The front door clicked shut behind Lilith. It was fairly easy to sneak into her sister's house, as Hooty was busy withering the guards outside.
Frail weaklings, she thought. The top members of her coven couldn't even defeat a simple house demon and a cursed, wild witch. Yet here she was, the new leader of the Emperor's Coven, relegated to rummaging through her sister's belongings. She took off the mask that she used to bear as a simple member, casting it out of sight in disgust.
Her nose unconsciously scrunched in revulsion at the sight of the living room. To anyone else, a few books and other supplies strewn around would be acceptable. But it only made Lilith think of how much her sister must've fallen since their paths split all those years ago.
That was all about to change for the better. Kikimora shared in the mission briefing that Eda would be brought to Belos, who would heal the curse. Even though the pathetic guards had no chance against her sickly sibling, Kikimora could easily subdue her.
Shaking out of her thoughts, Lilith cast a small circle spell. A magic sack appeared, containing infinite storage. Lilith was ordered to only retrieve unfamiliar assets, as Belos didn't see use for common trinkets. Other coven members would be sent in later to retrieve other items, but Lilith was the only witch he trusted with potential valuables.
Lilith observed the back wall of the living room, displaying a mess of undoubtedly stolen goods. She couldn't help but smile at her sister's antics, she never did change. After forcing a spare witch hand off the wall, along with some other items, she headed upstairs.
The first room on the right belonged to her sister, evident by its somewhat drab appearance. She noticed a large bed, why would Eda need this? Walking further in, she saw a picture of Eda and the human on the night-stand, holding up their index and middle fingers, smiling.
But in-between them was a young child, one with pointed ears. Looking closely at the child's open mouth, Lilith spotted no fangs. They had a child together? It wasn't out of the question, it looked as though the child took after them both. Belos would certainly be pleased to find out this information.
Not many valuables were evident, until she entered the closet at the back of the room. There, she spotted an unfamiliar name written on a box. "Camila's Stuff", in scrawled out ink. The human. When opened, many human trinkets were evident. She quickly grabbed them all, and left for the hallway.
Immediately to the left was a much smaller room, filled with a small bed and a few toys. The child's room. Even Lilith couldn't bear to steal from a child, but she did notice writing on a loose piece of paper. Doodled across the entire length were three letters, "Luz". The hybrid. Looking over the rest of the floor, Lilith recognized a few toys from her childhood. She reminisced back on how her and Eda used to play pretend with them all day. Lilith allowed a smile to run across her face this time, knowing that her sister would be coming to her true home soon.
Heading downstairs again, Lilith spotted a small study. She flinched at the sight, seeing multiple books and potions strewn across the ground. There were some papers on a desk at the back of the room, scrawled on them were various medical terms. Assassin notes, perhaps?
Lilith continued to question the purpose of this disorder, until her eyes locked onto a single feather. An owl feather. Her skin started to tingle, a flash of heat flying down her spine. Whoever worked here wasn't trying to kill someone, they were studying Eda's curse. It never occurred to Lilith that her actions as a teen had long-lasting consequences, until that large quill was staring her dead in the face.
She swallowed her guilt and re-focused on the mission at hand. Since the only potential valuables here were potions, which Belos had plenty of access to, she turned to head out of the room empty-handed. As she started out, however, her eyes quickly glanced at a whiteboard with three images. The bottom two made sense. A single lung, then a lung and a bile sac. The top one was a rare sight to behold, however.
Two lungs. As was taught in school, witches of old evolved with two lungs. However, history didn't exactly reveal the specifics of mutation into a bile sac. What gave Eda such an interest in this seemingly trivial fact of history?
Cautiously moving toward the image, she noticed the unfamiliar left lung was a bit smaller. Odd, she remembered the diagram in school showing the lungs as identical. Lilith's eyes thrust open in realization. Eda was trying to give a human access to magic.
Lilith pondered on this as she checked the kitchen and other small rooms. A few unfamiliar items, she assumed from the putrid trash slugs, were of interest. But the last room left was at the back of the house. Peeking inside as she cracked the door open, her face flushed at the beholding sight.
The walls were flooded with objects foreign to the coven leader. As her eyes trailed up the edges of the room, her body carefully drifted toward the empty middle. Her focus was partially snapped by the muffled scream of what she assumed to be a pitiful guard.
