off, looking around the room with determination.

She checks for any wards or sensors, and dismisses her illusion after finding none. Spinning a circle, she summons a few clones and race with them through the room, looking for clues. Any information she can find on the simulacrum’s origins could help Amity.

The Emiras spread out, scanning rows of shelves, trying to narrow down their target. She doesn’t know how much time she has, so the sooner she could find and copy the files, the better. Each shelf is labeled, but there doesn’t seem to be any organization to the arrangement of the archives. Magical candles flicker throughout the room, casting a dim light that makes searching harder. She’s growing increasingly frustrated until one clone spots a shelf labeled ‘Cross-Coven Commissions,’ and all the Emiras descend upon it.

The organization of these files left something to be desired. These commissions covered everything that involved two or more covens, no matter how trivial, ranging from permits for festivals to applications for minor covens to research grants to consumer products. There seemed to be a lot of files dated shortly after Emperor Belos created the coven system, with fewer and fewer approvals as the years carried on. Many of those early proposals involved all the covens in some kind of activity, from the Covention to the Parade to various circuses, even applications to maintain the schools that had existed long before the emperor came to power.

Unfortunately the collection was not organized by year but rather by the covens represented, so it took the Emiras some time to find her goal. Finally, she found a small section headed by Construction, and towards the end she found commissions for specialized constructs.

Finally! Maybe now we can get some answers. She flips to the end of file, scanning it for anything that might direct her to the Simulacrum Luz when she overhears voices from outside the door. Muffled speech is followed by footsteps, then the doorknob turning. Emira hurriedly dismisses her clones and covers herself in an illusory veil, vanishing from the world.

She heard a man’s voice say, “Thank you. Please ensure I am not disturbed.”

“Of course, sir,” came the caretaker’s rely as she closes the door once more.

Emira held her breath as footsteps echo in the small room before going stopping. She hears something mechanical and a grunt of exertion. Fear of being discovered became curiosity as the illusion witch peaked out from her hiding place. Fifteen feet away, the man had thrown a hidden switch in the wall, revealing a secret desk and shelf full of files that he now rifles through. She could see maps and notebooks full of scrawling text, but had no idea what this man is looking at. All she knows is that his presence is preventing her from reading the simulacrum’s file, and he is blocking the room’s only exit.

The man hunches over the desk, muttering to himself as he sorts through papers and notebooks. He’s a bit shorter than Emira herself, but his armor gives him a strong, broad-shouldered appearance. She can’t really see much from her angle beyond a long white cloak and a single pauldron shining in the flickering light. It looks vaguely familiar, but it’s not until he leans his staff against the desk and sets his mask beside it that the Blight recognizes who she is watching, her blood freezing in her veins.

Standing before her is none other than the head of the Emperor’s Coven, The Golden Guard.

Chapter 29: Double Trouble

Chapter Text

“I know it's around here somewhere.” Hunter mutters to himself as he pours through journals and notes, alone in the castle archives. Finally free from his duties as Coven Head, he hopes to use his limited time to find some answers to some of his urgent questions, and Zaphos’s study was the best place to look.

Zaphos Bilge had been the right-hand witch of Emperor Belos fifty years ago, and was made the leader of the then newly formed Emperor’s Coven. The self-proclaimed ‘Golden Guard of the Empire,’ Zaphos embarked on many treacherous missions for his liege. He was brilliant, adventurous, and loyal, helping usher in a new era of peace and stability to the Boiling Isles before dying to save a fellow coven head from a would-be assassin. As the first of the Golden Guards, he cast a great shadow that Hunter had struggled to fill all his life.

At least, that’s what history says. But the journals in this secret desk, hidden in the dusty archives, paints a different picture. The witch hidden behind the white cloak and gleaming mask held many secrets and fears. Bitter rivalries with other Coven Heads, particularly one Terra Snapdragon, the same woman he allegedly died saving. Over time he grew to question the sincerity of the Emperor and his plans. Some of his writings are incredibly cynical, even treasonous. Hunter wasn’t entirely sure how to reconcile Zaphos’s private thoughts with the legacy of the man who’s title he now bears.

But that’s not important now. Hunter doesn’t have time to explore or refute these heretical texts. He needs information. One of Zaphos’s many duties to the Empire was to collect and record all manor of magical relics and phenomena. Of all people on the Isles, surely he would know of anything that could help Luz make her portal. Hunter would know: he had spent many nights researching to help his uncle with that same goal.

Hunter never told anyone about this hidden desk he had found. He doesn’t want anyone questioning his loyalties. Of course, it would be even worse if anyone were to find out his current research is for Luz the Human.

He dismisses those thoughts and justifications as he turns another page, finding what he was after. “There you are.”

Galdorstones. Mystical relics from deep underground that augment magical spells. This is exactly what Luz needs for her portal! The writings say how they are protected by a group of skilled illusionists far to the north. These illusionists kept the secrets of the galdorstones from the rest of the Isles. Zaphos had been able to steal a few, but not before assuring the guardians with an everlasting oath that he would never return. But he did write down how to find it in a notebook, and Hunter was quick to decipher it’s location on the map laid out before him.

“The Looking Glass Ruins,” Hunter murmurs as a plan forms in his head. Tomorrow he has morning patrol, but afterwards he can fly to the ruins. No pesky illusionist should give him any trouble, especially not when he has a certain enchantment on his Golden Staff. He’ll grab a galdorstone and give to it to Luz in the evening. It’s a perfect plan.

He holds out his hand, imagining holding one of those empowering stones. Just like Zaphos did. Would he feel anything? Would any latent magic stir within him, or is his dead, useless bile sac too far gone?

He raises his hand to his chest, feeling his heart thump beneath. Galdorstone: heart and power. Is that what it would feel like? Am I…?

Hunter shakes his head. Focus. That… can wait. It’s probably just coincidence. Zaphos gathered those things to record them. The Emperor… Uncle… he’d never… he would tell me if…

Something stirs within his tunic. Hunter’s hand finds his hidden palisman and soothes him back to immobility, but he could still feel Rascal’s emotions touch his mind. Kindness, reassurance, love. Whatever Hunter is, the little wooden bird will be by his side.

Hunter smiles, his worries fading away in the face of such unconditional, if unfamiliar, acceptance. He sets his mind back to the task at hand, turning a few more pages in the journals. There. The second piece of Luz’s puzzle. “Eclipse Lake.”

Zaphos had been there, too. He claimed to have gathered only a small sample of titan’s blood from the subterranean lake, but insisted that there was plenty more of the potent magical fluid waiting to be found. Apparently it and other valuable resources had been mined extensively over the decades, but surely some blood must remain, right?

The Knee was too far for Hunter to go without being missed, but he has a idea for that, too. Uncle Belos’s portal is nearly complete, but it will need something to power it. Something potent, like titan’s blood. Hunter can convince his Uncle to let him lead an expedition to the Knee, and once they find the blood he can set some aside for Luz. Not only will he be helping his friend, but he might even get back into Belos’s good graces after his failed palisman mission!

He quickly cleans up the desk, grinning with newfound confidence. It’s a perfect plan! Looking Glass Ruins tomorrow, mention Eclipse Lake Friday, lead a team there Saturday. Get Luz the relics she needs while proving his worth to the Emperor. “This will work,” he assures himself as he hides the desk once more within the wall, donning on his mask and reaching for his staff.

The staff responds to his touch, pulsing in his hand.

Under the mask, Hunter’s smile drops. He goes still, grasping the Golden Staff more firmly. He isn’t imagining it; he can feel it pulse again, like a dull heartbeat. The enchantment he had just been considering is going off.

The staff is detecting an illusion nearby.

He’s not as alone as he thought.

Have they been here the whole time? The caretaker didn’t say anything! Did they see what I was reading? Was I too loud? Just… stay calm. No one has gone through the door. Find out who it is.

He tries to act casual as he turns away from the door, strolling deeper into the room, letting the staff guide him. He passes a few rows, feeling the pulse quicken, then start to slow. He allows himself a few more steps before doubling back, brandishing his staff down an empty row of bookshelves. A red light emits from the gemstone cap, washing down the aisle.

For a tense moment, nothing happens. Then a red glow appears, a form emerging, crouching against a bookshelf. A coven guard? But that image soon splinters under another wave of red light, revealing a teenage girl with green hair wearing a pale blue school uniform. Red flashes once more over her face, and the girl scowls as her makeup vanishes and pimples appear, her imperfections revealed as her final illusion is dispelled.

Hunter levels his staff at her, red light illuminating the dim room. The girl looks scared, but she’s trying to hide it. Just another illusion he can easily see through. She can’t be any older than he is. There’s something vaguely familiar about her, but he can’t place it. Instead he steels his own frazzled nerves and growls with an authoritative tone, “Who are you?”

The girl finds her voice, her gold eyes jumping from Hunter’s staff to his mask. “N-no one! I, um, I just got lost, looking for… the bathroom. Yes. The bathroom. And then you came in here and…” she trails off, eyes darting about, trying to fit together a convincing lie.

“You’re a student,” the Golden Guard points his staff at her, indicating her uniform.

The teen blinks, nodding. “Yes! I go to St. Epiderm. M-my name’s Matilda. I was part of a tour but got separated… and… well, you’re the Golden Guard! I didn’t want to get in trouble….”

Hunter watches her as she concocts her story, his mind racing. She’s lying, right? That doesn’t look like the uniform for St. Epiderm. Either way, he would know if students from one of the schools came to the castle. Kikimora would make him give a speech or something. Honestly he doesn’t care that this teen is snooping around. There isn’t anything of value to be found in the archives.

But what he is worried about was if she had seen what he was doing! She can’t tell anyone about Zaphos’s hidden desk, full of heretical, incriminating writings, nor Hunter's use of it. And he certainly doesn’t want Kikimora to know of his lead on titan’s blood. That overambitious demon has given him enough trouble already.

She finishes her tale and Hunter just stares at her, grateful for the mask over his face as he considers his options. He is so bad at reading people that he can’t tell if the girl before him is being the least bit honest. Intimidation, then, is his best tactic.

He twists the staff, the gem glowing brighter. A red aura surrounds the teen, who trembles, raising her hands in surrender. Hunter can feel Rascal squirming against his chest, telling him to stop, but he doesn’t listen. He knows what he’s doing.

“Did you see or hear anything since I came into this room? Don’t lie to me again.”

The witch quickly shakes her head, fearful of the magic that surrounds her. “No! I-I swear on the Titan I don’t know anything about what you were doing. I was just trying to hide until you left so I could leave.”

The Golden Guard steps closer, towering over her, and carefully considers her. With a twist of his wrist the red aura is dispersed. “Leave, and don’t wander the castle alone again. Another guard may not be as merciful as I am.”

The girl nods, quickly crawling passed him. She stands, hesitates as she glances back, and rushes to the door, casting a quick illusion to hide herself before leaving the archives.

Hunter sighs. Hopefully she saw nothing. And even if she did, he’s pretty sure Belos would believe him over some random illusionist skulking around. But why was she here in the first place?

Who cares. I’ve got more important things to do. He turns to go, but something catches his eye. A folder haphazardly stuffed into the shelf she had been leaning against, trying to hide it with her body. Something she had pulled from elsewhere and was trying to read before he found her. He pulls out the folder and peers through the documents within.

What is this? Applications for constructs? Wait… simulacrums? And this one is from a few months ago. Around the time… that Luz came to the Isles. Why would that witch be looking for- Wait.

She was a student. With green hair and gold eyes.

Hunter raced from the room, scaring the elderly caretaker half to death.

Emira had no trouble navigating the castle, returning to her family as they were leaving their conference room. With Odalia distracted by the construction witch, Em slipped into the same spot as her illusion, dismissing it without anyone noticing.

Or so she thought. Ed is trying to get her attention, waiving a hand over his face. She blinks, confused. What is he trying to tell her?

“Your concealment stone, Emira,” Mother’s voice bemoans with a disapproving tone. Em freezes, her heart hammering in her chest, and it takes her a moment for the panic to pass and those words to register. She taps the gemstone on her wrist and meets her brother’s eyes, getting his confirmation that the illusion is active. But the fear on his face is obvious, and doesn’t help to settle her. The twins wait as Odalia finishes with the other witch before turning to frown at her eldest daughter.

“Where have you been?” she hisses quietly as she ushers them toward the entrance. With their business settled, and some discussion to be had with her husband, Odalia doesn’t want to stay in the castle any longer than necessary. Especially if one of her children have been up to some mischief.

“I just went to the bathroom!” Emira whines back, both twins half-jogging to keep up with their mother. “I didn’t want to make a scene, so I tried to be quiet about it.” She looks to Ed but he shakes his head, as if to say there’s no way she’s buying that.

“That’s griffin dung and you know it,” Odalia snaps, frustration leaking through restraint, barely keeping her voice low enough to avoid being overheard. The entrance doors tower overhead, with a few guards on duty giving the Blights a wide berth. They’ll be out of the castle in moments. “If you are going to lie to me, Emira, at least make it believable. And if you did anything that would hurt our family’s reputation, or draw attention to Mittens’s current state, you-“

“Mrs. Blight!” a familiar voice rings out behind them, making the family freeze in their tracks. “A moment of your time.”

The Blight family turns to find the Golden Guard approaching. Emira swallows, settling for a neutral expression to hide her rattled nerves. Odalia bows flawlessly, her own unease perfectly hidden behind practiced etiquette. “Of course, Golden Guard! How may I be of service to the emperor?”

Hunter smirks beneath his mask. To the Coven Heads, he’s just Belos’s magic-less nephew. To the rest of the Isles, however, he is the rightfully feared and respected right hand of the emperor. Or he should be. He certainly is to suck ups like Odalia. That influence is exactly what he needs now.

“I see you brought your family with you. Which of these is Amity?”

The Golden Guard savored the panic on the teen’s faces, but their mother did well to appear unfazed. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my Amity is at home with a nasty illness.”

So that’s the lie you’re telling everyone. My accepting of it will carry weight, keep others from questioning Amity’s true whereabouts. “I’m sorry to hear that. When I heard you were in the castle today with your children I had hoped to meet her. My predecessor had many good things to say about her abilities. While I may not see agree with Ms. Clawthorne on much as of late, I was quite impressed with your Amity’s records. She could become a valued asset to the Emperor’s Coven.”

Odalia gave him a small smile, pride welling up in her voice. “Once she is well again she will appear before you in the coven tryouts. You have my word.”

“I look forward to it.” He glances behind Odalia to the twins. “And what of your other children? Ms. Clawthorne did not have as much to say about them.”

The mother’s smile twitches, but she’s quick to recover. “These are Edric and Emira. Both are skilled illusionists, though they did not require additional training to excel like their sister. I assure you, they are just as capable within their fields as Amity is with her’s.”

“Are they now?” Hunter questioned as he steps passed Odalia, staring at the twins, sizing them up. Or, specifically, Emira.

