A/N: And here is part 2 of my first chapter. :) And just in time, too. I'm really anxious about what tomorrow's episode could mean. Hopefully, Luz would still make it back to the Boiling Isles. I mean, I can't be the only one who thinks she belongs in the Boiling Isles, right? Anyway, I've got a set plan for my story, but I'm waiting to see what happens in "Yesterday's Lie" before I set up anything concrete. Besides that, there probably won't be another chapter of Coven of Shadows for at least a few weeks, or until next month. I gotta focus on Infinity Train Book 2: Emma's Story. Until then, I hope you enjoy it. :)
Chapter 1: World of Witchcraft Part 2
As the group walked out of the library, Ben got his book out and looked over the contents as Judith looked over to his hand, which was still recovering from nearly being crushed, and it was slightly bleeding in places her nails had dug into. Judith felt pretty bad the meeting came to that.
"Sorry about my mom, Ben."
Ben saw the guilty look on her face and tried to cheer her up.
"No, it's okay. At least I didn't die, so that's something."
But she didn't know how long that could last. She still felt pretty sore about her mother's innate distrust over humans, not that she'd blame her. She didn't know how Ember would think of it, though. She never did get the opportunity to ask about her stance on humans. To be safe, she had to be sure that Ember doesn't find out about the fact that he was human, that is, if she hasn't already. But what also bugged her was what the item that sent Ben here really was: a portal.
The way she described it, it was a centerpiece. She wondered about what it meant. If it was the centerpiece, then where was the rest of it? And why did Lilith look so stunned to see it in her hands? Either way, she had a feeling she should be careful who she shares the information with, especially around her mother. Judith would've been stuck with her thoughts if Ben didn't speak up to her.
"So, what exactly did you manage to find out?"
Judith, stirred from her train of thought, turned to Ben in puzzlement.
"Hmm?"
"You know, about that Demon Eye portal... thing I found?"
Judith held out the portal centerpiece in her hand, puzzling Ember as she looked upon it herself as she answered.
"Oh, yeah. When I asked my mom, she said it was a centerpiece before she asked about you. She never told me anything else beyond that."
Ember hadn't seen such an item before. It also seemed to be staring at her… probably due to the fact that it resembled an eye. Then, she remembered the book that Ben checked out earlier. Of course she hadn't seen him around before. He must've visited the Boiling Isles recently.
"Oh, is that why you were trying to check out a book?"
Ben nodded to her as he answered. He knew Ember was in on the fact that he's a human, so he didn't bother trying to hide it, although it came to Judith's worry.
"Yeah. I'm trying to see how I can use this thing to get back home."
Judith began to show nervousness on her face from how casually Ben let it slip that he wanted to go home. Ember would be bound to notice the indent on his hood that exposed his round ears. Thinking that information would be hard, impossible even, for her to miss, she was afraid that she'd catch on and expose him, or worse. However, her fears subsided as Ember got a closer look at the gem and tapped on it with her finger.
"Huh. How did such a broken thing take you here of all places?"
As Ben answered, Judith became more and more puzzled with how Ember was taking it in naturally.
"I don't know, actually. Maybe the fact that it's broken is why it took me here."
Judith made a slight frown, feeling as though she'd been stressing over nothing as she spoke up to her.
"You already know he's human, don't you?"
Ember looked back to her with a smile as she replied the reason she knew he was human.
"Hard to miss with those round ears of his."
Judith made a light grumble with a frown before Ben began to suspect something else. If Judith and Ember caught on to the fact that he's a human despite his efforts in hiding it, he had a feeling that it's only a matter of time before everyone else caught on, and then it's all over for him, he'd suspect that much.
"Wait, you don't think anyone else would find out, do you?"
Judith could understand his worry. She saw how tense her mother was around him. And knowing her, she'd be dead-set on protecting her from Ben. She didn't want to imagine how anyone else would react to seeing a human in their realm.
"Hopefully, they won't. But just to be safe, let's keep your hood on. You shouldn't attract any kind of attention here anyway."
Judith didn't know how right she was. Far away, Lilith was keeping an eye on Judith, Ben, and Ember. She had an intense stare at the trio, most likely towards Ben. The Coven Head had no intention of letting her daughter go gallivanting with a human that could take her life in an instant. History taught her that they can't be trusted, and she knew better than anyone that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
"Too bad you already have…"
Lilith wanted to follow them herself, but she had her own duties at the Emperor's Coven to attend to. And she can't jeopardize her standing as a member of such a coven just because of a human, no matter how dangerous they were to their kind 300 years ago. Fortunately, she had a backup plan for that as she got out her staff. It had a white and gold raven on top of a white staff. In a moment, the staff glowed bright blue before the raven that sat atop of it came to life, opening its yellow eyes as it looked over to Lilith. She gave it a gentle look as she held her hand closer to its face and scratched under its beak.
"Hexifer, I need you to follow Judith and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble. But more importantly, keep an eye on the human with her. If he tries anything to hurt her, don't hesitate to stop him, no matter the cost."
Hexifer nodded in response before it flew away from Lilith as she looked on, hoping that her raven would protect her daughter from the likes of a human that can prove deadly to her. Although, a part of her told her she shouldn't be worried. It's not like a human to be able to match any witch's power. If that part of history rings true, then her daughter's safety is all but secured.
Meanwhile, Ben, Judith, and Ember were walking on the sidewalk as Hexifer followed them close by, perching itself atop a clothesline above them. It kept its vigil over them as Judith tried to find out what Ember had to gain from helping Ben out with his problem.
"So, not that I'm not glad to see you again, but how come you're helping us out with getting Ben back home? Isn't it a little… crazy for you?"
Ember put on a mild smile as she replied.
"Well, I just thought a friend should help a friend. Besides, I've handled crazy things before."
Judith made a small smile as she remembered one of many fond memories between the two of them.
"You don't have to tell me. I still can't forget the time you actually drove away those seagulls."
Judith made a warm laugh at the event while Ember made a small grumble, confusing Ben (mostly because he wasn't present at said incident).
"Wait, what about the seagulls?"
Judith went out of her laugh before she made the long story short before Ember put her smile back on.
"It's an inside thing, Ben. You kinda had to be there."
"Anyway, I've handled crazier than that since then. Especially since I can do…"
In that moment, Ember's right hand began to wrap itself in vines, traveling all the way down to her wrist, impressing Ben while surprising Judith. Her arm was also spiked up in places, especially her nails, now turned into claws.
"...this."
Despite his stance on magic being fiction, a fact of which this realm proved wrong, Ben was as giddy as a kid in a candy store, utterly amazed by Ember's ability while Judith was stupefied. She looked as though she'd seen a ghost.
"That looks so cool! How are you doing that?!"
Ember gave her answer while she showed off her arm, much to Judith's apparent dismay.
"Let's just say I put two and two together a long time ago. And this is the result."
Judith walked closer to Ember's arm to analyze the familiar elements of the magic apparently used. She gave the arm a flick, only for it to stiffen itself as though it was being pulled tightly.
"Those vines… and that durability. You've used Abomination and Plant magic?!"
Ben heard the tone of fear in her voice and became puzzled.
"Uh, why does that sound like a bad thing?"
Judith turned over to Ben, knowing it was natural for him to be out of the loop. However, Judith's stressed tone rose up only to deliver a different reaction.
"Bad? Bad?! It's great!"
Judith beamed a big smile as she looked back at Ember.
"You've been training yourself in both magics while you were gone? How did you find the time to do it?"
Ember gave her a light chuckle as she answered.
"You spend 8 years by yourself, you pick up a thing or two. That said, I wanted to ask you something first."
Judith was eager to take the opportunity. She hadn't seen Ember in a long time. This could be her only chance to reconnect with her. Whatever it was, she was willing to do it. On the other hand, Ben was astonished. She went eight years without seeing Judith? How could she do that? And more importantly, what happened between them that long ago?
"What is it?"