Lilith slowly gathered objects from the perimeter that caught her eye most, such as a faded red half-circle attached to a wooden stick, and a small, hinged object with two glass panels. She almost felt a pang of guilt as she gathered up the numerous trinkets for Belos, but remembered that Eda would no longer need this junk once she joined the Emperor's Coven. Eda would be whisked away from this pitiful life, no longer needing to live life as an embarrassing wild witch.
As Lilith was picking up a small rubber band, shaped into some sort of creature, her body went stiff. What about the human, and the hybrid? Lilith didn't care about either of their fates, but Eda surely had an attachment. She shook her head and remembered that these were trivial, Eda would forget about them as soon as she learned the great opportunities that lie ahead. The prospect of healing the curse would sway her to the Emperor's side.
Reaching the backside of the room, Lilith noticed a rectangular, white object stick out amongst the piles. A stack of papers, all bound together by a small piece of metal in the top left corner. What called out to her, however, was the sprawled out text in red on the front page.
DO NOT READ. BELOS HAS HEXED HIS BODY TO PREVENT THE HARM OF A WITCH.
Her body ceased at the mention of her lord's name. This did not come from the Human Realm, and she should not be seeing this. She sat down on a few boxes, and prepared to flip through the rest of the pages. She had been quick through the house to this point, a moment of rest couldn't hurt.
Nothing could have prepared the witch for what was present in these papers. Diagrams of the Emperor's Castle were drawn out first in immaculate detail, with several strokes of ink hastily drawn over numerous hallways and doors. This was much more elaborate than any she had seen in any official documentation. There were many rooms laid out that had never been mentioned, most in parts of the castle that she was denied access to. Most prominently were numerous bright red paths drawn to Belos's throne room.
The rest of the booklet was filled with a long manifesto, with no credit to an author. Reading through it, it first described details of how corrupt the Isles are. Information on crime rings, hidden towns, and deals made with officials to gain power. She recognized a few of these, but what seized her attention was the fact that Belos seemed to be connected with many of these illegal operations.
The last few pages consisted of a complete breakdown of why the current coven system is inherently flawed, and that Belos crafted the system to purposely disarm witches. It read that while any witch can create a coven to encourage the development of a specific track of magic, this system in reality is designed specifically to weaken the bile sac.
The bile sac must be nurtured with all forms of magic to remain healthy, instead of the common belief that studying only one track strengthens a witch's power. In actuality, if only one form of magic is practiced, the heart will lower its energy output to the bile sac. The excess energy is used to produce additional blood and nutrients for other parts of the body.
While a witch can restore a bile sac's power by practicing multiple forms of magic, the vast majority never have this chance. The sealing of magic to one type is what makes Belos's rule definite. Even if a witch discovers the truth, they would not be able to reverse this seal and unlock their stolen potential.
This is how Belos cemented his rule. The prospect of a witches life being extended excited everyone, but nobody knew what they were giving up. Bold, false claims of wild witches being weak, history rewrote to demonize their allegedly primitive ways. Modern witches live a life that past civilizations would only envision in their darkest nightmares.
Lilith dropped the paper, paralyzed by this immense revelation. This wasn't a baseless conspiracy fueled by rage. Lilith always knew she and Eda were different. The Clawthornes had their family members practice all forms of magic, and this tradition did not end with the rise of Belos. Their power had to be kept a secret so the Clawthornes could remain an elite family.
This is why her and Eda were always able to best their opponents during Grudgby, and win courtyard brawls that didn't abide by any rules. Not because their family lineage had any inherent advantage over other witches, but because they kept tradition alive. Belos never seemed to question Lilith's power when she joined the guard, which now raised many red flags in Lilith's mind.
She picked the paper back up, and finished the last few paragraphs. It stated that Belos must be stopped at all costs, as his actions will lead to the end of witch-kind. The writer theorized that if he is not stopped, the bile sac's of future generations would eventually be drained entirely, leading to the end of widespread magic. All bile sacs would be harvested, for a purpose unknown to the writer. Emperor Belos would have complete control over the entirety of the Boiling Isles.
Lilith didn't want to put her entire faith in a rough stack of papers she just discovered. But everything lined up perfectly. This is why the Emperor's Coven is so weak compared to her and Eda. Belos wants the submission of every witch. To dominate every creature living on the Titan. The coven's don't allow a witch to become more powerful, they allow Belos to gain all power.
She clutched her head in despair, a massive throbbing blocking out any coherent thought. Lilith had no power to defeat Belos, she knew his strength was unmatchable. She was furious at herself for reading the manifesto, wishing she had heeded that warning on the front.
