Chapter Text
Amity’s face was bright red as she stared into the camera, her ears pointed straight down in embarrassment as Luz pushed a kiss against her cheek. The human had one arm wrapped around her flustered girlfriend, and the other grasping her phone and extending her arm out in front of them. The overgrown grass tickled their legs, and the summer sun warmed the backs of their necks.
Perfect. Everything was so perfect.
Amity let out a small huff as she quickly tucked the photo into her duffel bag.
Three months had never seemed like a lot to her; she had lived her life in a calculated, repetitive way that made every day blur into the next, making months insignificant and interchangeable. But then a human stumbled into her world, and suddenly, three months were enough to change everything.
In those three months, a non-witch had revived a forgotten form of magic. An energetic young girl encouraged a stranded witch to wander back into society. A round-eared outcast had managed to spin Amity’s life backwards, practically forcing the Blight girl to fall head-over-heels. A boiling rain storm started their relationship.
And worst of all, a human, a young, energetic, round-eared human, had turned the Boiling Isles on its head.
Amity sighed, biting back tears as she shuffled clothes into her bag as quietly as possible.
Luz’s arrival hadn’t been the starting point of all of this. Rather, it was more of a tipping point. The Isles had been tense for nearly as long as Amity could remember, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before people finally snapped. And now, after Luz had left her rebellious footprint on the Isles, tensions between the Emperor and his subjects had reached an inevitable boiling point.
Amity knew it was coming. She’d always known, always been prepared for the fighting.
But Amity had never pictured herself like this. Running, fleeing the Emperor’s Coven, in fear of what they’d do to her.
No, no, no. Amity shook her head, her first tear drop sliding down her left cheek. This is all wrong. This was my destiny. I was going to join the Emperor’s Coven. Work for them. Achieve power and status through them. Live my family name. Why am I running from them? Why am I scared of them?
As Amity felt herself nearing her own breaking point, she managed to steady her breath. She couldn’t break down, not here, where someone was bound to hear her, and not now, in the single most defining moment of her life. Amity needed to escape now; she could cry about it later.
Her duffel looked like it was going to burst, and Amity quickly decided that she’d packed all she needed. As she zipped her bag shut, Amity Blight cast one last long look at her bedroom. The place had been stripped of everything of value, and so, the space felt more cold and empty than ever.
Amity shuddered, before turning to the door, and shrugging her bag over her shoulder. With one last shaky inhale, the young girl stepped into the hall.
Amity’s eyes darted around fearfully, scanning for her parents. Nothing, so far. She was safe.
The girl quickly moved down the hallway and wove down the stairs, sure to make as little noise as possible.
As she reached the bottom of the stairwell, Amity’s eyes locked onto the front door. Just a few more strides, and she was free...
And then, a sharp voice froze her in her tracks.
“Amity Blight.”
The girl lowered her head as the sound of footsteps approached her. Her stomach knotted as she realized that there were at least four pairs of feet coming towards her; her parents weren’t alone.
“Amity, please, stand up straight. We have guests here to see you.”
Her mother’s voice was clear as day. Amity straightened, and met eyes with her always-unreadable parents. Gathered around them were four guards of the Emperor’s Coven.
I’m dead. Amity thought to herself, a sob swelling her throat. Titan, I’m dead.
“Amity, dear!” said Mrs. Blight. “We’ve excellent news for you and your studies!”
Amity tensed. Her mother sounded...cheerful. Joyous. More so than the girl had ever heard from the woman.
“The Emperor’s Coven has come to take you to the palace!” Odalia purred. “You’ll be training under the Emperor Himself. Doesn’t that excite you, Amity?”
The girl was shaking now. She knew where she was going, she’d heard stories of the new “program” the Emperor had started for gifted students. He would steal pupils from their families, and ship them off to his palace. Supposedly, it was all to train the next generation for the coven. But rumors had escaped, rumors of torturous dark magic being used on the students, of kids being forced against their will to obey the Emperor’s every command.
Although, those were just rumors. After all, nobody ever heard from students once they were taken.
No freedom, no visits, no way of contact.
No return.
Amity swallowed as she stared into the lifeless, beaked masks of the Coven Guards. She nodded.
“Yes, mother, it does excite me.”
A moment of silence. And then:
“Were you aware that you were chosen?” came the amused voice of Alador Blight. He gestured to his daughter’s duffel bag, still over her shoulder.
“Oh,” Amity muttered under her breath. “Yes, I had overheard some rumors the other day, that the Emperor’s Coven would be here to take me. I packed my things, just in case.”
It was clear that the explanation hadn’t cut it for the Blight parents. Where amusement and even slight excitement had stood on their faces, there was now skepticism.
“Well then,” Odalia said. “Since it is already agreed upon that you will be attending the Emperor's program, you may-“
She was cut off by a scuffling noise coming from the stairs. The group turned their heads.
Standing on the staircase was Edric Blight, frozen in place as he stared at the Emperor’s guards. A horrified expression crossed his face for a moment as he looked from the guards, to Amity, and then back again. However, all emotion quickly disappeared.
“Edric!” Odalia called, a small, taunting smile dancing across her face. “Amity has been accepted into a training program held by the Emperor’s Coven! Isn’t that wonderful?”
Edric sent a worried glance Amity’s way.
“Yes,” he said numbly. “It is.”
“Amity will be leaving for the palace in only a few minutes. Would you go get Emira, to say her goodbyes?” Odalia sent another manipulative smile towards her son.
“Oh- Of course,” Edric mumbled. “Though, are you sure you won’t allow Amity to say goodbye to her friends first?”
Amity could feel her heart swell in her chest. Her brother was trying to save her.
“There’s no need.” Odalia simply brushed off Edric’s question. “She is sure to make new, better friends within the Emperor’s Coven.”
Amity’s breath caught in her throat.
Edric went pale, but only nodded in return. He then turned around, and walked up the stairs to get his sister.
Emira was studying in her bedroom. It was a rare occurrence, despite her parents’ insistence on her focusing only on academics. In reality, neither she nor her twin brother were usually at school. They were able to cover for themselves easily; the Illusion Course had its perks.
Emira was disturbed, then, by her brother barging into her room.
At first, she shot him a death glare. Of course, the one time she was actually studying, her brother had to disturb her. Then, she noticed the panicked expression on his face.
“The Emperor’s Coven.” Edric breathed. “They’re here. For Amity.”
A moment of horrified silence, before Emira spoke, voice shaking.
“They...they can’t be here already.” Every word was filled with fear and disbelief. “Eda and Lilith are close, they said that by next week-“
“This isn’t next week.” Edric’s voice was firm. “They’re here for her now. Em, you know what they’ll do to her if they catch her. We can’t let the Emperor get to Amity, we can’t.”
Another moment of silence. The twins were staring at each other now, each with a horrified look on their face as they stared at their sibling.
For a second, it looked like Emira was about to speak, but she was interrupted by a series of yells from downstairs.
The twins exchanged nervous glances.
Then, Emira waved her hand.
“I’ll go check up on Mittens,” the girl said. “You need to pack our things. Only the essentials, okay? Clothes at the very least, and...well, I’m sure you know what the most important things in here are.”
Edric nodded uneasily, more yells coming from below him.
“Alright. I’ll meet you outside in about ten minutes, okay?”