There was no mistaking her. The girl from the archives with her concealment stone reactivated. She stares back into his golden mask, determined not to show the fear pounding in her heart. He offers his gloved hand. “Emira, is it?” She says her name slowly and deliberately, watching her eyes. “It’s nice to put a name to such a pretty face.”

Hunter smirks as he watches her squirm, shaking his hand and mumbling some courtesy greeting through clenched teeth. This was one part of his job that he loved: showing up prideful nobles and putting them in their place. He has heard of the twins, after all. Their reputation for mayhem proceeds them. So what that this Emira was looking for a way to help her sister? She was still sneaking around the castle. Had a guard found her, or a coven leader, or Kikimora, her fate would have been much, much worse. Now it’s up to Hunter to remind her how her recklessness nearly cost her.

Plus, it’s nice to have someone forced to respect you. Titan knows none of the higher ups respect Hunter whatsoever.

He moves away, catching Em’s quiet sigh of relief as he greets Edric. That meeting is over in a blink, and soon the Golden Guard is addressing their mother once more. “The recommendation of a Coven Head can go a long way. Without one, I can see their sister surpassing her siblings. After all-,” he glances back, locking eyes under his mask with an anxious Em, “-who ever heard of an illusionist relying on concealment stones?”

Emira’s face goes scarlet, caught between embarrassment and fear. Edric scowls, hands balled into fists, barely keeping his anger in check. Hunter smiles all the wider, enjoying pushing their buttons. Oh how these pranksters hate being in the receiving end of it. Odalia starts to say something but Hunter is quick to cut her off. “Perhaps I could arrange a meeting for these two with Head Witch Graye. Consider it a thank you for your family’s loyalty.”

Odalia blinks, her retort lost in the sudden change of topic. “The head illusionist? Yes, Edric and Emira would be honored to meet him.”

“Excellent! I’ll speak with him at our meeting next month. In the meantime, I would recommend you two catch up on his latest work.” Hunter gestures with his staff, causing a rather lengthy tome to materialize in mid-air before being magically thrust into Emira’s hands. The flamboyant visage of Master Graye grins up at her, his mirror earrings shining, his tail flicking side to side as she browses the cover. “Say some nice things about him, and he’ll be sure to give you a glowing recommendation for your enrollment into his coven.”

“I can’t thank you enough, sir. How could I repay this generosity?” Odalia begs as Hunter walks by her, plainly ignoring the frustration on her children’s faces.

He pauses, turning back to consider the family. “No, thank you Odalia, for raising such skilled children.” His gaze falls once more on Emira. “Just make sure these two stay out of trouble.” With a quick spin and an obnoxious, drawn out ‘Byyyyye!’ the Golden Guard takes his leave.

Mission accomplished.

There was no conversation until the Blights returned home, allowing Odalia to consider all that had happened. Once back at the manor, the mother was quick to scold Emira for her reckless behavior. Clearly she had been up to something, and clearly she was too careless as to have been caught by the Golden Guard. It was a blessing from the Titan that instead of punishment, he offered them a chance to prove themselves before the head of their chosen coven.

Odalia didn’t even care what Emira had been up to. She was simply too thankful the Emperor’s Coven wasn’t questioning her daughter’s mischief, or looking further into Amity’s absence.

But that didn’t mean the twins were off the hook. For Emira’s sneaking off and Edric’s covering for her, both had some new rules to follow. No more slacking off. No more pranks. No more concealment stones. Now they had to keep up their appearances just like anyone else. Edric was especially annoyed about that.

“You know I worry about my looks! Dad still hasn’t taught me how to shave! Everyone’s going to ask why I’m wearing glasses! What am I supposed to tell them?”

“I thought illusionists were supposed to be clever,” his mother shouted back, “I’ve let you two do whatever you pleased for too long. You’re too disorganized, too undisciplined. Not anymore. You can have your concealment stones back for social functions, but otherwise I expect you both to have true appearances befitting a Blight just like the rest of us.”

On top of that, the twins couldn’t leave their room for anything (besides school, meals, and helping Luz bring Amity back) until they finished Graye’s book. An hour later, Ed leafs through the massive text as he sits on his bed, his grumbling growing louder.

“You got to explore the castle, you got caught, and now I’m stuck looking like this!” He gestures to himself with a groan. He slams the book shut and summons a mirror, messing glumly with his hair.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Em reminds him with a weary sigh. She’s pacing around the room, her calming nerves slowly giving way to fatigue. That had been enough excitement for one day.

He groans but nods, dismissing the mirror in his hand. “… Yeah, it could. The Golden Guard could have made an example of you. Instead he gave us homework.”

“It’s going to be fine. I just wish I had more time in there.” She leans against the wall, gazing out the window as the first stars twinkle in the night sky. “If the stupid Guard didn’t show up right then, we’d at least have some answers.”

Ed flipped idly through some pages, frowning at the tiny print. “Why was he in there, anyway?”

His sister shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t care. He was really upset when he thought I overheard him, but I was more concerned with staying quiet. I just… I hate this. I feel so useless!”

She smacks her hands on the desk, looking into the mirror at her true, unconcealed face. Normally she quite likes her appearance, unlike Ed who's incredibly self-conscious. But right now those pimples and blemishes mock her. She finds a framed picture and picks it up, studying it closely with a remorseful sigh. It’s a photo of the three Blight teens together on Grom night, after the monster’s defeat. There was Amity, wearing her tiara, with a sibling embracing her from each side. It was the first time Em had ever seen her sister smile in a picture.

“I was so close to getting something, anything, that might let us help her. If we knew who made it, we could confront them and find out what they want, and keep her safe. But no, I couldn’t do that, I can’t do anything right!”

“Em-“

“The one time she needs us and I screw it up. If I had been faster, or hidden better, or not stuffed the file back in the shelf… maybe I could have hidden it from the Guard…”

“Hey-“ Ed hesitates, not sure how to help. He has been there before, many times. Feeling useless for his weaker magic, his easily sidetracked mind. The doubts that he was worthy of the Blight legacy like his sisters. But he could be there for his twin. He cleared his throat, swallowing his own inadequacies, returning the same assurances she had told him before.

“Hey, Em. You did the best you could. This was a risk. We knew you could have been caught, or hurt, or worse. We’ll find a way to help Amity. I promise.”

It takes a moment for her to calm down, but she manages a smile, rubbing her eyes. “Thanks, Ed. You’re right. I just... I wish we could do more.”

He smiles at her reflection, returning to the book. “You know what might help? Talking to her. See how she’s doing.”

She nods, staring at herself in the mirror. Maybe she should pick up her brother’s skincare routine. “Yeah? Yeah. She’s supposed to be better now. We’ll have to behave, not tease her about Luz or anything. Keep the conversation light. Not stress her out about Mother or missing school or anything. But, I think it's a good idea. What do you think, Ed?”

There was no response.

“Ed?” Em glances up, finding his reflection staring wide-eyed at the book. She turns to face him, tilting her head. “Hello, Ed? There’s no way Leer's writing is that good.”

The teen blinks, suddenly aware of his sister again. Shock is written plainly on his face. “Em, look at this.”

Confused, she walks around the bed to stand beside him, peering over his shoulder at whatever had surprised him so. There’s a sheet of paper on top of the book. A few words catch her attention and her eyes grew wide.

“Where did you find that?” she gasps.

“It was in the book,” he says incredulously.

She snatches the paper, reading it closely. This is not part of the illusion book. Rather, it’s an application for a simulacrum, dated just before the start of summer. There’s specifications and a signature and an official seal and everything.

The notes are short, referencing a picture that isn’t attached to the form. A few notes are crossed out, suggesting a change of appearance late in construction. What the change entailed, or why, is unclear. But the one request that stands out is for the construct to have round ears.

“This is it. This is Luz's construct,” Em whispers.

“But why was it in Graye’s book?” Ed asks.

The twins share a look, one thought crossing through their heads.

What does the Golden Guard know?

“We need to talk to Luz,” Em says firmly.

“Tomorrow, we’ll meet her before school,” Ed agrees. He blinks, his face lighting up in epiphany. “Who commissioned the simulacrum?”

Em’s eyes tear through the application, studying the signature. Her brows furrow in confusion. It’s not a name she recognizes. She sounds it out slowly before settling on a pronunciation:

“Basileus.”

Ed frowns. He’s a Blight after all, with connections and influence, and this is not a name or a title he’s ever heard before. “Who’s that?”

Em sighs, letting the sheet fall back down to her brother. “Another mystery.”

Luz awoke with a scream.

A nightmare... it was just a nightmare... but it was so confusing. Like she was living other people's lives, full of hope and want and fear, all mashed together. It didn't make any sense, and it was that confusion, that lack of logic, that made her panic the most.

She blinks, slowly calming down until she notices her surroundings. She's not in her bed. She's not in her room. She's... outside... in the rain? It's so cold. What happened to her clothes? Why are they stained red and black, torn and smell burnt? What happened? Why was she -?

-Oh.

Right.

I'm not Luz. Not really.

...Was that the first time I've ever dreamed?

The simulacrum takes a deep breath and stretches her arms, awake for the first time in two days. Not fully repaired, not yet. She needs a little more time, but already she's so much stronger than Monday, after her fight with Amity.

There's a buzz in her arm, and it takes her a moment to remember that's where she had hidden Amity's scroll. Someone had texted her in the past two days. It’s got to be Basileus, her contact, her maker, to give her direction. What a stupid name, she thinks as she opens the panel in her arm and unfurls the hidden scroll expectantly.

No, it's not her benefactor. He hasn’t said a word. Typical. Even a near-death experience isn’t enough to make Basileus care for his expensive tool. She huffs angrily, frowning at the stolen scroll. He called me special. Said he made me special so I could last alone this long. Does he even care? Instead of him texting me its... who's Boscha?

Oh, that's right, Amity's friend. Ex-friend. Whatever. Social media is weird. The one I told not to trust Luz. She typed... a lot. I must have made her worried.

Boscha sure seems to care a lot about someone she isn’t friends with.

Luz smirks to herself as she reads through Boscha’s texts, finding the last one was sent over 24 hours ago.

She hadn't typed all day. Apparently she got over my message from not-Amity. Pity. That could have been fun.

Luz stares at the chain of messages from Boscha. So many texts desperate for a response, then suddenly nothing.She really just gave up? Or learned the truth. Either way, I shouldn't say anything back. I can't draw attention to myself.

Or… can I?

Basileus would be so mad if he knew I was doing this. Tormenting Luz's friends like this. He’d say I was being reckless, causing trouble. That I was putting his plans at risk, somehow.

But that didn't make her want to stop. If anything, it's encouraging her. Really, why would he care if she was texting a witch in the Demon Realm, pretending to be their missing friend? Clearly he doesn’t care enough to check in with her or see if she’s been able to heal. Repair. People heal. I'm not a person.

Really, it's his fault for not checking in more and keeping her in line.

She still can't go anywhere, anyway. She needs to conserve her energy for another day or two of repair, then find her way back to Luz's house to spy. Hopefully steal some new clothes when no one's looking. See if Amity has any magic items she can steal to empower herself with. And trail the other target, of course. That one is a separate issue from the mess at the Noceda house, and should be so much easier to handle.

But for now, Luz is stuck alone in the forest in a downpour, late at night. No where to go. No easy way to move, not with her leg still repairing itself. No maker watching over her shoulder. And she's bored. So, so bored.

So she begins to type.

What was it Alex had said at camp?

You only live once.

Chapter 30: Star-crossed

Chapter Text

There wasn’t much King could do to help Luz with her homework, but with jokes and puns he was able to raise her spirits. Afternoon quickly gave way to evening, and the time that Luz was anxiously anticipating had arrived. 7 o’clock. Time to call home and talk to Amity again.

To say she was nervous was an understatement. Despite the teases and assurances of her newfound family, Luz found herself even more worried about talking to Amity now then she had been on Monday. Between the witch’s crying and her cryptic ‘why did it have to be you’ comment, their last call didn’t exactly end well. The last thing Luz needs is for Amity to break down again in tears. She didn’t know if her own heart could take it.

On top of that, Luz herself is much more frazzled than just a few days ago. The pressures of school, her secret friendship with Hunter, her frustrations with Amity’s parents, all the upended emotions from her mind being invaded by Odalia, her insecurities about Clara, her worries about the simulacrum, it was all too much. Despite all the love and assurances she’s getting, she can feel the emotional strain winding tighter and tighter in her chest. No amount of venting seems to relieve the pressure. How much longer can she hide it behind her cheery smile? How much more until it all explodes out?

Who will she hurt when that happens?

And on top of all that, there’s the matter of her crush on Amity. She still gets butterflies in her stomach just thinking of the lilac-haired witch, which stir up all her pent up emotions into a big ball of unpleasant, unsettled apprehension. Luz is starting to accept the possibility that maybe there was some truth to all the teasing from Eda and King and Lilith and her Mom and the twins and her friends and even Hunter. Maybe she has been too focused on everything else that she’s missed some vital clues that everyone else has picked up on. Maybe, just maybe, Amity does like her back in some tiny, more-than-friends way.

And that idea makes everything so much worse! If Amity caught feelings for her, then Luz needs to do everything she can to keep their relationship perfect! She can’t mess this up before it goes anywhere! This can’t end up like Jimmy, who allegedly had a crush on her in middle school but quickly turned her down after she was weird and the other kids started teasing them. It can’t end up like Clara, Luz’s last human friend who turned on her when she was too overbearing.

Just the thought of that traitor Clara talking to Amity made her blood boil.

She shook those ideas from her head, staring down at the cell phone in her hands. Alone once more in her room, she takes a few steadying breathes before starting the video call. Before long she’s greeted by her Mom’s smiling face. “Buenas noches mija!”

Luz returns the smile to cover her anxieties. “Buenas noches Mama. How was the rest of your day?”

Camila shakes her head, giving her daughter a knowing grin. “It was fine, thank you, but I know you’d rather be talking to your girlfriend.”

“Mama!” Luz groans, blushing with embarrassment. Her mother’s laughter wasn’t helping, either. “Not in front of her!”

“Don’t worry, she’s in the other room. She can’t hear me.” Luz covers her face with her hands, trying to force away the heat in her cheeks. In doing so she completely missed the wink Camila gave to the equally blushing witch whom is very much sitting on the couch beside her.

Camila’s daughter groans. “Good. I just… I’m not ready. When I ask her out, it needs to be perfect, but everything’s so crazy now-“

“Mija, listen to me.” Camila’s tone shifts from playful teasing to warm encouragement. “It doesn’t need to be perfect. Have some faith in yourself. Amity would be lucky to call you her girlfriend.” She catches the quick nod from the girl on the couch, out of Luz’s view.

Luz had half a mind to debate her and start listing all the ways Amity is way out of her league, but that will take too long. Instead she swallows it and sighs. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Anytime. I’ll go give her the phone, and give you two some privacy.” Camila walks from the family room into the kitchen and back again, forcing Amity to stifle a laugh at her performance. She sets the phone down on the coffee table before Amity, just like on Monday.

