Chapter 1

Luz watched the old analog clock up on the wall as the seconds ticked by one by one. Soon the school day would finally be over and she would be free to go back home, shut herself in her bedroom and indulge in some binge-watching until it was time for dinner. Fortunately with the upcoming school vacation for the holidays, she hadn't gotten much homework. It would be nice to have a break from the drudgery of public school in the human realm, even if only for one week.

The final bell rang at long last and Luz quickly got up from her desk and rushed out the door. She made a beeline to her locker so she could ditch her school books and then exit the building to embrace sweet freedom. As she made her way outside, Luz spotted her mother's car waiting out front. Camila smiled when she saw her daughter, honking the horn and waving her over.

A small part of Luz didn't want to go with her mother. She would have much rather walked home even though it would have taken a considerable amount of time. It would have been nice to get some alone time after being surrounded by her peers all day, but she didn't want to just run off on her mom. Not after… the last time she had done that.

Luz got into the back seat of the car and buckled up. Camila pulled back into traffic and when she had a moment, peeked at the rearview mirror to check on her daughter. Luz was occupying herself with a game on her phone, the sound effects of Candy Crunch just barely audible to Camila up front.

"I need to make a trip to the store before we go home." Camila informed her, hoping to start a conversation. "I was thinking of making some paella for dinner tonight. How does that sound to you?"

Luz let out a soft grunt in response, her gaze fixed on her phone's screen. It annoyed Camila a little that she couldn't even get a proper reply from her child, but she let it go. She knew she just had to keep trying if she wanted her daughter to talk.

"So how was your day?" She asked.

"It was fine." Luz replied. "Just like any other day."

"That's good…" Camila said, trailing off a little. "Did anything interesting happen?"

"No."

Camila frowned; she could detect a trace of apathy in the teen's voice and it worried her. Luz had been very quiet and reclusive ever since she had finally returned home. Despite her efforts, Camila couldn't seem to get Luz to come out of the bubble in which she had encased herself. They hardly ever spent any time together anymore, only during meals and occasions where Camila was driving Luz to school or someplace else.

The remainder of the drive was silent, save for the sound effects coming from Luz's phone as she continued to play. Camila let her be, both to let Luz have some time to unwind and to avoid distracting herself while she was driving. She kept peeking back at Luz when she got the chance though, concern in her eyes.

A few minutes later she pulled into the parking lot for Leland's, the local supermarket. She found a good spot to park and turned the engine off. When she got out of the car, she noticed that Luz was staying put, her eyes still on her phone. Camila opened the door beside Luz's seat, managing to get the girl's attention.

"Luz, we're here."

"I saw. I want to just wait in the car." Luz replied, returning her attention to her phone.

"Come on, Mija. I need to get a lot of shopping done, this won't be a quick trip."

"That's fine with me. I don't mind waiting." Luz said, getting her earbuds out of her school bag. "There's something I was planning to watch anyways."

She plugged in her earbuds and put them on, opening up the Crispyroll app on her phone. Camila let out a sigh and just dropped the subject, not wanting to waste the time. It had been like this for her far too often lately. Luz had always spent too much time with a screen in front of her, but now she was spending almost every waking moment watching something instead of interacting with other people. To call her behavior concerning was putting it mildly.

Camila hesitantly went to enter the supermarket and start on her shopping. Luz meanwhile undid her seatbelt and readjusted herself to lay across the backseat and better absorb her viewing material. She had been binging a lot of anime in the slice-of-life genre as of late. Nothing with any fantasy or magic like she'd normally prefer, it only served as a grim reminder of days gone by and that wasn't anything she needed or wanted.

After she got through a few episodes Luz noticed the trunk of the car opening through her peripheral vision. She sat back up and closed the app, putting her earbuds back into her bag afterwards. Once her mother finished loading the groceries, Luz put her seatbelt back on and found a game to play on her phone again.

"So, I ran into Amy's mom while I was in the store." Camila said, once again hoping to get Luz to talk. "She mentioned that there is a holiday dance coming up next week. How come you didn't tell me about it, Mija?"

"Forgot." Luz mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Well, it sounds like fun. I remember how much I loved going to dances when I was I school. Especially after I started dating your father." Camila said, letting out a happy sigh. "Oh, so many wonderful memories."

