Chapter Nine
"I am at your service, Emperor Belos."
The Golden Guard knelt before his uncle's throne and waited for instructions. Back when he had been akin to a special agent, this had been how he had received his assignments. Becoming head of the coven had not changed that, though it had cut down on the number of personalized assignments he was given as he acclimated to more common duties of a head witch.
"The time has come to redeem yourself, Hunter," Belos said.
"How so, Uncle?" he asked, the use of his given name a cue to relax just a bit with the titles.
"My curse is rearing its head again, and I will need palismen to maintain my true self." Belos paused. "After your … exemplary work at Hexside, I feel you can again be trusted with such a delicate task."
"I-" Hunter swallowed against a suddenly dry mouth, Lil Rascal's inert weight under his cloak suddenly like a millstone around his neck. "Of course, Uncle."
"Good," Belos said, rising from his throne. "And while I do trust you to succeed, I have decided to grant you a partner in this task." Before Hunter could ask who, the doors of the throne room swung open to admit Lady Feronia and the Silver Belle. Hunter's stomach twisted as his question was answered.
"Emperor Belos," Lady Feronia greeted. "I take it you wish to borrow my apprentice again?"
"Indeed," Belos said coldly. "The Golden Guard has been given a very specific task of critical importance, and I feel her gifts would be suited to searching out … products of the Isles' flora."
"As you wish, Emperor," Lady Feronia said gravely. "Is there any way I may be of service in the meantime?"
"Perhaps you might convene with members of my own coven to feel out their use of plant magic," Belos said, his tone weary. "Or whatever else you may need from them."
"By your leave, my Emperor," Lady Feronia said. The Golden Guard stood from his kneeling position and waited a moment for Belos to flick his hand in permission. He nodded and spun on his heel to escort the ladies from the throne room. As he guided them, Hunter's back was tense, waiting for one of his uncle's ubiquitous last-minute subtle threats.
None came … which was somehow just as bad as if one had.
The doors shut with their usual boom and Lady Feronia traded a glance with the Silver Belle. "I'll be here until sundown if you need me, Dear. If not, report to the coven house when your mission is over." With that she nodded faintly to the Golden Guard and left without another word.
There was silence as neither witchling moved before, "Hunt-" Hunter took Willow's arm to silence her and began guiding her away from the throne room. He led her through and out of the castle — ignoring any coven scouts who asked after him or tried to tease him for spending time with a girl like a regular teen — across the drawbridge and well into the forest surrounding the castle before he let her arm go and braced himself against a tree as if her were sick.
"Hunter?" Willow tried again, removing her mask before she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Did I hurt you?" he asked, his voice broken.
"What?" Willow asked in surprise. "No, I'm fine." And she was; his grip on her arm had been firm enough to guide her along, but gentle enough to prevent pain. "What's wrong? Is it the Emperor's mission for us?"
"Yes." The word was terse and filled with self-loathing.
Willow narrowed her eyes and took Hunter by the shoulders to turn him around to face her. She lifted a hand to his mask and paused, gaze flicking to the eye slits for permission, and he nodded faintly. She slipped the mask off, taking his hood down too to reveal his disheveled ash-blond locks … and his expression wracked with agony. "Hunter … what's the mission?"
"He wants you to help me-" he grimaced even more deeply, "-to capture palismen."
Willow gasped, her hand covering her mouth. "Hunter … what does he do with them?"
Hunter fell back to lean against the tree. "He- He uses them to manage his curse, kind of like Eda's elixirs."
"And how does he do that?" Willow asked, dread pooling in her belly.
"He … consumes them," Hunter whispered.
"He-?" Willow seized up, her thoughts frozen with horror. "He what? How?!"
"He snaps or cracks them open and absorbs their magic," Hunter said, his face visibly paling. Lil Rascal peeked out from his cloak and twittered before fluttering to his shoulder and nuzzling his jaw. Hunter, though, turned away from the cardinal and hung his head in shame.
"Hunter, it's okay," Willow said, moving to lean back against the tree too and taking his hand. "We can figure this out."
"Uh huh, yeah," Hunter said, his voice thready and distant. Then he pushed off the tree, took a few steps, and knelt to begin peeling back soil and dirt from the ground with his gloved hands.