The witch thanks her as she leaves before smiling down at her mutual crush. “Hi, Luz.”

The human’s heart skips a beat, and all the worries piled in her head don’t seem so important anymore. Even from a quick glance, she can tell that Amity is okay. Yes, she’s still stuck on Earth, wearing Luz’s old clothes (she has no right to look so cute in them), with a bandage on her hand and wrapped around her face. But her eyes are full of life, and her smile is full of joy. She can even see the minute relaxing of her shoulders, the darkening blush on her pale cheeks, the way her smile twitches and grows all the larger.

She’s nervous, too.

But she’s okay.

We’re both okay.

… I’m just staring at her lips at this point, aren’t I?

Has she noticed?

Oh no she has.

Luz abruptly pulls back, sputtering quickly and trying to look anywhere else. “Amity! H-hi! Um… you look better! N-not that you looked bad before. I mean- you, um, but you seem, you know, good. Well! You-“ She groans, covering her face again, hearing that sweet, embarrassed giggle that makes her heart beat faster. Deep breath to steady herself, smiling an honest, weary smile. “How are you?”

Now it’s Amity’s turn to blush and return a sheepish grin, though she doesn’t trip over her words as much as she used to. Knowing about Luz’s crush gave her a bit more confidence. “I’m okay. Better then last time. My magic’s coming back and the pain is manageable with the medicine your Mom gives me.”

Amity’s eyes and ears suddenly droop, her voice soft. “I’m, uh, sorry about the other day, when I got emotional. I didn’t mean to lose control like that.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Luz’s smile is full of patience and assurance. “You’ve been through a lot and had to let it out. I would have been just as upset if I were in your shoes.”

“I know. I just, I didn’t want you to see me like that. Hurt, ‘n weak…” she mumbles, looking away in shame.

“Amity, I would never think of you as weak. You’re one of the strongest people I know. Not just your magic, but your character, too. It’s something I really like about you.”

The witch bites her lip, too flustered to complain after praise like that. “Th-thank you,” she whispers, hiding her face as she tries to will away her blush.

Luz watched her closely. “Have you had any more, um, episodes, like that?” she asks cautiously.

Amity shakes her head. “No, thank the Titan. The feelings come and go, but Camila has helped me see some… different perspectives.” She blushes again, averting her gaze as Luz raises an eyebrow. “I’m, uh, trying to stay positive. Confident. Strong. Not think too much about things outside my control.”

Luz frowned as she started to pick out some of Amity’s words. At first she thought the girl was just embarrassed. That would certainly explain her blushing. But weak and strong, the way Amity casually added them to her sentences rubbed her in an unpleasantly familiar way. Her voice took on an accusatory tone as she relies. “Amity, you aren’t weak. Who said that you were?”

The witch startles, not expecting that question, but before she can answer Luz adds, “Was it your Mom?”

Amity blinks, unsure what caused this sudden change of tone. “W-what? I mean… yeah, I guess…”

The human groans. “Amity, your parents are the worst.”

“They aren’t that bad. I’m guessing you talked to them,” she says carefully.

“Yeah, and your Mom read my mind,” Luz deadpans.

“What!?” The witch bolted upright, golden eyes wide, breathing quickly. Not out of shock; it was no surprise to her that her mother would invade someone’s private thoughts. Rather, Amity felt fear for what she may have gleaned from the human. Had she learned of the simulacrum? Or her crush, one Odalia certainly would not approve of? “Why didn’t you say that first!? What did she see? What do they know!?”

“Amity, calm down! Breathe! It’s okay. She saw you were hurt, but nothing else. I said you were hurt by going through the portal.”

It takes a moment, but she starts to settle, her breathing coming under control as her rational mind caught up with her emotions. “That’s it? That’s… that’s fine. They don’t need to know the rest.”

“I wouldn’t call ripping my memories out ‘fine’ but sure, they didn’t find out anything else,” Luz grumbles sarcastically.

The witch slumps back down in the couch, waiving her hand dismissively. “Mother won’t care normally, but she’ll use her telepathy spell if she thinks you’re hiding something from her. You gotta be real careful around her. Trust me.”

“Of course I-“ Luz blinks, anger bubbling beneath the surface. “Wait, she reads your mind, too?” She pressed a hand to her forehead, recalling her tumultuous emotions yesterday after her encounter with Odalia. They way she couldn’t control her feelings, getting increasingly worked up until she had lashed out at Eda.

Odalia does that to her own child? To perfect, overachieving, beautiful Amity?

The fact that Amity speaks so nonchalantly about it only aggravates Luz further. “Of course. She used to do it more, when we were younger. It was part of her discipline routine. That’s why she made me wear that necklace, because I had built up a resistance to Oracle magic.”

“Necklace…?” Luz gasps, remembering the violet pendant that used to hang from her crush’s neck until she shattered it while defending her from Odalia. “Amity, don’t you realize how, just, wrong that is? She can just spy on you whenever she wants? That’s a huge invasion of privacy!”

The lilac-haired girl shrugs, her responses coming out short and clipped as she grows tired of this discussion. “Is it really a big deal? Lots of Oracle parents do the same thing, I think.”

Luz gives her a worried look, concerned by Amity’s dismissal. She can see the pale witch is getting more and more anxious by the conversation, but trying to hide it. This only
makes her more angry at the Blights. How much have they indoctrinated Amity into their warped view of strength and family and legacy?

To Luz, it was upsetting that Amity thought so little of her Mother going through her head. Amity is more worried of what Odalia might have learned then the trauma she put Luz through. Did Amity have to suppress her feelings in front of her parents so much that she didn’t even realize the pain her Mother caused every time she invaded her thoughts?

So despite how uncomfortable this topic is for them both, Luz presses on. She needs to make her crush understand.

“Amity, your parents are not good people. They-“

“You don’t think I know that?” she snaps back. She’s about to say something else but catches herself at the shocked expression on Luz’s face. Amity sighs, taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

“Look, I know my parents are… terrible. They’re prideful and controlling and they can be really cruel. I talked with your Mom about them already, and I can see that she is a better parent then either of mine a hundred times over.

“But, they’re still my parents. I can’t just stop listening to them. Ed and Em don’t even do that. And, despite how bad they can be, I still love them. They still…,” she hesitates, wrapping her arms around herself, “… care about me. They still want what’s best for me. Or what they think is best, anyway. All my training and studies and Mother’s visions helped me become as strong as I am. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have survived against the simulacrum.”

“Amity, I-,” Liz starts with a sympathetic tone by stops. Something tightens in her stomach as she picks out a specific word. “Visions?”

The lilac-haired witch nods. “Oracle visions. Mother’s specialty is predicting the future. She’d use those visions as a kind of blueprint for how she manages the whole family. She even showed me one, once…”

She trails off as she gingerly brushes her bandaged cheek. “She… we both knew I’d always get this horrible scar. We just didn’t know how or when. But… I’d survive it. They made sure I was strong enough to survive it.”

The human’s head is buzzing with worries. She recalls what the twins had told her at school. Something about a new vision concerning Amity that Odalia doesn’t want to talk about. But she’s been using these visions all of Amity’s life? Are these visions even real? Or is she just making things up so her family does what she wants?

“Amity, I’ve taken Oracle classes. I don’t know much, but they say the future can’t always be predicted. Knowing what might happen could change it, or make it worse.”

“I know. Mother knows. But she’s been doing this for decades, Luz! Her intuition is really, really good. This has been my whole life. I can… I can fight back about some things, like my hair and my friends, but the important stuff… she always knows. She’s always pushing me to be better. Isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t I want to be strong?”

Strong. There’s that word again, the one that keeps slipping into every speech by a Blight. The same word so tightly woven into their psyches by the matron whom specializes in magics that affect the future and the mind. Odalia has the whole family wrapped around her finger.

“Not by their definition of strong, Amity. You are strong in so many ways! I don’t know why you defend them-“

“Well I don’t know why you keep attacking them!” the witch shouts back, surprising the human in the other realm.

Luz’s grimace hardens, raising her voice to match. “Because they hurt me! She went through my head and made me relive all my stress from the past week! And before that, they tried to kill me with their abomination!”

She turns away, cheeks scarlet, voice barely a whisper thick with emotion. “And they hurt you, too. You just don’t realize it. They made you think you’re only worth something when you’re strong and smart, but that’s not true. You’re worth so much more than that, Amity, and I wish you could see it, too.”

Amity bowed her head, resisting the Blight urge to fight again, to stand her ground and shout that she’s fine, she’s healthy and normal when deep down she knows she’s not. That’s what old Amity would do, just deflect and argue and win the debate and ruin another friendship in the process. But new Amity isn’t like that anymore.

Right? I did change. I am changing. I’m making my own way. I’m not just my Mother’s pawn anymore. It’s not really as bad as Luz says… right?

What does she see in me, that I don’t see in myself?

Amity sighs, pushing away her shame and fluster, and sorrow fills the void. “I’m sorry she did that to you, Luz. I… I guess I forgot how trying Mother’s magic can be. I’ve been used to it… numb to it, for so long now. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

She takes a shuddering breath and continues before Luz can interject. “My relationship with my parents is… complicated. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever really been apart from them. So… maybe you’re right? I don’t know. But… I don’t want to talk about them anymore. Please.”

Luz wants to keep talking. She wants to argue. She wants to blame Odalia and Alador for everything wrong in her crush’s life. She wants to accuse Amity’s Mother of making up prophecies just to control her family. She’s incensed by all the wrong the Blights have done, and all the gaslighting they’ve put poor Amity through.

But she can also see just how upset their argument has left the witch. The very last thing Luz wants is to be another stressor for the injured girl.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so aggressive about them,” Luz rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment, forcing herself to calm down. “W-what did you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know,” Amity sighs, tense and awkward, trying to find a line of conversation away from her parents. “Um, what have you been up to since Monday?”

She tries to remember, but her mind is coming up blank. It takes a moment to recall anything at all beyond Odalia’s cruel smile and Alador’s disinterested stare. “Uh… school. Homework. Lilith had an idea for the portal, but I can’t remember the details right now.”

Amity rubbed her chin in a way that reminded Luz too much like Alador. “Your Mom’s been calling the camp every day. She’s trying to see if anyone knew anything about the simulacrum, but no luck so far.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea, Amity!” Luz managed a smile. Maybe there was nothing to find out, but it’s as good a lead as any. It also reminded her of Amity’s construct book, another unfortunate dead end.

The pale witch smirks shyly. “Thanks, but it was actually Clara’s idea.”

Luz’s train of thought that had just started to move again was suddenly about to derail. She could feel her anger well up again, her hands clenching into fists. There’s another person whom had hurt Luz and could hurt Amity. Someone else who doesn’t deserve to have her crush’s attention.

But before she can explode, she shifts to her last thoughts before the anger. “I read that book you told me about!” she blurts out. She pauses, taking a moment to rein her emotions and volume back in. “There was a lot of simulacrum history and features and stuff, but nothing that will help you fight it, or tell us where it came from. Sorry.”

Amity frowned by nodded, evidently disappointed, but no longer shaken by Luz’s outburst. “It was worth a shot. Thanks for reading it.”

“Yeah, no problem. Ed and Em had an idea to get more info, but….” She hesitates, unsure how Amity would react should she learn her parents are considering requisitioning a simulacrum of herself. Rather then risk even more emotional distress, Luz just shrugs. “I’ll let you know if they find anything out.”

There was a awkward moment of silence as the girls sat back, unsure what to say. Luz bounced her leg vigorously, trying to keep her mind off of Clara and the Blights with only limited success. She needs another distraction, but Amity is looking tired and anxious. Golden eyes steal a glance at Luz’s brown and the witch blushes and oh no I’m making her nervous or something, I just need to say something, just say something, anything!

“Do you know what a grimwalker is?”

No! Luz you fool, not that!

Amity blinks, pink cheeks fading as she considers the question. “No, I don’t think I’ve heard of that before. Grim-walker? Is that another type of construct?”

Hunter asked me about it when I mentioned Amity’s construct book. There wasn’t anything about grimwalkers in there. But I can’t tell her where I heard it from! “I don’t know. Maybe? I, uh, heard about it in class, but I didn’t know what it was, and it wasn’t in your book, sooooo now I’m asking you!”

Amity blushes again, assuming Luz’s stammering was from their shared crushes, not realizing she’s trying to make up a lie. “Sorry, but I don’t know anything about that. Isn’t Gus friends with a Construction witch? Maybe ask him.”

“Yeah, Mattholomule. I could ask him.” She grunts, remembering her last interaction with the Glandus transfer student. “But he’s kind of a jerk.” She shakes her head, dismissing that idea forever.

The witch purses her lips. “Well, he might be now, but maybe there’s more to him then you think.”

Luz rolls her eyes, a sullen expression on her face. “You don’t know him. He’s always been a jerk in class. Gus hasn’t made him mellow out at all. I don’t know why he puts up with him.”

Her crush shakes her head, lips thinned with annoyance. “I mean, surely there’s something good about him, right?”

“I guess? Gus doesn’t talk about him much, because he constantly nags me and hits on Willow and we both find him- oh.” Luz frowns, avoiding her eyes. “You’re not actually talking about Mattholomule, are you?”

“No, I’m not,” Amity sighs. “Look, I know you and Clara had some kind of falling out -“ Luz huffs in annoyance, “- but she had a talk with your Mom and she’s been a lot nicer since then. She’s trying. She’s even been bringing up things you used to do for fun, like playing in the rain. I think she regrets how she treated you and wants to make up for it.”

“Well I don’t care,” Luz grumbles. “She should feel bad for everything she did to me.”

Amity winced, looking away and rubbing her neck. “Was she really that bad?”

Luz doesn’t hesitate as she opens the floodgates, gesturing wildly. “She was the worst! She used to be my best friend, and then she just turned on me, because, because I was too much for her! Or …something! She took every opportunity to embarrass me! She was worse then Boscha, worse then-“

“Then me?”

The ranting human freezes, stunned out of her tirade. “Huh?”

“Was she worse then me? Then how I was to Willow?” Amity repeats, arms crossed, her voice wavering only slightly, but enough for Luz to notice.

“N-no. I mean, yes! You, you weren’t that bad -“

“Yes, I was,” Amity sighs, closing her eyes sadly. “I tormented her for years, all because I was too weak to be her friend. How messed up is that?”

“You aren’t weak. Your parents -“

“Don’t!” Amity cuts her off a bit too harshly. “Don’t start about my parents again. I know that was wrong, but it doesn’t excuse what I did. I just had to stop being friends with Willow, not bully her! I’m trying so hard to get past that, to make up for how was. And seeing Clara… I get the sense she wants to do the same, for you.”

“Did she actually say that?” Luz grumbles, knowing full well what Amity’s response would be.