The warning. His physical body was hexed against only witches. There was no hope for her to bring back order, no witch would believe her. All of her anger at her fellow coven members instantly vanished, replaced with a sobering pity. It was never their fault that they weren't powerful, they just followed the orders ingrained since childhood.
Lilith clutched her stomach in a dark pain, she didn't deserve to be at the top. Every other witch would be on the same level as the Clawthornes. If it weren't for Him. For His eventual domination of the Isles.
She stood up, shaking, mind completely numb. There was no hope. Belos already won. Even if his rule of the Isles were loose in the present, he knew it didn't matter. As more time passed, he would have more cities begging for protection from monsters and other necessities for life, as they would no longer be strong enough to live on their own.
Lilith's eyes were slammed shut, her brain continuing to sparkle in a mix of a thousand emotions. As she began to stumble out of the room, hands clutched in her now frizzled hair, one leg knocked into something. She opened an eye, and saw a small figure, with their head in their arms.
Lilith's mind raced with an excess of questions, ill-prepared for this event. Was this Luz, Eda's child? No, surely not. This was a separate figure entirely. As her eyes studied the figure, she realized their ears were round.
A human.
She bent down and delicately tapped the human on their shoulder, waking them up. As their head rose, Lilith realized that she was indeed staring at a human child. Her eyes were heavy, skin drained of any energy. Lilith, a master of swallowing her emotions after years of experience, stood up straight to garner the illusion of control.
Lilith peered down at the small child. "What is your name, human?"
"A-Amity." Her eyes darted around a bit, her body lightly trembling. This tall figure looked like a normal person, but had pointed ears. Amity couldn't move.
"My name is Lilith Clawthorne. Do you know where you are, Amity?"
"No." The child replied meekly.
"Where do you live?"
"I don't know."
Lilith's suspicions were right, this child didn't belong here. But, it didn't make sense. How could Eda miss an entire human in her house? She stood there in thought, looking away from Amity. Belos might be interested in another human-
Belos.
She can't give Belos any more than what he requested, not now. Her mind wandered for a bit, losing focus on Amity. That plan, it wouldn't leave her conscious. Now that she was able to reflect on the papers, she realized how much she hated Belos.
She had always despised that man. He never showed Lilith any respect, always asking for more to prove the Clawthorne's honor. Her throat started to constrict at the thought of his actions, her eyes slammed shut . Was there really no way to put a stop to him?
Lilith's eyes suddenly swelled back open, locking onto Amity. The child before her wasn't a witch, but a human.
BELOS HAS HEXED HIS BODY TO PREVENT THE HARM OF A WITCH.
It's well known throughout the Isles that a barrier spell functions by preventing any creature with a bile sac from moving into the blockade. But, a human couldn't just kill the most powerful figure on the Isles without magic. That diagram she saw in the study was medically unfeasible, especially on a child, and would prevent a human from piercing Belos's barrier.
But then she remembered, scattered about the study were a few books on the anatomy of humans. Lilith ignored them at first due to Belos's request, but there was a purpose beyond him now. Studying the important distinctions between human and witch.
What if she could turn Amity into an artificial witch?
"Amity." She bent down to the five-year-old. "Do you know what magic is?"
"I-I think." Amity looked away, magic?
Lilith twirled her finger in a small circle, causing a small light to illuminate from her finger. "How would you like to be the first human to cast magic?"
Amity's eyes were spellbound by the light, her mind unable to comprehend the sight she had only heard of in stories.
"Okay." the child answered. There was no one around to help, so she couldn't deny the request of this magical lady. Amity was hungry and exhausted. Whoever this lady was, she seemed nice. The first human to cast magic, the offer was exciting to the child, even if she didn't show it.
"Very well. Walk with me, there is much to be done." Lilith spun her finger in the direction of the plans, storing it away for later, deeper studies. She also stepped back into the study for a moment, stashing some books on human anatomy.
With that, Lilith and Amity quietly exited the back door of Eda's domain. Lilith made sure to head east first to avoid the potential conflict of guards. It was much quieter now, but Lilith didn't dare look in the direction of Eda's house. Nobody could see Amity. Not for a long time. The two headed south, deep into the vast Gladiolus forest.