Emira nodded, and then, without a second thought, took off out of her room and down the stairs.
When she finally reached the bottom of the stairwell, Emira wasn’t sure what she was expecting. But it wasn’t this.
The front entrance of the manor was gaping open, and outside, her sister, Amity Blight, was fending off some of the strongest witches on the Isles.
Four of the Emperor’s guards, plus the Blight parents, were teamed up on Amity.
The young girl was managing to hold them off with an enormous abomination, but it was clear that Amity was getting tired. She was backed against a tree, panting. Through her labored breaths Amity was crying, and screaming at her parents for mercy.
“Please! Don’t do this!” The girl’s voice was shrill and terrified. “Don’t let them take me away! You don’t-“ -Amity took a moment to catch her breath- “You can’t let them. PLEASE!”
But Amity’s pleas got her nowhere. The attack continued. Viscous spells bit at the giant abomination, the gooey creature weakening after each blow. What spells missed the abomination would hit Amity, leaving the girl covered in burns and bruises. Amity’s attackers showed no signs of stopping.
That was, until a dozen copies of a teenage girl popped up across the battlefield.
All heads turned to one Emira Blight, standing in the entryway of the manor with a murderous glow in her eyes.
Alador was the first and only one to speak to her.
“Emira, please,” he said in a low, desperate voice. “You don’t have to do this. Neither of you has to do this!” His voice raised into an angry yell, and looked towards a sobbing Amity. “We just want what’s best for you.”
Amity raised her head at that. Hope shot through her shaking body. Her parents just wanted the best for her, right? There was no way they’d send her off to be tortured.
Right?
Watching Amity slowly let her guard down only filled Emira with fury. Deep down, the girl knew her parents really did want the best. But their good intentions mixed with their perfect reputations and their massive egos turned “the best for the children” into “the best for the family name.” And right now, that put Amity in danger. Emira wasn’t going to sit back and watch.
“No.” Emira’s voice rang loud and clear. Her mother’s face curled into a disappointed scowl. “I’m not letting you send Amity away. Back away from her. Now.”
Nobody moved. Amity’s abomination stood idle, its towering figure waiting for a command.
And then, in one swift movement, one of the guards lurched forward and grabbed Amity, wrapping themself around the screaming girl and restraining her.
The abomination exploded into a pile of purple goo.
Emira took a stride forward to help her sister, but another guard turned their head.
“I wouldn’t, child,” the guard warned, tilting a masked head at Emira. “Amity Blight is needed for the Emperor’s training program. We will be taking her. Should you make any movement to stop us, we will punish her for your stupidity.”
To make the point clear, the guard nodded towards the witch restraining Amity.
Emira watched in horror as the witch raised a hand to her baby sister.
Amity screeched when the hand made contact with her skin. She was already bruised up, as she had taken a few blows during the fighting, so this strike stung worse than the others she had received.
Emira fought back tears as she stared at her terrified, pained little sister. Emira only managed to mouth the words I’m sorry as she raised her hands in surrender, a desperate attempt to earn her sister’s freedom.
It didn’t work.
The guard pulled Amity up against them, then scooped the small witch off her feet. Amity was kicking and screaming, throwing weakened punches at the guard who held her against their chest, but it was no use. Amity’s cries were agonized as she continued her pointless struggle, punches simply bouncing off the guard’s armor, tears running down her face, and voice growing hoarse as she continued to scream.
Tears had finally gathered in Emira’s eyes. It’d been a month ago, when Edric had first caught news about the “training program,” that Emira swore she wouldn’t let her sister be taken away. The siblings had conspired with the fugitives at the Owl House to devise Amity’s escape plan, and just this afternoon, all three young witches had been silently preparing to flee their only home. And yet, here Emira was, watching her sister desperately writhe in the firm arms of a coven guard, knowing there was nothing she could do.
Sobs were swelling in the back of Emira’s throat. She’d said to herself this morning, while preparing to run, I’ll be damned if this is the last day I see my sister.
She couldn’t keep a damn promise, not even to herself.
Emira finally broke, crying out as her tears burst forward, collapsing as her parents and the accompanying guards stared at her in clear disdain. Emira wanted to care about what they thought, wanted to prove to them that she was more than this, but she simply couldn’t muster the energy to give them her attention. Instead, she silently begged for a miracle to help her, and more importantly, Amity, escape.
That miracle came in a chorus of mournful shrieks, thundering out around the group of witches.
Even through her sobs, Emira’s lips quirked upwards in satisfaction as her parents’ eyes widened, quickly identifying their threat.
Seven enormous abominations were staring down on the front green of the Blight Manor. Odalia cast a bewildered look towards her youngest daughter, now motionless in the guard’s arms, but Amity just stared at the abominations in complete and utter awe.
All at once, the towering heaps of goo surged forward, and the Blight parents, as well as the guards, readied themselves for a fight.
Emira’s body tensed. She had this, this one chance of redemption, and she only had a few moments to enact it.
The abominations lurched towards the guards, and Emira lunged at her sister.
The guard holding onto Amity cried out in surprise as Emira knocked the younger girl from their arms. Amity tumbled onto the ground but just as quickly stood back up, shaking, but clearly still physically capable.
Desperate for any possible escape routes, Emira whipped around back towards the house and felt herself go numb as she spotted her brother standing in the doorway, three duffels, one for each sibling, slung over his arms.
Horror slowly gathered in Emira’s body as she realized what was happening. But just as quickly, she snapped herself out of her trance and grabbed Amity’s wrist.
“C’mon!” Emira cried, cringing as she yanked on her little sister, but still refusing to slow down.
Amity picked up a run and the two girls sprinted back into the manor. As soon as all three children were inside, Edric slammed the doors shut and locked them.
The boy was shaking and panting, but there was a look of satisfaction on his face.
“Amity,” he huffed, “I can’t keep those illusions up forever. You got it in ya to make us a real abomination?”
Dumbstruck, Amity simply nodded, and Edric nodded back.
“Perfect. Great. We need to get out through the back door.”
There was hardly a moment of hesitation before all of the siblings made a break for the unlocked back door of the Blight Manor, which opened up into the woods.
As soon as they were out of the manor, Amity wasted no time in summoning another enormous abomination, this time allowing it to take a somewhat deformed state in which it stood on all fours.
The three siblings hauled themselves onto the creature’s back, and Amity gave a mumbled command. At her words, the abomination lurched forward, and ran off into the woods.
The chaos of the ride was silent.
Amity’s unusual abomination ran in a frantic, bumpy, lopsided-at-times way, as if its stride reflected the siblings’ feelings about this whole situation.
Even still, nobody spoke. They simply clung onto the abomination and stared out into the woods ahead, desperately awaiting their arrival at the Owl House.
Thankfully, it came far quicker than any of them had anticipated.
After around twenty minutes of nonstop running, Amity allowed the abomination to disintegrate itself, and the thing melted into a miserable pile of sticky purple goo. The Blight siblings were all covered in the stuff, but currently, that was the least of their worries.
They stared wearily at the odd building in front of them, before exchanging glances and walking forward.
The bird-tube didn’t bother with the trio, having had more than a few angry encounters with the youngest Blight sibling and smartly choosing to avoid another. The door-demon bent around, shoving his head through one of the windows.