Luz let out a groan and pulled her hoodie over her head, pulling on the drawstrings. Camila glanced at Luz in the rearview mirror, surprised by the reaction. She once again just let the matter go, planning to address it later on once they were back home.

A short drive later, Camila pulled into the driveway. Luz was out of the car before her mother even had the chance to kill the engine. She got to the front door, unlocked it and went inside, leaving the door wide open. Camila frowned and exited the car, heading to grab a few bags of groceries from the trunk before going right inside and scolding Luz for not helping bring anything inside. As she got close to the front door, Vee stepped outside and nearly bumped into her.

"Oh, I'm sorry Vee. I didn't know you were on your way out."

"That's okay, Mama. Luz told me that you needed help with the groceries."

Camila frowned. "Of course she did." She said, peeking past Vee into the living room where she saw Luz lounging on the couch, eyes once again glued to her phone. "How helpful of her."

She stepped aside to allow Vee to go grab some more of the bags out of the trunk and then she went straight up to Luz and dropped the bags she had been carrying onto the teen's lap. Luz looked up at her, annoyed by the interruption to the series she had been watching. Camila gave her a stern glare and pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

"You don't want to bring the groceries inside? Fine. But you're helping put the food away or I'm taking away your internet privileges. Now come on, get up."

Luz grumbled and got up to do as told. She continued to grumble quietly to herself as she stomped into the kitchen, leaving her mother to shake her head and let out an exasperated sigh. Camila went back out to get more from the car, finishing the task in only a couple more trips with Vee's assistance. Then she joined Luz in the kitchen, putting all of the food away with only uncomfortable silence between herself and her child.

The rest of the day went by and Luz remained moody and reclusive. She spent the time before dinner watching more of her current series on her laptop, up on her bed. After dinner she returned there and spent the rest of the time until bed binge watching instead of joining her mother and Vee to watch an animal documentary or two. It wasn't until it was time for her to go to bed that Luz finally put her laptop away for the night.

The next few days went by very much the same. Luz would reluctantly get out of bed early to get ready to go to school, where she'd impatiently wait for classes to end. Then she'd go right home and resume watching Crispyroll as much as possible. Camila would try to engage Luz in a conversation or invite her to go do something, but she never had any interest.

The weekend arrived and Luz spent the better part of the morning lazing in her bed, her laptop open on her stomach and her anime of choice on the screen. She felt the urge to use the bathroom and paused her current episode so she could venture out of her bed for the first time since breakfast that morning. Unknown to her however, someone had been waiting for her to step out of her room. As Luz went downstairs, Vee stripped Luz's bed of the sheets and brought them to Camila.

With her objective achieved, Vee returned to her and Luz's room to enjoy some reading while Camila began heading down to start a load of laundry. She made sure to time it right so she could catch Luz as she was on her way out from the bathroom. Luz noted that her bedsheets were in her mother's arms and slowed to a stop.

"What are you doing with my sheets?"

"They need to be washed, Mija. With all the time you spend laying around in bed, I'd say that they are long overdue. Since you're finally out of bed, why don't you get dressed and we can go out and do something today? Maybe we could go to the mall."

"No thanks." Luz said almost right away. "I don't feel like going out today."

"But Mija, wouldn't you like to go and pick out something new to wear to the dance next Friday?" Camila asked.

"I don't need to, because I'm not going."

"You aren't? Why not?"

"Don't want to."

"Well that's hardly a good reason." Camila replied, placing her hands on her hips. "I think you should go. In fact, I'm telling you to or no more internet."

"Why can't Vee just go to the dance?" Luz asked, almost whining.

"Mija, your sister has plans with her friends from camp. Besides, I want you to try and make some friends too, so you can spend time with other kids your age." Camila explained. "It bothers me so much that you stay cooped up at home when you aren't at school. You haven't done anything since you stopped being grounded. Why?"

"What's the point?" Luz asked listlessly. "Nobody at my school liked me before. Why should things be different now? They're not going to want to hang out with some weirdo."

"Don't say that Cariño. You are not a weirdo."

"Yes I am! And I'm not ashamed of it!" Luz declared, anger starting to rise in her voice. "I just wish that you felt the same!"

