The Warehouse

by RySenkari

After Luz bumps into Amity yet again, the two have their typical passive aggressive conversation and part ways as usual... but when Amity pursues a dangerous fugitive and Luz follows, the girls find themselves in a situation that will force them to be more than rivals, and maybe even more than friends.

Luz smiled as the setting sun illuminated her walk through the streets of town. She was making her way back to the Owl House after a long day of sightseeing and strolling through the market, trying to learn as much about the world as she could to prepare for another day of lessons from Eda. It had been an extraordinary few weeks to be sure. She'd experienced things that she'd only read about in her fantasy books before, and had even made some new friends... Eda, King, Willow, Gus... and maybe Amity, even if the star witch student didn't see her the same way.

As she walked past the library, it reminded her of Amity, and the adventure the two had had together underneath the light of the Wailing Star. Luz had seen a different side of Amity that day... a friendly, caring, almost heroic side, and wanted to see more of it, even if Amity didn't want to let that part of herself show.

I know I can be friends with Amity if I keep working at it. And I hope she likes the book I lent her. Actually, I know she'll like the book I lent her, it's the Good Witch Azura! She's almost as big a fan of Azura as me!

The door to the library opened, and Luz was both surprised and delighted to see the very person she was thinking of step out.

"Amity?"

Amity noticed Luz immediately, and after the initial look of surprise, her expression once again hardened, and her eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Back to the library again? Let me guess, you're here to work off the millions of shells in fines that Eda's undoubtedly racked up."

"Nah, I think King's working on those," said Luz, smiling and snorting dismissively. "What about you? Have you been reading number five? Did you get to the part where Azura befriends her rival? How about the part-"

"I'm almost finished with the book, so yes, I have gotten to that part. It's... interesting," said Amity, trying her best not to show her enthusiasm. In truth, Amity loved the book, it was her favorite one yet, and once she reached the part where Azura befriended Hecate, she couldn't put it down. She still couldn't quite see the parallels between Azura's situation with Hecate and her own situation with Luz, but she understood completely why Luz cherished the book so much. "I'll be finished with it tomorrow, and I'll stop by the... Owl Shack to give it back."

"Great! Just be careful when you knock, Hooty gets kind of testy when he smells strangers."

"I'll keep that in mind," replied Amity. "I still don't see how you think we're rivals in any way. I'm the top student at a prestigious magic school, and you know... one spell with light. You're the most talented human I've ever met, but that's like being Willow's most impressive abomination."

"Ugh, when are you gonna stop knocking on Willow? I thought you guys were friends once, and I thought you said you'd work on being nicer!" Luz put her hands on her hips as she scolded Amity, disappointed that the young witch hadn't yet turned over a new leaf like she thought she might after their adventure together. "Besides, Willow's in the plant track now, and she's amazing! We animated a whole house together!"

"That's nothing, Boscha and I... you know what, forget it. I need to get back home, and so do you. ...probably."

As Amity began to walk away, Luz thought about calling out to her... but she knew it would be no use. If their adventure together hadn't moved the needle very far on Amity being a nice witch, a few more words wouldn't do it either.

I guess turning rivals into friends takes time, thought Luz with a sigh. It took five whole books for Azura and Hecate to work together, and this is barely book one of my magical adventure! I can't give up, but I've got to give Amity some space, I don't want to drive her even further away.

Suddenly, Amity stopped dead in her tracks.

"Wait a second...!"

Luz gasped.

She DOES want to make nice with me! Wow, that's four whole books earlier than Azura-

But instead of turning back toward Luz, Amity walked over to a nearby building and hid behind it, watching someone. Luz followed her, and could see a shady looking character poking around near a warehouse.

"Hey Amity, what's going-"

Amity quickly turned around and covered Luz's mouth with her hand, holding her close and shushing her.

"Be quiet! That guy over there is one of the most wanted fugitives in the Boiling Isles!"

As Amity continued to watch while holding her hand over Luz's mouth, Luz squirmed under her grasp, trying to push away.

Wait, what? Even more wanted than Eda? Luz tried to say, though her words were muffled by Amity's tight grip. Her eyes drifted over to the fugitive, who was tall and clad partially in metal, and whose identity was mostly concealed by a black cloak and hood. He was holding a small briefcase, and he looked both ways back and forth, making sure he wasn't being followed.

That must be another shipment... Amity thought, before feeling something warm and slimy against her palm. It was Luz's tongue, pushing up against her hand to try and force it off. "Stop it!"

Stop covering my mouth then! muffled Luz, glaring harshly at Amity.

"Fine, but if you make even one sound, I'll use magic on it and you won't talk again for a week, got it?"

Luz nodded, and Amity lowered her hand, before looking at it, groaning in disgust, and shaking it up and down to try and get Luz's saliva off. Meanwhile, Luz continued to watch as the fugitive went into the warehouse. Amity watched as well, and as soon as the fugitive had disappeared, she started to make her way toward the building.

"Amity?" Luz whispered, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Who's that guy? What's going on? ….please don't magic my mouth shut, I just thought since he was gone I could-"

"That guy is a wanted fugitive, I told you," said Amity. "Lilith's been going after him for months, and now I've found him and I'm going to catch him."

"Wait, what?! Isn't that dangerous? Shouldn't you call Lilith?"

"That would take too long, and by the time I did, he'd get away. It's all right, he doesn't know I'm here, I can get the jump on him with my abominations. I need you to-"

"Hold up, is this some kind of Emperor's Coven thing where his only crime is not conforming or not joining a coven? Because if it is, count me out. I'm not helping you enforce your magical dictatorship! I'm not a cop!"

Amity sighed, rolling her eyes again and briefly pondering shushing Luz with her magic, but instead, she decided to explain herself.

"This guy is a smuggler. He's been gathering up human weapons and supplying them to anyone with enough money to buy them. He's not some dissident, he's extremely dangerous and if he's not caught, people are going to get hurt."