"What are you doing?" Willow asked.
"Oh, it's simple really," Hunter said, looking back at her with an alarming gleam in his eyes. "Belos wants palismen to eat for his curse, right?"
"Right …" Willow said, her tone fearful for her love.
"Well, after the Hexside thing I thought we were past my first utter failure," Hunter continued, "but there's no way I can do this. And I can't go back empty-handed-" he broke off into unhinged laughter before falling to his hands, "-not again." Willow's heart ached at the despair in his voice. "Long story short, this," he pointed down, "is my grave." He looked back at her again. "Thought I'd save everyone the trouble, y'know?"
Willow stared at Hunter in horror. He was serious! She walked around to his front and drew him up by the shoulders to his feet with a minor effort. "Hunter, please stop," she said, her voice hoarse with emotion.
"Gotta be useful," Hunter said, gently shifting to break free of her hold. "Gotta-!" He grunted as Willow's hold on his shoulders changed into a strong hug, her face buried in his chest.
"Hunter, please," she repeated, "you're scaring me."
Hunter blinked a few times and returned the hug around her waist, taking comfort in Willow's soft presence. He leaned his head against the top of her hair, the smooth, dark tresses as comforting as a warm bed. He began to calm … but the implications of their mission still sat upon his shoulders, and he felt tears begin to well up.
"It's okay, Hunter," Willow, said, running her fingers through his hair as she shushed him. "We'll find a way out of this."
"How?" he asked, the word so broken it could draw blood. "Willow, I can't fail again. Not after last time." His arms tightened around her, the tears kept falling. "And that means you're in danger, too," he said.
"We'll find a way," Willow repeated. "If adventures with Luz have taught me anything, it's that there's always a way out of crazy situations." She chuckled and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "I mean, one time when Owlbert flew away, we-" Willow cut off as an idea struck her. "I know what we can do," she whispered.
"What?" Hunter asked, leaning back to look at her. "What are you talking about?"
"Hunter, do you remember when those coven guards were following us and we-" she blushed, "-we got out of it by kissing." He nodded. "Do you remember what I asked you?"
"If I trust you," he said.
"Is that still true?" she asked.
Hunter blinked in surprise, but looking into those emerald eyes, he could only say, "Yes."
"Then trust me," she said, the words a sigh of relief as she took his hand in hers. "We're going to change clothes into something more casual … and then visit someone who knows more about palismen than anyone on the Isles."
"See ya, girls!" Cat shouted to her teammates. It had been a grueling grudgby practice, but then they all were. Boscha had been pushing the girls to keep their freehanded magic honed to a razor's edge, as using staffs was forbidden in grudgby. That meant that Skara, Amelia, and even Boscha herself had to leave their palismen to watch from the sidelines. The little critters' squeaky cheers had been just too adorable, though.
Before Cat could ruminate on that too long, the sound of her name being called drew her from her thoughts. She looked up to find Celine Sliver sitting on the front steps of Hexside, dressed in a sky-blue turtleneck whose sleeves covered her hands just as her Hexside uniform would and dark trousers, her ever-present yellow bow tied around one horn. Cat straightened her red off-the-shoulder shirt and brushed dust from the locker room off of her white pants before approaching.
"Hi, Cat," Celine said with a cheery wave, her sleeve swaying from the motion.
"Hey, Celine," Cat replied and they shared a friendly hug.
"Bo couldn't make it?" Celine asked.
"She had something to do with her moms," Cat replied. "She let us know before practice." Cat took a breath and rubbed her temples, her head pounding and her bile sac throbbing.
"Look," Celine said, suddenly concerned, "if you need to go home and rest, that's perfectly-"
"I'm fine," Cat said with a forced grin. "Celine, we haven't hung out in weeks." She flicked a hand to wave off her friend's concerns. "I used to go through this every practice, it's fine."
Celine pouched her lips in consideration before nodding. "If you say so," she conceded.
"I do say so," Cat said with a more natural smile. "I just need some food, and I'll be fine." With that, they began to make their way toward Bonesborough proper. "So, Celine, you got your palisman in the last round, right?"
