Chapter Twenty-Three
In the cave formed by the nasal concha of the Skull, the reconstructed portal sat. Machines hummed to keep it together and provide supplemental power, and Emperor Belos — formerly Philip Wittebane — walked into the circle of light it produced, removing a skull-shaped vial of violet Titan Blood from his robe.
"It must be difficult," crooned a low, sultry woman's voice. A shadow meandered over one of the cave walls and settled into the silhouette of a hooded cloak, the creases and contours lit with strange luminescence. Under the hood was a cupid's bow mouth curled into a mischievous smile. "Being so close to home and yet," she sighed dramatically, "so far away."
"Not for much longer, Collector," Belos said.
"I should hope not," she replied. "For the day has come that you fulfill your end of our little bargain." She gasped with an almost sensual pleasure and the silhouette shifted as if hugging herself. "An entire new realm, and everything that has emerged in the time I have been locked away. So much to see and hear and learn." Her smile widened. "Why not free me now and save yourself the trouble?"
"Not until I'm certain the Merging Spell has worked," Belos said with a faint wry smile of his own. "After all, this would be the most exquisite time to betray me. When my goal is only just beyond my reach."
"Such a childish thing," the Collector tutted. "The men who would have laughed at your tales of witches and demons are long dead. Why must you show such gratuitous proof to their descendents?"
"Why would I not?" Belos asked. "I put my heart and soul into these centuries of research and they would laugh me off or call me a madman. If they didn't try me for witchcraft and hang me." He snorted. "You know what it's like to desire knowledge above all. Wouldn't you wish your efforts recognized?"
"I have lived for millenia, dear Philip," the Collector noted with humor. "Why would I care for the opinions of gnats? What matters is that I know." She chuckled darkly. "For who could deny my word?"
"It's about more than that," Belos said. "It is about peace."
"Still sore over your big brother's death?" the Collector gently teased. "Three centuries is quite a while to carry such a burden. And yet you didn't treat his descendents any better for it."
She yelped as Belos's distended, putrid-green fist smashed into the wall where her shadow stood, then slowly, wretchedly retracted as he hunched over and wrestled with his curse.
"Even after all this time," the Collector said wistfully, "that curse of yours still fascinates me. The palismen souls soothe it for a time, but only make it stronger in the long run. And yet, should you stop consuming them, the curse will certainly overtake you." She giggled girlishly. "Quite the conundrum."
"A minor setback," Belos snarled. "When I have control, I can force every single Healer to focus upon me and cure this vile thing. I will release these weepy palismen souls into the Boiling Sea and be done with them so that I may bask in the light of my achievements in peace."
"Ah yes, your master plan for peace," the Collector drolled. "The last piece of the puzzle." Her shadow passed over a stray branding glove. "The sigils that will, after today, be fused to the essences of each witch and demon who bears them." Her voice became maliciously amused. "So deeply woven into their tapestry that they will pass them on to their children."
"Covens will no longer merely be mandated," Belos sighed as his curse wound down. "They will become inevitable. Children will be born with a purpose, dictated by their parentage and fortune as much as their coloring or talents." His grin widened into something terrible to behold. "And should they step out of line, they can be handled with utmost ease in dreamless sleep." Just like the young bard who had dared to attempt to undermine him, Whispers.
"And all at the measly cost of choice," the Collector sighed.
"It is a choice to abuse their powers," Belos sneered. "A choice to harm others or extort them, or to be careless and release devastation upon their neighbors." He grimaced, baring his teeth. "This will provide the incentive to make proper choices, for the good of all. Nothing more."
"Nothing more," the Collector parroted. "Nothing more than what is dictated to them." She smiled again. "And to your human kind."
"It will give humanity an edge," Belos admitted. "Magic is such a potent weapon. Unfair, one might say. This hobble will give humanity the chance to find their feet before I enforce order."
"I suppose so many lifetimes is more than long enough to spin such poetic rationale," the Collector surmised.
"I grow bored of this pointless exposition," Belos said, glancing aside as if seeing some unseen onlookers. "You know of my goals, as do I." His fearsome smile returned. "Now is not the time for talk, but for action." He walked to the mouth of the cave to look upon the distant Children of the Isles.
"The Day of Unity has finally arrived."
"Room for one more?"