Luz could see the sincere concern on Amity's face, and knew she wasn't lying. She started to say something, but Amity spoke first.

"And I don't need your help. I need you to go back home. I'll handle this."

"But...!"

"Go. Home," said Amity, before turning and walking toward the warehouse. Luz watched, her heart starting to beat quite fast in her chest. Amity was clearly walking into a dangerous situation, but maybe she could handle it? Luz didn't have any magic, and didn't want to get involved in these kinds of things anyway..."

Maybe she's right... maybe I need to just go home and let Amity handle it. She is a pretty powerful witch. ...a powerful witch student, but still. I can't put both of us in danger, what if I screw up? Maybe I should just go home and forget this.

Luz watched Amity open the door with her magic and let herself in.

But what would Azura do...?

O-O-O

The cloaked man lowered his hood and placed the black leather briefcase on the metal table in front of him. Inside was a veritable collection of firearms and combat knives from the human world: pistols, rifles, even a couple of grenades. While even an AR-15 was no match for a powerful wizard or witch, in the right hands these weapons could be incredibly deadly, especially when the one they were pointed at didn't expect them or know what they were. As the smuggler admired his stash, he could hear the door behind him being forced open by magic, and turned to see a young girl standing across the room.

"Jericho Blackheart, you're under arrest by the authority of the Emperor's Coven!" declared Amity. "Abominations, rise!"

Amity lifted up her hand, and two large purple ooze creatures rose up from the ground and advanced toward their target. Jericho smiled, laughed, and raised up his hands, taking a defensive stance.

"Looks like you've got me," he said quietly, watching as the abominations oozed toward him and looking as if he wanted no part of them.

But Amity, confident as she was, was no fool, and knew the fugitive likely had something up his sleeve. As the abominations moved in, she quietly traced another spell, and stayed near the door, only for it to suddenly close behind her. Taking advantage of the surprise the slammed door afforded him, Jericho pulled out a small, baton-like object from his belt and extended it, then pointed it at the abominations, only for a pair of shackles to rise up from the ground below and clasp around his wrists.

"Resisting will only make your stay in the Conformatorium longer!" said Amity, quickly regaining her composure. "Abominations, apprehend him!"

With a quick flick of his baton-like wand, Jericho dissolved the shackles. As the abominations leaped on him, he waved his wand again, cleaving them in two and causing them to dissolve as well. Amity withdrew her wand and fired off a blasting spell, and Jericho responded in kind. It was a magical clash, and the spells briefly met in the center of the room, before Jericho's spell began to push Amity's back.

"You might be a star student, but you're still just a student, just a child," said Jericho, walking toward Amity. "And I've been doing this longer than you've been alive."

Amity grunted under the strain of the spell, but before she could try to push Jericho back, she found herself knocked down by the force of his blast, and Jericho was soon upon her, his wand pointed at her head. She tried to maintain her composure, but her wide eyes betrayed her fear, and her quarry smirked, knowing that she'd already lost.

"I wonder what Lilith would do to get her star pupil back?" Jericho mused to himself. Amity trembled in fright, but even as she cowered, she was tracing another spell. "I don't think so."

Jericho raised his wand again, and Amity found herself quickly encased in beige-colored wrappings that encased her completely from her feet all the way up to her mouth. They encircled and constricted her, and she let out a muffled shriek as she was rendered completely and immediately helpless, wrapped up tightly on the floor of the warehouse and completely at this villain's mercy.

By the gods, what have I done? thought Amity, her eyes now truly wide with fear. Someone, help me!

As Amity struggled for all she was worth and let out several muffled screams, Jericho leaned over her, observing his work with smug satisfaction.

"You're mine now, little witch."

Just then, the skylight above shattered, and Amity and Jericho could see Luz leaping down through it into the warehouse. Luz let out a kamikaze scream as she aimed herself right at the fugitive, and landed on top of him, pushing him to the ground with a hard thud.

"Hero dive!" shouted Luz triumphantly, as Jericho groaned in pain underneath her. She looked up to see Amity's predicament, and her eyes went wide with surprise. "Amity, are you okay?"

Luz, what are you doing, get out of here! shouted an even wider-eyed Amity through the wrappings that covered her mouth. She could see Jericho quickly recovering, and that his hand was still clenched tightly around his wand. Go get help, get Eda, get someone!

"It's okay, Amity, I'll save-"

With a flick of Jericho's wand, Luz found herself forced off of him... and wrapped up as tightly and as inescapably as Amity, bound and gagged on the floor of the warehouse as the fugitive stood up and brushed himself off. Luz and Amity exchanged a wordless look of fear as Jericho stood between them, then looked up at him, knowing that their prospects of rescue were looking quite bleak.

"So, that was interesting..." said Jericho, pointing his wand at Luz and for the briefest of moments pondering blasting her head off before seeing her rounded ears and realizing she could potentially be of some use to him. "A human girl? A human girl, in the Boiling Isles? I'd heard the rumors that Eda the Owl Lady had taken up a human pupil, but I doubted it until I'd seen it for myself. I suppose you know all about those, huh?"

Jericho pointed to the stash of human weapons he'd placed on the table, and Luz's eyes went even wider as she looked at them.

My god, he's got a whole armory there... thought Luz, her mind briefly flashing to some of her darker memories from home... news reports, school shooting drills, the cold hard realities she used her books and cartoons to escape from. She then looked back over at Amity, and realized in a heartbeat that everything the witch told her was exactly right. Now I know why you wanted to stop him so badly. He wants to bring the problems of the human world to the Boiling Isles. He is dangerous... but you shouldn't have gone in alone!

Amity and Luz shared another silent conversation, their eyes conveying their shared fear. Whatever problems they had with each other outside this warehouse, they needed to put them aside. Right now, their lives were in terrible danger.