Sure enough, the witch stumbles, the bite in her tone replaced with uncertainty. “Well, no, but-“

Luz closes her eyes, holding back tears as she rants. She has to make her understand. “But nothing. That’s how Clara is. She manipulates and lies until she has you believing whatever she wants. She did that all the time at school, getting me made fun of, or in trouble with teachers. Clara makes herself the victim, and her victim the bad guy. She’s tricking you. And Mom, too.”

Amity co*cked an eyebrow, asking the last question that Luz would expect. “But, why?”

“… What do you mean, why?”

“I mean, why would she trick us?”

“Because…” Luz pauses. Why would Clara trick them? She’s having trouble thinking of a answer through her anger toward the blond cheerleader. Finally she throws up her hands, exasperated. “Because she doesn’t want to get in trouble with Mom, I guess.”

“Okay, sure, but then why does she keep coming back here? Or stay for hours while your Mom’s at work? Or play in the rain when I was depressed?”

“Well, maybe Melony is being friendly and she makes Clara come too.” Even as she says it, Luz can’t believe it herself. The Clara she knew would never waste her time with people she thought as beneath her, no matter what anyone else says. She’s too prideful to associate with weirdos, and certainly too prim and proper than to play in the rain like a child.

But what if Amity is right, and the Clara she knew did change?

And why did she go from Luz’s best (and last) friend to one of her worst bullies in the first place?

Amity must be an Oracle because she was thinking along those same lines. “I don’t know why she stopped being your friend. I don’t know exactly what happened between you two, and I’m not saying you need to forgive her. But… you know how I was, and you still gave me a chance. And through you, Willow gave me a chance, too. Maybe when the portal is working, you can give her a chance, too.”

Luz doesn’t say anything for awhile, stewing in her anger, unable to think of any way to justify herself. Amity sighs, resigned. “If you don’t want to talk about her, that’s fine. i just don’t want you to be so angry about her. I’m sorry for bringing her up.”

Of course you would sympathize with her. You even said she’s just like you.

Luz scowls, quickly shaking that idea away. Where did that come from? No, de-escalate, Luz! I’m getting too worked up. Maybe she’s right. Amity is nothing like Clara, don’t even think about comparing them.

“W-what?”

Brown eyes blink to refocus, finding golden staring back at her. Amity’s cute little mouth hangs open in shock and hurt. Luz blinks again, her brain struggling to understand when a terrible realization disperses her anger and leaves her hallow with dread.

“Did… did I say that out loud?”

Amity covers her mouth, face paler than Luz has ever seen, so shocked as to be unable to speak. But she does manage a quick, shallow nod.

Luz’s heart drops into a bottomless pit.

Oh no. I just called Amity a bully! That’s, like, her biggest regret ever!

“Ohmygosh that isn’t- Amity, that isn’t what I meant! I mean, I didn’t, you aren’t-! I’m sorry! That’s not-“

She’s talking quickly, stumbling over herself in a frantic attempt to reassure her crush. But she can’t seem to get the words out, and can only watch in horror as Amity sinks further into herself, tears forming in her eyes and running down her cheeks. Tears stream from her own eyes as Luz tries and fails to explain herself.

After nearly thirty seconds of babbling with absolutely no progress, Luz covers her face, bending over and barely suppressing an exasperated scream. “GAH!!! What is wrong with me?!”

Luz can’t move, can’t hear her crush over her own sobbing. She can’t bring herself to sit up or say anything or even turn off the phone. All she can feel is crushing dread, her thoughts full of regret and self-hatred.

I did it. I screwed it all up. Just like I always do. Amity hates me. Maybe she always hated me. But now she’ll want nothing to do with me. It wasn’t even Clara’s fault! Or her Mom’s! It was me! It’s always me! How do I always do this? Why am I so awful that no one could love me? Even Mom wanted me to change. Even-

An angelic voice hesitantly reaches through her distress. “What is wrong with you, Luz?”

She lifts her head, blinking though bleary eyes to find Amity. The lilac-haired teen is watching her carefully, her expression guarded. Tears had been wiped away, but her eyes are red and puffy, betraying the emotions she’s trying to conceal. Amity’s words were ones Luz had heard many times at school, but the tone of her voice isn’t accusatory or condemning, but full of concern.

Before Luz can interpret what she means, Amity spells it out. “This… isn’t you. You’re always… happy, and smiling, and optimistic when you have no reason to be. What happened to you?”

Luz swallows, closing her eyes, trying to clear her mind. Her first thought is to blame Odalia, but somehow she thinks that won’t go over too well. And, in truth, it’s not her fault. The stirring up of her emotions could be partially blamed for her outburst at Eda yesterday, but not now. This was different. And once she found a place that could fit, the words spilled out.

“If something’s wrong, I try to fix it. Whatever it is. Usually without thinking it through. It got me in trouble a lot at home. And in the Demon Realm, it still got me in trouble, but things usually worked out, because I have Eda and my friends and… and you, looking out for me.

“But… you…” she hesitates, trying to find the words that don’t sound so pathetic in her head. “You’re really important to me, Amity, but I can’t do anything to help you. There’s no where to go, no monster to fight. It’s just reading books I don’t understand about magic I can’t do! You’re stuck over there, and I’m stuck here, and all I can do is think.”

She blinks as the tears start again, but she pushes through with a wavering voice. “I was so scared when I lost you. When I thought you… you…” She can’t say it, so she barrels past it instead. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. And when I finally found you, and I saw you were hurt-“

Luz’s voice broke. Amity’s heart threatening to do the same. Ears drooping, she leans forward to speak, but the human kept going, growing increasingly frantic. “I want to save you, Amity, but I can’t fix this. I can’t help you. I can’t protect you from, from the doppelgänger or Clara or Hopkins or other humans. I don’t know what to do! I’m just useless! And I just keep hurting people! I yelled at Eda, and I made Mom worried, and you… you’re stuck there and you’re hurt and it’s all my-“

“No. It’s not your fault,” Amity firmly interjects.

“That’s what everyone says, but it is! If I didn’t… if I didn’t…,” She squeezes her eyes closed, head in her hands, struggling to put her disjointed thoughts into words. “… If I didn’t push you, or, or freak out, none of this would have happened! You wouldn’t be hurt. You wouldn’t be in danger. You wouldn’t… you wouldn’t hate me….”

She trails off and slumps to the floor, out of Amity’s sight. She finally said it. She admired the truth. She rejected Amity’s advances, however unintentionally and involuntarily, and inadvertently banished the witch from her home. How could Amity not hate her? Luz is too exhausted, too worn out to do anything, even cry. All she can do is stare up at the ceiling and wait for Amity to shut off the phone and leave her alone like she deserves. Any moment now, and the Blight will realize she’s far too good to be Luz’s friend, let alone her girlfriend. Amity will leave her, exactly like Clara did. Exactly what Odalia would want.

But after a full minute of silence, lying limply on the floor, Luz is just wanting her to get over with it already.

It takes another minute, but finally the witch speaks, and it’s not what the human was expecting.

“Luz, I… I don’t hate you.”

Then she adds under her breath, just barely loud enough for her to hear: “I don’t think I could hate you.”

That got her attention. A glimmer of hope flickers in her chest, warm and light against cold, suffocating remorse. Luz rolls to her side, facing her phone. She can’t really see from this angle, and Amity can only see a curious brown eye and a round ear pop up from the bottom of the screen. The sight very nearly makes her laugh, but she stifles her reaction and focuses on trying to encourage her distraught crush.

“I don’t blame you. None of this is your fault. It’s no one’s fault, really. It’s just how things are.”

The fact that this is her Father’s saying did not escape Amity’s notice, but now is not the time to discuss the topic of her parents again.

“You aren’t useless, either, and you know that. You’re doing everything you can to help, and it’s enough. Even if you don’t think so. I’m safe right now. Your Mom is taking helping me, and my magic is coming back.”

She gives her crush a warm, reassuring smile. Luz meets her eyes, then quickly glances away and pouts. It’s the single most adorable thing Amity had ever seen. She bites her lip to keep from whining, covering her reddening cheeks with her hands.

Oblivious to the effect she has on the witch, Luz sighs. “I know, I just… I want to do more. I don’t want you to get hurt again. And I guess, after what happened with me and Clara, and me and your Mom… I don’t want them to hurt you, like they did me…”

I don’t want them to change you and make you hate me, either.

Amity nods in understanding. “You aren’t wrong. I guess I was like them before. I was a lot like Clara as a bully, and apparently just like Mother when she was younger. But not anymore. I promise. I can handle Clara. If… that’s okay with you.”

Luz nods begrudgingly. “If she’s actually helping you, then, fine. I’ve seen you handle Bosha, I know Clara won’t be a problem for you.”

Amity smirks, making Luz giggle, tension slowly melting away from both girls. “As for my parents… being away from them is giving me more… clarity, I guess. I still feel like I owe them, almost, for everything they’ve done for me. But I’m also realizing just how… different they are, compared to your Mom.”

“‘Awful.’ The word you’re looking for is ‘awful’.”

Amity snickered, shaking her head. “I guess I can always count on you to tell me the difference?”

Luz smiles, sitting up fully. “Yeah, yeah you can.”

They laugh again, a quiet, subdued chuckle that lifts the reminding burden still hanging around them. Amity catches Luz’s gaze. “Are you okay?”

She considers for a moment, then nods. “I guess so. I just… I wish I could do more. I… I caused-“

“No you didn’t.”

Luz is just as exasperated as Amity. “I know! Just-“

“I want you to say it,” Amity says firmly.

Luz blinks, unsure. “What?”

Gold bores into brown. “Say that it’s not your fault that I’m in the human realm.”

“It’s…” Luz hesitates, not entirely believing the statement, but the intensity of Amity’s stare makes her shiver. It’s intimidating. Scary, even.

Also incredibly attractive.

But Luz gets the message. This is important to the lilac-haired girl. “It’s not my fault that you’re in the human realm.”

Amity nods, allowing Luz to continue. “Regardless, I want to help. I want to do all that I can. I… I want to be the hero.”

The hero gets the princess.

Luz’s pouting is just as infuriatingly cute as before. Amity quickly looks away, trying to calm the fire in her cheeks. “You’re already my hero” is what she wants to say. Instead she says, “You don’t need to be the hero every time, Luz. It’s not all on you. Let the adults do what they need to, and you can help them. Okay?”

She nods, resigned. “I’ll try.”

“Good.”

“Good,” Luz sighs. “I was hoping this would be a nice, happy, no-drama kind of chat, but I guess not!” She chuckles nervously, embarrassed. “Sorry about that.”

Amity echoes her laughter. “It’s okay. I think you needed that. Needed to let it out.”

“Yeah, maybe. I just, don’t like how weak and vulnerable it makes me feel.”

“Well, someone very smart keeps telling me that showing emotion isn’t a weakness.” Luz smirks, shaking her head. Amity gives her a wry smile. “Besides, I had my own episode on Monday. I guess we both needed it.”

Luz nods, recalling how hard Amity had cried. How upset and overwhelmed she had become. “Are you sure you’re really okay?”

Amity thinks for a moment before nodding wearily. “I still think about… everything, and get sad, every now and then. But you and your Mom, and yes, Clara and Melony, they’ve all helped.”

A specific, cryptic phrase springs to Luz’s mind. She wrings her hands, desperately wanting to ask the question and hoping it doesn’t cross another line. “Hey, can I ask you a question about that?”

Amity co*cked her head and piqued an eyebrow, noting her hesitation. She nods warily. “Uh, sure?”

The human takes a breath to steady her voice, concerned but cautiously curious about what the answer might be. “When you were upset on Monday, one of the last things you said was ‘why did it have to be you, Luz?’ What did you mean by that?”

The witch’s ears droop, her face growing red. “You heard that?”

Luz taps her fingers together nervously. “Yeeeah. Um, you don’t have to answer, if you don’t-“

“No, it’s just-“

Amity’s head is in her hands, thinking what she should say. She can still recall her distress from that day, but didn’t realize that Luz could hear her. Luz, the girl who’s been involved in every one of the major changes in Amity’s life over the past few months. She doesn’t want Luz to worry more about her words. The human has clearly done enough of that. But how should she respond?

Just tell her the truth? That Amity is crushing hard on her? The thought makes her pulse quicken, makes her tighten her grip on her forehead. Maybe she can. She wants to be brave, and if she can face a murderous construct, then maybe she can face the sweet, too-cute girl with the same face.

But as she raises her head and meet’s Luz’s gaze once more, she can see the worry in the human’s eyes. Have her stray complaints just been another burden on her crush? Will admitting her affections help her? Or would it make things worse? Would that drive Luz even harder to help, and cause her more stress and pain in the process?

No, Amity realizes. I can’t tell her. Not yet. I have to give her hope, but I can’t tell her how I feel. She’ll do some big, ambitious, dumb thing if she thinks it would help me. That or she’ll drive herself crazy. I need to protect her. I need to protect her from herself.

And once we’re together again, then I can tell her.

She gives Luz a small, embarrassed smile. “I was just… overwhelmed by everything. Stuck here, injured, everything I’ve been through. It was a lot.”

“Too much,” Luz sympathizes.

“Yeah. I guess I realized that, with everything I’ve been through over the summer, you’ve always been there. You just keep changing my life, Luz.”

She can’t help but grin as the human blushes, the glint in her eye returning. She can see those gears turning in her head, trying to decipher hidden meanings behind every word. Amity knows she needs to interrupt her before she gets too far. A quick glance to the notepads on the coffee table beside Camila’s phone gives her an idea.

“Actually, there is something you can help me with.”

Luz sits up straight, eager as always to prove herself. Amity produces a sheet of paper, holding it up to the phone. “Can you see it?”

The human squints as the image focuses. “Is that… a light glyph? You remembered how to draw it?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s the one you use the most.”

There’s a look on Luz’s face that Amity can’t quite read. Surprise for sure, but also appreciation? Like the girl can’t believe Amity has paid her that much attention. Luz sighs wistfully. “It’s too bad those don’t work on Earth.”

Amity barely suppresses a proud smile. “As a matter of fact, I figured something out. They just need a little help.” As she says this she’s casting a pink circle just above the sheet. Luz watched intensely as the witch taps the paper. The ring of magic falls into the glyph as it glows, collapses inward, and rises as a ball of pale pink light.

Luz watches in awe, first at the shining orb, then at her the girl she’s falling for. “You can cast glyphs,” she whispers. “You found out how to do them on Earth! Amity, that’s amazing!”

Amity blushes from the human’s praise. “This was the only one I could remember. Maybe you could teach me the others?”

Luz’s eyes light up with hope and love, all directed to the lilac-haired girl. This is something she can do. This is how she can help protect Amity. “I’d love to.”

The rest of the call was filled with learning and laughter, paper glyphs, and two teens no longer caring about their worries, but instead falling further in love.

