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Chapter Text

Luz added a few cross-hatching marks to the illustration sitting on her desk, gazing longingly at her work. She smiled upon seeing Azura and Hecate hand in hand, blissfully daydreaming about the scene her pencil put together. The drawing depicted one of her favorite scenes from the graphic novels, and though the pencil work didn’t perfectly capture Mildred Featherwhyle’s style, she was proud of it.

The pleasant atmosphere floating around her head was cut down by the sound of an older man clearing his throat. It echoed through the room, startling Luz and earning a few giggles from her surrounding peers. “Mrs. Noceda!” he said. “May I remind you that this is not art class?” Luz felt her heart jump out of her chest as her gaze quickly locked with her teacher, who sternly glared at her. Suddenly, she felt the whole world’s eyes upon her, staring at her with judgmental and amused glares. Her cheeks grew piping hot as she heard a few more giggles ring throughout the classroom.

“I- drawing helps me focus! You have my full attention,” Luz explained, feeling herself grow sick as each word passed her lips.

“Then perhaps you would like to explain to the class the excerpt I just read?” Her teacher gave her a grin that communicated that he already expected Luz not to have an answer. He was merely trying to embarrass her.

Luz, however, wasn’t about to have it. She confidently cleared her throat. “You were just reading to us a basic introduction to the Hartford Witch Trials- a series of witch trials that took place in Connecticut during colonial times. Though the Salem Witch Trials are more famous, the Hartford Witch Trials happened much earlier, with some of the earliest known cases happening as far back as 1647.” Luz exhaled deeply, feeling a slight tinge of pride in her chest.

Now it was the teacher’s turn to blush. His face grew even pinker than it already naturally was, and his mouth was agape. A few more giggles could be heard, mostly from the same students who laughed at Luz. He huffed a sigh. “I’ll let you off this time, but please keep appropriate class conduct in mind for future reference, alright, Ms. Noceda?”

“What? But that’s not fair, I didn’t do anything!”

“You are aware that talking back is also a punishable offense, correct?”

Luz opened her mouth to retort yet again but froze with her mouth open when she realized she would be breaking the rule her teacher just clarified for her. Instead, she found her jaw gently closing again, and she buried her face into her arms, letting out a defeated groan.

“Sleeping in my class is not permitted either,” said her teacher. “And pull that jacket over your shoulders, or I’ll dress code you! I can see the edge of your neck, and it’s very distracting!”

—

As she walked through the hallways of her high school, Luz pulled her green denim jacket over her The Good Witch Azura t-shirt for what was probably the fifth time that day. She then adjusted the braids sticking out of her beanie so that they wouldn’t get caught in the jacket. She knew the school’s dress code was bull, but the teacher left her paranoid for the rest of the day.

As her feet moved across the halls in a repetitive motion, she found herself gazing back at the drawings she kept stashed in her notebook. She hadn’t been lying- drawing helped give her something to do with her hands, and her teacher’s lessons would play through her mind like background music. Still, she did, at times, find her focus drifting back to the characters she drew- characters she adored. Even now, seeing the fine texture in the pencil work around the shadows on Azura’s face filled Luz with a sense of pride. She smiled sweetly at the paper, not paying any mind to her immediate surroundings- a mistake she immediately regretted as she rammed into another student.

The papers scattered to the floor as Luz fell on her tailbone. The girl she ran into stood tall, gazing at her with a nasty glare in her soulless, blue eyes. She had a streak of orange running through her straight blonde hair, matching her orange cardigan. She stood next to another girl with brunette hair tied into a ponytail, her own eyes mirroring her friend’s.

“Watch where you’re going, freak!” the blonde girl spat.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Luz frantically yelped, scrambling to her knees to start picking up papers. Before she could grab the last drawing- the one she had been working on in class, the blonde girl picked it up, gazing upon it as Luz sat at her feet.

“Oh my god, are these girls holding hands?” The girl laughed. “Gross.”

“You’re gross!” said Luz, getting back to her feet. “Give it back, Clara!”

“Nah, I gotta show this to my friends,” said Clara, pulling out her phone to take a picture. When Luz tried to nab the paper from her, she expertly dodged each attempt, keeping her hands high out of Luz’s reach. She angled her phone to quickly snap a picture, then scoffed as Luz continued trying to take back the drawing. “Why do you care so much? If anything, I’m helping your art gain traction.” She wore a wicked smile on her face, hoping it would indicate the insincerity in her words.

“Just give it back! Please, I don’t want any trouble.”

“Why don’t you make me?” Clara laughed as Luz came in again in hopes of retrieving the drawing. The blonde quickly darted to the side, causing Luz to trip and slam violently against the brunette girl’s shoulder. The brunette slammed into the lockers behind her, busting the back of her head wide open.

Guilt immediately tugged at Luz’s heart as she saw the back of the girl’s hair start to stain crimson red. The girl sobbed hard, drawing the attention of every last student in the hallway. Those who hadn’t been paying the girls any mind were now suddenly curious about what had just happened. Luz, once again, felt the eyes of every single soul in existence gaze specifically at her. Though, this time, rather than amusement or second-hand embarrassment, the looks were that of fear and resentment.

“Look what you did now, freak!” Clara retorted. The words shoved harshly into Luz’s ears and then fell into a deafening silence. Luz could feel tears stinging against the corners of her eyes and her chest rapidly rising and falling from the heaviness of her breaths. Her heart jolted violently in her chest, and she felt her limbs start to give in to the numbness of the blood rushing through them.

“What’s going on here?” Luz felt her rapidly pounding heart suddenly freeze. It was the principal’s voice. “Well?”

“Principal May, Luz slammed Brittney into a locker!” said Clara.

Principal May turned her gaze upon Luz. Anger burned in her eyes. “Ms. Noceda, report to my office at the end of the day,” she said, as if she was just waiting for an excuse to punish the girl.

“Principal May, no, I-” Luz could barely get her words out through her shaky breaths. “I- you don’t understand, Clara stole one of my drawings, and-”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. We’ll discuss this at the end of the day. Do I make myself clear?”

—

Luz had been exiled to the principal’s office more times than she could recall. The silence was all too familiar, with the sound of her legs anxiously bouncing being the only thing filling the eerie air. The events of that morning played in her head over and over like a broken record screeching through her brain. Each time her head replayed the ugly words that slithered out of Clara’s mouth or the menacingly angry tone her principal took with her, her heart sank deeper into her chest.

Finally, after the most agonizingly long wait of Luz’s life, the door to the principal’s office clicked open. “ Dios Mio, I heavily apologize for being late, Principal May. There was this incident at the vet I work at, and then downtown traffic was so bad, and- ah, forgive me, I’m rambling.” Luz’s mom had an incredibly sweet voice, though it was laced with stress and disappointment. Though she tried to hide it, Luz knew better- she was upset having to be dragged to the principal’s office yet again. When she walked in, Luz noted the frizz in her mother’s coiled, chin-length hair. She wore purple, orb-shaped earrings, complimenting her blue scrubs and violet-red glasses.

“Mrs. Noceda, please, have a seat.” Principal May’s voice was considerably nicer towards Luz’s mom than Luz herself, though there was a tinge of annoyance that crept through.

“You can call me Camila, thank you,” said Luz’s mom. “And Dr. May, with all due respect, are you sure that’s necessary? Whatever trouble my daughter caused you, I have my doubts it should warrant all this.”

“Camila, I’ll have you know that your daughter got into a fight with one of our students this morning after second period. The girl in question is currently at a clinic getting her head checked for any traumatic damage. This is not a matter we take lightly at Gravesfield High.”

For a brief moment, Camila was too stunned to speak. She looked to Luz, who sank further in her seat with shame. “Luz, is this true? What happened?” Camila’s voice was stern yet gentle. Concern flickered in her eyes.

Luz tried to mumble “It wasn’t my fault,” but all she could let out was a stutter. She was too stunned for words. She couldn’t articulate her thoughts, and the anxiety pumping through her veins only made it harder with each passing second.

“Camila,” said Dr. May, “if you’d please let me speak, the staff is very concerned about her behavior. She’s had multiple instances involving disrupting class, getting involved in fights, and drawing or daydreaming rather than paying attention to lectures. Her grades are inconsistent, and she doesn’t seem to be getting along with other students. And let’s not forget the time she brought a live snake to school for her English book report.”

Like I was actually going to let it hurt anyone , Luz thought. It’s not my fault Brittney let it out of its cage.

“Dr. May,” Camila spoke, trying not to raise her voice. “You mention that she gets involved in fights, but if I recall, Luz is never the one to start them. So why is it that my daughter and my daughter alone is the only one facing consequences? Can I trust that whatever transpired today was her responsibility as you claim? I’m sure this is a misunderstanding.” She took a deep breath. “And I am aware of her…difficulties socially. She’s autistic and has ADHD, and I’m sure you’re aware of what she’s been going through mentally with the… passing of my late husband. I’ve been trying everything I can, but Luz operates differently, and as long as she isn’t hurting anyone, her peers are going to have to respect that.”

“That’s just it, Camila. She is hurting people. Her little snake bit two students back during the book report incident, and today she made a student’s head bleed and potentially gave her a concussion. Her behavior is out of control, and it needs to be corrected. Now, if you’re having trouble with disciplining your child-”

“I’m going to stop you right there. Discipline is not what my child needs- what she needs is a support system to help guide her through the things she’s going through so she won’t feel inclined to cause issues in the future.”

“Right, right, I understand. If you’re having trouble helping your child,” said Dr. May, popping the p in the word helping, “I can discuss with you matters that can hopefully help resolve these… issues.” Dr. May turned her head to Luz. “Luz Noceda, if you’d please step outside, I’d like to speak to your mother in private.”

—

“I don’t understand. I just don’t understand,” said Camila, her voice peppered with bitterness and frustration. She was currently driving Luz home, passing through the last traffic light in downtown Gravesfield before heading towards the backroads through the woods. “What’s gotten into you? I’ve heard about you getting involved in fights, but never going so far as sending a girl to the doctor. This wasn’t on purpose, was it? It’s not like you to hurt one of your peers.” Camila gave Luz a quick glance, her eyes begging for a response.

Luz still couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She stared out the window, flapping her hands. Camila frowned, the tension in her muscles fading. “Are you having one of your episodes again? Ay, lo siento, mija. I’m not trying to be hard on you, I’m just overwhelmed with this whole situation. That’s largely your principal’s fault though, I promise. We can talk more later after we get home.” 

A few minutes later, Camila pulled into a neighborhood within the forested area, and soon, her driveway. Her station wagon sat in front of a small, two-story house with a coating of lime green paint and two windows out front on the first floor. A modest garden of flowers decorated the porch, but the lawn otherwise didn’t have anything of note. The area was mostly shaded by towering trees that surrounded them, though sunlight crept through, allowing the green highlights in Luz’s braided hair to pop vibrantly.

Luz tugged at her beanie as she stepped outside, struggling to make eye contact with her mom. She walked slowly in front as the two made their way inside the house. As the plexiglass door gently swung shut behind them, Camila hooked her purse around the nearby staircase.

“I’m going to go start dinner prep,” Camila said. “That meeting took so much longer than I expected. Just go to your room and let your head clear, okay? ¡Te quiero, mija!” She planted three kisses on Luz’s forehead, gently rubbing the hair beneath her beanie before making her way down the hallway parallel to the staircase and into the kitchen at the back of the house.

Luz, trying to collect herself, began to make her way to the stairs. She took a moment of breath, letting herself calm down from today’s events. Just as she started to settle and place her foot on the first step, she noticed a piece of paper sticking out of Camila’s purse. She squinted at it suspiciously, seeing part of a large, bold font at the front. She realized it was a brochure, and curiosity got the best of her. She grabbed it, noting the bold sans-serif font that read Reality Check Camp. Below it was a subheader that read Think inside the box! A summer camp that will help your child fit in and learn appropriate conduct in school and life! The design of the brochure was painfully minimalist, though the words alone were enough to jump out at Luz. She couldn’t even process it, yet her brain urged her to keep reading.

She frantically flipped through each page, reading in detail about this supposed camp. Apparently, it was held just outside of Putnam, Connecticut, roughly an hour’s drive from Gravesfield. It offered programs giving basic life skills like filing taxes as well as correctional behavior programs for trouble-making students. The more Luz read the more her stomach squirmed. It was not merely the content of the camp itself that bothered her, but the implications of a brochure for it being in her own mother’s purse. Her mind began to race, and an intense wave of emotions overtook her. Without taking a moment to think, she stomped into the kitchen, clenching the cheap paper with her fist.

“Mom, what is this you had in your purse?” Luz showed Camila the pamphlet, noticeable wrinkles forming around the title. “ Reality Check Camp? Seriously? Do you think of me as a delinquent?”

Camila’s eyes went wide. “No, no! Luz, your principal and I had a long discussion, and he told me about this camp and insisted it would help you. I’m not making any decisions right now, but I just figured I’d go ahead and take a pamphlet just in case I wanted to research it later.”

“Why would you even consider it?” Luz shouted, tears stinging her eyes. “I know I cause trouble for everyone and make you have to come into the principal’s office on my behalf. I’m an idiot and a troublemaker, okay? I get it. The least you could’ve done is say it to my face rather than hiding this from me.”

“Luz, that’s enough!” said Camila, raising her voice. “I am not hiding anything from you. We can talk about this later when you’re calmer. You’re upset and not thinking clearly-”

“I have every right to be upset! But you know what, fine! I don’t want to talk to you anyway! I’m done!” Luz turned and stormed out of the room with the brochure still in her hand. She didn’t look back to see if her mother was more angry or hurt at her sudden outburst, but frankly, she didn’t care. She couldn’t deal with this right now, and if her mother was going to ground her later for this, then so be it. She marched up the stairs, each step loudly echoing. Once she made it to the top, she stomped her way down the hall, passing Camila’s bedroom and entering her own. She slammed the door behind her, making the character figurines on her nearby shelf jitter.

Once in her room, Luz began to hyperventilate. After a few painful breaths, she crumbled up the brochure and hurled it at the wall, nearly hitting her The Good Witch Azura poster. She ran her hands up and down her beanie, clinging to the fabric and nearly pulling threads loose with her grip. She sat on her bed, letting the tears run down her face as she tried and failed to slow her breathing. Her breaths got louder, her panicked voice echoing through them. After what felt like an eternity of suffocating, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Only two minutes had passed. Yelping in frustration and panic, she got back to her feet and sat her backpack down. She stumbled through her dark room, making her way to the closet. She grabbed a handful of clothes without checking to see if anything matched and stuffed them into her bag. She then grabbed her phone charger, yanking it from the outlet next to her bed and burying it into her backpack’s front pocket. Finally, she grabbed a bright, ruby-red baseball bat next to her desk and shoved it into the water bottle pouch of her backpack. 

She undid the latch to her window, which hung over the roof of her garage. She crawled through the opening, ignoring the sensation of her palms scraping against the roof. She took one last look back into her room, briefly considering if she was taking this too far. However, she thought about the brochure, and every anxiety-inducing conversation she had that day raced through her mind. The demon on her shoulder was making a tempting argument, and it didn’t take much for her to give in. She slammed the window shut and took her backpack out into the woods behind her house as the sun was starting to set.

Only small patches of light crept through the thick blanket of trees. It made the air around Luz grow much darker and colder than the subdivision behind her. The safety of her neighborhood shrunk with each step, and Luz didn’t even give it a second look back as it disappeared from her grasp. She was too lost in her head to take in her surroundings. The woods echoed with the sounds of chirping birds and autumn leaves crunching beneath Luz’s feet. She leaped over a fallen tree branch before finally stopping at one of the many tree trunks towering over her. 

She sighed, wiping away the tears staining her eyes. What was she doing? She had no idea where she was going. What exactly was her plan? Get lost in the woods and live off of nature? If she was going to run away from home, the least she could’ve done was go into town where there were warm public buildings, electricity, and indoor plumbing. I’ll just head back the other way, avoid my house, and then head to town, she thought. It’ll be fine.

As she turned around, however, her body began to grow weary. She had exhausted herself, more notably from her emotional state than from how much she walked. Feeling a subtle yawn overcome her, she collapsed against the tree she had been standing by, wrapping her arms around her knees. She wouldn’t dare fall asleep in the middle of the woods this close to nighttime, but surely she could just rest for five minutes before departing, right?

This is what she thought before briefly closing her eyes and opening them again, the woods around her suddenly much darker. Her head ached from the uncomfortable position, and she felt incredibly groggy. Despite her drowsiness, her heart pounded at the realization that she had fallen asleep. How long was she out for? Moments later, she noticed the peculiar sound next to her; most likely an animal rummaging through her backpack. Unfortunately, her bat was also in that backpack, so she didn’t have a weapon in hand to defend herself.

Cautiously, she got to her feet, brushing the dirt off of her and preparing to see whatever creature was looking through her belongings. She couldn’t quite make it out in the dark, but it seemed like a rather small creature; most likely a squirrel, or maybe a raccoon. She got out her phone, turning on the flash and shining it on her bag. Suddenly, a little owl popped its head out. Luz let out a sigh of relief, and her heart began to flutter. “Aww, little baby!” she cooed. “You scared me for a minute there.”

The owl, staring her dead in the eyes, responded by pulling something out of the bag with its beak- The Good Witch Azura: Volume 5 , which she had brought with her to school that day. Luz’s eyes widened as the owl suddenly bolted, carrying the book with the impressive grip of its feet. “Wait, wait, that’s mine!” Luz shouted, scrambling to grab her backpack and chase after it. “Get back here, little rascal!”

Luz sprinted through the forest, nearly tripping over tree roots more than once. She stumbled her way over to the owl, slowly gaining on it. Once she came close enough to reach it, it zipped around a nearby tree. Grunting in frustration, Luz tailed it. As she darted around the tree blocking her path, she suddenly halted when she realized she wasn’t alone. The owl hovered above a strange figure in a robe, handing them the book. Luz hid behind the tree, watching the two beings interact. "Good job, Owlbert," the taller figure said- their voice sounded old and feminine. “I bet this will sell for a lot at the night market."

Luz knew that there were so many red flags about the situation. As much as she desperately wanted her book back, she wasn’t going to risk her life dealing with this strange person. Perhaps she should turn back while she still can. As she took her first step, she suddenly felt a tickle in her nose. Oh no. Why now of all times? She felt her lungs rise as she prepared to sneeze… but it never came. She slowly let out the breath she had been holding and began to take her next step, only to snap a twig and suddenly lose her balance. She yelped as she fell and caught herself with her hands, sending pain through her palms and getting a nice taste of the dirt as her face hit the ground.

She hadn’t been noticed, had she? She carefully got back to her feet and turned around. As if on cue, the figure stood right before her, staring her in the face. Of course , Luz thought, gulping down a huge heap of spit and dirt caught in her mouth. Now that she got a good look at them, she saw that their robes were a blood-orange color, complimenting the red fabric of the mask covering their face. Their skin tone was paler than the moon, and their eyes shone a peculiar hue of gold.

Without warning, Luz grabbed her bat and gripped it tightly with both hands. “Stay back!” she said. “I just want my book back, I don’t want any trouble.”

Luz saw the mysterious person’s eyes squint in amusement. “Yeah, right kid. That thing will get me some good money. Why don’t you just scurry back home?”

The figure was rude and uninviting, but considering they didn’t have a weapon in hand and was letting her go, they likely weren’t particularly dangerous. Luz felt a surge of confidence. She decided to take a bold swing of her bat to startle her before grabbing her by the waist. She felt a breath of pride escape her lungs, but it was immediately snuffed out as the figure spun around her, breaking free of Luz’s grasp and returning with an attack of her own. They grabbed Luz by both wrists, pulling them behind her back and causing her to yelp in pain. They secured both of Luz’s wrists in one hand as they moved the other to clench a staff around her neck. The end of the staff, Luz noted, was carved to look like the same owl that had stolen her book.

“You want to try that again, you little punk?” They said. “I didn’t provoke you, so that wasn’t exactly a nice gesture.”

Luz closed her eyes in fear. She felt as if her arm was going to snap right off of her body. “Please don’t kill me. Or kidnap me. Or r-”

“Woah woah woah, why the hell would I do any of that? Damn, you’re morbid.” The figure loosened their grip slightly.

“You’re literally holding me hostage!” Luz retorted.

“Because you tried to assault me!”

Panicking, Luz used the opportunity to break free of their grasp. She kicked them away as she reached for her bat before swinging around and delivering a heavy blow against their side. They audibly yelped from the impact, sending them stumbling back before falling. As their butt hit the ground, the hood covering their head revealed a thick heap of shaggy silver hair, just barely failing to cover their noticeably pointed ears.

Luz raised her bat, but slowly felt her arms drop it as she stared upon the being she had just unmasked. “What… the.. Hell?” she loudly whispered. “Wh- what are you?”

The being cracked her back, audibly groaning. “You knock me on my ass and give me a nice whack to my ribcage before finally asking that? Titan, I knew some humans were weird, but wow.”

“Humans… so you’re not human.”

“Of course I’m not human, ya ding-dong,” the figure scolded. “I’m a witch.”

Luz had a hard time believing it, though a small part of her desperately wanted to. A real-life witch in front of her? It was just like some of her favorite fantasy stories. After having a meltdown and getting herself lost in the woods, this kind of excitement is more than she could’ve hoped for. Trying to calm herself, Luz returned to her interrogation. “Do you have a name, oh mysterious witch?”

“What’s it to you?” she squinted. “And knock off that ‘oh mysterious one’ crap. I hate how much humans idolize us like otherworldly eldritch beings.”

“Sorry, sorry! I’m genuinely not trying to cause harm, I just got really scared, being attacked by a strange person in the woods and all.

“Last I checked, human, you were the one who attacked me first.”

“Right, I- ugh, I’m so sorry, I was being stupid.” Luz sighed.

The witch let out a sigh as well. “It’s alright. You’re young and stupid, but you’re not dangerous. You’re practically whimpering like a hellhound.” Luz blushed, feeling embarrassed yet intrigued by that description. The witch got to her feet, looking at Luz with a crooked, smug grin. “The name’s Eda. Sorry about stealing your book, by the way. If it means that much to you, I guess I can part with it. I was just looking for human junk to sell back in my own realm.” Eda let go of her staff, and the owl carving at the end suddenly sprung to life, the stick shoved into its behind quickly vanishing into thin air. It flew into Eda’s robes, quickly retrieving the book it stole and dropping it into Eda’s hands. 

Eda promptly handed the book back to Luz. “You better head back now,” She said, speaking much more gently this time. “It’s way past sunset by now.”

Luz shifted her feet from side to side as she took the book back. “Thanks, but… I don’t exactly have anywhere to go.”

Eda gave her a sympathetic look. Then, she sat down against the nearest tree, patting the ground next to her. “What’s your name?”

Luz thought for a moment. “Luz. Luz Noceda.”

“Come, Luz, sit. If you’re comfortable with it, at least.”

Hesitantly, Luz sat beside Eda, keeping a reasonable distance in case she tried anything funny. She still wasn’t sure whether or not to trust her, but a large part of her was very intrigued by her. 

Eda gave a gentle smile. “Trouble at home, I presume? Issue with your family or something?”

“You could say that,” Luz said shyly. “It’s just me and my mom, and I love her, but she has a hard time understanding me. And I feel like I’m always a burden to her. And, well… earlier things got a little heated between us, and I may have kind of sort of- ran from home.” She tapped her fingers together. “If I went back, I don’t know if she’d be so pissed that she’d ground me into oblivion or so worried that she’d suffocate me in a hug. But I’m really scared to go back now. After everything I just did… God, she must hate me by now.”

“I understand,” said Eda. “I’ve come across my fair share of human realm families. Some are toxic as hell. Your situation doesn’t sound nearly as bad, but- I know what it’s like to want to run away and never turn back.”

“You do?” Luz perked up. She secretly hoped she’d learn more by showing interest. Eda must’ve had a juicy backstory that she was keeping hidden. “Do you have a mysterious witch past you’re not telling me about?”

Eda rolled her eyes jokingly. “Yep, I do. I’m not about to tell a stranger I just met though,” she chuckled. Luz whimpered in disappointment, prompting another chuckle from Eda. “Tell you what though. Considering what some humans apparently do to girls in the woods- according to what you thought I was gonna do, anyway- I don’t feel comfortable just leaving you out here all by yourself. Why don’t you come back with me to my realm?”

“Really? I mean, my mom always warned me about going places with strangers, but-”

As Luz was beginning to ramble, she saw Eda pull a mysterious wooden key out of her pocket. It had a very old fashioned design with a shining glass eye pattern filling the hole in the center of its head. She clicked the eye, and in seconds, a suitcase flew out from behind her, folding out to resemble a wooden door with a matching eye symbol at the top of it. It swung open, revealing a blindingly majestic light inside.

Luz’s jaw dropped as she gazed into its warm light. “Please take me to your magical fantasy world,” Luz whispered, nearly losing her breath.

“But what was that you were saying about following strangers?” Eda said, amused at Luz’s dumbstruck expression.

“Pfft, I’m sure it’s fine,” said Luz, flicking her wrist. “I mean, it’s not that big of a deal. Come on! Show me where you live, please please please please please!”

Eda snorted. “Alright, kid. Just warning you though, the demon realm can be a little…” she audibly cringed, tilting her hand from side to side. Owlbert reverted into a staff as Eda grabbed him and headed into the door’s light. Squealing in excitement, Luz followed behind her.

Chapter Text

Luz felt herself lost in a trance as she stepped through the light. Hues of orange, brown, and white cloaked her, calming and disorienting her. The sounds of the Connecticut forest were drowned out and soon replaced with sounds much more foreign to her- unfamiliar growls and squawks through a breeze that felt and sounded just slightly off, like it was not of her world.

When she opened her eyes again, she stumbled forward, nearly tripping before Eda caught her. She rubbed her eyes, taking in her surroundings. Like the biome she had just left behind, the place she was now was surrounded by a thick forest with massive trees towering over her. However, the tree trunks were a captivating purple, and the grass beneath her feet was coated with shades of red and orange. Upon closer inspection of the trees around her, she noticed the lines in the bark formed mysterious shapes and patterns, almost like eyes. She almost felt as if the trees were alive, staring directly into her. The violet-red leaves beneath her feet had a subtle glow to them, illuminating the dark of dusk.

As she gazed into the sky, she found that the sunset was a bloodier shade of orange than she was used to, leaving a passionate hue of red glowing in a sky that was turning into various shades of blue and purple. Stars, comets, and even galaxies appeared in the atmosphere, making her feel as if she was lost in deep space.

“Is it everything you hoped it would be?” said Eda, making Luz jump from her trance of culture shock. She wore an amused smile, which she hadn’t gotten rid of since she first summoned the portal door. “This is The Boiling Isles, one of many islands here in the Demon Realm. Come. My home isn’t far from here.”

Luz followed Eda like a giddy little child, still wondering if she was just dreaming. She did fall asleep in the woods, after all. However, as she pinched herself, she found that she was, in fact, still awake. She was practically glued to Eda’s back as she kept taking in her surroundings. Strange bird creatures with black feathers and pale, human-like faces filled the tree tops. They giggled like little devils, gazing upon Luz and Eda like they were prey.

“Owl beastlets,” said Eda. “Don’t worry, they look like they want to eat you, but they’re harmless. It’s the Hell-Harpies you want to worry about.

“Hell-Harpies?” Luz questioned, raising a brow. As if to answer her question, she heard a blood-curdling scream pierce through the wind, echoing throughout the forest with a deafeningly loud reverb.

“Ugh, I do not want to be dealing with one of those things right now,” Eda groaned. “Come on, before it sniffs us out.”

Luz gulped as she hurried forward to catch up with Eda.

As they made their way through the forest, Luz kept taking in each oddity. Ponds of steaming water and sometimes thick vats of blood and bones littered the forest. Spiders and insects the size of Luz’s foot scurried by her. And as the air grew darker, Luz couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched. Whenever she gazed into the dark shadows of the woods, the subtle shape of black, inky eyes were always watching her. “You know,” said Luz, “When you said you were from another realm, I was expecting something more Lord of the Rings-esque . You know, green like my own world and with the same kind of animals, but vaguely medieval and with more hot elves and cute little halflings living in the woods.”

“What, you think all worlds are supposed to mimic the human realm or its fictional ideas about other worlds? It’s a good thing I keep this place under wraps as much as I can because I’m sure if more humans saw this place, they’d freak, start a riot, and burn things to the ground with how different it is.”

“That… does sound like humans, now that you mention it.”

Eda snorted. “Yeah? What, do they burn and hang people they think are witches, too?” She laughed loudly before realizing Luz wasn’t laughing as well. Her smile began to fade. “Don’t tell me…”

“Anyway, how much farther until we get to your place?” Luz quickly interrupted.

“About another 2 minutes from here by foot.”

“How come you don’t just teleport right to your house? Does the door always spawn in that particular spot in the woods?”

“No, I can use it wherever, but I like to make sure I’m not being followed first. Bright, magic door tends to attract a lot of attention if anyone happens to be nearby. I like my life of solitude and privacy, and I don’t need anyone finding my little hideout in the woods uninvited.”

As they stepped closer to their destination, they heard another ear-piercing shriek through the air. This one was much louder than before, causing Luz’s muscles to tremble. She nearly broke down from the overstimulation, but Eda managed to interrupt her by tackling her and whisper-shouting, “Get down!”

Luz and Eda clung to the ground as they heard something soar through the wind above them. It sounded like wings flapping but with each flap giving a sensation similar to hearing nails on a chalkboard. Luz shivered and tried to plug her ears as she pulled her beanie over them. Her jacket flapped violently against her body as she was swept in a strong wind. With the help of Eda’s grasp, she clung to the ground, trying not to be swept away.

Luz’s head slowly came back up to look upon the perpetrator, her eyes blinking away the painful dust being swept into them. Through her watered eyes, she gazed upon a massive creature with the looming presence of a mountain.  Its patchy crimson feathers decorated its ash-colored skin, and its eyes bled with the heat of flames lighting them. Its fangs extended from its mouth to its chin, and it stuck its long, reptilian tongue out as if to provoke her.

With a flap of its incredible wings, it drew closer, and that was the moment Eda sprung to her feet. She cast a wave of light with her owl staff, shoving it several feet back with the impact. She thrust the staff between her legs, suddenly taking flight on it like a broomstick and darting around the creature in circles. Furious, the creature spat fire, attempting to catch her in the heat. It just barely missed Eda, singing the tip of her robes.

Grinning, Eda flew in toward its face before leaping off her staff and bringing it back into her hands for an attack. She summoned a silver circle, shooting a wave of ice and frost through it with the staff. Owlbert’s eyes glowed with an eerie gold light as the creature squealed from the bombardment of magic.

Angry, the beast swiped its claws, knocking Eda to the ground. Just before she could face-plant into the dirt, she caught herself with her staff, briefly hovering before setting her feet to the ground and getting ready to cast another spell. She slammed her staff to the ground, several green spell circles popping around the monster. Brown, thorny vines shot from every direction, wrapping the beast with a suffocating embrace and quickly restraining it. It fell to the ground, violently thrashing against Eda’s trap.

“Come on, kid, we gotta move!” Eda called to Luz. Luz didn’t hesitate for even a moment before springing up to her feet and sprinting for Eda’s position. She huffed and wheezed as she tried to match her speed, not looking back. They ran for a minute straight before finally stopping to catch their breath, making sure the monster was out of sight and had lost their scent.

“Phew, what did I tell you?” Eda huffed, trying to catch her breath. “Hell-Harpies do not mess around.”

“Not gonna lie,” said Luz, her lungs stinging from her intense breathing, “that was… the most exciting thing… that’s ever happened to me!” She let out a huge sigh, trying not to pass out from talking through her heavy breaths.

“You sure are… an interesting one… that’s for sure.” Eda looked through a clearing in the trees, taking in a few more big breaths. “Come on… my house is just behind these trees.”

Luz suddenly forgot about her near-death experience as she was overcome by her excitement to see where this mysterious, daredevil witch set up her home. She followed closely behind, stepping into a yard surrounded by a circle of perfectly aligned trees. Just enough sunlight got through to illuminate the place, giving an extra amount of spotlight to a small house in the center.