Celine smiled and summoned her pale-wooden staff, which retracted into her palisman reminiscent of a stag standing on her sleeved palm. "This is Hart," she said, and the stag shied in a clopping circle before leaning over the edge of Celine's hand to examine Cat. Cat slowly reached out with her palm out and let Hart sniffle her before he shook his head, antlers rattling, and nodded before bounding up his partner's arm to settle on her shoulder.
A comfortable silence settled over the friends as they drew ever nearer to the city itself, only broken when they emerged from the cobbled forest path and beheld the taller buildings. The Fengari demon placed a hand to her temple and closed her single eye, expression locked into the appearance of intense focus. "I sense … that you are very hungry."
Cat's stomach took that moment to growl and both girls giggled. "Don't need to be an oracle to sense that," Cat noted, and led the way to a familiar deli. They seated themselves and began looking over the menu. "I'm glad we could find time for this," Cat said.
"Me too," Celine replied, folding her menu. She always got the same thing, only checking the menu out of a sense of routine. "We haven't had much time to spend together since … everything."
"Everything" being Cat joining the Banshees and Boscha's clique, the events of Grom, Celine becoming acquaintances with Willow as well as Boscha … really, it had been a lot in a short time.
Before Celine could say more, she blinked at the feeling of some familiar auras in their midst. She glanced around and saw Augustus Porter and … Mattholomule. Matt looked away when he saw she was looking, then looked back as if he'd just noticed her and waved, his cheeks practically glowing. Celine smiled and waved back.
"Isn't that the guy you went to Grom with?" Cat asked.
"He is," Celine said. "He was also part of my palisman adoption group."
"So why aren't you two …?"
"He was kind of a jerk before," Celine admitted, running her sleeved fingertips over the left side of her face where there was no eye in a nervous gesture. "Though, he's mellowed out lately." She smiled. "Probably because he's been hanging out with Augustus."
"So there's a possibility…?" Cat asked rhetorically. She glanced at Mattholomule and nodded with a grin. "I think you two would be cute. I mean, maybe not Amelia and Jerbo cute, but pretty close."
"They finally made it official?" Celine asked in surprise.
"Not yet," Cat said, shaking her head wryly. "Jerbo just needs to get himself together and realize she's waiting for him." She chuckled. "I never would have guessed Amelia would be so patient for a guy." Her expression shifted into something more neutral. "Speaking of cute couples … you're friends with Willow, right?"
"Not great friends, but yes," Celine replied. "We're friendly. Why?"
"Is she still with that Hunter guy?" Cat asked. "I mean, they seemed really … intense, but after he left Hexside …" She trailed off, drumming her fingers against her drink. "I guess I'm just curious, is all."
"They're still together as far as I know," Celine replied. "Though I'm not sure why you're not asking Amelia. She and Willow talk in class about it sometimes. At least, Willow told me that once."
Cat blinked. "Oh, right. They're in the same class." She laughed. "Man, where is my brain today?"
"Exhausted," Celine said with a deadpan look. "And in need of fuel." She waved over a server. "So let's fix that, hmmm?" She looked around before smiling smugly. "What about you and Pall Piton at Grom?" she asked, and Cat groaned fondly.
"We're near the Owl House, right?" Hunter asked.
"Kind of," Willow said, her voice trembling a little. These woods were old-growth and kind of intimidating, even if she'd been here once before. She wasn't proud of it, but she had her arms wrapped around one of Hunter's — ostensibly to lead him along, but mostly for comfort.
After Hunter's breakdown, she'd had him remove his cloak and regalia to reveal the somewhat less formal dark clothes and goldenrod vest he wore beneath. Then they'd mounted Lil Rascal and flown to her house, where she'd changed into one of her casual dresses before they flew here.
"And who are we meeting again?" Hunter asked, his tone wary.
"You'll see," Willow replied as they neared the huge hollow tree that was their destination. "I just hope she's home."
"She?" Hunter asked, mind whirling. They entered the cave-like trunk that Hunter silently dubbed a "lair" and walked in with his question unanswered. "Are these bones?" Hunter asked at the sounds their steps were making.
"I prefer to think of them as crunchy twigs," Willow said. "Please don't ruin that."