Camila set down Jenkins’s book as Amity approaches. She greets her guest, though concern is evident beneath her smile. “I heard some shouting. Is everything okay?”

Amity rubs her arm uneasily. “Luz is stressed. She wants to fix everything, and she blames herself for everything that’s gone wrong. We talked through it a bit and I think she’s in a healthier mind space now.”

Camila relaxes, exhaling slowly. “That sounds like my Luz alright. Good job taking care of her.” She gives Amity a teasing grin. “Did you tell her yet?”

The witch’s face reddens once more as she quickly shuts down the question. “Nope! No. Not yet. It was not a good time to talk about the future… or… relationships or anything like that.”

“What about when you talk tomorrow night?” the mother teased.

“We promised each other no more drama. I think asking her out would count,” Amity mumbles, simultaneously relieved and disappointed.

Camila chuckles, returning to this strange, annotated tale of the Wittebane brothers. “We’ll see.”

“I promise I wasn’t spying this time,” Eda starts as Luz steps into the kitchen, “but I did overhear some yelling. Are you and Bossy Boots alright?”

Luz nods with an embarrassed smile. “Yeah, we’re okay. We had some disagreements, and they got intense from all the -,” she flails her arms, “- everything this week. But we’re fine.”

Eda got up from her seat, pressing the issue. “Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about anything.”

Luz barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. All their recent talks about worries and crushes have really brought out the motherly side of the once-feared wild witch. Luz couldn’t help but think it was a little hypocritical, considering how Eda wanted to know everything going on in Luz’s head but wouldn’t share much herself. Its not like she was voluntarily sharing her own mysterious backstory. No matter what Luz says, Eda still seems to think that she’s keeping something from her!

Well, there’s Hunter, but Eda doesn’t need to know about him.

“It’s nothing, I promise. We talked it out, and we both feel better about it.”

The Owl Lady relents with a sigh, smiling at her ward. “Alright. You know I’m just looking out for you.”

“I know.” Luz averts her eyes, suddenly feeling guilty for thinking so little of Eda. Of course she’s concerned about me. She’s basically my second mom! I don’t like keeping things from her. I should talk to Hunter. Maybe he'll let me tell Eda about our secret meet-ups now? It's not like she'll blab to Belos.

She got over her guilt trip pretty quickly though, as Eda leans in with a smug grin. “You ask her out yet?”

“Eeeeeda!” Luz gasps, red-faced, leaping away from her cackling mentor.

“Oh, come on, Luz! You obviously like her, she obviously likes you-“

“You don’t know that…” she weakly refutes, not believing the words herself. “But… even after everything I said today, she’s still so nice and sweet to me. Either she’s the most patient witch in the world-“

“‘Dalia’s kid? Fat chance.”

“- or maybe she really does like me.”

Eda’s smile is all teeth. “So what are you gonna do about it?”

“Nothing.” Eda’s smile drops. “Yet. I want her to be safe before any more… emotional upheaval. But… I really do like her, and when I ask her out, it has to be just right. Until then, I’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back home!”

She grins with determination, hand clenched into a fist. Whatever it takes? Hunter said that last time. I need to talk to him. Hopefully he also found something that can help Amity.

Her mentor nods, ruffling her hair. “Attagirl! But if you want my romance advice, you shouldn’t wait for the perfect time. Just ask her out. They way I see it, you both like each other, so you might as well make the first move. I bet Boots would dig the confidence.”

Luz crosses her arms, suddenly curious, but also wanting to return the teasing right back. “Did that work with you and Raine?”

Caught off guard, Eda flushes and quickly retreats from the room. “No comment!”

Chapter 31: Secret Friends

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe school is cancelled,” Luz mutters early the next morning.

“I can’t believe Mattholomule was right,” Gus mumbles beside her.

The two stand amongst a small crowd of students in front of Hexside, watching the chaos unfold. Principal Bump is frantically directing the staff against some kind of living graffiti that has taken over the school. Enchanted doodles proudly displaying ‘banshees suk’ and ‘GLNDS 4EVR’ zip across the walls, avoiding the teachers’ removal attempts, taunting them with mocking laughter and rude sounds. The campus is full of these jeering, derisive scrawls, and they proved such a distraction that Bump has no choice but to cancel classes until they got this infestation under control.

Luz and Gus drifted to the back of the crowd to ensure they aren’t overheard by a teacher. “How did Matt know about this? I thought he cut ties with everyone at Glandus.”

“His brother tipped him off,” Gus explains. “He graduated from Glandus and was one of their best grudgby players, so he probably knew about this prank. Or… well, he’s also a Coven Scout, so maybe he helped them pull it off.”

Luz frowned at that news. Mattholomule’s brother is a Coven Scout? That’s another reason to dislike Gus’s newest friend.

No, stop judging him. Remember what Amity said last night. I used to see the good in everybody, but lately I’ve just been cynical. I need to work on that.

Gus noticed her vacant stare and waved a hand, snapping her out of her inner monologue. “Hey, Titan to Luz? School’s out. What do you want to do?”

Luz considered this as she turned around, leading the two of them away from Hexside towards Bonesborough. Once she was sure they wouldn’t be overheard, she answered his question. “Well, Eda and Lilith are working on their plan for the portal. I could help them. Maybe there’s something I can do to make it all go faster. You’re welcome to join us, if you’d like.”

Gus shakes his head, rubbing his neck anxiously. “Thanks, but I already have plans. Since Mattholomule told me about this prank-“

“You’re going to spend the day with him in that creepy graveyard, aren’t you?”

“Uh, yeah,” Gus replied sheepishly.

Luz rolls her eyes. “Why? I mean, I can think of a hundred things I’d rather do then hang out in a cemetery with Matt.”

Gus laughs nervously as he compiled a response. Willow and Luz are his best friends, but the caretaker had insisted he not tell anyone about the true purpose of the Looking Glass Ruins. Mattholomule had kept quiet, not even telling his older brother what they had found. The same brother whom somehow procured their hand-drawn map from the castle. So he has to tell Luz something other than his promise to protect invaluable galdorstones. Thankfully, his answer still has truth to it.

“It’s actually a really special place to me. There’s so many powerful illusionists that rest there, and it’s a great spot to practice. I’ve even been teaching Mattholomule, and he likes it so much he’s thinking of taking illusion as a dual-track!”

“Really? I didn’t realize you two were so close.” Luz’s surprise shifts into a a teasing grin that wouldn’t look out of place on the Owl Lady. “Do you have a thing for him, hrm?”

“What? No, not at all,” Gus swiftly denies without a hint of a blush. “He seems like someone who needs a friend, and we bonded after we scared off those Glandus bullies.”

He catches Luz watching him, looking for any sign of a fib or hidden emotions, and returns the taunt right back. “Besides, I’ve seen how you and Amity trip all over yourselves when you’re together. I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of stress.”

Luz lets out an exasperated sigh. “What, how- Fine, you don’t like him like that. But you never know. I didn’t come here expecting to fall for someone. Maybe he-“

“With the way he hits on half the girls at school, I think I’d know if he was into me,” Gus deadpans.

“He’s not still into Willow, is he?” Luz cringed.

“I don’t know, but he hasn’t said anything to her since last time.”

The human laughs, fondly recalling when the annoying construction witch had been swallowed up by an angry fern named Clyde. “She does not like bullies. Where is Willow, anyway?”

“I texted her that school was out. She said she had to do stuff with her dads.”

Luz frowns, disappointed. I’ve barely seen my friends in over a week! “Well, maybe you can text her that-“

“Hey! Luz!” “Wait up!”

The two stop, turning back as a pair of familiar illusionists race to catch up. As soon as they are together, Edric doubles over in exhaustion, prompting a concerned look from Gus. “Dude.…”

“He needs to run more,” Emira chides, her cheeks rosy but otherwise unbothered.

“Ed! Em! You… you look, different?” Luz tilts her head as she examines them more closely.

Ed scowls, pushing up his glasses (Since when did he wear glasses!? Or wash his cowl? Eww!), unable to speak as he gasps for breath. Em shakes her head. (She has pimples!? And what happened to her mole?)

“Mother took away our concealment stones.”

“Concealment stones? For daily use? Aren’t those like, super expensive?” asks Gus.

“The perks of being a Blight,” Ed pants bitterly, standing with a noticeable slouch and grimace, mirroring his Father. “She wants us to look presentable at all times, but then she takes it away. Uses our true looks as a…, a punishment.”

“Hypocrite,” Em grumbles under her breath.

“Was that punishment because of your, uh, plan for yesterday?” Luz asks, recalling their idea to learn more about the simulacrum.

Em nods. “Yes, and we need to talk to you about that.” Her eyes dart to a curious Gus and back again. “In private.”

Luz smirks. “Don’t worry. He’s about to meet up with his super-secret not-boyfriend.”

The shorter boy glares at her, cheeks rosy with embarrassment, but Em turns to him, cutting off his rebuke. “Who, that Glandus kid? You could do better.”

“I don’t know, he did seem real impressed with your illusions, Gus. He was even considering joining the track.” Ed stroked his chin in thought. “Also I’m pretty sure he was checking you out, Em.”

His sister gags. “Urg, no, he’s ugly and, like, half my height.”

“Matt’s not that ugly,” Gus grumbles to himself.

“So I shouldn’t warn your girlfriend that she has competition?” Ed grins smugly at his twin.

Luz gasps, eyes wide in wonder at this new gossip. “You have a girlfriend?”

Em waves her hands in her brother’s face. “No! Not officially. Say her name and I’ll end you!” She points threateningly at Ed, whom mockingly cowers and backs down.

“Her!” Luz whispers, shaking with giddy excitement. There are many things she loves about the Boiling Isles, and the freedoms to be and be with whomever you wanted, no matter their gender or sometimes even species, are easily in her top 5. Just the mention of Emira’s possible girlfriend, or Gus’s not-boyfriend, and seeing absolutely no looks of confusion or disgust warmed her heart.

“We’re getting side-tracked,” Em groans. “Can we talk at the Owl House?”

“Sure! I was just going to help Eda and Lilith with their research today, anyway. You guys can help too, if you want.” She lowers her voice as an idea comes to mind. “You could even talk to Amity tonight, if you stay ‘till 7.”

The twins share a look, hopeful smiles on their faces. “That sure beats going back to the manor,” says Ed.

“Or helping Father at the factory,” Em adds with a shudder. “Yeah, let’s go.”

“We can take the path through the woods and talk on the way,” Luz says as she points the way around town. “And Gus-“

He’s already walking off, texting a certain plant witch on his scroll, his staff in his other hand. “Yeah, I’ll let Willow know. Maybe she can come by, too, after she’s done whatever with her dads.”

“Thanks. You have fun with Matty,” she teases.

“Matty!” the twins echo as Gus, red faced, flies off toward the hidden cemetery.

Gus: Luz at owl house all day, invited u wen ur done. Twins there 2!

Willow rereads the message with a frown, thoughts spiraling in her head. Maybe when I’m done here I can go see her. Find out exactly what’s going on, and fill her in on everything she’s missed. But can I do that with the twins there? They know about Amity, but they can be such troublemakers, and they never take anything seriously. And then there’s my other problem-

“Did someone text you? Let me see.”

My other problem named Boscha. Willow groans internally as the grudgby captain approaches. Without warning Boscha wraps an arm around her middle, pulling them into a tight, awkward side-hug, forcing their cheeks together as she growls at Willow’s scroll.

“Hrm, the Blights are with the human. Can’t trust them. If we’re going to confront her, she has to be alone.”

Willow angrily wrenches herself and her scroll away. That’s why her cheeks are hot. Because she’s angry. “We are not confronting anyone!”

“Not yet we aren’t!” Boscha retorts, not at all flustered by the close contact. She plays grudgby, she’s used to close contact with pretty girls other people. She spins a yellow circle, summoning a pouch of reagents with a mad gleam in her eyes. “I still need to brew blabber serum, after all. And maybe a binding elixir? She’s surprisingly nimble…”

The plant witch pinches her nose in frustration, trying to remember how in the Titan’s name she ended up here. Scrolling through her texts, she was quickly reminded why.

The crazed text she had received from Boscha early that morning could only mean bad things. The triclops claimed to have been up all night texting back and forth with Amity, convinced her ex-friend needed her help. Willow had met her here, the away team locker room at Glandus’s stadium, way too early in the morning. Thank the Titan school had been cancelled.

Amity had long since stopped texting by the time Willow arrived, but she was able to review their conversation. There wasn’t much to go by. Amity said little about her actual circ*mstances, giving vague answers to Boscha’s questions. Willow noticed she kept steering the topic back to a general distrust of Luz. She was adamant that the human was up to something and needed Boscha to find out what it was. But she has to be quiet about it, as supposedly Luz’s friends and the rest of the Blight family was in on it, whatever ‘it’ is.

If anything, it seemed like Amity was just trying to stir up trouble.

But the more she rereads these texts, the more Willow is convinced that it’s not Amity on the other side of the scroll. Luz had said Amity lost her scroll when she disappeared. She made no mention of being trapped in another world, nor her injuries, nor anything else Luz had told her friends. Instead, she claimed to be sick with some vague illness, and that was only after Boscha mentioned Alador talking to Principal Bump. Reading closer, Willow realized that Amity was fishing for information just as much as Boscha was, and doing a much better job due to the potions witch’s frantic state of mind.

So if it’s not Amity sending these texts, then who is it? Did someone find her scroll? Was it one of her parents? A Coven guard? Someone dangerous? What else do they know?

How does she tell Luz about this?

And more importantly, how does she get Boscha to leave all this alone?

Her thoughts and Boscha’s ramblings are both interrupted by the sound of approaching voices. Panic crosses the bully’s face. She grabbed Willow by the shoulders, roughly pushing her so fast into a separate room that she nearly dropped her scroll. But the door wouldn’t close, it just kept swinging back open, no matter how hard she slammed it. With a groan Boscha leaned against it, holding it shut, leaving a startled Willow in complete darkness. And not a moment too soon: Boscha turned around just as Skara, Cat, Amelia, and Bo came in, each carrying their sports bags.

While the other girls start changing for their pre-game warmup, Skara made a beeline for the captain, her face scrunched up in a tight frown. “Boscha! Where have you been? I’ve been texting you all morning!”

The pink-haired witch blinked all three eyes, forcefully suppressing her panic. If her friends saw her here with Willow they’d think she’s gone soft. She’d be laughed right off the Banshees. They’d never respect her again.

They might even leave, like Amity did.

So she folded her arms and leaned against the door hiding the weak plant witch, baring her teeth. “Calm down. I got your stupid messages. I already told you I’d be here early.”

“Then you would have known we were running late. The game starts in 20 minutes! You aren’t even in your uniform!”

Twenty minutes? That can’t be right. Boscha summoned her scroll, quickly checking new her messages (none from Amity, but a whole bunch from Skara and their teammates), before looking at the time.