"Well, there have been odd sightings of a monster around Bonesborough, especially at night. I was wondering if you two could help me catch it."
He was about to ask why (especially when he had a run-in with one of them himself), but then, he noticed a surprisingly familiar face just on the sidewalk in front of him.
"Wait a minute. Is that-?"
The last time he saw her, she was being taken to her mother's car before his father took him home. And now, here she is, sitting next to a weird demon dog of sorts. It was a canine creature that somewhat resembled a fox. He had mostly dark grey fur, although his belly and the tip of his tail were covered in purplish-grey fur, and the highlight of his appearance was a dog-like skull with white horns on his head, one of which was broken. And it appeared to be eating a bug in between a hot dog bun while she looked as glum as he last saw her.
"No, it can't be."
Judith became puzzled by Ben's reaction as he looked in the direction of Luz.
"Can't be what?"
Judith's eyes widened in surprise and alarm. This might as well be two human sightings on the same day for her, which was in itself a rare thing since they cut themselves off from humans over 300 years ago.
"No. Way."
Ember became just as astonished as well when she turned around. However, her reaction was quite different.
"Huh. What are the odds?"
The first to run over to her was Ben. He wanted to see how she was able to cope with the apparent madness that is the Boiling Isles.
"Luz! Luz, it's me! It's Ben"
The girl lifted her head up and looked to her left, taking her turn to see a familiar face as her eyes widened in amazement. She tried rubbing her eyes as she pondered to herself.
"What the…? ¿Me engañan mis ojos?"
The creature was puzzled. As far as he knew, she was speaking a different language, which technically she was.
"Weh?"
Then, he noticed Ben with Judith and Ember following him before he made a small frown.
"Oh, great. Another human to babysit."
Ben made a frown towards the creature, but despite his comment, Luz was overjoyed to see him as she went up and hugged him.
"I can't believe it! Another human in the Boiling Isles! And the one who helped me out, too!"
Ben was getting crushed by Luz's power hug at this point, trying hard to bear it as he hugged her back.
"Uh, yeah. It's good to see you, too."
At that moment, Luz took notice of Ember and Judith just behind him. The raven-haired girl simply rolled her eyes while the redhead waved to her. This set the girl's excitement into overdrive as she made a loud audible gasp.
"Oh, dios mío! You've got your own questing buddies, too?! I'm so jealous…!"
In a flash, Luz went over to Ember and Judith, quickly looking them over and practically fawning over their outfits.
"Oh, you've got to be screaming angst right now. Is that a grass arm?! Oh, and I really like your hair, too!"
Judith smiled at Luz's complement as the human held the long length of it in her hands.
"Uh, thanks."
Ben tried to commence the introduction nonetheless. He didn't know if there was a point in stopping her hype mode.
"Everyone, this is Luz. My… sorta friend that I made back home."
As Luz began looking over Judith, she spoke up curiously about Ben's wording.
"What do you mean, 'sorta friend'?"
To be fair, Ben had only gotten to know Luz officially the day the school was attacked by snakes. He'd heard of her before, but he didn't quite get to know her until the last time he saw her.
"Well… it's complicated."
With how much Luz was looking her over, Ember felt she'd had enough attention as she cleared her throat.
"Can we move this along, please?"
Luz backed away from Ember in embarrassment.
"Oh, yeah! Sorry about that, guys. It's just that— well, seeing you guys has been a nice change of pace from what I had to deal with recently."
Ember glanced down at Luz's companion as he scratched himself with his front paw while sighing in relief.
"Is that rat what you've had to deal with?"
The creature took offense immediately and hopped upon before glaring at her as he shouted.
"I'M NOT A RAT!"
Luz only shook her head as she knelt down and gave the reluctant creature a soft brush on his head with her hand.
"No, he's okay. And also, his name's King."
King moved Luz's hand aside before standing proudly and pointing at her.
"Yeah! As in 'King of Demons', baby! So you better not forget it."
Ember only groaned in disgust before Ben sat down beside Luz. This whole place must have her scared and confused. He certainly was when he got here.
"Then, what's wrong, exactly?"
"I thought being the only human in a magical world would make me special. Well, one of the only humans, seeing as you're here. Anyway, it just makes everyone wanna scream at me or…"
Luz held up her left arm, showing a bizarre, two-faced butterfly nibbling off of her elbow, shocking Ben before she continued.
"...eat me."
Ben made no hesitation to brush it off before he sighed. Amazingly, he's surprised that nobody wanted to kill her yet. If anything, that's the welcome wagon for her. Still, keeping in mind the dangers of the Boiling Isles he'd seen so far, Ben felt it best to tell her about their situation presented from being the only humans in the Boiling Isles.
"If you think that's bad, wait till you hear what the Salem Witch Trials actually meant..."
That puzzled Luz as she looked up at him.
"What was that?"
It occurred to Ben at the moment that Luz didn't quite understand a word he said. Or perhaps she did, but she didn't quite grasp the concept of the Salem Witch Trials as a whole. Ben didn't know why, but he had decided it would be best if it eluded Luz at least for a while.
"Eh, never mind. Keep talking."
Luz then got out a book, one of the Azura books she held close to her, and pointed out a picture of Azura meeting a wizard.
"At this point, Azura had already been sent to an enchanted quest. Where's my quest-granting Wizard?"
King looked at the designs of the book. Needless to say, he didn't view them as realistic.
"Sorry to break it to ya, Luz, but no one here is that well-dressed."
However, Judith noticed the book she held in her hand and became astonished.
"Wait, you actually have a Good Witch Azura book? I have one just like it back home."
Luz made an audible gasp. It was a first to hear that these books were being read in the Boiling Isles as well.
"You get these on the Boiling Isles?!"
Judith made a bashful look as she replied, astonished that a human was interested in the same books.
"Of course. How many do you have back home?"
Before Luz could answer, Ben interjected to ask a more important question.
"Never mind that. How the heck did you get here of all places? Last time I saw you, you were headed for the car. I wanted to talk to you, but… my dad had to take me home."
Ben spoke almost bitterly as he was reminded of his cruel father that he left behind. If he never saw him again, it'd be too soon. But he didn't let himself get bothered with him. He was more worried about Luz. She took a sigh before she gave him her answer.
"You know how... crazy I've been back home? Well, mom thought I should go to summer camp and be 'normal'. Then, I found a stray owl carrying off my Azura book, and—"
Before Luz could ramble on, he put his hand on her shoulder, making her stop mid-sentence. As much as Ben wanted to know, he didn't quite ask for the whole explanation. Though, he'll focus on that later. At least, that's what he told himself.
"Maybe just skip to the end."
Luz looked up at the sky as she continued.
"Long story short, I crossed through some kind of portal, and I ended up staying at some place called the Owl House with Eda mentoring me. At least, that's what I thought, but now…"
Luz opened up the bag, revealing an assortment of elixirs and potions, one of which was Snake Oil, along with what was apparently boil cream.
"...it seems kinda ridiculous."
Judith looked at the items. And from what she had to say, she could already guess that Luz might have figured it out.
"Oh. She's not really teaching you magic yet, is she?"
"Well, today was a rough day. I don't know."
Ben gave her a gentle nudge as Judith went down to sit beside Luz.
"Maybe that's the point. You just gotta get back in the swing of things."
"Yeah. I'm sure Aunt Eda's got her reasons."
Hearing this, Ben and Luz both became puzzled by Judith's statement.
"Wait. Aunt?"
"Eda's your aunt?"
Judith put her hand on Luz's other shoulder as she replied with a sincere tone.
"Yep. Thought I'd cheer you up by giving you a little info. Did it work?"
Luz gave a small smile to Judith as she replied.
"Yeah. It did."
However, Ember, having overheard her explanation, crossed her arms as she gave Luz her two cents in a harsh tone, having had quite enough of the display from Luz.
"Oh, please. If you're gonna mope about how hard your first day here is, then by all means, go ahead. But if you want to get something done, then do it."
