A second, much louder screech sent them all scrambling for the meager safety of the tent. The soft hide of the structure wouldn't exactly slow Eda down if she discovered them, but being in an enclosed space helped them all feel a little more secure. Amity stood to the side, arms hugged around her middle as she watched Luz pace around the tent, face grim.
"This is bad…" King said from where he was sitting, arms folded and head bowed, frowning at the ground. "Eda's probably been like that for a while now, which means she's gone full-owl for sure." Full-owl? Amity wasn't sure she liked the sound of that at all.
"What does that mean exactly?" She asked and Luz paused mid-step to look back at her before turning suspicious eyes on King.
"Well, last time she transformed it was only partially and I got through to her, so she turned herself back," he said, tapping at his boney chin with a claw in thought. "I don't think we can count on that working this time." Luz's eyes narrowed into a concerned frowned.
"King, what are you talking about? When did that happen?" Luz asked, her tone stern, but Amity caught the hitch in her breath. Apparently Eda had been transforming more than Luz knew about and it was clear that scared her. It worried Amity too, but she was more concerned with how stressed out Luz was right then, so she moved closer, slipping her hand into Luz's in the hopes of grounding somewhat. It eased her mind a little when she felt Luz's fingers tighten around her own, but she looked no less worried.
"It may have been when you borrowed Owlbert that one time," he said, poking his claws together guiltily, his eyes averted. Luz and Owlbert shared a brief look that screamed there was a story there but now wasn't the time to pry into that. Luz seemed to share the sentiment because she pointed her free hand at King and levelled him with a stern look.
"Ok, we're definitely talking about that later but we have more important things to deal with right now. What did you do to snap her out of it?" King scratched nervously at his scruffy neck.
"My rage squeal. It made her laugh and she sort of just...'woke up'." Amity opened her mouth to ask what exactly a 'rage squeal' was but she was cut off by another hair raising screech. It sounded further off, which was worrying in its own way. Eda may not be stalking them at least but she was on the move. The thought of what might happen if she found her way off the mountain and into Bonesborough was terrifying. They needed to do something and soon.
"King's method could be a backup plan, but we probably can't guarantee that she'll be able to snap herself out of it, right?" She looked to Luz and got a nod in response. "Right, so we need something a little more solid. How did you turn her back the first time this happened?"
"Eda's demon form is light-sensitive so I used a really big light spell to stun her and then we force fed her an elixir." Simple. Effective. Kind of ingenious. It was very Luz. Amity smiled at her and nodded.
"That sounds like a more reliable plan. Let's do that." Luz, however, looked less than enthused, her mouth twisted up skeptically.
"The problem is Owl-Eda is hard to pin down. She's really fast and she's got so much room to move around out here. How are we gonna keep her still long enough to stun her? I don't think tossing a blanket over her head is gonna be enough this time."
Luz made a good point. They needed a way to keep her in one spot long enough to set off a big enough light glyph, but how? She had her abominations but Amity doubted they could keep up with Eda, especially somewhere so cold where their semi-liquid state would be compromised. Abominations didn't do well in below freezing temperatures. They became sluggish as the sludge that formed their bodies cooled and hardened. It was the whole reason she'd tried to use her training wand instead of summoning one when they'd fought the slitherbeast before.
They all fell silent, trying desperately to think of some way to contain a large demon with little to no resources. After a few moments, Amity felt Luz perk up and turned to look at her. Luz was watching her with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes.
"Amity, I think I might have an idea. Do you remember what you did on the hill last time we were here?" Luz asked eagerly. Amity's eyes widened with recognition almost instantly. That day had been ingrained in her memory for more than one reason. It was easy to recall the exact moment Luz was referring to.
"That… that could work. We'd need to time it just right, but it could work." A lot could go wrong but if they could pull it off… Luz's bright grin was enough to bolster Amity's confidence. They'd faced worse than this. They had dealt with fear demons, slitherbeasts, monstrous fictional characters brought to life, a fiery mindscape version of Willow and, worst of all, Boscha. They could handle Eda. They could do this.
She felt a whole lot less confident when, not long after, she found herself floating over the treetops on Owlbert. They'd ironed out the plan pretty quickly, deciding it was best to keep it simple. Overly complicated plans and Luz Noceda did not go well together. So after a brief argument over who would act as 'bait', which Amity had won, she left Luz in a clearing to prepare and took off on Owlbert in search of Eda. Staring down at the dark, foreboding forest below her, however, she had to wonder if 'won' was the right word. She didn't feel like much of a winner. In fact she felt a lot more like a tasty hors d'oeuvre being served on a floating stick.
Trying hard to push that disturbing thought down, her mind wandered to Luz. Hopefully she was feeling less exposed where she was busy prepping her part of the plan. When they had separated, Amity had flown in the direction they'd last heard Eda's screeching coming from so, in theory, Luz should be safe where she was. Amity on the other hand… Well she'd been the one to argue that it should be her up here so she could hardly complain. She wished Luz was with her though. They had both been a lot less uncomfortable with the idea of 'splitting the party' once they'd realised there were no nefarious witches or monsters involved, but that didn't mean Amity was enjoying being alone up here.
"Pspspsps! Eda! Here girl! Come get the shiny!" Ok so not totally alone.
She rolled her eyes and glared down at King, who was sitting behind her on Owlbert, waving Luz's glowing gem pen around in the air like it was some sort of beacon.