Willow — dressed in her emerald-green dress with bits of armor, its leather apron, elbow-length gloves and knee-high boots, black choker around her neck and her hair put up in a bun covered with a net of pearls — looked away from the edge of the airship to find Amity dressed in her own apprentice attire of her purple battle-gown, veil, and armored boots.
"Of course," Willow smiled, her mask in her hands. Amity nodded and moved to stand beside her, soaking in the sight of the Boiling Isles spread out beneath them. It made their problems, for the briefest time, seem small. And yet something was missing …
Clover buzzed over and settled on Willow's head while Ghost wound around Amity's legs with a contented purr until she reached down and picked the palisman up in her arms.
"Willow," Amity said, drawing her attention. "In case things don't go well, I want you to know I am sorry," she said. "About all of it. The bullying, the standing by … everything. I couldn't be happier to have you as a friend again."
"Thanks, Amity," Willow said, eyes shining. "But it'll work out fine. Right?"
"Right," Amity chuckled and they settled their hands close to one another's on the guardrail.
Eberwolf was watching and listening to the heartwarming scene from atop a worm and looked over at Darius with a gleam in his eye. Darius rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. I hope you don't die, Mutt." Eberwolf purred in contentment and leaned over to rub his mane against his old friend, though Darius sputtered and batted him away with grumbles of "Get off me with your bug-infested hair!"
The girls glanced over at the commotion and laughed at the coven heads' antics.
On a separate airship that would be setting down outside the arena built for the Day of Unity for its occupants to sneak in, everyone else was preparing themselves for the main event.
"So, how do I look?" Katya asked, twirling in the stolen scout uniform that the coven heads had secured for their assault.
"Girl, that uniform doesn't do you justice," Steve replied smoothly.
"Flatterer," Katya giggled. She closed the distance between them and settled her hands on his shoulders, leaning in close and propping one leg up like a heroine in a romance novel. Her flirty smile faded into a concerned line. "Steve, are you sure you're up for this? I mean, leaving the coven is one thing. But smuggling us in under their noses-"
"I'll make it happen," Steve interrupted, placing a quick kiss on her nose. "Just try to act professional and I can bluff us in."
"I like a man with confidence," Katya purred, running her palm up his neck to cradle his jaw. He sighed and leaned into the touch, and Katya's heart warmed even as it cracked a little. She got the feeling that Steve hadn't had much positive touch in a long time except for his family, whom he rarely got to see. And such a positive guy deserved better than that.
"Ehem," came a high, feminine voice. They parted to find Severine glancing between them with a decidedly neutral expression. "Hey, Steve. Can I talk to Katya for a sec?" The Cevitine demon glanced at her. "It is 'Katya,' right?"
"That's me," Katya said. "And sure." She kissed Steve's cheek in an impulse motion. "Be right back."
Severine led Katya to the edge of the airship, as far away from prying ears as possible.
"So is this where you tell me to back off?" Katya asked. "Because you're secretly in love with Steve and want him all to yourself?"
"Not exactly," Severine said, smiling wanly at the half-serious jab. "I will tell you, though, that Steve is the first friend I've had in a long time. He's kind, like so few are, and that kindness survived even the Emperor's Coven." She glanced at Steve, who was watching them carefully while trying to look like he wasn't. "And he really likes you. Even I can tell," Severine added. Then she placed an ungloved hand on Katya's shoulder and squeezed hard. "So if you break his heart," she said, quietly, lifting her other hand to bare claws, "I'll break yours. Got it?"
Katya grunted and winced, instinctively baring her fangs and massaging her shoulder when Severine let her go. But she couldn't help a chuckle that bubbled up. "Yeah, I gotcha," she said easily. "It's sweet that you care about him." She summoned her tambourine and shook the zills, magic emanating and settling over her shoulder to dull the pain. "If we don't all die, maybe we can all hang out sometime? Get you even more friends."
Severine blinked and her eyes widened with clear hope. "I, uh-" She blushed under her fur and shuffled her feet in a motion that was downright adorable. "I-I'd like that."
"Everything okay over here?" Steve asked, suddenly appearing.
"Just dandy," Katya chirped, taking Steve's hand and lacing their fingers. Severine smiled at that and nodded, too.
"Yep. Just fine."
"What a joy to see you've made such a loyal friend, Steve," Lilith commented as she walked up, Hooty extending from the pack she was carrying. She raised an eyebrow. "And I can't think of someone better for you than Katya, either."
"Yeah, you guys are cute, hoot hoot!" Hooty shrilled. He extended to close in on them, looping around to draw them into a hug and pressing their faces against his. "I'm happy to give advice, you know!"