The house was constructed with old bricks, their color seemingly faded and lost to time. It was covered in a barrage of violet vines and leaves, elegantly wrapping around each window and loose edge in the architecture. At the center of the second floor sat a beautiful, circular stained glass window modeled to look like a golden green eye. The house’s royal blue roof complimented the ocean-teal wooden door. A path of snapdragons led to the front entrance, contrasting against the color of the door.

As Luz stepped closer, she found one more peculiar detail around the door. In place of a knocker, the head of an owl rested, its feathers swaying in the gentle breeze. After a few seconds, she realized it was snoring. Was this thing alive? Against her better judgment, she reached forward, and she soon found that she would regret that decision.

The owl sprung awake and stared at her down. It spoke in a deep, menacing voice. “Who dares to trespass the house of hoot?” Then, it suddenly coughed and hacked, clearing its throat. Its voice quickly grew much more high-pitched and squeaky, sounding as if Mickey Mouse had been put into a washing machine and spun around several times. “Ah, sorry, got a little something in my throat. Anyway, are you a friend or a trespasser? Shall I put you through the test of hooternal torment?”

The owl head suddenly sprung from the door, stretching from a seemingly infinitely long tube of a body. It wrapped around Luz several times like a worm, trapping her in a tight embrace and practically crushing her ribs in the process. “Tell me who you work for and why you’re here!” 

Luz couldn’t move, and she barely coughed as she tried to mutter “help” to Eda.

Eda, however, merely rolled her eyes, unamused. “Hooty, let her go. She’s my guest,” she said.

“Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” Hooty chirped. He spread the rings of his body outwards, freeing Luz, before unwinding back into the door. “You can come right inside, I promise I won’t bite! Unless you decided to eat my supply of bugs. Then we’re gonna have some problems, hoot hoot!”

“Who- or what was that thing?” said Luz, catching her breath for the second time since entering the demon realm.

“That’s Hooty, the house demon,” said Eda. “He can be an absolute pain in the butt sometimes, but eh, he does a good job guarding the place while I’m gone, so I keep him around. You should’ve seen the look on your face,” she snorted. 

Eda reached for the ancient-looking doorknob, clicking it open and revealing the contents inside. “Welcome to The Owl House. This is my little hideaway in the woods for when I wanna sleep or when I just don’t want to deal with people. So, basically most of the day.”

Luz stepped inside after Eda, taking in the sights. She was met with a living room, decorated with 19th-century furniture and several medieval weapons hanging from the wall. Brooms and dustpans floated through the air, attempting to get rid of the very musty smell that had overcome the place. Despite having magic utensils to clean the place for her, Luz could tell Eda hadn’t cleaned the place in a while. Despite that, she was fascinated by the subtle glow of the brooms and the twinkling lights that filled the room like fireflies.

Luz stepped forward, spinning around like a ballerina and soaking in the atmosphere. She then made her way to the nearby Victorian couch, and she stopped in her tracks as she spotted yet another creature sprawled across the entire middle cushion, sleeping like a log. It had black, frizzy fur with the tip of its tail a stark white, as if it had been dipped in paint. It had a helmet of bone shaped around its face, covering its dark eyes but not its mouth, which had two fangs sprung from it. It snored peacefully, leaving Luz cautious but in awe at how peaceful it looked.

“Hold on, I got this,” said Eda, stepping next to Luz. She poked him in the back with the bottom tip of her staff. “King, wake up! We got a guest.”

“Weh!” King squealed, springing up on all fours.

“Oh… my… god…” said Luz, staring at him with sparkling eyes. “¡Ay que lindo! He’s so adorable!”

“I am not adorable!” King shot back, getting up on two feet and stamping the couch cushions beneath him. “Eda, who is this heathen you dare bring into my presence?”

“Oh my god, of course he talks!” Luz exclaimed. “Every fantasy adventure is better with a talking animal sidekick.” King only squealed louder in response to Luz’s shenanigans.

“This is Luz, the human,” Eda chuckled, turning back to King. “I found her on my little excavation in the Human Realm and decided to bring her back here. Kid needed a place to stay for the night. Luz, this is King.” She then whispered into her ear, “He thinks he’s a mighty king of demons who had his godlike powers stolen from him, but I’m not buying it. I like to make fun of him for it, it’s hilarious.”

“You better not be whispering amongst yourselves in my presence,” King groaned before letting out a wide yawn, revealing his purple tongue. “I am a very busy and… very sleepy king, and I demand no… plots against me…” King finally fell back asleep, sitting upright with his butt sunk into the cushion and his two clawed feet sprawled outward.

Luz giggled, cooing over the little demon. Eda, being a little amused herself, patted Luz on the shoulder. “Come on. I’ll show you to your room.”

“Oh!” Luz broke out of her trance. “Do you have a fancy, magical, luxurious guest bedroom for me to stay in?”

Eda did not, in fact, have a fancy, magical, luxurious guest bedroom for Luz to stay in. In fact, she did not have a guest bedroom for Luz to stay in. Instead, she escorted Luz to an old storage room that had way more stuffed boxes and cobwebs than she cared to admit. The only upside was that the room happened to be the one with the giant, eye-shaped stained glass window that enamored Luz upon first seeing The Owl House.

“So… where am I supposed to sleep?” said Luz, suspiciously squinting at dust bunnies on the floor.

“I’m sure I got a sleeping bag in here somewhere… maybe… probably.” She gave Luz a fake grin of confidence before searching through the many boxes scattered across the storage, coughing whenever she got dust in her face. After about half an hour of stumbling over boxes and letting out some of the most vulgar strings of swears Luz had ever heard (which was saying something, considering the high school she went to), Eda finally showcased a crumby old sleeping bag with a look of genuine enthusiasm. “Huh? Huh? See, I told you I had one in here.”

Luz tried to fake a polite smile. “You wouldn’t happen to have a spell for cleaning old sleeping bags, would you?”

Eda scratched her chin. “I have a magic-powered washing machine in the basement. Does that count?”

Luz soon returned to the couch in the living room, petting a sleeping King while Eda washed her sleeping bag. After what seemed like forever, Eda finally showed up, carrying a hefty trash bag around her shoulder. “Alright, Luz, I threw your sleeping bag in the wash. I’ll have to find a blow-up mattress or something later, but I’m sure you can make do with it for one night if you have to. Anyway, I wanted to show you this.” She sat down the trash bag at Luz’s feet, opening it up to reveal a trove of human wares and tossed-out junk.

“You wanted to show me a pile of garbage?” Luz questioned.

“They're human relics!” said Eda, excitedly rubbing her hands together. “This is the kind of stuff I sell at the night market. Since you’re a human, I figured I could have you go through it to make sure it’s, you know, ‘authentic’ and stuff. Not that I need to to get suckers to buy it, but if you can actually verify it for me, I can add that to my sales pitch and jack up the prices.”

“So you want me to do free labor for you?”

“Think of it as a favor. Besides, I’m giving you free room and board, aren’t I?” Eda pulled an old, almost decaying scroll, which was stored in her massive heap of hair. She then pulled out a ballpoint pen with a black feather attached to it. “Now, I made a checklist with some illustrations, titles, and brief descriptions of each item. You can double-check to make sure I didn’t get anything wrong. Sound good? Good. I’ll come check on you in a bit before heading out to the market to set up shop.” Without waiting to hear Luz’s response, Eda handed everything to Luz and turned to walk out of the living room.

Grumbling in defeat, Luz opened up the trash bag and picked out the first item. The first thing she found was a plush doll resembling Yoshi from the Super Mario franchise. Luz squinted at the list, trying to find a corresponding illustration. She found herself having to look over the list multiple times, as Eda’s drawing skills were painfully bad. She was never one to harshly criticize others’ art, considering how much Luz's own beginner’s art made her cringe before she ever became any good, but when she had to use them to reference items in a list, she had a harder time being lenient. 

She finally identified the Yoshi drawing with a figure of a giant, round bulge that she assumed to be its nose. “Elephant Doll - Used as a chew toy for hellhounds,” it read. Luz winced at the idea of a demonic dog-looking creature tearing poor Yoshi into a pile of stuffing. Quickly, she crossed out the word “Elephant” to replace it with “Yoshi” and clarified that the doll was for humans to sleep with and was not, in fact, designed to be consumed by dogs. Of course, that wouldn’t stop a dog from trying if given the opportunity.

The second item was a pack of cigarettes. Once Luz found the illustration, she read, “Fire stick - lights up when used with a fire spell. Can be used as a weapon against enemies or yourself if you suck on it.” Despite the inaccurate title, Luz had to consider if the description was accurate enough to leave alone. After all, she didn’t want to spend so much time rewriting every single description.

Luz reached into the trash bag for the next item, and she found her palm come up against a peculiar texture. It was incredibly squishy but also somehow grainy. Carefully, Luz pulled it out and stared blankly. It was something with a stem and a very black base, though some parts were white and squishy. It was completely shriveled up, as if it had been sucked dry of all life force. Then, the pieces started to click in Luz’s head, and she let out a horrified scream as she dropped what she realized was a very spoiled banana.

“Is everything okay?” Eda called, scurrying into the living room. “You didn’t get stung by the scorpion, did you?”

“No, no, I just… there’s a scorpion in this bag?” exclaimed Luz.

“Well, assuming it didn’t escape and get into somewhere in the house, yes.” Eda’s eyes then drifted to the shriveled-up banana on the ground. “Aww, what happened to the long, curvy fruit? It looks like it’s seen better days.”

“Eda, how long did you keep it in this trash bag, exactly?”

“A few weeks, maybe? A few months? I don’t know, I lose track.” Eda shrugged.

“Welp, I’m gonna go wash my hands,” Luz shuddered. 

After an hour of painfully scribbling out each incredibly inaccurate description and finding the most bizarre items in Eda’s possession- some of which included a croc (which was hilariously labeled as a severed human foot), men’s deodorant, a fidget spinner, and an autographed print by someone named Dana Terrace- Luz finally completed the revised list of Eda’s human wares. She groaned in exhaustion, leaning against the couch as King hesitantly nudged his skull against her hand.

“Oh, good, did you finish?” asked Eda, walking back in. She held two champagne bottles in her left arm, both of which were filled with a tomato-red liquid. “Alright, lemme double-check the list, and I’ll be good to go.”

“Uh, what do you have there?”

“Oh, these?” said Eda, lifting her arm. “Just some apple blood.”

“You mean apple cider?”

“No,” Eda said with a completely straight face. She walked over to Luz, quickly scanning the list.

“Apple blood isn’t alcoholic, is it?” Luz asked

“And so what if it is? Not like it’s illegal to drink while selling at the night market. Hell, even if it was, I guarantee you 90% of the people who shop there would not care. Anyway, the list looks good- thanks for your help, by the way. Imma head on before it gets too crowded. It’s already dark out right now.”

As Eda picked up the trash bag and headed for the door, King stretched his arms and yawned. “Guess we’re sharing the house for the night,” he said. “No matter what she says, I’m in charge. No one is above the king of demons.”

Luz looked one more time at the bottles of apple blood in Eda’s arms. “Actually, I better go with her. Gotta make sure she stays out of trouble.” She then ran behind her, calling, “Hey, Eda, wait up!”

“Haha! Yes, King gets the house to himself,” said King.

“No, you don’t. Remember to feed Hooty,” said Eda, closing the door behind her and Luz.

“Weh?” King muttered.

In moments, Hooty suddenly sprung into the living room, his worm-like body extending from the window, and inched his face next to King’s. “Go get my supply of bugs or else!” Hooty spoke in his terrifyingly deep voice. He coughed and hacked. “Agh, what is up with my voice today?”

—

Eda and Luz strolled through another route in the woods before eventually exiting and walking along a dirt road running along the coastline of the island. They walked downhill, and Luz noticed a port town gleaming in the distance. It shone with the twinkle of several orange and pink lights dancing around it like fireflies, and the entrance was lit with two green flames decorating the pedestals standing at the gates. Several bones jutted out from the center of town, towering over most of the buildings.

“Is that where we’re headed?” Luz asked.

“Yep! Oh, I can’t wait to see your reaction to Bonesborough. It is a wild town.”

Sure enough, when Eda and Luz stepped through the front gate, Luz was greeted by an unexpected sight. A massive wave of demons walked through the streets, each with their own strange looks and patterns- a giant caterpillar with a human face carrying a briefcase in its mouth, a horned creature trying to put out a fire that had caught on its fairy-like wings, likely from its flaming tail, two buff, hairy demons attacking each other with medieval weaponry, the list went on. Luz looked in one corner and saw a creature in the street getting mugged by a witch. Strangely enough, the creature seemed to be enjoying it, not putting up a struggle but instead looking incredibly relaxed. Luz didn’t even want to ask. She quickly turned her gaze to a fountain spewing blood. A small child with red skin, no eyes, and a snout of enormous sharp teeth dipped its entire head into it.

“Braxus! How many times do I have to tell you, no drinking from the fountain of lamb blood! Who knows how many witches and demons have touched it with their hands and gotten their germs in it?” The child’s father, a much bigger and more muscular version of him with purple skin, picked him out of the fountain and carried him away.

“Soooo, what do you think?” Eda said to Luz, raising an eyebrow.

“Honestly, this place is so cool!” said Luz. “Except for the demon who seems to enjoy getting mugged- that's weird. But the aesthetic of this place! It kinda reminds me of Death City from Soul Eater .”

“Huh,” said Eda. “Putting aside your human references I don’t understand, I was expecting a little more… freaking out. You’re one strange human, you know that?” Eda punched Luz’s arm playfully. “I think I’m gonna like having you around.”

As Luz and Eda made it deeper into town, they found a strip of shops that greeted them with a sign that read,

Night Market

Not Officially Endorsed by The Emperor’s Coven

“Emperor’s Coven? What’s that?” Luz asked.

“Eh, just a cult that likes to impose itself on everyone living on this island,” said Eda. “Don’t worry about them. C’mon, it’s getting stupid crowded.” She led Luz through the dark alleyway of shops before them. Luz grew slightly uncomfortable as vendors at various stalls kept approaching her in attempts to con her into buying their wares. 

“Come get your love potions! You there, little girl, is there a special someone you have the hots for? I assure you, these love potions will do the trick!”

“Get your Not-Dogs! Ingredients found fresh from the Bonesborough Sewers!”

“Ancient treasure maps! Embark on a quest of your wildest dreams and unearth treasures guarded by legendary dragons!”

“Oh, Eda, can we stop at that last stall?” Luz asked, tugging on her robes.

“Save it, Luz. Those things are always scams,” said Eda. Luz whined in disappointment.

After a seemingly endless and increasingly dangerous walk through the alleyway, Eda found an empty spot to set up shop. She traced a bronze circle in the air, allowing for a wave of spare scrap wooden boards on the ground to reassemble into a decently put-together stall. She then directed the spell circle to her trash bag, making all the items empty out and organize themselves neatly onto shelves, with a few wares being displayed at the front booth.

Eda stepped behind the booth, immediately uncorking her first bottle of apple blood and taking a quick swig. After she wiped her mouth, she began to say, “Come one, come all, to the greatest haul of all! You there, young witches! How would you like to be the first to take a look at my human wares, now actually verified by a real human!” Eda snapped her fingers, magically shining a literal spotlight onto Luz as she waved awkwardly.

Quickly, curious young witches began to flood the stand. Smirking, Luz whispered in Eda’s ear. “Show them the TV first. That’ll really wow them!”

“Oh, you mean the human box that reflects sadness?” Eda whispered back.

“No! It’s- just let me handle this, alright?” Luz cleared her throat. “How would you like to gaze into a screen that can show you other worlds dreamt up by the human imagination? Watch fantasy brought to life with an authentic human realm television!” Luz grabbed a nearby video tape and popped it into a CRT TV displayed on the front table. She pressed play, and the screen displayed an old anime with Japanese audio and English subtitles.

Witches and demons across the strip caught a glimpse of the TV and were drawn into a trance, walking over to see what the strange device was all about.

“What language are they speaking?” one witch asked. “It doesn’t sound like Witch Tongue or any demon dialect I know.”

“That, my friend, is Japanese, a language from the human island nation known as… Japan.”

The audience members turned to each other, scratching their heads in confusion. Eda brought her lips to Luz’s ear, whispering, “You gotta pander. Hype up the place a little bit. Lie about it if you need to.”

Luz gulped, nervous sweat dripping down the back of her neck. “Uh, Japan is a mystical, far-off land where humans ride giant mechs, can turn into living weapons, and can become godlike beings by screaming very loudly!”

The crowd suddenly started nodding in agreement and showing a huge spark of interest in this mysterious land called Japan. Amongst the crowd, one red-snouted demon shouted, “Can I eat the tiny people inside the TV?”

“Why yes, you can!” Eda chimed in, stepping in front of an annoyed Luz. “But only if you pay me the fair price of a thousand snails. And the people don’t become edible until it’s displayed safely inside your own home. Also, no refunds upon purchase!”

“That sounds like a steal! I’ll take it!” The demon shoved their way to the front of the crowd, handing an excited Eda a sack full of coins and effortlessly lifting the TV with one hand. The rest of the crowd whined in disappointment, but Eda was quick to assure them that she had plenty of other human wares that would capture their interest.

After a couple of hours of selling, the crowd started to die down. Eda kicked back in a chair she found, opened her second bottle of apple blood, and began to take a gulp. Her pale cheeks flushed a red so vibrant that Luz swore they were gonna bleed out. Eda let out a loud burp before looking at Luz. “Hey, Luz, the crowd is dying down. Why don’t you go around the corner and see if you can rally up some more suckers into checking out my stand? We’ve had a lot of success thanks to you, and I wanna keep this momentum going!”

“You got it, boss!” exclaimed Luz, saluting her with a smile. She made her way down the alley and around the corner, seeing where she could draw attention to herself. Several demons shoved into her, not even stopping to apologize. She stuck her tongue out at them before scurrying the other way. As she walked by, she accidentally bumped into a set of strange beings in white robes decorated with gold stitching and black masks shaped like the ones plague doctors used. Luz didn’t know why, but she felt a very menacing presence from them, making her heart pound and her legs quiver uncontrollably. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” she said, her face flushing with embarrassment.

“It’s quite alright,” one of them spoke. “Say, we’re looking for a dangerous Wild Witch who supposedly was setting shop up here tonight. She’s at the top of our wanted lists. Do you know anything about this?”

Luz shrugged. “Can’t say I know who you’re talking about. Can you describe this witch for me?”

“Her name is Eda Clawthorne, or ‘The Owl Lady’ as the coven has nicknamed her. She has silver hair and is usually seen wearing ragged red robes whenever we spot her in town.”

Luz’s heart jumped out of her chest. She felt a cold sweat break over her entire body. “No, I- I don’t think I’ve seen her around,” she croaked, trying to fake a polite smile.

“Well, let us know if you see anything. It is for the safety of the public and the will of the Titan. Take care.” The guards waved goodbye as they blended back into the crowd, but Luz merely froze in place.

There’s no way Eda is a wanted criminal, right? They could have meant a different Eda. Yeah! Luz didn’t even know Eda’s last name, so how could she be sure this ‘Eda Clawthorne’ character was the same person? It had to just be a coincidence.

Luz then drew her attention to a wanted poster that she noticed plastered onto the nearby wall. She grew closer to it, reading its contents.

Eda Clawthorne

Wanted for Wild Witchery

Reward - 10,000 snails

Luz gazed at the enormous illustration accompanying the text. It was a simplified, Art Deco style drawing of what appeared to be Eda, except with an exaggeratedly evil-looking grin and pitch black eye sockets with no life put into them. Despite the propaganda techniques being used, there was no mistaking it. This was the Eda that Luz had gotten to know today. Of course, the one time she didn’t listen to her mom’s “stranger danger” advice, this is the person she ended up befriending.

But surely, this was just a misunderstanding, right? Luz decided to go find Eda, running back through the alleyway as fast as she could. She stopped to catch her breath just as she reached Eda’s stall. “Eda!” she gasped. “Question, what exactly is a Wild Witch, and why is it illegal to be one?”

Eda, finishing another gulp of apple blood, stared at Luz directly in the eyes. “Why doo you asksh?” she said with a hiccup. “Ack, pleash don’t tell me da Emperor’sh Coven ish shoving deir propaganda on you. I’m sho shick of those guys boshin' us around!” She hiccuped again, then lightly burped.

“Okay, you are way too drunk to be answering my questions right now,” Luz whispered to herself.

“Never mind dat!” said Eda. “Where are da cushtomers? You promised me you’d get me more! Where are dey?”

“I’m, uh-”

“Eda the Owl Lady!” a guard shouted from afar. They stormed up to the stand, holding a picture of her wanted poster. “You are under arrest for wild witchery and drinking while operating a stand.”

“You said that wasn’t illegal!” Luz whisper-screamed.

“It washn’t!” Eda complained. “Must be shome new law they introduced. Whatever.” She turned to the guard. “Listen here, you- uh, shtupid coven shcout! The Emperor’s been chashing me for ofer 30 yearsh by now, and y’all ain't gonna catch me today. Think fast!” She grabbed her staff and swung it at the guard, smacking them in the face and knocking them on their back. “Luz, come on! We’re getting out of here.”

“But-”

“Now!”

Luz briefly debated her options. She wasn’t sure whether to trust Eda, but like it or not, she was her only way back to the human realm when and if Luz was ready to go back. Reluctantly, she seated herself on the tail end of Eda’s staff. Eda, letting out a rebellious howl, kicked her feet in the air as her staff shot into the sky.

“There she is!” Two coven scouts stood upon the gates of the city, holding spell circles over their hands and shooting projectiles of fire and ice. Eda whipped around each one violently, giving little thought to her passenger as Luz desperately clung to the staff. Eda flew nearly upside down, causing Luz to yelp and scream as her legs dangled in the air.

“Eda! Are you trying to get me killed?”

“Hang in there, Luz, I’ll get ush out of dis!” Eda called, flipping her staff back over and just barely missing another attack from a nearby scout. She shot forward, attempting to fly above the city walls. Unfortunately, she just barely miscalculated, slamming directly into the wall just below the top and sending her and Luz plummeting into the nearest district.

Before they could meet the ground, Eda shot out a bronze spell circle to move a nearby cart of strange, demonic-looking fish to catch their fall. They landed safely inside, splattering fish guts everywhere and staining their clothes with what remained. Luz gagged as she pulled a fish with piranha-like teeth off of her jacket while Eda yanked several out of her hair.

“Okay, maybe it’s best I don’t trust you to fly me on your staff,” Luz complained.

“In my defensh, I am a wee bit drunk right now,” said Eda.

“That… kinda makes it worse, Eda. What are those guards even after you for anyway? What’s a wild witch? How can I even know whether or not to trust you at this point?”

Eda paused for a moment, and Luz couldn’t read if her expression seemed upset, confused, or just in a drunken daze. Finally, Eda said, “Luz, listen- I may be on the coven’s hitlist but… ugh, I never wanted to involve you in thish-”

“Hands up, Owl Lady! You too, human! You’ll be coming with us for associating with a Wild Witch.”

“What?” Luz shouted. “That’s not cool, I just met her today!”

Eda stepped in front, shielding Luz with one arm and charging up a spell on her staff in the other. “Luz, run. Thish ish my fight.” Luz froze, looking at Eda with pleading eyes. She hesitated until Eda shouted, “Go!” Without stopping to think, Luz scampered like a dog with its tail between its legs, running through the nearest residential districts.

“Don’t let the human escape,” said one of the coven scouts. “Alert the other guards!”

Eda scowled. “If you lay even a finger on her, sho help me, I’m going to make you wish you were drowning in the boiling shea to put yourshelf out of your mishery.”

Luz, meanwhile, scurried through the next street, stumbling into trash cans and cursing under her breath. Just when she thought she lost the scouts, another cornered her from the next street she came across. She turned back, scampering frantically. She quickly turned to stick her tongue out at him, which she soon regretted as she tripped and scraped her knee. 

She winced at the stinging sensation of her bleeding knee as the coven scout closed in on her. He traced a spell circle, and Luz forced herself on her knees and crawled rapidly between his legs like a spider desperately escaping an angry resident. She blinked back tears as her knee continuously touched the pavement, but she gritted through it long enough to get back to her feet and run back the other way.

Just as she got a few steps away, she felt the impact of something in her back, wrapping around her torso like a rope. As her arms were restrained, she flipped over, landing on her back and sliding slightly across the pavement. She snarled and thrashed about, trying to break free, but it wasn’t long before she suddenly began to grow drowsy. The last thing she remembered was the guard holding a bottle of an orange potion with some mysterious plant floating at the top, emitting a powerful odor that made her grow sleepier by the second until her vision went black.

Chapter Text

Three coven scouts stood in Eda’s way, blocking her escape route. If she turned back the other way, she’d be drawing them closer to Luz. And if she tried flying above them, they’d surely cast a magic rope on her to restrain her. She needed to sweep them off their feet and use the window of opportunity to escape. How to do that, though, was something she did not have the time to think through.

As the scouts closed in on her, she remembered one of her old mottos that had kept her alive this long: The best defense is a good offense . Without thinking, she sprang forward with her staff charged up. All three guards cast spells in her direction, but unfortunately for them, they didn’t account for Eda’s drunkenness. Eda tripped and stumbled, falling out of the trajectory of the guards’ perfectly straight attacks. As she nearly hit the ground, she swept them by the legs and tripped each of them. 

She got to her feet, attempting to flee, but stopped as a dazed coven guard grabbed her by the foot. Before they could activate another spell, Eda traced a faster spell circle with her staff, summoning a few vines to restrain both of their arms. Their hand opened up, freeing Eda and allowing her to bolt.

Once Eda made it to the end of the street, trying not to trip and fall along the way, two more coven scouts came in and blocked her. They shot fire and ice spells, forcing Eda to block quickly with a spell of her own. With the flick of her staff and summoning of a bronze spell circle, she reformed the bricks in the pavement to create a barrier between the guards’ spells and herself. She put her staff between her legs, quickly flying over them before stumbling back to the ground several feet ahead.

At this rate, she knew flying wouldn’t be a safe or reliable option for her. Instead, she opted to run, occasionally using her staff to leap over crowds and bypass the traffic of citizens and guards. Each time she landed, she stumbled and had to use her staff to stay afloat. 

As she made it through one inner-city gate, two more guards surrounded her with spell circles, ready to shoot. Quickly, she summoned a barrage of vines and bricks from the pavement to push them out of the way before continuing her sprint to the outer city gate. She passed the fountain of lamb blood, shoving a nearby coven scout into it in her state of drunken stumbling before continuing her sprint for the city entrance.

Several more guards waited for her at the gate. Great, just what I should’ve expected, Eda thought. She didn’t hesitate to summon a wall of fireballs and icicles, launching them towards her enemies and creating a chaotic firefight between her spells and their counter spells. She miraculously dodged each spell coming her way, largely due to her very poor coordination clashing with their overly perfect aim. It didn’t take long before each guard was knocked to the ground, their uniforms either burnt or impaled with icicles.

Just as Eda made it to the entrance, she turned around and froze. A coven scout was carrying a familiar human over his shoulder, tied up in a magic rope restraint. Luz had been captured, all because Eda let her run on her own. Scowling, she readied her staff, charging it up with a spell. Then, something made her stop.

She felt her neck itch. When she scratched it, she noticed black feathers springing from her wrists. Her eyes widened with panic. She quickly grabbed at her robes, pulling the top outward and glancing at a golden gem hanging around her chest like a necklace. The glow was fading, being overtaken by an inky black. “Dammit. Why now of all times?” she whispered to herself. She couldn’t rescue Luz like this. She was still drunk, and the color in her gem fading was not a good sign. She could hurt Luz if she tried to fight back now.

Reluctantly, Eda turned around, mounting her staff and taking off towards the woods outside of Bonesborough.

—

Luz squinted her eyes open before drearily letting them shut again. She was conscious, but she still felt the sweet sensation of sleep trying to overtake her. Despite her exhaustion, she felt very uncomfortable as cold, hard concrete rested against the back of her head. Her hands were also pulled behind her back, cuffed together. After fighting with her drowsiness for a few more moments, she managed to let her eyes crawl open.

The first thing she saw was a harsh fluorescent light, making her squint and want to shut her eyes again. The buzzing of it was so loud and obnoxious, making it hard to focus on her surroundings. Once she remembered that she was in the Demon Realm, she lamented the fact that the sensory issues with some of the lighting systems here weren’t any better than those of the Human Realm. She already missed the twinkling fairy lights and candles of Bonesborough.

Once she managed to let her eyes fully open and bear through the awful, stinging light pouring into her retinas, she noticed the enclosed jail cell keeping her trapped. She began to hyperventilate, and she quickly tried to think of a mantra or breathing technique to keep her from spiraling. She whispered as she rocked back and forth, trying to calm herself from the overstimulation and overwhelming situation she had been thrown into.

Suddenly, a door slammed open, emitting a piercing echo through the room. Luz’s heart jumped out of her chest. She managed to ground herself just as a coven scout approached her cell, an old scroll in hand.

“Name for the record,” said the coven guard.

Luz stared blankly. She still wasn’t entirely in the right headspace to process the question. She couldn’t comprehend the idea that she was in some sort of prison. Even if it was in another realm, she still never pictured herself winding up in a place like this.

“Name, please!” the guard repeated, raising her voice this time.

Luz scowled. “Luz Noceda,” she spat.

“Spell that for me, please.”

“L-U-Z N-O-C-E-D-A.”

The guard scribbled onto the scroll. “Date of birth?”

“March 20th, 2008.”

The guard hesitated. “What?”

“March 20th, 2008,” Luz repeated.

“That’s not any date system I’m familiar with,” said the guard.

“Well, that’s how we write it in the Human Realm. I don’t know what to tell you.”

The guard thought for a moment before writing something down. “I’ll just use the date you gave me and run it by a higher-up later. Just for reference, can you tell me your age?”

“I’m 16,” said Luz.

The guard wrote the last bit of information before reading over something else that had been written prior. “Luz Noceda, are you aware of the charges against you?”

“No, not really. Just that I am associated with a Wild Witch, whatever that means.”

“Correct. You have one charge of associating with the company of Wild Witch Edalyn Clawthorne.”

“But what exactly does that mean?” Luz whined. “What is a Wild Witch, and why are they considered bad?”

The guard, reading over the scroll one more time, promptly ignored her question. Finally, she rolled up the scroll, pocketing it and heading for the door.

“What, you’re not even going to answer me?” Luz shouted. “Why am I in here?” The question fell on deaf ears as the guard shut the door behind her with a loud slam. Scowling, Luz stuck her tongue out and loudly blew a raspberry.

The wait that followed was agonizingly long, which left Luz alone with her thoughts. She kept thinking back to the argument she had with her mother, which made her want to panic and cry even more. Trying to shove those thoughts to the back of her head, she tried to think about if Eda would come to rescue her. Would she? Even if she did, would it be safe to associate with her if she’s supposedly bad enough to be on a watchlist? With each negative thought that passed through her head, Luz whimpered. As she tried to switch topics in her mind, she was distracted by that painfully loud buzzing of fluorescent lights, further increasing her anxiety.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the door clicked open. She stared blankly as a new, unfamiliar figure walked in. It was a man with a long, thick mane of curly blue hair that fluttered around his shoulders. It looked insanely well kept for its texture and length, as if he had spent hours in the mirror fine-tuning the curls. Two mismatched earrings shone from his lobes, one being a diamond-shaped stud and the other being a drop earring that looked like a small mirror. A long, blue lion tail stretched from behind a pair of dark blue bell-bottoms, complimenting his gold and turquoise tunic. The sleeves were decorated with thick patches of fur.

The man smiled, two fangs jutting into his tongue. “Luz Noceda. It is an absolute honor to meet a human here in one of the coven’s prisons, and the one I have been stationed at of all locations.” He walked closer to the prison cell, his eyes emitting an uncanny gleam. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Adrian Graye, head witch of the Illusion Coven.”

—

“Francois, I have heard rumors about you starting your own rebellion. How pleadeth you?” King stared deeply into the button eyes of the pink stuffed bunny resting on the couch. It sat like a log, unresponsive to King’s interrogation. “Playing dumb, are we? Well, since I can’t force any information out of you, I’ll leave you off the hook for now. But I got my eye on you. I would hate to learn that my trusted second-in-command would stab me in the back like this.”

The front door slammed against the wall as it shot open, making Hooty yell, “Ow!” 