"And I suppose you know where I can get more... and how to use them," said Jericho, lifting Luz to her feet by tugging on one of the wrappings around her neck. "Trust me, I already know how to use the guns. You point them at whatever you want to die and pull the trigger. But there's got to be more. I've heard the humans have a weapon that can destroy entire cities. Only whispers, since I've never gotten a chance to talk to a human myself. But you know all about it, don't you?"

More grim memories from reality. Hiroshima. Nagasaki. Luz looked away, her fear now mixing with despair.

"You do know."

I do know. And I'll die before I tell you.

Was that what Luz really thought, or was that just what Azura would say in a situation like this? Was Luz really willing to die to protect the secrets of the human world from this dangerous smuggler's ambitions? Or would she break under the first moment of torture?

Deep down, Luz knew it was the latter. She had a strong will and a strong heart, but she knew that despite her bravery and all the adventures she'd gone on, she wasn't trained to resist torture.

"Is it true? Do humans have that kind of weapon?"

Luz looked at Jericho, closed her eyes... and nodded grimly. Jericho smiled. Amity gasped.

What? Humans have a weapon like that? thought Amity, blinking in fright.

Luz felt tears coming to her eyes. The next question she knew Jericho would be asking is how he could possibly acquire such a weapon... and she had no idea. She was just an ordinary human girl, she didn't have access to nuclear arms! But like the torturers in her stories, he wouldn't believe her, and no doubt he'd start hurting her.

Or worse.

He'd start hurting Amity.

Luz opened her eyes again and gave Amity a look of apology and regret. She muffled through her gag that she was sorry, then looked back up at Jericho.

Why are you apologizing? thought Amity. I get it, humans did something bad. It's not your fault.

Amity had heard so many things about humans... good things, terrible things, but before Luz, she'd never actually met one, and the entirety of her experience came through this mysterious girl. She liked to think that she was a tolerant, non-judgmental person... and just as she hoped Luz wouldn't judge her for anything bad she might've heard about the Emperor and his coven, Amity didn't judge Luz for the human world and their frightening weapons.

But Luz couldn't know what Amity was thinking, and at the moment, her biggest concern was keeping herself and Amity safe, something that was impossible considering the situation both of them were in. She began to squirm in the wrappings encasing her, but they held fast, and even if she did get free, she and Amity were no match for Jericho.

Jericho just smiled, knowing that the human he had in his grasp would tell him anything he wanted to hear. He looked her in the eyes, and Luz winced and looked away.

"Don't worry," he said suddenly, his tone softening a bit. "I'm not gonna ask you where to find it. You're nothing special, are you? You're just some little girl that got lost and stumbled into the Boiling Isles. Doubt the humans would trust someone like you with a weapon like that."

Jericho dropped Luz to the ground, and she didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted. She looked back over at Amity, and then both of them looked up at Jericho, who walked back over to the table, closed his briefcase, and picked it up.

"I think I'll just leave the two of you here for now," he said, "while I figure out what to do. You, witch, I know what to do with, and Lilith'll be hearing from me soon. As for you, human girl... not sure whether to kill you, keep you here to tell me more about weapons, or see what Eda'll cough up for ya. Who knows, maybe I can lure both sisters here and end a lot of the Boiling Isles' trouble in one fell swoop."

Jericho smirked and took a pistol out of the briefcase, pointed it at Luz, cocked it, and gestured with his hand like he was firing. Luz instinctively winced, and the fugitive put the gun back in the briefcase before locking it up. He walked to the door and opened it up with a spell, then closed and sealed it tight. As the two girls began squirming, Jericho opened the door back up and pointed his wand at the broken skylight.

"Just in case you two had any ideas about cutting yourselves free with that broken glass," he said, using his magic to repair the skylight before leaving for good this time.

Finally, the fugitive was gone, and Luz and Amity had a chance to talk on their own... or they would've, had they been able to speak through the layers of magical wrappings covering their mouths. For a few moments, they looked at each other, and tried to understand what the other was thinking.

I know, I know, I messed up. You told me not to come here, and I came here anyway! I wasn't gonna just leave you! But... you were right, I should've gone for help! Eda would've kicked this guy's butt! Now we're stuck here and it's all my fault. I bet you hate me, and I don't blame you, especially after learning about the atomic freaking bomb! You're right about humans, we're a bunch of jerks.

Tears were once again forming in Luz's eyes, and Amity could see a single tear rolling down Luz's cheek. She knew Luz regretted coming without getting help, but just like she knew Luz would try to learn magic even though she biologically couldn't, she also knew that Luz would try to play the hero, just like Azura.

I'm the one who rushed into this situation without going to get Lilith's help. I just... well, you saw how dangerous this guy is! If I let him get away with those weapons, who knows who he might've sold them to? Who knows who they might've been used on? I just wish you knew that I don't blame you for the actions of all humans. I wish you knew how sorry I am for getting you into this. If I hadn't come here, you wouldn't have followed me. So whatever happens here, it's my fault. Maybe you're right about me. Maybe I am a jerk.

Amity could feel a tear forming in her eyes as well, and she immediately turned away. She'd been trained not to show weakness, and that meant never letting anyone see her cry. She tried to blink away the tears, but that only caused more of them to come, and she felt a lump in her throat and a burning in her chest that she couldn't ignore. As she scrunched up and tried to bury her face into her knees, she felt someone's chin resting on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Luz, a look of pure warmth and understanding. Their eyes were barely an inch away from each other's, and Amity felt a tear roll down her cheek at that exact moment. Her eyes widened, and she let out a half-growl, half-shriek before scooting away and hiding her face again.

Don't sneak up on me like that!

Amity, it's okay to cry. It's okay to be scared. I'm more scared than I've ever been before in my entire life!

Luz tried squirming toward Amity again, only for Amity to keep scooting away. She turned her head and glared harshly at Luz, hoping her fellow captive would get the message. Her face was scrunched up and red, and Luz stopped, seeing that Amity's patience with her was running out.

Okay, okay! I'll back off! I just want to help, that's all!