Camila gasped in shock. "Luz! I am not ashamed of you! Never say that!"

"Then why did you want to send me to that stupid camp?!"

"Not this again." Camila sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I only did it because I wanted what's best for you! It won't be much longer until you finish school. Plus you're almost old enough to get a job."

"I had a job! And I was going to a school that I won't get to finish!"

"What, do you mean that school for witches that you ran off to?" Camila asked crossly. "And just what do you plan to do with the magic that you can't even use here?"

Luz opened her mouth to respond, but froze. Her eyes wavered slightly and her temper began to fade. She let her gaze fall to the floor, a defeated expression coming to her face. The look on Camila's face softened when she saw her daughter's change of mood. It hadn't been her intention to rub salt into the wound, she had only been bringing up a valid point. Ever since Luz had returned home, she hadn't once been able to do any magic and not from lack of trying. If it weren't for the living proof that was Vee, Camila would not have believed that Luz had learned magic at all.

"I… I-I don't know…" Luz said after a moment. "I was just so happy to get to learn it at all that I never figured out what I wanted to do with it… I hate it so much. It feels like some of the best days in my life won't amount to anything. I don't even get to see my friends from Hexside anymore…"

Tears began to fall from Luz's eyes, streaming down her cheeks. She suddenly ran past her mother, heading upstairs to her room again. Camila let out a sigh and went to follow her daughter. On her way up the stairs she bumped into Vee who was on her way down. She looked at her adopted mother with worry in her eyes.

"Is Luz okay?" She asked. "She was crying."

"I know. I'm going to talk with her now." Camila replied, stepping past Vee. "We were talking and she brought up that magic school she was going to before she started to get upset. I honestly wish I could just understand why she can't try as well with school here as she did in the Demon Realm. Has Luz ever spoken to you at all about any of that?"

"Uh-uh." Vee answered, shaking her head. "Not really. I've tried to talk to her about the Boiling Isles, but she always either ignores me or tries to change the subject. I don't try to push her though, she gets mad sometimes."

"There's something that girl isn't telling me and I'm going to find out."

Camila continued up to the second floor and went to the bedroom her children shared. The door was slightly open, the sound of Luz crying softly coming from inside. When she heard the door creaking as her mother opened it, Luz tried to stifle herself. She was on the bottom bunk, completely covering herself with the blanket. She hoped that if she stayed still and quiet then her mother would think she was sleeping and leave her be.

She felt the mattress sink as her mother sat beside her. Then her mother's hand touched her shoulder and she reflexively twitched. Camila began to gently rub Luz's shoulder, but Luz made certain to do nothing to show any further response. Luz closed her eyes and steadied her breathing to try and sell her act. Her mother pulled the blanket away and leaned over, whispering into her daughter's ear.

"I know you're not really sleeping, Mija. It's been hardly a minute since you ran up here. So you can stop pretending now."

Luz let out a sigh and turned over onto her back. "I want to be left alone for a while."

"You've been alone far too much lately, Cariño. That's the problem." Camila replied. "And to be honest, it's really making me worry about you. I'm sorry for upsetting you, but it upsets me when you push me away and I can't always be patient when that happens. I want what is best for you and to be there for you when you need help. So please, Mija, tell me what's bothering you."

After hesitating a little, Luz sat up. She looked down at the floor, staying silent for a few moments longer. Camila put an arm around her shoulder and Luz scootched closer to her mother, leaning against her.

"Mamá… so much happened when I was there. I made a lot of friends and I felt so happy with them." Luz began. "But I never told them that I was leaving and I have no way to contact them. I just disappeared on them and I feel rotten about it, almost as bad as I felt for how I hurt you when you learned I chose to stay in the Demon Realm."

"Luz…"

"I felt like I belonged there, Mamá." Luz continued, starting to tear up again. "And I was having such a great time at Hexside. I loved learning there and I want to go back so bad. But that isn't going to happen. It's like I lost the only chance I had to do something so amazing with my life and I hate it so much!"

She let out a small sob, her tears becoming more prominent. Camila gave Luz a moment to let it out, softly hushing her. Luz wiped the moisture from her eyes, sniffling a little as she attempted to get ahold of herself. It was difficult though, her mind abuzz with the memories of all the people she had left behind, especially one in particular.