This took the trio aback, especially Judith. Ember was rather abrupt to have said anything of the sort. Judith had never seen that side of Ember, let alone heard her speak like that. It made her surprised and uncomfortable. Clearly, it wasn't just her magical ability that changed. She wondered what she had been through for her to get like this. Even King was unsettled by her tone as he shivered.
"I think that just gave me chills."
All the while, Luz was unsure of what to make from Ember's "advice".
"Wait. Y-You're saying I should disobey Eda? L-Let's not get crazy. It could just be a lesson in disguise—"
Before Luz could go on any further, Ember cut her off abruptly with a glare, her voice harsher than before as she began to poke at Luz with her claw.
"If that's what you think, then you're fooling yourself. She's never going to waste her time on you justto teach something that can't be taught in the first place. Even worse, that's weak of you to lie to yourself. The way I see it, you're not doing anything to improve your sorry lot in life. You know what you want by now. The least you could do is try to take it."
Ben didn't quite like the way she was treating Luz. That was no different from how Kyle and Susan treated him. And if there's one thing he hated, it was reminders of his heartless family. Ben made no hesitation to get in-between the two of them as he interjected before Judith stood by his side, much to his surprise.
"That's going too far, Ember!"
"Yeah, cut it out!"
As Ben looked from Judith to Ember in astonishment, the raven-haired Witch only glared at the two of them. She didn't appear interested in whatever they had to say.
"Well, excuse me for being honest about that human's dumb life."
Ember then stormed off in a huff as King gave his two cents nervously.
"Hope I don't have to see that crazy chick again. Eh, not that she scared me, of course."
Ben looked back to Luz, hoping Ember didn't hurt her too bad.
"You doing okay, Luz?"
Unfortunately, the dismal look on her face told him the answer. She wasn't doing okay. She only flung the bag over her shoulder before she responded.
"Yeah. Just gotta deliver that last package. Let's go, King."
As Luz sadly walked away, King drew an exaggerated sigh before speaking insensitively.
"Finally."
King then looked back to Judith before doing a wave.
"Well, see you guys later."
King then scurried over to Luz's side as Judith looked over sadly to where Ember stormed off.
"Ember… what's happened to you?"
Little did they know that as Judith pondered that question, Hexifer was keeping its vigil, its yellow eyes fixated on Ben as he went over to her.
"Was she always like this?"
"I… I don't know…"
A couple of hours later, Ben and Judith were following Ember in the forest outside of Bonesborough, unaware that Hexifer was maintaining surveillance as Lilith asked her to. In accordance with Lilith's instructions, it did so by landing on a few branches with every time they appeared out of reach. In the meantime, Ben reflected on Ember's behavior towards Luz. He couldn't rule out that it must be due to the fact that she's a human, but then again, she didn't act that way to him. At least, not at first. All the same, it seemed to upset even Judith.
He didn't know if it was his place to ask about what happened between them eight years ago. After all, his main focus was to get back home. Of course, he's nothing if not adaptable. The young man learned to go along with his situation a long time ago once Luz's bizarre antics took the school by storm. That said, Ben didn't like how she treated Luz with her heavy criticism. Granted she was more naive than he was, but it didn't warrant shattering her dreams. Ember didn't seem to care about that as she pressed on.
"The monster shouldn't be too far from here. It won't take long."
While the group pressed on through the forest, Judith wondered why she would need their help to begin with, especially with what she can do. It seemed pretty pointless.
"So, why did you need our help catching the beast, anyway? You could've taken it on yourself."
Ember didn't bother to stop moving ahead as she answered. Yet, she did turn her head to answer her.
"Can't a girl catch up with her best friend?"
Judith had a small blush on her face as she replied.
"Well, yeah. But I haven't heard from you for eight years. I didn't even know what happened to you. I tried to ask my mom, but she'd never tell me."
Ember's face made a soft frown at the sound of it. Ben took notice of it far ahead and became puzzled. How could someone so cruel to Luz happen to feel bad at the thought of leaving someone behind? Or was there something he was missing? Either way, Ember seemed to be upset about leaving Judith behind for eight years. She was even hesitant to speak for a moment, holding onto her brooch for a moment before she put her determined face back on.
"It's… it's nothing you need to worry about."
Before Ember could continue, Ben called her out next.
"Is that really all you have to say?"
Ember stopped for a moment, already beginning to get angry from his tone before he spoke on.
"Your best friend, maybe your only friend, has been worried about you for eight freaking years, and you say it's nothing? She has the right to know why you never told her you were okay!"
Judith looked at Ben in astonishment. She couldn't believe that a human that she'd just met a few hours ago was actually speaking on her account. Although, she didn't know what he was trying to accomplish by calling out her faults. At any rate, neither did Ember as she glared at him.
"And why is that any of your business?"
Ben crossed his arms with a stern look on his face as he spoke to her.
"Because you owe Judith an explanation. Just like you owe Luz an apology."
Ember raised an eyebrow before she recalled the human she talked down to earlier. She began to suspect something from her name being brought into the conversation as she guessed.
"Oh, so this is about that human friend of yours, now?"
Ben maintained his stern look as he spoke to her.
"Listen, she may not know how this world is supposed to look. I don't have a clue any more than she does, but at least she's trying to look on the bright side. You shouldn't shut her down just for that. Because she's not as weak as you think she is."
Ember only turned her head away from Ben and put her focus on the path in front of her as she spoke with a bitter tone.
"It's a fair assessment. Trust me, you'll thank me for it later."
Ember then continued to walk forward as Ben grumbled before he and Judith followed her again, unaware that Hexifer was perking its head to the side curiously before flying in closer to a branch above them as they talked with each other, with Ben getting agitated.
"Why is Ember being such a jerk?"
"I honestly don't know. But I appreciate you trying to find out for me."
After giving a brief smile to Judith, Ben looked back up ahead to Ember as he glared at her. A few seconds later, Judith spoke up again.
"You have to admit, though. She's not... completely wrong."
Ben turned back sharply to Judith, thinking she must be taking Ember's side for how she treated Luz.
"What are you trying to say, Judith?"
"It's just… don't get me wrong, the way Ember handled that conversation was totally unnecessary. But it doesn't mean she's wrong about her situation. Selling bottles of junk to people isn't teaching her magic. And if Luz wants to be a witch, I think she'd have to fight for it."
Sadly, Ben couldn't argue with that. Luz must know at some point that she can't sit and wait for something magical to happen. She had to make it happen herself. And though he never read the book, Ben was certain that chosen one or not, Azura would have done the same. At least, that was the vibe she gave him.
"Yeah… maybe."
Just then, a monstrous roar echoed in the forest, catching the trio's attention as she raised up her left hand, causing the two of them to stop where they stood before Ember scoped around for where the sound came from. At the same time, Ben practically had flashbacks from that beast's roar. He'd heard it before, from when he first came to the Boiling Isles. He considered himself lucky the beast didn't find him appetizing. Now that he's heard it again, he's afraid it might change its mind this time. Judith took notice of his worried face and began to get concerned for him.
"Ben, what's wrong?"
"We have to get out of here, now."
Ember turned back to Ben, believing that he was beginning to chicken out on her task. And she wasn't going to have it.
"Oh, no. If you think I'm going to let you wuss out, you better think twice."
Just then, the roar came again, this time, louder than before. Ben, Judith, and Ember looked up at the sky to see a silhouette of the monster flying above them. Ben looked back to Ember as he reiterated his words.
"I mean, we have to get out of this spot!"
Ben was on the right track. In a short moment, the beast began to fly down towards them, only for the group to jump away from each other just when the beast would've landed on them. Upon impact, it created a smokescreen of dust around it, forcing Judith and Ben to hold up their arms and block out the dust while Ember kept her eyes closed. When the dust had cleared away, Judith's glasses were covered in dust, unfortunately.
"Oh, come on!"
Judith got her glasses off of her face before wiping them on her black dress. And when she finished cleaning them up, she put them back on to see a surprising sight. As the beast gazed at Ben and Ember, both of which were recovering from the shockwave, Judith made a gasp of surprise, as if she'd recognized the beast in particular.