"I'm having flashbacks," Steve whimpered. "Headbutts, wiggle dancing … tea parties …!"
"Oh Titan, I never thought I'd prefer the Conformatorium …!" Katya grimaced.
As Lilith talked Hooty into disentangling them, Severine having retreated into a fetal ball and rocking herself for comfort at the sight of the house demon wrapped around her friend, Eda and Raine were watching for yet another separate airship. Eda choked down the last of an elixir and brushed away some excess feathers before relaxing against the railing.
"Hey, I know that look," Eda said without having to look at Raine. "You're worrying." She cracked open an eye with an easy grin. "We got this, Rainestorm. Don't worry-"
"Don't," Raine said, gently, but firmly, taking Eda's hand in theirs. "Don't tell me not to worry," they finished. "Eda, we're going into a full-on battle royale. Anything could happen and anything could go wrong. There's every chance that you or I or both won't make it through this." They looked from their joined hands into her eyes. "There's a lot I have to say, and this is at the top of the list." They took a deep breath.
"I never stopped loving you, Eda." They winced and sighed, their face full of resigned sorrow. "I know it's selfish, but I had to tell you in case-" They scoffed. "In case the worst happens."
Raine tensed for a moment as Eda cupped their cheek in her hand and drew their foreheads together. "Ditto," she said quietly. Where younger couples would have sealed that with a kiss, both Eda and Raine knew there were more important things to handle at the moment. But they did allow themselves this moment to savor.
Raine was the first to break the touch, even though it cracked their heart. They looked up to find Derwin flying above the airship, speaking with his new palisman. "Derwin, could you come down here, please?" they called. He waved and flew down to settle on the deck.
"Everything alright?" Derwin asked.
"Not exactly," Raine said, though their eyes twinkled with mirth. They rubbed the back of their head in a showing of their usual nervous gesture. "It seems that in all the brainwashing and rebellion planning, I overlooked a small detail of the Day of Unity." They smiled wider. "I forgot to appoint an official young apprentice." They dug into a pocket of their vest and removed a teardrop concealment stone. "Now I don't have time to arrange a full uniform, and I really like the BATs style anyway, so I took a leaf from Ms. Emira's book and asked Steve to whip up an illusion for the day. The thing is, I need to offer it to a student of mine that I trust to hold their own."
They offered the stone to Derwin, resting in their palm.
"Derwin, would you become the Merry Minstrel?"
Derwin blinked wide eyes behind his pince-nez and looked down at the stone in Raine's hand. He swallowed and delicately plucked it up to look upon it with awe. "I-" His throat closed up and tears threatened to fall. "I'd be honored, Raine," he said, the words hoarse.
He pinned the concealment stone to his lapel, and the illusion of a full classical maestro's suit settled upon him: a dress coat with long coattails, crisp white dress shirt, pressed black slacks, dress shoes, and white gloves. His hair appeared to be swept back from his forehead to curl around his ears … and a cloth mask stretched from his shirt collar to rise up to his hairline and hide his identity.
"Your orders, Head Witch?" Derwin asked, his voice the same.
"Stand ready for the operation," Raine said, "my apprentice."
Derwin saluted and tapped the concealment stone under the illusion to disperse it and conserve its stored power. Raine placed his hand on Derwin's shoulder and smiled proudly.
"Should I be offended that you didn't choose me?" Amber called from the steering wheel with teasing affront.
"Would you believe I want you covering Katya and Steve?" Raine called back. "Can't have their young romance distracting them in the battle."
Everyone laughed at that, and said young lovers sneezed together on the first airship.
On the fourth and final airship in the small fleet, the volunteering students of Hexside were preparing cloaks to conceal their identities as they snuck into the arena to attack.
"Ready to cause trouble, guys?" Viney asked as she slipped her cloak on.
"The ultimate trouble," Jerbo chuckled nervously.
Born ready, Barcus growled, securing vials of potions under his own cloak.
"This is gonna be pretty crazy," Skara said, approaching the Troublemakers with Amelia and Cat in tow. "It's not like grudgby or flyer derby." Her smile became strained. "If we lose … we're all gonna die."
"It won't come to that," Viney said, her voice ringing with confidence even as her eyes were not so sure.
"Well, we should probably say goodbye just in case," Amelia pointed out, drawing close to Jerbo and kissing him on the lips.