As Luz sat a few feet away, she could see Amity squirming. Her hands were the only thing below her nose sticking out of the wrapping, and she was using one of her fingers to trace a spell on the ground while uttering something indecipherable from her wrapped mouth.

Of course! You're trying to escape! Well, if you're gonna try to get out of this, so am I!

While Amity tried tracing spells on the ground, Luz began to squirm and struggle, her body shaking like a worm on the cold ground as she writhed inside the wrappings. The wrappings had the same consistency as medical gauze, but had the stickiness of tape, and conformed to her frame as she fought them with everything she had. Nearby, Amity was successful in getting a few glyphs to light up on the ground, but every spell she cast seemed to fizzle out as soon as it appeared, and she cursed in frustration after a few failed tries.

It's no use! I'm too emotional to focus, I can't move my hands enough to make the proper movements, I can't say any incantations... but I have to keep trying! I have to get us out of this! I can't give up. Azura would never give up.

Amity looked over and saw Luz flopping and struggling on the ground, rolling around and crying out as she tried to escape the wrappings. She thought for a moment that she must look lazy, sitting there tracing spells while her sister in binds was fighting with everything she had to escape.

Luz, it's okay. I'll get us out of this, don't strain yourself. Don't hurt yourself either.

Luz had to stop for a moment to catch her breath, her nostrils flaring. She looked over at Amity, pure determination in her eyes, and was surprised to see Amity squirming back over to her, not quite as angry as before.

Amity, it's okay. Your magic can get us out of this, but I figure if we're both trying to get free, our chances are a lot better! This is just like when Azura and her thief friend Bella were taken captive by pirates. Azura couldn't use her magic because she was gagged and the pirates took her staff, but Bella was able to get a knife and free both of them!

Luz and Amity shared a look with each other, and Luz gave her an encouraging smile, hoping the sentiment would shine through despite her lips being covered up.

That's it! I thought you were Hecate and I was Azura, but actually, you're Azura and I'm Bella! ...don't get the wrong idea, I'm Azura again as soon as we get out of this, but for now, you've got the magic and I've got my wits and determination! And we won't give up!

Amity squirmed up close to Luz and stopped, shifting herself back into a sitting position. She looked at Luz and tried to convey the same understanding and encouragement that Luz was conveying to her, and Luz leaned in. Then, Luz pressed her forehead against Amity's. Amity's eyes widened, not immediately comfortable with Luz being so close to her, but after a moment, it was a comforting feeling, and Amity responded in kind.

Luz, we're going to get out of this, Amity said through her gag. Luz couldn't understand a word Amity said, but the message was still clear, and she nodded as if she did understand before Amity backed away.

Amity began to wriggle to her feet, gesturing for Luz to try doing the same. Luz did so as well, but neither girl was completely steady, and they both fell back down several times in the process of standing. Finally, they both made it up, and Amity gestured toward the door.

Maybe he forgot to lock it back up, thought Amity. She looked back toward Luz to make sure her companion was following her, then started to hop toward the door, knowing she'd be able to use her free hand to manipulate the doorknob. Once we're out, someone in the street will see us and free us, and then I can go get Lilith. But more importantly, we'll be safe.

The two girls couldn't help but feel nervous as they hopped toward the door, and Luz decided to ease the tension by making funny noises. Amity groaned at first, but after Luz emulated a meowing kitten, she couldn't help but giggle, and looked back just in time to see Luz's face take on a happy expression.

Amity, I really hope we become friends after this. You're smart, and brave, and deep down, you're really nice too. No one could read to those kids like that without having a really kind heart. I know there's a lot of witch drama and weird magical politics going on that's keeping you from being your true self, but maybe after we hang out together for a while, you'll tell me what's going on. Who knows, maybe I can even get you to be friends with Willow again too.

The girls kept hopping, knowing that at any moment, Jericho could return and punish them for trying to escape. It was slow going, every hop having to be deliberate and careful to avoid tripping and painfully falling again, and both of them were trembling with every movement, their fear outwardly palpable.

Amity, it's okay. I trust you. I'll follow you. We'll get through this.

Amity looked back at Luz, seeing the complete trust she had in her, and feeling for a moment as if she didn't deserve it. She looked away and down at the floor, her mind replaying all the cruel things she'd said and done recently. She tried to force them from her mind, tried to remind herself that Luz was being the bully, not her, but part of her mind wouldn't let her forget, and forced her to focus on all of her fears and anxieties at once, stopping her in mid-hop.

What if I never get the chance to tell Willow I'm sorry?

Amity had stopped, but Luz didn't, and let out a scream as she tripped over her own feet and fell toward Amity. Amity gasped, and the two collided and fell into a heap a few feet away from the door. The two girls groaned, and Amity glared at Luz, blaming her for their fall as a way to discard her previous anxieties from her mind.

Watch where you're going, I thought you trusted me! Amity shouted through her gag, berating Luz in a torrent of muffled insults.

Why did you stop, I thought you were gonna lead the way? Luz shouted back, before saying a few more choice words, this time in Spanish. They were as incomprehensible to Amity as they would've been if Luz hadn't been gagged, and as the two began arguing with each other, they heard the doorknob turn.

"Silly me," came Jericho's voice through the door. "I forgot to seal it back up with magic. Hope they haven't escaped while I was gone."

Luz and Amity stopped their argument and looked at each other. Then, both of them had the same idea, their eyes frantically searching the warehouse for somewhere they could hide, perhaps to trick Jericho into thinking they had escaped. They saw a long row of shelves and scooted behind them as quickly as they could, just as their captor re-entered the building.

"I'm back," said Jericho with a laugh. "Didja miss me?"

From his point of view near the door, Luz and Amity were nowhere in sight. He cursed under his breath, and the two girls realized their gambit had worked. They looked over toward the door... it was still cracked slightly open.

Now's our chance, they both thought at once, as Jericho began looking around the room. As quickly as they could, the girls scooted themselves along the ground, quickly closing the gap between the shelves and the door.