"King, what are you doing? She's not a cat," she snapped irritably. King just shrugged, ignoring her annoyance entirely.
"Hey, have you ever seen Eda's owl form? Because I have, so maybe you should leave the Eda-tracking to the experts and just make sure we don't fall out of the sky." Click click. He went right back to calling out for Eda like she was a lost house pet, clicking the pen off and on repeatedly to flash the light and Amity had to stifle an annoyed huff. King was adorable but he could be very frustrating. Click click. She winced. They needed to take this seriously.
Grumbling, Amity turned her eyes back down to the trees, scanning them carefully for any sign of movement. It was a clear night, the moon high and mostly full, so it wasn't terribly hard to see, but the forest was dense and Eda's feathers were apparently quite dark, if Luz's drawing of her was accurate. She wasn't going to be easy to spot. Click click. She grit her teeth.
The constant clicking of the pen behind her was grating at her nerves and she had to fight not to snap at King. Click click. She didn't want to be a jerk when she knew most of her irritation was misplaced. Click click. She was cold and scared and the constant tension of not knowing where exactly Eda was, was eating at her self-control. Click click. Wincing at the annoying sound, she focused on the tree-line, searching for any signs of movement while trying to put King out of her mind. Click click. Why was it so loud? Click click. What sort of pen could drown out the sounds of a forest? Click click. Wait… Click click.
The pen wasn't loud, the forest was just quiet. Unnaturally, unnervingly quiet. She froze, her throat constricted, knuckles whitening as she gripped the staff tighter. The forest beneath them was totally silent. When had that happened? How long had it been since she'd heard the chirping of night critters in the trees? She felt sweat beading at her neck and swallowed hard. Click click.
"King…" He ignored her, muttering in annoyance as he kept clicking the pen. The little glowing gem suddenly seemed far too bright. Click click.
"King... I need you to put that thing away now," she said slowly, her voice shaking, eyes locked on the trees. Had that branch just moved or had she imagined it? Click click.
"What? But we need this to attract Eda," he huffed, still clicking at the pen and glaring at her like he thought she was stupid. She felt pretty stupid in that moment. This was a terrible idea. Why had she volunteered for this? Click click.
"Will you shut up and listen!?" She hissed at him and he frowned, tilting his head.
"To what ? I don't hear anything!" Click click.
" Exactly ." He stiffened with understanding and his claws faltered on the pen. It slipped from his grasp and fell down into the trees. Amity felt a brief flash of guilt as she watched the pen disappear, the glow fading away as it was lost amongst the leaves. Luz really liked that pen.
They fell silent, both staring down at the trees anxiously, eyes darting in search of any sign of movement. Fear thrummed in Amity's throat but she forced it back down. This was what they wanted after all. They needed Eda to find them. She would not run. She would not panic. Luz was counting on her to fulfill her part of the plan and there was no way she would let her down. Amity was no coward.
They floated in absolute silence for a long moment, Amity's grip on Owlbert almost painfully tight. A cold wind rustled her hair, sending a shiver down her spine and she shuddered, eyes shut for just a moment as she braced herself against it. Click… click.
Her eyes snapped open and she stared hard at the little pink light hovering in the trees. The pen? Click... click. The light blinked out before reappearing, bobbing slightly in place. How? She bit her lip, fear crawling in her gut as she watched the little pink light move about. It lifted, drawing close to something sitting on the branches. Straining to make it out, Amity leaned over for a closer look and her eyes widened. Click... click. Pink light reflected off of black, cold eyes. Click... click. Long, sharp teeth were revealed within a wide, almost fascinated smile. She couldn't help the gasp that slipped past her lips and Amity cursed herself for a fool. Click crunch.
Those empty, black eyes snapped up to them, a clawed hand crushing the pen effortlessly between long gnarled fingers. The little pink light died. With a vicious snarl the huge beast burst out of the trees, launching itself at them with frightening speed. A terrified scream ripped its way out of Amity's throat and she yanked hard on Owlbert, the staff shooting upwards just in time as the beast, who she now realised was Eda, swung at them, claws just missing the bottom of Amity's boot. Eda fell back into the trees with a crash, snarling and hissing as she broke through the branches. That had been far too close. Trembling all over, Amity shook herself hard and grit her teeth. Time to put the plan to action.
She hovered in place for just long enough to take a deep, steadying breath before she angled Owlbert down and dove straight into the trees. This was so stupid. She was an idiot for doing this. She absolutely refused to die tonight.
Wind whistled in her ears, drowning out the sound of King's startled squeak as they dove. A growl caught her ear and she instinctively pulled sharply to the side just as they broke through the tree-tops, narrowly missing the claws that had swung at them from a tree branch. She weaved Owlbert through and around the branches, the forest blurring around her sickeningly as they twisted and turned to escape Eda, who was jumping from branch to branch in an attempt to get at them. The scrabbling sound of her claws raking across wood and the heavy cracks of broken branches echoed loudly in the quiet forest, spurring her on even faster. Adrenaline coursed through her, heart racing as they dodged slashing claws in a mad race to the ground below. By some miracle, they managed to reach the snowy forest floor, where it would be easier to fly, without any of them being eviscerated. There was no time to be relieved though.
Eda thumped heavily into the dirt just behind them, kicking up a spray of snow that pelted the back of Amity's head and she was forced to urge Owlbert forward before she could get her bearings, weaving through the trees with Eda thundering after them. Which way was Luz? She stared hard at the trees that whizzed by her, desperately looking for something familiar after their disorienting descent. They had intended to draw Eda's attention. They'd wanted her to follow them, but her sudden appearance had totally thrown Amity off and now she had no idea which way to go.