Amity stared in awe at the many sights of the forest at night, and stayed close to Lilith. Lilith stopped the two at a large clearing in the thick forest, near halfway between Eda's house and the Emperor's Castle. Here, the surrounding trees cast a broad roof over the ground. Lilith surveyed the surroundings, and gave a subtle nod.
"This will work. Amity, I will return in one day. Here," she summoned a bag and pulled out a fried plant with light fairy seasoning. "I can sense your hunger."
Lilith spun her fingers and cast a translucent bubble that surrounded Amity. She guided her into a nearby patch, and cast an illusion spell to cloak the child. "This will keep you safe until I return. There are no threats that can harm you. I will order two members of the Construction Coven to build your new residence. When I return, more will be discussed."
With that, Lilith spun around and continued toward the Emperor's Castle, leaving the scared child alone. Lilith forgot that Amity had no knowledge of the coven system, already seeing her as a resident of the Boiling Isles.
Amity reached out a hand in Lilith's direction, as she had grown comfortable around the witch, but it was too late. She thought Lilith would stay with her, bring her to a safe place. She wanted to go home as well, but that seemed to no longer be an option.
With that, Amity reluctantly ate the foreign food, too tired to worry about its texture. She soon passed out from exhaustion, mind racing with confused questions.
The Emperor's Castle was now in Lilith's sight. Her heart dropped at a glimpse of the gates, dreading the thought of entering. She had never felt true intimidation from her home before, but the thought of facing Belos caused a deep anguish in her stomach. Lilith now carried the weight of a thousand debilitated witches within her soul, knowing she was currently the only witch close enough to Belos to lead any change.
Inside, she headed toward Kikimora. The two agreed to meet near the entrance for a debriefing. Lilith saw dozens of guards tending to wounds behind her, and no sign of her sister or the human.
"Lilith, I assume your mission was a success?" Kikimora acknowledged the Clawthornes presence, sauntering over to her.
Lilith clenched her fist, slamming it into the stone wall beside her with a deep anguish in her eyes. "Where is Edalyn."
"It appears your sister was, how shall I say, not compliant with our wishes. That won't be a problem, now will it Lilith?" Kikimora showed no signs of weakness in the face of Lilith, her commanding tone infuriating the witch.
"You said you would bring her here. No, Belos ordered you to bring her here. What will he think when you not only failed to capture one of the most wanted wild witches on the Isles with a full fleet of guards, but you failed to capture that human, the entire reason we were sent out so quickly?" Lilith sharpened her eyes and forced a finger at the small demon, challenging her bold attitude.
Kikimora casually swatted away Lilith's hand. "That is none of your concern, dear Lilith. Besides, you have what he really has been searching for."
Lilith sharply stepped backwards, sensing no sarcasm in Kikimora's voice. She was only ordered to steal valuables for her sister's house, and wasn't told to look out for any specific object.
Kikimora raised an eyebrow in a soft concern. "You do have the key right? From the human's neck?"
Lilith confidently stared Kikimora down. "No. One of the guards must've taken it. I only focused on my mission, which was gathering items from the inside of my sister's house, as Belos ordered. Speaking of which," Lilith summoned the bag of stolen possessions, hoisting it over her back. "I must report to Belos now. Good luck with," She waved to the guards, some of them now comforting each other. "all of that."
Lilith exited, heading for Belos's domain. She couldn't hear what Kikimora was yelling about, but couldn't resist a smirk. It was always amusing to watch such a tiny figure scream at guards who were four times her height. Her expression turned stone-cold, however, when she was reminded again of what she had read in those documents.
It was getting harder and harder to forget, to go back to what she didn't know. The guards didn't deserve Kikimora's tiny rage, it wasn't their fault that Eda had so easily trampled them. While both sides had access to all forms of magic, the guards still only studied one track. Now that she thought about it, why did Belos leave the Emperor's Coven's magic unsealed?
Lilith remembered back to when she first became a member of the top coven. Dark memories of loyalty being tested, only getting worse as she raised up the ranks. She pushed those thoughts deep down, refusing to let them control her again. Perhaps Belos never thought that a witch trained to be this dedicated would ever go against his rule.
The towering height of the door, the only thing now separating her from Belos, scrambled her mind. A fight-or-flight response rose deeply in the witch's bones. She forced herself to focus, however, taking a deep breath to ground herself in this moment.
She knew now what her purpose was as the leader of the Emperor's Coven. Lilith would be more observant of her surroundings in the castle, gathering all information she could to add to the plans. She had no frame of reference for how old the plans were, after all. And then one day, her and Amity could bring the Isles back to its forgotten glory.