"I wasn't gone all that long, they couldn't have gotten far," said Jericho, making his way over to the shelves. "And I didn't leave any knives behind, so they haven't been able to cut themselves free... not like they'd be able to cut through that stuff very quickly."

Luz and Amity were trembling as they continued to scoot toward the door. Freedom was just a few feet away, and Luz was leading the way, able to scoot herself a bit faster than Amity. Amity decided that instead of following Luz, she'd stay behind and try one last time to cast a spell circle... this time, she'd conjure up something she didn't need much concentration to form. Luz stopped for a moment and quietly screamed at Amity, telling her to come with her, but Amity gestured that she had things under control, and the ground beneath her hand was glowing.

Come on, Luz, just go. Get Eda. He needs me to get to Lilith, but we don't know what he wants with you. I can stall him until Eda gets here. Just hurry!

Luz reluctantly kept going, and put her feet up to the gap between the door and the doorframe.

I have to hurry... and hope there's someone out here when I get out!

Luz put her feet up on the edge of the door... which suddenly slammed and sealed itself shut. A moment later, Luz found herself lifted to her feet and dragged across the room by an invisible force... one of Jericho's spells. In one hand, he held his wand. In another, he held a .44 caliber pistol.

"There you are... one of you, anyway," said Jericho. Luz screamed as she was pulled toward him, and he smirked, knowing that if Luz was still there, so was Amity. "You can come on out now, little witch. Something tells me you wouldn't leave the human behind, especially after she came to save you. Lilith might, but you're too much of a goody two shoes to do the smart thing, aren't you?"

Don't insult Lilith.

Amity was back on her feet, pressing herself up against the shelf as she scooted around to reveal herself to Jericho. Jericho smiled, and with a flick of his wand, pulled Amity along the ground until she was standing right next to Luz, both of them on their tiptoes, squirming futilely inside their bonds and inside Jericho's magical thrall. Luz's expression was one of fear and despair, but Amity's was one of renewed courage and defiance, and she glared up into Jericho's eyes even as he held two things in his hands that could kill both of them in an instant.

"I bet you think I need you," said Jericho, looking down at Amity. "That's why you're acting so smug, because you don't think I'll kill you. True, Lilith and the coven have been a thorn in my side for months, but using you as bait would just make things a bit easier, and to be quite honest, I've always liked a challenge."

You're lying! Amity shouted, trying to maintain her composure even as sweat rolled down her forehead and tears found their way back to her eyes. Jericho walked over to her and lifted up his pistol, placing the barrel against Amity's cheek and forcing a shiver and a muffled cry from the captive witch.

"The truth is," said Jericho, "soon I'll have a weapon capable of blowing Lilith to bits, along with the rest of her guards, and she won't even see it coming. The truth is, Amity Blight, I need you..."

Jericho placed the barrel of his gun against Amity's temple and put his finger on the trigger.

"...like I need a hole in the head."

Amity and Luz both shrieked at the top of their lungs, and Amity could see moments from her life playing out in her head in the blink of an eye. As tears rolled down her face, and her entire body trembled, she gathered up what little courage she had left and clenched her hand around the magical blade she'd managed to conjure up in her hand. It was barely the size of an ice pick, and it'd be useless for cutting through her bonds quickly, but it was now her last chance to save herself, and before Jericho could pull the trigger, she embedded the blade in his leg as deep as it would go. Jericho cried out in pain, and the spell he was casting to hold Luz and Amity in place was immediately dispelled. The two girls fell to the ground, along with Jericho's pistol. The two girls exchanged a look of momentary relief, and Luz tried to tell Amity how glad she was that she was okay, but Amity, seeing Jericho quickly recovering, shouted at Luz that they needed to hide, and Luz nodded. Jericho lunged for his gun, only for Luz to slam her bound feet into it, kicking it all the way to the other side of the room, while Amity pressed herself against some nearby shelving and tried to concentrate long enough to enlarge the blade she was holding in her hands into something big enough to free herself with. Meanwhile, Luz was backing away as Jericho made a quick recovery. She thought he might go for his gun, and squirmed toward it herself, not intending to use it but intending to play keep away with it long enough for Amity to magic herself free.

If he gets that gun again, we're toast! thought Luz, looking over at Amity to check on her progress while trying to kick the gun even further away. Amity, no pressure, but hurry, I don't know how long I can do this!

Suddenly, Luz felt the wrappings around her body beginning to constrict. She kept squirming toward the gun, but soon she could barely move... or breathe. The wrappings were tightening, and behind her stood Jericho, pointing his wand.

"That's enough of this," he said, as Luz let out a gasp, her chest and nose both flaring as the wrappings continued to tighten. She cried out in pain, but it came out as little more than heavy exhalations, and her eyes went wide in terror. She could only watch helplessly as Jericho walked over and picked his gun back up, but instead of shooting her, he holstered it and continued to tighten the wrappings, causing Luz to convulse in pain and terror.

AMITY! screamed Luz in her mind, her loud gasps forcing Amity's attention her way. Amity, who'd made little progress on enlarging her blade, tried her best to cut herself free with the one she had, but the bindings were too strong, and the knife did little more than scrape across the surface.

LUZ! Amity screamed back at her, the gag muffling it but not enough to prevent both Luz and Jericho from knowing that Amity had called out her name. LET HER GO!

Amity soon felt her own wrappings constricting even more tightly around her, and soon the two girls were both convulsing on the ground, the life being slowly squeezed out of them by the bindings encasing their bodies. Amity's knife fell to the ground and dissipated in a puff of magical smoke, and with it, all hope of the two girls achieving freedom. They lay on the ground a few feet away from each other, and even in their pain and desperation, moved closer to one another with an incredible amount of effort, trying to share what they both now believed would be their final moments.