King jumped, his fur standing on end as he looked to see who had come in. “Eda, could you not? I’m in the middle of- woah!” His voice squeaked as he saw an Eda covered in black feathers all over the arms and neck. Her hair was practically a pile of garbage, tangled in a mess of twigs and dirt. “What happened to you?”

“Never mind that; get me an elixir, quick!” Eda’s voice was deep and distorted. Without waiting to be yelled at any further, King scrambled to the nearest bathroom. He opened the cabinet and grabbed a yellow-orange substance in a glass bottle with both paws. He hopped back over to the living room, meeting Eda at the couch. She snatched it from his paws, shoving the liquid down her throat. She gagged violently as she reached the last sip, and she let out a bloodcurdling shriek as the feathers receded into her skin. “Ugh, the curse picked a terrible time to spring up right now.” Her voice started returning to normal as she spoke. “Also, I may have crashed three times on the way here because I was drunk-flying.”

“Girl, you gotta stop doing that. And this the second time this week your curse started acting up,” said King.

“Right, and I can’t afford to let it act up at a time like this,” Eda said as she made her way back to the bathroom where King got the elixir. She grabbed a few more bottles, stuffing them in her hair. She then grabbed a few orange potions with plants floating inside each bottle.”

“What are you in a hurry for?” King asked. “And where’s Luz?”

“Oh, no big deal, she just mayyyy have been captured by the Emperor’s Coven,” said Eda, stuffing a few more potions in her hair.

“You didn’t even have her for a day, and you already let her get captured?”

“I don’t wanna hear it, King. The good news is that I’ve been sent to Bonesborough Conformatorium enough times to know how to break in and out. I’d like you to come along, though. Your tiny body could really come in handy.

“My body is not tiny!” King whined. 

Eda then scooped King into her arm while grabbing her staff with the other. “For my purposes tonight, you are tiny. Now come on, we don’t have long before they start interrogating her.”

—

Luz couldn’t pin down what to expect from Adrian. His attire and hair were well-kempt, looking as if he wanted to represent royalty. His sharp, fanged grin intimidated her, even though those fangs looked incredibly cool. And she kept thinking about how he claimed to be honored in the presence of a human. Was there something important about her presence on The Boiling Isles? Was there a reason that she found her way here?

“So you are aware of your charges, I presume?” said Adrian.

“Yeah. Your goon read them for me,” said Luz.

“My, what a tongue you got, calling my employees goons . Though, with how incompetent they can be sometimes, I don’t blame you for wanting to hurl insults at them.” Adrian rolled his eyes. “In any case, I can tell you’re scared, human. But I want to assure you that your charges are rather minor. Associating with a Wild Witch? This very easily could’ve been an instance of wrong place, wrong time. Especially for someone as confused as you. Tell me, how long have you been here in the Demon Realm?”

Luz thought for a moment. These charges could be dropped? Carefully considering her options, she figured she could play Adrian’s game for now in hopes of getting out of trouble. “Earlier tonight, actually.”

“Ah, so you really haven’t had much of a chance to understand how our world works. It’s no wonder you ended up in such bad company so quickly. Do you understand what it means that you were associated with a Wild Witch?”

“No, sir. No one will explain it to me. Even Eda never mentioned the concept until I confronted her, and she seemed to stay silent.”

“Ah, typical of that disgusting savage,” Adrian scoffed. “Do not worry. I have prepared a video about the topic that should hopefully answer your questions.” 

Adrian turned to face the blank wall of the room. He traced a light blue spell circle and tapped it, emitting a puff of smoke from the center. The smoke filled the center of the room, slowly revealing a holographic screen with a video queuing on it.

The music that followed was reminiscent of the kinds of PSA videos Luz would have to sit through in Middle and High School. The audio quality was also surprisingly cheap and old-fashioned for a video conjured by magic. What followed was an overview image of what looked like a castle on top of a plateau, towering over a valley. It was held up by gray bricks and silver columns, decorated with white and gold banners. The image then flashed through video footage of the castle as an enthusiastic voice spoke over it.

“Greetings, and allow me to welcome you on behalf of The Boiling Isles Empire. Our beloved nation is led by our very own Emperor’s Coven, the leaders of the coven system. This system was established by our very own Emperor Belos, who took the throne in c. 2734, effectively establishing the Era of Unity. Today, we will be learning about the history of the coven system and how Wild Witches dishonor what the Titan has intended for our society.

“Today, witch and demonkind live on The Boiling Isles. This very island was formed from the carcass of the Titan, a being who died thousands of years ago at the end of the age of Titans. It is through this Titan’s body that new life has sprung. It is thanks to the Titan that we draw breath, have the resources we need to survive, and can perform magic. And so, we honor the Titan’s will and give thanks and worship to him.

“The Titan’s body may have passed, but his spirit has lived on, waiting for one chosen to help carry out his will for those he has created. Before this chosen one arrived, witchkind lived through what we call The Savage Ages. Witches practiced magic freely without restraint, alternating between and even mixing different kinds of magic. This displeased the Titan, as magic is meant to be pure and should not be mixed.

“This era of blasphemy ended when our chosen savior, Emperor Belos, came into power. He has been chosen by the Titan to communicate his will for how magic should be properly performed. Through this will, Emperor Belos has established what we now know as the coven system. The coven system is led by the Emperor’s Coven- an elite guard of a chosen few to wield all types of magic. Those who have not been chosen to be a part of the Emperor’s Coven must instead be assigned to one of the nine main covens: Plant, Abomination, Illusion, Bard, Construction, Clairvoyance, Necromancy, Beastkeeping, and Healing. Through this system, all witches can designate their magic on one area of focus and perform only that type of magic as the Titan intended.

“However, wild magic still infests our beloved nation like an insidious pox. Wild Witches still exist today, threatening our very way of life. Their refusal to join a coven and instead mix magic without first being chosen by The Emperor’s Coven to do so is blasphemy against the Titan. Rest assured, citizens, as all Wild Witches will be assigned to a coven, and those who still resist will be put to justice as the Titan intended. When the remnants of wild magic come to an end, we can finally look forward to an era of true peace, practicing magic only in a way that pleases the Titan. Through this, we can look forward to a true utopia free of wild magic.”

As the video ended, the audio started clunking like an old tape reaching the end of its film. The visual disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Luz, once again, alone with Adrian.

Adrian smiled. “I understand if you have any confusion, seeing as you are not a witch yourself. But to put it simply, all witches can use the three basic types of elemental magic as well as all magic related to their specific coven of choice. All other magic is off-limits, and this is enforced on our bodies thanks to our handy coven sigils.” Adrian then rolled up his sleeve, pointing to a tattoo on his wrist of an icon resembling a sky-blue mirror. “The coven sigils protect us from any temptation to use magic outside of what we are allowed to perform. However, the old witch you have been with, Edalyn Clawthorne, has refused to receive a coven sigil for decades and continues to exercise various forms of magic without an Emperor’s Coven sigil- the only sigil that approves you to use all types of magic. And that, my friend, is why she is considered a Wild Witch and must be brought to justice.”

Luz took a moment to ponder the information she heard. Something about the idea of this coven system rubbed her the wrong way, particularly the constant point being repeated that this system “pleases the Titan.” She didn’t know enough about this world to understand its religions or what she personally would believe regarding any kind of deity worship, but the way the island’s government was enforcing it left many red flags raised in her mind.

She looked through the bars at Adrian, not quite meeting his gaze. Considering her position, she couldn’t express her hesitancy if she wanted to get out of this place. Her best bet was to continue playing along. “So if I’m getting this straight, if I were to simply renounce my ties with Eda and live under the coven system for as long as I’m on this island, you’ll let me go?”

Adrian dramatically tilted his hand side to side. “More or less. Seeing as you’re only 16, according to our records, you’re not quite the age where a coven sigil is required. Though, I’m not entirely sure how a sigil would work on someone with no innate magic ability. Regardless, if you swear loyalty to the emperor and cut your ties with Eda moving forward, you will have a full pardon. In fact…”

Luz raised an eyebrow. Adrian, not looking at her, continued, “We haven’t had a human documented on the isles in ages. I’m sure our dear Emperor would actually like to meet you. If you cut your previous ties and swear loyalty to him, I could arrange an audience for you to meet him in person. Very few even within the Emperor’s Coven have the privilege, so it truly is a rare honor you should consider.”

Luz stared at the ground, left in a decision paralysis. While she could pretend to swear loyalty for the time being before deciding her true thoughts on the emperor, it was risky getting that deep into the situation without knowing how things could play out. She’d normally not hesitate to jump on a gamble such as this, but her mind kept drifting to Eda and what might happen to her. A small part of her still wanted to side with Eda after taking her in, and even if Eda was the untrustworthy monster she was painted to be by Adrian and the scouts, she was, to her knowledge, her only ticket back to the Human Realm.

Adrian noticed Luz’s hesitance. “You do not have to decide right now. Since you still have charges against you, I will leave you in this cell for the remainder of your sentence. However, if you, at any time, would like to take me up upon my offer, I will pardon what remains of your sentence. Until we meet again, human.” The inflection in Adrian’s voice softened at the word human . He then turned his back to Luz, marching elegantly out of the room and gently shutting the door behind him.

—

Eda, with King on her shoulder, landed at the top of one of the cliff sides overhanging Bonesborough. In the center of the area stood an enormous tower made from decaying green bricks, decorated with bones and monster tissue. Rather than standing straight from top to bottom, the tower’s structure bent and twisted every few floors, creating a very disorienting structure that miraculously didn’t crumble from its foundation.

Eda set foot inside the gates surrounding the courtyard, carefully avoiding detection from the spotlights ignited from bulbs of purple flames. As she inched closer, she froze when she heard a familiar bloodcurdling scream that chilled her bones. She stared up in horror to see the upper floors of the building guarded by hellharpies, flocking to the windows to avoid any escape artists or trespassers with magic staffs.

“Well, those are new,” Eda whispered to King. “Damn, that’s gonna make this a lot harder. We’ll have to infiltrate the inside and work from there.”

“You could probably deal with those things if you really wanted to,” King suggested.

“But that’ll draw too much attention. I’d rather not have the entire conformatorium on my ass if I can help it. It’s fine, I know the interior like the wrinkles on my own hands. Just need to get through the-”

“Eda, watch out!” King interrupted.

Eda’s gaze drew to the spotlight about to reveal her in the dark and quickly mounted her staff to zip across the courtyard, avoiding its gaze. She stopped to rest, breaking a sweat. “Argh, I’m getting distracted. This is not a good time to be losing my touch.”

“Maybe it’s because you’re too busy feeling guilty for letting your poor human get cap-”

“Save it, King, or I’ll brew you into a potion,” Eda hushed him. Her eyes darted back to the searchlights, carefully studying their patterns and mounting her staff to evade them. She found it relatively easy to make it close to the entrance but then halted as she spotted the coven scouts guarding the front entrance, hovering light spells around them to increase their visibility in the dark.

“Huh,” Eda whispered. “They got some surprisingly clever scouts at the entrance. Not like the cannon fodder you see with 90% of the coven. Guess I’m already going to have to bust out one of these.” Eda pulled one of the plant-filled liquids from her hair. She uncorked the bottle and pulled her mask over her mouth and nose. “King, hold your breath.”

King gasped heavily and puffed his furry cheeks while Eda lit a small flame on her finger with a silver spell circle. She touched it to the plant floating in the potion, letting a smokey mist sprawl from the tiny bottle. Before she could be exposed to too much smoke, she launched the bottle with the swing of her elbow, lobbing it directly in front of the coven scouts.

“Sleeping nettles!” one of them called. “We have an intruder! Don’t breathe in the smoke!”

“Did you say breathe in the smoke? Why would I do that?” the other responded.

“No, I said don’t breathe it in. Stupid uniform mask muffling my words.”

“Well don’t speak too loud! You’ll make yourself winded and start breathing it… in…” the loudly yelling guard suddenly collapsed.

“Oh my Titan! Maybe take your own advice before you start… yelling… at…” the second guard collapsed, leaving the entrance unguarded.

“Huh. Guess they weren’t so smart after all,” said King.

Eda approached one of the fallen guards, grabbed his mask, and tried it on. King looked at her suspiciously. “You’re gonna disguise yourself as a coven scout?” he questioned

“The first room inside is gonna be crawling with coven scouts working the front desks. It’ll be next to impossible to sneak past them. Thankfully, this guy seems to have a similar build to me, so I shouldn’t have a problem fitting into this thing.”

“What about me? I won’t fit into either of their uniforms.”

Eda gave King a nasty smirk, making his stubby legs quiver with fear over what she possibly could’ve had planned.

Moments later, Eda entered through the front doors in full uniform, holding King by his armpits while his dangling legs kicked and flailed. She looked into the room of coven scouts filing papers and, in some instances, sleeping on the job. “Attention, fellow scouts! I have captured a small demon who has been guilty of association with a Wild Witch, and he is to be locked up here by the Emperor’s orders!”

“Don’t carry me like that!” King complained, digging his claws into her arms. “I feel vulnerable, and it’s making me very upset!”

“Ah, shut up, you little furball!” said Eda, faking the voice of an angry cop. “You’ll be plenty comfortable where you’ll end up.” Eda approached the first coven scout she spotted. “Hey, you there! I’m gonna need a key to whatever cell you got open for my prisoner.”

Sighing, the guard looked through a book of inmates and open cells before turning to the filing cabinet behind him. He absentmindedly sorted through it before picking out a key and tossing it on the desk. He then returned to his paperwork, not so much as giving Eda a second look.

Eda, almost shocked at how easy that was, grabbed the key and made her way to the central room. Stories upon stories of jail cells towered above her, lined up in square formations that were layered unevenly due to the structure of the tower. Each floor was connected by a staircase and an elevator placed on opposite sides of the central room.

“Alright, I got a glimpse of that book recording prisoners the scout had,” said Eda. “Our key is for the cell right next to Luz’s, just as I was hoping. She’s on floor 26, so we’re definitely not taking the stairs… as tempting as it is to see you complain about climbing 26 flights of stairs.”

“I shall forgive your previous treacheries for this one act of mercy,” said King.

Eda took the elevator to the 26th floor, then carried King to an air vent near Luz’s cell. “Alright, I gotta find the guard with her cell key so I can pickpocket them. You get inside Luz’s jail cell to make sure there aren’t any unwanted guests and come give me the all-clear signal once I’m back. Also, talk to Luz and make sure she knows I’m coming for her. I can’t imagine how scared she must be.”

“You seem to care a lot for her, don’t you?” said King.

Eda chuckled softly. “Surprised? I don’t know; I just kinda felt sorry for the kid when I met her today. And… I almost see a bit of myself in her. As corny as that sounds.”

“Corny… that’s a human food, right?”

Eda groaned. “I’ll teach you about human expressions later. For now, we have an actual human to rescue. I’ll be back as soon as I can!” Eda picked King up, placing him into the air vent and saluting to him before heading the other way. King scrambled into the vent, tripping a few times and letting out squeals in response. After banging into walls with his tiny body one time too many, he managed to find the other end and pop his head out into Luz’s jail cell. Luckily, it was empty, save for Luz. 

King grabbed the ledge of the vent, his legs kicking frantically in the air as he tried to brace himself for the fall. Unfortunately, his paws slipped. “Weh!” he shrieked as he plummeted to the ground, landing flat on his tailbone. He howled in pain, nearly in tears.

Luz, suddenly breaking from her silent stare at the wall, turned around to find King. She was initially filled with shock, but she couldn’t help but let out a heartfelt giggle at the small demon rubbing his behind. “King! Oh my god, what are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you,” he grunted. “Though maybe it wasn’t worth it, I think I actually might have broken my butt.”

Luz let out another laugh so hard that her sides hurt and her eyes watered. “Stop, I can’t breathe,” she huffed, blinking tears out of her eyes. She walked up to him and sat on her knees. Since her hands were cuffed, she settled for nuzzling his nose. “It’s so good to see you. Is Eda with you?”

“Yeah! She went to pickpocket the coven scout with your cell key. We’re gonna bust you out- hey why are you crying? You’re not still laughing at me for hurting myself, are you?”

“No, no,” she sniffed. She thought back to all the things Adrian had said just before this. “It’s just… you guys really came for me, huh?”

King’s expression softened. “Yeah. Listen, um, Eda feels really bad for letting you get captured. She seemed so worried about you, and I don’t see her act that way for very many people.”

Luz felt her heart melting. “Thanks for telling me that. I, uh, really needed to hear that.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, before I regroup with Eda to help break you out, I’m first going to need a formal apology from you.”

Luz stared blankly. “For what?”

“For mocking me earlier today! You disrespected the King of Demons by calling me adorable!”

“What? You’re still on that?”

“Yes! Now bow before me and start begging for my forgiveness, and maybe I’ll consider letting this go.”

Luz sighed. “I’m sorry. I was just really enamored by you when we met. I didn’t mean to insult you; I just really adored you.”

“You… adored me?”

“Yeah!”

King pondered for a moment. “Well, if your infantilizing was out of adoration, then I guess I can allow it. But only you and you alone are allowed to do so. Anyone else will be publicly executed for their blasphemy.”

Luz let out another giggle. “I’m honored.”

After their exchange, Luz let King climb up on her shoulders, allowing him to reach the air vent and make his way back out. Once he made it to the other side, he found himself surprised that Eda had already returned, twirling the keychain around her finger. “Back already?”

“Yeah, stupid guard was just patrolling this floor. Didn’t even notice when I snatched the key from her. Though I still put her to sleep just so we won’t have to deal with her later. How’d things go with Luz?”

“Well, no one’s inside the room aside from her. And I found out she adores me! So I’ve given her special permission to call me adorable.”

Eda, feeling a seed of anxiety grow in her chest, raised an eyebrow. “That’s all she had to say?”

“Yep! Well, she also seemed really happy that we came for her.”

“You little monster, why didn’t you lead with that?” Eda gave King a noogie, making him yelp in pain. Satisfied, she then approached the door, clicking the lock open with the key and slowly drawing it open to avoid any unwanted attention. She took off the guard mask, and her gaze met with Luz, who stared at her with warm eyes from the other side of the jail cell.

“Luz!” Eda quietly called. She ran to the cell door, quickly unlocking it and rushing up to unlock Luz’s handcuffs as King lagged behind her. She placed her hands on Luz’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry I left you behind. I didn’t know you were gonna get captured, and then I had to run back to the Owl House to prepare for the jailbreak and just- oh, I’m so glad to see you unharmed.”

Luz placed her hands on Eda’s. “Thanks… for coming for me. I’m not gonna lie, I’m still shaken up, and I do have some questions for you later, but…” she turned her head, suddenly not meeting Eda’s gaze.

Eda frowned. “What did they tell you?”

“Well, I got to talk with Adrian Graye.”

“You were approached by a covenhead?” Eda tried to keep her voice down despite her surprise.

“Yeah. He seemed really fascinated by the fact that I was human, and he even offered to set up an audience with the Emperor, so long as I renounced my ties with you and swore loyalty to him.”

Eda grumbled. “That bastard. I don’t know what game he’s playing, but I don’t like the sound of it.”

“Adrian also explained the coven system to me,” Luz continued. “To be honest, I still don’t know what to make of this world, but… the lecture video I saw did set off some red flags for me. I’d like to hear your side of things before I make up my mind.”

Eda showed a hesitant smile. “I promise I’ll explain everything. But first, we need to get out of here.”

“How tragic. I’m afraid you two won’t make it much further than this very room,” a voice spoke in the air, startling Luz and Eda. They both grew twisted expressions as they recognized who it belonged to. Their fears were realized as Adrian appeared in thin air, leaving behind a trail of smoke as he finished tracing a spell circle.

Chapter Text

“That was an incredible performance, I must say,” Adrian said with a tone of mock sincerity. “The drama, the resolve, it nearly moved me to tears.”

“Adrian Graye,” Eda growled. “How long have you been watching us?”

“Oh, please. You think I didn’t realize you pickpocketed my incompetent guard and came to rescue the human? To be honest, I was going to stop you earlier, but I was just too curious to see how things would play out. I tried to give the human a proper education about the coven system before this to ensure she hadn’t been indoctrinated by your wild ways, but alas, she was too easily swayed by your oh so brave act of coming to rescue her. How unfortunate.”

“I’ll indoctrinate that head off your shoulders if you don’t cut out your flowery language crap,” said Eda. “I presume you’re here to force me into a coven and lock Luz and King up until they submit?”

“Hmm, that was the plan, yes,” said Adrian, scratching his chin. “But I know you’re going to resist, and I’d rather not get my hands dirty.”

“Well that’s too bad, cuz I got a fire in my gut that’s ready to beat the crap out of you!”

Adrian turned his eyes to Luz behind Eda, smiling at her. “Is this really the brute you choose to follow? Are you absolutely sure that it’s the coven that’s the evil one here? I want you to think very carefully about what you’re doing here, human. I know things are confusing, which is why, even now, I’m still willing to give you a pardon.”

Luz flickered her eyes between Eda and Adrian. Eda, holding her staff in both hands and charging spell, darted her eyes slightly behind her to glimpse at the frightened human behind her. “Luz, he’s trying to turn you against me. I’m not sure what his long-term game is, but if you’ll let me, I won’t let him lay a finger on you.”

Luz looked back at Adrian, noticing his look of disgust. “You naive little human,” he scoffed. “Just think about this logically. Why would you trust this wild savage over someone kind enough to pardon you of your treachery?”

A fire lit in Luz’s eyes. She took a few steps forward, firmly clinging to Eda’s arm. “You can try to sway me all you want, but you’ve already revealed your true colors. I’m sticking with Eda.”

Finally, any composure left in Adrian’s demeanor was completely lost. His fists balled up, and he looked as if he was trying with all his might not to throw a tantrum. “Ugh! Must I do everything myself?” He scowled. “Fine. I guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way. It really is a shame- I saw great things in you, human. But it turns out you’re no better than the savage. If you love her so much, you’ll be joining her in confinement!” 

Adrian traced two spell circles with each hand, swinging his arms to slam his palms on the ground. The spell circles erupted from around his wrists, spreading across the surrounding environment and cloaking the room in a veil of black. In an instant, he vanished, and the black void was replaced with a new environment. Eda recognized it as the central room of jail cells. She looked at Luz, who seemed disoriented.

“What’s happening?” she said, tension in her voice.

“Adrian covered the entire prison in an illusion to confuse us,” said Eda. “It’s gonna be much harder to escape like this.”

When Eda turned, she heard Luz let out a cry as she squirmed away from a ripple in the illusion. A gloved hand reached out, trying to grab her. Quickly, Eda darted over, swinging a wave of light. She heard Adrian cry in pain, and he briefly appeared, covering his eyes before fading back into the illusion.

“Come on, we’re not safe here!” Eda called, running over to grab Luz by the wrist and dart out of the room. King followed behind, climbing up Luz’s clothes to mount on her shoulder. Using her memory of the room’s layout, Eda ran for where she thought the door was. In the illusion, it appeared she was stepping off the ledge of the balcony. However, when she put her foot on thin air, she was reminded that what she was seeing was not reality. She stepped through where the door was supposed to be, causing the illusion to ripple like water.

Once she crossed to the other side, she appeared to be floating in the middle of the tower where no ground stood beneath her. Luz started gasping for breath, trying not to hyperventilate despite the panic and nausea squirming in her stomach.

Eda gritted her teeth. “Luz, can you trust me?” She held out her staff, coaxing Luz to come on. “I know the illusion is making things confusing, but at least I’m not drunk this time.”

Luz froze for a second, trying to calm herself and process what Eda was saying. She was quickly broken out of it, however, as Adrian’s hand reached for her through the illusion once again, causing her to run to Eda’s side and hook her hands around her waist. “Eda, go, go, now! I trust you!” She clenched her eyes shut as she hugged Eda’s back.

Eda, not waiting for any further instruction, kicked her legs off the ground as Owlbert spread his wings. The staff soared straight up, directing itself through the open space. As the tower's structure tilted, Eda and Luz started phasing through the balconies above them, reminding them that the tower was still under an illusion.

“Hang on!” said Eda. “I think I’m familiar with the tower’s structure, but this is really hard with the illusion.” She tilted her staff forward, slowly trying to follow the crooked pattern she remembered from the tower’s structure. For a few moments, she flew through the air without any issues. Eventually, however, the tip of Owlbert’s head crashed into a wall, causing the staff to flip and fling its passengers off.

As the three of them screamed and flailed, Eda thrusted the butt of her staff into the wall, letting it slide and slow her fall. She grabbed Luz by the neck of her jacket. Luz proceeded to catch King in her arms, nearly fumbling in the process. Eda slowly let go of her staff, gently dropping her and her companions to the ground. By this point, Owlbert looked very dazed, his eyes spinning like a cartoon character.

Eda looked around the room to consider her next move, and suddenly, the illusion changed. She, Luz, and King appeared to be in an endless hallway, which disoriented them all over again. 

“Ugh, I really don’t know where I am,” said Eda, rubbing her head. “Stick by my side, guys. Don’t separate or you might plummet to your-”

“Weh!” King shrieked, stumbling over what looked to be solid ground according to the illusion. Eda quickly scooped him up, holding him by the armpits. He squirmed and squealed with rage, earning a chuckle from Luz to slightly ease her tension. Eda smiled briefly, but it faded quickly. She began putting her hands in front of her, feeling around for any walls.

Her palms collided with solid air, causing it to ripple. “Okay, if I counted correctly, I think we actually landed on a floor with an outside balcony. Follow me, and stick to the wall!”

Luz and King followed behind Eda, sidling across the illusion of empty space that covered the wall. The entire time, Luz’s legs shook. The idea of plummeting to her death played on loop in her mind over and over. It didn’t help that she also kept vividly picturing the sensation of Adrian trying to grab her by the wrist, which instinctively made her squirm. Clenching her teeth, she tried to follow Eda, hoping desperately that neither scenario she feared would catch her by surprise.

Finally, Eda’s hand phased through the air again. She repositioned her hand, trying to find the corner of the wall before turning to follow it. “This way,” she said, sticking to the new wall she was tiptoeing across. After a few moments of following it, she and the others ran into an illusion wall, phasing through it. They walked several steps in pitch dark, which prompted Luz to grab Eda and King’s hands respectively to avoid getting separated and lost in the void.

Eda carried her companions across, reaching the other side where sight finally graced her eyes again. She felt the fresh, cool breeze pass through her hair. She stood on a long balcony that stretched ahead of her, and she realized that she was not only on the outside of the tower, but outside of Adrian’s illusion. She turned back to smile at Luz and King, the latter of whom looked like he was about to throw up.

“We’re in the home stretch now!” Eda announced.

“Good, because I need to find a ledge to puke over,” King gagged.

“Only if you promise to make sure it hits a coven guard,” said Eda, winking. She gently scratched Owlbert’s head, turning her eyes to meet his. “You all recovered, little buddy? I’m going to need you for one more flight, and then you can take the rest of the night off.”

Owlbert blinked slowly, trying to reorient himself before letting out a cheerful hoot.

Eda mounted the staff, coaxing Luz and King to follow suit. However, before they could, they froze in their tracks as a familiar, dreadful screech filled the air, sending chills down their bones.

Luz felt her braids flapping violently in the wind as two hellharpies zipped from beneath the balcony into her sight, setting their eyes on her, King, and Eda. They growled and hissed, gazing deeply into their prey.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, a shriek could be heard from behind Luz. Two more hellharpies soared into the air, approaching from behind and leaving the trio of witch, demon, and human completely surrounded by a pack of vicious beasts.

Then, through the loud wind, there was an echo of sarcastic clapping, practically mocking the three fugitives who stood trapped in their situation. Adrian approached from behind, smacking his hands together a few more times before letting his arms return to his side. Eda, King, and Luz all turned to face him, showing mixed expressions of fear and anger.

“Well, well, well,” Adrian called. “Looks like this is the end of the line. It was a valiant effort at a prison break. Really, I was impressed that you got through my illusion maze. However, it finally ends here. You can either come back with me and submit to the emperor, or become the harpies' next snack. It’s your choice, though I’d advise against the latter if you have any intent on living past the next two minutes.”

Eda charged up a spell with her staff, though her arms visibly shook with fear as a harpy slowly approached behind her. Smiling, Adrian approached the trio. Luz backed up into Eda, clinging to her waist once again. She felt sweat pierce the back of her neck as the hellharpy sent her hair flying with its nasty breath.

King clung to Luz’s leg, staring at Adrian. Adrian grew closer, smiling ominously. “Come, don’t make this difficult. I promise the coven won’t treat you so harshly if you simply cooperate.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you, you creep,” said Luz, sticking her tongue out.

“Then stay with your precious wild witch and be ripped to shreds by a hellharpy. But I know that’s not what you want. And I would hate for them to tear you apart before you even had a proper chance to meet the emperor.” Adrian then reached out, trying to grab Luz’s arm.

Eda’s eyes burst with a sudden rage. “You leave her alone, Titandammit!” She slammed her staff onto the ground, and it exploded into a series of light spells shooting from its head like fireworks. Blinding flashes scorched the air, blinding all of the hellharpies and Adrian in the process. Luz clenched her eyes shut, pulling King close to her.

Eda let out a huff, gasping for breath and sweat beading down her forehead. Once she realized that everyone was dazed from the spell, she took the window of opportunity to escape. “Luz, King, come on!” She gently nudged them away from the circle of harpies, coaxing them to run as their vision returned to them. She took out her staff, mounting it and allowing her companions to do the same. With the kick of her legs, she began to fly.

Just before she could take off, another hellharpy soared from above, letting out a screech. It spat fire, causing King and Luz to flinch. Eda rapidly traced a spell circle, calling the bricks of the balcony beneath her to rip from their foundation and reassemble into a barricade to block the incoming flame. Her skin felt like it was on fire as the temperature of the air quickly rose.

Eda traced a series of additional circles, swiping her finger as the last one was cast. The wall of bricks broke apart and scattered before eventually spreading out to orbit the harpy. Eda flicked her wrist back and forth, causing each brick to pelt the harpy all over every square inch of its body. Eda circled it, avoiding angry swipes from the beast as it continuously flinched from the pain of each brick piercing into it. Eda soared just above it, tracing one more large spell circle to summon a large block of ice. She molded it to take the shape of her own fists, and she quickly swung them in a downward punch, causing the ice to crush the creature in a suffocating smash.

Without looking back, Eda took off, leaving the conformatorium behind her.

“Eda, that was amazing!” Luz cheered, clapping her hands. “I’m glad I decided to follow such an incredible witch over that sleaze.”

Eda blushed. “Oh, stop, I’m just doing what I do every day.” She smiled as she gazed into the night sky, calmed by the serene sight of glowing star systems bathing her in their gentle light. Luz, too, was enamored by them. She felt herself resting against Eda’s back as she basked in the light and gentle breeze.

Meanwhile, Adrian rubbed his eyes, his blurred vision slowly returning to normal. In this moment, he found himself staring directly at a hellharpy, its vision also blinking away blurriness. No longer seeing Eda, Luz, or King, the harpy fixed its gaze on Adrian, the only target left.

Adrian didn’t even have time to process what was about to happen. The hellharpy dove forward. It grabbed him by the shirt with its knife-like talons, making him yelp with pain as they sunk into the skin surrounding his ribs. He screamed in agony and panic as the creature dragged him into the sky, soaring above the tower and carrying him off into the night.

—

Eda slowed the pace as she continued the flight home. She was conscious of King’s sensitive stomach, Owlbert’s minor head injury, and everyone’s exhaustion. She instead opted to go the pace of a bicycle and let the breeze gently flow through her hair. She dropped the hood that her scout uniform disguise would normally have pulled over the forehead of the mask, which she was thankfully rid of by now.

“Hey, Luz?” Eda spoke gently, not taking her eyes off of the skies ahead of her. “You said you had some questions for me, right? I’m happy to explain things to you. I know it wasn’t really fair of me to not be upfront about my position in this society.”

“It’s okay,” said Luz, resting her head against Eda’s back. “How long has the Emperor’s Coven been after you?”

“Pretty much since I graduated from High School,” Eda replied. “They really pressure you to join a specific coven for the rest of your life the moment you graduate. I’d been having questions about the system for a while at that point, and I really didn’t have my life figured out enough to know what kind of magic I wanted to devote myself to for the rest of my life. And, just like that, I was deemed a criminal.”

“Is that the only reason they’re after you?”

