"It'd be a darn shame for this to go to waste," King said, reaching for Amity's dish again, only to be caught by another of Camila's spells.
"I will put you in a kennel." She threatened before dropping the little demon on the floor.
"Okay, I'll stop." King sat there and folded his arms like a pouting child.
"I'm going to check on Amity," Camila stood from her chair. "Maybe she did pick up something, and I didn't catch it."
As Camila left for the living room, Eda looked to Luz and King. "You two said that this wizard was one of my clients, right?"
"According to the list you gave us," Luz answered. "Why?"
"I don't know him that well; was there anything about him that seemed sketchy to you?"
"Sketchy?" Luz rubbed her chin, trying to remember every detail from their meeting.
"Please, Luz was too distracted by his pecs to notice." King laughed, making the girl blush. But then he blinked in recollection. "But now that you mention it, that guy did seem to be interested in Amity for some reason."
Before Eda could respond, Camila came running back into the dining room; panic spread out across her face. "Eda, she's gone! Amity's gone!"
Eda and Luz stood. "What do you mean, "she's gone"?"
"I searched every room in the house! I can't find her anywhere! And her bag's missing, too!"
"Nueces! Hooty!"
The house demon slunk into the kitchen. "You call? Hoot!"
"Do you know where Amity is?"
"Hoot! Hoot! If that answer is what you seek, then solve my riddle within a week…"
The Owl Lady then gave the house demon a hard bonk on the head and snapped in annoyance, "Solo danos la maldita respuesta ya!"
"Okay, okay! She left for the forest towards Bonesborough a few minutes ago."
"What?" Luz, Camila, and King all shouted.
The irritation rose in Eda. "Why didn't you tell us this earlier?"
"You didn't ask," Hooty replied before slinking away. "Sheesh! Hoot!"
Without a moment to spare, Eda and Camila took out their staves and called to their respected palisman; Owlbert flew to Eda's, as Hisstopher slithered to Camila's. "Let's pay this wizard a visit."
King hopped on with Eda while Luz joined Camila. They flew out of the Owl House and straight to Bonesborough — arriving at abandoned ruins where the castle Luz and King told them about should have been. "I swear, this is where we met the scones… I mean, wizard." King said.
"And it wasn't like this when we were here," Luz added as the family began looking around for any leads.
Eda drew a circle, and a yellow shimmer dispersed across the entire area before turning cyan. "There was a powerful illusion cast here and has worn off quite recently. I don't like this."
"Querida!" Camila called to her wife as she walked over with a sash, unfolding it to reveal the golden-winged sword and shield emblem sewn onto it.
"Nevareth is with the Emperor's Coven." Luz gasped then folded her arms in disappointment. "And I thought we had a connection."
"What would one of Belos's goons want with Amity?" King asked.
"Wrath must've tattled to the Emperor, and he sent one of his cronies after her," Eda guessed.
"If Belos has her…" Camila began with a grave look, not wanting to think about what the Emperor could be doing to the human girl as they speak.
Eda drew another circle, and the shimmer narrowed itself until it formed a path of light for the family to track. "He's not gonna lay a hand on her, not if I have anything to say about it." They hopped back onto their staves and followed the trail at their top speeds, eventually taking them out of Bonesborough and to the outskirts of a long-abandoned village. "Oh, no."
The family stopped to investigate, as Luz said, "Creepy villages are never a good sign. Amity! It's us! Please tell us if you're here!"
"Guys, I think she was here," King said with a shake in his voice as he pointed at the ground. The mothers and daughter joined the little demon to see he found two groups of footprints — one set was small and had to belong to Amity but walking in pace next to hers were two larger, long-clawed tracks.
"Over there!" Luz shouted as the others turned and spotted a small feline-like creature jumping in fright and trying to flee.
Eda cast a spell and dragged the creature to her, begging in a shrill voice, "Please, don't hurt me."
Eda lifted the creature closer to her. "Have you seen a brown-haired, round-eared girl pass by here with a teenage wizard?"
"Yes… yes… I saw that girl walk by here not too long ago. She seemed sick… very sick. It's what that… that thing is doing to her. Draining her… draining her of everything."
"What "thing"? The wizard?"
"It's no… no wizard. They just kept going further down the road you're going, yes."
Eda released the creature, and it ran away as Eda turned to her family with a look of urgency. "I think I know what we're up against. And if it is what I think it is, we have to hurry."
"Here we are, Amity," Nevareth said as we stood before a sparkling portal that had to be none other than the Celestial Rift. The same forest I followed Owlbert through on the other side. Nevareth leaned close to whisper in my ear. "Go on, Amity. All you must do is pass through, and you'll go home. You'll see your family again. Just a few more steps."
I was so close to going home… but… my breathing was heavy — like I just ran a marathon — but I pushed through to the portal. I dropped my bag to lessen the strain; taking it with me wasn't important right now. I was almost home soon; I'll see everyone I care about again. But… I also just left the Owl House… even after Eda and Luz let me stay... This shouldn't be hard! I walk through and… I left without saying goodbye or thanking them… Why would I do… "Ugh!" I fell to my knees and clenched my head as the pain grew worse than ever.