“ EEEEEDA! We have gueeeests!”
The door promptly swung open to reveal an exhausted looking Eda dressed in slippers and a nightgown. Her expression was one of fatigue and overall irritability, but she washed all negative emotions away when she inspected her houseguests.
Amity was leaned up against Edric’s shoulder, skin darkened in various places from her brutal beating, still breathing shakily, and refusing to meet Eda’s concerned eyes.
The twins didn’t look scared in the way Amity did. Rather, they looked scared in a desperate, helpless way that combined on their faces with anger and exhaustion.
After observing them for a moment, Eda only managed a single sentence.
“Wasn’t expecting you for a week.”
Emira snorted. “Yeah, well, plans change.”
Eda waved her hand, beckoning the siblings forward, and the three of them slunk into the warm house, immediately seating themselves on the couch that was always either too firm or too soft at any given time.
Eda simply sat down on the floor in front of them.
“So the Emperor caught up to you, huh?”
A series of slow nods. Eda simply sighed in disappointed exasperation.
“Should’a seen this one coming, honestly. Should’a taken you all in before all hell broke loose.” Eda quietly growled to herself. “So much for keeping you all safe.” The woman took in a deep breath, then fixed her sympathetic eyes on the three kids in front of her.
“The portal’s not done,” Eda said bluntly. “You all know that Lily and I still need a week or so to complete it. But there’s a good chance that we’ll be found before it’s finished, and the Emperor’s Coven’ll be here for Amity.”
Eda sighed and glanced around awkwardly, unsure just how to convey such distressing information to the Blight children. Finally, she took a breath, and spoke.
“This might be hard to hear, but...there’s a good chance you’ll all be separated. As of now, the portal can only take one person at a time, and even then it still has a good chance of breaking down after the passage. Whoever ends up in the human world-“ Eda’s eyes landed on Amity “-may be cut off completely from the Boiling Isles.”
Amity felt her blood go cold.
There were a few paces of silence before Edric spoke up in a small, horrified, and unsteady voice.
“By ‘cut off completely,’ you mean…”
“No way back, no way of contact to speak of, no way of finding out about anything happening here on the Isles.” Eda’s voice was solemn. “I don’t want this to be a reality any more than you do, but the odds certainly aren’t in our favor.”
“You’re saying that, by tomorrow, Amity will be gone? For good? ” Emira was trying not to break down again. She’d already come too close to losing Amity tonight, and she couldn’t bear the idea that even this safety, this togetherness, would be short lived.
“Maybe not for good, ” Eda tentatively reassured, “but definitely for a while. For however long it takes for us to get that portal stable, which could be weeks, months, years, maybe, depending on how much Belos meddles. A long time.” Eda’s face softened as shocked tears began to run down all three of the Blights’ faces. The woman glanced down, her own bottom lip slightly quivering. When she spoke, it was nearly a whisper.
“I’m sorry that things happened to turn out this way. Don’t go blaming yourselves, there’s nothing you could’ve done. The Emperor wanted Amity. He came for her. Her only way out of this is, unfortunately, one that completely severs her from the Isles.”
Eda reached into her hair and offered Amity a map. There was a red X on one side of it, and in front of the X, a red circle around one of the poorly-drawn houses.
“Luz gave this to me, before the portal was destroyed,” Eda muttered. The melancholy in the older woman’s voice was overwhelming as she talked about the girl she’d come to know as her daughter. “The X there, that’s us, that’s where the portal lets out. And the red circle is Luz’s house. She said to come there if we ever wanted to find her.”
Amity clung the map to her chest, trying to keep it safe from her tears. The girl raised her eyes to meet Eda’s, which flinched away uncomfortably.
“Under any other circumstances I’d suggest that you all get some sleep, but I assume that you’ll want to spend the night together.” Eda sighed softly. “Just…don’t get up to too much. Amity’s got a pretty tiring couple of days ahead of her.”
The siblings all nodded, still numb with horror as they realized their circumstances. A growing feeling of dread blossomed in their chests as they slowly began to digest the fact that they were going to be separated.
The three of them hadn’t always gotten along well, nor had they always had the best views of each other, but they had always been constants in each other’s lives. Whenever something happened, within the Blight home or outside of it, they’d always had each other, no matter the circumstances. They couldn’t always stand up for each other or stand at each other’s sides, but they were always there, each sibling’s presence unwavering. The world could’ve been ending around them, but they had always been confident that they’d endure everything alongside their siblings, whether they wanted to or not.
And now they sat gathered on the couch, anticipating the moment in which their world would be shattered. In which the youngest Blight sibling would be shipped off a dimension away, and no one could do anything about it for a long, long time. Not to mention, Edric and Emira were probably fugitives now for aiding in Amity’s escape. Three months ago, this wouldn’t have been as big of a deal; tensions were still on the low side, and the Emperor had, to some degree, ignored the Owl Lady so long as she continued only to sell her products on the night market. If Edric and Emira had been fugitives then, they still could have gone to school and lived somewhat ordinary lives. Now, however, the Boiling Isles were teetering on the edge of civil war, and criminals, especially those who stood between the Emperor and his plans, were of top priority.
At the absolute best, the twins would be restricted only to living in the Owl House and a small patch of the surrounding woods, where they could lay low.
At the worst…
“Here.” Eda set three cups of apple blood on the table in front of the couch. “You’re welcome to have as much as you like. Or none at all, that’s alright too.”
Unsurprisingly, Eda got no response.
Amity had her head laid in Emira’s lap. The young, bruised-up girl was staring at the ceiling with glossy golden eyes, as though she couldn’t, or simply refused, to accept her reality.
Edric was slumped into the opposite corner of the couch, pretending he wasn’t crying. He let what hair he could loosely hang over his face in an attempt to hide the fact that his eyes were filled with unshed tears.
The Blight siblings desperately wanted to stay awake. But the events of the day had taken a toll on all of them, and heavy fatigue was beginning to set in. It wasn’t long before their bodies had gone slack, and their minds had drifted off into sleep.
Eda stood in front of the couch, staring solemnly at the pile of dozing teenagers and sipping quietly at her apple blood. She hated to think it, but seeing the Blight siblings here nearly filled the human-shaped hole in the woman’s heart.
Nearly.
Destroying the portal had been Eda’s decision.
Luz had stood in front of the gaping magic door, staring back into the Owl House where Eda, King, and Hooty watched her go. There had been tears- oh, so many tears -but the job was done quickly and efficiently. The portal was out of Belos’s reach, and the human was safe- just as Eda wanted.
Eda had left the portal, in its broken state, crumbled in the corner of the living room, prevented from fixing it only by the intention of keeping Luz safe.
And then, Eda caught the news about the “training camps.”
Lilith had appeared on Eda’s doorstep, bloodied and frantic. The black-haired woman spoke quickly, but it didn’t take much to understand the general gist of what Lilith was getting at.
Belos, who Lilith had been passionately serving for years, had started a “camp” at his palace, in which the most gifted children of the Isles were practically tortured into submission, and taught powerful spells through dark magic and force.
It was when Lilith heard that Amity, her star pupil, would be sent away to this camp, that the woman once fiercely loyal to the Emperor had finally broken. Lilith fought her way out of the palace and sought shelter and assistance in the Owl House.