"Sounds good to me," Quincey said from behind Skara, and she yelped and whirled around with a giggle to throw her arms around the Rafinesque demon and bury her face into his chest.
Romance, Barcus scoffed teasingly.
"Don't knock it," Cat said, smiling as she took in the couples. "It's gonna get crazy soon." She looked over at the rest of the volunteers, almost all of them having been fast friends of Willow during grudgby season.
Celine was polishing her crystal ball as she talked to Ira and Bo, smiling and reaching up to jerk Ira's beanie down over his eyes over something he said. Bo laughed as Ira struggled to right his hat and scoffed before summoning his staff, capped by his rat palisman Ricky, and flying off for some air with what little dignity he could. He'd be back in a few minutes, apologize, and it would be water under the willow trees.
Ladon and Edwin, the demon with his two eyes stacked on top of each other, were comparing vials of potions they'd purchased from the Owl Lady's potion supplier Morton, with the Bat Queen's donated snails, to arm themselves for the coming fight. Their palismen, Frank the frilled lizard and Fidget the bat.
Hugo and Tuck were talking and laughing, shoving each other like the boys they were as they polished their staffs. There was nervous tension in their postures, but they were clearly trying to keep their nerves for what was coming.
Finally, Mattholomule was sitting alone and looking at a pair of photos, his weasel palisman hanging over his shoulders. Cat looked at Barcus and jerked her head in Matt's direction and they moved toward him.
"Everything okay?" Cat asked as Barcus plopped down next to Matt.
"Fine," Matt said shortly. Cat looked over his shoulder to find a photo in each hand. One was clearly a family photo. In addition to a younger Matt, it had a pretty girl with a single horn, a handsome guy a few years older with a horn on the opposite side of his forehead, a kind-looking woman, and a heavily-built man with a faint scowl.
The other was of Matt and Gus at some place full of statues. Matt was rolling his eyes with a fond smile while Gus presented some strange symbol to the Zogra demon.
"He'll be okay," Cat said, sitting to Matt's other side from Barcus, making room for a small drawstring pouch at his hip that seemed to hold something round. She wasn't sure why she was trying to console Mattholomule — she barely knew the guy and he was far from her usual social circle — but it felt right to do. Maybe it was part of the urge that drove her to be a healer.
"Yeah," Matt said dully. "But will we be?"
"I dunno," Cat admitted, adjusting her glasses. "But I do know that we'll do everything we can to get out of this. Right?"
"Sounds like something corny that Luz the human would say," Matt scoffed, though he smiled as he did.
That's good, Barcus yipped. It gives us hope.
Cat smiled and stood up, leaving Barcus with Matt as she looked at the final two teens on this airship: the captain of the Banshees and the final former Golden Guard. Boscha and Jasper.
It was obvious to anyone who knew Boscha as more than an arrogant bully that she had her three eyes for the grimwalker. Jasper seemed to be unsure of how to handle that and so rebuffed her affections. And yet he remained close to her and seemed to lean on her for strength since that crazy spell to see the Emperor's memories. The Banshees had kind of adopted him as one of their own after Boscha had told them all the horrible stuff that they had seen from Belos's head, and he'd stayed with each of them in the time since to make him harder to track down by the Emperor's Coven.
At the moment, the pair were whispering to each other, apparently arguing. But it was more like an old couple than anything serious, and Cat decided to let it be. Instead, she approached Celine and asked her aside.
"Have you tried to See what's coming?" Cat asked.
"It's just like before," Celine reported, tracing a spell circle over her crystal ball and showing dark, grey fog. "No one knows for sure why we can't see past this day." Her mouth pinched into an adorable scowl. "But I'll bet anything that Belos had something to do with it."
"That sucks," Cat said. She looked over the Hexolios, as luz would call them, and then to the distant airships holding more of them, rebels, and coven heads. "Guess we're going in blind. The old fashioned way."
"We'll be alright," Celine assured her.
"I thought you couldn't See this future?" Cat asked.
"It's not magic," Celine giggled. "Just … a feeling."
SHE IS NEAR, SON. YOU MUST BE READY.
King jerked awake, his breathing ragged and his fur standing on end.
"It's okay, King," Luz soothed. "Just a nightmare."
King looked up to find Odalia in the exact same place and pose she'd been in when he fell asleep, her arms and ankles crossed, her eyes downcast, and leaning against the railing near the front of the airship.