"Don't stop now; you're almost there," Nevareth said.
I looked at the portal to my home; it was just a few steps away… it was… wait… The portal seemed to glitch, like when a television loses a station. Is the portal closing? Why would Nevareth take me here? Why am I even trusting Nevareth to begin with? "Ugh!" I only met him once and he… I… remember… at the castle… "Ugh!" He invaded my mind… read my most private thoughts… And my headaches started after he did that. "Why are you helping me?" I asked the wizard, looking back at him.
He looked puzzled. "I beg your pardon?"
"When… when we met. You seemed to… to have an interest in helping… helping me. Why?"
"Well, why not? You seemed like a lovely young lady who needed help."
"And in… invading my mind was helping me?"
Nevareth blinked. "You weren't supposed to remember that."
"What do you… do you want me with me?"
"Oh well, I guess there's no use in hiding it anymore." Nevareth sighed as a smirk plastered his face; a malicious laugh filled the air as he drew a circle, and a puff of smoke enveloped him. Once it cleared, I gasped at what took the place of the wizard — a tall flesh and fur creature with clawed feet, a pair of fleshy wings, octopus tentacles for arms, and ram horns sprouting from his angular head.
I tried backing as far away as I could from this… this thing. "What… what are you?"
"Well, since these will be your last moments alive, I might as well humor you." Nevareth cackled. "I am an incubus, and from the moment I made eye contact with you, I've been feeding off your delicious desires. I planted the seeds into your mind, filling you with thoughts of doubt and making you act impulsively on what your heart yearns for the most. It was all too easy. And now, I know just about everything you know. About yourself, the Owl Lady… I know it all."
Remembering what Eda told me this morning, I asked, "Is that what this is all about? Eda warned… she warned me she had rivals every… everywhere who would love to take down her business. And you… you… also, run a potions business."
"The Owl Lady keeps stealing all the customers I've sold potions to for years, yes. But I'm doing this for other reasons."
"But why… why go after me?"
"Oh, you're wondering why I didn't go after her daughter or her little pet. Well, that would be suicide, going after someone she cares about. And besides," He wrapped one of his tentacles around and lifted me off the ground. "I've never had the desire of a human before." I struggled to break free from his snare — which grew tighter — but I was too weak to keep it up. "I wasn't gonna pass up a once in a lifetime delicacy."
"Hola fea!" Eda shouted as she and Camila arrived on their staves with Luz and King. "I knew it; you're an incubus."
The creature turned and growled, "Owl Lady."
"Let her go, or we'll fry you alive." The wives took their staves in hand and prepared for a fight.
"Oh, the human can leave if she wants to. But I sense her heart wants something else, entirely." Nevareth looked back at me, gazing directly into my eyes, and everything went black.
"Mittens, are you alright?" I heard Ed's voice, and my eyes shot open. I couldn't believe it. I was in... in my bed with my brother and sister standing to my right.
"Thank goodness you're awake," Em said with relief.
Tears welled in my eyes; I weakly said, "Ed? Em?" I wanted to hop straight up and give them the biggest hug I could, but I was too tired to move.
"You gave us quite a scare," Ed told me.
"What?"
"You don't remember?" I looked to my left and saw Mother and Father with looks of concern as Mother continued, "You came home from school, and you suddenly collapsed on us. We called the doctor right away to check up on you."
"You were asleep for two days," Father said. "I'll have Horace fetch you something to eat and drink."
As if on cue, our family butler opened the door to my room, carrying a tray of what smelled like tomato bisque and ginger tea. "Pardon my intrusion, but Miss Riley is here to see you."
"Riley?"
From behind Horace, Riley from chemistry class entered the room with flowers that came with a "Get Well" note. "Hey Amity, how are you doing?" She asked.
"Riley? W… what are you… doing here?" I asked.
"I wanted to check up on my girlfriend, silly."
"Girlfriend?"
"Don't you remember?" Ed asked me. "You confessed how you felt about her a few days before school ended."
"And she is quite a lovely young lady." Mother said. "Beautiful and brilliant."
Horace placed the tray in front of me, and the aroma filled my nose. "Here you are, Miss. Just the way you like it."
"Now, just relax, Mittens," Em said. "Stay here; enjoy all the good things you have."
"All of this… this all feels perfect," I said with a genuine smile on my face, being with the family I love and the girl I liked. Tears trailed down my cheeks, "But this…" I closed my eyes, fighting to say what I knew to be true. "This… This isn't real."
When my eyes opened, I was back on the Boiling Isles, lying on the ground. I pushed myself up as I saw Luz and her moms fighting Nevareth, who held King hostage. "Back off! Or the dog gets it."
"I am not a dog!" The little demon protested, flailing around.
I spotted a sharp stone near out of the corner of my eye; despite my limbs feeling like noodles, I forced myself over to and picked it up. With what strength I could muster, I hollered as I drove the sharp end into the back of the incubus's leg — causing him to let go of King, who scurried away. He cried in pain as I drove the stone in deeper, green slime oozing from the wound.