The crunching of Eda's claws pounding closer through the snow filled her ears and she felt panic building in her chest. Where was she supposed to go? Which way? The trees all looked the same! Where was Luz? Her brief hesitation gave Eda just enough time to catch up and she leapt at them with a hair-raising shriek. Amity yelped, veering upwards out of reach. Eda passed just below them and landed in a tumbling mess of feathers, broken branches and dirt. Powdery snow was thrown into the air as she slid along the ground, digging in her claws for purchase before darting at them again. Amity picked a direction at random and flew as fast as she could push Owlbert to go, the little palisman pumping his wings hard to stay ahead of his cursed master.
She was totally lost now. The trees blurred together. It all looked the same! In coming up with the plan, they had failed to account for getting lost in the damn woods in the middle of a chase. She was an absolute idiot! Eda's heaving breaths were getting closer. She was going to be on them any second now and it would be all Amity's fault. Tears stung her eyes and she wasn't sure it was entirely from the biting wind whipping at her face. Just as she was starting to lose all hope of ever finding her way, she felt King frantically tug at the back of her coat.
"Look!" Amity looked up to where he was pointing and saw a break in the trees off to the side. Her heart soared. Somehow, against all odds, they'd found it. Aiming for the opening, she flew hard. It was just a little further. They were going to make it!
They broke through the tree line and Amity felt her heart stop. Luz was standing just ahead of her, next to the huge light glyph that she had traced out in the snow, watching the forest on the other side of the clearing for signs of Amity and Eda. She was on the wrong side! No… Amity was on the wrong side! In her mad dash through the forest, she had somehow managed to circle around the stupid clearing and now it was too late to correct her course. Luz was standing directly in her path and Amity had led Eda right to her .
"Luz! Watch out!"
Luz looked back over her shoulder, eyes wide with shock as they briefly met Amity's. Eda burst through the trees in a huge leap and Luz had just enough time to throw herself to the ground with a startled cry before Eda leapt over her, swinging once more at the staff. Her aim was true this time and she landed a solid hit, pitching Owlbert forward sharply and throwing Amity over the front and into the air. The world spun around her as she crashed to the ground but somehow, using the momentum of her fall, she managed to get her hands underneath herself and rolled up onto her knees. Dazed and dizzy, shaking frigid snow and dirt from her eyes, she found herself staring directly at Eda.
The moon shone down into the clearing, giving Amity her first clear look at Eda. Teeth bared and snarling, eyes black as pitch, hands clawed and back hunched. She was terrifying. She was monstrous. An awful sadness crept over Amity at the sight of her. Knowing about the curse had not prepared her for the reality of it. She couldn't imagine having to deal with something like this for her whole life. It was too cruel. She felt a great wash of sympathy for Eda and a deep anger for whoever had done this to her. But only for a second.
The brief moment was shattered when she saw Eda's claws flex in the snow, saw her shoulders bunch and Amity knew she was about to attack. Thanking the Titan and whatever other deities that might be listening that Eda had slid into the middle of the glyph, exactly where they wanted her, Amity raised her hand and drew a circle in the air. It glowed brightly just as Eda started to run.
"Amity, wait!" Luz's shout came too late. Amity was already thrusting her hand upwards, drawing a huge cage made of woven light out of the ground, encircling the entire glyph in the snow. A strangled scream cut from the other side of the clearing as the cage rose high into the sky, just in time for Eda to slam face-first into it. The bars sizzled against her feathery head and she flinched back, hissing and glaring murderously at Amity. She swiped viciously at the bars but the burning light forced her back again and Amity let out a breath of relief. The cage was holding. Luz's crazy plan had worked.
A loud, pained cry drew her attention and she looked past the cage to see Luz collapsed in the snow, smoke rising from her hands.
"Luz!" Scrambling to her feet, Amity darted around the cage, King scurrying along beside her from where he had landed with Owlbert clutched in his paws. Luz had buried her hands in the snow by the time Amity reached her so she couldn't see what had happened, but the pain on her face was clear. Tears were streaming from her eyes, her face twisted into an agonised grimace. Dropping to her knees beside her, Amity reached tentatively towards Luz.
"Let me see," she said, gently pulling Luz's hands out of the snow and turning them over. A horrified gasp slipped past her lips.
Luz's gloves had been scorched away, revealing angry red burns criss-crossed over the entirety of her hands, the skin glossy and already blistering. It looked excruciating. Guilt consumed her and Amity felt suddenly sick to her stomach when Luz bit back a sob. Her spell had done this. It was the only explanation. This was her fault. She had hurt Luz .
"Oh stars, Luz, I..." Tears welled in her eyes, her fingers tightening around Luz's shaking wrists. How could she possibly convey how sorry she was. Luz sucked a breath in between her teeth as she pulled her hands away to carefully press them back into the snow.
"I-it's not your fault," she whimpered weakly. "E-Eda broke the glyph when she landed. I… I was trying to fix it when you made the cage but I wasn't... fast enough." The glyph was broken?
Amity turned to look into the cage where Eda was prowling around the perimeter, swiping at the bars in search of a weak spot. Sure enough, there was a wide swath cut through the glyph where Eda must have landed and slid across it. They'd planned on using Owlbert to activate it once Eda was trapped, but that was impossible now. Just along the inside edge of the cage, Amity could make out a section where Luz had attempted to redraw the outer circle. She must have had her hands pressed right into the snow when Amity had raised the cage. She had literally burned the cage right through Luz's hands.