Her knuckles thumped against the cold metal door. Lilith was welcomed in by the Emperor himself, and she sensed no present threat. But inside, she knew something could slip out of her mouth at a moment's notice. She bowed in his presence, fighting through the mental anguish.
"My liege, I have brought you many artifacts from Edalyn's domain." She handed him the bag of stolen goods, making sure to keep her hand steady.
Belos accepted it, and sauntered back to his throne. He pulled out a plastic cube of some sort, one end had a wire sticking out that ended in a circular piece of metal, and the other end had two long pieces of metal sticking out. "Did you learn anything of interest about the Owl Lady's residence?"
Inside, Lilith's mind was racing. His voice cut deep into her skull. She chose to fight on, and tell the truth to her Emperor. "There is one detail, sire, that you might find interesting." Lilith hesitated for a fraction of a second, but continued knowing that this would gain her more credibility with Belos. "It appears that Edalyn and Camila, the human, have a child. Her name is Luz."
Belos put down a greasy, rectangular box filled with a rotting circle, and stared into Lilith's eyes. "A child? Did you see her at all?"
"No, sire. But it appears that she is both human and witch. There were pictures around the house, and she had pointed ears. But no fangs."
Lilith could sense a deep, unreadable emotion within Belos, as the room stood still. He fidgeted with a small square of glass. "A hybrid." He rose from the throne, approaching Lilith with intent.
Lilith's soul sank. Did she say something wrong? Maybe she should run, this could be the end of her life. Or fight back? Maybe she shouldn't have made Eda's child known. What if Belos could see the fear in her eyes, or maybe deeper beyond the fear he could sense the burning hatred?
Belos spoke slowly, deep in thought. "Very well. Please write any extra details on the Owl Lady's residence in your report. You are dismissed."
Lilith quickly took a bow once again, and methodically strutted out of the room. She had expected further questioning, but was relieved to be released from his clutches. She finally felt like she could breathe, that everything would be okay. She could focus on the preparations for the next day.
Before leaving the castle, she had one room to visit. The bile sac storage room. Since it was so late at night, no guards were present. Belos had bile sacs from deceased witches stored in this room, with hundreds of the organs lining the walls.
The bile sac is a self-sustaining organ, it lives long beyond its disconnection from the heart. Belos's reasoning for this room was sound in theory. If a member of the Emperor's Coven is injured, there will always be a bile sac that matches their blood-type ready to be inserted.
However, this was a rare occurrence. If a coven member's bile sac was ruptured, they would usually be killed, petrified, or expelled from the coven for showing signs of weakness. Lilith grabbed the closest one, shuddering at the sight of it, and left quickly. But she couldn't help but wonder, were all these bile sacs stored for a deeper purpose?
As she headed toward the castle's exit, she ventured by Kikimora again. The demon's little eyes pierced into Lilith's soul. All guards were now stiff in a block formation, as Kikimora searched every one of them for the key to the Human Realm.
Lilith didn't even spare a passing glance as she ventured outside, toward a site of nearby Construction Coven members. It was turning dawn now, but the witch felt restless. She started to develop theories about how to transform Amity into an artificial witch, writing on her scroll as she moved with purpose. She was a Clawthorne after all, the impossible was possible with her bloodline.
Kikimora, enraged by the loss of the key, had to stop herself from storming into Belos's room. She impatiently knocked at the door, and was welcomed in by Belos.
"Ah, Kikimora, come in." She noticed a distance in his voice.
Kikimora hesitantly started. "Sire, I regret to inform you that the path to the Human Realm you were seeking has been lost."
Belos sat back in his throne, unmoving. Kikimora paused for a second, but continued when she sensed no threat in his posture.
"It appears that the rumors of a key opening a portal are true. I have searched the guards, and many that advanced on the ground saw a key around the humans neck. I was unable to capture Edalyn or the human. I did, however, force the Owl Lady to tell me the truth of the key's origins, which I will detail in my report later. I will be interrogating all members that came back alive on this mission further, but I am not sure if any of them are stupid enough to keep something of this importance from you."
Belos again stagnated in his seat, and began to speak. "The Titan feels that the key is not important at this time. You didn't receive the Owl Lady and the human?" He enunciated calmly, giving Kikimora a deep unease.