"I know you…"
At the same time, Ben and Ember looked back at the beast to see it headed towards them, much to the former's worry. The last time it came this close, it rejected him. But since he wasn't covered in mud, it might give him a try, which was something he didn't want it to consider. Ben waved his hands as he called out to it, though he's fairly certain it wouldn't understand him.
"Hey, hey! You better not eat me!"
The instant he said this, the beast only sat down in front of them, puzzling Ben and Judith.
"Huh?"
"It just stopped…"
Ember, on the other hand, didn't waste a moment to take matters into her own hands. She got up on top of the beast before wrangling it, using her left arm as a whip that wrapped around its mouth, using it as a leash of sorts as the beast hopped about, trying to shake her off like it was a rodeo. Ember looked over to Judith, hoping she'd get the idea.
"Judith, now would be a good time for you to help!"
Judith nodded to Ember before making a silver circle with her right hand. And almost instantly afterwards, it shot a barrage of silver ropes that wrapped themselves around the beast. The monster flailed about while Judith tried to reign it in. However, the beast proved too strong for the ropes themselves as he tried to use his wings to fly away, barely succeeding. However, in its haste, Judith ended up being pulled along with it. Seeing her about to lose her grip, or worse, fly off with it, Ben tried to help Judith hold on as he grabbed onto the white rope and pulled along with her.
"I gotcha, Judy!"
Judith looked back at Ben again with a blush as she shouted.
"It's Judith! But keep pulling!"
Sadly, even his help wasn't enough. The beast managed to break through several of Judith's ropes, leaving only one around its neck. And as it flew, Judith and Ben were pulled along with it! As they were dragged along with the beast, Hexifer saw the debacle and flew on after them.
While they flew into the air, Ben and Judith were grasping firmly onto the rope they managed to hold onto while the former of the two closed his eyes to shield from the force of the wind blowing right at him.
"Great! Now what?"
There weren't many options for the two of them to have in their situation. The two of them were dangling helplessly while Ember did her best to reign in the beast. All Ben and Judith could do was hold onto the only rope that stuck onto the beast, or else they'd fall and lose the beast and Ember. Still, Judith knew better than to let herself dangle helplessly. She saw how far the rope trailed up to the beast before she replied.
"Now, we climb up!"
Ben felt the task to be insane at the rapidly increasing height they're going.
"Are you crazy?!"
Judith looked down to Ben as she yelled back at him.
"Do you have a better idea?!"
Judith then proceeded to climb up on the rope, making sure her grip was strong enough for her not to slip. Ben made a small frown as he admitted the truth.
"No."
Ben then began to climb up after Judith as on the top of the beast, Ember was having trouble trying to get a good grip. Her right arm was used to reign in the beast, but with the beast resisting her, it was getting difficult to steer the thing, especially when it was trying to shake her off.
"Ugh, why won't you stop resisting?! Heel!"
Ember tried to pull up with her long arm as she gave a grunt, but that earned a pained reaction from the beast as the thorns on her arm ended up digging into its beak, making it flail even worse from the pain. In the process, Ben and Judith ended up swinging around the beast, desperately holding onto their rope as the human began to slip back to the end. With the two flailing about into view with their rope, Judith tried to get her attention as she waved to her.
"Ember! Can you try slowing it down?!"
"I'm trying, but this stupid thing won't listen to me!"
Ben looked down at the length of a rope, seeing that it had gotten quite large with how much they've climbed upon it. And at the length of it, it seemed long enough to make a lasso on one of the forest's tree branches. The problem was, he can't pinpoint what branch to use it on without risking a smack from it. Unless… Judith made those ropes before. Who's to say she can't make them again?
"Judith, I think I just got an idea!"
"Well, what is it?"
"I need you to come down so I can hold onto you!"
Judith's eyes furrowed into a glare, thinking he was just trying to abandon ship with her.
"That is a terrible plan."
"No, really! I need you to make another rope to hook onto one of the branches! We'll pull on both of them and hopefully slow it down!"
The idea was strangely sound, but in their situation, Judith accounted for the worst-case scenario.
"Would that even work?! What if I fall?!"
"That's why I'm holding onto you! So you won't fall! I promise!"
Judith still had an inside look on her face. She didn't know if she should trust his word, seeing as she just met him. Although, in that brief time they had, he stuck up for her and helped her avoid Scab. If there was a chance he'd keep his promise, she had to take it.
"Alright, but you better not let go, okay?"
"I won't!"
Judith then took a deep breath before closing her eyes and let herself slip down the rope before stopping just beside Ben and held her hand out to Ben, which he took before she looked into his eyes, still feeling unnerved about it.
"You're sure you won't let me go?"
Ben nodded to her strongly before she looked back down and her grip lessened on the rope until… she fell. But before she could plummet, Ben's grasp held tightly onto her, making her gasp as she saw the trees above her, as well as their branches. But not a lot of them were visible through their leaves. Judith looked back up to Ben as he recalled his promise.
"See? Told you I won't let you fall."
Judith made a small smile to Ben, and a tiny blush to go with it before looking back down to the trees. For what seemed to be a whole mile, there wasn't anything to hook onto.
"It's not good. There isn't anything to grab."
Just then, Ben and Judith heard squawking from far away. They looked behind them to see Hexifer flying at them with its yellow eyes fixed on them. Judith made a warm smile as she recognized the totem animal.
"Hexifer!"
Ben became puzzled by the name.
"Wait, Hexi-what?"
"Hexifer! He can help us!"
Hexifer flew up closer to Judith before she spoke to it.
"Hexifer, do you think you can help us reign this thing in?"
Hexifer gave her a nod before Judith made another silver ring and wrapped a rope around it. Of course, Judith was still worried about whether or not Hexifer could manage the task.
"Just be careful. If you can't handle it, let go, okay? I'd never hear the end of it from mom if you got broke."
Hexifer nodded to her again before it flew in the opposite direction until… SNAP! The rope got tightened on Hexifer's end while Ben and Judith held tightly onto their own rope, stopping the beast in its tracks as Ember pulled harder on her own leash. The beast was still in pain, but it's strength was giving out. Ember had been tiring it out, even before Hexifer's rope was taut. But the beast's strength was finally waning, especially with the vines from the trees wrapped around its body from the crash. Unfortunately, so was their captors'.
Ben could feel his grip slipping away from his rope as he held strongly onto Judith and his end of the rope as tight as he could. And Hexifer appeared to be… cracking. It's white body was beginning to show bright blue cracks. Judith noticed it and became scared to death.
"Hexifer!"
Hexifer looked back to Judith and Ben before its eyes glowed bright blue, enveloping Ben in that same light as well. The human looked on in astonishment and surprise before he was suddenly pulling the rope itself!
"What the…? How am I doing that?"
Whatever he was doing, it was working. The rope seemed to pull the beast away from the direction it was trying to fly towards. A few more seconds afterwards, its flap of the wings began to slow as it sank to the ground. Ben, Judith, and Ember had to prepare for the worst as they closed their eyes and braced their crash through the trees and to the ground, creating another explosion of dust.
When the dust had gone away, Ben and Judith were on the ground beside each other while Ember was panting on top of the beast they had managed to conquer.
"It serves you right… you beast."
As Ben and Judith recovered, they looked at each other, wondering if they had gotten hurt badly from the impact.
"Are you alright, Ben?"
"Yeah. Are you okay, Judy?"
Ben then began to form a blush on his face before correcting himself, not wanting to make the same mistake the third time.
"Er, I mean Judith! I meant Judith. Anyway, you doing okay?"
Judith smiled at him as she answered.
"Uh, yeah. Thanks."
However, she hadn't forgotten who must've taken the worst of it.
"Wait. What about Hexifer?"