Her breath hitched and she looked back down at Luz's hands in abject horror, shame and self loathing rising in her throat like bile. Luz was shivering beside her, her breaths coming in sharp, broken bursts, tears still spilling down her cheeks, which only served to make Amity feel worse. Luz was in so much pain and she didn't know what to do to help. Amity reached out for her hesitantly but froze, hand outstretched, when Luz looked up sharply with a gasp.
"Amity! Amity look!" The urgency in her voice startled her and Amity whipped around to look behind her. To her horror, Eda was standing in the centre of the cage, spreading a pair of large wings that she hadn't noticed before. She flapped them slowly, as if testing her range of motion. They just managed to fit within the cage, the very tips only slightly grazing the bars. A hungry smile split her face and she eyed the open sky with glee. Amity's eyes widened, jaw falling slack in shock.
"She can fly?!" Holy Titan! It struck Amity suddenly that Eda had basically been toying with her in the woods. She'd been able to fly this whole time, but she'd chosen to run. It was like she'd been enjoying the chase. Like she had been playing with her food. The disturbing thought was interrupted by King's loud cry.
"She's gonna get out!" He pointed his claws up to the open end of the cage and Amity knew he was right. Leaping to her feet without a second thought, she drew a circle in the air. Connecting her magic with the ends of the cage, she held out her hands and grabbed at the air as if she were holding the bars between her fingers. With a sharp tug, she drew her hands in and the cage followed, forcing it down into a dome shape just as Eda threw herself into the air with a heavy flap of her wings. She slammed into the very center of the dome, tumbling back down with a furious screech and Amity felt the impact rattle through her. The cage wasn't meant to be manipulated like this. She was frankly surprised she'd been able to bend it at all. Groaning with the effort of holding it closed, she turned to look at Luz over her shoulder.
"I… I can't let go of this spell or the cage will open again. What are we going to do?!" She hated asking anything of Luz right then, injured as she was, but Amity's hands were full with keeping Eda contained. Luz pulled her own hands free from the snow and flexed her fingers, yelping in pain at the slight movement.
"I can't draw a new glyph like this…" She said desperately. No, of course she couldn't. Amity had ruined her hands. Another powerful shock surged through her when Eda slammed herself into the top of the cage again and Amity felt it give way just a little. Her arms shook visibly from the strain, sweat slipping down the back of her neck in a frigid line. Illusion magic was hardly one of her strengths; in fact it had been a shock when the twins had managed to teach her this spell in the first place. She was certain she wouldn't be able to keep Eda in for very much longer. The demon was already picking herself up off the ground, growling darkly and shaking the snow from her feathers in preparation for another jump. They were running out of time.
Amity's eyes darted around for a solution. Something. Anything that would help. There had to be a way to fix this. Another impact within the cage sent her to her knees, a wave of dizziness darkening her vision for a second. She distantly heard Luz calling her name but her mind was reeling with the effort of maintaining her spell. Her breath became ragged and quick, ghosting in the cold air and stinging at her throat. Panic pulled at her senses as her eyes roamed the area shakily.
How had it all gone so wrong so fast? Their plan had meant to be simple. Easy. Lure Eda into a trap and stun her with a giant light glyph. Now Luz was badly injured, the glyph was useless and it was taking everything she had to simply keep Eda contained. Worst of all, she was about to escape. Eda was going to get out and do Titan only knew what to them and there was nothing Amity could do to stop her. Her strength was failing. One more hit and the cage would open. She could feel it. If they were going to do something, it needed to be now !
She saw Luz holding her hands to her chest, calling out to Eda. Begging her to stop. King was clutching at Luz's coat in fear, pressing his little body into her side. Something at his feet caught her eye and Amity squinted to make it out in the dim moonlight. It was one of Luz's plant glyphs, half pressed into the snow where King must have accidentally stepped on it. There were more scattered about, the little leather pouch Luz kept them in having presumably fallen open when she had ducked out of the way earlier. Fire, plant, ice and... light! Could they use the paper glyphs? No, Luz had said their size mattered and these were all far too small. Eda might be fascinated by the little glowing ball for a second or two but they'd need a hundred of them all at once to produce the kind of light they needed to stun her.
But something about the plant glyph tugged at her memory and her mind slipped to Grom night. Luz had used one of her little plant glyphs then too and it had managed to create a huge tree. One that towered over the others around it imposingly. A tree so large it had become a visible landmark in the forest near Bonesborough. But the glyph hadn't been the only magic involved then. Her eyes widened as a spark of inspiration sizzled in her mind. Maybe…
Luz sucked in a sudden breath and when Amity met her eye, she knew they'd had the same idea. Luz lunged for the glyphs, grunting in pain as she scooped one up and slapped it onto the cage in one fluid movement. For one breathless moment nothing happened. Then Amity let out a cry as Eda threw herself into the dome once more. The impact sent her reeling and she lost her hold on the cage. It sprang open instantly, leaving Eda looking up at freedom with a sinister grin on her face. She crouched down, wings spread wide.
The light glyph sank into the cage.