It wasn’t a day later that Edric and Emira Blight came to the house to report the exact same thing Lilith had come to prevent: Amity’s recruitment into the “camp.”
Eda liked the Blight girl, Amity, just fine- she’d humorously adopted the “over-protective mom” stereotype to mess with Luz and her lovebird, but Eda really had enjoyed Amity’s company (which was becoming worryingly common in the weeks leading up to Luz’s escape, Amity appearing at the Owl House even when Luz wasn’t home).
Alright, maybe Eda liked Amity a little more than just fine- but she wasn’t about to adopt another lost puppy that she couldn’t get attached to.
It was the overwhelming urge to protect, the same feeling that Eda had experienced with Luz, that inspired the Owl Lady and a newly-treasonous Lilith to plan Amity’s escape, and rebuild the portal.
And look where that got them.
Eda sat down on the table in front of her sleeping visitors, silently watching with a heavy heart. None of them deserved to be in this position, they were kids after all, but here they were, their fates unfairly decided by a cruel dictator.
Eda often toted the fact that she was the strongest witch on the Boiling Isles, but deep down, she knew she would never be able to topple Belos and his forces. Not alone, anyway.
With Lilith somewhere hiding out in the woods, and Eda herself growing older and seemingly weaker by the day, it felt like there was nothing that could be done to slow the Emperor’s siege across the Isles. And that was why Eda needed to succeed in getting Amity Blight into the human world, and why Eda would dedicate herself to protecting Edric and Emira with her life- the act would hardly make a dent in Belos’s power, but it was the best display of rebellion that Eda could think of.
He can’t have us all.
The woman took another long sip of her apple blood.
No matter what happened in the coming hours, Eda assured herself of one thing.
I’ll get this plan to work, even if I die trying.
The Blight children expected to be woken up by a violent attack, or the crackling of an activated portal, waiting to take Amity away. However, they were gently pulled into consciousness not by the Emperor’s Coven, but by the soft, golden rays of the morning sun.
Emira was first to rise, her tired eyes peeking open to glimpse a still-sleeping Amity in her lap.
Under any other circumstance, Emira would have been somewhat annoyed by this. The girl liked to move around right after she woke up, taking time to stretch and prepare for the day ahead. Now, though, Emira was content to sit in place.
She slowly ran her fingers through her little sister’s hair, which was perfectly combed out. Emira gently caressed the brown roots on Amity’s head, not sure whether to frown or smile sadly at the chocolate color of Amity’s newer growth.
The Blight parents- Odalia especially -had taken plenty away from the twins, but the extent of Ed and Em’s mistreatment could hardly compare to what Amity was subjected to. And it all started with her hair- the soft, brown hair that was so uniquely, beautifully, and unacceptably Amity -being stripped away from her. It was then that marked the beginning, the first days when the young girl stopped being Amity Blight, and simply became Blight. A miserable tale, but a familiar one in the Blight Household.
Still, it brought some reassurance staring at those brown roots. It reminded Emira that no matter how hard their parents tried, they’d never truly be able to take Amity away from herself.
Amity was the next one awake, but she didn’t let her siblings know it. She didn’t want to move again, not for the rest of her life- she just wanted to lay here, pressed against her sister, warm and safe from the Emperor’s forces.
Eventually, though, all three of them had to rouse.
It was the smell of food that finally woke Edric up.
Eda was cooking in the kitchen, preparing a meager breakfast for Amity’s send off. The meal would have been grander if they’d had any time, but an attack was imminent, and food was the least of their worries.
As the siblings walked into the kitchen, Amity leaned heavily on Emira’s shoulder, the true soreness of her body finally sinking in. She wanted to be grateful when she was lowered into a chair, but the hard surface of the seat didn’t help the aches. More than anything, Amity just wanted to lay down in her bed and pretend that none of this was happening. Pretend that she could go back in time, and act like everything was okay.
The tense feeling at the table reminded her that it wasn’t.
Everyone at the table pretended to eat, but nobody really had any appetite. Their stomachs were, instead, churning with anxiety as they awaited catastrophe. Any second now, an abomination would smash down the door, or a horde of guards would crash through the windows.
Eda was the first to speak.
“So, how’d you all sleep?”
No response. The Blight siblings only continued to nibble at their food.
Eda sighed.
“That’s to be expected, I guess. I’ll take it that no one here’s hungry?”
Still, no answer.
“I’ll take that as a no.” Eda pushed her full plate away, and stood up.
“Kids,” she said softly, “I think it’s about time you started saying your goodbyes. We need to get Amity out of here as soon as possible. I’m gonna go get that portal runnin’.” Eda promptly turned and walked back into the living room to attempt to start up the portal, leaving the three Blights alone in the kitchen.
For a few moments, there was silence.
Emira then opened her mouth, ready to speak, but before she could do anything, the sound of claws tapping against the floor came from around the corner.
King walked into the kitchen, eyes low, head hung. He slowly approached Amity, looking quickly away before flinging himself into her arms.
As the tiny demon slipped back down to the floor, he handed Amity a piece of paper.
“Give that to Luz when you see her, okay?”
Amity nodded solemnly. “Sure, King.”
With that, King scurried away, and Amity looked back to her siblings.
This time, Emira actually managed to speak.
“I’m so sorry, Amity.”
Amity’s eyes softened. “Emira, this isn’t your fault-“
“I’m not talking about this. ” Emira’s voice wavered, tears filling her eyes. “I’m…not talking about this. I’m talking about everything else.”
Amity just blinked confusedly.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Emira growled. “We weren’t any good to you. We knew what kind of pressure Mom put on you and we still tried to shut you out. We always pulled those awful pranks on you and…we failed you, Amity.” Emira was weeping now. “And I’m sorry.”
Horror had made its way onto Amity’s face. “Em, you don’t-“
“She’s right.”
Amity whipped around as she felt Edric rest his hand on her shoulder.
“We didn’t have any right to do what we did to you.” Amity felt her throat clog as her older brother hung his head. “And I always thought I’d have time to make it up to you, but I don’t.”
Edric exchanged watery-eyed glances with Emira, but he managed to hold back the tears, and keep his voice stable.
“I just want you to know that we love you, Mittens, and we always have, no matter what idiotic shit we pulled.” Edric wrapped his now-crying little sister into a hug, which Emira joined immediately. “We’ll always be there for you, no matter how bad it gets or how far away you are.”
“Got that right,” Emira muttered.
As the three of them squeezed into each other’s embrace, it was all they could do not to acknowledge the crackling of the portal as it opened in the other room. They desperately wanted, when Eda called them over, to pretend that they didn’t hear.
But they didn’t have enough time. Apparently, they never would.
As the embrace broke up, Amity could only produce one shaky phrase as she was guided towards the portal.
“I love you guys, too. So much.”
Edric smiled sadly. “We know, Amity. And we’ll be here when you get back.”
“And you will be back , ” Emira added firmly.
The portal hissed and howled, flashing sporadically as the siblings approached it.
Eda stood beside them, staring at the somewhat-unstable but very-much-alive gateway to the human word.
The woman spoke softly.
“You all ready?”
Amity exchanged glances with her siblings, who only nodded encouragingly.
“Yes,” Amity said quietly.
“Alright then. Get at it, kid.”