"And there's something else. I… I started to date someone while I was there." Luz said, looking up at her mother and seeing a stunned expression on the woman's face. "We didn't exactly have the best start. I kinda… got her into trouble a couple times by accident. But eventually we became friends and later on we realized that we liked each other a little more than that."

"Mija, that's…" Camila began, but stopped short. She had almost said 'wonderful' but caught herself just in time. Her daughter seemed upset enough, she didn't need a slip of the tongue making things worse. "Oh Cariño, I'm so sorry."

"I really liked being around her. And I miss her so much that it makes my heart ache. I… I… think that…" Luz trailed off, looking up at her mother again. "Mom, how do you know if you're falling in love with someone?"

Camila was at a loss for words. To her, the way that Luz had been acting lately suddenly made much more sense to her. She had dealt with some rough patches in her own love life, but what Luz was going through was in a league of its own. Luz hadn't been dumped or cheated on… she had been separated from the person she liked with no way of knowing if they could ever see each other again. It was something beyond her comprehension and she couldn't think of anything she could say. But where her words failed her, she knew her actions would not. Following her maternal instincts, she pulled her child in for a hug, squeezing her tight.

Luz buried her face into her mother's shoulder and started to sob softly again. While she comforted her child, Camila took the time to think of how to address the matter. After weeks of being silent and keeping to herself, Luz was finally opening up. Camila wanted to keep her talking, but now that she knew how sensitive the matter was, she worried pressing her daughter would make her shut herself away again.

Once her daughter had calmed down, Camila got off of the bed. She knelt down on the floor, facing Luz and cupped her child's cheek with her hand. Their eyes met and Camila gave Luz the gentlest, warmest smile. The kind of smile only a mother who truly loved her child could have. Luz felt some of the sickening sorrow that had been plaguing her begin to fade away from that loving gaze, granting her a trace of comfort in its place.

"Mija, listen to me." Camila said, her voice as soft and sweet as could be. "I know you must think that I couldn't understand what you're going through, and you're right. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to help you. You know I'll do whatever I can for you."

Luz smiled and nodded, a single tear running down her cheek. Camila wiped it away with her thumb and pulled her daughter in for another hug. When it ended Camila was pleased to see some of the light returning to her daughter's eyes, the same beautiful and familiar energy which she had possessed since she was just a baby. It brought such relief to Camila that she thought she felt her own eyes starting to moisten as well.

"Gracias Mamá."

"Oh, don't thank me just yet. You're still in some big trouble for not telling me that you had a girlfriend."

"I am?" Luz asked in mild confusion. "Why am I in trouble for that?"

"A mother has the right to know when her baby starts dating. You don't have to talk about her now, but I want to hear more about this young lady who caught your attention. She must be amazing if you think you feel that strongly about her. So promise me you'll tell me all about her when you feel like you're ready to, okay?"

"Okay." Luz answered, smiling sadly. "I just wish I could introduce you to her. It bugs me so much when I think about how I never even got to tell her I was going home. It must've upset her so badly when she learned about what happened." She noted, letting her head hang slightly. "Does that make me a terrible girlfriend?"

Camila sighed. "I wouldn't say that, even though I don't know all the details. How about we go sit down in the living room and you finally fill me in on what happened the day you came home?"

Luz got up from the bed, her smile growing. The two went to exit the room, but just before they got to the door, the doorbell rang. It was almost immediately followed by the sound of someone speaking very loudly and irately, catching the attention of Luz who swore she could recognize the voice. Before she had a chance to think about it, she heard Vee's voice calling from down the stairs.

"Uh, Luz? There's an angry girl here to see you. She says she needs to give you a piece of her mind for running off and not telling her."

Luz was completely still for a moment, her mind processing what Vee had just told her. Then she was suddenly on the move, rushing out of her room and over to the staircase so quickly that she almost slipped and tumbled down when she got there. She descended halfway down the stairs, stopping as she caught sight of her visitor standing just outside the front door.