A humming whine grew in the air as the bars started to glow. Eda hissed, folding her wings over her eyes and curling in on herself as the cage shone brighter and brighter. The humming grew into a loud buzzing, the bars of the cage vibrating now as the light became physically painful to look at. It was still getting brighter. Realising what was about to happen, Amity turned and dove at Luz. She pulled her tightly into her chest, tucking Luz's head into her shoulder before pressing her own face into the soft fabric of Luz's winter hat.
Eda's pained screech tore through the buzzing as the cage erupted into a huge pillar of light that flashed high into the night sky, instantly turning night to day. It burned so bright that Amity's vision filled with white even with her eyes clenched tightly shut and pressed against Luz. The buzzing cut off sharply as the light suddenly vanished, leaving a deafening silence in its wake.
The first thing Amity noticed was the sounds of the forest coming alive around them again. An owl hooted somewhere in the woods, critters skittering about and insects chirping once more in the trees. The girls pulled apart from one another, dazedly blinking the bright after image out of their eyes. It took a moment for them to adjust to the sudden darkness but they eventually turned to see the aftermath of their spell. What they found was Eda, unconscious on her back in a circle of charred, exposed dirt, the snow around her melted away.
Too stunned to move, they could only watch as King pulled his head free from the snow where he'd buried it to hide from the light. He scurried over to the bag they had stashed near the tree line earlier in the evening, dragging it over to Eda and promptly stuffing the elixir he pulled out of it straight into her mouth. The golden potion drained into her and she swallowed it reflexively in her sleep.
Nothing happened.
"Uuuuh… Luz? This usually works. Why isn't it working?" King asked nervously. Luz bit her lip anxiously.
"It's been a few days, maybe she needs more. Try another one!" It took four. Four elixirs before Eda finally turned back, her body shrinking in on itself and feathers vanishing to reveal the Owl Lady within. Amity had never been happier to see anyone in her life. Now they just needed to get her back to camp so that Amity could fix what she'd done to Luz. Somehow.
The trip passed in a blur. With Eda draped over Owlbert, King holding her in place and Luz sitting behind her at Amity's insistence, there was no room on the staff for anyone else, so Amity was forced to walk beside Owlbert. Regardless of how tired and achy she was, she was frankly quite happy not to be on the staff after her harrowing flight anyway.
When they finally made it back, Amity settled a still unconscious Eda into the tent, leaving King to watch over her and she and Luz moved to sit, exhausted, by the fire so Amity could inspect Luz's hands. She held them up and frowned. The burns looked even worse in the light. Raw and red, Amity could only imagine how much it hurt. Luz was trying to put on a brave face but there was no hiding the pain in her eyes.
"Oh, Luz… I'm so, so sorry." She scrubbed angrily at her eyes, blinking back the tears in frustration. She shouldn't be crying. Luz was the one in pain, not her.
"Amity, it's ok. It wasn't your fault. If you'd waited even a second longer, Eda would have…" She winced, looking away with a shuddery breath. "I… I'd rather have some burned hands than think about what could have happened to you if you didn't put up that cage in time…"
Amity really didn't want to think about that either. Or about what might have happened if their last ditch, hair-brained idea hadn't worked. The entire plan had very nearly ended in disaster and that terrified her. Swallowing past the thick lump that had formed in her throat, she turned to focus on Luz.
"Let's get you fixed up." Amity was fairly sure that they didn't have anything in their little emergency healing kit that would help. Searching through it, she pulled out a little jar of burn ointment and looked at it doubtfully. It was barely enough to cover one of her hands and, even then, it wouldn't do much. Luz seemed equally uncertain and looked up at Amity with a weak little smile.
"I don't suppose you did the healing track homework already?" Amity stiffened, her hands tightening around the jar.
"I… I did but… you know I've never had much luck getting new spells to work without a training wand." She bit her lip and looked down at Luz's hands hesitantly. "I've only read the theory, Luz. I don't know if I could actually perform the spell." Luz reached out to her but seemed to think better of it, grimacing at her injured hands.
"D'you think you could try? You're so much better at magic than you think. Please, it… it really hurts." She stared at Amity pleadingly, her voice so small and vulnerable that it broke Amity's heart. No matter what Luz said to the contrary, Amity knew it was her fault she'd been hurt. She'd been the one to get lost in the woods and lead Eda to the wrong side of the clearing. She'd been the one to burn Luz's hands with a hasty spell. And, Titan help her, she would be the one to fix this.
Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep, steadying breath and motioned for Luz to hold out her hands. The least she could do was try the damn spell.
"Try to hold still ok? It's just a basic healing spell, I don't know how much it'll do to help, but hopefully it'll at least make it hurt less." Luz nodded at her, trying her best to keep her shaking hands still. Amity exhaled slowly and shut her eyes, trying hard to remember what she'd read. She drew a circle in the air, feeling the pull of her magic as she called it to her fingers and focusing with all her might, she willed the magic towards Luz.
"Woah." Luz's breathless exclamation drew her attention and she opened her eyes. To her utter surprise, Luz's hand was glowing faintly in Amity's signature pink magic, just as the book had said it should. It was working. With wide, wondering eyes, she reached out to hover her hand just above Luz's, feeling the magic pulse in time with her own beating heart. It was warm and somehow comforting. She let her eyes drift shut again and concentrated on the feeling welling up within her. It felt natural. Easy. It felt right. She'd never felt so attuned with a spell or with her own magic before.