Amity took one shaky step towards the portal, tears flooding back to her as she felt Eda, Emira, and Edric watching her go.
The jarring interruption of a high-pitched shriek barely registered in Amity’s mind.
“EEEEDA! WE’VE GOT VIIISITOOORS!”
Hooty’s voice was followed by a series of yells, and panic flashed through Eda’s face.
“Kid, you need to go. Now. ”
A loud thud thundered against the side of the Owl House.
Amity knew she should’ve been running through that portal, trying to get away from the Emperor. But she only found herself frozen in shock and fear, unable to take her final step forward.
“Kid, what are you waiting for? Go!”
Amity still couldn’t move.
My family. I can’t just leave them. I can’t just leave them! I have to stay. I have to…
A force slammed into Amity, spinning her around and wrapping her into a tight hug.
She only had a short few seconds to glimpse her siblings’ faces.
“We love you, Mittens,” Edric said, smiling.
There were still tear tracks on her face, but Emira smiled too.
“See you soon, Amity.”
And with that, before the girl could even process what was going on, Amity was shoved into the gaping portal, and the door shut behind her.
Amity tumbled into the human world, and turned to stare tearfully at the blank wall where the gate had once been, before she fell to her knees and sobbed out the phrase that had gotten caught in her throat.
“ I love you too. ”
Camila Noceda had a love-hate relationship with working night shifts.
On the one hand, she loved picking Luz up from school and getting the opportunity to talk with her daughter in the afternoons.
On the other hand, trying to get sleep during the day would never be convenient.
It was, first, two short knocks.
The sound roused Camila, but it wasn’t enough to get her out of bed. She was used to the occasional delivery or door-to-door salesman attempting to get her attention when they saw her car in the driveway. Annoying, and strange for them to be out this early in the day, but not uncommon.
The next two knocks were loud and fast, almost frantic.
Camila groaned, rolling into her pillow. If she ignored them, they’d go away.
Another set of knocks came, this time weak and quiet, but very much still audible.
Camila grit her teeth, swearing to herself that if she was met with a stupid salesman at the door, she’d punch him in the face.
The woman grabbed at her glasses and rolled out of bed, before thundering down the stairs yelling, “Coming! I’m coming!”
Her glasses had only just settled onto her face when she reached the front door and whipped it open.
“If you have a delivery you can just—“ Camila stopped short.
There wasn’t a delivery worker waiting at the door, nor a package, nor a badly-dressed man attempting to sell a new AC unit.
Instead, Camila was met with a chilling scene.
There, leaning into the front doorway of the Noceda household, was a young girl. She was sitting on the ground, tucked into the corner of the doorframe with her knees drawn up to her chest and fresh tears running down her face.
Camila felt her heart drop into her stomach.
“Who…are you alright, cariño? ” Camila reached out for the girl, who only flinched away, eyes wide.
Camila drew back her hand, face twisting in worry.
The child steadied her breath, stopping her tears and managing to mumble out a few words.
“Are you…Noceda?”
Camila nodded, confused. “Yes, I’m Camila Noceda. Do I know you?”
The girl simply shook her head and quietly whispered, “No.”
Camila studied her visitor, puzzled as to how and why the girl had ended up here, knowing Camila’s name, but never having met her.
Quickly, though, Camila pushed all her questions away. Those didn’t matter right now; the only thing of any importance was helping this poor girl with whatever she’d come for.
“Here.” Camila offered the girl a hand, which the child studied warily. Eventually, though, she slipped her shaking hand into Camila’s and allowed the woman to pull her up.
Camila kept one hand on the girl’s back as she guided the small figure into her home, quietly shutting the door behind them.
The girl allowed herself to be lowered onto the couch, still in a seemingly numb state. Camila knelt down on the floor in front of her.
Amity cringed. This position was the exact same one Eda had taken, back on the Isles. Back with her siblings. Back home…
“Hello?” Camila’s voice snapped the girl out of her trance.
“Oh,” Amity muttered quietly. “Sorry. I should’ve been focusing.”
Camila shook her head. “That’s alright, it’s not important right now. I need to know, though, are you hurt?”
The girl eyed Camila skeptically. “Luz said…you were a healer.”
“ Luz! ” Camila exclaimed, ignoring the girl’s strange term. “You know my daughter?”
The girl nodded, slowly. “Your daughter and I…” Amity quickly shut herself up, deciding to withhold her relationship status for the time being. “I’m Amity. Amity Blight.”
Camila’s eyes widened. The woman tilted her head as she felt all the pieces fall into place. The green hair with brown at the roots, the black nails, the winged eyeliner. “Amity. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Yeah. Luz and I…” Did Camila know about the Boiling Isles?
“Went to camp together, I know.”
That would be a no. “Yeah, camp,” Amity said, nodding frantically. “We were at camp.”
Camila nodded back slowly. Now she knew who this girl was, but it didn’t explain Amity’s situation in the least. Camila had never even figured out where Amity lived, and yet here she was, sitting in Camila’s house, having seemingly appeared out of thin air.
“Alright, Amity. ” Camila smiled gently at the shaking young girl. “Now that we’ve been properly introduced, I still need to know: are you hurt?”
Camila didn’t wait for an answer when she spotted a dark bruise peeking out from under Amity’s shirt sleeve.
“Where are you hurt?” The softness had left Camila’s voice and it was now firm and commanding.
Amity didn’t respond, leaving a silence to which Camila only sighed.
“Amity, I want to help you, but I can’t do anything for you if you don’t tell me what’s going on. Luz told you I’m a doctor, right?” For animals, maybe, but Camila still knew her way around medicine. “I can help you, Amity, you just need to let me.”
Camila’s voice was full of concern, and Amity felt guilty for not saying anything.
“It’s only bruises,” Amity reassured. “It’s not bad.”
Camila frowned, trying to stave off the creeping suspicions she had regarding Amity’s situation. “Where are the bruises?”
Amity went silent for a moment. The girl kicked out her feet and stared at the ground as she mumbled, “ Everywhere. ”
Camila wanted to cry just seeing the expression on Amity’s face, one of pure pain and despair. The woman sighed sadly, and rested a gentle hand on Amity’s knee.
“Amity, I think it’s best if we get you to a hospital. They’ll just give you a physical to make sure you’re not hurt too bad, and then they can help you get away from whoever did this to you.”
Amity teared up, and felt her body go rigid. Slowly, the girl shook her head.
Camila tilted her head confusedly. “No hospital? Are you in some sort of trouble with the police?”
“Hospital.” Amity rolled the word over her tongue, trying to recall its meaning. “Like…a healer’s office?”
Horror shot through Camila like a lightning bolt. “You don’t know what a hospital is?”
“I’m not from around here.”
“Well, there have to be hospitals where you’re from, Amity.” What did she call it? A healer’s office?
“What’s a physical?”
Panic surged through Camila’s body.
“Amity, do you remember anything that happened to you?”
Amity tensed. This was a perfect opportunity. She hated the idea of lying to Luz’s mother, who seemed so kind, but what else could she say? Hi, I’m your daughter’s girlfriend from the demon realm?!
“No, I don’t.” The words felt wrong in Amity’s throat, but she said them anyway.
“Amity, we really need to get you to a hospital.”