“Well, that and some cases here and there of petty theft,” Eda laughed. “I only steal from government-owned property, though. They’re the only ones worth robbing.”

Luz chuckled. She gazed into the sky in front of her. The clouds had a bright, violet glow in the light of the moon, which shone with the color of the ocean from back home. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the belief system of the coven. Supposedly, it makes the Titan happy? And you guys… live on this so-called Titan?”

Eda suddenly grinned. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Do you mind if we make a quick detour? I want to show you something.”

“I mean, sure? What does this have to do with my question, though?”

“You’ll see. Hang on!” Eda kicked her legs, making Owlbert pick up the speed. She soared straight up into the atmosphere, causing Luz to yelp as she clung her arms to Eda’s stomach. Eda stayed on course, remaining at her current speed despite Luz’s screams. 

The trio popped through the clouds like a mole out of the ground. Luz was squeezing her eyes shut, but Eda coaxed her to open them. Once she did, she found herself losing her breath not just from lack of oxygen but from the beauty of what lay before her. She saw a clear, overhead view of the island that she was just on. It was shaped like the skeleton of some colossal beast. Its skull rested upright at the edge of the island, gazing upon the rest of its body. A ribcage jutted out of the island’s center, and the right knee was raised into the atmosphere, dusted with snow.

“This is The Boiling Isles. What Adrian told you about it is true- it was formed from the remains of a titan who lived eons ago. It’s thanks to this creature that new life has sprung from it. We exist and have a home because of what its body left us. So, to a degree, witchkind has always worshiped it like a god. Which, I mean, I don’t have an issue with at all. I’m not very religious myself, but giving thanks to the creature responsible for your existence and providing bountiful resources, I can kinda get behind that. However, that bull the coven feeds us about wild magic displeasing the Titan? I personally don’t buy it.”

“Well, whether it's true or not,” said Luz, “I’ve always stood by the fact that it’s not a government’s place to enforce religious beliefs. What they’re doing here is nothing short of controlling your free will. I saw how Adrian spoke to you, and… it kinda reminded me of back home.”

“Oh?” Eda raised an eyebrow.

“I… wasn’t well accepted among my peers back home. They called me a loser, a freak, and in some cases, things much worse than that. You wanna know why I decided to side with you over Adrian? Well, I could see you’re the same way here. And I think us weirdos have to stick together, ya know?”

Eda’s curious and sympathetic gaze lit up into a massive grin. “Couldn’t have said it better myself, kid! I think you and I are gonna get along just fine.” Eda playfully dug her fist into Luz’s temple, earning a laugh from her.

King, in turn, jumped and latched onto Luz’s shoulders. “Don’t forget about me! I’m a weirdo, too!”

“A weirdo? I thought you fancied yourself royalty,” Luz questioned.

“That’s besides the point!”

After a few more moments of laughter and taking in the serene view of the isles, Eda took Luz and King back to the forest she called home. They walked through its treacherous path, watching out for anyone following them or any more dreadful hellharpies before finally making it back to the comfortable atmosphere of The Owl House. Luz felt as if she was retreating to a quiet little witch’s hut in the woods, just like in some of her favorite fantasy stories. Only this was not fantasy, but her new reality.

Moments later, Luz was helping Eda take the sleeping bag from the dryer in the basement. Luz took it upstairs, unrolling it on the dusty floor of the storage room. It wasn’t much, but she already knew that in time, it would be like home to her.

Just then, Eda came into the room with a large bag in her hand. “Good news, Luz! I managed to find an inflatable mattress for you to use, so you won’t have to sleep on those hard, wooden floors.” She set the bag on the ground and reached inside. “Just give me a moment and- ow!” She yelped. She yanked her hand away from the bag, and Luz’s eyes lit up when she noticed a small scorpion crawling around the back of Eda’s hand.

“You found the scorpion!” Luz squealed. “Aww, look at the little angel crawling on your hand.”

“Well, glad someone is getting joy out of this situation,” said Eda, grimacing as she took it over to the window and let it outside. “Damn, no one ever told me how much scorpion stingers hurt. They give some of the demons here a run for their money.”

“Are you gonna be okay? I don’t think that scorpion looked like one of the poisonous ones, but I’m no expert.”

“Eh, I’ll be fine. I’m sure I have an elixir somewhere that can treat it. Why don’t you set up your mattress while I go tend to my wounds?” Eda took her leave, and the moment she was gone, Luz got out the mattress and started blowing into it.

Once it was set up, Luz, once again, spread out her sleeping bag. She then unzipped her backpack, taking out a plushie of one of the animal companions from The Good Witch Azura . She hugged it tightly as she settled into her new bed. Trying to shove aside her worries about the human realm, she settled into the cloak of night and drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Eda was in the bathroom, pouring a potion on her scorpion wound and gently rubbing the concoction into the skin. Despite the immense pain, it didn’t seem to leave a mark. Her eyes then drifted to the bathroom mirror, and then, the gem on her chest. It didn’t have any trace of black, just the gold sheen it was supposed to have. She cradled it with her pointer finger and thumb.

“Hey, Eda?” Eda jumped, turning to find King standing in the doorway. “Are you gonna tell Luz about your curse at some point? If she’s going to be staying with us for a while, she should probably know.”

Eda looked back at the mirror, struggling to look herself in the eyes. She rubbed and fidgeted with the gem. “I don’t know. Maybe someday, but I’m not ready to. You saw how conflicted she felt about me for a while before finally deciding to stay by my side. I don’t want to give her any more reasons to be afraid of me.” She turned to King, noticing his whimpering expression. She kneeled down next to him, smiling warmly and rubbing his skull. “Ah, don’t worry about me. As long as I keep drinking my elixir, I can keep the curse at bay, and it won’t hurt anyone. You should get to bed now. It’s way past your bedtime.”

King, reluctantly satisfied, let Eda usher him out of the bathroom. He scurried back to the living room, curling up on the couch and letting out an incredible yawn. Eda, feeling sleepiness overcome her as well, turned off the living room lights and headed for her own bedroom.

—

A door at the top floor of the conformatorium opened. The inside was no prison cell, but instead, a gargantuan chamber cloaked in darkness. The only light was that which crept from the outside room into the overwhelming presence of shadow. The witch who entered cast silver spell circles, shooting out balls of fire to light the various candles spread across the room. Their green glow revealed the one who had entered- a miserable-looking Adrian Graye.

His clothes were tattered, his shirt had bloodstained rips, revealing gaping wounds around his ribs, and his perfectly treated curly hair was now a frizzy, unkempt mess. Groaning angrily, he made his way deeper into the chamber. At the end of the room was a set of extravagant tables and decorations reflecting the presence of royalty. At the center table was a small crystal ball branded with a sigil that looked like a sword stabbed through a set of golden wings.

Adrian tapped the ball, gritting his teeth as it lit with violet-blue light. Above it, the projection of a masked being hovered at the scale of a real person. The figure wore a gold mask with slitted eyes, a white robe, and a ruby-red scarf. “Headwitch Graye,” it spoke with a vaguely masculine voice that sounded as if it had just hit puberty. “My, you’re looking terrible. What happened?”

“I don’t want to hear another word about it,” Adrian grumbled, not looking at the projection.

“Is that how you think you should be addressing your superior?”

Adrian, letting out an insult under his breath, knelt before the projection. “Apologies, Golden Guard. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not. The emperor wouldn’t hesitate to strip you of your status and throw you in the very conformatorium you stand in. Luckily for you, I’m willing to forgive mistakes like what you just made.”

“Of course. Thank you, Golden Guard.”

“Now, get on with it. What business do you have with me that you felt the need to interrupt my duties?”

“I wanted to inform you that a human has been spotted in Bonesborough. She has been keeping company with the wild witch known as Edalyn Clawthorne. I thought Emperor Belos would be interested in knowing such intel.”

“And I take it the human is now in custody at the Bonesborough Conformatorium under your watch?” The golden guard’s voice had a hint of sarcasm in it, as if he knew what the answer was going to be.

“Well, I did, but I regret to inform you that Edalyn has broken her out. She is no longer under my surveillance.”

The Golden Guard stared for a moment, watching Adrian attempt to hide his look of fear and embarrassment upon informing him about this news. Finally, the Golden Guard said, “Unfortunate, but not unexpected. I’ll inform the Emperor about this human. I’ll overlook mentioning your incompetence this time. But please remember your responsibilities as coven head and try to uphold the ideals of that position moving forward. You were hired for a reason, and I don’t think you want the emperor to regret his choice. Is that clear?”

“I understand, Golden Guard. I will be sure to hold myself to that standard.”

“Good. If you have no other news to share, then you are dismissed.” After a moment, the projection vanished, fading with the light of the crystal ball. All that remained in that room was the glow of the green flames flickering across Adrian’s face as he quivered in anger and fear.

Chapter Text

“And here, we have the scene where The Good Witch Azura takes down the dreaded gildersnake as a final trial to prove to the Lord of the Volcania Kingdom that she is worthy of the Jewel of Middle Asgardruletopia.” Luz dramatically narrated the page of The Good Witch Azura Volume 5 as she stood upon the couch next to King. “The gildersnake says, ‘Foolish child! I could swallow you whole!’” Luz acted out the character with a deep, hissing voice.

“‘Do not underestimate me, Gildersnake,’ Azura says, snickering. ‘For I am the Good Witch Azura - Warrior of Peace! Now eat this, sucka!’ Azura whips out her staff, bombarding him with ice spells, the fowl beast’s only weakness… other than dying, of course. She then hovers above him, opening a portal to the Netherworld. She casts him into the portal, banishing him for the next one thousand years!”

“Show me the picture!” King squeaked. “I want to see her dragging the beast into Hell!”

Chuckling, Luz turned the graphic novel around to show King the illustration. “For the last time, King, Hell doesn’t exist in this universe. It’s the Netherworld. Hell is a place that comes from human religion, and isn’t typically depicted in children’s stories. Hell, if our adventures were in a children’s story, we’d probably get a lot of complaints from a million moms calling this realm satanic.”

“Eh, what’s the harm in showing the children a few tortured souls burning in eternal hellfire?” King scoffed. “That purple void the Gildersnake is being sent to looks way less scary. Probably just a way to make a character’s death more ambiguous by pretending it's some ‘shadow realm’ or something that they can break out of.”

“Well, if you’re such a connoisseur of children’s fiction, why don’t you make your own story?” Luz said, adding a teasing smile.

“You know, maybe I should…” King squinted his eyes in contemplation.

Just then, the two were interrupted by a loud crash that shook The Owl House living room at its foundation. Luz and King briefly exchanged a glance, then jumped out of their seats as Eda slammed the door open and immediately shut again. She pressed her back against it, holding off whatever was outside. “Hey, you two. Either of you wanna act as bait? I mayyyy have accidentally led a Widowbeast back here, and I’m having a hard time finding an opening to cast a spell on it.”

Luz, climbing back over the couch, stumbled to the ground and then back on her feet. “What’s a Widowbeast? It sounds really cool! I’ll be your bait if you want!”

Eda grimaced. “I, erm, was kind of hoping King would be the one volunteer. You don’t know what you’re up against.”

“I do too! Just… remind me what a Widowbeast is again? I’ve never heard of it.”

Eda let out an exhausted sigh, feeling her bones creak in the process. “Ugh, whatever, just come with me. Don’t make me regret this.” She grabbed Luz by the arm with the grip of a wrestler, dragging her towards the door. Upon opening it, she tossed the girl outside before stepping next to her.

Luz froze, her eyes lighting up and her heartbeat rapidly increasing as she gazed upon the terrifyingly magnificent creature. It looked like a Black Widow, only with the stature of an automobile. Silver liquid oozed from the giant hairs on its legs, and a red skull pattern was engraved on its back like a tattoo.

“Watch out, it spits poison- heads up!” Eda tackled Luz, pulling both of them into a ducking position as the spider monster spat a gooey, purple substance from its teeth, just barely missing them and landing on a wall of The Owl House.

Without waiting for further instruction, Luz picked herself back up into running position, screaming in terror as she tried to get around to the creature’s backside. Its eyes locked onto her like she was easy prey, and it turned its body to continuously face her before beginning to make chase.

“That’s the spirit!” Eda called. “This is the opening I need.” Eda, using her staff, shot into the sky before whipping her staff out into a casting position. She thrusted it downward, bombarding the Widowbeast with a barrage of fireballs and icicles. The creature’s belly slammed into the ground, its eyes spinning and its legs too weak to move.

Eda used her staff to zip herself to its front, turning around to face it. The eyes of her staff glowed. She traced a spell circle with the staff, making vines spring from the ground to restrain the beast in a suffocating embrace. It took only a few seconds for the life in its eyes to fade. Eda then quickly disposed of the evidence by dragging the creature underground with the flick of her staff, bending the vine restraints to her will.

Luz bent over, resting her hands on her knees and gulping deep breaths. “That,” she heaved, “was so cool.” She cleared her throat, trying to gain hold of herself. “Girl, you gotta make me your apprentice!”

“My apprentice?” Eda questioned, almost laughing at the absurdity of the request.

“Yeah! I wanna be a witch like you, and my favorite comic book character, Azura! And I wanna have my own magic staff to take down monsters with. Plus, having an animal companion like Owlbert would be awesome.”

Owlbert detached from Eda’s staff, nudging her cheek. Eda let out a confused chuckle. “Easy, kiddo. Okay, first of all, a witch’s staff is something that is earned with time and extensive training. It’s a rite of passage for experienced witches, not those first developing their magic. But that brings me to my main point here- you’re a human. You aren’t born with the ability to perform magic naturally.”

Luz frowned. “But there’s got to be a way, right? I mean… I may be human, but that coven head seemed to be interested in me. That must make me special, right?”

“Sorry, kid. I don’t know what Adrian wanted with you, but it doesn’t change your biology holding you back. There are training wands for beginner witches, but they’re limited and not used by more experienced magic users. To perform magic naturally, you need a bile sack, which is an organ attached to a witch’s heart.” Eda traced a spell circle, summoning a shoddily put-together illusion of a green, pulsating organ. It flickered in and out of the air as ooze dripped from the bottom of it. “Apologies for the poor visual. Illusions aren’t my specialty.”

Luz, trying not to throw up in her mouth upon seeing the visual, turned her eyes back to Eda and whimpered. Eda, feeling a hint of empathy stab at her heart, approached the young witch. She patted her on the shoulder and smiled. “Ah, cheer up, kid. You may not be able to perform magic like me, but I suppose I can take you on as my apprentice and show you the Wild Witch lifestyle. There’s more to us than just shooting magic out of our fingers, ya know?”

Luz’s eyes slowly and hesitantly started to light up at Eda’s words. She didn’t utter a peep, but she looked upon the old witch curiously.

Eda took it as a good sign. “That’s the spirit. Now, come with me. I got some errands to run, and as my new apprentice, you gotta help me.”

The light in Luz’s eyes died as she let out a disappointed moan. Ignoring her, Eda mounted her staff and coaxed her new apprentice to do the same. Sighing in defeat, Luz climbed behind and wrapped her arms around Eda. Without warning, Eda launched into the sky, earning a startled yelp from Luz.

—

“So, I got groceries to buy, books to return to the library, and a few paying customers that I make deliveries to outside of my Night Market hours. Think you can handle piling a few groceries on top of what you’re already carrying?” Eda gave Luz an encouraging smile, though Luz couldn’t see it underneath the mask.

Luz, unfortunately, had a hard time answering with the piles of heavy books and bags of human wares in her arms. She clenched her teeth as sweat ran down the back of her neck. “Could we maybe stop by the library and make the deliveries first?” she asked.

“I would, but the markets selling food are right here, and I don’t wanna have to make a trip back here later. Oh! Oh wow, that butcher is selling fresh apples! We can make some homemade apple blood with those. Wait right here!” Eda took off before Luz had time to object.

“Alright, it’s no biggie, just gotta stand here and hold all this crap,” Luz huffed. “It can’t be that hard, right?”

Half a minute later, Luz was sitting against the wall, rubbing her aching back while a pile of books and bags sat messily in front of her. She scrolled through her phone before setting it to her side, cursing the fact that she was too far away from the portal door to get reception.

Groaning in defeat, Luz stood up and attempted to start picking up the books she had dropped. She cringed as she added each book to her pile, but she managed to keep them balanced. Just before she could pick up a fifth book, however, she was interrupted by a muffled voice shouting, “Stop right there!”

Luz froze mid-position as she had reached for the fifth book. She awkwardly stood on one foot as she tried to balance the four books in her arms. She gulped, not daring to make any sudden movements in front of the guard who now blocked her path. “Can I at least finish grabbing this- woah!” Luz toppled over, landing on her stomach and dropping every last book.

The coven scout stared her down. Luz, whimpering, quickly pulled her braids against the side of her head, hiding her ears. She did not doubt that the Emperor’s Coven wanted to capture her again for being the human fugitive who escaped Adrian’s grasp, and she knew her human features would stick out like a sore thumb.

“Why aren’t you in school? You are a student, right?” The coven guard questioned, paying no mind to Luz’s strange behavior. 

Luz raised an eyebrow. “Um-”

“You know skipping is a felony, right? I’ll have to take you to the conformatorium if you wanna play hooky.” The scout raised her finger and traced a spell circle, pointing it at Luz. Luz clenched her eyes shut as she braced herself for whatever magic restraint she was about to get trapped in.

“Is there a problem, officer?” Luz squinted her eyes open at the sound of the familiar old voice. She saw Eda standing behind the coven scout, fully masked, pointing her glowing staff at her. 

The coven scout turned, not dropping her spell circle. “Are you this girl’s caretaker? She should be attending school at this hour, as per law.”

Eda’s eyes widened with realization. “Oh! I apologize for the confusion. This is my apprentice. She’s homeschooled.”

“You are aware that homeschooling is illegal, correct?” said the coven scout.

“Since when?”

“Since about a year ago, under the Coven Education Act. The Emperor doesn’t take too kindly to parents privately tutoring their children, potentially not following the coven-regulated curriculum and instead teaching information that could corrupt our youth.”

Sighing, Eda lowered her staff slightly, though she didn’t break her gaze with the scout. “Understood. I’ll enroll her into Hexside starting tomorrow. If I do that, you won’t arrest us, right? Or am I to assume it’s too little, too late for that?”

The scout pondered for a moment. “I’ll let you off the hook for now, but if I see that girl outside of school grounds anytime after today, it’s to the conformatorium for both of you. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” The coven scout made her way towards Eda, rudely bumping into her before walking past.

Once the scout was out of sight, Eda dropped her staff and rushed over to Luz’s side. “Are you okay? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Luz assured her. “Is what you said true? Is there a magic school around here where I can learn about real magic witches perform?” Her eyes lit up like those of a curious child.

Eda’s eyes flinched as she gagged. “Yes, there is. It’s a bunch of coven-controlled propaganda taught there, but yes, you do also learn about how witches cast magic. Now, as much as it pains me to send you there rather than train you myself, I can’t have a coven scout on your ass every time we’re out. I’ve been operating well on my own for years, but now that I’ve got you under my wing, you’re gonna have to blend into society to avoid drawing attention. So!” Eda kneeled to get on Luz’s height, placing her hands on her shoulders. “I’m going to send you to the one place I would otherwise never dare send my apprentice...” her voice grew dark and low, as if she was telling a horror story. “...school.”

—

The breeze faded as Eda’s staff landed in a small path of trees within Bonesborough. They surrounded a wide-open campus, which housed a sprawling, three-story building hanging well above the greenery that surrounded it. A cobblestone staircase stretched from the front entrance to the violet brick path spread out before it, creating the atmosphere of a red carpet walk of fame. Menacing gargoyles sat upon architectural pillars, and walls had horrified faces carved into them.

As Eda dropped her off on campus grounds, Luz froze in place, gazing upon the school. Flocks of witches and assorted demons flooded into the entrance. Several groups of friends stopped to chat, many of whom were showing each other spells they were learning. Luz was almost tempted to run up to a random group to say hi before she suddenly felt something brush against her shoulder.

Luz quickly whipped around, jumping back slightly. Eda, still on top of her staff, had a hand extended out, which she retracted upon Luz’s reaction. “Sorry,” Eda said. “Look, before I let the student you’re shadowing pick you up, I just wanted to give some… advice, if you will. From one wild witch to another, ya know?” She winked.

“Okay, but can you make it quick? I don’t wanna be late.” Luz’s legs jittered in anticipation.

“Right, right, I’ll make this brief. As I told you before, there’s more to being a Wild Witch than just shooting magic from your fingers. And especially since you can’t do that yourself, it’s important to understand that wild magic is all about connecting with magic and nature. Slow down and appreciate the environment you’re in and the spells you encounter. Take the time to understand how things mesh together. Understanding the world in its free, natural state is what being a Wild Witch is all about. Got that?”

“Uh-huh… gotcha,” said Luz, uncertainty laced in her voice. “Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’ll be a full-fledged witch before you know it!” Luz clapped her hand against her forearm, flexing her bicep in an exaggerated display of confidence. Eda couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

—

Willow spun her quill between her fingers as she anxiously tried to think of anything else important she needed to write down. She nervously ran her hands through her curly blue bob cut that sat just above her shoulders before adjusting her glasses. She gazed upon the cauldron on her desk, gazing nervously at the contents inside. “If I could just figure out how to get the mixture right,” she whispered to herself. “It’s too thin and loose.”

She then gazed back at the student presenting her own project in front of the class. The girl sat comfortably with long, mint-green hair, black lipstick, a septum ring, and freckles plastered all over her pale face. The chain on her black and white skirt dangled violently as she displayed an impressively choreographed dance routine. Next to her, a humanoid creature made from a similar slime substance to what was in Willow’s cauldron mirrored the girl’s movements with near-perfect accuracy. After she finished her prominent display of showmanship, she bowed, the creature mimicking her simultaneously. She didn’t seem to break a sweat or show even a hint of emotion on her face.

“That was astounding work, Amity Blight,” the professor said, clapping his tiny hands together. “Your abomination’s choreography and obedience were nothing short of perfection. Though I expected no less from my top student.”

“Thank you, Professor Homunculus,” said Amity. Without another word, she cast a spell circle that matched the hue of the slimy abomination. In seconds, the humanoid figure returned to mush. Its liquids swirled in the air as Amity redirected it back into the cauldron she kept at her side. She then picked up the container and escorted it back to her seat, not dropping her neat posture or apathetic facial expression.

“Now then,” said the professor, crossing something off on the document he held in his hands. “Do we have any volunteers who would like to go next? Anyone?” The class fell silent. No one dared to make eye contact with the professor, much to his annoyance. He grunted. “Anyone? If not, I’m just going to start calling on random names.”

Willow, not paying any attention to the professor, kept her eyes locked on the cauldron that she desperately studied. Professor Homunculus smirked as he gazed at the panicked Willow, who was blissfully unaware of his presence. “Willow Park,” he called, loud enough to make sure the whole class would be fixated on her. “Why don’t you come up and demonstrate your abomination, seeing as you clearly had your assignment prepared in advance for my class, like you were supposed to.”

Willow snapped out of her trance. “M-me?” she stuttered. “But Professor Homunculous, I-”

“If you’re not ready to present, I’d be more than happy to dock points for your assignment’s late submission. I’ll ask one more time. Are you ready to present in front of the class right now?”

Willow sighed in defeat. “Sure, I guess,” she said, nervously faking a smile. “Just give me a second here and um…” Willow stumbled out of her seat as she grabbed the heavy cauldron. Was it always this heavy? Or was she just nervous? Ready or not, she dragged the cauldron to the front before fumbling it, almost shattering it in the process.

The class chuckled. The professor smirked at the poor girl. Willow’s cheeks were piping hot, and her blue curls were becoming more drenched with sweat by the second. “Um, hi class. This is, um, my abomination project. I hope you like it.” She awkwardly waved to the class before turning her gaze to the cauldron. “Abomination, rise!” She traced a spell circle, commanding the slime to take shape. 

Slime scattered everywhere as it desperately tried to take a half-assed humanoid form. The top of its head was flattened from melting, and chunks of slime kept dropping from where its limbs were supposed to be, hitting the ground with loud splats . 

“Don’t worry, I can fix this!” Willow yelped. She traced another spell circle. “I just need to fortify the mixture.” With the wave of her finger, the abomination slowly started to take a solid form. Willow’s heart lit up as she saw the thing stop falling apart completely. She almost began to smile, but another nervous frown surfaced as she saw the creature begin to swell. 

Before she could fix her mistake, all hell broke loose. With a loud splosh , the creature ripped apart, purple chunks of slime exploding everywhere. Willow got drenched in the mixture, with about half as much landing on Professor Homunculus as well. He spat out a glob of slime and shot Willow an unamused stare. Willow tried to wipe slime from her glasses, and once her vision cleared, her heart sank as she gazed upon her disappointed teacher. Her ears were so busy ringing that she didn’t notice until now that laughter had erupted throughout the entire classroom, drowning her in a sea of embarrassment.

“Is that all for your demonstration, Ms. Park?” The professor’s voice was flat and unamused. “Or do you have anything else you’d proudly like to share with the class?”

Willow’s face felt like it was on fire. She felt like it was going to explode. Her bones chilled with humiliation, then they boiled with rage. She felt her fists clenched, shriveling with sweat. “No. That’s all, professor,” she said dryly, refusing to even look in his direction. She slowly walked back to her desk. “Asshole,” she muttered under her breath, which fell on deaf ears as it was lost in the sea of laughing students.

Amity, trying to write in her journal, slowly felt her fists clenching as well, tightening around her quill. She looked into the crowd. “Will you all just leave her alone?” she shouted, her voice bitter like poison. “So she failed. Big deal. I’m trying to concentrate here, and you all are being so noisy, laughing over something so trivial. Get over yourselves.” 

The class fell silent as Amity focused her eyes back on her journal. She ran her hands through her hair as she tried to switch her focus away from the disruptive class. Unbeknownst to her, Willow was staring at her with shining eyes.

After class, Willow found herself by her locker. The red metal was decorated with a gaping jaw laced with pointed teeth the size of daggers. She punched her code into the keypad, which forced the disgusting mouth open. She swapped out her books, putting her stuff from Abomination Class back into the locker’s ugly mouth. She also made sure to grab a towel she kept inside, wiping off abomination slime still dripping from her face. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything about the stains in her dress. Accepting defeat, she put the towel back and nudged a spot just above the locker’s upper lip, making it slam its jaw shut with little warning.

As Willow got her stuff together, she noticed Amity a few lockers down, not paying her any mind. Willow hesitated for a moment. “Amity?” she called. “Can I talk to you?”

Amity froze, not turning back to face Willow. Willow took a few steps forward, her confidence rapidly shrinking. She rubbed her elbow. “I just wanted to thank you for standing up for me. You rarely do that.”

Amity let out a deep, pitiful sigh. “Don’t get the wrong idea.” Her voice was soft, but she tried to fake a demeanor of petty confidence. “I was just overstimulated and wanted the class to shut up.”

Willow froze. She felt a fire in her chest, but she tried to hold it back from leaking into her voice. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” She stared at the ground. “I just can’t figure out what your deal is. It’s like some days, you’re kind of nice to me? And other days, you just let Boscha walk all over me… and heck, she practically walks all over you, too.”

“I don’t want to talk about this. I have to go.”

Before Willow could retort, she stopped in her tracks as another witch slowly approached her and Amity. “Amity, girl, what’s up?” The witch’s pale, orange skin complemented her wild mane of scarlet hair. Part of it was tied into a poofy half-ponytail while the rest ran around her shoulders, chest, and back. Her three eyes looked like they were bleeding with the amount of red eye shadow that ran underneath them. 

She had a haughty smirk, which quickly formed into a scowl once she noticed Willow. “What are you doing hanging around the half-a-witch?”

Amity hesitated. “I wasn’t. She approached me. I was just on my way.”

“Hang on a sec. I need to teach this little dumbass a lesson for trying to associate with you.”

“That won’t be necessary, Boscha. She wasn’t bothering me.”

“No, no, I insist,” said Boscha, a sinister laugh escaping her lips. She spun an ash-colored spell circle around her finger. Before Willow had time to react, a figure popped out of the ground and grasped her in a stranglehold with pale, wrinkly fingers. A zombified creature hung above her with eyes that lacked pupils. Its mouth hung open, drooling on her head. Its saliva burned like acid.

“Boscha, let go, your spirit is choking me,” she gasped.

“That’s why you don’t mess with someone who’s friends with a necromancy witch,” Boscha sneered. “But sure. I’ll let you go. But first…” She approached Willow, who grimaced as Boscha touched her chin. “I just need some quick target practice before my next grudgby match.” Boscha sucked in a heavy breath and gurgled. Then, she spat in Willow’s face, drenching her glasses. “There we go- a direct hit! Thanks so much for the help, half-a-witch.”

Boscha lifted her finger, commanding the zombie to let go of Willow and sink back into the ground. She turned back to escort Amity away from the situation. Willow looked at Amity pleadingly, but the girl didn’t turn back. 

Willow scurried back to her locker, opening it again to grab the towel and wipe her glasses. “What in the Titan’s name is their problem?” she spat, kicking the locker beneath her own. “Whatever. Not like Amity’s my friend anyway. And neither is Boscha… especially not Boscha.”

Willow sighed, leaning her back against her locker. She absentmindedly peered out into the hallway. It took her a moment, but she caught a glimpse of a familiar face. She smiled upon seeing him- her best friend, Augustus. He strolled over to her with thick glasses and a muted yellow tunic. His locs were tied into a ponytail and decorated with beads. 

Willow gave him a friendly wave, and in that moment, she realized there was someone with him- a girl in grunge clothing and braids popping out of the front of her beanie. She gave the best friendly smile she could, despite the situation she had just been put through. “Hey, Gus!” she called.

“Willow! You’ll never guess who gets to be my shadow today,” said Gus, clenching his fists together and squealing in excitement.

Willow frowned in confusion, gazing upon Luz. “This isn’t a famous person I should know about, right?” She adjusted her glasses and awkwardly stuck out her hand for a handshake. “Sorry, I’m Willow Park. What’s your name?”

“I’m Luz! Luz Noceda,” Luz replied, taking her handshake.

“Luz isn’t famous, no,” Gus replied to Willow’s question. “It’s even better than that. She’s human .”

Willow blinked. “Really?”

Luz lightly chuckled and lifted her beanie, pushing aside her braids to reveal her round ears. “Yep. Arrived here the other day, and my mentor decided to enroll me in a witch school. Believe me, I’m just excited to learn about witches and magic as you guys are to learn about me.”

“That’s cool!” said Willow. “You got some tough competition for excitement levels though… Gus is a human fanatic . He’s been trying to get a Human Appreciation club approved here for months, but he’s had trouble finding anyone else interested in joining.”

“That may be true,” said Gus, “but maybe the tide will finally turn now that I have an actual human amongst us.”

“I wouldn’t mind helping,” said Luz, “but as long as word doesn’t get out outside of this school that I’m human? Trying to avoid drawing attention to myself among certain… parties. My mentor assured me the principal here is super chill and was willing to sign a confidentiality agreement, but it’s not something I want to advertise all over The Boiling Isles.”

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us,” Gus assured her. “We’ll keep it on the down low here. Though if the entire school does end up finding out sooner or later, Principal Bump is the kinda guy who would threaten suspension in order to keep a secret. Super cool guy once you get to know him, though.”

Willow smiled, nodding in agreement. “In any case,” she said, “Gus and I both have a Study Hall this period. Would you be interested in seeing the school garden? Gus, can I please show her? I really need a pick-me-up, and I haven’t had a new lucky soul to show in ages.”

“Is it like- a magic garden?” asked Luz, her eyes beaming. “With cool plant creatures that you can nurture and manipulate with magic?”

“Yup! I may have a liiiittle special interest in plant magic myself, if I’m being honest here.”

“You have to take me!” Luz squealed.

“Alright, alright, we can go,” said Gus, smiling humbly. “Just keep in mind, Willow, that Luz is my shadow today. Try not to steal all my spotlight.”

“Pfft, don’t worry. Our next few classes are together, so we can both show Luz around. In any case, let’s go! I get to show you Larry.”

—

Larry, as Luz had suspected, was an enormous, man-eating plant that towered over the three of them as soon as they entered the greenhouse. He grinned at her with teeth with a strikingly uncanny resemblance to shark teeth. A second, slightly smaller mouth grinned from the back of his head. His red vines were decorated with orange horns and gaping, human-like wounds.