"Edalyn Clawthrone and her house demon defeated all the guards, therefore leaving me unable to capture the two you requested. However, if you wish, I can-"
"There is no need to worry about that, Kiki." Belos didn't stand, but shifted his torso toward the left, cupping the bottom of his mask with his left hand. "Lilith informed me of something she found. Or, someone." He paused for another moment. "Luz. She is the child of Edalyn and Camila, the human." He stood from his throne and faced backwards.
Kikimora remained silent for a moment, then spoke slowly as realization hit her. "She is a human and a witch? I see. Perhaps she has greater powers than the Clawthornes. We can prepare her to lead the Nubreeds, while searching for the key to the Human Realm."
Silence filled the room, as the fire torches crackled on. The future was coming into focus for the Empire. Belos spoke again. "Yes. She shall be of great service to us. However, there is one issue." He turned to face the demon again. "While I am sure the Owl Lady is strong enough to train the hybrid on her own, she will no doubt feed propaganda against our rule to her. We must convince the hybrid's parents to enroll her into Manubrius."
Kikimora quickly gave a nod. "Yes my liege, I shall talk with the school board. To my knowledge, there are a few witches that go to each residence around Sternham to advertise their academia. I can request a special script from them to share at Edalyn's domain." Kikimora summoned a piece of parchment and a quill. "What do you wish for them to say?"
Belos rose from his throne and clasped his hands behind his back, starting to strut around the room. "Inform the advertisers of the hybrid's special nature, and that the parents would be making a grave mistake not enrolling her. Ask them to focus on the social aspect of school, how otherwise she would grow up alone."
He paused for a second, focusing on the thin air in front of his face. "We are able to pay the school for this service, so please deliver Snails to encourage their skills. Ask them to pay Edalyn and the human, if their marketing skills aren't strong enough."
Kikimora finished transcribing her Emperor's wishes. "Is there anything else, my liege?"
Belos ceased movement. "That is all for the script. However, I have additional requests for the school board. The hybrid shall be assigned more difficult classes. All of her academic reports, and any other actions of interest, shall be sent directly to me."
He turned his head toward the red demon. "I have a special task for you, Kikimora. You shall take notes on the hybrid at her home, studying her actions. You will stay hidden, letting her grow up without any known interference. When I deem her ready, you shall make contact and convince her to join the Emperor's Coven. Is that clear?"
"Yes, my liege. I shall complete these actions and report to you. I look forward to studying the hybrid further, and determining her potential." Kikimora pulled out a scroll, preparing to talk with the Manubrius administration.
"You are dismissed. Do not fail me again." Belos threatened, though he was internally relieved at the failed mission. Luz would lead the Nubreeds.
Lilith arrived the following day to the completed house, with nerves running through her mind. Walking inside, she saw everything set to her specifications. The main room had a bed, a kitchen section, a table, a refrigerator, a bookshelf, and empty space in a corner for potential additions. There were two small rooms in the back of the house as well, a bathroom and a storage closet.
Satisfied, she sauntered back outside to where she hid Amity. Lilith released the sleeping child from her bubble, then quickly cast an unconscious spell. Lilith figured out how to give Amity a source of magic after studying the human anatomy books that morning, and the process was quite simple. She had to be quick, however. Her days were more busy now that she led the Emperor's Coven.
Before bringing Amity inside, Lilith cast a permanent cloaking spell on the house. Nobody could know it's here. The magic took a lot out of her, but it replaced the residence's appearance with surrounding trees.
Lilith lied Amity down on the table, and pulled out some small pieces of paper she had written the procedure down on. First, she sedated Amity with a numbing spell. Lilith closed her own eyes, and summoned a spell to disconnect her left lung's pulmonary artery and main bronchus, temporarily leaving the lung in stasis.
Taking a deep breath, she summoned the bile sac stolen the day before. The sac itself was useless in this operation, so she disconnected the bile tube from it. The bile sac keeps the bile tube functioning, meaning that once the bile tube is disconnected, it has a short amount of time before it is unusable. Lilith had to be quick.
In witches, the bile tube is a complex, small organ that is responsible for the flow of magic. It is the sole connection of the bile sac to a witches body, creating a link between it and the heart. The heart outputs energy through one side of the tube, where it is transformed into magic and deposited into the bile sac.
The bile sac is never filled entirely, however, limiting itself based on a witch's genetics. The capacity grows during adolescence, though no witch has been documented with a full bile sac. Any bile tube can be transferred between witches with no danger of organ failure, as it functions independently.