Jericho stood over them, watching as they struggled and gasped. He lifted his hand, and the bonds loosened up enough to allow both girls to breathe and to feel as if their bodies weren't being completely crushed, but not enough to let them escape or even speak.

"So now that I've made myself clear that I don't need either one of you alive, perhaps you'll be willing to cooperate with me? I'd truly rather not harm children, I've just got business I need to attend to and the easier it is for me, the easier it'll be for you. All I want is to get more weapons and to get Lilith out of my hair."

Jericho pointed to Luz.

"You can help me with the first thing, and..."

He then pointed to Amity.

"You can help me with the second. That's all I want, and if you cooperate, no further harm needs to come to either of you. I'm not some monster, after all."

Luz and Amity, both with tears flowing down their faces, looked up at Jericho, and despite their fear, they both glared harshly at him, demonstrating their defiance even in the face of their shared situation.

Yes, you are, Amity wanted to say.

You're nothing like the villains in my storybooks. You're worse. I have to stop you. Luz was equally defiant, and her fists were clenching tightly. She knew escape was impossible at the moment, but at the first chance she had, she was going to try again. There was no way she was helping Jericho now. She looked over at Amity.

Luz, don't worry about me. I'm scared out of my mind, but I'm willing to die to stop someone like him. It's okay to let him hurt me if that's what it comes to. I've prepared for this. I'll scream, and I'll cry, but no matter what he does to me, don't do one thing he says. Don't... don't...

Amity looked at Luz, and could tell that despite her courage and determination, despite the fact that Luz wanted to be a hero like Azura, despite everything she knew about the human, she knew that Luz wouldn't be able to hold out against what Jericho might do to her.

That fear, that fear that Luz would break under torture, was reflected on Amity's face, and Jericho immediately picked it up, walking over to Amity and smiling.

"What's the matter? Not so tough now that you know it's pointless to escape? You Emperor's Coven people are all the same. You put up a front when you've got the numbers, but when it's just you and you're backed into a corner, you're nothing but a bunch of cowards who'll do anything to save your own skin. Or, I guess, in this case, hers."

Jericho pointed at Luz, then looked back at Amity.

"You'll cooperate, or I'll hurt her. And no matter how much you say you don't care, you know that deep down, the first time she screams, you'll break. Because you want to be like the Good Witch Azura, don't you? And Azura would never let a friend suffer for her own mistakes, would she?"

Amity clenched her fists, trying to remain defiant. Luz began to struggle, and tried to tell Amity that it was okay, no matter what Jericho did to her, that she could take it... but then she felt the wrappings constricting around her body again, even more tightly and painfully before. She let out a loud scream that turned into a muffled, strangled gasp, and began to convulse again, crying out and fighting a losing battle against the choking bonds.

And Amity stayed defiant through it all... but her tears, falling like rivers down her cheeks, betrayed her. And Jericho placed his finger to her chin, and looked into her eyes as he forced another gasp from Luz.

STOP! screamed Amity at the top of her lungs, lunging at Jericho and begging him not to hurt Luz anymore. STOP, I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT!

"Then tell me everything," said Jericho, dispelling the wrappings from Amity's mouth. "Everything you know about Lilith and the Emperor's Coven. Where they'll be. What her weaknesses are if you know them. Help me lay a trap for them and your friend gets to live."

"She's not my friend!" Amity cried out, prompting a look of hurt from Luz that overrode even the pain from the wrappings tightening around her body. "She's just... I just..."

Amity shook and clenched her fists. She was doing it again, betraying everything that Lilith had taught her. Never show weakness. Never back down. Never cry. Never reveal the secrets of the Emperor's Coven.

"I don't know anything, I'm just a student! I haven't joined the coven yet!"

"But you know enough, enough about Lilith to tell me where she'll be so I can do what I'm going to do! That's all the information I need, enough to set a trap! Tell me or the human girl dies! Will you let her die?!"

Luz gave Amity a desperate look, but as their eyes met, she turned away, closed her eyes, tried to hide her tears as she watched Amity's emotional turmoil.

Don't betray Lilith for me, just let him do what he's going to do! Oh man... I'm so scared right now... I don't want to die! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I don't want to die... but I can't let you throw everything away for me. This is my fault, you told me to stay away and I didn't listen! I... I don't know what to do! Amity...!

Luz trembled on the ground. If she could speak, she didn't know what she'd say, whether she'd tell Amity not to listen to Jericho or beg him not to let her die... so she tried to hide her face as best as she could, not wanting Amity to be swayed by her own fear or pain.

And as Amity watched Luz tremble, watched the wrappings painfully constrict her body, she knew she had only one chance to save everyone... Luz, Lilith, herself... and with tear-filled eyes, she looked back up at Jericho, having made her decision.

"Okay... I'll tell you what you want," said Amity, her head bowed, her tears falling to the floor.

"Where is Lilith going to be tomorrow night?"

Amity took one more look at Luz. Luz looked back up at her. Their eyes met, and in Luz's face, she saw the desperation of a dying girl.

Amity, please don't let me die!

"...ABOMINATION, TRAP HIM!"

Conjuring all the magical strength she had, gesturing with her trapped hands, and most importantly, screaming her will at the top of her lungs, Amity cast a powerful abomination spell, conjuring one up from the ground right below Jericho's feet. It rose up and engulfed him, forcing the wand from his hand and once again causing Luz's bonds to loosen up enough to let her breathe. Amity immediately backed away, watching as the fugitive began to sink into the abomination with a loud scream.

"Luz, are you okay?" shouted Amity, kneeling beside her gasping friend. Luz silently nodded, and Amity leaned over her. "I know what I said about us not being friends, but I want you to know-"

Amity's abomination cried out in pain, and she could see Jericho struggling against it, lifting up his wand to cast another spell. Amity turned back toward him.

"Abomination, smother-"

Amity was cut off as her wrappings went back over her mouth, and continued up her face, covering up her nose and leaving her unable to either speak or breathe. She cried out in terror, struggling desperately to extricate herself from the wrappings or to conjure another spell, as Jericho waved the wand again, forcing Amity's abomination back into the ground.