The plant approached Luz, sniffing her. Luz closed her eyes and shivered, not knowing how to react to the steaming hot breath hitting her in the face. Willow and Gus merely giggled in response.

“Don’t worry,” said Willow, “these creatures only eat people who try to harm them. He mostly snacks on rats and vultures that I bring in to feed him with.” Willow then reached into her backpack, pulling out a dead rat with a bloody eyeball etched into its back. She tossed it at Larry, who immediately caught it in his mouth and began demolishing and devouring within the span of a few seconds.

“You carried that rat around in your backpack?” asked Luz

“Yes! Is that… not normal in the human world?”

“Well, it should be, if you ask me! I always got in trouble in school for bringing dead animals to class. It’s so stupid, they make really good practice for drawing animal anatomy. And they’re dead, so it’s not like they’re gonna bother anyone.”

“Really? Wow, humans are weird,” Willow chuckled. “Well, rest assured that you can do that to your heart’s content here. In fact, here.” Willow reached into her bag, pulling out a dead vulture. “Do you wanna try feeding Larry? Giving him snacks is the best way to make him bond with you.”

“Do I ever!” Luz squealed, taking the bird. She prepared to toss it Larry’s way, but before she could, Larry snatched it from her hands and practically swallowed it whole. Luz, shocked, wiped the plant drool from her hands onto her jacket before letting out a giggle of endearment. “He’s a hungry boy, isn’t he?”

“You should’ve seen what he was like when Willow forgot to stop by one day,” Gus laughed. “Once she finally showed up, he dug straight into her bag looking for treats before she even got the chance to feed him herself.” 

“That’s incredible,” Luz laughed in response. “This place is so cool. What else you got around here?”

Willow and Gus proceeded to give Luz a grand tour of the greenhouse, though Willow ended up doing the most talking. Luz took in the weird yet oddly pleasant smell of Boiling Isles' plant life as she wandered through what felt like an enchanted palace. Vines and flowers sprawled throughout the ceilings and hallways, decorated with bizarre colors Luz had never seen on plants back at home. There were also walls of shelves containing jars of spores (some of which moved like little creatures in terrariums), various spices with names Luz didn’t recognize, and miles of books on plant magic and ecosystems on The Boiling Isles.

“Wow, you seem like practically an expert on this stuff,” Luz commented. “Are you, like, studying a lot of plant magic here at Hexside?”

Gus suddenly frowned and grimaced, as if he knew what reaction to expect. Willow froze in her tracks, initially not saying anything. Luz stared at the back of Willow’s head, confused and wondering what she had said wrong. Finally, Willow spoke up, her voice’s volume considerably lower. “Unfortunately, I don’t get that luxury,” she said. “Plant magic doesn’t have as many job opportunities, so my parents made me enroll in the Abomination track. I honestly suck at abominations, and no matter how hard I try, I just get on my teacher’s bad side.”

Luz frowned. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was a sore subject.”

“I’m fine,” Willow quickly said. “It’s fine, really. I just need to work harder, and maybe I can finally make myself and my parents proud.” She spun around, hiding her demeanor under a smile. “Come on. Our next class is soon. Gus and I are taking Boiling Isles History together. You’ll love it.” 

—

Luz found that she liked history class a lot more when teachers didn’t get on her case for drawing during lectures. In fact, Luz found such a fascination in the subject itself that she began drawing historical figures in The Boiling Isles (based on what she imagined they looked like whenever there was no visual documentation), as opposed to drawing her usual fictional characters. She listened intently and passionately, even when other students found themselves distracted or on the verge of snoozing.

Class seemed to be going incredibly smoothly until a familiar, obnoxious voice started whispering from behind the trio. “Willow, can you move your big head?” Boscha whispered. “I can’t see.” The triclops begrudgingly sat behind Luz, Willow, and Gus, accompanied by Amity and another girl with long, silver locs and an undercut.

Willow, mumbling under her breath, shifted in her seat slightly. Boscha, however, only raised her voice with her response. “Are you giving me attitude, punk? I just told you to move out of my way so I can take my freakin’ notes. You don’t have to be such a b-”

“Boscha, cut it out,” Gus interrupted. “We’re not here to cause trouble.”

“Then stop causing me trouble, prick!” Boscha retorted.

Luz groaned. She turned around in her seat to see who was bullying her new friends. Next to her, Amity seemed distracted by the lecture, not paying Boscha any mind, while the other girl seemed slightly distressed. Luz then fixed her eyes back on Boscha, staring in her direction without gazing directly into her three eyes. “Hi- I’m new here, so I don’t exactly know what your beef is, but could you not? I’m trying to focus on the lecture here, and my friends are too.”

“So am I, but your little friend won’t let me. And just a word of advice, new kid, hanging around with people like that is going to destroy your social status pretty quickly. I suggest getting new friends.”

“You want to say that again?” said Luz, raising her voice and starting to get out of her chair.”

Just then, the teacher loudly cleared their throat, halting their lecture in the process. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting something here?” they said, crossing their arms. Soon, all eyes in the classroom were locked on the four students and their quarrel.

“Mx. Graves-” Gus started.

“Willow was disrupting me when I was trying to take notes,” Boscha interrupted. “And when I tried to get her to stop, she threatened me with violence.”

“What?” Luz said, raising her voice just high enough to make everyone around her flinch. “That’s bull! You were the one picking on us.”

“Was not,” said Boscha. She bumped Amity on the shoulder, snapping the green-haired girl out of her trance. “Amity, back me up here. Tell the teacher that Willow threatened me.”

Amity looked around, her skin heating up as she tried to realize what was happening. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” she whispered.

“Yes, you were,” Boscha said in a low growl. “Tell them that Willow was disrupting class and threatened me. Or are you telling me you want to pick a fight with me, too? Huh, Blight?”

Amity, trying to hide the jitters in her body, let out a sigh. She looked back at Professor Graves with a straight face. “Boscha’s telling the truth,” she said stoically. 

“What?” Willow retaliated, her eyes wide with shock.

“I see. Ms. Park, could I talk to you after class?” The professor glared, unamused. After Willow didn’t respond, they continued, “If there are no more interruptions, I would like to get on with the lecture. Anyone else who wishes to cause trouble can answer to me alongside Ms. Park.”

After class, Gus and Luz waited anxiously outside the door as the rest of the students flooded out of the classroom. Luz fidgeted with her braids while Gus chewed on his nails, anxiously waiting for the return of their friend. Minutes went by, and they feared they’d be late for their next class. Thankfully, it wasn’t much longer until Willow showed up, barely using her voice to greet them.

“How’d it go?” Gus asked, gently raising a comforting hand.

“Fine, I guess,” Willow sighed. “I've got to explain my side of the story. I’m not sure if they seemed convinced, but they were willing to let me off the hook since they didn’t have enough context to prove I was at fault.”

“That’s… good,” Gus hesitantly assured her.

“Yeah. I’m gonna go. If I don’t show up for potions class, just fill me in on what I missed later.” Without another word, Willow strolled off.

Gus, stunned in silence, began to lead Luz to his next class. Luz, however, reached over to grab his sleeve. “Hey, Gus?” she said. “I’m worried about her. Do you have any idea where she might be going if she’s not gonna be in class with us?”

Gus scratched his chin, cogs churning through his head as he pondered Luz’s question. Then, his face lit up. “I think I have an idea!”

—

Willow slammed the door to the greenhouse open, running past a confused Larry before sitting herself down next to a field of ferns. She leaned against the wall, letting out a shaky breath and fidgeting with her dress. She wasn’t going to break down. She couldn’t. She had class, she couldn’t afford to let this incident get to her. The teacher even let her off without any punishment. So why was this upsetting her so much?

Before she could spiral any further, she heard the door click open again. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked to see who it was, then settled slightly after seeing that it was only Luz and Gus. She took a deep breath and buried her feelings, just in time for her friends to approach her.

“Hey, Willow, are you okay?” Gus asked. “I’m sorry class… went the way that it did,” he grimaced.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me.” Willow said. Her voice wasn’t very convincing.

Luz and Gus looked at each other, frowning. Then, Luz sat down next to Willow, giving her enough distance not to crowd her personal space. “Hey, I know what it’s like to be picked on. Everyone back home always called me a freak, a weirdo, and in some cases, even cursed me out or called me slurs. And they would always get into fights with me. I know Boscha’s type when I see it, and I would not wish that type of person on anyone I love.”

Gus then took his turn to sit next to Willow. “Remember when we first met? After that group project? My groupmates treated me like garbage. But you were there for me even when I felt so ganged up on. I know what it’s like, and I want to be there for you just like you were there for me. You’re not alone, okay?”

Willow stared at her knees, frowning. “I know. And thank you. But I can’t let things get to me. Otherwise, I’ll just keep falling behind. And I’ll prove myself the half-a-witch that Boscha thinks I am.”

“Hey, it’s not like that,” Gus assured. “Even prodigies need to take some time to take care of themselves, alright?”

Willow didn’t say anything at first. Then, she got to her feet. She looked forward, not acknowledging Luz or Gus’s words. “We should get back to class. I don’t want you guys to be late because of me.” She made her way to the door. Luz and Gus quickly got up to catch up to her side.

The door shut behind the three of them. None of them noticed the trail of plants left beneath Willow’s footsteps, slowly creeping out of cracks and hollowed holes in the floorboard. Then, the ferns from where Willow was sitting began to rustle.

Chapter Text

Luz found potions class to be a lot more complicated than she expected. She should’ve seen it coming, considering she was mixing substances she had never even heard of before. It was like walking into an AP chemistry class without any kind of science prerequisite. Thankfully for her, she had Willow and Gus as lab partners. Most groups only consisted of two witches, but since Luz was a shadow, she could join in with the existing group Gus was in, which happened to be with his best friend.

Gus got very passionate about teaching Luz about the ins and outs of potions, and his face beamed whenever Luz would make a connection to some human realm equivalent to whatever liquid or other ingredient they were discussing. Willow, however, mostly kept to herself, vigorously taking notes and adding to the potion brew without saying a word to her lab partners. Gus and Luz would occasionally question her or try to spark a conversation with her, but her responses were dry and brief.

Things took a turn for the worse when a familiar figure came into the room about 15 minutes past when class started- a girl with mint green hair and black lipstick. Willow’s heart sank.

“Sorry I’m late,” Amity told the professor. “Mx. Graves pulled me aside before I got to class to talk with me. I have an excuse note.”

Willow furrowed her brows. Amity seemed so nonchalant about her excused absence after having lied on Boscha’s behalf. She was the one who almost got her in trouble! She desperately hoped that Mx. Graves tore her a new one. She deserved it. She longed to see Amity’s scared face as Mx. Graves performed the most horrifying necromancy spell as punishment for her terrible deed.

No, she couldn’t think like that. She was letting herself get too heated, and it was distracting her. She brushed off the negative thoughts, turning her focus back to her potion brewing. Even if Amity made her blood boil, she couldn’t let it get to her. After all, Boscha was the one who started everything. Everything was always Boscha’s fault. If that jerk would just walk a mile in her shoes for even a day-

“Um, Willow?” 

Willow snapped out of her thoughts, jerking her head towards the one addressing her. “Yeah, Luz?”

Luz subtly pointed to the ground beneath Willow. “Is that normal?”

Willow raised an eyebrow. She then looked to her feet, and she nearly jumped out of her boots at what she saw. Roots sprouted out of the ground, wrapping around her feet and ankles. She quickly moved and kicked them away, trying hard not to smush them in the process. 

She looked back at Luz, smiling awkwardly. “It’s fine, it’s fine! I think it’s just a little stress, but it’s nothing to worry about. Anyway,” she picked up her book, “I think we need to use a few arcanal leaves for this mixture. This’ll help give it its distinct aroma that’s important in taking on the calming effect it's supposed to produce.”

“Oh… okay,” Luz said, hesitantly. She turned to Gus, asking if he had any of the leaves Willow mentioned. 

Satisfied, Willow returned to her textbook, taking more notes and looking for anything else she needed to know about the potion she was brewing. Then, she felt an itch on her leg. She looked down to see the plants reemerging, creeping even further up her leg than before. She tried to kick it away, but her leg got caught, nearly causing her to trip.

She got a few glares from around the room, including from Gus and Luz. She looked around, panicked, and soon locked eyes with another girl staring at her. Amity. She felt her body quiver a little. “What are you looking at?” she said.

Most students, not wanting to get involved, returned to their work. However, Amity still kept looking for just a second too long. Willow clenched her teeth. “That means you, too, Amity. Mind your own business.”

Amity quickly darted her eyes away. “I was. Now leave me alone, I’m trying to work.”

More and more roots began to come out of the floorboards, slithering across the ground. “Is that all you have to say to me after almost getting me in trouble?” Willow shouted. Her eyes began to glow a sickly green. Luz and Gus looked at her, briefly exchanging panicked glances with each other.

Then, the roots sprouted into vines, shooting in every direction. Cauldrons and beakers were knocked over, leaving a mix of odd-smelling gases and liquids scattered across the room. Then, a vine grabbed Amity, wrapping around her like a tentacle, and pinned her against the wall. She grimaced, trying to break free to no avail.

“Willow, stop it!” Gus stuttered. “You’re gonna hurt someone!”

Willow looked back at him, a few tears starting to swell in her glowing eyes. Her angry frown fell into an expression of pure distress. “I… I can’t. I can’t control it.” She clutched her hair with her hands as vines began to wrap all around her, spreading outwards to knock over everything in their path. Luz and Gus backed up, and Willow quickly ran before she could let any of her vine barrages hurt one of them. She sprinted out the door, becoming entangled in a never-ending sea of vines that sprouted from her feet.

Luz and Gus exchanged a glance before running after her. Once they made it into the hallway, though, Willow was gone. In fact, most of the hallway as they knew it was gone. It was replaced by a maze of vines, ferns, and flowers, suffocating the halls into a claustrophobic embrace. Vines continued to jut out of the walls, leaving a lot less room to navigate through the thicket.

Navigating the transformed school left Luz’s head spinning in confusion. She was already unfamiliar with the school’s normal layout, but the crowded hallways of invaded plants left her feeling trapped. She had Gus to navigate, but it was still somewhat difficult even for him.

Gus spotted a couple of roots freshly emerging from the ground of an already thick jungle. “She went this way,” Gus pointed out. “She should be close.”

Luz turned to take a step toward Gus, but she halted when she heard a peculiar sound in the sea of vines behind her. It sounded vaguely like the scraping of metal, but with the sploshy sound of a goopy liquid. Then, a thicket of bushes and vines right behind her was swiftly cut down, revealing an angry-looking Amity. She was covered in bruises and heaved heavy breaths. In her right fist was a purple machete that seemed to have been formed by abomination matter.

Luz backed up, barely breathing. Amity gave her a nasty glare. “Where’s Willow?” she demanded.

“Like we’re gonna tell you,” said Luz. “You gonna cause more trouble for her?”

“Last I checked, she was the one who pinned me to the wall with plant magic and turned the school into a jungle. Look, I’m not here to cause her trouble. I just want an apology and to get her to release whatever spell that created this mess.”

“ You want an apology from her ?” Gus retorted. “Maybe you should apologize first for selling her out like you did in history class.”

Amity’s expression briefly faltered. She took half a step back, her eyes widening with the slightest hint of remorse. She then adopted her cold demeanor once again. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll apologize and then get out of her hair. As long as she stops… all this.” She gestured to the hallway around them.

Luz stood silently for a moment, trying to get a read on Amity. She found herself just as confused as Willow had seemed to be. Finally, she motioned for Gus to lead them on. Gus hesitantly complied, leading Luz and Amity along the trail that Willow had left for them.

After crossing through the next hallway, their footsteps slowed as vines and roots continued to form around them, creating several tripping hazards. They struggled to keep their balance, and they found themselves ducking under branches that jutted out of the walls and ceilings. A branch suddenly sprang from the wall, slapping Amity in the forehead and causing her to trip.

“Are you okay?” said Luz, quickly scurrying to her side to help her up. 

Luz offered a hand, but Amity simply picked herself back up. “I’m fine. I can take care of myself.” She walked off to catch up with Gus. Luz, sighing, followed.

“Uhh, guys?” Gus called out as the others were still lagging behind. “Look at this.”

Luz ran past Amity to Gus’s side. “What is- oh.” She found herself staring at a giant, carnivorous plant that looked very similar to Larry, but with an even larger stature.

“Is that Larry or… a different man-eating plant that happened to grow from Willow’s plant magic?”

“Whatever it is, I’ll take care of it,” said Amity. She spun a purple spell circle, reshaping the abomination machete into a more rope-like object. She spun it around, trying to entangle the plant creature and trap it like a bug in a spiderweb.

Gus panicked. “Wait, Amity, stop that, or it might-”

It was too late. The creature roared angrily, breaking free of Amity’s trap and splattering muck everywhere. It jutted its stem outward, quickly hovering over Amity before opening its jaw, revealing a gaping void of teeth and acid. It reached over to take a bite out of Amity, but just before it could, she vanished.

The creature halted, looking around in confusion for its prey. Luz shared its confusion, also looking around for an answer until she saw Gus with a light blue spell circle hovering above his finger. She recognized it as the same type of magic Adrian used.

“Amity, run!” Gus called. Footsteps could be heard on the ground as grass and flowers were flattened. Once he determined that Amity was far enough, he dropped the spell, revealing Amity once again. 

Luz ran to catch up with her comrades as they tried to escape the monster, which was coming for its next bite. Gus and Amity managed to escape its reach, but Luz’s foot got caught in a patch of roots in the ground. Then, what followed made Luz howl in pain. The carnivorous creature had bitten into her leg, stopping her completely in her tracks. It began to drag her by the leg with its horrid clutch.

“Luz!” Gus called, stopping in his tracks.

Amity had run just barely ahead, but stopped in her tracks once she heard Gus call Luz’s name. She turned around, looking horrified as the creature tried to drag her off. “Fight it off!” Amity called. “What kind of magic do you use?” She started running back, preparing her abomination goo.

“She… doesn’t,” said Gus.

“What? What do you mean?” Amity questioned.

“She’s a human. She doesn’t have innate magical abilities.”

Amity gasped. Then, her expression hardened. She shaped her goo into a spiked sphere, hardening it like iron. She lobbed it at the creature, smacking it upside the head. The creature was briefly stunned, but didn’t let go of Luz. At that moment, Amity reached into her backpack and pulled out a small, pointed stick with a purple grip around the edge of it. She tossed it towards Luz. “New kid, catch!”

Luz intercepted it. “What is this? A wand?”

“It’s a training wand,” said Amity. “Trace a circle and tap the center.”

Luz did as she was told. She spun it in a circle, watching it light up with a silver glow. Then, with a shaky hand, she thrust into the center, causing the circle to collapse into a small light. It charged up energy vigorously before shooting into the plant, igniting it in a barrage of flames. They spread like wildfire, causing the plants trapping Luz to incinerate. Still on the ground, she backed away like a scurrying spider before getting to her feet.

“I… I just did magic,” she said, breathless.

“It was the wand that did the magic,” said Gus. “Careful, that thing is meant more for training than real combat. It has a very limited battery.” He then turned to Amity. “Why were you carrying that thing around, anyway?”

Amity, blushing, looked away from Gus’s eyes. “I carry it around in case of emergencies. Like this.”

Gus smirked. “You still need that training wand, don’t you?”

“No!” Amity retorted. Gus couldn’t tell if the reddening in her face was from embarrassment or anger. “Maybe…” she admitted. “I’ve- always struggled with fire spells.”

“Oh! The abomination prodigy can’t conjure a fire spell? Am I hearing it right that Little Miss Perfect has a weakness?”

“Shut up, shut up, I don’t want to hear it!” Amity whined, her face turning even redder.

“Uh, guys,” said Luz, slowly backing into them. “I don’t mean to interrupt your banter, but, uh…” She pointed to the end of the hall where she ignited her flame spell. Fires began spreading across vines and roots, quickly making their way towards the party.

“Yikes, we gotta go!” said Gus. He began running in the other direction, leading his comrades along before slowly falling behind him due to his short legs.

Luz, too, began to lag. She cringed as she felt a stinging sensation in her leg. There were deep teeth marks torn into her pants and had made their way into the leg. Gus, noticing her struggle, tried to put her arm around his shoulder. She slouched over him as he tried to jog her through the hallway.

“Which way?” Amity called from ahead.

“Follow the roots coming out of the ground,” said Gus. “I think it goes left.”

Amity followed his instructions, keeping slightly ahead while occasionally looking behind to make sure Luz and Gus weren’t caught in the fire. Soon, she found the hall leading to a larger commons section spanning all three floors of the building with open ceilings. She stopped in her tracks as she gazed upon the site before her.

Luz and Gus caught up to her, sharing her look of shock and awe. The entire school looked like a plant sanctuary, flowers blooming across pillars. Then, in the middle, they saw her. Willow was entangled in a messy heap of vines dangling from the ceiling of the third floor. They slowly dragged her up, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake as plants, vines, and roots continued to sprout out of every corner of the building like a multiplying virus.

At the ground floor, several teachers stood, casting spells to try and get rid of the plant infestation and free Willow. However, each one found themselves captured by the embrace of vines, snatching them away like insects in a spiderweb. The only one that remained was a tall yet hunched man with graying facial hair and long, flowing purple hair tied in a ponytail. He had one silver eye and one eye covered in a scar, permanently shutting it. He cast spells with the assistance of his palismen, a small, red, impish creature.

“Principal Bump!” Amity called, rushing to his sight.

“Ms. Blight! Return to your class immediately. We’re dealing with a situation.”

“Willow-” Gus softly spoke, approaching Amity and Principal Bump.

“Mr. Porter, do you know anything about what’s happening with Ms. Park? It’s unlike her to attack the school like this.” He slashed his staff, creating a trail of icicles to cut away plants about to grab him.

“She’s not attacking! She lost control of her magic, and it went on a rampage.”

Before Bump could respond, vines caught him from the back and quickly wrapped around him, making him drop his staff. Luz, Gus, and Amity each let out a brief scream.

“Willow! Can you hear us up there?” Gus called.

Willow looked down, her eyes still glowing a sickly green. Parasitic roots stuck to her face like leeches. She tried to follow the sound of Gus’s voice, attempting to spot him. Instead, her eyes landed on Amity. She let out an angry, distorted scream as the roots spread further across her face and sank deeper into her skin. Dirt bled from her mouth, muffling her sounds of distress.

Amity, shaking, felt something clutch her feet. She looked down to see roots quickly wrapping around her legs, and a panicked whimper escaped her lips as she realized she’d been caught. The plant prison pulled her legs down into the ground, attempting to bury her. 

“Amity!” Luz called. She sprinted, gritting her teeth from the pain in her leg, and clutched Amity’s hand with an incredible grip that could practically break her wrist. She pulled, gritting her teeth as her muscles twitched in pain, desperately trying to keep Amity from going under. “You’re gonna be okay, you’re gonna be okay!” Despite her best efforts, though, Amity kept sinking. Soon, she vanished, causing Luz’s hand to slip out of her own. Luz tripped, falling to her knees.

“Agh!” Gus yelped. Luz turned to find Gus captured by a web of vines nearly covering his entire body.

“Hold on, I got this!” Luz gripped her training wand as she ran up to Gus. She lit a small flame on it, careful not to set the entire room ablaze like she did in the previous hallway. She slowly and cautiously held the flame over the vines. Her hands shook violently as she tried to hold it in place, chipping away ash into the plants. 

Then, the flame died. The purple handle on the wand blinked red before losing its color entirely. “Wait, is this thing dead already?” Luz complained. Then, she felt the stinging squeeze of a plant wrap around her wrist, making her drop the wand. Her other wrist immediately got caught, as well as her legs. “No… not yet… I can’t go out like this!”

She shivered as vines wrapped around her stomach and shoulders, slowly squeezing tighter. “Why did I think I could do this?” she whimpered. “I’m only human… What can I do against magic like this? I’m kidding myself here!”

Luz’s body grew very hot as she sank deeper into the plants’ embrace. She shook, trying to resist the intense sensation of being squeezed. She let her thoughts go haywire until they suddenly fixated on a particular voice. Eda’s voice popped in her head, injected into her brain. She remembered something she was told earlier that day, and it suddenly stuck with her like glue. “It's important to understand that wild magic is all about connecting with magic and nature. Slow down and appreciate the environment you’re in and the spells you encounter. Take the time to understand how things mesh together. Understanding the world in its free, natural state is what being a Wild Witch is all about.”

Luz’s emotions settled slightly. “Maybe there’s something I can do,” she told herself. “Okay, think… what is causing Willow’s magic to go haywire? Maybe there’s something I can do to stop it from spreading.” Luz took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves. She almost didn’t notice at first, but she felt like the plants’ grip on her was loosening. She took another breath. No, it wasn’t her imagination. They were slowly freeing her.

She thought back to Willow screaming as she saw Amity and the way both of them were swallowed by the plant magic around them. “That’s it! This magic responds to strong emotions. It’s feeding off of Willow’s intense feelings, and by extension, our own panic is feeding into it.”

The plants surrounding Luz fell back into the ground, sinking beneath her. She stretched her limbs, feeling the freedom in the air surrounding her. She then fixated on the various plants sprouting in every direction around her. No longer afraid or panicked, she took a deep breath and ran to the nearest vine. She grabbed on and climbed it, scaling up the pillar.

As she got closer to Willow, more vines surrounded her, their movement acting like predators wanting to attack her. As they moved closer, Luz tried to repress the fear she had- not perfectly, however. Her heart rate shot up as the vines tried to intercept her. Pushing aside her fears, she leaped, trying to grip a vine that hung from the ceiling. She swung across, using the grip of the vine around her wrist to keep her in the air. She refused to look down, knowing that even if she didn’t fall, the fear of falling would cause her to be swallowed. She swung across vine after vine like monkey bars until she finally reached Willow.

She grabbed the vines that were suffocating her new friend and leeching off of her. She looked directly at Willow’s face, not quite meeting her glowing eyes. “Willow, can you hear me? It’s me, Luz. The magic is feeding off your emotions. I know calming down isn’t easy- it’s been a stressful day. But I need you to try. If nothing else, understand that you have power over your magic, not the other way around. It can’t harm you if you’re not afraid of it.

Willow struggled vigorously against her own magic, unable to break free. “It’s just… so much. I can’t keep it in.”

“Then just let it out. If you keep burying it, it’ll only get worse. Just let it out and you’ll feel a lot better. I got you, okay?”

Willow’s eyes began to quiver as she felt the sincerity of Luz’s words. Then, the tears started to run through her eyes. She whimpered and sniffled, and soon, the dam in her heart burst. Everything came flooding out- tears, snot, and gut-wrenching howls. The vines leeching on her face expanded and contracted violently, fighting against their host’s rigorous emotional distress. The school shook along with the vines, threatening to make Luz lose her grip, but she clutched tighter to make sure she didn’t separate from Willow.

Soon enough, Willow began to calm down. She took a deep, shaky breath, tears still stinging her face. The glow in her eyes gradually faded. The familiar warmth of her own emerald-colored eyes gleamed through her glasses. “Luz, I’m sorry. I should’ve just been honest, but I let things get out of control.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Luz assured. “You’re among good company. Just take another deep breath and let it all go.”

Willow did as she was told. Slowly, the vines loosened their grip and began to recede into the ceiling. As they let go, Luz and Willow realized just a moment too late that they were about to lose what was keeping them in the air. The vines let go, and they screamed as they plummeted to the ground.

Quickly, Willow traced a green spell circle, summoning a large flower at the center of the commons area. She braced herself as she and Luz landed firmly into its soft, cushiony embrace. It sank back into the ground, vanishing and leaving the two shaking teenagers on the ground in one piece. 

Plants receded into the ground and walls, freeing several teachers as they gasped for breath. The ground spit up Amity, leaving her on her back. She shivered, an icy feeling of despair shooting through her veins. 

Once Gus broke free of his own plant prison, he immediately ran as fast as his short legs could carry him over to Willow and Luz. “Are you guys okay?” he huffed, catching his breath.

“Yeah- yeah, I’m fine,” Luz assured. She turned back to her other friend. “Are you okay, Willow? Let us know if you need a minute.”

“Nah, I’m good,” she said, rubbing her head.

“Ms. Park, a word, please?” Willow’s bones turned to ice as Principal Bump approached her. His imp palismen released from staff form, instead opting to cover half of his head, biting around his eyes. His tall stature felt like a giant standing over her, ready to crush her. However, his tone was not angry. “Although you unleashed a rampage on half the school, it is to my understanding that you were not in control of your magic. With some proper training, you could learn to control it. Yes, I think you have much potential in the plant track. How would you like to switch?”

Willow’s heart nearly stopped upon hearing the offer. “Really? But- what will it do regarding my career opportunities? My parents really wanted me to go into abominations.”

“While I understand the concern, a witch with talent like yours should not go to waste, in my opinion. You are more than capable of achieving success with the right support. Ask your parents if they could schedule an appointment with me so we can discuss your options. Does that sound fair?”

Luz and Gus shared in Willow’s sudden breathless enthusiasm. “Yes! I’ll do that right when I get home,” she said.

“Excellent. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for you here at Hexside. Now, once you’ve all had a moment to rest, I would like for you to return to your classrooms. I’ll call the teachers and let them know you’re excused.” Without another word, Bump walked off.

“The plant track,” said Gus. “Girl, I’m so excited for you! Congratulations.”

As Gus, Willow, and Luz celebrated, their attention was stolen by the sound of Amity getting to her feet and brushing herself off. The green-haired girl took a step, but halted as she heard the sound of clearing throats behind her. She sighed and turned halfway to meet Willow’s face. “I’m only going to say this once, but- I apologize for almost getting you in trouble. If it’s any consolation, Mx. Graves approached me earlier, and I gave him the full truth of the situation. You have nothing to worry about.” Amity turned away, walking off and leaving Willow stunned.

“Well,” Willow said softly, “can’t say I’m happy with her, but… I’ll take it.”

After returning to their classes, the rest of the day went over without a hitch. A haunting chime of the school bells rang through, dismissing the eager students. At the stairs, Luz spotted Eda hovering above the flooding crowd on her staff. Smiling, Luz waved goodbye to Willow and Gus and ran for Eda, trying to grab her attention.

“Hey, kiddo. How was it? You get indoctrinated yet?” Eda playfully punched Luz’s shoulder.

“It was great! I think I’m gonna love it here. And for your information, your Wild Witch advice this morning actually saved me.”

“Woah, really?”

“Yeah. I’m proud to call you my mentor, Eda.”

A wide grin lit up on Eda’s face. “Well, you caught me in a good mood with that! What do you say we get takeout? Do you like griffin eggs?”

“Can’t say I ever tried them,” Luz giggled. “But holy crap, all my dreams are coming true if griffins exist on The Isles.”

“Consider your dreams realized. Just don’t get used to me spoiling you.” With a few more playful punches, Eda took off, taking Luz into the skies above Bonesborough.

Chapter Text

Luz took a deep breath, feeling it course through her body. The crisp forest air fluttered around her, calming her senses. She repeated a mantra in her head, feeling her focus heighten as she stared her mentor directly in the eyes, feeling those gold pupils gazing into her soul like a hawk. She held a training wand firmly in her hand, feeling the pulse of its magic.

“Begin!’ Eda shouted.

Luz pushed the tip of her foot into the earth, carrying her body into a powerful sprint directly toward Eda. With an amused expression, Eda launched herself into the air with a powerful jump thanks to the flight capabilities of her staff. She dove headfirst, bringing her staff in front of her and gripping it firmly with both hands. She slammed firmly into the ground, nearly hitting Luz in the process.

Luz dodged, but she nearly missed the landing as she felt the ground shake below her. Thorny vines sprang from the ground, attempting to strike her. Quickly, Luz traced a few spell circles with her wand and tapped them, trapping the plants in puffs of frost, freezing them to their roots. 

She felt a surge of confidence zip through her veins, but they were immediately lost as she sensed Eda suddenly coming in from behind with a glowing staff in hand. Luz turned around and jumped away, just barely missing the impact of Eda’s attack. 