The book had said that this would be the end of the spell. A gentle glow that would help speed the healing process and provide some pain relief, but Amity could feel potential here. She could do more . She was connected to Luz through the spell, feeding magic into her hands that was intended to heal. Through that connection, she could feel a ghostly echo of Luz's pain pulsing in her own hand. Almost instinctually, she latched onto it and pulled, drawing the pain out like poison. She barely registered the little gasp that escaped Luz, too intent on the spell to fully comprehend anything else. When the last of the echoing twinge in her hands was pulled free, she let the magic fade, scattering it in the cold air. Hesitating for a moment, she opened her eyes and gasped. The burns were gone without a trace. No blisters or raw skin. Not even a scar. Nothing. Somehow, by some miracle, Luz's hand was healed.
"Oh my gosh, Amity!" She looked up to see Luz staring at her with open awe. "You did it!"
"I… I did?" She looked back down to where Luz was experimentally curling her thoroughly uninjured fingers and felt a slow smile spread across her cheeks. She had done it! Stars, she'd actually healed her!
"It's like they were never there!" Luz exclaimed, giddy with excitement. Grinning brightly, she held up her other, still burned hand. "Try again!"
The second spell came just as easily and this time Amity made sure to keep her eyes open, eager to see what exactly she had done. She watched with fascination as her magic swirled up into a little orb as she pulled at it. She hadn't even realised she'd made that the first time. The burns receded with the light, vanishing without a trace as it passed over her skin. She could feel that same ghostly echo of Luz's pain being drawn into the orb and she felt the moment the pain vanished when she let it dissipate.
A sudden wave of weariness washed over her and Amity had to steady herself for a second. As easy as the spell had been to perform, doing it twice in a row had taken a lot out of her already drained reserves. Happy as she was that she'd healed Luz, this was probably a good lesson in caution when experimenting with spells. Shaking the fogginess from her head, she looked up to see Luz flexing her freshly healed hand and grinning at her broadly.
"Amity, I think we may have just found your specialty." Amity blinked at her slowly.
"My… what?"
"Y'know, like how Willow is so awesome at plant magic? Or how the twins and Gus are so great with illusions? I think your specialty might be healing!" She stared at Luz's beaming face in shock. Could it be? She'd never thought of herself as having a specialty before. Magic had never come easily to her but this… This had been easy. It had been like breathing.
"You might be right…" She murmured, eyes widening with the realisation. Luz let out a happy laugh.
"Of course I'm right! You said that was a really basic healing spell right? But look!" She happily wiggled her fingers in front of Amity's face. "I'm totally ok! It didn't even hurt when you were doing it!"
She had a point. The spell was designed to relieve pain and speed up the body's own natural healing process. Had she performed it the way it was meant to be done, Luz would still be in a lot of pain and would likely have ended up with a lot of scarring. But she'd managed to manipulate the fairly basic spell into something far more effective simply by following her own gut instincts. She let out a long breath as a sudden clarity awoke within her.
No wonder she'd always had so much trouble with magic. She'd spent her entire life focused on the flashier, more aggressive magic tracks because it was what her parents had pushed her towards. Blights were known for their power, therefore she had to present herself as being powerful. But Amity was meant for something else. She was a healer. The thought brought a smile to her face. It felt right. She liked the idea of being able to help people. She'd always been gentle by nature but she'd had to push that aside to meet the harsh expectations of her family name, her only outlet being the brief time she got to spend reading to witchlings at the library for 'extra credit'.
She realised suddenly that, if it hadn't been for Luz, she might never have known. Her parents would never have allowed her to join a service track like healing. Blights were leaders. Powerful and bold. Blights did not serve the people, they were served. If Luz hadn't come barreling into her life, if she hadn't escaped her parents and gotten to try new magic, she might have been stuck in a track she wasn't meant for her whole life. Just like Willow.
True, she had made it work for herself. She'd learned to create powerful abominations, but it had been a painful struggle of never ending effort. Hours of practice and study and training to the detriment of all else in her life. Healing, however… healing was effortless. Amity was snapped out of her own thoughts when Luz launched herself at her, drawing her into her chest.
"You're amazing, Ammy! Those burns really sucked but you fixed me right up. Thank you so much!" She grinned, squeezing her close and Amity felt a bright flush spread across her cheeks. She smiled happily, burying her head in Luz's shoulder as she wrapped her own arms around her tightly.
"I'm just glad you're ok," she said and she meant it. The fact that Luz was no longer hurt was far more important to her than any personal discoveries in that moment, especially since she'd been the one to hurt her in the first place. Luz pulled back and planted a deep kiss on her lips that left Amity thoroughly dazed.
"I'm more than ok!" She said when she pulled back, grinning as Amity blinked at her in surprise. "We saved Eda and you just found your magical calling! This is the best night ever!" Amity laughed happily when Luz threw her arm over her shoulder and leaned in close, content to sit with her by the fire for a while.
"I still can't believe what that glyph did to your cage. It went up like whoosh!" Luz said after a while, throwing her free arm wildly into the air. "It was just like at Grom. Your spell and my glyph mashed together into one big, super spell." Amity grinned at that. Loveable dork.
"Yeah," she agreed, the seeds of an idea growing in her mind. "That's the second time we've combined two different spells to make something incredible." Before she could fully formulate the thought though, a smug little grin spread across Luz's face and she wiggled her eyebrows at Amity.
"I guess you could say that whenever we team up... magic happens!" The groan that escaped Amity at that was loud and long. She levelled Luz with an unimpressed look. It barely counted as a pun but she looked so proud of herself and Amity had to try very hard not to laugh at the dopey smile on her face.