Oh. sh*t! I lost track of time. I can’t hear the crowd from down here. I haven’t stretched, or practiced, or anything!

All because of stupid Amity making me worried and having to go to stupid Willow to think of a stupid way to find out what’s wrong! It’s all so stupid!

Boscha lowered her scroll to find Skara glaring at her, hands on her hips. “Well? Are you gonna change at least?”

“I…” I can’t leave this door, it’ll open and they’ll see Park! “…need a minute. Uh, my moms-“ Without further explanation she started typing furiously, without any aim or goal, hoping her friend would leave her alone.

Skara sighed and turned away, chalking up the captain’s strange behavior to whatever had been bothering her the past few days. No matter how much she pries, her friend never opens up. Typical Boscha. Skara really doesn’t mind, so long as she takes out her anger on the grudgby field and not their classmates. She had taken a single step away when a sudden noise made her stop.

A sneeze, coming from behind the door Boscha was leaning against.

The bard whirled around, inspecting the door suspiciously, then back to the captain struggling to hide her tense, wide-eyed panic behind her scroll. Boscha’s heart stopped. She screamed in her head to come up with an excuse, to fake a sneeze, something, anything, but she’s frozen in fear. Skara glanced back at her teammates, already changed and oblivious to their conversation. She took a step closer, noticing as Boscha’s breathing hitched, and lowered her voice.

“Look, I don’t care who you were making out with in there-“ Boscha’s eyes bugged out as she started to protest, but Skara spoke over her. “Normally I’d be happy you. Titan knows you could use the stress relief. But we’re playing Glandus today. We need you focused and we need you angry. So hurry up and be outside in five.”

And with that she turned and led the others out, much to their confusion.

Boscha watched them go, hearing them exit the changing room, their voices swallowed up by the distant crowd. Slowly her heart calmed, mind blank, but it wasn’t until someone pressed against the door and nearly pushed her over that she started to move again. She pulled open the door as Willow stumbled out, apologizing and mumbling something about dust.

“It’s okay,” the bully found herself saying. “They didn’t know it was you. That would have been a disaster.”

She found she couldn’t look Willow in the eyes. Something about Skara’s comment had unnerved her. Why would she say that? I wasn’t making out with anyone! I wouldn’t even think to kiss someone before a big game. Certainly not Park! She’s… not ugly, but still! Stupid Skara, she reads too many of those mushy romance novels.

Wait, did Park hear her, too? She’s looking at me funny. Oh Titan, don’t tell me she heard Skara!

Willow rubbed her neck as she stood uncomfortably close to the taller witch, also avoiding eye contact. “So, uh, I guess you need to get ready for the game?” she asked sheepishly.

She didn’t mention what Skara said. Well, good. What Skara said means nothing. Wait, what did Willow say? The game? Right. Grudgby. Get it together, Boscha!

She found her voice, refocusing her thoughts on the task before her. “Yeah, I need to warm up still.”

Then she started taking off her shirt.

“Ahhh! What are you doing!?” Willow gasped, jumping back, averting her gaze.

Three incredulous eyes glared back at her as Boscha reached for her uniform. “I’m changing, duh,” she said, the most obvious thing in the world.

Willow blinked, red dusting her cheeks with embarrassment and… that’s it, nothing else. Oh, right. For the game. Not at all related to Skara’s teasing. Besides, she’s got sports bra on. And I’ve seen her change before, for athletics classes. It’s nothing… wait, was she always that buff? I mean, I work out too, but, damn.

Willow awkwardly backs toward the door, trying to look somewhere, anywhere else. “Sports clothes. For the sports. Right. So, uh, I guess I’ll just… get going…”

Boscha pulls her shirt on as Willow finishes speaking. Her head snaps around, panic on her face, reaching for Willow. “Wait! You can’t go! I need-“

Both girls stop, neither sure they want her to finish that sentence. The potions witch coughs, hardening her voice, lowering her outstretched arm. “I mean, if Amity texts again, you should be close by. To help her. She’s your friend, after all. And, uh, you like grudgby, right?”

Somehow she still can’t look at Boscha, shirt or no. “Um… yes, I do. Like grudgby.”

“Good. Just, um, stay here? I’ll try to find you after the game.” The bully averts her gaze, embarrassed for her outburst, for a whole host of confusing emotions within her. Most of all, embarrassed for asking for help.

Willow turns to watch Boscha uncertainly. She’s so stressed out about ‘Amity’s’ new texts that she’s reaching out to the only person with whom she trusts enough to discuss them. That stirs a bit of pride in Willow.

Boscha trusts me. The same bully who called me half-a-witch just a few weeks ago. She needs me. She almost said so herself. I… should help her. I’d do the same for any one of my friends.

Does that make me and Boscha friends? …No, no she’s using me because I’m close to Luz and Amity.

But, helping her would still be the right thing to do.

Darn it, why is the right thing to do so hard?

“Okay, Boscha. I’ll stay.”

Relief fills the bully’s face, but she quickly hides it behind a confident mask. Even then, Willow can still see the cracks in it, exposing the fear and pressure underneath.

“Good. Th-thank you,” she mumbles the words unfamiliar in her mouth. She turns away to finish getting ready before adding, as an afterthought, “Maybe you should go out the other way, so no one sees you.”

“Basileus,” Eda reads, pausing to try some different pronunciations. “Bah-sil-us. Basil-eous.”

The silly attempts bring some levity to the otherwise heavy atmosphere of the Owl House’s family room. Eda smiles to herself. To be so close to the answer of the simulacrum’s origins, and knowing it’s still out of reach, is wearing these poor kids down. Luz, King, and now Amity’s siblings, Emira and the other one, the boy who’s name is too close to her own. They had been so hopeful when they came in, but now look so disappointed. Also seeing the twins without their concealment stones is just kind of sad. Eda feels powerless to help. She’s not brainy like Lily, who’s re-reading the document the twins brought for the hundredth time. But if she can bring a little laughter, a little joy to these kids, it’ll help.

She clears her throat, squints at the simulacrum application, and says in a loud, authoritative voice, “Balls-hilly-yus.”

The kids chuckle at Eda’s absurdity. Luz snickers to herself. “It just sounds Greek to me.”

Everyone looks at her in wonder, as if she had said something profound that they couldn’t understand. The human blinks, slightly embarrassed. “It’s, uh, a human expression. It sounds like gibberish.”

Lilith sighs. “I knew or heard of all the high ranking witches and demons in each of the covens, and yet I’ve never heard this name before. Though, I suppose it could be pseudonym for someone within the castle, or one of the covens.”

“Is that common? Using a fake name on an official document?” Edric asks from the chair nearby. Luz kept blinking whenever she glanced at him, unnerved by his similarity to his father.

“It is indeed. Many officials use false names to hide projects from their colleagues. Belos always proclaims a desire for corporation and unity, but within the castle he fosters competition and distrust. Everyone wants recognition of their worth, and some like Kikimora will gladly steal from their colleges if it would elevate them in the Emperor’s eyes.”

“What’s the point of signing your name if no one knows who you are?” Emira cries.

“Because the Empreror’s Coven is incompetent and no one with any authority cares. ‘Cept for Lilly when she was there,” Eda answers with a dismissive wave of her hand. Lilith starts to grumble something in protest but eventually concedes her sister is right.

“So there’s little chance anyone in the castle would know who ‘Basileus’ is,” Luz laments. There goes her idea of asking Hunter. Idly she wonders if she’s been taking too much advantage over her secret friend’s position within the Emperor’s Coven.

She catches the look Em throws her way, recognizing it immediately. The curiosity, but also concern. The twins had told Luz what had happened in the castle as they walked to the Owl House, and Luz only had one request: don’t mention that it was the Golden Guard whom gave them the papers. Luz reasoned that there were too many unanswered questions that would distract Eda and Lilith and it wasn’t worth going into right now. Ed and Em agreed, but still wondered if Luz knew more than she was telling them.

Luz saw Em’s expression, but she completely missed the same look on Eda’s face.

“Unlikely. I tried to learn all the false names myself when I was Coven Head, but someone caught wind of my work and everyone changed their names again. The whole effort for naught. I doubt my successor would make the effort to try. All he knows is how to take what’s given to him on a golden platter,” Lilith scoffs.

Ed frowns, tempted to dispute that opinion. The Golden Guard is trickier than he expected, but a quick glance from his sister dispels that notion. Instead he sighs heavily, bitter and frustrated. “So we don’t know who made the simulacrum. Is everything Em did, us losing our concealment stones, was it all for nothing?”

“I wouldn’t say that. There is information we can glean from this application.” Lilith holds up the papers, pointing to the tiny print for all to see. “This request was submitted before the start of summer, but there was an amendment. A request to change the simulacrum’s appearance, here. Do you recognize that date?”

They all peer at the page, trying to remember, but it’s Luz that can place the date first. “Wait, that was the Covention.”

King gasped. “That’s when you met Lilith, and had your duel with Amity!”

“Which is when the majority of the Isles first learned of a human in their midst,” Lilith affirmed. “They were already building the simulacrum, but changed it to appear like Luz after learning she was here.”

“Mom couldn’t get much from the camp, but she did say that the simulacrum showed up late, after camp already started. There was some discrepancy in the paperwork they couldn’t account for, probably because the fake me Oracle‘d anyone asking questions.”

Eda nods, connecting the dots. “Which means it was always intended to be sent to the human realm.”

A shiver trailed up the human’s spine. “That’s why it took my place. Because ‘Basileus’ knew I was here. I wonder what it was originally supposed to look like.” She frowns, crossing her arms. “But we still don’t know who made it, or why it was going to the human realm in the first place. Or how it got there! What if there’s another way, like another portal!”

Eda took her apprentice’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “We don’t know yet, but we’ll find out. We always do.” Eda meets Luz’s eye, and soon she matches her confident smile.

Lilith smiles as well, moved by their heartwarming display. “In the meantime, I understand you two are here to help.” She addresses to the twins whom both nod. “Excellent. There is something I’ve been working on for our gateway. It is based on an old ritual I learned from my time at the castle. Today we will practice it. Kikimora referred to it as a ‘draining spell.’”

With Hexside closed, Glandus found it’s stadium packed with students from their rival school, all cheering on the Banshees to take revenge for the prank on their school. Willow found herself with her dual-track friends, chatting and watching the game. Most of their conversation focused on Viney being impressed with someone’s aptitude for Healing, followed by teasing from both Jerbo and Barcus. Willow wasn’t sure who they were discussing, her focus on the field and the teams below. Or, rather, on one particular witch.

Why am I still here? I mean, I like grudgby, but there are more important things right now. I should be with Luz, or helping my dads like I told Gus. Oh, why did I lie?

It has not been a good game. The score is close, with Hexside trialing by a few points. Most of the Banshees are doing well, but Boscha… isn’t. She’s playing sloppy, making mistakes that are costing her team. There are brief moments that Willow catches her staring off aimlessly, clearly distracted, before jumping back into the game.

She’s off because of Amity’s texts. I didn’t realize how much they’ve affected her. I’ve only ever seen her as arrogant and overconfident, but right now she’s… not.

A shrill cry signals halftime. The teams pick themselves off the field and head to their locker rooms. Willow looks away from her target to find Viney watching her with a curious expression. She startles, confused. “Sorry, did you say something?”

The beast keeper shakes her head, a mischievous glint in her eye. “I didn’t. You’ve been quiet.”

There’s something in that expression that unsettles her. It reminds her too much of the Blight twins. She doesn’t want to get involved in whatever idea Viney has, so Willow returns her attention to the field. “Uh-huh. Sorry, just a lot on my mind right now,” she drones, a concerned frown on her face as she watches Boscha trailing her team before breaking off, disappearing under the stands away from the locker room.

Viney follows her gaze, an impish grin on her lips. “I’m friends with Skara, you know.”

“She’s nice,” Willow absently replies. Where are you going, Boscha?

“Yeah, she is. She sent me a funny text before the game.”

“Oh?”

“Said she thought one of her teammates was sneaking around with someone. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Willow watches her target leave the stadium entirely, plopping down on a rock all alone. She’s far away, her back to the stadium, but her movements suggest she’s upset. She’s not… is she crying? Something stirs within her chest. Boscha is clearly struggling, and as much as Willow dislikes her, she feels compelled to help her. She feels the same desire to care and reassure her as she would for Gus or Luz.

No! Why should I help her? She’s Boscha! She’s a bitch who made my life miserable!

But… so was Amity, and she changed.

But Boscha is different. She wants to be a bully. She wants to be feared and in control.

But she still needs help. I’m the only one who knows what’s wrong with her. I’m the only one she trusted to tell. It has to be me.

It would be the right thing to do.

“No, I haven’t. Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She got up and left quickly, oblivious to Viney’s coy smile and the flurry of typing on her scroll.

Chapter 32: Grave Borrowing

Chapter Text

A cool breeze rushed by as the Golden Guard streaked through the brilliant orange sky. Fresh from his morning patrols and a quick lunch, he gripped the Golden Staff tightly as he flew deeper into the wilderness. He soared over trees, rocky cliffs, and towering Titan bones, his eye fixed on a spot in his mind, just over the horizon. Just a little longer and he would be there.

A chirp within his tunic caught his attention, making him smile beneath his mask. So far from other people now, he could talk freely with his palisman. “We’re almost there. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. My staff can dispel illusions, remember?”

There was another tweet, and Hunter furrowed his brow, almost understanding it. These past few days, he could almost catch meaning behind Rascal’s cute little sounds. Not words, per say, but feelings, impulses, from the small magical bird. Based on his research, that meant he was actually bonding with the palisman, and the little red cardinal was trusting him more.

A sour thought crept into his mind: How would Uncle react if he knew I not only kept a palisman, but also bonded with it?

Another chirp reached through the gloom. Hunter shook his head to clear his thoughts, trying to decipher what Rascal was telling him. “What did you say? We shouldn’t go to the ruins?”

He got a quick, high-pitched chirp for confirmation.

“We’re doing this for Luz, remember? You like Luz.”

Rascal’s response was a low, reverberating trill. Loose ideas echoed in Hunter’s head, stitching meaning to the bird’s calls. [Dead place. Stay away. Let sleep.]

“We won’t be disturbing the graveyard itself, Rascal. We just need a galdorstone. We’ll be in and out, real quick.”

Another warble. [Let sleep. No take.]

“We aren’t graverobbing, Rascal. We’re grave… uh… borrowing. We’ll bring the stone back when Luz is done with it.”

He sighs, vocalizing another dark idea as soon as it manifests. “Besides, if I’m really a grimwalker, part of me was already from there, anyway.”

A heavy silence filled the air. Hunter could feel his heart beat in his chest. Or was it a galdorstone? He wasn’t sure, and that uncertainty was making him anxious. The lack of movement or sound from the cardinal didn’t help calm his anxiety, either.