To answer, they heard a squawking sound behind them. They turned to the source, expecting to see a broken and battered wood-carved raven. But instead, they saw a cracked, but not out wood-carved raven. Hexifer had barely managed to survive the tug of war as a large crack was seen diagonally over its frame, but all the same it didn't look displeased. Judith ran over to it out of worry.
"Hexifer! Thank goodness, you're okay. I thought I was gonna lose you…"
Hexifer only squawked back at her in what must've been reassurance before Ben caught up to her.
"So, not that I don't appreciate the help, but what is Hexifer, anyway?"
Judith looked up at Ben to answer him before she answered him.
"He's a Palisman. Well, my mom's Palisman. She must've sent him to keep an eye on us."
Hexifer squawked in confirmation before he sighed. Of course, Lilith wouldn't trust him with her daughter.
"Or maybe to get rid of me…"
Hexifer looked back at Ben with a slight glare before Judith noticed and scolded the Palisman.
"Watch it, Hexifer. Ben's not a monster like history taught us that humans are. He helped save my life back there. You saw that, too."
Hexifer made a slight squawk of defeat before Ember hopped off of the beast and admired her trophy before turning back to Judith and Ben.
"At last. It's all mine… And I couldn't have done it without you."
Ben felt it was an odd thing to say with the fact that she asked for their help.
"Well… yeah. It seemed pretty established."
But Judith caught onto her tone and felt something… off about it. And it had occurred to her that they never got the chance to ask why she needed their help to capture it. But upon laying eyes on the creature, Judith began to piece it together.
"Ember, that beast you were hunting… you never told us it was a Hippogriff."
Ben became confused as he looked back at the tired and worn out creature.
"A Hippogriff? What's that?"
Ben looked over at the creature as Judith explained.
"They're a very rare species in the Boiling Isles. There used to be so many of them. But the Demon Hunters nearly drove them to extinction a long time ago. I still wonder why they'd do that to such a majestic creature."
As Judith told him this, Ben noticed the condition of the creature. He didn't pay much attention to that last time he encountered it, but he noticed the scars on its body, as well as the recent scratches from Ember's thorny arm. But a dead giveaway of its harsh treatment over what must have been years was a large gash stretching from the stomach to the chest. The scar itself appeared as though it had been there for decades. Ben felt very bad for the poor thing and wanted to comfort it, but Judith, keeping in mind a potentially hostile nature that must've festered over the years, recommended against it.
"Wait, Ben. Don't get too close. It'd kill you if it could."
Ben still cautiously went toward the Hippogriff as he replied.
"But it's too tired to do that. Besides, I just wanna help it."
While Ben walked towards the creature, Judith looked back to Ember, wondering about her reason for capturing the Hippogriff.
"And what about you? How come you wanted to catch the Hippogriff? You know how rare they are."
Ember gave her a nod as she replied.
"The fact that they're so rare is exactly why I needed to catch it. Once Bonesborough hears about my triumph- well, our triumph- the whole town will finally forget that Blight ever existed."
Judith began to piece it together from the inflection of anger upon the mention of Blight. While Ben stopped in his tracks and looked back, having overheard Ember's reasoning, the Hippogriff looked at him, as well as the scene behind him as Judith felt as though she'd been used.
"So, that's why you needed our help? You just wanted to get back at Amity?"
Ember only crossed her arms before she added to her answer.
"It's a perk, at best. But what I'm really here for…"
Ember then got out a knife from the holster on her side as she replied with a smirk.
"... is its blood."
Judith made a shocked gasp as Ember ran with a yell towards it.
"Ember, no!"
However, Ben got in-between Ember and the Hippogriff, shielding it from the madwoman as his arms were outstretched. This act only infuriated the Witch as Ben tried to change her mind.
"You can't do this! It's been through too much already!"
Ember only tensed her hand on the knife as she replied coldly to Ben.
"You could never understand what I've been through to get this far!"
"Oh, yeah? Try me."
But Ember wasn't in the mood to talk. She only growled in anger before she used her vine-arm to whack Ben away before walking towards the Hippogriff and raising her knife to deal the finishing blow.
"Don't worry. I will make this quick."
However, before she could attempt it, Hexifer flew at Ember before pulling on her hair as a blue glow came over it. While she was occupied, Judith leapt at Ember, knocking her to the ground while pinning her knife-wielding arm down, forcing her to drop the knife as she grunted.
"What happened to you, Ember?! You were never like this eight years ago!"
Ember pushed Judith off of her with her vine arm before pinning Judith down next as she snapped back in a blend of anger and sadness.
"Why would you care?! You weren't even there when I needed you!"
Judith responded with a kick, pushing Ember off of her before she stood up and spoke to her again.
"Well, I'm here now! Just talk to me, Ember, and I can help you!"
Ember only glared harder at her, sitting up from the ground where she fell as she retorted.
"If you really wanna help, then give me that knife!"
Ember lurched her vine arm at the knife, trying to grab it, only for Ben to snatch it just in time before standing next to the Hippogriff in defense. The Hippogriff winced with a growl before Ben tried to reassure it.
"It's okay, big guy. I'm here to help you out of this."
Ordinarily, the creature would whack him away anyway. But as Ben said before, it was too tired to even lift its tail. Whether or not Ben was telling it the truth, the Hippogriff knew it was at his mercy. However, Ember wasn't done yet. Her eyes were beginning to get crazy with desperation as she shouted.
"It's MINE!"
Ember screamed as she lurched her vine-arm right at Ben, but before it could get to him, Judith fired a silver blast of magic, severing the arm completely before it fell to the floor with black blood spilling out onto the floor as Ember screamed in pain while clutching to her severed arm. Amidst her pained screams, Judith looked at the black blood that was left out on the floor. She had a look of terror on her face as she witnessed such a gruesome image. Ben was no stranger to blood, especially his own, but unless he was mistaken, he was fairly certain that blood doesn't usually come in that color. Meanwhile, Judith was petrified as Ember began to scream even worse with her arm beginning to grow back as an overgrowth, her vine-arm returning in place of her lost arm as she began breathing erratically with tears in her eyes. Then, Ember began to show a look of sadness as Judith looked upon her miserable state.
"Ember… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
Before Judith could finish, Ember showed a look of anger before she roared in anger while forging an orange and black ring from her finger, followed by a blinding light that forced Ben and Judith to cover their eyes. When the glare had gone away, Ember was gone. Ben looked around for any sign of her, but there wasn't any to be found.
"She's gone. I think…"
While Ben looked around in caution, Judith held her head down in shame, staring at the limp arm of Ember she'd sliced off. The more she stared at it, the more Judith began to see why Ember was never seen for eight years.
"So that's what happened to you… you weren't combining magic. You were…"
Ben saw the dismal look on Judith's face. He couldn't understand why she'd feel bad for a psycho who tried to kill her best friend, let alone a creature nearly driven to extinction.
"Uh, what happened, exactly?"
Judith looked back to Ben before gesturing to the pool of black blood beside her cut off arm.
"Ember wanted the Hippogriff's blood because… she was cursed."
Ben didn't quite like the sound of that, especially if it made her this sad.
"Cursed? How?"
Judith stared at the arm for a moment as she explained.
"It's probably none of your business, but… the Boiling Isles wasn't exactly known because witches wanted to be friends with anyone. That's why there are curses. They're mainly used for getting revenge on someone who annoyed you, or someone standing in your way, or… or broke your heart. I used to think we could be friends eight years ago, but, one day, our… former friend told us we were too weak. I stood up against her, and I told her that if she couldn't be with us, I won't be there either. Since then, I never saw her again. But Ember… who knows how worse she had it? And why would someone…?"
Judith was about to continue, but she was about to be on the verge of crying with tears forming in her eyes, only for Ben to comfort her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"I should've been there for her, too."
"Hey, hey. I don't think that was on you, Judith. You didn't know what was going on, remember? You tried to find out. Besides, it's not like you cursed her."
"But I still hurt her, Ben. Ember probably won't forgive me for what I did."
Ben hated to see her so guilty. He spoke to her in an attempt to comfort her again.