Amity only doubled down on her previous question. “What’s a physical?”
Camila’s face softened. “It’s not anything bad, Amity. A physical is when a doctor looks over your body to make sure you’re healthy.”
“You’re doing that now. Why do I need a hospital?”
“I don’t mean just looking, Amity. They’ll just feel around a bit, check your blood pressure, your pulse. Nothing too extreme, but more than I’m doing now.”
The very thought of being touched right now was enough to scare Amity. Healer’s office or not, she would not let herself end up in the hospital.
“No.” Amity’s voice was firm. Her head had stopped spinning now, and she finally remembered what a physical was. She remembered that, at some point, the healer would check her ears. Her very non-human ears.
“Amity, please.” Camila’s voice was desperate, her concern for Amity growing by the minute. “I need to help you.”
“I’m not going to a hospital.” On a normal occasion, Amity wouldn’t dare dream about standing up to an adult like this. But now, the adrenaline pumping through her veins, fueled by the idea that her very life depended on keeping her witch-hood a secret, was more than enough to motivate her.
And then, both Camila and Amity made fatal mistakes.
Camila reached out towards the clearly distressed girl in front of her.
And Amity panicked.
The young witch drew a circle in the air, which glowed a fluorescent purple before fading out, and a small abomination emerged from the floor between Amity and Camila.
Camila screeched out a curse and backed away from the gooey creation before the thing sunk back down into the floor.
Camila raised her shock-filled eyes to Amity.
The young girl was panting heavily, slowly keeling over on herself.
Amity clenched her teeth, and Camila’s heart stopped when she glimpsed two tiny, razor-sharp fangs in Amity’s mouth.
The girl wrangled her hair back behind her ears in a motion intended to calm herself down. Amity’s mind was clouding with fear, pain, and exhaustion.
Amity’s ears ended in a sharp point, and, to Camila’s amazement, pinned themselves back as Amity cried out in pain.
Amity managed to let out a final, soft groan before she slumped forward limply onto the couch.
Camila stared at the girl, if that’s what this thing was, in terror and bafflement.
Amity was clearly unconscious now, laying face-first against the couch, completely limp.
Camila, slowly, approached.
Everything about this creature looked human. It had even talked, and taken the form of one of Luz’s camp friends. And yet it had summoned some thing out of thin air, and it had fangs, and…
Camila pushed away Amity’s mint hair to reveal a large, pointed ear that wiggled slightly when Camila touched it.
It was in that moment that, finally, Camila’s horror got the best of her, and she too passed out onto the floor.
Fall was, decidedly, the best existing season.
Maybe it was the cool, crisp weather, or the warm and well-spiced cuisine, or the fact that the best holiday ever, Halloween, took place in it, but Luz had loved the fall for as long as she could remember.
For this reason, she didn’t at all mind the fact that she had to walk home from school today. She’d anticipated that her mother would pick her up, but maybe plans had changed and Luz simply hadn’t received her mother’s text message: school WiFi could be finicky.
Luz trotted down the sidewalk, smashing any dead leaves she could find, inhaling the cool autumn breeze, and generally luxuriating in the fact that she was out of school.
Of course, Luz’s general school situation hadn’t improved at all since the previous year. If anything, it had gotten worse after Luz returned from the Boiling Isles. Really, how could human school ever be enjoyable after attending Hexside, where they’d taught actual magic? How could Luz pretend that she enjoyed her human peers’ company when she’d finally figured out what real friendship, and even love, had felt like?
Luz felt awful, knowing that her mother was still under the impression that Luz had attended some summer camp intended to fix her, completely oblivious to the fact that her daughter had started a life for herself in another dimension.
I can’t dwell on that, though.
As much as Luz tried to ignore it, one simple fact remained: Eda had destroyed the portal. Now, Luz didn’t even have access to the Boiling Isles, much less a future there. On the Isles, life would move on without her, her friends would forget her, and Amity?
Amity would find someone else to love.
Luz’s heart sank.
I can’t dwell on that.
There was, Luz decided, no time to be despaired. It was fall after all, and it wouldn’t last long, so Luz had to soak up every minute of these walks home from school.
Luz adjusted her backpack on her shoulders and stamped down onto another crunchy leaf, exhaling into the chilled autumn air.
Camila had wholly expected to wake up in her bed upstairs, recovering from the insane nightmare she had just experienced, about Luz’s friend from camp, and whatever demon was taking her shape.
Instead, Camila picked up right where she’d left off: on the floor next to the couch on which “Amity” was still unconscious.
Camila’s heart stopped beating for a moment as she stared at the creature in front of her. She wasn’t out of danger. Not yet, at least.
I need to call the cops.
To Camila’s knowledge, the police were the best people equipped for handling forgein human-like creatures.
The woman quietly pushed herself up onto her feet and prepared to walk over to the table by the door, where she’d left her phone.
She got to the table without making a sound, and slowly picked up the small device that her life currently depended on.
Camila opened the phone and began to dial the numbers.
9-1-1
The call began to process and Camila tapped her fingers against the phone anxiously.
Finally, the call went through.
Unfortunately, Camila had completely forgotten to turn down her volume.
“NINE-ONE-ONE, WHAT’S YOUR EMERGENCY?” The dispatcher’s voice blared.
Camila felt her blood run cold as she watched the creature’s ears perk forward. It lifted its head, and turned its golden eyes to focus on Camila.
Suddenly, the words were caught in the woman's throat.
“Hello?” The dispatcher chirped.
A look of what seemed to be pure fear washed over the creature’s face.
“There’s…something in my house.”
“Something in your house? Ma’am, is it a person?”
Camila’s throat clogged. The woman hadn’t broken eye contact with the thing laying on her couch.
“No,” Camila said quietly.
“Okay, ma’am, it’s an animal? How big is it?”
“It’s…not an animal.” Camila’s voice was monotone and numb. The creature was starting to stand.
“Ma’am, if it’s not human, it has to be an animal. If you can see it clearly, can you describe what it looks like?”
Fangs. Golden irises. Moving, pointed ears.
“It-“ Camila was cut short by the most terrifying sound she could imagine.
“Mom, I’m home!”
Luz cheerfully strode into the house, shrugging her backpack off at the door.
“Sorry I forgot to text you that I was on my way back, I kinda got lost in the scenery. Is it alright if I have a snack?”
Luz pushed past Camila, walking towards the kitchen. Before she made it far, though, she noticed someone on the couch.
“Hey, I didn’t know we were having anyone over!”
Camila, impulsively, shut off her phone.
“Luz, could you stay over here, please?”
“ Luz? ”
Camila tensed when she heard that voice. It was the creature’s, high and hopeful, probably trying to appeal to her daughter.
As Luz peeked over at the couch, she felt her heart stop on her chest.
There, covered in grime and bruises, hair loose and messy, face stained with tear trails, and eyes wide with hope, was Amity Blight.
“Amity!” Luz cried, rushing forward towards her girlfriend.
Just as quickly, Amity forced herself into a seating position and jumped forward, charging towards Luz.
Just as they neared each other, coming within inches of each other’s embraces, another force threw itself between them.
Camila surged forward at Amity, slamming her fist into the witchling’s chest.
Amity screamed in agony, and Luz stared on in horror.