As the battle raged on, King sat at The Owl House door, munching on a snack that he totally didn’t steal from Luz’s bag labeled “Doritos” with a mysterious triangular insignia. “Go on, Luz, kick her butt!” he cheered. “Pay her back for all the times she pushed me into the toilet.”

Luz, feeling a tinge of pride for King lighting up her heart, charged a few fire spells with the wand. She shot each of them at Eda with incredible speed. Eda, however, not only managed to dodge each one, but zipped back and forth across the entire field with a spell that made her move like lightning. Luz kept desperately trying to hit her target with projectiles, but the more experienced witch was just too fast for her.

Desperately, Luz charged up one more attack, but her heart sank when she saw the purple glow begin to fade, turning red. She clenched her teeth and looked back up at her opponent. Eda was tracing a large spell circle with her staff, her eyes glowing gold. A powerful aura surrounded her, as if her mere presence was changing the weather of their environment. Her expression was that of an angry deity ready to strike down a sinner with their full might and wrath, desecrating the poor soul that would dare defy them and reducing them to ash. Luz clenched her eyes, bracing herself as she was about to fall victim to such a powerful attack… and flinched as she felt the tap of a wooden texture bopping her on the nose.

Her eyes slowly crawled open as she gazed upon Eda’s smug grin. She held her staff in Luz’s face, as if to mock her. “Had enough, kid?”

“Come on, Eda! You need to take this seriously!” Luz complained.

“What, you think I’m actually gonna incinerate you with my magic? Can’t exactly train a disciple if they’re, you know, dead.”

Luz sighed, holding out her wand in her palms. “I just wish this stupid thing didn’t run out of battery so fast. How can I rely on it in a real battle?”

“You wanna know a secret?” Eda said, raising her eyebrows. Luz looked at her with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. “You can’t.” Luz’s expression fell to a bitter frown. “Look,” Eda continued, “Wands were not designed to sustain magic. They were designed to train a witch to wield basic magic before being able to cast it on their own.”

“But I can’t cast magic naturally. This is the only option I got.”

Eda’s expression softened. She walked over to Luz, kneeling down to her level and placing a comforting hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Kid, listen. I know you’re dazzled by our ability to cast magic with our fingers. And believe me, I understand that your lack of that will be a disadvantage. But I’m training you to be a Wild Witch, and a Wild Witch isn’t just about having those innate abilities. It’s about being resourceful and using any means necessary to win a fight. You wanna know why you lost that fight? It’s because you were so focused on what the wand could do for you and over-relied on it. You spammed attacks and didn’t use your resources wisely.”

“You always tell me that there’s more to being a Wild Witch than casting magic, but I don’t understand it in practice. What else is there that I can do? I mean- how do you win a fight with such limited magic?”

“Well, there are lots of ways besides the training wand. You could try a hand at potions, for example. You could look for weaknesses in the spells one casts. Or you could study the environment, like you did when you saved your friend from that plant spell catastrophe. Magic is everywhere- it’s in the very air on this island. Once you understand it, you can learn how to bend it to your will. And with someone as passionate and stubborn as you, you’ll find a way. Just be patient.”

Luz looked to the ground, feeling her stomach squirm as she tried to ponder Eda’s words. They felt like the vague jargon that mentor figures always used with their students. She just wished she had a way to make sense of everything Eda always preached to her about.

“Maybe we should take a break. You still haven’t had breakfast, and school starts in an hour. We can resume another time.”

“Yeah… okay, I can do that,” said Luz, faking a smile of confidence. As she followed Eda back inside, she slowly stopped as she saw King munching on the bag of Doritos, orange crumbs sticking to and staining his fur. All the frustration swirling inside her suddenly burst. “Did you steal those from my backpack? Gimme!” She snatched the bag from King. “Bad boy! You know better.”

“Weh!” King squeaked as his precious snack was stolen back. “Don’t treat me like a pet! Now, please, please, please give them back.”

A smug smile spread across Luz’s face as she took a bite of a chip. King squealed at the sight as if he were being subjected to physical pain. “Next time, ask before stealing them, and maybe I’ll consider sharing,” she teased. She continued to wear her grin as she strolled inside, shutting the door behind her.

“Luz! How dare you treat the King of Demons this way! Get back here!” He scrambled on all four paws to the door and stopped as a menacing Hooty stood in his way.

“Password, please,” Hooty chirped.

“Hooty, I don’t have time for this. Let me in.”

King shrieked as Hooty suddenly spun around him, wrapping him in a suffocating embrace. “Password, please, or I’ll consider you trespassing, hoot hoot!” King cried in agony as the horrid house demon refused to let him go.

—

Luz liked Boiling Isles' history. Sure, she found herself confused about the context for many events due to her total lack of familiarity with the island. She didn’t grow up learning common knowledge that the witch and demon children of this school did. But that was what made it so exciting for her. She had more questions than any of her peers did, often over things that would draw a few annoyed groans or snickers at her unbelievable stupidity. On more than one occasion did a classmate feel the need to ask if she had been living under a rock her whole life.

However, she found herself even more drawn to history than usual today. What was once a fascinating subject was now something that made her heart quiver in anticipation as it beat rapidly through her chest. The knowledge that was before her gleamed like gold in its opportunity. It had immediately caught Luz’s interest when Mx. Graves opened class with the question, “Have you ever wondered how witches developed magic before they evolved to have bile sacks?”

Luz had never considered the possibility. She simply thought witches were always born with bile sacks, and that was simply what made them, well, witches. She figured that’s how it had always been. To think there were witches that existed ages ago without them- and with the ability to still perform magic, at that- certainly made Luz’s eyes glimmer with just a sliver of hope in them.

“There are many theories about the origins of witches,” Mx. Graves said as the lecture continued. “Some believe they came from a certain type of biped demon. Others believe they were originally humans that wandered into the Demon Realm and, ever trapped, evolved to have traits to survive the harsh landscapes here. But one thing is certain- records show early witches performing magic not inwardly, but by commanding magic in the air around them. In the journals they wrote, some famous witches mention in passing the use of an ancient language system that could command innate magic that supposedly comes from the Titan.”

To Luz’s disappointment, there didn’t seem to be any official documentation of what the language system looked like. Historians were still seeking recorded examples. But now, she had a new goal. It rang similar to what Eda had always taught her- focus less on the idea of wanting to shoot magic from her body and instead on studying magic in the world around her. There had to be something to it.

During lunch period, the chatter around her drowned into a sea of white noise as her eyes fixated on her messy journal. Many theories and random thoughts were written across the pages without any proper alignment, and certain words were haphazardly scribbled out. She tapped her pen rapidly as she desperately tried to come up with ideas of what exactly to look for.

“Luz, you doing okay?” Luz’s concentration was broken as her focus snapped to Willow, who sat across from her, speaking to her between mouthfuls of a salad covered in thorny plants. Next to her, Gus slurped spoonfuls of a thick, brown stew that bubbled and let out muffled screams.

“Yeah! Just a little preoccupied with my thoughts right now,” Luz explained. “Say, Willow, could you perform a plant spell for me?”

“Really? Right here and now?”

“Yeah! I want to see something!” A smile lit up on Luz’s face as the words passed her lips.

“Well, if you insist,” said Willow. She traced a green spell circle, concentrated on manipulating the ground beneath her. With the flick of her finger, thick roots and ivy squeezed between the wooden floorboards and created a thick patch of red ferns next to the lunch table.

“Ugh, I’m looking really closely, but I can’t see anything to it,” Luz groaned.

“What are you trying to do, exactly?” Gus inquired.

“I’m trying to study magic. I want to understand how it works. I keep thinking about Mx. Graves’ lesson about the witches of old and their ability to cast magic through some ancient language. But I don’t even know where to begin looking for answers.”

“Luz, don’t be too hard on yourself,” said Gus. “This is supposedly a very new discovery for historians, and I hear that the empire hasn’t exactly been giving much funding to the research facilities. I don’t expect you to find the answers so easily.”

“Well,” said Luz, “maybe the fact that their funding is so poor means that I have the opportunity to beat them to the punch! I just need to dig deeper.”

As Luz continued her research, she made a passing glance at a familiar girl carrying a lunch tray up to where Willow’s patch of ferns sat. Amity Blight stopped and stared at the site, not showing a trace of emotion.

“Oh! Sorry, Amity,” said Willow. “I can undo the spell for-”

Without a word, Amity, holding her lunch with one hand, traced a spell circle with the other hand. She formed some spare abomination slime into a knife and swiftly cut through the vines, leaving them scattered everywhere. Pridefully smirking to herself, Amity carried on, not dropping her tall posture as Willow slumped in embarrassment.

“That half-a-witch bothering you, again?” Another familiar voice spoke from behind Amity, and dread settled upon the trio that sat at the table, Willow most of all. Boscha strolled forward, her three eyes staring angrily in perfect harmony.

“No, I had it under control,” Amity calmly said. “A Blight does not back down to such trivial inconveniences.”

“Oh, but I think this little dickweed is more than just a ‘trivial inconvenience’ if you ask me,” Boscha said haughtily. She slammed her hands on the lunch table, her face coming uncomfortably close to Willow’s. “I heard you caused trouble for my friend the other day with your little plant magic stunt. Nearly covered the whole school in your jungle and even physically restrained Amity with it.” Willow could feel the droplets of spit splattering on her face with each of Boscha’s words. “You might have fooled Bump and even Amity with your little ‘oh I can’t control my magic’ act,” Boscha continued, imitating a voice of mock sympathy, “but I’m not buying that load of slitherbeast crap.”

Willow couldn’t find the words that even began to articulate the rage burning deep inside her chest. Of course, Amity had to yap about what happened, and of course, Boscha had to come be a jerk to her about it. However, she hesitated. Her body shook as she couldn’t find the words or the energy to retaliate.

“Boscha, that’s enough,” Amity said softly. “I’ve already said my piece to her when it took place. I didn’t ask you to get involved.”

Boscha turned to face her comrade, a scowl sizzling in her eyes. She walked up to Amity, and, to everyone’s shock, smacked her upside the head. Amity flinched from the pain but said nothing. “I’m just saying what you were too weak to say, Blight. Shut your titandamn mouth and pay attention. I’m giving you a lesson in teaching people manners.”

“Okay, that’s totally uncalled for!” Willow squeaked.

“Oh, you wanna talk back, huh, half-a-witch?” said Boscha. She traced a spell circle, and the air went cold around Willow. She felt her fire go out and her anger sink deep back into her as fear took hold. Regret filled her stomach the moment she saw two mummified hands phase through the table, grabbing her by the sides of her head. They gripped with overwhelming force, pulling her face first into her salad.

Willow’s glasses were drenched in dressing, and thorned fruits stabbed through her cheeks and forehead, creating a few bleeding punctures. Willow took off her glasses and whimpered, trying to wipe the blood off her forehead.

Luz, Gus, and even Amity could only stare in shock. They didn’t have time to process what had happened before Boscha walked back up to Amity, lightly swatting her on the shoulder. “Let’s go. I’ve had enough,” she said.”

Amity took half a step forward to follow, but froze. She looked back at Willow, who stared through her with an expression of what seemed to be a mix of sadness and disapproval.

“Why are you letting her do this?” Willow said pathetically. “You didn’t consent to this- and she sure doesn’t treat you any better, for that matter.”

“Um, excuse me?” Boscha interrupted, focusing more on Amity than Willow. “Did I say you could stop and gawk? I said let’s go, dumbass!”

Amity, taking one last sympathetic look towards Willow, shook her head and caught up to Boscha. She didn’t look back, and she seemed to quickly forget just what transpired.

Luz, however, did not forget. The fire that died out in Willow only reignited in her own chest. She jumped out of her seat, rushing up to the two witches who decided to ruin their lunch. “Hey, Boscha! You wanna try that again?” Luz shouted.

“Luz, no,” Willow whimpered under her breath.

Amity and Boscha both froze. Amity didn’t move, but Boscha quickly turned around and shoved her way in front, marching over to Luz. “Okay, I just want to get on with my lunch, and now you insist on bothering me?”

“Big talk from someone who interrupted us just trying to enjoy our lunch.”

“I was only paying Willow back her due recompense. But since you’re so eager to label yourself as an accomplice, I guess I’ll have to humor you.”

“I know your kind, Boscha,” Luz spat. “I’ve taken much worse from people far worse than you. But I’m not going to run away if you choose to pick on my friends. I think it’s time someone taught you some manners. Just like The Good Witch Azura said to her rival Hecate in the final chapter of Volume 3, I challenge you to a witch’s duel!”

The entire school, now turning their heads to see what the shouting was about, audibly gasped as Luz boldly declared her challenge. A virus of whispering manifested and spread among the crowd. Luz, trying to ignore the sudden attention, kept her anger-filled eyes locked on Boscha.

Boscha slowly inched forward, a creepy smile plastered on her smug face. “I accept,” she declared, moving way too close to Luz’s face. “Let’s make this a little more interesting.” She dug her hands in her backpack, pulling out a container with a dark red liquid that looked as if it personified death. “An Everlasting Potion. I’ve been working on this little baby in potions class for weeks and have been waiting for an opportunity to try it out. It just needs a sample of our blood.”

Without awaiting further instruction, Boscha bared her teeth, showing sharp fangs. She sank them into the pink flesh around her pointer finger, letting a drop of blood through the puncture. She let it drip into the vial, watching it create a smoky texture within the concoction. “Your turn.”

“Uhh, I don’t know-”

“You wanted a witch’s duel, right? I already gave up some of my own blood, so you better not back down or I’ll make you live to regret it.”

Reluctantly, Luz bit her finger. No blood. “Uh, hang on a moment.” She bit again, much harder, and though she flinched in pain, nothing came out. “Come on, stupid finger, there’s got to be a way to-”

“Ugh, this is taking too long. Here.” Boscha dug her fingernail, which almost looked like a talon, into Luz’s palm. Luz flinched, yelping “ow” repeatedly as the blood traveled down her palm into the vial. “There,” said Boscha. “Now, drink half.”

Luz did as she was told, taking a deep breath and trying not to gag. The liquid slithered down her throat, leaving a weird taste. Her chest burned, making her sweat. She couldn’t tell if it was from the potion or nerves. Boscha then snatched the vial, gulping down the rest of the potion and wiping her lips with her sleeve, smirking. “If I win, you have to tell the whole school that you’re human.”

“Wait,” Luz said, her voice almost a whisper. “How do you know-”

“Blight told me,” Boscha said. “She doesn’t seem to care, but I think you oughta know your place. And you could start by letting this school know your shame. Now, declare the conditions you want to put me under.”

“Oh! Um, if I win, you have to stop picking on Willow and Gus, and you can’t physically abuse Amity anymore.”

“That’s fine. I’m not afraid of losing to a human with no magical ability. You could make the condition a literal death sentence, and I wouldn’t break a sweat. I’ll see you after school tomorrow on the Grudgby field.” With one last smug look, Boscha walked off, escorting Amity away from the scene.

“Luz, you know what you just did, right?” Gus said, catching up to her. “An Everlasting Potion is permanent. You can’t go back on your word, or it’ll force you to comply with the conditions set.”

“Well, don’t worry about me! I’m studying under a powerful mentor, and I still have until tomorrow to figure out this old language system I’ve been trying to uncover.”

“Luz, with all due respect, I think you’re coming into this with a little too much confidence,” said Willow. “I love you, but I worry for you.”

“Well, I um- don’t worry, please. I’ll figure this out. Trust me.” Luz gave the most reassuring smile she could, but it didn’t seem to convince either of her friends.

As lunch ended, Willow’s walk to her locker was quiet and awkward. She was still covered in salad dressing, and she didn’t have time to see the healing room to take care of her wounds. She opted instead to wipe off any remaining blood and food residue with the towel she kept in her locker. 

As she placed it back into storage and selected her books for her next class, she noticed Gus standing next to her. Odd- their lockers were in different hallways. He must’ve needed something.

“Oh, Gus!” she said. “What’s up?”

“Is it alright if I ask you something?” said Gus.

Willow paused for a moment. Her voice was still a little shaken up, but not uninviting. “Sure, I’m all ears.”

“What exactly is the deal between you and Amity? I’m sensing more than just a bully-victim situation going on here.”

Willow shut the door to her locker, staring silently at it. She then turned to face Gus, a subtle frown on her face. “Gus, you’ve known me for two years,” she said, not angrily. “Why are you asking me about this now?”

“That’s just it. I know you two quarrel sometimes, but you’ve never really talked about it. We’ve been friends for a while now, and- I don’t know, I guess it just bothered me not knowing. I want to be there for you, and to feel like you can trust me.”

Willow pondered for a moment. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Gus, it’s just, it’s-” she hesitated. “It’s complicated.”

“Oh,” Gus said. He couldn’t find any more words to voice how he felt. “Forget I said anything. Sorry to bother you.” Gus strolled off. Willow lifted a hand, wanting desperately to reach out to him, but she stopped herself. She couldn’t find any other words to say, either. She sighed, gripping her books fiercely, and carried herself to class.

—

Once Luz exited the front doors at the end of the day, her eyes immediately gazed toward the Grudgby field that stood out in the distance next to the school, surrounded by just enough trees to enclose it without obscuring it. Her heart pounded violently as she thought about facing off against a witch as aggressive as Boscha at this time tomorrow. Even now, after everything she studied in her classes, she couldn’t come closer to an answer about how to communicate with the magic of the Isles. She swallowed against a thick, heavy lump in her dry throat.

Then, she spotted Eda, and the slightest glimmer of hope reached her. She ran up to speak to the old witch. Rather than greeting her, she jumped straight into asking, “Eda, can we have another training session when we get back?”

“What? Already?” Eda chuckled. “We just had one this morning. Don’t you want a break after a long day of Coven propog- I mean, school?”

“Maybe I would if I had time. But I maybe sorta challenged a girl to a witch’s duel so she’d stop picking on my friends, and she maybe sorta knows that I’m human and wants to spill it to the whole school, and we maybe sorta drank this potion with our blood in it to ensure we fulfilled the conditions we set upon losing. Allegedly! Allegedly.”

Eda’s eyes flattened in an unamused glare. “Kid, saying ‘allegedly’ after such a detailed rant is not going to make me believe this didn’t happen.” Then, her eyes widened suddenly. “Wait, you took an Everlasting Potion?”

“Um… yes?” Luz shot Eda a wide grin, masking her nerves. It wasn’t working.

“Alright, come with me. Honestly, you’re quite the dumbass for agreeing to that. You know that, right?”

Luz sighed. “Yeah, I know,” she said, defeated.

The two returned to the woods, setting foot in the courtyard of The Owl House. King, sitting outside against the front wall, perked up once he noticed her return. “Eda! Thank goodness you’re here. Hooty won’t let me in the house. And he’s been randomly bursting into song every 20 minutes? He has a horrific singing voice.”

Hooty took a deep breath. “If ye seek the door to my abode, answer my questions three and you shall take shelter from the road,” he sang.

Eda rubbed her fingers between her eyes. “Look, both of you, I don’t have time for this. I need to give the kid another lesson.”

“Again? That’s the second time today,” King whined.

“And it’s an emergency,” Luz retorted. “I’m gonna get my butt kicked by Boscha if I don’t, so please, just be patient. Now, Eda, hit me with your most powerful spells. I need to be ready for anything Boscha throws at me.”

“Alright, if you say so,” said Eda. “Do you know what kind of magic she specializes in?”

“Um- well, I saw her summon these… hands, I guess? They did a number on Willow.”

“Ah, Necromancy magic. Not my strongest area of focus, but it’s pretty fun once in a while. It often involves summoning spirits from the dead, but it takes a lot of concentration to summon a full body, so it’s not something that can be easily spammed. The quickest and most practical application of it is this .”

Eda shot a spell circle from her hand, flicking it to pull a mummified hand out of the ground. Its cold grip clutched against Luz’s ankle, sending a chill up her spine. She tugged her leg, using her hands to apply additional force to the motion with no luck. She gritted her teeth in frustration.

“First lesson of countering Necromancy magic,” said Eda, “don’t put up too much of a struggle. It’ll only grip you tighter. Look for a weakness in the spirit and stamp it out.”

“A weakness? How?”

“It takes a lot of concentration to make a being like that so strong. There should at least be some pressure points that could easily decay. It takes a keen eye to spot them. Think you can handle it?”

Luz averted her eyes back to the creepy, corpse-looking hand wiggling its fingers around her leg. She felt the strong urge to throw up as it stuck to her. It gave her the same sensation that a spider or snake would to a human who isn’t Luz Noceda. Trying to keep her composure, she looked carefully for one of the pressure points Eda mentioned. She saw a spot on the knuckle that looked faded and more ashy, as if it could crumble like chalk. She reached over, chopping the pressure point with her hand. Its finger fell off, squirming like a bug before fading to dust. With the lifted pressure, Luz managed to pry the other fingers off.

She quickly backed away, letting another shiver overtake her. She then began to bring her legs into a bouncing motion, cheering in celebration. Then, immediately, she felt the horrifying grasp of two more hands grabbing her from behind, pulling at the skin around her eyes. “Oh come on!” she squeaked, trying not to stumble backwards. “How am I supposed to see where their pressure points are?”

“There’s more to magic combat than just seeing,” Eda called. “You have four other senses. Use them.”

Luz started gripping the mummified hands with her own, feeling her fingers slip as she failed to even budge them in her attempts to pry them off. She felt around the squirming fingers, looking for a weakness. Her own fingers felt the sandy touch of ashen spots on the knuckles. She squeezed, feeling the skin crumble to dust in her hands. Trying not to let it gross her out, she ripped the hands from her face and slammed them into the ground.

“Not bad, kid. Ready for another round?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask about my own counterattacks.”

“You’re not going to ask me about wands and shooting magic again, are you?”

“No, not that,” Luz replied. She twiddled her fingers, spinning them around each other. “I actually heard something interesting in school today. We learned about witches of old who didn’t have bile sacks, and supposedly, they cast magic through an ancient language system. Know anything about that?”

Eda’s expression softened. “Huh. I didn’t expect them to allow that in the curriculum.”

“So you do know something!” Luz gasped.

“Not much!” Eda quickly clarified, holding her hands in a defensive gesture. “I’ve heard rumors among past clients and such. As you said, some witches of the past supposedly used a language to command the magic around them. It’s theorized that they were able to communicate with the land or even the Titan’s spirit to cast magic. I don’t know anything about how it looks in practice. But supposedly, if this language is in fact a way to communicate with the Titan’s carcass, then there could be a way to find it within nature and not just through written word. I don’t know, they’re still looking into it. You want my advice? Keep doing what I suggest in your wild magic training- study nature, and take the time to understand it.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying. I’ve been watching Willow conjure up magic, but I can’t seem to find anything in her spell circles. How can I possibly replicate something like that?”

Eda smirked. “Well, there’s your problem, kid. You focus so hard on the spell circle. You’re obsessed with the way we witches cast magic naturally. But this supposed language system is nothing like innate magic. You’re going to have to look deeper.”

Luz hung her head in defeat. More cryptic lessons from Eda- did she expect any less? Eda, noticing Luz’s frustration, felt herself hesitate. How was she to help her student like this? She decided to switch tactics. “Look, why don’t we do a few more rounds to help you practice countering Necromancy spells. Then, after we’re done, we can brew some potions together that might help you get the upper hand. This ancient language lead you have might be a long shot, so it doesn’t hurt to be prepared in other ways.”

Luz sighed. “Yeah- yeah, okay. Let’s do it.”

Training slowly intensified as the Necromancy spells Eda drew upon grew even more and more complex. She started by summoning larger quantities of hands, but Luz quickly managed to get the hang of countering them. Eda then moved to various limbs and even severed heads, but Luz, despite being caught off guard by some of these conjurings, found herself learning more and more quickly. Finally, Eda pulled out the big guns- a full, zombified spirit with rather lifelike animation, creating an almost uncanny level of humanness in its movements. 

Practice continued until the sun slowly became hidden enough in the trees to darken the air of the woods. The chirps and buzzes of night critters began to crawl in, and Eda decided it was time to call it a night. As she took Luz inside, she was met with a very agitated-looking King in the doorway. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to frown in sympathy or chuckle in amusement.

“Eda- please tell me you’re done spending time with Luz. I missed out on so many belly rubs that you could’ve been giving me.”

“Aww, is my little roommate getting jealous?” Eda mocked. “Lighten up. I was gonna brew some potions with Luz tonight to prepare her for tomorrow’s match. We can play another time.” Eda strolled off, leaving an even angrier expression boiling on King’s bony face.

Dusk quickly turned to the pitch black veil of night, and Luz felt a yawn creeping upon her as she finished mixing the last brew of potions. Eda started scooping the liquids into empty bottles she kept around the kitchen for moments such as this. She first scooped a few green potions that pulsated like slime and guts. “Alright, these are pretty important for any kind of duel you’re preparing for. You remember what they do.”

“Oh! They’re stamina potions, right? I remember that because they’re the same color as the stamina potions from Zelda.”

“Your confusing human pop culture references aside, you are correct,” Eda confirmed. “Stamina’s really important for keeping you in the fight longer. You won’t tire out as easily and can take more punches. Cool spells are neat and all, but never forget the importance of a potion with a good support effect.”

“Yeah, yeah, but please tell me I can take a lot of dragon potions with me.”

Eda let out a chuckle, scooping up the spicy blue liquid in a few glass vials. “Sure, I got plenty. Most witches don’t need them because we can cast fire magic, but breathing fire from your mouth is still a fun party trick. You should see me with these babies when I’m drunk.”

“Eda, I’m pretty sure the responsible adult isn’t supposed to be getting drunk around me,” Luz laughed. 

“Yeah, but, hey, who said I’m a responsible adult? I’m the one giving you potions that let you breathe fire. Here, take as many as you need.”

As Luz finished stocking up, she stored all her potions in the backpack she left by the windowsill. “Well, I’m gonna get to bed. I feel a lot better about facing Boscha now. Thanks, Eda!”

“Be sure to beat that punk’s ass for me, okay?” Eda said, winking. Luz, trying and failing to not let Eda’s antics make her laugh, waved goodbye and made her way upstairs. As Eda finished cleaning up, she clapped her hands, which Hooty took as a sign to dim the kitchen lights. Yawning and scratching herself, she made her leave to her room.

She didn’t notice King, lurking in the shadows as she took her leave. Like a rat hidden in the dark of night, he scuttled through the kitchen without making a peep. He peeked inside Luz’s backpack, gazing upon the symbols of lost time from Eda. “Luz, I’ll teach you not to hog all the attention,” he whispered to himself. He snatched each of the potions, carrying as many as he could in his paws, and scurried away.

Chapter Text

The next day, Luz felt very tiny as she walked through the treacherous hallways of the school. She couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched and whispered about among her peers after the previous day's events. She had no doubt that news and rumors of her upcoming duel with Boscha had spread around the school. The sensation felt all too familiar. Painful memories of being watched and ridiculed in the hallways of human school stirred in Luz’s stomach. 

As she strolled, she found the perfect distraction to forget the negative feelings. She found Gus sitting against the wall and fidgeting with his earrings. “Morning, Gus!” she called, walking up to him. She stopped in her tracks, as Gus seemed rather slow to respond or even notice she was there.

“Oh, Luz. Good morning. Sorry, I- have a lot on my mind.”

“Is something the matter?”

“Yeah- could I have some advice?”

Luz carefully plopped herself next to Gus, patting her knees. “What’s up, buddy?”

“What do you do when someone doesn’t want to be open with you about something, and you want to respect their feelings, but you can’t help but feel a little... like you’re not a good enough friend for them by being left in the dark?”

“Gus, I’m sure that’s not their intention. But I know how that feels- it’s hard understanding how good a connection you have with someone. Sometimes, you think they’re your friend, but they turn around and treat you like garbage behind your back.”

Gus felt like his eyes were sinking into his skull. “Yeah- been there. But I don’t think this friend would do that to me. I’ve known them for a long time, and they would never wanna hurt me. The very idea of thinking they would-” He couldn’t find the words to finish his sentence.

“May I ask who this friend is?”

Gus scratched his neck, feeling his nails pick through the nervous sweat. “I was kinda trying to keep them anonymous so it wouldn’t feel like I was talking bad behind their back, you know? I just needed some advice.”

Daunting church bells rang and vibrated through the school halls, halting the conversation. “Shoot, that’s the five-minute warning!” said Gus. “I’ll catch you later. Thanks for talking to me!” As the young witch made his leave, the feeling of judgment amongst her peers slowly crawled back into Luz’s gut once again.

Things seemed to feel even worse as she went through her school day. She would occasionally see Boscha or Amity in her classes, reminding her of her impending doom. She also could’ve sworn she saw Boscha give her a death glare, which she figured pretty much checked out for the kind of person she was. To make matters even worse, she couldn’t reliably vent to her friends like she usually could. There seemed to be this weird tension between Gus and Willow for some reason, which made collaboration in potions class even harder. She had already clicked with them as partners on her first day, so the teacher agreed to let them remain a group of three. Now though? She wished she had someone else. It felt like she was practically working alone on today’s assignment anyway.

Gus, similarly, felt tension running through his body as he struggled to focus on class lectures. Every time he saw Willow, he kept fighting with himself on whether he should feel respectful of his friend’s feelings or betrayed by the lack of communication. It just didn’t sit right with him, and he couldn’t shake off the parasitic anxiety leeching off of his heart.

He ended up ditching his friends just before lunch. Not permanently, of course! He just needed to move back to his locker and be alone for a minute. He wouldn’t let this manifest into something bigger. In his travels, he found himself running into Amity, thankfully not accompanied by Boscha at thatmoment. An impulse flashed in his mind, and before he had time to consider the consequences, he found himself already giving in.

“Amity! Do you have a minute?”

Amity halted, not looking amused. “Not really. I have to get to lunch.”

“It’s just a quick question, I promise. I won’t take up too much of your time.”

Amity sighed. “Just spit it out already.”

“What exactly is the deal between you and Willow? I’m- I guess I’m sensing a history between you two? Am I right about this?”

Amity’s expression didn’t change. Gus felt his legs quiver as he immediately began to regret his decision. Finally, Amity spoke, “That’s not any of your business. Whatever happened between us is in the past- I’m a Blight, and who I should be associating with has already been chosen. You and Willow are not among that group. If you’ll please excuse me, I really should be going.” As she passed by Gus, he could feel the heart-stopping presence of her cold demeanor.

Gus let out the breath he had been subconsciously holding, feeling more sweat stick to his skin than before the conversation began. “Phew! I really shouldn’t have asked that, huh?” he said to himself. Setting aside the fear of whatever might happen, he led himself to the lunchroom to meet with Willow and Luz. That gathering certainly couldn’t be any more awkward than his chat with Amity.

—

The usual hour of school ending came, and Eda picked up her staff and twirled it. She reached the living room door and stopped. “Oh yeah, that’s right. Luz is gonna be out a little longer due to her witch’s duel.”

“Her what?” King perked up, his tail exploding with static.

“Her witch’s duel with the feisty girl from school? You know, the whole reason we were training and brewing potions?”

“Wait, that’s why you were brewing potions?” King felt his paws sink deep into his fur.

“Um, yeah? Were you not listening? We only said it maybe 100 times.”

“Yeah, I uh- may have been tuning you out because I was so mad. Good thing there is absolutely no consequence of my ignorance, and we can just hope Luz has a good match, right?” King let out the fakest laugh Eda ever heard, and it died as he realized how deep her scowl towards him was. “Weh?” he whimpered as he realized that the cranky witch was on to him.

“King? What did you do?”

“Nothing, nothing! Like I said, I was just in a pouty mood yesterday. I’m gonna go get a snack, so don’t mind- weh!” He yelped as Eda was suddenly picking him up by the collar. How did she reach him so fast? He barely even saw her move before his life started flashing before his eyes. He flailed and squealed, shouting, “Put me down, put me down!”

“Spill it. What did you do, you little furball? Talk now, or I’ll brew you into our next potion. Yeah, I bet your thick heap of fur would make a really nice ingredient!” Eda flashed a wicked grin as she pulled on his fur, knowing full well she didn’t actually mean her words, but that they would be enough to scare King.

“Okay, okay, I stole the potions you guys brewed from Luz’s bag. I’m sorry!” King cried, his voice trailing as he desperately hoped the cranky witch wouldn’t eat him alive on the spot.

“Why the hell would you do that, you doofus? Do you realize what you’re risking here?”