Gus was fiddling with the amplifying mirror he'd received from Head Witch Carrol, clearly nervous about the coming battle.
The Blight brother, Edric, was trying to comfort the palismen, who were huddled in a pile and shivering in their fitful sleep.
Hunter was flitting around Alador, pulling levers and flipping switches in his agitation to help.
"I know how to fly a ship," Alador said testily.
"Then you can fly faster," Hunter snapped. "Your daughter's headed for a war to save the Boiling Isles, not to mention everyone else any of us care about!" He leaned in. "Maybe if I took the wheel-"
"Don't even think about it, Golden Guard," Alador growled.
"Hey, at least I never built him an army!" Hunter fired back.
"Watch your tone, young man," Alador said with deadly calm. More arguing followed, with Gus getting involved and Edric trying to mediate with little success.
"We're doomed," Odalia said, her voice hollow. "How could we ever stop Belos when we can't stop fighting each other?"
King winced at the selfsame thought in his own head.
"What would Willow do?" Luz asked herself wistfully. Then she blinked and seriously considered the question. She would probably do whatever her mom would do. She'd realized long ago that Willow was much like Camila Noceda, and she hoped to one day introduce them. There was no doubt they'd get along better than anyone in history.
Mija, pain makes everyone want to lash out. And hunger is a kind of pain. So to help people calm down, sometimes all they need is good food.
Luz opened a container and smiled at the contents. She nudged it forward and called for attention, opening it again to reveal bread, cheese, and apples. Gus's stomach growled and Edric laughed quietly.
"Okay, we're all clearly exhausted and terrified. So let's relax, eat, and think about our next move."
There was a chorus of agreement and the food was doled out. Hunter and Gus fist-bumped over bread, and Alador offered Hunter the wheel as a silent peace offering. Then he took an apple and moved to Odalia, offering it to her. She looked at the fruit and then up into Alador's eyes … and daintily took it in hand to take a big, very unladylike, bite out of it.
"Wow, that was quick," King said.
"Willow told me once that there's always a way to help," Luz said. "The trick is waiting for the right opportunity."
"That's pretty cool," King said. "I'll have to remember that."
Then he settled back down and prepared to nap. They still had a ways to go before they arrived at the Skull. And he wanted to be as rested as possible to protect his family.
Chapter twenty-three, everyone! Lots of character interactions and build-up, and it was very fun to write!
*We finally meet my take on the Collector. She'll appear again, I'm sure you can tell. In the meantime, what do you think of her first impression?
*Derwin becoming Raine's official apprentice is a long time coming. If you'll recall, I've referred to him as Raine's star pupil before. I have no canon details to base this on - I just like the idea since he received the least characterization in the show itself.
*To refresh everyone's memory: Celine is the moon-headed Oracle girl - Ladon is the reptilian kid in the Potions track - Hugo is the bird-looking kid who shouts 'Go Willow!" - Quincey is Skara's bat-like boyfriend - Tuck is the Beastkeeping kid with the bowl haircut - Bo is the Healing girl with the freckles in the HAS - and Edwin is the kid in WILW who got the eggplant that looks like him.
*I didn't in a million years expect Cat to be the narrator of the students segment, but I'm not at all displeased with it!
*The comment of the rest of the students being "fast friends of Willow" is a nod to the fact that all but Ira were the crowd having fun at the beginning of "Wing It Like Witches."
*The new palismen in this chapter - Ricky, Frank, and Fidget - were named for various minor Disney characters. Ricky was named after Frederick Frederikson III, AKA Fred, from "Big Hero 6," mostly because he's a gangly, goofy blond guy with a beanie, like Ira. Frank is named after the frilled lizard in "The Rescuers Down Under." Finally, Fidget is named after the loyal minion in "The Great Mouse Detective." - credit to my brother for that reference!
*Zogra demons are like cameras, seen in "Once Upon A Swap" taking Luz/Eda's mugshot. The term is part of the word "Zografiki," the Greek for "painting."
*I did not expect Cat to be the unofficial narrator of part of this chapter. But i'm happy with how it turned out.
*Luz thinking, "What would Willow do" is to pay homage to one of my favorite scenes in the series that really, really demonstrates that Willow is the Team Mom of the Hexsquad. She deserves it! And did you notice that Edric took Amity's words in my version? Teehee!
As always, I hope this was a fun read! Leave a review if you like! And may your own works be as fun to read as to write!