Rascal hated when his witch made self-deprecating jokes like that. It always made him uneasy. All he wanted to do was reassure the young witch and show him the love that he desperately needed, yet didn’t feel he had earned. The bird stayed quiet, unsure how to respond, hoping the stray comment would be the end of it. But it wasn’t.

“Uncle would tell me if I was a grimwalker. Of course he would,” Hunter said aloud, trying to convince himself.

But Uncle keeps lots of secrets. He won’t tell me about his curse, or what happened to our family, or the Day of Unity. He only tells me what I need to know. What if he is keeping something from me? What do I still have to do to earn his trust?

I mean, I am hiding Rascal from him, but that’s to help me understand wild magic better! So I can help him! And, Rascal chose me! Surely Uncle would understand…

But what if… I am a grimwalker? They are made from galdorstones and also the ‘bones of ortet’. A single source from which a clone is created. Like a simulacrum, actually, but instead of being made to look like someone alive, you’d use the bones of someone dead. So, what if he made me from someone from our- no, his family, that he lost? Am I not really his nephew? But just… made in the image of someone else?

Is that why he… hurts me… sometimes? When he’s angry, or his curse acts up? Is there a difference? Is it because I’m not real? Because I remind him too much of whoever he lost?

A sharp chirp tore away the darkness again, but the veil of anxiety remained. Rascal could always sense his witch’s mood and was quick to pull him out of his spiraling thoughts.

Hunter chuckles nervously, unable to shake away the lingering doubts. “You would tell me, right, Rascal? If you knew I was… different?”

Another pregnant pause, and once more the blond boy felt the pounding within his chest. His thoughts turned darker, more erratic. The palisman sensed the witch’s trouble and distracted him with a soft chitter. Calming ideas sprung in Hunter’s mind, clearing the darkness once more.

[You real. You mine. Love. Always.]

A smile spread across Hunter’s face. I’m just overthinking things again. That book doesn’t mean anything. Uncle is always researching obscure magic to know how to fight it. He wouldn’t be so careless as to leave something like that out if I really was a grimwalker.

But beneath his tunic, the cardinal was uneasy. He knows, of course. As a being of wild magic, he knew within minutes of meeting Hunter. It was part of what drew him to the boy in the first place. How much did his witch suspect? How would he react if he learns the truth?

“Focus. It’s go time,” the Golden Guard whispered to himself not long after. He shoved his discordant emotions deep within, landing outside a clearing in the wilderness. The coordinates match, but this place is empty. There’s nothing here.

He smirks confidently under his mask. This illusion might trick a lesser witch, but not him. He lifts his staff and swings it in a wide arc, red shinning from the gemstone cap. The empty air shimmers, and in its place a stone wall materializes. He directs his staff’s artificial magic at the gate, enveloping it in a red aura that forced open the doors. He peers through the archway and spies a number of hooded statues arranged in a wide semicircle, their hands together, palms up. In each statues’ hands rests a round, blue stone.

Just as Zaphos, the first Golden Guard, had written.

With a sure stride the Golden Guard steps into the ruins, tightly gripping his staff. A soft red glow emanates from the top, ready to dispel any illusion he finds. He surveys the site as he steps in, magenta eyes darting under his mask, searching every statue, every shadow. Any hint of movement, or an illusion, or anyone hiding. But he finds nothing. The graveyard and the courtyard beyond in which he stands are otherwise deserted.

The self-assured Guard strode deeper into the Ruins, glancing this way and that. While he’s confident in his abilities, he doesn’t want to be caught off-guard. That of course makes it all the more surprising when a voice calls out right beside him with an obnoxiously loud “Hello!”

Hunter startles, jumping back and aiming his staff at the source. A tall adult witch stands there with a smirk. Where did he come from? I walked right by him! His dark complexion is framed by square glasses. His flamboyant clothing, including a cyan tunic, dark blue dress pants, and tall purple boots, are all bright and extravagant. In his right hand he holds a staff topped with some kind of blue lizard.

“Who are you?” The Guard growls, trying to look intimidating.

The witch chuckles, unafraid, speaking in a voice that seems too deep for him. “Doesn’t matter. But what does matter is that I know who you are, Golden Guard.”

His friendly demeanor drops, drawing himself up to his full height. “You should leave. The Emperor’s Coven isn’t welcome in the Looking Glass Ruins.”

He points an accusatory finger Hunter, whom quirks an eyebrow at the illusionist’s mannerisms. There’s something… off about this witch. His voice seems too deep, his movements too exaggerated. He's too cheery but also acting tough. Like an overconfident child. Even his clothing is too extravagant, too clean for someone hanging around a graveyard. It’s what a person trying too hard to impress or intimidate someone else would do. And of course, his appearing out of nowhere was the telltale sign of an Illusionist. He had been using his tricks to hide. In fact, it’s more likely that he isn’t actually standing anywhere near him right now.

This must be the Keeper of the Ruins that Zaphos had mentioned in his journal. A powerful Illusionist that protected the galdorstones from any whom sought them out. If anything, the Keeper is trying to distract him, to buy time while he weaves more complex illusions around him. But all of his magic is just that, illusions. They can’t hurt anyone. Even if he could conjure up something that would frighten him, the Keeper knows nothing of the Golden Staff, Hunter’s trump card.

With a burst of arrogant confidence, the Guard walked right by the Keeper, waiving at him dismissively with a gloved hand. “Oh, I’ll leave. After I get what I came for.”

The Keeper’s face fell, disappointed but not surprised. “I’m afraid you won’t be taking anything from these ruins, Golden Guard.”

Hunter ignored him, eyeing the blue stone in the central statue’s hands, until those hands moved, pressing the galdorstone into the statue’s chest. It balled it’s hands into fists and stepped off it’s platform, shaking the ground with it’s weight. The statue easily towered over the witches, staring Hunter down with blood red eyes from beneath its veil.

Hunter smirked. Now this was an impressive illusion. But he isn’t afraid. He tightens his grip on his staff, staring the allegedly animated statue down.

The (illusory?) Keeper looked from the Guard to his opponent, uncertainty on his face. “You really should leave. I’m not kidding. You could get hurt.”

The Golden Guard dexterously spins his staff and takes a defensive stance, gemstone glowing red to match the monument’s menacing gaze. Elaborate and unnecessary, but he doesn’t want the Keeper to know just how hopelessly outmatched he is. He gestures toward the stone lodged in the statue’s chest. “You’re fancy headstone doesn’t scare me, and it won’t stop me, either.”

The Keeper hesitates, looking back deeper into the cemetery, speaking to someone unseen. “Maybe we can-“

But the statue doesn’t wait for him. It rushes forward, ground breaking with every heavy footfall. The Keeper shouts something but it’s lost in the cacophony of the statue’s charge. Hunter braces himself, marveling at the complexity of this illusion. But he can see the signs, the evidence that would be overlooked by someone cowering before this giant. The just-off shadows and sudden darkness in the sky. The noise projecting far too loudly. All meant to scare away any trespassers. Not him. Not Hunter. He’s trained all his life for this sort of fight.

But there’s no need to play along any longer then necessary.

He lets the statue run closer. 20 feet. 15. 10. The staff pulses urgently in his hand, warning him of an approaching illusion, and he grins proudly. With a flourish he activates his staff, red light bathing over and through the charging effigy.

Of course, the Golden Guard was right. There was no statue bearing down on him. It remained on it’s pedestal, presenting it’s galdorstone, as still and lifeless as ever.

But Hunter did not take into account that the shaking earth was very real. Nor did he notice the pillar of stone hidden beneath the illusion still rushing towards him until it was too late.

The dull roar of excited students filled the air, but Boscha paid it no attention. Alone, with her back to all the noise from Glandus’s stadium, she finally had a moment of peace to herself. Despite this, her mind wouldn’t rest. Anxious thoughts plagued her. She grimaced, wringing her hands, angry that all it took was a few stupid texts from an ex-friend to make her feel so unwound, so out of control.

I’m Boscha for Titan’s sake! Queen of Hexside! Captain of the Banshees! Baddest bitch in Bonesborough!

So why does it feel like my whole world is being upended?

It all started after the human challenged her to that stupid grudgby match on Willow’s behalf. The game itself had been surprisingly fun, with the losers putting up a better fight than she had anticipated. But it was then that Amity renounced their friendship in front of their her crew, sacrificing her social position for the human’s approval.

In retrospect, Blight’s attraction to the human had been fairly obvious. All the stolen glances, the blushing, the way she utterly freaked out when Luz carried her off the field. Amity had a huge crush on the round-eared freak. And said freak hated Boscha, so in a way it made sense why she did it. She put on a big show for the human, who was far too stupid to recognize it for what it was. Boscha had every confidence that the dense freak would either eventually reciprocate her feelings, or Amity would give up and beg her former bestie for forgiveness.

Not that Amity was ever my bestie. No, that title had always been Skara’s. Though Blight and I have always had a connection, a mutual understanding concerning our insufferable parents.

But what the triclops never expected was how her remaining friends started acting after that grudgby match. They started acting all friendly to Luz and Willow! And not just them, but also to other misfits like Gus and the indecisive multi-trackers. (Really, who would want to do double the schoolwork?) Skara even tried to be nice to the Glandus kid but quickly regretted it because that freak wouldn’t leave her alone. (She has a boyfriend you perv!)

Seriously, why did they show Luz and her losers so much respect after the grudgby game? They didn’t even win!

And as her friends got buddy buddy with the plebeians, they grew hostile toward their leader. They wanted to change her. Make her timid and fake and weak like everyone else. Grumbling and disagreements slowly became full fledged arguments, with Skara leading the charge. The others, previously too meek to ever speak out of line, were becoming more brazen, backing up the Bard and leaving together when they felt Boscha crossed a line. They always came back, but tension between her and her cohort was always in the air. More and more they turned to their other friends. The Banshee captain was getting frustrated, ready to write them all off as the cowards and weaklings they revealed themselves to be, just like Amity.

But then I’d be all alone. Just like all the other friendless losers. It took me too long to show everyone that I’m not weak. To make friends. To become the Queen of Hexside that I was always meant to be. I can’t do that again. I can’t be alone again! I already proved I’m the best there is, I can’t lose everything I’ve earned!

And that’s when she got Amity’s first text.

For two days she waited to see if her former friend would say anything beyond ‘don’t trust Luz.’ She already doesn’t trust Luz! The human was nothing but trouble!

But she also knew that this was her chance to turn everything around. If Amity and Luz had some kind of rift, then the Abominations witch could come back to her side. That would convince Skara and the rest that associating with the commoners was a terrible idea. If Boscha could figure out what was wrong, she could fix everything.

But after two days with no further texts, she was giving up hope. Willow helped ease her fears that something was actually wrong with Amity. (I wasn’t really worried. Of course not. Me, Boscha, worry about the well-being of someone else? That would be ridiculous! Just because I know from experience how bad a controlling, domineering mother could be, doesn’t mean I’m… I was worried for that traitorous Blight! Helping Amity is just a means to get me good with Skara again. That’s it.)

Willow still helped, nonetheless.

And just as she was putting it behind her, Amity started texting again, and all of Boscha’s anxieties came roaring back. Those messages made absolutely no sense! All they did was make her worry more. She was tempted to tell the Abomination witch to screw off and leave her alone, but once again she knew this was her chance to fix her other problems. If only her stupid brain could focus instead of worrying! But Boscha’s an aggressively active person. Act first, question later. Without direction or a goal, she just flounders, stuck in her cyclical thoughts as they build and build and build until she explodes!

Nothing about this makes sense! Amity disappears and gets sick, so what does Luz have to do with it? And why won’t she tell Willow what she’s up to? Aren’t they supposed to be best friends? And Amity just sends me those vague texts whenever she wants. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I can feel my friends slipping away. I can’t take this anymore! What am I supposed to do?!

Rustling from behind pulls Boscha from her spiral. She turns to find the trees and shrubs shaking, moving closer, blocking her view of the stadium. Barely suppressed panic fills her, and she does the only thing she knows how to do when under duress: confront it head on with a fireball in hand. She winds up, prepared to incinerate these animated plants when they suddenly part and Willow steps out with her hands high, closing them again behind her.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought you wanted some privacy, from the stadium, you know?”

Boscha blinks through tears she doesn’t remember crying, realizing the plant witch must have seen her from the stands. One, super embarrassing. Two, okay, some privacy while she sulks would be preferred. She dismisses her fireball and crosses her arms. “You didn’t scare me.” She exhaled, taking some of the bite from her tone as she turns away and slumps back down. “But, thanks.”

Willow hesitates, unsure what to do. She should leave now, right? Boscha wants to be left alone. Willow doesn’t owe her anything. Why is she still here at Glandus, anyway? There’s so many things she should be doing then watching a grudgby match.

But leaving someone alone when they’re miserable goes against everything in her heart. Even if that person is Boscha. Willow swallows her pride, tentatively stepping closer. “Hey, are you okay?”

The bully tries to snort in derision, but only a sad sob escapes instead. “I’m just fine,” she insists, though neither teen believes it.

Willow sighs and begrudgingly steps forward, taking a seat beside the Potions witch. Boscha glares at her, swiping away her tears, but the Plant witch doesn’t acknowledge her. Instead, the grudgby captain follows her gaze to the fields beyond Glandus, taking in the noontime beauty of rolling hills and distant villages and towering spires of bone. They sit there for a few minutes in silence, just looking out.

Boscha doesn’t know when she stops crying, or when her racing mind began to rest. All she knows is a sense of calm she hasn’t felt since Amity first texted her the other night. Maybe even longer. She’s never just… sat still before with anyone. Life is always too busy, what with school and practice and constantly seeking her own entertainment. But this, just being here, quiet and content with someone felt… nice. Even if it’s with Willow.

Maybe even because it’s with Willow.

Then Willow had to break the serene silence by gently asking, “Do you want to talk about it?”

The bully sneers, ready to reflexively deny that anything is wrong, but her protests die before she can open her mouth. It’s plainly obvious that something is bothering her, and she does want to talk about it. But still, does she really want to talk about it with Park, of all people?

She’s weak. Was weak, Boscha quickly corrects herself. She’d… understand. And she’s not the type of person to make fun of others. But…

She continues to stare out, too anxious to meet the Plant witch’s eyes. “Do you ever feel like everything’s wrong, and there’s nothing you can do to fix it?”

Willow quirks her eyebrow as she faces her. “Don’t you think that’s a bit… dramatic?”

The bully’s expression hardens, turning to stand. “No, this is stupid, your stupid, I-“

Willow catches her before she pulls away, her grip warm and firm. “Hey. Sorry. I’m listening, really.”

Boscha looks down at Willow’s hand on her wrist, unmoving. The voices of frustration and discontent in her head have gone quiet, like all her worries had bled away. She awkwardly sits back down, closer to the Plant witch then before. She opens her mouth, sputtering for a bit, but she can’t find the words that make sense, or that won’t put her in a negative light. After all, she knows that most of her worries are inherently selfish. Instead, Boscha follows Willow’s gaze back out into the distance while she tries to rationalize the gnawing worries that crawl back into her head.