"Luz… that was so bad." Luz scoffed at her and gave her shoulder a playful shove.
"Oh come on, you loved it. Admit it!" Giving the haughtiest huff she could manage, Amity turned her chin up and folded her arms.
"I refuse to admit to any such thing." They stared at each other for a few seconds, both refusing to break, before Luz gave a tiny snort and they both dissolved into giggles. It wasn't even that funny but neither of them cared. It just felt good to act like kids after such a stressful few days and a very eventful night. Luz's laughter broke on a huge yawn that immediately had Amity yawning too. It was late and cold and, despite her good mood, she was utterly exhausted. Luz rubbed at her arms, shivering slightly when a frigid breeze ruffled her hair.
"Maybe we should go inside and get some sleep. I'm kinda beat," she said and Amity was happy to agree. They made quick work of putting out the fire and slipping into the tent after that. With bed rolls placed neatly next to each other, they both settled in for the night. Luz fell asleep almost the moment she shut her eyes but Amity wasn't quite so lucky. In the dark of the tent, she found her mind wandering back to all the ways the night could have gone horribly wrong. Images of Eda, in her demon form, doing unspeakably horrible things to them flashed in her mind's eye and she shuddered.
Tossing and turning beneath her blanket, she tried desperately to push the thoughts aside. They were fine. Everything had worked out and she knew Eda would never willingly hurt either of them. But it was no use. No matter how much she shifted about or rationalised her fears, she just couldn't sleep.
Looking over at Luz's peacefully sleeping face, a longing sigh drifted from her lips. Amity envied her apparent ability to sleep through just about anything. A selfish thought crept into her mind and latched hold. She hated to wake Luz but she also knew she would never get to sleep without some kind of distraction. Just some reassurance that everything was really ok so she could finally relax. So, feeling like a horrible girlfriend for disturbing her, she reached out and took Luz's hand.
"Luz?" She called quietly, squeezing her hand lightly. Luz shifted with a little moan and cracked open an eye.
"Mm… 'mity?" She murmured sleepily. Amity bit her lip, feeling even worse for waking her now because Luz was clearly exhausted and who could blame her?
"I'm sorry to wake you, I just…" Just what? Didn't want to be alone? That was such a stupid reason to bother her. She wasn't alone. Luz was right there. And yet...
"S'okay. What's wrong? Can't sleep?" She looked away from Luz's concerned, tired eyes, not even sure what exactly she wanted her to do about it. She was being selfish. She should have just let Luz sleep and dealt with her own stupid issues.
"C'mere." Startled, she looked back to see Luz reaching for her with both arms, drowsily trying to tug her closer. A deep flush warmed her cheeks. Luz wanted them to sleep together? Not just next to each other but… together? Oh stars, she'd maybe been hoping for a hand to hold or some comforting words but this? She was not ready for this! Was she? They had cuddled, sure, but this was different! This was in the dark. In a sort-of bed. For the whole night! The whole night… cuddled up close to her girlfriend. Her very recently acquired girlfriend. Her heart fluttered wildly at the thought and she couldn't deny that she really, really wanted to, but it also absolutely terrified her.
A grunt sounded from somewhere on the other side of the tent and she was reminded that they weren't exactly alone. She felt suddenly a lot calmer. She was being silly. Eda and King were right there, sleeping a little ways behind Luz. It wasn't like they were going to do anything. Luz would never do anything that made her uncomfortable and Amity certainly wasn't going to initiate anything. They were just going to sleep. That was all. This was no different to cuddling on the sofa together. It was fine.
Forcefully shoving past her raging nerves, she shifted closer and allowed Luz to pull her in until she was nestled snugly in her arms. She felt Luz reach over to tug her abandoned blanket over the both of them before settling in again, gathering Amity in close so that she was pressed up against Luz's chest.
"Better?" She asked, sleepily nuzzling her head into Amity's hair. It really was. Cocooned safely in the warmth of the extra blanket and Luz's arms, Amity felt all of the anxiety from the evening leave her and she let out a relieved sigh.
"So much." It was exactly what she'd needed. A very tactile reminder that she was ok. That Luz was ok. Nothing bad was going to happen because they were both safe. She smiled and allowed herself to snuggle closer, tucking her head into Luz's neck and slipping her arms around her waist. Lying with her like this wasn't so scary. It was actually really nice. Luz apparently agreed because she let out a happy little hum, curling her arms around Amity a little more.
"M'glad. G'night, Ammy," she murmured, already drifting off to sleep again and Amity felt a rush of gratitude for Luz. Sweet, selfless, kind-hearted Luz who hadn't been mad that she'd woken her in the middle of the night because she needed comfort. Luz, who was always happy to do whatever she could to make sure Amity felt safe and cared for. To remind her that it was ok to ask for help sometimes because she would be there for her without complaint, no questions asked. A deep warmth blossomed in Amity's chest and filled her with affection for the girl in her arms as she followed her into sleep.
She woke hours later to find herself still snuggled into Luz's arms and Amity was perfectly content to stay right there. Surrounded by the warmth of blankets, lanky arms and Luz's loud and yet somehow weirdly comforting snores, she'd be hard pressed to find a reason to get up.