Hunter shrugged and they carried on for a few moments before some small creatures barred their path. They resembled witch heads with bat wings and tiny legs, tufts of dark hair on their heads and burning red eyes glaring at them with something like hostile curiosity.
"Her babies," Willow said. "That means she's probably-"
Willow was interrupted by a loud thud of something landing in the shadows of the lair floor. Something big, that loomed before them before taking a step forward to reveal a pale, clawed foot. A few more steps revealed a creature resembling a more mature, female form of the "babies". Long, greasy, black hair framed a round, sharp-featured face with those same burning eyes.
"The Bat Queen," Hunter whispered.
"Yes indeed," the Bat Queen said. She looked at Willow and narrowed her eyes. "You, I know. Why have you come here, child?"
"Honored Bat Queen," Willow said, stepping forward from Hunter and clasping her hands before her. "We have come to ask for your wisdom, or even your help."
The Bat Queen gave a low growl until Clover and Lil Rascal emerged from their partners' clothes and perched on their heads. Both palismen's eyes glowed with that white-gold light that was mirrored in the Bat Queen's as they communicated for several long moments. When she blinked the glow away, she hissed at them.
"Bad enough the Golden Guard intrudes on home," she spat. "But you help cursed Emperor murder palismen!"
"I don't want that!" Hunter shouted, his temper rising faster than he'd ever felt it. "But the Emperor won't stop until he has what he wants. There has to be something you can do!" He winced at the similar words to what he had told those wild witches he and Willow had captured not too long ago.
Lil Rascal nuzzled Hunter's jaw before fluttering toward the Bat Queen. She held out a wingtip for him to perch on and listened to his tweets and warbles. "Why would you devote yourself to a murderer?" she asked, the scorn heavy but her voice gentle. Lil Rascal twittered again, and the Bat Queen's eyes widened. "Ah, I see." She flicked her wing and Lil Rascal returned to perch on Hunter's outstretched hand.
"Scharlaken vouches for you, boy," the Bat Queen announced. "What you ask is not so easy to help." She hummed in thought and her eyes glowed, revealing the glow of hundreds of palismen in the canopy above. Hunter's mouth fell open before he ducked his head down and shielded his eyes. 'What Belos wouldn't give to find this place,' he thought miserably, and vowed to take this secret to his grave if he had to remove and burn his memory of the lair.
Hunter lifted his head at the feel of Willow taking his free hand, her eyes soft with understanding. He could feel that she knew what he was thinking, no oracle magic necessary. He smiled wanly and drew her closer, resting his forehead against hers.
"Ah, young love," the Bat Queen noted with a shadow of a smile. But inside, she was considering Hunter's reaction to her protectorates. He seemed to deny them, refusing to count or even look at them as if he could forget and never reveal them. That showed promise. "Palismen tell me you tried to take them from the schoolyard, boy. That even after many a setback, you prepared to strike down the small human to take them to your master. But when given the last chance, you did not make chase. Why?"
"It wasn't right," Hunter said simply, though his complexion was a little green. "Before then, all I thought was that palismen were dangerous pieces of wild magic. Just as the Emperor had always taught me. But the mission in Latissa showed me that they are bright, emotional creatures that deserve to live."
"And then Scharlaken chose you," the Bat Queen surmised. "He told me he had found someone after such a long time. And that person was you." The Bat Queen hummed before flapping to a higher perch, almost a crude throne. "Even so, the boy must test his worth! Through trials!" As with Luz, pits in the lair flared with pillars of flame to emphasize her words.
"I accept," Hunter said.
The Bat Queen lifted a foot and tightened it, the claws glowing with golden magic. Webs glowing with the same light rose up and lashed around Willow in the blink of an eye. "No helpsies," she said.
Willow narrowed her eyes, and then emerald light filled them. The ground trembled and the trap of webs was torn to shreds by thorny vines. "I know," she said, her tone low and dangerous, "but I won't be trapped and sidelined again."
The Bat Queen quirked an eyebrow and nodded. Her eyes flashed and Clover buzzed over to the massive demon before fluttering her wings and buzzing for Willow to join them. Lil Rascal chirped his support and fluttered to perch next to Clover, though he was angled away from the Bat Queen.