"You're really here." Luz said, her tone a mixture of disbelief and joy. "Amity…"

"There you are!" Amity blurted out, pointing an accusing finger at Luz as she stepped into the house. "You stupid, reckless, inconsiderate fool of a human! Do you have any idea how much you upset me by running off without so much as a word?!"

Despite the tone in Amity's voice, Luz was ecstatic. She bounded the rest of the way down the stairs, rushing past Vee and up to Amity. As she tackled the young witch in a big hug, Camila was making her way down to the ground floor, stopping just a few steps from the bottom to watch the scene unfolding in her house.

Amity clenched her teeth and balled her fists. For a moment she looked ready to yell at Luz again, but ended up just letting out an exasperated sigh. She wrapped her arms around Luz, squeezing her just as tightly in return.

"Darn it, I've missed you too much to stay mad at you." She admitted, moisture collecting in the corners of her eyes. "I'm so happy to see you again, you lovable dum-dum."

She pressed her lips to Luz's, catching the other girl off guard. It only lasted for a second, but it was enough to get a big reaction out of the three residents of the house. Vee and Camila both stared in stunned silence, Camila's mouth hanging open. Luz meanwhile blushed and let out an embarrassed giggle in response to her girlfriend's boldness.

"Amity!" Luz said. "My mom is standing right there!"

The color drained from Amity's face for all of a second before it lit up with an intense blush. She looked over at Luz's mother, her pupils the size of pinpoints. Her mind entered a frenzy and she stepped away from Luz and turned to fully face Camila.

"I-I am s-so very sorry!" She stammered out. "M-my name is daughter Blight and I-I've been dating your Amity… I-I mean!"

Luz pulled Amity close again, smiling at her mother. "Mom, this is my girlfriend, Amity Blight. She's the one I was just telling you about. Isn't she a cutie?"

"I am not normally that forward with your daughter, I swear!" Amity said, face still aglow. "I have complete respect for her personal boundaries."

"Yup, my Am-Am is very good to me." Luz added. "That's the first time she's ever just up and smooched me on the lips without asking."

"And it won't happen again." Amity meekly said, casting her eyes down to the floor.

"Hey, don't get ahead of yourself. I didn't mind it at all." Luz said with a playful smirk. "In fact, I just may start expecting that sort of thing more often."

Camila cleared her throat, gaining the couple's attention. Luz giggled again and let go of Amity, taking a moment to adore the expression on the other girl's face. Then she turned her attention to her mother, her eyes shining with joy. A massive smile broke out on her face and she clasped her hands together as she took a step forward.

"Mamá, could Amity stay for a bit? Please?" She asked sweetly.

"I think that would be a good idea." Camila replied, looking towards their guest. "Amity, it's very nice to meet you. I'd love to have you join us and help explain a lot of the things Luz still needs to tell me. But first I need to ask, do your parents know that you're here?"

"Well… no, but my older siblings do. They promised to cover for me, at least for a few hours. But I understand if that's not good enough."

"As long as someone knows where you are, it's alright with me. Now, why don't we sit down in the living room and get started?"

They went over to sit on the couch, Luz sitting in between her mother and Amity. Vee joined them, sitting by Camila's side on the floor. The room was silent at first, becoming uncomfortable for Amity, who smiled nervously under the woman's gaze. Camila smiled back, hoping to ease the tension she was detecting from the surprise visitor. Instead of jumping straight into the many questions she had about Luz's time in the demon realm, Camila opted to go with something a little more personal to try and break the ice.

"So, you're a real witch? You can use magic?" Camila asked.

"Yes ma'am." Amity replied with a small nod.

"And she's really talented." Luz told her mother. "Powerful too! Am-Am, show my mom some of your magic!"

"Oh, I… I couldn't."

"Sure you could!" Luz replied. "Show her something cool!"

"I will admit that I'm curious." Camila said. "I've haven't seen a lot of real magic, so it would be interesting to see anything. Don't be shy, please go right ahead."

Amity didn't need to think for long on the matter. She may have had a decent selection of spells she could show off, but if it was to impress her girlfriend's mother then she knew she had to go with her specialty. Standing back up, she lifted her hand and drew a magic circle. As she called on the living goop within the cloaked flask at her hip that she carried with her at all times, she spoke two words with confidence befitting a witch of her skill.

"Abomination, rise!"

To Be Continued