"That's her problem. She had to know that what she's doing is wrong. I mean, I don't blame her for being cursed, but what she's doing, it… it doesn't justify the fact that she was about to take away an innocent life just to fix herself. What if it didn't work? Then it would've died for nothing."
Judith then looked back at Ember's knife before she gently picked it up and looked back to the Hippogriff with a sad look.
"Maybe you're right. But still… I've got to try to help her."
Judith went closer to the Hippogriff with Ben following her, assuming the worst to come out of it as he spoke to her in worry.
"You're not actually gonna kill it, are you?"
Judith stopped for a moment before she sighed and closed her eyes. Then, she knelt down to the vines and cut them away before they went away from the beast before doing a small silver circle and creating a makeshift flask and placing it gently onto the Hippogriff before a drop of its blood, leaking from its recent gash on its body from the crash landing, went inside the flask and she placed a bottle stopper on top of it before she turned back to Ben.
"Of course I wouldn't. I'm not that kind of Witch."
Ben gave her a soft smile as he went over to her and hugged her before the Hippogriff made a low grumble. Ben didn't like to see the Hippogriff in any pain, either. He placed his hand gently on its fur and rubbed it as he spoke gently to it.
"Hey, uh… sorry about the whole trying to capture you thing. If I knew, I… I would've stayed away."
Just then, Ben noticed something bizarre as he looked at the gash on its body. It was starting to fade away! Ben turned to Judith as he spoke up in surprise.
"Uh, Judith? Do Hippogriff wounds just… disappear?"
Judith looked at the wound she got the blood from before noticing the surprising change herself. In a moment, the Hippogriff began to weakly stand up before coming up strong as its wings stretched outward and made a screech like an eagle's. The Hippogriff looked back to Ben with a glare of sorts before it leaned its face to him, making him a bit nervous before it spoke to him in a deep voice.
"Thanks…"
Ben was a bit unnerved by the voice before he answered back with a smile.
"Uh, sure. Anytime."
Judith smiled at Ben, though she was puzzled by the fact that he somehow understood it.
"Wait, you actually speak Hippogriff?"
Ben became puzzled by her question.
"What do you mean? Didn't you hear it talking just now?"
Judith only shook her head.
"Huh. Weird."
Ben and Judith looked back to each other before the latter became curious. They had previously come here to capture the Hippogriff, but instead, they've helped free it. This left the two of them with practically nothing much else to do.
"So, now what?"
Then, Ben had an idea. He wondered how Luz was holding up since Ember told her off for being optimistic. Rather than let her dreams get crushed, Ben had to do something to cheer her back up. And luckily, the answer was literally towering over him as he made a smile to the beast.
"So, think you can give me and Judith a ride to a friend?"
Later, Ben and Judith (with Hexifer on her lap) were riding on top of the Hippogriff, soaring through the skies as they cheered through the adrenaline rush the speed of the Hippogriff gave them.
"Whoo-hoo!"
"Yeah! This is way better than flying by the rope!"
Judith began to giggle in delight as Ben gave his two cents.
"Those Greek mythology books can eat their hearts out!"
Judith overheard his turn of phrase and became confused.
"Wait, your books actually have hearts in the Human Realm?"
Ben looked back to Judith, baffled that she'd even come up with such a thing. Then again, she was pretty new to the Human Realm, especially since she had never been there.
"It's just a figure of speech, Judith. Don't worry about it."
In a moment, they saw the astounding view of the Boiling Isles. Ben saw it before on top of one of the trees, but the view from on top of their beast surely trumped the last time he saw the whole town, especially with the sunset just above the horizon.
"Wow. Just when I thought the view couldn't get any better."
Ben would've enjoyed the view more, but then, he and Judith heard a feminie scream from below. The scream sent a slight chill to his bones, for the voice that screamed sounded all too familiar.
"Wait. That sounded like…"
Ben's eyes nearly popped out of his head once he realized who was screaming. And Judith didn't need to see the look on his face to see what was wrong as she guessed who made the scream herself.
"It's Luz!"
Ben didn't want to imagine what kind of horror awaited Luz, especially since she found out for herself how terrible the Boiling Isles really was.
"We've gotta go help her!"
As it happened, the Hippogriff overheard Ben's request before it did a nose dive towards the direction the scream came from, forcing Ben and Judith to hold onto its body to keep from falling as they screamed like they were on a roller coaster. As the Hippogriff descended, however, the mist began to settle around them as it kept its gaze on the ground. When it came into view past the trees, the Hippogriff spread out its wings before pulling up and running onto the ground, slowing to a stop as it trotted along the ground by degrees. When the Hippogriff had fully stopped, it was in front of a stone gate. Ben and Judith opened their eyes to see the gate themselves. Then, Ben turned to the Hippogriff before he spoke.
"Uh, thanks. But it would've helped if you warned us first."
Aside from that, Ben and Judith, who placed Hexifer on top of her shoulder, hopped off of the Hippogriff and ran past the stone gate as Luz, King, and two more figures came into view as silhouettes. Fearing the worst, Ben shouted to her.
"Don't worry, Luz! We're here to help you!"
But the deeper they went past the gate, the more the figures became clearer, and the more they began to slow down to a walk. By the time they stopped their running, Ben and Judith were met with not only Luz and King, but with two more Witches. One of them was a tall, slender woman who appeared to be in her forties with ivory skin, pointed ears, maroon lips, and golden eyes. Her untamed hair was thick, long, and layered with two tones of gray. She also had a screw-in golden fang that stuck out like a sore thumb, orange claw-like nails, and an oval amber gem on her sternum. As for her clothes, she wore a sleeveless two-tone maroon dress with a ripped hem design and gray leggings. Her jewelry consisted of two orange spherical earrings and an amber spherical ring, and for footwear, she wore maroon high-heeled boots. But her partner was different.
He was a middle-aged witch with medium brown skin and mint-green hair with white streaks on the bottom, as well as darker mint green eyebrows, and green eyes. For his outfit, he wore large round glasses, a gray earring on the right ear, and a long, black tunic with a maroon collar, gold trim, three gold buttons, a brown belt, crimson pants and black, knee-high boots. Judith recognized the two as she cautiously waved to them.
"Uh… Hi, Aunt Eda. Auncle Raine."
Eda smiled at Judith as she went over to her and gave her a big hug.
"Judy! How's my favorite niece doing?"
Judith felt smushed by her hug as she tried to return the hug.
"Uh, j-just fine, actually. Thanks for asking."
Eda then took notice of Hexifer on her shoulder before she ceased the hug and analyzed the raven as she had a hunch about what it meant.
"So, Lily's trying to keep an eye on you, huh?"
Judith nodded to her with a blush as she answered.
"Yeah. She didn't exactly trust my new friend."
As she answered, Eda noticed Ben beside her and became puzzled, making the boy wave nervously to her, afraid of how she'd react if she found out he was a human.
"Uh… hey."
"And who's tall, dark, and handsome?"
As Judith introduced him, she got out Ben's hand to shake with Eda's .
"Oh, his name is Ben. He's a transfer from-"
Before Judith could finish, Eda interjected and made a quick guess.
"From the Human Realm, I know."
Ben became puzzled as she looked up to her.
"Wait. You knew?"
Eda made a serious face as she spoke in an ominous tone.
"Of course I knew. I know everything…"
Ben was a bit unsettled by her tone, only for Eda to break the tension with a snort before laughing as she told him how she really knew he was a human.
"I'm just yanking your chain, kid. Actually, Luz told us about you. Said something about you being the only one who understood her."
Ben looked over to Luz, who made a sad smile as she did a wave before Eda spoke to him again with intrigue.
"From the sound of it, you seem pretty okay to me, kid."
Ben made a relieved laugh as he brushed the back of his head with a slight blush.
"Really? Uh, thanks, Ms. Eda."
At that moment, Raine noticed Ben's blush and turned to Eda.
"Goodness. Is that how I look when I'm blushing?"