"Hunter, are you sure about this?" Willow asked.
"This was your idea," he pointed out. "And I don't even have a worse idea, much less a better one." His gaze hardened. "I won't let you get dragged down with me, Willow." He took her hand. "I can't."
Willow's eyes glistened and she released his hand to lay her hands on the sides of his face and draw him into a brief, loving kiss. "I believe in you," she whispered against his lips.
"If mushies are over," the Bat Queen said, "let the trials begin!"
Two hours later, and Hunter was splayed out on his back, breathing heavily. The Bat Queen's "trials" had amounted largely to household chores, from getting rid of an infestation of Loraft moles — creatures bigger than him with long razor-sharp claws for digging and a nose and mouth made up of spike-laden tentacles — without hurting any of them, to clearing away flesh-eating briars that had encroached on the lair, to cleaning the Bat Queen's babies. Willow had mentioned that the last one was something Luz had done, too.
And all of it without Lil Rascal or his mechanized staff. When he'd pulled it out, the Bat Queen had used that magic of hers to scoop it up in webs and out of his reach. "No magics," she'd said. As he'd gone through the trials — acting as live bait to lure the moles out of their tunnels and out of the darker forest with his parkour skills, using gardening shears to cut away at the briars while avoiding their attempts to reel him in and feed on him, and struggling with the baby bat things to clean them with a brush — he'd realized something. The Bat Queen was known for her impossible trials, and her refusing the use of magic was probably why. Witches and biped demons relied on magic for so much that having it removed from the equation would leave them at a severe disadvantage.
But not a powerless witch like Hunter. And that thought made a grim smile arise until one of the babies had bitten him.
All the while, Willow had watched from a seat with the Bat Queen, chewing on her nails when she wasn't cheering or shouting support. Clover had perched on her right shoulder and Lil Rascal on her left, the palismen offering their support, too.
"Last trial is done," the Bat Queen proclaimed. She hummed a growl and sighed before descending back to the lower ground, followed by Willow who took her place next to Hunter. "Babies, get branch for Mama."
The bat babies chittered and screeched as they flew up into the canopy. There was a loud crack and a large branch was falling toward the Bat Queen, only to be stopped mere inches from her by an aura of red magic. The Bat Queen looked down to find Hunter suspending it with his mechanized staff, his gaze focused as he lowered the giant branch to the ground before her.
"Unnecessary," the Bat Queen said, then her gaze softened. "But appreciated." Hunter nodded and retracted his staff before slipping it back into his belt. With that, the Bat Queen lifted a claw again, but rather than conjuring webs the branch was lifted into the air and began to crumble into dust. Well, some of it. What remained were a collection of a dozen wooden carvings resembling inactive palismen.
"And now for not so easy," the Bat Queen said. Then she grimaced and her cheeks ballooned as if she were ready to vomit. She made a series of hacking coughs, like a cat getting rid of a hairball, before her cheeks filled again and she spat up a stream of green, glowing fluid that poured over the carvings … and then began to soak into them. The wooden figures glowed with the same light as the goo soaked into them and disappeared like water poured over sand.
The Bat Queen grunted and fell to a knee, sweat beading her brow. "Bat Queen!" Willow shouted, rushing up and reaching to place her hands on the giant demon's forehead to check her temperature. "Are you alright?"
"No, but will be," the Bat Queen replied. "Must rest and recover. Only time can help."
"… You're a palisman," Hunter whispered.
"Yes …" the Bat Queen said. "More know now than in centuries, boy. Must not tell."
Horror wracked Hunter as he unwillingly imagined what Belos would do if he knew there was such a massive palisman out her in the woods. The Bat Queen could keep his curse at bay for weeks, maybe even months … and the Emperor would not hesitate for a moment to do so. "Must not tell," he agreed. Then he looked down at the wooden statuettes. "So what are these?"
"They are not-palismen," the Bat Queen explained. "But filled with power like palismen. My power."