Lilith sat in the silent house with her eyes still shut. She suspended the bile tube in mid-air with a spell, and began to deeply focus on the location of Amity's left lung. Her eyes shot open, pupils slamming to the back of her head. She used a rare form of oracle magic, where a witch can temporarily envision a nearby area without their ocular vision. Many witches were intimidated by this spell due to the immense amount of magic syphoned from the user, but Lilith knew this was the only way to succeed.
She pointed her right index finger toward the left lung, seeping the bile tube into Amity's body. Lilith's face continued to strain as she directed it toward her target. Her other hand cast a medical fusing spell, rejoining the heart and left lung, and completing the procedure.
Lilith gasped loudly, the magic overwhelming her, and she quickly released the spells. She dropped to the floor, losing consciousness.
Eda dropped to her amante's side, cupping Camila's neck in her own hands. She didn't care about anything else right now, ignoring that Kikimora could turn back around and kill them both at any second.
Camila's eyes twitched open, as she stared at the drained face of her wife. "E-Eda? What happened?"
Eda gathered her wife into a deep embrace. "Y'know, I thought I was gonna have to use the potion. Titan knows I wouldn't let you leave me." Eda helped Camila up, and stared into the forest. Kikimora continued to walk away from the house, with many guards stumbling around her. Eda turned back to her wife. "C'mon, let's head in."
The smile Eda had from Camila's recuperation dropped as soon as she saw the living room, seeing many possessions missing.
"¡Ay bendito! What happened? Is Luz okay?!" Camila started to bolt off, but Eda placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
A sneer grew on Eda's face. "I knew that demon wanted more than just the key. One of her moronic guards must've snuck in to snatch our junk. Luz is in the storage room with King, there's no chance they even knew they were here." Eda guided Camila toward the back of the house, taking inventory along the way. Whoever the dullard was, they only took useless scrap.
Eda trudged toward the back of the storage room, sighing at how much was missing. Her and Camila would have to focus on a new source of income. It wasn't enough that she lost her one controllable passage to the Human Realm, but now there was even less human garbage to sell while they figured out their financial troubles.
She released the hex on the door, and smiled toward Camila. Luz and King were still out, the two kids embraced in a deep cuddle. "See? Perfectly safe." Eda handed the two to Camila.
Camila strolled out of the room with Eda, but suddenly stopped in her tracks. She scrambled her hands to her neck, remembering what Eda said earlier. "Wait, the key? They wanted the key? Do they have it, Edalyn?!"
Eda turned to face Camila, setting both hands on her tense shoulders. "I don't know, I think one of the coven nitwits has it now." Eda shifted her head away. "Honestly, it was probably lost somewhere nearby in all that commotion. We'll find out if Belos snatched it soon enough. Right now, all that I care about is that you and the kids are safe."
They embraced each other again, then headed off to Luz's room. Camila delicately set Luz and King down, as Eda released the unconsciousness spell. The two of them slumped over to their room, falling weightlessly into bed. Before falling asleep, however, Eda attempted to connect with the key.
When a witch forms an object with a power as intense as the portal, a part of their being is transferred into it. Eda learned how to trace this connection long ago, so she could never lose the only known way to the Human Realm. However, when Camila entered her life, she never felt the need to detect it again.
Eda hoped to sense it now, but was unable to detect its physical location. A deep sigh left her mouth, realizing that she could very well never see Earth again.
Lilith awoke from the floor, and instantly jolted up in shock. On the table, she spotted the bile sac and her notes floating just a bit off the table around Amity's unconscious body.
"By Titan,"
The bile tube had filled Amity's repurposed lung with small bits of magic already. Amity groaned, snapping Lilith out of her trance. She quickly summoned some pain medication, as she could view a small grimace on the child's face. She had picked them up at the market the day before, knowing that it would take time for Amity's body to adjust to its new purpose.
Lilith cast a tiny barrier spell on her notes, and placed them in Amity's hand. Amity was holding the notes, entirely unaffected by the hex. Lilith's eyes glowed in awe, knowing the first step to salvation was finally complete.
"How do you feel, Amity?"
Amity sat up slowly, gripping her side. "I'm hurting."
"Here," Lilith set the medication next to her. "This will help."
Amity swallowed the pills, and slowly lied back down. "What happened?"
"Amity." Lilith kneeled in front of the human, staring intently into her eyes.
"You can cast magic."