Eda only shook her head before answering.
"No. It's way worse."
Raine began to blush even worse as they began to stutter in nervousness before Eda gave them a soft noogie on the head and made a small laugh.
"Just kidding. You actually look cute that way. You always do."
Raine began to make a bashful face as Judith and Ben checked up on Luz. They only arrived at the end of what must have been an eventful spectacle, seeing as Luz was just delivering bottles of junk the last time they saw her. The location was quite a shift, to say the least.
"What about you, Luz? Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah. What's happened to you since we left?"
Luz made a sad sigh before she spoke solemnly.
"Well, I decided to take Ember's advice. After that, I met this wizard named Adegast, and I got to go on my own quest. With all the people I met, I felt really appreciated, but then…"
Luz paused for a moment as her head hung down and held onto her right elbow before continuing on.
"It turned out to be a lie. Adegast was actually a puppeteer who tried to use me to get to Eda. All that trouble because I wanted to feel special…"
Ben and Judith felt bad for Luz as he went over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder before he and Judith expressed their condolences.
"We're really sorry it happened to you, Luz."
"We hope it didn't ruin your experience in the Boiling Isles."
Luz looked at the two, a smile beginning to form on her face before she spoke again in a tone that told them she was still saddened by all that happened to her.
"Thanks, guys. But if anything, I'm just… confused."
Raine had an idea as to what Luz was getting at as they spoke to her.
"Are you thinking about giving up on being a witch?"
"What else could I do? This place is nothing like I imagined."
Eda noticed the sad look on Luz's face. She didn't like to see it any more than her own niece and her human friend did. That's when she had an idea. She put on a smile before she spoke up.
"Maybe not here. But come on. Raine and I have got something to show you."
Raine became puzzled for a moment.
"We have?"
Eda looked at them before clearing her throat. In a short while, they caught onto the idea and played along.
"Oh. Right."
Eda looked back to Ben and Judith as she spoke.
"Sorry, kiddos, but you two have got to stay behind, unless you've got your own ride here."
Ben and Judith looked back to their Hippogriff, only to find King asserting his "authority" upon it.
"I am the King of Demons, you majestic monstrosity! And you will obey me!"
The Hippogriff only leaned towards King before he began to sniff at him, puzzling King for a moment before he quickly got irritated.
"Weh? H-Hey, cut it out! I am not your food!"
Ben then gave Eda a smile as he crossed his arms.
"As a matter of fact, we have."
Later, Ben and Judith were riding on top of the Hippogriff while Luz rode on top of a staff with an owl perched on top of it with Eda, King, and Raine riding alongside her as Judith's uncle held onto the blindfolded human before they got to a high enough distance. Eda then spoke up to Luz with a smirk.
"Okay, you can look."
Luz took off the blindfold she wore with Raine making sure she was secure, only to find the most beautiful view she'd ever seen.
"Whoa!"
Ben gave Luz a smile as he spoke up to her.
"I know. I was pretty surprised to find out it was made from a giant skeleton."
Eda looked over to Ben as she explained the Boiling Isles to him.
"Yep. That's the bones of the Isles for you. Up close, the Isles can be slimy-"
King interjected as he looked at Luz before Eda continued.
"And very stinky."
"And gross. But if you look at it from a different perspective…"
The group looked up to the sky above the giant skull, where stars were beginning to appear. As they watched, a shooting star crossed the sky, though it was for only a moment. Regardless, Luz was mystified by the beauty of it.
"It's beautiful."
King couldn't agree more as he leaned against Luz.
"Yeah."
Ben made a light smile himself as he gazed out to the horizon with Judith by his side, making Luz smile at the sight of the two of them together. However, she still appeared to be curious as she turned to Eda, hoping she could answer her.
"Eda, how did you know that wizard was lying?"
"Look, kid, everyone wants to believe they're 'chosen'. But if we all waited around for a prophecy to make us special, we'd die waiting. And that's why you need to choose yourself."
Luz had a look of hope beaming onto her face before she asked Eda one more question on her mind.
"Does that mean you'll give me a magic staff of my own?"
Eda laughed gently before responding to her.
"Not yet. But... someday."
Luz leaned against Eda as they watched the sun continue to set. At the same time, Ben became curious about Luz's goal. If she did find her way to the Boiling Isles, then why wouldn't she go back home? She must have someone who missed her. Then, it occurred to him that nobody really liked Luz enough to want her for her antics. He began to frown, feeling bad for the girl as he looked at her.
Later, Ben and Judith followed Luz, Eda, Raine, and King to a place called the Owl House, a precise if not too imaginative name. It was a large house made from white brick with a sloping blue roof. It also had a stained glass window above the door that gave the impression of a large orange demon eye. There was also a crumbling stone tower with orange moss growing on it, located to the rear left of the house. Ben couldn't believe that Luz had been staying there before he saw her again. It appeared as though he wasn't wrong about her getting a welcome wagon. Luz hopped off of the staff before Eda, Raine, and King did the same and headed back inside with the first of the trio sounding off.
"Well, time for my last Appleblood of the day."
Raine didn't think it wise as they gave her their opinion.
"I think you've had more than enough today, Eda."
Luz was about to follow them in, but then she stopped and looked at Ben with a sad smile as he hopped off the Hippogriff. Luz went up to him as she tried to speak to him.
"Do you, uh… wanna stay in the Owl House? I can make some room for you."
Ben gave her a soft smile before she shook her head.
"No, it's fine. I'll figure something else out. You've been through a lot anyway."
Luz made another sigh before looking back up to the night sky.
"Yeah. I guess."
For a moment, the two looked up at the stars with Judith laying on the back of the Hippogriff as she gazed at the stars herself. After a moment of silence, Ben decided to speak to Luz about her plans.
"So, Luz. Uh… Raine said something about you wanting to be a Witch. I take it that means you're… not going home, are you?"
Luz made a sad sigh before she looked back to the sky.
"I don't think you'd blame me for saying 'no'. Nobody ever understood me for the way I am. Not even my mom. I mean, I don't blame her for trying to help me get friends, but… I don't want to lose the way I am in exchange. It's just… I feel like it's really important to me, you know?"
Ben was silent for a moment before he gave her his honest answer.
"Honestly, no. But I feel for you. I don't have any reason to go back either."
Luz raised her eyes in puzzlement before she looked at him.
"You don't? But what about your family?"
Ben maintained his stoic look as he told her. It wasn't something he liked to do, but Luz had to understand. Besides, she would've pestered him if he didn't tell her. And after the day he's had, he can't afford to lose any sleep.
"Well, I don't know if you noticed, but my family's nothing but a bunch of… well, let's just say they're a bunch of weeds. My brother and sister told me I'd never belong because my mom only did a one-night stand with my dad. And my dad thought I was a mistake. So, I had enough, and decided I wanted to find my real family."
Luz's face began to sadden as she spoke her own condolences, remembering the moment she saw Ben get as mad as to break his own pencil.
"Oh. That's what they were telling you yesterday. I'm so sorry."
Ben sighed for a moment, taking in the horrible things they did to him before he spoke on.
"It's okay. But anyway, I was trying to find my mom, but then I ended up here with some… weird portal centerpiece or something. And I'm still trying to work out how it did what it did."
Luz gave Ben a soft smile before she held onto his hand, making him look over to her with a puzzled expression on him.
"I guess we're both Luz-ers, huh?"
Ben didn't quite like the pun that was used especially to make fun of her. But she didn't seem too bothered by it anymore. Maybe she did belong here more than back home. He gave her a smile back as he replied.
"Yeah. I guess we are."
Of course, he still had his own journey to complete. And he'd never stop until he found his mother, no matter what. But at the same time, the Boiling Isles was his haven away from his so-called family. It may have had a complex history with humans involved, but it still treated him far better than the Human Realm ever did (even if Lilith did crush his hand). And if there was a way to get back home, he'd take it. But for now, his place is here, in the Boiling Isles. But Judith was frankly touched by something else.