"What was that about smothering?" Jericho groaned, coughing as he staggered to his feet. He watched as Amity desperately struggled to take a breath, while Luz crawled over toward her, calling out her name. "No more games."

Jericho coldly kicked Luz away from Amity and watched with sadistic satisfaction as she writhed on the ground, screaming and desperately trying to take a breath. He lifted her up and placed her on her knees, wanting to look into her eyes as she realized that this time, she was truly going to die. He thought of letting her suffocate to prolong her suffering, but instead, he took his pistol out of its holster. He'd never actually tested it on one of the denizens of the Boiling Isles before, and a good demonstration of its effectiveness would get his customers to cough up more shells.

Meanwhile, Luz, still sore from the kick, could only watch as Amity desperately struggled, her last attempt to save them both now ensuring her death. She looked at the ground and tried to remember everything she'd learned from her Azura books... and everything Eda had taught her.

"It's clear to me now that no matter what I do, you're not going to help me," said Jericho, lifting his gun and pointing it at Amity's head. "Maybe the human will, but if she doesn't, you two will be seeing each other really soon."

Amity no longer had the strength to be defiant, and she closed her eyes, letting the tears flow and choking out a sob.

I've failed Lilith. I've failed Luz. I've failed myself. I'm nothing but a failure.

Luz scratched her thumbnail against her finger until she broke the skin. It didn't hurt nearly as much as being squeezed by her wrappings, and she was running out of time.

Amity, you were ready to die for me...

"You know, weapons aren't the only thing I've collected from the human world. I've found some very interesting moving images as well, and one of them in particular I found quite appealing. To quote it loosely, here's a little joke."

Jericho pointed his gun at Amity's head. Luz traced her finger along the ground, hoping she'd scratched herself hard enough to accomplish what she needed to do.

"What do you get when you cross a fed up weapons smuggler and a little witch who doesn't know when to quit?"

Tears ran down Luz's face as her struggles grew more desperate. Amity let out one final sob.

"I'll tell you what you get. You get what you f-"

A blinding light engulfed the room, forcing Jericho to scream and drop his gun. On the ground was traced a symbol, the symbol for light magic, and in the center sat Luz, her eyes closed, hoping she'd gotten it right.

"I can't see...! What is this magic?!"

Jericho stumbled back and fell, the back of his head hitting hard against the edge of the table. It was enough to knock him unconscious, and as he did, his wand and his pistol fell to the ground. When the light disappeared, Luz blinked in disbelief, but could also see that she and Amity were still in their wrappings, and Amity, her nose still covered, was running out of time. Luz squirmed over to her, and Amity, whose face was starting to turn blue, gestured toward Jericho's wand. Luz nodded and grabbed it, and scooted back over to Amity.

Amity, it's going to be okay! Can you get us free?

Luz placed the wand in Amity's hand, but Amity, running out of oxygen, was too weak and scared to concentrate, and her hand was trembling far too much to do anything with the wand. Luz scooted next to her and clutched her hand tightly around Amity's, and gave her an encouraging look.

Amity... I'm here. You saved me. I won't let you die.

Amity nodded weakly, and began tracing out a spell with the wand, letting Luz steady her hand. The spell seemed to activate, but as it did, Amity's grip on the wand failed, and the wand dropped to the ground. Amity had passed out, and the spell, it seemed, had fizzled. Luz cried out desperately.

NO!

Luz tried to place the wand back in Amity's hand, but Amity was lifeless, her face now almost completely blue from lack of oxygen. Luz cried out again, tears falling down her face.

NO, NO, NO! AMITY! PLEASE, DON'T DIE! PLEASE!

As Luz screamed, the wrappings continued to stifle her, but she could hear her screams getting louder and louder despite the fact that she was starting to lose her voice from screaming so much. She cried out again, and could hear her own voice suddenly loud and clear. She looked down and could see the bonds unwrapping from her body, freeing her mouth and her arms and her legs and everything else. The bonds unwrapped themselves completely before dissipating into thin air. She looked down at Amity, whose wrappings were still intact.

"NO! Amity...!"

With all the strength she could muster, Luz reached for the wrappings covering Amity's nose and began yanking them down as hard as she could. With great exertion, she managed to free Amity's face. She couldn't free her the rest of the way, but at least Amity could breathe now... but she wasn't breathing.

"Amity, come on, breathe...! Wake up... please... Amity, please!"

Luz thought back to when her mom tried to get her to take that CPR class at the hospital, but had ditched out to spend the day playing tabletop fantasy games instead. Now she was cursing herself, realizing that her mom was right, thinking that they probably offered CPR classes at Camp Reality Check... but instead she'd chosen to stay here, and now Amity was dead, and it was all her fault.

She bent down and put her head on Amity's chest and started sobbing.

"Amity, I'm so sorry... all of this is my fault, if I'd just listened to you, if I'd just listened to mom..."

She looked over at the wand, discarded on the ground, and picked it up.

"I can't even do magic, just some useless light spell, and it was sheer luck that that jerk fell and hit his head on the table! You're the one who saved me with your magic, I was a fool for trying..."

Luz continued to sob into Amity's chest, and she held the wand tightly with one hand while placing her hand on Amity's cheek with the other.

"...y daría cualquier cosa por dejarte respirar de nuevo..."

And I'd give anything to let you breathe again.

Amity let out a loud, sharp gasp, and sat up, startling Luz and forcing her to scoot back. Her body still encased in wrappings, she coughed several times and looked around the room as the spots dissipated from her eyes. Luz looked startled, and her mouth hung open in disbelief, the wand still clutched in her hand.

"Luz? ...so the spell did work, you got free! Mind, uh, helping me out of this-"

Luz collapsed onto Amity, her arms wrapped tightly around her, nuzzling her face and still crying loudly.