“Luz, please, leave, ” Camila said urgently. “You’re in danger here. You need to go get help.”
“Mom, what are you doing? ” Luz’s voice was shrill and terrified.
“Luz!” Amity gasped. The mint-haired girl hauled herself forward, trying to get off the floor.
Camila spun around and landed a kick to Amity’s temple, before stomping down on the witch’s fragile head to make sure that the damned creature finally stayed down .
The young girl’s eyes fluttered shut, slipping back into unconsciousness.
“ Amity! ” Luz’s cry was agonized. Before Camila could stop her, the human girl rushed forward and took her girlfriend’s head into her lap, crying now and caressing Amity’s face.
Amity herself was flickering in and out of consciousness, hardly moving.
“ Amity, ” Luz whispered, pulling her girlfriend up and pressing the witchling’s battered body into her chest. Luz turned her horrified eyes to her mother.
“What did you do? ”
Luz gently tucked Amity’s hair back.
“Luz, look at her ear.” Camila was almost as horrified with herself as Luz was, but she had to remind herself that the outburst wasn’t unfounded. Some creature had charged towards her daughter, and now, that creature lay limp in said daughter’s arms.
Luz traced her finger along the angled shape of Amity’s ear. “Mom…”
“This is not Amity,” Camila said in a low voice. “This thing isn’t human. We need to get out of here and call the cops, now. ”
“Mom,” Luz said again, voice steadier now. She glanced away, heart beating at the speed of sound. “I…This is Amity.” Luz looked at the floor. “And you’re right, she isn’t human.”
“ Mija, what do you mean she isn’t human? Amity is your friend from camp, remember?”
“Mom…I never actually went to camp.”
“Luz, what do you-“
“It doesn’t matter right now,” Luz said sharply. “I can explain everything later. Right now, you need to help Amity.”
“How can I help her if I don’t know what she is?! And why would I? Whatever Amity is, she’s a danger to us both!”
Luz didn’t listen. She gently lifted Amity up and laid her on the couch, propping the witchling’s head up with a pillow.
Luz ran her hand into Amity’s hair and frowned when her fingertips came out stained with blood.
“I think she has a concussion.”
Luz shot a death glare towards her mother. “Why are you standing over there? You’re the doctor here, come help me! ”
“Luz-“
Camila’s daughter wasn’t listening. Instead, Luz was leaning over Amity, whispering quiet words of reassurance.
Camila sighed, and inched forward.
Amity’s eyes were glazed, but as soon as the witch caught sight of Camila, fear took over her face.
Amity began whimpering.
“No, no, please don’t hurt me.” The girl’s voice was desperate and terrified. Amity shifted on the couch, trying to get away from Camila. “Please don’t hurt me. I’ll leave, I promise, I’ll get away from you. Please, I…I don’t wanna die.”
Luz was tearing up again now, and even Camila couldn’t deny that Amity’s pleas struck a maternal nerve in her.
“You’re not going to die, Amity. You’re going to be okay. Just focus on me, alright?” Luz offered Amity a small smile, which, of course, Amity didn’t return.
Slowly and somewhat reluctantly, Camila raised Amity’s head to inspect it.
Thankfully, the symptoms were only moderate. The bleeding was light and had seemingly stopped, but there was some swelling in the area.
“Luz, could you go get me an ice pack?”
Luz nodded urgently and darted over to the kitchen.
Camila turned back to focus on Amity, who had her eyes squeezed shut in fear.
“Amity, I’m going to need you to open your eyes, okay?”
“Okay,” Amity whispered.
When Amity’s eyelids fluttered open, Camila’s heart skipped a beat. The woman wasn’t sure how she’d missed it when she first saw Amity at the door, but the girl’s eyes were a deep, inhuman gold.
Thankfully, though, her pupils were the same size.
After giving Amity a quick lookover, Camila determined that Amity’s condition wasn’t severe. The girl had a moderate concussion, but not one she couldn’t recover from.
Luz slipped back to sit at Camila’s side, and pressed the ice pack against Amity’s head. The young witch cooed softly as the cold object was gently applied to her throbbing injury.
Amity turned her eyes to look at her two caretakers. They lingered, softly, on Luz, before shifting to look at Camila.
It took all of Camila’s will not to break eye contact with Amity, who looked utterly shaken and miserable. Finally, Amity turned her eyes away.
“I’m sorry.” Amity murmured.
Camila didn’t respond.
“For what? ” Luz sounded appalled that Amity had even thought of apologizing to them.
“I shouldn’t have come here. I’m not human-” -Amity glanced at Camila through the corners of her bloodshot eyes- “-and I have no right to be in your world. I’m a burden to you. I just didn’t have anywhere else to go. I’m sorry.”
“ Amity .” Luz slipped Amity’s pale hand into her own. “Please don’t apologize. I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Yeah, but not everyone is.” Luz followed Amity’s eyes, until both girls were staring at Camila.
Luz’s face was full of anger and confusion, but Amity only looked tired and scared.
“I’m sorry, Miss Noceda. I had no right to intrude on your realm or your home.” Amity looked down.
What am I supposed to say? The creature, Amity, seemed genuine. And, even worse, Luz had known that Amity wasn’t human.
What had happened during the summer that led to Luz meeting some otherworldly elvin creature?
“Amity,” Camila said slowly, struggling to find the right words in this absurd situation, “I don’t know what you are. I thought you were some… thing that had taken the form of my daughter’s friend, but clearly you’re something else.”
“She’s the best person I know,” Luz said earnestly.
“You’ve been telling me that, mija .” Camila looked back to Amity and sighed. “I still don’t know what you are, Amity, but I’ve heard a lot about you, and how much you mean to Luz. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I attacked you. I thought you were going to hurt my daughter.”
Amity didn’t say anything. She just nodded slowly.
Luz then let out a long sigh. “I owe you an explanation,” she said, looking up at her mother. “About this summer.”
“I’d appreciate that, Luz.”
Luz drummed her fingers on the couch. “There’s a lot to say, so I’ll just tell you the… abridged version.”
Camila nodded encouragingly, and with another sharp inhale, Luz began.
“When I was waiting for the bus to camp, I saw this little owl stealing trash from behind the house. I was kinda weirded out by it, so I followed him into this shack in the woods, and he walked through some glowing door. I followed him, and when I stepped in, I realized that I'd walked through a portal, into a place called the Boiling Isles. That’s where Amity’s from.” Luz nodded at her girlfriend. “I met this woman, Eda- I think I told you she was a camp counselor?- who’s a witch, which is what exactly Amity is.” Luz sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “I didn’t want to go to camp, Mom, I really didn’t. So I begged Eda to teach me magic, and she said yes.”
Camila sighed. She wanted to be surprised or disappointed, but that- staying in another dimension to learn magic- was a very Luz thing to do.
“While I was there I got enrolled into a magic school, called Hexside,” Luz continued. “That’s where I met Willow, Gus, and Amity. And I stayed in the Boiling Isles for months, learning magic. But my ways of doing it were a bit… unconventional. It angered Emperor Belos, who’s the ruler type person of the Boiling Isles. By the end of the summer, Eda decided that when she sent me back home, she’d destroy the portal behind me, so that Belos couldn’t hurt me. And now I’m here.”