It all started with the human. She came here and started questioning how things worked, and people started to change. It’s all her fault Willow found out she was good at Plant magic. Her fault Amity is no longer my friend. Her fault that Skara is questioning my judgement and just wants to play nice with all the weaklings. Her fault I might lose my friends. Her fault that Bump is paying more attention to me and won’t let me get away with anything!

And now something happened, and Amity needs me to find out what it is. That’s my chance to fix everything. But how? Willow could be my answer. That’s why I picked her int he first place. She’s too nice for her own good, and she knows Amity and Luz. But Luz won’t even tell her what she’s up to!

How can I possibly explain all that to Park? I can’t. Of course I can’t. They’re best friends, she won’t believe anything I say and just think I’m being selfish and paranoid. And I can’t confront Luz directly. She’s untouchable. If I start a fight she’ll have backup, and I’ll get in trouble and piss off Skara and the rest. It’ll just make things worse for me. So what can I do? If I just had a plan I could focus on that instead of feeling like the world is falling apart, but I can’t focus on anything!

Willow glances back to her after a few minutes of silence. Boscha continues to stare off, simmering in her thoughts. She’s got this intense expression that she gets whenever she’s concentrating on a test, or planning out a maneuver in grudgby. No anger, just pure determination. It’s almost cute.

That idea unnerved her. Eager to distract herself, the Plant witch gestures to the scene before them. “Whenever I’m down, I like to go to spots like this. Places where I can look out real far, and take in the natural beauty of the Titan, and think about things from a different perspective. I have this idea that when my problems are out of sight, they’re out of mind. It… doesn’t really work, but distracting myself and looking at the big picture helps clear my head.”

Boscha nods slowly, absorbing her words. The competing thoughts quiet again, but only just, and never for long enough.

Maybe Willow’s right. Maybe I’m approaching this the wrong way. Luz is too popular now. If I confront her head on, it’ll just make me look bad. But maybe there’s another way… another way to find out what she’s up to. Maybe even proof so I can get some people back on my side. But how do I do that?

Boscha suddenly sits up straight, eyes wide, whispering to herself. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

Willow blinks, confused. “Huh? What is it?”

The pink-haired witch summons her bag of potions ingredients and rummaged through them. “I think I’ve got everything. This will work. This is how I fix everything!” She grins triumphantly as she stands, her first genuine smile since Amity’s text so early today.

Willow frowns nervously, climbing to her feet. “Uh, that wasn’t the idea, Boscha. I was trying to help calm you down!”

“But you did!” She leans close, hands on the shorter girl’s shoulders, smiling ear to ear. “You actually did! Different perspectives and whatever. I’m just sitting here moping but what I needed was a plan! You helped me think of one! And after this game, you can help me enact it!”

Without warning the grudgby captain pulls her into a tight hug. “Thank you, Willow,” she whispers sincerely. She wasn’t usually one for friendly acts like this, but now having some idea forward gave her so much relief. It was spur of the moment, and to Boscha, it felt right. The Plant witch could only squirm in her grip, gingerly patting the taller girl’s back.

After a short moment Boscha releases her from the vice-like embrace. With a goal now in her mind, the headstrong witch feels a surge of renewed confidence. “Come on! I’ve got a game to win!”

Willow rubs her arms awkwardly, standing on wobbling legs, her whole face flushed. She can’t help but think this hug felt different from her many friendly ones with Luz and Gus, and even Amity as they reconciled. She can’t place why it felt different, other than Boscha is taller than her friends. And stronger. And warmer. And smells-

What the actual f*ck is wrong with me? It takes her a moment to catch up to the other teen’s words. “Wait, what plan?” she asks anxiously.

Boscha is already heading up the hill, oblivious as she calls back to the flustered witch. “We’re gonna scry on Luz! Meet me at the Hexside stadium after the game! No one will be there since school’s closed. I’ll explain the rest then!”

With that, the captain rushes back to her team, leaving behind a confused Willow, who could only worry if she did the right thing or if she just made everything worse.

With a gasp Hunter awakens, lying on his face. What happened? He remembers dismissing an illusion, and now he’s on the ground 20 feet away. He rose to his hands and knees, grimacing as pain shoots through his body. A metallic taste fills his mouth, and he lifts his mask just enough to spit out a glob of blood.

As he slowly recalls the last few minutes, he can hear voices arguing. Two at least, and one of them sounds like the Keeper. He can’t make out their words, but the Keeper seems mad at someone else that he can’t see.

Hunter rises to his feet, taking his defensive stance once more. The arguments stop. The Keeper turns toward the Golden Guard, relief on his face. “Thank the Titan. We don’t want to really hurt you. Well, I don't, at least.” His expression turns stern. “But we can’t allow you to leave with a galdorstone. The Emperor will never again use them for his evil purposes. Turn back now, or we will force you back.”

Rascal flutters within Hunter’s tunic, sensing his ward’s injuries. [Run. Flee. Get to safety. This is danger.]

“No,” the Guard says aloud to them both. “I’m not turning back. All I need is a single stone, and you will not defy me.”

The Keeper sighs, resigned. “We’ll give you more then a single stone, alright.” He stretches out his arm and closes his fist. A signal, Hunter realizes, and one that is immediately received.

The ground shakes, and before them rises an enormous figure. Twelve feet tall, skeletally thin with too-long limbs, a huge, diamond-shaped, demonic face and gaping mouth full of jagged teeth. It’s entire body is composed of stone which grind and reshape as it moves, positioning itself between the Guard and the statues. It glares down it’s adversary with black onyx eyes and let’s loose a terrible roar that sends the Guard’s cape billowing out behind him.

Despite all his research and time serving the Emperor’s Coven, Hunter has never seen a creature like this before. It must be some kind of custom earth golem, a guardian created to defend the Ruins. Zaphos’s journal didn’t mention anything of the sort, but who knows what has changed in the decades since he wrote about this place. He considers that this may be another illusion, but quickly dismisses that idea. True, there could be illusions working in tandem with this golem, but this monster and its effect on the world are so much more real, more visceral, then the animated statue had been.

Rascal frantically squirms within his tunic, but Hunter silences him with with a quick tap, reverting the palisman to inert wood. He glances to the Keeper, whom is looking increasingly agitated at the prospect of having to fight him. He smirks and raises his Golden Staff, infusing it with angry red artificial magic. He meets the golem’s gaze and with a defiant cry he charges forward.

The monster cries out again, trying to intimidate the rushing Guard, but to no avail. Hunter quickly closes the distance, charged staff at the ready. The golem raises a huge rocky claw and swipes at the smaller figure. Just as they are about to connect, the Guard vanishes in a flash of red, reappearing riding his staff. He flies behind the beast, heading straight for the cemetery statues, and the galdorstone in the center monument’s hands.

Just feet away, a stone claw bursts from the ground and swings to catch him. Hunter curses under this breath, banking skyward out of reach at the last moment.

Thirty feet up, he quickly surveys the scene. The claw remains defending the statue and the galdorstone it holds. Where did that come from? Another golem? The Keeper stands atop his staff, watching him from a distance. Clearly an illusion, no one rides a staff like that. He points to the Guard and says something that Hunter can’t hear, and the golem turns it’s back towards him. Stone spikes emerge from its spine and shoulders. The monster flexes it’s arms, roaring as it launches multiple half-foot-long shards of rock from its body into the air towards the Golden Guard.

Hunter dives, gripping the Golden Staff with bone-white knuckles as he descends beneath the volley of stone. Our of the corner of his eye he can see the golem turning around and approaching, but he’s moving too fast. With his death grip on the Staff he charges a blast of volatile energy, shattering the stone claw. He quickly flies by the statue, arm extended to grab the galdorstone, ready to rocket away from the graveyard.

Only for his hand to pass through the galdorstone and feel empty air.

He veers hard around the ruins, nimbly dodging a swipe from the golem when he got too close. Cursing the existence of illusionists, Hunter lands in the grass not terribly far from where he had started. With the golem bearing down on him, he does what his nagging conscience had been demanding he do in the first place: he swings his Staff in a wide arc, enveloping the entire graveyard in red light.

Everywhere he looks, reality shudders. Illusions, great and small, collapse around him. Most aren’t hiding anything behind them, and Hunter realizes they are simply pre-cast spells, ready to be manipulated by the Keeper at a moment’s notice. Many of the statues shift under the red light, revealing age and damage previously hidden from the eye. The Keeper vanishes entirely, hiding somewhere out of sight, just as Hunter had suspected.

The golem continues to approach, however. Gone are it’s hideous face and gangly appearance, revealing a blank head and normal, clawless hands. It looks like a standard Construction assistant, a novice’s craft, but far larger. It’s much less menacing then the illusions suggested, but it’s still a 12-foot construct charging toward him.

As the light fades the illusions reform, the monster resuming its frightening shape. But Hunter catches a glimpse of blue just before it’s chest is once more covered in spiky, boney earth. A galdorstone thrummed within the center, powering this towering guardian.

Not unlike my own heart.

Now is not the time! He quickly shakes that thought away, clutching the staff as he charged it once more with energy. The monster bearing down on him is intimidating, but he knows what it is now. A simple Construction aid, even supersized by a galdorstone, is not a real threat. Not for the Golden Guard. So no more feints or running. Now it’s time to end this.

The ground quakes as the giant reaches him, stretching out it’s left arm to grab him. The Guard thrusts his staff upward, reshaping the earth before him into a fist held together by red artificial magic, colliding with the golem’s with a thunderous crack. He sprints up this summoned arm as a makeshift ramp, swinging back the Golden Staff before slamming it against the golem’s knuckles.

Red lightning discharges from the gemstone cap, arcing up the golem’s arm before exploding in multiple places, severing it above the elbow. The Guard swings his staff again, suspending the largest fragments of stone in the air with a blood red aura even as he’s showered in dust and dirt. He can feel the weight of the earth tethered to his staff, and with an anguished cry he directs his weapon downward, driving the shrapnel into the golem’s side. Careening off balance, the construct crashes heavily to the ground.

Hunter leaps from his perch, raising the staff to blast the fallen golem with red lighting once more, tearing apart it’s chest in search of the galdorstone hidden within. Sweat rolls down his face under his mask, fatigue starting to creep in, but he doesn’t dare give in. He needs the stone. Luz needs the stone. He presses harder, sending another shrieking bolt of artificial magic into the golem’s center. He can feel the lightning grazing it’s sphere of influence, the energy pulsing like a heartbeat, so calm and different from the angry red energy his uncle had entrusted to him.

The earth rumbles at his feet, giving Hunter a split second’s warning before a thin wall of stone rushes upward, knocking him on his back. He curses again, because of course there’s a Construction witch here. Of course the Keeper learned he needed more then illusions to protect this place. He climbs back to his feet, swinging his arms, eager to blast the wall and the golem apart.

But he soon realizes he’s only swinging empty hands.

Hunter looks back to find the Golden staff some fifteen feet back, the wing bent at an odd angle. He sprints towards it in a panic, unwilling to fight without his sole source of magic. But before he even gets close the ground shakes again and walls rise up around him, boxing him in. He steps back and runs, jumping, clambering upward, but the walls tilt forward, knocking him back to the ground.

He grunts, his body sore, though he can hardly feel it through the panic and adrenaline. He looks back to find the golem having thrust it’s stump of an arm into the earth. It meets the Guard’s gaze with it’s monstrous illusion face and starts raising itself up, it’s arm reforming before his eyes.

No exit. He turns around, looking for a weakness, but the walls are featureless and too thick for him to force his way through. He tries anyway, throwing his shoulder into the nearest wall, only to be rewarded with a sharp pain. He spins around, grabbing at his armor, hoping he might have a potion or some rope or something that might get him out of this mess. But no, all he has is some snails and a now awake and fearful palisman chirping in his ear and his mind.

The walls are spinning. Not really, but Hunter suddenly feels claustrophobic. He’s breathing hard, his thoughts and Rascal’s impulses overridden by fear.

The Keeper is going to kill me!

Even if he doesn’t, Uncle will. I lost my staff! Chasing a lead to help the human make a portal!

He’ll find out I was here to help Luz. Of course he will, he always finds out!

He’ll kill Rascal!

He’ll kill Luz!

It will all be my fault!

Head in his hands, he violently pulls off his mask in a vain effort to get more air. Hyperventilating, he can’t make out Rascal’s desperate attempts to calm him, nor the growl from the golem as it rises to it’s feet.

Uncle will replace me!

Because of me, Luz will never go back home!

Amity will stay trapped in the human realm!

I’ll never find out if I’m a witch or a grimwalker!

There’s no tears, Hunter never cries, even in the midsts of this worst panic attacks. He can only stare at his boots stomping in a small circle, sinking deeper into the ground-

Wait.

The ground is soft here. Everywhere else in this old graveyard is dry, hard packed dirt, but not here. A consequence of the Construction magic used to trap him. His thoughts of Luz refocus to the lessons she taught him, specifically one she was saying the last time they met before Amity’s disappearance.

I never tried that one before, but she said she used it to escape a cage kind of like this at the Knee. Maybe…

The ground shakes. The golem is moving again. Quickly he kneels low, tracing a circle in the dirt. Lines he had seen and memorized but never drawn before. Rascal can’t see what’s happening from under Hunter’s armor, but he can sense the change in his mood from fear to determination and whispers soft encouragements to him.

So caught up in his work, Hunter doesn’t notice the Keeper hovering high above him, watching him curiously.

A shriek dangerously close warns him that his time is up. He looks toward the sound, finding the golem swiftly approaching. It rakes it’s newly grown claw through the ground as it thunders closer, shaking the earth with each step. Hunter whispers a prayer to the Titan as he stands in the center of his creation. Just as the golem’s claw rends the wall before him, Hunter stomps his boot to the ground.

The glyph beneath him shines with pale blue light before a column of ice rises skyward, slamming into the golem’s chin and propelling the Golden Guard into the air. He flips, tucks and rolls as he lands, dashing toward his staff. A few feet away he dives forward, hands outstretched.

Only for the staff to sink into the ground inches form his fingertips.

“No!” Hunter gasps as his only hope vanishes before his eyes. “No no no no!” He claws at the hard, dry dirt where his staff once lay, desperately trying to dig with gloved hands. The ground rumbles beneath him and he rises, trapped in a newly summoned earthen claw. He kicks and squirms, but the claw tightens it’s grip, restricting his movement, forcing the air from his lungs, filling his mouth and nose with dirt.

He’s starting to panic again, thrashing in his new stone prison, when a harsh voice calls out, “Wait!”

The claw loosens just enough to let Hunter breathe. He blinks through dust and soil to find the Keeper standing before him, with the golem looming just behind. He looks the teen over in surprise, taking in his scraped face and bloody nose, injuries the Guard himself was unaware of.