“I’m sorry,” King repeated, his voice sounding more and more pathetic by the moment. “I was so mad that you two were stealing attention away from me, and I was being really dumb and wanted to get back at her. I swear I didn’t know those were supposed to help her at a witch’s duel!”

“So let me get this straight. You got mad at us because you couldn’t be at the center of attention for one night, and in your little impulse of rage, you decided to sabotage Luz? You didn’t even know what those potions were for, and yet you thought it was completely okay to get rid of them? Ugh, I do not have the energy to be lecturing you right now. Luz could be in trouble.”

King was almost in tears as he squealed, pleaded, and begged. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt Luz, it won’t happen again, I promise!” King yelped again as Eda tucked him under her arm and snatched her staff once again, taking the little demon outside. 

Eda dug her finger into her ear. “For the record, you’re telling Luz what you did. I’m not the one you need to be apologizing to, so your begging won’t get you anywhere with me.”

“Yes, I understand!” King pleaded, almost out of breath. “Just please don’t hurt me!”

“Alright, alright, I get it! I’m not gonna do anything, you big baby! We just need to focus on helping Luz.” Eda braced for takeoff as she loosened her grip on King. She tried not to cringe as King sank his claws into her, scurrying around to nestle onto her shoulders. Fighting back a grimace, she kicked her legs and took off into the sky.

—

Classes ended, and Luz’s heart threatened to break through her chest with the speed at which it was pounding. She felt a rush of blood through her legs, nearly making them go numb. To make matters worse, Gus and Willow seemed to have something going on between each other. She wasn’t sure if she reliably had anyone to support her through this mess she got herself into. To top it all off, she still couldn’t make any progress on figuring out the old language magic. She was at a huge disadvantage. The only thing that assured her was knowing she had her training wand, her baseball bat (which she brought just in case she needed it), and, of course, she had those potions she and Eda made last night.

She felt a surge of confidence as she thought through it. She could actually do this! She had a fighting chance if she carefully put her resources together. Maybe Eda was right- there was more to surviving in this world and growing as a witch than just shooting magic from your fingers. She just had to be smart and resourceful.

She was practically carried out of school by the crowd behind her, excitedly escorting themselves (and by extension, her) to the Grudgby field to watch the highly anticipated witch’s duel the whole school had been talking about.

“Who’s fighting in this witch duel, anyway?” Luz overheard one student ask. “We haven’t had one on school grounds in ages, so I hope it’s an exciting lineup.”

“Didn’t you hear? Boscha Heironymite is one of the participants!”

More comments circulated among the crowd of students. “Really? The captain of our own Grudgby team? I feel sorry for whichever poor sucker is going up against her.”

“Who is her opponent, anyway?”

“Luz Noceda, I think her name was? She must be that new kid.”

“Yeah, that’s her! She made a whole scene in the cafeteria. She was actually the one who challenged Boscha.”

“Holy Titan, she’s going to regret making an enemy of Boscha.”

Luz quickly found her brief surge of confidence quickly diminishing. She tried to slap those feelings out of her head and focus on the match ahead. It’s not like there was any turning back, seeing as she was already trapped in a crowd of students making their way to see this very match.

Once she made it to the field, her first goal was trying to spot Willow and Gus in the crowd. She had no doubt they’d come to support her, regardless of what was going on between the two of them. However, spotting them in the crowd seemed to be an impossible task. She could’ve estimated that roughly 80% of the student body decided to show up.

“What’s the matter, human? You look scared out of your mind!” Luz’s focus snapped to Boscha, who stood across from her with her fiery eyes lighting up her wicked grin.

“I believe the conditions were that I share my secret with the school after I lose?”

“Sweetie, you’re going to lose anyway,” Boscha mocked, cradling her hands underneath her chin and faking an innocent smile. “But in any case, they can barely hear us over all the screaming. And they won’t be paying attention to what we say because they’ll be too focused on me kicking your ass.”

Luz tried her best to return Boscha’s high and mighty smirk as they started to circle around each other. “Big talk coming from the Grudgby star, huh? Sorry to break it to you, but my ass is unkickable!”

Boscha’s expression furrowed, letting out a confused laugh. “Is that your idea of a comeback? Oh, this’ll be over before it even begins.”

Boscha traced a spell circle and held it in her hand, spreading her fingers out and slamming it to the ground. The ground beneath her quaked vigorously, nearly knocking Luz to her knees. Hands popped out from underneath- a horde of the undead desperately trying to claw their way back to the living. Two hands managed to grab onto Luz’s ankles.

“Hey, that’s not fair! You didn’t say we were starting,” Luz complained, struggling against the suffocating grip.

“You never said there was a specific cue to start,” Boscha retorted, her innocent smile showing once again. “Why don’t you show me what you got, human?”

Luz, taking a deep breath, thought back to her training with Eda. Look for a weak point in the magic, she thought. She looked down, immediately noticing the ashy spots on the hands trapping her. She punched and slapped against them, ripping off fingers and flesh and watching them crumble to dust in her own hands. With one of her legs free, she stamped the two hands into oblivion and freed her remaining leg. 

In Boscha’s moment of surprise, Luz charged forward and cast a fire spell with her training wand. It nearly hit Boscha until she snapped back into reality and rolled out of the way. At that moment, while Boscha was still on the ground, Luz shot two icicles that pierced through the air like knives. The first one missed, but the second one managed to graze against Boscha’s shoulder, creating a nasty cut. A chill shot through Boscha’s arm as she clutched it and grimaced. In her moment of scowling, Luz’s legs bounced in a moment of victory.

Boscha, feeling her teeth nearly breaking from how hard she clenched them together, leapt forward and traced three more spell circles. She shot fireballs one after the other, and Luz quickly dropped her brief victory dance to dodge each of the incoming projectiles. Boscha pumped her fists in the air as Luz’s confidence quickly dropped. “That all you got, human?” Boscha roared.

The crowd went wild, drowning out Luz’s ears in a sea of noise. Trying not to let it overstimulate her, she focused her eyes solely on Boscha, faking a confident smile. “Believe me, I’m just getting warmed up. Let’s see how you like a load of this!”

Luz leapt over to the backpack she set on the ground and reached inside, moving her hand through the small pocket where she kept her potions stored. Her cocky grin defused. Where were they? Did she forget the potions? No, she swore she put them in her bag last night so she wouldn’t forget. Luz frantically worried she might’ve placed them in a different spot, but she couldn’t thoroughly search with Boscha rapidly approaching her.

“What’s the matter? Looking for some cheap tricks in your bag to help you? Why don’t you face me head-on like a real witch!” Boscha cast, shooting an array of icicles at Luz. 

Luz ducked, kicking up dust in her eyes in the process. Wiping away tears, she grabbed her wand and prepared another fire spell. That is, until the light in the spell slowly died. The purple hilt faded out. Luz’s heart ricocheted across her chest as she realized how quickly her options were diminishing. All she had left was her stupid, magicless baseball bat.

Willow looked upon the fight with an unbroken stare, her confidence for her friend rising and falling quickly as the tides constantly shifted. It kept her brain too occupied to think about her… feelings . Unfortunately for her, they were going to rear their ugly head into the center of her heart when a certain someone approached her. Amity spoke from behind, startling her in the process.

“Hey, Willow. A quick word, if you may?” Amity said.

Willow turned around, sharing her rival’s unamused glare. “Oh, you’re approaching me? Surprised I’m even worth the time of day.”

“Well, your friend thought it was worth the time of day approaching me, so here I am.”

Willow paused. “What do you mean?”

“Gus came up to me asking about our history. I-” Amity looked to the ground, hoping Willow wouldn’t notice the small blush creeping on her face. “I told him it’s none of his business. But I don’t feel comfortable with him asking such questions. Could you make sure he just… doesn’t?”

Willow didn’t know whether to be angry or scared. “I’ll- let him know,” she dryly replied.

“Good. I better get going, before Boscha notices I’m not by her side and cheering for her.”

Willow’s frown became focused on her feelings toward Amity rather than Gus. “I still don’t understand why you hang around her. Ending things with me was bad enough, but to go crawling to my biggest bully- your biggest bully-”

“It’s none of your concern. My friendship with Boscha is our business. I’ll see you later, Willow.” Amity strolled past Willow, not daring to let her walls drop and show her emotions. She left Willow behind in a state of shock and disappointment.

Willow felt weeds crawl through her heart as she looked back at Amity. Her stomach squirmed as well when she then turned to set her eyes on Gus, who was watching the match at a safe distance from her. She couldn’t help but feel stung by the information she received. She had to ignore it. Focus on supporting Luz , she thought. However, once she turned her eyes back to the match, she winced as she saw Luz’s training wand run out of power.

There’s no way she could deal with this right now. Luz was losing, and she couldn’t properly support her if her heart wasn’t in it. She turned back to Gus and ran toward him, determination burning in her eyes. “Gus? Gus! Do you have a minute?”

When Gus turned to face her, she froze. She immediately saw that he was not cheering for Luz. No, his face was quivering, and his legs were shaking. He seemed shocked to be approached by his friend. “Gus?” Willow said again, lowering her aggression but keeping the volume so that she could be heard over the roaring crowd.

“Willow! Hi- I uh- I’m sorry, I totally screwed up. I’ll get out of your hair, don’t worry.” Gus spoke with blubbering guilt as he looked upon the fading angry scowl on Willow’s face. The noises of the crowd pounded in his head, further exposing the pent-up feelings taking over him. Why was it so loud? Why was everything falling apart? And when did it feel so hot all of a sudden? He couldn’t even find the strength to look at Willow. Everything stirred inside of him, and before Willow could reach out and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, he bolted. He ran straight for the forested area behind the school, not looking back. Frowning, Willow chased after him.

Meanwhile, Luz, panicking and searching desperately for options, tossed her wand to the side and picked up the orange baseball bat she kept by her backpack. She swung it into a defensive position, her legs matching its guarded nature.

Boscha only smirked in response. “Aww, out of magic? You must be desperate if you think a blunt object’s gonna help you.” She spread another spell circle in her hands, kneeling to tap it to the ground. The nasty smile on her face made Luz hesitate, but she didn’t drop her defensive stance. However, she was shaken up further as the next of Boscha’s necromancy subjects emerged from the ground. It started as a head, but it grew taller and taller from the ground. Stiff shoulders emerged, and soon, a bony body that looked as if it had no fat left on it.

Luz’s heart dropped to her stomach as she realized what she was up against. Boscha was going all out by giving a fully functioning undead being to fight. They were by far the hardest to take down in her training with Eda- not only were their weak points harder to find, but they were surprisingly agile for undead creatures.

The creature limped toward her, letting out a screech that grazed against Luz’s ears like knives being scraped against a chalkboard. It artificially stretched and twisted its body to tower over her. Its eyes went hollow, and its jaw twisted and snapped. Its distorted figure tried to tackle Luz in a sickening embrace, but she managed to jump out of the way. Quickly, she used the moment of its attack to desperately slam the bat against its shriveled gut. She felt the vibration clanging in her hands as the creature flew on its back.

Unfortunately, it seemed to get right back up without even flinching. That ruled out the possibility of its stomach being a weak point. It came strolling again, and Luz kept searching desperately for a spot that looked crumbled and ashen. It seemed incredibly well hidden. Luz thought back to potential weak spots, and then, an idea popped in her head. Of course. Where else could a humanoid creature possibly be weak to, where being hit by a bat would practically cripple it?

Luz charged forward, holding her bat behind her. She came in for an underhanded swing, swiping in a lower arc straight into the creature’s crotch. Gritting her teeth from the sensation in her hands, she gave the creature a cocky smile as she waited for it to writhe in agony. The creature stared down at the bat, then back at Luz, completely unfazed. Luz’s confident expression slowly died. “Oh come on! How did that not hurt you?” 

Rather than answering, the zombie clutched her neck, sinking its slimy, wrinkled claws into her skin. She screeched as the sensation of icicles dug into her. She tried, to no avail, to flail and kick the creature away. In response, it bit her in the shoulder, making her yelp in coordination with Boscha’s twisted laughter. She kicked at the creature and attempted to pry its grip off just enough for her to regain control of her bat. She flicked the hilt, making the blunt part whack it in the back of its head. Though it didn’t completely pry it off of her, the impact gave a second-long window to push it further away and fully grip her bat again.

As it was pushed far enough away, she noticed a crumbled dent in its neck. She immediately made a horizontal swing, slicing its head clean off. Purple blood and gray ash splattered from the impact. She cringed and gagged as the violet liquid leaked onto her hands and bat, but she tried to shake it off as best as she could before bracing for the headless body’s next attack.

The creature lunged, but Luz smacked it in the rib. She noticed another ashen spot inside its rib cage. Luz, not knowing if she was about to regret her next move, stuck her hand inside and crushed the inner bone into her fist. As she got a good grip, she ripped the bone clean out, watching it crumble to dust from where she dangled it in the air. The monster’s lower body began to crumble onto itself, leaving it without support. In seconds, all that remained was a half-shattered rib cage in a pile and ash and bile.

Luz held her bat to the sky in victory, facing Boscha once again. Boscha stepped back like cornered prey. A growl escaped her lips. “Skara! Get me my ball.”

To Boscha’s side, at the front of the crowd, a girl with silver locs stood, and Luz recognized her as the girl who sat with Boscha and Amity in history class. Skara held what Luz could only describe as flesh molded into a sports ball. It had a blinking, bloodshot eye attached to a rounded body that seemed stitched together. She tossed the ball to Boscha, who intercepted it with both hands and pridefully slapped it into her clutch.

“Hey, that’s not fair! You’re relying on outside help.” Luz called.

“Oh, please. She was just hanging onto my stuff for me. It’s not like we agreed upon a rule against that. I hope you’re ready, human. After all, they pronounced me the Grudgby Captain for a reason.” Boscha held a silver spell circle to the ball, and Luz’s eyes watched it in a trance as it lit on fire. The three-eyed bully gracefully spun around before leaping and throwing a powerful kick into the projectile.

The ball became a crackling firework as it soared in the air. Luz just barely managed to dodge it before it ricocheted off the ground like a bullet, leaving an ashy dent in the dirt. Luz’s limbs shook, and she found herself losing the energy in her legs to keep running. Her pupils contracted as she saw Skara tossing more Grudgby balls to Boscha. Boscha continuously traced spell circles as she intercepted them, lighting them on fire and throwing them like cannonballs. They zipped past Luz in every spot around her. She ducked and dodged as much as she could, but they were coming too fast. 

Then, all too suddenly, she felt the pounding speed of a projectile ricochet off of her face. The burning sensation lasted only for a few milliseconds before it was gone, and in its place, Luz felt like she had been shot in every square inch of her face by a gun. She silently screamed as she fell to the ground, her vision going blurry.

—

Gus didn’t know how he got there, but he found himself leaning against a tree, cradling his hands around his knees. For a while, he couldn’t form a coherent thought- he could only cry and hyperventilate. When he was able to start thinking again, all that came to mind was how much of a screw-up he felt like, which made him spiral all over again.

“Gus?” Willow called in the distance. Gus couldn’t answer. Just hearing her voice made him whimper. The voice got closer, and his nerves felt ready to shatter. What was she going to say to him? Was she going to cut him out for good?

“Gus, there you are!” Willow’s voice bled out with concern. “Hey, is everything okay?” No response. “Listen, I’m not angry with you. I just want to talk.” Willow noticed that he wasn’t verbally or physically responding to any of her words. He was like a statue, forever trapped in a position where his face was buried into his arms. “You know,” Willow said, “my dads taught me a trick when I was little when I got stuck in my head. It helps ground me back in reality. Do you want to try it?”

At first, there was no response. Then, Gus’s head just barely budged, indicating a nod. Willow hesitantly smiled. “Try to breathe with me. We’ll count to three breathing in, count to five while holding it, then count to seven breathing out. Okay? Follow my lead.” Willow did as she described- she counted to three on her fingers as she audibly inhaled through her nose. She counted to five, holding her breath, and then counted to seven as she let it out through her mouth.

It took Gus a couple attempts to start following. His breath was very shaky at first, and it was hard for him to properly match when to use his nose or mouth. When he tried breathing in through his nose, Willow could hear him sniffling. Calmly, Willow explained for him to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth. Gus did as he was told.

Willow wasn’t sure how long that took. Time seemed like an endless void as she desperately tried to get her friend back into reality. However, slowly but surely, Gus gained the strength to raise his head and look at Willow- not directly in the eyes, but in her direction. Willow gave him a smile. “We can talk whenever you’re ready. I won’t rush you.”

Gus wiped his nose with his sleeve. “-s’okay, I’m feeling a little better now.” He fidgeted with his glasses. “I know I screwed up trying to pry into your life. I’m sorry.”

“I won’t lie, it did make me uncomfortable. I just don’t understand why you did it. Can you please help me understand?”

“I was just feeling insecure. I’m so used to struggling to make connections. So many people have treated me like garbage and have taken advantage of me. You’re the first friend I’ve actually felt close to. I guess… I just second-guessed how close we were when you were keeping something about your past from me. As stupid as that sounds.”

Willow dug her finger in the dirt, searching for the right words. “I’m sure you understand that it’s not a matter of me not trusting you. It’s just a sensitive subject. And I didn’t appreciate Amity coming to me about you apparently trying to get information out of her.”

Gus buried his forehead in his hands, groaning audibly. “Agh, I knew talking to her was such a stupid idea. I did it entirely on impulse, and I felt so bad ever since the conversation between me and her ended.”

Willow smiled. “It’s okay, Gus. I appreciate your concern for me. I might tell you, and Luz, for that matter, what happened between me and Amity. But I’ll do it when I’m ready. Until then, I promise we can trust each other with anything on our minds that we’re willing to share. Is that fair?”

Gus tried to smile through his mopey face. “Yeah. It does.”

The quiet of the woods blew over into a chaotic uproar echoing through the air. Cheers, gasps, and shouts interfered with the peaceful scene, which prompted Gus and Willow back to their feet. “I think we better go check things out,” Willow suggested. Gus nodded in agreement.

As the two witches made their way back to the Grudgby match, they desperately pushed through the sweaty crowd, meticulously carving a path through stubborn spectators. They pushed Gus and Willow around like they were in the center of a mosh pit.

Finally, they reached the front of the crowd, allowing them to get a decent view of the duel. Gus froze, and Willow bumped into him from behind. As she readjusted her glasses, she mirrored his horrified expression. Luz lay on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Boscha stood across from her, pumping her fists and taunting the poor human. Just the sight of it made Willow and Gus want to scream.

“Luz! Get up! Don’t let her treat you like this!” Gus called.

“You didn’t have to fight my battles for me, Luz!” Willow called. “But since you are, you better not lose!”

Luz’s eyes slowly crawled back open. She couldn’t keep her head straight- her vision weaved in every direction, threatening to black out. The ringing in her ears drowned out most of the crowd, and her heartbeat pounded against her temples. The pain in her face was unbearable, and yet, the sounds and feelings in her ears and forehead overshadowed the pain receptors. Her brain couldn’t concentrate on a single source of agony.

The ringing was loud, but the crowd threatened to be even louder. She swore she could hear familiar voices calling her name. They sounded like Gus and Willow? She second-guessed it as her brain then concentrated on the sound of Boscha laughing and taunting her. Boscha’s smug voice rang through her head, almost overshadowing the pain. The mockery invaded her brain like a parasite, coaxing her back to sleep. How was she possibly able to face such a menacing opponent? She didn’t even have magic, and she was out of fighting options. She couldn’t even stand.

Once again, the sounds of Willow and Gus’s voices spilled through the million other voices invading her brain. She felt her rapidly beating heart flutter, which made her headache even worse. Still, she held onto the belief that her friends were cheering her on after all, despite the conflict between them earlier. All that remained was finding a way to fight through the pain and miraculously win against Boscha. She had no wand, no bat, and no potions. All that remained was Eda’s advice, which constantly played back in her head through every situation Luz got herself into.

Through her blurry, blackening vision, she gazed into a mark of ash in the ground. It was likely left over from where Boscha hurled flaming Grudgby balls, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. She stared blissfully into the ash, letting it calm her into a blackout. However, she was still conscious, and her focus grew intensely as she eyed a unique pattern in the ash. Was it a coincidence that the fire just so happened to leave such an intricate pattern? How was it even possible?

The pattern was that of a circle, filled with smaller circles and triangles traced on top of one another. The shapes were grouped to form a more complex shape, one that vaguely resembled a candle. What was this mysterious marking? Absent-mindedly, Luz began tracing her finger in the dirt. The concentration kept her awake, blinking through the blurriness. Her face still felt like it was subjected to a wave of gunshots, but she gritted her teeth through it and focused on finishing tracing the marking.

Boscha seemed too busy gloating to notice what Luz was doing. Perfect. She added her finishing touches to the drawing in the ground. Slowly, she reached for it, her hand jittering and threatening to give out all its energy. Just a little closer. She tapped her index finger to it, focusing deeply on her intense desire to defeat Boscha. 

The next moment was like a blur to her. The ground where the pattern stood burst into flames. They crackled with the intense fire of Luz’s passion, slowly inching forward. They shot in Boscha’s direction, and before the bully could realize what was happening, she found herself screaming and stamping away the flames. Minor burn marks were left on her ankles.

Luz picked herself up into a sitting position, everything above the stomach aching and burning. She felt incredibly feverish, and her migraine threatened to make her pass out. The only thing that kept her going was the amusing sight of Boscha trying to fight against the sudden attack. Then, it dawned on Luz. That marking, that… glyph. Was this the language referenced in historical studies? Did she just perform magic ?

Eager to confirm her findings, Luz got to her feet. Her blurry vision spotted Willow and Gus in the distance, initially looking shocked before erupting into tearful cheering. Smiling, Luz kneeled down, trying not to vomit, and grabbed her bat. She traced the ground with her finger, recreating the glyph marking. She tapped it, sparking another little flame. She held it above her hands, letting its warmth hover in her grasp. An innocent smile overtook her as she gazed into it. Then, her eyes fell back to Boscha, who had just put out the previous fire and now gave Luz a death glare. Quickly, Luz tossed her next fire spell, her face lighting up as she realized that yes, she did, in fact, perform magic.

Boscha ducked beneath the projectile. “How did you do that?”

Luz flexed her fingers, still feeling the warmth in them. “I did just do that, didn’t I?” Her voice was like that of a giddy child. “I did magic!”

“Shut up!” Boscha screamed. “Humans can’t do magic!”

“Well, this one just did,” Luz retorted. “And she’s about to use it to kick your butt!” She traced another glyph with her foot, kicking the newfound flame spell toward Boscha like a soccer ball. As the bully dodged, Luz rushed her with a bat ready in hand.

She took a ferocious swing, and instantly, she felt herself growing dizzy again. Her attack missed Boscha by several inches, and Luz’s legs began to wobble. Her vision threatened to black out again. No. She had to do this. “I have… to take… you down,” she muttered. “For Willow- for everyone you ever hurt… for everyone who ever hurt me.” Luz’s voice faded, becoming increasingly hoarse. Nausea squirmed in her stomach. She didn’t even know what happened next before she blacked out.

—

When Luz awoke, the first thing she saw was Gus and Willow staring into her, their own eyes flickering with concern. “She’s waking up,” Willow commented, sounding as if she was going to burst into tears. Luz rubbed her head, blinking away what remained of the blurriness of her vision. She took in her surroundings, and she realized that it wasn’t just Gus and Willow helping her up. Another witch- one with braided brown hair and a fishhook for an earring, stood by her side. She smiled smugly. “Glad you’re okay, newbie,” she said. “The name’s Viney- a third-year healing student. You took quite the beating from that Grudgby ball, but I managed to heal any burns. Nothing’s broken, thankfully.”

The comfort was interrupted as a more dreadful voice cleared its throat. Luz looked to see Boscha standing in the distance, a smug, closed-eyed expression painted on her face. “You’re finally up. Now you can uphold your end of the bargain, or the potion will force you to. Don’t think that having these idiots by your side changes the fact that you lost.”

Luz almost couldn’t believe she was hearing. Laughter slowly escaped her lips. First, it was quiet and humble. Then, it got louder as Luz found she couldn’t control herself.

Boscha’s face morphed into a scowl. “What’s so funny?” she demanded, her voice raspy from anger.

“You really are pathetic, aren’t you?” said Luz.

“What did you say?” Boscha made a motion with her fist like she was ready to punch someone.

“You’re so desperate for power that you’d injure another student, and while they’re down, you force them to spill a secret that doesn’t affect you in any way. I know I’m the one who challenged you- and maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe I shouldn’t have even given you the time of day. Because all you did was act like a pathetic, insecure jerk in response.”

Boschsa was too stunned to speak. Likewise, even Willow and Gus couldn’t find a way to respond to their friend. Smiling, Luz lifted herself off the ground, meeting Boscha’s gaze. “You have nothing to worry about. I’m going to tell the school the truth, just like I vowed. Because, unlike you, I have pride in who I am. I don’t hide behind my insecurities like you do. I’m not afraid of you, Boscha- I’ve seen your kind too many times in my past, and all this time, you have just shown me that you’re all the same.”

Luz strolled past the stunned bully, making her way to the cheering crowd that surrounded her. She held her hands up, motioning for everyone to quiet down. Her confidence didn’t diminish as the curious crowd began to whisper amongst themselves. “I have something to announce, everyone!” All at once, the whispering stopped. “Since I accept this defeat in a witch’s duel, it is under these conditions that I must tell you all something.” Slowly, Luz removed her beanie, revealing a series of braids tied into a bun. She pushed aside the few braids that hung down by her ear, revealing their rounded nature.

The crowd gasped as Luz took the beanie in her hands. “My name is Luz Noceda, and I am the first human to attend Hexside High School of Demonics and Witchcraft. I ask that you all understand that I am not here to cause trouble. Principal Bump ensured word of this wouldn’t get out, so I ask you all to cooperate. I am just someone looking for a place to belong, and it’s been my dream to learn magic. I know there are limitations, but between my research into old ways of magic, my studying of potions, and my endless determination, I want to be the best witch I can be. So please, if you’ll have me… I’d love to be a part of you all.”

The crowd was silent. No one dared utter a word. That is, until two witches came by and put their hands on her shoulders. Gus and Willow stood by her side, smiling. Then, Viney followed, expressing a smile as well. “A human witch? This should be interesting. I’m all for it. What about you guys?” she said to the gazing onlookers.

Then, another girl marched forward- a demonic-looking one. Her head was shaped like a sideways crescent moon, the ends jutting out like horns. One of the horns was decorated with a blue ribbon colored like the sky back in Luz’s homeworld. The witch smiled sweetly. “Welcome to Hexside, Luz Noceda! Everyone, let’s give her a round of applause. She held her own in a fight with Boscha, after all!” She clapped and cheered, and soon, the entire student body followed in applause.

Boscha’s pupils shrank as her face began to sweat. “Why are you all clapping?” She desperately screamed. “She’s a human! The Empire hates humans! Use your heads, for once!” Unfortunately for her, her voice died in the crowd of cheers and applause. Grunting in frustration, she marched over to Skara and Amity, who stood to the side with expressions of confusion. One glare from Boscha immediately sent the two of them looking to the ground in shame before following her away.

It wasn’t long before the crowd began to dissolve one by one. Luz, Willow, and Gus found themselves by the front entrance, and Luz couldn’t help but laugh as Gus shook her by the shoulders while Willow cheered her on. “That’s my girl!” Willow shouted. “You really should’ve seen the look on Boscha’s face- it was priceless!”

“Our human friend is a super witch, and I couldn’t be prouder!” Gus added.

Luz giggled harder. “Thanks, guys. I’m lucky to have you on my side.”

As they found themselves in the courtyard, Luz spotted Eda soaring in from the distance. Luz waved her friends goodbye and jogged to catch up with Eda. The old witch dove to the ground, sliding her feet into the concrete as she landed. “Luz! Thank Titan you’re okay! Is the duel over?”

“Yeah… I lost.” Luz smiled brightly despite the seemingly devastating news.

“Oh crap- did you tell the school about being human?”

“Yeah. They took it rather well, surprisingly.”

“Well, that’s good, at least. There may still be a few nosy people who will want to make things harder for you. I’ll have to talk to Bump about keeping an eye on things. I’m just glad you’re still alive and kicking.”

“Better than that. I have something to show you when you get home. I may have finally cracked that secret magic language we’ve been discussing.”

Eda stared blankly. She second-guessed what she just heard from her own student. “Wow- you better not be pulling my leg.” She smiled mischievously. “I’ll put you on Hooty cleaning duty if you are.”

“I promise it’s the truth!” Luz said defensively. “Anything but that.”

“Why don’t you come home and show me, then?” Eda teased. Then, her eyes fell back to King, who looked ashamed. She cleared her throat. “But first, King has something to tell you. King?”

King tapped his claws together. “Hey, um- I got jealous of you spending time with Eda, so I’m the one who took your potions. That’s why you probably couldn’t find them. I’m sorry.”

Luz frowned. “King, if you were feeling so jealous, you should’ve just said something. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you.” She hopped onto the staff next to him. “Tell you what- after I show Eda my findings, we can spend the whole evening together!”

“Really? Then- are we cool?” King’s tail began to wag.

“Don’t think this means I’m not upset at you,” Luz scolded. She folded her arms. “I’ll be sure to give you a wet willy for that when we get home, dummy.”

“Alright, you two. Take it to the house,” said Eda. She kicked her legs, soaring back into the sky and leaving the school behind her.

Chapter Text

When Eda awoke, she found her messy hair dangling in her face, many strands caught in her mouth. Her groggy eyes threatened to squeeze back shut, and for several moments, she caught herself nearly falling back asleep. It wasn’t a school day for Luz, so she didn’t have to get up early for her. Why shouldn’t she have the luxury of getting just a few more minutes of shut-eye?

The muffled shouts of Luz and King beneath the floorboards ultimately coaxed her into waking up for good. The kids must’ve gotten into another petty quarrel. Oh well, it was probably almost lunchtime by now. She may as well get up. She spat out the foul-tasting hair, and in the process, coughed up a few black feathers. Her pupils dilated, then retracted as she gazed upon the deadly omen. She began to feel a painful itch in her neck.

She tore the blankets off of her, revealing the nest that she cradled herself to sleep in every night. More black feathers sat around her, as if they had shed right off of her. Feeling a small wave of panic overcome her, Eda sprang out of bed and made her way to the nearest bathroom. She opened the cabinets, desperately searching for an elixir to hold back the curse. 

Empty. Just her luck. She took a deep breath. “This isn’t good.” She felt the incredible itching in her neck again. Thankfully, no more feathers had shown up in the irritated spot. She still had time. She decided to get dressed, properly covering her neck with her robes and mask, and made her way down to the living room.

“It’s not fair!” King whined. “That was my only star, and you had Boo steal it from me!” King clutched a small game controller in his paws, threatening to break it from rage. He and Luz sat on the couch in front of a small tablet screen that was propped up on the coffee table.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have wagered 50 coins against me in a duel earlier. That’s the only way I was even able to steal a star from you.” Luz gave him an innocent smile, though a sinister tease lurked beneath it.

King screeched in response, forcing the other house guests to cover their ears. Just as things seemed to calm down, another problem presented itself through the living room window. “I heard screaming!” Hooty called, popping his unusually long body into the living room. “Is this delinquent threatening you, King? Don’t worry! I’ll take care of her!”

“Hooty, no, wait-” it was too late. Hooty swooped in and spread out his monstrously large jaw, revealing an endless void of teeth and flesh, and shoved Luz headfirst into his throat. Her legs briefly dangled in distress before being shoved in, leaving nothing but her shoe.

“Hooty, spit her out, now!” King yelped. Eda swooped in, jutting her thumbs into Hooty’s… stomach? Neck? The sensation made him gag, and eventually, he coughed the poor human up- or rather, he coughed up a human-sized owl pellet. The crust broke open, revealing a pile of rat-like bones and a traumatized Luz, drenched in acid. She shivered like she was on the brink of hyperthermia, and yet she also broke into an unusual amount of sweating.

Eda and King stared at her in sympathy while Hooty merely wore the stupid grin on his face. Luz rocked herself back and forth, a look of pure shock frozen on her face. “M-m-maybe let’s stop p-playing for now,” she muttered.

“Hooty, how many times do I have to tell you,” Eda groaned. “Only devour actual intruders. Do not treat my own housemates like this.”