While she was just made aware of Ben's own complicated family history, she felt bad for the way Ben was treated. In her book, he was no mistake. If anything, she considered him a good friend, despite having only just met him. And she wanted to help Ben get back home more than ever now. She just couldn't imagine the pain of being without a mother who loved her. Of course, today's events concerning Ember were something to ask her about, but still. Judith turned back to her mother's Palisman, who was sitting on her lap before she spoke gently to it.
"Hexifer… I know Mom told you to keep an eye on me, but Ben's not as heartless as she thinks. You saw it, too, right?"
Hexifer made a light squawk in reply before Judith dug into her pocket and got out the portal centerpiece to give to Hexifer as she spoke.
"And one more thing: can you give this to Mom? She has a better idea of what to do with it than me."
Then, she remembered how Lilith crushed Ben's hand. She'd most likely do the same to the portal.
"Oh, and could you tell her not to break it while you're at it? I love her, but I don't think she'd want Ben to stay on account of her temper.
Hexifer nodded before it took the piece and began to hop away before she stopped it, making the white raven turn to her. She wanted her mother to know that she had questions about why she kept Ember's curse hidden from her. And she wanted them to be answered.
"Wait. Sorry. I know. It's just… Can you also tell mom that like it or not, Ben would be coming with me? And while you're at it, tell her… that I know about Ember's curse. And I have the right to know why she shut me out of it. Can you tell her that?"
Hexifer nodded, but he didn't budge, expecting one more thing to come up from Judith.
"Oh, and maybe leave my meeting with Aunt Eda and Auncle Raine out of it? That's about it. I swear."
Hexifer nodded in agreement before it then flew off into the night as Judith looked on with a hopeful smile. With any luck, her mother would hear out her request, or if she didn't, she knew her father would. However weary he is, he was more understanding of the humans than Lilith was. She hoped that bit about him wouldn't change as she sighed. Just then, Ben's stomach began to grumble before he spoke.
"So, uh, what do you guys have for food here?"
(Play Jeff Williams Music: "Bring Them to Me (Volume 8 Chapter 1 End Credits)")
Meanwhile, Lilith had other matters to attend to that were more important than food. She was standing in the presence of a tall and powerful being who sat on a large throne. He had a mask with two long upward-facing horns with his eyes being hollow through the mask, creating the appearance of having empty eye sockets. He also wore a large white and brown cape with a gold trim. They were in a strange and spacious room that contained many metallic pipes that served an as-of-yet unknown purpose. The room itself was also lit only by two giant torches from behind the throne. Atop the throne was a gargantuan, pulsing heart. Lilith had a look of nervousness upon her as she spoke to this being.
"Emperor Belos, you've summoned me. Is something wrong?"
After a low growl in the otherwise silent air, Belos spoke out to Lilith as he stood up and descended down the steps.
"Now why would something be wrong for me to want to see the head of the Emperor's Coven?"
Lilith became confused by the lenient nature inflected in his tone.
"So… nothing's wrong?"
Belos stopped just in front of her before he spoke with a tone that showed he'd gotten quite serious in opposition to when he last spoke.
"Well, I never said that."
Belos held out his right palm before a dark red fire forged itself and showed an image of Luz, King, Eda, and a hooded figure with a long-sleeved two-tone dark gray cloak and dark gray-laced boots with an obsidian gemstone in the shape of a raven on his chest, and a black raven staff in his hand in the Conformatorium.
"As you've no doubt heard from Warden Wrath, a human by the name of Luz Noceda was responsible for the break-in at the Conformatorium to rescue the Owl Lady last night."
Lilith didn't see much point in reiterating information that was already told to her, but she knew better than to question the Emperor.
"Yes. I have heard. I assume you want me to recapture her?"
"There's that, of course. But what I'm more focused on is what that means."
Belos then clutched onto the fire as he swiped up diagonally, putting the fire out as the last of its crimson glow faded away like a light.
"There is another portal out there in Bonesborough."
Lilith didn't much like the sound of it. She was already aware of their history with humans since the infamous Salem Witch Trials. If a portal fell into the wrong hands, it could mean total genocide. And that was clearly something she didn't want. She bowed her head to him as she made her vow.
"Don't worry, Belos. Wherever the portal is, I swear I'll find it and destroy it so that no human can ever take another witch's life."
Belos only set his hand upon her head, making her look up to him as he gave a different order than what she had in mind.
"Oh, no. You misunderstand, Lilith. I don't intend for you to destroy it. Only that you relinquish it to my hands."
Lilith looked at him in puzzlement. What would he need with the portal if not to prevent the humans from destroying them?
"What? What for, my lord?"
"You may not have known this, but the portal itself is essential to the Day of Unity. I understand your personal regard towards humans given our… complex history. But the Titan's Will is not so boorish as to promote genocide or sealing off our realm from the others."
"Then what does he want?"
(End Jeff Williams Music: "Bring Them to Me (Volume 8 Chapter 1 End Credits Music)")
Belos only removed his hand from her face before walking back to his throne as he answered.
"Provided you give me the portal, you'll understand soon. For now, you can ignore the human. She's not as dangerous as history portrays the rest of her kind to be. The main focus for you, Lilith, should be to either find the portal that brought her here, or to find the last missing piece of our own. After that, you're free to focus on your… other task concerning the Owl Lady."
As Belos sat down on his throne, Lilith's eyes widened, as though she'd regained hope. But to be certain, she asked Belos about this other task.
"And you're certain, my lord? That this will help Edalyn? My daughter looks up to her."
Belos placed his fingers together before he spoke with a clear tone of utmost authority.
"You should know better than anyone, Lilith. The Titan always keeps his promises."
Later on, Lilith was on her way out of the castle, walking out on a bridge before noticing Hexifer flying to her from the sky. Seeing the bird, Lilith held her staff out for it to perch upon before she brushed gently under its chin with a smile.
"There you are, Hexifer."
Then, Lilith noticed not only the portal centerpiece it dropped into her palm from its talon, but also the crack on Hexifer, beginning to show concern for her Palisman as she looked back to its face.
"Hexifer, what happened? Did the human do this to you?"
Hexifer only squawked an answer to her before Lilith raised one of her eyebrows. She had become baffled by what it had to tell her.
"What? Ember attacked her?"
Hexifer squawked again, making Lilith more surprised than before.
"And the human saved her?"
Hexifer nodded to Lilith before her head hung down in shame.
"So, she knows what happened to Ember now…"
After a short moment, Lilith looked back to Hexifer before she asked more from it.
"Is there… anything else?"
Hexifer made several soft squawks, telling Lilith the rest of the story. Having been told the events, Lilith looked up to the night sky as she gave a heavy sigh and closed her eyes before opening them. While she didn't quite approve of Ben staying with Judith, she also knew there was no talking her out of it, either. However, that didn't mean she was going to put up with living in the same place as the human. She knew of someone else who could do it better. But a part of her hoped that a human wouldn't have lived here at all... However, he did give her the portal centerpiece that may prove essential to the Day of Unity. She supposed it would be only right to give him a place to stay. At least for a while... But one thing was certain: he won't be staying with her of all people.
"Well, I can see I'm going to have to talk to Lawrence about that. He helped one human with Edalyn, anyway. And if anyone's going to live with another one, it's him."
A/N: And there it is. Ben's next chapter in the Boiling Isles will begin soon. But you can expect it to take a different turn from what is canon, especially with Judith's history. There's no way she'd let go of it so soon... let's just leave it at that for now. Besides that, you will be introduced to Lilith's husband in the next chapter. And you will expect some contrast between the two. As for Lilith, I thought it would be nice to introduce her Palisman this time around since we never got to see much of it in action apart from Eda's duels with her. And I felt it fitting to give it a moniker that would remind us of Lilith's own nickname for Hooty in Season 2. :) Anyway, I hope it sparked enough interest for you to follow along with this story. If it did, you can look forward to seeing more soon. ;)