Except maybe the lingering memory that they weren't alone and the fact that Eda had a tendency toward teasing. With any luck, she'd still be out cold and Amity would have more time to enjoy this. Lifting her head as carefully as she could to look over Luz's shoulder without waking her, Amity peaked across the tent and her heart slammed into her throat. It was empty. Eda was gone. She sat up sharply to get a clearer look of the space, but there was no sign of either Eda or King. Heart pounding, Amity looked down to where Luz had merely rolled over, still fast asleep. Grabbing her shoulder, Amity gave her a rough shake.
"Luz… Luz!" She woke with a snort, eyes blinking blearily and hair an absolute mess.
"Wh-whassamatter? Wha's going on?" She murmured, voice thick with sleep, one hand reaching up to rub at her heavy eyes.
"Eda's gone!" That seemed to snap her awake instantly. She turned sharply to look around the tent and yelped at finding it empty.
"Oh, cramity, where did she go?!" They scrambled out of their shared bed, hurrying to pull on boots and coats before rushing out of the tent in search of the missing Owl Lady. Only to skid to a grinding halt in the snow when they found her sitting beside the merrily burning fire, roasting what appeared to be whole rats skewered on sticks. King was plopped on a rock on the other side of the fire, happily chomping on the head of his own roasted rat. Amity grimaced and had to look away as he bit into it with apparent glee, feeling suddenly queasy. Eda glanced over her shoulder at the commotion of them rushing outside and eyed them casually.
"Oh good, you're awake. Breakfast will be done soon so get over here before King and I eat it all." The girls glanced at each other for a moment before cautiously moving to sit next to the fire. Eda didn't seem to notice the air of discomfort around them as she plucked one of the sticks from where it was poked into the dirt and offered it to Luz, who visibly flinched when the eye on its back blinked at her.
"Uh… I'll pass," she said, not even trying to hide the disgusted look on her face. Eda shrugged and held the rat out to Amity instead. She suppressed a shudder and swallowed down the nausea climbing up her throat.
"Thanks but I'm uh… not that hungry." Eda rolled her eyes and sat back with the skewered rat.
"More for me I guess. Kids these days. Don't appreciate good old fashioned home cooking."
They awkwardly watched her dig into her questionable meal for a moment, looking for all the world as if absolutely nothing unusual was going on, but the drawn out, tense silence was too much for Luz and she groaned loudly.
"Eda ." She glanced over at them and huffed, lowering her 'breakfast' with an annoyed sigh.
"I suppose you wanna talk?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at them and Luz gaped at her in shock.
"Well… yeah!" She drawled, staring at Eda incredulously. Eda leaned forward, resting an elbow on her knee as she took another bite out of her rat.
"Ok, well how about you fill me in on what exactly happened last night? Coz I'm drawing a blank. Last thing I remember is gathering some roots and next thing I know I'm waking up in the tent, with a massive headache and you too canoodling next to me." Amity let out an embarrassingly high pitched "eep", burying her burning face in her hands while Luz spluttered beside her. This was becoming a very annoying pattern. Curse Eda and her love of teasing them. Stars, she was worse than the twins sometimes!
"We were not canoodling! We were just sleeping!" Luz yelped, giving Eda a scandalised glare. Eda merely smirked in response.
"Never try to con a con artist, Luz."
"Eda!" She snorted out a laugh and waved her rat at them dismissively.
"Yeah, yeah, fine. I'll stop. Now spill. What are you two doing here?" Amity caught Luz's eye and grimaced. She hadn't thought about the fact that Eda might not remember any of what had happened while she was trapped in her beast form. Knowing that made it all somehow far more tragic in Amity's mind. Eda had no idea what she had come so close to doing to them and now they were going to have to explain it to her. All while she gnawed on a very unsettling breakfast rat.
Relaying the story of the last few days to her took two more roasted rats and an entire bottle of apple blood to finish and, when it was over, Eda was worryingly quiet. She stared long and hard into the flickering flames, her eyes hollow and dark.
"I see…" she murmured after a long while. "Thank you, for coming to find me. I'm… really sorry you kids had to go through all that." When she looked up at them it was with such profound guilt and sorrow that Amity felt all the air leave her in a rush. No one spoke for a moment until Luz leaned forward to give her a plaintive look.
"Eda, what happened? Did you forget to take your elixir or something?" Eda actually looked a little insulted.
"Kid, I've been dealing with this curse for most of my life and I have never missed an elixir. At least not without outside influence." She gave Luz and King a look that made them both glance away awkwardly before she breathed out a heavy sigh. "I took my elixir like I always do but… well I haven't exactly been honest with ya. The curse is getting worse. Guess one elixir just isn't gonna cut it anymore."
That stunned them into silence once more and Luz reached for Amity's hand, squeezing it tightly.
"Eda…" She murmured sadly but Eda gave her a weak smile and waved a casual hand at her.
"Ah, don't worry about me, kiddo. I'll be fine. I always am. I'll just have to be a bit more careful with the elixirs from now on." She sat up a little and clapped her hands together. "Now, you two go pack up your things. I don't know about you but I'd like to get off this Titan forsaken mountain before we all freeze to death."
Luz seemed like she had more she wanted to say, but Amity stood, tugging her to her feet. She could tell Eda needed a minute alone so she pulled a reluctant Luz towards the tent to do as they were told. They paused at the entrance though and looked back at Eda with concern. She was staring sadly into the fire, her shoulders slumped and idly patting King's head as he leaned against her, patting her knee with one paw.
Luz caught Amity's eye and she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were thinking the same thing.
They were going to find a way to cure Eda.