“Sorry, hoot hoot! It won’t happen again, ma’am!” Just like that, Hooty’s slinky body retreated through the window and back into the door knocker. 

All Eda could do for Luz was place a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Sorry about that, kid. Hey, do you think you could watch over King for me? I got an errand to run in Bonesborough.”

“Please take me with you,” Luz hoarsely begged. “I want to get out of here before Hooty accidentally sends me to another dimension or something.”

“Oh, you don’t wanna come with,” Eda insisted, gently holding her hands up defensively. “It’s a super boring errand. Nothing you’d wanna be involved in.”

“Could you at least let me and King explore Bonesborough? Come on, I want to do something fun with him, and gaming has been not fun since someone wants to act like a big baby every time he loses.” She glared at King, squinting her eyes.

“You win, like, all the time, Luz!” King screeched. “As your king, I demand you let me win.”

“See what I have to deal with?” Luz said, turning back to Eda.

Eda considered her options. She didn’t want Luz to inquire about the potions she needed to buy for her curse, but, ideally, Luz would be too busy exploring the town to raise any questions. “Fine, you can come along. Just let me run my errand, and you can explore town.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Luz clung to Eda, soaking her robes in whatever substance filled Hooty’s mouth. 

Grimacing, Eda pushed her away. “Just- take a shower and wash your clothes, first.”

—

Eda landed in the center of Bonesborough Town Square, right next to one of its signature blood fountains. Once the kids hopped off, Eda took the staff back in her hands, scratching at her neck and hoping Luz wouldn’t notice. “Let’s meet back here in about half an hour. I’ll be back, okay?”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” said Luz, saluting the old witch. King giggled in response.

Eda gave an endearing smile, and though her mask covered it, Luz could tell from the light in the witch’s eyes. “Just stay out of trouble, okay?” She gently rubbed her shoulder before walking off.

“Alright, what do you wanna check out first, King?”

“Food. I’m hungry! This is the perfect opportunity to spoil myself with overpriced junk food.”

“Lead the way, oh mighty King of Demons.”

Luz and King first stopped at a stand selling various carnival foods. King bit into a kabob that stabbed through three thoroughly cooked creatures that looked like massive eyeballs with green bat wings attached. Luz, being conscious of her stomach, opted to try some rotten candy- a dish similar to cotton candy, but with a pitch black color and thicker texture. It wasn’t quite as sweet as what she had back home, but it was one of the few foods she could find to please her stomach.

Luz and King spent their time at other vendors around town square. Luz got drawn to various jewelry stands, trying out different gothic-looking necklaces and earrings, letting King be her fashion judge. She ultimately settled on a choker and two drop earrings that looked like crescent moons wrapped in the embrace of snakes. Luz also made sure to buy King a couple of new stuffed animals for his collection army.

Once Luz checked her phone and realized time was almost up, she carried King on her shoulder and shopping bags in her hands as she strolled back to the blood fountain. However, she found herself stopping in her tracks as a growing crowd manifested in front of the fountain, lining up against a stage in the center. A feeling of confusion crawling over her, Luz got closer to check out what the commotion was.

Whispering crowds stood amongst a stage where coven scouts stood, letting an ominous song of bass cello and woodwind echo through the town square. Once Luz squeezed through some of the crowd and got a closer look, she found a man chained to the center of the stage, on his knees and wilting. He had a bald spot and graying black hair that cradled around his spine and shoulders, and a shaggy beard to match in length.

A coven guard stood next to him, and his outfit struck Luz as oddly eccentric compared to the rest. He wore a golden mask with owl-like slits for eyes. His white cloak was decorated with a ruby red scarf, its color rich and elegant. He cleared his throat, his voice slightly echoing through the mask. He held an old scroll, gazing at its contents.

“Blakel Underwood. You have been brought before the crowds of Bonesborough under the charges of being a Wild Witch. You have been found guilty of avoiding a coven for 40 years, as well as ten charges of stealing government-owned property and ownership of illegal texts. As scheduled, today will be your public execution.”

Luz’s heart dropped, rattling in her chest. Execution? She watched in horror, unable to take her eyes off of the ceremony.

The old witch barely moved. “Do what you want with me, damn fascists.” He then directed his gaze to the crowd. “Citizens of Bonesborough, you can’t turn a blind eye to the hypocrisy of the Emperor’s Coven. They speak of the Titan’s will for us to restrict our magic, yet they are allowed to practice magic unrestricted. It is all lies to keep the elite in power and the rest of us weakened so we can’t fight back. Is this what the Titan truly wants for us?”

“Shut your mouth!” a coven guard shouted. He landed a kick directly into Blakel's face, making Luz flinch from secondhand pain. The man spat blood and what remained of his teeth, and in response, the scout kicked again, much harder. A few more kicks came after, each one bludgeoning his face and making it less and less recognizable. “How dare you speak this blasphemy in the Titan’s name?” the guard spat, letting the man sit quietly in pain and regret.

“If you have no other words to share with us, criminal, then we can begin the ceremony,” the golden-masked guard spoke plainly.

The old man’s calm demeanor faded slightly. “You can’t do this- you can’t get away with this!” He was met with another nasty kick to the face. The other coven guards lifted him, making him sit tall on his knees.

“Begin the petrification!” gold mask announced, raising his hand. Two more coven guards stood by his side, casting golden spell circles. Unlit torches surrounding the platform suddenly lit with sickly green flames. The air in the atmosphere grew tense and cold, as if all warmth and happiness were being drained away. Luz could’ve sworn she heard the faint sound of eerie chants beneath her feet.

“No, no, no, stop! Titan save me!” the man yelped, intense panic overcoming him. His change in attitude was such a stark, sudden contrast that it was as if he was being possessed by another being entirely. He kicked and screamed against the coven guards restraining him, but they only held him tighter. Then, his legs froze. They began to fade in color, slowly being turned to stone. The coven guards let go of the man, and though his upper body squirmed and thrashed, he did not move from his spot.

“Make it stop, make it stop!” the man begged. He began ripping out strands of hair, going completely delirious. His screams threatened to make his throat bleed as the texture of stone slowly crawled up his stomach, freezing it in place. The spell began to take over even faster, making his arms and chest stiffen as he struggled in vain to break free. Then, he stared at the sky as if in a trance. He briefly closed his eyes, and when they opened again, they were pitch black, inky blood pouring from his tear ducts, accompanied by a bone-chilling shriek. His screams pierced through Luz’s ears, and just as quickly, they were silenced as stone completely overtook him. All that stood in his place was a stone statue of him, tears locked in time and facial expression stuck in eternal agony.

The statue stood in its place, dead silent. The crowd, likewise, was dead silent. Luz momentarily stopped breathing as her eyes took in the sight. Her pupils were like small pebbles, quaking in fear. Suddenly, she began to feel her chest rising and falling rapidly from her heavy, painful breaths. They got faster, threatening to send her into a mental breakdown. She clutched her temples, squishing her beanie. A panicked moan escaped her lungs, hoarse and squeaky. As the crowd began to disperse, her breathing only became more intense, causing her head to throb. Tears stained her tear ducts, slowly falling down her cheeks.

“Luz?” King’s voice was laced with concern as he tugged at her pant leg. It fell on deaf ears as she continued to become lost in her world. Once the crowd emptied enough, she sprinted back to the blood fountain. Dizziness overtook her, so she placed her hands on the concrete foundation to keep herself from falling.

“Luz!” King said again, a little bit louder this time. Instead of acknowledging the little demon’s voice, her eyes drew to a nearby trash can. Her stomach started bubbling. Before King could say anything else, Luz found herself clutching the rim of the trash can, shoving her head deep inside, and emptying the food that hadn’t quite settled in her stomach. She gagged as vomit, tears, and snot stained her face, threatening to make her break out sobbing.

“Luz?” It wasn’t King asking for attention this time, but Eda. She stood from behind, carrying a large sack over the back of her shoulder. She bit her lip in concern as Luz faced her, full on sobbing, and her face looking a complete mess. Quickly, Eda approached and slowly let her hands clutch her student’s shoulders, making sure it was okay for her to do so. “Luz? Luz, Luz, it’s okay, I’m here. Just breathe, kid. You’re here in Bonesborough. It’s me, Eda.”

Luz slowly let her heavy breaths fade into whimpers. Tears still ran down her face as she bravely faced her mentor. “Eda,” she choked. 

“What happened?” Eda asked.

“Eda,” King whispered from the fountain. He pointed his claw in a direction, tilting his head.

Eda’s gaze slowly followed where King was directing her. Her muscles tensed as she gazed upon the statue of the petrified Wild Witch. “Oh,” she faintly whispered. “Damn, I didn’t know there was a petrification today.”

“Eda,” said Luz, clutching the witch’s robes with a monstrous grip. Tears still flooded her cheeks, and sobs still wrecked her voice. “Is that- is that what they do to Wild Witches? Is- is that what's gonna happen to you if you get caught?”

“Kid, Kid, listen to me.” Eda looked Luz directly in the eyes, tightening her grip around the shoulders. “Look at me. Yes, what you just saw is what’s known as a petrification spell. It can’t be undone, so it’s essentially a death sentence for Wild Witches. But I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” Luz didn’t seem to calm from Eda’s words. The old witch followed up, saying, “Look, I’m every bit as old as that Wild Witch was, and I haven’t been captured yet. I’ve been doing this all my life, and I don’t intend to get captured now.”

Luz sniffled, feeling mucus clog her throat. “Okay,” she admitted, letting out a deep breath. 

Eda’s eyes softened. She brushed a tear off Luz’s cheek. “What do you say we get something to eat? Rebuild your strength.”

“Thanks, but- I’m not hungry. I still feel kinda sick to my stomach.”

Eda thought for a moment. “Why don’t we walk back home? Don’t want to agitate your stomach further by flying.”

Eda and Luz strolled through the alleyways, Eda carrying King on her shoulder for a change. Eda stood from behind, steering her apprentice so that she wouldn’t have to feel vulnerable from the back or feel tempted to look behind herself to see that dreaded statue again. 

While Eda mostly stuck to the main routes, she had to direct her party through a few detours to avoid the attention of patrolling coven scouts. Thank Titan it’s not a school day, Eda thought. After enough walking and weaving, they eventually found themselves down an old alleyway. The stench of rotten apple blood oozed in the air, and garbage littered the streets. Luz carefully stepped over broken glass, trying not to trip over cracks in the pavement.

Eventually, she stopped in her tracks, causing Eda to nearly bump into her from behind. Her eyes drew toward a sheet of paper haphazardly stuck to one of the brick walls alongside a few bounty pamphlets and graffiti. “Join the Rebels Against the Throne,” Luz read aloud. She walked over to grab the flier, scanning it for details. “Tired of the Emperor’s Coven restricting our magic and knowledge? Join the fight for freedom of all witch and demonkind.” She scanned it further, whispering to herself. “It says here a few people from this group will be at High Spirits Tavern tonight. They’re looking for recruits!”

“That’s great,” Eda plainly commented. She walked over to Luz, slipping her arm over Luz’s head to grab the flier from her. She only took a second to look at it, then crumbled it in her hands and tossed it behind her, not looking back. Luz’s fight or flight instincts kicked in, and she jumped over to catch it, trying not to fall on her back.

She found Eda continuing to walk forward, not acknowledging the frantic actions behind her. “Eda!” Luz called. “What are you doing?”

“Walking home? I thought that was the plan,” Eda said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Luz ran forward, kneeling over to catch her breath as she stopped in front of Eda. Eda stopped walking, giving her tired apprentice an unamused glare. Luz then looked back up at her mentor. “Eda, listen. I was thinking maybe we could check out that rebel group tonight.”

“No,” said Eda.

“Why not? You’ve been preaching to me about just how bad the Emperor’s Coven is, and we witnessed today just how far they go. Don’t you want to help make a difference?”

“Listen, kid. Earlier, you were all worried I’d meet the same fate as that witch on death row. The reason I’ve avoided capture all these years is because I work alone. Forming a group and causing open defiance together is a surefire way to get yourself caught.”

“But having teammates can help support you if you slip up. They can fight off anyone who captures you.”

“Sure, but that’s a double-edged sword. If you’re too busy trying to worry about your teammates, it only puts yourself more at risk.” Eda nabbed the crumpled-up paper from Luz’s hands. “They’re idiots for even trying to advertise. I don’t care if it’s a back alley, the coven is gonna find it and come arrest them on the spot. Getting rid of it would do them a huge favor.” To illustrate her point further, she plopped the flier into her mouth like a kernel of popcorn, swallowing it in just a few bites. Luz whined in protest.

“If having teammates is so bad, why did you take me in? You’ve already had to come rescue me from prison,” Luz softly grumbled.

“She’s got a point there,” King spoke into Eda’s ear.

Eda’s expression softened. “It’s different with you two. I took you guys in because you needed a place to stay. A few children, who are well-behaved enough not to pick fights, ” she emphasized, “are not the same as a huge group of rebels who are constantly throwing down with the coven.”

Luz, losing her confidence, tucked herself into her beanie in shame. She felt the warm cradle of Eda’s hand on her shoulder, but she refused to look up. Finally admitting defeat, she let Eda continue escorting her.

The gleam of the mid-afternoon sun hit the edge of the trees and crept away from the forest as Luz, Eda, and King returned to the darkening corners of The Owl House. Luz still felt like bugs were crawling through her stomach, and her chest ached with distress. She felt another gentle push on her back from Eda as she was led inside, greeting Hooty along the way. She made her way to the old, Victorian-style living room couch, plopping face-first over the armrest and into the cushion. Her muffled groan relieved part of her pent-up stress.

Eda sat next to her student, tapping a crystal ball on the coffee table. “Maybe we should watch a little crystal ball to get our minds off of things.”

“Only if it’s anime,” said a muffled Luz. “Otherwise, I’m not interested.”

Eda looked upon her apprentice with a soft smirk before returning her gaze to the glowing glass orb. The first image it showed was the inside of a building decorated with banners of white and gold with the winged sword sigil plastered plainly for all viewers to see. Eda recognized it as the Emperor’s Coven sigil, and put together that this program was showing the inside of a building officially owned by the Empire. Great- she turns on the crystal ball and is immediately greeted with a news channel, ready to spew more coven propaganda. 

Just as she prepared to switch channels, the announcer spoke, “And now, an important speech from the head of our very own Bard Coven, Raine Whispers.” That seemed to get Eda’s attention. The camera showed a shot of a witch with red-rimmed glasses and an overgrown mullet that sparkled in a wild hue of electric yellow. Dark skin complemented their white shirt and deep maroon tunic. 

“Hello,” they spoke in a mid-range voice that quaked slightly, probably from nerves. “O-on behalf of the Bard Coven, I want to welcome you all to today’s press confereden- conf- ugh, Titan, this is going all wrong.” They rubbed the bridge of their nose, their cheeks darkening in a blush. “I want to welcome you all to today’s press conference! We’ll be discussing major projects being funded by our coven over the next six months-”

The covenhead’s voice became white noise as Eda stared at them, as if in a trance. Her eyes sparkled, wide with curiosity, staring at the music note earring that dangled from Raine’s ear. 

“Do you know them?” Luz suddenly spoke, popping her head over Eda’s shoulder. 

Eda jumped. “Kid, don’t sneak up on me like that!” She gently pushed the human’s head away, giving herself some space. “And no, not really.” Eda’s hesitance made Luz doubt her words. “They’re just one of many covenheads enforcing the Emperor’s will.” Suddenly, she felt the painful itch of feathers in her neck. She scratched it meticulously, feeling her skin go raw. “Anyway, I need to prepare for tonight’s sale. Watch whatever you want.” Eda left Luz to the crystal ball and grabbed her mysterious sack of whatever she had nabbed while she was out, taking it with her back to her room.

As it turned out, her sack contained a huge stock of elixirs for her curse. Eda immediately uncorked one, gulping it down and throwing herself into a coughing fit. While the elixir was supposed to taste bad, something in this one seemed odd. It was a different kind of bad than she was used to. To make matters worse, the itching in her neck didn’t seem to go away. She continued scratching until black feathers began to puff from all around her neck and just above her chest.

Crap , Eda thought. There was definitely something wrong. She checked the label on the glass bottle for any notable issues. “Dammit, Morton,” she spoke aloud to herself. “You gave me the wrong elixir!” What to do- she couldn’t just go out again now to replace the elixirs after just having come back. It’d be too suspicious. No, she’d have to hold out until sundown, where she’d have the excuse of going out to set up for the Night Market. She could make it that long, right?

Her body threatened to say otherwise. Itchy feathers gradually blossomed from her stomach and armpits throughout the afternoon. She tried to keep to her excuse to Luz and actually focused on organizing her things to sell at the Night Market, even though it seemed more and more apparent that she wasn’t going to be able to open tonight. However, the way the feathers agitated against her skin made the task more and more difficult. She often went several minutes at a time staring at the same item, not doing anything with it, as her attention continuously drifted to her own torturous discomfort.

Miraculously, sunset came. Eda bit her tongue as she threatened to cry from the discomfort. She needed to get elixirs fast. She stuffed the potions that she had received into the bag she normally kept human merchandise in and carried them with her to the living room. She took just a peek, and she was greeted to the sight of Luz and King curled up on a couch, watching some anime with a pink-haired mage, a blonde girl with magic keys, and a talking blue cat. Deciding not to question it, she strolled in, quietly announcing herself.

“I’m gonna head on to the Night Market a bit early,” Eda lied. She made sure her robes properly covered her shoulders and hoped to Titan feathers wouldn’t crawl up her neck and face.

“Oh! Do you want me to come with?” Luz asked.

Eda smiled, hiding the pain she felt. “Not tonight. I can handle things myself. You’re in charge of the house while I’m gone. Stay out of trouble, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Luz, fingers crossed behind her back.

Once Eda was out the door and off into the sky, Luz redirected her attention to a half-asleep King. “Alright, buddy! I’m in charge. And I say that we should go on a little mission.”

“You’re going to check out the rebel group in Bonesborough, aren’t you?”

A hot blush burst onto Luz’s face. “What? Pfft, no! No! Maybe. A bit.” Luz vocally stimmed, making various noises with her tongue and lips as she looked for the right words. “Would it be so bad if I did?”

“I don’t know,” King hesitated. “Eda did say to stay out of trouble.”

“Right, right, but what is trouble, really? It’s such a broad, loosely defined concept. I mean, we’re going to join a rebel group for a just cause and fight for a better future, so is it really trouble?”

“Hmm- you know, you’d make an excellent shoulder demon, Luz. You’ve convinced me. But we might wanna go now before it gets too dark. We don’t have Eda’s staff, so it’ll be a little bit of a walk.”

“Perfect, I’ll get my stuff!”

Luz packed her bag with some potions, fire glyphs, and her trusty baseball bat before taking King in her arms and setting off. By the time she made it through the forest and into town, sunset slowly crawled to dusk. The serene glow of fairy lights started to flicker in the region, giving Bonesborough its charming nightlife aesthetic. Luz relied on King for navigation to High Spirits Tavern, which was apparently a bar that Eda frequented when wanting to treat herself to some Apple Blood.

“To your left, Luz. It’s that street!” King directed.

“Which street? There’s, like, three different streets to my left.”

“That one! The one with glowing skulls hanging over the bridge.”

“Ugh, why couldn’t the rebels have held their meeting somewhere that was easier to find?” Luz complained, not noticing how loudly her voice had raised. “This is such a discrete path. I better not be tricked into finding a dark alleyway where I’ll get mugged.”

“Trust me, it’s a genuine place. I won’t let you get mugged. Any attackers would tremble at the sight of me!”

Luz gazed upon the small, fluffy demon on her shoulder, her eyes squinting suspiciously. “Uh-huh. I’m sure they’ll feel so terrified by a little furball like you.”

“Are you mocking me?” King yelled.

“Aww, you’re so cute when you’re mad,” Luz cooed. She didn’t humor the screaming demon even further and instead made her way to the street that King pointed out to her.

Unbeknownst to her, a figure stood in the shadows that cast behind the nearest building. It watched her like a hawk through the slits in its golden mask.

—

While Luz and King explored the back alleys, Eda had to tread her way through downtown Bonesborough. The black feathers crawled up her neck and half her face. While she had her mask to cover those, what she couldn’t cover was the inky void filling the light in her eyes. She clenched her aching head, feeling a burning fever overcome her. She felt her limbs crack, twist, and snap in unnatural directions as she was unable to maintain her balance on two legs.

Her knees slammed to the ground, and she pounded her fists on the concrete as she tried to keep balance. She howled in pain, alerting a few concerned witches in the crowd of her presence. She dragged herself across the floor, determination burning in her black eyes as she silently vowed to beat the crap out of Morton later.

Another howl escaped her lips, followed by a raspy shriek. She felt her muscles pulsating as waves of feathers stabbed through her ribs and paws. Talons ripped through her heels, uncomfortably jutting from her feet. Her next shriek of pain alerted more townsfolk, and soon enough, coven guards.

“What is that thing?” one of the guards called. “It’s not like any demon I’ve ever seen.”

“Capture it before it hurts the citizens!”

Eda sprinted on all fours, fighting against the curse for control as painful muscle twitches kept stopping her from escaping. “Come on, work with me here, you damn beast,” Eda growled to herself. Fire and ice spells shot at her, just barely zipping past her and singeing her fur and feathers. A low hiss escaped her lips as she gazed upon her predators. The coven guards charged magic circles, and though their faces were hidden, Eda could tell they had a murderous intent in their eyes. Though one of them had said to capture her, she knew very well how easily an officer would happily fire a killing shot, claiming it was in self-defense.

Just as the scouts closed in on her, a small, darkening alley caught the corner of her eye. The fairy lights only reached a few fleeting spots of the street, but it was otherwise a pitch black void. Well, regardless of how it looked, her chances were better there than with the coven. She leapt into a sprint on all fours into the alley, not looking back at her perpetrators.

—

After careful navigation through the bustling streets and bumping into many of the less welcoming faces of Bonesborough’s nighttime visitors, Luz found her way to High Spirits Tavern, which stood in a less populated but not empty part of town. It was relatively well lit, easing her fears of getting mugged.

The building sat there, old and creaky, with a neutral green paint job barely helping it stand out amongst the surrounding buildings. Thick heaps of spiderwebs infested the windows and roof, tangling around lights that blinked on and off. At the very least, the place had a nice-looking logo plastered above its door, complete with an adorable little ghost mascot to complement its name.

As Luz inched closer to the entrance, she felt intense vibrations make her way into her nerves, likely from the music that the place was blasting. A feeling of giddiness made her legs flutter. “Alright, King! We’re about to enter a fantasy bar setting. I don’t know if Eda has brought you here, but trust me, I’ve seen all the movies. I know what to expect.”

“Alright. I’ll humor you,” said King.

Luz entered the old bar, and she squealed as she gazed upon the sights. The interior was lit up with warm, ambient lights, revealing wooden tables full of gruff and grizzly demons drinking their sorrows away. A group of witches stood in one corner, playing some twisted version of darts where they were aiming to hit a large arachnid with a horned mouth on its back as it crawled along the board. It squealed in pain with each dart that impaled it. In the other corner of the tavern, a puny-looking witch held a jacked demon in a chokehold.

Trying to ignore the smell of alcohol strangling her lungs, Luz forced a smile. “Yep! It’s everything I hoped it would be! Isn’t this so cool, King?”

“Eh, I’ve seen scarier taverns. This one’s pretty tame.”

Luz promptly ignored his comment. “This is just my kind of place. Oh, by the way, King, you might wanna duck. This is usually the part where-”

“Hey, what are you looking at?” A gruff voice interrupted in the distance. Luz’s fight or flight instincts kicked in, making her jump to King and pull him into a ducking position to avoid the liquor bottle hurtling toward her. 

As it shattered against the wall, Luz got back up, rubbing the back of her head. “The part where that happens,” she finished. She walked a few more steps forward, taking in her surroundings. The audio speakers blared a barrage of sludgy guitar and blast beats. Luz could just barely make out the lyrics through the singer’s low growl.

Desolation of their souls

They slave in fire

Whips of Hades at their backs

The Scourge of Iron

Hell's eternal pact

“Is that Death Metal?” Luz questioned King. “I didn’t know you guys had that on the isles.”

“Uh, duh,” King responded. “Where did you think Death Metal came from? Sweden? A lot of those bands originated from Bonesborough.” He strolled forward, walking past Luz.

“That- actually checks out,” Luz responded, catching up to King.

Luz made her way to the counter, trading a glance with a bartending demon whose hair was made of fire, embers flickering in Luz’s face and threatening to make her sneeze. “Hey, friend,” she said, putting on her friendliest smile. “Got any mocktails? I’d love to try some Apple Blood, but I’m underage.”

The bartender filled a glass with a wine-colored liquid, decorating it with a little bat wing as if it were a lemon. He slid it Luz’s way, joking that she should “take care not to choke on it.” Luz shot him an awkward laugh in return and took a sip. It was bittersweet with a little bit of zest to it, almost like it had the subtle taste of tomato juice in it. She couldn’t say she saw why Eda was so obsessed with the stuff, but it wasn’t bad.

She tossed a few snails to the bartender that she had “borrowed” from Eda’s savings, which the witch kept stashed at home rather than in a bank. Luz remembered her spiel about how she didn’t trust banks owned by the Emperor’s Coven. She took another sip, leaning against the counter. “Hey, bartender?” Once she got his attention, she lowered her voice to a whisper. “Heard anything about a secret group meeting at this place?”

The demon began cleaning a glass in the sink with his rag. “Who’s asking?”

“Just a curious adventurer looking to talk.”

The bartender pointed a clawed finger to a table in the distance. “Try asking them. They may know something.”

King hopped onto the counter and then on Luz’s shoulder, scouting the place with her. They both spotted a group of individuals who seemed to be playing some kind of card game. Notably, the cards came to life, attacking each other like real monsters. Luz found four individuals playing and laughing together. The first was a masculine-looking witch with fluffy black hair and a small pair of glasses. Next to him was a witch with scattered bangs, skull-shaped gauges, and a thick ponytail tied at the top. Next to her was a pink-skinned humanoid demon with big, adorable ears that looked like that of a bat. Her smile lit her face up like a child’s, making Luz assume that either she was really into this game or that she was winning (or both). 

Finally, across the table from these three witches sat a humanoid demon. They packed a lot of muscle on their heavily tattooed arms, and their physique in general put a lot of bodybuilders Luz knew to shame. Their ears looked like fins, and Luz was pretty sure she spotted scales on their blue skin. They wore a white crop top, black tripp pants, and combat boots that looked like they could crush a small animal or demon with enough force.

“You sure you wanna do this?” King whispered into Luz’s ear.

“Of course! They seem like a friendly bunch. Honestly, that buff-looking one is kinda-” Luz blushed as she felt her face heat up. She slapped her cheeks, trying to get herself to focus. “Come on, let’s introduce ourselves.” 

She took King over to the table, waiting for an opportune moment to start a conversation when the witches and demons weren’t distracted by their card game. As a little card got zapped to ash, the bat-eared demon pumped her fists in the air and cheered. “Five games in a row! Medusa, how many drinks do you owe me by now?” Her tone became subtly flirtatious. Then, her eyes slowly locked with Luz’s. “Oh! I think we have a visitor. Hi! My name’s Amber.”

The buff demon rubbed their forehead, a pained expression on their face. “How many times do I have to tell you not to share your name with every stranger you meet? We’re trying to keep a low profile.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Luz assured them. “I can share my own name so that the playing field is even. My name’s Luz, and this is my roommate King. We just wanted to maybe join in on your game and have a little chat. I saw a flier in an alleyway and was hoping to befriend the ones responsible for posting it.”

The buff demon scoffed, then grinned. She had two teeth that extended past the rest, almost like a saber-tooth tiger’s in shape, but short enough to fit in her mouth. “You looking to join our cause? What makes you think I’d be interested in a kid like you?”

Luz faltered. “King- back me up here!” she loudly whispered to her shoulder associate.

King puffed out his chest, giving off an appearance he thought was high and mighty. “Give her a chance, and you just might have the opportunity to recruit me- the King of Demons!”

“Cute,” said the buff demon. “I didn’t know this bar allowed pets.” They promptly ignored King’s squeal of rage, turning back to Luz. “Alright, I’ll humor you. The name’s Medusa. These are my associates, Amber, Katya, and Derwin. I can tell you’re obviously not a coven spy- you’re not only young, but way too naive. Though that doesn’t mean I trust you with the information I have. How about you humor me in a little game of Hexes Hold ‘Em, and then I’ll decide if you’re worth any more of our time.”

Amber got out of her seat, gesturing for Luz to take her spot. As Luz sat down, Amber shot her a wide smile. Katya and Derwin gave smaller, more amused smiles, seemingly curious about how this game would play out. Luz looked down at the cards, her face twisting in confusion. “So, um, this might sound crazy, but I’ve never actually played. Mind explaining?”

The laugh that escaped Medusa’s mouth was much louder than Luz expected. “You never played it with your friends on school grounds or something? Sheesh, you must be living under a rock. Alright, it’s a little complicated, but I’ll go over the basics. We each start with six cards in our hand…”

Luz more or less seemed to understand the game. It was like Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh, where each card was a character with its own stats that fought against other cards. Each one cast a different type of magic and was strong against and weak to other types of magic. Of course, the classic fantasy twist that Luz never stopped being fascinated with was the fact that the cards animated on their own. Her level of curiosity was almost suspicious, considering the novelty surely should be lost on an experienced teenage witch who had lived on The Boiling Isles for years. Medusa pondered the fascinated behavior, but didn’t press Luz about it.

About five minutes in, Luz was losing. Badly. She desperately searched her cards for options that could dig her out of the hole she was in. Medusa could only laugh as she struggled. “Ready to give up? Most of your strongest cards have been destroyed.”

“Heh! Shows what you know. I have, like, a super powerful card in my hand that I’m just waiting for the perfect opportunity to play. Why don’t you give up before I give you a butt-whooping you won’t forget?”

Medusa smirked. “You know, kid, you got a bad enough poker face as is. But your little demon friend’s laugh is just giving your bluff away further.”

Luz glared at King, unamused as the little demon held his mouth in a giggling fit. “I’m sorry, it was just too funny,” said King. “Your hand honestly looks so pathetic that it would’ve been hilarious if they fell for it.”

Gritting her teeth, Luz played a weak plant mage and added an attack buff to help it take out one of Medusa’s cards. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop Medusa's frost demon from freezing and shattering her mage to dust.

“You’re determined, I’ll give you that,” said Medusa. “And you’re quite the risk-taker. Those are some qualities that I admire in a rebel. However, I just don’t think you have the street smarts to back it up.”

“What do you mean?” asked Luz.

“Kid, I don’t use whether you win or lose as a basis for recruitment. I use these games to gauge an opponent’s character. And even for someone who’s never played this game before, I could see the naivety in your eyes went beyond just being new to a game. It’s almost as if The Boiling Isles as a whole is a foreign land to you.”

King and Luz exchanged a nervous glance. “Yeah- I guess that makes sense? Whatever. Sorry for taking up your time. We’ll be on our way.” Luz picked up her bag and scooped King up in her arms. She carefully strolled off, glancing back at the table one more time just to make absolutely sure the group wasn’t testing her and that she was going to be asked to come back at any moment. Her eyes drooped in disappointment as she walked away.

“Maybe you were too hard on her?” said Katya. “She did seem to have potential.” Derwin nodded in agreement.

“I honestly liked her! Maybe you should give her a shot,” Amber pleaded.

Medusa leaned back in their chair. “She’s a kid. I already don’t know if I could, in good conscience, put a kid through what we fight for. She should be going to school and experiencing crushes, not fighting a dictatorship. I was willing to give her a shot if she seemed reliable enough, but I don’t know. I’m not convinced.”

Luz made it closer to the door, and she stopped in her tracks and gazed at a new wave of patrons coming in. Her eyes went wide as she realized that coven scouts were suddenly flooding inside. They didn’t seem aggressive at the moment, but just their presence made Luz feel like she was about to be wrapped up in something. Behind them, a familiar figure walked in. Luz felt herself freeze as recognition lit in her eyes. She remembered that golden mask just as vividly as the witch who was executed that day.

“Hello, young one,” he spoke, his monotone voice echoing through the mask. “Do you mind staying put while we investigate this place? We got a tip about some Wild Witches meeting here tonight.”