Camila nodded, head spinning. “So you expect me to believe that you spent your entire summer in an alternate realm, learning magic?”
“There’s a witch on our couch right now. I don’t think you have any choice but to believe.” Luz smiled shyly.
“Okay,” Camila said slowly. “But if Eda destroyed the portal, how did Amity get here?”
“My question exactly.” Luz looked over at the dazed witch beside her. “Amity, if you’re alright with it, do you mind telling us how you got here?”
It was Amity’s turn to sigh heavily, but she just nodded.
“After you left, tensions with the Emperor were extremely high. He started a training program, where he’d take the most talented witchlings on the Isles and ship them off to his palace, where he’d ‘train’ them by torturing them.” Amity’s voice shook. “The second we heard about the camps, we knew he’d be coming for me. So Ed, Em and I made a plan. We asked Eda and Lilith- who defected, by the way -to rebuild the portal so that we could all get into the human world. We were planning on coming here together.” Amity took a breath. “But things got intense really quick, so yesterday we all decided to leave a week early, just to be safe. The portal wasn’t done yet, but we wanted to get away from my parents and the Emperor’s Coven.”
“But they found you,” Luz guessed.
“Yeah. They tried to take me yesterday. I got away, but…” Tears had regathered in Amity’s eyes. “…Because they were already onto us, I had to go through the portal today, when it was still unstable. Ed and Em couldn’t come with me. The portal’s gone. I’m stuck here. And I had nobody else to go to, so I came here.”
Amity reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.
“My map,” Luz murmured.
Amity nodded.
“So, if I have this right, you came here to escape the Evil Emperor, or whatever his name was, and have no way back?” Camila asked.
“Emperor Belos,” Amity corrected, “and yes.”
Camila took in a sharp inhale, staring at the ground and slowly shaking her head.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” Luz sounded hurt.
“I don’t know what I believe,” Camila murmured. “I’d think I was going insane, but Amity exists. She’s tangible. And I have no other way to explain her existence.”
“Amity can prove that she's a witch!” Luz blurted. “She can do abomination magic! Right Amity?”
The young witch on the couch looked away, and Luz raised her eyebrows in concern.
“You can do magic here, right? Eda told me you could!” Luz’s eyes widened. “Do you still have your magic?”
Amity nodded silently.
“She did something earlier,” Camila said. “She made some weird creature come out of the carpet.”
“An abomination! That’s the type of magic Amity specializes in.” Luz turned back to Amity, eyes bright. “You can do it again, can’t you?”
Amity studied her hands, before quietly whispering, “ No. ”
Concern returned to Luz’s face. Why couldn’t Amity do magic again? Did it have something to do with yesterday’s attack? Maybe the concussion?
Luz’s voice was soft. “Why not?”
“It…hurts. Bad. ” Amity shifted her eyes towards Luz. “I could only make a small one, and even when I did that it just…sucked everything out of me. I couldn’t breathe, and everything hurt, and I was so tired, and eventually I just passed out.”
Luz nodded slowly. “Okay then. No magic.”
“No magic,” Amity confirmed.
“But you saw her, right?” Luz looked back at her mother. “You know that she can do magic.”
“I saw her,” Camila reaffirmed.
Luz nodded again, looked as if she were about to say something, but then turned back to Amity.
The room fell into tense silence.
Luz was holding Amity’s hand, gently rolling her thumb over the witch’s knuckles.
Camila simply stared at the floor, brain moving a million miles a minute. Her common sense told her that this couldn’t be real, that everything she’d ever been taught contradicted the idea of witches and magic and alternate dimensions.
But her eyes told her a different story, because here, in front of her, was a magical witch from another dimension. And here was her daughter, seeing the exact same thing.
Camila wanted this all to be some strange dream that she’d wake up from. Then she could pick Luz up from school and talk to her about normal, human things, and go on with her life.
But she knew, in her better judgement, that it wasn’t. Amity was physically, tangibly, and undeniably real.
Camila wanted to trust that better judgement, and do something about this. Get this creature away from her family. Turn Amity over to the authorities, and let her be dealt with.
But the idea of that made Camila’s stomach churn.
It was becoming more apparent with every passing moment that Amity was, despite being an otherworldly creature, very human.
The fear in her eyes, the tremor to her voice, and her shaky, labored breathing didn’t portray the image of a powerful magic being, who could and would attack if given the chance.
In Amity, Camila only saw a terrified, hurt, and desperate child , not unlike her daughter, who needed help more than anything.
Turning Amity over would have been the more sensible decision.
But Camila knew that, if anything, Amity’s treatment would probably be worse than all those sci-fi movies she’d watched, in which the alien is captured by the government.
Amity would be pricked and probed, tortured, and treated as nothing but a lab rat. Experimented on, caged and chained, and probably, eventually, dead on a dissection table with her insides exposed.
Camila looked back to the witch on her couch.
Amity’s eyes were shut now, and her head was tucked into the crook of Luz’s arm. Amity didn’t look peaceful, still shaking like a leaf, but there was a sort of contentment on her face as she huddled into Luz, who was gently stroking Amity’s hair and tucking it behind her pointed ear.
No, Camila couldn’t doom Amity to that terrible fate.
Taking in a traumatized girl from another dimension didn’t seem like a great idea, but for now, it was the only one Camila had.
Camila could sort out the details of it all later. For now, she just had to come to terms with her new reality.
“Luz?” Camila asked softly.
Luz slowly turned to her mother, and Amity’s eyes blinked open.
“Yes?”
“Could you bring Amity upstairs, to your room, maybe? It’s a bit quieter up there, and she needs to get some rest.”
Luz's eyes widened with shock and hope.
“She can stay?”
Camila nodded slowly, and Luz looked like she was about to cry tears of joy.
Amity simply stared at Camila, dumbstruck, with tears of relief slipping out of her eyes. Amity opened her mouth and attempted to choke out a thank you, but the words were stuck in her throat.
Luz was buzzing now, but she didn’t let her excitement come through too strongly, so as not to overwhelm Amity.
“Oh, I can’t wait to show you my room!” Luz squeaked. In a fluid, swift motion, Luz scooped Amity up into her arms.
Amity’s face flushed bright red. “Luz, I can walk- “
“No, you’re already hurt. I’m carrying you.”
Amity let out a high-pitched, “ Okay ” as she was carried up the stairs.
Camila raised her eyebrows.
Something told her there was more to their relationship than simply friends from school, but she could ask those questions later.
Camila collapsed onto the couch, dropping her head into her hands and rubbing her temples, questioning how exactly she’d ended up here.
She was abruptly interrupted by a sharp knock at the door.
“Miss Noceda? It’s the county police! You cut off your call earlier, we wanted to check up on you!”
For a moment, panic surged through Camila. But she brushed that away, and stood up to answer the door.
There was a single officer standing on her doorway. The same doorway where she’d found a scared, crying girl just hours before.
“You called to report something in your house.”
Camila nodded tiredly. “Turns out it was just a raccoon. I’d never seen one that big before, but I managed to shoo it out the door.”
“And that’s all it was? Nothing else out of the ordinary here?”
Camila sighed softly as she heard her daughter’s excited voice talking upstairs. She’d have to remind Luz that Amity probably wasn’t in the mood for conversation.
“No sir, just a raccoon. Everything’s perfectly normal.”