Hunter ran the factors in his head for a moment. "He probably won't even tell the difference," Hunter said. "And even if he does, he's got no other alternatives." Hunter began pacing as he ran the numbers. Once upon a time, a single palisman a week had kept the curse at bay, aside from a few slip ups where Belos's rampant emotions allowed it control and … accidents happened. He winced as a few phantom pains flared up at the thought. But the curse had been getting worse, which is why they'd burned through the reserves so fast of late. And these … faux palismen might not have the potency of regular ones.
"Lil Rascal, could you do this?" he asked. "Make these?" Lil Rascal twittered laughter. "Ah, yeah," Hunter said, rubbing the back of his head. "You are smaller than her." He pressed his lips tight and ran his hands through his hair as he continued to think.
"Bat Queen," Willow asked, her eyes on Hunter, "how often could you do this?" She looked from Hunter to the Bat Queen. "If it meant protecting your palismen from the Emperor's attention?"
The Bat Queen shuddered. "Not often," she admitted before looking up. "But if I and others try, just might keep up large number."
"What are you saying?" Hunter asked, approaching the Bat Queen to look up at her.
"To keep white pigeons away," the Bat Queen said, "we will trust small witchlings." She flapped a wing that conjured a small whirlwind, lifting the faux palismen into Hunter and Willow's arms. "Take them and keep cursed Emperor appeased."
"Thank you," Hunter said, "Old One."
The Bat Queen's eyes widened and she wobbled to her feet. "Have not heard such term in many years, but for oldest allies." She gave a small, genuine smile. "Love redeems, does it not?" Hunter and Willow blushed and looked at each other before softly smiling. "Listen to heart, and one who holds it, and you will never stray too far from right path." Hunter and Willow took each other hands. "Go now."
They did.
"So you have returned," Belos said.
"We have," the Golden Guard and Silver Belle said in flat unison. They knelt and spread the wooden figures across the floor of the throne room. Belos trod heavily down the steps and stopped before them. Hunter scooped one up and offered it to his uncle, who snatched it and held it over his masked face before crushing it in his grasp. Green magic poured from the wood and into the eyes of the mask, and he breathed deeply.
"Ah, that's better," he sighed. "I knew you could do better, Hunter." Then he looked at the Silver Belle. "And you have done well … Willow." The Silver Belle tensed and Belos allowed himself a shot of satisfaction at that. The Titan's will had been clear that these two must not be separated, but it was imperative that the girl know her place. He placed a hand to his chin in thought before nodding. "As a reward for your success, both of you may have tomorrow free from your duties. You may inform Lady Feronia as you see fit." He turned away from them and ascended the steps to his throne. "Good day."
The apprentices rose and bowed at the waist before departing. As they did, Belos looked up at the Titan's bile sac … and noticed a single white lily growing upon it. A quick effort of will and the flower was torn away and shredded. 'Twice is coincidence,' Belos thought, even as he glanced backward at the doors. He had a feeling another pattern was already emerging.
I've been looking forward to writing and posting this one for weeks, y'all. So glad you finally get to see it!
*As a reminder, Celine is the name given by the show's creators to the "Moon girl" in the Oracle track (the one that sparred with Willow in "The First Day" among other appearances). Her last name, Sliver, is from me and relates to the "sliver" of moon being visible at the crescent phases, plus it's close to "silver" which is often thematically tied to the moon.
*A lot of character friendships I'm building on are based on "Enchanting Grom Fright".
*The idea of Celine being acquainted with Boscha comes from the photo montage at the end of "EGF". She was posing with Bo and Boscha in a few photos before Matt photo-bombed them. For the sake of this story, Bo is basically friends with everyone and was the middleman between boscha and Celine. *Celine joining Willow's friend group is based on "Wing It Like Witches" where she's a part of the crowd Willow is entertaining at the beginning.
*Celine actually DID dance with Matt at Grom and he was looking awkward and blushing. Then came the photobomb, which led to Celine thinking he's kind of a jerk...
*Cat being with Pall piton came from the "EGF" photo montage.
*Loraft moles are named for HP Lovecraft, the father of cosmic horror. Think of them as the huge moles from the season 2 intro of "Rick & Morty," but with masses of tentacles on their faces - reminiscent of Cthulhu, hence their name.
As always, leave a review if you liked it! They make me happy! And may your own works be fun and fast to create!