Nevareth looked behind, and I closed my eyes to avoid his illusions. "You should've stayed in the fantasy!" I yelped as one of his tentacles swiped across my face, cutting open the skin near my eye.
"Big mistake!" Eda shouted. She and Camila combined their circles into one and sent a swirling mix of yellow and blue fire at the incubus. Before he could react, he was enveloped and blown away by it; I could see the outline of his body inside the flames, which then broke apart like glass.
Once the fire dissipated, the imposing creature was gone and was replaced with, "Ew, you're just a tiny little slug." Luz said with disgust.
Nevareth, now in his real form, tried to scurry away but was quickly snatched up by Eda — her index finger over his eyes. "Let me go!" It demanded.
"So that you can report back to Belos with everything you know?" The Owl Lady said. "There's only one solution to this problem."
"Pay me for my silence?"
Without saying a word, the witch popped the slug into her mouth and swallowed him whole. "Yuck, I probably should've salted him first." Eda came over to and scooped me up off the ground and wiped the blood off my face. "You alright, kid?"
She carried me over to a concerned Camila, King, and Luz. "Will she be okay?" The apprentice asked her mothers.
Camila drew a circle around where my wound was, and I could feel it close. "She's exhausted. When we get back to the Owl House, I'll make sure she has a hearty meal and gets plenty of rest. Ella debería estar bien después de eso."
Luz looked at me. "How do you feel?"
I turned my gaze from her. "Like… like an idiot," I answered, feeling ashamed. "That whole Celestial Rift stuff was… was an obvious ruse… and I fell for it."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up about this. That incubus was messing with your head."
"Yeah, he could've easily played any of us for suckers," King said.
"I doubt it," I replied. "Nevareth only went after me... because he was too cowardly to go after someone... Eda cares about."
"You don't believe that, do you?" The apprentice asked, sounding stunned by what I said. I kept silent, unsure if I believe it, myself.
"You guys go on ahead of us," Eda told the others.
To which her wife replied, "We should get her home quickly."
"I know, but there's something I want to show her. We won't take long."
Taking a moment to consider it, Camila replied, "If it won't take long." Luz picked up the bag I dropped before joining King. They hopped onto Camila's staff and flew away.
"What… do you want to show me?" I asked.
Eda hopped on her staff with me in her arms, and we flew high into the air. She said, "This," as soon as we stopped.
My eyes widened, and all I could utter was, "Wow." I didn't know how to feel about what I was seeing; the Boiling Isles from a distance looked like…
"You're probably wondering why it looks like the corpse of a giant." Eda guessed. "Well, it is. A centuries dead Titan that now serves as a home for thousands of people. The isles can be slimy and gross, up close. But when you look at it from a different perspective..."
"It's beautiful." Ever since I got here, all I wanted was to see my world again, no matter what. I put too much focus on all the bad this place has and never took a moment to consider the good that's happened.
"And I do get it, y'know." Eda looked at me with a straight face.
I blinked. "Get what?"
"Wanting to reunite with family. I have an older sister, Lily." A nostalgic, yet sad, smile grew on her face. "We were pretty much inseparable, but we lost contact with each other over time. I've tried reaching out to her so many times but haven't been successful. I miss how close we were. I will get you back home, Amity."
"I believe you. Thank you, Eda…" The witch continued cradling me as we looked back at the Isles, and before I knew it, I was asleep in her arms.
We're sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again. It didn't make sense; Edric and Emira knew Amity's phone number by heart, yet they get this same message every time.
"I'm scared, Ed," Em confessed, trying her hardest not to cry.
"I'm scared, too," Ed said, trying to hold the tears back as he hugged her. Their baby sister has been missing for two days now. The last time either one ever saw her; she sat in waiting for the bus to pick her up.
They assumed she was already at the Summer Program, taking part in extracurricular activities and impressing her teachers. But the director called the manor and informed Mother and Father that she hadn't arrived. They stopped by her friends' houses, assuming she decided to run away to them, but not even they knew where she was. After that, Mother and Father called the police.
Three soft knocks reverberated on the door. Horace opened it, carrying a tray with two sandwiches as he said, "The two of you have been up here for a long time. I thought you might be hungry."
"This is all our faults," Ed said, the tears finally pouring out of his and his sister's sky-blue eyes.
Horace put the tray down on a desk and walked over to the twins. "Why would you think that?"
"Because we didn't have her back when she didn't want to go along with what Mother and Father wanted," Emira said. "We never have her back when it comes to that. We stay quiet and do nothing."
"Edric and Emira Blight, I never want to hear either say it's your fault again," Horace said in a firm tone that he rarely uses; much to the twins' surprise. "I don't want to hear either of you blame yourselves, because she wouldn't blame either of you. Miss Amity knows you both love her, and she loves you both back." He affectionately placed his hands on their shoulders. "We will find her." The twins hugged the butler and let them cry into his chest, assuring them that wherever Amity Blight disappeared to, she was okay.