"I thought you were dead! I can't believe you came back...!"

Luz looked at the wand she was still holding and gasped.

"Wait a minute... did I... did I bring you back to life?!"

"What?"

Amity looked at the wand, then at Luz, then shook her head.

"No way, I probably just passed out..."

"Uh uh, I brought you back to life, with magic!"

"That's crazy, no magic can bring someone back to life, it's one of the fundamental rules of... okay, Luz, if you're so good at magic, how about freeing me with that wand?"

"Oh... right!"

Luz pointed the wand at Amity.

"Magic, set her free!"

Nothing.

"Free my friend from her earthly bondage!"

Nothing.

"...presto untie-o?"

"...give me that," said Amity, gesturing for Luz to hand her the wand. Luz meekly handed it over, and Amity quickly freed herself with the same spell she'd used to free Luz. She then looked down at Luz's hand, which was bleeding. "Luz, are you okay? Your hand, it's..."

She looked over and saw the symbol for Luz's light spell drawn on the floor in the blood she'd managed to get out of her finger.

"Whoa," said Amity, blinking.

"Yeah, I know, right? I drew a spell in blood, isn't that cool? And uh, kinda grimdark."

"Well, you still saved me," said Amity, as she and Luz helped each other to their feet. She pointed at Jericho, still unconscious. "And took out that guy."

"Is he gonna be okay?"

Amity briefly walked over and inspected Jericho to make sure the blow to the head he'd sustained hadn't killed him. It hadn't, and Amity quickly conjured up some magical bindings of her own to keep him trapped, then conjured up an abomination to confiscate all of his weapons.

"..are you gonna be okay?" Luz asked, placing a hand on Amity's shoulder. Amity sighed, bowing her head and looking down at the ground. She gently reached up and took Luz's hand, moving it away from her before walking toward the door. "Amity, if you're worried about me seeing you cry, it's okay, I won't tell anyone about this! My lips are sealed! In fact, if you don't trust me, I'll let you use magic on them to keep them that way! Uh... but only for a few days, then I'll probably starve."

Amity sighed and turned back toward Luz.

"It's not that. It's... a lot of things. I might be a star pupil, but that fugitive took me out like it was nothing, and honestly, if you hadn't shown up, I don't think I could have gotten myself free. And last week, at the library, you saved me there too."

"Hey, we saved each other, you know? Nothing to be ashamed of, Azura gets help from humans all the-"

"Enough!" Amity suddenly shouted, clutching her arms tightly to her chest. "Azura's not real, and I'm not supposed to need saving! Lilith said it herself, I'm the future of the Emperor's Coven, I'm the future protector of the Boiling Isles, and I can't even take down one lowlife. How can I protect the Boiling Isles if I can't even stop a criminal without a human helping me?"

"Amity, I'm sorry if you feel bad about needing saving, but I'm never going to apologize for saving you," said Luz, walking over to Amity. "You can feel whatever you want about what just happened, all I know is that I'm glad you're safe and I'm glad I came back for you. You can mope about it all you want, but I meant what I said when you were... passed out. I'd have given anything just to let you breathe again."

Luz started to walk past Amity and toward the door. She turned back toward her.

"And if you say we're not friends, fine. I want to be your friend, Amity. I want... really, really badly to be your friend."

Luz was starting to get choked up as she spoke, but she sniffled, wiped away her tears, and kept talking.

"But I'm not going to force my friendship on you either. You're right, if I tried to force you to be my friend, it would make me a bully. I just... I just think you're really cool, you know? You're a really powerful witch, you have your own secret reading room... I'd love to get to know you if you'd let me, but it's up to you."

Luz turned back toward the door and reached down to open it, but it was still sealed from Jericho's earlier spell. Before she could ask Amity to open it for her, it opened on its own, and Luz started to make her way out.

"Luz?"

Luz turned back toward Amity. Behind her was Amity's abomination, carrying both the confiscated weapons and the wrapped up Jericho.

"Amity?"

"...you are my friend," said Amity. "And not just because you saved my life, but because you're a good person and I want to be your friend. I couldn't see that before, but I can see it now. It's just... things are complicated here. There are lots of people who don't see humans the way I do. Not a lot of people know about those city destroying weapons, but if the right people did, you'd quickly replace Eda as the most wanted person on the Boiling Isles, and there's not a thing she or I could do to protect you."

"I don't care how complicated things are," said Luz.

"You should," Amity replied. "I'm telling you this because we're friends now. ...and you'd better get home. I've got a lot to tell Lilith, and you definitely shouldn't be here when I do."

"Right," said Luz, still looking up at Amity. "Is there anything you can do?"

"I'll try," Amity replied. "I've got a lot to think about..."

"Like with Willow?"

Amity glared at Luz.

"Okay, okay, touchy subject. Well, anyway, I guess I'll see you tomorrow when you bring back my book? Or... do you want to keep it a while longer?"

"I'll bring it back tomorrow," said Amity. "...goodbye, Luz. And thank you."

Luz nodded, and turned to leave... then turned back and gave Amity the biggest hug she possibly could. Amity groaned, but didn't try to squirm away... in fact, by the time it had ended, she was almost smiling.

And then, after Luz broke off the hug, she leaned up and kissed Amity on the cheek. Amity and Luz both blushed intensely, Amity raising her hand to her cheek as Luz parted from her.

"I'm glad we're friends," said Luz, waving one more time before turning to go home.

Amity stood there in the doorway, watching as Luz disappeared down the street, the moonlight illuminating her. Her cheek still tingling from the kiss, she let out a sigh and tried not to dwell on it too much before leaving the warehouse with her abomination, making her way to the nearest guard tower to turn in the fugitive and contact Lilith.

I'm glad we're friends too... thought Amity, allowing herself a slight smile as the moonlight illuminated her way. Whatever complications arose because of her newfound friendship with the mysterious human, she'd have to find a way to live with them.

After all, she'd already died for them, and how hard could living be?